Bucket List

I copied this from some one else's blog and thought it might be fun.

(x) Donated Blood
(x) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( ) Watched a baby being born.
(x) Been to Canada
(x) Been to Mexico
(x) Been to Florida
( ) Been to Hawaii
( ) Been to Africa
( ) Been to Russia
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been on a helicopter
( ) Been on a Glider Plane
(x) Been lost
(x) Gone to Washington, DC
( ) Hugged a homeless person
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Seen a Glacier
( ) Swam with Stingrays
( ) Been sailing in the ocean
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Ran a marathon
( ) Sang Karaoke
( ) Volunteered at a soup kitchen
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
( ) Seen the Northern Lights
( ) Been Para-sailing
(x) Been on TV
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
( ) Been Streaking
(x) Made prank phone calls
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( ) Fed an elephant
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Fired a gun
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Been to the Opera
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Serenaded someone
( ) Seen a U.S.President in person
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone
( ) Driven a race car
(x) Been to a National Museum
( ) Been to a Wax Museum
( ) Eaten caviar
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x) Gone to the movies
(x) Been deep sea fishing
(x) Driven across the United States
( ) Been sky diving
( ) Gone snowmobiling
( ) Have seen the "Green Flash" at sunset
(x) Lived in more than one country
(x) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(x) Seen a falling star and made a wish
(x) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
( ) Seen the Grand Canyon
( ) Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Been to Times Square
(x) Been to Las Vegas
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
( ) Been on a cruise
( ) Traveled by train
( ) Traveled by motorcycle
(x) Been horse back riding
(x) Ridden on a San Francisco cable car
(x) Been to Disneyland OR Disney World (How about Euro Disney?)
(x) Been in a rain forest
( ) Seen whales in the ocean
( ) Been to Niagara Falls
( ) Ridden on an Elephant
( ) Ridden on a Camel
(x) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Seen the Pyramids in Egypt
(x) Been snow-skiing
( ) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
(x) Been to a Major League Baseball game
(x) Been to a National Football League game
( ) Swam with sharks
( ) Been White Water Rafting
( ) Written a book or screen play
(x) Kissed a total stranger
( ) Been to Europe

Kinda fun......but I'm not sure if all of these are really on my "Bucket List," but a few are!

I've got more to blog about, but I'm being lazy.....and still working on the whole job thing and that's really been zapping my energy. That and the new foster dog.......grrrrr...... NOTE TO SELF: Never foster puppies!!

In a much better place

I had another job interview yesterday. It went very well, but I'm not sure I want the job. It would be a great job, it's just that it's part-time. It would allow me to get my children on and off the bus in the mornings and afternoons, and still allow for time to volunteer in each of their schools. So the positives are pretty darn positive! But, I really need to make some money - and part time pays, well, part time.

And last week, hubby and I came up with a PLAN. And if this job doesn't work out, I'm a perfectly content to go back to the PLAN. So I'm in a much better place this week - mentally at least :)

And I'm still on my rather selfish knitting streak. I started a Shalom cardigan with some modifications. I had some black Patons Classic Wool that I planned to use to make the Must Have Cardigan, but black and cables just didn't work for me. So this black yarn has decided to become a Shalom. (Minus the 2+ balls that were used for other things.)



This is a super quick knit. I started on Monday and I'm over 1/2 done! Since I might not have enough yarn, I decided to go ahead and knit the sleeves before I finish the body. That way I'll know exactly how much yarn I'll have for the body. If all else fails, I can always go and buy another ball at Michaels or Joanns.

As for my other projects, my Monkey socks are coming along. I finished the first (second) sock and frogged the original first sock knit in the Sunday Swing pattern. The second sock has been cast on, but I've only done a few rows of ribbing.

I've also got a new sock that I need to start soon. I'm test knitting a beautiful pattern for a designer on Ravelry. I'm not sure if I can share pictures, but since I haven't started it yet it's really not an issue. (I'll be sure to ask though, I can't wait to share!)

Knit on!

Misc life crud.....

I'm having a crappy week. I found out that I didn't get a job I interviewed for. I'm pretty bummed. It wasn't even a very good job - but I'm getting pretty desperate in the job department right about now and I would take anything offered. I'm trying to remain positive, but this whole job search has me completed depressed. (I'm not a crier as a general rule, but lately I start to bawl when someone looks at me sideways. The stress is getting pretty darn bad.)

On a lighter note, we got a new foster dog! Meet Rosie. She came to us named Baby, but I just could NOT call a dog Baby. Kirk and Charlotte came up with Rosie and I liked it. It's what we are using for now. (If you are interested in adopting Rosie or any dog, please visit the MARS site.)

This dog defies all description.....she's cute, incredibly playful and as sweet as can be. As for her breed - your guess is as good as mine. She's got a very long body, very stocky front quarters, and a triangular head. And she only weight about 30 lbs. Feel free to leave any breed suggestions! Kirk and the kids wanted to adopt her into our family, but she was too much $$.

I've been knitting up a storm trying to beat the stress. But I think it's starting to back fire. I'm so stressed I don't even want to knit right now. Yikes. The Sunday Swing socks in my last post have decided to become a pair of Monkey socks. As I was going through all of my socks last week I noticed my red monkey socks had worn through on the heel. Time for a new pair!

Knit on.

Lots o'Socks

I've been a rather selfish knitter lately. I can't seem to stop casting on new socks! (I did finish the Paraphernalia socks, but I don't have a picture.) Here are my current socks in progress:


On the right is a pair of Sunday Swings in Knit Picks hand painted Stroll - colorway Playhouse. I like the yarn, but I don't really like how the colors stacked up on the leg portion. I'm not concerned enough to rip it out though - so I started the second sock at a different part of the color repeat - maybe that will help.

In the middle is my Montgolfiere. The first one is done, but I learned that I simply cannot knit this pattern and chat. KNitting with my pal Michelle yesterday, I did three rounds of color instead of two. No one will notice but me, so I'll forge ahead. So instead of continuing, I cast on the other Sunday Swing sock.

And on the left are a pair I cast on last night during family movie night. (We watched Ice Age in case anyone is wondering.) People frequently ask me how long it takes to knit a pair of socks and I usually say I don't know. So last night I decided I should keep track. The first sock took me about 9.5 hours. It was knit on size 1's and I usually use 1.5's, so it might have taken a bit longer than necessary. But it's a plain stockinette sock - no pattern what so ever. So now I can tell people it takes between 18-20 hours for a pair of socks! (Hey Michelle - thanks for the yarn, it's fabulous!)

Next time I blog - I'm really hoping that I'll be able to say that I've finished all these socks and only have one pair on the needles. Yeah, right.

Knit on!

A few Finished Objects (and even more WIPs)

It seems that the more things I finish, the more I cast on. I finished the Badia tank - LOVE IT!! It came out fabulously. I made a few minor mods and the fit is perfect.

I also cast on a sock - Paraphernalia (Rav link) using some Knit Picks Essential Kettle dyed yarn. I just love this yarn and the sock is beautiful! (I actually completed one whole sock, but cast on a different sock when it was done. This is a WIP pic, but you get the idea.) I'm in love with this kettle dyed. I got it when KP had it on sale - they have changed it from 50 grams balls to 100 gram balls because they were getting complaints about dye lots not matching. I gotta tell ya - I don't care - it is beautiful and so soft and squishy to work with - LOVE it!! (And KP is chaning the name from Essentail to Stroll - same yarn just with a new name.)

It's hard to see the cable, I'll try to get a better picture when I finish the second sock.

And last, but not least, I finally cast on for the Montgolfiere (another Rav link). I'm using some TyDy sock yarn and Knit Picks Essential Black. The pattern says that it only uses 50 grams of each yarn, but it seems to be using a lot of black. I'm not sure if I can finish these with only one ball. Not to worry - I've got about 4 more balls in my stash! I love, love, love how this one is looking. But a word to the wise, the pattern is a bit vague in places, so you have to trust yourself. I made a few mods to the heel section to make it easier for me.

This was the first time I attempted a short-row heel. All I can say is that I need more practise! Thank goodness the heel is in black - no one will notice. And one more picture becsue this sock looks much better on:

(Is this not the coolest pattern?? I'm busy planning other combinations in my head!)

Tonight is knit night - I can't wait! I was only able to stop by for a bit last time around because the kiddos had soccer. But this time I'll be one of the first ones there and one of the last to leave!

Knit on!

Easy, Peasy, Lemon Squeezy

Some of you may know that I "teach" a craft class at a local Independent Living/Assisted Living apartment complex. Every month I need to come up with a project/projects that are pretty, functional and SUPER EASY! Here is what we are making for August:

The post-it/picture thingie is a refrigerator magnet. I cut some strips of paper and added some of my beloved Martha Stewart butterfly punches. If you don't own one of these - you should. It's the best $7 I ever spent. I got mine at Michaels, but I think WalMart has them too. I plan on having some flowers and misc stickers for people to use to decorate theirs if they don't want to use butterflies.

The card - while incredibly easy - is adorable. (If I do say so myself!) I pre-punched a ton of butterflies (out of cardstock left over from last months project) so all my "students" need to do is pick the colors they like and glue them on. I usually stamp the sentiment - it just works better that way.

I planned on doing something like this for this months project, but I didn't realize that I only had 9 magnets......DOH!! I put in a quick "HELP" cry to my good friend Kimberly, who supplied me with the first batch. Thankfully she had more that she was willing to donate to the cause. Thanks Kimberly!! (And now that I have a supply of them, I plan on making a calendar project for my Nov or Dec class.)

Enjoy!

Not Meant To Be....

I love the Hey Teach pattern. I have some worsted (I think??) weight recycled blue cotton that would look fabulous in this pattern. I have tried to knit this several times now. After swatching (multiple times) and starting (multiple times), I have decided that this yarn and pattern are not meant to be together. It makes me sad. I will knit something with this blue yarn, and I will knit the Hey Teach - someday.

The blue yarn has already started on it's journey to being a Badia tank. This pattern is also written for a worsted weight yarn, but this patterns gauge fits my knitting much better. I think it will be quite lovely when all is said and done.

Mods thus far:

• I'm knitting this in the round. I will have to split at the arm holes and work back and forth, but this eliminated most of the seaming - and I *hate* seaming.
• I only knit 3.25 inches of the 2 x 2 rib at the bottom.....I just was not going to make another 1.25 inches. I don't think this design element will be noticed :)
• I'm only knitting the lace /cable pattern on the front. I don't see the need for a pattern on the back since I will never see it. Yep - I'm selfish that way.

I was a bit surprised that the lace/cable section was not charted, so I charted it myself. There once was a time when I would refuse to knit a pattern if it had a chart, and now I'm irritated when they don't have one. It was simple enough to do so I may find myself doing it more often. Go figure!

Knit on!

Quick post

Life has been busy.....summer is in full swing in my household! Good news - Trooper was adopted. And I'll admit that I miss the little guy. We're taking a foster break for a month or so because we are doing some dog sitting.

Here is a quick card that I made for Miss C*'s birthday. Her birthday was two weeks ago, but we had a family birthday party last night because my sister was in town with her family. So I *had* to make another card!! Stamps are from Purple Onion Designs. (Psssstttt......they are having a sale. Everything is 25% off until July 31.)


And now we're off to a Saturday morning soccer game....the last one of the season. Have a great day!

Mother Daughter Socks

I'm not one for matchy, matchy Mother Daughter stuff, but these socks are cute!! And it's the only thing we own that sort of matches!


And now to get to my Hey Teach cardigan. I recast-on with 9's and I'm hoping I get gauge once I get a few inches knit. (Gauge swatch was good, but so was my swatch on 8's.) If I can't get gauge with 9's, this project was just not meant to be.

Knit on!

Sorry for the radio silence

Life has been very busy. Our foster dog Trooper is doing great. I get up about 5:45 every morning and take him and Luna for a walk. I have to admit that I'm really not a 5:45 person, but I digress.

Things have been moving right along on the knitting front. I finished my socks with my birthday yarn. They came out beautifully! And I had quite a bit of yarn left over, so I'm whipping up a pair of socks for Charlotte! Here are my socks and Charlotte's socks in progress.


My socks are knit using the Eleanore pattern (Rav download only) and Charlotte's are a modified version of the Riblet sock (another Rav download - sorry!). The colors of these socks are just gorgeous....almost makes me want winter just so I can wear them.......or maybe not!

As soon as I finish Charlotte's socks, I'll cast on for these: Montgolfiere (yet another Rav only download). I can't wait!! (Thankfully kid socks don't take much time - I made the first one is just about 2 days!) Here is a picture of the socks I pulled from Stephanie van der Linden's Ravelry pattern page:


I'm planning on using TyDy sock yarn from Knit One Crochet Too along with Knit Picks Essesntial in Black as the main color - they should come out very striking. At least I hope so.

I also cast on for the Hey Teach cardigan. I've admired it for a long time, but haven't made it yet. I have some recycled yarn that I got from a sweater I unraveled and I think it will be perfect for this pattern, but I just CAN NOT get gauge. I've been tinkering with the pattern a bit to see if I can just work with the gauge I'm getting but I worry about how all the math will work out. But I'm pretty determined. I might just forge ahead. If it doesn't fit me, I'm sure I can find someone to give it to! (Started knitting on the recommended 8's - even swatched - but once I started on the main project - my gauge changed - arrggghhh!! I might just frog the 2" I've done and re-start on 9's. Not completely sure just yet.)

Knit on!

PS - I'll be bringing Trooper to a MARS meet and greet on Sunday, July 12 (scroll down to see the info.) If you're in the Maple Grove, MN, area - please stop by and say hi!!

Welcome Trooper!

Here is our latest foster dog. He's a West Highland Terrier. And cute as a button!! I just got a new camera, so I spent waaaaay too much time today trying to install the software to get the darn pictures off of my camera and onto the computer. But I think they are worth it! If you are interested in adopting Trooper, contact MARS.




On the knitting front, I frogged the Pulsations socks. The pattern was written for a sport weight yarn and I was using a light fingering. I thought that by increasing the stitch count, I could make it work, but I was wrong. Horribly wrong. So into the frog pond it went and I immediately cast on Eleanore. (It's a Ravelry download only. And if you're not on Rav - you should be!!) It's a lovely pattern and a great match for this yarn. I'm almost to the toe decrease and should finish the first sock tonight (now that I have the darn camera issues resolved!)

Knit on!!

I couldn't do it any longer!!

UFO week (or weeks) was a great idea, but I just couldn't hold out any longer. I cast on a pair of Pulsation socks for me last night. This is the yarn the kids picked out for me for my birthday. It's Aruacania Itata in color #1005. It's a fabulous mix of purple, pink and blue.

I'm knitting on a 9" circular HiyaHiya's. (They don't really list them on their website, but trust me, they are tiny!) I've tried one of these circs before, but it was a borrowed set and I didn't get much of a chance to play with it. My MIL got me a gift cert to Amazing Threads for my b-day, so I bought one for myself. I love the idea of knitting a sock on a tiny circ, but it's taking some getting used to. I'm hoping to complete an entire pair of socks with these needles before I pass judgement. (But I'm afraid that my wrists, thumbs might not hold out. We'll see.)

And the final object from UFO week(s) was the pair of No Purl Monkey socks for my MIL's b-day. I know she wants nothing more than a *really* warm pair of woll socks for her birthday in July. But, I'm pretty sure she will love them in January while she's waiting for the bus. She can't help it that her birthday is in July!

On another note: The lovely MacKensie was adopted last week. She was only with us for 5 days - and that is unusual for a foster dog. But she was a great dog so it's no surprise to me that she was snatched up quickly! We're picking up a new dog tonight. A puppy mill Westie that needs to learn how to be a dog. Sad. So very sad. I'm hoping my son will take some great pics of him and I'll post them soon. (Shameless plug for MARS. They do great work.....if you're looking for a pet and are in the midwest area - check them out.)

Knit on!

UFO Week.....continued!

UFO week was a great idea for me. And despite the fact that I got some *fabulous* new yarn to play with, I'm continuing UFO week. I have too many projects on the needles right now and I need to get a few more done. I guess that makes it UFO week #2.

In the finished category now goes the Green Holey socks!! I really like this pattern and will make another pair. But I think I'll use size 1 1/2 needles (2.5 mm) and only cast on 64 stitches. I'll keep you posted!

I have also re-started the No Purl Monkey socks for my MIL. I had turned the heel and was onto the foot of the sock, but it was just too small. It needed to be a UFO for a bit - until I was ready to frog an 2/3's completed sock and start over. I'm over it now, but it's never fun to frog something that far along. Anyway, it's re-started on size 1 1/2 needles and I've started the heel flap for the first sock. They are moving along nicely.

And for family news: Our family is now the proud foster family of a lovely dog named MacKenzie. We picked her up on Friday. She's an Australian Shepherd mix, approx 38 lbs and 2 years old. She's really a very mellow couch potato. (And now that we've got the worm thing under control, she's a great dog. Really, don't ask.) We are fostering her through an organization called MARS; Midwest Animal Rescue and Services. The folks at MARS seem to think she'll be adopted fairly quickly.......then we will start the process all over again!
Knit on!

Last day of Kindergarten

Today was my son's last day of Kindergarten. I made him a quick card to let him know how proud we are of him!!


I decided to use Kristina's color challenge as the starting point. When I first saw it posted on her blog, I was fairly certain that I has some older Scenic Route paper that were the right colors - and lo and behold - they are!! The stars were perfect for creating a "Super Star" card.

Stamps - Papertrey Ink Star Prints
Ink - Pumpkin Pie, Cool Caribbean, and Taken with Teal - all SU
Paper - Teal from Bazzil, Kiwi Kiss - SU, White, Star DP from Scenic Route
Accessories - Fiskars large star punch, Making Memories foam adhesive.

On the knitting front, I'm still working on my UFO's. The Green holey socks are coming along. I've turned the heel and completed the gusset. Almost done!

When those are done, I'll be frogging the socks I started for my MIL. They are a 100% cream wool that I recycled from an old sweater and dyes various shades of blue. I used size 1 needles since that was all I had available at the time. Well - they are too small. The cast on is so tight I can't get it up my calf. Poop! I placed an order with Knit Picks last week that included another set of size 1 1/2 needles. So I will frog these next and start over with the size 1 1/2's.

I also ordered lots of pretty yarn. Lots. And I picked this week to be UFO week. Double poop! At least UFO week ends on Friday.....at midnight :)

Knit on!

UFO Week - Update #1

UFO Update - Item #5 - Fetching fingerless gloves are now completed. (I'll admit, I kind of cheated. These were the easiest thing on my list, and the only one that could be completed with just a few hours of knitting. But none the less, they are now done.)


I originally started these for a friend (she didn't know), so I'm not sure if they will be mailed off, or if they will make their way into my wardrobe! Considering it didn't get above 60 F in Minneapolis yesterday, these are looking awfully tempting!

The green holey socks are moving along nicely as well. I'm almost 2/3's done with the leg!

Knit on!

UFO Week

I decided it's time for a UFO week. (UFO = Unfinished Objects) So nothing new can go on the needles this week. So here is the first UFO that is now a FO:

The Jorah sweater. (Rav link) I made some major mods to get this to fit my non-36" size. I did short row shaping for the first time to accommodate my bust. It was a partial success. I got the size I wanted, but I had to frog back a portion including the short row section and it got all goofed up. I did some duplicate stitching to tighten it up and it looks much better. Not perfect, but better. The bottom 9" is a decorative rib. And I hate ribbing, so I don't know why I chose to make this sweater!! Not to mention, it highlights my muffin top beautifully......yuck! I really like the color and overall look of the sweater, but I need to loose some weight to wear it comfortably. *sigh*

Next up in the UFO pile are my green holey socks. These are being knit on a size 0 - blech. I started out knitting with a size 2, but this yarn (Lion Brand Sock Ease) is rather thin and the fabric was just too flimsy for me. I'm not thrilled with this yarn at all, but I like the colors and I love the pattern I chose.

These are actually coming along nicely....or as nicely as something can when your knitting on size 0. First sock is done and I'm on to the leg of the second.

The items remaining in my UFO pile are:
1. Ruffled Cravat Socks
2. Gloves for Linda
3. Gloves for Kirk (made out of the same yarn as the gloves for Linda, but I'm making my own pattern. And I've never blogged about them.)
4. Socks for MIL's Birthday - I'm doing the No Purl Monkey's but they are coming out too small. I've got them on size 1 needles, but I think I'm going to frog them and re-knit them on 1 1/2's. (The link is to the Monkey Sock. The No Purl version is just that - no purling.)
5. Fetching fingerless Gloves

I'm not sure how much of a dent I can make in this pile in a week, but I figured I really shouldn't cast on anything new until I get a few of these completed.

Until later, knit on!

It's done!!

I finished my February Lady Sweater on Wednesday. Washed it, blocked it, and wore it to my knitting group on Thursday night. I'm thrilled with it.

The yarn softened quite a bit after it was washed, and the whole sweater grew quite a bit. (Nearly 1 1/2 inches for the sleeves, and about 3 inches on the body!!) Pictures to follow.......stay tuned!

ETA: Picture!! (The weathers been cruddy, so it's not a great picture - sorry!)

My FLS

It's coming along nicely. I originally started the garter stitch band for the bottom at about 18 inches. Before I cast off, I put it on waste yarn to try it on. Sooooooo glad I did......it was WAY too short. The style of this sweater looks much better long on me. So I ripped out the band and knit another 3 inches of the lace pattern. Much better :)

The color on this picture is much better than the last. It's really a very natural dark brown....think "black sheep." It is, however, VERY scratchy. I'm hoping it will be less itchy after a good soak in some wool wash. I'll mostly be wearing it with long sleeved shirts, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal if it's itchy, but I'd love it if it wasn't!

Now I'm debating how long to make the sleeves. I'm currently at just about the elbow, but I think I want it to be about mid-way down my forearm. It's the great dilemma, not too long, but not too short either!

Knit on!

The Sweater Girl....

It's done!! I'm thrilled with it. All my math worked out beautifully. I convinced Charlotte that she wanted 3/4 length sleeves. They will be better when she grows and it meant I only needed 2 balls of yarn! I picked up the buttons this morning and sewed them on. Now she won't take it off!


(Sorry the pictures are so cruddy. Like I said, she won't take it off.)

Since I enjoyed knitting this one so much, I started another one for myself! The math was *much* easier this time around!! I'm making it out of Lion Brand Fishermens Wool.Not my first choice, but I already had the yarn and I do like the color. It's coming along nicely, but not nearly as fast as the kid sized one! (Pattern here.)


(Again, not a great picture - but you get the idea.)

Knit on!

Sweater for Charlotte

I've wanted to knit a sweater for my nearly 5 year old daughter for awhile. I just couldn't find the right pattern so I finally decided to adapt an adult sized pattern to fit. The pattern I chose is the February Lady Sweater. It's a tremendously popular pattern on Ravelry, so there were tons of good hints there.

(Odd note about this pattern: It was originally designed as a baby sweater by the brilliant Elizabeth Zimmerman.)

I'm making it to be roughly a size 5T. I took Charlotte's chest measurement, added 3 inches so it will fit a bit longer, and then worked the math. I was VERY pleased that the math worked out easily and the fit seems to be perfect.

So here is the lovely Charlotte modeling the sweater still on the needles:


The lace pattern is really very simple, but I kept screwing it up. After several froggings (which didn't go very well), I decided to put a stitch marker every 7 stitches for the lace repeat. At first I felt a bit defeated, but then I decided that if it works, why not! (For the record, my track record with lace it not good.)


I'm trying to make very copious notes about all the modifications I'm making. If I decide to knit this again it will be much easier. Details on my Rav projects page for anyone interested. If you're not on Rav (and you should be, it's free!!), leave me a comment.

I'm nearly finished with the second kid proto-type mitten. I think I'll show it to Michelle before felting, then we can discuss any mods we would like to make. I should have some pictures of the completed pair soon.

Knit on!

Kid Mitten Proto-type

My friend Michelle and I are trying to develop a kid mitten pattern for felting. When you live in Minnesota, warm mittens are a must. And felted mittens have the added advantage of being mostly water-proof. (Perfect for snowball fights in case you were wondering *wink*)

So here is my first attempt - pre-felting. I based the size on my sons hand. His hand is about 2/3's the size of mine. And since items tend to shrink approximately 1/3 in felting, it was a great place to start! Here is the right mitten:

And here it is on my hand......fits perfectly.

Now if it felts the way I am expecting, it should be a great fit. I have a few problems with my design, but I plan on knitting the left mitten mostly the same (one minor tweak.) I will modify the design after I've felted these. I think I'm on the right track, just some minor modifications. And then I need to determine how to make larger ones as my kids get older.

Knit on!

I'm not late.....really!!

My sisters birthday is tomorrow. This is the card I made her yesterday, I just didn't manage to get it in the mail. Sorry Linda! I think it turned out beautiful, so does that make up for it?


Happy Birthday big sister!

Mothers Day Fun!!

My friend Kimberly gave me a stack of magnets a few months ago. (They had they 2008 calendar on them.....not too useful in 2009!) I wasn't sure what to do with them.....then I came up with these:




They are for the Grandma's from the kiddos for Mothers Day. They are an odd size - 4 x 7 - so pictures have to be cropped strangely to fit, but I think they look cute! And they are perfect for using up some of my TSR scraps.

Have a great day!

Cashmere Gloves

I asked my sister awhile back if she would like a hand knit pair of gloves. Like any appreciative sister, she said yes! So I started a pair of Knotty gloves for her using some recycled cashmere. These are gorgeous, I'm not sure if I'll be able to give them up! Thankfully I have enough yarn to make at least one more pair. This yarn is a bit thicker than the pattern lists, but it seems to be working out just fine. The glove is just a bit heavier than originally intended, but my sister lives in CO and warmer won't be a bad thing!


This is the third pair of Knotty's I've made and I just LOVE this pattern. It's fun to knit and it looks just lovely.

I'm also working on a cute top-down summer top. I'm using some Knit Picks Shine Sport in Hydrangea and Black. I finished the top section and am working on the bottom. It's a modified rib so it's pretty slow going. I actually knit short rows into the pattern! I'm pretty proud of myself - except for when I had to frog it down to the short rows because I had too much length. That pretty much screwed up the right hand side, but I'm moving forward anyway.

I've got a few other things in the works, but nothing else that I'm really working on right now. So until later, knit on!

Mothers Day

Mothers Day is coming up!! Here is the card I made for my MIL. The patterned paper piece is from a TSR kit from January. It's a lovely flocked damask from Making Memories. I hadn't used the paper yet, but I love it. You can't really feel the fuzzy on a scrapbook page since it's in page protectors, so I decided this paper would be best for cards.


Stamps are still from the $5 set I got at Jo-Ann's last week. Sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

Enjoy!

A couple cards

I've been in a stamping mood lately. Maybe because it's getting warmer and knitting is getting hotter. Anyway, here are two recent cards:

This one is from a sketch on the StampingBella blog. I really liked the sketch. I wanted to fit a sentiment on there somewhere, but I just couldn't figure out how or where!


And this one is from the Splitcoaststampers sketch challenge #226. I used some new stamps here. I don't get many new stamps anymore - I have a ton so it's hard for me to find something "new and different" enough for me to justify spending money.


This set came with 8 or 9 images and sentiments and it was 50% off, for a grand total of $5. That was a deal I just couldn't pass up. I was able to condition the stamps well enough to be able to color them with markers even. Usually stamps that are that cheap are of a quality that doesn't allow you to use markers or dye inks. I was pleasantly surprised!

I'll be back with a more knitty post in a few days.

Quick Update

I've been busy - Spring seems to do that doesn't it? My knitting, stamping, and scrapbooking seems to have taken a backseat to playing outside, riding bikes, playing hopscotch, etc. But it's ben really fun!

Here is a scrapbook page I did for a challenge at TSR. The challenge was to scraplift the person who posted above you. I lifted Paulette.

I also scrapped the pictures from DS' wrestling program last fall. He loved it - but really never learned anything about wrestling! I think we may enroll him again this fall if he want's to do it again. The color is a bit off on this picture - the cardstock is a bright orange.

I hope you all had a nice Earth Day. DS was determined to celebrate despite the extremely busy day. We went for a family walk before bedtime and picked up garbage. It was amazing how much we found. Since we found so much, we are planning a repeat performance this weekend. The retaining pond near our house probably has TONS of garbage it's collected over time, so we plan on trying to pick up as much of it as we can.

Have a great day!!

Lucky me - NOT!!

Dang - my inbox has been flooded lately with all sorts of spam. (Actually, they go to my junk box - but you know what I mean.)

I seem to be on a major lucky streak: I've been named in numerous wealthy person's wills, won several lotteries, and had numerous requests to help cash checks with no cost to me!

I know the economy is bad - I wonder how many people fall for these scams? I got 10 yesterday alone. Sheesh!

ETA - I've already gotten 10 today and it's only 3:00 in the afternoon. Crazy.

Happy April Fools Day!!

Not much to report on the knitting or crafting front. I've been in a bit of a funk lately, and the creative juices just are not flowing. I think it might be due to the crappy weather we've been having - or maybe not. Maybe I just have too many projects going right now - and none of them are getting done.

I've got a pair of mittens OTN for my mom. I made a pair for myself and I love them. They are super warm - even for a Minnesota winter. I made mine out of Lambs Pride by Brown Sheep. Michelle gave me 2 skeins of Pistachio green for giving her knitting lessons (*waving HI to Michelle*). The yarn was perfect for these mitts - it felts like a dream. Mom's are being knit out of a recycled cream worsted wool. I'll admit that cream might not be the most practical color for mittens, but since they are felted, she can wash them if they get a bit dirty. Here's a picture of the work in progress:

And a funny thing - when I was working on my pair, I showed them to my hubby. He looked at me and asked, "What are you knitting, oven mitts?" (Don't get me wrong, pre-felting, they are HUGE!)

I'm also working on another Clapotis for my MIL for Mothers Day. I was doing pretty well with it, but I've really lost momentum. I have time, so I'm not worried. I'm past the half-way mark, so that's good.

I've still got two pair of socks OTN. I finished the first sock that my friend Kate designed. I haven't cast on for the second sock though.....I really better do that or the needles will end up getting used for another project and I'll never finish the pair! Here is the completed sock from Kate's pattern. (It's a Ravelry only download, so if your not a member - sign up now!!)
The other pair has one sock complete and the second sock is almost to the heel flap. I should be able to cruise through that one once I turn the heel.

Knit on!

Fetchings for a Friend

I've started a pair of Fetching fingerless gloves for a friend. (She doesn't know they are coming her way!) I changed the pattern a bit - added an extra cable repeat at the knuckles and made the thumb a few stitches larger. I kind of like the picot bind-off at the fingers.



So, do you think she'll like them?

Happy St Patricks Day.....

.....from our family to yours.

Idea Jar

I had an IEP meeting for my son yesterday. One of his big problems is coming up with a "small moment" for writing time. He struggles with it each week. I thought that we should have an "idea jar" for him to use. The idea is to add a "small moment" topic to the jar when we think of them. Then when he gets stuck, he just chooses an idea out of the jar and off he goes. (That's the idea anyway, I just hope it works out.)

So I figured I couldn't just have a plain jar, so I decorated up an old Mason jar. Here it is!
I think it came out pretty cute. Now we'll just have to wait and see if it works.

A Layout and a General Rant

First the layout. The Scraproom challenges us every month to "Get More Pages Done", which basically means to create a layout or project using each of our 4 kits before the end of the month. There's prizes and everything :) So I already have my GMPD completed - I can't even believe it! I got the box on Monday and they are done!! So here is my favorite from the month:

This LO was created using the American Crafts Everyday line. I broke out my paints for the title and everything.

And now for the rant. I've lived in Minnesota my whole life (except for the stint in New Zealand - but I digress.) I don't complain about winter much because, well, it's Minnesota - what do I expect?? But it's March, not early March, but a full fledged Mid-March. I drove by a bank today and our temperature was 2. Seriously - that's not even counting the wind chill which is pretty darn wicked. Enough already - I get it. This is Minnesota and it can get damn cold here. But I am SICK OF IT!!! *end rant*

Hope you all are warmer than me today.