Another Christmas Present Complete!!

I'm done!!! TADA!! I think this turned out super cute. I can't wait to see it on my nephew. I followed the pattern to a T, except that I decided not to put the faces on the mittens. I just felt like it would be too busy. The mittens are so small and I think that the stripes make them cute enough. I got this pattern from Vogue Knit Simple Fall 2006 addition. Since he is a very active 2 year old boy, I went with something that could be washed. I used Red Heart Soft Yarn in a honey and tangerine. Because I made this for a boy, I didn't go with the bright colors suggested, I decided to tone them down a little. This was super easy to knit. I don't crochet, but I was able to muddle through the chain stitches for the tail and horns. I remember now why I don't make a lot of scarfs, I can be kind of monotonous at times.

I've also started a back pack for my daughter. I found this pattern at Knitty.com . I think this will be perfect for her because she doesn't like to carry a heavy backpack to school with her, and pink is her favorite color!! She did mention that she didn't like the flower on it, so I left that out. Hoping to have this done by the end of the weekend!!










Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. We had a nice dinner with the whole family, all 40 of us!! And of course we ate too much. My husband and I actually got some Xmas shopping done on Black Friday!! We didn't get up for when the stores opened, so we missed out on a couple of deals, but we did good! My husband actually has them wrapped already!!!

My busy weekend

Okay, let me just say right off the bat, I don't have any knitting pictures to show. But I did get some done. I know have hat and mittens completed on the giraffe set, after having to frog the second mitten, because I discovered I had made two right hands. I also ended up frogging my so-called scarf twice, because my gauge is varying so much. The beginning rows are so much tighter. So that has yet to be begun again. I also started a felted back pack for one of my daughters, but I can only work on that when she is gone.

Okay, onto the fun stuff:

My youngest daughter is in the band at school. They were asked to play the Star Spangled Banner at the high school football game Friday night. Here she is playing the clarinet. This is her first year in band, and I am so proud of her. She has really practiced hard.














Well, this was also homecoming weekend. My daughter is a junior at the high school and she and her friends decided to all go together (much to my delight...I'm not ready for the dating yet). This isn't a great picture, but she really looked beautiful.

So we made it through the weekend. Phew. But then Monday morning before 8, I get a call from the school. "It's not an emergency, but....". That already makes me nervous. Apparently, a boy ran into my daughter and stepped on her foot. She was wearing flip flops (don't ask me why!), and the boy's shoe somehow lifted the toenail off my daughter's big toe. Yea, yuck. So, we ended up taking her to the emergency room, where the doctor had to take the rest of the nail off, since it was in half and hanging. Now, my daughter does not like needles, and they have to shoot her toe up with lidocaine, but even with that, it was very painful. She was a real trooper. So here she is now with her foot and and the rest of the week off from school.

And lastly, my nephew turned 2 yesterday, so we had a birthday party for him last night. Here is is with my youngest daughter enjoying his cake.

I had knit him a pair of socks for his birthday (don't worry, I got him toys too!). It's hard to get a 2 year old to sit still when he's pumped up on cake and surrounded by new toys, but here he is with them on. They fit perfect!

Progress on my giraffe hat

Well, here it is so far. I am really liking the way this is turning out. I found this pattern in the Simply Knitting Fall 2006 magazine. I've still got to make the horns and the tail for the top of the hat. The pattern calls for using buttons as eyes, but my nephew is 2 years old, and I don't think that a good idea, so I's still working on what to use for the eyes. The head gets sewn on and then filled with some fiberfill. I started on the mittens last night which are basically the same with giraffe heads on the top of the mittens. There is also a scarf to go along with it. I decided to go with Red Heart soft yarn because I know these will need to be washed at some point with a 2 year old boy. I decided to go with muted colors of yellow and oranges (these are tangerine and honey), because I am making these for a boy.

Branching Out --- Done!! (and some doggy pictures too!)

Well, here it is, finally finished!!. I blocked it this weekend. Now it's already to give to my mom for Christmas. Yea, one present done!! Thanks to all of you for the wonderful compliments you gave me on my last post!! I love yall!!

Next on my list, my so-called scarf and giraffe inspired hat, scarf and mitten set for my nephew, all Xmas presents!

Here's my baby, all snuggled up for a rainy day of napping. . . Quite the life.










My ideal lace knitting conditions:

I found that I did better knitting with no one else disturbing me. I was able to have the t.v. on in the background, but as long as no one was interrupting me, I could keep track of my stitch repeats. I read the pattern from the written instructions because it was a simple one, but I enlarged the copy so that I could read it easily and it also helps me to keep a post-it note below the line that I am working on. And of course like the rest of my knitting, I positioned myself in the corner of my comfy couch!

Knitter's coffee swap questions

Here's my answers for the questionnaire to the Knitters Coffee Swap I joined:

1. Whole bean or ground? Ground
2. Fully-loaded or decaf? Fully loaded absolutely!
3. Regular or flavored? Both!
4. How do you drink your coffee? With just cream.
5. Favorite coffee ever? Favorite flavor is hazelnut. Favorite brand is Starbucks.
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? Not too fussy, as long as it's fresh!
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? Definitely Biscotti, but also pastries and baked goods also.
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? I love to try new flavors!
9. Yarn/fiber you love? Im loving Patons SWS right now, but I love anything soft.
10. Yarn/fiber you hate? Novelty and scratchy yarns.
11. What's on your needles? My so-called scarf in Paton SWS, and a giraffe inspired scarf/hat/mitten set for my nephew for Christmas.
12. Favorite colors? purple, pinks, sage green, earth tones
13. Allergies? None.
14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest?
I'm not really a fussy person. I am always open to trying new things, so don't be afraid that I'm not going to like it!!

My progress this week

Well, I've been plugging along on my Branching Out scarf. I'm having a lot of fun doing this, and should finish by the end of the week. I have about 9 more repeats to complete. I'm excited to see it after blocking.

I've also got a few dishcloths to show off. I just finished the November KAL for Monthly Dishcloths which was a turkey. I also knit up the breast awareness cloth last month, and I've got a really pretty pattern here by Danielle Cote. I just need to block these a bit. I've got a couple more dishcloths to get down this week for two dishcloth exchanges that I'm involved in this month.

And here's the first of my Dublin Bay socks completed. I usually work on my socks at night while watching t.v. because I can memorize the pattern and so I don't have to be back and forth between the pattern and sock. Well obviously, I wasn't paying close enough attention, because when I started the foot, I had 2 #1 needles and 1 #2 needle. I was so mindless about the pattern that I didn't even notice until I was almost ready to start the toe. Duh. If you look closely, use can see exactly where the #2 needle was used. But fortunately, these socks are for me, and I don't this it is as noticeable when it's on my foot. I've learned my lesson though....don't leave all your needles laying around in a basket!!

Answers to some questions

Well, the new KAL I'm involved with this month, Lacevember, is having another contest this week, and the following questions were asked:

The knitting questions, or the usual suspects:
How long have you been knitting? Almost two years now.
How did you learn to knit? Believe it or not, my oldest daughter got me started. My mom had taught her the basics, then she taught me, and then the rest I learned on-line with tutorials.
Favorite thing about knitting? All the possibilities. I'm always learning something new, using new techniques, new yarns, it's just endless. There are always new thing to create with knitting.
How long have you been knitting lace? Well, I have knit some lace socks in the past, but this is my first real "lace" project, so about a week.
Favorite thing about knitting lace. It amazes me what can be created with a few yarnovers and decreases.

The yarn questions, or flash your stash:
Favorite lace yarn? This is my first and I am using Elsebeth Lavold and love it.
variegated or solids for shawls? I have not knit a shawl yet, but would love to do one in a variegated.
Favorite lace color? I am drawn to the delicate muted understated colors that seem to really make the lace pattern stand out.

Technique, or show us your skillz:
Circs or straights? Im using straight bamboo on my branching out and is working well.
Favorite lace knitting trick? Haven't got any yet!
Lifelines? Haven't used any yet
If so with what?
Fancy blocking wires, or just sewing pins stuck in your carpet? I think I will be using blocking pins.
Pattern, or can you follow directions:
shawls or lacey items? Scarf is my first lace project, but would love to do a shawl.
triangle, rectangle, or circular shawls? I love the triangle shawls.
Charts or printed instructions? Printed instructions.
Favorite lace you've knit? I've only worked on Branching Out.
Favorite lace you want to knit? Not sure yet.

Just Fun, yup that's right, just for fun:
Favorite jelly belly flavor? Pina Colada
Tell me everything you know about Eric the Red..... He has red hair??
Coke, classic or with lime? Classic, with a lemon wedge
Holiday carols, sing along, or wish they would be banned from all public airwaves? Sing a long of course!
What is the definition of irony? Sarcasm
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop? One, two, three, crunch!
Why is my cat always puking in front of my son's bedroom door? Hmm, don't know how old he is, but based on my kid's rooms, may be his way of sectioning it off as a disaster area.
What is your superhero power? Reading minds.
If the laundry is 9 foot by 11 foot (just dreaming, that's a big laundry room), and the walls are 8 feet tall, and you are going to tile the entire room in tiles that are 3 inches by 5 inches, what color should those tiles be? Mocha and beige.
What's for dinner tonight? Whatever my husband cooks.
What is clogging my children's bathtub drain? I think that's better left unknown.

I'm also participating in Knitters' Coffee Swap, and Catherine asked the following questions:

What are you knitting now? On the needles at the moment are my Branching Out scarf, and also working on my second Dublin Bay sock. I've got a dishcloth on the needles also.
What yarns are you coveting? I'm using Elsebeth Lovold on my scarf and I'm enjoying working with that. Also, I recently discovered Paton SWS, and love it. I'm planning on using that to knit "My so-called Scarf" for a Xmas present.
What's your favorite yarn and why? I can't really say that I have a favorite, just anything soft. I do like Noro Kureoyon though.
What's your favorite yarn store and why? I've been trying a lot of online stores recently since there are no closeby LYS's near me. I've used WEBS and Knitpicks and have had good luck using them, I also recently bought some Cherry Hill and Anne Schaefer recently from Little Knits.

Yes, I have a new addiction

Well, here it is. Yes, that's lace. I've been working on socks so much lately that I haven't really had time to work on anything else. I've been admiring this scarf for so long, but procrastinated, not sure I could do it. Well along came Lacevember and I decided it was time to give it a try. I ordered my yarn from WEBS, got it in the mail yesterday, and cast on last night!! I'm so in love with this. The yarn is a pretty teal color, and this will be a Christmas present for my mom. I know this is not going to be the last one I make. Actually, there's another lace pattern scarf that I was looking out before deciding on this one, and I might just make that my second lace project. This is the progress I made after just one night of knitting!









I've actually made quite a bit of progress on my new sock, the Dublin Bay sock, using my Sock-ret pal give of Gems Pearl in "pink panther". This is 100% Merino wool and it is so soft and wonderful to knit with. I'm working on the heel right now.

And here are some new pictures of my sweeties!!! As you can see, Josie doesn't like to fool around when it comes to getting in the house. When it's cold, she goes outside, does her business and wants to be let right in. So me taking a picture of her is slowing down the process of me opening that door for her and she just wants me to stop!!


And here's Daisy checking out the camera and wondering if it's actually something she can eat! They've been spending more time inside their hutch now that the weather has started to turn, but we've had a mild week here in New England this week after the big wind storm this weekend, and they have been taking advantage of the warm sun this week.