I started my baby blanket

Here it is! It's amazing how fast this blanket is going. I got this pattern from Hakucho and the pattern is even more beautiful than I had thought. I'm using Bernats satin in this and it is soo soft, just perfect for a baby!!

Did not accomplish too much else this weekend. We had my nephew over Saturday night and we took him to Chucky Cheese for dinner. Then on Sunday we had our new washer and dryer delivered. Yea!! Only ended up having to go to the laundromat once to dry clothes. Of course we ended up spending more money than we had discussed, but now laundry will be fun!! We ended up getting a front loader washer and dryer. My previous washer and dryer was 10 years old, so I feel like Im living in luxury now!! As a matter of fact, I had to run my daughter to cheering practice Sunday, and I also came down with a nasty flu or bug, so my husband did ALL the laundry yesterday!! It was amazing. I didn't ask him or anything, and he got it all done!! At least six loads of laundry!! He didn't even complain!!

Well, another busy week this week. My daughter's cheering competition is this weekend so every day will be spent preparing for that. I guess it's true about those cheerleading moms, they do as much work as the girls themselves! Between bringing them to practices, organizing team parties, booster club, getting everything they need for competitions, going to the competitions, the mother's spend just as much time on this sport as the kids. But I'll take that anyday over being at the top of one of their pyramids!!!

Oh, and today is my oldest daughter's 17th birthday. Happy Birthday Amanda!!

Monkey off my back..er... needles!

Here they are!! Finally done. I finished them off last night. I was so glad to get these done because I was dying to wear them this weekend. I have to say this is probably my most favorite pair of socks I have knit. I'm in love with the colors and the pattern is simple. After the first sock, I was able to memorize the lace pattern which made it go by quickly and was able to sit down at night and watch TV at the same time. I've decided to make these socks for my Sockret pal. I have some pretty Anne Schaefer in a pretty purple colorway that I plan on using. My pal is pregnant, so if I have any left over, I think I'll knit up a pair of booties for her baby.
















So in other news, as you can see I've gone back to my old blog. I definitely need to sit down and read all the instructions before attempting it again. Reading HTMLs to me is liking reading an equation in algebra, and I was never good in algebra!!

This weekend and upcoming week will be a busy one. Out dryer finally died this week, so tonight we are headed over the Sears to find a new washer and dryer set. We figured since they are both the same age we might as well get them both now. Sears is offering free delivery now and 10% when you buy a set. We have used Sears for appliances now for ten years and have had good luck with them.

We also have a sleepover tomorrow with my nephew and a birthday party for him on Sunday.

My youngest daughter recently joined Celebrity Cheer and her first competition is next weekend in Providence, RI. This is our first competition so I'm not really sure what to expect, but I'm sure it will be exciting. We still need to get all her gear that she needs for the competition, and she will be having very long practices this week, which means that I will be busy as well.

Well, I guess the cold weather has finally arrived here. This morning the thermometer read 7 degrees...that's cold, even without the wind chill. I guess we couldn't avoid winter forever.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Revamp in progress

Ugh, sorry for my unorganized blog. I finally made the switch to the new blogger and I'm in the process of moving everything over to the new blog. So it will be messy for a while, I can't find a lot of time to just sit down and do it all, so I'm doing it in stages. Takes me forever because I'm not a whiz on this computer jargon stuff!! But I'll get there, promise!

On the knitting front, yes the monkey socks are almost done!! I'll be wearing them this weekend!! I've got two more single socks after these to complete, but I also need to get my butt in gear and get working on the baby blanket for my cousin, and I really wanted to knit myself a scarf for winter, but I've been putting that off because it's been so warm, and guess what??? Yes winter has finally arrived in Connecticut. We even got a little snow on this ground this week, and after today, the weatherman is saying that even colder temperatures and some more snow showers are coming. That's what I get for procrastinating. Of course, my husband tells me that's what my middle name is.

I mentioned that I had started Weight Watchers on line a few weeks ago and guess what??? I've lost eight pounds so far!! I think the hardest part for me has been getting to the grocery store every week. Give me laundry or cleaning any day, but don't make me do the food shopping!! It's definitely the thing I hate to do the most!! But even with eating out Ive been making good food choices, so I'm at least proud of myself for that!

Not much knitting

Well, here it is, the first (and maybe only) snow of the year! I had to catch a picture out the kitchen door before it stopped, and it soon did after I snapped it. It was nice to see a little, even if it didn't stick.















I haven't gotten much knitting done this week, but I have been productive. This is the time of year that I like to take and scrapbook. Usually I will just bring everything out into the dining room and work on it for a week straight until I get one book done. Last year I worked on our Disney vacation scrapbook, and the year before that I had scrapbooked our honeymoon and wedding. But, when I was done I would just shove everything back where I could fit it. This didn't really work for me because I didn't know half the stuff I had and could never find anything. So, I joined a scrapbooker's challenge group on Yahoo, and they have been showing me ways to get my things organized. This is now the result:















I am so excited to get this done. It will make things so much easier. And look, I even got my yarn sorted out.






















So, like I said, I haven't got that much knitting done this week. I am almost halfway through the second monkey sock. I love the way they are coming out and the yarn is so yummy looking!!
















I decided that after Christmas knitting was done I was going to knit for myself. Well, here you go, three lone socks for me, with no matching pairs yet!! Talk about a short attention span!! My goal for the rest of the month....give these poor socks matches!! I also need to get started on my Sockret pal socks! The last package is due soon and I haven't a clue what pattern I am going to use or what sock yarn!!

Ahhh.....silence

Ahh, can you hear it?? Exactly, silence. This is my first full week of having my house back to myself during the day and it's wonderful. There's nobody sleeping late, nobody in front of the t.v., nobody bugging me about what's for lunch, or if the laundry's done, or if anything needs to be done around the house, nobody in front of the playstation. Just me, the dog and a wonderfully quiet house. I feel at peace again and the stress is leaving me!!

With that said, I've been able to get back to my knitting. Only socks though. The thought of knitting dishcloths right now doesn't appeal to me since I knit 12 for Xmas presents. But oh I missed my socks. I cast this one on last week and finished up the first sock. I used Regia silk and it's just a basic ribbed sock. I was about to start on the second when I ran into this wonderful pattern from Knitty called Monkey. I immediately cast this on my needles. I again used Regia silk and this colorway is fabulous!! It's a combination of creamsicle, olive green, raspberry, blues. The pattern seems complicated, but the eight rounds of lace pattern is very easy to memorize. And this is the first time I've done a cuff in the twisted rib and I love it!!! I started this Saturday and as of last night, I turned the heel and picked up my stitches for the gusset. I love, love, love this sock!! I don't have any pictures now, but soon! He's a shot of the first sock of my basic rib sock.

In all the going-on's over the holidays, I never got a chance to show off my second package from my Sock-ret pal. It arrived right before Xmas. The yarn is a yummy kid merino by Crystal Palace. I just fondled this yarn for days, it is so soft!! My husband didn't understand it but oh well! It is so luscious. I'm not quite sure what I will do with it yet. This yarn was actually my first attempt with my new yarn winder I got for Xmas. She also sent me a set of DPNs and two wonderful books, one on socks and one on bags. I've already got a couple bag patterns picked out that I'd like to try. She has been a wonderful pal to have, right on with everything she has sent me!! Thank you Sock-ret Pal. I can't wait to find out who you are!!

Well, my New Year's resolution this year was to get back in shape. Unfortunately, I got a nasty flu for the New Year's and only now am I beginning to feel almost back to normal. So, today I started on Weight Watchers. Ive gone to meetings before and had really good success with it, but this time I'm doing it on line so we'll see how that goes. So far so good though.

I survived the holidays

Have I really been gone that long???? First of all, I missed you all!! We had wonderful holidays, but I'm happy that everybody is back to work and school and we can get back to our routines. We spent the week before Christmas finishing up our shopping, attending Xmas band concerts, and attending my school basketball games to watch my daughter cheer. We all had the vacation the week after Xmas and was able to get everything cleaned up and put away till next year. Now, we are all suffering with colds. Right now I can barely speak!

I'm happy to report that I was able to finish all my Xmas gifts, and everyone seemed happy with them. I forgot to take pictures of "my so-called scarf" I made for my sister, and I still need to get a picture of the backpack I completed for my daughter. But here's some of the recipients and their gifts.

Here's a shot of my daughter and nephew working on their gingerbread Christmas tree. I think most of the candy ended up in his mouth!!










This last shot is Christmas morning before all the chaos got started. It amazes me still every year how much effort is put into buying gifts, wrapping and placing them under the tree, and in a mere 20 minutes, each and every present has been opened and the place resembles the aftermath of a tornado!!



















Well, after finishing up all my Christmas knitting, I didn't pick up a ball of yarn until just Tuesday. I finally started a pair of socks, and these are for myself. I've really been slacking with SAM2. So, since I've got a good stash of sock yarn right now, I'm going to work on just socks...I think. I'd also like to make myself a scarf, and my oldest daughter wants one of those skinny scarfs that are so in these days. My dad also mentioned that he was really hoping to get a pair of socks for Christmas. So, looks like I'll be making him a pair too!

I also just found out over the holidays that my cousin's daughter is expecting a baby this June. I just mentioned to my mom and sister a few weeks ago that I wish there were more babies in the family because since I've started knitting, I've been wanting to make some baby things. So now's my chance. I've been looking for a cute afghan to start and it would be nice to make a layette set too, but I'll have to see first how the afghan goes. Her mom had made me a beautiful handmade bunny quilt for my daughter when she was born, so I'd like to make something special for her.

Not knitting related, I got the most awesome Xmas present from my husband. If there are any scrapbookers out there, you'll probably appreciate this. He got me the new Cricut electronic cutter!!! What it is basically is a super duper die cut machine. Even though the machine was expensive and the cartridges are also expensive, I definitely think in the long run it will be worth it. With one cartridge, there are endless possibilities!! any size, any shape. I'm really looking forward to trying it out, but just have not had the time.