Irene's Dress

I finished the Perfect Sundress from Lion Brand Yarn for Irene. I made the size 4 dress since she has a long torso and needs a size larger in dresses. I used three balls of Lion Brand Cotton-Ease. The main color is Seaspray and the accent color is Terracotta.

She loves the pockets! She wore the dress to school and the teacher complimented her on it.

I found cute butterfly tights that had colors from the dress. I like making dresses and sweaters for the kids. I need to find some more patterns :-)

Felted Little Black Clutch

For my sister-in-law's birthday I decided to make her the Little Black Clutch from Pretty Little Knit Stitches. I've never knitted and then felted a piece before and wasn't sure what to expect. The actual knitting of the piece was fun and I loved how it looked like a purse. Plus, I used the Kitchener stitch to seam it and I've never done that before either. I used a black worsted weight wool yarn from Plymouth Yarn and used two strands held together.

My husband was kind enough to help me felt it. I think he was kind of excited to see what would happen. It did take longer for it to felt then what the pattern said, but I think that no matter what, with felting, your time will vary.

I added a bee to the purse for a little extra flair. It has black and clear crystals. With this purse you can add just about anything to it. One example and a blue ribbon around it which made a very cute bag. Oh! Almost forgot, the Little Black Clutch pattern is available in two sizes. I made the wider but shorter version. There is also a longer, narrower version. I am thinking of making that for myself, possibly in a grey wool.

This pattern is also available on Ravelry and is a free download!

A closer view of the bee. I love it! It took me awhile to find something I liked and that I thought my sis-in-law would like too.

Thanksgiving

Dutch Girls Knitting

(free picture from Internet)

I love old pictures of people. I just want to know who they were and what their lives were like. I wish there was a way to find out about them. Unfortunately, I suspect most pictures will have a story made up by myself.

I have not been knitting much in the last two weeks. I've been knocked down by a cold with a nasty cough and on Sunday I got hit with a nasty stomach bug. Today I am feeling better but still not great. We are leaving tomorrow to go to my older brother's for Thanksgiving. I'm taking some knitting with me but my plan to have all three kids wearing their Seed Stitch Cardigans will not happen. Henry's and Irene's still need buttons and I've only just started the sleeves on Gavin's. Oh well, not much I can do.

I joined a swap group on Ravelry. The group is called Speedy Swappers. They have multiple swaps going on. I joined the Holiday Card swap. It is a less expensive swap since money is pretty much non-existent around here. We get assigned a person and we make up a box for them. In this swap we are to include a holiday card, holiday recipe, ornament, and notions (measuring tape, stitch markers, etc). The total amount to spend is between $15-$20. We can add more to our boxes if we choose. I have some ideas for a couple of extra things I'd like to include. I'm actually excited about the swap and I hope that my box pleases my partner. Can't wait to see what I get ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!!!

Knitting Away My Stress

I knitted winter hats for Henry and Irene. It was a simple pattern from the Lion Brand Yarn website. It calls for Hometown USA yarn which is what I used for Irene's hat. The color is New Orleans French Berry. I love it and it matches her winter jacket quite nicely.Henry hat is the same pattern but I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky in grass green. The color matches the color of the inside of the hood and jacket.

I also made a birthday present for my brother, Matt. A simple scarf in a knit 2, purl 2 rib. I used Country Looms Loops and Threads yarn from Michael's. The yarn is very soft and I liked it. I just wish they had a website that had patterns for the yarn.
I am also working on a birthday gift for my sister-in-law. It involves felting, which I have not done before. The piece is knitted and I am quite pleased with it....I just haven't done the felting bit yet. I am also working on what I call an endless shawl. It was suppose to use two balls of Lion Brand Homespun. Of course, I used a different Lion Brand yarn and ended up running out of yarn two rows before then end. I bought another ball and then decided to lengthen the shawl. To do this I had to make sure the total stitch count was divisible by 3 which meant adding and additional 21 rows. Yes, 21 rows. That is because the pattern is 7 rows long. Yeah....I thought I was going to be done only to discover I don't have enough yarn again. I'm debating getting more. At this point I may frog it all and knit my husband a hat and scarf from the yarn.

As always, I am missing my mother like crazy. I feel very, very tired all the time. Life is rather messed up here right now. Keep calm and knit on.

Two Down, One To Go

I finished Henry's cardigan. It is the same pattern as Irene's. The pattern is the seed stitch cardigan from Lion Brand Yarn. It is knit using cotton-ease yarn.

The seaming I had to do myself without help from my mom :-( The shoulders seems are pretty good but the rest of the seems are not that great.

I am proud of it though. I'm pleased to have it done. Next up will be the cardigan for Gavin. Right now I am working on a scarf for my older brother (his birthday gift) and a jumper/dress for Irene.

A Lone Sock

My wonderful mother passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly on August 15th. Since then life has been...well, it's just been. My mother was my knitting guide. My grandma first taught me to knit but it was my mother that got my projects finished. She helped pick up stitches and she helped sew together the pieces. Without her I'm learning how to do these things without help. Basically, without her, I am learning to go on...alone. I miss her desperately. Awhile ago I wanted to knit socks. I had a simple pattern. My mom got me started on double pointed needles. Then she kind of took over the project. She ended up knitting the sock herself, not because I couldn't but she wanted to try the pattern. Great...except the finished sock was about 2 1/2 inches too long! Oh the laughs we had over that! She was going to shorten it as well as make the match. Unfortunately, she never got to.

So, now I have a lone sock. And a great memory that makes me smile. I'll keep this darn sock forever.

Summertime Knitting

I finished Gavin's blanket back in June (I think!). It turned out beautifully and Henry and Irene want one now. They are easy to do but kinda tedious. Irene covered up with it one day while on the chair. It is super soft and made using 3 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun. The color of this one is waterfall.

My current project is making cardigans for all three kids. I am using the pattern from the Lion Brand Yarn website called the Seed Stitch Cardigan. It is easy and fast and looks great! I finished Irene's except for the buttons. We are going to go button shopping for special buttons soon. The cardigans are made with Lion Brand Cotton Ease yarn. Soft and smooth and also lightweight enough for fall/spring. I have the back finished on Henry's and working the sleeves.

Lion Brand also have a jumper that is made with the same yarn that I'd like to make for Irene. It looks fairly easy and fast. I just need to get motivated...and find another 10-15 hours per day!

A Few Baby Gifts

I made a little hat and two sets of booties for my friend Shannon's baby girl. Samantha made her amazing and fast entry into the world at the end of May. She is a beauty and I was lucky enough to meet her when she wasn't even a full day old.

I also made a hat and bootie set for my friend Dave. His wife was due around the same time as Shannon. She had the baby at the beginning of June. So many friends having babies at the same time!

I am taking a break from baby things and am knitting a shawl for myself. The shawl is not elaborate by I love the color of the yarn. I also have some sweaters I'd like to do for the kids.

The things that knit us together...

What's this? Well it is a baby blanket I am currently knitting from yarn that I have had for almost 12 years. The yarn is Lion Brand Homespun in the color Waterfall. I have quite a bit of this yarn and have never done anything with it. Originally, it was purchased to crochet a sweater for Mark's mom. I soon discovered that I did not like to crochet and never finished the sweater and never used the yarn.

I am using a free pattern from the Lion Brand Yarn site. The blanket is made on the diagonal. Each row there is a yarn over which increases the total number of stitches as well as making a pretty little design. Now that I've reached 126 stitches I am doing the decrease rows. I hope to finish this soon.

I am rather fond of Lion Brand Homespun. I know it isn't "pure" and all that but I love how it feels and looks, so warm and cozy and comforting. There is a color out right now called Florida Keys that I love. It's a gorgeous green color. One of these days I will spend the money for 4 skeins of it and knit myself a shawl.

I am knitting my sister-in-law a scarf for her birthday. Her birthday has already passed but I was short of funds right before it and couldn't buy the yarn. I picked out a lovely cotton/silk blend that will make a great spring/summer/fall scarf. The yarn is Somerset 85% pima cotton 15% silk by Plymouth Yarn. I cannot remember what color this is but I thought this was a great neutral color that will go great with jeans. My sister-in-law especially likes magenta but I couldn't find that color.

I've had this pattern for a while. I found it online and thought it'd make a pretty scarf. Then I started it...and hated it. I've worked on it for a week and the longer I worked on it the more I disliked it. Last night I ripped it completely out and started with another pattern that I found on ravelry.

Here is the new pattern. It is going much faster too and I love the way it looks.

I admit that it is a little heavier looking than the other one but I like it and am willing to give it as a gift.

In other knitting news...

I've given up on making baby booties for my friend Shannon. I tried three times and each time there would be a major mess up somewhere in it. Plus I hated the yarn. Hated it. I feel bad about not finishing the gift for her but she got a lot of baby socks so I'm not afraid of her feet freezing. I did make her a sweet baby bonnet and one of the knitted bunnies.

I've also started my first sock ever! My mom had to start it over for me because I misread the pattern but it is officially started. I'll keep ya posted on how it goes. Expect some cursing ;-)

I finally made it to the knitting group. I can't remember if I've written about it before, but a mother from my MOPS group has knitters and crocheters over once a week. We all bring our kids and they play while we knit and talk. Unfortunately I didn't make it this week since Irene was having a bad day and needed a nap and Gavin suddenly developed a rash.

Last week everyone loved my knitting bag and asked if I made it. I did not. In fact, it was a gift from my dad one Christmas probably ten years ago. Does anyone remember Monica Lewinsky?

How about the knitting bags she was making and selling? Yes, this is a "Monica" bag. Made especially for me by Monica...or so the tag says. It is actually a nice bag and I've used for many things including a diaper bag.

Does she even make these anymore?

This is a craptastic picture of the tag. My camera quit focusing so I don't have a clear picture but that is the tag that states "Made especially for you by MONICA"

Hip Hop!

This little bunny buddy was knitted for a fellow MOPS mom's daughter. The little girl is only just over a year old and she pulled a hot cup of tea onto herself. Her arm and torso were burnt. She spent a day at the burn unit at Devos but was lucky enough to come home the next day. Thankfully she is doing very well. The kids and I wanted to send her a little something to help get her through the treatments. This bunny seemed the perfect idea. Of course my kiddies want their own now. Henry's is finished and looks similar to this one but Irene demands that hers be pink. Oh well...more knitting on the pile. I have to finish those darn baby booties. I have less than three weeks! They have just been kicking my butt. I had to completely rip back the one I had started.
The good news is that I have been invited to join a knitting group that meets on Tuesday. Tomorrow will be my first time going. The kids get to come with me so I don't have to worry about finding child care.

The bunny is made with Lion Brand Homespun yarn in waterfall (i think). I have had at least 5 skeins of this yarn for over 10 years. The past few weeks have been short of funds so when I needed yarn I thought I was going to be out of luck, until I remembered I had this stuffed in a bin. I am also making a child size blanket with it. Lion Brand had a simple pattern for homespun yarn at their website. I've been enjoying the yarn and finally using it. It is so soft and such a pretty mix of color. I'll post more pictures of my projects soon!

Baby Hats and Booties

I recently had a friend deliver her baby girl a month early. The baby is fine but I was in a rush to finish this hat and bootie set for her. I had already made her a different hat and bootie set that I gave to her last summer but I wanted to do another. Plus I like this hat. I made one for Gavin in blue and it fits great and is the perfect weight for cooler weather. The fuzzy/furry thing is an Angel Baby headband. It's actually really cute on. I made one for Irene to wear at Easter in matching colors from her Easter dress.

I also made this same hat and bootie set and headband for my friend Kelly. She is also expecting a girl in about 12 weeks. I just got a lovely thank you card from her in the mail.

I'm working on a baby bonnet and booties for Shannon. After that I want to make a shawl for myself. I found a beautiful green/seafoam green colored yarn at the variety store in town. I love, LOVE the color. They only had two balls in that color and at the moment I don't have the money to get them. I plan to make a basic wrap type of shawl in that color and it will be for memememe!!!!!!! Sorry, got sidetracked by the yarn ;-)

Knitted With Love

This baby blanket I knitted for my friend Shannon. She is expecting her first baby, a girl, in May. This blanket started off easy. I liked the pattern and it was fun to knit. Then I put it down and knitted a hat and bootie set for a friend that had her baby girl a month early. Then when I was finished with that I decided to do another set (since I was on a roll) for another friend who is also expecting a girl. Whew! I decided to take a two day break. Bad idea. I had put the blanket down for so long I forgot where I was in the pattern and ended up having to rip back three rows. I did this while riding in the car to my brother's for Easter.

At my brother's I had no time to knit and so I ended up taking another, this time unintentional, break. Monday through Friday I knitted whenever I could between kids, feedings, school, etc. I admit that at the beginning of the week I wasn't to concerned, I figured I had plenty of time. On Saturday I skipped my morning coffee in order to knit. Mark took over feeding the children and I even downloaded a stopwatch application for my phone so I could time how long it took me to do a row. It took roughly 5 minutes per row. 8 rows per pattern. 1 inch per pattern section so 40 minutes to do one section. I figured it would take about four more hours on Saturday to finish. This was around 2pm when I did all that...I finished at 8:40pm. This blanket gave me one last slap before giving in. Three rows into the ribbing three sections started making a design that was not suppose to be there! I had to rip back again. Ugh.

I think the biggest problem in this was me. I was so worried about getting it done that I went too fast and didn't pay attention. In the end I prevailed and on Sunday the finished blanket went to the baby shower with me :-)

Another Skull and Crossbones?

I've been lazy about posting but I've also been knitting like crazy. And yes, I did just knit another Skull Illusion Scarf. Why? Because I am a dumba$$. First let me say that I was not completely thrilled with the first one I did. I only repeated the pattern twice then worked a ways in garter stitch while still alternating colors every two rows. While the garter stitch design would have worked on its own for a scarf I did not care for it withe the skull design. Plus I then had to knit the pattern "upside down" after the garter stitching so the skull would be facing the right way on the other end. Confusing? Yeah, so was my scarf.

Being lazy and yet still pleased with myself for finishing the scarf I decided not to start over. I planned to steam the scarf so it would lay flat. I put it on the ironing board and...proceeded to iron it. IRON it...not STEAM it. Yeah, the pattern went bye bye. Right now my official story is that subconsciously I knew I was unhappy with the scarf and so my subconscious just fixed the problem for me. I went on to try a couple of things to try and fix the ironing mess up. Let's just say the scarf ended with the velcro of two baby bibs stuck to it. And when pulled off it fuzzed up the yarn. Needless to say...I was going to be knitting a new scarf!

The new scarf gave me no end of troubles. I ran out of yarn and had to dissect the ruined scarf for yarn, this at 11:30 at night. Plus I made endless counting errors. And I needed to have finished it 5 days ago! Ugh.

I am not posting a picture of the new one. It the pattern looks just like the old one. Besides I am still being lazy and I don't want to get up to take the picture. Although to be fair, I am feeding the baby as I type this so I would be disturbing him as well.

My next project is a baby blanket that I should have started 5 days ago. I wanted to give myself a month to knit it (friend's baby shower is now less than a month away!).

And that is my knitting saga!

I Did It!!!!

Yes, I did! Despite having caught the children's icky, nasty cold, and feeling like I would like to sleep for a year, I have finished the Skull Illusion Scarf. Therefore I have competed and finished the Knitting Olympics in the allotted time. I'd like to consider myself a gold medalist.

A Little Knitting Help

A couple of weeks ago we were in Grand Rapids. My husband was about to go back on the road but we had some extra time before he had to leave so we went to the mall. At Barnes and Noble I found this knitting help and project pack. It was originally priced at $22.95. I got it for $6.95!

Inside is 25 knitting projects, a book of instructions, plus a blunt end needle. I am thrilled with this purchase! It has a baby blanket pattern that is going to be my neck project after the Knitting Olympics is over. My friend will be having a baby in less than 15 weeks so I will have to move fast!

When I was at the counter buying this the saleswoman asked me if I knitted. I said I did and she told me about the knitting group that was meeting that night at the bookstore. They meet every other Tuesday night. Oh, how I wished I could have joined them! Unfortunately, living two hours away prohibits that.

A Scarf For Me

I decided to knit a scarf for myself. It picked out Vanna's Choice for Lion Brand Yarn in seaspray mist. Green is a favorite color of mine and this lovely shade made me think of spring.

I used the pattern from Yarn Harlot. I found the pattern rather easy which is great since I do not have anyone helping me with my projects anymore. I cast on 42 stitches instead of the 26 the pattern calls for. My scarf turned out wide and I love it that way. I got the chance to wear it out while it was snowing. It keep my neck warm and snow free!

A picture of me wearing my lovely scarf...my hair is so frizzy in this pic!