SCORE!!!

In my post below, I mentioned that my sister gave me a $25 Gift Card to JoAnns. I have been wanting a ball winder for quite some time now. I was looking around for online coupon codes for JoAnns, and I found a 50% off one. I feel so sneaky, but that 50% off coupon code + $25 Gift card = a ball winder for me, for only $10!! The regular price for the ball winder was $50, so I only had to pay for Shipping and tax. Now, If only I could get a yarn Swift that cheap......Hey, I can dream, can't I?

YAY!!!!!! Christmas is OVER!!!

Ohh, man, I am so glad Christmas is over. I love the Holidays for my kids, but I have to admit, if it weren't for them, I wouldn't put up the decorations, or a tree AT ALL. I try to make it a great day for them. I love seeing how happy they get. But, Dammit, the Holidays are a HUGE PAIN IN MY ASS! I do sincerely hope everyone had a great Christmas, but I'm absolutely sure that I'm not the only one doing a happy dance now that it's over.

Everyone that I gave hand made gifts to, seemed to genuinely love them. One of the best things about being a crafter is seeing the smiles on peoples faces when they recieve their knitted gift. But I have to say, the absolute BEST responce I got was when my BIL opened up a tin of candy that I made for him. He really lit up at seeing all that chocolate! It made my day.



As for what I recieved, I LOVE! My Mom got me a set of Denise Interchangables (plus a few other non crafty things I asked for), my sister got me a gift card to JoAnns, and my best friend gave me a rolling knitting tote.

Laney Blankie & Misc. Crap

I Finished the blanket for my niece, Laney, last night. In the pic, it's hanging over the back of my couch, so it looks a little distorted.

The blanket for my niece, Morgan, is almost finished. I want to do 2 more pattern repeats and then do the top 4 rows in garter stitch and then I'll be able to bind off and finish it.

The pair of socks for my best friend, Sarah, aren't done yet. I'm tempted to be a smartass and give her the finished sock for Christmas, and the second sock on her birthday...lol. Her birthday is January Second, so she wouldn't be waiting long.

I'm supposed to be getting some laundry done, but I can't. I think I broke my washer when I felted my lopi tote. I know the pillowcase came open during the cycle, but it couldn't have been open for more than a minute. The damn washer has been leaking water all over the place ever since. Today, I get to stay home and play with the kids while I wait for the Maintenance Dude to come out to take a look at my washer. And, did you know that when it rains, it pours? The light blew in the bathroom so now we must pee in the dark until I can get a new bulb, and this morning I slipped on a patch of ice while taking a bag of garbage out and I twisted my ankle.

I wonder what else will happen today?

I really should be working on something else

Like, oh, I don't know, maybe MY CHRISTMAS GIFTS? I still have 3 to finish, but thanks to Crazy Aunt Purl , I HAD to start a scarf like hers. I have 2 rows of loop stitch for a funky fringe at the end, and I'm doing the body using drop stitch. I know, I know, I'm a copy cat, a sheep jumping on the CAP bandwagon, but damnit, the hidden high school geek in me wants to be in the IN crowd. Is that so bad? LMAO The pic is what I have done so far this morning. I'm using some leftover TLC Amore (leftovers from my crocheted shawl) and size US 9 circs.

I forgot to mention, I'm doing a variation of drop stitch for this scarf. I'm only going to do a knit row every 10 inches, instead of after every row as in typical drop stitch. I'm going for a funky look.

I felted it

it's blocking now, but I'm done with the lopi tote! Except it's not really a lopi tote, as I didn't use lopi to make it with. I used Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride Bulky in the color Wild Violet. And, yes, it is sitting on a (clean) cloth diaper in the pic. It's still wet and I took it off it's drying hook for the pic, but I didn't want the fabric on my ottoman to get wet. I have it stuffed full with plastic grocery bags until it's done.

Christmas FO's

Well, here's a pic of the Christmas Gifts I have finished so far. The red bag in the back is a Sophie bag for my sister, Dawn. The Blue one is for my sister Jammie, the dishcloths are for my aunt (I didn't realize until I inserted the pic that the round one is showing the wrong side) , the pink & white is a scarf and hat set for my niece Justice, the larger socks are for my mom, and the small socks are for DD. I'm not knitting any presents for my 2 sons, they already (just) got their Christmas present, they got new Bunk Beds.

I also have a very cute story to share. My Niece, Laney, is about 1 1/2 yrs old. She was looking out the window the other day, all excited by the snow, and she was yelling "BUBBLES!!!! BUBBLES!!!" (calling snow bubbles) So, now along with the afghan I'm crocheting for her, I'm going to put a bottle of bubbles in the box, too.

Back to our regularly scheduled knitting madness....

since I no longer have a deadline for my peacock feathers shawl , I have returned to Christmas knitting. I'll apologize now for the dark pictures.

First up, we have the blanket I'm crocheting for my niece Laney. It's just about 1/2 done, and since I'm crocheting it, it'll be really quick to finish.

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Here we have a bag I've knitted for me. I used the Lopi Tote pattern and Lambs Pride Bulky in Wild Violet. I still need to felt it, but I'm already in love.

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And, Finally here we have what I have knitted so far for the baby blanket I'm knitting for my niece, Morgan. It's just over 3/4 finished.

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I didn't take a picture of it, but I'm about 2 inches into sock 2 in the pair I'm knitting for my best friends Christmas present.
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And what do I have finished and ready to go?

1. Hat & Scarf Set for my niece Justice
2. Sophie bag for my sister Dawn
3. Sophie bag for my sister Jammie
4. Socks for my mom
5. Six knitted dishcloths for my aunt
6. Socks for DD

I couldn't do it

But at least I can say I gave it a valiant effort. Last night, I finally let it sink in that I would not be able to finish my shawl in time for tonight's party. Out of 250 rows, I have 184 completed. Oh well, this just means I can do some last minute shopping this afternoon and buy a wrap.

Two weeks...

I've been working on the Shawl for two weeks now. I have 152 rows finished! That means that I have only 98 left to do! I think I really can finish this in time. It was difficult to get a decent pic of what I have so far, because I have it scrunched up, working on a Circ & I had to stretch it out so you could see the pattern. I had to have my 6 year old help hold it for the pic again.

One Week In......

WooHoo! I just finished row 92 last night. It's starting to get big. I had to have my 6 year old, Andrew, help me hold a side down so I could get a decent pic. That's his finger in the upper right corner. 92 rows down, 158 to go. (plus crochet border)

I started it

The Kit for the Peacock Feathers Shawl arrived yesterday. 24 Hours later, I'm ready to start row57. So far, so good. Especially considering I'm busy chasing my 3 kids around all day. I am absolutely in love with the yarn that came with the kit, It is SOOOO soft. I was fondling it last night and DH looked at me and told me to stop loving on the yarn...lol The Pattern for this shawl is very well written/charted, and easy to follow. I already have plans to order the Lacy Lattice Stole kit when all of my holiday knitting is done and I get another chance to splurge.

I also recently splurged and bought some Cherry Tree Hill Supersock yarn, and some Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Bulky, from Kaleidoscope yarns. I am definitely going to order from them again. I put in the order this past Thursday (11/17) and it arrived yesterday (11/21). Fast shipping is always a MAJOR plus with me.

As for an update on my Holiday Projects, I am several rows into the second sock for my best friend, I am now 2/3 done with the pink baby blanket for my niece Morgan, and I am just over 1/4 done with the afghan for my niece Laney(this one is crocheted so it'll go REALLY fast). I haven't worked on the Irish Hiking scarf (for BIL) lately, and everyone else's knitted/crocheted gifts are done!

hehehehehe........ the spell check on this thing wanted to replace BIL with the word bile. I shouldn't find that this funny, should I? LMAO

I Finished DD's sweater and Hat

Finished, Finally! I tried it on Hannah earlier this morning before her nap, and it fits perfectly. This is the great thing about making clothing, you get a custom, perfect fit!
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Here's the hat I made to match the sweater. I used the Umbilical Cord Pattern from Stitch & Bitch.

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I also finished my second rectangle for the blanket that the Sybermoms Craft Forum is putting togather, and I'm making a HUGE push to get as much finished as I can of my holiday knitting/crocheting, before my Peacock Feathers Shawl pattern and Yarn come. This way, I wont feel bad for working on nothing but the shawl for a few weeks.

Wish me luck!

This morning I was thinking about what I am going to wear to the Christmas Party that the company DH works for holds every year. I have a full length black skirt that I will be wearing with a dark pink, almost reddish color 3/4 sleeve top. That got me thinking about dressy jackets, and I decided that I want a beautiful shawl to wear. I searched online and couldn't find any ready-made shawls to buy, that I liked. So, I decided to look at some patterns. I saw the Peacock Feathers Shawl on Fiddlesticksknitting.com. I fell in LOVE. I ordered the kit with the Charcoal color yarn. I can't wait for it to get here so I can get started. I am going to work my ass off on it to try to get it finished in time. Wish me a WHOLE LOT of luck, the Christmas party is December 9th. I know it's a longshot, but I sure as hell am going to try.

Picture overload!

The Finished sock for my best friends Christmas present. 1 down, 1 to go.
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This is what I have done so far on my socks.
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The slow going sock for DH (sorry for the crappy pic)
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Working the first sleeve for DD's sweater
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What I have so far for the baby blanket for my niece.
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This is the start of a crocheted blanket for another niece. I'm making it in strips and will sew them togather when finished.
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I frogged and restarted the Irish Hiking scarf for my BIL's Christmas gift. This time I'm making the cables grey and the rest is the same dark blue I was using before.

Despite being sick, I've made some progress

Overall, I'm feeling a lot better, now I am only suffering with congestion from hell.

Last night, I finished sock #1 in the pair for my best friends Christmas present. I'll add a pic later. I am really happy with it, and surprised that I like it as much as I do. She picked out the pattern (well, she looked through my Knit Socks! book, and said she loved this pattern), when I saw the pic of them in the book, I felt kind of "meh" about them. Now I actually like them. But I'm pretty sure that it's just because I've made one.

I finished the body of the sweater I'm making for DD, and I am about 1/2 done with the first sleeve. I knitted a few rows of DH's sock, and I've done another pattern repeat of the baby blanket I'm knitting for my niece. I'm beginning to wonder if I will be able to finish it before Christmas. I might have to crochet a blanket really quickly for her Christmas present and give this knitted one to her for her birthday. She will be 1 in March. I finished the first rectangle for my donation to the Sybermoms Craft forum blanket, I am planning on crocheting a few more, not sure how many though.

I haven't touched my socks, the shedir or the hat for DD. I frogged and re started the Irish Hiking scarf for BIL. It was looking really boring so I started it again making the cables grey and the rest dark blue.

Later I will add some pics of my WIP's.

blech.........Ramblings of a sick woman

yucky, crappy, blech, they all describe how I've been feeling this week. I don't know if my oldest brought home this cold from school or if my husband brought it home from work, but either way, this fucking sucks! I haven't been getting much knitting done, I've been in a fog. I just want to go to sleep for a week. But, no matter how I feel, I'm a SAHM so while DH is at work, I have to force myself to be in 'Mom' mode. I just want to take a nap. This sucks. This really sucks. I hate being sick. At least I usually only get a cold once a year, so hopefully this is it for me this year. I want to knit, but I don't have the energy to get more than a row or two done before I say "fuck this' and lay on the floor to keep DD happy. Once on the floor, though, she makes her way to me and proceeds to poke and prod at me, and eventually pulls my hair out. At least I have someone to do that for me....lmao.

What I'm working on

This pic is 8 of 9 projects I have going right now. The purple thing in the top left corner is the beginnings of a 7" x 9" crocheted rectangle for a blanket that Sybermoms Craft forum members are putting together. The purple/white/blue/green thing next to it is a raglan sweater I'm knitting for Hannah, using Bernat Cotton Tots. The Green sock at the top is sock #1 in the pair I'm knitting for my best friends Christmas present. I'm using the shadow Box pattern from Knit Socks! The project to the right of that sock is another hat for Hannah. I'm trying to make this one a little more difficult for her to pull off of her head. The pink under the hat is a baby blanket for my niece's Christmas present. I have been making progress on it, but it's slow going. The black in the middle is what I have so far of the socks I'm knitting for DH. These socks are the Classy Slip-Up pattern from Knit Socks! The Blue/purple on the left of DH's sock, is my very first attempt of knitting a sock on 2 circs. These socks are for me. I'm using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport yarn in Bucks Bar and the River Rapids Socks pattern from Sock Bug. And finally, the dark pink at the bottom is the beginnings of a Shedir(found in the Knitty special breast cancer awareness .pdf.) I Don't have anyone in mind to give this to, I just fell in love with the hat and I've been wanting to knit it for quite a while. The one project I have going that is not pictured is an Irish Hiking Scarf that I am knitting for BIL's Christmas present. It isn't pictured because I left it upstairs in my room and I don't feel like waiting for Hannah to wake up to go get it.

Hats for the Brats

My kids aren't really brats, (well, at least not ALL the time..lol) but the title sounded cute. This past week I knit up 2 hats, one for each of my boys. The green hat I 'winged it', I saw a hat with a similar stitch pattern in a store a while ago, I let my 4 year old pick the colors, I decided on the striping as I went, and above is what we got. For the blue hat I followed a pattern in Stitch & Bitch, leaving off the devil horns/cat ears. I used Knitpicks Wool of the Andes for both hats, The green hat is Grass and Snickerdoodle, and the blue hat is Stream.

Needle Addiction

It would seem that my addiction has moved from yarn to needles. I went to hobby lobby earlier today and Just for the hell of it bought a set of size 4 Dpn's and a set of size 5's. I then went to my LYS and picked up two sets of size 3 circs (16" and 24") and a 16" size 7 circ. Then, I was just reading my email and I saw a free shipping code from JoAnn.com so I just used it buying size 2 circs (16" and 24") and a 24" size 7 circ.

8 sets of Knitting needles. 1 Day. I have problems.

Finished mom's socks!

You can see some laddering on the right sock, but hopefully blocking will take care of that. But the knitting of mom's socks is FINISHED!!! Yippie!

I have two other pairs of socks in the works, Dh's and a pair for my best friend. Dh's are going to be slow going, and I need to loosen up on my tension because I have two small cuts on my right index finger from tightly holding and sliding the fingering weight yarn. Oops. I also still have the baby blanket (metal needles are not friends to my hands), a scarf for BIL, and hats for the kids working right now.