And The Winner Is...

Lillyanka! Congratulations!

I've sent you an email, but if you see this first, please contact me asap with your address and some yummy yarn and the gorgeous White Lies Designs pattern will be coming your way!

Reluctantly Sharing

This is a rarity in my world - The two indoor kitties sharing a sunbeam. Notice how they sit with their backs to each other? Yeah, no love lost here. He's (the yellow cat and 16 lbs.) taking a bath and she's (10 lb. if she's wet brown kitty) very prim and proper and ignoring the hell out of him. They share like my kids share, very poorly.

Reluctantly Sharing a Sunbeam

I've started on one of the sleeves of the shrug part of the sweater and I'm doing this part with two circs. It's moving along pretty steadily so far.

We're off tonight to the Fall Festival at the Eldest's school tonight. I'm just hoping we don't lose the Youngest in the crowds there. He's a runner and refuses to hear anyone telling him to stop. It kinda sucks that he's too old to be in a stroller now. Oh well, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? :)

Forgot to Add: Contest results will be here tomorrow!

I made jewelry!

Today is my Sister-In-Law's Birthday!

I made her something special. Wanna See?

This is the first necklace that I have made. Took me half the day to figure out how I wanted it done. It had to be silver, have lots of blues and greens and still be somewhat delicate. I think it came out great. It's approximately 17".

This jewelry making stuff could be addicting!

Tubey!

Tomorrow is the last day of the Contest! Thanks so much for everyone who has participated. I apologize if I have not gotten back with all of you in some form or other. I will, I'm just slow thanks to all the sickness floating around this house right now. The Eldest is beginning week four of a stomach ailment. He has lab work being done now to pinpoint what's wrong and hopefully we'll get this thing cleared up.


I cast on for the Tubey Sweater from Knitty yesterday. I had a hard time wrapping my head around the sizing directions. You measure across your back from the center of one armpit to the other with your arms forward. I got that measurement (22") and went back to look at the instructions again. I heard that this sweater runs rather large, so I'm making the XS in this one. I just couldn't figure out where that 22" measurement went.

I ended up casting on for the wrong measurement cause I misread the pattern. She has the across back measurement as 19[20, 21.5, 23, 24.5]. She also has the cast on numbers as 50[55,60,65,70]. I guess that I saw the 21.5 in the middle and thought that I should cast on 60. Duh. I was supposed to cast on 50 and then do stockinette for 21.5 (or 22 really.) So after about an inch or so I realized what i had done, ripped it all out and began again. I'm feeling rather blond right now, thank you very much.

This is where I stand as of carpool time at school this afternoon:


I'm going to do stripes similar to what she has in the picture on the pattern, but I'm going to do a coral red, turquoise blue and lime green stripes along with the basic black of the sweater. I'm currently going cross-eyed working with the black.

This is the part that goes across the back. I'll add sleeves next and will have a cute shrug when those are finished. Then all I have to do will be to add the tube part for the body. We'll see how long this project takes me. Lately, everything I touch seems to take forever.

Better Now!

I am now back in the land of the living. The whole household spent the weekend lounging around and being sick together. Wasn't a lot of fun really, especially with the hubby. He turns in to the biggest "woe is me" baby you've ever seen when he gets sick.

I did do some cat stacking though:




I also came to a few conclusions, mainly about the W sweater:

This project is now headed for the frog pile. If I ever decide to do another sweater that is knit side to side with short rows - please just shoot me.

Things that went wrong:

1. The yarn chosen was incorrect for the pattern. Evidently it was not meant to be used for sweaters of this type. Something more drape-y and less bulky would be good for this pattern. This yarn would be better suited to hats or afghans.
   

2. The finished edges were way too untidy and ugly in my opinion.

3. The v-neck front came down way too low and the fabric was actually too stretchy.
   

The short rows were actually easy and I didn’t mind doing them. What I did dislike was not being able to try the sweater on as I went so that I could adjust for fit. Definitely will not be making this pattern again.

I also started some sweater de-constructing. I have this old sweater, and when I say old, I do mean old. It still had shoulder pads! Anyway, it's very soft and I want to rework it somehow. So I began taking it apart. It's taking forever. It's very tiny 2 ply yarn, lace weight-ish. I was going to make a shawl with it, but I think that I'm going to split it into 1 ply and make it go further and use it to ply some of my other hand spun yarn with it.

Take a gander at what's in it:
30% Cotton
22% Nylon
20% Rayon
13% Lambswool
10% Angora Rabbit
5% Cashmere

Now are you getting how soft it is? Who knows if it really does have cashmere in it, I don't, but I also don't care. I'm going to overdye it from soft dove gray to something happier and ply that stuff up.

I've also cast on for a new sweater but I'll tell you more about that tomorrow!

They teamed up on me

Well, they finally did it. The two little vipers that belong to me managed to make me sick. They've teamed up on me. One has a cold and the other is getting over a stomach virus and now I'm lucky enough to get hit with both at once. Not feeling particularly wonderful now, just sayin'.

I made a little progress on the second half of the W sweater yesterday:
There's only one problem with it. Somehow I've lost two rows at the bottom of it. At least I think that's what I did. I held it against the first one that I did and didn't see that much difference. I think I'm just going to continue on and will adjust for length later when I do the garter stitch band at the bottom. We'll see what happens. Hopefully it won't be too disastrous.

And this is the little weasel that decided it would be funny to try and shut mommy out of the house while she was taking a picture of the above sweater.

Thank goodness he doesn't know how to lock the doors yet. I think I need to start planning ahead on where to hide a key out there. Just. in. case.

My brother is evil - gee, that's fun to say!

My brother did an evil thing. He got me and the whole family hooked on the British TV show, Top Gear. Yes, it's a guy's car show, but I like guy movies and tv show. Blow'em up racing action is where it's at. None of this sappy chick movie/shows for me!

So that's what I've been watching over the internetz while knitting for the past couple of days. I've begun working on the W (from knitty) sweater again. I want to get that finished soon since I've already purchased some yarn for the next sweater in line. I'm about 75 % finished now and this is the point where I get worried.

I've gotten spoiled by the top down, try as you go sweaters. This one is knit side to side in two pieces and there is no trying it on. Keep your fingers crossed.

B-Day Recap & an FO!

Only eight days left in the contest! Leave a comment any time you feel like it and get an entry for the prizes.

*****

I am happy to report that the Birthday Party was a huge success! It was held at Monster Mini Golf which is a glow in the dark indoor mini golf place and was wicked cool. Perfect for a b-day party. The kids played golf, ate cake and played arcade games. There was also some mean Pokemon card trading going on before they left to go golf too!

This is an example of what the place looked like:I had to take this with the flash off so that the black light stuff would show up and of course there was absolutely no making the kids sit still so they're all blurry, but you get the picture.

When I asked the Eldest if he had fun he said, "Yes Ma'am! We should go back there anytime we don't have stuff to do!" I call that a success, myself.

*****

In other news, I finally finished Jaunty Cap #2!

Here's friend bear modeling it for you as well:


I also frogged the first Jaunty Cap that I ever made. I'm not going to waste the Noro Silk Garden on something that I'll never use. I'll put it towards a much more appropriate project some other time.

It's a Pokeball!

I apologize for the lateness of today's post. I've been busy playing "Mom" today. There were teacher conferences and there was the wrestling of the two year old and the chauffeuring of the children. You know, typical Mom stuff.

I did do something fairly creative. I decorated a birthday cake:



This is the easiest child's cake that I've ever done. Hands down. This is one that you can "phone in", requires very little effort. It'll be a big hit with the 8 & under Pokemon lovin' crowd though, I assure you. The Eldest was very impressed. Personally, I'm just happy that I'm not having to get out all the decorator tips, bags and a bazillion different icing colors.

The Eldest originally wanted something that I can't even pronounce, some strange Japanese Anime Poke (pronounced Pokey for the Pokemon uninitiated) Monster. I said "Oh wait! What's that on that card?" It was just that easy.

I asked him what a Pokeball is for exactly, what does it do? "Oh, it just helps catch Pokemon." Okay then! That answers that question doesn't it? :P

Have a great weekend!

A current state of affairs

Well, here we are again. Not only did yesterday's hat get frogged once, but twice. I had so much trouble finding the right color combo for this had. I needed something a little more toned down that would work with my wardrobe and this is the current state of affairs (just a little farther along than yesterday's project.):

I like these colors much better. Now I have to find a project to use those other two balls of Noro yarn. I'm sure I'll come up with something.

The Eldest is still sick. He went back to the doctor this morning. It seems there's a virus going around and he was the third kid in today that had the same symptoms.

He's had the worst birthday week and now we keep getting call from a bunch of the other kids saying that they won't be able to make it for the party. We've got reservations (nonrefundable) for this party at a Monster Mini Golf place and now I'm scared that we'll be paying all that money for just the four of us to play golf. I would just hate it for him if no one came to his party!

Not so gratifying

Way back in March I made a Jaunty Cap out of Noro Silk Garden. While I loved the colors, the structure was rather limp. I had to dip it in liquid starch to get it to look right because when it was knit, I only used one strand of yarn and not two.

So, while looking today for a somewhat instant gratification project I decided to try the cap again. This time, I chose Noro Kureyon. I picked two different colorways just for fun. Now I'm not so sure that that was the best choice. Besides the fact that this is killing my hands, I'm not really feeling the love for these two together. I suppose it might grow on me, but I may rip it back and pair one of the colorways with some black that I've got in the stash to tone it down and make it wearable.



Of course I'm not very far in yet and might like it better later, but I doubt it.

Cute Little Fish Button Sweater

We got word over the weekend that the hubby's cousin and his wife finally had their baby. My first reaction was, Yeah! My second was, Oh No, they can't have it yet, the sweater's not finished! Well, it is now.

I know that I've stated that I don't particularly love Elizabeth Zimmerman patterns. Mainly because I prefer patterns that spell things out a bit more and don't assume that you are already an accomplished knitter. But I finally got around to completing one of her patterns, one that a billion other people have already made, the February Sweater:


I couldn't decide how I wanted to present it, so here's another pic:


The best detail of this sweater is the buttons. You have no idea how difficult it was to photograph one of these clearly enough to show the detail:


That's right, a fishbowl with a goldfish and tiny little bubbles. I adore these buttons. They're by JHB and I got them at JoAnn's. Cute huh?

Details:

Yarn: Cotton Ease in Terracotta. Used just over 1 skein.
Mods: None
Pattern: February Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman

Contest at My Place!

Today is the Eldest's 8th Bday* and I want to celebrate. Let's have a contest!


I'm giving away a pattern from White Lies Designs and some random yarn to be chosen by yours truly out of the stash. Said yarn won't be enough to make the pattern with, but it will be enough to play with.


That being said, every comment left will be considered an entry. Contest will end on October 1st (my Sister In-Law's Bday.)

*Truth be known, he's had a lousy b-day so far. He's had stomach issues for a week and had to go to the doctor on his birthday. He did get lots of attention from the nurses though, so I guess it wasn't all bad. The big party is scheduled for this Saturday, so hopefully we'll make it up to him then.

Would you do this?

Would you do this to your child? Would you put your precious little angel in this terrifyingly ugly size 4 overall/short set? As far as I was concerned, this won the prize for scary clothes that were for sale at this weekend's consignment sale:

Scares the heck outta me!

Not anyone's day.

I vote that we have a day "do-over". We go back to bed, reset the alarm clock, and pretend we're in the movie Groundhog Day and begin again, except this time our day goes a lot better. Okay?

The Eldest is still having some stomach issues. It hasn't all been completely faked. I think I know what part of the problem is and we're hoping to solve it with a combination of potent fruit juice and Miralax. What is it with young boys deciding they're too busy to stop and go to the bathroom once in a while?

So the stomach issue thing started our day. While that was going on, I was trying not to laugh at the Youngest imitating his brother. What ever the monkey sees, the monkey does. He saw the Eldest holding his hand over his mouth trying not to throw up (plumbing stopped up one place, must come out another. I know - gross isn't it?), so he proceeds to walk around holding his hand over his mouth too. Eldest was not amused.

Finally checked everyone into school late and I started to work at the consignment sale. Then I got a call from my parents. They were supposed to go to school today and have lunch with the Eldest for Grandparents Lunch. They were driving two hours from Alabama to do this too. Guess what? They ended up with two blown out tires. So I handed off my job at the sale to someone else and headed over to the school. My baby was expecting someone to have lunch with him and by golly he was going to get somebody there!

I had several Grandfathers tell me I was the youngest looking Grandmother they've ever seen. :) Now I know why so many women go for the Sugar Daddy types. They're so polite, complimentary and conscientious. Someone remind me why I married a younger man?

My parents are still coming over (eventually) so now I have to dash around the house and pick up stuff and pretend that I'm an accomplished housewife even if they know better.

Have a great weekend!

Savings!

This post is gonna thrill you guys silly, I just know it. Ah, not really. I'm being totally sarcastic.

This week I've got my hands full with a children's consignment sale. Remember the last time I mentioned the sale? I won't show pics again, I promise, it's very redundant from sale to sale. I've been swamped with preparing for it and working at it. By the time the weekend is over I'll have spent approximately 22 hours working there.

Well, today I got to shop it. Here's part of the loot that I got:

Here's what's so exciting about these piles of clothes. These are full fall/winter wardrobes for both boys. There are 45 items. I did not picture the couple of toys (4) /movies (4)/sleeping bag (1)/toy organizer (that retails at Target for 59.99.) That brings the total up to 56 items total. I spent $211.00. That's only $3.76 dollars per item, and some of these are upscale clothing lines like Talbot's, Children's place, Gymboree, Kelly's Kids, etc. too!

Let's say you bought all these at retail prices. The minimum that you would spend on these would be $10 per clothing/movie and $59.99 for the organizer. That's $609.00. I saved $398.99!

I'm so excited!

I have to confess - there's been no knitting/spinning or otherwise done this week. I'll have to make up for it next week.

Faking Sick

Ever have a day where you long to march the children out to the back wall of the yard, hand them a blindfold and last cigarette and dole out the ammunition to the neighborhood firing squad? Me too. Today was one of them.

The Eldest's Issues: Was already out one day of school due to stomach issues. Took a second one today when I had to work up at the children's consignment sale. So I took him with me and made him sit and read while I worked. And Lo and Behold, a Miraculous Recovery took place. I was ready to strap on that blindfold right then. I even got him to admit that he had lied about how he was feeling. He'll be living on electronic restriction for a while now. No tv, computer, handheld games, nothing, zilch, nada.

The Youngest's Issue: Had my first "talk" from the teacher. He won't listen to them, tells them no, is disrespectful, yadda, yadda, yadda. I tried to warn them...

Make your own find it game

When I find a particularly clever product in the stores, I like to see if I can make my own. Not necessarily for saving money (cause it doesn't usually happen that way for some reason) but for the challenge of making it myself. The creative process drives me to take up the challenge. I just can't help myself. It's especially bad since I have kids.

I found a product that I really liked. Find-It Games. You can google the name and find them quite easily. They are clear tubes with wooden end caps that contain lots of tiny little toys and other odds and ends that are hidden amongst a bunch of recycled plastic pieces that look like sprinkles. They come with a game pad that contains a list of the things you must find in there. There are several themes such as the Beach and the Zoo.

I've been looking for kitchen containers that would work if I glued the end shut, but just couldn't find one that would fit my budget. I didn't want to spend a fortune on this project. I also haven't quite found the filler to use in place of the plastic sprinkles.

But I got my hands on a tutorial today that is so much more clever in my opinion. She uses plain rice in hers, but you could use a bunch of cheap beads as filler or even color the rice to make finding the toys more difficult.

She also makes hers out of cloth bags and clear vinyl. I like this idea a little more when dealing with kids. This will be much easier for a younger child to hold and if they decide to wop their big siblings up side the head with it, ala The Youngest, maybe it won't hurt quite as bad.

I have tons of scrap children's fabrics from my quilting days and have been looking for a way to use it and this would be perfect. I'm also going to make a bunch of small rice/bean bags for one of the Youngest's class parties out of some of the fabric as well.

I can't wait to try this. This would make some great birthday and Christmas gifts too, and not just for children. I know plenty of adults that would find this amusing as well if you can put in some neat stuff for them to find.

Just thought I'd pass the idea along...

Weddings, Knitting, Crafts & KIsses

All in all, I've decided that weddings are way more fun when they're not yours. There's no pressure on you and no planning. If you have a few "liquid refreshments", no one will really care cause you aren't going to be the one saying the vows.

We had an absolute blast this weekend.

I got some knitting done in the car. Would've gotten farther if I hadn't chosen sock yarn to make a scarf with. Why, oh why, didn't I use worsted weight??



First (after driving a bazillion hours to Tampa from Atlanta) we got ourselves (me, dad, mom, & bro) all cleaned up real pretty for this informal shindig:When we got there, I got the professional photographer's panties all in a wad because I wanted to take pics of the bride in her wedding shawl that I made, dammit and that's what I did. I couldn't have cared less that he was upset. I was very careful not to have my flash interfere with his, so in my opinion he could just go and stuff that camera where the sun doesn't shine. (I held that opinion for the rest of the wedding too.)

Didn't the Wedding Stole turn out perfect with her dress?



Oh yeah, and she was lovely too! As was her Mom:Couple of things I really liked about the ceremony:

1. Informal and fun. No stuffiness here. An example? The bride & groom wore flip flops. (The pastor did too and he also wore a Hawaiian shirt but I didn't get a pic of that.)

2. An Arts & Crafts moment was included - Instead of a unity candle, they used "Unity Sand". One color of sand for each of them was poured into an engraved glass bottle during that part of the ceremony.


3. And last, but not least, "The Kiss" was WAY HOT:
The groom is definitely a cutie. Sorry, his brother is married too.

Why me?

Nothing I've touched has gone right today.

I tried to add new stuff & sync the ipod for the trip, my computer went haywire.

Tried winding a hank of Colinette Jitterbug yarn in to a cake, ended up with yarn barf to fix.

Tried to make the Youngest happy with a hotdog for lunch. Nope, didn't work either.

Sigh.

I still have to pack, clean house, get the Eldest out of school and say goodbye to him and the Youngest as I travel to Florida for a good 'ol hurricane in the background wedding.

I'm planning on doing a new scarf on the way down. I hope to finally have something to show for my knitting efforts on Monday.



See you then!