Mitts: Done :-)

I changed my Blog template. Got sick of the pink. I like this better, but I wont have time to re-do my side-bar until next week.

Onto the knitting content.

I finished the fingerless mitts that will be paired with the cinchy hat. They're not blocked yet, but here ya go anyway:

So, the kids are in NH with my parents.... I miss them, but it sounds like they're having a great time. I've been sick the past few days, so I'm kinda greatful that I have the time to just come home form work (early) and sleep. I'm getting migraines again. Ugh. Hopefully it's just stress & will stop after the kids go back to school. I'll be going up to NH on Thursday with Gloria- may be stopping at WEBS on the way up!!!- then will head off to Martha's Vineyard on Sunday to visit my nephews. We'll stay there til Tuesday, then school starts on Wednesday. Busy week, but it's better than being at work!!

One more knitting progress pic, I picked back up the cropped cardi I'm making for Gloria. It's finally cool enough to work on it again. I actually JUST seamed up one arm, so all that's left is knitting the 2nd arm, adding the button and blocking it :-)

I'll be back next week, and will hopfully have a good picture of Devin & Georgie with my nephews. I can't believe Charlie will be ONE in October & I STILL don't have a good pic of all 4 kids together!!

Flashing my Stash

I'm flashing my stash for a contest for my SP11 group. My stash doesn't live in just one place.....

I have some yarn in bags on a dining room chair:

There's the bag I bring to football/cheering practice with me:

There's cotton under the coffee table in plastic bins:

And the majority of my stash lives in these bins, which live under my bed:

Shall we see what's in them?

There's more throughout the house, but I didn't bother to photograph it all!!

beachy goodness

We wanted to go sailing today, so the kids & I dropped George of at the boat & went to the beach to wait for his call saying he was on his way to the dock to pick us up.

Georgie played in the sand:

Devin made silly faces by the water:

They looked for *treasure* by the water:

They looked adorable walking down the edge of the water together:
And they played on the playground:
In the end it started to rain, so we didn't get on the boat. But we had fun, so it was ok.

And if you're wondering what that thing is on Devin's hand, it's a fingerless mitten. I was making a pair of mittens to gift & I had her try them on & she complained about every aspect of the mitten, this is too tight, that feels funny.... So I stopped where I was, bound off, tied some waste yarn to the thumb & put it aside. Devin picked it up, put it on & said *I love this!!! Can you make the other one for me tonight & leave it on my pillow while I'm sleeping?* What??? She said it felt different when it had the needles in it & she made a mistake when she said the ribbing was too tight. She's a nut!!! She's been wearing it all day though & even wore it to bed, so I think I may switch my original plan from mittens to fingless gloves since the giftee is Devin's age & I'm hoping she'll like them as much as Devin does!

BooBoo Face

I need to figure out how to use cool fonts here....

Anyway.

Devin fell off a swing at camp yesterday and banged up her chin, nose and forehead. Of course she put on her saddest little face for me to photograph this morning. What a Drama Queen!!! Here's my little BooBoo Face:

Doesn't she look pathetic in these? :-( I love her big brown eyes in the second picture though.

And that's about all that's new here.

As far as knitting goes, it's still too freaking hot to work on anything much. I got a new ribbon for the cinchy hat and have two washcloths made to give to Georgie's summer school teacher and reading teacher. I wasn't sure if I should give them a gift or not since it was only a 4-week session, but really, he's learned more in there 4-weeks than he did in ALL of Kindy!!! I'm just giving them each a knit washcloth with a bar of soap that my sister Juli made. Which means I'm down to just one bar of soap :-( And it smells so good stored in the container with my small finished projects. I'll need to get some more (hint, hint. Make it a super secret project Juli!!). I can't find my camera at the moment, but I'll take pix of the projects when it turns up. For now, it's too hot to be doing anything but laying in the air conditioned bedroom, so I'm off.

Oh, and I had a freaky dream inspired by that Zombie quiz a few posts ago!!! Ugh! It was so weird and scary! I can't even grasp the details any more other than to say it was very disturbing!

Hat: DONE

I wish I had a big *DONE* stamp like they had on Monster House. Too bad that show isn't on any more :-(

Anyway, the cinchy hat is done :-)

My model was somewhat reluctant and was horseing around with her Dad when I was trying to snap pix. The Mama of the girley girl getting the hat promises to take lots of pix :-) This isn't the ribon that will stay on the hat. Mom has some burgundy ribbon in her stash that I think I'll steal a yard of. I want to make a bow instead of just a knot.

Awesome

Check it out:

http://julispinsandneedles.blogspot.com/2007/08/gorgeous.html

That had was made with yarn I spun! How cool is that? Yeah! That's the first thing that's been knit with yarn I spun :-D I'm so proud of my little drop spindle.

Knitting ADD

Ya, so you know those shawls & stuff that I said I was working on last time? And the leg warmers/socks that Devin wanted? Ya, well I've moved on to the Cinchy Hat from the most recent Knit Scene. I'm also planning on making a pair of matching mittens & leg warmers :-) I hope I have the right gauge for a kids hat, since it's for a friend'd daughter. If not, I'll keep this for myself & knit another one. HeeHee! No, it should be just fine.

I did a different increase than in the pattern, so I think it looks a little wonky, but it should be fine when all is said & done.

I left work early to pack to go to New Hampshire tonight, and so far all I've managed to do is eat some left over sesame tofu and watch part of Dirty Dancing. Guess I should go get the laundry from the basement and start packing before I get the kids from camp & hit the road....

Secret Pal 11 Questionnaire

Here's my Secret Pal 11 questionnaire. I can't wait to get assigned my Pal :-)

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I like knitting with all natural fibers. I LOVE alpaca. I don't like acrylic. I think I may be a yarn snob.....

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a needle case that my Mom made that fits a fraction of my straight needles. Everything else is in a plastic container.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Been knitting a couple of years. I'm self-taught. I guess I'm intermediate. I can handle cables and lace, seaming kills me though! And I have a very short attention span, so large projects are often lost on me.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yup, I've got an Amazon wish list

5. What's your favorite scent?
Vanilla, or cookies baking... or pumpkin pie spice....

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I have a VERY sweet tooth!!!! Chocolate is my favorite. Dark. I'm also a constant gum chewer & coffee drinker.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I'm teaching myself to spin with a drop spindle. I like to make beaded jewlery, but I wouldn't say I'm any good at it! I attempt to quilt every so often, but that usually ends with me running to my mom for help! I'm trying to teach myself how to dye yarn and to tie-dye. The tie-dying is going pretty good :-)

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like Folksy music: Indigo Girls, Simon & Garfunkle, Dar Williams, stuff like that. I can play MP3s on the computer.


9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
Purple is my favorite color. I like to knit with earthy colors. Not so crazy about super bright colors. I love fall colors- browns, deep reds....

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married with two kidlets (a boy 5 & girl 7) and a cat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes, yes, yes and no.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I like knitting cables, lace and baby items. When I get frustrated with a project I usually turn to a dishloth or washcloth as a quick *get it done* project then go back to whatever was frustrating me.

13. What are you knitting right now?
A bunch of shawls! A lace weight mostly stockinette shawl out of Merino, Alpaca Shawl with a lace pattern, DNA cable/lace shawl out of Alpace silk and a wool shrug.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I adore my straight bamboo needles, but I've grown rather fond of my Knit Picks Options set, so I may try out some Knit Picks DPNs. I can't knit with plastic needles.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yup, got both thanks to mom!!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Umm.... a year?

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas! Or 4th of July for the fireworks :-)

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Turtles, and does yarn count?

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I subscribe to Knit.1 (thanks to my sis, Juli) and Interweave Knits. I'm dying for the Vogue stitchionaries, any lace book, and any beginner sock book (gotta jump on that bandwagon!). Looking to try out some Knit Picks DPNs- I don't have any DPNs smaller than a 2.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Hmm... I can't think of any. I have the magic loop booklet, but I haven't tried it yet. Oh, and colorwork! The most complicated color work I've done is ball band dishcloths!! I want to try stranded knitting & have a few patterns in mind (the pirate hat from Hello Yarn being one!)

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Not yet, but all the cool kids are doing it, so I have some sock yarn & some patterns ready to go for when I can take on another project. I wear a size 7 shoe.

23. When is your birthday?
November 14th I'll be turning 30 @@

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
YES!!!!! I'm valink over there, and I'm totally addicted!!!

Zombies!!!!

I hope they're not coming any time soon... 40% isn't the best odds....


40%

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

Nothing much new

So, not much knitting or spinning has been going on around here lately. I finally finished the new HP book, but I still haven't been getting much done. It's too freaking hot and humid to want to do much of anything around here. I don't have air conditioning, so during the times that I would usually be knitting I find I just want to lay on the couch with the lights out! I did get a few rows knit on my *something warmers*- which Devin has requested that I make into knee high socks for her, and I did a few rows on the Morehouse Farms Contessa Shawl. Oh, and George found the reversable cable scarf that I made him! Yeah! I'll have to force him or one of the kids to model it for a picture, as I only have *in-progress* pix. Georgie's rattle snake scarf continues to be missing :-(


Onto the pix.


Devin modeling what I thought was going to be leg warmers, but now may not be. No soap was used in the production of these pictures, so please excuse the messy house & dirty kids!




The beginnings of the Contessa Shawl. I'm only on row 20.



And my main man in his football gear.

Just keep spinning....

That's it..... I'm WAY obsessed with Ravelry!!! I spend so much time there that it's interfering with my knitting, spinning and reading (Harry Potter!!!) time! I'm really trying to finish spinning the roving I got in NH this last time I was up there. It will be hard for me to justify buying a ton of roving at Rhinebeck if I've hardly touched what I already have. If I just had a wheel.... LOL!

Since I skimped on the pix last post, I'll make up for it now.

This is what I'm currently spinning. It's 100% merino & so fluffy & soft! I love merino :-) I'm spinning it as a thick & thin single, which I haven't done before, so I'm trying to make sure I don't over twist it too much. This is less than 1/2 of what I have. I'm hoping that I have enough to make another rattle snake scarf, since Georgie lost the one I made him last winter :-( That thing was really cool, but what can I do about it? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will appear in the school lost & found in September.

Devin lost another tooth on Thursday morning. It was a top side tooth. This makes #7. It bled quite a bit when it fell out. Ewwww.....

And finally..... Devin in the skirt Aunt Juli made for her. It's Knitty's Hip in Hemp Pattern.

So what should I do now? Knit, Spin, Read or do Stupid Laundry??

Catching up

I haven't been doing much new knitting... I'm trying to finish up all the random little things I have laying around over the summer, so in the fall I can work on the big things that I don't want to think about while it's so hot- like Juli's shawl & Gloria's shrug. I have about a billion dishcloths that I made recently, most of which will be gifted, and I have what WAS the beginning of a pair of socks that I'm turning into leg warmers for Devin. George asked that I make the kids Harry Potter scarves. Ummm.... let me think about that one... OF COURSE!!!! I want to place an order @ Webs for some superwash wool for the project. Knit Picks doesn't seem to have the Gryfandor colors in Swish superwash. Although they did put the new Fall line out & I haven't had a chance to look it over yet. Maybe I'll make Georgie a Gryfandor and Devin a Ravenclaw... Have to think about it before ordering. Bottom line though is that I don't want to start anything new until I have a few projects off the needles. And speaking of needles, I'm eyeing the DPN set on Knit Picks which I see that my sister just ordered. Let me know how you like them Juli! I'm a big fan of Clover Bamboos, but I do really like my Knit Picks options, so maybe I would like to Knit Picks DPNs too.

Georgie starts summer school tomorrow. I can't believe my 5-year-old has to go to summer school. He'll have the boy aross the street with him though, and he doesn't seem to mind the idea of going to school tomorrow, so I'm not gunna make a huge deal out of it.

I entered a contest through the Stash and Burn podcast, and I didn't win, but got an e-mail that they're sending everyone who got the correct answer a little gift :-) Juli got hers already, so I hope mine comes tomorrow! I love getting stuff (other than bills) in the mail!!! Juli has been on a kick that we're gunna do our own podcast, along with Gloria. She's got segments worked out, I named us, now we need to work out the logistics of podcasting from different states! I bet we would be able to do a decent pod cast!

And speaking of Gloria, there was a fire in her apartment building last week. Several fire fighters went to the hossy for smoke inhalation, but other than that there were no injuries. She's out of the apartment for a few months while they do repairs, and she needs some new furnature and whatnot... all her clothing needs to be dry cleaned... and she LOST HER STASH!!!! GASP!!!! Now, it's wasn't the world's most impressive stash, but it was a stash none the less... and what do you want to do most when you're stessed out and have to stay at your parents house?? Knit, of course. So, she came over and took a ton of yarn from the craptastic garbage bag of doom, needles and a back issue Knit Simple magazine with a log cabin blanket pattern in it. I just told her to be careful with the blanket when she's done with it, b/c since it's acrylic it may melt to her if it's ever in a fire :-X I think the deal worked out well for everyone. I unloaded a boatload of craptacular yarn, Gloria got a project to work on, and I brought most of what was left in the bag to a drop box, so George is thrilled that we no longer have a ginormous bag of yarn in our living room. The way I see it, being that I destashed like 80 skeins of yarn right there that I should totally be able to buy whatever I want at Reinbeck :-D Juli will be coming with us this year, so I'm pretty sure spending will be completely out of control, but I'm OK with it!

G & I spent the day on the boat today- he worked (installed the radio) while I started re-reading HP: The Order of the Phoenix. We got HP7 yesterday, but G is reading it first since I can't keep a secret, so I'm re-reading the last two in the mean time. I can't wait to read the new one! All the buzz I hear has been that it's great. I found HP inspired sock patterns (Bellatrix, Fawkes, and Nagini a few minutes ago, with the help of Ravelry. I love that site!! Maybe once I get a few projects off the needles I'll cast on for some socks.

OK, I feel like I'm still on the boat, and I'm getting dizzy, so that's it from me for now. Bad Blogger, I have no pix today.

Goals for today

Since I'm home with Lil G all day (may go in for a few appointments later, but pretty much home all day) I may as well set some goals for myself.

* I WILL get at least half of the laundry folded and put away. Laundry & I are *worstest enemies* as Georgie would say!

* I will phtograph some of my WIPs so I can eventually put them on Ravelry (Me? Obsessed? What makes you think that??).

* I will vacuume the first floor.

* I will get the dining room table crap organized and throw out what I can bear to part with.

George's parents want to take the kids for the weekend. I think they're going out to the Hamptons, but I'm not sure. This means they will miss pratice on Saturday, but it's summer, they should be out having fun!! Hopefully G & I will be able to go see a movie & spend some time on the boat while we're child free.

Rambling on....

George & I moved the boat this weekend. Yeah! Now it's only a short drive to the harbor to go out on it. We have to row out to the mooring in an inflatable little thing for now, but we plan on upgrading soon! This is the boat at the mooring:

And another picture. These two were taken from the row boat. And this is an aweful picture I took of G & myself on the boat:Devin & Aunt Buli in their tie dye:
And I was wearing mine too!

This picture is proof that I need to go back to WW :-X Yikes!

Lil Man started football & Devin started cheering over the weekend. They seemed to have fun :-) Georgie like the equiptment more than the actual playing, but that's ok! Tonight would have been the second practice, but Lil Man was sick. I THOUGHT he had poison ivy, but when he came home from camp with a 104 fever I call the doc & they said to bring him in ASAP. The doc thinks that the rash is hives (which he has a history of getting) and that it's a reaction to a virus. She said to give him Motrin & Benedryl (which I had already done) and bring him back in on Thurs if he still has a high fever. I'll be staying home w/ him tomorrow, but on Thurs I have things I can't miss, so I need to find a sitter. This is why Mom should quit her job & babysit the kids full time!!! Hopefully Devin wont get this next...

Lil G also starts the Summer Literacy Program on Monday. The bus picks him up at 8:20, so I can put him on the bus in the morning, then he'll be bussed to camp at 12:00. I spoke with them today & they'll get him off the bus- which means I don't have to make sure I'm in Huntington for my lunch breaks! Whew!

Hmmmm...... I think that's all I have for now. I'm totally addicted to Ravelry still & not getting much knitting done because of it. And the knitting I DO get done is little dishcloths that I don't want to bother posting on Ravelry. Most often I just get lost looking at other people's projects!

Ravelry

I'm WAY too addicted to Ravelry. It's so freaking fun!! There are a lot of projects that I didn't take pix of before I gifted them, so I'm SOL for that, but I'm going through my old pix to see what I can find. For the most part I wont be putting up projects that I have no chance of finding pix for.

So, my New Hampshire Stash Additions..... First off, on the way to NH we went to WEBS. Yeah!!!! It's a good thing I don't live too close, otherwise I would be broker than I already am!! I was being relatively good while I was there: I picked out two different sets of purse handles and some Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky to make felted purses with and a pattern book from Filatura Di Crosa (I'm itching to make the sideways knit cardi). I was on my way up to the register when I ran into a staff member who asked if I was finding everything, we chatted for a bit, she asked me if I was in the warehouse. I said *The what?* and that's when it was all over!! I wound up with what I hope is a sweater's worth of cotton to make the cardi and a whole bunch of other cotton to make washcloths. I'm really into the Ball Band dishcloth. It's such a cute pattern. Next yarn store was an accident. We went to New England Fabrics so Mom could get some fabric to make pillows and I discovered a ton of Lopi. Georgie picked out some Cammo yarn to make him a vest with and Orange yarn to trim it with. Then we went to the Fiber Studio, where I got two big hanks of superwash merino that I plan on dyeing for Juli to make socks with (after I place another order from Dharma), and Georgie picked out some roving for me to spin to make him a new Rattle Snake scarf (his is lost- *SOB*). And that's it. I was pretty proud of myself that I didn't get more! I REALLY have to start using my stash though, b/c it's totally getting out of hand. I have to admit that I can't resist it when Georgie requests that I make him things. I think it's SO cute.

We're having some issues with Camp scaring the sh*t out of the kids with their dooms day preaching (what should I have expected from a church camp?? It was what we could afford though) so G talked to them this morning. We'll see what happens. Georgie is literaly having nightmares that a ball of fire is gunna crash into the Earth & we're all gunna die :-X Just what I wanted out of summer vacation :-(

K, time to get a move on.

More pix

A few more pix from New Hampshire.... I really wish we could move up there, but G couldn't make a living there :-(

This picture was actually taken at home on the 4th of July. This is the shirt I tie dyed for her :-) I intended on making us each a R,W&B shirt, but that didn't happen! Devin's hair has gotten so long again so quickly!! I love it :-) See that heap on the floor next to her? That's Georgie in a Superman Cape and Transformer helmet..... I think I have video that's quite funny of this moment!
Grammy & Papa got new furnature for the cabin & Papa was going to bring the box to the recycling place when Devin suggested they recycle it with their immagination instead. It became a playhouse, a lap top and money, amung other things!
Peacock at the Friendly Farm. Georgie said this is what the boy peacock does to make the girl fall in love with him. I wish I was able to get a better picture, but you can get the idea!

And my cutie boy in a shirt he dyed all by himself. I'll have to get a better picture next time he wears it, b/c for all it's randomness it came out really cute. I love this guy :-)

New Hampshire

We're back from New Hampshire. It was so nice to be away for a few days... I wish I didn't have to come back to work today!!

A few quick pix:

Those are from The Friendly Farm. I love that place :-) Georgie liked the goats the best, and Devin's favorite was the baby chicks.

Oh, and we dyed those shirts. I'm happy with how they came out, but I think their may be room for improvement :-P

I'll be back with more pix, and with info on my recent stash enhancement!

Yarn!!

George came home with a big bag of yarn for me :-) Yeah for yarn! It's mostly crap, but it was free, and it's mine, so I'm totally OK with it! It came from a friend of his mother's who's mother-in-law passed away. I was sitting there knitting teacher's gifts on Father's Day & she asked if I wanted the yarn, since she has no clue what to do with it. Sure! There were 8 balls of sugar & cream cotton in a verigated yellow/orange color. Does anyone know anyone with a yellow/orange kitchen that needs some dishcloths??? LOL! I think that was the biggest prize in the bag. There was lots and lots of acrylic. Like, a huge black garbage bag full. There's an entire bag (10 skeins perhaps? No, 12, I just counted) of Caron simply soft in white. I heard a rumor that simply soft actually makes a nice Clapotis, so I'm thinking a Xmas gift for my Grandmother.... too bad I can't dye acrylic.... Pretty much everything she had was large quantaties of the same thing, so I can make some blankets, maybe something for NH. Squeaky acrylic is perfect for up there since it wont get attacked by bugs while the cabin in empty. And I can definitely use some of it to make toys for Devin & Georgie & my nephews. I was gunna make some baby blankets in Cotton, but since I now have a large quantity of acrylic baby yarn (with that sparkly thread running through it. WHY do people think this makes the yarn more babyish??? I don't get it!) it looks like project Linus may be getting some acrylic baby blankets. Maybe I can whip up a white balnket for Daniella's baby's christening or something. Too bad I can't remember how to crochet, I bet that woould burn through this new aquisition quicker!! If anyone has suggestions on what to do with this I'm totally open to hearing them!!

Onto a few pix:



What could be in that bag?

Yarn. Duh!

Sugar & Cream for dishcloths. What else can I make with this?

A gazillion balls of Lion Brand Jamie. Two bags are rainbow colors and one is yellow & white. Ya, and they're sparkly. The bag behind it is another brand of baby yarn in sparkley white:

12 balls of Caron Simply Soft:

Superfreak strikes again

After spending most of the day in his PJs on the couch watching TV, I insisted Georgie get dressed so he can go out side & play.

This is what he came down wearing:




I love this boy, but he is a Superfreak!!