Tea Box

Hello Friends! Whoops, yesterday totally got away from me. How has everybody’s week been? Mine has gotten of to a great start. I have been eating well and worked out everyday! That is such an accomplishment for me after not doing much at all and stuffing anything in my mouth that caught my eye.

I have done some cleaning in a couple of the closets, I haven’t finished the closet in the spare room but I took some things out that didn’t need to be in there, which will give me room for other things.

Jules, We love cookies here! We used to make some every weekend but then we kind of got away from it. I am happy to spread the cookie love around. I am glad you are want to try the recipes. I look forward to hearing what you think of them. I am not sure I could say which one I like better. They are so different from each other. I have everything to make pizza at home too but I was feeling last weekend. The dough I got at the store is very good, made fresh everyday. I have a waffle maker as well, just a cheap one from Aldi’s. It works well for the few times we make waffles. Maybe I will get some waffle inspiration from you 😉

I haven’t been reading Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest but as I mentioned a couple posts ago I went to the library to return books that Little Man had checked out and the library’s powers took over my mind and made me check out two books. Ok, maybe I just can’t stop myself from looking at the books on the shelf.  So here is what spoke to me this time.

The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel is a collection of short stories. I have only been reading short stories since last year and this is my third book of short stories. I have read a few of them and they are different than other short stories I have read. A couple of them I really enjoyed and a couple of others I didn’t quite get. I am still looking forward to the other stories.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley is the second book.  I got this book because in the new book section there was the seventh book in this series, As Chimney Sweepers come to Dust, and it sounded really good but I always have to start a series from the beginning. It’s about a young girl named Flavia de Luce, who is an aspiring chemist, and comes across the body of a man and is intrigued and investigates. I hope it is as good as it sounds, especially since I want to read the seventh book.

In sewing news, I did finish my box that I was making with these squares

Here it is filled up with tea 🙂

Here is closed and some of the sides and bottom

It came out a lot better than I thought it was going to. I am really happy with it. It’s the perfect addition to my other tea boxes.

I am off to enjoy a little dessert and tea before bedtime. Enjoy your day/night my friends!

My New Bag!

I took these pictures really quick.  So I warn you they are not at their best.

I have been really wanting to sew a bag for myself. I had a few different bags bookmarked online and in my books.

I finally decided on the Folk Bag from One-Yard Wonders.

Here it is!

I am very happy with how it turned out!  It is some of my better sewing. The owls make me very happy and I love the colors.  I find myself being drawn to turquoise more and more.

Here is a close-up of the lining!  Still love Lime Green 🙂

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Sadly there have been a couple of casualties in my knitted socks so I must get back to knitting my mystery sock so I have a finished pair soon!

I also have a trip coming up soon and I should be able to finish another pair of socks during that trip and hopefully that will make up for what I lost.  Poor, Poor socks but they were very loved and kept my feet cozy in the cooler months. I may try some darning but I have never done it before so i am a bit unsure about it.  if you have any tips let me know!

Where Have You Been????

Just Playing!  i know i am the one who disappeared off the grid.  I have been pretty busy with work, house and knitting of course!

Ich weiss ich bein weider verschwunden.  I bin sehr beschaftigt mit arbeit, schule und stricken!  Aber wir sehen uns ja bald!!!!

Little Man is loving the first grade and adores his teacher. I am glad he does.

Work has been keeping me busy and since we are shorthanded I have been staying after almost everyday to help the others I work with.

I am currently working on two Mystery Socks!  One from Through the Loops that started Oct. 1 and one from my LYS that started last Friday. I am not going to show them until they are done 🙂

I do have some things to show off 🙂  Most are oldies that I finally finished!

A Mystery Washcloth from Kris Knits. i think this one is from april. I just finished it a week ago!

This is the Combo-Corset T by Annie Modesitt.  This has been waiting for buttons for a few weeks now and I finally admitted to myself that it is just too small so I am giving it away.  Other than that it is a great pattern and I was happy with how it turned out, i just wish it fit me.  I usually go too big maybe my next one will be right on the money! Good thing my hats, socks and mittens have always fit me.

Last weekend i did some sewing so i have some goodness to show you and I am really happy with this one.

 

 

Sept. 18, 2010

I finally got a picture of Little Man’s hat. Seems like every time i remembered to take the picture it was dreary and gray out. Today I didn’t care.

This is a pattern i won from My Little Hen.  It is Betz White’s Reversible Bucket Hat pattern.  The pattern is very well written and easy to follow.  I have made a hat for myself and also Little Man.

Here is Little Man’s:

I am really happy with how it turned out!  I was a bit weary about trying to make a bucket hat myself but i am so glad i did. We love them here and they are perfect protection from the sun for a energetic little man who likes to play outside.  I highly recommend the pattern to anyone.

Yesterday I did go to my friend’s show at the gallery.

Here he is performing:

And here is a peak at some of the raw food they were serving:  Rohkost essen!!

What you are seeing are some “calamari” which is actually mushroom with flax seed breading.  A mango cheesecake and coconut pie both with some kind of nut crust.  They were absolutely divine!!  Some chocolates are also peeking through at the bottom made from raw cacao and other things i don’t remember.  It is all raw and vegan. Yummy!!! They also served some “sushi rolls” made with various raw fillings.

It was a fun night and I tried some new things. Which I usually don’t like to do.

Tomorrow I am going to a Fiber Festival with my mom, woohoo!  Woolly Goodness. I will be sure to take some photos 🙂

Goatimer

On Sunday it was hubby’s birthday. I dread when it gets close to any kind of gift giving time for him.  He will either know what it is and that takes the fun out of it, he will hate it if I try to pick something out with out his help or he wants something super expensive that I can’t get him.  This year I knew I wanted to try to give him something that would surprise him.  Ever since I made this goat he has begged me to make one.  I kept saying no because I didn’t want to do all that work to only have it thrown around and not cared about.  But… I knew he would never expect it and he had asked me so many times that I figured he must really want one. So with no further delay…

Presenting Goatimer!

Pattern: Gogi Goat

Dates: Feb 19-20, 2010

Yarn: Stitch Nation Alpaca Love in Cobblestone, scraps of bernat in brown and I can’t remember what the white yarn for his horns is or the fuzzy white yarn for his beard is.

Hook: I

Notes: Followed the pattern as written. Alpaca Love is a great yarn I really liked working with it.  It is an aran weight yarn so Goatimer is a bit bigger.  Not sure what it is about this pattern but it is killer on my hands, I think I am clenching too tightly when I am working on the little body parts. I think he turned out even better than the first one and of course Little Man wants one now.  I have a feeling it will be another year if I do make one.  Hubby loves him and was super happy that I made him and he even named him. Yay!

Another Snow Day!

Another fun day of snow!  I was expecting snow but not like this.

Little Man has wanted to build a snow man for some time but we just didn’t have the right snow for it.  Today we did!

The snow was so wet that when we came in our coats and snow pants looked like we had gone swimming. It was all worth it and we warmed ourselves up with some hot cocoa and lunch after all that hard work.

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Olympic progress:

ehh it’s not going as well as I had hoped and there were two days I set aside to make something for hubby’s birthday.  I am going to keep working hard but whatever the outcome I will be happy with the outcome because we all know how long it usually takes me to finish a large project. 😉

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Last but not least I still have some FO’s to show off.

Pattern: Drive-Thru turned Mini Cobblestone pullover (both ravelry links)

Dates: I am not even sure anymore but i know i started this last fall sometime-maybe late October and finished it just a few days after my grandma left.  So a little over 3 mths! Told you it takes me forever to finish larger projects.  Good thing I made it in a larger size.

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Chestnut Heather

Needles: Size 8 circular and double points

Size: 8

Notes: I used the Drive-thru pattern so I wouldn’t have to do any math for the sizing down the Cobblestone pattern.  Also I found that the sleeves run a bit tight in the Drive-thru pattern so i cast on 43 sts for the sleeve instead of the 30 I believe it has you cast-on.  All in all I am very happy with how it turned out and Little Man really likes it as well, he wore it right away on the day I gave it to him.

So as soon as Little Man showed me he had some wiggly teeth you all know I had to knit him a tooth fairy pillow.

Pattern: Mervin the Molar (rav link)

Dates: Jan 12-Feb 2, 2010

Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby in White

Needles: US 2.5

Notes: Easy, quick and fun seeing how it took shape when I was seaming and stuffing.   I think everyone needs to have a Mervin around!

Whew!  I think I am all almost caught up with my FO’s.  I have one more for you tomorrow that I just finished on Saturday.

A little mis-match with dishcloths

So on Friday Little Man had mis-match day.  It was a bit harder to figure out what we were going to do because his school has a strict and boring dress-code and we bought clothes accordingly.  This is what we put together:

Only kids can look so cute dressed like this.

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Lately i have been knitting up some dishcloths.  They are a quick and easy knit and you can never have too many.

These are free patterns from www.krisknits.com

Yarn: Lily Sugar n’ Cream

Needles: Size 3

Pattern: 2010 New Years dishcloth

This one has already been in use and cleans dishes great 😉

Pattern: January Mystery dishcloth

Pattern: “Be My Dishcloth”

I know you can’t tell at all that I ran out of yarn right at the end. 🙂

I love them all! They brighten up cleaning time just a little.

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I have noticed some of you are doing some kind of challenge during the Winter Olympics.  I am as well and a challenge it is.

It is the Cap Sleeve Vest by Bergere de France.  I am using Berroco Vintage Wool in a different color than my usual for a little change.

I have already had to tink back a few rows and there are quite a few things you have to pay attention to.   We will see but I am going to try my best.

Good Luck to all you Knitting Olympians!

Some Snow and A Start…

Today we had a Snow Day! I realize our snow doesn’t look like much and unlike some other states we are very lucky. It sure was nice having a snow day.

Little Man helped Dad shovel,

Made a snow angel and

Attacked me from outside.  So naturally i had to get in my snow gear and go outside to get him back 🙂

We had great fun and all our pretty snow has been smooshed and trampled.  We made some dinosaur caves too.

Yay for Snow Days!

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The first finished knit I am going to show you was a gift for my mom’s birthday.

Pattern: Hot-water bottle cover by Sarah Dallas published in Sarah Dallas Knitting

Dates: Around Jan 14, 2010-Feb. 2, 2010

Yarns: Berroco Comfort 9740 (green) Berroco Comfort 9722 (purple)

Needle: Size 6

Hook: G

Notes: I followed the pattern as written and then after 5 inches it suddenly hit me that my hot water bottle has a little tab on the bottom to hang it up by.  My mom and I have the same bottle. So I decided at that point to bind off the sts that make up the two center cables on Row 6 of the pattern and then recast those same sts on in the next row. If I had planned ahead I would have done the tab hole after about 3 inches because the overlap of the two pieces should be more towards the bottom, not right in the middle of the cover. Because of this on the second side I only knit for 5 inches, instead of the 7 the pattern has you do, before starting my decreases.  Just to make sure that the bottle can easily be put in the cover.

I love this cover and already have some Cascade 220 set aside to make my own in the near future.  The Berroco Comfort is super soft and has great stitch definition so i think it works really well for this pattern. Hope my mom likes it as much as I do.

Winter Gear

I made my goal! I got Little Man’s hat and cowl done just in time to go back to school. And he needed them!

Waves Cowl:

Pattern: Soft Waves by Jan Eaton

Dates: Dec 25, 2009-Jan 1, 2010, first FO of the year!

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted

Hook: G

Notes: I was originally going to make this a scarf but i just didn’t feel like it at all, so Little Man and I had a chat and he agreed to a cowl especially once he knew it would be done quicker.

“Hat Like Rabbit’s”

We have had the book “Shall I Knit You a Hat?”  by Kate Klise and this year Little Man asked me to make him a hat like Rabbit’s in the book. No Problem!

Pattern: The pattern for the hat is in the back of the book but you can also find the same pattern called The Jester Hat in The Yarn Girl’s Guide to Kid Knits.

Dates:Dec 26, 2009-Jan 3, 2010

Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Fjord Solid in New Snow, Bluebell and Jet Black.  Just under one skein of each color.

Needle: Size 7

Notes: The pattern in the book only goes up to 3 yr old so I cast on 108 sts to make it fit Little Man’s hat.  Rabbits hat is also pictured with ear flaps and ties so I had to add those since they are not in the pattern and our hat has to be “like rabbit’s”.

I also added a fleece lining for extra warmth and did a crochet edging.

The “ears” don’t stay up as well as they did for the photo but he still likes it and has worn it every day.

So while we had a warm head and neck we were still missing some mittens.  We had some gloves that we bought but Little Man was very adamant that he needed mittens this year too.  I got the first mitten done pretty fast but i was a bit slow on starting the second mitten and these are mittens you could easily finish in an evening at most two.  So every day for three days Little Man said to me ” I really wanna wear my blue mittens but only that one is done.”  Talk about guilt trip. I finally cranked out the last mitten in a couple hours.

Pattern: Super Mittens from Weekend Knitting

Dates: Jan 3-Jan 7, 2010

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted, held double

Needle: 10.5

Notes: I worked the pattern as written for the smallest size but I did have to add two more rows to the length of the hand.

Good thing I got the mittens done when I did because that same night we got a few inches of snow.

Little Man is finally all set for winter now.

FO Parade!

First Time Tube Socks by Ann Budd for my grandma.

Sideways Grand Cloche from Boutique Knits for me.

Aunt Maggie’s slippers by Beverly A. for my mother-in-law.

Mini Weasley Sweater Ornaments from Charmed Knits for Little Man and sister-in-law and her girlfriend.

Bella’s Mittens by Marielle Henault for me.  I saw a sample of these at a yarn store, tried them on and loved them instantly. I had to make them right away 🙂 Love these!!

Aunt Maggie’s Slippers for Little Man.

It’s been busy around here and the list of projects is never-ending.  Little Man has been on my case because i haven’t made him any of his winter gear yet this year and i have a hat and mittens already. I know…bad mommy. I have started the scarf though and the hat will follow right after. I am hoping to send him back to school with one maybe even two items of warmth. Wish me luck.

How was everyone’s Christmas? Ours was really nice!

These are our Christmas Eve Jammies and we had them on all night and all Christmas day! Hubby and Little Man even have a song they sing when they first get their new Christmas Eve Jammies.

What great memories 🙂

Hope yours was just as great and memorable.