Goodbye

Not to knitting! To the pacifier! We have finally gotten rid of it and I'm excited. There are moments (like 6 a.m. when she's talking up a storm while H is still asleep) that it's still tempting to give it to her, but it's been a week and she's only had it a couple of times for a few minutes each time. She's not looking for them anymore (and I think that I've found all of them.) I'm hoping that this will help us get more sleep. She has never been a good sleeper (short naps, frequent wakings) like her brother. And what does this have to do with knitting? Well, I can't get much done when I'm exhausted all the time. Things are getting better, but I've yet to have a really good night sleep.

I'm about half way done with Doug's fingerless mitt. I haven't done much with the Wine and Roses mitt in the last few days, so there's not much to show. I got the new Spring Rowan mag. It does have some great patterns, but all that will wait.

Well, I'm off to get my swim suit on and take H and his friend S to the pool for a bit. Mom is coming to have a playdate with L. Knitting is better on days that S is here. She and H play so well together that I can sit and watch them while I knit (and L is captivated by them both!)

Also, my in-laws are coming to babysit on Friday! Doug's band is playing on Friday and I'm actually going out with adults! No children! Who knows, I might live on the edge and even have a beer. I think I deserve it since my birthday is Sunday (and I'm hoping that there might be some yarn involved in the presents!) I guess I'm now officially in my late 30's instead of mid 30's. I still feel 20ish though.

Jenn

A Little Progress...

Oy, mama is knitting again! I just had to share this picture since I'm quite infatuated with this little, squishy baby. Unfortunately, her brother doesn't want to hold still for the camera lately. Here's my progress on the Wine and Roses Mitts. I can't wait to see it once it's blocked! I hope the recipient likes them as much as I do (and I've got yarn to make a pair for myself as well.) These are definitely an "after the kids are in bed" knitting project. I'm slowly finishing my sock and Doug's mitts when kids are up, but not needing me at the moment.

I had a nice little break from the kids yesterday. Mom came and watched them while I went to see the ladies I used to work with and have a knitting lunch. (I was at the same place of employment for 15 years - although not the same position). It was great to get to catch up. Most everyone brought their knitting or crocheting with them. We had a pair of fuzzy feet on the needles, a couple of scarves and a hat. I've been home for 2 years in July and I still miss everyone!

As for the picture below, I believe she's trying to gnaw off the store bought socks so mama can make her a pair worthy of such sweet little feet. I've got some Gems Opal in pink panther and a pattern picked out. Good thing she'll be able to go barefoot soon though since she may not have them before fall. Does anyone else find themselves dreaming about knitting on current WIPs? Between L being up last night and weird knitting dreams, I didn't get much sleep. Maybe they weren't dreams... Maybe they were just hallucinations.

Well, off to get L up from her nap so we can run around before H gets home from grandma's house. (It's a great thing to have my mom so close! I did manage a short nap before the phone rang today.)

Jenn

So, What Was I Doing?

Doug's been gone this weekend. I finished the hat for him to take for little O.K. H has been sick with the croup and with L getting teeth it leads to me getting little sleep or time to knit. I always stay up too late when hubby is gone. I get to pick the channel, knit without hearing snores from the other couch and just have time alone! Short supply of that around here. I'm not in any rush to wean L, but it would be nice if she was done by August so I could go to Stitches Midwest! (Right now I'm lucky to get a couple of hours away... anyone have any tips for getting a 10 month old to use a sippy cup? Our tries at a bottle were not met with a good reaction! We have a VERY opinionated daughter!) I've always wanted to go, but life gets in the way. I'm trying to convince Doug that we could make a vacation of it... visiting friends and family. I might have to find someone to bring my stash enhancements home for me though!

Last night I went through all my yarn, books, etc. and organized everything. That was something I've wanted to do for a while. I feel confident I can find any yarn needed. (And, if I can start a spreadsheet with all the colors, amounts, etc. that I wrote down, I'll be set. I really am a knitting geek!)

We got 2-3 inches of snow Friday evening/Saturday morning. I promised H we could go out for pancakes this morning. L had me up around 6, so by 8:30 a.m. we were out in the snow.

Everyone went to bed early, but I'm still up. Just working on the Wine and Roses mitts. Maybe I'll have a picture on Monday (there's not much to show yet.)

Jenn

Another Hat and One Mitt

You may have seen the little pigtail hat I made for L. It's a bit tight (I'll rip to the Chinchilla again... third times the charm, right?) and she won't leave it on. So, I was inspired by Grumperina and the beret she made for her grandmother. I was shooting for less of a beret, but not a kufi. I thought it would look cute on L. I made this from Frog Tree chunky alpaca. She seems to like it and will even leave it on for a while (or maybe I'm finally wearing her down. She takes it off, I put it back on.)

I've got one of the mitts done for my husband. I just cast on 48 stitches with some Chocolate DB Cashmerino Aran (#8 needles) that I had in my stash, knit 2x2 rib, knit 8 stitches on scrap yarn to add the thumb later, then continued in rib until he deemed them long enough. He asked if I was going to make them fingerless gloves, but I envisioned him being able to slip his thumb out and push them to the wrist, when needed. (He'll be using them when fly fishing, among other things. I can picture my "hard work" floating down the White River if he actually had to remove them.) He's headed to the cabin again this weekend, although I doubt he'll try any fishing (we just got about 3-4 inches of snow and it's in the low 20's right now.) I promised I'd have them done for the weekend. That means, while he's gone I can work on a project that I want to... namely the Wine and Roses mitts. I've worked a bit on the wrist of the first, but I noticed a problem when I picked it back up today. I think I'll have to rip and start again.

But first, I need to come up with a little hat. Doug is also headed to Springfield this weekend and will be visiting our friends Kenny and Laura! They had little Owen Kenneth (O.K.) last week (her water broke during Survivor, just as predicted by a friend.) and I need to come up with a hat to go with our baby gift. Guess I need to go look through the stash again!

Jenn

Resolve Weakening...

Well, my resolve has weakened. I've stepped back a little from the sock. My husband keeps mentioning how he'd love to have some fingerless gloves to wear when he goes fly fishing, so I finally got started on some. I had a few extra skeins of brown DB Cashmerino Aran in my stash and he asked that they be soft and not too thick/stiff. I hope this works out for him. I've only got about an inch of ribbing done right now. If it doesn't hold up well enough I'll use some Brown Sheep I have in my stash (but he might have to settle for something a little less "subdued." I'm trying to use stash. Does it count against me if I tell him what he wants and he buys it? If he likes these I'm sure he'll ask that I make some for my BIL and FIL for Christmas.

Before the pestering began last night (about the fingerless gloves) I also cast on for the Wine and Roses Mitts in the Winter 06 Interweave Knits. I had some Frog Tree Alpaca in fingering weight (the pale yellow) that I thought might look nice. I'll try to have a picture in a day or two.

I went by the LYS today to get the new issue of Knits, but they didn't have it yet. I ended up with Mason-Dixon Knitting and a red skein of Opal sock yarn. H has been asking for a pair of red socks, so I'll have to get to that sometime soon.

Too much to knit, so little time!

Jenn

Nothing New Here

Well, I'm still plugging away at the sock. (It's not that I don't like knitting socks, but I just keep thinking of all the other things I could be knitting!) The kids have had colds and I've been up a lot. All my knitting energy has been drained. Hopefully, I'll have at least one new project to report on in my next post. Since I don't have anything exciting to report I just thought I'd post a couple of pictures of FO that have been outgrown and are being packed away.



This is from Debbie Bliss "The Baby Knits Book: The Ultimate Collection of Knitwear Designs for Newborns to 3-Year-Olds" and done in Elsebeth Lavold Cotton Patine. I enjoy knitting with this yarn and LOVE the colors. I did this sweater (almost exact same colors) twice before for baby showers. (One was for Amelia's big brother, Leo. Now she'll get to use it as well.) Doug liked it so much he requested one for L. She did get to wear it some before she got too big.



This is Trellis from Knitty. I saw ChrisKnits post one quite a while ago that she had done and fell in love! I made a few changes and knit it in one piece to armholes (I think she did this as well as making a change to the cables... my mind is a bit fuzzy today.) L got a lot of use out of this one. I knit it in Cotton Fleece by Brown Sheep and it turned out well. I also made one before this for a baby shower.

Well, I'm off to fix dinner, bathe children and (hopefully) work on the sock.

Jenn

Itty Bitty Hats

I can't help it... I LOVE to knit for babies! I go into overdrive when a friend gets pregnant! We just heard from some close friends in KC that they are having a baby (no names here just in case! I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for anyone!) I immediately got out Handknits for Kids by Lucinda Guy. I just needed a cute little baby hat for them to look at and imagine the tiny little head that will fit inside. I tried out the Flower Toggle Hat on page 24! Unfortunately, I haven't found a head small enough to model for us, but believe me. It's cute!

I also made a little hat for Baby Amelia from Itty Bitty Hats! I'll get it in the mail in the next few days (once the felted flower is dry.)
Now, back to the sock! Once it's done I've got two projects for myself to choose from... Argosy in Silk Garden Lite #2014 (same color used in the pattern - I didn't plan it that way. It's just what I had in my stash.) Or a sleeveless tank from the Simple pattern book (the simple tank.)

Here's the pigtail hat I mentioned previously. You can't see much of it, but the "pigtail" parts are made with Chinchilla. It's my first attempt at creating my own pattern. I think it's cute and at least I have some "hair" to play with until she has enough of her own!

I was checking out Larissa's blog for info on the TestALongs and saw a picture with a familiar square. It's the second picture, square at the top! It made it there! My first KAL is complete!

Jenn