Category Archives: finished objects

August 3, 2008 · 10:14 am

Soaker, toddler style

The soaker love just doesn’t stop around here. I’ve never knit so many versions of the same two patterns.

Of course, Knittykid decided to grow out of his soakers this summer, so he got a new one too and has two more in the works. This one is also the Picky Pants (love this pattern!!) and is made up of various leftovers I’ve had around.

Here’s the modeling shot:

And the regular shot:

Knittykid is totally digging them, but with all the potty learning (or NOT learning) that’s going on these days the diapers don’t stay on too long. Of course, there has been zero actual success on the potty but you’ve got to start somewhere, right? He’s interested, he’s excited, he’s just totally making imaginary potty that he is quite proud of.

I’ve got more baby soakers to show off but it’s cleaning time before I go off for a blissful afternoon of prenatal yoga and my monthly spinning group. Can’t beat that! Then my mom and Grandma show up tonight to stay for a WEEK 🙂 of help so I can actually get ready for this baby. We’re on week 33 now, and the countdown is freaking me out a little bit. Between my lack of organization and the fact that our sunroom has no curtains (which is where the birth tub is going) I’ve got lots to do in the next few weeks!

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Filed under finished objects, kids, knitting, soakers

Tagged as picky pants, soakers

June 25, 2008 · 9:56 pm

Soakermania!!

Chicago was fun, but wore me out! I did make it to Loopy Yarns and Nina and had a nice visit at both shops. I picked up some BFL Fleece Artist to make some longies for Knittykid and a skein of Malabrigo silk and merino to make a cowl for myself.

I promised more FO’s to show off, and I’ve got a heap of soakers that I’ve finished up.

The first two are all the Curly Purly pattern. I like this pattern for babies who are not on their toes yet. It relies on just ribbing to keep them up, so once you have a toddler they may fall down. But for newborns, you couldn’t have an easier pattern!

This first one is Knitpicks Wool of the Andes.

This next one is Blackberry Ridge Kaleidoscope in Firecracker. So nice and soft!

The next one isn’t finished but the trim is in what I think is a Cascade wool/llama blend (very soft) and the dark brown is a Classic Elite tweed.

Lastly, this one is a small size using the Little Turtle Knits Undersoaker pattern. See that bulge under the waistband? Yup, I messed up the elastic and have to go back and fix it. Bummer. But the yarn is to die for! It was dyed by Lia over at Fruity Sheep and is a super soft Peruvian. Very nice!

Believe it or not, I’ve got more FO’s but I promised myself I’d kick myself off the computer by 10:00. Don’t want to overwhelm you all anyway!

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Filed under finished objects, knitting, soakers, travels

Tagged as finished objects, knitting, soakers

November 21, 2007 · 6:53 pm

Sneaking in a post

I’m supposed to be getting the house cleaned up while the Skeptic is out with the boys but thought I’d take a few minutes to post.

I dove right into my Posh Yarn from Mrs. Pao and I wasn’t disappointed. This stuff is a dream to work with and gave me one of the most lovely FO’s in a long time.

The pattern is a blend of the basic tam pattern from Ann Budd’s Handy Book of Patterns. I was just going to knit a plain old tam and let the yarn speak for itself, but at soon as I got to the decrease part realized that I wanted to add something extra. So in came the Aran Tam pattern from One Skein Wonders.

I was short stitches for the aran pattern, so I just cut out one cable repeat, added a few extra stitches for the right number and finished the hat from there. It’s a perfect fit!

I’m thrilled with how this hat turned out and rather proud of myself for taking the time to do it right. I messed up the cables majorly a couple of times and actually made myself drop the stitches down and fix them. But I’m glad I did because I love this hat.

The hat also has a sense of humor and doesn’t mind a good joke.

I love this hat so much that when we were out to eat last night and the owner commented on how lovely it was, I gleefully said, “Yes! I just finished it a few days ago, I made it myself!” I was probably a bit too excited, but after wearing it at bus duty two days in a row with no one saying, “Wow, amazing hat!” I was excited to have someone notice. (I know, first graders do not care about their music teacher’s hat unless it says “High School Musical” or “Spiderman” but I can dream, right?)

So later in the car, I asked the Skeptic, “Did you hear, she liked my hat!”

“Yup, it’s a great hat. You were a little excited about it, though, huh?”

“Okay, maybe I was a bit of a geek, but I’ve been wearing this hat for days wishing I could just say to everyone, “See my hat? I just finished it. Don’t you love it? I made it myself, see those cables?” But that would be weird and socially unacceptable. So I have to just wait for someone to notice and try not to be a bit too excited about it.”

The Skeptic, totally deadpan, replied, “But isn’t knitting weird and socially unacceptable?”*

Maybe you had to be there, but the Skeptic says things in a way that only he can, and both the hat and I nearly fell off the seat from laughter. If there is one thing I love about my husband, it’s his sense of humor.

To all my US friends, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

*We had just been at a dinner where a friend was going on about someone at a meeting who was knitting, and that it was weird and well, a bit unacceptable.

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Filed under family, finished objects, hats

Tagged as , posh yarn, tam

November 6, 2007 · 3:31 am

So what did I knit?

Wow, didn’t mean to go a whole week with no post. It’s been a long week. Some parts great, some parts not so great, and I could write for an hour and still not get into it all. So I’m going directly to the knitting. (I will say, however, that the Skeptic and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary on November 1st. Because that’s very happy news, too happy to leave out!:-)

So first, you’re all wondering what skein did I order? I’m taking my time, but right now I’m torn between Wollmeise (color!! yardage!!!) and Yarn Love (color! bamboo! silk!). Handmaiden had become my first choice, but my dear mom asked me to knit a hat for her, which means she’s buying. So I still get to knit up some beautiful Handmaiden Mini Maiden for my mom. (She picked out the Webs Tam).

What did I knit to hit ten?

Superhero Socks!!!

Little Man requested “superhero” socks in the colors of red, white and blue. I had some Lion Brand Magic Stripes sitting around that was perfect for the job. Both boys are extremely pleased I’m finally done. So am I, as I have to say Magic Stripes was not my favorite to knit with. There was just a feeling to the yarn that I didn’t like, too nylon-ish, maybe. But it did the job, the socks are comfy and the boys are happy.

Yes, that’s an end sticking out. Knittybaby doesn’t seem to mind. When asked, “Do you like your socks he says, “I do!” However, he also answers “I do” to every question asked these days, so who knows. He seems happy.

Just don’t tell Little Man I posted them on the blog. He informed me halfway through our photo shoot that these are “secret socks” and bailed as soon as he realized I planned to reveal them to the world.

Skeptic Socks!!!!

He refused to take off the sandals but I think you get the idea:

(Note to self, dining room with crappy need-to-be-refinished floors and crummy old table not the best place to take pictures, especially with a flash.)

The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock (unknown colorway) and Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino for the cuffs and parts of the leg on one sock.

It’s interesting, I started with two pretty evenly divided balls of the Cherry Tree Hill. I knit the first sock with the smaller ball and added the brown cuff for a bit more length. The second sock was knit with the bigger ball, and I was nearly out of yarn soon after turning the heel. I blended in the brown Lucy Neatby in with the Cherry Tree Hill, which worked out okay. But clearly one needs two skeins of Cherry Tree for a pair of man’s socks.

And the Skeptic??? He is coming around to hand knit socks. As for these, he says the fit is great and they are quite comfortable. The only problem? His feet got too hot. Now, it was only in the 50’s this weekend, so we’ll see now that it’s cooler out. But his next pair (yes, he loves them enough to get a second pair) will be in a cotton or bamboo blend.

After the knitting, we have goodies!!!! My Coffeeswap package arrived this week. I uncovered my batteries yesterday so I could finally take pictures. Look what Mrs. Pao sent!!!

This is such a gorgeous package. Chocolates, cookies, coffee, yarn and adorable stitch markers! I’m so happy with it all. Mrs. Pao will notice that some items are missing as we could not wait for the batteries to devour the treats. The coffee was quickly brewed up and the treats opened. I had two other smaller packets of coffee and a bunch of the 1 Euro white chocolate coins. Too yummy to wait! (Wow, my photography skills are not too hot here.)

Let’s try a yarn picture with the flash. This is much more true to the color (if I only had sunlight!)

She sent Posh Yarn and it is just gorgeous. I am so in love with this yarn that I cast on for a tam already. The color is to die for. (I’m crazy for green lately).

Thank you Mrs. Pao for such a wonderful package!!! I hope you love yours as much!!!

This last picture is for my mom.

The sweetest stray beagle in the world, as well as perfect houseguest. She totally wants to go home to you. Little Man says you’d better talk Grandpa into it. 🙂

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Filed under finished objects, socks, swaps

July 19, 2007 · 1:52 pm

I’m a Sock Machine

Okay, not really a machine as nothing here is really that impressive, but nonetheless I have WIP’s and FO’s to report.

I put this all in on Ravelry this morning too. I’m loving that site but I have to say that the process of uploading my pics, putting them on Flickr, adding to Ravely and then my blog post is time consuming!

First, we have not a sock but rather a finished scarf:

Simple lace pattern of K2 tog and YO, then knit the even rows.
Yarn is Terra from the Fibre Company, alpaca merino and silk….nice! Took one skein only.

On to the socks.

First up, the Mystery Socks:

Why a mystery? I won this yarn at The Weaving Inn but she wasn’t sure what it was. Bummer as I love this yarn. These will make nice warm socks this winter as they are quite thick. See the ear on the toe? I still get them now and again and can’t figure out why. Tricks, please??

Next up, my Spunkly Eclectic sock yarn of the month in Strawberry Fields. (Great club, by the way).

On to WIP’s. The first Copycat sock is done:

This is the sock I’m copying from a pair of store bought socks my SIL was wearing last Thanksgiving. I’m using Sandy’s Palette.

Next, I started Embossed Leaves Socks from Interweave Winter 2005, in Lotus Toes Sport by Zen String.

Lastly, some plain old anklets in Regia Bamboo:

Oh, and I finished a bib too!

Bib

This went to a friend. Okay, actually it went to her baby. The weird squiggle? Hiding a weird loop that happened on the edge of the neck. I wanted to do more squiggles but finished this a half hour before the shower, so no such luck.

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Filed under finished objects, scarf, socks

May 9, 2007 · 3:48 am

Joy

We made it to the May Day Fesitval on Sunday. We missed the parade, which was sad as it is really one of my favorite events all summer. Take some time to check out the link; fabulous puppets and constumes. We did manage to get there to see the pagent and sing “You Are My Sunshine” with the crowd…I love that part and it always makes me tear up just a little (I’m sappy like that) but the best part came afterwards, when Little Man, Knittybaby and I were heading back to the car while the Skeptic finished up his work. (He always gets stuck doing audio for Mayday).

Anyway, the three of us were getting ready to hike up the big hill towards our car, but we decided to grab some ice cream first. As we sat there, a local Cuban band started up. They were fabulous and Little Man was really into it. He finished up his ice cream and found a pink, wilted flower on the ground. I was beat and trying to convince him to head up the hill with me. We got about 20 feet up when all of a sudden he puts the flower stem between his teeth and just started dancing this happy, gleeful little dance…the funniest most joyful dance I’ve ever seen. The kind of dance only a four year old can do. I neglected to have my camera, but it was one of those moments that I will always have captured in my heart. I gave in and we ran back down the hill into the crowd and I watched him dance his little heart out until we were finally tired enough to head home.

I finished the apron on time. Wiggly boys are not very good models.

The finished shot:

Finally, for my Dishcloth Swap partner:

When did you learn to knit? Who taught you? Wow, four years ago now! A friedn got my started then my Grandma made sure I really knew what I was doing.
What was your very first completed object? A little garter stitch hat for Little Man. Your most recent? A hat and sweater set for my nephew.
What was the very first thing you sent to the frog pond? A sock (pulled out and started over) Your most recent? A sock! 🙂
What is currently on the needles for you? Four pairs of socks, Swallowtail Shawl, a Noro Cotton/silk scarf.
What types of needles do you enjoy working with? I’m pretty flexible. Pretty much depends on the typw of project. But usually bamboo or Addis. What have you tried and hated? The only ones I really hate are super sticky ones.
Have you knit dishcloths before? Yup!
1. What was your favorite one? Mason-Dixon
2. Least favorite? None, really…
Do you use homemade dishcloths or face cloths yourself, or give them as gifts, or both? Both!
What are your favorite and least favorite scents? (For your body, such as soap/lotion/etc) I love lavender and citrus, but it’s got to be 100% natural, no artificial dyes or fragrances. I’m pretty sensitive:-)
What are your favorite colors? Pinks, blues, browns. Lately I’m on a yellow and green kick.
What colors (if any) are your bathroom and kitchen decorated in? Blue bathroom. The kitchen, pink!
What other hobbies and crafts do you enjoy? Spinning, sewing, crochet.
Chocolate: Dark? White? Milk? Ew? All of the above! (except ew:-)
Do you like salty treats? What kinds? Cashews, almonds, any kind of nut really.
If you could go anywhere in the world for one day and spend the day any way you wanted, where would you go and what would you do? Italy. Eat and knit
Do you have any allergies? (Yarns, foods, etc. that might impact what your pal can send) nope!

Crying baby, not proofreading tonight! 🙂

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Filed under finished objects, kids, swaps

April 22, 2007 · 3:11 am

Catching Up

I have so much to post about, I’m not even sure where to start. Knittybaby has decided it’s okay to sleep on his own again. He’s still not quite %100, but at least he wants to play again and get back to normal baby business. He just needs extra cuddling and sling time.

Between Knittybaby’s virus and the swap I’m way behind, so I’m actually backing all the way up to last weekend. I have something I absolutely love to show off!

I finished the garter stitch baby sweater! This sweater and accompanying bonnet went to my sister-in-law for her baby shower last weekend. I was right up to the wire with the bonnet. Thank goodness she’s not a knitter, as I actually spent last Friday knitting it right in front of her. When my otherSIL asked me what it was I answered, “a purse.” Sneaky me!

I am in love with this project.

Patterns: Garter Stitch Baby Jacket from The Baby Knits Book by Debbie Bliss. The bonnet is a free pattern from Hello Yarn.

Yarn: Rowan Soft Baby in Meadow and Claudia Handpaints in Bearded Iris.

I’m pretty happy with the Soft Baby. It feels a lot like knitting with fleece, and the only thing I don’t like about it is that it has that fleecy tendency to pick up every piece of lint and cat hair in a mile radius. Other than that it is a nice baby yarn. The Claudia? Butter.
The pattern for the sweater was easy, but I didn’t like the unfinished look it seemed to have, plus the Soft Baby was crying for some contrast. I also felt that the sweater needed more width in the front. When I went to button it as is, I didn’t like the way it pulled in the front. The crocheted button band allivated that problem, plus I love the look of it.

The bonnet is an excellent basic pattern. I changed the I-cord ties to a side tie with buttons. I think I sewed them on a little too close together.

I’m happy to say the ensemble got “oohs” at the shower and my SIL seemed to love it.

The rest of the weekend was wonderful. We spent Sunday down by the creek with the boys on a perfect Spring day. We spent a lot of time just wandering, wondering if we really could ever be farm people. I could go on for pages about this issue…I guess I’ll save that dilemma for another day. I think the bottom line is that no matter where we lived we’d miss what was elsewhere…

Little Man had an exciting discovery, however. I wish I had the camera with us. He and the Skeptic found an entire beaver skeleton buried in the muck along the edge of the creek, pretty much fully intact. I had to get over my “ish” factor but Little Man was so enthralled. I love watching him in moments like these. The best part was we also found where the beaver had been chewing the trees and found quite a few stumps. What an amazing lesson and a wonderful day.

One last thing, since I’m on the topic of wonderful things. Then I’m calling it a night. In my rush to get Little Man to pre-school on Thursday, I left my purse on top of the car and drove off. Smart, I know. In what can only be called our “transistional” neighborhood, I figured it was gone for good. Nope!! Some lovely man found it, called me up and delivered it to my house. Every penny, every check, my phone, all still there. This so restored my faith in my neighborhood and the people in it. I get a little frustrated with the goings-on at times. But here’s a guy, who (I’m only guessing) probably could have used what was in that purse more than me. I wish I could send him something but he would only give me his name. Anyway, thank you Feliciano!!! You made my day. I only wish you were reading this to know how much I appreciated your kindness.

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April 4, 2007 · 5:59 am

Pictures

Thanks for everyone’s sweet comments. Hope I didn’t sound like a whiner. I did get to relax and we have had some better days, although the boys are still being a challenge. The weather is one of the biggest problems. Little Man just needs to get outside, and the weather is not cooperating. We had snow today of all things….cruel, cruel, cruel!

Knittybaby’s bear doesn’t care. He has arms, legs and ears now, so nothing else can get him in a bad mood:

Pattern: Bedfellows Bear, from “Stitch and Bitch Crochet.”

Guage: no idea

Yarn: Wool of the Andes, Lamb’s Pride Bulky, Cascade’s super bulky stuff (the name escapes me now).

Notes: my first crochet project, ever! I’m quite proud, despite the excessively long legs and arms. He’s still cute and Knittybaby digs him.

Next: My birthday gift from the Skeptic and the boys. Carders!!!

I’m so thrilled about these. I need to put them together yet and then I’ll get back to that crazy mixed bag of colors I’ve got to spin up.

SP10 came through with an awesome birthday package!

These were just half the packages. Everything was so cute and wrapped so nicely with little notes. Once I opened it all up, I had this:

Chocolate, coffee, candy, one of my favorite yarns, and a notebook. Can I be more lucky? (Notice the little hand reaching for that bunny?) The coffee is so good, and perfect for a rainy, dreary week like this has been. And of course chocolate is always a great pick-me-up.

Thank you to my SP10!!! You really added some smiles to our house that day!

Next up, Little Man’s birthday. There’s a reason I’m still up this hour of the night! I’ve got until Saturday to get this done.

Hope to see all of you locals at the Harlot tomorrow!

7 Comments

Filed under crochet, finished objects, packages, sewing

March 1, 2007 · 8:59 pm

Valentine’s Day?

Yeah, our Valentine’s decorations are a little bit late. But, I’m pleased that I stuck it out and finished this little garland up.

The lighting wasn’t so hot and I had a hard time getting a good shot. But they look beautiful hanging by the window and I’ll leave them up until Easter, to add a bit of color to the house. Lately I’m wishing for the house to be filled with color. It feels so blah lately….

The heart garland is a kit from Anna Maria Horner. This was a perfect practice project for me. Practice in using my rotary cutter for more than straight lines (easy!) and having to sew curves (HARD!) although I got better.

The big trouble was my sewing machine. All of a sudden it wouldn’t bring up the bobbin thread. I messed with it for an hour and gave up. The suggestion at Mom’s Night last evening was to change my needle and wind a new bobbin. Those mamas are smart, it did the trick and the garland was finished last evening.

Now for a little envy: SOCK CLUB!!!

I joined one at Spunky Eclectic. I love her colors and you join on a month to month basis, which I like. The one for February is called Forecast.

Considering we’re swamped with snow here, it’s perfect. We’re gonna hunker down for the next day and enjoy a nice snowstorm!

And just because there’s always room for a good laugh at the end of a post, guess what Little Man called me this morning? “Friggin’ Mom. Friggin, friggin Mom!” He did not like the lack of chocolate in his breakfast options. Apparently the Skeptic and I have not cleaned up our vocabulary quite enough.

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Filed under finished objects, kids, sewing, socks

February 24, 2007 · 1:54 am

That’s More Like It

Looks a little more like it could possibly turn into a bear, doesn’t it? As it is for new knitters, it’s all about the tension. I’m getting better but this bear will certainly be bulletproof.

Little Man considers himself to be Bob Ross. Seriously. He watches him after Mr. Rodgers every Thursday. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this. Unfortunately, Little Man is unable to grow the required ‘fro to truly be a Bob Ross afficionado. That’s a mountain with a storm, in case you were wondering.

Too big? Nah……

The Target Waves are done and in use. We had to roll up the cuffs and they are still a little big but they’ll do. I’m regretting not doing them in a superwash, such as Mission Falls and they are getting trashed in our muddy backyard. White on a little boy’s mittens? What was I thinking? Anyway, here are the specs:

Pattern: Target Wave Mittens, IK Knits Fall 2006
Yarn: Lamb’s Pride in Cream and Steadfast Fibers in Carrot Cake
Needles: size 6 and 7, Crystal Palace
Guage: 4.5 stitches per inch