There have been so many things to be thankful this year. So much has changed this year that I am still trying to wrap my head around all of it. But the most important thing is that I am (very, very, very) thankful for the 3 people I can prepare a feast for.

Help in the kitchen is always warmly accepted!

(I am really loving the place cards K. made this year!)

Hope everyone had a very thankful holiday!!!

The weather has been strangely warm lately, almost an indian summer. We have our turkey dethawed, and all ingredients to have a very thankful Thanksgiving.

Hoping that you and yours have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Things are finally settling down after being crazy hectic for about 2 weeks. Did I mention that I am in college now? No, well I am. And for 2 weeks now I have been working on my finals, plus keeping up with family activities, and running the house as smoothly as possible. Very stressful and a lot of hard work. Which meant no knitting after the babes went to bed. But now that finals are over (got an A on both finals which means that I am still rockin’ my 4.0GPA thank you very much!) I can return to my regular scheduled programming.

Before my finals hit, I started a new project. A pair of socks for myself. I knew I would not get both socks completed before finals but if I could complete just one would have me satisfied.

(notice the slight change in gauge from knitting in the round and working in rows for the short row heel)

So here it is, my one lonely sock waiting for it’s buddy to be completed. In due time it’s buddy will be completed. The pattern is Daisy Socks and can be found here. All details, mods, etc will come after I finish it’s buddy. BEWARE! though that the pattern has errors, very easy to fix and figure out!

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On a side note:
I have been browsing the internet and finding all sorts of cute projects to make. So while my bookmark folder is filling up, I thought I would pass these along (in case you haven’t already seen them and your bookmark folder can fill up). All links open in a new window.

*Little Boxy Pouch Tutorial - I’ll have to adjust the measurements a bit to make it the size I want (K.’s zippy pouch broke at school and I had to give her mine that I keep my knitting stuff in, so now I am back to a ziplock baggy until I can make this. I am thinking one for each of us)

*Patchwork Star – So adorable and would look great hanging on the tree, for decoration, or adorned to a gift.

*Kid’s drawings come to life – I am seriously going to make these with the girls!!! How adorable!

*Hoot! – I do not need to give an explanation to how stinkin’ cute this is. I think mama deserves some as well!

*Knitted Mini Christmas Stockings - again, how cute!

*Oscar Elephant Pillow - this one is not a tutorial but links to her Etsy shop where you can buy him. He was just to stinkin’ cute not to put on the list.

*Faux Vintage Quilt Fun – the possibilities are endless

 
This year the girls were a “high school football fan” and a hippie.

Off to sneak a chocolate bar or two out of the Halloween stash.

Perhaps my love of yellow right now has something to do with Fall. Or maybe it is something else, but I am in love with the color yellow right now.

I have a few projects that I want to start for each girl (and hopefully will be able to get them done before Christmas arrives) so I figured I would squeak out a few instant gratification projects.

My new favorite winter hat! I am in love with this hat!! The color! The fact that it was worked up in less than 24 hours! The stitch pattern! And, it cost less than $5, I couldn’t even buy a hat this nice at the store for less than that. Well, I probably could, but it certainly wouldn’t be as nice and I’d probably get frost bite on my head, or the hat would fall apart 5 minutes after wearing it.

So the stats. The pattern is by Brooke Harlan called the Slouchy Mama Hat (Rav link to the pattern). The yarn for the pattern called for Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick n Quick, when I purchased Louet Riverstone in Harvest Moon it was labled as a bulky yarn, so I figured a few minor re-adjustments to the pattern and I would be on my way. The yarn arrived in the mail and that was when it hit me that it is not a bulky yarn, more of a worsted or aran weight yarn. Poo! So after some major re-adjustments to the pattern (I really wanted to make this hat!) and I was finally knitting away.

Notes and Mods:
I used US size 9 needles for the ribbing and US size 10.5 for the body. My gauge on US size 10.5 needles is 4.5 sts = 1″ and 5 rows = 1″. Going based on that and that the pattern is an 8 stitch repeat, I casted on 74 sts on US size 9 needles and worked my ribbing for 8 rounds. Switched to size 10.5 and increased to 80 stitches then worked the pattern exactly how it was written. When it came time to decrease for the crown, I placed 20 stitches on 4 DPN’s and worked the decreases as written until I was down to 40 stitches K2Tog all the way around then continued on as the decreases were written in the pattern. My hat is not as slouchy as the original but I love it all the same!!!

Now I need to finish one more instant gratification project and I’ll be on my way to knitting up my projects for the girls!

Happy Knitting!

Today is a big day in our house!! Our little pup is exactly 2 years old (14 in dog years, the girls get a kick out of that).

Happy 2nd Birthday to the greatest dog in the world! And yes, we will be having a birthday party this evening because the girls did not understand why we celebrate human birthdays but not doggy birthdays. Bacon, vanilla ice cream, and doggy biscuits are on the menu tonight. Don’t worry, I have better dinner plans for the non-furry folks in our house.

just some finds that I have been finding lately

The Greenhouse Game, filled with little activities that teaches children ways of taking care of our environment. Don’t leave the water running for too long, or else you will get sent to the attic with the antiques.

Two beautiful vintage tablecloths, the top one is a Wilendur and the bottom one has no tags. They were considered “cutter” cloths because of some “slight fading”. The bottom one pictured, I am going to use as fabric, just cannot cut into it yet.

Vintage linens are always a treat to find. Love the dutch woman on the table runner.

Beautiful handmade quilt for $5 because the lady “just wanted to get rid of it”. Perfect for snuggling up while watching movies.

And last but not least, my favorite tablecloth of all!!!

It is a beautiful thing when you find yourself a man who respects your thrifting addiction, knows your favorite season is Autumn, and knows you have a love for old things. He found this tablecloth (and 5 matching napkins, plus a brown tatted doily – pictured here) off of Ebay last month for my birthday present. Yes, it is a beautiful thing when you find yourself a man who is not only an excellent Father, but respects your love for vintage Autumn finds.

A long time ago (before Miss L. came along) James and I took K to see Finding Nemo. It is a very cute movie and I do not care to find that fish anymore. To get to my point, Dory would sing this song “Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming” and now when I sit and knit, I sing a similar version of the song “Just keep knitting! Just keep knitting!” In my head though, good gosh, if I sang out loud I would hurt my girls’ ears and make the dog howl.

When I first started out knitting, I would only be able to knit a few rows. Then I pushed myself with small goals “get the ribbing done on a hat”, “knit for X amount of inches” etc. It makes my projects go a little quicker.

A few years ago I made L. a chevron scarf, so when I was looking for a scarf pattern for myself last month, I decided to revisit the pattern with smaller needles and different yarn. One thing that I had forgotten about the pattern was that it is a rather slow pattern. So I sit and knit a few inches everyday, and I’ll keep knitting a few inches everyday until every 327 yards of the yarn is used up. I have a good feeling that I am hopefully around yardage 150.

One thing that I have realized though, is I get pretty bored with knitting sometimes. If the pattern is not interesting I’ll put the project aside, and usually find a new one to start, which leads to the previous one sitting around for so long that eventually the yarn gets frogged. 

Last week I stumbled across an interesting concept developed by Lee Meredith called Game Knitting. It is a very interesting approach to knitting, especially for someone such as myself who gets a little bored with knitting (sometimes, only when I have to knit in the round for more than 2″). And for those of you who do not watch T.V. or movies when you knit, the technique could easily be adapted to things that your family does, for instance, every time your child crawls on your lap to “help” you knit. Or your oldest daughter cannot pronounce a word in a book she is reading and asks for your help. You know, the good interruptions that occur when I am knitting. So anyways, check out the concept of Game Knitting, and also check out all the fun and cool projects that Lee Meredith has created for the e-book.

While I do wish that I found this concept before I started my scarf, I did find something that would break up the “boredom” with my scarf.

As you well know, Autumn is here in Ohio and with Autumn comes those chilly mornings. I had purchased some handspun yarn from GoldenRoad’s Etsy shop and could not wait to start a project with it. The yarn is a thick and thin yarn that ranges from fingering weight to sport weight. So I figured a nice pair of fingerless mitts would be perfect for this yarn. After browsing Ravelry and marking so many fingerless mitt patterns as a favorite, I grew frustrated that I could not find exactly what I was looking for to match my yarn. So I gave up my search and just winged it. Casted on and began knitting. And soon enough, I was able to try on my little half done mitt and realize that my “pattern” was working out like a charm and my mitts were going to fit.

I threw in some Knit Picks Shine Sport (in Harbour) to make the yardage last a bit more (there is only 125 yds). They are super warm, super comfy, and are nice to wear around the house or out and about. While I cannot actually wear them while knitting, there are plenty more fall festivities that I can wear them to.

How do you get through the knitting boredom? Do you work on a few projects at the same time?

so to speak.

It’s a beautiful thing when my child decides to take on responsibility. Not because her friends are doing it, not because it’s the “cool” thing to do, only because she wants to do it.

And while the dog may be under the kitchen table hiding, and L. covers her ears (or asks where the earmuffs are), James and I sit there and watch her practice and play while the squeeky notes flow out of her flute.

Seems rather silly doesn’t it, the start of one season and I am already talking about another. I like to plan ahead I guess.

Don’t think my little hiatus meant I was not crafting. Oh no! A lot of winter knitting has been keeping me busy. Not really sure if I have mentioned it here before but, I am self-taught at everything (even my parenting).

Back in 2006, I taught myself how to crochet, and then while browsing for crochet patterns; I kept stumbling across knitting patterns. Getting frustrated that all these appealing knit patterns kept making their way to my saved folder on the computer; I bought some needles and learned how to knit at a Stitch n Bitch group in early 2007.

One would think that crocheting would be the one I’d scamper to when I have the urge to make something, but knitting is in my heart. Crocheting still has its appeal to me, but I cannot oppose to the sound of the aluminum clicking between my fingers.

So earlier this summer, I was leafing through the ever addicting Ravelry and came across some fresh ideas to start my winter knitting. After all, I need to start early to keep my family warm during our cold Ohio winters.

Pattern: Mountain Nights Toque (link opens in a new window)
Source: BohoKnits (have a look around her blog, she has a lot of amazing…FREE!…patterns)
Yarn: 1.25 skeins of Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Wisteria
Needles: Size 6 and size 7
Mods: Lots of mods. This pattern called for bulky weight yarn and add in the fact that I making it for a child size noggin. CO 88 sts on size 6 needles, knit for 3″ then switched to size 7, knit for 6.5″ from cast on before starting decreases. Fits L. perfectly (love when I do mods and they come out right the first time!!)

Pattern: Girls Cap Sleeved Spring Shirt (or as L. calls it “The Perfectly Purple Playground Top”)
Source: Soulful Hues Etsy Shop (the pattern use to be free when only one size was available, that was when I downloaded it)
Yarn: 1.5 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton in Orchid
Needles: Size 6 for ribbing, switched to size 8 for body
Mods: None really, followed JCHandmade mods for the sleeves (Ravelry Link)

Pattern: Thorpe
Source: Through the Loops
Yarn: 1.2 skeins of RYC Alpaca Soft in Old Rose (looove this yarn! So soft and knits up beautifully!!!) and 0.5 skein of Knit Picks Crayon in Kingfisher (Eh! Not crazy about that yarn)
Needles: Size 9
Mods: The only mod was I knit for 5.5″ from top before starting garter stitch brim. And added a funky pompom!!
Overall, this hat is my favorite handknit item I have ever made!! I have never made a pompom before (I found a tutorial video on how to make pompoms but can’t remember the link right now). It is beautiful and it fits K. perfectly (and I don’t mean size wise, I mean it fits her fun and funky personality).

Last but not least is a granny square afghan I have been working on. Eleven squares down, many more to go. There are so many stunning granny square afghans out there. Not just in the blogging world mind you, but at thrift stores and flea markets as well. Temptation has struck me every time I think of purchasing such a handmade item. But with some stains, some overpriced, and knowing that more than a few of them are made out of scratchy acrylic, I decided that making one for our living room would be the best way to go.

I love granny square afghans, I love all the color that goes into them, and I love how each block is different, and yet they all go together in the end. The pattern is not really anything big. Just a basic granny square block that could be found for free anywhere I am sure. I have the book “99 Granny Squares to Crochet” and in there is a basic granny square pattern. Only that pattern required you to make some chain loops every other round. Seemed rather pointless to do that extra work, not to mention use up that extra yarn. So, I will take my granny square afghan day by day and square by square. Hoping that by the end of this year, my family and I will have a little handmade goodness to wrap ourselves up in when watching movies or reading books. After all, here in Ohio, winter may last until April or May.