It's freeeeeeeeeeeeeezing

Holy crap it's cold out there. It's like hell has frozen over. And that gusting wind just makes it even worse. I'm so glad I'm inside where it's nice and warm and cozy. I'll worry about the heating bill later. Can't think about that right now.

Still getting ready for Christmas here. My daughter is home for the break and I'm really enjoying having her around. I finally got all the handmade gifts done. Now I can get back to my neglected sock. I made these fingerless mittens for my daughter-in-law. I made them with that Caron Naturals Country yarn I showed you a post or two ago.

See that little pickle ornament by them? My son calls my grandson "Pickle", that's his nickname. I saw that pickle ornament in Target and just HAD to get it. I love buying silly stuff like that at Christmas. It makes it fun!

We had our office lunch the other day. My boss got me this perfume, lotion and candle set. It's really nice.

And another co-worker gave me this candle. Isn't it cute! It's a snowglobe on the bottom and in the top part you can put a tealight. I don't know where she found such a cute thing. I just love it!

I've got my shopping done, the wrapping is done. Can you tell what this is?

I couldn't resist wrapping that hat like that. It's for my son. He got me a T-fal pan one year and wrapped it in the shape of the pan. I can finally do the same in return!

Now it's time to relax and just knit, fun knitting on my sock, no deadline.

I hope you're staying warm where you are!

Just give me a straw

Lots going on lately. My stress level is through the roof. So just give me a straw and pass the bottle.

Want some? If I drank that, even a shot glass full, it would burn and make me choke. But at the moment, I don't care. I need it. But, that's not for me. I got that for my boss for Christmas. Maybe he'll share.

I'm still busy making Christmas gifts. I'm almost done. I bought this yarn the other day.

I'm making some fingerless mittens with it. It's really really splitty. But when knitted, OMG, it's so soft. So I guess I can put up with it for fingerless mittens.

I got a pair of jammie pants sewed for my son. It's OK, he doesn't read this, I can show you.

I love that fabric! Hope he likes them.

Remember my fascination with matroyshka fabric? I still love it. My mom loved the apron I made with that fabric, so I made her one for Christmas.

So I'm just moving right along here. Almost done with the homemade gifts.

We've got a snowstorm moving in, 3 to 5 inches predicted. A good night to stay in and knit. And that's exactly what I'll do. While eyeing that bottle of booze.

Toe Decreases

I'm still plugging away on the Ravelry colors socks. I've finally made it to the toe decreases after almost two weeks of working on this sock. See how it's coming along:

I'm still loving it! Here's a close-up of the heel. It's the best picture I could get without totally blurring it.

I was going to take a break after this sock before starting the second and work on a pair of Fingerless Mitts in a Ravelry group. But it's become so clique-y with pattern test knitting that I've lost interest. Maybe I'll do them on my own another time.

It's very hot and steamy outside again today. I'll just stay inside in the AC and knit. It seems so early to have the AC on so much. I am glad I have it though!

Ravelry Colors!

Check out this yarn I bought from an etsy shop! It's the Ravelry page colors. How cool is that? I love it!

I needed to wind it into a center pull ball but I don't have a ball winder or a swift, so this is what I did, I improvised. Don't laugh. OK, laugh along with me.

My daughter walked through the room and wanted to know what I was doing. Then she grabbed the camera. Nice kid. But I thought I'd share anyway. The heels of my feet were pretty tired after I got it all wound into a center pull ball. Here it is, all wound up and I started a sock:

I'm going to get as much done on this sock as I can before the June Knit-Along starts in the FGF group I'm in on Ravelry. At the rate I'm going, the socks should take awhile. I'm using a pretty easy pattern. It's my first real big people socks with sock yarn on skinny U.S. size 1 needles.

Finally, a finished object!

Remember this?

I asked you to guess what it was. Krystal (of the Yarn Mafia blog over at the side) guessed fingerless mitts. Nope. That's not what it was. It was this:

Shocking huh? I made big people socks! It took me two weeks, but I did it. It's a thick house sock. Very comfy. Next try at socks will be with real sock yarn. Here's a close up of the cables:

I'm very proud of them!

I've certainly been enjoying my days off. I planted my tomatoes yesterday. I put them in containers this year because something always gets in the garden and eats them. Not nice. Hopefully I'll have better luck this year.

I can't wait to have a juicy tomato warm from the sun!

This is my next project, it's almost done. Any idea what it is?

I'm hoping to finish it later today, so hopefully I can post a picture tomorrow.

A New LYS!

A new yarn store opened in the area yesterday! How exciting is that! I went last evening to check it out. It's real clean and a pretty good size, but not a lot of yarn yet. I can't wait until she gets more yarn in. I'll check back in a couple of weeks and see if there is more yarn. It was fun to touch and look! I bought a couple of skeins of Plymouth Encore Colorspun:

Kind of blinding and bright, I love it! And I bought a skein of Plymouth Yarn Dreambaby DK. It's so soft, just had to have it! It's a vibrant purple, I just can't get the camera to do the color justice:

I'm going to make some fingerless mitts with the Dreambaby, and maybe some house socks with the Colorspun. But it will take me a while to get through that as I can only knit for short periods of time at the moment.

I did finish the little kitty I was making. I just love these kitties! At first I had sewn a yarn nose, but it just didn't look right. So I ripped it out and sewed on a little pompom, I think it looks better.

I don't know where this kitty is going to end up yet, I just may keep this one.

Spring Cleaning . . . Kind of

Remember our Moms and/or Grammas doing spring cleaning? The yearly ritual where they cleaned the house from top to bottom in the spring. Do people still do that? I've been on a cleaning frenzy lately, getting this house in order. I've neglected it for too long. Lots of dustballs and cat fur, and clutter. I've got a few more cleaning projects to do next week. Sometimes you don't realize how dirty something was until it's clean. Then you keep staring at it, it looks brand new! It all started with this:

I finally got a new little TV for my bedroom. It's perfect! I don't have to get up and whack the crap out of it every 15 seconds. A nice change of pace. My little piggybank has been getting fed, a little here, a little there. My yarn fund, lol!

At last I got the fingerless mitts done that I was working on. Forgot to take a pic, I'll post them next time. Then I started a new project last night. I need to frog it tonight and start over. I'm not saying what it is yet. Might have to frog it a few times, lol!

I did get a little bit of sewing done this week. I made this little bag for my grandson. He can keep his little treasures in it.

I'm hoping to sit at the sewing machine this weekend and also to get some knitting done. The house is clean enough for now. It smells good in here, like Pine-Sol and Lemon Pledge. I need to rest for a while. And no, I won't come clean your house when I'm done with mine, lol! Unless of course you offer thousands of dollars and lots of fabric and yarn and chocolate. I might consider it then.

I Wish the Days Were Longer

I'm still going at it with the sewing machine. Not much knitting to report. I've been knitting a little on the fingerless mitts. I'm hoping to finish tonight. Here's a peek, but I do have a little bit more done since this picture was taken.

Here are some fabric and patterns I bought while at Joann's the other day when the stupid snowstorm started. A few patterns to just make "stuff", I don't really sew clothing any more.

I got a couple yards of fabric. I'm going to make one of those purses with this:

And then I was going through the remnant bin and found these cute flannel pieces:

I just HAD to buy those flannel pieces, just one of those things.

So I got busy and sewed an apron. Someone borrowed my other apron and I never got it back and I doubt I ever will. Here's the front:

I used a contrasting fabric for the inside, you can wear it either side showing. Here's what it looks like from the back:

Now won't I just look so snazzy wearing that apron to put frozen dinners into the oven?

Knitting and Sewing

I started another pair of fingerless mitts. I just love making these! They are a quick knit, my kind of project, and the end result is so cute. They come in handy too. I'm making a rather plain pair now since this yarn is so fancy. There's a glittery thread running through it and some beads. I can't get a good close-up picture of the beads without blurring it. You can kind of see how it sparkles.

With all those little beads occasionally mixed in, I keep thinking I'm coming across a knot when I'm knitting. It's taking some getting used to. The yarn is the Moda-Dea brand.

I couldn't stay out of Joann's. I bought some more fabric the other day. Cute calico.

So I sat down at the sewing machine last night and turned some of that calico into this:

A Project Bag! Here is a look at the inside:

It was fun to make! Now that I've made this one, I've got ideas on how to make the next one. Sometimes I just can't leave a pattern alone, gotta put my own touch on it. You can really get creative with these, mixing fabrics, trim, etc.

It's Good Friday and I've taken the day off work, yay me! My daughter is home again for the weekend, another break at school. We are going shopping! I'm going to look at TVs and see if I can find one for my bedroom and then I can finally lay that piece of junk that's in there now to rest. AND it is officially spring! But you wouldn't know that by the weather report, snow is predicted for later, ughhhhhh. Hopefully this will be the last of the snow for the season.

Knittle

Whenever my grandson sees my knitting he likes to watch and wants to "knittle" (as he says it) with me. He has his own little ball of yarn and some needles to play with. That lasts, oh, maybe four or five minutes, then he's off to play with something else. And I can't knittle anymore because I can't take my eyes off him, he's into everything.

I got the pink camo mitts done. I like them! This yarn was nice to work with.

We got another snowstorm. I think the total for my area is 9 to 10 inches. Lots of the white stuff out there. I didn't go to work, just too much snow. I couldn't get my car out until I shoveled and I couldn't even get to the car until I got rid of the snowdrift between the house and the car. Whew, what a nasty job. Thankfully a neighbor with a snowblower came by and helped. Now I'm all shoveled out and can enjoy the rest of the day.

I get to start a new project! I'm going to go through my stuff and see what says "make me next". I'm leaning towards the beret with the beautiful yarn I recently got. So, for the rest of the day I will be on the couch and I will knittle.

Tomorrow I'll show you the projects I sewed.

Leap Day

Go to work, come home, shovel snow. Repeat. So sick of snow. I wish it only fell on the grass.

I got the scarf for my daughter done. In order to get a good color photo, I took it outside in the snow. Not that we have a shortage of snow these days. I can't wait to give it to her.

Next up: The camo-along, the fingerless mittens made with camoflauge yarn. I got everything ready to start last night, but was just so tired, I didn't get any knitting done. I did finish the book I was reading, A Thousand Splendid Suns. Wow! What a book. An absolutely wonderful read. But what a sad story. I really admire the Afghan women, their strength, the hell they have had to live through. So glad I live in the USA.

Winter Weather Advisory . . . Again :(

The Very Cabley Mittens are done. Cables all over the place. I like how they turned out, and this yarn was nice to work with. I'm loving the color! I used Cascade 220. My first time using it.

Now I'm working on the scarf for my daughter. It's more than halfway done, yay! I'm working on it every spare minute. I'm going to go see her this weekend and I want to take the Finished Object with me so she can use it for the remainder of the winter from hell. It's 47 inches at this point, I want to take it to 65 inches, then add fringe. I rented the last 2 DVDs of Grey's Anatomy to watch while I knit. I'm making great progress while watching those DVDs.

Once I get this scarf done I can start on the knit-alongs I've decided to do, the camo-along which is one where we are knitting fingerless mitts with camoflauge yarn and the beret-along where I will be knitting a beret. Still waiting for my yarn to come for that one.

I had this Calla Lily kit which I won at our Block Party a year or two ago, forgot all about it. So I planted it yesterday. Let's see if it grows. Since I can't get outside and do stuff yet, I'll grow things inside. While watching the snow fall. Again. Another winter storm advisory for tonight and tomorrow. Sigh.

I Fell Off the Wagon

I bought yarn today. I didn't make it through February. I tried. I failed. So what. I have new yarn! I made my daughter a scarf at Christmas out of the Patons Classic Merino. It itches her like crazy. And since my car drove me to Joann's (yep, it did, must have been on auto pilot) and since I saw this yarn in the exact colors she wants, I had to buy it. Especially since it was the last skein in this color left.

She is so excited over it! That makes me feel really good that it's so appreciated. I'm going to start it tonight. Can't wait to get cracking on it. Yeah yeah, My Bad, it's acrylic, but it won't make her itch and that's all that matters.

So . . . while I was there and I'm going to be in a fingerless mitt knit-along which is using camo yarn I bought some camo.

Pink!

and one in browns

I just couldn't decide which color. That was the easy part though, now I have to decide on a pattern. Decisions, decisions. Not sure when this starts, so I have time.

Did you see the lunar eclipse? I opened the door and looked at it off and on last night. It was awesome to see. Very clear night. And around 10:00 p.m. EST it was totally covered, kind of orangey looking. I'm glad I saw it.

It's THAT day

It's THAT day. I wouldn't even acknowledge it because I hate it so much, but . . . I did a Valentine's Day swap in a singles group on Ravelry since we feel left out on this day. It was so much fun! I love the stuff I got from my swap partner, she spoiled me.

Look at all that stuff! SWS yarn, I love that stuff! Can't wait to cast on something with it. And goodies galore: colorful stitch markers, darning needles, lip shaped soap, a magnet, AND a candy bar! Thank you Nikki!

I bought this beautiful Cascade 220 yarn not too long ago from an on line store (Sonny & Shear, great customer service!) and finally took it from skein to ball the other night. I do not have a ball winder or a swift, so let me tell you, this was quite the little project. Stupid cats wouldn't help, so I had to do it by myself. I put the skein on my feet to hold it in place, and then started the winding process. It didn't take too long. It turned out like this:

Quite tidy. I'm proud of my little yarn cake. And the color is just gorgeous! I started knitting a pair of mittens called Very Cabley Mittens (pattern on Ravelry). I've gotten this much done so far.

I finally made it through all the cables on the cuff of the first mitten. Look at all those little cables I did.

Tonight I'll start the body of the mitten. While watching more episodes of Grey's Anatomy. I'm such an addict. To yarn, Grey's, knitting, chocolate. Life is good today! I think I have my knitting mojo back.

Winter Doldrums

It's freezing today. Again. So sick of it. It it's not freezing it's snowing or sleeting or freezing rain or windy or snowing. I know it's winter and I'm stuck inside, but I'm so darn tired of being cold and weather events every day. It's depressing.

My daughter loved the beret! Pixie was glad to give it up and just go on being a cat again instead of a model. Surprise surprise, my daughter came home for the weekend! Long story, but she's on her way back to school now. I can't wait for that phone call that tells me she's arrived safe and sound.

I've been sitting on the couch all afternoon since she left knitting. I love my couch, it's so comfy.

It's like my own little world there. Just watching DVDs and knitting. I'm still working my way through the seasons of Grey's Anatomy.

I got these two books from the library the other day:

The Vogue Vintage Knits has a pattern for two colors mittens I want to try. But I need some yarn for them, and this is knit from the stash month. Sigh. So I will wait. I've got some other things I want to knit first. I haven't cracked open the Elizabeth Zimmerman book yet. Maybe later when my wrists get sore from knitting. I'm knitting some mittens. No, not socks, remember, I don't do socks? I tried socks, didn't like socks, I don't want to knit socks, and if I don't fit in because I don't knit socks, so be it.

Knit from the Stash Month

I finally finished the Braided Gauntlets. I have no idea what took so long, but they are done. The one on the left had so many mistakes and so much frogging in it. I'm surprised I kept going. I tried my best to match up the colorways, I think I did pretty well in that regard. I know one thing, I'll never use that yarn again. It was a pain in the ass.

So now onto another project. I started this beret for my daughter:

It's very plain and simple. I've never knitted a beret before. I did all the increases so it will be bigger after the band. I did the M1L increase. I'm so proud of myself, I learned something new! Yay me! I made her a hat and scarf for Christmas out of some merino wool. She says they itch her like crazy. So I'm using acrylic (don't throw tomatoes at me) for this hat and I'm sure it will work out fine. This yarn was in the big box of yarn I received not too long ago.

My daughter was home for the weekend and brought me a present!

Would you look at that! I got a Valentine gift. I absolutely hate that holiday and so does she. That was so sweet of her to get me something. She wasn't sure if we'd see each before Valentine's Day so she brought it for me. What a sweetie! The gift means the world to me, she spent her little tiny college budget on this for me.

I've bought so much yarn lately I need to quit buying for a while. I decided no new yarn this month (it's a short month, ha!) and I'm going to knit from my stash for a while. I bought yarn with projects in mind then would find new projects then buy more yarn and so on and so on. I need to quit browsing the patterns on Ravelry, ha, like that's possible. So let's see how disciplined I can be this month. But watch out in March!