Cough, cough

Cough, cough, hack, hack. Bronchitis. I've never had bronchitis before, but I have it now. Not fun. It just sucks the life right out of you. All my plans for a marathon sewing weekend with my sister went down the drain. So I didn't get much done this weekend. A lot of naps tho! And a lot of sitting on the couch. I finally got some knitting done. I made a pair of mittens for my grandson. I can't believe how fast these knit up. I've never made child size mittens before. Fun! I'll definitely have to make him some more.

That was some Vanna yarn I had in my stash, color is denim. I worked on them while watching the Olympics, which I'm enjoying. So at least there was something good on TV to watch. My heart goes out to the family of the young man killed on the luge track, what a terrible tragedy.

I did make a couple of pairs of jammie pants. These are for my daughter. Got the fabric at a quilt shop when I went out of town.

I love that fabric! Cotton flannel, very cozy.

And I made these for me with some fabric I had in my stash. Tiny ice cream cones and popsicles. Cute. A girl loves new jammies when she's sick.

Some ice cream would be nice about now too.

Making Progress

I'm just moving right along on my quilt. I have the quilt top done. Now it's all pinned together and basted.

I'm loving it! The next step is to tie it together. I'm not going to quilt it. After that I can sew on the binding, and then it will be done. I have enjoyed making this quilt so much!

I have gotten some knitting done this week. I made a pair of mittens, a very old pattern. I think it goes very nicely with the yarn I used. It's from Marr Haven Wool Farm in Michigan. It's not processed a lot, I can still feel the lanolin in it. I love how these mittens turned out.

I can tell they will be toasty warm!

Quilt shop fun

Have you ever gone wandering around in a quilt shop? Lots of fun! My sister and I hit a couple of quilt shops yesterday. It made for a fun wonderful afternoon! I don't know how to quilt. That's the next craft on my list I want to learn. So fun to browse all the beautiful fabrics in the quilt shop. Any kind of print you can think of, it's there. Oh so fun!

I bought these little fat quarters to add to my stash. I love to look at them all spread out. They just look happy!

Whenever there is a cupcake fabric I MUST buy it. It's the rule. We both got cuts of those cupcake fabs. She gave me this cutest little Kewpie doll she found at a garage sale. We love those little dolls, so adoreable! So I just HAD to make her a dress.

All dressed up and ready to sit in my living room on the shelf and make me smile!

We also went into an old fashioned candy store and bought some candy. We're not sharing it with anyone ;)

I've gotten a little bit of knitting done. I made a dear distant relative some mittens for her upcoming birthday. I will see her in a few days when I go on a little trip out of town. I'm so looking forward to it!

That's a Vanna yarn with a glittery thread running through it. Dressy mittens!

Give a Hoot

I got the Give a Hoot mittens done. I love them! I think they turned out so cute. At first I sewed on beads for the eyes, but were a clear turquoise color and they blended in so much they were hard to see.

The flash made them glow and show up in the pic. But I just didn't like the beads on them. So I took the beads off and sewed on little buttons. A turquoise color!

The buttons show up better, but boy it's really hard to take a picture of your hand, the camera shook and it was hard to get a good clear picture.

I blocked them overnight, and here is the finished product.

All ready to be worn! And with more snow in the forecast they will certainly get used. They'll make having to deal with snow a little easier to swallow. Maybe.

What's in your knitting bag?

When I came home from work the other day I found Pixie all cuddled up by my knitting bag, sleeping so soundly as if she owned it.

I let her stay there for a while as I wasn't going to be knitting at that moment. I didn't have the heart to disturb her. Cats rule the house around here.

Then when I got up this morning, this is what I found:

She made her way INTO the bag. Again, I couldn't disturb her for a while. So cozy. She must like that pink cloud in there that I'm knitting. I won't be able to show you the pink cloud for a long time. That's what I'm calling the project in that bag.

On the needles I also have a pair of mittens. Owl mittens. I'll show you next time. Purple owl mittens, really cute! What's on your needles?

I've been on a buying binge of yarn this week. I couldn't stop. I bought more SWS and ordered some yarn from an etsy shop. I must stop this.

That pink fabric is for a future sewing project. Now back to my knitting. I'm going to try and knit from the stash for a while and not buy any yarn. That resolution may last a week. Maybe.

New camera

I got a new camera for Christmas. Merry Christmas from me to me! I'm still getting used to it and all the settings that it has. Sometimes pictures are good, sometimes not. It will take time. But I do love my new toy!

First off, I'll show you what I have been knitting. My first preemie hat. Oh it's so tiny! I'm almost done with it. I do know I won't be making this pattern again, four inches of 1 x 1 ribbing nearly drove me insane.

I hope it keeps some precious little baby warm.

My daughter made me one of those fleece blankets for Christmas. I love it with all my heart! I can only imagine her crawling around on her dorm room floor to make it. That makes me smile that she did that for me!

Kitty cats!

I finished the Bella's Mittens I made for my daughter. She loves them! They come up really high on the arm, and even though they are quite long they did knit up pretty quickly with bulky yarn.

They will keep her nice and warm on those freezing cold mornings walking to her classes.

I bought some yarn at Joann's the other day, a new one by their Sensations brand, Truboo. It's so soft! I have no idea what I will make with this. I've been lusting after it for quite a while and since it was one sale, and who can resist a sale, I bought the yarn. I really love how it feels.

That's about it in my household. Back to work tomorrow. My daughter will be here until the end of the week then back to school for her. I have truly enjoyed having her home for her winter break and will miss her dearly.

I took the day off!

My knitting needles are still clicking furiously. I got the first pair of mittens done.

I've started the second pair which are in a blue by the name of "denim", and they do look like faded blue jeans. I'll post a pic of them next time. I should have a lot more done on them later. I found out yesterday I have more vacation days left than I thought I had, so I took the day off, yay me! Lots of knitting time today. It's rainy and icky outside, a good day to stay inside and be cozy.

My little grandson helped me set up my skater pond the other day. I haven't put this display out in a few years. It's pretty old and the skaters don't glide smoothly anymore. But still fun to look at. I think I may replace the felt on the bottom of the skaters. Maybe that will help.

He was fascinated with this thing. I enjoyed our time together setting it up.

I treated myself and bought some lace yarn. Oh it's so beautiful! And so thin. I've never used lace weight before. I want to make a shawl but I won't start that until after I get all the Christmas knitting off the needles and finish the Spring Forward socks. This will be a real challenge for me during the long winter months.

The yarn is from Yarntopia Treasures on etsy. Beautiful yarn! And very reasonably priced.

So that's it for today. Time to get back to my needles and the sewing machine. I'm going to make my son some jammie pants for Christmas. Gotta get cracking here, no time to waste.

Smokin' Needles

We're getting down to the wire here. Not a lot of gift knitting time left before Christmas. Can you hear my needles clicking? Can you see them smoking? I've been on a roll. I've got a pair of mittens almost done.

After I get those done, I'll be casting on one more pair. I'm so focused on this right now I haven't been doing much else. Just sitting on the couch knitting. With a kitty or two by me.

With Pixie sleeping on my leg like that, I can't get up. You can't disturb a sleeping cozy cat! So I do another row. And she still sleeps. So one more row. She's not awake yet. So I keep going and I get a lot done! Yay for kitties! It's their fault. They hold me hostage to the couch and I keep knitting!

Hope you're having some knitting or crafting fun wherever you are!

Long Weekends Are Great

The turkey is gone. The pie is gone. My daughter is back at school. Back to work tomorrow. How was your Thanksgiving? Did you go somewhere? Do tell! I would love to know what it's like to go to someone's house for a holiday. It gets old having holidays at my house all the time.

So I cheered myself up and went to Joann's and bought some stuff. Here's the yarn I got.

I used some of that Vanna yarn last year and didn't like it. Maybe they changed it, but it's not bad, now I like it. For an acrylic. I just love that dark blue one with the glittery thread running through it! I don't know what I'll make with it yet, but it screamed at me to buy it. So I listened.

I started some mittens with the light brown and will make mittens with the light blue too.

That was a lot of 1 x 1 ribbing on that wrist, but it's done and now I can move onto the hand part. I love making mittens, haven't made any in a long time. I love how they work up quickly.

Back to the old grind tomorrow. Gotta earn that money so I can support my yarn habit. Too bad it doesn't grow on trees.

I Can Knit Again!

The pain is gone, I can knit again, yippee! So, I've been working on this:

What do you think it is? Stay tuned, and I'll let you know.

I finally got the book I wanted! I've been watching my mail, and it's finally here! Beautiful mittens in it, just beautiful. I've been reading it and learning the history of these mittens.

I'm not real good with stranded knitting, yet. I'm hoping to improve. I also suck at reading charts. But I'm determined to learn this. I'll just do a little bit at a time when I finally get around to making a pair of these mittens and give it my full attention. I CAN DO THIS!

I gave Mom her shawl on Mother's Day. She loved it! She loved the colors, the pattern, and how soft it is. She loved the little washcloth I gave her too. She doesn't want to use it, says it's too pretty.

Lunar Eclipse

There's a lunar eclipse tonight. I'm going to try and peek at it off and on even though it's cold as ice out there. It's interesting to watch that. It's a clear evening, should be able to see it quite well.

Well we're more than halfway through February and I'm still knitting from the stash. I'm so antsy to buy some yarn. I may be starting a knit-along in March and just might (read that probably will) have to buy some yarn for it. It calls for fingering weight. So I've been peeking at yarns on line. It's for a beret.

The second Very Cabley Mitten is almost done. I'm at the top, at the shaping part, just decreasing along. Then comes the thumb and weaving in ends. Then I'm done. Not sure what I'm knitting next. I'm craving doing another pair of fingerless mitts, I love them, they are so addicting.

I went to the library last night. I've been in a reading mood but nothing that I had to read was keeping my interest. I checked out a book called "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. I am having a hard time putting it down. Really good so far. Once I get these mittens done, I'll really dig into it. There's nothing quite like cozying up with a good book when it's cold out. Or with a good pattern and some yarn. I need more hours in the day.

Are we safe anywhere?

Another college shooting. So sad. It just breaks my heart. What the hell is this world coming to? I have a daughter in college, she lives on campus. Of course I worried in the fall when she went off to college after the Virginia Tech killings. I try not to think about it. Of course I worry when my family or I go to the mall after the mall killings. I try not to think about it. The amount of coverage these killers get is just sickening. They get more than enough of their 15 minutes of fame. Some stupid ass with a deranged mind follows this, and becomes the next killer and so on and so on. At times I hate the media. My daughter has been living in a dorm since fall. There have been numerous break-ins and thefts in her dormitory and others. Numerous. There has been a rape on the campus. That poor girl has left school. These crimes on her campus have been done by other students. Why?

So I try not to let this shit rule my life. It's hard. I can't lock myself and my family inside and never go out just because of "what if . . .?"

On the knitting front, I'm still working on the Very Cabley Mittens. I have the top shaping to go on the first one and then the thumb. I'm hoping to finish that one today. I'll be inside a lot this weekend, not because I'm scared to go out, it's just so cold and tomorrow some kind of snow/ice crap coming. Today, it's knitting, and errands while the sun is out. I'll just dress warm.

The calm before the storm

I finally got this scarf done for my daughter's friend. I'm very sick of scarves, I just did two garter stitch scarves in a row. This newest one is 68 inches long plus fringe. I just can't get a good pic of this scarf, it always comes out red when it is actually orange, brown and yellow. Now onto something new! One of my daughter's other friends wants a pair of peekaboo mittens, so that will probably be my next project. Gotta get this stuff done before she leaves for college again. I can do it, I like knitting mittens.




I had a knock on my door yesterday. It was my neighbor. He brought me this cheesecake. It's a Bailey's chocolate chip cheesecake. Very yummy. I swear it weighs 95 pounds, very heavy. I could feed a small nation with it. But instead, I will have it out tomorrow when the family is here for Christmas. Christmas! I can't believe it's Christmas already. Where does the time go?







Pretty soon I'll put my daughter's presents under the tree and go to bed. I can't wait to see her face when she opens some of the stuff I got her. Priceless!

Landmark Birthday

Thirty years ago today I gave birth to my first baby, my precious son. It's so hard to believe he's 30. 30! How in the world can I have a kid that old?





There he is . . . his first day of life. We've been through a lot through the years, good, bad and everything in between. He was such a funny little boy and a total joy to raise. He gives me inspiration and I look up to him, not just because he's taller than me, but because he's a fine young man.





So tonight we will celebrate his birthday with pizza and cake at my house. He requested pineapple upside down cake, so I made one.





Can't wait to eat that!

I'm still working on that second mitten for him for Christmas. It's so slow going. Went to the hospital last night to see Mom. She's doing OK. But she started crying, and I don't blame her, she's so sick of being in a hospital, nursing home, people prodding, poking, constantly. I just want to take her home with me. The hell with my job, the hell with everything. But I know I can't, so I just keep plodding on.

Anyways, I took the day off, to me it's a holiday, my firstborn's birthday!

One more mitten to go

I've been a busy little bee since I got home from work, I think I'm keeping busy so I don't keep worrying and worrying about my mom. Anyway, I made this blanket for my daughter-in-law when I got home. Another homemade gift can be crossed off the list, yay!





Pretty. I like the colors. But . . . when I pan out . . . we have Miss Pixie laying on the bed wishing I would let her lay on the blanket . . .





The cats were circling me like vultures when I was on the floor cutting this thing and tying it. Now, all I have left is one more mitten to knit, and I'm done with Christmas knitting. I can feel some relief coming off my shoulders.


Dad called while I was typing this. Mom has an infection at the surgical site, they are treating with antibiotics and she will be in the hospital for a few days before going back to the nursing home. This is a relief, I was so afraid there would be more surgery. And a big thank you to those with your well wishes! Very much appreciated!


Now, I'm waiting on my most delicious Stouffer's chicken parmesan to finish cooking in the oven, mmmmmmmmmmmmm, another frozen dinner, lol!


And where the heck did that snow come from this morning? It was a nasty nasty slippery scary white knuckle drive to work. I also shoveled that crap when I got home. Keeping busy busy busy.

Coming up for air

Phew, been busy all day working on Christmas gifts. I got my daughter-in-law's Alaska Headband finished. I made it in Patons SWS. That stuff is so soft, but kind of splitty, all in all I like working with it. I also worked on my son's fleece blanket/throw today and got it done. I made it in Detroit Lions colors, even though the gray washed out in the photo. I like how it turned out. A very simple project, but more time consuming than you would think. It feels very warm.

Now, onto the next project. I searched to see if I had any of that Plymouth Yarn in gray that I used for the scarf I made my son. Found it, but not enough to make anything with. So, I'm making him some Peekaboo mittens with the Vanna's choice I bought last week. It has gray in it. I just don't feel like running all over town looking for the Plymouth yarn. Once the mittens are done, that's it, I'm done with Christmas knitting. It's been interesting making all this stuff. Being broke has forced me to be quite creative this year. I just hope everyone likes the stuff I made.

The storm seems to be over for now. We didn't get a lot of snow. But boy oh boy did it rain today. I just sat on the couch and knit and watched Dream Girls. I didn't really like the movie, just couldn't get into it. I watched The Queen last night. I liked that one, it was rather interesting.

That's it for today. I think I'll surf for a while! Tomorrow I'm still off work, I'll start the mittens then. So for now, nothing is on the needles, first time in a while.