my lil pumpkin

WIPs Wrestlemania Day 27 and another FO!!

This hat TOTALLY cracks me up.

From these pics you wouldn't even know that it is a hat.  

It looks like a full over the head furry ski-mask. 

It is pretty funny!  

So, I designed my own pattern for this.  I really like it.  The hat was super simple--of course knitting with fun fur is a little annoying, but the hat itself is super simple.  Then the eyes and nose really threw me.  I totally stalled out while contemplating how to do them.  My mom crocheted the nose and then she couldn't figure how to do the eyes.  I tackled three crochet projects and felt more confident in my crochet skills so I decided to give it a try.  I got mad crochet skillz!!  Hahaha!!  Anyhow, I think it came out great! :)  

London totally loves it.  He is wearing it right now.  Yup . . .  July, hot, humid, and super warm hat.  He LOVES it!  What more could a Mommy ask for??? :)

Updated August 6, 2009:  I linked this to Kimba's DIY Day over at A Soft Place to Land.  I always love checking out the amazing things that bloggers are making.  I thought that I couldn't participate because I'm not blogging about projects I am doing around my house--but today Kimba specifically said recipes and crafts count!  Yea!!  So, here I am in my first DIY party!  So, go check out what all of those amazing ladies have been up to.  It makes for great inspiration!!

WIPs Wrestlemania Day 26

I have another finished object!  Yea!!  

But, my model is in bed after a busy summer day rockin' the kiddie pool.   

Hopefully he will be able to fit me into his busy schedule tomorrow.

WIPs Wrestlemania Day 25

And another finished object!  

This is the Flower Pot Hat also from Itty Bitty Knits by Susan B. Anderson.   I used Tahki Cotton Classic in colors that were all left from my Marley Hat that I traded in the swap last month.   I like the bright green with the purples and blues.  I am often drawn to a combination of greens, blues, and purples.

The hat is knit in basket weave and then the little flowers are crocheted and attached after.  The pattern also has flowers sprouting out of the top of the hat from i-cord stems.  But, i-cord does not float my boat so I decided to skip it.  I have plenty of yarn leftover if I ever decide to do it.  I am knitting these hats for a knitalong, but I wonder if I had an actual little one in mind for it if I would drudge through the i-cord.  Time will tell!

WIPs Wrestlemania Day 24

We have a finished object!  Yea!!  This is the Rosebud by Susan B. Anderson from Itty Bitty Hats.  This is part of the knitalong I am doing to knit every hat in the Itty Bitty Hat book.  We are doing two a month and this was from June.  

I used a varigated bamboo yarn on a size 5 needle.  This is the newborn size.  I have no idea how bamboo will hold its shape for a hat.  The pink roses and green leaves are Tahki Cotton Classic leftovers from my Upside Down Daisy hat.  Yup, we're all about the Itty Bitty Hats around here! :)

Link to my Ravelry project page is here.

I've been focusing on the Flower Pot Hat the past couple days.  I have also been thinking about how to line my Larger Than Life Bag .  I've spent a lot of time looking for tutorials on lining a bag.  It seems like they are designed more for sewers that are making bags as opposed to knitters and crocheters that want a very easy way to line a bag.  Ah well, I'll figure it out!

FO:Victorian Beaded Scarf

I am super excited to have finished this project!  I cast on in May . . . wait for it . . . 2007.  Yup, 2 years and 2 months ago.  I finished the first half of it pretty quickly and then totally stalled out on doing the second half.  It is necessary to string all of the beads for the half before casting on and that totally derailed my starting the second half.  So, a couple months ago I strung all of the beads and started casting on for the second half and I stalled out again.  I just picked it up again last week with the lofty goal of finishing it for my mom's birthday on Wednesday.  

The scalloped edge is created when casting on.  This means that there will be two halves that need to be garter stitch grafted together.  I did a REALLY good job grafting.  I have never been able to graft until this project.  Yea!!!!  :)

My mom does wear browns, but not much red.  I was concerned that she would not have a shirt to match it so I picked up this shirt for her at Target yesterday.  Last year at Rhinebeck (the New York State Sheep and Wool festival) we kept seeing this scarf and my mom went on and on and on about how much she loved it.  I had intended for this scarf to be a gift for my mother and I hinted to her that she would probably end up with this scarf "someday".

I used Schaefer Yarn Company Anne.  I really don't know how much yarn it was, but it seems like it less than half a skein.  I bought the beads at my LYS and was pretty limited in my color choices.  I really wanted a chocolate brown, but had to settle for the orangey-red.  The pattern was designed by a local teacher, however I have seen this same idea in several other patterns.  The one I linked to in Ravelry was not the pattern I used, but it looks similar.

I am thrilled to have finished this!!!!!  I really hope my mom likes the colors.

WIPs Wrestlemania Day 12

I finished a project today!!  And bonus, it is my mother's birthday present!!  WAHOO!!  :)  Man, this Wrestlemania thing is really working for me. :)  Details and pictures tomorrow.

WIPs Wrestlemania Day 10

Very Quick Update:

I have been working on my Victorian Beaded Scarf.  My mom's birthday is the 15th and I have this totally unrealistic notion that it will be done in time.  Ha!  I have also done a little bit on the Rosebud Hat and a repeat or two on my February Lady Sweater.  Monday-Thursday was busy so knitting was minimal.

WIPs Wrestlemania Day 5

Notice the sticks in his hand?  Sticks, rocks, pine needles . . . all wonderful treasures.  I hope you had a great 4th of July.  Ours was focused on spending quality time with our loved ones.  Perfection.

So, Day 5.  Today I finished weaving in all of the ends on my Larger Than Life Bag.  This means I have completely finished all of the "yarn" part of the project.  Now I need to figure out how to line it.  I have all of the supplies, I know what I want to do, I just need to figure how to do it.

I also did another lace repeat on my February Lady Sweater.  I tried it on and the yoke looks like a perfect fit.  Yea!!!  It definitely needs more length, so I need to keep plugging away on those lace repeats.  

These updates are really exciting, aren't they?  I need to figure out something I can finish to keep my two readers from bailing on me! :)

WIPs Wrestlemania Day 4

Happy Fourth of July!!!  We enjoyed the beautiful weather with a trip to the park and the farmer's market.  Nice, low-key 4th.  I think some BBQ is in our future tomorrow.

Well, I had just finished weaving in the ends on my second clog and was about to start joining the second sole when I realized that something was really not right.  The toe part of the clog was super, super tiny.  I took out my other completed clog to compare and I definitely made a HUGE mistake in knitting the toe.  UGH!!!  So I frogged, and frogged, and frogged.  By the way, frogging wraps and turns is a serious pain!  I now have one completed clog and one sole on the second clog.    I am done with the clog for today.  I'll probably do another lace repeat on my February Lady Sweater.  Or maybe weave in the ends on my Larger Than Life Bag.

WIPs Wrestlemania Day 3

My two potential knitting times are nap time and after the little guy goes to bed.  So, today during nap time I picked up my Felted Clog again.  Guess when I started them.  Go ahead, guess.  February 2008.  I am ridiculously close to finishing it.  Today I made the second sole on the second clog.  It only needs to be seamed up, joined, and bound off.  Another nap time should have it finished.  Although with the weekend coming up I may not have another free nap time until next week.  My evening knitting tonight consisted of one lace repeat on the February Lady Sweater.

FO: Sweetheart Washcloth in Pink

Day 2 of the WIPs Wrestlemania and we have a finished object.  Yea!! :)

It looked like this when I put the little guy down for his nap.

And it looked like this by the time he woke up.

It is the Sweetheart Washcloth pattern by Susan B Anderson.  I cast on before Valentine's Day right after I had completed one in chenille.  My crochet skills have GREATLY improved since then and I was able to do the crocheted picot edging.

Gotta go do a lace repeat on my February Lady Sweater!

WIPs Wrestlemania Day 1

Here is my February Lady Sweater.  The picture is from Monday, so pretend that there are 2 more lace repeats.

I haven't knit yet today (ya know, work and parenting and all that) but as soon as the little guy is in bed I will be doing another lace repeat.  Remember my plan is one repeat a night and so far I have been doing well with this plan.  What?  It's only Day 1?  I know, I know.  But, I have been doing one lace repeat a night for the past 4 nights.

peekaboo, i see you

I just love this picture. :)  He was playing with my friend's sunglasses yesterday and I was lucky enough to catch this pic.

For the month of July I will be rocking the WIPs.  I am not taking any classes--which always distracts me from my WIPs.  I am not casting on for anything new aside from the Itty Bitty Hat KAL that I have already committed to.  I am going to focus on my WIPs and get some things off of my needles.  I am participating in the WIPS Wrestlemania on Ravelry.  The idea is to tackle some projects and train for the Winter Ravelympics which are fast approaching! :)

Do you see that WIPs list on the sidebar?  I'm at 20.  Yup.  That's a lot.  My current focus is the February Lady Sweater.  I am trying to do one lace repeat a night which takes me about an hour.  I am also going to throw in some almost done projects to mix it up a bit so I don't get bored.  My lack of attention span is part of my problem, so I am hoping the diversity of projects while also focusing mostly on one project will be the best of both worlds.  

I am also aiming for really regular blog posting to keep me motivated!! :)

Woah!

I can't believe how long it is has been since I last posted!  

Life got ridiculously busy for awhile there.  I have been making all sorts of great stuff though!

I have been working on my February Lady Sweater that I have wanted to make for forever.  

I am further along then the picture shows--about 5 repeats into the lace section.  And there is no shame in having markers every 7 stitches!!! :)

Here is my Baby Surprise Jacket with buttons, finally.  They are cute little sheep that I picked up from Rhinebeck.  I put basic plastic buttons on the back because the sheep are quite heavy.  I also single crocheted around the edge of the button holes because the sheep were getting caught.

I updated my WIPs and FOs on the side bar with Ravelry links in case you are so inclined.  I'll be back sooner then 2 months this time!! :)

FOs: Bunny and Chick

I simply love Susan B. Anderson.  Love, love, love.  So, as the mother of a toddler and lover of all things Susan B. Anderson does--I had absolutely no choice but to knit both the bunny and the chick for my son for Easter.

I really love my bunny.  It is pretty cute.  I would love to learn how to embroider for purposes just like this.  I totally winged it.

My chick looks a little . . . well . . . off.  I think it is the crooked beak.  And honestly, my son doesn't seem to really like it either.  I am always finding it behind a piece of furniture.  Oh well.  At least he likes the bunny.
These are easy, simple projects that could be done in a few uninterrupted hours.  The knitting skills needed are super basic.

For both projects my gauge is waaaaay too big for a stuffed animal.  If I ever do them again I would go down probably 3 or 4 needle sizes.  I did go down one needle size, but obviously it wasn't enough.   Also, my animals' heads are very small compared to the pictures on the pattern.  I followed the pattern for how many inches the head should be.  Of course since my gauge was so far off, the head is much smaller as compared to the body.

Why am I so opposed to gauge swatches?  I guess if I am going to make something that truly matters what my gauge is then I really need to do a gauge swatch.  Gauge isn't a four letter word!!! :)

FO: Bunny Tail Hat

Here is yet another finished object!  Seriously, this is totally a record for me!! :)

This is the Bunny Tail Hat from Itty Bitty Hats.  Except, I did short ears like a bear and sans tail.  I made the 1-2 year size and it is quite big on my little guy.  I went down a needle size, but it is still too big.  I am sensing a theme here.  Are you? :)

Ravelry link here.  My little guy turned 16 months.  It is going too quick!!

I have yet another finished object to blog and I'll be finishing another one tonight.  Seriously, this is unbelievable!!

FO: Quilt Medallion Scarf

He is 16 months today!  

Can you believe it?  Another finished object!

Quilt Medallion Scarf from Interweave Crochet Magazine.  I took a class at Saratoga Needle Arts with the wonderful Cookie.  I used several different colors of Mission Falls Cotton.
If I had it to do over, I wouldn't have used the white yarn.  It doesn't look as stark white in person.
It could use a steam blocking before I wear it.  I'm not sure I will though.  I'm a rebel like that! :)

FO: Wonderful Wallaby Willie

I loved this project!  This is the Wonderful Wallaby made in a size 4 which is the Willie size.  Started March 7, 2009 and completed April 2, 2009.  If you have been reading my blog for any length of time you know this is a lightening fast project for me!! :)  

I used Malabrigo merino worsted in the color Pimenton.  The color is kind of a rusty orange.  Gorgeous!!  I had the yarn in my stash for a few years from a 20% off sale waiting for the right project.  It used three full skeins with the tiniest bit left over.  I started getting nervous that I was going to run out of yarn towards the end. 

The Malabrigo is a slight think and thin and seems a little thicker then worsted weight to me.  The sweater seems larger than a size 4 which is fine.  Better too big than too small!  I planned on London wearing it next fall and winter, but it will probably still be too big on him.

I went down a needle size and used 5's for the ribbing, 7's for the body, and 6's for the sleeves.  I was afraid I would have hugely puffy sleeves so I went down two needle sizes.

I found on Ravelry an alternate method for putting on the pouch that uses yarn overs from a new skein of yarn.  I will be trying this the next time I make it because I had some difficulty with the pouch.

I took a class at Saratoga Needle Arts to make the sweater.  Besides paying for the class, I used everything that I already owned to make the sweater.  Yea!! :)

I may get three winters of wear out of this sweater! :)

Lots of Updates

We did great on our February limited spending goal.  All month we only charged 4 things.  2 were preset charges (i.e. Netflix) and 2 were Paypal charges for internet purchases (which were less than $10 for both).  That is really phenomenal!  Normally we charge absolutely everything so we can take advantage of the cash back.  But, it has also made us less thoughtful of our purchases because credit doesn't always feel like real money.  This was especially hard because we were paying for our purchases that were put on credit cards in January while also paying cash for purchases in February.  I'm not done tallying our receipts so I don't have an exact amount on what we spent.  We did get hit with a nearly $500 purchase on the last day of the month.  My husband's car needed some repairs.  But the good news is--we paid for all of it in cash!!  Seriously!!!  I am so, so, so proud of what we did!!!

We are continuing to be conscious of our spending in March.  We will still try to not use credit cards and to put as much money on debt as possible.  I do have a friend staying with us for a week so I'm sure we will be spending more than our usual while she is here.  We probably won't be as strict in spending as in February.  It is hard to keep up at the level and we have already bought 2 books and a cd, although I did use a $25 gift card towards the purchases.  

I am still working on my Quilt Medallion Scarf.  I really love doing it and actually have to limit myself on how much I work on it.  The crocheting and the cotton has really affected my wrists and the muscles going up my arms.  I hope I don't run into this with all crochet projects because I really love it.  In last Saturday's class we learned row 4 and joining the motifs.  Right now I have 13 motifs joined together and 9 ready for the 4th row and joining.  I am aiming for 36 motifs all together.  We'll see how it looks as it gets close to the 36.  The springy colors are great!  Maybe I will wear it for Easter!