Never Forget

Secret Pal!

I got my package from my Secret Pal! I am a little late in posting about it, I got it about a week ago! I still can't post from my computer with pictures and I am lazy about getting down into the basement to post.

So, here is a picture of everything that was in the package:
Here's a list:
* 3 colors Wool of the Andes by Knit Picks
* 2 colors of Plymouth Encore
* Trekking XXL sock yarn
* 2 colors of Plymouth Dreambaby in beautiful blues
* Paytons metallic yarn in purple
* Knit Picks shine
* Beautiful and soft hand knit face cloth
* Beautiful handmade stick markers in a cute tin
* 2 tape measures (which is perfect because I am always misplacing mine!)
* A journal
* The hedgehog pattern I really, really wanted!
* A great sock pattern.
* A baby hat and sock pattern
* A book of sticky labels
* 2 wonderful smelling bath gels
* Baby bee balm (which is great for the baby and me!)
* metallic roving
* A very cute decorated yarn jar with froggies and three kids representing my own three monkeys
* Tin of cinnamon mints
* Disk with a collection of patterns
* Cute note cards with a knitting motif

Phew! I'm out of breath! I think I remembered everything in there! It was a great gift from my secret pal Tina!

She has some great pictures up on her bloc that really show off the face cloth that she knit and also of the yarn jar she decorated.

Thank you so much, Tina! You made it worth the wait for that package! It was all I could think about for the whole week! Even now I just want to go on and on about all the great stuff in that box! I can't wait to get started on my hedgehog pattern. I have some wool yarn that I think will felt up for it, but I have to do a test swatch first. I also think that I am going to try dyeing it first with some collate because it is just a boring beige. I'll see how it felts first and then decide.

Okay, I feel better now. I have been kicking myself in the rear all week to post this because I really wanted to give Tina all the credit she deserved for that! She was a wonderful secret pal and really made my experince in this great!

Now, I have to get my last package done and off to my secret pal!

Gauge!

I am finaly able to post some pics! So here are some pics of my current knitting.

Here is a gauge (!) swatch I did to start my son's sweater. I was going to use the Pea Pod Baby Set from Interweave Knits. It had some great detailing in the bottom ribbing and along the bottom band, but the cabling was beyond me. I have never done cables before and I just didn't understand the directions. So.... I switched over to a simple seed stitch Guernsey pattern. Much better.






I have also been knitting away on some preemie hats. I sent off five sets to The Preemie Project. These are two of my favorites.

This is a ruffled watermelon hat and bootie set I did with Caron Simply Soft. I got the idea for the hat while in my LYS. Basically, I cast on twice the number of stitches that I needed for the hat, knit in the seed stitch for about 6 rows, and then K2tog all the way around to make the ruffle. Then I just knit the hat as normal. It came out very sweet and will fit a 3-5 lb preemie.

This is one that I made with Lion Brand Microspun. There are spiraling rows of purl stitiches in the body of the hat. This one came out very soft! It will also fit a 3-5 lb baby.

Oh, one more thing I have accomplished since the last time I posted, I actually got my Secret Pal package mailed off! I didn't take any pics of the stuff, but after everything is all done and the SP's are revealed, I will link over to my pal who posted some pics on her blog.

I have to get back to work now. Taking a time out to blog and if DH comes in here and sees I'm not working, he's not going to watch those monkeys anymore!

Problems Still!

I just wanted to let you all know that I am still here! I am still having some computer issues and that is why I have not posted in a while.

The computer works great for everything but my work! (I work as a medical transcriptionist from my home.) I just can't get the one program I need to work up and running! I have been working on an loaner from Total Computer Support (thanks, guys!) At least I can work, but man is the thing slow with a Capital "S!" So, I can't load pictures, I can't print, and it is really hard to log onto the net! Sure, I could go downstairs and work on the good computer, but that requires going downstairs! And I'm just too lazy to do that!

On the knitting front, I am just cruising along on my Branching Out now. I have finally gotten the hang of following the pattern. I am almost done. I just have to find some quite time to sit down and finish the last few repeats. Doing a lace pattern with three monkeys running around is just not an option!

I also started on a sweater for Matthew. This is the first time that I have attempted to make a sweater. Well, there was the little tiny one that I made for the Preemie Project, but that was so small I don't think it counts! I picked up some Dream Baby yarn in a shade of blue that really makes his eyes pop. I am about halfway through the back. Maybe one day I will be able to upload pictures again and I can show you!

Other than that, I am still working on my first toe up socks. I am just to turning the heel and have kind of stalled. I'm a little confused as to the process and have put it aside. I have been afraid to pick them back up for fear of having to frog them again. I will get them finished, but right now I really want to finish my Branching Out and get that blocked to see the finished product. I would also like to finish the sweater for Matthew so that he can wear it this winter. I don't have to have to keep it for my first grandchild!

I also want to start on a scarf for my sister with the Detroit Red Wings logo on it. She is a complete Red Wings nut! I think it would be a great Christmas present for her. I have to see if I can find a pattern for this. If any of you have a source, I would love to hear about it!

Okay, that's it for now. Hopefully I will be able to get some pics up soon!

$300 later...

I finally got a working computer again! $300 later! My motherboard and hard drive fried! Went to turn it on and nothing. So, I took it to the repair shop not knowing what else to do. ( I work as a medical transcriptionist and work online. I have to have a computer or I can't work. )

Anyway the guys over at Total Computer Support dropped everything when I came in to diagnose the problem. They discovered that the motherboard was bad. When I told them that everything in the world was on my hard drive, they backed it up for me right away.

Long story short, we decided that it was too much money to fix my old computer and it would be better to fix the other computer we had (one my husband spent many long hours and tons of money building that had been sitting in the basement in non-working order for about 9 months.) It took four days and $300 to get it up and running, but I finally got it back and we are off and running!

Anyway, I did get quite a bit of knitting done this past week without having the computer here. I did at least 10 repeats on my Branching Out scarf. I had a real hard time getting started with it knitting and then ripping, knitting and ripping, but I think I have finally got the hang of it. It really gives me an appreciation for you ladies that knit the beautiful lace shawls and such. What a lot of hard work and time go into them! Makes me look at them with an awe and awareness that I didn't have before.

I also worked on my Color Blox Socks from the Six Sox KAL. But then I had to rip some back because I didn't have my computer and couldn't check how to do the heel on the website! I didn't realize that I needed my computer to knit!

Well, I will post some pics as soon as I get the software reloaded for my camera and can upload.

Matthew's 1st Birthday

My little man turned 1 today! It is a sad and exciting thing.

Here are a couple of pics of his party from yesterday. Enjoying his cake (banana with cream cheese frosting)

And one of him opening his presents, with sister Sarah in the background. We had a really beautiful day. The weather was gorgeous, the kids got to enjoy the pool and the sun. All in all a really great day! Still, I am a little sad. He is my baby and I don't think I'll every have another one, so this is the last first birthday I will have for one of my kids. I will have to live vicariously through others from now on!

Happy birthday, little man!

I Love these things!

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by

1 FO and 2 more UFOs!

I finished my sixth sense socks from the Six Sox KAL. I finished them just in the nick of time, 11:58 pm on May 31st, the due date! Unfortunately, I didn't get the picture posted in time so I was not entered in the contest. That's okay though because I know that I finished them on time.

Here they are modeled by my 4-year-old daughter, hence the baggy appearance! They fit me and they are so comfortable. They used a short row garter stitch heel and garter stitch toe. They were very fun to knit! They are only my second pair of socks and I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out.

I have already cast on my next pair of Six Sox KAL socks: Color Blox Socks. They are toe up socks. I've never done toe ups before and I am excited to be learning how.

The other project that I cast on is Branching Out with the blue silky wool that I had bought a few months back. I had the hardest time getting started! This is my first lace project and I swear I frogged that dang thing back at least 10 times before I got the pattern right! And this morning I was knitting on it and it took me almost an hour and a half to get 10 rows done -- just one repeat of the pattern! I'd knit and frog, and knit and frog, and knit and frog! AHHHHH!!

I have been scoping out all the LYS's in the area around here. So far I have gone to about 3 in the local area. When I say "local," I mean anywhere between a 20 to 30 minutes drive. And when you have 3 kids, anything longer than 2 minutes gets you a "are we there yet?" at least 10 times every 5 minutes!

I went out to another store yesterday called Right Off the Sheep! What a great store! It was about 35 minutes from my house (about 70 "are we there yet's?") in downtown Birmingham, Michigan. I was super impressed with the store, the yarn, and the two lovely ladies that were working there! They had the biggest selection of sock yarn that I have seen so far.

Well, I went there looking for something for my secret Pal and found some really beautiful Uruguay wool yarn. It is very soft and in warm shades of cinnamon. I hope my secret pal likes it. I think that I might go back and get one more skein of it for her as I am not sure what she could do with just one skein. (And then I'll get an excuse to maybe look around some more, maybe even without my kids!)

I also got myself a couple of things from the clearance rack. And what a steal I got, too. Two skeins of Regia sock yarn 50 g for $2 a piece; one skein of Regia cotton sock 100 g for $5; and one skein of Sirdar Snuggly Poppet 50 g for $2. I also got myself #2 6 inch Plymouth bamboo DPS because I had been knitting with these gigantic 8 inch DPS and I felt like I was knitting with a dang porcupine!

Too Many UFOs!

I have way too many unfinished objects lying around! I have decided that I need to finish some of these things before starting anything else! (Yeah, right)

Here's a pic of just a few of the things I have going on right now.

Let's see there are the piles of fleece and crochet thread for making preemie blankets (buried under all this stuff,) unfinished bears and mother's tears hankies for grieving families; yarn for making scarves for DD's Santa Shop; quilt kit for DS; misc hats, booties, and preemie outfits that must be packaged and sent out to the Preemie Project; satin for DD's pj's; flannel for baby blankets!

That's just the stuff I had out to take a pic of! That doesn't include the socks I have on my needles; all the baby yarn I have bought to make hats, booties, blankets, squares, bereavement outfits, etc. I also have 10 skiens of beautiful natural chocolate brown Alpaca yarn to make myself "something," not sure what; the orange, yellow, and variegated cotton yarn I bought thinking I was going to make socks (but it was too thick so I think I'll make a swimsuit coverup;) blue silky wool that I think I'll make branching out with; on and on and on!

This is mostly just my knitting stuff! This doesn't include the piles of pictures I have yet to scrapbook. I haven't even started my son's scrapbook and he is going to 1-year-old in the next month!

OMG! My head is spinning just thinking about everything that I want to get done, and the fact that I will be lucky to complete about 10% of this!

Okay, just to keep my sanity, here is a FO!

This is a baby blanket made for Sarah's preschool teacher who recently had a baby girl.

Pattern: Sweet Baby of Mine Blanket from Encyclopedia of Knitting

Needles: Clover bamboo size 6 circulars

Yarn: BernatCottonTots 100% cotton

finally, some progress!

Oh, one more thing to put on the to do list: Learn to take better pictures!

Am I the only one?

Did you ever noticed that when you knit something you leave just a little more of yourself behind than you might want to? I am wondering is it only me or do other people have this problem?

What I am talking about is my hair. I am constantly knitting my hair into my projects! I have fairly long hair and I lose a lot of it. As I am knitting, I will notice a hair on my project and go to pluck it off only to discover that I have knit said hair into the project!

Just wondering if I am the only one?

SP8

I have signed up to be part of Secret Pal 8. We all have to fill out a questionnaire so that our secret pals can learn a little about us. Here is mine:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I like yarns that are very soft. I have somee alpaca that I love. I would love to try some other kind of natural fiber. The only yarns I don't like are scratchy ones.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a handmade case that I store my straight needles in. I don't have anything but ziplocks for my circulars and dps.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I have been knitting on and off for about 6 years. But I have been really into it for about the past 2 years or so. I would consider myself somewhere between beginner and intermediate.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yep

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I like fresh, natural scents, like lavender. I don't like really floral scents, like rose.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I have a sweet head! I love chocolate!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I scrapbook, bead, sew.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I listen to 80's alternative (Yaz, Eurasure, The Cure, etc.) I also listen to modern alternative (Incubus, theory of a Deadman) stuff they play on the radio.

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love color! Just about any color, blues, purples, pinks, yellows, reds, greens. I don't like neon colors. Other than that, just about anything goes.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I am married with three children, Emily -7, Sarah 4.5, Matthew Jr. - 10 months. I have one dog and one cat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves and hats.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I love to knit baby items, little hats, booties, blankets. And socks, adult socks.

13. What are you knitting right now?
OTN: Baby blanket, socks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yep.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I prefer bamboo or other wooden needles. I don't really have a preference to circular or straight. I usually use shorter straight needles and if I need something longer, I use Circular.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Nope.

17. How did you learn to knit?
I taught myself from a book.

18. How old is your oldest UFO?
Um, well, I have a poncho that I started for my oldest daughter about 2 years ago. I don't think That I will ever finish it. I started that project when I was first really learning how to knit something other than a scarf. Lots of mistakes.

19. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas and Halloween

20. Is there anything that you collect?
Elephants

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
There is a pattern from Fiber trends for a hedgehog, #228. I can't find it anywhere around me.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'd like to try the Magic Loop or 2 socks on 2 circulars.

23. Are you a sock knottier? What are your foot measurements?
I love to knit socks. I wear a ladies size 9.5 shoe. Heel to toe is 10 inches, circumference is 10 inches.

24. When is your birthday?
October 4th

You Are Marge Simpson

You're a devoted family member who loves unconditionally. Sometimes, though, you dream about living a wild secret life! You will be remembered for: your good cooking and evading the police Your life philosophy: "You should listen to your heart, and not the voices in your head."

The Simpsons Personality Test

Ribbit

I frogged my 6th sense sock. I had gotten done with the heel and then tried it on and it was just a little too small. I was going to keep on going and give it as a gift, but.... I really wasn't happy with the cuff. It was a hemmed cuff and it just didn't look very neat - too many ladders. I had a really difficult time deciding on doing this, but I read Rose-Kim Knits th other day and she frogged almost a whole sweater! If she could do that, then I could rip my sock and start over.

So, I did. I started again and used #2 needles instead of #1 and the ribbed cuff. I think I will be happier with this.

WARNING - POLITICAL CONTENT

I have a real problem with the movie United Flight 93. I just don't think it is right to make this movie. It is just too much too soon. I don't think most people are over 9/11 yet, I know I'm not. I think that the "entertainment" industry is all too eager to make a profit off the tragedy of others. This is a tragedy for the whole nation and I think we still need time to heal.

Just my opinion.

First Pair - DONE!

Well, I have successfully completed my first pair of socks! Woo-hoo! Wanna see them? They are really nothing special as far as socks go, but I am really proud that I finished them, they fit, and they look alright! There were a lot of new techniques involved in these for me.


I also started a new pair of socks. I joined the Six Sox Knitalong. They are doing a really fun pattern right now called "sixth sense." I was a little bit worried because I am still relatively new to knitting and have not done a real pattern stitch yet. But the pattern was easy and fun! I can't wait to see what they look like finished!


Family time! My kids love to swing! We had a very beautiful week for spring break last week and we went to the park several times. Now, my girls both liked to swing when they were babies, Sarah more than Emily, but Matthew just absolutely LOVES it! I can put him in the baby swing and leave him there for an hour and he still would not be bored with it!

Here we are at Metro Beach Tot Lot enjoying the beautiful day!
*
You know, I have a hard time finding the time to keep up with this whole blogging thing, but when I get started I find I have just a million things to say! The reason I think I can't find the time is because I like to look at other blogs with PICTURES! I have to admit when I look at a blog, I just scroll down and look at the pictures. If a picture catches my eye, then I will read the post! Ooo, I just know I am getting about a dozen dirty looks for that little admission! Because of this, I feel that I have to have pictures in my posts, and for some reason posting pictures takes FOREVER! Maybe I am doing something wrong - scratch that - I KNOW I am doing something wrong! I have to be.

Well, I guess one day I will figure all this stuff out! That's half the fun of doing this, right?

This is getting long winded so I am out of here! More later...

* see my problem with this whole picture thing? How do you turn this? I swear, I have been trying to upload these pictures for about 3 HOURS! I had one more I wanted to upload, but I give up now!

(does anyone else find it odd that the Blogger spell check doesn't recognize the word BLOGGER?!?)

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone has a great Easter! It is beautiful here is Michigan! It is sunny and warm! Makes we want to go outside and garden!

Well, Matthew is not only crawling now, he's pulling himself up to stand, and this morning for the first time, he cruised the couch! My little boy is growing up too fast. Here is a pic of him eating/wearing cheerios this morning! The kid loves to eat!

Emily and Sarah are growing fast, too. Emily is reading very well now. And Sarah is slowly but surely learning her numbers and letters in preschool.



Okay, so now I am taking pictures of my socks! I felt really weird taking this picture, but here is my very first finished sock! It turned out a lot better than I thought it would, and it fits! Now, I just have to cast on the second one, but I really want to cast on the sock that they are doing in the Six Sox Knit Along! I really don't want to fall into the second sock trap, so I think I will just cast on this sock and get it done with.

New Yarn, New Addiction

I have become addicted to sock knitting! And I haven't even finished my first sock! I'd take a picture of what I got done, but the batteries just died on my camera! Figures! But the sock actually fits! I can't believe it. When I first started on it I thought perhaps it would be too small. I had decided that I would give it to my mom for Mother's Day, but I tried it on this morning and the dang things fits! Well, maybe I will still give them to mom, but no promises.

I went to a *real* yarn store this weekend. I just kind of stood in awe for a few minutes after entering the store. It took me about an hour to go around and just look at everything about three times. I finally decided on a couple of things (to make socks with of course!) Here's what I got:


I have to work on my photography skills. You can't really tell the beautiful colors of this yarn from these pictures. The silky wool is a wool silk blend and really soft. The orange and yellow is cotton and part of my Project Spectrum as orange and yellow is the color for April.

Bye Bye Birdy

I had to turn over my bird to the animal hospital. She became egg bound. She just couldn't lay her egg. Poor little thing had this egg half in and half out. I took her to the hospital. I had kind of hoped this could just pluck it out, but no, it was still attached to her and she needs to have an eggectomy (not sure if this is a technical term.) The whole operation was going to cost almost $300! I just couldn't do it. The hospital gave me the option to sign her over to them and they would take care of the cost and then adopt her out. Well, bye bye birdy. I feel sad that she is gone, but this was by far a better option than have her put down. Hopefully they will be able to save her and she will go to a new home.

Okay, so I promised an update - and you didn't get one! Well, actually I did it, but in edit Html mode. Let me tell you, when you go to post it -- IT DOES NOT WORK! I got discouraged and gave up!

So, here again, and not in Html, is my update!

Family:

Well, it is official! Matthew is mobile! Watch out world! He is now into EVERYTHING!

He just looks so tiny! I don't think he should be crawling yet. Isn't 9 months too young? Doesn't he just look so proud of himself?

Emily turned 7! If I can't believe that my son is 9 months and crawling, just imagine how I feel about my daughter turning 7!

I took her to get her ears pierced. It is something that I had been telling her that I didn't want her to get done until she was 10, but... I just thought that she would look really cute with earrings!

We had a hula themed birthday party for her. (Cousin Melanie, who turned 10 on March 3rd, had a Tiki Party. I wonder where the hula party idea came from?) I made her an island cake, complete with palm trees, monkey, and two hula dancers. I had a little problem with my trees. I used fondant to make the leaves and I don't think I let them dry enough before I tried to build the trees. The next morning when I woke up, they had all cracked and feel off. Hum...palm trees with no leaves! Well, I improvised with a little fun foam, patterned scissors, and toothpicks. I think the results were pretty good! What do you think?

PROMISE...

I promise you all an update this weekend! I have been so busy (read LAZY)! I have also been pretty discouraged with this whole blog thing. I just can't seem to understand the HTML code and how to add things to my blog! Oh well, something new to work on.

I have so much to tell you all: Emily's 7th birthday, Matthew's crawling, Preemie Project update, Project Spectrum!

But right now, I have to go pick-up Sarah from preschool! So, it will have to wait until later!

Until then...

 

 

You Are Animal

A complete lunatic, you're operating on 100% animal instincts. You thrive on uncontrolled energy, and you're downright scary. But you sure can beat a good drum. "Kill! Kill!"

The Muppet Personality Test

Good blogger!

Well, I guess if I want to be a good blogger, I am going to have to post something on my blog! I am still trying to figure everything out over here! I am going to try to organize my posts with subtitles so that you can pick what you are interested in and skip the rest. So, here it goes.

On the family front:
Well, everything is finally getting back to normal over here. I would like to thank everybody for their kind thoughts and beautiful flowers that were sent! I still have flowers filling my house. We still have a few loss ends to tie up, but we are getting there.

Matthew Jr. Is just about crawling! I can't believe how big he is getting! So big, so fast! I think that I saw a tooth this morning that might be popping up soon! I can't believe it! Crawling, teeth, where did the time go? He is going to be 8 months on Feb. 26th. Oh my!

Emily and Sarah are doing well, too. They are both enjoying their ballet classes very much. Emily is also enjoying her art class. They are doing cartooning right now and she loves it!

On the knitting front:
I am currently working on a baby boy outfit for the Preemie Project. I am using this pattern. I am not sure what size baby it is going to be for yet. I think maybe a small preemie. This is the first item I have knit something that requires shaping. It is also the first project that I have blocked! I thought that it would be difficult, but it was so easy. I am actually embarrassed that I put off knitting items that needed to be blocked because I was afraid to do it!

Here is a picture of how the project is shaping up so far. I have the overalls done, they just need to be seamed. I have also finished the front of the sweater.

I have found a pattern for a sailor hat. It was written for a small child, but I think that I can alter it for a preemie. I have never done this before, so it will be interesting to see what happens. I will keep you all updated on the progress.

I also have another project on-the-needles: a dishcloth style baby blanket for Sarah's preschool teacher. I want to start on a pair of socks for me. It is very rare that I knit for myself, so I'm not sure when I'll justify starting these with all the other projects I want to start!

Hello Out There!

I'd like to say "hello" to everybody! This is my very first post in my very first blog. I'm not sure that anybody but me will really find this interesting, but we'll see how it goes.

I have started this blog for two reasons --

1. I want to be able to update my newly found out-of-town family about what is happening in my household.
2. I want to be able to connect with others out there in blogland that have the same crafting interest, or should I say passion, as I do.

I have recently become interested in the world of blogging through reading several blogs about knitting. I am a member of the Preemie Project. They hand make items for preemies, i.e. hats, booties, blankets, bereavement items. Several of the members have blogs and I have become a faithful reader of these. I have been a knitting and blog-reading fool for about a month now!

I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to see what my blog is all about! I look forward to getting to know you all!

Happy Blogging!

Jen