Really done

With help from my sister (the rock star bead expert ~ is it redundant to be a rock star and an expert?) the sari silk bag is really done ~ Officially. Period. Done. She had two perfect glass beads ~ gold & yellow, and about the size of a quarter. They blend perfectly with the colors of the sari silk. I sewed a silk loop and attached the beads for the purse closure (get it 'closure' for the purse and 'closure' for the knitting project, clever, eh?).
~ the purse does look really great! Can you see the glass beads?

Don't tell Mom

Shhhhhhh, Mom's Christmas gift is done ~ I finished sewing the binding on #8 today! Very excited to have another Christmas gift complete ~ even if the gift is not knitted. Rockin#13 picked out the fabric & metallic trim ~ the greens match Mom's dining room area. I think she will like them a lot for the spring!

Counting blessings

We had a delightful Thanksgiving filled with an amazingly perfect dinner and great family time ~ lots of laughs and time to relax and enjoy the day! Here is my rock star beading sister being creative with colors and textures as she makes awesome jewelry. I am enjoying her company and hoping to glean some of her beading knowledge ~ she is such fun to be with and she is really good at beading!

Guess who's coming to dinner?

This morning we had a neighbor looking for Thanksgiving dinner ~ isn't she beautiful?
Here she is by our chicken's aviary. Have a happy Thanksgiving, and be sure to count all your blessings.

When to read?

Another exciting event! My second Interweave Knits Magazine arrived in the mail! My very own subscription to this knitting magazine is so amazing, as I was always reading a friend's copy or checking the library for past copies. My sweet friend gave me a subscription for my birthday and it has been wonderful to think about having peaceful time to reflect on all the arcicles and patterns ~ but when does one read it? I am not done reading my first magazine yet, as I am carefully and thoughtfully pondering each bit of wisdome and advice, and weighing each pattern and yarn thinking, "Could I knit that?" or "Would I want to knit that?" or "I should try that!" or "I should find that!" so reading the entire magazine is taking some time....probably good that it is quarterly, so I am not too far behind?

Monday Night Knitting

Packers are playing and I am knitting ~ great way to spend a Monday night, except that the Packers are not winning.... bummer....

Good news is that I made a bit of progress on the winter headband....I think it is more than half complete!!

Farther along ~

I was able to knit last night while watching the Red Wings hockey game on TV with my sweetie. We both enjoy watching hockey games, and are pleased when our Red Wings are on TV. He follows the team more closely than I do these days, however I love the excuse to sit & knit with my sweetie. Here is the headband with more inches on it ~ can you see the difference from yesterday?

Nothing like it ~

There is nothing like the feeling of casting on a new project ~ any project ~ any yarn. There is nothing like the excitement that this will be a great project, this will fit perfectly, this will look lovely, this will turn out exactly how I am picturing it. All optimism, all hope, all faith, all excitement ~ the cast on moments are the action that says, "No matter what knitting disasters have occurred, I have the faith and optimism to keep knitting!" This new project is a winter headband for Rockin10, as I made one for Rockin13 last Christmas. The yarn has some elastic in it, so it will be great for keeping her ears warm while sledding down our street during snow days!

Inch by Inch

The Jitterbug Socks have another inch on them, as I needed a bit of "quick" as I did a few more rows on the Hoodie. The Jitterbugs are showing some pooling, so I have been using the slip stitch technique ~ they are still beautiful.

I would really love to cast on a new project with some of the wonderful yarn from our September Celebration, perhaps the nuppie & braid hat... and I would need to review Marion's video of the cast on....perhaps I will get a chance this next weekend?

Back to the Hood

I was able to get back to the Hoodie this afternoon for a few rows, and the cable row. I have about 16 inches now on the back, so I will find out when I will start shaping for the sleeves. I can see I will need to be knitting on some different projects (or finish the Hoodie!) or this blog will be boring in a hurry!!!!!

Sari Silk Done

The knitting is done for my little Sari Silk purse. I need to figure out a closure for the front. The pattern calls for a beaded weight to hold the purse closed, so I'll have to think about what will work. Since my sister is so good with beads, I will ask her advice about a closure. I also worked on the Central Park Hoodie tonight ~ that yarn (Decadence by KnitPicks) is so soft and smooth ~ and I feel like I will be knitting on it forever!!

Three is a charm ~ really

Thanks to Queen Kahuna and her Crazy Toes & Heels book for the perfect cast off for these Monkey Socks. She calls it the Aloha Cast off and it includes a crochet hook. Her Aloha Cast Off makes a wonderfully elastic cuff and just what I needed to finish the Monkey Socks, and I still like the alpaca silk ~ a bonus!!!! I highly recommend checking out this self published book. I first saw it at our library, and then realized that all the pictures and descriptions were exactly what I needed to successfully knit socks!

Chicken & Ribs

Late work night means no knitting ~ so I will share a fun picture taken last night during the "too tight" episode. Since rockin'10 was wearing her chicken jammies while modeling the monkey socks with two inches of ribbing, I thought this picture should be called Chicken & Ribs, or Chicken Legs and Monkey Socks or something similar ~ gotta love those chickens!

Not Again?

I cast off these socks twice last night. The first cast off was with size 2 needles and they were too tight on those slim legs of rockin'13. So I ripped back ever~so~carefully and cast off again with size 4 needles... and they were still too tight....by then I had lost my patience, and was beginning to doubt my love of alpaca silk, so I stopped knitting. I had hoped to try again tonight, but no time yet.

More Ribs Please

These socks should almost be done, just keep knitting the ribs. I knit some decreases as well, to ensure that the ribbing will be snug ~ the loose lace part seems very loose on rockin'13's slim legs. Here is one on rockin'10's slim leg and ticklish foot ~ both daughters are now doing homework on this vacation day, so I was happy to get a slim leg to model for this post.
I called my Dad today, and thanked him again for his service in World War II. We had a great visit and I let him know how grateful I am, and our family is of his service, and all the Veterans that have served, and continue to serve our country. If you know someone who has served, or is now serving, please take a moment to thank them for our continued freedom.

Monkey Ribs

Now that Squiggle Yarn is behind me (or should I say on someone else's head?) I can get back to the Monkey socks. When Rockin'13 tried them on, she said the pattern part was very loose on her thin calves, so after three lace repeats I am starting ribbing in the hopes that they become snugger for her. Here they were last night.

Bye Bye Squiggle ~

All done with Squiggle ~ the pink is all gone and the hat is done. The deadline of November 10 is met! Rockin'10 approves of the hat, so that is great news! Betsy, my doll from childhood, is modeling the hat. Now, back to Central Park Hoodie!

Baby Squiggle ~

I am almost done with the baby girl Squiggle Hat. Yes, this would be the Special Order Squiggle Hat #3 of the month. Squiggle Hat with Chickens, pictured here. Another deadline, as the baby shower is November 10th. Knit Knit Knit!

Second Squiggle ~

Yes, the Second Special Order Squiggle Hat is Done! This is the pink one, again modeled by rockin'10 daughter (the one on the right). She has asked me to make her teacher a pink Squiggle Hat for the baby {girl} shower on November 10th. So that counts as the third Special Order Squiggle Hat? Who knew Squiggle Yarn would be so popular?

Original Squiggle ~

With all this talk about Squiggle Yarn making a come back, perhaps you are interested in the Original Squiggle. OK, perhaps you are not interested, but here they are anyway ~ one knit for each daughter.
P.S. Truth be told, Lisa has the Original Squiggle hat. I fell in love with it when I first saw it and had to make one (or two or three) since they are so cute.

Halloween Deadline

(get it? dead line ~ get it ~ Halloween ~ spooky...dead....get it?) Remember when I was sewing a Halloween costume the night before Halloween (instead of knitting)? Without the correct pattern and without much time to figure out how to "wing it" as the dead-line loomed? Well, here is rockin'13 daughter in her elf costume ~ not Nordstrom's, but the greatest red flannel elf costume around! Pretty cute, eh? Wait until next year!!!

Who Knew?

Of all the sweet hats I donated to the bazaar, I get two special orders for Squiggle hats. Who knew that Squiggle would be so popular? Who knew that Squiggle would be the Come Back Kid of novelty yarns? Who knew that I would need to BUY MORE Squiggle ~ but I really did not want to buy more Squiggle, as I would rather buy Frog Tree Alpaca or Cloud Nine or Mirasol or just about any natural fiber.... instead of Squiggle.....

Thankfully, I did not pay cash for the Squiggle, but traded coffee for it ~ and somehow I feel better about that.....

P.S. Here is rockin10 daughter modeling Special Order Squiggle Hat #1 that I finished today at a marvelous Yarn Yoga today (more news on that later)