Knitting Update

I've been busy knitting up monsters for paying customers as well as for gifts. Recently had a friend who is pregnant, so I rushed to finish up some toys for her 20 month old and also her soon to be baby boy. I've just been on a monster kick lately. I've also been working on more face/dish clothes as they are quick and I'm trying to use up my stash. Planning on putting those with some handmade soap and giving as gifts at Christmas time. Socks are still on the needles at all times as well, they are just taking a little longer to finish as my toys are taking the lead.

The Beginning of Summer

Finally we are seeing a hint of summer...no snow, temps are rising, and the pools are opening. With summer, comes a very busy schedule, and it just seems to get busier as the years go by and the kids become more involved in activities.

This week marks the end of Brynn's first year in school. Her last day is tomorrow and I know that she can't wait to start attending Susan's again along with Kenzie. I also begin a Summer Bible Study at church this week (Thursday evenings) and I am really looking forward to starting that. I've also taken a big step by volunteering to teach Sunday school classes 2 Sundays a week at our church. My small group will be the 2nd grade girls, so please keep me in your prayers as I start this new and fun adventure! :)

The first part of our summer will be busy with taekwondo and also a trip to Texas later in June. We will be staying with my parents and going to all of my favorite food spots while we are there and we will also be making a family trip to Sea World. Dan and I will be going with Bubba (brother) and Laura (SIL) to a DCI performance (Drum Corp International), while we are there as well, and I'm really looking forward to that.

The rest of the summer will be spent around home and the girls will have swimming lessons in July. Brynn will actually be taking the lessons and Kenzie will attend a Parent-Tot class with either Dan or I. So needless to say we will be staying busy.

I am also planning on starting at Curves (work-outs for women) and I am super excited about that. I go in for my first assessment tomorrow, and hope to sign up and get started on losing some weight and getting my tone back.

Knitting is also keeping me busy. I am still trying to finish up on some monsters that I have promised to people. I am working on my first Christmas gift project, which is coming along nicely and I really like the pattern. My goal was to start Christmas knitting by June, and I started before then,so that makes me feel pretty good. Disclaimer: For close friends and family, many of my gifts to you this year will be hand-knit, the yarn is economical, but the work and time spent on the project is priceless, so I hope you enjoy your gifts come December. :)

Thanks for reading and hope every one has an amazing week!

Back to the Knitting

I noticed that many of my recent posts have not been about knitting, so here is a knitting post! I've been working on a pair of socks for the longest time and I'm finally going to finish them today! I've had several orders for monsters, which is taking time away from my "enjoyable" gift knitting, so I'm just trying to get all of those orders done. 2 more monsters to go for orders, 2 more monsters to go for my "Pay it Forward" thing, and then I still have so many gifts to make! I am hoping to get started on my Christmas gift knitting in July, and I already have a couple of those projects planned out.

My yarn diet is going really well! I haven't bought yarn (except for the cheap stuff that I had to buy for my monster orders). I am working off what I already have in my stash and it's going pretty good.

I will be getting started on some socks for Brynn soon and I need to get them finished by her birthday, which is in 10 days! Think I can do it?! I sure hope so!

So little time

Been a bit since I've posted as I've been busy with life and knitting. Speaking of knitting, it seems like I have so many things planned that I want/need to knit and I am having issues prioritizing it all. Been busy with monsters to knit for people by a certain time (my own personal deadline). This is just a busy time with Easter and all and I'm getting orders from others for monsters, etc. It's also a busy time of year for birthdays and babies being born, so it seems like it's never-ending.

Not complaining at all, I just think that I want to do way too much all at once. Hoping for a lull in the knitting after Easter, but I'm sure I'll keep busy at it.

Girls are doing well and Brynn is staying busy with taekwondo and that makes mommy and daddy busy as well. 2 tournaments in the next 3 weeks makes for a lot of time spent at taekwondo. I am volunteering at one of the tournaments, so that is going to take some time, but I think that I will really enjoy it.

A few finished monsters and so-called bear

The bear is somewhat questionable as he looks kinda funny, but it was my first bear, so hopefully I'll get better. I'm loving these monsters, so there will be many more to come!

Knitting Frustrations

I'm participating in a KAL (knit a long) for Cookie A's new sock pattern book Knit.Sock.Love. I finished the first sock with no issues really, except for maybe a mistake here and there. Pretty good for a somewhat difficult sock with charts and stuff to follow. So the left sock is a mirror image of the right sock (right sock done), and I start on the left sock a couple of days ago. Yesterday, I realized that my diagonal lines were coming out straight! Realized that I had done something wrong, so I frogged back a it and starting over on that chart. It did it again! I went to look for help on the Ravelry group for the KAL and got some good suggestions, but just decided to frog back to the cuff and pretty much start completely over with the pattern. Tough thing for me to do, because when I get that far, I don't want to go back. My first sock went so fast, I'm not sure what the deal was with this one.

I'm still working on my jaywalker socks. Those are very slow going, and I'm not sure why. It's the same stitches over and over again, so it's a mindless knit, but I'm still trudging along on the leg of the 2nd sock. I also just realized that I have no idea what I did with the 1st sock! Hopefully I find it soon.

Still have yet to start on the sweater this weekend. Having both the girls all to myself has really cut down on the knitting time, but that is fine. I'm hoping I can get started on the sweater tonight at least.

Hope you all have a marvelous Sunday! It's supposed to snow here today, so we will probably be staying indoors. Dan will sleep late I'm sure, but then I need him to get up to work on some new photos for my blog! As you can see it's still a work in progress. Emily (blog designer) is so amazing and it's so fun to see what she comes up with!

UFOs to FOs

Goals for 2011

It seems as though this will be a never ending list, but here is what I have come up with so far in no particular order. I like to call them "goals" rather than resolutions. :)

• Knit a sweater

• Knit at least one pair of socks a month

• Blog at least 4 times a week

• Show my love for my girls

• Show my love for my husband

• Take time for myself

• Knit some hats for the Children’s Hospital and deliver them

• Spend more time reading books to the girls

• Lose some weight

• Try to exercise more

• Don't watch QVC as often

• Use as much yarn that I already have in my stash as I can (stash-busting)
  

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Feeling the need to finish

So this has been bothering me a bit for the past few days...wondering what it is? I have two knitting projects going on right now 1) Citron shawlette 2) Jaywalker rainbow socks, and I have an urge to knit until they are done so that they don't go into the year 2011 unfinished.

I've been really working on the shawlette as I was hoping to have it blocked and ready to wear by 1/1/11. The socks aren't such an issue to finish, except that I'm starting a KAL (knit along) on the new Cookie A sock pattern book on 1/1/11 also. At least I'm already on my second sock, so I'm sure I'll be finished with this pair maybe in a week?

Anyways, my wrist is going numb when I work on the shawlette, so I hope it gets done! Blocking will take all day tomorrow, so my time is running out! I'm just going to curl up on the couch and try to stay warm since our low tonight is 0 degrees. :) Snow is still coming down, and I'm kinda glad we are finally having our first snow of the season.

Christmas Day

I am betting that everyone had an amazing Christmas! According to Brynn, this was the best Christmas ever! I'm hoping they will get better each year for her. :) She was very solemn this morning when she realized that Christmas was over. I told her that since it was Jesus' birthday, it only comes once a year, just like her birthday, and it would be back next year. McKenzie could care less and is just enjoying playing with her toys and bothering her sister while she tries to play her Nintendo DS.

I may have gone a bit overboard with toys this year, but I couldn't resist, I just kept seeing stuff I wanted for the girls! They did get lots of pillow pets this year! Brynn got one from Grandma and Grandpa and one from Sissy and David. Kenzie got one from Grandma and Grandpa and one from Papa and Nana, but they were all different, so all is well. (And now there are enough for Dan and I as well!) Grandma and Grandpa got to watch all the present opening via skype on Christmas morning, so it was a great way to have them here "with us" even though they were in Texas.

Our Christmas lunch was very yummy! We had spiral sliced ham, mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, and cornbread dressing. Needless to say, we weren't very hungry for dinner, so it was kind of a pick your own dinner night.

That's all for now. Hoping to have more knitting posts in the upcoming days since I will have some ample time to knit. I'm working on a Citron shawl at the moment, that is a simple knit, but a lot of tedious stitches, so I'm hoping to have it finished before the end of the year (that's my goal at least, but we will see). I'm also working on a pair of Jaywalker socks and I'm only on the first sock, but should be finished with that soon.

Self-Imposed Sock Club

If you've heard of the Yarn Harlot, you've probably heard of her self-imposed sock club. At the beginning of the year, she gathered 12 ziplock bags, 12 sock patterns, and 12 skeins of sock yarn. She then matched up the yarn to the pattern that she thought would work for it and then put it in a bag. She did this 12 times. Then each month she randomly pulls out a bag, and that's her sock project for the month...and she must finish it in that month.

I've decided that I am going to do the same thing in the year 2011. I think I probably have enough sock yarn, but I'll have to make sure. :) (It may require more sock yarn purchases). Anyways, I think it will be a great way to use up the sock yarn I already have and it will give me a goal to strive for. Hoping it works and that I stay on track!

Many projects

When I started knitting, I usually only had about one project going at a time. Once I finished that project, I started a new one. Within the last year or so, I've had multiple knitting projects going at once, usually about 1 to 2 different pairs of socks going, a larger project (like a blanket or a shawl), and maybe a hat or scarf here and there.

I just recently finished the shawl I've been working on for a while and I finished my sister's socks. So now I'm left with my Jaywalker socks and I just started a scarf. Feels very weird to not have more projects in the works, but it also feels kinda nice to know that if I did want to start another one, I'm not already overwhelmed with other WIP (works in progress, for all you non-knitters).

I would have already started on a new little shawl called Citron, but realized that I didn't have the right size needles! That's the most frustrating thing of all. I do have a lot of needles, but I have yet to collect all of the sizes and styles that I may need, so Dan suggested that maybe I get a new set with each paycheck. Good idea, but I think I'd be tempted to buy more than just one set. :)

I did try and start a sweater the other day...very easy pattern and I knew I could do it. However, every single time I cast on and would join the round, somehow my stitches would get twisted and I would have to frog and start all over again! I did this about 3 times and gave up. The yarn for the sweater is back up in my yarn storage bin and not in my active project bag. Some day I'll get back to it, since my goal is to do some sort of sweater or cardigan in the year 2011.

Enough of my knitting. I'm just trying to do something productive while I drink my coffee and wait for the girls to wake up to get them fed and ready for day care and school. Have an amazing day everyone....Christmas is only 11 days away!

Feels so good to be finally finished!

I started my first shawl back in April of this year and I worked on it for a bit, then it hibernated for a long time, and then I finally started working on it again in the past month or two and I finally finished it! I made many mistakes, but hopefully they aren't too noticeable.

I just need to block it before I can take any pictures, but it just feels so good to finally be done with it...and it also means I can start on another big/long project!! :)

Taos Weekend...a bit behind

Okay, so I'm a bit behind on posting this, but our weekend in Taos was amazing! I'm inspired to write this as I'm reading all about Rhinebeck (another amazing wool festival) on my other favorite blogger's sites. Going to Taos was exciting on many levels....1) it was our first mini-vacation 2)we were staying in an amazing house 3)I was spending time with my family 4) it was my birthday weekend 5) there would be yarn....and lots of it 6) great food 7) ample knitting time 8) the drive wasn't too long 8) the scenery was gorgeous 9) I got Rudy's BBQ in CO Springs 10) relaxation

The girls had a blast hanging out in the colorful house, and we were able to walk to pretty much everything we needed to, which was nice as parking is tough in Taos. I will definitely try and go to Taos every year for the wool festival, being that it's only 5 hours away. :)

Projects

I've been moving right along on all of my knitting projects. I finished my knit-along/read-along for August. The book was awesome and so was the sock pattern. I started on some socks for Dan and have already finished the first sock and am currently working on the second. It's a nice mindless pattern that I can do easily while watching tv. I also started and finished a winter hat for Brynn in less than one week, so I'm moving right along!

McKenzie's blanket is coming along as well, I think I'm about half done with it. Once I'm done with her blanket, I hope to start on some short sleeve cardigans for the girls. I probably won't get done with them till they don't fit them anymore! I will probably start on Brynn's first as the highest size that the pattern goes is a size 5.

Sock Obsession

I tried knitting socks over a year ago. I tried an online tutorial then took a class at an LYS with my friend Sara, and then I quit. I got annoyed with it and I also got pregnant! The morning sickness took precedence and I pretty much stopped knitting all together.

One year later…we attended the Estes Park Wool Market and while in a vendor booth full of sock yarn, I started to reconsider the idea of knitting socks. I really didn’t like the DPN (double point needle) method so I learned the Magic Loop method (mentioned in a previous post). I finished my first pair of socks in July using the Magic Loop. Then I started my second and third pair on DPN’s (figured I’d give them another chance) and I LOVED it! I’m glad I know how to do both methods as I think I will use them equally depending on the pattern.

So I started a pair of socks for Brynn now. I am knitting tube socks (no heels) so that they will grow with her feet. Once I’m done with those, McKenzie is next, then Dan, then others that I have planned for gifts (no I’m not telling who is getting them!).

I also joined a knit-a-long/read-a-long where we knit some socks using the same pattern (most of us using the same colorway) and we read the same book. That starts August 1st, but I haven’t gotten my yarn in the mail yet, so I’ll probably have to start knitting them a little late. I have the whole month of August to finish them, so I’ll have to hurry once I get them. This is all through Ravelry, online knitting/crocheting community.

So that’s it for now. I do have other ongoing knitting projects that I am slowly working on, but it seems like the socks are coming before anything else. I do need to get McKenzie’s blanket finished before her 1st birthday as I want to give that her to as a birthday present and I have a LONG way to go!

Yarn Snob

When I begin knitting, I bought my yarn at JoAnns or Michael's and I was a happy camper. I watched the paper for sales each weekend, and would make my way to the store to get more yarn. Paying more than $5 a skein made me cringe. Then...I discovered LYS (local yarn shops), Knitpicks, Etsy, Eat.Sleep.knit, and other amazing online yarn shops and I was hooked. I no longer shop at JoAnns or Michael's. Most of my yarn shopping is done online and $10 a skein yarn is considered inexpensive in my book!

Merino wool has become my yarn of choice. Superwash merino is the way to go for socks and it's not itchy at all! Malabrigo is my favorite worsted weight and recently bought some of their sock yarn and it's amazingly soft!

This is a yarn snob at it's finest...there is no going back.

Do you believe in Magic?

The Magic Loop, that is? I first learned how to knit socks a little over a year ago on DPNs (double point needles). It was very cool seeing the sock form, etc, but I just didn't like using the DPNs, so I decided that I really wasn't a sock knitter. It's a love/hate relationship when knitting socks. You either become addicting and can't stop buying sock yarn, or you just don't do it at all.

Then a couple of weeks ago, I decided that I was going to try it again, this time using a different method with one long circular needle instead of the dreaded DPNs. This technique was aptly named "The Magic Loop". I watched you tube videos and bought a little book about it and now I think I've got it! I LOVE the Magic Loop method! I actually can't stop knitting my socks! I'm almost done with the first one and will then start on it's matching 2nd. I can now see why people get "hooked" on knitting socks. I have finally seen the light.

I have two other projects I'm working on, but they have been put on the back-burner until I finish my sacred socks. :)

Blanket #1...Finished!

I finally finished Brynn's blanket. She was so thrilled and so was I!! It took a couple of months, but it was well worth it. I have already started on McKenzie's blanket, so I'm pretty sure I'll have it finished by the time fall comes around.

Estes Park Wool Market

I was thinking that we weren't going to make it to the wool market again this year because of the weather. 40 degree weather and rain ALL weekend! IN June! Never know with Colorado I guess. Anyways, I went back and forth with my decision on whether or not we should go, and eventually decided (with Dan's help) to make the trip and deal with the weather.

I don't regret going one bit, just wish the weather was nicer. I had to carry Brynn every single time we went outside or she would have muddy shoes. McKenzie was in her stoller, but Mommy forgot the blanket, so she didn't stay as warm as I would have liked.

Highlights of our mini trip included meeting a goat named Iris. Brynn and I got to take a picture with her and Brynn also got a snip-it of her wool. We went to the Alpaca, Llama, and Sheep tents and they were all great. My favorite of the whole trip was the vendor barn where they had more yarn than I could ever imagine. My eyes were on fiber overload and I wasn't sure where to go first. I made it home with some pretty yarn from a lady from Henderson, TX (Plain and Fancy), some yarn from another vendor that I can't remember the name of, and some yarn from Creatively Dyed Yarns.
We are thinking about going back next year and getting a cottage for the entire weekend in Estes and making a family vacation out of it. I'm super excited about that!