Addi Turbos!

I haven't been able to post until now, but on Tuesday night i bought my first pair of addi turbos! I'm using them on peek-a-boob. They are the best circular needles ever. The transition from the cord onto the needle is almost un-noticeable. I love them! i really do think I'm knitting faster with them... But who knows.

I wasn't able to knit much yesterday, but i hoping that this tank won't take long. I'm now working on Wednesdays and Saturdays. i start at 7:00am and get off around 12:00 to 1:00pm.(depending on how much bread i have to bake) its not bad at all and we definitely need the money. I'm trying to stay positive about it. i do love baking and working while i am there, but the night before I'm not thrilled about it. as long as the kiddos are corporative and sleep a good amount of the night, I'm happy. But for the rest of the day i' m just exhausted. Plus there is always the household chores, laundry and cleaning and such... I've got to hand it to all the mothers out there who work full time(or even part time) and come home and keep working. Being a parent is a full time job in its self. Having time to knit is sometimes hard to do but i find if i make the time, even just 30 minutes a day, I'm a happier mother and wife.

So i don't know where all that just came from... I was just going to post about my new needles, and it just turned into a whole mom and working thing...

Speaking of mothers my mom just stopped by with a coupon for the bank(she works there). We are going to open up saving accounts for the kids, and the coupon give us 5 bucks! Free money! Is that an oxy-moron?! Free and money...You usually don't hear those words together:)

Ok well the kiddos are sleeping so I'm going to knit a bit to relax for the day:)
Happy Knitting to all!

Side bar

Please take a look at my side bar:) My friend and I finally found time in our busy mommy schedules to work on my blog. I now know how to put buttons on properly, without stealing them and link pictures to my finished projects! We have been trying to work on it for months but when were together something always comes up, usually the kiddos. I was so excited to finally have a respectable blog, or at least I think so:)

I've been working on some seed stitch shoes (from Baby Knits for beginners by Debbie Bliss) to go with mabel, but 1.) I made them too big, and 2.) they didn't seam up like I thought they would. I hate it when the finished product looks nothing like the picture in the book. I'm almost 100% sure that I followed the pattern correctly... But you never know. That is why I started another pair for my mothers friend (to match the hat I made for her) I had left over yarn and thought, why not?! So now I am making 2 pair of shoes that I don't even know if they will turn out... hmmm. Actually I'm going to rip out the first ones and make them a smaller size. That's 3 pair. I'm crazy. Question... Why do books give different sizes but skip one in the middle? They have a 3-6month, a 9-12month and a 12-18month. Where is the 6-9month?! That the one I want. Its just not my luck. Maybe I'm not supposed to make them after all.

I've swatched for peek-a-boob. What a weird thing two end knitting is. For Stst I used US #6 and for the two end I had to go all the way up to US #10 1/2. I'm not liking how the two swatches look nothing alike...



but I don't know what else to do. I am excited about this, but I'm a bit worried that it will look messy... Any suggestions?

on my sock, I'm about to start the heel... But other things have taken priority... I'll get to it soon...

oh my, I forgot to tell you all about the coolest thing ever... I ordered it from patternworks(link on side bar) its a port-a -pocket.



For sock knitting or small projects. It can go around your arm so you can even knit while walking. Its got little pockets on the outside for knitting tools. I love it!

I'll leave you with a picture of chub muffin and mr cranky pants:



Happy Knitting to all!

My SP's first strike!

So how excited was I to receive my very first sp gift ever?!? Super excited! When I went outside to get my mail there was a box waiting patiently for me on the porch. I was so happy, and it came on my birthday too:) when I opened it up there was a nice note from my sp5, some sock shaped point protectors(too cute), a tape measurer with a ladybug on the end(also cute:), a handy little sun shaped note holder and some sock yarn! Thank you SP5!!! What a nice gift this was!

ok now that I've properly thanked my secret pal I can backtrack to last night. I have officially finished mabel! With the help of my very talented friend Amy, there are five cute buttons on the back of it and they each have their own little loop hole.



(sorry its not the best picture)


Amy being the perfectionist that she is crocheted the loops and attached the buttons for me. Then I got to weave in all the ends. Not my favorite thing to do but if it means that its all done... Then so be it! So here is a picture of it hanging in my LYS:



Its above the yarn that I used. Jaeger Siena 4 ply, a 100% mercerised cotton. Here is a close up picture of the shaping:



now I'm done with the pictures... At least for this post. lol.

I was so happy to finish this dress! The pattern Traditional Mabel Dress was from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies . At least I think that is what the book was called, I don't own it, I just used the one pattern out of it. ok I need to go knit now... More posting later:) Happy knitting to all!

It's finished!

Well almost... Everything is seamed up and all the ends were weaved in by 1:57 this afternoon! All I have to do is buy some buttons to match... I'm not so sure its going to be easy. I didn't have any luck today. Sometimes I really hate shopping. I was really getting sick of not finding what I was looking for.

I was also looking for a skirt for me, leah is being dedicated in church tomorrow, I thought it'd be a good idea to look nice. Not gonna happen. Since having leah I've gone up a size or two(to be expected when having a child...) and I don't have much that fits me. I also Don't want to go hog wild and buy lots of new stuff because I am planning on getting back in shape;) so far I haven't been helping myself do that. I must be an addict if I think: why exercise when there's knitting to be done?! I think I need to buy a machine that will allow (a.) knitting and (b.) exercise.


OK, back to knitting. Here is a close up of the mabel dress:




I'm so happy with it! I think it is the best thing I've made yet. It was definitely the project I put the most time into. And it was well worth it. I just wish that I would have finished it sooner. I hadn't posted until now because I couldn't bare to say that mabel wasn't finished. I almost felt like a failure.... Not really but I did want to finish before posting, and it gave me that little extra push. Along with hubby and my mom telling me to get it done and out of the way. Well that's that.

now I can focus on my peek-a-boob tank! I've swatched for it, and my gauge is dead on. Then I read that you have to do two end knitting. Its kinda like fair isle, where you have two strands in one hand but you only knit with one at a time. Anyways I can get gauge on that. And it doesn't look the same as Stst. I think I'm going to write the designer and ask her some questions.

I'm still working on my sock... mabel took priority, and its summer now and I don't wear socks unless its cold out. So I should really do peek-a-boob first.

I bought some yarn to knit with the pep my sister sent me. I'm going to make a scarf... But again its summer...(see above) I did start it though, just because I was excited to see how it will turn out:



that can be my idiot knitting, when I really want to watch something with hubby, but still have the need for knitting:)

ok enough is enough, I'll post pictures (of course;) of leah in her cute dress tomorrow. oh yeah, Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!!

~happy knitting~

Oh my.

well where do I start...

I ripped my sock out, again.



I decided to add a few more stiches around. I think it will fit a lot nicer.



And this is where I am now. Its going well.

I went shopping for my SP5... Its really hard shopping for someone you barely even know. I hope she like what I got. I made her some stich markers... I wish I could post a picture of them... The turned out really well. I love posting pictures... Could you tell?! LOL. But I want to keep my identity hidden, so no pictures. Maybe when the secret is out I'll show you them then.

I haven't been knitting much lately. Having nice weather, we are outside most of the time and gabe doesn't do well playing by himself yet... I don't mind though, its fun to be a kid again and play with him. I love drawing with chalk, and making pretty pictures, its lots of fun!

I've also been in the garden, watering and weeding. or should I say de-weeding. We already have 10 little green tomatoes ... Its so exciting! I love watching things grow, from little to big. Its kinda like kids, they get bigger every time you see them. I swear leah gained a pound the other day, she just looked really big all of the sudden.



how cute is this:



he fell asleep while eating. Playing hard really takes it out of a little guy!

oh, I can show you these:



I didn't send these to my sp5 because I made a lot more than that.(they look nothing like these) I didn't want her to feel overwhelmed by stich markers:) they are so much fun to make. Sometimes I wish I had nothing but time, so I could knit and do other crafty things like this:)


.... Happy knitting~

Look what I got!

No, its not a package from my SP5, but from my SSS. My super sweet sister! She told me to be looking out for a package in the mail, but I just assumed that it was going to be more baby clothes. Her little girl is almost 8 months so she had been sending me her clothes when Bella moves into a new size. (which has been super nice, I haven't had to buy anything!!!)



Anyways this is what I got from her: some self striping sock yarn and some pep by Lana grossa. And the cutest card ever!



I think I know what I'll be looking for next time I need to buy note cards. How sweet! It made my day:) I have never received yarn in the mail that I didn't have to buy my self. So, thanks Allena!

I know its amazing, I posted twice in one day! But I had to when I saw what was in the mail....

One down, many more projects to go

I finished the hat last night and sewed in the ends this morning. And gave it to my mothers friend just a half an hour ago. She loved it! Even though its piepin hot out... I made it big enough that she can wear it well into next year. I love rib knitting! Its very giving.



The sweetie pie, Leah beea, was kind enough to model it for you all. My goodness I can't believe she is almost three months old... Time sure does fly by. This morning I drove past an elementary school and they were marching around the school for their last day, I'm assuming it was a graduation thing. All the parents were out on the lawn watching. Anyways I almost cried, thinking that gabe will be doing that I just a few short years. I've been super emotional since having kids... Its those darn hormones.

I'm planning on blocking mabel today. Right after I get off this addictive computer, and start some laundry. There once was a time when I hated using computers... Since knitting, that is long gone:) Gotta jet, happy knitting to all!

Slacker

So I know I've been slacking on my blogging lately, and I'm sorry:) But I've been really busy. Over memorial day weekend my hubby and I put in a garden:



Now I must say last year all we had was one row of tomatoes along our garage(top, left corner of the picture) ....So that must mean that we dug up the rest of the grass, with only our bodies and a couple of shovels. That is tough work. no machines were harmed in our garden.. Just us:) Alright, I think we have 18 tomatoes(all different varieties), 35 garlic, 2 peppers, 6 savoy cabbage, 4 zucchini, 2 yellow summer squash, and 4 cucumbers. Last year we only had six tomato plants.... We make our own sauce and freeze what we don't use, so we can have homemade sauce in the winter. Yummy yummy. It almost makes me drool just thinking about it. I also forgot to mention that gabe loves to eat them too. So we have a few sweet 100's just for him to pick and eat as they ripen. We also put wood around it so that next year we can have a raised bed. That was a last minute decision on my part:) it was tiring, but in the end, a good decision. Ok that's that.

There was a free fishing day, where you didn't need a license to fish, so we took a family fishing trip. Ok it really wasn't a trip we just went 15 min away from home to the local quarry. Gabe and daddy were catching little bluegill, and having a blast. I'm not too sure Gabe knew what he was doing, he seemed intrigued though.



what a cutie pie! It was the first hot day we had and he was a bit tired. But all in all we had fun!

like I said first hot day, well these past few days it has been so warm I almost can't take it. I actually put the air on. Before this we weren't sure if it was going to snow, not really, but it was anything but hot. So we have been out side a lot, and swimming:



alright,so I haven't been swimming, it's just a kiddie pool:) water balloons are fun too! Gabe is loving the water, and its good to be outside most of the day.(except for the applying sunscreen thing, I feel like I have to put it on every hour, us being fair skinned and all.) He gets to burn off some energy too. That's always a plus!

knit wise I haven't been doing too much... I'm decreasing on the baby hat, and I still need to seam the mabel dress. I did buy an iron:) now I just need to do it! When it's hot out its kinda hard to knit if your felling sticky. I know I'm making excuses... But at least I'm posting, right?! And once I get done I'm going to be finishing that hat so I can give it to my mom. Then maybe tomorrow we'll see about the dress.

until next time... Happy knitting.

Knit picks

The other night I came home to find a package waiting for me at my doorstep... yipee! It was my order from knit picks:



There are a couple sock yarns, five(rhubarb colored) 100% merino wool for my peek-a-boob tank from knitty, and the orange,brown and green are going to be made into dinosaurs. I found some really cute patterns and thought I'd try them out. I also bought another sock book, Knitting on the Road. It has a lot of nice patterns that I'd love to try. There are so many things that I want to knit and I feel like I have no time.

I still haven't put the mabel dress together yet. I did make an attempt though. About a week ago I pinned it all out and got out my iron and started to steam it. Two minutes later it decided to die on me... Now I need to go buy a new one. And it seems I always forget about it when I'm at the store. One of these days I'll remember. Meanwhile I have started a new baby hat (for my mother's friend, she's a new grandma)



and I started my first sock ever!! I'm excited about this.



I did have to start it over a couple of times, but I think it will look good in the end, and I'll be happy with it.

Ok so my oldest sister came for a visit and I got to spend a lot of time with her before she moves 18 hours away. It was a bunchof fun and I was so glad she decided to come up here to Wisconsin. I didn't knit much while she was here, and thats why I haven't posted in a while. I love having family around, it so comforting. It is weird to think fifteen years ago my siblings and I all lived in the same house(except Trevor, he is only 13, almost 14 years old, he wasn't around then:). Now we are off in different parts of the world, or should I say they are in different parts of the world. a brother in Korea(marines), and a sister in Germany, one soon to be in Colorado, and I'm here in good old Wisconsin(Trevor too:). I'm anxiously awaiting the time when we can all be together in one place at the same time. That hasn't happened for a good five or six years.... Well enough of that... I need to knit:) he he
happy knitting!

SP5 questionnaire

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
Yes, i've been raised as one. i can't stand when the yarn squeeks when your knitting with it. crunchy & squeeky = bad.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I just recently learned how to spin, and love it! its very relaxing.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
Nope

4. How long have you been knitting?
It will be one year in july :)

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
not yet, but i'll work on it... really soon!

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
i love candles that make it smell like you just baked something yummy! pies, cookies, you know the good kind!

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
*grin*
i LOVE chocoloate, (i should really say milk chocolate) and almost all sweets. i'm not to keen on the dark stuff, milk is so much creamier:)

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
knitting?! umm... i use to draw back in highschool.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
all kinds, within reason, no death metal;)

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
i like most colors, right now i'm into pink, who knows what it will be tomorrow:)

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
my hubby(joe) and i have two beautiful children. gabe is two and leah is two months. and we have one cat, named tommy.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
to raise my children to be caring and loving people, with families of thier own.*snif snif* its amaising how your priorities change once you have a child... i would love to own a yarn/coffee/chocolate shop (with my sister)and own some llamas and bunnies:) and whatever other animals want to live with us to give thier fiber up for the good of knitting.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
i love all, natural, fibers. i haven't been knitting long enough to have a super favorite, but anything that is soft, and doesn't squeek, is great.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
like i said: crunchy & squeeky = bad. :)

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
anything and everything! right now i'd like to start something a bit more difficult.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
baby hats go real quick... and they look so cute.

17. What are you knitting right now?
a dress for my little girl (actually all i have to do is seam it up), socks, and i just got yarn in the mail(tonight!) to start a peek-a-boob tank from knitty!

18. What do you think about ponchos?
i wanted to make one a while ago but now i'm not so sure... i'd have to really like it.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
i've been on a circular kick lately. you can knit anything with them!

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
bamboo all the way! but i've heard great things about addi turbos.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
i think so... i'm just now starting my first pair, i'm liking them a lot!

22. How did you learn to knit?
from the best teacher in the world! amy. almost a year ago she invited me to her knitting group and worked her magic on me:) she has raised me well in the world of knitting.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
9 months. a sweater for my son, i've never sewed in the ends...

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
i use to love the power puff girls... but that was quite a while ago... now i like whatever my son watches.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
i love christmas time! i'm usually giddy for a few months straight. i love the music, decorations and all the lights! its a great time of year, not to mention the real reason for the season, Christ was born on christmas day!

26. Is there anything that you collect?
yarn and knitting books:)

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
none yet... i will be getting Cast On, when i join the knitting guild association. whenever i get around to it.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
none that i can think of at the moment... i'll let you know if i ever think of one, in a later post.


Happy knitting!