My very first KAL!

I did it! I joined a KAL. It is for knitting a pair of solid color socks before the first of the year. Here is the button! I'm so excited, I have always been envious of all the KAL's out there. Now I am a part of one yippee! Little progress has been made on the sock though. I'm starting to freak out, we are leaving early on wed morning and I still have to pack... I just started a list today... I'm such a last minute person. Ahhhh. Wish me luck:-)

Here we go!

Wow thanks Allena! I always saw that button and was to afraid to use it. he he How silly of me. So here it is, my first leaf lace sock! I really like how it turned out! Also i like the length of it. I know because the night i finished it I wore it around the house. Anyways i like the length because it isn't tall enough to slouch down. I have that problem with my very first pair of socks. Wait a second they are my only pair of socks. Not for long! *grin* he he. So I've been pluggin away at the second one and hopefully it will be done soon. In a few days or so. Then i'm going to start another one:-) I think I'm going to pick a

pattern out of the oh so cool book, my super cool secret pal gave me! It has so many cool patterns. I'm not sure how I can just pick one! Maybe I'll just have to knit them all someday:-)

Ok so I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to post anymore, I will try. The reason being that I am going on vacation! yippie! My family and I are traveling with my parents and lil bro to go visit my sister Allena (and her fam), and my grandma, whom I haven't seen in over two years. G was a baby the last time we saw her. Now she can meet L! Also I get to meat booty, Allena's youngest! She is 1 year old and we haven't met her yet:( I can't wait though, very exciting! Also we haven't seen her hubby in over two years:( him being in Iraq and all. I'm just thankful that he is safe and sound living with his loving family again!

My parents are renting a 15 passenger van to cart us all down there. They said it will be about 13 hours of driving, maybe more. Ugh. I'm a little worried about G & L and how they will do in the van. We are borrowing a portable DVD player to keep G occupied in stressful times. All I ask for is prayer, seriously. I think that is the only way to go. And L is so active now, hopefully she will adapt and sleep a good portion of the way. One can only hope!

I also excited for all that driving time, that means knitting time! I really need to decide what projects I want to bring, I should be finished with the leaf lace socks before we leave. Oh BTW we leave early on Wednesday. Should I start the manos throw? More socks? Some face washcloths? A hat for lil bro Trevor? Hat for big sis Dawn? Llama hat for G? (I had enough left over from hubbys hat).... What do you think?

FYI, hubby loves his hat. He took it deer hunting this past weekend and said that the only parts of his body that stayed warm was his head and ears. He now wants llama socks, for next year by the latest. And in three years he would like a whole body suit out of llama*grin* I said yes to socks and yeah right, good luck on the body suit.

Ok it is getting late and there is church tomorrow... Better get to bed!

Hello still won't work!

It really is making me mad. It says Network unreachable. Please check your internet connection and try again. I have no clue what that means. I think its working just fine. Oh well I'll have ot get someone experienced to come over and help me:) Or if any of you have any advise I'll gladly take it.

Well even though I can't put any pictures I'll tell you about my SP gift! I was so excited about it. She gave me Knitting on the Road By Nancy Bush. SO very cool! I'm in love with socks and cant wait to finish the socks I'm doing now and get started on a new pair. I'm almost to the heel of the second sock. Soon very soon I'll have lot of warm hand knit socks to keep me toasty this winter.

Speaking of winter... We had our first snow Wednesday...Not enough to cover the ground with a beautiful blanket of white fluffy, but it was still snow. I can't wait to see the first day of snow covered everything. It is one of the most beautiful things, to wake up in the morning and the sun coming up to a blanket of whiteness. I love it. Plus it really feels like the holiday season when there is snow everywhere. I love Christmas time!

So for the last few days to a week L has been boycotting her mashed, solid food. She use to be a "healthy" eater. Ok she was a little piggy. She would eat lots and lots. Well she has only wanted to nurse for the past few days and I couldn't figure out why. She would hit the spoon away and spit out anything I actually got into the mouth. I even gave her own spoon so she could "help". Nothing seemed to work. Today my mom (and sister) suggested to give her soft solid chunks of food. So tonight I gave her little pieces of carrots and some peas. The look on her face was priceless. I'm positive she just wanted to be a "big girl". Her little smile was so cute when I gave her food like ours. She really is growing up. I don't think she actually managed to get any down, she just chewed on it about and then it just popped out. I think she was trying to use her teeth but can't seem to figure out the closing the lips and chewing at the same time. I think I'll roast some squash in tiny little chunks tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.

On the knitting front I started a flower wash cloth form Weekend Knitting. I'm using the cotton chenille that Diane sent me. Thanks Diane! Also I'm on a yarn diet. We found out that Hubby needs some dental work done (a root canal and all his wisdom teeth need to be pulled) and we don't have dental insurance. Sometimes I really hate his job. Its a love hate relationship. Ugh. I was planning on making the in laws some felted slippers but now I just cant. Its really nice that they are interested in my knitting though. At first they teased me about it and now they are putting in orders. I think I'm going to ask MIL if she would mind paying for the yarn... We will see. That's reasonable right?!

Its nearing bath time, the kids love bath time, they're such a hoot in the tub! I love that they have each other to play with. I'm glad they can have a sibling like I did. Its a great thing to grow up with!

Knit Happy!

Hello is making me mad.

I was going to show you pictures of my sock... The first one is done! Yipie! But hello/picasa for some reason wont let me. It keeps saying to check the connection to the internet. But obviously its working because I'm blogging. I've never had problems with it before now. Anyways... Oh my goodness I almost forgot. I also got a package from my secret pal... But I'll wait to tell yall what she sent until I can post pictures. Let me just say it is really cool! Ok well I'm going to start my second sock... I think I'm becoming a sock monster;-)

Happy knitting to all and to all a good knit!

Progress

I've made some progress on my socks. Yes they are for me! I'm excited about them and I find my self wanting to have tons of hand knit socks in my wardrobe. I better get those needles movin:-)

Today was a day for laundry, lots of laundry. How much can four people make?! Even when two of them are quite small... Tons of laundry. The thing that gets me is L has so much and she is the smallest of us all. How can that be? i now have a load of pink. Between she and i there is always a load of pinks. I usually have whites, lights, darks, jeans/hubby's work pants, towels, and now pinks.... It feels good to get it all done, have a clean house, and somewhere in between cleaning and laundry(and the kids) there is knitting. L is to the point now where she goes off and plays by herself for a bit. Its nice that I don't have to entertain her at every moment of the day. She's not a little baby anymore.

I also had time to go through some of G's clothes. Let me explain. My SIL gives us her sons old clothes. It is very nice because I've not had to buy him anything lately. The bad thing is that she is a shop-aholic. Seriously... She has been giving me stuff for a while now(2yrs), and I thought that was a lot. He has plenty of clothes, enough that I wouldn't need to do laundry, for him, for at least a month. No lie. Well a few weeks ago she came over with an additional 4 boxes of clothes, plus another box of just shoes... Just shoes. The kid is a boy, not a teenage girl that needs 10 pair of shoes to go with different outfits. Then yesterday she calls me asking if I needed more?! Hello, G could wear things once and still not wear everything she gave us before he grows out of it. So I kindly told her we had plenty, and to take it to goodwill. That was another thing I was doing today, picking out my favorite outfits. The rest will eventually make their way to goodwill. I joke with her and my MIL that if they give me anything else, they better buy me a bigger house to put it all in. In reality I'm not joking.

Ok the purpose of the story was to seg-way to this:

I found some of G's old shoes. And although I wanted to keep them, I just took a picture and put them in one of the many boxes deemed for goodwill. I was proud of myself of being very clean sweepish:-) I can't stand clutter, and decided to do something about it.

here is L and a close up on her two teeth. (You know you can click on pictures to see them better:)

happy knitting everyone!

Introducing my...

Leaf lace socks:
This is my progress so far on my sock. I'm really excited to be knitting a lace pattern. I'm using the sock yarn and pattern my secret pal gave me in my first package! Its pretty easy so far. I am going to change the pattern a little, and do a short row heel instead of a heal flap. Only because that is what I know. Not much knitting content, just thought you'd like to see what I've been up to. Its kinda been a busy and boring week all at the same time.
knit happy

How about that

You Are A: Monkey!

Monkeys are intelligent and agile, well-adapted for jungle life as they swing happily from tree to tree. As a monkey, you are a social animal who eats a wide range of food, is quick to learn new things and loves to climb. A monkey's tiny primate features are irresistable, as is her gregarious personality!

You were almost a: Duckling or a Squirrel
You are least like a: Turtle or a GroundhogDiscover What Cute Animal You Are!

Presents

Note to Allena: I don't expect you to respond to the tag any time soon. Why, because she had just recently moved back to the states and is looking for a house. All the while living with her in-laws. I'm not sure how much on-line time she is allowed. So that being that, I don't expect anything out of her soon. Hope the house hunting is going well! Everyone else, go check out her blog and see the felted crocheted bag she is selling(finished bags and the pattern). I might have to learn how to crochet. If only I had the time:)

On to other news.

These are the wonderful things Hubby gave to me on our anniversary:

First of all is the Weekend Knitting book. I love this book and had borrowed it from a friend for a while. After returning it I wanted to own it myself. I have already started a project out of it:) Second is the Four Seasons Throw book, and a skein of Manos del Uruguay.

Isn't Manos lovely?! It is kettle dyed by women in Uruguay, no dye lots, each is unique. I can't wait to get started on this. This will be an ongoing project. I'm planning on doing one square a month and by this time next year I'll have a beautiful Manos throw to cuddle up under when its cold. I also look forward to knitting it on chilly nights during this winter.

He also got me a skein of Opal. Its a machine washable wool, I plan on making socks with it. I'm going to exchange it for a different color. Not that I don't like it, but my secret pal just gave me some pink sock yarn. I was so surprised that he bought all of this for me, I did have a wish list, but I wasn't expecting this much. What a sweetie!

Here is the gift i made for him:

A hat made out of llama. When I first started this knitting addiction of mine, he always said that he wanted something made out of llama. (Since the LYS has 36 llamas on the property.) Its on the expensive side, so I just brushed it off. Lately he has been wanting a new hat, and I thought this would be a perfect time to make him his article out of llama. It will be nice and warm this winter!

I thought I'd throw in some cute pictures of L.

Here she is "walking" and being silly. She has such a personality. This next one I love.

She was having a blast looking at me, then looking at me on the reflection of the dishwasher. It went on for a good 5 to 10 minutes. So funny.

Ok more knitting content.

This is the hat I made for my niece Lilly. She wont keep it on to long yet so I had G model it. What a good sport! I love the pink and brown look, again it is my own design. I'm hooked on the 3x1 rib and cute elf-like top.

That's it for now, happy knitting to all!

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by Christy. It's the 24 hour meme. You list something significant that happened in your life for each hour of the day. I'm not sure if this is the first time being tagged but this is my first time I've ever responded to being tagged. Not that many significant things has happened to me in my life so I'll just give you a rundown of my typical day, so here it goes.

12:00 am. This is usually the latest time i stay up until. Hubby works until 10:00ish so i stay up with him so he can wind down from work, we catch up on each others day:)

1:00 am. I remember back when I was in high school my brother Jared would keep me up, sometimes even later, just talking. It was great, until it was 6am and I had to get up for school. ahh the good old days:)

2:00 am. This is the time when I am usually feeding L. Yes she still gets up a few times in the night. I really need to work on that. Its so hard to let her cry it out, I just can't do it.

3:00 am. Usually I'm sleeping at this time.

4:00 am. Same as 2:00 or 3:00.

5:00 am. When I was 12 and 13 yrs old I had a paper route that had to be delivered by 7:00am, so this was when I would get up before school to do the route. (with my parents help:)

6:00 am. This is the time L & G usually gets up. (between 6 and 7) So my day starts.

7:00 am. By this time I definitely have a pot of coffee going, yummy. What a way to start the day! On days that I work I'm there by now.

8:00 am. At this time, 3 days a week, our friends are over. I watch my friends kids for an hour or so while she and her husbands work times overlap. The kids have fun and it forces me to get going:)

9:00 am. Either at 9 or 9:30 hubby leaves for work(restaurant hours)

10:00 am. I try to start laundry or the dishes or something to make me feel like I'm being productive. L is usually napping. I try to wake her up in an hour so she doesn't sleep all day and not sleep at night.

11:00 am. G usually wants to watch something by now, which is nice so I can get more done around the house.

12:00 pm. Lunch time! I start getting things together to feed the kids and myself.

1:00 pm. At the latest G is napping by the end of the hour, if I'm lucky so is L.

2:00 pm. Hubby comes home from the lunch shift.(usually 2:30) * @ 2:09 G was born, After his head an shoulders, I pulled him out the rest of the way, my doctor was a bit shocked. I guess I watched to many birth stories on TV. Our life changed for the better once he came into it.*

3:00 pm. *Three years ago to this day, Hubby and I got married!*

4:00 pm. Hubby goes back to work for the dinner shift and I'm on my own again. By now G and L are up from their naps.

5:00 pm. I sit and play with the kids, trains, blocks, coloring, whatever G wants to do.

6:00 pm. Dinner time. It is made and ate usually during this hour. *On knitting nights I take the kids to my parents and leave by 6:30.* I Love knitting nights and getting out with the girls:)

7:00 pm. Play with the kids a bit more, winding down, read some books. Bath time starts around 7:30.

8:00 pm. I like to say that the kids are in bed by the end of this hour. * L came into our lives @ 8:36, by a C-section. I never thought I would be that woman on the table. She was stubborn from day one, being butt down and all. Little stinker;) *

9:00 pm. If the kids are cooperating by sleeping, this is the time I get to knit!

10:00 pm. Hubby comes home between now and 11:00.

11:00 pm. We go to bed between now and 12:00.

Now is the fun part, I get to tag some people. Let me see, how about Allena, Kimberly , Michelle, and Amy. Is that OK?! Am I allowed to name 4 people? Oh well:)

Being that its my anniversary today I better get off this computer and spend some time with hubby! Tomorrow I'll show you the sweet pressies he gave me. Just a hint, they are form my LYS! Also I'll show pictures of the hat I made for him out of my LYS's very own llamas!

Happy knitting!

Secrets revealed

It was my mothers birthday yesterday. So now i can reveal my shhh secret surprise! I made her a purse:)



Here are the before and afters. I was a bit upset with the color bleeding. i even bought those color catchers that you put in with your wash. Actually i used two of them. But i guess the white stripes just wanted to be light pink. The dye must have known I was knitting it and knew that pink had to be in the picture*grin* All in all i was happy with it. I love making that style of bag. (slightly modified from Stitch n' B) it takes about 2ish days to knit up and it's so easy! Plus there is NO seaming up, only weaving in the ends:) Gota love that!

Tonight is knitting! I love knitting nights, it is one of the few times that I'm kidless. Don't get me wrong I adore being home with my kids, but its nice to take a breather now and then.

Two days ago I saw L pushing the yellow little plastic(little tykes or something of the sort) chair in the kitchen, she was walking behind it. AHHH she is only 7 months old, she can't walk on me yet. I know i have a two year old but it seems that she is developing her motor skills too quickly. I'm not ready to have two children that can walk. I'm sure she is months away from walking, but seeing her do that scared me a bit:)

Also i mailed out the purse for my sisters roommate. I didn't send the wallet because I'm not happy with it yet. I'm going to tweak it a little before sending it. Stupid me forgot to take a picture of the purse, so I'll make sure they take one and send it my way. It was the same style as my moms, but it was black and light pink.

I think that is about it, happy knitting to all!