2nd pair done!

Yep that's right. I finished the second pair one hour after the post office closed... I was bummed, i really wanted to get it in the mail but it will have to go out on Thursday morning.












I had fun knitting with this yarn, so colorful and cheery!

I am going to buy some for myself.

I love it now!









I think my knitting was a bit tighter than Wendy, the original assassin, my target, but I think it was the best i could do. If i went up a needle size it would have been off gauge. Either way I think they look great! I hope the target likes them... she doesn't have a blog or ravelry name listed so I'm unable to link to her.











I sent her a few other goodies like these stitch markers I made and some knitting note cards. Of course some chocolate... Dove, its my favorite! Mmmm chocolate... Also I remembered to send along the rest of the yarn...

which I forgot to do with my first target, oops, sorry Wendy! At least they fit and she doesn't need to alter them.


I hope my next SIP comes in a timely fashion so I could maybe get 3 pair under my belt?!! My fingers are crossed and I'm living in fear of my mail man, er-uh- mail woman......

Still Alive...

Yep I'm alive, but it has been a bumpy ride (in Sock WarsIII) so far.









I did receive my socks (of death) but the gauge happened to be off (they were beautiful, but too big to wear) and I was able to send them back to my assassin to be re-knit. She was so wonderful and willing to re-do them so I would be a happy camper! I was just thankful that she wasn't disqualified for it(thanks to the Supreme Commander aka Julie). Actually I just got word form her that she has gotten her socks, aka sock bomb, and she posted her death on the official warrior directory. Yippee, I'll live for a few more days... lets just hope the mail takes its time!




So I sent my socks to Wendy (my target) and she received them and said they fit perfectly! Now I'm anxiously awaiting my SIP's (Socks In Progress). I have conformation that they arrived at the USPS here in town early this morning.... So when the mail comes (usually around 4ish) its back to knitting like a billi-o! So don't mind if you don't here form me for a while!

EDIT*
Me stalking the mail carrier?!... never!... *grin* look close infront of the green house.... she''s got my SIP's!!!!! I can feel it!


Also this weekend (Thursday22nd -Saturday24th) is my LYS's Open House. So if your in the area come and check out our Sheering Days! (watch the llamas get hair cuts, and other demonstrations)






EDIT*
My new weapon:


LOVE IT!












Me knitting like a billi-o!

One down...

Well almost. I finished my Sock Wars socks last night and sent the package out this morning after I got done with work! I didn't reach my goal of getting them in the mail on Saturday but there were technical difficulties with the whole dossier/ getting the pattern and target. So instead of starting at 6am on Friday I started at 11am... I think I could have made it, but I'm happy with sending them out today! I can't wait to get my next socks, I'd like to have two targets under my belt.

Here is a close up of the detonator stitch pattern:



It's called the detonator, here is the ravelry link.



It wasn't that bad or hard but some people had trouble with it... A few times I forgot which row I was on, but nothing too major!



Project Stats:

Start Date:May 9th
End Date: May 11th
Yarn: Knit Picks, sock garden, morning glory
Pattern:detonator
Needles: US#1s (2 socks, on 2 circulars)
Recipient: Wendy (gwendy ravelry link)

Normally I would apologize for my obsessive need to finish these in record time, (killing Wendy) but this is WAR!!! Now I can't wait to receive her socks and get another kill under my knitting belt! They weren't kidding when they called it the bloodiest knitting tournament ever! I'm just hoping whoever has me is too busy to crank out my socks... but if they happen to be checking me out, my favorite color is pink...but I know this is war and not a swap, so I'll take what I can get!


Oh a bonus... these will be my May socks for SAM5!!! The first time i've finished a pair befor the last day of the month, er last hours of the month!

early gift!

Joe decided since I'm going to be knitting like a billy-o today and into the night, he would give me my mothers day girt early!

What a sweetie! and Ott-Lite! What a perfect gift!


I'm still waiting for my e-mail.... with the dossier... The suspense is killing me!

More baking!

Day 129 (May 8th)

Today my mom called me up and made a request for me to make some cookies.(for my younger brother and some friends of his that were getting together to finish up some work on a project) They are competing in Rockets for Schools (http://www.rockets4schools.org/) and the past two years they have took first place!






Anyways she wanted to bring them some cookies(for all their hard work) and knows that I love to bake... so we baked today! Tonight was also knitting so I made a bunch to take there too~!











OK so to get to the point.... Leah is my little baker, she just loves helping me make anything and everything! I love to bake too, can you tell?! We made the oatmeal chip cookies that are linked on my sidebar. Love these cookies, they are soooo good!



Tomorrow is the beginning of Sock Wars... I'm super pumped! I think I'll be getting an e-mail (the dossier) with all the info on my target and the never before seen pattern around 6am... I'm going to knit my little heart out! This is going to be super challenging, I'm really excited to see if I can reach my goal. I'd like to get this pair of socks knit by early on Saturday so that I can send it in the mail before the weekend is over... I plan on pulling an all nighter, or at least as late as I can go.... maybe I'll post a progress picture, if I think I can spare the precious time;O) I might just ask Joe to take a picture, upload it and post it for me... we will see.

I am hoping to at least get one target down before i die... I'd like to get farther, but I don't want to be unrealistic about the whole thing. I do have 3 kids and I'm hoping that we can just watch movies and play outside in the fenced in back yard, and let the run a muck. I'll also let them graze on food, and feed them ready to eat foods, like chicken nuggets, or hot dogs, spaghettios, dry cereal and crackers and things like that. A few days on a diet like that wont hurt, will it?! I mean, this is war. *grin*

I did make sure to catch up on laundry today and I even washed the kitchen floor! In my house it doesn't happen all that often. My theory, I have 3 kids, its just going to get messy again. Don't get me wrong I like to have a clean house but the kitchen floor is a different subject. I'm a messy cook/baker and add 3 kids to the mix, I just can't be obsessive about a floor. Actually about 2 or so hours after I washed it, a bowl of pasta was flipped upside down on to it. It never fails, I clean something and it gets messy. I think its just this phase in life. I need to accept it.







Yesterday Chloe thought it would be fun to sit in the flower bed and pick the flowers. She climbed right over the rocks and plopped herself down right there. I thought it was cute so I snapped away!















OK so enough ramblings, I need to get my sleep! Wish me luck!

Knit or die!

B-day, baking, socks and WAR!

This past Friday was Gabe's birthday, he is now 5... FIVE years old. wow. Six years ago I would have never thought I'd be a mother to a 5 year old, boy how things change(for the better... of course). I wouldn't give it up (good days or bad) for anything! This past year Gabe has grown, into a little boy, not a toddler but a kid. Questioning everything and learning everyday.



On Thursday Gabe and I had a conversation that went something like this:

Gabe "Mom, tomorrow morning I'm going to sleep in real late"
Me "OK..."
Gabe "then you are gonna get up real early and go down stairs real quietly and decorate"
Me "Oh..."
Gabe "Yeah and then when I wake up and come down the stairs you are all gonna say Happy Birthday to me!"

So needless to say on Thursday night after knitting I went all out and decorated for him! Then in the morning he snuck down the stairs to peek, then came into our room and said we could sleep in, as he crawled into our bed ;O)


Thursday, the day before his birthday I spent all day baking...



1~bread for us to eat(remember I voued never to buy store bread again?!).

2~ 30 chocolate(zucchini muffins) cupcakes for Gabe's class snack(I had to make the snack some what healthy).

3~ 2, 9in round cakes (one for Gabe and one for two good friends of mine, Amy was one of those friends) I took the cake on Thursday night to knitting to celebrate their birthdays! I love baking for friends!



Ok so let me back track a bit... April ended and I did finish my socks. At the last minute, like normal i finished them. I think I need to take out the BO and do a sewn BO (I knit them toe up), so the will be more stretchy.


Start Date: April 3rd
End Date: April 30th
Yarn: Faery Fiber, Superwash merino
Colourway: Pixie
Pattern: Hedera
Needles: US#1's (2 socks on 2 circulars, toe up)
Recipient: ME

One thing about this pattern is that the lace doesn't hug my leg the way I'd like... but that is why I was able to leave them short, otherwise they wouldn't have stayed up and would always be slouchy.






It has finally been nice out that last few days... and the kids have been playing like crazy! I love being outside!



This one of Gabe and Leah I just love!

Day 126(May 5th)
I really like that this isn't a posed picture... but just a brother and sister being just that.

Today they had fun catching bugs, mostly rollie pollies, not quite sure what the real name of them are, but that is what we call them. They kind of look like armadillos and roll into balls... pill bugs I think.




So yesterday I got a small (yet important) package in the mail... it was the ever so cool SOCK WARS (un-official)weapon bag my sister(Allena) made! I LOVE it!!! So cool.







She is in the process of making lots more, some with and without the sock wars (un-official) badge, so go and check out her etsy site (later on this week)!!!! Ok actually she is having a contest, on her blog to win the other bag she made!!! Go and check out her blog!

Need more details on the bag?!
There's pockets inside for your neeldes, scissors or anything else you'd like to carry. The bag also has a drawstring to close with a push button stopper to hold it closed, so you don't loose your socks!





Now I'm all set, I got gauge with some yarn (knit picks sock garden, morning glory) that has been in my stash forever... and my good old US#1 addi turbos, I'm really hoping they help me knit faster;O) I seriously can not wait until Friday! Let the war begin!

Wedding things!

I wasn't able to show you these until now...







Actually I didn't have them finished until the night before the wedding.






Nothing like a little procrastination!






I had an old friend (I met her in 7th grade) of mine wedding to go to on Saturday. I made her some Christmas ornaments as part of her gift. I hope that every year at Christmas she thinks of her wedding day with fond memories! ( She and the wedding were beautiful)







I also knit her a little something... I found it on ravelry and couldn't help myself!





Here is the front view













And here is the back view:

Its the Frecklegirl Thong! She and her Maid of Honor(another friend of mine) loved it!

It was super easy, only 2 nights of knitting!



Her wedding colors were pink and green....






like these tulips!

Day 111(April 20th)
We went over on Sunday for a brunch at her parents house, sadly I missed seeing her and the groom(I had to teach Sunday school for the 2s & 3s department at church) but her mom sent me home with these, aren't they beautiful?!

SOCK WARS

I copied this from the sock wars site, its part of the official rules! It is comming up and I'm super excited for it. MAY 9th is when the war begins!

---------------------------------------------------------------------
SOCK WARS III : THE RULES (last updated 14.2.08)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> WHAT IS SOCK WARS?<<
Sock Wars is the original and bloodiest extreme knitting tournament.
If you are brave enough sign up to do battle you will be emailed a
top secret assassination dossier on 9th May 2008. This file contains
the details of your target and an exclusive, never-been-publishedbefore
knitting pattern with which to assassinate them.
To kill your target you must knit them the pair of socks in the
pattern (your weapon) and mail it to them. Once your target receives
your parcel they are dead and must post their death on the “fallen
comrades” section of the sockwars site.
They must also immediately send you details of their intended target
(who becomes your next person to assassinate) along with their
unfinished knitting (which becomes your new weapon).
All the while this is going on, someone has been assigned you as
their target…
Prepare to live in fear… Kill or be killed!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> SIGNUPS <<
Signups are done via the membership application on the website. You
are now a blood hungry warrior.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> THE RULES OF SOCK WARS <<
1. The first rule of Sock Wars is: You must talk about Sock Wars.
2. The second rule of Sock Wars is: You MUST talk about Sock Wars.
3. Two socks to a fight.
4. One fight at a time.
5. No shirts, no shoes, just socks
6. Fights will go on as long as they have to.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> SOCK WARS: AT-A-GLANCE SUMMARY <<
1. Get dossier
2. Knit like billy-o
3. Mail socks to your target – live in fear of your mailman
4. Receive socks? Bang, you’re dead!
5. Post your death on Sock Wars site
6. Mail socks-in-progress back to your killer
7. Your killer knits to kill your original target
…and on and on until only one supreme warrior remains
---------------------------------------------------------------------


Sounds like fun?!

Come and join!

http://sockwarsiii.memberlodge.org/

Lookie Lookie!

It came!!!!!! My Vera Bradley tote came!



Now I know I was told it was going to be sent to me, but when it would come was a whole different ball game! So today when I herd something at the door, I thought it was Joe coming home from work. Then he didn't come in. So I went to investigate! I found this!




Ok so I really didn't take the picture then, I went back and staged it after I opened it!(shh don't tell)






I L-O-V-E it! isn't it pretty?!


its actually a lot bigger than I imagined...!









And look what came with it... Some YARN, sock yarn to be exact! My favorite kind of yarn :O)
Love the colorway too! Its Vesper Sock Yarn a 100% superwash merino, in the Venus In Furs colourway, 387yds.




I feel so special when opening yarny goodness gifts. Thank you so much Nachaele! the Top 10 stash project KAL was fun and kept me on track! I've never won anything here in blogland so this was extra special! Oh and a big thanks to Leanne who donated yarn to all the winners of the KAL!

So guess what I just packed up my knitting in?!


The Vera Bradley tote bag, its Thursday and that equals knitting night! Yea!!! I love going knitting and now I have a beautiful bag to tote all my stuff in!




Today was spent doing laundry(washing, folding and putting away the 5 baskets of folded laundry from earlier this week), picking up around the house and making bread.




I've decided that I am no longer going to pay for a loaf of bread from the store, just to come home and eat preservative filled food. I make it at work and I have no excuse to not make it here at home. So we had a baking lesson, the kids helped a bit, but I did the majority of it. I am a bit of a perfectionist.... But as they learn I'm sure I'll let them help out more!





I am using the recipe that we use at work, but with some variations. I put more whole wheat flour in it and I added some ground flax seed. When I get to the store I'm going to buy some cracked wheat and put that into the next batch. I want to make it healthy and good! I'm not sure if its good yet, it is still proofing....





Well since blogger took so long to be able to upload pictures, the bread is baked and out of the oven... Its hot so I'm not sure if it tastes good... but if it tastes anything like it smells, its going to be yummy!

Mmm mmm good I'll leave you with that!

argh!

I have this big long post all written up but blogger won't upload any pictures.... I'll be back soon with a very fun and cool post!

survey & contest in 1

Please go HERE and help a homeschooling mom teach her kids (graphs and percentages)!

Which do you prefer:

to spin
to knit
to crochet
to weave
or other

?

Go and enter!

some nest totes

Elisa's nest tote... I started this one on friday morning and I couldn't help myself. I just kept knitting... and it was done last night! I love this one, mainly because it is pinkish. I'm going to use it as my purse/bag this spring and summer! Love it! I just clip my keys on by the top (can you see the blue part?!) and throw the rest of my things inside!


I knit this one in the round, by using Judy's magic cast on and then knitting it form the bottom up. I think I co 83 sts and placed a marker at the beginning of my round. Seriously, it went super fast that way, and no seaming!!! I also only wanted one handle(with double the strength) so I twisted the second one around the first before I kitchenered it. I really like this bag and I'm happy it turned out!

I used Omega Sinfonia, a mercerized cotton. I like how it has a bit of a sheen to it too! US# 8, for the body and US#5 for the handles.





I also made one (last week) with a flat bottom.I posted more about this one on the KAL. so go check it out if you want... Its not too late to join!!!






How about a picture a day update?!





Day 103(April 12th)
Its been quite a while since I've had a food picture... What we have here is some mostly homemade tomato sauce.

Brown some venison sausage, add lots of garlic, let that brown, add two cans of plain old diced tomatoes(mostly blended, we like a few chunks in our sauce). Let that simmer until thick and add your choice of pasta, tonight was spaghetti!







Day 102 (April 11th)

I finished my tote for the KAL this morning! I love it! I did a flat bottomed version of the bag, and had about 20 extra sts than the pattern called for, making it quite big! Lots of cereal fit inside and I'm sure I could have put more in.









Day 101 (April 10th)

This morning Leah and Chloe were rocking together, so I quick grabbed my camera and took a few. This is the best one.

I think I might have to save this one and show it to them when they are teenagers and can't stand each other (just because one wants to wear the same shoes, or clothes...and the other wants nothing to do with her younger sister, then 10 years down the line they will be the best of friends again just like in this picture).

New wall hanging

Do you remember this picture?! It was my Day 17(January 17th)...


Well I remember it, Diane AKA Studio D liked it so much and because it has a special meaning to me she offered to print up a B&W version on canvas for me. I, personally am to lazy, I have way too much going on to even think of doing that(or rather getting around to it). But I'm so glad she did! She had it sent out to me and I had it with in a weeks time. So in all reality I've had it for at least 2 months... I told you I'm lazy...

About a month ago I took it in to Michael's and wanted to know how much it would cost me to have it stretched over a frame... with a discount it would have been $80... Yeah right. So I just bought a plain canvas that was already stretched on a wooden frame and laid the picture right over it and stapled it on. It tool me all of 7 minutes. Now ask me, why did it take me 2 months to do this?! Oh well the point is that its finished now and on my wall!





So the lighting is horrible today, its been raining on and off and dreary all day long. That equals not so great of a picture of a picture hanging on my wall. But I'm so happy I finally did it that I'm blogging about it anyways! So here is another view... see it wraps around the frame, I just love it! I think i want to get some pictures of the kids and stretch them like this to hang up. I've lived in this house for almost 4 years and barely have anything on the walls... I just haven't gotten around to it. Like I said before,I'm lazy, and I'd rather be knitting.



In fiberious news I went out to Brigitte's (my friend/LYS's owner/fiber enabler) and she helped me dye some merino roving to match the the color of my handspun Mr Greenjeans! I just love dying yarn... If that was a good way to make money I'd quit my job and do that for a living. Its so much fun! Maybe someday when the kids are older... who knows anything is possible!





So anyways, it came out pretty close to the color I need it to be... I think in the end I'll have to knit the sleeves and dye the whole sweater so it all matches... But I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I then had to let the roving dry for a day or two. I put it on an old baby gate (that I use after I wash all of my handknit socks) its the perfect hand knits drying rack and I thought it would be perfect for the roving, and it was! Yes, I wear all of my socks a good amount of times and then when I can't possibly wear them all one more time I wash them (all) and strategically place them on the baby gate to dry. It's my system, and it works for me!

I was able to start spinning it a bit... a few nights ago, but haven't had the time to work on it since. my progress:

It felt really good to get my wheel out again! Its been quite a while since I'v last spun, I think it was last October. Bad, bad spinner, how dare you neglect you wheel for that long. I will never ever do that again. I will make it a habit of bringing it out at least once a month, I promise!


I have a few things on my plate this month, so who knows If I'll have time to spin it all.

*april socks~ SAM5KAL
*tote~ ENTKAL
*a few little items~ for a gift
*start a baby blanket~for a gift

the first 3 items need to be finished in April, and I'm sure I'm missing something, its late and my brain is fried at this time of night.

With that I'll leave you all, have a wonderful weekend!