Thursday, January 31, 2008

B is for ........

BUDDY.

No BUDDY isn't his real name. It is the nickname that his dad has given him. I think it will remain his nickname on here as well since he seems to have out grown Marshmallow Thief and Mouse Thief. I will let you know that his first name does start with B also.







When some one told me that having a BOY was different than girls I didn't BELIEVE them. I thought "Nah they are pretty much the same", I was so wrong. BUDDY doesn't do the drama that comes with little girls. He is content just to play with his cars and he does have several now. His favorite is a Lightning McQueen and when you ask him who is that he says "Speed, I am Speed" BUT it comes out a little garbled.






Along with having a BOY, they tend to do BOY things such as try to feed the dog the rest of his macaroni and cheese. I couldn't get it exactly as he was doing it BECAUSE the dog wouldn't cooperate. She tends to have a mind of her own for some reason.




BUDDY doesn't get too upset usually. He is being kind of crabby today for some reason. He got mad at me BECAUSE I wanted to take his picture when he was doing something cute.




I guess graham crackers make everything BETTER huh????

Friday, January 25, 2008

Finished Object Friday!!!!!!



I promised Finished Objects and I actually have some to share. The first one is my new pair of slippers. I am thinking I should make the small size next time. They always seem to fit a little bigger than I like them. I have to wear socks with them if I want to go up the stairs or they fall off.




Next I have the socks that I was having serious doubts about making. I almost chucked them a couple of times. I am so glad I finished them though. They fit really well and I like how they feel. I will admit I didn't like working with this yarn much but I like the finished results so well that I am sure I will use it again. At least I better since there is more of it in my stash. The yarn is Lorna's Laces in the Flamingo colorway and the pattern is called Rib Zagger.




I signed up for Secret of the Stole ii. I am so enjoying this knitalong. The first clue came out last Friday and I finally finished it yesterday. I thought about throwing it across the room yesterday when it took me three hours to get the last eight rows done after I tried to figure them out for two hours the night before. I know that the problem was me I must have been too tired to work on it the other night and made stupid mistakes. I started the second clue today and I have done eight rows of it already. I think this is the farthest I have ever gotten on a lace project that I have not had to start over. I love lifelines, they have saved me several times already in this project.

This is a picture that I took of the stole yesterday after I finished the first clue. I am calling this a finished project everytime I get to the next clue so it is a recyclable finished object.





This last picture is just a picture of the Punkinbug. She wanted to have her picture taken yesterday and she just looked so cute reading her book. Yes she can read. She does ask "What is that word?" alot but she loves books and I think that is great.

Next time, the new sock on the block.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

I'm in a MOOD and you better watch out!!!!!!!

I am in the mood to rant about the things that are making me mad today. I have been in a bad mood all day long. Maybe I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe I just didn't want to get up (see #2).

1. Arguing. I am sick of little people arguing about things that don't mean a hill of beans. The Punkinbug has been throwing a fit about her brother eating the popcorn. We have a whole box of popcorn!!!! Get over it already okay!!!!!!

2. Freezing. I am sick and tired of freezing cold weather. I need a couple of days of 30's or 40's just so I can go outside and not have to bundle up like the eskimos.

3. Jeans. I hate that they are cold when you go outside. It is like having a layer of ice next to your legs.


4. Frogging. I hate it. I am so irritated. I was past the heel on this sock and I thought I would try it on. It was too big. I made the decision to rip it out and knit it in a smaller size which could be a good thing since I thought I might run out of yarn with it. I love the pattern and I love the yarn I am just irritated with it right now.

I do have Finished Objects to show but I was in such a mood I thought I needed to get it off my chest. Gives me something to blog tomorrow right????

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Are You Ready to Rumble????



Because it is time for Throwdown Thursday. I have been battling a couple of projects that I am determined to "beat". These felted slippers have been on the needles since right after Christmas and I really need them done so they can keep my feet warm up here in Arctic Minnesota. I have decided that these need to be off the needles. Since this post is going up later in the day, I will say that I am making some progress. I hope to have them done today but I am not sure that it will happen.




The second sock of this pair hasn't been as nearly as bad as the first. I think I suffer from First Sock Syndrome more than Second Sock. I tend to dawdle on the first one and then get the second done one pretty quickly. I started the second on on Saturday night and if I get time to sit and knit this evening I think I could get it done tonight. I can only hope.

Maybe Throwdown Thursday can conclude in a FO Friday?????

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

New Technique Tuesday!!!

Okay, a pretty lame excuse for a blog title but it works today. I might actually learn a new technique once a month and then post the one that I learned. Who knows I am always looking for something to blog about.

Now all you lace knitters, what are you waiting for???? Get over there and sign up to do the Secret of the Stole ii. I am so excited about this project and I am not really sure why. I know I really enjoyed knitting the swatch for it and I didn't want the swatch to end but it did. I think it turned out pretty good too.

Are you still wondering why she was talking about a new technique??? I learned to do the sewn bind off for the swatch. It really looked neat. I will use it again on baby blankets that have garter stitch borders too.



I had some questions about what kind of yarn I was using for the socks that were in the last post so the answer is: Lorna's Laces in the Flamingo Colorway. A portion of the sale of that yarn goes to breast cancer research I believe. I will admit I bought it because I thought it was pretty like so many of you did too. Oh, and by the way I beat the sock into submission and have picked up the gusset and I am in the process of the gusset decreases as I type.

Supper is in the crockpot (Beef Stew), the laundry is done so I should get to knit tonight hopefully.

Monday, January 07, 2008

A is for.......

APPLES


Our family eats ALOT of APPLES. ALL three of my children love them. The color ALSO makes me happy. I will ADMIT that living in Minnesota gets you some great APPLES. Can you say Honeycrisp???? Those ARE so AWESOME. I decided to do the ABC ALONG this year. I have decided that I will use it to let people learn more ABOUT me, my family AND my knitting.




A is ALSO for what these socks are being A pain in, but I won't go there. I AM having A little trouble with getting the heel flap just right. Now I know why I don't usually tweak the pattern. I had to mess with it for this yarn AND for the fact that I don't have little narrow feet. I do like the pattern but if they continue to cause me too many more problems they will be swimming the Frog Lake I think.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

A New Adventure

Well, I have persuaded one person to join the Secret of the Stole ii. So if anyone else would like to join us it starts on January 18. The swatch is already up so come on over and knit some lace.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

A New Year and A New Post



It has been a nice peaceful Christmas break around here. I can't believe that the girls go back to school tomorrow. I have to admit I will miss the girls in the morning. We had a great Christmas, we went to church on Sunday and just hung around the house for Christmas Eve since Brett had to work. My sister came for a few days and we really had a great visit. I managed to finish a pair of socks during this break. I wore them the other day and they are so comfy. I will have to get more of this yarn (after my yarn diet is over). The pattern is Pheasant Run Socks and the yarn was from Claudia Handpainted in the Loopy Ewe Sock Club. Thanks again Sheri for such great socks in the club.







If you finish a pair of socks you have to start another one. This is the Rib Zagger pattern. I am using Lorna's Laces in the Flamingo colorway. This yarn is really thin. I think it will be great in shoes but knitting on O's seems so small after I have been using 1.5's. I started them on Friday, December 28.

I had such a great year in knitting. I am looking forward to taking on new challenges. I am hoping to learn to spin this year and would like to make myself a sweater. I will see if I get these goals met. I hope all my knitting friends had a great Christmas season and also have a great New Year. I hope that your frogging is small and your Finished Objects outweigh your UFO's.