The other night I knitted up a little fabric bag to hold a knitting project and my knit kit in.  I usually carry projects in my bag, but when I go down to lunch, then I am carrying my knitting, my knitting bag, my phone, my lunch, sometimes a drink, and it’s cumbersome really. So here is my little bag. It has a drawstring, which doesn’t really match, but I just didn’t want to think about it too much and stop myself from sewing so there it is.

My Baby Surprise Jacket is completely knit. Now I just need to sew up the arms. I’m so happy.  It doesn’t seem cute much, but think it needs blocking and will look better. Think I’ll block it before I sew.  It’s not a great pic, but the color is ‘celery’. I am thinking Daisy buttons if it’s a girl (we find out on April 9). If it’s a boy, we’ll see. Either way, the color will be okay I think.  It was a fun experience, and the second one will go much faster I think.  Leo’s is really cute.

The sweater is hours away from finishing. It has a band up the front and a shawl collar that turns over/down.  So I am picking up stitches for the band, which will be in seed stitch.  I hate picking up stitches. I really do. So this time, I started using a crochet hook. I pull the thread through and leave the stitches on the hook until I have a few, then move them to the knitting needles.  Love it. So much easier. I just could not face trying to pick up 255 stitches!! This pic doesn’t really show the cute purple color. I like it. Hopefully after this weekend, you’ll get a pic with me wearing it.

Well, finishing the baby surprise jacket and adding it to the sweater Chantel finished means we have two sweaters for the baby, and it’s only March. Yeah!! Because Char had quite the long list of ‘wants’.  We need to work hard!!

Anyone play words with friends? I can see why Alec Baldwin caught in trouble on that plane. It’s hard to put down. Worse, when people find out you play, they all want to add games and pretty soon you have 10 games going, and you’re spending so much time at it, knitting suffers. Yesterday I just decided not to play. I’m sure my wwf friends are not liking it…

Kiki came over and we finished her cute pink hat.  It’s a bit big for my taste, but she seems to like it. No pic though!! I know. What is wrong with me? I never take pics. But K took some pics of him in the boneyard shawl I whipped up for him. It’s been done fora week or two, but we have not had any cold weather, so he couldn’t wear it. I’m not kidding, it’s been in the high 60′s. It snowed last night so he had to quickly put it on this morning I guess…it’s already up to 40ish degrees. So here it is. Nice of him to send them to me, huh? Too bad he can’t smile. Of course he likely thinks he is…

I am working on;

1. The last 5 rows of the Baby Surprise Sweater

2. The collar and front rib of the Class Sweater

3. The dratted shrug for Amy, which may be the simplest thing around, but I have already started and frogged about a dozen times. I’m an idiot.

Pics to follow soon. Promise. I mean it. Really.

This week is just dragging. D r   a     g   g   i      n         g.  Could it be because little Chantelly Lace will be home on Thursday and staying for a week for spring break?  Maybe, maybe.

So many things to look forward to.   Thursday, Chantel.  Friday, french toast at Kneaders with the family.   Friday, Kiki coming to spend the night.  March 12, Hunger Games movie is out. Next Wednesday, last sweater class.March 16, new Supernatural with Castiel returning. Okay, I know! All little things, but nice to look forward to.

Begining of Shrug

Started a sort of shrug for my sis, Amy. It’s a circular shawl that will come just over her shoulders and end above the elbow. Picked cute tweedy brown yarn too.

I forgot to take a pic again, but I finished a Boneyard Scarf for Kimball in a pretty chocolate yarn from Shepard’s Wool. I do love that yarn.

Both these projects are really simple. No need to really carry around a pattern or other pieces to compare. It’s nice to be doing the complicated sweater at home but have one of these to sort of relax with.  I’m not the kind of person that is content with one project.  I’m not content with 10 either though, so that is something to remember.

My new Knitting Life magazine showed up on my nook today, so that’s good. Looks like a few cute things are in it.  Kid patterns are so cute. Wish I had knit when my kids were little. Oh well. I quilted for them, so that is good.

Have joined Pinterest and love it. There are so many cute and fun crafts, recipes, etc. It’s pretty fun. Major time waster though. Sigh. Knit or Pinterest. Guess which wins.

What I am doing:

What I want to be doing:

It’s weird when your kids’ friends start getting married. Doesn’t seem possible. They were over at my house playing just the other….

Jude and Kaitlyn and a knit tie

Kaitlyn, Jude’s bestie, or one of them, was married this weekend. It was a lovely ceremony.  I post this pic for two reasons. One to show how the kids look, and two, to brag about Jude’s fabulous tie. It’s knit. Yes, with yarn. And not by me.  Chantel found a pattern for a tie and did this for Jude, and he loves it. Looked really good. It has a pattern and everything! You have to love that, right? Kaitlyn looked beautiful too. It was sort of funny, because Jude was like the belle of the ball. Everyone in her family knows and loves him. We were like the wallflowers, and he was just Mr. Popular. He did spend a lot of time at her house growing up I guess. At least as much as she spent at ours. And he traveled and vacationed with them a lot too.

I post this pic even though K is a bit covered up because it’s the only one he’s smiling in.

Kimball is smiling!

It is a family joke, a really unfunny one, that he always looks so mean in pics. He thinks he’s smiling, but he is not. So here is a rare laugh on camera. He’s so cute. Chantel was home, and it was nice to have the whole family. And the bride and groom sat at our table too!

Knitting now…is just the sweater. I am so behind. The back is done, and the shoulders are successfully completed with short rows and not the steps. I feel really good about that. The left front is also done. And it matches the back! Wahoo, accomplishment. I am a few inches up the left sleeve. So by Wednesday, I have to finish the sleeve, block all three, and sew the arm and side sleeve together. I have given up on getting the other side done by Wednesday. Probably could have if I hadn’t finished that cute shawl last weekend. What was I thinking? It seemed like I had so much time. If only this Saturday hadn’t included Walker’s last league hockey game (he was perfectly awesome–it’s scary how graceful he is on those skates), purchasing a new car (Mazda 6, love it!!), a wedding and reception, and a movie (This Means War, and there is no way she would pick Chris Pine over Tom Hardy), it might have worked out. But Saturday was basically shot, knit-wise.

Cutie Pies

Here is a pic of the little owl I made Jude a few weeks back. He loves it. I like the grey I did for Channi, but he picked the colors, so that’s that. Why won’t the ears work for me?  I am not getting the instructions somehow. They are not symmetrical. Oh well, so like my love it is imperfect, Jude still likes it.

Two Fridays ago, K and I headed down to the skating rink.  Dire situation. Dire. Kiki needed help with her knitting! The kids were ice skating, so we would meet there, I’d fix the issue, and then we’d be on our way. Only fate stepped in.

We have a piece o’ crap car I hate. But the darn thing just keeps on running. And you know the Hall’s…no car is ever let go before it’s time. So we pull off the freeway, and so does the person behind us. We stop at the bottom for the light.  But the person behind us does not! Ouch! One little bump like that and you remember how big and heavy and dangerous cars really are! Only the damage didn’t look so bad.

Yesterday we got word. The damage is more than the car is worth. Hallelujah!! Yeah! Yippy Skippy! Now we have a nice down payment on a new car! One I will like and respect. Wahoo!

Is it wrong to celebrate once again having a car payment? Tough. I am.

And as my sister Amy put it, it’s all because of Kiki’s knitting.  Which she is sorry for. Meanwhile, I think I owe Kiki a treat.

So much knitting fun has happened since my last post.  Believe it or not.  Last night I was tired (why, I might comment on later) and I almost didn’t go to Knit Nite at Blazing Needles……would have been the worst decision of my life! Okay, maybe not worst, but a mistake.

One of the most fun parts is that Cynthia has such a huge group of friends and customers that every Thursday night is basically a new group. The dynamics change, the conversation is completely different, and although it’s always fun, it’s fun in different ways. Last night a woman that used to work at Blazing Needles but moved to California was visiting, and in celebration, Marie brought champagne and oj for mimosas, and two cakes; this killer chocolate cake and a Boston cream cake. So we start drinking and laughing and more wine is flowing and pretty soon there were like, 20 people and it was craziness. The chat got a little risque….at one point I turned on my voice recorder, not to get any one conversation, but just to let K listen to just how fun and crazy it is. 5 or more conversations at once, knitting needles clicking, food all over the place…it’s just a fun night. And I know that in different ways it’s being replicated all over the world–knitter’s getting together to share and socialize.

I am taking a class on how to make sure sweater’s fit your body when you make them. It’s really interesting and I think will be important.  I am so behind. For Wednesday, we were supposed to have the back and fronts done up to the armhole. I had about 6 inches.Wasn’t even done with the waist shaping decreases.  So now I am racing around madly with this sweater in my hands all the time.

Part of the reason I was behind was that Mom and I drove down to Vegas this Sunday and met my brother and family. I spent 3 days driving or holding the baby or playing with one of the boys. We went to the chocolate facotry in Henderson, which I’d never done, so that was interesting. Also, the seafood buffet at the Rio was pretty awesome.

The first night there I woke up at 2am and that was it, I was awake. Lucky my nook app on my phone allowed me to read The Help. I finished it on the way home.

Las Vegas is not my favorite place, and I don’t expect to go much, but it was a nice day and the snowy, messed up drive on the way down was not too bad. So that’s my week.

I went to a new knit nite Monday, at The Wool Cabin. Very friendly and fun. I’d taken 3 projects. The Baby Socks, The Baby Surprise Jacket, and Kimball’s gloves. Ugh. Did you ever think you’d hear me say that about knitting?  Well, I’d  finished the first sock over the weekend and found out that it was too small. So I had issues with the second heel and didn’t even want to deal with it because, yes, I’m going to have to rip out the toe of the first one and redo it. Ick.  The BSJ? I knit 8 rows, I tear out 7, I knit 4, I tear out 5. I am getting nowhere! And its all counting! I’m an accountant! How can I not count? Then I tried picking up stitches for the gloves and just put them back in the bag. I don’t ever want to do fingers again. Ever. So BSJ. I worked on it for 2 hours and then ripped it out and headed home.  So all my projects were duds.

When I got home I told K I hated fingers and didn’t want to do them anymore. And he kindly said, “It’s already February and it’s not snowing so put them away until next year.” Very kind if I hadn’t been wanting to put them away until the next century.

Luckily, the new yarn shop had a yarn I’d been needing for a very simple pattern I’d put away. I bought three balls and went home and put away all the dreaded items and started on my easy peasy shawl.  I’m working on that now, just for fun.

I know, I know, I’m going to Vegas to meet the niece and nephews and the non-finished socks mean I have absolutely no knitted gifts. Yes, this is hurting me too.  Sigh. Maybe I can come up with something quick in the next few days.

A bit. Just a little.  Remember when I said that K had me write a list of all the projects I had on needles and all the projects I had everything I needed to start but hadn’t? I may need to do that again. My yarn shopping days should be over for some time. Right?! And yet last night at Blazing Needles, I forged ahead and purchased new sock yarn for Kimball, went home, and cast on socks. Uh, what was I thinking?

Second Baby Sock

Well, I’d finished one baby sock, and it looked a bit small…so I’m waiting for measurements from my sis-in-law to finish the second one, and possibly rip out the toe of the first and extend it. My glove for Bronson is looking weird. Too skinny and tall. So I am waiting for Walker to visit this weekend and will try it on him since they are similar sized. The gloves for Kimball that I have not touched in weeks are in a little basket by my chair, but last I looked, the needles may or may not have all been there and it’s too much trouble, or it was last night, to find out what is going on. Baby Surprise Sweater? Don’t even mention the thing to me! I am tired of not being able to count right! Jeez! So I look over at the beautiful new yarn just sitting there in two perfect balls on the bed, and the size 0, 47″ circulars just happen to be in the basket at my feet….its’ so much easier to just cast on, right? Right!! Agree with me!

So now I have 5 things on needles, a swatch for a sweater all knitted up and blocked, so I can start that for my class next week, and a list of about 10 requests.  I must knit all weekend? Do you hear this family? Count me out!

Okay, but Walker and Kiki are coming to go to the BYU hockey game and spend the night on Saturday. Oh yeah, two movies are out we want to see, The Black Lady and Chronicle (K wants to see this actually), I need to clean the house and grocery shop, and my car needs an oil change and a ding on the windshield fixed. Wow. I can knit while the car is done, and in the movies, and at the hockey game…..okay, this can work.