Scrubbing, Snowman and Socks

I've spent the whole morning cleaning B's room. It truly was in a state of chaos and I don't think she really knew where to begin anymore. She still sleeps on the top bunk in M's room, so her bed and floor were no longer identifiable. I tidied everything away, picked up three laundry basket-fuls of clothes from the floor (don't really know if it was clean or not), made her bed, rearranged her pillows and stuffies, put about 40 books onto the shelf, found about 50 hair elastics and 100 bobby pins, tossed rough copies of about a dozen homework assignments, tossed more Halloween candy wrappers than I could count, cleaned up three candies stuck to the floor in various spots, swept and mopped her floor! It looks great! Now I'm doing the loads of laundry. I noticed that her dresser and hangers were almost completely empty. I think now that she doesn't have to make a new path to the dresser and closet (since not only can you now see the floor, but it is also clean) to put away or take out clothes, there may be a better chance of her actually using them to store her clothes.
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Completely unrelated: I finished my snowman from this kit. I am so pleased with how he turned out!
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I had some ecru roving left over after I covered the "snow balls" so I spun up a 3 ply fingering weight yarn. I really liked the way this Romney roving spun up. I ended up with 10 yards that I figured should be enough for a little scarf. I cast on 4 sts and knit in seed stitch until I ran out of yarn. I dyed the scarf green and I think it makes him look even cuter!
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And the last "S": I finished my Socktober Mystery Sock KAL.
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Through the Loops designed these beautiful socks for the KAL. I'm just in time to get in on the prizes too, if I post my FO photos before midnight tonight on the Ravelry thread. These poor socks really stalled after the Rowan Felted Tweed Aran arrived at my home. Just in case you're wondering, only 9 more sleeps until I can show you that project!
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I Finished a Pair of Mittens

I love how these mittens turned out. They are supposed to be for the gift exchange for G's work Christmas party. Although I am very tempted to keep them for myself I have decided that either I make sure I leave the party with them, or I'll have to make myself a pair!.

For the thumb:
You'll have 19 sts on a holder when you finish the hand. Tranfer these sts onto 3 dpns. Pick up 3 sts where the thumb joins the hand. Arrange the stitches so you have 8, 8, 6 stitches on your 3 dpns, the first stitch should be a knit stitch. Knit 15 rounds in k1tbl, p1 ribbing.

Decrease round 1: [k3tog through the back of the loops (k3togtbl), p1] 5 times, k1tbl, p1, 12 sts.
Decrease round 2: [k3togtbl, p1] 3 times, 6 sts

Break yarn and thread end into a darning needle. Pass the needle through each of the remaining sts and pull tight. Weave in ends.

Thanks to Eunny for the inspiration!

Secret Project - Finished!

I've finished knitting the secret project at lunch today! I've still got a few ends to weave in before its photo shoot, but I expect to be able to finish those this evening. Yippee!!!
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Strangely I seemed to have less yardage in the balls of "Cassis" Rowan Felted Tweed Aran than the "Dusty" and "Soot". M suggested that maybe since this color also felt different, that my tension was different as well. It is possible, but in the end I have 16yds of "Cassis" left and approximately 27 yards of both "Dusty" and "Soot". Of the twelve balls of this yarn, two had knots, one somewhere in the middle of the ball and one within a few yards of the beginning. For the price of this yarn, I was a bit surprised by that. It feels good to have this project finished.
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I'm looking forward to the photo shoot with B. I was hoping for snow, usually very normal for this area at this time of the year, but it's not looking good. I'm also looking forward to knitting on something else tomorrow!
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3 Squares

I've made a few squares for an afghan. An online friend is in need of some encouragement and I decided to join the project to make an afghan for her. I thought I'd only knit one square, but it was rather addicting and I found that I just couldn't stop.

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Details:

finished size (blocked) 8" x 8" - photos show preblocked squares

made from this yarn

patterns loosely based on the "blocks" from Micah's Baby Blanket

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Approved

Here is Simon the Cyclops, just as B envisioned him. I'm quite pleased with how he looks. B was so right about the pointed toes - they really do add something. I love his stripy leggings too.

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But I think my favorite part is how well his eye turned out. I used a small piece of white felt and glued it to his body using fabric glue. Then I poked a safety eye through both the felt and the knitted fabric and snapped it in place. Sometimes I feel using felt pieces to make the facial details is a bit of a cheat on a knitted toy, but I love how it looks and know I could never make it look as darling with embroidery.

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I'll be writing up the pattern and making him available for purchase in my etsy shop and on Ravelry soon.

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Excalibur - pattern

Just in time for halloween! A knitted sword for all your pirates, knights and sword wielding elves.

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Little boys love to play with swords and imagine slaying dragons. But most toy swords can still inflict fairly serious damage to sisters (dragons). This is a perfect solution for the little knight confined to his home on rainy days
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Excalibur is a quick knit in worsted weight wool. Visit my Etsy store or download it now on Ravelry and get started today!
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Enough Left for Thumbless Mittens

I decided to make a Cisco hat with the Phat Yarn. I love how this turned out. There was enough left to make coordinating thumbless mittens to go with the hat.
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I love how cute babies look with thumbless mittens. B had the cutest Fair Isle pair when she was little. Store-bought, but adorable - it was before I was a knitter!

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Back to School...

back to routine...

Since a month has passed, I think I'll give you the brief description of the past 31 day!

• relaxed time with G's family - complete with a fun wedding and wonderful sunny summer weather
• fun-filled 4 days with my family - it's always so much fun to watch our kids getting to know each other all over again
• summer skate camp - so much fun - major blisters from new skates - so glad the regular season begins today!
• hockey camp - sunshine really helps to combat that funky hockey gear smell!
• and today... back to school!

I did some knitting and spinning too.

• Finished "Jolie" for my sister - neglected to get any finished photos. This was long overdue. I had the bulk of the knitting done on it for over 18 months and just needed to sew it together. I'm glad it's done and glad it fits her so well.
• Continued knitting on this brown sock.
• Spun some from Aurelia Wools - lovely worsted weight for mittens.
• Spun a few Phat Fiber Samples.

And speaking of Phat Fiber, my August box arrived on Saturday. Lots of lovelies... Please feel free to give yourself a shout-out in the comments if you see your stuff. I didn't have time to link and label everything... my house is in shambles from the last minute rush of back-to-school prep of the past few days

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I received two stitch markers: a cute little apple and some linky sort of ones and a great knitters' balm

12 yummy fluff samples:

3 wonderful yarn samples:

And 3 great patterns: Lil' Leggin's, Mama Cotton and Baby Cotton, and Perforated Gloves

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It's good to be back!

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Can you handle the cuteness!

A few weeks ago I came across this pattern. Mini Alien by Barbara Prime (Rav link). This little guy had B and I giggling and ooohing! I decided to make just one to tuck into the mittens for my niece for Christmas, but I can tell I'll be making more of these!

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Minny is just 1.75 inches tall and can hover easily as most aliens can! Although the pattern calls for DK weight wool, I used worsted and went up a needle size. Once I inserted the plastic safety eyes, I used pliers to snap half the post off as Minny's head is so tiny the posts were causing weird bumps and angles in the head.

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Meet You at the Fair

The newest PogKnits pattern was inspired by the Phat Fiber Box August theme: Meet me at the Fair.

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Among all the wondrous things at the fair, the food is always a big draw. Corn dogs are one of my favorites. Meet Pogo – feel free to have a bite if you can catch him.
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This pattern is suitable for someone who can knit in the round on double pointed needles. The size of the project combined with the worsted weight wool, make it a great, quick project. Other skills required are increasing and decreasing, embroidery, making I-cord, and seaming.
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Available as a Ravelry download or through my Etsy shop (see sidebar)
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This link will redirect you to Paypal through Ravelry's shopping basket
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Thumb Wrestler's Sweaters - A free pattern

We've been trying to find ways to discourage a bad habit. To that end, the Thumb Wrestler's Sweaters were invented!
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Pattern:

Needles: 3.25mm dpns

Yarn: worsted weight

Size: to fit 9 year old thumbs

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Cast on 10 sts using the backward loop method. Join and knit in the round for 7 rounds. To keep the cast off edge stretchy, knit 1, *slip it back to the left hand needle, k2tog*. Repeat from * to * until all the stitches have been cast off. Break yarn and weave in ends. Repeat if you wish to have a sweater for each thumb.

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M was hesitant for me to share this pattern until he realized it might help others to not suck their thumbs too.
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zzzzzub, zzzzub, zzzub

My favorite movies have always been classic Disney films: Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Mary Poppins... Maybe that makes me a bit juvenille, but I think it just shows I'm still a kid at heart. Have any of you ever seen The Rescuers? And do you remember the darling little dragonfly, who serves as an outboard motor on the leaf boat Bernard and Bianca use to go rescue Penny?

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I'd like to introduce you to Evinrude.

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Evinrude patterns will be my submission to the July 09 "Non-wool" Phat Fiber Box and he was inspired by the hopes of all the silky, shiny non-wool fibers that mimic a dragonfly's natural iridescence.

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If you don't get a July box for yourself, Evinrude is also available through my Etsy shop (see the sidebar) or as a Ravelry download
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This link will redirect you to Paypal through Ravelry's shopping basket

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Dyed by DaniDo Mittens

I loved the "Fireweed" bulky wool sample from Dyed by DaniDo and decided a little pair of mitts was perfect. Here they are all finished.

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There was 20 yards of the sample in my May Phat Fiber Box and each mitten used 9 yards for the colour bits. With the 2 left over yards, I made a mitten string to keep the pair from being separated. The gray was some miscellaneous worsted wool I had in my stash. I don't know how much I used. These should fit my 5 yr old niece!

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Zest is his favorite Soap

Hubby always buys zest soap. Always.

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But last May, I made homemade soap for the first time. I was watching Martha with the dd who was home from school with a migraine and there was a segment on about making goat's milk soap. DD thought that looked like fun and would make great teacher gifts for the end of the school year.

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So we made some. We used an empty Pringles can lined with parchment paper as our mold and made beautiful round soaps. We wrapped them in waxed paper and put this cute little lable on them.

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They turned out wonderful. I made another batch in September when my folks were visiting. My mom wanted to know how to make soap.

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Somehow a bar of the stuff found it's way into the Hubby's hands in the shower and when he ran out, he asked if I had more. I was shocked. He went through another bar, and decided I should make more, now, so it has time to cure before we completely run out.

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This afternoon I made another batch. Hubby's only request this time around was whether I could make a rectangular rather than round bar. Here they are resting in the molds. I'll turn them out and cut them tomorrow.

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Still no sock progress. I made an ipod cozy for the dd last night instead, but it was too small so I frogged it too. I cast on with a few more stitches this morning and here's what we've got.

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Parade of Socks (all the socks I've ever knit)

I do not have time to knit. I am too busy with the Figure Skating year end Ice Show: making costumes, helping with props, getting ready for the big night! Friday is the dress rehearsal with two shows this weekend. The other moms and I were talking last night at the arena that this is both the best and worst week of the season. It is going to be a great show!

And next week I go into high gear on another fun project: Academic Olympiad at the kids school. It will be fun family evening geared to "competing" in various academic events, with a Wii and Big Brain Academy as the door prize. Much work to be done yet, but I think two weeks should be enough. We're planning for May 11th.

But... I do have some sock to post about. Socks that have kept my feet warm all winter and will soon be going into hibernating with the winter clothes.

From the top:

• Socks of my own design with KnitPicks Essential in Burgundy - a bit too tight. They only get worn when they're the last ones in the drawer. Maybe I should frog them and use the yarn for something I'll love?
• Plain socks with afterthought heels both colors Patons Kroy "Norfolk Blue" and an evergreen/navy/light blue ragg that I've lost the ball band from. I loved the ragg yarn and wanted to use as much of it as I could. I split the ball in two, joined the happy yarn once I'd knit a navy toe and knit round and round and round and round until I ran out of yarn. Then I added a navy cuff and a navy afterthough heel (although it was really a planned thing) and repeated the process once more for a pair of socks I love.
• Mini cabled ribbed socks in a pattern of my own devising knit in Lana Grossa Meilenweit Bosco "3524". I love these socks so much. They fit perfect. I love the yarn too. It's the same yarn I designed Opie with.
• Plain toe up socks with a square heel from Wisdom Yarn's Marathon Socks - Los Angeles Color #241. Used Judy's Magic Cast-on - such a handy technique! Love these socks so much, they need to be darned on the balls of the foot. (Before I do that I need to wash the leftover yarn from making them since it's crusty from when the dog found the ball and played with it). They fit perfectly. Love the yarn too - nice and soft and squishy.
• Plain cuff down, flap heel socks with Sunshine Yarns "Cherry Blossom" colorway from a couple of years ago. Probably the softest socks in my collection. Beth's Kitty is using this yarn to knit socks for herself too.
• Spring Forward socks in Lana Grossa Meilenweit Marmi "7002". Great socks. Warm and comfy. The pattern was easy to remember and fun to knit.

This is all the handknit socks in my sock drawer right now. This doesn't include any that have sadly been darned so many times they had to be let go. Nor does it include the socks M has worn out, grown out of or are in his drawer (we're the only two here who like the handknit woolies on our toesies). Nor does it include the socks that I made for my sister's family of 5 a few years ago for Christmas. Or the 3 pairs for Mom and Dad. Mom has a pair of Hedera's in KnitPicks Essential "denim", a pair of Hibiscus for Hope in Patons Kroy "Muslin" and a pair of broken rib socks in Patons Kroy "Coal" that Dad let her have because he found them a bit too scratchy. (Note to self: make his next pair in KnitPicks Gloss)

My very first pair of socks were toe up Pine Tree socks in Patons Kroy "Flax". I had such fun learning to knit socks and loved that pair of socks until the ball of the foot was darned to death. I did frog the instep and cuff and still have the yarn left to make something else. I couldn't part with it.

See? I do knit socks!

He thinks he's being really sneaky

This Maddox is for M for Easter. Maddox firmly believes that he can fool us with this disguise and score some Easter Chocolate for himself.

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Project Specs:

Pattern: Maddox the Mischevious Monster by Rebecca Danger

Pattern Source: Ravelry, Etsy, Ms. Danger's Blog
Yarn: Briggs & Little Durasport, Color: Blue Jean
Needles: 2.0mm dpns
Date Started: April 7, 2009

Date Finished: April 10, 2009
Finished Size: 6 inches tall
Other Supplies: 6mm safety eyes, felt scraps, polyfil, small piece of chenille stem, fabric glue, enough white yarn for a pompom.

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M and B both love their Maddoxes. These were such fun to knit and quite easy too. I'll be making more.

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Don't be fooled by the softness

Bob is done! I knew it wouldn't take long to finished 4 little legs. They have less than sixty stitches per leg. But now I know why I didn't finish this little guy before. The yarn was a very poor choice for a toy. B fell in love with it's softness, but it was not easy to work with for this project.

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Note how there are two strands: one evenly chenille-like (the white one) and the other with little slubby bits of chenille. The slubby strand changes color throughout the ball and gives little pops of pinkness as you progress. This I like. But the slubby bits also make the sewing up very difficult. Each little slub catches on the stitches you're trying to pull the tail through, making for some really big frustration, especially at the tight gauge I like to knit toys at.

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I will probably make more Bobs - I'm pleased with how he turned out, I'll just choose my yarn more wisely next time.

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Project Specs

Pattern: Bob designed by Anna Hrachovec

Pattern Source: Mochimochi blog, click on Free Patterns button

Yarn: Red Heart Buttercup, Color: White Coral Multi

Needles: 4mm dpns

Date Started: July 08

Date Finished: April 8/09

Finished Size: About 7" long x 5" wide

Other Supplies: 12 mm safety eyes, polyfil

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Ms. Maddox

I fell in love with Rebecca Danger's Maddox at first sight (on Lime & Violet) and bought the pattern as fast as I could.

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Rather than use the Magic Loop Method, I used dpn's, but made no modifications to her wonderfully written and humorous pattern.

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Ms. Maddox was all ready to sneak under the bed to steal socks, when she turned to me and asked whether making her a small handbag might be too much of an imposition. I gladly obliged, giving her a bright green handbag made from felt scraps. She's off to "shop" for socks now.

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This will be an Easter gift for B.

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Resistance is Futile...

... he has been assimilated. M has finished his first project from a pattern. I tried very hard with B, but she just didn't seem to allow knitting to take over her brain. M loved it from the start. On our way to B's skating dance tests today he knit Resisty's feet in the van. He finished the second foot on the way home and I sewed them in place for him.

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Other than casting on, tinking here and there, rescuing a few fallen stitches and sewing on the feet, this was entirely his project. I was impressed with how quickly he took to reading a pattern, and understood increases and decreases. There was one sad incident when his bamboo dpn snapped under the finish-line excitement and stress of knitting a k2tog in stitches that were a bit too tight.

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B passed her European Waltz, but missed the Keats Foxtrot by a hair. She'll retest that one at the end of April. She was very happy to be done with the European as she hates it, but felt it would have been a hollow victory if she'd passed the Keats. She felt she'd skated it horribly, possibly due to the fact that her excitement on passing the European didn't have time to fade. She says she's glad to have the opportunity to show case her best on the Keats next time.

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Bijouterie

I survived the snowboarding - but I don't think that it's fair that those teens and kids make it look so easy. That is probably the hardest thing I've ever tried. And it was scary. But the kids enjoyed it - so that made it all worthwhile!

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I loved the Bijouterie from the winter Knitty since it came out, but so far hadn't tried the pattern. I checked out sterling silver findings and wire at the local Michaels, but came up empty with the exception of the wire guards. I figured that without sterling silver wire, it wasn't worth the $10 for the 50pk of wire guards, so I bought some inexpensive 28 guage silver-colored wire to give things a try. Here's my attempt with some silver colored E-beads that I had in my craft bin and some Dollarama earing hooks that B had in her bead stash.

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I think they turned out beautifully, and B is hoping I'll knit up a second one so she can wear them to school tomorrow. I think it's a great pattern and will definately spring for the silver wire and findings in the future!

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