Where’s my mojo?

I have lost my knitting Mojo. It is gone. I am knitting at a snails pace these days. Actually I think the pace at which I knit lately is insulting to snails. This is especially bad since I have orders I have to fill! BLAH!!

I have finished a couple things though. Four to be exact. They each took all of 15 minutes to complete. See, sad. If it takes more than a few minutes I am just not getting it done!! Oh me and my instant gratification needs. Hopefully I can start cranking out some FOs soon.

I was clicking along pretty nicely in a hat but realized the color was off and had to have to have the right yarn ordered. So I am currently waiting on my LYS to let me know when that is in. Maybe that will knock my rear in gear. Hmm…

Here are a few pics of my measly 4 items I have finished this week.

This was my first attempt at knitting with beads. Not to bad. It did take some trial and error to get the letters to face the correct way.

It’s an owl incase you can’t tell 🙂

That’s it!
One last thing before go. I was sitting in my den last night, when Vicious comes in and hands me a sticker and says “Mom, I found this sticker in a book. It made me think of you.”

Until next time. Happy knitting.

What I’ve been up to

I finally finished the Baby and Child sophisticate!!! It turned out so cute!!

Seriously, how stinking cute are those buttons!! I knit this in the 12month size and it was a super quick knit once I actually sat down and worked on it. I plan to make several more of these for my kiddos and for some friends.

Next on my knit to-do list was learn to knit a toe-up sock. I went onto Ravelry and found a pattern and set to work. I used the Basic toe up sock pattern. This pattern was very easy to follow and the socks turned out great. I used Universal yarns Bamboo pop in color Pastel swirl. I LOVE this yarn!!!
I did have trouble figuring out the cast on but I watched this video and got the hang of it rather quickly. I think toe up is my new fave way to knit socks.
My next new technique was the sweet tomato heel. It is a type Of short row heel that doesn’t have wraps. Wait..short rows without wraps you say? YES!! Short rows without wraps!! I loved this heel. No snags or holes from picking up those dang wraps. Just a nice smooth, well fit heel. I used this video to figure out the heel and can’t wait to knit another pair of these socks.

I started my next PIF project this weekend also. Yes, I know I have all year but I just HAVE to get them done. It is really bothering me lol. I decided for the next one I would make a highway hat! I saw a picture of one and knew I had to make it. So, since I was too lazy to find a pattern and it looked fairly easy, I grabbed a bunch of yarn in colors I thought would work and did this…

I order car buttons to sew onto the “road” to add detail. Can’t wait for those to arrive and ship off PIF #2.

Last but not least, I started and restarted a slouchy hat for an order. I have no idea what was wrong with this hat but it did not want to be told what to do. I kept finding holes or the yarn wouldn’t tighten properly or the tension would go all wonky in spots for no reason. It was really irritating! By the 5th time ripping it out and starting over, I decided to double strand it and that seems to be doing the trick. I do not want to rip this hat again. It’s already one step away from going into a time out.

That’s about it for now. Hope everyone has a happy Monday.

Paying it forward.

Ever have that moment where you see people being giving and full of charity and you think “I am going to do the same thing!”? Well, if not then you have more self control than I do, lol. A friend of mine joined a pay it forward project in January and once I saw it I said “sign me up”. The rules were pretty simple, you say “I’m in” and they make you a handmade item and you get 5 people to join in and you make each of those 5 people a handmade item, and those 5 people each get 5 people to join and they make handmade items for them, and so on. You are supposed to have your items made and delivered by the end of 2014. I have made zero items for my five people. ZERO
I started on the first a few weeks ago, so maybe more like 0.5 🙂
So, my first PIF gift is a baby &child sophisticate. I bought the revised pattern but they do offer a free version of this pattern. I am knitting it with Universal yarn washable wool in color Aguae. I really like this yarn for kid knits. The wool in it allows me to block it while the acrylic/nylon in it allows it to be easy on a child’s skin and allows it to be washed. A huge plus for any garment that will come in contact with a tiny human.

I just have to finish the collar and sew on the buttons and done!

After this just 4 more handmade items and I will be all paid forward 😉

Not really a pay it forward, more of a shout out to an awesome Etsy store! Seans labels. I decided to add size labels to my hand knits and ended up ordering from this shop. Great quality labels, free shipping, fast shipping…I will order from this shop again. I was not paid or even asked to promote this shop. Just a great shop and I like to give props to people who go above and beyond when it comes to service and quality.

Well that’s about it knitters! Hope everyone has a great rest of the day! I will leave you with something fun:
Mine is Captivating Sock-tacular yarn 🙂
What’s yours?

Knitting, Snow and the big 0-2.(pic heavy)

SNOW

It has been a CRAZY week here in NC. We got a foot of snow!! Those who may not be aware, it NEVER snows in North Carolina. NEVER!!!! If we get anything it doesn’t stick and what does is gone within hours. So, this was a shock to us all. The kids had fun playing and the adults had fun sipping wine and staying indoors. Another thing you may not know about southerners, we don’t like the cold past age 12 🙂
Thankfully it’s started melting and will be back in the 70’s by mid week.

KNITTING
Due to being stuck inside all week, I was able to get some knitting finished.
I completed the wool diaper cover that was for an order and blocked it. It turned out really well.

This is what happens when you have to improvise blocking, haha. That is a can of hair spray and a bead holder. Just call me Macguyver 🙂
I had started a Baby Sophisticate and didn’t like it so I bought the revised pattern and am redoing it. Much happier with the results.

Ready to split it up for the sleeves and start the body.

BIG 0-2
Thing 2 turns 2 on Sunday!! How this happened, I have no idea. I can’t believe the tiny baby(well not that tiny, she was 8 pounds) that I have birth to is now a 2 year old toddler. This child is full of life and keeps me on my toes! She knows what she wants and goes after it, rules be damned. She is a lover and a fighter and everything in between. I see great things in this kids future. My rainbow baby is not quite a baby anymore 😦

Happy 2nd Birthday Rhiannon Hope

The happenings

Happy Sunday Knitters!! 

I have been on pins and needles excited all day waiting for tomorrow to come!! It’s like Christmas eve when you were a kid and you couldn’t wait for the day to hurry and end because you knew the BIG day was just hours away. That’s how I have felt all day today because…SCHOOL STARTS BACK TOMORROW!!!! I have been dreaming of this day for 2 weeks now. Vicious goes back to school..8 hours holla…and Thing 2 starts preschool …4 hours, thank you lord…and I get to sit and drink HOT(as opposed to luke warm) coffee,and watch grown up tv and knit things without tiny humans ripping my needles out because they neeeedddd something. Oh what a glorious day it will be, indeed! 

Now on to the What-have-yous of my weekend…..

First off I Joined a year long sock KAL, thanks to Rachel over at All night knitter. I know I have said in the past I was joining a KAL and never actually Knit a long BUT this time is different. Really it is!! First off my hubs has been begging for socks so it works that this is a sock KAL. Second there are no patterns to follow or rules or any of that hoopla that really turns me off from most KALs. This is just picking up and knitting either one row or a whole sock every day. Completely up to me. Love it. You can check out the details on KnittingSarahs page.  

Make sure you follow me on my Facebook and Instagram to check out all my socks and other things that are coming off my needles. I post there much more often..IE:daily…then I do here. 

 

Lets see…What else…

Ah yes the actual knitting. I have accomplished a few things this weekend. First off I finally took pictures of some of my FOs. 

Here is a picture of a Creeper Hat I made for the Hubs.

For those who don’t know, a Creeper is a bad guy from the video game Minecraft and they have a cameo appearance in the game Borderlands 2. Since my hubbo loves both games, he requested the hat. And since he is the one who works and keeps me in yarn money, when he asks for a hat I make it 🙂  My opinion may be biased but he looks really cute in the hat. Not kid cute, more like “How you doin’?” cute. 

Next up is a hat I made for a customer. 

They sent me a picture of a crocheted hat and said can you make this?. I said sure and this is what happened. Not to bad if I do say so myself. 

Last but not least, I made myself a hat. I rarely knit for myself and I have only ever made myself 1 thing in the past. (Well besides dish cloths) And since it is balls a$$ freezing here, I needed a hat. 

I knit this with Malabrigo 100% merino wool. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this hat!! It is so soft and so warm. I used the pattern The No ouchy slouchy. I had to adjust the decrease since there were a couple mistakes the way its written, but otherwise it came out great and I plan to knit another soon.

Not quite slouchy enough yet but this is a before blocking picture (I know, I know, bad) but I wanted to have a pic for this post. 

Bad pic of me wearing it straight off the needles in my ugly tie dye shirt! 

 

I have also started a bit early on the sock KAL. 

I am using Universal Yarn 100% wool worsted weight with 2 strands held together. The pattern is a VERY altered version of the sasquatch slipper sock. My hubs foot is no where near a size 12 so I will have to cut back on a few of the measurements but otherwise I think it will be a great pattern. I have only knit and completed one other pair of socks,so I am going with simple. 

 

Right now I am also working on a bunch of baby leg warmers for customers and I have had more orders for the Minnie Hat. Hopefully I will have a bunch of that knocked out soon since THE KIDS GO BACK TO SCHOOL TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!

 

That’s it for now. Off to pack up back packs since THE KIDS GO BACK TO SCHOOL TOMORROW!!!! I am just a little excited about the kids going back to school in case you couldn’t tell 😉 

Happy Knitting!!!

 

 

My new yarn!

I am blessed to have the best brother in the whole world! He is single and has no bills, so when holidays come around he gets everyone the best stuff. This year was no different. He gave the girls movies they had been wanting and he got me a $50 gift card to my LYS!!!! Ahhh!!! See, best brother ever!!!!

Since I have no self control and since I was so excited to have fun money for yarn, I went and spent that gift card on December 26!! I dropped the kidlets at my moms and me and the hubs went and walked around the yarn store for over an hour. It was amazing!!!

Here is what I got:

Malabrigo 100% merino

I have been lusting over this yarn for about a year or so now. While it isn’t terribly expensive, it’s always been considered a “splurge” and I could never bring myself to spend the $15 on it. This was the first thing I grabbed when I walked into the store. I am thinking about making myself a slouchy hat with this. I am so in love with this yarn and so happy that I finally own it.

Next up was this beauty
Swizzle 100% superfine alpaca

This yarn is sooooo soft!! The pink,purple and black all look so cute together. I would never have bought something like this on my own. It was nice to spend money that wasn’t mine and that I didn’t feel guilty about. Not quite sure what this will be yet but it sure is nice to pet it until I decide what it will be.

Last but not least was
Berrocco Vintage

I have several skeins of this brand but I really liked this color way so I bought it!!

All in all I am very happy with my new yarn and can’t wait to cast on with them.

Ps: Sorry about the crappy pictures. My camera is broke so every thing is taken with my phone.

Almost forgot…

I can’t believe I didn’t post this on one of my last entries. Oh well, better late then never.

I am part of a mommy group for ladies who kicked infertility in the nads. We held a Secret Santa and I received the most awesomely perfect gift in the history of gifts ever!!!

It’s a wine glad that reads “Knit one, Sip one”
Ahh, I love it!!
For a lady whom I have never met in real life, she sure does know me well.

Knit all the things

I spent the weekend couch bound due to stuppy legs not working, but thanks to prednisone I got a TON of knitting finished. So, silver lining and all that.

I finished a hat and 3 pairs of booties and a leg warmer, oh my 🙂

The first thing to go on and come off the needles was a pooh bear newborn hat. It turned out great and will be so cute on the head of a tiny new human. I purchased this pattern last spring and have gotten my use of it. So well written. I do change the brim and add a couple more rows to make it not quite so short. In my experience bambinos are usually born with a bit of a cone head, so the extra rows accommodate for that.

Once the hat was completed it was time to whip up some booties! The lady that ordered the set wanted 2 pair of booties but didn’t specify color, what she wanted as far as style, anything. So I hopped on Ravelry and found some that I liked and would of wanted if my husband had of given me the boys I asked for!!
The first pair came out great but they looked more like a preemie size so I redid them in a chunkier yarn and on bigger needles!

This is the first pair. See they just look really small. It may be that my kids were HUGE so my view of what a normal size baby looks like is a bit off but my theory is a baby can always grow but it’s really hard to shrink them 🙂 So bigger booties it was!

This is the second attempt and I am much happier with the size.
I used Simple seamless baby booties which was Free on Ravelry.

Since I didn’t want to give her the same type of bootie for both pairs it was back to Ravelry to find something else that tickled my fancy.
I decided to try One seam baby slipper pattern, also free in Ravelry.
If it’s free, it’s for me!!

They turned out so cute! I had a time trying to decide on the buttons but once I figured out that, the pattern itself was a breeze.

I really hope the recipient likes them.
I am now off to knit yet another Minnie hat and gloves to match.
Here are some pictures of my sending the booties off into the world.

October review

With October gone and November here I can’t help but think what the new month will bring. October was such a productive month for me, I can only hope that November will bring me the same knitting gratification.
November is always my favorite month, for 2 reason. The first:My birthday!! This year I am turning 30, so I am very excited that it is November! My day o’ birth is the 11th which here in the US equals Veterans Day. So when I was little I always thought my birthday was such a big deal and I was so awesome that they let everyone stay out of school that day. What a disappointment to learn I was just a regular person haha. But I still make a big deal about my birthday and this year will be even bigger of a deal 🙂
The second reason is Thanksgiving! I love to eat! I mean I really LOVE to eat, so thanksgiving is my kind of holiday. The best part is my mother in laws stuffing! Man that junk is good!

This November Is bringing a lot more goodness this year. One: I have so many orders and can’t wait to see them come to life! Several I get to design and pick colors, and I love being able to let my creativity run free and have others appreciate it. I also finally get to go to the neurologist and see what the heck is going in with me! Oh I can’t wait. I already know what I will be knitting during that appointment haha.

The best part about this November is that it is the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who!!! Man oh man, I can NOT wait for that! November 23, what a great day it will be!!!

Here is a recap of Octobers FOs:

Happy November everyone! Hope the month brings great things to you all!

Such a quiter

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. I have a problem with joining KAL and not knitting along! I joined a KAL to knit washcloths, and out of the 12 washcloths you were suppose to knit wanna know how many I knit? Do ya?
ONE!! I knit 1 of 12 wash cloths! I am such a KAL loser. Why do I even join these things? I know I have zero follow through. I know I like to follow my own beat and knit what I want. I also know I have a kazatrillion orders to fill and no time for lolli-gagging!
I have learned my lesson and vow to never join a KAL again. Umm…unless I change my mind 🙂