Lots to Update!

I always say I should update this more, but I am almost positive that I am the only person who reads this.  Haha!

Since October:

Summer Flies, In-Law Edition
Belle Ruffle Gloves
Dog Sweaters
Reindeer Hat
Countless tiny Christmas presents


We also made a baby.  I know, I was surprised too.  It's a boy and he's due at the end of August.  Giana is excited, but then she's not.  Some days she will say, "I love your baby in your belly" and then some days she says, "I do not like babies AT ALL.  They throw up all over the place!"

Anywho, since baby and Giana will be sharing a room, I decided to do something different in the room.  The room was decorated for Giana's ladybug nursery and that was all I really thought when I walked in the room.

So, I took some tips from Pinterest and decided on a tree mural.  I was certain it'd end up on one of those failed attempt pinterest blogs.  Surprisingly, it came out really well.

First, I sketched out an outline with chalk.  Pencil seemed too hard to clean if I decided I didn't want to do it anymore.  It's hard to see in the photo.  It was REALLY hard to see in the original, so yes, I instaglammed it.

When I was done with the chalk, I went to Lowe's and bought brown paint.  I kept thinking to myself, "if I fuck this up, I will have to paint the whole damn wall brown".  

I traced over the chalk with pencil and then started painting.

At the start of the tree, I was thinking, "well, this is not going well.  It's looking awful and I will have to paint the whole wall".  But I continued.

And then I went to bed.  We woke up the next day and went back to Lowe's and bought two different shades of green paint (the tiny little sample cans) and I started on the leaves.

And this was around the time I was rejoicing, thinking I would not have to paint the wall brown.  I mean, I could prime it, but it would take a lot of primer!

See the tiny leaves at the top? I was totally flipping out over them.  I was a little discouraged, but because they were still slightly wet, they came off with a facecloth and water.  

TADAAAH!

I have to admit, I'm really really impressed and proud of myself.  I hurt for a few days (mind you, this was last week), but it was worth it.  I now want a tree mural in every room in the house.  It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be and I have no painting/drawing skills whatsoever.  The people I draw are stick figures.  

Now, I'm going to attempt to make a crib mobile.  We'll see how that works out.  I've been sewing some baby toys, like crinkle thingies and little chomper toys, but I am notsogood at the sewing.  We shall see!

This Is Why Knitting for Christmas begins Dec. 26th.

Ahhh!  Again, I feel like I have so much to knit!  As Christmas is getting closer, my queue on ravelry grows to epic proportions.  So much to knit!  I suppose it doesn't help that my cousin moved up her wedding, so instead of throwing them $100, I decided to knit them an afghan.  When the afghan was taking too long, I switched to a Christmas Tree Skirt.  The tree skirt is coming along (only a few more pattern repeats until I get to the border rows), but geez.  I was wondering why there weren't that many knitted tree skirts on etsy and now I know why.  These bitches take forever. I could have used bigger needles, actually, I started on bigger needles, but it just didn't look right.

After the tree skirt is done, I was planning on making matching stockings.  I am thinking they may have to wait for them.  The kiddo and I are going up to MA next week, so I know I'll have a little extra time to do some knitting while I'm there, but I still have so much to do before Christmas!

After the wedding presents are done, it's on to finish Christmas knitting.  MIL requested a shawl.  I'm torn between doing another Summer Flies or Dinner in the Eiffel Tower.  I was kind of leaning towards Summer Flies because I'm familiar with the pattern from when I made it for my Mom.

After MIL's present is done, I need to work on a hat for Nonny, mittens for SIL, koozies for the family Yankee Swap (complete with beer, of course), another something for the Yankee Swap, more koozies for Heidi and Jimmy, soap sweaters galore (at least one for Mom and one for Dad), possibly boot toppers for Nicole, and I still haven't even started the Belle Ruffle Mitts I promised to make for Andrea in July!

After Christmas is done, then one of my cousins is having a baby AND I will need to get crackin' again on the Burridge Lake Afghan to give to Adam and Sara for their nuptials in May.  I've gotten a few requests for knitted items for other people as well.  Heather's Mom wants a shawlette/scarf, someone else wants a water bottle cozy.  I am pretty sure this was the reason why I stopped knitting last time (well, that and the constant puking that came along with pregnancy).  But I see no reason to stop. LOL.

A little off-topic:  Last night was the season premiere of the Walking Dead.  SPOILER ALERT!



As the group was walking into the cell block, I couldn't stop thinking about all the awesome things I could knit for an unhomely place like a prison.  Cozies for the stairs, so they wouldn't make the "clinking" sound when someone walked up them.  Cozies for the bars, because if you're going to live in a cage, it may as well be cute and comfy.  Not to mention that everyone probably needs a blanket.  I shared this thought with my husband by saying, "I think I have a problem, I can't stop thinking about all the awesome things I could knit for that place" and he replied, "but you would have no yarn".  This is when I told him about the plan to loot the local yarn stores in the area after the zombies first attacked.  I have some pretty sturdy US size 17's that could lobotomize the undead fairly easy.  I then told him that if we couldn't get to a yarn store, we would need a spinning wheel and a sheep.  Not that I have any clue how to spin yarn, but by golly, I would make it work.  I admit that I have a bit of a problem.

Super Busy!

So, even though I haven't updated, I have been busy knitting!  No breaks for this girl.  A quick recap?  Sure!

I can't believe it's been such a long time since my last entry.  Baby F was born and I have a sweet nephew!  Bobby is a little peanut and already 6 months old.  Adorable!  Giana loves him and we miss him dearly.  I have to thank him a little bit for making me get back into knitting!  To do this, I knitted him a shit ton of stuff.

His stocking cap

His cable hat

His knit hospital hat

I also made a bunch of stocking hats and other cute little photoshoot hats for Heather's sister, Rachael, who is a photographer.  

Maggie received a new sweater

Giana got popsicle cozies (she never eats a freeze-pop or frozen go-gurt without her "knits")

Giana took a dance class this spring and part of summer.  I knit her a ballet slipper bag.  She said she enjoyed dance, but she just ran around like a crazy person at the recital.  I mean, she literally just ran around the stage while everyone else danced.  Totally embarrassing!  At least her slipper bag was cute.

I made the gorgeous Pine Forest Baby Blanket with Knit Picks Shine Worsted.  I love Knit Picks yarn.  Affordable and comfy!  The blanket turned out wonderfully.

One of my besties from back home had a baby over the summer.  I knit her a variety of different things.

I made my mother the gorgeous Summer Flies Shawlette.

I will update more later.  Boy, this post is picture heavy!  Needless to say, I've been busy!

But it always seems like a good idea until I am half way through.

Anyhoo, been busy with the knitting. I'm really only ever to concentrate on knitting at night, when the hellion is in bed. I finished the baby blanket for the brother and SIL in time for the baby shower. Yay me! I was definitely pleased with the results.

I am almost finished with the stocking cap Baby F will wear for his or her first photo shoot, pictures will follow. I'm currently working on a scarf for Giana, but it is somewhat phallic shaped, so I may frog it.

Next challenge? SOCKS. I'm a little intimidated, but I can do it! I am going to start with DPNs and eventually, maaaaybe try magic loop and do two at the same time. I've also ordered yarn to make a pinwheel baby blanket for a coworker of hubs.

That's about it. Too many WIPs and not enough time!

Wow, so it's a been a while.

So, it's been a little while. In the past three years, I have barely knit! We had a beautiful baby girl in June 2009. Pregnancy totally sucked. If all pregnancies were the same, I think I wouldn't even contemplate having another child.

I got giant.

That picture was taken at 36 weeks, so there was a whole lot of giantness after this.

I delivered a healthy, happy 8 and a half pound baby girl. We named her Giana.



Before I got pregnant, I had envisioned knitting our baby ALL sorts of things. Clothes, blankets, hats, booties. EVERYTHING. Pregnancy suuuuucks. I spent the first 5 months of pregnancy sick as a DOG. There were about 2 weeks to one month after those 5 months when I said, "Wow, pregnancy is AWESOME! My belly is little and cute and I am not puking 5 times a day!". It didn't last long. Giana sat on my sciatic nerve and I was miserable. By the third trimester, I had pregnancy insomnia and was ready for her to be OUT. I was giant, uncomfortable and TIRED. I was so happy when I had her so that I could finally get some sleep!

She was a great newborn and baby. Happy, for the most part, totally attached to the boobie. She was a super adorable baby.


She waited 8 months to crawl. Two weeks after that, she took her first steps. Then she started walking and my life turned upside down. Having a mobile child is so much different than having a baby. She was into everything. Then she started talking. Now she doesn't stop. Her newest phrase is "Two minutes, Mama! GIMME TWO MINUTES". I must say this a lot.

So to add to the summary, my brother got married. Soon after, the SIL was pregnant and learned to knit. I decided to pick the needles back up. Not only does Giana keep me really busy, but she is an asshole and rips things apart. Precautions need to be taken when knitting and storing projects. The current afghan I'm working on is in an awesome picnic basket on top of a box on top of the washing machine. She can still get to it because she will drag a kitchen chair around and reach things. Sometimes I wish she wasn't so smart.

Anywho, maybe I'll have time to update and maybe not. Since picking the needles back up in September/October, I've done a few things.


I made Giana a Pom Pom hat that is too large for her giant head (hard to believe).


I made her this hat that I have not made and attached a flower to because she doesn't want to wear it.


I made a pretty sweet basketweave afghan for my parents for Christmas. I didn't take a picture. But I am making another for Dave with the same yarn. It looks the same.


So that's what I'm doing now. I'll be making a baby blanket for B and Heather, probably a blocks or basketweave pattern. Maybe I'll even update this blog every once in a while!

Slackers Win!

A lot has happened in almost a year. Hah.

We moved.
We bought a house.
I got a JOB.

So, the knitting has taken a back seat. Still knitting, just not as much. Really, the only thing I've done so far has been Nora's Blanket.





That and I taught myself how to crochet. I'm not any good, but hey, now I can make chains.


After not knitting with a project in mind for months, I finally get to knit a baby blanket for my pregnant cousin. Woohoo! I forgot how much I missed it.

Ahh, the smell of yarn in the mornin'

I have, once again, signed myself up to knit too much.

I ended up having to start a scarf all over because I decided I didn't like my yarn choice. Here is the new scarf


And I finished a super soft baby blanket for a friend


Still have one scarf to go!

And lookie here, a knitting survey. Hah!
Mark with bold the things you have knit, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.
Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk (if a blend counts)
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns (it's on the needles)
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own hand-spun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Participate in an exchange
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting
Knitting to make money
Buttonholes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars
Knitting with someone else’s hand-spun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks on different DPN's simultaneously.
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener stitch
Knitted flowers
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Free-form knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/arm-warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an on-line knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public