charmed

I forgot to tell you that the pattern for the charmed scarf, that I made for my father-in-law, is here. And, it is free. Isn't that charming? And yes, I actually took time to take a photo. jeesh. But hey, what's a post without a photo?
Happy Knitting.

warm necks

Still don't know what to make those loved ones? How about something to keep their neck warm? For the gentleman who has everything, who is usually on call as a babysitter, who drops off coffee for you unexpectedly, how about a reversible cable scarf out of charmed. It will take 3 balls. I know it is a little pricey, but he is totally worth it. And, since you can't wait until Christmas to give it to him, just go ahead, give it to him early. (Yes, that would be my father-in-law.)
For all the others with cold necks? How about a neckwarmer out of scrumptious Malabrigo chunky. I really had no idea how wonderful this yarn was until miss Kim sent me a skein, along with a very cool button. Thank you so much, Kim! (There are a lot of neckwarmers being made over at Chronic Ennui and TLCknits.)
Not only did I make one for Libby, I also made one made for myself .
How about that for yardage? Two gifts out of one skein? Gotta love that! Super fast, super easy, and I can almost guarantee, it is quicker to knit than to photograph yourself wearing it.

And now, after looking at the other photos, I am off to move my button to make it tighter.

gratitude

Really, I am thankful for so many wonderful things. Obviously, the obvious. Health, family, home, safety, friends. A few others, I wanted to share.
Clasic Elite's yarn, charmed (oh, does it feel good in my hands) :: the (new to me)new site for cookies to help me with our cookie of the week (it turned out more like cake, but was delicious) :: the movie sweet november (one of my favorite movies, keep the tissues near.)
Our thankful tree, filled with old thanks. ( I save the leaves every year. We have five years of leaves.)
Making leaves of new thanks.
Thank you for all your blogs, and the inspiration you give to me. And, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy lives to stop by my little space. It really means a lot.
Have a wonderful thanksgiving.

finished

Andrew wanted nothing to do with modeling his sweater. But a one mile drive with permission to throw rocks and the potential to get wet and muddy? He was in!Andrew, 8,( favorite book: cat in the hat)
All right, you know it. It's the cobblestone pullover from Interweave Knits. Jared did a fantastic job designing a sweater for everyone. Men, women, boys and girls. Anyone could wear it.
Pattern: Cobblestone Pullover, by Jared Flood of brooklyntweed, Interweave Knits Fall '07
Yarn: Classic Elite, skye tweed, #1221, 8 balls.
Needles: size 7
I sat in the dentist office last week knitting on this, when the hygienist asked if I was making this for my daughter. I know the yarn has flecks of pink in it, but he loves it. Hey, boys look great in pink!
Modifications: O.K., here is what I did to make it to fit an eight year old. Cast on 140 st. Garter on the bottom is 1 inch. The garter st up the side has 12 stitches. So, the front and back have 58 stitches. The body (up until the underarm) measures 13 inches. For the sleeves, I cast on 40 stitches, one inch of garter, and increased until I had 56 stitches. The sleeves measure 15 inches. (They are a little long.) As far as the yolk, I always had 2 inches less than the patterns smallest size. I also did one less short row in the first set of short rows, and one less in the second set. Also, I cast off using size 10 needles. (That took three tries to get right.)
Thanks so much for the all of the encouragement on getting this finished. Now comes the hardest part. Getting a good photo, for the Christmas card, in their sweaters.

kisses

This is one of my favorite hat patterns. The absolute quickest knit, and a great gift. I made Andrew one last year, and he wears it all of the time. I have had to sew the streamer back on a few times. While playing football at recess, the boys grab it to try to stop him. I would just love to see that little boy standing there holding the hershey kiss streamer, as Andrew keeps running.
I am happy to check two gifts off of my list.
It is the meathead hat from Larissa. Her knitalong book will be out in March, and you can preorder it here. Although, anyone that sends $4.50 to Larissa's paypal account, at dumbmail AT larissabrown DOT net, can receive the pattern via pdf form. The pattern has two sizes, with children wearing the small size. Check out the flickr group for ideas on embellishments, or add a streamer out of interfacing for a hershey kiss.

And speaking of kisses, have you seen all of the new flavors? Hot chocolate, peppermint, coffee, coconut cream, cherry cordial, the list goes on. I, of course, had to buy many bags of several different flavors. My favorite? Hands down, mint truffle.

Enjoy your weekend, and I hope it is full of kisses!

eight

I know, don't say anything. I can't believe that my youngest is eight. It really is such a shocker.
Monday, Andrew turned eight. But in true youngest child fashion, I am posting about it three days late. This is the child that always has a smile for you. Happy go lucky. The sweet little boy that completed our family.
Yes, the birthday fairy came. And as always, a wish was made.
And as always, I hope it comes true.
So, the ages are back to the even year. Twelve, Ten, Eight. For some reason, I always like the odd years. Until of course, they are Thirteen, Eleven and Nine. Ouch!
Knitting has been happening. Andrew's cobblestone is finished and is patiently awaiting a photo shoot. Soon, I hope.

arrivals

I had three very exciting arrivals yesterday. Two came in the form of mail. The kind of mail that you can't wait to open. My first issue of MixTape. Have you seen this fabulous little zine? Justine and Nichola are the editors and publishers. It is packed full of crafty inspiration from crafty bloggers all over the world. It is really, really fantastic!
The second was a box from my secret pal that was packed full of fall! The deal with the swap was, you knit one sock, and ship it off to your pal who knits the second one for herself. Ann made this sock for me, and I can't tell you how much in love I am with it. Ann did an unbelievable job, and I am in awe of all of the tiny stitches. The fit is perfect, as is the color! Thank you Ann, really, you couldn't have chosen a more perfect fit for me! I really can't wait to cast on for the second, while drinking some of that delicious tea, and burning my new candle!

Chalet Socks from Folk socks by Nancy Bush. Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra 100% wool.
Size 1 needles. (oh my)
My third arrival was my mother. She is visiting for a few days and I am loving every minute of it. All we want to do is knit. But, I guess you already knew that.
Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.

second sweater syndrome

First of all, I would love to thank everyone for their kind birthday wishes to Libby! We read them all together; both with big smiles.
It was Libby's pick for cookie of the week. She chose peanut butter 'n jelly thumbprints. Where is the peanut butter and jelly, you ask? Well, it was supposed to be added to the center after they came out of the oven, but I totally forgot about it until they were cool, and then it was too late. So this is pretty much a basic peanut butter cookie. The only thing *good* about them is that I used honey roasted peanut butter from whole foods. You know, where you grind it yourself.
1/2 cup honey roasted peanut butter::1/2 cup sugar::1/2 cup brown sugar::1/2 cup butter::1 egg::1 1/4 cup flour::3/4 tsp baking soda::1/2 tsp baking powder::1/4 tsp salt.
Cream peanut butter, sugars, butter and egg. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beat at low speed until dough forms. Roll into balls, bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

Second Sock Syndrome? How about Second Sweater Syndrome? I have it bad. Really bad. I am so bored with this project. And the thing is, I loved making the first one. I have so many other projects on my list, but am trying desperately to finish this first. Once I get the sleeves finished, it should be smooth sailing. Well, that's what I keep telling myself.

ten

It is a big one. Double digits. I really can't believe it. Honestly, wasn't it just yesterday when we heard the doctor say, "It's a girl!" Where have all of those days gone? I won't get all sappy here; that happened last night. Just a few photos to show how we celebrated this special day.
Five friends and a trip to the circus. To watch the eyes on these girls (and my boys) widen was so satisfying.
A short walk to the car as they all shared their favorite part. Of course Libby's was the elephants.
Back home for cake and ice cream. Martha Stewart's tissue paper pom-poms decorated the dining room.
I usually always make a cake, but this year purchased one from our favorite bakery. Something about the time spent at the sewing machine gave me little time to bake a cake. That's o.k., this was beautiful and delicious.
And party favors? Bags of course. "Library totes" as Libby calls them. Done in circus fabric I purchased from the fabric shack.
Each bag personalized with the little girls initial, stamped onto ribbon. I got this idea from Sarah. I just loved when she did it on a gift. Something special to remember this special day.

bag lady

Today I will be at a holiday bazaar. I actually rep a company that sells needlepoint shoes and other items that I will be selling there. It is usually a word of mouth type business, but once a year I like to make an appearance at this show. (I sell them for 15% off those prices.) Since they are a little pricey, I decided to make a few other things for my table. Bags. These are just like the one I made for the swap, the photo just isn't very good.

As you can see, not much knitting happening over here. But that old sewing machine has been doing overtime. Hope to knit a lot this weekend, as I have a cobblestone to finish!

Enjoy your weekend!