Can we say addiction??

Yep-it's official!

I'm officially addicted to:

1. Twinkle Chunky yarn
2. The stitch pattern k1, *yo, k2tog,* k1

I will be making plenty more of these beauties-in varying thickness of yarns for gifts, and for me!! I know just the laceweight yarn that is sitting pretty in my stash for the next one!!! Perfect for spring-it will be!!

Anyway-here's why I'm saying that I'm addicted to this yarn-it's soft, plush and lovely AND yours truly, who rarely knits a pattern more than once, already duplicated the scarf (from previous post) for one for my BFF. Banged this one out in a week's worth of school drop-offs and pickups (those 10 minutes of waiting really do add up to good knitting time!). This baby is done and in perfect timing as I am seeing my BFF tomorrow and will give it to her then!! Hope she will love it-as she does love peachy/pink colors!!

My next project is already on the needles.....simple shrugs for the girls for Easter. Also-just arrived, is beautiful fabric bought from www.fabricsupplies.etsy.com-awesome store-great, fresh fabrics, terrific pricing, and super fast shipping!! I'm using this fabric to make two summerlin dresses for the girls. Can't wait!!




Still debating the charity carpet bag-while it would benefit my daughter's school, I'm not sure I've got enough time to do it now and I really don't want to stress myself out with it.....we'll see!!

Instant Gratification!

Ok-I have a guilty pleasure.....BULKY, pills-while-you-knit-it, designer (shocking sticker price) yarn!!! But-only when on sale!! And boy, was it worth it!!!

To back up a little, I spent a glorious day in Milford, PA, taking a finishing class with Jill Deal, of JillDeal, Inc-a very lovely LYS right in the heart of the quaint little town of Milford. I spent my whole day there (while my DARLING HUSBAND watched the girls!-LOVE HIM!) learning great techniques, eating lunch that was provided by the Hotel Fauchere, and chatting it up with some lovely ladies. There were only 4 of us in the class so it felt like a private, all day lesson! Perfect! Then I sauntered over to the shop (the class was held at the Emerson House of the Hotel Fauchere) for some kid yarn that I need for easter shrugs for the girls and that's when I saw it....Twinkle Soft Chunky....in French grey....at a sale price that I just couldn't pass up. There was one left and I snatched it right up! Jill's very sweet employee (wish I could remember her name-she's always so pleasant!) rang me up and then proceeded to wind my skein into a cake the size of Texas! I told the super-nice employee that I was going to leave it as a centerpiece on my kitchen table for awhile...but i lied!!!

It didn't last there for long b/c I couln't wait to knit with it! I found a great pattern online from Jen Reilly at Sage Yarn Blog called "Super-Fast, Ultra Cozy scarf"-need I say more?? The scarf knit up in 1 1/2 hours and really is cozy!! I think I'll be wearing it a lot!!

Catching up...

So...what have I been up to? Well, certainly not blogging since I noticed that my last post was on 2/22!! Oops. Too much going on to remember to post-sorry. So, what has been going on??

Well, this, for one! Yes-as my daughter put it-we did a "science experiment" for St. Patrick's Day. We made home-made shamrock decorations to hang up around the house and I bought some inexpensive white carnations that we dyed with green food coloring added to the water. Pretty cool, right? I did this in second grade for my elementary school's science fair and I still haven't tired of the results!


So, what else?? Besides knitting little 6 inch squares for an upcoming knitting class that I'm taking, not much knitting is going on. I'm honestly sick of knitting these and I've got at least 7 more to go, but I know it will be for a good reason-this class is going to be good!! I keep dreaming of everything else that I want to knit though, including the following: 2 dresses for the girls for spring/summer (in my queue on Ravelry)-I can't wait to purchase the fabric for these as I'm going to pick something colorful and funky-my girls can surely pull that off!!, a wrap that I just queued up on Ravelry-something light and airy but warm enough for cool spring days...and a charity handbag for my daughter's school's casino night. Hoping to knit that one by 4/18?? We'll see...

On other news, I created something new for my etsy shop that I'm really proud of. I love it when I can repurpose something, especially for knitting and that is exactly what was done with my Recycled Wire Hanger stitch holders. Because of my upcoming class that I'm taking and the fact that I have to have 18 6 inch squares held on stitch holders, I was tired of running to Ac Moore and buying more and more stitch holders. I also loathe my husband's wire hangers from the dry-cleaners and one day, when I was putting away laundry in our closet, I got an idea!! I could make wire stitch holders from my hangers!! Yay!! We have so many that I have decided to sell these at www.yarnygirl.etsy.com It makes me so happy to see these wire hangers finally put to good use! No more wire hangers in our closet!! Now they are for knitting!!! So, check 'em out-they're in the shop!!

Ok-gotta run! Enough for now-more pics to come in my next post....maybe...:0)

Why do I try, try again???

Despite my very good attempts, I'm aweful at lace-knitting. The problem I have, among other things, is that I love, love, LOVE the look of it. I love the airy-ness, the holes (darn yo's!) and I just love how delicate and intricate it looks. HOWEVER, I lack the focus and concentration to complete lace projects and I think that it all comes down to why I knit.
I knit for the relaxation it gives me after a busy day with my girls. I love how it feels on my fingers and I love that for the most part, I can knit w/o having to think too much. It's like the feeling I used to get when I run (which I really need to pick up again-obviously, all of this knitting is having a HUGE effect on my rear!)-my mind goes to a calmer place and I feel so much better. I can think more clearly and tend to work out any issues/problems that I may have while I knit. I come away with a calmer, clearer head and a project that I made with my own hands! How gratifying, right?
So why then do I go and try lace?? Lace knitting, however pretty it may be, is not the type of knitting I like at all. It requires great focus and concentration and it also requires knowing how stitches work with each other to create a pattern. Mess up this pattern and you'll be sorry. Ripping out lace is like folding a load of whites only to drop it in a puddle of mud soon after.
This is all stemming from a teeny tiny project that I decided had to be done for this weekend-actually today-a wedding garter. Found on the OldLaceKnitter's website, it is a very pretty pattern and I thought would be a quick one. No...no it wasn't. I was knitting with 00 size needles and had to do 22 repeats of this seamingly simple lace. It wasn't. My hands felt huge and clumsy and my level of frustration was building quick. The cotton crochet thread I had chosen was super-slippery and even though I was doing a pretty good job, it was going to require a pretty good amount of spray starch blocking for it to look anything like the picture-IF I made it in time....no such luck....
I gave up on that halfway through yesterday, opting to "design" my own garter instead. I thought I would prefer simpler lines on this garter-thinking that the pattern was a little too old-fashioned looking/cheesy. I switched yarns to some cleckheaton mohair-blend stuff (I know, what was I thinking???) and began again. My intention was to knit it all, block it and then add beads. Ambitious?? Yep...Oh, did I mention also that during all this I am sick with yet another virus caught from my youngest who insists on being super cuddly during the most snottiest of times?? Did I also mention that I still have to finish a pair of booties for hubby's coworker AND a HUGE amount of pre-work for an upcoming knitting class that I'm taking? Yes......ahhhhh....the stresses of knitting?
Which brings me back to my first thought-why do I knit anyway??
I laugh a little when I allow myself to get all bent out of shape and stressed over all of the knitting projects that I place upon myself. Will the world really end if hubby's coworker gets her booties at the end of the week? Is it really going to kill me to knit up 18 6 inch squares by 3/14?? I really need to calm down...
Which is what I'm doing now. My darling husband, who was sick-as-a-dog last week, has taken over the household-he even vacuummed!!! He has already fed the kids, brought me coffee, vacuumed the upstairs and is right now doing an activity with the kids while I lay here in bed typing out this post. Yesterday, I caught him folding the girls' laundry.....God, I love this man!!
So, for the rest of the day, I am supposed to catch up on much-needed sleep, drink tea, knit...read some magazines from last month that I never got to...knit...drink tea.....have soup and sleep. Not bad for a lazy Sunday...
Oh-about that garter...finished it and hubby declared it the most unsexy thing he'd ever seen. Good thing I didn't make it to the shower after all. It was today...:0)

Whoa, the wind!!!

Man! It's crazy windy here today in NEPA. Been a crazy few days, actually, most of the week. Got many things done though, including Valentine's Day gifts for daughter's pre-k class and her teachers. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of any of it so just believe me that it was a whole lot of stuff. The kiddos (29 of them!?!) got crayon heart necklaces, stickers, a valentine notepad, and some hershey kisses. We made the crayon heart necklaces by peeling, breaking, melting and then cutting with heart cookie cutters. They came out pretty and here is a pic of the extra ones...

I also knit up 2 beaded bracelets for the teachers-being a former teacher of little ones, I know and have a lot of respect for people who do a good job teaching this age group-it's exhausting. I wanted them to know how much I appreciate all of their hard work and quite frankly, who doesn't like a little jewelry on V-day?? Wish I had taken a pic but it was soooo busy here-it escaped me! Daughter decorated the box for the bracelets with sparkly stickers-she did a really good job too-but again, no pic.
We also made Valentines for Daddy-here is the one younger daughter worked on. She worked so hard!!

On tap for knitting now is the shop sample hat in Arauncania's Limari, which I am still trying to convince Wendy is NOT ugly. Hope the hat works....
Swatches for upcoming finishing class...
booties to finally sell on etsy (hoping to get these done soon)
bunnies for Easter for the girls...
Oh-been meaning to post a pic of this!! I made this little doggie collar from a book that I absolutely love called, "Bend the Rules Sewing" by Amy Karol! This book actually makes me feel like I can sew!! I have had experience sewing garments, handbag liners but am never really happy with the turnout, but this little doggie collar made me happy! Check it out:

This was given to my sis-in-law for her doggie, Samantha.
Also hoping to squeeze in a little needle felting but that may be awhile from now...
Just finished Stephanie Pearl-Mcphee's book, "Things I learned from knitting (whether I wanted to or not)"-LOVED IT!!! So funny so true!! I laughed out loud a lot!! Highly recommend this book for all knitters who are not too snotty to admit when they've just been idiots with their knitting!! This weekend, I hope to crack "Knitting, a novel by Anne Bartlett. I'll be in just the right setting-heading up to Vt!! I'm hoping to sit by the fire and read...knit...play with friends, eat.....sleep.....wake up and do it again!!
Sorry for quick post but I've still got a lot to do before this!! Yes, FINALLY-I am seeing improvments in the girls' health-knock on wood, ya'll!!!

Painting the snow!!

Yep-this is what we did yesterday on a rather mild 36 degree day here in NEPA. The girls were sick but I didn't think they were too sick to go outside for a little bit of color. They loved it!!

However, this AM proved me wrong (about them not being too sick). One doctor's visit later, and my youngest has pneumonia (!) and a double ear infection (!!) and the oldest has another sinus infection. I'm soooooo sick of being sick. Can you actually be allergic to your home?? Maybe we need to move here?



Anywhoo-going to sit with a good cup of tea for a bit and my needles-hoping to finish the baseball tee asap and CO for that arauncania hat I owe the yarn shop. Here's hoping! At least there is entertaining tv on tonight-AMerican Idol-holds my attention just enough to keep knitting through it. We shall see....

Sick....AGAIN!

Yep-we are!! This time, I believe it's my fault. I've had a very bad cold since last week (actually started two Friday's ago) and I think, due to the fact that the girls are with me all of the time, they couldn't avoid getting it. So, now they are home with green boogies and yucky coughs and I'm so, no pun intended, sick of us being SICK!! If anyone has any tips on how we can stay healthy, please comment! I'll take any tips I can get at this point!

Today feels rather mild out so I lowered the heat a bit and cracked the windows-yes, it's Feb 2nd, we live in Pa, and I have two windows cracked in my house right now. I'm hoping it airs out the germs...I keep checking the weather for this so-called "big storm" we are supposed to have and so far, all it says is, "snow showers???" So what? We get them almost every day?? What happened to "at least a foot or more???" Ugh....I was bankin' on another snow day for the hubby....oh well...Groundhog did see his shadow so I'm sure we'll have more days to come. Today we are going to make groundhog masks and pretend we see our shadows/we don't, make jello jigglers, use food coloring/water/squirt bottles outside in the snow to draw....hoping this is enough to keep them busy!! Pics to come later!

Onto knitting news....
Tonight is Scranton sit-n-knit. I think I'm going-as of right now, but we'll see how I feel later. I've been getting so tired (i.e GRUMPY) come 5pm that I don't know if they're going to want me there...I'm currently working on Tracy Ulman's Baby Baseball Tee for my husband's cousin's baby boy and I'm loving it so far!! I've made a few modifications, including a rolled hem at the bottom-I think it looks more baseball-shirt like....also am knitting in the round, using EZ's Knitting without Tears book as a guide. I really enjoy seamless knitting!
Also to be put on the needles:
2 beaded bracelets for DD's teachers at her new school (Valentine's Day)
Hat for yarn shop sample using Arauncania Limari....
booties to sell on etsy
booties for DH's coworkers

That's enough for now....more to come maybe later.