Yarn Along

Finished the little spring Georgian Lace Cap for Belle. I really don't like how the crown turned out but she seems quite happy with it, yay! It is hard to tell while I am knitting something if she likes it or not because she always seems ambivalent when I tell her "I am knitting ____ for you." But then when I gave it to her she said, "Mommy made a new pink hat for you!" (you means me) and wanted to try it on and look in the mirror immediately. Books are pretty much the same around here except I have added the Dr. Sears pregnancy book to my very sparse reading. Now go visit Ginny for more Yarn Along fun!

Yarn Along

I finally got it together to join another Yarn Along hosted by Ginny! I finished (well 99%) the bear I was working on for our Little Bear but haven't been able to get him back to duplicate stitch around the neck and make it tighter. She named him Mr. Tunyon and he is well loved. The last finishing touches (eyes, nose, and mouth) are not as perfect as I would like so I have been reluctant to take pictures so far. I had intended to move on directly to knitting a little cardigan for Belle for next fall but when it came down to it, after swatching and everything, I just couldn't make peace with the colors. When I ordered the yarn it seemed perfect but now I am not so sure that an eggplant cardigan with black collar, button band, and cuffs is what I want to knit for her. In the meantime, Belle has been asking me to knit her "something pink". She found some light pink Debbie Bliss cathay yarn I had in my stash and has been wanting to play with it all the time. I am pretty sure this is the yarn she had in mind. So I cast on a lacy little spring cap for her a couple days ago.
Reading has been sparse around here lately, except for children's books. Isabelle has been enjoying Dr. Seuss lately, Fox in Socks especially. She as also been liking the Saggy Baggy Elephant, a Golden Book from my childhood. I have mostly been reading blogs and a page here and there from the books in my previous yarn along posts. So what are you knitting and reading?

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny for another yarn along this week and this time she is hosting a giveaway as well! Go check out the yummy yarn that is up for grabs.
Still working on the teddy bear, as you can see. I am a little perturbed with myself because when I was knitting the leg on the right I didn't pay attention and added an extra knit row which should have been a K2tog around row... so that leg is one row longer and pointy-er than the other leg. I have to go rip it out and re-do it but don't feel like it at the moment, maybe I will go read instead. Still working on The Discipline Book as well, plus reading a little out of The Joy In Loving. It is kind of a perpetual calendar sort of book with each day of the year having its own page and a quote of hers. I really like it. Today's quote was "Once you know you have hurt someone be the first to say sorry. We cannot forgive unless we know that we need forgiveness, and forgiveness is the beginning of love." I am also reading a couple books I have read over again but maybe more on those another time.

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny again for another yarn along. Knitting this adorable little teddy bear that my daughter asked for when we were looking through my patterns for a sweater to knit for her. Yarn is I Love This Cotton! from Hobby Lobby and I have to say I really like it. I don't normally knit with cotton because I find it somewhat limp and lifeless and mostly it just reminds me of dishrags when I am knitting with it. That said, I haven't knit with any cotton besides this and the ubiquitous Sugar and Cream or Peaches & Cream. This cotton is so nice and soft and actually feels like it has a modicum of bounce to the knitted fabric. I can't stop rubbing it on my face :)
Reading the Dr. Sears discipline book. Not that my little bear is unmanageable or anything but I find myself running out of tools to use with her as she matures and gets more clever ;) And I have a tendency to give in to frustration/irritation when disciplining if I am not very very careful so I am hoping to glean some more parenting tools/tips.

FO Friday

Many of these are not really recent FO's. Sorry for this but I really want to document them somewhere other than Ravelry so that people who aren't on there can see them too. :)
First up we have some longies that I completed a couple months ago for a friend who bought the (scrumptious!) yarn and sent it to me to knit for her beautiful little girl. The first pic was taken right after I completed them... on our 9+ hour drive back to MI. The actual color is somewhere in between the two pictures.

Next we have 1 of 3 of these cute little beret's I made. All from sock yarn (less than a 400yd skein for anyone interested) and super easy quick knits. I made the largest size which was toddler. The pattern is here.
Next up, although not a knitting project, is one which I am very proud of. This is a child size doll carrier, similar to an adult Mei Tai (sp?) baby carrier. I am proud because a) I made up the pattern and b) I sewed it with no help and c) it actually came out pretty cute and my sewing wasn't as awful as I feared it would be either!


I do have a picture of my daughter wearing it (it was a Christmas gift for her cousin) somewhere but they are all blurry... want to see it anyway? Ok hang on...
And finally we have the 2 other beret's I recently finished (this one just this week, it was a birthday present for her cousin. If you are reading this Jen, don't let Dags see (: ). I loved the way this yarn knit up and was happy I had enough left from my sisters ankle socks to make the hat. Used every last scrap!
I originally made my mom some socks from this yarn, then made my niece a tiny pair but ran out on the second little sock so I bought another skein. Now it has been reincarnated into this hat and I still have at least 1/3 of the skein left (maybe 1/2?) so I am thinking of knitting some fingerless mitts or little socks for Bella Bear. Isn't she sweet? :)

Yarn Along

Reading: the no-cry sleep solution for toddlers and preschoolers. Knitting: a clapotis out of sock yarn.



Now I have to say these are not colors I would pick for myself in a yarn but it was on clearance at Jo-ann Fabrics for a ridiculous price of $1.99 a skein. So I bought all four that were left. Hmmm what to do with some very ummmm... dramatic sock yarn? Well here you have it. I am thinking it might make a nice gift for someone who likes red and black.
On to the book. I checked this book out from the local library because my daughter has NEVER been a good sleeper. We are doing much better lately, in part because of this book and in part because she is much more settled in since we moved in November. Lately, though, she has been getting up ridiculously early (anyone else up at 4:45 this morning???) and it is kind of cramping my style. Sure I am not a morning person but I can handle 5:30, even 5:00 AM. But 4:45 holy moly! I think it started because she wanted to be up when my husband is up in the morning, but even he doesn't want to get out of bed before 5. In all seriousness, however, I am starting to get concerned that she is not getting enough sleep again since she is going to bed between 7 and 7:30 PM and only takes an average of a 1 and a half hour nap during the day. Anyway, I am open to any suggestions from anyone else who may have had this problem with their kids.
Now head over to small things for more Yarn Along fun (and a giveaway!)

FO Friday

Longies finally done!

FO Friday

My latest Finished Objects!
Not much here because I haven't had much time to knit.
First we have a little cell phone cozy which was conjured up to use a small sample of lovely BFL spinning fiber that came with a drop spindle I received as a Christmas gift.

Next we have a little sweater I made for a friend who just recently had a baby. It is a little large (this is an understatement). You can see it being modeled here by my lovely little amazon of a 1 year old. She is off the growth charts for weight and height so I am thinking this should fit the little guy next year... or maybe the year after! :)

WIP Wednesday

So here are some projects I am currently working on:
First up in the spinning department is some lovely purple variegated wool that is destined to be my first pair of homespun socks.
Next we have some 100% silk on the drop spindle my sister got me for Christmas.For knitting we have: Baby Yeti
Some generic man-sized socks
And another little project I hope to feature on my FO friday post this week but it is a surprise for a friend so pictures later.

FO Friday

Well, with all the moving and whatnot, I don't have many Finished Objects to post today but I have two. One I just finished this morning! The first is a dress I started way back in June and gave to my niece for her birthday. It is still a little big yet, hopefully it fits her well this summer.

The second is this hat which I just finished:
I liked the pattern so much I made one for DH too (the other one went to my dad). Best of all I didn't have to buy new yarn, I just used the leftover yarn from the first hat. I am hoping I have enough left over to make a short pair of matching(ish) fingerless gloves for DH.

FO Friday

Well I have some Finished Objects to post from all the Christmas knitting I did. Mostly I knitted felted slippers for as many people as I could. I also knitted a hat for my father which didn't make it to him yet but will very very soon.