the knit after Christmas... cont...

This is one of the presents I received for Christmas.. it's hand dyed possum lace yarn. I don't think I have every felt anything softer.. so now , of course I have been looking at some patterns that I would like to knit with this ... of which I found many. I did narrow it down to 2 patterns one is Ring of lace.. and the other is Futter Scarf.. I'm kind of leaning towards the flutter scarf but I would like it to be wider rather than longer so I would have to adjust it. I can't really tell if the yarn will knit up in a random multicolor pattern or in strips... probably more of a multicolor pattern.

















More quick gifts were finished in the last 2 days. A Grr washcloth from knitty. This was super fun to knit.. just a bit time consuming..When I have more time I would like to make somemore. I think they would make nice baby wash clothes in baby colors... along side the grr is a mug cozy from Debbie Bliss knitting magazine and some dish scrubbies.. Below are some wool place mats. They all knit up pretty fast and look kind of festive to me. Now I just have to pack it all up and mail it out.. 0.0

the knit after Christmas...

The knit after Christmas and all throught house
needles were clicking
and it wasn't a mouse,
all the present were opened,
and I still sit in my chair,
hoping that completion would soon be there.. ..

Yes I'm sorry to say that I'm still knitting Christmas presents. Working 2 retail jobs during the Christmas season and getting the flu really cut into my knitting time. Even though I'm behind and presents will be late...I feel good today .. I finally finished one project that just needed a little embellishing and made some progress on my flame socks. I was so tired when I started the socks that I was trying to read the graft upside down and kept making mistakes and ripped them out about 3 times.. I put them to the side for a bit and realized what I was doing and ripped them out yet again and fixed the problem and finally made some progress.. having no budget for more yarn I'm using yarn from my stash for the fire colors. I am actually using my handspun hand dyed yarn that I used for my zig zag socks and it just so happened that there is a good amount of yellow and orange left over. I didn't have any red and bought a rusty striped yarn and didn't know how that would work.. but it looks like logs.. so now it looks like fire burning on logs.. and I'm ok with that.







































































I finished my hello kitty set finally.. now I can ship them off.. a little late.. it's the thought that counts.. right?

mERry ChRisTmas

Merry Christmas to all..!!!

last minute..

I gave the mutant gloves a nice washing and they are drying.. I felt I had to wash them because I was sick with the flu when I finished knitting the second one... I don't want to give the flu to my son as part of his Christmas present..

















Speaking of the flu.. I still have it.. I still have low energy and stomach pains when I eat.. I have now passed it on to Rudy.. so we are both weak in the knees... I really needed 3 days of bed rest and lots of fluid.. I only got 2 and tried to eat sooner than I was able and ended up not being able to eat at all.. plus working on the 3rd day in a sick kind of stuper... one day off in which I had to do Christmas shopping which consisted of 3 items... We actually went to toys R us yesterday and found what we wanted and paid in less than 30 minutes. I was really impressed as to how fast the line moved..I was also impressed at how nice and friendly and helpful the cashier was.. I would rate them as A+ for my visit yesterday... Good customer service...Then it was off to IKEA for a kiddy easel and paper... it seems we got there right on time.. everyone seemed to be there for the same item.. after 15 minutes there were only 2 easels left.. so there again we picked up the item and left.. there was only one person in front of us in line but that was a little slower and we waited for quite a while... we left finally and picked up some food.. I ate what I could and then.. we picked up a couple books at Borders Books and drove home.. we were in the car longer than in the stores but it was still more than my body wanted to do... anyway with all that sitting in the car I was able to almost finish some toddler mittens to go with the Hello Kitty hat..I'm almost out of the off white and have a full ball of the pink.. so I think I'm going to make little kitty faces on the mittens too..

I want to ask a favor of anyone who reads this blog. 2 days ago my brothers companion and and best friend fell off of a 20 foot ladder and she is now in critical condition. She had to be air lifted to the hospital.. Would you send your prayers and thoughts to them.. Like everyone else these day life has been a bit hard for them lately and now this.. The doctors don't know if she will make it. She has internal injuries and a fractured skull. Thank you..

mutant glove/mitts

Well here is the almost finished pair of convertible gloves.. I was hoping to have these finished by now but a little stomach virus put me down for the count yesterday.. and it was all I could do to lay on the couch and watch movies.. I have to say they are the weirdest looking mittens I have ever made .. and yes there is something very mutant looking about them.. but.. they will keep my son warm with the option of the fingerless gloves for when he goes indoors.. maybe he will be less likely to loose them.. (^_^)

oooo.. yarn..

First I want to answer Chez Plums question as to where I got this fiber. It's a mill end close out that I purchased it on ebay... here is the link.. I hope is works.. I have purchased with this seller before and she ships out your winnings very fast.
















Tonight was our first Christmas yarn exchange at INOKissimmee.. we had decided that it could be new yarn or stash yarn .. this is what I got.. wow.. it's so beautiful..thanks Elaine.. I hope everyone was happy with what they ended up with..!!..
















Ok.. here is my current project.. I'm starting to call these the mutant gloves... I followed the pattern exactly and all I can say is that these gloves look weird to me.. They are suppose to be mens convertible mitten gloves.. I finished the glove part and now I'm working on the mitten top..hopefully once that part is finished they will look better..

















Not a very good picture of my Christmas stick arrangement.. but its actually pretty.... really..

0.0!!

Wouldn't you like to find this in your mail box!!.. Berroco is having a drawing to win one of 4 different baskets full of yarn and patterns..!!! Take a look..!!




Woooo.. fingers.. I bought one more ball of yarn yesterday so I have enough to finish these convertible gloves... the knitting is going slow.. and I have to face the fact that 95% of the knitted presents I wanted to make will not get done this year before Christmas.. I'm going to try to fit in a few more last minute mittens if I can..

a white Christmas...0.0

Not much knitting going on here atm..I did a little tree decorating.. white and silver is the theme this year.. Michaels craft store is having a big Christmas blow out sale.. I think they will sell out of all the Christmas inventory before December 24th... I mean stuff is dirt cheap and flying out the door.

















This is the about all the knitting I have gotten done this week.. Most of it on my breaks at work and a little at home when I had a few moments.. What is it you ask??.. it's a weird kind of man fingerless glove/mitten.. well hopefully it will become that shortly..

















I bid on one pound of mill ends on ebay and actually won.. yay!!.. I love the black and white mix.. not sure if I want to blend it or stripe it yet.. I can't think about that until after Christmas... the white fiber has 15% mohair.. I'm excited about spinning this up.. I will have to put it to the side for a bit thought.. I have been wanting some grey fiber.. something nice.. something different. (^_^)

Chococat .. the Hat..

Finally after making and remaking the eyes 3 times .. Chococat Hat is finished.. I now have a little family of critter hats to give as gifts.. (^-^)

so black..black is the new black!!

I dont know why .. but everything I'm knitting right now is black..!! and I love back knits but black is the only color I don't like knitting with.. I have to have good light or I just can't seem to see what I'm doing. Anyway the first is the Hot rod socks which will be the yearly Christmas socks I knit for my bf ( I don't know if I will even finish them before Christmas).. I'm using Patons Kroy in black and some left over handspun for these on a US size 1 needle. The needles are.. my knit pick fixed circular ... Because of the flame design, I decided to knit one at a time..
















This is my chococat hat.. or what I have knit of the chococat hat so far. I'm having a bit of a set back for the eyes.. I tried crocheting them and I didn't really like how they looked so I am going try knitting them this time and see if I like them better.. This was knit with some old Phildar lenox superwash wool on a size 8 circular... and I'm using what ever I can find in the stash for the ears, eyes and nose.
I don't know when I will get to blog next.. I'm trying to fit it in here and there.. I don't have a day off for a while.. so when ever I have a free moment of time I'll squeese in some blogging and knitting... (^_^)

The dreaded black Friday!!

Well I survied the last few days of retail frenzy.. and I don't use the word frenzy loosely..I had to work on Thanksgiving for a few hours in the evening.. and ended up not having any thanksgiving dinner because Rudy thought he would have the day off but ended up having to work the whole day.. so we never saw each other.. anyway all the Thanksgiving shoppers were in a jolly mood.. some even thanked me for working on Thanksgiving.. the doors of Michaels opened and there was a mad rush of customers coming through the doors.. headed towards the critcut cartridges where the swarm seemed to settle..and hover.. no one could beat Michaels price of $29.99...So many happy customers...
Well .. I went to sleep with happy thoughts.. my alarm went off at 4:15am.. rushed off to Michaels again... the dreaded black friday... no mad rush just a steady flow of people... today no happy people..just a few maybe.. even some rude people...( maybe they didn't get to have turkey on Thanksgiving dinner either)..I had some customers come to my register from the UK and said..."may I ask what Thanksgiving day is.. is it a discount shopping day ... so I had to explain about the pilgrams and such.. and they looked even more confused ... and were happy about the sales and good prices anyway..

So the day went on.. my shift was over.. I finally met Rudy and we finally went and ate our Turkey dinner.. it tasted just as good.. maybe better..(I could sure go for some more turkey and all the fixings again today!!).. We had a little time to kill before I had to be at DSW .. so we did some black Friday shopping too.. not much.. here is my damage..!! 3 sweaters and a new pair of comfy shoes..
















I dont know why but this picture keeps loading sideways.. anyway here is a little black Friday knitting... my chococate hat and my new comfy shoes... today I get to finish up the hat.. add some ears and eyes.. hopefully later w will get some times to go and look at all the gingerbread houses and the chocolate villages at some of the disney hotels near downtown disney..(^-^).. just the smell is worth the visit..!!!..(Did I tell you I love my new shoes!!)

not another hat!!

Yes sorry to say ... another hat.. and it wont be the last.. I already have another hat on the needles.
This hat was knit with Bernat Alpaca, natural blends. Here is the pattern just in case you need to knit one up.. this is a very fast project knit on size 9 needles... next up is a Chococat hat................ I don't know if you will see me again until after the weekend. I work 2 retail jobs and the next 4 days will probably be some of the busiest days we have had all year... I will be at Michaels 6am the day after Thanksgiving.. so I plan to get as much rest as a I can inbetween work this week.. Sounds like a week of work and knitting.. and sleeping.. !!

it's ELMO!!!

Fast little projects seem to be all I have time for lately.. I finished this today for Jayden.. he loves elmo and the weather in Florida has been chilly this week. I wanted to finished it fast so he could wear it while we the weather is still cool.. The yarn I used was some left over phildar lenox superwash wool from my stash..I used a basic crochet hat pattern and altered it a little to fit his head and just crocheted shortened balls for the eyes and nose..

jack is back..

I have had a little jack ket chain for awhile and its kind of beat up.. but I didn't want to part with it.. so I decided to knit a new one.. I think it turned out pretty good..
I used size 3 needles and bernat baby soft yarn..






























I finally finished this anime baby hat .. It seems like I have been working on it for ever.. I had a pretty busy work week this week and didn't have a lot of knitting time... I basically have been squeezing in a few rows on my breaks... I finally finished the last ear at the INOKissimmee meeting last night.. woo hoo... we actually had a fun meeting and and heard some wonderful news.. Gratz Jody..!!

A big surpise for me...I received this as gift..!!! WoW Wrath of the Lich King.. the collectors addition.. I nice way to relax after work.. (^_^)!!

finally..!!!

Well finally!!! ..I finished the modernist stripe sleep sack.. woo hooo.. I experienced a little bias twisting on this.. I have never had that happen with plied yarn before. I still have to wash it and lay it flat to dry.. maybe that will help a little... I have also been working on this little baby bonnet.. It took me a few days to sew up the sleep sack and there were times when I couldn't work on it and just needed a little fast knitting project.. I need to make a few hats both for the new baby and for Jayden and Abby..and of course some baby socks.. I hope to finish the bonnet before I head out to work today..(^_^)

Coffee!!

Michael's just got this yarn in the other day..plus the patons stretch sock yarn..I need black for a pair of socks I'm making for Christmas so was happy that I didn't have to go very far.. the 50% coupon also helped.. (^_^)
















After hearing for months to cut back on caffeine, eliminate coffee, blah blah blah, etc.. I read this.. Yay.. I love my morning cup of coffee..

Just a note..

A quick little post just to let anyone who's interested know that today Michaels craft stores are having a yarn event. It wont be like it used to be .. but they will still have Warm UP America.. so anyone that is interested in making or sewing up the knit/crochet blocks into blankets for charity .. head on over to your local Michaels. (^_^)


This wild flower/weed is growing in a reserve next to my house.. I have no idea what it is.. but it's turning all fluffy..

















Knitting progress... the knitting is done on the sleep sacque and it is almost all sewn together. I needed a quick take along project so I started knitting a baby hat.. more on that tomorrow.. I'm about to run to work.. (^_^)

yes.. the sleep sack again!!

Making progress on my baby sleep sacque.. I worked early yesterday at DSW so I was actually able to make the Orlando Knit Wits meeting yesterday afternoon. For some reason even though it's only a 2 hour meeting I seem to get a lot of knitting done. I was able to finish the body and tuck in all the yarn ends plus start the sleeve.. I'm up to the sleeve shaping and I'm almost done...and of course I'm looking at my next project.. this is the Christmas knitting count down .. and I don't have one Christmas project knit yet..I think I will have to settle for hats and mittens this year.. I don't think at this point there is time for anything else...and of course a couple toddler sweaters.. I'm sure I can get 2 finished at least and the yearly Christmas socks for the bf.. and possibly 2 easy shrugs..omy..!!

more of the same..

Abby is modeling a hat her mom is knitting.. she's not using a pattern.. the yarn is some left overs that I had spun a few years back (merino/silk) held together with one strand of rowan's kid silk haze... it's so soft....
















I'm an inch away from the armholes on my baby sleep sacque... I'm still feeling under the weather and have just been knitting and going to work and trying to make it through each day...
Maybe I'll watch some hulu halloween!!!
I've just about given up on deciding who is the better man for the job... maybe I'll go with Ralph Nader..!!

brain fog

I'm was feeling a little better and went to work for 2 days.. but now I'm feeling the consequences of that decision.. I feel weak again and just not myself.. the cold weather isn't helping either.. I have brain fog today... oo no.... I'm still undecided as far as who to vote for.. the more I hear the more undecided I become... so before work today I'm looking over my ballot again and getting in a few more hours of knitting.. maybe I'll feel better later.. maybe my brain fog will lift..(^_^)

man I started another project!!

Well... after I realized that my other baby project was way too big.. and would probably be used when the baby was about 9 months old haha... I decided to make the Modernisth stripe sleep sacque instead..it kind of looks like a hat at this point. The yarn is from various yarn in my stash.. most of it is patons classic wool merino and the rest is phildar lenox and lenox superwash... What you see in the picture was knit this afternoon.. I came down with what I think might be the flu.. or a really bad cold... I felt so bad yesterday that I couldn't even think of knitting and had to call out from work.. today was my scheduled day off and I'm hoping that by tomorrow I will feel a lot better and my nose will stop running my life and the sneezing fits will stop.. !!

Just not right

I have been working on another baby sweater.. and got this far and realized that it will be way too big for a newborn... so I'm doing something I usually never do and I'm putting it aside to finish at a later date ... and now I'm hunting around for more of a layette type sweater.. I have some really old phildar baby knitting books(and yarn).. maybe I'll go vintage... There is definitely enough yarn here to knit with in just the right baby colors.. I can probably make baby gifts for quite a few babies without ever leaving the house..!!!

sneak a peek @_@..!!

I live in Florida now.. but I was born in NYC and some of my family still live up north... My grandpa was a hardened yankee fan.. and he took my brother to see the yankees play in the old yankee stadium when he was a boy.. I'm posting these pictures for him...(my son took the pictures while at work).. a sneak peek.. just for u Rich..!!... And I love this picture of the Bronx sky line..!!