WIP: a Couple Days Late

I've been plugging along on my Christmas knitting, or at least trying to anyway. We've had a bit of a rough week with crummy side-effects from vaccines, not much sleep, and a pretty full schedule. At the end of the day all I want to do is sleep, which is what I did last night. Usually, even if I'm tired, I try to spend some time crafting since it makes me feel good, but last night it was light's out at 8:30. Luckily, the boys were tired as well!

Back to the Christmas knitting: I found the pattern for the sweet little gnomes at the blog, Plain and Joyful Living (now added to my sidebar). They are knitted flat, but since the finishing is "sew as you go," it's really not that bad. They're addicting little guys. My first was the red gnome--can you tell? I made it to go in Ben's stocking along with the matching ball from my previous post. I'm definitely going to re-knit the hat, although it makes me smile looking at it (so maybe I won't re-knit it; I don't think Ben will mind).

After Matthew saw Ben's gnome he asked me to make one for him. He said he wanted it to be blue and was very insistent. We've been working on colors, so I pulled about five different colored skeins out and asked him to choose which one he wanted. He picked up the blue skein and said, "blue, Mama." Translated: "I said the blue one, Mom. Why do you keep asking me this?" I lovingly obliged and enjoyed giving it to him on a Saturday morning after he woke up.

Below is a pair of Later Gator Mitts I've been working on. They're from Stitch and Bitch Nation, a book I've had for years now yet have never made a project from (it's a bit too trendy for me). I think that Matthew will enjoy having a pair of these mitts and am even making a pair for one of his friends. Another good thing: I'm using yarn from my stash.

I've been learning some difficult lessons about taking care of my knitted projects. Last spring when I was VERY pregnant I didn't take the time to wash and store my garments/accessories properly. Now I'm paying for it. I'm finding evidence of moths everywhere and am having to wash and mend numerous pieces. My finished Wisp is another example of not taking care of my knitting. I finished it shortly after Ben was born and kept it in my knitting basket until a couple of days ago when I finally got around to blocking it. Sadly, I found a couple of huge holes right in the middle. I haven't found any evidence of moths, so I think that a pair of scissors got it. I took it to my LYS yesterday and got some good suggestions on how to fix it. So, here is another WIP: mending my knits and learning from my mistakes!

WIP Wednesday: Baby's First Ball

Football season is now finished for the Hilltoppers, and although I always want them to do well, I'm happy to have my husband back. The team finished with a record of 4-6, so I guess that it was considered a "growing season."

We spent this Veteran's Day basically relaxing at home. I've been trying to organize all of the boys' clothes, and Pat tried to go through the huge wood pile that the previous owners left behind. Unfortunately about half of it is rotted, and there are plenty of spiders, mice, and other creatures making their homes in it. We hate to disturb them, but we also want that wood for the winter. Hopefully all the critters won't decide to move into our house!

This afternoon while Pat was tackling the wood pile, I pushed the boys in their swings while sneaking a couple stitches here and there. The yarn was stuffed into my vest pocket along with the project when I wasn't working on it. I'm just about done with Baby's First Ball except for the sewing and felting. This will be a stocking stuffer for Ben, and I may even make a few more. It's very satisfying starting and finishing the knitting for a project all in one day.

(After I took this picture I noticed that Benny lost a booty--oops!)

Another WIP for me right now is creating a pilot cap with bulky weight yarn. I've made one each for Ben and Matthew and hope to have a (free) pattern up soon. I just need to double-check my pattern notes first so that it's an easy pattern to follow. I know what I want to say and do, but I can't assume that others know that as well, you know what I mean? :)

Shawl Collared Jacket

As mentioned in my previous post, this sweater has been a work-in-progress for about three years now. I am so relieved to finally have it finished! Seaming it up and sewing on the buttons really wasn't that difficult; I have no idea why I didn't do it earlier. Maybe a psychiatrist could figure that one out. Anyway, the pattern is the Shawl Collared Jacket from Baby Knits for Beginners by Debbie Bliss. After looking at the Ravelry page, I noticed that there is errata available, but I can't remember having any difficulties with the pattern. I used Debbie Bliss Merino Aran for the yarn and really enjoyed working with it. It's so soft and doesn't seem to bother Ben at all. I used the Kiddie Cadet pattern for the matching hat and am really happy with the results.

Ben was very fascinated with the grass during this photo shoot, so it was difficult to get any good shots of him looking up. Of course, I also had to put down the camera a number of times to pull grass and leaves out of his mouth!

WIP III: The Three-Year Sweater

Why is it that adding those last few finishing touches to a project can take the longest? I am ashamed to admit that I started this sweater when I was pregnant with MATTHEW. I even finished all of the knitting, including the collar. All I had to do was seam it up. Well, I finally finished seaming it yesterday! Now I still need to add the buttons and add a brim to the matching cap. Then Ben will be ready to go...for a few months anyway, until he outgrows it.

Halloween

We had a day of family togetherness, pumpkin carving, eating sweet potatoes (some a little more pureed than others) watching geese migrate (don't you wonder where they're coming from and where they're going?), and of course, trick-or-treating. Although, someone only made it to Grandma and Grandpa's house...

WIP Wednesday II

We've had a couple of cold, wet days this week. I took this picture at about 7:30 am on Monday morning. Matthew was so excited to play in the snow, but I found him outside crying after about ten minutes because his hands were so cold (he refused to wear his mittens). Poor little guy. It was, however, a good lesson about why it's important to wear warm clothing when it's cold out.

Due to the cloudy day, I wasn't able to get good lighting for today's work-in-progress photo. I am proud to say that I've been working on at least one of my Christmas goals: a mini-stocking Advent calendar. Unfortunately, I can't find two of the stockings. Hopefully they'll reappear as we continue unpacking.

Before I had kids I absolutely loved rainy, snowy, cloudy, and/or cold days. I would curl up with a blanket on the sofa, watch movies, knit or crochet, and drink tea or occasionally hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps. Post-kids, however, it's a little more difficult to do any of the above (especially the peppermint schnapps bit!) I'm fine with Matt going out in the cold, even encourage it, but he's not always willing. He'd love to sit on the sofa and watch a movie as well, but there's only so much tv I'm going to let him watch. So, after a major tantrum because I turned off the tv, he finally settled for some play dough. I gave him the "man," he found the clothes pin in the laundry room, and behold: his very own forklift. He was very proud of his creation!

Some Wee Projects

While I have a couple more involved projects going (okay, more than a couple), sometimes I like to change things up with a little instant gratification in between. It helps to keep my crafting mojo going, if you know what I mean. :) Sometimes I also like to make something "just because," such as these little gnomes. They're currently on our nature table (when Matthew isn't catapulting them across the room or trying to shove them into a vehicle of some kind), and I found the idea at Wee Folk Art. It was fun for me to do some crafting other than knitting, and each gnome took about half an hour to make. I have plans to make many more of these wee folk.

This is my first pair of Toasty mitts from the popular Toast/Toasty pattern. I used some Noro Silk Garden that was in my stash and just love the way the colors turned out. These are for a friend who is going to be spending a couple of years in Nepal. I made her a pair of fingerless mitts when she was in Mongolia for two years with the Peace Corps, and she requested a second pair since the first were "loved to death." Of course, I happily obliged. And since my life isn't nearly as exciting as hers, I'm happy that at least my knitting can accompany her on her journeys.

Finally, a hat for the wee one. This pattern is from the Fall 2008 issue of Living Crafts Magazine. I honestly couldn't understand the directions too well, so I ended up doing my own thing. I'm happy with how it turned out and love how Ben looks like a little elf in it.

I hope everyone has a lovely fall weekend!