What's goin' on?

And yet another contest...

2008-07-10T10:43:00.001-07:00

Wow, contests are fun! I have been enjoying finding them. The lastest I found is at KnitWitch's. (Button is not clickable - I have not figured that out yet.)

The kids and I have been having a busy week. We rented a plot at a local community garden this summer, and are having fun trying to get things to grow. So far we have managed to not kill our 5 tomato plants, our corn, pole beans, zucchini, some of our pea plants, and some of our carrots appear to be surviving! We also have rutabaga at my daughter's request...we'll see how that goes! We *might* have a surviving melon plant and a few cucumbers, but that remains to be seen.

Today a playdate with people we have known for a while, but are only recently really becoming friends.

Another contest

2008-07-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

Monniblog is having a contest for her one thousandth post! Wow, I can't imagine. There are several ways to win, and 4 prizes. Go to her contest post and check it out!

My socks

2008-06-28T22:19:00.001-07:00

The Knitting Wildflower is having a contest for her blogiversary, and is asking for people to share their sock stories. This is mine:

booties
Originally uploaded by Mommaknits

I'm knitting my first ever pair of full sized socks - I've only ever knit sock like booties before.

So far it has taken me about a year and a half to knit these things - after well over a year I had about 1 inch of ribbing done. I thought maybe I hated knitting socks!

Not true! Luckily, it turns out I hate knitting RIBBING on socks. It may also have something to do with the yarn - I think it is a cotton blend, but after over a year, and a lost ballband, who can remember? Anyhow, it is so NOT smooshy. I like smooshy.

I have now done a bit more - about half of the heels are completed!

A few contests

2008-06-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

I have entered a few contests lately - go and check them out!

Georgi is having a blogiversary contest, and is giving out yarn. I mean, who doesn't need more yarn???

Darcy Knotty is having a 200th post contest, and she has a large variety of lovely prizes!

Blind Purls is giving away some nice knitting and crochet books for her 30th birthday.

Gingersnaps with tea is giving away something (sock yarn, maybe) in a contest to get non-sock patterns using sock yarn.

Ali is having a summer goals contest. My goals are to work on my spinning, both wheel and drop spindle, and to finish my first pair of socks.

Yarn Yenta is having a contest to help raise awareness of Inflammatory Breast Cancer, something I didn't even know existed!

Long time gone...

2008-06-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

So in the last 6 months I have been learning to spin on a spinning wheel, and a drop spindle. I LOVE it! I'll try to post more details soon.

I just adopted several virtual pets - we'll see how it goes.

My Pets

The green one has been claimed by my son, imp, and the pink one now belongs to my daughter.

Click on my eggs, and help me out!

My new music toy!

2007-12-22T02:52:00.000-08:00

CHeck this out!

www.Jango.com

A few more critters

2007-03-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

Warning: This is another image heavy post!

I mentioned before that I have recently taught myself how to crochet. The reason I did was I kept seeing all these cute
amigurumi (knit or crochet stuffed toys, usually cute animals) and crochet patterns, but could not find many knit versions. So, I taught myself how to crochet! My first project was a mouse ...who was quickly joined by a friend. (If you click on the "mouse" link it will take you to the pattern. I really like this designer - she also designed the turtle and the cat.)

After that came a pair of cats...

...who got along fine with the mice.

In fact, they started to appear together all over the house, in pairs...

...and soon in larger groups.

I am having a lot of fun with these little guys. I made a rainbow mouse with bigger ears because the yarn colors reminded me of Viva Piñata 's little mousemellow, who has enormous ears! She, along with the blue mouse above, went to two of hubby's business associates as a gift. Here they are, peeking out of their boxes before they were delivered to their new owners!

I decided to try to make my own pattern of a guinea pig, since I have not seen any, but I go the nose a bit off, so may I present: Fergy Fudgehog! (aka the rainbow hedgehog)

6 months later...

2007-03-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while! We have been busy settling in, and a lot has happened in the past 6 months.

My parents came to visit in February, which thrilled the kids to no end! We all had a wonderful time, and they were great houseguests.

Critter is reading all the time now. Hard to believe it was such a tough struggle for her! She also has been into paper-crafting, and is making beautiful 3-D animals, and a house full of furniture. It's fun to see what she comes up with!

Imp is busily working on his fine motor skills, and today cut out the most intricate mini cereal box (guess where the mini box idea came from!)

While my parents were visiting, Mom thought she had lost the hat I knit for her 2 years ago, so we raided my stash and she chose some yarn. I cast on, determined to finished before they had to leave the Pacific Northwest (cool, not cold, and rain, not snow) and return to the Midwest, where they had been having huge snowstorms. Then, she found her hat! Those house elves sure are mischievous. So the pressure was off. I finished the new hat about a week ago, but have decided it needs adornment, and am searching for the perfect thing. Since I recently taught myself to crochet, I think that might be the answer.

On to the photo heavy part of this post: My recent FO (finished objects)!

This is Harvey the turtle. A friend had a baby, and so I made my first ever pair of socks for the baby. I loved them, but it didn't seem enough...so...along came Harvey!

Here are the baby socks - aren't they cute?

So cute, Harvey decided to try them on! But they were too big. Hopefully they fit my friend's baby a bit better!

One more view of the socks...do you think I'm proud of them?

Photos! We have proof of knitting!

2006-09-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

Somehow I managed to not take pictures of most of my dishcloths before using them or mailing them, so here, for your viewing enjoyment is the one and only dishcloth that I immortalized in .gif.

It is a mini-cable design, and it's bright, springlike colors made me think of my friend Shawn, so I mailed it to her, along with a golden colored one with a fall leaf picture.

This is the first square of my modular blankie, and I LOVE it - the wool is so soft and smooth, I want to buy lots, but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) it is one of the lovely remnants donated to me by Shelly of the Heathen Housewife, and it has no label.

And finally, in the knitting category, we have the hat. I am very proud of this hat, and I hope my friend and his family like it.And a second view, this time with a balloon "head" inside to show it in all it's glory. I also made a little flower accent - I plan to put a pin back on this for the baby's mother.

Pattern to come later - I want to put down how I made this somewhere I won't lose it, before I forget!

If the hat fits, or Yes, you SHOULD swatch a baby hat!

2006-09-14T02:46:00.000-07:00

So a friend of mine is a new grandfather, and he is SOOO excited. It's a girl, and she is 1 week old as of Wednesday (yesterday.) I decided I want to make her a hat, so I scoured the net for the perfect pattern, and found it....spread out over 3 patterns.

Heh. Not a problem, really! I can handle some minor hat pattern adjustments. I CAN!

However, apparently I can't handle joining 224 stitches without making a mobius strip. (once)
And I can't handle decreasing 224 stitches down to 54 without somehow reversing my needles and stitching essentially a short row...in the round. (once)
And when 54 stitches on size 10 needles is obviously WAY too big for an infant's head, I apparently don't know when to quit and swatch, but instead I decided to just decrease for one more row, resulting in 27 stitches, which MAY have fit my daughter's favorite baby doll's head.

The good news? It's superwash wool! And sports weight, I think! I can swatch AND make a square for my blankie! Except...that would be a garter stitch, flat, swatch and I am knitting stockinette in the round. Ugh. Maybe I should just do it right instead of casting on 224 stitches AGAIN only to send it to the frog pond? *sigh*

Oh, and my double stranded sports weight does NOT work on size 10 needles, so I think I will try swatching with an 8 and see what happens.

On the plus side the kids did great today - Imp loved using the ball winder at the yarn shop, and Critter talked me into buying her more yarn (she paid me back!) for yet another project she will start. She has more on the needles than I do!

Of course we had to go to the yarn shop...didn't you read where I said I decided to knit a hat for a baby? That's a new project, and new projects need new yarn! What's that? Stash, you say? Of course I can't use anything I already have - there was nothing quite right!

Seriously, my (small, meager) stash consists mostly of bright and deep colors. I *needed* a pastel pink for this...and a coordinating green. You'll see what I mean...when I get the darn gauge right.

Oh! The kids favorite thing about today? Playing on the new play structure we had put in over the weekend. They are having a blast, and playing so nicely together! It's great, and huge, and takes up most of the yard...and so worth it! We found it used on Craig's List

Surrounded by boxes

2006-09-13T03:25:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last few weeks unpacking boxes, in between keeping the kids moderately fed, happy, and clean. Well, fed and happy, anyway! Not to mention working with Phoebe (our dog) and other basic life stuff.

I have been knitting dishcloths, mostly. I joined a twice monthly KAL (Knit A Long) dishcloth group in order to learn new stitches and skills in a manageable way, and so far it has been fun! I forgot to take pictures of the first 2 dishcloths before using them, and they are now faded and pretty ugly, but I will try to remember to take a pic when they are clean, at least. I love using them, though!

I have finally taken pictures of the last few completed projects - 2 dishcloths, one metered square from sock yarn, and one baby sock. I'll get them off my camera and posted soon. Really!

I also started a second metered square for blankie. I owe Shelly a huge thank you for the yarn remnants - this is going to be so much fun! Current thoughts about my blankie:
-best thing so far about getting a goodie bag full of yarn remnants is discovering wonderful yarn patterns and textures that I might not choose on my own.
-worst thing is having no idea what some of these wonderful yarns are. I found one I adore! It is so soft, with beautiful colors...and no label. And I have no idea what it might be!
-it is interesting to me how one sock yarn would be so marvelously soft and smooth feeling, and the next one very stereotypical scratchy wool.

Off to bed now!

Yarn, it's so good to see you!

2006-08-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

The big bin of yarn that the movers were supposed to deliver to our temporary housing never made it, and after over 2 weeks of unpacking I still had not found it. I was beginning to lose hope, when, today, hauling out the HUGE pile of recycling...I found it! I have yarn again, beyond the few bits I allowed myself to buy here. I feel whole again. (hehe)

We also had fun attending park day at a lovely park with a beach, and nice playground. The kids had fun in the water and sand, and I had fun chatting with a few moms.

Doggone fun!

2006-08-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

Today we took Phoebe to a self serve dog wash, then to the coolest play ground (we call it the castle playground, because it looks like, well, a castle!)

Unfortunately, the playground is still under construction and is pretty sandy...which means so much for the dog wash!

All in all it was a fun day, though. I am almost done with the cuff on my mini-sock, and since it is a toe-up pattern, that means I am almost done! I'm actually not planning to do a mate for it...I plan to try two at once next, and see if that works for me. Maybe I will try full-sized this time!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

2006-08-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

My birthday was eventfull. Hubby campaigned to have all my friends and family call or email me, and lots of people did! It was fun to answer my phone and have it be people I care about, and look at email and see lovely messages from loved ones. Then, he came home from work early to take the kids swimming, and cook a nice dinner. I really needed the break, because...

The kids are tired of being in temporary housing, I think, as tension seems to be high. Critter, 8, has been moody, and Imp, 4 very, very impulsive and impish. As I was trying to get things together to take the kids OUT to a playground to run around, Imp let Phoebe (our toy poodle) out, and our temp housing is *right* by a very busy street that construction vehicles and semis use regularly.

I caught Phoebe after following her for about 1 1/2 blocks, (crossing no streets, thank goodness...the kids were following me, too) when she decided she found a good spot to "do her business."

Then, Critter decided her bangs were too long (decided is such a mild word) and while I was trimming them, Imp decided it seemed like a good idea, so he found scissors and tried cutting his own hair. Sooo...instead of the park, we went to the hair salon. Imp was in need of a haircut before his foray with scissors, so it actually was not terrible timing...and he looks adorable, so all's well that ends well.

Anyhow, I got to play WoW and knit, both of which were very relaxing for me, and I feel recharged today! And the kids are playing a wonderful made-up game that sounds sort of like family. I love when they play together! AND no one has asked for TV yet today!

Oh! I also got a beautiful embroidered shirt from a dear friend, and a gift certificate to Home Depot from my parents. One practical gift, and one pampering...lovely!

Help! The internet is sucking me in!

2006-07-24T09:04:00.002-07:00

I have spent far too much time today looking for amigurumi after looking at July 23, 2006's Cute Overload...and the real bummer is they are all crochet patterns! Does that add something else to my list of things I have to learn how to do?

I did teach myself some crochet a while back when my first few hats turned out too short...I think it was single crochet. I also learned how to chain as a child. Perhaps it would not be too hard, and I can do it in my copious free time? Ha!

Melting

2006-07-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

It is HOT here! And the kids are getting really sick of the few toys we have, Imp (son aged 4) is running wild and not listening, Critter (daughter, aged 8) is emotional and crabby, and momma's patience is running out. Neither the temporary housing nor our new home have air conditioning, so I tend to spend a lot of time peeling clothing away from my sticky body, and feeling wilted.

On a happy note, we just became a 2 car household again! I am so excited - I am the proud new owner of an "Ocean Mist" Honda Odyssey minivan. We drove it home yesterday, but it goes back on Monday for some finishing touches like leather protector on the interior.

First park day!

2006-07-18T22:58:00.000-07:00

The kids have been really needing to connect with other kids, and have a chance to make friends (we have been in temp. housing for almost a month now!) So...We did find a park day today, although only 2 other families were there...one was a San Jose transplant as well! Both Critter (dear daughter, age 8) and Imp (dear son, age 4) found playmates, and had fun.

We pushed back delivery of our "stuff" until August 4, as we are having work done on the house, and it is so much easier to have it done with out climbing over boxes! However, we are at the house 4 to 5 times a week, at least. I am looking forward to being SETTLED!

On the knitting front, I seem to have taken a break in making my purple felted bag, in order to focus on learning 3 new things...sock knitting, The Magic Loop, and mitered squares (for Shelly Kang's blanket pattern!)

I plan to put up pictures of my projects as I can...everything seems harder in temporary housing!

Hello!

2006-06-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

I decided to start a blog to record my knitting projects, and perhaps what I am doing with the kids. Fun!

As we get ready for the big move, my kids have been spending a lot of time making "experiments," and in an attempt to stop them from using up all the toothpaste and shampoo, I gave them a bunch of the hotel shampoo and lotion bottles my husband collected on his many business trips. They are having a blast!