my apologies...

i know i was supposed to do my tuesday blogging yesterday, however i was a bit preoccupied helping out a friend. so i promised jess that i'd do it today, but when i woke up this morning, i could feel that i was coming down with something.

so, i spent as much of the day in bed as possible (well, as possible as one can when you're the stay-at-home-mother to 4 kids under 8, two of which are home schooled!). and when my wonderful hubby got home, he insisted that i get some rest and then told me i was going to bed 'early' (which for me is pretty much any time before midnight).

so, since i don't want to completely bail on my blogging here, i just thought i'd pop in and say that i have been busy, not only knitting, but some designing as well. that (the designing) is taking a bit longer than i planned, but i hope it will be worth it when i'm finished as i'm hoping to have my first pattern for sale. :)

besides the designing, i'm working on the 7 ridges dishcloth from the dishcloth weekly kal group, a scarf for a certain person, and a pair of slippers for my dad for his birthday.

since it is late, and i've already taken a tylenol pm, i'm a bit out of it to take pics, but i'll see how i feel tomorrow. otherwise, you'll just have to trust me!! lol

until next time....

ok, so it's tuesday...

and so i can't get yelled at for not doing my tuesday blogging, here we go...

i'm working on a couple of things right now, two of which i'm designing and which i hope will be ready pretty soon. one, i can't talk about right now (you'll all know why when i finally show it), so we'll just talk about the other.

i've been wanting to try a felted hot pad for a while, but i didn't just want a single thickness square. so i decided to give double knitting a try, as it will make it twice as thick without having to knit two things and join them.

also, since i'm felting it, it should stay together pretty good without bubbling in the middle. however, to make sure of that fact, i'm working on a design element to hold the two sides together.

i'm using Paton's Classic Wool in the forest variegated. everything in my kitchen is green, so this seemed the obvious choice! lol


i'm also making a scarf with some Bernat Softee Chunky i had laying around here that i didn't know what else to do with (as i only have one skein of that color). it's a stitch i found somewhere, but i incorporated it into the scarf design, so i'll see about writing up what i did with that too.

i didn't get any pics today, as i was busy all morning, and then in the afternoon i took my kids to see my parents before we get snowed in for a few days. i'll try to get some tomorrow and i'll stick them in here where they belong. :)

well, until next week...
may your needles be straight and your stitches be true.

2009 - my knitting goals

ok, well, i've been challenged by Jess to make some knitting goals for 2009. hoping to use this as incentive throughout the year, i think this is a good idea! so, here goes...

1. i think most importantly now at the beginning of the year is 3 baby blankets i need to make for friends who are expecting. i'd really like to design something special for each of them.

2. i want to learn socks. the bug has bit me to learn, and my wonderful hubby bought me SHiBUi sock yarn for Christmas, so as soon as i save up enough for a set of circs, i'll be ready to go! (although, an in person tutor would be great!)

3. make a sweater. doesn't matter if it's for me or not, but i'd like the practice of making something that must fit right and has to be put together. i've never been much for making gauge swatches, so this alone will be a challenge for me.

4. knit from my stash. i have lots of great yarn, and while i'm not going to say i won't buy anything this year, i would like to reduce my stash a bit (especially the cotton).

5. design more. i have published one pattern so far, and i'm working on two more right now, and i really enjoy it. and i'd love to try designing something bigger.

6. not be afraid to try new things!! this one is the most important thing on my list. i tend to get nervous when i see something in directions that i've never done or that seems hard, and i shy away from the pattern altogether. i want to get bolder and try things that scare me!

7. and last, i'm going to steal this one from Jess, i'd like to get together with my knitty friends more and just enjoy the creative energy of being together! :)


so, here's to a productive and creative year!!

ooh! i just had to pop back in to add something here that i forgot:

8. i'm want to make some knit item for each of my children for their birthday. they have all asked me for things, and this is the year i'm going to take the time to make each of them something special!

2008 - my year in review

well, the 2008 year has come to a close, and as i sit here, i thought i'd look back over my year and see what i've accomplished.

when the year started, i was still pretty much stuck in the dishcloth/scarf/anything square mode. the most ambitious projects i'd undertaken to that point were a bonnet and booties for my new niece.


then i took the plunge to make a sweater for my youngest for her 1st birthday, choosing the Baby Surprise Jacket as it's made in one piece and has only two small seams at the shoulders. it took me longer than i though it would, and i had some trouble working the seams to lay flat, but in the end, i was pretty happy with the result.


i admit then that i did make many more dishcloths, although, in my defense, i used it as a learning experience to add new techniques to my repertoire. in june, i made some black & white cloths for my cousin bride-to-be for her shower, and they were a huge hit.


then, a friend of mine was expecting a baby, so i got really ambitious and decided to make a Big Bad Baby Blanket... this was a wonderful idea, however, i did not properly judge the time it would take me to complete such a thing, and i did not finish it until about 2 weeks after the baby was born! i added a bib and some cotton washcloths to go along with it, and she just loved them. :)


as summer was closing and fall beginning, the shrug bug bit me. so i decided to give the 'anthropologie-inspired' shrug a try. my first attempt came out small enough to fit my (then) 18 month old!

i made another attempt with a larger number of cast on sts, and the second one was just perfect for my oldest daughter, who was turning 7 and who the first one was supposed to be for!

finally, as my nieces 1st birthday crept closer and closer, the search was on for an easy sweater pattern that i could make with some lovely cotton i'd had sitting in my stash. i found a nice pattern, and ended up working the whole sweater (minus edging and buttons) in 1 week! it was finished 2 hrs before the birthday party, and the edging and buttons added the next afternoon. it came out beautifully and i'm definitely going to make it again (soon, actually).


at the very end of the year, i finally got up the courage to try dpns, when Jess sent me some beautiful sock yarn. to ease me into them, without having to worry about heels and toes, i chose a fingerless mitt pattern, which is (now) worked farther than this photo, but i haven't taken any new ones lately.


so, all in all, i can definitely see growth in my knitting, but i'm hoping for even more in the coming year!