It's a Start....

Last time I told you I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the possibility of WHAT I could make.  There were so many options.  I couldn't really focus and decide what I wanted to do.  I'm still in that state a little.  Every day new whims come on and I'm like "I'M GOING TO CAST THAT ON RIGHT NOW"- and then I don't.  I don't know why- I just can't seem to commit to a project, so I think I just need to keep the projects small and cute and not overwhelming.

I decided to knit Mittens.  Mittens are apparently my kryptonite.

Truthfully my big boy has had a little bumpy pre-school adjustment.  We're slowing getting better, but I tell ya, his teachers are SAINTS.  And despite all of the tears, I do know he really likes them.  In fact last Thursday he wanted to invite one of them over for dinner so she'd keep playing with him.  :-)  One of Parker's teachers is pregnant and due in January, and so I'll give her a blanket.  (I have a HUGE pile of un-gifted blankets that I'm just going to start handing out like crazy and get that space back.)  But his other teacher, the one who I think is the designated "crying kid" teacher, I want to give her something special too.  She's been so great.

SO- I'm making her mittens.

I cast these on and very quickly they grew.

Now- the first mitten is cast off and I'm ready to cast on mitten #2 already!  It's amazing how fast mittens knit up when you aren't designing them.

I'm already thinking MORE mittens and maybe a hat for my kiddo.... but I'm full of ideas and we'll see what I actually commit to next.  It's both exciting and a little overwhelming to have such knitterly freedom!

Fall Finish

Apologies for the length in between blog posts.  Life here has been BUSY.  Last weekend marked the FOURTH weekend in a row that I was not home.  Needless to say knitting hasn't been happening at frenzied pace, or really at all.  And yet- I somehow managed to finish some things up.

Scrappy Zig and Zag blanket is done!

Pattern: Zig and Zag Sock Yarn Pram Baby Blanket (Ravelry link) by Debbie Orr
Yarns: Oh Gosh- a little bit of everything left in my scrap pile.  Remember this?

Needles: US 2
Notes: This is a great GREAT leftover sock yarn stash buster.  I did end up buying a small skein of light pink to keep up the theme, especially after I ran out early, but I used that all up too so I didn't even count it!  LOVELY results!  I would highly recommend knitting this up with your leftovers, it's a cute blanket.

 

 

So far I don't really have a recipient in mind, but Parker's pre-school (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) teacher is pregnant and maybe if she has a girl I'll give her this.  It's a lovely little light weight blanket, perfect for a the car seat.

As if that wasn't enough success, I also finished my hat project.  How many hats did you guess when I started this journey?  My initial guess was 18....

.... I ended up with 21!!

Pattern: Basic hospital hat pattern with some modifications
Yarn: Bernat Baby Sport Solid in "Chiffon" print
Needles: US 6
Notes: I think we can safely say I used up all of that yarn!

GAH.  No more hats for me for awhile.  Next year I have a plan but it will hopefully result in me knitting LESS hats and more stuff for me.

SPEAKING OF STUFF FOR ME.... now that my unfinished object pile is manageable (just those Maui socks left...) my brain wants to KNIT ALL THE THINGS.  I can't go on Ravelry right now without falling down a ridiculous rabbit hole and favoriting 8 zillion things.  I want a sweater, also I'm thinking a pair of nice mittens for Parker's other pre-school teacher (!!!!) and maybe a cute Christmas idea for a family member, and a pumpkin hat for a baby, and maybe a new pair of mittens for me and ....... just stop me now.  The world is my knitting oyster and I am ready to KNIT EVERYTHING.

I can promise that I'm not making a baby blanket for awhile.  A couple of small projects sound really appealing but I keep coming back to "sweater" (or more likely "CARDIGAN"), but I need to organize my thoughts and my knitting cupboards and just let those ideas marinate for a bit.

Either way- fall should be a lot more interesting around here- stay tuned!

Holiday Knitting

No, do not panic.  Do not let this blog title fool you.  This is not a post about "OMG Christmas is only ## days away and you have not knit a damn thing yet!"  This is not that.  This is me telling you what I knit on vacation!

Yes- I did actually knit on my vacation.  This is somewhat a miracle as usually I pack more knitting than I ever needed to begin with and then promptly ignore it all vacation.  I actually got a few things done this time!

The baby blanket is OFF the needles... sadly I need to weave in about a bajillion ends.  Who would like to volunteer to do that for me?  (Don't all shout at once now....)

I really hate weaving in ends.  I really hate it.  I really also want to get this done so I can just move on without any guilt so I imagine in the next few days this will enter the finished pile.  This project did a great job of cleaning out the bobs and bits of color I was using.  This is all that remains!

I also managed (thanks to Bob the Builder!) knit on the plane!  Since I needed the knitting to be simple to pick up and put down, I opted for hats.  BEHOLD- 2 more hats for charity.  And good lord, there are probably still 4 more hats left in that giant ball!  (I am already promising myself less hats to knit next year!)

Since that's all I really have to show you right now, I also thought I'd give you a glimpse at what a great time we had this last week.  It was the perfect end to an absolutely lovely summer.