Halloween Cuteness

Warning: Today's post will contain a lot of cute... you've been warned.  If you have reached your cute maximums for the week you may want to wait until you have recovered before you read on.

My little girl bunny is done!

Bunny Pattern: Boy Bunny with Piebald Patch by Julie Williams
Yarn: (Body only) Mission Hills 136 Merino Superwash (discontinued)
Needles: US 2
Notes: The only changes I made were to put the piebald patch on the opposite side of the head to play nicer with the look of the girl and the boy bunny together.

Dress Pattern: Seasonal Dresses Pattern by Julie Williams
Yarns: scrap sport weights
Needles: US 2
Notes: The only problem with this pattern is that I'm tempted to knit more adorable dresses than I'd ever need.  I mean seriously... look at the capped sleeves on this thing....

TOO MUCH ADORABLE.  How can anyone not completely die over the cute of this little dress?  It is irresistable.

But, the real question is does the little boy bunny approve of his new friend, especially after waiting so patiently?

I think so....

Secondly, I can share that Halloween is super cute around here this year too.  Parker is a somewhat hesitant Halloween participant, but he was adamment about what his costume would be.

Thank you to my crafty mother, who has, once again, stepped up to be costume making genius she was when I was a kid.  (And oh yes... there are more penguins hopefully mom and dad can get in the shot tonight!)

This year our Jack O Lantern was less ambitious than in other years, but this was again, what Parker wanted after looking at pictures on the internet with mommy...

   

Oh - you want more knitting updates?  I have those too! (They just maybe aren't as cute)  I've knit 2 sections for 2 more charity blankets....

And this is the current status of the mittens- which have just seen way less progress with everything else going on these days.

The leaves are off the trees now and snow is in the forecast this week, hopefully it means warm and cozy knitting nights at home!  Happy Halloween readers!

3's The Charm...

As I mentioned in my last post I'm knitting mittens for my son's VERY patient pre-school teacher for a gift at Christmas.  As usual, we've hit a snag.

I'm insanely good at denial.  I tell myself, "I'm over-reacting", that "it will block out to size" or other stupid things that make me knit waaaaaay more than I intend.  I knit an entire mitten...

And when I tried it on, it fit tightly.  It had always fit tightly, for some reason I told myself it's okay.  I had my mother in law try them on and they didn't fit her hands.  I knew.  I knew then that I had to go up a needle size. *

The problem with the blue-y green yarn I'm using is that it doesn't lend itself very nicely to frogging.  So ripping out the mitten wasn't the answer.  The answer was to start again.

*Sigh*

And so I did.

(Bigger needle size next to smaller needle size)

So by now I should have a completed pair of mittens and moving on to more exciting pastures... like MORE mittens.  But, instead, I'm beginning the 3rd mitten. I've also told myself, if there's enough yarn, that I'll finish the tiny mitten too and give it to my sister, who has teeny tiny hands. 

And if all that extra knitting wasn't enough... I've hit a snag in my pattern and there seems to be a missing stitch, so I'm probably going to have to go back a few rows in order to discover where and what I went wrong with.  UGH.

And so, because suddenly this mitten is a giant pain in the ass I'm knitting that little bunny pattern like a fiend, excited by that project instead.  

Oh she's going to be cute!  Her little boyfriend can hardly wait!

Also distracting me this month is some Halloween crafting... which I will reveal on Halloween but for now- here's a sneaky peek.  Can you guess what my son (who picked out what he'd like to be himself) is going to be?

* Aside... I'm also the creepy mom in Parker's class who is obsessively staring at poor Miss Jen's hands trying to ascertain if the mittens will fit.  Don't mind me... just checking out your hands!

** For those who asked last time- the mitten pattern is POLARIS (Ravelry link)

A Sock Well Travelled

I never intended for my plain "Vanilla Bean" socks that I started back in January to be a "travelling sock".  I just wanted an easy peasy project that I could work on but also pick up and put down simply.  But, as I wove in the ends to the second sock on the airplane, back from another trip, I realized that this sock has been there through it all on our rather aggressive travel schedule this year.  (And it goes to show you that I'm a terrible vacation knitter!)

This sock saw the shores of Maui in January...

Experienced Vogue Knitting in Seattle in March....

Came with me to San Francisco in April...

Kept me company in Vancouver in May...

Saw another fews rows in Saskatoon in June...

(It rained almost the entire time we were there... just imagine rainy-ness and stir crazy toddlers....)

Saw me through the great "wearing the same dress as the Mother of the Bride" calamity in Vail in July....

(Before)

(After)  

Got a bit of attention in Los Cabos and San Diego in August...

Started to look like it would end in Banff and Pheonix in September...

And FINALLY finished on the way back from Montreal in October...

 

GOOD LORD... it's amazing this sock isn't also collecting Aeroplan points!  No wonder I haven't knit much this year, I've hardly been home!  It really does go to show just how little knitting I tend to get done when we travel, as this was a very simple project and it took me TEN MONTHS to finish!

SHOW US THE SOCKS ALREADY..... oh yeah... the socks.

TA DA!

Pattern: Vanilla Bean Striped Sock by Emily O'Grady
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici in "Splash" (sidebar: I CAN'T believe Knitpicks discontinued this yarn!  Although on the other hand, I'm relieved because I could never say no to this stuff!)
Needles: US 0 (2 mm)
Notes: What a great GREAT pattern for striping socks.  It's still very very simple but you have to try and line up your slip stitches, it's the only time you need to pay any attention.  Quite frankly it was a welcome change from the standard sock pattern!  You will likely see these again!  Also, as usual, my anal rententiveness shined through and I cut the yarn at the hell to line up the stripes.  It's a pain to actually weave in the extra ends but I NEVER regret that decision.

That's all the travel we've planned for this year so hopefully it means I can finally sit down focus, blog more, KNIT MORE.... you know, the usual promises absentee bloggers seem to make.

There's more to say about the mittens but I'll save that for another, less picture heavy post.  I'm still sort of in this "OMG - OVERWHELMED" phase where I'm not sure what to focus on and knit.  I'm not sure why I can't get over it, but the travel hasn't really helped me focus either.  Hopefully things are going to amp up now that I'm home, and going to be so for awhile.  :-)

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.