Mitten Knittin'

It's going to get fargin cold here in Wisconsin the next few days--with snow. So I am frantically trying to get mittens and hats made for the kids. The first pair I made were from hot pink Woolease for Anna. Unfortunately they were too big for Anna...and I am SOOOO tired of frogging. So now I am blessed with a pair of hot pink mittens. They'll be lovely with my blue coat LOL:


I got out some yarn from my stash and let Anna pick what yarn she wanted her mittens made out of. She picked some baby blue fluffy Lion Brand Jiffy yarn.


I was amazed how well it knit up--very soft with nice tight stitches. I started and finished those today--and now have to start an identical pair (only thankfully, in a smaller size) for Emily. I'm using Ann Budd's Handy Knitting Patterns book. When I first got this book I never used it....I was so not into using a pattern that wasn't exactly written down word for word. I'm still not great at improvising, but I can "improvise with a recipe".

Nicholas also had a birthday. I can't believe he's 5 already! He had a part with his little friends from Preschool. And if Nerf guns were made of gold, he'd be the richest kid on the planet.

Doesn't get much better than this

Tuesday we went to the Packer Hall of Fame and Lambeau field in Green Bay.


We took the tour (it was my first time on the tour) and got to touch the grass, go in a skybox and walk through the tunnel. It was awesome! As you run through the tunnel they play a tape of the cheering of the crowd, and announce "And now, you're 12 time world champion Green Bay Packers" and everyone cheers--YAY!



And seriously, it doesn't get much better--there is a display with knitted baby hats and a picture of a woman who, with fellow knitters, makes sure all the newborns at St. Vincent hospital in Green Bay start out life the right way--in a Green and Gold Packer hat!
Here are the 3 Lombardi Trophies--remember, they're called that for a reason!
And here I am with my little guy at Lambeau--he charmed everyone with his questions ("How long did it take to make those statues? How do you learn to throw the ball as good as Brett Favre? How do I get a job here?")

Hopefully they'll beat those Lions today--so far, not looking good, but Go Pack Go! Happy Thanksgiving!

Ever have one of those patterns...

Where things just don't seem to work out?

Alright, I'm making the kids mittens using the "Fulled Mittens" pattern in the book, Knit Mittens! Only the rows to length thing didn't work out, and I had to just stick to length. Fine, whatever. I even adjusted my gauge to work out to what they said. So I finished one for Emily--and the thumb is HUGE. Considering that the book says (and I know this from experience) that it will shrink up about 20%, I really don't know how long they think my little girl's thumb IS:



I'm making the second one just to see what will happen before I make Nicholas' and Anna's. But it's ridiculous--I actually shorted it an inch and a half from where they wanted it--they want the mitten 5 3/4" and the thumb 5"! Are they measuring from the bottom? Every other pattern I've had measures from the beginning of the thumb gusset....



I also got my knit picks order to make my grandmother the High Society Cloche in Romantic Knits:
I don't care for the color (It's cherry in the shine sport from Knit picks). It's more red than orangey that shows up here....it's a color that screams my grandmother though. I know I'll knit her this hat and she'll never wear it, but I've done my part then.

Ravelry and other stuff

My Ravelry invite came!!! Oh joy, Oh bliss!!! I am "finishyourrow", if you are looking for me. I am still trying to figure out how to get around the site, but what I've seen so far, I am in LOVE with!

I am having a very hard time with Emily's mittens. I have started them twice now. I am using the Felted Mittens pattern from the book "Knit Mittens". Anyway, the first time I used the recommended needle size and Lopi (the yarn they used). It is one of those "Knit this many rows in this color, this many in this color and then continue until it measures this much" Only I knit that many rows and I am WAY over the inches they say I should have.

So I actually checked my gauge (Gauge? What's that? LOL) and went down from size 6 and 8 needles to size 4 and 6 needles. Worked it up again. Once again, I was way over the inches I am supposed to have for the ribbing.

Should I just skip the color change (It's 5 rows) and just knit to the number of inches it says? Ignore the number of inches it says because I am felting? I don't know. I just know it's byotch-cold out and I need to hurry and get them done so I can start hats. And Christmas presents. And Oblique--don't forget that!

My grandmother FINALLY remembered to bring my great-grandmother's (her mother's) knitting needles for me. Only 3 pairs, but they mean everything to me. She is the only other person in my family that knit. Something to pass on if I can ever convince Anna to sit still long enough to learn!

Oh and PS Ruby--the Forest Canopy Shawl I made...it is charted AND written out in rows. I did it reading the rows and not using the chart. I still need to brush up on my charting skills, but it's getting better. It was a great first shawl pattern!

Finally!

I FINALLY finished the shawl. (photo shows it unblocked)




Seriously, I haven't posted because I was embarrassed to say I had to rip it out AGAIN. Third time was a charm though *sigh*. The last time was my husband knocking it off the needles. I had taken out the lifelines--I was nearly done!

Anyway, I flew threw it the third time. Definitely had the pattern down pat. And thanks to Susan for answering my stupid question and not making me feel stupid.

I ended up with this much yarn left:



I also made a pair of Lopi mittens for one of Nicholas' preschool teachers--her birthday was November 8th. She loved them and wrote me the sweetest thank you note...and I definitely know what to make his other preschool teacher!



I want to get Nicholas' WW finished.


My order also came from Naked Sheep to make mittens. I ran to Hobby Lobby today to buy the right size dpns. I also ordered yarn from Knit Picks to make a hat for my grandmother, which means I will have to knit like the blazes when it gets here (I just got the shipping confirmation today) because they leave the Friday after Thanksgiving and they will be here Thursday already.

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Impatient Waiting and Other stuff

Found you!

• You signed up on October 19, 2007
• You are #46319 on the list.
• 6776 people are ahead of you in line.
• 5935 people are behind you in line.
• 67% of the list has been invited so far
• You have checked your status 5 million times. Get a life.

See, I added my own line to my Ravelry status. I must check twice a day. But hey, I moved up since this morning, so it's not all bad.

I also got an email from Naked Sheep today about their Lopi/Patons Classic Wool sale. It was great timing, as I was in the market for some Lopi. I am making Felted mittens for the kids. Even though they charge for Shipping now, it's still a meager amount, especially compared to their customer service. Check this out:

The Naked Sheep Yarn Shop 11:39 am (8 hours ago)

This email is to confirm the receipt of your recent order from The Naked Sheep


And this is the Second Email:

The Naked Sheep Yarn Shop 12:48 pm (7 hours ago)

Thank you again for your order from The Naked Sheep. We hope your shopping experience with us was a pleasant one. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns about your order or our online store.

The following items have been shipped...


Did you note the times? I placed the order at 11:30. It shipped IN AN HOUR! You CAN'T beat that!! Service like that makes me come back again. And again. And again.

Just worked on my shawl again today. And looked up sock patterns, because it's been a while, and I'm going through sock withdrawl. I DID see in the latest Knit Picks catalog the "Socks Soar On Two Circulars" kit. I've always wanted to see what I'm missing out on by not doing socks on 2 circs. AND Maureen at work (Who I found out is a knitter, AND who is jealous because she didn't get the new Knit Picks catalog yet) might be splitting one of the sock yarn samplers on the back cover with me. $21.00 is more easily justifiable than $42.00. I mean, not that I don't have hundreds of dollars in sock yarn anyway, but I digress.

Pictures tomorrow of my shawl! And some socks if I start them--Peace Out!

Halloween

Halloween was a blast this year! I got to clean out the pumpkins. I'm not the greatest mastermind at stuff like this--not to be "that way", but it's a Dad-job if there ever was one. But I managed to clean them out. Anna and Nicholas stuck it out with me:
I managed to break a knife in the process. They just don't make 'em like they used to.
I was in a mad scramble to get everything ready after work yesterday. The kids were Trick or Treating at my parents house, then coming back here to Trick or Treat with friends. In my mad dash I managed to set the car keys down....and not remember where they were. I had everything: The costumes, the bags, the candy for Nicholas' class, my knitting...but no keys. I finally surrendered and had to call my dad to pick me up. While I waited, I made boo suckers:
Sadly, I had to use my black Woolease for the ties...I couldn't find my black Red Heart.
(and I eventually found the car keys...they were by my yarn. Of course that could be anywhere in the house...)

On to Trick or Treating! We had a Bobby Soxer (Note the beautiful handmade poodle skirt):
A Red Power Ranger (who rarely watches Power Rangers--but he had a cool gun, so we had to get it):
And Dora the Explorer. I LOVE the yarn wig!!!:
They made quite a haul, and stuck it out the entire time. Emily wanted to walk most of the time, so that was surprising! Now if I could keep the sucker sticks away from my yarn. The threats are flying left and right! And the bag my shawl is in is tightly zipped and up high!

Next post knitting (and hopefully a finished shawl body--stay tuned!)