My brain is melting

So I finally got all the details on what my niece was looking for in a shrug. I never in my wildest dreams thought it would take so long to nail down these details, but when dealing with an active teenager and only talking through email, these things get drawn out A LOT!

While I'm holding out hope that my needles I ordered on eBay show up before we leave for our trip to the snowy north, I decided to cast on and get started using my two 16in needles. Suprisingly its going pretty well even with 264 stitches, but as I'm reading ahead through this pattern I feel like my brain is melting into a puddle. I'm sure (almost) that its just the fact that I'm tired, I'm trying to get things ready for dd's 1st b-day party tomorrow, working on Christmas ornaments and trying to nail down my to-do list for getting everything ready to go, which despite getting stuff done seems to grow every day, but I'm more than a little lost with the style of pattern writing. Hopefully it will all become clear as I continue, but 3 rows into it I suddenly began to panic thinking I was supposed to be looking at the rows for a different section and doing those instead of the mindless k9 rows that I thought I should be doing. This pattern is a bit odd compared to most of the patterns I've used before, but after all the pain (both physical and mental) and agony that I went through to get a green light on this project there is NO turning back!!!

In a day or two I hope to be reporting back to say that I have conquered the Shetland shorty, but we will see. Meantime, I'm happy to report I have 3 completely finished Christmas ornaments and am half done with the 4th. Only 8 more to go after that! Also finished the last minute hats for the twinfants. Still trying to figure out what to make their big sister. And debating on presents for my mom and sis, but anyway... Back to the knitting!

Introducing Henrietta Sweeting

I went, I saw, I loved!

I could go on and on and on about what they didn't get right in the movie, at least in my opinion, but overall LOVED it! Now, I gotta reread the book, cuz I'm crazy like that. If I had the time and money I'd go see it again, then probably read the book again, repeat as necessary, but I'll content myself with waiting for the DVD.

3 days!!!

Three days to Twilight and I'm trying to sorta keep myself busy knitting. The only problem with keeping busy knitting is that unless I have something else to engage my head, I'm sitting there knitting and dwelling on the fact that there are 3 whole days and a few hours until I get to sink into a semi-comfy theater seat and immerse myself in Twilight. 3 whole days!!!

Speaking of movies, here's a funny story. As a brief intro, we sometimes refer to Robby as Bob. One day last week, Sammy is demanding that Robby do something for him, but Robby is distracted with reading a book and doesn't respond in a timely fashion (according to Sammy). After a little while Sammy tires of trying to get Robby to cooperate and says, "I'm not happy, Bob! Not happy!" If you need help with that reference you need to watch/rewatch The Incredibles and pay close attention to the scene where Bob gets fired.


Oh, and here's a pic of my most recent FO, which I'm very proud of! This particular one is not mine to keep, but I fully intend to make myself one soon! Just not sure if I want to go with the black or purple Simply Soft Eco. Ok, my first choice was the dark red (autumn red, I think), but there wasn't any left. FIRST I've got to get some more Christmas presents taken care of though, right?!?

The stitch markers

Ok, I finally got the pictures off my phone. They turned out all blurry though, but they give you a good idea of how they turned out at least.

So excited!

I mailed my package out to my Starbucks & Yarn swap spoilee on Friday and happily her being not too far away, it got there today! I've eagerly been checking Ravelry on and off all day waiting for the word. There were moments that I very nearly broke down and started chewing on my nails. Ok, it wasn't quite so dramatic as all that. We were out most of today, spending time with Papa who was down on a business trip and had some time before he headed back to spend with us. The boys ofcourse enjoyed his visit and Kaylee was sorta ok with him most of the time, which is cool considering she's never spent much time with him at all in her almost a year of her life.

But anyway, back to the Starbucks and the yarn... I made stitch markers for her. Never done it before, but I dove into it. First buying some adorable little race car charms (and got some flags tossed in for good measure) from a gal up in Daytona on Etsy. Realized that I had some flexible wire for making bracelets and necklaces laying around that I never used for whatever it was I was going to use it for, got my needle-nosed pliers out and went to work. They turned out pretty cool all things considered. I'll put up a pic as soon as I get them downloaded off my phone, but here's the pic of the bag I made for her.



But my waiting paid off. I got a fabulous PM on Ravelry from my spoilee and she loved it all. I was so excited, still so excited! I'm glad my stalking paid off and its just so awesome to get to surprise someone like that. And coincidentally, my spoilee also shares my birthday and my sentiments about wanting our birthday back from Elvis! How funny is that? I thought it was just me!

Twilight

Finished the last book last night. Wow! Its awesome, though I do have to say there are a number of things that bugged me about the last 3 books, but thankfully they didn't bug me enough to stop me from reading them all. I can hardly wait for the 1st movie!

Its official

I'm hooked. It took me all of approximately 14 hrs to finish Twilight and I can hardly wait to get my hands on the next one! The movie is a MUST see (for me, anyway). I have to see if I can find that Flair on Facebook again (and get it this time!) that says, "Voldemort killed Cedric Digory so that he could become Edward Cullen". When I first saw it I was amused, but not really having any appreciation for the story I let that Flair get away.

Besides my newfound obsession, I'm trying to get some Christmas knitting done while I'm recovering from this nasty sore throat/aching all over illness that has gone around the house this past week.

I really (and by that I actually mean REALLY, REALLY, REALLY) need to figure out exactly what I want to get done for Christmas so that I can cut out the extraneous impulse knitting projects I keep finding to do, especially because I have found the inspiration for a new story and I'm hoping that I can develop it into a book (and not just one that I print out or email copies to friends/family). We'll see how that goes what with the knitting, the homeschooling, and that other stuff (cleaning, cooking, laundry for example).

What have I gotten myself into?

I decided what I want to make with the lovely purple yarn I got from my Starbucks swap partner and I was so eager to get started I decided to wind my yarn. Sounds fabulous and very exciting doesn't it? Which is why I dove headfirst into it. But there were a few very important things I should have considered BEFORE I started.

- Do I know anything REALLY about winding yarn? No, not really.
- Am I making a huge mess out of the skein while I'm winding. ABSOLUTELY!!!
- Is that going to stop me from getting through all this so I can start my Mermaid Fingerless Gloves? It depends. I might be able to keep at it long enough to get to the finishing line with the winding, but I make no promises even if I desperately want to make those awesome gloves for myself.

And as a cute and ironic twist to this battle of wits, the yarn colorway is called Million Dollar Baby and I may be mentally black and blue from my attempts to bend this skein to my will.

Wish me luck! Now, which do I want more for Christmas, my own personal ball winding slave or a ball winder that I can use to do it myself... Decisions, decisions.

Yarn Swappy Goodness

My Starbucks and Yarn Swap box arrived today! I'm so excited! If it wasn't for the other projects I've got on needles I'd have cast on with my new yarn today. Its a beautiful variegated purple. Its so lovely! But I haven't decided yet what to make with it. I'm thinking some socks for me, but we'll see.

Besides the lovely yarn, I got some size 2 Comfort Zone dpns. They're so bendy! I may be using these to work on the socks I'm making for the wee ones. And I got some delicious biscotti, which is ofcourse all gone, but I did get a few bites before the hordes devoured the rest of it. There was also my Starbucks gift card, which will be great for those times when only Starbucks will help calm the craziness in life. And last but certainly not least is a lovely felted bag in a beautiful burgundy color with a drawstring closure. I'm thinking it'll work great for sock knitting projects.

Here's a pic of all the goodies:

Realistic deadlines

Ok, so I have one pair of my Warm Woolies socks finished. I finished the cupcake, which was a piece of cake. ;) And I'm nearly finished with Gir. Should have him done tomorrow for mailing. A little late, but not nearly as late as I thought it would be. I've taken a step back in the knitting for the twins. I'm still going to make them sleep sacks maybe as Christmas presents, but for right now I'm going to just make them some hats since their birth day has been moved up nearly a week.

So after I've finished those projects, I'll have plenty of time to work on socks for the kids and figure out what to make for my Guilty Pleasures/Good Karma Swap partner. I'm so excited about this swap. Its my second one and my first(Starbucks and Yarn Swap) was very cool. At least the putting together my package to send my partner was. Haven't had the pleasure of getting my package yet, but I'm on pins and needles about it!

Princess Bride Trivia Test Results

Your result for The Princess Bride trivia Test...

Westley

Inconceivable! You scored ###!

You live it, you love it, you lost track long ago of how many times you have seen it. You have been known to wish someone luck by hollering "have fun storming the castle!" You scoff at people who cannot recite the entire 'battle of wits.' You are a true fan.
Thank you. Its people like you that give me hope for humanity.

Take The Princess Bride trivia Test at HelloQuizzy

But then I could have said that about myself without taking the trivia test, except I don't actually scoff at ppl often. LOL

Deadlines... Why do we do these things to ourselves?

As I sit here to type this, I have 4 projects nearing their deadlines (ie. birth or birthdays). Not to mention some projects for one of my yarn swaps, thankfully though that deadline is far off relatively speaking. And have I started any of these? Not a chance! I do have yarn for them, but what is occupying my time and needles? Socks. Socks for the boys who hardly A)need them or B)wear them, but they love them and think they are the coolest thing! Sure I could cast on any of my other projects but they will take time and making socks for the kids is almost instant gratification.

In the end these projects will be done, eventually, but I have to wonder why do I do this to myself? Do I secretly hate myself, feel the need to punish myself or maybe this is just my way of living life on the edge as I try desperately to stay one step ahead of my self-imposed deadlines. So, just to keep myself accountable. I have the following to A)start and B)finish within the next two weeks if humanly possible:

• 2 sleep sacks - 1 boy, 1 girl for the (as DH has dubbed them) Denise and Denephew
  
• gir and his cupcake for my friend's b-day present
  

And... my charity knitting for the Good Karma swap:

• 2 pairs of socks
  

Wish me luck or pester me till I update on my progress, whichever floats your boat.

Almost done!

I started my Askew a couple days ago and if it weren't for needing to eat, sleep and dirty diapers I would have been done the day I started it. I knit the front in one piece and I didn't fuss much with the colors being consistent, just joined in the next one as it came along. I love how its turning out and I can't wait to sew it up and try it on!

Then I really need to get back to something I want to get done today or tomorrow if possible, but I'll mention more about that after its finished and gifted. Shhh, its a surprise!

Knee pads for crawling kids

Ok, this is nearly the first time I've written up a pattern, so hopefully this is relatively understandable. If you have any questions, let me know. I may play with this a little bit because they are a bit looser than I had intended.

Knee pads
CO 24 stitches

Join yarn and k2, p2 till they are about an inch long.

Knit first 14 stitches, continue ribbing for the rest of the row for the next 2 rows.

On the next row, k3, inc1, knit across to the last 3 knit stitch, inc1, k3, finish row in ribbing. Repeat the increase row one more time.

Knit first 18 stitches, continue ribbing for the rest of the row for the next 6 rows or as long as you need to get good coverage for the knee portion.

K2, k2tog, k across to last 4 stitches, k2tog, k2 and continue ribbing for the remaining stitches. Repeat this row once.

K14, continue ribbing pattern on remaining stitches for the next 2 rows.

Return to k2, p2 for approximately an inch and bo loosely. Make another.

As if...

I really needed another outlet to go on and on about whatever, but hey if helps me look like I'm not talking to myself, I'm all for it!

Actually this was started for two reasons: Ravelry and swap groups. I'd like to think these kinds of addictions won't hurt the innocent bystanders but only time will tell.

So, I signed up for second swap today. The first being the Starbucks and Yarn Swap and the second being the Guilty Pleasures/Good Karma Swap on Ravelry. And I SOOOO want to get in on the Yarn box next time they do it, but anyway...

I'm just starting to knit socks and puttering along on nothing too exciting while I try to find my next fun/interesting project. Its probably going to be something summery for me to wear. We'll see how it goes.