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.