New Year, New Look

I too have switched to the new blogger. Once I figured it out it is so easy to post, change colours, and it's uploaded instantly.

Knitterly gifts & Christmas all done....

I know it's time to take down the tree when the cat starts nesting in it. They act like they've never seen a tree before. So after a week of hearing the decorations tinking together down it came.

This is the help I got.

It's amazing how no one is around when all the putting away and cleaning up has to be done.

So on to knitterly things. I bought myself a post-holiday gift. A yarn meter! I got some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn mill ends and unfortunately there is only a total yardage count. So now I can wind it into center-pull balls and label the yardage on the balls. It will also come in handy with the leftovers so I know exactly how many yards I have in all those small balls.

We had quite a laugh over it when I mention to Mr. D that it was a Shakespere model just like his fishing gear. He in turn told me that it was a "line counter for fishing line" and some one made a gadget for it to sit on and called it a yarn counter. I think he should of thought of it first, we could have had quite a little business together.

I was reading Wendy's blog and she had mentioned knitting from your stash for the new year.

The rules are easy and you can change them to suit your own situation.

So grab a button.

I agree, it's high time I started using up all the beautiful yarn in my wool room. I have so many projects lined up that I might have to stop cooking and cleaning to get them done.

So first up I'm finishing Top Secret sweater (which isn't so top secret anymore), I cast off the 808 stitches on the ruffle, first sleeve will be done tonight and the second one will be started.

Second, I will finish my Winter Sunset cardigan, I only have one sleeve left to do on it then cut the front steek and do the bands and collar. How long can that take?

The hard part will be deciding which project to start first.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a warm and wooly Christmas!

Whew..........

Yes I am still alive. The last birthday is over and now on to Christmas!
I ordered a post-Christmas gift for myself with my Christmas tips, (and if you were busy with all the holiday preparations and forgot, it's okay to leave a little something in the mailbox after Christmas, your letter-carrier will appreciate it) Amazon said it would be here after the holiday but it came this week.

So the tree is up. ( we had help)

The pies are done!

Top Secret sweater will have no sleeves! It will be temporarily top secret vest. I should have the ruffle done tonight. All 854 some odd stitches of it. I know better than to put time restrictions on myself. It never works out.

And honestly we didn't put her in there because she was misbehaving..... she did it herself.

Merry Christmas everyone!

2 Down...........

Well 2 birthdays down and three to go.
Momma shared Miss "P"'
pic's modelling her new hat.


I now have the 2 fronts and the back of Top Secret sweater done. Only the sleeves left to do.
I don't know, Christmas is approaching fast. I don't work well under pressure.

Happy 27th birthday to my big girl. (she wants to make sure everyone knows she's the cute one.)


And Happy 29th to my favorite son.

You guys make it all worth while.

Birthdays first then Christmas.

Not much progress to show. We now have 5 birthdays to get through before Christmas.
I have started the second front piece of the Top Secret sweater, and almost finished the first front of Caitlin.
I did have to stop and knit a hat for Miss "P". She picked the pattern and the colours from gramma's stash.

Presents..............

Look what Mr. D bought me.
I would have put it on my truck, but he's been driving it all time, and I didn't think it suited him. I found it here.











And just a little more stash enhancement. Cherry Tree Hill mill ends ( a whopping 9oz, about 950yds), and a handpainted skein of yarn from Sunshine yarns, colour Hedwig ( after Harry Potters owl).















Lady says "My mommy has really lost it, but she's happy!"

Santa has left the building!

Not much knitting was done around here this weekend. Miss "P" was here for our Saturday night special.
Santa came to town though. The weather was perfect and you have to love living in a small town. The crowd is never to big, and there's always a place to stand. There were marching bands.














Horses dressed up.















Paisley's buddy the town chicken.














The big guy was up too high to get a good picture.

But "P" made out like a bandit. There was lots of candy for everyone.

Mmmmmmmmmmm.....

Look what Mr. Mailman brought me today!
I had to see what all the fuss was about for myself.
Socks that Rock!
Scottish Highland and Rocktober. The colours are much more vibrant than the picture. And SOFT!!! Can't wait to start a pair.














Last night I thought I would take a break from Top Secret sweater so I started this. It's Caitlin from Debbie Bliss Junior Knits. Miss "P" picked this one out herself,( so don't tell her) I might even have it done for Christmas. I'm using Dale of Norway Freestyle. Nothing but superwash for that girl.







Duece says "I don't care if it is Merino, I want to be alone."

Slow progress.

NO knitting pics today. I did get the back of the top secret cardi done and it's blocking now. I'm having second thoughts about it though. The schematics show different measurement than the finished measurements at the beginning of the pattern, like a few inches difference. So I'm blocking by the finished measurements and it still seems like I had to stretch it out too much. My gauge was on when I started knitting but this yarn has alot of sproing to it. I know lace is supposed to block out quite abit, but this doesn't feel right. Am I obessing too much?
I think I'll wait till it's done drying and see how much it bounces back when it's unpinned.
I'm hoping there's no ripping back in my future.
I should have picked something with larger needles if I wanted it done by Christmas. DUH!!!!!

I'll be back in a couple of days to report, so I'll leave you with my daughters two new cats...


Tux















and Jalepeno!

DUECE

These were just to cute I had to post them. This is our new Duece. Check out those paws!
Seven toes each.

Post Office Closed today.

There's nothing I like better than and extra day off. The Post office is closed today because Rememberance Day fell on Saturday, so that means a stat holdiday for us on Monday. Whoo Hoo! So you know what that means and extra day to do what I do best. Knit, knit and knit some more. So without further ado..........pictures of progress.............
My shawl is coming along, I'm still only on the first ball of yarn . 4 more to go.












My top secret knit-- the back is almost finished.













I blocked the back of the sweater for my daughter. She is knitting this for her boyfriend. I'm so proud. It's her first try at cables and a full size sweater. But rumor has it she was knitting Barbie doll clothes last night.















And the new addition to our family "Duece". He is Miss "P"'s cat but will be living with us because he needs other feline company. So far things are going well and I'm hoping that all three boys will adjust without too many "cat"tastrophies. He certainly is not afraid of the dog. But then again he has two extra toes on his front feet for self-defense.

I knew I was Fall!

Thanks Wannietta!

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

Still madly knitting. Pictures tomorrow!

Interweave Preview!

Looks like the Interweave Knits preview is up!
I see a few new items in my future!

Top Secret Knitting! Shhhhhhhhh!

Well, since you last checked in I did not finsh my last pair of socks for Socktoberfest, but they are still in progress and maybe they'll be done for November.
I have however knit 2 blocks for the Great American Aran Afghan. Our guild decided that this would be a nice project to work on at our meetings. We have all just started randomly with the blocks we like and we'll be able to help each other if anyone runs into problems.



My next project is a secret. I'm sorry I can't share it with you because it's for someone special for Christmas and she reads my blog. (NoSamantha it's not for you!) I would actually like this one to be a surprise for a change.
I had started it in Dale of Norway Tuir but found it was a little too scratchy for my liking, so I broke down and had to buy yarn. It's knit with Filitura Di Crosa's Zarina. OH MY GOD!
This yarn feels like butter. I may not want to give it away when it's done.

Now I'm off to cast on, I hope the Halloweener's are quick tonight, I have alot of knitting to do.

Socktoberfest...9 days left.

There's nothing quite like a quick project to get your mojo flowing again.
2-day socks for Miss "P".
1 ball of Bernat Sox, perfect for an almost 3 year old. Machine wash and dry. Easy for mom.
Yarn bought in the discontinued bin for less than $2.





Now on to bigger things.........

Shelagh is done.

It's done!
Shelagh is done.
Pattern: from the Garter Belt
Yarn: Super10 Cotton 5--125g skeins
Needles: 4.5mm Addi turbos

I love doing top down sweaters. No seaming.

This was a great pattern easy to follow, lots of sizes, and you could do it in a lot of different yarns.








This is what I took home today at 1pm. I only left the room for a minute, I needed a pee break, honest. I should have elaborated on the make-up. These were the new stamp markers we bought at the dollar store.