Fun Stuff!

Halloween has come and gone. At least HoneyBunny was home this year!! We had fun dressing up. Since we moved to this small town the kids got to go Trick or Treating. They had a great time! The kids were really excited that HoneyBunny and I were all dressed up so we took this picture. Don't we make a cute couple?

HoneyBunny has decided that he wanted to try his hand at making jewelry. These are the first three rings he made. They are made from antique silver spoon and fork handles. Aren't they great!! I love them! So unique! Each one is one of a kind. I am going to be listing them for sale in my etsy store.

And.....Look at this adorable hat I finished over the weekend!!!!!! Once again, I was a woman possessed! I couldn't stop working on it. It is such a fun hat to make!! I think I'll make a hundred.

Of course The Daughter looks great in it. It is so handy to have such a cute model to put all of my hand knits on.

Well the new Sockamania sock pattern is out and I can't wait to get started! I am off to go knit some more.

Cabin Fever!

Now don't get me wrong...I love HoneyBunny very much and enjoy his company very much, but when he is on seasonal lay-off from his job the house can get VERY small!! I am a morning person. If I am to get any housework done I have to do it in the morning. If I am going to run errands, I like to do it in the morning while the rest of the world is still asleep or at work--once lunch hits town is a mess! However, when HoneyBunny is home he likes to stay up really late and then sleep in until 10, 11, or even 12 o'clock the next day. Then he wants to run around town and shop and do all this stuff in town. Well, I hate it!!! I have to be home when my kids get out of school, I have to pick the daughter up because it is too far to walk in this bad weather and HoneyBunny just doesn't understand why we have to come home just as he is getting going. I also hate television!!! I love to watch movies, documentaries, etc, but I find the tv being on just so that there is a noise in the house bugs me to death! HoneyBunny likes tv, he doesn't care if its court tv, talk shows, soap operas, etc. He turns it on the second he gets out of bed and would leave it on even if we weren't home if I didn't turn it off as we were walking out the door.

So, I have been doing a lot of knitting in order to steady my nerves. I currently have 5 pairs of socks, a sweater, a shawl, and a hat that I am working on all at once. I have been doing so much that my hands are sore today. I just may have all of next years gifts done before summer at this rate.

This is a hat I finished last week. The son thinks it should be for him, but since I already made him two hats this season he doesn't really need another one.

These are my December Sockamania Socks. Aren't they WONDERFUL! I just love them! I waited until Christmas Day to start them because I had so many other projects I was working on. I wasn't sure that I would be able to finish them by the deadline--December 31, but I did!!

This is another hat that I finished after the green one. Honey Bunny wanted this one really bad to go with his socks that feature the same skull-n-crossbones pattern, but it turned out just a little too small for him.

I'll have to post the pictures of the rest of the stuff as it gets finished and photographed. In the mean time Happy New Year to all of you! Hope this year is full of all the yarn, projects, and fluffy fiber you can handle!

Happy Knitting!

The Knitting Fest Ends! YA RIGHT!

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. I got some wonderful gifts as seen in the picture above! The socks, boots, arm warmers, and mittens were all very well received. My friend who received the Selbu mittens told me she would like to frame them and put them on the wall. However, she has been wearing them because she wants to show them to everyone. I love giving knitted gifts! It's like giving someone a hug that lasts.

When I finished the Christmas knit fest, I started making hats that I will be selling. I finished five in three days! Christmas day I remembered that I still had the Sockamania December Socks to make. I started them and finished the first one last night--pictures will be posted when I am finished. I LOVE the pattern, so much so that I repeated the design all the way down the leg making the sock 9 1/2 inches tall instead of the usual 8 inches. They are beautiful!

Every year as Christmas ends, I get the silliest notion to start next years presents. I think and think and think about it--for about 11 months! and never start anything until the following December. Somehow I am determined to force myself to start in January and make one, large, special gift for everyone. If I would just do it I could have some really spectacular gifts by December, but it's the "DO IT" part that I struggle with. So, once again, this year I am already thinking about what I should start making. We'll see if I actually get anything started before December 2008.

On a sad note, a childhood friend died sometime Christmas eve or early Christmas day. They think it was heart failure. His son had tried to wake him up for Christmas morning but he was already gone. What a terrible event. I have had a very rough few days as I have remembered my friend and thought of his family. My heart aches for anyone who has to endure such a tragedy on what should be such a happy and special day.

Anyway, I am off to go knit! That always comforts me and helps me feel better. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas is Coming

I can't believe how fast Christmas is coming. My son was dancing around the house this morning singing, "Only 20 more daaaayyys! Only 20 more daaayyyss!". Wow! Now, I really am finished with the main projects that I wanted to accomplish, but there are so many others that I would LIKE to finish as well--but I don't know if I have time at this point.

After visiting Hege's blog I just had to go take a picture of my crocheted snowflakes. I am unnaturally fond of crocheted snowflakes--to the point that I think a Christmas tree is incomplete without them and therefore EVERYONE should have at least a few. Which is why I have made so many. I love crocheted snowflakes (and little gingerbread men!).

I finished a lap quilt for my father-in-law. I am not a quilter really, just a wool fanatic. The top part is made from recycled men's wool suit coats and the back is just some soft, silky fabric I picked up that matched--the color is "pewter" which is my favorite shade of grey. Since I took this picture I have added a nice embroidered blanket stitch, in "pewter" colored thread, all the way around the outside edge. It turned out really nice and is very warm even though the batting is really light and thin.

And finally, here is a picture of the hat I made for the Daughter (couldn't get her off the phone long enough to take a picture of her in it so the son volunteered). I found the pattern about 8 or 9 years ago on the internet. I don't know why I waited so long to make it! I made it-start to finish-in only 5 hours! I used Cascade 220 worsted weight yarn and size 6 needles. I love it!

Hope your holiday knitting is going well!

The Weekend's Works

Between Friday and today I managed to finish several projects. The first one is this hat that I designed several years ago. I call it a "FunkyChunky Hat" It is made with Brown Sheep Co. superbulky weight yarn (100% wool). It makes up so fast that you can literally have a finished hat in only about 3 or 4 hours (WITH interruptions). The pattern will be available at my etsy store later this week.

Friday I finished the first of my Selbuvotter mittens. It may be a few days before I start number two. I have a touch of SMS (second mitten syndrome) right now after my battle with the thumb. I think I have come up with a better way to put one in and may put a tutorial on here if my idea works out. The mitten is BEAUTIFUL and I love it, I just hate the thumb right now.








And, earlier this morning I finished the ski socks that I will be giving my son for Christmas. The picture doesn't show the Forest Green detail very well, but there is a green stripe between each black stripe and then the trees are forest green as well. I think he will love them!
Stay tuned! Wednesday's post will show what I am working on this week! I may get all of these Christmas projects done yet!