Break time

In the mad rush to finish everyones knitted gifts I have not gone a single day without knitting- until yesterday. It felt weird to not have needles in my hand!

Here are the last projects I managed to finish by the deadline :)

Bears for the girls- I stuffed them with lavender scented fleece.

I used Knit Picks Crayon combined with Moda Dea for the brown and Knit Picks Palette for the pink.

The girls loved them and also got little outfits for them from my sister.

Getting down to busy-ness

It's been awhile since I last posted and I blame the Christmas knitting rush for that. I may not have posted in awhile but I have been busy knitting so I have a lot to show!On a sad note I have given in and given up on getting my sisters sweater finished in time for Xmas. It's a good thing that her birthday is not too long after- in February- and just in time to receive the benefit of my crazed ravelympic knitting spree- which I will blog about at a later date.

So, instead of a sweater she will get the other knitted gift she desired- a skull teapot cozy:)

That is still on my TO DO list.

Here are some things that are no longer on that list (YAY!)

• A beautiful hat for my MIL in her fav colour and made large to accommodate her head - her words, not mine ;)

• I finished the jaywalkers for Sarah- excuse the bad picture I took it with my laptop camera.
  
  
  
• And socks for my mom in her fav colours using a pattern I loved knitting.
  

I have been a busy knitting fiend but at least I am burning through my Xmas knitting list.

There ARE only 4 weeks left and I still have :

2 pairs of socks

a tea pot cozy

2 1/2 teddy bears and their outfits

and a pair of fingerless mitts...

I better go...

Look before you leap

Ah yes, the sweater.

My first one.

I chose the pattern because I liked it and it looked like it would be fun- especially the sleeves.

So I started.

Then I found out that people had some trouble with the pattern and there were corrections made so I hunted down the yahoo club and joined and now I am reading 4000 comments to try to get this to turn out the way I want it to. Sigh...yes, I could just knit a different sweater but I have my heart set on this one and I want it to work out so I will put up with the detective work and not complain...too much :)

Here is what I have done so far- a sleeve.

uncontrollable, incorrigible, unstoppable

Last week child #1 had her first French class in the beautiful Hydrostone market. I was very excited because the class is a few doors down from an awesome yarn store. I thought we may just peek in on our way home- 2 kids in a yarn store is not really good, quality time for me. Upon taking kid 1 into her class I found out that they really don't like the parents to stay so that the kids can focus better. Now that kid is 4 and way independent both her and I are fine with this arrangement...so are the owners of the LYS a few doors down. On a related note, my bank account is not.So, the first week I did have a project in mind as I went in. My mom really liked the jaywalkers I was knitting and wanted a pair in her favorite colour palate- browns, greens and burgundy's. I ended up purchasing 2 skeins of Sirder Crofter which is totally my mom's style but wouldn't be too great in a jaywalker type pattern. I also grabbed a skein of the woodland that became my scarf.

Now this week I went to drop kid 1 off thinking that kid 2 and I would go to the park down the street or maybe to the cafe for a treat...but no. Where did I end up? I really didn't realize until I was opening the door...I didn't realize I was going to buy something until I was holding it in my hand. I didn't even know what I was going to do with it. But it was beautiful and soft and yummy and now it's MINE. And man doesn't know about it. And I am choosing to ignore these warning signs. And next week I will promise to go to the park. I have enough stash to keep me going until next year at least.

Wanna know what I got?

One skein of Estelle Arequipa for these

and 2 skeins of Malbrigo Silky Merino for who-knows-what-but-it-is-yummy!

A sweater started/A diversion needed

I decided that it was high time I get a move on what will probably be my greatest knitted undertaking so far- my first sweater. I am knitting a hoodie for my kid sis for Xmas. I am almost finished one sleeve and because the sleeve is full of intricate chart reading I decided that I needed a break. So I grabbed a ball of Naturally Woodland yarn- a mohair/acrylic blend and knit my self a crazy easy and fast scarf. Instant gratification!

Hopefully this will allow me to refocus my knitting energy on my long-haul sweater project...

Fall Fair Finds

This weekend we took a family trip to my hometown of Sackville, NB to visit the Fall Fair. The highlight of the trip was definitely when we went to Doncaster farm for the Agriculture Field Day. There was horseback riding, a corn maze, live music and dancing, games, a petting zoo, wagon rides, food and a market. It was fantastic! There were lots of old friends I haven't seen in years and lots of family around too.

Of course, I was ecstatic to see a spinning demo happening in the barn-turned-market. There was an employe of St. James Textile Museum spinning and Heidi Wulfraat from London-Wul Fibre Arts was there with her beautiful fiber and weaving demonstration. There was also lots of knitted products for sale courtesy of Brenda Trafford

- a fantastic creator. She had great knitted hat kits and gorgeous felted bags.

I wanted to buy the entire room but because there was no banking services close by I had to settle on one skein of beautiful handspun wool. Spun in varying thicknesses and dyed with natural dyes it called to me from the basket. I was so in love with it I couldn't even wait to get back to Halifax I had to knit it up right away! I settled on The Yarn Harlot's scarf pattern but since I didn't have enough yardage to make

a full scarf I settled on a neckwarmer that could double as an ear warmer!

It turned out beautifully- the pattern really shows off the varied thickness and colour and texture of the wool. Now, I just need to find the perfect buttons to fasten it with!

A fixin'

Usually I am very careful to put my knitting up or away when I am leaving the room or doing something else. With a 4 year old and a 15 month old I know to be careful. It only takes 1 time. One second and all of those tiny little stitches are unravelled...

Of course I found this out the hard way.

I was working on my wrap when a knock came at the door. I put my knitting down, grabbed my 15 month old and headed for the door. I figured my knitting would be safe, after all, the main demolisher was in my arms! Well, I got talking and baby got squirmy, so, down went baby...then I noticed the silence and, sure enough, baby had pounced on my lace and pulled it out :(

Oh the horror.

I put it on the shelf, I couldn't even bare to look at it.

And there it stayed for a month.

But, finally I gently picked it up last night and assessed the damage. I tried my best to repair it and I did a fairly good job. It is still noticeable to me but I can live with it.

And, I learned a valuable lesson.... :)