elles's 2nd birthday sweater

i knit this for elles for her 2nd birthday. angie said, "make it big!". as you can see... it's huge!:) she can wear it for years. it might not hold up for years... but it's big enough to! still using jack for sizing. i don't think this will scar him for life.

jack's first time lake fishing

dan, jack and i went fishing friday night for a bit at blackhoof lake. didn't catch a thing. but jack thought he did.:) the minnow on his hook counted as a fish to him! oh, and i knitted half a dishcloth.:)

a rug of blue and white

i....made a rug! i am so pleased. it is a cotton bathroom rug that i knitted with 3 strands at once. it took me about 2 weeks, maybe 3. it feels so good on the feet.

new knitting project

i've been working on a new knitting project for a week or two. it's a cotton bathroom rug! it is stinkin' exciting!!! i came up with the pattern myself. it is very rewarding, but hard, to make a pattern. there is a lot of trial and error and unraveling involved. there's only one slight thing i'd change if i were to ever make another one.

i am working with 3 strands at a time. sometimes it gets a little hard to push the yarn over the needle "leash". that is how i broke a needle this morning.:P oh well, a trip to the yarn store is never a bummer! i had a $5 off coupon, too. it was sort of like it was meant to be...:)

butterfly

another butterfly has flown off my needles. this hat was for elerene, to replace the wool one that my sister SHRUNK! horror! anyway, it's the same yarn as my butterfly hat. isn't it a beauty? i think this was the 12th or 13th butterfly. this is a beautiful, fun, easy pattern. i'm a big fan.:)

danish aebelskiver

made danish aebelskiver with jack last week. danish apple pancake balls are delish. and almost as good as a doughnut in a pinch.;) jack was watching an episode of curious george where george orders 100 dozen doughnuts. (how dumb was that donut shop lady?) when the show ended, jack turned to me, grabbed his gut, and said, "my (i'm) hungwy for doughnuts.".

i was thinking donuts sounded awesome, too. but i didn't want to drive anywhere to get them. then i remembered my danish aebelskiver pan that i don't think i have ever used. jack and i had a great time making these. jack's job was to roll them in the cinnamon and sugar. truth be told... he didn't do such a great job. he kept pulverizing them. oops. oh well, the "ugly" ones i ate.:)

another cool thing about these balls is that i got to use a knitting needle to make them. yes, i said knitting needle. i used a needle to flip the balls over. it amused me.

molly's mega market bag

just started another market bag, so i thought i'd post photos of the last one.:) this one i gave to my sis-in-law as a bday gift. i think the next one will be a gift, too. i am trying to get caught up on gifts i want to give JUST BECAUSE. now's a great time, since Christmas is so very far away. (but i'm not going to let it creep up on me. i'm going to get my gifts started even earlier this year! bigger gifts! better gifts! how exciting!) anyway, i think this next bag will be entitled "molly's MEDIUM market bag". i think it will be more useful if it wasn't so...mega.:)

that sweater... sigh

i don't think i've blogged about the "shalom cardigan". that sweater i was knitting has turned into a capelet. these things happen. i am ok with that. i really like my new capelet.:) i don't have a photo of it finished, yet, but it pretty much looks like the middle 2 photos. just imagine a shorter version (just a little bit below the arm holes) with a finished edge.

now i just have to find a sweater pattern that would be a better fit for me. something that was supposed to CLOSE in the front would be nice. after all, a sweater is supposed to keep you warm.:) as spring is right around the corner, i guess i will probably not start another sweater right now. coming up for birthdays are my: dad, gram, jack, and bro-in-law jake. hmmmm... interesting possibilities!

bad sweater...pretty capelet!

here is a photo of my bad sweater. i will post one of my pretty capelet soon!

what's hot/not

HOT
- "emma" on pbs. and "emma" reruns once (or twice!) a day. holding on until the big conclusion on sunday! then what will i do with my life?:p
- knitting. it's really interesting watching things take shape. but...
- dinner monday night:) baked fish, sundried tomato/basil/mozzarella quiche, garlic mashed red potatoes, beans from my garden. VERY HOT!
- pottytraining. jack is having a lot of accidents. but we had triumphs #1 and #2, literally!!!:)

NOT
- unraveling my sweater. how, HOW, did i get all those can-can ruffles on the bottom? bizarre.
- opening what i thought was pizza sauce last night and discovering it was salsa. (thankfully i had spaghetti sauce to substitute for the pizza sauce! it was very good.)

sweater in progress

working on a sweater for me. first sweater i've ever done. a pretty big project. the biggest yet. in this photo i'm about 25 rows into it. the pattern calls for 115 rows. i will be making it slightly bigger.:) i am now about 40-some rows into it. it's a challenge, but a beauty.

could it be that I am santa's elf?

it's a good thing i knit like a ninja.:) soooooo many presents to knit this year. 2 kinds of hats, headbands, dishcloths, doll hats and scarves! it's helped keep the cost of Christmas low. and it has helped keep me out of the crowded, germ-infested stores. that's reason enough for me to confidently say that next year there will be more knitted gifts. better knitted gifts! i have to start early. maybe sweater vests? felted purses? i am almost getting excited just thinking about it. what a yarn nerd.:) do you love yarn?

this is a small sampling of projects. i keep forgetting to photograph them before i wrap them!:) the bottom hat is a Christmas hat that i came up with for jack. i just made up the pattern. you cast on 80 stitches on a size 9 circular needle. then you make knit2, purl2 ribbing for about 2-3 inches. then you knit until it looks big enough. then you decrease. then at the top you make a long i-cord (5 stitches). then attach a lovely huge tassel! that tassel is so fun.

Christmas begins...

Christmas begins with decorating the tree. Little bits of Christmas every day with a Christmas Advent Calendar. Other ways to sprinkle a little Christmas magic every day is to listen to as much Bing/Sinatra/Perry Como/Rosemary Clooney/Dean Martin/Nat King Cole Christmas tunes as you possibly can. Then there's the cookie making. And then there's the present wrapping. And, every day there seems to be a new present that i am knitting. Christmas begins... and lingers all December long!

a frenzied flurry of knitting

i haven't posted on knitting in a while... but that doesn't mean i haven't been knitting! i knitted the first hat for a lady at church who wanted it to match a special knit snowsuit for her baby. this was my first time working a pattern into a band of color and my first pompom! i love learning new techniques. the second set of "butterfly" hats were knit for a cousin-in-law and her kid. the last hats and booties were a baby gift for a cousin. whew! and now i am knitting for december bdays and Christmas!!! and after that?... hat for jack and a sweater for me. please?:)

stripey hat litho

i lithoed this photo of jack in his new hat and i really liked the outcome. probably the last of the lithos for a while.:) you're probably sick of them already. come on, admit it!

wee little shoes

my roommate from my freshman year at pcc just had her fifth child, a baby girl. congratulations, kelly! i sent her these booties. i just think every baby girl needs a pair of pink mary jane's!

elerene's 8th birthday hat

elerene turned 8 on sept. 7th. my spunky niece just loves purple. she looked so great in my green "butterfly" hat. can't wait to see her in her very own butterfly hat! love you, ele!

elles's birthday jumper

finished elles's 1st birthday jumper. it fit perfect and she looked like a little dolly in it.

JUMP!

i have finished elles's 1st birthday jumper!!! it took me a very very long time. that's ok, that just means that it was as cool and as meaningful a present as i wanted it to be. it's not a lame knitted present... it is a TOTALLY AWESOME KNITTED PRESENT! if i do say so myself. now, must find some adorable buttons.

i called it

totally. i am so happy. i got exactly what i wanted for my bday. (after a teensy bit of finaggling.) yarn, knitting needles, books about knitting, books, and coffee. Praise the Lord! He is so good to me. and my family is so good to me. thank you! and the best part is all the gifts i can make now that i have these gifts.:) anyone want a really really pretty shawl? the line forms on the left.