Works in Progress?

In order to have Works in Progress, doesn't that mean I have to work on them? As of right now I have 5 current works on the needles....or at least on the cable......(Thank God for Interchangeables!) Now I realize that 5 WIPs are not a lot for many knitters. When I stayed home this wasn't a lot for me either...But now that I am working 5 days a week....I am finding that 5 current WIPs is just plain overwhelming! My Lotus Blossom Tank I started over a year ago! I absolutely love the pattern and would love to have the finished top but apparently not enough because here it is! I have only 2 repeats of the lace pattern done. I had such a hard time getting through the lace repeat even once when I first started this project. I think I frogged the top in the first few rows over a dozen times before it clicked. Now it has sat so long I am worried I will have the same trouble when I pick it up again.
Also another Interweave Knits pattern is my Mandarin Blouse. In my defense I justs started this one about the time I got my job (June/July). I was hoping to finish it quickly but here it is. I am just about up to the arm holes for the tank. This is a supper easy pattern and I truly have no excuse.
I started the Friendship Scarf as a Christmas gift. I just started this one a few weeks ago. I am still not sure who I will give it too but it is a pretty pattern and I am sure it is going to make a great Christmas gift for someone.....if I finish it that is.
Ahhh....an FO???? Well if I only had one foot! This pattern is from More Sensational Knitted Socks. It is the Grapevine Pattern which is such an easy and pretty little lace pattern. I finished the first sock in a weekend and then have finished the cuff and one pattern repeat and there it has sat.....

With all this you would think that I would get motivated to finish something. But no...This week I cast on for a Clapotis Cap to match my Clapotis I made last year. I had almost a full skein of Malabrigo left over and I hope it will be enough to finish the cap. Hopefully this one will become an FO this weekend. I have finished the band around the cap. I need to sew it up and then pick up stitches for the top. Then to see if I will actually wear it. Every winter I search for a hat I will actually wear and have yet to find one. Maybe this will be the year?

So I promised something crafty....

Over the summer Madison, decided she needed a purse and a wallet. Her brother had been carrying a wallet from some time and she felt left out when we went shopping. (Never mind that neither of their wallets contain anything which could be used to purchase anything....) Anyways, Madison and I dove into my scrap basket and I created this little purse/tote.
Making the wallet was a bit harder. I searched the internet but couldn't find any patterns for wallets that can carry change. After all she is six. She is more likely to have pennies than paper money or cards. So after about three trys and errors I came up with this little wallet.

The pink bumble bee pattern is a velcro pocket for coins. She can hold two gift cards and there is even a pocket that runs the length of the wallet for paper money. She was thrilled!

See I told you, she was happy! Now she can shop with mommy! Of course, the littlest member of the family then felt left out so Mommy had to whip up a spiderman wallet for him as well.

Resurrecting a long deserted blog.

HELLO...........
What a terrible blogger I have been! I can't believe how long I have deserted this little blog. I have no excuse except a crazy life. Since I have blogged last I have returned to work full time as a therapist, the kids have gone off to school full time! All three of them! YIKES! This has all been a huge adjustment for all of us, since previously we had all been home! The kids are now in Montessori school and they absolutely love it! The littlest is in Primary which is prek/k and the older two are in Elementary which in the 6-9 year old classroom (1st-3rd grade in traditional school).

Besides school and work, I have been knitting, and sewing! And promise to post some of my FOs soon. But since I have nothing to show for myself now I will share one of my favorite new blogs. http://montessoribyhand.blogspot.com Between my fascination with all things Montessori and my obsession with knitting and sewing this is a daily read for me!

The Best Secret Pal!

Lookie what came in the mail for me!

The packaging was so pretty! So pink and springy! Being January in Chicagoland, I appreciate every bit of spring I can find!

Then I opened it! WOW! Thank you so much Valerie for everything. You have been a great secret pal!
Can you all see everything fun that Valerie sent? (Sorry for the aweful photography!) She sent my kids some adorable little animal buttons. (They send lots of thanks and I had to fight with them to leave them on the cardboard long enough to take the picture!) and some fun soaps for their bathroom. (Madison claimed the flower one right away!) And for me some fabulous Fleece artist sock yarn in an absolutely wonderful colorway, the Diamond Fantasy Shawl pattern and some gorgeous painted knitting needles. (I have decided I need a collection of hand painted needles and spindles! These are so pretty. I am so sorry my horrible picture taking skills cut off the pretty painting) And for the non-knitting goodies. I found a cute little picture frame with spaces for three pictures...(Hmmm...three kids....three soaps...three pictures...a slew of cute pins....Valerie did her homework!) And Yummy dark chocolate truffles! Hubby and I already dipped into these with our Merlot! (Dark Chocolate must accompany a good merlot in this house.) Thanks again Valerie!

Happy Blogiversary to me!

Well...actually I missed it! I missed my own blogiversary. January 16th was my very first post. But with my crazy life....I have been caring for sick kids, homeschooling....oh and the house doesn't clean itself. And I am now in the process of going back to work as a counselor. When I worked previously, I was part of community mental health which is state paid. This time I will be in the private sector, so now I am filling out countless forms for managed care networks. Nightmare!

So in celebration here is my Year In Review! (as stolen from Gimmesanity.)

Instructions — Copy the first sentence that you posted in each month of 2006.

January
The first post is always the hardest to write.
February
I don't think I will ever finish this sock.
March
I usually say I am a self taught knitter, but that is not entirely true.
April
Illnesses and traveling have kept blogging and knitting at a minimum lately.
May
This room was completely empty Saturday!
June
Remember I promised to tell you about the coffee we received from Boca Java?
July
So are you up for a mystery or two?
August
I joined! Did you?
September
Thank you all for the well wishes for Ophelia.
October
I had so much fun with Secret Pal 8 that I decided to join SP 9!
November
The mailman has been busy bring fabulous packages to my house.
December
Do Homeschoolers have snowdays? You bet they do!!!!

So there you have it....my first year of blogging in a nutshell....

Knit From Your Stash

I am not sure I am strong enough BUT I have decided to go on a serious yarn diet! I have seen a number of bloggers make the commitment to "Knit from their Stash" and while my stash may not equal the stashes of many other knitters, the start of a new year is a great time to make a point to use up some of the yarn that I have. Currently my yarn stash fills a cedar chest we use as a coffee table in the family room. Truth is that I couldn't fit anymore yarn in this chest no matter how hard I try!




So here are the rules according to Wendy.

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.

2. We will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:

2.a. Sock yarn does not count. What? You think we are made of stone?

2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that we really and truly do not have the yarn for, we may buy yarn to knit that gift.

2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, we may purchase enough to complete the project.

2.d. We each get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- we are each allowed to fall off the wagon one time.

3. We are allowed to receive gifts of yarn.

4. Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt.

So I am now wondering if I should run FAST to my LYS and BUY, BUY, BUY before Monday! (I guess that would defeat the purpose...)

Christmas Countdown

The kids love counting down to Christmas so this year we found a cute idea for an advent calender at Whip Up and decided to make one. Now the kids have enjoyed keeping track of the days until Christmas.

The only problem is now that I look at this countdown calendar I realize how far behind I am. Today is my last day of crafting and shopping. I have no idea if I am going to get it all done! Top that off with the fact that I am hosting Christmas for my family! Yikes.

I have managed to get some gifts finished...

I made Fetching for my mom who is always complaining of cold hands. Funny thing is last Christmas I was making her a pair of wristwarmers. Well she saw a pattern in one of my books for these and declared how rediculous they were and how she would never wear a pair! Obviously I didn't give her the warmers. Some how she found out I was planning them for her and we kind of had a laugh over it. This year she was diagnosed with scleroderma and her doctor told her she need to buy some fingerless gloves to wear in the house to keep her hands warm! She came back to me laughing and apologizing for being wrong. So it was easy to figure out what to make her this year. And it was a fun, easy, quick knit make with some Cascade 220 from my stash.

Some of my gifts haven't turned out quite as well.

A co-worker and I always meet at Starbucks. She once said that if she had to stop working for the Church or in her field (Social work) she would work at Starbucks. So I picked her up a Starbucks gift card and made her the Coffee Cuff from Knitpicks. It looked pretty good. A little wonky but not too bad. I figured the wonkiness would come out in the felting. It actually got MORE wonky. The top and bottom were very loose and the middle too tight to fit on the cup. Now without time to fix the problem, I gave it too her anyways, making a joke that it was the work and love that went into the gift rather than the gift itself. We then wet the wool and are trying to block it and stretch it back into a decent shape. If we can't make it work I promised her a new one. As wonky as it turned out she is loving the idea of it. And of course the gift card always works.

And then there are the gifts yet to be completed. The ones that mean I shouldn't really be blogging but rather sewing!

This is another Amy Butler pattern from her Institches book. It is a bedside caddy. My brother and sister in law have a small bedroom that they share with their new baby. There isn't enough room for nightstands so I was hoping this might be a solution. So far it looks pretty good. Now if I can only finish it on time!

Hope you are all finished with all your holiday crafting, shopping and other preparations. Have a wonderful Christmas!