Black Friday

Well, like many others I went holiday shopping today. I got up at an ungodly hour in the hopes of saving some money on christmas gifts. Tsk tsk... I spent my entire present budget in one fell swoop solely on my two children. Enough said about that.
Meanwhile, I got to go to the lys and purchased some Baby Ull. How lovely! It is soooo soft and I think I am going to wait to find just the right baby hat to make with it (that was its original intended purpose).


Dale of Norway: Baby Ull 

Okay, I swear, I don't really like to leave my needles lying around like this. I only did this for the photo.

Size 0 dpns 

Size 0 dpn's!! What was I thinking?! I'm flattered that I thought I could actually use these things when I bought them. I tried to use them to knit a swatch and gave myself a headache! Many times I was sure I was going to snap them in half trying to purl. So I had to put them down for another day. The sock pattern is so lovely though, it is keeping me motivated. I am not afraid!

Last but certainly NOT least.........

the loot 

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE kung fu? That I ADORE Jackie Chan? That Bruce Lee changed my life? Well here are some new additions to my growing Kung Fu movie library. We got these for $1 each at a pawn shop (don't ask) today and I was so excited to find them. My idea of heaven is a kung fu dojo with a knitting room/store nearby. What more could a girl ask for?

You are "turbo" charged.
Fast moving and classy, you get things done with
power and grace. Your expensive tastes can be
deceiving, since what you really value is
quality and efficiency. As you're careening
around those corners in life, finishing a dozen
knitted objects each month, stop and smell the
roses. Don't miss the beauty of process!


What kind of knitting needles are you?
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Well, after a lot of knitting and not much to show for it.....

Alright! I'm just complaining because I had to start all over on my mom's cardigan. I didn't think it would be that big a deal because it didn't take me long the first time to get to the armholes. It's been like six days now and I think I've knit only twenty rows. But in that time I have started two other projects and finished one of them. I would have had pictures for the blog, but something has gone buggy with the hello program.
When she bought me the yarn, I was excited to knit her something, now I feel like it is becoming a large obstacle standing in the way of my other projects (lacy v-neck?!). I tell myself that I won't start anything else until her sweater is done so my Kyoto sweater and lacy v-neck have been put on hold. So on my Friday nite when I could be knitting away, what am I doing? Surfing, blogging and watching the boob tube. In a desperate attempt to speed things up, I've been trying to teach myself the continental method. Thats been going okay, but I realized that I may knit "looser" this way and have already done some of the sweater and don't want the gauge to vary. Sigh. I guess I could knit a swatch.....
Oh bugger! I'll just go and knit some more on the damn thing! Anyway, I guess it could be worse. The wool is beautiful and its for my lovely mother. If this is my worst problem right now, I'm doing pretty good!

More finished stuff!

my new poncho 


Sorry for the crappy picture, I'll put a better one up later. I saw this great pattern on the midnightknitter blog. The pattern's site is www.stitchdiva.com and they've got some cool patterns. Originally, I was going to give it to my friend for her birthday but I changed my mind. I used LionBrand Microspun. I know I know, its acrylic, but I wanted something cheap and fast. The yarn wasn't a bad choice but between its slickness and my rusty crocheting skills it took me awhile to get the stitches going right. So I am excited to wear it somewhere which will most likely be christmas shopping this weekend. How exciting huh? Well it is for me who's world revolves around two busy toddlers and her knitting projects.
In other finished project news, I made a weenie warmer from the link on the knittersreview forums. I finished it in two hours (we were watching Hell-Boy) and I didn't even tell my husband I was going to make it for him. When I was seaming it up (he knows enough to know the finishing steps) he came over and asked what I was making. When I held it up to him (minus the drawstring) there was a heartbeat before he burst out laughing! He loved it and even tried it on. When I finished the drawstring he lovingly put it away in his undie drawer. Awwww.

close up 

I fight back tears of joy as I write this...
I finished the ribbed guersney sweater for my little boy tonite! Not only did I make it through adjusting a new gauge/yarn and ripping my seams out multiple times but DS likes it!!!! All it needs now are three small buttons. Oh happy day! I actually finished something that someone is wearing!! I feel validated as a knitter. In my excitement to get and post this picture, I almost destroyed the memory card in the camera by ripping it out before the power was off!
Oh my little guy is so sweet! I got this pattern out of the Debbie Bliss Great Knits for Kids Book. It's lovely isn't it? I think there would have been better stitch definition if I hadn't used the oatmeal/wheat color of lion brand wool ease, but this project was knit from the stash (I wasn't sure my math would be right and didn't want to screw up on expensive yarn).

Now for the bad news: I am going to frog moms sweater. Actually, I'm not too down about that, the only thing that is worrying me is after I frog it the yarn will be all wavy and bent out of shape. I frogged my cape mod once and the yarn didn't look so neat and tidy when I stitched it up again. Is this common? Normal? How do I avoid this?
Although I've been knitting for a couple of years now, I still feel like a newbie most of the time. Sigh. Well chalk another finished project up to my experience!