Uhb-sessed

After having this little bundle of joy I've developed an obsession with all knitting for babies. The main obsession I've developed is for baby footwear. No surprise since I'm a shoe lover myself.


We all know and love the Saartje's Bootees pattern. They're easy, quick, and so darn cute! I've made a couple of pairs myself and think they're great to start with. After having a baby I know how hard it is to keep shoes on but you still want to keep their little toes warm.


I recently came across Baby Cowgirl Booties on Pinterest. After checking out these booties I read further down the page that there's a pattern. What?! I can knit these! I'm not necessarily a country fan but I can certainly see the need for Miss Avery to have a pair of these. Although the sizing is for newborns I can easily adapt it to make them bigger. Everyone needs a pair of cowboy boots- even a baby!

Thanks to Etsy I found a couple more patterns for baby booties. The Apple Baby Booties which have a sweet design on the tops of them and the Stylish Baby Boots which I can see good for staying on those tricky little baby feet since they have the high cuff.

I know Avery is too young to appreciate this or care but I'm going to start her early on appreciating good footwear. 

Pine Forest Progress

I never realized how difficult it would be to knit with a baby. Oh sure. Just put the baby down for a nap and knit away. Let's assume for a moment that she will actually sleep. In that short amount of time I have to decide 1) Will I nap? 2) Will I work on the crazy amount of laundry that is now piling up in my laundry room? 3) How about reading a book? I mean I am a Language Arts teacher for goodness sakes! 4) Maybe a little knitting? 5) Shower? 6) Workout to get rid of the remaining baby fat- yeah right! Good luck with that one.

Well needless to say I've done a little bit more knitting on the Pine Forest Baby Blanket. I just want to get done with it so that I can work on something for Avery. I really don't think I'm going to keep the blanket for her. I think I'll give it away to someone with a new baby.

I've been looking at patterns on Ravelry and Pinterest to get an idea for the next project. I love the Bow Scarf for when Avery gets a little bit bigger and for when it's colder here. What little girl doesn't need a chunky scarf with a big bow on it? I know my girl needs one! I'm sure a matching headband will be in order too.

Hurry up and finish the blanket already!

Back For A New Year

It's pretty unbelievable that I haven't blogged in over a year. Life got away from me and I haven't taken the time to write it down. One of the biggest life changes that happened this past year is the birth of my daughter, Avery. I never thought I would have kids and here she is! Surprise!

My entire pregnancy I wasn't able to knit. My fingers were swollen and I had horrible pains in my hands when I would try to knit. Now that it's been six weeks since Avery's birth I've finally settled back into knitting again for the same reason I taught myself to knit all those years ago- relaxation. Right now I'm working on the Pine Forest Baby Blanket. It's a pretty easy pattern that has an easy to remember gull lace pattern. I'm not sure if this will end up being for Avery or for someone else who is having a baby. We have so many baby blankets this one might just end up as a gift!

I don't normally make New Year's resolutions but I definitely think that this year I will be documenting this baby adventure and the knitting I do to go along with it. I have this weird desire to knit sweaters, hats, booties, socks, mittens (even though we live in Texas and the likelihood of needing them is minimal!), and anything and everything I can possibly knit for this little girl. With that being said, my goal is to blog weekly and actually finish knitting projects every month. There! I've put it out into the Universe.

Malabrigo Stashing

Since I'm back to my knitting after a short break for embroidery I went to look for a new project to work on. I have 4 hanks of Malabrigo worsted weight yarn in Cabernet. I browsed Ravelry for well over an hour and I can't decide what to make. A couple years ago, I made a slouchy beret out of one of the Malabrigo hanks. Yes, I've been holding on to these hanks for that long. I can't seem to find anything that is worthy of using the yarn on. I want to knit something up. I really want to knit it into a sweater or cardigan but I don't think I'm going to have enough. Plus, all the patterns I saw didn't move me. I desperately need some suggestions!!

I got back to work last night on the Grapevine Lace Scarf. Here's what I learned:

1. Don't wait until 8:00 to start knitting when you are exhausted.
2. Always keep track of the row you're on. Otherwise, as what happened to me, you'll end up with a crazy amount of stitches or too few!
3. Don't leave your knitting for months at a time and forget where you are (this should go with number 2).
4. As your eyes are closing because you're tired, at least finish the pattern repeats so that when you start on it again the following morning you know where you are.

That all being said, I started on the scarf again this morning and discovered that I had made some mistakes on the repeats and had no clue where I was. Oh joy! I don't know why I don't learn from this because I make this same mistake pretty much every time I'm doing a project. I'm pushing on though. I'm going to finish this scarf. It needs some major blocking and will probably end up being 12 feet long and 3 feet wide!

Here's where I am so far in the scarf:

Can you spot the mistakes???

Grrr!! (That's supposed to reference this is about the dogs)

So I've been noticing that Mr. Collin (the pug) has had a red back end and has been scratching as of late. Yesterday, I noticed a cut on his forehead. Now Collin already has it a little rough since he has some major dry eye issues. He takes two different medications twice a day for them. He's also 6 years old and the poor  thing used to be a stray. But  to add to all this the itchy skin is just sad.

Next week I leave for Paris and since the hubs is out of town I have to board Roxy and Collin for two days. The place I wanted to board them called today to tell me that the vet has no record of Roxy's vaccinations. What?!?! So since Collin has itchy skin, needs new meds, and Roxy apparently needs vaccinations we all packed up into the car and spent a wonderful hour at the vet.

During that hour Roxy was vaccinated (no problem there) and Collin was examined to confirm my suspicions of itchy allergy skin and have his anal glands expressed. Oh. My. Goodness! The poor baby cried and Roxy whined in sympathy. He got his shot of cortisone and I walked out with a bill of over $300! But with that money Collin got shampoo, spray (for his itchy spots), antibiotics (because the dear boy also has a gum infection), and new meds for his dry eyes. Yes people it's been a good day. I'm $300 short, my husband is down $500 in Las Vegas (boys trip) and all this equates to less money to spend in Paris. *sigh* I love my pups and wouldn't trade them for the world!

Presto! Chango! And I'm Finally Finished With This Baby Sweater

I started the Presto Chango baby sweater back in November for my friend Mindy's daughter, Gabbi. It didn't take very long at all to finish the sweater or the sweet removable front panel. What took me forever was finding buttons to use. It's been so long I can't even remember where I got the buttons now. I love this sweater though. It's made from Dream in Color Classy. I purchased it from one of my favorite online knitting stores, Eat.Sleep.Knit (LOVE!). I want to make one for myself. The coolest thing about this sweater is the front panel is removable. There isn't a need to worry about washing the whole sweater. Just unbutton the front panel and clean it up. You still have a super cute cardigan!

This has been a major block for me in my knitting. I've been feeling like I can't start anything new until I finish this. I leave for Paris in two weeks and I'm trying to figure out what I can knit (and finish) in that time. I love doing embroidery but I still feel drawn to doing my knitting. Oh how my heart is tearing!

Embroidery Too?!?!

I just couldn't stand it anymore! I had to try something new. A very long time ago my aunt taught me to cross stitch. I loved doing cross stitch. I loved the floss and (at the time) it was only $.25 made me very happy! I loved being able to create something. I've always had that need to be creative and do something. As I got older the thing I didn't like about cross stitch were the designs and the feeling of being restricted to just what I could find. I hated that the designs seemed so old fashioned. There didn't seem to be anything out there for younger people. I quit cross stitching some time in my late teens.

I started researching embroidery. Okay it's kind of (not really) like cross stitch. I get to use the floss which I like. The designs and patterns can be anything I want them to be. Freedom! What I can embroider on can be anything. Freedom! Basically, only my imagination is the limit here. Hello embroidery my new craft for the summer when my knitting is on hiatus due to the extreme temps.

This morning I could hardly contain myself as I got dressed and decided to go to Joann Fabrics. I kind of had an idea of what I was looking for after researching and stumbling upon Sublime Stitching. Oh my goodness! I ordered but I couldn't wait until it came in.

My stash of goodies from Joann Fabrics

I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Camelot and Game of Thrones and embroidering a placemat. I did it all in backstitch and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I only have 5 more to do!

 

 

Socks helping out

Crafting--Ideas Beyond Knitting!

I know it's absolutely crazy that I would even try to do anything crafty beyond knitting (please note the sarcasm here), but I think this summer I'm going to try and do some other things. With knitting I sometimes feel I have to be so invested in it since it does take quite a bit of time to do. I have many projects that are "hibernating" and may never see the light of day. I just know I have Adult ADD (undiagnosed of course) and that doesn't help the lack of interest in finishing projects.

I was looking on Etsy's Facebook page and saw the link on there for a Craft Party. Yes!!! Maybe this is what I need this summer to entertain me, my friends, and keep me busy. I can imagine it now- girls, crafts, food, and wine. That sounds pretty good to me! Since my dear husband is going out of town this week, next week, and up until I leave for Paris I need something to keep me busy. So the Craft Party might just be what it is. May the planning begin!

Summer's Here! Now What?

Summer's finally here! I haven't blogged since...?? I've been able to get some knitting done but not much which is probably mostly why I haven't blogged. I've been so busy this school year that I haven't really even thought about the blog-sadly. 

One of my friends from work is having a baby very soon. I knitted her up this Super Easy Baby Blanket . It took me approximately a month but I could have finished it within a week if I had actually sat down and worked on it. I honestly wanted to keep it and wrap myself up in it. I've had requests for more so we'll see how that goes!

Baby Blanket- and yes those are desks in my classroom

It seems as though I'm going to Paris, France in July! I've never been to Paris let alone out of the country and I'm really excited about this opportunity. Although, I will say I know absolutely no French. I want to knit something to wear but at the same time it's going to be July and I'm not really sure I want to wear something knitted in July. Maybe it's different than here in Texas. I've heard so many different things about the weather that I'm not sure about anything at all right now. Every time I go in my closet and I just sigh and think how awful the clothes look. Ugh. I think my husband is tired of the phrase, "I have nothing to wear." Anyone out there have any suggestions, advice, help?? I'm a little desperate right now. C'est la vie!

Thansgiving Break Hooray!

Today is the first day of my week long break from teaching. Of course, this means I have a week to do nothing but knit. My Grapevine Lace Scarf is coming along but as with many of my projects I have put it on hold to work on other stuff. I finished a scarf called Openwork Scarf. The pattern is from Knitting to Go.

The biggest thing I'm working on right now is the Presto Chango Sweater. I'm already half done with it and started it yesterday. It's so easy and I think I could spend the rest of the time knitting these over and over again. I'm using Dream in Color Classy for it. This yarn is so soft and smooshy.  Love it!

So, since the rest of the week is mine with a short break for a feast at my mom's house I hope I can get finished with this sweater and maybe even add a hat. I have a ton of people left on my list to knit for and one project done. Oh my!

Christmas Knitting Begins

It's the end of October and it's time to start thinking about knitting for Christmas gifts.  It seems like every year someone wants something knitted- a scarf, a hat, fingerless gloves, etc. I end up just knitting these items and figure out who gets what later on.

Right now I'm knitting a scarf. It's the Grapevine Lace Scarf pattern. I started it yesterday and knitted off and on. Super easy pattern to memorize and not boring due to the increases and decreases along the way. I have an idea who this will be for. Here is an in progress pic.

I wish I could remember what yarn I'm using. Since we moved into our house my yarn became a jumbled mess and I lost tags and labels and it got all mixed up.

I should be getting some more yarn this week for more projects. I just spent some money (I know my husband will be thrilled) for some new yarn from Eat.Sleep.Knit so I can get some more projects done. If I didn't have to work I would be able to get these things done so much quicker. Stupid bills!

Yeah...Moving On

Well that "scarf" I'm working on is officially on hold. I'm probably going to rip it out and do something else with the yarn. Every time I look at it I think "Yeah it's definitely too wide for a scarf. Rose was right." It doesn't help when I showed my husband my progress he says, "Isn't that kind of wide for a scarf??"

Yesterday I was reading the Mason-Dixon Knitting blog and came across the Buncha Squares blanket from 2007. I LOVED the way it looked and garter ridges are so easy to do while watching TV. While waiting to watch the beat down of Penn State by Alabama (Folks, I'm a Penn State fan) and in honor of Penn State I decided to use some leftover blue cotton yarns and start. Here's what I have so far.

The whole block isn't done but that's due to a certain naughty puppy as well.

I guess we'll see how this goes. Maybe I'll be able to work on this some after work this week- just a few minutes here and there. Back to the naughty puppy AKA Roxy.

Back to School Exhaustion

Week 1 and Day 2 of Back to School Staff Development.  I had no idea just how early 5:30 comes.  It's not like I went to sleep at midnight.  I fell asleep probably around 10.  That should be plenty of sleep.  However, my body apparently doesn't agree.  I've been so worked up lately with starting this new job that I haven't even been able to focus on the scarf that I'm knitting.  A part of me wants to take it with me to Staff Development and sit there and knit.  If I do then I know that I'll miss out on things I actually need to be learning about this school district.  Yesterday I almost had a panic attack when I went home thinking about everything that I need to do.  If I make it to August 24 without anything mental happening then I'm going to be one happy camper.  I do see wine in my future and it's a good thing that the neighborhood we moved into has a wine store on the corner next to the gas station.  Maybe tonight I'll stop, get a bottle, get out the scarf and do some work to chill out.

Oh What to Do

Since I'm a teacher I start back to work on Monday.  My two months off have been nice.  I've been able to relax, work on stuff around the house, shop, etc.  Today is Friday and in just two days my vacation will be over.  I can't decide what I want to do today.  I have things to do in my classroom at school, my house needs to be cleaned, laundry, knitting, or many other activities I can think of.  My mind is spinning and if I keep going like this I won't get anything done today except maybe get caught up on my television recordings from this week.

Latest and Greatest

Well now that I'm back to blogging I also started knitting again. I took a little break from knitting since in summer in Texas the temperature ranges from 100-105 every day.

My friend Mindy requested a hat she saw when she was visiting Alaska. In order to get ready for the project it was time to bring out the needles and yarn. I found a nice hank of 100% Baby Alpaca yarn (nice and squishy soft) in my stash and balled it up and now I'm knitting up a simple fan and feather pattern scarf.

My friend Rose thinks it's more the width for a shawl but I kind of like it the way it is.

I'm Back!

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted anything (2 years for those of you who don't know). There's no way to review 2 years in one blog post so I'm not going to. I'm just going to start from here :)

See you soon!

Sweater update

Today I spent about 3-4 hours of time working on knitting projects. Well, really only 1 project. I started on the Easy Raglan V-neck by Stefanie Japel back in October of last year. I haven't touched it since January (?). I was tired of working on the Double Moss Stitch socks so I switched over to the sweater. So here is an updated pic of the sweater. I'm still trying to decide if I want to add long sleeves or not. I actually kind of like the short sleeves.

Dying to Dye

As it is summer and I have free time that I haven't had in awhile I've decided to start dyeing yarn. I've never really been interested in it before but it does feed my creativity. I researched dyeing a little bit and decided to start as most have started which would be Kool-Aid.

I headed to Wal-Mart and picked all the colors that they had on hand. I came home and found in my stash (my husband would be so proud!) a yarn that is 50% wool 50% alpaca. Perfect! It's a cream color and I doubt I would ever use it that way. I reskeined it (I had previously wound it when I went on my swift and ball winder spree) and got to work. What color would I use? I looked through my Kool-Aid packets and saw the perfect one: Lemon-Lime.

So right now my yarn is sitting on my stove turning a lovely shade of green. Or so I hope. We'll see what happens when I'm done! But meanwhile here are some process pics.

It's Summer and I Can Live Again!

I haven't posted since January. Unbelievable! This school year has been so busy. I'm relieved that it's over. I haven't done much knitting in the past few months due to the hustle and bustle of school. It seems like this happens every year. Every year I tell myself that I'm going to continue to knit because that does relieve my stress but for one reason or another I let that thought fade out of my mind.

I started a new pair of socks on Thursday. The only reason I started them was because I was so frustrated with the original pair I was working on. It's really hard to pick up the one remaining sock when you haven't looked at it in about 6-7 months and just know what repeat you're working on. I was working on it after school when I realized that I had done the wrong repeat. Well, being frustrated with school and this stupid sock I ripped the whole thing. My friend Kristi sat there in horror as I ripped the sock apart. She told me not to take it all out. I'm not the type of knitter who can just rip out part. If I start ripping I usually rip all of it. It's a little extreme I know but that's my mentality.



I also just got a new laptop (yesterday) and I'm pretty excited about that. I'm using it right now. It's nothing too fancy but it is NEW! I think I'll be in bed for the next three or four days hanging out with my knitting, laptop, and iPod. I just need some time to chill from the school year.