Have a Merry!

From Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman



Wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

Ella getting ready for her walk one morning.

...well, Christmas.





Been a busy, busy week(s)here trying to get all the Christmas stuff done as well as some knitting.





I made an ear flap hat for my Hubby, and then of course, the Munchkin wanted one and then I got caught up in some mittens, which I've cast on 3 times for (once because I used the wrong color, second time too small and not anywhere close to gauge, and third, and hopefully all will go according to plan). {all pictures subject to when I actually get to take them}

And then...the kids are out for the break tomorrow so I'm running all my errands that I need to finish up before they're home for two weeks!

So...I hope all have a happy and productive weekend!

A Christmas Meme

I saw this on a couple of the blogs I was reading today and got the questions from baa baa blacksheep. Thought I'd do it too, and I added a question at the bottom. Makes you reflect a little bit about the whole Christmas Season.

My Christmas Meme
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping Paper, but occasionally I will recycle my gift bags.
2. Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial. But it’s really cool! It has these gold-tipped branches that eliminate the need to garland or tinsel it up.
3. When do you put up the tree?
First weekend of December.
4. When do you take the tree down?
Around Epiphany (January).
5. Do you like eggnog?
Yes. But it has to be in a glass glass and have a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg on top.
6. Favorite gift received as a child.
Probably my bike.
7. Hardest people to buy for?
My in-laws.
8. Easiest person to buy for?
Myself. I always get myself something to me from me (and not always yarn).
9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes. The complete version. And the kids have a one that they’ve had for a few years that they can’t break.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I don’t know.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
I have several: White Christmas; The Bishop’s Wife (the original version); Christmas in Connecticut.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I try to start before Thanksgiving, but it never happens.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No. But my hubby has taken one back from his brother.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
The cookies we make.
16. Lights on the tree?
Yes. This year they’re all white with one lone strand of flicker bulbs.
17. Favorite Christmas song?
There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays by Perry Como is probably my all time favorite. But I like all the traditional hymns, too.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
We stay at home. My parents and my in-laws come here for presents on Christmas Day and for dinner.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Yes. If I sing the song in my head while naming them!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
We have a star.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
When I was a kid we were allowed one present on Christmas Eve, but the rest on Christmas Day.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
How people try to ignore why we celebrate Christmas.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
We usually just put up the classics – the reflective balls in varying colors, and then the ornament that myself and my hubby had as kids and the ones our kids have made over the years.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
We do the traditional Italian dinner. Antipasto and then lasagna.
25. Favorite TV Christmas special?
A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Yet Another Hat

Pattern: Norwegian Star Earflap Hat by Tiennie
(thanks Tiennie! It's a great pattern!)
Yarn: Cascade 220, olive/sage green and winter white/cream.
Modifications: I knitted extra rows above the snowflake section to fit my Hubby's head and make sure it came down over his head. I also added a red fleck in the middle of each snowflake (not pictured) and I think it makes the snowflakes pop!

This was a great and easy hat to knit! My Munchkin wants one too! (he's modeling it and has been wearing it around the house even though it's too big for him)
I think I'm on a hat kick because I already started another one! This one's a father/daughter in a yellow tweedy wool/silk/cashmere blend!

...When the Dog Bites...

What do you think?



I don't think she's biting.

{Have to stick to my theme from yesterday. And, I couldn't wait until DOT!}

A Few of My Favorite Things...

I love hats. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll probably already know that fact. So, when my LittleOne (whose birthday was actually on Thanksgiving this year) wanted fingerless mitts, well...I had to make a hat to go with them! She's very particular about the knitted things she wears (as most 1st graders are), and will not wear anything remotely scratchy. So...what's a knitting mom supposed to do? Whip out all that acrylic she's got hiding in the stash, that's what!




A purple floppy hat.

Pattern: My own (if anyone wants it let me know).

Yarn: Caron Wintuk in violet.

And the mitts that started this whole adventure. (I love the fingerless mitts, too. They're such a useful knit for those early morning walks to school when it's chilly, but I can still hold Ella's leash and do the dog owner thing {ie: pick up after dog}.)

Pattern: Evangeline.

Yarn: same as above.

Modifications: went down a couple of needle sizes to fit her small hand. Otherwise worked the pattern as stated.

Now....this next item is probably my most favorite, favorite, favorite (can I say any more?) hat I've ever knit and worn.

Isn't it great?



Pattern: Selbu Modern.
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in navy and winter white.
Modifications: went up to a size 3 for the body of the hat (and the ribbing was done on #2's) to accommodate for the bulkier yarn.
Note: I did knit the color work inside out on the circular -- keeps the floats from pulling too tight! Try it! It works.

Love, love, love this hat! It's warm, but not overly so. The alpaca/wool yarn is lofty and has just enough fuzziness to it to hide any imperfections of the color work. I did wear it here on Friday morning when Hubby and I hit the stores at 5 am! It was drizzling (yes, it does rain here in the desert) and damp for the weekend. Now we're back to the coolish mornings and warmer afternoons. Once that sun goes down though, the desert gets cold!


(And, yes, this was the hat that inspired the LYS owner! She wrote down the pattern name and was going to look it up on ravelry!)

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

When the regular knitting time comes back around, I'll have a couple of finished projects for you guys! (I even inspired the lady at my LYS!)

Happy Thanksgiving

Yarn, Socks in Progress and Dogs on Thursday

A work in progress! Love, love this sock and this pattern! Very easy to knit and keeps your interest!

Pattern: Spring Pools

Yarn: Brown Sheep Wildfoote Luxury Sock yarn in neon green

And, remember about a week or so ago, I mentioned that my mom and aunt (the one who knits) were in a LYS in Phoenix, and my mom called me to ask me if I wanted anything. This is what they came up with! It's such a great color! Berroco Sox in color 1432/grannoch.

And, last but not least, a new picture of Ella! She's been loving these cooler mornings we're all of a sudden having! She runs and runs for a good half an hour every morning and then spends the rest of the day the way a dog should--napping! (when I took this picture, she was sleeping and her tail was wagging the whole time, so I think she was just 'cat' napping!)

Finally...Some Pictures...

Pattern: Ski Lodge Scoop from Twelve Months of Knitting

Yarn: Cascade Jewel, 3 skeins, shades of dark pink, maroon, and light pink

Modifications: Only made the ribbing 9" (as opposed to 10"), used #8 needles, and did the ribbing in the round and then separated at that part and worked back and forth. Also, did not make the back as long, only about 20". So, I guess I just made this a little shorter than the pattern. But it came out fine. It looks much better on me than on this hanger attached to the bush! (No one was home to take the picture and I really wanted to show you all!)

Pattern: Canopy Cardigan, from Knitscene, Fall '08

Yarn: Cascade 220 in like an orange/rusty heather.
Modifications: I made the sleeves longer. I don't care for the 3/4 sleeves (my wrists get cold). This fits me a little tight across the back, next time I'd probably add just a tiny bit of give there for me! I did get to wear this yesterday! It was cool enough here for a sweater over a tank! Yeah!! Got to wear a hat this morning walking the munchkins to school, too!

Now I'm finishing a shalom cardigan and have to make another amanda hat for my friend. Why? You ask? Well, she shrunk the first one! And I do mean shrunk!!! It may fit a baby now! Thank goodness it doesn't take too long to whip one up!! (the above link shows the original hat and what yarn was used! so beware it shrinks!!!) She wants the same color, thank goodness I bought two balls of it!!

1st Day of November Ramblings...

I can't believe it's November already! What happened to October? It sure doesn't feel like fall here. Still feels like summer! Everyone is getting punchy with the heat!
And I can't wear any of my hats, gloves, sweaters...etc. But enough of the pity party.
Been a busy week here with the Halloween preparations and the harvest parties at school. The littleone has a soccer game this morning, but they're both busy counting up their candy haul right now and wanting to eat everything! (not at 8:00 in the morning!)
My mom and aunt called me yesterday from a yarn store in Phoenix and I did some over the phone retail therapy! My mom doesn't knit, but my aunt does and so I had her get me some sock yarn in a pretty color...we'll see what it looks like next week when they come down for the weekend! (I will take a pict to show you all! I promise!) I love when my aunt visits because she and I can talk yarn, patterns and everything knitting related for hours!
My WIP's are in the 3's right now. That is: I've got three things on the needles that I want to finish because I know (one day) it will be cool enough to wear the socks and the two sweaters I've got going. (I still have a couple others languishing on the needles, but in no real hurry to finish those.)
That's your catch-up with the cactus household for the week!
Hope all have a great day!

Green Bobbled Tam

Finished this over a week ago and finally uploaded the picture! This is the bottom.


And the top.

Pattern: Bobbled Tam, Vogue Knitting, Holiday 2008
Yarn: Cascade 220, light green mix.
Modifications: went up a few needle sizes (8) and was running out of yarn, so did not do as many repeats of the pattern at the top (not that you'd ever know). This was also the larger size from the pattern, so it's more floppy/slouchy than the picture in the magazine.
When I blocked this, the yarn bloomed a lot! I used a plastic plate to help it keep it's shape as it dried.
Haven't had a chance to wear it yet, as it's still way too warm here for hats. Not to mention socks...gloves...sweaters...well, you get the picture.
Hopefully I'll get off my butt and take a picture of the canopy cardigan one of these days!

Pumpkins in the Desert

We went on a field trip with the kids yesterday to a farm in another town that lets you pick your own pumpkins! (The kids were on their fall break this week.) For my desert dwelling children, this was an experience! To see all these pumpkins (and there are more fields than just this) growing in the desert is a sight! And I did do a little knitting in the car -- finished the headband (whew! finally) and worked on my Ski Lodge Scoop!

I did finish...

...the Garter Edge Fingerless Gloves.

Pattern: Garter Cuff Fingerless Mittens from the book Weekend Knitting (ravelry link).

Yarn: I think it's a Cascade 220 superwash in a deep purple (the ball band was not attached to the yarn).

Modifications: None to the specific pattern, but I custom fit the fingers for my hand.

And...my Canopy Cardigan:

The front edge detail.

This is the fronts and back seamed together and pre-blocked. (I seamed it, blocked it, added the sleeves and then re-blocked [these picts to follow once I take them!]). This was an easy sweater to knit, I did have a little bit of trouble setting in the sleeves, but after I re-blocked, it was fine.

From the previous posting, I've completed two out of the five. The gray hat was frogged, the headband is in my bag going everywhere with me and waiting for the i-cord finishing tie. The skater top...haven't picked it up in a while. That yarn is...well...sort of sticky and the lace takes more concentration than I have right now!

I've also finished a hat for my hubby (again, pictures to come). He liked this version of the Irish Hiking hat (ravelry link).

There might be some other things once I get around to taking some pictures.

Happy October!

On the Needles

From left to right [all links are Ravelry links]: grey yarn (yes, it's recovered from it's rude treatment) to be this hat: here; purple yarn (top left corner) fingerless garter gloves (picture here), have two fingers and a thumb left, then weaving in ends; green yarn in middle a headband that was originally for me, but now will be for the LittleOne; orange/rust (looks red) yarn is the Canopy Cardigan, have just the sleeves left, the other bit is the fronts and back; and the bottom purple is the skater's overtop.

Goal: Now is just to finish something! (Then I'll probably immediately cast on for something else!)
Hope all have had a great weekend and great week last week! (I was out of touch there for a while, don't know why, I just was. It happens sometimes!)

Zip Code? What's a zip code?

I’m always perplexed as to why I have to give out my zip code to buy things…like…say YARN!
This started when I got one of those 50% off coupons in the paper last Sunday. You know the ones. They come in the flyer for the craft stores out there in the retail world. And since it’s 50% off, you can’t resist! Hmm…new needles (limited sizes and styles of course). Hmm…new yarn. But only one would be half off. So, off I go yesterday to said (well unsaid, but you can guess) craft store, hubby along for the ride, and make a beeline straight for the yarn aisle.
Of course I ponder…yarn or needles? And had the size 10 ½, 29-inch circulars in my hand for my next project (ravelry link: here)(but don’t have the yarn yet), but again wander down the yarn aisle and get seduced by a nice grey Paton’s Wool (dark grey mix to be exact). Hmm…that would make a great hat (this one ravelry link) and with the coupon, well, that’s just too good to resist! Frugal knitting at it’s best!
So, I stand in line, hubby comes in (he went to his bookstore in the same strip mall) right when I get to the cashier. Proudly I hand over that great yarn that’s going to be created into a lovely cabled hat, along with the coupon. And what does the "nice" lady cashier do? She rings up the yarn, the coupon and then flings the yarn into the bag. And I do mean fling. You could hear those sheep cry out in pain as that skein hit the crunchy plastic! Oh, the audacity!
Then she asks, ever so sweetly, "And your zip code?"
"I don’t have one," I say to her as my hubby snickers, knowing that I am peeved at her treatment of my hat, uhm, yarn.

More Yarn for the Never-Ending Project List

I went to a new LYS (well new to me) over the weekend in Phoenix. It was very nice, and they had a great selection of yarns and I'll definitely go back. But this time I picked up this:
Five skeins of Cascade 220 wool in color no. 2425. It's one of their heathers that is sort of an orangy/rust color. This picture doesn't do the color justice, but the flash washed it out too much. This is going to go towards a Canopy Cardigan (ravelry link) from the fall issue of Knitscene.
And then my Hubby picked this up for a hat (pattern to be determined). Galway Paint, the color no. is 805, it's olive/tan/orange variegated.
And then, of course, it's back to school days, so my local T****t had all the college organizational bins and things on clearance. This one is holding my garter fingerless gloves.
Don't know what these are going to be for yet. Probably some of the miscellaneous sewing stuff I have scattered about the house! I also picked up a great zippered pencil bag that I'm using for knitting things (of course) and some great scissors that will work great in the various project bags/bins/baskets I have (also lying about the house)!

(Cactus Edit: I added some new blogs I read on the side, check some of them out -- if you haven't already!)

Dogs on Thursday...

I'm letting the pictures speak for themselves.
(But Ella does say a Happy DoT for all her doggie friends out in blog land. She's ready for cool weather!)
And behind the first picture, you can see my new paint!

What to do with this yarn Wednesday

Near the cactus house, one town over, there's a thrift store that every once in a while I can find something interesting. So...this past Saturday, I found these:

...for $5.00 each.

Now that I've got them, I have no idea what to do with them. Any suggestions?

The Red One: has no label on the inside of the cone; feels like fingering/lace weight; possibly wool with mohair (it's sort of fuzzy, but not overly so).

The Green One: has this label: Yarn Country Yarns, cashmere/wool, 50/50; the original price tag of 1.44 pounds, unit price of $38.50, total price $55.40; feels like fingering/lace weight, too.

Purple, Purple, and More Purple

It seems like everything I'm knitting these days is purple. And the yarn I'm using is all from my stash, so I guess I went through a purple phase a while back! Now I can't get enough of orange and red! But I really, really need to use up some of my stash before I go buy more. I've had a trip to the LYS planned for a couple of weeks, but every time I plan to go, something else comes up!
Right now I'm still working on the skater's over top (ravelry link) and then on Friday (last week...I had to stop and think for a minute) I checked out from the library Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick and just had to start the garter-cuff gloves and mittens (ravelry link). I'm doing the mittens (fingerless) and in some mystery purple yarn that I think is Cascade 220 super wash because deep down I know, especially now that September is here, that I'm going to need them soon!
Sorry I don't have any in-progress pictures, maybe I'll be enthused to get the camera out and show you later on!
Hope everyone had a great weekend and welcome September!

Hats on a Hot Day

For some reason, whenever it's the hottest around here I knit hats. I think I just know that it's going to get cold soon! Or rather, I try to convince myself that soon, one day, it will be cold enough to wear a knitted wool hat in the desert!
Anyway...here are two!

I love this top view!Pattern: Cabled Rangoli hat (yes, this is the second one I've done and with the same yarn). Ravelry link: here.

Yarn: Wool-Ease, color is chestnut heather (sort of red tweedy brown).
Modifications: made the bottom ribbing longer to cover my ears.

Don't you just love these colors?

Pattern: Perpendicular Hat. Ravelry link: here.

Yarn: Cleckheaton Tapestry; color is pastel multi.

Modifications: I don't think so. I made this hat back in June/July and I can't remember! I do like the way this fits even if it looks like a muffin on top of my head!

Update...

Thanks for all the nice words about the shrug! I can't wait until it's cool enough to wear it! It's been a tough week here at the cactus house, since school started, I've been sick. Actually everyone but the dog got sick this week! Don't you just love back to school! It seems like every year someone gets sick that first week! But anyway...enough of that. We're all feeling much better.
In knitting news, I had started the skater's over shirt (ravelry link) from Veronik Avery's book, Knitting Classic Style, got about four and a half inches in and then realized that this pattern stretches a lot and the size I was doing would be way too big on me (even layered over a tee or another sweater). So...the frogs came out yesterday...but then the re-cast on fairy helped me start over!
I've also realized that I've got to post (and take) a picture of my perpendicular hat (ravelry link) that I finished on vacation too. So...that will be coming soon!
Hope all have a great weekend!

Bias Shrug

close up of the lace pattern

the sleeve (you can see here that it's longer than the magazine picture)

Pattern: A Good Bias (ravelry link: here), from Interweave Knits, Spring 2005.

Yarn: Cascade 220, blue (I think it's called marine). The sleeve picture shows more of the true color.
Modifications: Made the sleeves more wrist length as opposed to the pattern's bracelet length (my arms get cold), and added two extra repeats to the back.
This was a super simple lace project (and for me to say that is great) and didn't take all that long. This was finished in June, and I did wear it on vacation! I used to be anti-lace, thought it was too hard all that stuff, but now, that seems to be the only thing I've been knitting lately!

The kids went back to school yesterday, and I went on a cleaning binge! Yes, I know, I cleaned! I mopped the floor, cleaned the toilets, cleaned the kitchen, caulked the shower! You know, all that stuff that gets shoved aside when the there's other people in the house with you all day! They had great first days, and know most of the kids in their respective classes (always a plus!). And were ready to go this morning!
Hope all have a great day!
(And, yes, lots of knitting will be getting done today--more than yesterday!)

Super Simple, and Always...

...Fetching!

Pattern: Fetching, knitty.com
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease; red sprinkles and black.
Modifications: I made these longer at the bottom and did an extra repeat of the cable at the fingers. I like this length, but, alas, these are going to Colorado when the hats go!

Had to show off my mitts and my Mexican Bird of Paradise bush/tree/shrub (the orange flowers). It grows higher than the fence every year!

I have one more FO to show off this week that I finished in the car when we went on vacation. (And, yes, I know, I know, it took me way too long to show you all!) My hubby says I've been a horrible blogger this past month, and I agree! The munchkins go back to school this week, so hopefully I'll be better at posting things! But I think that everyone who has kids and stays at home with them during the summer puts projects and things aside to take care of the kiddos, and once they're back in their school routine, we can get back into our knitting groove/stay at home routine.

Hats Off! (or On)

As promised, the pictures of the hats!

See below for details!

Pattern: Garter Stitch Hat with Square Raglan Crown. (Ravelry link : here.)

Yarn: naturally caron.com, Country; black. Not even a half of a skein!
Modifications: I cast on 74 stitches, worked garter stitch for about 6", then decreased back down to original cast on of 64 and then followed the directions for the crown.

Pattern: The Amanda Hat. (Ravelry link: here.)

Yarn: Sensations, Bellezza Collection Dolcetto; cream. Used about 3/4 of the skein.

Pattern: The Boy Hat Pattern. (Ravelry link : here.)
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers, blue (has a tweedy blue/black look).
Modifications: Knit the rib for about 5 1/4" then did decreases.


Enjoy! Hope this inspires some of you to whip these up! They don't take long at all!!! Tune in (hopefully) tomorrow or by early next week, for a few more small projects that I finished but haven't shown off yet! (special thanks to my model -- oldest munchkin!)

Saturday Morning Update!

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I've been working on hats for C in Colorado (Abby and Coco's mom), as well as one for her hubby who protested that she has, oh, I don't know, like ten of my hats, and he has none! So, I made him one too!

Once I get off my butt (I'm being genuine here), I'll take some pictures.

I'm enjoying my last weeks of my littleone's summer vacation, so once they're back in school (a week and a half believe it or not), I'll probably (or I will) have some more time to show all the stuff I've been working on!

Also, I've just been plain lazy. I will admit it. I've been enjoying knitting the hats, a quick project with quick results, but it takes me a few days to finish weaving in the ends and such. But, I did start a new project yesterday, which if you look here (rav link), you'll see that it will probably take me a while to get this done. And, I got my fall issue of knitscene yesterday, too. Wow! Lots of things in there that I want to do! Always too many good things to knit, with so little time!

Take care and have a great weekend all!

Edited @ 12:00 pm. Just found out my cousin's wife is having her twins today! Wow! We have twins in my family! A first for us! She's having a boy and a girl! Congrats to them!!!

Ella's Friends for DOT

Ella wanted me to show you her friends that she visited on vacation. The first picture is of Abby (if you remember, she came to visit Ella earlier this year). I love this picture. It looks like Abby is smiling (poor old lady[she's 10])! The bottom picture is Coco in her backyard. It was difficult to get a shot of all the dogs together. Ella would chase Coco around the backyard and into the front yard, but every time I would go for the camera, Ella would stop and look at me as if to say, "What? I'm playing!"
Ella had fun with her friends, and seemed to miss them when she got home.
Happy Dogs on Thursday.

Zoomania!

One of the first touristy things we did on vacation was to go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. If you're ever in Colorado Springs (or "The Springs" as the locals call it), I highly recommend that you go! This zoo is great! You can get close to the animals and actually see them. Among all the zoos I've been to (San Diego, Phoenix) this one's is one of the best.

You can feed the giraffe's and if they get close enough actually pet them! (As you can obviously see by the hands reaching out to this guy!) Their tongues are sticky and they're actually very soft.

(Sorry I should have flipped this photo.) Here's the moose! Don't you just love him! He was laying down for a while and then the zookeeper came and he stood up! He's only a baby (2 1/2 years old), so his antlers were just coming in.

And the bears! This exhibit is cool! There's a small building where you can watch them swim, and then run out and see them tumble and play in the trees. We were there when they were feeding them, and it was really cool.

And a vacation FO!

Pattern: Father/Daughter Hat (ravelry link).

Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun, teal green.

Modifications: Made the ribbing longer, as usual, to cover the ears. Gifted this to C (where I was staying) who loves, loves, loves hats.

The first of a few photos I've got. I'll have some more later this week!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!