Another Knit This Week

I just finished up my first, of what may turn into

many, "Mystery Knit Alongs".

The basic idea is you know what you are going to knit

in that, I knew that I was going to make a shawl, but 

beyond that you no nothing about what the final

creation will look like.

The designer gives you an idea of what kind of yarn would

be best suited to the pattern, in this case, a subtly 

variegated yarn as opposed to a wildly, hand-painted

yarn was preferred.  And with this mystery knit, the

designer had paired with a yarn-dyer and had a 

custom made yarn for her KAL (knit-a-long) that you could

choose to purchase (I did).  

And then you wait for the clues to appear.

Fun, fun, fun!

I started my project April 15th and finished 

exactly one month later.  

It's not too big of a shawl, which I like.

However, I haven't decided if I'm going to keep

it or gift it.  Purple is not one of my go-to

colors, but I couldn't resist this yarn for some

reason, maybe because was meant to be

for one of my many purple loving friends! {grin}

Pattern:  Roxanne by Liz Abinante

Yarn:  Hipster Sock in the Ethereal colorway by Little Red Bicycle

and the bottom border in Dream in Color's Smooshy Sock Yarn.

Verdict:  This shawl has cables and lace and lots of fun

texture to it!

Would I have chosen this pattern to make on my own? 

Probably not, but that being said, it was a lot of fun to 

join in the discussions and knit up a mystery item!

(Some have compared it's shape to Cylon ships from BSG.{grin})

A Knit A Week

A birthday sweater for Princess #1.

This one may look familiar, as it was the same

pattern I used for the Prince's b-day sweater!

She chose the yarn and then waited patiently

for me to finish, which I'll have you know,

was only one day after *her* day! {grin}

Pattern:  Hotshot by Julia Stanfield

Yarn:  Cascade 220 Superwash Paints in 

Fruit Smoothie

Verdict:  Turned out great, she loves it!  

The only modification I made was to add a 

kangaroo pouch to the front.

Happiness Is . . .

. . . feeling emotionally and spiritually recharged and ready to deal with life again, despite being physically exhausted.

*****

I follow that with a question for the Void:  How is it that my kids always seem to know when I've had a late (fun!) night . . . and choose the following morning to bless me with an extra early rising?!?!  Why, oh Void, why??

A Knit A Week

Easter Knits for the Royals

All of these patterns came from the amazing

book, Itty Bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson.

I started this tradition last year, when I made the sock monkey

for the Prince's basket, hoping to distract him from

the lack of candy.  It worked so well for all the kids

that I did it again this year!!

A little hippo for Princess #1 out of

leftover Socks that Rock sock yarn in the

Wonderful Goodness and Mr. Greenjeans colorways.

A stripey snake, complete with slithery tongue

for Princess #2 out of leftover Misti Alpaca

sock yarn.

A reversible bluebird/egg with a little nest for Princess #3.

How cool is this pattern????  Love this.

It was made out of scraps of Cascade 220.

And last, but not least, a little "Biscuit" puppy for the Prince.

He is made out of scraps of Cascade 220 and other

stash finds.

Eleven

PRINCESS #1 is a . . .

* voracious reader

* faithful friend

* daughter of the One Most High

* responsible brother watcher

* creative creator

* lover of shoes

* gentle big sister

* giver of wonderful back scratches

* excellent scholar

* delightful dessert maker

* fast and furious bicyclist

* knitter

* wonderfully sweet daughter

Eleven years ago, we were blessed here at the Castle by the birth of our first born.

A daughter.

Thankfully, she broke us into parenting gently, however, her presence

rocked our little world of two.

We are eager to see what the "Judy Blume" years have in store for 

our sweet princess.  We know that she will continue to

grow ever in grace and beauty because of Who

she holds dear in her heart.

Happy 11th Princess #1.  You are dearly loved, Bugga.

Overheard While Playing Barbies

Princess #3:  I'm the Lost Princess.

Princess #1:  Well, I'm the Queen of Sheba.

Princess #2 scoffs (as only she can).

Princess #1:  I am!  I have I.D.

Princess #2:  Well, we're not going to bow down to you or anything, if you're just going to lie down in our crops.

Brilliant!

So a while back a friend of mine turned me on to the most brilliant piece of parenting weaponry ever:  the written tattle-tale.  (Now, I know many of you, dear readers, do not have children who can write just yet, so please tuck this little gem into your back pocket for future reference!  You will thank me later, I promise!!)

Back to the weapon.  So, if either of my older two have need to tattle, it now has to be in the form of a written complaint.  They write down their complaint (isn't this great?? A little bonus handwriting assignment too!), and turn it in to me.  I read said complaint (usually with much self-contained giggling) and then decide what should be done about it.  It has cut down the amount of tattling done in the castle substantially!!  It is not nearly as much fun to write down all of the terrible atrocities committed to your person, as it is to run over and immediately blab them all to your mama.  Writing them down takes some of the heat out of the mad and slows you down as you decide how to write the heinous wrong doings of a sibling.  Brilliant!!

I alluded to the other little bonus with handling tattles this way, and that is getting to read the complaints!!  This is one I received today, and I am hanging on to it! {grin}

It is a joint effort by Princess #1 and Princess #2.  It reads:

Mama, Princess #3 stole one of Princess #2's Easter candies for no reason at all. (Princess #1's handwriting.)


And she is a j-werd. (Princess #2's handwriting.)

Priceless I tell you.  Absolutely priceless.

Try it my friends.  You will like it.

Can You Handle More Randomness??

1.  I hope so.

2.  Because I don't have any energy to form coherent thoughts today.  It's been an exhausting couple of weeks.

3.  I even broke down and made coffee.  If you know me, you would know that is a rare occurrence.

4.  Of course, my version of coffee is all about what you add to the coffee to make it taste less coffee-ish.

5.  I wish coffee tasted the way it smells.

6.  I finally finished a test knit I've been working on.  It looks really cool.

7.  If I get permission, I'll post some pictures on the blog.

8.  It took a lot of attempts to get it right, since I was learning some new skills.

9.  Every once and a while it is good to get out of your knitting comfort zone and try something different.

10.  That being said, I'm not sure I'll ever double knit anything, again.

11.  But I know how to! {grin}

12.  I'm making tennis racket shaped pasta for lunch.

13.  My parents bought it for me.

14.  When I was in 1st grade I picked up my first tennis racket and was hooked.

15.  My parents haven't forgotten that love I had.

16.  And I like that about them.

17.  Thanks for putting up with a bit more random, dear readers.

A Little Randomness

1.  I have not been motivated to post anything on the blog as of late.

2.  In fact, I am forcing myself to type this post.

3.  It may be time to be done with blogging.

4.  My kids are driving me insane today.

5.  Not that I'm not always on the brink, but today, I'm full on.

6.  I hate yelling at my kids.

7.  But I did today.  A lot.  Really loud and often.

8.  Felt good at the time, but now, not so much.

9.  I know why, but I can't post it.

10.  That makes me want to start a new, completely anonymous blog, that I only let select (non-judgmental) people know about, just to talk about the "taboo" subjects.

11.  Like yelling at your kids or bad days or things/events that cause you incredible stress and possible ulcers.

12.  And if this day wasn't enough, now I have to feed them.

13.  So, what I'm making for dinner is completely unhealthy.

14.  I don't care that it is, because they will all eat it without complaint.

15.  At this point, I will do anything to avoid the complaining, whining, and general gnashing of teeth that this day has brought.

16.  Just keepin' it real for you, dear readers.  Some days, life sucks here at the Castle.

A Knit A Week

A Momo Sweater for

the Prince to wear on Easter!

Verdict:  This little sweater is adorable!  It was knit from the top

down, which allows you to avoid any pesky seaming, 

and it is knit up with sock yarn, how cool is that--

one more justification for continuing in my

sock yarn obsession! {grin}

Yarn:  Jill Draper's Splendor Sock Yarn in

the Beatrix color way.  The colors are straight

out of Peter Rabbit-so fun!

Pattern: Little Momo by Terri Kruse 

Overheard After a Trip to Papa's Farm

Princess #2:  Oooh, look at all those baby boy calves!!!

Princess #1:  Those aren't all boy calves, you're seeing their umbilican (her word) cords that haven't fallen off yet.

Princess #2:  Yes I remember, you have to watch how they go to the bathroom, so you can tell if they are a boy or a girl.

Princess #1:  Yep.  That's right.

Princess #2:  But it only works when they go #1, you can forget about #2.

Queen {shaking head}:  The things your Papa teaches you.

What Goes Around

The entire month of March, give or take a couple of days, some member of the Royal family has been sick.  So, so much fun.  And it wasn't just one illness that hit each one of us, it was the combo.  Fever, throwing up, coughing, sneezing, 20,000 boxes of tissue runny noses, sometimes even a double dip (Princess #2 and I both got sick twice) like I said, fun.

School crept along at a snail's pace depending on who was sick, I should mention that we have a couple of Oscar contenders in the dramatic category when they get sick.

Poots training, believe it or not, has continued to go splendidly.  Of course, the Prince being dehydrated, probably helped our cause while he was sick.

Knitting was done it bits and snatches.  I purchased huge balls of colorful acrylic for the older Princesses and they have been going to town.  Princess #1 is making a garter stitch blanket with her ball and Princess #2 is making herself a poncho.  It's been fun to watch their confidence take off as they attempt "real" patterns.

However, I am hearing lots of these kind of phrases now:

"In a minute Mom, I'm in the middle of a row."

"But Mom, I really need to get five more rounds done before I stop."

"I really, really feel like I need to knit."

"Can we take a knitting break?"

And for the record, they came up with the last two phrases on their own, I promise.

A Knit A Week

No-Purl Monkey Socks for Christmas 2011!

Woo-hoo, my 2nd Christmas knit is completed!

Verdict:  This is the third time I've made this pattern and

each time I just absolutely love it.  It looks great made up with

most any kind of yarn, is easy to memorize and looks

great on.  It is a free one from designer Cookie A. and

you can find it using the link above on knitty.com

Yarn:  Splendor Sock by Jill Draper in the Northampton colorway.

The colors of this yarn scream spring, doncha agree??

The red is perfect, tulip red.

I think I'm going to have to wrap these up now, so

I won't be tempted to give them a test wear.

Overheard After Dinner

. . . some Kingly wisdom.

Princess #2:  I'm not planning on having a boyfriend.

King:  No one ever plans on having a boyfriend, and those that do seldom end up with one.

Poots Update

I hesitate to mention how potty training is going here at the Castle.  It is going so well, that I am typing this post with one hand, while knocking on a piece of wood with the other! {grin} This is because in my experience, as a mama, the minute you say things like, "Oh yah? Well, my little Susie has been sleeping through the night for weeks now!", then that very same night, little Susie will be up fifty bazillion times.  It's true.  Kids love nothing better than to prove their parents wrong.  From this opinion, I cannot be swayed.

So, where was I?  Oh yah, the Prince is doing awesome.  Even went so far as to stay dry during our errand running this morning, even though he told us the entire.way.home. that he needed to "poots".  We're at the point where he is wearing his big boy unders all day, except for sleeping and is doing pretty darn well at telling us that he needs to go.  Secretly, the King and I are still waiting for the other shoe to drop as far as his training goes.  We're keeping our hopes on the down-low that this first run is a success.

All this being said, to show you this little gem of a product! I think these would be very handy in toddler size!  I could have a box in every room and the car!!

A Knit A Week

Have you ever wondered what a "thrum" is?

Me either.

That is, until I had the chance to make some

thrummed mittens--then I was all ears.

A thrum is basically a piece of roving which 

is unspun wool.  In my case, the very pretty pile 

of fuzz you see below.

You have to separate the roving into

 little wisps, which

you then knit together with your working yarn.

Each thrum makes one stitch.  You leave the ends

of the thrum hanging inside the mitten for an

extra layer of warmth.

This is the inside view of the mitten.  All that fluffy goodness

just waiting to warm up your hands!

I wish you could see these babies in person, in order

to truly appreciate just how squishy they really are.

This particular thrummed mitten kit came from

the amazing Jill Draper.  She dyed both the yarn

and the roving I used, as well as provided the pattern.

Thrumming is rather addicting.  I have enough roving

left over that I will most likely be making more of 

these chubby mittens!!

Overheard While Playing

King:  What's the magic word?

Princess #3:  Daddy, may I please have the ball?

King:  What's the other magic word?

Princess #3:  You have no power over me!

Life. Captured.

Overheard in the Kitchen

Queen (while pouring sugar into the sugar dispenser):  Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives . . .

Princess #3:  That's deep.

On Poots and Beds

So, I don't know about you, dear readers, but potty training is one of my least favorite duties as Mama.  It is probably second, only, to being consistent. {grin}  And it has begun here at the castle for the last (please God) time.  I'm not ready to start, but the Prince seems to think he is. And if there is one piece of advice this tired Mama can give you, it's this, if your child is telling you that they have a wet diaper, then start potty training if you haven't already.  It has been that little gem of knowledge that I have been studiously ignoring these past couple weeks, and decided that today I needed to "man-up" and get serious before that window closes.

Our Prince calls every down-low bodily function, "poots".  It's cute.  It gets this Mama rushing.  Today we spent entirely on the wood floors waiting for poots.  Princess #1 helped me set up the potty chair, the paper towels, the sanitizing wipes, the extra socks, big boy unders, and other garments necessary to make this first day go smoothly.  I prefer the $60 method of potty training.  It involves a lot of toddler nudity, a lot of paper towels, a lot of laundry and one good carpet cleaning when everything is said and done, but no pull-ups.  But it seems to be more effective, and dare, I say, quicker (again, please God).

The Prince did well, hit the target several times, the floor a few more than that.  I think we were averaging about a 1:4 ratio this morning!  That's pretty good for a first day out.  Especially when your first day out, followed your first night in a BIG BOY BED (that is the Prince shouting).  Yep, we put away the crib for the last (and again, please God) time.  So far, he is staying put, which is always my biggest thing.  I put you in bed, not as a possible option to spend your time, but as your place of residence until I'm ready to see you again! {grin}  However, around midnight he was crying, I rushed in there to find him under the bed, in his own words, "scared", but he went right back to sleep, so it's all good.

I've said it before, and am sure to say it again, but is it just me, or does this boy have the warp drive on???

Microphones for the Royals

The baby rattle that started the madness!
Now the Prince's microphone. 

The prototypes, all basically the same, but I like how Princess #2's
came out the best.  Her's is the purple stripey one.

Close up of the sparkle silver mic lids. So cute!!

Well, I am happy to report that my experiment in modifying the rattle pattern into a microphone was a three-fold success!  Each one took less than a day to make and they have been happily put to use ever since.  If you're a knitter and interested in my tweaks, let me know and I'd be happy to share!

Overheard At Dinner

Princess #3:  Princess #1, did you know that red velvet cupcakes don't have real velvet in them.  They're just red cake.

Princess #1:  Yeah, I knew that.

Princess #3:  That's weird isn't it?

Queen's Note:  Personally, I think it's weird that 1) She thought that there was velvet in the cake, and 2) that she even knows what velvet is.

Overheard From the Backseat

Princess #2:  Now that Princess #1 is getting so old, it means that she'll be able to drive me on my dates soon.

Queen:  You're not going on dates.

Princess #2:  No, Mama, not now, I mean when Princess #1 gets her driver's license, then I'll go on dates.

Queen:  You're not going on dates.

Princess #2:  Hmph.

Princess #1:  Well, I guess you'll have to go on on-line dates instead, Princess #2!!

One Thing Leads to Another

So, I just finished knitting up the most adorable baby rattle, (pictures forthcoming since for some reason March is starting off rather deary), anyway, the kids--all four just went crazy for it!  The first thing they did after shaking it, you know, to make sure it would rattle to their own personal satisfaction, was to use it as a microphone. {grin}

Well, that got me thinking.  What if I tweak the pattern and make them each a little microphone?  If I could make it work, that sure would save wear and tear on the Rockband microphone!  I dug through the stash, found some silver crochet thread leftover from the little tea set I made last year and then a bag of leftover sock yarn scraps and went to work.  This is one of the first times I've actually gone ahead without a specific pattern.  I am relying on the rattle pattern, but am modifying it to suit my needs, and that is kind of fun.  It is by no means an original design, but is a tiny step in that direction.

Times like these, make me thankful that my Mom taught me sew and sew well, and to those that know me, no, the irony of that last statement is not lost. {grin}  The ability to eye ball something and know if it is "right" is invaluable when it comes to knitting, and I am grateful my Mom persevered with her lessons.  One of the main reasons that knitting garments is not scary to me, is that sewing experience that I received as a child/teen.  I know how patterns work and how they *should* go together from a sewing aspect, so if I am in the midst of a knitting project, I can usually figure out where it headed south and fix it or fudge it into submission!

Anyway, I will be back to post pictures of the rattle and hopefully a successful prototype of the microphone!  Thanks for reading a kind of a boring post, I apologize, but I was excited to share where my knitting obsession took me today!

Happiness Is . . .

. . . eating homemade brownies.

♥Especially when they are made by your daughter. ♥

A Knit A Week

Birthday Knits Galore!!

As you know, we here at the Castle love books, some

might even call us "book-alcoholics". {grin}

Now imagine my giddiness in finding

 a sweet book with beautiful illustrations

 complete with knitting patterns in the back!

I know, right???

This is exciting stuff, my friends!!

This is Phoebe mouse wearing her knitted dress!

 This is Phoebe's sweater to match Princess #3's sweater.

(Pardon the crazy flash that makes the color weird.

It's actually the color of the following photos.)

 Phoebe just opened!

Princess #3 and Phoebe all bundled up!

These are knit from the patterns found in the book

Phoebe's Sweater

by:  Joanna Johnson and illustrated by her husband, Eric Johnson

They have their own little publishing company that I

discovered through my favorite knitting website Ravelry.

They have a second book out called

Freddie's Blanket that I am eager to purchase and

knit from as well.

SIX

Princess #3 celebrated her 6th birthday last week!  Hard to believe it has only been six some days. {grin}  She continues to stretch us as parents and individuals.  I think she has taught me more about myself than any other person in the world, and there is something to be said about that.

Doncha just love how Rapunzel is nekkid, riding horseback
with a boy?!  Too funny!

Here are some things about Princess #3 that we love:

*She loves to play barbies.  Anytime.  Anywhere.

*She loves the colors pink and orange.

*She loves to wear dresses.

*She has a very quick wit.  

*She plans to take care of her mama and dad 

when they are old.

(However, they will have to move in with

her because she is going to live where

it is warm all.the.time.)

*She loves her big sisters and baby brother.

*She loves pandas.

*She has a best friend, whom she mentions

pretty much daily. {grin}

(This is notable, because it is something

that I have prayed for her daily for

a.long.time.  God is good.)

Happy Birthday sweet Princess!!

The Birthday Cakes

He loves trucks.

Especially fire trucks.

Engine #2!

And Princess #3 loves pandas!!
We aim to please here at the castle. {grin}

I can't believe she is 6 already!!

A Knit A Week

A Hotshot sweater for my little hotshot!

His birthday sweater this year.

Pattern:  Hotshot by Julia Stanfield (rav link)

part of the Little Rascals e-book of patterns

Yarn:  Lana Bambu by Cascade yarns

only 2 skeins!!

Verdict:  In a word:  adorable.  The perfect kind of layering

sweater for my little runs-like-a-furnace boy.  Top down, seamless 

construction, a multitude of sizes (0-10!!), and the other two patterns

that came with the e-book will be made at some point.

This yarn is deliciously soft too, the only downside is that it is

hand-wash, but I tend to hand-wash all the knitted

things, you know, just in case . . .

TWO

The Prince turned two yesterday.  Two, two wonderful two.  One of my absolutely favorite ages!!

He ended his day with a wonderfully stereotypical temper tantrum!  However, the age two doesn't scare me nearly as much as three, so I chalked his melt up to too much birthday! {grin}

Here are some things that we find TOO cute about our guy:

--he loves trucks.  

[We cannot stress this enough. 

Trucks are where it's at.]

--he loves to be outside.

--he loves to talk and sing.  

[You can even understand them for the most part now.]

--he loves to do whatever big sisters are doing.

[And that means "tool" too (school)!]

--he likes to arrange mama's hair into a pillow before 

snuggling in for a rock before bed.

--he still likes to have his head under mama's chin too-

for reading or cuddling.

[The Queen is pretty sure that this demonstrates 

he still has fond memories of trying to 

dislocate her rib cage with his head while in utero!]

--he loves to play chase.

--he loves to help and is a great grocery unloader!

How did we do life without him?  

I'm not quite sure anymore. 

Super Sniffer

A real life conversation here at the castle tonight.

Princess #2:  I think the Prince stepped in dog poop.

Queen:  Really?  Oh great.  Let me check his shoes.

Queen (after checking and removing his shoes):  Well, I don't know what you smelled, but it's not his shoes.

Princess #2:  Oh, well it must have been whatever you're making for dinner.

Queen:  So, so nice.  Way to spoil the surprise I was making.

Princess #2:  Eeew.  Maaammmaaa!

Overheard After Rest Time

. . . a Spanish spelling lesson.

Princess #3:  I know how to spell chipmunk in Spanish.

Princess #2:  You do??  How?

Princess #3:  E-l c-h-i-p-m-u-n-k!  See it's easy, you just add an "E-L" in front.

He Totally Gets Me!

A conversation I had with my beloved today.

King:  Going slummin' today?

Queen:  What?

King:  You're wearing store-bought socks, instead of your $100 hand-knit ones.

Queen:  Oh, yeah, guess I am slummin'. {grinning}
                . . . Pausing mid-grin, "Wait, you mean the cost of all the time it takes to                         make socks right?"
{worried that he might be making a veiled reference to the cost of her sock-yarn-habit, and forcing her to explain that you really can't put a cost on one's sanity.}

King:  Yep.

Queen (thinking):  He loves me.

Wordless Wednesday

Overheard At the Car Dealership

Nice Salesman:  Go ahead, kick the tires!

Prince:  kicks tire

Nice Salesman:  Let's check under the hood.  Have you ever seen a hemi?

Prince:  Raises arms to mama, says, "Pweese, Mama?"

Nice Salesman:  Do you want to try and drive it?

Prince:  "Uh-huh." Climbs in the driver's seat and grabs onto the Charger's wheel.

Nice Salesman:  Did you have fun?

Prince with a huge grin: "KANK OOO!!" (Thank you!)

Nice Salesman:  We'll see you back in a few years!

A Knit A Week

Verdict:  This is the first sweater that I have made for myself that I have not totally hated and/or given away because it looked better on someone else. {grin}  That makes me happy.  It is so snuggly and warm.  A perfect a fall day/a not bitter cold winter day/a bright spring day jacket.  And it was a super fast knit!
Some notes of interest:
The lining fabric is an Amy Butler decorator print which I ♥ with all my heart!! From this great fabric site!
The buttons are from an amazing etsy seller.  She made them of out of a vintage fabric and they are oh, so fun and unique!

Pattern:  Anise (a freebie on the Rowan website)

Yarn:  Rowan Big Wool, a super bulky, quick to knit with yarn.

Pardon my oh, so, somber face.  Taking pictures of yourself without a dorky expression is very hard to do, especially with a little Prince tugging at your pant legs screaming for "JUICE PWEESE MAMA!!  PWEESE JUICE!!!" {grin}

Wordless Wednesday

Overheard After a Horseback Ride

Queen:  Did you have fun riding with your Auntie and your cousins?

Princess #3:  YES!!  But now I'm all puckered out!!

Wordless Wednesday

A Knit A Week

I know, I know, more socks.  

But making them is one of my favorite 

go-to knitting projects.  Not to mention, I have

a pair going at.all.times. :)

Socks are great for when you just have a couple of minutes

or you are in a waiting room 

or taking a drive with your chauffeur {grin}

or 

or

or
Try them, try them, you will like them!

Pattern:  Ampersand Socks (a freebie)

Yarn:  Socks that Rock Mediumweight in the 

Wonderful Goodness colorway

(Souvenir yarn from our time at the coast!)

Verdict:  I really enjoy the Blue Moon Fibers yarn-it is a pleasure to work
with.  It is so sproingy!  And I love this simple colorway.
The pattern was an easy one to memorize, which
is something I tend to look for in a sock pattern, and
looks really cool.

Overheard After a Squabble

Princess #2:  I really hate that we have to do chores every time we fight and Mama can't take it anymore.

Princess #3:  Me too.

Princess #2:  At the rate we're going, Mama's not going to have to do any chores by herself for a whole week.

Princess #3:  Yah, cuz we're doing them all, right?

Princess #2:  Totally.

Wordless Wednesday

Happiness Is . . .

. . . teaching your wiggliest child how to knit, having her catch on immediately, and LOVE doing it!!  Princess #2 has already finished her first project--a neck warmer for her stuffed animal, and then proceeded to cast on for her second project, a scarf for herself.  Amazing!!  The rate she's going, I'm going to have to start paying her allowance in yarn.

The King and I are still scratching our heads.  We've never seen her sit as still or as long as she did yesterday.  Well, willingly, that is.

She's been asking me to teach her on and off for a while now, I just didn't think I could dig out enough patience to do it.  I was wrong.  She is awesome!

I love being wrong.  For a good cause like knitting. {grin}

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Recognize this one??

I love how he's just hangin' out, one hand in his pocket.

Just like his Dadddy does. {grin}

2010's Knitting Wrap-Up

I am writing this post for me. {grin}  I just tallied my projects for 2010 off of my go-to knitting website www.ravelry.com.  I love that site!  If you are a knitter or an aspiring knitter, you should join.  It will inspire you!!

So for 2010 my knitting tallied up like so:

Pairs of socks: 7 (approx. 2,450 yards of yarn)

Hats:  10 (approx. 1,000 yards of yarn)

Pairs of Mittens: 4  (approx. 300 yards of yarn)

Scarves/wraps/poncho:  7  (approx.  2,000 yards of yarn)

Sweaters:  10  (approx.  5,000 yards of yarn)

Just for fun/stuffed toys:  6  (approx. 600 yards of yarn)

Total:  11, 350 yards of yarn used on 44 projects!! 

The most favorite thing I knit last year is hard to choose, but I think it would be the little tea set I made for my youngest niece.  It had tea cups, saucers, a creamer, sugar bowl w/sugar cubes, tea bags, teaspoons, cupcakes, and a fabulous tea pot.  The best part was, I made the entire set during the winter Olympics, as part of the challenge on Ravelry.  The pattern is in the book Itty Bitty Nursery by Susan B. Anderson.

The teapot is stripey, need I say more??

Thanks for all of your encouraging comments along the way in 2010.  Look for more knitting posts in 2011!  I've just about completed my first project for the new year . . . there it begins!

Another Monday Ramble

1.  School was back on today.

2.  Surprisingly, it went really well.

3.  I don't know why that surprises me, but it did.  And it was a nice way to start the week.

4.  I didn't make any specific new year resolutions.

5.  Just kept to the broad one:  survival.

6.  I got the Pioneer Woman cookbook for Christmas and boy, have we been eating yummy new stuff these past couple of weeks.  The sour cream pancakes were delish!

7.  The pancakes were notable because as a general rule, I could do without pancakes in my life.

8.  I started on my February must-have knits.  I am knitting up Princess #3 a bunch of fun goodies for her b-day.

9.  And I found an adorable (easy, I hope) pattern for making a fire engine cake for the Prince.

10.  When I showed him the picture, it immediately triggered his siren wail. {grin}

11.  Next week all three of my sisters and their adorable children arrive at my parents' place.

12.  I should probably convince the King to buy or rent an RV for us to live in while they are in the area.

13.  Thataway, we won't miss a minute of time spent. {grin}

14.  Happy New Year, dear readers!