A Knit A Week

So I went a little crazy with the photos for this post, 

but when you spend the amount of hours

that I did for one creation . . .

you want to heavily document it! {grin}

This is another mystery shawl knit-a-long.

I have admired the designer's shawls for a long time, 

but had yet to screw up the courage to tackle one

on my own.  It was great to be joined by a 

couple hundred others in making this shawl.

My lame attempt at an artsy photograph!

Princess #1 showing off one wingspan.

Although you can't see them (due to my stellar photo taking skills),
there are about 200+ seed beads knit into the shawl.
I used dental floss to do it!

It has a crescent shape which is awesome, because the
curve keeps it on your shoulders.

So, so pretty!!

Pattern:  Polaris by Susanna IC (Rav link)

Yarn:  Aurora by Jill Draper in the Blue Agate colorway
This is one of Jill's new yarns! In a word: gorgeous!
Wool and silk lace weight yarn with stunning color!

Verdict:  Okay, so this was a challenge for me. My first lace weight shawl and
first time adding beads to my knitting.
 When I saw the first clue said cast on 361 I about threw in the towel.
However, the brilliance of shawls done this way (bottom up, crescent)
is that you tackle the multitude of stitches while the
excitement of starting a new project is highest.  By the time you're done,
you're down to about a couple hundred. Easy peasy! {grin}

Overheard During Family Devotions

Princess #1:  That is too much to memorize Dad!

King:  If you can memorize the levels on Mario Bros. than I'm pretty sure you can handle this.

Princess #1:  I don't have all the levels memorized!!

King:  I heard you and your friend talking in the car on the way home from the farm, and you knew what level she was on by the music.

((Long pause.))

Princess #2:  Buzzinga.

A Reasonable Explanation

A rash of horse-craziness has descended upon the Castle.  It's not just affecting Princess #2 this time, Princess #3 and the Prince have both been diagnosed.  Troubling for the Queen to be sure.  If I thought being a soccer mom was a tough fit, imagine what being equine mom is going to do for my image. {grin}

I decided I needed to get to the bottom of this madness.  Is being horse-crazy contagious?  Is it genetic?  Hmm. Or is there another, more reasonable explanation?

Queen:  So why are you so crazy about horses all of a sudden Princess #3?

Princess #3:  Well, I realized that I will never have a panda for a pet, but I could have a horse someday.

See?  She is only horse crazy because *real* pet pandas are hard to come by.  You can feel my relief.  Can't you?

Soccer Soccer Soccer

It is the last week of soccer here at the Castle.

(Can I get an amen?!)

It's been fun to watch the girls play this year.

And I cannot say enough great and wonderful

things about the Upward Soccer Program

that they play with.

This was our fifth season and each year

it just gets better.

Karate Kid anyone??  Princess #3 played for the 'Hornets'
this year.  Or, as her coach fondly calls the girls,
the 'Annoying Hornets'. {grin} She learned to be an
awesome defender!!

That's Princess #1 there in the blue jersey running toward the goal.
Her 'Freedom' team was awesome!!  And she has scored a lot
of goals this year.

And that is Princess #2 wearing blue chasing after the ball.
Her team the 'Crunch' really improved their teamwork
over the season!

A Knit A Week

Okay, so I know it's not the end of the year yet,

and I may end up knitting something else

that is takes the cake, but for now,

this "knit a week" is my favorite knit for 2011.

I don't know if it's the combination of the 

yarn with the pattern.  Or the pattern with the yarn. {grin}

But . . .

 something about this project, just makes me happy!

Fall colors--love.  Pattern so simple it is stunning.

♥ Maybe it is my model?  She is gorgeous too! ♥

Pattern:  Hitchhiker by:  Martina Behm

Yarn:  Miss Babs Windsor Sock Yarn in the Mums colorway

(purchased at Sock Summit)

Happiness Is . . .

. . . picking apples with your soon-to-be 98 (eep!) year old Grandpa, your Mom, and your four kids.  Despite feeling cruddy, it was one of the best afternoons I have had in recent history.  What a blessing!!

Happiness Is . . .

. . . wearing hand-knit socks on a blustery day!! I'm wearing this pair of woolly goodness on my feet.

The One Where I Should Have Licked His Finger

The Prince:  Mama, lick my finger please.  ((Holding out a finger covered in chocolate cake crumbs and a few token wisps of animal hair.))

Queen:  No thank you.

The Prince:  Okay Mama.  ((Hops down from the table and proceeds to offer the finger to the patient, eternal optimist of the family . . . Jackson . . . the dog.))

A Knit A Week

Just in time for that first bite of fall weather

a new pair of socks.

These are by far the laciest socks I've knit thus far.

So feminine and so delicate looking in this yarn color.

Pattern:  Shani by:  Nancy Whitman 

Yarn:  Malabrigo Sock Yarn in the natural colorway

Verdict:  This yarn is so soft, but I do wonder how it will

end up wearing, it just feels flimsy. It would knit up a

fabulous shawl though. 

The pattern was well-written and fun to do.

However, definitely not a project to just

toss in the purse and work on during soccer practice.

I worked on this with a group of other knitters 

I met through Ravelry and it was 

a good thing to have that accountability . . .

these might have languished a bit longer if I hadn't had their

encouragement!

The One Where I Buy a Semi-Pornographic Thermometer

So, as I've mentioned before change is evil here at the Castle.  And change is upon us in the form of cooler weather.  For the last four years we have battled with Fall and every year he kicks our, well, you know.  So I just purchased a little something that I hope will help us win this round . . . a somewhat risque thermometer for our spirited miss.

As well as telling the temperature, there is a picture of a lady, who bears a striking resemblance to "Barbie" who is in various states of dress (or undress) as the weather dictates.  I am hopeful that this will help reinforce what I am telling my spirited little girl in terms of choosing weather appropriate clothing.  It was a relief to finally find one that fit her specific requirements (this is not our first attempt at this):  not a boy, not a little girl, not a girl that really looks like a boy.  Thank you amazon.com for having this lovely option this year!!

Fingers crossed that our little miss sees this as
"such a hot day, I should wear a tank top dress" and
*not*
"whoo-hoo I can get away with just wearing my unders".

Happiness Is . . .

. . . hearing your spirited child tell you how she is feeling instead of losing it.  Yay Princess #3!!!

The above may sound trivial, I know that I would have thought so if I had read this post four years ago.  However, this is a huge step of progress.  One that makes me teary and grateful that this may be the start of hearing more articulate and effective communication from my little girl!!  Thank you Lord!

A Knit A Week

I can still remember when I learned about dinosaurs.  

It was 2nd grade.

Mrs. Scherr's class.

I was hooked.

I checked out books from the library.

Wrote reports. 

Wrote stories.

I was enamored with the things.

Probably drove my parents and siblings nuts.

Or maybe I kept it to myself, as a secret love.

I don't quite remember.

Anyway, Princess #3 has a best friend.

That special little gal is a lover of dinosaurs.

I can't tell you how giddy this has made me.

So when I saw this sweater, I knew I had to make it for her.

Because when I was her age I would have wanted one.

Princess #3 was willing to model for me!

The dinosaurs march around the entire sweater.

The Details:

Pattern:  Diplodocus by Kate Oates

Yarn:  Knit Picks Swish Worsted

Verdict:  When I gave her the sweater, I blanked on the dinosaur's name.

This little sweet, took one look and told me:

It's a Diplodocus.

{grin}

I believe that says it all!!

Life. Now.

Sorry for the absence of posting dear, faithful readers.

My life has been full to overflowing these past days.

Filled with stuff.  Good stuff. Fun stuff.

But at the end of the day it is just stuff.

Stuff like:

playing with friends

school

soccer games

school

soccer practice

school

kids choir

school

Prince chasing

school

volunteering

school

knitting

school

playing trucks and guys

did I mention school??

Fall is busy.

I do my best to find balance with how we choose to spend

our family's time.  

Making sure that our busy-ness is productive

and not stress causing.

Taking care to not overwhelm.

So far, it is feeling good.

A knit A Week

More Socks!

Shocker!
{grin}

These socks were made for walking . . .

Check out my matchy-matchy pooling on these babies.
Cool huh?!

Modeled by Princess #1.
Yes, my 11 year old and I wear the same size.
She's gonna be tall like her Daddy methinks.

Pattern:  Artichoke Socks

Yarn:  Jill Draper's Splendor Sock in the Yarmouth colorway

Verdict:  These socks have been a royal pain.
I started them at Sock Summit, which apparently made
my guage funky.  However, I didn't realize that
Sock Summit knitting affected my guage til I got into the
second sock.  The colors of the yarn pooled
completely differently!! UGH!
So I ended up cutting off (literally, gulp) the cuff of the
first sock (since it refused to be unraveled nicely),
putting the live heel and foot stitches onto a holder and
re-knit the cuff.  It came out looking just like I wanted, phew.
Then using the Kitchener stitch, I joined the new
cuff with the live stitches from the foot.
And . . . it worked!!
Hurry up Fall weather.  I need to wear some woolies!!

Happiness Is . . .

. . . listening to my girls' play house, the way their mama does.

Princess #2:  Well, the kids are all in bed.

Princess #3:  Oh good.  It's time to knit!

You Know You Live . . .

in the desert,
when your toddler mistakes the sound of a thunderstorm . . . 

for that of a Harley.

A Little Insight

Have you ever thought of your day

in terms of transitions?

I do.

Daily.

Wanna know why?

Because transitions in my spirited child's world

are

EVIL.

Everytime you switch tasks is a transition.
Try thinking about it this way . . .

#1- Wake up.

#2- Get out of pj's and get dressed.

#3- Eat breakfast.

#4- Brush teeth/hair.

#5- Play or School time

That's at least 5 transitions all before 9 am at our house!!

Think about a trip out to do errands.

#1- Get in car and buckle.

#2- Get to destination and get out of car.

#3- Errand.

#4- Get back into car and buckle..

#5- Get to destination and get out of car.

You get the picture right?
That's 5 transitions (at least) just for one errand.
It's a red letter day here at the Castle if we
get in more than one stop per trip because
of the affect that change has on our spirited child.

You may be wondering as to the point of this post.
Not sure, dear readers.
Just something I thought I'd share with you.
A little glimpse of my life.
And maybe, a little perspective to those of you with
children that may struggle with transitions as well.
Like a mom with a toddler! {grin}

Now granted we have come a long way in
dealing with the daily transition struggles.
 It involves a lot of prep work from a Mama's standpoint.
Lots of thinking ahead.
Lots of being flexible with how much time may be needed to transition.
It's exhausting some days.
Especially now, as summer is winding down
and fall is looming. . .
Seasons=Change
Change=Transition
Transition=Evil
remember??

Interesting Assumption

So I was given the privilege, inconvenience, chance, opportunity to be a part of our system of justice here in America this week. You guessed it, jury duty!

During the first stretch of waiting (if you've ever served, you know what I mean by that, right?), an older gentleman sat next to me and struck up a conversation with me about the sock I was knitting and it continued on to family life.  It went a little like this:

Nice Old Guy (NOG): So do you have any children?

Queen: Yep. Four.

NOG: Wow. How old?

Queen:  11, 9, 6, and 2.

NOG:  You must stay home with them.

Queen:  I do actually.  Out of curiosity, how did you guess?

NOG:  Well, daycare for that many kids would be awfully expensive . . . plus you're knitting.

Queen:  Ah, well, there you go, it was the knitting that gave it away.
***************************

What can we take away from this dear readers?

Some in the world assume you are a stay at home mom

when you have four children 

and 

(the best caveat of all)

you knit!!

Hope you got a grin out of this one.  I know I did!!

Wonder what he would have said if I would have

also confessed to educating my children at home!!

Probably would assume that I also know how to sew!
The horror! {grin}

Overheard After Rest-Time

Queen: Who is hiding in my curtain?

The Prince: Jertain in the curtain, Mama!!

Can any of you guess which book is the Prince's current obsession?!?

A Knit A Week

So, did I mention that I attended Sock Summit 2011?

I didn't?

Well, I did.

And, it was, in a word: amazing.

To be surrounded by knitters from all walks of life, 

who were wearing the most fabulous hand knits I have ever seen,

to not get any funny looks or feel as if you

might be the tiniest bit rude by pulling out your knitting

whenever you get the chance,

to have the sensory experience to see, touch, and

talk with the creators of incredible sock yarns and patterns was

INSPIRING!

I want to go back.

I got the chance to meet Jill Draper.

She's the gal I buy most of my sock yarn from,

as you faithful readers know.

Just meeting her, was worth making the trip.

To give her a hug and squish her yarn in person,

the icing on the cake that was Sock Summit!

I took some classes.

I met the Yarn Harlot.

I bought some yarn.

I met the Yarn Harlot.

I bought some patterns.

I met the Yarn Harlot.

I finished these socks while there.

Stood in line forever waiting for the chance

for the Yarn Harlot to "hold" my sock

as she so willingly does, rock star knitter that she is..

And realized that I forgot to take my camera [*&%@]

to document such a momentous occasion.

Anyway, as you may have guessed I am thoroughly 

enamored with creating hand knit socks.

Sock Summit, just convinced me that this

obsession is right and true!

The Details:

Pattern:  Socks For Euni a freebie from Liz Abinante

Yarn:  Socks that Rock Lightweight by Blue Moon Fiber Arts

in a mystery color Mill End.

Verdict:  These babies just flew off the needles.  I love it when 

that happens.  Fab pattern and fab yarn!  One more

Christmas gift off the list!!