She calls herself "Lala"

While we were planning our trip, she told her mommy, "Gamma Pop Pop come visit!" When we arrived, she gave the biggest hugs, and looked at us with wonder and disbelief, and we reveled in her suddenly complete sentences and bouncy, blonde curls. She hugged us tightly, and dared Pop Pop to tickle her neck with the stubble on his chin, and she giggled that infectious giggle that begs, "Do it again!" So, of course, he did. We had a wonderful trip, from the moment we arrived and found her sleeping under  a Gramma bankie during her afternoon nap...

...through dinner with Mork and Mindy at Texas Roadhouse, celebrating Mindy's just passed birthday and a brand new lollipop for Lala...

Then there was play dough in the playroom, where she asked over and over, "Gamma make Santa? Ho! Ho! Ho!," or "Gamma make Rudolph!," and "Gamma make Frosty Snowman?" So, of course, I did. (Everyday is Christmas when you are Lala's age!) Then, there was a trip to the mall the next day, where the meaning of distracted driving became clear as she climbed aboard the 75-cent Ice Cream Truck...

We played, and got a new Donald at the "Big Mickey Store," and had lunch before we played in the little play area. And in the evenings, she would steal Pop Pop's hat, and shout, "Pop Pop chase Lala!" So, of course, he did just that...

...and when she called for Pop Pop, he was there!

Ahhh, but it was a lovely trip to see Lala, Mork and Mindy! And even the ribbits, the very tired ribbits, have to agree. It's a good thing they are "bouncy!" They'll need all that energy to survive their new home! :)

There was not a lot of knitting, but there was much love. I don't know how this Gramma is going to make it until the next visit...but she must, so she will... Pretty and Pop Pop "leaked" a little as we left, and we swelled with grandparent pride and this love that cannot be contained! I leaked a little more as I texted Mindy upon our arrival home, and she texted back that Peanut said, "Lala good girl, Gamma Pop Pop come visit?" Oh, Lala! Gamma and Pop Pop will come visit again. Until then, you be sure to keep your chap-chap away from Beagle Face and Puggle Jumper, ok? We love you!

I hope that your weekend was even half as good as ours, and if it wasn't, I hope that today has brought you better. Now, I think there are some toys begging to be knit before our next visit to see Lala! May your travels be safe this winter, and may you Knit in Good Health, and to your heart's content!

Still Plodding Along?

Plodding doesn't sound like much fun, I know. But plodding through the garden is better than most plodding...

It all started with this square (that I found on Ravelry, of course)...
Big flowers...and little flowers...all lined up...

And borders in ALL of the colors...

It was really starting to feel like I would be plodding through this garden (as pleasant as it is) just FOREVER! But then, I finished!

In time for that Birthday, too! 

Yayyy!!!!! (Waaayyyyy in time for "Happy Birthday, Peanut!" in a couple months! Of course, she may get it early...I don't know if I have the patience to wait!)

I hope that you are enjoying the flowers in your garden, and thanks for stopping by! Knit in Good Health!

These Are Why I Am Crazy

Seriously, who starts this project? Oh, that's right. I do. Crazy. Mad. Bonkers. Insane. I'm totally headed 'round the bend to be sure, but as long as I have a little leftover sock yarn with me, I'll just keep going. I mean, I've only got a few so far...eventually I'll need around 350-400 of these, if all the knitters in all of Ravelry are to be believed (and I think I really have to go with the numbers on this one), so here I go. Just watch me.

And watch the frog.

Pretty, should you be knitting?
Or should you be working on that report?
Hmmm?

Ribbit is wrangling the hexipuffs* while I'm working, because really...I'm trying to not knit on the clock. Hexipuffs, however, are addictive, so it's a constant struggle. Pray for me? Wait...on second thought, don't do that. If I'm cured, I'll never finish, and I really want my own beekeeper's quilt. 

See? These are why I am crazy. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

Thanks for stopping by. Can I offer you a hexipuff to knit? 

* hexipuff - a tiny bit of crazy in the form of a knitted-and-slightly-stuffed, hexagon; the more hexipuffs you make, well you know...

Twelve Tiny Toes

Last year, I declared January 11th "Take Your Mochi to Work Day." This year, I totally forgot about it until about a week later. =/ What to do, what to do? Oh, I know! I'll take my Ribbit to work! (And I did just that on Friday. See?)

Honest! She brought me to work!

I don't think Ribbit enjoyed the day in my office quite as much as the Mochi did last year, but he did enjoy the podcasts I listened to while I prepared the upcoming Annual Report. I kept asking if he would like to help me assemble the pages next week, but he just crossed his arms with a loud "Harumph!"

Really? You think I want to do all your stapling?

Okay, I guess I can see that. After all, if I had those tiny feet (and was also lacking opposeable thumbs), I might not want to get too close to the stapler either... Heck, after knitting those twelve tiny toes (3 for each hand and foot), I certainly wouldn't want to see any staple-related injuries to this little guy either! Talk about fussy work!

I guess these are technically fingers?
Fussy yes, but also very cute...

Even despite the fussy fingers and toes (all referred to as toes in the pattern, but really, those top "legs" are arms, so those toes must be fingers, right?!?), I really enjoyed this pattern! There was quite a bit of stitching at the end (stitch arms and legs to body, stitch toes to feet, stitch head to torso, then embroider), but I do believe that the finished result was definitely worth it...especially since this cutie was such good company in the office!

Wrangling the knitting for me, so I
won't be distracted at work.
Thank you, Ribbit!

I may be a little sad when he goes to live with his new "mommy," my darling Peanut, who recently told her mommy, "Ribbit. Gramma PopPop house." When Mindy insisted that there was no frog at Gramma's house, the dear child replied, "Gramma make ribbit LaLa." (She calls herself "LaLa," isn't that the sweetest?!?) 

Everyone, all together now: "Awwwww!"

Thank you for that. I really do thrive on that kind of validation. Validation from my readers, and from my granddaughter, means that I had no other option than to knit a Ribbit for our dear LaLa ASAP, so I did just that, and this does not make me crazy. Hexipuffs? Those make me crazy. But I'll save that story for another post. :)

Thanks for stopping by (and also for validating me), and until next time, Knit in Good Health!

Oh, Baby!

I went to a baby shower last weekend. I love baby showers! I think I love them partly because I love little knits, and squishy knits. For a baby shower, little and squishy go together really well! See?

Why, yes! I did blog that BBF last week, and you are very observant! But I didn't blog this:

It is, of course, a super squishy, pink blanket for the new baby and her mommy and daddy to enjoy, when she makes her appearance! And, since I'm blogging blankets, here's a look at Peanut's Flower Garden:

Almost finished...not quite, but pretty stinkin' close...so excited!

That's my knitting knews for today...and now I've gotta go finish that garden! Thanks for taking time away from your favorite hobby to take a peek at mine, and Oh, Baby! Knit in Good Health!

Mystery Love

February is coming. The day I realized this, I also realized that I have no pink or heart-themed knitting planned for my immediate future. How can that be? Do I not feel the love? What can I do to fix it?

Aha! A heart afghan! But wait...I do not knit afghans. I CRO-SHAY them... Well, even so, I am gonna at least knit a heart square...

And I am gonna block it! (See the pins?) 

Now that the square is blocked, I am really not sure what to do next. I am certain that I will not make an entire afghan of this pattern...and I know that it is not a suitable dish- or wash-cloth, as it is made of wool. It doesn't look much like a toy for Peanut either, hmmmm.

Until I figure it out, I guess I'll just find my joy in a heart square that needs my knit love, and I will admire my handiwork. Have you ever knitted a mystery love like this?

One Last Secret Revealed...

Because socks should always be knit in pairs, and because Snake and Dollface are both grateful recipients of hand-knit-by-Mom socks, there is one last pair (the second pair in this pair of pairs of socks) coming off my needles...

Not for Hermione...the pattern is called
"Hermione's Everyday Socks."

I have enough of this yarn left to also make another pair of socks for myself, and I am sure that I will...well, I would cast them on right now, if I would just stop taking on test knits...

Test knit for my Rav friend, Katie. These Guitar Mitts
are for Dollface, because they are green!

...and if I would stop knitting all the gifts I give, for nearly every occasion lately...

Another BBF! These are ridiculously
fast and fun to knit!

...then perhaps I would have more time to knit for myself. But let's get real. I am always going to knit for other people, and it will probably always interfere with my knitting-for-me time. I suppose there are worse things. ;-) For now, I will keep working on the Flower Garden, and perhaps I'll cast on that new sweater I have been dreaming about lately...and perhaps I'll just cast on a charity scarf. Either way, my needles will be a-clickin', and that makes me one happy Pretty!

What are you knitting this year? Whatever it is, I hope that all of your stitches will be even, and that you will Knit in Good Health throughout 2013!

Not a secret anymore!

All those secrets for all those weeks have really tired me out! I can be really good at secrets, but it really wears me out, and I would generally rather not work so hard at deception. For this reason, I am thankful that the Christmas holidays are behind us once again. As a matter of fact, I was so eager to have all of the secrets behind me that I just up and confessed to Snake that I have made him a second pair of socks for his birthday, which is this month! (He got a green pair for Christmas.) Since the birthday socks were actually already done, I gave them to him earlier this week...and he loves them.

Unfortunately, even though they are done, I never took a "finished picture" (that  I can find), so this is all I've got...a photo of a sock-and-a-half from my Rav project page. Knitting win! Recording fail! =/

Maybe he'll wear them to his birthday dinner even! He is so knit-worthy!

Are you still knitting your secrets? Even if you are, I hope that you are Knitting in Good Health!

I Beg Your Pardon...

Remember that old vintage country song? 

"I beg your pardon, 

I never promised you a rose garden.

Along with the sunshine,

There's gonna be a little rain sometimes."

As I was reflecting on 2012, that song came to mind. It came to mind because I've had some rainy days and Mondays in this lifetime. It came to mind because I know that I am not perfect...I've let my loved ones down, and they have often done the same for me. It came to mind because I have sometimes wished away perfectly good days (and weeks, and months, occasionally) while I was looking for the tulips so I could tiptoe through them.

But you know what? My life is good. It's not perfect, and I am not always deliriously happy, but my life is very good. I've never promised anyone perfection, and I have no right to demand perfection, but I do have the privilege of encouraging others here in the muck and mire of this life. I have the honor of finding and sharing the blooms of life with others, especially when it rains in their world. I also have the gift of yarn-craftiness, whereby I can actually make a flower if I can't find any "in the wild" of winter...

Flower afghan for Peanut, in crochet. 
That's right. I said crochet.
In the yarny realm, I am bi-craftual!

So, that's what I'm gonna do. I mean, I beg your pardon...I never promised anyone a rose garden. But Peanut shall have a flower garden for her 2nd birthday, and the flowers will never wither and die. Thanks to acrylic yarn (which will probably survive the 2nd coming, but she won't need to bring her own garden to heaven), she should have this flower afghan for a good part of her life. This makes her Pretty Knitty Gramma fairly happy.

What's on your needles and hooks for 2013? Whatever it is, I hope that it makes you (and the recipient of your yarny generosity) smile and smile! 

Happy New Year, friends! May 2013 bring you sunshine and flowers, even if you have to sometimes make your own. May 2013 also bring you many hours to Knit (and Crochet) in Good Health!