Contest Closed!

Thanks for stopping by! 

The contest is now closed. I hope that you were able to enter, and I wish you the best of luck! 

The winner will be announced on Wed., Sep. 4th!

Knit in Good Health!

Projects in my Queue...

173 projects in my Ravelry Queue...

173 projects in my queue!

Download one, 

and knit 'til it's done - 

172 projects in my Ravelry queue! 

Well, except that I can't knit much...not with this...

...so, there are still 173. Maybe more.

Why more? Well, what has actually been happening these past 18 days is that I've been ADDING more projects that I want to knit to my queue...I can add things just fine with one hand...sigh!

Oh, well! I can still knit small, flat things...like dishcloths and scarves...for short spurts. Of course, the relative lack of knitting makes for very boring blog posts. I mean, I wouldn't blame you if you just ran off to enter a contest or something exciting like that. 

See what I did there? (eyebrows up-and-down, up-and-down) 
You've still got time to enter...until midnight!

I go to the doc on Wednesday to see how much longer 'til my hand makes bail...hey! I have an idea...I'll announce the contest winner that morning..you know, for good luck! So thanks for stopping by! Enter the contest, and tune in Wednesday to see if you've won!!!

Until then, Knit in Good Health!!!

It's all downhill from here...

First of all, don't forget THE CONTEST!!! Head over here to enter with a comment on post #500, OR send me an email at PrettyKnittyJewelry[at]yahoo[dot]com (remove brackets and add in the appropriate symbols) to enter before the end of the month! Extra entries if you share the contest via your own blog, Facebook or Twitter...Good Luck!

As you know, I am three fingers short of 10, so I'll try to keep the typing to a minimum. After all, I have a full day of typing ahead of me in the office, and I'd hate to tire out my one good hand before 9:30! But really, how many words do I need to say that she LOVES slides?!?

She loves big slides...

Small slides...

Curvy slides...

And she especially loves a slide that ends in water!

After all that fun, she also loves a good hamburger! Being the center of our attention ain't half-bad either!

Boy, oh boy! We had a great visit this month, and I miss them like crazy, but I know our next visit will be here sooner than I think! Until then, I'll just keep gazing at the photos, and treasuring our new memories of that darling girl. =D And as soon as I can knit again, I'll distract myself with yarn...it's what I do. :)

Thanks for stopping by! While you're here, remember to enter the contest! And, until next time, Knit in Good Health!

Finished last week...

A sweater for a Peanut. :)

I wish I had a picture of her in the sweater...

...but it's hard to catch and dress a 2-year-old with just one hand! It's even harder to get this particular little cutie let me take "pickers" of her in the sweater! But this stretchy placket is designed so she can "do it myself, Gamma!"

Yep. She can put it on by herself, and she can take it off by herself. And she can toss it in the air, or to the floor...all by herself! For a freshly finished garment, this is one tired sweater!

Now, since my knitting is limited, let me live vicariously through YOUR crafting! What have you been doing in your crafting/knitting/sewing rooms?!? 

500 Blog Posts?!? CONTEST!!!

In honor of my 500th blog post (OMGosh! 500? How does that happen???), and to celebrate that I have not sustained any injuries while blogging these 500 posts, let's have a contest!

***And the crowd goes wild!!!***

Let's make it a trivia contest! Let's make it Pretty trivia! And let's make the prize a bit of Pretty Knitty Jewelry for you, with a nod to the fast-approaching fall season! 

A 100-row, knitting row counter (with fully illustrated instructions)...

...and some stitch markers for you (2 red delicious apples and a little birdhouse)...

...and a little yarny goodness as well (2 skeins of worsted-weight Malabrigo, one in the Applewood colorway, and the other in Sotobosque)!

Even though the shop has been closed for over a year, Pretty still enjoys dabbling in the jewelry, and sharing with YOU!

So, leave me a comment with the answers to these questions, and you will be entered into the drawing! Bonus entry when you share the contest with your friends...via Facebook or Twitter (see link at right, just under the hexipuff counter)...and then come to tell me about it! The contest will close on Aug 31st, so you've got about 10 days to enter!

Here are the questions:
1. What is my current favorite podcast? (hint: it's a video podcast)
2. What is YOUR favorite podcast?

Good Luck, and Knit in Good Health!

Momma Said...

I remember, from my  youngest days, hearing my mom say, "Don't run! You'll fall..." Since I was the type of kid to follow the rules (still am...), I usually did my best not to run. Yes, it was because I was a rule follower from the start...and also because when I forgot and tried to run, I usually fell down. Fast forward to this past May...

After asserting again and again that I am not a runner, I took up the Couch to 5K program, and I started running. That was the beginning of May, and I did pretty well until week 7 of the 9 week program (mid-June). In week 7, I fell and broke a tooth (and my glasses, and my pride). But I got back out there, and I finished the 9 weeks! (Don't run! You'll fall...)

At the finish of C25K in July, I was even running by myself...and I was pretty happy with running in general. In addition, I am very happy with the way I feel between runs, now that I am running!!! But in mid-July, I fell again, and I took most of the skin off my right elbow. I didn't need a doctor, but my pride could have used some therapy...but I got back out there, and I started to look forward to my running days. (Don't run! You'll fall...)

Then, just this past Tuesday, I was running in the neighborhood with Mr. Pretty, and I fell a third time. That's three falls in about 9 weeks, and this time I went to the emergency room with a hand that just got purple-er and purple-er...they said I had broken two fingers.

The next day, I saw an orthopedic doctor who told me that three of my fingers are actually broken...and then he had Roberto set me up with a pretty, blue cast for at least the next three weeks. At least.

Let's review...

1. Broken tooth - fixed by dentist the next day

2. Badly scraped elbow - healed on it's own in about 3 weeks

3. THREE BROKEN FINGERS - trips to ER and specialist, with prescription painkillers and a cast for at least three weeks

I think running may be trying to tell me something. (Don't run! You'll fall...) I know that my dear husband is now trying to tell me something. (Don't run! You'll fall...) Maybe I really never will be a runner. Maybe running is just for people who don't fall down walking, or standing still. Maybe, just maybe, I should stick to the knitting...well, when the cast comes off! (Mom, how did you know? Are you psychic or something???)

Actually, I can knit a little with the cast. It is slow and painful, so I won't be doing that much, but if I need a minute, I can always knit a few dishcloth stitches. Until my fingers make bail, perhaps I'll play some catch up here...past projects never blogged, or recently finished pre-cast projects...events unblogged with Peanut (there are a couple)...whatever else I can come up with!

Bear with me, as I type (and do everything else) one-handed and much slower than usual. And pray for Mr. Pretty who suddenly finds himself in charge of the laundry, dishes, and the general care and feeding of Pretty! 

Thanks for stopping by, and be careful out there! I hear that Running is already looking for it's next victim! (No offense intended to the "real" runners out there...just a little laugh from a running wannabe who clearly isn't! =/)

Wordless Wednesday...

Just a quick "No pickers!" video...

Enjoy! And Knit in Good Health!

Handspun Hexipuffs

I know that I have told you about the hexipuffs, but if you are new to the blog, you may not have heard, so here it is...these are hexipuffs:

They are small, about 2-3 inches across, and I will need A LOT of them to make my beekeeper's quilt (based on this pattern), like maybe 400, or so. It takes me about an hour to knit, stuff, close and admire each one, so I will have 400 hours into this afghan (easily 400 hours) before I even get around to putting them together. This is what you might call a long-term knitting relationship, but it is not monogamous. Along with these tiny puffs (I am currently up to 126 puffs!), I am also knitting some fingerless mitts...

...a little sweater...

...and a bulky, baby blanket! (Yes...there is a naked baby doll in this photo. It is what it is.)

Still, I think my current FAVORITE knitting is the hexipuffs, because I am finally dipping into my own handspun to create one of a kind, very pretty puffs! Who doesn't love a pretty puff? No one! You all love pretty puffs, right?!?

So, you see, there has been knitting. Little knitting and big knitting, but today is a play-with-Peanut day, so that's where I'll be! Maybe she wants to knit a bit? We'll see...

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

It's not Hammer-Time here...

It's Peanut-Time!!! Peanut is in town (with her parents)! So here's my apology for short and/or sporadic posting...I'm sorry. But some things are more important than long blog posts, and this dear one falls squarely into that "more important" category:

So, while there has been some knitting:

The "No pickers, Gamma!" shouts of our granddaughter have clearly taken over!

But really, who can resist taking "pickers" of that beautiful girl? Not this gramma, that's for sure! Sorry, kiddo...there will be pickers on my phone, pickers on my camera, pickers everywhere!!!!

I'll try to have more knitting next time, but I'm not making any promises...

Thanks for stopping by, friends! I hope you liked the pickers! =D

Crazy Jane and the Fiber

My friend Jane has a quilting habit. (She also has a yarn habit, and a cat habit, but these are topics for another day.) I love her brand of crazy! Sometimes Jane goes out of town for work or fun, and I look after her cats. They love me, mostly because I know where the canned cat food is kept!

Jane loves me because I know where she keeps her yarn (even the good stuff), and I do not help myself...even though I have a key, and I could. Because she loves me, and because her cats love me, sometimes there is a token of appreciation for Pretty. :)

Inside that Crazy Jane bag (which is stitched of my very favorite teals and greens) was some crazy cool fiber, that I am finally finished spinning up! THANK YOU, JANE!!!

Before it was a lovely three-ply (Navajo-ply), it looked like this, and I love it!  

It's only an ounce, but it's spun pretty fine, so I should have a good bit...maybe another tiny, lace scarf? Here's a look at it on the spindle, post-plying...sooo pretty! (Can you see the sparkle? It sparkles!)

In the meantime, I'm also knitting some of my other handspun! First I had to wind the yarn from a skein into a ball. I used my favorite (and most commonly used) tools...

...and then I started this scarf!

I love how this alpaca/silk yarn is knitting up, and even though I am back on the knitting, I am still a spinning fool! Crazy! That must be why I love my friend Jane so much!!! Well, that and her sense of crafting adventure is just infectious...here she is, bonding with joey the llama! :)

And her smile...she has the best smile! I love how much my friends make me smile, and I love that you stopped by today! I hope that you are smiling, too...

Now it's time for me to sign off, and for all of us to Knit (or spin, or crochet, or craft) in Good Health!