Winter Wardrobe

Lately, I have been contemplating Christmas and all that goes with it. I'm thinking about putting my tree up, and I am already decorating it in my head...getting every ornament in its exactly-right-place. I'm wondering how many more gifts I need to knit before December 25th. I'm drooling over the cookies and candy I will eat create...so much to think about! You know what else I've got floating around up there in my brain? A little conversation I had last year...it went like this:

Mork: Mom, I need an ugly Christmas sweater by tomorrow. Can you knit one?
Me: I will not knit an UGLY sweater (on purpose).
Dollface: What about all those ones in your closet, Mom?
Me: ???
Mork: Well, or like that one you're wearing?
Ba-dum-bump, Ching!

Forgive me if you've heard that already, but it IS still pretty funny! For the record, I did not knit him a sweater, ugly or otherwise. Also for the record, I have not disowned either of them. And just so you know, I am currently re-thinking my winter wardrobe, wondering how many of my festive frocks are, in reality, ugly Christmas Sweaters...sigh!

What do you think? Do they all go? I mean, I love the cheesy sweaters and sweatshirts...yes, I do. I'm keeping them. After all, everything eventually comes around to become fashionable again, right? Eventually? Right?!?

In any case, there will be knitting. I think I even have a sweater's worth of red in my stash, so perhaps I will knit myself a little something more subtle, but still festive. :) But, and I cannot stress this enough, I will never knit an UGLY sweater (on purpose)! Of course, I have knit one or two accidentally, but let's not dwell on that.

Do you have any Christmas Sweater Stories that you'd be willing to share? If your answer is no, maybe it's time for you to start knitting! lol! I crack me up!

Whatever you are knitting this holiday season, I hope that you will Knit in Good Health!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quickie, as I watch the parade...
From our Pretty house to yours -

Hand and Foot Disease

The day before Thanksgiving, in my house at least, has always been designated "Bread and Pie Day," because it is the day I traditionally bake the bread and pies (and cookies) for our feast! This year, we will be feasting with the family a day late, and I am glad...

You see, just in time for Thanksgiving this year, it seems that I have caught a little case of Hand and Foot Disease! Please don't be alarmed by that...I promise it's not contagious. Well, if you're a knitter, I suppose it might be, but I really don't think it is. Even if it is a little bit "catchy," it's not all that bad. The very worst symptom is that all I to do is knit and play with things for the hands and feet! For instance, there are the gloves that Peanut put her request in for last week, now finished and ready to be on their merry way to her chilly fingers:

And then there's the second pair that I've already started, because a girl can never have too many pairs of gloves, right?!?

I've also recently finished this pair of fingerless gloves for me, and they are so very fuzzy and lovely in purple and alpaca...

Then there are the extra mittens for Peanut's advent calendar:

Too small for anyone's hands, but so cute when stuffed with a sticker, a hair bow and a chap stick! Look! Black cat wonders if they are mittens for her! Haha! Silly kitty!

But, with all those mittens and gloves, let's not forget the feet...and all those Darned Socks!

Can you see that? At the bottom, on the heel? This is just one of the three pair of hand-knit socks that I have actually darned in the last two weeks...it's crazy, I tell ya! I only have photo proof of that one, tho...the yarn doesn't match, so it's easy to see where it has been darned. If I'm going to do all that work to fix a heel, I certainly want you to be able to see it in the pictures!!!

So, on this Thanksgiving Eve, I am feeling very thankful and accomplished in my yarny endeavors. :) Now all I have to do is stay busy until it's time to take turkey to the table...I know that I am up for that challenge! I love holiday meals, and this year we get to spend time with all of us together: Sweetie and I, Snake and Dollface, Mork and Mindy, and Peanut! It's gonna be a blast!

Thanks for stopping by on this "Bread and Pie Day!" I hope that your holiday goes off without a hitch! And, if you're a knitter like me, I hope that you find time to Knit in Good Health this weekend!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Heard at Knitting...

There are always funny things to hear at knitting. Last Thursday's gem was this: "Well, bring us something that smells like him at least!"

Before you go THERE, that sentiment was uttered by a Nana who had just cuddled the newest baby in the group (not quite 2 months old), and she wanted just one more sniff of that sweet baby head. His mother promised to bring in the latest batch of dirty diapers and spit-up rags, and I am currently thinking about skipping knitting next week (lol!), but I know what that Nana meant, and I have to admit that I can echo that sentiment. There is nothing so sweet as the smell of a brand-spankin'-new human being...especially to a grandma!

You know what else I heard at knitting on Thursday? My text alert. There was a text from Peanut and her mommy, almost as sweet as that baby. It seems that Peanut got her gloves wet that day, and her mommy presented a pair of hand-knit-by-Gramma mittens for those chilly hands. Peanut wasn't having any of that, however. She likes "mittens like this!," (in other words, gloves). 

She said, "Gramma can knit me gloves. Gramma knits." So, you know what? 

Of course I am. I had her mommy trace her hand for measurements, and I found a pattern, and there you have it! I am knitting my first pair of Peanut-sized gloves in the softest yarn I have on hand...Debbie Bliss Cashmerino...yummm!

Hopefully they will be done before it gets any colder at her house! I think I am up for the challenge... (wink!) ...but only if I get back to it, so I'll just sign off here. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Are you knitting anything challenging this week? 

Itchy, Twitchy, Knit-along Fingers

The gals in my local Ravelry group have decided on a January knit-along. A colorwork sweater pattern, the Plum Frost Pullover & Cardigan is the sweater we will knit. Well, about half-a-dozen of us will be knitting Plum Frost...we were sucked in by the lovely, fair-isle knitting in multiple colors, and also by the steeking. 

Pictured is a version of the Plum Frost knitted by
Joyrider1978 on Ravlery. Isn't is lovely?

For those of you who don't know what steeking is, here's the short explanation: For ease of knitting, so you don't have to work purl rows on the back-side of your cardigan pieces, you knit the entire piece in the round. Around, and around, and around you knit, using two (or more) colors, until the sweater is finished. When the knitting is done, you bind off and you have a lovely pullover. Of course, if you want your sweater to be a button-up cardigan, you still have one final step.

Hold on to your hats.

You get out your very-sharp scissors, and carefully snip all that detailed color work in half, then add button bands. Yes. That's right. You cut it apart. o_O

It can be a daunting task, but I've been told that if you have knit your sweater with a "grabby," wool yarn, it's really not that big a deal. That's what I've been told. But I've never done it myself. Still, I've signed myself up, and I've already bought the yarn...

...so, I am all in on this one. I am still struggling with one aspect of this knit-along, however. I'M NOT SURE I CAN WAIT UNTIL JANUARY!!! lol! 

I am also struggling (a bit) with the steeking. I love the look of a cardigan as much as the next knitter, and I am sure that I am up for the challenge of steeking, but I often end up sewing my cardis closed to solve "gaping" issues...and the more I think about it, I am not sure that I can cut this knitting, then knit button-bands and sew on buttons, if there is even a chance that I will think about sewing the thing closed later! =/ So, right now at least, it's looking like I'll be knitting a pullover.

Have you ever steeked? How did it turn out? Did you end up sewing your cardigan closed, and how did that make you feel? lol! I'll keep you posted as I change my mind, over and over again, and then as I Knit-Along with my group!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Hey! I'm a Winner!

You know how it goes...you enter a contest, you don't expect to win. You just take joy in participating...in entering the specified projects in the Ravelry group (this time it was Holding the Sticks, with Emily), and then faithfully listening to/watching the podcast for that special announcement - "And the winner is..." It's a ritual I am familiar with.

One thing I am NOT so familiar with is actually winning the contest, but look! I won this one!

It was actually very funny. I was just listening along at my desk, like I always do, then I thought, "Wait. Did she just mention my name?" And she had! (I went back and watched three times, just to be sure!) I won a $25 Etsy gift card! Yay! And thanks Emily!!!

With my gift card, I ended up buying a knitting bag from the KayLaLa Shop on Etsy, and when it arrived, I just about fainted from the cuteness inside the envelope! First, there was a brown paper package, all tied up with string...

...and then, the singing cats! Hahahahahaha!

Yes, I didn't notice it when I chose the bag online, but these cats are singing! They do not keep me up at night, so I don't mind it, and really...just look at those happy, singing cats...super adorable! On top of the cute fabric is the fact that this is one of those uber-popular designs for knitting bags, the "knot bag," and you can see why I am thrilled again and again with winning, and using my gift card on such a super-cute knitting bag!

I'm only left with one question...what do you suppose the cats are singing? Songs of socks? Small sweaters? Or are they just bursting into song, Glee-style, to tempt me to treat them with tuna?

Whatever they are singing, this bag just makes me happy. =D Great for mittens/hats or socks, I am using it every day! Thanks again for the contest, Emily! And thanks for the great bag, Kay!

And thank you, Readers, for stopping by! Grab your fave knitting bag, and Knit in Good Health!

Something in the way she moves...

"Something in the way she moves," my husband might say, "in fits and staaa-arts, like no other..." 

Yes, he might say that, but mostly he abides by the old adage, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." (Wise man, that one is.) So he rarely says much, whether I'm in manic mode or slow-to-stop. And even though I very much do move in fits and starts, he has been very patient...especially when it comes to decorating, and putting things back together following the recent upgrades to our home and furniture! In fact, once we got the tables together and in place last weekend...

I felt like I was just done for awhile! We'd sit in the living room, with it's new sofas and still bare walls, and there was just no desire to do all that fussy-work of hanging the pictures back up...those new sofas seriously just beckon me to sit down and knit!

But on Monday evening, when I got home from work, I was in "Go Mode" again, so I got to it and moved three large-and-heavy storage boxes from their semi-permanent home in the basement up two flights of stairs to their more permanent home in the attic. It was hard work, and I sure was sweaty when I was done...and that newly finished throw on the sofa was not just beckoning, but it was begging me to clean up and sit down!

Considering that even the cat gets sucked into the squishy goodness of this afghan's invitation,...

...I was pretty pleased with myself that I resisted. Instead, I finally re-hung some of our family photos!

Ahhh! Now it feels like "home" again! :) So I took my shower, and I sat down to knit some more smittens...remember the smittens? I started and finished one in that last hour I was awake, and then a couple more yesterday, and I think I may make some "spares" for Mindy to keep on hand just in case Peanut misplaces any this year!

All of the pictures are not up, but the walls I see when I watch TV are no longer bare, and I think I have a solid plan for the others now. Pair that with the suddenly cooler temperatures and the SNOW that fell this week, and all I wanna do is knit! Good thing, too, because I've got two more afghans and some gifties to churn out in the next few weeks...it's gonna be a good winter! I hope that you have some luscious, squishy-good knitting plans for the winter, too! What will you be knitting?

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

There has been knitting...

Yes, there has been knitting...just a bit, here and there.
But there has not been much sitting, of late, around here.

So the knitting has been bulky: mittens, hats and throws.
Stuff that knits up quick, before I forget how it goes!

But mostly there's been cleaning and painting and ripping out rugs...
There's been washing and scraping and killing of bugs!

The cats have been helping, they are doing their bit -
Like watching for deliveries, and catching naps where they sit.

And we have been busy, choosing flooring and couches,
Having them delivered, then assembling, we're no slouches!

So far, we've put together sofas, times three,
And we've bought and hung curtains, but we can't let it be...

There is still more to do, window shade installing, tables to assemble,
And so much decorating at hand - it's just monumental!

Now, I know that my poem has neither perfect meter nor rhyme,
But I've taken a shot, and now is the time

For me to stop writing, there are many tasks at hand,
And at my feet, too...all over Pretty-Land!

So, I'll choose bulky knitting, at least for now,
And hope that I can get it all done somehow.

Thanks for stopping by! I'll have more pictures soon...
But until then, Knit in Good Health, whether sane or a loon! :)

My Cats? Maybe...

These are my cats...

These are not my cats...

This may or may not be me. And Cozy.

True stories from the Land of Odd on Ravelry. Don'tcha wish your girlfriend was a cat like me? I thought so...

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

PS - If none of this makes sense to you, you must not be an Oddball...well, at least not on Ravelry! In any case, please enjoy the cat pictures!

PPS - I have been knitting, but much of it is "Secret Knitting," so that just is what it is...perhaps there will be knitting content on Saturday? One never knows. 

This is the Year...

About six years ago, we took out a home equity line of credit. We had lived in our home for 12 years, and there were some rooms that were looking pretty rough! We wallpapered the kitchen and put in a second bathroom through the years, but we were still walking on the 5-year carpet left behind by the previous owners in 1995. The walls in the living room and one bedroom were also exactly the same as what we'd purchased, although we had turned Dollface's room into a purple, butterfly paradise somewhere around 2003. Still, there was a lot to do to this house...

Shortly after opening the line of credit, Mork and Mindy decided to get married, and we used that line to help finance a lovely day of memories for them. Then Dollface graduated and started college, 'nuff said. Shortly after that, Peanut was born, and the new grandparents had cross-country trips to finance, to snuggle and tickle that baby. Oh, and we finally resurfaced the original bathroom the same year that Dollface was engaged to Snake, and the parents of the bride were happy to plan and finance much of their day of bliss! Along the way, there were also cars to fix, appliances that needed replacing and various other items that needed that money more than we thought the "main house" did...until this year.

"This is the year to redo the house," we said, and Sweetie and I deemed it so in January (or maybe February, who can remember?). We talked a LOT about carpeting, painting, and furniture, and then allofasudden we realized it was September, and what had we done? Nothing! (Well, I broke three fingers, but that's another story.) Anyway, finally, in the ninth month of 2013 we decided to get to it! We bought paint: a high-gloss white for the trim, and an eggshell/satin in Linen and Clamshell for the walls; and we put it in the butterfly room, where it sat for nearly a month, until...

One day, Sweetie moved some furniture out of the spare room and into the butterfly room, and then I moved some things out of the living room into the butterfly room, and then we moved all that living/dining room furniture into the middle of that big room, and we painted our hearts out for 3 days!

Then we went out to order carpeting, and we moved the rest of the things that we could move into the butterfly room, and we just ripped out that nasty, old carpeting:

Even on the stairs!

And then the butterfly room looked like this:

The sofa would not fit into the butterfly room, and when it was finally on the curb, the cats freaked out. THERE WERE NO SOFT PLACES TO CURL UP ON OR HIGH PLACES TO SEE FROM! Well, there was still Pretty's lap, as I sat on a lawn chair with an old ottoman under my ankles!

Luckily for the cats, the carpeting was installed pretty quick...

...and furniture was delivered and put together!

I forgot to take photos of all the boxes (there were 14, many of them taller than me!), but I assembled 2 (of 3) sofas in just one day! (I did need a power screwdriver and a strong hand to get the wheels onto the bed of the sofa bed...but other than that, this was all me!)

The third sofa is a sectional that will go in the basement, once we get the old one out... I also managed to get that butterfly room put back together and use-able!

And I bought a purple chair, that I love. :)

It's been a busy week, and I am ready to sit down (preferably on one of my new sofas)!!! There are still a lot of details to work out (curtains, finding everything we've moved out of the way in the last couple weeks, decorating with our new color scheme), but all I want to do right now is knit. I'm making a pillow cover, so I can use my old pillows on the new sofa! It only makes sense then that you'll most likely find me building another sofa in the basement this afternoon, right? Ah well, maybe I'll knit tomorrow.

This is the year for our house, indeed...even though we got a really late start. :) I hope you've reached some of your goals so far this year as well...have you made any big changes?

Thanks for stopping by, and whatever you're crafting or remodeling, I hope that you're meeting your goals for 2013!