Squirrly Knits

2006-05-01T11:44:00.000-03:00

I made my daughter a pair of sixth sense sox's from the knit along I joined. She loves them. I love knitting for her. She gets so excited when you're making something for her. It makes it all worth it. AND....the thing with making her something is that you cant put it away for a couple of months (like i'm so bad for doing). She's always asking where it is. Can you see a future knitter? I do! I thought I had a picture but cant seem to find it. I'll have to post one later when they are out of the wash.

Also, this weekend we got the end of our house sided. Its a start! And i love it!!

Log Cabin's

2006-04-19T21:12:00.000-03:00

Hi there. Just a quick post today. I finished a Christmas gift :) They turned out pretty good. Now I've got another pair to make and that should be one couple done. Imagine.....Christmas....that's just crazy. Dont ya just love it!! Sorry the picture is so crappy. The larger sock is being blocked and drying.

Log Cabin Socks from Handknit Holidays

Made with Bernat denimstyle in Chino

3.75mm dpn

My little girl wanted me to make her some socks so now I'm making her some Sixth sense socks from the six sox knitalong. They are knitting up fast. I finish one sock today!

Mail Goodies

2006-03-27T11:08:00.000-04:00

Look at what I got today!

From left to right: Sock Garden Zinnia, Sock Garden Star Gazer Lily, Sock Memories Grandma, Blues Parade and Forest Parade. All are from Knit Picks of course.

SO...... I guess I've got some sock knitting to do! Hehehe. I found a couple of patterns that I think I'm going to try. One is from this site http://craftoholic.blogspot.com/2005/09/all-about-socks.html. I love the spiral look. I'm just waiting for the site owner to email me the pattern. I'll probably also do a couple more jaywalkers. As for the others.....I dont know. I guess as I see the patterns I'll decide.

I'm still working on the hourglass sweater. It's coming along. I'm on my last decrease section before I start the yolk. I finished hubby's wool socks. Went to take a picture of them and they were gone. I guess he was so excited he wore them to work the next morning. He said he loved them and they were probably the best fitting socks he's ever owned. AWWWWWWWWWWWWW. heheee. I dont know how anybody can say wool socks are comfy....i say they're ITCHY. The raw wool ones I mean. Not the nice soft wool. The next purchase I have to make is that book Socks Soar with Two Circular Needles. I guess I'm going to have to break down and get it. There's not a whole lotta help online with doing this method. And hey, it's not going to hurt having another knitting book around. :)

Thats it for now folks. Sorry its taken me almost a month to post! Man I suck!!!

2006-03-08T20:52:00.000-04:00

So I've started the Hourglass sweater. I've already frogged it and restarted. Duh, I cant count. hehehe. I'm also still working on the mr's second sock. uggg. Second socks suck. Even after 6 months from the first one. oops. I cant wait to learn how to do 2 at once. Should be interesting. Thats actually all the knitting I have on the go right now. I've got lots planned, but am keeping myself back from starting them.

So our renovations are still going on. Here's a shot of the bathroom so far.

We still need to rip out that sink and counter and put in a pedestal sink. And the place of course needs crackfill, window trim and cupboards behind the door. And paint. I have NO idea what to paint it. I think I'm the worst person in the world when it comes to choosing paint colors. I kinda want to bring the beach colors into it. But dont know how. The light and new medicine cabinet (which i LOVE - it is brushed chrome, oval and is a medicine cabinet!) are both brushed chrome and everything else white. SO....any ideas? I like dark wicker but would that look stupid? To many different textures? AGGGG!

Anyways, the rest of the windows are changed and the siding is off the house and the new insulation is on. Now we cant side the house till the weather gets warmer cause we still need to build on the front extension. SO my house will look a little different for a little bit, but i love it! Just changing the windows has made a world of difference.

And here's my BAD Bo. He is sooo full of mischief. Cracks me up. I feel like i have another toddler running around! Speaking of toddlers, my oldest is driving me crazy. She is soo bad. Wont eat anything i put in front of her and tests everything i say. Everyone says to have patience, but man...i'm starting to go crazy!! Shes only 2. How am I going to get through two terrible 2's in a row?

FO Finally!

2006-02-24T15:44:00.000-04:00

I finally finished my SIL's scarf. Its pretty much the same as the Irish Hiking Scarf but I made a couple of changes to the left cable and the middle cable. So I guess its not the same at all huh. :)

So the next thing I'm working on is a mini Clapotis. I'm using 3.75m needles and the Knitpicks Gossamer yarn. Hopefully it turns out alright.

Renovations have started here at the house. I love it all. Except the mess. Hate that! Anyways, the living room window has been changed and a garden door has been installed in the dining room replacing that UGLY window that was there. Today the guys ripped out the tub and shower and I'm hoping that tomorrow it'll be back in. Or nobody's going to want to come and visit us! :)

Heres' a pic of Mr. Bo Jangles.....or Bo. Such a cutie!!

Jaywalker done!

2006-02-14T15:29:00.000-04:00

Told you I would finish them today! Here they are.

Pattern: Jaywalker Socks

Yarn: DGB Confetti superwash

Needles: Addi circ 2.5mm

I liked doing these. They were fun. If I was to make them for myself I would use the larger pattern. They are quite a snug fit. And I was happy with the way the yarn was striping until I got to the heel of sock #2. One of the colors were a bit longer than on sock 1 and it messed up the perfect matching between the two. Ah well...they still turned out great! Now if only I could have finished these last night for the contest deadline!! AAGG!

So bummed

2006-02-14T09:21:00.000-04:00

That's how I feel today. I didn't finish my Jaywalker socks. Yesterday was supposed to be the day. I was all set last night after I put the kids to bed. All that was left was the toe. Then my youngest who has 3 teeth coming in, got up screaming at 9pm and didn't stop till 11pm. No time for knitting there! And my hubby was working late last night, so it was all me. bwahhhhhhh!!!

I just wanted a chance to win STR yarn!! I've never won anything before!! :(

Ah well, at least today I can sit down and relax and finish them. No pressure. I am really impressed with yesterday too though. I knit from the heel to the toe in one day. That's a lot of knitting for me! I made such progress!

OK....enough of that. SO today is Valentines Day. Any special plans? We are going to go out for supper for the first time! We've been together for so long and its funny that we've never gone out to a nice fancy dinner! Crazy. Ah well, it's about time and we deserve it. I cant wait. My lovely sister has offered to babysit for a couple hours. She deserves something nice for that!

So, have a great day. If your a single lady, go treat yourself! If your in a relationship, go give that special somebody a hug. Me, I'm grabbing my kids and squezzing the crap outta them.....same thing I do everyday. They love it!

Stash addition

2006-02-08T20:09:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to show you the new yarn I got from Knitpicks! 2 balls of sock yarn to make arm warmers and 2 skeins of some laceweight to make the Clapotis. I dont think that this yarn will make a very big clapotis, which is fine with me. I think one person said that they used this particular yarn to make theirs, but they double the yarn. I'm not doubling mine. I hope it turns out nice! And of course, I bought a sheep measuring tape. Hehehe. I would never spend that much on a measuring tape, but I thought that this guy was so cute!

One Jaywalker down!

2006-02-03T08:35:00.000-04:00

FINALLY! I have finished the first sock. Holy crap......I gotta get knitting on the second one! Heres the pics. I like the fit too. It's a bit tight getting on, but once it's over the heel.....mmmmmmmmmm....so comfy!!

He's a keeper

2006-01-31T17:29:00.000-04:00

Meet Bo. He's one of Jessie's pups. And he's staying :) How many people had bets going?? Will she keep one?? How crazy is she?? Like she needs another pet! WELL FOLKS.....I do need another pet! How could I not? He's soooo cute. And bad. Very bad. And spoiled already. heheee, but that's all good.

Guess what. I'm still on sock one. Is that sad or what? If this contest ends on Feb 14th, I'm in trouble. I better kick those turbo needles in gear! Dont you wish it was that easy? And I'm finding that they are quiet tight. But that's what I've been reading. That the type of pattern that it is doesnt' give the sock much stretch. But once they are on...comfy!

I'm getting pretty excited. I think we are going to take a drive out to Briggs and Little wool!! HOW EXCITING! I cant wait. Anybody know how long of a drive it is from Fredericton?

2006-01-23T11:40:00.000-04:00

OK! The mistake was found on the sock. Only 4 rows back! Thank god!! Anyways, Now i'm about 3 inches into the foot. Has anybody with a size 7 foot made these? How far from the heel did you make the sock before you started the toe? These arent for me, thats why I'm asking. I just hope I dont get second sock syndrome and not finish these before the deadline. I would LOVE to win some of that sock yarn!! The chances of that though are slim to none since there's so many people in this knit along. Its fun though. Go check out all the socks! www.januaryone.com

Heres an update on my sock:

It came!

2006-01-18T11:44:00.000-04:00

Yay! Today was so exciting for me. My scarf exchange package came!! And it held more than a scarf! I'd post a picture but there's something wrong with blogger right now. Here's a description for now.

There is my scarf of course. Which is super long. LOVE IT. Then there is 3 balls of Merino wool (what ever will i make?), some Hello Kitty candy, apricot tea bags, milk tea, dried mango's and a card! I really didnt' expect all that. Thank you sooo soo much Erin. I think this little taste of mail happiness might have convinced me to enter the next Secret Pal. I got so excited when I opened up my mail box and seen the box!! Made my day. Thanks again Erin!!

UPDATE:

2006-01-17T09:52:00.000-04:00

Yay! I've been added to the Jaywalker along. I'm just past the heel and was doing great until I realized that my stitches are off. DAMN! I hate back knitting. H.A.T.E it. Even more when it's on itty bitty needles and I dont know where my mistake was! Ah well. I gave up last night around 11. I was so tired. Figured I'd give it another go when I'm more awake. Here's a picture of where I'm at now.

And here's a couple shots of the pups!

Jaywalker socks

2006-01-15T12:13:00.000-04:00

Hi! Guess what. I joined the Jaywalker sock knitalong. At least I hope I did. I'm kinda still waiting to hear if I'm in or not. But no waiting on the knitting!! Heres a picture of my progress so far. I like the pattern up to this point. Its coming out nicely with these strips!

The colors kinda remind me of those Halloween candies......I havent seen them since I was a kid, but that's what this sock reminds me of. Which is a bad thing because now I want some of those candies. They were tasty! Thats all for now!!

Ummmm......what was I thinking?

2006-01-13T23:16:00.000-04:00

Ok. Here's the story. At the end of it, I'm going to need your help.

I had to go to the local thrift store to buy drop sheets for my puppies. No prob! Cause they are sooo cute. When I was looking through the bins, I can across these 2 little balls of yarn. Pretty color..purple.......60% wool/40% silk. There's only 125 yrds each.....not much. But for .25c each you cant say no!

Then I came across this. And I took it.

It's a big honkin cone of something.....its green (a nice green) and I have no idea what fiber it is. I have no idea why I bought it. It was $4.00.

Can somebody PLEASE give me some ideas on what to make with this!! It's about the weight of sock yarn i guess. That would make a freaking lot of socks. And I'm not going to make that many socks. That would be crazy. It would make me crazy. Oh my god. I dont know. Maybe a shawl? Of some sort?? I need help.

There was another one of these cones there and it was in hot pink! That would have been hard to explain to the mr. hehehee.

Anyways, appreciate any suggestions!!

2006-01-09T10:30:00.000-04:00

This year we will be doing renovations to our house. By "we" i mean "he". Our house is 29 yrs old and needs so much work. We knew this when we bought it. Mike is a really good handyman and the price was right, so we couldn't turn it down. Plus.....we kinda liked it! This weekend we had walls put up. Yes...walls. There was a half wall in the living room that had the basement stairs behind it...real safe for kids. Ya. So we made it into a full wall. And then, the wall from the living room to the diningroom had a big "hole" in it. I dont know what the purpose of this was. Maybe the previous owners thought that it made the place look bigger or something. Me..i thought it looked ugly. So....its' filled in to. And what a difference!! It looks great!

There still some more crackfilling to do and then painting. In the sping we will be changing windows, putting on new siding, a new chimney and a front and back deck with a mudroom off the front. I can wait. It's going to be awesome. We also have to dig up around the basement and find all the cracks that flood it and fix them. LOTS OF WORK. But so worth it!

Ok....knitting news. I've almost got my scarf exchange scarf done. I'm just toying over how long it should be. I like it as is but mike says "a scarf has to be really long". Hmmp. So i'm still knitting. I think i'll do another 10 sets and then block it. I've never blocked before. Any secrets I should know about??

After this project I need to finish my sil's scarf and mitts. She knows they're coming too. So i cant put them off. I'd like to finish off all of my little projects that I've got laying around this year. You know.....one sock here, one mitt there. And I also want to do a craft show this fall so I've got to get started on that now!! I think I'm going to make those jaywalker socks too. Mary maxim has this sock yarn that i'm liking too. It's called Regia Canadian Fashion Sock Yarn. It's not bad.

Anyways, thats it for now. Oh ya......the pups are doing great. SOOOO CUTE!!:)

Bye for now!!

They are walking! So cute!!

2005-12-29T12:58:00.000-04:00

The pups are walking around today and they also opened up their eyes the other day. Boys oh boys, they are cute!!

I have started my scarf for the scarf exchange. The one that I had originally wanted to do didnt' work out. I didnt' like the yarn...to itchy. So then I tried it in another yarn, and I just didn't like it either!! So now i'm trying an all together new pattern with different yarn. It seems to be coming along nicely. I have a hard time knitting for other people. I want the item to be perfect and I am never happy with what I make. Everyone tells me that it is great, nice, beautiful......i'm way to picky about my work! Ah well, i'm iffy about the current scarf...but I think it'll be ok. I hope. Cause i'm running out of options!! :)

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-22T13:39:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to wish everybody a happy Christmas!! My house is all ready for Santa to come. Cassidy is so into "HOHO" this year and I dont know how! I havent really told her about Santa very much..just that he brings special gifts to everybody on Christmas eve, we're going to leave him some cookies.....the usual. And she loves him. If she see's him on tv she goes all crazy. I love it though. It's so cute and innocent.....brings back the magic of it all. It's great. And this year we have 10 puppies to share it with too!! How great is that???

On the knitting front. Ok.......I started making a new pair of mitts for my sil. She was so upset about having her other ones taken that I couldnt' resist. And I received my yarn for the scarf exchange. I now need to know what pattern i'm going to use and which yarn i'm going to use. Decisions decisions!!! AAGG! I cant say to much about it here because I have no idea if the person I am making for reads my blog or not. If she does "HI!!!" heheee.

Ok, I hope you all have a happy and safe holidays and we will see you after Christmas!

Toodles!!

Puppies

2005-12-19T10:11:00.000-04:00

Here they are. There's only 10 now. We had a little guy die last night. The rest seem to be doing great though. Doubled their size already. If you can make them out in the big clump you'll see how CUTE they are!!! I love it when they get their little tails wagging. It's the best!!! If anybody around my area is interested in them, send me an email and i'll give you the details. I cant tell how many choc's there are yet. They are all still so dark. And there are 6 girls and 4 boys.

I'm a grammy! (kinda)

2005-12-16T09:29:00.000-04:00

My dog Jessie had her puppies last night! She has 11!!! HOLY MOMMA!!! She went into labour early early morning on Thursday (prob just after midnight) and she never had her first pup until 9pm last night. That's a long haul. Her last pup was born at 4:30am this morning. They seem to all be doing good. There was 1 stillborn, and it was so sad. We tried so hard to get it to come around. I was hoping that they would all be healthy too. But Jessie is taking good care of the one's she has. They are sooooooooooooo cute!! I'll post pics later!!

I hate waiting!!

2005-12-08T17:53:00.000-04:00

I am waiting for my copy of Melanie Falicks Handknit Holidays book to finally arrive in the mail. I hate waiting.

Something looks different....

2005-12-07T14:19:00.000-04:00

Hey! Like the new blog?? I was soooo scared switching it over cause I was afraid of loosing everything in the side bar. I wish there were more pages to choose from too! Anyways, a new look for the upcoming new year.
So, I finished the second mitt to match the "my so called scarf" set. I should be finished the MIL's slippers tonight and started another pair tomorrow.
My bf's sister called me in tears the other night. She was at the Regent Mall having a coffee and got up to leave. Made it to the doors and realized that she left her mittens on the table. She ran back to the table and the mitts were gone. Now the reason why she was so upset was because these were the felted mittens I made her for Christmas last year. She wasnt' even away from the table for 2 minutes. I hope that the person who took them REALLY needed them. She stood there looking and trying to see if anybody around her table had them...but nobody handed them over. So, I told her that I would make her another pair after Christmas...NO PROB!! Except these one's will have a dummy string lol!
OH GUESS WHAT!!! I joined a scarf exchange! I'm so excited because it's my first exchange. My scarf is coming from Erin (HI Erin!) in Taiwan!!! How cool is that? I think I may join other exchanges down the road. Its a fun way to meet people and it's always funner making something for somebody else. I know this because I still haven't knit myself anything! HOLY! But....after Christmas I think I'm going to tackle the Klaralund. It's soooo pretty. I'll save up my pennies for the yarn. Anybody know where I can get that stuff from?
Ok, I'm off to knit. of course. hehee.

Just keep knitting, knitting, knitting!

2005-12-02T13:01:00.000-04:00

Rememer "Finding Nemo" when Dory sang "just keep swimming, swimming, swimming"? Well I sing my own version of that song when I'm in hign knit mode. Hehee.
Well I just wanted to show a couple of FO. First is a hat and scarf set I did for a silent auction at the hospital where my sister works. They are trying to raise some money to help a co-worker of hers that is quiet sick with some sort of cancer. I hope it will make some little girl happy!

And next is a gift for one of my sisters. It's the "my so called scarf" and a pair of mitts to match. I like the look of the scarf, but man....make a mistake while your knitting it and your screwed!!!

This is my list to do before christmas:

- Slippers for MIL

- Slippers for step dad

- Cabled Scarf for SIL

- Washcloths (weekend knitting) x3

I know that there's other things, but they are out of my mind right now. Jessie is getting sooooo big and uncomfortable. She's only got 2 1/2 weeks left till the pups are due. I wonder if dogs can go early? hmmm...something to look into.

Bye for now!

Busy busy!

2005-11-24T10:49:00.000-04:00

I cant believe its been so long since my last blog! I'll tell ya, I've been so busy getting Christmas gifts done. There's only a month left! AARGG! I don't know if I can do it. This is a problem of mine. Every year I take on so much. If I started in January it wouldn't be so bad!! Maybe next year.

Jessie (my dog) is doing good. She is due with her pups a week before Christmas. She's a black lab and I had her bred with a choc lab. I cant wait till they are born! SOOOOOO CUTE. Anyways, if anybody around my neck of the woods is looking for pups, let me know and I'll give you some more information on the prices and stuff.

Other than that things are the same ol same ol. I'd like to send out a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!! She's one of dearest friends. I wish I could be with her today so we could go for some Dim Sum!! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

And here's something to get you in the mood for Christmas! SNOW!! We've got snow! I love it. Its such a nice change from the ugly browns. I love snow. BRING IT ON!

Hehehee. I say that cause I'm not the one shoveling it either. So the Mr might not like my enthusiasm so much.

Well, I'm off for now. I'll be posting pics of the pups when they are born so stay tuned!!

Lookie Lookie!

2005-11-04T12:05:00.000-04:00

I got my first christmas present yesterday. And it's KILLING me not to rip it open and look through the patterns. The BF made me put it away for wrapping and said that it's going under the tree! See...when I bought this my plan was not to have it put under the tree for christmas but in my hands for my viewing pleasure. Wow....did that ever come back and get me. He' s really sticking to the christmas thing. What a bum!!