Just a shameless plug

for my blog designer, Karen. She is awesome! Very patient, very professional, knowledgeable, creative, and just plain nice. If you are in the market for a blog overhaul, I highly recommend her!!

The Baby Hoodie Cardigan is coming along. I'm just finishing the first sleeve. (as you can see by my new progress bars, I'm 90% done!!) But....I've run out of yarn. It seems so easy...just run into JoAnn's, (there's one on my very own street for heavens sake) grab a skein of Cotton Tots, and run out. But nothing is that easy with a 6 year old. Not that she's bad, but by the end of the day I'm just too tired to look at every item, on every shelf, in every aisle!

"Just hanging out in the living room in my new bathing suit!"

Don't we all lounge about in our bathing suits??

What a long, strange weekend it's been

It started on Friday. My dad had surgery and I had been sworn to secrecy. I was told in no uncertain terms not to tell anyone. That's the way things are done in my family....we don't discuss our business. Turns out my dad has been suffering with a hernia for at least 3 months before he told anyone! The hernia surgery itself is fairly routine and done as an outpatient, but the complication was that my dad has a heart condition. (don't ask me what condition...I haven't been told!)

So for the past month, and especially the past week I have been worried sick that the worst would happen. Fortunately, everything went well and my dad is fine. My mom asked us to pick up some groceries for them Friday afternoon. We were happy to oblige but when we got to their house, she wouldn't let us come in!

My mom decided we could come over and actually come in the house on Saturday. On the way over we stopped by Borders Books where we each got 2 books. These were my choices.
(Noey chose Fish Out of Water and Cars!)

Sunday was the perfect day for a little quality crafting. Noey and Joe were occupied watching the Indy 500 and some other car race, so I had plenty of time to do my thing. I was in the mood to sew. So I took out my patterns and fabrics and played for a while, I planned out all kinds of outfits...skirts and blouses to go with some knitted tanks.

I had seen a little girl at the preschool wearing a skirt that had a demin yoke and a tiered skirt that I knew I could make myself. Noey has lots of pants and skirts that fit around the middle but are too short. This skirt was perfect. It's a size 4 and is obscenely short on her (hence no picture of her in it!)

Noey picked out the fabric she wanted from my stash, I cut all the pieces, and I dragged my poor old Kenmore out of the closet. Ready, Set......nothing! The sewing machine wouldn't work! Bummer!

The finished product! I just need to hem it. I had it on the child once today, but that was all I could get out of her!

I used my mom's old Singer sewing machine that she bought when she left for college, almost 50 years ago!
We bought this fabric in Hawaii, Noey actually picked it out when she was 2 1/2.

You may recognize this yarn. Bernat Cotton Tots that started out as the Baby Bolero from One Skein, then it was a Raglan Pullover by Knitting Pure and Simple. I wasn't happy with either one, so I frogged them both and now it has become a Baby Hoodie Cardigan also by Knitting Pure and Simple. It's coming along pretty good, although I think I'm going to run out of yarn soon.
I haven't gotten back to the Fitted Tank yet. I'm working up the nerve to sit down and figure it out.

Houston, we have a problem

with the Fitted Tank. I'm not sure I can even describe the problem well enough to solicit help! But I'll try...

I am to the shaping of the neckline. I have cast off the middle stitches and am now working the two shoulders with two separate balls of yarn. I am now supposed to cast off 4 stitches on each neck edge. It's a purl row. I cannot figure out how to cast off when the neck edge is at the end of the row and still maintain the yarn for knitting back. I seem to have an extra stitch at the end. I think I can successfully cast off at the beginning of the row.

Does that make sense?

Any suggestions?

I could try to take a picture if that would help.

and on a lighter note

I finally got the child to try on the cardigan. It fits pretty good although a little roomy. It's amazing how skinny that child is! (20" around the chest, waist, and hips!!) I cannot for the life of me find pants that fit her! Oh to be so skinny!

Thank you for all your nice comments about my new blog design! I can't take credit for any of it however! It is all due to the creative genius of Karen!

How Karyn got her groove back

The mojo is back! I don't know how or why, but it's back. Maybe it was taking a few days off that did it. (I didn't knit a stitch Friday, Saturday, or most of Sunday) By Monday morning I was wanting to knit in the car at the stoplights! (I didn't!)
I think part of the problem was I didn't have anything to just sit down and knit. So Sunday evening I cast on the Fitted Tank by Blue Sky Alpacas. I originally tried it using aluminum needles but didn't like how that looked, so started again with my Denise's and it looks much better. I'm up to the armhole decreases on the front, so far so good. I'm loving this Organic Cotton, it's so soft.

How do you like my new digs? I feel like a real blogger now. (I have my own button!!) This is all the work of the lovely and talented Karen who has started her own blog design business. We're not quite done yet, but I'm loving it so far!!

Last night was the final night of Pioneer Kids and the annual Pinewood Derby. (sorry for the dark pic...the group had disassembled by the time I got my flash turned on) That's Noey admiring her derby car. She actually won two out of three of her heats, but in the end everyone got a medal.

Oh yeah, and um, a little boy called Noey on the phone yesterday. (and it wasn't her boyfriend, Ethan!!) I was quite surprised! The funniest part to me is that she gave him her phone number!! I thought it was pretty cute, but Joe was not amused!

It's a zoo out there!

Noey and I got up early Saturday morning and drove down to San Diego. We picked up my niece, Megan, and her boyfriend, Dario, and headed off to the San Diego Zoo.
It was a beautiful day and we spent a full 8 hours walking and walking and walking all over that zoo!

It was our first time meeting Dario. Both Noey and I loved him.....Noey especially. Usually I come in second when Megan's around, but this time Dario was first, Megan second, and I dropped to third!!

Noey really impressed us with her knowledge of animals. She had some fact to share with just about every animal we came upon.
I love this guy! He just sat on a rock and stared at us all, occasionally coming up for air.

Noey wanted to wear her sweater to San Diego to show Megan, so I finished it up and sewed on the buttons Friday night. Those buttons look pretty cute don't they?
Unfortunately it was pretty hot and the sweater did not get worn, but Megan got to see it and now she wants one herself! She also liked my French Market Bag and requested one of those too.

Lots going on here....

but not a lot of knitting. As Keohinani says, I've lost my knitting mojo. I have plenty of yarn, plenty of patterns, just no motivation. I started Glampyre's Mini Cardigan, then frogged it. Thought about Green Gable, Ms. Marigold, and the Ribby Shell (I have all the patterns and suitable yarn in my stash) but decided against them all. I finally settled on the Fitted Tank. I started it yesterday with some white Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton from the stash....but I'm not happy with my ribbing....I just can't get it together!

I did finish Noey's purple cardigan. I think it turned out pretty good. I just need to weave in some ends and sew on the buttons.

Specs:

Pattern:

Knitting Pure and Simple Child's Top Down Cardigan - I made the 2-4 size and it's just right. (this child is so darn skinny!)

Yarn: Caron's Simply Soft 1 1/4 skeins in Violet

We stopped at JoAnn's on the way home from gymnastics today to pick out the buttons for Noey's cardigan. I told her we needed 5 buttons, and I naturally assumed we would get 5 matching buttons. Noey had other ideas! These are the 5 buttons she chose!
I love that Noey teaches me to be more open minded, to look at things in a different way, and that not everything has to match!

While at JoAnn's I picked a pattern and some wild, colorful fabric to make a purse. I got the idea after I saw Erica's .....so cute! Noey also picked out some bright pink fabric for me to make her a skirt. Looks like I've got a little sewing in my future.

Noey's Kindergarten class had a Mother's Day Tea last Friday. It provided lots of CIP moments (crying in public) for me. Here is the beautiful plaster of paris handprint Noey made for me, which is now proudly displayed in my living room.

See that cute little boy sitting right behind Noey in the light blue shirt? That's Ethan....her boyfriend. Yes, I said her boyfriend! This is the same boy that bit her during the first week of school, and now they're in love!
I don't know if I think it's cute or disturbing! She literally melts when he looks at her.

Yesterday was our first field trip and our first ride on a school bus! I say "our" because I got to go too, along with lots of other moms and several dads. (more CIP moments!)
We went to the Greg and Steve concert at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Remember seeing that old TV footage of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show? All that screaming, crying, and fainting....well, imagine that with an auditorium full of 5 and 6 year olds!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!
This is me and my mom, Carolyn, when I was about 2 years old. We lived in Denver at the time. (dig those matching outfits...I think my mom made them!) I have always felt that I had a charmed childhood. Everything was so carefree and fun, and that's because of my mom. We moved 4 times before I was 6, but it wasn't hard or scary, my mom made it a great adventure.

My mom always supported me in everything I did, and told me I could be whatever I wanted to be, I could accomplish anything I set my mind to, and the most important thing in life is to be happy.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

and here's me and Noey when she was about the same age as I was in the pic above.
You all know how I feel about my baby! She is the joy and light of my life. I am so proud and so blessed to be her mother!

and now for some Knitting content

It was a gray and gloomy morning, Noey wasn't feeling good, so we both played hooky today. (is that how you spell hooky?)
I had an overwhelming urge to organize my knitting projects. In my zeal I frogged 4 items that had been languishing a tad too long. One of which was Clapotis. I really love Clapotis, I really want a Clapotis, just not the colorway/yarn I chose. I'm thinking of giving her another shot with Koigu.

I also frogged a poncho I started over a year ago for Noey, (how many ponchos does a child need?), a twisted wrap made of Lion Brand Chenille, and a fingerless mitt I had started for someone but decided I don't want to do anymore!! I threw one item right in the trash....some sort of wrap I had made using Lion Brand Incredible that was just "ugly" as Noey put it, and I know I'll never use that yarn. Klaralund almost hit the frog pond, but she survived once again. I'm thinking of using the Silk Garden for Angelica, just can't bring myself to frog her yet.

So the rest of the day was spent knitting while Noey lay on the couch watching Scooby Doo videos. I worked mostly on Noey's cardigan, which is coming along nicely.

My mom's Feather and Fan Scarf is finally showing some progress. I would say I'm about 75% done. I'm going to keep going until Mother's Day or I run out of yarn; whichever comes first.

This was Clapotis at 8:00am this morning. She's so boring she blends right in with the floor! Twenty minutes later she was neatly wound into 7 balls of yarn! I had a few moments of regret due to the amount of work I had put into her, but the colorway just doesn't work for her. I think I'll use this yarn (KnitPicks Andean Silk Twist) for an Hourglass Sweater, which I've had on my To Do list for some time.

Where have I been?

Gosh, I've been gone for a while. Nothing exciting kept me away. Just the normal activities of life; school, work, homework, Pioneer Kids, park dates, gymnastics class, church, nursery, blah, blah, blah.

I have been knitting but don't really have any pictures. (except for the big surprise below!) I'm still working on the scarf for my mom.....I do believe it is cursed! I'm not much further than the last picture I posted. I have ripped so many times, I couldn't even tell you how many. It's such an easy pattern, I don't know why I keep losing track of what I'm doing!!

I also started another baby sweater for my friend and coworker, Tabetha. I'm using the same yellow Cotton Tots. The Baby Bolero from One Skein will be frogged and will eventually become a hat to go with the new sweater, a pullover this time. The body is complete but I'm not happy with the first sleeve so rather than frog it and start over , I started something else!! I swatched and cast on for a purple cardigan for Noey this morning. I was just playing with some Caron Simply Soft from my stash when Noey mentioned that was her new favorite color.

Noey drew this for me and said "Why don't you take a picture of this and put it on your blog?" so I did!

I did it!!

Behold! It is a finished sock!! Albeit an ugly color sock, and a pretty boring sock...but it is indeed a sock! I finally got the courage to just sit down and knit a sock. It was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.
This is just a basic sock pattern, I think Knitting Pure and Simple. I used Woolease from my stash (formerly the Vintage Bolero). This is my practice sock, I will not be making it's mate. I did however cast on a Basic Rib sock with the leftover Moda Dea Sassy Stripes I had on hand. I'm rather pleased with myself! I made a sock!!

and finally I leave you with "Knitwear in Action"! Noey was playing an elaborate game where she was a dog putting on a dance show. Her costume consisted of 4 articles I had knitted for her. At least they get some use!