socks socks socks - kids kids kids

i have knit my first pair of socks!























TA DAA!

i whipped these out fairly quickly, i realize that they are ankle socks but for being my first pair, i'm happy that i knit them up in 15 days. that's fast for me... i used knit picks essentials in grass. as you can see, it fuzzed up a bit after washing. i'm ok with that though, they ARE socks and will be inside my shoes.... so i think it will be ok.

i'm already on to pair number two.






























so far, i like this yarn, patons kroy sock stripe. it's a bit scratchy but i hope that it will soften with some washing..... i hope. i love the coloway on the ball but knit into the lace pattern of the leg, it's a bit much... the color changes seem very abrupt. however, i really like how it looks in straight stockenette around the ankle and underside of the foot.


the boys.... wow. lots of new things to talk about. max has been talking a lot and has started to make up stories too. he tells me things like "elmo outside!" then shortly after "elmo on school bus!" then he giggles out of control. he also has decided that he really really wants to ride on a school bus. we've been talking about preschool here for a little while since we'll be enrolling him into a program for 3 yr olds that will start in the fall. so when we read books that have a school setting or talk about teachers, he then starts into this convo about how he wants to ride a school bus and he wants andy to go too and me and daddy too of course. it's cute as heck!

one strange language thing with max is that there are words that he used to know, some were his first words actually, he will NOT say those words now. he knows them but it's almost like he's embarrased and unsure of himself and he just won't say them. it's odd.

andy on the other hand is saying things too, he says dada (to everyone except max), he ON OCCASION will say mama, star, sock, bottle and kitty. they are all very rough around the edges but i know what he's saying. he's also eating all sorts of things and basically eats what we eat for meals. he's a good little eater too! he usually ends up eating more than max these days seeing that max is either in a slow growth period or something and will seriously eat 2 maybe 3 bites of a meal and call it quits. he then never asks for a snack either. i'm hoping this turns around soon because it makes me worry that he's not getting enough... andy will also play these little silly games with us, he gives us things then takes them back over and over and over and over again. it's really pretty cute. he also hides around and under and behind everything. then he pops out and acts like HE'S surprised! talk about funny!

knitting overview

lots of projects to sum up here....

birthday scarflet for mom, gifted on dec 6th:

i used this pattern and the buttons are from joanns. they are a little sparkly and fit my mom's tastes perfectly. i loved this piece and really wanted to keep it for myself. it was my first lace project that i blocked. wowee is that fun! and i'm happy to say there are NO mistakes in this project at all.

christmas scarf for heather, given dec 25th:

i used a lace patter from The Knitters Bible, it was called crest of the wave. very easy pattern to follow and i think it worked out well for a scarf. this was blocked project number two and woweeeeeeee was IT fun to block. the little wave crests/points looked great and the pattern really opened up. i did make one mistake but didn't even realize it until i had already bound off and woven in the ends... it was only a few days until christmas and there was no way that i could have fixed it without ripping back the entire piece and starting new.... so it goes.

knitted christmas balls, given dec 25th to each little family within our immediate family: my parents, chris's parents, my brother and his wife and chris's sister.


i knit four different ornaments using this pattern. they were super easy and fast to knit up and i think made nice little gifts. i wanted to knit a few for our tree but i ran out of time. one of my 2009 goals is to knit four felted stockings for our family for next christmas, i think i'll knit some of these to match.

billy's knit NYE hat, gifted dec 31st around 11:35 pm.

i used this pattern. i intended for the hat to be a solid color, the bottom orange/red color. however, i ran out of yarn. i do this TOO often.... i really need to start looking at yardage... luckily, when i purchased this yarn, i also purchased an identical skein in blue. thus the two colored hat was born. in reality, i think it was meant to be. the two colors really looked great together and i think the finished hat ended up looking better with the two colors than it would have if it was all one color. a happy mistake, i suppose.

next up, i'll be trying socks again, for me. i'll be using knitpicks Essential in grass. i'm awaiting its arrival.... not so patiently. i am planning on using the yarnharlot's sock recipe. i had attempted this a while back with no luck... i am blaming my lack of luck on the fact that i was using the wrong yarn for the job.... hopefully this will change, i really want to have some good luck with socks....

i have picked my "ugly" (thanks amanda *wink*) {ETA: don't think poorly of amanda for saying this. it really truly is an ugly blanket and to clarify, i'm pretty sure she said that the photos and colors looked ugly in my original photo... frankly that photo is worse that what it looks like in person... don't hate me for calling you out} log cabin blanket up again and have been mindlessly knitting that again. it currently just takes up way too much space in my yarn drawers so i'm doing this in an effort to make room and organize... i'm really bored with this project and i plan to only knit it between projects and until it's big enough to cover me or a kid while curled up on the couch. i don't have far to go but the garter monotony is killing what few brain cells i have....

over the holidays i received some knitting gifts. they were all items that i specifically asked for, so no surprises really. one item was a set of knit picks options. i'm totally perplexed as to how to store them though. i'm scared to take them off of their little paper thing with the elastic that they came in. i have a needle sizer hickey doo, so i'm sure that if they would come free of piece of paper, that i wouldn't be lost in a sea of unknown needles but it gives me a heart attack to think about the mess they would be if they weren't strapped all snugly into little homes with the elastic they came with..... any suggestions are WELCOME!