Knitting and Eventual Heartbreak

Lilly had been asking me to make her a cute little sweater like her brother's Frog Sweater. I found a sweater pattern by the same lady who made the frog sweater pattern.  It's for a bumble bee, but Lilly decided she wanted pink and purple instead.  So now it's some kind of lovebug, I guess.  Anyways, she picked out this cheapy yarn with sparkles in it, which is good since this story  does not end well, and I started knitting.

A sweater takes me awhile to knit since I only have time at night while I'm watching TV.  That girl just kept on pestering me, asking when it was going to be, was I done, can I finish it today.  So, with all this encouragement I decided to stay up late on Tuesday night and finish it as a surprise. (That's the end of the knitting part, now on to the heartbreak.)

I was so excited to show Lilly her sweater the next morning.  She squealed with glee and put it on. I took her to the mirror to show her how she looked in my knitted masterpiece.  She took one look at herself and said she wanted to take it off, and that she didn't want to wear it.  I didn't cry, I took it in stride and said, "Well, maybe you can wear it as a jacket today.  It's suppose to be a little chilly."  She ran off without replying.  When it was time to go, she told me she didn't want to wear it, and walked out the door to put her shoes on. I think she could tell she hurt my feelings because she came back inside and and told me she loved it and that it was beautiful, she just didn't want to wear it. I told her thanks, and then continued to try not to cry.

I was able to get her to put it on one more time later in the day so I could take these pictures. I think the sweater turned out really, cute, and maybe she will grow to like it. Or maybe not.  I'm sure I'm not the only person who has every knitted something for someone and they didn't like it, but man it kind of sucks.

Here it is in all it's unwanted glory.

I love the antenna. You can kind of see the sparkles in the pink yarn.

Lilly wanted flower buttons.

"can I take it off now"

Update on Fingerless Mitts

Yesterday I wrote a post about some fingerless mitts I am knitting up and selling at the local coffee shop.  Well, after looking at them some more I decided to edit the pattern a little bit and change a couple things about them.  Here is the new and improved mitts. 

I decided to shorten the cuff and lengthen the thumb and fingers.  I also changed the width of the fingers so they fit a little more snug.  What do you think of this new design? I'm actually quite proud of it. Which do you prefer? The longer mitts or the shorter ones?

Old longer mitts

New shorter mitts

Knitting Stuff.....For Sale

Lately I've just been knitting stuff up for no reason whatsoever.  Basically I'm just knitting so I don't kill people.  I knit up a couple of these adorable chunky baby hats. (doesn't Ren look adorable?) I knitted it because it was a new stitch pattern I hadn't done before, and it was cute.

If interested this hat is for sale for $10 and is a 0-3 month size.

I have been looking at all the patterns on Ravelry for fingerless mits.  There are about 30 bazillion. So I just just took bits and pieces of ones that I like and came up with this.

I really like the eyelet  section on the bottom, thumb, and top.  I may play around with the length a little, but all in all I'm pretty pleased.  I will be knitting up a slew of these and selling them.  If you're interested in a certain color let me know, or you can find them at Joanna's Dealicious Treats starting on Monday for $10 a piece.

Holy Crap, Could I be Stylish?

I've just  finished knitting up the second thing in a week for myself. I'm feeling kind of selfish. Anyways, I received a gorgeous pea coat from my sister, and needed something to go with it. So there's my excuse.  I went to Ravelry and saw a pattern for a cowl like the one they've been selling at Gap.  I got the pattern, changed a few things, and knit this little beauty right up.

I don't think I've ever looked this fashionable! Cute right? I may or may not be wearing my frog pajama pants in this picture.  Basically this cowl is just one big loop that you double up and put around your neck.

Does my forehead always look this long?

You can't see it well, but the cowl is knit in seed stitch. Which means you alternate between knit and purl so it looks bumpy. (Bumpy? Sorry, that's the most technical term I could come up with right now.) 

The changes I made to this pattern were slight. I increased the number of stitches cast on from 131 to 151.  I wanted the cowl to be a little longer, and I used a size 11 needle instead of a 13. Mostly because I didn't have a 13 and didn't feel like buying one.  Also I only knitted it until it was 10 inches wide instead of 15.  I'm a small person and didn't want this thing covering my head.

Skiing and Slippers

I've been wrestling with myself about what to put in this blog post.  I thought about wtiting how great Christmas was spending with all my family, and blah blah.  But I decided against it because 1) it would take about 20,000 words to describe how much I love being with my family (I'm talking the whole fam. All 13 of us.) and 2) It might get a little boring and it would probably make me cry.  So I've decided against it.  All I'm going to say is I had a great Christmas, I love my family, and my kids are the cutest little skiers in the world.

This was Lilly's first year skiing.  That is her little Ski School Vest.

In knitting news, the pair of slippers I made myself 2 years ago now have holes. Terribly sad, but I found this adorable pattern for new slippers on Ravelry and HAD to make them. Since I'm a dork, and didn't do anything on New Year's Eve I ended up knitting the whole thing.  It was a really easy and fast project.  I felted  them yesterday and am now anxiously awaiting them to dry.  Super adorable right?

Gosh I love knitting. I would seriously probably go crazy or kill someone if I didn't knit.

Lex and Lilly, Plus Some Really Great Knitting Pictures

I'm not going to lie, I kind of like my kids. They crack me up. They are zany, sweet, loving, and hysterical. But what's really great is how good of friends they are.  They are 18 months apart, and instead of bickering and fighting like I've seen other siblings do, they love to play with each other.  It makes my life so much easier!  And, I'm not going to lie, it's stinking cute.  But enough of my ridiculous writing, (reading it just makes me want to go eat a power tool.) I'll show you with pictures.

yup, more pajama pictures

 I am the luckiest mother in the world.  After lunch the other day my kids wanted to learn how to knit.  I just put some yarn on some needles and let them play.  Lex was actually really good. He  seriously wanted to learn how, and could almost do it on his own.  Not bad for a just turned five year old!

Ok, I'm almost done. Thanks for even still being here. I'm kind of impressed.  Stop by the store and I'll give you a cookie! This is my latest hat.  I've seen them around, and had someone who wanted one. I must say then Mohawk hat turned out pretty cool. The Sug (my husband, short for sugar pea. Pronounced shug) even says he'd wear one! I don't know that I want my 5 year old wearing one, but that's just me.

Yes, my son does have a gross bloody nose. The air is dry. Deal with it! 

Yea, I made that

Being a parent you have to make things even, so after making Lex the kind-of-awesome frog sweater. I made Lilly  a new hat, and a mermaid.   Both of which she requested.  The flower hat is something I improvised and really ended up loving, and the mermaid is a little wonky, but so cool.  Check them out.

Frogtastic!

I've finally finished Lex's frog sweater.  I have been working on this sweater on and off for about 3 months.  I saw it here on Ravelry, and knew that my frog obsessed son would love it.  Thus began my biggest knitting project to date.  I'm pretty impressed with the results. Lex really likes it too.  I may have threatened him by saying that I would kill him if he didn't wear it after all the work I did. Ok, I didn't actually say that, but I did think it.

Aren't these buttons adorable? The eyes are googly! 

My Favorite Movies....Can you Guess?

The last two night my husband has been out riding ATV's with his buddies. Thus I didn't not have to endure the nightly ritual of watching ridiculous television such as Pawn Stars, River Monsters, American Pickers ect.  After I put the kids to bed I went out to the living room and picked a movie to watch while I knitted the night away.  It was fabulous! I had not watched these movies in months. Watching these reminded me how much I love them.  I know that sounds silly, but some movies you can watch forever and they always leaving with a feeling of awe.  So without further adieu here are some quotes from my favorite movies.  (I did not watch all of them in the last two days.)  Can you guess them?


1.  "When we are married, will you dance with me? I find dancing very agreeable. Why can you not say what is in your head?"
 " Why can you not stop saying what is in yours? Why must you lead, when I want to lead? If I want to dance I will ask you to dance. If I want to speak I will open my mouth and speak. Everyone is forever plaguing me to speak further. Why? What good is it to tell you you are in my every thought from the time I wake? What good can come from my saying that I sometimes cannot think clearly or do my work properly? What gain can rise of my telling you the only time I feel fear as others do is when I think of you in harm? That is why I am on this porch, Ivy Walker. I fear for your safety before all others. And yes, I will dance with you on our wedding night."

2.   I have struggled in vain and I can bear it no longer. These past months have been a torment. I came to Rosings with the single object of seeing you... I had to see you. I have fought against my better judgment, my family's expectations, the inferiority of your birth by rank and circumstance. All these things I am willing to put aside and ask you to end my agony. 

 "I don't understand." " I love you. Most ardently." 

3." Why do you hate them so much?" 

" They beat up on a weakling; that's all they did. The rest is just smokefilled coffee-house crap. They tortured and tormented a weaker kid. They didn't like him. So, they killed him. And why? Because he couldn't run very fast." 

4.  There's a lot of people out there, and they ain't just gonna go away. They got voices now and they're goin' to be listened to. Putting them in jail is not going to stop them. That's the power of the press, Joe. So thanks for teaching me about it. 

5.  There are children here somewhere. I can smell them. 

If you know leave it in the comments...Who knows I may hand out prizes!

Ethan's Hat AKA The Super Sneaky Spy Hat

A couple of weeks ago, OK maybe a month ago, a customer came in with her kids.  I had made a couple of hats for her daughter, and now her son  Ethan, a boy of probably 9 or 10 asked if I could make him a hat with glasses.  I thought that this idea was kind of awesome so I said I would try.  It took me a couple of tries to get the glasses right, but I think the hat turned out pretty cool, and I hope that Ethan likes it.

I made the glasses by knitting them up and then felting them, thus making them a little sturdier.  I left them to dry around two spice containers to get the perfect rectangular shape.  I then knitted up a basic stocking cap and sewed the glasses inside.  The genius of this hat, and I must give all the credit to Ethan because it was his idea, is that the glasses pull down.  You can wear the hat normal, and then just pull down the glasses whenever you want! I kind of want one of these.  What an awesome idea.

 Here are a couple of pictures of my latest creation.  Please don't make fun of my face. Just look at the picture and pretend it is not the worst picture of me you have ever seen.

Regular Summer

Super Spy Summer....I fixed that little fuzz by the eye btw.

Five things I desperately Need

1. A goat.  Yes, I said a goat.  I've been reading Barnheart by Jenna Woginrich, and I've decided I need a goat.  On a side note, this book was written about me! Oh my Holy Hand Grenade, everything this woman says is straight from my own mind! 
2. Angora Bunnies.  I love to spin my own yarn.  I don't think the hubby will let me have sheep since I can't even keep my chickens at my own house, so I'll just keep angora bunnies and spin there lovely fiber. It's a perfect solution.
3. Jalapeno Chips. I love these things, and I could really use a bag right now. If I get this one can I add liposuction on as well?
4. More time.  I need more hours in the day for reading, knitting, cooking, cleaning.....really everything.
5.  Sleep.  Do I really need to explain this one? I guess I got spoiled with my few days of sleeping all night uninterrupted.  I should have known that would never last.  

New Creations

I've been working at night on some new monster hat variations, and this is what I've come up with.  The first is Miles the many-eyed monster. I thought I'd give him some wonky teeth to go with his eyes.  On the whole I am very pleased with how he turned out.

I just finished Matilde last night.  My opinion is still up in the air about her. I wanted a very girly feel for this monster, and somehow it turned into a kind of opera singing Dutch girl, so I'd like to know what you guys think. Would you or your little girl like to wear this?

Isn't my husband awesome for wearing this hat for me?

Are there any types of features you would like to see on one of these hats? I'm always looking for suggestions, so let me know what you think.

A Labor of Love and bloody fingers

I did it! I finished Lilly's Easter sweater with one day to spare.  Mind you I have been working on this sweater jacket for over a month.  As the deadline was looming I spent more and more time knitting.....I felt like my fingers were going to bleed.  It was all worth it when I finally wrangled her into it.

And yes, I did have to wrangle her into it. More like chase her down the hall, pin her legs down and force her to try it on. After the initial fiasco of trying it on, she loves it.  I must admit I am proud as punch of it.  So, because I am so proud of myself,  I am now going to display hundreds, OK that might be and exaggeration, of pictures of Lilly and her sweater.

You can find the awesome pattern by Kate Gilbert here

Teaching Munchkins and What's in my bag?

I'm pretty lucky to have two days off during the week.  I get Tuesdays and Thursdays off, so my little munchkins and I stay home. They like coming to my bookstore with me, but they love staying home. When at home we bake, create, and learn.  I had always contemplated becoming a teacher, but my love of books won out, so I really enjoy setting down with my kids and having reading lessons,  working on numbers and letters,  and the art of making good bread.  My kids who are 4 and 2 1/2 soak it up like sponges.

On Tuesday, my daughter and I were working on some stuff in a preschool workbook when I realized that we had never learned about patterns. So when we put away all our "school stuff" to get ready for a dance party (oh how my kids love to dance!) I was already thinking about the best way to teach my little love-bug about patterns.  Now here's the thing about Lilly, she pays attention when and for how long she wants too.  If you've got something you want to teach her, it better be fun and fast.

Yes, like a bad mother we sometimes stay in our Pj's all day!

On Thursday I brought out some pattern beads I had gotten from Melissa & Doug  and we worked on patterns.  Well I should say her brother and her worked on patterns. My son, a pattern freak to the nth degree was all for teaching her.  They barely needed me.  It was amazing to watch my 4 year old son teach his sister all about patterns and how they worked.  He would start a pattern and say it out loud to her, and then ask her what went next.  OK, I helped a little.  But it really was awesome to see Lex teach Lilly , and watch as her eyes lit up when she grasped the concept.  After that she was a pro.  Well for about 5 minutes then she wanted to become a princess and that was the end of her schooling.

I know you are all dying to see my knitting bag and the crazy stuff I put in it so here it is.

You'd never believe all the crazy stuff I have in here!

I'm currently working on this pattern for a dead fish hat.  I know weird right, but it look pretty cool in the finished picture. If you see me anywhere I am carrying this knitting bag.  It has everything I need to survive in it.  Needles, knitting and sewing, thread, scissors, my Itouch cords, bubbles, and any number of crazy things that could someday save my life.  Someday when I have more time and less to talk about I'll post about my crazy-awesome knitting bag made by Green Chick.  Check out her website here.  She makes bags by recycling old clothing and fabric! Amazing! OK, I believe I have put off work long enough.  Enjoy the weekend.

Snow & Owls

For the last couple of days, we've been hit pretty hard with snow.  I hate snow. I hate the cold.  I hate bundling up my kids with 15 layers just to go to the grocery store.  I really hate being snowed in, and that's exactly what happened the last couple of days.  I was snowed in with two cranky kids who want to tear each other's heads off.  All in all it was a pleasant experience. (insert sarcasm) On the good side we did make some great chocolate sheet cake from Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman Cookbook, (did I mention I've probably gained a few pounds while being snowed in?) and I was able to work on a hat design that I've been thinking of for a while.

Isn't my nephew Fyo the cutest? Love those eyes!

I've been wanting to make and owl hat, but just didn't have the time.  So while kids were napping, and I was chugging down copiously amounts for Diet Dr. Pepper I came up with this cute little sack owl hat.  Let me know what you think.You can purchase on in my Etsy store.

Knowing Where you Come From

I spent Sunday afternoon cleaning out my grandparents house. My Grandmother passed away about 8 years ago, and my Grandfather just recently passed away. My Grandmother was my hero.  She taught me to spin, weave, quilt, dye wool, and any number of crafty things.  After she died I tried not to go back to the house, it was to painful.  So just going back into the house to clean it out was difficult.  It was hard, but it was wonderful too. She left me her two spinning wheels, a giant (seriously it fills half a room) loom, antique Singer Sewing machine and all of her craft items. Every time I picked something up to load into my truck, it brought back memories.  Picking up the baskets I  used to put my wool in to store until I spun it reduced me to tears.  It was a slightly pathetic display of emotions that afternoon, but I think I needed it.

I needed to remember what she taught me, and the joy it brought both her and me.  It reminded me that I want  teach my children those same lessons, and the kind of women I want to become.  Mary Francis Hayden, my grandmother, was an amazing women for her time.  She was incredibly independent, funny, intelligent, and old fashioned at the same time. The older I get the more of her I see in myself, and I'm happy about that.  It was hard, but nice to see and remember how I started this journey of crafting.  So thanks Grandma, you are a huge part of  who I am today, and I miss you all the time.

On another note, I've finally finished all my custom orders. So I currently have nothing to knit. I think I will finally start knitting a hat for myself! Look at this awesome pattern I found on Ravelry.   This bulky hat is georgous. I can't wait to start it.