Year Two: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #3

Happy Sunday!

This week has been nuts (more on that towards the end)...but I still managed to do some crazy things in the knitting world :)

So......let's get on with it :)

Finished Objects (FOs)

1. San Francisco Fog Fingerless Mitts: started January 2, 2013; finished January 10, 2013
2. Sooooper Seeeeekrit Swap Project #1: started January 16, 2013; finished January 16, 2013

Works-in-Progress (WIPs)

1. Icarus Shawl: started March 15, 2010
2. Mama's Vanilla Socks (round 2): started June 29, 2012
3. Eat Your Monkey Socks: started November 29, 2012
4. Little Man's Vest: started January 16, 2013
5. Sooooper Seeeeekrit Swap Project #2: started January 16, 2013

Yes. You're seeing that correctly. I started three projects this week. Three. It was brought to my attention that the Doctor Who Swap I'm participating in has to have the packages sent out by January 30, 2013. For some silly reason, I thought it was February 15, 2013. Soooooo, I needed to get going. Once they've been received, I'll disclose what I made, though I'm certain you could maybe make an educated guess. 

I did spend a teensy bit of time on my socks and my shawl but not enough. I was too busy with new things......oops.

I also started a vest for Little Man (Vested Baby Boy). I'm hoping that by using larger needles and heavier weight yarn, I can make it a bit larger so it'll fit him in a year as opposed to maybe fitting him right now. The sizing only goes up to 24 months and Little Man was wearing that six months ago. 

I pulled some Universal Yarns Cotton Supreme out of my stash. My original plans for that yarn were for a baby blanket that just never came to fruition. I'm planning to make a white and green striped vest, mostly green and using the white for the bottom ribbed band, the arm holes, and around the neck. We'll see how it goes. Right now, I'm still in the very beginning. 

The worst thing that happens if it doesn't fit is that I ship it off to Washington, D.C. for Sassy Girl (and she'll probably fit it sooner rather than later - she's barely 6 months old and is wearing 9-12 month clothing already). 

Let's just say that Startitis hit me very badly this week...


Anyway, now the plans stand thus:

Children's Items 

1. "Little 16" Newborn Socks (need to purchase)
2. Garter Stripe Baby Socks
3. Baby Surprise Jacket
4. Toddler Socks
5. Alvin Sweater
6. A New Sock Monkey
7. Stig (need to purchase)
8. Greyson (need to purchase)

Items for Me (Selfish Knitting FTW!)

1. Rose's Wrist Warmers
2. Viking Bag
3. Campfire Socks
4. Red Dwarf Socks
5. Freeport Vest
6. Zombie ViXen Fingerless Mitts
7. Ardys

Household Items

1. Halloween Creepy Cloths (1) (need to purchase)
2. Halloween Creepy Cloths (2) (need to purchase)
3. Assorted Harry Potter Cloths
4. Assorted Doctor Who Cloths
5. Grrlfriend Market Bag
6. Petal Dishcloth

Designs (which may or may not be sooper seekrit - obviously the sooper seekrit ones aren't listed)
1. Little Man's Baby Blanket
2. Susan's Hat (4 versions)
3. Assorted dishcloths (set of 12?)
4. Traveling Vines Scarf
5. Traveling Vines Socks (baby for sure, maybe adult-sized as well)
6. Pinwheel Market Bag
7. Anything else that comes along (I have a notebook somewhere with potential designs somewhere)




And now for the craziness that was this past week...

We've been in the San Francisco Bay Area now for about 6 months, living in an apartment, and have half our stuff in storage. It sucks. I really miss having a yard and not having to call the cops every other week and our vehicles not being hit in the parking lot, among other things. Also, we have both my properties in Wisconsin up for sale (both inherited, in case you don't know) and one will close on February 18, 2013. We've decided that it's time to really start looking for a house. We had kind of looked here and there, not really finding anything that we liked that we were in any position to buy. 

Right after we got back from our cruise, Husband showed me a couple houses our realtor had sent us. There was one that stood out and a couple that we were curious about. Husband met with the realtor and checked out a couple houses and called me and said we should do a proper viewing. So, last Sunday we went house hunting. We checked out six or seven places, including the ones Husband had seen previously. The one that stood out in our e-mail was the one that stood out when we were house hunting. 

That afternoon, Husband started paperwork to get a pre-approved loan (which is pretty much mandatory if you're going to put an offer in on a house out here), I pulled out a bunch of paperwork (the last two years' of taxes, bank information, car loan information, etc.), and we started dreaming about having our own place with a yard and an orange tree. By Wednesday, we had a pre-approved loan (with the contingency that my car loan get paid off - which I did on Thursday afternoon). Thursday afternoon we met with our realtor and signed a buttload of paperwork to put an offer in on the house we fell in love with.

Our realtor presented the offer on Friday morning and, per the offer contract, the selling party has three days to either reject, accept, or counteroffer on our offer. They could make their decision that day or wait a couple days and think it over. So, by Monday we would have an answer.


We had a discussion about the reality of the situation: we most likely would not get this house so don't get too attached.

So, our realtor presented our offer, in person, on Friday morning. He called Brian Friday afternoon. There were four offers on the property: two were below asking price, ours was right at asking price, and one was about $1500 above asking price.

I was out with Little Man when Brian called me to relay information. We were back in the children's book area when he told me that we got the house! Yes, you read that correctly! WE GOT THE HOUSE! 

The only thing that was changed was changing the closing date from 45 days to 30 days. So, as of the end of February, we will be able to move. We're going to have to break out lease but that's fine. 

WE GOT THE HOUSE!

I hope you've all had a wonderful week and that this week continues to be lovely!

Missed it Monday: Swaps and an FO...

It's Monday and I have something to share that just didn't fit in anywhere else. Well...a couple somethings, really.

One of the groups I belong to on Ravelry is solely dedicated to Doctor Who swaps (yes, I'm a total geek, get over it). We did our second Doctor Who swap and I received my package on Friday from KniftyKnittingMom in Fresno, CA.

It had lovely things and I'm going to show them to you :)


When I opened up the box, this is what it looked like (yes, the envelope was even upside down - I thought I'd be completely realistic rather than turn it around).

Upon taking out the envelope and the half of a bubble envelope, I found this:

Little Man couldn't resist getting into the box with me. I didn't want him to break anything (if there was something breakable) so I had to keep deterring him. He was not pleased.

The first thing I pulled out was a curiously wrapped red.....something (turned out to be chocolate). It was red, obviously, with a little label that read "Bow Ties are cool!" If you're not familiar with the newest seasons of Doctor Who, the Doctor (played by Matt Smith) wears a red bow tie...and adamantly claims that bow ties are cool.

I discovered that there were several of these scattered throughout the package.

The next thing I pulled out was a bar of emergency chocolate. Now, perhaps I'm a bit misguided but I think all emergencies require chocolate...

The next item I pulled out from the box was a little notions case (from Nancy's KnitKnacks, if I'm not mistaken). It is, of course, Tardis blue :)

A large bar of European chocolate followed...I'm surprised I haven't scarfed this down yet.

Sock yarn? Yes, please. Zitron Trekking XXL was the brand of sock yarn I used to make my first ever pair of socks (that are way too large in the cuff but otherwise are lovely - I wear them around the house a lot). I know this yarn is grand so I was excited to have it in my stash :)

Something breakable. See? I was right to not let Little Man help pull everything out. He probably would have broken this. I'm not sure if it's microwave or dishwasher safe though I suspect that it is...I'll have to ask. Of course, it has a Tardis :)

I'll admit that when I first pulled these out, I was a little confused because I couldn't determine what they were. Silly me. How could I not recognize stitch markers?

Hand lotion. I always always always have dry, cracking hands all winter long. I'm just that way. So, I spend most of the winter slathering my entire body in lotion (not just my hands). So, this will be used...

I found a couple of tea bags, some hot chocolate mix, and some hot apple cider mix. I took two photos because I couldn't get it all in one photo properly while I was unwrapping everything. So, two photos.

See, I could not shake Little Man. He was very interested in this. He wanted to take this away from me....but I wasn't crazy about having Tardis blue nail polish all over the living room. So, I kept this one pretty well hidden.

And my handmade gift: a Tardis blue cowl...with buttons! I'm not sure how to wear a cowl without looking silly so I'm going to have to get some help in that department, preferably from someone that has some fashion sense (as I have little). Seriously, I took a self-portrait of me wearing this and I look a little silly...I just don't think I'm wearing it correctly. No, I'm not going to show you.

So....that was my swap package. I still can't show you what I sent out because, well, I didn't exactly photograph it...I did photograph my handmade project and I can get a photograph of the yarn but I didn't actually photograph the box. Silly me.

Anyway, Little Man approved of the package.

And now for something completely different...

On Saturday, I started work on my Snail Hat (pattern by Elizabeth Zimmermann). I picked a bulky green yarn I had in my stash (Sprout by Classic Elite Yarns) and started working on this project. It went quickly and by the time I quit working on it on Saturday, I was almost halfway finished. Dear Bob do I love bulky yarns...

There it is. My little "work station" on the bed. I had my book, my yarn, and my project bag. I was using some little sheep stitch markers that I received in a swap awhile back. I wasn't sure they'd fit on US #10 needles but they did.

Anyway, I finished said hat last night...

It does do a spiral toward the top. I'm not exactly sure I did the top correctly per the pattern but it works so I'm just going to go with it. I was hoping it would come out child-sized but it didn't. It fits me...oh well. I suppose if I go down to a worsted weight that it would become child-sized. I'll have to make another one.

Anyway, specifics...

Pattern: Snail by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Needles: US #10 Addi Turbo 16" circulars & US #10 ChaiGoo Bamboo DPNs
Yarn: Sprout by Classic Elite Yarns in Galapagos Green - these come in 109 yards/skein and I had quite a bit of leftover (I'm thinking I have around 1/3 skein left so around 30 yards)
Size: Well, it fits me...that wasn't the intention but that's how it turned out...
Modifications: I started out by CO and immediately joining in the round followed by 1x1 ribbing for 3 rows (the pattern has you work five rows in garter stitch before doing the increase and then joining); the top may not be done how the pattern specifies but the directions were a little wonky for the top so I'm not surprised that it may not match...whatever, it worked.

So, that's what's been going on around here...

I hope you're all having a lovely Monday. Perhaps there will be something new on Wednesday. Or not. And maybe I'll be able to show you something else on Friday...maybe. We'll see.

FO Friday

I finished something. Congrats to Kepanie for correctly guessing that the blue ribbed WIP from yesterday was a beanie.

It was, indeed, a beanie.

See? Little Man likes his new beanie. Unfortunately, the above photograph is with him wearing it inside out (not that you can tell, right?).

This is him wearing it correctly. He appears less than thrilled...but he's not. He likes it.

The pattern was a test knit for Yarn-dar called Boater Bob Inspired Rib Hat. It was made using US #3 and US #6 DPNs (3.25mm and 4mm) and about .7 skeins of Babyboo in the Ice Blue colorway. I made the 6-12 month size, though I'll probably make the 12-18 month soon enough because, well, Little Man will need it for the spring.

If I were to do this pattern again (in this size), I'd probably make it a titch shorter...only because if I put it on Little Man properly, it falls down over his eyes. And, really, he's got such pretty eyes (and no, I'm not just saying that because I'm his mother). I might make it a bit shorter when I make the 12-18 month size, too. We'll see. The only modification that I made to the pattern was a complete accident, which I noted in my notes section on my project page for this hat. I accidentally CO 76 stitches instead of 78 stitches and adjusted when I got to the big ribbing. It didn't matter too much and it's probably better that I CO fewer stitches, even if it was only two stitches, because it had plenty of stretch to it.

That's the only FO I have for now...I'm almost done with Little Man's giraffe and I'm almost done with the first of the Skyp socks and I'm almost done with this and I'm almost done with that...

Oh, I forgot. Something else that I finished that I can show you :)

Remember the Doctor Who Swap that I participated in? This is the "homemade" object that I sent along. It's a The Angels Have the Blue Box dishcloth. I used US #7 circulars (Knit Picks interchangeables) and Dishie from Knit Picks in the Jay colorway.  I made some modifications to this project, but not with the "guts" of it. The interior portion of the pattern was just as written but I modified the border. The border for the pattern is only two stitches on the sides and five rows at the top and bottom and that's just not enough for me. I made the sides a total of five stitches and did six rows at the top and bottom. I also changed it from garter stitch to seed stitch. Seed stitch is extremely boring and nitpicky to knit but I love the results.

Also, I know this isn't a FO, per se....but it kind of is. It's a finished box of things that I sent off to missytoo (Missy) for the aforementioned Doctor Who Swap. I put a notebook in with "library" books and I labeled it "Silence in the Library." There is a bar of Cadbury chocolate because, well, it's British. The dishcloth is in there (with the pink ribbon around it). There's a Tardis blue pen because, well, it's Tardis blue. I put a tape measure in there to measure how long you've been away, a bottle of Eucalan wash (it's something everyone should have), and two skeins of yarn: Cascade Heritage Sock and Malabrigo Sock. The Cascade is Tardis blue and the Malabrigo reminds me of the color of 7's question mark.

Okay, that's enough. That's all I have right now....

By the way, it's Friday. Have I told you how much I love Fridays?!

Stash and other things...

Happy Saturday...it's still Saturday, right? My days are so mixed up right now that I don't know which end is up.

First of all, I still can't post photos of what I sent my swap partner because I don't know if she's received the package yet. Second of all, although I've photographed what she sent me, I'd like to take a better photograph before I post.

So, on to other things...

I've been spending the last couple of evenings going through my yarn. I've gotten through a total of five bins, three bags, two drawers, and a basket of yarn...and it's all photographed and online in my Ravelry Stash. Currently, I have 258 skeins of yarn listed...and 22 for sale/trade. I still have three bins and a cabinet of yarn to go through. *sigh*

Once that's finished, I'm going to be harsh on my stash. I have a lot of yarn...and some of it has got to go. I wish I could say right now what I plan to keep or sell but it's not that easy. I have a love affair with my yarn...

But, I need to make room for my spinning fibers...

Oh, and I might have a WIP Wednesday project to share this week....check back and see.

And on a cute note...Little Man in the Baby Surprise Jacket that was made for him (it's still a little big and he likes to chew on the bear buttons). As you can see, he's quite active...

Super Seeeeeekret Swap stuff...

I've finished my swap gift for the Doctor Who Swap. I might have a couple more little things to put in the box but I've done the big stuff, including my handmade gift. Unfortunately, as I haven't sent this out yet and I'm not sure if my swapee has delved into my blog yet, I can't post photos...I'll post photos after she receives the box (I should take a photo before I send it - I always forget to do that!).

I have another swap that I have to do by next week Friday. Have I started my handmade gift for that one? No. I do have a little leeway, though. But I can't say why (in case she has wandered in for some reason). That one is for An Organized Knitting Club, in case your interested.

I think that's it for swaps...for now. I've dropped the ball on both of these swaps so I think I'm going to take a break, unless something irresistible comes up. I don't know what would qualify as "irresistible," but that's the idea. I think the next one I'll participate in is for the One Skein Projects group. Maybe. I haven't decided yet.

Anyway, I need to figure out where we're going this weekend for a wedding and I need to clean up in the living room a bit.

Brief #137

"Mama, I think I like parades."

This photo is from the weekend. We went to Decorah, home of my alma mater, Luther College, for a "girls' weekend." I and three of my college friends gathered at one of said friends' homes with our kids in tow. We stayed at Sarah's house. She has two boys ages 4 and almost 2. Becky brought her son, 3.5 years, with her from The Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul), and I brought Little Man and Megan. Megan was my college roommate for a year. Megan lived with Sarah for a year, as well. Becky and I had a ton of classes together during our second year of college and she lived with Sarah for three years. We're all kind of stuck with each other.

It was Nordic Fest in Decorah. It's kind of like Syttende Mai here...but it's in July. It was so frickin' hot outside! I don't even know where to begin with how hot it was! We got up early on Saturday to do a 5K. It was 85 by the time we finished around 9am. After that, we went to the Fireman's Pancake Breakfast for, well, breakfast. And then the parade. We found some shade...sort of. But still, we were all dripping from the 5K and we were outside, on a street, in a river valley (Upper Iowa River), where the heat was insane. I kept dumping water on Little Man and letting him drink out of my water bottle. But, he seemed to enjoy the parade.

Megan and I went to the yarn shop and the Decorah Hatchery (where we get our Quality Chicks shirts) before heading to campus to hit the bookstore. Little Man was in need of a new Luther shirt or something.

Other than that, there isn't much going on. I'm working on some secret swap items that I need to finish this week because they go out next week...and cleaning. I hate cleaning. We'll see.

Perhaps I'll have pictures of yarn and FOs next week...