Thankful

For little mittens.


Bunny Hats.


Half finished stockings and hats.



And restarted grey shawls.

Do you hear that?

It's quiet. The Girl is at MIL's - The Man is in the other room engrossed in his computer. Ahhhh, silence.

So you'd think I'd be knitting. Ha. Shows what you know!

I did make some more progress on The Man's stocking this morning as he was alseep and I was waiting for The Girl to return from her mom's. This picture was taken prior to that progress though, but imagine it with three more stripes.

The colors aren't very true here - they really are "Christmas colors" not neon green!

I also dug out the cat bed and worked on it while reading blogs this morning. I hearby take the blog vow: It will be done by Christmas. So add it to the list. I'm thinking I'm nearly there, but I need to get out the bottom to measure around. It's easy and I need something besides the scarf of doom to work on in front of the other people who live here.

I did a bit of cleaning today - cleaned up the craft/sew/bead/yarn area and reorganized the stash. I'm debating "inventoring" it, as I don't have much and I pretty much know what I have. We'll see. Probably will get done in avoidance of the cat bed.

I also sewed up a Christmas gift that I can't detail here because of surprises! Love them! But it's purty. I've got another, but I'm still in the creative stage. The fabric has been purchased and I've got the basic outline in my head, but I need to do the maths. Blech.

The mailwoman brought yarn today! Free yarn!


Can I return to sender?

Seriously, this has to be the fugliest yarn I've ever seen. I know, it was free, what did you expect from a novelty yarn, but really - poop brown? I'm trying to think of the worst possible thing I could make with it. Suggestions welcome!

Possibly the best part of the yarn package was the catalog enclosed. In which I found "Sirdar Yo-Yo yarn." The desription really sums it up:
"One giant ball radiating monochromatic color makes its own pattern!" 962 yards. Worsted weight. Just how giant is this ball? And it can be yours for the low low price of $39.99! For a 74% acrylic, 14%wool and 12% polyester blend. What a deal.

And in other news - I found out yesterday that I almost didn't get to graduate. I got an email from the assistant to the head of graduate studies saying that I needed to contact someone in the registrar's office about ordering my diploma, and that due her "Not knowing what happened with your paperwork" I had missed the deadline for ordering my cap and gown. So I panic, of course, and call the office and get the diploma taken care of, and learn from Pam who helped me that it wasn't MY fault, as I was led to believe, it was the idiot in the grad office who had just turned my paperwork in on MONDAY, November 21. It was due on October 7. Nice. Wish I had known, so I could have followed up! And, to top it off, instead of ordering my cap and gown online or over the phone I have to go in person to their office (and of course they were closed today and the rest of the week) AND pay a $15 late fee (in cash). Nice. I hate it when I can't do everything myself. It's shit like this that gives me control issues.

In closing - to try to keep up the "lit" end of the blog - the NYTimes has a list of their books of the year. (You have to have an "account," but it's free, so get one.)

We're not traveling tomorrow, so I'm sure I have some blatherings to share. If you'll be internetless, have a great Turkey Day!

Did I say I wanted a "vacation?"

When do they go back to school? Seriously. They're both driving me NUTS.

The Girl got up at 6:10 this morning to do God knows what and decided to let the dogs out. Of course, she woke me up. Nice.

An hour after breakfast this morning (and not just any old breakfast - The Man actually cooked - eggs, sausage and biscuits, instead of the usual foraging in which I drink coffee, he eats cookies or other nutritonally sound product, and The Girl eats toast or cereal), she asks "When is lunch?" At 9:30 am. Seriously. The Today Show wasn't even over. (BTW, did you see the cute dogs yesterday? Doing flips? The Man wants one of those.)

The Man took a nap both yesterday and this morning. At 10 am. He'd been up for a whopping hour and a half. Rough life. Can't remember to put away his HUGE pile of laundry or take out the trash, but there's always time for a nap.

We finally sat down to watch the Boss DVD today. The Man says "What's the first thing you see? Something knitted." Aw....but seriously, Bruce sports a very large knit hat for the first part of the concert. It was great, but a bit too long for me. I saw this last week and it made me chuckle. I love my Bruce though.

There has been knitting - a few rows on The Man's sock when he went to play basketball yesterday, and many more rows on the Irish Hiking Scarf (which is slowly driving me nuts). Mom's gift had much progress yesterday until today when I decided that I either can't read the pattern or the pattern doesn't make sense. So I ripped. I have found an alternate pattern, and have a few rows done.

At Soup Night tonight I started on the stocking for The Man - his will be red and green stripes. I hope he likes it. I'll try to take a picture tomorrow before he wakes up.

I know I had more to say, but I've forgotten it. Here are some links for you to enjoy!
Via Bookslut - answers to all of your magazine cover questions!

From Marnie - some fun t-shirts. I really like the "Liberal" retro one. Very nice.

And from Lu -

You Are Pumpkin Pie

You're the perfect combo of uniqueness and quality Those who like you are looking for something (someone!) special

What Kind of Pie Are You?

Pumpkin! Yippee! My favorite!

Finally, my yarn came from Knitpicks on Thursday. I think the color combo will be very nice. If I ever have time to knit it.....


Off to watch Mad Hot Ballroom! Love Netflix!

And the list just keeps getting longer...

So the knitted xmas gift list has grown since we last met. Well, really it's been growing for quite some time now.

These items have been added to the list:

Handwarmers for Grandma
Pasha for The Man (he loves penguins)
Several super secret surprise presents for various people who read the blog
Maybe Flora
A City Shawl has also been started, though I'm not sure who to gift it to.
Oh, and mom's secret present! Haha momma - not gonna give it away! (Though I do have to say that it is SO purty I want to keep it!)

The Man has recently mentioned that he'd "love a scarf to match my hat." Ha. As if I have time for such nonsense.

Oh, and just one more minor detail. Since I learned to knit The Man has been after me about knitting Christmas stockings. We only have cheapo store-bought stockings, as I was looking for the "perfect pattern" to cross stitch them with. My momma made all of our stockings and his momma made theirs, so I have to make ours. I bought a pattern for The Girl's last year, and had just started working on it when I learned to knit and cast everything else aside (I used to cross-stitch A LOT). It got dug back out last week, and some small progress has been made, but it will in no way be ready for the holidays.

But back to my point - knitted Christmas stockings. They're on the list too. Three of them. Gulp. My plan is to wrap them with the goodies inside, so it's two two two gifts in one! And they are top secret - in order to keep them a surprise of course. The yarn has been purchased, now if The Man would leave the house so I could work on them!

I do have some FOs to report -

Grandma's handwarmers are finished!


Knitty Gritty:

Pattern - Hand/Wrist Warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn - Bernat Softee Chunky in a pink color (too lazy to look it up)
Needles - Susan Bates US 8 DPNs
Dates - started last weekend, finished Wednesday or Thursday of last week.
Mods - I made them four rows longer than the pattern specified, as I wanted them to really come up to her fingers, and they didn't in the picture. I think they are a great length now.

Thoughts - I love them! They are SO warm, and soft and machine washable! I want some for myself now.

And my sis's top secret gift is finished:


Sorry I can't give you more details. You'll have to wait until after the holidays!

If you've stuck around this long, I have a confession to make. I didn't make my self-imposed deadline. I knew I wouldn't. Especially as I got distracted by two knits that weren't on the original list (you know what excuses are like). But it's all good. I've got a week of knitting time stretching out in front of me, and I can't wait! I'll knit for me - when everyone else has a gift.

Catching up

I'm here, I'm knitting, and finally, I'm blogging!

Lots to share, so get comfy. I'll wait while you get a beverage and/or snack.

OK, here goes.

Some FOs for you:

Green Hat number 2


Second verse, same as the first.

Knitty Gritty:
Dates: Sunday November 12, finsihed Tuesday November 14
See this post for more info.

I also finally got up the guts to face the curse of the black hat. I just finished it up.


Same specs as all the others - I finally have the pattern memorized! This one is a tad longer than the others due to my inability to remember to stop and measure. It also seems a bit looser, but I wonder if that is due to the reuse of the yarn. Anyone else have this experience? But it's done! Yippee!

I've also worked on the Irish Hiking Scarf. This picture is a few days old - it is at 1 1/2 skeins, and I'm now just into the 3rd skein. I've finally learned to "read" the pattern, so I don't have to keep track of the rows! Woo Hoo!


On Sunday, I visited JoAnn's for some Harry Potter Wool-Ease. I wanted to make a scarf for the movie, so I picked up some gold and "close" to burgundy. This knits up very quickly, but I have been neglecting it. I knew I couldn't get my HiP scarf finished in time.


I had grand plans to work on this during the wait to be seated for the movie, but we know what happens to plans. I'll tell you my story...

Thursday night I came home and after The Girl left, I took a nap to prepare to stay up WAY past my bedtime. I got up about 10 pm, and when The Man got home from work we left for the theater. We arrived about 10:40, and the line was out the door. Mind you, we went to a theater in a mall. There was plenty of space for us to line up inside, but they choose not to do that. Of course, I didn't have my coat (and it was about 40 degrees outside). It was too cold to knit outside since I had to have my hands in my armpits to keep warm!

About 11:30 they started seating people. However, they did not tell us how they were seating people, and after waiting in line for nearly an hour, we were told that it was not our time to be seated. So we stepped to the side while they seated EVERYONE ELSE IN LINE. Finally the ass monkey in charge disparaged to seat us, and directed us to a theater that had NO seats left. When we went to tell him (us and the other 20 something people with no seats), he didn't believe us. He finally drug his ass to the theater and asked everyone to scoot in. Of course, they were already seated with no empty seats in between.

After waiting for another 10 minutes or so, The Man came back (he had followed ass monkey to see what he was going to do) and directed the rest of us to another theater that had MANY empty seats. Ass monkey never showed back up. A letter is being written to the management of the theater, 'cause I'm pissed.

But the movie was great! I was disappointed at all that was left out, and The Man and I have some questions about how they're going to work that stuff in, 'cause some of it affects book five (and hence, movie five), but I don't want to spoil the film for anyone. The end had me in tears, and I can see how Mike Newell saw that this story is really a turning point in the series. The film is darker, yet he put a lot of humor in it. And it was scary. The Girl won't be going to see it anytime soon.

However, we are getting too old for this nonsense. As soon as The Girl left with her mom Friday night we went to bed. At 6 pm. I woke up at 11:30 and let the dogs out, and went back to bed. Slept until 7 am Saturday. Yikes. That's a lot of sleep.

Enough babble. I've got lots more to share, but I'll save some for later.

I'm out of school all week this week, so expect to hear lots from me!

Tuesday is Knit-a-long day!

Since I have no pictures to show you (damn daylight savings time AGAIN), here's an update on my knit-a-long progress. Aren't you on the edge of your seat?

Warm Hands: Um, my mitten has a cuff. It's had a cuff for almost two weeks now. I promise, I'll work on it soon. I got to the increase for the thumb and got scared. I'm a wuss.

Irish Hiking Scarf: I've knitted through one ball of Wool of the Andes and started the second. Haven't worked on it since Friday.

Branching Out: First five rows are done. Need alone time for this - hopefully will have some next week.

Cover your Head: Finished Green Hat number 2 last night - looks exactly like the first. Y'all saw all the other hats already. Black hat I'm wary of starting. Feeling the curse there.....

Scarf Style: As soon as I have "me" knitting time, I'm making the turtleneck shrug. Love it.

Weasley Along: Um, what? Harry Potter knitting? I'll just say I've started something - more details tomorrow.

Um, yeah, that's it. Wow. Riveting.

The Man's ipod arrived yesterday. How is it fair that something that had to be personalized and shipped from China can arrive faster than yarn? Not fair.

He did bring me home a little pressie today - a little ABBA (as I have none and lurve them). Isn't that sweet?

It is FINALLY getting cool here (after being in the high 80s this weekend) - it may freeze tonight! We had clam chowder and biscuits and it was delightful.

And I've ordered all of The Man's non-knitted gifts. It's way too easy to click the "place order now" button on Amazon. They should make that more difficult. If only there were a button to finish up all these gifts...

Scarf Day!

Thanks for sitting through Hat Day yesterday. To reward you, today is scarf day!

Fancy Scarf - pastel:

Fancy Scarf - brown:

These should look familiar - Same basic everything:

Pattern: Mine - CO 15 st, knit in gs until you run out of yarn, BO

Yarn: Target Fancy Yarn (now all gone, wah...)

Needles: Clover US15

Dates: both finished in one night (each) this week

One more project for you - or two rather....


These are for The Girl - she picked out the yarn when our Joann's was closing (in preparation for the super Joann's!). The Man cut off the top of the had - it has a cute pompom!

Does anyone have any good advice on how to securely attach pompoms? I can attach them, but they seem loosey goosey!

Pattern: Scarf - CO 15 st, knit until "long enough" (about 1 1/2 skeins). Hat - Using Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. It seems like it will be too big for her (since it fits me!), but I guess she can wear it for a while!

Yarn: Patons Mosaic in the Marble colorway.

Needles: Clover US 15s Circs

Dates: Scarf started sometime last week, both finished this week.

Mods: None.

Wish I had more excitement for you, but I just don't. Kind of a blah day today.
I feel like I'm hitting the knitting wall, but more on that tomorrow.

Hat Day!

Look ma! Pictures! I really do still knit!

I'm slowly but surely making my way through that list. I don't think I'll be done by Friday, but it'll be close. Sadly, there are things that were not on the first list that have since been added, but I'll save that for another post!

Today is hat day:

Funky blue/green hat:

Green hat:

Both of these hats used the same pattern: Seaman's Cap from the Knitting Pattern-a-Day calendar, September 15, 2005. (P.S. If anyone needs another gift idea for me, I'd love this years!) I'll try to take a picture of the little boy in the picture for y'all to enjoy - it's a bit scary.....

This is the pattern I was going to use for the black hat, but it seemed that the pattern wouldn't make a hat big enough for an adult (I have since learned to read, and resolved this issue). So I tried a hat with Ann Budd's pattern from Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. Well....I really wish I had a picture for you, but it was SO bad it had to be immediately frogged. I cast on too many stitches (my gauge was 5.5 spi, and the book doesn't tell you specifically enough what to do when you have that situation. I rounded up to 6, bad idea. WAY too big). I also was sick of knitting the black hat and just decreased when I felt like it was long enough, not when the pattern said to, and it ended up just sitting on top of my head (what with the it being too big and all).

But, when I went back to the first pattern and READ it, I found that, why yes, the pattern IS sized for adults. And though it seemed to take FOREVER (just a day in reality) it turned out great. It's snug, without being tight, you can fold the brim up, or pull it down over your ears - I want one for me!

Knitty Gritty:
Pattern: Seaman's Cap from Knitting Pattern a Day September 15, 2005
Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Bluebonnet and Evergreen
Needles: Clover US 7 16" circ and DPN's
Dates: Blue - Friday November 4-Saturday 5, Green Sunday November 6
Mods: NONE!

I have two more of these to make, (one the ill-fated black hat) and I casted on for the third tonight.

Blue Hat 1 Take 2:

Finally! I finished up this baby today.

Pattern: Basic Cable from SnB Nation
Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino
Needles: Clover US 8 DPNs
Dates: Sometime last week (cast on and ribbing) to Saturday November 11
Mods: I added two sections of cable and two pattern repeats. It's a little big, but not really noticeable. The length is good.

More excitement tomorrow!

I got nothin'

Me so tired - (really I'm just stringing y'all along with all this talk of FO's and no pictures! Haha - you are under my power!).

The Man saw this and thought of me (not in THAT way) - I have butt issues. It is too big. We don't like big butts at Casa Knit'n Lit.....But it did make me chuckle!

click for bigger

And in other riveting news, I'm Anna! Yea! (Thanks to Laura for the link.)

Which O.C. Character Are You? Find out @ She's Crafty

What do you do when the dog eats your shoe?

Or how to become famous in 24 hours....

First - a photo op for you. When you wake up in the morning, it's a quarter past 2, you just might find your dog eating your "I wear these to school almost everyday" shoes*:



Needless to say, he spent the rest of the night in his kennel where he will also spend tonight.

This might be forgivable, had it been the first offense, alas, he chewed on the heel of my pink Chuck's Sunday night. I hope they are still wearable. In any case, send shoes!

Um, yeah, famous, me? I guess so, when Bonne Marie leaves a comment! Yes, THAT Bonne Marie. What's a girl to do? Take her advice and run! The yarn has been ordered, the goddess of the cardi declared Mulled Wine for the body and Chocolate for the sleeves - hey, at least is should taste good!

While I was there, a little something might have been added to my cart.

And I might have visited Steph's blog, and ordered another little something. (In my defense - I have four skeins of LB Chunky Chenille that I bought to make this some time ago - so I'm stashbusting, really! And they'll be gifts!)

And while I was in my paypal account this might have jumped in. It's just too damn cute not to have, especially with all these babies - their siblings deserve gifts too!

While I was at Knitpicks ordering yarn, I had to get that total over $30 for the free shipping, so I got this to help up the total, along with the book.

And The Man ordered his Pod. I neglected to tell y'all that he has a fully functioning ipod - it's a bit old and doesn't hold a charge for as long as it used to, but the main problem, according to him? It's full. Life's tough.

In exciting news, we got an early Christmas gift today from mom and dad - a new printer! Our printer has been defunct for many months - never buying an HP again. If any of you need an opened, but never used inkcartridge for an HP, I think it's a 50 something, let me know. I hate to throw it away. (BTW - the printer was on sale mom!).

Oh, and in case anyone needs ideas for Christmas gifts - I really want one of these.


I know I need another cardi like I need a hole in the head - but I couldn't resist the baby blue/orange combo. It's so cute!

And, speaking of holiday gifts, The Man wants the Mossimo (sp?) courdroy blazer from Target - in dark brown or grey, size Medium. Our Target is out - and it is not on the website. I'd pay you back - in yarn or in cold hard cash! He's been looking for one of these for over a year, and he finally found one that fit, only to have them be sold out of his size.

Must. Go. To. Bed. Now.

There are pictures - coming tomorrow I PROMISE!

*Bonus points to anyone who knows what song I shamelessly ripped off!

Meme and voting!

So, I'm a bad bad blogger. I somehow missed it when Mel tagged me for this meme:

10 years ago: I was in the fall of my junior year of high school, getting ready to do The Nutcracker and practicing my little toes off.

5 years ago:I was getting ready to graduate from college (for the first time), and working two jobs at the same place in the nutzo Christmas retail season.

1 year ago:The Man and I had just gotten married, I was looking for a Christmas retail job (AGAIN), writing papers, etc.

5 snacks:
Chips and Salsa
Pretzel Goldfish crackers
Peanut M&Ms
Peanut Butter Crackers
Tator Tots

5 songs I know all the words to:
Most Neil Diamond songs
All Kelly Willis songs
Anything on the Immaculate Collection
All Wilco songs
Most Lyle Lovett songs

5 things I would do with $100 million:
Buy a bigger house
Pay off all our loans
Put some away for The Girl's college education
Buy lovely unnecessary gifts for my family
Um, buy yarn!

5 places to run away to:
Colorado (I know, boring)
Tahiti
Boston
The southern coast of France
the Caribbean

5 things I would never wear:
Fur
a mumu
sequins
tight fitting pants
a miniskirt

5 favorite TV shows:
Gilmore Girls
Alias (though it sucks lately)
Lost
Grey's Anatomy
The West Wing

5 biggest joys:
Rainy days with nothing to do
A kitty on my lap
Being greeted by my dogs
A hug from The Girl
Talking to The Man just before bed

5 favorite toys:
My iBook
My iPod
My sewing machine
My knitting needles!
TiVo!

5 people to pass this on to:
This one has made the rounds - but if you haven't done it, consider yourself tagged!

Now, if you've hung around through all that boring crap, I'm sad to report that I still have no FO pictures for you - damn sunlight again.
But I do have an interactive activity! The Man recently came into a bit of money (those of you in the know - he sold off the unused color from his glassblowing days), and was deciding what to do with it. He wants this. I did bend his arm into allowing me to get a tiny present. I asked for Handknit Holidays which he agreed to, and then I laid it on thick. I want a Ribby Cardi, and I don't have the yarn for it. He hemmed and hawed, and then said "Go order your yarn." Woo Hoo!
But here's the kicker. I can't decide what color to use! So, a fun vote! (BTW, the colors can be seen here.)

Damn blogpoll won't be "accepted" by blogger - so you'll have to vote in the comments - Choices are:
Coal
Chocolate
Mist
Evergreen
Mulled Wine

Vote early, vote often! Lots of pictures tomorrow!

Hope this is more exciting for ya mom!

My apologies for the dearth of blogging these past few days. Where does the day go? Monday I had to go to the post office, get gas, go back to the store to fill up the gas tank for the grill to make dinner, cook, eat, talk to mom, put the girl to bed, and just a few minutes later it is bedtime! Today was more of the same - after school do online interview for potential job, go vote, do homework with The Girl, get ready for Family Reading Night, go to Family Reading Night, and run off to meet
Jen for knitting and soup.

I should have more project updates for you tomorrow, when I have actual pictures of FO's. The f'ing daylight savings time means that by the time I have time to take pictures (and The Man is hope to assist with the photoshoot) it is too damn dark to take them!

I have all these posts in my head, but by the time I get to this point, they are gone.

Random notes:
Jen pointed me to this website - full of useful information!
Knitcast is very fun to listen to!

OK - everything else just flew out of my mind because The Man just got home and guess what he brought? Tickets to see Harry Potter at midnight next Thursday! Woot!!!!!!!

Let's Get Political

Warning: If you have no desire to know my views on anything other than knitting, books and other minutae, stop reading now. Knitting content will resume tomorrow. :)

Public Service Announcement:
The state of Texas is trying to pass an amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. This really gets my goat up. I realized that I chose to live here, in a "red" state, but while I can possible effect change, I will try.

Go vote. Tuesday November 8. Go. It's your responsibility. Vote.

I saw this several weeks ago, and saved it for now. I think it's great.

1) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, liposuction and air conditioning.

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Brittany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans...
----------
Re-post this if you believe in legalizing gay marriage

GO VOTE!

In which I vow never to eat Albertson's frozen pizza again

Seriously, the stuff is gross. The cheese looks and tastes like plastic. Blech.

But on to the knitting. Had a bad night last night - chugged along on the black hat while watching my TiVo'ed Bones and The O.C. (which is more like oh, c'mon now because the plotlines are so lame). I decreased. I wove in my ends. And it sat on top of my head like a tam. Yikes. So I ripped out the decreases and tried it back on and decided what I had known all along. It was too freaking big. Way too big. So I ripped it all out and the black yarn is sitting in the basket in balls being punished for misbehaving.
I cast on for blue hat #2 this morning. I'm a bit afraid to speak of it for fear of the curse.

It would be done but dear Jess is in from Austin, and we had to play. We went to see "Just Like Heaven" because we love us a good bad movie. But this one just SUCKED. Made our Top Ten most horrible movies of the Jenn/Jess experience. Others include "The Prince and Me," "Raising Helen," "The Wedding Date," and "Must Love Dogs." I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting. Don't waste your money.

We will be hitting the theaters again in a few weeks when she's home for Thanksgiving to see Kiera Knightley suck it up in Pride and Prejudice. I expect this to be a potential candidate for the list. I'm not a big fan of hers and she's no Jennifer Ehle.

Must drag myself off to bed as Jen and I have a big yarn store outing planned in the morning! Woo Hoo!

But before you go, isn't this so much fun? Do it! Do it! Be a joiner!

Holiday Knitting

Here we go. These are the plans. Perhaps VERY overly ambitious, but nonetheless, I'll announce them to the public (so I can have that flogging when I fail to meet my goals!).

To Knit:
Black Hat*
Green Hat 1
Green Hat 2
Blue Hat 1
Blue Hat 2
The Man's Hat
Fancy Scarf - Pastel
Fancy Scarf - Brown
The Girl's Scarf*
The Girl's Hat
Nephew's Mittens*
Little Boy Mittens
Little Boy Hat
Irish Hiking Scarf*
The Man's Socks*
Branching Out*

*these have alaready been started





Done:
Nephew's Hat
Buttonhole Bag
Hole in One 1
Hole in One 2
Wavy Scarf
Fancy Scarf - red/green
The Girl's Shawl

Now here's the CRAZY part. I want to be done with the gift knitting on November 18. Yes. 15 days from now. Now, there are two gifts that I know will take a bit longer than this, and that's OK. Branching Out and The Man's socks will take some time.
But I want to be done so I can knit for myself! I'm going to stay with mom and dad for a bit after Christmas, and unlike Texas, it gets pretty cold in Indiana. So I need new handknits to take with me! And last night at SnB, I have to admit that I was making my mental knitting packing list. Hello.....I'm not leaving until the end of December. I'm nuts. The first step is admitting it.

Let's recap. 14 gifts. 15 days. I don't think I'm going to make it.

Tuesday

I had some witty title made up in the car on the way home from SnB, but promptly forgot it. So you get Tuesday.

In case you didn't know, Hobby Lobby has all of their needles, accessories and books 1/2 off. I had to go.

I didn't do too bad. I got another set of sz 0, 1, and 2 dpn's, so I can have more than one sock on the go, another set of row counters, some of the cute sweater dpn holders and a copy of the winter 03/04 Vogue Knitting. It has two nice patterns in it, which I thought was reasonable for 1/2 off. I also got some more of their in-house yarn, Yarn Bee Pitter Patter, to make the flower washcloth from Weekend Knitting. I bought a skein a few weeks ago, and sat down and swatched it up Sunday night. I used it to wash my face and let it dry overnight, and it did really well. It's 100% polyester, so we'll see how it wears. It is a pretty good deal - 290 yards on sale for $3.22. They have some lovely bright colors. It's also really stinkin' soft, so it would be great for baby items too.

Full project update tomorrow! Must go sleep now!

Happy Hallowig!

There it is - the super secret project! I don't know why I kept it a secret - I guess just to be silly. And on another note, I swear there is something about that grey sweater that makes my boobs look huge. They are actually quite small. Hmmm, maybe I should wear it more often!

Details:
Pattern: Hallowig from Knitty
Yarn: Caron Perfect Match (what the hell is this supposed to match? It hurt my eyes so much I almost couldn't knit with it by the end!)
Needles: Susan Bates Sz 8 DPNs and circ.
Started: Mid-October
Finished: Sunday October 23

Notes: I am an idiot and I completed all of the decrease rounds before I realized I had decreased on the sides instead of the front and back. Luckily, acrylic yarn rips back easily and the loops keep their shape for reinserting the needle and starting again. This was a really quick knit, and I find that acrylic yarn doesn't bother me too much if I use metal needles.
Mods: None, though I would make it with a smaller needle size next time to make it fit more tightly. Could actually be a cute silly hat.
Makes me want to knit a silly hat - maybe the kitty hat from SnB.

Halloween is a low-key affair around here. The Girl is dragged around by her mother who reluctantly gives her back to us with only moments to take her to her grandparent's houses for a quick hello and photo-op. We set a record this year - we had one more group of trick-or-treaters than last year - 4!

In other riveting news, today marks the 2 year anniversary of us buying this house! In honor of this occasion, we got the tax appraisal in the mail. Five years ago our house appraised for $68,000. Today it appraised for $110,000. Just a bit of a change. I can only hope for it to go up that much again in these five years.

Go say hi to Jen! She has a blog! Welcome to the land of the crazies!

Oh, and if you're looking for some cheap chick-lit, I'm cleaning out the shelves of stuff I don't think I'll ever get to....

Um, right, trouble with the title again

So I got a big box from Knitpicks on Wednesday. Inside was a lot of yarn - almost all destined for holiday knitting. Some of it got knitted up right away, but most is still waiting.

Here is a picture of yarn for holiday gifts (obviously not all of this came from Knitpicks). Some projects have already been started and are not pictured here. Yikes, That's a lot of yarn.

I also got some of these "Quilter's Pins" that I am planning to try to use for blocking pins. In case you want some (they are only $3.50 for 50), you need the catalog number because they are not on the Knitpicks website. Just so ya know. I like that the tops are yellow flowers, so I will be less likely to loose them!

There may have been a small purchase just for me in the box. But don't tell The Man.

I really want to make the Turtleneck Shrug from Scarf Style, but I'm trying to be really good and not work on it until the holiday knitting is complete. We'll see if I can make it.

And just for mom, 'cause she laughed so hard at the thought of this.

The Man, modeling the blue cabled yarmulke.

It's the latest fad! Don't you want one?

A Flurry of Finished Objects

Why is the title sometimes the hardest part of the whole post? I swear....and to think that I was a copy editor for my college's newspaper - my job was to write the headlines! (BTW - my favorite - and the only one to make it in print without changes - was "Upside Down and Naked." It was about an art show of some sort. Think that'll grab the google wierdos?)

Here we go - a parade for y'all.

A finished fancy scarf number two! Y'all don't really need the specs for this one, right? Oh, you do?

Pattern: Mine. Cast on 15 stitches on sz US 15 needles. Knit until you run out of yarn. Bind off.
Yarn: Fancy Target Yarn in pretty holiday colors.
For: Gift for The Girl's teacher.
Started: Um, a few days ago
Finished: Sunday October 23

This one is a bit shorter than the first, due to a HUGE tangle in the last of the ball that I could not undo to save my life. So it got cut. It's still long enough though. It looks shorter due to the giant turtleneck sweater I am wearing. See that sweater? Remember how hot it was a few days ago? (102 for those of you who forgot). The Man came home from work Sunday and said "Do you know what the temperature is?" Hello? It's Sunday at 5 pm. I'm still in my jammies. No I don't know what the freaking temperature is! I just know it's chilly 'cause I've let the dogs in and out 50 times today. Um, yeah. It was 44 degrees out! People! That is freezing here this time of year! 44! In October! This of course, explains the nasty cold this week - sudden changes in temperature always mess me up.

On a complete side note - this sweater (obviously not made by me) is knit in the round (Um, did everyone examine all of their knitted goods after they learned to knit? Do y'all still do this? I do.) and because it is knit without seams it seems (haha) HUGE and bulky. This is of course why I love it. It is my scruffy sweater. I rarely go out in public in this sweater. But it is great for layering if I don't want to wear a big coat.

Why did I get dressed? Dog Party. That's right. One of the guys The Man works with (who gets to bring his dog to school with him every day!) invites people over about once a month to let their dogs play together. So we went Sunday night. In the 44 degrees. And the rain. But the dogs had fun! My fingers were almost too cold to knit when we got home. Almost.

OK - back on track.

Hole in One Scarf. This is knit out of some delicious bulky alpaca from Knitpicks - Sooooooooooooo soft. I want to knit a pillow case out of this. It is a *bit* uneven - my yarn choice had more yardage than the given yarn, and I tried to compensate by waiting to add the hole, but I didn't wait long enough. I'm making another, I'll try to work it out better on that one.

Pattern: Hole in One Scarf from The Yarn Girls Guide to Simple Knits notecards from my sockpal. Thanks again Kris!
Yarn: Decadence from Knitpicks in Winter Rose
Needles: Sz 10.5 Clover Bamboo Circs
Started: Wednesday October 26
Finished: Thursday October 27

This knit up quickly due to a lovely evening of Alias catching up on Wednesday. (Plus it's just stockinette all the way except for the one yo to make the hole).


Cabled Hat. Hmmmm. Let me tell you a story.
I find some lovely blue yarn to make the basic cable hat from SnB Nation. My first attempt at cables! I cast on Saturday morning, quickly discovered that I did not have spare size 8 DPN's (my others were in the secret project), force The Man to take me to JoAnn's to use my coupon, and knit away during the Tech/Texas football game Saturday. Wow! Cables are fun! I can do it! It doesn't take much brain power! I love it! Looks so pretty!

Show hat to Jen Tuesday night. She said "Looks kind of small." I say "It'll stretch." I knit on toward the finish line. I decrease away like mad. I pull the yarn through the last eight stitches. I have a yarmulke. I does not fit over half of my head. I made an adult size. The Man laughs like mad, but does wear it as a yarmulke. Looks pretty good. Too bad we're not Jewish.

Let me reiterate. I made the adult size, per the pattern. There is no child size listed. I followed the pattern exactly. I was on gauge. Googling this pattern has shown me the error of the pattern designer's ways and I will be making an adult sized hat with some modifications next. I hope this next one works. But seriously, do they have freakiskly small heads? It doesn't fit poeple! It fits babies! I tried it on the nephew and it barely fits him. It will be gifted to him - after all, I was going to make him a hat anyway. I was hoping to make matching mittens, but we'll see. I'll probably have to buy more yarn, so this is a possibility.

Pattern: Basic Cable from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation
Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino in the light blue (I'm too lazy to look it up)
Needles: Sz US 7 for the ribbing and 8 for the rest. And a cable needle.
Started: Saturday October 22
Finished: Tuesday October 25

Oh- the lovely yarn from Knitpicks arrived (in case you missed that in the above ramblings). I really like the Decadence. It is so freaking soft. More pictures tomorow. Try to contain yourselves.

I'm alive!

First, thank you all so much for your well-wishes! I appreciate them more than you know.

Secondly, it was just a cold, but boy I can be dramatic when I want to! It was a pretty nasty sucker (still lingering around here - don't have much of a voice and still can't breathe through my nose), but I've conquered it.

The Man knew things were bad when I came home Monday night and didn't even have the energy to check my bloglines. Then I went in search of mindless stockinette, and he nearly had a heart attack when I pulled out the cat bed. Soon, though, it became evident that I didn't even have the energy for that. I tried to read, and couldn't concentrate. So I decided to take a nap. It's bad things around here when momma is sleeping in the afternoon. She doesn't nap (unlike the other members of her household).

The Girl was concerned that I was asleep - that's how rare it is! But I sucked it up and forged ahead - I was being observed on Wednesday, so I had to go to school.

Jen got me out of the house for a mini SnB session Tuesday night (I did make The Man drive me). I got to pet her new yarn from Knitpicks - soooooo soft. She also got some of the self-striping to make socks for her honey. I'm excited to see it knit up - I haven't used any self-striping yarns yet.

There has been knitting. I will take some pictures in the daylight tomorrow for you - I promise!

Real quick, before I have to go hack up a lung again, I started the "Bold Banded Mittens" from Adorable Knits for Tots and I swear there is a mistake in the pattern. I have searched online for errata and found none (but did find several people looking for some!). Any advice? I could try to wing it on my own, but I'm worried that if I solve this problem it will be messed up again later. I'm debating calling the publisher. They don't have any info on their website though, so I'm not sure how helpful they'd be.

Pictures tomorrow!