Ramble, progress on sweater

Wow, time flies.  I should be doing about a dozen things right now other than updating the blog.  I'm almost finished painting the trim in the spare room. I might actually finish today.  Wouldn't that be nice. 

I have to finish sewing granddaughter's puddle jumpers sweater and find the perfect buttons to go on the front of it.  Picture soon I hope.  I'll be doing some visiting this weekend so I probably won't get too much done on it except in truck while DH is driving.  And even then I might opt for starting on the shawl that's patiently waiting for me to begin.

I still need to rework my craft room so that I have everything in a spot where I can find it easily and actually get to it when I know where it is.

Maybe it's time to give up the beading.  I suppose I'm my own worst critic and as much as I'd like to do it I just don't seem to have the ambition to sit and work at it.  Not like I'll sit with my knitting or work on the scrapbooking.  So maybe that's not the hobby for me.  It would free up a little room, but not much.  I didn't collect much stuff for it.

Of course, if I knit up enough charity hats I will clear out some room too.  There is an abundance of yarn in the craft room that is in colors that I'm not that fond of. (It was given to me and I'm not complaining)  I did sixty hats last year and hope to do more this year.  As soon as I finish the redecorating of the guest room I will make time to work on those and maybe some mittens to take to granddaughter's school for the kids in need there.  Hard to think of mittens when it's so hot here now, but I know that the time will come and how fast can I work them up really.

Off to work on painting.  Maybe I'll do before and after shots when I finish the room.

Tags: ramble, sweater, redecorating

Picture finally

Ok, I got the card out and here's the picture of the Grandma and Me socks made with Sassy Stripes by Cascade.  Now to get to work on other stuff and remember to take pictures.  That's the hard part for me.

Tags: pic of grandma and me socks

Projects in progress, etc.

I have, in the last 10 days, gotten about 2/3 of the way through the puddle jumpers sweater that I'm working on for my youngest granddaughter.  I also got pictures of the socks that I made for the other granddaughter and I which I will post over the next few days.

I'm ready to start the shawl that I bought yarn for back in June at the IWannaKnit Retreat.  I just need to wind my Fino into a ball so it doesn't get tangled in the bag. I have to graft my sideways socks, but other than that they are complete.  I know, I know, you can't wear them until they are grafted so they aren't really complete.  Hey, the knitting is done.

I heard recently that one of my favorite haunts in the city of Mobile is closing.  The Yarnhaus is shutting down next month.  My darling DH said first thing that we need to head over there.  I don't have room to store any more supplies so that's out of the question.  Rats.

I'm still working on the room that my youngest daughter vacated.  I have the walls painted and most of the carpet has been pulled up.  I still have to paint the doors and the trim and then get the flooring in and put baseboards in.  Then it's on to window treatments and bedding for the bed in the room.  And a toy box for the grandbabies toys.  There is a huge difference already though.  No more Winnie the Pooh (what daughter themed the room when pregnant) and a much more gender and age neutral palette.

Tags: finished, in process projects

Completed projects

Well, I am so bad about remembering to post or even to take pictures of my finished projects.  I have recently finished a pair of socks for myself with matching ones for my granddaughter and forgot to get a picture before I gave her her pair.  I have also finished a shopping bag that I had been working on off and on ( mostly off) for six months and a baby gift set for my daughter's sister in law.  I forgot to take a picture of that too.  oops.  I'm working on another shopping bag right now and also the sideways socks on my LK150 for the knitalong at the Knitting Today forums.  I have a Puddle Jumpers sweater sitting in a bag waiting for me to begin and also a shawl patiently waiting for me to start on it too.  Can I get some more hands here? Please.  Between the knitting and scrapbooking and the fact that I'm also redecorating a bedroom (paint, floors, roman shades etc) I could use some more.  Maybe a clone???  Only if she could take over the actual housekeeping chores and free up my time for the fun stuff.  Hopefully, I can get a pic of the Grandma and Me socks tomorrow when I see my grandbaby. 

Tags: finished projects, waiting projects

Well, my projects are rolling along.  I restarted Lauren's socks and the baby blanket for my daughter's sil is coming right along.  I have not had to rip that back. I have a couple of hats ready for seaming already and I'm working on a couple more.  I really need more hands or I need to be able to prioritize my list of things to do.  I still haven't finished my Aran Square Afghan that I started about three years ago.  I need to take time to work on that.  maybe after my darling daughter and grandson move into their own place so that I can count and follow the charts in peace.  I won't say it's more fun, but it's a "not going to last very long" kind of fun to sit and play blocks or read to him. He'll be a big boy soon and I won't be at the top of his list so sometimes the knitting just needs to wait. 

 I had the fun time of running into a rattlesnake in my backyard the other day.  Luckily I was on the stairs and he was on the ground and I startled him enough that he rattled and well... I ran back up the stairs.  Flip flops, shorts and snakes are just not a good combination.  My dear son in law came and shot the snake for me and got rid of it. 

I'll post pics of my socks and Lauren's just as soon as I finish hers.

projects galore - where's the time

I've been home from Retreat for a little over a week now and I have several projects lined up.  I'm working on socks by hand for my granddaughter, a blanket, booties, sweater, and hat for my daughter's sil who is expecting a new baby girl in a few months; also by hand.  I'm going to do three sideways Hoodies for my three grandchildren from a Mary-Anne Oger pattern ( a class I took at retreat) and a blues scrap afghan for Project Linus. I also have a lace stole in waiting and yarn for a couple more sweaters for the grandbabies.  I'm also planning to start early on hats for Caps for Kids which will be turned in (in person I hope) at the next Iwannaknit Retreat next June.  I had 60 this year and I plan to have more for next year.  At least twice as many I think.  Now where to find the time for all this knitting when I also have to keep up the house and the yard and I have other commitments as well.  Oh and my scrapbooking that I need to get a handle on.

It's cloudy out today so maybe we will get some more rain.  We need it.  It's hot and humid here and will be until at least October.  At least the garden is producing. Time to go out and pick some fresh veggies.

Tags: projects, garden

home from retreat

Well, I've been home from Retreat and vacation long enough to get laundry done and start contemplating my next knitting project.  I also have some roman shades on tap for my bedroom and painting and flooring to do in my daughter's room when she moves.  Looks to be a busy summer.  I also want to change my tables in my knitting room.  I'd like to have room to have all my machines set up or at least have room to set up my sewing machine in the quiet room.

Retreat was everything I expected it to be.  There was knitting by hand and machine (of course), good food, shopping, and lots of laughter and hugs going around.  Two of my daughters called me during Retreat and both would have sworn I wasn't at a knitting retreat.  I just laughed and told them that knitters get rowdy when together.  It's especially true when we don't see each other on a regular basis.  I'm so far away from everyone else that it's the only time I get to see them.  I'm going to try to add pictures of some of us at retreat.  I couldn't get them to go through to the forum so I'll post them here instead and just link.  I had so much fun.  The only down side was when the truck broke down, but it's in the shop and being fixed so life goes on.

Tags: home again, knitting,