Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween everybody! Hope you got lots of goodies!

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Happy knitting!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! I had two little Boston Red Sox players to take around! 

The aftermath -- and I only take them basically around the block! They got enough chips and cheesies to overflow that box, plus I may have a few bags of chips left. (We get around 50 kids, give or take.) I made 60 treat bags, but the boys stole a few, plus I think Darren gave two out to some kids. All of those are gone, but I still have some chips left. They also each had two Halloween buckets, one is full of chocolate bars, the other full of candy. They also got 5 cans of pop and 2 juices. Logan kept taking off from me. Once they get bigger I'll take them further, but that's enough junk for an hour's work! 

The short neckwarmer is made out of Cha Cha and Brazilia. The longer scarf is Cha Cha and Eskimo. I made these a couple of weeks ago for the store. I only really like Cha Cha if it's mixed with another yarn. I find it very blotchy, and a lot of the colors are the greatest. It looked really good mixed with these other two yarns, though, and was very soft and plush feeling. 

Felted mittens for the little guy who's bowling birthday party we attended today. I think they will be a bit big for him, but his mother will be able to put another pair under them. They fit Darren perfectly, maybe 1/2" too long from the thumb to the top of his fingers, but that's okay. I made them out of Briggs & Little Regal in Grape. I have enough left to at least make Darren a pair, and maybe a pair of thumbless ones for Logan, too. They felted really nicely. I ran them through the wash three times inside of a small lingere bag on my longest hot/cold cycle. It's the pattern from the Bernat site that I have listed a few posts ago. There are some mistakes in it with the number of stitches they list as compared to what you actually have, at least in the children's size. I haven't tried the other two sizes yet. It's no big deal and shouldn't cause anyone any trouble. 

Darren can do really well when he wants to. He gets too excited and doesn't take his time. He bowled a 45. He can do better, but this was the first time since their birthday party last January that they bowled, I think. (The boys' birthdays are a week apart, so I just combine the two for now.) 

Look how perfect Logan's shot is going! He bowled a 48 (we counted gutter balls). One of his first tries he got all the pins down except one with one ball. He gets too excited, though, and I have to watch that he doesn't lob the ball halfway down the lane. He's got a lot of curve, too. The balls would head to the gutter and then curve back to the middle. He's going to be a good bowler (takes after his Ma!). 

Hot dogs first. 

Spiderman cake -- yummy! 

Halloween weekend, and the boys decided to dress up and hit the town. My husband (in green with the black wig), and his friend, Jason. They actually went out to the bar like that! There were quite a few others dressed up, too. They got their outfits from the plus size ladies' section and Frenchy's. They made for two very large women! 

Shipping

You know, Canada Post rates are crazy. They don't make sense. I used to sell quite a bit of my hand-knit baby sets on eBay, but I don't bother much any more because (1) eBay's fees had increased and (2) shipping got too expensive. It works out that I pay less to ship a small packet to the US than it does for me to ship it somewhere else within Canada. That Shetland Ragg yarn that I got on eBay cost me $11.40. I got an e-mail from the seller saying that when she went to mail it they charged her an extra 8%, so she spent $11.89 to mail it to me! Because she was sending it from Alberta (7% GST) to Nova Scotia (15% HST), they charged her HST instead of just GST. Poor woman went in the hole on that one! If you list your items too high on Ebay no one bids, and if you charge too much for shipping no one bids. I charge just enough to cover the actual shipping costs. That still works out to be like $4US for a newborn baby sweater, bonnet, and booties. And if I mail that exact same thing to an address in Canada it costs like $1 more than if I send it to the States.

Gonna go work on the felted mittens. They seem to be turning out nicely. I am almost to the top shaping of the first one. Should have the set finished tomorrow. I should have enough yarn left to make one more pair, so I will wait to felt them when they're both done.

Happy knitting!

Felted Mittens

I ditched the children's thrummed mittens for a third time. I am going to try the Yarn Forward four needle thrummed mittens pattern with smaller needles and see what I get. That pattern is for a ladies' mitten, but with the smaller needles it may do for what I need. We'll see. I am trying a pair of these right now: http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=1397 These ones I am also trying in the children's size. If these work well then I may just make a pair of these for Darren's raffle draw. I didn't specify thrummed mittens, just hand-knit children's wool mittens.

I won some Shetland Ragg or something similar on eBay for $0.99US. With shipping and exchange it was $11.40CAN. It doesn't have the labels, but the seller thought it was Patons or Red Heart. It's the grey/natural marl, and there is enough to make a sweater for Logan and maybe some leftover for a hat. I really like that yarn. Good buy anyways. We sell the Patons for $6.29/100g ball, I think.

One of the guys I work with is on vacation and is currently in Los Angeles, CA. He called me last night after he had just gotten out of a taping of The Price is Right. Neither he or his friend got called to, "Come on down!", but they had a blast. They were four rows behind Contestant's Row. The show will air on December 8. I'm sure we'll be able to see them. They are both wearing white t-shirts that say, "Pick me and I'll get neutered!". Today they had tickets to Ellen Degeneres, but it will be too late for him to call me tonight if they got in. They are having a blast, that's for sure. He's been sooooo excited to see TPIR, so I am really happy that he at least got in to watch and see Bob Barker in person.

Well, must go get ready for bed. Will post some pics when I've actually completed something. I've been bad this week for starting stuff and not wanting to finish it. That's why I try not to get too many things on the go at once.

Happy knitting!

Snowflake Aggravation

My dislike for Sirdar Snowflake is being reinforced. I finished the sleeves and had joined the shoulder seams to start the hood. I followed the pattern to the letter, but I had noticed that the front neck shaping looked a little "long". Once I started the hood my first hunch was proven correct. There's no way that this is going to work. After much difficulty I got the shoulder seams out and ripped the front back to where the shaping starts. It is going to be a nice sweater when it's finished, but I doubt I'll ever use this yarn again. Well, maybe only if someone requests something with it. For now I am just going to put it away. Think I will work on the thrummed mittens some next. I will try to finish the dreaded Snowflake sweater later in the week.

I haven't heard anything new yet on my nephew. I guess they ended up not taking him to Halifax by air ambulance, just a regular one. They pumped him full of morphine for the pain. I don't know what exactly he had to have done or how long he'll be in the hospital. My brother-in-law went through this same thing a few years ago - car accident, badly broken leg, surgery & pins, etc, and was hospitalized only for a couple of days. Hopefully this will be about the same.

Off to try some thrumming (again!).

Happy knitting!

** They had to put a rod in his upper leg. He will be in the hospital for about a week. Ma tried to call him tonight, but his line was busy. I didn't talk to her again to see if she got through.

Fabric Cafe

Shelly and I went to sign up for the Fabric Cafe today. I think we were only the third and fourth people for it. It's a small-town version of Stitch N Bitch, open to knitters, cross stitchers, rug hookers, etc. They were going to hold it one morning through the week at a local restaurant/cafe, but now they are talking about an evening at one of the lady's house. Have to see how it goes. Hopefully interest will pick up.

I brought the Sirdar Snowflake sweater home from the store this weekend. I have to do the sleeves and the hood. I'll be glad to get it done. I don't care for that yarn at all - doesn't flow well. I switched from weird Inox kinda flexible needles to bamboo, and it's going better. Hope to get it done so I can start something else for the store.

My 17 year-old nephew was in a car accident today. I don't have all the details yet, but apparently he was a passenger in a car that was racing another car. He had no seatbelt on and was thrown out the back window. He has a broken leg for sure. I don't know anything else. He was awake and talking to my aunt and uncle. He lives with my mother's sister, and last I knew they were going to the hospital, as was his father, my brother.

One of the guys I work with and his friend are currently in Las Vegas. I called him a little while ago. They went to see Elton John the first night they were there. He said that was awesome. They leave for Los Angeles tomorrow, then I don't know where they are staying. Right now they are here: http://www.stratospherehotel.com/ They have tickets to The Price is Right on Tuesday and tickets to The Ellen Degeneres Show on Wednesday. They aren't guaranteed a spot at either one. They hand out more tickets than the studios hold and do a first-come, first-serve basis to fill the seats. TPIR airs three weeks after it is taped, Ellen airs the next day.

Must go check on my supper.

Happy knitting!

**My brother called my mother and said my nephew's leg was broken really badly, high up his leg. He has a cut over his eye. They checked him out and said everything else was okay, but he was being airlifted to Halifax. The hospital where he was has no surgeon, and if he needs pins they can't do that there. Will update tomorrow if I hear more.

Bernat Sox sock for me - still have to make #2. 

One down, one to go! 

I'll show you what this is gonna be later.

This is my Carmen scarf. I did end up buying a third ball. It's a little wider than what I was originally going to make. Sooooo soft! 

The yarn I brought home from the store the other day to do scarves. I used the two shades of blue Salsa to do a stripey scarf. I did 2 rows & 2 rows, but you can't really see it, just pretty much certain ways the light falls on the scarf. It's really pretty, though. It almost looks like a variagated yarn was used. I took a pic but it was out of focus, and now the scarf is at the store. 

Look what found its way inside my feeder. It was hard to get a pic without the shadow and risk scaring him away. 

Bag of Goodies

I brought home a bag of goodies from work today. Shelly and I went through some of the yarns that we only have one ball left and some tangled up Fizz and split them up to make some things for the store. We sold two scarves today, one of mine and one of hers. She also got some Sirdar Snowflake to make some kid's hats. I took a pic of what I chose and will post it when I have some more to transfer. There's a dark pink Fizz yarn, some sample Bohemian, Divine, some Cha Cha and Salsa I want to mix and Cha Cha and Eskimo (the colors that I have go well together), and two shades of blue Salsa which I'm thinking stripey/stripy(?) scarf. Hope they all turn out as good as what I am picturing. We'll see.

I finished the yellow feather and fan scarf yesterday. It's not blocked yet. I also am half done my Carmen scarf. I think I will buy a third ball. I wanted that one to be quite long. I ended up making it wider than I had planned, so I think it's going to be too short with just two balls. That stuff is soooo soft. I also finished up a sock that I started ages ago for myself. One down, one to go, but I need the needles to do mittens for Darren's school first. You know, those thrummed mittens started and frogged twice so far. Got til the end of next month.

Time to get the boys to bed. Daddy is not very happy. He got stuck in the line-up at the pier tonight and won't be home til late. Yet they expect him to take an early one in tomorrow. (When I talk early I mean like getting up at 3:30am and outta the house like 15 minutes later.)

Happy knitting!

Baby boucle poncho in child's size 6-8 for the store. It was blocking in my rec room in the basement. That's about the only place I have to block stuff. 

Feather and fan scarf knit with an alpaca/acrylic blend sent to me by my Secret Pal in France during the SP4 exchange. It's a nice, light yarn. I'm using 5.5mm needles. It calls for 3.5-4.5mm, but I wanted a looser knit. 

Logan waiting for the parade. 

Darren waiting for the parade. 

Here come the trucks! 

More of the trucks in the parade. 

This truck is from the nearby town where my mother is from. My brother lives there, as does Ma's sisters, brother, and most of their kids. 

Thrummed Mittens Update

I realized last night that I was using a pattern for two-needle thrummed mittens and had, of course, started mine on four needles. I thought I'd be able to adjust the pattern, but once I got to the thumb it all eluded me. I haven't knit enough mittens to easily modify the pattern. I returned to the Yarn Forward web site and have found that they do, indeed, have a four-needle pattern: http://www.yarnfwd.com/mitt4n.html

And, of course, I have ripped out what I had started prior to finding this other pattern. Back to the drawing board!

This pattern is for adult size only, so I think I may do a normal child's mitten pattern in a larger size than what I actually want and just insert the thrums as directed. I was talking to someone already who said any mitten pattern can be thrummed, basically. We'll see!

Happy knitting!

Thrumming Along

I finished the child's size 6-8 poncho for the store. It's blocking as we speak. I took a picture of it and will post it when I have more photos to transfer. We are going to the Fire Prevention Parade tonight, so I may take some at that.

I have started the mittens I need to make for Darren's school raffle draw next month. I am using this pattern: http://www.yarnfwd.com/mitt2n.html but I am using 4mm for the cuffs as well. I had the cuff finished on the 3.25mm needles, but it was too tight on Darren's wrist. I only have ten rows ribbed so far, but I think it's going to be alright. So although this title is "Thrumming Along", I haven't actually thrummed anything yet. Additional comment: Realized once I got to the actual row to insert thrums that the pattern is for two-needle mittens. I, of course, am using four. Had to add a stitch to space the thrums correctly. I think everything will be cool til the top shaping. May hopefully just need to refer to a pattern for four-needle mittens to decrease the top. Mental Note: Must look patterns over better before starting projects in the future.

I want to make one of these for the store as well: http://www.knitpicks.com/Projects/Projects_Display_Yarn.aspx?itemid=50405220&yarnid=5420113 only thing I will try to modify the neck. Don't really like how that looks. I still have never tried the self-striping yarn. Nova Knitter was in the store yesterday and says to go ahead and try the sweater. I was going to try a pair of toddler socks first, but she says I'll have no problem with the sweater. (I can always get her to help - she's made beautiful baby sweaters with the striping yarns. Check out her blog on the sidebar.) I guess the only thing is grasping that the yarn really does stripe itself. I'll just have to get some and try it instead of thinking about it too much.

Back in mid-September I went enumerating (same as census taking in the US). I was hoping to make enough money to pay for at least half of my computer that I bought on six months no interest, no payments. I ended up only having to put about $112 with it, so now that's paid for (relief!).

Oh, yes, before I forget - momentous day yesterday at the store! We sort of have competition between the different departments in the store. One guy does the framing, I have the mini lab and yarn, Shelly has yarn, another guy cell phones, the owner computers, etc (quite a mish-mash for a small store, huh?). Anyhoo, the yarn department sales hit its highest for the day since we started selling it back in the spring and it was the highest department overall for the day for the first time! Take that, Mr. Frame-It, who said it would never happen. Ha!

Must go get the boys ready for the parade. More pictures to come soon!

Happy knitting!

Grrrr!

I think I may have to go into my settings somewhere and restrict postings on my blog. I really don't want to, but earlier this evening I posted some pictures. I just deleted four spam comments from one of them. I welcome comments, but not spam.

Started myself a scarf three times tonight. I tried one pattern twice. It was my own invention, just using a lace panel pattern from a book I have, but it wouldn't work. I didn't look at the pattern closely enough to see if there was a mistake, but I definitely had the right number of stitches cast on, but it didn't work. I tried it twice. So then I tried another one. No go. Lastly I decided on the ever-faithful feather and fan. Will take a pic when I get more than two repeats done! I have to be careful with this yarn as well. I got up this morning and found it all over the living room floor. It is acrylic/alpaca, and I find any yarn with any natural fibres becomes a target for my three furry children. Normally they leave my stuff alone. They are also very fond of Shetland Ragg, and I have to knit three pairs of Christmas socks with that, too.

Today I mowed the lawn for *hopefully* the last time this year. Big spiders everywhere! I knocked a few webs down with the mower. Our yard is hedged in on three sides, and they really like to build webs around it. I tell ya, if I ever find one of those big, gangly, bad-ass spiders crawling on me the neighbors are gonna think I'm being attacked or something! I hate spiders and can just imagine the freak-out I would go through if there was one on me...

Think I'll go do a couple of more rows on the scarf then hit the hay. Should have some more pictures of FOs posted this weekend.

Happy knitting!

The pumpkin lights have since been removed twice, as Logan likes to take them off and throw them across the living room floor. We have hardwood, so it's very loud and annoying. I may put them back up, but I haven't decided yet. 

Decorated front window for Halloween! 

Christmas yarn! No, not what I got for Christmas, but yarn that I bought to make Christmas gifts. The pink Eskimo is for a scarf, the Bernat Sox yarn is Army Hot for toddler socks (kinda varie camo colors but looks black in the picture), and the Shetland Chunkies are for three pairs of work socks for three different people. I had a pair of socks once upon a time knit with the sand marl (upper left) and totally wore the bottoms out. They were very warm and comfortable. Should make myself another pair (after the Christmas gifts are finished, though).