It's a trap!

It really is...
If you walk anywhere in our house and don't turn on the lights you run a high risk of getting caught in one of the dogs toy traps...
Ever kick a bone across the floor in the middle of the night that wasn't there when you went to sleep? I have and I lost a toenail in the process.

Ever step on a squeaky toy that was left like an offering at the side of the bed?
It's the loudest noise in the world at midnight, not to mention heart stopping.

Ever step on a cold damp stuffed hippo in the dark not knowing what the fuzzy wet substance under your foot was but praying the dogs didn't bring something in from the backyard?

This happens on a weekly basis for me...

Last night however was the best laid trap I've seen in a while, put there by Gabby. Her two favorite toys in the house perched right at the top of the stairs smack in the middle of the hall...

Thankfully I had my wits about me and I turned the light on... For sure I would have ended up in the supine position at the bottom of the stairs with my dogs sitting on top waiting to be fed.

Happy Thursday

Hooters for Owls...

That title is probably misleading.

You probably think I'm putting boobs on the owls...
That's right, I said Owls
Plural
I've knit another one and have plans for many many more
muwhahahahaha
I love them.
My current one that I just finished is Stan.

He's a serious sort.

Enjoys working with numbers
Doesn't interact well with others and is terribly shy.
When he hears someone approaching his office he makes a dash for the spider fern and hides.

He enjoys the finer things in life as well, a dry gin martini at night, and a fresh cup of coffee from my thermos in the morning at work.

It's all about routine and ritual with Stan.

He is little being only about 5" tall, but he makes up for size with his owlish cuteness.

He's looking for love but hasn't had much luck on the Owl to Owl dating website.

Maybe someone will pop up soon for Stan.

I think we all know it will.

Probably this weekend.

In the meantime, as Stan cruises the dating site, crunches numbers and drinks my coffee, I'm working on a pair of Antler Mittens by Alexa Ludeman you can find the pattern here

I wanted to use more of my Blue Sky Alpaca Worsted Hand Dyed yarn...

As soon as I finish these I'll be a knitter with Matching Accessories

That's right

I said it...

Matching.

It be the start of something...

Just like the owls...

Finished Object: Eternity Scarves

My Friend Marcy has made a few of these and her daughter Michelle has made five that I know of...
I started my first one on the Monday before we flew to Minnesota and finished it on Wednesday. I started the second one on the airplane on the way out there.

the first one I made out of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Twisted in Firecracker. I found it at Churchmouse yarn on Bainbridge Island when mom was visiting over Thanksgiving.

If you are a knitter and you are in the Seattle area you have to hop the ferry and head to Churchmouse...totally worth it. I could spend hours there. I did spend hours there, as well as money...



The second one I made out of Blue Sky Alpaca hand dyed worsted. 50% Alpaca, 50% Merino. It's heavy and soft and I'm smitten with it.

The first one I wore the whole time I was in Minnesota (more to prevent mom from stealing it out from under my nose)
The second one I have worn during the snowy weather in Seattle. (it's possible I took a short nap in it right after I finished it)

The Green Afghan under the scarves was
crocheted for me by my mom over 35 years ago
I love it.
Its one of the only things she crocheted.
She loves knitting more. 

Details:
Pattern: Eternity Scarf by Michelle Wang. Ravelry link here
Yarn: Scarf 1- Blue Moon Twisted in Firecracker
         Scarf 2 - Blue Sky Hand dyed worsted
Size 9 circular
Love this pattern! Currently eyeballing my stash to see what else I can make it out of!
Are you wondering how my stash busting challenge is going? So far so good. I've walked in three yarn shops and while I haven't bought any yarn I've bought a whole lot of other stuff...but that's a completely different post.

Finished Object: Ms. Whoozit

I love how I name the toys I knit before passing them off to their new owners.
I'm sure they change them to something way more cool.

When we were in Minnesota last weekend I finished Bump's Dr. Who Owl. His cousin Jane loved him so much that I just had to make one for her.
Had to...
couldn't be helped.
........

So, since I was trapped at home for two days because of snow in Seattle and all surrounding areas, I got to work. I started her on Thursday and just now finished sewing on the eyes, and knitting her beak.

she's adorable.

Really she is...
Here are her details.

pattern: Big Snowy Owl by Purl Soho you can find the pattern here
Yarn: Berroco comfort chunky in plum for the body and comfort chunky for the eyes and beak.
Size 8 DPN's
Polyfil Stuffing.

she's super squishable and lovely.

I can't wait till Jane gets her in the mail!

They are calling it...

Snowmaggeddon
24 hour news coverage
Every school district is closed
People have lost power
Most of us are stuck in our homes
Praying we don't turn a corner and see a kid on a big wheel.

It's not that we don't know how to get around when the weather does this, we aren't prepared for it like they are in other parts of the country...plus there are hills everywhere.
At my house if I can't get up the hill outside my cul de sac my option is to go down to the bottom of another one...needless to say I don't do that.

I get cabin fever pretty quick and I'm currently on a baking binge and running out of things to cook up...

And it just keeps falling...
And falling
And falling

Omg
I think I just saw a man in a bear suit carrying a briefcase in my backyard...

Can you guess my references?

Over the Weekend...

I was in Minneapolis over the weekend for Bumps baptism. I am his Godmother and Margie's brother Will is Godfather.
Needless to say I got oodles of cuddle time with the little guy and he's just as sweet as can be.
Little Miss A is also the most adorable cuddly thing as well.
My family makes beautiful babies.
Bird and Bear were at the top of their game when I saw them last Friday.
Apparently there was a conversation about how I was adopted in the family. Bird took that to mean I came from the orphanage and wanted to know what it was like...
I'm going to put that right next to the entry in my journal where 2 years ago he asked if I was a beaver because my teeth were kind of big in my head.
Seriously, where do they come up with this stuff?

The only thing Minnesota was missing was snow.
They had none.

My best friend Megan joined all of us for dinner Monday night and it was so good to see her. Sadly Miss E had an upper respiratory infection so she stayed home with her daddy and big brother Z.

D and I arrived home yesterday afternoon to a land covered in snow.
6" at our house alone.
More is coming down now.

I couldn't help turning on the Christmas lights on the deck with the snow covering them. Their bright glow in the dark quiet landscape is making me all twittery and happy!

Sounds like a good day to stay safe and sound at home.
Snow Day = Knitting day by the fire
with a little laundry thrown in for good measure.
It's possible that I'll take the Christmas Tree down today as well...maybe

Bump 

I did knit a sweater for Bump in about three hours and thanks to mom's steamer and endless button supply we were able to block and button it up...Those pictures are on my phone and I just need to find my photo downloader thingamajig and I'll post it as a FO. 

Stay warm everyone. 

I'm going to crack off my second Eternity Scarf by Michelle Wang and wear it as I stroll thru this winter wonderland...

Finished Object: Big Green Owl

I know I know...
It's been a long long time since I actually posted a finished object.
This one has been done but missing eyes and a beak for quite a while but I finished it finally.
He's wonderful
It's entirely possible that had I not given him to Bump the day I finished him that it would have come back home with me.
There have been many requests from friend and family (mom) for more...
all in due time people
all in due time

He is adorable
He is squishy
He is 100% lovable

I'm totally making one for myself as soon as I get home!
and one for mom
and one for Jane
and one for....
and another one for...

This could become a new obsession

as if I needed one.

So here are the details

Pattern Name: Big Snowy Owl by Purl Soho
Yarn: Body - Classic Elite Sprout Organic Cotton in Galapago Green
          Eyes - White is Cascade 128 superwash
                     Green and Blue are Berroco Comfort Chunky
          Beak - Berroco Comfort Worsted in Canary Yellow
Needles: Size 9 for the body, size 8 for the eyes
Love Meter: Off the charts!!!
I mean seriously....
look at this guy!

I like this...

Therefore I must show it to all of you!

Safe & Sound...

It started out innocently enough. I was stopping to find some new shoes on my way home from work. After that I was going to hit redbox to pick up a movie, then subway for dinner.
How was I to know that the shoe store was having a going out of business sale? That everything in stock was 70-90% off? That I would find four pairs of flats, plus a new pair of black heels all for less than $8.00 per pair.
The sales girl was very sweet. Carried my shoes to the register while I looked around some more. The girl was also very nice when she suggested that I try on a pair of blue wedge sandals...I set my purse and shawl down and tried to slap those 'super comfy' blue wedges on my two bricks we casually refer to as feet.
'nope, not for me I said.' with a smile on my face...
I picked up my stuff, paid, and headed to my next stop...
15 minutes later at the store I felt like something was amiss...I had a sinking feeling, a nugget of fear and then I realized why...
I didn't have my green shawl
You know the one.
100% cashmere in green with a purple ruffle edging.
The one I proudly dragged to introduce to the Yarn Harlot.
The one she touched!
OMG
I felt faint
I felt a couple tears well up in my eyes.
I walked a couple circles around the car, ran into the store and
grabbed the movie from redbox. Then headed back to Lynnwood.
I was in such a state of panic, fear, and nausea that when a woman tried to nose her way into traffic I quite harshly closed the gap saying 'not this time sweetheart'
Then I thought 'oh boy, karma is going to bitch slap me for doing that and for sure the shawl will be gone'
It's possible at this time the tears started in full force along with the irrational thoughts.

What if someone saw it and took it? They don't know it's cashmere!
They don't know it was hand knit!
They don't know that it needs to be handled with love, care, and reverence! They'll take it home and present it to their dog as a soft place to rest its mangy little head!

Please let it be there!

It's possible I broke the speed limit a bit and that the tires squealed a little as I pulled into the parking lot. I possibly called an old lady driving a not so nice name as she totally jacked up backing out of a parking space causing me delay from reuniting with my shawl.

It was there

Right where I left it
I grabbed it and possibly kissed it,
Silently thanking all the powers that be that allowed me to get it back and not let it end up as a dog bed...

I promise that I will never abandon you again.

Ever

I only meant...

To get it established and set it aside for a later time.
I bought this Blue Moon Twisted in Firecracker back in November and it's been whispering to me and eyeballing me thru the whole holiday season. It's 560 glorious yards of worsted weight hand dyed wool.
The project had to be perfect, so I waited...
I'm in the middle of two projects and a number of things that need final touches but that didn't matter one bit last night... Nope. I was a knitter possessed by startitis syndrome which is ripping thru the knitting community like a plague right now...I couldn't fight it, but I really didn't try.
So there I was wedged between my knitting chair and Christmas tree (yes it's still up but so is my neighbors so don't start) using the light from it to dig out my swift and winder. Next thing you know I had this gorgeous skein wound up ready to go.
I wolfed down my dinner in a very un-ladylike manner, then made my way gracefully (like a storm trooper) upstairs and cast on. I didn't stop for 3 hours...

Oops.

Lindsay don't worry...Miss B's sweater will be done before she out grows it!

I'm still having trouble with that stupid button band...I'll tackle it again tonight...if I can stop knitting this infinity cowl long enough!

I'll post more details about the pattern in the FO post (probably tomorrow)

how do you like them buttons...?

When I found out that my brother & his wife were expecting their first child I did what any self respecting knitter would do, I ran for the nearest yarn shop to buy yarn for a sweater for the little one.
I have since finished all bits of the sweater except for the button band because I was waiting for the perfect ones to show up. Thanks to Buttons by Robin on Etsy I found these. Not only do the colors match perfectly I believe that they are going to delight Bump's parents when they see them.
Honestly the colors couldn't match better than they do right?
So now...I'm knitting the button band.

Happy Sunday!

There you have it...

The 2012 (really 2011) project bin...I have 2 more this size and a multitude of smaller ones to pull stash from. Looking thru it I am as excited now as I was when I bought all the yarn. So what first? The cranberry capelet by Baby Cocktails or her Black Cherry Lambic?
Still in the works is Girlfriends Seing Coat for Miss B
The second sock for me.

Startitis anyone?

Off My Game...

Not surprising though really...
At the beginning of the holidays I was whacked with a viscious cold virus and even today still have a lingering cough.
I never really got into the holiday spirit.
I've been knitting but not documenting any of it.
My Ravelry hasn't been updated in ages.
My Christmas tree is still up. (and yes I'm still plugging it in at night)

My current project is one for Miss B. I am making Girlfriends Swing Coat by Wendy Bernard. I'm using Lion Brand Wool-Ease for her in Azaela Pink. It's lovely and I'm almost done with the main body. Thanks to a marathon of 'Game of  Thrones' yesterday I was able to work my way down to the beginning of the seed stitch border.

No I don't have a photo of my progress.
Yes I'll take one today.

I've also joined the 2012 Stash Busting Challenge put on by Kelly P of Creating a Family home...
I have an obscene amount of yarn.

obscene.

I'll take a picture of that too.

The Challenge: To knit only from what you have in your stash as of December 31, 2011. If all I knit were a pair of socks per month I'd be set for at least six years!

I'm excited to dive into my big trunk and start pulling projects that I carefully planned out last year...

Join us! Lets see what we can all get done in 2012!

I promise, pictures later today!

Happy New Year
xoxo
Carmel