Unbelievable...

I actually cast-on a pair of adult socks. (From this book by Ann Budd.)

Wasn't sure I'd ever do that :-)

I also swatched (A small miracle in itself!) for an adult sweater. This one.



I always said I'd probably poke my eyes out with my knitting needles before I'd finish an adult sweater. Guess I'll find out!

And not only that, it's for me.

No one in my immediate family, myself included, owns anything that I knit. It's all been for charity or friends.

Now that I've sorta started something for myself, every time I see a cool new pattern I think, "I'd love that for myself!" And it doesn't matter what it is, either! A scarf, more sweaters, socks, blankets....

If this continues, I'll have to change the name of my blog from "Givin' Knit Away" to "Keepin' It All!"

WOW! Another FINISHED OBJECT!

And it's a DOOZY!! I started it in 2006 (according to Ravelry.)

2006!!!

Seriously...

So, without further ado, I present....




ANNABELLE!!

Remember that I finished her clothes first, so she wouldn't be nekkid?

Well, she's wearing 'em now! (But she's going commando because I haven't made her undies yet :-))

I'm not overly happy with her face, but I knew I wouldn't be. My embroidery skills are a bit rusty. Maybe I'll leave it, maybe not. Eh...

She may be due for a trim on those luscious brown tresses of hers. Just a tad on the long side, unless you braid them or make a ponytail. Then it seems to be OK. Jury's till out on that one, too.

But, she's FINISHED!!!! And dressed!

Oh, yeah. That.

Her V-neck sweater is a bit too low cut. When her skirt is appropriately situated around her little waist, you can see the waistband showing through the neck of the sweater. Grrr... I made a FLOOZY doll! :-) We're gonna have to have a talk. We may be in the market for some better fitting attire....

I've got STUFF to show you!!

No, seriously. I have FINISHED OBJECTS!! And they're so significant that I had to spell out FINISHED OBJECTS!

First, I finished my mom's mary jane slippers from The Purl Bee. However, they don't look much like mary janes. I decided to skip the strap because I don't think that #1 she wants to mess with a strap and #2 they fit fine without one.

I also added a knitted buttercup from Nicky Epsteins "Knitted Flowers" to give them a little "oomph." I like....






I think I'll save them for her birthday in January. I gave her felted slippers on Christmas a year or two ago and it wasn't so good. They didn't stretch enough after felting to actually go on her foot. Yeah, nice.

So we'll try a different occasion, and hope that it goes over better!!

Come back tomorrow for another FINISHED OBJECT!!

When Plans Go Awry

Today was my day off. I had big plans.

I was going to stuff and assemble the several-years-old doll that I finally knit all the pieces for. Didn't touch it.

I was going to cast on my first pair of adult socks. Didn't touch it.

I was going to work on my Rambling Rows afghan that I haven't touched since the beach. Didn't touch it.

I thought about casting on for my first ever project for ME - a sweater. Or two. Didn't touch it.

So what did I do today?

I voted.

I cooked. Real food. On the stove and everything!

I bought Iron Man shoes for my baby. Because the puppy ate his Spiderman ones.

I changed the comforter and sheets on my bed to my heavy faux-suede one. Hello! It's almost November!!

So what did (or didn't) you do today??

Two posts in one week. Might be a record!

Nah, it just means that I'm actually KNITTING!

This is a cruddy shot of my red wagon hat redo:


and both of the final hats together:




I redid the handle on Hat #2. The embroidery didn't work, so I made the i-cord again but this time it looked MUCH better after it was attached. So, the hats are

*finished
*delivered and
*paid for!

Which has now freed me up for more knitting. You'd better sit down for this.......

It's ALL the body parts of the knitted doll that I started somewhere about 2004!




Now, time for stuffing and assembly. And choosing hair color. And style. And a face.

Dang.

I thought she was almost done :-)

Well, at least she won't be nekkid when she's complete. Remember her outfit?




Now, I know I have some Poly-fil around here somewhere...

Wow. My second post for October!

I haven't posted lately because I have been knitting furiously on my projects.

NOT!!

Well, I do have another FO. It looks incredibly like my last one! Oh, yeah. That's because I made 2 of them for twins! See?

The handles are different because, frankly, I hated the way the first one turned out. It just looked lumpy to me. I simply embroidered the second one and, while it looks smoother, it still isn't great. I haven't embroidered in a while either and it shows.

But I am a perfectionist. We'll see what my boss thinks.

That's right - I said my boss! She commissioned me to make these, and it only took me since JULY 25th to make them.

JULY 25th, y'all!!!

I am so embarrassed by that. It almost makes me not even want to give them to her. (Yes, the babies are still small enough that the hats will fit!)

Of course, I WILL give them to her ASAP because I want them out of my house!! I discovered during this foray into paid knitting that I don't like it. I want to knit what I want to knit, when I want to knit it. This was NOT fun knitting. Either hat. I'm so sick of them now that I just want them out of my sight! (I know: I'm terrible!)

So, please don't ask me to knit anything for you. (Not that any of you would.) If I feel like making you something out of the kindness of my heart, then so be it. But I will NOT be knitting by request anymore.

Now I seem to be in the mood to polish off some UFO's. I only have an inch or so to finish a doll arm. Then I'll have all her parts and will be ready to stuff and assemble her. I already have an outfit waiting.

I also want to work on my Rambling Rows blanket that I started at the beach. Funny how cooler weather brings that "knitting fever" back, huh?

How about you? Do y'all have the fever??

I'll get by with a little help from my friends.

Well, I THOUGHT I was back to knit-blogging! Oh well...

I need to make those Mary Jane Slippers for my mom pretty quickly, so Red Wagon Hat #2 is on hold. I started the slippers, not too much trouble, until I got to the finishing details. Namely, the attached i-cord, which begins with a provisional cast on.

I'm not afraid of new things, so I read the tutorials for the provisional and gave it a shot. It's the crochet chain method.

I don't crochet, though I can fumble through a short simple chain if I must.

Usually.

Today, I couldn't tell the front from the back, even though the tutorial had photos complete with little pointing arrows and everything.

I threw my knitting across the bed laid my knitting aside, and stumbled off to find a better way. And I found it here at Knit and Tonic.

Ahh, much better!

Now, on to the attached i-cord tutorial here, by the Purl Bee folks. Cool!

Just thought I'd share those two handy-dandy lessons with those of you who still knit. And blog :-)

Look! It's a bird, it's a plane, ...it's a POST!!!

AND a finished project!




This little guy is one of a pair. I have to make another one just like it for a new set of twins born 2 days ago. Ugh...

I like fast knits, and this on size 6's with those tails to tie in a knot is NOT a fast knit. At least, it wasn't for me. And my embellishing skills? Let's just say that I need to practice more :-) I think on the second one I'll skip knitting the wagon parts and just embroider the whole thing. Maybe that will look better!

Anyhoo, I'm SO exicted because my one TV show is back tonight: Grey's Anatomy! Don't bug me from 9-11pm, OK? :-)

Back in the saddle again!

Hey all you patient bloggy knitters! I'm still alive!

I'm knitting again!

I didn't forget my blog password! :-)

This happened to me once before. I completely lost ALL interest in knitting. I mean, I still loved it, I just didn't feel like knitting. It lasted about a month, and then it was over.

Kinda like now.

So, here I am, with the first of two Little Red Wagon hats for twins on my needles, and still a few WIP's. Oh, and another project that I really need to cast-on for my mom: the Mary Jane Slippers from The Purl Bee.

So hopefully I'll actually have something to blog about soon! In the meantime, my everyday blog is at A Quest for Relevance, in case you have an inquiring mind and want to know what I'm up to. :-)

Nuttin', honey.

Um, yeah. Nothing to see here.

Very little writing, and even less knitting.

My "real" blog is at A Quest for Relevance if you want to see what has (or hasn't!) been going on...

Happy Olympics watching!!

Which Came First: The Doll, or her Clothes?

The Clothes, of course! We can't have a nekkid doll!

Who by the way, is patiently waiting for me to finish her second arm. Then I can stuff and assemble her, making both of us very happy! It shouldn't be too much longer.

But I already have my next dilemma: what color will her hair be? Decisions, decisions...

I have pictures!

Believe it or not, I actually picked up my knitting needles! I took three separate projects with me to the beach for those down times, and I only touched one. But I touched it a LOT! See?



This is the smallest size of the Rambling Rows afghan. I don't have any baby boys to knit for, so I'm thinking it may end us as a lap blanket for the Dempsey Center. I wonder how many months (or YEARS!) it will take to finish now that I'm back in my busy, everyday world!

Here's a closer look at the squares. I'm using an unknown fiber (likely acrylic) from a Mill Ends bag. I love the blue, brown and cream color scheme. There's been a tad bit of pooling, but I can live with it. I can't wait to see it finished!

This top photo is better for actual color.


This photo is better for texture. Lots of garter stitch!!



I also have some doll/clothes progress, but I'll save those for another post :-)

Happy knitting!!

I'm back!

Fresh off a week's vacation, I have lots to say for a change! After sorting through a gaggle of emails, I'll post goodies, with pics :-) It's good to be home!

Long Time, No Post

Hey y'all! An actual knitting post! WOO HOO!!

Just thought I'd check in, since I am doing a tad of knitting. I pulled a WIP from the depths of my closet, and am actually making progress! It's a doll from "Toys to Knit" that I started, um, years ago.

I'm a Fearless Knitter now, so I decided to take those flat pieces with scads of seaming and convert them to in-the round pieces. So far so good! I had to buy Size 3 circulars for it, and here I have to say:

Mrs. Saleslady at Yarn Paradise that unfortunately I don't remember your name,

THANK YOU for showing me the Addi Turbo needles. I am in love with them, and since you are responsible, you are officially my new best friend.:-)

Love,
Givin' Knit Away

More to come. Really. Pinky swear :-)

Happy 4th and Happy Knitting, y'all!

So here's the story...

Yeah, I know. I'm awful.

The thing is, I just haven't been knitting much! This blog was an offshoot of my main blog. I discovered that I had a good number of male readers, and somehow I just felt like there was a lot of knitting posts at the time that really wouldn't appeal to them.

So, Givin' Knit Away was born.

I LOVE the title. I really don't care for my other blog title, but I'm kind of established with it now. So eh.

Anyway, since I'm not knitting much, I have little to say here, but I don't want to shut it down.

For now I guess, if you come here and there's nothing new, you can always go to my other blog to see what I'm up to.

I just wanted to explain my hiatus. I really haven't deserted y'all. :-)

See? More knitting!

preemie booties 3,
originally uploaded by givinknitaway.

I have actually been knitting! These are the tiniest preemie booties. Aren't they sweet? These are for the Itty Bitty Knits KAL on Ravelry, for June. Yep, June! I'm done! I'm not doing the end of the month scramble this time. Maybe I can actually get ahead for July!!

What have y'all been knitting?

Proof that I've actually been knitting

I finished the Fishtail Hat that I made for the Dempsey Center! It used almost exactly one ball of Debbie Bliss Pure Cotton. It is soooo soft. And shamelessly modeled by my unsuspecting six-year-old's head :-)

See? I really have been knitting! And you all just thought I was a slacker...

Knit in Public Day is coming!

Have y'all heard about Knit in Public Day? I just found out this week! It's on June 14th. Check out the website here for more info. See if you can find an event in your area, or set up a virtual one!

Happy Knitting!

I'm still around!

Yes, I know. I haven't posted in a bit. Because I have been going-to-parent-teacher-conferences-birthday-gift-shopping-doing-a-little-knitting-reading-a-book-for-fun-because-I-forgot-how-mission-trip-meeting-having-a-birthday-party-watering-my-garden-and-working-like-a-dog.

What have you guys been up to lately???

A New Charity

My newest charity venture is Stitching for Hope & Healing. It's a group both on Blogger and Ravelry that is dedicated to knitting for The Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing. I'm a big Grey's Anatomy fan, and a McDreamy fan :-), so how could I not sign up?

Right now the Center is asking for cool, lacy summer chemo hats for the patients.

If anyone is interested in participating, contact Ashley through the Ravelry group or on the Stitching for Hope & Healing blog.

They need quilters too!

No More Nekkid-ness

Have I mentioned that I love Susan B. Anderson? Her designs, like this little guy and the sweater, are just too stinkin' cute!

Oh well. I think all my baby shower-type knitting is over and done. What's next you ask?

I'm actually thinking of finishing one of my hibernating projects.

(Gasps everywhere) No, really. I've had this hankerin' to finish a baby blanket that I had designed for a contest, but I got bored and didn't finish it before the deadline. I think it's cute! I just don't like big projects. But, I don't like UFO's (un-finished objects) either...

All the parts in the right places

OK, thanks for the appendages.



But, um, I'm nekkid!

I'm knitting as fast as I can...

So what if I'm grumpy?

What? You'd be grumpy too if you didn't have any arms or legs...

I'm a Fearless Crocheter! No, wait. I'm a knitter!

Well, for this project, I was both:




I have NEVER crocheted anything before, but I was determined to do it around the petals of this pacifier clip. And it looks pretty good if I do say so myself :-)

It's the Flower Pacifier Clip in Susan B. Anderson's "Itty Bitty Nursery." Too cute! This goes with the Upside-down Daisy Hat from my last post to soon-to-be Baby Brooke. I'm pretty sure they actually CAN use pacifiers in SPRINGTIME.IN.TEXAS....

Already cast on from the same book: Grumpy Old Bear for the soon-to-be Baby Sophie...

Another Baby Gift: Part One

Well, amazingly I have actually gotten some knitting done this week! I know, I know - please hold the applause.

I needed a baby gift for a supervisor's daughter, who is having a baby girl soon. I decided against a hat, because the new baby will be born in SPRINGTIME IN TEXAS. Probably won't need a hat. I thought about a toy, but wasn't 100%. Then I decided for sure on a flower pacifier clip by one of my faves, Susan B. Anderson. (The pattern is free on her blog.)

So here's what I made:




But wait! That's not a hat, is it? I thought you said "no hats!"

You would be correct. That is a hat. An Upside-down Daisy Hat, as a matter of fact, also by Susan Anderson in "Itty Bitty Hats."

Don't ask me what happened. I was totally prepared to make the pacifier clip while I figured out what to make to go along with it. Apparently, I subliminally cast-on for this hat instead. So, I guess this hat is the other part of my TEXAS SPRINGTIME baby gift, after all.

The pacifier clip really IS next. Pinky swear :-)

We Have a Winner!

First off, I want to say thanks to everyone who played along during the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. I hope you enjoyed finding an awesome new musician (buy his downloads on his MySpace page!), and I hope he enjoys the feedback you all gave. You were all very sweet :-) This was his demo CD of 4 songs that he wrote and performs. I told you he was awesome, didn't I? :-)

Don't forget his name: Josh Fowler!

Random.org picked the winning number for me, and it was #12: Rochirmil!

Congratulations! I'll be sending you an email about shipping arrangements...

I hope to see you all around here again soon!!!

Bite Back!

I'm linking to this post because I think it's a great cause. I'll just let BooMama tell you about it:

"This Friday, April 25, is World Malaria Day. And through the Bite Back campaign, people can give a one-time donation of $10 and provide a mosquito net for a child - or a family, if they’re all sleeping in the same place - who otherwise would have no protection from this completely preventable disease. That $10 will also provide education and treatment for people who are already sick with malaria.

My sweet friend Anne has challenged her readers to donate 50 nets in 50 hours. And I’m totally going to follow her lead here at BooMama: The Blawg. Remember, this is a one-time donation, not a long-term commitment.

So here’s how you can help.

Click here to donate $10 that will provide a mosquito net for a child (you can donate more than that if you feel led). Each net lasts three years, so for $3.33 a year - less than a penny a day - you can save a child’s life."

We can do it - Let's Bite Back!

It's That Time Again!

If you're visiting from the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival, then HEY! If you're a regular, then HEY! (See how I love everybody?!)

Well, this post should be a bit about me and this blog. So, for starters, I'm a knitter. Well, duh! But, I am also a writer. Not just a blogger, but a pen-and-paper, in print kind of writer. And I'm working on a book. Actually, two. AND YOU CAN HELP ME!!

I'm doing some research for one of them right now, and it would be immensely helpful if you ladies (sorry fellas!) would take the survey(s) that apply to you. If you are or ever have been a daughter-in-law, then click here to take the Daughter-in-law survey. If you are or ever have been a mother-in-law (you have married sons), then this Mother-in-Law survey is for you. If you are both, then you can take both surveys. Did I mention how much I would appreciate it if you would participate? :-) Many, many thanks...

Now, on to the giveaway!!!

This part is also a reflection of me right now. This CD has not left the CD player in my minivan for days. The songs are stuck in my head. And I want them to get stuck in yours, too. How you ask? Because I'm giving the winner a copy! YAY!



The CD is called "Broken" and it's by a new singer/songwriter named Josh Fowler. And may I just say, he is awesome! Seriously. He could be the next big name in Christian music. Or mainstream music. Whatever kind of music. He just rocks!

So here's the deal: I want you to go to his MySpace page here because I don't know how to put it on my blog. Sample his playlist. Pick a favorite from his songs, come back to my blog, and leave a comment on this post telling me which one it is! I will use a random number generator to choose a winner from the comments on Saturday, April 26th at 6pm Eastern Standard Time.

Got it? Good! Now GO GO GO and listen to Josh!!

And enjoy the rest of the carnival! And take my survey :-)

Mission Baby Logan: COMPLETE!

Well, the baby shower is next Tuesday. But I'm ready! I finished up Fishie #3 today, and that completes the "Under the Sea" toy set for little Logan. I hope his mommy likes Squiddy and his friends!

As I was putting the finishing touches on them, I remembered another baby gift that I should make something for: Jennifer's baby Brooke. Her mom Kathy is one of my supervisors. I made Jennifer's brother a watchcap while he was stationed in Iraq. And, Kathy brought a baby doll of Jennifer's for me to use as a model for some baby dresses I had knit.

Now, what to make? She's due fairly soon. Most of my inspiration these days is coming from Susan B. Anderson, so I'm thinking of her Upside-down Daisy Hat from "Itty Bitty Hats," and maybe a Flower Pacifier Clip from "Itty Bitty Nursery." (Also free on her blog)

Shouldn't take too long. Time to go stash diving!

Yes, I'm still here. My hubby and i split town for the long weekend to let our brains basically, well, stop. Our only decisions was where to go to eat. Good times, good times. And I finally found a minute or two to knit! Look what I made:

So, I didn't win Susan's Elefante, but I still love her designs. :-) See? I took her Simple Hat 2



and then added her Marley Topper




and VIOLA! The cutest stinkin' hat ever!



This may be my favorite charity hat yet...

Your Very Own Elefante

See this cutie? You can win him over at Susan B. Anderson's blog. She is the designer of this little guy, and author of "Itty Bitty Hats" and "Itty Bitty Nursery." She makes some of the cutest stuff EVER!

Anyway, she asked me to tell her "fan club," the "Itty Bitty Knits Group" on Ravelry about it, so I thought I'd share here too. Follow the link above to her blog for your chance to win her own elefante, as well as a few other knitting goodies!

A Nice Giveaway

Modest Purls is having a comments contest on her blog about her favorite color combinations. If you win, it's a $25 gift certificate to the Loopy Ewe. Head on over - maybe you'll get inspired!

Mom, what's burning?

That would be fish, son. And yes, it stinks.

It stinks that I took an easy pattern and was totally brain-dead when I tried to knit it. I frogged a few times, and tinked a bit too. Ugh.

When I finally did finish the parts, I had to iron them on a damp cloth. Well, my iron is collecting dust normally because, well, isn't a dryer just as good? Seriously.

So, take me, occasional ironer: add acrylic (tranlsation: machine washable) yarn: and PRESTO! Meet Scorchie:



This photo doesn't do it justice, but let's just say that the ocean blue the yarn started as is now a crunchy, orange-tinted color instead. See the flat, shiny stitches near the bottom of the picture? Melted.

Yep, I didn't check the temperature setting on the old iron and it fried poor Scorchie when he was still just filets. I almost tossed him then and there, but decided to finsh him anyway and see how bad he really was. Maybe nobody will notice, unless of course they touch it, or smell it, that is. Ahh, the aroma of melted plastic...

Does anyone remember my last good knitting project?

What do I do?

Well, knitters, as some as you may have seen, I was running an Ugly FO contest. I thought the rules were pretty clear, but I still didn't get any participation. Well, not much. Erin linked to Mr. Linky but there were no blog posts. Only pictures. One or two others commented. That's it. No Mr. linky, no blog posts linking to me, nothing.

Which makes me think I'm the only one knitting ugly things :-)

But, Erin's hat did make me smile! That wouldn't shrink any more in the dryer maybe? Anyway, Erin is the winner. If you see this, please contact me. You didn't leave me any way to contact you!!

If Erin doesn't respond, we'll try again :-)

Look what I got today!!!



It's my "Seriously" yarn from sKnitches, inspired by my favorite TV show, "Grey's Anatomy." This is the most expensive yarn I've ever bought, but I decided to have a little fun and be a "joiner" this time. I mean, it's the only show I regularly watch (when there's actually an episode on!). It's nice, custom yarn. So this project will be mine---all MINE!

Yep, that's right. I'm finally making something for myself. Socks, of some kind. The pattern is still undecided. I assure you that it will be easy, though. I've never made adult socks before. Should be fun.



So, that's all. I just wanted to show off my purchase. And maybe make you jealous.

Oh, and by the way: so none of you have ever made an ugly project? I was hoping to have at least one participant in my Ugly FO giveaway who actually followed the rules. So far, that hasn't happened.

Help a girl out here. Make me want to give you a nice skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton. Post about your ugly FO, with a photo, with a link here, and sign Mr. Linky so we can all find you and make fun of (uh, I mean enjoy) your project. :-)

Someone Call the Doctor

I'm not working on a single knitting project right now.

I must be ill. :-)

The Ugliest FO Contest

Once again, I ran across this baby hat pattern and thought, "How cute! I should make that!" So I went stash-diving and found some Bernat Softee Chunky that I thought was a fun color when I bought it. Not so much now. But, it was colorful and kinda cheery so I thought, "It might look OK on a baby hat." Here's the pattern and picture:

I cast on, and a few days later, I got to the finishing part. The pattern was for DPN's, but I'd rather poke my eyes out with them than knit with them, so I did Magic Loop instead. What's it matter, right?

Well, in this pattern, it does. A LOT. You kitchener stitch a third of it closed, make I-cord, and knot it. Then you kitchener stitch the second section, I-cord, and repeat this process for the last third.

See how those pointy tops are around the hat? Not in a straight line? I figured out when I finished the second part that something was wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. But, I decided to just give up because it was so darned ugly that honestly, finishing it properly wouldn't have helped!

Behold, the Ugliest FO EVER!!!




My 14 year old son and I affectionately call it the "Butt Scrubber," because I honestly can't think of another use for this awful thing.

What's that? You don't think it the ugliest ever? Well, prove it.

That's right, knitters. If you can show me a FO uglier than mine, you will win something very non-ugly: a skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton, in the color you choose from my stash.

But you have to put your money, or knitting, where your blog is. Show me your ugliest FINISHED knitted work on your blog, linking back to this post. Come back here and sign Mr. Linky so we can all see how talented you are :-), and on April Fool's Day (for all of us foolish knitters :-)) I will announce the winner. The winner is whoever I think has made something more horrendous than me. (Well, it's my contest, so I can do that, right?)

So go on. Be brave. Show us those Ugly FO's!!

Golden Rose Sundress

OK, so that test knit I did a while back that was a big secret? Well, here it is: Golden Rose Sundress by Wendi Dunlap from slumberland.org. The link is to her website, but it is also on Ravelry. The baby in the photos is wearing the one I made. Isn't she precious?

Here are a few shots I took:





The pattern is really easy, with seed stitch, stockinette, a few garter stitch rows, and some easy lace. It is available for $4.00.

Let her know what you think, and buy the pattern!! :-)