A Few New Completions

Just a quick note to share...

Here's my goldfish buddy all finished, complete with jingle bells to make him into a rattle.



I want to make maybe two more in different colors for Lab Baby.

Then, there's this Ribble hat. Frankly, I'm glad this project is done. I didn't much care for it. It looks funny unless it's stretched out.



So, that's two hats for the February Itty Bitty Knits KAL.

Next, I think I'm casting on for a chemo turban pattern I saw a long time ago for the Caps for a Cure group.

Now though,it's time for a dose of the sniffling,sneezing....medicine because the crud has found me and sent me home form work today. Yuk. :-(

Here's hoping the crud misses you!!

I'm Having a Giveaway!

Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival: Winter '08 Edition.



I've decided to play along, and I wanted my giveaway to reflect me and my blog. So, I'm Givin' Away some knitting! I've decided to offer my "Bluebird of Happiness" bag to the lucky winner. It's a red handbag I knit myself, felted myself,and embroidered myself in shades of blue. It is my most favorited project on Ravelry and the most viewed in my Etsy shop, Elizabeth Originals. Here's a shot of it:



To enter my giveaway, leave me a comment telling me why you would like win my little bag. I really love comments and linky love (wink, wink:-). However, I will use a Random Number Generator to pick the winner. Contest closes at Noon EST on February 2. Any comments placed after that time will not be considered in the drawing.

Good luck!

Giveaway is now closed. Thanks for stopping by! Check back for the post announcing the winner!

What Ever Will I Do Now?

Well, now that I'm feeling better (see my everyday blog here for that story) I have a situation that I rarely find myself in. The only projects I have on my needles are the ones I have been working on for years and may never finish! I could finish attaching all the parts to Squiddy and felt him, but I decided to take a break from Lab Baby gifts, so I don't really want to do that right now.

Here's what I finished this week:



It's a spiral preemie hat for my February Itty Bitty Knits group KAL on Ravelry. Feruary is always busy for me so I'm getting a jump on it.

And now, I just don't know what to do with myself! I could finally try those adult socks. Or I could cast on another KAL hat. Or, or......oh, I just don't know! I feel so discombobulated (?) (spell THAT, Norma!) without an ongoing project.

But don't worry. I'll figure something out :-)

Have a good weekend everybody!!

A Whole Lotta Knittin' Goin' On

Let's just say that the contest from Skeins Her Way motivated my inner knitter. Since I finished the starfish for the contest, I have cast on for Squiddy:



All of his pieces are made, and just need to be attached. Felt him, and Viola! He will be finished. A cute buddy for Mr. Starfish.

I also cast on a goldfish, who is waiting for a bell or noisemaker of some sort to transform him into a rattle. Then I can sew his tailfins closed and Viola! He will be finished. Another cute buddy for Mr. Starfish.




I think I'll take a wee break from the Lab Baby sea nursery toys and go back to hats. Or maybe, FINALLY, start my first pair of adult socks.

But first, I need to go through this pile



to see what is going to TeresaS and Stitches from the Heart, her chosen charity this month for our Ravelry Itty Bitty Group knitalong. Can someone please tell me why I still have all these hats?

Well, it doesn't matter because I'm decluttering and that means my knitting stuff too! Hopefully, just by knitting and giving away more FO's faster than I can add to my stash :-)

Knitting Contests...I'm a Sucker

Knit Witch is having a giveaway to celebrate her birthday this month. To be entered, you have to share an embarassing story, and yes, it will be shared on her blog if it's chosen. Head on over there to get the scoop...

FINALLY FINISHED!!!

OK, Skeins Her Way: I'm finished!

I must say thank you for the motivation. I knew that I needed to finish Mr. Starfish, but he was so boring. And all that seaming? YUK! But once I really got started again, I knocked it right out.

Just in case anyone is wondering, Mr. Starfish is a baby gift. Two of my coworkers (married) are expecting their first baby, aka Lab Baby. Mommy and Daddy like to deep sea dive and their nursery decor is "Under the Sea." Perfect excuse to whip up some cute knitted goodies that I know no one else will give them!

At the beginning of this contest (basically - I had 2 more leg pieces done, but no seaming):





Now:



I hope Lab Baby likes him! Now to add some fishies to keep Mr. Starfish company...

Pics as promised

Well, here's the photos I promised of my modified preemie hat. Whatever.

I'm really not too happy with it. I should have made the top i-cord shorter, and the embroidery looks wonky. Or something. But anyway, it's done.

Moving on to better news, I only have one piece left to make for my Lab Baby Starfish. And they are all sewn together AND STUFFED! I just need the missing link and the world will be MINE! Oh, wait...I meant the starfish will be complete. Yeah, that's what I meant to say :-)

Pics of that soon. Just dangle some not-yet-in-stores-Blue-Sky-Alpacas-Skinny-Cotton in front of my nose and I can ROCK my needles!

OK, so I need motivation to finish some projects. SO?!

Well, nothing gets my attention like a good contest. Especially when Blue Sky Alpaca yarn is the prize! So, I am going to FINALLY finish the toy starfish I'm making for Lab Baby. By the end of this month. That right now looks pretty much like this, with one more leg:



I still have to make another 5.

Skeins Her Way is having the contest, and I'm goin' all in!

This post is for accountability! You are all witnesses! (Well Norma, you are. No one else reads this!)

I have made hats for 2 charity knitalongs this month, and that will just have to be enough. Because I have GOT to win me some Blue Sky Alpacas.....

Oh - I guess I'd better start knitting now. Bye :-)

I Have a FO, But You Can't See It.

Well, I did it: I finished a project that I modified. It's for the Ravelry group "Itty Bitty Knits" charity knit-a-long. I started with the hat from the "Pure and Sweet Layette" in Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Nursery, and shrank the pattern for a preemie. Sort of. I guess.

I'd show a photo, but right now my camera is in Durham, probably forgotten during a Duke Blue Devils men's basketball game. I'll post a photo when my camera makes it safely home, with my boys :-)

Ups and Downs

Bad, stupid hat.

Good, cute cabled hat.

Another leg portion for toy starfish. One of ten. On the LAST ROW. One too many stitches. UGH!

Tinked, counted stitches, row by stinking row. Likely missed a decrease somewhere, but I can't find it. I've tinked to the point of the INCREASES. UGH!

I think I must call Cap'n Frog and go all the way to the beginning. UGH!

Bad, stupid starfish leg...

I Heart Cables. Yup. I Do.

I am in love, with knitting cables. This was my first cable project, and it was AWESOME! It's nice to knit a project that makes me happy. I was always intimidated by those scary-looking patterns, but since I am a Fearless Knitter in 2008, I did it!

Yay me!

Darned thing looks so good, I want to keep it. Even though it's for a baby. And I don't have one. And it's for a girl. Don't have one of those either. Hmm...

Next...

I saw this in my Pattern-A-Day calendar this week, while I was still stewing over the Stupid Hat. It's like it was a sign or something! So, I just have to make one of each :-)



This is in newborn or preemie size. Perfect for my "Itty Bitty Knits" knitalong on Ravelry! I spoiled myself (just because they were having a sale. I swear.) at one of my favorite LYS's, Yarn Paradise. I bought two balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran: one in Dusty Pink and the other in Light Blue. Check out the poll and answer this: How many cables should the pink hat have in this pattern: 5 or 10? The other one will be blue, as I plan on making one of each...

Ahhh, sweet redemption. So far. This yarn is so yummy, and it just glides over my Knitpicks Harmony circular needle. I may actually enjoy my first ever cables project.

Yes, you read that correctly: my first cables project. Wish me luck...

Just a side note: I have no idea why I'm so link-happy today...

Someone Else is Givin' Knit Away!

Check out the blog Having a Hissyknit. She's giving away yarn on her "Love Knit, Love Knit, Love Knit" contest- woo hoo! The entry deadline is January 31st...

Well, it's done. Stupid hat.

This was supposed to be a chemo cap for a child: a donation to the Jan./Feb. Caps for a Cure group. It was great, or so I thought. No tinking. No frogging. I cast on 104 stitches, like the pattern said. I did K2P2 rib, like the pattern said. I knit for 3.5 inches to the decrease, like the pattern said. I followed the pattern, to the best of my knowledge, to a T.

And this stupid thing is so small, it won't even fit my three year old. It looks like a stinkin' yamulkah.

Oy.

I won't even bore you with my complete and total inadequacy in color work. Half of my carried yarn was somehow carried up the outside of the hat. I had to creatively engineer it with a reasonable facsimilie of duplicate stitch to hide it.

Stupid hat.

Happy New Year

I wish I had a bit more to report, but alas! My latest chemo cap doesn't seem to want to be finished! I hope to finally conquer it today. Now the my hubby is home, I have my camera back, so perhaps I can actually post a photo! After I finish a rousing game of Zingo with the boys :-)

Just wanted to check in and say Happy New Year! Here's wishing us all a year of gorgeous yarns, lots of FO's, great patterns, ease while weaving in ends, minimal tinking, NO frogging, and stash control!!

I hope to have better material very soon...