Happy New Years Eve!!

So the husbands surgery went really well, the knit while you wait went even better!  I came up with a little skirt pattern yesterday and was able to cast-on, knit and bind-off, all in one day!  WoooHOOO!  I am going to knit another one of the skirts and double check all my notes and then I plan on posting it and my simple little dishcloth pattern. 
I have a dear friend who is expecting her first baby late next summer, lucky for me it's a girl!  That means a lot of cute little knits for the sweet girl.  I have a whole little outfit planned, beginning with the skirt and hopefully ending with a bonnet.  We shall see how far my yarn goes!  Pic's, note's and post's to come next year!!  Happy New Year's Eve Y'all!

Only knitting and cleaning today

Today is kind of a crazy day...christmas decorations are being tucked back into the attic, glittery messes cleaned up and tree needles swept up.  I was hoping for a nice quiet day, just to sit and knit, get some work done on the house, but to relax mostly.  Well that all changed this morning when we found out that the husbands' nasal surgery was moved to tomorrow.  So now we are husteling, trying to get things put away and up out of the way.  Get the cleaning done and a few meals planned.  Not that his surgery is a big deal, but it sure has thrown a loop into our plans for taking out the old and bringing in the New(year).  So today will still be cleaning, but in a few minutes I plan on saying, "ENOUGH!"  I'm going to sit and knit...no cleaning, no planning, no nothing for at least an hour.  I need my time to "re-energize" and re-group....it's time to knit.

Little Baskest and Blue Sky Cotton Review

So I made the Soft Baskets from more last-minute knitted gifts again(see previous post for link).  Such a quick and super easy pattern.  I found a great tutorial for the cable cast on here, it made it so much easier and these are very clear instructions with good pictures if you are a visual person like me.  I just love this little basket and have a few more planned just for me!  Yippee.  The one I am picturing was knit for my husband Grandmother.  She is going to love it.  She is a quilter and crafter extraordinaire and always has a need for new little containers to hold all of wonderful little "things and such".  I made it Blue Sky Alpaca's Worsted Cotton.  Some of the best cotton I have used.  I use it often too!  This is a pale green color, so soft and pretty to look at too.

So picture one is the basket, you can see that it is not large at all, but perfect for those little things.  Like extra odds and ends of yarn you can part with, spools of thread, or buttons!!  The second picture I took so I could see how much room was left.  This basket has plenty of "stretch" so to speak.  I probably could have fit a few more little balls of yarn in it.  I just love it!

On to a review about the Blue Sky Alpaca Worsted Cotton.  I love this cotton, it is a worsted weight, so it knits up fairly fast, probably my favorite fact about it.  I also love how soft it is, not like some cottons that have that twine feel.  It is a little finicky and can split if you are knitting on to small of needles or having to rip back often.  That is a small con though when you weigh all the pros. 
Here are my pros.

1. Super soft!
2. Easy to work with
3. Great for baby items and toys
4. It is double ply
5. Great array of colors
6. Multiple patterns for the yarn, either from the company or linked on ravelry.com
7. Doesn't pill much!

Here are my con's:

1. A little more expensive at $9.50 for 150 yards.
2. Tends to split with over ripping(a lot of yarns do!) and very small needles.
3. Hand wash or dry clean only

That's it...I can't really say anything bad about it!  I will vouch for the price though.  You get what you pay for.  If you want to make a super soft, beautiful gift for a little one, this is the cotton to do it with.  Yes it is hand wash only, but one thing we knitters should try and point out to recipients is that all had knits will last much longer if they are hand washed.  We aren't talking beat it on a rock and scrub it with the ol' scrub board either!  Just a gentle hand wash.  I often times give simple instructions so it doesn't seem so overwhelming.  This really is a good bang for the buck and a huge bonus, the item will last forever with the proper care!

So that's my take on the cotton.  It's not much, but I hope it helps someone out there who is debating on whether or not to use it.  It really is fabulous, has so many colors to choose from and is easy to work with. PS...this cotton is great for many of the toys in this book!

More Last-minute knitted gifts

More last-minute knitted gifts...such a perfect title.  This book By Joelle Hoverson is just that...last minute gifts and it is quickly becoming my favorite book to go to.  I have knitted 3 projects out of it so far(with each project being knit more than 2 times)....I just love it.  I cannot say enough good things about this book.  My favorite thing about this book is how it is divided up, the clarity of the instructions and her little tid-bits to help the project to go smoother.  I just love it. 
Right now I have to of the projects on the needles.  One is the soft baskets, so far it is going well.  I have a few fears over the cable cast-on and the seaming, but I am hoping that it will go well!  I will need to do a little research and find a tutorial for cable CO...it's a first for me!  The other one is the family ribbed hats.  This is the second time I have made this hat and I truely love the pattern.  It is so thick and perfect for my family that lives up North.  I made a black one for my father-in-law and he loves it.  I totally forgot to take pictures too...darn it!
So I cannot say enough good about this book.  If you are a knitter in need of a good book full of ideas that can also be adapted...here is your book!  If you are not a knitter but know some...such a great gift for them, maybe with a skein of yarn, the needles and your favorite pattern marked(just a little hint for them?!)  Any knitter will love this book!  Happy knitting and crafting my friends!

Knitted Gifts

So the last two days have been full of super quick knitting!  We are talking 6 projects in two days!  Woohooo!

The first three gifts were for my kiddo's.  I used the book more last-minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson again and made the pointy elf hat!  I just love this pattern, the hat is so cute, it really is so very fast too!  I think I made each hat in just over an hour and had fun doing it too!  Nothing better then instant gratification knitting!  Can you tell I'm excited with all those exclamation points?!!?  I did not have a bulky yarn I wanted to use so I just used some Malabrigo Worsted held double and it worked beautifully...again love my malabrigo!  The top picture is all three hat's together.  The first hat on the left is cactus flower and a little bit of little lovely.  I think they made a beautiful hat!  The second hat in the middle is for my son and it is marine and paris night held together...it is such a cool look tweedish color up close.  The last hat on the right is little lovely and amoroso held together...it is my favorite by bar.  I think the colors look so cool together.  LOVE THESE!

On to the scarves!  I finished the lace scarf for my mom and it looks amazing.  She is going to love it, that I am sure of.  I am trying to whip out the last scarf for her and I am pretty sure she is going to like it too.  It is a pattern that I adapted from something else...but I love it.  I call it my Simply Knit scarf.  It is all knitting and slipping of stitches, but NO purling what so ever!  What could be better!?  I use this pattern for dish cloths and now scarves...it looks super great in varigated colors.  So here is a sneak peak at the scarf and tomorrow I hope to post the pattern.  Not sure if anyone will ever use it, but heck it's worth a try!  I am using Malabrigo Rasta in the color way indiecita..it really is pretty.  I was not so sure about it in the begining, but I really like how it is knitting up.  If you get the chance to buy some rasta, I highly recommend it!  It is so worth the price.
Happy knitting my friends!

It's Christmas Eve!

It's finally here!  Christmas eve and I know that I am going to have 3 kid's bouncing off the walls, anxious to open gifts and get moving on this holiday season.  This year we took a step back and really laid off of all the "social" thinking of Christmas.  We have really focused on the true meaning of Christmas this year and scaled back on the "stuff".  I don't think the kid's will be to disappointed, they still got a horse after all!  The horse was a joint family gift though, we pooled all the money we got from g-parents and purchased the horse.  He was meant to be a part of this family.  So not including the horse there isn't much for toys under the tree.  I am praying and crossing my fingers that they won't really notice.  We did start a new family tradition which is making gifts for each other.  It has been so much fun!  The kid's have had fun creating for each other and I have had a lot of fun knitting and thinking of things to make for them.  It has really been a fun and exciting time of year. 
So today, on Christmas Eve I am going to try and whip out three more little gifts.  I will post the patterns and yarn later.  I am still deciding just exactly what it is I am going to make.  I am hoping I have time for it since I do have a pan of caramel rolls to make, a cheesecake, loaves of bread and cheesecake bites...oh and chilly too!  Not to mention my oldest and I still have hair bows to make for her younger sister.  This could be an interesting day!!

And there was yarn

So here it is 2 days before christmas and I find myself surrounded by yarn, not just physically, but also in my thoughts.  I'm thinking about what yarn is better for what, what pattern will look good with the yarn and on the particular person.  How to minimize my gift knitting so it is not so overwhelming, but we all know that will never happen!  It is 2 days before christmas and my gift knitting list has grown each day!  How does that happend?  Why does that happen? 

I am working on mittens for all three of my kid's...just little stocking stuffers.  Not that we really need mittens here in South Texas, but it's fun and my kid's will love them.  I was mid way through the second mitten for my oldest daughter when I ran out of the gray Malabrigo Worsted that I am using..dang it!  I guess it is a good thing that I threw in a few stripes of little lovely.  Her mittens won't match, but I think she will like the randomness of the two mittens, or I hope she does! 

I am also working on a scarf for my mom.  It will surely not make it to her in time for Christmas, but oh well, she will get it shortly after!  I am making the Big Lace Scarf from More last-minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.  This is a great book, love all the ideas and how she has the projects broken up into hours of knitting.  Most of them are pretty quick and perfect little gifts.  I am using on of my very favorite yarns, Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky.  I just love this yarn, it is fast to knit, so dang soft and squishy and just a yummy yarn to hold.  I am using the color Lava and it is beautiful, just plain beautiful.  I should finish the scarf tonight or tomorrow...depending on when I finish the mittens and whip some up for my son.

So this is what's on my plate for now....and my mind.  Yarn, lot's and lot's of yarn.  I am using three skeins for my mom's scarf, random bit's and pieces for the mittens.  I can't let and ounce of the wonderful Malabrigo go to waste you know!  I just love it.  All though my mind is swimming with yarn and idea's it's a good thing.  It makes me happy and content.  So there is yarn and lot's of it and I LOVE it! 

Hello!!

Hello and welcome to my blog!  Since this is the very first post, I want to tell you a little about myself, what I hope to do here and such.  This will be a quickie!
I'm a 30's something mom with 3 little ones running around.  Well two of them aren't so little, they are two girls who are 9 and 8.  They are such a joy and blessing to me.  I have one little guy who turned two today, he's the whole reason I started knitting!  I have been knitting for 2 years and quickly fell in love with many, many different yarns.  I love to knit but really I love to buy yarn!  I knit just about anything....except for socks.  It is something I have not mastered yet.  I hope too...but right now I am happy knitting every thing else. 
I really want this blog to be a place where I can share some of my projects, talk about the good and the bad of what I have done.  To talk about some of the yarn's that I am using and giving it a good review.  I find a good review of yarn to be key in making some of the best projects.  I hope to learn a lot as I go too.  Mostly I am going to come here to chat what my family doesn't want to chat with me anymore!  So here we go!  Let's have fun!