Dear Buddy….

Dear Buddy,

Is it Buddy?  Or is it Buddy The Elf?  Maybe I should just call you Mr. Elf and keep things formal.  I know that Santa is busy chillin’ in his speedo on the beaches of Rio right now, so I thought I’d better write you instead.  Granted, he sees me when I’m sleeping and he knows when I’m awake, but that’s probably kinda hard with all those hoochies in Rio letting it all hang out.  Anyway, I wanted to make sure that someone noticed I was a very very good girl this past week.  There was a huge clearance sale on Sundara Silk Sport yarn and I had 6 hanks of it in my shopping cart at one point but then had the presence of mind to remove them all from my shopping cart all on my own.  Yes, I know I dithered for a few hours and would most definitely have come back to purchase something if the site hadn’t closed down, but that’s really not the point is it?  The point is, I didn’t buy yarn.  And then over the weekend I was faced with two more opportunities to buy yarn.  I even had a hank or two in hand at the second shop I visited, but instead I used an old gift card to purchase one set of addi lace turbos that were on sale and ended up spending only a whopping $2.99 in total.  I mean, I think that’s pretty good isn’t it?  And I’m getting an early start.  Not like those other kids who only think about being good right after Thanksgiving. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I hope my extra effort will be duly noted and brought to Santa’s attention.  I’d really love some yarn-related goodness under the tree on Christmas morning.  Thank you so much Mr. Elf!  I hope you are staying healthy sticking to the 4 main food groups – Candy, Candy Corn, Candy Canes, & Syrup – I know I am.  Say “hello” to Papa Elf, Arctic Puffin, & Mr. Narwhal for me too :)

Sincerely,

Knittymuggins

Blankety Blank Blank

Do you ever feel like you have things to talk about but nothing to say?  I have things I could share, but I’m feeling kind of meh about it.  I’m doing things (some of them actually knitting related) but they just don’t feel interesting enough to blog about.  Which is totally weird because when I’m doing stuff that seems blogworthy, I generally don’t have trouble talking about it.  It just spills out unbidden and practically writes itself.  Maybe it’s just that I haven’t posted in over a week and I feel out of practice, or maybe that I’m just so tired that the words have gone into hiding in the dark and dusty recesses of my mind hoping I won’t stumble upon them and put them to work.  I think they’re tired too.
 
I shouldn’t be this exhausted.  Last night my darling little boy slept for 9 hours straight and over the past week he’s slept several other nights for 6-8 hours as well.  Why is it that getting more sleep is actually making me more groggy and tired?  I’m thinking that my sleep programming is all out of whack after nearly 4 months of getting up every 2-3 hours at night.  And I think that I still worry something is wrong with Knittymunchkin if he sleeps through what I expect will be a feeding time.  The worry makes me sleepless when I should be taking advantage of the extra opportunity to sleep.  All this snooze analysis is making my brain hurt though, and it’s boring for you, so let’s talk about some knitting instead!
 
Do you have a baby “go to” pattern that you always make for expectant moms?  I do.  It’s this free ball band pattern on the Lion Brand Pound of Love Yarn (Ravelry link here).  I’ve made so many of these that I lost count and it seems like all the moms I’ve made them for have really liked them.  Or else they’re all lying to me, which is a distinct possibility.  Anyhoo, every time I’ve made one of these, R. Darling has said he hoped I would make one of these for our baby when/if we ever had one.  So, shortly after I found out I was pregnant, I started one for our baby.  You should have seen R. Darling’s face light up when he realized what I was doing. It was so worth it, whether or not we’ll ever us the darn thing :)  See, we received so many beautiful handmade blankies from friends and family that I don’t forsee the need to ever break this one out.  But it’s the thought that counts.
 

Hooded Crochet Blanket (Lion Brand Pound Of Love Ball Band Pattern)

 

Close Up of Hooded Portion

 

• Pattern: Crochet Hooded Baby Blanket by Lion Brand (Ravelry link here; My Ravelry Project link here)
• Yarn: Less than one full skein of Lion Brand’s Pound of Love in White
• Hook: 6 mm Size J crochet hook

 
It kinda took me forever to finish this because when I was first pregnant I was so sick I could barely stand to knit or crochet.  But I finished it eventually.  The hood seems like a great feature, but honestly, I’ve never even put Knittymunchkin in it :(
 
My next project was made for my best college friend’s newest daughter.  She has 3 other children and I’ve made something for each of them so I felt it was really important to continue the tradition with her latest addition.  Her first, a boy, received a blue and white granny crochet afghan.  Her second, a little girl, received a crocheted blanket made up of individually crocheted spiral motifs that were then sewn together.  I had just started dating R. Darling at the time and he and another friend of ours used to tease me about all the “bellybutton covers” I was crocheting.  Alas, no pics of either of those items to show.  Her third child received one of the first baby items I ever knit, a February Baby Sweater.  In retrospect I guess she kinda got gypped because she got the odd project out of the 4 of them.  But anyway, once I knew she was expecting again I had my heart set on making a Baby Chalice Blanket.  I’ve loved that pattern since I first laid eyes on it and this was the perfect reason to knit one.
 

Baby Chalice Blanket

 

Detail of Lace Pattern

 

• Pattern:  Baby Chalice Blanket by Lykkefanten (Ravelry link here; My Ravelry Project link here)
• Yarn:  Exactly 3 skeins of NaturallyCaron.com Country in “Green Sheen” (a mere yard or so left)
• Needles:  Size 8, 24-inch circular
• Mods:  Cast on 113 stitches instead of 83 to make a wider blanket

 
Really love this blanket and the yarn wasn’t bad at all for being chain store yarn.  Once blocked, it draped beautifully and it wasn’t bad to knit with either.  A tad splitty and I did find a few knots, but other than that it felt a lot like Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece which I like quite well.  Totally happy with this project, though next time I might buy one extra ball of yarn and make the blanket even wider and longer.  I like big snuggly blankies :)
 
And an outtake…..  I couldn’t resist “testing” the blankie out on Little Mister before sending it off.
 

Knittymunchkin Fast Asleep

 
Hmmmm…. guess I had more to say than I thought!

Fess Up

Gah.  I caved.  I bought yarn.  Twice.  I should have known I couldn’t make it longer than 5 months.
 
But listen.  It’s not all bad.  I can defend myself a bitty bit here.  This is how it is:  I have 2 hanks of SWTC Vicki Howell Collection Love in “Jack & Sally” in my stash that has been there for over a year.  More silvery than grey, it has a gorgeous sheen and lovely hand.  The second it arrived I fell in love with it and I promised myself I’d buy more so that I could make myself something other than just a scarf with it.  Flash forward a year or more and I still haven’t kept that promise to myself.  So when I saw that DBNY had only 8 hanks left and it has supposedly been discontinued, I treated myself.  Besides, it was way on sale.  Like way on sale.  Originally $13/hank, I got it for $4/hank, so I was only out around $40 after shipping.  Not too bad in terms of falling off the wagon.
 

SWTC Vicki Howell Collection Love Yarn in "Jack & Sally"

 
And then there’s one more purchase that is waiting in my WEBS cart for my itchy little finger to push “Confirm”.  This one is a whopping $23.67.  A long time ago, when there was cash aplenty in my checking account, long before Little Mister, I purchased 5 balls of Noro Silk Garden in color #292.  I was drawn to the colorway, despite the colors not being my normal thang.  I think I thought I’d make a Clapotis or something, but it’s still in my stash untouched.  Then I saw the Equinox Raglan in the Winter/Spring 2010 issue of Knitscene and I knew what I wanted to make with it.  Sadly, I needed 2-3 more balls of yarn to make it and being the good girl that I am, I checked on Ravelry first for destashers.  Nuttin.  And the color is discontinued.  Luckily, WEBS has it and it’s even on sale, so I made sure it was o.k. with hubby and put three of those bad boys into my shopping cart.
 

Noro Silk Garden #292

 
But if all this talk of spending has got you thinkin you need new yarn, I’ve got something for you that will make you feel good even if you do end up overfilling your cart.  Knit Picks has 12 free sock patterns on their site!  I was looking over my newest IK issue once again and noticed the fine print on the bottom of the Knit Picks ad.  Since I would have missed it completely if I wasn’t just spacing out and happened to see it, I thought I’d share it with all of you who either missed it too or just plain don’t get IK.  So go here and get your 12 free sockses patterns (just click on each small sock image and it will take you to a pdf  you can print or save).  Enjoy!!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Little Mister & Me

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all the fantastic Moms and Grandmoms out there!

The Mayor Of Cooville

The Mayor of Cooville spends all day in his pajamas.  He lives at home with his parents and doesn’t have a job.  The Mayor of Cooville has people who cater to his every whim.  He’s not afraid to cry when he’s upset or wants his way and he knows who is really in charge and how to stay that way.  The Mayor of Cooville loves milk.  It’s his favorite.  In fact, he loves it so much he eats milk at every meal.  The Mayor of Cooville knows how to pour on the charm.  His smile could stop you dead in your tracks.  He stays up late and gets up early, and knows the importance of a nap (or three) during the day.  The Mayor of Cooville doesn’t have  a driver’s license but he loves riding in the car and will fall fast asleep while traveling.  He has a lot of potential and learns fast.  But most of all, the Mayor of Cooville still lets his Mama dress him funny……
 

Knittymunchkin!

 
I actually finished these sweaters in late 2009, all but the buttons.  But without the buttons on, it seemed silly to post and then things just got effing crazy with Knittymunchkin’s arrival and so on.  These are still a little big for him but I did put the brown and blue one on him when we took him for a walk last weekend.  I felt vaguely smug when we ran into a couple from our childbirth class and they exclaimed, “What a cute sweater!”, not knowing I had made it myself.  Rodger proudly told them so and then I felt even a bit more smug at their astonishment.  I’m so vain about my craft it’s sad ;)  Anyhoo, the specifics….
 

Felix Sweater in Patons Classic Wool

 

• Pattern: Felix’s Cardigan by Jacki Kelly (Ravelry link here, My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn: Approximately 0.87 balls (194 yds) Patons Classic Wool in “Wedgewood”
• Needles:  Size 7 –  24 inch bamboo circs

 

Felix Sweater in Cascade Quatro

 

• Pattern: Felix’s Cardigan by Jacki Kelly (Ravelry link here, My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn: 1 hank Cascade Quatro Color #9432
• Needles:  Size 7 –  24 inch bamboo circs

 
What can I say?  I love this sweater so much I made three (third one still needs buttons; photos to come)!  It’s super quick, super easy, and super cute.  I love that I can make one with pretty much one ball of yarn too.  Perfect for those random single skeins you might have hanging out in your stash.  Finding the perfect buttons though?  That search might take you longer than it does to knit the sweater!
 
Now I’m off to check on the Mayor of Cooville.  He’s one demanding taskmaster!  But this Girl Friday sure does love him :)