ahhh sweet procrastination

(take two-- stupid blogger)

there is nothing like the thrill of waiting to the very last moment to finish a very important project. I have always been a huge procrastinator and am proving that I still am. I have yet to write my pattern for any size other than my own. I fear I have alot of math ahead of me. I am also suffering from a touch of stage fright type nervousness. I am confident all will be okay in the end and any mistakes can be easily fixed.

As for the cloche in my last post, the pattern can be found on Craftster on this page.

Thanks so much for all the birthday niceness. I feel much better today. The wine was delicious and many knitty related birthday presents have been ordered. More on those as they arrive.

Stirling Cloche

I have loved this cloche from the moment I saw it on Craftster ...Now I have my own. (I am too lazy to fill in the details now, but it is knit with 1 strand of the yarn I got from Lara and one strand of the Merino Style left over from Starsky held together. The flower is just the wool/silk.) I love this hat.

this year my birthday (29 today) has really bugged me...I just feel blah. I kept myself busy with mundane tasks as to not think about it...I know it is silly and it could be worse but that does not help me much...

this is helping a bit though! Cheers Ya'll!

I need some knitterly advice

So my very best friend (we shall call her S) that I have known for almost 20 years found out she is pregnant about a month ago. I know it happens every day right? no big deal, right? WRONG! First of all, my friend really did not think she could get pregnant. Second, my friend resolved that she would never have any children. Third, when she went for an ultrasound to see how far along she is she found out she is having twins! We know they will not be identical (they have separate sacs) but do not know their sexes. Y'all know I love knitting for babies so I can't wait to start on "operation twin knits." I called her yesterday to ask about colors and she said she would prefer baby colors for their baby blanket. She has a warped sense of humor and after I asked her if she would mind some cute knitted twinsy sweaters she said "hell yeah!" then commenced to tell me the 'names' has picked out....Darryl and Darryl and a few rhyming pairs that I can't remember...hopefully she kids, or we will just convince the dad to sign the birth certificates while she is not looking!

So my knitter friends..I have until November to knit up some twinsy goodness...I need some pattern suggestions- I want to make them each a blanket and a sweater maybe a little stuffie if I can get around to it. I prefer to work blankets in sections then stitch them together... I also want them to be the same pattern using a different color combo for each.

three down...

The Boy Wonder had a play date...they managed to get totally soaked while catching minnows, tadpoles and crawdads.

I managed to knit most of my third dishcloth!

Make washing fun!

Since the release of the Mason Dixon Knitting book, warshrags have been knit by almost everyone in the knitting community. I came across a remarkably similar pattern online and have already knit 2 of these babies. There just happened to be the same pattern printed on the inside of the ball band of the Peaches and Cream cotton I purchased. I plan to replace all my storebought wash cloths with hand knit rags for each day of the week! I knit mine somewhat smaller than the pattern called for by only casting on 33 stitches and knitting on size 5 needles. Not only do they make great cleaning cloths (the ridges in the back really pick up crumbs) but they also double as potholders for taking hot cookies out of the oven! The kiddos and I discovered today that sugar cookies are even better topped with chocolate icing!

AHHH...home at last!

We had a long, but great time at the beach...there were a few situations (which my mom would refer to as "too much togetherness") that made me want to jump off the roof, but all in all it was not too bad. I did manage to sunburn the tops of my feet bad enough that I could not wear shoes for the entire week and had to take Tylenol every four hours just to walk, but since I am a southern gal and more comfy barefoot than shod it was not too much of a sacrifice. I knit fish while the kiddos played in the water (cold, cold water!) and my total fish count is up to 18! I am no where near Knitty McPurlypants and her whopping 80+ fish, but she is inspiring!

I also made it to the end of the first long boring chart of my Icarus Shawl. The end is in sight, but I had yarn waiting on me when I got home and I immediately cast on for Rusted Root. I am using the recommended yarn, my color is 'Harvest'. I really think the yarn is a bit splitty, but it feels nice and knits up nice and even. I think Icarus will be on hold until I crank out this baby! I have loved it since the moment I saw it and can't wait to wear it! I managed to knit this much last night while watching Hero- a great movie, but reading subtitles and a knitting pattern at the same time means slow knitting for me.

Also waiting at home was a little swap package from Steph. I commented on a pretty cami she made that was too small for her and she offered to send it to me...we decided to do a little swap and not only did she send me the cami, but an awesome zippered pouch as well! No more knitting notions in ziploc baggies! yay! (Photo courtesy of the Boy Wonder) Thank you so much Steph, the cami fits great ( I have had it on all day!) and the pouch is just what I needed! I bow to your awesome sewing skills!

Here are a few of my favorite pics from our trip to Sunset Beach, in my opinion the best beach in NC. The beach is very clean and quiet and the sand stretches for miles...
Here are the kids at the Kindred Spirit mailbox on Bird Island...No, we neither went nude or saw the 'nuddies' as my MIL calls them. The kids and I walked to the end of the island for a picnic on The Girl Wonder's 11th birthday. We left our mark in one of the notebooks within. We had a great time together enjoying nature- both of the kids found sand dollars, sea snails and
this little crab
Here is their little cousin swimming on the beach

and the Boy Wonder saluting the flag on the USS North Carolina
(I have no idea what Blogger has done to my photos to make them look so fuzzy. Any ideas?)