It's That Time

For those who choose to make gifts, decorate the house, etc. for the holiday season, it sure feels as though it is the busiest time of the year. It's even busier for those of us who are a bit on the disorganized side. Last year, by the time Thanksgiving was done, I was pretty much done with my holiday list of things to do/buy/make.

This year is another story. The list feels like it is a mile long. Though, I do have a stack of gifts ready to go, but labeling, packaging, and wrapping is going to be two hour project in itself. Everytime I finish a handmade gift my inner-voice tells me to make the label for it before I put it away, but I just ignore it along with all of the other voices.

The one thing that should be checked off is the photo for our holiday card, but B busted his lip last week and hubby wants to wait until it heels. Hopefully within the next couple of days (everyone keep your fingers crossed).

For now I will leave you with this:


This is the boys decorating their very first gingerbread house a mere three hours before B busting his lip open. I think they ended up eating more candy than was actually used for the house.

All those beads, yet no candles

What do you get when you mix twenty-four hundred plus beads, 150 yards of 28 gauge wire, some knitting needles, and a person who wants to crank out holiday gifts?

If you said sixteen completed votive sleeves from this book, Handknit Holidays, then you would be correct. For complete details click here or on the link in my finished projects.

They truly were an easy knit and I basically just kept making them until I ran out of beads and wire. Sachi had a good point, I really should put candles in the votives to really show them off. So here is a pic of the votives with candles.

The thing is, I haven't actually purchased the candles that are going to go with the votives and all I could find in the house were the three that are lit in the pics above. In my opinion the small one in the middle looks fine, but I am going to have to get bigger candles for the other two.

What to do?

A lot of knitting has been going on here and none of it with yarn. All I had to do was put it all in perspective. I have been working on these for the last couple of days.

I have wanted to work with wire for the longest time. In fact I think I had most of the supplies for this project for at least two years, but never took the plunge. It was after purchasing this book a few weeks ago and reading this post that finally got me to do it.

I did make one adjustment though, I am using 28 gauge wire versus the recommended 24. It seems to work and my hands are doing well too. The votive sleeves are going to be holiday gifts for the kids teachers.

Though I do have a question. How many do I give to each of the teachers? I was thinking eight (two sets of four) for each of them, or do I give them six (of one set), or just four?

Any input would be appreciated.

The Morning After

Eight of the last nine years Thanksgiving has been at our house. We would have all of our family and occasionally some friends come over to celebrate with us. I really enjoy having people over and entertaining. Though when we first decided to host Thanksgiving, my cousin had said that we would alternate between our houses.

Having thirty-some-od people in the house could be a little crazy, it really isn't that bad, afterall, we do it pot-luck style, so one person is not going crazy in their kitchen. This year was the first year we went to my cousin's house for Thanksgiving. So I feel like I really had it easy. All I had to make was the turkey, gravy, and cranberry sauce. It doesn't get much easier than that.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I know I did.

It's A Miracle

Yes, it is. I don't know exactly how it happened, you know, with the lack of knitting that has been going on over here, but it happened. I finally have a finished object. One that I can actually post photos of.

These were my travel project. So I have been working on them since mid-August. Ten minutes here, five there. They are my Uncle's Christmas gift.

The thing is, usually I love Christmas and the holiday season, but for some strange reason, I am not really looking forward to it this year. Maybe it is all the pressure of me not being anywhere close to finishing all of the gifts I want to make and I know that I don't have the time to actually finish knitting them. You would think this would put me into a knitting frenzy, but it has actually done the exact opposite. I have not really wanted to knit for the last week or so.

It kinda sucks. I have actually had to force myself to knit. WTHeck????

I am hoping that my knitting will come back, which I know it will as soon as I put what I have to do versus what I want to do into perspective.

Me

Not much on the knitting front, so here is a meme stolen from Rabbitch instead

You.Can.Only.Type.One.Word.No.Explanations.

1. Yourself: reliable
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): stubborn
3. Your hair: long
4. Your mother: controlling
5. Your Father: irrational
6. Your Favorite Item: clothes
7. Your dream last night: intense
8. Your Favorite drink: vodka
9. Your Dream Car: improbable
10. The room you are in: calm
11. Your Ex: arrogant
12. Your fear: failure
13. What you want to be in 10 years? wiser
14. Who you hung out with last night? family
15. What you're not? prepared
16. Muffins: poppyseed
17. One of Your Wish List Items: none
18. Time: lacking
19. The Last Thing You Did: commented
20. What You Are Wearing: clothes
21. Your Favorite Weather: spring
22. Your Favorite Book: Many
23. The Last Thing You Ate: cheese
24. Your Life: interesting
25. Your Mood: pensive
26. Your best friend: beautiful
27. What are you thinking about right now? everything
28. Your car: messy
29. What are you doing at the moment? typing
30. Your summer: hot
31. Your relationship status: interesting
32. What is on your TV? electronics
33. What is the weather like? dry
34. When is the last time you laughed? today

There is a little about me, how about you?

It Wasn't So Bad

Cutting the steeks wasn't such a bad thing afterall. Yes, I felt sick to my stomach. Yes, I almost passed out while cutting. Yes, I would do it again.

This is where I am at with the vest.


That there is the vest being blocked and on top is my next project. I am not exactly sure what it will be, but I am thinking something along the lines of a lace cardi of some sort.

I Think I am Going to be Sick

I have never cut steeks before, but the thought of not doing it right is about to make me sick. All of the whatifs are going though my mind. Seriously!

What if I did not choose the right yarn for the crocheted portion of the steeks? What if I did not choose the right yarn for the project itself? What if I didn't crochet it the right way? What if I don't cut the steeks right? What if? What if? What if?

This is where I am at at the present time.


The scissors are right there. The only thing left for me to do is cut. The problem is I have not been able to muster up enough courage to do it. Liquid courage is always a possibility....but that always leaves the other what if possibilities. Like I may mess up beyond repair, the good thing is that at the time I do it (if I am under the influence) I really won't care if I mess up or not.

I know I really just need to suck it up and cut. But....what if?

The Force is With Us

As much as I love Halloween and getting dressed up, I am glad it is over. I have pretty much dedicated the last week to making their costumes which means I have had very little time to actually knit.

Hubby thinks I am a little nuts because every year it is the same thing. After the kids decide what they are going to be for Halloween, I go and scramble to make their costumes. Hubby thinks I should just buy the costume and every year I tell him the same thing. That I could make a better quality costume for less than what purchasing a costume would cost.

This year was no exception. The only thing is I was up at 6AM doing a bit of finishing work because I left the costumes to the last minute.

The boys loved their costumes which makes it all worth while. The funny thing is K initially wanted to be Steve from Blues Clues, but when he saw the fabric for B's costume he immediately changed his mind and decided he was going to be a Jedi from Star Wars, too.

I wonder what they are going to be next year.

Eye Candy Friday

Wow, it has been one of those weeks. I'll post about it at a later time. Until then, here is my Eye Candy Friday.

Have a great Weekend!

Inside-Out

Normally at this stage in the game having just finished a big project (Butterfly), I would be in that limbo state. You know that state of mind where you don't know which project to start next.

Oh, wait. I forgot. I am one of those rare knitters. The kind that only has one maybe two projects going on at a time. I don't know what it is.

With every other aspect of my life I am a multi-tasker. I multi-task with just about everything I do. Talking on the phone/cleaning/cooking/reading/knitting/on the computer/watching TV, I am usually doing two to three of them at any given time.

For some reason, this does not hold for my knitting. Having more than my big home project and my little travel project is more than my mind can handle. Though I have had three projects going at one time and that was only because my home project at the time was one that needed much of my attention. So in addition to the travel and home project I also had a "mindless" home project, you know that project that that was so mindless that you could practically knit it in your sleep.

I have soooo digressed. Where was I? Oh yes, usually after finishing a big project I am at that stage where I don't quite know which one of my projects to start next. The usual conversation being held in my mind is going back and forth between another big or simple project.

Luckily for me, I have already started my next project. This is where I am at now.

This is my first real Fair Isle project and I really like how the pattern shows through on the reverse side.

I think for a while, all of my projects are going to be for others. This is the first of the major projects for Christmas.

Finally

I finally blocked, seamed, and finished Butterfly. After working on in continuously for about four weeks, I had to set it aside for a bit before I could actually finish it. But I did it, I finally did it.

Funny thing is, after I was done and ready to try it on, I started to freak out because, I was unsure if I made the right size. I don't know if this has ever happened to you, but I am constantly misjuding my size. One day I will make something that seems two sizes too small and then the next I will make it two sizes too big. I don't know why I am so unrealistic about my size.

And how I would love to model it for all of you, but if I did there would definitely be those blurry boxes across my, well, um, youknowwhats because I don't have anything to wear under it yet. I am trying to figure out what color would look best under it. When I do, I am going to make either a lining or a separate slip type dress to go under it.

So for now I will leave you this pic of it. The color is a bit more grey, with blue beads throughout. For a better idea of the true color, you could look at the pics from this post.

And just so you know, it fits like a glove.

Embarrassing Moment no. 23452/Eye Candy Friday

Fall is finally upon us. The weather is a little cooler in the mornings (and the evenings). Cooler to the point the kids are sent to school with a light jacket/sweatshirt, but often come home dragging it to the car.

I love the cold weather. I love having to bundle up. I just wish that I could keep bundled for more than four minutes without getting that "glow" as my mother calls it (I call it sweat). Right now our weather is in that tween stage. You know when it is too cold to go out without anything on, but even when you have your light bundles on, it is too hot.

I mean how embarrassing is this. Yesterday I had on a tank top with a thin light shirt over it and some jeans. When I went to pick B up from school, I desperately had to use the ladies room. When I was done and washing up, I looked at myself in the mirror. OMGosh! You would have thought that I had just ran a 5k or done some sort of workout.

It wasn't a pretty sight. I tried to fan myself off so I wouldn't look so bad, but honestly, there was no hope. I just had to walk around with my arms crossed hoping that no one would notice. I don't think it worked though. Oh well, maybe they thought that I just came from the gym.

Anyway, here is my Eye Candy Friday. See fall is finally here, sorta.


Have a great weekend!

Ooopsie

This is my latest WIP.

After I took the picture, I realized that I made a boo-boo. Can you tell where it is? If you need
help, I will point it out for you.

Bear with me, my Photoshop skills are lacking, but you see where the mistake was made. Funny thing is when I realized I made the mistake, I grumbled to myself and so hubby asked what happened. When I told him, he couldn't tell where the mistake was made. He then told me not to worry about and leave it because my mom probably wouldn't notice where it was either.

The thing is he may be right, but there is the possibility that he is wrong. Or if he is right she may be wearing it and someone else might notice. Nonetheless, it never crossed my mind to not fix the mistake. It is just one of those things that happen. When you knit, you sometimes make mistakes. I was just happy that this is not a lace project that I had to frog back umpteen rows or worse start over because I couldn't figure out where or how to fix it.

Anyhow, with the whole hubby telling me not to fix it and me determined to fix it, I was wondering what you do when you make a mistake on a project.

A Day (or two) Late

I have been out of my blogging rhythm for the last couple of weeks. I don't know why, but I have. It's not as though I don't want to blog or have not thought of anything to blog about, it's just that things (life) have been keeping me busy.

The funny thing is, I thought that once both of the kids started school, I would have more time to do the things that I wanted to do versus the things that I had to do.

I was sooo wrong about that. I have two and a half hours, two days per week when both of the boys are in school. When the B's teacher sent home a paper asking what days parents were available to volunteer in the class, I naturally wrote Tuesday or Thursday. Little did I know that she would have me every Tuesday.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind volunteering in the class. I actually like it. I just didn't think that I would be in his class every week. I thought that it would be a once or twice a month type of thing.

With me in B's class on Tuesdays, that leaves me Thursdays to do what I want. Initially I thought that I would be spending a little more time (and money) in my LYS, but they don't open until 11 AM. I would have less than ten minutes to sit, knit, and shop before I had to go pick up the boys from school. So at this point in time, that is not going to happen. Maybe next year when K will be in school three days per week and B is in school all day.

For now on my free day, I will start to do things that I want to do. I just have to figure out what exactly that is besides knitting. Afterall, two and a half hours is a lot of time for someone who has not had two and half hours in five years, but not enough time to really lose myself like I know I can (and want to).

On the knitting note, Butterfly is still sitting waiting to be blocked and finished. I have a new project on the needles. Unfortunately I don't have any pics of it, but I am really enjoying it. I can't wait to finish and see how it looks when I'm done.

Finally, here is a pic for Eye Candy Friday on a Sunday.

Lollibean

Last week B had his first elementary school field trip. The class went to a local farm that hosts kids every year during the month of October. The farm has rows of pumpkins for sale and some of the best corn money could buy (this is where we usually get our fresh corn for the Fourth of July).

We take the kids to the farm every year, but this was the first time that B was able to go on the train ride and into the petting zoo. The kids had a blast. Here is a pic of one of the animals on the farm.

I think her name is something like Jellybean, Lollipop, or some candy like that. The funny thing is this. I have seen sheep many times before at the farm, but it never really hit me like it did when we were there last week. If I had one of my own...all the trouble I would be in.

Also, I finished the body of Butterfly. The only thing left to do is block, seam the sides, and finish the edges. I am just debating on weather or not to actually block it or not (you remember my last OCD blocking saga). I will probably work on it tomorrow when hubby is home and I could actually dedicate the time to the whole blocking thing without interruption.

Flip-Flop Nation and a Contest

This is what I have to choose from in terms of foot attire for the next few weeks.

That's right, I can't wear any shoes that have closed toes. In fact I can only wear socks if they are not too tight. Why you may be wondering. I hurt my baby toe and it is a doozy.

To spare all of the sqeamish people reading this, I will tell you the short version of the freak accident that happend this past weekend.

I was walking and pushing a scooter while wearing the above pictured shoes. I will let you guess the rest.

The good thing about having to wear nothing but flip-flops and living in Southern California, it is common place to see people wearing them three hundred sixty five days a year. I have seen it. I have seen people wearing flip-flops during the coldest and rainiest of times.

I am not one of those people though. I was not made to wear them everyday, my feet get cold. For me it is better to be comfortable than to be fashionable and boy I am a very comfortable person.

Tell you what. My suffering is your contest. This is what you have to do.

• Email me at michellecanknit AT sbcglobal DOT net with the subject "You suffer, I win"
• Tell me what you think happened to my toe.

There will be two prizes, the person who gets the first correct answer and the person who comes up with the funnies/most outrageious story. There may be a couple of other prizes as well depending on the number of responses I get. In other words, the more entries, the better the prizes will be. So let others know about the contest.

You have until Friday, October 27, 2006 to submit your answer.

Oompa Loompa

About two and a half years ago, B was really into Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, I mean he would want to watch the movie on a daily basis. One day when we were watching the movie he told me that he wanted to be and Oompa Loompa. I told him that was fine and that he could be one for Halloween.

I knew that I would have to make the costume, but I didn't realize how much of the costume I was going to have to make. I thought that finding a brown turtle neck would be easy. Unfortunately I couldn't. I had to make the turtle neck as well.

When I was finished with the costumes, this is what I had

I have to admit, that was my favorite costume to date. Last year we had a family themed costume (I may post the pics at a later date). I think the years of matching costumes may be far and few between in the future.

The boys are very determined to be what they want to be and they don't want to match. At first I was kinda bummed because I liked having them match and I like the idea of togetherness, but oh well, I have to let them be individuals. But wouldn'tchaknow, I can't find one simple thing to one of the costumes that I thought would be easy to find.

I guess I'll be doing a lot more sewing than I thought this month.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Remember when this from about two months ago? The game that we were at put the Dodgers in first place for the NL West. After regular season play, they finished in a tie for first in the NL West, but because of the team they are tied with had a better season record against us in regular season play we are not going into the playoffs as the NL West champions, rather we are going in the playoffs as the Wildcard.

What would be more fitting than this link. After you click on the link, click on the Dodgers 2006 Photo Gallery.

Did you see the pics in the gallery? Imagine my surprise when I went to the photo gallery and the first pic that pops up from the gallery is of us. My youngest sister is with me and the boys, hubby was off getting us refreshments.

So tonight, actually late afternoon, I will be doing this

Though without 56,000 other fans. I'll be doing that while watching this in the comfort of my own home.

Go Dodgers!

Love Long Lines

The kids are out of school. Fall break yesterday and today. Now, we (hubby and I, mostly I though) thought that we could be sneaky and take the kids to the magical place about sixty miles south with little or no waiting in lines. Afterall, it was a Monday. Little did I know that because of the religious holiday many other schools and businesses would be off as well.

I think everyone who was not honoring the holiday was in Anaheim with us. In fact it was so busy they weren't even prepared for it. They extended park hours to accommodate and I heard the employees saying that no one thought that it would be as busy as it was.

It was fun though. Look who we saw while we were there.

The kids loved it! In fact B is even more determined to be this character for Halloween, afterall, he is, according to B, the greatest Jedi ever.

This was the first time that I actually knit while waiting in line for the rides. I actually got a lot done. I cast on for this in the car as we were waiting to get into the parking structure and this is what I have now.

Not bad.