Back to a great surprise..

Our weekend was very fun. My brother's bathroom survived his 2 sisters and 2 pre-teen/teen nieces. I was able to see my bestest friend, visit my favorite church & get to 1 yarn shop. And I figured out that it takes me about 6 hours to knit 1 of M's socks.
I was a little disappointed with the yarn shop. Actually I seem to be everytime I visit this one, so I need to find another one that's close to my brother's house. I did manage to find a couple little fun things to take home (pictures later). So when I came home and saw the little note in my mailbox that there was a package going to be re-delivered, I started getting excited. I spent the day doing laundry & other house stuff, pretending that I was not just waiting for the door bell. I'm so much more grown-up than that (not). Well, this package was so worth hanging out by the front door for. (That sentence makes you think I'm lying about being college educated, huh?).
My secret pal did so good. In fact I took the picture last night, in bad lighting, because I could no longer control myself and had to cast on with the Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. Yummy!! She also knit me a panta (!!) using Noro Lily. I've been wanting one and this one is so soft. (I'll get pictures of me in it on a day when I'm wearing make-up..hehe). She also included 6 little bags of Lang Bambini Cotton in pinks, which I think I might use for a shrug? And a skein of Artful Galazy that is so soft. Thank you Secret Pal!! I love it all!!
By the way, the above picture is my sister. Perhaps the thumbs-up was for surviving with 5 kids in the car? My parents were driving alone in their car. They did not have a dvd player or nintendo, so they got peace & quiet. I will also post about my 3 pairs of completed socks, 1 scarf, and my attempt to knit a top for myself (instead of another pair of socks & 1 more scarf).

Off we go...

So I finished wrapping the presents and then remembered I had not taken pictures of the knits. Here's hoping my usual scattered brain will remember to take pictures!
We are off for a family wedding, some family bonding (think 3 siblings, 1 spouse, 5 kids, & the 2 parents who started it all in a small house with 1 bathroom...hehe. I'm hoping Z, the 'new' spouse, still likes us after this), and a little friendship bonding & a tiny bit of yarn shop browsing for me. And with other people driving, that leaves 8 hours in the car for me to knit. Let the fun begin....

Grammy's socks

Well, I realized I can't show you what I have gotten done for my Olympic knitting, cause they are gifts. So, instead here are my grandmother's socks I finished in January for her birthday. She had told my mother that she was the only family member that did
not have socks knit by me yet. (technically not true. My little brother hasn't shown interest and my nephew doesn't have a pair). Well, I got the hint and she received socks for her birthday. She sent me the cutest thank you card telling me how she lets everyone know her granddaughter knit these. And she was amazed that I knew to pick her favorite colors. Seriously, what would we do without our grandma's?
Her socks were knit with Moda Dea Sassy Stripes (color polo?). I picked these cause she really likes acrylic and the yarn is thicker making these perfect house-socks.

On a very sad note, Q experienced his first bad haircut. He has been trying to grow his hair (check link for example) and although we were told the hairdresser knew what she was doing, it quickly became apparent she was clueless. Most of his hair is now gone and he is near tears. Honestly, I am furious. Why lie? Why not just admit you don't have a clue? And I suppose to add insult to it all, M's hair wasn't even cut straight. A simple cut using a razor, how can you not get that straight? My boys told me they only want me to cut their hair from now on (which I normally do). We just simply wanted to treat ourselves to 'professional' cuts for the wedding. Argh.

Q's birthday

Look who turned 9!! Q, my first-born is 9. He has grown so much this year. Suddenly I can actually wear his shoes, carry on conversations about politics, and watch him start moving slowly towards independents. He is my silly, always on the move, gifted in so many areas, ever popular son. And he was so totally worth the 20+ hours of drug-free labor.
Q, I love you so much. I'm so thankful that God chose me to be your mother. Everyday I seem to learn something new about you. I love how you work so hard to keep your room clean, that you treasure your family, your love for volunteering, the fact that you are super smart, and that you have immeasurable patience for your mother who is completely inept in sports. I'm so proud of you and cannot believe my luck in being able to share these growing up years with you!

Valentines Day!!!

One of my favorite holidays is Valentines Day. I love seeing pink everywhere, I love all the cute Valentines the kids give out, and I really love spending it with my family.
M wore his 'newish' red socks. (knit with Steinbach Wolle & size 1 Addis). He also wore red pants and a red shirt, but told me that red shoes 'would be a bit too much'. (hehe).
My brother brought a heart-shaped pizza for supper, my Mom brought little presents for everyone, and my Dad brought flowers. My boys shared their chocolates with me and gave lots of hugs (something I treasure more & more the older the get!).

I will post soon about the wonderful package from my SP (thank you!) and my knitting Olympics progress. Thank you for all the comments encouraging me!

Preparing for the Olympics...

During boys night last night, our Christmas tree finally made it back to the box. M & Q wanted it up even longer, but thankfully hearing Opa tell them that was silly allowed them to say goodbye. They made a show of being very goofy and ended with a relaxing rest under a 'palm' tree.

So now with the tree gone, we are ready for the Olympics to start. Yummy treats are being made today, maps are being brought out and new sports are being discovered. Fun times are about to begin!

And perhaps even more exciting is the Knitting Olympics with over 4000 knitters! At first I wasn't going to join, but now I'm really hoping I'll get accepted as a late-sneaker-inner (not a word, I know). My Olympics knitting goal is the following: 4+ pairs of socks (some already started) and 2 scarfs. These are all gifts that need to be finished. Do these count? Is that a good enough challenge? (versus my always present procrastination).

And thank you for your kind words regarding the missing Xs. We are back on track and doing well. There is no bigger motivator than an unhappy Mommy!

Finished Market bag

Not the greatest picture is it? I actually finished knitting it over a week ago, but finally sewed it up this weekend. I made it smaller, because I was afraid it would stretch too much. It came out a little smaller than I had imagined in my mind, but it is still perfect for taking a project somewhere, picking up a few things at the farmers market, or putting my favorite books in it and making a quick escape.
Escape from what, you ask. Well, it seems that we are going through end of winter blahs combined with 'let's test our boundaries with Mom' phase. Note behind the market bag is 1 of the chore charts. Do you see many Xs? I don't either. So we are busy getting back on track around here. I'm usually a very easy-going Mom, if rules are followed and respect to all is shown. Yes, the fun.
Thank you so much Secret Pal again for this yarn and pattern. It is so cute, quick and easy. And in response to the comment in my last post (from I think my SP), the yarn is #1444. (Plymouth Encore worsted). I've divided for the arms now and almost have the right front done. I might be able to finish the back with the yarn I have, but I will be running out. On the other hand, both Q and I love the colors and think it will be a favorite sweater of his. Once his now living in reality Momma finds more yarn...hehe.

C is for crochet cast-on

C is for my first crochet cast-on for a cardigan. I use this cast-on for my socks, because I can then take it out, pick up the stitches and keep knitting the foot of the sock.

Q's sweater this year is 'Max' from Junior Knits (by Debbie Bliss). I managed to get this book on e-bay finally. (I think I had this on my Secret Pal wish-list?). I'm never very good at completely following a pattern, and this is no exception. I'm knitting the 2 fronts and the back together and the idea of casting on all those stitches made me cringe. So in my complete laziness I had the brilliant idea of using the crochet cast-on. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I love
this way of casting on for cardigans. Yeah for being lazy!

On another note I may not have enough yarn. Let's ignore the fact that after 20+ years of knitting, I still start a project, hear that little voice warning me, and think that if I hope really, really hard it will all work out. I'm now in full fledged denial, sneaking moments of frantic internet searches for this particular color of brown that apparently is not carried in a lot of places. (It's Plymouth Encore that I bought in an e-bay auction). Let's see how far hope & denial get me.