Starting the New Year Right

Hey everyone.....well I hope you had a great week....I did....I think I started the new year right with an FO....a hat for Paige's Boyfriend, Josh.  I started this hat a few years ago when Paige thought she lost hers....then she found hers and this one sat for forever....I picked it up linked back a few rows to add a longer ribbing and finished it.

Then I crocheted a bit on my virus shawl......I feel like this yarn will never change colors.....

Then it was time to tackle what I had been putting off......an extremely long knit on border on the cardigan I am testing......this border took me forever.....now I just need 2 sleeves (I have thought about leaving it sleeveless).

I did hit a snag on knitting the first sleeve so I am waiting for the designer to reply to me......so I cast on my #16weeksofweekender but @colorfuleclectic......I decided to stay with my cotton blend yarn and I am loving it so far.

So, Antonio has kinda gotten into puzzles.....He has a 1500 pc DC comics and I got him some Disney ones that are like 300, 500 and 750 pcs.  Well that inspired me to get out my yarn/knitting puzzles.....WWWWWWHHHHHHHAAATTTTTT????

Yup, I am pretty excited.....I got a puzzle board that should arrive tomorrow and then I think I will be spending some time puzzling instead of knitting.....we will see how it goes.

There was a beautiful sunrise earlier this week I have to share (from my living room knitting chair view):

And my daddy found a gorgeous picture of his mother (I never got to meet her).  They wanted it done in one of those glass pictures from fractureme.com, so I brought the picture home and scanned it and placed the order for them......I love this Picture.....Grandma Lucy, you are gorgeous!

Well, that is pretty much all I have.....I hope y'all have a great week!

Happy Happy Happy Knitting!

So many Happy "Fill in the Blank" events!

Happy Valentine's Day (a little late)!  Happy President's Day (again, a little late)!  Happy Chinese New Year!  Happy Retreat Weekend!

Yes....there are so many Happy Events that have just passed or are still coming!  Did you have a great Valentine's Day?  I did!  Jamie took me out for Sushi (My FAVORITE!) and brought me chocolates and beautiful orange roses!

How was your President's Day?  Mine was great!  I spent most of my day knitting!

Happy Chinese New Year!!  This happens on Thursday....do you know what it is the year of?  It is the Year of the SHEEP!  Yippee!!

Now, what is this about Happy Retreat Weekend?  Remember last year when I went on a knitting retreat about this time of the year?  Well, it is the 2nd annual San Antonio Fiber Retreat this coming weekend.....I am so excited....I cannot even decide which projects I want to take.

So, on to the knitting!  I have done a lot of it lately.  I decided to knit on a hat that I had promised Paige a long time ago...and I finished it!

I also worked on some socks....one heel done and one almost ready to go....I tried to find the perfect red/burgundy to do a contrast heel...but I could not find one that I just loved....so I went with black.

I finished blocking my 'A Day To Remember' shawl:

I started new socks for Loopy Academy....my friend said she would make socks with me if I made them mis-match....so I am pulling from inside and outside of cake to make the stripes go opposite!  I love them so far!

I also pulled out my Hitofude.  I saw a friend post her finished one on FB and I was jealous...so I pulled mine out.....

I also cast on for my boxy....I think I did that a week ago, but I am not sure I shared a picture....I think this project needs a different bag than the coffee bag....one of my Halloween ones has some lavender, so I think I need to switch project bags on this one.

I also worked a little on my 2nd Weigh it Shawl (I am loving these colors!)

I have a few stash enhancements.....remember my cute new little case for my Heavy Metal DyakCraft needles with the Sheep and Balloons?  Well, I got another Graces case with sheep on it for my 3.5" needles.  I love this case......Look at the old case on the right (it is kinda bulky even without needles in it) and look at the new case that holds all 8 sets of needles of the left!  How cute!

I also got some FABULOUS yarn from Darlene...she is sooooo good to me!  She heard some podcasters talking about this yarn and had to get some....so she got me some too....I cannot wait to cast on these socks!

Well, that is really all the knitting I have this week...but I am getting ready to go the the Knitting Retreat coming up this weekend....I am super excited about it!  I have a friend flying in from VA for this retreat...she used to live here in SA and her hubby got stationed in VA a couple of years ago...but thankfully she flies back here for this retreat every year!  She is supposed to fly in tomorrow and she is staying with me!  Yahoo!  So along with knitting, I have also been trying to get her bedroom ready.  Turned out to be perfect timing because Arran (Jaime's  youngest son) got a new Queen Size bed, so I took his old Full Size mattress and have it ready and waiting for her....new sheets should arrive tomorrow too (then I will hurry up and wash them before she lands I hope).

My valentine this year was Antonio....I picked him up from Daycare Friday and he spent the night Friday and hung out with me all day Saturday....I really hope you do not get tired of pictures of this boy...he just melts my heart!  All my grandkids do....I just see him more than the others......

Valentines Morning!

Paige texted me this one:

Oh, and I almost forgot that Paige went to Erich's last weekend and snapped a picture:

That is all I have!  I cannot wait to tell you all about my knitting retreat coming up.....here is a picture of a shirt that should be coming next week and a couple other inspirational sayings

Happy Happy Happy Knitting!

Happy December

Wow!  It is December already!  Did you survive your Thanksgiving?  I did....and I had a great time!

Here are some family pictures:

Almost the whole gang!

Uncle George and BIL Jim frying one of the turkeys!

Nathan hitting that ball!

My leftie, Antonio hitting the ball with my nephew, Sean, supervising!

And of course, Antonio showing me his creation that he is VERY proud of....do you see that smile?

It was a great time had by all and we all ate too much!

I hope your family had a great time and everyone took a moment to think of what they are thankful for!  Okay, now on to the knitting!

I am almost done with one mitten for my Loopy Academy.  I still have to do the thumb, and make the second mitten!

I worked a lot on Paige's sweater....I am sure you guys are tired of seeing it...but I am actually to the RIBBING!  I know I put that in capital letters, but I still have a ton of ribbing to go...but this is the first part of the ribbing.....It is the bottom at the back side......

I started some baby hats for one of Paige's friends that is due January 2nd.....I finished 2 of them so far...and I had to frog a bit on the third one because I forgot to change needle size after the ribbing!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Paige wanted more hats....and she picked out some yarn and I would be casting on soon......well, I got the yarn and I casted on for both hats.  The first one is called Nordic Lace Hat.  Paige saw the green (called Mossy Rock) that is being used in the Dr Who Scarf I am making for my friend's son...and she loved the color.  So I got it in a worsted weight.

Paige also picked out some sock yarn in my stash...it was Malabrigo Sock yarn in Tiziano Red....but the skeins in my stash are all meant for my Knit Swirl pattern....since I did not want to take the chance on a dye lot problem, I ordered a new skein and waited for it to come in.  I am glad I did because this skein of yarn has a considerable amount of dark undertones in it....I would actually have preferred skeins like this one for my Knit Swirl, but I am not going to rip and restart!  I am making the Autumn Gold pattern with this yarn.  UPDATE:  I ranted on my blog about this terribly written pattern that I paid for, but the next day I got a message from the designer and she is refunding my money...so I came back here to remove my long rant because now I no longer paid for the pattern.  I do love it when people make things "Right"!  If you get this pattern, one hint...the cables should be on row 3, not row 1....if they are on row 1, contact the designer for the updated pattern….This is the same designer/author as the Nordic Lace Hat I am doing for Paige in green (above), and the designer has told me there are no errors in that pattern.....keeping my fingers crossed.

I had some stash enhancements.....first, I got another bag from BagsByAwesomeGrannie (it is holding my baby hat project!

and I also got the yarn in the last baby hat picture last week...it is Simpliworsted in the bubblegum colorway (although I think it is a little lavenderish).

I got some CoBaSi Plus also in the Bubblegum colorway and the Iris colorway...this bubblegum colorway is a little more towards the pinkish side I wanted!

I also got some needle tips for my chiaogoo's.  They are 4" needles so I can make 16" circulars and make more hats.  I got size 2, 2 1/2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 (I am already using the size 7's) and a few more spin cords....one in 8" and one in 22"

With all this hat making I also decided to get some more dpn's.  I have never tried the Chiaogoo....so I got a few to try (but I really love Hiya Hiya Sharps)!

Then I got some yarn from Darlene (because she is awesome!)  There is a little story behind it.....do you watch The Big Bang Theory?  If you do, then you know what Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock is......if not, then you are really missing out!  This is TurtlePurl Yarn in the "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock" colorway!  HOW COOL IS THAT?  I had to cast on right away for a pair of vanilla toe up socks!  Thank you Darlene!!!!!!!!!

Well, that is about it on the knitting front......Last week I told you about my new tv and how I was having another one delivered....well, it was delivered and I love it!

I also watched Antonio on Wednesday evening...for some reason, Facebook showed me a photo I had shared on the same day, three years earlier....it was a picture of me snuggling with Antonio.....So, to all the people who do not see how fast time flies.......from snuggling to full grown Ninja in a mere 3 years.......sigh!

Oh, and I also made Paige some pumpkin bread....she loves the stuff, and while I am not usually a very good cook or baker....I can make pumpkin bread......

That is all I have for this week.....sorry I was a day late....crazy day yesterday!

Happy Happy Happy Knitting!