Well, spring break is officially over and it's time to get back to work.  I really could have used another couple of days of break to really appreciate the routine of work.

We had a good second-half of the week. Once I started feeling better, it was easier for all of us to be in a better mood, especially since we got a chance to get outside and enjoy the nice weather.  We took Squishy for a short walk around the neighborhood on Wednesday, which he enjoyed because he got to run and splash through all the puddles.  See the green galoshes?  Those were his birthday present from Mr. Man and I.  I have to admit, though, I got the idea from Mom - so it was a stolen idea.  But a good one!! :)  He loves wearing these things and we have a really hard time getting him to take them off.

I also have to mention that the hat Squishy's wearing is his Apple Hat from Debby. He loves wearing it and it looked so great with his green boots!

We also got a chance to visit Grandma in Waterloo, and NaMa (Grandma - my mom) and PaPa this week. Squishy loves seeing his grandparents.  We even got a garage door opener and outlet installed thanks to Mr. Man's aunt and uncle.  :)

So overall, the week was okay.

I've been trying to knit a project for the Easter swap on the IB Forums.  Unfortunately, it's not going so well.  I've frogged twice and haven't had a chance to start it that 3rd time yet.  Each time it was my fault, not the pattern, but it's hard not to feel defeated when it should be simple and quick, ya know?

I've also been really busy keeping track of all my Etsy orders.  Someone lit a fire under someone's rear-end because all of a sudden I've had a wave of orders and interested buyers in my needle cases. I really enjoy making them and seeing the cases come together, but it wasn't expected.  Now I'm trying to plan out my time and figure out when each case will be complete.  I have a few people sending me fabric, so that always puts a delay on things.  It's nice to see interest in my work, though.

This week I may do my sewing while listening/watching the podcasts I *try* to keep up-to-date on.  I meant to catch up this last week, but it didn't happen.  So now I'm behind.  I can't wait to see Laura and Leslie (of The KnitGirllls) in the new craft room.  And I see there are 2 new His & Hers podcasts I haven't watched.  Among all the other video podcasts I want to watch, but haven't caught up with real time yet, so I'm taking my time on those.

What's on your plate this week?  Anything special?

My Turn!

Last weekend I was surprised with my very own Itty Bitty swap package for the latest swap.  I was heading to my mom's house, but turned right around so I could open it up and quickly examine all the goodies. :)

The wonderful & talented, Debby (knittingrandma), of Useful Hands & Heart had gotten my name. :)  I had Debby's name for the Teddy Bear Picnic swap and I had so much fun putting her packages together.  She certainly didn't disappoint me!  I had no idea when I opened the box it would contain so much stuff!

I know, I know.  Enough of the talking and on to the showing, right? So we'll start with the knits.  Debby did a fantastic job with the apple knits required for the swap.  I love the Apple Hat, knit with Dream in Color Smooshy/Classy in a green color.  She did a really neat wrap technique for the stem, which makes it fun to pull the hat off Squishy's head!  She was concerned about size, but it's perfect for little man.  He loves to wear it and gladly pulls it on and down over his ears when it's time to go outside.  I love seeing my little boy in handknit hats!

The Apple Washcloth was knit in a squishy red yarn that makes me want to pet it all day.  The apple from Finger Foods is green and has a variegated purple "core," which is a lot of fun.  Squishy was quick to latch on to this toy and carry it off to play.  I also received my very own apple tape measure!  I loved the one I made for Jill and was sad to see it go.  It really brightened my day to see one in my package!  This is already in a notions bag ready to be used.

I think I'll move on to the other knitterly things.  First, Squishy and I got a new book.  I say we both got the book because it's two-fold.  The book is called "Shall I Knit You a Hat? A Christmas Yarn" and is a children's book.  But there's a pattern at the end to knit your own little hat!  It'll be fun to share this with Squishy because he really loves books.

I also receive the cutest stitch markers, ever!  I love getting unique stitch markers in my swap packages. I usually use ones I've received before I use markers I've bought myself!  These are green (fitting nicely with the apple theme) and have plump little sheep on them.  They're terrific!

Debby did her homework and did some nice stalking (yes, there is such a thing).  She included the Pom-Tree which Susan B. Anderson has mentioned on several occasions.  I've always wanted to try this but the time has never been right to purchase one.  Now I have it and it makes me want to make a bunch of pom-poms - for no reason other than to use the tree!  :)

The last of the knit goodies included 4 skeins of yarn!  Yes, four!  There were 2 skeins of Crystal Palace Yarn Mini Mochi in a purple/blue/green colorway, 1 skein of Rown Handknit in Cotton in blue and 1 skein of 100% Alpaca from a local sheep farm (Stone Castle Fiber Mill, I believe) in Teal.  It's all so soft and squishy and wonderful.  I spent a lot of time fondling yarn this weekend! :)

But wait, there's more!  The apple-y goodness didn't stop there.  Included in my parcel was a handful of caramel apple suckers (that I love but never buy - they'll be nice, sweet treat), and some Lindt Dark Chocolate.  She wanted to send apple cake, but circumstances didn't allow it.  That's okay, I appreciate the thought!!  I also got handcrafted soap in the Apple Orchard scent, along with a green apple scented candle (I know the perfect place for this!).  Do you see how spoiled I got, yet?

Debby included 3 beautiful glass apple dishes with a flower pattern in the middle.  This are lovely and remind me of my grandmother. :)

And finally, I got a little more handcrafted goodness from Debby with 4 apple placemats!  These are terrific because my collection of placemats is very limited. These will see a lot of use!

So, Debby, thank you so much!  It was all so thoughtful and wonderful.  I can't wait to use it all!

A Tiny Bit More for Charity

When I was knitting a few hats for the February Charity KAL on the Itty Bitty Forums, one of the hats that I made came out large (in my opinion).  So I decided to hold that hat back and send it in for the March Charity KAL.

The March KAL is for the Good Samaritan Hospital Antepartum Unit in San Jose, California. The antepartum unit is where moms who have lost their babies (either due to extremely early pre-term labor or stillbirths at any time up to full-term) are cared for.  The hats are used for tiny, tiny babies, and serve as mementos for the family after their child has passed.

The hospital also has a NICU where they can use hats 0-3 months in size (they take other sizes, but the coordinator for the swap said they need the 0-3 month size the most).  Because this hat is on the larger side, I thought it fitting to send to this charity.

I knit the Very Basic Baby Beanie pattern.  I chose to knit in stripes because I hadn't done so in a while.  The hat is knit with Caron Simply Soft in Limelight and Blue Mint. It's supposed to be 2" of ribbing, then stockinette stitch for the remainder of the hat.  My hat has about 2 1/2" of ribbing, I think.

The stripe pattern is 8 rows blue, 8 rows green, 6 blue, 6 green, 4 blue, 4 green, 2 blue, 2 green.  Then, the crown decreases are all in blue.  This happened to work out to almost exactly 5.25" as called for in the pattern.  The idea was to knit the ribbing on US 5 needles, then switch to US 7 for the stockinette.  Whoops, I forgot.  Until I was halfway through the hat.  So it's all knit on US 5 needles.

I think it's a cute little hat and I'm glad I can contribute to another charity.

What's In a Name?

I've decided I'm tired of using initials to refer to members of my family.  So many times I forget and have to  go back and fix it.  That, and a couple people in my family share the same first letter, which can complicate things.

To make it simple and because they aren't mentioned too frequently, I'll refer to my siblings simply as Brother & Sis.  Easy enough, right?  Mom will stay as Mom, as Dad will stay as Dad.  Again, simple.

Those of you who already refer to members of your family by alternate names are so creative.  I need some of what you're drinking because I'm having a really hard time thinking of anything that doesn't sound silly or stupid.  I think I've settled on Mr. Man for my husband.  My son is more difficult, but I think I'll take a page from my pregnancy and call him Squishy.  That was the nickname Sis gave him before he was born.  And for C, my stepdad, I'll take my cues from Squishy and call him Papa (grandpa).

So there you have it.  Hopefully, this will feel like it flows a bit more than it has in the past.  :)

Also, I've not been feeling well for the past few days and finally got to the doctor today.  I think you all understand this probably means a lack of posting in the coming week.  At the moment, I'm not planning on WIP Wednesday or Friday Favorites, but will hopefully feel better and resume a normal blogging schedule next week.

Friday Favorites 3/11: Random Knits

I'm going to attempt to make this short - I have a lot to do today.  Today's Friday Favorites comes across a bit random.  In fact, the only thing they all have in common is that they are in my growing favorites pile. I hope you all enjoy!

My free Hobbes pattern

by Ann Stiver-Balla

Did any of you ever read Calvin & Hobbes comics when you were little?  I did.  My aunt loved the comic and so she had a large collection of all the Calvin & Hobbes comics in those handy-dandy collection books.  We went to her place a lot, so, loving to read, I read them a lot.  Seeing this pattern brought back a little of that nostalgia. :)  This is a free crochet pattern for the loveable Hobbes.

Oor-flap Muts

by Nancy Marchant

Lately I've had a thing for brioche.  I even bought the book, Knitting Brioche, a few weeks back.  Why does it intrigue me so?  I don't know.  But I'm dying to learn.  There are a few things I'd like to accomplish first, so it'll have to wait, but it's one of my goals this year to learn.  I like this hat, with the flaps and ties.  The fact that brioche is reversible is awesome because you get two hats for the price of one!

Brown Cow

by Susan B. Anderson

From Susan's new book, Spud & Chloe at the Farm, this brown cow has captured my heart. If you search Ravelry for cow patterns, of any sort, there's quite a few that come up.  But do you see the expression on his face?  :)  Love it! :)  I can't wait for Susan's book to arrive.  I pre-ordered the book awhile back and it should be arriving very, very soon!  Now...if only she would design a horse pattern, I'd be the happiest knitter ever! :) 

Regina General Hospital’s Neonatal Unit

As I mentioned on my last WIP Wednesday, I wanted to finish a few charity hats to send to Jill, for her month's charity KAL.  February's charity was the Regina General Hospital's Neonatal Unit.  I thought today would be a good time to share with you the finished hats and the patterns I used.

My first hat was Little Boy Blue Ribbed Hat.  The recipe for the hat is simple, a simple 2x2 rib pattern.  I probably could have figured out the math of the decreases on my own, but it's so much simpler to read it from someone else's pattern.  This is a free pattern offered on Ravelry and goes by so quickly.  I picked out 100% acrylic yarn, as per the norm for many charity donations.  The yarn for this hat is Caron Simply Soft Brights in Blue Mint.   I don't mind pastels for babies, but I just feel like vibrant rich colors are terrific.  Why not use bold colors so adorn your baby's head? :)

I love the way this hat turned out.  It's teeny tiny cute.  Knit in a newborn size, there is still a lot of flexibility because of the ribbing, so it could easily fit an older child, or be appropriate for a preemie.

The second hat I knit was Swirl Hat.  This pattern calls for fingering weight yarn.  I don't have much of that on hand and I wasn't going to buy more when I had three 315yd skeins of worsted weight acrylic to work with.  So using the recommended needle size (US 3), I cast on 64 stitches.  This is 8 stitches fewer than the preemie size given in the pattern.  But using the measurements and numbers the pattern gives, I modified the sizing and stitch count very easily.  Hopefully this modification has yielded me a hat this is somewhere between preemie and newborn.

I did struggle with this hat, and it wasn't the fault of the pattern.  My stitch count and pattern was off and twice I had to tink back.  There's a small mistake on the crown shaping, where a I missed knitting into a yarn over, but after the hat was finished, I was able to go back and close the hole - sort of.  I don't think anyone will notice.

I really enjoy the swirl ribbing on this hat.  I know the pattern can be for boys and girls, but I just think this adds a little more feminine touch than your basic ribbing.  This was knit with Caron Simply Soft Brights in Watermelon.  (Wow, this is pink!)

Now would be a good time to mention that all the hats were made from Caron Simply Soft Brights using 3 different colors: Limelight (green), Blue Mint (blue) and Watermelon (pink).  I chose these colors because they were bright and cheerful and reminded me of spring when the color comes back. We need some color after the gray winter days.

The final pattern I used was Preemie Hats for Charity by Carissa Browning.  This pattern actually comes with 5 variations on a hat.  The versions include eyelets, hearts, diamonds, stripes, and ribbed.  Again, because I'm only using worsted weight, I figured these would come out big, so I modified the stitch count.  I wanted to knit all 5, but didn't have time, so I've only got 2.

First, I knit the the eyelet hat.  I cast on 64 stitches because it starts with 6 rows of 2x2 ribbing, so I needed multiples of either 4 or 8.  After I finished the ribbing and started the main body of the hat, I included an extra 2 stitch increases (2 kfb stitches), so that there would be 66 stitches.  I did this because when you get to the crown decreases, the decreases are done in multiples of 6. (The original cast-on number was for 72 sts.)  

I really like how this hat came out.  I picked green because I thought, 2 pink, 1 green, 1 blue...I've got 2 hats for each gender.  Then DH & Mom both told me the green was sort of a girly color.  So be it.  The eyelet pattern is a bit more feminine as well.  But in the end, it's the nurses at the hospitals that will be picking the hats for the babies and I'm sure the parents will appreciate whichever hat they receive.

The second hat from this set was the hearts pattern.  I couldn't resist the little hearts ringing this hat.  It's not immediately noticeable (in my opinion), but if you're close up, you can see the hearts right above the ribbing.  Again, I cast on few stitches to accommodate the heavier yarn. 

Once I got past the hearts, this hat went super quick because it was all stockinette stitch.  This hat screams girly, in pretty much any way possible.  The hearts on their own could be subtle, but when paired with this hot pink, it's sort of like a light flashing over your head saying, "I'm a girl, I'm a girl!"

I really enjoyed making these little hats and I like knowing they are going to a good cause.  They really don't take long at all.  I knit up 5 hats in a week.  So I encourage you all, if you have a little time to spare, to consider picking up your needles or hook and knitting, or crocheting, something for a local charity or hospital. 

WIP Wednesday 3/9

I don't have a lot of progress on my WIPs to show you, so no pictures today.  But only because I've been knitting tiny hats that are so quick to finish!

So what's on my needles this week, you ask?  Only 2 projects.  The first is Evie's sweater.  It's a great pattern, I think.  I've gotten through the shoulder increases and was planning to work through the leg openings last night but I hit a snag.  I was confused by the instructions on what stitches to put on a holder, etc. So I sent a message to the designer and hopefully I'll hear back from her soon.  Once I get that figured out, I can keep plugging away.

I think the collar is going to be a little snug/stiff because of the size needles it was knit on.  The body is also looking a bit large for Evie.  I tried it on her last night, after which she ran and hid under the couch.  Hopefully she'll like wearing it when it's finished!  I know part of the issue in the sizing is because I used a worsted weight yarn instead of a lighter weight.

The other project is X's Bathrobe.  It's still on the list because it's sitting in my WIP bag.  Since I'm now waiting on further instruction for Evie's sweater, and all the charity hats are done, this project will be getting more attention.  I got about 6 rows in last night.  That was okay progress, but I'd like to see it go a little faster.

In other news, my Etsy shop is back from vacation.  Now that I have other life-obligations out of the way, I can dedicate time to sewing again. I've already got a few cases in the works so I know that will keep me busy.  My machine has been looking rather lonely and my sewing table has been piled on in the last few weeks.  Time to do some cleaning and reorganizing to get back in the groove!