WHAT......

Wait what is this a POST! Yes to all my sweat encourager's here is a new post!

I have been very crafty this season and it has felt sooooo good. Crafting (i.e. knitting, sewing, baking) for me is a wonderful balance to everyday life. It may stress me at times because the stitches aren't going right or I baked the cookies too long, but at the end of the craft project I feel so thrilled that I made something and such a peace like I have feed my soul at the same time.

So here is one of the projects that gave me such joy.

I made this for my friend Knit Vicious who is also the organizer for my Chicks with Sticks group. She love skulls and her favorite colors are red and black. As you can see she liked it.

Still Alive!

I am still alive contrary to what may of you may think. I am back to work now and loving what I am doing, but boy does it ever get in the way of knitting and blogging time.

So as for kitting I am still (insert eye roll here) working on "the tie". I have made progress but when you are kitting with syringes it is slow going. My next project is going to be on larger needles and a small project so I feel like I have accomplished more than 3 projects in a year of kitting!

Here is a sneak peek of my next project.

It is called a Luvgun. I know it's felted and to those of you who know me I don't usually like felted things, but this is too cute to pass up for my DH.

If I am lucky I will have it done by Valentine's day.

My Owl has arived!

What a spectacular gift!

Check out the felted bag with the beads in it. Very cool!

Look at all the goodies!

So many goodies they wouldn't all fit in the same photo.

Thank you Karen with a "K"!

Quidditch ~ Round 3

One last time here are the questions and answers for the HSKS3.

1. What was the name of the book Dumbledore left for Hermione in his will?
a. The Tales of Beedle the Bard
2. Whose sign was on Xenophilius Lovegood's chest?
d. Grindewald
3. Was October 30, 1980 the night that Lilly and James Potter died?
b. No
4. What's another name for the Elder Wand?
a. Deathstick
5. Whose Potterwatch code name was 'Rodent'?
d. Fred
6. What was so special about the peacocks at the Malfoy Manor?
d. They were all white
7. Who does Harry say was "probably the bravest man I knew?"
a. Snape
8. What thing was Lockhart giving Hagrid advice about getting out of a well?
b. Kelpies
9. What was the occupation of Colin Creevey's father?
d. Milkman
10. Which Professor of Hogwarts was a dueling champion when he was young?
a. Flintwick

Picture Scavenger Hunt (links)
Bertie Botts Beans
Jelly Slugs
Chocolate Frogs
Blood Pops
Jenean's First HSKS Kit
Bonus: Who made the kit? Answer: Ansley

The Never Ending Tie

Yes, I am still working on "The Tie", because it is on size 2 needles, I have a toddler, I started working full time again, and the pattern went through another revision. I do hope to have it done by the end of the month, but I am also working on goodies for the swap kit I am sending to the super cool Laurie Ann.

So without further ado........

Here is what it looked like in August.

Ravelry I *heart* you!

I'm in! I'm in! So much to do so little time. Wow I see were are my spare time (not that I have much right now) is going to go. Now I know what all the other knitters at Chicks w/ Sticks have been talking about. Ravelry Rocks!

P.S. My profile name is 5150KnitWit. I know not exactly original but I didn't want to come up with a new clever name just to forget it and not be able to sign in.

Quidditch ~ Round Two

For all my regular readers out there these are the trivia questions for the Sock/Scarf Knit swap HSKS3 that I am in. If you are a Harry Potter buff test your knowledge.

1. In Deathly Hallows what does Harry step on when exiting his room to wash his cut?

c. A teacup

2. Which two members of the Order of Phoenix came to escrot the Dursleys to a safe place?

b. Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones

3. In order to throw off the Death Eaters, several of Harry's friends take Polyjuice Potion to resemble him and each Harry goes with a different member of the Order of the Phoenix to a different location. Where do Ron (disguised as Harry) and Tonks go?

a. Aunti Muriel's house

4. At Bill and Fleur's wedding, Harry must disguise himself by taking Polyjuice Potion and takes on the appearnce of a redheaded Muggle boy from Ottery St. Catchpol. He was introduced to wedding guests as Cousin . . .

c. Barny

5. Kingsley sends a message via Patronus to warn the Weasleys and wedding guests of the coming Death Eaters. What form does his Patronus take?

b. A lynx

6. In the Half-Blood Prince what drink does Romilda Vane try to give Harry?

d. Gillywater

7. What is the name of the person that heads the Holyhead Harpies?

c. Gwenog Smith

8. What tatoo is Harry reported to have on his chest?

b. Hippogriff

9. What color robes do the staff at Weasley's shop wear?

b. Magenta

10. Where do Nicolas Flamel and his wife Perenelle live?

d. Devon

Picture Scavenger Hunt (links):
Gryffindor Quidditch Uniforms
Hufflepuff Quidditch Uniforms
Ravenclaw Quidditch Uniforms
Slytherin Quidditch Uniforms
Room of Requirement

Wild Kingdom

So it all started with the largest Mosquito Eater I have ever seen on the inside of my car windshield. My DH and I tried to shoo him out but he wouldn't leave. We where literally being beat-up by a Mosquito Eater. Finally after opening all the windows and the moon roof and turning on the air full blast did we convince him to leave.

Then the next morning as I sat at the table with my munchkin, while he ate his breakfast before preschool, our dog darted to the back door. I assumed that a bird entered our air space and he was going to go investigate. But then out of the corner of my eye I saw something jump. I thought great the dog is eating a grasshopper and then will get sick all over the carpet. (Because they never get sick on the tile or out side where it is easy to clean up.) To my surprise it was this little guy.

Fortunately our fearless defender here did not like the taste of our new visitor.

"I am Claymore I defend against Flies, Moths, and Tree Frogs!"

So as Claymore tried to get the frog taste out of his mouth I put him behind the safety gate and woke up my DH so he could do frog patrol while I wrangled the toddler and dog.

That same day I came home to find 18 to 20 birds on my front lawn. It was a seen right out of the movie The Birds.

Later that evening the little Tree Frog came back to the door and hopped in when we opened it. He must have been given the wrong address because I already have my little Prince and my handsome Knight in Shining Armor too.

P.S. If Tree Frog come back again Michelle says I have to keep him because if a bear comes back for a third time he is killed so keeping him would be better.

HSKS 3 Quidditch ~ Round One Answers

Quidditch Round 1 Answers

1. Charity Burbage
2. Alecto Carrow
3. The wand chooses the wizard.
4. to kill the owner
5. Jack Russell Terrier
6. Otter
7. stew
8. roast potato
9. three up--two across
10. "for those who take, but do not earn"
    
    

Picture Scavenger Hunt :

Madam Rolanda Hooch

Firenze

Angus Filch

Moaning Myrtle

Colin Creavey

CAKE!

Who doesn't love birthday cake, oh wait Dax doesn't. My best friend's son Dax is the only three year old I know that doesn't eat birthday cake. I made him one anyway because he is my best friend's son and I love him dearly and I love the look on kids faces when they see there favorite character in eatable form. Oh and So here it is his Rocket cake.

For those of you who do not have small children that watch the Disney channel obsessively, this is Rocket from Disney's Little Einsteins cartoon. Normally I would have just made the cake, but there were a lot of cake eaters at Dax's birthday party so I made cupcakes as well.

If you like that cake check out a few of other cakes I have made.

My munchkin's 1st Birthday

My Munchkin's 2nd Birthday

My Munchkin's personal birthday cake

Julius the Monkey for Dax's 1st birthday (he did eat this one and made quite a mess)

I have been making character cakes for 17 years now. It all started with my brother's (who is 13 years younger) 1st Birthday cake. We didn't have digital cameras way back then so the pic of his cakes will have to wait for feature post.

HSKS 3

I am not usually one to join things that put myself in unfamiliar territory, but with some gentle persuasion by my lovely friend Laurie L I joined the HSKS 3 swap. So I put on the sorting hat and I was put into Ravenclaw. Which from what I understand it an awesome house to be in. Oh did I mention I am just now getting into Harry Potter? Well the more I learn and the more I do with the swap the more excited I am getting. So without further ado here are my questionnaire answers.

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? Ravenclaw

2. List your favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length. Or would you prefer circulars? Clover Bamboo strait and circulars are my favorite needles to work with so far. I do like my Denise Interchangeable set as well. I use circulars for most of my strait projects because I like the way I can move my project to the cord and not lose any stitches if I toss the project in my bag.

3. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length? Between the Denise Interchangeable, Clovers, and a bunch of needles I inherited I haven't tried or looked at any other brands. I only have two sets of DPNs 1 set is size 4 and the other can't really be called a set there only 3 usable needles 2 of the three are size 2 and the other is a size 3. So, to make a long story longer. I would like to increase my DPN collection. Brand, size, and length do not matter.

4. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference? I defiantly prefer the movie colors Blue and Silver.

5. Do you have any allergies? No allergies

GO RAVENCLAW!

Runny Babbit

One of my favorite authors is Shel Silverstein. As a young girl I loved reading Where the Side Walk Ends, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, and The Giving Tree even though I could not get through it without crying. Lately I have been reading Runny Babbit to my toddler and wanted to share one of my many favorite poems from the book.

RUNNY'S HEW NOBBY

Runny Babbit knearned to lit,

And made a swat and heater,

And now he sadly will admit,

He bight have done it metter.

-Shel Silverstein

The Tie

Finally after the 8th revision, starting over with the correct weight yarn, and then buying some bamboo size 2 needles (so I don't feel like I am knitting with syringes anymore), I have begun the tie for my little bro. Who is actually taller than me by 5 inches. Here is the progress I have made thus far.

Not just for the pool

In the past week my toddler has showed me that the Pool Noodle has many other uses. It is the 21st century version of the sick.

Here he is using it as a stick horse.

And here for a game of stick ball

I have also heard tell from DH that the two of them use the noodles as light sabers. I can only guess what will be next!

Ravelry!

OK so I finally went and put my name on the Ravelry sign-up list. I am now hitting my head against the wall for not signing up two months ago when everyone at Chicks with Sticks was talking about it. I went and looked at the site two months ago and thought "Oh I am such a beginner that I don't ever have a stash of yarn organize this isn't an account I need." Well I never thought the site would be such a huge asset to knitting. So here are my current standings:

• You are #26890 on the list.
• 17221 people are ahead of you in line.
• 0 people are behind you in line.
• 34% of the list has been invited so far

One day I will be a real knitter and have my very own page on Ravelry.com!

Lesson learned again!

I had hoped to show some wonderful pics of my resent vacation to the coast. Pics of me knitting by the campfire, pics of toddler chasing the seagulls, pics of toddler covered in dirt, pics of toddler pounding Abalone. You know all the wonderful memories caught in jpeg. Well don't you know the memory card went corrupt on the second day and lost all those wonderful pics as well as the ones I thought I was taking on the third day. Now being a pretty electronic savvy person I know better than to only bring one memory card, but I figured that the memory card that was in the camera had plenty of space on it for the whole vacation so I was good to go. I brought the extra battery! Oh well hopefully Grandma caught some good pics of the munchkin that I can share after we see her next.
Now off to start the size 2 needle project again with the proper weight yarn.

Gluten for punishment

I am starting to discover that at some point in his/her knitting adventure each knitter crosses over to the gluten for punishment realm. Knitting with size 2 needles or smaller is just plain BONG KOO KOO! Knitting with this size needle is like knitting with a syringe. As a matter of fact I think I have had larger needles in my arm when I've given blood. Again I say this is just Bong koo koo! Yet we knitters still plug away as if we have been consumed by our project.

The best analogy I can think of is getting a tattoo, one you have one you want another and then another. Again with the needles! Ahhhhh. It must be some twisted brain chemical that is only found in glutens.

Well back to my size 2's.

Drum Roll Please.......

The Gryffindor Berte is complete. Yes it is true I have officially completed my first project.

Thanks to one very savvy Chick at Chicks w/ Sticks this project is complete. If it weren't for her I may have given up. She fixed 5 dropped stitches on the third to the last row.

I also have to give a big plushy Cashmere hug to Libellula. Without her size 7 dpn's I would still be several rows shy of finished.

As you can see the munchkin of the house loves the hat. I guess my next hat will need to be to make him one of his very own.

I hope this hat will bring fun,warm and loving blessings to it's recipient.

The not so dropped stitch

I've been kitting feverishly to get the Beret done by the deadline. Not that I knit slowly but my chances to knit are sometimes few and far between. Everything personal tends to be that way when you're a SAHM of a toddler who has just hit the terrible twos. Anyhow 3 days ago I realized I had dropped a stitch and it took until today to have the enough time, crochet needle handy, and Stitch 'n Bitch book open to the dropped stitch repair page. So I followed the instructions from the book and think "Wahoo I did it now I can continue on." But after I knitted several stitches I realize there is big hole right were I repaired the dropped stitch. So I continue kitting until I get back to the stitch I repaired and drop it, thinking I didn't pick up low enough on the ladder and the stitch is still dropped. This happen about 5 times before it dawns on me that perhaps I am trying to pick up a stitch that was never dropped.

Sure enough the stitch I had stopped on way back when, ended up stretching it self between the needles, undoubtedly from being manipulated by a munchkin or small dog, to mimic a space that looks like a dropped stitch ladder.

Tooting my own knitting horn

I did it! I knitted in the round and used a second color of yarn to make a stripe, thanks to the patient and generous help of my lovely friend Libellula.

This project should turn into the the Gryffindor Beret shown blow, which is for the Charmed Knits charity knit-along. All of the knit-along hats will be sent to Warm Woolies a charity that donates warm knitted items to poverty-stricken children.

I hope to complete this beret soon so I can make a beanie in the Hufflepuff House colors. Maybe I should read the Harry Potter books so I understand who or what Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs are.

You have to be smarter than the thing you are operating

A few weeks ago I ordered and received my Denise Interchangeable Knitting Needles. I was soooooo excited I could hardly wait to start new projects because I have just about every size and length of strait or round needle I need. Yesterday I decided to get started on my Charmed Knits hat. So I pulled out my trusty interchangeable needle kit and started to piece together the size and length I needed, so I thought. Well I took out the smallest length of cord and attached it to the size needle the pattern called for. Once I learned that the circular measurement is from needle tip to needle tip not just the cord, I had a problem. The problem was the length was 24" and I needed only 16". As you can imagine I was thoroughly bummed because I didn't have the needle length I needed and my happy little dream of not having to buy needles for a very long time was crushed. So needles to say I didn't get to start my new project. This morning I was still very disappointed that the kit didn't have everything like I thought it did. So I opened the kit again and stared at it and stared at it, put needles on all the lengths of cord in hopes that some magical force was at work and they would end up being the size I needed. No luck. So I pulled out the directions in hopes that it could shed some light on things. The directions say that you can make lengths of 17" to 58". I am now baffled at why I can't get my needles to 17", which I figure is close to what I need. So I stare some more and would you believe, there was a smaller cord hidden with the longest cord. I had mistaken the two cords for one long cord. Now my faith is restored and I know I have made an excellent investment. I am off to start my new project and hope to have it done in time to send it to Charmed Knits.

Flop Project

Drum roll please.....and here are the long awaited pic of the flopped project.

After looking at it for awhile and showing it to several Chicks at Chicks with Sticks several ideas came about on what to use it as. The first is a gage piece for a larger bathmat. The other was a soap rug as demonstrated below.

I hope these pics appeases the Blog Gods at least for awhile.

Slightly off the knitting track

Well as much as I would like to say I have been knitting feverishly since my last post, I am sorry to say I have not knitted a single stitch. I have been quite crafty though! I make unique character cakes for my son's birthdays. Well the tradition truly started with my brother when he was little and has now carried on to my son. So without further ado, here the pics of the cake that only took me 4 hours verses the normal 8-10 to make. Can you guess who it is?

It's Mickey Mouse!

The pic below is the mini Mickey Mouse cake I made for my son to smash is face into, and he did a spectacular job of getting it all over his face.

As you can see I have been exercising my crafty muscles in other ways. Now back to knitting!

And I'm back

So I fell out of the knitting universe for a little while but I am back and knittin'. I had high hopes for my previous project but it was a flop. The flop did not squelch my creative fire. Thanks to a little help from the Chicks at my Chicks with Sticks group I started to event several other ideas for my own patterns.

I know I know I can't even finish one project according to someone else’s pattern and here I am making up my own patterns. I haven't had a steady creative outlet in a very long time so I am jumping into the deep end with knitting and trying to keep my head above water.

So as I promised I will be posting pic soon. I just have to get the time to download them from my camera.

Can't leave well enough alone

Why is it that I insist on making a simple pattern harder? I started a Simple Baby Bib pattern last night because I was not progressing very quickly on my messenger bag so I thought why not put it down and start something that you can finish in a couple of days. Well that was just too easy. So now I have taken some liberty with the basic pattern and added my own flair. This means counting St and writing down what I did on every row. So this will either be an adorable Bib for my good friend baby or my first dishcloth. Pics will follow soon.

A Whole New Language

Reading a kitting pattern is like reading a foreign language! I bought a book to assist me in decoding and learning this new language, but even it doesn't contain all the pieces of the code. I think I need a different book just to read the "How to read a pattern" section of this book. Is there a Knitting for Dummies book? Yarn size, needle size and length, stitches, cast-ons, gauge, bind-offs. Sometimes these things are abbreviated in a pattern but sometimes not. Ok so learn the abbreviations and you can read the new language right? Not so fast, there are different abbreviations for the same thing! So once I decipher the code and learn how to read a knitting pattern, and I already know English, does this mean I am bi-lingual?

So Many Projects So Few Hands

I am constantly seeing so many wonderful projects each day that I want to start them all. I think I'll start knitting with my feet, that way I can work on two projects at once. And just think of the work out I would get!

I don't foresee this knitting fever breaking anytime soon, so if anyone has a home remedy for knitting fever I would love to hear it.

The Itch to Kint

Lately almost every project I see I want to knit. I am itching to start something new so bad I can hardly control myself. Especially since I got a new knitting book for Mothers Day! I think the only thing that is holding me back is there is not a knitting/yarn shop in my town, well other than Michaels which just doesn't give the warm fuzzies and takes a 1/2 hour of waiting in line just to check out.

So I have decided to approach my projects logically. I first need to knit a really big bag to keep all my kitting projects in. So now the question is which bag to knit, the Monk's Travel Satchel or the Doctor's Bag on page 82 of the Knit 2 Together book?

Now I am off in search of a yarn shop that, hopefully, is not too many towns away.

The cursed knitting project

I started knitting approximately 2 months ago and I am still not yet 1/2 way though my first project. Difficult project you say? Oh no, it is quite a simple scarf(that has been taken out and restarted about 10 times now). I am a perfectionist, but that has not been the ultimate downfall of the project per say. OK well maybe that has a bit to do with it, but it also didn't help that I decided to change knitting styles, yarn, and nettles after the 5th attempt at the project. Well now that I feel much better about letting all of that out I am going to go back and finish untangling my yarn that my little dog decided to use as a toy.

New to the Blogging World

So after much ado, and gentle nudges by my best friend, I have started my Blog. Hope you enjoy the knitting, comedy and drama.