Little projects

Little projects means I complete more things.  Not that I have.  It's just a theory at this point.  I might get more done if I didn't have to pack everything away so the house would look tidy for showings.   I just can't bear for people to know how messy I am.  I know it doesn't matter.  It's not like I'm the owner.  In fact, I'm sure people don't expect much when viewing a house with renters in it, but I have my own standards so I tidy up.  There have been two showings in the last 24 hours.   How do I feel about this?

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="327" caption="Grumpy!"][/caption]

I could be happier.  I'm trying to get over it though.  Oh, above is one of my Christmas ornaments, by the way.  He's not finished.  He needs tiny bells on his hat and a ribbon to hang from.  He's one of about 8 that are mostly done.  All the others are happier, but I though I should mix it up and have a grumpy ornament or two as well.  They're so cute that I want to keep them all, but most are being given away.  Loops has demanded a pirate one.  I was working on it, but couldn't get a cool looking pirate hat so his pirate is just going to have a hat like all the others.  He's cool with it though.  As long as there's an eye patch and a scowl, he said he'd be happy.

I'm also making a cute elephant.  He's mostly in pieces right now and quite sad looking.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Sad and limbless. :("][/caption]

Hopefully he'll be much cuter when complete.

A day late

Everyone who really knows me is aware that Halloween is, by far, my least favorite holiday.  Something about dressing up and knocking on doors to get candy never really did it for me, not even when I was little.  Needless to say, I'm happy it is over.  The only thing I'm sad about now is the fact that I wanted to get my cute little bat toys completed before the holiday and didn't.  I was delayed by the inability to find the correct eyes.  I had to order them and they didn't get here until Thursday.  Last night at about 10pm I finally got one put all together, but it was too late to take any decent pictures so I decided to wait until this morning to post a blog about it.

Meet Boo!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Boo, just hangin'"][/caption]

I know.  That's the cutest bat you've ever seen, right?  Well, it gets cuter:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="370" caption="Boo, wrapped up"][/caption]

Pattern:  Boo the Bat by Anna Hrachovec

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted

Needles:  US 6

More details… here (ravelry link)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Boo's got back"][/caption]

Now to make more since Loops claimed this little Boo.

Cats ankle socks and travel

No I haven't stooped to knitting little socks for the kitties (yet).  I just find the title much more fun without the commas so I left them out.  I know.  I'm easily amused.   Long time, no blog, huh?  I have no excuse.  I'm just lazy and until last week, there wasn't much going on to blog about.

I was going to start the blog with a cute cat picture, but they all had different plans.  I bent down to get a nice shot of Dottie in the sun and as I get ready to click the shutter Moxie decides Dottie needs a bath.  That might've made a cute picture, but, at the same time, Bob started trying to climb up on me and this is the results:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Dottie's photo-op disrupted"][/caption]

What's worse (and darker) than this horrible picture?  Loops' ankle.  Good segue, wasn't it?  He had a tumble down our stairs on Wednesday.  We had him checked out and it was an ankle sprain and should be better soon.  He's still limping around, but is back in work so maybe with my days free from nurse duty I'll get some knitting done.

The only thing I've really been working on is my socks.  You know, the ones I let everyone vote for the yarn to make them.  I'm about half through with the first sock and they're turning out well.  See:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="333" caption="My new colorful socks started!"][/caption]

The pattern is fun and they work up pretty quickly so I should have a completed pair in no time.  Maybe I'll finish them while I'm back in Alabama.  I'll be flying direct from Charlotte to Birmingham on Oct. 3rd and be with the family for two fun filled weeks.  Hopefully Loops and the kitties can live that long without me. ;)

Second sock syndrome? Not for me.

Through a stern will and extreme determination, I have kept myself from catching the dreaded second sock syndrome.  For those who don't know, second sock syndrome is a very common thing among knitters who knit socks.  Basically, you see a pair of socks you want to knit so you get your pattern and your yarn all together and joyfully start knitting.  Once the first is complete you get to stare at it, pet it, and show it around to everyone you know so they can marvel at your knitting prowess.  Here's where the problems start.  See, you've completed the pattern and have a complete knitted item, but because feet insist on coming in pairs, you have to do the whole pattern you just did all over again.  For some reason, the second time you knit something is  not nearly as interesting as the first.  You already know what's going to happen.  It's like watching a rerun you just saw last week.  You'd much rather watch a new episode or a completely different show, right?  Sadly, unless you are happy knitting things that will never be used or you know someone who is happy to wear mismatched socks, you have to knit the second one.  So I did:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="First pair of socks... COMPLETE!"][/caption]

Pattern:  7 Stitches per Inch Socks by Ann Budd

Yarn:  Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet

Needles:  US 3

More details… here (ravelry link)

They are ok for a first attempt, but I'm hoping to improve a lot on my next pair, which brings me to the interactive portion of the blog.  My next pair of socks will be for me and I've already picked the pattern I plan to use, Sunday Swing Socks.  Now I just need to pick the yarn to use.  I give you 4 choices to pick from:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="416" caption="You make the call!"][/caption]