My 1st ebay listing

I have finally listed my 1st auction on ebay. Here it is:

http://cmebay.com/cm/ck/1065-29296-2357-0?uid=36648075&site=0&ver=LCA080805&item=220141660275

It is for 4 boy stamp sets, so if you are interested, you should go take a look (hint, hint Cathy Harte)! Hopefully it will go well.

Computer Crash

I know...I know... It has been 4 months since my last post. Sounds like going to confession, eh? But, my computer crashed a long time ago, and my DH has just now gotten around to installing my programs again. I still haven't gotten my photoshop program up yet, so no pictures for now. We did just get back from vacation, so I 'll post some of those when I can. I also have been busy on a Rowan sweater for Emily which is almost finished. Hopefully within the week it should be done.

It's Been a Month Already?

I'm so sorry that it's been so long. I was out of town for a week and it's been crazy busy since I've been back. Here's what I've accomplished:

This is the cover to an address book I'm working on. Haven't got much else done to it yet. I want to make pages that I can just print off and then insert, but I want them to have a list for Christmas cards sent & received to check off. It'll just take some manipulating of documents that I already have to do this. (TAKES TIME!)

Here is the card I made for 2 of my friends who recently had baby boys (Jamie and Brooke). I used the set from the new Spring Mini Catalog.

This is how far I've gotten on the lap blanket I'm making for my mom. I think it's about 1/2 done. The pattern is really easy and it's so soft. I just love the color. I hope she does, too!

The girls are on Spring Break next week and I plan on taking a day off and taking them up to Chicago. We'll go to a museum and then go to the American Girl Doll store. I'll try to take some photos of our trip to share!

Weekend is almost over

Here's a St. Patrick's Day card I made. There is a great paucity of St. Patty's Day cards out there. So, I thought I'd come up with an original instead of casing someone else's. As you'll notice, I'm not Irish, so all you Irish lasses should step up to the challenge and make some awesome inspirations!

This is the afghan I am making for my mom. She's going to be 80 this year. It's made from Baby Alpaca yarn and takes 13 skeins! (At $13 per skein, you do the math!) I've already knit 2 skeins and should start the 3rd tonight. Started it Friday night. I hope it will only take a few weeks, but the thing is starting to get heavy and I won't be able to haul it around too much longer!

Here's the bag before felting (above) and after felting (below) with a close-up of the flowers.

Felted Fair Isle Bag Finished!

I finished the Felted Fair Isle Bag today having attached the handles and whipstitching the top hem. I really like this bag and I probably have enough yarn left over to do another one with the same colors, but different patterning as I used some colors more than others. Here's the final project:

I'll put up more pics tomorrow. I'm going to bed!

It's Been a Month Already?

I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted on here. I guess I've been a little busy. Here's what I started on January 19th:

(Not me)--------------------------> This is what it looked like that 1st day:

Here is what it looked like today before I felted it:

Here is the 2nd sock I had started last month. I don't remember when I finished it, but I've already worn them:

Here is the hat I made for Emily in her school colors:

I've also not touched my Simple Knitted Bodice sweater, with the excuse of it's a fall sweater, so what would I do with it now? Here is a preview of the lace portion:

What else am I working on? I've started a pair of socks for Emily. I still have the 2 sweaters to finish. I have also started a pair of socks for me that will be very, VERY hard and may never finish them. We'll see.

Here's a picture of John and me from his military ball last weekend:

Here's a picture of Olivia from a couple of weeks ago:

Round and Round Slowly Becoming a Sock

I guess it's really starting to look like a sock now. Just 10 more pattern repeats and it'll be time for the short row heel. I have just about finished the 2 Bobble Beanies for Betsy (BBB). I just need to put on the spirals which I finished today and weave in the joins. I started a new sock pattern, Bayerische. I will be doing a felted bag later this month from the Holiday Vogue Knits from Nicki Epstein. I'll keep you posted.

Bobble Beanies

Here is one of the Bobble Beanies I am making for Betsy. I spent probably 100 hours doing both hats. Wow! In this first photo, Olivia is modeling the hat:
Here is a cool pic of the inside of the hat. It looks almost as neat as the outside!:

Here is a close-up of the one finished hat:

And here are both hats together. You can see how I reversed the colors in the 2nd hat to make it different:

My socks!

Here is the one sock I have completed. It was knit from the toe-up and did short row toe and heel. It was fun! The pattern on the sock is lace-over-cable. Here's the beginning of sock #2 (afterall, it's no fun to just have one sock!):

John's Sweater

Here is John's sweater I finished for him and gave to him for Christmas. It is a Knitting Pure and Simple Neckdown Pullover for Men #991 using Plymouth Encore Chunky in Denim. I used size 10.5 circular and it took me 3 months, but I didn't really spend all that time on it. Probably could have finished in 1 month, but it wasn't needed until Christmas and it wasn't cold out, so I procrastinated. He hasn't worn it out in public yet and I told him he only needed to wear it once, so we'll see!

Christmas is past

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We had a lovely time visiting John's parents on Sat & Sun and then came back home for Christmas Eve Mass and spent Christmas with my sister, Bonnie. I got my camera! I got a Canon Digital Rebel XT. Woo Hoo! I just need to figure it out and then I'll post some photos on here.

I didn't get all my Christmas cards out, so this week I'll be playing catchup and mail out the stragglers. I was missing some addresses, so a few will be getting the cards for New Years!

I finished my 1st sock. I actually cast-on and got the toe done on the 2nd sock. I may actually have a pair of handknit socks someday soon!

I didn't finish Betsy's hats. ;( I worked really hard on them the weekend before, but just couldn't get them done. I have both hats completed and 2.5 of the spirals. She told me not to worry, she'll get them down to Nebraska in January. I can't wait to post photos of them. They're so cute!

I'm off work this Friday and next Monday. I need it. Hopefully get caught up with most of my projects and get to work on my Tilli sweater again.

Crafting Update

I have over 20 of my Christmas cards done and in the mail. Only about 50 or so to go. I've got them partially started, but the ribbon is going to kill me.

I have been working on my knit from the toe up socks recently. I made it past the heel and I'm on the leg now. Only a few more pattern repeats and I should be able to bind off. The last class is this Thursday, so I need to be up to the bind-off. We'll see how long it takes me to do the 2nd sock!

I have to finish 2 Bobble Beanie hats for Betsy before next Tuesday. One hat done, but no spirals. The 2nd hat hasn't even been cast-on yet.

I need to finish my MIL's dog's sweater I started over a month ago. I'm up to the front leg-holes, so it shouldn't take too much longer, but we're going down there in 1 1/2 weeks.

My Christmas Present?

John wants to know what camera I want for Christmas. I'm not sure if I want a dSLR or a point & click camera. My top choices for a dSLR are the Canon Digital Rebel XT or XTi. The ZLR I'm interested in are the Canon Powershot or the Sony Cybershot.

I think that if I get a ZLR camera then I'll turn right around next year and want the dSLR. I think I'm ready for a higher camera. Of course, I can't lose it. Like I did the Panasonic D-Snap I can't find anywhere in the house. I have no idea where it is. I'm hoping that once I get a new camera, then I'll find the old one. Last seen: August 2006.

My Angels!

Here is our Christmas picture from this year. Aren't they sweet? Olivia (5) is on the left and Emily (8) is on the right. Now I just need to get the cards done so I can send them out!

I did finish John's sweater and I'm almost to the heel on my sock. I was supposed to have my last Noni bag class last night, but ended up getting our Christmas pictures taken and that took most of the night! I now have 10 repeats of the pattern on the sock. I'll have to try it on and see how close I am.

My Christmas Card 2006

Here is the final (I think) version of my Christmas card for this year. I wanted to get 25 of them done today. Well, I got 1 done and I cut all the cardstock for 25. That's something, right? I need to place an order because I won't have enough Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, and Cranberry Crisp. Why didn't I design a card in early November so I could place an order in enough time to receive before Christmas? Anyway, this card is inspired by one I saw on SCS (can't remember who). But, I used Herringbone for the background (retired, I know) and there is glitter on the branches. I really like the Peaceful Wishes stamp set and knew that I wanted to use it for my Christmas cards. I was going to use a Blender pen with the reinker for Cranberry Crisp (no marker available from SU!), but decided that the old Baroque Burgundy looks suspiciously like Cranberry, so I'm using that to separate the intertwined greeting. I hope you like my 1st photo on my blog! Let me know! ;)

Snow Schmo... Ice Age Cometh

Well, we did get snow. But, it was mostly icy rain that turned into a few inches of snow. Just to keep those roads/sidewalks/parking lots nice and dangerous for the next week/month/season. The kids did play in it for a while today. John got to use the snow blower. Too bad it doesn't work well on the 2 inches of ice under the snow cover.

Went on a holiday home tour today. Ooooooh, was a there a beautiful home on the list. I can't wait to build a new house. Probably 3 years down the pipeline for me though!

Project update:
1. Stamped 2 gift card holders for my office Christmas party this Friday. Vicki and I stamped 24 of them last Sunday, but needed 26.

2. Haven't touched John's sweater. That's my goal for tomorrow.

3. Noni bag has been felted. I'm working on the flowers and vines. It didn't felt quite as much vertically as I thought it would. Again, waiting on that digital camera and then I'll post some photos.

4. My sock is now beyond the toe (it's a toe-up sock). I've got 4 repeats of the 4 round pattern completed. We're supposed to meet tomorrow for class due to cancellation from Thursday because of bad weather. Hoping to get up to the heel tomorrow.

5. My Christmas cards... I've got the design I like, just need to make them. I should work on them tomorrow, also. I'd like to get 25 done tomorrow and then 25 a day for the next week.

Emily and I are going to see the Nutcracker tomorrow afternoon. I hope it's good and keeps her attention.

Here Comes the Snow!!!

We are set to get 6 to 12 inches of snow tonight. Right now it's sleeting and I can hear the ice hitting the windows. Thank goodness for garages!

My sock class got cancelled/postponed due to the weather, but I went the the store and cast on and got some basic instructions so I can plod through the pattern. My 1st sock now has 6 rows! Using size 3 DPN's. Man, are those things tiny!

My Noni bag is almost completed. Just need 1.5 more stripes and then bind off and make the flowers. I probably won't work on it much once I've bound off as the class is on Tuesday and I have to have something to do there! ;) I did email Nora, the designer, re: discrepancy in the pattern and the picture. She emailed me back within 30 minutes. Really cool!

We're closing on our house in Fairfield tomorrow. Finally! It's been on the market for 1.5 years. I'm sooooo looking forward to not having to make 2 mortgage payments! More money for yarn and stamps! Yippee!

End of the Month Knit Updates

1. My Noni In the Sculpture Garden bag now has a bottom and 4 stripes. Only 6.5 more to go.

2. Haven't yet finished John's sweater. Actually, haven't touched it in the last few days.

3. Forgot that I'm taking a sock class tomorrow.

That's what's new. Maybe if I find my digital camera (been missing for a couple of months) I can take a few photos. My wish list for Christmas includes a new digital camera. Just not sure which one I want. I was thinking the Canon Rebel XT. Anyone with any opinions?

WIP's

1. John's Knit from the Top Down Sweater. Just need to finish the ribbing on the 2nd sleeve and then weave in the ends! No seams to finish!

2. Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton's Noro Klaralund. I've got the front and back squares completed and about 1/4 of one of the sleeves. Hopefully will finish by the end of the year.

3. Stitch Diva Simple Knitted Bodice. I'm up to the 2nd repeat of the lace on the body. It's been set aside due to other projects. I really need to concentrate and I've been too tired at night to do this one.

4. Debby Ware's Too Cute Bobble Beanie. I've finished 2 of these and have 2 more to do. Of course, I still have the spirals from #2 to finish.

5. Noni In the Sculpture Garden bag. Not really in progress yet, but will be started tomorrow. Hopefully will finish in about a week.

That's about it.