Babies and Puppies

I just want to say Congratulations to my SIL she had a baby girl on Monday morning! The blanket will be given to her when she comes over in probably a bit under 2 months. I also have bits of a teddy bear I was supposed to make but never put together that I shall do for her as well since its pink! If I can find all the pieces that is!

In knitting news I have finished the graphs on the arms of my cardi. Now I just need to finish knitting them to length knit the bands and then put it togther and its finished. Think I can do that all by christmas this year? HAHAHAH When I do manage to sit down and knit I remember why I love it so much and realise just how much I actually miss it. The feel of the wool/cotton whatever it is Im using slipping around my fingers and watching it get longer row by row its a good feeling of accomplishment. Not to mention the whole thought of having something to wear when finished is also a nice thought! :) So then why don't I do more? Easy there's always something else that needs doing first!
I've not been running the last week and a half because the dogs not been to well. I know bad excuse, leave him home and go do it on your own! Well I would apart from the fact I do not like leaving the dog home alone! I do if I HAVE to and hes fine I just don't LIKE to do it! His ear has been playing up and we took him in to get it looked at on Friday which we realised on Thursday because he never bothered it I just happend to catch sight of it not looking clever. So we were given some pills and told to come back this week so they could sedate him and clean it out and look properly since he wasnt letting them! Yes our puppy boy can be VERY stubborn when he wants to be, but he is a sweetheart! So we took him in yesterday and I had to leave him there. Oh I was so lost! I didnt know what to do! So I went shopping just so that I didnt have to come home. Finally I did and everything I was doing I kept expecting him to come running in to see what was going on! Finally we got to go pick him back up!! Nurse told me he was great, very well behaved, and so lovely. When they brought him out to us I honestly thought they were giving us the wrong dog. He looked so out of it. Well thats becauase he was. Took him until about 10 oclock to finally start acting normal!!! But he did figure out how to open the cupboard and take out his bag of biscuits and throw them on the floor trying to eat as many as he could before being found out! HAAHA This morning hes fine! Running around playing like nothings wrong. :) His ears been cleaned out and we were given some ear cleaner and drops to put in to clear up any bits that might be left. Also we gave his ears the clean this morning with the drops and he was such a good boy! Took them without to much of a fight! he did LIKE them but he also let us do it! :)
I must go and do my exercises now. Joy oh Joy! haha

Im ALIVE!

Wow, I dont really know where to begin! Its been nearly 5 months since updating here last. Theres so much that has happened and at the same time so little has happened!
I finished the scarfs and the pair of socks (that I forgot to photograph!) for christmas. Everyone loved their gifts. Always makes me happy when they do! Ive finished the body of the cardi and then Ive started to sleeves I just havent finished. I am nearly finished crocheting a baby blanket for OH sister who is due shortly. So really I need to get a movin and finish that!! Heres a photo of the baby blanket:

Its much bigger now and Im nearly done but trying to decided if I should go buy one more ball of cotton yarn so I can make it a bit longer. When I work on it it goes rather quickly but I dont always keep it at hand.
At the end of October (which this is the main reason Ive been so quiet!) we picked up a puppy:

Hes kept us VERY busy! And hes the main reason my knitting has suffered and Ive been so quiet on here. NO I AM NOT COMPLAINING!!! I love our little boy very much!

Come on, who couldnt resist and love a face like that? :) We are very lucky becuases he is a VERY good puppy! Doesnt chew the house up, he is house trained, can walk nicely on a lead, sits, stays, lays down, gives you his paw, high five, speaks, and can be trusted off lead as long as other dogs arent around. Hes really good and just wants to play with other dogs but he forgets hes a puppy and not all dogs want to play with him, not to mention he forgets his manners and completely ignores us calling him back! I know he just wants to play! Hes nice to the mail man in fact when we see him walking he wants to always go over and say hello! He understands Daddys home and gets VERY excited to go greet him at the door. Hes a good puppy and normally is a pretty quiet dog. Still remember the first time he barked, he scared us! Thought something was wrong! Since its been warming up Ive been going out running and he comes along with me. Then we get these nice peaceful times where hes not trying to constantly get us to play, and even that we dont mind.

Thats his favorite toy. Hes had it since we first got him. When you think hes forgotten about it he pulls it out and wont leave it alone for days.
So thats what Ive been doing lately. I will try to update more often but sometimes its finding the time to sit down and update. Will take proper photos of the baby blanket before I send it to the Mum as well. And will TRY to finish my cardi even if its coming up to summer and I wont be able to wear it I want it sorted for next winter! Thinking ahead since I planed to have it for this winter but failed miserably! Ive not given up on knitting its just taken a back seat. Same as Ive not given up on running!
Right need to go feed our little monster! Hope to see you all back soon with another update!

Crochet Pink Thang is DONE and GOOD!

I finished my crochet top.. My very first crochet top at that! Ive crocheted blankets before but never something to be worn. WOO HOO! I like the way it turned out too! I may have had trouble with the top section taking four days to figure out something that then only took two to complete (would have been one day but I didnt have enough time to sit and do it all!)

Going to have to get a black tank and a black long sleeved top to go under it for summer/winter I just dont think a black top with short sleeves goes very well. Im really happy with how this turned out and I will have a go at other crochet patterns now and not be scared of them. Becauses well, I CAN DO IT! Sorry Im really impressed with myself.
Forest Flower Pullover by Kirstin Omdahl its the cover design of Interweave Crochet Spring 2009
It was Bernat Satin in pink that my mother sent me back in the winter that I used. 4mm and 4.5mm crochet hook. 4mm for the body and joining yolk to the body and a 4.5mm for the motifs.
Once I understood what I was doing I found it straight forward and easy to do. But sometimes I need to walk away and come back to understand.
Started April 24th and finished May 20th.

I also got a load of yarn from www.kempswoolshop.com was delivered to me the very next day 2 balls of sock yarn and enough for 3 projects. Ive already casted on and have started one! :) I will write up about all of that in another post but for now I just had to show off my newly crochet top!

you expected it to be finished didnt you?

Ive still been busily crocheting away on my top but theres not really a difference then what you see in the picture from the post below. A bit like knitting where the front and back are the same so you dont bother photographing it. I still havent gone back to finish sewing my top. I really need to but over cast slightly cold days dont really inspire me to finish sewing a sleeveless hopefully light floaty top!
Once I finish a couple more rows. Actually I think I have 2 left?!? I will then get to start the yolk of the sweater this is where things will turn umm fun? Because it goes to following a chart. HELP!! What have I gotten into?!? I havent ever crocheted something more then a square or rectangle but now Im supposed to not only shape something but follow a chart while doiing it... ERR I forsee ALOT of yelling at myself in the near future. Oh well it will be worth it because it is a pretty top Im trying to make. :)
Okay I should go and brush my hair (its still wrapped in the towel) and then got some cleaning to do (I hate cleaning the bathroom...) and then I got to make myself some lunch and only after all of that do I get to crochet... So I better get cracking! No wonder this seems to be taking ages ! hehe...
Have a great day!

Spring time fun!

I really need to stop putting things off. Ive got no excuse for it other then just deciding to go and do other things instead or not wanting to form proper sentences. Actually do I ever form proper sentences even what I think I want too?!??
Anyways!
I finished my Spring Time Hippos a week ago.. LOOK!

Arent they pretty? I am still very upset at one of them for making me knit and rip and reknit and rerip the heel of it.. But Im getting over it because they are finished! So comfy too! :)
Some information for you one these cutie patooties!
Pattern is Pomatomus by Cookie A
Yarn is Wendy Happy 75% Bamboo 25% Nylon in colour Aquarius (I didnt realise they were named for star signs until I went to look something up I just liked the colours! Im a Capricorn)
Knit on 2.25mm DPNS my purple ones that Im madly in love with becauses they are purple!
This is the second time Ive knit this pattern and I still loved it this time round. They took AGES to do becauses I started out kniting on them only one day a week and then finally took them up as my main knitting project and finished them right away (well after fighting the heel on tthe second sock for forgetting where I was!) I would knit this pattern over and over its just pretty to me! :)

see even they are in love with each other! :)

Im currently crocheting the cover project of the current Interweave Crochet. Its going smoothly after adjusting the amount of stitches I started with. I for some reason had it like 20 some odd inches long and it werent supposed to be that long so Ive adjusted and now goiing smoothly along. Almost finished with the front bottom half to go and do the same thing for the back bottom half. :) Okay here have a look...

This is Bernat Satin and is 100% Acrylic, my mom sent it to me as a gift. And its lovely... but she sent me the grey I made the Feb Lady sweater from to go with it and Im not using the two together so this pink on its own is very umm PINK can you dye acrylic yarn without ruining it and with it actaully taking?? Im not sure what colour I will do it but Im sure when I finish I will want to change the colour my mom is cool with me doing this, I didnt want to hurt her feelings! But I just need to know if it will work before I waste the money....

Also last night I traced out a shirt pattern and today I washed the material its currently drying. So hopefully I will be cutting that out soon and start sewing that up and have a new summer shirt. I do still need to trace out the shorts that I want to do and wash the material for those but that will wait till later.

Have a good day and Ill be back when I finish something else to show! :)

Baby Gritghan

I finished my baby blanket. The only thing left to do is wait for the mum to have the baby so I know what colour ribbon to add into the edge! :)

I have used a stitch pattern from my stitch dictionary and just went along how I seen fit. :)

Heres some pictures and below those are the pattern for how I did it.

The full blanket and now some close ups.

The corner and where the ribbons will go around.

All folded and pretty! :)

(My first pattern as well!)



Baby Gritghan

By Jennifer

With help from The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches (The Harmony Guides)

Materials

Size 4.5mm crochet hook

3 50gram balls of Patons Clansman Superwas Wool

*Its a double knit wool but doesnt give the yardage on the ball band and had no luck trying to find it as well.*

Ribbon to weave around edge



Grit Stitch 2

(Multiples of 2sts+3)

Row 1: Skip 2ch (count as 1sc), 1dc into next ch, *skip 1ch, work [1sc and 1dc] into next ch* repeat to last 2ch, skip 1ch, 1sc into last ch, turn.

Row 2: 1ch (counts as 1sc), 1dc into 1st stitch,*skip 1dc, work [1sc and 1dc] into next sc* repeat to last 2sts, skip 1dc, 1sc into top of turning chain, turn.

Repeat 2nd row to end.



Chain 83 stitches and work Grit Stitch 2 for 34 rows.

Do not break the yarn.

Chain 3.

Work *1tr and 1ch* 3 times into corner stitch.

Work *1tr into next sc, 1ch*

Repeat all the way around the edge of blanket.

Work 2nd row of Grit Stitch 2 around the edge without turn instead slip the end stitches together. Work 3 rounds.

To work your corners dont skip the middle dc, working your sc and dc into that as well as each sc to the side. That will give you enough room to have your corners turn properly.


Work your ends in. Wash and dry flat or if you wish slightly block it to pull the stitch apart. (thats what I did). Weave your ribbon in around the edge.



Hope the new baby enjoys their little blanket, and I hope youve enjoyed making it!

Staying Warm

Hope everyones settling into the new year alright. :) So far so good for me. We've (Mark and I) made alot of fresh bread with my trusty bread maker. Okay so I wouldnt have thought about that as a gift for me, but turns out I love the stupid thing! HAHAH
So I finished my cinnamony goodness sweater want to see it? Good here it is!!!!!

and a close up of the neck

Btw that isnt a stain on my arm its water from doing the dishes.. I splash around alot. im just not sure how I managed my elbow! oh well!...
I really do like this sweater my only complaint is I would have made it longer! I added an inch to the body but I just think it needs to be a couple more inches longer. I do like longer sweaters and shirts. I made I think 2 sizes below my chest measurment because I like fitted things as well. I left the buttons off after buying them. But I just really liked the look without them! ill probably knit this again another time in different yarn. I used Sirdar click which is an Acrylic with a bit of Wool in it. I liked it.. mind you I still prefer merino but I bought this wool back in the summer for a different sweater that I never knit and then decided it better for this one.

On Wednesday when I went to meet up with Martina for lunch Lizzie was down from Uni so she came along which was lovely! I like meeting new people! But I got a suprise when Mary turned up as well!! WOOO HOO!! I got to meet my SP11 that I spoiled. That was well cool! But she brought some wool down that she had floating about her house and wasnt going to use so I took it off of her.. THANK YOU AGAIN! And I am in the process of making a baby blanket for Marks neice who is heavily pregnant and due I think in 5-6 weeks. She doesnt know what shes having but Im using the wool for her baby anyways. Its a blue-green colour... Im crocheting this blanket and I picked out a stitch from my stitch dictionary and flying along.. Im going to just crochet until I think its long enough and then add a border but I want it to be gappy so that I can weave some ribbon into it as well. :) I think that will look pretty.


This picture was taken just after midnight on New Years Eve, well New Years day actually! HAHA

I love him... :) Mind you he nearly battered me after that picture because I wouldnt leave him alone! Okay I did take ALOT of pictures before that so he was starting to get annoyed but he was laughing there from what I told him before that about squishing bits of myself....