2 posts in one day!

I had to come back and post again today - because as you can see I finished the Pikachu hat that I mentioned in my earlier post. I finished off the ears this afternoon and managed to sew the face on too. I asked Kristen to pose with her Pikachu toys. She is actually sitting with the hat on in the first picture but hiding behind the Pikachu pillow!

This sure was a cute little knit. I just used some yellow acrylic in my 'old' stash and Caron Simply soft which I have in the black and red (that I did the ladybug hat in). See my post below for the link.

My cutie Pikachu. She's thrilled with her new hat and is actually going to a slumber party at her friends house, just two doors away, next Friday night. And guess what - it's a Pokemon theme! Her friend told her she should wear her hat, but me thinks she won't have it on too long, it's still in the 90's here in Texas!!!

I Lost It !!!

'IT' being my knitting mojo! I was doing so good with the little sweater, then I cast on for the pumpkin hat, got that done in two days and finished off the sleeve of the sweater. Before I could cast on for the second sleeve I found myself surfing Ravelry for 'Pokemon' of all things! My 7 yr old daughter just loves them. I came across THIS on ravelry. The link is to the actual pattern which is free on Ravelry. Of course you're wondering what Hello Kitty has to do with Pokemon. Well if you click on 'project's (in Ravelry) as I did, you will see on the first page that someone knit the pattern using yellow yarn and added black on the tips of the ears, then added red cheeks and black eyes to the face. . . . . . and voila, you have PIKACHU!!!!

So, yes I cast on for Pikachu and I've finished the hat and have to do the ears, but I feel like my other 'Christmas' knitting has been cast aside. And then I remembered the pink bolero I had started before my vacation and thought I should pick that up after I've finished Pikachu, and ..... oh I don't know I guess what I'm trying to say is "I feel a little overwhelmed"! So much to do, so little time!

OK, truth be told I'm just doing this post (without any updated pictures) to bring me a teeny bit closer to my 100th post! Hope you're all having a good week.

Making Progress!

I finished the Rainy Day Socks the day after my last post (haven't taken a picture of them completed yet, but I will before I send them off to my friend). So that allowed me to get out the 'Yoked Sweater' to start working on. I finished the front of it in 2 days (no updated pics) and started on the first sleeve yesterday - I'm happy with the progress I'm making, so much so that I allowed myself to cast on for this cute little thing at the beginning of the week . . .

I know, I know - it's not a Christmas gift, but it IS a gift, and for obvious reasons it needed to be knit before Christmas! This is Susan's 'Pumpkin Hat' from Itty Bitty Hats. I used Berroco Touche and this is the first time I've knit with this yarn! I have to say I love it, it's so silky smooth. Knit on my 16" Addi Turbo, the whole thing was very slippery, but still nice to knit with. This little thing is already in the mail to a friend in England who will no doubt be getting 'Fall' much sooner than we will (here in Texas!).

I only used 1 skein and because I did the largest size I ran out of yarn about 8 rounds from the stork. As you can see in the picture I simply introduced the stalk color earlier, and I think it still looks ok - don't you?

So, once yoked sweater is completed I will start on something for my nieces little girls. I'm thinking of the Cozy Tank from Lucinda Guy. I made one earlier this year that was intended for one of them so I think I may only have to make one more, unless I use the original one for another friend's little girl?! So many to knit for . . . . so little time!

Keep watching this space - I haven't forgotten about my promised 'giveaway' - my 100th post is coming soon. I also want to 'Pay It Forward' and will be talking about that soon too.

Feeling the love.....

While I was away in England, Amanda bestowed a 'Brilliant Weblog' award on me :-) Thank you Amanda, this is my first 'award' in the knitting community!

Here are the rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog;
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you;
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs;
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog; and
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

There are so many lovely blogs out there that I enjoy reading, here's just a few that I've really felt drawn to over the past few months. . .

Joli House - just cos she's already got the award, doesn't mean I can't nominate her ;-) A fellow Brit and a great knitter (with a beautiful daughter that shares her passion - something I'm rather envious of) I love seeing what they both have on the needles.

Mr Puffy - I know Claudia's already got this award too but I still want to nominate her. She's made me feel like we're close friends from the very first email I sent - her knitting projects are always so beautiful. . . and Mr Puffy is just too cute.

A Friend To Knit With - another wonderful gal that has made me feel so welcome in the knitting community. Just love to read her posts and see what she's up to be it knitting or sewing.

Susan B. Anderson - sweet Susan, I just love her books (own them both) and can't wait to see what she brings out next. Oh and those giveaways she's been having. . . too generous for words!

Chronic Ennui - I must confess I had to look up the word 'ennui' (a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom) when I first started reading Kim's blog, I hadn't a clue what it meant! I'm certainly not 'bored' with her lovely knits and cute pics of Maggie :-)

Knitterella - I've always loved the name of Jill's blog :-) Love to see the Itty Bitty Hats she knits, and always wonder what she's going to knit next. And one of these days I'm going to treat myself to her lovely 'knitting' notecards.

Knitted Fresh Daily - I love how Annie adds such lovely borders to her knitting pics. Makes me just want to browse her blog pages for hours, and I'm always eager to see more of what she's knitting.

Tiennie Knits - I know I'm not alone when I say "I just can't wait to see what Tiennie posts next"! Her knitting and her photos are always amazing.

And I could go on and on. . . but I better stop there!

I'm being a good girl. . . . .

. . . and only working on one thing at a time! Right now I'm finishing off the second 'rainy day' sock that I started a few weeks ago. After I finished the first one I think I discovered the Sirdar book with the lovely boleros, and I feared second sock syndrome had hit me big time. I didn't cast on for the second sock for a good couple of weeks! In fact I think I finished a whole bolero (the green one) and started on the pink one before I even cast on for the second sock.

Now, is it just me or are you thinking it too? Christmas is just a few short months away!!!! And that's what's got me set on working on just one wip at a time. The socks aren't even a Christmas gift! They are just something I promised a friend I would knit, oooh about 6 months ago! So they must be first off the needles, then I will start to concentrate on a few other wips that have been in hibernation. I am promising myself that I will not cast on for anything new (that is not intended for a Christmas gift) before I finish all the wips that are intended for Christmas gifts - are you confused yet?

After I've finished the sock I will start on the little Debbie Bliss sweater I started months ago....

I think last time I mentioned it I only showed a picture of the close up ribbing. I didn't want any of the family seeing it because it was meant for a Christmas gift for my nephew's little boy. But in hindsight, does it really matter if they see it (and I don't even think they will, cos I doubt they even check my knitting site), so I'm posting pictures anyway and will keep showing the progress on such knits. My aim is to knit a little something for the 'babies' in my extended family, those being the kids of my nephews and nieces in England who we've just spent two weeks with.

So all that said, I will jump off here and go finish off a sock! I'm on a roll and hope to have it off the needles in the next couple of days - wish me luck!

I'm Back!

We're back home after 2 weeks in England with my family. We had a great time and I'm missing them already. (I will be posting more at my main blog if you want to read and see more pics)

I did take my socks on the plane to knit but I didn't even get them out. I was too engrossed in a book my LYS owner and let me borrow the day before I left. It was 'Remember Me' by Sophie Kinsella. Such a fun and quick read, I got through 3/4 of the book before we got to the UK. On the way home I packed my dpns in my suitcase because I'd heard the restrictions are worse coming from the UK to the US. So no knitting while I was away, nothing new to show you but just wanted to say hi and let you all know I'm home.

Will post later this week.