My little Cheerleader!

Even though Addie is only 7 months old and won't remember a thing about her first Halloween, it was fun to see her dressed up.  She was such a good little girl and seemed to love all the attention.  It's so fun to mark off all the "firsts" that she will experience.  We are getting close to the end of the firsts - at least as they relate to holidays.  Now that Halloween is over, we just have her first Thanksgiving and first Christmas.  Before you know it we will be celebrating her first birthday.  Where does the time go?

Starting and Finishing

Well, after putting Addie's Tulip Sweater away for a few weeks, I decided to finish it.  I had to put it away because I had never done attached i-cord and the pattern really stumped me.  Of course, I was trying it at night when I don't think as clearly.  So after a few weeks of sitting in the basket, I decided it was too cute to not finish so I pulled it out, typed in "attached i-cord" on YouTube and figured out how to do it.  It's amazing what you can learn on YouTube.  So as you can see from the picture I have one more sleeve to do and the final i-cord around the neck and it's done.  I made it a bit bigger so that Addie can wear it in the spring.  It's turning out really cute. 

As for the starting part...well, I bought this beautiful Cascade chunky tweed in a beautiful light gray with flecks of black in it.  I am making Meagan a shrug for Christmas.  (Meagan, if you are reading this, sorry you know about one of your gifts).  I am going to make one for Jen and Diana as well.  They go pretty quickly once you get going.   I only have about 25% of it done but that's because I was working on the Tulip Sweater.

All good knitters know that you always have many different projects going at once.  That's what keeps it fun - switching off.  You start something, you finish something, you put a project in hibernation, you never complete something because you don't like the way it looks, you buy yarn for that special sweater that you haven't started yet, you buy yarn for a cute pair of socks, you get the bug to start a shawl and then forget about it, and on and on and on!  I love knitting!!!! 

I REALLY need to get busy!

Last Christmas I made my daughter-in-law a set of seasonal runners for her kitchen table.  I've

decided that I would like to make a set this year for both Jen and Meagan!  They were very fun to make and I love going over to Diana's and seeing them out on the table. There is no greater feeling than knowing that a handmade gift is appreciated!  

I do this every year - I think of all these great ideas when Christmas is a couple months away.  I actually think I start processing projects in my head when the weather gets cool.  So why can't I think about them in January and February when it's cool?  I keep saying I will start early and I never do.  

So I've set up a calendar of what I need to get accomplished and when.  Maybe if I see it in writing, I will stick to it. Making 2 runners a week is not asking much.  I also need to factor in my knitting projects as well.  And all of this has to take place while I work all day.  Am I an overachiever?  Maybe!  Do I love making gifts for my family? Absolutely!

Addison is ready for winter!

Surprise!!!!  I made Addison another hat.  We need to make sure she coordinates with all of her sweaters and coats, right?  This latest one is a Mock Cable and was very fun.  Her new snowsuit is dark pink with chocolate brown trim so I decided to make her a brown hat and add a cute little dark pink flower on it.  It is so cute.  I need to stop with the hats now since I seem to be totally hooked on making them.  Maybe it's the instant gratification that I talk about all the time.  They are just so fast and so rewarding.  A girl can never have too many hats!!!!

A day at the Pumpkin Farm!

Well, the weather was perfect today to take Addison to the pumpkin patch.  We got some really cute pictures of her wearing her pumpkin hat.  Unfortunately I made it a bit too big so every so often we would look down and it would be over her eyes.  But the good thing is that next fall it will be perfect!  It was nice going on a week day so that we had the place to ourselves.  From the size of the parking lot they had made in a field across the street, I assume that they have pretty good crowds on the weekends and as they get closer to Halloween.  

No Pumpkin Farm Today!

Well, anyone from the Chicago Area knows that it's raining like crazy today!  What a bummer since today was the day that Jen and I were going to take Addison to the pumpkin farm.  I worked quickly on a cute little pumpkin hat for her to wear.  But it looks like it will have to take place another day.  

In the meantime, I am posting a picture of the cute little hat.  It's a combination of patterns from the Itty Bitty Hats book.  It's the basic rolled brim hat design of the Upside Down Daisy with the stem and leaf from the Pumpkin Hat Pattern.  I can't wait to get a picture of Addison wearing it sitting amongst all the other pumpkins!  So cute!  

Green Gable Live!

As promised, here is a picture of my Green Gable being modeled....by me!  I love way it fits and am extremely happy with the project.  Of course, the stockinette stitch for the body drove me nuts.  In the end?  A great sweater that fits perfectly.  Would I make another one?  I said no with every row of the body but now that it's done, I can picture one in black or a very deep olive - oh yeah.  What am I thinking?

Until then I will work on Addison's Tulip Sweater.  And maybe another shrug to get a jump on Christmas knitting.  Green Gable in any other color will have to wait.

I "heart" finishing!

Yeah, my shrug is done!  I love it!  If I hadn't seen my friend Joan's done, I would not have believed that what I was knitting would turn out to be something so cute.  It had to be one of the easiest but most gratifying knits I have done in awhile.  Although ribbing gets old really quickly, it isn't nearly as bad as all stockinette stitch.  It was also a very fast knit - I started it last week and finished it up tonight.  Basically, one weeks work of knitting and that was not every night.  Just a little each night and a good chunk on the weekend.  Loved using Size 11 needles compared to the Size 1 needles I use on socks!  Maybe that's why it knit up so fast!  Ya think?  

This weekend we will be celebrating Jen and Diana's birthday.  I think my shrug will go along with me.  If they like it, and also Meagan, then I best get busy knitting 3 more!  I think I've got it in me!