Cute Hat

This is the cute hat I made from the yarn we got at Shabby Sheep on Thursday. It is Cascade Yarns Fixation in color #9442. This yarn is great fun to work with. It is 98.3% cotton and 1.7% elastic. I looked at several patterns on Ravelry and a couple I had in my files and ended up just creating what I wanted. It has a small K2, P2 rib and then the rest is just knitted for 4" and then I decreased. I cast on 68 stitches and did the rib on size 5 needles and then switched to 6's. The colors are much more vivid and bright than they show here. The yarn stretches so you have to keep it loose while knitting but this also will make the hat fit. Since you never know how big babies heads are going to be that is a good thing. We only have 8 days to wait for Scout's arrival. If love is shown by the amount of knitting done for someone then this little girl is coming into the world well loved.

Storytime

Friday is the day for storytime at Barnes and Noble. We have been there often enough now that Jo has some friends. I took these pictures because it was just too cute. While they were waiting for the storyteller one of the little girls got a book and "told" the story to the others. It was just too cute for words.

Miss Spring Flower

Today we did some errands. We had lunch at our favorite place, El Fenix and then headed over to our favorite yarn shop The Shabby Sheep. This was of course Jo's idea because anytime she comes to see me at my house we have to do both of those things. She loves to play with Abby the Yarn Dog and I think this is her whole reason for for wanting to go there. I on the other hand feel I need to help the economy and purchase sock yarn (haha but true). We actually got some yarn for a baby hat. We ran by Target on the way home and Jo became a Spring flower. Of course today it is 86 degrees in February so we had to go by 7-11 and get a Slurpee. Such a fun day.

3 Down, 3 To Go

The baby knitting has finally finished up for the moment so I am off to finish up some sock projects that have been either ignored or only worked on at odd times. First is the Lang Yarns JaWoll. Very cool color. Next is On Line Afrika. The third is Tofutsie's. I liked all these colors. So there is one sock done from each skein. Normally I would finish one sock and cast on for the next one. I like a pair completely done but due to circumstances I ended up with three pair going at one time. I mean once you get to a certain point you do not want to have to remember where you are in the heel turn or toe decrease. You need that nice smooth flowing leg or foot to work on. So here they are. I guess I could wear one of one sock and one of another. I have thought about doing this just for the fun of it. All are knit on 2.5 mm needles. So now I am off to cast on one of the three and get the next sock going. Who knows I may have three on the needles all over again.

Going Fast?

Today was story time at the Barnes & Noble. After that we did the weekly shopping. Jo liked this motorcycle that is in the entertainment area at Wal-Mart. This little girl is getting too big too fast.

Scout?

No this is not Scout she won't be here for a couple of more weeks. This is Itty Bitty Baby. She belongs to Jo but she is wearing the hat I knit for Scout. After I gave Allison the bankie, hat and car bankie we decided that the hat was too small. We tried it on Itty Bitty Baby and yes it fit her perfect so it is going to be too small for Scout. Since Jo weighed 10 lb 2 oz we decided another hat would have to be knit. The doll's head is 12 1/2". Jo's head was 14" when she was born so I gave Jo the hat for her doll and have started another one the next size up. I am using the Bernat Camo yarn and it is very, very soft after washing. So I am already decreasing on the new hat and if this one is too small then when that baby gets here I will whip up another one. I mean really, grand-daughters need lots of hats.

Brothers

Just got a call from Matthew (on the right). He landed at the airport in Atlanta, GA and Joseph (on the left) was there to pick him up. Matthew flew in to visit Joseph for a few days. This picture was taken the last time Joseph was home and the guys went to the gun range. With Joseph being at Ft Benning we don't get to see him very much. You never know what these two guys are going to do when they get together. Have fun guys!

TaDa!

TaDa! The baby blankie, car blankie and hat are done! I needed a better contrasting picture but that will come when the baby is here and in the bankie. I really liked the Bernat Camo yarn. It was very soft and worked easily. It is machine wash and dry, great for using with babies. The only problem I had was on two of the skeins there was a break in the yarn that had been tied together. I worked it straight from the skein so this would have been eliminated if I had put the yarn in balls. So the blankie is done and now YoYo is ready to wrap up the baby. Only three weeks left to wait.

Smile

I am a happy camper today. First I finished the baby blankie. It is not pictured here today but will be tomorrow. I just have to run the yarn endings. Second, I had my Remicade treatment today so I am good to go for the next two months, well within reason. Of course I have to pace myself (what is that?) but it pretty much stops the constant pain from my RA. I am still sometimes stiff but it really helps me function more normally. My doctor told me today that I am the busiest person he knows. Well yes and no. I am not busy like I used to be and now I have to choose what to be busy with. Sometimes I am downright not busy. RA causes you to be tired all the time. If there is a choice between spending time with my kids and grandkids or cleaning the house, well let's just say you do not want to eat on my floor. I would rather enjoy knitting and reading (right now I am reading about Eleanor Roosevelt) than worrying about dust until the point where my allergies say, hey dust. So I am finishing up some baby knitting and then these socks are going to get finished.

More Chicks

Well the new chicks arrived at the Ponderosa. After the little disaster with last weeks shipment these cuties arrived today. All were alive and well, loud and fiesty. They were in the transfer tub, all 27 chicks, and later in the day Allison transfered them to the big box they will stay in for a couple of weeks before they are transfered to the chicken coup. Talk about cute. They are so fluffy and Jo was so excited about them. This pix of Jo which came from my cell is not very good because I think she was moving and it is a little blurry. She is warming up her apple juice. The reason I took it was I brought her and the new baby each a quilt that her great great grandma made. The were originally made for me and now I am passing them on. Jo chose the one with the sunbonnet girl on it so the baby will get the one with kitties on it. I am almost done with the baby afghan. I thought I would get it finished today but played with the chicks instead. So hopefully it will be done tomorrow.

Booties Are Done

Well the matching booties for the Sweat Pea hat are done. They turned out very cute. I took an old traditional pattern that I used fingering weight yarn with and revised it to use the worsted weight Vanna's Choice Baby Yarn. Now I am trying to finish the purple and green camo baby afghan. It is the same yarn as the car blankie I did earlier in January. I am decreasing on the afghan so I feel that I should finish it tonight or tomorrow. Only four weeks till Scout makes her debut so I have to finish up quickly. Wish I knitted as fast as Yarn Harlot.

Busy Saturday

Today was a busy day. Jo's Daddy was gone working at the hunting grounds with Uncle Daisy so Jo and her Mom called and ask me if I wanted to go shopping for some of the baby stuff we still need to pick up. We are only four weeks away from the birthing day so it is getting time to tie up loose ends. We still have not found the baby book and several other things but we are almost done. We went to Home Depot also so that Allison could get TJ some surprise trees. They have been getting their orchard going and she wanted to surprise him with another apple tree and a plum tree, which they did not have. She also got another pear tree. We found a fig tree which she had been trying to find. Her Pop had one and it had great fruit on it. He kept it trimmed as more of a bush and the grandkids could pick the fruit without any help. We also found some more blackberry bushes plus a blueberry bush for Jo. Here is a picture of Jo excited at buying all the plants. She is "riding in her carriage" as she told me. What a hoot. It was a beautiful day in the middle 70's and yes it is the first week in February but hey, it's Texas. The first of next week it is supposed to be cooler and be raining. Well, we will see.

Crocheted With Love

Most people have wonderful memories of their grandparents. Here is a picture of mine, Tom and Clara Statler. I love this picture. Their house held many fond memories for me. It is good for grandchildren to know that they are loved. My grandparents loved me. When my grandpa retired he learned to crochet so he and my grandma could crochet together. This is the bedspread that they crocheted together. This was made out of fine crochet thread and tiny hooks. I have no idea how long it took them to make it. There is also a tablecoth that I used at my wedding made of the same fine thread. They both look so happy in this picture, pleased with their work. This is how I remember them. I laugh when I tell people that I love the smell of Ben-Gay and cigars. That is what my grandpa smelled like which to me still smells like love. My grandma taught me to crochet in 1973. Yes, it was one of those gold, orange, and brown granny square afghans. I was awful at it. It seemed so hard. My grandma was patient with my frustrations and just kept on working with me. That was Christmas 1973 and the last time I really got to spend any time with her. I never did finish that afghan. Later on I used some of the yarn for other things and eventually threw away those misshapen, tight, ugly squares. The afghan might not have been finished but the crochet lessons stuck. About a year later I started having joint problems. I was not yet diagnosed with Rheumatiod Arthritis at that point but should have been. The pain was unbearable at times. As time went on I picked up the crocheting again and for years made afghans for friends and family. One year for Christmas I made all the women in the family shawls. It was a very simple pattern. My mother's is pictured here. Everyone had a different color. My sister still has hers and uses it. I wanted to put a picture here but it is not on the computer so it didn't make it. If you look my finishing skills at that point were nonexistant. I did not block the pieces so they are not like I would make today but I would not have made them at all if I had not had a patient grandma who was willing to take the time to teach me. Today I do not crochet much as I prefer to knit. But in the not to distant future there is a little girl who already likes to play with yarn that is going to want YoYo to teach her to knit or crochet. I can't wait.

New Hat

I finished the new baby hat today. It is my own little roll brim pattern that I just knit to the size I want for whatever size the child is. I used Vanna's Choice Baby Yarn by Lion Brand. The color is Sweet Pea. I used size 8 needles and cast on 56 stitches. I knit every row for four inches and then decreased. Now I will make some booties to match and then finish the big baby afghan. The color is really prettier that it shows here.