Christmas Ornaments

One thing going through knitting tubs will do is help you find forgotten projects. I can't remember when I made these cute little stocking ornaments, sometime in the last couple of years. I was just working on a project and after changing needles and using different yarns had these made up. They are about 4" tall. I am sure the notes are in the knitting notebook. I sewed them up and then put them in the Christmas tub to be used in December. Wonder what I will find next.

Happy Birthday

I really hate when people talk about their birthdays. I love talking about my kid's and grandkid's birthdays but somewhere along the way my adult birthdays became, well, adult. I have had some birthday surprises in the last few years which have been fun but overall adult birthdays are just another day. Maybe part of that is because businesses have made so many holidays we don't get over one till there is another. Wears you out. Today has been quiet and I have been mostly sittin' knittin', a gift to myself. Allison, Scout and Jo came over yesterday. We are in the middle of swim lessons. They surprised me with yummy Chinese for lunch and my favorite homemade (by Allison) Lemon Cheesecake for dessert. Her cheesecake is a meal in itself. It is great for breakfast.

Lemon cheesecake, so yummy! The best cheesecake in the world.

I digress a little here. In March this year my Mother passed away. One of the many things everyone remembers about her and her house were her Hummels. While JE was here she went though and made sure everyone, including grandkids (and in the future great-grandkids) got a Hummel as a remembrance. Mine sit on the buffet in my living room. There were three Hummel books I had given Mother over the years. I ended up keeping them and put them in the living room. Scout and Jo like to look through them. Since Mother taught me to knit (in 1976) the little children knitting have caught my attention. She never had any of the knitting children but I mention to Allison I would like one of them. I did not think about it anymore. Yesterday the girls came with a present. When I opened it I could not believe it. There was Happy Pastime.

Happy Pastime

She is so cute I can hardly stand it. I was so surprised. As I looked more closely I noticed she is knitting socks, with double pointed needles! I love it! Oh dear, am I starting another collection? I do know that my thimble collection takes up a lot less room and is not quite as expensive. Thank you so much Allison, I love her.

This is the last really good picture I have of Mother. It was taken at Christmas this last year.

Thanks Mother for teaching me to knit. As you once told me I might need a "hobby" if I ever had health issues. Knitting has been a real stress reliever and a happy pastime. Also thanks for my birthday.

Revised Hat

I have been working on a hat in the midst of all the other knitting I have been doing. This one will be for a gift when it eventually gets cold again. I asked JE about the pattern we call Matthew's Blue Hat. Many times when we knit something we name the piece after the person we knit it for to have easy hunting next time we want the pattern. The hat is knit out of Lion Brand Homespun yarn. I started on the pattern.  JE knit several hats adapting the pattern to what she wanted. Once I reached the main part of the hat with a K2, P2 I did not like the little holes that seemed to appear when the yarn was moved back to front. I tried knitting tighter but they were still there. I decided to just knit the whole thing. Here is what I came up with.

I like a hat that covers the ears. I am sure this little pattern is everywhere so if you come across something similar on a website, well there are really no new ideas under the sun, just adapted ones.

The yarns are Lion Brand's Homespun in #200 Starlight and #301B Shaker. The yarn worked up easy with this pattern. Also another good reason to buy this particular yarn, it has an American flag on it and the statement Made in USA. It is machine wash and dry for easy care. Good if you have kids or maybe just a messy person in your house. This yarn also washes so well becoming even softer with every wash. The pattern is below. Feel free to use it for easy knitting gifts or to whip up a few and send to www.operationgratitute.com . This wonderful group sends care packages to our soldiers serving outside the US but also can use these for soldiers recovering in hospitals stateside. Check out their website.

Matthew's Blue Hat Revised

Homespun yarn of your choice

Size 13 and size 10 knitting needles

Size 10 double point knitting needles

Cast on  52 stitches with 13's. Transfer to size 10's

Place marker at beginning of first row

Knit 4 rows white

Knit 33 rows in color of choice

Decr:

1) *K2, K2tog, cont fr * around

2) *K2tog, K1, cont fr * around

3) Knit 1 row

4) K2tog around

Cut yarn and close top

I knit on circular needles so I do not have to sew the hat up. Also Homespun does ravel so I always put a little knot at the end of the yarn so it does not fray out. Just cut it off when you go to finish the top of the hat. I also have made a hat out of one color. With that just cast on and knit. JE likes a little contrast with the white yarn. If anything is unclear let me know. Writing down a pattern is a little like telling someone how to make a peanut butter sandwich. What you do automatically someone else might need a little more info on. Enjoy!

For The Love of a Chicken

Here is a picture of the grandgirls with apparently Scout's favorite chicken. She was carrying the chicken around and I ask her its name and she said Roses. Guess it is because she is red.

A very tolerant chicken.

I love this picture.

Yeah Matthew!!

Last night I heard my son Matthew had entered in a 5K race for today, the 4th, in Lubbock. Considering all the health issues he has had to deal with in the last few years even as recent as last month this was a great accomplishment. He came in 85th out of 130 which is pretty good considering he has not been able to train like he normally did. Thanks to Corteney for snapping these pix.

Great job Matthew!

Happy Independence Day!!

Land of the free because of the brave.

Wish Upon A Star

I started this right before the weekend.

 I have this wonderful yarn left over from before Jo was born. Yes, I am still wading through my stash. I made Jo a darling pink sweater and hat out of this same yarn when she was 2-ish. You can find it on my Ravelry projects page. Just realized I need to update that page too. Back to the original thought, I found this yarn a couple of weeks ago. Not that it was lost, it was just sitting in the buffet not knowing what it wanted to be. So I decided I would try this pattern. It is crochet with a G hook.

Red Heart Soft Baby Yarn - Rose Twinkle

 We always called it the Peppermint yarn.

Main reason I got the yarn. It was pretty but who can resist that bargain.

I think I bought six skeins.

I have been a little frustrated with the connection between the rows. The instructions are a little short. Somehow I have also ended up with a couple of extra stitches on the last row right before the connecting of the rows. So I have ripped out and sometimes it works and sometimes it has to be redone again. Maybe it's me. It is a cool afghan but if I get frustrated I will go back and work on another project that is sitting here feeling abandoned and let this one sit a few days.