Wordless Wednesday: Sweet n Silly

I haven't had a Wordless Wednesday in ages!!

My (Almost) Waterloo

This sweater.  It's called the "wonderful Wallaby" and I've been working on it since June.  I remember starting it while binge-watching the second season of Orange is the New Black.  Every time I came to an intimidating part, I'd put it down and fret.  The first spot was the pouch.  But then I just pushed through and did it, and the construction was fun.  A little unorthodox but fun!    Then came the fusing of the top of the pouch, and I hid from that for a little while.  I was hoping to finish it in time for Will's birthday in October.  That deadline whooshed by and then I was caught up in Christmas knitting.

 Finally I determined that this thing needed to be done before my big kid grew out of it.  I picked it back up and cast on the sleeves, and carried them everywhere until they were done.  Each sleeve was thirteen inches long, so this went on for awhile.  I joined them to the body with much fanfare, and started to make the yoke.  Everything was going great!  I wasn't even worrying about the kitchener stitch for the underarms.  (Kitchener stitch,  for the uninitiated, is a way of joining stitches together in a bit of a daunting way.  It's also how you finish the toes of a pair of socks.)

Then the big roadblock came.....ready to rib the neckline and make the hood.  That's when I discovered that I had 54 additional stitches on the needles.  And naturally, I had removed the stitch markers that were showing where the decreases should be.  Ahhhhhhhh!  Brian gently suggested I put it down for a couple of days instead of ripping out rounds like a maniac.  And a bit of a pleasant surprise....I listened.  Two days later, I was ready to take action.  It took an entire evening in front of the TV, but I managed to rip out a couple of rounds and re-place the markers.  This is a testament to how far I've come, because there was a time that having to pull out several rounds would've been my undoing, I've put projects in permanent time-out for less!

You didn't beat me, Wallaby.  I beat you.  And now Will has a great sweater that goes with everything.  See that smile?  That's what this is all about.

By the way....Will wanted to make sure everyone saw the pouch, so he used his two favorite stuffed animals to illustrate.  That's Brownie on the left and Oshawott from Pokemon on the right.  And nope, he's not photogenic AT ALL.  :)

Handmade with Love

Here it is.....the post you've all been waiting for......:)

I make a lot of Christmas gifts and this year was no exception.  I also was able to stay sane and not make myself crazy in getting them done in a timely fashion, starting early.  I did however, have to abandon two projects that I knew wouldn't get done in time.  I'll work on them in the next month, possibly making them the first finished items of 2015.

 Babylegs for my nephew, Jacob.  Essentially they're leggings, but the pattern is called "Babylegs."  He's going to look adorable in these!

 Yes yes, Brown Dog (oops, I'm supposed to be calling him Brownie now....but he'll always be "Brown Doggie" to me!) finally got his blanket.  Hint:  it's a dishcloth!

 A cowl for my sister-in-law, Kim.  It's folded here, but basically it's an infinity scarf that she can double around her neck.  Very fashionable.  :)

The next three things are shawls from my favorite designer, Martina Behm.  She is a German designer that favors simple garter stitches that turn them into something really elegant.  Two of them are the same, "Hitchhiker", the one with the pointy edge, for my mom and my aunt.  The other is Martina's "Trillian."  Mom complimented the green Trillian that I made for my friend's birthday last year and so I knit this up, in FEBRUARY.  I felt so accomplished!

 Next up is a trio of hats for my niece, Abby.  She ADORES hats and immediately started putting them on.  

And last but not least, are "Howlcats" for the boys.  Howlcats are awesome, because they can be a cowl or a hat. I picked this pattern for the boys based on how cold it was last winter.  (Which was NOT to be seen on Christmas day, it was in the sixties.)    Here's Sean wearing his as a cowl, playing a game that the boys invented called "Bandit."

 And then here's Will with his as a double-knit hat.

And new for a little knitting geekery for New Year's...

In 2014, I started 59 projects, and actually finished 51 of them.   My final tally for yarn used is 11.7 miles.  Whew!  No wonder why my arms and hands are a little tired.

Hold On to That Feeling

This morning, was a miracle.  We all got up, and did exactly what we were supposed to do.  I didn't have to yell because of potty training, dawdling breakfasts or teeth-brushing.  Makeup and hair were done in a timely fashion.   The baby, who cried and wanted to be held all weekend because he's pushing THREE TEETH woke up in good spirits and did not begrudge Mama for putting him in the exersaucer to watch Playhouse Disney and eat cheerios with his big brother.  I got to have a veggie omelette and a strawberry smoothie for breakfast.  No lunchboxes were forgotten, and the diaper bag had plenty of clothes as back-up for the day's activities.  And the best part of all....Brown Doggie, who's been missing for a few weeks, turned up in my raincoat pocket!  Will was so happy, he sat and hugged his best pal for a good five minutes. 

After so many mornings of the complete opposite of all of these things happening all at once, causing a downward spiral and me arriving to work half an hour late, frazzled and forgetful, I deserved this!!!

Labor Day, Indeed...

Sigh....the end of Summer is here.  It still, ten-ish years after completing school, feels like September is the true beginning of the year.  And I suppose in a few more years, that will be further cemented with both boys going to school.  (Ack!!!)

So with Brian and I both home today with a grumbly Sean, we're tackling some nagging projects.  Like finally switching Sean into his 6-9 month clothing, and making all the boxes in the nursery go away.  It was starting to look like a warehouse in there!  Brian's taken on the little "patch and paint" jobs around the house.  I know, we're absolutely mesmerizing in our Labor Day partying.

We did spend Saturday and Sunday with Nana and Papa, playing down at the cottage.  Joey was pretty bummed that his "vacation" was over, and he came home with us yesterday after spending a week with them.  Will had a blast, eating roasted marshmallow, making sand mountains complete with leaf "flags" and of course, sleeping in a tent for the first time!  Yep, Will and Daddy shared a tent in the backyard and he absolutely loved it!  Kudos and thanks to Daddy for sleeping out there on some porch cushions and comforting him/finding flashlights and Brown Doggies in the middle of the night.  :)

So it's been a pretty good Holiday weekend! 

More Brown Doggie Adventures

I can honestly say that Will's dependence on Brown Doggie is starting to wane a bit.  A  couple of mornings he's tried to leave him home while we're getting ready for daycare, only to have me stuff him in the diaper bag for the ride.  Because I know that independence streak will lighten around naptime at daycare and he'll be desperate for his ol' buddy.  However, I continue to be surprised.

I took Will to Target with me yesterday for a little shopping, leaving Sean home with Daddy.  (i.e. screechtime.  Sean's back to being grumpy and spitting up.....perhaps because we gave him is Zantac a little late yesterday)  When we got to Target, I told Will that Brown Doggie was going to stay in the car to watch over it.  (i.e. I didn't want to chance a marathon trip of pushing a cart with a teary toddler, desolate to find Mr Doggie.)  Will's answer to this was "Oh Mommy, I think Brown Doggie is going to get into a lot of trouble in there."  :)  But he stayed int he carseat and we had a nice successful trip to Target, where Will picked out a special treat:  A Wallace and Grommit movie!  (Which we have already seen at least four times!)

After my own grumpy day, Hubby sent me out with my girlfriend Tracy to see a movie.  (Date Night:  Hilarious!!!!  I'll watch Tina Fey in anything)  When I got home around 11:30, Brian was in bed but told me to look on the kitchen table for the wrapping paper.  I went out to the kitchen and there's a ripped-open package of pink paper on the table, and in black Sharpie it says "To Grandpop, Love Will."  At first I didn't get it, then Brian informs me that the package contents had been Brown Doggie.  While I was shopping with Will, we picked out a birthday card for Grandpop, whose birthday is this Friday.  While I was out, Will told Daddy that he wanted to send Brown Doggie to Grandpop for his birthday.  He came out to Daddy with the dog and the pink wrapping paper, and insisted that he wanted Grandpop to have it, so Brian obliged.  As soon as the last piece of tape was on the package, Will's face just fell.  Brian asked him if he had just realized  what would happen if he gave Brown Doggie to Grandpop....and he almost started to cry as he asked for Brown Doggie back.  How precious!