Protecting My Christmas Present

 This year for Christmas, The Collar gave me a Kindle.  I hadn't gotten a cover yet, so I started looking for one.  I found the directions to make one.

 It can stand up on its own--so I can put knitting patterns on it.  Or read while I do other things.  It folds up very small.  This one isn't perfect, but it does work.  Now I can go out and find material that I really like to make one.  (This is left over material from other things.)

Maisie's bored.  Too much knitting and other things going on around here.

Ready?

 New gift bags.

 New pajamas

 Camels wearing hats

 A tree with presents starting to collect underneath its branches.

Tamales ready for dinner.
Church in 1 and a half hours.

I think we're ready.

More Halloween!

Game Boy's Pumpkin

 Wiz's pumpkin had 4 faces, but they were hard to capture

Both of the pumpkins

Dynamite!

This year's skull meatloaf, a cheerful fellow.

Game Boy's cape, with the hood he added.

I need to write a real post.  The boys are busy with music and sports.  We're busy with life, the universe, and everything, and together we wind up with a crazy schedule.  Now that winter's on the way, I might actually write more.

Halloween and the Like

It's that time of year. Time for spooky-ish meatloaf

Bunnicula or a vampire bunny, woo!

and making Halloween costumes.  Game Boy wanted a cloak, I had no pattern.  Somehow we achieved a facsimile of a cloak.  Not too shabby for pulling it out of the air.

I know, I'm boring lately.  I've knitted a bit (shh, it's Christmas ornaments, but no one wants to talk about that!), and I've been running (not this week though), but can't seem to get my act together to write in the blog.  I'm trying to, however.

Keeping Myself Busy

I like to make things.  Some things I make take minutes (ice cream and other frozen stuff), some a few hours, and some days, weeks, or months.  For instance, soon I'll be starting a sweater for the Collar.  It will be heavily patterned, so it will take me months.

Now, I'm knitting a sweater for me.  I started it last week (?), and am one pattern repeat from the neckline on the back.  It's a really fast knit.  I am sure that all the Knitty readers know what it is:

 The yarn is much redder than the pictures.  When it is finished, I'll take some shots outside.

 This project took about 45 minutes.  The fabric was supposed to be for pajama bottoms for Game Boy.  Surprise!  In the three weeks since I bought it, he grew and I would have needed another 6 inches of fabric to make him shorts in the length he wanted.  He decided he wanted a pillow case instead.  I still owe him a second pair.

The boys jointly picked out fabric for pajama bottoms.  (Periodically, they both decide that they want to have the same clothes--and I'd always said I'd never have my kids wear the same outfit.  Oh well.)  Jungle print (not accurately portrayed) for both boys.  Wiz is modelling his pair.

Then there's the second pair of Wiz's shorts--in all of their planetary goodness.  He loves all things space.  Now the boys have cooler pjs for the rest of the summer.  I just need to drag the Collar to pick out fabric for his pj pants now.  Wiz picked some out for him, but I'm not sure that is a good idea.

Finishing

Today is a day for finishing things.

I finished Game Boy's new knucks.

I finished curtains for our bathroom.

I finished this very long trilogy (over 1300 pages of fiction.

And tonight I'll be finishing my 30s. 

Tomorrow is for starting:  new projects, new decades, other new things.

Where Was I?

I've been sick and busy. Whee! There's a lot to do to get ready for surgery for a kid. It's amazing how much there is to do. Find things for him to do, find things for his brother, make him new pajamas--so much to do and so little time.

I decided that stranded knitting is probably not the best idea at the moment. I kept messing up the pattern, so I am putting it aside for a bit. I made a giant rectangular thing using super bulky yarn and the Cozy stitch pattern. There isn't a good picture of it yet. I really need to block it better.I sewed a pair of pajama bottoms for each of the boys. Wiz's are monsters (very happy monsters)

and Game Boy's are owls. I have fabric to make each one another pair, but I don't think I have time right now. Today is preparing to go to Seattle for an extended period of time. I won't be updating here much (I'll be using Wiz's carepage for the surgery stuff) but I'll post short updates via twitter and facebook.

(We have a housesitter, so don't worry about the house being empty.)

Weekend Busy-ness

The Collar has a new hobby: he's knotting a prayer rope. He has been working on this for a few days. It's a pretty complicated knot. He wants to make 100 knots--currently he is at 57.

I've been knitting a few things. I finished one of the carry around and knit while waiting socks for the Collar. The colors spiral around the leg and foot. I've started a second sock, and it appears that it will be similar spirals.

I've started another pair of mittens. See?

I've also been sewing bags again. These ones are sort of lined and aren't drawstring at all, but I like the way they look. They'll work well as small project protectors.And finally, a gratuitous picture of the boys. Wiz had quarters, and spent them on mustaches out of a quarter machine. Game Boy seems to like his way too much.


All in all, it was a quiet but busy weekend. I made things, and did laundry, and we watched the Superbowl. Game Boy watched all of it except for the half time show (he wanted to know why the bad singers were on) and Wiz is thrilled because football is over until fall. He doesn't like to watch football.

This week will be busy. On Tuesday, Wiz and I head up to Seattle for his pre-op appointment. After that, I have a meeting in Spokane. The blog is kind of dull right now--I'm working and Wiz has had a lot of medical things going on. With all of the dull weather (grey is so not my color), we haven't had any real adventures. Maybe as spring shows up, we'll be out and about more.

And a correction: the fabric for the curtains is from India, not Ethiopia. The theme of the room will be places the Collar's family have been/lived, which is still not early American garage sale. Ha!

Quick and Easy

makes me feel as if I'm accomplishing things.

Our family room is really, really dull. The Baseball fanatics sent me some fabric that they brought back from Ethiopia. Some of it became curtains Saturday.
When we have a chance, we are going to frame the Ethiopian posters and hang them up down there. A room with a theme and it isn't early American garage sale.

Wiz picked out a cotton/wool blend yarn in pinks and purple and asked for a hat to wear after his surgery. It had to be a bit loose, not itchy, and cover the back of his head and upper neck where his incision site will be. I asked my friends over at Knittyboard for ideas and showed him the patterns. He picked this one.

It was an easy and fun knit. It worked very well with the yarn he chose (Sierra Quatro: a pima cotton/wool blend) and it was easy to down size for him. He is quite happy with it. I hope that it will do the trick!
Pattern: stella's hat by Melissa LaBarre
Yarn: Sierra Quatro in colorway 86
Needles: size 6 circular and dpns

Mods: Knit on smaller needles and shortened the body of the hat to fit a small boy. That's pretty much it!

It took me very little time. I started on Thursday and finished on Sunday.

I finish things.

On Saturday, I made an apron. I love the colors: chocolate brown, mint ice cream, sunny yellow.
The daisy fabric for the ties and waist band make me happy, too.

On Sunday, I started a hat. Another Unoriginal Hat from the Yarn Harlot.
This is some of the yarn that manxomeKal sent me. It knits up into a mighty fine hat. Perfect for skiing, if I ever go. Or maybe ice skating.

Creative Weekend

I cut out some aprons:

Sewed one.

Made a loaf of gluten free bread.

Started a pair of socks.Started a hat. (No picture of the hat, but it's almost finished.)

And found a desk!