Next Project - Jumble Throw

Well, as usual, I'm exercising my right to change my mind. LOL

I've decided that my next project will be the Jumble Throw. The free pattern can be found here http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/jumble/jumble.html .

I changed my mind about this because I cannot find my skein of petal pink yarn. *sigh* So, I won't be starting the True Blood Water Lily Blanket next as I was going to.

Now, we'll see if I change my mind again before morning. LOL

Upcoming Projects

I have a couple of ideas for my upcoming projects. These will be Christmas presents as well.

Here are my ideas:

1. The True Blood Water Lily Blanket http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/true-blood-water-lily-blanket-2 . It's a free ravelry download.

2. The Trinket Box Blanket http://www.dutchgirldiary.com/2011/05/trinket-box-blanket.html . This is a free pattern on the Dutch Girl Diary blog http://www.dutchgirldiary.com/.

I'm torn between which one I'm going to start next. I need to make up my mind tonight though as I will need something to work on tomorrow and the next day while I'm at the hospital with Big Daddy. He's having a heart cath done and some stints possibly put in (again). I can't take the Black and Royal Star Blanket with me as it's too big to lug around all day. So....decisions....decisions.

Black and Royal Star Blanket

This is my current/next afghan/blanket project.

I've got 2 skeins of black worked into it already and I'm working on having 2 skeins of royal worked into it as well.

Then, I'll go back to black, then royal one more time, then end it with black.

This is another Christmas project.

In fact, it's a request as well.

The Final Two

These are the final 2 Little Christmas Socks.

I now have all 25 of them.

I let Big Daddy pick the colors of these 2 and he did a fairly good job of it.

Now I have my Christmas advent project just about ready for the holidays this year.

Weekend Crochet Projects

Well, I didn't get a lot done this weekend.

I was supposed to work, and I did some of it, but Small T got sick and ended up in the hospital.

So I didn't work Sunday and I'm not at work today either. She's got to go back today for more treatments. I'm glad she's finally at home though.

I whipped out these Little Christmas Socks yesterday.

I need 2 more and I'll have all 25 done.

My only problem is deciding what color I want those last 2 to be.

I'm also working on the black and royal star blanket.

I have 2 skeins of black yarn worked in the blanket already and I'm getting ready to add some rows of royal now.

I'll be glad when I finish up these projects as I'm dying to start my next one. Or two. LOL

Can you guess what they might be?

The Moon and a Star

Friday night, Big Daddy came in the house and said "will your camera take photos at night?".

Well, I didn't know. So I tried it. It didn't work very well.

He wanted me to take a photo of the moon and the tiny star right beside it.

And this is what I got.

But I think you can get the general idea of what it was looking like.

2 WIP's Finished

I finished up two of my WIP's today.

The first thing I finished was the purple scarf I was knooking.

I did that at work and then added the fringe when I got home.

The second thing I finished was the Soft and Simple Baby Blanket.

It is the very first project I have ever completed that is knitted.

I am so proud of myself. :)

Yay me! LOL

Anyway, the blanket really isn't as long as it should be, but then it's not as wide either.

I was using a different size needle than I was supposed to be using.

But it's plenty big enough for a play mat or a bassinet cover or just a covering in the crib.

With it being so thick it will be good and warm for the new baby that's coming in March.

(Another great nephew...Blue Boy)

So...those are my accomplishments for today.

I'm rather proud of myself as it feels good to finally get at least one of these WIP's finished.

Little Christmas Socks (Part 2)

I made 6 more Little Christmas Socks.

These are more of a solid body type. No stripes.

They are turning out cute!!!

I now have 17 of these done.

8 more to go.

Muffin Man

Thursday, I was finally able to go visit Muffin Man.

They have moved back to the state after living in South Dakota for awhile.

Getting ready to play horses.

Muffin Man's mom....the beautiful Kim...my niece.

Muffin Man and I were playing with the big lego's.

Muffin Man is taking a gander at Blue Boy's blanket.

I'm not sure how he feels about it though. :/

Last Home Game of the Season

Tuesday night was the last home game of the season.

(Districts are next week.)

Big C getting ready to go in the game.

Small T getting ready to play in the pep band.

(She's in the red behind the cheerleader with the balls.)

One of my many nephews (holding his placque up in the air).

He received an award for being the winner in his age group at the hoop shoot contest.

Big C (#55) stealing the ball away.

I still can't believe I actually captured this shot.

Big C (with his hands up in the air) blocking a shot.

These will be the last baskeball photos of the season.

Hope you enjoyed them.

Little Christmas Socks

Even though I have several WIP's at the moment, I can't stand to not have something to crochet.

So, I've been making these Little Christmas Socks with all of my scrap yarn.

The free pattern can be found here

http://www.lemondedesucrette.com/2011/11/16/little-christmas-socks-the-pattern/

So far, I have 11 little socks done. I'm hoping to make 25. I'd like to use them in an advent project for the holiday season.

These little socks measure about 8 inches total. So they are bigger than a typical stocking ornament. They are really easy to work up though.

I do have a tip or hint for when you are making these though.

After you work Round 17 and sew the heel, turn the sock right side out.

This hides the seam (on the heel). From where you sewed the heel closed.

I also changed up the stripe pattern some in a couple of the socks.

Just for some variation among them.

I have to admit that I have a favorite sock already. It's the cherry red and turqua sock.

I love it, love it, love it.

I am thinking that I need to make a set of these just for the Christmas tree (using those colors).

They really "pop".

I should also add that all of my scrap yarn that I'm using is Red Heart. I'm also using an I hook.

WIP (Updates)

Well, I haven't updated anyone on my WIP's lately, so today I will do so.

This is the Soft and Simple Baby Blanket.

It's currently 19 inches in length.
The last time I measured it, it was 11 inches.

So I've added 8 inches since Feb. 11th.

That's better than I had anticipated. :)

This is the white knitted baby blanket on my circular needles.

It's current length is 9 inches.

Last time I measured it, it was 7 inches.

That was Feb. 11th.

So, I've not come very far on this since then. :(

This is the purple scarf I've been knooking.

It's current length is 53 inches.

The last time I measured it, it was just over 20 inches.

That was also on Feb. 11th.

So, I've made really, really good progress on the scarf since then.

Woo Hoo!

I think the scarf will be completed first out of all the WIP's.

Off To School...

This week is "FFA Week" at school.

Today is "Truck and Tractor Day".

Or "drive your truck and/or tractor to school day".

This morning, Small T was picked up by one of her friends in his big tractor, for the trip to school. I followed them outside to take a photo (which she didn't appreciate).

You see, I was wondering how she was going to climb up in there in her little black skirt. :)

Anyway, she made it up inside the tractor and here they are getting ready to pull out onto the road.

And they are "off to school".

FYI...we live in a rural farming community and it's common to tractors on the road just about every day.

It's not common to see the kids driving them to school in the morning, so this is a real treat for them.

Round Pillow - Windsor Blue

I've been going to what we call the Friday Bag Sale.

I've not been able to go the past two Friday's but I went for the previous three.

I've been snatching up pillows so I can cover them and not have to buy pillow forms.

I made this pillow sometime this past week.

It's made with Red Heart yarn in Windsor Blue and will be an additional gift with the Bouncy Ball Blanket for Christmas this year.

I didn't use a pattern.

I just started with a ch 2, and 12 dc in the first ch.

I did 2 dc in each dc around (2nd row)

Then the next row was a dc, 2 dc, all the way around.

Then the next row was dc, dc, 2 dc, all the way around.

And so on, til it was the right size. Then I started decreasing down the back side of the pillow until it was time to close it up.

There's another present finished!

Woo Hoo!

Small T and the Hope Chest

She wanted to see if she would fit inside the Hope Chest.

Guess what?

She DOES! LOL

Baby E

Look who came to visit my mom!

Yep, Baby E.

She's 6 months old now, so it's time for a photo editorial.

Saying "Hi" to Big Daddy (aka Uncle K)

Having a chat with Uncle K.

A teething Sweet Baby E.

Raffle Winner

Look what I won!

I was EXTREMELY happy!

I've been buying raffle tickets at every home game for the past month hoping to win this lovely hope chest for Small T. It's a tradition in our family to give a daughter a hope chest for her 15th birthday and that's coming up in April.

Our teacher's organization was raffling off this hope chest to raise money for the annual scholarship fund.

Not only did I add money to the fund, but I also have a hope chest for Small T now!

Woo Hoo!

High School Homecoming Court 2012

The Junior Homecoming Candidates.

Big C and Rebecca.

Another shot. Closer.

Facing the crowd.

The High School Homecoming Court.

The two on the right, Anna and Wyatt, the Sophomores, won King and Queen.

Homecoming - Game

I thought I would share a few highlights from the Homecoming Game.

Obviously, Big C will be in all the photos.

He's #55.

Big C has the ball.

He's in the middle of the photo.

In front of #54.

Big C.

In the middle.

Big C.

Big C.

Trying to grab the ball that's about to be thrown in.

Big C.

Throwing the ball in.

Homecoming - Warming Up

Friday night was Homecoming.

The Varsity Boys basketball team running in to warm-up before the game.

Big C going up for a lay-up.

Big C taking a shot from the free-throw line.

Big C taking another shot from the free-throw line.

And yet, one more shot.

Jersey Auction 2012

The night before Homecoming, the Jersey Auction is held.

The Jersey Auction is an athletic booster fund raiser.

They auction off the right to wear the player's "away" jersey the night of Homecoming.

This year, we raised $1950 for 13 jersey's and the coach's shirt.

Here are 6 of the 7 boys on the Varsity basketball team.

Big C is in the black shirt, third from the left.

Big C is the only junior (or 11th grader) on the team.

Here's another photo of Big C.

He's on the right.

In the end, I won Big C's jersey.

And payed a huge amount of money to wear it.

Alas, one of his buddies got to wear it instead.

It's just not "cool" to have your mom wear your jersey.

Oh well.

Gender Bender Day

This week was "Spirit Week" at school.

One of the days was "Gender Bender" Day.

The boys dressed like girls, and the girls dressed like boys.

Small T rose to the challenge.

She visited her cousins and raided their closets.

It was funny as she can wear her 9 year old cousins out-grown shoes, his current t-shirt, and a slightly bigger pair of jeans that his older brother had out-grown.

I heard from a few teachers that afternoon, that from the back, they really thought Small T was a boy. LOL

Small T said the only thing she didn't like about being a boy was having her jeans fall off her rear every time she took a step. She wondered "why" they dress like that! LOL

The Pink "Z"

The past couple of weeks have been hellaciously busy.

Between school activities and working, I've had "zero" time for myself.

But today is different.

I have nothing on my schedule until this evening. Then Small T needs a ride to 4-H.

So, I've been paring down all the emails in my inbox to a more manageable number.

I've checked out my facebook page.

I've looked at a couple of my favorite blogs.

And now I'm working on my blog a bit.

What a great start to my day!

*And I even got to sit and enjoy my first cup of coffee in almost 2 weeks*

Pure Delight!

Without further ado, let me introduce The Pink "Z".

I finished this up sometime in the last week.

However, I have no clue at all as to the exact date.

That's how busy I've been. LOL

I have to say that I just love, love, love this!

The same goes for everyone else that's seen it.

And it's big! I wish I had measured it!

It's too late though as it's already wrapped and hidden away.

As to the particulars:

I used this pattern http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/alphabet-pillows.

The yarn is Red Heart. I can't remember the color though.

Someone, not saying who...Big Daddy...helped me out and threw the label away.

I used an I crochet hook.

I can't tell you the amount of fiber fill either as I had a couple of open bags of it. And I just used it up.

The Pink "Z" is another Christmas present. I have a niece, Z, who is totally into pink right now.

Since this turned out so well, I have plans to make a couple of more letters for presents as well.

Update - WIPs

Life has been so, so, so, so very hectic around here this past week.

With that being said, I am still ASTOUNDED to find that I didn't complete a single project this past week. That never happens.

Well...until now.

:{

So all I have for you this week is an update on my WIPs.

This is the white knitted baby blanket on my circular needles.

It used to be twice as wide.

But, I came home one day this week and found the blanket completely unraveled and in a pile on the couch. Apparently, no one knows what happened. Hmmm....

So...I spent 3 days working the loose yarn back into the blanket.

And somewhere along the line, I missed a stitch because there's a small "hole".

After much thought, I have decided NOT to undo the blanket back to the hole to fix it.

Instead, I will crochet a small heart to cover it.

Sounds like a plan, right?

As to the particulars, I am using Lion Brand Pound of Love yarn in White.

The circular knitting needle is US size 9.

The current measurement of the blanket is 7 inches.

This is my other knitting project.

Medium J's girlfriend, Miss M, brought me home a free flyer for a Soft 'N Simple Baby Blanket using Caron's Simply Soft yarn.

Here's the link to the free pattern

http://www.caron.com/projects/ss/ss_soft_n_simple_baby_blanket.html .

As usual, I have to be a bit different, so I'm using three colors of yarn held together throughout.

I'm also using a smaller set of needles than called for.

It says to use size 15 (10 mm) but the biggest ones I had were size 13 (9 mm), so that's what I'm using.

The yarn colors are: Black, Autumn Red and Off White.

I'm using these colors simply because I had them on hand. Plus, I'm hoping to make this for a play mat (for the baby to play on). So, the colors will be a better choice for being on the floor all the time.

The blanket currently measures 11 inches.

Now, let's hear it for the scarf I'm knooking! Woo Hoo! LOL

I've neglected it a bit lately. Can you see me hanging my head in shame?

No? Well, I am. Or I did. For just a moment.

The scarf is now measuring in at just over 20 inches!

This is my newest project.

I was going stir-crazy with not having something crocheted in the works. So I started this last night while watching TV.

The pattern is called the "Alphabet Pillow Blocks, Letter "Z", by Kimberly Lewis - A Woven and Spun Creation".

Here's a link http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/alphabet-pillows .

When I finish this, it will be a Christmas present for my niece, Z.

As to the particulars, I'm using Red Heart worsted weight yarn in Baby Pink and an I crochet hook. This is the first piece of the pillow and I'm getting close to finishing it up. Then I will have to make the other piece so I can sew it and stuff it.

So...these are my current projects that I have going.

It feels kind of weird having 4 things going right now, but honestly, it's nice to be able to put one down and pick up another when I get tired of doing something.

So...what's everyone else working on these days?