Oh the Fun!

I figured that a post is way overdue. Not that it's really a shock that it's be awhile since my last post. I haven't done a green post in quite some time either but never fear not we are still working on becoming more earth friendly. The recycling is still going strong and we try to help out anyway that we can. I have tried the fabric softener and colorsafe beach by 7th Generation and loved them so they've been added to my laundry regimen. I didn't care for the vinegar as a fabric softener. It worked OK but not as well a commercial liquid fabric softener. The 7th Generation fabric softener is much more comparable with other fabric softeners on the market.

We are also working on becoming a more healthier family. We are trying to cut some of the red meat out of our diet and increasing our exercise to become more healthy and to lose weight. We've swapped out ground beef for ground turkey. It tastes great and has less fat in it. We are trying to eat more vegetarian meals too although you'll never see us give up meat we are always willing to try new things. Thanks to Knit-R-Done I have some great Veggie meal ideas to try on my family. We've also discovered some of the veggie products from Morning Star Farm. Their website has some recipes I'd like to try too.

I don't think I mentioned that we finally got a Wii. We also bought Wii Fit and love it. It makes exercise a lot more fun. We normally play a few games together on the weekend as a family. Our favorite is bowling in the Wii Sports game. We rented Mario Cart for this weekend and I can definitely see buying that one soon. We never laughed so much watching Kaity try to drive the cart. She had a case of the giggles the whole time we were playing. So worth the money!

Now on to the knitting since this is after all a knitting blog. It's going to be another long post so if you want to go grab a snack and something to drink go for it. I'll be here when you get back, promise! Alright, are you ready? OK, here we go.

I knit a scarf for the Special Olympics Scarf Project.

Click on the link above and it will take you to the page with all the details. You have to use to specific colors of Red Heart Classic yarn which I will openly admit is not my most favorite yarn on the face of the planet but it's for a great cause so I dealt with it. I have enough yarn to make another scarf so I probably will. The pattern is Meandering Stripes (Ravelry) from the book Knitting New Scarves. I'll most likely make this one again with wooly type yarn. Bet it would be yummy in Malabrigo. Hmmmmmm, must go buy to color coordinating skeins.

I started a new pair of socks for Kaity.

These are in my "to go" knitting bag. I take them when we are going to be in the car or if I have a doc/dentist appointment. I haven't been anywhere so there hasn't been much progress on these
socks. I'm using Knit Picks Essential sock yarn, colorway Fruit Punch. It never fails, if you don't take something with you to a doc/dentist appointment you will inevitably be stuck there with nothing to do for 45 minutes because the doc/dentist is running behind. I made the mistake of not taking my knitting when I went to pick up meds from the pharmacy one day. I figured on running in and getting out in less then 10 minutes. I ended up waiting for almost an hour before someone finally got my prescription filled. It took them an hour to slap a label on a box, print up the info sheet, throw it in the bag and check my ID. Yup, gotta love military pharmacies. Oh well, at least I don't have to pay a copay when I use them.

Moms Errant (Ravelry) socks now have heels.

These have been put aside because I keep casting on other small projects. I hope to have them done and in the mail before the end of the month. A lot of that is going to depend on how much longer it takes me to finish up the current test knit I'm working on.

Kaity's coat is getting close to being done.

Please ignore the rag muffin look. I took the picture right after she got out of the shower and hadn't gotten a chance to brush her hair. I have to attach the hood and work the icord on the body. We've decided that we don't like the pockets and will leave them off since Kaity doesn't use them anyway. She says that she has mittens to keep her hands warm. Guess I'll use the leftover yarn to make her some thrummed mittens. I still need to find some cute buttons too.

A teaser.

This is the current project I'm working on for Madelinetosh. It's Tosh Worsted and that's about all I can tell you guys at the moment. I will post about it when I get the go ahead.

I received some yarny goodness in the mail the other day.

TLE was having a Halloween sale so I picked up a few things. I bought Cassidy by ChicKnits. I haven't decided what yarn I want to use to make this one but I've been thinking about splurging on myself so I may pick up some DIC Classy or Tosh Worsted, maybe some Malabrigo if it isn't to thick. I need to look at the pattern details a little better. I also picked up some Noro Silk Garden Sock and some Araucania Aysen. I only picked up one skein of Aysen since I can't really see this yarn being used for socks. I'm thinking about a pair of mittens or fingerless mitts. I haven't decided which one yet.

Knit some coffee cup cozies.

 

I needed something to replace the cardboard thingies that they use on the to go cups from Starbucks. I'm now totally hooked on the Peppermint Mocha Twists....yummmmmy! Anyways back to the post, I hate the cardboard thingies and wanted something better. The green/brown/white one is yarn from a kit I purchase from Woolgirl (the yarn is dyed by The Unique Sheep)((the kit can be found here)) and the purple ones are made from leftover Cascade 220. The pattern that came with the kit wouldn't work for me because of my gauge. I got 5sts per inch instead of the 4sts the pattern called for so I threw together my own pattern that has a cable on both sides. I'm going to be offering this pattern up as a freebie here on the blog. I hope to have the pattern posted here within the week. I'll post about it when it's up. There is enough yarn left over from my kit to make a second cozy.

Started a dishcloth.

It's the Circle Cloth (Ravelry)(non Ravelry). It's pretty cool and I love how the colors are working together. The only drawback is weaving in all the ends but it's not enough of a drawback to keep me from making it.

Started a cowl for Kaity.

She had her hair cut into a cute bob but now her neck is exposed and I think this is going to work better for her then her scarves. The pattern is Darkside Cowl (Ravelry). I'm using Plymouth Galway Paint which matches her mittens. After this I'll make her a hat to go with the cowl and mittens.

I got my final TLE Sock Club Shipment in today. I really love this one. You can see a picture and description out in my flickr photostream. I don't want to post and spoil it for anyone. I'll post it out in Ravelry some time next week. As much as I loved this club I will not be throwing my name into the lottery next year. I'm taking a break. I have tons of sock yarn and I already signed up for The Lord of the Rings sock club with The Unique Sheep. Plus this leaves one less name for competition so hopefully my slot will go to someone who didn't make it in last year.

OK, I think I got everything in on this post. I'll be back soon to show you a few of the test knits I've done for Woolgirl. It's safe to post about them so post I will. I also have a skein of Malabrigo sock and a pattern coming in. It should have been here today but for some reason it decided to take a trip to Boise, ID first. Hopefully it will be here on Monday since Tuesday is a no mail holiday (Veteran's Day) here in the US.

Happy Crafting!