Last night I started back up on the sock project for my little brother, Scuba Steve, 's birthday (he's the really available, super cute, super sweet cop in the birthday post). So far the socks have moved rather slowly because of the striping at the top of the leg. I'm almost done with the striping, so it should be smooth sailing from there. The pattern is from this book (what a crappy picture I copied)

The yarn is a 50% wool/50% angora that looks and feels fabulous!! I'll be so excited to see them on his feet!!

Today at lunch, the ladies in our office (not very many of us here actually) are having a "crafter's lunch". Some do knitting, some do scrapbooking, some read. It should be a good time. We reserve the conference room, visit, eat, and work on our projects. I'll add pics later. I guess this is the PPM version of S-n-B.

I'm also ready to order some Addi Turbos. I think I'm going to get a US size 11 since that's what I seem to use most often on projects lately. My baby blanket has used this and the shawl that I want to get started on will use a size 11 as well. So, I think that's the plan. I'm sure I'll order more after I fall in love with them like you all have.

Tuesday I find out the sex of the newest baby to be born in our huge family. I'm hoping for a girl. There are such cute girlie things you can buy knit. So, that will be another baby blanket that needs to be knitted.

I have found a small flaw in the blue/green baby blanket currently on the needles. I think I have decided to add a little cute bow on it to cover the flaw and add a little extra to it. The blanket could be used as a car seat and stroller blanket and the bow could go to the outside. I think the recipient of this blanket will be my friend Brandi who is due in May.

Recently, my knitting addiciton reached a whole new level. How many of you knit while stopped at red lights? Not that I have *wink, wink*, I'm just curious. :)

Melissa

Some Money Spent, Some Books Bought

Well, some of the birthday money has been spent, and more will be spent soon I imagine. I took back the books from my dad (see birthday post for explaination) and added some money to that and got Stitch and Bitch, Stitch and Bitch Nation, At Knit's End, and Knitting Rules. I so *heart* the Yarn Harlot. I also bought a magazine, Creative Knitting, May 2006. Note to readers, do not waste your money on this. How horrible. I honestly took this picture from the magazine....

I mean really...who in their right mind??? But the books...now they rock. I have found tons of projects I wantneed to complete! There are some baby booties which are a must for some lucky preggo friends out there. My cousin's girlfriend wife (I can't get used to that) will find out the sex of her bundle of joy on April 4th and one of my friends since I was 3, Cristi, will find out on the 6th. They will both be getting spoiled very badly.

So, I get the books and then I can't resist the urge to look at everything. So, while driving to grab a bite to eat, this was traffic....

This was me enjoying the red light.

Here's a pic of LittleMan

Happy Knitting!
Melissa

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!

Today, as the title states, is my birthday. First of all, thanks to everyone who answered my call for help on the previous post. I definitely have some ideas of what I will treat myself to for my birthday. I've already bought one thing....some hand-dyed yarn from Erin. The colorway is puppymomma and I absolutely love it. She has some other colorways for sale, so check her out!
Here are some pics from my party at my mom's last night. My mom, grandmother, brother, aunt, uncle, husband, child, and dog were in attendance. We had a blast. Here's the cake.....

me blowing out the candles.......

LittleMan trying to blow out the candles.....

Layla......

Me and my brother, Stephen (he was on duty during the party, just taking a supper break). He's available ladies, so if interested, let me know....... Also, the husband took the picture. I think I might need to take him to have his eyes or neck checked up.

The presents......
This is from my mom. A HobbyLobby gift certificate and Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush.

From my brother (who's still available). Fixing Knitting Mistakes (great little book), a Harry Potter scarf, and a John Deere shirt. He will be getting H.P. books for his upcoming birthday and a pair of knitted socks...shhhh...don't tell.

From my aunt and uncle and the Hooker.....a Circle E Candle. Yummy!!

From my husband and son. From the son, an awesome new purse, from the husband, awesome new purfume...Hot by Ralph Lauren. This stuff smells GREAT. I had just read about it in Life&Style and wanted some but didn't have the chance to even tell him. He's got ESP I think!

From my dad...books! I can't wait to read them. I've already read Predator (which I was super disappointed in) but he doesn't have to know. I'll exchange at BooksAMillion for...guess what...a knitting book!!


The party was great. This day so far has been great. I slept a little late, LittleMan and I went and did some fine dining for breakfast at McDs. We then shopped at Wal Mart (the Saturday wouldn't have been complete without that!). We came home and ate, went and checked on two horses which are due any day now (I really want one to come today so I can name her/him and we can have the same birthday. Then I came home and knitted a little more on the baby blanket I'm working on. I need to finish it so that I can concentrate on my brother's socks. It's about nap time for Layla and LittleMan, so I'm going to finish up this post, blog surf a little, and then back to knitting in peace and quiet.

By the way...Blogger has been crazy lately, so my super huge pics, and blog downtime are their fault, not mine. I'm getting really aggravated with that whole thing. I hope it's fixed soon!

Have a great weekend! Happy Knitting!!!

Melissa

I need help....

Obviously the professional kind would be awesome, but for right now I just need a little shopping help. **Gasp!!** Did I really just say that I needed help shopping?! Here's the deal. LuckyHusband decided to take the easy route and tell me to spend money on myself for my birthday (which is Saturday by the way). Anyway, I want to buy some yarn, some knitting books with patterns that my new knitting self can actually complete, and maybe even some cool knitting accessories such as cute t-shirts, jewelry, etc.
So, give me suggestions. Tell me what you would buy.
Also, the baby hat from the previous post was knit in 100% merino wool from Knitpicks. I want to make 2 more for some baby girls in my life, but it gets really really hot here in hell Louisiana, so I was thinking of completing the project with some 100% merino cotton. If the gauge on the 2 yarns is the same, will that be okay? Or will it break some knitting rule I don't know about yet?
I've also finished my Comforting Jef square. Here's a pic. It's very soft and light. I just couldn't send something that wasn't a little bit luxurious! :)

Here's Layla as compared to a box of cookies. Tiny....

In other crafting news, here is the "Daddy's Tool Belt" that I made for my super-nuts brother-in-law. It was packed with a bib, bottle, pacis, powder, Tylenol, etc. He loved it!

Just about 1/4 mile from my driveway, I come around this curve. I love how pretty it is.


Hope you enjoyed, now don't forget to leave me a comment and help me out! :)
Melissa

ETA: Conversation with male co-worker
CW: How much does that yarn cost?
Me: Depends. This stuff was about $5 per skein. That's pretty cheap
CW: You could just buy some socks or a sweater and come out better.
Me: Don't you fish?
CW: Yes.
Me: You'd probably come out better to go to a restaurant and buy a fish plate. Now shut up.

The baby shower hat

Here it is....the baby shower hat. It looks funny in the picture, because I have a little tag stuck in the pocket that tells her who it's from. I want to hurry up and make a pink one for a friend of mine. The size is supposed to be 6 months, and her little girl was born in January, so I figure if I hurry up, it will fit. I think I'll make it pink with the white pocket.

Here's a picture of the guest of honor and all of the hostesses. I'm the one in the black shirt to the left of the expectant mother.. We had a great time. She gave me an awesome gift certificate to Bath Junkie (one of my favorites) for getting the shower together and my birthday. All of the hostesses got a really beautiful purple calla lilly.

I've also started a blanket in the recipe given by Amy. I love how the blue/green go together. It looks so spring-like and I love how it doesn't look like your typical baby blanket. (It's in my drawer at the office waiting for a break.

Have a great day!

Melissa

ETA: Did anyone see the previews for Grey's Anatomy last night for the next two weeks? Next week some really involved heart-pounding episode. In two weeks? It shows them knitting....yes knitting. I love it when two of my favorite things are combined. Sleep and rain...chocolate and strawberries....knitting and Grey's Anatomy. I'm super excited. I think I'll mark it on my calendar.

Layla and Knitty Gritty Husband Knitting

Well, here she is. Little Layla. Weighing in at 2 pounds 1 ounce, she is quite the little angel. The ball of Opal yarn is there for scale. She's really tiny. She's so sweet though, and loves to nap on her mommy. She also loves yarn, which makes her the smartest dog ever in my book.
Here's a funny story which I swore to my huband never to tell. I was watching Knitty Gritty yesterday and they were showing a cast on method which I don't use, but looked like something better than what I do. So, I was trying (while rewinding, etc) to do it, quite unsuccessfully. LuckyHusband got tired of the cursing and aggravation, so he took the needles, rewinded the show, and showed me exactly how it works. Then he swore me to secrecy. He's so good with stuff like that, but how hilarious that he taught me to cast on.
LOL!
Melissa

A Great Cause. Hurry up and help!

Hi! I came across a wonderful cause this morning and joined up (becasue I can't ever not help). Anyway....Christine is doing a project named Comforting Jef for her brother who is suffering from cancer. You still have time. Join in. All you need is an 8x8 square in blue. Any yarn type.
Go now and join!
Melissa

The Cutest Baby Hat EVER!!

No...I don't have any pics of the cutest baby hat EVER, but I will....I promise I will. I go back to the office on Friday and I promise that I will upload pics. I have 10 rows left on the hat and then I have to make a pocket that goes on the outside. When ordering yarn, I forgot about the whipstitching of the pocket onto the hat, so I think I'm going to try some black yarn that I have leftover from another project that I can use. The only problem is that it isn't the same fiber. The project used 100% merino wool and the leftover yarn is some acrylic Caron Simply Soft. I guess if it looks crappy I can take it off and pray that JoAnns has some of that rediculously expensive merino wool in black or another color that coordinates with my project. So, I guess I'll know in the next day or so what will happen.
This hat is for my sister in law and the baby shower is on Sunday. I've already stamped out a cute little tag to pin onto the hat and bought the cutest bag that coordinates with the whole theme of the shower.
I also got DISH DVR last week and upgraded my package to one that includes DIY. I love this channel and now I can DVR Knitty Gritty. What a cool show...I want to be a knister! The episode today had some really cool scarves made by a guy who used all different eyelash yarns, ribbon yarns, and stuff like that. I need to get on the DIY website and see how to make one. Why oh why do I have to live in Louisiana? Land of the hot....scarves are never needed here!
Melissa

Vacation, Surgery, and Knitting....

Well, my weekend getaway with the whole family went really well this weekend! We had a blast and it was totally relaxing. I got pretty far on Sock #1 with the KnitPicks Simply Stripes in Crayon. As soon as LuckyHusband gets up and gets my camera for me, I'll try to get some pictures done.
My gall bladder surgery yesterday went really well. I even felt well enough to knit a little yesterday afternoon! My sweet and wonderful co-worker Jamie brought me a basket full of yarn and some awesome bamboo needles . He's the best! And my mom and LittleMan got me a sock pattern book and a needle case. I had told my mom that I was thinking of designing and sewing up my own needle cases and she bought me one so I would have something to go-by. When I got home from the hospital yesterday (how amazing is it that you get to leave only 4 hours after the surgery is over?), I had the 50% wool 50% angora yarn that I had ordered for my brother's socks. I can't wait to get started on those. When he came to visit last night, he told me that he had ordered part of my birthday present yesterday. I smell some knitting stuff on the way! :)
I posted more surgery details etc on my main blog earlier. But, I'll say this....a c-section didn't hurt as much as this. I thought this was supposed to be no big deal!! I'm feeling much better though.
I have received 2 baby shower invites in the past week and I'm hosting one in 2 weeks, so I need to get started on some gifts. Two are for my friends from high school and one is for my sister in law. I picked out an adorable fishing style baby hat to make for the sister in law, I've already made a baby hat for one of the friends, and I'm considering a baby blanket for the other friend. I guess we'll have to see what I'm feeling up to.
Saturday we get to pick up our puppy and I chose to meet the people in a town with a LYS (there are none within 2 hours of my house) so I'm pretty excited about that.
Hope you all are having a good week! Happy Knitting!
Melissa

Sock pics and my Gold Medal!

Well, here are the pics you have all been waiting for......my finished Olympic project, the socks.

Not really following the same striping pattern, but sock nevertheless. Sock #2 is the left one and sock #1 is the right one. Sock #1 is bigger than sock #2, but they both technically fit, so I don't care. I wore them to work yesterday and they were oh so comfy. I even scrubbed my feet the night before with pumice and lotioned them and cut and filed my toenails so that my feet wouldn't destroy my hard work. All this for a pair of socks...lol (ETA: my feet look really chubby because I reduced the pic and can't figure out how to make it better. )

Secondly, here is my medal....isn't it shiny and pretty! I am so proud! I once worked with a guy who won a gold medal in basketball back in the day. I always thought that was pretty cool. It was hard to imagine him as a best in the world athlete though. Anyway...sorry for the pointless story.

I have done some yarn ordering lately also. I ordered these from ebay.

And I ordered these from KnitPicks.com.

I also ordered yarn for a pair of socks (or 2 or 3) for my baby brother that he found in the Holiday Knits book that I bought. I can't get images for the yarn, but it's a beautiful scarlet red, blue, and white 50% wool/50% angora yarn.

Well, that's all for today. Hope you enjoy all the pics.

Melissa