Yarn Along: Startitus Thwarted

One look at my projects on Rav and you can see that I had a bit of startitus over the last few days. I have a bunch of beautiful yarn calling my name and I've been itching to use it, but on what? I've been searching the last week for what to knit next. I took a look in my Year of Projects page to remind myself of my goals and so the three projects I "started" on Rav are all reflections of that list. Did I start them? No. What I really want to knit with is the bright Knit Picks yarn (from the turtles and the mittens) but I have no idea how much I have left. If only I had a scale that measured a small enough weight ...

I digress, this is supposed to be a Yarn Along post, so what have I actually started? Because even though I say I started the projects on Rav, I haven't, only in my mind. What I have actually knitted on is the second sock of a pair of green ones from Christmas for the hubs and Stompers Easter Vest.

I know I sing praises of my husband quite often here, but I really do have the best man on the planet. I sent him to my LYS with a list and some money. The list: Berroco Vintage Worsted in light grey, light blue, or light green, check the dye lots, and ask her to cake the yarn. A few minutes after I sent him out the door I received a call: "Honey, they don't have the right color. I-um---here, talk to the lady." The phone was shuffled and I hear, "Hello Delia, it's Sherri, this is what we have..." She and I sorted out a few details and he came home after work with the right yarn, caked, and ready to go. How I love him. 

I've only cast on the swatch to the vest but I am excited to get started. This pattern has been in my queue for a year or more. I may go blind reading the chart, but I'm afraid to make it much bigger and risk legibility. 

I have been reading. I have been studying the aforementioned pattern and reading several fiction books. I am mostly through with #6 of A Series of Unfortunate Events and just started #10 of The Rangers Apprentice. My music teacher had a saying, "If you are going to mess up, do it in the beginning of your recital, but always end on the right notes. That's all the audience will remember." Well, this last book, I'm not impressed. I will solider on, because I have faith in the author. And after all I almost didn't read it because I didn't like the rhythm of the first one.

Joining Ginny and the gang of readers and knitters! 

Go ahead and leave a link to your own Yarn Along in the comments!

Vinnie's Basket

Usually the blanket basket behind the chair looks like this (minus Elmo):

A certain little doggie likes to snuggle in where the sun reaches him during the day and in the evening his favorite human sits near-by. However, one afternoon he left his basket unattended and a little boy took it over.

Stomper climbed up into Vinnie's basket and pulled out his favorite book "Where is Elmo's Blanket" that was in with the recently handed down books. Elmo is a recent buddy. Grandma put on a video of Elmo's World the other day and ever since that he sees Elmo where ever he goes. Then we received a bunch of handed down toys and in it was an Elmo. So who better to snuggle with in Vinnie's basket than Elmo and a book about Elmo. 

Then it was Vinnie's turn once again to claim the basket and have a little  nap. 

Yarn Along

Stomper is reading through a bunch of books given to him by someone at the daycare. We spread the book love around some and gave some to Grandma, Mimi, and the daycare so that everyone can have new books.

I am reading though the Princess Academy a second time so that book two, that my library bought at my request, will make more sense. I love our local library. Specifically the children's librarian she's really good about keeping up with series. 

I am knitting a few baby shower gifts. I thought I had more time but when we flipped the calendar to January I realized that I only had a week or so. I quickly knit up a pair of booties so that at the very least I could slip a little money in a shoe and call it good enough. However, I was able to purchase yarn and pattern to make an adorable little dress. 

When I was test knitting Ichy Lock, a cute dress called Claudine was also being test knitted and I wanted to give it a try, but I was already committed. When I was looking for patterns to knit I remembered that I had wanted to knit it and so I hunted it down. It is coming along quite smoothly. My only complaint is that it doesn't specify how many rows to achieve two row bumps of garter stitch and there aren't any construction photos of where to pick up stitches for the sleeves. That being said, the instructions are clear enough that the dress will look amazing even with my guessing. 

I am also working on a beret for me called Star Crossed and it has been put on hold until the shower knitting is over. 

I have started a new pinterest board of all the projects I complete in 2013. I can never seem to remember how much I accomplish in a year and I thought this photo board might help me keep track. If you want to follow it you can find it HERE.

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny and you should too!

No pictures of what I've been knitting this week, but I promise there has been fiber! 

I am reading:

~Forrest Born~ by Shannon Hale ..it is book four of an awesome series

~20,000 Leagues Under the Sea~ by Jules Vern ..I just skimmed past the names of far too many shelled fish and mollusks that live in the sea and now we are to the boat ... so. very. bored. But, I will prevail

~The Knitting Stitch Bible~ by Maria Perry-Jones

which leads me to what I am knitting:

A Marriage of Two Mitten Patterns: iMitt and Convertible Men's Mitten

A Cowl/Scarf Thing using a stitch from the aforementioned Bible

That's it! How have you been doing?

Gumball Challenge

Sadly, we will not be able to make it to Wilton Library's awesome summer reading program. So I made up my own. I saw a glimpse of one on someone elses blog, probably through Ginny's Yarn Along maybe a week or two ago? I thought it was an amazing idea.

What I did was draw a giant gumball machine. I then painted it, laid contact paper over the ball and filled it with over 300 round stickers. On the bottom I wrote the prize: Empty the Gumball Machine and win a brownie sundae!. Together the kiddos will empty the gumball by completing one (or more) of seven challenges.When they complete a challenge then can remove a sticker. When the machine is empty we will choose a day that most of the kids will be here and have a great big ice cream eating bash! Here are our list of challenges.

1. Read for 10mins at home or 30mins at daycare (at daycare there is a mandatory read or lay/sit quietly time for 30mins, I didn't want it to be too easy to empty the machine)
2. Finish a chapter book (age appropriate) 
3. Tell me Five Fascinating Facts (about anything: apples to ninjas to star trek and zebras. If they read about it and it wasn't something obvious ie: sharks swim in water, sharks eat fish, ect it counts.)
4. Cook me Something New (from another country, region, or just something they've never tried)
5. Help someone else to Read (we have a lot of littles in the daycare and sometimes we can't stop to read to them. Also, if they are reading to a little it there is no minimum time requirement, two seconds count! 
6. Write a story or comic strip (I told the boys no bathroom talk or nudity in their pictures. I also said that they could retell a familiar story: Harry Potter, Sonic, ect)
7. Read to learn (any size book, any reading level, any non-fiction)

Those were my challenges, but I'm sure you can think of others! As a side note the librarian was here (she runs a program where she brings her story time to day-cares along with 15 books that stay for two weeks!) and she said it was great. I told the boys today that if the machine was emptied I'd fill it again and let them empty it again.

Today I was given a comic strip about Sonic after rest time and the other boy read all day. I'll be letting him rip a bunch of stickers off in the morning.

Oh, the other thing I did was make a little mark under some of the stickers for a special prize. If one of the marks are exposed then everyone will get a Popsicle!

Happy Summer and Happy Reading!

Yarn Along

As you can see I'm almost done with the sweater! Since this photo I have knit 1/2 of the second sleeve and joined my third ball of yarn! Yahoo! I think my issue with this sweater is the sleeves, well it's always has been, its not how the pattern is written or how it looks, its picking up all those stitches! I think I want to knit a sweater where the sleeves are sewn on and compare the two. I do like seamless construction, but I don't like how the pick ups look. Maybe there's a technique I need to learn?

I am very excited about reaching the end of this sweater. I will work on my sisters and my fingerless gloves next. My sisters I will work on when I don't have too many kids awake and mine I can work on while there are kids awake!

I finished Dragon Slippers and I was going to buy the next two for my Nook, then I remembered my vow to read a classic so I will read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea next. I already started it and so far it's an easy read. My biggest issue with classics is that they are hard to read. I tried several times to read David Copperfield and never got very far or maybe I did finish it?

Joining Ginny and you should too! Feel free to leave a link to your WIP and Yarn Alongs!