Girls Love Girly Mitts

Design work is still work, and being such, has moved to one of the many back burners I always keep lit, but turned down to simmer. Summers are busy by their very nature, throw in a couple asthma flare-ups requiring hospital stays and they turn into crazy week after weeks that roll into months of trying to get back into a routine, followed by a late summer and fall full of soccer, field trips, and working to get into a new routine, a homeschooling routine, and, well, I find myself having to dust off the pattern writing part of my brain.

I've been writing simple hat, mitten, and fingerless glove patterns whenever I can sneak a few moments and rally the brainpower to engage in the designing and pattern-writing process. Those two things do not line up together all the time, as evidenced by the sheer number of projects that may be destined to remain one-of-a-kinds, in every sense of those words. (The designing and knitting got done, the pattern writing, um, not so much...) The moments and the intentional designing have merged on occasion and I did actually manage to write out a few patterns. There are still better photos to be taken- what I wouldn't do for a nice fat production budget... but this branching out on one's own has to be done with what one has: a decent DSLR, a bit of photography knowledge, a bit of photoshop know-how, friends who know so much more, and models. I have cute models (at least I think so), as long as I'm designing for young people. When I finish the sweater that's mostly in my brain, I may have to turn to my non-union, modeling friend- it's all about connections, I tell ya...

My 1st (free!) pattern for this season is for the Girly Mitts you see here. My girls love when cables look like braids, and I love what my girls look like in braids, so what we have here is a win-win situational knit. Quick and easy to knit up in less than 1 skein of Spud & Chloe Sweater, these mitts are washable, which comes in handy, you know, if you aren't planning on felting yours and then using them on your porcelain doll collection.

I'm planning on making another pair ASAP, with one mod- making them into full finger coverage mittens, which I know most of you knitters could do on auto-knit while reading this blog, but for those that like a bit more direction, I'll add those specifics to the pdf as soon as I can get to it...

Then, there are 2 hat patterns and a mitten pattern just about ready to put in a shop. Yep, patterns for sale, pretty excited about that around here. Husband was asking if I'd made my 1st million yet so he can quit his day job. I told him it doesn't actually work that way, but that I'd see what I could do about that... you know, as soon as I can get to it...

Yeah, so while I work out how to become rich and famous, you could pass the time knitting a few pairs of Girly Girl Mitts for some girls in your life, and then if you want to become famous (I don't think I can help you in the rich department) send me a pic of your finished mitts and I'll add them to some snazzy photo mosaics with links back (if you've got a blog!) in an upcoming post. We'll humor each other by throwing that word famous around, k?

I can't wait to see some of your Girly Mitts! Bring on the yarn!

Happy knitting-

ali

Stripes & Stripes Forever Coming Soon

I teased about this one earlier, and then I dropped the ball and got busy with 101 other things... Well, in the spirit of letting bygones be bygones and picking oneself up by the bootstraps and getting back in the saddle, er, whatever, I'm teasing again, haha! Just kidding, I hope, I mean, I hope I'm not teasing, because I hope to have this pattern ready to go by the end of this week.

It's really just a matter of staying up late one night to get everything laid out and edited, and, well, big blocks of time are kinda hard to come by around here, especially right about now, as we are gearing up and getting back to our homeschooling adventure (this is why it requires some night hours). I had things almost ready to go way back before Miss G landed herself in the hospital again, which threw me majorly off my game, this time taking me quite a while to get back into the swing of things, what with living my summer and all... (sorry!!)

I have another set almost done and my girls can hardly get enough of them, even with the heat & humidity-it's not the heat, it's the humidity (this is Minnesota, I'm required to say that) we've had around here lately (actually, it's been an awesome summer so far!). I imagine they'll be even harder to keep off of their little hands when things cool down- good thing this new yarn is washable!! Do you know what happens to yarn when peanut butter & jelly (or pizza sauce) residue is allowed to build up while you wait to get around to hand washing? Either do I, and I don't intend to find out.

Specifics-
Yarn: 1 skein each of 2 colors Spud & Chloe Sweater
Needles: I'm on a size 7 US
The rest: Coming soon!

Dear Husband turns 32 on Wednesday (our birthdays are exactly 3 weeks apart, and I'm a couple years older, not saying how many, hehe) and I just figured out what else he needs for his birthday, I'm so brilliant, or not, but I am so practical when it comes to adult birthday presents that I have to try to remember not to suck the fun out of it all with my getting things people actually need and will use and won't just waste time, money, and space in a closet somewhere... but don't worry, I already ordered a little something extra.

Our next birthday is right around the corner. My oldest turns 16 in September!! If you never hear from me again it may be due to the shock of it all...

Another couple inches to go on another legwarmer, some kid play, some kid work, some kid learning, some errands in town, and soccer practice await me today- best get scooting.

Have a good one!
Happy knitting-
ali

If This is Global Warming...

Here's a sneak peak pic of my new easy-peasy wrist and legwarmer pattern featuring Spud & Chloe's Sweater. I'll get the free pdf put together as soon after TNNA as I can manage.

Highs in the mid-50s in June? What's up with that? This week we're looking at mid-60s. This is definitely not going to make the sad looking peppers or tomatoes in the garden very happy, but it does give the girls an excuse to wear their legwarmers. And I was worried about the heat exhaustion that could come from the photo shoot on a hot sunny day and kids covered in wool...

I've got 2 sets done, the 3rd set is fighting with a vest and a couple hats for my attention. I've never been one for project monogamy.

I have no idea how I'm going to capture decent pics with all of the girls (they can wiggle and squirm with the best of 'em), but the youngest was sure cute running around Saturday morning in her bloomers (come on, bloomers on little girls are too cute, you know it) and her wrist and legwarmers, an admittedly odd mix of old-fashioned and funky that perhaps only a 2 yr old can pull off...

Working on organizing my life this week, so I guess that makes it like almost any other week, except that I'm trying to be a bit more intentional about it. Decluttering, making lists, looking at the calender, menu planning, cleaning, filing, school planning, it's never-ending, and the work doesn't get up and do itself. Grrr...

And knitting, there's always knitting, and getting caught up with the rest of life enables more knitting with less guilt... So, off for another 15 minutes of real work, then some down time with yarn and needles (I am enjoying playing with all of the new yarns from Spud & Chloe!), and since the weather is cooperating (50.4 degrees outside at this very moment), maybe some cookies?

Happy knitting-

ali

Legs Warm Enough For Now

We've been enjoying some warm days, wind and all, mixed with a few refreshingly cool ones. It's important for us to get some good outside time under our belts now, before the mosquitos move in for the summer and we become prisoners in our own basement.

For now, it's been fun watching the apple trees blossom and the maple trees release their 'helicopters'. And the birds. We love watching, and listening to, the birds. I was out back Saturday morning and a barn swallow flew so close to me that I could have reached out my hand and touched it, and no, I am not exaggerating. It was slightly startling. I love when they fly so low to the ground that you can see the brilliant blue of their backs shining in and reflecting the sun. So cool.

I've got my second set of wrist & legwarmers, in the new Spud & Chloe 'Sweater', on the needles. This set is for my current 2 year old, Little M. The first set was for the 6 yr old, Miss G. That leaves the 4 & 8 yr olds, and myself, if I want to fit in.

In garden news, we managed to get some broccoli, 36 hot pepper plants, and six 36 ft rows of corn in today. We're almost done. I do believe this will be our biggest garden ever- and with our friends coming up to plant and tend a huge section, it really looks big! (Ours in 40 ft x 120 ft, and theirs is 20 ft x 100 ft) And that's not including the strawberry bed, or should I say strawberry field? It keeps growing, and I keep letting it...

In other news, my hip is somewhat better. Recovery may be hampered by the fact that I'm not going to wear my Danskos in the garden! My chiropractor is just going to have to understand...

Happy knitting-

ali

One Lucky Winner!

Okay, the moment has come- time to announce the yarny goodness winner. I was mighty impressed with the response- there were a lot of new names/faces for me, which is only logical considering the many thousands of knitters there are in this great big world we all share. I've been having fun stopping by so many new blogs, getting a glimpse of your interests and talents- what a super group of people!

Suzanne, of foofanagle, contact me at aliATskeinsherway DOTcom,

with your address- congrats & enjoy!

(She happens to be having a giveaway of her own right now- if you're also a quilter, you should head on over before 8 pm June 2nd!)

In garden news, it was a rather cool morning, which was nice for the hefty work of pounding in about a 100 stakes in the laying out of all the rows. There is much more work to be done yet this week and we will have some friends out to plant their own little plot as well. They have a small city lot and are looking forward to bringing their kids out to see how green their thumbs are. I can't wait! Fun stuff!

In knitting news, I've been swatching with another new Spud & Chloe yarn, their bulky weight aptly named "Outer". It is so very, very, soft. The cotten content simply begs petting, and I don't mind complying, not one little bit. My notebook is filling up with sketches of design ideas, now if only my days could fill up with several (dozen) more hours.

Kid Funny- As my youngest girls were settling in to bed tonight, I could hear the sing-song-y question "Can I get a napkin, please?", which is ten times funnier than it might seem at first glance, if you're a fan of musicals at all, and the Food Court Musical, in particular. Too cute. Oh stink, now it's stuck in my head, I'll probably drift off singing it too.

And speaking of cute, I'm totally biased, I know, but seriously-

Enough for now,

happy knitting-

ali

Plugging Away and a Contest!

I was going to start off by saying that life has been moving a-mile-a-minute for the past couple weeks, but then, after doing the math quickly in my head, I realized that if you still use the 'old math'* that would mean 60 miles per hour, which is not really very impressive. It's actually rather average. Life is moving 2-miles-a-minute just sounds silly...

"Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up." (reference anyone?)

I am now the owner of 2 very nice and very expensive pairs of lovely Dansko shoes. Why is this important? Well, it seems that wearing crummy shoes (crummy being defined as 'having little to no arch support) when one has extremely high arches can really catch up with a person, and make it quite difficult to do ordinary daily things, like walk. It would also seem that increasing inflammation in one's hip can actually cause said hip to go 'out of joint'.

A morning of crutches, an emergency chiropractor appointment or two, an ice pack, and new shoes... yeah, fun stuff. Sheesh!

The limping is much less now and the pain even lesser (except maybe the pain in the checkbook). I'm pretty sure that last pre-parenthetical phrase was nowhere near grammatically correct. I can't even blame it on heavy pain killers, as, due to nursing Baby J, I'm not taking anything other than an occasional ibuprofen.

Enough about my aches and pains already! Onto the knitting... or at least the new yarn giveaway! I've got 3 skeins of the new 'Sweater' yarn from Spud & Chloe that can be yours for the asking, or more blog-appropriately, the commenting. Comment here by midnight Memorial Day (or whenever I wake up on Tuesday...) for your chance to win! Post a link on your blog (and come back to leave the link here- it just makes it easier for me,...) for another chance. Tell me who's blog you link-hopped from and you'll both get another chance. Okay, I'd better get to work on the spreadsheet to keep track of it all.

I'm hoping to finally get some decent pictures taken of a few recent FOs this weekend. Would before, or after, our first camping adventure of the year be better? Hmmm...

Have fun, spread the word, and happy knitting-

ali

PS- After commenting here, hop on over to Susan B. Anderson's blog (by Friday!) for another chance to win some of this fabulous yarn and a copy of her Sweet Pea Hat pattern!

*If you use the 'new new math', well, then you could just go with whatever speed you feel is right... it's just easier that way.

A Strike and a Spare

We took a midday break yesterday and hit the bowling lanes with some homeschooling friends. If you've never bowled with people who can barely carry a 6 lb. ball, well, that's one thing to add to the list of things you're missing out on.

I had intended to watch and knit. I ended up bowling. I guess it was "the fun mom" thing to do. It was the slightly embarrassing thing to do as well, considering the 75 on the new-fangled computerized scoreboard next to my name. Ehem. I probably should have used the bumpers, like the girls, or, maybe, taken out the knitting, hehe. Ah, well, it was fun, so much fun that apparently my teenager wants to buy his own bowling ball. We may have inadvertently started something...

In other news- our seedlings are all still alive and well; so far, so good. The garden bed has had its first tilling, with another scheduled ASAP. The planting of cold hearty plants should begin next week, with the tender ones waiting, as is necessary in central Minnesota, until Memorial Day weekend or shortly thereafter. We're planning on doing some competitive gardening this year- boys' beans vs. girls' beans, etc... in hopes that the kids will really want to help keep up with it all once the heat moves in, along with the mosquitoes... It could get interesting.

I did manage to finish up a set of wrist and leg warmers for one of my girls, using the newer than new 'Sweater' from Spud and Chloe (dunno how to get the dots above the e, but don't let that stop you from clicking over and checking out their website- the interactive brochure is so cute!), the fabulous new line of yarns, which are about to be introduced at TNNA, from the folks at Blue Sky Alpacas. I absolutely love this new yarn, and the color palette is just amazing- but who would expect anything less? BSA's color lines have always impressed me.

I'm hoping to get some cute pics soon and then I'll get that pattern up as soon as the yarn is introduced at TNNA- this one will be another freebie!

In the meantime, I've got a couple skeins on the way, for a giveaway- so watch for it next week!

Happy knitting (and Happy Mother's Day to all of you Moms!)-

ali

eta: Oh, and we spotted the first hummingbird last night!