Preemie Knitting Contest

Over at the new website!

The Preemie Knitting Contest sign up is up.

(Don't forget to update the RSS feed if you're following along.)

Launch Time!

Technology is my friend.  I think.

The website is up and functioning properly.  I think.

Hop over there for the new blog!

One WIP down

Good advice.  

Camp is over for PeeWee.  Big Brother went to DC until the 13th on an adventure with family there.  I hope he's having a great time, because I am pretty sure I'm not going to hear from him.  Marky Mark made it home so it has been Camp Daddy this weekend.  We have a slew of projects lined up to keep us busy the next month, including a bit of travel time I am excited about.  

It's a good thing because this:

is pretty much the scene here every day.  Getting a little tired of it but at least we seem to be back to our normal summer rain levels.  If you check the weather channel we have thunderstorms every day.  

So we're doing a lot of this:

And while PeeWee naps I get time to knit!  

I have finished her little tunic.  I actually had enough yarn to make it a dress and still could but for now I am so sick of that little cotton yarn that I am done.  I'll hang onto the other ball and be sure to keep track of it and when I feel up to it I'll go ahead and make it longer, turning it into a dress.  For now it's a tunic and she loves it.  Slept in it in fact.  It's not blocked yet and a little lumpy looking.

I'm pleased with it.  I used the raglan sweater for a 26" chest from Ann Budd's Handy Little Book of Sweaters.  I use those reference books of hers all the time.

Updates on the other WIPs coming soon...

There's a lot more room in here now

So, for the last few weeks I have been in that awful half cleaned house state.  Where everything is pulled out and nothing is put in the new tidy space yet- Spring Cleaning a few months late.

That was how I noticed the excessive number of WIPs and UFOs around here.  They were stuffed everywhere.  So were balls of yarn and projects to begin when another is finished.

Yarn and needles in drawers, alongside some other weird things waiting for homes.  I have ideas, just not the time for execution.

Out of place craft/idea books, I pull them out of the closet and they seem to never get back up the stairs.  They're put away now.

The crafty things that get stuffed into closets, corners and drawers.  These were the things from most of downstairs... when you gather them up it's surprising!

And then there's the TV room.  I had a few things in there, too.  Granted, except for the crewel and the cabbage needlepoint this stuff was tucked away in the drawer, so it's not like I've been actively looking at all this clutter.  (Michelle, I know this is killing you...)

I figured out that I have a lot of things to frog but not so many to actually keep as WIPs.  I'm hanging on to PeeWee's dress, which is going to have to turn itself into a shirt because I don't have enough of the yarn for a dress, since she keeps shooting up like a weed!  PeeWee's dress/shirt is my priority right now. It's straight stockinette all the way until I split things for the raglan sleeves so I hope I can make some good progress on that. It's going to be hot here until October so she'll get wear out of it but I want to be sure she gets as much as possible.

Of course there's also the cardigan, which I won't need until October at least, and there are the cabbage needlepoint, needing the yarn for the background, and the dragonfly needlepoint, which needs a little doctoring.  I'm really unhappy with the background.  Ripping knitting or crochet is a lot easier than ripping needlepoint.  I have to use a seam ripper for that.  And pick and pick while hoping I am not stretching out the canvas.  I can usually ignore something that looks off but this time it looks plain weird to have such a big background on the ornament so it is going to have to be ripped out.  The crewel is about halfway done at this point.  It is soft colors I would never have chosen but love.  It's for Marky Mark for Christmas.  It matches out room.

I promise pics of the WIPs soon.  My battery is charging for the camera.  So next post, the actual WIPs I am keeping.

WIPs in every corner...

All I am going to say is WOW.

I am going to need a larger container....

more later...

and pictures...

Not only do I have bling..

I am a winner too:

Thanks Michelle!

So the 7 blogs I'm going to send this award on to are:
(drumroll)
Moscow Daily Photo  since I really enjoy the daily peek across the world to one of those places I would love to return to one day...

Christy  A mis-placed Louisiana girl

Christina  she skydives!  and knits!  and lives down the street (just about)

Beak's Handmade Blog  I love this daily peek into another Mommy's world

Rhonda who I think needs all the good vibes one can get right now

Tammy who entertains me endlessly with the tales of her boys

and Sara who thinks like me.

I would give it to all my blogland loves, but I had to pick 7, which was not easy since I would have liked to have passed it on to about 27.  But that's a lot of links.  And If I'm reading you daily I think you're brilliant anyway.

In the creative world right now I am still chugging away on the back of the cardigan.  It is my traveling/waiting knitting so it's just moving along.  Nothing exciting to show.  Light teal yarn.

I started an embroidery project, against my better judgement.  Somehow my hands just got started.  It's crewel really.  And pretty.  And a gift, so under wraps for now.  

I'm feeling the need to start a pair of socks but am fighting it.  I am going to contain all my half done projects and see what I can actually wrap up and finish.  I mean opening all the drawers, containers, window seats, etc and gathering the WIPs in one place.  I know the ones that are in the back of my mind and am sure there are little unfinished things tucked away that I forgot about also.  I'll probably be shocked.  I promise to share my shame.

I'm thinking a big plastic tub because I can not go into the attic and get out the cedar chest because it is 1) way too hot up there 2) too heavy for me to get it without a band of merry men 3) there is no where to put it, I think that's why it's in the attic.  It came with the house.  I may offer Big Brother an obscene amount of money to do it.  He'd need a helper.  Just going up there deserves a chunk of cash in my mind.  I'd certainly rather look at the cedar chest than a plastic tub any day.

Yesterday PeeWee and I went to an Ice Cream Social.  Since I hate to leave you without something cute to look at here she is loving her treat!

Bling!

I said I was going to paint myself some ornaments, didn't I?

Here's my shiny and fun dragonfly, almost done being stitched, too.  I'm going to bring the yellow out a bit more around the wings so there's not too much weight at the bottom, and because I like it so much.  I had a thin outline around the tail but I figured there was simply no stuffing something so narrow and decided to beef it up a bit and it's looking like it needs it all around.  This is totally something I would have bought in a shop.  I've got it all charted out so I may paint up a few to see the response.

Yes, that's my cabbage pillow.  No it has not lost it's allure.  I really wanted to get the ornament finished so I can get it sent out through the woman who might decide to carry them.  Or not.  So I put it ahead of the pillow.  

The huge frog?  Yes, I know it is truly disgusting and in spite of my frog phobia it lives happily alongside us here.  I hate frogs, they are just the nastiest things out there, they make my stomach turn and heart race but I am given frogs all the time.  I kid you not.  How this huge phobia has passed unnoticed I have no idea but I get frogs from everyone.  This beauty was a gift from a good friend who laughed and was really surprised I have these issues.  Charming, huh?  And, as you can tell, huge.

Just for good measure, since it has been a while since the kids have made it on here, a picture of PeeWee.  Today was a swim day at camp so off she went all dressed to go!  Sassy little pirate that she is.