Are you still following me??

Just to let you know, I'm moving my blog over to Knitpicks now. You can find me at http://www.community.knitpicks.com/profile/ amygreen.


Thanks!

Ravelympics Success!!

I just bound off my last dog sweater tonight! So that makes 2 and that was my goal. Be sure to check out my medals below and on Ravelry. My Ravelry I.D. is thepinkknitter09.  I must say I'm proud of myself and I'm glad the Olympics only come around every two years! Good Luck to all who are still participating!

2010 Knitting Olympics 1st project Success!!!

Meet Oscar, he's the weiner that has eaten tons of yarn and bamboo needles over the last 8 months, but even he deserves to warm this winter :)

I casted on Saturday with KP's Imagination in Frog Prince using a pattern from labpugglechi found here http://www.ravelry.com/designers/labpugglechi and finished up tonight. I knew I would have to take pics tonight because more than likely he would snack on it tonight....lol! Sweater wearing lasted for about 2 minutes and then we got this........

He proceeded to start rolling around because his arms won't stay in the armholes and keep getting stuck! He promptly rolled off the bed and down the special ramp that my husband had to build to allow him to get up on the bed!!! When he finally made it to the floor, he staggered around like a drunkard and sent me into hysterical fits of laughter with tears rolling down my face......lol! Once I recovered we decided to take the sweater off and save it for when we take him out :)



On a more serious side, this is my first Knitting Olympics project complete!!

Knitting Olympics 2010

Are you knitting in the Knitting Olympics? 3,811 knitters and still counting! Check out Stephanie's blog "Yarn Harlot" for details, rules and to sign up today!!

Here it is ladies and gentlemen!  It has a couple of "design flaws" but it's finished. I learned alot along the way too, like M1's are a touchy subject and I'm still not convinced I'm doing them right. Obviously, button

sewing isn't my specialty either, but you live and learn!

Also, my order came from KP today! I am now the proud owner of blocking mats, blocking pins, 6" harmony dpn's, size finder, a hank of Imagination in Mermaid Lagoon, a hank of Imagination in Frog Prince, and a hank of Hand Painted Stroll in Tea Party. The mermaid lagoon and frog prince are for doggie sweaters for my Candace and Oscar and the delicious tea party is for socks for my mom.
Thanks to all for your encouragement along the way while doing my BSJ. I can't say I'll be casting on another anytime soon, but it was definately a challenge I'm glad I made it through.
I'm going to start the Kroy socks for my hubby tonight while I listen to Friday Night Knitting Club on the Ipod. Aren't audio books the best??

BSJ News and other rantings....

Are ya'll snowed in? LOL! We got maybe 2 or 2 1/2 inches, not quite the 16 inches predicted but the black ice is horrible right now!

I'm on row 74 of the BSJ finally and I'm beginning to think of how I should finish off the edges. I've never tried I-cord before, but I am leaning towards that. What do you think?
I also found some cute the fish buttons that go well with the blues in the BSJ.

I ordered some Imagination in Frog Prince and Mermaid last night from Knitpicks to start my doggie sweaters. I had a horrible experience with PetSmart yesterday and I left crying with my mini schnauzer Candace shaven instead of just trimmed up. They even shaved her down to bare skin on her chest!! So, needless to say, She is cold!! I was really disappointed in PetSmart. Our appt was at 12:00 and when we went back at the agreed upon time, 4:30, they still weren't finished with Candace or Oscar and since the store was closing at 5pm due to inclement weather, I felt like they did a horrible rush job! To top all of that off, they didn't give them any water the whole time they were there and didn't even take them to the bathroom. I had to laugh when Oscar hiked his leg on the door scanners and did a little fist pump on the inside. My doggies are my husband and I's babies since cancer decided that I couldn't have any more so I'm just a little obsessive over them :) Thanks for letting me vent!! LOL



TTYL,

Amy

Joey's Baby Frog Hat

This is my nephew Joey's Baby Frog Hat. He will be 1 yrs old on Jan. 31st. This was a really fun knit that I found on Ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-frog-hat). The pattern did spark much discussion as it called for being able to KBF and I've never seen that before. Cheryl, Susan, Peggy and I debated and debated and searched online trying to figure out if it was a typo and should be KFB, so I ended up swatching both ways and the KBF actually turned out better! Thanks everyone for your help!

This is my 2nd completed project since Saturday and I'm casting on for socks for my DH in a few! :)

Down in my Back Knitting :)

This is my daughter Lexie and she's modeling a quick little scarf I did this weekend in 2x2 ribbing with some Alpaca yarn that I had in my stash. It reminds me of Spring and after some snow, which we never get, I needed a little boost.   I'm going to try to block the scarf, so the ribbing opens up a little bit and then it's going on a roadtrip to The Colony, Texas to my beautiful stepdaughter Chelsie :)

This is the top view of Baby Frog Hat I'm doing for my nephew Joey's 1st Birthday. It's a free download from Ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-frog-hat)

Everythings done except for the eyes which I hope to finish tomorrow. BTW, this is my son Hunter. He can't ever keep his eyes open in pictures....lol

I did it!!

I did it! I finally bit the bullet and casted on my first sock this week and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this project. I chose a beginner sock pattern from verypink.com and some wonderful cascade yarn from my LYS that matched a sweater that I just got a couple of weeks ago. I sailed through the 2 x 2 ribbing cuff and through the heel flap, but had to frog the flap when I realized that I had picked up my work on the wrong side. But, with such short rows it was no big deal and I had it reworked in no time. I whined a little bit about having to put the stitches back on the needles, but I stuck with it and made it through with minimal dropped stitches. I am going to heed Cheryl's advice about lifelifes too. Turning a heel was neat to learn too and I've decided that even though short rows went against the grain for me, the finished product was really cool! It looked like I had a little crooked finger hanging out! LOL! The gusset really intimidated me because I had never picked up stitches before, but I remembered Peggy telling us in the BSJ Kal that when you slip the first stitch of the row, it makes picking up stitches easier because the the pink V's were nice and big, and kind of screaming out, "Pick me, Pick me!". Once I got started knitting on the foot part, time just flew by and before I knew it, it was time to shape the toe! Now, after being laid off for a year and not having to wear heels everyday my feet have grown accustomed to my beloved Crocs, so I was crossing my fingers that my feet would fit in the sock pattern. Thank goodness, the yarn was very forgiving and all was well. I was very surprised at how quickly I caught on to the kitchener stitch. I was nervous because I've yet to hear anything pleasant about it, but after tackling every other part successfully, I put my big girl panties on and just did it! I was just thrilled with how it turned out. I've already casted on for sock 2 and am halfway through the cuff and here's the kicker of the whole thing..............................I'm knitting with DPN's!!!!!

I'm growing as a newbie and once I get a couple of more pairs under my belt, I'm going to get the Fancy Feet kit. My DH doesn't know it yet, but he's getting me this for Valentine's Day ;)

To all of you, who encourage me and give me a kick in the butt when I need it, Thank you! You guys are the reason I don't give up and stick around this place!

My 1st Sock Experience

I've casted on and completed the 2 in cuff for a worsted-weight sock from http://www.verypink.com/.  You can buy Staci's pattern thru paypal for $8 and you can also access to the 6 step by step videos she has on her website.  Hopefully, between Kelley's videos on Knitpicks (u just gotta love her :) and Staci's videos, I'll stand a chance of completing my first sock! 

Frustration Station for my Baby Surprise Jacket

I'm going to have to frog my BSJ AGAIN! It's hard for me as a knewbie to knit this pattern that requires focus and isn't mindless knitting while my children are still on Christmas break. Every 2 minutes, I'm having to set it down and help them and it breaks my concentration.....lol! So, maybe next week, I'll get back to it :) I wonder if my BSJ is going to become my 1st UFO?? LOL
In less frustrating news, I have casted on my first pair of socks!! Pics to follow!!

Happy New Years!!!!

Happy New Year's Everyone!!  I have so much to be grateful for this year!! I'm so glad I learned to knit this year and I hope 2010 is going to be a great year and I continue to learn more and more and knit more and more. It took a long time for me to find a hobby that I actually enjoy and can do but it was worth the wait!! 
So, I pray everyone has a blessed New Year, filled with lots of knitting needles, patterns, fibers and sense of self accomplishment! As always, knit to live, knit to love, and knit to finish!

I'd rather be knitting.......

It's after Christmas now, and I think everyone liked what I made them for Christmas. I lost the cowl that I made for my sister in law though, and she teased me about leaving her out....lol
I'm still working on my BSJ but since it looks like Christmas threw up all over my house so we are mainly cleaning today :(  My DD is helping me bless her heart and she is doing a great job but I'd still rather be knitting.......
I'm thinking about restarting Journey to the Center of a Sock again. I need some nice, warm house socks to keep my ever frigid feet cold. My DH enjoys warming them up for me when I stick them on his at night under the covers :)
What are your knitting goals and projects to be for the New Year??

Round 2 for Stage 2

I'm happily at Stage 2 again after frogging my first BSJ. I really screwed up the k3, M1 on row 11 and then began really struggling with a multitude of dropped stitches after my work slipped off the needles. I'm thinking that I might try 2-3 rows of stranded colorwork in between yarn color changes. What do ya'll think?

EZ's BSJ Stage 2

This is Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket at the end of Stage 2. At this point you are still decreasing at two different points by sl 1, k2tog and psso.  The new skill I have learned during this stage is how to pick up a dropped stitch in garter stitch, which was a very frustrating thing to do.  After watching this video on YouTube several times, I managed to fix one of the dropped stitches. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fnaY63h1yM)
I had another jacked up stitch several rows down and after the problems I had with the dropped stitch, I went down to my LYS and Shelley helped me fix it. I am happy to say that I am back in knitting business and hoping to get this finished by Christmas!!!

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket Stage 1

This is Stage 1 of the Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann (1968). This pattern is available from Schoolhouse Press (http://www.schoolhousepress.com/) and both Knitpicks and Ravelry have KAL's in progress for those of us interesting in knitting this piece. I am making this for my 10 mo. old nephew Joey for Christmas.

 It looks smaller than everyone else's in Knitpicks KAL at the end of stage 1 as far as the length of stitches worked but I'm assuming it because the yarn is DK weight. After frogging 3 times, and learning how to truly do "slip one, k2tog, psso" I had to do a little victory dance!! I can't decide which color to do next though. What do ya'll think?

BTW, sorry for the crappy picture, but my digital camera got dropped in a glass of coke a few weeks ago and finally kicked the bucket after I made this picture :(

5 days until Graduation and tons more time to knit!!

I can't believe I'm taking my last final exams on Monday!!!!! It's been a long 4 years to get a 2 year degree but looking back, I can't believe its over. I never dreamed in a million years that I would ever have the opportunity to get a college education, much less graduate at 32 years old. Besides the birth of my children and my wedding day, graduation day is going to be the happiest day of my life. I'm really looking forward to being gainfully employed again so I can support my knitting habit and being able to take lots of knitting classes at Loopville. Without Knitpicks and my buddies there helping me learn to knit, I know I wouldn't be graduating. Knitting definately soothes my stressed out nerves and kept me focused on school and look at me now!!! Thank you KP buddies!!!

Journey to the Center of A Sock "Houston we have a Problem!!"

This is sort of a double post as it could go in the Sock KAL and the Learn to knit KAL on KnitPicks, but since it's more a question on ML, decided to post it here for advice. This is my first official experience with both socks and ML. I keep adding stitches and somehow I've managed to mess up the 2 x 2 ribbing. Can anyone help me figure out what I am doing wrong? Thanks so much and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Journey to the Center of a Sock Pt. 5

Kelley gives a great explanation of a gusset. Until learning to knit socks, I'd never heard of a gusset...lol
I am really enjoying using the magic loop method and have decided that I love working with circulars and I don't know if I will ever use a SP needle again!

Which do you prefer SP's or DP's?

~~~~Knitpicks is having a sale on needles right now, with Harmony needles being 10% off! Check it out!~~~~

We Interrupt Our Regular Scheduled Blog Posting........

This past Tuesday, my father in law was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer w/ mets to his ribs, chest wall and lymph nodes. All of the sudden, socks have taken the backburner and I'm frantically searching the internet for a man's chemo cap. He starts chemo this Friday, Nov. 13th and radiation on Monday, Nov. 16th. I am open to any pattern suggestions you may have and appreciate any and all prayers!