Enchanted Mama

Knitting and gnomes::

There was BIG knitting going on around here last weekend.  With size US19 needles and three strands of yarn pulling through my fingers I tackled that project.  As one good friend said, "Big knitting means faster results."  Another friend piped in with "...and some sore wrists wielding those needles."  Both are correct.  I've had to knit less with the big needles yet it went so quickly when I did...I wonder if I actually saved any time?  Loving this pattern.

These cookies came out of the oven smelling divine and were gobbled up by me, I mean the children. There was warm chili ala the big daddy bubbling on the stove.  There were clementines eaten by the handfuls.  An advent spiral for our dear five year old.  Our littlest girlie decided to participate and carried her candle into the spiral, lit it, set it down, and walked slowly out.  Determined she is and oh-so-wonderful.    

There were alot of closed doors with posted signs.  Secret outings were made to the hardware store and bags held close as supplies were hidden.  I have to admit I'm a bit curious.  The two older children have not wanted my help this year which is frankly, too much.  I keep hinting that if there are "things" they need just let me "know".  No one's biting.  It's half frustrating and half satisfying.  My children are growing up and creating on their own!  It's what we want right?  Yet...it's all I can do not to want to "help" just a small bit.  I think it comes down to whether or not I can wait to find out their surprises until the holidays!   

Ideally though, it leaves more time for my own creating.  A lovely thought.  So I keep making lists.  Lists of how and when to complete "the project" that I haven't started yet.  I'm not sure if I believe my time to be unlimited or if the speeding days on the calendar are getting to me.  Either way someone ought to get to work....asap!  

Just for good measure there seems to be an outbreak of "gnome" in the house.  They are everywhere.  Smiling from the shelf.  Being hugged.  Hanging around.  Baking bread.  It's...well...so GREAT!!! I love gnomes.  I don't really know why.  

I bet that's something you always wondered about me, isn't it?  

What about you?  Are you feeling crafty these days?  Doing creative things?  Baking?  Making lists?  

Let me know I'll be here waiting and...looking over my lists.   

 

Over the Rainbow::

Even though my guy asked me, for a year, for a rainbow sweater I can't say he was over the moon about this one.  He smiled slightly when opening it on his birthday...though not as broad a smile as when he opened his elephant or the puzzle.  

That's okay I suppose.  It is the risk we take as knitters.  Never quite knowing if the recipient will love or not love the item.  Whether it will fit or whether you have to re-do the neck three times like I did.  

It's a gamble.  One I'm usually willing to take.  Although with this recent sweater, the "Rainbow Sweater", I may have started to think differently.  First of all I finished on time.  No late night, before the birthday knitting like some other years.  In fact, this sweater had time to block as well as dry!  

The moment that changed me came after he opened it.  Yes, I was disappointed not to have received the full chandelier smile for a job well done on the long awaited rainbow sweater.  Of course, I would have loved that.  It really wasn't when the big daddy had to convince him to look at the sweater for longer than two seconds.  The moment happened when we went to have him try it on.  You knitters out there, I know, can see this coming a mile away.  We put it over his head and wait!...It didn't even come close to making it over his head.  NOT.EVEN.CLOSE.

Deep breathing at that point wasn't really helping.  After weeks of gleefully planning and scheming and knitting this was NOT what I had expected to have happen.  I believe I took the sweater gently from his aching head, as I will admit that I did tug a bit thinking that somehow this couldn't, shouldn't be happening, and set it on the table behind me.  A small time out for the sweater.  

A week later after feeling sick to my stomach about what to do I just buckled down and did it.  I ripped it out. The whole neck. Then commenced on a different type of neck and voila...it fit!  Well almost.  It's not as roomy as I would like.  I've decided though that seeing it on him finally made me ignore that little fact.  

So, that's it.  The rainbow sweater.  The good and bad of it.  Though at this point I can almost forgive the sweater when I see my little guy swinging in the front yard, rainbow flying in the air.  

I've decided that there will be no more secret knitting...at least that is what I say now.  Time will tell.  I'm serious though.  I'm pretty sure....

Ravelry notes here. 

Autumn Color::

The snow arrived today.  Not too much.  Just enough to send us searching last night for snow boots, mittens, snow pants and warm hats.  So we were ready for the morning flurry.  We've grown used to the snow and the joys and extra work it brings yet it still requires more time in the morning.  Since that morning "time" seems to be more elusive than other times of the day it means planning.  

I wish I could say that I was happy the snow arrived.  I do love the snow.  I hope for more of it as the season progresses.  Yet today, I'd secretly hoped that Autumn would still be peering at me when I opened my windows.  Alas, the world was covered in white.  The colors were just getting warmed up too.  The yellows more yellow.  The reds more red.  The oranges, the color that takes the longest to arrive, looked more orange.  I was relishing this.  

The beginning of October flew by in the usual swoosh of two birthdays for my boys, two parties (we only do parties once in a while though we ended up with two in the same year...go figure), Michaelmas, and talk of Halloween costumes.  So maybe I'm sad because I'd just begun to notice.  Just started to take my morning coffee outside to enjoy the colors.  Just...just...

By the way, I still want to share the birthdays with you.  Even if they were weeks ago.  Fun was had by all.  Things I think you will enjoy or want to try or just get a little chuckle at.  So watch for that.  

The colorful sweater on my wee girlie is a new favorite.  Boy, that patten has been knit!  By lots of knitters.  I received my chance this past August on our trip to Canada.  When I entered Lettuce Knit knitting shop there it was on a shelf, in a kit no less, so I did what any sane knitter would do- I grabbed, hugged it tightly to my chest, barely let go long enough to show the shop owner, and cast on immediately upon jumping into the car.  The long drive that day was a dream...knit. knit. knit.  With a number of projects in between I finally finished it about two weeks ago. Though I wish it were a bit more roomy on her, I love it none the less.  

The shawl, the Color Affection, I started with the dream yarn I found at Squam in June.  There were many times when I wasn't sure I liked it.  I kept knitting.  Buoyed by what others had claimed about the miracles of blocking.  I finished three weeks ago and then blocked it.  Now?  I'm in love.  I may knit another.  Or three more.  I've even told my friends that they need to knit one themselves.  It's that lovely.  Do you want to knit one?  If so, I can tell you all the reasons you should have one for yourself.  Just in case.  Let me know. anyway...  

Even as I sit here writing this, there is still more snow predicted for tomorrow.  My children are elated.  I'm excited about the new wool to wrap around myself.  I'll come around about the snow again...soon.    

Until then, I wanted to share what the warm Autumn color looks like in my part of the world.  

What about you?   

 

 

The starting line::

I've started a race...in case you didn't know it.  Yes, if you were here you would see me panting a bit and occasionally wiping my brow.  Water is laid out nearby and all calls are being held.  

This is a picture of a sweater.  A sweater you say?  But it's only a few rows of knitting.  Yes, that may be true.  Well, that's totally true.  Hence the race.  

My boy, who has been asking for a rainbow sweater for over a year, has his birthday at the beginning of October.  Since the stripey guy debacle I thought it high time he have one.  Nothing like planning ahead I say.  

A delightful trip to a local yarn shop with my two dear friends last week resulted in a rainbow of colors inside my bag.  I'm making the sweater up as I go.  It shouldn't be too hard since it just needs to include a few colors--"rainbow-like" and a lovely gray to tone it down from "clown-like".  

This is what I've been knitting.  Other projects soooo close to being done have been dropped momentarily.  I mean really how long does a guy have to ask his mama, a knitter, to make him a rainbow sweater??!!!??  

Apparently that would be about...one year.

On your mark, get set, GO!!! 

 

Any races of your own?

 

 

Expectations::

You know how sometimes you work towards a project and when finished your expectations far exceed what you ever thought they could be?  Then sometimes you have high hopes for a creative idea and then your expectations fall flat on their ever-loving-face? 

Well...this is Mr. Stripey guy.  The name I dubbed this sweater when I started it in September 2010.  It was a blur of inspiration.  A simple sweater design with the intention of using all the bits and bobs of yarn in my stash.  I thought by using one color that it would work.  As in be brilliant.  Um.

There were four baskets gleefully filled with small skeins of yarn in four colors.  One basket held the purples for my oldest girlie.  Another basket held greens for my oldest boy.  Another full of blues of every shade.  The last pinks and reds for my littlest one.  Yes, I thought it was the best idea I'd had for awhile.  In fact, I wrote about it here even though I think I wasn't sure about it then either.   

The farther along I knit my smug smile began to fade.  Maybe, just maybe this would look great.  Or it could look really, really bad.  You know the kind of bad that you hope you never have to wear?  The kind of bad that they write songs about.  The kind of bad that might be referred to as "lovingly made at home".  

All that is right here.  I realized once the body and one sleeve were done that something wasn't right about it.  No matter that it was meant for my two year old who is now almost five.  Realistically, he could get away with a sweater like this but should he?  I ask you.  

The other baskets sat untouched.  The wind blown out of my proverbial sails.  The blue version above sat and sat in that sad little basket.  A spider moved in and made himself an elaborate home before I decided to pull it out this past weekend, while stash busting, and access the damage.  With two inches of one sleeve to finish I figured it would be more work to take it apart than to finish it.  

The sweater is too small for my boy now, thankfully.  Mr. Bear, well he wasn't so lucky, or fast.  I held the sweater up in his general direction.  Guessed that he always wanted a sweater of his very own and bam...bear bundled in a sweater and ready for winter.  

My expectations shifted long ago.  I love that Mr. Bear seems happy.  He saw a lot of play action today in the house.  Does he look more friendly and approachable because of the sweater?  Let's say,"Yes".  Did I expect it to turn out this way on that day of inspiration so long ago?  no.  

Sometimes, if we're lucky, things really do turn out so much better than we imagined don't you think? 

 

So close::

I realized today as I looked toward Fall how I had planned on having a multitude of finished knits in September.  Though, as I looked through my many bags and baskets of works in progress I realized that nothing was finished.  Nothing. 

Yes, many things were close.  The sweater above is almost done, but how helpful is a 3/4 finished sweater when you go to wear it?  The shawl, the baby sweater, the hood, the... all close to being finished but yet nothing was wearable.  How is that possible?  I've been knitting all summer.  

There may have been a moment when I was more excited to start the projects on a whim. So much great yarn and such. There were also a few knit gifts that were sent to new babes.  So, progress has been made.  mostly.    

This week I plan on finishing a few things that are in that category of "so close, yet so far".  A few items that if I finish now in a month will be quite lovely and wearable.  

 

There will be a few sleeves. a yoke. a row of kitchener stitch. a few repeats and a bottom hem.  buttons. a new needle size. And, a whole lot of moments in between the other running a home and caring for children things that I do in which I hope to use well, knitting. 

I felt that sharing them here would motivate me to finish already.  Shed some light into the bags of yarn.  So, in the moments between it all I will be adding the feeling of finishing a project...I love that feeling. Don't you?

I will also be looking into the fact that all I've been doing around here is knitting.  Knitting. Traveling. Knitting. It's summer's fault I suppose. Knitting is just really convenient to carry around.  Think Fall is the time to branch out a bit.  More on that later.  

Happy Monday to you all.  

What are you working on this week?  

 

 

Knitting and Reading::

Knitting--  

Currently this sweater is in my basket.  Mainly because I started it two years ago and I really want to make this and I'm not sure if I have enough yarn and the only way I'll know is if I finish the sweater and see what is left over.  So, I'm racing to finish because I really, really want to see the shawl done.  

I've a few other projects in the works, a few, but we can chat about that on another day.

Reading--

An old classic, Little Women.  The March gals are a joy to read about again and again. Sharing this with my girlie as well.  Love that.   

The Grimm Legacy a young adult book. Four chapters in and I'm intrigued.  Anything about Grimm's Fairytales. Reading it before I hand it over to my girlie.  When it came down to deciding who would read it first, she wasn't fast enough.     

 The Elegance of the Hedgehog, I'm reading less ardently than the others.  It's well written and I know I'll end up loving it.  I just seem to have a touch of Spring fever and my attention span is waning or I continue to try and read it at the end of the day when I'm exhausted. I'm sure it will catch my attention again soon.

*linking up with ginny to share love for knitting and reading with yarn along*

 

Also...

**I'm over at Dixon Hill today for a fabulous new series called Changing Places.  Go for a visit and see all the beauty Helen has to share.** 

 

 

 

First of Many::

That's my friend Heidi.  Isn't she cute? She makes me cooler just by knowing her.  

I met Heidi awhile back when I owned a children's store called The Bee's Knees.  It was quite an adventure.  Maybe even a story for another day.  Anyway, this lovely lady came in and help transform, in many ways, the store as my manager.  Along with some other lovelies that I had working for me.  One of which now lives in New Zealand with her honey and triplet girls.  

We have been friends since then.  Almost thirteen years.  Maybe fourteen?  Let's just say its close to that.  She's the kind of friend that I know will be a part of my life always just because.  Plus, like I mentioned, I'm alittle bit cooler having her as my friend.  We laugh and talk and talk some more.  I don't even recall all the things we talk about.  We just never seem to run out of things to say.  Which, in and of itself, is cool.  

We recently spent time together camping at the beach over spring break.  She with her sweet boys and our little brood.  We had such a great time. 

And this lovely had her birthday recently and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try out the Ribband bracelet by the festive Laura Nelkin.  She had gifted a kit for the bracelet to me when we hung out in New York last January.  I pulled it out again and got to work.  

I did chose some thicker yarn I had on hand and some beads left over from my other Ms. Laura project, which I love by the way, and started knitting.  

The best bit of fashion advice I received from Heidi... Where accessories are concerned the bigger the better.  

Okay, good.  

I like how the wrap bracelet turned out.  Funky, fun colors.  Not for everyone of course but she loved it.  Loved how it felt and loved that if she fell asleep cuddling one of her darling boys then she didn't have a hard bracelet poking her into her wrist at 2:00 a.m..  Kudos to Laura for that one.  I wonder if she even realized that cool factor of her bracelet.  

So there it is.  The first of many bracelets that I will knit.  And, they are fun.  Did I mention that?  I know Laura was up with her girlie stuffing bracelet kits a few days ago so you ought to go visit her shop and try one for yourself.  I know you will thank me later.  

 

Off to my day.  

Wish me luck because I think I might need to stretch time and use super human strength to clear my "to do" list.  I suppose, if I need a break, you will know what I'm knitting.  

Bye for now friends.  

 

 

The Color of Rain::

This simple, but glorious scarf, is made amazing by the yarn that's used.  

In this case, it's a skein of hand spun yarn that I purchased at the yarn guild last December.  The skein sat and sparkled at me for months until I figured out the perfect pattern for it. 

All through Ecuador I knit on this scarf.  Through the cloud forest all the way down to the rain forest and canoeing on the Amazon river.  On a bumpy bus and a small airplane.  Surrounded by fellow travelers and tucked into my room at night.  It has been a delight to watch it grow.  

I was sorry to see this project come to an end though.  There will be other skeins but this one, this one was special.  It may have cinched the deal that someday, in my spare time, I will be a spinner and make some of this yarn myself.  I believe that once you knit with hand spun yarn full of colors and sparkles well, there may be no way to go back.  

 

The only problem now is that Summer slid in while we weren't looking and the eighty degree weather brought out the swim suits and water play...and not the wool scarf that I just finished.  bummer.  

There's always September though, right?

What's inspiring you today?  

 

 

Her smile::

I can hardly resist her smile.  Or smiles I should say as there are so many different ones.  My goodness I do believe there is something magical about the eighteen to twenty-four month age.  Don't you think?  

There is just a certain level of cuteness and words and smiles and cuddles that are impossible not to be charmed by.  

 

I started this post to tell you about this dress.  It's out of the yarn I used for the leg warmers last week.  Fun yarn I tell you.  

Plus, there is something about it that seems to make it fly off the needles.  Which is good when you seem to be knitting and knitting with nothing but half sweaters to show for it.

Nice to have a sense of accomplishment once in awhile.  

 

So the Dress is actually modified from this top.  

I added some length and increased stitches to create an A-line dress.  What I love is.... I used one skein for the whole thing.  

It will be great for Spring as the mornings range from cool to snow on the ground.  It's just hard to know what the weather will do.  

The versatility of this dress will be just what we need for that.  

 

The best part of the photo shoot with this girl was that I kept telling her we were done taking photos and she kept saying, "No, one more." 

Hmm...ham anyone?