Finished the Sheepy Pants!

I managed to finished the pair of Sheepy Pants longies I have been working on for Amanda last night. I'm so proud of them! They turned out great! And I'm so happy to have finished a soaker (or in this case longies) that actually fit the person I've made them for (my track record for Ryan wasn't all that great, everything ended up too small for him when I finished it!) I've made these out of some super soft Malabrigo yarn, the color is holly hock. Here's a picture of the finished item:

And here's a picture of Miss Amanda wearing her new pants! :)

I can't wait to start on the next pair! I have a few skeins of 100purewool on order, and plan to make another pair of longies for Amanda, and a pair for Ryan, and then either longies or shorties or a pair of matching soakers.

In the meantime, I have some other projects I need to get busy on. Next is to finish the pair of mittens for my nephew, Raymond. His was the last pair I planned last year, and they just didn't get finished before the weather got warm. After his are done, I will be working on mittens (or thumbless mitts) for my son and toddler nephew, and for my toddler neice, and another pair for Amanda. I'll put up more pictures as I get rolling with the projects and this blog!

Just a Ramble

As I was in the middle of typing my first entry a couple days ago, my mom knocked on my front door. She brought me a missing DPN I'd dropped at her house the day before, and two knitting books she found in her room while cleaning. One is a knitting journal where I can keep notes and sketch out designs in the future. The other is The Knitting Stitch Bible, by Maria Parry-Jones. I've only had a minute to glance through it, but I already know I'm going to have fun trying out some new stitch patterns from the book. I know that as my mom's cleaning continues, she'll find more knitting resources to pass along to me.
I need to get some circular needles, and those are definitely on my Christmas wish list. I need to decide what I want, though. I'd also like to try some socks, and will need to pick up some smaller DPNs and some sock yarn.
My current project was on hold yesterday, and will be today as well, as I try to finish a little sewing project I'm working on. I've been hindered along the way with missing materials, and now a broken sewing machine! I finally found the problem yesterday afternoon, and will need to borrow my sister's machine to get this project done. I'm working on finishing up some square flannel wash cloths (wipes) to send in a cloth diaper exchange, and I'd like to finish up a cloth diaper to go along with them. That is all to add to the cloth diaper I ordered that is sitting here, waiting to be mailed. I have a deadline on this project, it needs to arrive by October 7th, so I really need to have it in the mail by the end of this week. Which would, of course, be tomorrow! But once I finish this side project, I'll be back to my knitting. I only have a little left to do on this pair of longies for the baby!
I'll also be working on putting some pictures up of these various projects!
Next update should be soon. :)

Knit begins

I have decided to start up a blog for my knitting adventures. I have been having so much fun learning new things, and just knitting, and I wanted an outlet for talking about it and sharing my thoughts and projects with others. So if you have found your way here, welcome! I am not a brand new knitter, but I am also not a veteran, either. I started out as a crochetter, very minimal. My mother taught me, repeatedly, how to crochet a granny square, and I would promptly forget. In the summer of 1991, off on a mission intern assignment and far from family and friends, I picked up some yarn and hooks again and decided to really learn it, and re-taught myself crochet. I made a small throw afghan for one of my sisters, and then I merely dabbled in crochet off and on for a while. In 1994, I decided to make some slippers as Christmas gifts, and while most were crochet, one pattern I wanted to try was knit. So I set about teaching myself to knit, and managed to make a sad looking not-quite-the-same-size pair of boot style slippers for a friend. I started on a cable knit afghan a few months later (ambitious, yes). That was in 1995, and to this day that afghan is not completed! I figure I'll finish it sometime before I die, and they can bury me with it. hehe
So after all that, I had a basic knowledge of knitting, a completed pair of boot slippers, and an ongoing afghan project that I knitted 5 rows on every year or two. I still hadn't discovered a true love of knitting. Forward 10 years, add a husband, add two children, subtract a husband, add a new husband, and add a baby on the way in 2005, and suddenly I had discovered the world of cloth diapering (yes, cloth diapers!) and the old fashioned and yet new fangled custom of using knitted wool soakers as covers. I had a couple commercial-made soakers, but the world of hand-knit soakers was starting to take off, and in 2005, I decided to try my hand at knitting yet again, and try to make some soakers for the new baby. I picked up some double point needles, some wool yarn, and a free basic pattern, and I got started. Unfortunately for me, everything I knit in those first few months always ended up too small for the baby by the time I got it done! So I was still learning, but loving knitting more each time. It still hadn't completely set in for me yet, though...until last year, when I picked out some fun acrylic self-striping, self-patterning yarn (Red Heart Strata) and some double point needles (DPNs) in order to make some mittens for my children and nephews, and I fell in love with knitting. Who knew that learning to knit in the round with DPNs would be what sparked my love of knitting? This year, 2007, a 4th baby joined our growing family (a beautiful, sweet, joyful surprise blessing!) and I became determined to make something that would actually *fit* the baby before she outgrew it! I found my local yarn shops (LYS) and got some nice wool yarn (Malabrigo) and some bamboo DPNs, and bought a great looking pattern (Sheepy Pants)...and I am having so much fun! I'm nearly finished with a pair of longies (knit pants, diaper soaker), and I can't wait to put them on the baby! (she's nearly 6 months now)
I've ordered some more wool yarn (100purewool) to make a pair of longies for my son (he's 25 months now) and to make some more soakers, and I have a few more projects in mind. I need to make some more mittens (the final pair from last year, that didn't get finished in time, plus 3 toddler pair of thumbless mitts, and a pair of thumbless baby mitts!), I have a bonnet I want to make to match the baby's mitts, and I want to try to make some simple headbands for my older daughters (ages 8 and 5).
So...that's just the basic start. I decided I needed to start blogging when I could see my family's eyes glaze over every time I started talking about my knitting adventures and new discoveries! :) I plan to blog about my progress on my projects, as well as blogging about the new techniques I learn along the way, and give any thoughts and help for learning knitters like me as I am able. Advice, tips, and comments are welcome! I'd love to hear from fellow knitaholics, veteran, intermediate, and newbie alike!