Pilot and Totoro

Pilot is still fighting. I'm (force) feeding him with a syringe every couple of hours and have to give him injections every twelve hours. It's like having a newborn all over again. Except that it's possible that he could die at any time. But he's fighting back when we feed him so that's a good sign. He's feeling well enough to be stubborn.

I'm currently crocheting a Totoro trio for one of B's coworkers. Here's the teeny white one (though this is one I made for the boys) and the blue one's ears.

Don't forget that you can enter my giveaway. The basic idea is that you donate to a great cause (I don't believe there's a minimum amount) and you get a chance to win some stuff from me. It would mean the world to me if you donated.

Linking up with Nicole's {crafting on}.

Because I was silent again.

Regular updating is just not my thing right now, I guess.

The Elf's birthday gifts (except for the actual surprise one that he doesn't know about and isn't done yet. Ack!):


Legend of Zelda triforce hat (knit entirely from handspun). Details here.




Halo spartans. Details here.

I've been dyeing like crazy, too. I'm hoping for an update to the shop tonight or tomorrow. Here's a peek:









I've also been dyeing bits for rolags (or mini batts, I haven't decided yet) for October's Phat Fiber box). Sunday is the Elf's eleventh birthday and I have to admit that i'm a little freaked out about all of the emotional (and physical) changes going on there. Next month is the Imp's fifth birthday. I'm working on an intarsia Captain America sweater for him. It's.. frustrating. On top of that I'm participating in a spin along and a test knit. I also need to figure out our homeschool plan for the year. But yeah, I thrive on chaos.

Random

Last Monday the Imp came to me, dressed like this:


Imp: Who do I look like?
Me: uhm.. I don't know, who do you look like?
Imp: Knitting guy! (note the sheer number of handmade items the kid is wearing. I think his mother may have a bit of a problem *ahem*)


He was quickly joined by the Beast and we had a photo session of super hero poses. I'll spare you.


A while ago I bought myself some of the metal fixed circular needles from KnitPicks in US size zero to use for sock knitting (purple cable, silver needles). May I take a moment here to tell you how frustrating they were to use? They aren't very pointy, they don't really taper at all, the cable isn't very bendy. Ugh. Fast forward to last Friday. I was knitting with the lovely ladies at Really Knit Stuff and I decided to take a look at the needles in the shop. I came home with Addi lace needles in the same size (gold cable and needles). Can you see the difference? My goodness they're a dream to use! I highly recommend them (I usually use what I have and deal with it - but these are worth the extra purchase).


I saw this bunny here and knew that I had to make one. (Ravelry details here)


Which quickly led to a cat. With plans for a dog, bear, mouse, Totoro, and more. (Ravelry details here)

Wow

Gosh. So. I disappeared.

The short is that we all got the flu. And now, more than a week later, we're all mostly better. We had a good Solstice and tomorrow we'll head to my father's house for the morning.

Now, pictures!

Late Yarn Along

Everyone has been feeling craptacular at our house. Well, not the Elf. He's been just as loud and crazy as usual. The Beast, too, I guess. My two "little" brown-eyed boys (little, to exclude B, that is). Always full of energy. At any rate, I wasn't feeling quite up to the task of posting yesterday. So here I am, a day late.

I'm reading Into the Woods by Kim Harrison. It's a collection of short stories based on her Hollows series. These are B's knit pants. They're coming along quite well and I'm enjoying picking out which scrap of color to use next. It's funny. I can look at these pants and identify what project I used the original yarns for. It's like a catalog of my knitting life.

This is a dalek for my sister and her family. They are all completely obsessed with Doctor Who (which I have never watched). Let me tell you, this little guy is a pain in the neck. Front post single crochet? Really? Lots if them? The yarn I'm using for the gold part was a mistake, but the only gold I had. Here's hoping they appreciate it (because I've already injured my finger working on it).

Appa. I started him... in July (yes, I had to go check). I've more or less run out of yarn so I'll have to pick some up when I go knitting tomorrow.

Somehow I've managed to either get a teeny splinter in my index finger on my right hand (unlikely) or I've developed a teeny blister. Gee. With all this crocheting.. it's no wonder, I guess. Will this stop me? No! Of course not! But it will slow me down.

Linking up with Ginny.

Lately.

Batman has gotten arms and eyes, but no bat. I'm really not looking forward to adding it. I have the worst time needle felting details on like that. And the idea of gluing it isn't very appealing, either.

Master Chief still needs his helmet sewn on and the yellow part added. B says that he wants this one, making the first attempt the Elf's Solstice gift.

Iron Man sweater is complete.

B asked me for knit pants. I've never attempted adult sized longies. The base is a grey wool and I'm using scraps for the color stripes. I'm actually quite happy with how it's coming along. This will be my first time adding in a gusset though. Hopefully I'm understanding the basic directions (as I don't use a written pattern for my longies to begin with).

None of this exactly explains my radio silence. I don't have an excuse, really. I just find myself doing other things - frantically reading Harry Dresden books to get ready for today's release of the fourteenth book in the series. Not that I started reading it after lunch or anything. Because really, that'd be obsession, right?

Yarn Along and then some.

Linking with Ginny.

This is what my knitting (and crochet) looks like right now. I have bags hiding Solstice gifts from curious little eyes. I'm running out of places to stash things, to be honest.

Last Sunday in the afternoon I decided that the Beast really needed an Iron Man sweater as his second Solstice gift. I ran off to the yarn store and immediately started plotting and planning. Here's how far I've gotten.

I'm using this pattern and shamelessly borrowing from this unrelated sweater. I'm going to crochet the chest circle (just like on his gloves) and am using all the same yarns. Whee!

The Imp is getting a Pichu and a Batman. Pichu is done.

Ravelry notes here.

Batman still needs a face, a bat symbol, and arms (the pattern doesn't call for them, but I think he needs them.

The Elf is getting a Star Wars origami book and a Master Chief toy (from Halo - a video game). There are no patterns that I could find so I altered one.

Ravelry notes here. Photo taken with B's phone at his office (with the evil companion cube that was an utter pain to make).

This is me trying to write my own pattern. Frustration does not begin to cover it.

As for reading, I'm on the eleventh Harry Dresden Book on my Kobo. Woo!
On top of all of this, we had roofers come out on Monday to replace our roof. They should be done today, but sheesh! The noise! Trapped under all those thumps and bangs with three boys. It's enough to make a person crazy. And for fun, the Beast got up at 4am this morning. Here I am, running on less than four hours of sleep and an incomplete cup of coffee. And now I'm off to play with train tracks at the request of the youngest.

Yarn Along - gifts

Joining up with Ginny today for the Yarn Along.

Let's start this off with text. I'm reading White Knight by Jim Butcher. I think it's the ninth Dresden book. I'm in the middle of a mess of projects. This is partly because I'm working on Solstice gifts and my kids are way too inquisitive. I'm still working on my Arsenic and Old Lace shawl, I just didn't take a picture because it still looks a mess. I also finished the Odette hoodie for the Imp. It hasn't been washed or blocked. The buttons are on their way to us. Today he spilled yogurt on the hoodie, so maybe he'll finally take it off so that I can wash it!

Duotone throw in progress. It doesn't look like I've done much because you can't see how very long this piece is. Also, I will admit to not working on it as much as I should - the hoodie, a hat, and some gloves distracted me.

This is Pichu-in-progress (I don't have a Ravelry project page for it yet). The Imp has been desperate for a Pichu so it seemed the proper Solstice gift to start with.

A waffle hat! Which sounds ridiculous. But it's the pattern. And it matches the scarf that I made last year.

Iron Man gloves. Need I say more? A certain super-hero-loving two year old is going to love them. Though I highly suspect the Imp will be after then as well.

So there I am. Buried under wool (and loving it). For better or worse I need to take a break and work on gnomes. It's amazing how much that seems like *work* these days (I think I burnt myself out making four full sets of weather gnomes not long ago). Six gnomes for a custom order, eight gnome hats for a neglected swap. Today will be filled with wood burning, painting, polishing, and sewing tiny hats.

Yarn Along

Joining with Ginny for the Yarn Along.

Knitting a blanket out of yummy merino. This kit was a gift from a dear friend and I can't even say how grateful I am for it.

Still plugging away at my Arsenic and Old Lace shawl.

My oldest niece had a birthday the other day. She's fifteen and obsessed with Dr Who. When she mentioned that she'd like a fallen angel I couldn't resist.

I'm reading Harry Dresden books on my Kobo. Still. I just finished Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (I think that's her name) and ought to be starting my other library book. I'm in a bit of a funk, though. The changeable weather has me at loss. Cool enough to have the windows open one moment and sweltering the next. Bah.

Yarn Along and more

I meant to post yesterday, but things got away from me. I will refrain from explaining how I let my husband get me sucked into a video game I swore I'd never play. We'll ignore that I put my kids to bed two hours late because I completely lost track of time. Ahem.

So today I'm linking up with Ginny and all the other great folks for the Yarn Along.

I've started working on the sleeves of this cardigan! Yay! The lovely Taryn of Wooly Moss Roots agreed to a swap with me. I scored these absolutely stunning buttons. I think the larger ones will be perfect for this cardigan! I didn't take a picture of my reading. I'm rereading the Dresden Files series on my ebook reader - who wants a picture of a black rectangle?

Aren't these buttons divine?

I'm also knitting longies. It's weird to be back to a thin worsted after all that bulky knitting. I do love those small, neat stitches, though!

With one week to go, I've finally nearly finished my Imp's birthday presents. This shirt is to go with a mask and cuff set I bought from Her Flying Horses. I think he's going to love it all. He's been on this incredible super hero kick lately.

And this is a rather sad looking attempt at Buneary (a Pokemon). He's been begging me to make one for months. Here's hoping I manage the face soon!

*blink*

You knew it was coming.

A second light saber.

Thank you everyone for your comments on my last light saber. Without the awesome pattern I followed, it would have been a mess. Details here.

Appa is coming along. I still have a lot of sewing to do for his feet, but at least he has a head. His head/back arrow will be added last.

Ah, yarn! More of the black/white/red stuff - a single and a two-ply. The pastel yarn is my first attempt at intentional (and consistent) thick-and-thin. It was more difficult than I like to admit. The final fuzzy yarn is the alpaca/llama hybrid that I spent a week washing. I couldn't managed to card, hackle, or otherwise wrangle it into behaving. So I spun it in clumps. I think it worked out really well. I'd like to ply it with something - with luck I'll have enough for an upcoming sheep doll. Yes, a sheep knit from a llama.

And as I'm sure you're all tired of hearing: Don't forget to enter the giveaway to win some of my handspun yarn!

Yes, it's true.

I must be masochistic. Here's what I spent my morning making:

No, not the kids. Not the robe (that was made by my mother-in-law for the Elf many years ago). Yes. The light saber. A crochet and foam monstrosity. They've been fighting over it all day. Of course I will be making two more. Whether I want to or not. Details here.

Also, the giveaway is still open!