Some new hats...

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Here's some new hats I did this past week. I think this is one of my all time favorite boy hats. I like to use cream as a "buffer" separating darker colors.

This hat is for a baby girl who's nursery is decorated Winnie the Pooh.

Avery

Hi Everyone! I had to share this amazing picture Mandy took. I think it's my all time favorite. The hat, the background and of course...the baby! I love how her cheeks hit her chest and look at her eyes. She looks so friendly and open. It's proof; that's how we all start out!

I'm always looking for new inspiration. When I saw this hat I couldn't resist trying to hand knit it. I'm looking through my stitch dictionaries to see what I can come up with. I may have to get some advise from my crocheting friends.

Avery

Here's Avery in one of my hats compliments of Mandy. Isn't she so sweet. I wonder what she was thinking with that cute look on her face.

Sam

Here's a picture Mandy took of Sam in a recent hat I made. I love the way this hat feels. It's so soft and squishy. Thank you to Mandy for sharing the pic and Maria for sharing her little angel.

For all you knitters, I just dropped the main color when I knit in the popcorn yarn. I didn't want to take the time to figure out what the double strand would do to my gauge. Then I just picked up the main color again after one row and snipped the popcorn yarn. I'm a bit of a trial and error knitter so I was happy my short cut made it simple (and less ends to tuck in!).

A New Hat...

Graham, Fin and I made it home yesterday. Anthony and Gav had to stay in FL because Gav came down with influenza and ruptured his ear drum. He's on the mend; thank God! We had a couple scary nights. It was so hard deciding who would come home to the good heath care (in case the little two got sick) and who would stay. I have a new appreciation for living in Minneapolis and having access to wonderful hospitals and Doctors. We hope to have them home in one week. We miss you already guys!

Here's a hat I did using a thumb gusset technique from a mittens pattern. It was fun!

A little vaca...

We are off to Florida! Everyone have a great week and I'll have much to share when I get back.

More of Mandy's pics...

I feel silly posting my own crude pictures after seeing these. For those of us who don't have a clue about taking good pictures it's even more mystifying... You can see many more of Amelia and Rachel on Mandy's blog .

Oh my word!!!

If there ever was a day for you to check out Mandy's blog it's today!! You have to see these adorable twin sisters, Amelia and Rachel. The pictures are priceless. Here they are in the bunny hat I made. I found this free pattern on the internet. Look at that belly!

Fin

Mandy took this pic of Fin yesterday. I had to run to the Dr. with Graham so she graciously watched him for me. Babysitting and perfect pictures!!?? I am sooooo lucky...thanks Mandy!

One of my favorite things...

One of my favorite things is going to get my toes done. I bring my knitting and just relax. I went into the salon yesterday and there was an infomercial on with the volume turned up. I was bummed because I knew I couldn't relax with the man/woman team shouting at me to buy a mop(seriously, who buys these things?). People looked like they were watching but I decided to walk around anyway and ask if it was OK if I turned it off. Everyone said yes. I'm glad because I ended up having a perfect time.

Andrea and her Hat

Here's Andrea with the baby hat she made. Didn't she do great? It sounds like the baby may come a couple of months early. My oldest son was born early and very tiny, so I know that can be a scary time. I wish them the best. My son's hand knit hats were on display in his isolette until he was big enough to wear them. The nurses went crazy for them and we found comfort that they all would say, "Oh, he'll be in these in no time!" In the meantime, my Mom went home and used an orange to size his first hat. He takes it out every once in a while and can't believe he was that small. I can't believe it either!
We thought the flower needed a bead in the middle. Sometimes with the silk flowers you can see the plastic where it's held together so a bead is perfect. I think it adds a nice touch too.

Knitting Club

I love the nights when it's my turn to host Knitting Club. My house full of knitters chatting and sharing projects. Each woman has their own story. Many of us only have knitting as our connection initially and then as we get to know each other we find we have much more in common. The fact that knitting brings people together is one of my favorite aspects of it. This is Melissa. She's an amazing knitter. Can you believe she made this sweater she's wearing? Before she had kids her hobby was flying planes. We are happy she switched to knitting; it's probably not much cheaper though! :)

Here's her brand new baby boy, Carson. I was selfishly thrilled when she gave me the news she was having her 3rd son. We get together when we can and chat about knitting, kids, husbands...life in general. I think it's the secret to staying sane when you're a Mom. I know if I didn't have friends to chat with I definitely would have a twitch (some of you have seen my impression of one :) Melissa made the blanket on Carson. I love that it's orange. Sometimes it gets boring seeing light blue for little guys.

Sorry about the blurring picture, but I had to share another sweater Melissa made.

Here are the ladies knitting and crocheting away!

More knittin'

Pink Hat

This hat is a wool/bamboo blend. I love how it has the weight of wool and the slight sheen bamboo gives. This one would be cute for pics outside collecting eggs, since Easter is so early this year.

Anna's Hat

Here's the hat I made for Anna. Her Mom came over with her winter coat for next year (great deals right now at Lands End) and we went up to my yarn stash and found this popcorn yarn. I just love it...can't wait to see it on her. When you touch it it has this chenille feel to it.

Part of why I love knitting so much is because you really never know how the piece will look until your done. It's a very satisfying feeling to look at a finished project that started as a single strand of yarn. I could get WAY more philosophical about it, but I'll spare you...for now. :)

She's so lucky!

Good Morning Everybody! Look where my Mom gets to do yoga in MX. This is her friend's roof top overlooking the ocean. Just seeing the woman in the tank top makes me ache for spring.

Ava in her hat

Ava came over to play on Sunday so I had to get a picture of her in her hat. It was nice to get a chance to chat with her Momma while the kids ran around and played.

Craft Night

It was my turn to host craft night last week. It's great to see what everyone else is creating. This is a rug in progress by Michelle. I am fascinated by this art! Her Grandmother is a rug hooker and she passed it down to Michelle and her sister.

Here's Kerrie and Angel working away.

Kerrie found this project already started in her knitting bag . She was laughing because she doesn't remember when she started it. I know I have lots of those.

Here's Mandy with all her fabric for her burp clothes. She has a great eye for picking fabric. Isn't her shirt cute too?

Our Saturday

Peyton and Andrea are babysitters of ours. They both are knitting now and wanted to tackle felted mittens. I am so impressed at how quickly they caught on. They are naturals. I can't imagine what they will be working on in 10 years. They're such great girls; the boys and I love having them around.



Here are all the kids tonight. Andrea brought one of her younger sisters, Danielle. She fit right in with the boys. They were having a blast wrestling and launching matchbox cars. Andrea and Peyton working on their mittens today.

Here's Peyton with the hat she made. She did great!