Mostly Fancy projects

Even though I haven't been coming here to share I went on a mini shopping spree at Fancy Image Yarns TWICE in the last month, and am happily plugging away at several super cute projects. I even managed to finish a few, all made with Fancy Image Yarn and all adorable! With the exception of Ryu's blue hat {which was made with an unlabeled yarn I received at Christmas}, all of these projects have (or will have) that signature soft and colorful Myra touch. Knitting an Easter Sweater for Sureya using Fancy Image yarn is on year two of becoming a tradition, and this time I picked a color that I thought might be difficult to match to a dress until Fate(a.k.a. Adrian) sent me more hand-me-down clothes from Savannah that just happened to include a dress in the perfect shade of bright purply fuschia. I love it when real life catches up with knit life! Here's some quick pictures of works in progress:

So, obviously the sweater still needs to be blocked and I still need to knit that WSU Cougar colored yarn up into something, but this is a lot of hours of meetings, trainings, and stolen-after-Sureya-falls-asleep time represented.The gray hombre hat/sock combo is for the next Thetford-baby-to-be, due sometime next month for my sister-in-law Alicia and brother Nate. The socks-I'm honestly not so sure about the socks, Myra had overdyed some patterned sock yarn and I wanted to give it a try. That collection of pastel colors on top of a sideways pattern, well that is actually the hat I am currently knitting for Sureya, the Flore Hat from KnitWhits. Myra allowed me to put together the colors in my own sampler pack of her DK yarn, and even though I have already had to unknit it once I am still hopeful and really do like the pattern!
Until next time

60 weeks, and moms birthday!

guess what? I have internet again! Thanks to the graciousness of Century Link, I qualify for an internet basics program that is affordable ($15/month) but not the quickest(1.5kb)-who cares, I have INTERNET again! The technician was kind of awesome because I thought my service wasn't being hooked up until Saturday, but he happened to call this afternoon right after we got home to say he was in the area and had some time to get our line going-Thank you Mike! Now it's time to do all the overdue updates, etc...

In knitting news, I made an awesome Valentine hat for Sureya- awesome because she actually will keep it on her head. I figured out the trick: earflaps and long braided ties (gives her something to hold onto, and there is no hat brim stretched across her ears). I used some leftover Haikoo Simpliworsted and Vicki Howell Sheepish yarn, with some slightly off centered hearts banding the body. Now that she is a "big girl" she picks out most of the clothes she wears and consistently chooses this hat as her official topper!

As an early-Valentine/super-late-Christmas/super-super-late-Birthday present for my sister Jenni, I made this cute buttoned headband. I wasn't quite sure of what to make for someone who could just as well crochet whatever she wanted, so I stalked her Pinterest likes until I noticed a trend- she had liked a lot of KNIT headbands! Voila, the super simple lace headband from Rewind Knits & Crochet. I used leftover Mountain Colors yarn in subtle rainbow shades, and it looks even better in person than what you can see in these pictures.

(please ignore my intense photo-face, I hate taking my own picture!)

We had a small round of uber-cold weather around the Northwest at the beginning of January, and in the midst of attempting to take a picture of a deer while out on a walk, I realized that I had to take my gloves off due to that whole conductivity issue. I went to four local stores to see if anyone was selling conductive thread that I could simply weave into existing fingertips, but alas the only option is online. Since I don't own a decent pair of fingerless gloves, I decided to treat myself to a handknit (double pun) for myself. I usually veer towards blue and green shades, but as I was walking down the yarn aisle in JoAnn (I am on a budget here, people!)this great orangish/reddish sunset colored yarn caught my eye. I dismissively said to myself "ahh, love these colors", then continued on towards my usual fallback colors, only to decide that I totally needed to bring the brightness and shock even myself with new hues for my suffering winter wardrobe. Here you have them, in a made-it-up-as-I-knit travelling cable pattern. The yarn is one of the Red Heart Boutique yarns, I can't remember which one, maybe Eclipse?

And now we get to my title-Today is not only the 26th anniversary of my darling mums 29th birthday (she's really 55, people, but no one knows that by looking at her), but also marks 60 weeks of Sureya! Sixty weeks, eight hours, 48 minutes (and counting) of loving that little girl to the moon and back! It's heartwarming to think that my mom once counted my days and weeks of life, too, now that I get to be awed and inspired by my own daughter. Thanks mom, for always believing and always being!

(she might make nasty comments for using a hottub picture, but this is the most recent pic of the two of them together!)



Now that I have wasted an hour of my sleeping-baby-mom-time, I feel slightly better about my neglected blog and hope that both you and I will be back sooner rather than later for an update.

P.S.:
If you are on Craftsy, considering giving a 'heart' to Sureya's hat that I entered into their Valentine Contest! The project with the most hearts by Valentines Day wins a free Craftsy class! Thanks!

Dear Friends,
How are you doing? It has been awhile so I've last written to you, but such is life these days. First and foremost, may I offer my deepest condolences for falling into an annonymous world of bloggers that never update- who wants to follow a starving feed? In the past two months, I have lost a family member, suffered through two ear infections with Sureya, cut off my internet at home because daycare, and not Netflix, is a necessity. Sureya started walking, and then turned one,is now beginning the joys of teething, and has been the only recipient of anything knit during this hiatus. (see the picture at the top? that is how life is right now- a blur with a smile in the middle)I am still working full time, and keeping up with housework has been tiring- I actually turned off the kitchen light the other night, saying something like "if I can't see them, then the dishes must not be there". Toddler logic I know, but it worked while I was sleeping.

On Small Business Saturday I went to my favorite yarn store in Shelton, Fancy Image Yarn, and picked up a baby legs kit, with a bonus Christmas hat kit gifted to us by dear Myra. I knit the baby legs kit into a hat that Sureya will receive at Christmas, and the Christmas hat was given to her for her birthday.

I have started and frogged two mittens for her as well, because after a chilling trip to the zoo for her birthday I realized that the little acrylic mittens she has DO NOT keep her fingers warm at all- thank goodness she was tucked into a stroller with wool blankets to keep her cozy. The mittens are a striped combination of leftover Malabrigo sock and leftover Fancy Image fingering, in a color combination I wouldn't normally use but sweet none the less. I did manage to pair up some knits- Sureya's knit sweater with her knit pumpkin hat- when we went to the pumpkin patch with her daycare(it was all of course covered with her rainjacket and hood, so no one but me knew it was there)

I am going to attempt to put in some pictures now, but all of this is being done from my smartphone and may not be very easy. (I am totally stealing wifi at my moms house now, so I can actually use my laptop)

Well friends, that concludes my pathetic attempt to make up for being completely absent for 2+ months....
Sincerely,
Procrastaknitter

PS- I made new stockings for Sureya and I so that we would have a matched pair

bi-craftual, and double digits

Sureya hit 10 months old yesterday, and to celebrate the occasion I crocheted her a hat. Yes, you read that correctly- procrastaKNITTER crocheted a hat. I needed to be able to make it while she was napping (okay, it took both the morning and the afternoon nap), and so I chose to crochet because I know that it is faster than knitting. I used up the end of yarn from her adorable striped sweater, and as you can see by the uneven holey-ness along the left side, I haven't yet figured out how to transition from single to double crochet smoothly.

I did however, come across this lovely little thing while cleaning out underneath Sureya's changing table-the last time I tried it on her it was too big, and now it *just* fits. (for some reason her eyes look blue in this picture, but I guarantee you they are still black as coal at midnight) Not that her backside needed any enhancement, but I still think the ruffles totally make the outfit work!

I am currently working on a green and yellow (Packers) striped hat for a friend of mine who has waited patiently for as long as I have known him and then finally gave up, bought the yarn, and brought it to my house. I figure after 10 or so years he has seen enough of my creations to know what he is getting, and the whole being allergic to wool issue made it hard for me to get just the right color in non-wool. It's probably better that he picked the colors himself, because you know how football fans are about getting just the right colors. Also, the thought of him going anywhere just to buy yarn made me smile enough that I had to knit it up into something!

P.S.
I am considering changing the name of this blog to something a little more appropriate like 'procrastaknitter has a baby and therefore has no more time for knitting or procrastinating', but I think that's too long of a title. You get the idea, right? I sadly had to inform one of my nephews yesterday that he may not actually get a hat from me this Christmas, since I don't even know what I am going to make for Sureya yet, let alone the 15 offspring of my siblings!

Sureya's Striped Sweater

No need to point out how long its been since I have shared anything...my darling daughter is still sleeping and I am here now! Yesterday, I finished knitting a sweater that I started in August. It was a super easy pattern, but life got in the way of me finishing it in a reasonable amount of time.

I know that it will fit Sureya right now, and for at least a couple of months. I began with the stitch counts from a Knitting Pure & Simple pattern for a Little Girl's Shrug, but used larger needles and in general deviated from everything but the stitch counts. I thought about making a hood as well, but instead opted for a stand-up collar since a hood would require so much more knitting! There is one buttonhole and the fronts overlap right now, but I was thinking that as she gets bigger I could sew in a zipper. {20 minute break, Sureya just woke up}
Details: size 8 needles, knit 18 month size, yarn is Bernat Mosaic in color Optimistic (see, even my yarn choices reflect my current knitting stage).

Sorry you only get to see Sureya in the sweater from the back, but everytime Sureya sees the camera she thinks she needs to hold it and I have dozens of pictures of her lunging forward with hands outstretched!
In life I am crossing my fingers for a new job that I recently applied for-in my hometown of Port Townsend! I moved to Olympia in 2006 to attend The Evergreen State College (go Geoducks!) and started working for Community Youth Services. Life and an awesome career with a great organization kept me here for the past 6 years, but now that I also have to consider Sureya's wellbeing I decided that being closer to family would be my goal. An opening in Juvenile Services was finally available, so I through my hat in the ring and am now waiting to hear back.
Wish me luck (in job AND knitting!)

Good Morning! It's been awhile, summer finally arrived in Washington and all of my free daylight time is taken up with baby, work, and playing outside, and then when I'm inside it's diaper washing, making baby food, and play. I have made nearly zero progress on the Citron shawlette in the past month, but I have knit one and a half teddy bears and an entire blanket (that I just frogged last night). I pointed out to a friend that I have not taken pictures of anything lately, except my daughter doing exceptional cute things 200 times a day. In fact, I pulled out my old SLR just last night, to find that the batteries were dead and I can't remember the last time I used it, nor can I recall what is on the full roll of film that is in the bottom of the camera bag. I love mystery developing! My best guess is Christmas 2010...
Wait, I lie. I totally finished the scrap scarf and spent two days sewing in all the ends-80+ in total! I also collected up many of the things I knit without having a plan for who they would be gifted to, with the intention of photographing them and listing them on Etsy. It's time for me to downsize and reassess my yarn/knit collection because Sureya is completely mobile and LOVES pulling yarn out of the boxes that are in her room. In the time it takes me to put away her laundry, she can completely tangle two bins of yarn and WIPs that are stored in photo boxes on her bookshelves.
Because I don't have any other pictures to share, here is Sureya working on her new favorite hobby

June-uary

goodness, it has been awhile! I could mention baby, single parent, full time work, school, and let you fill in the blanks....but it's the battlecry of all mothers everywhere-never enough time! My knitting has slowed down incredibly now that Sureya enjoys the reaction she gets from me when she pulls the yarn off the needles, or drools on pattern pages, but I am currently stumbling through the Citron shawl using Malabrigo Lace in the Burgandy colorway. I have read several reviews that say the shawl is small, but I do have two skeins of this yarn and am hoping to add enough length to at least cover my shoulders (or find someone to gift it to!). The weather has been too unpredictable to be enjoyable, but being stuck inside has made me want to sew, not knit-lots of new diapers were made, and lots of back burner projects were finally sewn together. I haven't even got pictures of anything to share, because that would mean that I need to remember to buy batteries for my camera...Hope everyone is enjoying their summer-what are YOU knitting?