It's sweater weather!

 

When I started making these sweaters, I didn't know how addicting they would become. I finished another one that was the same pattern as my very first sweater, but I made it a little bigger.  I still need to make a bigger one for baby Jack, but I had these colors and I kind of liked the color combination.

 

I added the pink and green ribbon and pink buttons and I loved how it finished the sweater.

 

I am quite happy that I can make a sweater now and even though they take a lot of time, it is a real sense of accomplishment when  I am finished.

 

Here is the little sweater that I made for baby Jack and it was too small.

 

The football buttons finished this one as well.

 

I will have to find a tiny baby for this one.

 

and of course my sweater for Livy. I feel like maybe I have learned something in knitting!  The weather is getting cooler so it is definitely sweater weather which makes it definitely knitting weather!

A gift for Livy

 

I started this sweater for Livy at the first of the summer thinking, I should be able to have it done by her birthday in September.  With the help of a long road trip in August I finished the sweater! I had some different colors of yarn that I thought coordinated well and started knitting.

 

I added the ribbons and polka dot buttons.

 

I looked all over for some red polka dot ribbon and finally found the perfect red.

 

I then decided that this sweater definitely needed a skirt to go with it.  Livy loves to wear dresses and skirts so the yellow flowered fabric matched perfectly with all of the colors that I had used.

 

This actually was the second skirt that I made because I was afraid that the first one would be too small.

 

So, I finished the first smaller skirt for her little sister, Sofia.

 

I added some more polka dots, this time in green. (Can you tell that I love polka dots?)

 

I packed up the sweater and skirts and off I went to visit the birthday girl!

 

This little girl loves birthdays!  It fit great!

 

Should have got a picture of both of them in their skirts.

 

She wore her birthday outfit all day.

 

Happy Birthday Livy girl!

 

So glad you are in my life!

Some more projects

Since I am here visiting my grand kids, I thought I better take advantage of these cute little kiddo's!

I made this hat for baby Jack and since it is fall I thought it would be a perfect hat for a cut little pumpkin.  The hat is a little big but the way he is growing it will fit soon!

I knitted this with three colors and when I did the checkerboard I just left the colors attached and just carried the next color over  so it was quick because I didn't need to keep starting a new color.

I added the stem and the little pumpkin curly Q's to the top and it made the perfect fall hat.

I can't get enough of this cute little guy and I am going to be sad because I am leaving tomorrow.

He is just the best baby and I am going to miss all of his snuggles!

This little girl, I am going to miss as well, whatever I am doing she is right by my side and if I do it she has to do it as well.  Of course, if baby Jack was getting his photo in the basket, she needed one as well.

The hat actually fits her pretty well.

I embroidered this blanket before I left and finished the edging after I got here.

I used the furry yarn to go on this little froggy blanket and just did a single crochet all around the edge.

It is nice and warm and fuzzy!

The frog was embroidered on my machine.

I then made this crocheted scarf out of #3 crochet thread. I was just making a flower chain and then thought it would make a cute scarf.

I then added a flower ring to fasten the scarf together. I thought that would be easier than tying it.

It turned out okay, but I would make a few adjustments to the flowers and not make them so loose.

It kind of had a shabby chic feeling this way.

It was quick to do and I will have to make another and make the adjustments to it.

It has been a great trip and so fun to be with these cute little munchkins!

I Did It!!

I have been knitting for about 5 or 6 years, (well I did make some slippers when I was 12, but that was about it.)  I really wanted to learn again because who can remember when they were 12! I had a friend teach me and I struggled because I had learned crochet first and it was quite different from crochet.  I learned to knit the American way which I believe they call the throwing method. One day I was looking around on You Tube trying to figure out a stitch in a pattern, (I love You Tube it will show you any kind of stitch you are wondering about), I saw someone knitting the continental way and realized, "Wow, you can knit so much faster that way."  After looking at several different versions of knitting continental, I got out my knitting needles and practiced a long with the video. Oh, was it ever hard to train my fingers a different way. I had cramps in my index finger on my left hand like you wouldn't believe. I was not going to let the cramps beat me and I just kept practicing. I first practiced on a cotton wash cloth and practiced as many stitches as I could in that little square.

 I then made Mr. Jones a hat to wear to the barn, it turned out okay but the stitches were not very uniform.  After a while it got easier and easier and soon it was much faster than the way I was knitting before.

 I have always wanted to learn how to make  knitted socks.  I was in a cute little yarn shop(you know how I love yarn!) and saw that there was a sock knitting class where you could learn to knit socks on 2 circular needles,meaning you knit them at the same time. I signed up for the class and have been taking it for the last 3 weeks.

This was  a very fun way to make socks especially making 2 at the same time.

Here is the ribbed top and I just finished the heel on one of the socks. You make the socks at the same time until you get to the heel and then you do them one at a time.

Here is the heel.

Then after you finish both heels you continue on until you finish to the toe.

TA DA! I finished! I wish it would have been that fast but knitting the continental was way faster than before.

Don't these socks just make you smile!

I love wearing wool socks, I started a few years ago and I will never go back to wearing any other kind.

Yep, I am pretty proud of these babies!

They are probably the most expensive socks I own, if you count the cost of the class, but look what I learned!

I better hurry up and start another pair so I don't forget how.

but for now, I DID IT!!!