It's been a while...

I'm sorry I have been MIA... I've been spending a lot of time with the family these days. I was lucky enough to get the week off from work. (Yay!) So my days have been spent getting things done around the house, hanging with the kids, knitting, playing Uno...

Christmas was great. This year it was just the four of us. Usually we have friends over for Christmas eve dinner but they couldn't make it this year, so we got to celebrate with them a little early, which was fun. We also had an early celebration with family members in Poughkeepsie. It was nice to stretch out Christmas like that... Santa was very good to me and I got many knitting gifts.

Yarn Themed Puzzle!

New books and Jumbo Ball Winder!

I also finished my dad's socks!

And I started a new, quick and easy/instant gratification project: a scarf for my sweet Sophia. She picked the yarn when we went to Webs back in November.

I can't believe 2012 is almost over. I have the usual New Year's Resolutions of losing weight and eating better and all that. But I also have a few knitting related ones:

- To knit a sweater for myself

- To knit something in intarsia

- To learn to knit two socks at once

- To knit something for my son, Tommy. I can't believe I haven't knit him anything yet!

I wish everyone much love and happiness in 2013. And lots of yarn and knitting too!

Amost there...

I'm tired... All I can think about is the fact that I just have one more day of work before 10 blissful days of family time, knitting and relaxing. I haven't wrapped a single gift yet, though I'm proud to say that I am finished with all my Christmas shopping. I am still knitting my dad's socks but I know I can finish it in the next few days. I may knit a scarf after this... a quick, chunky one. Or maybe I'll finally finish Sophia's hat. I only started it in January... lol.

In other news I went to see The Guilt Trip last night and I had the best time. What a fun, feel-good movie! I forgot how great it is to watch a movie in the theater. Really. The last one I saw was Dreamgirls, which opened in 2006. 2006!!!!!! That is sad. I really need to get out more.

I am going to sign up for the Downton Abbey Mystery KAL with Jimmy Beans Wool. I have never done a KAL. I think this will be fun. I'll make sure to keep you guys informed of my progress. From what I understand, every Sunday they will post a portion of the project, until finally, at the end of the season you have a finished "something".

More posts to come when I'm not so tired from the end of the year crazyness.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

One down...

I am so happy with the socks I'm knitting my dad. I finished the first one last night and immediately cast on the second. I'm still not sure what I'm going to knit after this. Sometime soon I'll be starting a dress for a dear friend. It will probably be my biggest project to date and she's going to look fabulous in it. but I also need to think of a smaller project for myself....
I have been knitting on the train a lot. Knitting and listening to Christmas carols. That definitely puts me in a good mood at the start of the day...

Daddy's Sock # 1

500 Sweaters!

So this lady in The Netherlands stashed away 500 sweaters that she knit since 1955. That's about 9 sweaters a year. That's a whole lot of knitting! Usually it takes me a year to knit a kid's sweater! Anyway, I wonder why she never gave them away. Did she knit them all for herself? Or maybe she just go too attached to them... Whatever it is, this video is fun. I'm sure she was thrilled to finally see every one of her sweaters being worn at the same time. Enjoy...

Priceless...

Teaching my girl how to knit this weekend. Yesterday we finger knit. Today we moved on to needles. She's doing great and I'm so proud!

On the needles...

I have a new pair of socks I started knitting for my wonderful daddy! I cast them on right after I finished the hubby's socks and I love how they are turning out. The pattern I picked for him is the Diamond Gansey Socks by Wendy Johnson. I really love her book Socks from the Toe Up and hope that I can add more of her books to my collection soon. Her patterns are very easy to follow and the designs are gorgeous. As soon as I find the right yarn I'm going to cast on another pair for a friend of mine. Think I can finish them all by Christmas?
Here is a picture of what I've done so far with my dad's socks. I hope he likes them. I have never knit anything for him before...

Thanksgiving and Yarn Shopping...

We just got back from a wonderful Thanksgiving with family in Vermont. The kids really had a blast running wild and free through Grandma and Grandpa's house. They don't get to see them very often, so it was nice to see them get some quality time together.
I ate way too much, but that's what Thanksgiving is all about, right? Well, not really, but that's part of it. :)
On our drive back home we decided to stop for lunch in Northampton, MA. The main reason, was so that I could visit the WEBS store there. I have shopped from their website before, which I love. I had always dreamed of going to their store. I had seen signs on the road during previous trips to see the family and I am so glad we finally stopped to check it out. It was quite an experience. I don't think I have ever seen so much yarn in one room. I should have prepared in advanced. I should have had patterns printed out and specific yarns to look for. Instead, I walked around with my husband and kids (one of them was acting quite wild from being in the car for so long) and tried to take it all in. I started putting yarn in my basket and not even thinking about it. I was looking for one specific yarn for a pair of socks I'm knitting for a friend, but I think I failed. I bought this gorgeous cashmere yarn, but now I'm thinking it's probably not good for socks... There was so much sock yarn I couldn't see straight. And then, I saw the entrance to the other room... A room filled with long isles of yarn. Oh boy... It was just too much. I couldn't resist some gorgeous Tweed that I will one day knit into a sweater, and some other goodies too... About $200 later (gulp!) we left the store with me telling my husband that I had just taken care of Christmas shopping for me...
Somewhere around Connecticut I finished the hubby's socks. I'm so proud! They really look great and he's thrilled. I'll try to get him to model them for me later so that I can share a photo with you guys. Now on to the next pair!

Oh, Sandy...

Hi Everyone! Hope you're all safe and sound. Sandy was a crazy, angry storm and I feel very lucky that nothing terrible happened to us. I am saddened by all the destruction that happened in our area and send my love to all of the ones that have lost so much, and now have to start their lives from scratch. I can't even imagine what that must feel like. We are fortunate that all we had to deal with was the loss of power for 9 days. We had a little damage to our roof, but nothing major.
I have missed writing here. Who knew I'd enjoy it so much, right? I was home for two weeks and today was actually my first day back to work after Sandy. I bet you're thinking that with all "free" the time I knit a blanket. You are mistaken, my friends.... Knitting with two small children in the house is pretty much impossible. Knitting by candlelight sounds romantic, but I can tell you that all it does is make your eyes sting...
I finally got to knit a bit while waiting for my cable provider to arrive on Friday (all our wires got knocked down by a tree) and managed to finish sock # 1 for the hubby. Just to remind you, I'm knitting the Traditional Gansey Socks by Wendy Johnson. I think they look great on the hubby and last night I started sock # 2. I have to find lots of time for knitting because I have 2 more pairs I want to finish before Christmas... Not to mention a new scarf for me.... Ha! There is no way I can do all that by Christmas... Who am I kidding?

Here are pictures of the hubby sporting his new sock...

Ta-Da!

Another project finished! I'm very excited about this one. I think the last time I knit a hat for myself was back in 2008!

Sandy...

Here in the east coast we are all preparing for hurricane Sandy. Personally, I'm hoping that we're all over-reacting and that Monday morning we laugh about it on our way to work. If I didn't have kids I probably wouldn't worry so much.
Yesterday I was able to leave work a bit early so I headed off to Target to buy a few things. While I was searching for items for "survival" such as batteries, canned goods, and water, which they were completely out of, I also bought things assuming nothing would happen such as Halloween candy, cheese, and frozen goods. Cautious but optimist, I guess. I did manage to get water at Whole Foods, by the way. Phew. And hubby went off to buy a shop vac since we could get some water in the basement. With hurricane Irene, it really was no fun mopping all that water up. It took hours and hours...
The good news is that I have lots and lots and lots of yarn, and many projects to work on!
Stay safe, everyone!

Mistakes...

I try very hard not to make mistakes in my knitting projects, but I'm sure that all you experienced knitters out there know that sometimes, it just happens... I tend to knit while watching TV and yes, I am guilty of sipping wine while knitting as well. And I also admit that sometimes, while knitting on the train after a long day in the office... Well... I have fallen asleep. So... I was very disappointed yesterday when I realized that I had made a mistake while knitting my Stashy Hat. I have been known to ignore small mistakes and just keep going but this one was so obvious I had to fix it. Last night was spent backwards knitting about 5 rows in order to fix this. I'm glad that I did it because I'm really happy with the way this hat is turning out. This was supposed to be my mindless, easy, knitting project but I guess it's not so mindless after all...

Socks

Knitting socks always amaze me. I always start out thinking that there is no way this is going to become a sock, and soon enough, it starts taking shape, my chin drops and I say "Ha!". The Hubby's socks are taking me forever, but I am so happy with they way they are turning out! These are my first toe up socks and I'm totally hooked. I do think next time I will try to knit two at a time, though. The Hubby is loving them so far. Oh, and that's our cat Peanut in the back. Isn't she cute?

A very good weekend...

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was packed with errands, but also lots of fun things.

1) I finally finished my Canaletto Cowl! I blocked it so when it'd dry, I promise to share a picture. My only regret is not binding off loosely... :(

2) My local yarn shop had a huge sidewalk sale on Saturday! They were selling bags of yarn for $10! That's $1/skein! I went in the morning and got two bags. I had the hubby and kids sitting in the car waiting for me so I felt a bit rushed. In the afternoon I decided to go back and got 3 more bags. I can't wait to find projects for all this new yarn! Here is a picture of the new addition to the stash:

3) Saturday evening we spent around a fire pit at my neighbor's house, roasting marshmallows, eating smores and having a good chat. So much fun!

4) I cast on my new project, the Stashy Hat by Thea Colman.

5) Oh, and I have been making progress with the hubby's socks too!

Have a great start to the week, everyone!

The Cowl that Never Ends...

Every night I pick up my Canaletto Cowl and tell myself that this is the day I'm going to finish it... And it doesn't happen. This has been going on since the weekend. It's so frustrating to be so close, but not able to end it. I don't think I realized this was going to be such a big project when I first started knitting it. I had just finished the Onda Cowl, which only took me about a week to knit, so I thought this one would be quick as well. I'm ready to be done and to start wearing it!
Wish me luck... I think tomorrow I'll finally finish. I only have 4 rows left after all...

Barbra and the Weekend...

Let me start out by saying that Barbra was amazing on Thursday night. The whole evening was magical. We had amazing seats, she sounded wonderful (despite a cold), and she looked gorgeous. I wish I could re-live the evening. Thankfully, the show was being recorded so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for a DVD or TV special in the future.
I had many knitting plans for this weekend... None of them happened. Family always comes first and with S having a slight fever on Friday/Saturday and T deciding to take short naps Saturday and Sunday, I had very little knitting time. I wanted to block S's sweater, and I wanted to finish the cowl I have been working on... Oh well... Hopefully I'll get my act together for next weekend. I'm ready to move on to new projects. I'm thinking it's time for a new hat for me...

Crochet...

The past few nights I have been working on this crochet baby blanket that I started, well, hm, in March... This was my first real crochet experience and putting it down for a few months did not help me. I can't understand the pattern at all. Even though I've figured out what to do to keep going, I'm really struggling with the corners and fudging my way through. I'm thinking of changing this into a stroller blanket. Big enough to cover baby, but short enough not to drag on the floor or get caught in the wheels...

In other news, I am in countdown mode for Barbra Streisand's Back to Brooklyn concert that I will be attending tomorrow night. I adore her and have been a fan for many years. I'm so glad I have the chance to see her perform one more time!

Cardigan

It's done! S is going to be so happy when she comes home from school! I can't wait to take a picture of her wearing it. I could not have finished this cardigan without the help of this article from Knitty about seaming and this tutorial on sewing buttons from Craftstylish. I lightly blocked the cardigan before seaming but I'm thinking I should probably do a full block after S gets to try it on. Here it is, button and all!

Day Off...

I have been really looking forward to today. It's Columbus day in my neck of the woods and I happen to work for a company that gives the day off. The kids are in school and daycare and my husband is at work. I wanted to declare today as my Day of Knitting, but things didn't quite start out the way I planned...
Since everyone was so crazy yesterday I didn't really get a chance to clean and tidy up around the house, so I had to spend this morning doing that. It does go a lot faster with no one else here, but still... I was grumpy. This was supposed to be my fun knitting day! And how does the house get this dirty and messy anyway? Arrgh!!!!! But now that it's over, I'm happy I did it and am ready to start my Afternoon of Knitting.
My main project is to seam a cardigan that I knit for my daughter. I finished knitting it months ago, but have been putting off the seaming... Actually, I've been sort of dreading it... I don't know why, I just do... I have tons of unfinished projects laying around the house... I actually frogged some of them recently because I was knitting them for the kids and, well... they got bigger and the garments would no longer fit them...
Anyway, here is a picture of S's cardigan. I loved knitting this. It's done in one piece and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I also have the perfect button for it. Hopefully I'll manage to sew that as well!

Is there a full moon tonight?

Seriously. Everyone in this house is acting crazy today. Baby T decided he is a screamer. Yes. This has become his main communication method. If he's upset, he screams, if he's having fun, he screams, if he wants something, he screams. Oy. But that's not all. He decided today would be a good day to cut his nap time in half...
Sweet daughter S has been bouncing off the walls with some strange kind of energy as well... Running around the house, throwing things, acting jealous of her brother...
What a way to end the weekend... I am tense, dreaming of the moment that we can put the kids to sleep so that I can relax and enjoy a glass of wine...

Not all is bad. Hubby is making Pasta e Fagioli soup and baking a loaf of bread in the kitchen. T and S looked adorable in their footie pajamas, Revenge and Amazing Race are on tonight... And I have tomorrow off! A whole day to myself! Sometimes, you just need one of those, right?

Here is a picture of some of the goodness from today:

Blog Frustration

Now that I am starting to get the hang of this, I decided to go all crazy and add a Ravelry button to my side bar. You know, so that you guys can find me. You'd think it would be an easy thing, right? Not so much. 1-1/2 hours later, I finally figured out a solution, thanks to a post in the Ravelry group for people using Blogger. Anyway, I got no knitting done tonight but I'm happy I didn't give up. Now click away!

New Look!

Hey, don't go away! It's still me! If you haven't noticed (or if you're new here) I changed the look of this blog. I liked the design and color scheme I had before but I found that it was a little busy and hard to read. I hope you guys like the changes. I also changed the title of the blog...
What do you think? I'm totally open to suggestions and comments!

Lunch...

I am so glad it's Friday! I have been a very naughty girl and stayed up late knitting and watching TV every night this week. Going to bed late is normal for me, but this week I really pushed it, going to bed past midnight some days. What you don't know is that I wake up at 5:30am. Yes. You heard that right. 5:30am. Why? Well, there are two kids to that need to get ready for school and daycare, lunches that need to be put together, etc, etc, etc. I also have to be out of the house by 6:45 in order to catch my train...
During my lunch break I try to knit... or read blogs about knitting... or both. Today I did both. I chose to work on the socks I'm making for the hubby today. I love them, but I'm sort of regretting doing them in the large size version. My gauge is perfect, but they seem so wide... But now I don't want to start over so hubby may have to live with it... Anyway, knitting during my lunch break is very relaxing, but I have to admit that since I'm so very very tired, I started to get a bit too relaxed... My eyes really wanted to shut down for a while, so I had to put the knitting down and write this post to wake myself up. Now it's back to work!

I almost forgot!

The Canaletto Cowl is also coming along really nicely. I wish I had picked a softer yarn for it, but I'm sure it will make me very happy when it's wrapped around my neck this winter. I'm making the larger size. Can't wait until it's done. It's really hard going from the small needles of the Gansey Socks to the bigger ones for the cowl!

It's working!

Somehow this magic loop thing really works! And somehow, I'm not screwing it up! Hubby's sock is starting to take shape and I'm loving it... Can you see the detail of the pattern? Hard to believe it's all knits and purls. Also, I love the yarn I chose for this sock. It's String Theory's Caper Sock. Very soft!

Yay!

I am beyond excited! I never ever ever win anything. I hardly ever enter any contests either. Lately I have been entering all of the "win me" contests for the Knit Simple magazine. And guess what? I won something from the Fall 2012 issue. A super awesome knitting tote bag. Lucky lucky me!

Just like magic...

It's hard to believe it, but I did it! I really did it! With a little help from the web, of course. I found some great videos that helped get me started on the socks. Here is a video on Judy's Magic Cast On from knitpurlhunter:

And here is a video on just knitting in the magic loop technique, also from knitpurlhunter:

As I'm knitting this I find it hard to believe that things are going to work out. I guess I'll feel better after the sock starts taking up shape and I feel more comfortable with the technique. I keep thinking that I must be doing something wrong...

Making the best of it...

My sweet son T came home with a stomach virus last Tuesday. Poor little guy. Thankfully, it was a 24 hr bug and he was fine the next day. On Friday evening, my husband came down with it. I thought maybe he got it because he was the one who stayed home with T that day. Boy, was I wrong! Last night, my daughter S woke up in the middle of the night and... I'll spare you the details, but it wasn't fun.

I'm home with her today and even though I will be checking work emails throughout the day, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to take a break from my Canaletto Cowl project to try and master a new technique. I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to figure out the magic loop technique. I promised the hubby some socks and since Fall is here... I better get a move on it. I picked the Traditional Gansey Socks pattern from the book Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson. Hubby has approved the pattern and yarn choice. I'll let you guys know how it goes!

On my own...

I had a pretty quiet evening. The hubby was out with some friends so after the kids fell asleep I was on my own. It was nice. I watched a couple of shows (too embarrassed to admit what they are), knit, sipped some vino and had a nice chat with my daddy via Skype. I'm definitely a "daddy's little girl" kind of daughter. My dad means the world to me. He's always been an inspiration, someone I look up to.
It's tough to live so far away from him. Thankfully, technology makes it easier to stay in touch. When I first moved here for college, we had a weekly phone date. Every Sunday at a certain time I would sit by the phone and wait for it to ring. I'm glad things are easier now. Email, texts, Facebook. I remember how awful I used to feel whenever I missed that one Sunday night call...

Being a mom...

...Is finding a half-eaten lollypop in your purse. :)

A Cowl kind of Day...

Yesterday morning I stood outside waiting for the train at 7am, shivering. Why didn't I think to wear the gorgeous cowl (pattern here) that I had just finished knitting? This morning was even colder so I put it on and headed for the train station... It really made me happy to stand there, all cozy, sipping my coffee. And to make things even better, I got tons of compliments at work!
In general, I'm more of a summer person, being Brazilian and all... But this Fall, I'm really looking forward to staying inside, sipping a glass of wine and knitting. Next time I'll try to smile for the picture. :)

Lunch Break...

I always eat at my desk. I know that I should probably go outside, breathe the fresh air and move a bit, but I always end up staying in the building. I used to sit at my desk and surf the web but lately I have been knitting. I turn my back to my glass wall (sometimes I feel like I work in an aquarium) and I knit away...

Latest Project

I finally finished the pair of mittens I was working on! I'm 90% happy with them. They were a bit of a challenge for me. The only other mittens I have knit were for my daughter a few years ago... They really didn't look great, but I didn't care since she was about 3. Anyway, the new mittens are great. I just don't know if I'm a big mitten person. I knit the ones that have a flip top, so that I can still play with my phone as I'm standing outside waiting for my train to the city. Here they are:

I'm not sure how I feel about the triangular top. Maybe I'll get used to it. I like them better when the top is flipped over and you can see my fingers.
Tonight I cast on this project: Canaletto Cowl. Looking forward to wrapping it around my neck as the weather gets colder.
I other news, my husband baked this fabulous loaf of bread today. His first!

Yum!

Let's start

Hi. You're probably wondering why I'm here. Or why you should read this blog. To be honest, I don't know if I can answer that question just yet.
First, let me introduce myself to you. I'm 36, married and a mother to two amazing kids. S is 5 and T is 14 months. They definitely keep me busy. I also hold a full time job in the publishing world.
I love to knit. Let me start out by saying that I'm not a pro. I have only been knitting for a few years. I walked into a yarn shop one day and came out with a book, needles and enough yarn for a scarf. With the help of YouTube I taught myself how to knit. I like to challenge myself with the projects I pick. I don't always finish my projects... And I get in trouble for not knitting a gauge swatch... Mostly, I knit on the train and after the kids go to bed.
There are many wonderful blogs out there that have inspired me to start my own. I don't know if my life will be as interesting as theirs, but I'm curious to see where this leads me.

So... Welcome!