The flu has hit me, and hard. I’ve done pretty much nothing for the past 48 hours, except make myself some chicken soup, knit, and surf the net looking for ideas and inspiration for my December Daily. I literally gasped when I saw this:

on Etsy. Seriously, is it not the most adorable vintage christmas goodie you’ve ever seen?! You must go buy this pdf (super cheap, by the way!) from TayloredArts and plop one on every single gift you give out this season. Bonus points if it’s a knitted gift you’re giving.

And because I’m feeling a bit loopy from the flu drugs, I’m even going to give away one of these PDFs. Leave a comment telling me all about the knitted gifts you’re planning to give this season, and I’ll have the boys pick a name out of a (knitted) hat. I’ll buy a set for the winner and have it sent to your email so you can give some Christmas Cuteness!

The Giveaway will close Sunday, Nov.8th at midnight. For a second chance to win, join Little Turtle Knit’s facebook fan page.

yup, I think that’s about right, too.

You are bamboo.

Warm, cozy, and thoughtful, you take your time and
enjoy how things feel, smell, and taste. You
love the craft and beauty of traditional
things, and you value the comfort and
experience of knitting as much as the results.
But while you are reveling in your warm cozies,
don’t get stuck. Warm is wonderful, but so is
the whole wide world!

What kind of knitting needles are you?
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So, I’ve been swatching like crazy for lots of spring/summer designs. Loving on Mission falls 1824 cotton right now, and surprising, also loving on TLC’s Cotton Plus (way cheaper that the 1824, LOL!) Will have some goodies to show in a week or so.

Motoring along on Rogue’s sleeve. Using the yarn I have on the site, in bark, and it is truly stunning. Me like!

In other news, we just got news yesterday that our bid for a new house (our first that’s not rented!!) was accepted, so on May 26th we officially become homeonwners. Here’s a link to a pic (too big to put here and bore you all) so if you want to see, check it out: Our House

That’s it for now, folks!

You are Schroeder!

Which Peanuts Character are You?
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So I hate that blogger just deleted the entire post I wrote. Ugh-now to rewrite it. It’s never as witty the second time around, yk?

What a day! Ethan’s asthma has taken us for a ride the past few days, since he got croup. When his coughing made him throw up his OJ this morning, I knew it was time to bundle up for a visit to the Emergency Department at Children’s Hospital. So, off we went. Ethan got four breathing tratments and a shot of steroids, and now we’re happily cuddled back at him. He’ll be on Orapred for a few days, but I think we’ve weathered this storm pretty well. Last time, we had to stay at CHOP for 5 days. Man, how I love those steroids and the magic they cast on my little guys lungs!

I did manage to get a bit of progress done on his gansey while he slept at the ED. It’s for Christmas, so the center motif is little trees, which you cannot tell from the pic. He’s already grown quite attached to it, and treis to cuddle at every occasion. I’ve had to rescue at least half a dozen droppes stitches from his attempts at “lovin”, but if it makes him happy, right now that’s fine by me.

I managed to also get the second bootee doen in this cute pumpkin pair. The yarn is Wildflower DK, and if I haven’t mentioned it before, I loathe this yarn. It splits like the Dickens, it’s like knitting with 8 strands of thread, held loosely together. Yuk. But the finished product is awfully cute (or will be, once I seam the second bootee).

And finally, one more pic that I promised a few days ago-my little turtle stitch markers. I hope they make you smile as much as they do me

Dh took the boys to the Y to swim before I even woke up this morning, so I’ve had 3 hours (and counting) of blissfully quiet knitting time. (Gotta love that man o’mine!) Finally got a chance to sit and figure the details on the Pilot Cap pattern everyone has been bugging me about, so now it’s finished. Here’s the hat:

I’m not sure what I’ll do with that sample one, since there’s a definite lack of girls around here, but that’s the yarn that was salvaged from the swift incident the other day, I couldn’t bear to waste it.

I think I’m going to start a gansey sampler today, for a new pattern. I’ve been itching to do matching ones for Ethan and AJ to wear for Christmas pics, and since the house is quiet and all the cleaning is done, I feel like it’s okay to start another project (let’s NOT talk about the half dozen or so that are sitting on my workdesk to be finished, ok?) I’ll be using some of the yummy 2 ply yarn I carry, in the hunter green shade. Very Christmas-y, me thinks. I’ll post pics tomorrow when there’s some progress.

Well, I’m posting pics, so I think that means the yarn came out well! I am in love witht eh autumn colorway I talked about this morning. It’s going to my friend Tanya, for her little Fae’s booty, and I hope she loves it

And here’s the rest of my “inbox” that I dyed today. I love being a knitter, all these fun colors!

ANd finally got the boys to model the hats I did for them over vacation. Notice the ingenious shaping at the ears to keep those little lobes warm and cozy? I’m planning to write up the pattern for the site, but it’s slow going, so if y’all want it, pester me about it and I’ll try tog et it dne faster. Ethan’s (the white hat) has a tree pattern in purl on it, and Aj’s (the green one) has a diamond purl pattern on it. Pretty cute, huh? (that hats aren’t so bad either!)

Today has been a much better knitting day. I consoled myself yesterday by making the cutest little turtle stitch markers (pics coming as soon as I charge the digi batteries). They make me smile every time I look at them

My beginner’s knitting class at the YMCA is coming along very nicely. They’ve all caught on quickly (I know it’s cause I’m such a great teacher, LOL!) and they started their first circular project last night. It’s just a simple aht, but they were all terribly impressed with themselves that they could actually knit in the round. I told them it wasn’t hard, but I think that’s one of those things you just have to learn for yourself

Hubby stayed home from work today (playing hookey to go play golf, bad boy!) so I got a break fromt eh walking-to-school routine and managed to get 8 skeins of yarn dyed this morning. Very productive, so I’m feeling quite proud of myself. I tried a new colorway, kind of an earthy-autumn thing going’ on, so I’ll post if it comes out well (and we’ll all just forget I mentioned it if it comes out badly).

I’m working on the pattern for the pilot cap lots of you have been asking for, and I just cannot seem to get the dimensions right. If iI get the back right, then the sides look wonky, if the sides are right, the back’s too narrow. Ugh-if I rip out the sample one more time I’m throwing in the towel. I wish I had written down the directions when I did it last year, then I wouldn’t have this problem, would I?

Mental note to self-Always write things down. Youwill forget more than you think you can remember.

Argh!! It is NOT a good knitting day for me, folks. First, I woke up to the boys sitting angelically ont he couch watching Clifford, and Dh was already gone for work. I walk intot he playroom/workroom for me, and my beautiful wooden swift has two pieces snapped in half. :sob: So who’s the culprit? I know it’s one of the boys, but their mouths are closed tighter than a ship out at sea. Harumpf!! It’s a good thing I just got a wholesale account with a company that wholesales wooden swifts, tee hee!

So I schlep to the attic to pull out the yukky metal swift, and start to wind the skeins I dyed this weekend. We take a break to walk AJ to school, and then when I get back I’m rinsing dishes in the kitchen when Ethan comes in and says, “Uh-oh, mama. Yarn messy!” I (try to) walk calmly into the workroom, and am greeting by this sight:

Ethan thought he’s help me out by spinnign the yarn for me. Well, it’s not a tangled mess that will never be undone. I’m forced with either spending hours to untangle it (not a wise investment of time fo rone skein of yarn) or cut it off and de another. Wah!!

moral of this story: yarn+toddler=sad knitter today

So I’m all excited about some creative juices I’ve got flowing the past few days, and bundle the boys to head off to the yarn shop this morning. I know it opens at 10, so I plan our arrive for around 10:30, so it will probably still be empty and the boys don’t bug anyone. We show up at 10:24, and it’s CLOSED. Yes, closed, locked up tight, empty. I can spy the yarn I want for swatching through the window, but can’t get to it. Wah! What’s the point of having posted hours if you do not honor them?

So, we head to the library for a bit, and after the library head to another local yarn shop. This one’s due to open at 11, so when we arrive at 11:35, I think surely they will be ready to greet us.

NO! I’m wrong. They are closed too. What is up with this?! I understand that yarn shops are generally run by sole proprietors, but this is not the first time I’ve visited these establishments when they have been due to be open adn are closed. I suppose I should have learned my lesson and called before I went out. But am I asking too much to expect a business to honor their posted hours?! (and lest anyone think it’s because of inclement weather from Isabel, she’s not due here until late tonight, and basically all we’ve got going now is a light breeze and some cloud cover)

Now I’m left ordering online, since I won’t be able to get out to either shop again, and I want to start these swatches before I forget the ideas. So much for trying to support small, local businesses. Harumpf!

Okay, so I haven’t been quite as good about blogging as I said I would. September has crept up on me, and we’re mired in preschool, Sunday school, and such. My beginner’s knitting class at the Y is going well, I love the students in my class! Next week theya re going to tackle circular knitting and a cute little hat, and they are terrified. I remember how scared I was the frist time I had to join, and I know they will do just fine.

We just got back from a glorious week in the Adirondacks, which turned out to be quite productive for me. I got several patterns written up, including the one for these beauties: LTK Longies!

Ethan is deserate for a new pair, so I’m doing some for him in a denim-y blue Bartlett yarn. Aj wants a monster hat for the winter-so need to think about what that is, exactly! No projects on needles or planned for me, since I’m getting huger by the second and don’t desire to knit any tents for myself.

Ah!! Baby newsflash: IT”S A BOY! yes, anotherboy. There’s a special place in heaven for mother’s of three boys, and my spot in the corner, knitting under the tree, is reserved already. It’s right next to the padded room they’ve reserved for mothers of twins.

Now that we know it’s a boy, I’ve started to get the urge to knit cute little denim yarn sweaters and such. We’ll see how much I get done though!