Like eating an elephant.....

One bite at a time!  I have been working diligently for several months on the Master Knitter Level 1.  I mailed my submission off for evaluation this week!  Now for two months to breathe until it comes back with what I need to redo and fix.  It is a daunting task.  I had to look it all over and then just look at the next step.  There is a lot of research and writing involved as well as knitting.  While in the midst of it I had serious doubts I would go on to level 2.  I am now convinced that I should complete the entire program, all three levels.  The research and writing are good for me.  Below are just a few of the 17 swatches I had to submit.

 Take a good look at this vest.  I loved it, she loved it, her Mommy loved it.  It met a horrible demise.  It came up against the dryer and lost.  It was not knit of superwash wool.  Mommy knew it, Daddy did not.  Sigh.  It would fit a teddy bear now.  I cried.  I contacted the dyer, my favorite dyer, to see if I could get more of the yarn and knit another.  It even had Olaf buttons!  It was too cute to wear once.  Elena, from Colour Adventures, was in the midst of dying for a coop, her mother in law was sick, and she had a lot going on.  She put in time to dye some more for me, included it with my coop order, and she didn't charge me!  I cannot say enough good things about her yarn.  The color, the feel, the way it knits up.  She's always been sweet but this was above and beyond.

 It's been a few busy months.  I've been sewing more that knitting but knit a few gifts for a friend and her new baby granddaughter.

 I love the mini swaps in the Itty Bitty group on ravelry.  The requirements for these swaps is one hand made gift, it can be sewn, crocheted, knit, tatted, painted, whatever, and a card.  That's it.  I crocheted a few snowflakes for the last swap before Christmas.  It was fun to get back into crocheting with thread for a bit.  I stiffened them with one part tacky glue and two parts water.  They were stiff enough, or as Goldilocks said when she sat in the baby bear's chair, they were "just right."

 Sewing, sewing, sewing...oh my.  Pjs for all the grandmunchkins, and flannel shirts for the boys and that was the extent of my Christmas sewing and gifts.  I failed miserably on my goals for gifts this year but have a goal to do better next year.  I did get some amazing deals on the flannel and fleece even though I had to go to Joann's twice to get those deals.  One day was flannel sales, the next fleece.  I found Olaf flannel for the girls and took all that was left on the bolt.  It was just enough!

 Shega kept busy right before Christmas knitting a Dr. Who scarf for a friend.  It took her hours and lots of my stash but it was beautiful when she was done and the friend was very happy with it.  He paid her with a Starbucks card (my suggestion) and she was thrilled.  She got a new hot chocolate mug.

 I almost forgot about this.  His older brothers had a Chillman vest for Christmas at his age so it was time he got one.  Unfortunately he will only get to wear it this season.  I made it big enough for this year but not next so I'll be knitting another.  I still love knitting with Sublime yarn.  Yummy!

 The boys' seasonal flannel shirts.  Shirts and I have a love hate relationship.  I love sewing them for the challenge but after all these years they are still that, a challenge.

 This was a very special Christmas gift for me.  My granddaughter, age 13, spent hours coloring this for me and framed it.  It is proudly in the living room where I can see it often.  I cried when I opened it.  What a treasure.  A 13 year old girl would spend her time to make this for me.  I'm crying again.

 Well, the saying goes, "Go Ducks!"  Or not.  It was a phenomenal football season watching the Ducks this year.  I've slowing been enjoying college football more and more and specifically the Ducks.  I watch the Beavers as well but they frustrate me.  We even went to a Beaver's game this year and throughly enjoyed it.  I think my heart is more with the Ducks, always kind of has been.  Since they were in the Rose Bowl and then in the National Championship, I knit my youngest grandson a "Go Ducks" vest.  I've been wanting to use this pattern for years and finally did!  It is going to be a go to for baby showers.  Fast and cute.

What a hodge podge this blog post has been.  It probably wouldn't be if I did it more often but life happens and blog posts take time.  So no apologies, just when it happens, it happens.

I set a few goals for 2015, not resolutions.  I posted them in the ravelry group.  We'll see.  No pressure.  Looking back at 2014 goals was helpful.  I made a few, made dents in a few, and a few never even saw more than the list.  The goals are like life, keep striving.  And with that, I'm off to strive to clean up the sewing table, again.  Can't have a fabric stash.  It's not in me.  So I sew but I enjoy the sewing and the clean sewing room after....for awhile and then another project notion hits and a trip to the fabric store and more sewing.

Whoosh went November....

The grandmunchkins are keeping us busy busy busy and loving every minute of it.  Volleyball matches, wrestling matches, gymnastics, tae kwon do, Wednesday night children's program, church.  Not a lot of time to knit and sew but I finished up a few more things.  I am doing level 1 of the Master Knitter's Program and about ready to submit it to the committee. But in between the intensity of that, there has been some "fun" knitting.        Below is a hodge podge of November and photo intensive!                                           

 I finished this vest in May.  I took some pictures and stacked it away for fall.  I finally got modeled shots!  I love this vest, the yarn, the fit, the design, the buttons!  Olaf buttons, what's not to love?  It's the Rays of Gold vest by Elena Nodel and the details are on my ravelry page.

 I picked up my cross stitch again a few months ago but these are the only things I've finished and they were sent away to my swap partner for the Advent swap.  I have to do some more for our Christmas decorations.  Next year.  No time this year.  I learned a few things since the finished article is not what I would have liked but I ran out of time.  I should have made the hearts bigger so I had a bigger seam allowance to work with for starters.

All things Frozen are a hit and so why not Olaf pancakes?  We don't get pancakes during the week since I don't like to send kids to school sugared up so they are a huge treat on non school days.

 As I said, we've been going going going to grandmunchkin events.  Like volleyball matches....

 and gymnastics.  This little gymnast finished level 1!

 And cheerleading classes.

 For the first time our grandmunchkins that attend the same church we do were part of the worship team.  We were SO proud of them.  They sang, they stood still and quiet when not singing.

 No school November is the phrase around  here.  They are more no school days than school days so we have actitivities planned or we have hyper bored kids.  My sweet husband took the week off to spend with the kids as well.  Activities for this "no school November" included cleaning the roof and making cinnamon rolls.  Even the youngest learned to knead bread!

 Thanksgiving this year was 3 generations!  How special and wonderful.  No gathering of my side of the family would be complete without a rousing game of Aggravation!  It's more about who you can send back than who wins!

 Thanksgiving weekend ended in downtown for Holly Jolly Days.  Our grandson's tae kwon do school escorted Santa's train in and then put on a play of "Frozen".  It was wonderful!

 And as this face shows, it was throughly enjoyed.

Speaking of holly jolly...I have a stack of fabric waiting to be sewn into pjs and shirts and books and wrapped. A future blog post will be sewing heavy!  And a whole lot of Frozen.  I snagged the last of the Olaf flannel and then there's our tree...see you soon.  I hope.

Tricks and Treats

October flew by in a flash and with the end of October comes Halloween.  In an effort to be different, I knit up some treats for some of the grandmunchkins.  There wasn't enough time to hit them all but several in the past have gotten something when others haven't so I think it's pretty fair.  A few in the IBK group in ravelry knit up a "Patch" in a fall swap and he was just too cute to resist.  So several found there way onto my needles and then in to two little girls' hands.  

                                           Patch number 1

 While I was on a toy splurge, I knit up the chicken and chicks from Spud and Chloe farm set for my Advent SP.  I think Susan B. Anderson is a genus.  This hen and her chicks were so fun to knit and the bottom of the hen is open so her chicks can scoot under her and keep warm.

                                                       Patch number 2

Did you know October is National Bat month?  It is!  So a granddaughter and grandson got a bat in lieu of a Patch.  The Audobon society brought bats into our granddaughter's classroom and she found them fascinating.  Who wouldn't?

And then it was time for tricks and treats!  We were so blessed this year that 8 of our 10 grandmunchkins knocked on our door for treats!  We had a biker chick, Freddy Kruger, a rock star, Dorothy, Elsa, Wolverine, Captain America, and "momas" (Thomas the Train)

The months of September and October are Advent swap knitting months.  I joined at the last minute not wanting to miss the fun.  There were several required knits, one being mice.  I knit the mice from Itty Bitty Nursery.  So cute and fun.  And I hated to send them away since they looked so cute in the teacup.

I got back into some cross stitch for the swap too.  I'm not thrilled with the finishing of the ornaments but very happy with the cross stitch.

One more bat off the needles since one of my swap partners loves bats!

And a  snowman cloth too.

The swap packages are in the mail so it's time to turn on the Christmas knitting.  Since the knitting is for children that don't read blogs I'll be sharing.

Yeah for cooler weather and fall activities!

I am not a summer person, nor a hot weather person, so when the weatherman predicted rain and cooler temps I cried.  It's been a long hot summer and I was more than ready for it to vamoose.  I love the rain, and fall, and cool weather.  I love the activities we do in the fall and through the spring.  

 Things like read books!  A friend from ravelry sent us this book.  I think we've read it 10 times.  What a fun book!  The art work is amazing too.

 Football!  Oh my, I love football season.  I more listen than watch since I'm churning out the knitting but I love football.  Our grandsons are playing flag football this season and we are loving the games.

 We return to library story time every Wednesday and come home with a big bag of books to read the following week.

 I've been getting a bit more knitting done.   Due in the part to the aforementioned football, but also due to the 2 hour nap time I have free while the littlest sleeps before I pick up the school kids.  I'm in the Advent swap again in the Itty Bitty group and one of the requirements to include was the nesting boxes from Itty Bitty Toys.  These took longer than I anticipated so I was glad I started them first.  Shega even helped with knitting one of them.  They were labor intensive but I loved the results.  It will be hard to send them away.  I think I'd do a few modifications if I were to do them again.

 There was also a fall swap in the itty bitty group that I joined.  One of the swapees shared her craft on the forum and I knew it would be fun to do with the kids.  She sent me some pointers when I asked about it.  Pumpkins from canning jar rings.  I wish I could come up with these creative ideas but I'm glad somebody does and then shares so the rest of us non creative types can copy.

 Step one was laying out the rings and painting the insides with spray paint.

 While waiting overnight from them to dry, we also did another craft I'd found on pininterest a year ago.  We even went leaf hunting and pressed the leaves.  They've been sitting in the garage for a year.  Using modge podge you paint the leaves on a canning jar and they use it as a candle holder.  They kids had fun with this too and although I don't have the finished project with a candle in it, it really does look wonderful with the light shining through the leaves. Lighter brown leaves work better than the dark red.

 After the rings were dry it was time to tie 12 of them together

 and form a pumpkin shape.

 Spray paint a glossy orange and we used a metallic copper to accent.

 Sprinkle glitter on the wet paint.

 In their minds there is no "too much" glitter.

 Success!  Can't wait for them to dry and put on the table with our candle holders.