Update On Celtic Knots and Thumbs...

Ok, so in a previous post I said that I wanted to learn to make Celtic Knot cables and thumbs (not Celtic thumbs, just regular ones).  Anyway, I did it!  Yay!  (Is the crowd cheering I'm hearing just in my head?)  Oh well, I'm pretty happy about it.  So here is some photographic evidence...

Horribly Blurry Picture

 

Another Horribly Blurry Picture

So, on to thumbs.  I made a fingerless glove... with a thumb! 

That is a thumb, right there!  An honest to goodness thumb!  Ok, technically half of a thumb, but it is at least a thumb hole.  Never mind that the glove itself is small enough to fit my 8 year old daughter and the thumb is large enough to fit Andre the Giant  It's still a thumb, darn it!

I have only made one, so far.  I am really fighting that "one glove syndrome" (a.k.a. "One Sock Syndrome"). I believe that is what Stephanie Pearl - McPhee calls it when you make one glove (sock, mitten, etc) and then your over it.  You just don't want to make another one.  The thrill is gone, so to speak.  However, since whomever gets these gloves probably doesn't want to keep changing them from one hand to the other to keep warm, I guess I'll have to break down and make the second one! 

Here is the aforementioned 8 year old wearing the glove.  It does look better on.

 

And, here is one of Andre The Giant in The Princess Bride, just because.  

Princess Bride - awesome movie!

Celtic Knots and Heads...

No, not Celtic heads!  Styrofoam, actually...

 

Yep, not everyone can say that their husband got them their very own head for Mother's Day!  Really, I was very happy, because now I have something to model my hats (other than me).  She looks less scary with a hat on, don't you think?

On to Celtic Knots...  They are what have been keeping me so busy that I haven't had much time to blog (well, that and oversleeping, but I'm going to go with Celtic Knots).  Anyway, if you remember, I was wanting to check Celtic Knot Cables off of my Knitting Bucket List.   Well, here is what I have, so far...

Yay!  This is my new favorite thing to knit!  Of course, it really strains my eyes (since I have to follow a pattern - which I then have to turn around and do completely backwards).  So, after 20 inches or so of this I might be over it! 

Oh, by the way, try to ignore my foot in the picture, I had to get a really close up shot so you could see the cables!   

Just A Few Pictures...

Too tired for witty comentary this morning, so how about a few pictures...

Flowers my wonderful husband cut for me last night...



The hats I made while waiting with my Mom at the doctor.  I call them my "waiting room hats".


and last, but not least...



My TARDIS Kindle Cover!  It's a little wrinkled and the embroidery is awful, but I love it!



Waiting Room Hats, Yarn Shops, Cables and Thumbs...

Yeah, only in my world are those things NOT random!

So, I found out the 2 good things about sitting in a doctor's office waiting room 2 hours from my home...

1.There is a lot of time to knit (I made 2 hats in 3 days that week)!  I would have pictures, but the only camera in the house with batteries in it is in my daughter's room and she is still asleep (I am waking her up in just a few minutes, I promise)!  Plus, I am really tired of being the hat model for these pictures.  I really need one of those scary plastic heads.  Never thought you'd hear that in a sentence, did ya'? 

and...

2.They actually have yarn shops near big cities!

I mean honest to goodness yarn shops where they just sell yarn and yarn related objects.  You have to understand, the only place in my hometown that you can buy yarn also has a pharmacy, a lawn and garden department and sells groceries!  We don't even have a Hobby Lobby that's not 45 minutes away!  There are a few people who spin there own wool and sometimes sell it.  I don't mean to exclude them, they are my heroes, but I am talking about a whole store with just yarn and knitting needles!

Needless to say, I was in Heaven... until I saw the prices!  Yep, I would love to buy 100% silk yarn imported from Italy and beautiful Alpaca yarn that was spun so recently I can still hear the alpaca baaing in the back yard!  Wait, do alpacas baa?  Maybe they bleat?  Anyway, whatever they do, they are a little too expensive for me.  It's hard to be a yarn snob and use nothing but all natural fibers and all that when you have a Red Heart Super Saver kind of budget!  :/  Actually, I hate Red Heart Super Saver, but like I said, not too many choices around here. 

So, I told my husband I could check "Yarn Shop" off my knitting bucket list.  Yes, before you ask (like my husband did with an "Are you kidding?" kind of look on his face), I do have a knitting bucket list.

Which leads me to the last two random things in my title...

Cables and thumbs.  They are the next two things on my list that I want to conquer.  Now, I already know how to cable, but I don't mean just any cable.  I mean this cable!




Not my picture, I haven't actually made this yet!


It is a pattern I found on a blog called Storm Moon Knits.  I love Celtic knots and have been wanting to do something like this for a long time.  The only problem is, I am left-handed and I knit very backwards.  I don't just mean normal left-handed backwards, I mean some wierd way I found on YouTube when my right handed friend was trying to teach me to knit.  It is really odd and it works for me, but it makes most patterns come out really wierd (hey, another good excuse for not using a pattern!).  So, we will see how this goes.

The other knitting bucket list thing I am trying to learn is a thumb (I mean the kind in a glove, I do know what a real thumb is)!  I have also been looking on YouTube for this.  If anyone knows the best way to make one, please let me know! 

By the way, I did get one thing at the yarn shop!  Size 11 bamboo double point needles!!  Yes, they do deserve 2 exclamation points!!  I have to thank my Mom for these, though.  Either she wanted to thank me for driving her to the doctor twice in one week (even though it was her car and her gas) or she just wanted to get me out of the shop before I drooled all over the crazy expensive Italian silk, but she bought them for me.  So, thanks Mom! 

Homeschool Convention... and TARDISes...

Yes, still working on the TARDIS Kindle cover.  Would have had it done, but migraines have been plaguing me all weekend.  :/  Anyway, here it is (almost done).

The actual knitting part is done.  Yay!  I just have to embroider "POLICE BOX" at the top.  Then I have my own TARDIS!  Well, as close as I'm going to get, anyway...

So, in other news, my husband and I went to the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati last Friday!  Had a great time (except for the migraine).  Thankfully my husband noticed that the convention hall had a first aid station (since I didn't have my purse with me, thus no medicine).  They were very helpful and once the ibuprofen kicked in and I could actually see correctly, everything was fine. 

I don't remember if I have mentioned that we homeschool.  Obviously, we do.  It would be a little creepy if we just went to strange conventions that had absolutely nothing to do with us!  Like showing up at a professional cake decorators convention just to see if they were handing out free samples.  Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea... I wonder if they have a professional cake decorators convention...  or a Starbucks convention...  ok, sorry, I must just be hungry!

The convention was great!  We didn't go for the whole three days.  We just got the one day vendor hall pass.  Trust me, though, the vendor hall was HUGE, so it pretty much took all day just to walk around it!  We found a lot of the books we are going to need for next year (thank you Rainbow Resources) and found a great booth with nature unit studies called Shining Dawn Books.  Definitely going to do a few of those next year! 

I really needed to get back to the convention this year.  It can be overwhelming (especially your first time) but it really helps me to get focused back on school and the direction God wants us to go with it.  Oh, and the roasted cinnamon pecans strategically placed under an air vent were pretty nice, too!  Both packs...  :P

Scarves and TARDISes...

Ok, so there is only one TARDIS, but I am making my own version!
 

It's a Kindle/ (insert your e-reader brand here) cover!  This one is for me, but I might put it on Etsy as a made-to-order type thing.  I found this pattern online, but I can't remember whose blog it was on right now.  It was written to be knitted from the bottom up, but I modified it to go top down (I just find that easier to do).  I do remember that one site I got on said that a Kindle cover and the TARDIS went perfectly together because a Kindle is a small box that holds much more on the inside!  I love it!

In other knitting news (and I know you are always waiting for more knitting news) I found knitting books at my local library's discarded book sale!!!  I mean knitting and books (really cheap books), what could be better?!  So I found about four knitting books and one was Celebrity Scarves 2.  Now, let me just say, this book is great.  It was made to fund Breast Cancer research, and as the daughter of a breast cancer survivor (and as a woman) I have to love that.  Also, I was really amazed at how many knitters there were in Hollywood!  The only problem I had with the book is how fun it makes knitting a scarf sound. 

Have you ever knitted a scarf?  Oh, it is (or can be) relatively easy.  This book had a lot of garter stitch scarves (only the actual "knit" stitch, no "purling") and used a lot of specialty yarns (like fun fur or bulky yarns), so it looked cool without being really hard to knit. 

Here is the funny/scary part.  It said all these cute things like, "Just cast on 4 stitches and knit till it is the desired length" or "knit until you run out of yarn".  What they don't tell you is that these are knitting euphemisms for, "knit until you actually want to poke out your own eyes with your knitting needles" or "knit until you have enough length to fashion a noose to hang yourself, or the person who invented scarves in the first place"! 

Sound harsh?  Well trust me, there is a reason why cowls are so popular right now.  Cowls are basically really short scarves that just button around your neck.  Believe me, they had to be invented by some poor knitter that started out thinking, "oh, a scarf, that should be easy!"  But somewhere between 5 inches and 60 inches thought, "Oh, heck with it!  It really just has to keep your neck warm anyway!"

So... that scarf you were hoping for on your next birthday... how do you feel about Kindle covers??  :P 

Just Keep Knitting, Just Keep Knitting...

Just keep knitting, knitting, knitting.  What do we do?  We knit, knit...

Sorry, Nemo flashback.

Where was I?  Oh yeah, knitting!  I've actually gotten some knitting done (well, half-way done).

Here is my current project...

I know, it is way too warm for a hat like this, but I love the yarn (Yarn Bee - Melody Bulky) and it is winter somewhere in the world!

Here is the project I was working on until the cool, colorful yarn lured me away...

It was supposed to be a baby blanket, but unless Larry the Cucumber and his wife are expecting a son soon, I think it is a bit long.  :/  I am thinking of adding random color stripes and just making a really big, crazy blanket.  I don't know.  Maybe it is meant to be a shawl. 

By the way, my next project is going to be a Kindle Cover that looks like the TARDIS!  I think I'll have to keep that one for myself!  I will keep you posted.