What's on the Needles - Sept 7

It's back! I'm starting back up my weekly "What's on the Needles" posts! Knitting really helps keep me centered and the benefits of knitting are numerous. Sharing with you helps me even more!

I've really grown to enjoy knitting socks. I used to collect toe socks as a teen (are those still a thing?!), so I think my adoration has been longstanding. I really like the way these self striping yarns knit up. I recently finished one sock and am going to cast on the second this afternoon.

What's on your needles?

On the Needles - Holiday Knitting

I haven't been putting up my knitting updates recently...because, well, it's not that exciting. I decided to make a lot of the same thing (which is still a secret!) for Christmas gifts this year. So, I've been knitting like crazy. In 2 weeks, I can tell you what they are. Until then, any guesses?

On the Needles November 24

Wow. A month away from Christmas Eve!  And Thanksgiving week! I picked up our bird from Gardner Farms yesterday. They raised some heritage birds this year and so we are excited to give it a try.

In other news, I was elected to be on the board of directors for the Clarksburg Farmers Market. I'm excited and nervous, but I hope my input can help make some positive changes to help grow the market!

And I've been knitting like crazy. I came across a pattern for a mug cozy that I love. It's going to be Christmas gifts for quite a few people. And I finished my mom's moccasins.

Since the mug cozies are to be Christmas gifts, I don't want to post a picture of the finished product. They are a quick knit and I can bust through some of my leftover yarn from other projects!  Here's a sneak peek...

Let's just say I have 4 done and will probably cast another on today. I think they'll make lovely gifts. And along the gift line... I'll be making some soap in the next few days. I'll try to get pictures along the way!

Are you making gifts for the holidays?

On the Needles November 16

Boy, felting can be tedious. Don't get me wrong, I love knitting to felt. My terrible gussets disappear when felted! But the whole felting process. Whew. Or perhaps it's because my husband has big feet.

I only got one of his gigantor slippers felted. And I started on some moccasin like slippers for my mom. They're to be felted as well, but she's got small feet!

We've been working on some projects around the house this week. We still have some finishing work to do and we are starting with the kids bathroom. They have a very hungry caterpillar shower curtain. We initially put up very hungry caterpillar stickers, but I haven't been feeling them lately. So, I found some cool printable on Etsy and got them printed at Staples. I picked up some frames yesterday at the Dollar Tree and painted them white. I trimmed the pictures to fit. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out!



Dan is working on finishing up filling in holes and painting the trim as well as putting up a fresh coat of paint. He moved the light above the vanity to get it more centered. I'll try to get some finished pictures when it's all done!  I'm also working on our gallery wall in the entry way. I picked up some dimensional letters at JoAnns and painted them white. They'll go up above the kids pictures.

I'll keep you updated on our progress! What are your craft or DIY plans for the week?

Check out some other great posts over at the homestead blog hop!

On The Needles - November 8

It's definitely getting to be knitting weather round these parts. Dark early and chilly = cuddled under the blanket knitting. It will be even better with the woodstove going :-)

I'm trying to get Dan's slippers done before it gets too much colder. I am a l m o s t there!

For an idea of just how big these puppies are, check out the picture of Kole's 4 year old sized hand next to one.

And do you see the sun in that picture!? When you live in a passive solar house,  you hope for the sun. It makes such a difference in the comfort level of the house. It can raise the house a good 10 degrees on a nice sunny day. We love free heat!

What's on your needles this week?

On the Needles - October 30

Wow. October 30 already! Where has this year gone?! I'm glad I got the kids fall hats knitted a few months ago. I think hats are my first love in terms of knitting. I plan to knit each of my kids a new hat each year. Hopefully they can pass them onto their children one day! I knitted them before I started this weekly update, so here's a picture:

I got to work this week on Dan's slippers. Wow. He has big feet. You know what they say about big feet! They need big slippers! Gosh...what were you thinking??

He didn't give me specifics on color, so I chose some blue and gold and WVU. Speaking of WVU - ESPN College Game Day is in Morgantown this weekend for the game! Anyhow... I apparently ordered twice as much yarn as I needed to for this project, so I will be able to make something else blue and gold. What do you think I should make?

On The Needles - October 25

I showed a sneak peak of some yarn I got earlier this week the other day...

The yarn is from Knit Picks. They were having a sale and well, I couldn't pass it up. And as an aside, you never ask a woman the size of her stash ;-)

The brown will be for some felted moccasins I'll be making for my mom and the blue and gold are for a pair of slippers just like mine for Dan. He told me he didn't care what color I used, so I chose WVU colors!

I didn't get a chance to cast on until Wednesday night and so I don't have much progress to show. Here's part of the first gold slipper:

It's actually a pretty quick knit. I hope to be starting some felting in the next week and a half or so! With cold weather on the way, I want to make sure everyone in the house has warm tootsies!

What's on your needles this week?

Library, How I Love Thee

We are big public library fans. As long as they have a big selection of Berenstain Bears books, we are good to go. They were a favorite of mine as a girl and now the kids have all my old books. They teach such awesome lessons in a fun way. Did you know that PBS also had a TV show? It's cute, but it drives me batty that they don't follow the books too well. Even Kole notices!

Anyhow...One of our favorite libraries has a special on their DVDs. You can rent 10 DVDs for 2 weeks for just $5! I don't know where else you can rent them for that cheap. And they have a good selection.

Today I picked up some new walking exercises to try out as well as plenty for the kids. I found the one Berenstain Bears we haven't yet seen. Dan wanted me to pick up The Lego Movie and I found the original Willy Wonka. The Johnny Depp version is a bit creepy. And Frozen. I do believe we are the last family with kids under 10 to not have seen Frozen yet.

Our favorite library is also linked up to a larger statewide digital library. I have an older Kindle and it works great to download some books on to read. And they have Berenstain Bears!

It really helps to have those resources around as a homeschool family. And for a homeschooling family that lives 35 minutes from the library.

We also love our mail man. Our driveway isn't for the faint of heart, but he delivers our packages rain or shine. If we aren't home, he leaves us a note in our mailbox that there's a package on the front porch. I was really excited for today's box! Be sure to check back tomorrow to see what I've cast on :-)

On The Needles - October 16

Guys, I am really loving this weekly knitting update. It really keeps me on track with my projects!  I hope you are enjoying them as well!

Last week I shared with you how mommy brain took over and I completely flubbed up a slipper. Well, I got to work and knitted two more this week.

These slippers, called Trim Clogs, are a double thick slipper. They are meant to be felted and put together. Just to give you an idea, here's what they look like together before felting:

I'm working on my photography skills - the light is slightly off in this picture. But, you can see how ginormous the slippers are before felting. This was my first felting project!

You've probably already felted something and you might not realize it! That perfectly comfortable wool sweater that accidentally got thrown in the washer and then the dryer...and came out looking like it would fit your 5 year old? That's felting! Felting changes the structure of the wool fibers through heat and friction. It is an irreversible change (see that - getting slightly scientific on you!). I like it because it hides any not-so-nice stitches in your knitting. Like my gussets. I stink at gussets. I hope to master them so that I can start knitting socks that look a little better.

Anywho, back to the slippers and felting. I did one slipper at a time. I really should have read the instructions in the book first, but there were pictures. And so I thought I could do it without reading. You know, kind of like a husband might. It took a while for my first slipper to felt because I started out with cold water. D'oh! Initially you are *supposed* to put your work in hot water and let it cool down. My second time around went faster. Felting is just like kneading bread dough. But in this case, you end up with nice warm wool slippers that you can't eat :-)

I used a bowl on my kitchen island. This way I could work the slippers and still watch my kidlets play. Have I ever mentioned I love our open floor plan? Because I do!

The transformation is actually pretty cool. You go from a nice, loosely knitted slipper to a thick slipper with no visible stitches.

I put some crumbled up newspaper in the slipper after fitting it to my foot. This will help it hold its shape while it dries. The second slipper felted much quicker since I started with hot water. I've been saying lately that I need to get back to exercising and I think I can check that off the list today!

They're both drying on top of our woodstove now. I'm anxious to wake up in the morning and slip them on! I'll probably add some anti slip something or other on the bottom. They were a lot of fun and I think I'm going to try more felting projects in the future. Next up will be slippers for Dan and then on to starting my Christmas knitting.

Be sure to check back tomorrow - I'm going to share how we helped Rex Roo with his vitamin deficiency!

Sharing over at The Homesteading Hippy for the weekly blog hop!

On the Needles - October 10

Where has this week gone? Between a visit from an old friend, playdates, and soccer, this week has gotten away from me! Oh, and a teething almost 20 month old.  That's been fun...

I have gotten some time to knit, though! I made two pumpkin hats. They are a fun, quick knit. And they make wonderful gifts. I also made Little J matching slippers to Kole's rabbit and fox. It was my first time adjusting a pattern and it fits her perfectly!

The blue slippers on the left are the first part of my felted clog slippers I am making for myself. Slippers are really fun to knit as well. This is my first felting project and I'm looking forward to it, especially since it will cover up my imperfect gussets. I have to make two of each color and I am halfway there. I would be 75% there, but this happened....

Yeah...those are supposed to be the same size. Oops. That's what happens when you don't take notes. I *thought* I was a lot farther along in the pattern than I was. So, back to square one. I'm sure I could try to rip it out and add in some yarn and fix it. But, I don't have the patience for that. So, while Little J sleeps and Kole cuddles next to me watching a movie, I think it is the perfect time to start on the next one. Happy Friday! 

On The Needles - October 2

I'm thinking each week, I'll post about what's on my needles. Knitting really is a form of therapy for me and I try to do it on a regular basis. I had high hopes of knitting everyone slippers for Christmas. I don't think it will happen, so I'm focusing on getting slippers made for everyone in the house. Kole was up first, with a cute little fox and rabbit. He loves them! I need to add some anti-skid to the bottom, but he's set. Little J wants a pair, but her bitty feet are too tiny. I guess I'll have to try my hand at adjusting a pattern!

We have a birthday party this weekend and I love being able to knit up a quick gift. And I love, love, love this hat. I knitted one for Kole 3 years ago and he still talks about it. I'll have plenty of yarn leftover, so I'll either knit Jenna one or make another gift for someone.

Do you knit? What's currently on your needles?

So excited!

Holiday Knitting

My main reason for learning to knit was to start knitting for Kole. It was exciting knitting in anticipation of Jenna's arrival. Now I am branching out and learning to knit new things, just in time for the holidays. Jenna will be getting a baby doll and Kole will get some mittens.

It is kind of hard to choose a hair color for a baby doll when the recipient still doesn't have any!