Sick day playing with free stuff

When I ordered the consultant kit, I did it because there were a few pieces I wanted anyway and they totaled more than the $99 for the entire kit.

So, all of the 8 bags other than the Organizing Shoulder Bag and the All About the Benjamins Wallet, I consider free! 

I've been having a lot of fun with my "free" stuff. And today, since I wasn't feeling well & thought I should get on my mitten knitting, I needed a project bag. 

Enter my adorable, "free" zipper pouch with the super cute bicycle graphic. 

I remembered a cheap grommet set I had bought at Joann's and being that the bag had been free, it was worth the risk of it failing.

Seriously, this took me 15 minutes - 10 of which were spent trying to figure out how to use the grommet maker because I lost the instructions. 

Yarn goes inside and threads out the grommets.

I'll be making multi colored mittens and I love the idea of anything that helps with the balls of yarn getting tangled. 

Isn't this so cute??

Seriously, I'm excited. Plus it's very generously sized so it will easily handle the project in process along with thrusts, notions, etc.

The girls all tried to grab it so I think I'll get some more for Christmas and put grommets in them too for my little knitters.

The bags are 9" high, 12.25" long and 2" deep with a quality zipper closure. Best part is they have a laminated interior - smooth & snagfree and also easy to wipe clean in case my chocolate stash melts 😉

The price is $15 and they come in cute patterns with the option to embroider. My girls are big into their initials embroidered on everything so I might have to spring for the extra $7.

These would be a great holiday gift too filled with a pattern and a beautiful skein of yarn. 

Here's a link if you want to support Project Toteschooling and get going with your own zipper pouch.

If you want your own great consultant kit here's a link for that. You don't have to become a consultant. You can just take advantage of the great deal.

Tomorrow, the kids will finish up their personal vision statements and we'll get onto some more fun work on Project Toteschool.

Found the Japanese Knot Bag

Is it a sign that you have too many wip's if you can entirely lose one?

This project is so simple, it should have been done ages ago. Here's a link to the pattern. 

I also discovered there is a sewn version that looks like a great project.

As for reading, it's all about the kids' read alouds.

We're in the Little House series for the 9 year old.

Just finished Princess Academy for the 11 year old.

And the six year old is loving The Shelter Pet Squad Series. I guess it's as good as any of the other series for that age and is far above Junie B. Jones, which I don't even allow. The language in those books drives me insane.

Joining Ginny's knit along. Click on the icon to see more projects and reading suggestions.

Working through deeply buried stash & wip's

How long does it take for me to sew on 2 buttons? 

Apparently a year because that's how long my daughter's sweater sat, untouched and never worn in my closet. 

This Sunday morning under the duress of her needing something for church, I finished it in two minutes flat. She and I both love how it turned out. 

The pattern is Bulle on Ravelry and I'm sure it won't be my last. The yarn is a stripe of Malabrigo and Frabjous Fibers. Both incredibly soft. You can find them online at one of my favorite small town yarn shops, Apples to Oranges, http://applestooranges.net.

My other project this week was a Melodia shawl, on Ravelry, which was promptly scooped up by my six year old.   

It had an interesting cast-on where you start with 3 or 4 stitches and knit a few rows and then rotate your needle to pick up stitches on 2 more sides of the starting stitches. 

The rest of the pattern was lots of garter stitch with an occasional row of eyelet. But I love how it turned out. Another great beginner lace project.

Even better, it was made with stash yarn that I've had for at least 5 years. It feels so good to have out of the stash and knit into something pretty.

The yarn is a milk fiber blend by Kollage called creamy. It is incredibly soft. I've never used milk fiber before. Hoping it holds up to my girl. 

Getting ready to cast on another stash project or 2 to burn through all the miscellaneous skeins of Cascade 220 and other worsted a in there.

I'm joining Ginny and her knit along this week. 

Click on the icon for more knitting inspiration. 

Cheers.

Getting projects finished with help from the kids!

Just when I thought I couldn't knit another stitch, my sweet girls offered me "a free row." 

It was pretty cute because that's what I used to do for them when they were starting out. 

The Moonstone Poncho was a great lace project for a beginner. The result looks like it will be a great thing to throw on to run to the mailbox of to snuggle into on soccer sidelines. 

The best part is it was all stash yarn- 5 skeins of it! That makes me feel great.

It's still drying. I'm hoping to move it outside today to speed things up. I can't lose my little table for days. 

I have 2 books checked out of the library that I have had to renew without cracking the cover. 

Can't seem to get reading time in for me with all the read alouds for the kids. But I'm not complaining. 

We're reading the Little House series for my middle daughter and I'm sure I'll be doing it again in 4 years for the youngest.

My youngest has discovered a new easy reader series, Critter Club that seems to get her excited. It's over her head for reading but it has enough illustrations that she follows along with my finger as I read. 

The oldest's read-aloud is Pribcess Academy which is a Newberry Honor book. We're kind of surprised because we don't think it's great. 

I'm joining Ginny and her Yarnalong at Small Things. Click on the icon below to see more inspiring projects.

One big pompom

All the pretty lacy hats I made this fall are proving pretty but not very warm.

I was excited to see this pattern from Purl Soho for a classic hat with a pompom.

It was quick & easy. I bought a pompom maker to make this enormous one. My daughter absolutely loves the pompom. You can see the size compared to the rest of the hat. Adorable!

Here's a link to my project notes on Ravelry.

But earlier this week, my 4h knitting group and I tried making them with forks & paper tubes. 

Here is a link. They turned out pretty well too. My one recommendation is to make sure that the kids don't wrap so much yarn around that it's too difficult to cinch. Also, make it easy on yourself and use a fork with 4 tines so there is a center to tie the yarn around. You'll understand what that means when you do it.

For reading, we've just started Planting Seeds - Practicing Mindfulness with Children. I have experienced great health & relaxation benefits from meditation this past year. I thought it might be a good idea to try to make it a habit for the kids while they are young. It comes with a cd with lots of different meditation and breathing techniques to try. 

I'm joining in the Yarn Along with Ginny. Here's a link to see many more inspirational projects. 

Lacey Hats - Just Right for Fall

So here I was thinking I was so ahead of the game having finished a hat for all the girls and me before it even started to get chilly!

But then, it started to get chilly and I now realize that lacey hats are so pretty but not the warmest hats ever. 

Looks like it's time to get out the dpn's an knit everyone a "dead of winter cold" hat.

In the meantime, here are some pictures and a link to my Ravelty projects page for all the details. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/lledbeck

I'm joining Ginny and the knit along at Small Things. Click this link to see many more inspirational projects.

Hope you are enjoying some beautiful fall weather.

Becky

Time for Knitting

Fall is here! Fall is here!!

I can knit in public without looking like a fruitcake! It gets hot here; like 100. 

Most people would put the sticks down, not me.

I have finally gotten to practical items like hats. 

Here's a slouch hat, Paravel, on Ravelry. I just love how it came out! 

The pattern is very doable for an advanced beginner. Just be sure to use your stitch markers. 

It did take me a week to finish so not exactly quick, but definitely worth the work! My project notes are on Ravelry; my user name is: "Lledbeck."

If you try it, read people's notes about size. It comes out huge and I have a big head. I'd try going down a needle size although that would mean 1's for me..

I'd also recommend this yarn - it's Black Trillium Lilt Sock. Not as soft as MadelineTosh but still nice and very warm. You can find it on Etsy or in local yarn shops throughout Oregon.

I'm joining the yarnalong at Small Things. Here's a link to see the other inspiring projects. 

One Scarf, Two Vibrant Colorways

Have you ever had a knitting pattern that for whatever reason, you just can't get right? That was how this pattern started out in July. But I had seen a friend wearing one and it was really stunning. I loved the texture of it. It also seemed to be a great opportunity to use extremely colorful yarn with quick color changes. That's something I would not normally use, so why not?

I cast on in July.

I ripped it out many times. I just couldn't get the pattern down. So frustrating. So, it was sentenced to the "didn't work out like I planned trunk."

And then this fall, when thinking about gifts, I found the forgotten start and decided to give it another try.

Not sure why but this time, I memorized the pattern quickly and it became the perfect busy work while listening to a daughter read to me, waiting at an appointment or just to fit in a quick 2 minutes of knitting here and there.

The pattern is "Favorite Scarf Ever" on Ravelry. 

The pattern calls for dividing the yarn in two balls, knitting 2 sides and seaming together. I started out with this intention and soon decided that I would rather make one long scarf. The wrong side didn't seem so awful to me.

Both yarns were purchased at my lovely lys, Apples to Oranges. 

The first is Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Sock Yarn in color # 17 - it's got moss greens, bright violet blues, light periwinkle and violet purples. Here's a link to my project page.

The second is a local hand-dyed yarn that I can not recommend enough. Her colorways offer incredible color combinations that you don't often see. This one jumped out at me. It's by Blissful Knits & Dyeworks (available on Etsy). The yarn is called Inspire -it's sock weight and the color is called "Full Bloom." 

This yarn contrasts rich chocolate brown with bright fucshia, aqua, lime and tangerine.

In a million years, I don't know why I love this so, but I do. Of course, it must be a gift because I'm not sure what I would wear it with. Here's a link to my Ravelry project page. 

I can't remember another pattern that I've knit one after another. But it was really fun to see how they differ just based on the yarn. I'm not quite finished with the 2nd but I would be interested to do a 3rd in a solid, tonal hand-dyed yarn. Maybe I'll wait a bit though.

This post is part of Ginny Sheller's Yarn Along. Click on the link to see other beautiful knitting projects. 

Knitting Gifts: Cowls & Fingerless Mitts...yum!

Only other knitters would understand how much I adore hand-dyed yarn. But, it's spendy. In an effort to make the holidays more heartfelt and less commercial, my hope is to give knitted gifts. And to make it more affordable, I'm hoping to use stash yarn.

Cascade 128
Perhaps it was a blanket or pillows, but for some reason, I purchased 6 or 8 skeins of Cascade 128 a few years ago and guess what, it's still in the skein, in my stash. The Gap-Tastic Cowl has been in my queue for some time, so I thought why not.

Cascade 128 in seed stitch is so soft and smooshy; no need to use expensive hand-dyed. I cast on the other night and the picture shows my progress. This yarn is the Cascade 128 Superwash in color #1910. If you click on the link of the yarn name, you'll be taken to the new, sweet LYS, Apples to Oranges, in my little town in Oregon. It's a great shop to support in person or by shopping on-line. (They are building their webstore. So, if you don't see what you want, you might soon or you could call).

The combination of this pattern and yarn is wonderful. I can see myself making many more and many happy friends this holiday season... ok, let's face it, maybe Valentine's Day ;)
___________________________________
I finished the project later that day. It's just as soft & beautiful as I expecteed.

This is my contribution to Ginny Sheller's Yarn Along at www.gsheller.com. She has a wonderful blog recording the life of a homeschooling family. Click on this link to see what others are knitting this week or to submit your own picture.

Knitting - Quick Little Knits

Time for knitting has been short lately so my most successful projects have been small & quick.

Top Down Cardigan for Little Monkeys

on Ravelry
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/top-down-cardigan-for-little-monkeys


I rarely enjoy knitting the same pattern twice but this was so
quick and cute, I did. And even better, I used stash yarn. A few simple to knit details give this vest style.













Lottie Set
on Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lottie-set


This is such a sweet set of a cowl, beret and cardigan. I've yet to get to the cardigan but hope to soon. Any little one would be adorable in it.

I especially love the simple garter stitch cowl knit in Cascade's Longwood yarn.