Start Something Already - Would Ya?

Now that we are done with the Moody Sweater......... what do we (me) do next?

How do you pick your next project?

Do you pick a necessary thing... like a hat for the kiddo because winter is looming? A sweater for a brand new baby? Mittens for hubby who is deploying?

Decisions, decisions, decisions.......................

and I'm stuck!

I've knitted the Glomitt's for hubs because he's leaving in 3 weeks......

I've made the baby sweater for Baby Jax who won't be here until Christmas......

I've made the kiddo a hat.....

Help!

Still stuck......

I've spent hours online looking at patterns trying to find the one thing that inspires me to make it.

I've spent more hours digging through my pattern stash trying to find something to inspire me there.

NOT happening.

I should make some mittens for the DIL's (daughter in law).

I should make hats for the boys.

I should work on a neck warmer for my Dad.

Should

Doesn't mean I can get unstuck and actually knit.....

I went to the yarn store Wednesday and bought yarn (oh my!) to make baby bottoms to match the baby sweater.... haven't started it.......

I bought some yarn to make me (finally) a sweater but I want to save that for January when I'm bored to tears.......

I pulled out the yarn to make my Dad a neck warmer - which then I had to find THE pattern and then I found a skull chart that I want to add....... which then forced me to draw up a new pattern for the neck warmer.....

and.... and.... and.... and...

I have yarn (boy do I have yarn)! I know where the knitting shop is! ~so does my credit card! I know how to look up stuff online and I certainly know how to knit...so what's my problem?

See what's happening? I'm running around like a squirrel under an oak tree after a wind storm. Geez.

Which brings me back around to......

how do YOU pick your next project?

Moody BLUE Sweater

My friend Christen came up with the name for this KAL - at the very end, but... it's still an awesome name! Thanks Christen! *I can't tell you what she won because she won't be home for a month to get it.... so remind me later okay?

As I was finishing frogging (yeah... still hate frogging) my sleeve this morning, it dawned on me... my sweater is Blue and it's the "Moody Sweater" so that means....... it's the Moody Blue Sweater! hahahahahaha - yep still laughing! Sorry... it's the inner dorkiness spilling out folks!

After frogging (did I tell you I hate frogging?) the sleeve because I was so busy gabbing yesterday and didn't pay attention to how long the sleeve was...I have an almost done (DONE!) Moody Sweater for new baby Jax! I just have to graft the hood seams together, block it all and woot! Another DONE sweater!

I was a bit (very) nervous about taking out the provisional cast on (click on that to go to a tutorial)  stitches. I've never done it before! This was my first time using that cast on!

After this way of making the sweater....... guess how I'm doing it from now on?! Yep! Provisional Cast on is my new friend! I love how easy it was to pull the cast on pink off and then having the live loops was super cool! The Kitchener Stitch for grafting seams together isn't really all that hard... it just takes some concentration!

At first - because I was so nervous,  I accidentally pulled some of the cast on stitches off and had those dangly, hanging loops (sigh) but by quickly sticking my needle into them, they didn't dangle!  Phew. Disaster averted once again!

So..... obviously...... the trick is to slow down!

Insert your knitting needle into the first cast on stitch - that row of crocheted loops I have in hot pink and make sure the blue stitch is seated on the needle and then.............. pull out the pink!

Here we are up close........ the crocheted (provisional cast on) row in hot pink is where I knitted my very first row of the sweater. Now I just gotta get those live loops onto the needle! Easy enough! It only took a few minutes!

Once you have worked all those stitches onto your needles........ divide them up! 1/2 on each! Now... get ready for Kitchener Stitch! Woohoo!!! That's the only reason I used the provisional cast on method! I wanted live loops at the very end (which is actually the very beginning) so I didn't have to sew a seam ~which for me never (ever!) turns out well!
If you need a little help with the Kitchener Stitch, click HERE ! It's over at Knitty.com and don't be afraid to admit it... you'll need a little help! I do! ~but that totally is another story huh?!
So............ once you've Kitchener stitched your hood seam and you've made 4 - 7 inch ties and sewed them on the front..............

You end up with this!! Isn't it wonderful? So blue (and Moody) and DONE, DONE, DONE! Now all I have to do is block it, send it and then wait, wait, wait for Baby Jax to get here!
The only problem now......... other than waiting........... what do we knit now? Hmmmmmmm

The Moody Sweater

Rememer how y'all were supposed to come up with a name for the KAL? Something other than KAL a Baby Sweater? Hmmmm?
Yeah... you forgot.
That's okay . Really.
It's okay.
 I did too until just a little while ago!
Here's the backstory.................... which will (it will) bring you around to the new name of the KAL!
My friend Christen has the most beeeeeyooooteeeeeful kid (My Best Buddy Ever!) and we were all so excited to meet Baby #2! I was so excited that I started knitting up a sweater in March! I had it finished and waiting for the baby shower which wasn't until May!!! C'mon Baby!! Hurry Up!!! 
When we met Baby Butter....... we were in love! So glad I made the effort and knitted her something!
I honestly forgot all about the sweater until just recently....  when I was thinking up a KAL and then starting a new sweater for my grandchild (C'mon December!!) That's when I remembered and started bugging Christen for a picture of Baby Butter* wearing her sweater!
Because I hadn't seen said sweater on said cute child........... I asked Christen to pleeeeeeeease send me a picture! I told her I wanted to post the picture of a completed sweater in the KAL so that we would  know what to aim for!   Which,  honestly (honest) is the main reason I wanted it, but now that she sent me the picture.... the other reason reared it's little head right up! So.... probably my real to honest reason was I just wanted to see the kiddo in the sweater. Sue me! She's flippin' adorable!!

 See? Beeeyoooteeeful!

She's still cute even though she's screaming!
Christen sent me the pictures today........ when Butter wasn't being her usually easy-going self! You can see by the pictures that she's running through a bunch of different emotions while showing off her cuteness............ which brings us to the name........... THE MOODY SWEATER!!!! See? I told you the story would get you here!
How awesome is that?! NOT nearly as awesome as the cuteness wearing the sweater, but Christen definitely wins a prize for coming up with the name!


*Baby Butter really isn't her name (honest) but it's what my kid calls her and well........ hopefully we will be over it by the time she goes off to college............

It's Monday!!

Happy Monday!

The sun is shining and its 54 degrees (Fahrenheit) & what the heck am I doing inside!?
Finishing up some knitting projects that have been banging around in my knitting back ~ that's what!?!
The KAL will be back up tomorrow! I'm almost done with it and don't have a whole lot to show you so I decided to finish some other stuff first!

I just finished Big's neck warmer and glomitt's that I'm giving him for Christmas! He's leaving for Afghanistan the beginning of December so I had to hurry up and finish things so we can have a family Christmas before he goes! Phew! Made it!!

The neck warmer is really simple! 

I used Cascade 220 Superwash Wool - it's wool but it's washable! He he he... bet you never would have guessed that?!  You can make this out of whatever you want... worsted weight anything, but it's not a good idea to put something on a soldier heading down range that isn't natural!  Wool will burn, but it won't be a crazy burn like something acrylic would be.  Acrylic fibers don't really hold up well for long and they melt. Rapidly. Hot sticky, gooey, melted yarn on Big's hands and neck didn't sound like a good idea!  So for Big, I chose this washable and natural fiber. Washable being the main reason!  I could have went with 100% wool, but I like the fact that this stuff is so washable and it won't get all stretchy and/or shrink like regular wool would!

Here is the pattern......

& here's the finished neck warmer!

Using  #8, 16 inch circular needles, cast on 118 stitches. Now all you do is work a simple 2x2 rib!  Knit 2, purl 2 and keep going (and going, and going, and going) until you have 2x2 ribbed your way to almost the end of the skein! You can measure - if you want to... I didn't! I knit until just before the end and then cast off in pattern! Knit, purl pattern! You want this thing to be around 8.5 to 9 inches long, but it's okay if it's a little longer! Unless you have a giraffe..... then you have to knit a whole lot more I guess!

Here are the Glomitt's which Big wholeheartedly approves of - see? He gave them 2 thumbs up!!

Here is the link for the pattern for the Soldier's Glomitt's over at Halcyon Yarns. *click on the highlighted text~that's the link*

I started the neck warmer a couple of weeks ago but it got lost in my bag........ I picked it up again on Saturday, but.......... I finished it yesterday (Sunday) in about 4 hours! Between watching tv and hanging out with the kid! It's kind of mindless...... k2, p2, k2, p2 around and around and around.........