PKat Pants

Summer knits

2011-07-07T12:03:00.000-04:00

I finished another wool leaves baby blanket. This one I knit with Cascade Eco wool -- I really love this blanket in this wool, the pattern really stands out well and it is a heavy enough to keep a baby warm but not so heavy you couldn't use it even on slightly warmer days. I already have another planned.

I've also had some more time to work on my Emelie sweater. One arm is almost done. I can try it on now and I LOVE the way it fits and how it feels. Fingering weight yarn takes forever to knit in my size but it is sure worth the effort.

In other news I will officially be taking a long break from PKat Pants. I just accepted a teaching position for the fall and will be returning to working out of the home full time. I know with three kids, a full time job and the knitting I enjoy doing for my friends and family that I will not have enough time to knit for others. I think the blog will get a make over soon with a new name and while my focus will remain on knitting in the blog I do plan to add a bit more about daily life in our neck of the woods.

Easy Summer top

2011-06-21T10:35:00.000-04:00

I was on the hunt for a cute summer top for my youngest R. It just so happened a friend was looking for testers for just such a top. I love the fit of this and I have recently fallen in love with the look of smocking. This top was fun to knit, the smocking was a fun new skill to learn and overall I am very happy with the way this worked up. I feel silly but I am equally as pleased I had a little pair of lightweight capris that match perfectly with the yarn. This colorway is WSK Bella on superwash worsted merino with matching brown trim. For this top (knit in the size 2) I used a full skein of colorway and the full 2 oz of trim, I litreally had about a yard left over of each and to finish the straps I had to wind the second skein (I almost used ribbons to save that skein but wanted to be true to the pattern because I was testing). Here is Miss R "modeling" (if you can call being bribed to sit on your bike with goldfish modeling) her new summer top.

Summer is here!

2011-05-09T13:29:00.000-04:00

Well not officially but I'm calling it summer! We had our first supper with baked beans from the bean pot last night so from here on out it is summer in my book. If I do say so myself I make a pretty killer pot of beans and they are one of our summer staples, I make at least a pot a week during summer.

I had a whole bunch of projects finished but waiting for the weather to clear up so I could do pictures. The first is a shrug for V, she picked out the color and the yarn and as I think you can tell she loves it. When I asked her to model for me this was the move she kept doing -- which is impressive considering a month ago she couldn't stand on one leg for even a split second. She could hold this pose for a few seconds today and was so proud of herself for it! I also finished a few soakers. The first one is size medium with handspun by Yarnnoodles, the second a newborn sized one on Gaia bulky (not sure of the colorway) and the third is bigger kid sized (22 hip 17 rise) on Mosaic Moon Kirkyard. Those three are all going to the same home. The white soaker with the ruffles is for a photography friend, I need to wait to her from her but I really think it needs more ruffles (and I am SO not a more ruffles kind of girl) it just doesn't seem ruffly enough to me. And last I finished off a baby blanket with some Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in the Peapod colorway. This is the Wool Leaves pattern and I think I found my new go to for quick baby gifts, it took me 4 days to make and I love the pattern -- plus handmade baby blankets are always something I treasured as gifts for my little ones.

All good things...

2011-04-25T13:42:00.000-04:00

No pictures of finished things today but I do have a shot of a sweater I have been working on for myself. This has been my car project I work on it mostly when I am sitting in the car waiting for V during various therapies. I do work on it at home but only when I have no other projects or need a break from a frustrating project. So the going is slow and maybe by the end of the year I will finish but I'm okay with that -- all good things are worth the wait, and I know this sweater will be a good thing.

I did finish a tester shrug for V this weekend but I goofed in the construction and am working on figuring out how to fix my mistake before I can show it off. I also finally finished the ruffled bum soaker, once that is dry I will post some shots of that as well. Be on the look out for more posts from me later in the week.

Also don't forget I have some instock knits and a custom slot available on Their Own Knitted World, be sure to check them out!

My Blue Phase

2011-04-15T15:46:00.000-04:00

I just realized uploading my pictures I've knit a lot of blue lately. I just finished an Elleby by Comfort Wool for myself with some Happy Feet DK I had laying around. The pictures of it laying flat just don't do the pattern any justice, so I attempted to do a self-portrait of myself modeling it. Yeah I'm so not a photographer, or a model or a model capable of doing self-portraits -- but that hat is cute and while I wasn't entirely sure about the color for me while I was working on it I really like it now and I'm glad I use this yarn for this pattern. I also finished up a small shawl I kind of designed using some hand spun from Rain City Fiber Arts. I used the same cast on as the Faraway So Close but from there I just did my own thing and really followed what the yarn was doing and changed things up as needed. I love this shawl, adore the colors it was such a peaceful item to knit. I will be listing it as part of our 2 year anniversary stocking at Their Own Knitted World so stayed tuned for some better shots!

Spring has sprung -- kind of.

2011-03-28T16:33:00.000-04:00

We've reached that time of year in Maine where the promise of spring and warmer weather taunts us. We get sneak peeks of the nicer weather to come followed with cold days to remind us that in Maine we frequently get snow as late as April. I've finished up another project though, these are small longies done with Yarnnoodles Ponderosa on Cestari, I messed with the settings a bit in editing to get this picture to show the true depth of color going on in this colorway and it still does not do the colorway justice. I love these little longies they were such a joy to knit.

I also received some spectacular handspun from Tara of Rain City Fiber Arts in the mail today for a special instock project for Their Own Knitted World in May. I have one small project I need to finish (a ruffle bottom soaker that I've been procrastinating on when it comes to putting the ruffles on) and then I can start working on my idea for this handspun -- I won't lie I'm pretty excited to knit this up.

Things are plugging along with V, the change in her speech is amazing but PT and OT wise her progress is a bit slow still. This week she will be 6 weeks out of surgery so I am hoping we start to see more improvement with her PT/OT issues soon.

Busy little bee

2011-03-23T17:12:00.002-04:00

I've finished a few projects. First is the set that will be up for sale on Their Own Knitted World. This is a capri set knit using Lickety Stitch Purple Knit with buttons made by DigitDesigns (on Etsy). The capri's have a bell ruffle and a unique working button detail that allows you to add length in the form of an additional ruffle (which will be an option when they are listed). The shrug is the Little Girls Shrug pattern from Diane Soucy of Knitting Pure and Simple. I think this set is adorable and wish I had knit it in a size we could use if it doesn't not sell, sadly this is all approximately 18 months and wouldn't fit us here.

I also finished a Bel Cloche as part of a trade for Rain City Fibers, it came out amazing and I can't say enough about how amazing Tara's handspun yarn is. This was a merino silk blend I believe but I'm not sure on the colorway name. Look for some of her yarn featured in my instock item for May at Their Own Knitted World!

Right now I have a pair of small longies on the needles, using Yarnnoodles Ponderosa colorway on Cestari. Another project I am really enjoying and hope to having finished tomorrow.

Not much new going on with V she is still recovering well from surgery. It is hard to believe just looking at her that she had brain surgery 5 weeks ago but behavior wise and skills wise it isn't hard to remember. She is still mega hyper most of the time, but at least her sleeping has become better so we aren't dealing with mega hyper 3 1/2 year old until well past midnight. It seem post surgery I spend a good deal of our time in the car waiting for V at various therapies. She has speech twice a week for an hour, PT twice a week for an hour and OT once a week for an hour. Good thing little R is such a trooper and perfectly content to sit in her car seat and read books most of the time (although for a few of those we do go and run errands but they are all just far enough from home that coming home would mean turning around as soon as we get here to head back to pick up V). She is finally making huge amounts of progress in speech, in the last month she has made more progress in her speech therapy then she has since she began it a year ago. We are very happy with her progress and really hope that the auras she seems to be experiencing go away soon and do not turn into seizures.

Something for one of my kidlets

2011-03-10T13:45:00.000-05:00

I finished a pair of longies for my youngest. These are WSK Madeline on Mountain Meadow. I've actually had them done since Sunday but I didn't get a chance until today to take pictures. This colorway is so nice and will match so many of her shirts. I'm working on a pair of shorties to list for sale with the leftovers!

I've been busy busy busy keeping up with everything for V. It feels like a full time job driving V to speech therapy, physical thereapy and occupational therapy every week. Oh and don't forget her special pre-k program twice a week. We took today off she is beat and needed a good nap and I have so many things I NEED to get done her but with our constant running I haven't had a chance to. She is doing great though, it looks like the surgery was a success she hasn't had a seizure in nearly a month now. Totally amazing that she has recovered this quickly and is doing so well, everything about her astounds me.

Plenty to show for my time

2011-02-24T15:39:00.000-05:00

We are back from V's surgery and it went really well, it was definitely stressful but now that it is behind us I am glad that it is done. While I we were down there I got a lot of knitting done. I finished the pair of overalls. These are done with Cestari in the sage color and knit using the Foggy Mountain overalls pattern in the 12 months size. I have some darling little wooden buttons coming and then I will post final shots of this pair of overalls. I also started working on another pair of longies for our youngest -- they are done with WSK Madeline on Mountain Meadow Wool (my favorite base for my kids it seems to go on forever, it stands up just as well as Cestari and it is far easier on my hands to knit).

A sweater just for tapping.

2011-02-11T18:26:00.000-05:00

Another finished project -- a "tap" sweater for my oldest. She picked the dark purple color and has now requested leg warmers to match. A friend gave me some vintage pattern books and there are two entire booklets dedicated to leg warmers so I plan on making her some rocking 80's style leg warmers. She is pretty happy with her new little sweater!

It's me!!

2011-02-10T12:27:00.000-05:00

Finally an action shot of the sweater I finished for myself. This is the Elysium pattern and I knit this with some Universal Deluxe Worsted weight yarn I bought awhile ago. I really love the fit and weight of this sweater, it is comfortable and warm without being too much. I wore it to my part time teaching job today and my co-workers loved it, definitely a keeper. I think I've caught the sweaters for me bug, it is nice to be able to custom fit a sweater to my body instead of buying things off the rack the kind of fit. Plus I really love wearing things that I have made. On the needles now is a small Tap Sweater as my daughter calls it (really a ballet wrap), that should be finished this evening and then onto a pair of overalls (the yarn just came today).

The surgery is next week, which is such a mix of emotions. Excited that it is finally here but terrified that we are at this point. Working hard to get everything here at the house squared away for my parents who are watching the other two girls and make sure we have everything we need for our trip. We haven't explained too much of what will happen to V, she knows she is going to see the doctors but we haven't really explained about the surgery. She does seem to understand that this will help her and she is excited about getting to go to Boston again.

Sweet little sweater

2011-01-31T12:53:00.002-05:00

Finished the sweet little Manda Ruth and snapped a quick picture, it still needs to be blocked before I post a full shot but this should give you an idea of what an adorable sweater this became. I'm also working on the sweater for me I imagine that will be finished today or tomorrow and then I will probably move on to a pair of overalls and a zip up hooded vest for L.

February begins tomorrow and that means we'll be 15 days out from the surgery. V's behavior is out of control as always, and I really hope things calm down after the surgery. I've been a bit torn lately about writing about our journey and how much to discuss and show. I'm really sensitive to the fact that at some point V (hopefully) will be a typical kid and do something like google her name (or her friends will) and I don't want all of this to pop up for everyone to see, this is her story and her journey and when she is old enough she should have the right to decide who she shares it with. However, there are other families going through this and I know when we knew this surgery was coming I was hunting for other folks who were writing about the process and how they handled everything. I wanted to read as much as I could about everything, so on some level I do NEED to share this now without her permission. So I walk a fine line, that is why I never use her name, and why up until this point there are no pictures of her (although that will change I do plan on putting some pictures up soon). I want to post a few short videos of her seizures because I think folks need to see that seizures aren't always what we think they are, sometimes they don't really look like seizures at all. I do not want to perpetuate that idea that epilepsy and seizures are something to be hidden, but the idea of posting videos of V seizing makes me uncomfortable, it is a private and personal thing and I am not sure if I want to put that out for the world to see. As the surgery date approaches though I do feel the need to share a bit more about V so she isn't just an anonymous person having epilepsy surgery but a real child with real parents, real siblings, and real grandparents and aunts and uncles who care deeply about her.

Mine!

2011-01-26T22:44:00.000-05:00

A work in progress shot of the sweater I am knitting for myself. So far I love it and I'm excited to finally get to wear something I've made. I bought this yarn about a year ago and intended to make myself a February Lady sweater with it but when the yarn arrived it was a tad too busy for that sweater. I almost sold this yarn off a few times because I just couldn't figure out what it wanted to be -- then I stumbled on Elysium. It seems this yarn wants to be an Elysium.

On the V front we are still in waiting mode. It looks we can now consider her fifth med a failure, she is back to having almost daily seizures maybe one or two good days in there and her behavior is just as off the wall as it was on Keppra. She is so close to her surgery though that it isn't worth it to wean her off this one and wean her onto another one so for now we are in a holding mode and just waiting for February 16th. This surgery can't come fast enough just this week V has become aware that something is different about her, and it breaks my heart. Every morning she asks why she has to take medicine but her sisters do not, and at least daily she asks me what she is sick and tells me she wants to be better. I am so glad we are just a few weeks out from surgery watching her realize she is different is far harder then I thought it would be. I was naive in thinking that she wouldn't even begin to ask these questions and I really should have prepared better for it. The reality of her what her future holds becomes a bit scarier every day.

Choices, choices

2011-01-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

I am almost done with the Manda Ruth sweater. I ran out of yarn and am waiting on another skein to finish the button band. I have two choices for buttons, both from fantastic Etsy sellers. The square set are reclaimed red oak from Hendywood, and the darker brown round set are polymer clay from Tessa Ann. I think both choices look great and they each give the sweater a slightly different feel. I can't wait to hear what the choice will be!

Things on the homefront with V are starting to take the track they always seem to, a new medicine works for a period of time and then stops working. She was seizure free today however she had a few decent ones Saturday, Sunday, and Monday -- she seems to be starting a cold so I really hope that is why we are seeing all of this seizure activity. If all of this bad behavior we've been dealing with while she is on this med is for nothing I may just go crazy. The good news is we are now less then a month away from her surgery so the end is definitely in sight.

2011-01-08T23:33:00.000-05:00

Just a quick progress shot of the sweater I am working on right now. This is a 24 month size Manda Ruth sweater knit with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, it is coming out beautifully so far.

First one down! 51 to go.

2011-01-07T12:04:00.002-05:00

The first knit item for 2011 was finished last night! These are for the Disco Baby Knits stocking at Their Own Knitted World next Thursday at 9pm. I would call these medium longs, I actually knit these to my middle daughters measurements. All of my kids are on the skinny and tall end of the growth chart so I have such a hard time finding handmade items (and store bought items) that will fit them -- pants being the hardest of all. I figured there has to be other little girls out there with the same issue and if there isn't then R gets a new pair of longies at the end of the month. These have a 16" rise, 20" hip and a 10.5" inseam. They were knit with Disco Baby Knits Roberta colorway with matching solids on Mountain Meadow Wool. This yarn is fantastic, the softness and texture of Cestari but way easier to knit and the skein goes on forever, plus I haven't verified it myself but I hear it is machine washable (always a plus with toddlers).

This will be the last item I stock for a few months so for the next few months I will continue to post but with items I am knitting for personal use, gifts or trades.

I am finishing up the never ending scarf for my brother -- this is just a simple (long) scarf knit with Knit Picks Gloss a wool and silk blend that is just stunning. I really want to get a few skeins of the worsted weight version of this yarn to make myself a sweater, I love the feel of it.

On the V front things are going pretty well, we began valproic acid (name brand Depakote) 3 weeks ago now. We just started the full therapeutic dose yesterday (she has to be stepped up slowly on this med like many seizure meds) so I am eager to see if the improvement we've seen remains. We are noticing a lot of aggression especially when she is frustrated. She was never a biter but she has become a horrible biter in the last 2 weeks, she bites me in particular whenever she gets frustrated. We are handling it with very firm and immediate time outs for every bite but right now it doesn't make much of a difference. We are pretty sure it is a side effects of the Depakote because it began so suddenly, as long as it doesn't become more severe (and as long as she isn't biting her siblings) we can deal with the biting us until her surgery in February. Thankfully once she has her surgery she will most likely not come home on Depakote -- they are just using it as a bridge to get us to the surgery date without having 5+ seizures a day every day. 39 days until her surgery!

Year in Review

2011-01-02T15:43:00.000-05:00

77 projects knit in 52 weeks (a few are missing from the collage). Not too shabby.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-21T13:24:00.001-05:00

My last pair of customs for the year and most likely for a few months. These are Mosiac Moon Treasure Map on Aran BFL. I really love knitting this colorway up and I am impressed that it knit up so nicely. These are being mailed out today to their new owner. I have also been working feverishly to finish up my christmas knitting one item left and I will be done!

We also had a kind of last minute appointment with V's Neurologist down state. Her seizures just were not getting any better and we felt that with each increase of the new medication we would decrease her seizure frequency but the seizures themselves would get much worse, not the best trade off. So we discussed our options and we decided to add a third medicine until her surgery. Like all of the other meds this one can have some funky side effects but I am really hoping we won't see any of those. So here is to hoping that a third drug gets some of what we are seeing under control.

I also had a chance to discuss a few other issues we've been seeing. For example after particularly bad seizure days V's pupils are two dramatically different sizes and will stay that way for upwards of 24 hours before they return to the same size. I figured it was "normal" for that to happen sometimes and he assured me it is. We also discussed the keotogenic diet again. He feels (and we agree) that because there is little hope that V will outgrow her seizures the keotogenic diet is not a great option for us. The only way it would provide any therapeutic value is if she stayed on it for life, and that is not a reasonable way to eat for your entire life. He did say he was a firm believer in it but that he preferred to use it in children who have seizures that are resistant to medicine (like V) AND who he feels are likely to outgrow their seizures so the diet would only be used for a relatively short period of time (like less then 10 years versus an entire lifetime). The surgery is her best option to be seizure free, we fully agree but it was good to hear someone confirming that yet again for us.

So really the sum of all of that is that we are kind of in a holding pattern right now until her surgery, just working to do what we can to try and keep her seizures under control with the least amount of side effects until the big day.

How I hate going out in the cold...

2010-12-12T13:19:00.001-05:00

So I stayed in all day yesterday and knit. I just finished these, they need to go out ASAP to hopefully make it to Canada in time for a little boys birthday at the end of the month so these are unblocked and I will simply use some spray lanolin in the wet zone to make them ready to wear. The flash really picked up the white and makes it look like these have some kind of stripey pooling going on but in real life you don't notice it at all (it actually surprised me how the picture makes these look like they pooled). I love this colorway, Mosaic Moon Gaia II on Aran BFL, and these worked up really nicely. I hope the new owner loves them.

Nothing new to report for V, she is still having daily seizures and the med increase we did last week has made it so she no longer gets blue lips during a seizure but each seizure lasts longer and she is back to having 4+ a day. We plan to give it a few more days to see if it evens out at all as this med tends to take a full week before we see the true affect of a dose increase, but if it keeps up like this I think we are going to ask to be taken off of it and try something new. It has made her seizures go from relatively short (less then a minute), quite with mostly lip smacking and picking to longer seizures (always more then 2 minutes) with moaning, slapping, scratching, wandering and falling down while wandering. I hate taking her off a med and starting a new one though, the seizure meds have such bizarre side affects that it feels that with every med switch we trade one not so fun one for another. One med made her super hyper and overly aggresive, so we took her off that and put her on a new one that made her anorexic and caused her to throw up during seizures, so we took her off of that and put her on this one which seems to make her seizures worse rather then better and causes her to feel like she has to use the bathroom constantly (that makes car trips loads of fun).

P.S. If you see my Mom wish her a Happy Birthday!

In the spirit

2010-12-10T14:11:00.000-05:00

I finished this cute little sweater as a gift for one of DH's coworkers and his wife their first was born earlier this week. I adore these buttons on this sweater, so cute and sweet. My husband is giving it to them when he stops by to see them today. I am working on two projects right now. A pair of longies with MM Gwoin II for a customer, they are almost finished the second leg should be done tonight and I should have ends weaved and the drawstring done by Saturday so they will be ready to ship Monday. These knit up wonderfully and I love the detail of the stripes at the bottom. The other project I am working on is a Faraway So Close shawl for a customer done with some MM Unexpected Rainbow I have had in my stash for a bit. I truly love and adore this pattern, this is now the third one I have knit and they just go so fast for me. I have plans to make one more for myself in February.

We met with the neurosurgeon for V on Tuesday. We both really liked him, he answered all of our questions honestly and addressed every concern we had. I feel like we have a real true picture now of what we face and what things will be like after the surgery. We were also shocked when we left his office and he took us straight to his assistant and we scheduled her surgery. She goes in February 16th, faster then we ever imagined. There are risks but he feels (and we agree) that those risks are minimal compared with how this will change her life. The main risks are infection of the incision site, menengitis and bleeding which can lead to strokes. They are minimal risks though and not something that they generally see after the surgery. The more real risks are that she will lose a small pie shaped piece of her eyesight in one eye, it will not interfere with her ability to drive though and most likely she will never even notice it is missing, and that she will have problems with verbal memory later on in life. They have to remove the entire hippocampus of her left temporal lobe and that area controls memory and more specifically verbal memory. So when she gets older in school she may have a really hard time taking notes in classes, and learning material when it is just presented verbally -- all things we can work with though and far better then a life of worsening seizures. This surgery means she may have a chance to drive when she turns 16, she will be able to learn how to swim, she will be able to learn how to ride a bike, she can take baths without one of us in the room, she will be able to play any sport she wants and she will be able to live a life that is far more independent then the future she was facing with seizures. The surgeon believes that for her the surgery has a 70-80% chance of working, and those are odds I am hoping swing in her favor. It took me a bit to post this as we have been processing all of this and adjusting to the idea that this is going to happen in 2 months (when we began this journey we were told it could take upwards of a year and a half to get to the surgery). We are very hopeful this will work for her but if it does not my husband and I are prepared, and we have plans in place for moving forward with making her life as normal as possible.

With the surgery now in our very near future I will be taking a short break from customs. I have one pair of custom longies left to start and finish and after that there will most likely be one more slot that I offer with a quick turnaround time for January. PKat Pants will then take a break for a few months from Their Own Knitted World and from customs. I hope to return to custom knitting soon but for now I need to focus on my family, I have loved all of the knitting I have done over the years for my customers and I hope to return to knitting for all of you sometime next year.

2010-12-03T19:04:00.000-05:00

Another Christmas gift finished and another close-up picture. I also began working on a cardigan my husband asked me to knit as a gift for a coworker and his wife expecting their first in a few weeks. I should finish this tonight and then on to the next project.

Knitting Machine

2010-11-29T11:34:00.000-05:00

Well I'm not really a knitting machine but I have finished a few projects since Thanksgiving and that always makes me feel good! I finished the Euclid Cardigan for the Harrison set. The buttons are 3 different Peter Rabbit buttons that match perfectly. I am so happy with the way this set came out and this colorway is simply amazing -- no pooling at any point and the depth of color is amazing. I also finished up a super secret Secret Auntie project the close-up of the project is below no final shots yet for this one. One more Christmas gift has been crossed of my list as well, with another super duper close-up for now, when the gift has been given I will post the full shot and details on the pattern.

We are currently battling with insurance about V's meds, they feel that she is taking too many of one particular pill (a very expensive medicine even in generic form) so everytime we go to get the prescription filled they fight us about it and delay filling it to call the doctor, then only give us two weeks worth at a time so I have to repeat this whole insane dance every two weeks. It is all very frustrating. We also discovered the next year our out of pocket will be raised to $5,000, up from $3,000 this year and our prescrition coverage will be once again covering less of a percentage. In the last three years the small raise my husband gets yearly has not even covered our increasing heathcare costs. I am thankful to have insurance but for the amount we pay monthly on top of our out of pocket costs and our prescriptions costs healthcare takes up over 35% of our monthly budget!

Let the holiday madness begin!

2010-11-26T20:24:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thankgsgiving, I of course managed to finish up some knitting. I figured I was in for a long wait for an item my oldest daughter really wanted for Christmas, so I packed my knitting bag, the book I am reading now - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (thanks mom) a bottle of water and went to grab my spot in line. I forgot the chair though, next year the chair would be an important thing to remember. While I was waiting I started and finished this set of fingerless gloves using Laines Magnifiques Strawberry Princess colorway. I've put them up for sale at Their Own Knitted World for now but if they don't sell in the next week I think I may give them to my maillady, she seems to appreciate fingerless gloves during the winter. While you are there be sure to check out the auction going on for the 0-3 month Christmas set.

The Harrison Euclid cardigan is getting buttons tonight and I hope to have final shots of the set tomorrow, stay tuned!

Healthy kids and the Holidays

2010-11-22T21:34:00.003-05:00

A very busy week last week with two very sick kiddos and one worn out mama. Just in time though everyone has fully recovered for Thanksgiving. Not to worries, while sick kids kept me from posting a blog update they did not keep me from knitting!

I worked on this cute little sweater to go with the 0-3 month Harrison set pictured earlier. This pattern is actually one I am testing and I love it already, so easy to work with and fully customizable. This little sweater is actually finished now just waiting to be blocked tomorrow and then buttons sewn on when it is finished. As soon as the set is done I promise some final project pictures.

Christmas is just around the corner and this year I plan to give as many handmade items as I can. I knocked two items off my list last week as well. These pictures are close-ups so to hopefully keep the items mostly a surprise for the recipients. I'm not sure if any family reads the blog but in case they do I don't want to fully ruin the surprise. As soon as the gifts are given I will post the full pictures and details about yarn and patterns. I also finished my part of a super secret project no pictures of that though until the gift has been given.

We just got back from a trip to CHB tonight. I had to take V down for her neurpopsych test, the test went really well and turned up a few things I need to address with her IEP team. Her speech is still delayed (no real surprise there) but the doctor also uncovered a fine motor skills delay and we need to get an OT eval to start working on that ASAP. She did amazing during the testing and was such a good girl, I was so proud of her. We celebrated with some alphabet cookies from Trader Joe's and little stuffed pony from Lakeshore Learning Store next door (where we also got some fat pencils and a fat pencil sharpener to help with writing). The doctors upped her
second med again and I think (knock on wood) that we are seeing fewer seizures a day and even more seizure free days -- however the seizures have changed a bit and she now vocalizes during them and tries to clutch at something in the air or behind her back with her right hand. We still have a few more weeks to go before we are fully dosage strength so we'll see what happens, but I am feeling more positive about this medicine this week. Next up is the surgical consult next month with the surgeon, we should have a lot more answers after that.

Same same, but different

2010-11-06T15:42:00.003-04:00

My sister used to live in Singapore and many times when you asked a street vendor if they had another of an item they would go back into their shop area and come out with something the same color but a totally different size, or the same size but a totally different item and insist it was "same same, but different". I think that perfectly describes not only the hats I just knit but how our week has gone. Each day same, same but different. We haven't had a seizure free day yet this week and the seizures haven't been following any kind of pattern like they normally do. Some days they began at 3am other days they didn't start until noon, some days they happened every hour or so other days she got longer breaks. Not entirely sure what that means medicine wise, it is so hard to tell if that means the medicine is starting to work or if this medicine can be added to our ever growing list of ineffective anti-seizure medicines.

I finished the two hats for sisters. They are both knit with Mosiac Moon Morwenstow on Aran BFL and I love how they match but still look different. I did a little loop at the top to make them easy to take on and off and easy to hang up and keep with mittens. These will be shipping out on Monday!

I've also had more time to work on the Meadow Lilley, it still doesn't look like much but I should have the waist done this evening and after that you will see how it takes shape. I need to get working on this, it is my item to stock at Their Own Knitted world this Thursday!

2010-11-03T22:22:00.000-04:00

The first hat is done and the second is mostly done and should be finished tomorrow. No picture as it looks much like the first hat (same colorway).

Another long day for poor V, at least the seizures didn't start until 4am so she got more sleep, but she averaged about one an hour again today. We are still waiting on a call for her Neuropsych test, I plan to give them another call tomorrow and see when we can get this scheduled. We can't do anything else until that test is done. My biggest worry now is leaving her alone, she has recently started trying to find me during her seizures and since she isn't totally aware of what she is doing and she doesn't have full control of her limbs she falls down a lot. I have nightmares about her trying to go down the basement stairs to find me while having a seizure.

Round and round

2010-11-02T19:29:00.004-04:00

Just a few work in progress shots for today. The first is the first in a set of hats from the same colorway for a friend. These are both the Ky Baby Ear Flap hat done with MM Morwenstow on Aran BFL. The hat pictured is actually finished now and I just began the ear flaps for the second hat.

I am also working on a Meadow Lily top by Lynne of Cabbages and Kings size 12 months knit with Olivia on Licorice Twist this will be for instock next Thursday at Their Own Knitted World. No pictures of that yet, I'm not that far into the pattern so it doesn't look like much more then some colors on a knitting needle right now.

November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month and in honor of that I've turned the blog Lavender for the month. We had a rough day here today with Vivian, she started with seizures at 2 am and had one about every hour or so. We have a new medicine they gave us to stop this cycle when it begins (this is called a cluster) and usually one dose stops them. Today it took 3 before they finally stopped at 1ish today. Long day and I am hoping this doesn't start a new trend when it comes to her seizures.

Photo shoot

2010-10-29T15:29:00.000-04:00

I managed to snap a few pictures while the two littles napped. Here are the XL longies for the auction winner. These are done on Ewe Need Color's Dark Chopsticks without pink colorway on Cestari.

I also have a shot of the progress on the 0-3 month set, they are still unblocked. I am waiting to finish the sweater to make the drawstrings for the longies and the booties so I know I have enough of colorway and solid to finish that the way I want. This set should be done in the next two weeks depending on when I get the pattern.

TGIF!

2010-10-29T08:28:00.000-04:00

]No pictures for now, perhaps later if I can get the two littles to take their afternoon nap together. I finished the longies, booties and hat for the 0-3 month set. I am going to be testing a sweater pattern for the cardigan so I am just waiting for the pattern and I will start the sweater. This set is going to be adorable and I can't wait until it is finished. TFK Harrison makes a stunning set like this and because it is kettle dyed I have had no issues with pooling at all.

I also wound yarn last night for two hats that I am hoping I can knock out this weekend, just waiting to hear back on the style the customer would like.

On the V front we are finally at the therapeutic dose for Lamictal, so far this week we've only had two days of seizures. Which is far better then the prior weeks with only one or two days seizure free, so I am hopeful the Lamictal will calm things down a lot for her seizure wise until she can have the surgery. She still uses the bathroom a lot but I can deal with that side effect if it means that we have better seizure control, and maybe it is a temporary side effect that will go away in a month or so -- we'll see.

Working away!

2010-10-25T15:18:00.001-04:00

A quick preview shot of the XL Ewe Need Color Dark Chopsticks no Pink longies. They are still a tad wet so I have not put the drawstring through yet -- hopefully tomorrow they will be ready to go and I can put the drawstring in and do the final photos of them.

I am working now on a 0-3 month set with Tree Frog Knits Harrison colorway on 3 ply purewool. This colorway is amazing and the pictures do it no real justice, there is a subtle depth of color my camera just does not capture. This is going to be a stunning set when it is finished. Halfway done with the second leg and planning on finishing these up tonight and moving on to the booties.

Not much going on at the family front. We are still waiting for calls to schedule V's neuropsych evaluation and our consult with the neurosurgeon, hopefully we will get a call this week!

Another one bites the dust!

2010-10-22T22:53:00.002-04:00

I just weaved in the ends and wove the drawstring for the XL pair of longies I was working on this week. They came out stunning and I will load pictures as soon as they are done blocking.

We also discovered this week that Lamictil (one of the medications we are giving V to control seizures) has an interesting side effect. It makes her feel like she needs to use the bathroom constantly, we were worried it was a UTI but after taking her to the family doctor and having everything checked it seems it is definitely a side effect to the medicine. She has another increase in Lamictil coming this week so we will see how it goes. Lamictil has a great track record of seizure control (we have yet to see that but she isn't on a full dose yet) but does carry with it risks for a very serious allergic reaction, so when children are started on it they are titrated very slowly. She began it nearly a month ago and won't be on a full dose until next week, at which point we will see if the urge to use the bathroom constantly gets any better before we decide what to do next.

I win!

2010-10-18T21:02:00.001-04:00

Here is my latest project. A pair of XL longies done for a charity auction winner. Progress has been a bit slow on the first leg because I was fighting some color stacking going on, but last night I finally figured out the magic combination the fixed that. I should be able to finish up these legs quickly now that I know how to keep them from pooling (knock on wood sometimes new magic must be found for the second leg).

On the family front I've spent a large portion of the day on the phone with various doctors, therapists and with the group the oversees my daughters IEP gathering everything I need for the neuropsych evaluation. When we first began this journey I always mentally scratched my head at the parents in the Neurologist waiting room with binder just filled to bursting with information. Now I get it. We started our notebook about 2 months ago and it is definitely full (but not bursting). It has a been a huge help, I can quickly look up information about speech therapy, assesments done and the results, medicines used for sedation and any reactions noted, procedures done and their dates and I keep monthly printouts from seizuretracker.com right in the front. For any families dealing with epilepsy I can't recomend seizuretracker.com enough I am able to organize medication information, keep a seizure log and keep track of apointments and procedure dates. Whenever we are going to an apointment I print off the log for the last month and show it to the doctor, from those reports we've been able to make changes in doses and when we give her those meds that have helped us gain a bit more control over the seizures. (Please note I am not affiliated with that site at all this is just a true and legitimate review of a great site)

An adorable top and some fantastic news!

2010-10-17T22:05:00.004-04:00

I put the finishing touches and blocked a top I've been testing for Lynne of Cabbages of Kings. This is the Meadow Lily and is such a cute top for little girls, it looks adorable with a top underneath for winter and just as cute without the top.

We also had a call today from one her doctors and our daughter has been approved to go forward with the surgery. She will be having the ECoG surgery done, not sure on dates yet I imagine that will be at least 6 months from now, but I am excited (and nervous, scared and worried) that she gets this chance. I could mean that a few years from now Epilepsy is just a distant memory for our family. Next step we have to do a neuropsych test and meet with the surgeon to discuss the procedure, risks and projected outcomes.

2010-10-15T10:53:00.003-04:00

A rainy day here, the perfect time to let the littles watch a few movies while I update the blog, get household chores done and knit.

Right now I am working on longies for an auction winner, finishing the sleeve on a Meadow Lily top I am testing for Lynne of Cabbages and Kings, and the yarn just came for my next custom a newborn set using Tree Frog Knits Harrison so as soon as the auction winner longies are done I will cast that on.

We've had a long week here seizure wise. Vivian is getting a cold and whenever she gets sick her seizure activity picks up. Yesterday was a long rough day for her and so far today it is heading down that same road. We are anxiously waiting for a call from her team in Boston about the outcome of the epilepsy conference -- hopefully next week we will hear.

Making it personal

2010-10-10T23:54:00.003-04:00

In the past this blog has been strictly business (for the most part). I am going to start taking things in a slightly different direction from here on out and begin to blog a bit more about the journey my family is on, as well as my knitting. My family and friends know the roller coaster our life has been since September 2008 but I think it is time I share a bit of that with my customers. During this time my knitting has often been a form of therapy for me, it gives me time to be quiet with my thoughts and still feel productive.

My middle daughter was diagnosed with Epilepsy in late 2008 when she was about 18 months old. Specifically she has Temporal Lobe Epilepsy caused by Mesial temporal sclerosis. Since the diagnosis her seizures have become progressively worse. In 2008 she was having 1-2 a month, in 2009 she was having 1-2 a week, and this year her average is closer to 1-2 a day (on a good day, bad days can be upwards of 6). Seizure free days are not common at all, seizure free weeks are rare and we have never had a seizure free month. Medicine has not been successful at controlling her seizures. In June of this year after much thought and debate we decided to begin the process to determine if she would be a candidate for epilepsy surgery. In mid-September of this year we completed the Phase I testing, within the next few weeks we should be hearing how we need to proceed.

Through all of this our daughter has been an amazing. She is a trooper and nothing seems to phase her. She is a happy, friendly and tough little girl. She brings light and love to our family and to the doctors and nurses we work with. I hope and pray that she will be a candidate for surgery and it will provide her with a better future.

We have been dealing with this for awhile and it is just recently that I felt comfortable sharing our journey. I hope that by blogging a bit more about what our family is dealing with I can provide support for any other families going through something similar.

Pricing

2010-05-03T16:08:00.003-04:00

Sizing (general guideline for sizing -- customs are made to the measurements you send me)

Size	Rise	Hip	Longie Inseam	Shorties Inseam	Capri inseam
Newborn	14"	14-16"	6"	2"	3"
Small	14-16"	16-18"	8"	2"	4"
Medium	16"-18"	18-22"	10"	3"	5"
Large	18"-20"	20-23"	12"	3"	6"
Extra Large	20"+	23"+	14"	4"	7"

Pricing

Size	Longies/Skirties	Shorties	Capri length	Soakers
Newborn	$35	$20	$25	$15
Small	$40	$25	$30	$20
Medium	$45	$30	$35	$25
Large	$50	$35	$40	$30
Extra Large	$55	$40	$45	$35

If your little one needs a longer inseam please add $2 per inch

Twisty Trouser Sizes and Pricing (Longie pricing only, shortie pricing available upon request)

Size (Hip measurement - Rise knit to your measurement)	Inseam	Price
Newborn/Small (10-15")	6-7"	$45
Medium (13-18")	7-8"	$55
Large (16-21")	9-10"	$65
XL/Toddler (19-24")	11-12"	$75

If your little one needs a longer inseam please add $2 per inch

Elizabeth Tunic sizing and pricing

Size	Chest Measurement	Tunic Length (Dress Length)	YYMN Price
Newborn	14"	9" (12")	$30
3 months	17"	10" (13")	$37
6-12 months	18"	12" (14")	$45
12-18 months	19"	13" (16")	$52
18-24 months	20"	14" (17")	$60
2T/3T	21"	15" (18")	$67

Embellishments and Extras

Item	Price
Ruffles	$5
Double Ruffles	$10
Cargo pocket	$5
Stripes, embellished designs, or cables (pricing depends on complexity)	$10-$20
Newborn booties or stay on socks	$15
Scrappies (price depends on size and the number of color changes)	$10-$20
Hat (several styles to choose from)	$25-$40

Custom knitting on your pattern $0.15-0.17 a yard depending on complexity

*NEW* 10% Discount for two or more handknit items.

*NEW* Free return shipping for all YYMN customs.

Shipping within the US includes delivery confirmation. I cannot be held responsible for packages once they leave my hands, if you have any shipping concerns I strongly recommend purchasing insurance.

All knit items are washed and lanolized in ENI Oatmeal, Milk and Honey wool wash prior to shipping. ENI Oatmeal, Milk and Honey is a very mild and GN scent but if you are sensitive to any scents please let me know and I can wash in unscented wool wash for you.

Due to the nature of custom knit items I cannot accept any returns or exchanges. Please measure carefully before purchasing. If there are any issues with your knit item please contact me within 7 business days.

2010-02-12T11:53:00.002-05:00

Lots of updates here :)

S.A. - body done working on first leg
Serengti longies from congo - shipping today
Starburst capris from congo - shipping today
Lindsey - working on last hat this weekend will ship next week (with your Treasure Map yarn as well)
Kim - yarn arrived will start longies next week

2010-02-08T23:21:00.003-05:00

I'm still here -- just finding less time to post with the knitting I have been working on. Plenty of finished items to show as well. For now I will start with what I am stocking this Thursday at Their Own Knitted World.

These are a pair of large capris knit with Bear & Pants (our featured dyer for the month) in her Starburst colorway on Cestari.

S.A. - working on body will be finished this week
Lindsey - hat to match small set is done, working on the cabled hat
Amanda - waiting on measurements but no rush at all, I totally understand any delays!

Many thanks to give!

2009-11-23T19:07:00.001-05:00

This holiday season I just want to take a minute to thank all of my current and past customers. Thank you for allowing me to knit for your child and having patience with me as we dealt with many changes to our family this year. I truly appreciate the opportunity to create items for your children.

Kimi - working on legs
Becca - working on body
Tina - will cast on at some point this week
Joanna - Hat is done just need to get tassles on it

Please be sure to check out Their Own Knitted World on Black Friday for some amazing deals like this sleep sack knit that comes with a free gift (the hat) until Monday.

Or maybe these large longies are something you would like to bid on? The auction starts at the cost of yarn.

These longies are going to be auctioned starting at the price of yarn as well! Be sure to stop by and check out some of the other awesome deals my congo mates have!

All kinds of sharing :)

2009-11-19T21:34:00.005-05:00

I have lots of pictures of finished object to share! I finally have a few free minutes tonight to update with pictures here as well.

AJane - Shipped
Drop stitch scarf - Shipped
Hat and Mitten set - Shipped
Kimi - working on body
Becca - waist band is cast on
Poppies longies - waiting on trim yarn (being dyed)
T.G - will start longies early next week

A.J. - Nurturing Threads Iced Giraffes hat and cabled longies set, Mosaic Moon Turning Leaves

Charity drop stitch scarf Mosaic Moon Synchronicity

Sugarbubbies Second Chance Cabled YPI longies available on Their Own Knitted World

Charity hat and mittens set - Three Irish Girls Meg

Mosaic Moon Samhain Skies

WWbN Bonnie Cargo Star Pocket longies

Mosaic Moon scrappy pants

Knitting time

2009-11-14T12:14:00.003-05:00

Drop stitch scarf is finished and is blocking now pictures to come soon!
J.A. - hat is almost finished will quickly block and get these shipped to you as soon as it is dry sometime Mon-Wed.
Joanna - will cast on tomorrow

Keep on knitting, keep on knitting

2009-11-10T22:07:00.003-05:00

S.A. - shipped
S.L. - shipped
A.J - finishing up hat will ship at the end of the week
Drop stitch scarf for charity - 1/2 way through the ball of yarn

Finishing up a YPI instock item for Thursday and then I will be casting on K.C's longies and L.C.'s second tunic.

I'm back

2009-10-27T14:30:00.002-04:00

Got the laptop back, and I managed to get everything loaded so it is back to normal!

S.A. - scrappies are done and washing should be ready to ship later this week or this weekend
S.L. - Bonnie star longies are drying right now should be ready to ship later this week or this weekend
AJane - will be sending you pictures soon to make sure you like the cable I am doing, splitting for the legs this evening
Kim - mitten 1 done finishing up second mitten
Elizabeth - got your yarn today will start your scarf this weekend

I am working on getting some pictures of up of items sent out while my computer was being repaired.

Hey Hey

2009-10-03T00:16:00.001-04:00

Another quick chance to update this week.

S.L. - just about to split for legs
S.A. - began working on body
AJane - Turning Leaves is dry, pictures have been taken but working on getting them uploaded

Quick update

2009-09-29T23:54:00.002-04:00

Computer is still broken hopefully it will come home soon.

AJane - Turning Leaves is finished and drying pictures to come soon (if I can get the computer to cooperate). I will be casting on Iced Giraffes next week
S.A. - Scrappies are cast on will begin working on body soon
S.L. - Cast on and began working on body
LilaC - working away on the sweater :)
Erica - getting some help with the design from a friend

I have a lot here ready to ship the YPI longies are finished and drying and will be ready to ship soon and the rework of the Campbell Shore longies are almost dry and will ship in the next few days. It's been rather damp and raining off and on here the last few days so the wool is taking a bit longer to dry.

Me again!

2009-09-15T23:31:00.003-04:00

S.A. - shipping tomorrow, all other yarn has arrived just waiting on trim
AJane - need to PM you for the style of ruffle you would like one leg will be done once I add the ruffle :)
Samilyn - shipping tomorrow

Quicky update

2009-09-10T22:25:00.002-04:00

Had a chance to hop on today for a quick update:

S.A. longies are ready to go and will be shipped Saturday when I can get to the PO (can't print postage right now without our laptop). Winter Solstice and MM scrappies are here.

AJane - I was fighting some pooling and color stacking with Falling Leaves, I finally have the colors looking nice and am breezing through the body hope to be ready to split for the legs tonight.

Samilyn - hat is drying now from blocking

Computer issues

2009-09-06T14:05:00.001-04:00

My daughter has managed to crash our laptop -- it needs to be sent in to be repaired so communication may be a bit sparse until it comes back to us. I will do my best to keep customers updated

S.A. - longies are drying and will be ready to ship soon
AJane - working on turning leaves longies
Samilyn - finishing hat everything will go out this week

Where does the time go?

2009-08-31T21:53:00.002-04:00

My kids are growing up so fast and while knitting for others I have realized I haven't had a chance to knit for my kids, so recently I decided that I was going to take weekends off to knit for my family and some friends. This was the first weekend following that plan -- I knit on the Night Rider pair on Saturday but cast on a pair of newborn longies for a friend Sunday.

S.A. - Finished legs today, working on cargo pocket and then they will be washed and lanolized and ready to ship out late this week, early next week
Newborn longies - on hold until the weekend :)
NT instock YPI longies - cast on hope to be ready to preview
Sleepsack for baby girl (or for instock if mama's procrastination means it no longer fits baby girl) - arms and collar left

Waiting on yarn for a few more customs as well :)

"Knit two, purl four, carry the one, divide by pi, square root…"

2009-08-28T17:07:00.005-04:00

I laughed out loud when I heard one of the characters saying this on a show the kids like to watch "Johnny and the Sprites". Figured it would make a good title.

S.A. Night Rider longies - half way through leg one sending pictures this evening it is looking great!

Instock small longies for Their Own Knitted World are finished and almost completely dry. These are knit on Nurturing Threads Gaia Bulky in their Patience colorway. It knit up beautifully and I had a chance to try my had at some fibonacci stripes, I think it suits this colorway perfectly.

I should go to bed

2009-08-27T01:59:00.003-04:00

First I need to update!

E.M shipped
Instock - finished pictures to come tomorrow
S.A. - ready to split for legs

Under the fence, around the sheep, bring it through and off it leaps

2009-08-24T15:35:00.003-04:00

Working away and beginning to teach my oldest to knit (which explains my title). Right now she is just getting the hang of things but in a bit I bet she will be knitting.

These will be shipping out tomorrow. They are Southwest Spectrum Mountain Glow for E.M.

NT instock for Sept - splitting for legs
S.A. - working on body took a small break to get the body of NT done

Blissfully knitting

2009-08-21T23:55:00.001-04:00

All of my kids fell asleep by 9 this evening so I have managed to get a full night of knitting in.

E.M - Longies are finished and will be washed/lanolized tomorrow. Watch for a final picture and shipping soon!
S.A. - waistband done and just starting to work on the body
Erica - charting and knitting tonight the embellishing is my weekend project goal
Instock NT for September - cast on and waistband begun.

Sunny Days

2009-08-20T09:19:00.002-04:00

It has been beautiful weather here so I have been able to get the kids out and sit and knit while they play. The baby has been cranky at night thought so I haven't been able to knit much at night which slows me down a bit.

E.M - First leg finished second leg begun
S.A. - Night surfer cast on
Erica - embellishing this weekend

Just chillin' and knitting

2009-08-17T12:47:00.002-04:00

Another hot day today so we are chilling inside (literally I put the AC's on and I haven't done that all summer) until it cools down enough to take the kids out this afternoon.

E.M. - split for legs and working both of them
Erica - charting the design still didn't get much time to work on this this weekend
S.A - will be ready to cast on in the next two days

Feelin' hot hot hot

2009-08-15T00:01:00.003-04:00

Phew it has been hot here today -- and my kids have been super crabby because of it!

The AK Apple Orchard longies for Cinderella08 are shipping tomorrow. They came out wonderful!

E.M - Ready to split for the legs and body progress shot e-mailed as requested.

Erica - All dry I am working on charting the design tonight.

Late night knitting

2009-08-12T22:57:00.002-04:00

House full of cranky kids here today -- why is it they are always cranks on the same day?

E.M. - Cast on
Cinderella08 - finished drying today will be shipping Friday
Erica - longies are done and blocking, will begin embellisments when they are dry.

Changing things up a bit.

2009-08-11T16:11:00.002-04:00

I feel like I sometimes fall behind in communicating with customers. I have found it takes a lot of time for me to take pictures and upload them so I am going to change the blog format a bit. Form now on I will post pictures of items when they are complete and just do written updates until then. The only exception will be if customers really want to see progress pictures posted frequently to the blog in which case that is not a problem at all, you just need to let me know.

So progress update for today:

E. Montes (HC Custom) - yarn arrived this afternoon and will be wound into cakes and cast on either tonight or tomorrow

Cinderella08 - Longies are almost dry and on target to ship before Friday

Erica - second leg should be finished tonight, then they will need a bath before I begin the bum design.

Working along!

2009-08-02T22:58:00.003-04:00

Still working on the Alligator Knits Apple Orchard colorway on Marr Haven. I plan to get these close to done if not completely done on vacation!

I also have one leg done on the special longies -- plan to finish the second leg on vacation!

Back and in the groove

2009-07-27T12:04:00.008-04:00

It's been a bit since I last posted but I've been very busy. Since my last post we have welcomed our third girl to the family. Rosalyn Elizabeth was born June 15th after 3 hours of active labor but about 3 weeks of prodromal labor. It has taken me a bit to get back in the knitting groove with a family of three but I think I finally have it down!

I have been knitting while I was gone though -- these capris stocked (and have since sold) on Their Own Knitted World they were knit with Southwest Spectrum's Prairie Rose on Cestari Superfine.

These stocked as well and are still available this is an unnamed Southwest Spectrum on Gaia Merino.

This set was stocked on Their Own Knitted World it is Alligator Knits Elliott colorway on BFL.

This was my July custom slot it is Hippy Pippy Pippy Longstocking on Cestari worked into a small pair of longies. It knit up beautifully and they have been shipped to their new home where they will wait for a new baby to arrive!

I will be stocking these with a shirt in a collaboration with Apple Dumpling Gear, they are knit with A Twisted Stitch Carousel colorway on Cestari in size Large/18 months. I just need to weave some ends in on these this evening and they will be ready to go for the August 13th stocking.

And some yarn I recieved today this is Panda Bear on BFL by Nurturing Threads -- stay tuned for what this will become for the September stocking of Their Own Knitted World!

I also recieved Patience by Nurturing Threads this will also become something for the September stocking.

This yarn arrived today for a custom Alligator Knits Apple Orchard on Marr Haven. I will be casting this on tonight so look for some work in progress pictures soon!

This is a special pair of longies I began work on during a car trip this weekend. I am just about to join the natural color for the body.

And lastly a new find. I ordered this project bag from Blue Tulips on Etsy and it is wonderful. The perfect size for carrying around your project, the drawstring top keeps the ball of yarn inside while you are working with the yarn and it has a fabulous clear pocket on the inside for keep all the bits and bops you need handy while knitting. This bag has the project you see above and at little more then 8oz of yarn, a measuring tape, stitch markers, and a pair of scissors! The work is top quality and the price can't be beat, I plan on going back for a few more as soon as I can to keep all of my working projects in!

2009-05-11T20:35:00.002-04:00

I haven't been posting for a bit, but that is because most of my work has been for instock items for Their Own Knitted World. I do have a few items to share though.

I just finished these shorties last night. They were pictured about 2 weeks ago and I was waiting for trim, when the trim came I wasn't happy with the way it looked at the ends of the legs so I quickly frogged the shorties and started over and I am very happy with how they came out. Hopefully the mama and little cutie they are for agree! The cord has been finished for these and they are drying so they should be ready to ship in the next few days!

This is the set I am currently working on, a pair of capri's for the June stocking at Their Own Knitted World dyed by Southwest Spectrum this is Prairie Rose on Cestari Superfine.

Don't forget to check out the grand opening of Their Own Knitted World this Thursday at 9pm! Be sure to take a sneak peek everyday this week for lots of great free for shipping lotteries!

2009-04-21T21:07:00.002-04:00

The MM Dragon Moon shorties are done. They are drying now and will be ready to ship soon!

I also finished a pair of free for shipping shorties that are blocking right now -- pictures to come soon!

2009-04-20T15:04:00.003-04:00

A few finished projects to share.

Shorites on Sugarbubbies Marvel.

A sneak peak of longies that will be listed as part of a set for the grand opening (May 14th at 9pm) of my new congo Their Own Knitted World. These are knit on Three Irish Girls Tierney the yarn is Galenas Merino and makes perfect newborn items. More previews should be coming soon!

2009-04-10T21:09:00.003-04:00

I haven't had much of a chance to update the blog but I have been knitting away with plenty to show.

None of these have been blocked yet. The finished shorties are all going for their wash in just a bit.
This first pair is Belladonna Retro with matching trim on BFL.

The next finished pair is Disco Baby's Uranus on BFL.

These shorties are waiting for some trim to finish them up. These are done on Sugar Bubbies Gaia Bulky in their Brodie colorway. Wonderful to knit with and the colors are so nice.

I am working on this pair in between projects. This will be part of a newborn set I am stocking at the grand opening of my new congo (stay tuned for details)! These are knit with Three Irish Girls Tierney on Galenas Merino -- perfect for a new baby. They have a cable down that side and will have some matching booties and a hat.

2009-04-01T13:26:00.004-04:00

These are drying now and should be ready to head out the door later this week or early next week. A pair of shorties done with Mosaic Moon Elements on Targhee.

This skirty is also heading out the door this week. This is the large skirty done with Three Irish Girls Meg on Lindon Merino with Cascade trim.

And these two skirties with matching headbands will be heading out as well. I am not sure who the dyer is (will get that information and edit this post).

Just a heads up for folks I am shipping to, my youngest is pretty sick right now so getting postage printed and dropping the package off at the PO (so it gets scanned right away) may take a few days -- thank you so much in advance for being patient!

2009-03-24T16:36:00.004-04:00

Some finished skirties that will be heading to their homes this week:

First a large skirty done with TIG Meg. I just finished this for the second time, after I blocked the first time I wasn't happy with the soaker placement (it was off center) so I frogged the soaker and re-knit it -- much happier with the placement now. It just needs a quick re-blocking and it will be heading home. Sorry for the small picture, for some reason when it is larger one of the corners is cut off.

And two newborn skirties with matching headbands -- these are so tiny and absolutely adorable!

Hopefully I can grab some better pictures before these all head out it was a bit late in the afternoon so the shadowing is bad!

Check out my Mom!

2009-02-25T00:28:00.005-05:00

My Mom taught me the basics of knitting about 5 years ago, so she gets all the credit for what my obsession has become. If you ask my Mom, really if you ask anyone who knows my mom if she knits they would probably look a bit confused. See my Mom doesn't knit she quilts, and she quilts a lot. I convinced her awhile back to start a blog about her quilting, so go check out the beautiful work my mom does! You can find it all here: http://katahdinquilts.blogspot.com/

2009-02-23T10:44:00.006-05:00

Just a few pictures of the massive amount of snow we got last night. When I went to sleep my van was red with no snow on it -- when I woke up at 7:30 this morning here is what my van looked like (my husband shoveled the right side of the van so he could get out to go to work.

The top of this ladder was clear last night -- I didn't measure but that is at least 24"!

And a shot of the backyard - very pretty this was super sticky snow so it has that winter wonderland look!

And now the woolies -- making progress on the skirty, this is one skein (well I haven't knit the last foot of it). I plan on adding the second one as soon as I am done with the soaker for underneath. I needed to add the soaker to get a better idea of length -- skirty length can always be decieiving especially with these twirly skirties because they don't lay flat until you get the soaker done.

And a shot of how far I have gone on the soaker -- this should be mostly done by tonight so I can get back to work on the body of the skirt.

2009-02-20T13:13:00.000-05:00

The Blooming longies are finished and will be shipping out tomorrow.

My next project is a skirty on Three Irish Girls Meg dyed on Lindon Merino this is coming out really nice and the yarn is WONDERFUL to work with, I can't wait to finish this up :)

2009-02-04T23:13:00.000-05:00

Here is the project for this week. A pair of longies on Mosaic Moon Blooming (on Targhee). I am just about to split for the legs so these should be done by this weekend.

This came in the mail today 2 skeins of Meg by Three Irish Girls on Lindon Merino this will become a skirty next week :)

2009-01-27T14:50:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't posted to the blog in a bit but I have been very busy -- doing lots of knitting!
So we will do a quick catch up.

These longies will be heading out this week these are done on 3ply Purewool in their Chocolate and Crema colorway.

These shorties shipped out last week they are on Cestari Superfine Merino in Western Sky Knits Bella colorway.

Another set that shipped out last week. These were done for a trade they are on 3ply Uruguay Merino by Mosiac Moon in her Ming colorway.

And last another finished project this will be shipping out with a custom pair of longies I will be doing next week. This is an adult size Ky Baby Ear Flap hat.

Help save the WAHM's

2009-01-06T16:09:00.002-05:00

On February 10th the new CPSIA law will go into affect, right now the law is written in such a way that ALL manufacturers of toys or clothing used by children under the age of 12 must comply. Most WAHM business's will be forced to go out of business or sell their items "illegally".

Please take a minute to vote here http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia and help save WAHM's like myself!

2009-01-05T23:21:00.000-05:00

Here is the front of a pair of shorties I am working on. This is WSK Bella.
Front (small area of pooling on left front hip

Back

I also have a pair of ear flaps cast on for a quick Ky Baby hat -- previews to come soon just waiting for a head measurement so that I can cast on the rest of the hat!

2008-12-11T10:39:00.001-05:00

These are pictures from early last week that I finally had a chance to upload. Things have been a bit nutty here with my seasonal night job and some medical issues going on with family. Hopefully I will be posting more soon!

This pair of longies shipped out last week. They are done with a small ruffle in WSK Cake colorway. I hope the mama enjoys them, I was just able to squeak out the length needed (there was NONE of the main colorway left and only about 6" of the trim colorway left).

I am also working on lengthening some shorties I did last summer for a customer -- pictures to come soon, they are out in my traveling knitting bag in the truck.

These longies are part of a trade they are being knit on 3ply purewool dyed by Kimi of A Twisted Stitch in her Campbell Shore colorway. It is so pretty and the colors are wonderful. The trim is a some 3 ply purewool dyed in a dark brown, I think it sets off the main colorway nicely.

And some new yarn arrivals. Some of this is spoken for already, but some skeins will be available for customs in the future.

Mosaic Moon on Merino in the Ming colorway

Mosaic Moon on Targhee in the Goblin colorway

2008-11-03T14:44:00.000-05:00

These are heading in the mail today. Done on 3 ply Purewool in their Hot Blue colorway with matching trim, seed stitch cuffs and cargo pockets.

This is a pair of longies on the needles now in WSK Cake colorway.

I also have another pair that I just cast on and have the waistband done, they are in my work knitting bag so I will be sure to grab a picture of those in the next few days.

2008-10-28T21:47:00.001-04:00

Just a quick drive by post -- here are the hot blue longies in 3 ply purewool. I am working on weaving ends and grafting the gusset tonight and tomorrow I plan to work on pocket placement. The yarn knit up really nice and I am happy with how they turned out. I also have another pair of longies on the needles right now -- pictures to come soon!

2008-10-21T21:37:00.000-04:00

This is a pair of longies done in Hot Blue 3ply Purewool with matching trim. I should have pictures of the legs started tomorrow.

This hat is shipping out tomorrow, I hope the mama likes it I know my girls are in love with it and will be sad to see it go. I really need to get going on their winter hats -- they love these hats in particular.

And the finished MM Treasure Map longies ready to ship as well. Hopefully I can get better pictures of these and the hat tomorrow, it rained all day here so the light was terrible and the true colors have not been captured.

2008-10-06T15:29:00.001-04:00

Lots of stuff shipping today. First the two newborn sets these are shipping today. Both of these are on Mosaic Moon the first is Selkie and the second is Woodland in Spring.

This pair is shipping out as well! I am really happy with how these turned out very thick and squishy perfect for the fall weather we are having!

And last a newborn hat and booties set is shipping today, for a collaboration with my new Congo - Tied up with Strings. Stay tuned for some more sneak previews here and at the congo!

Here is the next pair of longies. These are Mosaic Moon Treasure Map with matching cascade trim. They are on some very soft BFL and are knitting up beautifully. I am just about to split for the legs (I am waiting for DH to get home so after we do supper and get the kids to bed he can take a video of how I start my magic looping to do both legs at once).

2008-09-30T10:35:00.001-04:00

Long time no post -- but things were a wee bit crazy for a bit. Two weeks ago my youngest had a seizure and we ended up in Boston for a week while they tried to figure out why she had such a long seizure that caused swelling in her brain. She is doing well now and we have plenty of follow up appointments in Boston to keep an eye on her, but it put my knitting behind by about a week. When we took her to the ER I had no idea we would end up in Boston 24 hours later for a week, so I only had one project with me.

Here are the MM Selkie longies and the hat - I reknit the other leg with the size 8 needles so they both match now. These are still drying and I am putting the ties on the booties tonight. They should be ready to head out soon.

Here are the MM Woodland in Spring longies and hat, again these are still drying and I am finishing up the booties so they should be ready to ship soon (to the same mama).

Here is a custom pair done on a worsted weight superwash yarn that had three different strands of variegated yarn twisted together sent to my by Kim -- it created a beautiful variegated pair of longies that are nice and thick and should resist pilling and felting. These are almost dry as well, hopefully they will be dry enough tomorrow for me to add the drawstring and ship them out. I will get some better close up pictures then as well so you can see how pretty this yarn knit up.

2008-09-14T15:10:00.000-04:00

Myself and the mama these are for were not happy with the way the yarn was pooling so I reworked one leg to see if I could fix it. I think I did but I am just posting this so she can check it out and let me know. The left hand leg is 42 stitches on size 7 needles with yarn knit from the center of the cake, the right hand leg is 40 stitches on size 8 needles knit from the outside of the cake (basically I frogged the leg and wound the ball so the yarn I would start the leg with had originally been on the bottom of the leg.

And here are the fall longies, they don't look much different than before because the 1" that I have knit on the legs so far has curled up on itself. Look for more pictures soon!

2008-09-11T14:41:00.000-04:00

I began working on these Monday. I am just about to split for the legs. I have tonight off so hopefully tomorrow I will have a nice picture of some leg progress.

2008-09-08T10:51:00.000-04:00

This was originally written to be posted on the 5th for some reason Blogger or Picasa saved it as a draft and when I realized it this morning the pictures were missing so I have re-posted it. I apologize to any customers that I directed to the blog to see updated pictures -- I didn't realize that the post had not gone up!

September 5, 2008
Sorry another long time between updates. Mama's been sick with a cold and my youngest is getting her eye teeth still so she is very clingy, today she seems to be feeling better so I am getting a chance to get pictures up while she snacks at the table.

Here are the MM Selkie newborn longies. The second leg on these kept pooling really bad so I had to rip it out a few times before I found the combination that kept that leg from pooling so badly. I still have to do the hat and booties to match and get the waistband sewn in -- I should have the hat done by tomorrow and the booties for both pairs begun.

Here is the progress on the WWbN Barrel of Monkeys. I have about an inch left before I switch to the trim color to make the 1.5" cuff as requested. The colors in this are very nice and I love how the non-pooling pattern kept up for the legs, usually a yarn doesn't do that and creates a different pattern for the legs. Another project that should be done this weekend.

These went out yesterday! This is a newborn set on purewool Cyan and black colorway with matching black and cyan trim.

And these are ready to go just waiting for a shipping address. This is a small pair longies and a hat done on Mosaic Moon Kettle Dyed Rainbow with Black.

Now that I am starting to feel better and V seems to be happier I will hopefully be able to update more than once a week!

2008-09-08T10:35:00.000-04:00

I finished the WWbN Barrel of Monkeys longies, they came out very cute. These are being lanolized right now and will be ready to go towards the end of the week. These are the first pair I have made with Black Berry Ridge merino and I really like it, I plan to pick some up for instock and to make V some woolies.

The hat is now complete for the newborn set on Mosaic Moon Selkie. I haven't weaved ends yet because I have not heard yet if the little bit of pooling on the legs is okay. I am working on the booties to match right now.

2008-08-28T10:58:00.000-04:00

The Woodland in Spring set is almost done, just the elastic waist to put in and the socks to knit up. I have a skein of Selkie by Mosaic Moon to knit into another newborn set for the same customer so I will do the socks and waistbands at the same time. I imagine both sets will be ready to ship by late next week.

I am waiting for some cream 3ply purewool to use as the trim with the Selkie newborn set so I worked on the Barrel of Monkeys longies as part of a trade. I plan to work on the legs a bit today.

2008-08-25T09:32:00.000-04:00

Just got back from a weekend away so I have more pictures to add, but this is the picture from Friday. I finished the Woodland in Spring longies, during the trip I weaved in my ends and grafted the crotch gusset -- I haven't put the waistband in yet (forgot to put my elastic in my knitting bag for the trip). More pictures to come!

2008-08-20T23:28:00.000-04:00

As promised the start of the Woodland in Spring longies -- this is the first time I have knit this colorway and I am very happy with the way it is working up. I am so glad I ordered more of this colorway when I had a chance! In this picture I am just beginning the gusset I imagine I will be either done with the longies tomorrow or close to it. But for now I am heading to bed early (as hard as it is with the great Women's Beach Volleyball game going on -- go USA!)

2008-08-20T20:51:00.001-04:00

The Mosaic Moon Kettle Dyed Rainbow with black longies and hat are done and drying right now. I snapped this picture just before I washed them, when they are dry I will thread the drawstring through.

I also started another newborn set this time on Mosaic Moon Woodland in Spring -- pictures to come soon!

2008-08-19T15:29:00.000-04:00

The Blue's Clues inspired longies are ready to ship, these will be heading out to their new home tomorrow with the mail lady.

The Mosaic Moon Rainbow with Black longies are done, I should have the hat finished so these can start drying tomorrow. Hopefully they will be ready to ship by the end of the week!

I also received some yarn today for a trade. This is dyed by WWbN on Black Berry Ridge 2 ply merino the colorway is Monkeys in a Barrel So look for this to be knit up soon!

2008-08-18T09:50:00.001-04:00

I began work on a small set yesterday. These are done on Mosaic Moon's Kettle dyed rainbow with black on BFL aran. The colors remind me so much of the Arabian Nights colorway by MM that I knit about a month ago -- there are just fewer jewel tones in it and a bit more purple. Very pretty this set should be really pretty when it is done. It looks a bit wonky in the picture because I am just about to split for the legs.

This newborn set will be heading out today. It knit up beautifully, I ended up using some scrap cream colored yarn for the booties because I was worried I would run out -- when I finished the ties for the booties I had about 12" of yarn left! This set knit up beautifully and I hope the mama's like it!

2008-08-14T21:58:00.000-04:00

First I have the gallery picture of that hat, this is heading out to Canada tomorrow.

The Blue's Clues inspiried longies are finished and will be washed and lanolized tomorrow, so they will be ready to ship. Here is the front with a yellow house.

And the back with a paw print on the bum.

2008-08-13T20:50:00.001-04:00

Forgot to add this picture! This hat is done and will be heading out to the mama on Friday. My daughter is upset she is in love with this hat and desperately wants one but with "a blues clues mailbox on it" -- she has recently decided she is my design dictator! I will do an official picture outside tomorrow but wanted to get this up so that mama could see it with the tassels (which I adore).

2008-08-13T20:35:00.000-04:00

Here is the finished hat for the longies set. Now I am working on a little surprise.

And here is a picture of the progress on the paw-print for the Blue's Clues insipired longies. Nothing too exciting but hopefully by tomorrow it will look more like a paw!

2008-08-11T19:38:00.000-04:00

Here are the Blue's Clues longies I am just about to start the green grass on the bottom.

And here is the longies for the newborn set, this picture is a few days old I've grafted the crotch and weaved ends since the picture just no time to post them lately. I also started working on the hat and should have a picture up soon!

Oh and the colorway on this is "Fox and the Owl" from iCrave on Hyena Cart. It knit up beautifully and the hat is coming along nicely as well, this will be an adorable set when it is done.

2008-08-06T23:00:00.000-04:00

I've got a bit behind in posting lately but that doesn't mean I'm not knitting!

Here are the Blue's Clues inspired longies just waiting for my long 7's to be freed up so I can begin magic looping the legs.

Next I have the newborn set I am working on, not entirely sure of the colorway or the dyer (I have to remember to ask the owner). I am about half way down the legs, sometime tomorrow I will be done with these and moving on to the cute matching hat, and if I have enough yarn a free cute pair of booties as a special gift to the baby. I'm not sure why but I just can't bear to think of newborns in their cute matching sets barefoot.

And last something I have been working on during the day lately and finished weaving ends tonight a hat using about 2 ounces of yarn a customer sent and some black merino I had on hand (thanks Kimi of A Twisted Stitch). Tomorrow I will get the tassels on and then block them before they head over the border to their new home!

2008-08-04T11:27:00.000-04:00

Here are the outback longies ready to ship! They will be heading out today.

I started working on a set of custom longies inspired by Blue's Clues, I should be ready to split for the legs by today. These will have some custom embellishments added with duplicate stitch once they are finished. I am very excited to be working on these.

2008-07-28T22:14:00.000-04:00

The Outback longies are done. I decided on the ruffles and I think the finish came out very cute. These are freshly off the needles so the ruffles still want to curl a bit, after I wash and lanolize they will look perfect. I think I may also do one more small special touch on these -- but I will leave that as a surprise for the new owner! I will wash and lanolize these tomorrow and they should be ready to head to their new home by this weekend.

I am casting on for a newborn set tonight. I am not sure of the colorway or who dyed it I will have to ask the mama who sent it in because the colors are so pretty, very gender neutral.

2008-07-25T22:07:00.001-04:00

I have about 6" done on the legs so a few more inches and I will start the leg cuffs. The mama who ordered these couldn't choose between ruffles and a flare at the bottom so she is letting me pick -- right now I am think the flare bottoms will look cute but I will wait until I am a bit further down the leg to totally decide.

I also received yarn for another custom newborn set today, I forgot to take pictures before it got dark so I will take some tomorrow!

2008-07-24T22:21:00.002-04:00

Here is another set of customs. These will be elastic waist as well which makes them hard to photograph well, I plan to get the elastic in tonight so they photograph better. These have purewool trim and the yarn is Outback by Plymouth.

Win some free carriers!

2008-07-23T15:04:00.001-04:00

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

2008-07-23T14:31:00.000-04:00

I finished the Dances shorties yesterday and washed and lanolized yesterday afternoon. I checked this afternoon and they are dry and will be going out tomorrow! These are done with an enclosed elastic waistband and the crocheted scalloped edge. A close up of the leg finish and the the colorway.

And the gallery picture of the shorties!