Knittwitt Knitter


Sunday, December 23, 2012

Giveaway Winners

After using a random name selector, Amanda D won the stitch markers and Melynnval won the earrings. Please email me your addresses at dmbcutiepie@gmail.com so I can get them in the mail to you!

Happy holidays and thanks again for entering :)

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Alexander Street Hat

Hello Knitters.

Its cold and dry  here in Wi. We have received the first real snow fall of the season and its a big one. When we look out our front door its a winter wonderland. Perfect timing for the holidays.
Well, its perfect for my new hat, alexander street hat by Carol J. Sulcoski. I love how it turned out. . First, I used KnitPicks fingering, meadow mulit and lantana. This particular hat is size medium and it turned out huge! So, I put it in the dryer for 25 mins on high and now it fits perfect.

I love the picot edge. I have never done that technique before and found it to be a bit tedious. I did not like how the pattern has you go back and tack the edge. I would finish the edging while knitting the hat if I was to do the hat again. I need to give a big THANKS to M, my knitting partner for giving me the yarn. She is amazing! Well, daycare is closed and the family is ready to start the holiday vacation. I will be on later this weekend.
Until then, keep knitting.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

All I can say is wow. After such a horrific event on Friday, I am still in shock. When I heard of the awful news, I was at work with my son in daycare. I reached for my phone to make sure he was okay. My husband and I then decided to leave work early and spend time with our son. Like many emotional posts, this is an attempt to understand my own feelings.

First, I have no idea what the right answer is to fixing this problem. Stricter gun control? Armed teachers? (ugh, that thought almost made me throw up in my mouth!) I have no idea but something must change. Innocent children should not be a outlet for someone's mental illness.

Second, (and most important) I feel so helpless when it comes to this particular issue. It just remind me how precious life is and how much of it is completely uncontrollable. Every night since this event, I have hugged Nolan a little tighter. But in the end, that is the risk we all take, life is precious so live it to the fullest.

I also wanted to do something for the victims. Let them know that there are people out there thinking of them. Knitters are amazing people. They will knit until their fingers bleed to help a good cause. I found a group on Ravelry called Knitters for Newton with the goal of raising 10,000 dollars and knitting AT LEAST 26 blankets for the families. It amazes me how people come together in a crisis. How complete strangers (can put aside differences and) are willing to give back and help in a time of devastation and lost. If we can find one beautiful thing from the horrific events on Friday, its that at the heart of true terror humanity will come together.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Hello. I am really excited about my current knitting projects! So lets get to it. First, I did the KAL for waiting for winter mittens with some stash noro yarn. I am in love with how they turned out!

While visiting The M fam, Melissa got us a book from the library. I fell in love with the alexander street hat. She had yarn in her stash for me to use for the hat. Here is the progress:
Finally, I want to share some pictures from our visit to MN.





Finally, the coolest button ever!
Sorry for the quick post, but I have the house to myself! Time for Sherlock and knitting!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Giveaways

Well, the blog official has hit (and gone over) 1000 page views! Whoop whoop! To give back to all of you readers, I have not one, but two, giveaways!!

For all the lovely knitters out there, I have a set of 6 stitch markers. They are handmade and consist of two different size loops for various needle sizes.



For anyone who loves earrings, here is a handmade pair using the same style of beads.
To enter, leave a comment saying enter me and which item you prefer (or both).  In addition, I would greatly appreciate it if you checkout my friends Etsy store, Willow Pond Dyeworks.

Winners will be chosen at random Dec 22th.


These items come as is, with no warranty. Both items are handmade by me...  and I am still a beginner at making such items :)

Good luck.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Day 29 ; Day 30

Day 29

I am thankful for our furry friends. They are awesome. Especially when you are not feeling well.

Day 30

Well, this is it. We have come full circle to the last day of November. I intentionally have not mentioned the thing I am MOST thankful for. I bet you can guess, its the little man who calls me mom. Yes, I am so deeply thankful, every second of everyday, that Nolan is in my life. Since the moment he was placed in my arms I knew life would never be the same. It is sounds weird or even rude but looking back on my life before Nolan, now just seems so weird and pointless. The little man is my pride and joy! I am so thankful he is healthy, happy and all mine :)

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Day 28

Today I am thankful for my bro. He is pretty awesome and very talented.
Love you.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Day 26; Day 27

Day 26

Last night, all three of us sat around and watched lego star wars and ate sherbert ice cream. I am thankful for quiet, quality time with my family.

Day 27

Today, I made a list of what needs to be done at work. I must say, I am so much better under pressure and I am so thankful for that quality! I think it pretty much got me through the last year of graduate school!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Day 25 ; crafting

Day 25

I am thankful for my husband's flexibility. He is willing to get up early, play with the kiddo just so I can have some time to craft!

Yesterday I was feeling a bit down. I really want to go out and shop my heart out. However, our checkbook says the opposite. I decided to craft a bit but it was so late and I could not really focus. Therefore, I got up early today and started crafting in the sunlight. It was fun, relaxing and very fulfilling. I decided to make myself a couple of pairs of earrings to accessorize some shirts I have.


I guess the real reason behind all my money frustration is I believe my family is ready for a second kid. However, with daycare over 1k a month, I cant really swing two kids in at one time! My husband says to just wing it, we always make it. But at what cost? Would my son and husband be stuck at home all the time, eating raman noodles? Ugh, big decisions take a lot of thinking and planning and I just am not sure we can find another free 1k a month to put a new born in daycare. On the other hand, you only live once.... we would do something to make it work...? Well, I know one thing, its not a decision to make today! Whew, dodged that bullet :)

I finished my last holiday knitting. Here is a second grey loop cowl however with yarn from Vogue knitting. Currently, its being blocked.
 Last night, was a night full of trains and Legos. I have a feeling that will be most of today with a bit of knitting on the side. Have a great, last day of vacation!


Saturday, November 24, 2012

Day 24

Day 24
Today I am thankful for the my mom's visit this weekend. It was fun and she did not drive me insane!

Friday, November 23, 2012

Day 23

To I am thankful for my grandparents. For the first time I opened my wedding gift from them. My dad had it hidden and stored for many years because they died before I got married. Now, I opened it and nearly cried at its beauty.

Thanks grandpa and grandma!

Day 22

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you were able to spend time with love ones! We spent the day relaxing at the J's and then decorated the house for Christmas. It was wonderful!

I like to give a small  note on how important it is to give back. However, this year I feel the same way but too busy to write out a long post; so here goes:

GIVE BACK! Others are not as fortunate as you and there are many ways to help!


Okay that's all I got...

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Day 20; Day 21

Day 20
I have been expecting a call soon from a friend letting me know his wife and him were expecting. Therefore, when he called last night, it was no surprise the announcement. However, they surprise was, they are expecting TWINS! So on day 20 I am so thankful to be a part of their lives and hear this wonderful news! Congrats to the H family! We are so thrilled for you guys :)

Day 21
I am thankful today for a great job and the ability to put food on the table.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Day 19; Wish list

Hello! Man, I feel so much better starting a fresh and making better choices with our money. In truth, I really do not think we have been horrible with money but things come up and need to get paid for! Currently, I have a small wish list: Children's Museum yearly pass, new pants/shirts for work and a brew kit for my husband. Of course these are wants and not needs. I guess the point of this post is to help ration in my mind, the difference between what is necessary and a want. At some point though, you just have to say, I deserve something special and buy something fun anyways.

Day 19
I am really REALLY thankful for all my friends love and support. I would be an extreme mess if I did not have their CONSTANT reminders that I am not going insane and my life is normal. :) You know how you guys are and you get a HUGE
THANK YOU!

I also want to give a shout out to the R family, welcoming an AWESOME baby boy, Ezra into the world. The B family is so stinking happy for you guys! I cannot wait to meet him.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

What's on my mind this evening

Hello. Starting off the weekend I was so excited to sit down and have a relaxing, unplanned weekend. That is exactly what we did. Saturday we headed to the library to give Nolan a chance to choose his own books and have fun with reading. It has been a struggle getting him to be interested in reading. However, the right star wars books was all we needed. Saturday evening was quite and fun with my boys. I think I was in bed by 10 pm. 

Sunday was for restocking the fridge and cupboards. In the afternoon, I saw a movie with my sister-in-law. Call me immature but I love the twilight movies! It's cheap romance that pulls at my heart. I must say the last one was my favorite movie while the first novel is the best read (in my opinion of course). The whole theme of the weekend was just relaxing and lead to some time for thinking....

It's no surprise to anyone that money is tight for us. It's tight for everyone, the economy is not really supporting the middle class. A bit of history, Paul and/or I have been in college for the past 10 years. We really just started our professional careers about 18 months ago. I have my doctorate in chemistry and I always thought it would be so easy for me to provide for my family. Don't get me wrong, I was not planning on buying a benz and a mansion but at least the basics. But because of the amount of student loans and debt which have so generously given my family, I worry that we may be tight for a long time. I guess I am hoping that by getting it off my chest I will get some sort of relief from thinking about it night and day. Debt is something that is not like anything else in my mind. It's like this weight that I carry where I go. Every time I go to buy something I question whether this ball of yarn money should really go to student loans. On top of it, the debt feels like a dirty little secret I keep. The hardest part is looking at my son and wondering if his life could be better if I made different choices in my life. Maybe, by now he would have a sibling if we were in a different place? Anyways, this post is not happy or fun but it is the beginning for me to get this off my chest and a way to keep myself accountable. I am making a promise to myself to do better and to look at what I have. I am very luck to have a healthy, happy 2 year old and a loving husband. I just wish my education did not burden us so much right now. It's amazing how student loans can add up. I hope within a few short years things will turn around. Like my husband says we just have to pay our dues.

I will end this post with a quote that keeps me going when I worry about the future:

"It's not about getting what you want; It's wanting what you got!" Sheryl Crow.


Day 17 & Day 18

Day 17
Yesterday I was thankful for cleaning out my son's closet and finding legos. I am so grateful that so many people gave us their kids stuff. Saves us a lot of money and reduces the amount of crap that ends up in landfills!

Day 18
Today I am thankful for my alone time. Peace and quiet while shopping and getting stuff done! :)


Friday, November 16, 2012

Day 16

This weekend we have nothing planned and we can relax in pjs! Oh yes I love wearing pjs! I am thankful for unplanned weekends!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Grey Loop Cowl; Days 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15

I have not posted much lately about my knitting projects. Here is one I recently finished:



The Grey Loop by Helen G. I love it. I am actually making a second one for a Christmas gift. It was so easy to knit up and extreme fast. Here I used Malibrigo Rio yarn. I forgot the color, sorry :(. Its been crazy busy around here and I am trying to keep up with my posts. I have a lot more projects on needles but no time to share. Soon though!

Day 11: I am so thankful for knitting! Without it I would go insane.
Day 12: In Wisconsin, we are lucky enough to have all four seasons. I am so thankful for the Fall season. It is so beautiful and takes my breath way!
Day 13: I am thankful for the invention of limeade. Its delicious!
Day 14: I love getting free things. I am thankful for giveaways and winning :)
Day 15: I am thankful for coupons. If you know me, I have a coupon for almost everything!

Until next time, keep knitting!

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Day 9; Day 10

Day 9

Today I am thankful for my sweet friend, Anna. She is amazing, beautiful and completely outgoing! I love her attitude towards life and her willingness to try anything new!

Day 10

I thankful for my beautiful sister-in-law and brother-in-law. They are sweet, happy and fun people. I love them a lot!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Day 7 ; Day 8

Day 7: I am so thankful for my dad visiting. One of our main reasons for moving to Wi is to be closer to family! It seems like that is working out well :) Nolan had a great time playing legos with grandpa and we even at dinner on the square. It was such a great visit and I look forward to many more! Thanks dad, we love you.

Day 8: I am so thankful for my in-laws. Without their constant support, love and guidance our family would not be where we are today. I remember back to graduate school and emailing my mother-in-law that I could not see the end anywhere in site! She would reply what I needed to hear to keep going forward. Thanks D&J you guys are awesome! Love you much!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Day 6

It's an obvious but important one; I am thankful for my right to vote.
Thank you to all who have made it possible.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Day 4

Today I am thankful for my mom. She is a bit crazy and over the top but in short she will stop at nothing to make my son happy and feel loved. Thanks mom.

I am also thankful for my knitting partner in crime. In short, she makes me feel normal, loved and reminds me of the light at the end of the tunnel!


Saturday, November 3, 2012

Day 3

Today I am thankful for the polar express movie and book! It reminded me of the magic Christmas has when a child believes! I am looking forward to having Nolan be excited for Santa.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Day 1

I am going to try something new. Each day in November, I would like to post about something that I am thankful for. Here goes:

Today I am thankful for my friends! Without them I would not make it this far. Your support and love is amazing! Thanks for all you good people out there! Love to you all.

A special treat:
My own superhero BATMAN!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Hello all. Its been far too long since my last post. I hope the past month has been good to you. We have been pretty busy like normal. Last weekend, we headed up to La Crosse, Wi for Oktoberfest! We had a great time and even had some friends from Madison join us. The Maple leaf parade on Sat morning was particularly fun. The whole family went to this 4 hour long parade with many many floats. Nolan loved listening to the school bands. My favorite was seeing some beautiful horses.
 It was so nice to be back in La Crosse. We saw so many friends from high school and college. It was a great way to see everyone in one weekend! We even topped the weekend off with some of the best pizza ever from Big Al's too. If you have never had a the Big's Al's special, trust me you are missing out :)


On the ride home we pasted the cutest farm on Hwy 12. Green thumb farms has a place called pumpkin land where kids can play and run around. We stopped and let Nolan run around and pick out a pumpkin. We also got some apple cider, which is perfect for this cooler fall weather. 




As for knitting, I had somewhat of a knitting funk. My projects are long and I am not getting anywhere fast. I needed something that was a quick and easy project. My friend made these awesome mittens for a donation. I loved them plus she finished them in a weekend! Perfect for a quick project and for Christmas gifts. I am so excited to make a bunch of these and put them under the tree!
I also finished another mitten but I am not sure I like it. I made it with the idea of Badger mittens to match the badger socks for my mother-in-law. But I think they are a bit ugly!
 Maybe its just me. As for this past week, we had a lot going on. Work is overwhelming and Nolan is not feeling well. Campus was a zoo due to the President visiting campus. I think its amazing we had a chance to host the President of the United States here in Madison, Wi. Awesome! Tuesday night, my husband and I attended the Hirschfelder Award Dinner at Maple Bluff Country Club. The meal was amazing, 5 course meal from heaven. We had a wonderful time and I even got to show off the citron shawl.
As for this weekend, it will be fulled with knitting, relaxing, and just hanging out with the family. We have not sat at home with nothing to do in forever. We have pumpkin spice candles lit and knitting out while Nolan is running around playing the guitar. Enjoy the fall, its almost over here in Madison. Until next time, keep knitting.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Hello knitters. I am just so excited and coming down from an amazing weekend. Yesterday we had a work picnic, hung out with friends for the afternoon and headed to another friends house for dinner. It was so relaxing and fun. I love how close we have become with people here. The move was a lot easier now that we have close friends :)


As for knitting, I have started quite a few projects and even picked up some old ones. I started working on the Ridged Ripples Scarf again. I really like knitting it up this time around. Basically, over the past year my knitting skills have improved and this time around its not so bad. I am on the second half of the scarf. The colors are so pretty. I cannot wait to wrap this up and give it to my mother-in-law. She has been waiting a while for it!

I also started a little something for her for this holiday! I had two skeins of the badger sock yarn so I am going to make her some mittens. I started knitting the first mitten on two circular needles as suggested by a friend and I really like it over the double pointed method. Of course I am not very far yet so we will see how I like me as time goes on :) This is the first attempt at mittens but I am sure they are pretty similar to socks. I am excited to see the finished product but it will be a while :)



Finally, I started my first knit-a-long (KAL) today. What a great way to knit something! I am knitting the Quaker Ridge Shawl by Susan B. Anderson. My best friend bought me the yarn for the project because she is super sweet! (Side note, I totally miss her and the family :) ).  I am knitting this pattern up in Malabrigo Rio yarn. I got a nice start today when I was at the park with my little man. I checked the thread on Ravelry and there are a lot of very talented knitters with great ideas, colors and beads for this project. I never thought of some of the ideas they had! Its also fun to show off your work and have people comment on your project. A complement from a fellow knitter is always fun! I was surprised so many people loved my stitch markers :) They are all home  made! The pattern has an option for adding beads. I am going to do this but I am going to wait until more the the shawl is complete to decide what exactly I want. I think cute blue pearls would be awesome. Not sure though... Any suggestions?

I would love to hear how your weekend went. I hope you got to enjoy this fall weather! My husband is so excited for pumpkin pies, fall colors and Halloween! Well here is an updated picture of my little man. I am off to watch some batman cartoons and serious snuggle time! Until next time, keep knitting!

Monday, September 3, 2012

The family had an amazing weekend. It was filled with relaxing times, knitting, dyeing yarn and great food. I absolutely love spending time at the M's house. I love their family. I hope that one day my son turns out as amazing and the two big C's.
For a treat, my knitting partner and I visited some over her favorite knitting shops! Silver Creek Cabin was a very big store, not in size but the amount of yarn. This place was packed with yarn. It was almost overwhelming yet very fun! We also visited the Coldwater Collaborative in Excelsior MN. This yarn shop was in a cute town and was very nice. I loved all of the different yarn. Next we spent some time dyeing yarn. Here is my fav from the whole weekend
We also had amazing food thanks to Vic all weekend. In addition, C and I had an idea to make pretzel wrapped hotdogs which turned out amazing! As a side we grilled veggies, pineapple and bacon wrapped/cream cheese stuffed peppers! All of the food was great.

I have so much to post about this weekend and the fun I had but I am exhausted. Check out my friends page for more details about our adventures and fun! I hope you had a great holiday weekend as well. Until next time, keep knitting.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Hello knitters. Its been a while since I posted. We have been pretty busy (as usual) here. Lots of time with family and friends. This week in particular, my son's daycare is closed for a cleaning week. He was home all day yesterday with my hubby and today I have for a while. Then he is off with my mom for a few days so we can work. This is the first time he will be away from me for more than a single evening. I am nervous, sad, and a bit excited to hang out with my husband (which makes me feel more guilty!) We are picking him up on Thursday and then heading up to see my knitting partner for the weekend. It should be a wonderful time. A nice fun, relaxing break before school starts. Its my first year teaching and I am so nervous. So many emotions right now! Knitting will be great therapy! As for knitting I got confirmation that my sister-in-law will not read my blog because I am going to post her gift. If this is you, DO NOT READ ON :) I have been working on the baby chalice blanket by Karen S. Lauger. I made it will all cotton yarn so we could dye it a pretty color and it will be very soft for the baby! I am extremely excited to see how it turns out! Here is some progress on the project.

I really like how it is turning out. I am thinking about dyeing the yarn to match her baby nursery colors.  My hubby's cousin is also expecting a baby girl and I started a baby sweater out of sock yarn I dyed a couple of weeks ago.


 The colors are a bit wild but fun for a little girl. The pictures exaggerate the colors a lot but I still think its adorable. Plus the baby will wear it once (maybe twice) before she grows too big :) This pattern is Sunnyside Cardigan by Tanis Fiber Arts

My dear husband, got me this yarn for a late birthday gift. I love it. It was originally advertised on fb a while back. I waited until payday to get it and it sold :( However, a couple of weeks ago it was back on facebook and ON SALE! You cant ask for more than that!I am thinking of making these socks with it. Super cute and it will be my first toe up sock. (I think they are toe up..?!?!)





My amazing knitting partner treated me to the yarn for the KAL Susan B Anderson is having for the Quaker Ridge Shawl. I am so excited and thankful this lady was willing to buy me awesome yarn! This will be my first KAL.

This past weekend we went to the badger fun day and sweet corn fest with some family. I have a ton of fun pictures and would like to share! Enjoy and until next time keep knitting :)