To the moon and back

Hello Knitters.

It has been a crazy summer filled with long car rides, soccer games and long days in the sun. The past week my son did not have daycare. We decided to spend the first half of the week with some friends and visit door county. We stayed at a resort and spent a lot of time enjoying the pool. The kids ventured on a boat ride, toured the maritime museum and rode their bikes all over. It was a great 4 doors relaxing with another family. 

While the boys were off doing their adventures, L and I walked around Sturgeon Bay. The knitter I am, I looked up the LYS within walking distance. We found a very cute place called Spin. The building was amazing, it used to be a bank nestled on the corner of the block.

Outside of many stores, was a statue of a sturgeon. Here, the sturgeon had a knitted cover. Too cute. Small towns have such charm and Sturgeon Bay was not lacking. I bought several skeins of yarn to make my friend a Christmas gift. As she reads my blog, I cannot post details or pictures until after she is fully surprised. But I have to say the project is super yummy. 

 

I have made a lot of progress on my friend L's birthday socks. Her birthday is this Saturday and I am hoping to have them done by then. Keep your fingers crossed; with any luck I will post a FO post this Friday!

The pattern is Horcrux, made with STR in the hobbit garden colorway. L loves Harry Potter and these socks depict Harry's scar. The socks so far are fun to make but have a very unusual cuff length, turning the heel but it is still looking very cute. 

Changing the subject; the summer has been filled with new habits and redefining myself. I have found myself "aging fast" and I wanted to slow everything down for a bit.  Recently, I have made efforts to read more. I found this to help my sleep habits. Reading right before bed, I fall asleep faster and stay asleep all night long. I just finished the Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Gailbrath (J. K. Rowling). It was a interesting read and I am excited to read the second novel, The Silkworm. I also dove into the All Soul's trilogy. It reminds me of the Twilight series. I know they are not the most deep novels but I find them very enjoyable. In addition,  I am going to tackle better eating habits and more of a "routine" for our family's daily life. Hopefully, I can incorporate these changes.

I will be back Wednesday to post about the past weekend and another WIP. Until then, keep knitting.

WIP Wednesday: Chicago Style

Hello Knitters.

Are you ready? It's going to be a long post; hang in there.

This past weekend N and I were able to head to Chicago and see a dear friend of mine. I met Suzanne when I was pregnant and in graduate school. I tutored students in chemistry to make some extra money for the baby coming and Suzanne signed up to meet with me. Instantly, we were dear friends. While living in Oxford, she would come over and chill at our place almost daily! We made such dear friends during graduate school and I am so glad the friendships are being maintained to this day.

We started off by going to a Bears Preseason Game. I know N's first game was at a Bears game and not a Packers Game but I could not pass up this amazing opportunity. Then, while Suzie was working, N and I headed to the Shedd. We loved all of the different wildlife. The Shedd is truly amazing and such a relaxing experience. N's favorite part was petting a stingray and seeing the jellyfish. I always loved the dolphin show. We ended the night with the rain forest cafe.

Saturday we were set to see LegoLand. Nolan was so excited!! It was a great time and fabulous statues made out of Legos! Very Impressive! Finally, I wanted to go to some knitting stores, who wouldn't? We sent off for String Theory expect:

 So we went to the next place on our list, We'll Keep You In Stitches. This place had lots of yarn but it was a bit overwhelming for me.

 Finally, we went to one last yarn store, in search for that perfect skein to makes socks with. A pair that would remind me of the weekend and the great time we had together. Loopy Yarns had just what we were looking for.

Both Suzanne and I found a skein of perfect yarn. Plus the store owner went to college with Suzie's dad and gave her an extra discount! I love knitters! When I cast on the project, I will include pics of the new skeins.

Still with me? Hang in there, I am almost done. Finally, I have been working on some birthday socks for my friend L. She has a son that is in the same daycare class as mine. Over the past year our families have become very close and she has become a good friend of mine. She picked out Hobbit Garden, STR yarn by Blue Moon Fibers. The pattern is Horcrux Socks by Susan Lawrence.

I love the colors and the pattern and I hope L does too. Thanks for hanging in there until the end. Next week I will talk about the book I am reading as well as WIPS. Happy Wednesday and thanks for stopping by.

WIP Wednesday

Hello Knitters,

Just working on my socks :) I finished the baby blanket last week so I am pretty excited to get back to knitting for myself! I cannot wait to see what everyone else has on their needles! I just got a nook, and started reading the cuckoos calling. So far, I find the book to be a bit dull but still fun to read. I set a personal goal to read more and the nook has helped with that. Have you read any great books lately? If so, please share!

I celebrated my birthday yesterday. It was a great day; I was treated to lunch and dinner by my dear friends. I hope you have a great week. Thanks for stopping by.

I joined Ginny today.

FO Friday: Baby Boy J's Blanket

Hello knitters. I am excited to share my lasted finished project. We are expecting our nephew in a few weeks and I wanted to make him something special. I fell in love with the brick lane baby blanket and new it was just the right pattern. This pattern is no longer available but very similar to Bamboo Wedding Shawl. I just hope they love the blanket.

I put some blue tissue paper behind the blanket so when my sister-in-law opens it, the pattern really pops out. 

Can't wait to see what everyone else finished this week. Happy Friday!

WIP Wednesday

We have been out of town the past 4 weekends and I am exhausted. While it is great to travel and spend time with friends and family, I miss our routine and a clean house. It will be nice to be home for the next few weekends to regroup. This past weekend we were back home spending time with family. It was wonderful. I love being back in the state of Wisconsin. 

Two weekends ago while visiting a friend, I got my Blue Moon Fiber Yarn, Socks that Rock in the Gnome on the Range colorway. I decided to make just plain socks with the South Fork Pattern heel flap. Here is the Ravelry Page to the project. I love this yarn and will probably buy more in the near future.

 I love how the heel pools into little red sections like bricks... Yummmmm, this yarn is truly awesome. I also treated myself and bought some new beads at the local bead store. I made 4 new stitch markers for me and my friend. The tree reminds me of knitting in her backyard, so peaceful. The elephant is especially for me because they are my favorite animal and the dog on the end is to represent our little Madison, who is a black lab and sweet as can be.

I had fun traveling for the past month but I am excited to relax and have some quiet family time. I hope you are enjoying the summer and your knitting.

 I joined Ginny and Tami's yarn along.

Growing up is hard to do...

Growing up is hard to do. Taking on responsibilities, working, paying bills, and just trying to survive is exhausting. However, I think there is something even harder and that is watching your little one grow up right before your eyes. This entry was prompted by an email advertisement, 75 % off summer sales. My son is growing like a weed and any sale on clothes is a good one. I went to click on baby, well he has not been a baby for years. Then I went to click on Toddler Boy, nope he is not a toddler either. My only two options are boy and men and it made me realize all of the stages in his life we have past. At this young age, everyday is a milestone. Kids grow up and mature so fast. For example, his vocabulary increases vastly in a short time. Another example is his hand-eye coordination improving with every task he performs. I feel like last week he still needed help with putting his shoes on and then this morning he was ready to go with shoes on before I even had breakfast. 

How do you make the most of your time? I guess that is the way slow down the growing up process. I could quit my job and spend my time with my son.... Well not really, the checkbook needs to stay in the black. Maybe one way is just to embrace milestones has they comes along? Truthfully, I have no idea what the right answer could be. I suspect it is different for everyone. In conversation, someone told me they make a list of what they want to accomplish in a day. Instead of trying to finish everything on the list, they limit themselves to one or two tasks. This way your life is not overwhelmed by the small things but you leave yourself time to live and enjoy. I like this idea but I also like a clean clothes and home cooked meals.

As my son grows up, I will appreciate every moment I have. Watch him turn into a young man and hopefully guide him to a very successful and happy life. It is what every mother hopes for their kids.

WIP Wednesday: Baby Blanket Progress

Just a quick post today, I am actually swamped at work. However, I needed a break to eat and regroup. This week I have been trying to get ready for my nephew's arrival and I have been working on his baby blanket.

The pattern is not available anymore and I am trying to decide how long to make the blanket. I am thinking about 18 pattern repeats (shown above is 8 complete repeats)....

I joined Ginny and Tami's yarn along today.