returning from Spartenburg

I just got back from a weekend with my in-laws for my niece's baptism, and one thing I realized, other than I have some beautiful beautiful nieces, is that the booties I made for our friends are going to be WAAAYYYY to big. I guess they'll be for when he gets a couple of years old eh? The baby bonnet look cute, but didn't stay on long. It was too off-white for her dress, but looked pretty.

It was a really nice weekend. We got to hang out with a bunch of his family members that we haven't seen in a while. His nieces and nephews are getting really big! And playing with his brother's dog just made us want one even more. In just a couple more weeks I'll get to see my family for the holidays. We're driving to Louisiana to see my aunts and cousins for Thanksgiving. I'm really excited to see them too since it's been even longer since we've seen them! Then for Christmas we'll head back to the 'ville to hang out with friends and family there too. I'm looking forward to the holidays, just not all the driving. I guess it's some good knitting time though.

I'm almost finished with the EZ sweater, it just needs to be seamed up and it looks great! I'm really proud of it. One of these days I'll be brave enough to make and adult sweater for myself. I've got a few favorites right now that I'm thinking of starting on. On is this one (on Ravelry here) called the Green Gable hoodie. I think part of the reason I like it is because it reminds me of the Central Park Hoodie. My second favorite is Riding to Avalon, (here for fellow Ravelers). I was thinking about making it without the hood - or maybe the hood as a flap in the back. My ultimate favorite I think I've mentioned before and is called Pakuna. I keep meaning to pick up the booklet for it, but I've decided to wait until I'm more ready to cast it on and then get the booklet.

Pictures will have to wait until I download them off my camera - maybe tonight if I'm lucky.

all dressed up for Halloween

This year for Halloween I didn't think I was going to need a costume. Mike and I were going to a party where, as far as I knew, costumes were not required. Then came the email that costumes were "strongly encourage" - 3 days before Halloween!! And then I started to get a bit worried.

I have a few staple costumes that have worked for me in years past, but none that I felt comfortable wearing this year, or I was just plain sick of them. Then while browsing some costumes on the 'net, I came upon one I thought would work - Velma from Scooby-Doo! Pretty easy - maroon skirt orange tights and turtleneck - I already had the glasses, how hard could it be? Well, even in a Clemson loving town, orange is not a color to be easily found. I came up with the idea Wed. and spent most of Thurs. night running from store to store, and finally at 10pm with no tights or turtleneck in sight, gave in to the realization that it was the night before and I had nothing.

I went to sleep hoping I'd dream up something amazing and easy, but nope. Woke up with Nada. So, while getting ready for work, I took one last peruse through my craft room in the hopes that something would inspire me - and realistically, to take note of where my old costumes were. At this point I figured it was going to be an old idea or nothing. As I sorted through the boxes of yarn and needles and fabric, I thought - if only I could do something with all this yarn - I have enough of it, but I don't have time to knit anything.. wouldn't it be great if I could just be .. !!
... but wait!!

what if I....

YES!

I have it!

And with a few tips from some friends at work, I was able to pull together my costume in a few hours when I got home and I went as....



A big ball of yarn!

I have to admit I was pretty proud of myself. It took me an hour or so of fiddling to get the base just right, and then I hand wound the yarn around it to give it the oh-so-real look just the way I envisioned it. Yeah for me!

Mike went as a wind-blown guy - another costume put together last-minute, and I think it turned out pretty well too:



And I quickly learned that when I get pregnant, I may have some maneuverability issues - but at least I won't have to worry about sticking anyone with pointy sticks! Here's me trying to sit in a chair without falling off...



At the party there was also one of my most coveted costumes - Wonder Woman! I've always wanted to dress up as her, but for some reason, never done it:



It was a good time. In what-I've-been-knitting news - I'm almost done with the baby bonnet, and was doing so well on the EZ baby sweater, that I knit about 2 inches too far in the pattern and had to rip back!
The EZ Sweater:



(It's really only coincidental that I've been knitting with so much orange)

Here's the baby bonnet for a certain niece who is about to be baptized:



I'll post more pictures of it once I kitchner the back of it.

I also decided to add a small flower to the sweater for Crystal's baby - she just had her on Wednesday and named her Molly - so here's the flower and sweater for Molly Mack which is on it's way to her now:





Once I get the EZ sweater and bonnet done, I think I'll be starting on some dishcloths and... I'm not sure what else. Perhaps a yoga bag or a sweater for myself. But I'm betting I'll end up working on a few Christmas ideas I've been working on in my head.. we'll see. I do need to plan out some projects and make sure I have the yarn and whatnot put together for the drive to Louisiana for Thanksgiving. Perhaps I need to peruse my que on Ravelry again.