Stash Busting!

So, in all my excitement for Christmas Knitting, I have decided to do a little -- ok, a lot, of stash busting! My stash is not overly huge, but, I do need to use this yarn I have already bought:) (so I can buy more!)

Already I have knit a few things, a hat , a soap holder ,
a purse and I finished the socks I started back in July. I have also started another hat ( I am thinking I will have a lot of hats for Christmas Presents!) and a Henley T-shirt! For the Henley, I am using the yarn from Dahlia that I have to frog due to an extreme size change! Yeah for weight loss!

In all my stash busting excitement I spent the last few days going through my stash, finding patterns that are good for the yarn and matching them up; this is what my office floor looks like right now:

I can't wait to get started, there are some very cool patterns in that pile!

I also tried recycling yarn for the first time! I found 5 sweaters, 3 of which would not work (they were all felted and tough to pull apart and the yarn was breaking) the other 2 I got tons of yarn from. Some pink for a sweater for Hannah and a TON of gray for something, not sure what yet!

On a different note, Handmade, one on the LYS I go to, is closing! :( On the bright side, everything is 50% off! Yeah yarn shopping spree:)

It's time again!

It is time to figure out my Christmas Knitting. Now that we are back to all our swim/cheer/tumbling/soccer activities I have my knitting time back:) I must figure out my list of knitting and what else I need to get done. Every year I have done the same thing, but, a different style for everyone. One year it was dishcloths, another hats, scarves. I have made (not knitted) blankets. I have also done calendars and other fun stuff. Not sure what to do this year. Mittens sound like fun. I love Bella's Mittens and they would be quick and involve cables (my fav!). I could also do some more hats, you can never have enough hats, and I have 10 in my Q right now. I did see hot bottle covers -- they look cool and could work for a few of the gifts (in laws).

Just not sure at this moment.

WOW how time flies.

Summer is almost over -- yeah for school starting, nay for cold weather -- and it has been a super fun, busy and adventurous summer. We have not had a lot of down time and I think that maybe we are being forced to do that right now, but, more on that later.

I thought I would do my last few months in a little picture montage -- I am sorry if you have a slow connection -- it may take a while to load.

Looking back, my last post was in March! yikes. So our spring and summer went as follows:

Easter

A trip to Spokane, Larry ran Bloomsday, Kids rode the carosuel.

Hannah took off her traing wheels.

And we planted a HUGE garden.

But, that's not all folks:

The kids ran a race

Hannah turned 7

Larry and I went up to Ketchum for the Sawtooth Relay. Larry's team name is the Hash Brownies (they are in a running group called the Hash and they dressed as brownies HA HA)

Hannah finally lost her first tooth:)

We got a bunny -- mini lop/rex mix named Magic Carrot

The kids (and us) ran in another race!

The garden grew and grew!

It was Anders day at Flying Pie (last in the family to have his day, so very exciting for him)

4th of July

Harvesting the Garden

My SIL sent me some yummy yarn for my Birthday!

My birthday trip to Emigrant Springs and other parts of Oregon.

Got some yummy yarn on my Birthday Trip

Worked on some socks on my Birthday Trip

Visited "our tree" on the greenbelt

More from the garden! Holy Cow!

Hannah in a parade with her Cheer leading group.

Went to the zoo for the first time in a looooooooooong time -- had to see the new animals.

Anders first roller coaster ride

Went to Lagoon and saw my brother and family

Finished something -- a scarf

Found this REALLY HUGE ZUCCHINI in the garden (today) have no idea where it came from! 17 in long and 12 in around.

Oh, and Larry got Chicken Pox, yikes! Hence the forced "down time"

So, that is our update, at least what I have pictures of -- we also have been to a couple of weddings (missing one this weekend due to chicken pox) the kids went to their first sleepover camp (huge success)!

Crazy

The title sums up the last few months and why I have not been here! We have gotten really busy work wise and with the kids. So much has gone on!

I made it through Lent:) Yeah! The upside, well, there really is not a downside, but now when I feel like eating out it feels like a huge extravagance, not just an every day thing! So yeah!

Knitting wise I have not really done much. I made a tank for Hannah. My sweater got frogged (not a horrible thing, more on that later). Other than that I think my projects are all going backwards. At least it feels that way!

We went to Spokane in May and Sun Valley in June and this weekend we are going on a surprise trip for my Birthday!

The big news, we have started clean eating, in the process I have lost over 60 lbs!!! yeah! (that is why I had to frog the sweater -- way too big:)

I think that is all and cannot wait to share pictures of our trip this weekend!

My Secret Pal Partner!

Today, way earlier than is normal, a package arrived on my doorstep. We thought it was something Larry had ordered, but when we opened the door -- it was a huge box from my Secret Pal! Yeah! I was soooooooooo excited -- not only has she been a super secret pal, but, this package was the reveal package. I was all ready to rip in and see who she is and I get a phone call! Someone wants to come over right now and tour the childcare! Ugh!!!! Good on the new children part, bad on the timing part. I had to put the box in the office and wait, very patiently, until I had finished showing off our business. As soon as the mom left, it was time for nap, which meant I could spend some glorouis time looking through the box of goodies and reading the card inside! I had already be spoiled, she sent me a subscription to Interweave Knits a week ago -- something I have been wanting!

I slowly (super speed) opened the box and paused long enough to take a picture:
My husband at this point, not only remarks on my restraint (I tend to rip right into presents) but asks (like the smarty pants he is) "is it fabric" (knowing full well it is a knitting swap -- not that I wouldn't love fabric -- but the box it came in was from fabric.com)

Anyway, First I opened the beautiful card, from Andrea, my partner who has been spoiling me for the last few months and done a super job at it by the way! Yeah, I know who she is now!

The first thing I opened was a book -- Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard (one of my favorite designers)



Then a lovely Journal and a packet of scrapbook papers and stickers (there is a really cute black paper with pink dresses that I LOVE).

Then, the yarn, a lot of yarn.

First, 2 skeins of Atacama 100% Alpaca, hand dyed (made by Araucania yarns -- one of my favorties)

Then a cute pink bag, made by my Secret Pal, with 2 skeins of sock yarn. ONLine supersocke Cotton and SPARKLY Fortissima Colori (sparkly in case you didn't see that the first time:)

Then a cute red bag with cows (again made by my secret pal) full of Araucania Ranco (2 skeins) in a beautiful purple, green and brown colorway!

This made my day and I love it all so much, thank you again Andrea!

Knitting and Lent

Since the kiddos and I have switched to a Lutheran Church I have been learning so much -- Lent being one of those things learned. The churches we have attended in the past have never celebrated Lent, they haven't even talked about it and what Lent is. So, I have learned about Lent and I love things that are steeped in tradition and ceremony (Why I never visited a sacramental church before is beyond me) so, naturally I love Lent. I have been having lots of discussions on what one is supposed to do during Lent and I came up with my own little thing I will do for Lent. I decided that every year I will pick something in my life that needs to change -- eating habits, spending habit etc -- and then choose something specific I can work on. This year I chose to not eat out for the 40 days of Lent. I am not also taking Sundays off as some people have told me I could do (maybe I think that it does not mean as much if I take breaks:) Instead of eating out -- which we do ALOT -- I am spending the time each night (or most of them) to cook dinner for my family and learning to take snacks with us when we are running errands for the day. My hope is to make this a permanent change. I would like to save the amount we spend on eating out and also eat healthier at the same time. I did tell Larry the other night I don't thing I can give up Mexican Resturants forever -- I can make most other things at home and they taste as good if not better that resturant foods, but Mexican has a special flavor I cannot seem to replicate.

Well, that is what I gave up. I also wanted to add some sort of positive thing. So, since I love knitting and I knit an amazing amount of time every day I chose to take an hour of my knitting time and make something for charity. I have been involved in the Hand in Hand program at the library near us for a while, but I have been doing what I think is the minimum of effort towards the goal of clothing the areas homeless with warm items. Since I added the hour of knitting for charity each day, I have made a dozen scarves and several hats! It is amazing how much knitting I actually do:)

On a non Lent note, I have been working on a few new patterns that should be perfected in the next few weeks. I am getting pretty far on Dahlia and my Hemlock Ring Blanket (Which I LOVE). I am also almost done with the 2nd sparkly sock. Oh, and I crocheted my first Granny Square. SP13 is wrapping up and I am trying to decide if I want to go another round. I have so much fun with the Secret Pal Swaps, I am just not sure If I can commit this time. So, I have a decision to make!

Have a wonderful day, we are enjoying some late winter snow right now, in fact here is the view out my window! So Pretty:)

in the last week

I have done a lot:)

• I finished my Errant Socks and they look fabulous. They are my best pair so far and fit PERFECTLY!
  

• I started another pair of socks with my sparkly yarn from the previous post.

• I ordered the yarn for the Hemlock Ring blanket from Knit Picks. I am not very paitiently waiting for it:)

• I bought the yarn for Dahlia and started knitting it on Friday. My goal is to have it done in 1 month!

I also need to send out my last SP13 package. I am trying to decide what I should send and am having trouble. I keep thinking a theme package would be fun. Maybe send out a box of Idaho stuff (local yarn, candies, postcards and misc stuff) since this is the reveal package where my pal gets to find out who I am!