The Man's sweater.

Yes, it's been a while. Yes, I apologize. This will be just a quickie post as I'm only going to show you the pictures of the completed Cobblestone. There is, of course, a story, but for now it's just pictures. O is a goof, this I know. I am very pleased with how the sweater turned out. It did, however, reconfirm my pledge to make only top down sweaters. I wasn't too pleased with the whole bottom up concept. Know why? Huh? Huh? Do ya? S H O R T R O W S. Blech. Without further ado, here is the "O man". . .

On the Tooth Fairy

When I was little, all but maybe 1 or 2 of my baby teeth had to be pulled. They just wouldn't fall out on their own. I don't know why and I have yet to ask Mom about it. But, I vividly remember being knocked out and woken up later minus a tooth or two. Takoda lost his first tooth when he was 7, and still hasn't lost all of his baby teeth. This very morning, Sagan (whom will be 7 in January), lost his very first tooth. He had an apple with his breakfast with the intention that it would, indeed, fall out. And that it did. He is so very excited that the Tooth Fairy will visit him this evening. Which brings me to my Tooth Fairy story.

Personally, I think this "Tooth Fairy" MUST be the daughter of the original. Either that, or the original has gotten so old her memory is shot. She's somewhat of a ditz. Takoda has lost 7 teeth, and of those 7 the Tooth Fairy has forgotten to show up about 5 times. She makes up for it a day or so later, but forgets nonetheless. A couple of weeks ago, she had to dish out double the money. Takoda was lucky enough to find a ziploc baggie with his name on it. Inside that baggie? Yep, his baby teeth. What on earth was this fairy thinking? A: leaving her paid merchandise behind was extremely irresponsible B: it put some major doubt in regards to her existence within this innocent 9 year old's head.
Thankfully, Ms. Fairy heard our plight and made up for her mistakes. I'm just really hoping that she won't mess up this one tonight. It's Sagan's very first tooth and he is so beside himself with excitement. Just look at that adorable toothless grin.



On the knitting front, guess what I made?? MITTENS!!! I used Malabrigo Worsted and Knitting Pure and Simple's Basic Hat & Mitten Set For Children. They were my first pair and took less than 24 hours to complete!! WOO HOO! I guess it helps that they are for L and are tiny. I started a pair for T and I'm done with the first. Can you guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year?

My eldest. pitter pat pitter pat

Here he is. It took a little coaxing, but here it is.

A Basket of Boobs (aka B.O.B.)

That Georgianne is truly amazing!! You remember Georgianne, don't you? The lovely lady who made Purl that great toy in my previous post? Well, guess what else she did???? She whipped up a basket liner and tote for all the boobs in the shop!!! Mom has an ongoing charity knit night at the shop, you can read about it here.

How absolutely beautiful and thoughtful, Georgianne!!!

And, since Halloween is over, I thought it was high time to get a new display up in the case. You really should come see it in person, it kind of has an "I spy" feel to it, just a little more pretty LOL

Georgianne, this one's for you!

The wonderful Georgianne knit Purl the sweetest catnip whale toy! It is the cutest thing I've ever seen! She even gave me the pattern!! Woot! Thank you so much, Georgianne!!

We've been rather hesitant to give Purl catnip. She's pretty psycho around 11pm and doesn't quit until 2 or 3am. Yep, the kooky cat is nocturnal.

Here are a couple of action shots of Purl and the Whale. These were taken upon their very first encounter.

The last one is a major action shot!! It was really hard to hold her for the photo shoot! Sorry about the picture quality. . .

As expected, I've been a terrible blogger. My house is in immaculate condition and I've been knitting a bit. A dear friend had a baby almost 3 weeks ago and I'm making her a blanket. Yes, thats far too many UFOs on the needles at this point. . . I don't know if you can see, but I'm wearing the Silk Garden vest made by Mama.

Hopefully I'll have more knitting updates soon. . .

Thank you again, Georgianne!! The Whale was incredibly thoughtful, Purl and the clan of 6 thanks you!!

Latest progress pics

Here are the current projects and their stats:

Purl. She's not so much a project, though LOL.

Isn't she soooo sweet?

Girlfriend's Swing Coat

The very first time using "cheap" yarn. I never wanted to use acrylic, but in order to knit something for my 5y/o it HAD to be washable and I didn't want to spend an arm & a leg on it. I'm using Plymouth Encore worsted. It's definitely not as bad as I had envisioned and I will use it again. Since this photo, I've bound off the bottom and finished a sleeve. I will be using a darker purple for the applied I-cord trim and collar. It's gonna be cute! And it fits like a glove!! Whoo hoo!

I don't know if you can see, but my purls are so loose! It shows up like a sore thumb on this yarn :( Hopefully it'll all come out in the blocking!

Argosy Scarf

I'm using size 6 bamboo needles and Rowan's felted tweed. I'm loving it sooo much!!!

Cobblestone Pullover

I'm at the point where I need to put the garter on scrap yarn and start the sleeves! I would've been much farther along had I not started the Girlfriend, but Cobblestone has until X-mas ;)

We've named her Purl and Auntie "Tay" is in town

My dear friend Jody's cat had kittens. The girls and I were fortunate enough to actually see the birth of 4 healthy kitties in August. We thought long and hard about taking one of the cuties off of her hands. We, as a family, sat down and had a mighty long discussion after dinner one evening and we decided that since there are 6 of us, we could handle the responsibility with each of us playing a part. She's absolutely adorable. Jody had mentioned that she was the most shy of all the kitties and she would need some serious loving. Boy was she wrong! She fits in wonderfully and the kids can't get enough of her. Very very soon I will be knitting her some cute balls with catnip LOL.

The name was a bit of a challenge. Takoda wanted Halo Kitty (a sort of play on Hello Kitty and the new game Halo 3 ~ which I may add, he'll NEVER play!). Sagan suggested Sarah, which was very suiting and we all thought was very cute. Eiley really liked Princess Leia and Lilla didn't really have much of an opinion. Obra wanted to wait a bit to get to "know" the kitty before naming her. What about me? Well, I had her name picked out even before I knew which kitty we would be taking. Hands down, it was going to be "Sparta" after the ever famous 'Mean Kitty Song' kitty. The kids and I could watch this video over and over and over again. Cory Williams (aka Mr. Safety) is hilarious, cute, and shares the same name as me!

And, although the kitty does have an ever so slight mean streak, she was nowhere in the same league as Sparta. So, we all agreed upon "Purl". It is extremely fitting.

Also, Auntie Kay is in town, for 2 WEEKS!!! WOOT! It is so wonderful to have her here. We all love her dearly and she is literally kicking my butt into shape. My house is rather small and terribly cluttered. She's taken on the challenge of MISSION ORGANIZATION CORY'S HOUSE. It's a huge task and she's hanging in there like a trooper. We took a nice break Saturday night and had girlie movie/knitting night. It was wonderful. My mother, my aunt, and myself just hanging out knitting and crying our eyes out to chick flicks. No stinky men and no kids. Who could ask for more??

I have some progress pics to share but it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Mini WICKED and Bowling Ball knitting?

As promised, here is a pic of my mini Wicked. I used size 3 bamboo DPNs, CO 36 sts, and followed the pattern as best I could for the size I wanted. I just wish you could see the cable better, but I think I needed more repeats. I made it for the Shop, I plan on putting it in a frame. I think it's incredibly cute, hee hee. I'm also contemplating a mini Argosy for another frame. I know, I'm super cheese with the whole mini thang, but it's so quick and EASY!!

I also want to share something that I am utterly impressed with. We carry Mountain Colors yarn and we frequently get, what we lovingly refer to as BIG OL' HONKIN' HANKS. It's 1450 yds in one hank!!! How cool is that?!?! I've wanted to see it wound up forEVER. The wonderful Sheila purchased a hank several months ago and I made her swear that she wouldn't cut it. She came awfully close several times but she kept her word. I helped her get the last of it into the ball a couple weeks ago and this is what 1450 yds of gorgeous wool looks like in a ball.

Yep, it's bigger than a bowling ball!!!

On a non-knitting note, the kids were off of school today and we headed to the zoo with some friends. Just imagine, 2 women, 6 boys age 9 and under, and 2 girls. And it was about 95 degrees. Okay, that may be an exaggeration but it certainly felt that hot. So, Mother Nature, do you not realize that this is Chicago? The Windy City? And, it's OCTOBER. Yes, ma'am, it should be chilly now. I can't stand the heat. I sweat just thinking about the sun shining. How will I ever be able to wear my handknit sweaters at this rate?

Here I am

Blogging. . . I've toyed with the idea for about 2 years now and I've now made the commitment. Do I have the time to be a regular blogger? Nope, probably not. I have a husband, 4 children under the age of 10, and a job. What's my job? If you're a knitter, you may not want to read any farther because you will be terribly envious. I am my mother's sole employee. My mother, you see, owns a knitting shop, Nana's Knitting Shop. Two years ago this month, she opened the doors, at which point I didn't do much knitting. Mom has been knitting since she was about 7 and tried many times to teach me as I was growing up. But, the day I turned thirTEEN, I became incredibly awnry and was way too cool to EVER be seen with knitting needles in my hands. It wasn't until I had my third child and became a huge cloth diaper advocate that knitting even crossed my mind. I then sat down once again with my mother and I actually learned how. Probably 6 months after I made my first swatch, Mom opened the doors. A knitting shop has always been a dream for her. It's what she loves and she was finally in a position to actually do it.

I work Saturdays at the Shop. It didn't take long for me to become a full fledged addict. Being around all that fiber all the time and checking out the latest IK and hip new patterns that come pouring in, seriously, how can one not become hooked? I have a terrible tendency to start way too many projects at once, however. I can't tell you how many unfinished projects I have at this very minute. It's pathetic, but I know that there are many like me out there. I have taken on this "hobby" like second nature. It now flows through my veins and I'm constantly thinking about what I'm going to make (or finish) next. For a good while the "regular" customers would know not to ask me the techinical questions, because, honestly, I had no flippin' clue. But now, I do believe I've gained the confidence of quite a few and I find myself answering the tricky questions without even thinking. Okay, okay, so I'll never touch Intarsia again or I can't begin to explain how to do Fair Isle, but I'm alright with that. Right now, I don't need or want to do either. And, guess what? I'm a TEACHER!!! I can't begin to tell you how much fun it is to teach this wonderful craft to great people. I'm even designing my own classes on items I've actually finished. I LOVE IT!!!!

So, enough knit blabber for the moment, and a little on who the heck I am. My name is Cory and I'm a knitaholic. *sigh* See, I can't even talk about myself without knitting getting in the way. My name is Cory, I'm 33 and married, and I have 4 wonderful children, 2 boys and 2 girls, more of them to come, I'm sure.

Before I close out, I do want to leave you with my completed project of the day. I'll post a pic tomorrow, but envision a teeny Barbie sized Wicked in Debbie Bliss baby Cashmerino in color 002. It is too flippin cute if I do say so myself.

Till tomorrow my new knitting friends. . . .