Current events...........

My current events are as such: Baby Reese is still in hospital. Breathing on her own but not as good as Dr.'s want. She is also not sucking bottles as she should. So just a bit longer. But she is beautiful and such a princess already.
Whats on my needles? I am now working on a sleep sack for Baby Reese. Made from Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino yarn in white, yellow and pink stripes. I will post a photo soon of my progress. I hope to get it finished before Reese goes home. I estimate another week. She is now 2 weeks old today! And also today would have been her delivery date for the c-section. But her real due date if it would have been a natural birth with no complications would have been Dec. 15th. So she is early and it might take her a bit longer to get used to things outside the womb. Now if we could only convince her mom of that!
Speaking of mom, I also have a photo to post of mom's first time holding baby and first time for grandma and grandpa too!
more later!
Lorrie

Photo of finished blanket

I so forgot to post this photo!

So here is the completed baby blanket made from the knitted baby wash cloths with had sewn flannel backing and in the second photo you will see a really cool ribbon label that I had made to put on the back!

The blanket is now on baby Reese's incubator top and all the nurses just love it and comment all the time! I have even had many ask if I am the one that made it!

Quick baby update

Hello all!
Just a quick note to fill in some baby blanks.

Baby was named Reese Louise, she was 5lbs. 8oz and 17" long. Shortly after her very stressful birth she did develop pneumonia or what the Dr. thought could be so they started treating her immediately. She has had a very hard time breathing and been on CPAP machine.

Mom was able to hold her for the first time on Friday the 7th and Dad for the first time Sunday the 9th. They have both changed a couple diapers too. Grandpa and I are hoping it will soon be our turn! Yesterday the nurses were going to start to nipple feed her. Mom has been pumping and baby has been fed via ng tube.

I have knitted her a pair of Peeps in pink along with a hat of my design that I will post photos of when I get the hat finished.

Grandpa and I got to baby sit the twin grand kids while mom and dad took Abygail up to see baby Reese and Aunt Amanda. We had such a nice time, the babies are starting to coo and giggle and smile. They are so adorable!

Photos to follow in a bit!
Take care all,
Lorrie

Surprise surprise!!!!

This was the biggest surprise of the day for our family! This is our newest grand daughter who will either be named McKenzie Louise or Reece McKenzie..........

She was born at 12:03 on Nov. 4 approx. 6 weeks early. Her scheduled C-section date was Nov. 18. She weighs in at 5 lbs. 8 oz. and we didn't have a length yet. Both mom and baby are doing wonderful!

The photo to the left was taken seconds after delivery and the top 2 are within 2 hours old.

Isn't she precious? She looks just like her half sister Madison who is 3 1/2 years old.

Ok and for my other surprise................THE PIT SLUG HAS BEEN LOCATED!!!! He actually did make it to his new home with Miss Violet! If you listen to the LimenViolet podcast you would have actually heard me mentioned! I bust out laughing with my headphones on listening to the podcast at work and boy did I get some looks! Looks like what the heck is happening to her NOW? LOL.

And for the knitting schedule....................TOTALLY BLOWN NOW!

I had planned for finishing new babies pink booties today. Then on the the sleeper sack (can't remember the name of the pattern right now will fill in later). I will be putting a rush on that now! Still having to finish them booties on the second one now............BUT yes you know there is always a but. I am hooked on making the Sweet Peeps booties! They are just too fun! I was working on number 2 after midnight waiting for both mom and baby.......that was a mistake I have found out. So this morning on the way to work I had to pull out maybe 12 rounds. Instead of 4 purl rows and 4 knit rows in some places I had 5 rows. I am not one to be overly perfect, if it had only been say one section I would have left it but it was in all three knit or purl sections! That adds up to too much height in the foot area.

So I am back on track. Should be out in the shop working but just had to get my thoughts up here to share while fresh in my mind.

Seems that all my best thoughts for blogging are while I am doing something else! So that when I get to actually blog about stuff, it just doesn't come out like I think.

So take care and I will be back!

Trick or Treat!!

As promised, here are photos of Halloween. Babies in hats, Abygail as 'Hannah Montana' with her dad posing for song!

ALMOST Friday.........Halloween

Ok, I am averaging only posting once a week now that maybe the 'new' has worn off the blogging..............I still enjoy it and also like the fact that I am keeping some sort of 'history'.

How many of you keep a real hand written journal? I try it at least twice every year and just don't have the time or can't keep it going. Time? Typing is much faster than hand writing and I think that my hand writing stinks! No matter how hard I try to keep it neat it is messy. Is that a reflection on me? Messy? Perhaps at times yes. Messy? More about disorganized. Well, I have my own 'organization', unique to me. Ha! that solves it all.

Ok on to knitting..........
I made a somewhat peeps matching hat of my own design to go along with the sweet peeps baby booties. The booties were already given at the baby shower but the hat will be given with hopefully another pair of booties when the baby is born. That way mom and baby will have 2 pair of booties, one green and one blue with a matching hat of blue and green.

Other knitting............ I made 2 pumpkin hats for the twins! There are a lot of pumpkin hat patterns out there but none for sock or fingering weight yarn. So I made my own pattern combining several bits and parts from patterns I found or had on hand. The results are here:

Then we will also have a photo of the twins wearing the hats as we the grandparents are watching the little ones tomorrow HALLOWEEN while the parents take Abygail out as 'Hannah Montana' trick or treating. Yes I will post a photo of her dressed like that too. Its too cute!

Other projects working on or completed are 3 bags lined for customers. I have a few more to do this weekend as again we the self employed have not enough money in the bank to purchase material to make parts to sell to our customer. Long story..............same chit.

I did however make a short list of things I have to have knitted before Christmas. HA! I am not sure that there are enough days left to get it all done, especially with a new grand baby coming on Nov. 18th or sooner! I am hoping that any days I do not have to be at work I can be with Amanda and the new baby Mackenzie. All these babies! I can't get enough and before you know it they will be toddlers and off to pre school like our Abygail! Who by the way is loving her new pre school, she can now write her name and is learning so much so quickly also getting help with speech which has been one of my biggest worries! Yippee all is going so well.

Ok well now I should knit if i can, I know that there are a few things that he wants me to get busy with out in the shop but I just don't want to get dirty. That is my biggest complaint about working here and in a shop. Dirty, smelly and oily..........Oh and it is soooooooooooo LOUD that I have to wear earphones and mp3 player. Thank goodness for audible.com and pod casts!!!!!

take care all!!! Happy Halloweening!

Yippee!!!!!!!!!!! Another Friday!!!!

Well what have I been up to you ask? Sheesh! You name it! I just finished the Sweet Peeps booties and they are soooooooooooo cute! I think that I will make another pair.

I have yet to finish the sewing of the backing for the baby squares blanket.......I'm working on it, I'm working on it!

I have been working on my side job also.................Oh did I forget to mention that I line bags for the local yarn shop customers? Yep its me Liners by Lorrie. It is getting closer to the Christmas rush and the bags are pouring in!!!! That too keeps me busy.

I am currently inventing and inspired hat pattern, will be free here on my blog when finished but up for sale I hope at Whitmore Lake Yarn . I am also working on a few other goodies that I will be selling through the yarn shop. Hope to get some in there before November 1. Keep your eyes posted!

OH Oh Oh Oh! I guess that I am a few years behind!!! I just found the TV show HEROES!! OHMYGOSH! I LOVE IT! I signed up to netflix just so that I could instantly watch starting from the first episode! I am now into season 2 and it is so good, I just love it! I like the sci fi of it all with some comic heroes thrown in. Oh and there is even some grossness too. How can you beat all that? If you haven't checked it out.................DO! I am addicted for sure. Let me just say that it is sooooooooooooo good that I can't even knit while watching! I am like stuck like glue to my screen! LOL.

Speaking of which................lemme get back to you all later I have another episode to watch!

take care all..... One more thing that darn dust bunny is now playing hide and seek in the yarn shop!! Whoever finds it has to hide it, and so it goes............

But to my dismay, no mail has been returned to me and that darn PIT SLUG I made and sent to Miss Violet of Lime and Violet has not been spoken of on their podcast. So the snail without a shell (slug) has slithered off into snail mail no mans land I guess. Woe is me

Bye for now!

Please feel free to comment, right down below this sentence is a tiny place to click and leave a comment on this or any other entry I have made...............feel free (hint hint)

Day 7 Dust Bunny FOUND!!!

Finally!!!! That darn bunny has been found! Sure would have LOVED to be there when he was because Mo (one of the shop owners) yelled................MOUSE!!! And the other shop owner (I won't mention any names Dee don't worry) Oh the sheer terror of that would have made me wet my pants! Seriously!

Well I am not sure exactly what day he was found but last night at knitting he was finally mentioned and one of the owners made a guess that it was another knitter that didn't show up for knitting last night (Kim) and so her second guess was indeed me. Sheesh! Dead give away I am I guess!

No word on the Pitt Slug, I think that he might have gone missing in the USPS. Or HA! snail mail!

Ok so this has been a really short week! I mean its already been 7 days since I last blogged? Where has all that time gone?

For one I have the baby blanket almost finished, just need to cut my fabric for the backing, which is a cute bunny flannel and sew it on. Maybe put some tacks in the corners where the squares meet (quilt it together). Oh and then I will of course need a made by gramma label. Of which I still have to order the new ones that I have designed in my mind.

And last Sunday I got to babysit all day with my daughter Tiffany. We watched the twin grand children! WOW! No that's work! But they are so darn cute and sweet! I just can't believe that by Christmas we will be topping out at 5 grand kids! Whew! Those kids have been busy huh?

Speaking of kids having babies.............oldest daughter Amanda got out of the hospital on Sunday or was it Monday? Can't remember now! But she is doing fine and so is the baby. She had a follow up appointment with her Dr. on Tuesday and all is well except that they are now going to do the C-Section on November 18th!

Photos: I will have a few photos to post of grand twins, a couple of hats that I made for the baby boy.

On the needles: I have started the bat from Mochimochi Land to make and give to the two older granddaughters and maybe one for the youngest daughter if she is nice to me! LOL!! Oh and I also have to cast on a holiday dress for the new granddaughter that will be here Nov. 18th. Of course I am pretty sure that I will not have it finished by then as I really don't have much time to start and finish the bats before Halloween. I better get on the move!

Well I had better get to my needles and get my knit on! Have lots to do.

Take care and thank you for checking in with me and my progress!!

Lorrie

Day 4

Well it is now 4 days after I left the dust bunny at the yarn shop. I stopped in last night to knit for a bit and noticed that dust bunny was GONE! Yikes! I wonder where he went? I looked and looked and looked around and didn't see hide nor hare of him! One of the owner gals was just a tad frazzled by evening so even if she did know of the dust bunny...........she didn't think of it.

Update on the baby dishcloth blanket.................all blocks now sewn together and 3 of the four sides are complete! Yippee!!!!! Almost finished.................well almost enough to head on over the the fabric store to find something to back it with at least!

Oldest daughter Amanda (the current pregnant one) is in the hospital. She went in this morning at about 4am with excessive bleeding! The bleeding has stopped but she is having contractions so they are giving her a pill form of medication to stop them. The biggest concern is that she does have placenta previa which is where the placenta is near or covering the cervix opening. They don't want her to go into labor. She is now about 30 weeks and scheduled for a c-section on November 25th. Baby is breech also. Keep us in your prayers and your fingers crossed that all is well and stays well so that she can go home in a couple days.

I will post a photo of the blanket as soon as I finish the 4th side and after blocking too!

I have also not heard a peep on the Pitt Slug. Hmmmmmmmmm maybe there is a conspiracy?

Lorrie

Day 2 of Dust Bunny prank

Well so far, I haven't gotten any emails..........no phone calls..............and no comments here to signify that the Dust Bunny has been found and all signs point to me. LOL

Also finally mailed out today was the 'Pitt Slug' to Miss Violet.

I have finished all the Baby washcloth squares to seam together for the blanket. I made 16 squares and 2 of each design not including the sail boat. I used 8 different colors of Cotton Fleece yarn. Started seaming last night am now 3/4 done!

I think that I will pick up and knit a border around the whole blanket similar to the squares blanket found in Natural Knits for Mom and Baby using some of the left over yarns. Then it will be off to the fabric store to find some fabric to put on the back. I am hoping for a flannel white background with polka dots in similar colors to the blocks. Wish me luck.

Ok and now on to the less exciting information! I did it! I went and had my annual exam, you know the one! Pap, Cholesterol and Thyroid check, schedule for the Boob smashin'! and then hopefully...........Nova sure. Which translates to NO MORE PERIOD period. LOL. I am hoping that my new insurance will cover it.........I have yet to make that phone call.........

Next on the list of things to get done, Dentist. Really I would much rather get a PAP than go to the dentist! I know that I need a good cleaning.........and some other work too as I have only 1/2 a molar on my upper right and really the only part that is left is the previous filling part. Yippee and can you say sensitive to hot and cold?!!! But I will get that looked at too.............soon?

More knitting.....I just started a simple roll brimmed hat for a new baby boy. We know his mom through work, she is in purchasing at our customer's down in Chihuahua Mexico. He is only about a week old now so what better time to send him a tiny newborn hat? That is my current carry and go project while I can't do the seaming well in the moving car, nor do I want to carry it with me into the shop (where I work).

Speaking of shops, I work in a manufacturing facility. Actually Hubby and I own and operate it ourselves with just the two of us as employees..........Yes
1. it is very stressful to be in business together working along with your husband or partner all day, go home and be together all night and weekends too.
2. its very stressful to be in the automotive industry doing manufacturing
3. it is very stressful to work for each other and when your customers do not pay on schedule neither of you have any money for bills, food, gas or mortgage. It means NO paychecks.
4. IT IS STRESSFUL WORKING TOGETHER! did I already mention that part?
5. oh yes and it stinks, smells like shop after a while you don't even smell it but you know that wherever you go people smell it and you know its you they smell!

I guess that I had better get some knitting done and quit worrying.............about things I can't change today.

More Later!

Going to play a prank today..........

I was surfing the web and found a pattern for a 'Dust Bunny' from Mochimochiland.com. I made said bunny and am going to put a note with him and hide him at the yarn shop tonight where at some point he will be found by someone. Lets see how long it will take the yarn shop owners to figure out who made him?

If said yarn shop owners.............Mo and Dee of Whitmore Lake Yarn Co. do get their hands on him because they might just be following my blog.............please leave a comment below ;)

I also made a slug from Mochimochiland.com that I will be sending to Miss Violet of LimenViolet. The reason is that there was a podcast that had some chatter about a person they referred to as the Pitt Slug............so I thought it would be neat to make one up and send it along for a laugh! A quick thank you to Lime and Violet for their awesome knitting etc. podcast they are a real great bunch of people and make you laugh your ass off! Seriously!

What did you all do this weekend? I made a Dust Bunny and also almost have the Baby Washcloth blanket blocks ready to sew together. See the photo below of my progress.

Well that's about all for this past weekend. I have a few ideas to throw out as this week progresses.

Take care all!

Well well well..................

Ok so I have totally slumped some on this blog! I did however get the contest finished and the winner chosen and the prize plus small surprise off in the mail! That is all a good thing!!

The weekend before last we went to the Applefest in Fenton Michigan with the kids and grandkids. We really went to eat a chicken dinner on the cheap and take Miss Abygail on the rides at the carnival! I did get a few good photos and she is also sporting her new haircut! In her 4 1/2 years this is the shortest hair she has had and it is so adorable!!

After that we did spend some quality time with the twins.......they are growing! Blake is at 9lbs and Gabby is now 7lbs! But really she is still such a tiny peanut!!

On the needles: As you can see from a previous post I have finished the Two needle baby sweater along with matching hat and some cute socks using the gullwing lace pattern on the calves and a stocking stitch for the foot. I also whipped out the Nicky Epstein book of knitted flowers and added just a touch of embellishment to the whole ensemble as you can see in this photo.

I am currently working on Baby Washcloths to knit by Melissa Oscarsdotter, I will be knitting up 16 and sewing them into an afghan for the new grandbaby coming sooner than expected!! Yes Amanda (the oldest) was due December 20th or so, but she has placenta previa and they have just scheduled the C-section for November 25th!

We had the baby shower last Sunday and that is where I presented the two needle baby sweater ensemble and here is a cute photo of the expecting parents.

Next up for my needles.............I think that I had better make something for the youngest daughter before all the baby stuff takes over. I am thinking of doing the 2 needle fingerless mitts I have the pattern and yarn already purchased from Knit Picks! I will have to review the pattern and probably adapt them to doing two at once in the round on 2 circular needles. I think that I have had the ingredients for almost 2 years. Shame on me! Then I am going back to baby/kid stuff. I think that I will make a sleeper sack for coming granddaughter, and then switch it up to make to sweaters for the 4 1/2 and 2/12 granddaughters, then back to new baby stuff. I hope to squeak in a hat for me and at least start some socks for either me or hubby!

I guess that is all for now, today. Have a few more post ideas to add in the next day or so.

bye all!

CONTEST WINNER!!

Drum Rolllllllll please!!!!
The random number generator has spoken..........The lucky winner of the Knit Mittens Book is ..... congratulations primdollie of http://alteredvisions.typepad.com/altered_visions/

Congratulations!!!!!! Yippee!!!!

Thank you to all that stopped by my blog and entered to win! I will be having another contest here shortly so keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

Fun photo of the day.............

Have you ever seen one of ME in a tree?

Yeah neither has my mate!!

Actually this photo was taken in April 2008 at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor Michigan along the Huron River. I swear as I stood there watching these two he/ or she just flapped wings and landed on this branch!

Down below the mate stood there in shock and the tree goose started calling and calling, like the mate was going to join him. It was something to see alright, and who would have guessed that this was about the only time I had a camera with me.............think he was just posing?

Well have to do a shout out to my girls at the Whitmore Lake Yarn shop! Hey!!!! Mo, Dee,Lil, Lee, Kim, Dawn, Donna, Ruth! (Ruth, that was just for you! Now you have to leave a comment below! :)) And if i forgot anyone........leave a comment and I will add you to my shout out!!

Ok update for my knitting.......... I have FINISHED, yes finished the Two Needle Baby Sweater from Elizabeth Zimmerman! It is done! And it is beautiful! I have also made a hat to match, and am working on a pair of socks. The socks are of my own design using the same lace pattern and leftover yarn. How cute huh?

And its just about time to go! Yippee.......the sun is shining and the air is warm here in the Mitten state!

Feeling stressed? Anxiety? Try this!!

I received this from some dear friends just thought that I would pass it along to all of you!

25 Rules to Live By

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose for today is: ________ '

4. Eat more foods that grow on pl ants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a College kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: In five years, will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals almost everything. . . And He can heal everything if it's in His plan. We just need to trust His bigger picture.

20. However good or bad a situation is -- it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: 'I am thankful for _____.' AND 'today I accomplished_ _____.'

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. Please Forward this to everyone you care about.

I have an UPDATE!!

Hello all!

Just wanted to show my progress the the Two Needle February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman..................drum roll please!


As you can see, I have finished the body of the sweater, have my sleeves on yarn to hold the stitches and have put in only 3 button holes at the top of the sweater. I also did 11 pattern repeats and 5 ridges of garter at the bottom edge which gave me 9" from 'shoulder'. That is a measurement that I located off of other newborn sized sweater patterns.

One more update just for today, the new fall issue of Knitty is up! There are some really great knit patterns here for free!! Check it out.

Please leave a comment! Thank you so much for stopping by!

I am speechless!! Well NOT really.......

I have been perusing Lime & Violet's web/blog.......from their site I was escorted to Patternfish.

LEMMETELLYOUSOMETHING!! Oh yea you have to go there if you want a pattern! There are just about tons of patterns, knitting, crochet and sewing! Of course I have only been to a small portion of the knitting part but it is fan tab u lus!!!

All the patterns are for sale, no freebies here. But the prices are really fair and if you happen to be a designer you can also sell there!

Robyn Gallimore for Red Bird Knits has an exclusive pattern there for faux isle knit socks that is to die for!

I was going to post my progress on the Two Needle February baby sweater.........well that was after I got the body section finished. Needless to say that I have spent the better part of the last few hours sitting here on Patternfish!!!! So that posting may have to wait just a bit longer. Maybe later tonight yet.

Oh leave it to the awesome Lime & Violet podcast, along with their blog etc. to keep the knitting inspiration flowing and the laughter rolling!

CRAZY PHOTO WEDNESDAY!
Just one non related photo to keep things going................am I coming or going? I didn't have a camera with me so I just whipped out the old cell phone and snapped this! I was really going to put up some silly photo of me.............for fun. But you know what? I HATE photos of myself. Just can't get past that! Ok going to knit!

Its FRIDAY!! So whats on your needles? Contest

So its Friday, for most its just about the greatest day of the week. Knowing that you get to look forward to a couple days off before starting all over again. In my world at the moment and for the past 20 years or so give or take a whole 12 months that I got to work elsewhere and LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!

My husband and I own and operate our own company. As any of you know that own or operate your own business, there are no set days of the week that you work, there are no set times.........you can not plan a vacation EVER, and it gets old. Then there are the times like the past 2 weeks that there was NO work, NO money yet plenty to do, but no advance notice so that you might be able to plan something..............anything!

I will not have a day off now for probably 2 months, as it will take us that long to get caught up, back on track and hopefully a bit ahead of our shipment releases.

Ok that is off my chest for now...............now lets have a bit of a contest!! On to the fun stuff!!!

I have a copy of Knit Mittens!: 15 Cool Patterns to Keep You Warm (Knit) (Hardcover)that I would like to give away. Its now coming up on fall and we are all starting to think of our Christmas knitting, gift giving and in our neck of the woods here in the mitten state..........winter. Brrrrrrrrrr !

So I would like everyone to leave a comment here on my blog and at the end of the month I will use a random number generator, based on what number your response is you could win this book! Please only one entry per person.

Thanks for stopping by!! Lorrie knittin in the mitten!

....above photo example only....

My Progress here

Oh whats on my needles you say? I have started a Elizabeth Zimmerman two needle February baby sweater (pattern found in this book)that is being knit with Happy Feet yarn colorway #13 and US size 4 needles in hopes of it coming out to be a true newborn size. Really its ok if the new granddaughter that will be born in December can only wear it for a good month or so.........

Grandma had to do it!!!

Hello there!

For the past 4 days I have been working on a baby doll blanket for Granddaughter Abygail. She had asked if Grandma could make a blankie for her babies. And of course I said YES!!

So, this is the blankie. I found a dish cloth pattern online for free from LaurasKnits. I modified the pattern to make it 3 hearts by 3 hearts and still maintaining a border. The finished blanket measures 20" W by 23" T. I think that it is a perfect size for a baby doll!

The first photo shows that the pattern of the hearts is almost invisible, but if you look at it at a slight angle the hearts show light right up! I used just a worsted big box store yarn that I had around so that its completely child friendly! And parent to for washing and drying!

Please leave a comment on what you think!

Thank you for stopping by. Lorrie

Waffle baby blanket finished!!

Well to start off I finished pale yellow waffle baby blanket today!!! Yippee.........now I can allow myself to move on to my next project!

And my next project is....................the baby doll blanket I promised granddaughter Abygail. I think that I will try out a new knitting technique for me. Shadow knitting or illusion knitting. I found a pattern for a heart dishcloth here and am going to modify it into a baby doll blanket. At least that is what I am about to attempt! Doesn't have to be on a grand scale maybe 3 pattern repeats by 3 pattern repeats? Just enough for the baby doll.

I found the pattern at the site mentioned in a previous post. The finished size was 27x27 inches and I used Feza Baby yarn color# 13436 100% acylic (and so soft!) 319 yard per ball and a size US7 or 4.5 mm needle. Yes it is a KA needle and its great!

Please let me know what you think about this baby blanket pattern right down here just click on the comments and leave one :)

New love in knitting needles..............

I recently attended an open knit at on of my local yarn shops Whitmore Lake Yarn Co., and found a new to me brand of knitting needle!

When I found myself getting back into knitting around 2005, I of course was in love hook, line and sinker with Addi Turbo's!! There was nothing like them on the market before and they helped me and my knitting soar! So of course I have at least one in every size and in most cases at least 2!

Then came the Knit Picks circular needle kits! And shortly after that.......the Harmony Woods! Well other than now stocking up on those knitting was sailing on gracefully!

UNTIL this past week! I found KA Classic Bamboo needles. Ok you are probably thinking "what makes these so great?" Well it is 3 things so far. Price and the revolutionary way the cord or cable that joins the needles swivels!!! Yes swivels! Its so cool, pretty much now no matter what type of material is used to join the needles as long as it swivels the cables can't twist up like the dreaded clovers! Oh and the price is pretty much 1/2 the price of the Addi's. 3rd is that that swivel join is also very smooth!

If you are in Michigan please look up the Whitmore Lake Yarn Co. from the web site and pop in for a coffee and the best sit and knit or class in town!

One more for the road

Okay in my first blog post ever I mentioned youngest daughter Tiffany 23, here she is with baby girl twin peanut Gabriella.

Yes, those blue eyes are all hers!

From the Peanut Gallery..........

Sorry gals at my former employer! But you asked for it so here are a couple new photos of the twins! They are so different! She is a tiny little peanut Gabriella and he is boy all boy Blake!

She is the photo at top and he on the bottom. Can you tell the difference? I mean peanut and boy?

They are just awesome! We are so lucky as grandparents to have all these grandchildren so ahhem, young in life! LOL.

See we also have the big sister of the twins Abygail shown here with her biggest fan Grandpa!

And her new cousin Miss Madison.

Miss M's part time mom Amanda is pregnant and due near Christmas with a baby girl!

Poor Blake huh? I am sure he will be convinced to wear dresses and hair bows along with nail polish!!!

What are you reading?

Well I don't know about you, but I have been hooked on the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer!!!

They are billing it as the next "Harry Potter" for teens? Well as an adult lemme tell you something!!!! It is sooooooooooo good and the love story is great too. Oh to be young huh?

Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn

In that order. Wonderful story and I have seen people (albeit mostly females) carrying around their books!

I started the series on Audio book from Audible.com sign up and pop your favorite books onto your mp3 player or ipod and just enjoy! The last book of the series isn't available at Audible or iTunes yet so I had to purchase the book...........gonna be a long read! Audio books are about 12 hours or so to listen to for comparison. I know that it will take me more hours than that to read it!!

So that is my entry for today...................What are you reading? Leave me a comment below on what you like to read!!

Visiting

I was just visiting another Sock knitters blog Knackfulknitter and found this saying that I borrowed..........

"The Pessimist curses the wind, the Optimist expects it to change, the Realist adjusts his sails!"

I believe that I am a realist.

How about you? Leave me a comment!

More patterns knitted from Knitting Pure and Simple

So after the post "Now to add some Knitting" I took inventory of all the patterns that I have knit from Knitting Pure and Simple.

Wow! I guess that there have been a few!

Weekend Pullover #224 (redesigned for Hubby)

Henly T-shirt for Women #9727 (me)

Neck down shaped cardigan #241 (me)--- photo to come.......must de-wrinkle from winter storage.

Progress on blankie

Am I on a roll today or what?

I am posting a progress photo of baby girl grandtwin's blankie along with a finished photo of baby boy grandtwin's blankie that was already given.

The green one is a pattern from the book Simple 1-2-3 Knitting and the

isbn-10: 1-4127-1338-2 at Amazon

It is a pretty cool book with sections for baby stuff, gifts and scarves.

The yellow pattern is called Sunny Baby Blanket by Lucie Sinkler, I think that you can also find her patterns online.

The Yellow in progress is from Waffle Blanket and I am making the 'small' size.

Now to add some Knitting!

This is an old sweater made for granddaughter Abygail for Christmas 2007. It still fits! She loves loves loves this sweater out of all the sweaters I have made for her!

It is a pattern from Knitting Pure and Simple and I purchased it as a kit from a site that I don't remember but they wound up these crazy yarns all together just tying them with knots and all you do is just knit away! Knitting Pure and Simple

Neck Down Cardigan #982 done with a crew neck. These patterns are the bomb! I have made 3 or 4 sweaters from this companies patterns!

Next on my list is to make both the 2 1/2 year old Madison and the 4 year old Abygail sweaters from the same pattern shown on the same page #279 for Christmas.

Tell me what you think.

Labor of LOVE

Well what have I been doing this past week you ask? Pregnant daughter Amanda is having a baby shower soon and needs to get the invites in the mail. Sooooooooooooo one of my contributions was to make the invites.

We went to staples and found the cutest kit that has 50 announcement/invitations in it. You just print on the velum or the paper and put them together. GartnerStudios here is an example very similar kit to the one we purchased.

I printed on the vellum, then used a cute corner punch and made them prettier. We also took one of the ultrasound photos and put it under the vellum. She wanted to show off her pretty little baby girls first photos!

Here is photo of the finished invitation. Tell me what you think.

My First Post

Well, now I have finally done it! This is my first blog ever!

If you already know me you are wondering what or who is Purl? I think that she will be my alter ego or mascot in the future. Maybe both! I wanted the blog name to be catchy, creative and to have it express me and what I am 'into' at this point in my life. Anyone who has hobbies knows that they come and go and come back again so here I can share with you what I love most today!

I will try not to bore you all...........my goal with this blog is to express myself, my desires for the future and share my creative hobbies and endeavors and share photos.

Current project on my knitting needles now is a blanket for Gabriella one of our twin grandbabies! Recently finished blanket for Blake is on my ravelry page. I am Lorrieu at Ravelry.com

Our grandbabies came a bit early and spent the first 3 weeks in the NICU. They just came home this past week and are AMAZING little people. They also have a big sister who is 4 and loves having baby brother and sister home.

We also have a daughter who is expecting right around Christmas (another baby girl). Currently about 22 weeks.

And then our youngest daughter who is 23 and loving being the auntie at this point in her life.

Hubby and I own our own business..............in the automotive field. It is a wobbly world being in the auto industry. I am sure I will have many entries on this topic in the future.

I am going to wrap up this first post as it is a Sunday night and must get plenty of rest for work tomorrow!