Little T's Blanket

Ever have one of those days that it seems you don't accomplish anything? I'm having one of those weeks! Charlie has had a bad couple of days and that makes me have a bad day... o wait... STOP WHINING CARLA JEAN! I just get too caught up in his inability to slow down sometimes and it wears on us both. Between the house hunting and my knee making it difficult to navigate the stairs I can get cranky. Other than that... all is good.
I started on a baby blanket for Major T's upcoming bundle of joy, or as I call him... the soon to be T. Major T works is married to Major T... confused yet? Anyhoo.... the "she" Major T is the Major T that works with Big Daddy and he always speaks so fondly of her that I wanted to make something for the little one...

I really like making the random stripes for these blankets. Big Daddy picked out the colors for this blanket.

I decided not to cut the different colored yarns but let them travel up the side of the blanket.

Once the blanket is off of the USM and the latching completed,  these runners will be hidden beneath a crocheted border.

Meka has absolutely nothing to do with Little T's blanket, but she is just so darn purty I had to sneak a pic of her in here.

Does it show that she is a bit tired of me snapping her photo? I think that look has more to do with the fact I scared her lizard away.... BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Suzie Q's Flapper Hat

I have been working on a hat and shoulder warmer set for my niece Leslie or Suzie Q as I call her. I wanted it to be special so I incorporated some antique buttons into the design that has some significance to the both of us. Suzie Q is 3 years my junior and has been more of a sister to me than a niece because we grew up together... usually got into trouble together and we share many memories. We also share Spooky (my sister and Suzie Q's mom).
The buttons... the 3 buttons, came from my mother's button stash. I have no idea why she kept them or where they came from before she had them. I just remember always seeing them among her button collection. Funny thing is, when I was a kid, I thought she should throw them away because they were not especially pretty... certainly not new, and they were too big and too few to do anything with.

Suzie Q Hat modeled by Eden (aka Yarn Diva!)

When mom gave her buttons to me... I almost threw them away but by that time I was no longer a kid and had begun to appreciate the need to hang on to things even though there was no apparent use for them. Last fall when I purchased the yarn for Suzie Q's gift, it didn't even cross my mind to add buttons to it. I wanted the gift to be special so I didn't use a pattern but just started knitting with her in mind. The hat had to be something that could have been worn by a flapper. Why? Well Suzie Q was a flapper in a dance recital when she was a wee one and I just have that thought of her in my head.

Only 2 buttons.... hmmmm.... Where could the other one be?
to be continued...

Arthritis Knitting Aid

Yes, the Crazy one is still alive and kicking and still knitting! Often my hands will hurt too much to crochet so I am working on finding the best aid to make it easier to hold the hooks. This morning, I was as usual going through my e-mail to recreate my morning attack upon the Knitting Paradise forum digest. I get lost for far too many moments than I would care to admit to. I literally have to set a timer or I would be following links for hours. Presently, I could never live long enough to attempt every pattern that I have stored in my Evernote, nor would I want to... live that long that is. This morning I found a wonderful link that I thought I should share with anyone who knits or knows of someone who knits and has arthritis. If you have this product please share your experiences with me.

Stitch Simply Knitting Aid

This is a photo of the knitting aid from their website.

Diaper Covers (Soakers)

I have been working on designing diaper cover/soakers patterns on the USM. Had a terrible headache yesterday so I went to bed around 9 PM... bad move! I was up by 1:45 AM and could not go back to sleep so here I am knitting...

Kiss Me Cate Soaker & and The Hud Soaker

Pattern: Kiss Me Cate 

Pattern: The Hud (Version 1)

Kiss Me Cate in process...

My angel dragon Neil... she was waving at me while I was working.... now just who could resist that sweet face?

Sparklie Thangs...

I have grown weary of purchasing flimsy stitch markers for my knitting and crochet projects... so I decided to make the time to put a few together.

Stitch Holders 

A portrait of my mother done by Eden... "She is happy because she is in heaven"

and of course... her drawing of me preparing to hug her... I think she captured my good eye quite well....