FO Friday!

It has been a long time since I've posted!  I do have a few things to share.  My son's girlfriend and her best friend wanted scarves so I made them each one.  Very easy knitting - use a size US 11 circs, cast on about 160 sts and knit in garter.  Takes about 2 hrs to make one if your watching tv and stop for a snack. ;-D  The all black one is Homespun - nice and soft.  The other is one of my crazy novelty yarn stash busters - just knit about two rows of each, repeat as desired for the width you want.  Here they are:





This one has ribbon yarn, left over of the black Homespun from my son's girlfriend's scarf and some sparkly black Plymouth yarn.  It's hard to see the sparkle in the pic, but it's there...


Last item is the poncho I was making for my SIL!  It was about 2 1/2 skeins of Plymouth Encore on the same size 11 (US) circs.  I did a yarn over, knit two together pattern.  I think I had cast on 71 sts...  Anyway, knit till you have a rectangle and then seam one short end to the long end leaving a neck opening.  Oh, my SIL also wants me to post that she is single and looking of a guy age 37-47.  If you know anyone, let us know.  She has a good job and is self sufficient but unfortunately divorced.  (His cheating stupid ass fault, not hers)  Here she (and my poncho) is/are:




So, those are my Fo's for now.  For more, visit Tami on her blog!

Squee Sunday post # 23

We had a fun time babysitting my "nephew" over night.  He is so cute and Bandit and he just play, play, play.  The excitement did lead to some toileting issues, but I guess that is to be expected.  I tried to get pictures of them playing together but they ran around so fast they all came out blurry.  I was able to sort of get one:





Here is Walter checking out the rug by the back door:





Here he is on the sofa - I had to zoom in so he didn't notice me taking it and run away:





Here is Bandit now that Walter is gone...  can you say tired out????




I don't know if you can see it, but his tongue is hanging out too!!!!

We will all be squeeing later on tonight at my parent's house for a pre-Chanukah party to exchange gifts and hang out.  Matt's girlfriend is coming too!!  For more squees, visit Calophi's blog.  Happy Sunday everyone!

Squee Sunday post # 22

I don't have any knitting to squee about today, but thought I'd squee about three of my kids in Hebrew School instead.  They passed today out of the Orange Level into Yellow.  I know that means nothing to you, but the Hebrew Reading program goes by color levels.  I started with most of this class last year and they've gone from White (very beginning) to Red, to Orange and now three passed into Yellow today and I have two more that I will be testing next week!  It's very exciting and they are so proud of themselves!!!  So, that is my squee - that and I think we are 3/4 of the way done our holiday shopping - woo hoo!!!  For more squees, visit Calophi's blog.

WIPW number 24

This will be a "quickie" post, but my sil asked me to make her a poncho.  I am using Plymouth Encore in a variegated shade of blue/green/purple.  I casted on 71 sts and am doing a yo, k2tog pattern.  It'll be a long rectangle and then I'll seam it together.  Here it is so far:





Here is a close up so you can see the colors and pattern:




For more WIP's, visit Tami!

Squee Sunday post # 21/FO Friday

Since I missed posting on Friday, I decided to make this a combination of both posts.  We did another craft show this weekend and I must say, we are much better at displaying our items!  We will be pro's for next years' shows!!  If we learned anything, it's that you can't predict what people want - the only constant seemed to be scarves.  Otherwise, all three were different - lots of headbands went at one, lots of mitts and shawls at others...  but, how you display it, definitely seems to be big on getting people to buy!  Here is our newest table.  The lighting wasn't as great as the previous one, but it wasn't too bad.





Here is a pic that shows lots of the FO I had done over the last two weeks - mostly mitts, scarves and shawls: (some of Mary's things are mixed in there too)




I just realized that you can't see the mitts in this pic - if you look at the one of the whole table, you can see my hand dummy and the mitts are next to it.   So, that is my combo post!  Oh, and one more pic of the mitts I made for David's wife:




Enjoy what's left of the weekend!  Visit Calophi for more Squees and Tami for more FO's.

Squee Sunday post # 20

Since my mini-vacation is over and I'll spend the morning doing school work, I only have one thing to squee about.  The hot water heater has been replaced!!!  He came out Saturday morning and we now have hot water again!!!  Woo Hoo!!!  I did get a lot of knitting done though so I guess that is a second squee...  For more interesting Squees, visit Calophi.

FO Friday!

It has been a while since I've posted on a Friday.  I've had FO's to show, but just haven't had the time to blog.  Today I do since I pretty much am stuck in the house.  Our hot water heater burst yesterday - yeah, happy thanksgiving! - and we are hoping that the plumber will be able to come out today to replace it.  I ended up showering at my parent's house yesterday but don't want to have to bother them again today... so hopefully, he'll come out!

Anyway, I have a couple of knitting things to share and a non-knitting thing to share.  Curious?  Here we go!

On the knitting side, I am working to knit up more items to sell for another craft show in December.  I have finished two more fashion scarves to replace some of the ones I sold at the craft show.  If you didn't get a chance to see how pretty table our table looked, click on the link - it came out really pretty!  Here are the scarves, not a fancy pic, but just so you get the idea:




I've also finished the fuzzy gray mitts for the craft show too:




Hee Hee, I like that pic - my nails had just been done and look cute!!!  I had requests for mitts in gray, black and brown so I have more to try to get done of them.

Next are mitts that I made for a friend's wife.  Hopefully at some point I will have time to write out the pattern.  They came out (in my opinion) really cute.  My sweet friend Calophi modeled for me!





Here is a closer look at the cable:




For my final finished object, I had posted on Sunday in my Squee Sunday post, about my in-law's golden retriever having puppies.  She ended up have NINE puppies!!!  That was a huge surprise as were expecting 5-7!  They look like a cross between a hamster and a baked potato!  So here they are, only a few hours old:





Here they are with their mommy:






Of course, Jarett had to hold one!




So, that's my FO post for today.  For more FO's visit Tami and see her progress!

Squee Sunday post # 19

Oh my, do I have a few Squees today!!!  First, I just got the phone call that my in-law's Golden Retriever, Honey, delivered her first puppy this morning - it's a BOY!!!  She is a show quality dog but unfortunately something happened (I'm not sure on the details) with teeth that didn't come in or something so she couldn't place.  They decided to breed her anyway because she is such a gorgeous and well behaved dog.  On the ultra sound they saw five pups for sure and said there could be another or so hidden so we'll see how many she has - at least five though!! Woo Hoo!!!  I can't wait to take the boys to see them!

 I am editing this to add in there are now four pups and here is a pic my s-i-l texted to me!!!





I had my observation from our Assistant Principal and got all "A's" and one "B" on my "report card!"  She loved my lesson (Guided Reading groups) and said she was impressed with how well the kids are "trained" (haha, get the doggie joke in there???) in their groups.  I have many small groups that go on at the same time and worked really hard to get the routine down as well as transition time for when we need to switch groups.  It has paid off - my class moves like clockwork, but I can't take all the credit - they are really great kids!  My "B" (they always have to give you one are to improve on) was that I didn't have enough multicultural displays around my room.  I did have the kids make flags representing the countries they came from but I guess they want more.  I'm really not bothered by it though - if that's all she could come up with for me to improve on, I'm one happy camper!!!  She actually wrote that it was evident that I cared about the kids and exude warmth and respect in my classroom - which is true, but that's just me anyway...  I really do care about all of them.

On that note though, I do have to share one of those precious funny stories of what kids say.  Keep in mind I teach 4th grade so they are about 9 and 10 yrs old.  We were talking about Character Traits of Helen Keller (we had just read a book about her) and I asked them to describe her.  We have a "dead word wall" where I don't allow them to say words like "nice, fun, smart, stuff," you get the idea, they need to stretch their vocabulary...  anyway, student 1 says, "She was brilliant!" Student 2 replies with, "Yeah, but she was no Albert Frankenstein!"  I was laughing so hard - it was one of the funniest but most innocent comments!  That one goes right up there with the student that once wrote me a letter asking if she could do her "Hero" project on Michael Jackson because he's her hero since he was the "King of Poop!"  Gotta love it!!!!!!!

On the knitting side, I am just about done the mitts I am making for my friend's wife.  I am writing out the pattern and it will be posted as my next free pattern.  I'm hoping to get them done today and had planned to work on them all afternoon after I teach Hebrew School but now I have a feeling that will be delayed to see the pups...

I think that is all the Squees that I have today - if I left anything out I will share it next week!!  For more excitement and Squees, pop on over to Calophi's blog and see what's going on there!  Happy Sunday!

WIPW number 23

It's been a few weeks since I've posted and I've had quite a few projects going, but little time to post.  This time I am writing this early and will have it post itself for Wednesday's WIP.  I'm making a pair of fingerless mitts for a friend's wife.  I will also post the pattern as a free pattern when I'm done, so hopefully you'll all like it!  Here is what I have so far:





I also am making more mitts as per the request from our last craft show so here is a pair in fuzzy gray yarn:





I'll need to do some more shawls and scarves too but that'll be for next time.  For more WIP's pop on over to Tami's site!

Squee Sunday post # 18

Last week part of my squee was that report cards were done and in and I thought I'd have more time knitting and back at the computer again.  For some reason that didn't work and I haven't posted since last Sunday!  The week has been a blur and I can't even explain all the things (meetings, my regular nutso Wednesdays and more school work) that have kept me so busy...  BUT, I am going to Squee today about another craft show we did!!!  This time I took pics of our beautiful table too!  We had a great time and this show was definitely more successful than the last one.  We actually had people request some custom things and all of us need to knit up some more items for any future shows we do!  Here is the whole table.  Very pretty, right?!





Here is a close up of the left side - I used one of those tower cubes you can put together from my closet.  They're great - you can loop things through the holes in them too!





Here is the right side - notice the hand displaying the mitt and the foot on top of the crate showing the slippers!  We just got them - how awesome!!!!






So, that is my squee for today!  For more squees, head on over to Calophi's site!  I'm off to teach Hebrew School, happy Sunday everyone!!!

Squee Sunday post # 17

I don't have any pics to share, but I am squee-ing that I finally got time at the computer for something other than school work!  They changed the date of when the marking period closed so we've all been going crazy trying to get grades in.  I finished mine last night! Phew!

I did get to spend the day today with Trudy and Mary at the craft show!  Remember all my crazy projects I was rushing to get done?  Today was it!  We had a nice time together and actually made back the money for the table plus some extra.  Also, someone approached us to work another craft show she was having in December so I gave her my card.  Yay! 

For more squees, hop on over to Calophi's blog!  Enjoy your week!

"Z" is for......

                                     


Zis is ze last post in ze ABC meme!  I wanted to send it out with a bang of some really creative topic, but, alas, I can't think of anything that creative or Zany to post about.  26 Mondays of posts and here we are at the end...  it's kind of bittersweet.  I'm glad to not feel the pressure of posting, but will miss reading the posts of others to see what words they are writing about.

Thank you Charlotte for giving us this idea.  It's been lots of fun and I know a lot of us enjoyed posting!

So, for all the zebras, zoos, zealots, Zen Buddhists, zeniths, zeros, zircons, zippers, Zionists, zodiacs, zones and zingers...  I bid farewell to the ABC meme.

Squee Sunday post # 16

Happy Sunday everyone!  I have a few Squees to share today.  First and most important, the stomach virus is gone!!!  YAY!!!  That was awful and it lasted more than two days in me so I am very glad to say goodbye to it!  I missed doing my FO Friday post because I finally went back to work and had so much to catch up on, I just couldn't take the time to blog.  So, I'll save my FO for next week.

The other thing that I am so excited and amazed about is that witchyknits4ewe received a check from the adsense ads I have on my page!!!  So, thank you to all of you who click on them (and if you don't, please feel free to click away!)!!  It wasn't a "going to pay the bills" check, but it was a nice surprise and will go towards the money we need for the book!

My next Squee is that I have 50 followers!!!  How exciting and thank you to all of you who are reading my blog and sharing in all I do.  I get so excited to see the numbers grow and I am just as excited for #50 as I was for the first person who followed me.  So, a big YAY YOU to all of you out there!

My last Squee is also an OMG! Squee - we got SNOW in October!!!  The last time we had snow in October was in 1979!  Here is a pic of my deck with little Bandit footprints to show you there really was accumulation.





Enjoy your Sunday, I need to go teach Sunday School now so I am logging off.  For more Squees, hop on over to Calophi's blog!

WIPW number 22

Sadly, I am home this Wednesday with a stomach virus that seems to be going around at work.  I missed my Tuesday night knitting group too because of it. :-(

I do have a WIP to show though.  I'm doing (yet another) scarf for the craft show.  It's a simple K2tog, yo pattern.  Here it is:






I think I bought the yarn from a shop going out of business, but I'm really not sure where I got it from.  That's it for now - for more WIP's, visit Tami!

Y is for.... yarn overs!

Wow - only one more post after this and we've completed the ABC meme!!  Hard to believe...  anyway, I decided to talk about yarn overs for my letter "Y" post.  I love lace knitting, and the basis of making all those little holes is usually through a yarn over.  Here is a sample of a very basic K2tog, YO pattern:





You can also do more intricate patterns with yarn overs too such as these mitts and scarf pattern:




Here are some more samples of the lace patterns you can do with yarn overs:










I hope you enjoyed my "Y" post!  See you next week for the final letter!

Squee Sunday post # 15

My Squee for today (aside from the fact that I'm off from Sunday School today and hope to spend the whole day in my jammies!!!!) is to share my visit with brother and his family.  As I had said, I haven't seen them in about three years.  I hadn't met my newest two nieces either!  They came in to the east coast to visit a friend and stay for Sukkot.  It was only about two hours away so we drove down last Sunday and spent the day with them.   This visit was long overdue and it amazing to see them, even if only for a few hours.  The older kids seemed to pick right up as though they had just seen each other last week (although with video chatting they kinda had!).  Matt had some intense card playing going on with Chaya and Yossi!





Jarett even joined in the action too!





I made the girls headbands.  Here are a couple of pics of my new nieces, Necha (with my mom) and Menucha, wearing them. 








And being held by Jarett!




I was able to get some candids of the rest of them too!  Here are Michoel, Chaya, and Jarett & Yossi :







Notice Chaya's headband too - it's on the table next to her:




We tried to get a family portrait of all the kids but it was really hard to get the younger ones to stay still.  So, we did the best we could.  Here are a few of the kids, the kids along with my brother and Eta and the kids with my parents:

Notice someone missing?  Michoel just wasn't in the "take my picture" mood anymore!



Henoch (my brother) tried to hold him but he only wanted Mommy!


He did a little better with my dad but still wouldn't look at the camera.



The oldest cousins, Matt & Chaya (five year age difference) - they look the most alike and could pass for brother and sister!!



We had a really nice visit and it was so super sweet of Eta's friend to open her house to us.  We even found a kosher Chinese restaurant that made me a gluten free lunch!!!  For my squees, visit Calophi on her blog.  Enjoy the rest of your weekends!!!