October Socks

So far behind in sock knitting but I did manage to finish a pair for October.

Jawoll sock yarn that I got on sale. Yay! I've switch my knitting to hats which can be quick and easy but I'm ready to start some socks. I finished a scarf for Josh's teacher and will knit the other scarf for Tyler's teacher after Budapest.

Knitting

So much is going on yet I don't seem to get much done. Does that even make sense?
But knitting continues....

like a knitted vase cozy! My cousin Hannah moved into her newly renovated home so I thought she could use more knitted items but home decoration items. It's a standard vase from Target but dressed. Hannah you have my permission to do whatever you like with it! This might not be the style for some but there you go,,,

Monster Bear

I've wanted to try knitting little stuffed animals out of my leftover yarn or whatever I had on hand for a long time. Yesterday I finally gathered up what I needed yarn-wise and started the Monster Bear pattern out of 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders book. Some 100% wool yarn, size 10 needles and soon the bear was complete. I think it took all of 1.5 to 2 hours to knit. Today I went to Michaels for the polyfill and some eyes. I spent about same amount of time to sew and stuff the bear. It didn't help that I had to redo the leg placement about 3 times otherwise the bear would be seriously deformed.

Here he is after being assembled. See, he is sausage-like with limbs. Not too bad left like this but wait, there's more!

I throw bear into a pillowcase, tie a knot and wash him in the hot water cycle of the washing machine with an old towel. Agitation along with the hot water causes the 100% wool to shrink or felt obscuring the stitches and shrinking it.

Once I have him felted to my liking, I fast forward to the spin cycle to get most of the water out and voila! My Monster Bear!

Isn't he cute? He is more egg shaped now but still adorable.

Party People

This past Saturday we were invited to a retirement party for one of Hector's colleagues. We arrived just in time for a huge luau feast complete with a whole suckling pig. Hector made spam musubi (for the 1st time) and we had a great time. Lights, atmosphere, DJ, lots of people and tons of food made a terrific occasion. The boys found a friend to play with.

60-100 people were there.

We didn't stay too long but we really enjoyed ourselves. I tried some Korean and Vietnamese food that was sooo tasty. I tried to to taste everything so I got small amounts but I wish could've eaten more!!:)

Alien dog

Here is a picture of the kids with Mushroom (from 9-10-09). They look so happy and they especially like her alien eyes!! We're sorry Mushroom that we couldn't keep you!!!

Making an appearance before the weekend

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My posts are inconsistent, like duh! Excuses, excuses but I've been productive! Just not in front of a computer. I've been knitting and walking, lots of walking and Wii Fit. My BIL, Carlos brought Wii Fit over the last time he was here so I could try it out. It wasn't even opened yet and I think he had it for a while (he just hooked up the Wii after, like, forever). Well, I fell in love with it. Yoga and fun games made it really enjoyable. Balancing on the board makes it challenging and just in a few weeks, I noticed my posture and balance improving. It also measures your BMI which I won't state the numbers but mine has gone down a bit. That's good, the lower the better (unless you're underweight). I don't know how accurate this thing is but my digital scale is telling me good things too. Add in walking on the treadmill 5 days a week while watching movies and knitting. Yes, I said knitting on the treadmill (which I'm not encouraging). That bad habit has stopped because I've cranked up the speed so knitting is not an option (although I wish I could). Oh and yesterday I started a Yogalates class with Sherri. A combo of yoga and Pilates for a hour. Good thing I started an exercise program beforehand because it wasn't really strenous on me but a bit challenging. I worked up a good sweat...and today I don't ache or hurt but feel relaxed and centered. I heard that it takes 21 days to form good habits and I'm around there now.

Going back to the subject of knitting...I was knitting on the treadmill to finish these babies.

Nice, huh? The pattern is Waffle Rib and these will go to Hector's coworker's daughter in Chicago. Wool socks are really good in cold weather. The pattern was super simple and easy to memorize. That's why I knit them on the treadmill. I'm gonna remember these for another pair. Tyler already grew out of his homemade socks so he's been asking for some more. :)

Puppy Love

Okay, we DID NOT get another dog. This is Molly, my SIL's new puppy. She is very cute and Josh was loving her up. She is a cutie with her green eyes.

Josh loves dogs and Molly loves Josh!