Where have you been?

The fall season has just kicked my butt. I have been taking kids all over the place and have had no time for me. Add to that my intense holiday knitting, social obligations and demanding 1 year old all adds up to no time for me. I have however, knitted a couple of things in that time.

I love these for wine bottle gifts, so festive and can be used as tree ornaments by the reciever.


I made two of these ornaments for my aunts just because I love them so...They turned out bigger than I thought but I really like them and they were such a quick knit.

I also, by request made this sweet little hat for my adorable niece Elizabeth.

Beyond that this is a little glimpse into what we have been doing.....Christmas concerts,

gingerbread house making, turkey cooking, besides the swimming lessons, coaching and playing soccer, daisy scouts and more. I know what I want for the new year, More knitting time for me!

All Hallows Eve Swap

All Hallows Eve Dishcloth Swap!

This was such a fun swap and I really enjoyed myself! I sent my package out to Ingrid in Alaska. this was a great opportunity because she really spoiled me in the last swap! My package arrived Thursday but with Halloween it has taken me a few days to get the photos up on the web. Sorry, Madame!

I was really spoiled by my partnerAmber. She did a great job and I love my new knit picks woods. I hope you can see the amazing colors in the below posts. My 6yo thinks they are so gorgeous I should immediately teach her to knit so SHE can use them, as if! Anyway a big thank you to Amber aka Madame! Please check out her blog it is a great read. Also, can I add the 6, yes SIX, dishcloths she sent me are so cool I can not even imagine using them so I think I am going to use them for a small Halloween lapgan!!! Oh, Mom this means I will need your crocheting skills to put the finishing touches on it!!!!

Check out the pictures of my package:

Friday Fill In's

1. My favorite food seasoning is rosemary.
2 James Taylor is music to my ears.
3. Lucky is the Phillies winning!
4. My family is something I take very seriously.
5. Many people are excited the Phillies won the World Series!
6. Milk was the last thing I bought at the store.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Trick or treating, tomorrow my plans include cleaning and having fun with my girls and Sunday, I want to relax!

Knitting Hats again

It is like a sickness and I blame Susan B Anderson,writer of Itty Bitty Hats for it. Perhaps I need a recovery program; one tailored to people who like to knit hats and drink alcohol....
Anyway, I have 2 more finished projects that I have been very slow about posting.
My cousin Becky is having her second child at the end of November and she LOVES Christmas, so I thought she would enjoy this hat for her little one.

Then I made the cute little pumpkin hat for Kennedy.
She refused to wear it for the pumpkin patch trip but later did not mind it so much. Katie also pointed out to me it fits her.









And here are the some of the shots of our great time at the pumpkin patch! What a fabulous day and good weather, too!

Friday Fill In's

1. Right now, I'm feeling Tired.
2 Home is where I want to be.
3. How does one sleep at work without getting caught.
4. Friends keeps me on track.
5. Please don't Piss me off today.
6. My daughters fill me with joy.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Michelle's party,tomorrow my plans include soccer game and picnic and Sunday, I want to RELAX!

Blogoversary Contest!

I just looked down and saw that my Blogoversary is in 2 days! Hard to believe it has been a year since I began this blog. So much has happened in a year! Wow, my girls have gotten SOO big! So for my blogoversary I am going to have a contest. Since it is fall, I would like to do a fall themed contest. So the contest is as follows:
Leave me a post with your favorite fall activity. ( I am always looking for new things to do with my girls and in the fall.) The contest starts today and will end on All Saints' Day or known as my Mom's Birthday in my house. Winners will get a yet to be determined prize. I will look into something knitted related on the web and etsy stores! I will choose the winner via the very accurate electronic Florida ballot, or maybe I will just assign numbers to the posts put them all in a hat and have Katie pick a number....So please tell your friends. Bonus Entries for posting the contest on your blog and leaving me a comment and one more for sending someone here to enter. Thanks for celebrating with me!

Pumpkin Patch

Copy of 100_1532
Originally uploaded by twoaugustgirls17

If you could go anywhere at all to enjoy a wonderful fall vacation - where would you go and why? Somewhere you've been? Somewhere you've heard has amazing fall colors? Somewhere that's LESS fall-like than where you are?

Hmmm, this is a hard one, there are so many places I want to go and visit. I think I would really enjoy Seattle in the fall and then spending time driving down the west coast of Washington and Oregon for the fall. I love the south, so spending time in Savannah and Charleston, SC would be a lot of fun as well. And since I really can't make up my mind one more should not matter; I would love to visit Sydney Australia and then spend time driving around the country, visiting the outback and the cities of the south and seeing Ayers Rock and the opera house. I could think of more but I need to stop myself.

Topic #4 All Hallows Eve Swap

Weekly Topic #4
Happy Sunday, everyone! How are things going with getting your packages together? Anyone already received hers? Share with us!So, for this week's topic - we have a little quiz. You need NOT get the questions correct for it to count - just post the answers somewhere in a post this week.
Q1: Where did the idea of Jack-O-Lanterns originate?
A) Scotland
B) England
C) Ireland
D) Wales
Q2: Halloween is the 2nd most successful commercial Holiday - what's the first?
A) Christmas
B) Valentine's Day
C) New Year's
D) Easter
Q3: What is the intense fear of Halloween called?
A) Hallowphobia
B) Samhainophobia
C) Ghostophobia
D) Mortephobia
Q4: The mask worn by Michael Meyers in Halloween (the Movie) was actually a mask of who?
A) Leonard Nimoy
B) William Shatner
C) DeForest Kelly
D) No one - it was an old hockey mask
Q5: In 2004, what was the most popular Halloween Candy?
A) Candy Corn
B) Snickers
C) Dum Dums
D) Milky Way
And finally - tell us what YOUR favorite Halloween Candy is......

All Hallows Eve Topic #2

What are your favorite parts of fall? How do you know it's truly arrived where you are?

I love fall, the crisp smell in the air in the evening. The beautiful reds and oranges that cover the trees and the ground. The beaustiful sunsets that come from cool evenings with low humidity. I know fall can mean endings, but wiht the start of school, it has always meant beginnings to me, new school year, new supplies, new friends, new fall CLOTHES! chance to wear sweaters and boots.

Shhh......Knitting in Progress

I have said before I love to make hats for kids, adults, too for that matter. I like projects that are portable, and provide almost instance gratification. I like longer projects, as well; however with the recent rash of babies in my world, I have had to interrupt other projects to knit some shower and new baby presents. I would really like to finish Kennedy's dress Knit sundress ,
but now I have a football hat, plus a Christmas snowman hat to make. Additionally, I need to knit some dishcloths for my swap partner. I found a cute pumpkin and am knitting the ball band cloth, which is a lot of fun and much easier than I thought it would be, for some reason I built it up to be a hard to knit object!


I made the star hat for my cousin Karen. We grew up together and had to band together to survive her brother and my sister. Jason and Sarah could be a dangerous combo growing up and the only way Karen and I could get around being tortured was to hang together! I am soooo excited for her and her husband Dave! They have wanted this for a long time and will make great parents, not to mention my one of my favorite Aunts, Maggie, will be a fabulous grandmother! (Aunt Carol is my other favorite, hey, I am not getting in trouble----she is already a wonderful Grandma!)


Finally, I really want to finish this bag for Fall,
and since it is here today! I am really running behind, UGH!!!!! My mom gave me the bag, one of the purse of the months fromPatternowrks.

All Hallows Eve Topic 1

Check out the blog of one person you DO NOT KNOW yet who is participating in this round of the swap, and then post on your site linking to their blog and sharing a little something about them - perhaps you two share a love for wooden needles, or are both first-time swappers! Or perhaps you're both into Pumpkins over Witches for Halloween time! Just a quick blurb, but take a look around their blog and get to know someone new!
I have been over toFeliciaknits! Feliciaknits! Great site, I love that she loves pumpkins at Halloween! Me too! I love pumpkins in the fall and the colors gorgeous! She also likes her bamboos and knitpicks needles, Me too, could not live without them.
I also checked out, paidtoknit. Great site. I really agree with her about loving pinks and cotton yarns I love a nice stretchy soft cotton with memory! Plus she is a teacher with the typical students. I also work in the schools, as a counselor, so I know her pain and love!

All Hallows Eve Dishcloth Exchange

Knotting Yarn
1. Do you knit or crochet? For how long? Knit only, wish I could crochet....10 years
2. What sort of needles or hooks do you enjoy using the most? Are there some you've been dying to try out and haven't? I use circulars from knit picks. I want to get their wooden colorful ones....Sigh!
3. What kind of projects do you most enjoy? Small things you can take with you, or big complex ones that are just gorgeous when they're done? I make a mixture of must pay attention to a pattern and easy. I like something other than just knit, I tend to get bored. Although, I love making baby hats and socks.
4. List one pattern for a dishcloth that you love to make, or just tell us about one you've made or received that you loved. I love all the dishcloths I have received. I want to make the football dishcloth and the ball band one.
5. What are your 'must have' notions? Are there any notions you need or can never have enough of? Any that might make you cry if you owned more?Petting Yarn? I need to get more stitch markers(using safety pins:) I love soft yarns.
6. What are your favorite yarns to work with? Any you hate or are allergic to? I actually like Noro yarns and the colors. I also love wool and especially soft cotton with memory.
7. What colors do you like to use in projects? Any we'd never catch on your needles? I usually use the colors required for the project, nut I love soft pink, blues and browns.
8. Any cottons you'd like to try you can't find by you, or just haven't gotten around to getting? I really like the cotton ease it has nice memory and the colors work so nice.
Halloween, Fall, and General Stuff
9. Do you like to use bar soap or shower gel more? What kinds of scents do you love? What kind do you hate? I hate pines and really floral. I like vanilla and mild smelling stuff.
10. What's more 'Halloweeny' - Ghosts, Pumpkins, or Witches? Ghosts because pumpkins are kinda a fall thing and can be used at Thanksgiving. but I love to decorate with pumpkins.
11. What's your favorite Treat to get? Sweet or Salty? Anything you're allergic to or just hate? I like both, but I am doing weight watchers.
12. What was your favorite Halloween Costume as a kid? As an adult?? I am not a good dresser upper. I do not like to dress up except in non costumes, cheerleader, etc. Actually, my 6 year old is the same, we both hate masks on our faces.
13. Are you on Ravelry? What's your ID? Twoaugustgirls
14. Anything else you'd like to be sure your pal knows? I am easy to please:)

Finally Done

Katie has been asking for a hat of her own,and since I have made several for her little sister it was time for a hat of her own.   I decided to use the Ribbons pattern in Itty Bitty hats and modify it to fit her head, age , and personality.  I love the colors and the way it has turned out!


 

As you can see, the reason it took me so long, was because the begining of August is filled with birthdays: Kennedy the 6th, and then Katie on the 10th!  She had a great time as you can see from the pictures.  Her cake turned out just the way she wanted it, and everyone seemed to have a fabulous time/a>

I am now going to get started on this dress for Kennedy

My Mom sent me the yarn as a present for Kennedy.  We decided to use a violet and white combination instead of the colors shown.
 I just got the yarn today and the colors look sooo yummy! I know Kennedy will love it!

I keep meaning to post but.....

I keep meaning to post but with everyone home for the summer I have not had anytime to myself.  My husband and I are educators so we are both off in the summer, so I get a lot of family time; however that leaves little  computer time.  

I have gotten back to knitting, it took longer than I thought after the hand surgery, but I did manage to get some knitting done.  

Kennedy turned 1 on August 6, 2008 I was determined to knit her the Birthday Cake hat from Susan B Anderson's Itty Bitty Knits!  As you can see Kennedy loves it almost as much as her cake!

August is a busy month for us with 3 birthdays, Katie is the 10th, Kennedy the 6th, and my husband the 16th.  Believe me around here we are partied out.  

On the 6th we celebrated Kennedy's 1 st Birthday with some of her favorite friends!She had a great time and sentimental Mom, I am put her in the dress her big sister Katie wore for her first birthday.  The dress was a first birthday gift from her Grammy Roberts.

Then on Saturaday, I invited about 12 of Katie's friends over to celebreate her 6th birthday, complete with the Hannah Montana cake!  The kids had a blast and so did her little sister Kennedy!  

I am currently trying to work on the ribbons hat, again from itty bitty knits, for Katie.  I making it in a beautiful green and have altered the pattern to fit Katie's size and style, but I have not had time to take pictures of this work in progress.  

What I did on my summer vacation

Ugh! I looked at my blog and realized I have not posted for all of July.  In all fairness, I had not been able to knit due to surgery...then went on vacation.

So now I am back, *groan* and have finally started knitting again.  I am working on a great cameo purse my Mom gave me ( yeah mom!) and I just started some socks in a beautiful blue.  As soon as I get around to taking pics I will post my works in progress.

So what did I do on my summer vacation....Relaxed...

Well as much as you can with a house full of kids... My girls plus Lydia and Elizabeth

This is the house in Kure Beach, NC.. we realized how much we missed living there during our vacation:(
These are of the Kure Beach fishing pier
Katie and Elizabeth play together on the beach.

This is Elizabeth and Kennedy on the beach cooperating...the later ones get bad quickly as nap time neared

This is the whole crew of kids from 16yrs to  11 months ( Back Left to  front right--Lydia holding William, Emily holding Kennedy, Randy, Nathan, Jacob, Elizabeth, Katie , and Rachel)   You have no idea how difficult this picture was to get!!!!

Kennedy on the beach,  I have a matching one of Katie at this age, on the same beach, too.

We also stopped by some friends house on the way home and this is the view from their deck, gorgeous isn't it!  These are the three boats he has in the water, you should see the collection he has on the front lawn.  Nikki put her foot down about not bringing anymore boats home, so now they just seem to come to him!!!!

And before we left, Ken helped Nikki get a rat snake out of the yard with the help of their great dog Streaker! What vacation is complete without snake handling!