It Was A "Hit"

This past weekend we celebrated my Grandma Schulz's 90th birthday with a family get-together. We had such a wonderful time, it was so good to see everyone. For the occasion, I made a pinata. I know, it needs a squiggle over the "n," but I don't know how to do that. Just know that I know that it goes there. Anyway, I spend a couple days making it and it only took mere moments to destroy, but it was totally worth it. Knitting or sewing, it isn't, but I still put it together and it's my blog, so really, I can post whatever I want. ;)

Making a pinata is relatively easy, but a bit time-consuming. It really isn't bad at all if you can watch some TV or a movie while you work. They really don't require too much intense concentration. I made this one with a jumbo balloon, newspaper, homemade paste (flour/water), tissue paper, Tacky Glue and twine. If you'd like more specific instructions, just ask! Otherwise there are directions all over the internet on the basic pinata.

Here is my work of "art" being smashed with a baseball bat by my niece. It made it through most of the kids before being ripped wide open. Overall, I would say it was a success.

A picture taken at the party of (left to right) me, my Grandma and my sister.

I also have one completed sock. It is waiting patiently to be blocked, but it is done! I'll post pictures when that part is done, because let's face it, there may never be another one.

Next on the agenda is Zeke's Halloween costume. I thought I had until October 31st, but then remembered about the school party almost a week earlier. ACK! So, guess what I'll be doing tonight...and the next few nights. I hope it turns out as nice in real life as it looks in my head! I'll get pictures up as soon as I can, regardless. Ok, maybe not regardless, because if it's really horrible, it'll be hidden away and Zekey will be a ghost with a sheet thrown over his head with holes cut out so he can see. I don't think we even have any white sheets, so let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Time to get busy!

Making Lemonade AKA The Packer Pixie

When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. Or, in this case, when Purewool sends you two skeins of yarn that clearly aren't from the same dyelot, you make a hat instead of a pair of pants. I have been looking forward to making these "Packer pants" for a while now, so I was pretty bummed and a little ticked when the yarn wasn't a match and I wasn't sure what I was going to do.
As if on cue, a good friend of mine pointed out an adorable pattern to me, the LTK Giving Pixie Hat. Oh, the cuteness!!! And I could still make my little guy something to go with the nifty Packer onsie my mom got for him. I wasn't sure how the sizing would be and while the pattern was telling me I should probably go for a Medium, I went with the Small. I mean, this kid's head isn't that big. I then proceeded to knit to a smaller gauge. Brilliant. Soooooo... As soon as I was done knitting hat #1, I began hat #2. You live, you learn, you follow the directions...sometimes. Regardless, it was a pretty quick knit and pretty darn simple. Moving the stitch markers in and out of the work to do the decreases was kind of a pain, so after a few rounds I just pulled them out altogether and remembered where to decrease instead. It turned out great!

If we could just get him to keep it on his head... Notice how his father is holding his arms down in the first two pictures? Yeah. All of my hopes and dreams of Phinny being a baby hat model have been shattered.

And you will all (yes, all 5 of you) be shocked to hear I have started to work on Josh's socks again. I'm not sure what came over me, but I was digging through the yarn I haven't looked at in months and saw that sad, lonely, incomplete sock looking all pitiful. I couldn't just leave it there like that, so I found my double-point needles (hate those things) and got to work. Since I haven't worked on it in ages, the gauge is different from when I started, but it's just a sock and can't say I care too much. I have the ankle and heel completed and the foot started. I'm hoping to finish one tonight and start on the next one, but we'll see. I decided I don't like socks, even ones that knit up "quickly" with a worsted weight yarn, but I might change my mind for a non-solid yarn that has some pattern to it. It's always more fun to see how that type of stuff turns out. Oh, and when Josh came home and saw me working on said sock, I was laughed at. Yes, folks, laughed at. With an apology yet to be received, ownership of said sock is still pending. I hate to take this public, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Oh, and sorry to those who have been sitting here for a month, hitting the refresh button, waiting for me to post pictures of the art smocks. I would've if I would've thought to take a picture, but it got pretty busy around here and they really weren't all that interesting. Maybe I'll take a picture of them at the end of the school year when they're covered in whatever they use in 1st grade art class. That should jazz it up some.

Well, Folks, that's all for this addition! I'll be back soon...I hope.