Fingerless Mitts and more

You know how you are supposed to let your car warm up in the morning. Much like most of us need a cup of coffee to get going, cars are supposed to be started and then sit idle for a few minutes so that the oil and other car fluids are warm. At least this is what my father told me growing up and my husband tells me now. Well, I have a hard time getting two little ones in the car with their various accessories, blankies, sippy cups, toys, shoes, jackets, and "must have" babies. Not to mention getting myself loaded up with purse, diaper bag, knitting bag, and now my daughter's preschool bag. So forget about taking the time to warm up the car. We load up and head out. This rather long, dull, uninteresting discussion on car maintenance is really just one long justification for why I knit up some fingerless mitts. It is a preemptive argument if you will for my sister. My family has teased her for years about her love of fingerless mitts and leg warmers. I swore I saw no need for them and would probably never be knitting them up.....I am a liar.

The last few mornings have been the first cold ones to sneak up on me and a big reminder that winter is here. I am fortunate enough that I have a garage I can park in it so there is no need to scrape off snow or morning frost. Up until this year I didn't HAVE to be anywhere, especially in the morning when the weather is less than cooperative. Now I have to be up and out for school, UGH. Anyway, talk about a short story getting longer, I hate driving with a cold steering wheel. I'm already bundled up in a jacket but I can't wear gloves or mittens because I have to buckle/unbuckle car seats and help little people. And I hate having to put on and remove gloves........sooooo.......I broke down and made these fingerless mitts.
The yarn is the same berroco ultra alpaca from the Hannah hat. The pattern was kind of a hodge podge of patterns and I just sized it for my own hand. I took the most inspiration from the Vogue Fall 2008 pink sonata gloves. The only detail I did add was for my thumb.


I bound off about 1/3 of the stitches and then the next row I cast back on for them to create a little opening for my thumb to peak out of (those dang carseats need full functioning hands). Of course now that I have a pair (albeit with a little flip top to keep everything toasty), I want more. I want real fingerless mitts with no top in just about every color.

One last little fun thing to share is this video for all the moms out there. This video is short, sweet, to the point, and funny. If you have the time to take a moment then click here and have a giggle.

Read more...

Happy New Year!

Finished Knitting 2008
Originally uploaded by At Home Mommy Knits

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you all had a lovely holiday (if you celebrate). I took an unplanned hiatus from blogging, work, and you know my general schedule. It was really nice to completely unplug (metaphorically and physically) from the usual day-to-day. I ate way to much and had a lot of really nice quality family time.

After all the gluttony of the holidays I feel energized and ready to tackle the new year. I don't really have an opinion one way or another about resolutions. I have been catching up on my blog reading this morning and realize that some people are for and some against. I think for me after the lazing about of the holidays I feel very goal oriented. I don't do well with self-imposed deadlines. I hate the stress of it and it removes some of the joy for me. I think I'll just categorize any goals or resolutions as intentions. A little more of the middle road :)

Incidentally I created that little mosaic up there to gather all of my finished knits from 2008 together. I just wanted a visual on what I had accomplished thus far. I have some knitting intentions for 2009. I would like to make a lovely lace shawl, more sweaters, and maybe some socks. I am looking into photography classes because so many of the photographs I see on your blogs are beautiful and inspiring and I would love to learn how to capture that beauty in my own world. I am hoping that in 2009 I can take time to pause and really live in the moment. I feel like I do too much rushing around at times.

I want to thank you for stopping by this spot and sharing a moment with me. This blog was started (under pressure from my sister thank goodness she did) with no idea if I would actually continue with it or not. I read on Leslie's blog from one of her earlier posts that she was a secret blogger. I think she wrote about how to tell people that she made things, took pictures of them, and then posted it on the Internet. Her feeling was that people would say, you do what??? why?? That is exactly how I felt when I first started blogging. Now my blog is something I look forward to visiting and I receive as much joy sharing with you my triumphs and failures as I do from reading about yours. Thank you all for letting me in this world and sharing.

Read more...

What's new here...

I have been happily buried in holiday preparation over here. Baking, cooking, parties, and a little knitting. Some things are finished and some things aren't going to be but I am trying to enjoy the process and each moment instead of worrying and adding stress.

We have had a couple small snowstorms and with each one the enthusiasm for playing in the snow hasn't flagged. I knit up a quick rib 2x2 hat for my daughter out of a rose colored Patons wool. It was quick, easy, and she always slaps it on her head without any prompting when we head outdoors so a win in every category.

I knit up these slipper socks from Interweave Knits Holiday for my husband for Christmas. I used Knit Picks Swish Bulky to knit them up and they couldn't have been quicker. I have just enough yarn left over that I think I can make a pair for my son too.

With only a few days left until the big day I wish you all a wonderful holiday!

Read more...

The gift

I want to thank everyone for all their lovely suggestions on what to get my little one's preschool teacher. I decided to go with the bath mitt after I found a skein of sugar and cream cotton in a peppermint coloring.

I hunted through the stores from some fancy soap :) We found this one that is vanilla and blackberry and smells divine.

The pattern is free here and you can ravel it here. I followed the directions exactly as laid out and wish I hadn't. You knit it flat and then seam up the thumb and the mitt. I don't enjoy seaming (have yet to meet a knitter who does) and after all the mitts I made for my advent calendar I think I could have easily sewn this all up in the round. Oh well, next time. Other then that small complaint it was a super easy knit and very fast (both good things when knitting a gift).

I have a few more finished projects and if I can manage to get my camera and actually photograph them then I will share them with you. Hope your Christmas prep is going well!

Read more...

Hannah Hat

I have a small problem with hats. I love to knit them but am not a huge fan of wearing them. The main reason is that my head gets so itchy underneath. Unfortunately I do not live in a tropical climate and the winters here are cold and require some sort of headgear. While perusing Ravelry I found this hat.

A side view...

What is so special about this hat you wonder? Why will it be less itchy? Well my friends the secret is in the back...

There is a secret hole for a ponytail.

This has been my problem all along. I hate wearing my warm winter hats because of my hair all bunched up underneath. With this fun little pattern I whipped up a hat that has this perfect little hole for my ponytail....problem solved.

There are also two little buttons to make taking it on and off easier,

although I don't unbutton it I just slip the ponytail through. I already wore the hat to a football game and it was very warm and I didn't experience a moment of itching! A very fast knit perfect for yourself if you have long hair or a friend who does.

Pattern: Hannah

Needles: DP Size 8

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca, color Chambray

Read more...

Advent calendar

In early fall I started knitting up this advent calendar. A few here, a few there. Last year I saw a magazine article that used children's old socks and mittens to make an advent calendar. Well of course I decided to knit one. I finished it and hung it up on the first. Now of course these little suckers are popping up everywhere. You can find one here, you can find one here and Soulemama has a version she sewed up a couple of years ago.

And according to Leslie you can find a pattern here. Sadly I didn't know about the pattern so I just stumbled along with a measuring tape and swatches to figure out my own pattern based on how big I wanted them.

There are little hats...

Little mittens...

and of course little stockings...

I braided up the leftover yarn to make a rope and then hot glue gunned little magnets to the rope and each little piece. I wanted to find an easy way for little hands to easily take them off and count down to Christmas. Of course each little pouch has goodies in it. Some have miniature candy canes, Hershey kisses, Xmas erasers and other little fun things I picked up. It was really fun to knit up so if you have the time I recommend it.

Read more...

Xmas Meme

I saw this and thought it would be fun. Join in if you want :)

1. Wrapping Paper or Gift Bags? Both, depends on how close it is to Xmas morning :)

2. Real tree or artificial? Real. The day after Thanksgiving we load up with friends and family and head to the mountains to cut one down.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the weekend after Thanksgiving

4. When do you take down the tree? New Years Day I'm over it so everything comes down

5. Do you like Egg Nog? No

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My first Walkman when I was 11

7. Do you have a nativity scene? No. We have a huge Christmas village that has been added too over 13 years and it is slowly taking over the house :)

8. Hardest person to buy for? My mother-in-law

9. Easiest person to buy for? My kids

10. Mail or email Christmas Cards? Mail

11. Favorite Christmas Movie? Every Christmas Eve we watch It's a Wonderful Life

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Fudge

13. Clear lights or coloured? Clear

14. Favorite Christmas Song? Do you Hear What I Hear by Bing Crosby. It was the one Xmas CD we listened too religiously at Christmast time when I was growing up.

15. Travel or stay home at Christmas? Stay home. We traveled for every holiday when I was growing up and so now I stay home.

16.Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeer? Yep, but I have to sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in my head to do it.

17. Angel or Star on the top of the tree? Neither, it's a glass tree topper from a local store

18. Open presents Christmas Eve or Morning? The kids can open one on Christmas Eve but everything else happens in the morning.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Seeing Xmas stuff in October

20. Which looks best, theme trees or homey trees? Homey trees, handmade ornaments, stuff from my childhood, definitely homey

21. Gingerbread or Sugar Cookies? I like sugar cookies better and we make a gingerbread house.

Read more...