Planning for the holidays

The last little while hasn't been devoid of crafting, though I've been pretty slow with things. I have some fun DIY stuff that I've been doing, but I can't post it here just yet because they're Christmas gifts that I'm planning to give away.

I do have a couple things that I've been working on gift-wise that I CAN post about here. The first is a Citron that I've just set out to block tonight.

It's made out of Dream in Color Starry, in the colour In Vino Veritas. This was a great subway knit since it doesn't take a whole lot of brain power. I was a little surprised how much bigger it got after blocking.


Another thing I've been working on is improving my crochet skills. I'm currently working on a doggy amigurumi toy pattern called Buffy.

As you can see, I'm not exactly done yet, but I've been having a lot of fun with it. Since it's a toy, I just picked up some acrylic worsted weight at Michaels. Cheap and cheerful. I've finished all the limbs, and am working on the body now.

In other news, I've discovered Pintrest recently, and have been having lots of fun with it. Mostly, I've been using it to keep track of recipes I'd like to try, DIY projects, and some helpful hints for organizing and/or cleaning the house. Very domestic, I know. Still, I've learned a bunch of nice little tricks that have come in handy leading up to the holiday season.

Hope you're all doing well!

Vacation!

So, we just came back from vacation in Orlando, Florida, and we had a fantastic time. This was Andrew's first trip to Disney World, and based on his reaction, this will not be the last. He. Loved. It. He probably won't remember going since he's only two and half, but Jamie and I certainly will.

Waiting for the Disney shuttle bus to take us to Animal Kingdom

As you can tell from the photo, I'm getting kinda big. That made things a bit more tiring on this trip, seeing as Andrew still wanted me to play with him and do stuff with him, but since I had no responsibilities after he went to sleep, I would just shower and go to bed right after him. I had brought knitting with me hoping that I could get some done, but it just didn't happen.

In the lobby of the Art of Animation Resort.

Halloween decorations!

Dumbo at night

Andrew giving us his "say cheese!" face

Andrew loving Cinderella's Carousel

"Hi, Pooh!"

Posing with Buzz Lightyear

Andrew went crazy for Lightning McQueen!

Checking out Guido's tires

 We have a bunch more pictures with characters and stuff, but they were taken our Disney PhotoPass, so I don't have those photos just yet. We're going to buy the CD of them, so I'll post some more pictures up when we get it. We had a super time, and we can't wait to go back again!

Some things the same, some things a little different

Hi there, good 'ole blog. Yes, it's been a while; I hear ya. To tell you the truth, I haven't really managed to get much knitting done for a while. Here's a photo explaining a good chunk of the reason why. Andrew is a real handful these days - 2 years old already!

And just as the photo would imply, I am expecting again. Baby Wells #2 on the way sometime between Dec and Jan.

Below are some photos of stuff he's been up to this summer. We've taken him to Canada's Wonderland a couple times (getting a season's pass next year for him), and he was the ring bearer at my brother's wedding.

Even with all that, I did manage to get a few things done. I finished that Baby Yours sweater, but was on such a deadline to finish that I didn't manage to take any photos. I also finished knitting my Milkweed Shawl, but it still needs a blocking. I've started a baby blanket for the little one on the way.

It's made out of Dream in Color Classy, in the colour Good Luck Jade. From the first photo, you might be able to see that the two skeins I got don't seem quite the same. I checked that they were the same dye lot when I got the yarn, but perhaps I was mistaken. I have since lost the ball bands, so I can't confirm. Even though it looks a little weird, I don't want to rip it all back so that I can better integrate the two shades by alternating their use. If the baby isn't going to be fussed about it, neither am I.

Lastly, I've been wanting to try something a little different than my usual yarn crafts, and picked up some Pyssla beads from Ikea a while back. Here's what I made with them.

This first attempt was pretty fun, and I quite like the result. My plan is to glue some black felt to the back side, and make a few more of them with different colors. I realized a little while ago that we have no coasters in our house, so these would make a nice, if not geeky, set to fill that void.

Already one quarter into 2012

Whoops! Life kept happening, but I kept forgetting to blog about it. First of all, my little man is growing up quickly.

Here he is snuggling the cat on Christmas morning after putting on the Pats jersey that his uncle kindly gifted him with. Since then, he's started talking and making his preferences well known to us. In short, he's lots of fun.

My knitting has been terribly slow, and even though I bought all sorts of yarn at the Romni sale (which I forgot to blog about too. Oops!), I've only managed to get a couple things done, or started.

First up, we have my much abbreviated version of the Bandana Cowl.

I made it from one skein of Diamond Yarn Luxury Baby Alpaca. It feels lovely on the neck, and I wore it a lot during the winter to keep the amount of bulk in the coat down. It's a bit too loose, and too short, but still quite nice. I think I'm going to make another one though; a full version (though with fewer stitches so the whole thing is a bit smaller around the neck). Maybe I'll have it ready for next winter. Haha!

Back in January, Jamie and I took our first trip away from Andrew. It was only one night away, but it was lovely. While there, I started some easy toe-up socks with some self-striping yarn.

That's how much I finished by the time we got back. And then life trucked on, and progress on the sock stalled. I only finished the first sock about 5 days ago, and only just cast on the second sock today. Hope it doesn't take another 3 months to finish, but I'm not making any promises.