I've lost a year from my life...
...how is it that Nephew #1 is SEVEN--I thought he was SIX...and he's such a big boy--I should have known. The slippies were a big hit--he wore them through his whole birthday party, so I think he likes them. They fit perfectly, too, which was a surprise.
Nephew #3 likes his bunny, too. He named him Bobby Bunny. So cute to see the sweet boy hugging his Bobby Bunny! Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough with the camera to capture the cuteness. I'll try again before I leave.
Speaking of leaving...this post is being sent from Williamsburg...I did it! Beasty-Boo and I had a fairly uneventful trip. I think the fact that I kept him up until after midnight Friday night helped. And we had a good play session before we left. Oh, and the turkey I fed him in the car might have had something to do with it...
So now I get to do it all over again tomorrow morning...I hope we have a repeat of yesterday!
Look, everyone--finished objects! (Don't mention the sweater...)
It's amazing what avoidance will do for one's productivity. In one weekend, while studiously avoiding the Neverending Sweater, I managed to complete 2.5 projects. Here they are:
1. Yet another cute-as-a-button bunny. Boy, I love this pattern. And the bonus this time around was that I used just under 2 balls of SALE yarn from my STASH. So all in all, this particular bunny cost just about $2. I don't include the cost of the filling or the pattern because I used leftovers from other projects. What a bargain! And it's going to such a good "cause"--Nephew #3's 2nd birthday. He's sooo cute, and he loves his "Aunt Judy" so much, he walks around asking for me. Sigh. He definitely deserves a special bun for his birthday, no?
2. Then there's Nephew #1's SIXTH birthday (I can't believe he's so big!). That can't go unnoticed, now, can it? In the past I've made him socks, which his mother says he loves to wear to bed. Well, I couldn't face making yet another pair of socks, so this time I went with slippers. I have no idea how big his feet are, so I felted them, but left enough room to shrink them again if necessary. The yarn is from my STASH. How about that?! I photographed the finished slippers alongside my slippers for scale. And I keep reminding myself that 
they're slippers, they can be too big. They're meant for scuffing around the house in, not for fitting inside a shoe. So I feel like they should be fine. And they look so cute and comfy.
I don't have a photo of the ".5" project I mentioned, but I can tell you this: it's a mini-sweater for me from the free yarn I got from winning a raffle. The yarn is soy silk from Phoenix (Southwest Trading Company), and a variegated purple colorway. I've been eyeing the yarn ever since it arrived, and finally found a cute mini-cardigan/shrug-type thing that uses the same amount of yarn (350 yds). I've just added the 2nd ball, and hope I'll have enough...tune in next week for the conclusion to this little mini-drama.
So you might be asking yourself why I'm avoiding the Neverending Sweater (besides the fact that it's never.ending)...basically, I have spring fever from a knittin perspective. I want fast results so I can feel productive, and I want the satisfaction of making something cute and/or pretty. The Neverending Sweater is going to be lovely when it's finished, but it's not going to be practical to wear for another 4 months, which gives me plenty of time to give it more attention at a later date. Check back in September as I'm madly trying to finish it before cold weather hits!
Speaking of cold weather...we have a hibiscus plant that needs to spend the winter indoors because it's sensitive to cold temps. We bought a natural light lightbulb & have been misting our little tree on a regular basis. It is happy as can be:
I'm not sure if I posted about our trip to Maryland last weekend, so I'll add one more photo that couldn't be cuter. Our friends have 2 little guys who have appeared on the blog before. We love the whole family, and always enjoy our visits with them. Nate, who is the elder of the 2 kidlets, loves our Beast, and always wants to play with him, pat him, and give him sweet little kisses (it would make you melt to see that!). We had a whole photo session of Nate posing with his pal, Henry. This is the best one due to photographer error. Grr.
And one more thing before I go--Bess asked in the last post's comments how I felt about knitting on contract. Well, I have to say it was kind of fun, but it was only the 2nd time I'd done anything like that. I panicked a bit about the deadline, but I enjoyed making comments on the pattern (clarifying things, pointing out typos, etc.)--reminded me of the good old days when I as an editor. I think I will definitely do more if the opportunity arises. Thanks for asking. Now it's back to my fun project. Yay for mini-projects!
