Here are my Socktober traffic stoppers finally done. (that’s Alexander’s car they are stopping)

I did manage to get the stripes lined up although I ran into a pesky knot in the yarn on one sock. I really like the way the navy blue goes into periwinkle blue which is one color I just can’t get enough of. For my records I used Regia Cotton Tip & Top Color #44077 on a size 2 us-2 3/4 mm needle. I made a size 41/42 and cast on 64 stitches. They are a bit big but let’s see how they wash up. 41% superwash new wool, 34% cotton and 25% polyamide.
Look at this. I found a great way to make a sock blocker out of a coat hanger. I found it here. I love the idea of using this to take pictures of my socks. For my next pair I’m planning on trying to knit from the toe up on two circulars.
For those of you out there that love Halloween and this time of the year as much as we do, here is a fun little craft idea to make with some old black socks, some black pipe cleaners and black and white foam stuff-sorry, I don’t know the English name for it.

Here are some bats that fly around our apartment at this time of the year. They usually sleep on the chandelier and are quite peaceful. The kids and I made these last year after seeing them on TV and they now are turning into a must have the week before Halloween.

Today we went for a walk in the rain or right after the rain. Isn’t that what being a kid is about? The last picture is the wall of an apartment building. It’s a bit fuzzy, but if you click on it and look closely you can see the actual bricks of the building and then the painted zipper and fake facade behind it. That’s Berlin for you.

Look what came yesterday!!!

My awesome blog buddy Ohelene from Ohelene sewing sent me this amazing mountain of leather to start making some leather slippers for the kids. she even included elastic so I’m ready to make my first shoes. I was knocked off my socks by this. She is fabulous for doing it and I’m a bit choked up, I have to admit. Do you see those sweet Baby Born leather slippers she made as well? Please go visit her blog and see some of the fun stuff she’s been sewing up lately, I know you’ll love it. She even sells her shoes so go check them out. Thank you, Ohelene from Norway!!
Onto some fit sewknitters news. I’ve been reading that you girls have been not only moving those needles but your legs as well. Keep it up. Here is our current stand of fit bloggers:
Amanda from Gigi Bear is eating better, running, walking, doing the elliptical, and lifting weights.
Amy from Neglecting my Kids is walking and doing Pilates.
Anmiryam from Gromit Knits is jogging and lifting weights.
Jackie from My Escape from the Boys is ???
Jojo from The Crafty Sisters is running and lifting weights.
Linda from The Crafty Sisters is walking and lifting weights.
Nina from Zigzag and Purl is walking in the evening and doing Pilates.
oddrun fromOhelene sewing is walking.
Sarah from Stitch-n-Knit is running three times a week and tap dancing one night a week.
Teresa from Wild Geese cutting her sugar intake and not eating after 7 pm.
As for me I’ve been jogging every other morning at 6:00 and my legs are loving me for it. I feel great again and I was quite surprised to find that it hasn’t cut into my knitting or sewing time either. I thought I would be tired to do anything after putting the kids to bed, but I feel I have more energy now. I may blog a bit less but I’ve also been trying to get a lot done lately and haven’t had too much to blog about. I did spend Thursday night at the hospital because Alida and Alexander fell out of the stroller causing Alida to land on her chin which got scraped up pretty well. She also bit the inside of her lip which bled all down her shirt. Her chin puffed up and I was worried that she might have done more damage, but fortunately she was fine and she was laughing about it later. What a scare, I’m telling you being a mom really makes you hysterical.
My Halloween sewing has been put on hold the last two day because I finally decided to sell the millions of baby clothes that have taken up all the room in my drawers and on the shelves. This morning I went to a baby bazaar which is just a huge yard sale here and I managed to sell quite a considerable amount of stuff. Thanks soooo much to Christina who helped me out and made it a lot of fun. I do have to admit, it was sure a lot of work getting everything together, washing and sorting things, but it was worth it in the end and I’m going to sign up for next month and see if we can sell more. I’m trying to put all the money we make towards shelving for the kids’ room to organize the immense amount of toys we own. We’re getting pretty close to our goal.
I’m off to sew some more of our costumes and maybe get this other sock finished. I really want to sew a pair of leather shoes but they are going to have to wait until the rest of my sewing is done. One more week until Halloween and our party which I have to start planning.

I don’t have much to show right now because my knitting has been put on hold to make room for the sewing that’s been taking over my living room. An extra machine in there really does make a big difference space wise. I can’t show anything that I’ve been sewing because it’s all for Halloween and should be kept a secret until then. For now a small dark sneak preview, just to get your interest perked.
Remember this is Halloween, no bright cheery pictures… yet.
Until I have more to show, I thought I’d share some things I made in my pre-blog era. Gosh, it’s hard to believe there was a pre-blog era.
Last year at this time Alexander was totally enthralled with Clifford the Big Red dog and even dressed as him for Halloween. I’ll have to find those costume pieces and take pictures of them. The Great Kimberly Computer Crash of ‘04 took all of the existing pictures with it. NO, back then Kim was not smart enough to make a back-up which she now does daily. What do they say, you learn from your mistakes? Dumb rule, why can’t it be you learn before you make the mistake?? Anyway, we had some Clifford fabric which I didn’t know what to do with, so one day it hit me that he needed a Clifford pyjama bag. Well, that’s what he got. I designed it myself for lack of a good pattern and he and I are so very happy with the result. The bag underneath Clifford has a big slit where he can slip in his pyjamas. The good thing is, he has the responsibility every morning to put his pyjamas in Clifford which is so good for him. I fish them out every other day to wash them but at least he’s done his part. Pretty useful is Clifford at our house. Click for big.

Back to sewing!

Up until now I have had a free web host and it’s been great. When I started my blog I wasn’t ready to spend money on a typepad account because I didn’t know if it would be worth it, so I went with a free host. Well, they’ve had so many people use them that they’ve had to start putting advertising on their sites, which includes mine. I really apologize and want you to know that I’m looking into my own domain, so I don’t have these disturbances. Please bear with me until I’ve figure this whole thing out. Just click those bad pop-up windows away, it shouldn’t take long and they’ll be out of here!!
Until then, let me show you what I’ve been doing this weekend. Just a hint of our Halloween goodies. More on this later.

It’s a bad dark picture but then so is Halloween.

This time they are around my neck in the form of Flora from Knitty.com.

This is my latest project that I carried from piano lesson to playground and finished in less than a week. For the normal person I’m sure it would take a day. Oh well, I enjoyed knitting this and it’s the process that’s so important.
I knit on a size 6 mm needle. I used Lana Grossa Merino big 100% virgin wool, Lana Grossa Pashmina 22% cashmere, 78% merino extrafine and Le Perle Prestigio super Kid Mohair. All in different shades of pink. The Pashmina added a bit of softness which I wanted so close around my neck. I love this pattern and if I ever finish all the other fun projects I have planned, I’m making another one in shades of blues. Thanks Kate, you made a super pattern. With everyone out there in blogland knitting socks thanks to Lolly and gloves thanks to Nina I think our necks are a bit neglected. How about a Flora Knit along? It’s a quick great little project to take around with you.
Speaking of great little projects look at these socks I found in a knitting magazine I bought today.

You may have to click on the picture to see more detail. I’m sure you Germans think I’m nutty but I adore those Southern German knee highs with all the cables and fun. I would love to make these. Maybe I will. When would I ever wear them?? Remember it’s not the outcome but the process that’s the fun part. Hell, I wear socks that say Happy Halloween so I’d be wearing these knee highs for sure. Here’s a shot of my Halloween socks I was coaxed into buying by the kids. It didn’t take much coaxing, I love Halloween and have no shame. These of course are two different pairs. I may be a stitch crazy but not that crazy.
Oh one more sock related thing. I was able to cast on at the right spot with my striped socktober socks.
It took me only 5 times until I finally got it. Next time I’m going to cast on starting a new color so I know exactly where to place my yarn on the needle. I learn something every time I pick up my needles.

Do you believe it? After months of hiding under fat he’s finally coming out to show himself. My hip bone does exist and I can see him again, thanks to the 2 pounds I’ve lost in the past week and a half. There’s even one on the other side, too!! And this is not going to be all, I’m determined to get rid of all of that excess baggage. This will happen, at least I hope so. Jogging started officially this morning and after just 15 minutes I feel great. This week it’s going to stay at 15 minutes a jogging session and may go up to 20 next week, we’ll see how my legs are getting along with the strain. Oh it’s so refreshing to be back in action.
One more thing that showed his face yesterday is this little placemat bag I managed to get finished. It’s more of a summer bag, of course I’m always a season off, but I still like him.

I’m not at all happy with how the zipper gusset turned out but I wasn’t in a rip-out mood yesterday, so it stayed. Now I have to get in gear and work on some Halloween goodies.

Oh my, how I love getting mail, especially when it’s reading material!! Look what came today. Annie Modesitt’s book Cheaper than Therapy. I’m so excited to start it, but right now I’m 200 pages into the last Harry Potter and that’s taking a while. Thank you so much Annie you are so very generous. First you create a fabulous silk corset pattern, then you send me this book. Thank you, thank you. Can anyone take the kids for a while I have some reading to do?!

So here he is: My first sock for socktober. He’s done and he even fits. Imagine that. woo hoo! I’m very happy today except that my other foot’s a bit cold. I’ve got to get off this computer and knit the other one. Well, as soon as I figure out how to cast on at the same spot as the first one. I may have two different socks. Oh well, the color’s pretty. I’m going to do my best. Anyone have any hints on this??
I’ve also been sewing between demands from my kids. Look at this diaper and wet wipes I made for Baby Born. I used my serger and an old cloth diaper from Alida. She never wore the cloth diapers, I just had them around as burping clothes and to wipe up messes. I’ve got tons! We had tons of messes! Wait, we still do.

Speaking of Baby Born aren’t these mittens and socks just so cute?
Someone else is as sick as I am when it comes to knitting and sewing for dolls. Oh it makes me feel good to know, I’m not that crazy. I was looking in Ebay for some patterns when I came across a woman who knits these adorable sets for a mere 3 Euro including shipping. Couldn’t beat that. She even knit them in the color I wanted. I’m just a sucker for these things. Alida actually said ‘wow’ when we opened the package.
One last thing for today. Look at all of these fit sewknitters!!

Amanda from Gigi Bear is eating better, running, walking, doing the elliptical, and lifting weights.
Anmiryam from Gromit Knits is jogging and lifting weights.
oddrun fromOhelene sewing is walking.
Jojo from The Crafty Sisters is running and lifting weights.
Kimberly from The Giving Flower is jogging.
Linda from The Crafty Sisters is walking and lifting weights.
Nina from Zigzag and Purl is walking in the evening and doing Pilates.
Teresa from Wild Geese cutting her sugar intake and not eating after 7 pm.

You girls rock!!

You can join anytime you want just leave a comment to let me know. I’m not well enough to start jogging yet, but Friday is looking like a good day. I have a bit of asthma so whenever I get sick it goes right to my lungs. Oh well. That’s what my spray is for.

Hey look!!! I have buttons.
Lots of buttons. I was inspired by Jojo one of the ever so cool crafty sisters and the talented Rosa from purly q’s. I thought this might be appropriate right about here. Now it’s your turn, let’s see your buttons, they’re good comment getters, or so I’ve heard!!
Oh I have another button: Thanks to Geeky Knitter I was able to make it myself. Too cool. Steal it if you want, I don’t mind. Keep in mind bandwidth thieves are everywhere. Hint hint.

Now for our Fit Sewknitters group. This is for anyone who knits and/or sews and wants to stay fit so they fit into the things they’ve knit and/or sewn. Anyone can join who’s consciously trying to stay fit in any way!! All you have to do is keep track on your own blog what you’ve been accomplishing and how you feel. Just leave a comment letting me know that you’d like to join and what activity you’ll be doing and I’ll have a list of fit sewknitters in a page on my sidebar. If you have a better name, which I’m sure will be easy to do, please let me know, I’m open for all suggestions. I’m working on a button.

Another thing I wanted to mention is Socktober from Lolly Knitting Around. Let’s all knit socks this month. Well, knowing me my socks will still be on the needles by Socktober ‘06. Oh well. I’ve joined and I’m knitting my first pair for myself which I started a while ago, but that’s ok.

Thank you all for your well wishes. I’m feeling much better now and, as you can see, I’m sitting at the computer again. After staying in bed with a fever all yesterday, I woke up this morning smiling. Tomorrow I’m sure it will be a thing of the past, thank goodness. Thank you so much, Martin, for taking the kids and letting me get some much needed rest!

You heard me right, I’m sick. I’ve been up all night with a fever and the chills. If I put another sweatshirt on I won’t fit through the door. I’ll be out of commision for a bit, and running is going to be pushed to a later date this week. I think we need a group of people, sewers and knitters, who want to stay fit be it jogging or whatever. At some time I’ll have a page for this with a link on my sideboard where you can sign up with your name and your blog. Gosh we need a button. Gotta figure that one out. I’m going back to bed. Emily!!!!

My thighs are growing proportionally to my knitting, and the more I sew the more fat accumulates around my waist. Granted I’m not idle the whole day, I walk a total of 6 km taking Alexander to and from kindergarten, but somehow my thighs are trying to push their way free out of my pants to ooze over my computer chair. Could it be those m & m’s I’ve been snacking on? Something has to be done. Cara from January one has been jogging and I’ve been watching. Watching her tell us how much she has accomplished. I need to join her. It’s been so long. Maybe we should start a group. Knitters that jog to fit into the things they knit. What do you think?? My running shoes have been in check so long now I believe they are stuck to the floor. This can’t continue. I’m going to start running again. I figure if I don’t publicly announce it, it won’t be done, so here I am. And here I go. I will keep you updated, not that it interests you, it’s just to keep me going. It’s much easier to get up at 5 every morning and sit at this computer, but no, I’m going running. Tomorrow, I promise. No pictures today, I don’t think I need to scare you like that. I feel friends don’t let friends drink and drive share fatso pictures.