Peaks and Valleys

We've been down in the dumps lately at home. Yesterday was the exception. Why?

Little Man turned 4 yesterday. It was an excellent reason to celebrate. We went out to dinner. Celebrant's choice was Red Robin because he likes the attention when the servers sing out loud. There were 4 other families celebrating birthdays, too. He even got a special treat when the mascot, Red Robin, made an appearance and came around to our table.

As soon as we got home, we set up the cake and presents in the formal living room. He was excited to blow out the candles and dig into the cake. However, I think he wanted to get that out of the way so he could open his presents.


On a sad note, we had to put down our beloved Copper Bear. He was a month shy of his 10th birthday. He was our "test baby" - if you know what I mean. It broke our hearts to break it to the kids. Copper Bear was their older brother. I will miss him dearly as he was 'my boy'.

Goodbye Copper Bear! You will always be in our hearts!
Copper Bear
11/16/96 - 10/16/06

A birthday and some knitting

Photo taken in August while on vacation.
My how time flies. We had a busy week. Pumpkin Girl turned 8 last Saturday. Instead of a birthday party with friends, she opted for -
1) the traditional meal at Red Robin's (she gets a kick when the staff sings Happy Birthday to her).
2) a trip to Chuck E. Cheese to play
3) shopping at Limited Too (Grandma's gift)
4) and a trip to a small boutique that carries Hello Kitty stuff.

On top of that, she got a set on inline skates (which she uses inside the house) and some other toys she's been asking for. She also decided that she wants to get her ears pierced. This will have to wait until this Saturday though.

Mr. Bear eyeing his share of the celebration.
Since room painting was put on hold this weekend, this meant I had some time to knit on Sunday while doing all the laundry. Little Man sure has an eye for color. Look at the color combination he picked out for his top-down sweater.

Sneak peek of School Spirit Sweater
Happy Friday!

Socks ... just in time

I started this pair of socks two months ago. I purposely made them a lot longer so Little Man can grow into them for the Fall. Yesterday while I was working on the second sock, Little Man tried on the first sock - it fits! My has his feet grown. I hurriedly finished off the second sock so he can wear it now.

Whee ... my 2nd pair!
Finished while watching Batman Begins
Identical socks down to the toe.

Little Man's Socks #2
Pattern: Ann Budd (3x1 rib)
Yarn: Lang Jawoll in #154
Needles: Brittany Birch 5" DPNS in US #3
(03/16/06 - 05/20/06)

This is the first time I've used this sock yarn. It comes with a matching spool of reinforcement yarn for the heels and toes. How cute it that!

P.S. - He wore it to sleep and is still running around the house with the socks on. Success!

I Spy ... Something Pink

Bear Speaks: "I have something cool to show you. Can you guess what it is?"

A tisket, a tasket ...
... an almost Easter basket.
I just need to knit the i-cord handles and we're off to the wash. It's a cute quick project for Project Spectrum. No major modifications to Susan's Nantasket Basket pattern. I just knit more rows to hopefully get a bigger Easter basket for Pumpkin Girl.

This project is so cool. I let my kids pick out 2 colors each. Pumpkin Girl picked out fuschia/pink while Little Man selected blue/lime green. It took me awhile to get my rhythm going with the 2 colors because the yarn kept getting tangled. Once I figured out knitting with 2 colors - pink yarn on right hand and fuschia yarn on left hand, I was flying.

Next up, another one in blue/green for Little Man.

My First Pair of Socks

Wheeeee!
Not bad for my 1st pair ever knitted. I will take action shots later when Pumpkin Girl wakes up. She'll be thrilled that I finally finished these. I tried to make them match up as much as possible. I learned some new techniques - mainly knitting short rows.

Pumpkin Girl's Socks
Pattern: Ann Budd
Yarn: LB Magic Stripes in Bright Spring Pattern
Needles: 5 DPNS in US #4
(February 4 - 17, 2006)

She loves 'em! I can't ask for more.

Another year has ended

Bear: "It has been a great year here at Bear Knits! I have been getting quality time hanging around Mom. I am looking forward to more quality time in 2006.

Thanks for stopping by!"
Ya'll come back now!

Knitting Hiatus over

Boy did the knitting machine really intimidate me. Instead of opening the video to watch it, I picked up my knitting (after a 2 week hiatus) and finished 1 Fingerless Mitten. I'm working on the second one.

Peaceful Palms update

I've been a slacker on this KAL. Hubby requested Fingerless Gloves in a bright cotton yarn. So first, I had to finish Little Man's Placket Pullover Sweater. Then my size 5 DPNS were tied up with Little Man's Mittens so I had to finish those, too. But wait! Pumpkin Girl requested Mittens after seeing Little Man model his mittens. So now, DPNS are being used on Pumpkin Girl's Mittens.

I finally convinced Hubby that cotton is no-good for Fingerless Gloves because it will stretch out. He wants me to knit from the stash. So I found enough leftovers from Little Man's Mittens. Enough procrastination. I finally cast on last night and ended up using Addi #5 circulars. I just finished 3" of cuff.

Bear: "I hope she's not making me wear that tube.
Should I make a run for it?"

Bear: "Whew! I'm in the clear."

Happy Birthday Mr. Bear!!!

Our oldest kid turns 9 today. Happy Birthday Copper Bear!!!


We'll celebrate tonight with some cake and ice cream. He also gets a special treat.

Multi-tasking?

I started yet another project - this time it's for my almost 3 yo son. I've been wanting to do a raglan for him and since I've completed one (Hourglass sweater) I feel confident to do one for him. It's the Child's Placket Pullover which will be a stashbuster for me. I'm using LB Cotton-Ease in Pineapple.


I got a few rows in the Ribby Cardi - almost done with 1 ball (about 3"). I'm still debating whether I'll do the entire cardi in ribbing or make a flat panel front.


Hopefully with 2 projects going, when I get tired of 1 color I can switch to the other project. I'll let you know how this works out.

Finally, a picture of the elusive Bear. My 2 kids refer to him as "older brother".