Patticakes World

Merry Christmas Sewing

2011-12-09T08:18:00.001-08:00

Cat in the Hat Sewing

2011-07-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

Summer Sewing. Dr. Seuss Fabric and Central Park by Kate Spain/Moda.

Purses and Sewing

2010-04-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

Here is what I have been doing IPHONE CASE-My own design
Sewing
Thinking about Sewing
Shopping for Sewing
Planning what to sew

Cannon's wallet

Front and back of Ashlynn's purse

Purse for Jenn from her Hubbie's Military Shirt

YAY! Family Visit!

2010-02-28T07:21:00.000-08:00

OH My Gosh! We had the best time last week! I love having my family! The pic in the pool are my three daughters and their children, plus one son in law and a little brother thrown in for good measure. Justin is now known as the baby whisperer! He can get Skylar to relax and sleep as quick as anything I''ve ever seen!

My Recipes

2010-01-05T14:25:00.001-08:00

Well, Some People think I should blog about my recipes!

I think I might. My girls like their mom's cooking, don't most kids?
I will work on it soon!

Aprons

2009-11-08T07:31:00.001-08:00

Aprons in Progress!

Blog Candy

2009-11-07T03:56:00.000-08:00

Blog Candy

Late October Events

2009-11-07T02:53:00.001-08:00

Here are a few things going on lately!
Skylar, My friend Marcie and Me getting our flu shots at work, Teagan and Skylar again! OH and homemade rosemary bread, and spanakopita with chicken YUM.
The babies hats were handknit after the birth of each new grandchild this fall. Neither one liked having their pix taken with the hats on. But aren't they beautiful?

The bride is my sweet and beautiful niece, Melanie, newly married in October.

Gorjuss Girls

2009-09-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

These are a few Gorjuss Girls cards I made recently. It's my first attempt at card making. I used Gorjuss Girls stamps, copic markers, and patterned card stock. Of course I used my nestabilities for the ovals and held it all in place with my sewing machine! Fun Stuff!

Layin' Rubber Ink.: MY GORJUSS BLOG CANDY!

2009-08-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

Layin' Rubber Ink.: MY GORJUSS BLOG CANDY!

I haven't posted in forever!

2009-08-16T05:22:00.000-07:00

Well it's been way too long since I have posted. The grandpuppies are getting older and 2 new ones will join us soon! I haven't been knitting, but have switched back to crafty things like scrapbooking, paper pieceing and stamping. I seem to go from one thing to another!
OH and new people have come into my life! The love of my life, John, a new son-in-law for me and a mother in law for my baby girl, Kirstin. I've been sewing, I recently recovered the chairs in my breakfast room and have become an empty nester. Somehow I find myself very busy! Will post more. OH the scrapbook stuff is what I have sent to the moms to be, to start books for their new ones which will arrive in the fall. Just my way of passing on my love of crafts. Kate is sewing and will be selling on etsy darling little baby items.

Chic Knits Bucket Hat

2007-11-27T18:06:00.000-08:00

My first bucket hat. I fell in love with this pattern. The first pix is the "before" felting". It was quick to knit and fun to make. The felting went fast. I have a XS size head and I used a 1 gallon paint can for shaping. It really worked well. The pix of me is crappy and makes me look old (my age probably). I am almost finished with number 2. This one is made from Cascade 220 yarn, persimmon tweed.

I'll take a picture of someone cute and young in it.

Wicked, again

2007-11-20T19:33:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again. Exactly 1 year ago we made the trek to Chicago to see Wicked. It was just as great as I remembered. The weather was a little cold, not as bad as last year.

Didn't take any knitting, but did take a credit card! We went to Dick's Last Resort on Friday and Maggiano's on Saturday before the play. Lots of shopping. This years trip included 4 moms and daughters. All us Mom's are OR nurses. The teens are Kayla and Kirstin. The older girls are Jill and Molly. We got along so well and had so much fun!

OH! A neat bonus was having Erica hang out with us too! She is sooooo sweet!

Steph's gift

2007-09-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

Too bad I don't know how to rotate pix.

The shower is over, the hat was completed around midnight the night before! I don't know how big of a hit it was with Stephanie, but I took the set to work with me Saturday morning and my co-workers loved it! Even Jim the unit-secretary was impressed. He had been teasing me about being a knitting gramma, but when he saw the cute hat and sweater, he said it was "awesome" and he took back his snarky remarks. LOL.

The third picture is of my beautiful grandbabies learning to knit. Just kidding, but isn't it a gorgeous painting, I know I should give credit, but I don't know who the artist is.

On call this weekend, 1 call down and who knows how many to go. We are off to the park in town for an art show/humane society thingy. Eloise is going along. .l.

Sunday as usual

2007-08-19T13:51:00.000-07:00

Well here it is Sunday again! I am on call, but nothing exciting since Friday. The weather is dreary, but I got some homework done, including sealing the grout on my newly remodeled 1/2 bath (guest bathroom) formerly known as the "Recording Studio". I had it totally renovated, new sink, floor, paint, mirror and lighting. It's rockin now! OH I also scraped paint off the garage door trim, FUN! Too bad it's a rainy cold day, can't paint it.
I did get knitting done! The Dream in Color Classy, Tulips baby sweater is done. It is beautiful (I think). Hope Steph likes it. What do you think of my new hair color? DARK. Like my soul. Just kidding. But it sure is dark.
Oh and what is with the dog being dressed most of the time? When I see her shirtless, she looks naked. Of course Kirstin has some sweater patterns/yarn picked out for her.

Tulip Baby Sweater in progress 8-11-07

2007-08-11T07:36:00.001-07:00

Tulip Baby Sweater in progress 8-11-07
Originally uploaded by Patticake's.

Here is an update of the Tulips baby sweater! I had a little bit of a hard time figuring out the attached I cord binding, but once I got it, I got it! Sleeves will be done as soon as I feel like knitting again. I have worked 6 out of the last 7 days! Wow. Need a break! We may go to Birch Run and start school shopping today, but Kirstin declared an eyebrow emergency and needs to get a wax job before she is seen in public!

The Sisters, sweater August 2007 015

2007-08-11T07:33:00.001-07:00

The Sisters, sweater August 2007 015
Originally uploaded by Patticake's.

Hi! This is those cutie little yorkie sisters, Eloise and Lydia!
Kirstin babysat 2 days for Lydia and loved every minute of it!
We have spent time lately watching dog shows on tv, like Cesar and that british lady, like the Nanny

Vacation

2007-08-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

Check out the little gladware bowls for my twin cakes of sock yarn. It holds enough to knit a pair of socks and saves on tangles. I drilled a hole in the top and fed the yarn through! It can't get away from me now.

The pink slide is from the Science Museum in Nashville. It is the "colorectal slide" and it made farting noises as the kids slid out. They loved it. It's part of an exhibit on how the body works, really cute idea.

The pix if me and the kids with Kate is at Beachhaven Winery in Clarksville KY, where we attended Jazz on the lawn. And of course tasted a little wine. Kate loved the raspberry one, so we got that one. To me it tasted like raspberry vinagrette salad dressing, hmmmm. It was crowded, but so fun. Of course there was live jazz band and musicians playing.

I've been working on the Tulips baby sweater and it's almost done, the body is done, just now starting on the border and the sleeves. It's gorgeous and it's going really fast.

2007-07-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

This is what we have been up to lately! The photos of Ash are of her first "haircut" at the Beauty Shop. Kate will wait until she's home in Michigan if she can to get her hair done by "Deann" at "A Cut Above" in Farwell. She's been our hairdresser for about 20 years! She must have been a baby when she started because she looks too young to have been at it for that long! Thanks Deann. The knitting is "Tulips" Dream in color baby sweater and socks for Kate made with Zitron, Life Style sock yarn. Cannon will have a pair too! Check out the bubble king! The kids had a riot making giant bubbles on their last visit home.

Here's what's going on right now

2007-07-01T20:09:00.001-07:00

Gonna just say, keeping busy! The kids suprised us by coming up about 5 days early! The cooler weather has been nice, but just a little breeze was actually helpful for the bubbles. Kirstin's socks are done, will post pix later! Puppy getting bigger but still has lots to learn! I've worked a ton the past few weeks, but will take it easy this week and enjoy the little ones and family!

Our New Little Girl

2007-06-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

This is Eloise! She is now 9 weeks old. She is adorable. One floppy ear, that we hope will stand up, Yorkie Style, but a tiny bundle of energy that has really captured our hearts, especially Kirstin.

She loves to cuddle with Kirstin, and will climb up on Kirstin's back and go to sleep in that little curved in spot. The other little dog is Eloise's sister, Lydia, owned by my friend Pam.

The Sisters

2007-05-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

Well, what do you think? Aren't these the sweetest little girls? My good friend, Pam, and I are adopting these little babies. The pix is at about 7 week old. Yorkie's. My baby girl, Kirstin, has a birthday coming up and isn't this just about the best gift? She has wanted one for a long time! Wish us luck!

Congratulations Melanie!

2007-05-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

My niece, Melanie, graduated from SVSU today and is a Secondary Education School Teacher! We are so proud of her! She has a job already teaching in Saginaw Public School (Summer School). She is a wonderful sweet and intelligent girl and we all love her so much! Just look at her proud Mama! We had a picnic at a lovely park in Saginaw yesterday to celebrate. But it was soooo cold! We all huddled and shivered under whatever warm thing we could find to wrap up in. But is was a beautiful day all in all. The second picture is my Kirstin with her cousin Melanie. Of course Kirstin can't figure out why anyone would want to spend any more time in a school than necessary, especially as a teacher! LOL. Teenagers.

Yarn Swifting

2007-05-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, that sure makes a difference! After searching for an economical swift I found one on ebay! It was only $22.95 or so plus shipping and folds up small, easy to use! I had fun actually winding hte yarn. I need to estimate how to divide the skein better, but the second one went better. The yarn is Lisa Souza. One is Spumoni, aqua, lighter color and the other is Pink Ribbon or something like that. It sure looks different after you wind it into a ball.

Yes it has been way too long since my last post and this one will be short. Haven't actually done a lot of knitting lately. Work has been kind of busy and I actually have gotten called in 5 of the last 4 call days I've been one. Helps with the paycheck and yarn addiction!

Getting ready for the painter to come so have lots of things to remove from the walls and furniture to move.

Kirstin's Socks

2007-04-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

Hi again! 2 posts in 2 days. Cannon and Ashlynn loved Pottery Barn Kids store in Nashville. Lots of furniture just their size and toys to play with. This is what I knit on the plane to and from Nashville. It is Lana Grossa 80% wool and 20% polyamide. No color name on the ball. It is 100 gram/ 420 m. I am using size 2 addi's and actually decided to decrease a little because they started a little wide. So they are now a total of 48 stitches around and Magic Loop toe-ups. Not sure if I am gonna start a pattern, but I probably will, lace or the Pomotamus type leg instead of plain ribbing.

Spring Break 2007

2007-04-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

Spring Break. Here are Kate and I with the kids at the "Cheesecake Factory" restruarant in Nashville. This is such an awesome place to eat. Kirstin is here , but of course refuses to have any pictures taken.(teenagers) We flew in the day before Easter and I knit the whole flight! I had my addi turbo size 2 circular needles and had no trouble for bringing them on and using them on the planes! I started a pair of socks for Kirstin this time! She loves the yarn (mostly pinks). We hung out in and around Nashville Monday and Friday and ate out a lot! The kids are growing and doesn't Ashlynn look sweet in her glasses! She is getting so mature.
We flew home today and did lose one of
Kirstin's suitcases. Funny how we didn't change planes, but they lost some luggage, a lot of people's were lost or left in Detroit. Waiting for NWA right now to call and say they are coming to deliver the pesky thing. Wouldn't you know it? It had all the new stuff we bought, including $60 worth of TEA. Yes Tea. we got suckered in at "Teavana" http://www.teavana.com/ at the Mall at Green Hills in Nashville and before you knew it had 5 little bags (2-4oz) each of blended teas to brew at home. Pays to pay attention to prices on the container, some were $25/oz and up, yipes. Kind of got caught up. Good thing I couldn't find a yarn store, I'd probably maxed out a Visa.

Taa Daah!

2007-04-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

Guess What! They are done! My own sockies! My first adult sized pair. This makes a grand total of 3! I am really psyched! They fit, although the knitting is not perfecto, I don't really mind. If I were to give them away I would be a little embarrassed. But they are for me and I'm not perfect nor do I care if they are not either. They are mine mine mine. I never do things for myself, so there! I imagine I'll just improve with the next pair, we'll see! I am gonna use the Lisa Souza yarn next and hope they are perfect. I may try the Monkey sock again, even follow the pattern like it is written this time. Wow, these took a while.

On Call is an excuse to be lazy

2007-04-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is Sunday again. I use my "on call" weekends, I think, as an excuse to actually rest and take time off from mundane activities, such as CLEANING, COOKING, EXERCISING. Obviously I have not been called in for any emergency surgeries so far.
I am well into my 3rd DVD of the Lord of the Ring Series. I have basically sat on my butt and either read knitting sites or blogs , watched TV and KNIT! I am ready to cast off my own version of the Monkey socks. The quality sucks, but I feel I can give myself a high-five for just finishing them and attempting a pattern, adding to my very small repertoire of socks completed. It has been a fun journey and I am just at the beginning of my knitting adventure for this century.

Sunday Morning

2007-03-25T06:04:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday morning. We made our way to Lansing yesterday, midafternoon. Started our shopping at Threadbare http://www.threadbearfiberarts.com/ and was not disappointed! What a wonderful store. Huge selection and people all over in comfy chairs knitting and chatting. The owners and employees were really helpful. I actually didn't buy any yarn, but did buy 2 cool books that were on sale for only $5.00 each!
I also felted Russ's booties. Aren't they great? One washing and they are perfect and the same! Remarkable! I am currently sickly too. Doesn't stop me from blogging or surfing, thank goodness, can't be too bad, Snotty nose, sore throat and a gross cough with back and chest soreness. I don't get sick often.
Oh and my girl, Kirstin, who can go shopping all day and never eat or pee, decided that if she can get Lobster for dinner we could eat out! LOL. Of course I had to take her up on that and we ate Mitchell's Fish Market at the Eastwood Town Center. It's fun for me to see her eat something besides "Lean Cuisine" Veggie meals. Only $71 for the two of us, ---gasp. But it was worth it. We even split a creme brulee for dessert. She didn't come home empty handed either, 2 tops from Guess and a pair of cropped cuffed denim shorts, t shirt and white capri's from American Eagle. I got some deals at Banana Republic, 2 tanks and a cute cardi, heathery brown. Fun was had by all. I love that my 16 year old had fun on a girls day out!

Booties for Granpa Russ

2007-03-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

I gifted the little felt booties to my manager for her granddaughter, Bella, she loved them! As I proudly showed them off to my coworkers, our head CRNA couldn't help but comment on how cute they were. He is the type of guy who never says cute. He wanted to know why I didn't knit him a pair! "I have a granddaughter too!" So of course, I knit another pair. So far this pair turned out perfectly. Same size same number of stitches. They are in the washer right now, we'll see how they felt up.

I used the darker variagated colorway from Plymouth Yarn's Galway Paint. I also started a pair of ballerina slippers out of the same color for my little Ashlynn.

I finally caught the crud that has been going around and have been dealing with the sore throat and stuffy head, snotty nose and sneezing. YUCK! May take a trip to Lansing today and check out http://www.threadbearfiberarts.com/ this yarn store. I get their emails and they sound FABULOUS! They were so nice and sent me easy directions to their store. Of Course, main shopping is for Kirstin, who has been a doll and needs a new outfit.

March Madness

2007-03-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Paddy's day weekend! I have been on call and actually worked most of yesterday! 3 Surgeries on a Saturday. Helps to pay the yarn bill. I was so excited I got my Lisa Souza Yarn last week. It is my first handspun, handdyed yarn. I opened the ziplock bag it was packaged in and about passed out! It stinks! Kind of a mix between wet dog (sheep)? and manure. Is this normal? I placed a gain/bounty dryer sheet in the plastic bag and closed it up for a while. Still stinks. Especially the lime and violet. I guess that is part of the charm of a natural fiber? Or is it?

Check out the little felted booties. So cute. I didn't realize until after I finished them that I screwed up on the top of one of them and did stockingette for a row or two. I hoped it wouldn't be noticable after I felted them, but they actually seem to be 2 different sizes. OH well. Maybe they will be just my practice pair.
I tried the monkey sock on the leg part of my magic loop toe up socks. I keep screwing that up too, but they are for me and I don't really care. The foot fits great. I'll just keep plugging on them. The group shot is a blend of 2 photos of my brother, sisters and I. We had just left our Uncle's funeral and went out to lunch together. We were actually sitting across the table from each other. Missing is our baby brother who lives in Texas. He was on a cruise with his family at the time.

Kirstin and the little bootie

2007-03-03T13:36:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Saturday. It's snowing again. This is my youngest daughter Kirstin and her half-brother, Ryan. The other picture is the first finished bootie from my felting pattern. My knitting buddy, Wendy, came over last nite and we had a little party. She started a scarf for St. Paddy's day out of some gorgeous Cherry Tree Hill yarn in a green color way, mohair boucle type and I knit this cute little bootie. See previous post for idea of what a finished pair look like. Anyway, she's knitting away with this gorgeous yarn and noticed her hands and brand new clover wood needles (bamboo?) were turning green. So anyone have any suggestions? What to do? She can wash her hands but how do you treat the yarn after knitting so you can actually wear the scarf without getting all green?

Big Winter Storm and Warm Fuzzies

2007-03-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

Don't these little booties look cozy to knit on a day like today! This is Mid-Michigan today in the middle of a snow storm that is now turning into an ice storm! Schools let out at 10:30 am and probably will be closed tomorrow. Breaks my 16 year old's heart!

Just bought this yarn and pattern from Apple Tree Lane in Clare yesterday. Good timing, I think. I'm hooked on socks right now, but these are close enough and will knit up fast on size 10 needles and I GET TO TRY FELTING. I am uploading and saving my knitting patterns to my ipod, thanks to the instructions on Pixie Purls blog. Fun!

2007-02-27T19:00:00.000-08:00

It's been a week since I posted anything. What has happened? Big storm on Sunday. Heavy snow today (not new, just heavy) to try and clear away. Thanks Josh for your help!
Got called in 3 times last weekend. One was a false alarm, surgery cancelled, but still get paid (that's always good). Great dinner out Friday night with John, Deb and Gary . We went to Buck's Run. Wonderful Buffet. Got locked out of Deb's house, had to go to Boomer's and wait for the kids to get home to get back in. Worked yesterday and today, on call tonite. (SFSG) About ready to turn the heel on my first pair of socks for me!Picture of my newest socks Trying to decide how to design cuff, ribbing? cable? Lace? Don't know yet. The colors are actually a little brighter, it's just a small lamp on so it's a little dark. Cute pix of Ashlynn with the hat I knit last month. She said, "Nana, this must be a spring hat, it doesn't cover my ears. Couldn't find Cannon's, lol. . This will make pair # 3 total I have knit. Oh, and thanks Wendy for the chair massage at the Business Expo last Thursday! We all loved it and want to book you for a little party (all the nurses want a full body massage, thanks to your advice). Of course they want to sip a little wine too, but who am I to judge?

Kirstin seems to be feeling a little better, almost done with the antibiotics. I have been checking out lots of other blogs related to knitting and socks especially. Weird how you catch the bug. (sock bug). I am glad I learned Magic Loop with my first pair. It was worth every penny of that $25 for the class. I think it would have been hard if I had tried a pair cuff down first. It's like in nursing school, I learned how to start IV's etc with gloves on so that is easy for me. People from the old school didn't use to wear them so they still complain about the adjust ment. I am also glad I never had to give up smoking. Just never started. I guess I am tired, I am rambling. . . . . . talk to all soon!

Flickr

2007-02-24T11:45:00.001-08:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Family Time

2007-02-20T18:55:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of shots from the mini vacation last weekend. My brother Ron, a great guy, drove a few hundred miles to spend some time with his sisters and nieces, nephew and grandniece and nephew. We all went bowling and just basically chilled out and visited and laughed a lot! Nothing is better than Family, I always say!
Close up of Cannon's socks. Unfortunately, after just getting my Canon Digital Rebel repaired, I didn't check the new lens for AF/MF. It was sadly on MF. The picture quality is disappointing, but I attributed that to my" presbyopia"due to my advanced age. Sucks to constantly take off your glasses and put them on. Sound familiar to anybody out there?
I guess blurry photos are better than none. The group shot is Cannon, Katie, Justin (son-in-law), me, Ron (brother) and Ashlynn. Missing from the photo is Judy and Kirstin. I think people get tired of me trying to pose them for photos but they all seem to be glad I took them later.

A mini vacation

2007-02-20T16:41:00.000-08:00

These pictures show the kiddos wearing their socks knit with love from Nana! My grandson (with his mom, Katie) loved, loved them and wore them for two days in a row. Ashlynn's weren't quite finished so she got to see some of the knitting process and try them on for size just before completion. So on the last day of the trip, I bound them off (after they had mysterious been removed from the needles, requiring much frogging and frustration to get them back on). She let me put them on, they fit like a dream, then promptly announced, "they don't feel good on my feet" and took them off. After some coaxing she posed for some pictures, which unfortunately were quite blurry. They are knit from Regia Silk Color which is really soft, but oh well, she's 5. I don't know if they will get much use from her but maybe Cannon will grow into them. His mom says, he LOVES socks.

Nana Patti

2007-02-11T05:51:00.000-08:00

Good Morning! It's Sunday about 9 am. I thought I would put up a couple more pix. These two Christmas beauties are Ashlynn 5 1/2 and Cannon 3 1/2. My grandchildren. I never expected to become a grandmother in my early 40's but OH WELL! I wouldn't trade them for anything. Althought I am not "Grandma" I am Nana. The little ones don't know who you are talking about if you refer to me as Grandma.

As I said I work in the operating room. I am on call this weekend and it's been quiet so far. I don't mind getting called in during the hours of 7 am to about 7 pm, but after that, I would prefer to be left alone. Those 2 or 3 am calls are no fun!

Friday evening my sweet step daughter came over to knit and "catch up". She's a lovely girl of 23 and just learning to knit. We had a great time talking, watching a movie and knitting. She visits about once a month for a knitting lesson and girl time. It's because of Wendy I picked up my needles again! Bless her!

Home early! Eye day.

2007-02-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

I am home early from work today. When the surgeries are over you get to go home. I'm on call so since it's a cold day I may just knit. I need an opinion on these socks I am working on. I believe somehow I added a stitch and ended up with a hole. Should I fix it? Or rip them out and start from that point. It's only my second pair and I can't believe it took me this long to notice it! They are for my granddaughter, Ashlynn, who would never know if I mended the hole, but then . . . . .

Anyway! About my job. Since we are a small community hospital we aren't all that busy. Don't get me wrong, we do major surgery, abdominal, obstetrical, orthopedic, but today was cataract day! My job today was to supervise a scrub tech student who passed instruments to the opthamologist performing the surgery. Not real exciting, but always interesting!

First pair of socks, Whew

2007-02-06T04:02:00.000-08:00

This is the first pair of completed socks. I knit these for my little Cannon who is a tiny boy of 3 1/2 years old! He is one of the lights of my life. I never knew little boys were so lovable. I had 3 daughters and

thought they were the end all, but this boy! Gorgeous, generous and loving.

Still trying to figure out this blog thing

2007-02-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

Let's try a new color!

I want to post a picture of my girls. They were all together this last Christmas. It doesn't happen real often and one or more is usually resistant to having their photo taken. This is one of the best. I took hundreds of pix at Christmas and this is sad, but it's cute and they all look happy!

The sad part is they never want to pose for me! I think photos are such a treasure.

First Blog

2007-02-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

This is me about 10 months ago. I don't have many photos of myself. I am always behind the camera, so you won't see many of me! I just picked up my knitting needles again. Thanks Wendy for getting me interested in it again! I recently took a class at Apple Tree Lane, Clare, MI http://appletreelane.com/ . It was how to knit 2 socks on 1 circular needle at the same time. I use an addi turbo 40" circular needle size 3 for my first socks. That is one beautiful needle, let me tell you, glides through the yarn like silk. Diane, the owner of the store and the instructor of the class is a nurse also, although I think the store is her full time job. She has a fantstic selection of yarn, needles, books and ideas. Tons of samples and a huge variety of classes are offered. She also has one the the best and largest selections of rubber stamps in Michigan. People come from all over the state to shop at her great little store. My kids used to say (we have gone in there for years) that is smells like grandmas's house when she baked cinnamon rolls. It has a great homey atmosphere and everyone there is so helpful!

I have 2 little people in my life to knit for. I actually prefer to knit for tiny people because I feel like I am accomplishing something quicker. The hats are for them and were my first finished items since I picked up my needles again! The little hats in the pix are the very first things I knit after I finally started to knit again.