My first knitting attempt!

[Larissa]

Well, of a whole project.  I'd knitting nothing before, just practice swatches.

A mouse!



I'm giving it to a friend as part of her baby shower gift next month!  She knows it's a girl, so it's perfect.

I'm doing 3 more in dark blue for the 2 nephews and one honorary nephew. 

I got the pattern from my knitting teacher, but it's from here:  http://cache.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/patternFinder.fcgi?language=&store=%2Fstores%2Flionbrand&search=1&searchText=alien+mouse&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=search

I made some changes, of course.  I used yarn of my own choosing, and didn't do contrast stitching.  I also used embroidery thread instead of yarn for the eyes and nose, and gave it a long mouse tail instead of a pompom.

[dahlish]

Cute!  And that's good about not doing the pom pom if it's a kids' toy.  Everything I've made with pompoms have gotten torn apart by inquiring small fingers.   

[Larissa]

Thanks!  And that's true about pompoms too.  I used to make them when I was a kid, and they're just tied together.  A silly thing to put on.

[Larissa]

And my next thing, after some more of these mice, is those slipper socks you gave me!

[LisaE]

I'm impressed.  I never mastered knitting.  I think I have to find someone left handed to teach me.  It always looks backward when right handed people try to teach me.

[Larissa]

The woman who taught me is all kinds of certified in teaching and asked when we started if I was righty or lefty.  I wonder if she'd be able to; she's in Manhattan.

[dahlish]

hehe I can't wait to see how they turn out! 

I think what made knitting really difficult for me to learn is that my mom could not make the motions slow enough for me to catch on.  Thank goodness for YouTube and pause buttons

[Larissa]

Yeah, videos definitely help.  But it also helped to have someone there, looking closely at MY stitches and giving me feedback and pointers.

Lisa, if you want the teacher's info, the link is in my latest blog post:  http://reefbotanicals.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-new-obsession.html

[dahlish]

hehe yeah, I probably could have gotten more help from Andy's mom but the first time he told her behind my back that I hate getting criticism and then every time after that he'd blurt out in the most awkward situations that I needed help with something.  It was a little 

[Larissa]

So he's the King of Suave, huh?

[dahlish]

Oh yeah.  For instance, Andy's mom has a habit of hanging things up on the wall.  If there's a hook there with nothing on it, she'll find something to put there.  It's been a longstanding joke between Andy & I since Jax was born that it just threw me for a loop.  Well she did it again while I was pregnant and I made a joke and asked Andy to please tell his mom to not do it again.  In the middle of the dinner while I was pregnant with Kara he blurted it out in front of his parents and his grandparents AND me that it drives me insane (his exact words).  Needless to say I fled the dinner table and broke down in tears.

[MakinTheBestOfIt]

Great job, Larissa!  Knitting is so calming and something I love to do especially in the winter!

As far as the picture thing goes, that just struck me as so funny!  When my mom visited me for the first time she went around and rearranged all the cabinets so that they "made sense."  She finally got the hint when as she was moving things I was moving them back.

[Larissa]

Oh man, Gina, did you kick him in the knee for being such a goon as you ran out of the room?  Sheesh!

Thanks, Kim, I'm really having fun with it.  I'm really obsessed.  All day in court, in the back of my mind is, "Damnit, I'm wasting time.  I could be finishing those mice!"

Next up after I do those slipper socks, I think, will be a scarf for Eric.  He's been bugging me since I started this that he wants a scarf, a blanket, and a sweater.  He'll wait for the blanket and sweater, but I think I can swing a scarf.  I found some allegedly easy patterns on the same website from whence this mouse pattern came.

[dahlish]

I think he felt really bad after everyone witnessed pregnant crocodile tears.    Luckily he hasn't said anything embarrassing since, so I guess we can call that a lesson learned 

[LisaE]

Larissa,
Thanks for the info.  I can't take lessons at the moment, but I will keep it in mind.