Knitted baby socks

I FINALLY knitted a pair of socks. I have been knitting for over 5 years now and I have tried knitting socks several times. Every time I have had so much trouble and eventually I have given up. I think I was originally trying a toe up pattern. This time I tried this top down pattern: http://blog.fuzzymitten.com/2009/01/baby-mitten-socks.html

It was so easy and I finished both socks in a couple days (I could have done them much faster, but was crazy busy with chairing a Girl Scout event).
The lucky recepient of these adorable little socks will be my brand new niece. I started knitting them the day before she was born (my sister did not want to know the gender before the birth). BOY am I glad she was a little GIRL.
I use the term, LITTLE, quite loosely since she was actually 9 lbs. 6 oz. Good thing I used a very stretchy sock yarn. I used Patons stretch socks in the color "sugar". I can't wait to go visit the little princess and see if they fit.

Knitting a Camel to save my soul

Will learning to knit a camel save your eternal soul? No...no it will not, but don't let that stop you.

I was raised Methodist. I grew up right next door to the church, and my Mother was very involved in the goings on of the daily church activities, especially the youth.  For whatever reason, I was never baptized. (I questioned my Mother about this one day and she says, "You weren't??? oh, no I guess you weren't, that was your sister that was baptized there, wasn't it?  Not sure how this slipped her mind??) Once I grew up and moved out of the house, I stopped going to church. There wasn't really a reason, I was just to lazy to get up and go. Over the years, various things happened and my Mother started attending a new church a few blocks away. She loved her church and invited me to come (more than once!). I ,of course, did not go. I grew up, got married and had beautiful baby girls.  When my daughter was about 5 years old, she was playing with my Mother's nativity scene (she has about 40 sets).  She didn't know who any of the people were......This hit me hard. I loved the good Christian upbringing that I had been given and I knew I wanted to pass that on to my girls.
That was several years ago....
If I should die today, I know where I am going.
A few years ago, I decided it was time. I accepted that I was a sinner and that Jesus Christ died to save me from those sins and I was baptized. (It really is that simple) Not long after that, My husband and my Step-daughter were both baptized on the same day.  This past year, I got to watch as my husband baptized our now 8 year old daughter.
Just this week, my girls helped my mother get out and arrange her gazillion sets of the nativity. I am quite confident that my girls now know, not only who these people are, but why we are celebrating Christmas.
The Christmas after I joined the Church, I decided to knit my Mother a nativity. I managed to finish a Virgin Mary that year. The next year I made a baby Jesus, and last year a Joseph.
Today, I am in the process of knitting a camel.  Knitting a camel won't save my soul. It has already been saved.  But every time I set out to knit a part of my Mother's nativity, it reminds me of  Jesus... of how my family was lost, but now we are found.... of why we celebrate this time of year... of how much stuff I will one day have to clean out of my mother's house.
I may never be finished with the knitted nativity set, just because I love the feeling I get when I design a new piece.
I should have the pattern for this little guy finished this week....or at least before Christmas. I will post it as soon as I am finished.  So maybe someone else out there can knit a nativity and consider what Jesus has done for them.

Knit Girl Scout dish cloth

I have been a Girl Scout Leader for several years now.  I have done internet searches before for crochet and knit patterns for Girl Scouts and I never find much. This of course inspired me to create a dishcloth with the Girl Scout logo. My husband didn't realize what it was upon first glance, but if your brain thinks Girl Scout Green like mine does, then I'm sure you recognized it right away!
So here it is, the first knit patterned to be shared on my blog. (the first of many, I hope!

Knit Girl Scout Dish Cloth

I used size 7 or 4.5mm knitting needles (but I knit really tight)
size isn't really an issue in a dish cloth, Mine turned out to be 7 inches x 7 1/2 inches. If you prefer your to be bigger or smaller than that, then just use a bigger or smaller needle sizes.
 I used Sugar 'N Cream cotton yarn in Mod Green, but any cotton yarn would do just fine

Cast on 35 stitches
row 1: Knit across
row 2: Knit across
row 3: Knit across
row 4: Knit across
row 5: K5, P25, K5
row 6: Knit across
row 7: K5, P25, K5
row 8: K15, P4, K16
row 9: K5, P11, K4, P10, K5
row 10: K13, P7, K15
row 11: K5, P10, K7, P8, K5
row 12: K12, P9, K14
row 13: K5, P9, K9, P7, K5
row 14: K11, P10, K14
row 15: K5, P9, K10, P6, K5
row 16: K11, P13, K11
row 17: K5, P6, K13, P6, K5
row 18: K11, P15, K9
row 19: K5, P4, K15, P6, K5
row 20: K8, P2, K2, P15, K8
row 21: K5, P3, K15, P2, K2, P3, K5
row 22: K8, P3, K4, P13, K7
row 23: K5, P2, K13, P4, K3, P3, K5
row 24: K6, P1, K3, P4, K4, P10, K7
row 25: K5, P2, K10, P4, K4, P3, K1, P1, K5
row 26: K6, P3, K3, P5, K4, P7, K7
row 27: K5, P2, K7, P4, K5, P3, K3, P1, K5
row 28: K6, P4, K5, P3, K4, P6, K7
row 29: K5, P2, K6, P4, K3, P5, K4, P1, K5
row 30: K8, P4, K4, P11, K8
row 31: K5, P3, K11, P4, K4, P3, K5
row 32: K10, P4, K3, P9, K9
row 33: K5, P4, K9, P3, K4, P5, K5
row 34: K11, P4, K5, P4, K11
row 35: K5, P6, K4, P5, K4, P6, K5
row 36: K11, P6, K18
row 37: K5, P13, K6, P6, K5
row 38: K12, P8, K15
row 39: K5, P10, K8, P7, K5
row 40: K13, P7, K15
row 41: K5, P10, K7, P8, K5
row 42: K15, P4, K16
row 43: K5, P11, K4, P10, K5
row 44: knit across
row 45: K5, P25, K5
row 46: knit across
row 47: knit across
row 48: knit across
row 49: knit across
row 50: knit across
cast off
weave in loose ends and you are finished!