Random Thing Thursday

Just a few random things this Thursday to report.

1. Halloween was a hit at our house. I have one very satisfied and sugar bombed Turtle to prove it. Bunny & Daddy stayed out for an hour and a half(!) and only came home because the bag (and Daddy's pockets) was too full to shove any more candy into. Of course, Mommy took her usual cut of the candy...

2. The first Endpaper Mitt is almost off the needle. As soon as I have an hour to myself (and by this I mean without any children or Husband around), the tubular castoff will be learned, memorized, and completed and the next mitt will jump its way onto my needles. Wish me luck in finding that elusive hour...

3. I have a number of small things to finish on the baby cardi's I am working on. Steam blocking is required in one case - heh. What I want to know is who actually steam blocks a baby cardigan?!? Silly pattern designers.

4. I am working on a secret pattern design that may be avaliable soon to the general public. Can't discuss it just yet though. Stay tuned...

A Little Love (and sleep) Goes a Long Way

Sanity has been (somewhat) restored to my house. After getting two nights worth of (mostly) adequate sleep, a little understanding from TG, and some love from my friends - your comments were most appreciated and really made my day! - I feel so much better.

Although life still has its ups and downs (Bunny tipped Monkey out of her Bumbo chair onto her face today after school) we can all cope so much better when we are heard and supported. You all are the best!

And, because I did promise knitting content today - here is an in progress pic of a pair of socks which are destined for my sister for Christmas. Too cute and apparently the fit is perfect. She just couldn't wait...

Stash Busting? Oh yeah.

Well, the self imposed yarn diet is working. I have been simultaneously knitting from my stash and fending off yarn cravings. It's been tough, but I am making it. I even went to two yarn stores on Tuesday and didn't buy a single thing!!

I am also making tons of progress on the projects I have been working on. First up, the Chunky Monkey Cardigan from Knitting for Two by Erica Knight. This has turned out to be such an instant gratification knit. Knit in Summer Tweed on US size 6 needles makes for a fast knit. I think that this project may have been knit fast enough that it will actually even fit Monkey once it is done.

As well, I am working on Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts. These are also an instant gratification knit and despite all the fairisle, are working up super quickly. I am not in love with the Italian Tubular Cast On, but once you get past that part, the mitts really speed along. There may be a class avaliable at my LYS in the near future - stay tuned for details.

Otherwise, on the baby front, both Bunny and Monkey are sick with colds again, which makes for some less than happy childrens. Will this ever end?? Or, am I in for a really miserable winter filled with sucky sick children??

Bunny Candy Tuesday

I managed to convince Bunny to try on the dress yesterday and let me take some photos. Actually, she was more than willing to wear the dress - she would wear it to bed if I let her - but the photos, not so much. So, without further ado; here is the dress...

Wild Monkeys (all worn out)

Well, we went to the wedding this weekend and while it was a wonderful affair, I am extremely tired and so is Husband. And the kids? Exhausted. Seriously. They actually slept all the way home which gave Husband and I an hour and a half of relative relaxation.

It was quite the weekend, between trying to pack for four people, making sure the formal clothes, gift and all baby/ child related accessories made it to the hotel for the Big Night. No small feat, let me tell you. And, forgetting anything was not an option as the hotel was an hour and a half away!

So, given the fact that I was responsible for packing everything, making sure that all four people were properly outfitted and on time for every part of the evening, this should explain why I didn't get a single picture taken of anything all night. Nope. Not a one. Jeez. Not a single picture of the happy couple, not a picture of the beautiful venue, and most upsetting, not a single picture of Hubby, myself, or the kids. Sigh. Fortunately, I am almost positive that the good friends that were there with us did take copious photos of the evening, so, hopefully one of them took a photo of the dress I made for Bunny. I will let you know soon.

Otherwise, I completely missed the deadline to get my SAM4 KAL socks in for August. I should have them done in a few days, which I guess will make them September's socks. Oh well. I really wanted a pair of Monkey's for myself since I sent my last pair to my Sockapalooza4 buddy. I did a search on Ravelry and stumbled across the most beautiful pair of Monkey socks, which were knit using April's Rockin' Sock Club yarn. Totally amazing.

I do have a photo of the first finished sock on my Ravelry site, but, I really wanted show the close up of the slip stitch heel, which I find to be the perfect heel for most cuff down socks. This type of heel is much stronger than the average stockinette or short row heel, and in my opinion, produces a very neat pattern because of the slipped stitches. Basically, when you work a heel like this, instead of knitting all the stitches on the knit rows, you slip every second stitch purl wise. And, you purl all stitches on the purl side.

I am calling these socks my Wild Monkey's as the colorway for April was "Walkin on the Wild Tide". Pictures of the finished socks as soon as they are done. Although, Bunny starts Kindergarten on Tuesday (gasp) so, hopefully I can see to knit through my tears... my little girl is soooooo big!

Round and Round We Go

Endless stockinette. Mindless, awful, boring, knitting. My fingers are sore and they long to cast on something more intricate and fun! I am officially sick of the Crumpets dress that I cast on for Bunny to wear to the wedding we are attending at the end of the month. The pattern called for 25" of stockinette stitch knit on 360 stitches using worsted weight yarn. As of this afternoon, I have only 8" left to go. That's 17" of stockinette stitch people!! More than I care for. And yet, I am so anticipating the finished dress, that I am working on this pattern pretty much exclusively so that it will be finished in time. And, since, as I have said before, mindless stockinette stitch makes for boring photos, I will attempt to once again distract you with something more interesting.




Pretty? Oh yes. I am in love with this sweater and think it will make an amazing addition to my wardrobe this winter. You can also see a small preview of the color I will be making it in if you look to the top left of the photo (hint: it's also the same color as the one the model is wearing in the photo). So, now, it's a toss up between this and Emerald - I really can't decide which one to cast on for first. I have the yarn for both and need some help with the decision. So, to that end, leave me a comment and let me know which one to cast on for first...



Oh, and if anyone can help me figure out how to get my month old (today!!!) daughter to take a bottle (or soother for that matter), please leave me a comment and let me know. I have to start teaching classes soon and if she doesn't take a bottle, I don't know what I'll do, but I do know I'll be in trouble!

Edited to add: Hubby managed to get her to take a bottle today without much trouble. Apparently, I need to be out of the house so she can't see or smell me. I think we will just give up on the soother... Beggars can't be choosers. Right?

Knitting Related Injuries

I am making some progress on Bunny's Crumpet Dress. I really loved this pattern to begin with, but the endless, mindless stockinette stitch is truly driving me crazy! And, my initial impressions of Lion Brand Cotton-Ease have been reinforced. The yarn is splitty and terribly hard on the hands. I am not enjoying working with it at all. I actually have knitting related injuries caused by the coarse nature of the cotton plies. It's almost like working with rope. What you can't really tell from these photos is that the skin is actually split open where the arrows are pointing. Hurts like the dickens when I stab myself with a knitting needle there.

I am about half way done the dress which needs to be ready for wear at our good friends wedding on August 31. I am therefore, working through the pain... oh, the things I do for my kids.

What I really want to do is cast on for another pair of socks. Make1 just got in their first ever shipment of Mama E C*eye*ber Fiber Sock yarn and it is amazing. So, of course, I had to get a few skeins. I picked up two of the Merino/Tencel and one of the Merino/Silk yarns. Yummy.

I signed up for Sock a Month 4, so really, I needed some more yarn to make socks with. Afterall, I have committed to knitting a pair of socks each month for the next 6 months... I may not be as ambitious as YouKnowWho, but still, it's a start right??

Bait and Switch...

Well, not much knitting is going on here, as you can well imagine. Although this baby is so much easier than Bunny, she is actually so easy to haul around that Hubby & I have been running errands and visiting people since she was born. So, that makes for a real lack of knitting progress. I am still slogging away at Bunny's dress, however, since it calls for 25" of plain stockinette on 360 stitches of worsted weight yarn, the progress is slow going and makes for lousy photos.

Instead, I am going to try and distract you from the lack of knitting with photos of our recently expanded family.

Doesn't big sister look proud??

And, of course, I haven't been able to resist the siren song of new yarn purchases, even though I am making no progress knitting from the current stash...

Clearly I have no willpower whatsoever...

True Friends...

Are very hard to come by. I am so lucky to have the wonderful group of friends that I have made at my Tuesday night knitting group! Last night (on my "official" due date), I decided that instead of sitting at home in the plus 30 degree heat, I would head down to my LYS and join the SnB that I have been a regular at for the last six months or so.

Let me tell you, these ladies are the best! This is the combined effort of many knitters who have made mitered squares out of their left over sock yarn. Then, Michelle collected, blocked and sewed the squares together and sent it over to Liza who completed the blanket by attaching the amazing flannelet backing. The result? A perfect little heirloom. Lucky me!! Thanks ever so much ladies!! You all are the best.

I have also been working on some of my own projects while I wait for baby to arrive. I am halfway done one of the dresses that I am working on for Bunny. I am designing this dress out of some Sari cotton and Elann Sonata and I think she will love it once it is done.

And, in a fit of start-itis, I also cast on for another dress for her which she can wear to a wedding we are attending at the end of August. The pattern is Crumpets and it was designed by Libby Baker. I absolutely love this pattern and it's my first time knitting with beads. It's simple enough that it doesn't require too much thought, but still interesting enough to hold my attention. I am not enjoying using the Cotton Ease. It seems to be rather sticky to knit with and somewhat splitty, but for the price and wash ability, it can't be beat. Plus, Bunny picked out the color and I have to admit, it does look nice with the beads.

Otherwise, there is still no baby. I do have a dr.'s appointment today, so I may have more news after that. Stay tuned.

Contractions?

Not here. I am still waiting. Now, granted, this baby has 11 days left before I begin jumping up and down to force the baby out, but there doesn't seem to be much happening here. Of course, my OBGYN has ordered me to do some walking, but who wants to walk in this heat?? Good grief. Too hot.

Even the knitting is slowing down. I am working on a new pair of socks out of Art Yarns Ultramerino 4. I love this yarn. I realized the other day that I own enough Ultramerino to make 8 pairs of socks and I have never actually knit anything with it. Silly me. So, when I was at my LYS the other day, I found myself buying 4 more skeins of this yummy yarn. I cast on as soon as I got home and fell in love. The colors are vibrant, the yarn itself is soft and squishy and it knits like a dream.

Otherwise, I also cast on for a new dress for Bunny. It seems as though she was feeling a smidge left out and is now a little happier that she has something coming off of my needles in the next little while. I am also making some progress on the entrelac baby blanket, but since neither of these projects have been worked on enough to make for a good picture, I will hold off on a pic until there is something interesting to photograph.

Oh, and daytime television bites... Ugh. How do people stay home all day and watch this crap??

Not a Finished Object In Sight

...and no pictures today either. Why? Simply because I am sick. Summer colds are the worst aren't they? Add 6 pounds of baby, a house that is hotter than sin, a grumpy almost five year old (who is also sort of sick in the way that kids get) and you get one cranky, unproductive, me.

Remember that I said that the needles would be flying this week? To me, it doesn't feel like I have gotten much done, but when I sat down and thought about it, I must admit, I have more done than I thought I did. I finished my first Monkey sock for my Sockapalooza4 pal and I really am happy with the way that it turned out. I did make some modifications (specifically to the heel), but you will have to wait until they are both done for a photo. I then cast on for the Denim Pants in Last Minute Knitted Gifts. These are a relatively slow knit for a baby item. I blame the endless rows of stockinette stitch. The yarn (Rowan Denim) is also turning my hands blue. I will have to remember to wash these alone with some vinegar so the dye sets. And, this morning, I cast on for the Entrelac Baby Blanket that I have been dreaming of for a few months now. My yarn came in Tuesday night and although I only have a row and a half done, I am in love already.

Otherwise, in baby news, I have dropped considerably and am thinking that this baby will most likely make an early appearance. Bunny was 10 days overdue when I was induced with her, but I have a feeling her brother or sister will not follow in her footsteps. This of course presents a problem logistically as the baby's room is no where near ready. It still needs to be painted and the crib needs to be put together. Also, we have no mobile, no decorations, and no dresser. If the baby was born today, it would have to sleep in a drawer. Husband has promised to paint today, so hopefully by the weekend, it will look a little less like a spare room and more like a nursery.

For now though, I am just waiting and knitting...

Babies Everywhere

Another day and another baby project done. Seems like there are babies coming out of the woodwork these days. So, because we know for sure that there are two baby girls in the family (one of which arrived last week and the other is still baking - due in September), I have spent some time knitting some pink things. Pink things are cute. Baby things are cute. Pink baby things are uber cute.

Pattern: 5 Hour Baby Sweater (Last Minute Knitted Gifts) & Ruffled Hat

Yarn: Mission Falls Worsted in Raspberry

Needles: Size 10.5 US (sweater) & 9 US (hat)

Size: Newborn

Modifications: None

I also stopped off at my not-so-local yarn store on my way home from a meeting in that area of town and picked up some of the things that I can't get at my fave LYS. I got a Phildar pattern book with some itty bitty and not so itty bitty patterns for Bunny and the new bean. The cool thing is that the book has a hooded jacket that I can make in sizes which will fit both kidlets. And, before anyone comments, yes, I realize that this makes me one of those moms. I know and yet, I don't care. Matching stuff is dorky, but cute. I promise not to knit a ton of these. Don't want to mess up the kids forever.

I am planning to make the baby size in Butterfly Super 10 Cotton that I bought today at the not so local LYS and the big girl version in some Sari cotton that I have hanging around from a sweater I sent to the frog pond.

Otherwise, one week of work left before I can start living at my LYS and knitting all day... I can't wait.

Small Progress

I have been working on mainly smaller projects lately because of the intense fatigue that I am finding goes along with creating a human. You would think that would make for fast knits, but sadly, this doesn't seem to be the case. I have made some progress on the Lily Petal Jays that I was working on, but I feel like they possibly won't be done in time to make the SAM3 KAL for May. I am going to try to push through the next few days and get them off the needles asap.





Its taken me this long to admit to myself that I may have taken on a bit more than I can handle as far as knitting projects go; especially given my ever looming due date and the things that also need to be done around the house to prepare for the new babe. I currently have to finish:

• a chevron scarf to finish for the end of July (although this was originally intended for Mother's day)


• another pair of socks (Trekking XXL) for the same time


• Baby projects out the wazoo (no pun intended, heh) which all need to be ready for mid-July


• a pair of socks for my sockapalooza pal for the beginning of August


• finishing on the Monica tank that I knitted for Bunny to go in her "Big sister kit" for when the baby arrives


• a scarf that I have been working on as a store sample for Make1


• and finally... a sock that I am working on for Make1... that has *gulp* somehow disappeared. It just walked off. Luckily, it's in a plastic bag so it won't come undone. I think it's probably in my car as I have been knitting on it during my lunch hours in an attempt to get it done as quickly as possible. Have no fear, I will find it this weekend and plan to have it done for Tuesday knit night.

I must admit that the projects I am finding most enjoyable lately are for baby... go figure. They are quick to knit and are such a change from socks! I have some trouble justifying buying an entire sweater's worth of yarn for me, but somehow buying for the babe is no problem. I am working on the Sirdar pattern that I talked about in a recent blog post and it's flying along. I finished the back in record time and am slowly working on the front cabled piece (this thing has about 8 different types of cables!) but I have forced myself to put it on hold until the socks get done. Must resist baby cuteness...

And, speaking of cuteness...

Sock-lobster

Seems as though I am sticking to my pledge to knit a pair of socks a month has been working. Since I made the new years resolution in January, I have knit 4 pairs of socks and 3 singles. Not too shabby. I also have some WIP's to show you. I started on the STR socks and got hopelessly stalled after the first sock. For some reason, my cables didn't turn out quite right and so these socks were sent to time out for a while. I figured since the new months yarn was shipped last week, I better get to it, so I cast on for the second sock and am as far as the cable section. I have smartened up somewhat and threaded myself a lifeline so that if I mess the cables up again, frogging will be easier. I can just zip down to the lifeline and start over again. At least, that's the theory. Hopefully this time the cables will miraculously work out and I can frog the other sock and re-work the cables in the same manner. Wish me luck. I would really like to have these socks done before the next kit arrives.






Then I got some sock yarn in the mail from HL Miller and started my first pair of Jaywalker's. I know I am late to jump on the Jay bus, but this is such an amazingly easy and quick knit pattern that I know I will use it over and over. It compliments the yarns that I like to buy - namely self striping or verigated- so well and the finished product is fantastic. I even started a pair of baby Jays in the left over "Malamute" Yarn Pirate yarn. I think it's so neat how the different patterns showcase this yarn. I have seen this color knit up in at least 3 different patterns (including the Embossed Leaves socks that I knit with it) and each pattern shows it so well.





I also got some more sock yarn in the mail yesterday that started out being a great deal when I first bought it (10.00 a skein for hand dyed 100% bamboo yarn) turned out to not be such a great deal. I payed about $6.00 shipping for the 3 skeins when I first bought it. Then it was shipped by accident to our old address, and sent back by the new owners (despite my going over there and explaining to them what had happened, leaving my number and asking them to call so I could come pick it up when it arrived - but that's another story, grrr.). So, when it arrived back at the original location, the seller re-sent, but I had to pay another $7.00 for it. And, of course, when it came in, customs wanted another $7.00 for it. So, the grand total for these 3 skeins of yarn came to a whopping total of $50.00 US, which I am aware is not a lot for hand dyed sock yarn, but still $14.00 more than it should have been. However, it is lovely and will be put to good use shortly.





I do have some more amazing sock yarn coming in soon. Husband seems to have relented on his yarn ban, plus, I made over a hundred dollars de-stashing some of the older yarn that I had which I knew would never be used for anything, so I was able to splurge a bit. I did get some of what I believe to be the very last shipment of Sweet Georgia yarn (I hope she enjoys her well earned hiatus), as well as some other yarn that I will be able to show you as soon as it arrives. Hopefully it won't be too long in coming.


Other than that, nothing much is happening here. Yesterday, we took Bunny to a birthday party at a friends house and she played herself out. In fact, she was so tired that she asked to go home at 8pm and went straight to bed. Not like her at all. Turns out, she was getting sick and now we all have sore throats. Everyone is staying home today under soft blankies and much cuddling is happening at this house. I guess the cleaning will have to wait another few days. Oh well. On the baby front, the littlest-little is expected in just over 12 weeks! Time has flown by this time around. Being pregnant the second time around sure is different. I remember with Bunny, I stressed out about everything! I was worried when the baby moved too much or not enough, I watched what I ate, and I made sure that I read as much as I could. This time around, the weeks are flying by, I am still eating many of the things that I shouldn't be (coffee, sushi, and lunch meats - although in moderate ammounts), but I still can't wait to meet this babe... Soon, soon.

Feeling a bit Sentimental

Today I am feeling somewhat nostalgic. Maybe it is the heady combination of pregnancy hormones and copious ammounts of sugar, but I woke up this morning with the strong desire to look at photos and possibly do some serious weeping.

Actually, in truth, I realized with some surprise that I hadn't blogged since April 2 (!) and was desperate for something to blog about. I must confess to not having taken any new photos since my last blog post. Lazy, lazy, me. So, instead of taking new photos (please don't flog me), I went through my old photos and looked at pictures of Bunny from birth to now. Oh, how she has grown. I can't believe that she went from this:

To this:

Can you believe how much she has grown? It seems like just yesterday that I was 300 months pregnant and waiting for her to appear. Now, while waiting for the next babe to arrive, it becomes abundantly clear to me that kids. grow. up. fast. People say this to you when you are pregnant for the first time and you think that you understand this, but really, you don't actually get it until your child starts to grow. I look back on this now and think where did the last 5 years go?? When did she get so big?? Where the heck was I??

I can't wait to see what the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years are like for her. I hope that they are all as wonderful as these first 5 have been.

Ok, for those of you who have made it to this point without throwing up your hands in disgust at the lack of knitting content, I promise to take more pictures of the knitting in progress and have something wonderful and knitting related to post shortly.

Friday...

Ahhh, Friday. I have to go back to work on Monday and I am so not looking forward to that. More and more I am becoming comfortable with the idea of working from home some how. Must work towards making that a reality. I mean, just look at all the knitting I have gotten done over the last two weeks:

I finished Bunny's sweater. She is thrilled.

And, I started these socks yesterday:




This is how far I got in one day! Amazing, no? Please excuse the cat. She wanted to be a part of the process evidently. Actually she just wouldn't move. These are the Embossed Leaves socks from the new Interweave book - Favorite Socks. The stitch pattern is amazing, easy, and fast. I love them. I am using Yarn Pirate yarn in the Malamute colorway. So pretty. I can't wait to see how they will look once they are blocked.

Here is a close up of the stitch pattern:







I also finished these socks for the SAM 3 KAL. They will be a gift for my Mom's b-day this July.







Pattern: Vanilla Toe Up Socks (using the Summer 2006 Knitty pattern). I base all of my toe up socks on this worksheet. Pure genius.
Yarn: Trekking XXL in some random colorway (I lost the ball band)
Needles: Size 1 US

In baby news, I am 24 weeks as of this past Tuesday. Six months already. I can hardly believe it. I have a guilty confession to make though. I am still drinking coffee. Every morning I have my large, regular, Tim Hortons coffee and savor every minute of it. It's funny, I didn't drink coffee until I started working full time two years ago and now I can't imagine having to give up my one cup a day. I send Husband to get it each morning because I can't stand the dirty looks that non-pregnant people give me when I order, gasp, coffee. I did give it up in the first trimester (mainly because of all the vomiting) so really, I think that I did well. Sheesh. I know I am not alone in this - there must be plenty of pregnant women drinking coffee out there? Right. Either way, I am not giving it up. Bad me.

Remember the snow I showed you the other day? Gone. Totally gone. Calgary weather is crazy weird. See?










In one day all the snow melted. I think this calls for BBQ. I have convinced Husband to let me buy a Webber BBQ this summer (I am crazy for BBQ... I cook dinner almost every night this way in the summer). I can't wait. In case you aren't familar, these are the Cadillac of the BBQ and I. Want. One. They are the most even heating, durable, and user friendly BBQ ever.

We are off to Edmonton this weekend to visit friends. See everyone next week!

A Change in the Weather

Snow today. Snow?!? The last two days have been so nice that we have had the patio doors and all the windows open. Today, snow. Calgary weather sucks. Isn't it supposed to be spring?? I am really getting twitchy waiting for the snow to stop, the buds to come out, and the birds to come back. I want to plant my garden. I want to take the cover off my patio set and have dinner outside on our deck, I want to work in the back yarn. I want to have Husband build the new deck he has promised me and I want to put up a hammock and plant some new trees. You see, the previous owners of this house didn't do much with the landscape, so we have so much to do. I can't wait. Right now, the backyard looks like this:



It's very plain. I can't wait to take it from plain to amazing over the next few years. I also love that the back fence is on a retaining wall and so, we are higher than most of our neighbours. Instant privacy. Add a few trees and this place will be a really nice place to raise the kids.

I took last week and this week off of work, which allows for more knitting and finishing of projects. I must have needed this rest. I have cooked for the last two days in a row and feel so much better. Husband is relieved to be fed again. He was getting really sick of fast food.

With my free time, I decided I would start on this:





It's Monica from the spring Knitty. I can't wait until it's done. Its been a great stash buster as I am using the Patons Grace that I bought for another project that I never got around to. We are trying to put together a "love package" for Bunny to open when the new baby comes. So far, I have a ton of clothes that I bought for her at Old Navy, a huge thing of new coloring markers, and now this tank once its done. I really want to add a bunch of things that she will find special so that she doesn't feel left out. As the baby date gets closer, I have begun to worry more and more that she will have trouble adjusting to this baby. She has been an only child for so long now that I hope the transition will not be too hard for her. I worry so much about it that I almost drive myself nuts... and then she does something like this and I feel so much better...