Knitterly Pride

I am training my son well. He might just knit someday. Men who knit are cool, not gay, just for the record. I have no problem with gay either, but I am just saying just because a guy knits does not mean he is gay.

Anyway Jacob has decided that all stick shaped things are knitting needles and I think that is just adorable. It started when I was knitting the sweater for Abby (4weeks 4days until my due date for those counting), he wanted to help me...so I set him up with a circular needle and a finished sweater he could poke at. Next came a couple of single needle and a ball of scrap yarn that he could poke at while saying 'knit, knit, knit...' A couple of days ago we aquired a couple of sets of those take out chop sticks and those are his official needles now since they are too dull to do too much damage to himself or the household pets (he still must be sitting if he wants to 'knit') Yesterday on our way from the house to the car he spotted a largish twig on the ground and bent over to pick it up, saying 'knit.' So cute...Here is his current WIP (work in progress). I keep asking him what he is knitting but he wants to keep it a surprise apparently. He answers with something that sounds like 'bubble' but it could be pillow, or football or airplane as those words all sound the same at this point.

In other news here are Da Bears...the first 2 are for sale btw and I am happy to make them custom for anyone interested. Hit me in the comments if you are.

This first guy has an American pride theme:

This little one is a Sweet Pea:Football theme:
Fall/Halloween theme:In other childrearing news...Yesterday was a banner day for Jacob here. First he colored on the walls for the first time. I might actually take a pic before I clean it up just for him to have someday. I didn't catch him in the act so I couldn't effectively scold and redirect, but I did show him we only draw on paper. He's not even 2, I am rather sure I will have more wall washing in my future.
And the crowning moment was as we were finishing dinner I saw him with his finger up his nose...I took a closer look...there was a green pea in his nostril...rather easily I flicked it out with my little finger...only to see another up there...too far to reach well. Sooo I did what the pediatrician reccomended at our last visit (I asked because I was seeing the signs that Jake was heading in this direction)...plug unclogged nostril and blow into his mouth. It was very effective. The offending pea shot right out. but...(there's always a but) there was a THIRD pea in there. I implemented plug and blow again. I got a yummy snotty pea stuck to my cheek for the effort but at least it wasn't still up his nose. The FOURTH one is however still there. Can't reach it, plug and blow doesn't work as it is not blocking enough airflow and bulb syringe is likewise not working. So joy. I called his doc and they said its not really anything to worry about for now. I'll take him in tomorrow to have them pull it out. Mother you may laugh now, but remember that I was not the child of yours that stuck crap in my nose or ears...Karma should wait for Nathan to have kids for this one...(Brian never did it either so there).
Sock pictures another day, I have to go scrub a wall...

New Toys

My Hubby really loves me...
Yesterday we went out and made a bit of an impulse buy but so far I think we are both pretty happy about it...I am sitting here posting from our new Laptop... :)
We also got a second City of Heroes account so we can game together...Yay!
This means we are done with our Christmas shopping for each other too...(yeah I know it's only October and I am a firm hater of all of the Holiday crap that is out before November but we are trying to get all of our Christmas shopping done before the baby shows up).
So, good times!

There has been progress on the socks, and I have decided to rip back the lace I started and use a different pattern. I will however need to get a new set of needles because I almost unbelievably don't have the size I need.

Ok...gonna watch football...Go Hawks!

What I've been up to lately

Sorry Alexis I am not going downstairs to get the damn camera...I'll get to pics on another day...

...I have 5 new bears made up...they are really cute too, don't you just wish you could see them?

And I have made progress on the current socks (well still sock at this point but eventually it will be a pair) and I have been working with my skein of Malabrigo lace yarn but I am not really liking the way the pattern is working out so I may rip it back and start something else. I want to make a shawl and have a neat pattern for one but am told by several other people who have made it that it comes out more like a head shawl than a 'normal' sized shawl. I also have a pattern for a scarf and I just can't decide wich one to use....I guess I'll just sit on it for a while.

On Friday Brian and I went up to Seattle and stayed in a nice hotel, had a fabulous dinner (in a restraunt that doesn't even offer crayons or highchairs) and saw Phantom of the Opera. It was wonderful. It was also the first time since Jacob's birth that I have spent a night away from him so it was a milestone for me. He didn't seem phased by it, and to be honest it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would so I must have been more than ready for it. It was really nice to just be Brian and Rachael again for a while instead of Daddy and Mommy. I enjoyed it and am holding onto that because I am sure it will be a while before we get to do something like that again, especially coming up since the baby is due in 6 weeks and 2 days and then the holidays, etc, etc.

Other than that I have been doing the normal boring stuff like housework, allthough I am excelling at my favorite hobby of late: avoiding laundry. Don't think I can get away with that after today though. Then again, I really should be doing some spinning...or finish the other bears I have in the works...or clean the toilet (really, I would rather do that than laundry...) or..or I guess I could just do the damn laundry and be done with it, until somebody decides they just must be wearing clothes to leave the house...

Just for Alexis

I DID take pics...I just hadn't had time to put them on the 'puter. (I am 7 1/2 mos preggo, running down the stairs to get the camera was not a priority at the time I was posting...read about my hang ups...). Seriously...I am joking with you not whining at ya...here are some pics of the socks, another pair in progress and the bear I just finished...

Happy Happy, Joy Joy

Happy Happy Joy Joy, Happy Happy Joy Joy, Happy Happy Happy Joy Joy Joy!!! The socks are done!!!
Andrew's monster large socks are done (I did some investigating, he does have larger than average feet, so I don't feel so bad about them seeming to take forever). He loves them and since he happened to be here when I finished them he got the choice to have them now and not get anything at Christmas, or wait until Christmas...he wore them home. :) Pics to come later.

Someone Please Buy My House

I am getting to be as big as a house. I have a house on the market for sale. I would like to sell the latter before the former bursts and I have a newborn to drag about with my toddler, husband and all of our worldy possessions. I understand that there are way more houses than buyers right now. But my house is large and reasonably priced for the area it is in. Please, please someone come buy my house. Soon. I only have 8 1/2 weeks until my scheduled due-date. My midwife wants to induce sooner.............sooner is almost always better in terms of getting the baby out (assuming said baby has had ample baking time) but in this case...I dunno. Maybe I can talk my midwife out of inducing too early if we have a reasonable offer that might make it possible for us to move before delivery. Of course there is that whole bit about not having a new place to move into yet, but we won't look until we get at least one offer...Again there is a huge surplus of houses out there right now, we won't have a problem finding anything.

So please, either buy my house or send me someone who will (well wishes are glady accepted too).

Ok I'm done whining now...

Here is a cute pic of my kid:

Hang Ups

We all have our own little quirks and whatnots. I have finally figured out one of my hang ups. For some reason I can't get it out of my head that I can't blog unless I have pictures to post. Now I realize that this is ridiculous but for some reason that has been why I have been putting off posting.

So I am trying to get over it. I'll post pics when I have them and not worry about it in the meantime.

Projects I am working on:

The pukish/black colored socks for Andrew. Trust me the colors are totally him. I will be glad to be done with them because I feel like they are taking forever and I am getting tired of looking at them. He does have some pretty big feet though, so maybe that is why it feels like they are taking so long. Actually, I think I may have a pic of the first one finished...

Just a size refrence in the above photo the foot is 12" from heel to toe. This is not a HUGE foot, but since the only other socks I have made are for newborns and myself it is quite a departure size-wise.Everyone thank the reluctant foot model, my Husband, for posing in socks that make his teeth itch (Don't worry, he isn't the sort to wear handmade socks, or wool at all for that matter, the intended recipient however, is and will love them).

I am also working on a pair of Corsett gloves for Amber for Christmas...pics to come later.

The only other thing I have currently in the works is some handspun yarn...I am proud to say I have finished my first bit of spinning with a drop-spindle. I really really love it. The yarn came out to be about worsted weight, maybe slightly bulkier, is of course a single ply and sort-of a novelty yarn as it goes from thick to thin to thick, etc. (common for beggining spinners). I have hanked, washed and set the twist, now I just need to ball it up for use... Not sure what it will become yet, probably a scarf and/or hat. 120yds was the yield so I am not exactly sure what I can get out of that much yarn...at least a scarf though. I am also working on making some teddy bears...Here is a pic of the first one I made...since then I have gotten some much neater fabric to use: No eyes you say? I want them to be completely infant friendly so no buttons, etc. to be chewed on.

I have recently finished a hat to match the sweater for Abby,
And a pair of newborn sized socks for my neighbor's brand new baby:
Some other things...I am finishing off the roving I used for the blue yarn in a finer thread so I can attempt to teach myself plying and possibly get a pair of socks out of it (we'll see if I have enough...I have tiny feet...it helps).
Also I made a drop-spindle just to see if I could make one that functions and I want a lighter weight spindle for finer yarns:
Ta-Da! It works but the whorl needs to be heavier (stops spinning too soon and rather rapidly reverses direction)...I'll look to see what I can find at the store today that might do the trick, not sure if I'll be able to find what I am looking for as I had a hard enough time as it was finding the one I did (a toy car wheel purchased at a large chain craft store). The construction was easy...drill tiny hole in dowel end, insert tea-cup hook, slide dowel through wheel (the dowel and wheel are a perfect tight fit so there is none of that whorl sliding down business and no glue, etc. involved). Total cost was about $0.80.

In other construction news...I decided that instead of spending $17.00 on a niddy-noddy (for hanking yarn) I would make one:
That's nothin' but pvc pipe folks...5 lengths, two 't-joints' and 4 end-caps. Total cost: about $5.00. The beauty of having one of pvc is that I can set the twist without having to move the yarn off of the niddy noddy. My Darling can not escape the Engineer inside and has already brainstormed a way to put it on a stand so it will spin around as I wrap the yarn (similar to a swift).

Oh and I got some goodies too!

At the fair I got some of this beautiful roving. It is very pretty I think. I am eager to see how it spins up. I don't know enough yet about fiber to tell you anything more than it is wool and I think alpaca.
The other goody I got is some of this beautiful roving that is silk and something I can't remember. I got it at my LYS.That's about it for right now.

Back in action

Just went and spent a week with my parents on Orcas Island in the San Juans and had a great time. Jake got to discover a lot of things he has never seen before, like going for a canoe ride with Granddad and eating blackberries off the vine, dragonflies, ants, blueberries, a riding lawnmower and lots more.
I'll post pictures later today or tomorrow, but I must, I must do laundry now...

The sweater is finished!

After much searching Brian found some really nice grey buttons that compliment the two pinks to complete the sweater for Abby. I like the way it turned out. Now I just need to put it in a safe place that doesn't involve me forgetting where that safe place is once I want to put it on her a year from now.

While finishing the sweater I had a little too much 'help' from Jake...So I gave him a set of (dull, don't worry) circulars and the other sweater I had finished so he could 'knit too.' Maybe I have a future knitter...
And also...what is on the needles now...I am trying the 2-socks-at-once method on circular 'magic loop' needles...we'll see how it goes...this is the current mess I am wading through:

I am a firm believer in just following the directions/pattern and it will all eventually make sense (barring any errors in the pattern of course). I have cast these on 3 times and I think the third time really is the charm...

Toddler Olympics

In the spirit of the Olympic games going on right now I bring you a brief list of events in which my son and I have competed in the last few days:

The 100m Diaper Dash - in which toddler tells mom 'poop' while pointing at diaper (style points awarded for creativity) and then runs away as soon as a fresh diaper is in view. Again, style points for creativity such as running under the kitchen table or making it to the stairs.

Fingernail Fencing - in which mom tries to cut the long, scratchy fingernails of a squirming 19 month old. (rules clarification - if you must use distraction technique like cartoons, points are deducted from overall score).

Hammer Throw - how many toys can we get taken away in a single day for hitting with/throwning them? The bigger the tantrum, the better your score.

Dancing with Mom Decathalon - Dance with your mommy. Hold her hand. Show her how to stop your foot and swing your hips. Spin all around, make her pick you up for a slow song. Better scores are generally awarded to those who can get Daddy involved too.

Yogurt Wrestling - Freestyle - Eat your yogurt. Ask for more. Eat half of it - spread the other half about yourself and your surroudings in the most creative messy way possible. Extra points awarded if mom has to lift you straight into the bathtub from high chair.

Toy Box Relay - Help mom pick up toys and get them into the toybox. Better scores awarded to teams in which the toddler is the one to do the most bending over.

Thwart the Clean Floor Exercises - As mom tries to sweep the floor, take your broom or the dust pan broom and systematically sweep moms pile around the room - winner is the one that makes mom give up and wait until nap time to finish sweeping.

Highchair High Jump - See if you can escape from apparatus while mom is getting the rag to wipe you down. Higher difficulty points if you are a)properly strapped in and b)if you can do it without hurting yourself or any household pets.

And now some photo highlights of these games:

Here is our athlete giving his best pout/tantrum face during the Hammer Throw:

Here we are enjoying Yogurt Wrestling Freestyle - this athlete was awarded 'straight to the tub' points:

Dancing with mom Decathalon - both of our athletes are looking pretty tired, but never the less have put on a stunning performance in front of Dad.

Last but not least after our Little Olympian went to bed I made progress on the sweater. I would have finished but it was just to damn hot to knit last night (crazy I know, but even the smallest amount of wool in my lap made my brain itch).

Domesticity

Yesterday was pretty much 'do all the housework day.' Nothing exciting unless you find dishes and the vacuum exciting (I don't want to know if you do).

I finished the body and neckband of the sweater. Just arms and button bands to go...I may finish tonight or tomorrow. Then I can get back to the socks. Or maybe something different alltogether, like another scrapbook page or finishing that quilt that I started (which one you ask? ha! I'll never tell - we all know I have at least a dozen unfinished projects hiding in my sewing room.

Anyway, here is the sweater:

Starting to look like a sweater

See I told ya. It's for the little person growing in here:
Looks a little big for her at this point...It probably won't even fit her for another year but it's still looking pretty cute don'tcha think? Brian picked the colors...I think he did an awesome job too. So hopefully I will have the body finished, a neck and perhaps an arm by the end of the day (assuming there are no more attempts on the lives of the fish that is).

Little Progress

Ever have one of those days where it feels like you have been busy all day but gotten absolutally nothing done? That was yesterday for me...

I managed to get some laundry done (thrilling, no?) and dishes (woo hoo) but that's about it. I made a few more rows on the sweater but that's about it.

My biggest challenge yesterday was not killing the cat...I was up here reading the Yarn Harlot when I heard a lovely sound...I ran down the stairs (ran...ha ha that's funny...I am 7 months pregnant...running is relative) to discover the cat had tried to get the lid off the Betta bowl and since I had taped the darn thing down she couldn't...so she knocked it onto the floor cracking the stupid thing...

I managed to swipe up the floppy little fish and get them into some water before they suffocated...as I am dealing with keeping the fish alive I hear water trickling...I discover the water from there bowl has run along the floor (my floors are no where near level) down into the air return duct for the furnace. Joy. Needless to say I spent the afternoon mopping up fish-water and shopping for a new (heavier) bowl for the poor boys.

Got home, made dinner, yada yada...

Here is the little progress I made on the sweater (at least I made it to the sleeve divide).

Knitting fever

Well I have been doing several things over the last few days. Mostly knitting and cleaning the house. By cleaning the house I mean the crap that no one ever wants to do like wiping the cabinet faces and washing windows...stuff you never really notice until you do it how much of a difference it makes in how clean things look.

Anyways the fun stuff...the knitting...here is what I have been doing:

Started a pair of socks for a friend...Then stopped when the Olympic torch was lit so I could begin my projects for the Ravelympics...
Then started to finish this:

Yay the sweater is done! Then I cast this on:

Yup, yet another sweater...but this one is for my daughter so I have a little more motivation...then again these sweaters do come together pretty quickly...anyway I'll keep the progress coming...back to knitting...

Nothing new really

I have been keeping up with the housework (if you know me, then you know this is no small feat). Oh and I was going to show off the yarn I dyed with kool-aid...
It was a ton of fun to do and came out better than I expected and it smells kinda fruity too.

Oh yea I made bread yesterday (I have decided that Monday's are for laundry and Tuesday's are for baking - we'll see how long I can keep it up). Today is Wednesday and I was planning on scrubbing the tub today...I think I'll find something to knit instead...cuz cleaning sounds really sorta lame right now.
Oh and here is a fairly recent (not quite a month ago) pic of me as I begin to enter the 'house' size stage of pregnancy (ok so I am at cottage right now...but soon I fear I will be much larger).

Some stuff I've been doing

Mostly just cleaning the house because we are trying to sell it...

However since 'my room' (sewing/crafting space) is now clean I have been more motivated to do things. I also have been knitting like a mad woman cuz I think I love it and I think I am ready to try to draft a pattern (we'll see how well that goes).

So...here are a few pics of what I have been up to:

These are the socks I made for our daughter to be. Brian asked me to make them for him so he could have something for his wall at work. He even picked out the yarn.

Here we have the sweater I made for Jake. I loved making it and he seems to love wearing it. Yay!

These are the socks that I made for my Aunt Patty for Christmas. I improvised a pattern I found in a magazine. I hope she likes wearing them.

These are the socks I made for me. I love them so much. I think they are by far the prettiest socks I have ever owned and certainly the most comfortable (made just for my foot, go figure).

This is a sweater I was actually paid to make (cool huh?). It's just like Jake's only with a hood and I learned how to get the button holes even n this one too. Look at that model, ain't he cute?

I have a few more things in the works but I am out of time for posting as said model is awake and hungry (and probably needs a clean diaper from the smell of things).

Not Dead

Wow! I knew it had been a while since I posted but I hadn't realized it had been more than a year!

I have decided it would be fun to try to do the blog thing again and so here I am. I am pretty sure I am typing to myself at this point and that really is just fine with me.

I really hope to post more about the crafts and things that I am playing with and keep updated with the cute things Jake does (not that anyone save myself and DH really care about all of the little things but you know, there might be a grandparent or two out there that I might point in this direction - hmmm...I guess I'll have to keep it clean then...)

Sooo...since it's been a while here's a couple of fairly recent pics:

Well, that's it for now since little man is up from his nap...

Yes we are still alive

...Not that one could tell by reading my blog....but Jacob and I have settled into a routine and now I can get some computer time in so hopefully I won't be such a stranger to the internet anymore. We'll see if this holds once he starts to be mobile...

Life has been good - We all went on a camping trip in June and that was fun except Jake's first tooth started to come in while we were there so we had a few tough times. Other than that things have been pretty much the same day to day. Jake has started eating 'solid' foods and really really loves it!

Anyway here are a few pictures: