muthaknitter

Just Motorin'

2009-12-15T22:38:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the blog silence. That usually happens when a lot is going on all at once.

I cut the warp off Big Beka tonight, and I think the project(s) turned out pretty good. Not too short this time, and funky. Hmm. Very funky.

Anyway, I'm debating whether to attempt one more project this week before heading off to Indiana next weekend. I think I'm getting a little too ambitious...but we'll see.

We spent the start of Hanukkah last weekend with the cousins in NYC, but (BAD BLOGGER) I forgot the camera. The kids had an awesome time, we had an amazing Hanukkah party, and best of all: I got to see the Bauhaus show at MOMA.

WOW.

The whole show is phenomenal in its comprehensiveness. I truly felt I was living alongside all these teachers and students and developing along with them. Everything in there was gorgeous, but when I turned the corner and saw the first large woven wall hanging, I started crying.

If you are anywhere near NYC, do not miss this show.

And I even got to bring home a souvenir.

Endurance...We've Got It

2009-12-09T09:31:00.004-05:00

The secret Hanukkah and Christmas weaving is going slowly, but to pass the time, the Cap'n sat with me last night and read from the book we're going through together, Endurance by Alfred Lansing.

If you have any chance to read this book or listen to it, DO IT. It is an amazing book, detailed in its descriptions and beautifully written. The Cap'n and I were wondering last night why it has not been made into a movie yet, but I guess they did do a TV version. (Usually I like Kenneth Branaugh, so it might be good...)

The book fits in with my thinking after the trauma of the accident this summer: Things could always be worse. Right now, when little anxieties or worries start itching me, I think back to slogging through all the crap that we went through, how horrible everything was, and I get some perspective back.

I've not been good with perspective in my life. Going through the Academy, the rough years at college, overwhelmed postpartum, I got so easily swamped with worry and sucked into dark places where I couldn't see any light.

I wonder if your anxiety reaches such a high level, like it did for me this summer, you burn out the brain receptors that make it easy for worry to kick in? Or if there is a one-way mirror in my brain to a room where all the scenes from the hospital and this summer reside, so that if I start getting anxious, I can peek through there and realize: It's not that bad.

I hope so. I hope this perspective endures.

Meanwhile, chilruns:

Nothing Like a Feeling...

2009-12-06T09:35:00.002-05:00

A couple of feelings actually:

...Relaxation with happy parents and kids laughing on a sunny Sunday morning. Kids SHARING and playing together with their blocks and trains. Dad with his apron on and cooking duck a'la'orange. Mom still sitting at the breakfast table, relaxing.

...Recuperation with two wonderful, much-needed, extra hours of sleep. Upon being woken up at 7 this morning, the Cap'n went downstairs with the boys and I drifted right off to sleep again.

...Production as I got a 5.5 yard warp on the Beka upstairs last night. It's a secret holiday knitting project, but I was so pleased that it went on so quickly and I was able to get 10 inches woven last night while the Cap'n went to a retirement party for a colleague.

...Inspiration at the open house Bonnie Inouye held in her Hyattsville home. Her work on a 24-shaft compu-dobby AVL loom is light years beyond the weaving I'm doing (to the point where my friends and I could barely speak the same weaving language) but it's fascinating to see all the different directions that weaving can go. I came home last night and listened to her interview again on Weavezine, which is a good substitute if you can't make her open house today.

Now, off the computer and back to the good feelings in the real world!

Fiber Party

2009-12-05T08:00:00.003-05:00

Well, there was jewelry, pottery, painting, drawing, silk painting, and other arts on display too, but I was there for the fiber. (Check out that yarn tree behind me...)

The Art League's 2009 ArtFest was a blast! An awesome band, a little bit o' the drinky, tons of people and yarn. What more do you need?

My rigid heddle weaving instructor asked me to demonstrate, and our classroom was packed with a knitter, spinner, frame loom weaver, rug maker, and floor loom weaver. Other than the potter working in the next classroom over, I think we had the most dynamic room for hands-on demonstration.

Of course I made much less progress than I thought I would, but that's what happens with the lips are flapping but the fingers are not flying...Still, it should turn into a couple of cute scarves for the boys for Hanukkah.

Bread!

2009-12-03T18:13:00.003-05:00

Wackadoodle! Two posts in one day...but look! I made bread!!

It's the all-purpose light wheat bread from Kneadlessly Simple, a cookbook our award-winning food writer friend got us. She must have known that if I got over my initial fear of making bread I would be hooked. And I am.

It turned out pretty good. Still a little chewy on the inside, and crusty on the outside. My metal pan burned the bottom just a little, but it's good anyway.

I can't wait to embark on the next bread-making adventure...

ArtFest 2009

2009-12-03T09:30:00.002-05:00

My rigid heddle teacher at the Art League asked if I would like to bring by some of my pieces to exhibit and join her at the loom demonstration during the annual ArtFest 2009.

ArtFest will bring out teachers and students from all the studios at the Art League, and I am just as excited to see the jewelry and pottery on display too. Well, almost as excited...

But I am thrilled about getting to show off what I've been working on (no pictures for now, since they may be holiday presents) and to hopefully spread the gospel of weaving. (What can I say? My semi-evangelical upbringing had to come out somehow.)

A glimpse of the goods:

Coldwater Loom Room

2009-12-01T10:59:00.006-05:00

I just realized that I have not introduced any one outside of the family to my studio yet. This is Big Beka where she now resides, in the very uninsulated Coldwater Loom Room off of our bedroom. It's nothing fancy, but I sure have been enjoying it.

The boys like to play underfoot too, which sometimes makes for tight quarters. But I can't wait for the day when they also start some craft projects.

Beka actually doesn't make the 32" rigid heddle anymore (I bought it used when Springwater Fiber went out of business), but I'm hoping they will still be able to make me a second set of the three heddles I have so I can start learning how to doubleweave and work with finer yarns.

The above photo was actually taken a month or so ago with the first project on that I started after class began. It is the scarf hanging to the left in the photo below, made with Louet Opal in Navy as warp and Plymouth Happy Feet as weft.

I am so pleased with how that scarf turned out, and it debuted to many oohs and aahs of my classmates at the Art League rigid heddle class. My teacher was very enthusiastic about my selvedges.

Hanging next to it is the sampler I made in class to learn various techniques of tapestry as well as practicing with my selvedges. It's my little funky wall hanging that I am going to call "The Day Began Like Any Other, And Then..."

The third piece from the left is the tartan plaid that we made in class as our individual project. It's in Harrisville Shetland in navy, woodsmoke and gold.

The fourth is the Cap'n's new scarf, with a pickup stick pattern yarn in Peace Fleece and the base plain weave in ... eeek! I have forgotten. I have to go find my notes.

Right now on the loom are Christmas and Hanukkah presents, so I'm not going to share those. Plus, I'm not sure how they are going to turn out. Might be a disaster, which would probably make for a better story anyway! (You can take the reporter out of the newsroom, but you can't take the newsroom out of the reporter.)

I am resisting this little pretty in the corner though:

This little copper pipe tapestry loom may be my traveling fiber project as we plan visits to NYC for Hanukkah and Indiana for Christmas. Just have to decide what sort of project to plan...I found Nancy Harvey's Tapestry Weaving book at the used shop, so I think I'll work from there.

Here's looking forward to a productive winter!

November Color

2009-11-28T20:30:00.010-05:00

I've become as much a weaving blog junkie as I was a knitting blog junkie.

So when Sue at Life Looms Large put out a call for November color, I opened my eyes to the world around me.

When the boys and I went for a walk at the National Arboretum for Thanksgiving, this is what the Cap'n and I saw.

(He was just as inspired as I was, and wants to put some of the color into his pottery. Half of these photos are his.)

I hope everyone out there is having as inspiring and creative fall as I am. I am looking forward to a productive winter.

I am thankful that the Cap'n and I made it through what has been our worst year yet together, and we and the boys are happy, healthy and all in one piece. Hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

P.S. Check this link out on their website: The Science of Color in Autumn Leaves. Includes an amazing Fall Foliage gallery.

Multi-Talented

2009-11-21T21:02:00.005-05:00

Uses for a tatting hook:

1. Tatting (duh)
2. Sley hook for 10-dent rigid heddle
3. Retrieval device for wheel of plastic Lightning McQueen toy stuck up a 2-year-old's nose

I do like when the tools of the trade can be used for other purposes. Particularly at 7pm on a Saturday night when the last thing you feel like doing is going to the ER to pull out a plastic toy part.

Speaking of the devil (on our walk around the Tidal Basin last weekend):

And his brother in a contemplative mood:

This morning was my last rigid heddle weaving class at the Art League. For some reason I thought we had another three weeks at least, so I am more than a little bummed. Especially because I don't think I'm going to be able to afford another one for a little while.

Oh well. As the Cap'n said, it's not like I have to stop weaving. I just have to weave more for my own purposes and keep practicing. I have a whole lifetime of weaving ahead of me. And I enjoy it so much.

Did I say the Cap'n? I meant Osama been Yarnin':

(Fun with Noro Furisode. He wants a hat out of it. This was a warmth test. heehee.)

Back in Action

2009-11-17T18:13:00.004-05:00

This was the very first picture taken when my new camera came out of the box last month! Thank you, Mom and Mikey!!

Of course, it came with strings, and not the knitting or weaving kind. More like the kind demanding little boy pictures. So to satisfy the onlookers:

Goofballs on Parade.

I keep thinking of blog posts in my head and then not sitting down to the computer with them. Lately, it's been my craftsman's statement that I'm drafting, pictures of the three (yes, 3!) scarves I've finished weaving, and my very FIRST sweater for MEEEEEEE!!!

But I'll get to all that.

Meanwhile, the boys are ready to eat, and dinner calls!

No Pictures Again

2009-10-14T08:55:00.004-04:00

Even I'm getting bored of reading my blog without pictures.

But I am very excited about what I've been working on. My beginning class in rigid heddle weaving is going great, and I'm working through the list of techniques. Most are tapestry based, which has me googling all sorts of tapestry blogs and resources online. There are some fantastic works out there.

That led to my next search on color. I've never had an art class after the art requirement freshman year at Seymour High. I would really like to understand the color sphere and learn more about Johannes Itten's work. I can't remember how I tripped across his name, but reading about him led me to the Bauhaus School website. I am all about the Manifesto now:

There is no essential difference between the artist and the craftsman. The artist is an exalted craftsman. By the grace of Heaven and in rare moments of inspiration which transcend the will, art may unconsciously blossom from the labour of his hand, but a base in handicrafts is essential to every artist. It is there that the original source of creativity lies.

So that is where I am right now. I want to write this down so I remember everything that I want to study. I know there is a lifetime of work ahead, but it excites me.

This weekend we are headed to our friends' farm and I am taking the little loom with me. I hope to play with some more color ideas and use up all the yarn that I have before I take the makeup class next week. Then I'm a little lost as to where I want to go: I would love to try working on a tapestry of some ideas I have to document our neighborhood, but I also want to try making a rug and another scarf. But maybe I should hold off on those until I finish off the couple of earlier scarves I made.

Oy. I know I'm getting excited when I can't even take the time to make a new paragraph.

The only thing nagging at me right now is I am not making progress on the other priorities on my 2009-10 list. I want to keep a balance, and I have to remember those other areas as well.

Here's to a productive fall!

New Day, New Book

2009-10-07T23:07:00.002-04:00

New Moon.

I should have just bought all three of the Twilight sequels. I knew I was going to finish this one today.

Really, I'm enjoying myself. Like a couple of years ago when I read all 7 Harry Potter books in two weeks. They are fun, entertaining, quick reads.

Might as well read now, since I won't be next year...

When I Was 15...

2009-10-07T08:02:00.003-04:00

I would have been crushing so hard on Edward Cullen.

So yesterday I read Twilight finally. The Yarn Harlot wrote recently about knitters (and readers) who avoids popular patterns (or books) just because they are popular. I fall into this category sometimes, just out of sheer hard-headedness.

But yesterday I was car-less, and I had a little time between work and picking up the boys, so I got the book at Union Station and finished it before midnight last night.

I have to say, it was a good teen book. When I was 15, I would have been so into it. As an adult, I find it a little purple-y...if she had told me one more time what an "Adonis" little vampire boy was, I would have screamed.

And yet...

I woke up this morning figuring out where I can pick up New Moon.

I am a geek.

(I thought I was going to make more progress on my sweater yesterday, but Metro was giving me fits. And though the sleeve is small, the finished body attached to it is not...)

The Start of Art Saturdays

2009-10-03T15:01:00.002-04:00

Whoo!! After mostly recovering from the crud that started on my birthday (it still isn't completely gone), I went to my first rigid heddle weaving class today at the Springwater studio of the Art League in Alexandria.

The Cap'n and I have a Saturday schedule we're trying to work out: I take weaving in the morning, and then he heads off to the Eastern Market pottery studio for the afternoon open session. He's taking a Thursday class there.

The class is going to be good for me. It's not as product focused as process-oriented. I think I'm going to be jealous of what everyone else is "getting done" but I'm going to be focused on learning the techniques. Getting the tension right, warping on well, learning how to do tapestry and kilim...I can't wait!

And since this is mostly a survey course to begin, I'm going to use one of the studio's small Ashford looms instead of my big Beka. I took the Beka today, but at 36" wide it's not terribly portable. So if I really get the itch to make a project, I can always warp it separately.

But I really think I should focus on learning the techniques and taking it slowly. I want to get really good at weaving, and figure out what I'm doing, so I need to step back from the go-go-go get'erdone mentality and learn.

Wow. I am so excited to be in school again!

It Might Take 4 Years...

2009-09-30T08:49:00.003-04:00

But I finally got it!

You see, after I first started knitting in November 2005, a slightly crazed new mother in a very crazy new city, the Cap'n bought my first knitting book for Hanukkah: Scarf Style.

Immediately, I fell in love with the Vintage Velvet cable scarf. I knew I had to make it. And fate seemed like it wanted me to, when on a visit not long after that to NYC, I found the Muench Touch Me Yarn at the Brooklyn General Store near the Cap'n's sister.

But the yarn sat, and it waited as the stash grew and grew. Every rearrangement, I would take it out and look at it, touch the soft chenille and remind myself of how wonderful it would be to have that scarf. And yet, I knitted other things. Lots of things, for other people.

Finally, this January, on our trip to Maine, I shoved the five balls in my travel bag and decided to have a go of it. And I am so glad I did. The pattern was a breeze, the cabling was fun and the yarn was delicious. Even the felting was smooth and easy.

And now, I am the Scarf Style cover girl I was born to be!

It's just breezy enough today to warrant a scarf, and I am so proud I made it myself. Even if it took 4 years to come true...

Let's hope the sweater on the needles doesn't take that long. Ahem.

A New Start

2009-09-27T13:53:00.002-04:00

I got emotional today saying goodbye to the Cap'n as he headed off to his first day back at work after the accident.

This has been a really long, hard road. Almost 5 months of times I wasn't sure I knew how to get through, when they were happening.

The accident definitely changed me. It rubbed off some of the blurriness about what's important and what I want to do and have in my life. In some ways, I feel strangely mellow, as if the high anxiety of the past few months has made my usual anxiety seem like that not that big a deal.

We were off on vacation last week in NC, and at the time I started feeling sad. Getting the first bit of literal distance from DC and the accident gave me a better perspective on all I could have lost. I'll probably start talking to a therapist about it.

In some ways, I know I haven't dealt with all of the accident fallout yet, but in other ways I feel better about myself and my relationship with the Cap'n, knowing we can handle something that big.

I know I just want to keep moving forward. I've made a list of things I want to work on and accomplish this year, and that's what I am going to focus on. Sometimes there is no way through but through.

On that note: I signed up for a weaving class, but unfortunately had to miss the first one this weekend with an awful cold. First time I've ever lost my voice! But I should be back in the saddle to start next weekend...I can't wait.

And oh, all the other projects I have to show you....

He Can Rock a Turban

2009-09-08T22:40:00.003-04:00

You know the Cap'n has style when he can even rock a turban.

Oy, with the crooked weaving...this one is supposed to be a scarf, but it has a complete C-curve in it.

Le Sigh.

We're Animaniacs!

2009-09-05T21:35:00.002-04:00

Finally introduced the family to The Animaniacs.

Even the Cap'n agreed it's pure genius.

There's lots planned to do around the house today, but hopefully will blog more tonight about my frowny-face weaving. :(

KOOL(haas) HAT!

2009-09-04T13:59:00.006-04:00

(I will continue to inflict these painfully moody, brooding, overly self-conscious webcam shots ala MySpace on the blogging world until I can get a new digital camera. Sorry.)

I have been on a finishing spree, trying to repair some of my poor feng shui, which has taken a turn for the worse in the last four years, what with kids and a new (dilapidated) house taking their toll.

So in the spirit of controlling what I can, I've decided to finish up long-standing knitting projects. Thus my newly beloved: a Koolhaas hat in ArtYarns Regal Silk (I think: I lost the ballband, and I could have swore this had some merino in it). Purchased ages ago at the Brooklyn General Store.

I knit the men's size, because my giant head has had trouble in the past fitting regular-size hat patterns. Turns out I think a woman's would have fit, because this is a tad long. C'est la vie, I say, because at least now I have a hat that will fit me no matter what.

This is the softest, most adorable thing I've knit for myself, and I fully intend to do more. I am my own harshest critic, and I am going to try softening me up with beautiful handknits.

Which reminds me: I have to show you my new scarf.

Scrumptious.

Pretty Much There Already

2009-08-27T11:08:00.001-04:00

From here:

Caregiver burnout is something you may not notice, but people you know may notice changes in you and express their concern. Here are some signs of caregiver burnout:

Being on the verge of tears or crying a lot
Feeling helpless or hopeless
Overreacting to minor nuisances
Feeling constantly exhausted
Losing interest in work
Decrease in productivity of work
Withdrawing from social contacts
Increasing use of alcohol or stimulants
Nervous habits such as chain smoking
Change in eating patterns
Change in sleeping patterns
Increasing use of medications for sleeplessness, anxiety, depression
Inability to relax
Scattered thinking
Feeling increasingly resentful
Being short-tempered with care recipient frequently
Increasing thoughts of death

Things I am Learning #93850183

2009-08-27T10:42:00.001-04:00

I need too much validation for my work. And my primary jobs right now (motherhood and the part-time gig) offer none.

Particularly motherhood is a thankless job. But there's plenty of guilt and fear that I'm going to screw it up.

Just like everything else.

Can we just say that I'm having a bad morning?

Not sure how to turn around this horrible year I'm having...

AAAUUGGH! The Digital...

2009-08-26T16:52:00.002-04:00

Slim's camera is kaput.

So there is no photographic proof of me finishing up two very cool projects.

The first is a knitting/felting project that I started probably 2 years ago (eek!). I found a beautifully dyed New Zealand wool at KnittinSis's yarn store in Bloomington, IN. Something about the blue, green and yellow called to me.

So I cast on that same weekend on a borrowed KnitPicks Options (you can have that 60" length back now, KnittinSis!) and it languished ever since. Do you know how big bags have to be pre-felted if you want more than a iPod cozy??

BIG.

But since the advent of the tendinitis, I've discovered that pure knitting with no purling isn't as taxing on my hand. And since I recently had to dump out the whole stash and rearrange it, I vowed a new-found commitment to finishing up old projects. And slowly but surely this last month I've worked on it.

(Insert imaginary picture of pretty felted bag here.) (Alas, the camera...)

I still need to sew on the handle and figure out how to sew a liner, in addition to coming up with two pretty buttons for clasps, but it's actually come out better than I thought it would.

The second project is a surprise for the non-KnittinSis. It's a weaving, and I hesitate to say more before she gets it in the mail. Which is sort of a problem, given that I haven't mailed it yet.

But for the record: A second weaving project has made its way off the loom.

(Insert imaginary weaving picture here.)

Sigh....

First Days

2009-08-24T09:58:00.002-04:00

Today I would have started law school, but it's been deferred.

I'm a little sad, but realistic that I wouldn't have been ready.

Ah well.

Next year.

Hey Y'all! Watch This!!

2009-08-20T19:55:00.006-04:00

So I started to write a post last night, but was interrupted by:

Slim: "Ewwww!! Mom, Mom! L pooped in the bathtub!!"

Ahem.

Anyway, as I was about to say:

International Weaving Woman of Mystery

Sorry for the crappy webcam quality (the digital camera seems to have given up the ghost), but LOOK -----> We Have A Weaving!!

I am more than pleased to announce the start of a new hobby. Can't say the same for The Cap'n, but he's been incredibly supportive of it.

It's been a long, interesting year. Last year around this time, I had just helped close down a fiber arts workshop that unfortunately couldn't be saved. I wish that I would have had about $50,000 of my own to turn it around. But I did what I could, and before I helped sweep up the last dust bunnies and box up the last yarn, I was encouraged to buy a donated Beka 32" rigid heddle loom.

They were really good fiber pushers around there.

I was a little shell-shocked after the store closed though, and felt very guilty that I couldn't do more to save it. So the Beka sat in a box under the bed for the last year. Around the time that I was working at the store, I also tried biking again and the tendenitis in my left thumb started acting up too.

So other than a couple of knitted hats over the last year, I was off fiber. I got a little stopped up with out my daily dose. (So to speak...)

But I missed it. Terribly. I just didn't know it.

Then on May 6, the Cap'n was involved in a bad motorcycle accident on his way to work. A woman pulling out from a stop sign didn't see him, and hit him. He shattered his right wrist and elbow, and broke 4 vertebrae in his back.

Talk about a game changer. He's doing better now, but it's been a long, hot, miserable summer. I had to return to fiber just to hang on to the last drips of my sanity that were seeping out of my ears.

So about a month ago, my KnittinSis came to visit, and I got her to help me dust off the loom and figure out what screws I needed to put the floor stand together.

It's a monster. 32" is not a shy and retiring size. Luckily the Cap'n doesn't mind it taking up one big corner of the dining room. I haven't named it yet, but maybe one will come to me.

For a first project, I decided to wind up some Louet Opal superwash yarn that I had purchased from Springwater in its first, healthier incarnation. It seemed karmically correct. I had navy blue and spring green, and I wanted to make a table runner.

Bear in mind, I saw people work on the rigid heddles at the store, and I saw warping being done, but I was way too busy to learn any of it. But I guess some of it came through osmosis, and a lot came through the innerwebs. I found this and this to be helpful.

Turns out I should have used a 10-dent heddle instead of an 8-dent, and superwash actually doesn't full (or felt) that much in the wash. And even selvedges? HA! I say.

Whatevs.

Any disappointments I may have had with my first weaving project were washed away as soon as Slim saw it and said, "Mommy, is that for me? Can I have it?"

So instead of a fuzzy crooked table runner (just what we need on our frequently crumb-y table), we have a warm, soft scarf for a very special little boy who is starting Pre-K next Monday.

Yay!

Typing One-Handed

2009-04-13T21:31:00.002-04:00

Is a biyotch.

My hand still hurts, but such is life.

I started reading "Letters to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke today. It's really good, but I'm wondering if it is something that would have made more of an impact in my impressionable high school/college years.

Or maybe I can still be a Young Poet at heart?

One of the pieces of news is that I got into law school. But the question remains whether I should go. A lawyer friend asked me today if I was really sure. He said it's an anxiety-producing field.

Really. Like I need more anxiety.

Anyway, it feels good to write, even if all that is coming out is blurt.

And if you can keep a secret: I am typing with my left hand.

Bad Ginny.

Tell you what, let me just throw up a kid pic to cut this thing short.

To Create

2009-04-12T17:11:00.003-04:00

What does it mean to write, when anyone with access to a keyboard or a PDA can pound out every thought that passes through their brain?

What does it mean to photograph, if a good digital camera with a 100 different style settings opens artistic opportunities up to 3-year-olds?

Who paints when an elephant's work fetches thousands of dollars at auction?

Who knits when socks are 6 for $5 at the discount store?

Why do we create, when everyone can be a creator?

I've been away from the blog for awhile. It was hard, lots to talk about but no way to get it out. Then it was something I thought about but couldn't put any effort into.

Now, I've been sidelined from knitting with a bum tendon in my left hand, and I need to find some other kind of outlet. I've been reading more books lately, and the itch to write just finally needed to be scratched.

There's all kinds of news, and the guilt that I have the Lion hasn't been documented as much as Slim is going to lay pretty heavy on me for the rest of my life. Sorry, kid, in advance of your years of therapy.

But I'll just start with this, and we'll see where it goes from here.

Trying Again

2008-05-17T08:40:00.002-04:00

I've been working on a post in my head for a while now. There's a lot going on, and in times like this, I usually resort to bullet point lists. But for ONE TIME ONLY (ha!), I'm going to resort to long, drawn-out narrative...

Ready?

I got a part-time job.

(Simple enough.)

I started crocheting.

(Umm, okay.)

The Lion is walking, about a month and a half before Slim did.

(Good news.)

I bought yarn in Akron.

(First in a while?)

And we got a bike trailer to take the kiddos behind us biking.

(Are you kidding me?? You don't bike!)

Yeah, so that's the good news.

(What narrative are we working from here? Random points drawn from your head on a rushed Saturday morning?)

Exactly.

Life: The Original Ninja Duck

2008-05-07T21:01:00.007-04:00

(Sung to the theme of "Spiderman")

Ninja Duck,
Ninja Duck,
He's a little, tiny Ninja Duck.

WATCH OUT!
Here comes the Ninja Duck.

Maybe if I knew how the Ninja Duck had infiltrated my bathroom, the rest of my life would make sense.

Maybe.

But I doubt it.

This blog went a little dark right around the time my old computer died. A lot has happened since then. Sad things and happy things. I'll try to catch you up on all of it, and I'll try to move on.

RIP Mia, my sweetest, the best dog ever

If I gave you the Girl Scout promise that I would try to blog more frequently, I would probably be lying, and then I wouldn't be a very good Girl Scout, would I?

(Insert obligatory child photo here)

Things I Don't Want to Forget

2008-02-18T20:40:00.002-05:00

1. The Lion's first word was "Uh-oh." Said as he dropped Cheerios on the floor and looked over at me to get my reaction.

2. The Lion crawled up the stairs for the first time last week. I caught him halfway up before I got out of the bathroom.

3. The Lion got a big fat lip and bled everywhere from falling off a folded-up futon on the floor. Only about 6 inches, but when you land face first with your one top tooth digging into your lip...well, at least he recovered quickly.

4. Slim's potty training is going spectacularly...awful. Most days there is at least one "discussion" involving me screaming, "Sit on the potty!" and him saying, "No sit on potty NOW!"

5. Slim always says the words, "NOW!" and "NEVER!" very emphatically, but not usually together. He does say them A LOT.

6. The Lion wants me to hold him almost exclusively right now, and never fails to lose it when passed to anyone else. He regains composure so quickly when I take him back that he looks like a different child.

7. If it is possible, Mia has become even more tolerant of the kids. She will even hold still for hugs, and lets them crawl up and hold her feet.

8. The Lion crawls WAY faster than Slim ever did, and he crawls "correctly" as opposed to Slim sticking one foot down and the other knee down in his half walk/crawl. The Lion can really move when he wants to. He looks like a little tank.

9. Both of them love chicken nuggets and yogurt. The Lion wants whatever Slim is eating.

10. The Lion wants everything that Slim has, usually when he has it. The noise level in the house has amped up -- didn't think that was possible -- as they sit in their room together and shout at each other over the GeoTrax trains.

11. On the good side, they also play together now. Usually Slim has the train and is pushing it, and The Lion has some of Slim's cars and is sticking them on the tracks too. It works -- for about 10 minutes, and then it's back to the screaming.

12. I've tried to minimize my screaming, and have taken some time-outs for bad language. Thus Slim is down to only one goddamnit a day. This is an accomplishment, and I'm proud that modeling good behavior works.

13. The Lion sometimes bangs his head on the floor or into his brother when he gets frustrated. I'm trying not to let that worry me. He shows no other signs of autistic behavior, but of course, I am a hypochondriac on behalf of my kids.

14. Speaking of non-autistic behavior, The Lion points a lot. Yesterday with the Cap'n, the Cap'n asked Slim where the moon was, and both boys pointed at it.

15. Slim knows the smallest planet (Pluto, shh, don't tell him about the whole "not a real planet" thing), the red planet (Mars), the biggest planet (Jupiter) and his favorite, the one with rings (Saturn). I might add that we make a trip to the Air and Space Museum probably once a week.

16. My children watch too much TV, though, and for that I feel like a horrible mother.

17. There are lots of things that make me feel like a horrible mother. Including my recent job search, and my recurrent fantasies of commuting (gee, I have an exciting life).

18. I asked Slim if he would miss me if I was gone, and he said he would. And that makes me the worst mother of all.

I'm probably not going to be blogging for a little while. I'm not really knitting, or doing much else. I'm hoping to get my groove back, and when I do, I'll be back around.

Thanks...

W.O.W.

2008-02-12T14:14:00.001-05:00

This YouTube video is amazing.

ETA: Those are individual knitted panels, if you were wondering.

Drive-by Blogging

2008-02-12T08:05:00.000-05:00

This has been a really rough week. Just a lot of cumulative stress.

But I'm trying to work my way out of it.

Here are a few photos to amuse you, until I get more pictures downloaded and can update you on the whole potty-training, job-searching, almost-walking, mitten-knitting hoo-ha.

Same Ol', Same Ol'

2008-02-06T07:53:00.000-05:00

So I applied for a job at a yarn store. But I didn't get it.

That was the knitty k-news.

Back to the ol' grindstone.

A Preview Post

2008-01-29T07:49:00.000-05:00

So I finally found the camera card reader (again. And, yes, I would lose my head if it wasn't attached.), and I am going to try to blog up some more pictures.

In the meantime, I have to ask, if anyone knows some cool mitten patterns, I would appreciate the link. The Cap'n has challenged me to shod (? hand?) the boys some mittens, and I'm thinking it would be a quick project for the car ride to NC this weekend.

I'm turning the heel of the first Noro sock, and still cranking on Slim's sweater. Why didn't anyone tell me 2x2 ribbing was so boring??

Tomorrow is Today

2008-01-24T13:57:00.001-05:00

Does this look like the face of a kid who is going to be putting in his school applications next week?

'Cause it is.

We just had a hectic but stimulating morning checking out three more open houses for 3-year-old programs to start in the fall. We've been to 5 schools so far and have 3 more to see.

Getting into the "right" school is a loaded phrase. On the one hand, you don't want to put so much pressure on a 3-year-old or feel like his entire future (and his brother's, based on sibling preference) is determined (good elementary, good middle school, right college, etc.) by this one decision.

On the other hand, with the state of DC public schools, there is just no way to leave his education in the hands of "authorities" or have a laissez faire attitude. It just won't work here.

But pressure isn't the right word for it, either. Slim has such an attitude about life, and about school, that he isn't feeling the pressure. If I knew for certain that because of his personality, he wasn't ready for it at 3-years-old, we wouldn't even be considering it.

But today, when the 4-year-old class passed through the hallway where we were sitting, Slim just got up and followed them into their classroom to take part. On every tour in every school, he's had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, away from the classrooms.

I'd say he's ready.

Am I ready to let my little baby go?

Crazy Knitty Knews

2008-01-21T22:12:00.000-05:00

Wild doin's are afoot...

But I am currently mooching off someone else's wireless signal in the neighborhood since our internet is down. For the second time in about a month, ahem, Comcast. So I better keep it fast.

Firstly -- I love me some Noro Kureyon sock yarn. I think it's one of those things people will absolutely hate (a little bit scratchy, strangely spun) or will absolutely love (ooh, purdy colors...). I'm simple (in the head), and I love the color changes. I'm doing a plain toe-up stockinette foot, with maybe a little ribbing in the leg. It's colorway s164, and I found it at Brooklyn General when we were up visiting the Cap'n's family.

Secondlike -- I am holding up one of my Knitty KNew Years resolutions to meet more yarny people and make friends. Last week we had our inaugural Yarn MoTHs meetings on the Hill, and I think we're going to make it a regular weekly thing. It was kid-friendly, and even if I didn't get more than one stitch done (true!), it was great!

Okay, the rest will have to wait until later, since the wireless is fading fast.

Sick Puppies

2008-01-17T21:30:00.000-05:00

Two nights ago, Slim called out for me early in the evening after I thought I had him and the Lion down. Just as I was standing outside of his door, he stopped.

"Good," I thought.

So when the Cap'n walked into check on the boys before we went to sleep (a nightly ritual), imagine our surprise at finding Slim and his bed completely covered in puke.

Fun times.

Then yesterday and today, the Lion blew out four diapers, each time needing a bath.

Now the Cap'n and I are feeling the 24-hour bug.

Ugh. More when less is happening.

The Uncounted Sweaters

2008-01-15T17:57:00.000-05:00

Technically, my baby sweater count is a little off.

There is Baby Sweater Version 0.0, which was the Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting. This partially accounts for my utter distaste for seaming. (Awww...check out the Baby Lion adorableness...)

Then there is Baby Sweater -- the Girly Version. This is actually the first time I used EZ's easy yoke sweater formula. I figured the smallest version would give me good practice for turning this into an adult-sized sweater.

The yarn is Artyarns Supermerino in colorway 112. I originally picked up these three skeins at Stitch DC to make a pair of socks for my mom. But they never got made and the longer the yarn sat in my stash, the pinker it looked. I am not actually a huge fan of pink, so it just dropped farther into the stash.

HOWEVER: I love this yarn! It turned out to have all these beautiful purples, burgundies and golds in it, and nothing pooled at all. It didn't turn out to be as girly as I thought it would. It knit up very fast and beautifully.

I ended up modifying the pattern to make a slight v-neck, but since I wasn't thinking I only did it flat in stockinette, which rolled. So I picked up some stitches and made a sideways ribbing. It's a little funky (translation: it's not just the shadows in the above picture), but I think it worked.

I cast on for it the day after finding out a couple of our good friends from Raleigh who we had lost touch with had moved to DC and had a baby. So of course baby Clover had to have a knitted goodie for winter! I knit into this sweater all of my hopes for knitting back together our friendship and re-establishing our ties. And I finished it in less than a week. Truly a satisfying knit.

Random Kid Pic:

Anyway, it's time to start the bath and bed routine, so I had better sign off.

Hey, great trend, huh? Three posts in three days. Yay me!

Knitting? Are You Kidding?

2008-01-14T14:37:00.000-05:00

I know. You have to go have a laydown now that I have actually posted about actual knitting.

Go on. I'll wait.

(hmmm...gotta find my US8 dpns. The kid is growing and the sweater isn't...)

Okay, ready?

So, it has appeared on the blog, but improperly noted: Baby Sweater Uno.

It is Stripz, a Minnowknits pattern started way back before the Great Blogging Hiatus of Summer '07. I bought the Manos Cotton Stria from Springwater Fiber back in December '05, just after I learned how to knit.

It was going to be a sweater for Slim, but it marinated in the stash for so long, I was worried I wouldn't have enough yarn for the 2-year-old size. (I probably would have. Especially since I didn't end up making the hat.)

(ETA: The above awesome hat was made by KnittinSis after a Mosaic Knitting class she took. Slim has a companion hat that also needs a blog post. They are truly adorable. Perhaps she should get a B.L.O.G. so she herself can share her knit projects??? hint.hint.)

I made some modifications to the sweater pattern, including knitting the sleeves in the round. I didn't quite make it long enough, but it's okay. I found some cute as a button (ha!ha!) train buttons, and I'm pleased with how this turned out, except for one, small, important detail:

It's handwash.

AAAAUUUGGGHH. I think there is still some smushed banana in the sleeve that the SOAK hasn't removed.

When I bought the pattern, newbie that I was, I didn't know anything about substituting, and I went blindly with the recommended yarn. Handwash yarn for a toddler sweater is a little nutty if you ask me.

HOWEVER, apparently not nutty enough for me to avoid repeating in Baby Sweater Dos:

Pardon the crappy flash photo, but I am both proud and embarrassed by Baby Sweater Dos, made out of (handwash, drat!) Patons Classic Wool in green and army camo.

The pros:
1. I made it from Elizabeth Zimmermann's "Knitting Without Tears" recipe for a basic raglan sweater. I felt like a capital "K" Knitter working the details out by myself based on her very sensible recipe of gauge and percentages.
2. Despite the yarn being handwash-only, the stitch definition is great and it is not pilling as much as I thought it would. Plus, what beats a sweater made out of $10 worth of yarn?
3. When I first read about EZ's raglan sweater, the idea for this two-color pullover popped into my head and would not leave. When the going got rough (see the cons), I did not give up the vision and I made it work. Whoo-hoo, Determination!
4. The kid wears it. But not the one pictured above.

The cons:
1. That two-color raglan pullover idea I had? Yeah, in the round? Let's dissect that a bit: Does the wiseass in the back know what exactly happens to the sleeve yarn when you get done knitting a row of the sleeve in the round? Let's just put it this way, it doesn't work. And yes, it took me actually knitting it to figure that out. So I cursed a little (or a lot), and worked it out. I split the front and back and knit them flat, finished the arms separately and then seamed them together. And it worked!!
2. I didn't decrease down as much as I wish I would have, so it's more of a boatneck than a crewneck. But since my kids have big heads, it's all good.
3. Apparently, I either cannot (did not?!) measure or the kid is growing faster than I can knit. Since Baby Sweater Uno was made for the Lion, this one was supposed to fit Slim. Actually, I blame his father. He's got the Cap'n's freakishly long arms.

But that's the benefit of having two:

Baby Sweater Tres is on the needles. It's out a 50% yak, 50% merino yarn I picked up at the 2006 Stitches East convention from Schoolhouse Products. I'm trying another in the round, in a 2x2 rib.

Oy. And I Mean That.

2008-01-13T21:08:00.000-05:00

I am going to just throw up some kid pictures on this here blog so that at least a post gets created this first month of the year.

There's plenty o' knittin' too, but who knows when I'll get time to blog it. Maybe I can make it my goal to get on here at least once a week. I am not one of those hardy Blog 365 souls, and frankly, I think they're a bunch of loons.

Takes all kinds, I suppose.

Anywho, childrens:

Trying to find a picture of Slim that is not blurry is a challenge. And this one just so perfectly captures the Lion in mid-roar, I couldn't not share it.

And yes, we gave up clothes for the New Year. We just throw the children in the laundry when they get dirty. Any questions?

Want to know something funny that has happened to both the Cap'n and I? I accidentally dressed the Lion in one of Slim's onesie shirts (24mos-sized) and found that it fits the Lion perfectly around, but is too long in the arms. The Cap'n has put one of the Lion's onesies (12mos-sized) and found that it fits Slim around, but is too short in the arms and crotch.

THEY ARE THE SAME SIZE AROUND.

Unbelievable.

But what is even more exciting is that they are now sleeping in the SAME BEDROOM, and that makes for a much easier night for momma. Our neighbor gave us a toddler bed that Slim now uses, and the Lion has moved into the crib and out of the co-sleeper. Yay!

The Lion really wants to walk around by himself and crawls throughout the house. However, his very favorite place to be is next to his big brother, playing with his Hot Wheels. Who knew a $.97 toy could be so valuable? But the way that they scream at each other over one, apparently they are!

So anyway, I just realized I do have pictures of some handknits, so if the Blogging Muse is still singing tomorrow, I'll post those. I need to make a list of the FOs that the blog has not yet seen.

Merrily we go along.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T20:48:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone out there has a wonderful holiday season.

After a bright Hanukkah, and a sweet Christmas, I wanted to give thanks for everything I have. In the new year, I hope to get back to blogging regularly and share all the knitting, kid and cool stuff that I can.

Merry Christmas.

I Can't See the Stars

2007-12-12T20:45:00.000-05:00

So my dad calls me the other day just as I am trying to pick up the boys' room and corral them screaming into the bath. He says if I go outside just right now, there's this comet putting on a beautiful show that you can see with your naked eye.

I tell him thanks and will do because I don't have the heart to say that from my front stoop on a relatively clear night, I can't see any stars. Just streetlights and claustrophobic rowhouses.

I have to admit, I didn't even make the effort to go look. And that makes me feel particularly awful, considering I can remember being as young as 6 and my dad waking me up in the middle of the night because we could see Saturn's rings clearly in the telescope.

I need a break.

I know I get like this sometimes when the days get shorter and colder. It's just compounded this year that there are two small, noisy, wiggly beings to wrestle into cold-weather gear and it takes a half-hour to get out the door on a good day.

So my apologies for not blogging. There has been knitting occurring. Maybe I can pull it together enough to show you from vacation. I'm contemplating taking my computer.

I just need a break.

(HA! Now I don't feel as bad: Check this out.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-21T18:48:00.000-05:00

I'm blogging from the front room of our friends' house in Raleigh. We're celebrating Turkey Day with our other "family" here in NC.

As my astute readers will notice, I did not post any of the blog ramblings that I promised the other day. I am still battling this cold, and it's only slowly going away. But this week, I promise...more pictures and more posts.

Besides I have to tell you about my awesome husband's plans for the stash room...I love the Cap'n.

There are lots of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving: Good kids, good friends, good family and one great Cap'n. (Oh, and yarn.) ((But maybe not sweater patterns. Grr.)

More later...

Kvetch First, Knit Later

2007-11-14T21:38:00.000-05:00

Let's just get the kvetching out of the way, shall we?

1. I am in a Pretty Miserable Situation. PMS, get it?

2. Both kids have spent the last week sick with a fever and sniffly noses. But, you know, on alternating days. Cuz that's how they roll.

3. Another person who also lives in our house is sick and waiting for the Big Ole Boat O' Sympathy to dock at his harbor. But it's not gonna. It crashed into the Iceberg O' Apathy and sank to the bottom of Couldn't Care Less Bay. Because....

4. I am sick. Wah.

5. And today the boys are feeling a bit better. So much so that they decided to take alternating naps and keep me up ALL. DAY. LONG.

6. Did I mention I only got about 4 hours of sleep last night?

Okay, kvetch over. Let's see why these children make it through to see each new day.

Grampy and Grammy pimped our park ride. Swwwwweeeet.

So I like finished a baby sweater? In like a week? And it's like totally awesome? But like, I have no pictures? Because it's like, way too dark? And apparently I've like, been possessed by a Valley Girl?

Yeah.

Tell ya what I'll do. Because I'm in a listing mood, I'll tell you what posts you can expect in the week coming up, and you can tune in if something interests you. Or just to place bets on whether I actually blog when I say I'm going to. (I would not take that one if I were you.)

Here:

1. The Harlot's Hat, or Happy Belated Birthday to Me
2. In Which I'm Liable to Kvetch More About Being Sick (gotta save room for this one)
3. Super Secret Knitting, or Why Knit for Warm People?
4. Baby Sweater Uno
5. Baby Sweater Dos
6. Travel Knitting That Answers the Question of Whether I Cast On Madly for Two Fingering Weight Hats Tomorrow to Finish in a Week
7. Happy Thanksgiving!

See you at the races...

Oh, Burger Cheese!

2007-11-11T15:25:00.000-05:00

I really, really am trying to reduce the amount of curse words that I throw around. But can I get an "amen" that it is very difficult to do at 5:30am when you went to bed at 1am and have been woken up at least 2-3 times for nursing duty?

The problem is that EVERYTHING Slim hears, he repeats.

After an "oh, f*#@" out of him today while I was changing his diaper, I apologized to him and told him that Mommy shouldn't say that and neither should he. I made some suggestions like "oh, cheeseburger" and "oh, dinosaurs" to say instead when he (and I) are frustrated.

So while we were downstairs feeding the Little Lion, and he could see that it was difficult for me, he said, "Mommy, oh burger cheese!"

Amen.

Cute Photo Post

2007-11-10T22:44:00.000-05:00

Just call me Ms. Obvious re: headline. I can't think of anything else to say, except that it's been a while since little boy pictures have been posted and we've had a proper update on the fam.

Back in the summer, while it was still hot, we had a great visit with Auntie. She really saved our butts again with helping us unpack and with free babysitting. The boys enjoyed having her here.

The Little Lion has started eating solid food, and this is a photo of his first day with rice cereal. This week, his first tooth (bottom right) popped out. It's strange how the time has passed more quickly with Number 2 vs. Number 1.

Slim is talking like crazy and loves to paint. I think he's going to be a performance artist, as he feels like finger paints are more body paints. He's getting to be a real character.

This is Slim's very first self-portrait with his camera. My mini auteur.

I've been knitting, and I have more posts to share with you now that the photos are downloaded. But it's late, and the noisy dishwasher is getting on my nerves, so I've got to get upstairs.

Saved by the SD Card Drive

2007-11-05T14:20:00.001-05:00

Yay, Grampy!

We have boy pictures...

Trick or Treat

2007-10-31T23:36:00.000-04:00

In my first year with a real house with real trick or treaters, I have learned one very important thing:

Four big bags of candy will last you just over an hour.

Note to self: Next year, more.

Pirate Slim had a good time and took his first picture of himself with the camera. The Little Lion helped pass out candy, and one of the neighborhood kids helped me decorate the porch.

Knitting on a super-secret project is proceeding, and all is well. (Except the pictures being held hostage on the camera....)

Happy Halloween, y'all. I'm off to bed.

Hellllooooo, Giant Time Suck!

2007-10-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

I have very, very, very good reasons for my suckassery in blogging.

A) I am a mother of two small children. Free Pass for Life! Or Until They Turn 18!

B) My husband is trying to tear out our kitchen within the next month. I want to let him, but except for, you know, the subsequent lack of a kitchen.

C) I really am going to apply to law school. Really. This year. Really. I swear.

D) I have been writing. Fiction, of all things.

E) I got off my lazy butt, found that Ravelry invitation from July (!) and joined.

Oh. My. God. Why am I such a loser who gets an invitation to join all the cool knitting kids online, and then I sit on it for three months?

'CAUSE RAVELRY ROCKS. HARD.

(I'm muthaknitter if you're on there and wanna friend me. heehee.)

So I put in all the books I could remember off the top of my head (23) and all the WIPs I'm going to publicly admit to (5) and joined some groups. (Look, ma, friends!) I have already spent an inordinate amount of time surfing patterns and people.

In fact, I think Ravelry will help me redeem the unmitigated disaster that is my first sweater. You know, the World's Warmest Sweater of Buttery Goodness (TM) first blogged about in February 2006. Yep, you heard the year right.

It deserves a post all its own, with the horror properly documented in pictures. The Cap'n has agreed to photograph the evidence. And should I ever get out of this hell known as No SD Card Reader, I will be able to download the photos to my computer and blog them.

Because really, the adorability that is the Little Lion's sweater, the coolness that is the Harlot's hat, the wonder that is Lady Eleanor (finally fringed this weekend!) should not be missed.

The State of Things

2007-10-17T21:29:00.000-04:00

I just made myself laugh so hard I cried. Either that, or I was about to cry anyway.

So there's been a load of clean laundry in the basket waiting to be folded for 4 days. The other basket is MIA. (Apparently, there is thing in the house called the "laundry room"? Must check to see if it joined friends there...)

So what else is there to do with the three loads of laundry that have piled up in the last 4 days besides kick it out of three rooms (kids bdrm, master bdrm, bthrm) and down the stairs?

No, really. Kick it.

Besides making me laugh at my abominable housekeeping skills, it is an A.W.E.S.O.M.E. way to get rid of the dog hair collecting on the stairs.

Plus: It feels good.

Onward and upward, I say.

Blog posts are pecolating in my head, and except for crapped-out photo thingy, you would have scintillating musings to read and pictures to peruse about a knitting goddess, a FO and a surprise new thingy. (NOTE TO GRANDPARENTS: Your grandchildren's photos are being held hostage on an SD card by a malfunctioning card reader, courtesy of your grandsons who like to pull computer cords and short them out. Save the cuteness.)

But sometimes, truly, life does get in the way of knitting. Those law school apps won't write themselves, alas. And social services truly frowns on feral children.

How Harry Potter Almost Ruined My Marriage

2007-09-29T08:56:00.000-04:00

Praise Dumbledore! The Cap'n is finally finished with Book 5.

The Cap'n and I have been late arrivals to the Harry Potter phenomenon. We only started reading Book 1 to each other in the car on the way to NYC in June. We finished it just before he left for Iraq.

I read Book 2 and Book 3 in a day each before he left, so he took those with him to Iraq.

I was no better than him...when the boys and I traveled to Indiana to visit my family, I took full advantage of the free babysitting and devoured Book 4. Before I even finished, I sent my stepdad out on a mad hunt for Books 5 and 6. I ended up finishing Book 7 in a night (9:00pm to 4:30am).

I still miss reading the books. I am glad that I was able to read the series in one go and not have to wait in between installments. I really thought they were marvelous, a tad overwritten, but a wonderful story with great characters. I wish they had been around when I was going through my teenage angst. I thought she did a great job of capturing what it means to grow into oneself.

The Cap'n remained a skeptic through Book 3. "They're okay," I believe I heard. When we got back from Ocracoke, he started on Book 4.

And that's when Harry Potter almost ruined my marriage.

For the last three weeks, the Cap'n's preferred bedtime companions have been those not-so-little volumes of Books 4 and 5. He finished Book 4 sometime after midnight one night and immediately cracked Book 5.

His schedule has been staying up to 2 or 3 in the morning to read, and sleeping in late. We do recall, do we not, when the children wake up? Let's just average it out to 6 a.m., to take into account those 5:30 mornings and those 7:00 mornings.

Some of those mornings, the Cap'n was very lucky that I couldn't make the Avada Kedavra work.

So back on the Grand Tour of 2007, I left Books 6 and 7 in NC so my dad could read them. They are still there, and are going to stay for a while. Maybe the Cap'n can have them around Thanksgiving and Christmas, so he has a few days to dedicate to them.

We're going to have to parcel out the remaining Potter.

Warsh the Slate Clean

2007-09-27T20:34:00.000-04:00

Tap, tap.

This thing on?

Hello again.

What do you say we just warsh the slate clean? Start afresh. Forget the last three and a half months and call it a new day, a new blog, a new muthaknitter.

Hmm?

Here...

A humble warshcloth. The Mason-Dixon ballband warshcloth, to be exact.

It's one of a matched pair, out of the incomparable Sugar 'n' Cream cotton in red and Christmas colors (red, green and white). Two balls, two warshclothes. Both gifted in thanks for a wonderful vacation on Ocracoke Island after three very stressful months.

And, yes. Those are the only two knitted objects I have managed to complete in months. Thanks for asking.

Let's see. When last we left the Muthaknitter, much excitement was brewing re: a new house, a new baby and a move.

"Let me 'splain. No. There is too much. Let me sum up." -- Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride

Bullet points for brevity:

We moved.
The floors weren't quite done.
They fixed them.
Then we unpacked.
My sister visited, and she helped us unpack some more.
The Cap'n packed for Iraq.
I tried to find a renter for the new house so I could travel.
The two renters I found fell through.
I packed the boys and I for a long trip.
The Cap'n left for Iraq.
The boys and I drove 3200 miles to Indiana, NC and Brooklyn.
I read all 7 Harry Potter books in 3 weeks.
The Cap'n came back from Iraq.
We left for Ocracoke for vacation.
We came back from Ocracoke.
We unpacked again.
The Little Lion turned 6 months.
My sister came to visit. (We didn't make her unpack this time.)
I celebrated my 31st birthday.
I MET HER! I HELD THE SOCK!! REALLY!!! SQUEE!!!!
The Cap'n's dad is visiting.

I know I'm forgetting some things, but you get the idea. It's been busy. I am tired. Really, bone-numbingly exhausted. Not "gee, I sure would like a nap," but more like pin-a-note-on-my-shirt "You must remember not to shake the children" tired.

No one told me how things change when the kids outnumber you. They are on tag-team nap schedules, and one likes to get up early and the other stay up late. It's a good damn thing they're cute, or they would have been on the evening news by now.

I am going to try to blog a little each week to dip my toes back in the bloggy water. I've been inspired by the new Vogue Knitting, and really want to start some new things. But I'm also anxious to put a few FOs behind me, and with some fringe here, a sleeve there, I should be able to make progress on them.

Anywho, a jolly hello out there to any readers I have left. I've missed the blog, and I promise to keep you all up to date on the new and improved Chez Muthaknitter, blogging from the block, NOFla-style. (That's north of Florida, for you DCizens.)

I leave you with the clan on the Hatteras to Ocracoke ferry, safe and sound and happy after a summer of moving and traveling. (Shiny, happy people alert!)

Things I Have Learned...

2007-06-19T20:50:00.000-04:00

That the Cap'n is going to poop rectangular red masonry objects when he notices the (second, oops) big box of knitting and yarn supplies in the growing Pile O' Boxes. (Two-year-old in the 75th percentile in height for his age included for scale.)

That I have more sweaters than I thought I did. A shamefully large number of sweaters, in fact. And none of them handknit.

That I will dig through previously mentioned, menacingly large Pile O' Boxes to dig out the photo retriever thingy from the first knitting box because I love my loyal blog readership. (Hi, you two! Or on good days, three!) And we can have a proper, photo post.

Dining room past

Dining room present

Yeah, the laptop accessories reside in the knitting bag(s). That way I know where they are. It's called "creative use of space."

So, anyway, I finished packing the last of the boxes that we still had left over from our move two years ago. You win a gold star if you noticed the sentence construction: "finished packing the last of the boxes," as opposed to "finished packing." Wow. We have a lot of stuff.

Until the Cap'n brings home more boxes tonight, I'm hanging out with the D-Boys and grabbing a little blogging and knitting time. Yay, me!

Slim had his 2-year checkup and measured tall and thin (25th percentile). The doc wasn't worried, though, so his nickname sticks. And she said his picky eating habits weren't anything to stress about either.

Now for some FO action...I know the suspense has been unbearable. I proudly unveil to you...

A Square.

(Not exactly what you were expecting, huh?)

But it's a very special square. For one thing, it's going to go to Laura to help Rebuild Greensburg as soon as it gets a nice SOAK. Secondly, it's made from a leftover skein of Noro Kureyon from my Lady Eleanor. I believe it's colorway 188.

I can't tell you how much the Lady Eleanor knit saved my sanity during the middle of night feeding sessions post-delivery. I learned so much doing it, and I loved every minute. Until I can do a proper photoshoot (and knot the damn fringe!), I'm going to hold off unveiling the shawl. But I wanted to pass along the love of this yarn and the pretty colors that I got to enjoy. I hope it makes someone else feel happy in Kansas.

Now that it's quiet in the house (both boys asleep at once! Woo! And Hoo!) I'm going to watch Reno 911! and work on my most favorite current WIP, the Stripz sweater from Minnowknits out of Manos Cotton Stria.

This yarn has marinated in my stash since maybe early 2006(?) when I bought the yarn and pattern to make for Slim right after I learned to knit. When I cast on a couple weeks ago, I wasn't sure if I would have enough yarn to make the 2yo size for him, even though I bought an extra skein, so Little Baby is going to be getting this one.

The Cap'n pointed out that it would be smarter to only make sweaters for Slim, that way both boys would get to enjoy them. But that logical observation was made after I finished the back, so this one's just for Little Baby. Slim will get plenty of sweaters in the future. Besides, doesn't Little Baby look happy to get a new sweater?

To the needles!

Reason #38475 Why I Hate Moving

2007-06-19T09:23:00.000-04:00

Going through and packing your closet and finding clothes that you wore for work (I had another dream last night that I was back at my old job) that definitely don't fit you anymore.

Yard sale, anyone?

Blog posting may be a little slow this week. The movers come Friday and we're nowhere near ready.

I know I've been teasing you with talk of an FO and some mighty cute WIPs, but I have to find more boxes first. Despite living in this cramped little space, our stuff has multiplied.

Much like the dog hair tumbleweeds that I'm pulling from every corner...

Hopefully we can quickly get the wireless up next week at our new house, but a higher priority is getting the gas turned on. No cold showers for me, thanks.

Back to the coal mines...

A Day of Note

2007-06-14T12:37:00.000-04:00

And now he is 2.

I think I did better with this birthday than his first. We had the pool party, people actually came, and we celebrated with pizza and a big cake. Much better than his single cupcake with one candle and a lonely mom last summer.

Yet.

This is still a day that matters more to me than to him, at this point anyway. He's a happy-go-lucky, easygoing kid -- his birthday day will be one like many others: We went to the park and walked the dog this morning, took a nice long nap and now we're off to the Natural History Museum to see the moon rocks and animals.

But I can't help but remember this day in North Carolina where he was born, the long labor that preceded it, the family and friends that were around to welcome him into the world. Such a challenge and such a reward.

I am so happy that I became a mother. Just as much the second time as the first.

But we've seen a lot of changes over the last two years, and I guess that this day always makes me think of life before kids and before we made the big move to D.C. I am no more than ambivalent about our move here to the city.

In two years, I don't know that I've fully integrated the changes of becoming a mother, leaving the workforce, and moving away from family and friends to a cold (welcoming, not weather) city. But I'm trying. I'm really trying.

I don't regret a single decision I've made alone, or with the Cap'n as a family. I will probably always wonder what would have been if we would have stayed in NC and made it our home. But even as I write this, I know that I would have regretted the decision to stay there more because we would not have had the opportunities we've had here, for the Cap'n at work and for me to stay home with the kids.

In some ways, having kids has made me feel more empowered and confident than anything I've ever done before (or probably will since). And on the flip side, it has uncovered all the uncertainties and anxieties I've ever harbored about being "good enough" too.

The responsibilities of these two tiny human beings makes me want to strive to do my utmost, very best every moment with them, and it makes me realize that I'll never be perfect and will probably fail more times than I succeed.

But it makes me want to strive. And I truly believe striving to be your best is at the heart of the best relationships.

I hope my boys will always know that I want to be my best for them. And that I love them with all my heart.

FOcused on the Positive

2007-06-13T21:27:00.000-04:00

This has been one of those days...with Little Baby eating through the night, Slim up at 6am, Slim napping for only 45 minutes in the stroller, to everyone finally falling asleep at 8:30pm. In the meantime, I'm center-stage as Child Entertainer Extraordinaire.

So let's FO-cus on the positive, right?

I have been incredibly remiss in posting two crafty gifts we are loving. First is a non-knitted object gifted by my cousin, Elizabeth.

Liz gave me my first baby knit, a stroller blanket for Slim when he was born. I was in awe of it, but unaware at the time how much it meant to be able to give a hand-crafted gift to a new baby. Now it is one of my treasures that I hope Slim will still have to hand down to his kids.

So when her baby came along, I had to gift a knit. I used up some rainbow-colored Lorna's Laces in the stash to make a wild baby hat. I still haven't finished up the blanket I originally started. (shhh!)

When Mom told me Liz had something for Little Baby, I expected another fantastically cool handknit. But when I opened the package, my mind was blown.

Y'all. She quilts.

Aaaauughh! Now I have to learn another craft. I mean, how cute are these little pirates??

But I admit, the pirate quilt is so cute, I've been shy about using it alot. But I think I will take it along with us as a play blanket for the Little Baby while Slim is running around at the park.

There is another (not my) FO that we have been using nonstop. A certain Crafty Caroline made a visit to D.C. recently with some guy (kidding, Scott!) and gifted the Little Baby with a gorgeous organic cotton baby blanket. Every time I think to take a picture of it, Little Baby is already wrapped and covered for bed.

It's funny...Caroline and I met through our hubbies and hung out, but we really bonded through our blogs and shared love of knitting. Go congratulate her on the new house and leave your thoughts about what spinning wheel she should pick up! (And her mom met the Harlot! Squee!)

Did I ever share KnittinSis's cute little baby booties?

She used the same yarn as I did for Little Baby's kimono sweater. He is so incredibly yummy in the pair.
What else? Oh! Yarn pr0n!

Not that Lady Knitterly had anything else to do (leave behind the Met, knit socks, pack, move across country, start a new job), but she gifted me with an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G package of yarny goodness in trade for a couple skeins of Black Purl Lorna's Laces I traded her.

We're talking Trekking in colors that would have been my absolute first choice if every colorway of Trekking had been laid out in front of me.

We're talking baby alpaca that almost jumped right onto the Options needles for a lacy sumpin-sumpin. Nevermind I have no idea how to knit lace.

And then the laceweight mohair...ooh. The. Laceweight. Mohair. I want to use it right now.

Oh my God. There are so many projects, so little time. I already have more WIPs than is reasonable, and even less time than before to work on them.

But I'll wait until the next post to run through the WIP list and share a FO of my own.

Made in the Shade

2007-06-11T23:19:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy, busy place here at Chez Muthaknitter. Slim said his first sentence today, just three days shy of his 2nd birthday:

"I wan col piza!"

[Translation: I want cold pizza!]

The Cap'n says he's now prepared for his Animal House college days.

We had a wonderful pool party to celebrate his birthday early. Slim and Little Baby got decked out in their summerwear.

We had family from L.A., Indiana, New York and Maryland join us, as well as friends from D.C. It was just the right size party for a little boy who got too many presents to even know what to do with them. Today he only played with each toy once. "We're the best no-repeat station for your workday!"

Oy. Work on the house is already attempting to drain the bank account. More on that and yarn-related news tomorrow...

A House and a Home

2007-06-01T12:36:00.000-04:00

Well, there's been action, but not here on the blog...

On Thursday, the Cap'n and I got the keys (and a hefty mortgage) to our first house here in D.C. We're so excited to be moving out of the cramped little apartment we've called home for 2 years now. Although, I am starting to feel twinges of nostalgia about it being the first place Little Baby came home to.

I have to admit, I've been feeling a little down lately, a little stressed/anxious/depressed. I think I'm coming around, but it's been difficult. So I appreciate you hanging in there with fewer blog postings.

I am hoping that the next month of packing and moving will yield some positive excitement, though probably not a lot of knitting time.

However, I'll try to post tonight or tomorrow with some exciting knitting/yarn content...some of it my FO, some of it other FOs, some of it straight-up yarn pr0n.

As JenLa said recently: "We've got a blockage!!"

Knit Update

2007-05-23T23:06:00.000-04:00

At 11pm exactly, I cast off and wove in the last stitch on Lady Eleanor. Just blocking, crochet-edging and fringing to go. I need to pick up a Size H crochet hook to finish this off.

Wow. I love it.

Probably most of anything I've made so far.

There's one more UFO that I want to get done over the next week, and I will count myself very successful. But it's being a real pill, so I may get frustrated with it and toss it back in the storage bag.

What to cast on next?

Possum in the Day

2007-05-23T12:34:00.000-04:00

I felt for this poor girl (I'm sure it's a mom) when I saw her in our neighborhood the other day as I was walking the kids home from the park. It's a bit how I've felt lately, like I'm not in the right time or place at the right moment.

It's been more than a week since a blog post, and I haven't been doing much knitting either. Lady Eleanor is on the last full row, and I'm dragging my feet on finishing her. I think I'm going to miss this knit. What do you do when you're having so much fun with a project you don't want it to end?

The Cap'n is gone again for work (4 times in the last two months since Little Baby was born), and the boys and I need to find more activities to do. We've hit Air and Space and Natural History twice each within the last month. Toddler yoga and music classes only fill up two mornings a week.

I've started packing for the move next month, but I need to get the place really clean for an open house that our landlord wants to hold in two weeks. The Cap'n thinks magic packing gnomes are going to take care of everything in the next 3 weeks, but I can really only get things done when the boys are asleep. Which doesn't give me any time to rest.

And if you have any good mojo to send us, please keep it coming our way to make sure this house closing goes well on May 31.

Little Baby weighed in at 12 POUNDS, 6 OUNCES at his 2-month checkup, which despite the 4-pound gain, only puts him at the 50th percentile. Yet he's so much bigger than Slim and his 10th-percentile-weighing-self. We'll get an update on him at his 2-year checkup next month.

So let's tally: 1. Moving, 2. New Baby, 3. Work absences (for the Cap'n). We'll forget: 4. Law school apps, 5. Summer birthdays (eek! I gotta plan Slim's party!) and travel.

Boy. I am tired.

A Meme on Mother's Day

2007-05-14T13:30:00.000-04:00

Dudes! It's my first meme tagging! And on Mother's Day!

First, a belated Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. Over the last two years, I've learned to appreciate that much more what my mother, stepmother, grandmothers and step-grandmothers have gone through.

This is the most joyful and the most difficult thing I've ever done. As I told the Cap'n today, many times in my life I've battled anxiety and depression. I've even been suicidal. But since having the boys, I've found more meaning to life. I still get down and still struggle, but now every day has potential and goodness because these two little boys came into my life.

They're cute, but I'll have to post a pic of Slim's new scrapes from face-planting down the stairs of our building. Oy.

Now on to the meme: The rules are to post 8 random, interesting things about myself and tag 8 other people. So here goes:

1. One grandfather was a farmer and the other was a professional wrestler. I think that dichotomy is still present in my genes.

2. It's a running joke in our house that I went to school on the "short bus." I attended a special program at the middle school when I was in elementary school, and then I went to a "special" high school for my junior and senior years. Let's just leave it at "special."

3. Three classmates in my "special" high school killed themselves within a six week period at the end of my senior year, including one on prom night. It's one of two sets of events that formed me as a person.

4. I walked on hot coals.

5. The Cap'n and I got lost in a canoe in the Everglades and had to sleep in the boat getting bitten by helicopter-sized mosquitoes. I don't swim well, and there were alligators around. And I still married the guy. (P.S. We did make it out.)

6. I miss reading. It's been one of my lifelong loves. In fact, the first thing I ever stole was my 5th grade teacher's copy of "The Odyssey." And I still have it. I used to spend whole days just curled up on the couch with a good book. I just haven't had that luxury since having the kids.

7. I randomly quote lines from "A Christmas Story" (It's a major award!) and "The Muppet Movie." (It's a myth! A myth! Ye-th?)

8. I have "The Cat in the Hat" memorized. Handy on long car trips.

Okay, I'm tagging Caroline, Carrie, Laura, Lolly, Karida, Hannah, Sarah-Hope and Maryse. My feelings won't be hurt if you don't do it, but it was fun!

Just Keeping Track

2007-05-09T13:11:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning to do this for a while anyway.

Here's a meme I caught at Miss Ewe's to tally up knitting you've done or plan to do. Fun.

Items in bold have been or are being knit.
Items in italics are ones you plan to knit.
Leave the rest plain.

Afghan
Shawl
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Sweater
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing (unintentionally: the first hat I made Slim fits his teddy bear)
Baby items
Slippers
Graffiti knitting
Scarf
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
Purses/bags
Stuffed toys
Jewelry
Gloves
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Rug
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Hair accessories

I-cord
Garter stitch
Stockinette stitch
Moebius band knitting
Drop stitch patterns
Slip stitch patterns
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Two end knitting
Continental knitting
American/English knitting
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Buttonholes
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Holiday related knitting
Bobbles
Knitting smocking
Steeks
Fulling/felting
Textured knitting
Kitchener stitch
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Intarsia
Tubular CO
Short rows
Thrummed knitting

Knitting with metal wire
Knitting with camel yarn
Knitting with silk
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with soy yarn
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Knitting with alpaca
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Knitting with cotton
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Knitting with wool
Knitting with beads
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Knitting with cashmere
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Knitting with linen
Knitting with dog/cat hair (again, unintentionally: Mia's hair is part of everything I make.)

Participating in a KAL
Charity knitting
Designing knitted garments
Publishing a knitting book
Teaching a child to knit
Knitting to make money
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Teaching a male how to knit
Knitting for a living
Dying yarn
Knitting art
Machine knitting
Darning
Writing a pattern
Knitting for preemies
Freeform knitting
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Knitting on a loom
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Knitting in public

Break On Through

2007-05-07T21:38:00.000-04:00

I need to break on through to the other side.

Other side of stress, other side of exhaustion.

There's not been nearly enough knitting on this blog lately, or in real life. One block at a time, I have made it to the two-thirds point on the Lady Eleanor stole. She's going slower as she gets longer, but it is going to be fabulous when I'm finished.

It's hard to knit and sleep at the same time, and with Little Baby up most of the night, I need to fit in more sleeping while they nap.

More photos when I can...

Cute Overload

2007-05-04T14:54:00.001-04:00

Little Baby, originally uploaded by vrkdorell.

Okay, by popular demand (of the grandparents), I have officially sent the cuteness quotient at Flickr through the roof. I think this is the page. I like the Flickr function for posting photos to the blog, but I need to fiddle with the photo size settings when it posts. Also, should I get a Pro account to have multiple sets? Anyone? Bueller?

Anywho, I am completely overwhelmed. I need to take deep breath, make some to-do lists and knock through everything. I'm a little freaked out by it all: babies, house, moving, weight loss/exercise plan, etc. Oh, and yeah, I do need to get working on those law school apps for next year.

A knitting blog post I read (can't remember where) said this one time: We don't do anything half-assed around here. It's whole-assed or not at all.

I love that. So we're going at it whole-assed around here.

Hopefully I'm just not making an ass(w)hole of myself while doing it.

FYI, I know I did not post a Weight Loss Wednesday update. I did not weigh myself, but I don't feel like I'm losing anything. I know I did not exercise enough (no yoga...boo), and I was hitting the chocolate.

I did jog a couple days, though, and I could feel the difference in my energy level on those days. So I am going to rededicate myself to the exercise portion of my weight loss plan and try again on the salad additions. Wish me luck.

(The coffeeshop where I am blogging from ((on my free afternoon!! Thank you, Cap'n!!)) gave me a free iced latte and I am about to vibrate through the roof. How is it I can drink Diet Coke day in and day out, and one coffee sends me flying?)

There is so much to blog about, but I'm also supposed to be working on a budget and bill paying. Remind me to show you the baby knit(and quilt) additions next time...

The Heart of Our City

2007-05-01T21:35:00.000-04:00

There are lots of things to like about D.C., but there are only a few things that make it "our" city, the place we call home. One of those is Eastern Market.

Yesterday, Eastern Market caught fire and burned. Flames from a dumpster climbed up to the roof and gutted the building.

The Cap'n came home late from work the night before last and woke me up saying, "Eastern Market is on fire. It's gone." I couldn't understand what he was saying. Even after taking a jog down there in the morning, I'm having a hard time imagining living here without the market.

We visit the market at least twice a week. I can reel off each one of the stands in order, starting with the lunch counter: seafood, Union Meat, Canales Meats, pasta, deli, The Sweet Shop, veggies, poultry, cheese, Calomiris and Sons veggies, Market Poultry, and flowers. On the weekends, people come from miles around for the outdoor farmers' stands and flea market.

Flora and Tom at Calomiris always give Slim a banana everytime we go by. Mr. Inman at Market Poultry sells awesome duck, which the Cap'n has turned into the most fabulous confit. The Cap'n also has trained Slim into a real taste for the Russian tea cookies at the sweets counter.

And it's gone.

I've sent a letter to Mayor Fenty to encourage him to live up to his promise to rebuild the market. Now is not the time to debate where to find the resources or funding, it's time to restore the history that our community has lost.

It's hard to realize that you most miss something when it's gone. Now I wish I had taken more photos of the inside of the market so you could see what it was like. I don't have any photos of the fire, but there are some online at the Post.

I want to be able to take Little Baby back there for his banana from the Calomiris stand, too.

On Vacay

2007-04-28T09:57:00.001-04:00

Malcolm, Oren, Leo, Ginny, originally uploaded by billandamir.

I just wanted to post quickly to the blog to test the Flickr posting function and show off one of the pictures our friends took of us while on vacation in South Carolina.

Little Baby and I are off on the bus to meet the rest of the crew at the Arboretum after they pick up our Safta.

I have much to tell: baby handknits in the wild (and more on the way!), clicking while I walk, etc.

More soon!

Growing and Growing

2007-04-25T20:06:00.000-04:00

Well, here's a second quickie blog post for today to alleviate the mortification of posting my before photo earlier.

Some things besides my waist are growing around here. My Lady Eleanor is now more than halfway done and has definitely left the travel knitting phase. I can barely work on it over the baby while he's nursing anymore either. The stitching may slow down on it a bit, unless I can squeeze in some time in the evenings with both kiddos asleep.

HAHAHAHAHA. I crack myself up.

Little Baby is definitely growing alongside Lady Eleanor. At 5 weeks, he weighed in at the Breastfeeding Center at 10 pounds, 13 ounces. That's 2.5 pounds in 5 weeks!! Can I get a woot-woot?? He's not so little anymore. (Toys shared by big brother.)

When I took Baby Dos downtown to the doctor, I actually took out the Jaywalkers for the first time in almost 6 weeks. I've been utterly monogamous (and loving it!) with Lady Eleanor since Little Baby's birth, but like I said, she wasn't going to make a Metro trip with me and Little Baby in the sling.

So the socks are growing by a few rows, though I hate to work on anything else while I've got such momentum on the Lady.

The stash has grown a little, but only from prize yarn. I won this lovely, soft Merino Oro laceweight yarn in an oatmeal color from Wanda. Thank you, Wanda! It's perfect for a lace shawl. Leave me comments on your favorite patterns....

Our excitement over the house is growing too. I don't know if I've mentioned this on the blog before, but right now the Cap'n and I sleep on the futon in the living room with Little Baby nearby while Slim has the entire bedroom to himself. It's the only way that any of us can get any sleep in this 550-sf apartment.

I can't wait to sleep in my own bed in my own bedroom again! July can't come soon enough...

P.S. I tell you: Stay-at-home mothering can be good for the soul. As I was dancing around the living room this afternoon singing and acting silly, both boys had eyes only for their momma. Great times.

Of course, they were probably thinking, "How did we end up here?"

Weight Loss Wednesday

2007-04-25T14:36:00.000-04:00

Well, there are some updates here on the weight loss front. I think I've made progress over the week.

I don't have a new weight to post. Since we don't own a scale, I'm not actually monitoring the numbers that closely. I don't want to focus solely on the weight.

But I have my official "before" photo. Ugh. You'll only get it small.

I'll focus on the positive: This is me after coming back from my first run post-baby. Instead of focusing on my lack of a waist. Oh well. Moving on.

Isn't amazing (yeah, amazingly horrible) how it takes a photo to really show you how things are, and not how you think they are? I mean, I knew my bedroom was messy, but I didn't know it was that messy! Ha, ha.

Since last week my exercise routine included:

A yoga class with Slim
A yoga class by myself
A 4.5 mile beach walk
A 2.8 mile power walk
A 1.8 mile run/walk

So I have almost met my exercise goals. I also have been adding salads to my meals, and I tried not to go overboard eating at the wedding this weekend.

I've been going online to try to build up more support for this weight loss journey. I'm taking Lolly's recommendation to use Peer Trainer as another online community for people looking to lose weight. It has an online log to keep track of your food and exercise, which I need to keep me accountable. I also used this calculator to figure out my BMI, as part of my motivation to lose weight.

I wish I had something funny or inspiring to say about this, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed about trying to lose this much weight after taking my picture this morning. I know that I eventually lost weight after the first baby, but it took a year and then I got pregnant again.

Baby steps, right? (I can't type that without thinking of that movie. Now that's funny.)

Home Again, Home Again...

2007-04-23T20:39:00.000-04:00

And we are doing a jiggity-jig.

The wedding this weekend in South Carolina was beautiful, and we had a great time celebrating with friends we had not seen in a while. The drive was long, but both boys did well. I also got in some good knitting time on Lady Eleanor. I'll try to get more photos up as soon as I find my camera.

We had more than just the wedding to celebrate, too. Our house offer was accepted!

There's so much going on right now...as usual. Life is never boring around Chez Muthaknitter. I'll try to update more tomorrow.

Bloggy Inspirations

2007-04-18T07:15:00.000-04:00

I've been inspired by a few of my co-knitbloggers over the last few days, and this post is going to play off their writing considerably.

Laura issued a weight loss challenge Monday. I'm now one month post-baby, and I am itching to get into shape and fit into my old clothes. One could say that controlling my weight would be a way for me to get control over at least some area of my life amidst the chaos of baby, toddler and house searching.

If one had ever taken Psych 101. (See what you get when you visit my blog? Sarcasm for free. You're welcome.)

I did not gain as much with Baby Dos, but I am way over what I was pre-Slim. But more importantly, I don't feel like I'm in shape. I'm getting back to walking a lot (44 blocks yesterday pushing 50 lbs of stroller and kids!) but I'm not sure if I could run around the park.

I have a life goal (probably not this year, but maybe next) of running a marathon. And as my dad, a longtime runner, said, I should probably be able to run at least around the block before actually starting marathon training.

I also want to learn how to eat healthier. It's always been my weakness, and many years ago, I had a particularly unhealthy relationship with food and eating. I am addicted to sweet things, and I want to learn how to say no to candy bars and yes to green things.

So I'm going to join Laura's Weight Loss Challenge and try to meet some goals while cheering my fellow knitbloggers on in their weight loss goals. Here we go:

Deadline: September 23, my 31st birthday (I wanna be one hot mama in my 30s!)
Starting weight: 186
Goal weight: 156 (pre-baby weight) In 22 weeks, this should be doable.
Exercise goal: Twice weekly yoga practice and running 10 miles a week
Food goal: Eating a salad for one meal everyday (with or without additional courses)

Yarn goal: No stash acquisition until my birthday

Yarn REWARD: A skein of really nice (and I mean N-I-C-E) yarn for every 10 pounds lost

Like Laura, I want the blog to keep me honest and accountable. I will try to update the blog every week or so, and I'll get the Cap'n to take a starting photo of me tomorrow. Luck to all of us!!

Carrie talked recently about the crumbs of life. I've been thinking about the image of crumbs when I think of how my time is broken up into tiny pieces while spending 24/7 meeting the needs of two tiny human beings who rely on me. I think back to the years BK (before kids), and I miss the time I had alone to myself to daydream, to read and to just take naps whenever I felt like it. (Imagine what kind of knitting I could have accomplished!)

Sometimes, even though I know I'm doing an important job taking care of the boys, I question if I've lost my way. I wonder if I'll only be known from now on as someone's mom, and not as my own person. I wonder if I've left the path I was supposed to be on in life.

I think I'm tired and need sleep.

But back to blogging...all I have now are crumbs of time to blog, to knit, to shower, to exercise, to kiss my husband, to read, to sleep. I have to make do, somehow. I have to get more organized, to make each of those moments count. It's all I can do.

Hannah asked what inspires us. It reminded me that I've also been meaning to do a regular blog posting on the "Everyday Creative." I am often inspired by the things around me in my home. We have alot of the Cap'n's mom's artwork and some fiber pieces that I'd like to feature on the blog as they inspire me. They help me take advantage of those crumbs of time as they come along.

I haven't put much time in on Lady Eleanor lately, but I'm hoping she grows this week. I'm at Tier 15 of 35, but I will probably go up to 40 if I have the yarn. We're heading out today for our friends' wedding in Edisto, S.C., so hopefully 9 hours of driving time will translate into some progress. Unless I fall asleep first.

And I have to say a big "THANK YOU" to Wanda. I won some beautiful laceweight yarn in her 3rd Blogiversary contest. That's the second contest I've won in the last few months.

I guess I'm one lucky knitter.

And for those (family) here just for baby pictures, a new hand-me-down for Little Baby so we can all play trains on the floor:

Feeling the Love

2007-04-16T13:48:00.000-04:00

Gather ye blog time while ye may.

There are two restless, but still napping babies in the house, so after getting a couple more stitches in on Lady Eleanor, I want to get down some thoughts in the peace and quiet.

We've got the love around here.

Brotherly love...

This one pretty much sums up their personalities: Slim with his mouth open talking or screaming and Little Baby with his eyebrows knitted up as if to say, "what's with him?" (And Lady Eleanor resting in the background...)

Slim adores the Little Baby. He wants to hug him and pat him and share toys with him. And pacis, let's not forget those.

I'm already seeing some benefits of having these two so close together. But as I was describing to the Cap'n and to my midwife, it's overwhelming. I've not got the baby blues, but I feel outnumbered and outflanked for the better part of the day.

Perhaps I've got to get a new strategy. Think like the Spartans at the Hot Gates and outmaneuver the siege. Those boys haven't gotten me pinned down yet.

Baby Love...

It's been a different experience with Baby Dos. There wasn't the immediate adrenaline of infatuation brought on in large part by first-time parenting anxiety. It's been more like, "oh, here you are, kid. You're wonderful."

He's such a good baby, a good eater (not so much a sleeper) and already starting to smile. I adore him, just like I do Slim, but in a different way. And he's fit in so well to the family. It's like he already wants to be sitting up and taking part in the conversation around him.

Stroller Love...

Our Excellent Adventure continues. (KnittinSis thought it was a "Bill and Ted.") I can't believe how easy our new Phil & Ted is to maneuver and get out and around the neighborhood. It was expensive, but it's already paid off.

Knitterly Love...

The Lady Eleanor went on a ride with the Cap'n, our realtor and I to look at more houses. I'm 2/5 of the way through the tiers of rectangles, but just now through 1/3 of the yarn, so I think I may end up making it a little longer. I'm going to use up every smidgen of Noro I have.

Neighborly Love?

We put in an offer on a second house that I like better than the first one we tried for. I am crossing my fingers. There were a bunch of kids' toys on the porch next door, so we might even have some neighborhood play buddies for the boys. I like the location of this house better (closer to stuff to walk to) and it's in much better/move-in condition. Send some house vibes our way.

City Love...

Check out the new yarn pusher on the block! Neighborhood Fiber Co. is run by the awesome Karida, who plays a large role in my ongoing yarn obsession (though she probably doesn't know it). For one, she first gave the Cap'n recommendations of books to buy for me as knitting Hanukkah presents, so she is ultimately to credit for Scarf Style and the current Lady Eleanor. Also, she taught the sock class that got me hooked on socks, too! And she probably thought she was just working at a yarn store.

I'm going to take credit for inspiring Kingman Park (my favorite!). Go. Look. I dare you not to love it.

Husbandly Love...

Reason #52,789 Why I Love the Cap'n: Everytime he comes home from work trips (like today from an embed with the National Guard in Indiana), I can't help feeling fluttery and happy to see him. He's the best.

Sorry no knit pictures...but we'll try more tomorrow...I'm going to try to make shorter, more frequent posts so it doesn't take me so long to get these posted.

Knittin' Mama

2007-04-11T18:59:00.000-04:00

Okay, so this knitting update starts pre-Baby Dos' arrival. Goodness, almost a month ago now.

When KnittinSis came to town with Uncle Ben, we couldn't miss my LYS's Daylight Savings Savings yarn sale. Since Uncle Ben was along as Slim's babysitter, KnittinSis and I waddled (okay, that was just me) through the store fondling yarn and debating patterns.

I did acquire some Claudia's in February for my new Jaywalkers (still OTN), but that had been my only stash enhancement since December. And with 20 percent off storewide, I had a hard time resisting, especially one of my favorite yarns.

And Now...

An Ode to Worsted Weight Yarn Made By Noro

Kureyon, how I love thee.
Let me count the ways...
You keep my sanity
in late night knitting/feeding sessions.
You fascinate me
with your color changes.
Purple,
green,
pink,
magenta,
navy,
black.
All hail the power of entrelac blocks.
And the speed of knitting
with worsted weight yarn.

Ever since the Cap'n gave me his first knitting-related present (two Hannukahs ago) of Scarf Style, I have ogled the Lady Eleanor stole, both in the book and at the KAL. Mostly, I fell in love with the name and the description at first. The entrelac? Eh.

But coming across Kureyon on sale was too tempting to resist. I knew it would look beautiful in the stole pattern. So it came home with me from Stitch. All mumbletwelvemumble balls. KnittinSis walked out with some stash enhancement too, but I'll let her comment on it, since I can't remember all of it. Plus I think some of it is maybe for a surprise present??

In that first week home from the hospital with Little Baby, I cast on for Lady Eleanor one night around 2am. I was the only one awake, feeding Little Baby and staring longingly at my knitting bookshelf across from the couch. All I had to work on were the Jaywalkers and a laceweight scarf in a Feather and Fan pattern. I needed something big, and I needed something fast.

That first tier of half triangles looked like ass. No joke. I had swatched on both the US10.5 needles called for in the pattern and with US11s. I went with the 11s because it got me better gauge. But in that first row, the fabric on US11s was really loose. It really didn't start looking like something until the second full tier.

I am really happy with my choice of needles, though. The Knitpicks Options set made it really easy to switch out the needle size on the swatch, and I've really enjoyed working with them.

And this project has forced me to learn a new skill: knitting backwards. Actually, I mastered purling backwards first, and only now, at Tier 10 out of 35 have I got the knitting backwards thing down. I checked out this tutorial and this Knitty advice beforehand. My difficulty in picking up the knitting backwards trick is because I purl Combination style and had trouble figuring out how to wrap the yarn coming backwards.

But if you've made it this far, you deserve a picture of the Lady Eleanor progress so far. A row here and there over about a month adds up! I'm almost done with ball 3, and am more than 1/4 of the way through the tiers of entrelac blocks.

So that's the belated knitting update. I am chugging along with my knitting, and while I still look longingly at my other pattern books while nursing and reading Dr. Seuss for the nth time, Lady Eleanor is a satisfying way to keep my sanity from sneaking off the way the dog does from Slim.

I also am belated in thanking Maryse for a beautiful skein of Schaeffer Anne that I won as an entrant in her mismatched sock-shoe contest. It brightened my day on one of those difficult first days home with the new baby and Slim while we were all adjusting to each other.

There are still those days, but the three of us got out of the house this morning in our great green rocketship, aka the new Phil and Ted stroller for the boys. I love its maneuverability and lightness, and I'm even able to still make my grocery runs with both boys.

I'm also contemplating starting a new blog with daily updates of pics and baby news, but that's just in my head so far. I'll let you know if something comes of it. I'm thinking of calling it the D Boys blog, but check out the urban definition. Maybe not.

And hopefully we'll have a house update by next week. More searching tomorrow...

It never stops at Chez Muthaknitter.

Time Flies...

2007-04-10T16:29:00.000-04:00

...when you're sleepless with a sick toddler and baby with day/night confusion.

I am sorry it's been two weeks since I blogged. I have been writing blog entries in my head at 3:30 in the morning while little baby and I have been up together. But it's so hard to type one-handed, I haven't sat down at the computer to even check email.

There's all sorts of news to blog, but we'll have to give the bulleted version:

Baby is a charming little thing, growing like a weed and eating through the night. At two weeks he was already at 9 lbs, 3 oz., a pound up from birthweight.
Slim has run a high fever over 103 for two days, but we think it's just a sore throat and not strep. We hope.
We put an offer in on a house, got countered, came up and countered again, and were rejected. The home owner thinks she is sitting on a gold mine. One that happens to be eaten up with termite damage and in need of a complete renovation. It's one of those things that makes me hate living in D.C. But we can't give up. If we add one more toy, onesie or Cheerio to this tiny little apartment, us 'rents are going to go nuts.
Grandpa DiDa and Grammy had good visits with the D-boys. Hopefully we'll get more visits with the fam, maybe in a house with more room.
Knitting has been happening...slowly. But it sure does help with the sanity-keeping.
We made our first out of town trip with both boys, taking a wonderful break outside of Philly on the farm. Little Baby got to go to his first play, an interesting production about a hostage-taking situation.
I have seen the movie "Cars" four times in a week. Thank goodness the soundtrack is good.

There are cute, new pics waiting to be downloaded from the cameras, but I'm back to cuddling a sick kiddo and typing one-handed, so it'll have to wait. It'll give me a good reason to take new pics of the knitting project, too.

Where The Boys Are

2007-03-26T09:26:00.000-04:00

5 diapers in 2 hours.

Wearing two of the big three (spit-up, pee, poop).

Hi-dee-ho, early motherhood!

As the Cap'n said to a friend, at least we didn't wait so long as to forget the routine. It's actually seemed easier this time, as far as the diaper changing, dressing and feeding goes. New baby is a hungry little lion, and he's already back up to birth weight.

I really was enjoying my 6 hours straight of sleep a night, but I guess at some point the sleep deprivation will make me forget what that felt like.

And when Slim cuddles up next to me and the baby, I treasure those domestic moments.

So why did my half hour of sleep this morning involve a dream of me being welcomed back enthusiastically to my former job in North Carolina? hmm...

It's been a wild ride since Friday the 16th. The Cap'n wrote up a beautiful narrative of the labor and delivery, and since then we've had a good visit with Grammy, the bris, and Leo's first Metro ride.

It's going well...busy and exhausting. There was even a round of sock knitting finished on that Metro ride, but I would hazard a guess that these are going to be the Jaywalkers that never end, based on my current rate of stitching.

In one of those nights up on the couch with My (new) Brest Friend and the baby, I did start a worsted weight project to save my sanity. I'll probably put the knitting in a separate post for those just here for the baby pictures.

But not to worry, handknits will always have an honored place around this house...

(ETA: Thank you so much for all the warm wishes and congratulations and emails! I so appreciate it, and I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to write back to everyone yet. If I owe you an email, give me a little more time. I hate typing one-handed.)

March is in like a...

2007-03-17T23:22:00.000-04:00

Leo is here!

This is Knittin' Sis checking in with a quick post for all of you waiting on baby and mom news.

First, the stats:
Born on Friday, 3/16/07 at 11:26am
Weighing in at 8lbs 2oz and 19.5 inches long
Marsha Stalcup, Certified Nurse Midwife, assisted in the delivery. As you may recall, this means Leo's mama must relinquish those yummy socks she put on the line in her deal with the universe. Mama reports that the delivery went well and Marsha was a huge help. Mama also reports that the Cap'n was wonderfully calming and supportive.
In the photo above, Leo is enjoying the coziness of a handknit baby blanket made with love by Renee.

Knittin' Sis/Auntie and Uncle Ben got to spend lots of time with Slim this week as Mama tried to relax despite being many days overdue. I guess the relaxing evening Mama spent with the Cap'n did the trick as her labor started without medical intervention.

Mama promises to put pictures of Leo in his handknits for an upcoming post. For know, I'll put up some of the photos we took at the hospital.

Knittin' Auntie just got finished with matching booties for Leo's sweater and hat ensemble. I intended to have them done before Leo got here...and he certainly tried to cooperate by staying in Mama's belly for several extra days...but my days were filled with fun with Slim, and I just finished the booties on the long drive back to Indiana. They'll be headed to DC on Monday. Luckily, I have no concept of the size of baby feet, so these booties turned out quite big and will hopefully fit Leo for several weeks.

Lots of love to my Sis, the Cap'n, Slim, and Leo. What a wonderful family!

Baby Knits! (But No Baby)

2007-03-15T23:58:00.000-04:00

I'm going to turn most of this post over to my KnittinSis, who came to town this week bearing cute knitted items for Baby Dos.

The child should feel like it's going to be well-dressed enough to come out now, but so far, Baby Dos has decided mom's belly is more cozy. But it looks like tomorrow will be a big day for us. We have the induction scheduled for Friday morning.

Now on to the baby knits...

Hi! KnittinSis here. Well...where should I start?

First, there's a cozy and cute baby blanket made by my friend Renee. It's made of a soft and washable wool blend in rainbow colors. Muy precioso! Renee told me about the pattern, but I've forgotten exactly how it's done. It looks like many squares put together, but it's knit in one piece.

The squares display the yarn's rainbow color nicely. Renee is a super knitter with a sweater on the needles right now. She's also a former DC resident (that's where she got her Master's degree) who's currently a 2L at Indiana School of Law.

The first thing I made for Baby Dos is a pair of "Ugg" booties. I found a kit on the SuperCrafty ebay store. I think I got the last one, but she has lots of cute kits and great deals on yarn. I found the store through this story from Crazy Aunt Purl. Here's the pattern.

Baby Dos's Daddy and Uncle Ben agree...these should be the only size of "suede" boots ever made. The pattern was really easy (knit all in one piece and seamed down the bottom and back).
Next handmade bit came from a pattern found at my LYS in Bloomington. It's Ann Norling's Kid's Fruit Hat made with Dale of Norway Baby Ull in yellow and the same green as the baby kimono. A little lemon hat!

Speaking of little lemons...I got the pattern for New Baby's other booties from Anny Purl's blog. As her socks were adaptations of other patterns, my booties are a bit different from hers as well.

That's all KnittinSis had time to write before she and Uncle Ben swooped in to take care of Slim. But I'll just add that the other (third) bootie is on its way off her needles.

Which makes us ready for tomorrow's trip to the hospital. I think we're all about as ready as we can get, even Slim. I told him yesterday and this morning what was happening, and he was so excited today he didn't nap. This may be a problem tomorrow....

If Baby Dos is half as cool as big brother here, we should have one fun family.

Wish us luck! We'll see you on the other side...

D-Day

2007-03-10T14:50:00.000-05:00

I wanted to post a quick note from the coffeeshop on the BIG DAY. I'm working on putting all of our receipts together for our taxes, and then I'm going to walk next door to Eastern Market for bread and salad fixins for tonight's dinner.

Get the sense that nothing's happening that's supposed to be happening?

Very perceptive, you.

It's funny how giving something as big as having a baby a specific date wraps all your expectations up into one big package. A package that you're supposed to get to unwrap on a certain date, like Christmas. Only there aren't any guarantees with babies and kids.

This entire family moves to its own beat, and I'm not surprised that Baby Dos is taking its time. Slim did, too.

I'm going to concentrate on enjoying this 62-degree sunny day, walk some more, and wait patiently for whatever is going to happen to happen.

Speaking of Slim, a little run-in with the end of the slide at the playground yesterday gave him a giant goose egg and bruise right on his forehead. It's going to make for some cute hospital pictures with baby...

Like I said, no guarantees with kids.

In Time-Out

2007-03-08T16:06:00.000-05:00

Everything I'm knitting right now is in various states of time-out. Aaauugh.

First, let me introduce you to an about-to-be-modified FO:

Slim's Felted Mittens (Just Like Dad's)
The Pattern: Double Cuff Felted Mittens from Knit One, Felt Too
The Yarn: Leftover Bemidji wool from the Cap'n's felted mittens and Brown Sheep Company's Lamb's Pride Worsted
The Colorway: Light grey and Prairie Fire
The Needles: US11 Susan Boye aluminum DPNs and US4 Clover Takumi bamboo DPNs
Time: 9:30am Wednesday to 2:30pm Thursday

The Cap'n did the knitty math to figure out how to size the pattern down. I also modified the rate of decreases so they didn't come out as pointy as the bigger ones. These didn't felt as much as the adult-sized mittens I made, even though they went through an entire wash cycle.

Yeah, as if I'm going to get a shot of these in use. Slim won't/can't put his hand through the ribbed cuffs. Maybe I could get them on him asleep, but even then I think the cast-on edge of the ribbed cuff would cut off his circulation.

Aaaugh.

So I'm thinking I'll cut out the cuffs and reattach the I-cord directly to the felted mittens. I'm still not sure how I'm going to get him to keep them on, though. Time-out for the mittens, at least until I come up with a good idea on how to fix these.

I also cast on for the Monkey socks with the Claudia's Handpainted. After a good evening of knitting, I was through two repeats on the foot (I decided to try them toe-up), and the pooling was undeniable. All the earth brown was clustered on one side and all the purple was on the other.

Aaaugh.

I ripped those back to the toe and tried the slip-stitch rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, because the book noted that it is good for breaking up color repeats in variegated yarns. It was better, but still not as good as I had hoped. And I just wasn't that crazy about the slip-stitch rib pattern with the Claudia's.

The toe-up socks went into time-out in the frog pond. But I would not be deterred.

After searching online, I kept coming across raves about the Jaywalker pattern and how it works great with variegated yarn. I know, I'm really late to this party. So I cast on again, this time for a top-down 84-stitch Jaywalker. I'm using 2.5mm instead of the 2.25mm called for in the pattern, but I also read that this tends to be an inflexible sock.

Any votes on how this is going to work out? I'm on a strong anti-pooling streak. Partly to take advantage of the beautiful colors of this Claudia's, and partly to prove to the Cap'n that it can be done. He hates variegated yarns because of how the colors stripe and pool.

I'm also still working on the Feather and Fan scarf for LAAuntie. That's on partial time-out just because I'm annoyed that I can't get the rest of the knots out of the yarn.

Aauugh.

P.S. No baby yet.

Things I Like

2007-03-06T18:31:00.000-05:00

I am going to borrow Maryse's idea and make this a Things I Like Monday. But on a Tuesday. Because feeling negative isn't good for anyone.

1. Orchids at the National Botanic Garden. It doesn't matter how many times I've seen them, the roomful of orchids is awe-inspiring. Also, a great place to take an active kid on a cold day.

2. Cadbury Creme Eggs.

3. Scrubs. Hilarious show. Even if I am in a crappy mood, it makes me laugh out loud.

4. Wearing the felted mittens I made. They are so warm and comfy, though too long. If I make another pair, I would increase the rate of decreases at the fingertips.

5. When Slim and I are in the same moment at the same time just enjoying each other's company. And developing new wells of patience for those times when we aren't.

6. Total Eclipse of the Heart. And the fact that I can remember most of the words from singing them at the top of my lungs so many times during my angsty years in high school.

7. Tattoos. Following Scout's Craft-Tat Meme, I'm showing mine. I have two, a butterfly on my left shoulder and the Chinese character for Dragon (my Chinese zodiac sign) on my right ankle.

Both of the tattoos are very meaningful for me. For one, there are quite a few members on my dad's side of the family with tattoos, starting with my grandfather. He was a professional wrestler (Tinker Todd), and he has a man wrestling a snake on his forearm. My dad got a butterfly on his right shoulder in the Navy. I went with my aunt (my dad's sister) to get my first tattoo -- the butterfly on my left shoulder. My sister and two cousins (my aunt's sons) also have tattoos.
The second tattoo is this dragon character. I was born in the year of the Fire Dragon, and I wanted to have more of the qualities of the Fire Dragon. So I got the character tattooed on my ankle where I could easily see it. (It's the only one I can photograph right now, so it's the only one I'll post.)

I have been wanting to get a third tattoo for a while now. Probably something that incorporates the kids in some way. A Rooster and a Pig? Maybe we'll go with their names...

There. I am as cheery as I'm going to get. Yet it's better than yesterday.

An appointment with the midwife today yielded no progress...no dilation, but a healthy baby still. I'll go for another appointment next Thursday with the midwife and a sonogram to make sure baby has enough fluid and is moving well, unless there's action between now and then.

A friend reminded me that once the baby gets here (two kids on two totally different schedules), I'll probably wonder why I was anxious to get past the pregnancy part and into the sleepless nights of breastfeeding and sleeplesss days of toddler chasing.

Meanwhile...send some good labor vibes Alison's way today.

No knit progress to report, other than an inch or two on the scarf. Beautiful colors, great needles...I'm hoping it'll zip by. Though I'll probably put in some time tonight on the socks so I can see how the yarn cooperates. I'm trying to avoid pooling this time...

Oh, Baby (Sweater)

2007-03-04T20:39:00.000-05:00

The good thing about making a sweater that is probably too big for a newborn is that it will bunch up on them and hide the ugly seaming job.

That's the finished Mason and Dixon Baby Kimono, modeled by Sleepytime (aka Ugly) Ernie, the closest thing we have to a newborn in the house right now. (I finally had to take his batteries out. He had a bad habit of saying, "I feel great!" from behind the toy box without anybody pressing his buttons. Freaky.)

Here are the stats:

The Pattern: M&D's baby kimono
The Yarn: Dalegarn Baby Ull in a not-too-babyish green
The Needles: Addi Natura US2 (3.0mm) 40" circular (because that's the only non DPN set of US2s I have) and Addi Natura US1 (2.5mm) DPNs
Time: January 29 was the original-original cast on day, and it was finished March 3

I had a couple of false starts with this sweater, and one is now a design feature. The yarn is fingering weight, instead of the worsted weight called for in the pattern. I also got a different gauge than called for. So I had to modify the pattern slightly to compensate.

I also ended up making the sweater slightly wider than in the pattern, because after I switched from the original kimono to Haiku back to the kimono, I didn't want to re-frog the work I had put into the Haiku attempt. Call me lazy. Or call me an independent thinker.

I did the M1 increases around the neck instead of the yarnovers, because I thought it would be more unisex that way. I also left a hole in one of the side seams so that the inside tie could come through and meet the front tie in the back.

Besides the seaming (IHATEIT), I am generally happy with the sweater. The yarn is soft and machine washable, and I like the color because it matches the footie pajamas and other babywear I already have.

KnittinSis has made a hat to match and is working on (or nearly completed?) matching mitts and booties. It should be a cute handknit combination.

And a perfect thing for Slim to bring up in therapy later in life..."My mom knitted my little X sweaters, but only finished one hat for me. I knew she never loved me."

Excellent.

So I am going to cast on for the Monkey socks this evening now that the cleaning and kid entertaining is done for the day. Unfortunately we did not make it to the Botanical Garden today (maybe tomorrow?), but I did get the laundry finished and the whole house cleaned. Baby Dos is in no mood to come out, so I may be able to make a good bit of progress on the socks before making them my hospital knit project.

And just in case they are too complicated, I couldn't resist casting on with some birthday yarn KnittinSis gave me for a scarf to give to my SIL. She just got word the play she is directing in LA will be moving to a bigger theater for a longer run, and I want to make her a congratulatory gift. Since she lives in LA, it's hard to make her something too warm and wintery. This scarf should be nice and light.

The yarn and I got off on a bad foot before I got my ball winder from the Cap'n for my birthday. A good chunk of it still looks like this:

But it's a beautifully hand dyed rayon from KnittinSis's LYS, and it's already showing up beautifully in a Feather and Fan stitch pattern. (I'm cribbing from Scarf Style's Misty Garden pattern again.) I'm also using my KnitPicks Options set for the first time, and I am loving it! The needles are smooth and the yarn moves fast over them. Great stuff.

So I'm still feeling kvetchy (I have a sore throat, chest cough and reflux...wah) and still avoiding some chores I have to do (filing, tax prep, etc.), but let's keep this post lighter and picture-ier.

Here's a random shot of Slim checking out the cows at the National Zoo yesterday. He has learned to turn on the tv by himself and asks to see his photo on the back of the digital camera. He's really getting quite big. Let's just hope he's bigger than the jealousy he's going to feel when Baby Dos gets here...if that day ever comes.

Nope. It's not a basketball hiding under my shirt. Alas.

39 weeks, 6 days...tick, tick, tick...

Chez Le Grouch

2007-03-03T12:25:00.000-05:00

Again with a pictureless post...

I am seaming up the baby kimono and making I-cord ties, and I am so mad at my finishing skills. THEY SUCK.

Last time I took sewing was half a semester in 7th grade. With my newly minted feminist attitude, I swore at the time that I would never excel at the "domestic arts" (witness my cleaning and cooking skills), and set about avoiding any other opportunity to learn more about home ec.

Well, now I love knitting. I really do. And I feel like I've gotten a lot better in the last year and a half. But this is the first garment I've really gotten done. All the rest have been accessories (hats, scarves and socks). How can I call myself a knitter if all I've done are little projects?

And nearly 20 years later, I still suck at sewing. My pretty little garter stitch kimono looks like that same 7th grader took a needle and yarn to it to put it together. It's shiteous.

Which makes me and my overactive brain begin to worry that I am going to be a shitty mother to two kids. I just felt like I had it pulled together with one, and I didn't have to worry about balancing work or school like most women do. Now there will be two and how am I going to handle it?

Like I said, it is Grouchy City around here.

I stayed up last night because we didn't eat until 10pm and I get terrible reflux (the run to the bathroom kind) if I lay down too close to a meal. So I ended up watching "Clerks" (great movie) and some stupid late-night tv show about how strippers stay in shape.

I can't stomach morning shows, and I don't care for daytime talk or soaps, but give me late-night crappy tv any evening and I'll stay up til 3 in the morning.

So anyway, here I am with my roly-poly self propped up on the futon and thinking how I'm never going to get back in shape. I can't feel any less pregnant or any less attractive than if my husband was refusing to touch me for fear of starting early labor.

Oh. Wait. Nevermind.

And I have definitely reached the All Done phase of pregnancy. I am 39 weeks today, my turkey timer (belly button) has popped, and I am FINISHED. Unfortunately, baby does not seem to agree.

Meanwhile, Slim has decided that sleeping from 8pm to 5:30am works just fine for him, and that he only needs a nap from 11am to 1:30pm. It's great, just great.

So now he's up...and since the Cap'n is working on his day off, I need to find something for the kid to do outside. The laundry, emails to be returned and dog hair tumbleweeds will have to wait. At least it's warm...

Maybe pictures and a better mood tomorrow....

Babies, Knits and Other Goodies...

2007-03-01T18:12:00.000-05:00

There's randomness afoot...

I finally found the last little thing for Baby Dos: this Lands End fleece bunting in deep cherry red. I really wanted something to keep little baby warm in the front pack while out walking this spring. I think we're guaranteed to have a warm and dressed newborn.

So, yes, we still have to install the car seat and pack the overnight bags (tomorrow, I swear), but I feel a little more prepared. Good thing, since I've started having more contractions off and on. Looks like the Evening Primrose Oil is starting to work.

And finally, I made it through those last few rows on the M&D baby kimono. I do have trouble with finishing things, but this one I was starting to get anxious about. Didn't want to have to knit it during labor: I was worried that even garter stitch would be too complicated for me.

So it's into a bath of SOAK for the kimono and a dry downstairs while I run some other laundry.

And another thing:

Mary reminded me of a very important birthday: It's the Cat in the Hat's 50th!! Go wish him Happy Birthday and send some books to kids who need them.

As I've mentioned before, the Cat is very important around our house. I have the original "Cat in the Hat" memorized and can give a fairly good reading from memory of the "Cat in the Hat Comes Back." You really can't beat Dr. Seuss.

I actually started swatching (Swatch me while I WIP it out! Ha! I crack myself up.) the Purple Earth Claudia's Handpainted. I'm getting 7 sts to an inch gauge on US1 (2.5mm), and I want to do Cookie's Monkey socks, which calls for 8 sts to an inch. I know if I follow the pattern with the gauge I'm getting, they will fit my feet, which are 9 inches wide. This was the trick I used to get the Child's First Socks to fit my big foot.

However, I'm worried that my gauge will get me loose socks because I got a good tip that the Claudia's is very stretchy. So I'm wondering if I should go down to US0 (2.25mm) needles and get the pattern gauge and get snugger (is that a word?) socks? Then I worry that I might run out of yarn, even though I will probably convert the pattern to toe-up.

Then I think maybe I'm too tired to try to figure this out right now...

Slim didn't sleep last night, and neither did I. I think it's my body's way of getting ready for being up every 2 hours to feed new baby.

And after tomorrow the car registration will expire, but we first have to get it to the mechanic to replace the strut...which apparently died on some D.C. pothole. This would not be surprising to anyone who has driven in this town before.

Meanwhile the Big Question on my mind is:

Should I try to start and knit a pair of EZ's baby leggings to match the kimono, hat, mitts and booties for Baby Dos? I still have two more balls of Dale Baby Ull left. Would this be a pointless exercise to begin, or do I still have time before D-Day?

9 days and counting...

Baby Arrangements

2007-02-27T13:20:00.000-05:00

I've been saying it for a few months now, but really: Slim, stroller, groceries and dog are too much for me to bring up the apartment stairs. Phew. It's handy to be able to walk to the grocery, but for the next couple of weeks I'm commandering the car for trips.

Today was my weekly midwife appointment. Nora is back for check-ups, but won't be catching babies until after the 14th. The Cap'n got to meet her for the first time, and we got some tips on handling Labor Day. So far baby is still head-down (and not likely to flip) but hasn't dropped. She actually said that some babies don't drop until labor starts, and then they're on the fast track out.

She guessed that Baby Dos is going to cross the 8-lb mark, since she could still feel everything from head to butt. Slim was 7-lbs, 11oz, but I was 8-lbs, 11-oz, so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to have a bigger second baby. Actually, it'd be cool (I say not having yet pushed it out), because I also haven't gained as much weight this time, so it would be less to lose after.

This is the other progress made so far in our tiny one-bedroom apartment to get ready for Baby Dos.

Poor Slim has been kicked out of the antique, refinished changing table/dresser and into a clothes storage unit from IKEA. But I only dress him once a day, and I remember newborns needing 2+ outfits per day. So Baby Dos is now ready to be dressed when he/she gets here.

You'll notice a good bit of blue in that photo, but those are Slim's hand-me-downs, not hints. We'll just have to see when Baby Dos gets here what we end up using.

I'm also stocked up on newborn-sized diapers and Weleda cream to keep the diaper rash away. And the co-sleeper is waiting just under the bed to be set up. Now I just need to pack our hospital bags and an overnight bag for Slim, and we'll be well on our way to being truly prepared.

Well...almost...

The baby sweater is still on the second sleeve, with the second front to go. I'm hoping to get some serious work done on it over the next couple of days, but with the Cap'n returning to work, we'll have to see how that goes.

I do have to say I've been loving the garter stitch. I think it's my prego brain needing simple, mindless knitting. I also wouldn't mind starting some plain stockinette socks, but I've been restrained and trying to practice monogamy with the baby sweater.

KnittinSis is working with the same Dale Baby Ull on a lemon hat and some little mitts to go with the sweater, and we have both been raving about the yarn. It's so soft to work with. It's going to be wonderful for baby.

What am I forgetting?

OH!

I WON!

Woo-hoo!!

Yay! Thanks, Maryse! And thank you random number generator!

Finally my "fashion sense" has done me good...check it out...

Stylin'.

Making Progress

2007-02-25T19:41:00.000-05:00

So the big Stash Reorganization of 2007 has yielded the perfect hat for my 23-inch head.

I often have trouble finding something that fits my melon. It's where the kid inherits his 18.5-inch head from. It took me 5 tries to get his right, but with the good karma of an organized stash behind me, I was able to make my hat work on the first try. For the most part...but more on that soon.

(Picture of 37.5-week belly and messy kitchen thrown in gratis. You're welcome.)

Random question: Magnets/pictures on the fridge or no? What's your style? Every place we move, the Cap'n swears he'll have nothing on the fridge, which lasts for a month, until one little reminder goes up. Then the rest of my magnet collection jumps out of the box it was packed away in and makes itself at home. Funny that.

Here are the hat stats:

The Pattern: Santa Cruz from Magknits

The Yarn: Malabrigo 100% merino wool

Colorway: Oro y Vino from the orange-y skein left over from My So-Called Scarf (The other skein had more coral oro in it. You can tell when the scarf and hat are close to each other.)

Needles: Clover Takumi US8 bamboo and Brittany US6 birch

Time: Started Thursday, February 22, and finished Friday, February 23

Modifications: Well....

First, let me confess that I could not resist casting on something new while I was playing HYS. Even with an honest tally of the projects OTN, I wanted something fun to do, and when I was packing away the leftover partial skein from My So-Called Scarf, I succumbed. I figured, how long could a hat take?

And in this case, I was actually right. I think this is the quickest thing I've ever made, and a very nice break from the US2 (3.0mm) needles of my recently finished socks and the in-progress baby sweater.

I have been meaning to make a matching hat to my scarf since I finished it. The scarf was the first thing I made and kept for myself, and that was a year after I first learned to knit. This pattern did not jump out at me when I first saw it in Magknits, but I loved the one Mary made. However, she said it turned out small enough to fit her daughter, so I read the pattern closely (wha????) and noted that its finished circumference is 19 inches.

Hello: Meet my son, the kid with the 18.5-head at age 20 months.

So following the worsted weight recipe, I added two extra lace repeats to bring it to a 96-stitch circumference and another 4 inches around. Problem with my brilliant solution? I didn't exactly think through the rate of decreases for the crown.

I was chatting with KnittinSis on the phone while working on the hat, and she re-awakened my fear of a Conehead Hat. That was one of the problems with Version 3.0 of Slim's hat saga. So I fudged the decreases, but when I cinched it off, it turned out a little on the short side. I like my hats to cover part of my ears, and mine just ended at the ears.

In truth, if I had read the pattern *that* closely, I would have added more than just the 3 k1-p1 ribbing rounds that it calls for. It just wasn't enough ribbing to stay tight on my big head. So in a fit of brilliance the next morning (yes, most of the hat was finished in a day), I picked up 96 stitches at the cast-on edge with the US6 needles and started knitting down with more k1-p1 ribbing.

I decided that I wanted the extra ribbing to turn up, so I knit one plain row in what I thought was roughly the middle of how far I could go with the yarn. I kept knitting until I got anxious about how much yarn I had remaining. I actually have about 5 yards of the Malabrigo left -- certainly enough for a few more rounds of ribbing -- but at the time, I was knitting knervous, so I bound off.

I love how the Malabrigo feels and how warm it is, particularly with the cold weather coming back. The yarn pills like crazy in the scarf, but I think it's from the frequent friction of tying and untying it. I think it will stay more defined in the scarf.

KnittinSis thinks the hat has a crochet look, and I would agree with her. But it's a simple pattern, and with directions in every weight of yarn (sock, sport, worsted, and bulky), you really can't go wrong. It was the perfect stashbuster!

I have made some progress also on the baby sweater, but not much since the Cap'n has returned. I'm hoping to work on it some more tonight. Luckily, KnittinSis is coming to the rescue with a perfectly matched lemon hat and possibly some booties. If I have time, I want to tackle the leggings in Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitters Almanac. What a well-dressed baby this will be!

I also made another bit of progress on reducing the stash. Lady Knitterly has been coveting the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Black Purl, and I just happen (ahem) to have some in my cough17paircough sock stash. So my sock yarn is winging its way to NYC, and if some trade yarn happens to fly down to DC, well, that will have to be counted in the next stash reorganization, won't it?

He's BACK!

2007-02-24T13:38:00.000-05:00

The Cap'n has returned from Baghdad!! And look what he brought with him....(Bob, can we zoom in for a closeup on that ball band?)

Y'ALL. HE FOUND IRAQI YARN. 100% WOOL. (we think...maybe some mohair...)

Is my husband not the greatest?????

(There was so much excitement getting ready for his return, I'll post more later on the perfect hat/stash project.)

Burst of Knitting Energy

2007-02-22T22:28:00.000-05:00

They say that right before you give birth, you get a burst of energy and an urge to clean house (so to speak, not literally, in my case) to get ready for the babe to be born.

In my case, I do need to clean the house before the Cap'n's return from Iraq tomorrow evening. He's safely in Amman, Jordan, now enjoying the Four Seasons Hotel spa. But my burst of energy has so far been directed to my knitting and stash.

First, a longstanding WIP is off the needles! Let me introduce you to my Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern. Here at the stats:

The Pattern: Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern
The Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock
Colorway: Brick (extremely like the color of the sample socks in the book)
Needles: Addi Natura US2 (3.0mm)
Time: Started in November? December? Yeesh. Finished February 21
Modifications: Only 6 pattern repeats in the leg and slightly larger gauge for my size 10 feet

I really can't gush enough about Nancy Bush's patterns. I mean, even Grumperina feels the same. Grumperina! This pattern was clearly written and easily memorized. The socks turned out just perfect. They make my feet feel pretty.

BUT...these socks are now my deal with the universe. The deal is: If my midwife delivers me (the same midwife who this week commented that she has not been able to get warm this record cold February), these socks will be my thank you gift to her. She's a knitter, so she'll get it.

See, I knew from the beginning that my two midwives were only on call 50 percent of the time. The other times, the doctors in their practice take the call. But they catch 80 percent of their patients' babies. So I felt like I had pretty good odds. And because I've had an easy pregnancy, I never saw any of the 5 doctors.

But last week, with the ridiculous (ha!) amount of snow and ice we had (more like people's utter stupidity in clearing it, but anyway...) one of my midwives broke her arm. So it's down to one to deliver. I'm a little anxious about it...but she's supposed to be on the weekend I'm due, so we're going to do our best to hit the nail on the head.

So if Marsha catches Baby Dos, the most beautiful pair of socks I've made so far will be hers. She's seen me knitting them at visits and I think she will like them. But if some random doctor catches Baby, those are the socks I'm wearing home from the hospital.

Anyway, to randomly change the subject, I wanted to share my new DPN holders that I discovered while KnittinSis and I were at the Michaels in NC. I had never seen these before, and I think they are supposed to be used to keep DPN sets together when they are not in use, but they work great to keep the sock from sliding off the needles while it's in my nifty little pouch. I highly recommend them.

I managed to resist stash enhancement, though I did see two yarns that I had not before: Lion Brand Wool and Patons SWS soy yarn. The Lion Brand Wool looks like it will give Patons Classic Merino a run for its money, and the SWS had some great color combos. I will probably try them at some point.

However, I neglected to fill you in on my SEX at the LYS while Indy Grampy was in town watching Slim. This picture does no justice to the deep jewel tones of the purples in this yummy, yummy yarn cake. It's "Purple Earth" by Claudia's Handpainted. I'm thinking about trying to just whip this up in some plain stockinette socks, and try to get done by D-Day. I could use some grounding to the earth while laboring.

Although...I totally want to try Cookie's Monkey socks in this yarn. I think it would be fabulous. And have you seen the other sock designs on her blog? Oh. My. God. Wow. It makes me sorry to miss Stitches West. There was nothing so amazing here in Baltimore back in the fall.

I'm really proud of myself that this yarn is my first stash enhancement in 3 months. The last yarn I purchased was December 1 for the Cap'n's felted mittens. If I can keep up this kind of restraint (which probably won't be that difficult considering I'll have 2 under 2 to deal with), I will be proud of myself.

And I think I will earn these two books: More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch and Favorite Socks - 25 Timeless Designs. I reeeeeaaaallly want these.

They will come in mucho handy, even with the sock books I already own, considering what I just did to the stash. I mentioned a while back that I was inspired by Brenda's big reorganization that she talked about on Cast On. So taking advantage of the Cap'n being halfway around the world and not being able to find out how much is really in the stash, I unloaded everything out onto the couch.

Umm. Wow.

No. Really.

Wow.

I have pictures. I sent one to KnittinSis, and while I realize it is blackmail material, I will also gain access to her stash and start photographing if I have to. I know she's working hard on accumulating too.

So I organized everything by project type and put the wool yarns in my cedar lined bags to protect them. I have a list of number and type of projects doable with my stash now, and I thought about posting it on here. But then again...I think that would give the Cap'n a good idea about the size of the stash. If there is general clamouring for full admission, or if I feel guilty enough to be held publicly accountable, I may change my mind and post the list.

Let's just say for now that I have plenty to keep me busy...for example, there are 6 possible baby sweaters, and I will be lucky to finish those before the kids grow out of the amount of yarn I have. I'm just not that fast a knitter.

The other productive part of the stash reorg was creating a spreadsheet to keep track of my needles. I don't have "that" many, but I did just get the KnitPicks Options set at Christmas, and I don't like having repeats. It keeps me from casting on more projects than I'll likely finish.

It felt so refreshing to have the stash organized and tallied. It made me excited to play Home Yarn Store and rediscover project ideas that I originally was so enthusiastic about. It made me giddy anticipating casting on...

Perhaps a little too giddy. I'll have more to post about tomorrow...

Baby Sweater Hell

2007-02-16T17:34:00.000-05:00

We are back to the M&D baby kimono.

Yeesh.

Okay, so for those (2?) people following the drama so far: I started the baby kimono with some Dale Baby Ull that was a gift from KnittinSis for Christmas. We have documented gauge issues (umm, I don't swatch?), so the 80-stitch wide, 25-row deep "sweater" became a gauge swatch. Live and learn.

That got frogged and I went on a quest to find another baby sweater. Do you hear the tick-tick-ticking?

I settled on Haiku from Knitty, which is adorable and adjustable based on gauge. I'm charmed by the idea of doing a sideways sweater with fewer seams. Off we go again...

And today, once I hit the box stitch, I finally faced up to the fact clearly written into the pattern: This sweater is going to fit a 1-year-old, particularly as small as my newborn is bound to be, based on precedent. I mean, it was 10.5 inches long. My last newborn was 21 inches long. So much for my math.

But if I turn the 54-stitch wide front of Haiku around, it makes a slightly larger baby kimono back with only 1 more inch to go until casting on for the sleeves. I say, let's live dangerously...I'm going to go for it.

Not that I've read any further in the pattern than comparing my gauge and giving myself a mental high-five: "You can do it!"

Meanwhile, there was un poco stash enhancement yesterday at the LYS. Perhaps I have a new sock obsession after seeing Carrie's two-week miracles. Will go into it more when I have a good photo of the yarn I had to have.

And how did I have time today to ponder all this knitting, inspired by my day at the yarn store yesterday? And listen to an episode of Cast On and Lime 'n' Violet? Here's how the boys spent the afternoon:

Sit 'n' Knit

2007-02-15T21:15:00.000-05:00

I had the most fabulous, wonderous, splendiferous day today!!

I was sittin' and knittin'.

Grampy took Slim to the Air and Space Museum, which the boy never tires of. While they were enjoying the rocketships and learning about the solar system, I hauled down to my LYS.

Meanwhile, don't fret for the poor boy seeing the same museum twice in one week. Here's what he thought...

So I made good progress on my second sock, chatted about law school with a woman taking the bar this month (good luck, Lauren!) and laughed about picking kids' names with the LYS owner, who has a 3-month-old at home.

I must have fondled every yarn in the store, some twice. We dished about Interweave's new layout, and the general feeling was "eh, so-so." I dittoed other feedback I've heard about having a hard time telling the ads apart from the content and about separating the patterns from the pictures. I also would appreciate having the designers' names in the photos so you can tell who made each one. At least Vogue Knitting does that. I just got a subscription from my mom for Christmas, so I hope they go back to the old design a little bit.

But as far as new design goes, if you happen to make it up to NYC, take in the "Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting" show at the Museum of Art and Design. There were some fantastic pieces there, including my favorite: the Bobbin Lace Lamp made of fiber optic cable. Beautiful. The whole show was unique and inspiring.

I tell you, my mood is so much better with a little civilized knit time. Makes me worry that much less about the Cap'n embedding with an army patrol this weekend in Baghdad. He arranged flowers all the way from Iraq. Now that's something to live up to, guys!

Confinement Begins

2007-02-14T15:24:00.000-05:00

My confinement is underway, and I couldn't be happier. No more traveling, just sitting at home and finishing up this baby. I'm reading up on this, since March 10 is getting closer...

And we have a heel!!

It's on to the foot of the second sock...I am definitely planning to finish these up, hopefully by the end of the week. IndyGrampy just got into town on the heels of NCGrandpa heading back home. So I'm hoping that Slim and Grampy can go enjoy the museums while I sit home and knit.

Slim had a great time with NCGrandpa (DiDa!), taking in a show at Air and Space's Einstein Planetarium. Snow and ice have literally kept us confined at home the last two days, so Slim is getting cabin fever. Tomorrow he's at least going to the park.

What we don't have is any baby handknits made by mummy. I still need to measure my garter swatch and see if I can work up a little something in the next few weeks. Luckily it's Aunt KnittinSis to the rescue!

I'll have to get her to leave a comment on what the yarns are. I think the little golden one has some alpaca in it and the cranberry one is made of leftovers from Uncle Ben's hat. Too cute!

Getting these, plus a new monkey rattle from LAAuntie, makes it more real that baby is getting closer. And I'm anxious that I'm not ready. No clothes laid out, no diapers, no co-sleeper set up. And NO HANDKNITS! Sigh.

But there's nothing like breaking a few fashion rules with your knitting to make you feel better!

Stop by Maryse's before tomorrow and show off your handknit sock style.

And before I sign off, I want to send a big Valentine's Day shout-out to my Cap'n. I had a dream last night that I was headed off to Iraq to report with him. Wouldn't that be fun?

My Cap'n is the man. He cooks gourmet meals and he's the best father I've ever seen. He tells me I'm beautiful even when I waddle, and even when he's thousands of miles away in a war zone. He gets my favorite joke in the whole wide world: Two men walk into a bar, the third one ducks. (Think about it. heehee...)

Happy Valentine's Day, Cap'n. I love you.

Still Here

2007-02-07T22:20:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since my last post, and we're off to another family gathering soon, so I just wanted to leave an update that we're still hanging in here.

We had a little excitement in NYC with one of the SILs taking me to the hospital on Sunday for some light contractions. Luckily it was just the onset of a stomach bug that caused the contractions, so they eased off the next day. We haven't made a baby yet here.

Slim and I had so much fun in NYC. Slim playing with his cousins, and me hitting the art openings and museums with my SILs. It was so good to hang out with family. And all the art was inspiring.

But things are on a high stress level here...I won't lie. We're off to NC with NCGrandpa so we can meet up with all the family for my aunt's wedding. I'm looking forward to it, but I don't feel like I have everything together yet. Plus we're planning on traveling through the day, and Slim can be, well, "challenging" in the car for too long. We'll see how it goes.

Pics when we return...and a review of the MofAD knitting show and hopefully, actual knitting content.

I think that is part of the reason why I'm stressed...I haven't picked up the needles in almost a week. EEK!!

NYC Bound

2007-01-30T15:30:00.000-05:00

I wanted to get a quick word in during the boy's nap because Slim and I will be taking Mia up to Brooklyn this coming weekend, and I don't know how much blogging I'll be able to fit in.

Yesterday was a big day hanging out with our Safta, whom Slim had running around chasing him all afternoon. Here he was "helping" bring out some tangerines for snacks.

Our Safta is an amazing woman -- 87 next month -- and still volunteering and driving around younger, more invalid neighbors. Slim enjoyed hanging out and reading her books and showing off his cars.

And we got good news at the midwife's this morning: Baby Dos decided to cooperate and turn head down like a good little bean. I guess the swimming and crawling around this week has helped!

The funny thing is that I think I feel more pregnant now that the little baby is in the right position. I've got more pressure on my pelvis when I'm out walking, I get more out of breath and I have more kicks in my lungs.

I'm getting tired more easily, but I can't wait to hang out in NYC. While I'm there, my SIL will have an opening of her artwork at Sunny's Bar in Red Hook. I am always inspired by her art. I identify with the distance of them, with how they capture that feeling of traveling and waking up in a strange place at 3am where you don't speak the language.

Plus her show openings are fun. So NYC knitters/art lovers, come on down!

I am also angling to catch the Radical Lace Subversive Knitting show at the Museum of Arts and Design. If I can, I'll leave the kiddo at home, but I imagine the little screamer will be along for the ride. Maybe the aunts and cousins can help entertain him. The NY Times gave only a so-so review for the show, but I think it will still be interesting.

I'm looking forward to the trip. It'll be good for Slim to hang out with the cousins and I need the sisterly support. And when we get back, NC Grandpa is coming for a visit, and then we'll have a family wedding to celebrate.

All kinds of good news...

Going Swimmingly

2007-01-29T12:29:00.000-05:00

The Cap'n called before going to bed and said that his room at the hotel has a small balcony. He opened the curtains, looked out the window and said, "Wow. That's Baghdad." Weird, huh? There he is, halfway across the world. But safely, thank goodness.

Skype has been wonderful so far. I can hear him better over the computer than I could my SIL on the cellphone in New York. And last time we talked, I asked him to check into Baghdad yarn. They've got sheep, right? Someone's bound to have wool...

Meanwhile, Slim and I are staying busy here. It took me all weekend, but I finally finished the necessary cleaning around the house. This is Slim enjoying the Thomas trains at the bookstore on Friday.

The boy and I floated about at the neighborhood pool Saturday and enjoyed a walk with the dog in the 52-degree weather. Sunday we woke up to rain and made our daily grocery store walk in sleet, but Saturday was awesome. Today we've got a grand high of 30. Toasty.

And I'm so proud to say that this weekend I resisted the siren call of my LYS's winter sale. I have a new game: HYS. Home Yarn Store. It's gotta be the way for me...though I won't make any promises about souvenir yarn this weekend from NYC. I think Mim said it wonderfully about why stash enhancement expeditions (SEX) are so tempting...

Brenda of Cast On inspired me when she talked in this last episode about reorganizing her stash. I think I might try to pull out everything tonight (really, it's not that much, Cap'n!) and figure out what I have and what projects I have lined up for them. Those baby sweater ideas are weighing on me as D-Day inches closer.

Silly me cast on for the Mason-Dixon baby kimono with the Dalegarn Baby Ull I got for Christmas, but I didn't think it through enough. I mean, I actually put thought into it: But the train of thought derailed before it made it into the station. Here's how it went:

1. The pattern calls for worsted weight on US6 (4mm) needles.
2. I have fingering weight and a US2 (3mm) needle.
3. I'll cast on double the number of stitches the pattern calls for (80 instead of 40) and figure it out as I go.
4. Hell no, I won't swatch. I'll assume that somehow my gauge will be half that called for.

Sheer knitting brilliance, huh? Anyhoo. After holding up a day's worth of knitting to Slim and noting that it will probably come out fitting him, and remembering that babies are actually quite small, I put it down and am back on the hunt for another pattern.

Besides, Carrie challenged me to finish big on my SAM2 commitment and get that Child's First Sock done before the end of the month. I have not had a chance to work on it this weekend, but tonight I'm going whole hog. THE RACE IS ON!

I've got 2 more pattern repeats on the leg and then it's the heel and foot. Wish me luck...

I Don't Love to Sew...

2007-01-26T21:44:00.000-05:00

But I do love my husband.

I have been knitting this week, but on the down-low, so I couldn't share it until now. I would like to introduce the Cap'n's Felted Mittens.

The Pattern: Double-Cuff Mittens from Knit One, Felt Too (my first felted project!)
The Yarn: Bemidji's Original Homespun from A Good Yarn in Baltimore
Colorways: Oxford Grey and Charcoal Heather
Needles: Susan Bates aluminum US11 dpns and Clover Takumi bamboo US4 dpns
Time: Little over a week? I started them after we got back from Oregon and I finished today.
Modifications: I made the inside ribbed cuff longer as per the recipient's request. I also included a colorwork Shetland-style pattern around the palm, inspired by the samples knitted up in the shop.

First, the yarn is AWESOME. I purchased these two skeins plus a cream one the night before my LSAT in December. I got it on the recommendation of the girl in the shop, who said it felted beautifully. The yarn is also incredibly soft (considering it is untreated wool) for wearing next to the skin. And at $6 for 225 yards, you can't beat the price. I still have a good bit leftover from the mittens -- I'm hoping enough to make a pair of boot socks to match for the Cap'n. I'd like to modify the Country Sock pattern in Folk Socks.

The shop had a pair of these double-cuff mittens knitted up, and they were worked up in the same colors with a Fair Isle pattern across the palm. I knew I had to make some for the Cap'n.

Unfortunately, I didn't study the mittens closely enough to remember the pattern nor did I draw it out. So when it came time to do these, I cast about for another Fair Isle inspiration. Luckily I have the best one close at hand: The Art of Fair Isle Knitting. (A birthday gift card purchase last year.)

I believe this pattern is referred to sometimes as "three to the fireplace, three to the door." The author, Ann Feitelson, had a pair of gloves knitted for her with this pattern by an 80-year-old Shetland Islander who remembered her aunt making this pattern in the 1920s. The aunt was 70 years old in the 1920s and had been making this pattern for decades, according to the book. I so appreciated Ms. Feitelson's research in this book, and thanks to her I can continue making a pattern that is more than 100 years old. You can see it better in the unfelted before photo.

There is not a pattern written up for this in the book, but I just hand-charted it and inserted the pattern across the palm. The challenge was keeping my floats loose, especially since I knew it was going to shrink. The colorwork definitely came out to be the tightest part of the mitten. I probably would have liked to felt the mittens for slightly longer, but was afraid that the palm would become too small for the Cap'n. As it was, it only took about 10 minutes to felt them in the washer downstairs.

The ribbed cuff is unfelted and whipstitched in. I own absolutely no thread and no sewing needles. On purpose. I don't really like to sew and in 4-H I begged my mom to let me take Consumer Clothing instead of regular Clothing, just so I could get new clothes without sewing them. But in the space of a naptime, I overcame my fear of sewing and finished off the mittens.

When I originally purchased the yarn and book, I showed it to the Cap'n to see if he would like them. He said he would, but he wanted a longer cuff that would tuck into his sweaters. Luckily, he forgot he OK'd this project, so when I decided to make him something to send off with him to Baghdad, these mittens came as a surprise.

You will note however, they are not in Baghdad.

Despite the quick knit nature of the big double points, the mittens did not dry in enough time to get the cuffs sewn in before the Cap'n flew out last night. (I did get a call from him saying he made it to Amman safely and will make the last leg of the trip tomorrow.)

So now he has to promise to come home and wear them.

Slim approves too. (But he did rip them off quickly after this shot...)

Slim also had a fun day, playing with Thomas trains at Barnes & Noble. And I made progress on my Child's First Sock. We'll see what progress tomorrow brings...

Walking Out

2007-01-24T22:21:00.000-05:00

Clearly, my unborn child is exceptional. I mean, he/she fits the profile of only 5 percent of births that occur.

Yep, the midwife thinks Baby Dos is breech. The little critter is in position to walk out of there.

On the one hand, it gives me more to worry about, but on the other, I am proud of the strength of those punches in the ribs I've been getting. I thought it was baby's feet.

There's still time for baby to swim in the other direction. Slim is going to think I'm the one regressing, because the midwife suggested I crawl around on all fours. He and I also will be going to float in the pool more in the coming weeks.

But I'm open to any and all suggestions...

And to keep this from being yet another whiny, picture-less post: Gratuitous Baby Cuteness. This is him being really proud of tasting the watercolor paints...

Can't Concentrate

2007-01-24T10:47:00.000-05:00

This morning out hasn't relieved any of the anxiety I'm feeling or helped me get anything done on the law school stuff. I can't focus on it. I'm still writing the personal statement, and I don't know what I want to say.

I want to say that the month ahead is looming like an incoming mortar, just bound to wreck something in my world. I want to admit to being easily distracted, but then scream at the first person who suggests that I don't have a reason to be: "Excuse the hell out of me, but are you 7 weeks from your due date with a willful toddler as your sole responsibility and a husband who is going to a war zone where they just shot 5 U.S. civilians?!!?"

How stupid would it be to hit the 95th percentile on the LSAT and not go to law school?

Of course, now I'm thinking I would be better off applying next year, with my applications due around Baby Dos's 1st birthday. That way I would start school when he/she is a year and a half and Slim is 3. If I can't work at home now on writing with just one kid, how am I going to do it with another infant?

But then, that may just be a rationalization on my part to justify not doing these damn applications.

God, I hate this.

Over There

2007-01-23T21:40:00.000-05:00

I think everyone who should really hear this by phone has heard by now, so it's okay to post on here about the Cap'n leaving this Thursday for Baghdad.

Yep, that Baghdad. You know, the one with all the shooting and dying and carrying on.

I'm having a hard time right now not self-censoring and editing this post before I even write it. What with keeping myself busy being just fine.

Let's put my feelings in algebraic form:

X but Y.

I am proud of him and supportive, BUT I'm worried about him going there.
I am sure he will do a great job, BUT I don't want him to get hurt.
I am a confident woman who can handle being alone, BUT I am a 33-week pregnant lady with an active toddler and a dog and I get tired.

The Cap'n was asked to go by his work (not as part of the military), and he'll only be there for a month. He should be back two weeks before my due date, and since Slim was 4 days late, I'm not really worried about him missing anything.

I also know lots of people have it worse than me. Though it is not helpful to the Cap'n's cause when HE points it out. There are military families separated by a year or more. Guardsmen suffer loss of businesses, salaries, etc. with their extended deployments. There's been plenty written elsewhere of the overextension of U.S. troops and the affect it has had on them and their families. I'm not going to get political right now.

I'm just knitting and trying to stave off worries by not reading too many of the news stories out there. The Cap'n has been getting ready all week, so we've had a taste of him not being around. And it's already hard. This does not bode well.

As I told a friend of ours who was in Baghdad for 8 weeks doing the same thing as the Cap'n, it's about ME. I know the Cap'n can handle himself and I'm comfortable with what his workplace is doing as far as security goes. I'm stressed about handling things around here for a month while he's gone and my belly gets bigger. The third trimester tiredness is definitely starting to kick in, and I have the millionth cold of this pregnancy.

My family is prepared to swoop in (Thank God), and I think the grandpas are going to come to entertain the boy. And I have plenty of activities to keep me busy...I keep telling myself it will be fine. And that's all I can do.

It'll be fine, right?

Let It Snow

2007-01-22T18:58:00.000-05:00

Winter finally made it to D.C. Slim got some good use out of his new snow boots and winter pants (Thanks, Gramma!) I had to share the picture with the snowflakes. He is wearing his hat, so it counts as a Handknit Street Style pic too!

Kiddo also got to hang with his babysitter on Friday night while the Cap'n and I enjoyed a great show: Pan's Labyrinth. If it's anywhere near you, go see this movie. It was so well done. The story, the visuals, everything worked together beautifully. It was completely engrossing from the first minute.

Before the show, I also put my B&N gift card from Christmas to use. Okay, maybe plus a little more. I went a little insane: Johnny, Loretta, Nickel Creek, the Highwaymen, the Raconteurs. I haven't had new music in so long, and it is all so good.

So it's random, but it's a post. More news tomorrow. And hey! Maybe I'll have part of my law school apps done too! But don't bet your booty on it...

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other...

2007-01-20T01:34:00.000-05:00

One of these things is just not the same.

First Knitting Swatch Option 1:

Here we have a little bit of garter stitch, a little bit of stockinette. There are a couple of big loops at the cast-on edge from dropped stitches, and our swatch shares much more in common with a parallelogram than a rectangle. Clearly, not a knitting natural. Let us have pity on this poor beginning knitter, who obviously needs mental help.

First Knitting Swatch Option 2:

Here we have row upon row of nice, even garter stitch. Don't bother looking closely for any dropped stitches, inadvertent increases or accidental decreases. There aren't any. This knitting savant was apparently born with needles in hand. Her first swatch actually functions quite well as a cute little bookmark.

Wanna guess which one is mine and which one is KnittySissy's?

Now apparently Mom is knitting too. And KnittinSis has already cabled. I've started a revolution.

Let's just hope my head isn't the first one on the chopping block...

P.S. I do think I remembered when my last yarn purchase was. I got some Bemidji undyed wool at A Good Yarn in Baltimore the night before my LSAT on Dec. 2. So let's hear it for me going almost 2 months without buying yarn! Whoo. and Hoo.

The Oregon Trail

2007-01-18T22:48:00.000-05:00

A long weekend being pampered in Oregon is just the ticket for a tired 32-week pregnant lady.

I have to say I owe the Cap'n and our friends, Dos Doctores, for the wonderful time. El Doctor demolished one of the bathrooms in their beach house 3 months ago, and after (shall we say) "limited" progress, La Doctora called the Cap'n for his dormant but formidable contracting skills. I formed a substantial part of the cheerleading squad.

So while the Cap'n and El Doctor shored up framing, drywalled and spackled, La Doctora and I got a babysitter for the 4 kids and had a facial at the spa and got our toes painted. (It's a hard life, I know.) Then we took the kids to the indoor wave pool and out for pizza. I also finally got to see "Cars" and loved it. You can't tell Slim is having a good time from this picture, can you?

The time in Florence couldn't have been more relaxing. There's something wild and beautiful about the Oregon coast, and the kids loved digging in the sand and climbing on the huge driftwood logs. We had a delicious dinner out sans kids and had the best time catching up with our friends. El Doctor and the Cap'n went to high school together, but I feel like I've known them both forever.

And it was priceless seeing Slim playing with their 3 kids. Their youngest is one month younger than Slim, and while sharing was a foreign concept, they played well next to each other. The bubble machine was a big hit.

We even got to see a friend from that other Portland (Maine) in Portland before we flew out. He was visiting his West Coast girlfriend, and we all got to have dinner together before our red-eye flight back.

The red-eye was one of those good in theory, not in practice ideas. I thought all three of us would get some sleep, but it didn't happen. We're still adjusting back to East Coast time and catching up on sleep, but Slim is finally back on his schedule.

I saw two KIP-ers, one going out and one coming back, on the plane. And one woman on her way to the bathroom saw me working on Slim's mitten and asked if I had any trouble getting needles on the plane. I only brought three pairs of wooden DPNs, so I didn't even get flagged.

Again though, No. Souvenir. Yarn. And not that much knitting time, but it was worth it. I'm still working on my second Child's First Sock in Shell pattern, and I hope to have it done by the end of the month to meet my SAM challenge.

The next Sock-a-Month starts in February, but I'm not sure about joining again. I had fun this time and am really proud that I made a pair almost every month (2 in September but none in October). I'm just worried that I won't be able to keep up with it while entertaining an infant and toddler.

I am tempted to re-join a Stashalong or Knit From Your Stash challenge. Just because so far I've gone without a yarn purchase since before Christmas. In fact, I can't remember my last purchase...though I'm sure the Cap'n will be happy to remind me.

I'm actually psyched to play Home Yarn Store (HYS). I've got so many cool projects stashed away in there, including some baby sweaters planned that I must get to before they grow out of them.

RULE 1: It is NOT OKAY to knit for your grandkids when your children are under 5.

That's a keeper.

Florida or Bust

2007-01-17T11:26:00.000-05:00

I am having such a hard time dressing appropriately for the weather in D.C. Florida is still on my mind.

After a flight back from Indiana midday, Slim and I spent the afternoon repacking with warm weather gear and waiting for the Cap'n to get off work at 1am. We started out at 2:30am and made it down to Ft. Myers in a marathon 22 hours, including a 5 hour stop in Savannah, Ga., to meet up with my parents who were coming back from a dive trip in Florida. I think Slim's shirt says it all. (Thanks, LAAuntie!)

Clearly, this is the beginning of the trip -- a quick gas stop in Benson, N.C. But Slim has been a really good soldier throughout all our travels this last month. It's a point of personal pride for the Cap'n that Slim made it to Florida and back (and the Oregon flight, too!) with no DVDs. Just a lot of books and cars. It was tiring work to entertain him, but worth it, I think.

Why Ft. Myers? None of us had been there yet, but the Cap'n and I still reminisce about our canoe trip to the Everglades that I blogged about a month or so ago. And we were offered a free place to stay by our friend, who knew us back in the first town where the two of us lived together. Plus that child of ours needed some warm air and palm trees, as did his daddy.

It's a beautiful city, even if we didn't get to see any manatees the entire time we were there. We spent two days over on Sanibel Island, including exploring the Ding Darling Nature Preserve on a 4-mile nature walk.

We saw ibis, herons and egrets. There were plovers along the shore lines, and little crabs scurrying along the mangrove trees. We did not see any gators, but Slim got a new nickname: A.B. (Alligator Bait...doesn't he look tasty in his little stroller?) There were definitely times walking along the pathway where I could imagine a hungry gator sneaking out to snack on us.

The birds were a real highlight of the trip. We also rented a canoe at the Port Sanibel Marina and the whole family (Mia, too!) paddled out to find more birds. Again, no gators or manatees, but lots of birds, including a very large osprey.

The woman who rented us the canoe clearly thought we were nuts. She asked the Cap'n, "Don't you think you're taking a lot on?" What, there's something weird about a 7-month pregnant woman, an 18-month-old and a dog who doesn't like water going out for a paddle? But Slim was really into the ride, and most of the canoe trail was in water about 2-3 feet deep.

After the walking and paddling, the Cap'n and I needed a quiet day at the beach, which we got next down in Naples on Barefoot Beach. We saw quite a few gopher tortoises just in the parking lot. Slim napped naked on the beach and we all went for a dip in the shimmering blue waves, even if the water was still a little cold. A perfect January afternoon.

Unfortunately, we had to cut the trip a day short because we learned my grandfather got sick, and we wanted to make a detour through North Carolina. But before we left, we made a point to take Slim on an airboat ride, thinking he would be really into the wind in his hair and seeing the big gators. We did see the big gators, but Slim also quickly fell asleep on the boat.

We saw a lot more birds too, including very large wood storks and iridescent purple gallinule, but despite the Cap'n's best photographic efforts, most of the shots are of the backsides of the birds as they fled the noisy airboat. Okay, I know airboats aren't the most ecologically sensitive crafts or that good for the wildlife, but I'm just redneck enough to like the noise and the speed of them. Sorry.

So on the way back to DC, we visited good friends in Tampa and made the push through to North Carolina. By the end of the trip, there was nothing more we wanted than to be O-U-T of the car. Slim was just squirming in his seat and whine-crying. Even Mia was giving us that look from her perch on top of the bags in the back.

A fun time was had by all, but I think we may have to make shorter trips and maybe get a bigger car (Mazda6 wagon, anyone?) with BabyDos...

Quite a memorable first family vacation!

Quite a Life

2007-01-16T21:01:00.000-05:00

Phew. All I wanted to do this evening is put on comfy pants and some handknit socks. Good thing my watermelon socks were clean and waiting for me after our redeye flight from Portland, Ore.

What a fun time in Eugene and Florence!! I'm going to get some pictures up from the trip soon. Slim had such a good time playing with our friends' kids. I got pampered and the Cap'n got to pound around in the mostly demolished bathroom they were refinishing.

Meanwhile, there's a lot going on here...but all in good time.

I did get the second Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern started and I'm about done with the ribbing. I think this one will go pretty fast, since I have the pattern down now. I made one mitten for the boy out of leftover yarn from his Elf Swirl hat, but I think it's too small and tight. So it's to the frog pond for that one. It only took a day and a half, so I need to get it restarted and finished since it's cold back here in D.C.

Mom made a request for a pair of socks from Knitting Vintage Socks, so that's the next sock project on the needles. (Note: I said "sock" project. Not all projects.) She likes the Child's French Sock, and I'm thinking about using some Opal sock yarn (color 64 on the web site) that I found at Springwater a long time ago. I do want to swatch, however, so that I'm sure I'll get socks that fit Mom.

And you heard right: I'm using more stash yarn. Our trips to Florida and Oregon yielded NO opportunities for souvenir yarn SEX. NONE. When I was making notes of what to catch the blog up on, I somehow wrote that down twice. NONE. Of course, stash enhancement has been helped by significant gift yarns, so I have plenty to work on...

Of course, I mentioned the baby sweater with the Dalegarn Baby Ull. I need to swatch it and still find a pattern. I'm thinking I might try to go through some of the vintage pamphlets that my dad and grandma gave me to see if I can find something in there.

And I HAVE TO FINISH MY SWEATER. Y'all it has been almost a year since I started it. It's shameful. I am totally afraid of blocking and finishing. I'm not even sure if it will fit me and my 32-week belly right now, but it's the principle of the thing. And there might be some chilly days after March where I can trot it out.

The Cap'n has "laid down the law" on the sweater. I'm not supposed to pick up crochet, from the Happy Hooker or anyone else, until the sweater is finished. I've been psyched since getting the Big Box of Yarn from Dad about learning crochet and have been thinking about taking a class. KnittinSis gave me Deb Stoller's book, so I'm going to start there. But, yes, after the sweater. Heck, probably after BabyDos.

So I really meant to post pics, but I think I'll do a separate post on Florida and another on Oregon. By time I get those done, I'll have knitting progress and other news to post about. And hopefully those law school apps done....ooh, don't remind me.

Instead of working on them during our travels, I managed to finish two fiction books: "Restless" by William Boyd (a Hanukkah gift from the Cap'n) and "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. I can highly recommend the first one, which is a fun read, but the second one was so-so. It was too reliant on stereotypes of the South.

So now I'm on to "Specimen Days" by Michael Cunningham, which I got just on the basis of "The Hours,"which haunted me for weeks after reading it. And knitting...I need the relaxation.