Fiber Party

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.

Coldwater Loom Room

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!

It Might Take 4 Years...

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.

Things I Have Learned...

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!

Knit Update

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

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.

Growing and Growing

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?"

Bloggy Inspirations

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

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

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.

In Time-Out

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.

Oh, Baby (Sweater)

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...