Giant nerd

I got a new set of bamboo knitting needles for Christmas. I also got a little cashola. What do those two things together mean? Yarn!

 I am about 2/3 of the way done with a baby blanket for my friend and her shower is next weekend. I will be glad when it is over. The yarn is beautiful. The pattern is interesting. I am just tired of making blankets!  I think as long as I make sure I remember to work on it everyday, I will be done in time. 

In time for what? My Downton Abbey mystery knit along. So in a week or so I should get a couple skeins of this in the mail. 

I worked hard at editing that picture. Don't judge. 

It is an alpaca silk blend. I can't wait to touch it. Anyway, during the new season of the show, Jimmy Beans Wool will release instructions on their blog with what to do everytime something happens on the show. In the end, I will have decoded the pattern and made something. It is supposed to be some kind of shawl but I have no idea what it will look like.  Justin is a little surprise at this level of knitting nerdity.

magic and other updates

I finished straining my yogurt.  Won't do that again because the thicker chunks grossed me out.  I don't think it made that huge of a difference.  Ok I shouldn't say I won't do it again, because I probably will at some point, but I need a better system.  The picture below is how much I got for $1.15.  Not too shabby.

I am still waiting on my first shipment of my yarn of the month yarn! I know other  have gotten theirs but I haven't.  I am waiting patiently.  In the mean time I made a square.  I received a book of different patterned stitches for Christmas and decided that in between projects I would make random squares out of leftover and probably new (at some point) Spud and Chloe sweater yarn.  I made Ava's blanket out of it and it has held up beautifully, even through washes and regular use for a couple years.  I think it has great stitch definition and feels nice to use.  This is my square in the sand stitch.  It is really a cream colored yarn.  The lighting was bad and I take all my pictures on my phone.

Here is the picture of a sweater I made for my friend's baby this summer.  Nice to see what it looks like on a baby.  I really liked this yarn and pattern and wouldn't mind making it again.

A new discovery

Guess what I discovered today?  There is such thing as a yarn of the month club.  Not just one, but a lot.  Different manufacturers have their own yarn of the month clubs.  There is one official "Yarn of the month" club and they send out samples of different varieties.  That particular one is pretty cheap, especially compared to other "of the month" clubs that I have purchased for others such as beer, cheese, chocolate, etc.

Anyway, with a bit of the profits from my new direct sales endeavor, I decided to join a yarn of the month club.  I decided to go with one from www.threeirishgirls.com.  I picked it because I do get to pick from a couple color options, it is a different fiber type every month and if I wanted to order more of the color to make a bigger project, I can at a discounted price.  So anyway, that was my decision.  I had to jump on it because they sell out.  Can you believe it?  Some people are very loyal to their yarn of the month club, I discovered, so you kind of have to wait for people to drop out to get a spot.

I am hoping to try some new projects.  I have been in a rut with blankets and hats.  I need to branch out.  I am looking forward to something being picked for me and I just have to figure out what to do with it.  It is a challenge.  I am intrigued.  Maybe yarn of the month club subscriptions will be my new go to gift request!

I got invited to drop in and knit over the next couple weeks at a friends house.  I am hoping to finish this blanket that is my nemesis and get my first delivery of yarn so I can make something for Ava for Christmas.  So stay tuned.  I will share my new yarns and projects for those who are interested. 

What I have been working on...

So I always say I have a lot of projects going. It is true. Here are all the things I am working on. This does not count all the random things that I started for about an hour and haven't picked back up because they were boring me.

This is a sweater I am working on for Ava. It had such potential but the seem up the middle where I have changed colors is horrible and knowing that it won't be good does not make me want to continue. I will though because she is waiting for it and she never has to wear it out of the house. I am making it from a bunch of leftover Spud and Chloe Sweater yarn I have.

This is a scarf I am making for Justin. It is actually really fun to work on and I really want to get back at it. IT is Noro Keuron.

This is my cardigan. I have restarted the side panels. There is a pull in the one sleeve. I am not sure if it just got there or what, but I am debating taking out all I have done in the sleeves up to that point and starting it back up. This is a fancy sweater...I want it done soon, since it reminds me of fall and if I don't get on it, it will be for next fall. It is made out of Blue Sky Alpaca - Alpaca silk blend.

I have very slowly been working on this blanket. I had made 4 squares about 3 years ago. I think I am almost halfway done. This is Vanna's Choice worsted weight.

Now for some things I have finished...This blanket I started 3 years ago also and finally finished it...except for weaving in the ends of course. Made with knitpicks shine sport. I really do like this yarn for baby projects.

I made this blanket start to finish in a few weeks. It is a gift for a friend. I am motivated so much more by a deadline and purpose. Made with knitpicks comfy worsted.

Another finished project. A gift. (made with knitpicks comfy worsted.

I made this for Justin. I don't remember what kind of yarn I used.

So I am going to try to hurry up and finish some more projects. I ordered some Cascade 220 fingering yarn, which I believe is pretty new, to make a little jacket thingy for Ava. It should hopefully come soon. I am going to try to finish something before I start on it. I am going to have to count my finished projects for the year. I might have to make a mad dash to finish my 12 in 12 months.

Call me crazy...

Today a friend and I drove three hours to the Michigan Fiber Festival. It was very interesting to say the least. I ended up not buying any yarn, which was odd. I was prepared to have to talk myself out of a lot of it. I had set myself a budget of what I would allow myself to spend. I told myself that I couldn't buy it no matter how pretty I thought it was if I couldn't think of a project to go with it. I had limits in place! I felt very little temptation. I am not sure what the issue was. I think it might have been the total quanity of choices. It isn't every day when you have about 50 mini yarn shops selling their wares. That is a lot of choices. I took notes of the brands I liked and styles I liked, so I could order them online when I came up with a project, but that was about it. I bought one pattern and an elephant ear. (We did also stop for some wine at Lemon Creek Winery, but that wasn't technically at the festival.)

I was intrigued by all the spinning wheels. I was able to watch it and I got the concept. I am sure it is something that looks easier than it really is, but I now have a bug about it. I want to do it! I want to go take a class, learn how to spin and do it. Maybe I will love it, maybe I won't, but it will be one of those things where I can say I have done it. I am not actually sure what I will do with the yarn I make, if I get into it. Obviously I could make something out of it... This might be a nice, needed break for my wrist tendons. I need to make this happen.

miscellaneous

I am going to attempt to get back into the blogging habit this summer. I missing out on the kid updates, and this is my record of what they did when, for when they are older.

Last week Rhys went pee on the potty for the first time ever. He says he has to go potty all the time, but has only gone once. We are going to try to do the full out potty training the week of the 27th after Ava gets her laser treatment and we are inside by default.

I am getting all set to put on my "school mom of the year" pants. I am hopefully going to the uniform resale today at Ava's school to see if there are any good deals. It is a resale put on by the PTM (parent/teacher ministry, like the PTA) as a fundraiser for the school. I also placed my first script order (thanks Diana!)and we have earned $8.80 towards our $200. So if you have any need for gift cards, let me know and I will order them for you! We will be using gift cards to pay for most things from here on out, groceries, gas. That way we can earn our money with just regular purchases instead of having to spend extra.

I have lost all motivation for knitting. It is a sad state of affairs. I have three projects started and I guess I am not all that interested in any of them right now.

I am off to go change a poopy diaper and convince Rhys so say lemonade again. He says mamalade. It is pretty cute.

yeah, real fast

Ok here is some follow ups.

Ava had her individual assessment/interview for Kindergarten. She had no real skills to work on for the summer. She is just supposed to continue to practice her letter writing so she doesn't get rusty. We are just waiting for them to call and schedule the family interview.

I finished Ava's blanket. She loves it, or so she says. I am pretty happy with it. I don't have a picture of it really finished, all flat and blocked after the washing.

I did make a pair of booties. They are kind of ugly. Ava is using them for her dolls. I have learned from them and now feel confident to make booties as gifts.

We have been sick lately. Ava had an ear infection last week, though aside from one night of complaining it was pretty much like she had a cold. Rhys had a flu like thing last week, fever, cough, snot. Everything is gone except for all the snot and a little bit of cough. I think Rhys has had stuff pouring out of his nose for the last month. I am pretty much ready for winter to be over. There were a few warm days that melted everything and let us play outside. It was a tease and just makes the rest of winter harder to deal with. I have never been a winter complainer, but now I am. The kids need a change of scenery.

so close

I am almost done with Ava's blanket. Hopefully in the next two days it will be finished. It will all depend on how much time I actually get to work on it. I am hanging out at home with sick little people. Ava just has a cold and cough but Rhys has a fever. Neither are sick-sick. Just enough to keep us home and keep them in full whining mode.

Ava has her individual assessment for kindergarten tomorrow. She meets with the teacher for about 20 minutes and they just play games to determine her skill levels. It doesn't make a difference as to whether or not she is accepted. They just want to know if there are areas she needs to work on before the fall.

Writing time is up. Rhys has decided it is a good idea to put a giant ball in the little tikes car and sit on it and get Ava to push him around. I don't see this ending well.

This is a tale of sadness and woe

So I finally finished a project. I finished and sewed together the slippers that were supposed to be for Ava for Christmas in early January. I felted them as directed. It took three rounds in the wash to make them uniformly tight. They had great shape and looked cute. Here is the part of sadness and woe. They came out to be about an adult size 5 or 6. That means they are a little small on me and gigantic on Ava. Ava cried about it and huffed and puffed at me and told me what a huge failure I was. Really, she just huffed and puffed and told me that they were way too big for her and I did it wrong. I didn't do it wrong though. I followed the measurements and directions of the pattern, the pattern just must not have been for the correct size. That is really all there is to it.

This is one of the finished slippers. Ava has stolen the other one and bound it with rubber bands in an attempt to make it fit her foot so it was not available for the picture. Switching this over to a positive note, these bad boys fit quite nicely in my purse for when I go to other people's houses and need some slippers. It is ok, I don't mind walking around looking like a giant elf.

So on to my next project. I am chugging away at it and making quite a bit of progress. Since I have the goal of finishing 12 projects in 2011, I need to finish this in February, so I can be 2 for 2. (I am totally counting the slippers even though they were really mostly done in November and December, because dang it, I finished them in January and some projects take a long time. I am also counting my 3 squares I finished in January for my square project group for kids in Africa. Might have to cushion the total come November, so right now I am really at 4 for 1.) I am making a blanket for Ava. It is the Dream Catcher Baby Blanket out of Spud and Chloe sweater yarn. I am just past the halfway point with the squares. I have been sewing them together when I can too. I figure it won't be so daunting at the end and it will force me to not rush the sewing and will have an overall better result. I am getting much more comfortable with the mattress stitch so hopefully I will be more confident when I sew together future clothing projects. Anyway, here is a picture of what I have finished.

Status of the second set of slippers...sitting alone and depressed and not finished because since the child size slippers turned out to be adult sized, I am not sure what giant will be able to wear the "adult" sized slippers.

snippets

I am planning this whole advent craft thing for Ava. So far it is slow going because it is December 1st and I haven't gotten around to wrapping up all the individual projects. I have collected most of the supplies though. Maybe her advent will start on Monday. She doesn't really know that it is supposed to be 25 days right?

Ava has planned a vacation to Disney. She clearly doesn't get the concept that she has to pay for this vacation. She decided it would be for Justin's birthday next year. Turns out she will have a full week off of school for Thanksgiving so we could try to make the trip Saturday through Wednesday and still be back for Thanksgiving. She managed to keep this a secret from Justin for about 3 weeks. Which is good for her because she tends to blurt things out when she gets really excited. She talks about the trip just about every day so we are definitely going to try to make this happen. All spare change is going in "Ava's family vacation" jar.

The school year is just about halfway over and that is insane to me. I feel like she just got started. It is definitely going by fast and we are in a routine. I can now see how moms look forward to school starting up again after breaks, just to get back to the normal routine. Ava can now write almost all of her letters and is figuring out the sounds. She isn't reading yet, but she is definitely recognizing some words.

I finished one slipper. I am on to slipper number 2. It isn't the matching slipper to the first one. It is for Ava instead. I like to delay my sense of accomplishment apparently. I really just wanted to have to finish at least 2 pairs. And I didn't have enough yarn to make the full 2nd adult size one, so I wanted to be able to finish another slipper before I had to buy more.

I had a plan

Once upon a beginning of November, I had a plan. I was going to make us all matching slippers for Christmas morning. I found the perfect yarn. I got started and it was fast work. Then I got distracted with who knows what. November is now almost over and I am still half way done with one slipper. That leaves 7.5 slippers to be made in about 27 days. I am now sitting her with my half finished slipper and I just can't get moving. Maybe I should go take a shower and get in pajamas and get cozy and somehow it will bring about the knitty feeling. I don't have much confidence in this.

So close...

I am almost done with Rhys' sweater.  Like always, I am antsy to move on to something else.  I usually find my next project well before I am finished with the current.  It helps keep me motivated.  I won't let myself start the new one until the old is finished, so it gives me that final push to keep going.  I have to finish one sleeve and put everything together and sew on the buttons.  Today Rhys asked if he could wear it, so that is another motivating factor.

Last Friday, my new knitting group met for the first time.  I think we had a pretty good turn out.  Some people were working on the squares for charity, some on their own projects and a couple were just learning.  I finished my first square.  They go pretty fast and are very portable, so they are good little busy work projects or mindless knitting when I want to work on something but don't have the focus to follow a pattern.  A couple other plan to come in the next few meetings to contribute.  I wonder how many squares we will really will get done. 

I ordered yarn for my next project, a large felted handbag.  A friend has asked me to make one for her.  She says she will pay me but I don't think I want to take any money for it.  Who knows if I will mess it up or not.  I have made a smaller version of this pattern before so I am pretty confident that it will turn out well. I am finally getting to Noro yarn.  It is a handpainted wool from Japan.  It just looks really cool and I have been wanting to use it for a while.

I haven't been keeping up with posting what I have been reading.  I have been on a reading spree lately. 

I have recently finished:
Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers.  This was a second book of a two part series.  I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larrson.  Loved it.  It is actually the first of three books that were unpublished at the time of the author's death.  It was pretty dark, but I am definitely going to be moving on to book #2 shortly.

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.  It was ok.  I have really loved some of Nicholas Sparks books, but this wasn't one of them.  It was just so so. 

Currently reading: The Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella.  Nothing like a funny British-pop fiction to make me happy. 

squares

So I have been intrigued by the idea of a sampler afghan.  I wanted to work with my friends who do knitting or crocheting and come up with awesome random blankets.  The problem with that is there aren't that many friends who do those things or that want to.  Plus then the debate comes up, what to do with the blankets?  My friend Andrea and I have been trying to get a group of people together on a somewhat regular basis to work on projects.  It has been pretty hard to arrange.  So we have a new plan.  We now have a host house, a few committed people and a set start date.  We also have a project.  We are going to knit squares for charity.  Check out www.knit-a-square.com and you will see what we are up to.  We can knit or crochet squares, hats, sweaters, and mail them off, and someone puts them together into blankets for orphans and needy kids in Africa. 

A while ago I got a bunch of wool.  It was super cheap so I bought it figuring I would figure out something to do with it later.  This is it.  The squares are better when made out of wool because they won't burn the little children up!  No seriously, wool is flame resistant versus the acrylic that will melt and catch on fire if it is too close to the open flame.  Anyway.  It is my preschool knit time, so I better get going on the square.

Rhys' sweater is still in progress.  Almost totally done with the body and I will just have to do the sleeves.  Hopefully in the next week or two I will have that done.  Ava can't wear her sweater I made her to school because she needs to have her name in it!  I need little made by Emily tags to sew into my stuff.  I am clearly at that professional of a level.  I think I will then be making some mittens.  I am completely in love with the sweater yarn from Spud and Chloe and they have some good colors for mittens.

all day long

All day long I have had ideas and things going through my head that I wanted to say and now I can't think of anything.

*Earlier in the week we went grocery shopping at Target. Ava was so excited, she could hardly contain herself. She acted like everything was a great find. Who needs Disney when we could just go grocery shopping.

*The painting is finished in the house. It looks awesome. It is now a small mystery to figure out when things will be hung back up on the walls. It took years the first time, I highly doubt it will take that long again.

*Ava started gymnastics last week. It isn't really gymnastics. They are mostly learning how to jump and balance. Very basic intro skills. Ava definitely needs the intro skills. She still doesn't really know how to jump. Good news though, we found a leotard so at least she will look cute while not really jumping.

*I have the whole body of the cardigan I am knitting finished. I am working on the first sleeve. I have been pretty distracted with other things going on so I haven't worked on it much lately.

*Justin ran in the warrior dash this weekend. I am sure it was a ton of fun for him and something he enjoys doing. We tried to go and watch. I am glad we got to see the set up and stuff, but it turned out to be a huge waste of a Saturday for me and the kids. Tons of waiting and being hot. Shockingly enough, we weren't the ones sunburned. Justin just dabbed it on in a few places and got burned everywhere else. The rest of us were totally fine.

*I have a new favorite Keurig coffee. It is Daybreak Blend from Caribu. I just love it and think you should know.

*We went to the pool on Friday afternoon as a family. Justin got to experience Rhys' fear/fascination with the drain at the pool. We also figured out that Rhys loves the splash station thing. He will stand under the water as it pours in his face and he really doesn't care, yet he still isn't too thrilled about the idea of standing in 6 inches of water. The lazy river was broken which was a bummer since Ava really wanted Justin to come just so she could go on it. It looks like he will have to come with us another time this summer.

*8 days until we watch Eclipse! I should re-read the book, but I must pace myself. Now that school is finished (hallelujah!!!!!!!!!) I have some more time to read so I have at least 5 days to read something else.

*I just finished reading Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers. LOVED IT! I can't wait until the 2nd part comes out. I read another book by the same author a while ago and got completely sucked in. I know she has quite a few other books, but for some reason I am hesitant to read them. I read the first two off of recommendations, so I am not sure what the thoughts are about her other books.

*I also finished reading Water for Elephants. I know it has been out for a while, but I really enjoyed it. I love having things on my nook! I just wish I knew more people who either had the nook or used Barnes and Noble ereader. I am a generous sharer of books, so let me know if you would like to be on my share list! Plus, somebody share with me!

so many projects.

Things have been busy around here.  Half of the rooms have been painted. The downstairs is getting started this week.  One or two walls are being painted at a time so we don't have to move everything in the entire living/kitchen area at the same time. It is a much easier system on my end and since we are in no rush, it works out well. 

I have finished some yarn projects and started another.  Here are my first pair of booties.   Because they are baby booties, it doesn't really matter that much that they aren't exactly the same size.  I really am not sure how that happened, but I clearly added a row or left out a row, just not sure which.  I had to force myself to keep going on the second one.  I probably shouldn't really develop a sock making habit because I am not great at follow through on the 2nd one. 

This hat was supposed to be a newborn size but I think it is a lot bigger. It looks that way to me at least, but who knows, I didn't have a newborn handy to try it on. I guess too big is better than too small. Either way, it was pretty easy and inspired me for a future big project.

This was a great beginner knit blanket. It moved fast enough that I wasn't hopeless that I could never be able to finish. It also seemed very stretchy and cuddly. I will probably make more in this style in the future.

Last week a friend came over who knits. I really don't know that many people who knit regularly. It really could be a social hobby. I want to learn from other people so I have been trying to get a group together for a while. Ok, not trying, but thinking about it. I did finally just send out an email to try to set it up. Anyway we went to my favorite yarn shop and picked out some awesome yarn for a sweater to make Ava. One of the main reasons I wanted to learn how to knit was to make sweaters. I figured it would be easier to start out with small ones. Good thing I have some little people to make them for.

Here is her yarn choice. I am really liking how it is looking so far.

Last weekend we did the Relay for Life. We brought both the kids and I really liked having them there. Sleep wasn't that common but there was very little crying or whining so I didn't mind. Plus they both slept during the day on Saturday which was nice when I wanted to sleep.

This has become difficult to write since Rhys keeps flopping on me and saying he is my blanket.

tea cup pig

I am currently watching a show with a tea cup pig. I thought it made a nice title. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a tea cup pig.

Anyway, my class has finished up. I am still waiting on my final grade, but my final project paper was a success. The question is...did I blow my A with my final. I don't think I did, but you never know. I have started my next class already. I like having classes that only last 8 weeks. For one if it is horrible, it is over quickly. For two, I get the motivation to be ahead in the class, to actually do the reading and actually get a lot done before that motivation is lost.

I have finished Ava's bag, within in allotted Olympic time slot. She has at least liked it enough to carry it around for a couple of days, which means it has been a success.

I am currently working on another handbag, but not for me. Someday, I will make something for me again. Maybe some socks! Good news is my hand hasn't been hurting as much. I think that is because of two things. I have stopped playing farmville on facebook. I have also actually made an appointment with the doctor for Wednesday.

Two weeks until vacation! I am so excited to go. I am looking forward to the adventure of a 9 hour drive with children... Well not really, but I am up to the challenge. I am looking forward to hiking and hot tubs and hanging out. Bummer about the scheduling of vacation, I have a midterm that week. I am going to have to go crazy and get stuff done in addition to the packing, so I can get it all done before we leave. Then I will have a full vacation of no work or homework!

What car snacks should I pack for the kids? I wish there was a net I could put around Rhys' seat to catch all the toys that he will throw down repeatedly. I wish I could get a sound shield like in limos...it is going to be an awesome trip.

chances are

Chances are that I will never actually get around to writing the posts that I have meant to get to. I don't have a to do list that I can cross off. Maybe I should make one.

Life is getting back to normal with Justin back at work. We didn't get a lot of things done on his vacation like we had planned, but some things were finished. He and Ava did go see a movie. We did all go Chuck E. Cheese. I worked on my knitted scarf. We got a cable line dropped into our bedroom, well at least 95% of the way. The tv is set up in our room instead of Ava's and is functional so that works. In the winter our house is extremely cold downstairs so I much prefer to hang out upstairs. This makes quiet time much more productive since I can be upstairs to enforce Ava staying in her room, not freezing, watching something without cartoon characters and folding laundry at the same time. Goal for the winter, get in the habit of folding and putting away laundry every day so by the time we venture back downstairs, it will be a part of my routine.

Ava started swimming lessons today. She took lessons before but those were the ones where I hold her and just make her try to kick in the water. These are big girl lessons. She sat on the side of the pool and did everything with her instructor, without me. She gave me many "please save me" looks at the beginning and even tried to bail out and have a meltdown, but I just put her back in the water and she stayed. The class ended up moving to the other side of the pool from where we were sitting (Ava is taking her class with her friend Annika, so that means I get to sit and talk with Annika's mom.) and I saw her smile a few times. By the end she said she had fun and is going to do it again, which is good because she has 7 more weeks!

I have managed to continue knitting my scarf without my hand falling off. A key element to this is sleeping with a wrist brace on and limiting computer activity. I apparently can't do it all. This is good news to me and I have decided to plan ahead for a few future projects. I am about 2/3's of the way done with my scarf. It is kind of a slow pattern since every row is different (I say this like i know what i am talking about...I have never followed any other pattern in knitting, but I know that it would slow me down in crocheting so whatever.) and I am looking forward to being done with it. I ordered some sock yarn today and circular needles so I am hoping that by the time my order comes, I will be done with my scarf so I can start on a pair of socks. Other projects on deck: felted bag and a baby blanket.

School started up again for both of us. I have yet to start anything for it. I did look at the syllabus and I have fewer projects than last class, but not by much. This should be interesting to see how Justin and I manage our time to allow us both to get things done.

I have decided that I want to make some scones, because it will sound fun in my head to offer people a scone. Off to find some scone recipes.