Umiko

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

2011-05-24T12:05:00.000-04:00

I'm not even going to begin to recap on the last few weeks in the new house. It's been both invigorating to be out of the hotel and exhausting to have multiple projects going on at once. Whenever we finally get SOMETHING finished I'll start posting the progress photos... but at the moment the chaos is too much for even a digital photo.

Some of what I have going on:

painting vintage dressers for the bedroom so our clothes are not in totes on the floor
mentally designing my home daycare rooms
painting and restyling lamps
covering IKEA mirrors with fabric
knitting vase covers
making a wax paper chandelier
sewing curtains for my son's room
researching upholstery fabric to bring new life to the seller's left-behind chairs
going bonkers staring at the most hideous wallpaper-like wall paneling ever

That about sums it up (I think).

Today, we're having some nasty weather. I just barely managed to fit The Beast (the Suburban) in the car port. Luckily, I'm a lot smaller than my husband... otherwise I might have had to exit the vehicle from the trunk. I got absolutely soaked in the process and experienced the joy of being battered by chickpea size hail.

Except for my knitted vase covers I have not been knitting anything since we moved in. I assure you, my hands are depressed. My husband works Monday-Friday, so every weekend that he's home we take full advantage of having time together as a family and more time to work on home projects.

Right now I feel like the house will never get done. Previously when we have moved, the house has been move-in ready as it was and we never had plans to alter it in any way. But here... we're ripping up and replacing flooring, we're painting, we're putting up walls and building things. It's a long process having to work around a young child and a full time job!

Professional Knitwear Design and Lace

2011-04-27T01:56:00.000-04:00

Surfing the internet really paid off for me this week! I've had my Swagbucks account for about a year and have been trading in my points for Amazon gift cards. I've been saving them for a rainy day... said rainy day was last week. If you don't know about Swagbucks - click the link and sign up, it's free and it's effortless money!

Today I got these sweet books in the mail-

The Knitgrrl Guide To Professional Knitwear Design (How To Keep Your Knits About You) by Shannon Okey from Knitgrrl.com and Knitgrrlstudio.com.

I bought this as a shelf book. And when I say shelf book, what I really mean is a reference book for later. I don't feel like I'm ready to start designing patterns, but the interest is there. I'm having too much fun just knitting for myself right now. I like to know the ins and outs of things before I start, so reading up on the WWWWW & H of designing knitted garments/items is a good place for me to gain some perspective of the bigger picture.

While doing a few loads of laundry this afternoon I made it to almost the end of the third chapter. Shannon covers a lot more than I was expecting in just the first few chapters! The first chapter is about professionalism, which in any line of business, is a must. The second chapter covers social media, a very important part of business in this day and age. The third chapter was interesting because Shannon touches on where a knitter can profit from her expertise outside of just knitting and designing by offering professional services related to knitting. It makes me wonder why more math whiz knitters haven't become technical editors themselves!

So that's how far I've made it so far. The writing is clear and concise; there's also a healthy dose of Shannon's own wit and humor, too. I can't wait to read through this book, but it may take longer because we'll be embarking on moving into our house this weekend and running head-first into a dozen DIY home improvement projects. I was thinking though... paint samples - they would make great guides for yarn colors!

Here's the second book I have been lusting after for awhile. It's been on my wishlist for at least 6 months for sure! My family and I were so busy today, I didn't even get a chance to crack it open, but plan on skimming through before I go to bed. I'm positive it will make for some colorful and lacy dreams!

I also want to get my hands on the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume One: Knit & Purl: The Ultimate Stitch Dictionary from the Editors of Vogue Knitting Magazine (Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Series), The Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume Two: Cables: The Ultimate Stitch Dictionary from the Editors of Vogue Knitting Magazine (Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Series), and maybe some day I'd be interested in picking up a copy of The Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume Three: Color Knitting: The Ultimate Stitch Dictionary from the Editors of Vogue Knitting Magazine (Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Series).

If you own any of the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary books I'd love to know what you think - or if there are even better ones that you prefer.

When I get the time and have our internet hooked up at the house, I'll be writing more about knitting books that I love or wasted money on.

Also, a note to anyone who may be cooped up in a hotel for two months waiting to move into a house: save your gift cards for online shopping! Stagger your orders by about a week or two so you always have something to look forward to in the mail. I'm so thankful that we have a local friend who has allowed us to have mail delivered to them!

Have a great weekend!

Countdown to the End!

2011-04-25T01:27:00.002-04:00

I can hardly believe it - we are in single digit days until we move into our new-to-us home. Friday, the 29th, is our contract closing date. This is the point in blogging when I have to restrain all the nasty things I have to say about the sellers, because I may very well go off the deep end and honestly, it's just not nice. Why do I want to rip them to shreds with words? Well... we got our hopes up that we wouldn't have to live in our hotel for the full 50 days (that's almost two months, people! UGH!). Then, two weeks ago our realtor let us down as easily as she could after confirming that the sellers are "overwhelmed" and that we shouldn't plan on having our household goods delivered until the 29th or after.

I'm so glad that we spent half a day shopping the Easter sales for flooring, otherwise the news today would have been even more frustrating. The good news is that my husband actually approved of the deep purple carpet I was not-so-secretly lusting after for the bedroom. That, and we found extremely discounted carpet for the living room and saved 75% on the laminate flooring. Although we spent at least $60 on gas money shopping around over the last two weeks, we estimated that we saved roughly $1,500 on flooring. Totally worth it! I am so excited that I am going to have a real dirty-work art space downstairs for clay working and tattooing.

Ah yes, and the bad news is that the help we were hoping to have won't be there. My father-in-law was supposed to fly in this weekend to help us rip up flooring and install the new, but we were very sad to hear that he went in for surgery early this morning to have his gall bladder removed. Apparently he was experiencing some horrific abdominal pain last night before checking himself into the ER. Thank God it wasn't something more serious and that they were able to operate quickly to remove the stone-filled gal bladder and stop the infection that was settling into his liver. My husband has a few friends who may have been able to help, but the outlook on that happening is looking pretty bad right now.

I've been steadily knitting. I finished an interesting little tshirt from the current Interweave Knits magazine, I'm 80% done with the modified Coachella tank top and plugging away at a few rounds here and there on a hat. I can't believe how much I have knitted in the last two months. I think I'm making up for all the time I spent in Michigan not knitting.

The older that Lucas gets, the less that he's interested in me playing with him. So... I knit and talk to him while he plays by himself and we talk about what he's doing. His vocabulary skills improve every day and most days it seems like he is just overflowing with the desire to communicate every interesting detail of his life. Nowadays I have very little guessing to do when it comes to his needs and wants, he is capable of communicating so much to me. I am so taken aback by how quickly he learns, most of the time all I can do is smile like only a proud mother can and relish every moment of his personal journey and discovery of the world. His joy is my joy, his hurt is my hurt, his accomplishment is my pride... Being a mother is (for me) so spectacular and fun that I will never find the words to describe it properly.

One of these days I'll have my laptop hooked up to the internet again and I'll finally be able to start posting most photos of my knitting and progress on the house. I have the feeling that this year is going to be very full and very fulfilling.

The Next Fever

2011-03-25T01:15:00.002-04:00

Yes, I have house fever. I can't wait to move in to our new house. We've been driving by every few days just to remind ourselves that we will not, in fact, be trapped in our hotel room forever. There is a light at the end of the tunnel... and at the end of next month, but hopefully sooner. I think we're at max 37 days and counting down.

This year has brought a lot to look forward to - a new state, new friends, a new home, new yarn shops to visit and for me personally, dozens of DIY projects to really pour some personality into our new home. I'm already planning on covering my dining room wall with a collection of unique and artsy clocks. I have had a weird tick for clocks since a middle school art class introduced me to Salvador Dali. I figure since the Noro Kureyon table cloth I am knitting will be all kinds of bright and cheerful, I might as well extend that to my wall. I have a few clocks picked out that I love on Etsy and many more that I have favorited as inspiration to make my own clocks. I'm hoping that I'll be able to find and redo some clocks from local thrift stores.

I spoke to our realtor today and happily found out that the sellers will be leaving some furniture behind after I dropped a hint that we would be interested in anything they didn't feel like taking and the king size waterbed in the fourth bedroom. So..yay! That means that I will hopefully have plenty of furniture to paint and fix up.

I don't have a plan for my knitting room yet. It would be awesome if the existing couch in there would stay, but I'm not getting my hopes up yet. I can't decide if I want to paint it purple like I did in my apartment in Germany or leave it a purist white. I'm very picky about wall colors. I can't stand any degree of yellow or orange on walls. Not a fan of pastels in general, really. I think I can get away with a deeper hue because the room is in the corner of the house and has two windows with lots of light.

The kitchen is kind of a stale mate for me right now. The backsplash is old-lady-esque, although not completely shudder-worthy. I am thrilled that the cabinets are in beautiful shape, well-made and completely white. I am very tired of wooden cabinets in the kitchen. I'm considering either standard grass green tiles or some shade of green glass tiles. I've contemplated pulling design inspiration from the appliances - vintage, because that is more definately what the appliances are indeed. Not vintage ugly, just really vintage.

The only thing that has been putting a damper on our relocation was the news that my husband will more than likely be getting deployed this year, either this summer or in the fall. As if that weren't bad enough, now I don't have a "safe" time to book my flight to Germany to visit my Dad. July or August is probably my best bet. I was hoping to fly a little closer to the off season - namely, in September, but that looks like a bad time now. I know we'll work something out and if the worst comes to worse, then I will simply have my in-laws either come to me to watch my son or bring him to them. Regardless of what happens this year, I will keep my promise to my Dad to visit him. By the time I see him, it will have been nearly three years, the longest I have ever gone without seeing my Dad. I miss him like crazy and I'm excited to see how his life has changed, too - he remarried and moved to another city shortly after we left the country.

The only yarny update I have for today is that I am steadily plugging away at the tablecloth and nearly finished with the baby blanket. Earlier this week I picked up the beads and ribbon I needed to start a light sweater. My knitting fever has calmed a bit now that my husband was surprised with a four-day weekend and I'm not left alone all day with our toddler. I've decided to wait on a Knit Picks order and instead use my Paypal money on Etsy purchases. This weekend we're going to be scoping out some furniture stores nearby and price out livingroom chairs. We decided that our bulky reclining couches will work better in the family room downstairs than in the formal livingroom.

Here's hoping that the hail falling outside doesn't get any bigger...! Kansas weather is an odd ball at best. 80 degrees one day and freezing the next.

Knitting Fever

2011-03-21T02:07:00.004-04:00

I am absolutely distraught over the fact that nearly my entire stash of yarn is sitting in storage, waiting to find a new home in our new home. Distraught. Freaking out. Pheaning. Head hitting table. 40 more days to go until we move in? FML.

Yesterday we bought a second vehicle to enable my son and me to get around while my husband is at work and we're cooped up in our studio apartment hotel. Knitting has definitely played a prominent role in maintaining my sanity.... but... then the new Interweave Knits came out and all hell broke loose. That, and now that the weather is showing signs of letting up on winter and letting spring come in, I need to cast on four new projects. Right now. This instant. And I don't have the yarn for three of them. I've been making good progress on my soon-to-be-born nephew's baby blanket and a colorful Noro tablecloth for our house, but without something selfish on the needles I'm feeling a little empty. I am dead set on finishing the first two projects before I start another, but my determination is waning.

The other day we were shopping for some new kid's movies at Walmart and we passed a package of drumsticks. I thought they were knitting needles. My husband told me I am obsessed with knitting. We'll have been married 4 years at the end of this month and he's just now getting that? Is that how slow men really work?!

Yes, I am knitting fever's bitch right now. I am having a very difficult time deciding whether to spend some of the Christmas money my father sent us on interesting home items from Etsy next month or buying yarn NOW and having it sent to a friend's house. I know we're going to need some things to make our new house a home, but my hands are itching to stroke and knot some new string. Namely, string that will turn into two new tshirts and a short-sleeved open cardigan for myself.

I'm going to sleep on it and make a decision when am I thinking more clearly in the morning. The only thing that held me back from ordering a few thousand yards of yarn today was the fact that Knit Picks didn't have the colors I was looking for until the end of next month. I think it's a sign.

Squealing Breaks

2011-03-18T16:06:00.002-04:00

So 75 posts into my blog it came to a grinding halt. I can't really tell you why... maybe I lost interest in blogging or mommyhood just kept me too busy. Either way, I'm back (sort of) for the time being. My paper journal got a little more attention while my online blog suffered, but nothing too significant. In the time since being away from here my husband left my son and I to go to Texas to become a K-9 handler for the Army, something he's wanted to do since joining the military over 8 years ago. He routinely comes home with bite marks, muddied boots and ripped uniforms. The dog is fresh out of school just as he is!

Much has happened recently. While my husband was away at school I did little knitting. I knitted a hat for my step-dad's gargantuon head and casted off too loosely, so I'll be redoing that one. I knitted my mother a beautiful purple silk and bamboo scarf. My mom is one size bigger than I am, so I gifted her the red and purple sweater I knitted right after giving birth to Lucas. It looks fantastic on her and I no longer have to worry about all those knitting hours going to waste as the sweater sits in a drawer, unworn.

My family and I recently moved to our next duty station in Kansas. In the process of moving and driving I finished Lucas's Detroit Tigers sweater, knitted my pregnant friend a blanket for a baby who will hopefully make it full term, started a table cloth for the dining room in our soon to be new house and I'm furiously knitting a baby blanket for my sister in law, whom is due May 5th.

After moving, I wasted no time in finding a new knitting group. We had our first meeting last Sunday and it was longer than the one in Virginia. But, just as the one in Virginia, knit night meant bad weather. I got caught in a terrible snow storm and called my hubby in near tears to talk me through the worst of the white out that had me driving 25 mph in a 70 mph highway area. For some reason, Knit Night always means a Nor'Easter, a snow storm, a torrential downpour or something of that nature. But, come hell or high water, I will knit.

I'm excited to be in a new place, despite the fact that it is missing the bigger city shopping opportunities. To cheer myself up I put in a big order for Victoria's Secret with the Christmas gift card I had and am having it delivered to a friend on base. Nothing cheers me up like yarn and a new bra that makes my ta-tas look awesome :)

Well, that's it for now. I am busy enteraining my toddler in our tiny studio apartment hotel room all day while my hubby is away at work and knitting, row after row on my SIL's baby blanket.

Life is still good, it's just more complicated than usual!

Someone Old, Someone New

2010-09-21T20:07:00.002-04:00

I won't say the vast majority of the population is on social networking sites, but I have to say that in my age range, there are a lot of people online. Over the years, I've reconnected with a lot of old friends from school and travels. Best friends that I lost contact with became new to me all over again. It happened again recently and it's been really fun reconnecting.

There's nothing quite as enjoyable about rediscovering a person all over again, yet also having the past history to exchange funny, "Remember that one time when.." kind of stories. J and I spent a lot of time together back in the day and we've shared some pretty heavy experiences in life. It's nice to laugh about the good 'ole days, but the harder times are painful to talk about - even now.

It's really difficult to lose the ones that you love, but it's even better to gain them back.

Preparing My Heart

2010-09-20T00:09:00.003-04:00

I'm just going to write. I don't care how it all comes out and in what format, or in what order. It's all jumbled in my head anyways, so maybe I can make sense of it later. Many fragments, little wholeness.

As my husband has been gone the last week, I've felt the inner pull to prepare my heart for the future. We're embarking on a path together that wasn't in my vision of the future. I thought we would get out of the military, go back "home" and start our own brand of life together. That changed, and with that change I feel like I have to change, too.

This whole last year, plus some, has been one long-winded change of all kinds. At times it's been really difficult to find a branch to grasp on the long fall from the top of the tree. In essence, it's been like falling from "here" to "there", and "there" is the here and the now, the reality, ground level.

Becoming a wife, a military wife, a mother, a housewife, a person taken out of her familiar element. Taken further away from my own ambitions, my personal desires, the things I used to fill my days with. At times it's been unsettling, others it has been amazing, mostly it's somewhere in between the latter two. I know, without a doubt, that I am not the first or last woman who has had to struggle with coming to terms with my role as a person changing. Also, having to deal with my own sense of identity, grasping at the tangled remains of who I was, who I want to be now, who I want to be in the future.

I miss the feeling of being able to create my life one day at a time without regard to tomorrow. For many years I lived my self-created adventure. I laughed in the face of ho-hum existance and tried to make even the small things exciting, meaningful and memorable. I think of myself as a person that tries to live "deeply", absorbing as much in as I can handle and then maybe a little more, just for good measure.

I've become awfuly complacent about my life recently. There are phases that last for a few months and I ride the high of evolving and changing and then it pitter patters out to blahness again. I did a group book study on a couple of books and felt wholly and completely invigorated, then I went into the practical stage of putting the new things I had learned into application and now I'm here. Here is not pretty, here is not nice. Here is a little bit stagnant, a little bit dark. And I don't like it! I figure this is a good place to start - not in denial, but recognizing that I have come to this place and now is the time to start shaking things up. If you've been reading, then you've probably caught wind that I haven't been feeling 100% fulfilled in general.

I think it all boils down to me and how, in the process of all this change, I forgot to create a new vision for myself and my future with my family. The balloon of passion that has been steadily carrying me through life has lost some elevation and I know that now is the time to start pumping it back up.

One of the big things that has been missing in my life is the creative process. Yes, I've been knitting, but it's for the most part a solitary activity. And solitary is how I feel. I feel a little like a social butterfly with her wings folded together. When we moved here I moved away from a church where I volunteered a lot of my time. I moved away from a really fun full-time tattoo job where I got to meet new people and hear new stories all the time. I moved away from all the interesting countries that were a day's drive away. I moved away from my then-budding interest in creative photography. I was spontaneous, always creative, always on the move.

Now, I stay at home quite a bit so that my son is well-rested and well-fed, and also so that I can see my husband for short stints between his ever-changing, all-demanding job schedule. Life with a young child is a beautiful thing, but it is also poses a restraint to spontaneity. And time. All that time I spent with a tattoo machine in hand, a camera in my face, my hands on the wheel - replaced by the here and the now. I'm left wondering - how do I win some time back for me? I don't want to lose touch with myself any further. I don't want to throw in the towel and become the "white button-down, jeans and sneaker-wearing soccer mom in the suburbs". I'm not saying there is anything wrong with being that person, I'm just saying it's not me.

And that's all I've got on my plate right now. I feel like I have to become a little stronger again because there are times ahead of me that will require me to be much more self-reliant and proactive. I need to prepare my heart for strength against temptation, for patience and more kindness.

Space To Breathe

2010-09-15T23:40:00.002-04:00

Years ago, I hit a point of revelation that sitting around and watching TV was mostly wasteful and numbing and I'd done enough of it. That being said, I really like watching the hoarding shows that have become popular recently. Long ago I knew a very old woman who hoarded very expensive museum-quality antiques. Every surface in her unkept house was covered with stuff. My Dad and I met her while visiting my Great Aunt at the lake and later, when I moved in with my father, she became our landlord. The house we moved in to was ... shocking. It took me weeks to clear the cobwebs, 10 years worth of dust and to sort through the furniture that was stacked ceiling-high. The "house" was quite small and in it were at least 15 dressers, 6 couches, numerous tables in all sizes and and and... it was insane. Not all of it was crap, though. Before moving out we bought all the pieces we liked and later sold them before moving overseas. We made four times the amount that we spent! It was very strange having to weave around furniture to get from one room to the next.

Throughout the years after, I always lived in relatively small spaces with too much stuff. It was always irritating. I'm a sentimental person and I like to hold onto objects that have meaning to me. It goes a little like this: "So-and-So gave me this. I bought this in This Country." Etcetera. There are boxes of "stuff" in random places in the house. Some of the objects in those boxes haven't been touched in years. In the last few years I've been working on downsizing possessions in general. Mine are easy, having my husband follow suit is a whole 'nother story though! But I won't get into that... It's hard to let go of stuff.

My personal story is that after my parents divorced, our house foreclosed and I moved short notice into my Dad's (above) cramped house. My entire childhood went into the landfill. I don't own a single childhood toy or book. All that remains of that time are a few ripped-out pages of my very first diary - red hearts on pink paper and all.

My husband is gone doing some training out of state until the end of the month. In order to escape potential loneliness I've been on a sort-chuck-organize rampage in the house. I did lots of that while nesting, but since it's been difficult while doing a lot of mothering by myself. Now that Lucas is older and can occupy himself for longer periods of time and I don't have a husband to take care of, I have more time to invest in the house. We'll be moving before the winter is officially over with and now is a prime time to gut everything that doesn't need to go through yet another move.

It feels good to see the trash bags go out, to see the charity piles grow and to finally, after a long pause, have space to breathe again. Having a clean, clutter-free living space is energizing for me. I feel less stressed, more at ease and the house seems peaceful and open. There is still plenty that is blocking the total clutter-free state of nirvana I could achieve, but much of that is out of my hands. (Read: husband's stuff, mostly papers and scattered stuff in junk drawers and storage spaces.)

I miss my husband a lot, but at the same time, I've enjoyed the extra time to get things in order and the time to spend with the girls minus guilt trip. Oddly, I've knitted very little. I brought my sweater that's in the process of being designed to knitting group tonight, but picked a meal-time-clean-up washcloth project instead so I could concentrate on socializing. I'm trying to keep my days as full as possible, an occupied mind is one that can't dwell on the negative! :)

I Knit So I Don't Freak Out

2010-09-07T17:50:00.006-04:00

Evidence:
Above: Knitted squares, joined with crochet. Finished in 2008, finally got a decent photo. I love this blanket, it's very warm. Materials: Lion Brand Homespun and Gedifra Fashion Trend Astrakan.

Above: WIP Willie Warmer. Materials: TLC Cotton Plus

Above: Razor Cami. Materials: Araucania Ranco Solid

Above: Freehand Stash Bag (crocheted) Materials: Patons Classic Wool and leftovers of Plymouth Boku

Above: Square for Planet Blanket project (crochet). Materials: Red Heart cotton

Above: Noro Spiral Beret. Materials: Noro Silk Garden Chunky.

Above: Best Friend Cowl. Materials: Noro Bonbori and 5 assorted buttons.

Above: Bokulicious Mitered Square Knitting Tote. Materials: Plymouth Boku

Everything except the first picture of my blanket are things that I've completed recently or am in the process of completing. You can see the details and original pattern sources (when available) on my Ravelry Projects Page.

Things are going great and also blah. Lucas is eating again! That's the great news. I don't dare weigh him, in case that puts a damper on his re-newfound curiosity and interest in food that I'm so excited about. I've been slamming out one project after another, which is good.

What's not so hot is that my husband is going away for awhile. He'll be spending about three and a half months out of state from now until the end of January. I'm trying to be strong and not get too depressed, but I hate to be alone and I'm going to miss him. The timing couldn't be worse - the holidays, the winter blues... the "who's going to take out the trash?" issues... Just blah. So, I knit so I don't go nuts. At least it's constructive, from my existent stash and it's not ruining my health. :) Half full, right?

ISO My Life Update

2010-08-29T12:45:00.002-04:00

Fabric project bags. I used fabric from my stash and ribbon/lace/bias tape I scored in a big grab bag for a couple dollars at a thrift shop last year.

FO: Best Friend Cowl

2010-08-28T11:46:00.003-04:00

Yarn: Noro Bonbori

Project Updates and...

2010-08-28T11:18:00.004-04:00

I don't know why it's so hard to find my camera charger and take photos of some of the things I've been working on and my recently acquired stash! I guess it's just not at the forefront of my thoughts.

A few weeks ago I completed the 20 mitered squares to make my felted Boku bag. I bobby pinned all the squares together while having the ladies at knitting group help me arrange the squares in an appealing way. Many of the different colorways had similar colors, more specifically a lot of greens and pinks. It's lovely so far and I can't wait to get it sewn together, but I'm not in the mood to sew all those squares together right now. It seems like a daunting project.

So, instead of finishing and felting the bag I finished up my yarn cake holder for Kristy in her wedding colors. Of course I forgot to get a photo, as I am prone to do with most knitted gifts. Last night I also finished my Best Friend Cowl in Noro Bonbori. I was up late with my husband as he was trying to get in the night shift routine, so while he revisited Barn Yard on the Wii (and tuned me out with his ipod) I spent an exorbitant amount of time picking out the right size, color and shape of buttons for the cowl. I sewed each button on with a similar color of embroidery floss or yarn. I love how it turned out and now I can't wait for fall and winter to hit.

It's times like that when I'm glad I have a well-rounded crafting stash. Speaking of stash, however, I realized recently that I need to start collecting all my missing needle sizes. All too often I have had the yarn and ambition to start a new project only to realize that I'm missing the appropriate needles. And of course, when that happens it's like midnight and I can't exactly wake up Lucas and drag him with me to Walmart or something. Their selection of needles sucks anyways, but that's besides the point!

I casted on for and got half way through with a black Willie Warmer knitted with TLC Cotton Plus. You can find the pattern on Ravelry if you're really curious. I really don't want to knit it, because as much as my husband amuses me by saying he will wear it, I don't believe him. It's just like the hat I made him. "I don't know where it's at," or "It's too warm." Needless to say, he's not on my knitting list anymore. But, he was adamant about the warmer. It's an amusing knit and I love the feel of the yarn so far (I'm kind of a sucker for cotton anything), and luckily it's a very quick project because I know it will not see much use and it's cutting into my more important knitting time.

I promise sometime soon I will bomb the blog with photos. Until then, hopefully you're not too bored reading!

Maternal Frustration

2010-08-24T11:36:00.005-04:00

Some days I think I only survive because I know nap time or bed time is coming soon. My son's temperament changes at the drop of hat lately. I've been chalking up the moodiness to teething, the battle that never ends. I know that this will eventually pass, but then what? Terrible twos?

I've noticed myself getting increasingly frustrated and fed up with meal times. I know that I haven't been sleeping enough by choice and this is really been affecting my patience level. Strike one for Mom right there. Lucas came out of a 6-week long phase of refusing almost all finger foods and was back to pureed meals. Awhile ago he came out of that (literally, one day to the next everything changes!) and he had a few good weeks, now we're back to extreme picky eating. I've been reading endlessly about the experiences of other mothers of children this age and realize I am far, far from alone on this topic.

Lucas is refusing to being spoon fed which cuts out his super healthy yogurt and fruit mixes I make him for lunch most days. That also means forgetting about ground up adult dinners from the food mill. You'd be surprised how few choices there are when it comes to soft finger foods and how quickly they become tiresome for a baby. It's maddening because Lucas went from packing on pounds to dropping into the 7 percentile for his age. He has only gained ONE POUND IN FOUR MONTHS!!!!!!

It's disheartening to spend hours a day preparing the healthiest food I can come up with that include things he likes, attempting to feed him and letting him feed himself and then the slimy aftermath of the clean up process. I've taken to duct taping his bowls to the tray and allowing him to at least try spoon feeding himself. There is food in his hair, on his face, in his ears, under his bib, in his lap, his tray becomes an artist's palette of color, the booster seat/highchair is covered and the floor and anything nearby is splattered with whatever he's (not) eating.

Lucas will eat some bread, crackers, bites of a whole banana, and endless amounts of all kinds of cheese willingly, but my regular standbys of scrambled eggs and diced fruits are no longer on his choice of menu. If he were still gaining weight, I wouldn't be concerned, but he's not. People are starting to comment that he's small for his age. I'm just about at my wit's end and ready to try new things.

Some of the suggestions I've read online are:

-Ignore him while he eats. I do this sometimes anyways. I play darts, clean the kitchen or do something where I can still see him.

-Offer only one food. This goes against everything I know about a balanced diet, but at this point, I have to try everything possible that might have worked for someone else.

-Cut back on fluids before meals. Because Lucas is still on-demand breastfed and refuses cow's milk, he often drinks quite a bit of water from his sippy cup.

-Try Pediasure or some other baby shake. I am very anti-fake food and formula types of stuff, but again, desperate times call for desperate measures I guess.

-Let the baby graze on food all day. Nice in theory and I do this at times, but a lot of foods don't have a long life-span unrefrigerated or covered. Bread gets hard, eggs and dairy spoil. And we have dogs who are always on the lookout for scraps of food - this is probably the hardest part of letting him graze.

Normally we have most meals together, but this seems to make him less interested in eating as of late. A couple of times I have set his booster chair and tray down in front of the TV with cartoons and he has happily eaten anything offered to him. I hate doing it, I think it forms a bad habit of mindless eating that could possibly lead to obesity later in life, but I have to do what works right now.

I keep reminding myself that this will pass. I was a horribly picky eater until I was in my teenage years and I am healthy and turned out just fine. What I need to work on just as much as different methods of feeding Lucas is my ATTITUDE. If I'm short with Lucas, appear frustrated and irritated, I know I'm not making it easier or enjoyable for him and therefore shooting myself in my own foot. As I mentioned earlier my lack of sleep has really been affecting my mood and attitude for the worse, so I need to gain a few extra points in the self discipline section and get some more shut eye.

Deep breath. I know I'm not the only mother who has faced the "My child won't eat," battle.

ISO My Life

2010-08-18T01:29:00.002-04:00

Either it's late at night or my life has just become too routine and mundane. It may be a mix of both.

Eating, sleeping, showering, being a mommy - the daily grind. I really need to add in more things that I actually enjoy and things that allow me to feel like me and not just a robot.

1) Problem: I've been talking about finishing my tattoo forever now, but for whatever reason I don't make make an appointment with myself to sit down and finish it.

Solution: This month I will either pick a day that my husband isn't working or I will call my babysitter.

2) Problem: My wardrobe is more tired than I am and I only get an average of 5.5 hours of sleep a night.

Solution: Yarn diet as of immediately. Go shopping after lunch and/or when my husband is available to come with me or watch Lucas at home.

3) Problem: Fabric stash.

Solution: Haul sewing machine and fabric downstairs and start sewing while Lucas naps or in the evenings when Tom is home/Lucas is in bed.

I think 3 goals for the next two months is plenty.

I'll keep you updated on my progress or the lack thereof.

ISO Style

2010-08-18T00:59:00.003-04:00

If I could simply go through my stash and wear a few balls of yarn, I would be happy. I don't think most local businesses would appreciate that outfit though. :)

My wardrobe is so tired these days I feel like I'm going to need a prince to give it a magical kiss to bring it back to life. That, or all my be-liked clothes are hiding in a hamper somewhere. I don't know what happened... or what's happening. For a long time now I haven't been happy with my look or my clothing. Buying a shirt or two that's really "me" doesn't make the rest of my wardrobe any brighter or inviting.

I have a very modest wardrobe in terms of the actual number of garments that I wear or will ever wear again. Half my clothes are really worn out - bottoms of favorite jeans shredded (oh, the woes of being on the short side and not getting things tailored), holes in my tshirts, faded.. you get my drift. Now, with a one year old to care for and whatnot, I find myself reaching for skirts and dresses less and less. I can't exactly hike up a whole dress to nurse in public. With all the bending and floor time with the little one, skirts aren't the best idea either. At least not the short skirts that I own, but I own maybe 2 skirts that are knee-length or slightly longer. One of those skirts is a patchwork style skirt in very bright colors and designs that I got in Barcelona and the other is a worn out black linen number that I hate to iron.

What to do when your wardrobe gets "old"? I'm trying to figure that out. The main problems are that I don't make time to go shopping, I don't particularly enjoy spending hours on end pushing through overly-stuffed racks of clothing, having to wait in line for a dressing room and the real big one, most of my share of our disposable income goes to buying knitting-related items (read: yarn.) And have I mentioned that I am really picky about clothes that I love? I own a lot of basic tshirts and "safe" clothes that I like because I need things to wear regardless of whether I find anything that I really love. But that's it - I'm tired of hardly ever finding something with my name written all over it.

Maybe I'm just lazy. I see women in public all the time that I would gladly swap outfits with, but I guess I don't make the extra effort anymore to find the right accessories to pull an outfit together like I want.

The last couple of years have been very transitional for me. I'm getting closer to 30 and I don't know what that means or if I care. I still feel like I'm stuck in the teen years in many ways and can't break out of who I was to who I am now. Honestly, it goes so much deeper than clothing. I haven't been in touch with who I am for quite some time now - probably since I got married and life got a whole lot more serious. I guess I'm in a kind of rut and don't know how to break out of it right now.

More on this later perhaps..

Oh! Oh!

2010-08-04T14:53:00.004-04:00

Fireworks are exploding in my house right now. My husband is at the re-enlistment office putting in his request for our next duty station. We got lucky and the one we wanted is open. Yay! Now we're just waiting for an answer and a date. I love the "journey", but knowing the destination is major plus.

Secondly, I was on Ravelry replying to a post about useful knitted baby items and instead of bombing the thread with my reply, here's my list for future reference for mom and baby:

Hooded towels
Washcloths
Wash mitt
Bathtoys (knitted over a floating toy/ball)
Bath toy hanging bag
Highchair cover
Stroller cover
Shopping cart cover
Bibs with pockets
Blocks
Placemat
Boppy cover
Changing pads
Baseball/sun hats
Toy bag
Squishy rug
Wall art
Mobile
Soft bath things for mom because it hurts "down there"
Frozen meals
Frozen cookie rolls
Knitted animal/colors/alphabet book
Diaper bag
Baby shoes drawstring tote
Color wheels & b/w toys for newborns
Legwarmers/knee protectors
Sleep sack
Usual array of hats, booties, mittens
Hood/scarf combo piece for warmth without strangulation
Burp cloths
Pacifier case
Corner protectors for tables and legs
Stackable rings
Blanket (duh)
Tank tops for summer (harder to find in stores)
Dresses (tend to be expensive)
Rocking chair pillows
Wrist knitting bag for sling mommies
Nursing necklace
Mommy bandana or headband
Nursing cover cardi

Non-knitted items:

Mini food chopper
Baby/toddler cook books and food prep specs
Eating and drinking utensils and accessories for all stages
Pumping accessories (bags, drop-ins)
Nursing pads (expensive!)
Pads
Cool packs for "down there"
Donut to sit on
Diaper Genie refills
Diapers and wipes galore
GCs for baby-related stores
GCs for photographers/photo processing
Travel coffee mugs for safer drinking
A gigantic bottle of liquor because she'll need it!!!! Just kidding.

I'm sure I'll be adding to this list over time and as new things occur to me. These are some of the things I would have liked to have had, things that friends have requested the most or things that I wish I would have had time to make but couldn't because I was busy being a new mommy myself. I hope someone besides me finds this list useful!

"Rip It!" She Wrote

2010-08-04T01:30:00.004-04:00

And I did. I ripped it. I've been making steady daily progress on my purple Razor Cami and finally tried it on tonight. What did I discover? That it's too long. I ripped back (3.5 inches) until the point that I was supposed to divide the stitches for the front and back. *sigh* At least I'll have something to work on at knitting group tomorrow. The end is so close I can taste it. This is why I knit - for the end, pulling something over my head and doing circles in front of the mirror with the "I did it" look of victory on my face.

I really must recharge my camera battery, I have some long overdue yarn p0rn photos due. I should warn you though - it's bright, it's colorful, and it's MINE!

That's all for tonight. I am enjoying some new music on Pandora and finishing off the rest of a bottle of wine. I'm going to put my knitting down and continue drawing my next tattoo.

Is A Stash Truly Unbustable?

2010-07-25T01:14:00.003-04:00

Really. Is it? I'm starting to think that's possible. It seems like whenever I say that my yarn stash is outgrowing its storage area, I add to it. Wonderful yarny friends who go with flashlights into storage units diving for yarn, local sales and sidewalk sales really make my resolution to limit my yarn purchases a difficult resolution to keep. Noro at 50% off? How can anyone who loves Noro say no to that?! My husband, the Enabler, is also no longer helpful in limiting my yarn purchases.

I've been reading some of the forum threads on Ravelry recently and came across a few that tackled the stash issue. It never occurred to me that my stash might actually have to be in my will. I'm hoping that the stash that does outlive me is smaller than it will realistically be in who knows how many years. My husband asked me about my stash the other day and like a person with something to hide, I smirked and shrugged when he asked about how many balls of yarn I have and what I thought it might be worth. In comparison to many, many fiber-lovers out there, I think my stash is quite containable. I have tried and tried to set limits - ie. whenever this is full, I have to use up some yarn before I add more. YEAH RIGHT! You know exactly what I'm talking about, too. Knitting, for me, is based on my mood. I might have enough yarn for 30 or so projects, but if I'm not in the mood to knit that right now, then the yarn is parked for now.

I had good intentions with my New Year's Resolution to stash bust. And that's where it ended. Once I broke the seal on that one my stash has been steadily growing much faster than I can knit, which is kind of a "duh" statement for any knitter. I think I'm making up for lost stash-adding time, I'm going to try to stop buying yarn again because I'm a little stressed out about it. We're not going broke over string, but I've seriously run out of room for my yarn in our small house and I'm afraid that if I keep adding yarn with planned projects that I'm going to crack and starting casting on for every single one them and never finish anything. I just re-read this paragraph and it makes me sound like an addict. Me? No. Never. Is there KA (Knitters Anonymous) group out there yet?

I'm all about the end result: getting it done and using/wearing it. That's why I don't like to have too many projects on the needles. When I start a new project I am usually kind of sad because I know it's going to take awhile to finish (a few weeks, a few months) and I thrive on instant gratification. The first few inches of anything take every ounce of ambition to get through until I hit the half way mark, then I'm roaring to go and excited about my project knowing the end is near. I almost never procrastinate on finishing a piece, be it sewing or weaving in ends. To me, it's the cherry on the top, seeing something finally fully come together. I wonder what that says about my personality and how I live my life in general. Maybe it will mean that I'll go out with a bang, my cherry in place.

I heart yarn. Good night!

One Woman, One Life

2010-07-15T00:12:00.003-04:00

I was just enjoying a late night sit outside. A thought crossed my mind. I thought about burning/deleting all of my journals, written and digital. I'm not sure why I even thought of it, to be honest. Since I was very little and started journaling, my diaries have held a sacred place in my life. I'm a person who likes to hold onto things - people, memories, well-liked possessions.

The written account of my life has followed me through the years. My books have traveled with me through many moves, from various homes in Michigan to multiple apartments in Germany, even farther away to Turkey, and now back in the States, to Virginia. Once a year or so I'll page through some of the books. They are filled with all different kinds of handwriting, colored inks and many were gifts from close friends and family. Some of my journals are filled with boring details of who-what-whens, many entries are about who I was doting on at the time, other writings are painful, dark and downright depressing.

I have written about first loves, first lovemaking, fears, abuse, drugs, crimes, my walk with the Creator, friends and family, travels, poetry, simple happiness, pregnancy, books that have touched me, disappointment, confusion, revelations, deep depression, hopelessness: the good, the bad and the ugly. Unfortunately, the bad and the ugly are dominant themes in too many of my entries. When I do read back, I'm left with the lingering feeling of the past's darkness. And that feeling is sometimes hard to shake.

There are times, like tonight, when I question my motives about holding onto my journals. Although my life has been interesting to me, that doesn't mean I would ever want to expose it to the public by having it published. Most of the time I don't really enjoy reading about my past. Even though I love and trust my husband very much, I would never feel comfortable having him read in explicit description the details of my life prior to our marriage. In a way, it's the only thing or part of myself that I don't share with him. I think it's okay to have something that is just mine in a way, but there's also a part of me that feels like it's something that I passively hide from him. A lot of what I wrote is embarrassing even to me. The writing was often immature and superficial, mundane, and sometimes... sometimes just not really me. Some of the things that I have written about make me want certain individuals in my life again that shouldn't ever be in my life again. Some entries make me remember certain painful experiences and I relive the pain, neglect and hate that I once felt. These are not positive things. And for me, these feelings are especially unhealthy because I have worked so hard to expunge them from my heart and mind.

So again, why am I holding onto them? The only real purpose that my journals have served up until now is to remind me that things are not always as they are remembered and that I've come a long way from being the person I was and have a long way to being the person I will or want to be. Rereading that last sentence is maybe my answer. Maybe I just need a reminder so that I will remember what to never be again.

I don't know, I'm not ready to destroy them yet, but I think there might come a day when I will be ready.

Birth day!!!

2010-07-13T01:19:00.003-04:00

In 19 hours my son was born one year ago. He was born to me, his father and in the presence of his grandparents. It was the best day that the four of us got to spend as "five". From the moment I knew his precious life was growing deep inside of my body I loved him with a love I didn't know I had the capacity to experience. Fierce protection, incredible wonder at the creation of a new little human being, undying joy unspeakable..

In the middle of the night my labor pains woke me and my life has been dramatically changed since. I would do it all again without blinking. I would endure every moment of disgusting morning sickness, every hormonal mood swing, every stretch mark, every personal sacrifice, every uncomfortable prick of the needle, endless swollen ankles, sausage fingers, sleepless nights, hellish back labor and contractions, every tear, every drop of blood, every day of miserable teething, every diaper change, every step not seen over the belly... I would do it all again knowing I would have my precious son in my life at the end of it all.

This last year has been full of household changes, changes in priorities, changes in schedules, changes in habits, first smiles, first punches at toys, first kicks, first words, first tears, first tiny fists clutching my fingers, first kisses, first cuddles, first bites of food, first teeth, first steps, first falls and endless other joys that will forever be bright, shining little lights of wonderful memories.

Happy Birthday, Lucas! I can't wait to wake up to my birthday boy and to bake him a yummy first birthday cake! I hope your day is half as good as mine ;)

FO: Chilly

2010-07-02T15:01:00.006-04:00

I finished this awhile ago and just now got the chance to have my husband snap a few photos in natural light!

Knitted in Araucania Ranco Multi. It's a modified version of this. That's all I have to post about it right, we have a lot to do today so I have to jet! :)

FO: Noro Tank

2010-07-01T23:33:00.006-04:00

I haven't figured out a suitable name for this finished object, or if it even needs one...

I knitted this up from my own pattern. After I figured out my measurements, my gauge and the stretchiness of the knitted fabric the pattern went fairly quickly. I did end up re-doing several parts more than once to get it just right. Noro Taiyo knits up really fast and I love the colorways.

Even though all the seams are seamed and the ends woven in, there are still a few minor things I'll change the next time that I knit this. But then again, I'm never 100% satisfied with anything I make - knitted, crafted, cooked or otherwise.

All in all, I love this shirt. I'm going to wear it frequently. I worked on it off and on for about a month, first knitting it into the Tank Girl pattern from Knitty (twice, both times too big) and then deciding to forgo any kind of written pattern and to wing it. I'm better at winging something than tweaking it. Luckily, I documented everything I did, so I hope to have a pattern written up soon. Kristy already has a healthy amount of Taiyo in her stash and volunteered to give the pattern a test run.

In this pattern I incorporated stockinette stitch, ribbing, garter stitch, picking up stitches, mattress stitch seams, three-needle binding off, bust and waist shaping and a bust panel to literally pull everything together and add modesty and interest to the front of what is just a really basic tank top. Wow, I hope I don't speak in run-on sentences like that!

Some things I loved about working with the Taiyo - its softness first and foremost. It's composed of 40% cotton, 30% silk, 15% nylon and 15% wool. It's nice and springy. It knits up quickly because it's aran weight - though, for me it feels like a light bulky weight. I read through the comments about this yarn on Ravelry and heard a lot of people complaining (mostly from old batches) about the yarn pulling apart and breaking. I didn't have a single break. Even knitting very tight kfb increases and some vigorous seam tugging, the yarn stayed strong.

I would have liked working with the yarn more if it wasn't so full of plant matter and thorns. I know that Noro is infamous for this and it's to be expected, I just felt like this yarn had really quite a lot. Even while wearing it I was still picking out pieces of neon green twigs that I'd missed. Another thing that Noro is infamous for - knots. I had two in three balls. Not bad, but still...

What's In The Bag?

2010-06-24T00:25:00.003-04:00

Last Wednesday I made a trip out to Coordinated Colors in Yorktown to pick up a few more skeins of Plymouth Boku for a future mitered square felted knitting bag that I've been dreaming about. The colors are ohhh so pretty and cost a fraction of what it would cost to knit it up in Noro. Now that my camera battery is charged (finally!!!) I may have to post some more yarn p*rn pictures! :D While there, I oohed and ahhed over the new goodies and kits that Sherri brought back from the TNNA show.

I offered to do some sample knitting for her and took home a ribbon/metalic-ish handbag kit from Muench Yarns. The pattern was obviously translated from (I'm assuming) Spanish, since that's where the yarn was made. When I first cast on for it, I cast on using US 9 needles as the pattern stated, but then reading through again, it said 9 mm needles... so... yeah. Rip and redo! I've since finished knitting the bag and after calling Sherri to tell her it's done, we agreed that she would do the interfacing and lining because my sewing skills are way less than stellar. I'm taking the bag in with me tomorrow for the Thursday sit 'n stitch. I'll make sure to get a photo of the bag while there's some sunlight tomorrow.

As I was leaving the shop last week I unlocked the Suburban, put my purse and yarn lovlies on the passenger seat, double locked it so I could remote start it to get the AC running and I closed the door. Before the door even slammed closed it registered that my keys were on the seat and the car was still locked. Numerous profanities started flying through my thoughts, but I didn't panic. My name's not on our AAA card, so Sherri called out a locksmith. Half an hour later and much fumbling on the locksmith's part, I was back in the car and headed home. It could have been so much worse - Lucas could have been in the car. With the remote start the engine cuts off after 10 minutes. I would have broken the window to get him out. It's upseting to even think about it. I haven't locked my keys in the car in over ten years and the last time I had mom's husband #3 to fiddle my lock open with a wire hanger. Anyways, I didn't make it to knitting last week because by the time I was home it was the little one's dinner time and I was so over the outside heat.

This Wednesday ended much nicer than the last, thankfully. While Lucas was napping and I was putting the last finishing touches on my makeup, Kristy called and invited me over for dinner. In my rush to get out of the house I packed my knitting projects in a Target bag. Haha.... kinda ghetto! While we were enjoying a lovely squash spaghetti and salad meal, Kristy whipped this out of her bag:

A Namaste bag from the TNNA show, packed with little yarn samples! Yummy! Isn't the bag gorgeous? I heart Kristy!

Right after dinner I took a peak at her stash and proceeded to tell my husband, loudly, that he should see hers if he thinks my stash is bad. What is it with husbands and stash-hate? It's so unfair. Me loves the yarn, he should, too!

Knitting group tonight was fun as usual, though I got nothing done but an inch or two on my Dad's wedding blanket. It's in its preemie stage and I hate it already. I've had a really difficult time finding an affordable acrylic yarn in dark reds/burgundy. It has to be very washable because I've been told by a little birdie that she's a laundry fanatic and it has to be affordable because it's 7x7 foot and crocheted. Crocheting uses way more yarn than knitting. So, I hate the yarn, I hate the fact that it's so big and I'm starting to really dislike crochet for certain things. I need to find a solution for the blanket issue, because with as little time as I have for fiber crafts, I need to enjoy what I'm doing in order to do it at all! So... if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be much obliged.

Busy Summer Days

2010-06-19T12:32:00.002-04:00

Wow. Transitioning from winter to summer is like going from 10 to 100 miles an hour! The past winter felt like one of the longest in a long time, which is probably due to the fact that I spent way too much time indoors with the little one. We still have to spend a lot of time indoors for naps, meals and indoor playtime, but our ventures outside have been increasing in number.

Lately I've wanted to blog more, but haven't been doing so because I've been lazy and haven't charged my camera battery. I feel that blogging about knitting without photos can be awfully boring, don't you think? What's the use of telling you about the beautiful new additions to my yarn stash without obligatory photos? Or how can I describe in words the lovely Noro tank top I have on the needles, the gorgeous ribbon handbag sample I'm knitting for a local yarn shop, or the crazy-big afghan I'm crocheting for my father and his wife? Words don't do fiber art much justice.

Now that we're at about the half way mark of the year, I have to sit back and laugh at myself. I remember now why I don't make New Year's resolutions - because I don't think about them enough to stick to them! Duh!

Awhile back I was commiserating about my lack of time to knit. I was going through some serious withdrawls. To break that, I cast-on for a shrug pattern that I altered to suit my taste. I've been very happily wearing it about once every ten days and have since cast on for four other projects... which is totally unlike me. I am a one-project-at-a-time kind of woman with a couple UFOs lounging on the needles for "some day." I've been proactively making time for knitting and turning off my worst distraction - the laptop.

What's Love Got To Do With It

2010-06-05T09:31:00.003-04:00

Everything, when it comes to yarn.

I remember the first time that my friend Kristy and I made a day trip to Knitting Sisters in Williamsburg. We embarked on the 40 minute journey to arrive at a lovely brick shopping village with a wine and cheese shop down the block from the yarn store. It had a boutique-like set up with a lot of open space and hanging hand-painted fibers. It felt easier to browse, unlike some yarn stores that have easily twice the inventory and half the breathing space.

Previous to that visit, I didn't have much experience with anything but the big-box stores that sell yarn. While living in Germany I would pick up random balls of acrylic at a big department store and now and then I would fondle the expensive, non-acrylic balls of Lana Grossa and colorful wools at a specialty shop.

From what I remember there were three local yarn shops in Heidelberg/Mannheim that I visited - one on the Hauptstrasse (Main Street) in Heidelberg had mainly sock yarns in all fibers. The large one around the corner from the tattoo studio I was apprenticing at in Mannheim had a large selection of yarns, many of which were luxury novelty yarns. Unfortunately, back then I didn't have a very discerning eye for buying yarns that related to projects I might actually knit. I still have assorted balls of pricey and soft furs in fushia, gold, green and probably a few others, too. The last LYS, my favorite, was located on the other side of the Neckar River in Heidelberg, across from a park square and surrounded by boutique shops and cafes. The whole shop was no bigger than my living room, but that woman carried some of the prettiest yarns and the widest selection of worsted weight wools that were stocked all the way up to the ceiling. She was also the only LYS owner that smiled at me and didn't treat me like a thieving guest.

The only other yarn store that I visited in Germany was in Worpswede, an artist village in the northern part of the country, close to where I was born. That store remains the one with the most hanging knit garments I've ever seen in one place. It was also the first time I had come face-to-face with my coveted fondness for Noro. I'd read about Noro, seen people on Ravelry and Craftster post projects with Noro, but I'd never seen it. It was love at first sight. Then I looked at the price tag. I just about had a cow when I read 22 Euros. 22 Euros at the time was about the equivalent to 35 dollars for a single ball of regular Kureyon. Ouch.

Fast forward to Virginia, our present home. Soon after moving here I researched the local yarn shops and visited Coordinated Colors in Yorktown with my husband and the baby belly. For the first time I really started looking at more than the colors and price tags. Silk, cashmere, hand-dyed bundles of yarn... it was all rather new to me. I was still scared of the prices, too. It's difficult to go from $5 balls of yarn at craft stores to $25 hanks of luxury yarn. CC is a large store with a ton of yarn and for me, it was easily overwhelming because my husband wasn't too thrilled that I wanted to spend an hour touching, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over string.

So what was the point of rambling on about all this? Love. For yarn. Although I think acrylics most definitely have their place in fiber arts, I really discovered a love for yarns with natural fibers and yarns that feel good and last. Kristy made jokes that I was going to turn into a yarn snob.. I may very well be on the way to being converted. I no longer consider paying $20 for a hank of yarn outrageous, in fact, I think it's funny that I reason with myself that "it could be more expensive."

I've taken on a different view of my knitting and the tools that I work with. Now that I am making more than slippers and scarves, I care about durability and overall quality. Like anyone interested in specialty hobbies, I love the exclusive and the foreign, the hand-wrought and twisted. I know how much time it takes to make yarn and knit a garment, it's well worth every second. I want my knit items to last for awhile and I don't want them to collapse into a pill-covered pile of string a year down the road. I'm becoming increasingly interested in trying out new fibers and picking up hand-painted/dyed hanks instead of factory dye jobs. Yarn, for me, is constantly interesting and there's always something new.

Hook, Line and Sinker

2010-05-29T23:21:00.005-04:00

That's right. I went fishing. It's not the first time I've gone fishing, but it is the first time I've a) gone salt water fishing, b) gone fishing with my own pole that isn't a "kiddie" version, and c) caught something I actually intended on eating. It was a great experience. It brought back snippets of my memories of being a little girl and out fishing with my Grandpa and Brother on Washington Lake.

I've always found fish to be fascinating creatures. They come in so many sizes and colors, the variety is absolutely endless. Back then, in Michigan, we caught sun fish and had to be careful not to get our hands caught on the sharp fins. I started laughing when the first fish I caught here started making a growling sound at me - my husband informed me, with a big smile on his face, that it's called a Croaker because it makes a croaking sound. It was kind of a duh moment.

After I caught my first salt water fish and my first crab, I was pumped. The five hours that we spent under the blazing afternoon sun passed far too quickly. After we'd caught three fish and four crabs we packed up and went home. We'd exhausted our blood worm supply and kept throwing tiny crabs back in the water. I could have stayed out there all day, but my bladder and my baby needed some attention.
Later that night, after I put Lucas to bed, I got a pot of water boiling on the stove and cooked the four crabs that we caught. I whipped up a quick lemony butter dipping sauce and we had a crab snack. There's nothing quite like catching your own food!

So Over "Holidays"

2010-05-09T23:07:00.002-04:00

This Mother's Day was about as chipper as the last. Here's a list of things I could have done to make it better:

-duct taped my mouth shut
-gotten a babysitter and left the house all day alone
-stayed in bed and slept
-stayed in bed and knitted
-stayed in bed and read
-refused to acknowledge the holiday at all

Any of the above would have been better than the actual day's activities combined.

My dishwasher pooping out on me topped everything off. Now I can look forward to several days of dishes to be hand-washed tomorrow. Yay.

The Ups and Downs

2010-05-06T01:47:00.002-04:00

Although it's contemptuously far past my "bedtime" I feel the need to blog about right now. Right now I'm having a moment of clarity, of inner Self and Life. I don't have these moments very often anymore because my time is consumed by preparing food, maintaining some kind of semblance of cleanliness in our home and trying to keep up with being a friend and family member with a life outside of motherhood. At the end of the day I am exhausted, mentally wiped out and all I want to do is surf the internet. Knitting, though I have actually managed to squeeze in a few rows whenever I don't feel too guilty about it, is not actually something I like to do at night anymore - it's another activity that I can't find the suitable energy for.

Back on topic - clarity. Being a stay-at-home Mom and wife has been a huge transition for me. I wouldn't trade my daily life, though patience-trying and sometimes repetitive it may be at times, for my old life. On bad days, which today was, it's harder to remember that.

Lucas is 9 and a half months old and has several teeth coming in at once. He's needy, cries a lot and has been having trouble sleeping and eating. I've been having migraines due to probable hormonal shifts. In the middle of that, as if that weren't enough already, my husband and I haven't been getting along because neither one of us has been able to do the things we want to or get certain things done. It's caused a bashing of heads. He wants to mow the lawn - we need to go grocery shopping. He wants to see a friend - Lucas is napping and that's my only time to shower and get dressed. And so on.

There are days, like the last few, when I selfishly and momentarily wish I didn't have a child. It takes the greatest strength I possess to remain patient and be the best mommy I possibly can be. And there are days, like the last few, when I look at my husband and wonder what the hell I was thinking when I agreed to marry him. Yet, I will still make my culinary-challenged husband a meal even if I'm fuming mad. Obviously, these are temporal feelings mainly fueled by the urge to flee a difficult situation. I love my son and I love my husband. But I'm a person, I'm not always positive and more on topic - I need time for myself so that I can recharge my "nice and loving" side. I happily sacrifice all my energy and time to my family, but please, a few hours to myself a week is all I ask.

Thankfully, after a very bad morning of a very early rising baby with sore gums and a raging headache, I was able to make it to my knitting group. It came with a nasty argument, but I went anyways. I knew that if I let myself feel guilty the rest of my night would be bad anyways and either way, no one would be happy. When I came home I felt fully recharged and eager to spend time with my son again. My husband and I still aren't speaking to each other, but that will eventually get resolved when we feel like making up. I don't feel like making up right now, honestly. I'm still mad about a lot of things and I need time to let the passion of my anger dissipate, then to look at things more constructively and then find a way to smooth things out.

After writing all that I can't really remember what my supposed epiphany was all about, which I was afraid might happen. I get wrapped up in the process of the actual writing and lose sight of the initial thought.

Maybe another time...

Now I have to attempt to get some decent sleep. I need all the energy I can store because I'll be taking care of Lucas and my friend's 3 and 5 year-old daughters while she goes to divorce court. After that I have to bring a dish to a cook out for some former neighbors who are back in town for a couple days with their newborn son. I have a feeling it's going to be a very long day.

I'm Not Dead, Part Deux

2010-04-20T11:23:00.003-04:00

That's real life. I've been spending significantly less time in the virtual world and considerably more time in the real, tangible world. Lucas turned 9 months old a week ago and he keeps me smiling, laughing, working and burning calories. I've come to terms with the fact that my social life has to be scheduled around his nap and meal times.

And I've come less to terms with the fact that when I do have time to knit, there are other things to spend my time on - mainly my husband and our mission to conquer Super Mario Brothers for the Wii. I think about knitting, read about it, lust over patterns and dream about yarn, but I have been far away from actually picking up the needles. I keep telling myself that one day I'll have time to knit again. I hardly even make it to my knitting group anymore... Guilt has also pulled my hands away from the needles as well. I told my Dad and his new wife that I would make them a blanket for their wedding gift. Well, their specifications for said blanket were more than daunting to me. A 7-foot by 7-foot blanket. Now, whenever I think about picking up a smaller WIP or starting something, all I can think about is that big red monster looming over me.

That's it for now. No promises about when I'll be blogging consistently again. There's a child to raise, a husband to love, a garden to care for and so much more!

Offline Baby-ness

2010-03-08T01:14:00.005-05:00

Life has a way of getting busy! I haven't been blogging because I've simply had a lot to do recently. Lucas is teething and is, more or less, literally physically attached to me 50% of the day. When I do have some time online I try to catch up on my favorite blogs, keep in touch with email and search out good couponing deals. As Lucas gets older, his demands on my time increase. So my house may be light years away from my standard of clean and I may never have clean socks again, but at least I am content knowing that my time is being invested in something precious and worthy.

I spent the last two days preparing homemade baby food for the next couple of weeks. I've introduced Lucas to all the commercial organic baby foods that Gerber offers (except meats), which was my plan to determine what foods to prepare for him at home. I have to admit that it was quite the ordeal. Firstly, in an attempt to support the local farmers, I visited the Farmer's Market down the road. The salesladies were grim-faced, but the sweet potatoes and apples that I brought home completely made up for their moods. But I'll get to that shortly.. 6 potatoes and a dozen apples cost me a little over $6. $6 equals roughly 5.5 double packs of Gerber foods.

In numbers, that equals about 28 ounces of food. I didn't measure exactly, but my output was much more than 28 oz. Though the financial savings is a huge plus because of how much Lucas is eating now, it takes second place to the fact that I want to offer Lucas the best, freshest food I can find him. This is just another aspect of hands-on mothering in my opinion. I'm not a Hamburger Helper kind of cook, so I feel like I can offer Lucas homemade just as readily as I offer my husband homemade meals from scratch.

After the Farmer's Market trip I drove back home and stole my husband from his woodworking in the garage. We drove to The Fresh Market in Newport News and it's been a long time since I've been that thrilled about a grocery store. If a grocery store can be beautiful, this place was. How nice is it to shop to the sound of subtle classical music and pleasant lighting? Very, if you ask me. The selection of organic food was lovely. From the organics I picked 4 each of two kinds of pears, a 5-Lb bag of carrots, and a colorful mango. From the non-organics I picked up two ripe avocados for Lucas, two containers of strawberries and two pluots (a hybrid apricot/plum fruit that I've never seen) for the hubby and me. I think we spent a little over $30. It was an interesting experience and I thought the selection of products was unique. I've been shopping on base for too long.

The mango and the avocados were no brainers. Cut, pit, scoop out meat. Each fruit fit perfectly into my small food shopper and within 30 seconds I had baby puree. I mixed the mango in with Lucas' morning oatmeal today and he loved it. I had just the right amounts to fit into small freezer bags. I'd hoped to put the food in ice cube trays for easier portioning, but for the life of me I couldn't find them! After the foods froze I put them on a cutting board and cut them into squares with a very sharp knife. Too easy. Eat that, Gerber!

Tomorrow, time willing, I'll post more about my baby food making adventures (read: messes). I took some photos of the process.

Couponing: Got My Feet Wet

2010-01-29T23:27:00.004-05:00

Some time last summer a friend of mine mentioned how much money she saves couponing. When she tried explaining it to me it all seemed cryptic and she used weird coupon lingo that was over my head. Register rewards, stacking, ECBs... huh??? Since then I've googled things here and there; she even had an impromptu how-to pow wow with me at a neighbor's house. I was still confused.

With much patience and chewing of hair, I think I've figured out how some of these savvy ladies nail hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise for so little out-of-pocket money. One of the most helpful links that helped break down the process was SouthernSavers.com. I've been checking it just about every day to see price and merchandise comparisons in the local area. (I'd become a tad shopping ignorant.) For the longest time I've stuck to the military commissary for the convenience factor. I shop at Walmart if I am desperate for groceries and the commissary is closed or if I'm looking for an ingredient that isn't available on base. On the website's blog the author also posts shopping "scenarios" on how to spend as little as possible by combining products/rewards/coupons. It's been extremely helpful.

I've decided to take this slow. I've been collecting coupons from the Sunday paper inserts for a few weeks and I feel like I'm up to my eyeballs in paper. It is pretty exciting getting 3 or 4 copies of each paper and finding coupons for things that we buy every week. (I'm seeing dollar signs for how much small savings will add up to over a year!)

I'm going to start with Walgreens and CVS. Both stores are easy to get to and offer money back on purchases - also, they are good places to score free swag. It's easy to shop there because they have weekly circulars about their deals and coupons, which makes combining and saving at these stores easy - hence the reason why I'm starting out there.

As a teenager I had mountains of bath, beauty and makeup products - nowadays I have just what I need and I have a pretty consistent makeup regimen. Certain things like foundation, face wash, face moisturizer and deodorant are items that I don't cheat on - it's all love-em or leave-em. Everything else is negotiable though - I'm certainly not brand-loyal to things that end up in the trash or down the drain.

So, after hours of pouring over coupons and organizing my saving attack, I got my feet wet in the couponing world. I don't think I'll ever be happy seeing "Savings: $2.00" on a receipt again. Up until today I've saved a dollar to max (one time) $20 on a single shopping trip. I shopped at CVS and Walgreens for items that I needed or would definitely be using soon. I'm not ready to stockpile and I don't have the room...yet!

Tonight I bought Almay and Revlon makeup, toothpaste, household basics, bath stuff and beverages. After adding everything up I saved 40% off the original price. What I bought retailed at $89.51. How much did I pay? $35.94!!! That's $53.57 in savings. It was stressful shopping in stores I don't often frequent and trying to figure out what to pay for first, but I did it and it was a success. I used to pay $15-20 for two boxes of hair color and tonight I got two for $4. 99 cents for eyeshadow? I'm hooked.

Drugstores seem easy enough, but shopping for food at multiple stores (with a baby and a husband who hates shopping when he has to come) is something that I need to warm up to. I know there are some stores that double coupons, which would more than make it worth it, but like I said, I'm trying to take this slow. I'm already overwhelmed trying to figure out how to organize all my coupons.

My goal is to bring down our shopping expenses by an average of at least 30%. Can't wait to see what deals I can score this Sunday! :)

Interior Design Tuesday: Kitchen Knits

2010-01-26T21:53:00.003-05:00

This week for Interior Design Tuesday I'm going to be featuring some of my favorite knit or crocheted kitchen items from Ravelry.

Check our these adorable knit fish from Taterbaby!

Tired of bruised apples? Tuck your mid-morning snack into a comfy, tiny cozy from Theresa Grant.

Clutter Control : Stash Baskets. Not knit, but crocheted. I think I need to make some of these to store hand towels in our bathroom as well :)

Definitely not your granny's doily. Look at that beautiful yarn... Pania nailed the pattern-yarn combination on this one.
That's all for this week! Enjoy!

...

2010-01-20T23:35:00.002-05:00

You're not even a memory, you're just a debt we have to pay off. Like you, the money comes and it goes. And it's forgotten. Like you. I know you're reading and I don't know why you bother. You know who you are.

Enjoy your tattoo.

Hahahaha.

2010-01-20T23:03:00.004-05:00

I didn't write much about the transition from 2009 to 2010. Although we enjoyed the holidays and some extra time together as a family, it was not without sadness.

My last surviving grandparent, Oma Irma, passed away on an unknown day sometime between the 23rd and the 25th of December. She was found by the lady that did her shopping for her. My father has mentioned the gruesome scene that him and his wife encountered post body removal and I wish he wouldn't. Her ashes were spread in an anonymous urn field, a typical form of burial in Germany.

Over the years I have often felt guilty for not keeping in contact with my Oma more. Life being busy is an excuse that anyone can pull out of their pocket. The real reason we didn't speak much was mainly just the fact that I hardly knew her. When I did speak to her she was very hard to understand. She had a way of speaking... words, sentences, topics all blending together and before I knew it the telephone line would go dead before I had a chance to say goodbye.

I saw her growing up until the age of 5, then we moved to the States. After that I saw her twice when I was 13 - once because my Opa was dying (we were only 4 hours away when he passed), and another time that year for our scheduled vacation. During the 7 years that I lived in Germany I only saw her two more times that I can recall. Every time my Dad went to visit her I had to work or I was out of the country. It was a long haul to see her back then. We had to travel from Heidelberg to Bremen... Four times. That's it.

The last time I saw her was the only time we were able to have a fully understandable German conversation with each other. My Dad and I went together. I wanted to see Oma and the city that I grew up in once more before leaving Germany. For the first time I heard the stories of my Oma's hard life: the poverty, the war, the sicknesses. She gave me her family history in short, sometimes intelligible bouts of half-mumblings between puffs on her cigarette. It was also the time that she bestowed upon me her jewelry, special treasures and her wedding china. She must have known we wouldn't see each other again.

Oma suffered many years under one affliction after another. I should probably be happy that her suffering is over, but all I feel is an emptiness. Hollow. Like my heartbeat echos off the empty places that my loved ones left behind.

I am now orphaned of all grandparents.

Interior Design Tuesday: Wallpaper

2010-01-19T23:31:00.007-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm going to be posting about specific topics. So, without further adeu, this is the first installment of Interior Design Tuesday. Today I'm going to focus on wallpaper. All too often accessories seem to steal the limelight from a room's biggest area of focus: the walls.

Some sources say paper has been around since 4000 B.C. Around 200 B.C. the Chinese glued rice paper to their walls, thus wallpaper was born. Wallpaper wasn't widely available until the invention of the printing press, but until then some wealthy people hired artists to paint on portable rolls of paper. Wallpaper has certainly come a long way since then.

Inspired by 19th century Japanese textiles, this gold chrysanthemum wallpaper makes a delicate, yet bold statement. I love the empty birdcage as tabletop decor. It's available here and designed by Graham & Brown.

Emma Hack also uses Asian inspired wallpaper in her living art exhibitions.

Check that out! Want fully customizable colors? Nineteenseventythree designed this color-in wallpaper. Besides this wallpaper they also offer a whole line of modern and quirky papers and gifts. The possibilities are seemingly endless, aren't they? You can buy the wallpaper here, but it's not available on Nineteenseventythree's website.

For The Love of a Warehouse

2010-01-18T11:41:00.004-05:00

Since I was a kid (or significantly younger) I've enjoyed watching HGTV. I haven't done any research on how long HGTV has been airing, so I can't quote an exact age range... My mom, who also loves everything home-decor and beauty, got me hooked. Now that we've been back States-side for a year I've had the opportunity to watch it on a consistent basis again. I can't watch it constantly because at certain times I get bored with the designers and the repetitive nature of the trends/shows. Not to mention the surplus of girly men, but that's a whole different topic.

While living in Germany and exploring all the neighboring countries I was exposed to many perspective-altering design concepts and different types of architecture. Everything was quite different from the type of design and decor I was used to in the Midwest. It was fascinating. Then, one day while eating an early dinner after my waitressing shift, I came across Architektur & Wohnen - a German magazine about architecture and living. I went home that night and signed up for a two-year subscription.

I'm always going to keep my collection of magazines. One of the best parts of the subscription were the extra inserts about hotels and other best-of types of pamphlets. Through those, my ideas of design and decorating were challenged and broadened. Now, I have a difficult time accepting everyday interior decorating. Everything seems so pale and lackluster compared to the potential a space holds.

Obviously I'm aware that the majority of people with a desire to make a house a home don't find it in their financial means to acquire designer pieces of furniture, don't have local venues offering non-standard decor elements or are simply unaware of their own creative abilities within the home. We're no different. Our house, with its eclectic collection of possessions obtained because of a practical need or availability, doesn't give away much of who we are or the kind of home we desire. We like most of our stuff, but we love very little. How much we like our stuff may also be a question of just how accustomed we are to looking at it.

I brought up HGTV because when I watch the home staging shows I privately covet those warehouses stuffed with interesting design elements and everything one needs to put together a cohesive, practical and beautiful interior for one's home. Hopefully, one day when we own a home that we plan to live in for an extended period of time we'll be able to start over inside and truly make it the kind of place that we want to live instead of having to work around what's already available to us and practical for the small space the military allots us.

Also, as this blog is gradually taking a downhill turn in terms of interesting reading material I am going to devote a couple days a week to features about things that I think are awesome. I'm considering a knitting, design and cool blog feature. I'm tired of posting about my ho-hum days because I don't have the time to knit and blog more about my own knitting.

Design, oh ye lovely beast. One of the ideas that air is home staging. Home staging is basically setting up your home to look

Nonvisible Productivity

2010-01-17T01:25:00.003-05:00

Literally, I suppose.

I've been doing plenty of cooking, baking, mothering and cleaning up. And I feel like I haven't accomplished anything. Maintaining some semblance of household cleanliness while picking up after 4 males is a challenge. The fact that two of said males are canine is a moot point, of course.

The other night I stayed up furiously crocheting a scarf that a friend of mine requested for Christmas. She was fully aware that it would be a late Christmas present and I thought it might be hoo of me to get it in her hands before February rolls around... It's about seven and a half feet long, at least two feet longer than I'd planned on it becoming. As usual, I didn't use a pattern and though normally self-rolling fabric is somewhat of an annoyance, I like it in this case. Thought it's loosely crocheted, I think the sheer weight of the garment makes it curl in a bit.

I crocheted 13 individual circles and then worked on some "invented" method of joining them together while forming the monstrosity into something that looked like a rectangle. Mission (kind of) accomplished. It wraps around my neck three times and it looks lovely. The colors of quite lively and it makes me long for a neutral (read:black) coat to dress up with colorful knits. For the life of me I can't remember what yarn the circles are made of.. some wool/acrylic blend and I put it all together with some LB Homespun in my stash. My silent New Year's Resolution to stash bust before buying anymore yarn is off to a running start.

Just Another Manic Mommy Monday

2010-01-05T21:33:00.003-05:00

Except it's Tuesday.

Hubby and I have been stressing out about what to do with the confined space that we label home. Baby proofing is going to be a must ASAP and that entails rearranging most of our livingroom and well, honestly, the whole damn house. We're not kid friendly! There, I said it. Everything in sight around here is choke-kill-bruise inducing. We've gone the majority of our time living together never having to think about how safe our household is for little ones - until now, that is. With little Mr. Curious Grabby around I feel like our house is riddled with landmines of danger.

Over the holidays my son mastered rolling from his back to his stomach, walking across the house while being supported under the arms, sitting up on his own, sprouting out little white bumps of soon-to-be teeth and saying both Dada and Mama. Breathe. I thought things were supposed to progress sloooowly? He's not even six months old yet. The last month has been hard. Milestones. Teething. Hardly a moment to myself before bedtime. And even if I haven't knitted a single thing in over a week, I've been having the time of my life watching my baby take infant steps towards becoming a man.

Now I just have to find a cereal that doesn't make my son sputter in disgust (he hates rice cereal) and he'll be eating cereal and real food soon. Although I have a love-bored relationship with breastfeeding, I am looking forward to sharing family meals in a more decent fashion and literally, wearing more fashionable bras.

Gangster Crafty?

2009-12-16T11:53:00.003-05:00

Um... I'm not sure if I think it's cool or not, but it's post worthy. Thanks to Knithound Brooklyn for posting it as well.

Nothing to Read, Too Much to Knit

2009-12-09T22:37:00.003-05:00

Last night I finished The Doctor's Wife after several late night nursing sessions. I find it impossible to put down a book when I only have 10 or so pages left. Part of the tiredness that haunted my day today was due to the fact that this rule applies even if it is almost four in the morning and I am exhausted through and through.

I spent an hour at Knitting Sisters in Williamsburg with a friend and her mother stroking piles and baskets of lovely yarn. There's nothing quite like a room bursting with color, texture and the dreamy state of potential. K was in the throws of finding the perfect yarn to construct a cabled jacket she's fallen in love with and I fell into a soft-as-a-cloud chair to plug away at a few more short rows on my MIL's Christmas scarf. I had the luxury of undisturbed knitting for a few minutes because I pinpointed a ball of beautiful glue/green/purple mom-friendly washable acrylic-wool yarn for a friend's requested project within 30 seconds of walking in the shop. It was hiding in the back room, waiting to be stocked. It didn't stand a chance. K's mom was getting her baby fix with my son while I lapsed into a calm knitting session.

The year is close to ending and I'm already mentally formulating the knitting attack for 2010. I'd like to start knitting items for charity, have all my Christmas gifts done by Thanksgiving and still manage to find some needle time for some selfish knitting. Okay, not some time for selfish knitting, a lot. On the charity front I'd like to make chemo hats for those struggling with cancer or knit warm items for needy children. I figure if I make one a month, I'll spend about a week on that. I could spend another week working on gift knitting and then relish two whole weeks working on things for myself.

Why two weeks? Because I want big things. I don't fancy wearing hats often because I have long hair and I either have hat head or end up with a frizzy hair do. Gloves? Can't drive with them and too easily lost. Scarves? Have plenty of those already. Socks? Still not ready to dive back into that. That leaves me with tops and bottoms, more of less. I really want to start using up our old and ragged clothes to make crocheted floor rugs for the bathroom and kitchen. Tshirt rugs are incredible soft underfoot, not to mention absorbent and easy to care for on day-to-day basis. I have a pile of red tshirts from my husband washed and ready to be butchered.

I have a mental list of projects I want to make - the majority of which consist of sweaters/cardigans. There's a retro blazer and a cami-shorts set I'd like to knit out of some knitting magazines that have been collecting dust. I promised my father and his new wife a queen-sized afghan for their bedroom. I'd really like to make more hand-knit items for my son. Potholders. Felted boots. Tablecloth. Washcloths and matching towels. I won't touch on the subject of never having enough time to complete that list.

Speaking of time, it's 11 p.m. and I should get back to knitting!

Oops

2009-12-07T00:16:00.004-05:00

It occurred to me tonight that I've been neglecting my blog. That's what happens when life happens I suppose. My husband's work schedule has been pretty crappy as of late and I don't get much done during the day when he's gone. On the weekends we've been busy with Christmas shopping and enjoying family time together. I've been knocking out a couple knitted gifts, but I'm not nearly as far as I was hoping to be. Luckily we have a 16 hour car ride home, so I just may be able to get all my gifts done on time.

While attending a Christmas party a couple days ago I struck up a conversation with a girl I know and found out that she babysits. Hello? Can I get an amen? She's home schooled, so she's flexible - and that is wonderful. I'm doing a test run with her tomorrow afternoon while I go see New Moon with my neighbor. I had a comical moment while talking to my husband about the new babysitter... My babysitting days don't seem so far behind me and now I'm the one doing the hiring. It's hard feeling time slip out of my hands so quickly. In a few months I'm going to wake up and be 26 years old. The closer that 30 comes the more my head can't wrap itself around the fact that my twenties are speeding by me.

We live in a society that glorifies perpetual youth and vitality and I'd be arrogant to say that it doesn't affect me to some degree. I don't see the same person in the mirror these days. There are perceptions and ideas changing in my thoughts and I feel like I'm moving forward to another level, one where I have to leave certain things behind. It's a little scary, but it's also invigorating. I can only hope that my maturity level catches up with my age soon! Hahaha... Or not. I wonder if other women feel the same pressure to "grow up" that I've felt. From one day to the next I have to ask myself how other people perceive me and whether I care or not. If I should care or not. Does it even matter?

One comfort in the progression of my age is that I don't feel like I missed out on anything. I've done so much and more than what I wanted to do in life. While my friends were pursuing higher education I was in the trenches of my tattoo apprenticeship and seeing the world. It wasn't what I thought I was going to do. In High School I daydreamed about going into the psychiatric field, but I never had the vision. As in literally, I could not visualize myself going to college and doing it. When I slept at night I dreamed of the world outside of where I grew up, the foreign customs I'd only read about and the voluptuous adventure life could be if I didn't just go with the flow and refused the standard. I am so happy I firmly believed in my dreams and was blessed enough to live them out - or live through them, in some cases. I'm glad that when the wrinkles start to set in and I have to wonder if my eventual teenagers will be on the right track, I won't have to sit down and worry that life shorted me of something or that I didn't go for the gold when I had the chance.

Four Months Young

2009-11-18T23:20:00.002-05:00

Lace Scarf and Random Knitting

2009-11-18T00:21:00.004-05:00

Well, after much contemplation I've decided to knit up my SIL's Christmas scarf from a lace pattern I found in my Fitted Knits book. I'm using two strands of the lace weight cashmere. It's easier than my original plan. I tried out the lace pattern the ladies at the LYS gave me when I bought the yarn, but it would have taken too long on the recommended needle size and it looked crappy on bigger needles.

I've done 4 or 5 pattern repeats and it's going pretty fast, so I'm certain I'll have it done in time for the holidays. I spaced out a couple of times while knitting and made several ridiculous "I'm concentrating" faces while figuring out where I messed up. Luckily, I caught the extra stitch soon enough that I only had to tink back 10 stitches. Here's a progress shot from the front.

In other news... I finally wove in the ends and felted another bowl that I've had done since September. Here it is drying.

While the little one was napping I whipped up a little sample of duplicate-stitching on a swatch of cream wool to see how the color would felt and to measure the shrinkage. After stretching the swatch lost about half an inch each way.

I was happily surprised to see that the light color did felt quite nicely because...

I've got plans for tomorrow...

November Nor'easter

2009-11-12T00:04:00.004-05:00

Before we moved here I'd never heard of a Nor'easter.

Now I'm in the middle of it. They say the water may rise up to 8 feet, which will mean we will be completely flooded out and have to evacuate. This is the downfall of living on the coast. By the time I was done taking photos this afternoon I was soaked to the bone and felt like a feather battling the wind. Needless to say, I skipped going to knitting group tonight - there was no way I was going to haul an infant into this mess.

Crossing my fingers that the power doesn't go out!

Growth Spurt

2009-11-09T20:44:00.003-05:00

I feel like all I've done the last week is feed and tend to Lucas. He's going through a growth spurt and eating/fussing more than usual. The only upside to that is that he's going to bed between 7 and 8 p.m. Can't complain about that! I recently had a check-up for him and he weighed in at fourteen and half pounds and he's 24.5 inches long! My little boy is growing... it's hard to believe he'll be four months old on Friday. Before we know it he'll be on his feet and causing a ruckus around here.

You know what else has been growing? A few things. First: my Emerald Cardi is coming along nicely. I've been trying to knit at every opportune moment - there have been a few more of those moments since Lucas's bedtime has been earlier.

Second, my stash! After my husband went to work the 2 p.m. - 10 p.m. shift I wasn't looking forward to chilling at home with my fussy son, so I called my best knitting friend and luckily she was as excited about shopping for yarn as I was - probably even more so after I fed her delicious chocolate my Dad sent me from Germany! 30 minutes later we were in Williamsburg, a historical town I have yet to visit before today.

After I fondled the entire shop's collection of yarn like a newly wed on her honeymoon, Lucas "helped" me pick out a couple of beauties while sporting the first sweater I made for him while I was pregnant. I've coveted those gorgeous and pricey skeins of Noro for quite some time and today I said yes. Not only that, but I used my sister-in-law's Christmas present as an excuse to buy a decadent hank of cashmere. The ladies at Knitting Sisters in Williamsburg were nice enough to wind my cashmere into a ball for me, too. Talk about great service! I don't mind winding my bulky yarn into thumb balls, but the thin cashmere would have been a trying experience. Pictures!

A little fuzzy, but it's the best I can do after dark.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the Noro... I bought it under the pretext that I would make it into a hat for myself, but I think Noro doesn't need a reason. That's the ill yarn-hoarder in me speaking...

Winding Down After A Long Day

2009-11-05T23:47:00.003-05:00

I forgot to mention that last night at knitting Bev graciously showed me how to wind a thumb ball after three of us tag teamed my tangled hank of wool. A ball winder is on my Christmas list though... and I might have to add a swift as well. Here's a progress shot of the Emerald Cardigan after a little more knitting today. I'm substituting KFBs for the YOs on the raglan increases, I don't like the holes on the original pattern.

It was a full day. I woke up early at 8 (yes, that's early for me) and threw on some ultra casual jeans, sneakers and a hoody. I even sported a ponytail. I almost never leave the house that casual unless I'm going for a walk or something. I was simply too tired to care. My friend Kristy was a godsend and let me drop off the little one while I dropped off the dogs at the groomer for an anti-flea bath and a haircut. I picked up breakfast on the way back to her house and I did a little knitting while we talked.

The dogs were squeaky clean and ready to be picked up at 12:30. After I checked and rechecked to make sure they were both flea-free, I made up for some of the petting they haven't been getting recently. Casper was so happy to be back in my good graces that he cozied up in my lap for the ride home and fell asleep belly-up in the crook of my arm. If I hadn't been using my right arm to steer I would have snapped a photo. My husband and I agreed we like him a lot better when he isn't a huge, stupid ball of fur.

Seriously. Look at that cuteness. Who can resist that? And, now that he's shaved down enough to catch a chill outside I have all the more reason to finally dress him in the sweaters I made him last year. The black turtleneck is very loose without his extra coat and it's a little worn out, but it still serves its purpose.

The book study went well. I love having a group of like-minded women with which I can discuss marriage in all its complexities. We'll be carpooling to Virginia Beach on Saturday to attend a private session about learning to hear God's voice among all the other voices circulating in our busy heads. I'm really looking forward to it. Honestly, I haven't thought about, nor have I had the privacy/time to really sit quietly and converse with The Man Upstairs. Life has become faster paced since we left Germany. I've also been a little disconnected and less motivated in all things spiritual since we left our church in Germany and the one we were attending here closed due to various factors. There are plenty of churches... but how does one choose from the dozens available?

My husband's work schedule has temporarily changed and he's at home around 5-ish in the evening. It's great to have more face time with him than usual. My days without him tend to be long, drawn-out and often lonely.

My goals for tomorrow include actually cooking a meal, knitting, housework and pumping enough breast-milk to get Lucas by on Saturday when I'm gone.

Emerald Cardigan Started

2009-11-05T00:30:00.003-05:00

I caught a ride with a friend and her husband to knitting group tonight. She coerced me out of the house with this mini cupcake with delectable chocolate frosting. Thank goodness I don't believe in dieting!

It was fun wearing my sweater out for the first time. It's so comfy it almost made me forget about my headache. I woke up with my head feeling like it was crushed under a whale, it got a little better with a hot shower and then my husband decided to scare the bejesus out of me right after I got out of the shower... so it came back. Must be the weather. Thunder is crashing outside as I type and the lightening is beautiful.

Now that I've finally finished knitting up the tedious boucle sweater I swatched for and cast on for my Emerald Cardigan. Hopefully this will take me less time than the last. I bought Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel about a year and half ago while we were stationed in Germany. I'm not sure if there are too many other patterns in the book that I'm interested in knitting, but that may change if I can find some yarn that speaks my language.

I plan on making some adjustments to the pattern - I'm going to give it more length so it's not in any way cropped, knit full-length sleeves and may leave out some of the texture. I hope that the neck doesn't turn out too wide and semi-boat-neck-like. If it does I might have to add a collar of some kind.

Didn't I just post about selfish knitting? Yeah... I still have a list of Christmas gifts I should be knitting instead of another sweater for myself. Christmas is just around the corner in terms of knitting... I might have to come up with some other crafty ideas for gifts that don't include yarn.

"Rot-Aubergine" Raglan Finished!

2009-11-04T00:36:00.006-05:00

The title is German, it means red-eggplant, which is exactly how the colors look in real life. Tonight after my son went to bed and my husband was zoning out in front of the tube I finished my sweater, wove in the ends and fixed my messed up waist shaping. I am soooo happy with the end result because it didn't result in disaster, it fits me and I love it! Unfortunately it's after midnight and I'm the only one awake so I used the self-timer on the camera. I started the sweater in August, so it took me about three months to finish. I'll get some better action shots when there's sunlight and another pair of hands.

I started knitting size L to accommodate my bust and decreased after the armpits - at least that's what I should have done. In reality I decreased too quickly at the waist and just sewed it/took it in after it was complete. I added a cowl neck because I hate boat neck tops, they don't do anything for my scoliosis-induced crooked shoulders and in the size L the boat neck was more like an off-the-shoulder top on me. There were other alterations to the pattern, but nothing dramatic worth mentioning.

I'm so happy this is finally done! Now I need to gauge swatch for my next sweater. Knitting group is tomorrow and I'm thinking about either starting the new sweater or starting on long-overdue Christmas presents... At heart I am a very selfish knitter.

Putting Off Casting Off

2009-11-02T13:34:00.003-05:00

Meh. The days are growing shorter and the sky is relentlessly full of dreariness. Wind and rain. I have yet to find the perfect climate in all my travels. It's either too hot, too cold, too humid, too windy, too snowy, too something. It's maddening. As much as I would like to be the outdoorsy-type, the weather holds me back in one way or another. I want to live somewhere that maintains a delightful room temperature feel, where the skies are always blue and smiling and there is never any snow. Alas, nature mocks my desires. For now, I'll just stay inside, thanks.

So about that sweater I'm knitting. It is 14 rounds to being finished. You know how much I knitted this last week? 6 rounds. That's it. And it's terribly pathetic. After I put my son to sleep I spend time with my husband, catch up on housework or watch a good show... but my knitting sits scrunched up in a basket unconvincingly beckoning to me. I've been knitting the same part of the sleeve for two weeks now and have made an inch of progress at the most. It makes me sad, but then I remember that I'm not knitting because I'm taking care of my home, my family and spending time with the people that supersede my crafty endeavors. Plus, I might just be a tad apprehensive to cast off because then I'd have to actually begin my next project(s) and maybe I'm not ready yet. Maybe I'm just now coming to terms with the fact that I can no longer knit 8 hours a day when I feel like it. Sometimes, I can't even squeeze in 14 rounds a week. I'm a mom to an infant. That's the reality.

Lately I've replaced my late-night knitting time with a book before bed. I forgot the feeling of simple pleasure that I find in reading. I've been up to my elbows in The Prince of Tides for the last week, turning page after page of family drama and clashing cultures. I can relate to much of what is written, though not to the word, my history is formed out of many events - as in the book, some of which are heart-crushingly painful to remember. The only downfalls of my reading this past week have been firstly staying up too late reading and paying for it in the morning and the absolute ridiculous wordiness of the novel at times. I consider myself well read to a degree. Granted, I haven't read all the classics, but in my 25 years I have put back a decent amount of books and millions of written words. There are words in this book that make me go cross-eyed with confusion. Were I more ambitious as I was back in school, I might actually write down and dictionary reference the words I'm unfamiliar with, but I'm really not feeling up to it because I just want to enjoy the story.

It'll put hair on your chest!

2009-10-23T01:08:00.003-04:00

Well, not really, but almost. I was sitting here after my husband went to bed thinking about what I should eat. Taco soup came to mind, I figured there would be more than plenty to eat over the weekend and to stock the freezer for a less motivated cooking day.

Here's my recipe:

1.5 Lb ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
1 can fiesta corn, drained
1 can tomatoes with habaneros
2 (14 oz) cans of diced tomatoes
1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup sour cream
3 cups shredded cheese (I used CMJ)

Heaping estimates:
1 Tbs + 1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

----------

Brown beef in a frying pan and set aside. In soup pot, saute onions in 2 Tbs olive oil until tender. Add beef and all other ingredients and spices except the cheese. Stir until ingredients are well mixed. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer over medium heat for up to 20 minutes. Add cheese and stir. Simmer an additional 10 minutes.

I plan on serving this with fresh baked bread on the weekend. My mom gave me a bread machine that I am dying to try out. For tonight I just crumbled a handful of tortilla chips over the soup. It's my kind of spicy. If you want yours less spicy use canned tomatoes with chili peppers instead.

Enjoy!

Meh

2009-10-20T21:53:00.003-04:00

Not a whole lot going on around here these days - at least nothing interesting enough to write about really. I don't say that in a bad way, either, I'm perfectly content. My days have been filled with laughter, love and too many cookies. My son continues to fascinate me with every little new thing he does. Maybe enraptured is the better word in this case... It's hard not to fall in love with toothless smiles and pudgy fingers.

So my friend Kristy has been knitting up these gorgeous socks recently and I think I'm getting the itch. I temporarily swore off socks for awhile because I was sick of toothpick-thin needles and socks that never found mates. It's not that I wasn't willing to knit up the mates, it's just that I lost my notes on one sock and broke up with the other sock's former future owner. I tried finding that huge monstrosity today and came up empty-handed. I think I dumped it along with any memories attached.

I've never crocheted a sock before and I'm thinking I'd like to give it a try. I still have a couple balls of sock-appropriate yarn lounging around somewhere but I'd like to do a heavier wool sock to start. Last night I strapped in my son and headed to the craft store for some retail therapy before my husband got home from work. I had some coupons I was itching to use so I picked up a few balls of cream wool that I want to dye. I figure I can kill two birds with one stone- crochet socks and dye yarn for the first time.

In other knitting news, I am mere inches away from finishing my first sweater. To say I am excited is an understatement. Of course it's kind of odd that as soon as my sweater is going to be finished the weather gets warmer again. I was kind of hoping to wear it soon, but I've patiently (cough) been knitting it for about two months, so I guess I can wait a little longer to wear it.

I kind of like the idea of these pedicure socks.

The Last Knit

2009-10-17T23:25:00.000-04:00

Fresh Air

2009-10-08T23:07:00.002-04:00

It was refreshing to attend the knitting group this week. I did just about everything but knit though. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I sat down and took note that I was at a venue that served food that I a) did not have to prepare and b) was available within minutes. Being famished it was like a godsend from above. So, with the delish broccoli cheddar soup and pumpkin spice latte distracting me I caught up with my favorite ladies at knitting and leisurely knit three rounds of 2x2 ribbing on my sweater sleeve.

The weather has been cooling down and it's been a real breath of fresh air. Summers in Virginia are no joke, I don't want to see another scorching day of humid 90's for at least another 9 months. Being very pregnant during said months of gross, wet heat probably didn't help, but it would have been semi miserable regardless.

I'm in the midst of fall cleaning. What a disaster. Chaos reigns in our house. I have not been able to finish anything that I've started. The doggy-smelling living room rug is still in the kitchen covered in a heavy layer of baking soda. My attempt at green cleaning in that direction is so far not been so hot. The rug still smells like my pug's belly. (yuck) I did, however, discover that vinegar really makes a kitchen shine.

One of our two couches is still covered in random books, magazines, decorative elements and such that was formerly crammed into our shelf coffee table thing. The stairs are covered in stuff that belongs upstairs. Sigh. I won't talk about the rest of the house. It's not that big of a deal, but all the mess combined seems like a mountain I just can't seem to step over.

I'm Not Dead

2009-10-05T23:18:00.002-04:00

Seriously, I'm not. Just slightly overwhelmed. Last week I had a sudden urge to make the 733 mile journey home so the rest of the family could meet our son. What normally takes 12 hours took me 16 with the little one. He was amazing, he slept the whole way.

On my way home last Thursday I made a ghastly wrong turn that led me 40 miles off course in the Pennsylvania countryside. I've never made a better mistake. Just as dusk was falling and my nerves were unraveling to the sound of hiccuping and crying from the backseat I passed a B&B. I figured it wouldn't be as economical as a big name hotel along the highway, so I kept driving, all along praying that I would find the highway eventually. Two miles down the ridiculously sloping dirt road I turned around and hoped for the best.

I ended up in the most welcoming home away from home I've encountered in a long time. Sue and her husband are a retired military couple that put me up for the night. After I'd cleaned up and settled in my gorgeous suite I went down and had a very lively evening with the two of them. We reminisced about Germany and I learned of Sue's husband's experience in Vietnam and the rest of the world.

In the morning I awoke to brilliant sunshine... and the smell of poop outside. A true farm experience I suppose. Sue prepared me some amazing french toast and an egg and bacon bake. I left two hours later than I'd planned because, again, I had such a good time talking with the couple. To top it off, they gave me my room at half their normal rate. The cursed wrong turn turned into a blessing.

I'm looking forward to knitting this Wednesday. I missed two weeks because of my trip. I hope I never have to make the trip home alone again, it was incredibly boring and stressful always hoping I would be able to stop soon after the little one woke up so I could feed and change him.

Yarn Porn!

2009-09-15T15:52:00.003-04:00

Aka newest stash additions.

On A Roll

2009-09-15T01:48:00.006-04:00

My days go by so fast it makes my head spin. I probably don't accomplish that much, but I try to concentrate on major things. Take care of my body, my family, and my house. Socialize. Knit. You get the picture.

The other day I did several loads of laundry, felted bowls in between loads and went for a two hour walk with a friend and my son down by the sea wall. We got some very cute photos of his two-month birthday. For awhile I was making lame excuses for not working out. Stupid excuses like not having proper footwear. The last pair of sports shoes that I bought was way back in 7th grade when I wanted to join the track team. I owned them for 11 years. I quit the track team before the first meet. Running sucks. I finally threw my Adidas away when we were moving from Germany to Virginia and I realized that I was hanging onto .. well, trash. Plus, my plastic tote with shoes was absolutely bursting at the seams and the whole scenario was ridiculous.

Reminiscing about footwear : here's a photo of the first pair of socks I ever knit. Back in 2005 I was stuck in Marmaris, Turkey with nothing to do after the tourist season had ended. I had vague plans of possibly staying there on a permanent basis, even if that meant taking the ferry to Greece every six months to renew my tourist visa. (And I swear (crossing my fingers) I was not the girl hiding out with the Russian chick in the bathroom when the Turkish cops came looking for illegal workers.) I was working as a tattoo artist for a friend of a friend of my ex-boss. After months of working up to 14 hours a day, mostly tattooing and sometimes selling jewelry, I was bored out of my mind in the coldest winter Turkey had seen in 50 years. All hopes of living it up in a warm climate for the winter went out the window.

On the weekends I taught my boss's ten-year-old daughter, Sezan, English. I adopted a kitten and I taught myself how to knit socks on DPNs. I simultaneously had two websites open - some picture tutorial to guide me through the steps and a free generic sock pattern. Somehow I managed to wrestle 5 needles and a ball of yarn into two, equally sized and very slippery socks while huddled in front of a space heater. Two months later while recovering from surgery, I knit another pair of pink and orange striped socks. Those were the only pairs of socks I ever finished. I have two loners hiding out, one still on 0-sized needles because I lost my pattern notes and another gigantic I-broke-up-with-him-before-his-socks-were-done sock. One of these days I might get over my new sock-knitting phobia and start again.

Try as a might, I could not find wool locally in Marmaris, the yarn stores only carried acrylic. I still have most of a ball of the green/brown yarn left. I'll probably never use it, it's more a souvenir of a time past. I think it's kind of ugly now, anyways. Maybe I'll knit a charity hat and attach a story to the yarn. Or maybe I'll store it until the moths consume it. (Insert shrug here.) When I flew home to Germany two days after Christmas I left behind a pile of clothing so I could fit more yarn in my luggage. Me? A yarn-stasher in the making? No....

Craft Nastiness

2009-09-12T23:01:00.003-04:00

My day started out relatively normal yesterday. After picking up around the house and whipping up a batch of banana bread all hell broke loose in my little world. While I was pouring the mix into the bread pan I started to get an aura around the corners of my vision. It lasted for about twenty minutes, during which the baby woke up and was hungry. While feeding him the pain came. I had to interrupt him to bolt for the bathroom to vomit. Pain makes me throw up. I hate migraines. Hate them with a vengeance.

A nap, a grumpy husband and many hours later I was determined to leave the house at least once today. So I collected my coupons for Joann's and Michaels and headed out. It's hard to believe that both craft stores only carry one brand of pure wool yarn. Seriously, wool yarn has been around since ... let's not get technical, but let's just say since before Christ.

My husband found some Halloween-esque biker bar model that lights up. It was marked at 79.99 - not a sale sign in sight. A sales associate informed us that it was going on sale tomorrow, but that "we didn't hear it from her." At checkout we were both unable to use our 40% coupons because my yarn and his model had been marked down 25%. I purposely checked for signs - there were none. Thus ensued a less than pretty back and forth between my husband and, I'm guessing here, the manager. She stated that at 7 p.m. every Saturday night the sale signs are taken down. Please note that they don't close until 9 p.m. Now, my husband is working on his Bachelor's Degree and just took a course in business. The manager should have honored our coupons because by not keeping those signs up they were partaking in false advertising. He was quite heated. Technically we could report them to the Better Business Bureau, something I might still look into.

I'm not one to engage myself in arguments and the scene was slightly embarrassing as my husband was throwing back comments to the manager that she should know business and adhere to the law as we were leaving. What I didn't understand was why the manager got so snarky with us. After delivering her piece she blew us off. The customer is supposed to be right at all times. Her behavior was impolite and she was in the wrong. My husband and I agreed that in the future we'll be taking our business elsewhere as much as possible. I plan on checking the local yarn shops for some wool in the coming weeks. I was shopping at the craft stores for convenience's sake mostly anyways... traveling with a baby isn't the easiest thing. The nearest yarn shop is a good 30 minutes away if there's no traffic (and there always is) and the owner is so chatty that I can't even concentrate on what I'm looking at. I may have to pay a little more there, but honestly, at least small business owners are more concerned about keeping customers.

So if you're shopping in the Hampton Roads area, by all means, try to avoid Michael's in Newport News. Their customer service sucks.

Ballband Dishcloth and Nesting Bowls

2009-09-11T02:17:00.005-04:00

Well, as I mentioned earlier I have been knitting. I got bored with my raglan mid-sleeve and have been sneaking in smaller projects...

Firstly, I found this really pretty striped cotton yarn. I crocheted four flowers and loved the colors so much I went back to Michael's and stocked up for future projects. Eventually I'll get around to getting a decent photo of my niece's sweater, I added one of the flowers as an embellishment. Anyways, when I was browsing through some dishcloth patterns on Ravelry, I saw the Ballband pattern and knew it would be a pretty match with the yarn I had. I also made one in reverse colors - white as the foreground and the striped as the background. I figure they'll make a nice gift with some handmade soap if I'm in a pinch. It was such a relief to make something out of smooth cotton after wrestling with the raglan boucle. It felt so good on my hands. One smooth stitch at a time...

Secondly, after borrowing a couple of knitting books about felted items, I decided to take the plunge. Nesting Bowls. Otherwise known as my new temporary knitting obsession. Better than crack! This is the first time I've made anything out of pure wool (Patons Classic Wool) and the first time I've felted anything on purpose. The nesting bowls were very easy to make. I knit the majority of them while ignoring what my hands were doing and probably watching LA Ink or trying to get my baby son to smile at me. I felted the first one by itself in a pillow case closed with a hair tie. It felted faster than the other two bowls which I felted together. The blue-ish yarn didn't felt as well as the other two, particularly on the bottom, but I'm not too concerned. The point of a bowl is to put something in it anyways, right?

Now I'm thinking about combining the two - using the washcloth pattern on the bowl...

All Screwed Up

2009-09-08T23:32:00.004-04:00

My schedule, that is. Since I helped my husband stay up the night before he started night shift my time table has been absolutely kooky. I'm really not liking it. The only advantage to staying up until 3 in the morning is that I get the chunk of time that lies between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. all to myself. What have I been doing with said time? Knitting, thinking about knitting and spending obscene amounts of time on Ravelry and Etsy. The knitting part is productive, the other not so much.

As I type I am impatiently waiting for three felted nesting bowls to dry. I'm in love with this quick project. I had all three knitted in different sizes in about 5 hours. All three were felted and formed in about 20 minutes. I didn't imagine ever having to use my casserole dish, a ceramic bowl and a Jack Daniels glass as a felting form. I made the bowls from Patons Classic Wool in heather-themed colors and I am giddy about the results. Seriously, this yarn was made to be felted, simple knitted objects do the yarn no justice. But felted, it's a whole different story. I didn't actually have any specific interest in felting, but now I think I'm hooked. Felting is my new crack.

At first my husband was very skeptical about the bowls. He didn't get why exactly someone would knit a bowl. Then he saw them and I think he liked them, though he didn't say it outright. I'm assuming this because he mentioned I should make some as Christmas gifts. The first year we were together, before we were married even, I knit house shoes for quite a few people on my Christmas list. I prefer giving people handmade items if I can. Last year I was pregnant and we had just moved into our new place so I didn't have the motivation or enough time to make gifts.

I haven't been writing about knitting much, but I have been knitting whenever I can. Now that my son is developing a good sleeping routine and my husband is at home during the day I've managed to get much more done. I am half way done with the first sleeve on my raglan. I had to re-do the bind off after I did it too tightly. I added a pretty cowl to the neck. Unfortunately I found out a little too late that my attempt at body shaping was a flop and refusing to rip and redo that much, I plan to stick it under my sewing machine later on. Thankfully, the boucle I used lends much room for hiding mistakes. To break up the monotony of working on a big project I've been knitting cotton washcloths and of course, the bowls.

I promise to post some photos soon.

Smile!

2009-09-08T02:47:00.004-04:00

Time Is Not Endless

2009-09-03T00:05:00.004-04:00

Seeing as I'm nocturnally inclined as of late and there's no one to talk to... I'll blog!

I wonder if there's a market for a book of craft ideas. Throughout the day I have endless ideas of things I would like to make. Knit items, things fashioned from clay and fabric, clothing... oh how the list goes on. The problem, though, is that I don't have the time to make everything I want. Even if I do find the time, I'm usually already working on something or I have something more pressing to attend to. Generally, these pressing things include such exciting things as cleaning my house, doing laundry, running errands. Plus, quality time with people is a huge factor. Being a new mom has cut a huge chunk of my disposable time out of my life. I'm not regreting that factor, I'm just stating it as a fact.

There are many days when I vow to knit and something will come up and I don't get the chance to do it. Wednesdays I go to knitting group, it's a set appointment. Even after having the baby I only missed two weeks of knitting and I've been back every week since. Now I wish that I had another group to meet with, a group oriented around crafting in general. If I had a set date on which to craft, I think I would do more. But, really, I'm not sure I can or want to have another commitment like that.

Back on topic - making things. Since I discovered Etsy years ago I've had the desire to make things with the intention of selling them. It's not so much the money, it's just that I really enjoy making things and having a shop would be a great motivator to make more. Any money I might make with it would be a perk, but not the main draw. A long time I lived in Germany and while the majority of Etsy and it's buyers remain on the US side, I put off having a shop for the sake of avoiding high shipping costs and the general difficulties encountered with overseas transactions. Not to mention I was operating a tattoo studio at the time and that was practically my whole life.

After moving back to the States in October I did in fact open an Etsy shop. For awhile I sold some ATCs, but it kind of fizzled out for me. As a tattoo artist I have to draw enough as it is and honestly, I don't like giving up original drawings - not even for money! I draw things so that I can put them on people as tattoos, drawing for the sake of drawing doesn't do much for me and I can't keep up with it. I'm better with objects, physical things I can mold with my hands. I'm a fan of diversity, I like to keep things moving and changing. Draw today, knit tomorrow, mold on Thursday - something along those lines.

A friend of mine has the Big Ass Book of Crafts. I think I could totally do something similar but different. I have an embarassing amount of sketches and jotted down craft ideas. I consistantly buy crafting-related items all the while muttering, "Some day soon I'm going to make something with this and put it on my Etsy..". Hm. Well, that day has yet to come and probably never will. Etsy shops, at least most of the successful ones, are based on one major product - hand bags, knit items, clothes... You get the point. I'm craft scattered. I want to dabble in a bit of everything, but I can't commit to just one thing. I'm easily bored by repetition. I have made many proteges only to not follow through on making several. Apparently I only do one of a kind projects mostly once and rarely twice. As I stated - repetition is not in my blood.

So, the question remains- is there truly a market for a book about craft ideas of all kinds? I know I could write a book. I already have the basic materials - the ideas and some finished objects. What I don't have is someone who wants to publish me and I certainly don't have a name for myself as a crafter on which to bank. See what I'm saying? I don't know how to go about finding someone who would be interested in my book pitch, either.

These are things to think about. Input is welcome.

In The Air

2009-09-02T23:14:00.002-04:00

Oh ye wind
your caresses I adore
waves over sand
washing my feet

Cloudy night full of sound
may all
may all tranquility abound

Full lungs on the moon
your silence I hold
heartbeats in the air
throbbing on my skin

Oh heavens all around
may all
may all peace abound

Full

2009-08-26T22:53:00.003-04:00

Tonight I put my son in his crib for the night for the first time. It's unsettling, I can't help but constantly look at the baby monitor. I'm hoping he sleeps through the night as he has been recently. Looking at Little Man and having some quiet time for myself has allowed me to think about my life as a whole. And maybe about my place in this world.

I can't remember a time in life that felt quite this complete and ... right. Some times there are moments when I would like to do something (knit, clean, cook, call someone), but instead I have to be a mom and take care of my son because he's crying and needs something. For a second it can be an irritation, but at the same time I'm happy knowing that I can fulfill almost any need he has. It's a good feeling to know that I'm needed. The sense of satisfaction that I feel when Lucas calms upon seeing me or hearing my voice is indescribable. For the time being my life at home is as complete as I can hope for.

I'm glad that I've made the decisions that I have. Despite all the reasons I could have had to not take up my husband's first offer of a date, I did. When he asked me to marry him, I could have run off screaming and clung to my life of detached wandering, but I didn't. I chose to be his mate and to follow him. I chose to become the mother of his children. If you know me at all, then you know that these have been some of the best decisions of my life and a thousand times better than the decisions I've made in the past. Even though I have a long list of adventurous tales to tell about my life - really, the only ones that matter to me anymore are the ones that I have about now. I loved my life as a single woman living abroad and roaming around the world in search of something I could wrap my head around, but this- being close to my family, nurturing that which is dear and valuable to me, pouring myself out to people - that's all that really matters. I think just now I've finally understood the vision of the woman pouring the water into the dry creek bed. I'm there. I'm where I am supposed to be.

That in turn made me think about giving in general. I realize that my heart is most full when I've emptied myself of everything I have to give. A life lived alone is lived for nothing and I'm happiest when my table is surrounded by friends and family. Sharing life with people and being sacrificial with my time, love and resources is what really makes my life with others on this earth so moving. I feel like I've been given certain talents so that I can in turn give more and give more abundantly.

I don't know if any of that makes sense. It does to me. My thoughts are scattered because I had a full day and I'm tired.

I had a conversation with a close friend recently. I shared with her that I don't feel like I'm doing enough and she contradicted me. At the time when she said that, I don't think I believed her. Thinking things over now, I think she may have been right after all. I am only one person after all. It's better to invest in quality rather than quantity. Salt spread too thin doesn't have any taste, but in concentrated doses...

And This Little Piggy...

2009-08-16T23:14:00.001-04:00

Hotter than hot!

2009-08-09T20:34:00.004-04:00

Heat wave! It's sweltering here and I really don't like having to spend so much time indoors because of it. I managed to convince my husband that we need to get out of the house at least once today..so we made a little excursion to the new Super Target that opened downtown. My husband picked out a new hair color for me. I feel ready for a change. For a reddish change even. Even if I don't end up going anywhere I try to make a point of showering, putting on makeup, doing my hair and getting dressed. I don't want to get in the habit of hanging out in my pajamas all day and doing nothing but being a mommy covered in spit-up. Don't get me wrong - I love being a mom so far, I take the challenges with the cute moments, but I'm more than just a mom and I'm doing all I can to retain my own personal identity.

In other news - hot peppers! Hubby's jalapenos are delicious. And spicy. I've cooked at least one meal with his peppers every day for the last week. The very first ones that he picked still tasted a little tangy, but the second picking was perfectly ripe. They go well with enchiladas, scrambled eggs and just about any other way he wants them apparently. But then again, this is a man that won't touch 90% of his food until it's got at least a few drops of hot sauce and usually a generous amount of ketchup on it, too. :)

Yesterday's goal of casting on for the raglan sweater was a success. I managed to get a couple of rows in before having to be a mom again. I think I convinced my friend to start her second knitting project, a cardigan. I was under the impression that she had more experience knitting, but come to find out her only FO is a scarf. In between chores and baby duties I managed to squeeze in a few more today. I've got about an inch and a half on the needles. Only 20 times that amount to go and the body will be done... I've been trying to master the art of knitting over Little Man's head while he naps during nursing. So far, so good.

Well, I'll keep it short today. I have to get up early to attend my husband's promotion ceremony first thing in the morning. I can't elaborate on how happy I am for the pay increase that comes with this promotion... with another person in the household it's going to make a world of difference.

Hope everyone has a great start to their week!

Casting On

2009-08-08T10:29:00.004-04:00

I. Am. So. Freakin'. Tired. Exclamation Point. Little Man's been going through another growth spurt. At first I was majorly happy that he hit the sack earlier than usual last night. While the heartbeat sound setting lulled him to Dreamland I was able to power clean, do laundry, sterilize milk storage bottles and receive a very much needed loving massage from my husband after recruiting his help with a few chores. The downside is that I didn't go to bed until after 2:30 a.m. and Little Man had me up every two hours and was wide awake by 7:30 a.m. Thankfully my husband took the baby downstairs this morning and I stocked up on another two hours of blissful, silent rest.

I think I'm finally starting to wake up now. The irritated sleepy haze has faded to around the perimeters and is disapating quickly. In about an hour my friend will be dropping off her two-year old for a few hours while she and her husband attend a wedding sans offspring. I would have been willing to take on their darling newborn as well, but as she explained, when it comes to babysitting it's better to split them up so no one gets overwhelmed. I think I probably have to agree.

In other non-daily-grind news, today I am on a mission to finally cast on something. My Knit Picks order is still on it's way, so I won't be starting my cardigan quite yet. BUT - I did find a very alterable pattern for a comfy raglan. Last week I bought 4 ginormous skeins of Rainbow Boucle on sale from JoAnn's with the intention of making them into my dad's wedding present. Then I started swatching and playing with it. Yeah.. no. The boucle is far too textured to lend itself to any kind of recognizable stitch pattern and I don't think I can stomach another straight garter stitch afghan on such a large scale. Yesterday I brought back two skeins of the boucle, keeping two for the raglan and accessories and picked up three sets of needles that I was missing. In the end I only spent an extra six dollars, so I'm glad I traded the yarn for sticks. Plus I managed to accomplish the whole trip in under an hour which saved us all from another baby break down.

In closing: check out this amazing Mario rug!

Jumping Back In

2009-08-05T15:32:00.005-04:00

I'm trying to get back to a few of the activities I enjoyed pre-baby - such as going downtown to knit with the ladies on Wednesdays and getting out of the house at least once a day. Yesterday I conquered the art of stuffing the stroller into the back of the truck and toting the baby around with me and K while browsing the craft and book stores. Miraculously he slept the whole time. The downside of the 3-hour outing was that we all came back famished and slightly dehydrated, but it was well worth it.

Everyone has something different to say about when it's okay to start taking your newborn in public... Some say a couple weeks, a month, six weeks and then some simply don't care. Well, the way I see it, if it's okay that I bring my three-week-old newborn to pediatrics and have to expose him to dozens of germy, snotty little sick kids, then I don't see the harm in taking him to places where the chances of getting sick are significantly less. I figure it's another one of those issues that I, as a mother, have to feel comfortable about doing.

Beyond just escaping the confining quarters of home and the rinse & repeat cycle of nursing-diapering-napping, the highlight of yesterday was probably picking up the new fall issue of Knitscene (yay for 40% off coupons!) and falling in love with 9 projects at first glance. Seriously, I've never wanted to knit so many things out of one magazine. Generally there are a couple of ideas I like per magazine, but the fall issue has so many wearable knits I don't even know where to start. Here are the top six - in the order I'd like to knit them.

I'm probably getting in over my head knitting-wise though... I'm waiting to receive my yarn order from Knit Picks so I can knit the Short-Sleeved Cardigan With Ribbing from the Fitted Knits book by Sefanie Japel. On top of that, yesterday I picked up four large skeins of Rainbow Boucle in red/burgundy that are destined to become a late afghan wedding present for my father and his new wife. Of course, I have no idea how I'm going to find the time to knit everything.

Changes

2009-07-29T19:16:00.003-04:00

On July 13th Lucas Ryan was born into this world. It's amazing how different life has been since the day our son was born. I thought mothering a newborn would be more difficult, but happily it's been mostly smooth sailing. I think we might be adjusting to some kind of routine now, but every day has been an unpredictable adventure. There have been many laughs, moments of tearful anxiety and so many more overwhelming emotions.

The most beautiful part of being a mother so far has just been holding him to my chest and enjoying him.

Tick-Tock

2009-07-10T12:38:00.003-04:00

Oy. So I've passed my due date (yesterday) and I am agitated. All the adorable doggy snuggles, kisses from hubby and cushy cat naps on the couch have not eased my absolute jumping off the wall excitement of giving birth to the little person inside me. The more thought I have put into natural child birth, the more the idea appeals to me. Putting aside the fairly significant risks of having a needle shoved into my spine (epidural), I am terrified that I will feel like I missed out on something afterwards. If you're a mother, you're probably sitting there shaking your head with your eyes rolling in their sockets and you're thinking I am absolutely delusional. That's fine. I can handle being wrong, even very painfully wrong, but I don't want the regret to plague me afterwards.

My basic comfort level has severely decreased over the last 5 days. I have been partially waddling around because of swollen feet and a baby's head bearing down into my right hip and cervix. Yesterday, while trying to "walk the baby out" in the historical Jamestown settlement, my hands swelled up. I'm talking puffy dragon swelling, so much so that I was afraid they may have to saw off my wedding rings... Thank God I got a gorgeous pedicure recently, I don't think I'd be able to look at my feet otherwise. Oh, and my bed. Honestly, the more pregnant I've become, the more uncomfortable my bed has become. Sleep has been a trying experience. Waking up at 5 a.m. to go to the bathroom isn't a big deal, but it is when you can't go back to sleep afterwards.

Luckily my father-in-law couldn't sleep either and we met each downstairs this morning. After easing the growling hunger pains in my gut I dressed myself. I haven't worn my tennis shoes in ... 6 months? Socks? Almost impossible to put on by myself. We walked out to the water and admired the large ships cruising by us. As the refreshing breeze swept away the last of the sandman, I felt incredibly grateful to live where I do. I feel like a washed up fish when I don't live by water, and here I am, only a couple of minutes away before I see the horizon stretched over endless blue water. In some respects it's even more beautiful than the Mediterranean because here I have the benefits of familiarity and homey comforts. We walked along the seawall and stopped to watch a tiny tug boat drag a barge through the choppy waves. We stayed there a long while talking. I haven't spent much time alone with my FIL and it was wonderful to delve into more personal one-on-one conversation with him.

I want to clean my house, because that's what I do when I get bored, but I know I will wear myself and my back out doing it. I'm tired of TV, of the internet, of staring with a longing gaze into the empty crib... I should probably start a new knitting project, it's a guaranteed and much needed distraction. Which reminds me, I still have a few photos of FOs to post soon. I've already tried photographing the baby sweaters several times to no satisfaction of mine. They just don't come out right on photos.

Restless

2009-07-07T23:13:00.003-04:00

My in-laws have been staying with us since Tuesday. They have truly been a godsend. My MIL has been amazing at helping me out with everything at home. It's been strange having someone else take care of my chores and cooking, activities that not even my husband will pitch in with despite my very pregnant state. We now have everything for the baby that we were missing and a kitchen fully stocked.

We have two days until our due date and time has been crawling by at a record slow pace. My husband's, "Tell him to hurry up," comments are also slowly starting to grate on my nerves... I've heard that women often go into labor when it's a full moon, but no such luck tonight - that is, unless I go into labor in the next 40 minutes! I'm equally, if not more, impatient as my husband but I am better at concealing that fact.

Having family and friends around has kept me from much knitting. The baby blanket my husband knit on the loom is now finally finished with a crochet border I did while they played the Wii. I finished my niece's sweater last week. I'm happy to have the distraction of family and friends because it's been making the days pass a little faster. I guess I will make it to knitting group tomorrow after yet another doctor's appointment. I'm a bit uneasy driving anywhere by myself these days, I'm weary of going into labor while at the wheel.

Well, I'm going to tuck myself into bed. The last two days my main activity has just been sleeping.

20 Years and Counting

2009-06-30T00:22:00.006-04:00

Yesterday and today my best friend since Kindergarten came to visit. We spent two days reconnecting, enjoying the outdoors and having some fun with "ghost hunting" jokes. I haven't seen her since April when my husband and I went home for the baby shower my mother-in-law hosted. I've been lucky enough to spend four days with her this year. We went seven years without seeing each other while I was in Germany.

It's amazing to me how two people can meet as little children and maintain a friendship for so long and through so many changes. Long ago in fourth grade she moved to another city, but it didn't prevent us from seeing each other. We wrote each other letters on colorful stationary and covered them with stickers, always declaring our commitment to staying friends forever. Twice a year we'd have sleepovers and celebrate birthdays together. When we were both in High School she moved to another state and we continued to stay in contact through mail and very long car rides.

Here we are, 20 years after Kindergarten. I can't begin to describe how blessed I feel to have someone like her in my life. We're two incredibly different people, but our love for each other is unconditional. It's been wonderful to see her during this transitional time in life, especially after we've missed out on so much. She brought along her boyfriend and our men got along like old friends.

So, as my flowers have started to bloom and change, so has my life. I don't believe there's been a time in life when I've felt so fulfilled - surrounded by family, friends and blessings, each day has taken on a new beauty.

Politics, I think

2009-06-29T03:04:00.004-04:00

Yeah, it's the one of the topics you don't bring up in social situations. Probably for good reason. I'm not going to air my views here, I'm not even going to define them. What I will do is yack for a moment about other people's views and how they choose to express them.

One link led to another and I landed on a very opinionated man's blog about politics. His posts were, from beginning to end, all negative. He listed off one terrible act after terrible occurrence. It was a lot like watching the (bad) "news" on television. I am all for freedom of speech and expression, but I am just as much for personal responsibility and accountability. I am so very tired of the blame game. I'm also tired of the comparison game, the magic-answer game and the downright negative everything's-going-to-hell game.

I think that if people stopped complaining about this and that and instead chose to become more proactive, issues that seem to so disturb certain people may have the chance of being solved. I think that if we stopped pointing fingers and started using our hands for good more would be accomplished. Words accomplish little, but hands can mold, shape and change things!

I don't think it's okay to spread hopelessness to a nation that needs hope. I don't think it's okay to spread the message of hate to a nation and a world that has a lot of learn about tolerance and true love. Yet, most importantly, I don't think it's okay for all these people to think they know how to run the world better than the next man, when they should be praying instead of judging.

I know, in a perfect world. Such the idealist.

Hanging Low

2009-06-24T23:56:00.005-04:00

This morning I discovered the first zinnia bloom as I was watering the plants outside. A solitary, beautiful little straggler.

After a visit to the local yarn shop I went to knitting group and crocheted the rest of the second sleeve on the second sweater I've made for my son. As I was sewing the pieces together and daydreaming about what my son is going to look like, my phone rang. "Mom" showed up on the display. Now, you know that any phone call that starts with the question, "Are you sitting down?" is usually not a good one. I guess I knew what she was going to say, but it didn't make it any easier.

Mourning is a funny thing. One moment everything is normal, it's an every-day kind of day and the next the heart of someone you love stops beating. And they're gone. A brief few seconds of shock, then realization and then the inevitable breaking of the dam. There were condolences and hugs, a few shared tears from understanding hearts. Then I walked away and composed myself. It never even crossed my mind to leave the knitting group and go home, because there was no one waiting for me at home. When I sat back down, red-eyed and sniffling, I picked up my needle and thread and continued to sew. At some point normal conversation resumed and as more ladies arrived with their fiber creations, the mood was lifted and I felt better among the welcome distraction of friends.

See, I believe in reunion after the celebration of a long life lived well. Death is a part of all this, it's as much a part of life as being born. As much as I feel the emptiness and the ache from my Grandma's loss, I also share in her joy of moving on and of eternity.

This isn't the end. This isn't goodbye.

See you soon, Grandma. I love you.

Growing Things

2009-06-24T11:30:00.006-04:00

I've always loved tending to plants. When I was 12 my father bought me a large assortment of plants and we built a small wooden planter at the base of hill by the lake and there my garden grew. It grew over with weeds, too, but I'll ignore that fact for now.

While in Germany I went back to the old German tradition of filling my window sills with plants of all kinds. I had one bush in particular that was my favorite. It sucked up about one and a half liters of water every day, but it bloomed with the prettiest pink flower year 'round.

Now that my husband and I live on the ground floor and have an outdoor living space we've both put seeds in the ground and have excitedly watched our seeds burst forth into lush, flourishing plants. I didn't actually get around to planting all the seeds that I intended to plant. The lettuce, carrots and a couple packets of flowers were left untouched.

The zinnias and poppies that I planted have yet to flower, but to the left you can see my climbers already in early bloom and madly climbing our trellis. Originally the dirt on top of those seeds got washed partially away and the sprouted seeds were exposed, I covered them up again but I wasn't sure if they were going to make it. Yet, as you can see, they have! I'm still crossing my fingers that my strawberry plants will bear more fruit than the 3 pathetic little danglers I had a month ago.

My husband's cacti seeds never came up. I think he neglected to keep the soil moist and warm enough for them to sprout. He did however plant jalapeno peppers that I believe will be bearing some spicy fruit before long. And going back to his roots of farming, he planted a mini corn field in our yard! We're both grew up in Michigan, a place where fresh corn on the cob in the summer and fall are a meal staple and much loved. I'm standing in front of the plants to demonstrate how tall they've grown. I was having a bad kind of day that only a 9-month pregnant woman in the summer can have, so please ignore the not so photogenic qualities of my pose. The ears on our corn are already developing, while my father-in-laws' stalks in Michigan are just barely knee-high. Up north we say if your stalks reach your knees by the 4th of July, you'll have a good fall harvest. Virginia is an awesome place to grown corn apparently because we have far surpassed the knee-high rule!

Unbiased

2009-06-21T02:06:00.003-04:00

Don't you love the feeling of finishing something? I just added this as my first project on Ravelry. I found the pattern in the Knitty archives here.

It's been finished for a little over a week and I'm very happy with how it turned out. It's knit out of four triangle-ish panels and stitches are picked up on either side for the strap. The strap is the only thing I would change on this version of the bag and I may still take out 8 inches. Originally I intended it to be a project bag, but the bag has snuck its way into everyday purse life. More than a pound and it becomes a hip bag, not something I intended it to be. It works best crossed over my chest.

I knew from the beginning that this bag would need a liner and luckily I still had some leftover 'Koto' fabric from my skirt and pillow sewing. I also used some light green remnant fabric to sew a zippered pouch and three small pockets inside to hold my scissors, measuring tape, phone and needles. Sewing the liner was a headache, I ripped it out at least 3 times until I was happy with it. Knit fabric has a tendency to move around a lot and realign itself in a place where it's not supposed to be...

I enjoyed knitting this because it was pretty much mindless and had just enough increasing and decreasing to keep it interesting. I did one panel a day, knit the strap on another day and finished the liner in a morning.

After making this bag I've since knit or crocheted two more of my own design, but they're not finished yet.

Skully Mary Jane Slippers

2009-06-19T08:46:00.004-04:00

I mentioned in my first post that I would be sharing some of my recent knitting projects. I haven't gotten around to taking photos of them yet and due to some serious stormage, there hasn't been proper natural lighting. If you were reading between the lines you'd also read: I woke up too late and by the time I thought about taking photos it was too late! :)

So... to make up for that (and also to avoid this becoming a purely personal blog about ... kind of boring daily occurances) here is a project that I completed for Christmas two years ago.

I followed this pattern on Craftster using some very soft and bulky acrylic and added some crocheted detailing in black. I didn't like the thin strap with the button, so I knit a stockinette strap with a skull that I drew out on graph paper and sewed on both sides. The recipient of these slippers was delighted, she's nuts about skulls!

I've since made many, many pairs of these. They don't take long to make and use up very little yarn. Additionally, you can add puff paint to the bottom for more traction.

37 Down

2009-06-17T11:03:00.004-04:00

The Hubby and I had our 37 week prenatal exam today. It was pretty much a repeat of other visits - arrive 15 minutes early, wait forever past appointment time, wait some more in exam room, blood pressure, baby's heartbeat, etc. The only difference is that I'm considered full term now so the doctor swabbed me for Strep B, STDs and checked my cervix. I am officially one centimeter dilated. Hubby's response: "One down, nine to go!"

I'm not completely prepared for all of this. Mentally we've both been preparing ourselves since November 6th, the day we discovered we were having a baby. It's just all the details that are left yet undone. I still have to put up curtains in the nursery and replace/cover the crib bedding we were gifted. Snoopy is not my bedding of choice and doesn't go with our jungle theme at all. As my due date, July 9th, is quickly approaching, I really need to get my hospital bag together and print out a quick outline of my birth plan for the midwives so there won't be any misunderstandings.

This whole giving birth in a hospital thing weirds me out. Hospitals are for the sick and dying, two things that have very little to do with the natural process of giving birth. Unfortunately we don't have any other options right now and far be it from me to spit at free military medical care. Under better financial circumstances I would have opted for a water labor and delivery at home, but even disregarding the financial burden involved in a private midwife and tub rental, my husband and everyone else is totally opposed to the idea. Sadly, in this culture of fear and societal thinking that "Doctor knows best," it's hard to get around those types of personal views.

I'm scheduled to go back in on Monday. Hopefully having weekly appointments from now on will give me something to look forward to and shorten the time that I have yet to wait.

A Stitch In Time

2009-06-15T13:53:00.003-04:00

I was 7 or 8 years old when I received a knitting kit for Christmas. I don't have any recollection of the actual event, or the person who gifted me said kit, but I do remember the lightness of the flimsy cardboard box and its contents being indiscernible to me. I'd never seen anyone knitting and didn't really know what it was.

It was probably several months later when I asked my mother to unravel the cryptic directions included in the kit. I'd grown tired of fondling the short, yellow plastic needles and holding the scratchy hot pink ball of yarn. There had already been several failed attempts at following the directions for the knitting loom and in childish impatience, I'm sure I was ready to give up. That's when mom came in and showed me the ropes.

Odd how some memories remain so clear and others so blurry. I can recall the precise way that the sun rays came through the old Victorian style windows and formed geometric patterns on the sage green carpet. The door to the enclosed porch in front of our corner house was open and the smell of aging books drifted in with the scent of fresh floor paint. There was probably snow outside, but the biting cold didn't touch us in our cozy living room.

I sat in my mother's lap while she manipulated the yarn around the bendable needles. I think she had to remember herself how to cast on before she could show me. At some point she had about 15 stitches on the needle and she started the process of creating fabric. I was mesmerized. I was hooked from the very moment I saw the fabric form off the needle and go from a single strand of twisted fibers to a thing of substance and stability.

My small hands struggled desperately to mimic my mother's movements, to catch the yarn and slip it off the needle in a perfect little stitch. After much trial and error I did succeed and went up to my room to practice. Days later the whole teaching process began again as I tried to continue my work after I'd already forgotten the steps.

One thing my mother failed to teach me was how to bind off, so all my "projects" ended with a strand of yarn sewn through the live stitches and knotted. The only thing I ever completed around that time was knitting an entire ball of variegated red/green/white Christmas yarn into a six-stitch-wide flat rope about 8 feet long. Every weekend when my brother and I would stay at my grandparents' home and sleep on an open sleeping bag next to their bed, my grandma would ask me, "What are you knitting?" I'd lie and say it was a secret. In reality I had no idea what I was knitting, I was knitting for the simple act of just making something. I loved watching the long strip of fabric grow and stretching it out over the floor. A few years down the road I wound the rope around itself, sewed it securely into a potholder and gave it to my father as a gift. It was my first FO (finished object).

Many years went by before I made anything else. It's funny to look back and remember even then having a yarn stash... even though I didn't know what to do with my stash or my new found skill with knitting needles. After I made the move back to Germany and had my own apartment I found my desire to knit springing up again. That week I found Knitting Help, learned the provisional cast on method (aka the long-tail cast on), bought my first metal needles and some yarn...

What ensued after that was knitting madness as I wiled away the empty hours at work and at home, often knitting with my best friend who kept me hopped up on black Turkish tea far into the wee hours of morning.

Oddly enough, that second FO was a very long blanket that again became a gift to my father.

Thanks to Nessa Knits for the inspiration to blog about my first knitting experiences.

Speechless?

2009-06-15T00:55:00.000-04:00

Apparently it's been a very long time since I've written for a blog. I tried to freshen up my writing skills last night by cracking open my paper journal. Some dusting off was in order, I'm slightly embarassed to admit. I haven't kept up with any kind of writing on a consistent basis since... well, probably 2003. That's a long six years of exceptionally few words.

So this is a new start.

I've been knitting nonstop for the last couple of weeks. I wrote a list of all the things I've created this year and was happily surprised to discover that I have not been as lazy as I thought. Attending the local SnB (knitting group) on a regular basis has kept me motivated to stay busy as well, not to mention the fact that after the baby is born my time to create will be a little more limited and much more interrupted. I'll post pictures of my recent projects soon.

I'll be 37 weeks along on Thursday. Technically, full term. The last couple of weeks have crawled by. I have to make a mental note to prepare my hospital bag, Lucas could be born any day now. I wish I felt more prepared for motherhood. Thankfully my crazy excitement about our little man finally making his grand appearance covers up most of the insecurities I have about being his mom.