Trouble with Trebles

Small Things

2012-02-10T13:14:00.000-08:00

Truthfully, not terribly much crafting got done in 2011, at least not when compared to my initial ambitions. I really love to knit, crochet, sew, etc., but it was such a busy year that my hobbies suffered. On the up side, I figure that the children are really only going to be this young for a short while so I will have many, many years when they are off doing other things to knit. RJ is taking ballet and tap, so I will also likely have lots of dance lessons in my future in which to work on crafts as well (she takes her lessons through her daycare right now, so I don't really do anything except send her dance clothes). I digress. Here is one project I did finish, although technically the knitting was done in 2010. I started this in 2009 when we were hoping to have another baby, and I wanted to make a more masculine sweater in case we had a boy. I also wanted to use up this green chunky wool-ease that I used to make my brother a neck warmer. I used Lion Brand Jiffy for the main body, so it is machine washable. Always a good quality in baby knits! The pattern is One-Skein-Wonder Baby Sweater from the book One-Skein Wonders (which is the same place I found the pattern for my brother's neck warmer). I've actually used this book quite a lot, probably because the patterns are quick and easy which is great when you have to put them down a lot. Here is the sweater:

And here is Iva wearing it. I thought she might be able to wear it, but with her short hair it really does make her look like a boy. I don't care all that much about whether her sex is correctly identified, but she has lots of other more suitable handknits and with the "leather" buttons I think this has such a cute masculine quality to it. I plan to save it for a gift, since someone I know will surely have a boy. The pattern was easy and cute, and I plan to make another more girly version to have one hand for a girl gift.

Superbowl Party Refugee?

2012-02-05T23:22:00.000-08:00

My husband once again apologized to me on Superbowl Sunday. He does this every year, because he feels that because he's not much of an American football fan (he prefers soccer, and actually calls it football just like the rest of the world) we don't get invited to any Superbowl parties. I nearly always half-forget it even is the Superbowl, and don't give much thought to whether or not I've been invited to a party or not. Thus his apology only serves to remind that I could potentially be missing out on some fun parties and that somehow we are being excluded. He is correct that we have been in California for five Superbowls and have not been invited to one single party. I figure there are several possible explanations:1. Our friends here really don't care that much about the Superbowl and don't have parties. This is reasonably plausible because I've actually never had a single conversation about football since moving here. When we lived in the midwest football came up more more regularly and we were invited to Superbowl parties.2. Some of our friends do have Superbowl parties, but they don't think we are interested. I imagine the fact that I've never discussed football would probably support their belief that we don't really care for football.3. Our friends have lots of parties (Superbowl and otherwise) and don't invite us because they aren't really our friends. This one is silly, because we've been invited to all kinds of other parties, including a deep-fat fryer party (yes, it was as disgustingly yummy as it sounds!).We could solve this issues by actually throwing a Superbowl party ourselves and inviting our friends, but we have a pathetically small television, a fact which I've gathered that sports fans are not fond of, and I'm not willing to buy a gigantic television just to host Superbowl parties. So here we sit, watching by ourselves another year, which isn't all that bad really. For the record, I actually don't mind football, but I'm a Packer fan and I was really disappointed that they lost in the playoffs after such a stellar regular season. And American football goes so slowly that there's lots of time for knitting. Here are the yarns for my latest project, which like football has a gambling aspect to it. More to come soon:

Goals for 2012

2012-01-24T15:26:00.000-08:00

It is nearly the end of January, but like many other knitting bloggers I still wanted to post some general knitting/crafting goals for 2012. I'm not sure if this is a smart idea, considering that I've not really met any of my previous New Year's crafting goals, LOL. Ah, but optimism springs eternal! My general goal for 2012 is to get organized, and this pertains to my crafting as well. 1. I need to update my stash on Ravelry (due to all that "yarn breeding" mentioned in a previous post I have a lot that is not cataloged), update my projects, and go over my queue.2. I would like to do a cable project and a colorwork project. 3. Finally, my goal for this year is also to complete at least 6 knitting/crochet/sewing projects, including a garment for me.I am really hoping that this is the year I actually meet my goals, but if I don't there's always next year! It will make it even easier to post if all I have to do is just copy and paste my list. ;) Here is a photo of me and RJ at a wedding this winter. This really captures her essence, which is always in motion!

Let's Get Physical

2012-01-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

I think I posted about this project back when I did it in 2009, but I never posted photos of little RJ in the full glory of her costume. Back in May of 2009, RJ's teacher sent home a list of necessary items for their spring show. This included a pair of legwarmers. I'm sure most of you have not tried to buy legwarmers for a toddler, but I can assure you they are not that easy to find. Of course, the knitter in me decided on the spot to make them. I used some pink TLC Cara Mia from my stash that someone gave me, and I managed to get them finished in time. Here is a close-up of them:

And here is a somewhat blurry photo of RJ during her performance. Yes, you guessed it; they were dancing to "Let's Get Physical" by Olivia Newton-John. I don't even want to discuss the odd nature of the song choice for two-year-olds, but I will say they did all look very cute. The biggest issue was that the song seemed to go on forever (why wouldn't you just use a shorter version for kids this young?) and the show was scheduled right in the middle of the usual school naptime, so they all looked tired. RJ was a real trouper though, and did a great job!

Breeding Habits of Yarn

2012-01-17T13:34:00.000-08:00

I still have a little less than a week until the spring semester starts and I must admit I haven't exactly been slaving away. Last semester was such an incredible amount of stress and work (all of which ended well, but it was still SO MUCH work). Then just as things were finally winding down my parents arrived, eager to tackle a bunch of projects around our house. They love to help us out when they visit once a year and she and my dad are two incredibly talented, handy people. It did, however, feel like I went right from school, to the holidays, to working around the house with no break. The past week I finally had a chance to decompress, and this has led to an odd phenomenon. My yarn appears to be breeding. If you were to check on the stash once a day, you would notice that it is expanding at an alarming rate. I'm not sure what's going on, but disappointingly the yarns that are breeding fastest are the cheap ones. Any suggestions on how to get some silk, cashmere, and other luxury yarns to breed? I would really love to make a silk shawl or some cashmere fingerless mitts......

Girly Things

2012-01-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

I finally finished the Anouk I started for RJ ages ago. I fear that it is now a bit too small for her, but I have a second chance with Iva so no harm done. I need to find some leggings to go under it, but with spring coming up a matching color should crop up somewhere. My girl has also gotten pretty picky, and didn't seem that excited about it. I blame grandma, who has taken to knitting with sparkly purple and pink yarn. It's hard to compete with that!I used some standard kitchen cotton (Sugar 'N Cream) and made the 12 month size for width and the 18 month size for length. RJ is nearly 4 years old, so the fact that it is a bit short is not surprising. ;) Details on my Ravelry project are here. I still love this pattern, although the kitchen cotton was hard on the hands when making a larger garment. The smaller version I made using the same type of yarn didn't bother me nearly so much.

RJ keeps asking me to knit things for her, but given the luke warm reception of this dress, I am not too inspired. She did ask for a sparkly purple scarf, so I am (gasp!) buying fun fur (Bernat Disco, if you can believe it) from someone on Ravelry to make her that. If she ever wants evidence that I truly do love her, I can just tell her how I knit with fun fur for her and that should prove it!

Still Here!

2012-01-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

You know how sometimes you think things are going along just fine and then all the sudden everything goes haywire in unexpected ways and you are overwhelmed. This was NOT one of those times. These past few months were overwhelming, but in a completely predictable way. The hubby was in his last semester of his MBA program and was in class two nights a week, plus was meeting with his group or doing class-related activities several other times a week. I submitted my tenure portfolio in October. I am also aggressively applying for funding for my research and trying to get my graduate students to progress. Add in the two active children and it makes for one very quiet blog. I hope to change that this semester, which looks to be a lot less crazy. Oh, and I have been knitting and crafting, so there is actual content to blog about! For now I will post some pics of the girls to show how they've grown.Here is Iva who is already a year old!

Here is lovely older sister RJ, toasting the new year with Daddy and some sparkling apple juice:

Back to Life, Back to Reality

2011-04-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

Today is Iva's first day of daycare. Please, whatever you do don't put something like, "wow, it's so soon for her to be in daycare" in your comments. I am already feeling very sad to be leaving my baby, but in order to continue getting paid I had to come back. My department has been really great about giving me duties other than teaching, so I can ease my way back and have a flexible schedule. I even plan to nurse her over my lunch break for the next few months, so I'll be seeing her once during the day. Despite all that, it's still really hard. Thankfully, I really love my job so I am looking forward to getting back to my actual work.

While I was on leave, I did manage to do a bit of crafting, but mostly of the sewing variety. I am trying to make Christmas stocking for everyone in the family and have been making pretty good progress. I had a stocking that I sewed years ago for myself that served as my starting point. I have lots of holiday fabrics in my stash, so I was able to buy just a couple more fabrics and put together a patchwork quilted stocking for RJ which I got done before Christmas. Here it is after I did the patchwork. I will take a finished photo of it soon and post it. My stocking is made from a panel of vintage 50's-60's holiday fabric, so I was trying to mimic that in RJ's stocking.

I also did one for the hubby in dark red and green plaids, so more masculine. I have the quilting done on this and just need to sew it to the back and make a cuff.

I also started one for Iva before she was born. Hers has a more "country Christmas" feel, with blues, burgundy, and tan. Here it laid out before piecing it together. I now have it all pieced and am working on quilting it right now. I should have it done in a couple weeks. It was really fun to make each one unique and I am so excited to put them up all together next Christmas! This has also gotten me on a sewing kick, and I will share my next big sewing project with you soon.

A Lovely Use of Time

2011-03-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in quite awhile, but just look at what I've been working on:

Iva is now 2 1/2 months old, and is such a sweet little girl. I haven't been knitting much, but did crochet Iva a little hat and I've been doing several other craft and decorating projects. I've been trying to finish projects around the house before I go back to work, but mostly I've been taking care of little Iva and her big sis. I will try to post photos of some of my projects in the next few days. Stay tuned!

Halloween Post A Few Months Late

2011-02-03T06:55:00.000-08:00

I am really behind on posting my 2010 projects, and now we're already into February of 2011! For Halloween I originally wanted to make RJ's entire costume from scratch. I quickly ran out of time, so I bought a strawberry fairy costume with matching tights. I then crocheted a matching hat using this cute pattern from Playin' Hooky Designs. I used some red and black kitchen cotton from my stash and some Lion Organic Cotton in green. I changed it a bit to flare out more, to accommodate RJ's big hair, and added a picot edging. I love how it turned out and she received tons of compliments!

Catching Up

2011-01-31T09:19:00.000-08:00

I am currently all about catching up. Mostly on sleep, since the rumors about newborns and waking up at all hours are completely true. Little Iva actually sleeps quite a lot during the day, but from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am not so much. We've finally gotten her to go down a bit earlier, say midnight, but it's been rather exhausting, especially after spending the day chasing after an active two-year-old. Thankfully, Iva has just started to sleep for longer stretches. Last night she slept 5 whole hours in row!

I also need to catch up on blogging, obviously. It's been so long I hardly know where to start. Perhaps with the swap I participated in? Just before Christmas I posted my Inca Hat, which was the main item in the swap gift I sent off. I also made this fleece blanket to go with the hat, and included a few more goodies.

The swap gift I received was phenomenal! It included an adorable sweater, some washcloths, a puzzle, books, and crayons for big sis, and lots of yummy goodies. This was so much fun I am hoping to do another swap (once I catch up on things, of course).

She's Here!

2011-01-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry to be off the radar for a few weeks. Our new baby girl arrived just after Christmas on December 26th at 11:01 am. Iva Juliet was 6lbs 1oz and 19.5 inches. The birth went fairly smoothly and we are all doing well. RJ is a great big sister and we are so happy with our two little girls!

Holiday Recap

2010-12-23T07:20:00.001-08:00

P1020807
Originally uploaded by JayJay2003

No baby yet, but we expect her any day now. In the meantime, my knitting and crafting projects have been going quite well lately and I've managed to get a lot done. Unfortunately, I always seem to be finishing things just before I give them, so I haven't gotten photos of everything. Here are some of the highlights:

-7 dishcloths for RJ's teachers (this took about a year, but I did lots of other things too)
-2 fleece baby blankets for my 2 lovely neighbors who had/are having babies
-RJ's anouk
-baby boy sweater for a gift
-Quilted fronts for stockings for the hubby and RJ, plus the piecing done for the new baby's stocking
-Inca Hat for due date my swap partner on Ravelry
-Fleece blanket for my swap partner

The photo is of the Inca Hat from Itty Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson. It had a lot of details, but was so fun to make. The mom I made it for lives in Calgary so it was fun to make something wooly and warm for a change.

I will try to post more photos of things in the next couple weeks, depending on when the baby arrives of course!

Holiday Crafting

2010-11-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

From my utter lack of blogging activity and current status as 8 1/2 months pregnant, you would probably guess that not much knitting has been going on. Well, it is certainly the case that less knitting than I would like has been going on, but I have managed to finish a few smaller projects along the way. For example, my goal of having handknit dishcloths for holiday gifts for all RJ's daycare teachers should be completed in time. As you can see from the photo below I have made several ballband dishcloths and a couple reverse miter dishcloths. I bought pretty bottles of antibacterial handsoap for each as well that coordinate with the color of the dishcloth. The dishcloths and soap will be nicely placed in holiday gift bags that I am making myself using plain brown gift bags that I got fairly cheap at Michael's, images cut from old Christmas cards, and various ribbons and trims from my stash.

The last one in the photo is now done and I cast on for another. I think I only need 6, but I bought 10 bottles of soap just in case and would like to knit coordinating cloths for all of them. I think they will make handy gifts to have on hand for other things as well. The gifts will end up costing about $4 total for each one. A lot of the cotton yarn was given to me (by people who had tired of kitchen cotton and wanted it out of their stash), I used stuff I already had to make the gift bags, and I bought the soap on sale. Pretty good deal on cost and hopefully an appreciated gift too! I am thinking next year I will make facecloths, the reverse-bloom flower washcloth but that is probably far too ambitious to consider while caring for a new infant. Perhaps I can crochet fingerless mitts from stash yarn? That would be faster and maybe more doable. Any thoughts?

Ravelry vs. The KnitBlog

2010-10-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

I have long been suspicious that Ravelry would be the death of the knitblog. The other day I was looking at my list of blogs for new posts and realized just how many of those blogs had not been updated in a really long time. I've know for a long time that I should delete most of them, but I just couldn't seem to give up on the idea that my virtual friends will return someday. Now it seems that Bloglines is shutting down and I need to move all my knitblog RSS feeds to my Google reader, so I will probably finally give up on all those long quiet blogs.

Why has my list gone from 15 active blogs to 2 or 3? I think for most knitters Ravelry gives you what you need with less of a consistent time commitment. Don't get me wrong, I love Ravelry. It is a HUGE improvement over googling around trying to find someone who made a particular pattern and blogged about it. The tools, organization, and community are something that I would not give up now that I am used to it and I use it all the time. However, I find that I blog much less in part because I spend my "free" time on Ravelry instead. The problem is that you just don't communicate the same way on Ravelry as you do when blogging. A blog is a sort of soliloquy that you can make as short or as long as you desire, as personal or intimate as you dare, and as silly and off-topic as you feel moved to be. Crazily, you then allow the general public to read and comment on it. You get to know people more intimately, as if you are reading their thoughts, and it's so much different than the type of dialogue you get from Ravelry, FaceBook, or Twitter. Perhaps the knitblog will revive, but I fear that it is on the way out.

On to actual knitting. Back in August while in Santa Barbara for a wedding, I bought some fantastic new yarn to make a baby sweater. It is Punta Yarns South American Cotton Space Dyed in a beautiful soft lavender:

I am planning to make the 5 hour baby sweater in a newborn size for the new baby. With RJ, the 0-3 month size took quite awhile to grow into, and even newborn sizes were big at first. So, against all the advice I am going to make something very tiny, because if this little girl is anything like her sister she will be pretty small and will definitely need at least a sweater and several hats when she is born in late December/early January.

The Hobby that Took Over Our Closet

2010-09-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

Our one walk-in closet in the house has been designated for storing hobby-related stuff. My husband pointed out last night that he has 3 items to put in the closet and the entire rest of it is crammed with my crafting supplies. It doesn't help that the amount has expanded since we've moved, and there are two big containers of fabric that don't even fit. Never mind that I sew maybe three to four times a year. In my defense, I did point out that my hobby yields wearable items and useful things like couch pillows and curtains. I think that makes my hobby worthy of a fair amount of space, don't you?

Here are two tiny little hats I knit for the new baby. With RJ, all the hats I made were too big, so this time I am making ones that are much smaller. I knit these in the very beginning, before I knew for sure I was pregnant. So, just to be safe I knit one in "boy colors" and the other in "girl colors" (not that I'm tied to such things, but if they ended up gifts I wanted them to appeal to others as well). Now that I know we are having a girl, I can knit a sweater to match the purple/pink one. I used up a bunch yarn ends to make the hats, and I must admit it was oodles of fun. The only problem is weaving in all those ends. ;)

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

2010-08-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

We had a great time this summer visiting Trinidad, my husband's home country. However, whenever I tell people where we went they picture us sipping Pina Coladas on the beach. Trinidad isn't really like the other Caribbean islands, though. It's not really set up for tourists. We did go to the beach twice, but it takes about 45 minutes each way to drive there and it is the rainy season so we it always rained for at least part of the time on the beach. I didn't mind the rain, but RJ did not appreciate it so that would usually end our beach outing. She did love jumping in the waves, and is still talking about it. Also, the bugs were a constant battle. I would spend every meal hovering around RJ with a mosquito beater (electrified tennis racket) trying to keep her from being eaten. I had at least 30 bites at any given time. It was also extremely hot and humid, and like most places in Trinidad there was no air conditioning where we were staying. Despite those unpleasantries it was a great trip. We enjoyed seeing family and getting to know where my husband came from. I also had time to knit, both on very long flights there and back and while we were visiting with family. Here are some photos of us at the beach (RJ is conveniently blocking my baby bump) and some of the many beautiful sights.

Yarny Prizes!

2010-08-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

One really fun activity I participated in via Ravelry was the Ravelympics this past winter. I was part of a knitalong for my good friend and designer, Anne Kuo Lukito of Crafty Diversions. I made Linh's Ivy, a lace scarf pattern of hers that turned our great. As part of the knitalong, I was put in a drawing for a prize and I won! Here is the selection of beautiful yarn I received:

It included: 2 balls Berroco Comfort; 2 skeins Berroco Bonsai; 1 skein Elsbeth Lavold Silk & Wool; 1 skein (3.5oz) chunky weight 100% kid mohair hand-dyed by Anne; and 1 skein (5.6 oz) fingering weight 100% pima cotton hand-dyed by Anne; 2 1.5” knitting buttons that I made.

I am so excited to make something out of the beautiful yarns!

Summer Projects

2010-08-12T09:47:00.000-07:00

As you have probably noticed I am not keeping up with my blog posting as well I'd hoped. In the beginning of the summer I was teaching, and that seemed to take up all my time. Within a couple days of my class ending, we left on vacation to visit my husband's family in Trinidad for two weeks. What a whirlwind! (I will post details and photos of our vacation later.) What has really taken up most of my time, however, is that I'M PREGNANT! I am due in January, and we are quite excited to be giving RJ a younger sibling. I have had a few ultrasounds already, so we just found out that we are having a GIRL! We would be thrilled either way, but knowing the sex allowed me to buy some yarn just for this baby. So I got some beautiful lavender space-dyed cotton by Punta Yarns:

After I bought the yarn, I remembered that RJ had two lavender handknit sweaters that she would be passing down, but it is such a lovely color and so soft that I'm not too upset. I got the yarn at the lovely yarn shop Loop and Leaf in Santa Barbara. We spent the weekend in Santa Barbara for a wedding and had a wonderful time. Here is RJ at the wedding, looking adorable in her orange dress:

I have FOs, and other summer vacation photos to post, so hopefully I will catch up on things soon.

A Little About Me

2010-07-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since my last post for a variety of reasons. Teaching, a two-week vacation (in which knitting actually got done), and other things. I really want to update you all on everything, but I find that I have no knitting, vacation, relevant photos to do so, so for now I will at least get back into posting with a fun quiz that was posted by Karoline of Karoline Knits.

1. What's your staple meal (ie. what meal do you cook most often when you can't be bothered to be adventurous) ?
Right now, it's homemade pizza or pasta sauce. For the pizza I make whole wheat dough from scratch, and from there it's easy. Just add tomato sauce, herbs, cheese and whatever is in the fridge that sounds good. The possibilities are endless. If I am feeling uncreative and pressed for time I open up a jar of spaghetti sauce, add some fresh vegetables and herbs and makes some pasta. As long as I doctor it up I don't feel too bad about the dinner from a jar thing.

2. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Is it boring to say my current job, a college professor? It took me a very long time to get to this point and I really enjoy it (most days anyway). My plan is to retire in 30 years and travel the world.

3. What book are you reading at the moment (if any)
I just read Having Faith and was deeply affected by it. I am now finishing reading When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. I love his writing style. I primarily read nonfiction. I actually love fiction, but find that it is too engrossing and I don't get anything else done. I can enjoy nonfiction, but it doesn't take over my life (J.K. Rowling, you know I'm talking about you).

4. How do you relax?
I zone out, watch one of my favorite TV shows, and knit.

5. What color are the interior walls of your home?
We are trying to paint all the rooms, but much of the house is still builder's white. The living room is light tan, dark tan, and smokey blue. Our master bedroom is off-white, and our master bathroom is dusty purple. RJ's room is blue and her bathroom is yellow. Our entryway is light blue.

6. What is your guiltiest pleasure?
I love pastries of all kinds. Give me a cup of coffee and a pastry and I am in heaven

7. What time is bedtime and getting up time?
Lately I've been going to bed between 9:00 and 10:00 pm and getting up at 6:00 am. I am still adjusting from being 3 hours ahead.

8. How long do you spend reading blogs (per day or per week)?
Not a whole lot of time, maybe 5-10 minutes? Ravelry and other internet stuff, however, probably wastes way too much of my time.

Here is proof that my daughter is destined to be crafty. She found my old poncho and insists on wearing it, even though it fall off. I am making her one of her own now, in pink and gray.

Going Green

2010-06-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

My wonderful sister-in-law has recently gone back to school to get a teaching certificate in English. As a result, she is reading lots of books for class and then passing them along to family members, like me. Most recently she gave me the book Having Faith by Sandra Steingraber. I think it's good for everyone to read, but as a mother and a scientist I was both impressed by her research and frightened by how we are killing the earth and ourselves.

Even before reading the book, I have been buying more and more organic foods and opting for locally grown when possible. Mostly, I always thought about organic food from the perspective of the direct health benefits for me and my family. However, this book made me see it from the perspective of supporting farming and manufacturing practices that reduce pesticides and other chemicals in our environment for more long-term benefit for all living things. It also made me think a lot about my parents, who not only talked about saving the environment 30 years before "going green" became the rage, but also quietly backed up their beliefs with behavior. The amazing thing is that they made the effort to live "green" even though we were extremely poor. And they did it in big ways, like discontinuing use of chemical pesticides on the crops of our farm. Thanks Mom and Dad for being such wonderful role models!

Now, to the actual crafting. I really need to make some progress on the shawl for my niece. I meant to get it done for her birthday last December, but it looks like it will be a year late. What's the problem? I keep making mistakes. The pattern really isn't all that hard, but I kept trying to do it a little at time here and there and it goes better if I give it more attention. It is the Sweet Pea Shawl from The Happy Hooker. Below is an old photo, that if you look closely has a mistake in it (the fans don't line up correctly on rows 2 and 3). Sadly, I haven't gotten much farther than this because I've ripped back to this point at least twice.

Summer is Here!

2010-06-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

Since becoming a professor I have looked forward to summer even more than I did as a student. In summer you can spend all day working on some obscure research idea (probably ignoring other deadlines, but who cares!), without being bothered by student emails, phone calls, grading, or class preparation. Don't get me wrong I love teaching, but sometimes you need a break, even from something you love. I also usually read at least one book on how to improve teaching, to try and keep things fresh for the next year. This year, however, I am not taking a break and instead am teaching a summer class for the first time. This was a purely monetary decision. The b*stards in administration decided (with the consent of a very close union vote) to cut our pay this year by 10%. In order to make up a percentage of my lost wages, I agreed to teach summer. So far it is going fairly well, but I do miss the leisure afforded by having no schedule. My class only goes until mid-July, after which we have several trips planned. I sincerely hope I get to a enjoy a few of those no-schedule days before fall classes begin again.

Speaking of breaks, I haven't been doing much knitting lately. Mostly, I've just been too busy, but I've also not been much in the mood. I did finish a long overdue sewing project, however. I have been working on this fleece patchwork baby blanket for awhile, but I finally had incentive to finish it as a baby gift for my good friend Theresa and her adorable new baby boy. I cut the patched from another piece of fleece, embroidered around them, and then sewed on a satin blanket binding. She seemed to really like it. Let's hope the baby does as well!

Birthday Yarn

2010-04-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a really hectic few weeks, although mostly things have been going well. I had a big event I planned for my department which nearly 300 people attended and it was a big success. We've also had other good things happening at work and school. The only negative was a recent bout of illness. I was just catching up with the grading I missed while planning the event when RJ got really sick and the hubby quickly followed suit. We missed work and school for a couple days, they both ended up needing antibiotics, and no one slept well for days. It was rough, but now everyone is on the mend.

Unfortunately, all this stuff going on has meant no time to blog. I am finally blogging now about my birthday yarn, which I got at the beginning of March! It was such a fun day. A couple of friends and I went to Alamitos Bay Yarn Company on one of my furlough days and then went out for sushi for lunch. Yum! It was especially fun to go yarn shopping, because in the month of your birthday you get 20% off your purchase at Alamitos Bay, so I went a little crazy (for me anyway). Here is what I bought:

First, I got the new Interweave Knits. It has some great patterns, including one by my good friend Anne Lukito from CraftyDiversions. I love her Rose Window Beret! I also got some navy blue acrylic blend yarn to make a sweater for RJ, and two skeins of turquoise Brown Sheep Serendipity Tweed to add to two I already have. I plan to make myself the Transverse Cardigan with the Serendipity Tweed. I got enough for a whole project of those two yarns. I also got a skein of Blue Sky Alpacas in orange to use in addition to some other cotton yarn to make RJ the dotted chicken from Itty Bitty Knits. If I like the yarn, I may pick up more to make RJ another sweater. She seems to favor orange and pink when picking out clothing. Along the same lines, the pink skein will be combined some Blue Sky Alpacas in a slightly darker pink/magenta to make a tonal striped hat for RJ for next winter. I may even add a fun feather topic like this hat to add some fun. The yellow and green is a washable cotton yarn called Cottontail made by Classic Elite that I picked up to play around with. It seems like it would be a good baby/kid yarn. Of these last few yarns I got a skein or two to try them out. If I like them I will probably go back and buy more for a bigger project. That, and the yarns were all so luscious and soft to touch I probably got a bit carried away. Seriously, how many hats, toys and sweaters does one child need? Based on this photo, probably lots. She is a born shopper:

Katja finished!

2010-03-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

Once again I've managed to fall behind in my posting. I've been knitting and obsessing about yarn, but I think it's a reaction to being a bit stressed out and not just for the love of knitting. I have a huge pile of grading that I am making almost no progress on and I am in charge of one of my department's signature events which is happening next Tuesday (yikes!).

Anyway, here is my Katja (ravelry link), which I actually finished knitting in December and did the seaming in January. The pattern is here. I just finally got RJ to pose for some photos:

I used mostly Dale of Norway Svale, a blend of cotton, silk and rayon. It's perfect for a summer top. I liked it even though it was a bit splitty, because it looks just a touch shimmery and luscious when knit. The lighter mauve was a small bit of silk yarn that someone gifted me and I think it adds a bit of interest to the top. I just bought her striped bicycle shorts and flowered leggings that can be worn under, although it looks cute with jeans too.

I found the pattern really easy and cute, and think it fits RJ fairly well. However, in full disclosure I knit the 12 month size for my 2-year-old, which may have alleviated some of the bagginess issues others have had (according to Ravelry notes, anyway). Partly that was a conscious choice based on my daughter's size, and partly it's because I'm a slow knitter (or too busy with other things, probably both). I then added A LOT to the bottom, so it would be more of a tunic top and fit my long, skinny girl. The bottom edge is a bit tight, so next time I will bind off more loosely, or use a stretchy bind-off. I am happy enough with it that I plan to make another, but in a larger size for next year.

Birthday Exhaustion

2010-03-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

The reason it has take me so long to post is that we have just ended our one month of birthday celebrating at my house. My husband's birthday is February 16th, mine is March 12th, and RJ's is March 13th. It seems like there has been nonstop celebrating and planning since forever, but that's mostly because I planned parties for both my husband and RJ. So, this Saturday was the overblown, kid-centered, party for RJ's second birthday. The theme was "Old MacDonald" so I was generally going for anything farm-related. There was a bounce house (which had palm trees and was not farm-themed, but oh well), rented tables and chairs, animal cupcakes (sheep, cows, pigs, & chicks), and balloons.

I sewed RJ a little shirt out of red gingham and had hairbows made in cow print with a red accents. Here she is modeling the shirt I sewed. Sadly, the hairbows kept falling out in the bounce house. Boy, does that girl love to bounce!

I got flowers at the farmer's market and made flower arrangements in small galvanized pails and watering cans.

I don't want to bore you with photos of everything, but it was pretty much out-of-control crafting. I made bean bags from felt for a bean bag toss (which we never got to, the kids refused to leave the bounce for anything but food). There were goody bags decorated with a hot glue gun, ribbon, and scrapbook paper with horses on it. There was also a pig pinata and tons of food, most made from scratch. We had over 20 kids show up and at least as many parents. Thankfully the work was worth it and it was a big success (according to the guests and the guest of honor), and now I am exhausted. I have done some knitting these past couple weeks whenever I could squeeze it in. I also want to post about an FO I finished over a month ago for which I finally got some modeled photos. More on that next week, after a restful and hopefully uneventful weekend.

Going for the Gold!

2010-03-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the mohair input. Once I finish another project or two I'll go ahead and start it.

Sorry for taking so long to update on my Ravelympics results. Look over there in the sidebar. Do you see them? Yep, those are my medals. It took awhile to get around to posting since my team started celebrating after the medals ceremony (Team Motherhood Later on Ravelry). We must have gotten a little carried away, and some of us may have, ahem, passed out behind stadium. Anyway, now that I've recuperated from the celebration I can finally post about my two projects. The project that took up most of the 17 days was my Linh's Ivy scarf. It turned out great and I got a gold in the Scarf Super G! Here I am modeling the day after I finished. Yes, I am aware that there is palm tree behind. Trust me, it was chilly don't let the palm tree fool you.

I was also able to quickly finish another Ballband dishcloth for holiday gifts for RJ's daycare providers. Four down and two to go! I finished just in time and got another gold in Holiday Jump-Start Skiing.

Woohoo for double medaling! Most importantly I feel like I can actually finish a bigger knitting project (well, bigger than a dishcloth) in less than six months. I am feeling inspired to keep giving myself Ravelympics-like goals. For my next project I plan to finish RJ's new Anouk in time for Easter. The Anouk was my fallen project for the Ravelympics, and I've now fixed it and caught up to where I was before. I only have about 3 weeks, but I think I can do it!

Having Goals

2010-02-26T11:40:00.000-08:00

For some reason I thought that the Winter Olympics ended this Friday, today, so all week I've been panicking about finishing in time. Of course most of you probably know that they don't end until the 28th, which is Sunday. This means that I have a lot more time than I thought, and it's weekend time which is even better. Last night I was able to do some serious knitting and I got past 60 inches (the length in the pattern). I would like to make a bit longer and go until I run out of yarn, but I could bind off at any time now. A gold medal is nearly mine!

I know it's nearly March, but I haven't yet written about my knitting goals for the year yet, so I thought I might do that now. Why have goals? Actually, my husband spent a lot of time in January thinking about and writing down his short-term and long-term goals for both his personal and professional life. I have to admit that at first I thought it was one of those touchy-feely things he had picked up in his business classes. At first I just went along with it to help him out. However, I have discovered that keeping those goals in mind has been pretty helpful. For example, instead of the weekend flying by without really getting anything done or doing anything fun, I now decide in advance what task I want to complete and plan things to do with RJ. For example, this weekend I plan to clean the refrigerator and take RJ to a local park with train rides for kids. The plan for my knitting this year is generally to do more of it. I also want to try several new techniques. I have planned a cable project (Belle Wrap in the Knitting Little Luxuries Book) and a stranded colorwork project (Composed Knits from the Fall 2007 Interweave Knits). I also plan to do some more complex lace patterns like Lacey.

I have a bunch of bright pink mohair to use for Lacey. I am wondering if I should knit it along with another softer yarn to tone down the color and decrease itch. Any opinions?

A Fashionista is Born

2010-02-23T12:19:00.000-08:00

I was putting on RJ's off-white socks this morning and this was our conversation:

RJ: No white ones
Me: You don't want the white socks?
RJ: Brown
Me: You want brown socks instead? (I got the brown socks out.)
RJ: Yes
I put on the brown socks.
RJ: Now brown shoes

The worst part is that the brown ones really did look better than the white with her outfit. Already a fashionista and she's not even 2! Perhaps I should have her pick out my clothes for work?

A Ravelympics update: On Day 11, with 3 more days left to knit I have about 12 inches to go. It might be cutting it close, but I have until midnight on Friday. It really is looking like a scarf now at least.

Mondays are Hardest

2010-02-22T12:50:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all your support for my Ravelympics projects. I am still making good progress on the scarf and I'm happy with my new start on the Anouk. I will update more on the projects later this week.

I don't know about other moms, but dropping off RJ on Monday morning is always emotional. I guess after spending the weekend together my guilt is in full force. I really shouldn't feel guilty, her daycare is fantastic. However, she is moving from the infant room to the toddler room at the moment and she is not happy. She hates change (gets that from her dad) and misses her old teachers. I know that she needs to move on, but it has been so hard. I definitely agree with her old teachers that she really needs to be in an environment that is more school-like so she can learn more, and that she is too mature for the infant room. But, when your baby starts crying the moment you hand her over, it is so hard to leave her there and not snatch her back and take her home.

The good news is that I am making good progress on gifts for her new teachers, who are patiently dealing with her crying and fussing on a daily basis. Here is another completed knitted washcloth. It uses the ballband dishcloth pattern that is so popular. It is fun and easy to make, but looks complicated. Some more kitchen cotton going to good use. I made a big blunder at first, using small bits of leftovers that weren't quite enough to finish this. Thankfully, I tracked down some matching yarn and the crisis was averted.

Here's to hoping that next Monday will be a lot easier.

Ravelympics - The Fallen Project

2010-02-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

To my surprise, I am enjoying the Ravelympics and the Olympics. Being forced to knit more has reminded me how much I enjoy it. I'm excited to start new projects and finish those I've got on the needles. In that spirit and with the success of my scarf project I thought I might enter another Ravelympics event, WIPs Dancing. The rule is that the WIP can't have been worked on since January 12th. That eliminated the couple projects that were nearly done. However, I was near completing the front side of a new cream and blue Anouk. It might be cutting it close, but finishing the back, the pockets, and tabs seemed doable. I dug it out and started knitting. After working another inch or so I realized the measurements were funky. It turns out I had missed part of the pattern instructions about 7 inches back. After finishing the decreases, I was supposed to knit to 9.25 inches and then decrease for the transition from the skirt to bodice. I just went right to the decrease at about 7.5 inches, much too early. So, I had to rip back to that point. It went from this:

To this:

I'm pretty sure I won't finish it in time for the Ravelympics now. On the positive side, I was working on the 12 month size (this project has been sitting around awhile) and RJ is nearly 2. Now I plan to follow the 18 month sizing instead for length (might even add some extra) and it will be more likely to fit her as a dress for a few months before it becomes a top. She’s super skinny, so having the 12 month width may actually work out better.

The Ravelympics 2010

2010-02-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

As you may have guessed from the title, I am competing in the Ravelympics. This is the Knitting Olympics on Ravelry, for those who don't know. The goal is to cast on during opening ceremonies and complete your project by closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics to earn a gold medal. It's all quite fun and I participated in 2006 (sort of; it's a long story). I was going to avoid it this year, but then my friend who is a pattern designer (Ann Kuo Lukito of Crafty Diversions) was sponsoring a KAL for the Ravelympics. Just knit one of her patterns and you qualified for a drawing for $40 worth of hand-picked (by Ann) knitting items. I remembered that I had some mohair that she dyed for me and some Frog Tree merino that I had purchased to go along with it:

I had planned to use the yarn to make Ann's pattern, Linh's Ivy (this is a Ravelry link, but you can also find the pattern free on the Crafty Diversion website), so it seemed silly not to participate. I am actually enjoying the knitting and the competition quite a bit. I joined the team for my Ravelry Group Motherhood Later (go team!) Here is my progress on the scarf (for the Scarf Super G event) as of Monday.

By Sunday I was feeling pretty cocky about my progress and decided to enter another "event", the WIPs Dancing. What a great way to finish one of my UFOs! That has not gone as well as my soft, beautiful scarf. The tragic details to follow......

Will It Stretch To Fit?

2010-02-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

It is raining today in SoCal, normally a rare event, although this winter has been a lot more rainy and cold than usual. For a knitter that's not a bad thing. Today I am actually wearing a vest I knit for the Knitting Special Olympics, 2006. What is the Knitting Special Olympics, you may ask? My knitting group was full of new knitters and we weren't ready for the actual Knitting Olympics, so we did our own version that was about enjoying the process, rather than competing. No one actually finished their project, but that wasn't the goal. We just wanted to challenge ourselves to do something more complex than we had before. It was lots of fun and we had a closing ceremonies party to celebrate our accomplishments, complete with medals for the winners.

Anyway, it is rainy today and the light in my office is burned out. Wouldn't it just figure that on one of the 10 cloudy days we have here, my light is burned out? So here I sit in the glow of my computer watching the rain and thinking about what new fuzzy woolen knitting project to cast on. Here is a project I cast on early in the winter and I've just gotten back to:

It is a One-Skein-Wonder Baby Sweater from the book One-Skein Wonders. I had leftover green chunky Wool-Ease from my brother's Christmas gift, so I just bought some tan chunky yarn to go with it and voila! A baby sweater for a little boy. It is intended as a gift for friend who had a baby boy in October, but at the rate I'm going he will be graduating from college before I finish it. This may end up in the bin of baby gifts, ready and waiting for the next friend who has a boy.

Ultimate Doughnuts

2010-02-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

I am currently working very hard to get to get back to healthy eating habits. It seems like once you get used to eating junk food, it's really hard to stop. I nursed RJ for 13 months, and during that time I ate everything, both healthy and unhealthy. Now there's no excuse and just feel like I am setting a bad example for RJ. Quitting cold turkey has been pretty hard though. I must be craving the stuff pretty bad, because the other day I was on my way to Jo-Ann's for some craft supplies and I read this on the sign "Ultimate Doughnuts." I thought to myself "woohoo, I could really use an ultimate doughnut!" A moment later I read the sign again and realized it said "Ultimate Discounts." So much for the chocolate doughnut I was craving, which was probably a good thing.

I mentioned that I had actual FO's to report, despite a lack of knitting time. I have to confess that two projects are dishcloths, so don't get too excited. So here is one, the Reverse Miter Dishcloth (Ravelry link). I used Vickie Howell Collection Organic Cotton and Milk yarn, which is discontinued I am pretty sure. I got it donated from a friend for my gift project. I am trying to knit dishcloths for RJ's teachers. I started last January, so this is taking awhile, but dishcloths are fun so I'm not too concerned. The yarn was definitely thinner than worsted, so I chose a pattern that could be adjusted in size as you went along. The reverse miter cloth pattern was perfect for it and I was able to use pretty much the entire skein, so no waste.

Zen Askew

2010-01-15T09:40:00.001-08:00

This morning when I got into my office I noticed that my Mini Zen Garden had been trashed. No doubt it was shoved aside as I scrambled to finish grading exams or papers, or complete a journal article review (I reviewed no less than 3 articles this past semester and am currently working on a 4th!). I think that probably sums up this past semester quite nicely: Zen askew. I have now fixed the Zen Garden and hope that that bodes well for the upcoming semester.

On the knitting front, I still need to take photos of some of my actual FOs from the past few months. I completed 2 dishcloths and a cute summer top for RJ (a Katja in a lovely silk/cotton blend). I feel like I also started a million different projects and really haven't made much progress on them: a crocheted shawl for my niece, another Anouk for RJ, glittens for my brother, socks for RJ, another dishcloth, a baby sweater for a friend, and probably one or two other projects I am forgetting. I guess startitus really kicked in and kept hoping I would get time to work on them. Well, until I remember to take some photos, here is a picture of RJ in a handknit sweater from a couple weeks ago at Downtown Disney. No, I didn't knit it myself, but it sure is cute, isn't it?

The Forgotten Blog

2010-01-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if anyone is following along anymore, but I always hate it when I've been following someone's blog and then all the sudden they disappear with no explanation. Are they OK? Did something bad happen? Or did something good happen that is taking up all their time? Or did the person just lose interest in blogging? For me, this past semester turned out to be overwhelmingly busy and complicated, so I had no time for anything other than the absolute necessities.

Why was I so busy? It was several things, really. The hubby started a new job, while continuing to take evening classes toward earning an MBA. So, while trying to prove himself at his new job, he was also trying to ace two classes. No easy feat, and one that meant he was working late into the night or in class nearly every evening during the week and studying/working on weekends. That meant that I was taking care of RJ on my own a lot more. I think it is a worthwhile sacrifice, but it does cut down on my free time a lot. I am also teaching more courses than I am accustomed to, and the addition of the furlough (unpaid days off to save the university money in faculty salaries) actually created more work, not less. Nobody seemed to know how we should choose these days off, and rules were given last minute or after we had chosen, so I had to change my days at least twice. Then we were told to give our students out of class assignments for those days, which then meant that we had to create the assignments, give them out, and then grade them. Ugh, what a disaster! This semester I have resolved to say screw it and make sure that I don't end up with more work rather than less. I also wrote a grant that got me a course release (yippee!), so things should be a lot better this semester. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up with blogging, but I'll try.

What about my knitting? I actually did finish a few small projects knitting whenever I could, and RJ is developing a love of yarn. I definitely see a future knitter here, as she creates a lovely mess of yarn barf for me:

Helloooo, Out There!

2009-09-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

With such a long absence from posting, I'd better have news right? Well, I actually do have good news. My hubby has started a new job! It was a long (i.e., two months!) interview process, but the end result was good. He has been working at his new job for two weeks now and we are still scrambling to adjust our lives to suit his new schedule. He is still taking evening classes towards an MBA and my teaching load is really heavy right now, we are stretched pretty thin. Even though we're super busy, this came at a perfect time and in general we are less worried about things.

On a less positive note, I have been furloughed, which means that by definition I am supposed to work 10% less and get 10% less pay. In reality, the stupid furlough has created twice as much work as usual and decreased moral among faculty, staff, and students at California universities to basement levels. The administrators made sure to give themselves raises so they are unaffected, while our raises have been indefinitely suspended (never to return, I'm sure). That means no cost of living raises, nada, nothing, PLUS a 10% decrease. Can you tell I'm bitter? Honestly, I love being a professor, but I do feel pretty betrayed by this whole situation. I try not to think about it too much and just keep working along.

I haven't photographed anything in quite awhile (including poor RJ, who needs an 18-month photo taken this weekend!), but will try to catch up this weekend so I can post some actually knitting content. In the meantime I'll post a photo of RJ playing in the sandbox her grandpa and grandma made for her in Wisconsin. I love her cute sweater, which sadly was purchased, not handmade. However, after our visit I must have really inspired my mom to pick up the needles and she has been knitting like a crazy person. RJ now has 5 (yes 5!) new sweaters knit by her grandma. My mom needs some new projects, so I'm downloading some cute dress patterns and buying a bunch of yarn for her from Knitpicks. If anyone knows of some cute toddler patterns (12-24 months or so), please share them!

Back From Vacation

2009-07-23T10:01:00.001-07:00

I am just one day back from a two week vacation on my parent's farm in Wisconsin. RJ really enjoyed being on the farm and running wild in wide open spaces. For me it was great to see my family again, both close family and extended family. I was shocked to realize that it had been 4 years since I've been home! My plan is to visit for at least two weeks every summer, but life sometimes gets in the way of even a good plan.

Speaking of plans, my plan for the blog was to post about my upcoming vacation and then post one or two times while one vacation. Unfortunately, my summer work schedule (I have 3 masters students finishing up) really got in the way of that plan. I even spent a portion of my vacation reading theses. The good news is that the last student will defend this Friday (woohoo!), so after that my summer schedule will free up a lot. That will give me a few weeks to finish some work projects and prepare for the fall semester. I am crossing my fingers that I will also get some good crafting time as well.

I did manage to do some knitting while on vacation. Although RJ has become quite active, her grandparents spent a lot of time playing with her which freed up some time for me. I will post soon with details on my latest projects, but as a preview I finished one project that involved the yarn on the left (the orange, yellow, and white colorway) and the plain yellow in the bottom photo. I also got my mom hooked on knitting dishcloths, so I feel like it was a worthwhile crafting vacation. My only regret is that I never got the chance to check out the local yarn shop (I'm not absolutely certain, but I think it is Good Thyme Knitting in Medford, WI). My aunt said that they have some lovely handspun and dyed yarns. Hopefully they will still be around next year!

Daydreaming

2009-06-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, probably around 9 or 10 years old, I would go through the Spiegel Catalog page by page, deciding which items I would buy if I were rich. We were what you might describe as "dirt poor" while I was growing up, so this was quite a feat of daydreaming even with Spiegel. You're probably asking yourself, "why Spiegel?" which isn't really known for being a luxury catalog. Living in a rural area before there was the internet (for the youngins out there, yes such a time did exist), Spiegel was the most posh catalog I had access to. It was so much more tony than Sears or JCPenney's. I had not even heard of Saks, Niemans, or Nordstroms, and Macy's was something related to the Thanksgiving Day parade, not a place to shop. Anyway, it turns out that if I had lots of money I would pretty much buy everything in the catalog. Afterall, you just never know when you'll need a juicer or aerobic shoes. Once I eventually did start to earn a bit more money, I did not buy out the Spiegel catalog. Honestly, I'm fairly certain I've never ordered a thing from them. I still do daydream about what I would buy if I were rich, though. I can tell you that my craft closet would have to get a lot bigger to accommodate all the silk, cashmere, and merino wool.

Back in the real world, I am making dishcloths for RJ's teachers. I want to give them each a cloth for Christmas, along with some nice soap. Because she is in the infant/toddler room, she has about 8-9 teachers, so I need to get moving on these. Here is the first one I started, which is now nearly finished. Frustratingly, I ran out of both the red and the ecru yarn. I was able to find more red, but I still need to hunt down some more (Ravelry, here I come!).

Getting A Jump on the Holidays

2009-06-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

I recently told my husband that he is lucky to be with me during these harsh economic times. I come from many, many generations of poor folk, so if there's one thing I know how to do it's live on the cheap. For example, you can eat for a week on a carton of milk, a bag of potatoes, a dozen eggs, and some veggies from the garden and it costs around $10. With our current single-income household situation, I am thinking that homemade gifts are going to be the way to go this year for Christmas. Since I love crafting, making complex plans, and hunting down the materials for projects, this is one area that doesn't seem so much like a sacrifice as a strategy-shift. However, with my fall class load I need to get a lot of gifts done this summer. I've been active lately on Ravelry trying to get some bargains on yarn for gift projects and I've posted some things to destash to generate some extra revenue to buy all the supplies I need (if you're interested, take a look here; anything in my stash is fair game not just those things in the trade section, so just send me a message on Ravelry with an offer if something looks good; I am also open to trades).

I am happy to report that I have my first gift done for holiday season 2009! This is for my brother, who lives in frigid Wisconsin and loves the flexibility of a gaiter. It can be worn as a neckwarmer or a hat, depending on what you need at the moment. This used up a fair amount of yarn that I frogged from the World's Ugliest Scarf (if you're thinking the scarf didn't look that bad, I assure you that in real life it was way too wide and the colors looked odd together). The gaiter is quite warm and soft and looks pretty nice on as well.

Yarn: Lion Wool-Ease Chunky in the color Willow

Pattern: Modified version of Four-In-One Gaiter from One Skein Wonders

Changes: I used chunky yarn instead of worsted weight. I tried to use worsted weight, but it seemed like it would be way too tight and I thought the chunky would be better for the bitter Wisconsin winter. I also made the pattern longer so it would cover more of his head as a hat and would fold over as a gaiter. I bound off on a really large needle (US 15) so that it would flare out a bit at the bottom.

Yardage: about 3/4 of a skein (114 yards)

Needle: US 10

Time: Started November 2008 and finished June 2009

An Unseasonable FO

2009-06-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

I finished these warm, woolly fingerless gloves, just in time for the hot season here in SoCal. I know, good timing right? Now I'm thinking I should start my bulky wool hoodie. I'm only half kidding, since starting it now would mean I might finish it in time for Christmas. The only thing stopping me is that I am spending two weeks in Wisconsin in July, and that project would be way too bulky to take along. I will probably take along a project for my light, airy Jaeger Trinity. I was working on a simple top from a Schachenmayr pamphlet, but I am having trouble getting gauge with size 3s, and the idea of going down to a size 2 needle for a whole sweater gives me the willies. So, I found a couple new pattern options that I will swatch. I will post about that soon. Anyway, here are the particulars of the fingerless mittens:

Yarn: Lorena DK, wool/acrylic blend
Pattern: Modified version of Fingerless Mittens from One Skein Wonders
Changes: I added quite a bit of length to the cuff, and a little to the thumb and hand. I wanted to have more coverage and to use more yarn.
Yardage: about 1 skein (125 yards)
Needle: US 7
Time: Started July 2008 and finished April 2009

I bought this yarn at a craft store in Iowa City, IA while in grad school about 12 years ago. The store is probably long since closed, actually. So far, I've used the yarn to make a vest, a hat, and now a pair of mitts to match the hat. Honestly, I've gotten more than my money's worth out of this yarn. Despite my best efforts, I still have a small ball of this yarn left that I really should just toss away and be done with it. However, now that I have the mitts and hat and I am thinking I need a matching scarf. Perhaps I will start the Ribbed Mini-Scarf, and see if I have enough yarn, or just the flower part of the Flower Scarf (Ravelry links). My frugal nature refuses to let me waste any yarn and my vision for a matching set is taking hold.

Another Anouk

2009-06-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

JennC from The Carlson Zoo asked who was the intended recipient for the new Anouk I mentioned in a previous post. When I finished my first Anouk recently, I said I would like to make another one in fall colors. So to answer Jennifer's question, it's for RJ but as you can see I did not use fall colors or fall yarn. I just used up some more kitchen cotton I had laying around in colors that looked nice together. What can I say, the pattern is addictive and the cotton is easier to work with in summer.

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It may appear that I am knitting too much for RJ and not enough for anyone else, but when I post my newest FOs things will look a bit more balanced. I'm also working on a project for a Christmas gift (fingerless gloves for my youngest brother) and may even start a new sweater for myself: Sunkist in yellow cotton (ravelry link). I do love the more relaxed feel of summer, don't you?

Good Yarn Karma

2009-06-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the well wishes regarding getting RJ into her own bed. After a week of working on it we are at RJ=1, parents=0. I think some significant teething pain is complicating matters, but there is probably a good measure of manipulation going on. Either way, I have been outmaneuvered by my 15-month-old. Damn her cuteness!

I just want to pass along some good yarn karma to Karen (aka Auntyk) on Ravelry. Actually, this story starts with a kind gift from Rachel (aka cupcakegirl on Ravelry) who started to knit something for RJ, then when she ran out of time decided to just give me the yarn, which was some lovely, soft, peach Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. RJ's favorite yellow hat this past winter was knit from this same yarn, so I figured a sweater for next winter in the same yarn would be good. However, I didn't have enough for a sweater so I searched on Ravelry and found that Karen had three skeins she wanted to get rid of IN THE SAME DYELOT! Yes, miracles do happen. As if that weren't wonderful enough, when I contacted her, she offered to send me the yarn without any payment. (Believe me, I offered to at least pay postage, but she refused.) I was very touched by her kindness and wanted to share my wonderful experience and pass along some good karma to Karen. Knitters really are the most wonderful people!

Katja for My Princess

2009-06-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

I don't suppose it comes as a surprise to those of you who know us that we are spoiling our little girl. We are now suffering the consequences, as we try to train her to sleep in her own bed and not ours starting this week. The result is that none of us are getting much sleep. Before she was born we vowed that our bed would be off-limits. During the first few months she slept in our room, but had her own bed. Once she moved to her crib we were doing just OK with our vow, only bringing her into our bed around 5:00 am or so, just until she woke up for the day. Then I broke my foot, and she has slowly been taking over our bed ever since.

I am also spoiling her in the knits department, but to be entirely truthful baby knits are so much fun that knitting projects for her are just as much for my enjoyment as they are for her. Gauge, what's gauge? As long as it's bigger than she is now, it will fit her someday. Also, a child can wear lots of things that are no-no's for adults. Garishly bright colors? No problem! Slightly see-through? Throw on a onesie and leggings underneath! Baby knits are also a great way to use up small amounts of yarn or have fun with a yarn that would cost too much to buy in a quantity large enough for an adult sweater.

With that in mind, I am currently working on katja from Knitty, Spring 2006. Could I wear a knitted halter? Probably not. But on a tiny little girl, this will look too cute. I started with a small ball of a silk/cotton blend yarn in a lovely mauve/pink color that I Marie passed along to me. I then bought two skeins of Dale of Norway Svale, which is a cotton/silk/rayon blend. It has just a bit of shimmer and the color is a rich, dusty purple. The result so far is this:

I think it looks girly, but not too cutesy. I have enough of the pink to do the bottom band as well. I think the two colors add a bit more interest. I hope to finish this soon so she can wear while we visit my family in Wisconsin in July.

Update on Life and Birthday Yarn

2009-06-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

I turned in my grades over a week ago, and I moved to a lovely new office that is slightly smaller, but has windows with a great view. What a difference natural light makes! Last week I spent a lot of time working on getting a research project up and running as well as organizing my office (with some help from the hubby, thanks sweetie!). What does all that mean? I finally have some free time to blog. I am way, way behind on blogging about my life and knitting-related stuff. I will try to catch up in the next few posts.

First, an update on all of our bad luck this semester. My broken foot has pretty much healed and really only aches a bit now and again, just to make me feel old (although turning 36 will also make you feel old). The hubby is still looking for another job, unfortunately. He's had several phone interviews and a couple in-person interviews, but no offers. We are hopeful that he will have something by this fall, but right now we are taking one day at a time and spending more time together as a family. In unequivocal good news, our illnesses have momentarily abated. Just yesterday I finished my last dose of antibiotic for a sinus infection and RJ's most recent ear infection has cleared up. Overall, things aren't perfect, but they could be a lot worse and we are hopeful that they are getting better.

In yarn-related news, I had a fun shopping trip for my birthday all the way back in March which I never posted about. I went to Alamitos Bay Yarn Company, which took an hour to drive to, but only 30 minutes to drive home from (I used the GPS, so maybe it led me astray on the way there?). My friend Kim came along and we took advantage of my 10% birthday discount to treat ourselves. I didn't want to go too crazy, so I just bought a few things. Here's what I got:

First, one skein of Berroco Twist Variegated to go with some I got free from my good friend Marie. I'm not sure exactly what to do with this, but perhaps I could make a summer top for RJ or a scarf. I love the vibrant color, but I heard this yarn is difficult to knit with (snagging and splitting). Perhaps it would be better to crochet something?

Next, I got two skeins of Dale of Norway Svale in a dusty purple. This I bought to go with a small ball of lighter lavender silk blend yarn that I also got from Marie. I am making RJ Katja from Knitty Spring 2006. It is an adorable halter top and is coming along nicely. I will devote a post to my progress soon.

Finally, I bought one skein of Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk. It is lusciously soft and I thinking I will make some fingerless gloves or a small scarf out of this. It would be for a gift since I already have scarves and gloves, but I haven't decided for certain who I would give them to. My mom would like the color, but she always insists she doesn't need any knitwear. I am thinking that it may work for my niece for a birthday gift. Honestly, I would love to go back and get a few more skeins for a sweater for myself, but it's so expensive. Maybe I can use it for the contrast trim on the Diane Cardigan from Knitting Little Luxuries?

Not Dead Yet...

2009-05-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, the title refers to one of my favorite scenes in "Monty Python: Search for the Holy Grail" which you can see here on YouTube. They even turned it into a song for the musical Spamalot, which made me very happy.

Anyway, I know it's been well over a month since my last post, so I wanted to at least put a little something on here to let people know that things are OK. The hubby is still looking for another job, but we are looking at the bright side and trying to spend more time together as a family while we can. That hasn't been easy while I'm teaching four classes (ugh!), but the semester is nearly over so we are hoping that some days at the beach or, more importantly, organizing the closets will make us feel more relaxed. We've been so busy and stressed that the house has really descended into disorder. Random items of clothing are starting to go missing (other than the usual socks), so I know it's getting bad. Thankfully, the yarn appears to still be safe.

I recently attended a conference in Florida and the long flights to and from allowed me to start some new projects. I started a new Anouk (love that pattern!) and Katja (so cute!). I will post photos as soon as I get my finals out of the way this week and finish grading papers. In the meantime, I am almost finished with my brother's gaiter. I think only a couple more rounds and I will bind off. Oh, and I will try to catch up on everyone else's blogs and not be absent so long from blogging again. Honestly, I have actual knitting and yarn-related content to post!

More FOs

2009-04-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Keeping up with the blog has been pretty difficult lately. Despite being on spring break, I am just finishing up grading 42 papers for one class and have 70 more to go between two of my other classes. I am also pushing hard to collect some data for a conference presentation in May. As if that weren't enough, both RJ and the husband have been suffering from antibiotic-resistant infections. For RJ, her bout of illness culminated with her throwing up all over me on Tuesday night. Parenting is not for sissies. They both seem to be improving now, which is a relief.

On the crafting front, I have lots of knitting progress to show. First, I finally seamed the Sirdar Snowflake sweater, so it is officially done! Technically it still needs buttons, but that's the fun part. It turned our pretty cute, even though this photo makes it look a bit deformed. I had a better photo, but for some weird reason it was corrupted and wouldn't show. Anyway, the yarn is very soft, but terrible to work with. The good news is that it would be impossible to pick out a mistake in this yarn.

Yarn: Sirdar Snowflake Chunky
Pattern: The sweater from the $3.50 pamphlet specifically for this yarn
Changes: None, I knit the pattern as written
Yardage: 2 skeins (274 yards)
Needle: US 9
Time: Started January 2008 and finished February 2009 (but the knitting was done long before that, I was just avoiding the seaming)

I also crocheted a newborn hat for a friend who just had a baby. It's so hard to believe that RJ was ever this small!

UFOs to FOs

2009-03-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

I finally seem to be making some progress on my knitting projects. One of my New Year's resolutions was to make more time for my knitting. I have to admit that I wasn't having much luck initially, but lately I've been taking my projects with whenever I can, and doing things like knitting while my students take their exams and during meetings. As a result, I give you RJ's Yellow Anouk (Ravelry Link) and her birthday dress.

Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in colorway 56 (yellow), Lily Sugar'n Cream in white and hot verde
Pattern: Anouk by Kate Gilbert in size 3 months
Changes: None, I knit the pattern as written, but my gauge was a bit loose so it came out big (good thing since it took me so long to finish)
Yardage: 2.5 skein (200 yards) yellow, half a skein of the white and green (60 yards), and a small amount of the orange
Needle: US 6
Time: Started April 2008 and finished February 2009
Notes: This was a lot of fun to knit. If I hadn't had the small infant to take care of, it would have been a quick knit too (but of course without her then there would have been no point in making it ;). My color combo is a little less bold than the original, but I like it's cheerful, springy feel.

I finished this just in time for RJ's first birthday! I plan to have her wear it for her party tomorrow. I will post photos next week of her party and another FO.

Feeling Behind

2009-02-27T15:37:00.000-08:00

You know things are bad when you start to feel like you're even behind in your craft projects. I was just barely keeping up with work and home stuff before I broke my foot, and the broken foot really took off my stride, literally and figuratively. I have spent the last couple weeks struggling to catch up again, and I think one more week ought to put me back where I started at least.

With knitting projects, even though you tell yourself that it doesn't really matter how quickly you finish, sometimes it really does matter. Say, for example, when you're knitting something for a growing child. What I've learned is that I should start things about a year before I actually want RJ to wear them, just to make sure I finish in time. Luckily, I knit a bit loose so things end up a bit bigger anyway (gauge swatches for baby clothes seems like a waste of time to me). After almost a year, I am nearly finished with Anouk for RJ. All that's left to do is weave in the ends and sew on the buttons. Very nearly an FO.

I have to say that it is wicked cute and a really fun pattern. Due to the dress/shirt versatility, the fact that it took me a year isn't too awful. Even though I chose to knit the 3 month size (yikes! she's nearly a year old!), thanks to my loose gauge and good pattern design it still fits. It's probably a bit on the short side for dress, but it should look really cute over leggings and onesie (and I've already bought them to match). I am tempted to go through my stash and pick out some yarn for a winter version, in a much bigger size of course. It would look cute in green and burnt orange for fall, don't you think?

Sixth Photo

2009-02-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

JenfromRI at Newton's Knitting tagged me for the 6th photo meme, so here's mine. You pick the the 6th photo in the 6th folder. Technically this is the 7th folder, because the 6th one only had 2 photos. So, here it is:

I take my lab class (in animal behavior) to the local aquarium for a behind the scenes tour and this is a photo from that visit. We got to feed a sea otter too. I think I enjoy it more than the students, but they do seem to really like it.

My Wonderful Husband

2009-02-16T17:16:00.000-08:00

Today is my husband's birthday. In honor of this wonderful day, I want to name just a few of the things that make him such a great guy.

-He is a great dad, very patient and loving, and always happy to change diapers and do the other unglamorous stuff of parenthood.

-He's one of the smartest people I know, but he's very humble about it.

-He's very romantic, bringing flowers and chocolates randomly for no reason at all.

-He works really hard, both at his job and doing things around the house.

-He has a fantastic sense of humor, and makes me laugh every day.

There are lots more wonderful things about him, and I feel so lucky that he married me. Happy Birthday!

A Lucky Date

2009-02-13T09:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to those who have shared words of support, both publicly and privately. My foot is feeling much better and we are slowly getting over the shock of my husband's layoff. Things have always worked out for the best in the past, and we are hopeful that things will work out this time as well.

I wanted to be sure to post today, since it is Friday the 13th. Although we're not especially superstitious people, my family has always felt that 13 was our lucky number. It stems from my mom, who was born on a Friday the 13th. It might seem obvious, but it certainly was a lucky thing for me that my mom was born. My affinity for 13 has continued and had recent significance. For example, our plot number for our house was 13. It is one of the few houses with a larger yard and a private corner, so it was not surprising that someone else had chosen it. That person backed out just as we were starting the buying process so we got our lucky number 13! Luckiest of all, my daughter was born on the 13th of March, and she shares her birthday with her grandmother who started all this 13 stuff. A very lucky number indeed.

What's Been Going On

2009-02-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

I know that the long absences have been more common than the regular posting lately, but honestly I just haven't felt up to it. My goal is to keep this blog focused on knitting or other crafts, but frankly other things have really dominated our time lately. I have been knitting a little, though. Here is my brother's gaiter, which is coming along.

What has really been dominating our thoughts, however, is the recent news that my husband's manufacturing plant will be closing it's doors permanently. So far this horrible economy has affected so many of my family and friends, and now us. It's hard not to let it get it you. We are trying to stay positive and hope that he will be able to find another job. It always seems like when you are under extra stress that's when accidents happen. Yesterday morning I woke up at 4:00 am and in my groggy state I went to check on the husband and RJ, who had not come back to bed after getting up at 2:00 am. I didn't turn on the light (in case they were sleeping) and tripped over the last step, breaking my foot. Thankfully, it's not a bad break so in about 4-6 weeks I should be good as new. I am particularly ticked because I just got a new pair of cute shoes, and now I won't be able to wear them for a few weeks.

Hopefully, in a few months we will look back at this bad streak of luck and laugh.

A New Look

2009-01-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

In the next few posts, I hope to show off some of the projects I worked on during my winter break. First, my dining room has a new look, finally! This project used to be in my sidebar under other craft projects, but after two years with no progress I took it off to save myself the embarrassment. This is after I bought the foam nearly eight years ago. My mom actually helped a lot, and used her mad skills in using material efficiently to make two more cushions than I'd originally intended, without buying any additional fabric (don't ask me how she does it, but it is rather miraculous). I am rather pleased with how they turned out, and I even had enough fabric left to make a cafe curtain for the window over the sink. We are going for an earthy Italian look in our kitchen/dining room, with gold, green, and orange/red as the main colors. I also have a few fruit-themed decorative items, so this fabric really fit in nicely.

No Resolve

2009-01-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

I am slowly catching up on blogs, work, and rest just as my break is coming to an end. I've noticed that the annual New Year's posts are full of recaps and reflection on the year, knitting, and how we did on last year's resolutions. Not one to break from tradition, I will try to do the same. This year is rather a mixed bag. For me personally it was one of the best years of my life because my daughter was born. We have settled into our new house and are both relatively happy with our career progress. For the country and much of the world, however, the economic downturn and increased unemployment has made this a very difficult year. We also elected a new president, which was not only historic, but gives many hope that the economy and other things will improve in the coming years. I am choosing to reflect on the positive right now, and enjoy looking back on the lovely memories of watching my daughter grow and change in her first year.

As for knitting, I can't say that it was a stellar year for finished objects. In 2008 I completed 3 hats, a scarf, 2 baby blankets, a baby sweater, a bib, a pair of baby mitts, and a pair of booties. Seeing it listed does make it seem a bit less terrible than I thought, especially when taking into account the fact that RJ really monopolized most of my time this year (and rightfully so).
And then there are my resolutions from last year:

1. organize, organize, organize
I made some progress on this. Organization is an ungoing battle.

2. finish the projects in my sidebar
I didn't do too badly with this resolution. I frogged a couple lingering projects and finally finished others just recently. I also modified my sidebar to better reflect things I'm actively working on. With my mom's help and Theresa's inspiration in sewing her first garment I've also started sewing again, which helped me complete a few more projects.

3. Learn to cable and do colorwork
I didn't really get to this, but sleep deprivation and learning new techniques don't mix. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I get to the more complicated knit stuffs. For now, I am just exploring the amazing array of things that can be done with knit and purl. ;)

How about some resolutions for 2009? With RJ, a big increase in my course load (thanks to the depleted California budget), and the hubby taking some evening classes, I will be as busy as ever this year. I think my knitting resolution this year will be to try to knit a little each day. Even just a row a day will keep me going. To help with that, I will bring a small project to work and have several easy things around the house to work on. My real hope is that knitting each day will help use up some of the stash, so I can make room for more stash of course. I figure it's the least I can do to help reinvigorate the economy. ;)

When Nerds Knit

2009-01-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

First off, my long absence is related to some rather large household projects which my parents helped me with over the holidays. They are some very energetic people, and they remind me that it's Ok to start a project even if you aren't sure it'll turn out. I tend to research things to death before I start, which sometimes means that I never get around to starting a major project. With my mom to guide me, I finished the kitchen chair cushions finally. I bought the foam for these an embarrasing 8 years ago. Yikes! I will snap some photos to post tomorrow. I also made cushions for the new window seat my dad built (yes, he is the most talented carpenter in the world!). We also painted the living room, fixed a couple lamps and a light fixture, put up a shelf/wine glass holder in the dining room, and finished countless other small projects around the house. I need my parents to visit more often! Since I don't have any project photos yet to share, here is RJ's holiday photo. Doesn't she look cute with pigtails?

Finally, here is a link to some really cool knitted brains. I really wish I had thought of this. As a neuroscientist and a knitter I feel like I should add to the collection. Any thoughts on how to knit the fusiform gyrus?

Hogwart's For The Weekend

2008-12-21T12:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long blogging absence. I didn't do that well with NaBloPloMo and then was overwhelmed with other stuff. I have lots of things to blog about, but I've been swamped with grading, my duties on a departmental hiring committee, and preparations for the holidays. Gotta love the end of the semester! Soon my parents will be here and I should have more time for reading blogs and posting.

A few weeks ago the whole family attended what can only be described as the most authentic and fun re-enactment of Hogwart's ever. Wherever possible, our lovely hosts did there best to make it feel like we were really there.

Saturday was the Quidditch World Cup, and my husband's team (Ravenclaw) made it to the final game, along with Hufflepuff, that was to be played on Sunday. Part of our admission to the World Cup got us a pouch of wizarding money, which we could use to buy spirit items (flags and pins), picnic lunch, and of course sweet snacks (licorice wands and chocolate covered newt's eyes, yum!).

Sunday we donned our school robes and waited admittance for the school year. I was a first year, so had to be sorted (Gryffindor, yay!). Next we had the usual beginning of the year feast. There was French onion soup, salad, shephard's pie, and trifle for dessert. Oh, and I can't forget butter beer! It was a fantastic meal. After our meal we went to our classes. I had potions, ancient runes, and charms. Here is my wand (from charms). Pretty fancy, huh?

Following classes, RJ and I rooted for the husband's team in the Quidditch Championship game. They won, leading to much celebration! Here they are, playing hard for the championship:

Finally, we had the awards ceremony at the end, in which Ravenclaw won the house cup. Gryffindor finished last this year, despite our resounding win at removing garden gnomes from the forbidden forest (we captured 50!). I think our poor performance at trivia was our real downfall, but we're not really known for our brains. Here we are at the awards ceremony, waving our Ravenclaw flag.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T08:45:00.000-08:00

There will be some serious knitting as we drive to our Thanksgiving dinner plans. I will update tomorrow.

An Update

2008-11-25T08:31:00.001-08:00

Thanks for all the concern about RJ. She is feeling a lot better, although she's still massively clingy. Some days I feel like I've grown a new appendage, one that's really cute and babbles a lot. I'm glad she finds me comforting, and I hope that being home together over Thanksgiving break will give her time to fully recover. We will have family visiting as well. My brother-in-law and niece will be arriving late tonight and will stay until Sunday. We are quite excited about their visit, particularly because my husband's family lives so far away we hardly see them (they are from a Carribean island).

I apologize for the lack of craft content. I am behind on blogging about my latest crafting adventures (it's difficult to do these things with the appendage), but I hope to catch up the next couple days. First, I need to show off all the fun crafting from the truly off-the-hook Hogwart's party we attended. Second, there's the sewing from last weekend's get together with Theresa of Knitting Underway. So this won't be a completely boring post, here is RJ's post for her 8 month birthday. I can't believe she's so much bigger than the bear now!

Pumpkin Day Hat

2008-11-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

OK, so most might define my lack of posting for the past few days a failure for NaBloPoMo, but I would argue that I'm just making those who are posting every day feel better about their accomplishment. Are you buying that? Probably not.

On Tuesday, RJ screamed and cried when I put her in the car to go to daycare. This is very strange behavior for her, particularly in the morning. She usually coos and laughs all the way there, then reaches for her favorite caregiver when we arrive (no separation anxiety there). That day she just clung to my arm and cried before we even left the garage. She had been sick for several days, so I suspected she had an infection. Sure enough she has another ear infection (her third in three months, poor thing). I also noticed that one of her bottom teeth was finally poking through. So she had the double whammy of the ear infection and teething. :( She is finally starting to feel better, so I am back to posting.

I will leave with the crocheted pumpkin hat I made for RJ for Halloween and Thanksgiving. I made up the pattern myself based on a couple different ones I found and a leaf pattern I looked up in a crochet book. I used cheap Red Heart Soft Yarn in Tangerine and Leaf. What do you think? (In the bottom picture she has stolen daddy's wand; he dressed as a Hogwart's student for Halloween.)

The Cold, Such As It Is

2008-11-17T14:49:00.000-08:00

Obviously I'm not following the NaBloPoMo creed to the letter, as I have been unable to post every single day. However, I have been posting more often, so I'd argue that I am following in the spirit of NaBloPoMo. Anyway, I will recap my very busy weekend tomorrow for you. It was a doozy, with nearby fires and a huge party inspired by Harry Potter.

Lately, we've finally been getting some "cold" weather here is SoCal. Maybe not so much this past weekend, but the week or two before. It's been just chilly enough in the mornings that I've finally been able to let RJ wear a bunch of her cute handknit hats. This is one of the cutest, made by Zona of Twirl Girl Fibers (ravelry link). I'm not certain, but I would guess that the yarn was spun and died by Zona as well.

Isn't that adorable? She usually doesn't pull it off, which must mean that it is pretty comfy too. At daycare they wait each day to see which hat she is wearing, since she has so many cute ones. Sadly, the weather is warm again, so no more hats for now. What we really need is some good rain, to put out all these fires!

When It Rains, It Pours

2008-11-13T22:36:00.000-08:00

Sigh. Yesterday was one of those days where you think to yourself, "gosh, it couldn't get any worse," after which it promptly gets much worse. I don't want to rehash all the gory details, but it included such fun things as a crashed office computer (still broken and awaiting campus tech support), a broken copier (discovered 15 minutes before class), a missing TA (who could have made the copies for me) due to an emergency, a lab that was too complicated for the students, and disappearing quizzes (they were eventually found after several minutes of panic). No knitting was done yesterday, for fear of the dire consequences. Prior to the day of horror, I was able to finish one pocket of Anouk, and start on the second pocket. Soon there will be duplicate stitched flowers on these:

Gifts in the Making

2008-11-12T08:44:00.000-08:00

My knitting has really taken a backseat since RJ was born, but now that she is a bit older I'm hoping to get back into it. Before she was born I actually had planned out several Christmas gifts to make and even completed a couple. I made a hat for my youngest brother and a scarf for a friend in England. I have decided to allow myself to be off the hook for all but one more holiday gift. I want to make the four-in-one gaiter (Ravelry link) from One Skein Wonders for my middle brother. It wouldn't be fair to make something for one brother and not the other and this project should be fast and easy, since it's just a ribbed tube. I am using some easy wash Wool-Ease Worsted in a heathered forest green. Here it is so far:

I may make a couple more simple things, but probably I will just work on things for next year. What I really need to do before Christmas is make RJ a stocking for our fireplace. I may actually make use of my sewing machine for that.

Happy and Playful

2008-11-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the suggestions for things to do with my scraps of yarn. I am anxious to start something new actually, so I will likely be casting on with some of this yarn soon.

Anyway, I have clearly fallen off the NaBloPoMo wagon, but hope to keep up for the rest of the month. The weekend was extremely busy and RJ really keeps us on our toes (in a good way). She really is quite delightful to be around. Usually on her daycare sheets under "today I was feeling" she usually has circled "happy" and "playful." Can you see why?

She doesn't get her easygoing personality from me. According to my mom, if I had been in daycare they would have circled "sensitive" and "tearful." Thankfully, I outgrew that. I try to keep the crying to a minimum, even during faculty meetings.

The Stash Groweth In Unusual Ways

2008-11-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

This past week I attempted to organize the craft closet. The craft closet might already be organized if it weren't also the crap-that-has-no-place-else-to-go closet. Actually, we have another closet dedicated to crap and this one is just overflow crap. The dedicated crap closet REALLY needs to be organized, but neither the hubby nor I are brave enough to tackle that without a large chunk of time and some really good reward waiting when we're done.

In the course of organizing I realized that compared to my Ravelry stash, my real life stash had grown substantially, but not in a way that I can easily add to Ravelry. What do I mean? Well, just take a look at this:

Various friends have donated leftover yarn for baby socks, baby hats, baby sweaters (are you sensing a theme?). I absolutely cannot pass up free stuff (one of my many faults), so I have accumulated all these tidbits. I really do think most of it will work up into cute stuff, and the challenge of using it all appeals to my frugal side.

A Behavior Pattern

2008-11-06T13:55:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already guessed, I am trying my darnedest to participate in NaBloPoMo by posting every day this month. This will hopefully get me in the habit of posting more frequently again. It's easy to get out of the habit and let the blog languish, and I'd rather not let that happen.

I am working on organizing my craft supplies now that we plan to stay in our house for a very long time. Today I put all my sewing patterns in one place:

Can you believe that pile? There have to be at least 20 individual patterns. I'm embarrassed to admit that most have never been used. At least I've usually only paid $1-2 each and I've gotten a few for free. Even so, I really should do some more sewing. The three huge boxes of fabric also indicate that I should get around to doing some more sewing. Of course, I also have three huge boxes of yarn, two big boxes of embroidery floss, rubber stamp supplies, beading supplies, and one big box of miscellaneous craft stuff. Yes, organizing is an eye-opening experience.

Not Like Me

2008-11-05T20:53:00.000-08:00

Unlike me, my daughter is black. In my mind she is German/Caribbean, or multi-ethnic, but because her father is black the world will see her as black.

Unlike me, my daughter will grow up in a neighborhood where people from different countries, ethnic backgrounds and races all live together.

Unlike me, my daughter will grow up in world where a black man was elected President. It is no longer just a possibility, it is a reality.

Thinking about the possibilities open to her and the new world we live in brings tears to my eyes.

Exercising My Rights

2008-11-04T08:40:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone plans to vote today! The hubby and both voted just after the polls opened this morning. We even took RJ, who got her very own "I Voted" sticker. We want to teach her early that it is her duty and privilege to exercise her right to vote.

On a related note, have you seen these finger puppets?

You can find the pattern for each one at Lion Brand. I wish I'd had time to crochet them so I could have mock debates (they would always end in thumb wars). Perhaps tonight one puppet will concede to the other. The question is, will the candidates follow suit?

A Swimmingly Good Halloween

2008-11-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

I don't know about all of you, but we had a wonderful Halloween. The hubby and I spent the whole week scrambling at work, and I was doing tons of work in the evenings as well. Ugh! By Friday we needed the break. Thankfully, the wonderful people in our neighborhood had organized a bounce house, snacks, and pizza for everyone. RJ had a blast watching all the other kids play. We got her dressed up in her costume and even took her trick-or-treating to a few houses. (She kindly gave all her candy to me ;) Here she is as the cutest guppy on the block:

As for the crafting content of the blog, I am thinking I may frog these pants:

The proportions aren't coming out right (too big in the butt, probably because they are meant to be worn with cloth diapers), and I think I may run short of yarn. Sadly, I think this yarn needs to be something else. Instead of working on my knitting projects, last week I designed a small fall-themed item for RJ. It is a project using the "C" word rather than knitting (that's crochet for all you non-crafters). That project may show up here soon, once I had a few more finishing touches.

Comfort in Tough Times

2008-10-21T08:40:00.000-07:00

Anyone else feeling nervous about the current state of the world? Even though the weather is still rather warm here, all the stuff going on makes me want to knit my family some woolly sweaters to cuddle us. Sure, we'd probably die in the California heat if I actually did that, but I suppose it's the knitters version of a hug. Meanwhile, I am still working on my cotton projects for RJ, which are much more practical for our climate. Anouk is nearly done, with only the pockets left to do.

My original plan was to make the pockets blue with a white flower and orange center, more true to the very colorful original. As I got closer to the end I started to think perhaps white pockets with a yellow flower and orange center might be a good option. I am definitely leaning towards the white at this point, particularly since I have some shirts that it would match really well with those colors.

Also, we are getting ready for RJ's first Halloween. Someone gave us a small pumpkin, and it turns out RJ is huge fan. Evidently, this was much better than her other toys. :)

Sugar and Spice

2008-10-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

One "problem" with having a little girl is that I am always coming across cute clothes or patterns for clothes, and I want them all! We just received an order from Gymboree which included some adorable winter clothes, like this jacket with little ears on the hood. Can I get a collective "awwww"?I am also working on anouk, Itchy Fingers Longies, and some baby socks. So, I should really work on something for myself, right? Then I came across this cute knitted halter top on the blog Newton's Knitting, and I totally want one for RJ! She looks SO cute in halter tops, how can I resist?

America's Biggest Threat: Bears!

2008-10-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are Stephen Colbert Report fans (and besides Barry Manilow, who isn't?) you know that Stephen has a strong hatred of bears. Evidently, all these months of watching the Colbert Report with Mom and Dad has led RJ to feel similarly about bears. She was sucking so violently on this bear's leg, I'm not sure if he will ever recover:

Don't think for one moment that this is an isolated act of violence against bears for RJ. She has a long history (well for her anyway) of attacking the fuzzy teddy versions of these obviously evil animals. Just look at her during her three-month old photo shoot. This bear clearly had it coming, trying to hog the spotlight during her photo session.

I apologize for the long blogging absence. We are going through what seems like all the daycare illnesses one by one. RJ has been sick every week, and she has been kind enough to share many of her illnesses with me, my husband or both of us. Thankfully, this is just a phase which will surely strengthen our immune systems in the long run. I hope to blog more regularly now that I've lost my voice in the most recent illness. I won't waste any of my time, you know, talking to people. Despite the illnesses, I do have some knitting related content for the blog. I just purchased this beautiful hank of Paca Peds in the colorway Fireside from Anne at the Handicraft Cafe:

It will be the sock portion of this pair of socks for RJ. I started the cuff in a dusty apricot color, but I don't have enough for two whole pairs of socks (I managed to secure a bunch of sock yarn leftovers from my wonderful knitting friends to practice with. Thanks guys!). I think the colors have a very fall look. Maybe I will make a matching pair of mittens for RJ in the Paca Peds?

The House Of Many Illnesses

2008-09-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

So, my long absence can be directly attributed to our battle of the daycare illnesses. To be fair, I could also be picking things up at the university as well. College students also tend to pass along a lot of viruses. As a result, the three of us have been ill on and off for the past three weeks. I think we are close to all feeling well again (fingers crossed), so my poor blog may see some action again. As for knitting, I am making progress on Anouk. I also have some new yarn goodies to post about and I need to make yet another baby gift. No more Seija blankets, though. I bought a cute sleeper and want to make a matching hat (I don't suppose they will be worn together, but it will look cute in the gift box). I am excited because I will use up some more of the seemingly endless supply of yellow yarn I seem to have accumulated, and yellow is such a cheerful color for babies.

A Rose By Any Other Name

2008-08-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

It's been a tough week here at Chez JayJay. First, RJ started daycare. As you might imagine, it has been a difficult adjustment. For me, not RJ, that is. She seems to be doing great, loving all the other kids and play activities even at 5 months old. I, however, am a mess - disorganized, emotionally distraught, and missing my baby. Alas, classes start next week, so I can't stay home with her anymore. The good news is that my schedule is fairly flexible and work, daycare, and home are within 3 miles of each other, so we aren't apart for as many hours per week as I had feared.

The other difficulty this week is that my laptop died. My poor little iBook got a security update on Tuesday and was never the same. Campus IT is supposed to be working on it, but they hadn't even assigned a technician to it as of Thursday. Let's hope they fix it before Christmas. Despite everything, by Friday things are starting to look better. RJ and I are getting into a routine and I am feeling a little better about the start of the semester. Since I am having computer problems I don't have any photos. Thus, I leave you with one of those silly, entertaining personality quizzes. Is it a bad sign that all our snapdragons died?

I am a
Snapdragon

What Flower
Are You?

"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

Progress Made

2008-08-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

This summer has really been a blur. RJ has really kept me on my toes (in the best possible way), and then we've had six sets of visitors. In practical terms this meant that over the past three months we've had just as much time with people visiting as without. It's been a lot of fun, but very busy. I am almost looking forward to the start of the semester so that I get some quiet time. So, now that I've set up my excuses I feel better showing my very pathetic progress on Anouk. Isn't my adorable knitwear model doing a lovely job showing it off?

This is the nearly completed front. I am making the three month size, because I am using some yarn from my stash and figured I only had enough for that smallest size. It looks like my calculations were correct and I should have plenty of yarn. I also want to say that this pattern is awesome so far. The design of the shaping is just lovely. Now, I just need to get this done before she goes to college.

Shaken, Not Stirred

2008-07-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

Despite being only 15 miles from the epicenter of yesterday's earthquake, we are all OK. A plate broke and a tile was chipped, but the most affected were my nerves. It was a good reminder that we need a plan for such things. It took me most of the time of the quake to figure out that it wasn't just a big truck driving by. I now feel like a real Californian.

I'll Have The Congealed Salad Please

2008-07-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

Recently I was going through an old cookbook I picked up while visiting my home state, Wisconsin. The book is called Cooking Wisconsin Style and was published in 1980. I don't know that I'll ever make anything from this cookbook, since it has that distinct '70s vibe. You know, lots of processed cheese and jello. Also, many of the recipes just sound really unappealing. How about some sauerkraut balls? Never heard of them? Why, they are ground pork combined with sauerkraut, then deep-fried. Yum. Then there's the cranberry congealed salad. It might actually taste good, but who on earth would ever want to eat something with "congealed" in the name?

RJ is one Wisconsin product that definitely turned out OK (well, she's half Wisconsinite anyway). Here is her 4 month old photo. She really knows how to flirt with the camera. If only I could get her to stop moving her legs for a couple seconds!

The knitting projects are coming along, but with all the guests recently they are not coming along very fast. Friends from Rhode Island left earlier today, and the in-laws should be arriving any minute to fawn over their new granddaughter. I had just enough time to wash the sheets. More posting to come, I promise.

Sock It To Me

2008-07-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

Summer is such a difficult time to keep focused. In my old school-age days the summer reading list got dusty (with the library over 20 miles away that would have been a bit difficult anyway), while I found sewing and craft projects to occupy my time. In a similar fashion, this summer the things I thought I would do have gone to the wayside only to be replaced by new projects. So what have I been doing?

1. Our next round of guests have arrived. We will have visitors on and off right up until classes start again in the fall.

2. I am working on reading several books on balancing a successful academic career while still having time for things like family. Many people probably don't realize it, but college professors get very little training on how to do the many of the day-to-day aspects of our jobs. We all sort of figure it out as we go along, muddling along as best as we can. It's nice to get some insight on ways to do things more efficiently and it's easy to read while RJ is sleeping on my lap during the day.

3. Most importantly for blog purposes, I started my first pair of socks. These are a tiny pair for RJ made of some leftover sock yarn (thanks for the yarn Anne, Zona, and Marie!). I will have to stripe this with some other leftover yarn, but since I'm just experimenting I figure it's better to use free yarn.

I also started a pair of fingerless gloves to go with my Le Slouch. Yay for the freedom of summer!

Very Expensive Lingerie

2008-07-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

As I walked into the living room the other day I got this information from my husband:

"Did you know that there is a $30 million diamond bikini?"

Here it is. Be sure that no young children or bosses are present. For that much money you'd think it would cover more than just the necessities, but maybe that's just me. What prompted him to even look for such a thing? I am guessing that he caught part of one of those list shows on cable. You know, like the "25 Sexiest Couples," or "50 Most Embarrassing TV Moments." Perhaps this one was "20 Most Revealing and Expensive Swimsuits" or some such thing. Maybe Ravelry should use this as a model and start a "20 hottest knitting patterns" list?

The winter holidays are still several months away, but, prompted by the Loose Knit Group on Ravelry, I'm trying to plan out my gift-giving in advance. My hope is that making many of our gifts will mean they will be more appreciated by the recipient, save money, and use up some of the stash, all positive things.

For my youngest brother I plan to make fingerless gloves to go with his hat. Below is my gauge swatch. I just got the right size dpns and am ready to start.
For my sister-in-law I want to make a cool crocheted handbag, like the fat-bottom bag or granny's no square from The Happy Hooker.

For the middle brother I plan to make a gaiter (basically a tube that can be worn as a neckwarmer or a hat; pattern can be found in "One Skein Wonders"). I have some forest green wool-ease that should fit the bill:

You may recognize the gray and green yarn. They are emerging from the frog pond after a time as the collegiate scarf. It was too wide, the colors not so great together, the pattern was hard to follow, and I didn't really have anyone in mind for it, so I finally ripped it. The light green is a chunky yarn that I think will be reincarnated as a beret. Anyone else starting to think of holiday gifts yet?

A Meme and UFO Progress

2008-06-23T07:38:00.000-07:00

We are battling illness again here, with the hubby trying to get over a bad case of bronchitis. He is slowly improving, and the rest of us have managed to remain illness-free. So in absence of much going on as far as crafting, here is a meme which Jennifer of Handmade by Jennifer tagged me for. I won't officially tag anyone else since I took so long getting to it, but if you would like to participate, please feel free.

1. What I was doing 10 years ago: 1998.
I was in graduate school (I was in graduate school for 6 years, so no surprise there). I was newly single after breaking up with my boyfriend and living on my own with no roommate for the first time in a few years. I loved it! I found a great little apartment and spent lots of time decorating it to my tastes. I lived there for three years and still think about that apartment fondly. I really think I learned a lot about myself living on my own and was in a good place when I met my husband a year later.

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

-plan meals for the week
-do a load of laundry
-empty dishwasher
-catch up on blogging
-have a quiet day with RJ (no riding in the car)

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Dark chocolate anything and Miss Vickies Jalepeno chips.

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:
Travel, travel, travel. In first class, of course.

5. Places I have lived:
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Rhode Island, and California. I've preferred the coasts so far. I love being near the ocean and close to an urban center. But that's just me and every place has its good points and bad points.

I also wanted to show that actual knitting progress is being made, albeit it a snail's pace. We have about three weeks before our next guests arrive, so I hope to make some progress on my projects during that time. First, I am working on Anouk using us some worsted weight cotton I had laying around the stash. This is how far I've gotten on one side.

I'm also making progess on the yellow and white longies. I'm making those from yellow Cotton-Ease and white Cottontots that were freebies in the stash.

In the next post I will have some new projects to post about

A Full House

2008-06-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Much like my blog for the last few weeks, things are suddenly quiet here at Chez JayJay. We've had nearly a month of visitors, both family and friends. The lure of RJ was enough to convince many visitors to make the long trek to California, some from the east coast and Canada. We've loved catching up with them and each visit seemed too short.

And how is little RJ? She is getting bigger and learning new things each day. She now sits up fairly well, grips like a champ, and has developed a fondness for grabbing her left foot (I think she's trying to get it to her mouth). She's also developed a strong dislike for riding in the car, particularly in stop and go traffic. She does seem to like a smoothly flowing freeway, however. I guess she really is a Californian. I should be able to post more regularly now that the first wave of visitors has come and gone, and perhaps even get some knitting done.

I will leave you with some beautifully modeled knitwear that I had nothing to do with. Here is RJ in her baptismal outfit. The gown was knit by my mother knit for me 35 years ago. Isn't it lovely? My wonderful friend JennC knit RJ a matching bonnet and slippers. So she was literally dressed in handknits from head to toe. Despite a warm day, she was a real trooper and hardly complained at all about the fancy attire (although the bonnet took some coaxing) and didn't even cry when she was woken from a lovely nap by having water dumped on her head. I'm pretty sure if someone did that to me I would cry (and probably swear a bit), so I'm quite proud of her.

RJ_baptism
Originally uploaded by JayJay2003

A Knitwear Model Is Born

2008-05-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Mother's Day here at chez JayJay, and then things got really busy. The academic year has ended and graduation was last weekend. Since I'm on leave I didn't have to attend graduatio, and excuse anyone with half a brain would have used fully. However, one of my graduate students was graduating, so I wanted to be there to hood her. Actually, she was my first student, so I felt like it was a special event for both of us. However, my department had apparently drawn the short straw and our graduation ceremony was outdoors, in 90+ degree heat. In my long, heavy graduation robes I felt like a corndog in one of those warming display units: hot with a heavy coating and not particularly fresh. I also found out very suddenly that I had another work-related deadline at the end of this week (after I begged for an extension), so I've been working every spare moment. I really love my job, but there are days when I wish I were independently wealthly (ah, the yarn I would buy, just think of it!).

Since I haven't been knitting much lately I thought I'd share some photos I've been taking of RJ modeling of her handknits. This adorable pink sweater was a gift from Theresa of Knitting Underway. It' the one-piece baby kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting. In this photo it's still a little big, but very cute. She's grown a bit, so I will have to try it on her again soon. You can see that it must be cozy, since she fell asleep while wearing it.

This is a hat that I knit way back during the early months of my pregnancy. I may have even started it before I was pregnant. It is the umbilical cord hat from Stitch 'N Bitch.

Finally, these are a pair of handknit socks made by Gwlana. She's worn these a lot actually, and often gets compliments.

I think Rio has a real future as a knitwear model. ;)

A Special Mother's Day

2008-05-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

This is a very special Mother's Day for my mother and me. It is my first as a mother and hers as a grandmother. I've only been a mother for 2 months, but I have to say that so far it has been the most wonderful experience of my life. RJ takes up all my time (including my knitting time), she hardly allows me any sleep, and she generally leaks some sort of bodily fluid on me several times a day, yet she makes me incredibly happy. I imagine my mom felt many of the same feelings some 35 years ago. So, in honor of Mother's Day here is a photo of me as a toddler and recent photo of RJ.

Our plans for the weekend include Sunday brunch and I'm told their will be gifts as well. If the weather warms a little we may even be able to sit outside for brunch. (Notice how I managed to avoid any real knitting content by including cute baby photos. I have been taking lots of photos of RJ in her handmade knits, so expect some model shots soon.)

A Group Effort

2008-05-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, there was one more gift that I received for RJ from my knitting group. This gift was spectacular enough that I thought it should get its own post. Several members knit squares for a blanket, and it turned out simply gorgeous! The blanket project was designed, organized, and put together by Anne of Crafty Diversions. She is now selling the pattern here, for those who are interested. The blanket is not "babyish" at all, which means that RJ can enjoy this blanket for years to come. You can see it below in our living room, modeled with RJ's teddy bear on a leather chair. Doesn't it look great!

I also tried to get RJ to model some of the other knits I received. Evidently, she was not in the right mood for this photo shoot. ;) Even when she's cranky, she still looks cute in knitwear!

And the Gifts Keep Coming

2008-04-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly, RJ continues to get new handknits. My wonderful knitting group, All Things String, just threw a shower for little RJ and the lovely gifts were overwhelming. First, there were a couple wonderful books, one for RJ and another for us to learn to sign so that we can teach her. That way, RJ can communicate with us before she even learns to speak.

Next, CraftyCanadian and her husband got us a beautiful set that included a hooded towel, washcloths, and a matching outfit (onesie, socks, & hat). I have no photos because we already washed it so we could use the towel and washcloths for bathtime. Obviously it was a useful gift.

Zona of Twirlgirl Fibers made RJ her first beret. Yet another lovely hat to add to her awesome collection.

Gwen made RJ two absolutely beautiful sweaters, and one even has a matching hat.

Three other knitters made some cute accessories: fringed booties, a fun, colorful bib, and a fun stuffed starfish (it's so soft!).

Later in the week I will post about the group gift that was truly spectacular.

Cry Baby

2008-04-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Want to know what it's like to live with a newborn?
This classic Sesame Street video pretty much sums it up. The last few days we've had lots of crying. The good news is that she's adorable and loveable even when she's crying.

When RJ was in a good mood I was able to get her to model at least one knit. Here are the Saartjes bootees on a live model:

A warning for those making these, like most booties they really don't stay on that well. They do look really cute for the five minutes they do stay on, so maybe it's worth it. ;)

I am continuing to make progress on Anouk, which is turning out really cute in the yellow and green that I'm using. I am thinking about starting a new sweater for RJ. I am considering the Rosebud Cardigan from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies in peach Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. What do you think?

New Projects and Baby FOs

2008-04-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

I meant to get this post up earlier, but baby RJ and her father caught a cold and we've been struggling to get by these past few days. Everyone is slowly getting better, but I have gotten even less sleep than usual and RJ has needed lots of attention. Being on the computer is taking a back seat as a result. First, another picture of RJ with her new teddy bear. She looks a bit frightened in this shot, but I swear she didn't seem scared of the bear at the time.

Before RJ was born, I finished a couple small projects for her. First, I finally got to to the final details of a cute new bib for her. The inspiration was some scraps of black, white and black/white Sugar 'n Cream yarn and a ladybug button.

Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream in white, black, and salt & pepper
Pattern: baby bib 'o love from Mason-Dixon Knitting
Changes: none
Yardage: small amounts of each
Needle: US 6 (4.0 mm)
Time: started July 10, 2007 and finished March 6, 2008 (knitting was done in September, but finishing took awhile)

I also whipped up a cute pair of booties just before she was born. I wanted to use up the leftover yarn from a hat that I made for her.

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino
Pattern: saartje's bootees
Changes: none
Yardage: about a third of a skein
Needle: US 2 (2.75 mm)
Time: started February 16, 2008 and finished February 20, 2008

I also started a couple more new projects for RJ (she is getting all my knitting attention lately, but I just can't resist making cute things for her). First, I started Anouk in green and yellow.

I am also making some knitted pants in white and yellow. I started them in just yellow (to use up some leftover cotton-ease), but it was obvious I was going to run out of yarn, so I just restarted using white for the waistband and cuffs, and yellow for the main body. I should have photos next time!

Some Birthday Fun

2008-03-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

March 12th was my 35th birthday. I'm not sure if 35 is supposed to be a big one (is 35 the new 25?),but we had a pretty low-key celebration. We went out to dinner and then hung out with my knitting group. At 1:30 am on the 13th I went into labor. Our little girl was kind enough to let me enjoy my birthday contraction-free, and she arrived on my mother's birthday instead. Needless to say she has the favorite grandchild position all sewn up (she's also the first for my side).

I actually have some FOs to show for my weeks of bed rest. I started and finished several projects, and am now fully over my nonstartitus (inability to start things). I need to give a big thanks to the Loose Knit Group on Ravelry. I am making major progress on my gifts for Christmas 2008!

First, I made this easy ribbed hat for my brother. I plan to make matching fingerless gloves and give this to him for his birthday in December. Not only am I done with a gift well in advance, but this and the gloves should use up some stash yarn.
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Solid in Dark Gray and Unger Aries (45% wool/55% acrylic) in Light Gray
Pattern: ribbed cap from One-Skein Wonders
Changes: I made it longer, because I wanted a cuff (Wisconsin is cold) and my brother has an huge head
Yardage: About half a skein of the light gray and a quarter of the dark gray
Needle: US 7 (4.5 mm)
Time: started January 17, 2008 and finished February 28, 2008.
Notes: This is an extremely easy pattern that is great for using up leftover yarn.

Next, I finished a scarf for a friend in England. I thought the fun yarn would brighten up those gray England winters. This is also a Christmas gift for next year and I plan to make a chunky beret in light green to go with it. I may put just an edge on it in the matching yarn, but I thought a completely matching set would be a bit much.
Yarn: Moda Dea Cache in the colorway Wink
Pattern: 2x2 rib
Yardage: Nearly 4 skeins
Needle: US 11 (8.0 mm)
Time: started January 25, 2008 and finished March 4, 2008.
Notes: This turned out pretty long, so it can be wrapped around the neck to keep out the English chill.

Lastly, two more Seija blankets and the last ones I plan to make for quite some time. I am planning to use all my leftovers from the eight (yes, I've actually made eight of these things!) Seijas to crochet one more baby afghan or two. These final two are gifts for twins, a boy and a girl.
Yarn for Red/Orange Blanket: Caron Simply Soft Shadows in Autumn, Caron Simply Soft in Off-White, Plymouth Encore Worsted in Light Orange
Yarn for Blue/Green Blanket: Caron Simply Soft Shadows in Soft Merino, and Caron Colour Perfect in Woodsy Green and Pine
Pattern: Seija blanket pattern in The Happy Hooker, with the very clever hole for a carseat or stroller seatbelt
Changes: I added three rounds of single crochet for the edging and left out the braided trim. I also added a few rows to make it a bit longer and make up for leaving out the double crochet edging at each end.
Yardage: 2 skein of each of the Shadows, 3/4 of the skein of Plymouth Encore, and about a 1/4 of each of the other skeins.
Hook: size H
Time: started January 28, 2008 and finished February 27, 2008.
Notes: These are so easy and the recipients really seem to like them.

Are you wondering what that large pink obstruction is in the last photo? I know I did. It took me a few seconds to realize it was my pregnant belly getting in the way. My next post will have two FOs for the baby (without the belly obstruction, but perhaps with baby obstruction).

The Best FO Ever!

2008-03-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

"A baby is a blank cheque made payable to the human race." -Barbara Christine Seifert

Sorry to be gone so long everyone, but the last week have been extremely hectic. On March 13 at 10:30 in the morning little RJ was born. I had a relatively easy labor and delivery that lasted only eight and half hours and she burst into the world in only three pushes. Here are some photos of the most beautiful FO I will probably ever make.

Still Here

2008-03-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

Well, after all the hoopla about this baby coming early, here I am full term. People keep congratulating me on keeping the baby inside all this time, but I'm not sure I can really take credit. It seems strange to say, "yes, it's a good thing I sat all day on the couch and did nothing except eat and knit for a month. Boy was that a lot of work!" Actually, I feel as if I should have gotten more knitting done, but there was a lot of napping and reading, too, and that cut into my knitting time a lot.

I don't know about you, but I always have an old project or two that seem to linger on forever. This applies to both work and hobbies, and probably indicates that I should just give up on those projects and move on. My stubborn nature, however, won't allow me to do that, even if common sense tells me that the reason this project is lingering is because it sucks. I have decided that another resolution for 2008 is to either finish them or give up.

For example, the green Schachenmayr sweater has been ignored for quite a while. I did a sleeve that turned out way too big and finally decided to do a real gauge swatch to get the measurements right. Predictably, I have to go down a needle size or two, so I will likely order some size 2's this week so I can at least pretend to be making progress. However, the idea of knitting an entire sweater on size 2's does make me cringe a little, and the Jaeger Trinity yarn is hard to work with. I have a feeling this project is going to take quite some time to finish.

The collegiate scarf is another lingering project. I don't really have anyone in mind as the recipient, it seems just a little too wide to be practical, and I'm not entirely sold on the color combination. This probably should end up in the frog pond. I am currently working up the courage to officially give up on it, after having ripped and restarted twice before getting this far. Also, I doubled up the dark green and gray and this is done in blocks of color, so ripping is going to leave me with a pile of short strands that will be basically useless. Anyone interested in some useless lengths of cheap yarn? Anyone? Didn't think so.

Knitted Gifts for Baby

2008-02-27T15:06:00.000-08:00

Our baby shower was just a couple weeks ago, and now that my due date is fast approaching the gifts are starting to arrive from all over. I am always impressed with the generosity of friends and family, and would like to thank everyone for all the wonderful presents for our baby. In particular, she has a lot of beautiful clothing. My poor husband was shocked and dismayed to learn that our unborn baby already has a shoe wardrobe. Such is the joy of having a girl. :)

Since this is a knitting/crafting blog, I will post a few of the fantastic knits/handmade items that we received at the shower and recently. First, I received a wonderful surprise from Jennifer of Handmade by Jennifer. I had greatly admired the Hickory Dickory Dot sweater, which she was lucky enough to test knit. Can you believe it, she actually sent it to me! The sweater itself is incredibly cute, but when you add the adorable stuffed mouse for the pocket, well who could possibly resist?

My shower was not only planned by several knitters, but also featured lots of people knitting and lots of knitted gifts. Add to that wonderful friends and fantastic food (Anne of Crafty Diversions is a fantastic cook, in case you didn't know), and you have the makings of an awesome party.

First, I received not one but two February sweaters! How lucky is that? (and appropriate, since the shower was in February.) The smaller, multicolor sweater was knit by CraftyCarolyn and the larger lavender sweater by Theresa of Knitting Underway. They are different sizes, which means that our baby will stay stylish as she grows.

I also received three adorable hats. Two of them included shades of purple, one of my favorite colors. The striped one was knit by Theresa of Knitting Underway. The stripes and braided trim are wonderful and I like that it could be for a boy or a girl, just in case this baby has a brother someday. The second hat was knit by my good friend Jenn, and is a version of the Flore Petal Hat. Isn't it just the cutest?

Gwlana from my knitting group made us a hat with matching baby socks. The hearts and colors are just fantastic!

Finally, we also got two gorgeous knitted afghans. The one on the left is from Marie from my knitting group and is made of the softest cotton I've ever felt. The colors are just beautiful! The one on the right was knit by wonderful aunt and Godmother, Jackie, who sent a huge package of gifts for the baby. The yellow is so cheerful and shows of the pattern nicely.

Our baby will never be without a handknit item, which is as it should be.

Driving Them Crazy

2008-02-23T05:21:00.000-08:00

Way before the hubby and I were together, I went to a party hosted by a group of Arabic friends, and all night they played beautiful music from their home countries. During a particularly lovely melody I asked a friend what the song was about. His response was, "it is about a woman who drives a man crazy." Later, I asked about another song, and got the same response, "it is about a woman who drives a man crazy." At first I thought perhaps he was trying to give some subtle hint that I should quit flirting and go out with him already. That may have been the case, but when I started thinking about it that description really does describe a large portion of musical lyrics. Sometimes it's about a man who drives a woman crazy, but same general idea. Just the other day I was reading the Knitty Professor's analysis of an A-Ha song, which is a perfect example of this theme. My advice to you if you are trying to write a hit pop song: it should be about a woman who drives a man crazy (or vice versa).

For those of you actually interested in knitting, I have some photos of a completed FO for 2008 and a close-up of the cute button I found for it at the Alamitos Bay Yarn Company. They have a pretty good selection of fun buttons, and this one seemed to match the gold perfectly and add some fun color. I have toyed with adding a crochet trim in the blue to add extra punch, but for now I am calling it done. I think I have enough yarn leftover to knit some matching pants. How cute would that be?

Yarn: Cotton-Ease, the old version, in a lovely golden yellow
Pattern: One-Piece Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting
Changes: I made the front and back quite a bit longer, so the proportions would better fit an older baby. I left the sleeves the same length as called for in the pattern, as there have been complaints that they are too long. I also think using a stretchier yarn will make it easy get on and off an infant, always a good thing.
Yardage: About 1 skein, plus a little of a second skein
Needle: US 6 (4 mm)
Time: started in September 2007 and finished the knitting in November 2007. I just wove in all the ends and added the button this past week while on bedrest. (I also sewed on some hidden velcro dots to help keep it closed.)
Notes: The pattern was fun and easy. If I hadn't been obscenely busy with other things, I could have finished it easily in 3-4 weeks even in the larger size and just working on it in evenings. Also, the cuteness factor and fun of choosing a button or ribbon for the closure are never to be underestimated.

The End in Sight

2008-02-20T07:38:00.000-08:00

This morning I was trying to think of a good way to describe how I feel as I head into the end of my pregnancy. Imagine that you are running a marathon and having come a great distance you are now nearing the end. Even though the finish line is still a ways off, you can see it ahead of you. Just as you start to get excited, you get terrible cramps and overpowering nausea. Somehow you still need to make it to the end, however. As I lay awake this morning at 4:30 am with heartburn and an aching body this was the best analogy that I could think of, nevermind that I've never actually run a marathon or given birth. I've never felt encumbered by the need to have firsthand knowledge of examples I use in conversation. Despite the aches and pains I am still doing well, and the hubby and I are getting anxious and excited to finally meet our little girl.

In FO news, I give you the Spiderweb Capelet. OK, I actually finished it ages ago (last summer with the knitting and this fall I added the pompoms), but in a fit of complete laziness I never posted the particulars or action shots. I could make up some lame excuse like not wanting to look fat in the photos or that the yarn bothered my overly sensitive pregnancy skin, but honestly it is incredibly soft and it was pretty easy to take photos that don't really show my belly. It was just one of those things that I never got around to. I also find the idea of "action photos" particularly amusing since I am capable of very little actual activity these days, but I suppose that is not imperative for modeling knits.

Yarn: Lana Gatto Baby Soft
Pattern: Spiderweb Capelet in Stitch 'n Bitch Nation
Changes: None, I knit the pattern as written
Yardage: 1 skein (131 yards), plus a bit more for the pompoms
Needle: US 15 (yes, that's huge)
Time: Started at the end of June and finished knitting in two days, and took another several months to add the ties and pompoms (I was waiting for colder weather ;)
Notes: I should have used a more stretchy cast on, since it was hard to block the lace properly at the bottom edge of the capelet. Other than that, this pattern was extremely easy and made a good first lace project.

Soon I will post a spectacular knitted gift roundup. With a large number of knitting friends, our baby will definitely be the best dressed in the neighborhood!

No Baby Yet!

2008-02-18T07:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long blogging absence. Nowadays if I am out of touch for any length of time people assume that I am having the baby. Under the circumstances this is perfectly reasonable, but it is a bit strange to have so many people waiting with baited breath for any news. As you've gathered from the title, the baby still hasn't made her appearance, even though the doctor says she is head down ready to go. He does predict that she won't be much longer, though, despite the fact that my due date is nearly a month from now. Her size is good and she seems healthy, so at this point we have far less to worry about if she is a little early.

On to how I am keeping busy while on bedrest. First, I am still doing lots of writing and article reviews, etc. for work using my laptop. It's good to feel productive, although I do feel a little bitter doing work while I'm officially on leave. Oh well, this is the nature of academia.

I have also started several new knitting projects. First, I am over halfway done with a chunky scarf in a two by two rib. I am using a wool/acrylic yarn with wonderful mix of fall colors with a strand of gold. It is Moda Dea Cache in the colorway "wink" and the colors are much more muted than you would think based on the photo below.

I also started two new Seija blankets that are extremely overdue gifts. The boy/girl twins were born at the end of November and I gave the happy parents a fairly lame shower gift with the promise of a homemade gift to follow. It seems imperative to get these done before the weather starts getting in the 90's, although they are stroller/carseat blankets so they should still be useful next winter (I hope, or this will just be adding another lame gift to the previous one).

I also started a cute pair of saartjes bootees this weekend using the last bit of some Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino. Everyone whose seen them describes them as the cutest booties every, and the pattern is super easy as well. I think our little girl will be wearing these home from the hospital with a matching umbilical cord hat. Here is my progress after about 15 minutes, but there will be sickeningly adorable photos of the finished product soon to follow. Unless of course I really do have the baby, then there might be some delay!

Resting On One's Laurels

2008-02-11T07:45:00.000-08:00

I had never really thought about what the phrase "resting on your laurels" meant. It harkens back to a time when Roman senators were given crowns of laurels in recognition of their achievements. If someone relies on these previous achievements, rather than working to earn new ones, they would be considered to be resting on their laurels. Despite my current bedrest, I am trying to continue getting work done (yay for laptops!) and spend some quality time knitting and crocheting. So far things are generally going well, and we made it past the "magic" 34-week mark. My restrictions look to be slowly easing up, and I am feeling less worried. In crafting news, some projects are finally finished, and several new things have been started. Here is a photo of my world at the moment: me, the couch, my belly, and my knitting.

Here is another FO for 2008:

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Country Blue, Lion Brand Color Waves in Windsor
Pattern: Seija blanket pattern in The Happy Hooker, with the very clever hole for a carseat or stroller seatbelt
Changes: I added a shell edge and left out the braided trim.
Yardage: 1 skein of each, approximately
Hook: size H

Honestly, I normally wouldn't choose to work with either of these yarns. The Red Heart was predictably scratchy and squeaky and the Color Waves was so fuzzy it was nearly impossible to see the stitches. However, the Red Heart had been in my stash for about 15 years, and the Color Waves was free. Despite the yarn troubles, it has gotten soft with washing and looks pretty cute, I think. The hubby liked it so much, he insisted we keep it for our little one. I am making good progress on some gift knits, inspired by the Loose Knit Group on Ravelry. We are trying to get ahead on holiday gift-giving. I will post on those projects soon.

Rest While You Can

2008-01-28T16:15:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all your kind wishes! After some tests, my doctor has determined that it would be best for me to be on strict bedrest. So, my posting and blog reading will likely become less frequent while we try to convince this little girl that she needs to hold out until at least late February. In the meantime, I expect that being stuck in bed all day will at least give me more time to knit. Hopefully, I will have some cute new things to showcase at the end of it all, most importantly the baby!

A Dress Rehearsal?

2008-01-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the compliments on my belly. For once, having a large belly is actually good! As for how close the big day is, I will be 40 weeks along in 7 weeks. However, the baby may be making her appearance a little sooner than that. Tuesday was my first day of class, so I got up, did some things around the house, and started getting ready for school. I soon realized something wasn't quite right. I called my doctor and ended up being admitted into the hospital for observation. Evidently, my body is trying to jump the gun a little, so I am home resting for a few days. Our goal is to make it to at least February 4 before this little one makes her debut, but the hubby and I are really hoping for longer. Her room isn't ready yet, and we haven't even bought a carseat! Just another lesson to remind us that we are no longer in control, I suppose.

The baby has also been on my mind for knitting as well. Take for example this knitted beach outfit from the book I received from Jennifer. I don't want to make it using as many colors (the hubby says that it looks too "court jester" the way it is), but the idea of the baby in this cute romper and hat at the beach was too much to resist. As luck would have it, soon after falling in love with the pattern I went to Alamitos Bay Yarn Company with Theresa of Knitting Underway. She and the hubby helped me pick out some adorable yarn so I can make it for the baby. I plan to use the blue for the main body and the green for trim. The hat would alternate the two colors.

Remembering Him

2008-01-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -Martin Luther King Jr.

When I was applying for money for college as a high school junior, a scholarship for a local group advertised a $250 scholarship. My family was quite poor and college tuition was going to be very difficult to pay without a lot of financial assistance. The essay for the scholarship was to be written about the person you admired most. I chose Martin Luther King, Jr. as my person, and wrote my essay. I had a couple teachers read over my essay and one quietly pulled me aside and said that for this particular organization, an essay on Martin Luther King might not be a good idea. I caught the teacher's meaning; this organization was evidently known by those in the community to be racist and would probably not be that impressed by my admiration of a civil rights movement leader. I refused to pick someone else, and turned in my application. I'll never really know why, but I did not receive the scholarship. It seemed to me like an incredibly small price to pay compared to all those who had given their lives for their belief in equality. I hope we never forget their sacrifice.

Dressing Better

2008-01-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

"I'm not a beautiful woman. I'm nothing to look at, so the only thing I can do is dress better than anyone else." - Wallis "Wally" Simpson

Dressing well is so easy when you have someone else's lovely knitwear. A very long time ago Theresa of Knitting Underway had some lovely knit items to purge from her closet. I was lucky enough to be the recipient of a sleeveless cable sweater.

I swear, I've already worn it several times and each time I was bombarded with complements. Just goes to show what an expert can really do with a bit of yarn and a couple sticks. It is knit in a lovely color of Lionbrand Homespun, with a large cable in the front. It almost looks like it was made for me, even with the expanding belly! Thanks Theresa, for being so generous with your knits.
I also have a progress shot of the ribbed hat I've been working on. The pattern is from One-Skein Wonders and is very easy. I am trying to use up this gray yarn, which I already used as part of a vest and a scarf. This yarn is about 12 years old and is a slightly itchy wool/acrylic blend. I think a little wool wash will probably soften it up. The color is nice and it knits up fast. The dark gray is wool-ease worsted.
I also have three FOs to post about, but I have to finish weaving in ends and remember to ask my husband to take some action shots for me. Classes start next week (eek!), so I'd better get moving on finishing up some of these projects!

Two FOs

2008-01-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

"One good husband is worth two good wives; for the scarcer things are, the more they are valued." -Benjamin Franklin

The first FO is actually my brother's wedding, which is really a finished event rather than an object. I didn't really have a lot to do with its actual completion, but it was a very happy event. My new sister-in-law is a wonderful person that we are exceedingly happy to now call family, and she and my brother seem very happy together (I should apologize to him for the quote, but he loves Ben Franklin quotes and this one was too funny). It doesn't get much better than that! Here is a photo of me at the beautiful outdoor wedding at Red Rock Canyon this past weekend. It was a bit chilly, so I kept on my jacket for the ceremony and then took it off later for photos. Since this is a side view, you can sort of see my growing belly. I was my brother's Best Woman, and even got to hold the rings. I have to say the ceremony was very touching and I was so happy to be a part of it.

The second FO is actual knitting. I am willing to admit that my progress on even the simplest of projects has been pretty pathetic these past few months (one could argue that this has been the case since the beginning of this blog, but things have worsened to an even more atrociously slow state recently). There are numerous reasons for this, including a neck and shoulder injury brought on by too much time spent hunched over grading (I should have known that grading was dangerous for one's health; it sure feels unhealthy when you're doing it). Also, the yarn for Le Slouch was so old (12 years and moved more times than a failing TV series) that it really upset my dust allergy. I think I have enough yarn left to make matching fingerless gloves, but I plan to wash the it first.

Yarn: Lorena DK (40% wool/60% acrylic) in burgundy
Pattern: Le Slouch by Wendy Bernard
Changes: None, I basically knit the pattern as written
Yardage: 1 skein (200 yards)
Needle: US 7 dpns
Time: Started July 2007 and finished January 2008
Notes: The seed stitch was a little tedious and I kept dropping stitches from the dpns, but these were really minor negatives. Overall, the pattern was easy and fun and the result is a very flattering yet practical hat. Below are a couple photos of the finished hat and an actual action shot.

Shockingly, I have more FOs to post, but don't want to splurge on putting all of them in one post. It may be awhile before I finish anything else afterall.

Vegas, Baby

2008-01-03T07:04:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post a quick New Year's post before the hubby and I drive off to Vegas for the weekend. Yes, we plan to have a rockin' good time in the city that never sleeps, particularly since my current bedtime is about 9:30 pm (being 7 months pregnant does cut into your night life). My younger brother is getting married, though, so I am really looking forward to the trip. Perhaps I will post some lovely photos of me looking very pregnant in my dress when I get back, if there actually are any photos that turn out lovely (I've heard that an extra large bouquet was ordered to offset my belly, so we'll see).

Much like other folks, I wanted to post a recap of 2007. Last year I basically gave myself three "resolutions" for 2007. How did I do? Well, not nearly as well as I'd hoped considering how low I set the bar, but to be fair to myself I had a busier than average year (new house, pregnancy).

1. organize, organize, organize
We moved into our house about 6 months later than planned, so this organization was really stalled by that (that's my official excuse, anyway). However, my wonderful husband just put all my crafting stuff in the office closet so I could easily access it. Really, is it any wonder I married him?

2. finish the projects in my sidebar
Actually, I've nearly used up all the really, really old yarn in my stash. It seems like there are some yarns I've made into a million different things and still have a skein or two left, but progress has been made. I recently finished several projects and then started a few new projects (posts coming soon).

3. Learn to cable and do colorwork
Hmm, not sure why I never got around to working on these types of projects, but I do think I'm ready to do some more complicated stuff. I did do some actual lace, which was quite fun.

Finally, I have been working through my nonstartitus (inability to start new projects) and have actually cast on for a new project. The pastels should probably give it away that this is indeed for the new baby, but also may reveal a little something more about the baby that you may have missed in my last post. Yep, it's a girl! I am making a fuzzy sweater for her to wear when we visit her grandparents in frigid Wisconsin.