Small Things

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.

Still Here!

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

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

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!

Catching Up

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!

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 Crafting

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?

Summer Projects

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 Fashionista is Born

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

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.

A Swimmingly Good Halloween

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.

Progress Made

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.

A Full House

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

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

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.)

Cry Baby

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

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

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!

"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

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.