AJKnitting

And I Present Miss Angelina Ballerina!

2011-10-28T17:56:00.002-05:00

In which I pretend a year hasn't passed since my last post

2011-09-08T12:06:00.005-05:00

Happy Halloween!

Wait, what's that? It is only September you say? Trust me. It is time. Once again the EJ knows exactly what she wants to be for Halloween this year. I asked her a second time and she replies with annoyance in her voice "I already told you I want to be Angelina!" More specifically Angelina Ballerina as the Rose Fairy Princess.

She wakes up in the mornings and asks where her costume is. How dare I not rush to buy fabric and instantly produce said costume immediately? I have however managed to develop a plan.

Simplicity 2506: Toddler Mouse costume- This will be my starting point. Only in all white, pink ears and no tummy patch. However the rest is where I need to get a little extra crafty. Cause my mouse needs a rose fairy princess costume! Hehehehe. I love this crap. Stay tuned for more adventures in taking on more than I need to... I made my shopping list already! Should be a fun ride.

Cupcake!

2010-10-28T14:24:00.002-05:00

It's done!

Perfect timing with school's halloween party tomorrow and my attending a friends baby shower tonight! I would like to send a special thanks to my new glue gun, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. I will even forgive you for burning my finger that I sliced open with my rotary cutter.
Crafting is dangerous.

Banana muffin, with options

2010-10-19T10:26:00.004-05:00

I might not be a cupcake person, but I love muffins. I started to make them more often after EJ was diagnosed with her soy allergy because it is an easy breakfast to send with her to school and they freeze great. Not eating them all before they cool becomes the tricky part for me.
This is a recipe I go to more often than not- and one that I came up with on my own after modifying and combining a few others that I liked to find my perfect muffin formula. I will start with the basic

Banana Oat Muffin
Preheat oven to 350
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (I rarely measure, and generally use two)
1/3 cup of milk
1/4 cup of oil (such as vegetable or canola)
1 large egg

Prepare a muffin pan, with either oil or paper liners. Combine the dry ingredients (flour-cinnamon) in a medium sized bowl. Combine the remaining wet ingredients in a separate bowl, mixing them well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold them together until moist. If desired, sprinkle some raw sugar over the tops which gives a nice crunch to the muffin tops. Otherwise, bake at 350 for 20-25 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Now for some changes, if you want to switch things up. I like to add 1 cup frozen blueberries to the above recipe for blueberry banana muffins. I also frequently use half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour to increase the healthiness factor a bit. Just today, I made them with half banana and half pumpkin puree for a fall pumpkin muffin (pictured above). Just 1/2 cup of pumpkin and one banana and switching out the cinnamon for pumpkin pie spice did the trick. If you wanted a more pumpkiny muffin, go ahead and put a full cup of pumpkin in for the banana in the original recipe.

What is your favorite muffin or quick bread recipe?

Ingredients!

2010-10-14T13:34:00.002-05:00

EJ has been pretty decisive this year when it came to choosing a Halloween costume, and for the first time I was motivated to make one. It was decided she would be a cupcake way back in September. So finally I went to the fabric store and came home with the following

Pink fleece for the icing, felt squares to cut into jimmies, ribbon for shoulder straps and the brown polka-dots for the muffin paper. If time allows, that cheap chunky yarn will find itself playing the role of a cherry on top hat.

Wish me luck!

The incredible shrinking sweater!

2010-09-13T08:12:00.003-05:00

Surly it is the sweater getting smaller right? EJ looks exactly the same.

Special thanks to blogless Erin for her ability to knit baby sweaters that fit toddlers as shrugs.

Balance

2010-08-18T07:59:00.002-05:00

I think there is a fine line between super mom and crazy. I often feel like I am toeing that line and loosing my balance more than I care to admit. I can ignore chores like no other, but thanks to a very helpful husband we still manage to have clean clothes and dishes. This team work really helps me keep my cool. Nights he works late only make me appreciate it more. Having to cook dinner, entertain the child, do dishes, bath for the child, and the bedtime process all on my own could really wear a woman down pretty quickly.

I have a confession. Those of you who know me shouldn't be surprised by this. I am selfish. And have gotten more so in the past year. Let me explain. I have always taken time to knit, and to get together with my knitting friends. It is very satisfying hobby for me and time away from the child is priceless. However, since April I have been running around 3 times a week. I started with the Couch to 5k program, and once I completed it I kept up with the habit. Long enough to consider myself a runner, and stash running shorts into my vacation suitcase.

I never thought I could run and enjoy it. But something about turning 30, and being a mother made me look more closely at my health and habits. I want to be a good example for my daughter, and being active is one thing I would like her to learn from me. The time was right, and I was up for the challenge. Having friends with a similar goal made the process that much easier. Thanks for your motivation ladies!

When you are not chasing down toddlers, scrubbing toilets, or working towards a deadline for work, or trying to keep up with your wife duties (wink), what do you do for you??? My friend DrBabyMamaDrama is having a Choose You giveaway- go learn more about it and tell her what you do to help maintain balance in your life to enter!

Jacket in Progress

2010-06-08T18:55:00.004-05:00

Well, there it is. In all of its giant yellow flowery glory. It is sunny, which is what I had wanted. It seemed shockingly so when it was coming together, but I pressed on. It was exciting to try on and I have to admit I think it is pretty much what I envisioned. EJ thinks that it is beautiful. Knowing her current sense of style, this doesn't really give me much confidence in my own taste.

The pattern has been pretty easy to follow so far, for someone who falls into a category between beginner and intermediate seamstress. I have been stumped along the way... like why the front and sides are not the same length. But I figured it out after some thinking and trust in the instructions.

I had some dark green lining, but I think I need something lighter. Back to the fabric store. I just wish I could have a natural fiber lining, that was still slippery enough to act as a lining. The poly linings are kinda meh. Any suggestions to alternatives that are readily available? And while I am asking questions... honest opinions on the bold fabric? hehehe

Peep show

2010-06-05T08:53:00.002-05:00

I have been sewing! Just had to get rid of my husband for the weekend to find the time.

Close up of the one pocket welt, and front and side panels of my new jacket.

Scarves!

2010-05-21T08:44:00.003-05:00

I just love the trend of layering scarves over an outfit. I had been working on my first knit shawl for way too long... almost a year I think, but I am so happy to have it finished!

It is the Fountain Pen Shawl from an Interweave Knits magazine from 2009. I didn't make it as large as the pattern suggested, because I wanted to wear it as a scarf and not a shawl. It was a lot of fun to watch it change after blocking it!

And speaking of scarves, my friend and fellow blogger is offering a give away on a beautiful scarf! Check out her blog and take a look around! She is a fun girl with a lot of creativity for party planning and putting together outfits!

2,3,4?

2010-05-01T18:26:00.003-05:00

Gauge, is a great mystery at times. This yarn has given me a great many problems along the way with gauge. But this time, I feel like I won. Even if I ended up with a size 4, and a size 2 daughter. She should grow. Right?

It all started with a sweater, for me.

a sweater that was never more than a too-small sleeve thanks to too tight knitting and a dislike of the pattern.

Then came a little dress.

And after a first attempt being too small, and a second attempt being too big I threw in the towel.

Finally I decided to revisit this yarn one last time. One more pattern. Again, two attempts...

And finally. A success. That is not to say I finally found the perfect pattern with the proper gauge to execute perfectly. Oh no. My gauge was way off, and this yarn didn't want to be knit any tighter. Knit on size 5's and with the size 2 directions I ended up with a sweater much closer to the size 4 sweater. So I knit using the size 4 length instructions. So I don't know if it is a size 2, 3 or 4. But I do know it fits her now. And that is enough.

But what do I do with the rest of this yarn!?!?!

Third time...

2010-04-29T19:01:00.002-05:00

is a charm!

2010 Salvation Army Fabric Sale

2010-04-10T09:57:00.003-05:00

Thanks to some very good friends, I was made aware of a fabric sale that the Salvation Army does every year. I was unable to go last year. My friends reminded me I had cracked a tooth and was desperate to see a dentist. Yuck! But this year my teeth were in tact and I was ready to go! It was great fun! And I think we all left with a bag full of possibilities!
First stop was the notions table, specifically the button boxes.

Lots of yellow, and those big buttons might just work on my jacket project! Total cost- $3.
I then started to wander up and down the rows of tables stacked with fabric. Everything was organized by type and my bag got heavy quickly.

Navy flowered poly blend, some blue lining, gray suiting material, wool houndstooth plaid, gray wool, blue/white seersucker stripe, flowered cream home decor fabric, and finally some Waverly home dec print (which I thought of using to recover a small chair I have... but there might be enough to recover my dining room chairs which seems like a good use of the fabric!!) Total yardage- 19.5 cost- $27.75
Lastly I took some time to look through a few boxes of patterns. They were only a quarter... so why not?

They only charged me for two of them. I pointed out there was one more in the bag and the lady let it go. Cost-$.50.
All and all I had a great time with friends. Spent the morning elbow to elbow with complete strangers digging through piles of fabric. Only cost me $31.25, and who knows what all of these goodies will end up becoming in the coming year!

Taking the plunge!

2010-04-09T11:17:00.003-05:00

I can be a very cautious at times. Planning and thinking and worrying. It is part of my personality I guess. But I also have a way of coming up with an idea and running with it. If you are one of my readers who know me in real life, well you know where this is going. As you have been the recipient of many e-mails, and messages filled with sewing questions.
I am tall. Tall enough that I can't buy coats in the store. I have to go online and click the "Tall" button on my favorite retailers sites. Sadly, all the tall coats were gray, tan, or black. Otherwise, BLAH. If it is dull and dreary outside I want to do my part to brighten up the day. Not contribute to the drab. I wanted something and couldn't buy it. Time to pull out all the stops and get crafty. Even if it means pushing my current skills up a notch.
Please join me in welcoming my newest project.
The Perfect Spring Jacket.
The cast of characters:
Simplicity pattern 2508

And while I was thinking of a solid fabric when I started this adventure, this print was not easy to ignore

Del Hi PomPom Sun, found at Fabric.com discounted and applied a coupon code for 25% off! Double Score!
I was also lucky enough to have a friend with a similar fabric from the same designer in her stash, which helped me through all the crazy doubts about the large print on a coat with a lot of smaller pieces. But today, I took the plunge. I ordered the fabric for the coat! Lining is still not decided upon. I might wait until I have the fabric in hand. But I am thinking something unexpected would be lovely. Baby blue? Bright spring green? Should be fun!

Redemption

2010-03-29T12:03:00.002-05:00

Sometimes life gives you a second chance. I was surprised yesterday to cross paths with Mr Jude and his blogless mama. And wouldn't you know, he was rocking his sweater. This time I didn't pass up the chance to snag a photo (thank you fancy new cell phone)

He is so stinking cute! Don't you agree?

Spring

2010-03-26T06:47:00.002-05:00

AKA a year ago this month...

One- I cannot believe how much she has changed in the past year. Seriously, speechless over this one. She would have been about 15 months at the time of the shoot.
Two- That is right, it is the Hey Jude sweater. I was lucky enough to see the almost famous Jude in his namesake sweater last weekend. And I am sure this would be a great place to show off that adorable little boy wrapped in hand knits... but I dropped the ball and forgot my camera. Doh!
Three- this is part of the Fav Foto Friday going on at Becoming Family... And still dominating my blogging, cause it is easy. But look, I used photos with knitting. That is almost like blogging about knitting!

Happy Spring!

Green

2010-03-19T06:53:00.002-05:00

Green peppers that is. Part of Favorite Foto Friday

This stretch of warm weather really has be itching to do some gardening!

Twins!

2010-03-15T08:36:00.003-05:00

Last fall we were surprised with the news that our friends were expecting identical twins! It was such exciting news and I just couldn't wait to pick something to knit for this very knit-worthy couple's growing family. Part of my problem with knitting gifts is I put too much pressure on what to make. So I really procrastinated starting and missed the baby shower deadline. However, I wasn't a complete slacker. The sweet little boys made their way into this world just two days before I finished. Now if only I could get to the post office...

The patters are Argyle Pullover [Rav]from Debbie Bliss Special Knits: 22 Gorgeous Handknits for Babies and Toddlers and a free pattern from Petite Purls called Cirrus [Rav]. I love how one is more preppy and the other is a bit more sporty. The boys are identical and the parents expressed an interest in not dressing them in identical clothes. The yarn in both sweaters is Comfort DK and washed up into a very soft cozy fabric. It can be a bit splitty, but I wanted something soft and easy to care for, as these new parents will certainly have their hands full.
I made some Mods in each pattern. In the Argyle Pullover I excluded the two partial diamonds at each edge of the sweater. I didn't want to fuss with two more strands of yarn and didn't like that the partial diamonds from the front and back wouldn't line up perfectly at the seams. I also used more of a fair isle/intarsia combo on the diamonds, carrying and twisting the white along while I knit the diamonds using intarsia. My tension on the back was a bit snug, but the front was perfect. In Cirrus I didn't include the textured cable pattern and also skipped the tabbed bottom, opting for a continuous garter band. Both sweaters are knit to fit around 9-12 months. Hopefully the boys will fit into them this fall!

Sun

2010-03-12T10:12:00.001-05:00

Ah, the sun. It seemed at times in February we might not see it again. Which would totally bum out the dogs. See, their favorite shared hobby is sunning at the front door. Even on the coldest days we prop open the door so the sun fills the hallway for them to enjoy. They lay there until they get over heated. So then they stumble to the living rooms shade and plop back down on the rug long enough to catch their breath and return to the heat.

Sometimes I wonder if I should get them some sunblock...

(this is part of Favorite Foto Friday... apparently the only thing I have been blogging about recently. Oops.)

Favorite Foto Friday

2010-03-05T09:11:00.002-05:00

My friend is trying to resurrect Favorite Foto Friday. While I found this weeks theme to be difficult, I decided to participate anyway. I wouldn't want to be accused of hating fun.

There are very few photos of me alone, especially recently. I am the family member who remembers to bring the camera and pulls it out to capture the moment. Which makes being in pictures hard. I managed to find one where I was not modeling knitwear too! This one I took myself at a wedding we attended last fall. The studio had a long white wall washed in this red light and our table was right up against it. It helps that I was having a pretty awesome hair day too.

One of Three

2010-02-11T11:22:00.003-05:00

I may have mentioned I had some baby knitting to do this year. I am terribly behind on it, as I would have much preferred to give them as shower gifts but part of the problem with that is these three babies are all part of the same family. Three baby boys, two mamas, and one due date! The expecting grandparents will be going from zero to three grand-babies in a matter of weeks! The twins will be here first, but decided to knit their gifts second. So for Baby F I knit one of my favorite sweater patterns, the Placket Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I really like the simplicity of this sweater, and the touch of seed stitch. I will add some black buttons before sending it off to the new baby after he arrives!

I used Cascade 220 Superwash in Charcoal and the photo does not reflect the actual shade of the yarn which is much darker than pictured. This is a worsted weight yarn and the pattern called for DK weight. So I just knit a smaller size, and used the length measurements from the larger size that matched up with the size my sweater turned out.

With the leftover yarn and some of the same in black I knit K a new winter hat, which I am proud to say he is actually wearing (thanks to all of this snow!)

The pattern is Jared Flood's Turn a Square. The second one I have knit, and it only took a couple of days to complete. I knit it at a slightly smaller gauge. Six stitches to an inch, because last time I followed gauge and found it to be a bit looser than we prefer.

Snowmageddon 2010- Lessons Learned:

2010-02-11T11:04:00.003-05:00

If you live under a rock, or perhaps in a far warmer climate you probably heard of the big snow storms to hit the north east. We measured 24 inches from the first round that hit over the weekend and I stopped measuring when the second storm came through. The local news station suggests it was about 8 additional inches. I have to admit, I was giddy watching the snow fall over the weekend. It is safe to say I am totally over it right about now. In any case, the storms have taught me some lessons.

1. Having house guests is fun. We took in a refugee who lost his power over the weekend. The distraction made being snowed in a little easier to bear. Especially for the dogs and EJ. And it gave mom and dad a much needed break.

2. Never mock the people on the news buying snow shovels during a storm. It will cause your best snow shovel (yes, we have 3) to break and render itself useless. Second best snow shovel sucks. I hope the news crews are not at the hardware store when I make that walk of shame.

3. Work from home is awesome.

4. I do crazy things when I don't spend enough time out of the house. Like washing dishes, laundry and running the vacuum. The mess is a lot more annoying when I am staring at it all day!

5. A three foot tall person can have fun in two feet of snow.

6. We have great neighbors.

2009 in review

2010-01-22T09:13:00.003-05:00

I am a bit late on this one... but last night I was looking through my projects on Ravelry and trying to organize them a bit. It was fun to remember what had kept my hands and mind busy through the year. To reflect upon all that I had created.

6 miniature stockings
5 sweaters for me!
5 pieces of fruit :o)
2.5 pairs of socks
3 baby sweaters (two are not pictured)
2 baby hats, one pair of booties
1 adult hat
1 toddler hat

I hope that 2010 brings me as many successful projects!

I wanted to thank all of you who have reached out to me since reading my interview in Natural Stitches Newsletter. It was such a fun opportunity, and I appreciate the feedback!

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2010!

Fireside, Finished... almost

2010-01-18T12:30:00.002-05:00

Hello, and a belated happy new year to you all! Due to some technical problems, paired with some lost of interest in my current project as well as distraction with loads of baking I have been neglecting my blog. However, I have a finished project. Almost.

It is my Fireside Cardi [Rav] which I have been working on since September!!! No wonder it was hard to finish. While it was a consuming project with all of the cables along the way slowing me down, I am so glad I kept on knitting. I love this sweater! It is warm, and cozy, and I think looks great on. Well take a look for yourself...

I knit the smallest size with some modifications. Like usual I added some obscene ammount of length to the arms and body of the sweater to fit my tall frame.

Across the back, I didn't merge the cables together as the pattern suggested for the smallest size. Instead I added some additional stitches and kept the two center cables 2 stitches apart before the increases started.

You may notice there are no photos of the sweater buttoned. Well, that brings me to the almost part of it being finished. I want some buttons, but decided to wait to put button holes in until after I was finished. I am leaning towards afterthought buttonholes of some kind, but have not ruled out an i-cord trim to also act as the buttonband. I also need to find buttons!

More holiday knits

2009-12-29T15:50:00.002-05:00

While I hadn't planned on any Christmas knitting I managed to tackle a few other small items this past month. Just some scrap sock yarn and a basic pattern I followed for the first and tried to remember for the other five. They were fun, and easy, and most importantly- quick!
First, two for Eleni's daycare teachers. Along with a gift card and some home made caramel popcorn these helped dress up the package a bit.

And then I knit some for my family, my aunt, parents, and recently engaged cousin... oh and of course one for us as well!

Go Steelers! Those little socks may have brought us some luck. They brought home a win on Sunday when I gifted them to my family. And that is a size 10 needle running though the loops just to give an indication of scale.

My fireside cardi is still in progress. I kicked some butt on the remaining sleeve one afternoon with friends. But it has not grown as quickly since that day. I guess it helps to take it from its bag.

Fruity

2009-12-16T13:16:00.002-05:00

Hello hello... long time and not much going on here. My Fireside Cardi has been trudging along and being the monogamist I am with regards to knitting there was little else to blog about. The cardi still is in need of a second sleeve, which has been started. And I even seamed some of it in my search for my knitting mojo which had been lost among the endless cables and miles of eco wool. So desperate times and all that call for desperate measures. With Christmas just around the corner I decided to ignore the 3 baby sweaters I should knit for a January 9th joint baby shower... and Christmas knit! Woo! Don't worry about the babies... they will get their sweaters, but I think they will have to be patient and wait until they are born.

This year for Christmas EJ will be receiving a kitchen set... and what budding foodie doesn't need hand knit fruit?!?! I have to say I had a lot of fun with the patterns along the way, and they were fast too!

All five were knit from odds and ends I had in my stash. Mostly worsted wools although the apple and banana are DK weight wool. The apple and pear were both knit in one evening. The banana took longer because that bad boy comes out if its peel. The lemon and lime were knit through another day. So basically all done over one weekend! I really hope EJ has fun with them, it has been hard for me to keep them a secret because we have been playing a lot of pretend games and having to get quite creative in our props.

Last night I knit more of that blasted sleeve too, so my mini-vacation from the Fireside seems to have worked. Maybe it will be done before winter is over. Did I mention I have 3 baby sweaters to knit?

Random Vacation summary

2009-11-13T14:14:00.006-05:00

What a beautiful week to have spent home with my daughter. The weather is perfect for early November and we have done our best to take advantage of it while we had the chance. Not all of our activities were fun. A vet trip for Bella, nothing major... and grocery shopping were the low points. However the highlights dominated our week together.
Tuesday we decided to head to the nearest OldNavy to return a sweater I ordered and hated. EJ needed a white long sleeved shirt so we headed to the baby zone. $50 later we got home with some new clothes among them a three-pack of underwear. I figured we would need them soon enough. Little did I know the kid was more interested than I anticipated. Three days later, we are still accident prone but it is pretty exciting to see her learning and getting better. I wish I had started earlier in the week. I am still a bit nervous about returning to work on Monday.
Wednesday we had a playdate with our good friends. We have not played together since the Spring I believe. It had been entirely too long. Thursday went by rather quickly as my work BFF came over for some cooking fun. We made sauce and home made noodles. EJ helped-

(yes... i know... great outfit right? no pants and rain boots. That's my girl.)She loved to turn the crank on the pasta machine, but had a tendency to turn it the wrong way, or reverse directions mid way through. I think she needs more practice.
Today, Friday, still has a lot of potential. But I should mention when running to get my oil changed and to Target EJ was accident free. I picked up more underwear too. Can't get by on 3 pairs for very long. Perhaps Elmo and Dora can help motivate my girl away from the last few accidents?
Oh.... and most importantly. I made some major progress on the cabled sweater that will never end. Ok, so that is a little dramatic. It will be finished. It is just slow going considering the gauge. All of the twists and cables are time consuming.

I just need sleeves! You are looking at the two front pieces, and the back piece. I modified the back a bit for the size I was making but more details on that once it is finished!

Well, nap time is bound to be over soon. I have a little more me time left and should get my knit on. Hope you have been able to enjoy this beautiful day! Have a great weekend too!

Mission acomplished

2009-10-25T18:04:00.002-05:00

I did it. With your help, I overcame my case of the crazies and just sat down and started to knit. With a plan of course.

Thank goodness for colored pencils in my desk at work. They are great for creative bursts between tasks. After reviewing my e-mails, comments, and other suggestions I went to work. Measuring Eleni's head when she seemed distracted enough not to notice. Guessing what my gauge was based on other projects with the same yarn (for shame! I know... I was really risking a mishap without swatching). And then some simple math and I was on my way.
Brown hat

check.
Red hem

check.
Fancy stripe

check.
Adorable model?

Check!

There isn't much negative ease in the hat. Maybe an inch max. I love how the red hem peeks out around her face a bit. I took notes while knitting, and plan on adding the pattern to my Ravelry downloads too. I just need to decided if I am going to try to write up a few different sizes before publishing. It also matches her coat so nicely. It was just too nice of a day to make her model that as well... another day perhaps!

Thanks for all of the support- I think it was key to such a successful project!!

Overthinking?

2009-10-23T08:24:00.004-05:00

Hello strangers. Has it been a month already? Gosh. I guess I have been keeping busy. So much to talk about, so little time. I have a few posts swimming through my brain right now but first, the most pressing topic. Toddler hats.

So does anyone else do this? Decide to make something knit for a loved one and then obsess over choosing a pattern. I have the yarn and color decisions worked out. But the shape is what is killing me. And it is just a hat! So I come to you, my trusted knitting ad visors for some input.

First, the decisions I managed to sorta make on my own. I bought a coat, Old Navy, and am quite pleased with it!

The yarn colors have been decided as well- dark chocolate brown and a red that matches the coat as an accent. Both are a worsted weight wool, in my stash (score) leftover from other projects. The red is superwash, so felting is out. Oh, and I decided with the dark brown I would like a feminine hat in order to help elevate the "your son is so cute" comments this winter.

Right now there are 5 patterns, or ideas floating around my head.
1. Better Bucket Hat with a red i-cord band and perhaps a bow?
2. standard hat, with a folded under hem (to keep ears warm) and add an i-cord band, bow to frill it up a bit
Sorta like this, minus the roll brim and well... better

3. The republic hat?

4. A beret? With a red band, brown top. Are they cute without girly curls flowing from the back? Because our hair situation is still on the sparse side.
5. Fair isle. Like this- only chocolate, cream, red and pink?

[Rav it]December stripes

Is she too old for a bonnet?

I told you I needed help. Someone talk me down. I am obsessing, and I really should just be knitting. please don't let the adorable little boy in the last picture sway your judgment either. :o)

Vest, finished

2009-09-16T19:07:00.002-05:00

Yea! Finished, blocked and modeled.

I wore it to work today and received a few complements.

I like to think I have that hot-nerdiness down to a science. HAHAHA!

Hooray for successful projects!

Collared

2009-09-10T18:41:00.002-05:00

Still some ends to weave in, and blocking to take care of but I have been focusing on my Go Steeler socks. They should be done by halftime! Go Steelers!

Growing up, but not out

2009-09-09T18:10:00.002-05:00

Sometime last fall:

Sometime last week:

I am a very pleased mama to have her get some more wear out of that sweater. Makes me consider knitting for her again! hehehe. Also, do you notice what is in her hand in that second picture? anyone?

A Learning Experience

2009-09-08T18:37:00.003-05:00

Five row stripes. I liked how they looked. It was the right width for what I was looking for in my sweater, and I had carried up the yarn while I was knitting my vest (in the round). Well at some point it is necessary to split the sweater to the front and back and knit the pieces independently and flat (back and forth). I never thought my five row stripes would be an issue when I started. But for any of you knitters you may know that odd rows end with the yarn on the "wrong" side of the knitting. Which basically would make it necessary for me to cut my yarn after every stripe. I was NOT interested in weaving in all of the ends this would have created.

The fear of weaving in ends led me to a logical yet scary solution. Steeks. I have never knit with steeks before when following a pattern, let alone just invent my own steeks. But I read. I read blogs, and books, and other patterns. Then I just made a decision and kept on knitting.

This is the vest, with 3 steeks in place. One for each arm and the center one for the v-neck. I used five purl stitches to designate my steeking zone. And because the yarn was not knit at a very tight gauge nor was it fair isle I knew I would want to reinforce the steeks and decided to crochet. Since I could do that on the road.

That is my blurry crochet rows... the road was bumpy and proper photos were difficult. Especially with the husband mocking me from the drivers seat. Next came the scary part. Up until the next step I always had an escape plan- frogging. But unless I cut the steek I wouldn't have a vest I could wear. So I finished my coffee....
and got to cutting! EEEK! No scary scissor photos. I wasn't brave enough to stage one while in the car. But this was my end result.

I had some trouble, the cast on edge and cast off edge wasn't as secure as I had wanted. Some knots were tied. I need to figure out what went wrong, but in the end I had a good steeking experience. It was pretty fun to be honest. My definition of fun is pretty lame though.

A Color Experiment

2009-08-08T11:45:00.003-05:00

I have been thinking of this color combination for a while now. Since before the February lady sweater mishap of 2008. The Cascade 220 I used which was a dark green heather had flecks of turquoise in it. And I had some limited stash of a lovely hand spun, hand dyed (with natural dyes) turquoise yarn. I wondered if the quite different yet similar colors would work together. I am much better at obvious matches and this one I wasn't sure about. So with fall around the corner I was inspired to swatch. Yes, actually excited about it.

I think it works. And I am convinced I have enough to make a vest or perhaps even a short sleeve sweater if I stripe the yarn. One question remains. Turquoise with green stripes or green with turquoise stripes?
Better one?

or two?

I almost didn't get that last photo. Someone spotted me.

and she is fast

and it was naptime

and the baby didn't have a blanket. She even took the swatch with her for her nap. I only wish I had measured my gauge before she stole it.

Tomato

2009-07-23T15:01:00.002-05:00

The first of my tomatoes.

OMG, it was so yumm. I am sad that there are only 11 left on the plant and no flowers thanks to the deer. Hoping the Roma variety are just as tasty.

Buttercup

2009-07-23T14:50:00.002-05:00

Photos at last! I finished knitting Buttercup two weeks ago, and I rank it very high on my happiness scale. I think I have worn it four times already. Go ahead, laugh. I just can't keep from wanting to show it off.

There are a lot of talk about the neckline on this sweater on Ravelry being too wide. I knit option A with the origonal neckline. When picking up stitches around the collar I did 3 stitches for every 4 rows/stitches the entire way around which made it perfect for my taste. You can see the top of my bra through the eyelets, but I just wear a nude bra and it isn't obvious.

I made one other mod, aside from my normal length modification, which was to make the bottom edge just a few rows of garter stitch. The pattern is written to use more fan and feather lace and I wasn't interested in the extra detail around my hips. Plus I managed to use only 6 of the 7 skeins of yarn by eliminating the extra rows.

I think I am getting better at taking pictures of myself too. HA. s

Just like the real thing....

2009-07-16T18:18:00.005-05:00

I was lucky enough to live a short drive from a ColdStone Creamery for a couple of years. I almost always bought Cake Batter ice cream with rainbow jimmies mixed in. Not especially exciting considering you are able to have three mix-ins without an extra charge. But I thought it was perfection. I even bought it by the half gallon to keep in the freezer. However, they didn't seem to have as many dedicated patrons as myself and the store didn't stay open.

Ever since that sad day when I drove past and noticed the for rent sign up in the window I have been on a mission to recreate my beloved Cake Batter ice cream. Other brands began to offer it in the store. Edy's had its American Idol themed "Take the Cake" and Ben and Jerry had a birthday cake flavor as well. But the blue frosting in Edy's turned me off and the B&J's had an over powering chocolate frosting. Sure they were good... but not great.

The next step in my process was making it at home. I had an ice cream churn that got little use, and after a batch of Alton Brown's banana ice cream I jumped into making cake batter. Some quick internet searching suggested all you had to do was add around a cup of cake mix to your vanilla ice cream base and freeze it. I learned the hard way they where wrong. The ice cream was dry and floury tasting. It didn't offer the flavor I wanted and the texture was just terrible. I was sad, and discouraged. The ice cream churn sat unused in the basement pantry.

Eventually I began to plot my next attempt. Talking it over with my friend at work, discussing the technical side of ice cream making and how to avoid my previous short comings. It wasn't until I was inspired to make some Blackberry ice cream and had a delicious outcome that I was motivated to put my plan into action.

So back to the internets I went, and I found myself this recipe. Lacking any reviews, I could have been scared off. However the recipe had all of the steps I was looking for. A custard based ice cream, were the cake mix was added at the start and pre-cooked to eliminate the flour taste as well as hydrate the flour. This is not low fat, or part of any balanced diet. But it is creamy and I think very close to ColdStone Creamery's version of Cake Batter Ice Cream. So dust off those ice cream churns and indulge!

The Recipe:

Cake Batter Ice Cream
makes 1 qt.

2 cups whipping cream
2/3 cup cake mix
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
5 large egg yokes
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Pour 1 cup whipping cream into a medium saucepan. Add 2/3 cup cake mix and whisk briskly over high heat until the well blended. Begin whisking again when bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Once the batter starts clumping together, immediately remove from heat and add the remaining 1 cup whipping cream. Whisk until it is smooth, and then pour into a 2 quart mixing bowl. (*I found there where some clumps at the bottom of my pan in the corners, but they mixed into the ice cream well)

2. Break and separate 5 large eggs, pouring the egg yolks into a clean small mixing bowl. Clean and dry the saucepan used to heat the cake mix and whipping cream.

3. Pour 1 cup of whole milk into the clean saucepan. Add 2/3 cup sugar and whisk until all of the sugar is dissolved. Warm over medium heat, until bubbles form around the edge of the pan.

4. Pour about 1 cup of the warm milk mixture slowly into the egg yokes while wisking, then pour back into the saucepan and continue heating over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the mixture thickens. (it should be able to coat the back of a spoon once think enough)

5. Pour the custard base through a mesh strainer into the mixing bowl (from step 1) and whisk to combine the custard base and cake batter. Add ½ tsp of high-quality vanilla then refrigerate. (this step is VERY important, patience matters!) After 5-12 hours of cooling, freeze according to the instructions that came with your ice cream maker.

The Result:

If my butt is bigger next time you see me, you will know why. Although I have been balancing out my ice cream consumption with egg white omelets. Might as well use them for something!

I am knitting too, I swear!

2009-07-14T18:29:00.003-05:00

I just scrolled through my past few posts... garden, garden, garden, garage door, breakfast cake. What kind of blog is this anyway? I am knitting. A lot actually. I guess I had just been content updating details in Ravelry and not going into any additional detail here. Buttercup is done. WOOO! I will photograph it soon, and get a finished sweater post up especially for it before too long. I am very happy with the outcome.
Ginormous blanket is on hold. Although it is almost chilly enough the past few nights to want to snuggle under it and knit double stranded wool into garter stitch. Also on the needles are in no particular order. Pittsburgh Socks: basic sock recipe, toe up with Lorna's Laces sock yarn in bee stripe.

I think it is a few stitches too wide for my foot, so I am going to frog back before I get too far along so it fits me, and not K.
A second attempt is being made at knitting with lace weight yarn. My first attempt didn't get very far before I proclaimed I didn't like knitting with thread and I gifted the yarn to a friend who I believe gave it a happy life as some beautiful item no doubt. In any case. Lace, take two:

Fountain Pen shawl from IK Spring 2009. Yarn complements of Shelly, who also had a realization that she didn't like lace weight yarn.

More Gardening

2009-07-14T18:18:00.003-05:00

Thrilling blog right? All I talk about anymore are plants and deer. Guess what.

ITS GARDEN UPDATE TIME!!! Month three.
I have peppers on most of the pepper plants. Aside from one which seems to be getting crushed by a roma tomato plant. This particular specimen has three peppers.

And speaking of those Roma tomatoes, well they seem to be producing a lot of fruit now too. Here is one especially large cluster tucked away towards the bottom of the plant. I think I counted 12 tomatoes just in this one bunch!

The early girl plant even has one tomato which is considering changing colors. It was the first tomato that the plant produced. So it is only natural it ripen first. (the photo is so blurry- sorry about that.)

And finally... this is the part where I talk about the deer.

And how much they munched off of my poor plants. This time was a lot more severe than the past snacks they indulged in. If you click the photo all the chewed stems are far more obvious, but basically the whole fenced in area had been about full of leafy full tomato stems. Thanks a lot deer. I thought we where friends. See if I throw any more over ripe apples your way again.

Wildlife Warning

2009-06-13T08:32:00.002-05:00

Apparently... the deer in my town are online. AND, they read my blog.

Thankfully it looks like only two plants where nibbled. And all of my tomatoes are in tact. Guess I could sprinkle some more of the repellent around the ground. They are being stealthy. I have not seen them in quite a while. But the evidence is clear. They are on to me.

Garden Watch, 2009

2009-06-09T15:05:00.004-05:00

I would like to thank Mother Nature for all of the rain over the past month. Sure, I have had my moments of desperation begging for just a short burst of sunshine to brighten up the string of cloudy days, but it has really made my attempt at gardening easier.

As you may notice I added a small fence, that barely stays up on its own. Next year I will do a better job of installing it. For now it does the job of keeping the pups and child out of my plants.

There have been a few other changes in the garden. The tomatoes are flowering like crazy. They have passed the second ring on the tomato cage and are stretching up towards the third ring.

I was surprised to find there are a few small tomatoes. This one is from the "Early Girl" variety that I had planted

and I hadn't realized it at first but it looks like I have a few Roma Tomatoes too!

I have been adding fresh parsley, cilantro and basil to many of our meals in the past couple of weeks. The cilantro is about twice as tall as the parsley and my basil looks a little sad since a bug had munched on some of its leaves. Not worrying about it yet... but hopefully it rebounds soon. I have dreams of pesto and brushetta in my future.

Any one else having fun tending their gardens? What are you growing this year? I would like to do more next year, and I am already thinking ahead!

A little paint, a big difference

2009-06-07T14:01:00.002-05:00

I am not sure why we didn't think of this sooner. K didn't know either. I know because we talked about it. When we first bought the house we replaced the white siding and the front door within the first year. Going with a beige/tan color. However our garage door remained an unsightly bright white. I am not against white garage doors. But ours was very utilitarian looking and because of its white color it seemed to stand out against the brick and muted beige siding. So we fixed it. And by we, I mean I.

Used a tinted primer to help with coverage, and cover the places where the white paint had rubbed and chipped off so the new paint would stick. I was happy to only need one finish coat too. We are very pleased with the results. So if you are a victim of an ugly garage door and no money to replace it. I suggest paint!

A Tail of Two Breakfasts

2009-06-06T13:28:00.003-05:00

I have always been a fan of the coffee cake. It ranks in the top three breakfasts next to pancakes and cinnamon rolls. Over the past couple of years I have stuck with two primary recipes. There was the old standby, which was convenient, quick, and in my opinion tasty. Then more recently I had come across a Cooking Light recipe for a blueberry coffee cake that takes much longer to make, includes a lot more ingredients but is worth the effort if you have the time.

And then one day I was out of brown sugar. Knocking the old standby out of contention for breakfast that morning because it has brown sugar in the topping. However, I knew I didn't have everything for the fancy blueberry one either. Plus I was hungry.
Necessity is the mother of invention.

I decided to experiment. It made K nervous. I reassured him it was a minor modification, a simplified blueberry coffee cake. The merger of the two other recipes. And I must say it was rather successful. (otherwise I might not mention it).

The recipe:
Amanda's Blueberry Coffee Cake
2 cups Bisquick baking mix
2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup milk (or water)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Topping
6 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp stick margarine or butter, melted
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 and lightly grease a 9 inch round (or square) baking pan. Mix the Bisquick, sugar, egg and milk in a bowl until combined. Fold in blueberries. Pour into pan. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter.

Bake 23-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Crossing Over

2009-05-22T19:23:00.002-05:00

Its official, I am a "Designer". For those of you on Ravelry, I have my first pattern download for the Hey Jude baby sweater pattern!

I guess this also launches Eleni's modeling career too.

Special thanks to Anna for all of her encouragement and help along the way!

The start of something big

2009-05-12T15:20:00.007-05:00

Nothing screams spring like a big wooly blanket.

The pattern was popularized by Brooklyn Tweed, but is one of Elizabeth Zimmerman's simple masterpieces. [Ravelry Link]

I figure this project will stall through the summer, but I really wanted to get it started. I like the yarn, it is Cascade Ecological Wool and I am hoping I over bought by a ton so I have enough for a sweater. The blanket is made up of 4 pieces. Two small and two large. I have one of the smaller pieces complete and have started one of the larger pieces. Nice mindless knitting to keep my hands occupied during the hockey playoffs. Lets go Pens!

A day for Mom

2009-05-10T11:59:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we squeezed in all of the moms visits so that I could selfishly hog today. We have been quite productive this morning. (special thanks to my mother-in-law for the garden tools for EJ to use while she helped)

Kevin was able to work on his golf swing a little... at least that was what I told him as he broke up the dirt and removed the layer of sod. I would certainly still be outside pulling up the grass had it not been for his help. Sure, a few worms lost their heads... I couldn't save them all.

It wasn't all work and no play. Eleni made sure we took a few breaks to have some fun too. Riding in the lawn cart was much more fun than the wagon for some reason.

We where lucky to find the spot we dug up was crawling with earthworms, and the soil was not as bad as I had anticipated. Our project only took three hours or so from start to finish.

I planted Peppers, Cilantro, Basil, Parsley, Roma tomatoes and Early Girl tomatoes.

Now if only I can keep the groundhog away from my plants. She is back, I spotted her a few days ago and today I noticed a Hosta further from the house has been munched clean if its leaves.

I hope the rest of you Mom's had an enjoyable day too. Happy Mother's Day!

Big Green

2009-05-07T14:43:00.003-05:00

Squishy

Cozy

Buttoned

and Finished!!
[Ravelry]

I win!

2009-04-21T14:52:00.003-05:00

Better late than never right? I had a twisted idea that I should make an apron an hour before leaving for pierogi day at casa de spice rack. It was a silly inside joke I thought I should follow through on. And I failed to complete my task in the time I had before I had to leave. So it sat in the craft room for awhile because life became too busy to sew.

This weekend, and hour before another fun afternoon obligation I decided it was time to finish the apron. I wasn't sure about its fullness until I took photographs. And from across the yard, I think it is cute.

And no judging the wrinkled pants... I just threw them on so I could take a picture while the sun was out this morning. My sweat pants just didn't look good with an apron.

The fabric is from Sew Mama Sew and the pattern is one from Bend the Rules Sewing. I added a contrasting hem to the bottom because my fabric was shorter than suggested. And being tall I thought that the extra length would be better. I used two 1/4 yard pieces of fabric.

So, I win the cute apron contest. Perhaps only because I was the only contestant... but a win is a win! GO ME!

Tuna Noodle

2009-04-21T14:36:00.003-05:00

I don't typically blog about food often, but after trying the recipe for the second time I found myself alone with the camera and a finished Tuna Nooddle Casserole. I could take pictures, and K wasn't around to mock me for my oddness. (I can hear it now, "You don't photograph food, you eat it".

But it was pretty. All golden brown on top. Mmmmm.

I found this particular recipe here and have to admit it is my first tuna noodle casserole ever. Tuna in a can was not something I ate until recently. I ate raw tuna long before I gave the cooked kind a chance.

My slightly adapted version...
Revamped Tuna Casserole
I have made this with tuna in oil as well as albacore packed in water. The later had a less fishy taste which helped with getting the kid to try some.
Makes 4 to 6 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium white onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk, preferably whole milk
4 to 8 ounces frozen peas (depending on how much you like peas)
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used a bit more than a cup)
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
2 6-ounce cans tuna (preferably packed in olive oil)
8-ounce package wide egg noodles, cooked al dente
Topping
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko or bread crumbs (seriously, use panko)
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8-by-8-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Make topping by melting butter in a saucepan or microwave. Mix butter into panko or bread crumbs, along with parsley and cheese.
In a large deep skillet over medium heat, add olive oil. Saute the onion and celery until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir for 1 to 2 more minutes.
Add butter and flour, and stir until combined. Slowly add milk, whisking to eliminate any lumps. Add peas and salt and pepper, and continue stirring over medium heat until milk bubbles and thickens. Turn off heat.
Add cheese and mustard, and continue stirring.
Using a fork, flake tuna from both cans into the mixture until everything, including the oil from the tuna, is incorporated. Add noodles and mix gently with tongs.

Pour the entire contents of the skillet into the casserole dish.

Cover evenly with topping and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until topping is light brown and the mixture underneath is bubbling.

The second time I made this I kept track of my prep time, and it was in the oven in about 30 minutes. So an hour total until dinner time. Not excessive, at least by my standards.

Green with Envy

2009-04-09T18:50:00.003-05:00

Don't be jealous, but I was first. I love being first. I deny being competitive, but I am. Over silly stuff. Like pirogi making, knitting, and other non-sport things. Put a ball in front of me and the competition melts away.

Today I bribed a new mom with dinner, and got to meet a sweet little baby boy.

That pacifier isn't especially large. Its just that Jude was in a big hurry to meet his mama. He is a wee man right now. So I knit him a little cotton hat to keep his noggin warm while he concentrates on growing big and strong like his brother, Luther.

The pattern is this one and knit up with some leftover Knit Picks Shine Worsted and size 6 needles.

I did deviate from the pattern just a touch. I thought it needed some flair. So I ended with a short three-stitch i-cord to tie into a knot. I think it looks a little like a vine or a stem of some kind.

I thought that it would be too big. And then I thought it would be too small. But it turns out it was just right. It fit now with the brim folded up, and there is plenty of room to grow!

Crossing the line?

2009-04-03T14:59:00.002-05:00

I took back the sweater I knit for Blogless Erin's baby early in April so that I could write a pattern for it. She was such a dear for letting me borrow it so that I was able to write the pattern at my leisure. I didn't mean for it to upset little blogless baby, but I may have crossed the line.

Sorry... but it just so happened this sweater fit Eleni perfectly, and she was in a good mood, and the sun was out.

We are really sorry to make you angry baby. There was no need to rush into this world

We will happily return the sweater ASAP! Congrats blogless Erin, looking forward to meeting the little guy!

Good timing

2009-04-02T11:41:00.004-05:00

How often do you find yourself at your wits end, ready to throw in the towel only to be saved by some unexpected event that makes the situation better? Not often right? Normally there is plenty of time to spend anguishing over whatever went wrong. No matter how trivial or mundane, I tend to have a mourning period for most everything. I won't talk about it. I get sick thinking about it. I sometimes cry. And then I confess my feelings in the form of complaints. I am if nothing else, a skilled complainer. (thanks to my friends who realize this yet still hang out with me)

So I am making progress on Little Liza Jane

cute right? while I love cables, doing them in cotton/linen is a little tough. The yarn lacks that sproing that wool has. but it is starting to really start to look like a dress. A dress that would fit... a newborn. Dare I measure it? Could the gauge be that far off? Nah... just another row. Tug, tug, tug. Sure, it is nice and stretchy... it will fit.

Or will it? So I pull out my trusty ruler at work. It is narrow. I ignore it. I have to, nothing I can do about it right now. I got through the day of work and head home. Not knitting a single stitch the entire ride home. holding off my anger, sadness, and complaints until I got home to compare the dress to some of EJ's clothes.

Once I get home, there is a package in the mail. Great Grandma Joan had sent Eleni an Easter present. How sweet. Little did I know this package would make all the difference in how my day went.

Not too frilly, just my taste, and perfectly timed. Eleni has an Easter dress... no thanks to me and this yarn.

which is totally too narrow.... maybe next year I will try again. I should be healed by then.

PS... this yarn and I already have a history... one more strike and it is up for grabs!

Seriously....

2009-03-27T09:19:00.002-05:00

I didn't measure Little Liza Jane on the size 3 needles. It was smaller than it was on the 4's and that was all that matters. Except I measured it...

and it should be 11 inches wide. Hopefully those yarn over eyelets open up and it lies flatter once washed. Thankfully the fabric is stretchy... but how on earth does going down one needle size make that big of a difference? I do feel like I am knitting tightly. Stress maybe? I don't know. Whatever it is I can't change it now. Thankfully EJ isn't quite at 2T anyway. So it will fit. Even if she looks like a stuffed sausage. It will fit.

Little Liza Jane, take two

2009-03-26T14:34:00.002-05:00

Gauge. UGH!

We have all had run ins with it before. Well, it must have been my turn again for a mishap. I started a dress for Eleni, Little Liza Jane from Twist Collective Spring 2009 issue. Once I had enough of it to get a good mesurement taken I realized it was 4 inches wider than I needed it to be! YIKES! There was no way I could ignore that unless I was looking to wear the dress myself. So I frogged it back. I can only now post about it because I am back to where I started. Around the 7 inch mark.

It is just darling. I really hope to finish it before Easter. I figured if I get the skirt done by next Wednesday, it won't be too difficult to meet my goal.

24

2009-03-12T07:42:00.003-05:00

In just 24 short hours I will be escaping reality for a weekend of fun with some close friends. I feel like there is so much to do to prepare, but if I push through it will be worth it in the end. I even think I am excited to grocery shop. That rarely happens.

I have been a busy knitter, but much of what I had been working on was secret. Most recently two baby sweaters. One of which I forgot to photograph. The other I designed, and am working on writing up a pattern to go along with it. It mimics some design features of Jared Flood's Cobblestone sweater.

I have one more baby to knit for this spring, but I think I have time to squeeze in some selfish knitting too. Currently on the needles are a little dress for EJ. (and yes, knitting for EJ is selfish... because I get to show her off) I am knitting a pattern called Little Liza Jane from the most recent Twist Collective. I have about 6 inches of the skirt worked up already. I am surprised at how quickly it has gone, especially considering I spend a lot of time holding it up and admiring how cute it is. This picture was taken around the 3 inch mark

One more project is on my needles, and it is also about 6 inches long. The difference is, I knit this 6 inches in a matter of an hour or two.

This is the first time I have knit with size 19 needles. It is quite a difference, but the instant gratification is pretty wonderful too. The pattern is the Rockefeller Sweater from Big City Knits. I had been wanting to make something from this book since buying it when it hit the book stores, but I had heard things about the yarn estimates being off, and the patterns are vague. I think now I am more confident in my knitting and thanks to Ravelry and others project details I felt comfortable committing to one of these patterns.
There will be a lot of knitting time this weekend. Hopefully I will have a chance to make significant progress on both of these projects!

Tree Jacket

2009-02-11T14:35:00.002-05:00

So, now that half of you have already seen the Tree Jacket in person I took a picture to share. Not a fab picture, but it gets the point across.

I really love this sweater. I am glad I took the time to make it the way I wanted it. Even if it meant reknitting one sleeve and the body to get the fit I desired.

I made a few modifications, which I will detail a bit on Ravelry.

Lets pretend its spring!

2009-02-11T14:25:00.002-05:00

The warm weather reminded me to get out and cut some branches off of my forsythia bush... if you cut them in February and put them in some water they will bloom in the house! Just be sure to pick branches with nice buds, and change the water every once in a while (or not- they seem to do ok if you just ignore them too). So consider this your reminder!

Sew much fun!

2009-02-04T16:52:00.002-05:00

Yes, yes... I know. I owe you pictures of my Tree Jacket. Which I have worn three times in the past week. I couldn't love it more. However, I don't have those pictures. Instead I managed to find some time with Taylor. Remember him?

Taylor is my sewing machine to those of you not in the know. I have not used him for anything fun since the day I went into labor with EJ.

Sure, there was hemming a pair of pants but that is more of a chore than anything. Especially since they where for K.

This little bag is a pattern from Bend the Rules Sewing. The fabric is from SewMamaSew, and I bought it last summer I think. So sad it took me so long to use it.

EJ found a bag the other day and was carrying it around with her. I knew I couldn't put the project off any longer. It was very quick too. Got to love the instant gratification factor!

Tree Jacket Week 2

2009-01-12T07:47:00.001-05:00

Tree Jacket week 2
Originally uploaded by ajkretchun

Another week working on the tree jacket and I finished the body and most of one sleeve! Won't be long before it is finished... yea! I thought I would be further along. Thursday I sprained my ankle, and really tried to stay off of it for a few days. However, I didn't manage to get much more knitting in than normal.

Waterlilly, reincarnated

2009-01-03T13:48:00.002-05:00

So as I mentioned previously I have started knitting a new sweater for me. Trying to squeeze it between Christmas knitting and baby knitting I have ahead of me. Without a little selfishness in the middle I might just not get through all of the giving. So I started Tree Jacket last Sunday. Making today its 6th day of gestation. However I have only actually knit for 5 days so far. In any case, it is really coming along nicely.

I decided to knit it a size smaller than I think I need because my gauge is a bit larger than suggested but I think it works well for this yarn. Perhaps I will get it done by the month's end at this rate. I am really looking forward to wearing it! s

Christmas Recap

2008-12-31T07:51:00.002-05:00

Where has this month gone? Honestly, I can't believe how long it has been since I last updated the blog. Especially with all that had been going on. Then again much of the knitting I was keeping busy with was for Christmas presents, and some for people who read my blog. So that was all on the hush hush. So I guess I will start there.
Christmas Knitting
There was a scarf for my mom. The Scrunchable Scarf knit in Malabrigo

Leftovers used to make a darling Linen Stitch Scarfette for Miss Linda at daycare... can you believe I didn't get a finished photo of that one? UGH!
I knit a Republic Hat for my sister, and forgot to get a picture of her wearing it. Julie... consider that an assignment! There had been an idea to make a matching scarf but that was canceled.
And then there where the last minute additions. Two Christmas Balls

And Miss Eleni's Christmas Puppy

All of these are in my Ravelry project page for those of you interested in the details.
Favorite Ornaments
Next on my to-blog list was the Favorite Ornaments tag from The Spice Rack. While I have a lot of ornaments that remind me of places we have been, or special moments in our life together these three stand out above and beyond the others. They are hand carved ornaments my grandpa made for family members over the past few Christmases. We have Santa

A blurry Christmas Nisse because some little elf was shaking my tree...

And lastly the Peace Angel

Those are my favorites. I am sure you can understand why. I did take one more picture of my tree that I think makes it a little unique. Our tree is artificial, and a tad too tall for the room. In fact we have to bend down the top branch so that it fits. So there is little room for a big star or angel to grace the top of our tree. So this is our silly tradition.

Christmas Day
EJ thought Santa brought her tennis balls for Christmas. And was very excited about that as you can see.

Eventually she let the dogs have their new toys back and realized how cool her new scooter was.

Look it moves! And there is a bell!

It was a nice relaxing morning, and having a child makes the holiday so much more magical. We hosted the family for dinner and it went over without any problems. We are still trying to integrate our new stuff into the house. Times like this I wonder how much longer we will fit into our current house with all of our 'stuff'.

Coming soon- a post about my current knitting obsession! Have a happy and safe new year!

Good Dog

2008-12-10T18:59:00.004-05:00

There are dogs, there are good dogs, and there are really good dogs. Today, the world lost one hell of a good dog. A friend, to anyone she met. A dog with a real soul. The ability to listen, to show she cared all with out saying a single word. Her soft brown eyes said it all. So I would like to take a moment to remember this friend of mine. I am grateful to have opened our house to her a few times over the years. I was able to really get to know Peyote over these stays, and always took pictures to send her mama to let her know she was having fun.

Big dog in a little bed

My stick is bigger than your stick

Please keep Annie in your thoughts, it is hard losing a friend.

Christmas knitting

2008-12-04T09:31:00.002-05:00

I have decided this would be the year I took the plunge and knit multiple Christmas gifts. Many of which I am unable to talk about aside from mentioning it is all going very well. Two down, at least two to go. I forget how quick some things knit up after the past few projects of mine were sweaters for me. One of these small projects is for my favorite daycare provider at EJ's daycare.

It is a scarflet knit in Malabrigo. I am following the pattern for the Linen Stitch Scarflet with some modifications. I cast on 26, 4 more stitches than suggested so that I would have a wider garter stitch boarder to prevent curling. I am also slipping the first and last stitch when on the front, and purling these stitches on the back. It makes a nice chain up the side, but if I where to knit it again I would just use garter stitch to the edge. If I have time, I may make a couple more for two of the other primary teachers in EJs room at school. I hope they are a hit! Shopping for them is so hard!! I appreciate them all so much.

Hey look!

2008-11-19T14:49:00.003-05:00

Did you see the cool new tool I have over there --->
Go ahead, I will wait while you look.

Julia of Knitterly Things posted about the new Ravelry trick that is unsupported yet available for us to use. So I added the fancy code and have pretty progress bars and pictures that automatically list my active projects that are in Ravelry! Hooray!

Looks like I am doing an awful lot for miss EJ. So unlike me, isn't it?

Issue resolved

2008-11-13T19:37:00.002-05:00

I love yarn. Especially natural fibers. Soft smoochy sinful fibers. I hate flawed sweaters. Come Together was not perfect for my body type. Blocking did not perform any miracles with the holes and the bump. However I am still so in love with that yarn. Many thanks to you for your comments, whether they where pro-frog or pro-sweater. It was the support I needed to do what I knew was right all along.

It is a good thing I love that yarn...

Not quite how I imagined it to be

2008-11-10T14:50:00.002-05:00

We took our first road trip with EJ this past weekend to visit her godfather-K's BFF- and his wife on the other side of the state. So I had some unusual weekend knitting time on my hands. I took full advantage on the way out and finished the knitting on Come Together. I even got it almost all the way sewn together too. Now here is the bummer. I am not sure I am a fan.

Guess I could have closed the closet door... In anycase here is what I look like in the sweater from afar. The bottom rolls a bit but I expect that to settle down when it gets blocked.

And this is a closer look at the bodice where the decreases are to create that slanty ribbing deal. I have gaps there. Not sure if it will go away with blocking. I also have holes where my increases are under my arms too. Not such a fan of that either.
And finally... The bulge

Because my ribbing is looser than my stockinette stitch... or perhaps because my bust isn't busty enough... or possibly because there are more stitches in the bodice or some odd combination of all of these things I get a terrible bulge of fabric right in the middle of my stomach where the ribbing starts. Had the ribbing pattern started at the bust line it wouldn't be an issue as my boobs would have stretched that out nicely. Even though they are not ample it would have been enough. However I don't see any kind of blocking making this any less of a problem.

So the question is what to do next. The yarn is super yummy. I need to wear it. Thoughts include
~starting from scratch. Something inspired by my class with Jared and do a "design my own sweater" sweater.
~ripping back to the start of the stockinette part, keeping the tunic shaping and make the top in stockinette and a neckline of my choice.
~starting from scratch and knitting another sweater with the yarn, perhaps the Hourglass Sweater or the Tree Jacket

Whatever I decide on it has to be right for the yarn, and right for me. This sweater I don't feel was right for me. I greatly appreciate any insight you wise readers may have for me.

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T09:24:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was full of fun for EJ. Parade at school, her first trick or treat and lots of playing in the front yard. Here she is , trying to use the force to get a Reeses cup from its wrapper.

Sadly all attempts failed. The force is not strong with this one. Practice she must.

Too busy knitting

2008-10-14T18:15:00.002-05:00

I have been too busy knitting to take pictures, let alone make a blog post. Saturday I joined some friends at the Jared Flood class. Totally awesome. I can't begin to describe how wonderful Jared is, and what a wonderful class he provided us with. I think Anna's summary was perfect. Thanks Jared.

Sunday I met up with a newbie knitter for some coffee, knitting and gossip. Perfect combination if you ask me. And she is a prodigy. I can't believe the things she is churning out already.

Monday I infected another with the knitting bug. And it is a BOY!!! Bwahahaha!

Real quick- Come together is coming together nicely.

The hat experiment is going less smoothly, but I am learning. I think my fair isle is too tight and it is making the top pucker. It is going to be frogged, but I wanted to share a picture anyway.

Mad Hatter

2008-10-08T08:18:00.002-05:00

Necessity is the mother of invention. My baby needs a hat. So being the good knitting mother I want to pretend I am, I am going to set aside my sweater (on occasion) and start the girl a hat so that I don't resort to buying one. Of course, I am looking for a pattern which does not exist. But it is a hat. So I will make one up. Or at least steal bits from other patterns and smoosh it all together into a new pattern. The worse case is it doesn't work and I have wasted a few hours experimenting. I am considering something top-down, and like Thorpe (in Ravelry, and somewhat recently on brooklyn tweed) with ear flaps. But I like the fair isle in this hat better than what is in the Thorpe pattern to make it warmer and decorative. Plus, I have never fair-isled. SO it should be fun. Using some leftover Swish Superwash from the great Baby Moderne project of 07.

I owe you all an update on Come Together, it is moving along fast am on the second side already!

Walk this way...

2008-10-01T16:31:00.002-05:00

Eleni, 10 days into this walking gig strutting her stuff.

Strike a pose

2008-09-22T17:56:00.001-05:00

Deadline accomplished!

2008-09-21T20:48:00.002-05:00

I did it! After about 19 months of knitting on and off I finished Thermal. And I did it just before my self imposed deadline of Fall of '08. After all the autumnal equinox is tomorrow, September 22 at 11:44am... that is if I remembered what I heard on this news this morning. In any case. I did it. Buttons don't count right?

Please not the celebratory pose of the sweater. I think it realized how close it was to the frog pile with a few other objects it was rooming with during its hibernation. I am happy I picked it back up again, and I am pleased with the finished item. I just need to find some appropriate buttons, however I am not certain that will keep me from wearing it. Bring on the cool weather. I am ready.

A first time for everything

2008-09-14T19:25:00.003-05:00

As a parent, I am always happy to share my daughters "firsts". Announcing the first time she rolled over marking the beginning of her mobility. The first tooth, and the trauma which brought it to the surface. And I am sure there will be many other first that I get excited over. However this particular one I could have done without. Our first trip to Children's Hospital's ER.

It started with a cold on Friday night. But something seemed different. She woke up from her sleep coughing and gasping for breath. I convinced myself that she was just worked up it, especially after K was easily able to settle her down. Saturday she seemed sick, but nothing exceptional. Sunday morning her long lashes where glued to one another with eye gook, and her nose was nearly sealed shut with snot. However even after cleaning her face off, she was still not herself. Plans where canceled for our weekly breakfast trip to Eat'n Park. Lunch plans to K's grandparents where canceled and we called the doctor.

The nurse said because she was wheezing the doctor wanted to see her. So we ran to the doctors expecting that our little cold would be taken care of in an hour or two. Well. Our expectations where wrong. When will I learn? Never expect anything to go the way you plan with little ones! The doctor suggested a trip to the ER would be the best. So there we where. Unprepared and headed to Children's. A diaper bag with only three diapers, wipes and my wallet. No toys. No food (for mommy and daddy). Nothing.

The visit was uneventful. We had friendly and helpful doctors and nurses take care of us. We had some chest x-rays (another first), some treatments, and by the end of our stay a much happier baby.

Lessons learned- Trust your instinct. I knew Friday night it was more than a regular cold. Don't be lazy, pack a well stocked diaper bag. Plastic bottles, foam cups, and hospital tubes are only interesting for so long. Call the grandparents periodically. K's parents knew we where going to the doctors. Nine hours after telling them that, and not hearing from us they where pretty worried. When you are wondering how much longer you have to wait to be sure the treatment was effective, ask. Be sure to mention the hungry dogs you left at home. It was a very effective tactic, and the dogs appreciated us coming home too.

And of course, EJ was happy to share her cold with mommy. Lets just hope daddy stays healthy.

9 month stats

2008-09-10T19:35:00.003-05:00

Last Tuesday was EJ's nine month checkup. She is 19lbs 14 oz, and 28.5 inches tall. Both of those are in the 75th percentiles. She is self feeding now and totally rejects being spoon fed. She is cruising around the furniture like a champ, and has even started letting go and standing for a few seconds on her own. She seems to always be on the move! Not like her mother at all...hehehe.
I found the baby kimono I knit for her to come home from the hospital in while cleaning the other day.

Can garter stitch scream?

Gallery Update

2008-08-29T16:27:00.005-05:00

It has been a while since we have hosted a gallery event.

However, Miss EJ has done it again. This time working with construction paper, white glue, and gold stars she expresses her views on the country she calls home. I have the honor to present to you "Patriotism on a Stick"

The artist could not make the gallery opening. It was nap time.

So Long!

2008-08-26T14:45:00.002-05:00

No, no... not like so long, I am going away. More like holy heck, my arms are SOOOoooooo long!

I ended up adding about 4 inches more sleeve than the pattern suggested! However I am happy with the length and that means I will wear the sweater without pulling at the cuffs all day long wishing I had just spent a little more time making them right. there is a mistake in this sleeve. Can you see it? Yea, I didn't think so. Which is why I didn't fix it. Now I just need to finish the second one... it is about 5 inches long now. Maybe I will duplicate the mistake and that way they will match. hehe.

Between knitting the sleeves I put the collar onto the sweater to mix things up a bit. It does not lie flat when it is laying flat, but does smooth out once it is on and stretches out a bit.

Who knows, I just might finish this sweater before the start of Fall!

Teeth vs Sleep

2008-08-10T11:07:00.002-05:00

Guess which won.... yawn. The good news is that the second tooth cut. Perhaps tonight will be better? I never saw a baby with bags under their eyes, that is until today.

More Thermal

2008-08-09T12:57:00.004-05:00

I realized I had no pictures of my thermal sweater body that I knit oh so long ago...
Here it is lounging in the lawn

and now on me... sorry about the self portrait. K doesn't get the need for blog photography.

As you can see it is quite fitted due to the ribbing however if I remember correctly my swatch flattened out considerably once it got a bath. So I expect it to fit closely but perhaps less snuggly once it is blocked.

I finished the increases on the first sleeve this morning while EJ napped. I still have a while to go before I can start decreasing for the cap of the sleeve though. Best be getting back to that...and my Olympic game watching before this second nap is over!

Home things

2008-08-09T12:38:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned previously, we have established our fourth room upstairs as a guest bedroom. Meaning that we no longer have a "junk room". At one point it seemed like we had three junk rooms. Oh how far we have come in the past 4.5 years of home ownership. We received the full sized bed from my grandparent's house. It fits into the room nicely.

I love that little detail on the headboard. We painted the room a color called Beach House by Shirwin Williams. This picture does not do it justice however. Guess that is what I get for photographing the room while it was very sunny out.

The coverlette is from Bed Bath and Beyond, and is a light blue. We need a couple of more pillows for the bed before it is finished. Plus I only ironed one set of the curtains so far. We are also considering adding room darkening blinds to the room to try to combat the afternoon sun. Oh, and I have to install the ceiling fan too. Probably sometime this weekend. Just a boring white one like in our room, but the room gets so hot it would be silly to not put one in.

Second

I did a little gardening! I decided on this little corner to plant the Irises that RD so generously gave to me when we visited their new home. I really hope that they like it here as well as they liked living next to the carriage house! I gave them some new soil as what was there was lacking in many ways. After I had finished this little project I went to another bed and tried pulling weeds. I startled a little snake who was sunning himself , which in turn startled me. So those weeds are safe for now... and I know to look around for snakes before digging around for weeds!

Thermal, revisited

2008-08-07T15:42:00.004-05:00

I cannot belive I can say I have been working on a sweater for over a year and a half. February 10th 2007 I posted to the Thermal knit-along blog that I was anticipating to swatch that weekend. However, somewhere along the way I was distracted and became more interested in something else. Like being pregnant. I was last spotted with my thermal sweater at the Yarn Harlot's book signing with Amy, tiny little Heather and even tiner EJ...we just had found out the week before, and I let Amy in on the secret.

I justified setting the sweater down in favor of a new project because even if I finished the sweater I couldn't wear it that fall because I would be very pregnant at that point. So I started knitting K's sweater. My logic being if I didn't do it before the baby, he would have to wait a LONG time for anything that involved.

With fall just around the corner again, and having my body back to its normal shape again I felt motivated to get back to this project once again.

After quite a bit of knitting I have around half of one sleeve complete! It is slow progress, but I am still pretty motivated to get it finished. I just wish I didn't have such long arms!

Twist Collective

2008-08-06T12:06:00.004-05:00

Have you ladies come across this new online knitting magazine? I was linked to it via Mason Dixon Knitting. There are some yummy patterns in their premier issue. I wasn't so sure how I felt about each pattern costing $7. As I can subscribe to a real magazine and get many different patterns for that same price (or less). However one particular sweater struck my fancy enough that I jumped onto Webs and ordered the expensive (for me) yarn for the sweater and ordered the pattern too. Perhaps this is the retail therapy I needed after the Great Washing Machine Debacle. It is official, that Lady is dead. Coming soon- the Come Together Sweater...

(picture from Twist Collective)

Slacker

2008-08-06T07:27:00.002-05:00

It has been WAY too long since my last update. I have found that taking and uploading pictures to blog about has been more of a chore. I have things to talk about. Revival of my Thermal sweater and slow progress on its sleeves. A new coat of paint in our "guest room" and a bed worthy of guests. Not to mention plenty of EJ milestones. She is cruising! However as I mentioned... no pictures of any of this. So this is my promise to get my act together and take some pictures. Until then, here is Eleni practicing being gentle with patient Momo's soft little ears. I am sure the sun-coma he is in helps with the patience.

Nursery Rhyme

2008-07-18T15:49:00.004-05:00

The old crib was not safe at all, so unsafe infact there was a recall.

So we picked out a second bed, for little eleni to rest her head.

and while she can use it all her life... poor mommy couldn't use that pretty crib skirt in it anymore. (oops, that doesn't rhyme.)

Ladies

2008-07-18T15:40:00.004-05:00

Well, after a few weeks of waiting Lady reappeared. At first I thought this was her, and her two babies. The cuteness is overwhelming.

I squeeled when I saw them. Too freaking cute. Then a couple of hours later I saw a movement through the patio door and look who it was...

I think that is Lady. I should knit her some leg warmers or something so I can recgonize her. So while I am pretty confident she didn't just have twins (they where no where to be found) perhaps she was the midwife, or proud aunt who helped deliver those darling fawns.

A less adorable Lady...

Sigh... for those of you who I didn't whine to yet, I dumbly stuck this baby into the front loader washer on "gentle". It felted up a bit. Still fits, but not the way I drempt about. And it got itchier rather than softer. It is soaking in the sink now, and I hope to stretch it out a bit. So lesson learned. Gentle cycles are not gentle enough for Cascade 220!

Amanda Shoes.

2008-07-17T12:04:00.004-05:00

I have always wanted to be one of those girls in great shoes. You know the ones. Walking confidently in a pair of heals, making the rest of us wonder where they get shoes that are so cute but comfortable enough to walk in. Having the perfect pair to complete each outfit that was both trendy yet classic at the same time. This is something I had wished would happen to me. As if by magic, overnight. Not a wish worth persuing with actual effort. So I remain a jeans and t-shirt gal. I am ok with that. Over the years I have grown up a bit and my jeans are less frayed and my t-shirts are a bit more mature. My sneakers seem less appropiate outside of actually exercising. So I have come up with a new strategy. To stop wanting to be one of those girls, and taking more time to just be myself. New shoes included.

Privo Maltese. K said they looked like Amanda shoes when I pulled them from the box. That made me happy.

PS I know those girls in heals feet hurt, no matter how happy they look. And it makes me smile inside.

Tagged...

2008-07-07T07:34:00.004-05:00

Grumble. The tag is like blogging homework. They even come with directions:

Name five things that you can't live without. It can't be a person, it has to be something material that actually makes your life easier. It can't be something in general, it must be exact. Also, it can't be the obvious like a cell phone or computer.

Annie tagged me, and now that it is Monday and I am back at work I have time to come up with some of my own "5 things I couldn't live without". It is hard reading other lists without having the urge to copy them... but lets see how creative I am this morning.
Five Things I Couldn't Live Without by AJKnits
1. Coffee. I used to swear I would never be a coffee drinker. It was yucky. Then I started drinking it late night at eat'n park with about 3 spoons of sugar and a creamer. Once I started working a real job I would pick up a Latte on occasion at the local coffee shop. Slowly I weaned off of the sugar (8 packs in 16oz!!!) and I am down to just cream in my coffee. My morning is not complete without a cup, especially if EJ doesn't sleep well. So what if I am an addict.
2. Public Transportation. As a reformed driver, I have experienced both sides of commuting. There is nothing like zipping past all of the traffic on the trolley each morning. I can sleep, I can squeeze in some precious knitting time, I can chat with a friend, or just space out. Plus only having to put gas into Fritzie once a month is great with the cost of gas being what it is now. Sure, there are annoying people on cell phones, ignorant people who won't give up their seat for a pregnant lady, and an occasional broken down train. All minor inconveniences in the grand scheme of things.
3. Online Shopping. Really, I can find anything I need or want, and have it delivered to my house. With a 36 inch inseam, and a baby this is the best thing ever. I love having packages waiting for me on my front porch.
4. Yarn. It holds so much potential. It gives me a creative outlet. I can boss it around and force it into perfection. It led me to a wonderful group of ladies when I was in need of some friends. What more can a girl ask for?
5. DVR. Seriously? How do people without DVR get by? While I am not like Annie, and record everything I watch or like Amy with the nearly full DVR. Either of those situations make me feel behind on viewing. My DVR is never more than 40% full. I love pausing live TV, rewinding when we miss something, and recording shows we love when we are not home. We would have to be pretty broke to cancel our DVR service!

That is all. I tag... nobody. Unless you want tagged. Then I tag you. Back to work.

Its Magic!

2008-07-02T19:37:00.002-05:00

I am working on my February Lady Sweater, and started the sleeve!

Do you see that twisted up circular needle? Well I decided it was time to learn the magic loop method of knitting in the round. My size 8 DPNs where wood, and I was knitting the sweater on my knitpicks options. I was afraid that my guage might be off with the change in needles so I went to knittinghelp.com and was educated. It is a great alternitive, and I am very pleased with this technique for this project.
Am I ready to swear off DPNs for good? Nah, I am a big fan of those pokey sticks. The dazzle the non-knitter. And I like that.

I don't know what the deal is with this yarn but I cannot get the color to show up right. I thought the natural light would help. No such luck.

Also, the previous post of mine was post 100! I can't believe I didn't throw a parade, or party or something to comemorate this moment. So happy 101st post to me! Woot.

Back to my magic looping. Until next time...
aj

Inspiration

2008-07-02T07:58:00.005-05:00

It took me a while to get back my knitting drive after having EJ. First finding time to do anything at all was hard, let alone finding time to be creative. Returning to work helped with that, EJ having a regular bedtime is awesome, and the February Lady Sweater really pushed me over the edge. I still have not done any sewing. Nothing yet has inspired me to pull out Taylor. That is until I saw this cute little project via Craftzine. Simple, fun and very useful for me at this point in life. I think it would also make a quick gift for new mothers! Now I just need to find a few fun fabrics!
ETA- I found fabrics! What do you think?

All purchased from Sew,Mama,Sew!. The top four are all part of Lightning Bugs & Other Mysteries collection, and the bottom two are Robert Kaufman fabrics.
Also, I decided the deer should be "Lady". So you win Michelle . Your prize is you get to gloat about winning. If that isn't enough, well that is too bad. I hope she visits again this Saturday so I can tell her she has a name!

Oh, Deer

2008-06-28T07:23:00.002-05:00

I took that picture last Saturday. This little doe decided to spend the morning in our yard nestled under the dogwood tree in my "deer resistant" plants. It wasn't until K needed to cut the grass that she decided to head out and find someplace quiter to rest. She was not afraid of us taking the dogs out, but I made sure to keep our distance so that we didn't spook her. The reason I decided to post about her is because she is back again this morning. I think she needs a name. We already have the groundhog family- Gilberta (started out Gilbert until she had babies) and her two kids Gill and Bertie. Then there are the two rabbits, Bernard and Purl. (Yes, I really am THAT crazy. It is hereditary). So much wildlife so close to the city. I used to have to go camping to see deer, and now they are in my backyard.

The third skein

2008-06-26T20:51:00.002-05:00

I just added the third skein of yarn to my February Lady Sweater.

I am considering blocking it soon, while on a longer needle to get a better idea of how much further I should knit to get the length I want. Maybe after the knitting get together.

And to answer your question, WIP stands for work in progress!

Gifted

2008-06-26T16:11:00.003-05:00

We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives. EJ received two darling gifts over the past few weeks, and had an opertunity to wear them together this past Sunday. She even tolerated an extensive photo shoot.
First, RD knit this darling cotton hat and after letting EJ try it on we had a Cinderella moment. It was a perfect fit, and was obviously made for EJ. RD had finishing to do however and we received it in the mail. Such a nice surprise.

The tie is fabric sewn into a strip. What a clever idea!
Then our Favorite Aunt Julie (FAJ, to those who love her) surprised us with this dress on Fathers day

Don't they make a great set? We thought so.

WIP:February Lady Sweater

2008-06-19T15:46:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share some pictures of my sweater in progress. This is about after two weeks since I cast on.

As you can see I have divided for the sleeves and put them onto my two shortest KnitPicks options cords. I started a second hank of Cascade 220, and because it is 100% wool I spit spliced the yarn so that there are no extra ends to weeve in. Continuing with this technique will leave me with only six ends to weave in and no seaming! That is my kind of finishing. I have maybe 5 repeats of the lace pattern done in the photo, but have done another three since then. It should go smoothly from here! I am starting to wonder how long I should make it. Where it should hit on my body for the best look. And how long I will want the sleeves. The sample has 3/4 sleeves and looks very cute but I might want full sleeves. However, will the sleeves be too baggy at my wrist? Maybe someone else will finish before me and provide some full sleeve photos so I can decide before knitting all the way down my long arms!
I also might have knit too many rows in the yolk. There may be sweater surgery in my future. Amy, you may have to assist. I am not sure I have the guts to cut my knitting alone!

All that Glitters

2008-06-19T15:36:00.002-05:00

I got a small gift on Father's day this year. My parents and Aunt and Uncle are emptying out my grandparents home so that it can be sold, and my dad grabbed a few handbags of my Grandmothers for Eleni to play dress up with one day. Among these bags was this curious little gem.

In the origonal box marked with pencil with the price of $10.00.

It is just a small little gold mesh pouch, that could barely hold a cell phone, lipstick and a few credit cards... well maybe not my cell phone (it is a bit of an antique itself!)

This is the top of the bag, a small disk a bit bigger than a quarter. This cap flips up and allows you to open the bag up.

Isn't that just the most clever thing? I am totally in love with it.

It won't make it into EJ's dress up box. I think it is going into mine. Now I just need someplace to go!

IOU- Finished Object Parade

2008-06-13T06:51:00.003-05:00

So flickr started working soon after it didn't work, but I still didn't feel like taking the time to post. Especially after making a couple of froggable mistakes in my current project. Knitting time became a higher priority because I felt as though I was behind. I am now back on track and figured now is as good of a time as any to get this wrapped up.

Everlasting Bagstopper
I knit my Bagstopper in two shades of Euroflax sportweight linen. Both leftover from other projects. I am about out of purple but I think I still have enough of the champagne color to make another bag should the mood strike.

I love how the fabric changed with a quick ride in the washing machine. All of the yarn overs opened up and the knit stitches tightened and became defined.

I was unable to find any good ribbon that matched at my local JoAnne's, it is a smaller store, but I did find this woven strap stuff that I thought matched pretty well. I was pleased that I found it because I was not up for a big hunt for the perfect handles. A few days after my shopping trip I found a few minutes to attach the handles. I have to confess this was the first time Taylor my sewing machine has been used since the day I went into labor and I had finished our Tree Skirt.

So I folded down the edge of the strap and stitched it in place and then folded it again before attaching it onto the finished bag. When I sewed it onto the bag I sewed a square to help increase the strength of my join.

I had enough strap left over (I bought 2 yards) that I decided to use the extra to line the upper edge. I think it gives it a nice finished look.

And here is the finished bag, holding my current projects yarn!

Second February Sweater
I also finished up this little sweater, and it is going into the mail today.

And finially for those of you who have not already figured it out, I am knitting the February Lady Sweater. I have never jumped onto any knitting bandwagons like this before. I must be excited about this sweater in order to be so excited to knit wool in the heat of summer! I am further along than this, but have not taken any recent photos due to the frogging I had mentioned earlier.

It is a sign

2008-06-09T18:16:00.002-05:00

Baby is in bed. The night is young, and I have 10 knitting related pictures to share. Two finished objects to show off, and something new. But flickr is sending me a clear message. Don't blog about finishing details. Not now, there is knitting to be done. My flickr uploader is acting up. Without getting all techie, it is just being grumpy. So I suppose you will have to wait for that. And I have a perfect excuse to dive into some knitting for the next two (or three?!?!).

Hope that you find a good excuse to do what you love too!

Hot Dog

2008-06-06T14:52:00.001-05:00

Hope you are keeping cool! Weather like this makes me thankful for air conditioning!

Six months

2008-06-01T11:17:00.002-05:00

I cannot believe that six months have passed since EJ has entered our lives. With each passing day she changes so much. She is able to get on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. But no crawling yet, truth be told I am not sure I am ready for that! She is a proficient roller, and loves to have help standing up. To commerate the event we tried cereal for the first time. The initial reaction was not captured on film, but it can be best described as a "what you talking about Willis?" look. Overall the event was successful.

She thought she should learn to use a spoon too.

I will update later to include her six month stats, but that appointment isn't for another week.

The Summit Inn

2008-05-31T13:10:00.002-05:00

K and I had our first night away from EJ. Our fourth wedding anniversary was this past Thursday and he had planned a surprise get away for us. He assured me that he had made arrangements for the dogs to be watched by my sister and EJ would only be an hour away from us. We stayed at the Summit Inn in Farmington PA (Fayette County). This hotel was opened originally in 1907, and is along what was originally the National Road.

The lobby was quite cozy and the hotel seemed to be pet friendly. We saw two dogs while we stayed. Had we known we could have brought Mo along (he is far more laid back and hotel compatible we think).
It is close to many different great places to visit in Fayette County including Laurel Caverns, Falling Water, Kentuck Knob, Nemicolin, and Ohio Pyle to name a few. Because we where on a limited time frame and have been to those other places we just stopped by a few stores and the Christian Clay winery.

One of the most enjoyable features of the Summit Inn to me was the expansive front porches. We sat on them and chatted while sipping on our beverages just enjoying the breeze (and the unfortunate noise of the cars racing past on the highway). I also knit

The food at the Inn was really quite good. We had the Crab and Cheese fondue while sitting on the porch, it was wonderful! Then later at dinner K enjoyed the crabcakes and I had the Seafood Medley. There was too much for me to finish. It was so good I felt really bad not being able to take it with me. But seafood in a hotel room over night is not very appetizing. We also enjoyed breakfast there before leaving. I have to say the pancakes where top notch!
Sadly, we where unable to enjoy the porches Saturday morning before leaving. The area was under a tornado watch... and with that comes rain. The view from our room Friday and Saturday, a comparison:
.
Not a huge loss, we had a wonderful time Friday and it was time to get back to EJ anyway...

Souvenir

2008-05-29T15:36:00.003-05:00

And it is one of the best kinds too, a wooly souvenir! My In-laws just returned from Tennessee and before they left I jokingly mentioned to my mother-in-law that if she came across any unique yarn that I would happily accept it as a present. Well, she came through. They where in a small store, where in the corner an 80something woman, Bette Raymond would spin and dye wool with natural dyes.

The label reads:
Appalacian Colors
Natural Dyes on Natural Fibers
from
'The Mustard Seed'
Studio Workshop
of
Bette Raymond
Sevierville, Tennessee

This Wool was dyed with Indigo and Osage Orange Wood, and I have almost 10 oz (two skeins) of it. I wonder what it will become...

Happy Memorial Day!

2008-05-24T11:32:00.005-05:00

Long time, no updates... I could make up excuses why I have not blogged in a while but I am certain no one really cares. Mostly because there isn't any good or exciting reason it has taken me two weeks to post something new. I have finished the second February Sweater in my queue. So two down and one to go. Also, I use the term finished very loosely. No buttons, and there is still some ends that need taken care of as well. But the knitting is finished, and the sun was out, and Eleni was napping so I photographed!
Here it is lounging amongst the Lamium in some dappled sunlight-

And a closer look at the color of the yarn-

The yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash Wool. And the color is... well I don't know what they call it. The label is upstairs and it isn't important enough to climb the stairs. I found it at Natural Stitches and it is obviously green- but not a solid. This time I used a worsted weight yarn, and knit on size 8 needles. This gave me a much larger sweater from my first attempt and should fit Miss Collette quite well this coming winter. I also knit these sleeves in the round rather than flat. I was thrilled to not have to seam anything!

In other news, Eleni has a new trick. The silly girl can hardly sleep because she wakes herself up trying to practice.

Last night, she woke up around 11:45. I fed her and she wouldn't relax enough to go to sleep. She kept kicking, twisting and pushing up in bed. She would get on her hands and knees and lunge forward... causing her face to crash into the crib rails. It was quite a site. Needless to say, we had to resort to some special circumstance sleeping arrangements. Bella was not too pleased about sharing her spot in bed, but we slept in until 6am! (Hey, it's better than 4am!)

Hope that you all have a lovely Memorial Day weekend. We are invited to RD's house to picnic with her and some of their family. I made an awesome pasta salad with tomatoes, basil, and fresh motzerella topped with a balsamic dressing. I can't wait for dinner!