Hook and Needle Arts

new beginnings

2010-08-25T14:22:00.002-04:00

So this is the house. The place we'll spend the next 12 months, or longer if--with luck--we love it.

We had been torn between Raleigh and Phoenix. It was a very tough call. Ultimately, North Carolina seemed more suited for the life we envisioned for our family. Far, but not too far. Different, but not exotic. Warmer, but not without seasons. Beautiful, but not in a minimalist, desert way. Michigan has her moments of splendor, and in the fall, I truly believe there is no more exquisite place on earth. But it's time for something new. It's time for us to leave our home state, our birth place, and strike out on our own.

I'm sure we will battle homesickness. I will miss my parents. Daddy-B will miss Spartan sports. lil' b will miss his school. We all will miss our friends. Marmallow is alone among us, too young to really miss anything, which is bittersweet in its own way.

We've been packing, purging, bundling, and freecycling our belongings. Seven years of life. Seven years spent under one roof, in a home that has witnessed the addition of two children and the loss of a beloved dog. Seven years of accumulated memories and scraps of paper. Now we pick through and choose what memories to keep and which ones to discard.

the news is confirmed

2010-08-24T11:45:00.002-04:00

We're moving! Goodbye Michigan, hello North Carolina!

We are very excited about this move, even though it means leaving behind all of our friends and family. Time for a fresh start and to escape the dreadful Michigan economy.

I will update again in a few weeks once our transition is complete. Hopefully I will have lots of pictures of our new home. If you or someone you know is in North Carolina, let me know. We'll be seeking friends right away.

a little something

2010-08-19T09:09:00.001-04:00

There's a bit of good news, peering around the corner.

I can't mention it yet, but soon.

So please don't think I've forgot to post. Rather, it's so hard for me to keep quiet that I've opted to just wait it out.

Please wait for me. The news is coming soon, I promise.

this is the way we spin the yarn

2010-08-11T07:53:00.003-04:00

I am amazed.

Roving + spindle:
Equals a small ball of single ply:

Add spindle again, and you get totally sweet two-ply:

I saw someone do this on etsy to show the yarn width, and it seemed like a great idea. After all, when I put so much effort into making it thin, I'd like everyone to see exactly how thin it is:

Yep, two strands of this yarn is enough to blindfold Lincoln.

That is some skinny sock weight yarn.

I spun it using the Andean ply method, which I learned courtesy of youtube. I was trying to figure out how to spin a two ply out of two singles when one single was enough to fill my spindle. The Andean method is great, because you just double a single back on itself and voila! It doesn't overtake your spindle and you get a nice petite skein at the end.

I've never actually done a gauge swatch before, but I suppose I will have to with this to determine my needle size for the socks. I now believe I will have plenty of roving to make my socks in this colorway, so I'm pretty excited. Maybe even two pair? We'll have to see.

Also, I joined the Spin-List on yahoo, and some woman chastised me for referring to myself as a "spindler." I seem to use the two words (spinner and spindler) interchangeably, but this woman was actually pissed off that I choose a "cute, made-up word" to describe my new endeavor. I think she has too much time on her hands.

woodland progress

2010-08-09T07:54:00.002-04:00

It's slow going. But it's finally starting to look like a sweater. I must be honest, I skipped ahead of the sleeves and seamed the shoulders and finished the neckline so I could at least slip it on and admire it a bit.

The sleeves have not been neglected though. I've finally reached the straightaway on these, and I have about 3 centimeters before I start shaping the shoulder decreases. They look short in this picture, but they are actually up to my bicep and are 44 centimeters long right now.

I had to show a close-up of the little button holes. I am really proud of these, even though they were ridiculously easy. I've never done button holes in knitting before, and had sort of developed a phobia about them. I know there are lots of ways to make button holes and some are a lot more challenging than others, but I wasn't expecting this to be quite so simple. I've already started scouring etsy and local artisans for seven perfect small buttons.

It occurs to me that the above shot actually shows two things I learned to do in this project: button holes and cables. Again, the two shown are the easiest versions of both, but now maybe I'll be brave enough to tackle cables and button holes that are slightly more complex.

I've been spinning as well. No pictures of that though, as it all sort of looks the same. I think I may be spinning too thin now, as when I let it double back on itself, I wind up with something like laceweight. And I don't really want to make socks out of laceweight.

floored

2010-08-04T11:07:00.002-04:00

I had intended to keep up with the Wandering Wednesday bit from GardenMama, truly I had!

But it seems my feet are always busy in rather dull places, and when we're in fun places, my hands are full of baby instead of camera.

Last week, marmallow had a fever. It royally sucked. She is teething like a maniac, and therefore very clingy, drooly and sad. But the fever... it was not your typical low-grade teething fever. So we went off to the doctor. Of course, when we got there, it was the much more reasonable low grade variety, which made me feel dumb for bringing her in. But the doctor, seeing as she is not quite nine months, was not content to send us home. So they drew blood. And collected urine. And made both of us miserable for much of Thursday afternoon. And then, Friday, the fever was gone. And all the results were negative. Thank God.

But lil' b was very good, and patient, as I doted on his sister and set him down with distractions all weekend. He would ask me to watch what he was doing, or check out his drawings, but other than that, the only times he swept into the Mom-as-Sissy's-Nursemaid scene was to flit in, like an angel, and kiss her forehead, or gently sweep her hair out of her eyes.

And his reward was a fever of his own. Sudden, like lightning bolt on a sunny day. I got the call yesterday and found him at school, bundled in his blanket and shivering on his teacher's lap.

Fortunately, caring for a big kid is easier in many ways. I can give him reasonable doses of medicine. I can explain why the washcloth on his forehead needs to be so icy cold. I can ask him what hurts, and how long it has hurt, and is it any better than an hour ago.

But it is sad and hard to watch your babes suffer, and only be able to do so much. With both of them, I closed my eyes briefly during the night, power napping between doses of medicine and waking to rush into their darkened rooms and feel foreheads, adjust sheets, and pray. Always praying. My brain knows it's likely nothing, just a basic childhood illness. But when my children are sick, or hurt, the responsibility and priveledge of loving them feel like stones on my heart. I feel frantic inside, while I try to be as soothing and reassuring as I can on the outside. Every time they really, truly need me, I feel the weight of the miracle. The life created inside a woman is the gift, but the life that continues, struggles, and thrives outside is the burden and blessing of that gift.

I am floored by the trust the universe has placed in me.

makes you think...

2010-08-03T09:53:00.003-04:00

I read this over on Inner Pickle's blog today, and frankly, I can't stop thinking about it.

I don't know who the woman in the article is that she refers to. But it reminds me why I so often want to slap a little sense into people.

Let me begin by saying that I can appreciate parenting styles of all ilks. I know that every child is different, every person is different, and that each individual has his or her own path to parenting. Barring those people who are truly awful human beings and do horrendous things to children, I'd wager most of us are doing the best we can, the best we know how, with the best of our abilities. I wouldn't begrudge a parent nursing longer than I did (or would) anymore than I'd preach to a person who did not/could not nurse at all, for example. So I fail to understand how one person, a lone mother of an only, an easy, baby, could try so hard to make other mothers feel like failures. Is that not what she is trying to do?

Parenting is a series of choices. Yes. But they are not unlimited choices. I can not say, for example, that I would like my son to sprout wings and fly. Or rather, I can say it, but it is not something I can choose for him. Similarly, I can not choose for him to stay up and be manageable at midnight because I really really want to see the new jazz band. I can't choose that he can accompany me at a "21 and up" bar. But those are the big things. This inability to choose gets more and more subtle. I can, for example, choose to get my children vaccinated. I can not make it painless, though. And while I wholeheartedly chose to have both of my lovely babes, I can not choose to be happy all the time. I can't choose for parenting to be easy. And to suggest that all those stressed-out, I love 'em dearly but I'm gonna kill 'em parents out there are just CHOOSING to be unhappy... well it's flat-out irresponsible.

Why would anyone choose unhappiness? Is there anyone out there who enjoys complaining about the very thing she loves more than anything else, her beloved children? I don't. I don't like complaining because I'm covered in drool and have been for nearly a week, because deep in my heart I know that my whining is mostly because I feel incompetent... I feel powerless to stop the pain of teething I know my precious baby girl is going through. I complain because I'm seeking out the Sisterhood of Mothers. The women who, with wisdom, kindness, and humor, can bolster me and prop me up, and let me know that it's okay to feel powerless, that we've all been through worse, and that we are here for each other. Not so that some self-righteous, smug twit can tut-tut at me and tell me that I'm choosing to be unhappy. I'm choosing to make it hard.

I wish I could put that back on her. When she says she finds it "easy" to get up with a crying baby in the night, I say I don't. I find it hard. Probably for the same reason she thinks it easy. I find it hard because this little, wonderful person, whom I love completely, is so very dependent on imperfect, fallible me. How can such a responsibility be taken lightly? How can you look at the hugely important task of caring for a child and call it easy?

public, private, home, charter

2010-07-30T14:23:00.002-04:00

I learned something during my almost-two-years at home. It's something that probably would not surprise homeschooling parents...

I'm darn good at teaching my kids.

And I love their daycare, I do. And I think that they have been able to teach my kids things that I couldn't, or wouldn't even know to teach. The teachers there work with me like a team. And the social aspects are something I really really like, seeing as I am rather anti-social.

But in some respects, I think their return to school (in marmallow's case, her maiden voyage into daycare) has undone some of the work I did. Particularly with lil' b.

When he was home with me, I ran our play time as an education always happening. He had structured learning, of course, but every moment was a chance to learn, to look up, and to look around. To participate in the world instead of just being told about it. Under my tutelage, he learned his letters, how to write his name, how to count and recognize numbers... and then he went to daycare and relearned those things, making these last few months a waste as far as book-smarts go.

My parents are very interested in having me homeschool my children. I worry about prejudices towards them, though, and honestly that's my biggest concern. I know there are ways to get involved in social activities and sports. And so I continue to think about private or charter schools as an option, which seem to lift a child out of the homeschool stereotype without dragging him down to the lowest common denominator. That balance comes with a hefty price tag, though.

For those whose children are in formal schooling, how do you keep the education growing outside the school walls? How do you combat the issues that crop up outside the sanctuary of home? For those that homeschool, how do you deal with judgmental parents and peers? What other issues do you worry about?

{this moment}

2010-07-30T08:40:00.001-04:00

inspired by SouleMama

work in the way

2010-07-28T12:58:00.003-04:00

Do you ever get the feeling that work gets in the way of what you really want to be doing? I think I multitask all the time, simply because everything I do is not everything I want to be doing.

I know that sounds kind of odd. But when I am home, I can sit and chat with my little ones (granted, marmallow doesn't say much back yet) while they play and I can knit at the same time. I can talk with them about their day while driving home. I can monitor lil' b's impressive advancements in bicycling while spinning. But at work, there isn't a whole lot of double time. Sure, I can answer emails and talk on the phone at the same time, but I'm a writer, so most of my time is spent with singular focus (or else, as is common for my writing brethren, I completely scatter my thoughts and wind up completely lost for words). I tried to watch the World Cup on one screen while typing with the other and wound up sacking the whole project until the match ended.

Seeing as I spend a lot of time at work, these come in awful handy.

But the shining glory of my workday (topped only by getting home at the end of it), is lunch. I have given up on eating during my lunch break, and instead I find a nice bench between towers and spin. And you know, I'm getting pretty good at it. The outdoor sunlight actually gives the most accurate view of the colors, too.

Look how thin the yarn is getting! It's still kind of inconsistent, but not bad for about a week of spinning, right?

How do I figure out yardage on this, anyway? I mean, I keep spinning and spinning and the little ball of roving doesn't seem to be getting smaller, which is great, but I have no idea how many yards I have. Is it enough to make socks? I don't know. But it sure is pretty!

here and away

2010-07-26T09:03:00.003-04:00

We had lots of lovely fun this weekend.

Birthday party fun

Summer fest fun

This included rock climbing fun

Inflatable slide fun

Petting zoo fun

Butterfly exhibit fun

Ice cream fun

Oh My Lolli! fun

Live band fun

Bike with training wheels fun

Lego fun

Stacking rings fun

Mill pond fun

Blueberry picking fun

Muffin making fun

Movie watching fun

(Interrupted by less scary movie watching fun)

Pizza eating fun

Snuggling fun

Cheerio fun

So when I asked lil' b what fun things he did over the weekend during Sunday night bedtime prayers, he said "I don't know, you tell me." For a little man, he can have a very large attitude.

Daddy-B is away for the day. So for a couple nights/mornings, I am playing the role of single parent. He also has the camera, which is why there aren't any pictures of any of the aforementioned fun.

I did finish my fingerless mitts and did some more spinning and work on the woodland sweater.

{wandering wednesday}

2010-07-21T08:53:00.005-04:00

inspired by GardenMama.

Here I stand... or rather, sit... at the office, long before my coworkers arrive. The benefits of arriving early are many, but the best of all is leaving early and spending a few precious hours of daylight with my family in the evening.

getting better all the time

2010-07-21T08:13:00.004-04:00

Here is my second skein: raw brown alpaca and white merino.

It's a lot more consistent, no?

I also finished the knitting (but not the weaving in ends) of my first fingerless mitt. The phot doesn't do the colors justice. It's a very pretty colorway. The pattern is based on the Kalamazoo Knits pattern I've used before, but I dropped the thumb tube as it always annoyed me on the other pair I have.

I'm wearing the finished one right now as I type, and I have to say that it's just warm enough, fairly lightweight, and great for being in an office where they want it to be about 60 year-round.

It also occurs to me that it is already Wednesday and I haven't taken a picture worthy of my Friday {moment}. I better get focused! It's a real challenge to find something snapshot-worthy when you are only home between 6 PM and 6 AM, and most of that is sleeping.

wonky

2010-07-20T08:06:00.003-04:00

This is the first attempt at a plied yarn. It's a mix of mystery roving and the lovely merino Froggy Fibers included in my package.

It's "novelty yarn" right? I just call it wonky. But then, I've never been into novelty yarn.

I made a second plied yarn last night, it's drying in my car (Yes, I am obsessed. It is draped over a clothes hanger in the T & C in the parking garage. What of it?). It's much, much nicer, with the remainder of the merino and some of my brown alpaca.

In between spinning sessions, I have also been working on a pair of fingerless mitts in a merino/cashmere blend (they are so so soft and a delicious pale colorway that looks like neopolitan ice cream), and my woodland sweater.

So spindlers, how do I get larger skeins? And what nifty tricks are there for making very thin singles? I'm hoping to achieve a two-ply yarn in DK weight or less. As that's my absolute favorite weight to knit with, and I'd like to get enough yarn to make some socks.

Oh, and because I hate waste, that first attempt at plying... I'm planning to knit it up into a Christmas ornament cover. I love those things and I've never made one. :)

the world is spinning

2010-07-19T07:54:00.002-04:00

It arrived Saturday. My lovely spindle is just as lovely as I hoped it would be. Of course, I jumped right in with both feet. After all, I'd spent a full week researching and dreaming and readying my fingers. And I gotta say, I didn't do so bad, considering I spun this my second day:

Sure, it isn't perfect. I'm not sure I'd buy it. And my first attempt at plying was not so hot (will upload those pictures later this week).

But still, for a single, it isn't bad. This was my third attempt. The first I forgot to draft, the second I didn't draft enough or consistently. So this, my third, was much better.

Then last night, I spun the entire batch of merino that Froggy Fibers so generously included with the spindle, and began my first try at the alpaca. Wish me luck!

{this moment}

2010-07-16T08:26:00.002-04:00

Inspired by SouleMama

freecycle

2010-07-14T08:34:00.003-04:00

As I've begun the tedious (for me) and difficult (for me) process of picking up about 500 stitches around the collar of the woodland sweater, I don't have anything new on that front.

So what I did accomplish last night was setting up my first freecycle drop. Someone was kind enough to take some empty baby food jars off of my hands, and someone else will be enjoying my favorite pair of maternity shorts this summer.

I also sewed a button back on to lil' b's Hawaiian shirt, and hopefully set up a Fair Trade agreement with a friend... my sewing/darning skills in exchange for her delicious breads and organic produce. I'm hoping to lure my homebrew friend into a beer/wine swap, but we shall see.

I also read through Start Spinning, as the library didn't have Respect the Spindle available.

But mostly, I tortured myself over lil' b's new penchant for requesting time-outs. He has been refusing to go to sleep at night, opting instead to say "It's okay, I'd like a time-out. I'll be very quiet!" and go bounding down to his time-out chair with much enthusiasm. I don't want to be mean, but I don't know what to do with a child who likes time-outs so much. Any suggestions?

simple things

2010-07-13T07:40:00.002-04:00

This weekend we made chocolate chip zucchini bread, one of the few family recipes we have that isn't traced back to Betty Crocker. It was my grandmother's recipe, then my mother's and now mine. Each generation has added her own flavor to the mix. My mother, lover of all things sweet, added the chocolate chips, which my version has in mini size (I like the experience of a little chocolate without the actual chunks). I added real vanilla extract, a reflection of all things Mexican that I love so much. We couldn't resist baking a few mini loaves when we saw the beautiful, abundant (cheap) zucchini at the farmer's market. Three mini loaves for school, three for home.

We also went geocaching, and had a lovely time. We found three of the four caches we set out to find. With my sister visiting, we laughed often, stayed up late, and shared much.

I also finished the filagro scarf for my mother-in-law.

It's very basic, as you can see, with just a smidge of ruffle at the ends. It's from a pattern in One Skein Wonders. It's about four feet long, which I hope is long enough for her to wrap up as she pleases. Not much is more frustrating than a scarf that is too short for the wearer's tastes.

I also joined Freecycle yesterday. With the house up for sale, we've begun the invigorating process of sorting through the flotsam of our lives. We've already taken two van-loads to Salvation Army and another one to storage. I'm hoping to find someone willing to part with hand carders and lots more people interested in taking some of the extras from our hands.

where it's at

2010-07-09T08:09:00.004-04:00

To start off my weekend, I'm preparing my project tote for any road trips, diversions, or free moments of yarn bliss. With some wishful thinking, I even got out my roving. Who knows, maybe my new spindle will arrive tomorrow?

How delightful are these colors?

I have no idea what they will become, but hopefully it will be something the kids can snuggle with. I feel like I've been rather selfish with my knitting lately.

Just as I say that, though, here is the filagro scarf:

This will be a Christmas gift for my MIL. It's warm, it's wooly, it's wonderful.

But this is why I feel so selfish. How do people crank out sweaters in under a month? This concept completely eludes me. I have been devoting many of my free hours to this sweater since early 2010. It IS getting somewhere... near enough to somewhere that I have begun thinking about buttons. The portion on the needles is both sleeves.

Those are some itty-bitty stitches.

I am missing my cross quilt, but now I really can't pull it out, as our house is officially on the market. We could have showings at any time, and while I would melt instantly if I saw a half-finished quilt crowding out the tables and couches in the living room, I think I might be in the minority.

May your stitches be even and your hems straight this weekend. (And your children well-fed, messy, and exhausted!)

{this moment}

2010-07-09T07:44:00.002-04:00

Inspired by SouleMama

spindle

2010-07-08T08:57:00.003-04:00

Isn't it beautiful?

I just ordered this today from Froggy Fibers. I was looking for something inexpensive, yet pleasing to the eye (and hopefully the hands and fiber as well). I have some dyed roving that I plan to dig into before spinning the new alpaca, my sister gave it to me for Christmas thinking it was some "new fangled foreign unspun yarn." Which it is, in a way. We have no idea what beast this roving came from, she bought it in Europe somewhere and all it has is a weight on the outside.

But the spindle. Oh how thrilling to be coming into the ownership of my very own spindle. It's like the domestic torch is being passed. I can't wait to see it in person. I hope I love it as much as I think I will.

unwanted side effects

2010-07-07T10:33:00.003-04:00

I love snuggling with my dog. Jack-Jack is a fifteen pound toy fox terrier, and super cuddly. He's a rescue dog, about 5 years old, and a lovable sweetheart. Which is why his participation, however unwilling, in my itch is all the more of a betrayal.

Is it a bumper year for poison ivy? It is everywhere out here, and apparently my delightful little pooch wandered through some, and then came in and gave me much love, as my neck itches so fiercely that I want to claw my skin off. I am lucky, because I don't have welts, just red splotches. Very attractive. Popping Benedryl like it's candy.

In other, less itchy, news, I have finally begun reading The Fellowship of the Ring {Being the first part of The Lord of the Rings}.

I am ashamed to say that I have never read this trilogy (not ashamed to say that I've never watched the movie--I make a point of reading before watching when I can). I actually read the prologue. Have any of you? I hardly ever do, but it seemed important for this series. Unfortunately it was long, so I feel like I have barely started despite reading for several evenings.

If you have read the series, what was your take? A good read, worth reading just for the experience, or overrated?

long weekend

2010-07-05T17:11:00.006-04:00

The weekend did not get off to a very promising start. Because this is exactly where my project tote spent four days... on the floor in MY house while we were all NOT at my house. Packed, ready to go, left by the couch.

::sigh::

Things improved from there, however.

Friday we went out to the lake. The Big Lake. Lake Michigan. It was marmallow's first trip, but the heat determined that she stayed in the shade. Plus I'm a bit nervous about trace amounts of e. Coli on infant immune systems. But lil' b got good and splashy.

Then on the fourth, we had our fourth annual hot dog giveaway. Freedom is a Free Dog!

We gave away 320 hot dogs. Lots of return visitors this year, some people planned their Independence Day celebration around what has become the traditional Free Dog on Eagle Lake. We had people taking their pictures with us, it was kind of insane. The kids had a blast, too, which is really the whole point.

And alpaca. I wound up bringing home one and a half bags of the luxuriously soft stuff.

Here's a picture of the brown, I brought back more brown than white.

God bless Daddy-B for being so completely cool with the bags of animal hair. It helped, I think, that it was essentially odorless. Lil' b and I began cleaning some of it last night... it's a time-consuming process. I may just clean as I go.

And lil'b's biggest event... the purchase and first ride of a big kid two-wheeler with training wheels! He already had his first crash, but he got right back on and tried again. Very proud mama. Marmallow also had a first tooth sprout over the weekend. Hopefully I can get a picture of that soon.

How was your weekend?

this moment

2010-07-02T08:48:00.003-04:00

As inspired by Soule Mama

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

rainbows

2010-07-02T08:24:00.004-04:00

Like lots of people, I love Anna Maria Horner's blog. And when I heard about her Rainbow Around the Block project, well, I had to put everything on hold and put together a block of my own.

Once I went to the Flickr site, I seemed to notice a shortage on the BIV part of the rainbow, so I decided to choose those colors from my stash. Then it was a matter of choosing a block pattern. I googled 12 inch quilt patterns and found this neat (and easy) block. It's called Next Door Neighbor, which I thought was appropriate given the final destination of these quilts.

So here's the process:

First, of course I cut out all my squares and then cut the triangles. Then I pieced the triangles into squares, like so:

Then I sewed the squares into strips, and the four strips into the final block:

I am pretty darn pleased with it, as it's actually the most complex piecing I've done so far.

I've had to pause on the cross quilt since I've reached a "invade the public living area" portion of production, and we're putting our house on the market. So I can't just have this massive quilt on the floor during showings. I'll just have to satisfy my quilt craving with Rainbow blocks until I can resume working on the cross.

open water

2010-06-30T09:53:00.002-04:00

After much thought and research, our turtle has gone free, along with his two goldfish companions.

I know there is some debate about releasing a captive turtle into the wild. We weighed all the options and ultimately decided he should live out his days (the long/short of them) in a lovely secluded pond near our home. It has been a "dumping ground" for goldfish for years, apparently, as on warm days the surface seems to glimmer orange with millions of fish scales. We have also seen a few turtles there of our dear Peck's species, so hopefully he will find friends and a mate. Even if he does not live long (there are some snappers in the area who trump even Peck's impressive size), he will at least live out his life in the real sun and rain instead of under the hum of an electric warming light in our basement.

Our family will be escaping to the freedom of the open water this weekend, as well. We'll be hosting/assisting in the fourth annual Freedom is a Free Dog Hot Dog Giveaway. Last year we spent the Fourth giving away three hundred hot dogs to hungry boaters. This year we are hoping for 400. Daddy-B will be manning the grill with our friends and family all beachside to help and relax.

How are you going to celebrate freedom this Independence Day?

what's for dinner

2010-06-28T07:54:00.004-04:00

Simply Fresh Market has quickly become our go-to shop for produce. It's family owned, and tends to feature local produce. You would think that would be fairly common for a shop in Michigan during the summer. Just last year, a friend of mine admonished the manager of her local Kroger for selling Washington State cherries at the peak of cherry season here. Michigan is home to Traverse City, one of the most prized locations for cherries in the world, and here we are shipping our cherries from across the country. Shameful.

We fell in love with Simply Fresh before they even opened their doors. A few years back, they simply set a tent up in the lot of a vacant bank and sold fruits and veg farmstand-style, rain or shine. They have stupendous prices as well, which is nice. Apparently we weren't the only ones who loved them, as they soon moved in to the vacant bank and brought their farmstand indoors. My family is frugal, so we actually are the kind of people who stop at four stores every time we go shopping. Simply Fresh gets all of our produce business (whatever we didn't get at the Farmer's Market during the weekend, that is). Friday was Nacho and Movie Night last week, so of course, we had to make guacamole.

We love guacamole. Love it. We make guacamole just about once a week, if not more. Even marmallow loves it, my children have their own hand painted Mexican 'mole bowls, because they eat it with spoons. Guacamole is more of a staple than bread in our house.

It's also the most common use of my Kitchen-Aid mixer.

lil' b gets to do a little more of the 'mole-making every time. This time, he was in charge of scooping the creamy green flesh out of the avocados.

I am making progress on the cross quilt, I need to press the seams on the second quarter and sew the two quarters together. I also made some progress on the filagro scarf, despite forgetting to bring in on the drive to the zoo this weekend. I hope to have pictures of my half-complete quilt top sometime this week. Maybe some shots of the filagro scarf, too.

sweets

2010-06-25T07:42:00.003-04:00

The mulberries behind our condo are perfect. After more than a week of indulging in the berries every time we take Jack-Jack out for his walk, we've watched them get bigger and blacker every day. lil' b makes a mad dash for the big tree straight away, hanging out under the shade of the low hanging branches and popping them into his mouth without even pausing to chew. I find myself sort of dreading the end of the season, which should be any day now. Since the cherry tree back there only produces flowers, this is the only time he can get out and pluck fruit first thing in the morning. Although we did discover an errant raspberry vine, which was pretty exciting in its own way.

Mulberries are one of the little ways life comes full circle for me. I don't eat them anymore, but when I was lil' b's age, I would run out to the big old mulberry in the backyard. My dad kept the lower branches trimmed so he could mow the lawn around them, so I couldn't always reach them unless they were heavy with fruit and I jumped high enough. But Dad would often join me out there, picking them and giving them to me in handfuls.

Now that the berries in our tree are plentiful, I go out with lil' b and marmallow, b with his Tupperware bowl. And we pick until we're bored with it or can't reach anymore.

alpaca

2010-06-24T14:53:00.002-04:00

Second post in one day - so you know it's big.

My mother just informed me that she scored a stash of alpaca. My mother. The queen of almost-but-not-quite.

She managed to get dibs on the freshly-shorn alpaca fleece of two lovely animals for free. Which is gorgeous. But I have never spun yarn. Let alone carded fleece. Let alone cleaned raw alpaca fiber. I am now desperately seeking a cheap drop spindle.

I am excited, and yet anxious. How exactly do I get my beloved Daddy-B to think that several large bags of uncleaned animal hair is a great thing to have in our house?

late night reading

2010-06-24T08:51:00.003-04:00

lil' b spent last week at school learning about Egypt. He's four, so the lessons were rather superficial, but he did come home with a fascination with headdresses and mummies. This prompted a rather enlightening (and fully interactive) discussion between Daddy-B, lil' b and myself about the differences between mummies and zombies.

Our conclusions:

Zombies shuffle and make moaning, garbled noises. They trudge along with vacant eyes and arms down limp at the sides. Head is usually slumped to the side.

Mummies walk without bending their knees, and groan without opening their mouths. Arms are extended straight in front, head is usually upright.*

*Mummy posture and locomotion is similar to Frankenstein's monster, but Frankenstein's monster's communication more closely resembles a zombie.

He took this information to school the next day and enlightened his classmates.

I was introduced to this "series" by a friend, a fellow knitter and mother, who has her fingers more firmly on the geek pulse than I do. At her insistence, I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and was thoroughly taken in. So now, of course, I am digging into the prequel, Dawn of the Dreadfuls. Go ahead and click on the picture above if you want to find out more about it.

I admire those who are geekier than I, because I feel like I could be one of them if I just tried a bit harder. I have all the right interests, but something seems to be lacking. Perhaps a degree in IT or something.

Several more rows are complete on the woodland sweater, but I did not get to finish a quarter row on the quilt last night.

Tonight I'll work more on the woodland sweater, since my zombie-loving friend and I are going out to KIP at a local pub. Perhaps I'll have a mid-sleeve update tomorrow.

anonymous affirmations

2010-06-22T07:47:00.005-04:00

The above is my woodland sweater, in progress. I started this in about March or maybe even February. It is slow going, but worth every stitch. Sometimes I pause at the end of a row just to practice gently tugging open the ribbing and stroking the yarn. It is so deliciously soft, and the desire to slide it up my arms and wrap it around me keeps me going. I joke with my knitting friends that I plan to show it off every day and announce to perfect strangers that I made it. Sort of how I feel about my children. But in reality, I am not making it for anyone else to admire - I am making it for me. Also true about my little ones.

This one is for others to admire, as it's a gift for my mom. I thought ahead this year and began knitting this Christmas gift on Christmas Eve of last year. It's been almost complete for over two months, I just need to finish the neckline. It's a very basic straight stitch, but it's her favorite color, a buttery yellow. And there is a bit of interest here at the shoulder seams, a little bit of gathering, that is also around the V-neck.

And here, though the lighting is shoddy, is my Mount Everest. The cross quilt. You can see the orange chalk marks fussying up the squares, but it is coming together. I can't wait to lay this on my bed. I can't wait to sleep under it. I can't wait to start the next one. :) I try to do a quarter row every night. There are twenty quarter rows in all, and then the four quarters need to be joined. After that, I'll start shopping around for a binding fabric and (this is strangely critical for me) an ideal backing. I find that the backing of a quilt can make or break the piece. If the top is gorgeous but the backing is, well, not meant to be seen, I have no use for it.

And finally, my newest project. I'd love to claim that I thought of it myself, but I actually got the idea from a Parents magazine. The idea is little affirmations printed on strips of paper, that you hide or leave randomly for someone to serendipitously stumble upon. So far, I've dropped off about four. I like to think that perhaps giving one person a reason to smile can start a chain reaction. There is simply not enough positivity these days.

long drives

2010-06-21T08:19:00.002-04:00

How I wish I lived in an area with mass transit.

Whenever possible, I have Daddy-B drive the family around on weekends. My favorite drives are out to visit my parents on the west side of the state. I sit there in the passenger seat, chatting up lil' b and making weird noises at marmallow in the back, while knitting or crocheting my way through some mindless-yet-pleasurable project. One year, I think it was 2007, I managed to make everyone in my extended family a beanie hat for Christmas due entirely to crochet-on-the-road.

I don't usually like to craft whilst at home with the tots. Not while they are both awake, any way. I can do some crafting while marmallow naps and lil' b colors, but not much. So I treasure the long drives that give me the ideal excuse to work on a project, because I can't possibly get down on the floor and play with them instead.

Which is why it kills me that we don't have mass transit out here. If I lived in DC, or New York, or Chicago, or even some place with a decent bus system, I could get so much done in the forty-five minutes it takes to get to work in the morning and the hour it takes to get home. I could craft, yes, or I could read, or catch up on sleep. In addition to the lovely fuel savings, environment savings, and lack of wear-and-tear on my T&C swagger wagon.

Of course, there are perks to autonomy. I like to know that I can get to daycare quickly, on my terms. I like the (possibly false) belief that I am in control of how fast I can get somewhere, or in some cases, how slowly. I think I've only come up with positives because I have to. It'll be a cold day indeed when the Auto Capital of the US has anything resembling the Metro.

One thing I can't do on-the-go is machine quilt though, Metro or no. So the goings on my cross quilt have been slow. It's looking good, though! I have finished one quarter of the top (it is worked in quarters) and laid out and half-stitched another quarter. It looks very nice and I'm eager to see how it finishes. My woodland sweater is also coming along... which is promising since it's DK weight on 4 mm needles. I've finished the back and both fronts, and just cast-on the sleeves last night. Daddy-B prefers the soft click of needles over the vuvuzela-like buzz of the sewing machine while watching the Tigers play, and since it was Father's Day, his preferences won out. The butter sweater is complete with the exception of two rounds on the neck, which I have been procrastinating on buying the circulars for.

And then there is my road piece, the filagro scarf. That one, of course, is rolling along very nicely.

socializing

2010-06-17T14:59:00.002-04:00

You may know how I learned to knit. It was in college, a friend of my boyfriend (the friend's name was Jeff) was knitting while watching football on a November afternoon. He taught me to knit, and then to purl, and the lessons stopped there, since that was all he knew. His grandmother had taught him how, in an effort to keep a little boy occupied while she served tea and entertained her lady friends. You can make a scarf with knits and purls, but if you want anything else, you need to upgrade.

I taught myself to crochet when I was pregnant with lil' b. My mother accidentally got me a crochet baby blanket pattern instead of a knit pattern. She was so upset with herself that I assured her that crochet was "easy" and I'd have no problem picking it up. Imagine my frustration when I could not for the life of me figure out how to TURN a piece.

Like any other craft I've tried, motherhood brought with it some of its own unique challenges. The nurses had taught me how to put on a diaper, and I innately knew how to shush and bounce, but eventually you stumble on that seemingly insurmountable challenge that there is no ready solution for. Like when your baby won't take a bottle. At all.

My first social group experience was at Ewe-Nique in Brighton. I went out on a limb, did something VERY out of character for someone of my decidedly anti-social upbringing, and went to open knit night. By myself. I was worried about what my project tote looked like (was it trendy enough?), the yarn I was using (I didn't buy this Pound of Love acrylic here!), and the project I was tackling (will everyone laugh at this girl crocheting at a knit group??). But I was determined. I wanted to make friends, like-minded friends, ones who could hopefully, eventually, help me past the challenges my knitting and crocheting would present.

I joined my Mornings for Moms group for the same reason... I wanted Mommy friends, ones I could rely on to assure me I wasn't crazy, who would appreciate a detailed retelling of The Diaper That Exploded At Target complete with sound effects. Who could hopefully, eventually, let me support them and support me in return.

There are many times when we face issues that we just can't tackle on our own. There are tiny problems that we fail to solve because we're too close to them, and enormous problems that are too heavy to carry alone. Long ago, there were Quilting Bees, and families that lived right next door. Then everyone started moving apart. I may not have grown up in an age of cell phones, but my kids are. My children rarely see a cashier, everything is done with U-Scan. They rarely see me chatting on the phone, texting is easier. I have a question, I google it.

But there is a beauty in socializing. A kinship that is formed over battling through life with others, whether your fight is against an unwieldy yarn or an inner turmoil about a child's bruised ego. I contend that the modern amenities of life are a wonderfully useful thing, but if we must have that technology, then we must actively seek out social opportunities. If we use our debit cards at gas pumps, we should strive to spend a few of those spared seconds with a fellow parent at the playground.

she's seven months

2010-06-15T08:05:00.003-04:00

Seven months seems to be the magic age for me with children.

For the first seven months, I am almost entirely devoted to restructuring my life, my priorities, and my interests. It was the same way when lil' b was born, and so it was when my marmallow came into the world. I guess I thought I'd need less time, having been through this before. Turns out, every child requires an adjustment period.

Now, of course, I want to bring my blog back up to speed, but how does one recapture all the moments of more than half a year? I will try to be more diligent in my updates now, and as time goes on, hopefully I will find loose threads from October '09 to June '10 to weave in.

I have continued to knits, crochet, and quilt, with even perhaps as much vigor as before. However, an interesting twist is my new passion for long term projects. I'm not as into instant gratification as I once was... perhaps something about devoting nine months to building a person, and the rewards reaped by such an intensive endeavor, has taught me the value of prolonged dedication. Of course, during the seven months that have passed, due to the rarity of sleep and the absence of focus, I have done my share of quick projects. I've added several baby quilts to my line-up and made at least four scarves. I will try to get the pictures up, but let's worry about getting this new post up first.

My new efforts are much more engrossing. I am working on a sweater, for myself, from the Rowan cotton pattern book Classic Nature. I'm no idiot, though: I'm using the luxuriously soft acrylic Plymouth Dreambaby DK... I do, after all, have two messy kids and I'm no slouch in the spill department myself. I wanted to select something that was both easily washable and infinitely comforting for either child when she or he needs a Mommy's Special Hug. Between knits and purls, I am also attempting a quilt for Daddy-B and my queen-size bed. It's based on a pattern in American Patchwork & Quilt called Cross. I keep calling it Lattice or Plaid, as that seems more accurate.

I'm working on these two major projects before and after work. That's right, God bless, I am back to work full-time, so my lil' b and marmallow are at daycare. I don't know if you recall exactly how long ago it was that I started staying home (over a year and a half) but this has been divine. I miss them just the right amount, and they hardly miss me at all. As it should be. I'm not an apron-strings kind of mama.

As lil' b has gotten bigger, he has become an active participant in my crafting. For the quilt, he helped me select fabrics and lay out the design. Part of the deal is, as long as he remains patient with me, I'll work with him to make a queen-sized quilt for his bed next.

what's been developing

2009-10-12T21:15:00.005-04:00

First up, Daddy-B's new socks, as modeled by me. :)

Followed by the first serious felting job I've ever done, a little tote for my Mom:

And finally, my latest Etsy sale, the sunny day quilt. I love this quilt!

Other than that, I have two pair of socks on the needles, Sissy's Baptism dress (of course), and a new shawl from the sweet new yarn my mom bought me.

socks alive

2009-09-27T20:52:00.002-04:00

No new pictures today, but I thought I'd try to get an update in before we get too close to Sissy's October arrival. I'm in the thick of her Baptism dress, but of course I got distracted with an old WIP. A pair of brown socks.

I started the brown socks right after Christmas for Daddy-B, and I had deserted them after finishing one and a half. They are finally done now, and once I can coax him to try them on, I'll have pictures, but they are this beautiful tweedy brown that I knitted in a boxed pattern. Nice and woolly and warm.

Well, of course that reignited my sock-love. So I just HAD to frog that twined green sock and start a fresh basketweave pattern with it. So now Sissy's little Baptismal dress lies at the bottom of the green project bag, neglected, while I keep telling myself that I'll go right back to it after this next round on the basketweave sock.

Meanwhile, my handmade-loving yet absolutely not crafty mother has assigned me two new projects for her. Which I can't turn down because she also buys not only the yarn and patterns for her projects, but she wins me over by feeding my stash. Gah! Poor, poor Sissy. Being second sucks. At least I did complete the afghan I promised her, painted the letters for her room, and tried (in general) very hard to duplicate the preparations we made for lil' b.

pictures galore

2009-08-26T09:00:00.006-04:00

Though without a model until the end of October, here is the completed sweater for Sissy.

It was made in Snuggly Bubbly pink, the pattern is 1618 from Sirdar. It worked up pretty quickly, of course, since it's a newborn size.

On to the Etsy quilts!

This one I am calling Pink Mum since it has a floral pattern and lots of mum fabrics. lil' b actually picked out the fabrics for this almost entirely on his own.

This is the gender-neutral Spartan quilt. It's tough to be gender-neutral when you are working with base colors of hunter green and white, but I think it turned out great!

And finally, this is the Cherries Jubilee quilt with old-fashioned cherry fabric, plaids, sparkles, and flor de lis. I just love how this turned out, so feminine and cute!

I am happy to report that all buyers were delighted with their quilts, so hopefully the good word spreads and I get some more business. Until then, just waiting for the LYS to open so I can start a new in-betweeny project. :)

on a roll

2009-08-26T05:56:00.007-04:00

So I have a couple new quilts to show you and a finished baby Snuggly Bubbly sweater in pastel pink. But I haven't uploaded all the pictures yet!

I am visiting my parents at the lake right now, and foolishly thought that one knitting project alone was going to keep me occupied for the week. Like that has EVER happened. So here I am, 6 on Wednesday morning, without a scrap of fabric to quilt or row of knitting to work on. And of course, no yarn shops are open at this hour. Though it seems to me that LYS's should have the same hours as bars. I can't be the only person who has ever had a late-night craving for yarn.

At any rate, due to the hour and the lack of projects to busy my fingers, I thought I'd do an actual blog entry.

With my big brother sweater and accompanying baby sweater complete, I have one more "need to finish" left on my due date list... a white knitted Baptism gown. I have about 64 days remaining before Sissy is due to arrive. And I have a feeling that, unlike last time, I will not have all that down time during naps and nursing to work on any serious project.

I also have to start thinking past due date and forward to Christmas crafting. I am planning to make the ice cream cozy for my mom, finish up a pair of socks for Daddy-B, make a tailgate quilt for my sister, perhaps some new felt pillows for my brother-in-law, and then I need to dream up some other craft projects for the in-laws, lil' b and Sissy. Any suggestions? I am thinking perhaps an Itty Bitty Baby hat for Sissy, and I saw a pretty wicked fish hat pattern that lil' b might love. But the in-laws. Hmmm. Maybe I could make some felt pillows for them as well, they seem to enjoy pillows. I also have a lovely pair of twining vines socks on the needles that I could gift to my mother-in-law, but I so love them for myself!

And now, on to something I haven't had time for in months... reading my favorite blogs!!

a sweater for a big brother

2009-07-24T10:46:00.004-04:00

Here it is! My first sweater:And here is the proud big brother-to-be modeling it. It's a bit oversized, on purpose. I want him to get a lot of life out of it. The pattern is from Ella Rae Women & Children Book 4.

How awesome! I can't wait to finish up his little sister's!

stitching away

2009-07-20T10:47:00.004-04:00

This is the second etsy purchase I've completed so far! (about 15th sold, but second through Etsy) She wanted a quilt that looked similar to one I'd already done, so this is what I came up with. I also finished this top:

Not sure if I want to complete a quilt and try to sell a completed one, or see if someone wants to choose the border/backing, or keep it for the new baby...

Updates in babyland: We are now just about 26 weeks along, and found out that we are expecting a little GIRL this time! So we will have one of each. :) So far, we are telling everyone that her name is going to be Consuela Juanita Maria. And yes, I'm kidding.

I'm almost finished with lil' b's big brother sweater, too, I can't wait to see it finished and to share it on here! I have two pairs of socks still on the needles, a Baptism dress waiting in the wings, and the start of another quilt and a little sister sweater. Lots going on!

*** ETA: I have to make a note to add THIS to my Christmas knitting.

a VIB and my first sale

2009-04-25T21:53:00.004-04:00

First things first, my Very Important Blanket...

It may not look all that special, but this is the blankie that will wrap our new baby! That's right, we are due with #2 at the end of October. Lil' b is very excited to be a big brother. His blanket, if you remember, was the same pattern in green and white. The new nursery is going to be orange and cream, thus the cool color combo above.

Second, my first Etsy sale! This quilt is done in the school colors of Notre Dame (Navy and Gold) and its sister school, St. Mary's (Sky and White). I am really pleased with how it turned out.

I won't lie, I'm also really pleased to being making a little money doing something I really love.

ETSY!

2009-03-27T12:46:00.001-04:00

www.hookandneedlearts.etsy.com

going bananas

2009-03-16T11:57:00.004-04:00

As promised, here are the pictures of my cousin-in-law's baby quilt. I was originally thinking the very unoriginal Noah's Ark (she's very religious) but when I saw this blue monkey flannel my resolve began to crumble...
And then I found cotton monkey fabric AND banana fabric, and I gave in to temptation. It's easier to see if you open the full picture, but yes, we have bananas.

She's having a little boy, and I thought this made a perfect baby boy blankie. She loved it, too, which makes everything worthwhile. Now I am working on a crochet blanket that has been a resting WIP for over a year. Any guesses? I also have two pairs of socks on the needles, and a plan to make my very first sweater. Updates to come!

three years

2009-03-10T13:45:00.004-04:00

My lil' b is not so little anymore!

He requested a Bowling/Shark party for his third birthday this past weekend. We had five 2-5 year-olds and five under 12 months. What to do for favors? Why, awesome bowling shirts for the older boys, and plush bowling pins for the babies.

Here's lil' b trying on his own shirt. He was super excited about these gifts and couldn't wait to hand them out as his guests arrived.

I've also been quilting, as my plan for Etsy now includes baby quilts. I made this one for a baby shower I went to a few weeks ago. The Daddy-to-be is a big Ohio State fan, so I went with scarlet and grey.I have another that I made for a cousin's baby shower, but the pictures are still in the camera.

I've been just terrible about blogging and also about making it to my knitting nights at Ewe-Nique. But I have been keeping my needles, sewing machine, and hooks very busy. So I hope to have more updates on a more regular basis as the countdown to Etsy launch begins.

semi-bitty and itty-bitty

2009-01-22T14:13:00.002-05:00

I've been in love with Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Hats book. I got it for Christmas and have fixated on the Candy Cane hat. I haven't done the striped look she instructs in the book, but instead went with flecked hats and solid poms. The green one is a recycled old sweater of mine with sparkly forest pom, and the newborn-sized one is knit with double yarn strands - a solid worsted weight white and a sport weight navy with navy pom.

The green one is lil' b's, he loves it and wears it everywhere. I made him a coordinating set of mittens (no pic yet) with a stripe of the green fleck on a cream wool background, also made from a recycled sweater.

I've been really into recycling old sweaters lately. I feel less guilty about knitting all the time when I'm reusing materials rather than buying new yarn all the time. Plus, it's exciting to find new uses for old things.

a little holiday cheer

2009-01-08T13:09:00.004-05:00

Would you like to see this year's wine batch? Here it is, wrapped up in a wintery wine cozy that I sewed up as a gift bag.And here it is, showing off one of the three wine tasting sets I made as gifts for my tasting party friends. If you haven't had a wine tasting party, the idea behind these bags is to conceal the label for blind tasting. Each bag has a different lettered label for scoring. This black bag is the example from my sister's gift set.
And here is the gorgeous label my designer friend worked up for us. This year's wine was a Riesling, which we named Liquid Mistletoe.
For Christmas I was lucky enough to get a gift certificate to a LYS near my parents' house, so I've been plotting my purchases. So far I bought two skeins of Plymouth Yarns Encore D.K. in a lovely tan to make some socks (hopefully for Daddy-B, but we'll see). It's my first time knitting socks with a pattern of interest instead of letting the striping do the work. I also bought a Ella Rae Women and Children sweater pattern book, I just need to choose a yarn and decide on a pattern.

lounging around

2008-12-14T20:50:00.006-05:00

Here is my handsome model in his tractor lounge pants:And here is the complete set (minus the Christmas pair, which I won't post until the recipient gets to see them):

some winter knits

2008-11-22T14:40:00.005-05:00

So I made some socks.The color isn't exactly me, but since my mom picked out the yarn, these will be a Christmas gift for her. I think she'll love them. Then I had some extra yarn and made these, based on PSSO's blog and a suggestion from Chel.

Daddy-B wasn't too fond of the pink for lil' b though, so I also made these:

We wound up giving the pinkish mittens to the only little girl among my friends' children. Besides, lil' b was so ready to be rid of them once he tried the blue stripey ones on. :)

Hopefully I'll have some sewing projects to post soon. I have a bunch of lounge pants done, and for some reason, no pictures yet. I'll get some soon, I promise.

finally on ravelry

2008-11-04T15:26:00.001-05:00

It took forever, but I am finally on Ravelry! Look me up!

HnN (Hook & Needle)

the joys of september

2008-10-02T10:46:00.009-04:00

A boy searching for the Great Pumpkin:

A hot air balloon on a crisp morning.

First, let me warn you that I've been reading Animal Vegetable Miracle.

Second, let me assure you that I am so not a hippie.

But, I do believe in the power of the almighty dollar, particularly in troubled times like these. I think that, as the economy crumbles all around us, the desire to support your local businesses, and the desire to become more self/community sufficient strengthens into a need.

I've written before about my longing to connect lil' b to his world, through planting, composting, crafts, and so forth. So none of that is new. But I just wanted to give you a background as to why this month's FOs are so, well, varied.

Next, a loaf of bread:
lil' b and I made this beautiful crusty olive oil bread from scratch. Granted, it's not terribly sexy, but it was terribly delicious. He was so proud to help with it, he would not stop talking about it or eating it!

Next, the tomato:
He and I planted these as seedlings in April. But apparently, the words true for realtors are also true for container tomatoes. Location, location, location. By the time we figured out that the back patio was not hot enough to produce fruits, it was already mid-July. So this greenie and his two brethren are the only tomatoes we grew this year. Today, as the days get a lot chillier, they are still fighting to turn red. Two of them look like they are going to make it.

And then, there is Charlie Brown:
I made this shirt to sell to a friend of Daddy-B's. I think it turned out pretty sweet, considering I had no idea how to do the stripe at the outset.

Finally, a vest:

I made this for my mom, and then taught her how to make her own (as I was becoming her personal sweatshop). Normally, I'd be content to do them for her, but as all the crafters know, I am neck-deep in Christmas present-making right now and don't have time to indulge her "vest of every color" whims.

help please!

2008-09-12T11:59:00.002-04:00

Does anyone have a cool, unisex, easy, and fast pattern for winter hats and mittens?

Also, I have some FOs, but no pictures yet. I hope to get them up soon!

tailgate quilt complete

2008-08-30T21:49:00.004-04:00

Finally, after months of trudging this thing to and from the machine, it is complete!

Nearly 5' by nearly 7', it's the perfect snuggly quilt for chilly football days.

Just in time, too! First game of the season is today, first tailgate next week. Hooray!

birthday shirts

2008-08-23T21:18:00.004-04:00

Since we haven't given them to the recipients yet, I had my darling boy model the pair of shirts I made for his friends. His friends are twin boys, so we went with similar, but different. Here's orange:

And here's the red one:

I am so excited to give these two away!

another day, another rad shirt

2008-08-18T21:19:00.001-04:00

How sweet is THIS?!?
My family is telling me to Etsy these guys. Afterall, it's pretty tough to find this style for little guys.

shirt and blanket pictures

2008-08-14T13:46:00.003-04:00

So here is the latest baby quilt:
I did the quilting a little differently, with five freestyle stars stitched into it for a little visual interest:
And the backing was a soft flannel-y cotton this time, much more baby-blanket-like.
And (drumroll please) heeeeeeere's the shirt!
Isn't it handsome on him? It's a little big because he's a shortie and because I did a 3T instead of a 2T (so we get some extra life out of it). But I love love love it! I can't wait to try making one in every color and pattern!

omg, I made it!

2008-08-13T13:14:00.005-04:00

I made a shirt! I did it! I did it!

I don't have pictures because my camera is in Daddy-B's car today.

But, I made a shirt for lil' b! My first ever attempt at buttonholes was a success! I can't wait to show you pictures of that and the other baby quilt I finished up last week.

We have a sort of tradition in my family of getting matching shirts for the guys. Daddy-B, PopPop, and my brother-in-law get matching shirts each Christmas, always Hawaiian style. Last year, my mom scoured the internet to find a Hawaiian shirt that would fit everyone from PopPop to lil' b. It was a huge effort. So I thought, if I could learn how to make a shirt, then I could just scavenge the material from a spare XXL and make lil' b's matching shirt each year. And I learned how to do it! I am so psyched! Now it's a matter of figuring out how to scavenge the fabric from an already made shirt. Then my next dream is to make everyone Christmas lounge pants... you know, for opening gifts together.

I'm also working on a vest for my mom. She swears that if I can do it easily, she'll have me teach her and actually make vests for herself. I'll believe this bit of craft-related storytelling when I see it... she has started and given up more craft ideas that I can count. I keep thinking, this will be the art that sticks! And I keep being wrong. ;) Her vest is halfway finished, I just need to go get the lining.

I did wind up finishing one white ankle sock for lil' b. I didn't like how it looked, plus it was too small, so I pitched that. And in my spare time I'm working away on my mock Fair Isle socks. Those will be a Christmas gift for mom. Christmas gifts!! It's time to start working on those, too!

no more laddering

2008-08-04T07:36:00.004-04:00

Hooray! Second pair of socks is complete! And I am so much happier with them this time.

This yarn is wonderful. Regia in Partie. It's really a fun yarn to work with. Although I did have to baby powder my hands a few times to keep it from sticking on the needles. But the colors are so rich, and the self-striping pattern is just long enough to make a discernable repetition tough to find.

The heel is a lot tighter this time and I figured out how to eliminate the laddering issues I had last time. Probably everyone else knows this, but apparently when you work with dpns in the round, if you keep the incoming needle on top of the previous needle, it automatically tightens your first stitch--thus, no more laddering. But I just figured it out this time, and now I am even more in love with sock making than before. I think it may be time to venture off my tried and true k3, p3 pattern and try something a little more daring.

Of course, I thought I'd try using up some random white sock yarn that I have in my stash first with a pair of ankle socks for lil' b. So that's well underway. And it sounds like I will have another crochet blanket on deck soon, which is exciting. I haven't crocheted a blanket since... well, since I discovered quilting. So it'll be refreshing to pick up the hook again.

tote and a blanket

2008-07-29T14:17:00.005-04:00

Care for a cute tote to carry your onions home? How about this little lady?
I made this, originally, to add to my "Must Have More FOs If I'm Gonna Etsy" stash, but, like so many of my FOs, I've discovered a friend who absolutely must have this for her shopping.

And here is the newest baby blanket for the little brother-to-be of one of lil' b's friends.

The nursery theme is jungle, so I tried to go with bold colors, animal prints, and a little bit of wild animal flair. Note purple croc, blue lizard, red cheetah, and abstract giraffe squares.

So I HAVE been crafting, despite long gaps between posts. But with it being summer, I have been trying to take advantage of my at-home status by spending oodles of time with lil' b, as I know it's only a matter of time before I do go back to work. I am well aware that these sweet days of just the two of us will be some of my fondest memories when he is all grown up with a family of his own.

Additionally, I've been trying to complete items on my Life List. Mine is rather short (I want it to be achievable or I'll regret whatever I fail to achieve). Read the 10 greatest novels, watch the 10 greatest films, learn Spanish, and learn to salsa. That's it. I figure, if I can complete these things and there is still time, I'll add new items. With that, I'd like to ask, what are some of the things on YOUR Life List?

tote green

2008-07-12T20:47:00.003-04:00

I got a little bored with round after round of p3, k3, so I took a break from sock-making to whip up this delightful little farmer's market tote.

It's based (loosely) off of this pattern. I modified it by using green Sugar & Cream yarn (one skein plus a smidge), and a 5.5 mm hook. Only five rounds on the base, eleven total rounds of mesh, two rounds of edge and handles. A bit more tweaking there, too.

This tote went home with my sister, but I love it, so I'll probably make more. Plus, I don't know what the heck else Sugar & Cream yarn is good for. :)

things I love today

2008-06-26T13:54:00.000-04:00

That counting to three really works (this amazes me every time)

That the little man patted my hand to comfort me at the dentist

That yarn is just a few twisty knots away from being fabric

That fabric is just a few snips and turns away from being an object

That coffee always tastes better the second day

That often, I can be surprised to find that I have just enough supplies to make a batch of baked goodness

That being a mom has forced an old dog (me) to learn lots of new tricks

That I can recite his favorite bedtime stories without looking at the words

giraffes

2008-06-20T12:56:00.007-04:00

This is the blanket that got away from me before I took pictures. Luckily, the recipient was kind enough to take these pictures and send them to me. The nursery is a gender-neutral yellow with giraffes. So the blanket is a gender-neutral yellow with giraffes.

Here is the front:

That's six tiny giraffes sewn on and plushed up in the Trapunto style. Hey, I never realized how a human model might help to show the size before! That's neat!

Here's the back...
The back is a solid fabric backing (yellow with polka dots) but I added a large soft giraffe applique to give it some interest. I really like the way this turned out.

In addition to this FO, I also had two more not worth photographing... very basic (yet very time-consuming) pillows for our couch. We've decided we hate the existing couch pillows (way too big and all misshapen from el poocho lounging on them) so we're outfitting our tan couch set with red and yellow pillows to match our drapes. That's an ongoing process, though I might take a photo or two once the transformation is complete.

And of course, socks. Delicious, lovely socks. Did I mention how much I love socks?

you'd think, with the extra time, there'd be FOs

2008-06-16T10:38:00.002-04:00

And you'd be right. Except I gave it away before I took pictures! Hopefully I can get some soon.

I'm working on my second pair of socks, they are fabulous. Ahhh, I can't wait to wear them.

I'm also hoping to make a Hawaiian shirt for the little man and perhaps some lounge pants.

Well, sorry this is so brief, I haven't got much to say.

economic downturn

2008-06-04T12:30:00.002-04:00

So the lousy economy has finally struck los CdF. Laid off. Oh, what a crummy way to start a Tuesday. Or any other day, for that matter.

My biggest concern in this whole mess is lil' b's school. He loves it there. Like, a lot. Like, more than most people like anything. The kind of love that makes him wake up in the morning with a smile on his face as he announces "Mama , I awake now, go to school!" Of course, with my being home (until I find full-time employment again), and our newly one income household, it doesn't make a lick of sense to keep paying for daycare. And yet, and yet...

This morning, my first ever as a member of the unemployed, I helped get lil' b ready for what we presume will be his last day of school for an indefinite time. "School! School!" he yells, running around the room, listing off his favorite teachers and friends by name. Then he looks up at me with those gorgeous pure blue eyes, and says "Mommy go work now? I go school?" *sigh* I wish I were going to work. Instead I'm fastened to my laptop by the fingertips, searching like a mad woman for a job that will let him stay in his beloved school.

So if anyone out there has any need for a copywriter (freelance or otherwise), drop me a line. I need to get this kid back at school.

knit wins

2008-05-13T08:29:00.004-04:00

Which crafter among you thought that knitting would win out?

At least I have finished socks to show off now!

You can see the heel is a bit loose. I wonder if I should shrink up the number of rows in the heel flap next time...

But I love them, they are mine, they are wonderful! And I've already begun my next pair. Much brighter yarn this time.

Now a question for experienced sock makers... How do I wash these without stretching them out? And what are those cool wooden things you can slip inside them? What do they do?

nap or knit?

2008-05-09T12:23:00.003-04:00

I can never decide.

I just put lil' b down for his nap and fell asleep on the floor next to his crib. Of course I woke up, but I had been hoping to knit during his nap... I'm really making progress on the second sock (I can't WAIT to wear these things! ACK!) but if I'm tired enough to pass out on his floor, maybe I should be sleeping... and I REALLY shouldn't be blogging.

How do you decide what to do with your "free" time? I feel like all the blogs I visit crank through projects much faster than I do. Is this because I'm a slow knitter or because you people don't sleep? When do you get your knitting done? Do you knit while your kids play? Do you carry your knitting with you to the playground? I knit while lil' b and I watch movies (far too often for my taste) and while I watch TV in the evenings after he goes to sleep (which is only about an hour, before I go to sleep). Sometimes I knit during his nap, but I have a filthy house when I do that. Often, I have knit rather than eat lunch.

There are simply not enough hours, and I do not have enough hands. And I really want to finish these socks!

cinco de mayo & a festival of color

2008-05-05T05:51:00.008-04:00

The pictures don't really do the colors justice, but here is the latest baby quilt. Our friends are expecting their second, and they don't know the gender. The nursery is blue, though, so I tried to come up with a color palette that could say boy or girl with blue as the main color. I wound up with a candy-colored top:

Here's a close-up:

With a dreamy night sky for the backing:

Fun for daytime, relaxing for night. Or at least, that was the idea. Sort of the mullet of baby quilts.

Saturday was our friends' baby shower, the one we gave the green quilt to. Lil' b had a great time, and did really well basically without a nap. He has a much more physical friend who was also there, and he held his own, which is good. Anyway, in addition to the gifts for the mama-to-be, Daddy-B also got this book for her husband. It was the only gift he got all day.

Today is Cinco de Mayo, one of our family's favorite holidays. We usually like to have a party the weekend of Cinco de Mayo, but with our friends' shower last weekend and Mother's Day this weekend, we couldn't schedule anything that anyone would be able to come to. However we are planning to head out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, so that counts for something, right?

so easy being green

2008-04-27T20:50:00.003-04:00

A finished object! This is a gift for a good friend of mine who is expecting her first. They don't know if they are having a boy or a girl, but they are fellow Spartans, so I figured green and white would be a safe bet. :)

I'm about to start up my final quilt (for the time being). It's hard to believe I may actually get a break in all the baby-ness. Finally a moment to complete my socks! Let's hope!

boy quilt post-holiday

2008-04-20T09:41:00.003-04:00

Only one finished object, but it's a pretty one!

I actually took a two-week vacation and did not bring a single thread with me. Two-weeks craft-free.

Now I'm starting up my next quilt, a green, gender-neutral one for one of my good friends who is expecting her first in early June.

We spent our two weeks in Cancun with the whole family. It was wonderful. I gained two pounds, Daddy-B put on five. So yes, lots of eating. :) Lots of sun, lots of adventures. Lil' b is reaching an age where vacations are both more fun and more challenging. He remembers what he did over his trip, he'll tell you about turtles, pirates, and iguanas.

gone, gone, gone

2008-04-02T09:18:00.003-04:00

I will be absent from my blog for a short while, so please don't lose hope that I am never coming back.

I will be back, with tales to tell and (hopefully) FOs to show off.

Until then, keep on keepin' on.

identical twins or long-lost brothers?

2008-04-01T14:35:00.002-04:00

It wasn't until I saw K-Fed on the cover of a tabloid and had to do a doubletake that it occurred to me... these guys are eerily similar-looking.

I'm not really into the whole celebrity thing and I really don't give a damn what Britney does or doesn't do with her kids, but I found this interesting. :) So I thought I'd share.

addiction

2008-03-31T11:09:00.002-04:00

Hi, my name is Mamacita, and I'm a craftaholic.

So I finished and delivered the pink checkered blanket today, two days ahead of schedule. I didn't take any pictures, but it looks just like this one that I did earlier this year.

No sooner did I pop the blanket in the washer then I immediately set to work cutting the quilt blocks for the little boy blanket. By the time Daddy-B got home from work on Friday, I'd had the completed checker blanket folded and ready with my laptop case for Monday and I was kneeling on the floor arranging fabric squares. He just shook his head.

We stayed up to watch that tragedy of a basketball game Friday night, during which Daddy-B had the audacity to ask me not to use my sewing machine so he could hear the TV. I sat still on the couch, hands empty, for maybe forty seconds, before digging out my sock project tote. Again, he shakes his head.

By Sunday afternoon, the quilt was almost complete. By this point I was sitting on the couch with the sewing machine humming along (haha, I accidently typed sexing machine... I wonder if that's a Freudian slip?), stash to my left, sock tote to my right, and wondering aloud which project I should pack for my upcoming flight, and Daddy-B finally confronts me with it.

"Babe, I think you have a problem."

Me?

I didn't know that crafting could be an addiction. But alas:

Definition:

[n] an abnormally strong craving
[n] being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs)

check and quilt

2008-03-27T06:58:00.008-04:00

First, a picture of the checkered blanket that I am really crunched for time on (I have to finish it by this coming Wednesday morning - eek!). Thankfully, we have a great DVD set to keep lil' b occupied while I crochet.

Then the quilt fabrics! I am very excited about this quilt, which is an added motivator for finishing up the checkered blanket. Here are the six fabrics that will be used on the top:

And the backing:

wonderful Wondertime, side projects, and spring

2008-03-25T12:06:00.003-04:00

So I got a little jing-a-ling a few weeks back from my all-time favorite magazine, Wondertime. I hesitated posting about it because I hadn't signed anything yet, but they chose one of my reader comments to print in the next issue. Pretty sweet! It's not a big-deal article or anything, but it's Wondertime, people! I'm very excited!

I've been furiously crocheting the last of my crochet projects (for now). It's a pink and white (yawn) checkered blanket for a friend. Then it's off into the lively world of baby quilts! I have three on deck, two gender neutral and one all boy. My mother picked out the fabrics for the boy's quilt, and I hope to post pictures of them soon, they are so fresh and bright... it's going to make an awesome quilt.

And spring... ah yes, spring is lurking around the corner. I live in a townhouse/condo type of arrangement, so my gardening (which used to be my passion in my old house) has had to adapt. Last year we grew tomatoes in containers on our front steps. This year I planted some pumpkin seeds indoors to germinate. This has a dual purpose - one, to transplant into the burm behind our house later this year, and two, to show lil' b how plants grow. He helped me with the tomato plants last year (as much as he could, being about 16 months old), so he has an idea of what those terra cotta pots are for, but this year I hope to bring a little nature right up close in his own room. The pumpkin seeds are planted in an old frosting container. Reuse, baby.

Daddy-B is not an environmentalist. At all. In fact, he's practically an anti-environmentalist. So it has been an uphill battle in our home to achieve even marginally green ideas (for example, we already have a recycle bin, and pay for recycling pick up, but if I didn't put things in the recycle bin, no one would). He hated my composter in our old yard and I swear he'd deliberately be the guy to crack our eggs in the morning just to throw them away instead of compost them. But I have managed to talk him into growing a lot of our own vegetables or buying them at farmer's markets. All of this said, it is important for me to teach lil' b about food and plants and the earth. I wouldn't call myself an enviromentalist either, but I want to make sure my son knows I'm a far cry from sticking my head in the sand.

pirate booty

2008-03-14T22:09:00.002-04:00

Well, for my fiftieth blog post, I thought I'd stick with the parenthood theme. Also, I haven't completed any project yet.

Since I don't "do" pictures, I thought I'd do the next best thing... another back shot!

This is lil' b in his new pirate outfit. A friend made it for him, she's still finishing up the hat.

What a dashing privateer, eh?

can we be done with winter, please?

2008-03-12T08:10:00.003-04:00

Sorry, no new pictures to put up... I've been very lax about getting to the store for yarn, and the other sock is taking a little time.

Lil' b turned two last weekend, which was great fun. I can't believe he's so big! I made him a cake shaped like a Jolly Roger (as one of our friends was kind enough to share "It's not every day you see a birthday cake that looks like the universal symbol for poison, 'cita.")

It's sort of bittersweet for me, that only two years have passed and yet he's come so far from when he was born. I wonder how much I have changed in two years. It doesn't seem like much. I hope I am a better person. I think about that every day, trying to be the kind of person I want lil' b to be, and to look for in a spouse. Obviously, no one is perfect, but I hope he is learning little things about humanity, decency, and kindness from Daddy-B and I.

I have noticed that he has picked up (nature? nuture? who knows...) some of our tendencies already. For instance, he loves a good back rub - it will put him right to sleep. That is definitely mamacita's gene right there. He also loves to cook and share his pretend meals with Daddy-B and I - something he inherited from his dad.

The strangest thing was when he took his toast, eggs, and sausage and made them into a little sandwich before eating them. That is an uncommon quirk that Daddy-B and I share - one of the little things that just clicked with us, in a trivial soulmate sign kind of way (oh wow, you do that too? how sweet, and how strange...).

There is a book, The Five Love Languages, that talks about how people show love in different ways. Daddy-B loves by doing - he cleans, he prepares our meals, he works hard and puts in long hours to show his love. I show my love physically, through touch. Kissing owies, ruffling hair, giving hugs, and holding hands. I wonder how lil' b will show his love. I don't think it is physical, he's never big on getting or giving hugs. And I don't think it's by doing, not yet anyway.

Everyday he is finding new ways to say "I am my own person." Perhaps he will show love in a way completely unique from Daddy-B and I. I am eager to find out.

sock it to me

2008-02-29T09:42:00.003-05:00

A finished sock! A finished sock!

Pardon my white, white skin... Lack of sunlight. :) But isn't the sock cool?

The wool is OnLine Supersocke 100 in Sierra. It's a really simple pattern, just a k3,p3 ribbing. I didn't want to complicate things, since it was my first sock. Cast on 4 size 2 dpn.

Yay! Now to complete the second one...

quilts

2008-02-26T20:08:00.009-05:00

Two completed projects in one!

A friend of mine, who hopefully does not check this blog, is expecting twins. Her nursery colors are yellow, brown, and white. So I made her these two baby quilts for her upcoming shower.

An interesting thing about this is that Daddy-B got involved. He's far pickier than I am, and he had all kinds of opinions about what fabrics I should use. Finally, I told him he could pick out and design the top of one of the quilts if he'd leave me alone to do what I wanted with the other. We decided that the backing would be the same, to ensure that the two went well together, but this way, each blanket was unique.

This is my blanket, traditional checks with quilting in the ditch:

Here's a closer look so you can see what the quilting pattern looked like:

And this is Daddy-B's. He chose the colors and the design, but I decided on the quilting pattern. I thought diagonals meeting in the center worked best.

A closer look at the quilting pattern:

Final size is about 34" x 34".

These were such fun to work on, and my first experience with quilting. It took two weeks to complete them both, which is a heck of a lot faster than crocheting, which was my original plan.

The fabric is 100% cotton novelty fabric, with a low-loft poly batting, self-binding seam. Huge props to Quilting for Dummies, that book was a big help.

I was inspired to try making these because a friend of mine made a small quilt for lil' b, and he loves it. I'm hooked now. I think a lot of my expectant friends will be getting quilts.

There is still a pink and white checked blanket on the hook, and a sock on the needles. But it is a huge relief to have these two blankets out of the way. Hopefully the projects will be coming a bit more fast and furious now.

missing in action

2008-02-12T08:29:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been mssing, though I'm not sure too many folks noticed... I've been working on some pretty repetitive projects (yet more pink and white checked blankets) so no really cool pictures to share. I am hoping to start working on a pair of quilts, and I made a nifty cell phone case for my new cellie, so maybe I'll have things to share soon. :)

Keep craftin' people!

de-stashing versus selling projects

2008-01-29T09:50:00.000-05:00

I find myself in a quandry. Perhaps I'm just a bit dim today (this has been known to happen, I know) but I found myself pondering the fine line (as it appears to me) between a de-stash and selling completed items.

There has been some discussion recently about the morality/legality of selling a completed project whose design is not your own. Some think it's okay, some think it's not. I am curious where a de-stash falls in this argument. To some extent, it has not become an FO, as in a cute sweater or whatnot, but it IS an FO, inasmuch as the yarn maker made it to sell for their personal profit. Isn't a de-stash, then, a bit like scalping tickets? Or is it more like reselling a book on Amazon? And, enlighten me please, what's the difference? Why is one legal and one illegal?

I'm not sure I'm making sense.

I wonder if there is a legal precedent for this sort of thing.

No one would want my stash at this point anyway... it's loaded with acrylics.

presto, change-o

2008-01-24T21:11:00.000-05:00

The Nightshade Mitts are complete!
And yes, same hand, different mitt. (I took the pictures with my other hand...)

I forgot to mention before, but, giving credit where credit is due, this is based off the Kalamazoo Knits pattern. Quick, easy easy easy pattern, and VERY flexible and forgiving with yarns. I wear my red pair all the time. So I hope my coworker loves these as much as I love mine.

So I'm working on my socks for now. But I imagine I'll be switching back to another pink baby blanket over the weekend. Gotta get those done!

Oooh, and I wanted to share... I have been quilting! This is going to be a year-long project, I think. So no pictures yet. But I've finally begun a project I've been dreaming of for years--a tailgating quilt made of our old college t-shirts. I have the top squares all sewn together, but I need to get the backing, the batting, and the border fabric. Keep your fingers crossed that the finished piece all comes together in time for tailgate season!

shady

2008-01-23T13:36:00.000-05:00

Isn't this yarn just wicked?
I just love it. A vortex of wintery bluster... It looks like frostbite, doesn't it?

This is the yarn I just bought yesterday at my LYS, Foliage from Berrocco. The color is called Nightshade. So fabulous. Actually, lil' b picked it out. He has fantastic taste. Although, he called it pink...

I'm making a pair of Fingerless Mitts for one of the girls I work with. And this yarn just begged for the job. How can you say no to a yarn like this?

Thank God I'm getting paid for this stuff. I could never afford the yarn tastes I'm developing otherwise.

So I have one sock on needles, one mitt on needles, and a blanket on the hook. Yikes. When am I going to find time to play with my kid?

Also, does anyone know of an acrylic in a fabulous chocolate color? I need a bunch of it, and butter yellow, for a pair of blankets.

ripp-it, ripp-it

2008-01-21T09:44:00.000-05:00

There are frogs on this blog today. Because I just ripped out almost an entire sock. It was sort of sad, a little frustrating, but I'm actually pretty optimistic about it.

As my first sock attempt, it was looking good, but I really was deluding myself that it would be wearable (and that I'd like it enough to finish the pair) but I chugged along. Ignored the warning signs.... seems a bit big, a bit loose, not too keen on that laddering happening there... don't really dig the way the pattern works with the self-stripe of the yarn. And then it happened.

I tried it on. Still ignoring the size. And it stretched a good 9 inches up my calf, and was almost complete through the foot. In doing so, I dropped three stitches and unraveled back two or three rows on them. Since I don't know how to pick up dropped stitches with anything resembling good craftsmanship, I decided it was a sign. This sock was not meant to be... it was a starter sock, a good chance to try out heel flap and heel turn techniques. I frogged the whole thing.

And now I'm excited again. Because now I can fix those mistakes. With each frog of this sock, I am perfecting my technique. And I will finally, someday, get a beautiful pair of socks that I can wear with pride and show off to friends. And people will say, you made these? They're AWESOME. Were they hard to do? And I'll smile and say, oh no, super easy once you get the hang of it.

feeling pink

2008-01-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

And here it is, the latest baby girl blankie:
Closer:

This style of blanket is one of my favorites. It's a very simple (read = easy to do while watching play-offs without risking ruin when I have to throw it to the floor and chase my toddler away from the fireplace) pattern, but with very cute results. This one was a commissioned blanket for a friend of mine, I hope she likes it!

I also finished up a couple hats. I hope to post pictures soon, but they belong to my camera-shy Daddy-B and lil' b. Yep, matching hats for the men in my life. I am officially a Yuppie. As tacky as I would have called the idea when I was a joie de vivre singleton (was I ever a joie de vivre singleton? I doubt it), it's cute as heck on my two favorite guys. I know, because we've had a bunch of strangers comment on their coolness/hipness, and I know winter hat compliments are pretty uncommon in general. But aside from that, I think it's cute, and since I'm the one wielding the hook, I have the final say. :)

Well, back to the hook and needles. Socks or blanket? Socks or blanket? The eternal debate rages on.

go vote, Michiganders

2008-01-15T08:28:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder for the Michiganders out there... It's Primary Day, so go vote!

Here's the run down they gave on the radio this morning: Polls open 7 AM to 8 PM. When you get there you will register as either Democrat or Republican (I assume there is also a third party option? Just going off what the radio station said...) and receive the appropriate ballot. You also must present photo ID this time.

If you are Republican or are planning to vote Republican, all of your options are on the ballot.

If you are Democrat or are planning to vote Democrat, and you wish to vote for someone other than Kucinich or Clinton, vote UNDECIDED. That's the only way to support Obama, Richardson, or Edwards.

Fill them ballot boxes, people.

frickin' babies

2008-01-07T07:48:00.000-05:00

I have just about had it with friends expecting babies.

I mean, yes, they are my friends, and yes, I am thrilled for them. Every one of them is a blessing in my life, and their children are all miracles - not to mention (and not to be underrated), pre-approved friends for my own darling tot.

But don't they realize what this does to my sock dreams?!?

I have one sock half finished, a pretty number in a small squares pattern. I'm feelin' good, speeding along, learning new stitches and excited about tucking my foot into this glorious sock. I've completed my first heel flap, turned my first heel, completed my first gusset...

And suddenly I learn that I will need to make FOUR baby blankets for June and another for August? Not to mention the commissioned stuff, the first of which is due in February?

I'm not complaining, everyone likes to be wanted, but I'm calling MERCY!

a warm and wooly holiday

2008-01-03T16:05:00.000-05:00

A Homespun hat with a pom for Mom:

Another hat for Mom, this one a night cap, formerly a sweater. Gotta love recycled yarn!

And finally, my glorious new stash of sock yarn. Deee-licious!

august, fin

2007-12-21T13:34:00.000-05:00

Here is it, the completed August, just in time to hand off to my sister this weekend:

I'll spare you the close-ups, since I've shown them so often already.

Ah, the satisfaction of an FO. Now I have a checked blanket on deck, another on the hook and waiting, and a scarf at the ready. But I'm not feeling too eager to launch into any of them, since I know I am mere days from all that delicious sock yarn. So maybe a quick project, or a finishing touch on one of my many WIPs to kill the time?

At any rate, I doubt I'll be updating further until after Christmas, so have a cool yule and a very Merry Christmas!

merry crochetmas, after all

2007-12-21T11:26:00.000-05:00

I can not thank Pretty Crochety enough for loaning me her copy of The Happy Hooker so I could whip up a little extra gift for my dad. Meet the blue and green Boy Beanie:

His old night cap is really pretty cruddy, since it was my first knit project (too small, wrong yarn, seamed poorly, YELLOW...) but because he is my dad, he loved it and wore it all the time. Now, a hat befitting such a fine father.

good spirits

2007-12-20T09:28:00.000-05:00

Raise your glasses, my friends, and toast the latest wine! This is our family's holiday wine for 2007. Like the label? It was designed by one of my very good friends, she's really got a gift.

Naughty or Ice, 2007, Private Reserve

See, now don't you wish you were on my Christmas list? Even if you don't get a knitted gift this year, you'd still get this rich dessert ice wine, with a hint of cranberry. Fa-la-la-la-la!

The edging is done on August and I am sewing on the star points. Pictures of the completed project should be available soon.

edging towards the end of August

2007-12-19T09:02:00.000-05:00

I've finished all of the basic motifs and attached them, as well as weaving in thousands of loose ends. Right now I'm adding the edging, then I'll just need to finish the star points (they are already crocheted and just need to be sewn on). It's looking very nice, I really think it's a great blanket. I hope to have it completed and washed by this weekend.

I just keep dreaming about all of that luscious sock yarn I'll be getting Christmas morning. I can't wait. I know, I do have other blankets I need to get done. But I hope that the sock-making breaks up the monotony. I just found out that the next three blankets on my list are for girls... AGAIN. Fortunately the colors requested were not all pink and white (two are purple and white, which should be fun... haven't done a purple and white blanket yet). And this year, I'm going to start right away on crafting next year's Christmas gifts. Socks all around? We'll see.

Does anyone know if LYS's have after-Christmas sales on good yarn? Not just Christmas yarns, but regular stuff as well?

Also... does anyone have a good, simple, plain pattern for a knit hat, using 7 dpns and sport weight? My dad keeps saying he needs a new night cap, since the one I made him years ago is getting a bit threadbare. Sha-nay-nay, I'll be stopping by to see if you've got the pattern from your blog...

yummy yarn, warm hands

2007-12-11T08:26:00.000-05:00

I so wish I had pictures for you.

I do have them, I guess, but they are still in my camera. I wish I had uploaded them.

Because I am SO excited about the fingerless mitts I just made this past weekend.

Strike that, let's share the pictures!

I used real 100% wool. I got it at yet another LYS (I am hooked, I told you!). I used this gorgeous self-striping wool that I can not, for the life of me, remember the name of.

I knit, rather than crochet, which I was a bit rusty with. Oh, I will have to post pictures. Because they are fabulous. I used size 7 dpns, and I didn't even get any laddering up the sides.

I've never made a knit object I could actually wear, this is so exciting. Oh, when I upload those pictures, there will be PICTURES GALORE! I may have to make a pair of these in every color of the rainbow!

Also, there is much progress on August. I'm thinking about adding an edging the pattern does not call for, but I have to finish the motifs first.

Marshmallow & Holly

2007-11-26T10:15:00.000-05:00

Please shop at Borders this holiday! And while you're there, check out the theme I helped to create with this poem:

Here's what the excerpt looks like in-store: (the photo is courtesy of the illustrator's website, Imaginism Studios)

Hooray for the cuddly bear and his fun fairy friend!

Also, if you'd like a copy of the full poem, I believe it is printed inside the small Marshmallow and Holly calendar at the store. And feel free to ask the booksellers why it isn't available in book format (that's something we were pushing hard for, better luck next year with that).

here we go, a-lys-ing

2007-11-26T08:12:00.000-05:00

Black Friday sure highlighted the differences between my mother and I. We did two very different things on Friday. For Mom, we went to look at jewelry. For me, we went to a LYS.

We started at JoAnn's and Borders. You see, I've decided that I want to learn to make socks. So we had to find a pattern book, and we had to find the yarn and needles. JoAnn's had neither. At Borders we found a good beginner book of sock patterns, but it's not like they sell needles or yarn, now do they?

I had to explain to Mom that not every pattern calls for acrylic worsted weight, socks in particular. I took her to Ewe-Nique Yarns and showed her the sock yarns there. They had a bunch, along with some pre-made socks on display to show the variegation and self-striping in action. The woman working there helped me to pick out good needles and let me know I could come in at any time for a tutorial. It's the first time I've ever made a purchase at a LYS, or ever bought natural fiber yarns. I can see it will become an addiction.

Then we got back in the car to head out and look at jewelry. Jewelry is my Mom's obsession. She's a collector, a connoisseur, and an admirer. On our way there, we discussed the LYS.

"They had lovely things! Why would you buy your yarn anywhere else?" She asked.

I explained it thus:
Say you are in the mood for chocolate. No, not in the mood... you are craving it, and can't stop thinking about it. You'd love to have a good piece of Lindt, but all you have is 65 cents, which is the exact price the vending machine charges for a Hershey bar. Do you buy the Hershey bar to satisfy your craving, or go without chocolate because you will only tolerate the best? In my case, I buy the cheap yarns because otherwise I can't craft. The desire to work yarn in my hands is stronger than the desire to buy high quality yarn. (Plus, some things are just better in acrylic - baby blankets for example, benefit from the softness and durability of acrylic fibers)

Then I tried to put it in Mom terms:
You want a new pair of earrings. A gorgeous pair of diamond studs is what you have in mind, but you can only afford a cheaper pair of zirc's. If your jewelry lust is stronger than your desire for fine things, you buy the zirc's. Because otherwise, you don't get any earrings at all.

"I think I would hold out for the diamonds."

"Of course you would, Mom. Of course you would."

last christmas, I made you a sock

2007-11-20T07:36:00.000-05:00

More specifically, a stocking. Three of them. One for lil' b:
One for mamacita (that's me):

And one for Daddy-B:

When we went looking for the fabric for these stockings, it was a battle. Daddy-B has very particular tastes, and while I usually don't mind, when it comes to crafts, I also have very particular tastes.

We agreed they should all look similiar, but not the same. He wanted velvet stockings - a blue, a red, and a green, all trimmed with silver or grey. I wanted quilt squares. He said "quilt squares look too homemade." I told him that was exactly the point. Some things you want to be mistaken for store-bought. A sweater, for instance, or a really great handbag. A blanket, or (God forbid) a Christmas stocking? Those should look handmade. Otherwise, Target sells velvet stockings for $5.

Thankfully, I won out, and we each have a quilt square patterned stocking, lined and edged with hunter green.

Also, another thing we agreed upon? These suckers need to be large. No petite stockings here. So while I don't have a picture to show you scale, I will tell you that last year, we could fit our 9 month-old completely inside his stocking. Oh yeah, it's Christmas time, and that's how we do!

oh holy crap

2007-11-12T15:22:00.000-05:00

Oh my. Oh dear. Oh my sweet Lord, Christmas morning will be here in a measly 44 days.

Despite crocheting all year, I have not one crocheted item to give this Christmas. How can one call oneself a craftster when nobody will be admiring my stitchwork on nobody's new scarf? Nobody's toes will be kept toasty in nobody's cute new booties? And nobody will be spilling hot cocoa on nobody's new mittens?

I do take solace in the fact that five children will spend Christmas night curled up with a blanket I made. They will wait for sleigh bells to jingle, and the roof to creak under the weight of eight reindeer (nine if you count Rudolph), all snug in their beds thanks to that soft blankie. Just like my own child will enjoy his sugar plum dreams from under his own. And that makes me feel like a craftster all the same.

There will be homemade gifts this year, but there's nothing yarnish about them. And that is the only hint I'll give in that regard, in case recipients are reading this post.

***

In other news, there is progress on August. Two strips complete, five to go. It's looking sharp.

Here's a closer view:

raggedy blankie

2007-11-08T11:36:00.000-05:00

Lil b's first blanket just came out of the dryer, and I noticed how the green is starting to fade a little, and the white has taken on a kind of yellowed tone. It's softer than it ever was, but in a favorite jeans kind of way, not the new teddy bear kind of way it used to be.

The blanket is almost two years old, and it's holding up well. Every time I take it out of the dryer or off his fresh-from-a-nap little body, it's like rediscovering a lost treasure.

A lot of love went into making that blanket. But it is held together entirely by love now.

My little boy is growing up.

hookin' right along

2007-11-03T11:15:00.000-04:00

August is underway! There are three motifs in this blanket - solid blue, stars, and shooting stars.

I did some of each so I could get a feel for difficulty. The shooting stars are the hardest, but all the star ones are kind of challenging. The points have to be crocheted and sewn on separately. Here's a close up of a finished star motif:

Now to decide... get the tough parts done with and then finish with the easier ones, or do the easy ones first so I feel like I'm making progress? So many choices...

But for a baby blanket, I love how unique this will be. No pastels or confetti yarns here!

So I will get a little spare time to work on this today, since Daddy-B is at the big game and its requisite tailgate all day. I also have to clean the house a little though, too. Company is coming tomorrow for a Discovery Toys party. So between baking cupcakes, cleaning, and watching over lil b, I hope to use my free time crocheting this little beauty. Although, it would be awfully nice to take a bath some time, too. Ah, priorities.

treat

2007-11-01T10:03:00.000-04:00

Aaand in this corner, coming in at 24 pounds, the toddlerweight champion of the world...

Liiiiiiiiil BBBBBB!

the end of october

2007-10-28T10:54:00.000-04:00

Here she is, the bane of my existence, October.

And a close up shot:
As you can see, it was clearly the details that took me forever. From afar, October looks like a fairly straight-forward striped blanket. But up close, you can see the scalloped edging and the keyhole design. I'm really quite pleased with how it turned out. Afterall, the recipient will, I'm sure, see it close up more often than far away. And hooray, I managed to finish before the little girl arrived.

Now I'm set with the pink (for now) and will shortly be moving on to August, the shooting star pattern. Then, on to my three newly-commissioned works. But I'm not sure what those will be yet.

In the meantime, I'm keeping my hook warm with work on the new Checked Blanket. I tried to start the Relaxed Cardi but that just isn't going to happen. Anyone know a quick and easy crochet slipper pattern I could use Homespun yarn for?

wip it good

2007-10-24T19:34:00.001-04:00

I just want to prove to everyone that I really am working on stuff here, since it's been a long while since my last finished project.

First, I'd like everyone to meet October:

Not done yet, but so, so close.

Then, the creamsicle-colored Checked Blanket:

Only one strip, but it provided enough diversion to recharge me on October.

And then, not started, but on the chopping block, Relaxed Cardi #2: