WIP Wednesday...and other things (again) :)

It's Wednesday...again. And in the knitting world, it means WIP Wednesday.

Unfortunately, I cannot share pictures yet. I'm working on another hat for the Brown Bag Exchange for the Madison Knitters' Guild. I have a baby sweater and one hat done...and I still have yarn so I'm going to try to make another hat out of the yarn I have left. I have about a week and a half to finish this hat. I think I can do it...if I can just find time to work on it. I still have to block the sweater and other hat and attach the buttons to the sweater. As soon as I can, I'll post pictures :)

Other than that, it's just the usual things that aren't finished...and I still haven't decided about my Icarus Shawl.

Anyway, once the Brown Bag Exchange is finished, I plan to put up the directions for one of the hats. It's one of those hats with the long tails on it and I basically made it up as I went along. So, that means I can publish the pattern :)

What else, what else...oh, I got my swap package the other day. I haven't photographed the goods yet but that may be a plan for today.

I think that's about all that's going on in my little branch of the world today...maybe I'll have more later this week :)

HOOOORAY!

My blog is back :)

My Google Account was hacked yesterday and, as a result, my blog was removed without explanation.

But, it's back. All is well.



THANK YOU!

Friday Favorites: April 15, 2011

Happy Tax Day...except that it isn't. Because it's a holiday in Washington, D.C. today (Emancipation Day, for the record, is actually tomorrow but they celebrate on the weekday closest - which is today), Tax Day has been moved to Monday, April 18th. Not that it matters...our taxes won't be done today or by Monday, either.

But that's a whole other story.

Today is Friday and in the knitting world, it means that I should be posting about Friday Favorites.

I'm not going to post about my knitting, though. I don't have enough of it photographed and I don't really feel like doing it just for this post.

So, I'm going to post about my other favorite thing: Little Man.

 This is one of my favorite pictures of Little Man. It was taken while he was laying on my lap after a bottle...

This one was taken on April 7th. Normally, he doesn't like laying on his tummy. This was one of the few shots I got of him where he wasn't screaming his fool head off.

This one and the next one were also taken on April 7th. This is one of his chew toys...er, teething toys. Whatever. It serves the same purpose.

This one was taken on April 8th, probably after his bath. I'm not really sure...but he's cute so it's all good.

This last one was taken a couple of days ago on April 12th. See, he's wearing a Luther College onesie :) Guess who bought him that....yeah, it wasn't dadddy.










So, those are my Friday Favorites :) Isn't he just adorable?!

Random Thoughts...

I expect that this will be a rambling post. I just have this urge to sit and write something.....so, I'm going to do that.

1. I have entirely too much yarn. But I love my yarn. I'm torn about whether or not I should do a spring destash on Ravelry. I'm tempted to but then once it's gone, it's gone. *sigh*

2. I need to go through my yarn and decide what I'm going to do with it. Of course, I have sweater quantities of several yarns...but I don't know how much yarn constitutes a whole sweater. So....hmmm. I'll need to figure that out.

3. My living room is a disaster area. It's not as horrible as it could be...but I do need to put things away and clean. I have bins of yarn and random knitting/spinning stuff. Oh, and paperwork, a pie tin (from the Pi Day Swap) and a bunch of random things.

4. Husband has a new motorcycle...a Ducati 848EVO (I think it's the EVO, maybe not). I put half the money down on it. It's for his 30th birthday...which is in June. He's going to owe me for quite awhile...

5. I think my laundry needs to be switched. That would be a good idea. I need to put Little Man's laundry away, too. And Husband's. And mine when it's done.

6. I need to spend some time knitting. And spinning. I miss doing it for hours on end :(

7. It's supposed to snow this weekend. It was over 70 yesterday. Seriously. What the hell?

8. We have a pool in the backyard. We put it up last week and filled it with enough water so it wouldn't blow away. The only reason we put it up was because Husband's uncle came last weekend to help build a platform for said pool. The reason we need a platform? For Little Man and me. The way it was before, I couldn't get in/out of the pool without someone else there. Then you add Little Man. There was no way we would be able to get in and out of the pool without someone else there. With the platform, we should be able to do that.

9. I hate cleaning. No, really, I hate cleaning. The only reason I do it is because I get sick of the house looking like a friggin' disaster area. Hrm.

10. I've been watching South Park all week. I think I have a problem. Seriously.

11. I hope the sun stays out...I doubt it but I can dream.

12. I forgot to take pictures of the package I sent off to Megin....oops, I'll have to have her take pictures once she gets it. As long as I remember to take pictures of the package she sends me, then I'll be half-good, right?

13. I think I should feed Little Man........I'll let him sleep a little longer, though.

I told you this was going to be random. *sigh*

Happy Humpy WIP Day.....er, sumpthin'

In my world, and most of the rest of the world, today is Wednesday. This translates into the middle of the work week...which has been nicknamed "Hump Day." In the knitting/spinning/crocheting/crafting community, Wednesday has also been nicknamed "WIP Wednesday."

For those of you that either (1) don't craft or (2) don't remember, "WIP" stands for Work-In-Progress.

So...my WIPs...

I have several projects on needles. My Ahava Shawl is still on time-out. It was naughty at Knit-In and I haven't touched it since then. I'm going to finish it sometime...it's a lovely shawl and it's not that difficult. I just managed to mess up somewhere...I may wind up starting over and using lifelines like no one's business.

I've also got my Basic Socks going. I've finished the first one and I'm still on the leg of the second one. I just don't have as much time to work on it as I'd like. It's one of those things...once I get to the heel flap, I'm going to have to pay attention. I'm not that far away from it...but far enough that I don't have to worry yet.

Then, of course, is my Cobblestone Baby Blanket...I'm hoping to have it done by Little Man's first birthday in November. It's kind of been sitting. It's not difficult and I haven't had any major problems but it takes me ten minutes to do one row (which is, after all, over 160 sts.). It's not something I can do if I'm watching Little Man too closely. Luckily, it's something that can be easily put down and I know where I am when I pick it back up. But...it's not done.

And my Icarus Shawl...I've seriously been considering ripping this out and using the yarn for something different. I love the shawl pattern and I love the yarn and I do love them together...but I feel like I could use that yarn for something different. So, it's hibernating right now...I'll probably make a decision one of these days.

I've also been making Traveling Vines Socks from a stitch pattern. The intention was that they would be for my parasitic alien, which turned out to be Little Man...and they're kind of lacy and girly. So, I have one sock finished and I'm probably through one repeat of the second one...and I don't know where they're going to go. Maybe I'll just hold on to them and see if someone is going to have a girl...oh, wait, I know someone that will be having a girl.

I've also got a baby hat on needles. I don't have a link to it because (1) it's for the Knitters' Guild Brown Bag Exchange and (2) there isn't a pattern for it of any kind, other than the stitch pattern that I borrowed from the matching sweater (again, has no photos because it's for the BBE).

So....WIP Wednesday.

Oh, and I forgot about my biggest WIP. The biggest WIP I have is the house. Going through my grandparents' stuff (crap?) is horribly difficult. We can only throw out so much at a time every week, except for the last garbage pick up of the month. Then we can go nuts (and at the end of March, we went nuts). I also hate to donate/throw stuff that may be worth money. Hrm. We'll see...

Speaking of things that go away...I discovered my little rocking chair at my great-uncle's house last night. My grandmother rosemalled it years ago...probably in the late 1960s or early 1970s. My mother sat in it as a small child (when it was unpainted)...I sat it it as a small child (after it was painted)...and I wanted Little Man to sit in it. But, I couldn't find it! I knew it was in the house.....or so I thought. I found it yesterday over there. Now, I can't be too upset because I found out that it originally belonged to my great-uncle and my grandma asked if she could paint it. I was a little sad...but the caveat is that after they're gone (or when they downsize), it's coming back to my house...probably along with the jukebox that once belonged to my grandparents.

Anyway, that's all I have for today...hope you all have a fantabulous day :)

Sally Melville Classes and other things...

Yesterday I had two classes with Sally Melville. First of all, she's fabulous and funny...and dear Bob did my friggin' brain hurt when I got home yesterday.

I had two classes with her. One was about having the ability to chose items of clothing that actually look good on someone, anyone. Most people don't have a clue what looks good on other people, much less themselves. The few that can identify that something is wrong with what either they or someone else is wearing usually cannot identify what that something actually is. It's an interesting concept. The one "look" that just doesn't look good on anyone is usually the look that people just go to. We played with paper dolls...based on our own bodies. It was interesting to think about and actually look at.

The second class I took was on sweater construction...sort of. It was more about how to look at a sweater pattern, deconstruct it, and make it so that it fits each individual properly. We looked at the four major sweater types and how to deconstruct them. The four basic types: short & boxy, long & boxy, fitted, and a-line. We talked about where you can adjust patterns in order for them to fit. We also discussed, albeit briefly, which of these four sweater types go with what kinds of pants/skirts (from the first class).

My brain hurt so much when we got done yesterday.

I wish I had taken pictures.

I think I need to look back at my notes for more information...one thing I do know is that I want to make sweaters...lots and lots of sweaters. Hmmm....

Things I should have written about awhile ago...

So, in February, I purchased a spinning wheel. It's a Majacraft Pioneer. I thought about the Majacraft Rose but I decided that the Pioneer was going to do the same job that the Rose would.

Anyway, I promised photographs...

Isn't it pretty? It's not huge, which is nice since there isn't a ton of room in my house (right now). It takes up less room than some of Little Man's toys (like his swing and bouncer).

With the above pictured wheel, I made yarn...

It's not perfect. The skein on the right has about 160 yards of approximately worsted weight yarn (2-ply). The one on the left is a bit....fluffier? It's only got around 112 yards, still of a worsted weight yarn. I have one bobbin that's half-filled but I'm out of roving so I'm going to ply it and it'll probably only wind up being around 50 yards. So, between the three skeins, I should be able to make something, right? It might wind up being a skinny scarf or a hat but it'll be grand because it'll be mine. 

Anyway, I'm also working on a swap package for One Skein Projects group on Ravelry. I've almost finished my package...just a couple more items to pick up and add to the collection. I also need to photograph it before I send it off :) I think she's going to be happy.....I hope she's going to be happy.

As for Little Man, he's continuing to improve...he's still not quite eating the way he was but he's still congested and coughing. I'm not really surprised. I'm still getting up at night to feed him, as well. I'm going to be doing that for awhile yet. That's okay, though.

Tomorrow, I'm taking two classes from Sally Melville. That should be interesting.

Anyway, that's about all I have for right now......I should have more to talk about after tomorrow. We shall see :)

Just a quickie...

Little Man continues to eat...but not as much as I would like. We can still stay at home but it's almost like we have to re-teach him how to eat properly. It's also kind of like he has his nights and days mixed up again. Not that he isn't sleeping at night; he is. But he takes his good bottles at night and then eats like crap for the rest of the day. He's been doing better today. So far, he's had around 14 oz. since 1:30am (and he'll be due for a bottle here soon). That's a little more than an ounce/hour (average)...it's not great and should be almost double that but, he's eating so we can't push it too hard.

We put the pool up today. I know, it's a little cold...but Husband's uncle is coming this weekend to help build a deck of sorts for said pool so we needed it up in order to be able to measure the height properly ad all that. It wasn't a big deal as it doesn't take that long to put together. We had to fill it about a foot deep so it doesn't blow away.

I voted today.

I started organizing paperwork from the last 3+ years (mine, Husband's, and my grandparents')...I'm trying to keep all our current paperwork in a file, all the old paperwork in an envelope, my grandparents' stuff out of the way entirely, and getting rid of things we don't need. I've done pretty well...I've reduced a lot of paperwork, shredded a bunch of stuff, and started organizing. It's been needed and I attempted to do it a couple of years ago but it didn't work out so well. I was basically just throwing everything into four manila folders (two for me, two for my grandparents - two were for taxes, two were for "other" things like bank statements). I'm hoping to get that counter cleared off to where it's just the file, the printer, and some "office" type things (pens, notebook paper, stapler, tape, etc.). Right now, it's a dumping ground and it's been driving me NUTS...Husband, too.

Oh...before I forget...we're getting a new water softener tomorrow. We've had shitty water pressure in this house for...well, the water pressure in this house has always been shitty. My grandpa bitched about it from the day they moved in. We were worried that it was going to be something major...like needing to replace all the plumbing. But, we had the guy come over to do an estimate and to check things out (so he could figure out what was going on). The worst sink in the house (utility bathroom)...he turned on the faucet and nothing came out. He took the aerator off and a huge chunk of what appeared to be ice fell out...it wasn't ice...it was limestone. Because it could be identified as limestone, and that's what water softeners are supposed to take care of, we knew the problem was the water softener. It's too small for the house, it's almost 20 years old, and it's not doing it's job. Therefore, it's got to go. So, tomorrow...new water softener. I may be able to do the dishes! Hoooooray!

Anyway, dinner awaits and Little Man is almost due for his bottle.

I still need to photograph my spinning prowess........and my wheel.

Happy to be home...

We are home from the hospital. We came home yesterday around 2pm. Little Man almost immediately went back to his antics of not wanting to eat. We got home around 2:30pm and he had a bottle around 3pm. It was actually a decent bottle (3.5 oz.). But then his next two bottles kind of sucked a lot...he had a 1 oz. bottle around 6pm and another 1.5 oz. around 8pm. His 11pm bottle and his 2am bottles were pretty good (4 oz. and 3.5 oz.)...and then this morning occurs. He took a whopping .5 oz. at 6:15am and refused outright at 8:30am. I got him to eat some applesauce and peas around 9:15am and then he took another 2.5 oz. around 9:30am. This isn't normal behavior for him...he usually eats 4 oz., without question, every 3 hours or so during the day...and usually has a big 6 oz. bottle right before he goes to bed.

Oh well, at least he's eating. If he keeps eating, we can stay at home...if he starts refusing too much, we're going to wind up back in the hospital.

Other than that, there isn't much going on around here. Husband went to work. Little Man is laying on the floor, wiggling like a fool, and I've got The Bourne Identity on. I have a love of Matt Damon, what can I say? I don't know what else we're going to do today...I think we may have some visitors later and I'm expecting a phone call from the geneticist's office about Little Man.

I think I should attempt to do something...laundry needs to be put away. I don't know if I have the energy to do much else aside from that and play with Little Man :)

Anyway, wandering off.......Matt Damon calls :)

Knit & Crochet Blog Week: BONUS :)

Wildcard – Embellish the story
Embellishments come in all types and forms. Some are more than purely decorative and form a practical function – pretty buttons are as much part of holding a garment together as mere decoration, and some are just there to give a piece an extra ‘something’. Blog about an embellishment, be it a zipper, amigurumi eyes or applique patch which you are either saving to use or have in the past used to decorate a project with. Write about whether you are a very  minimalist kind of knitter with classic lines and timeless plain knits or whether you love all the bells and whistles or sticking sewing and otherwise attaching decoration to your pieces.

For those of you keeping up at home, we came home from the hospital on Sunday afternoon. Little Man isn't 100% but if he keeps eating, we'll be okay and won't have to go back. I suspect that we may be called in for a quick visit with his geneticist/metabolic doctor sometime this week, just to make sure he's doing okay being at home.

Anyway, I decided that the "Wildcard" topic for Knit & Crochet Blog Week 2011 was somewhat intriguing for me so I decided to use it as a "bonus" blog topic, rather than a replacement :)

Embellishments entertain me...I mean, buttons are buttons but they can really make or break an item. I have only knit one item that requires buttons. Admittedly, I haven't put them on yet...and I can't post pictures of the item in question because it's for the Madison Knitters' Guild Brown Bag Exchange. Let's just say that I made a baby sweater and it requires three little buttons. I have plenty of buttons...but I think this may require something more, if you know what I mean.

Another embellishment, of sorts, is fringe. I'm sorry, I know fringe is supposed to be "in" for certain items...but I can't love it. I find it annoying and just something for me to fray apart. Yes, even on scarves that "require" it...like the fabled Harry Potter scarf. I just cannot fathom putting fringe on the end of a scarf. I don't know why, I just hate how it looks. Okay, so I'm probably in the minority but I don't really care.

Hmmm...embellishments...buttons...fringe...zippers. Zippers? Do zippers count as embellishments? Again, not something I aspire to put on my knitting unless it's supposed to be a zip-up hoodie or a bag whose contents may spill out at any given moment. I can't think of where else you'd want to put a zipper. And I'm always afraid that if I get a zipper, I'm going to wind up getting a cheap one that looks like crap and works like crap. Hrm.

I don't know. I guess I'm not really about "embellishing" my knitting. I figure that the piece should be pretty enough without it. Now, that's not always true as a button-up cardigan or a zip-up hoodie aren't really those things without embellishments (buttons or zippers) but I'm not about adding on to things.

I guess I'm a plain Jane when it comes to my knitting. Oh well. Maybe that's why I have such trouble with lace......

Anyway, the 2011 Knit & Crochet Blog Week was fantastic. I just wish I hadn't had to spend half of it in the hospital with Little Man...oh well, I don't think that will happen next year :)

Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Day 7 - Sunday

Day seven: Sunday, 3rd April. Your knitting and crochet time

Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys. What items do you like to surround yourself with whilst you twirl your hook like a majorette’s baton or work those needles like a skilled set of samurai swords. Do you always have snacks to hand, or are you a strictly ‘no crumbs near my yarn!’ kind of knitter.

Tips: Last year we had a topic asking about the actual location of where you knit or craft, this is similar but not the same. Try and concentrate on all of the little aspects that make up your knitting time. Maybe you always head for for your Flaming Lips CD when taking on simple knitting but prefer a bit of Brahms when tackling more intricate work, or maybe you enjoy knitting with audiobooks or complete silence. Perhaps your crochet time is never complete without a cuddle from Tiddles the cat.

And again with the topic showing up between 12:05am and now (8:55am)...

We're still in the hospital. We don't know how long we're going to have to be here. It looked like Little Man may be starting to eat properly yesterday...and then he refused his 7am bottle a lot (he refused it for an hour before we stopped trying to get him to take it). So, I don't know...we'll see.

On top of that, I'm getting sick again...whatever he has, I'm getting again. We're never going to get home if we keep passing this back and forth.

But, back to knitting.......crafting time, whatever.

With Little Man around, my crafting time is extremely limited. If he's sleeping, that's fair game...but that usually means between 10pm and 6am. I like to sleep, too. His nap times are so unpredictable that I never know if he's going to take a long nap or a short nap or any nap at all. Wednesday nights used to be my knitting time...but I haven't been going for various reasons (partly because I was bringing Little Man so I never got anything done anyway).

So...really, I knit/crochet/spin whenever I can find enough worthwhile time. Lately, I haven't done any. I've been trying to get some in every day but it hasn't been working out too well.

I'm not above eating while crafting...usually it isn't anything too messy. Fruit Roll-Ups or a glass of juice...sometimes, though, I can't resist a good bowl of ice cream :) I figure, everything is going to get washed/cleaned when I'm finished with it, so what good is avoiding food while I do it? Then again, I'm careful to put said craft off to the side whilst I stuff my face...

Oh, and I tend to watch TV while knitting and spinning. We have a 54" in the living room and we have Netflix Streaming and the Apple TV and all the stuff we have stored on the hard drives...I can basically watch whatever I want.

When I was working on the Irish Hiking Scarf for my SIL, I was watching a lot of Doctor Who and Torchwood. It was grand. Lately, I've been watching House...I did spend a couple of days watching Lord of the Rings (all extended versions) but I don't think I got much knitting done those days. I don't remember.

Anyway, that's about all I've got right now...I'm still a bit distracted with Little Man and being in the hospital. Oh, and let's not forget that I'm doing a bonus day tomorrow :)

Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Day 6 - Saturday

Day six: Saturday, 2nd April. Something to aspire to
Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make bu can admire the result of those that have.

Tips: If you think you have learned all you ever want to in your craft then say so. Maybe you have been knitting for nearly 30 years and yet never learned to purl (many my think this is impossible, but I met a woman on the bus who told me exactly this once… Maybe she was following the E. Zimmerman school of thought to closely?).


For those of you that are keeping up at home, we're still in the hospital. Little Man seems perfectly fine...except that he's still not eating properly. It looks like we're going to be here for awhile, definitely through today and maybe into Sunday or Monday. I'd like to hope not, but what can you do? The kid won't eat properly and with the genetic disorder, we can't have that.

But, back to knitting. Knitting is still important :) I have my sock sitting here, begging me to work on it (but, I haven't).

So, things I want to learn or that baffle me...

Entrelac. I don't necessarily want to learn how to do it (yet)...but it looks interesting. I don't doubt that I could do it if I sat down and had the time. I just don't have the time or patience for things that cannot be put down in the middle of a row. Are there even rows in entrelac? Sort of? Maybe? I don't know.

Another something I'd like to get better at is my crocheting...I have mad crochet skillz but I haven't had time to perfect them. I picked up a hook, looked online, and it was like I had been crocheting my whole life. So......I need to sit and spend some time being a hooker.

Other things, other things......oh, okay, this sounds really stupid but I have never really properly blocked a project of any kind. Hats automatically go on the head. Socks automatically go on the feet. My sweater hasn't even been washed yet. Scarves don't need blocking if they're not stockinette background. So...I've never properly blocked anything. I know it's not difficult...but I've never done it. I think once I finish up some of my shawls, I'm going to have to learn. Just sayin'...

What else, what else.....I think someday I may try to make an afghan, crocheted or knitted block squares...haven't decided. Just.....something.

Anyway, I'm a bit distracted, in case you can't tell...I think I'm going to end this post in hopes that we're home tomorrow for the last one.

Also, I'm going to do a "BONUS" post, using the "Wildcard" topic. That will probably be on Monday...I think. Maybe Sunday night. I don't know.

Oh, and cruel Mother Nature......snow on April Fool's Day.