31 January 2008

some photos

taking from rachel, but not so "artsy"...some phone-photos:
first, stella's self portraits...love those lips!




and hourglass progress...


***dangit...i don't know how to make them bigger. rachel? any advice?

28 January 2008

HOLY CRAP! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!


I AM GOING TO SEE MARTHA LIVE ON FEBRUARY 20TH!!!

oh my good gracious! i'm so excited! it is a live show all about handknits!

i'll be 35 two days later...and my momma (who's coming with me!) will be 60 four days later! i'll also be bringing my good friend loren (because we watch martha together AND craft together AND i love her!)

so watch martha on february 20th and maybe you'll see my ecstatic little face!!!

WOOHOO!!!

27 January 2008

links to really nice things

no thoughts, no photos to share...so go see some nice stuff:

simply breakfast via soulemama
great valentines idea via shim and sons
cute lavendar baby sachet tutorial at molly chicken
reallllllly good knitting
angry chicken's email order #8. yes, i bought mine, haven't done it. go on, buy your own and beat me to it. rachel...this is SO up your alley! go buy it here.
papercraftworld and these great japanese paper house pdfs found here
great secret message soap making idea (for kids) at whip up
my hubby's photos
ok...that's all for now. i just got distracted looking at all the hourglass sweater photos on flickr. lots. i'm finished the bottom hem (again). off to knit.

22 January 2008

knitting know-how

so...it's decided. i'm "frogging" (whatever...i keep reading this word and feel the need to incorporate it into my knitting vocab. means: to take the whole darn thing apart) what i've knit so far into my hourglass sweater to begin again in the 33" size. here's how i came to my conclusion.

1. comments from ann and jen helped a ton.
2. read a ton on ravelry (it's worth the waitlist if you knit/crochet...sign up!)
3. read in elizabeth zimmermann's book about how to figure the best fit. she says pick out your favorite sweater and measure it. ignore your own measurements. i did it. i got 34".
4. posted a comment on this blog post and got my definitive answer. Last Minute Knitted Gifts is written by Joelle Hoverson, owner of Purl, a great fabric/yarn store. she answered me directly and sid to go for the 33 unless i wanted a very roomy sweater. i don't. so a-frogging i will go and restart on the 33" size. meaning i will probably have some noro cash iroha left over...hmm. thinky thinky.

so thanks for all the help here...i'll be restarting today and will let you know of the progress.

oh, and i did request tickets for the martha stewart show on handknitting...fingers crossed, i'll go for my birthday wearing my hourglass sweater!!!

by the way, unrelated...did you see rachel's post on her tutorial for heat therapy bags for those who don't sew. genius and beautiful, written in rachel's signature, humorously honest way. go read it.

****edited to reflect ann-krestene's REAL blog address...oops! thanks, rachel!

19 January 2008

knitting nerves

so i cast on the hourglass sweater in my beautiful noro cash iroha (color 22: garnet!)on friday night. i can tell you i cast on about 5 times...to do a regular cast-on, or do provisional so as to have live stitches to knit the hem with? i tried and didn't like my gauge, so i went back to a basic cast on edge that i picked up later! i was amazed at how this yarn comes to life when knitted. i finished off my first hank this evening and joined #2. i'm very excited...and nervous. the pattern gives finished measurements...and the one we'll deal with is chest circumference. the given sizes are 33, 37, etc. (because those are the 2 i'm dealing with). problem: sorry if too personal ;), my "chest circumference is 33.5...so can't do the 33, right...but the 37 seems like a lot of ease. AND i read that the cash iroha grows with blocking. oh no...what to do. i am thinking that i may not do the full increases for the chest circumference and do a bit of an in-betweeny thing? anyone have any suggestions? i cast on the full amount of stitches for the 37 size, hemmed it as i went and it looks great. the silk/cashmere/wool blend is so amazing...little lumps of cashmere here and there with the shine of the silk...oooooh. i have only done two of the decrease rows so far and have one more to go (so really, time to think before increasing!) i'd love your thoughts!!! i love knitting and hate the guess work (that could easily be a general statement across the board for me!) i want things to go exactly as they should! so...to stick to the pattern or stray??? let me know...

15 January 2008

school day

while eli naps and the girls play with colorforms, i thought i'd drop a little note telling you of our day. i wish to GOD that i had a camera, because these girls are so DARLING! i mean, seriously now!

the day started with our "circle" if you can call it that. eli knows the start of a school day means we sit together in the living room and sing...twinkle, twinkle little star (eli and ida's favorite) and today stella added her twist from her violin group class. a kind-of pre-solfege thing...sing and touch head to toe (or toe to head, actually):

toes toes (twinkle) head head (twinkle) air air (little) head (star)
shoulder shoulder (how i) waist waist (wonder) knees knees (what you) toes (are)

i think you can figure the rest. absolutely hilarious and fun for some reason.

next we had our "lesson" which i though was going to be a bit too tricky...and i DID underestimate these kiddos! i decided to talk about vowels and how they are a special family of letters that we need to spell all words. so i wrote them out
Aa Ee Ii Oo Uu
we made all the sounds...more fun...
then we wrote them in our books...
then we wrote our "spelling words" i thought...yeah right! they totally read each word with no problem!!!
Cat
Pen
Sit
Hot
Fun
they wrote each word five times in their books. loved it, too!
then i wrote the words out again on a paper with their names and they had to circle the vowels...perfect!
onto lunch...quickly scarfed down so we could go outside for a walk. it is freezing cold (not as cold as seattle!) bu cold enough for flurries. we walked the block and then hit their favorite backyard tree to build another beaver dam. after an hour of this (yeah, i know! i was freezing!) we went in for hot chocolate. eli crashed and now colorforms. we might read some stories before the end of our day...but all in all...a fun and educational day. for all of us!

12 January 2008

what's knitting

well finally!

i went to my local yarn store and usedup my gift certificate!! i'll be knitting myself a sweater! yippee!! i'm doing the hourglass sweater from last minute knitted gifts. its nice and simple, good for everyday kind of stuff. i actually bought the exact yarn called for (in a different shade though...)i never do that. i ALWAYS substitute and rearrange stuff...not this time! i'm so excited! hope to wind some of those hanks today on my nifty new ball winder! i'll keep you posted - i have two "deadlines" in mind for myself...the first one being two weeks away (recitals at my school), but i think that might be pushing it...so the back up deadline is my birthday! i think that is TOTALLY feasible.

more knitterly news...i also recently got a copy of elizabeth zimmerman's knitter's almanac: projects for each month of the year...love this lady's writing! and she is all about figuring out your own knitting with really helpful construction "rules". i'm planning some things for the year out of there, but must focus on my hourglass sweater first! i did really want to share a segment of e.z.'s writing with you though. i know christmas is over, but this sums up some of my feelings on it. found on the december project's writing, page 129:

Is an exciting new improved Christmas every year really necessary? Is it in the spirit of the Solstice? The human heart hankers after stability and tradition. The feeling and atmosphere of Christmases past, the anticipation of those to come, and the magic presence of Christmas now should all blend and blur, to give the distraught soul something to hang on to in a year bedevilled by new improved machines, soaps, music, spectator sports and recipes, many of which will prove to be dull, destructive, and sometimes downright damnable. Let us try to keep at least Christmas the way it has been for generations, and infiltrate novelty delicately and with caution. As a good start why not try to abide by the comforting tradition of handmade and homemade presents?

smart woman. great knitter. maybe it will rub off on me!!

here's to good knitting this weekend!

p.s. i also bought yarn for a secret project...hmmmm wonder what it is???

09 January 2008

oh boy

this post was meant to go up on monday and didn't. then last night i was just too tired...so here it is, wednesday. you are due 2 posts...i'll try for tomorrow and friday(i have ideas, just no time in front of this dang computer! just things like what i'm working on (knitting projects) and figuring out womanhood/feminism/christianity/life... not bad or very big deals, eh? yeah, we'll see how this week goes)


anyway...my boy...loves trucks. bulldozers. trains. busses. things that go. he also loves animals. like baas, moos, oof-oofs, mows, errrrs, hisssses, vvvrrrmmmphs, you know (translation: sheep, cows, dogs, cats, lions, snakes, elephants) he also loves to be crazy...run fast, bang into things (like the chairs or my legs) and jump into the air and land flat on his bottom. it HAS to hurt, even in a diaper. he pile-drives his stuffed toys, or tackles his dada, whoever is available. and all of this, i'm told, is "what boys do." i'm ok with it, i think.

my problem lies in encouraging rough-housing, funny-like-violence, and the like. i may sound dramatic, or may be acting in such a way, but my boy will not be a wild, roughneck. he can be all boy while being sensitive to others, careful about his and others bodies, respectful to his and others belongings, etc...you know?? i'm just trying to figure out how you balance this stuff. so many folks we see around think his "wild child" behaviour is funny (which, i gotta say, it is!) and that he really IS sweet (no mean intentions, not trying purposefully to hurt anyone or anything). i just want to be sure to encourage the right things. and i think i WILL figure it out, or i AM. he is so loving...

i had to work tonight, so when i got home, the kids were asleep. but i had to slip eli's jammies on and he woke up briefly. as soon as he opened his eyes he smiled and said "mama!" then excitedly told me about his evening with dada..."mamie! boppa! eya! dada!" i ask, did you see grammy and boppa with stella and dada? he says, "uh-huh!" with a big nod. did you have fun? "uh-huh!" did you go outside? "uh-huh! mamie! boppa!" do you love your grammy and boppa? "uh-huh! nigh-nigh, mama!" do you want to nurse and go nigh-nights with mama? "uh-huh!" and his head hit the pillow. he nursed briefly and was sound asleep. my boy...

05 January 2008

woops...its not friday

so i had one of those things happen where a day comes and goes without me noticing. i had no idea yesterday was friday! until bedtime that is...but still a whole day without that realization? geez! i did do some things...picked up a small project (out of my stash no less!)
i'm just about done a small neck-kerchief thingy from the last minute knitted gifts book in o-wool's balance (color: brick).

lovin' it. and i'm loving that i have two official signer uppers for the pay it forward thing. so erin and jen, please email me your home addresses! yahoo!

oh...so today IS saturday and i am going in a few hours with stella and nana to see disney's high school musical: the ice tour. stella is so stinkin' excited (singing those songs constantly) and i'm...ok about it. i have mixed feeling on the movie. i think it is over stella's head and she shouldn't be watching it, but it is also so sugary and benign...what the heck. it'll fade out eventually too, right??

so...backk to the neckerchief. i want to wear it today! maybe mom will have her camera with her and i can grab a snappy of it! i hope you all have a great weekend!

p.s. there is still room for one more to pay it forward!

02 January 2008

resolutions

i normally don't make new year's resolutions, but a midnight promise to a friend has sent me thinkin'...and now to a-doin'! thanks, jon! his may not be a crafty blog and i may not understand half (or more) of what is written, but we've decided we need to do this more, take advantage of what is available to us. so we are going to try to blog on mondays, wednesdays and fridays. that way it happens...and maybe i'll be a bit more organized! ha!

so here it is, wednesday...and uh, not sure what to say! i'm out of practice and tired of feeling all glum about the new year! i have to say, the comments i received from my sad new year's post really gave me some warmth and love! thank you thank you! especially the strangers i've never met or new were reading! how wonderful to get such encouragement!

i am thinking for this new endeavor to kind of blog thematically (maybe)...like mondays will be family, wednesdays: craftiness, fridays: free-for-all. we'll see.
i'm hoping to acquire a new camera, but it may need to wait until my birthday (february!), so pics may be few and far between...but hang in there! (i know it's a bit boring without them!)

so, for craftiness...i already purchased some sale christmas fabrics from superbuzzy for next years gifts...i'm going to TRY to get some done WAY ahead of time. i also ordered a book (from a giftcard!) that i plan on using ALOT! i'm going to get the new yarn for said project this week (with another giftcard to my favorite local shop!) so the new year's looking full of making and doing. some for me and more for others!

speaking of others... remember that post a while back about paying it forward??? well none of you signed up!!! i won't call you lame-o's for not wanting to do it (wink wink) but want to offer it up again. i may even have to say, i'll just do the paying it forward, and you can decide for yourselves to do or not to do...but then i'd be breaking the rules!!! so c'mon!!! let's pay it forward a bit. i'm ready to send some great goodies to 3 signer-uppers.

alrighty...thanks for the support and friendship. back to work today girls...

xoxo see you friday!