Category Archives: Uncategorized

Okay, so I think the Knitter’s Coffee Swap is going to be a go! I’m going to try to get it organized and open sign ups this week. I’ve decided that since I’ve never done a swap before, I’d better get in touch with a couple of other hostesses so I don’t leave anything out.

But, I’d also love to hear your ideas too. What do you like in a swap? Don’t like? Suggestions for this swap? All I know right now is it will involve coffee and get wrapped up in early December (before the holiday knitting rush really begins!) So, get your ideas posted now and get the word out! Sign ups will start on Wednesday (as long as I’ve got my act together) and be open for about two weeks.

Look what arrived!!!

My Knitflix package was on my doorstep yesterday. A very welcome distraction for a challenging afternoon. My swap partner, Cecily, did an awesome job of putting together a package!

Mostly Martha couldn’t be a more perfect movie: A German flick that involves food and romance. Can’t beat that! I’ll be watching it this weekend, enjoying my yummy treats and some incredible yarn. Cecily, you totally read my mind. I’ve been meaning to try Panache from Knitpicks. Even better, the colors are perfect for the boys. I see new hats on the horizon. I’m beginning to realize, especially with two kids now, you can never have too many hats and mittens. Thank you so much Cecily, you did a great job and I love my package!

I’m getting started on my first SP9 package to send out. I really do love these swaps. I love trying to figure out the perfect package to send, and it’s so nice to get spoiled myself, getting a chance to try things I might not normally think of or never get the chance to pick up. There are so many fun swaps to do, but I was thinking last night, has anyone ever seen a Knitters coffee swap? I’ve seen tea, chocolate, but not coffee. How can there not be a coffee swap? I was thinking, if there wasn’t one already maybe I’d host one, but it could turn into one of those “what was I thinking I don’t have time for this” things. Hmmmm……but a coffee swap……anyone think there is actually enough interest out there? Lemme think about it.

On to Socktoberfest. Mountain Peaks sock #1 done (except for grafting).

Don’t you hate that no matter how you take your sock photos, your leg seems to double in size?

A close up:
Sorry Gracie, it was the only halfway sunny spot in the house.

I found it interesting how many of you have your own skeptics! Could it be a knitter thing?

Chris asked what his original nickname was going to be. I had though Mr. DIY would be funny. Partly because he is a total do-it-yourself kind of guy, to the extreme. How extreme? When we bought our house, we had a small leak. Did we call a roofer? Nope, The Skeptic went right up there, ripped off about 6 feet of shingles, then came back in and said he might need to get a little help. He dives headfirst into all projects and home repairs with gusto, figures it out as he goes, and while it sometimes takes forever, he does do an awesome job. The funny part was I used “DIY” the other week and he had no clue what it meant, the other reason I thought it would be a funny name. But, he didn’t like Mr. DIY and when I he said “The Skeptic” I thought it was better than mine, so The Skeptic he will be.

Speaking of home repairs, The Skeptic has one of his least favorites this weekend: window repair. Why is our window broken you ask? One guess……yup, Little Man. How did he break it? Now don’t worry, because he is just fine, but, he broke it with his head. He was bouncing on the couch and went just a bit crooked. Amazingly, he had one tiny cut that barely bled, and was more scared than hurt. The funny part was that in order to get all the flakes of glass off I had to vaccuum his head off. Not many kids can say they broke a window with their head!

Now, on to my SP9 Questions:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I’m definetely more of a natural fibers person. Love wool, alpaca, and silk. Not a fan of acrylics. I’m okay with some novelty yarns, like ribbon, just not the really furry/gaudy stuff.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a straight needle case that my grandma made for me, and a crochet needle case for my double points, but since it’s really for crochet needles it’s too short so they always fall out. My poor circs? Jumbled up in a bag!

3. How long have you been knitting? How did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I started knitting a few months after Little Man was born, so that would be close to three and a half years. Geez, it seems so much longer than that! My grandma got me started, and then I’ve learned everything else from the Stitch and Bitch Books and all of you lovely bloggers! I’m intermediate, I’d guess.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yup! right here

5. What’s your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
lavender and citrus, but only the all natural stuff like you’d find at a coop/natural foods place. I’m allergic to most synthetic stuff.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I love chocolate, especially dark chocolate! And nuts too.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I’m learning to spin and bought my spinning wheel last summer, although with the boys it’s been very neglected lately. I bought a new sewing machine this summer which I love!

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like classical, jazz, folk and folk/rock the most, but I’m pretty much open to anything that’s not mainstream pop. Yup to MP3’s.

9. What’s your favorite color? Any colors you just can’t stand? Wow, that’s hard! I’m really into the pink/brown or blue/brown combos lately. My least favorite would be the “baby” pastels, as well as yellow and purple (although I guess I like those colors for the boys, just not me). Oh, and although I love each color separately, I hate pink/purple varigated; reminds me of Barbie dolls 🙂

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I’ve got two boys, 3.5 years (Little Man) and just about 7 months (Knittybaby), and a husband of almost 9 years (The Skeptic). I’ve got two cats, Arthur and Basil, and a greyhound named Gracie. Little Man loved SP8 and thought all the chocolates were his 🙂

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Yes to all! I couldn’t make it through a Minnesota winter w/out them, especially my scarves. I made one poncho, but now I think I’m kind of getting tired of the poncho thing and I pretty much wear it only around the house (its Rowan Big Wool, very warm)

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I love to make socks! I also like to make stuff for my boys and sweaters for me, although I haven’t actually finished one yet. They are both UFO’s. Felted bags are fun too.

13. What are you knitting right now? A sweater for my youngest, socks for me, my raglan sweater. I’m getting ready to start Christmas sweaters for the boys.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes I do! 🙂

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Usually circular, addis or bamboo, but the more slippery bamboo like Crystal Palace. I also have a set of Denise needles that I love. Oh, the Knitpicks Options are cool too.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? yup, yup

17. How old is your oldest UFO? 2 years. It’s the Barbara Walker Learn-to-Knit afaghan. There are 63 squares. I’m only on 9!

19. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

20. Is there anything that you collect?
Other than yarn, patterns and CD’s, I’m an anti-collector. I’ve been trying to de-clutter the past year, not that it seems to be helping much. All my new spaces keep getting filled with toys and little boy clothes 🙂

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I’d love to get my hands on some of the great handpainted sock yarn coming out of all the Etsy shops lately, or “Socks that Rock” as I haven’t had a chance to try it yet. I subscribe to “Vogue Knitting,” “Interweave Knits” and “Spin Off.” I could use size 2 and 3 24 inch circular. Books, see my wish list.

22. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?
Lace! And although I’ve practiced on cable swatches, I’ve yet to make an actual garment.

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I love to knit socks. Size 8 shoe, length 9 and 3/4 inches, circ below the calf about 10 inches.

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) 3/29

Thanks, SP!

The Skeptic

He picked it himself. I had actually thought of a different nickname. When I told him I had one picked out he said, “Is it the Skeptic?” When he said it I realized that is actually the perfect name for him, much better than the lame one I had though of. Why, you ask?

Main Entry: skep·ti·cism
Pronunciation: 'skep-t&-"si-z&m
Function: noun
1 : an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object

As in:

“Isn’t the wind going to blow right through that hat?”

“Isn’t that going to be itchy?”

“Those socks look like they’ll fall down.”

“Looks like it’s going to curl in to me.”

“Do you really need to buy more needles?”

“Are you really going to use that thing?” (spinning wheel)

Not to make him look unsupportive of my knitting. This is a man who says very little about my closetfull of yarn, and despite his comments, wears his handknits daily and occasionally requests more. But, he is a German-Lutheran from a small farm in Central Wisonsin, which makes him genetically incapable of making his initial comment a positive one, regarding anything, not just knitting*. His mind automatically focuses on the one thing that just might be a problem. Now all the above comments are usually followed by something like “…but I really love the colors and I know you worked really hard, and I’m sure those socks will fit just fine.” But, he is a glass half empty kind of guy, although in a very endearing way, which is one of the reasons I am absolutely crazy about him. He balances out my overly optimistic nature, because yes, sometimes the socks do fall down (but only the first pair!) When his is old, he will be one loveable curmudgeon.

The Skeptic is the reason I was able to finish the treasure hunt this past weekend. He took Little Man to help him fix the lawnmower so Knittybaby and I could hit the last two stores, Zandy’s and Needlework Unlimited. I bought a felted mitten pattern and some other goodies for my secret pal and called it quits. I also picked up my Amazing Threads door prize Monday night: a skein of Soysilk, a candle, a couple patterns and a small woolwash sample called Soak. I’m not sure if they have picked the $3,000 winner yet. There is no way I’ll win as I was amazed I even won a door prize; I’m usually not the winning type when it comes to contests. But I had a good time, got to run into quite a few knitting friends, and found some new yarn shops. A good weekend!

*For further insights into this phenomenom, take a listen to Lake Wobegon. Small town Minnesota is strikingly similar to small town Wisconsin (at least north of Madison, anyway).

Here’s my first official Socktoberfest post. I’ll get to the questions this weekend, but I did make progress on the Mountain Peaks sock:

See the heel? It’s on the way!

On to mothering…..

It seems that a lot of time in our house lately is either spent dealing with three year old drama and tantrums, or dealing with sleep. And although three year olds are naturally prone to drama and tantrums (it helps us get ready for the middle school years!) good sleep can help all that drama be less, well, dramatic. With a baby, trying to help them sleep can be a project in itself. Every now and then when I find myself getting too crabby and short with my kids, I really try sit down and think about what’s going and how we can reevaluate how we’re handling things, So, this week I’ve resurrected an old favorite of mine, The No Cry Sleep Solution and checked out two others, Unconditional Parenting and Sleepless in America.

The No Cry Sleep Solution is by far one of the top parenting books I’ve ever read. It’s not a “sleep training” book. Instead, she really teaches you to understand sleep and to figure out your child’s needs and sleep patterns. It is time consuming to do. You really have to commit to it for at least a month, if not more. But it has worked for us whenever sleep (or lack of it) has started to get difficult for us. The best part is that she covers all sleeping situations, so if you’re a cosleeping family like us she has very specific suggestions. She also has a lot of great advice for nursing and sleeping issues. She truly values each child as an individual. As I’m sure you can guess from the title, there is no “cry-it-out” involved, which makes me a happy mama; as frustrated as I’ve been at times I could never understand that philosophy. Sleepless in America promises to be similar, but seems to have a lot of research based information as well and be more in depth.

Our current sleep problems revolve around Knittybaby in the daytime. Like his big brother, he’s a great nightime sleeper. But our wacky schedule has not left us with much consistancy, which leaves him catnapping a lot of the day, getting overtired and crabby and unwilling to sleep. Today I felt like I spent half the day trying to get him to sleep. The Amby is great once he’s sleeping, it’s getting him there that is the problem. So it’s time to reevaluate and figure out something that works for him.

Little Man’s sleeping had been a big problem this past summer, but seems to have resolved itself in the last couple of weeks. You see, he’s made the big move into his own room. He slept in our bed until he was two, then in a toddler bed in our room until the baptism weekend. I don’t think he ever really got the concept that the other room was “his” room. But a couple weeks ago we set up a new bookshelf in there (he loves his books) and my mom brought up this quilt:

I thought I would give you the realistic unmade bed look we have going on.

Isn’t it beautiful? I love, love, love this quilt!!! The colors are much more vibrant than the picture shows. She’s spent the last couple years working on it and he was thrilled to have it. He’s been sleeping in there ever since.

I have mixed feelings about this. We both have loved cosleeping with our kids. I couldn’t really imagine having them anywhere else, and there is nothing we love more than all falling asleep together at the end of the day. Plus, no one has to get out of bed in the middle of the night. I miss having him in there. But at the same time, I’m thankful he was able to make the decision himself when he was ready, and it does seem to be taking the edge off during the day. This past week has been a lot better and I think it is because he is sleeping better at night since he’s in a bigger bed. I’m sad though, as he seems to be doing more and more “big boy” things lately and I can hardly believe he’s at that stage in his life already.

Wow, I wrote more than I planned. But it’s been on my mind lately as I’ve been getting frustrated, and I know how hard it can be for moms to deal with, especially those going through sleep issues with their first babies. I’ve found it to be one of the most challenging things to deal with as a parent. But I’ve also found that when you really take the time to figure out what your child needs to be a good sleeper, naptime and bedtime can be one of the nicest parts of the day. Every child will be different and will need different things, and it can take work and time to encourage good sleep habits with our kids. There is not one right way to do it except to follow in your own heart what feels right for your child. Because eventually they won’t need a nap anymore, and they’ll stop letting you tuck them in or read them a story or sing them a song, and believe it or not, I know we will miss all these rituals with our kids. I have nothing but fond memories of bedtime with my parents. I never felt lonely, or scared, or sad. They read, they sang, they sat, even though I know by then they were ready to call it a night and try to sneak in some time to relax themselves. I hope when my boys are grown they will be able to look back and say we did the same thing.

Okay, I feel better having reminded myself of that. Hope I didn’t tick anyone off. I know sleep is a touchy issue at times. Now, who’s going treasure hunting this weekend?

So I’ve seen Random Wednesdays, WIP Fridays… how about Delusional Saturdays? Because I laughed as I read your comments then went back and re-read my post. That list is what happens when Knittybaby falls asleep in my lap and I start thinking and typing, and thinking and typing. Totally delusional thinking, because the reality is that we also have fingerpainting to do, stories to make up, dances to create, hikes to take, supper to make, laundry to do and lots and lots of nursing and cuddling. Then there is bedtime, which takes about 15 hours (okay, just seems to). Then in the wee hours of the night, there is the knitting. So realistically, here’s what will hopefully be done:

1. One pair of socks
2. Mittens for Little Man (but they will be EZ mittens!)
3. Squares for the heart blankie
4. Christmas sweaters for the boys (before I start sounding too ambitious again, these will be Yarn Girls sweaters. Size 15’s, baby!)

Maybe, just maybe, the Simple Knitted Bodice will be cast on. If I at least cast on there is the hope that someday it will be mine. I have my hopes pinned on this:

This is the Amby Baby Hammock, purchased just before the baptism. We’ve had mixed success so far. Knittybaby is just not a good daytime sleeper, period. We do a lot of lap napping, sling napping, cat napping. He has napped for over an hour at a time in his hammock so far, so there is promise that it will turn out to be a good investment. It’s cozy, it’s got motion… what’s not to love if you’re a sleepy baby?

Speaking of sleep, I need to go get some, but I have to share the latest Little Man commentary. We always tell knock-knock jokes when I’m pushing him on the swing. (Know any good ones? Mine are terrible) However, he thinks they’re pretty darn funny, and here’s what he says when I tell a rollin’ on the floor funny one:

“Mom? That really sucks me out!” (said after he stops laughing)

????????

I love the stuff three year olds come up with.

Thanks for all your nice comments on the shawl and wishes of health for my Grandfather. Pops is doing much better and home with my Grandmother. We are pretty much rested up from our big weekend and I’m a bit mixed up knitwise. It feels so, so good to finish up a big project, but then there is that misdirected feeling when you’re just not sure what to do next. Where am I anyway?

I’m about six inches from the front panel og the garter stitch baby sweater. That’s gotta get done. I really should get back to my raglan too. It’s never ever seen this blog it’s so old, but it only needs sleeves. The boys need hats and mittens. But then there are distractions you see, because I’ve been joining….

I’m already in Sock-a-Month 2. I finished one pair in September. I’ve got one purple sock to knit, and one and a half to go on the Angel’s Peak socks. Both fit in with Socktoberfest perfectly, which I just joined, so I’m thinking I should really just get going on that. But there are distractions, you see.

I’ve joined Zimmermania. I’ve yet to knit anything EZ inspired, and I saw this KAL and had to give it a go. But I have no clue what to do for it, I just know it can’t be complicated for now. Mittens, maybe?

I’ve also purchased the yarn for the Stitch Diva Simple Knitted Bodice. I’ve yet to join this KAL because I’m not sure how soon I’ll really get to this sweater. But I’ve got 12 skeins of Knitpicks Andean Silk in lettuce waiting for me, so we’ll see.

To top it all off, there is Knittybaby’s heart blankie to get going on; I just have to plan out the squares. Oh, and sweaters for the boys by Christmas. A million other KAL’s that look like fun, and don’t even get me thinking about the sewing. I love the internet bacause there is so much great stuff out there, but at the same time, there is so much great stuff out there. One at a time I guess. The good news is that there is more sleep going on in this house, which means more time to knit, sew, and hopefully get caught up on all those thank you notes I keep trying to finish up.

Speaking of stuff I keep trying to get to, I totally forgot to finish up SP8. I wrapped up who my pal was (thanks again Christine!), but totally forgot to mention who I got to spoil! So be sure to go visit Suz over at Swankyhanks. She is a lovely person who blogs together with her daughters, and she just started weaving too… (please Suz, don’t tempt me with that weaving stuff anymore, okay? I can barely handle all this!)

Enjoy this beautiful, beautiful Saturday!

Finished!!!!

Yes, it was done on time for the baptism:

Yes, he is wearing a handknit sweater and booties, courtesy of our dear Gomme (my Grandma).
Yes, Knittybaby is also sucking on the ribbon. More on that issue later.

A close-up:
Another close-up:
Details:
The Baby Heirloom Silk Shawl, by Erika Knight in “Knitting for Two.”
Yarn: Rowan 4 Ply
Guage: I never checked. (It’s a blanket. Yes, I know I’m bad. I swatched, it looked good, on I went.)
Needles: Very slippery and too blunt Addis, size 8 for the body, 7 for the edging.
Started: February, 2006 (Olympic Knitting, Baby!)
Finished: Assembled and blocked September 22, 2006. Ribbon added September 23rd. Baptism September 24th!

Notes: I absolutely love this shawl!! It is by far the lovliest thing I have knitted, the most complex, the most delicate, and something I have learned a great deal from. It is not perfect. I joined up yarn in the middle of rows. Not a biggie when knitting stockinette, a biggie in lace because I can tell where it was woven in. I had trouble not losing stitches and had to fudge it in a few places. My yarnovers combined with the seed stitch pattern got a little goofy and also needed a little fudging. Despite the fudging, I did make myself frog back quite a few times in the body to fix it the best I could. My seaming, I have to say, turned out fabulous and was easier than I thought. Overall, I am very, very happy.

One note on the pattern. Despite it’s name, it is not the most practical shawl/blanket for a baby. The ribbon slides all over the place and Knittybaby likes to pull and suck on it. The ends of the ribbon are fraying already, but I’m afraid to put anything on it because he keeps sucking on the ends of the ribbon. Despite the fact that the ribbon makes it so pretty, I think if I were to make it again I would leave it out. Although, maybe not. It is really pretty!

We had a wonderful time with our family this past weekend. Everyone came in for Knittybaby’s baptism, and he was a pro during the church service. Little Man was quite the gentleman, stopping to shake people’s hands when he walked with our pastor down the asile to show of his little brother.

We did, however, have a very scary moment. About 15 minutes after the baptism, my Grandpa became ill during the service. Luckily, a doctor was there and able to help him out. He was taken to the hospital and ended up having to stay a couple of days. He’s home and doing much better, thankfully, but it was pretty frightening at the time. Plus, Pops loves a good party and I know he was sad to be stuck at the hospital when he really just wanted to be back at our place having a good time. We’re all just thankful that it was something treatable and he’s home safe and sound. If anything, it made the time we had with everyone more special, as events like this remind you how important that time really is.

How embarassing… all these new visitors from the Harlot’s Eau Claire post, and I’m talking about clean underwear! I promise, we are not quite that disfunctional over here. Knittybaby turns six months today, and Little Man is just about three and a half now. As I like to say around here, we have been adjusting. I like to think that we are adjusted now, which is why I finally decided it was time to clean out my closet. Poor socks….they are still out on the clothesline but no further evidence of moth invasion. I hoping it was a fluke. Anyway, for those new visitors, here is my Harlot Post #1 and Harlot Post #2( with pictures).

On the knitting front, I am rounding the corner on Knittybaby’s Heirloom Baby Shawl and I have to say I am very proud of this project. It is definitely the most beautiful thing I have knitted. Two more seams to go and I will have pictures for you too see. Three days to the baptism; I’m gonna make it!

Lastly, something fun: Fiberflix. If you like to knit and watch movies this is for you!

Okay, maybe it’s not an invasion yet, I’m not sure what it is, I only know this fact: I found a sock with a very suspicious looking hole in it on Saturday. A sock that was callously left with it’s mate and another pair on my closet floor all summer long, because as you faithful readers know, eating and clean underwear have been the major household goals since Knittybaby has joined our family. Actually folding laundry and cleaning the floors come in second. Then there are the toys to pick up. Handwashing and lovingly packing my handknits away for the summer? Didn’t even make the list.

On to the hole. A year and a half ago, while doing the spring washing and packing of all things woolen, I found a weird hole in an angora sweater I owned. I washed it thoroughly, and packed it in a brown paper bag because Martha Stewart says moths can’t eat through cellulose. I found no other trace of anything mothish and forgot about it. Until Saturday.

I looked at everything else made of animal fiber in my closet. No more holes. Nothing suspicious. The other three socks looked fine. Clapotis? Untouched. Mod City? Nothing. I emptied my closet, vaccuumed thoroughly, and threw the socks in water for a half hour, then hung them outside. They are still there. What else do I do?

My stash is in another room, another closet. It seems okay. What do I do with the sock? Toss it? Unravel and reuse? Am I now hugely at risk for mass moth infestation? Or can you just have a tiny moth hole in your sock and have that be the end of it? The biggest thing is I don’t have the time to really go through each and every skein of yarn with a fine tooth comb. Am I too delusional to think this is the end of it?

Asise from the hole, Saturday just got better and better. You want to know what totally makes up for the lack 0f quiet morning coffee time? Snuggling with your boys at bedtime. There is nothing that makes a bad day alright again and a good day even better than that!