Thank you

I just want to pop in to say how much I appreciate all of your kind words about the death of my father-in-law. Thank you for taking the time. I’m sorry for not being able to respond but they do mean a great deal.

I’ve been feeling like I’m just holding it all together with a thread these days, but that thread is getting a bit thicker and I’m hoping that somewhat soon things will feel a bit more normal. As normal as they can be, at least.

I’ll probably get a new post up here soon. I’m feeling the need to start writing again. I’ve got a huge backlog of stuff to show off and things I want to share, so well see….

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Departure

We lost my father-in-law last week.

He had been battling cancer for a very, very long time. Nearly five years in fact, years longer than anyone ever expected him to do so. He was living with his cancer for so long that we all expected him to just keep on going. But last Christmas he was tired, very tired and the cancer was spreading. We started to think that there might be an end to it soon but not this soon. We thought there was still time for maple syrup making, taking the boys out for walks in the fields, maybe some making of this and some fixing of that. We have been caught off guard by his death and the last week has been so, so hard.

My father-in-law was the ultimate, and I do mean ultimate DIYer. Although I chuckle at that as I write it because he would probably give me a bit of a scowl or a smirk at that one and say, “DIYer? Hmfp…” But he was, and I was endlessly impressed with his ability to make and fix anything. I was saying to the Skeptic that he makes the DIYer’s on Make look like kindergartners (no offense, Little Man). It didn’t matter if it was setting up his own dark room, buying a grader to smooth out the driveway on the farm, or installing solar panels on the camper, he did it. He fixed anything that was broken, and if he couldn’t get that part he made it himself. And the research he did….right down to his own cancer, he  researched everything inside and out and was one of the most knowledgeable people I’ve known. The book of knowledge that left with him is immense.

He leaves behind him a farm full of WIP’s. Projects we are so sad to see he was never able to get to, but should have been able to because 68 is too young to go. One of the last big projects he was working on, back when he was first diagnosed, was fixing up an airplane and building his own runway out in the back field. But chemo takes a lot out of a person, especially when it goes on for years. And so the airplane sits in the shed and we miss him terribly.

This has taken a lot out of us. All the Skeptic and I can keep saying is that we feel like we’ve been hit by a large and fast moving truck. Overwhelmed would be putting it mildly. So I’m taking a blogging break for awhile. Just a few weeks or so and I’ll be back with the birthday updates, including the bear and the roundhouse and whatever I manage to scramble together for Little Man this week, as well as my annual contest.  I just need some room to breathe here, and writing about socks and vests just doesn’t feel right.

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Three years…

Three years ago tonight I was trying to decide whether or not I was in labor. Knittykid arrived quickly, so fast that out of all three births his is the biggest blur…going to bed, thinking that maybe something was up, the Skeptic getting home from work, a call to our doula, a drive to the hospital. Just enough time to check in and then he was there, beautiful blue eyes, little bald head, nuzzled up on my chest while the oh-so-kind nurse just let us be for a long while, no weighing, no bath, just cuddling up with our wee boy, amazed that just like that, he was here.

And now it’s been three years of blessings, sweetness and smiles.

The Skeptic is working away in the basement. He took charge of making Knittykid’s gift this year, (a roundhouse for his trains) and just like us knitter’s he’ll be burning the midnight oil to get it finished up in time.
Roundhouse

I’ve got it easy. I’m heading up to my workroom to make a felt birthday crown for him. Although tomorrow I’ve got it tough as I attempt to make this. The soccer bear is his choice.

I’m terrified, as I can barely frost a cupcake, so it should be interesting, and I promise to post the results. Wish me luck!!

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Filed under celebrations, family, home, kids

I Cast On

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Thank you, Marsha, for wondering why I had all that sweater yarn in my stash when I was not knitting sweaters. This will now be sweater number two for 2009, Diminishing Ribs Cardigan. That’s Knitpicks Andean Silk.

As for the quilt, I went with a mix of the warm and cool, thanks to a Quilt-Along member over on Flickr who clipped them and moved them around….Now I need to press and cut!

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Filed under knitting, Quilting, sweaters

New Territory

pincushion

I’m quilting along in full force. I have no idea what I’m doing, as this is my first quilt ever. So I’m going by the wise instructions of Elizabeth Hartman at Oh Fransson! and then figuring things out with Annik (the instigator) and our friend, (blogless) Karen who actually knows what she’s doing as far as quilting goes. (She’s taken classes and therefore is our Quilting Expert). So far, I’ve done nothing but sort fabric and figure out supplies but I’m having a jolly old time.

The fabric selection is more challenging than I thought it would be. The only fabric I’m letting myself buy is the linen/cotton blend I’d like for the sashing, as well as some extra for the back as I don’t think I’ll have big enough chunks of fabric to match. That leaves my stash for all the actual blocks. Here’s what I came up with last night. And yes, I need opinions…

Option one, warm, pinks/reds/greens:
Warm set

Warm set

One cool set, pinks, blues, greens….
Cool set

Cool set

I’m leaning towards the cool set, although it would be nice to use the warm set since it is made up of a lot of fat quarters. The cool set is all full yardage. Thoughts? Any certain fabrics that work or don’t work? (I should have numbered them). I’m not sure I’m totally happy with either as nothing is really saying “that’s it!” to me. I might have to dig through the stash some more to see….

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Filed under joining, Quilting

Three skeins

On spinning:

Phat Fiber spun up:
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I divided it into reds/browns, pinks/blues, and the last was from one individual sample of roving. More details once it’s knit up!

On levels of insanity:
I signed up for this.

I’m blaming Annik for this and will call her at midnight as I’m struggling through it! Okay, I won’t  call her then as she has a new baby and that would be mean. But I’m totally blaming her. 🙂

On dentistry:

If your own dentist ever tells you you don’t need to take your kids in to see them until they are three, tell them they are BEHIND THE TIMES and get that kid in by the time they have teeth. Poor Knittykid went under general anesthesia yesterday for two root canals, four crowns and four cavities. All would have been avoided if my dentist, as well as the first dentist Knittykid visited, weren’t medieval. Needless to say, I’m mad.

The good news is that he’s a trooper and bounced right back to his usual self by dinner last night. That’s my boy!

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Filed under handspun, kids, Quilting, sewing, spinning

Favorite Room Friday

So Funny Magic is spearheading the idea of Favorite Room Friday, and I had to make sure I posted on this one. I’m sure she’d love it if you played along too!

I had two decisions to make: which room, and do I clean it?

Which room was tough as I love both the sun room and my workroom. But I’ve shared my workroom with you before, and the sun room lately has been a much favorite spot for the whole family, so the sun room it is.

To clean it? Well, I decided to do all moms out there a service and show it in it’s reality as it is this morning. Complete with an untidy nature table, box of old books that need to be sorted, and general untidiness. The floor is dirty, the Valentine’s decoration still hanging, and it’s under the light of a gray Minnesota morning.
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This was the room that sold me on this house. This was also the room that Spinner was born in. (Imagine a birth tub right there in the middle of the room, just when the sun is coming up. Pure birthing heaven!)

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The boys have their corner….

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And I have mine….
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(That’s a blurry one, isn’t it?)

I can sit in this room with the boys while they work in my vintage recliner, the one my grandfather always sat in when he visited, with the sun shining and maybe a bit of knitting with a cup of tea. In the warm months, I can sit hear and see the boys playing outside while I listen to their chatter. I usually choose to just be one with mess that is, and save the cleaning for later.

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So what’s your favorite room??

I can’t leave this post without also giving a huge thanks to Emicat! (I’m so behind this week!) She was my Knitters’ Coffeeswap IV partner and boy did she pull off a great package!!!

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She was a perfect partner since we both love organic, local and fair trade! I got some amazing Seattle coffee from Cafe Ladro along with some phenomenal local chocolates! She sent me some sweet knitter socks and some felt sheep coasters that my coffee has been resting on all week. (At least when Knittykid hasn’t stolen them, he loves them too). There was also a hand knit coffee cozy in my one of my favorite colors these days! And of course, she read my mind and realized the Duet sock yarn was one of the yarns I keep looking at and coveting;, she sent some in a beautiful green colorway. (She knows the dyer, how lucky is that???)I wish I’d taken a close up, but I had to take my picture quickly before the boys came down and saw there was chocolate in the box.

Thank you so much Emicat!!! This was a totally awesome box and everything fits me to a T. You make me want to visit Seattle right now!

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Filed under home, kids, packages, random, swaps

Phat Fiber

First, thanks for all the kind words. My leg is on the mend and I’m up and about and feeling pretty good. I was smart and stayed home Thursday as well despite the fact that the violins needed me, but oh well, they’ll survive as will the kids.   I’ve never quite had a muscle injury like that one before. The ice is my new enemy.

So…. Phat Fiber??

I scored a box:
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If you haven’t run across this yet, it’s a sample box of fiber, yarn and other goodies from indie sellers. I sold some yarn and had a little fiber money to spend so I thought I’d try this out for a change, and I’m so glad I did.

The box cost $33, and I’ll admit that after I placed my order I started thinking of how much fiber I could actually buy for $33, but then I realized I’m overrun with fiber and yarn right now. This is a great way to play with a bunch of new stuff and see how I like it all without committing to just one item. What will I do with it all? You’ll have to wait and see!

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Filed under shopping, spinning, stash, stuff to love

Nice

I love winter. But I hate the thawing season, the season where a perfectly dry set of steps suddenly becomes the stoop of death as you walk to your car. At 7am in the morning, when you know it’s glare ice and you need to be really careful, but you’re carrying your lunch, breast pump, tote bag, computer, two boxes to get shipped at the PO, and your coffee, it seriously sucks. It sucks even more so when you then fall, pull a muscle so badly that it leaves you in tears on the back steps for a few minutes until you finally realize that no one in the house can hear you, so you drag yourself to the door get helped inside and assess the damage.

The damage seems to be that I’ve pulled or torn the muscle on top of my thigh (what’s that called?) so badly that I can barely walk. Ibuprofen and ice have dampened the pain enough that now I can sit here, bored and hurting, being tweaked that I’ve got to miss a day of work and trying the get the boys to not touch Mommy.

This is what sucks about teaching. I could sit here and type all day long but no way can I teach. And when I only work two and a half days a week, a day out means I’m even more behind on fixing the broken violins, making copies, planning curriculum and the other million things I need to do that I can’t do from home since I don’t have my stuff. Plus my kids now miss music this week, which they already basically missed for nearly four months since the sub I had was not a musician. Needless to say, I am not a happy mama this morning. Because not only is the work issue a pain, but not being able to walk when you have three young boys is not easy. Thank goodness the Skeptic is home on my work days, but still. Not easy.

So anyway, as I sit here bored and hurting I will at least show off a few FO’s in the knitting department. I’ve got lots to update including WIP’s and some cool spinning, but then this post would be a book. So we’ll keep it to FO’s today.

First up:
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This is Spinner modeling the handspun hat I gave to my friend Rebecca a few weeks go at her shower. This was some merino, dyed in fours separate rovings that I plied together. The pattern is simply a basic hat with a purl row before I did the decreases. Sadly it was not blocked since I finished it ten minutes before I had to leave, but she’s a knitter so she understood.

Next up, Little Man’s John Deere mittens. He picked the colors himself, because John Deere tractors rule and since he is a farm deprived city kid, he’s got to get his farm fix somehow. So he wears a green uniform most of the time, mittens included.
Checkered Mittens

This pattern was from Kristin Nichols’ book, Kristin Knits and is called Checks and Dots. If you’ve never tried fair isle before this pattern would be a great first project. I used good old Lamb’s Pride for this one. And yes, that is a mistake.

My Ubernatural is done, but awaits buttons, so you’ll have to wait too!

In the meantime I’ll be sitting in this rocker, knitting my newest project and hoping I’ll be on my feet again soon. If anyone has suggestions on healing up, let me know. I’ve never had an injury like this and still can’t get over how much this hurts. Yikes!

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Filed under finished objects, handspun, hats, random

Calorimetry Part Two

I almost had to Kinnear him.
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But he did consent to this picture of the mop of hair neatly under control in his mutt of a Calorimetry. I wish you could see the mess of hair that emerges from it. As I predicted, he did emit a “hmmm” when he unwrapped it and I had to explain what exactly it was, but he’s been wearing it ever since.

In the meantime, I was extremely spoiled this year for Valentine’s Day:
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That beautiful Lazy Kate?? He MADE it for me!! I am a lucky girl. It took the inaugural run today and it works so much better than the built in on my Traveller.

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Filed under family, finished objects, giving, handspun