Joining

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!

The Baby Heirloom Shawl

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!

Invasion!

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!

You know how sometimes you have one of those mornings where you really need just twenty minutes to sit and drink your coffee in a quiet living room, but instead everyone wakes up right away? And your three year old absolutely must play Jay-Jay the Jet Plane with you and your baby has a cold so instead of peacefully nursing he just gets all ticked off because his nose is all plugged up, and your husband is trying to be helpful so he sprays about a gallon of bleach all over the bathroom so you can't even go in there and pee without getting a massive headache? And all you really, really wanted to do was have just twenty, even fifteen minutes of quiet-hot-coffee-drinking time? Yeah, it's been one of those mornings.

Knittybaby's baptism is in one week, and this is the weekend we must GET STUFF DONE. It's stressing me just a tad. (Okay, a lot more than a tad...) But, Knittybaby has unstuffed a bit and finally is nursing peacefully, so I take a break and give you pictures:

This is what you get while trying to take a picture of the Harlot and hold your wiggly baby at the same time:

This is what you take when you realize you didn't ask for a picture and are too much of a polite Midwesterner to interrupt and ask:









This is what you buy while trying to decide if you have enough guts to just go back and ask. Mountain Colors Twizzle and a locally made shawl pin purchased at Yellow Dog Knits. I can't remember who makes them...Dixie?

This is what you get when you find another blogger who is much better at interrupting than you are:

A happy ending, me, Knittybaby and the Harlot!!

Moving on.....

This is what you get when you go to Digs in Northfield, MN. This shop is incredible. I mean really, really incredible. Fabric, yarn, ribbon and a bunch of beautiful stuff. The blue ribbon is for the Heirloom Baby Shawl, which has only two rows left and I cast off!! Then it's just sewing it up, adding ribbon and I'm done!

Finally, my first completed socks for Sock-a-Month Two:


The specs:
Yarn: Spunky Eclectic sportweight
Pattern: too-up ribbing pattern that came with the yarn, slightly modified at the cuff.
Needles: size three

Notes: beautiful, soft superwash yarn that holds up when when mistakingly thrown in with the underwear on hot, although everything else turned pink, including someone's boxers. Glad I did not make the mistake!

I want to give a plug to Meelah, who was my missing blogger in Eau Claire. I didn't get a chance to meet her either. Hopefully next time. Thanks, Stephania!

Me, Knittybaby and the Harlot....

I can't believe it's taken me this long to get this post up! (I've been too busy reading everyone else's recap of the big event!)

I dropped LittleMan off at my brother's house midday for an afternoon of football and hanging out with the uncle. Catherine picked me up, and we were off to Eau Claire! We had a nice drive there and Knittybaby graciously slept the whole way.

I was excited to see how many Minnesota knitters made it there and only wished we had more time to talk (we really need a Minnesota knit-blogger get together!) Can I do this without forgetting anyone? There was Chris, Jess, Tipper, Stephania, Deb, Shelly, Christy, Kelle, Jeanne...I know I'm missing someone.....let me know if it's you! I got to meet Deb (you are hilarious, by the way, I need to get out to Coldwater soon!) but I didn't realize Jeanne was of K3tog so I didn't get a chance to say hello to her. I met Shelly when she came to my rescue (more later). Catherine took a great shot of Knittybaby and I in the circle of handknit socks.

The Harlot was, as expected, even funnier in person. She talked for quite a long time and amazingly Knittybaby slept through most of the laughter. I was sad when it was the end of her talk, but then it was on to Yellow Dog Knits for the book signing! (Check out Knittybaby and I meeting the Harlot on the Yellow Dog Blog).

I have to say, Dixie, the owner, was so welcoming and helpful! She really made it a great night. At the end of her talk, Stephanie said the those of us with babies got to go first in line. Catherine and I walked over to the shop with Dixie, who let us in through the back and took me to the front of the line; nothing like getting to jump in front of a hundred people:-) But, like many other knitters have said, as soon as I was standing in front of her I realized I had no idea what to say. She admired Knittybaby's handknits, and I told her I was trying to get my Olympic project done in time for Knittybaby's baptism, "No problem, you'll finish." she said. Then I said something lame about how she should write a book on how to nurse and knit at the same time. "Lot's of pillows!" was her reply. Then before I knew it the next person was there and I realized I hadn't asked for my picture or mentioned my blog!!

This is where I got all junior high....I was too nervous to interrupt and ask and didn't want to butt back in front of all those knitters again, so I just took a picture from the side. Dixie let me use her office to relax and nurse after some yarn shopping, but I was still bummed about the picture. I mentioned to a bunch of the Minnesota knitters that I didn't get ask for one. "Go back, she won't care!" they all said but as they encouraged me I just kept waffling...."I'm to nervous... I can't interrupt...." Finally Shelly (coming to my rescue) offered to ask her for me. I felt like such a dork, being too nervous to go back on my own, but thank you Shelly, it worked! I got a great picture, and the best part was this: When I told her my blog she hit me on the arm and said, "You're Knittymama? I know you, you should have told me!" I almost died, she knew my blog!!! That made my night, and it was totally worth interrupting for.

Afterwards, Catherine and I had a relaxing drive back home, I picked up Little Man and learned he had been "a little wild" and the Packers had been badly beaten. So I had a much better night than my brother. Thanks, Mike!!

Now, where are my pictures? We'll, it's 11:30, Knittybaby is crashed on my lap and my camera is nowhere near right now. I'll get my pictures up soon. I just wanted to at least get my post up tonight while I had some quiet time to type.

Quick post...

Thanks for all the kind words about my back to work struggles. Knitters are so good at that! I'm feeling better...these last few days off have been good, plus I braved IKEA with both boys on my own today and it was actually quite a pleasant outing. Those toys will be organized yet!

Here is a shot of the lovlies my SP8 Christine sent me. Thanks again Christine, you were an awesome pal and I really enjoyed all your gifts. Knittybaby will be wearing a pair of your socks to see the Harlot tomorrow!


Speaking of socks, I totally forgot to photograph my Spunky socks, I'll get those up soon. But here's the fabric I bought at A Stitch in Time (can't find a site) while home in Onalaska, WI. A beautiful shop if you're ever down in the LaCrosse area!


From the left, you see curtains for the playroom, pajamas for the boys (stripes and cowboys-any pattern suggestions?) and a doublepointed needleholder. This fabric buying could become addicting too.

Anyway, Knittybaby and I are off to see the Harlot tomorrow with Catherine! And I have to mention, did anyone notice the super-sweet comment from Dixie, the owner of Yellow Dog Knits in Eau Claire? There's nothing more welcoming than knowing you are taking your little one into such a baby-friendly environment. Thanks, Dixie! can't wait to get there!

Phew!

Thanks for all the back to school well-wishes! I made it through my first "week" and have decided I'll definitely be liking elementary school. It's the schedule that is gonna kill us. Today it was me getting up at 5:15, to work by 7, done by 11, then home so Mr. No-Name can get to work, then the library, shopping, cooking, bathtime, dishes, bedtime....I can't believe I've done all this in one day. I guess I'm lucky I've got a part time job I enjoy. Couldn't imagine having to do all this and have a job I can't stand, but it still bums me out that I've got to go back to work. I know we can manage it all, but still, it's so depressing that there are so many moms out there like me who really want to be home but whether it's due to health insurance needs (like us) or just financial stuff in general, just can't. I could write pages on this, but don't have the energy right now. Let's just say I've been thinking a lot lately on the whole having-to-work/lack of decent maternity leave and pay/working and parenting in American society and yadda yadda yadda.....it just depresses me because I know our family would be a lot better off if I could just be home all the time until the boys are grown up more and ready for school. But, so be it. I don't want to be too much of a downer because considering our situation, things really couldn't have worked out better. The boys are still home full time and I guess the benefit is they get both Mom and Dad, which is pretty cool. It's just tough when one plan you had really been hoping for didn't work out.

Okay, I'm off my rant and on to knitting! I really wanted pictures tonight, but I'm too tired to find the camera and get everything organized, so here's a little description of what you'll see next post:

1. My final SP8 package arrived!!! My SP8 was Christine of Crisis of Praxis. Once again she gave me an awesome package: Cherry Tree Hill yarn in a beautiful fall colorway, a book I've been dying for, Ann Budd's "Handy Book of Knitting Patterns," another pair of super-cute baby socks for Knittybaby, and some amazingly good chocolate! This SP8 experience has been a great one and Christine, you were a wonderful pal! I cracked up when I read your blog and saw that you ate my chocolate; believe me, I know how hard it is to not eat choclolate that is in your house (just ask Little Man what happened to his Easter bunny). And no worries about the socks. It's no fun stressing over a project deadline. Cherry Tree Hill is one of my favorite yarns and I've got a million sock patterns I'm wanting to try, so you were right on with that one! I promise I'll post pictures soon, thank you again so very much!!!

2. Knitting; I've finished my first pair of toe-ups! The last panel of the Heirloom shawl is underway.

3. Sewing: wait 'till you see the fabric I bought.

And with that, off to bed.....

Readjusting

Well, we've made it through staff development week. I had to go in every day except today for staff development, open house, and getting my classroom ready. For the most part I'm ready to go for Tuesday, just a little nervous about the age adjustment. I can handle a room full of ornery, hormonal teenagers with my eyes closed. But a room full of kindergarteners? Let's just say it's going to be interesting!

Knittybaby actually took an ounce and a half of my milk the other day while I was gone, which was a big improvement, but he's still preferring to hold out until I get back. In the meantime I've already got a stockpile of frozen milk stored up. Knittybaby will be 6 months in just a few weeks and is starting to grab at our food, so we can start solids soon. I figure we try mixing some breastmilk with babyfood and see if he goes for that during the day. Either way, I feel like we turned the corner since he took some of my milk in a bottle, at least enough to take the edge off and make him less upset until I get home. Thank God I'm only working part time!

I'm so excited, I cast on for the last panel for the heirloom baby shawl last night! This is a huge pain, as you need a total of 185 stitches and it is a picot edge, not fun as it takes forever, but at least I can see the end and know I'll have it done by the baptism. Of course, it is also full of little black hairs:

"It wasn't me, really...they are grey hairs, not black! It was Basil, I swear it!"