OMG! Progress!!!!

Sadly not with my knitting. Well...that's not totally true. I'm making some progress on my Elementary Socks. Just not as much as I would like. I've started the gusset on the first sock.




That light colored line you see on the bottom of the foot is the lifeline I put in before I started the gusset section. Gaia is slowly plodding along. She's my take everywhere, multi-task knitting, therefore she's going very slowly. I'll be taking her to tomorrow's infusion. Until I'm off the Benadryl, it's vanilla knitting while in the chair.

What has really been hindering my knitting is the upstairs. And that is where the progress is really starting to happen.
Remember this:



It now looks like this:






If you are looking at those pictures and saying, "But..but...those are only half done walls!?!" you would be correct. There is a reason for that. To be able to read the upper levels there was a piece of plywood that spanned the opening of the stairwell. It rested on blocking that was attached to the unfinished areas of wall. It allowed for us to walk around and work instead of dangling from scaffolding and ladders. The plywood door/floor was not of our creation. It was how we found the upstairs when we bought it. There were no stairs there when we acquired the house. Now I've got to tie in the lower part of the walls and finish painting. I need to stain the wood around the skylight because the trim molding that will go in there won't cover all of what is there. I know I should have done that before painting but these things happen.
As for the color of the walls....I LOVE it! We were stuck between two colors that were very close. One was a little more brown and the other a little more grey. We tapped up color chips of the two and I kept moving them from wall to wall and changing our minds every time we walked by them. My love and the Little Dude picked the greyer of the two. Little Miss, after going back and forth went with the browner one. I'm the artist and the one who paints it, so final color decision is made by me. I picked the greyer of the two: Sherwin Williams Mega Greige SW7031 painted in their new no-VOC line Emerald. I'll be reviewing the paint once I've used it a little more. My color choice was inspired by the many old black and white photos we have of our families. This color will be used in the first floor hallway that this stairway merges into. And I plan on displaying many of these photos on the long wall in that hall.
We did hit a small snag in that the ceiling fan we had bought years ago (it says 2003 on the box, though I think it was more like 2005 when we bought it) is too wide for the space. It will, however, fit in the studio and coordinate with the fixtures for up there. So now we are hunting for a small ceiling fan with light that fits our aesthetic. As you can guess that last part is the hardest. The one I really like is no longer available. And now the hunt is on.

So that's what I've been up to. There has been more progress on the studio side of the upstairs but that only looks like this at the moment.

A lot done, but not visibly so. I hope to be able to prime that side within the next day or two.

Well, I'm off to sand and mud and listens to podcasts.

Happy 4th of July

Finished, Frogged and Started

I've a few finished objects for you.

First is the Tardis shawl for my SIL.


Pattern: Bigger on the Inside by Kate Atherley
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Soulmate  2 skeins
         55% Superwash Merino, 15% Nylon, 30% Outlast
Colorway: Bigger on the Inside
Needle size: US 2 circular
Thoughts: While I love the outcome, I would make a few changes when I knit one for myself. First and foremost I think I will knit the two sections separately and graft them together. Picking up 311 stitches is daunting enough without it being done over a piece that is 400 rows. It is a pet peeve of mine when you are picking up dissimilar numbers of stitches over a piece. I might toy with the lace section as well. It's a nice lace but it didn't knock my socks off.
The yarn knitted up very nicely. It's my first foray into Lorna's Laces since I've been warned by others of their tendency to pool. I wasn't too impressed with the colorway. I'll probably dye my own. I guess I was hoping for a little more variation in the blue. It did take several rinses before it stopped bleeding color when preparing to block it. I'm not surprised with such a dark blue...it tends to be the nature of such a color. I through a little white vinegar into the final rinse.
I'm also not sure I really needed two skeins. I knit the lace out of one skein and then the Tardis section out of the other to avoid the need to splice. I've not measured what is left to see if I could have done it with one. I do believe I have enough for a small pair of socks. 

Verdict: I'd knit it again with a few modifications and in different colorway.





Next was my Little Red Hooded Cape



Pattern: Fair Isle Hooded Capelet by Teva Durham
Yarn: Rowan Big Wool  3 skeins
Colorway- Bohemian
Needle: US 35 Circular
Thoughts: I loved knitting this. It was a fast project and an interesting knit. I did make a change...I came nearly to the end before I realized I didn't like the hood seam. Here it is unseamed...I just knew it would look ugly and who wants a big seam at the top of their head?



I restarted it, this time using Judy's Magic Cast On and knit it back and forth instead of in the round. It came out beautiful. Much better, isn't it?

I made the body a little bit longer, but not long enough that it impeded the use of my arms. I didn't quite use all of the last ball. I really enjoyed the Rowan Big Wool as well. I could see myself buying more in the future.



Verdict: Love it. I'd knit another one in a heartbeat. It's a fun, fast knit and the end product is lovely.

I also frogged a few projects in the last week. The Double Heelix socks went to the pond. Unlike my friend Kris, who will never touch this pattern again, I have plans to knit these in the future. I just have different yarn plans. I had started striping the whole thing and liked how it was coming out, but then I had a bit of inspiration and I need to go buy some yarn before I divulge.
The other victim was my long languishing Kyoto. I like the pattern, though I was having some difficulty with the neckline. I just wasn't in love with the colors anymore. I hope to make this in the future but not from this yarn.

I'm really taking a hard look at my stash of late. I've got a huge queue of things I'd like to knit. I'm on a severe budget restriction that means I'll be working out out stash almost exclusively. It's about time I start pairing up projects with stash yarn. I've also started organizing things on Ravelry. My friend Amy has a clever system. She favorites patterns she likes but only queues project she plans on knitting in the next two years. I had been queuing everything I wanted to knit indiscriminately.  I'm slowly shifting to a system more like hers. I've moved many things out of my queue and into favorites, many being shawls I queued when searching for a pattern to make out of my Ball & Skein stash. I've left the shawls that I have definite plans for in the queue. From here on out patterns that strike my fancy get put into favorites. Ones that are paired with something in the stash or I know I'll be getting the yarn for go in the queue. I'm also working out a system of tagging items to make it easier to pair them with stash.

In my quest to work through some stash and start prepping for the Ravellenic Games, I cast on a pair of socks for my husband. This is my first pair of socks in a sock weight yarn. The pattern is Elementary Waston Socks inspired by Watson's sweater in the BBC's Sherlock series. If you haven't seen it yet, you are truly missing out.  I'm knitting two at at time on DPN's and though it's going well, I'm thinking it's time I learned to Magic Loop.

Ten on Tuesday*

*For some reason this didn't post on Tuesday, even though I did finish and post it. Oh well, here it is. 

10 Ways to Feel Like a Kid Again

1. Hang around some kids. Really. Like Maurice Chevalier says in Gigi "Youth! Stay close to the young...and a little rubs off." That is excellent advice.
2. Play-doh. There's just something in the smell that takes you back. And if you can squish it through the 'Fun Factory' thingy.
3. Eat Popsicles in the summer- It's very difficult to be a serious adult when eating a Popsicle.
4. Swing. Again something so simple that will take you back. 
5. Blow bubbles in your drink. Bonus points if it is milk. Double bonus if it is chocolate milk.
6. Just lay in the grass and look at the sky...without worrying what your clothes or hair will look like when you get up. 
7. Run down a hill....or better yet roll down one. 
8. Two words: Cotton. Candy.
9. Another two words: Carnival. Rides.
10. Don't take yourself so damn seriously. Really, that's the trick to it.

Heat wave

Hello, I am reporting from what feels like the bowels of hell. Yesterday reached a high of 97F with a heat index of 105F. And today is predicted to hit the triple digits. That's too hot for anyone, but for someone with MS it can be debilitating. Any rise in body temperature, even 1 degree, can cause psuedo-flare ups and exacerbate existing symptoms. This has put quite the hitch in my plans for the week. I'm holding my own so far, though I notice that this afternoon I'm more woozy and unsteady than usual.

This week has been a whirlwind of doctor's appointments. Monday I got a lot done before my appointment. I was able to mow the front lawn, do some landscaping, and get some joint compound on the walls all before 10:30.


The landscaping involved digging up the sod along the back fence line and mulching. I don't have edgers for the area yet but I plan on laying in stone edgers and planting along the fence line. The fence isn't ours and I find it very ugly. I want to plant something that will grow fairly tall and block most of it. We get a fair amount of shade back there, which limits my options.



My main project for the week (and weeks ahead) is the upstairs. My husband and I did a walk-through and made some decisions so that we can move the project forward. There is an area for a bathroom upstairs with the plumbing for a toilet roughed in. We had been toying with the idea of putting a shower up there as well, but it ends up not being a feasible option. There really isn't the room for a decent size shower stall and more importantly, no way to get the plumbing in.
Right now this is how it all looks:

The hallway: I have a good sanding left and then to touch up a few spots.


This is the closet area in the room. I'm going to finish the room in two sections starting with this area. The bathroom area is on the other side of the plastic. The closet on the right will have a hanging bar and the wall on the left will have built-in cabinets.


This is the other end of the room. For now it will be the holding cell. Once the above area is done we can move a junction box, finish putting up the drywall, and get it all paint ready.



I've also been playing around with my stash. I've uploaded more of it into Ravelry, and deciding what to keep and what to destash. I'm also picking projects for the keepers. I've got quite the case of startitis. I've also frogged a few projects, but more on that in tomorrow's report. After yet another doctor's appointment.

Ten on Tuesday

No official 10 for today so I'll do my own. I'm on my summer unemployment and I have a mile long to-do list, but several of those are projects to make my daughter. I've included both knitting and sewing projects.

10 Things I'd like to make for Little Miss

1. Pinwheel Sweater by Shelley Mackie -This is the perfect little sweater for those in between days when it's chilly in the morning and evening. What I like about the pattern is that it can be warn for a long time by rolling down the sleeves and flipping the body over.
2. Ridinghood Sweater Pattern by Tina Good- what is there not to love about this one?
3. Anouk by Kate Gilbert -I have several design plans for this pattern.
4. Fionas Top by Sanne Bjerregaard -This is just beautiful. I'd think she'd look lovely in it.
5. Smock Coat by Debbie Bliss - We all know how I feel about Debbie Bliss patterns. I love the look of this. It reminds me of coats I had when I was a wee one. Even my husband looked at the pattern and was impressed, and rarely does the knitting impress him. 
6. Simplicity 4203- I think the top in this pattern is a good solution to the issue of Little Miss preferring dresses and her tendency to climb and crawl over and through everything.
7. Simplicity 2171- This is just too cute and the potential combinations of fabrics and colors are endless. 
8. Simplicity 2391- I've inherited a bunch of lovely vintage pillowcases from my great-aunts and grandmother. I really can't think of anything better to do with them.
9. Simplicity 5391- This pattern is now out of print, but luckily I bought it years ago when it was available. I love the Asian flair to it and again see great potential for creativity in the design. 
10. Folkwear 213- I grew up reading (and watching) The Little House on the Prairie series. Laura Ingalls Wilder has long been one of my idols. I hope to pass that love onto my little girl. 

 Today's physical therapy knocked me on my arse, so very little is getting accomplished outside of some finishing, knit puttering, Ravelry browsing, and watching of Babylon 5.

Ten on Tuesday (plus update)

10 Favorite Ways to Eat Strawberries.

1. Plain- what is better than a perfectly fresh strawberry. Even better if eaten while picking. 
2.  Dipped in chocolate- the caveat being it must be dark chocolate.
3. Sugared- chopped up, sprinkle with sugar and let sit to make their own juice. Easy-peasy and wonderful for the next few. 
4. With cream- whipped or otherwise. Strawberries and cream are an absolute delight. 
5.  Shortcake- either pound cake or homemade shortcake. Those spongy little cake bowls they have at the grocery store are sacrilege.
6. Blended with lemonade- this was my drink of choice while pregnant in the summer and I crave it still. Throw a bunch of frozen strawberries in a blender with some lemonade and maybe some additional ice, hit the button, and you are good to go. Warning: very addictive.
7. In pie- with rhubarb. 
8. Jam- I will be making jam this summer and strawberry is on the top of the to-do list. I use water bath methods for my jam, and I'm currently looking for a sweetened with fruit juice recipe. But that's a story for another post. (hrm...I almost said podcast. Now what does that tell you?)
9. As Popsicles- puree and freeze. I never use juice for homemade Popsicles. It's too thin and watery. Pureed fruit works so much better. 
10. in boozy punch- I once spent an entire day of my college's Springfest buzzed off of the fruit that had been soaking in people's alcoholic punch. The strawberries were by far the best. I have a fabulous rum punch recipe and strawberries are a wonderful touch to it. 

And the update.
I had every intention of posting this weekend but my laptop never came out of my work bag. Friday was my second infusion of my MS treatment. This is a once a month treatment that requires me to spend several hours at the MS center. For the first six treatments I also get an IV dose of Benadryl, incase I have an allergic reaction to the medicine. My first treatment, the Benadryl knocked me on my ass. I slept through the treatement, and then the rest of the day and a full night as well. This time I did better. I was able to knit on my Gaia during the infusion, but I did take a long nap later in the afternoon. My treatments are going to lead to two new projects. It's rather cold in the infusion room (I'm always cold anyway) and getting two IV bags full of a chilled liquid doesn't help. I bring the quilt my Mom made me for my 20th birthday, but come winter I'll need more. The issue lies in the fact that I need to leave my one arm uncovered for the IV. So, I see a pair of fingerless gauntlets in my future. The other project is some sort of wrap or long jacket that I can wear but leave my arms free. I've not searched Ravelry yet so expect a future post on the search.
I did, however, finish knitting Bigger on the Inside. My goal is to block it tonight, then I'll post the pictures and write my thoughts on the pattern. The weather this weekend was lovely and on Sunday I spent a good portion of the day outside. Little Miss was in taking her nap and Little Dude wanted to play in his pool. So, once I set up the pool, I settled into a patio chair and knit away. I knit some more while watching Game of Thrones after the kids were in bed. (FYI- I'm still catching up on the first season).

In other news this is my last contract week at work before my summer hiatus. I'll have seven weeks off (unpaid), two of which the kids will be sans daycare. Therefore that leaves me five weeks with a to-do list that is a mile long. And I plan on blogging like crazy in that time. I've a lot of thoughts in my head to share. Meanwhile at work, I'm doing a semi-major reset of my shop. Nothing is sacred this time around and I should have some pictures by the end of the week. Right now it looks like a complete disaster....which means I should get of the computer and back to it.

Till the next time.

New Obsessions

I've acquired a few new obsessions over the last year. One of these is cake pops.

For the uninitiated, cake pops are when you bake a cake, crumble it, mix with frosting, put it on a stick and coat it with candy coating.  These are the brainchild of Bakerella. Seriously, check out her site, if only for the beautiful pictures. These became so popular that she came out with a book.

I stumbled across this at the library and fell in love. And because I am just that insane, I decided to make some. Actually, I decided that I would be making some for Little Miss's first birthday party. But who wants to do something like that for an event that big without a trial run? Well, normally that would be me, but not this time.

Little Dude was having a Valentines party at daycare (or as we call it 'school'). I figured a bunch of three year olds would be a good test audience. And so the experiment began. I let Little Dude pick out the cake and the candy colors. We ended up with Strawberry cake and candy melts in pale blue, pink and yellow.

Here are the balls rolled and being shaped into the hearts. And there is the book. 

 

Here are the hearts. I probably picked the most difficult shape to start with. I had a few that jumped off of their sticks; I think my cookie cutter was a little too large and the hears became too thin. The hearts really don't lend themselves to dipping and covering very easily. I won't say how late into the night this went. 

Sadly I don't like strawberry cake, or the vanilla flavored candy coating, so I didn't like them. I actually made my neighbor try one and tell me if it was any good. Well, I shouldn't have worried because they were a huge hit at daycare. All of the teachers were raving about them the next day and asking how I did them.

So the experiment was a success and it was a go for the party. Little Miss's party didn't exactly have a theme. Well, it kind of did but not one that translated to cake pops. Little Dude decided that his sister needed to have a Tinkerbell party and so I bought plates and napkins, but that was about it. I couldn't figure out how to do Tinkerbell cake pops, so I went with what I thought was the cutest thing in the book: the owls. Her invitations had owls on them so it worked.

This time I worked the project over several days; baking one day, rolling and shaping the next and then dipping them the night before the party. I was still doing it in the wee hours because I really can't start until the minions go to bed. And both of them wake several times in an evening.

The owls were more intense. I had to improvise for the beaks since I couldn't find the candy chips suggested and I did away with the wings completely. Here is what I ended up with. I don't seem to have gotten any close up pictures. My favorite one is is the one we dubbed 'Sleep Owl', seen towards the middle back. I had gotten some of the coating on the candy for the eye and decided to touch up the eyes and make him a sleepy owl. They were yellow cake with vanilla frosting and dark chocolate candy coating.

I'll be making more in the future. Little Dude is requesting a pirate party for his birthday and I think the pirate pops and some skulls are in order. I'm also trying to figure out how to make little TARDIS and Dalek ones without making myself insane. The possibilities are endless.

Ten on Tuesday and an update

10 Favorite Work Out Songs: This topic is rather timely. Part of my MS treatment includes working with a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. I'm working on hand strength and coordination at the moment and next week we will start on my walking and an exercise routine. So here we go...

1. Dragula  by Rob Zombie
2. O Fortuna by Apotheosis
3. Only by Nine Inch Nails
4. Du Hast by Rammstein
5. Breathe by The Prodigy
6. Machinehead by Bush
7. Blue Monday by Orgy
8. I'm Shipping Up to Boston by Dropkick Murphys
9. Bodies by Drowning Pool
10. Whatever by Godsmack

I think you can get a sense of what I like from that list. Someday I'll have to do a list about my painting music. I like to pair my music with the project. I try to do the same with my books. When I was painting Time After Time, I listened to the stories of H.G.Wells.  When I was doing these really beautiful blood red walls, Dexter is Delicious was the book of choice. For Pippin and all of it's medieval glory, it was the original Shannara trilogy.

I've been trying to write my update post for days. It has been that kind of week.
Last Tuesday I had to pick up Little Miss early from daycare because she wasn't feeling well, which we attributed to teething. Wednesday she stayed home with her Daddy. When I picked Little Dude up that afternoon there was a notice announcing that several of the other kids had hand, foot, and mouth disease. Sure enough that's what she had, in addition to the teething. Then in the wee hours of Friday morning Little Dude came down with a fever too. Normally that isn't such a big deal, but Friday was our 10th wedding anniversary. 10 years was celebrated by caring for two sick kids. (I'm trying not to read anything into it.)

I should have known it was going to be a weird week when I went on our annual pilgrimage to Mass Sheep and Wool and Webs and bought nothing! Well, I did buy some lunch, but nothing fiber related. Partly because I'm facing a summer without a paycheck (again!). And partly because nothing really spoke to me. I had been hoping to get another Stitched by Jessalu bag but I just couldn't decide on what one to get. By the way, if you don't have one (or more) of her bags...get one. They are wonderful and beautifully made. Plus she has tons of sci-fi/geek ones. You can't go wrong. But nothing was really grabbing me. The same with Spunky Eclectic's fiber. And this is the first time I've ever left and not bought something for Ball and Skein. Though, she's got just what I've been hunting for to make my Mina scarf. But it's something I know I can order later. Webs didn't have any of the books I was thinking of, though I was able to peruse Vampire Knits. There wasn't enough in there that I would make to warrant buying it.

Despite my lack of stash acquisition, I've made significant of progress in my knitting of late. Actually, knitting is sanctioned by my occupational therapist to help with hand coordination. So, it's not just a hobby (addiction), it's good for my health (and that of those around me if they don't want to die).

It took me a week but I finally picked up the stitches on Bigger on the Inside. I finished the lace section and blocked it to make the picking up the stitches easier.

As I feared, it is one of those patterns where the number of stitches to pick up and the place they are being picked up from differ. In this case it was 311 over 400 rows. I won't go into what I went through to figure out how to do it evenly. I'll just say, this is a gift and my OCD was running rampant...and thankfully my husband is much better at math than myself. Honestly, that is the hardest part of this pattern. I'm nearly halfway through the TARDIS chart and it looks good. I'll be making a few changes when I make this one for myself.


Gaia is making progress too. She's a great project for when I don't want to think or I'm needing to set it down a lot (read keeping the kids from killing each other).

And the other fiber related news I've started spinning again. We can thank Little Dude for this one. My wheel was around and he had been playing with the treadle for a few days. Finally I said I'd show him how it is used, grabbed some fiber, and then proceeded to spin for about the next 5 hours, with breaks for dinner and getting said minions to bed. I finished a bobbin that night. I just did the second one a few nights ago and I hope to ply them sometime in the next few days. This fiber is some BFL dyed by my lovely friend The Painted Sheep. The colorway is called Pine Meadow. I was an idiot when I split the fiber and didn't bother weighing it so one of the bobbin has more than the other so it won't ply exactly the way I was hoping but I think it will be nice nonetheless. I'm happy to say that now that I am using better fiber, my spinning is much more even. The inherited wool that I had been using was partially felted and not that great. I'm glad I abandoned it. I'm not sure what this yarn is going to become yet.
 

Next on the project list is the caplet from Teva Durham's Loop-d-loop. I'm able to do this now because my lovely friend Peggy had the gigantic needles needed for this project and so graciously lent them to me. I've had the yarn for this in stash for years.

And a little bit of trivia. The background on the above photos is the floor I'm currently painting at work.

Ten on...what day is it??

I'll be damned it's Wednesday, isn't it. Well, here's my 10. I'm a day off...

10 Goals For This Summer 
A lot of these will seem similar to the spring to-do-list

1. Finish the hallways: I've a little more mudding and sanding to do. There are some tricky issues with the upper hall that may hold things up, but I want them at least primed, even if I haven't picked finished colors yet. 
2. Sew Little Miss a wardrobe. She's at an age where it will be easier to sew for her. She likes dresses, but she's also a climber and the two don't mesh well. I'm planning on making her some dress-like tops that won't catch on her knees when she's exploring. 
3. Finish rearranging my work space. My boss built me a new storage unit and I've brought over my flat file. It is really starting to come together now into something that is far more efficient and even somewhat aesthetically pleasing.
4. Not to get a wicked sunburn this year. 
5. Participate in the Tour de Fleece....more on spinning later. 
6. Overhaul my wardrobe...I'm done having minions and I'm through nursing. Now it's time to see what fits, what gets tossed and where I need to fill in the gaps. 
7. Make jam...preferrably from fruit we've picked ourselves. My son lives on PB&J. I'll save a lot on the jelly if I can make my own. In my quest to keep the sugar tamed in our lives, I buy jelly that is sweetened with fruit juice...better for you, not your wallet. I'm hoping to make enough to last the year. 
8. Grow a successful garden...a battleground between me and the rodents in my neighborhood. 
9. Knit or spin everyday. I'm learning the importance of keeping my hands active, and why not get something pretty for my efforts. 
10. Exercise. I'm starting physical therapy for my hands and legs because of the MS. The exhaustion is going to be my enemy in this area, but this is perhaps the most important thing on this list. 

And tomorrow I'll have an update with pretty, pretty pictures.

Ten on Tuesday

Today's Ten on Tuesday is a timely one. I'm on the verge of taking a bunch of time off to get a handle on some of the house projects. So, today's ten: 10 Items On Your Spring To-Do List.

1. Power wash the house- It needs it. Bad. Lots of green stuff growing on our siding. It just needs to be done. 
2. Wash the windows- after power washing, this is the next step. Luckily I have the type of windows that fold in for cleaning. 
3. Sand and finish mudding the upstairs hallway- I just want to get this done. I'm tired of half finished drywall.
4. Paint said hallway- then hubby can put up the fan.
5. Finish the drywall in the main hall- this is where there use to be two doors and now it's a wall. I've got to make it look good and then paint it. It's going to be my main picture wall for all the old family pictures. 
6. Finish power hook up in the upstairs- this is on my geek-boy's list since I don't play with electricity. But it's at the top of my list because then I can start finishing up there. 
7. Work on the flower beds- I've started this. We're using the mulch created by grinding out our stump for the beds. We're creating a new one along the back fence line, and when we replace the other window well, I'll tie together the front bed and the back one. (how's that for a run-on sentence?)
8. Replace the last window well- hubby has done the other two, so this might be more on his list than mine, but it needs to just get done.
9. Raised vegetable beds- I need to figure out placement, build and then get it ready for planting. 
10. Wash and put out all the out door paraphernalia- chairs, table, fire pit etc... basically set it up for a summer of fun. 

Lots to do. And lots more after that. I better get going. Especially on the projects leading me to having my own studio space. I have some big plans for the future, but I need my evil lair before I can implement them.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

And best wishes to my best friend who is off to give birth to her son! Good luck!

Update Monday

Let me just start off saying that the package of yarn arrived safely, but not after it had left the state to figure out where it needed to go. I really don't know what the mix-up was since the address on the package was correct. Watching the package tracking was sort of like watching the downloading bar progress and then jump back when you are really waiting on that information. But it came and here is what was in it:


The yarn is more of a blue than the photo shows. It is Lorna's Laces Solemate and it is destined to be come Bigger on the Inside. Unfortunately, or not, this particular shawl isn't for me. I'm making it for my sister-in-law, who surprised me with an amazing Dr. Who inspired present for my birthday.

Yes. That is a stained glass Tardis candle holder. Which she made. So I think she deserves the first of these shawls that I knit. I'm about to the halfway point of the lace panel on the shawl. The pattern is a very interesting construction. You knit the lace section from one end to the other, increasing then decreasing as you go. Then you pick up stitches along one edge and knit the Tardis design down from there. I can't say that I'm really enjoying the lace section. It's an easy enough pattern but I just can't seem to get into the groove of it. Perhaps because I'm trying to do it while watching TV. I'll try listening to podcasts instead and see if that helps.

I'm liking the yarn so far. It's quite lovely to knit with and not turning my fingers blue while I knit, as often I find the deeper blues do. My only complaint is the condition of the skein. One of them wound perfectly. The other....

as you can see, not so much. I don't know why this keeps happening to me. I'm not sure if I blogged about the Rios debacle a few years back. Two of my three skeins did this. It is as if when winding the skein they went the wrong way for a few rounds and then back again. My husband has spent several hours this weekend working on this. He's like a vampire with a knot obsession, a real vampire, not the sparkly kind.

I'm making headway on Gaia.
 I really like this pattern. I'm further along than the picture here shows, but this gives you the idea of how the yarn split up when I separated the knots. Oh Noro, why? But the nice thing is that I can follow this pattern when I'm completely drugged up, so that's good.

And why was I drugged up, might you ask? I had my first infusion to treat my MS on Friday. I finally got my test back and found it was safe for me to begin treatment. I was armed with my two shawl projects, a book and my DVD player with some Babylon 5 and Pride and Prejudice (wasn't sure what my viewing mood would be). I took the day off, not knowing how it was going to effect me. And it's good I did. The first six doses of the once a month treatment include an IV dose of Benadryl, in case of allergic reaction. Now I regularly take Benadryl, and it doesn't have much effect on me. Well, Friday was a whole different story. That stuff hit me fast and hit me hard. I had been reading the pattern for Bigger on the Inside, and suddenly it was just a blur of letters to me. I spent much of the infusion napping...well I spent most of the rest of the day (and night) asleep. To be fair I had been hit with a small stomach bug that struck down my husband earlier in the week. It took him a day or so to sleep that off, so I think it was the one-two punch that knocked me out. Either way I was next to useless. I guess we will see with next month's infusion.

Mother's day was low key, but rather lovely. From Little Miss I received a version of the handprints poem and her prints on some nice watercolor paper. From Little Dude it was a box painted and decorated (handprint on top) and the poem inside with a bracelet that he strung. My husband gave me some flowers and a package of smoked salmon all to myself.

We had our trees worked on finally. The damage from Snowpocalypse left them in need of major attention. We had a lot of hangers that would drop whenever the wind picked up. I was terrified to let the kids play outside. We joined forces with our neighbor so that the tree company could come out once with the heavy equipment. In the end, we each had a tree removed. I'm sad to see the lovely old red oak go, but it needed it. Our tree guy is one who prefers to keep trees, if it is safe to. So when he says it should go, I trust him. It ended up that this particular tree was rotting down the center from the top down and and bottom up. The hadn't quite met in the middle yet. But now we have somewhere to put the big pirate ship playscape in our yard.
Here's a few pics of the felling of our tree:

That horrible moment...

when you are tracking a package of yarn, yarn you are desperately waiting for and it says this:

Your item was forwarded to a different address at 8:11 am on May 07, 2012 in Another town, CT zip code two digits off. This was because of forwarding instructions or because the address or ZIP Code on the label was incorrect. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.

I think I'm going to explode. 

Tickled Pink

I'm sorry about the lack of posting. Blogger has changed again and I'm totally lost...and apparently so is a post or two. I'm very confused.

So I want to thank those who donated to team Pirate Robots. I was deeply touched by and it means so much to me. By the post title you might guess that we reached our goal. Not quite but we came close enough that I went pink anyway. We raised $1,734 out of our $2000 goal. (You can still donate until May 25th.)

I'm loving the pink. I'm not quite loving my hair's reaction to the bleaching. The ends took a beating and now my hair is very easily tangled. I'll be getting a cut soon...and we may work some purple into the color. Little Dude loves it and has requested that it goes purple next. He also wants it blue for his birthday party.

Life has been a little bit of a whirlwind lately. I've continued to have numerous doctor's appointments and tests. I'll be receiving treatment at phenomenal MS center very near to where I work. This place is truly amazing. They have state of the art equipment for just about any issue you could have with this disease. The staff is very warm and welcoming. I keep saying how lucky I am. It sucks having the disease but when we caught it and the fact that I am located near such a wonderful treatment facility, I really am lucky.

Now I've just got to fight the exhaustion that comes with the disease. At least now I know why I'm so damn tired all the time. Of course chasing down two minions doesn't help in that area either. Little Miss is really taking off on the whole walking thing. She's now shifted to more walking than crawling, and a lot more walking without hanging on to things. And she's really perfecting her climbing. She climbs EVERYTHING. I had to pull her off the front of the stove the other day. And when you tell her 'No' she just turns her head and smiles. Luckily I'm immune to such wiles. I keep telling her that I invented that look. She's also not afraid to express her opinions (not my daughter?!?!). Yesterday I tried to put her back into her pj's after changing her diaper first thing in the morning. She immediately started to complain and point to her closet. So I stripped her down and then held her up to her clothes. Little Miss pushed aside clothing until she found the dress she wanted and then grabbed onto that. Mind you, she's barely a year old!!!! I'm in trouble with this one.

With Little Dude we are still having Adventures in Potty Training. Last night/this morning what had a major set back. He sneaked into our bed a some point in wee hours without my husband noticing. Normally that's not so much a problem but he slept so deeply that he peed in our bed. The bed I had just changed the sheets on (for the first time in longer than I'd ever admit). Not how one likes to start their day.

On the knitting front, I've been knitting, but don't have much to show for it. I started a Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman. In usual form I didn't bother with a gauge swatch and that came back to bite me, only because it is bigger than I wanted for the intended giftee. So I put it off to the side a day or so ago. I may continue on it or I may frog it.
What I did do, however was a little sit down with my Noro Kueyron Sock. I have a love hate relationship with Noro yarns. I think they are beautiful, but my god are they full of knots. I've not had a skein of Noro that has had less than two knots in it, which can really suck when working with their colorways. A friend of mine was knitting the Gaia Should Hug and came across a knot. She continued on and then realized that the next run of yarn had the color changes going in the other direction. This is the shawl that this yarn is destined for and when I initially wound the skein I ended up with 3 separate runs of yarn. It was very Goldilocks....I had the big ball, the medium ball and the itty bitty ball. So being the freak that I am, I sat down, rewound each ball and wrote down the colors as they would so that I could line up the color changes. Ok, a little OCD, but when it is the look that you want, go for it. I found that what I have isn't too far off and I should be able to make it work without too much variation from the intended gradation of color. The colorway is a lovely mix of maroon, orange, green gold, green brown and a deep and light purple.

I'm hoping to cast that on tonight.

The red vest is sitting alone until I have some coherent alone time to work the shaping on the top. My double heelix socks are...somewhere. I ripped back the cuff on the first sock and are staring to continue the striping pattern and teaching myself jog-less stripes as I go. I'm planning on a ton of projects because I've been listening to knitting podcasts and they are adding things to my knitting queue as well as my reading and watching queue. But another post about podcasts later. I must be off to liberate the minions from daycare.

Ten on Tuesday

I'm back for Ten on Tuesday.  Today's topic: 10 Items Pinned to your Bulletin Board. This would be have to be my work bulletin board since my studio is still in process of being moved.

Color sheet from the top three paint brands I use at work. I've recently learned that I must hoard these since they are no longer being made. Since our budgets are so paltry, I can't keep a can of every color in stock and rely on these sheets to decide on what I need to order for a show. 

A lovely drawing done by Little Dude. This one is purple crayon on newsprint.

A drill bit guide. Think knitting needle/crochet hook gauge tool, but for drill bits. 

The paint formula numbers for the black box theatres. Comes in handy when walls need repainting. 

Decimal equivalents chart-for the obscene amount of math required on the job. 

A list of the days daycare is closed....so I remember to take those days off. 

The list of shows we will be doing next season.

My work scarf for when it gets two damn cold in here. This is one I don't care if I get paint on.

Various business cards, contact info and phone numbers. 

A bit of inspiration in sign form: 

We the willing 

Led by the unknowing 

Are doing the impossible 

For the ungrateful

We have done so much

For so long with so little 

We are now qualified 

To do anything 

With nothing.

That about sums up my job. 

So not really fun, but a little snapshot of my workday.

Walk MS

So after the revelation in the previous post, I decided to participate in the National MS Society's Walk MS fundraiser. Which turned out to be about a month from when I was diagnosed. I figure it's a good way to meet some other people in the area with the disease, as well as get my butt moving. It's going to be really important that I exercise now, though I still can't imagine when the hell I'm going to find the time.

So I started a team: Pirate Robots   (yeah, I let Little Dude pick the name)

And I set up a challenge: If we raise $2000 then I will dye my hair this color for race day.

Right now we've got $803. We've got $1,197 to raise in the next 7 days. (Less if you consider that I'd be getting my hair done sometime on Saturday).

If you can, please donate. MS is an area of research where they are making tremendous strides, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. I am lucky that there is an MS Center close to me for treatment. Others are not as lucky. Please help. Or if you are local, join the team and walk with us. If the weather is good, the kids will be in the wagon with us. And if you walk with us, I'll have some Pirate Robot headwear for you.

So there's my plea.


Tomorrow is my big appointment. I'm somewhat nervous, but mostly overwhelmed with all the information I've been reading.
And I've been knitting, so I'll have some crafting posts forthcoming.

All that it is

Hi. It's me again. I know I've been gone for about a month but I've been dealing with some medical issues. I've been pondering how to write about this, or whether or not to write about it. I've really been thinking about this blog and what I want it to be. I feel like I'm withholding so much of my writing because of my kids. Not in the 'they will one day read this way' because I'm no less strange in my daily life with them, but in a 'protecting my kids from the creeps of the world' kind of way. I'm struggling to find that balance. Plus I don't want to bore you with stories of my kids. I do that to people enough. So what do I want this to be....I don't know, but I want it to be more. I've been listening to a lot of podcasts lately and thinking of this blog. Podcasting is so not a possibility for me at the moment, and I totally hate the sound of my voice. So I'm left with the blog, and that's not a bad thing. I just need to figure out how to fit it into my life more. Little Miss is more mobile and weaned and I nearly have a space of my own at home, so a think a renaissance of my lovely little blog is on the horizon.
That being said I wonder if anyone reads it anymore.

So let me tell you the tale of my medical adventures lately. Since the birth of Little Miss I'd been experiencing weird twinges in my upper back at random moments. It was usually when I would sit down to nurse her. Later I discovered it was linked to the motion of looking down, which you do when you nurse, so that makes sense. No big deal, I filed it away to mention at my next doctor's appointment. It happened so randomly that it didn't worry me. Then in January I noticed numbness in the tips of my two middle fingers on both hands. A little more unsettling as my hands are my livelihood. And then it began to spread...a tingly numbness. When I was in the doctor's office for Little Miss, I made an appointment for myself. (side note- we see a family doctor who treats the whole family) I saw the PA in mid February and she sent me off to a neurologist to test for carpal tunnel regarding my hands, and felt the back issue was muscle related. At this time the back twinges were happening more frequently.
So I have the nerve conduction test, which in simple terms means they shocked me and stabbed me with needles. It was not a pleasant visit, perhaps made worse by the fact that the doctor felt no need to really talk to me at all. I'm sorry, but if you are going to poke the crap out of me and zap me, a little small talk would be nice. Is it really to much to ask?
That test came back negative. No sign of carpel tunnel at all, which is why it probably hurt so damn much. The PA kind of was taking a very laid back approach to the whole situation and just suggested I wear wrist braces and go from there. And here is the turning point for me. I'd hate to think where this would lead if I had just left it with that. But, you see, the numbness/tingling started to show up in my feet as well. I told her this and pointed out that my mother has MS. She consulted with the doctor and set me up with a neurologist appointment.
Off to the neurologist I go. Mind you, all of this is going on in the busiest part of our season. I was swamped at work with several shows and drama disasters left and right. Right off the bat I love this doctor, and it's not just because she has this lovely Irish accent. She's my age and has a son who's age falls between my two children. One of our first discussions was about breastfeeding, and I knew she supported my goals and concerns in that area. I was sent for a slew of blood tests (10 vials!!!) and an MRI. Ah yes, the MRI. I'm somewhat claustrophobic; not horribly so, but enough that the thought of being put in a tube surrounded with loud banging didn't quite thrill me. I have a co-worker who somewhat tweaked and ended up not having his. His experience actually helped me when I was in there. I kept hearing his voice saying "don't open your eyes", but then I'm getting ahead of myself. One of the questions they ask you is if you've ever gotten any metal in your eye. Why yes. I work building stuff. We weld, grind metal, cut metal and do all sorts of things with metal. I've gotten it in my eye. This is a problem when a giant magnet is going to be whizzing around your head and could pull that metal through the wrong side of your brain. Therefore I needed an X-ray to be cleared for my MRI. I warned them of this in my pre-appointment phone call. They apparently didn't get the memo. So, I'm sent of to radiology. I get a few X-rays. I sit and wait. The doctor sees something and wants a few more. The doctor still sees something, but isn't sure what it is so he wants a CT scan. I have the scan and then wait some more. They clear me for my MRI, so by the end of the day I've had 4 or 5 X-rays, a CT scan, and an MRI. I half expected to glow in the dark.
Off to the MRI. Apparently the patient before me freaked out because I saw the nurse walking a tearful woman back to the changing room saying that it happened all the time. That bolstered me some into not freaking out myself. They at least provided headphones and tuned it to my chosen radio station. I found it amusing that my job and it's proximity to loud noisy tools perhaps was the best preparation. The banging was a minor annoyance. The laying still for an hour was harder. Oh, and don't leave your ticket for the parking garage in your pocket.
That was a Thursday. I had an appointment with the neuro the following Wednesday. On Friday she called me and asked to see me later that day. Needless to say I somewhat freaked. My stomach pretty much dropped out and I had to force myself to eat lunch. My mind raced through all the possible options that I had been pondering. I have to say those were the worst moments. The uncertainty...the horribleness of my imagination (there is a downside to an active imagination)...the dreaded anticipation were all worse for me then the actual answer.
And that answer? Well, I have Multiple Sclerosis. It wasn't the worst thing on my list, but it wasn't the best either. My Mom was diagnosed with it 20 years ago, so I am no stranger to it. I am more fortunate in that we have caught mine very early and in that research in this area has made great strides since then. When my Mom was diagnosed, there were no real treatment options. You went into a lottery for a chance to participate in drug trials. Now there are several options, not without their downsides mind you, and several more on their way. My doctors, I have two neuros now, are being very proactive. I found out on a Friday. That Monday I began receiving treatment for my current flare-up. And soon we'll decide on the next course of treatment.
An so begins a new journey in my life. I've been surprisingly pragmatic about it, much in the way I handled Little Dude's 'accident'. Getting upset or depressed about it won't change things. It's best just to deal with it as it comes. Don't get me wrong, I'm not 100% with the situation. There are moments where the whole thing seems very surreal. Sitting in the hospital with an IV and a bag of steroids going into me made things far to real. But what else can I do. I'm a mother of two amazing and energetic kids and a full time scenic artist. I don't have time to wallow in self pity. I don't plan to submit.

*shrug*

I didn't post last week because every bit of free time was going towards Little Miss's 1st birthday party.

Yep. My baby is one. And we threw a quasi-big family party that included all the aunts and uncles, cousins, and most of the grandparents. (those that didn't make it were invited, travel just didn't work out). And for the day she had a lovely little party dress and *gasp* her Debbie Bliss Shrug. Have I blogged about this shrug. I know I posted a few snide fb comments about it. I have a love/hate relationship with Debbie Bliss. I love the *look* of her patterns. They are clean and classic and beautiful in a simple way. They are timeless. Then I go to knit them and I get extremely frustrated. For one, she seems to hate knitting in the round. I've adapted many of her things to get rid of unnecessary (to me) seaming. Then there is the lack of schematics. This shrug was desperately in need of schematics. I was lucky enough to find some at Redshirt Knitting. Another thing I've discovered about her patterns is that when you are asked to pick up stitches for edging, sleeves and the such, it seems as if she rolls some D&D dice to get the number of stitches you are suppose to pick up. The number never makes sense to me, nor fits in well with the area you are picking up from.



So it's been sitting on my needles for a while.  All that was left was the ribbed cuffs on the sleeves. Enter the adorable dress I bought for my daughter's birthday party. The dress without sleeves. I figured that I'd just put a white long sleeve onesie under it. No biggie. Well my mother kept telling me how she saw these really cute shrugs and should she pick one up for Little Miss to wear with her dress. I kept saying, no, she'll have a onesie on. Finally I said to my mom, "You really don't want me to put a onesie on under the dress, do you?" I'll refrain from writing her response, but in the end I said "Fine. Don't buy her one. I'll finish the shrug I started ages ago. It should go with the dress." Actually it matches the dress perfectly. I couldn't have matched it better if I were trying. And she wore it and looked absolutely adorable. To do the cuffs I ended up just picking up on the sleeves, not paying attention to the pattern and did the ribbing.


Pattern: Baby Shrug by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Jo-Ann Sensations Tesoro

Hey I finished something!

I did indeed. I finally completed Little Dude's hat/scarf combo.

 

 As you can see, he likes it.


Very much.


Very, very much.


This is the pirate pose. (it's an eyepatch)


Pattern: Orange Twist Child Hat-Scarf
Yarn: Bernat Aspen Soft

I made some modifications to the pattern to make the hat a larger size to fit my older child, as well as to accommodate my OCD need for symmetry. I increased the length of the scarf. To make it fit my 3 year old, the scarf sections I increased to 22 stitches, the hat front to 22, and the back to 18. I also reversed the second scarf, both in placement of the cables as well as cable direction. I had a little flub that I turned into pattern variation. Between the first and second cables I only did a 6 row repeat instead of the 8 row. The rest I did the 8 row. I repeated it on the second scarf.

I also started something...or restarted. I've got 12 working days to start and finish our next show so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to resurrect Footprints in the Sky. So come read about my insane journey in the glamorous world of show biz.

Ten on Tuesday

I'm not going with the collective Ten on Tuesday topic since, I, in fact, did not watch the Oscars. I don't really enjoy award shows at all. I watched Dr. Who instead.

So I'm picking my own topic today.
10 Knitting/crafting goals for the year. I've been reading the Knitter's Life List and it has inspired me.

1. Finish my Double Heelix socks. These will be my first non-worsted/bulky socks. 
2. Make the comic-book quilt. I've been planning it endlessly in my head.
3. Spin- I want to finish spinning my 'crap' fiber and indulge in some good stuff.
4. Make some orange socks for Little Dude. They were a request....how can I not?
5. Pull out my two UFO's and finish them. Now that Little Miss is starting to wean, I have no excuses not to work on Kyoto and my Red Vest.
6. Finish the T-shirt quilt for my FIL. I hit a roadblock on this one and I need to get it done.
7. Do a project that requires steeking. Because nothing says courage like cutting up a bunch of colorwork. 
8. Design at least one knitting pattern. I'm thinking either child's dress or shawl.
9. Paint at least one non-work canvas. 
10. Start at least 4 new projects from my Ravelry queue. I'm up to 10 pages queued....I ought to start some of them. 

So there it is.
And I have a lovely story concerning Little Dude and a knitted item. He spontaneously decided to wear his Spring Vest this weekend.  I told him that I had made that for him. His reaction: "WOW!!! Thank you Mommy!" voiced first in absolute awe and then the sweetest gratitude. I love this kid.

Sick day

We're having another sick day here. Yesterday My Love and I split the day up and I was able to get to work for a few hours and get some painting done. Not so much today. So far I've gotten Little Miss to take a small nap while I wore her in the carrier.  She didn't register a temp this morning but she's still out of sorts. She didn't go to bed until 11:30 last night. I'm hoping I can convince her to take a good long nap later and get some stuff done. The question is: do I clean or do I craft? hrmmm...

Ten on Tuesday

I guess I haven't blogged in a week. I keep falling asleep on the couch once the kids are in bed so not much is getting accomplished. Plus Little Miss has a come and go fever. My charity project acquired a horrendous tangle that I sicced my husband on. He's crazy when it comes to knots in yarn. We did that this morning while waiting for the doctor's office to open. Well, here's my ten for today:

10 Things You Can See From Your Favorite Knitting Spot

1.  the TV - I usually knit in front of the TV and half watch what is going on. It's often just background and forces me to look away from my knitting periodically. 
2. The wedding pictures of my grandparents- I love old photos and i have a display of their wedding party and then individual portraits of all four of them.
3. The kids toys- this is also the main play room so we have toys everywhere from Little Miss's little music table to Little Dude's train table. 
4. The fireplace- it was one of the selling points of the house for me, though aside from the big October storm and power failure, we haven't used it in years. It's tough enough keeping the kids out of trouble without adding fire to the mix. But when the are old we'll fire it up again. 
5. 'the pretty desk' - this currently sits in front of the fireplace. It was a piece rescued from the prop storage clean out. The footprint of the desk is a trapezoid and doors and drawers are veneered in burled wood and book-matched grain. I love the piece.
6. The book cabinet- Another rescue piece (I prefer old furniture) filled with our various leather bound book collections, photos, and knick knacks.
7. The old treadle sewing machine- this folds into it's cabinet and us currently the table for the light in the front window. 
8. Our ugly couch- it's ugly but it was free. How ugly you say?? Think Marie's couch on Everybody Loves Raymond, minus the plastic of course. 
9. Our IKEA cabinets- we have these two odd alcoves in the living room that are deep and narrow and just shy of two feet. Luckily IKEA is metric therefore they just fit in there and we promptly stuffed them full of books and DVDs. Little Miss has taken to pulling all the DVDs off the shelves (and Little Dude has taken to scolding her for it.)
10. My framed posters- I buy a poster whenever I go to a new art museum. In here I have The Lady of Shallot and Pygmalion and Galatea.

Ten on Tuesday

10 Favorite Super Bowl Party Foods.
or should I just say party foods. Though the food, to me, is the only reason to go to a Superbowl party. I hate football. I hate it more than I hate baseball...and it's about on par with basketball. And frankly we can't go to these parties anymore because it starts too close to bedtime for the kiddos. But if you are going to do it, this is how it should be.

1. Buffalo wings- And I mean real Buffalo wings. Not the crappy knock-offs that I keep finding around here. I'm from Upstate NY. I know what a Buffalo wing is. It's made with Frank's Red Hot and butter. That's it. You can have other chicken wing flavors as well but you better have the original.
2. Tortilla chips and Queso- a must. 
3. Nachos- Loaded. with everything. 
4. Potato chips and French onion dip- Heluva Good is the only acceptable brand of dip.
5. Veggies and dip
6. Chili- if ambitious you can do both white and red. 
7. Pizza- delivered or homemade. in a variety of flavors
8. Ribs- need I say more
9. Spinach artichoke dip- another must (my recipe is called 'crack dip' by my friends because they accuse me of putting crack in it. It's that addicting)
10. Brownies- chocolate goodness in a non messy delivery system. 

So there you go. Enjoy the game. I'll be giving the kids a bath and then watching Die Hard. 

On the nightstand: Skein of the Crime, Heroes. Volume two
On the Ipod: Death Comes to Pemberly
On the Kindle: Knitter's Life List
On the needles: Double Heelix socks, Orange Twist Child Hat-Scarf, charity scarf & hat,
On the wheel: nada
In the sewing basket: finished Marvel pillow case and blanket
On the easel: nada
On the shop floor: Time After Time

Update Monday

It was a weekend of contrasts.  Saturday was busy with my son's social schedule, which by the way is more active than mine. Sunday was spent at home cleaning and trying to keep the peace between the minions. Little Miss thinks the Little Dude is just amazing and wants to do what ever he is doing, and he just wants her to stop touching his stuff. And Mommy just wants 10 minutes of quiet and to finish a mug of tea while it is still hot....if she can find where she left it.
Now that Little Miss is nursing less and doesn't require being held all the time, I'm able to get some projects done. I finished a new pillowcase and blanket for Little Dude's nap stuff for school. I had noticed when I passed through school at nap time that his blanket was suddenly too small (when the hell did he get so big?!?). So we took a trip to JoAnn's and I let him pick out his own fabric. We started by picking out fleece for the blanket. Well, there was so much to choose from; everywhere we looked was a new superhero. First one he saw was Batman, then Superman, then Captain America, then Green Lantern (I'm raising my kids to be both Marvel and DC). Then I found it....the fabric with Thor, Wolverine, Hulk, and Ironman. "THAT IS AWESOME!!!"

 

Then we rounded the corner to the fabrics and I was astounded at the number of superhero fabrics (thank you Avengers movie). He picked his favorite and I decided that I need to make a quilt. Well two actually. I can't have Marvel and DC together in one quilt. (My husband thinks I'm nuts). I'll be fabric shopping soon.

I've been trying to get knitting again. I started the Double Heelix socks way back in July. After a rough start and some abandonment I'm almost done with the first sock.

I've some things to say about this pattern but I'll wait until I've finished. I have some ideas for the second sock and I want to give them a try first.

I also cast on for the Orange Twist Child Hat-Scarf last Wednesday. I've been wanting to make this for my son. I showed him the picture and said he liked it. I asked what color he wanted, "PURPLE!" was the reply. It's his favorite color (mine too!) and I'm not the kind of parent who is going to have a conniption fit about my son liking purple. I grabbed a skein out of my stash and asked him if he liked it. He preceded to hold and hug it for about 3 hours. (I think he liked it).  I'm having to make a few adjustments because the largest size is still too small for him.




It is coming along well, and once again this weekend I proved that I can do cables while on Percocet. I might not be able to walk normally, but damn it, I can cable.

Then there's my perpetual use-up-the-stash, leave-on-the-back-of-the-couch, knit-a-few-rows-here-and-there project. I'm clearing out my stash of the yarn I bought before I knew better. Well, some of it I bought. A lot of it I inherited from various people. I'm making mostly scarves, but also some hats and gloves for the mitten tree at the library.



That's all the knitting for now. I'm hoping to cast on a dress for Little Miss's upcoming birthday soon.

I thought I'd keep a running list of what I'm reading, listening to, and working on. Here it is.

On the nightstand: Skein of the Crime, Heroes. Volume two
On the Ipod: finished The Time Machine, podcasts : Wait, wait don't tell me, Car Talk, Geek Girl Crafts
On the Kindle: Knitter's Life List
On the needles: Double Heelix socks, Orange Twist Child Hat-Scarf, charity scarf & hat,
On the wheel: nada
In the sewing basket: finished Marvel pillow case and blanket
On the easel: nada
On the shop floor: Time After Time

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

We've been sick. And by we, I mean the entire household. And by sick I mean the plague that has hit most of this area that involves a lot of congestion, mucus, coughing, more coughing, nose blowing, sinus headaches even more coughing and general malaise. I still have an occasional touch of the cough, but I am fairly healthy now.

Life has busy. The holidays went well. We did the grand tour of our hometowns, connecting our children with as many grandparents, and aunts and uncles as possible. In typical baby fashion, Little Miss was more enthralled with the bows then the actual gifts. Little Dude is at the perfect age for Christmas and there was constant chatter about Santa and excitement in opening gifts.

My birthday has come and gone without much celebration. (I can't believe that I'm 35 now) My Love had to work all day but he popped home for dinner. He did bestow upon me the lovely gift of ear protection I can plug my iPod into. I've been wanting this for a while now and I love them to death.

Work is exceeding busy and I hope to resurrect Footprints in the Sky soon. The problem of being really busy often means that I'm lax in taking pictures.


The minions are wonderful. Little Miss is my delight. She's such a happy girl, but isn't afraid to express her opinion. She's recently learned to shake her head 'No' and uses it often. She would love to eat big people food, but at 10 1/2 months old she still has no teeth. But that doesn't stop her from trying. She'll pound the table in proper Viking fashion when she demands her Cheerios. She's also on the verge of walking. Just this weekend she started walking along walls that don't have handholds and around doorways. You can see her think about trying to cross some wider spans but then she decides against it and crawls. But don't think that slows her down. She's crazy fast with the crawling. And yes, I dress her in pink and skulls. My Love gets a kick out of the flashes of my girly side in the way I dress her.

Little Dude just amazes me more every day. He really enjoys painting (go figure) and building things. His imagination has no bounds. I'll have to post some of his artwork. To the left he is painting a picture of the Hulk. (Yes, I have passed on my love of comics to him as well). I love how the pants are just a purple line across the page. Here you see him painting Hulk's toes.





 
This is a vampire he made out of one of his Christmas presents. Like I said....imagination galore. He recently learned about the differences between boys and girls, so we tend to have a lot of discussions about who has a penis and who doesn't. I just about died the morning he asked me if mine had been cut off. Everyday is a new adventure with these two.

Beyond that from a crafty/creative standpoint it has been slow. On my needles I have the Double Heelix socks from Knitty. I'll be giving my review of that pattern later. I've been trying to clear out my stash of yarn-I-bought-before-I-knew-better by knitting scarves and hats for charity. They are basic and boring and things I can stick on the back of the couch and knit a few rows while the kids are playing. My socks, by no means fall into that category. I've got a long list of things that await finishing...mainly my Tilted Duster. I've knit it all, I have fabulous buttons. I just haven't sat down and done it. Of course finding time to do it without 'help' is a challenge as well. I've been itching to spin but the wheel is hidden upstairs in my eventual studio, but that space is still lacking in power. My Love requires a full day off from work to complete that project, so who knows when that will happen.

Honestly I've been doing more reading of late. And in all forms. I'm not sure if I mentioned, and I'm too lazy to look back and see, that I started listening to audiobooks while I work. Beware, this can be addicting. Very addicting. And the nice thing is that if a book sucks, and some of them have, at least I still did something productive in that time. We were also graced with a Kindle Fire this Christmas, by some very generous parents. I never though I'd take to an e-reader, but it's not bad. It is especially nice for those nights where Little Miss requires a lot of rocking to fall asleep. You know those nights where they're out until you lay them in the crib and then they are wide awake screaming. Yeah. Love the Kindle those nights. And I still have a stack of traditional books all around. Right now I'm working on no less than 4 books. I'll be doing a post on books soon as well.

I've also found the joy of Podcasts recently as well and I've been inspired in all sorts of ways. Now if I can just manage to stay awake after the kids go to bed, maybe I can accomplish something. 

Well there it is. I have some scenery calling to me.

Ten on Tuesday

Today's topic:  10 Movies I Want to See Right Now 
(but won't because I have two kids, no money, and limited babysitting options)
Honestly I can't remember the last movie that I saw in the theatre. I'm thinking it was The Dark Knight, so that should tell you something. Frankly, I don't even know what's playing now so I'll list 10 movies I want to see in the theatre. I'm trying to keep this to things released recently.

1. Melancholia- I fell in love with this from the trailer. It seems so visually beautiful. I like Kirsten Dunst and I find the whole thing just very intriguing.
2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo- I recently listened to the audiobooks of the whole Millennium series. If you've not read them, get your butt to the library and get your hands on them. They are excellent. I'm curious to see how it translates to the screen. I'm already not thrilled with the casting of Christopher Plummer as Henrik Vanger. What little I saw of him in the trailer doesn't work for me, but that won't stop me from seeing the movie. 
3. Underworld: Awakening - I like this series and I love my vampires. I like that this series goes into the origins of werewolves and vampires.
4. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - yeah, so it might not be true by the book Sherlock, but the first movie was fun and enjoyable. And Jude Law was just dashing. 
5. The Artist- I can't resist a period piece. Plus I've heard good things and I adore old black and white movies.
6. Hugo - I can't think of a reason not to see this one.
7. The Muppets- well duh! It's the Muppets. We were considering this as Little Dude's first theatre movie but he still doesn't seem quite ready yet.
8. The Ides of March- strangely enough, I really do enjoy a political thriller. Especially in an election year. 
9. Jane Eyre- a book I have read over and over and over. I've yet to see a movie version I really like.
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- before I had kids I'd see these movies on opening night. I adore the books. I'm so-so on the movies. The books set a very high bar. I don't like some of the choices the movies have made but they are enjoyable nonetheless. 

So there it is.