Where has the time gone?

I can't believe that it has been almost one month since I last posted. What have I been doing with all that time? Let's see... I finished working for my parents, I accepted a job offer from the largest employer in southern Missouri and am now entering my third week of employment with them. I'm fortunate to have found a part time position that will allow me to work in the evening and now Bryan and I meet up after get gets off of work to switch cars and he drives home with the kids while I go off to work until 10pm.

All of these changes have caused a big priorities shift and I'm finding that I have less time for pleasurable things like knitting and blogging. Working and being a mom of two kids is much harder than it was when I was working and being a mom of one kid. Now if only I could be a working mom with 2 kids and a housekeeper....

Just to prove that I still knit, here is a little something that I've been working on. This is the beginning stages of a new project. Yarn cakes and a gauge swatch.

The color in the swatch picture is much more accurate. I'm finding that red is as difficult to photograph as black is!


I also received another package from my Secret Pal! She sent me some rainbow ribbon yarn, tea and chocolate. The chocolate was consumed immediately upon discovery and the tea is being enjoyed a little more slowly. Now that the weather is cooling down a bit more I'm finding that hot tea is more and more appealing. Thanks, Pal!

Now that I have the 343 pictures off of my camera card (I kid you not) and onto the computer, I hope to have a couple of posts up this week. Until then, a picture of my wonderful kids!

Wanted: Inspiration

I feel that I'm at an impasse. I need a new project since the Quattro soaker is done, but I'm all done with soakers and I loathe to say it but socks aren't doing it for me right now. Even the Jaywalkers have become lackluster. There is plenty of beautiful sock yarn in my stash and I love it all, but I don't have the slightest urge to pick any of it up. So basically, no more butt or feet knitting for a while.

What I want to knit is something adult-sized and that requires more brain cells than will be on Owen's birthday cake next week. (That would be 4 in case you were wondering.) I have plenty of pattern options thanks to the magic of Ravelry, but the difficulty lies in committing to a project. I could knit a tank top but that is something that can only be enjoyed for a few more weeks before being put away. So if a tank top is out of the running then that leaves sweaters, shrugs and shawls.

How would you decide?

Tomorrow during Ailish's nap I'm going to sit on the floor with knitting books spread out around me and try to find that spark. Perhaps the knitting muse has slipped between the pages of one of those books!

Surprise!

I love surprises. LOVE. There's something about a fun surprise that lifts the spirits and I could use a little spirit-lifting at the moment. Could there have been a more perfect time for this...My Secret Pal has struck again! In yesterday's mail I found some yummy candy that Owen immediately claimed as his own (he only got one in the end) and some Mad Caterpillar stitchmarkers. For those of you who would like to purchase some stitchmarkers of your own, I'm terribly sorry that my Secret Pal has already sent me the cutest ones available. Thank you, Secret Pal!
Another surprise this week has been the Jaywalkers. This is attempt number 4/4 and I do believe that I have finally gotten it right. What is surprising about them is how much easier the pattern is when you're finally doing it correctly. Okay, fine. When I'm finally doing it correctly.
The last surprise of the week has to be the Leftovers Wrap that I finished knitting on Monday night. I'm so in love with the colors that I want to marry them. I want to marry them and take pictures of them and put beautiful pictures of them all over the house. Since I'm sure that Bryan will object to this plan of action, I will have to settle with finishing them and putting them on Miss Ailish.

We're getting use out of the last wrap that I made but I think that this time around I want to find some Aplix for the closure instead of using the hook and loop stuff that I found at Wal-Mart. Aplix is just like Velcro but much softer in the hook, which makes it a perfect product for baby items or anything else, for that matter.

In search of the perfect wrap

This week has been the week of the wrap. On Monday I finished the white Encore soaker only to cast on for another soaker style called the wrap. Rather than being more shorts-like, the wrap is, well more wrap-like. These have velcro sewn on, with the softer loop side sewn all the way across the front and a short 1" hook on each side of the back that allows you to customize the fit. These are so quick and easy to make that I finished the wrap on Saturday.

Since I loved the fit of the wrap soaker so much, I cast on for another one! This wrap also is using green Manos Cotton Stria like the white one, but I'm pairing it with another strand of wool yarn and I'm using up some small leftovers that I had lying around. The rust color of the ribbing is leftover from a hat I made for Owen. The small green stripe right above the rust is what remains from Ailish's cardigan. The blue that makes up the main accent color is from a wrap that I made about a year and a half ago.
I pulled the leftover yarn from the aptly named Leftover Yarn Bag in my knitting closet and eyed it closely. I wasn't sure I was going to like the color combinations but I figured, "Whatever. It's going over a diaper so who cares?" As soon as I started knitting I fell in love with how the colors worked together. I pulled Bryan over to admire it and he didn't even have to fake interest! I don't think that it would have worked half as well without the green manos pulling it all together.If you've read my blog for a while you'll remember that I've mentioned a lone skein of Cascade 220 Quatro as being that one skein that represents all hasty yarn purchases. It has sat in my stash for almost 2 years and I've had no idea what to do with it. I have finally wound the Quatro!!! It is going to be another soaker or a wrap, depending on how the mood strikes me. It has the perfect yardage for the project and will be a much used item so it will fulfill it's destiny as a desired knitted object.
Also wound up and sitting in the bull pen are two skeins of hand dyed Cascade 220 that I purchased off of eBay two summers ago. These will become another pair of Baby Bell Bottoms for Miss A. I love how the cotton denim and khaki pairs look on her and she's going to need another size up for the winter. The wool will help keep her nice and warm.

I've really found myself enjoying knitting from my stash. There's something about finding a pattern for a yarn that had been sitting neglected and tucked away that makes me happy. I'm hoping that I can whittle down the stash a little more so that when I get some Christmas money that I can make some wisely thought out and planned additions to it. Or at least something more versatile than a single skein of Quatro.

(Michelle asked me where I found the pattern for the soaker. I found the pattern for the soaker and the wrap on this great website that has about 100 different pattern links, both for free and for sale.)

Picture Laden

Princess A has finally grown into some of her hand knits and I'm so pleased every time I put one of them on her! It is now time for the picture parade...

Princess Ailish holds court from her throne (aka: the swing) whilst sporting adorable denim pants. The pattern is the Baby Bell Bottoms from The Blue Blog.

Again we find our fair princess sitting upon her throne, this time wearing a bolero a la Debbie Bliss.

A more recent addition to the wardrobe is this not very fashionable but oh so useful wool soaker knitted up in Encore Worsted in a versatile off-white color. Much to her Mama's pleasure the Encore softened up quite a bit in the wash but she is still searching through the laundry trying to find the i-cord drawstring.

I started a smaller-sized wrap-style soaker in some leftover Manos Cotton Stria. I'm using the yarn doubled to make a nice tight fabric but it is killing my hands.

My SP11 pal sent out her first package and it has been received! Included in the package was this skein of Tofuties sock yarn in a colorway of beautiful pink, green, blue and purple. I can't wait to see how this knits up! Also she was kind enough to include some bubbles for Owen, which happens to be one of his most favorite things to do! He found them right away but it was so hot outside that I told him that it would have to wait until tomorrow morning. It is a very difficult thing for a little boy to be patient! My SP also included a square of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate which was absolutely delicious and eaten immediately upon the package being opened. How did you know that Ghirardelli is my favorite?!

Experimenting

When Bryan and I lived in California it was easy to be eco-friendly because it was encouraged by the local and state government as well as the people around you. Since living in Missouri I've found myself slipping away from that type of lifestyle and I have decided to turn that around. We've been diligently and conciously recycling so that now the amount of trash that we take out to the curb each week has been cut down by almost half. It takes a little more work because we have to take our recycling to the center instead of it being picked up at the curb, but I find a lot of pleasure in seeing our recycling bin fill up and then empty out.

I've spent a lot of time researching other ways to help the earth and our pocketbook. Cloth diapering is making a comeback and these aren't our parents' cloth diapers! There are some that are the old fasioned kind and some that are very much like disposables. They come in plain white, solid colors or fun prints. Best of all there are diapers out there that can fit your child from birth until potty training, making them a great investment that if treated well can make it through 2 or more children.

We've purchased a small stash of diapers that should be arriving in a couple of weeks. Mostly we're going to do prefold diapers which are an upgrade from the old fashioned diapers that our parents used and we already have a couple of the more disposable type diapers that we've tried out and liked. We are planning on trying this out for a few months and then re-evaluating. Surprisingly, cloth diapers have an amazing resale value and if they are in good condition they can be sold for just under their original purchase price.

In preparing for these new diapers to arrive I'm going to be knitting up some soakers and longies to go over the prefolds. I was shocked to find out how much some people charge to make custom soakers so I'm definitely going to be making my own. There are a lot of patterns available for free online that allow you to customize the fit and embellishing the finished product is easy!

Tomorrow night I'm going to cast on for my first soaker in some white Encore Worsted that I have in the stash based on the free Curly Purly pattern that I found on Ravelry. These should be a fairly quick knit but I first need to get some accurate measurements of the girly girl so that these will fit.

And now for a few SP11 questions!

1. What is the one knitting accessory you could not live without?

I'm assuming that I already have patterns, needles, yarn, scissors, darning needle and tape measure? Beyond those things I'd be so sad if I didn't have a cute knitting bag to put all of my stuff in.

2. If you're heading on vacation, do you take knitting with you? If so, how much and what type of project?

Um, I take knitting with me when we go to church. Not that I knit in church, but there's 20 minutes of prime knitting time on the way to church and back that I don't want to miss out on! I have taken a couple of vacations since I started knitting and socks has been the project of choice especially when air travel is the mode of transportation. Scarves are also nice if they're still short. I like to take a couple of projects along so that in case I get bored with one I can switch over to the other.

3. Where have you travelled to that you'd consider your favorite spot?

Wow, that's really hard to decide! We were really lucky to live in CA because there are so many great places to travel to within the state! Our favorite vacation spot in CA is San Luis Obispo. There's a great place called Apple Farm Inn that we've stayed at 5 times and we love it. I also had a great time in Washington DC and would love to go back again. Outside of the US I thought that the Dominican Republic was beautiful and hope to take Bryan there some day, but we both absolutely fell in love with Romania.

4. What is your favorite knitting book at the moment? Do you own it?

I'm drooling as I flip through the Knitting Vintage Socks book. Mom drools with me.

5. Do you listen to podcasts? Which is your favorite(s)?

I do! I enjoy Cast On, Craft Lit and Stash & Burn.

SP11 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

It’s probably easier if I just do the *not* list! I do *not* like Lamb’s Pride (any of their yarns), KidSilk Haze or anything fuzzy like that, and sock yarns that have a lot of stretch like Fixation.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have two needle holders. One for straights and one for dpns. I keep my Addi Turbos in their original packaging within a pencil box.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I taught myself to knit in July of 2005. I’d consider myself to be an advanced intermediate knitter.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

I don’t. But I’d make one if you really wanted me to!

5. What's your favorite scent?

Fresh Linen scent.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Oh, I’m all about the chocolate!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I like to cross-stitch and most recently took up sewing.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I like all kinds of music and love to be exposed to new artists. I can play mp3s and have an iPod.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I love blue, green, purple, red, brown, black and white. I like orange and pink in moderation. I really can’t stand yellow. Bright colors aren’t really my thing, I find myself drawn more towards muted tones and colors that are found in nature.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I am married to Bryan and on 9/16 we’ll be celebrating our 7^th anniversary. We have a son, Owen, who will be 4 on 9/10 and he has an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Our little girl, Ailish, was born May 17^th of this year and is our miracle baby! (Her name is pronounce A-lish with the a like in acorn.)

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I adore scarves! Mittens are great but I don’t always like wearing them. Ponchos are a big no.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I love to knit socks and stuff for my kiddos.

13. What are you knitting right now?

I’m knitting a pair of socks and the moss grid handtowel from Mason Dixon Knitting but I’m not liking the handtowel at the moment. I’m also eyeing a cardigan that I want to start.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Of course!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Yes! I usually work on circulars but like straight needles for some projects. I have a Denise set and the Options set from KnitPicks and most of my dpns are either bamboo or birch.

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

Yes to both!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

There’s a garter stitch blanket that I started on in September of 2005 that I bring out occasionally. It is truly mindless knitting that has it’s time and purpose but I don’t know that I’ll ever really finish it.

I try hard to finish the projects that I start and don’t have too many things on the needles at the same time.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

My birthday, which is 10/16… but next to that would have to be Thanksgiving.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Besides yarn, knitting books and needles? I love to drink tea so I collect tea and beautiful mugs to drink it out of.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I currently have no subscriptions but the Fall IK is tempting me like you wouldn’t believe. In fact, the past 2 or 3 editions I don’t have and I’m coveting them.

For yarn I love hand-dyed yarns that are tone on tone colors or yarns that don’t pool or flash.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I’d like to learn colorwork.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I am! I’ll measure my foot for you once I get my tape measure back from Owen.

23. When is your birthday?

10/16 and I’ll be 28

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

I am! My ID is Brianne.

Crazy

Yesterday as I was driving home from Branson, the temperature gauge in my car read 109 degrees. That is really hot. Hot enough that it melted the rear view mirror off of the windshield so that it dangled unattractively (and distractingly) from the wire the whole way home.

So why am I contemplating starting a black wool cardigan? (Number 241, for what it's worth.)


Surely I must be crazy! The heat must have knocked a screw loose, or perhaps it is the colicky baby who has reared her very loud vocal chords or the fact that I only have 2 small projects on the needles at the moment. Who can say? But the wool calls to me. "I see top down construction."

You are probably wondering what new project I decided to take with me to Branson? The winner was Jaywalkers, toe-up, two at a time using Regia Silk Color yarn!


I love love love the yarn. It is wonderful to work with and the colors are amazing. Rich and complex. I bought two skeins of colorway 13906 from Simply Fibers and then took two more skeins of the exact same colorway off of Tammy during our swap a few months ago! Thank goodness I did, too, because Simply Fibers no longer carries it!

The pattern is proving to be a challenge, though. Perhaps it is just because I'm working these from the toe up instead of from the cuff down like the pattern was written but my increases and decreases aren't looking like they should. The first time around I wasn't doing the double increase so I kept loosing a stitch on the top of the foot. Now the second time around I consistently have the correct stitch amount but I'm not getting the beautiful ridge detail on the increases and decreases. These are only about 4 rows in to the zig zag stitch pattern so it may be that I just need to be patient and wait for the loveliness to show itself.

On a positive note, I'm no longer hating the Figure 8 Cast On anymore!

Planning

I've recently been hired by my parents to help them get their accounting ready for taxes. They pay their taxes in October every year and what with building their house and getting ready to move in on the 25th of this month, things like taxes have fallen by the wayside. I did their basic accounting for the last 3 years that we lived in CA and it looks like I'm back to doing it again!

This works out really well for all of us. I get a little extra money to help out with bills and they get to take packing breaks and play with their grandkids! The only problem is that I'm driving 40 miles to their house and spending a few days there at a time so that I don't have to commute. I leave tomorrow and then come back on Saturday afternoon. There's packing to be done and I don't just mean clothes and toiletries!

The toe up socks are 1.5" away from being done so I'll definitely need to bring another project with me for after the socks have been bound off. I have the Moss Grid Hand Towel that I could bring but that project doesn't make my heart flutter. On Sunday I cast on for a Pinwheel Blanket using 4 skeins of Sweetie Pie that I bought on clearance from Simply Fibers for $2.00/skein but I don't know that this 100% acrylic yarn is doing it for me. It's not so soft when it's knit up and who wants to give that to a baby? In fact, I can't even find a place online where I can show you this yarn. Tammy, I do believe I'll be giving this yarn to you so that you can give it to the lady at work who crochets for charity.

What do I bring with me? I have 10 hours before I leave! Yikes!

What course?

Staying The Course was the title of my last entry. I was very passionate about NOT starting any new projects until both the L&D Socks and the toe up socks were done. That did not last very long, people.

I will justify myself by saying that it was a very small project and that it was an incredibly useful project.


See? That's hardly a project at all! I have hardwood floors and tile covering 60% of my floor space and so I go through a lot of Swiffer Wet Mop disposable cover things. This gets expensive and I hate to think of the extra trash it creates, so think of my excitement when I found this pattern! I figured that for the cost of one skein of cheap kitchen cotton yarn (which I already had in the stash) it would be worth finding out if this would work for my needs or not. It does and I'm happy!

Pattern: Zoom Dust Mop Cover
Yarn: 1 skein Peaches & Cream in a blue color
Needles: Size 7 aluminum monsters
Started: July 27, 2007
Finished: July 28, 2007
Modifications: My Swiffer Wet Mop has one end that is chunkier than the other so I accounted for that.

Lest you think that I forgot the socks altogether, here are the Labor & Delivery Socks that I started just 3 hours before we checked into the hospital to have Ailish.

Pattern: Modified Canada socks by Nancy Bush from Knitting On The Road
Yarn: Trekking XXL, colorway 107
Needles: Size 0 US dpns, Clover
Date Started: May 17, 2007
Date Finished: August 2, 2007
Modifications: It's really difficult to see the stitch pattern that runs down the sides of these socks, but that is the only part of her pattern that I did. (You can see that pattern better in this post.) I did not do the fancy twisted cast on or the colorwork on the cuff.

In a total surprise moment, I was contacted by someone on Ravelry wanting to make a trade for 2 skeins of Rowan Summer Tweed that I had in my stash. She invited me to look at her stash and see if there was anything I might be interested in. Lo and behold the woman has 347 yarns in her stash and it was the most beautiful thing. I gave her a list of things that I would be interested in and let her choose from them. Yesterday we both received our packages and I now am minus 2 skeins of Rowan Summer Tweed but have the new additions of...

Misti Alpaca Lace weight in a beautiful green color. This will probably become Wisp.

And one skein of Cherry Tree Hill Superwash Merino in Slate that will be some sort of fabulous sock.

The trade experience was fun and I'm looking forward to the next one!

Staying the Course

I have yarn. Really, I have a lot of it. It may not be considered "a lot" to some people, but to me it is. I have recently admitted to myself the fact that my stash no longer fits in the three box system that I had going on. I have two 12 gallon plastic boxes that are full of yarn, plus one 19 quart box that is full of sock yarn. They are full. Can-hardly-close-the-tops-on-them-no-matter-how-hard-I-try kind of full. And up until this past week I was okay with that because, after all, I could still close them and the stash still fit into the three box system.

That was before I had to relocate the stash from the guest bedroom into the office for my mother-in-law's visit. I wanted to make sure that Anne had plenty of room in the closet to stow her stuff and that was not going to happen with all the yarn, knitting books, knitting bags and yarn winder and swift in there. Being the thoughtful daughter-in-law that I am, I moved all of that stuff into the office closet which will soon become Ailish's closet once she moves out of our room and into her room and the office becomes a joint tenant of the guest room. (There's a lot of moving going on here!)

I was in the process of moving the yarn and assorted knitting paraphernalia when I realized that I don't count certain yarns as a part of the three box system, though I really should. Case in point, the 10 skeins of Shine Worsted that was for a very short time the Cherry Bomb tank top from Big Girl Knits. Those 10 skeins are carefully wound up again and sitting in a clear project bag that hangs from the clothes rod. Right next to it, in their own clear project bags are 7 skeins of Reynolds Rapture and 6 skeins of King Tut Cotton. Why don't these 23 skeins count in the three box system? Because they didn't fit comfortably in the boxes at the time that I needed to put them in there so I didn't bother, plus this conveniently left me room in the boxes to purchase more yarn.

Clearly I have plenty of yarn to knit with, so why on earth did I spend 2 hours last night putting yarn into various online shopping carts and then closing the screens before purchasing anything? I was so darn tempted to buy yarn that I really don't need?

My remedy to this is to harness the power of Ravelry! I have my entire stash cataloged on the website and so I spent time going through each yarn to see what other people have made from it. This gave me a lot of wonderful ideas and I now have 18 projects in the Queue that have a specific yarn from my stash attached to them. There's no more excuses! I have yarn to knit with and patterns to make it into!

Now I'm all revved up and ready to go but have a few more projects on the needles than my Mommy Brain can handle. The challenge now is to finish the two socks that I'm working on before I can cast on for a new project.

This is my first toe up sock and it's being worked Magic Loop style. I'm really enjoying this process! The wedge toe fits my foot amazingly and the short row heel (another first for me!) is quick and easy. Last night I finished the first sock only to realize that my usual way of binding off was not going to cut it. I researched a few different ways of binding off and found the Sewn Bind Off to be perfect.

What I'm not loving is this particular yarn. It's Sockotta and I'm not liking the striping pattern. My OCD needs the stripes to have a pattern to them and it is not happening. Mom, on the other hand, thinks that it is great and has claimed the socks for herself.

For my next pair of socks with the short row heel I need to figure out how to not get holes in the heel. I picked up my wraps but still have holes. A little bit of research and I'll be set.

I'd also like to find how to do a short row toe. If the toe is as good as the heel it will make me a very happy knitter!!!







Lastly, this is the Moss Grid Handtowel from Mason Dixon. The yarn is Merlin Tristan that I got in the swap from Tammy and it is 100% linen. This has been a yarn that is hard for me to get used to. It doesn't have a great hand and all of my stitches look uneven and just plain wonky. Hopefully they'll even out with blocking.

A positive thought is that I had planned on purchasing enough linen yarn to make a curtain for a small bathroom window. That will not be happening, at least not with this type of yarn.

Ino the unknown

I mentioned in my last post that I would show you something that you have never seen before. Are you ready?

This is my sewing machine. I have owned a sewing machine for two and a half years and have never used it. It scared me. There are buttons and pedals and it plugs into an electrical source, none of which knitting does. But recently, Allison posted about a pattern that she was going to sew for her daughter and I fell instantly in love and I knew that it was time to overcome the fear of the sewing machine.

My mother-in-law, Anne, has sewn since high school and when I showed her the cute patterns I had found online, she was more than willing to sit next to me and hold my hand (and occasionally the fabric) while she taught me how to sew. We went to Wal-Mart at 9pm one night (yes, we're crazy) and picked out 2 patterns, some fabric from the clearance section (this particular outfit cost $1.00 in fabric), and the notions we'd need. The next day the fabric was washed and after the men folk went to bed the three girls stayed up and did some sewing.
As you can see, Ailish was more than pleased to be up helping us even though it was really late. She wanted some creative input in the process since she would have to wear the final product. Poor girl didn't make it to the finish line, though, and decided to call it a night at 11:30pm. Anne and I worked until 1:30am and then collapsed in bed ourselves.
The next morning we finished things up and found that we had successfully made a very adorable outfit. Anne helped me a lot, with everything from cutting out the pieces to some of the actual sewing. She also taught me that your sewing will look a lot better if you have the foot down while you're sewing... and she was right!
The next outfit will be completely done by me but Ailish is proud of what I've learned so far and excited to wear her outfit once it fits her in a couple of months.

Here and There

Here and there perfectly describes my knitting. There hasn't been as much luxurious knitting time as I thought I might have with the Mother In Law in town, but we've been having a lot of fun taking her around so I've caught little chunks of time while in the car. Thankfully, I don't get carsick so this has worked out really well for me!

Though there may not be much knitting going on, I did have a chance to finish the Scrunchable Scarf! I took it with me on Sunday afternoon when I met Sarah, Tammy and Ginger at Starbucks for some knitting and chatting. Scarf knitting seems to drag on and on but when you become determined at finishing it's amazing how quickly it can go! I got a huge chunk done on the scarf at Starbucks and then worked on it more before going to bed and then finished it up the very next morning after one of Ailish's early morning feedings.

The Scrunchable Scarf is going into the gift box and will be given to Jared for Christmas. I love seeing the gift box fill up!

To leave you giddy with anticipation, in the next blog post you will see something you have never ever seen before. What is it?! Tune in next time!

Trekking

I love Trekking XXL. It is one of my top sock yarns ever, and you all know I've knit a few pairs of socks.Take a look at those colors. The blending and swirling of colors. I never get tired of knitting with this yarn.
These are the L&D Socks, short for Labor & Delivery. These are the socks that I started right before going into the hospital to have Ailish. Right now I'm starting the gusset decreases on sock numero dos and I'm thrilled with how they are turning out. Mom has threatened to steal the L&D Socks if she ever comes over to my house and finds them not on my feet. I wouldn't put it past her. The woman only wears hand knit socks now.
Speaking of color...Time for a change! I've been feeling a little "blah" lately and while doing a little shopping I decided that it was time to shake things up a bit. This right here is $9 worth of happiness in a bottle. Natural Instincts in the color Rosewood which is a dark auburn color.
What do you think?

Earth to Brianne

I've been sitting in front of the computer for the past ten minutes just staring at this blank space where I'm supposed to type. Honestly, I'm drawing a blank. There's a lot that I can talk about but I'm having issues with piecing it all together into something coherent. I hate that feeling!

Last night I got together with Kate and Tammy and some other ladies from the church and I forgot how to cast on. It was embarrassing and a little startling! The sticks and string were in my hands but I couldn't figure out what to do with them. Then I remembered that I first needed to make a slip knot and it all came back after that. The lack of sleep is really catching up to me.

On a happier thought, Kate is leading us through how to make socks toe-up using the magic loop method. I've done cuff down magic loop but not toe up. The rest of the girls are doing two socks at once but I opted to just do them one at a time so as not to really confuse myself! Second Sock Syndrome has never been much of an issue for me so I'm not worried about not finishing them.

Also, I'm finally on the second sock of the Trekking socks that I started the night before I went into labor with Ailish. It's only been 7 weeks. The second sock is moving along much faster than the first is and I'm about 4" into the cuff.

I love these Trekking socks. Tammy and Sarah were shocked when I told them that these socks made me want to rip out all of my other socks and knit them again. They fit like a second skin.

Bryan's Mom is flying in on Saturday to visit for a week. I'm so excited that she's coming and partly because I can't wait to get in some real knitting time while she plays with Owen and cuddles with Ailish.

Flash your stash

Yes, I know it's not that time of year but I spent last night and part of today putting my yarn stash and knitting library up on Ravelry. (Okay, so I've been a member of Ravelry for almost 2 months and am just now getting to this part. I've been a little busy.)

99% of the time my stash is boxed up and in the guest bedroom closet. Want to rob my house just for the yarn? That's where you're going to look. It's very rare that I have it outside of that room and most of the time I just dive into the stash to find what I'm looking for and then shut it away again. I appreciate the stash for it's beauty and for the fact that it tucks away so nicely.

Bringing out the two boxes of yarn and small box of sock yarn made me realize that I have a lot of yarn but I don't have a lot of yarn. Confusing, no? Barring the sock yarn, I have a lot of yarns that are singletons and few batches of yarn that are big enough to do something, well, big with. The lone skein of Cotton Fleece left over from the In Full Bloom cardigan or the sad little Cascade Quatro that I loved the color of in the store but there was only one in stock and so it came home with me to make friends with the 220s.

I'm feeling challenged to be creative and do something with the sad single skeins of yarn. Hopefully having them on Ravelry and in my line of sight often will help them fulfill their destiny of becoming some fun knitted thing.

The lesson is...

always carry knitting with you when you leave the house. Keep it stashed in the trunk of your car, the glove box, underneath the carseat, wherever you think of to put it. Who knows when you'll need it? And who knows when someone else might need it?

On Friday I put the kids, a couple of bags and some knitting in the car and we made our way to Branson. The night before my grandmother had taken a fall and had broken three bones in her ankle. We were going to visit her in the hospital before surgery and keep Mom company for a bit. Our timing was impeccable and we managed to arrive right as grandma fell asleep for the first time since the accident. Mom met me in the parking lot to hug her most adorable grandchildren (and only grandchildren, though that doesn't matter) and talk for a few minutes.

Mom was holding up well and was trying to make sure that her own Mommy was getting the care she needed. Well, even Mom's need to be taken care of and so I asked her if she brought any knitting with her. She said yes, but a little hesitantly and told me that she brought socks with her. I pulled out a bag and put it in her hands before she left. A scarf. Easy easy scarf. Not intimidating at all and perfect for hospital knitting! She grinned as she left.

Here's the scarf, though it's much longer now. I took Tammy's advice and looked on Ravelry for pattern ideas for the handpaintedyarn.com yarn and found this, The Scrunchable Scarf. Simple pattern, great for this type of variegated yarn. I'm really happy with the results and the project is really moving right along.

Owen is done with his summer school so I lost the three hours a day, four days a week that I had with just me and Ailish. Since she's still little (6 weeks old!) and sleeps a lot, that was my chance to take a nap with her or knit or do stuff around the house. No longer! He goes back to school August 15th and though I love being home with him, I'm looking forward to having that time again!

Ailish is such a good baby! She's getting big and has started smiling at people and windows. Owen thinks she's wonderful and can't get enough of her, but who can blame him?

Finito!

UnGranny Smith is done! I finished it yesterday afternoon and she promptly made her debut at a concert in Branson just two hours later. Eleven of us saw Alison Krauss & Union Station in concert at The Grand Palace and it was incredible. I think I enjoyed it even more so because of the beautiful sweater I was wearing.

Want to see a picture?! Me, too!!!

Unfortunately, Mom's camera batteries died and the only other camera with us belonged to my aunt, Holly, who is visiting from San Francisco. So, I'll be getting those pictures emailed to me in about 2 weeks.

My lovely sister, Heather, is back home in San Diego. We had an amazing time together and I loved every minute of it. Though she learned to knit when she visited last in December of 2005 she hasn't picked up the needles since and wasn't interested at all in knitting while she was here. She enjoyed watching Mom and I knit, though, and especially enjoyed holding Ailish while we had our hands full with wool.

We spent 9 days at my parents' house which was fun but I'm really glad to be back at home. I've cleaned and played with the kidlets and appreciated how quiet my house is (well, when Ailish isn't crying and Owen isn't running around singing at the top of his lungs). To celebrate I wound up some yarn and am searching for something to make with it.

The specs:

Handpaintedyarn.com
5 skeins of worsted weight yarn - approximately 750 total yards
Recommended needle size is 8 US
Brown, teal, green variegated

Does anyone have any ideas of what I can make with this?

Naptime update

I can't believe that it's been 2 weeks since I last posted anything. Time has flown by and every day I pass by the computer and say to myself, "I really need to update the blog today!" but it never gets done.

Life has changed exponentially now that Ailish has joined the world. She is such a joy to each of us and even at 3:30am when she's nursing for the third time since I've tried going to sleep I can't help but look at her and think about how lucky I am to have her here with me and how much more I would enjoy her in the morning if she'd just let me sleep for more than one hour at a time. (Just keeping it real here, folks!)

Knitting has been pushed aside for the most part. I work on the Trekking sock here and there when there is a moment for it. Socks will probably be a staple project for a while since I can come to the end of a needle quickly and set it down. Mom has come up to help twice and I took advantage of that time by taking a nap and working on the UnGranny Smith cardigan. I'm very pleased to say that I bound off the sleeves last night, wound in the ends and it started blocking last night. I'm already thinking about the next big project (I may be sleep deprived, but I'm still a Knitter!) and I think that it's going to have to be something using larger needles so that I can actually see progress on it as I'm working. More thoughts on this later.

On Thursday Ailish was kind enough to model some of her handknitted socks!

Newborn socks made with Socks That Rock Mediumweight. (Thanks, Zarah! I've gotten soooo many compliments on these.)

Newborn socks made with KnitPicks Simple Stripes in Napa. Leftover from socks that I made for myself. (We have matching socks!)

Now for a very long delayed picture of the latest socks that I made for Mom, the basketweave socks in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport Chocolate. She wore them to the hospital and I snagged a picture before I forgot again.


It's not the best picture, but the color of the yarn is so rich and beautiful. She loves them and wears them all the time with her brown clogs.

My sister, Heather, and brother-in-law, Spencer, just landed in Tulsa about 45 minutes ago and they're going to be in town for a week. I'm so excited to see them since it has been almost exactly a year since their wedding in San Diego and that was the last time that I saw them. We're going to be in Branson with them for the next few days and I'm looking forward to spending tons of time with them.

Drive quickly, Aunt Heather! I'm cute and cuddly and ready to see you!

Heather is anxious to see her first niece and I'm looking forward to snapping all kinds of great pictures of all of us together. If I'm really lucky, one of those pictures will include me wearing a finished UnGranny Smith.

Introducing...

Ailish Grace

Hello, Knitbloggers! Am I not adorable?

Born May 17th at 11:50 am and weighing 7 lb 8 oz and 20.5" long.

Ailish (the "Ai" is pronounced like the a in acorn and "lish" like in delicious) is the Celtic form of Elizabeth which means God's promise. She's our little miracle baby and overcame quite a lot on her journey here!

We're all doing well. It was a 3.5 hour labor and we both recovered quickly. Bryan has taken 2 weeks of from work to help, which has been a wonderful gift for all of us. Owen is taking his newfound status of big brother incredibly well! He's very gentle with his little sister and loves to help pat her back and gives her lots of kisses on the cheek. As of yet there haven't been any jealousy issues but Bryan and I have been careful to make sure that Owen gets lots of extra love and attention right now. I'm sure that soon Owen will tire of the new houseguest and make his opinion known, but for now we're enjoying this time.

We spend a lot of time like this.

Not surprisingly, there hasn't been much knitting going on. I started a hat for Ailish at 3:00am on the 17th and finished it shortly before we left the hospital on the 19th. I also started some Trekking socks and after 9 days of knitting I'm very happy to say that I have almost 4 inches done on the first cuff.

Sweet baby girl has just woken up and is calling for me. Perhaps with the next update you might even get a picture of knitting!