2007-in-review-meme

Interesting.

Where did you begin 2007?

What was your status by Valentine's Day?
Married.

Were you in school (anytime this year)?
As a middle school science teacher, yes. I haven't been in a classroom since June.

Did you have to go to the hospital?
Yes - one time to visit my dad / wait with my mom while dad had a procedure done on his heart, and the other time as a patient - giving birth to Lorelai!

Did you have any encounters with the police?
Nope.

Where did you go on vacation?
Ireland, Hershey PA, & New York City

What did you purchase that was over $500?
The car. Plane tickets for Sean's wedding next April.

Did you know anybody who got married?
Dan's cousin got married right after Thanksgiving, but we didn't attend.

Did you know anybody who passed away?
Nana, and she is still missed just as much!

Did you move anywhere?
I moved stuff around in the house to create a baby's room and change the craft room into a guest room.

What sporting events did you attend?
Nothing professional. I watched Dan & friends play horseshoes in the yard several times.

Describe your birthday:
Relaxing.

What's the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2007?
Stop working? Give birth without drugs?

What has been your favorite moment(s)?
Telling Nana I was pregnant. Meeting Lorelai. Introducing Lorelai to her family, seeing how happy she makes everyone. Seeing my dad and brothers get all goofy over her. Getting out to SnB each week (for a while - I really want to get back to it). Touring Ireland.

What's something you learned about yourself?
That I can hack it as a mom - I have had some fabulous role models and I have a fabulous support system.

Any new additions to your family?
Lorelai Hope!

What was your best month?
That's hard to say. January to mid-June were all rough because of work. The rest of the year was consumed by my pregnancy, and for the most part it was all good. November was just all about waiting. December has been hectic and a whirlwind, but fun.

What music will you remember from 2007?
Gwen Stefani, Plain White Ts, Rhianna

Made new friends?
Yes, through Ravelry (Hi Kelly!) and SnB (Hi Sonya! Hi Eden!)

New best friend?
Those who are maintained their status!

Favorite night out?
New York City for My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center, Seeing my brother do his stand-up routines

Any regrets?
"Forget regret or life is yours to miss." Do the best you can with what you have while you have it.

What do you want to change in 2008?
I've got several of the same old resolutions of what I want to change...

Overall, how would you rate this year?
It was a rollercoaster year - highs and lows, positives and negatives, but it ended on a good note.

What would you change about 2007?
That Nana could have met Lorelai and that my other grandparents were in better health.

Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?
Target. And the doctor's office.

Have any life changes in 2007?
Yes, becoming a mom.

Change your hairstyle?
Yep, it was chopped and can now be worn down without clips.

Have any car accidents?
No.

Buy a new car?
Yes - we opted for a safer car with the arrival of the baby.

New BF/GF?
No

Get a new job?
Being a parent is my new job.

Do you have a New Year's resolution?
Always and it's not just one.

Do anything embarrassing?
Only mildly so.

Buy anything new from eBay?
Not this year.

What was your favorite purchase of 2007?
It's a hard choice - yarns, my new computer, Jackson's astronaut costume (which sadly didn't fit)

Get married or divorced?
No

Get arrested?
No

Be honest - did you watch American Idol?
Honestly I;ll watch most any reality crap, but not that.

Did you get sick this year?
I took a day off from school back in February. Anything else was fairly mild.

Start a new hobby?
Does Ravelry count?

Been snowboarding?
Not this year. I haven't been out to a mountain for skiing / snowboarding in years - I miss it.

Drank Starbucks in 2007?
Yes, thanks to listening to Lime & Violet, then going to SnB at Starbucks. A new one just opened in town, so I'm sure I'll drink more in 2008 as well.

Are you happy to see 2007 go?
I'm always happy for the new year, it feels like a fresh start. I am hopeful that 2008 will have more positives than negatives, but on the whole 2007 was not a bad year.

One Month Old!

One Month Old!
Originally uploaded by nutmegknitter

How time flies! A month and a day ago, I was still pregnant, anxiously awaiting Lorelai's arrival! And now, here we are - we've just about got feeding down (I think) and we have a very loose routine. She's starting to smile, like she's up to something and the joke is on us. Live it, love it and can't wait to see what the next month brings!

A Merry Christmas after all

Thanks to everyone for the comments - your support and encouragement means a lot! I am trying to enjoy the baby time, even though I'm really looking forward to a schedule / routine and more interaction with the wee one. She's kinda giving us smiles and amazingly last night she slept from 10-ish until 6:30-ish!!! I was tossing and turning and nearly bolted out of bed when the alarm went off, thinking "She never got up during the night!"

While last friday was a wash, the rest of the weekend and days have been pretty good. On Saturday, Lorelai got to meet Aunt Betsy - they are off to a great start it seems.


Sunday we totally lost track of time somehow - Dan brought Jackson to the breeder, we went to his parents, wrapped gifts, cooked - the day just got away from us! I did finish the Police Tape scarf for my cousin Max:

It says "Do Not Cross Crime Scene Do Not Cross" Max seemed to like it a lot and it got many comments at Christmas Eve. I also finished (but forgot to photograph) the pair of pedicure socks I made for one of my aunts. I think I need to make myself a pair of those.

On Christmas Eve we travel into Rhode Island and on Christmas Day to Long Island, then back to visit my folks. Crazy fun. I was given two gift certificates to the yarn shop (YAY!) and the Veronik Avery pattern book - decision time, what to make?? Tomorrow Betsy, Lorelai and I are going on a yarn outing - gotta check out my ravelry queue to see what I must knit next :)

Bah Humbug

You got it girl! Today has been a near disaster. I think I've had the second worst night of sleep since we've been home with Lorelai - she was up so often! This morning then was a little rough, as I was overtired (poor Dan had to feel the brunt of my one word answers and grunts). When I finally got the little one back down, I started wrapping gifts and Jackson kept finding things to bark at / about. GRR.

I put him in his room, fed the baby, and then we went out shopping down at the town green. It's taking some getting used to balancing packages and a baby carrier and my car keys. Bleh. My hair is a disaster too. On the positive side, Lorelai got many compliments on her hat, and one lady told me I shouldn't have a 3 week old out and about. Sorry honey, I need fresh air, and the little one does too.

Got home, put the baby down. She sleeps (yay!) So I try to call Dell as my computer was not booting up and I got a funky error message. I try to knit while on the phone - gotta finish a pedicure sock! In the middle of my call to Dell (about 45 minutes in) Lori wakes up and I feed her while I'm on the phone (my neck and back hurt! I have lost any good posture I once had). Then the tech guy wants me to get the reinstallation cds, and did I have a lot of data on my hard drive? Um, I have a newborn to take care of so I don't have the cds on hand and yes I have files I want to keep. He says he'll call back in an hour. It's been 1.5 hours and no word from him. I think it'll just be easier to bring my computer in to a local shop and let them deal with it, save my files and get the computer working again. Or maybe I should just say screw it and consider investing in a new laptop? Sigh.

In the midst of that I'm wrapping presents, trying to get the house in order for my mom's birthday dinner tomorrow (we're having turkey and smashed potatoes. that's all I know. Food shopping will get done tomorrow I guess.) Crazy.

I love Christmas and can't wait to have this first holiday with our baby and all, but I'm looking forward to December 26... is that awful?

Dogs on Thursday - Pack Expansion

Since we brought Lorelai home, we've kept a close eye on Jackson. He's actually done much better than we thought he would with her - he keeps a close eye on her, constantly sniffs her and will lay down next to her rocker or on my lap when she's eating. Maybe it's a dog thing - when we went to RI this past weekend to celebrate Nana's birthday my uncle's mini schnauzers were the same way! Here's the photographic evidence.

Baby Photos

Knitting is kind of on hold - I've been able to get through a letter or two on the crime scene scarf. But that's about it. This is a needle-craft post though - the nurse director at the hospital my dad works at is a long time family friend - she sent along several of the hats that a church group made (I think they are crocheted) for little Lorelai. She wasn't too excited for the photo shoot of hats.


This last one is the only one in which she actually stopped crying, momentarily. Knitting gods help me, she likes fun fur.

I did snap a photo of her in the berry tart hat and the jive turkey hat but it's on a disposable camera, as my digital battery was charging. maybe tomorrow I can get photos of that and the christmas tree hat. Maybe.

In the meantime, she also has new shoes. Red gingham.

Girl can't even walk yet and her shoe collection is started. She has also been promised a pair of Docs when she does start walking (thank you to Aunt Jenny!)

Introducing...

Lorelai Hope!


She's finally here :) We've all got a lot of learning to do, but we're so so so happy with her.

Last week on Wednesday I went to have a biophysical profile / nonstress test done to check everything out because she wasn't here yet. They found that my amniotic fluid levels were low. So on Thursday I went to the doctor's office and after checking me out, told me that the best option was to go to the hospital. My mom was with me, and we made a quick stop at the house and then went to the hospital. Dan met up with us there. And then we waited. And waited. Around 7 or so I was given a gel to help things along, then more gel around midnight. I started feeling contractions more but they were still quite manageable. It was more uncomfortable to be hooked up to the fetal monitoring and in a hospital bed.

Friday morning, we were moved down to the labor and delivery floor around 7:15. Once down there, I was checked out (4 cm woo-hoo!). Pitocin was started, more for augmentation rather than straight induction. The doctor broke my water and told us she was thinking that the baby would be born in the afternoon. My contractions were getting more and more intense. I did ask for the epidural and they were ready and waiting to go on that. As they started the prep for that the contractions were so intense and I felt like pushing. I was checked out again and found at 10:00am I was 10centimeters so I could go ahead and push! No epidural! OMG. Luckily the nurse who came in was great and got right in my face telling me to breathe or relax or push. Also luckily, 19 minutes later, Lorelai was born! When she came out the nurse, doctor and Dan all gave a collective "Woah" - she was HUGE!!! And had a whole lot of hair!! She was 9pounds 2ounces, 21 inches long.

All the grandparents came to meet her on Friday, and one of her uncles as well. On Saturday grandparents returned, along with my brothers and girlfriend. There were tons of photos taken. On Sunday we came home and began to try and wrap our heads around this new life. Dan is the best, taking care of me while I take care of her. He's great with Lorelai too - he's changed diapers and is pretty good at swaddling her. She seems to know what she's doing with breast feeding too - we're working on our team work.

And that's where we're at - it's been a crazy couple of days. But in the best way possible :)

Beep.

Hi there! You have reached Dan & Becca.

We haven't forgotten to call you. The baby just isn't here yet. Trust us - we will let you know when the kiddo decides to arrive. Or when the doctors decide to "bring in the dynamite".

If you still are interested in talking to us, leave a message. In a nutshell, Dan's new job is going well and Becca is waiting as patiently as she can. Sorry we don't have anything more exciting to tell you :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

And the really funny thing is that aside from my mom and Betsy checking on me (and the other knitters online / blog readers) everyone is calling Dan!! :) Our phone has not rung so much ever!

The nonstress test / ultrasound stuff yesterday went well - heartbeat is fine, my blood pressure is fine, the amniotic fluid levels were on the low side. Kick counts have been ok too. I go for another nonstress test on Friday afternoon. Currently I'm waiting for the doctor to call me back to find out if the next step is just scheduling a regular appointment or if we go forward with induction.

Happy thoughts.

Bored

No baby yet. I don't have an early bird, the bun is still in the oven and the little butterball is still getting roasted. We had a really nice Thanksgiving at my folks, though it was different - Nana was missed, Virginia was there and the in-laws didn't stay too long (my MIL had an accident earlier in the week and was not feeling well).

I should be taking advantage of these last few quiet days I suppose. BUT. I'm tired of reading. I'm not really feeling the knitting groove as much as I would like. I'm anxious about the baby. Mom is coming with me to my appointment tomorrow where they'll monitor the baby's heartbeat and movement and fluid levels. Hopefully we'll hear that everything is still fine and all, but still - I'm getting impatient and frustrated and anxious. Given that I have the time during the day of course my imagination gets away from me. And while our friends are well intentioned in calling to check in on us (even Dan's college roomates are calling to find out!) and my mom is calling to check on me I wish I had something better to tell them than "Nope, sorry, no baby yet." My brother and girlfriend were woken up by a phone call at 3am thinking it would be us with good news, but it was just someone yelling at them in Chinese. And that person knew nothing about a baby. Sheesh.

I cast on and finished a pair of hand / wrist warmers (from Last Minute Knitted Gifts) for my grandmother - her name is Veronica and that is the name of the yarn colorway. I don't know if she'll actually wear them, but maybe as glove liners? I think that I can make a second pair from the first skein and then give them to my mom - not sure if she would wear them either, but I am pretty sure she would appreciate the knitted gift in a pretty colorway that shares the name with her mom. The yarn is "Harrisville Silk & Wool" - it's a bit uneven in texture, but on the whole I like it.

Jive Turkey

First off, thanks to those who commented about the police tape scarf - the consensus is that it is a good idea, so I jumped in and cast on. So far I've got "Do Not" done - I'm going to adjust it slightly so it says "Do Not Cross Crime Scene" and repeat that. I'm using acrylic and it's curling, but I'll deal with that later.

A major thanks to Sara of goingcrafty.com - she let me know about her Jive Turkey Baby Hat pattern. Of course I knit it up. I used US 6 needles and cast on only 64 to make it a little smaller, in the hopes that Baby will arrive this week and actually be able to wear it. Otherwise, guaranteed I will make it again for next year :) It was a really quick knit and I expect it will get a big response when it does get shown off (this year or next). For now, Jackson is my model. Happy early Thanksgiving!

Another Hat & Scarf idea for a teen guy?

In keeping my mind off the fact that the due date is one week away (and the added part of that which is that the due date is really just the midpoint of the two weeks prior and post in which baby could arrive) and keeping my mind from wondering if every little twitch or ache is the start of labor I'm still knitting away. Last night, I cast on, knit and cast off an "Umbilical Cord Hat" from "Stitch 'n Bitch".

I used Lousia Harding Kimono Angora yarn which is oh so soft! And thinking about it now, given that it is 70% angora probably doesn't make it the best sort of baby hat. But, for my baby it'll be ok - enough for a photo or two. The colorway is kind of a peas + carrots - there are shades of greens / yellows / oranges, but they aren't obnoxious. It's a good fall hat. (Or spring I suppose). Hurry up Baby H - you've got all these little knits to wear!!

This year for Christmas, the family (which is HUGE - I think there are at least 30 people) decided to do one to one exchanges - someone picked names out of a hat and you will give a gift (with a $ limit) to that one person. The Baby has my 13 (14?) year old cousin, Max. According to his mom, he would probably be happiest with gift cards to a sports store or itunes. That works out just find for us! She also mentioned that he likes CSI - so I google and "ravel" on ravelry and found this Police Tape Scarf - I think it's cool - and a possibility to knit up in time... I think I could do it in the round... Would a young teen guy like something like that?? I've got the materials... I might do it up just to do it and keep my mind off the sometime arrival of you know who.

An Unoriginal Post

A finished object! The Unoriginal Hat by the Yarn Harlot.

Yarn: Fat Sheep Yarn, Raspberry colorway, from Farmhouse Yarns
Mods: I used two US11 (8.00mm) circulars because I don't have 7mm dpns but I do have a big head.
Other notes: It could be pregnancy brain or just not paying attention, but for whatever reason I started knitting this on US7 needles (that's only 4.5mm!) and when I was reading the chart I was working it backwards / upside down as is my usual for cables. It looked like crap. I reread the pattern, found the appropriate needles, and also found the written out instructions! Don't know how I missed those before. The end result is a rather snug head hugging hat, it's quite warm. It will also match two of the scarves I wear regularly so that's good.

In baby related news, as some people have asked: I'm feeling ok (but tired of getting in the way of myself. I would like to be able to bend over to put on socks or pull a blanket up from the other end of the couch. Or roll over in bed easily. And I'd like to be rid of the heartburn.) The due date is Thanksgiving. That's one week from this coming Thursday. At my appointment on Monday I was actually 1cm dilated, so that's good, but still doesn't mean much more than this is really going to happen. Dan has only two more days at work (he's starting a new job end of Nov / early Dec) so it would be great for Baby to decide to arrive this week.

And that's about it. Some of my WIP I've decided are just going to hibernate till spring. I've still got startitis. Oh and my grandmother has requested a second doorknob cosy. :)

Baby Knits

Two FO's to blog about today - first off - baby booties!

Pattern: Saartjes Bootees (pdf file)
Yarn: leftover yarn that I used on the Carolina socks, Sockenwolle "Light" from handgefaerbt.com
Such a quick project. I do think I would like them better in a solid color or two, but for now, these are great!

Second, a Christmas Hat!

Pattern: Christmas Tree Hat from P2 Designs.
Yarns: stashbusting with Plymouth Wildflower DK (green), Plymouth Dreambaby DK (yellow), and Debbie Bliss Merino DK (red)
Mods: Instead of a PomPom, I made a star - so quick and easy! 5 rows!
I hope that it fits - I made the largest size (newborn) and it does have some stretch. I bet Jackson will be so happy to give up this side gig as a knitwear model.

Mish Mash

My ravelry shirt arrived on Friday - yay! I haven't tried it on yet - saving that until after the baby arrives.

Which according to the doctor at Thursday's appointment the kid is not coming out any time soon. But he has been wrong. But he's also old so I should listen to him. Whatever. I'm ready to meet this little one and have the world meet them too! My next appointment is tomorrow, maybe something will have changed.

Knitting wise I'm working on a pair of Saartje's Booties using leftover sock yarn - so small, so cute!!

I was hoping for the weather to cool down, but this weekend it's been frigid! And now with the heat on I'm constantly all dried out. And my skin is really annoyed by this - feels like I have windburn or something.

Bleh. Next post should have photos. Something more than random ramblings.

Seaweed

New magknits is up today! The socks are interesting - I'll keep them on the back burner for now. What really struck me was seaweed - what a neat idea!! I would love to start on it now, but don't yet have the baby to include in the measurements - maybe I could use my Cabbage Patch Kid, "Garnet Lenore"

Side story part 1: What a name for the Cabbage Patch Kid huh? That's the name she came with, I didn't love it, but never changed it either. My uncle used to tease me all the time "Garnet Lenore will soon be coleslaw!" and being 5 years old, I didn't get it. Until about high school when I realized what coleslaw was made of. To this day I still don't eat coleslaw.

Side story part 2: When I was 5 or 6 my Gram took my brother and me into New York City. Among other things we saw that day, we went to the Cabbage Patch Kid store / nursery in New york City. They had a cabbage patch staffed with nurses and you could witness the Cabbage Patch Kids being "born". Then, audience members could shout out names for them. Somewhere out there is a Cabbage Patch doll (or two) with the name of one of my mom's cousins.

Dust in the Wind

I finally completed my largest knitting project to date - the tilted duster has all the seams complete and ends woven in! Excuse the poor lighting in the photos:

It needs buttons and probably a blocking too (haven't ever done that - little nervous). But I also like it with the collar down:

I'm undecided about it. Maybe at tomorrow's SnB I'll get some ideas on what to do with it.

I feel so proud - I actually made an adult sized garment and it fits! It's so warm too :) Glad I got it done before the baby arrives - it's a cute maternity sweater / outer layer / house sweater.

Waiting on the little one

So, I'm 36 weeks now. We're in final countdown / on edge mode. We keep joking about that "I Love Lucy" episode where they rehearse and rehears what everyone will do when Lucy comes out and announces "Ricky, the time has come." Which of course, doesn't happen at all like they planned / practiced. The baby's room is just about done. I need to order a glider / rocker but the ones I've seen online haven't gotten very good reviews, so I'm kinda putting it off.
Here's what the room looks like:
(From the door / entrance)


(From the far end of the room near the window / crib end)


(Crib shot)


We'd like to put something up over the crib - I couldn't find a mobile that I liked... (I have the itty bitty nursery book, and knitted toys I should just make one!) maybe a stencil of the baby's name? but since we don't know if it's a boy or girl that will have to wait. I still really like the idea of wallwords but we'll see.

Oddest Project Ever

A few weeks ago my grandmother requested a doorknob cover / cozy. After a little hunting online, I did find a pattern. I dug into my stash, found some cotton yarn (in a navy blue color) and got to work. I finally finished it today and then wanted to try it out before sending it along to Gram. Well, all the doors in my house have handles, not knobs!

I did find one in the basement leading to our garage. And thankfully, the cover fit.

I really think this takes the cake as the strangest thing I have ever knit. I feel like it is so 70s, when everything had a cozy - at least that's how I think of it.

Funny thing is I really want to make both of these mug cozies. I spotted the second one at ravelry and loved it. Not days later, in the latest issue of Blueprint Magazine in a shopping guide section (page 41) they show Snug Mugs from Ruth Cross - $48!!!!!! Ok, it is a "hand thrown porcelain mug....with a handmade Ruth Cross cosy in lambs wool with an ox horn button fastening" Still.

Halloweenie-fest ready!

Even though the astronaut costume didn't work out, I did manage to finish the zebra sweater for Jackson. Apologies to Steven Pastis - author of my current favorite comic, Pearls Before Swine. I especially love the crocodiles - the males speak in this "barely articulate" manner, and greet their zebra neighbors with a great "Hullooo Zeeeba Nay-bah!". (Hey it's almost Rhode Island (see the culture entry)) That gets said a lot around this house. So, Jackson's Halloween Costume for 2008 is dubbed the "Zeeba Sweatah".





The design came from the "Dashing Dogwear" booklet "Created for Leisure Arts by House of White Birches". I used Red Heart and Caron Simply Soft. Jackson has a chest measurement of 18.5 inches, so modifications were needed. I worked between the chest sizes 16 inches and 24 inches. I cast on 71 stitches, worked 18 rows before the leg openings, worked to row 30 before casting on the other side of the legs, worked to row 42 and placed markers. Then I followed the chart for the back shaping for the small size. Didn't add ribbing at the leg openings. I'm quite pleased on the whole.

We're off to the town dog parade and dachshund rescue Halloweenie festival... more later!

Failed Halloween Costume (Dogs On Thursday)

I put a lot of items on my dog - a lot of them homemade knitted objects. He's a good sport, though you can tell by his face that he is doing it only because he loves me. Currently I am working on knitting his Halloween costume - it was an ambitious project and I should have focused on it more previously - not just this past week. It should be ok though, so I'm not worried too much.

At target today I did find the astronaut costume! I was so excited - a back-up costume, just in case. I bought the small size (for dogs with 10in - 13in neck to tail length) - there weren't any mediums. I cut it off the hang tag board and pop it on the dog. It's a disaster.





There's no way his back legs can fit into those leg sleeves. Now that I look at the corgi model closer it doesn't look like his legs are in there either - they are not velcroed shut. I could live with that, but being a dachshund he's endowed in the chest area and it barely stays velcroed there. Anyone interested in buying it from me? $9.99. I'll trade for yarn or books (check out my amazon wishlist even)....

Now the pressure is on and I really need to bust out the original idea!

I'm filled with "intrinsic incredible emotion"

Gotta love the Chum! Today's post was about Meryn Cadell and her song "The Sweater" - I remember being at the mall looking for that song (on cassette!!). My mom tried to be helpful by pointing out a Michael Jackson single, "In the Closet". Thanks mom, but not helpful. There's a youtube video - still wonderful!


And, since the talk today is about sweaters, I'm 2 rows away from being done with the skirt on the tilted duster. Looking into mods as I don't know if I want to be concerned with rolling / blocking etc. 2 Rows. So close to being done with that part. Then it's onto picking up for the collar and getting the sleeves in. The sun is out today (thank goodness) I need Jackson to take advantage of that - gotta get moving on his Halloween costume!

Candy Corn

This weekend we're going to a friend's "Ocktoberfest". They had a little boy back in May and I never got around to sending them anything that I did knit (tomato hat, mason dixon bib) - I am going to keep those items. Instead, I took the opportunity to knit up some more seasonal themed items. I'm working on a pumpkin hat from "Itty Bitty Hats" and last night I started and finished a Candy Corn Hat from Skeins and Beans. I made the small size (baby) as the little guy is 5 months old. The hat seems really tiny to me, but it's go stretch. His mom is a nurse who I think works in the NICU, so if it doesn't fit she can give it to the preemies. I used Plymouth Dreambaby DK for the yellow and orange and they are fantastic! It's a nice soft hat too. I would make this again.

Relief

The insurance apparently has been fixed - we've been added to Dan's insurance through work - I can leave the house again! :)

In all the digging I've been doing, I'm composing a rather nasty letter to send off to Connecticare, Blumenthal (the state AG), my former employer, the CT Dept. of Insurance and CT Dept. of Consumer affairs. Apparently dropping a pregnant woman from COBRA insurance due to an employer's nonpayment of premiums is quite ugly and unfair, but somehow still legal. Yes, we have insurance now, and I should probably stop the whining, but I'm sorry, that's just not right. There's something seriously wrong with healthcare in America.

Dogs on Thursday - Celebrity Edition

Yesterday's paper must have picked up this piece - Fergie, of the Black Eyed Peas, has 2 dachshunds! We're in good company with celebrities and their dachshunds, but first, my pupper, who has been the Met Pet of the Week, and a Halloweenie-fest costume winner two years in a row (We're working on this year's costume). Of course he's going to try out some of the new baby gear!


Dachshunds & Literature Shakespeare! Joyce! Faulkner!
Dachshunds & Theatre Brando! John Wayne! The original dog for the Wizard of Oz!
Dachshunds & Politics Patton! Napoleon!

Knitting. Seriously.

Playing catch-up here.

Aside from a wee bit of embroidery and possibly adding the edging, I'm calling this hat done - Football Hat from "Itty Bitty Knitting" (Just got "Itty Bitty Nursery" so cute!)Go Jets!

I had previously found on the web, but didn't bookmark, a tip / hint about knitting an edge instead of the single crochet edging. I think it had something to do with picking up stitches and knitting them on the wrong side? Anyone have any ideas about this?

I knit up Foliage for me using some truly yummy Malabrigo worsted - it's like a grey-green with bits of white-ish. I messed up on my stitch count somewhere - in the middle of the second repeat of the leaf pattern, I was off somewhere but couldn't find the mistake so I just continued onward. Bah! It still worked, and as it's a hat for me I'm willing to accept the mistakes. It looked really big on the needles, but as I've got a big head, all was fine. I'm thinking that this is an easier way to keep the hair out of my face instead of fighting with little clips.


My current Sock in progress in "Bartholomew's Tantalizing Sock" from the "New Pathways for Sock Knitters" book by Cat Bordhi. I'm using Seacoast Handpainted superwash sock yarn. The techniques (while wonderful) are not my usual for sock making, so between the pattern with slipping stitches with the yarn in front and flipping through the book (gotta get it spiral bound), this sock is taking a while. And it's only the first one!


My other current obsessive WIP is the "Tilted Duster" from the cover of Interweave Knits, Fall 2007. This is a real stash-busting project - I'm using Berocco "Pleasure" that was originally intended for an afghan. So there's lots of it. I'm hoping this will work out as a decent maternity sort of sweater, especially since New England has finally gotten a bit cool and damp. I really don't want to have to purchase a maternity jacket to wear for all of a few weeks! Unless I find a great deal at the Stork Exchange or something like that... anyway, it looks very blobby, but both sleeves are done, and I'm maybe less than 10 rows away from being done with the skirt. This is great for the mindless knitting during tv.


Speaking of tv, there's not much going for me this fall. I miss the Gilmores and Veronica Mars! We've been watching "Kitchen Nightmares", "Pushing Daisies", "America's Next Top Model", "Survivor" and "CSI". "Lost" is still very far away. During the day I'm enjoying the "How Clean is your House" on BBC and the "You are what you eat" - we need to get those shows here in the states. They are so cool in how they tell it like it is! No nice nice there.

Supporting Maternal Justice

Think of the babies! While I'm not yet an active participant, I hope to be!



Support the League of Maternal Justice!

Check out this montage: Great Breast Fest.

Whirlwind

Photos of knitting are coming. Really. Life somehow keeps interferring. Here are the highlights of my weekend.
1) My brother had a comedy show this weekend. He was fantastic! And even better, this show was a contest and he was one of two winners that get to perform for an HBO booker for an HBO comedy show! I'm so proud! He's really got a gift for stand-up.

2) Met with a pediatrician for the baby-to-be. She knows about Gilmore Girls. Awesome.

3) Got a letter from my former place of employment that "due to nonpayment of premiums, Connecticare has terminated the health insurance plan" - even mine that I was COBRA-ing. This I don't need. 8 months pregnant. 3 doctor appointments between now and November 1st. One of which is this Friday. I hope (but have no idea) that on Monday I can call them, offer to pay, and get back insured with them immediately.

4) Talked with my grandmother this morning. Told her about how I won a ribbon at the town fair for the knitted socks. She replies with "Oh, that reminds me, I need you to make me something!" Sure, for Gram, anything. "I want you to make me a doorknob cover. Round. White or navy blue or whatever you have. Right now I've got a sock and an elastic on there. You're the only one who knits!" Any ideas? I'll use the powers of google-foo and ravelry...

5) On the way back from the trip to New York, on the train, a gal sat down next to me - I spotted her magazine - the latest Interweave Knits! A knitter!!!! So I asked her what she was working on (Tilted Duster gauge swatch, I'm impressed by her attention to the detail with that!) and she showed me a beautiful shawl she recently finished. And lucky gal, she's going to Rhinebeck!! Of course ravelry came up and we exchanged user names for that - I sent her a message. I hope I don't appear stalkerish but hey, you gotta keep the knitting community going, right?

Sum-up

It's been a while. Things are going really well, but I've been lazy when it comes to blogging. I'm still reading blogs and boards and stuff, but put off blogging for any number of reasons. The dog is barking. I haven't taken photos. Whatever.

Two of my best friends put together a baby shower for me - long distance for much of the planning, and then came up for the weekend of the actual event - yay! It was a lot of fun and they are amazing ladies for doing it! Here we are:

Betsy, (her pictures are here too), me and Jenny.

And Betsy apparently has been plotting with some of my fellow bloggers making squares for a baby stroller blanket!! She showed me and told me about it and I'm just all !!!!!!! And, as we are Gilmore Girls fans, they also put together "Onesie Painting" a la Lane's Baby Shower (episode: "Will you be my Lorelei Gilmore?") - that was a big hit!

Other baby related stuff: There's not too much to report. I'm feeling good (tired again, but good). Going to meet a pediatrician this week, went to childbirth class this past weekend. Now it seems like a lot of hurry up and wait, knitting as fast as I can. :)

I also have a "Yay for me!" topic. I entered several photos in the Guilford Fair and this one:

Won a second place ribbon!!
And I entered my "Go with the Flow" socks and they won a second place ribbon as well!!

Fiber Godmother Q & A

Fiber Godmother Questionnaire (Round 2!)


General Fiber Questions answers:
My fiber related hobby is really just knitting. I keep telling myself I'll learn crochet and get around to embroidery, but so far that hasn't happened (and it isn't for lack of supplies!) I taught myself how to knit around 6 years ago. I'm still learning, but am comfortable with most things (socks, scarves, hats, gloves, dog sweaters, blankets, washcloths, easy lace, cables [if I pay attention!]) so I would consider myself intermediate, on the way to advanced.


My current fiber obsession is drooling over Ravelry and Cat Bordhi's latest book (which I have and adore). I really enjoy making socks and "quick fix" projects - like baby hats. Right now I'm working on several projects: baby blanket, baby hats, sweater, shrug, dog sweater...with many more things on my "to-make" list.

Other crafty adventures include photography - I just entered several photos into our local country fair.

About the fiber:
My favorite yarn is anything by Blue Sky Alpaca, especially organic cottons!
I absolutely do not like mohair or eyelash type yarn.
I've been quite taken with the idea of trying out Trekking sock yarn, louet gems,organic yarns, sheep shop... I'm open to new things.
I would say yes I am a yarn snob. I think it's important to use the nicest stuff you can.

About the tools:
Bamboo tools are my favorite, though I will use addi turbos and those are lovely too!
I mix up the needles I use depending on the project.

About you:
I do pamper myself, while I still can - my baby is due on Thanksgiving, so I expect the little one will be the pampered one.
Currently, many of my days / hours are ideal - knitting, listening to podcasts, hanging out with my dog, knitting while hubby plays video games.
I have seasonal allergies, but nothing that would affect knitting or swaps.
I am married, with one baby (we won't know the gender until everyone else does!) on the way. I am owned by Jackson, a 2 year old smooth mini dachshund.


I love colors in the purple-blues-greens shades, but I'm coming around on pinks, reds and good browns. I'm not a huge fan of white, yellow takes me some time to get used to. I like light florals, citrusy scents or "clean" scents - like fresh laundry!
Candy is wonderful. I love Mike & Ikes, Jelly Beans, gummy anything, bottle caps, skittles, reeses pieces... more sugar side of things than chocolate (though that's delicious too!)


My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I do have an amazon.com wishlist - it's on the side of my blog. I generally blog about items I think are really neat / cool / would like to have, so please poke about! Yes, MP3s are doable, and my music tastes range all over. My favorite movies include John Cusack, the Muppets, Singin in the Rain, Rebel without a Cause...

Need Help reading pattern

for the "Tangled Yoke Cardigan" - I have been plotting this out very carefully on index cards so that I can mark them up / check off what's been done. In looking ahead, I'm not getting things to work out and just want to be sure I haven't missed anything.

Here's what I've done so far:
Cast-on 226 for the 38" size. Check.
Set-up row. Check.
Row 1 (RS). Check.
Row 2 (WS). Check.

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 4 more times. Check. So that's 10 rows so far

Decrease row. Check. 226 - 4 = 222 sts, 11 rows done
Looking ahead, I get confused:
I'm starting to work the next seven rows even. That will make 18 rows done
Row 19 will be a decrease row (222-4 = 218sts)
Row 27 will be a decrease row (218-4 = 214sts)
Row 33 will be a decrease row (214-4 = 210sts)
Row 39 will be a decrease row (210-4 = 206sts)

But there's where I'm confused - the pattern at this point says "end with a WS row, 206 sts, 47 rows complete" = I'll have the right # of sts, but the wrong # of rows... What did I miss?

Not sure where to post this to on Ravelry yet, and I haven't gotten an invite to the knitalong. Any help is appreciated!!

Dogs on Thursday

I thought this was cool, Dogs on Thursday and have signed up for it - Jackson is often a part of my blog and I don't see that changing, so why not give him a day? Lord knows I take enough pictures of the little guy and that currently we spend an immense amount of time together.

The breeders from whom we adopted Jackson have updated their website, check it out! lynnesdoxieheaven.com. We love Lynne and Skip - our dog is great and we've met others from there as well, equally sweet, fit and friendly. Jackson is on their "adopted puppy" page - in a little red sweater (I didn't make it though).

Jackson had a trip to the vet this week. Routine, to update shots and stuff. He did have to have blood drawn. When he came back in the room I started laughing - he had a wee little bandage on his leg - it was only on for an hour or so. He walked about and kept shaking his leg - as if he could shake it off. Of course I had to get out the camera as soon as we got home!



Love that it had little blue paw prints on it!

If that was the worst of the vet visit I'll take it - he went into the vet office without barking!! If you've met Jackson (or any dachshund) this is HUGE! Of course he wanted out the whole time we were there, but he was quiet.

He's been so affectionate today - curled up in my lap, or on my side when I was laying on my side before - keeps going in for a kiss. Good boy!

Knitting FOs!

How in the world did it get to be September?? Not being in school (as a student or teacher) for only the second September that I remember is very very strange. I'm excited for fall, but in my head it still feels like July or early August!

The knitting front has been a bit slower, but still productive. I finished a pair of Carolina socks using yarn that a fellow LimeNViolet messageboarder sent me - german sock yarn rules!

Jackson is impressed, as always:

His expression in this one is better, but it came out blurry!


I've made 1.5 pairs of practice socks from Cat Bordhi's new book (which I'm in love with): Little Sky Socks:

Little Coriolis (I don't know if I'll have enough to make it's pair)


I've started the "Tangled Yoke Cardigan"

I've gotten through the first part of the garter rib repeats and am ready to start decreasing, but I've got questions - when I plan it out I'm off by 7 rows!?!? That's another post.

I've started "Miss Dashwood"


I've gotten back to work on the Big Bad Baby blanket, the Baby Surprise Jacket has stalled, and I'm about to start another pair of socks. Still haven't felted what needs felting. Jackson's zebra coat is slow going.

I'm struggling to pick green or orange for the baby's room - hopefully Dan will guide us to the right decision so I can get paint tomorrow and it can be painted on Friday. The baby's been kicking up a storm. :) I passed my glucose screen - so glad that I don't have to go back for the 3 hour test, but it was good knitting time!

Jackson's working hard in his obedience class. He's making progress, but some of the stuff I don't really care about - HEEL? for a dachshund? If I want him right next to me, I'm better off picking him up! Still good to work on following directions though. :)