4!

Yesterday, the Lorax turned 4! I knew it was coming, and yet I am still surprised that it happened. Time has gone by so fast. I think that 4 is probably the best birthday yet - she was excited that it was her birthday, had fun telling people that she is 4 and that they should say "Happy Birthday" to her, and yet there wasn't any whining for presents but each item she opened was met with "OOOOH! I always wanted this!"


For the record, my girl, at age 4, loves Tinkerbell & her fairy friends, loves princesses and all things girly. She can draw, she loves books, she loves the Snoopy movies and Charlie Brown Christmas. She tends to start her day with a glass of orange juice and a cut up apple, she tries to be a big help in the kitchen and is a fantastic big sister. And we are starting to get into the joke telling phase (Knock Knock. Who's there? Little Miss Smartypants. Little Miss Smartypants who? I don't know.)

She says she is going to have 100 birthdays. I hope she is right.

That time of year

I love that New England is finally feeling like fall - the nights are cool, people are generally cheery and not bitter about the weather yet, and working with wool is nice again! I finished a test knit of a cowl that I look forward to wearing. We will ignore the portion of the weather forecast that says this weekend it will be in the 70s / 80s.

The "Tartan" cowl by Caryl Pierre is soon to be released. I used O-Wool Classic in blue and O-Wool Balance in grey. I love how this cowl is shaped - it will sit nicely on your neck under a jacket collar to keep you warm, no gaps! It is large enough to pull up to your nose, or fold over and set in place with a shawl pin (gotta get me one of those, maybe at Rhinebeck!).


Jackson was less than impressed, but the colors look nice on him.

The Funky Chicken is Nate's chair buddy - I think this photo is one of the best ones we have of him - his eyes are open, he's not crying, and there is the hint of a smile.


Most of the other photos he looks like this:

At least Lorelai seems a bit more game to take photos again.

Tinkerbell Slippers

The Lorax is into the Disney Princesses big time, but a few weeks back we found a Tinkerbell movie at the library, and now we are experiencing a little bit of a fairy phase. We have indulged in the other Tinkerbell movies as well - they are cute stories (though full of plot holes), I like that the fairies actually *do* something practical / useful, and they are not overly saccharine or obnoxious. I think part of me also has a fondness for the fairies - I like the stories about them being trouble makers (remember in Labyrinth when the fairy bites Sarah?!). And in theatre / drama club in high school we always made sure to have a little fairy dust in our shoe before a show. Anyway, Lorelai spotted a pair of tinkerbell slippers at some big box store - lucky for us she's pretty good about just looking, and then "putting it on her wishlist" for her birthday or settling to tell Daddy or Grandma that she would like to have them.

Dan was making a trip to the big box store and we had talked about buying her those slippers as a special treat, but as luck would have it they were sold out. I do not know why it didn't dawn on me earlier, but shoot - I could just knit them! How hard could that be? Not very - a quick search on ravelry led me to the Little Stay On Slippers perfectly sized already for wee feet. I dove into the stash for some lime green cotton yarn, some white yarn and the pom pom maker - and voila!


They went on her feet as soon as they were finished :) Success!

Coronation

Before I had kids (!! kids, I have kids!) I used to think that 3 or 4 was a nice number of kids to have - in my family I am the oldest of 3, my dad is the oldest of 4 and my mom is the oldest of 7. Now? I'm good with two and I have no idea how my mom, my Gram or my Nana made it work. Obviously they did and it was all well and good, but it's mind boggling to me now, especially as we try to figure out this new normal with the Lorax. Maybe it's the little moments like this that get you over the humps...


Our My sleep schedule is still pretty messed up, so when there is down time I am trying to lay low. My fingers are getting itchy to make things again - and it feels like I am constantly in motion - rocking, swaying, walking - when I sit still I still feel like I'm moving. Generally I am not a fidgety person. Even now as I write this my knee is swaying back and forth. I do think this is in part to my lack of knitting. Usually my hands are busy! I am really glad that I have been practicing crochet because that is easy enough for me to pick up / put down and then I have the satisfaction of having made something.

I made this little crown - using a random ball from the stash, in the P-newborn size it works up quickly and just fits.

The Lorax was very interested in it as well - and has requested a Tinkerbell Crown (Nevermind that Tink does not wear a crown. She has been pretending to put on / take off a "Morning Crown" and a "Sleeping Crown" whatever those are) Lucky for me, the pattern does go up to a size that should work for her. This was great practice.

I have started a quicky project for the Lorax that I hope to share in the next day or so - it feels so good to get those stitches in each day!

Yarn Along - Aug 3 Stripes!

from small things

Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr.

I've been mostly trying to stay on top of the blog reading this past week, so that's my google reader page on the ipad. I am dreaming about starting new projects, but I am actually only working on two things. My Neon Nightmare, a massive granny stripe blanket - it is starting to get heavier and take up more space as I work on it. So far, I've got 28 rows done, about 11 inches, and I am planning to work this up to use up ALL the yarn that I have for each color. I do believe that when the cooler days and nights come this way (and they are coming!) I will look forward to working on this. This project is boosting my crochet confidence as well, so I am quite pleased. The red & white stripey thing is part of a surprise gift that I do not want to talk too much about - the recipient has swung by my blog once in a while.

I have another striped object to share - I finished the Rainbow Marley last week at SnB. I made myself finish the twirly bits on the top, and thanks to Costumechick for her input on the twirly bits - she suggested putting them together tassle-like (versus pinwheel style) and that seemed to work out just right.

Jackson, back at work.


Will you go away if I don't look at you?


Seriously kid, we're the original siblings - help me out and take this off my head.

Little things

Officially now I am playing the waiting game. It is a game I have played before, I am usually a good sport about it (even though I hate to wait!), so I am trying to focus on little things in the here and now. There have been some fun things of which to make note.

Lorelai has started really writing her name - this came about all on her terms - she's been able to write an "L" for a while now, and she can identify all the right letters, but this week (maybe thanks to camp?) she's been putting her name on things!


She's also been asking for some yarn and knitting needles. Maybe I should make her her own little yarn stash.


I am slowly but surely improving on my crochet - I made this little pair of booties yesterday. One day - including distractions! I'm floored that it worked!! I would make these again, they are quite cute.


Of course I wanted a certain family member to model them.


And I was able to snap this photo before pushing him to far (apparently modeling booties is where Jackson draws the line) - I started to see a snarl develop...


The mail brought me a fun package today as well - yarn I earned for sample knitting -

Lorna's Laces "Solemate" in the Grand Island Ink and Shadow colorways. This is earmarked for a Woodsmoke Scarf for me, but I can't decide if I want the body to be solid colored and the lace to be variegated or vice versa (opinions welcomed!).

My Needles are Free!

Two projects that have been are the needles are now on their way to their respective homes before going on to a display adventure at TNNA next week. Life happens and as it happened working on these projects overlapped, so they were completed and shipped out within days of each other. One item is still under wraps as it is in a new yarn and a new pattern from y2knit.net. The second item was for Lorna's Laces to showcase a new yarn and new colors, a shawl, Brick House by Laura Nelkin. Once I got going and established the pattern I really enjoyed the knitting. It is the type of project that requires you to notice the row you are on, but is good for semi-auto-pilot knitting. I do not want to ruin the fun of seeing these beauties in person at TNNA, so for now here is a black and white photo of the shawl:

I am looking forward to getting some baby projects knit, maybe a Christmas gift or two done, and some selfish projects at least started.

Almost exactly one year ago I was dealing with girly pink princess flip flops. Hello, full circle:

Those would be princess shoes. Snow White, red sparkle heels with a sparkly blue bow and a picture of Snow White on the bow.

Someone has gotten quite picky about the local paparazzi, so I have to be sly with my photo taking. The shoes were a reward for a successful potty moment. We will take anything we can get, so, no matter how small, we praised it to no end and gave her the prize. We are still quite far from being done of course, but it is getting ever-so-slightly better. Baby steps, little acorns = big oaks, etc, etc.

Over the weekend I made this Strawberry Yogurt Cake. If, like me, you have given in to the temptation of strawberries in the grocery store, give this recipe a go. The strawberries I bought recently were ok, but having come from California they just aren't the same as local ones. They look juicy and red, but once you cut into them the flesh is still white in the middle. The cake had strawberry flavor with just the right amount of sweetness. I can only imagine how good this would be with local berries. I also tried a Popsicle "recipe" along the lines of this but I was not entirely impressed. They are almost too sweet (which is really saying something if you know my sweet tooth!) and I think I should have let them set a bit before putting the sticks in because when I went to share I pulled the sticks right out, no pop! Oh well, the weather is just heating up - there is plenty of time to try something else.

A little of this and that

It's been something like 2 weeks since I posted! What's been going on?
Well, the Lorax started driving...

Ok, not really.

I finished a sweater, for real - for me! Iced by Carol Feller (one of my favorite designers). I wanted something cozy that I could wear around the house - something that I could toss on and not worry about any manner of baby / kid / dog / my own klutzyness goop getting on it. Also, I wanted something that I could wear now with a growing belly as well as in the fall while nursing. I am quite pleased with the result and have gotten in a lot of wear already.


For now I am going without buttons because it just doesn't make sense. The yarn is an acrylic yarn that I really really like, "Jarbo Duo" - it's squishy and warm and light. Love the shades of blue that showed up in this. This is probably not the most flattering sweater I could have made for my body type, but I wasn't looking for that.

I have also been sewing! I could not resist the kitchy call of a Peeps Bunting -



What have you been up to?

Mittens

I can't remember if I already shared this here or not (and obviously, I'm too lazy to go check). With all the snow we've had, the Lorax has gotten a lot of wear out of her purple mittens. I noticed that they were getting a little too small for her and mentioned that I would make her a new pair. Her response, "Princess Mittens?!" My response, "Um, does that mean pink?". I was quite excited to see the Heart Strings Mittens pattern was shared by Vivere Nel Colore (check out her blog - great designs and a little cutie too!). As soon as they were knit, they were snatched off the table, so I consider this a success.

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Neon colorway, leftovers from a pair of socks. Bright pink, orange and yellow - acceptable princess colors I think.

This pattern is well written, quick to knit and there is the possibility for so much customization. My back up plan was to find a princess charm or iron-on-patch of some sort if the Lorax truly had her heart set on princess-mittens (whatever that means to her). Lucky for me, she was excited about these and though we did buy some pink glitter buttons, she chose the star buttons to go on them.


After our photo shoot she told me, "Now I need blue ones for Cinderella, and yellow ones for Belle, and purple for Rapunzel, and green for Tinkerbell..." Sure kid.

A rather blurry shot of the Lorax with her princess mittens and her princess valentine balloon bought by daddy.

Older, Wiser and Way More Active

Yesterday was the Lorax's 3rd Birthday!

We had a jam packed day. Dance class, a coffee break and then a stop at the toy store - she had been given some birthday money and bought some stickers and a Hello Kitty facecloth. A quick trip the library and run around outside. Phew.

My mom came by later with presents from other family members - one of which was this polka dot skirt that she immediately put on (and plans to wear today).

Dinner was spaghetti, her favorite, and I made cake. I think by the time we got to dessert it was all just too much - she didn't want to blow out the candle on her cake - so she enjoyed the sprinkle donut my mom brought earlier.

Happy Birthday to You! Keep on Smiling!

This Moment.

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

– Amanda Blake Soule, Soulemama.com

Lazy speed

We enjoyed one of the laziest weekends ever, and somehow it flew by! On Saturday we tried taking the Lorax to a kids fair in town put on by a local nursery school. It was ok - next year I think it will be fabulous. She was a bit tired (she's been getting up with the birds and their dawn chorus). It was hot / humid. It didn't open on time. She really wanted to ride on a train that rode around the green but it was for kids only, no parents and we're not there yet. The other thing she really wanted to do was to go in the bouncy house. That worked out well -

She fussed a bit after her turn was up, so we checked out the animals and called it a day.

I have two large projects to be working on, but in the heat / humidity that just wasn't happening. I spent the bulk of the weekend working on the edging for the Anne Shoulder Scarf (Ravelry link) sample for Schaefer. It's a new color - black and white photos for now - colors after TNNA!

Garter stitchy goodness.

I just have the little napkin-ring band to finish and then blocking and it will be done.

Hopefully I can get the boards and pins set up to block this this weekend while the Lorax sleeps. She's been pretty adamant about "helping" with everything lately - even editing the photos today!

Red

I noticed yesterday that Bishop's Orchards Pick-Your-Own program was starting today for strawberries! I thought it might be something fun and different for the Lorax and me to try. It was better than I expected!



She did really well for someone who is two and a half! She took careful steps around the plants and was gentle when picking the strawberries as well as putting them in the box.



I was quite impressed by the restraint she showed - she didn't eat any until we were on our way to the car! Maybe she just didn't think of it (and I was also very good and waited until the car as well). She's been having them non-stop now! They are so good - and they taste like strawberries should!



I think we ended up with around five pounds! I've got a batch of chocolate covered strawberries cooling. I'm going to freeze some (or mash them up then freeze in ice cubes, maybe both!). I would love to make Amy's Strawberry Tart (but I need pie dough). Strawberry Marshmallows - ?! I think those might be a must try (need potato starch!). Oooh and angel food cake with strawberries. I think we might be making another trip to PYO! Here is a great link from GoodCheapEats.com (a blog I adore!) about storing berries.



There are a few in there that aren't quite red yet - I tried to remind her to pick ones that were red like fire trucks, but that didn't stick (really, we don't see a whole lot of fire engines... and sometimes they are yellow!) - so, we looked for berries that were red like elmo.



Here she is eyeing the box of berries after making a tower with our sandwich supplies.

There's more red! I've got about 2 more inches to go on the Ladybug jacket for a friend's baby-to-be. The yarn is Berroco Comfort and though it is a little splitty, I love how soft it is and the fabric it creates. I'm using a different yarn for the black and I will miss the Berroco!

Girly

The weather is heating up around here and yesterday, the Lorax told me she wanted to wear flip-flops. This was a huge surprise to me - usually we have a melt down in any shoe store and she hates to try things on. I'm the mom who bought the exact same sneakers in 3 different sizes. Ugh. I have been avoiding getting the next pair of summer shoes, but thought maybe I could get lucky now, since it was her idea.

So we went out to the store with her talking the whole way there about "red flip flops".

I'm pleased to say that this was the best trip to a shoe store ever. She tried on shoes. She looked at shoes, she picked some out, she didn't fuss. And what did her little heart desire?

Heaven help me - she picked out and tried on and loved - light up princess flip flops. She can't walk well in them, it's like watching me try to walk in high heels - all stiff legs, but she loves them. And, yeah, they are cute. Sigh. We did also pick up some new summer sneakers, so yay on that!


Look at that smug face. She totally knows she won.

The girl knows what she likes. And that includes when she's ready for a photo or not. I finished up the test sock for J.L. Yarnworks - it really is a sock!

Cuff up.


Cuff Down. It's a little ruffled-anklet sock - too cute!

I made the toddler / child size, so it's a bit big for the Lorax - but she wouldn't help me and try it on. Oh well.

I do plan to make the mate - like most little knits, this sock went quickly!