Sweater Weather.

We're really getting into those "fall in New England" sort of days - cool in the morning and evening, sunny and pleasant during the day. There is rain in the forecast, but that's fine. I'm loving being back in long sleeves and handknit socks. My own sweaters could use a refreshing, so, on to the baby / toddler sweaters!

First up, PrestoChango

I always wanted this when I was pregnant with Lorelai, but never got around to making it. Dan's cousin recently had a baby (a little girl!) and I was excited to make this for them. Can't beat it - cute, practical - the yarn is Encore - one skein, or maybe one skein plus a few yards from skein #2. The buttons were purchased at WEBS - I decided to stay non-gender specific - these buttons bring out some of the earthy tones in the yarn and it can be used for another baby down the line. I am happy with it, however, I had already purchased buttons for this - a deep green leaf-style - and they are GONE. Can't find them anywhere. So annoying. I do hope those buttons turn up - they were really nice!

Second, I have finished the Peace, Baby sweater for Lorelai.

Sigh. Mommy makes a handknit sweater and what happens? Water works. Oy.

Too big. Again. This is the size 2 - the Lorax is not a big kid, she's not a peanut either. Petite-ish, maybe. Better too big than too small.

I think it could have been a little bit longer, but I can live with it.


Immediately following this photoshoot, I changed her and we had a snack - she was back to all smiles. And hamming it up for the camera.

WEBS Whirlwind

(I really want to be better about turning the computer *off* on the weekends and devote that time to family and knitting (there's a lot to do) so this post is going to be quick and dirty!)

A few weeks back, a fellow ravelry, Rchrispy earburned me that she would be out on the East Coast and was planning a trip to Webs!. I haven't been to Webs since May, 2007 - I was due for a return trip. Peacefulknitter was also ready for a road trip to Webs, so off we went!

I tried to be very project specific - I needed buttons for a baby sweater (since the last ones I bought have disappeared! grrr), yarn for a Christmas present, and I really wanted to see the Spud & Chloe yarns in person. I did pretty well in sticking to my list (buttons check! Spud & Chloe yarn check! Christmas present yarn, no go they didn't carry it)... and then of course I added to it.

Made in Brooklyn pattern booklet, a Spud & Chloe pattern, Natural Knits for Babies and Toddlers, and 101 Stitches to Knit box of pattern cards.


Bulky yarn... I felt like I have queued a bunch of patterns that needed solid colored bulky yarn - so this should help for a while to make a hat for lorelai (or a head band / ear warmer for me), the Spud & Chloe pattern, and then something else.

I also picked up some Berroco Peruvia as I've had really good luck with that for felting projects. It's a great shade of green that didn't photograph too well.


Here we all are - Malabrigo Junkies unite! I was quite impressed by the knowledge these ladies have - they were talking plies and weights and subtle shades of colors and to say they know the colors of malabrigo is an understatement. I think I'm a freshman in malabrigo junkie world - I do love it, so that's a start! :)

And there was a random meeting, not entirely surprising at a huge knitting shop in New England. We were waiting to check out and talked with a guy knitting this really neat hat - after talking to him for a minute or so, it turns out that the guy was Guido of It's a Purl, Man podcast!

Of course, now I just want to start up umpteen new projects. Instead I'm going to try and exhibit *some* self control and work on a few projects today that should result in finished objects, always a good thing!

It's in the bag.

I pulled out the knitting project bags that usually sit near my computer the other day in an attempt to neaten up that space. I found lots of needles and yarn that needed to be put away. And, no surprise, I got a reality check on how many WIPs I've got going on right now.

I can't tell you what's in the blue Vera Bradley bag in the middle of that pile. Random side note: that bag was a grad school graduation gift on behalf of my grandmother - she sent a check and I decided to invest in a real knitting bag. It's one of my bigger bags, love it for all the pockets inside, and there's no zipper or velcro to catch any yarn on. Anyway, the project in there is a gift, and the recipient reads this, so it's staying put away. But I'm working on it.

The orange bag, to the right of the vera bag, also contains projects I can't share with you. I'm working on some test knitting for...."a new magazine, called Historic Needlework that will be focusing on various types of vintage needlework, of which knitting is one!. The first issue will be published sometime before the end of the year through magcloud.com, an on-line print on demand resource. The publication date will be dependent on how soon we have all the pattern samples tested and completed." Kinda nifty, right? And so far so good - I'm working on two scarves (and a third is resting - I'm not wild about the colors / yarn I started it in). I found out about this through Ravelry - great opportunities and connections! Here is a link to the Rav group if you are interested in test knitting some of the vintage patterns - some are still open!

So, if you are still reading, you might think I've got nothing to show other than a pile of bags on my couch. Not true poppets! The skull bag to the left of the vera bradley bag is my go-to knitting bag. That's the bag with my notions, my SnB stuff, the bag with my ravelry "My Name is " button. I'll probably have that bag with me at Rhinebeck (2 weeks!!) and Stitches (if I can get there). What's inside?

A sweater in progress - Trellis and Vine is actually becoming a sweater! I can barely believe it, but I tried it on yesterday:

And I divided for the sleeves / body at SnB last night -

I can see my mistakes in the cables, but they are consistent, so I'm going to live with it (this sweater is for me! I can do what I want with it.) This had been hibernating for a while because it was hard to tell the progress, but now I am looking forward to moving on with it!

There's another project in the bag as well:

My Bat Shawl - 3 bats down so far... I love this Malabrigo lace that I'm using for it - so fantastic! I need to get moving on this one - I keep hearing how big it turns out and I need to be sure I have time for all the knitting and blocking!

I've just realized that there is another bag over here at my computer that didn't make it into the group shot. And probably there will be another bag (or several) to add in the next few days - I've gotten bitten with startisis and am looking at a trip to WEBS this weekend...

Fall is in the air

I've been sitting at my computer today, in a huge sun puddle, and it feels so nice and warm. Imagine my surprise when I went outside to collect the mail and it was chilly! - 58F according to my computer. Wow. We had 2 real weeks of summer and then after a rainstorm this week that brought down leaves, WHOOSH, hello fall! It's a nice change that's for sure - one of the reasons why I never want to live anywhere else but New England.

I think even Lorelai is noticing the changes (as she should be - she is getting older, 22 months today!) - last Friday I put a fleece coat on her when we went out in the morning and she refused to take it off "No... warm!". Huh. And today, I put on her hooded shirt and she wanted to keep the hood on - "Warm!". I find this really interesting as she has always run warm - she fought the swaddle and pulls off her socks! But it gives me hope that maybe we won't have to fight wearing a hat this winter... there are many in my queue I want to knit.

Knitting pictures will be tomorrow, I'm planning a State of my Knits / What's in the bag sort of post. To hold you over, here's a picture of the old Lorax, in a hood, eating toast (her request - she pulled the plate out of her shopping cart and brought it to me.... Mama, toast? sure kid. As you wish.)

Weekend Whirlwind

I've been knitting away on several projects, but they are in various states of "Let me knit a few more rows and photograph them in better light" - so, soon. Interesting stuff in these parts.

This weekend we took Lorelai to the Guilford Fair - she's much more into the animals, so we had high hopes that going on Saturday afternoon would be a good idea. One of the first photos I took over near the little "zoo" was this:

Saddest fair face ever? We were watching the goats. Maybe she was tired - we did spend 45 minutes in the car getting to the fair (mind you, that's a trip of a distance that we could normally do in less than 10 minutes, even on a busy day in town!). We walked and strolled about, checking out the animals. Rabbits bigger than our dog, ducks of all feathers (and noises)..






Sheep. And Llamas - including a mama / baby, which were cute - our favorite books lately are the "Llama Llama" series (mad at mama, red pajama, misses mama) by Anna Dewdney.

After some fair food and a break we went back to the zoo and fed the goats.


Much better mood!

That was it - we were there for maybe an hour and a half tops. It's still hard with her - she wants to walk about, but doesn't want to walk and hold our hand. She's still picky about the food (though she did eventually like some watered down lemonade, a bite of pretzel and some ice cream - not so big on the fried dough this year). On the plus side - she's too little for rides still. Next year maybe.

On Sunday, Dan and I went up to the U2 Concert in Foxboro - what a show. They've got talent and they know how to work the crowd.

We were way up - it was breezy, but I had a neckwarmer / fingerless mitts / central park hoodie - yay for wool! I was quite cozy :)

This was one of the best bits from the show - "Stuck in a Moment" done acoustic (or, as acoustic as you can get playing at Gillette Stadium for umpteen thousand people!)

I found a setlist online - yay!

Edit this setlist | More U2 setlists

Now I need to find a bootleg to download!

Distractions

Lately I've been distracted by other things than what's on my needles - I'm enjoying working on my bat shawl and on my Trellis and Vine sweater, but I'm heeding the call of other projects.

Exhibit 1 - I can crochet! Is this the dark side? I can do a basic chain, single crochet and double crochet and make a ring, and now I'm browsing Ravelry for crochet patterns! Amigurumi here I come! It started with a custom knit request from one of my aunts for one of my cousins for a sort of headband that they saw in a shop. After conversing with my sister-in-law, Virginia, who is way more up with these sorts of fashion things than I am, I decided that even though it was crochet, Headband with Flower was the best choice.

Ravelry details - I used some cotton yarn from my stash, and it was done in an afternoon. Crochet is pretty cool and I like that it has rejuvenated how I browse patterns!

Exhibit 1a: I told you I couldn't stop crocheting. I made the another crochet flower and attached a clip to the back - haven't been able to get Lorelai to wear it yet.

Totally not blocked, the yarn is Schaefer Yarn "Laurel".

Exhibit 2: I went digging in the bags of projects I keep near my computer. So sad to have hibernating projects! I finished up a loaf of bread!

Ok, not really. This is better:

It's one of the Pile-able Pups from Mochimochiland - so cute. It was cute, but I think I have lost my momentum on this project and it may just be the one pup. But he's still pile-able, see?

Stuff on my dog. Other details about this are on here.

Exhibit 3: This sweater, Peace Baby has been in and out of hibernation for a while. I finished all the seaming and have to now go back and do the neck trim and the little design on the front.


I've also be distracted / inspired by these websites - go check them out!
*Craft Hope
*Sharing Our Gifts: 50 Gifts, 50 States
*ReadyMade's A Week Without Spending - written by Virginia - I really admire her taking on this challenge and look forward to her tips and revelations!

In the world of Lorelai, she's been really cute lately - this is a fun stage - there's been a lot of mimicking me throughout the day and her "helping" to clean or whatever.

Oh, and we're obsessed with the potty. Not actually using it, but playing with it. Using the cushy tushy part as a big bracelet, or something to look through, or pretend to drive a car...

Back Up The Roller Coaster

It's all good and perfectly normal (and according to others who have commented) I can expect more of the same when it comes to Lorelai and her mood / actions / whatnot. I don't want my blog to become a place of all venting or whining. Here's what happened the rest of yesterday.

After she got up from her "rest" (I don't think she slept at all, but quiet time is good for everyone) we went outside to play for a bit. One of her new favorite activities is picking the cherry tomatoes:

My tomato plants are all kinds of crazy - they have fallen over and just are everywhere, in all shades of green and brown. Anyway, she's very particular - she holds the bag, she picks the tomatoes - and she was pretty good about only picking the red ones.... Maybe we should hit up Bishop's Pick Your Own?

After we picked tomatoes I went to pick a few green beans. I handed them to her and told her to put them in the bag as well. I turned my back to grab a few more beans and I hear CRUNCH!...


Silly little rabbit. :)


Little rabbit.

This I Believe.

Hello "Terrible Twos". It's another day with the toddler. Today she nearly melted down in the grocery store (we compromised and she walked around the store and helped pick items off the shelf. She's no longer content to sit in the cart at all and snack and watch the world go by.) We came home and she threw a fit that I didn't take her outside with me when I took the dog out. She had a nap, actually ate some lunch (yogurt! apparently that is "in" again. grapes. chips.) She watched me vaccuum. She threw toys. She had a time out. She threw more toys. She had another time out. We snuggled, we picked up the toys. We talked about going to the swings and slides. She threw a fit when I put on her socks and shoes. She contorted her body in such a way I couldn't get her into the car seat. We snuggled and I told her she was going to have a nap. "Yeah". Put her in there and she's out. Resting at least.

In talking with others plurkers, she's acting like a kitten - all cute and cuddly, then in the same minute is destructive and crazy. Oy.

On the plus side, I've got some extra knitting time now - off to the projects: my sweater for the sweater KAL, the bat shawl, a bag I'm test knitting / editing....

Picture is from a brief moment in the madness of this past weekend. It had stopped raining, but she wanted to wear the coat. With the hood on. Whatever. The puddle was great.

llama llama mad at mama

(We took this book out of the library today - very cute story, love it! - even though the dress is merino / silk yarn and not llama, that's all I can think about after the photo shoot.)

Pictures speak thousands of words. Words such as: It's been a long day - Dan's off to Long Island for a wake / funeral today / tomorrow. I stayed home with Lorelai - who has been not 100% this week, and I noticed today that she is indeed cutting her next set of molars. She was not in the mood to try on new clothes. I have an idea for a black and white photo using white Christmas lights, so I'll give it a go in a few weeks. Otherwise, this will likely be entered in the town country fair.


I'd rather be back in the crib than wear this handknit dress.


I'd rather wear something from my dirty clothes basket than wear this handknit dress.


Mama, please. Please.


I want my regular clothes.

Sigh. Details are on Ravelry, but this was test knit for Malabrigo - Book 2 is coming out soon. I used 3 skeins of Malabrigo Silky - a dream to knit up, the color is Rupestre - a great ruby shade.

Bits of Stuff (there's knitting this time!)

The weather has turned nice, and then WAY too hot, and now it's back to nice again. I introduced Lorelai to the sprinkler to give her a good soaking (maybe not the best mom move ever - she's been a bit under the weather this week, running warm, but not feverish - sure, let's get wet and run around outside in the heat... whatever. She loved it.)


Here's the garden, with Lorelai for scale:

We've got two raised beds and they have worked out quite well each year. After we took this photo she helped me pick cherry tomatoes - she was quite good at it. I was convinced she would squish them!


Chalk is a new favorite toy this summer.


We move our art around as needed.


Jackson keeps an eye on us at all times.


The Malabrigo Dress is all knit and seamed! I'm deciding on buttons - hopefully tonight at SnB a decision will be made!


This is the current state of my sweater for the sweaterKAL I'm doing with some of the SnB gals. I was quite nervous I wouldn't get it over my head, but now that fear is put to rest. Thank goodness - I have a back-up plan (Snow White) ready to start at any time, but I don't feel like swatching :)

That's the current state of this nutshell. I'm thisclose to starting the Bat Shawl - Dan's cousin is getting married this fall. Halloween to be exact! I'm going to wear the purple dress from my brother's wedding and I would like to have a shawl. Dan has approved - I may go hunt for yarn tonight!

Food. HFCS. Corn. Sigh. (no knitting)

I've been thinking a lot about food lately. I usually think about food in a "OMG, I love food" sort of way, but as I've read some things and watched others I get to thinking a bit more. Some random and probably rambling thoughts on food.

I recently watched King Corn - it was good, a bit slow in parts (they could have cut out a bit of the inbetween parts - them playing wiffle ball in a cornfield for example). Interesting - did you know that 90% of the corn grown in Iowa is inedible without processing?! Inedible. No just grabbing a husk of corn off the stalk and munching away.

After watching that documentary I've got High Fructose Corn Syrup on the brain. I am all for product development, engineering, advancing science to benefit the greater good, but this is one that has gotten a bit out of control. Recently I went to buy applesauce at the grocery store - Lorelai is getting into it and the last jar I have from when I made it last fall is rather watery. I picked up Motts. A brand I have known since I was a kid and of which I (used to) think positively. Know what's in applesauce? High fructose corn syrup. HUH? I was livid. I started looking at the other brands, the grocery store's "organic" line as well and then had an internal debate over paying more for less product that didn't have the HFCS... and luckily I found the Mott's Natural line. No HFCS. Apples, water and one other thing (ascorbic acid maybe?) Crazy. I also heard from another blogger somewhere that Jell-O individual cups have HFCS in them but the box stuff you make yourself doesn't. You really have to pay attention if you want to try and avoid it. Full disclosure: As I still here and type and ramble, I'm nibbling on keebler E L Fudge cookies - their ingredient list says it has less than 2% HFCS. Hrm. Well that's probably better than HFCS being the first ingredient. These were a complete impulse buy.

There were two great blog series over at ReadyMade.com (as if they didn't already provide so much inspiration for all sorts of projects!) - Amy went a week without processed foods...great links in there! And Katherine did a week without plastics. So interesting - imagine your daily routine and what would change if you went without plastics or processed food. I would love to try it for a day, maybe. Toddlers make things like that even more of a challenge.

Have you heard about the latest BPA issue - I'm quite annoyed - I bought 2 SIGG bottles thinking I was doing a good thing and because they were promoted as being BPA free. They have the old liners in them. I'm working on an email to them; what they did is very much not cool.

On the positive side of things I am able to grow my own food - some produce at least. No plastic, no processing (actually coooking, with minimal ingredients), no chemicals added. I think in the end, all my garden veggies are a variety of the $64 tomato!


No blight here!!

I've harvested my potatoes - I will certainly do these again - we've had them smashed and roasted and probably will have one more meal with them - I've even given 2 bags to my parents and in-laws. I've got cherry tomatoes all over the place - likewise - I've given them to my parents / in-laws and just been popping them as a snack. I am thinking about trying Wife, Mom, Knitter's roasted tomato sauce... Even with all that other environmental hoo-hah, it is satisfying to know that I can provide a little something for my family to eat. And it tastes better too. I even got my husband the tomato hater to eat more than one cherry tomato!! That's something!

Knits next time.