Wild Faerie Caps

Late Yarn Along

2012-02-02T08:03:00.002-05:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

(Ravelry notes here)

I'm back to reading this book. I can't say that I get a lot of reading done now that I'm no longer nursing the Imp. There's just so much else to do with three little ones running wild. My current project is an effort to use up dishrag cotton without making any more dishrags (we have so very many). So I'm making this bag. All these double-crochets are making me crazy.

(Ravelry notes here)

After making a Pikachu for the youngest, my oldest requested Espeon. Here it is, already much played with despite the fact that I still haven't added eyes or other details. I think I'm over my need to make toys for another month or two. Not that my kids will allow me to actually stop. But I'm over it all the same.

Weekending!

2012-01-30T09:02:00.004-05:00

I had a spectacular long birthday weekend. B took off Thursday afternoon so I could go to my massage appointment and then he stayed home Friday as well for my actual birthday. My loveliest of lovely friends, M. Bloom, sent me a birthday package. Inside was a beautiful handmade birthday banner, ivy leaf necklace, lusa organics lavender lotion bar, lusa organics lip balm, and two beautiful peg dolls (which have been confiscated by my littles).

On my birthday I woke to happy children - it was amazing. We went out for breakfast, went grocery shopping. I went knitting at a local yarn store with my step-mother (as I do most Fridays). There were sweet treats and many birthday wishes. I'm sure we did other things. But the weekend has made things a bit of a blur. The kids resumed their cranky ways (can we be done with the teething now, please?) and much sleep was lost by all. It was still a great weekend, though.

Saturday night I started a crochet Pikachu for the Beast. He's.. well.. he deeply loves all things Pikachu. He wore a giant Pikachu backpack around a store over the weekend. We didn't buy it and he was a bit sad. So I thought I'd make it up to him.

(Ravelry details here).

Now, of course, the Imp wants one as well. During my search for inspiration I put together and Etsy treasury for all things Pikachu. You can see it here.

Birthday!

2012-01-27T15:31:00.003-05:00

Today is my birthday! To celebrate I'm offering 20% off everything in my Etsy shop. Just use the coupon code "Bday31" between now and Sunday night. I'll deactivate it before I go to bed - this will likely be between 11pm and 1am (Eastern time).

Pictures of my lovely day will be forthcoming - B killed the camera battery and it must charge!

The Surprise Revealed!

2012-01-26T12:07:00.006-05:00

Okay. I only got two guesses (and both hats - which I sort of meant for you to think). So I suppose it wasn't all that fascinating to anyone but myself. I am, however, so wickedly pleased with the end result that I am positively giddy.

Here's a hint:

And here, my ferocious Imp:

(Ravelry notes here)

Yes. Tiger stripe longies, indeed! The tail was made using a modified version of Emily's C is for Cat pattern. Well, the cat's tail, at any rate. It is removable thanks to two buttons sewn into the back of the longies. Now, my oldest is asking for a knit tail to put on his jeans.

Yes. Today I win.

Yarn Along - scrappy style!

2012-01-25T09:07:00.003-05:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

Reading The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig. It's the last of the Pink Carnation books that are out. Another (Garden Intrigue) should be out next month, though! Yay! Knitting.. well, I'm not going to tell you what it is. That will be for a later post. You're welcome to guess, though!

These are the scrappy longies I finally finished! Woohoo! Well, minus the drawstring. But I'll get to that. Amazingly I had some yarn left over (hence my current project). These were made with some lovely hand dyed yarn I bought from The Sitting Tree a very long time ago. It was my first "real" yarn purchase, I believe. And it was sitting on my shelf making me feel guilty for not knowing what to do with it. Once I rearranged my yarns I noticed that I had a bunch of scrap balls of other oranges and some brown. What could be more perfect than scrappy longies? Especially since my little boys just keep getting taller! So here they are - unwearable until the drawstring is made, but already much loved by everyone.

Monday in pictures.

2012-01-24T08:08:00.003-05:00

10am popcorn - the cure for crankiness.

(Ravelry notes here)

This is my life. Never ending diaper laundry.

Weekending.

2012-01-23T08:30:00.004-05:00

Or Sunday, at least.

Can I tell you how much I love that the Imp can entertain himself sometimes? The legos all over the floor, not so much. But the moments of quiet are pure bliss.

I'm waiting for the sunshine to hit my front window today. Shop update coming soon!

The Elf and I have been reviewing his history (Story of the World: Volume 1) by filling in a timeline. It is *slow* going. There's a lot he's forgotten. And yet he amazes me with how much he remembers (sometimes with a little prompting). We're somewhere near Cyrus the Great right now. The fall of Rome seems so very far away.

Oh! And how could I forget? I have a birthday massage on Thursday! Okay, pre-birthday. It was the closest I could get. Do you have any idea how much I'm looking forward to this? B bullied me into making the appointment, assuring me that he'd find me the money for it. Here's hoping I can enjoy it without feeling too guilty!

Late Yarn Along

2012-01-19T11:16:00.002-05:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

I haven't been knitting. Scroll down to see how I spend my free time these days. It's sad and pathetic the time I give to little peg people. Anyway. The longies look exactly as they did in my most recent post. I started (and finished) a test knit for Emily in the evening. I'm nearly done (re)reading Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig. It's another book in the Pink Carnation series.

24 hours

2012-01-17T15:17:00.003-05:00

I've more or less weaned the Imp. It's been two nights since I last nursed him (we were only nursing to sleep, anyway). I suppose I should feel emotional about this, but I don't think that I do. We've had nearly three and a half years of breastfeeding (nearly two of which have been tandem). I think it was high time we were done. Given his ready acceptance of this, I suspect he feels the same way. I am very thankful that he does not resent the Beast for continuing to breastfeed (aside from the first month of the Beast's life, we've never had rivalry about it). Anyway. It seemed like I should document this.

Weekending

2012-01-16T13:49:00.002-05:00

This weekend in pictures. Because, honestly, I don't seem to be in a very positive mental/emotional place these days. It's safer - and nicer - to stick to the pictures.

Yarn Along - FInally!

2012-01-11T09:26:00.002-05:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

I took this picture for last week's yarn along. The longies still look about the same. I just haven't really been knitting (I am excited about finally using some yarn I bought from The Sitting Tree at least a year ago). The book, however, has changed. I'm now reading The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine. It's.. interesting.

This is that purple shawl (here). I think it looks much better blocked and dyed.

These are just another pair of scrappy longies. Whee.

But now my eternally cranky children are being.. well, cranky. Thus ends my first blog post in almost two weeks.

A note.

2012-01-02T09:08:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to pop in and let everyone know that I'm still around (there have been a few concerned emails). Within 36 hours of spending the day with a houseload of people at my father's for Christmas, my two littlest boys got sick. Things have just sort of spiraled downward from there. Thank all the gods (and really, my step-mother), I was given a copy of Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Recipes book for christmas.

At the exact moment of the beginning of the new year, I was trying to get a coughing, snotty three year old back to sleep. I can only hope this isn't setting the tone for the coming year.

We're recooperating. Elderberry syrup and tea flow here like water. Oatmeal and soup are the foods of choice to soothe our raw throats.

Has any of this led me to amazing resolutions? Well, not exactly. My goal for 2012? To make more tissues (we use cloth). Our small supply just can't keep up with five dripping noses.

With luck, I'll be back in a few days. With pictures (of knitting, of course!) and memories. Until then, you'll find me snuggled with a little boy - tea in hand.

2011-12-23T09:27:00.002-05:00

I meant to post this all yesterday. But I didn't. Oh well. I also haven't taken a picture of my now-brown shawl. It's cloudy and dark and I'm not really sure where to lay it for the best presentation (brown shawl + brown wood floors = not so great). But! I finished my father's christmas gift!

And here are some pictures from Solstice at our house.

The hero pegs I made for the boys. Wolverine, Captain America, Robin, Batman, and Deadpool (some of these were *greatly* influenced by the amazing peg dolls I found on Etsy). Within five minutes of playing with them, they smeared a bit. It makes me worry greatly about the peg dolls that I've sold on Etsy. Of course, it didn't help that the Imp had had his hands in his mouth prior to playing with them. The anxiety, I tell you. I should just stop selling things all together.

The Beast loves the camera. His greatest pleasure is getting behind it and helping take the pictures. Budding photographer, perhaps?

Yarn Along

2011-12-21T11:48:00.004-05:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

My life is full of hats, it seems. Last night I cast on this hat for my husband in the glorious Malabrigo I recently bought (the colorway is Garden Gate, if you're interested). Today I realized that I was using needles two sizes too big. Ugh. I neglected to switch them after finishing the Elf's hat just before.

On an up side, I've finally gotten around to starting to reread a series that I love (I honestly don't know how many times I've read these already). Today is The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. If my usual ways hold true, I'll put off knitting and plow through this book in a day or two. Then I'll pick up the second book and repeat the process!

Here are some things I've finished lately:

This is the Elf's Link hat (as in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time). He begged, I've made. He's thrilled. (Ravelry notes here)

This is my "Jane Eyre" shawl. I used bulky and probably shouldn't have. I also had a seriously limited amount of yarn - so it's shorter than I'd like. And I don't understand the neck band/cuff/doohickey at all. It's warm, though. However! Before you all get excited about the color (every one seems to adore it - my middle son helped me dye in more than a year ago) - I'm overdyeing it. As I type, in fact, it's sitting in a black walnut dye bath. I don't do purple and pink, sorry. (Ravelry notes here)

This is Jiji - from Kiki's Delivery Service. I honestly thought he'd be smaller. For size comparison, those are my three year old's hands. Jiji is for the Beast for Solstice. He's absolutely obsessed with Kiki's Delivery Service (and Ponyo - I'll get to that for his birthday). (Ravelry notes here)

Okay, this isn't finished yet. It's a gift for my father for Christmas (we go to their house for family mayhem). I'll finish him either today or tomorrow.

Yarn Along

2011-12-14T09:13:00.002-05:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

Reading Monster Blood Tattoo Book One: The Foundling by D. M. Cornish. I don't remember where I heard about it. It's fairly interesting so far. I got it from the library, so I need to read it before I give in to my desire to reread beloved series over and over again. Knitting: the not-Pebble vest. It's, what? My fifth attempt? I just couldn't get this right. But I think I have now. (Rav details here)

The "waffle" scarf. It took all of both balls of Top of the Lamb. It's longer than I am tall. Whew! But it's done. (Rav details here)

The Imp needed a new hat. The fox-eared hat I knit last year is just too small (I'll be listing it on Julie's handmade hand-me-down doohickey later). I started and finished it in one day - mostly with my eyes closed. I've been feeling dizzy and nauseous (no, I am not pregnant) so watching the stitches move makes me feel terrible. At least I know that if I ever lose my sight, I can still knit. (Rav details here)

And a gratuitous baby picture. Because he's cute and I wanted to. So there.

Weekending!

2011-12-12T08:03:00.003-05:00

Oh man. I lost Saturday. It just as well didn't happen. I spent just about the whole day running errands. Everything was crazy-busy, of course. The post office, the grocery store. I won't even mention Target because that was utter hell (and I would have skipped it if we weren't desperate for cat litter).

Friday night (yes, I am skipping around) I discovered that the local yarn store no longer carries the yarn I was using to make that scarf from the Yarn Along. Do you notice the past tense? The scarf was frogged. Using every last scrap I had would have only gotten me about 35 inches of scarf. Oof. So I bought some lovely Top of the Lamb by Brown Sheep (I adore this stuff) in a nice and manly grey-brown. Sunday I spent every free moment knitting the scarf back up. I'm not even halfway through the second ball of yarn but at least it's more likely to be a decent length (not that I know anything about scarves).

So what does all of this mean? I didn't get any work done on my other knitting projects. I haven't worked on my kids' Solstice gifts. Oh. And I have to frog that infernal vest. Again. I stupidly did the side panels in reverse stockinette instead of garter. Grrrrr.

Oh! During the craziness of Saturday's errand-running I went to a "new" yarn store and bought a ball of Cascade Eco plus in a lovely green color that is apparently called turtle. I also dropped off some books at the used book store and scored a lovely stack of new-to-me books for less than $9.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, Villette by Charlotte Bronte, Little Men (and at the bottom, Little Women) by Louisa May Alcott, The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine, The Watsons and Emma Watson by (Jane Austen but "finished" by..) Joan Aiken, and finally, Emma by Jane Austen. No wait, I also bought the first book of the Bartimaeus trilogy for the Elf for Solstice. I've read them already and am kind of hoping it will help rekindle a love of recreational reading. It's not in the stack because it is hiding amongst my yarn stash to prevent prying eyes.

Yarn Along

2011-12-08T08:50:00.003-05:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

I'm a day late. Yesterday there were all of five minutes of sun shine. Grey days do not make for good photographs around here. I'm knitting a scarf for a friend (Ravelry notes here). I think I'm going to run out of yarn before it's long enough. I'll check at the yarn shop tomorrow, otherwise I'll have to frog and try something else. I'm also knitting a Pebble Vest for a friend and some gnome hats.

I'm still reading Spartan Gold. I have some books waiting for me at the library, but what I really want to (re)read is the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig. It's just this thing that I do - rereading series when the mood takes me.

Here's what I've finished recently.

Fingerless gloves for a friend's husband (modeled by the Elf). They're like my stripey ones, only shorter and without the stripes. (Ravelry notes here)

A wee doll for a wee boy. The hair is Crayon from KnitPicks. It's pima cotten and *insanely* soft. If I didn't dislike working with boucle so much, I'd be positively swimming in this stuff.

Yarn Along!

2011-11-30T15:05:00.004-05:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

I was going to call this an un-yarn along. Last weekend I unraveled my sweater. Yes. I did. It fit poorly. As usual, I assume that my large self is even larger and overcompensate. I deviated from the pattern and just.. ugh. The sweater was a flop. So rather than keep it and never wear it, I took it apart. It's hanging in hanks outside right now. I redyed it using my (very used up) walnut dye. It's a slightly more even orange-brown now. Hopefully I won't have to alternate balls this time.

Anyway, it turns out that I actually do have things I've been making, rather than unmaking.

When today started I was working on an enderman for B. It's done now. But I'm still reading Spartan Gold by Clive Cussler and Grant Blackwood. My father lent it to me and it's fairly interesting so far.

(Ravelry notes here)

After five years, a new hair accessory for me! It's a little smaller than I'd like. I'm going to try another one with the yarn doubled and larger needles. (Psst. Peggy - see my new coffee mug?)

(Ravelry notes here)

(Ravelry notes here)

So. Remember that sword I made for the Imp? Well the Beast has become emotionally attached to it. So I needed to make another for the Imp. Can you see where this is going? The Beast then wanted the second sword. So I made a third (which is by far the best constructed). Now they mostly get along with a bit of sword-swapping. But the Elf is asking when I'm going to make him one. Ugh.

Overdue.

2011-11-23T14:25:00.004-05:00

Well. So that absense was longer than I'd planned.

The Beast will likely wake from his nap any minute, so this will be short. I made black walnut dye! And tincture, but it's still "cooking" for another week or so.

The Elf and I gathered a slew of walnuts from our grocery store parking lot. I had so many and no one to pawn them off onto. We ended up composting half a bag of them.

These were my experiments. I didn't use a mordant, nor did I dye using heat. I just let it soak overnight and rinse-rinse-rinsed forever. The bottom layer is an old (previously white and well-loved) playsilk. The rolled up piece is a 75% wool, 25% nylon double-knitted sock yarn. The center is Sawya by Mirasol (pima cotton, alpaca, and silk - mostly cotton). The far right is a 100% wool that a friend sent me once upon a time (I've been slowly dyeing bits of it for projects). I think it's fascinating how different (yet similar) the colors are.

Tomorrow I hope to dye a cotton shirt and some wool felt. Yay!

On the gnome front, meet my newest favorite addition!

If my internet connection decides to like me again (as I've lost connectivity while writing this!), there will be some new (really new!) additions to my shop this afternoon (and more in the next few days as well).

Yarn Along!

2011-11-09T09:07:00.004-05:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week. With how crazy things have felt this Autumn, the Yarn Along seems to really be the only time I update this blog.

Working on this tank top/camisole. I don't care for the project much. Back and forth stockinette is so very dull to me (don't ask why in-the-round stockinette isn't, I can't explain it). I'm a big fan of Isabel Allende, so it's no surprise that I picked this book up once upon a time. It is a little weird that it's taken me this long to get to it, though. I'm only reading when nursing the Imp to bed at night, so it's slow going. But I'm okay with that.

Here are some things I've been working on lately.

Crochet dish rags. I have a mess of kitchen cotton and thought I should use it up. This photo isn't of all the cloths I've made - some have already been used. I really don't need this many. I was thinking about listing them for $1 each on my Etsy shop just to find homes for them - no one local that I know of would want them as gifts. Any one out there need some dish rags? They're nothing special but they get the job done.

Wee gnome hats. Yes, my gnomes are bare headed at present. I've been sewing and crocheting hats for them. When I get tired of sewing, I switch to crochet. Overall, I'm feeling a bit burned out on the peg doll hats - it's my least favorite part of the process. Which is why I'm doing it all at once. If I have a huge pile of hats to choose from, I can focus on the more enjoyable parts!

A long awaited picture (poorly taken) of my sweater! I haven't had occasion to wear it yet. It's awfully warm here again. I had to turn the air conditioning on yesterday. Can you believe that? In November? Insanity!

In non-wool news, this soup has to be about the best I've ever had. Yum!

Yarn Along, Etsy Update, Giveaway!

2011-11-02T11:33:00.000-04:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

Alright. I'm knitting a new shirt! I finished my sweater (pictures to be taken eventually) and am giving the silk yarn another try. I just started it last night, so not much progress. This morning (after my youngest two woke me up at 4:30am) I finished reading Between Two Ends by David Ward. It's a kids' book, but was enjoyable. Next I'm giving Grey Griffins a try.

I finished this hat yesterday. It's for the Imp but fits the entire family. I lovelovelovelovelove this pattern. I can assure you that I will be knitting more of them. (Rav notes here)

These little Wolf-Kin are new in the shop! They may look familiar as I made some for a swap earlier this year. I've also added some more weather gnomes and some spring and summer gnomes as well.

The giveaway! Over at We Bloom Here the lovely Peggy has posted about my chore gnomes! Enter in her giveaway to win one of my autumn gnomes!

Yarn Along - Sweaters!

2011-10-26T19:19:00.003-04:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

(Ravelry link)

Still working on my sweater and reading Dragonfly in Amber. The sleeves are done. They're a bit funny shaped because I was winging the decreases (and waited too long to start them). That's okay, though. Live and learn.

(Ravelry link)

This is a sweater that started life as a shirt. I think it turned out well. The Imp wouldn't let me try it on him as I went, though. The sleeves are a smidge too short and I guess I didn't bind off loosely enough. I have several more balls of the yarn, so that should be fixable

Other than that it's been a whole lot of sniffing, sneezing, and wishing I could sleep all day. The Beast stays up until between midnight and 2am and then the Imp gets up at 7am. This doesn't take into account all the nighttime nursing. So yes. I'm tired. And sick. Whee!

Drowning in Gnomes

2011-10-12T15:07:00.002-04:00

This is what my weekend looked like:

Now I'm listing three weather gnomes sets and two chore gnomes in my Etsy shop. As soon as I pry myself away from Stargate SG-1 episodes I'll be making wee hats for some spiffy new Winter gnomes! Whee!

Wow!

2011-10-06T10:07:00.002-04:00

Today I woke up to Etsy orders needing to be filled (well, and a cranky toddler and a feverish baby)! How wonderful is that (the orders, not the miserable kids)? Since my shop was beginning to look empty again, I've added the Chore Gnomes I was working on in a previous post. I've also ordered 100 more peg people bodies! Yes! While awaiting their arrival I'll be cutting and sewing wee hats from my hand dyed felt. Yippie!

Hopefully (providing the feverish baby is content enough to nap) I'll even finish up a pair of squishy, rusty red longies to add to the shop.

I've also made my first Etsy Treasury. It was lots of fun finding new and intersting things - I can't wait to make another!

I'm feeling so motivated this Fall!

Wonderful days!

2011-10-03T15:43:00.002-04:00

I have so much to write about. Which likely means that I will write very little.

This weekend was perfect. The first day of October was the first truly cool day for us. Our windows have been open, the breezes blowing. Saturday we spend several hours outside. B and I moved the compost (with some wee hands helping, of course) and expanded our "food garden" to make room for some fall plants. The Beast has finally accepted shoes and the wearing thereof. He ran laps around our car while the older boys whooped and jumped about - occasionally stopping to help me pull roots from the garden bed. New seedlings were procured: salad greens, cauliflower, and cilantro. My banana peppers are popping up blooms all over the place. It's amazing what a break from the heat will do.

Late last week I adopted B's childhood pocket knife and have been halfheartedly carving magic wands for the boys from sticks in the yard. It's strangely enjoyable, but is rough on my hands. I think a proper set of carving knives would help.

Sunday we spent most of the afternoon at my father's house to celebrate the Imp's birthday. He was utterly thrilled with his gifts and the cookies on the ice cream cake they bought. It took a couple of hours but he eventually warmed up to everyone. It's amazing to see how different he is at home versus at my dad's. He's so much more confident on his turf. I also found out that my father quit smoking back in June. This is a *huge* deal. I never thought he would ever quit. Even after throat cancer he smoked like a chimney. I can't tell you how very proud of him I am for having finally broken the habit.

I've finally finished my gnomes. Today the stars aligned and I managed to find some decent light in the house that wasn't too bright. The kids even mostly cooperated. Of course, the pictures are still on the camera, so I'm mostly just assuming that they turned out decently enough. I'm hopeful, though.

Today also marked the day that I received the package for this year's Dish Rag Tag. It was exciting (which seems a little sad, but I'm okay with that). I finished the dish rag in under three hours (including nursing the Beast to sleep for his nap and eating lunch). It helps that the older boys ran off to the Elf's room to play with legos the whole time. So it was just me, the yarn, and Stargate (I'm rewatching SG1 on Netflix).

Okay, so picture-free posts are kind of boring.

More Gnome Love

2011-09-29T15:16:00.002-04:00

Thank you all for your kind comments about my gnomes in the last post! Here are some in-progress additions:

Lightning gnomes to go with my other weather gnomes.

Chore gnomes! It was harder than I thought, finding simple pictures that would (mostly) universally represent common tasks. I tried to avoid having images of people and hands - very difficult.

Days of the week gnomes! The "angel" shaped ones are a tiny bit smaller than the average peg person. The "boy" gnomes are the teeny ones that come up to the shoulders of most peg people. I'll have to come up with something better for Sunday (white) because my current paint just isn't cutting it.

They will all be rubbed with beeswax polish and given hats. I'm in the process of dyeing more wool felt for them. What do you think?

Yarn Along and Birthday Goodies

2011-09-28T09:06:00.006-04:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

A pair of longies! Who would have thought, right? I'm using the leftover yarn from knitting Emily's test pattern for a bear. Will these be for my kids (who sorely need longer longies?) or will they go into the shop? Well, that depends on how far this ball of yarn gets me. It's entirely possible that they'll end up as shorts. Time will tell! As for reading, I finally picked up the second book in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I've owned it for a good long while and just never got around to it. As I'm currently lacking in library books, it seemed like the time to get into it. So far it is quite as enjoyable as the first book.

And now!
Yesterday was my sweet little Imp's third birthday. Here are the (sad, pathetic, poorly put together) gifts that I made for him.

This is Deadpool. A Marvel character. The Imp is in full-on comic super hero mode. Ever year we participate in Free Comic Book Day. Needless to say, we have a lot of comic books. We're also a video game family (hold your judgement, please). So no, he doesn't really understand who Deadpool is. He just knows that he looks cool and (in his words) "Deadpool have two swords!"

I think I failed in making this guy, though. There are some much, much, much better ones on Ravelry. Here are my notes, such as they are.

This is a Wolverine mask. It had so much potential. And then I sewed the "ears" on crooked. The night before his birthday. It's not an accurate representation, either. But he recognized it (along with the doll), so that's what matters, right? Granted, he refuses to wear it properly - guess I should have just made a Spiderman hat instead. Ah, well. Notes here.

These are some of my finished gnomes that will, hopefully, make it into my Etsy shop.. eventually. Many thanks to Julie for her wonderful help and idea sharing.

These are my Autumn Gnomes.

And these are my weather gnomes. Okay, so nighttime and rainbows aren't really weather.

{this moment} and a test knit!

2011-09-23T16:26:00.003-04:00

This wonderful toy pattern that I was lucky enough to test for the lovely Emily has introduced the word "bear" into the life of one little Beast.
(Rav notes here)

Yarn Along and Other Things.

2011-09-21T10:05:00.003-04:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

Still knitting my sweater. Not a great photograph, but it shows the color well. I've just about made it to the bottom of the arm holes. Excitement! I'm just shy of half-way through The Happiness Project - which is a problem because it's due back at my library in three days. Oops. So what have I been doing instead of reading?

This:

I have been extremely fortunate to have two sales on my Etsy shop in the last week or so. Of course now my normally pretty empty shop is looking pathetic indeed. So a bit of restocking is in order. These gnomes aren't done, but don't they look handsome? I got to try out my new watercolor pencils. Yum!

What you can't really see, laying in front of the gnomes is this:

My dear and lovely friend has gotten my family absolutely addicted to My Neighbor Totoro (you should hear the Beast declare "toto! toto-doe!" when he wants to watch it). I searched Etsy and would you believe there aren't any Totoro stich markers? Travesty! The Elf and I had some Sculpey fun and made ourselves a veritable army of Totoro.

Ignore my freaky colored fingers and nails in the photo. I spent last night trying to make black felt.

This is what black gel cake dye gets you. Sigh. I thought for sure that steaming the felt would help. If you just let it soak, it generally turns pink. My next attempt will use much more of the gel (which is freakishly old, anyway). See, I need black wool felt to finish the Imp's birthday present (for this Tuesday! Ack!) and the only local place to buy it (Michaels - and resonably priced, too!) doesn't seem to want to stock it. Bleh.

And to end with a cute picture...

Yar!

2011-09-19T08:34:00.002-04:00

Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

I meant to be prepared this year but somehow I let it all slip away.

Next year there will be hand knit pirate hats. And maybe a giant cardboard pirate ship (I made one for the Elf's birthday one year - they *loved* it!).

Some day, we will even make it back to The Pirate Haus for another vacation - we went the October before the Imp was concieved.

In any way you chose, celebrate your inner pirate today!

Yarn Along!

2011-09-14T22:41:00.003-04:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

I'm working on about a gazillion (or at least it feels that way) small things right now. The photograph is of my work space (which also happens to be the table we eat our meals at - ouch). It's a smattering of what I'm working on.

Knitting: My sweater. It's what I work on while I'm outside with the boys.

Crocheting: A cupcake with a smile! A cookie. A wee brown bear and a red doll.

Reading: I, Coriander by Sally Gardner. I'm really enjoying this one!

***
Don't forget to enter to win the ninja doll I made (posted about here) over at This Cosy Life.

A giveaway!

2011-09-12T09:22:00.003-04:00

Head on over to This Cosy Life and enter to win her Meltdown Monday Giveaway - a ninja doll crocheted by me!

This little guy was made using this great pattern. I changed the head a bit (my first attempt looked much too small) -you can see my notes on Ravelry here.

Yarn Along!

2011-09-07T11:12:00.004-04:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

I don't have anything *on* the needles photographed right now. I just finished weaving in the ends of this:

It's about half of a wolverine mask (like this). I have less than no idea of how I'll be adding the black "ears" but I imagine I'll think of something (I hope!). On the reading front, I'm in the middle of The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner. No picture of the book, I'm simply too lazy.

Here are some things I've finished recently.

Another ninja. This one with a slightly larger head. Neither one looks right, but I like this one better. You may be seeing him in a giveaway on one of my favorite blogs soon - I'll post about it when/if it happens.

Another hare from the Wee Woodland Wuzzies pattern. I adore these toys made out of organic cotton. No safety eyes for this one as it's a surprise gift for a wee one.

A horse! Even though it looks sort of like a giraffe with a mohawk. I need to show it to the intended's mother before I call it a swap. I can't get over how "special" it is. The consolation is that if she doesn't like it, the Beast probably will (poor kid, he gets my reject toys).

What will I start next? A fairy doll, I think. Or maybe I'll pull out my sweater to work on it. Either way, I have laundry detergent to make before I can indulge in some craftiness!

Oh! How could I forget this? It's a skein of yarn I dyed. It started out as a hank of Top of the Lamb by Brown Sheep in a light grey color. I over dyed it with blues and greens. It's a bit jewel-toned now and slightly more green than I had in mind (the colors in the picture and less than accurate).

Yarn Along!

2011-08-31T22:45:00.003-04:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

My internet connection was conspiring against me this Wednesday and I almost didn't get to post this.

Right now I am crocheting another ninja (possibly with a slightly larger head). Well, not Right Now. But you know what I mean. On the reading front is Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples. This was suggested to me by the lovely M. Bloom. It's really pretty good so far.

And this guy is recently off the needles (yes, I do still knit!).

A little Chibi Totoro for the older son of the previously mentioned lovely, lovely friend of mine.

And now I must take a sleeping Beast from a coughing husband and get to bed!

Not dead yet.

2011-08-30T13:53:00.004-04:00

Just sick. A strange and twisting cold/flu/stomach/thing that has laid everyone (except the Beast!) low. The two older boys were sick for less than two days. Poor B has been miserable for almost two weeks. I've been sick for about a week. I'd really like to go through just one night without a coughing fit. Please?

So while my brain has been foggy my fingers have still been quite busy. I've amassed a lovely list of things to make for people - most of whom are likely not expecting it. Squee! This is happiness. I lovelovelove making things for people.

Here's a peek at some of the things I've finished recently:

There are no decent crochet patterns out there for swords (haven't really found any knit ones I like, either but I thought crochet would be more.. firm? stable?). So I made one up. It looks nice. But is sadly.. floppy. I'd intended it as a birthday gift for the Imp but was so convinced that he'd hate it that I gave it to him right away. So of course he loves it.

This is also for the Imp. I've managed to keep it for his birthday, though. Because I'm hiding it, it is extremely difficult to take pictures. I'm stuck with explosive morning light or the absence of light at night. But you get the idea.

The pattern for this had much bigger ears. I shortened them for looks... and because I was about to run out of yarn and still had the tail and nose to make!

Check out this crowd! The knights are so much fun. The book (Creepy, Cute Crochet) doesn't have anything very girly in it (which I'm okay with) but I felt that a princess needed to be made. I used the body of one of the female dolls in the book and mangled a safety cone pattern I found online for the hat. Overall I'm pleased with her.. though I sort of forgot to put the safety eyes in before sewing the head to the body. And I'm afraid my embroidery is quite bad.

Probably Not Yarn Alonging.

2011-08-24T11:21:00.002-04:00

Sickness has struck our house. Last weekend B lost his voice and felt like crap. He's mostly back to normal but with a sore throat and a spot of coughing.

Monday I really started to feel badly (we'll not speak of the weird heartburn I've had two days in a row). It just keeps getting worse.

This morning we were awoken to the Elf frantically exclaiming that he felt like throwing up. Shortly after, the Imp woke with a fever. The Elf has, indeed, emptied his stomach several times. They both have fevers.

The Beast is a bit warm, but otherwise fine (ignoring that he slept several hours later than usual).

So, yes. I seriously doubt I will get around to taking pictures for this week's Yarn Along. I have unashamedly declared today a cartoon watching, video game playing day.

Yarn Along - sort of..

2011-08-17T21:22:00.003-04:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

I don't have pictures of my work and my reading together. I'm busy hiding things from the birthday boy.

Reading: Still reading Blood Books volume one by Tanya Huff. There's nothing wrong with it, I just haven't been reading very much.

Knitting: Nothing. Can you believe that?

Crocheting: Oh goodness. Here we go..

(Rav notes here)

This I made on Sunday. B is an avid Android lover. He.. well, sort of collects Android devices. He plays with them, fixes them, installs the latest and greatest Cyanogen. And then sells them. It makes a little extra cash and he seems to enjoy it (even when he's yelling at things for not working). So of course I had to make this for him. He took it to work and made his coworkers jealous.

(Rav notes here)

I also made this Sunday. Or Monday? I don't remember. I know there was a day where I didn't actually pick up anything yarn related at all. I guess I finished it last night. It's for the Elf's birthday. When the Imp saw a picture of it, he declared that he simply must have one. So now I'm making a second one to avoid birthday gift theft. I only have the head (which gave me insane troubles today) and 3/4 of the body done. Hopefully I'll find the time to finish him up tonight (which reminds me that I completely forgot to pick up some more safety eyes).

So there's my not-quite Yarn Along.

It's done!

2011-08-14T13:23:00.003-04:00

The dragon is done!

Before you judge let me just say that this is my first *real* crochet project. I tried a ball (which went well enough) and some hearts (also, well enough). But this is it. The first really real project.

It's a gift for my oldest, the Elf, who is turning nine in four days.

I hope he like it.

Projects.

2011-08-13T22:30:00.001-04:00

I feel like I've been in an absolute frenzy. I had a good half dozen projects with approaching deadlines and now that I'm finished with a good deal of them I feel a little lost. Adrift. Like I have all the time in the world and maybe I should add a few more projects to my list.

Yes. I thrive on stress, it would seem.

First were the critters. Then there was the heart swap that Linda started (these are what I made if you want a peek: this and this). Then these, a pair of longies for an expecting acquaintance and a hat for a dear friend's mother.

During all the craziness I signed up to test a pattern for the lovely Emily of Yarn Miracle.

My kids love this dog.

I'm still working on the dragon for the Elf's birthday (in five days! ack!). I haven't been able to take pictures of it without making a big deal out of keeping him away. Yesterday I spent two hours at a local yarn store with my step-mother working on one of the wings. Yes, this is a labor of love for this mama who doesn't really know how to crochet.

Also, this hat:

I found the softest alpaca/silk yarn and just couldn't resist. I just finished it today.

So where does that leave me? The dragon, the Imp's birthday gifts (his birthday is late September), birthday gifts for a friend in Michigan (her birthday is in October). I'm sure that I'm forgetting something. But.. I could add a cardigan and several pairs of longies to this list, right? And a few crocheted toys for the kids, right? I mean, who needs down time?

{this moment}

2011-08-12T09:44:00.002-04:00

A Friday ritual inspired by Soulemama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savor and remember.

Yarn Along!

2011-08-10T07:42:00.003-04:00

Joining Ginny at Small Things again this week.

I'm Reading Blood Trials by Tanya Huff right now. I've read it before, so nothing exciting.

I'm working on so many projects right now but only photographed one of them. Mostly I'm working on test knitting a pattern for a dog doll by the fabulous Emily of Yarn Miracle. As was the case with her cat doll, my boys are absolutely smitten (I rather like the little guy, too). In addition I'm working to crochet a dragon for the Elf's upcoming birthday. I only have the body and one leg done - it's hard to find time to work on it with the Elf being home all the time. There's also another knitting project in the works. But it's a surprise for a friend (who reads this blog sometimes) so it'll remain secrety.

The Beast got me up at 6am this morning and the Imp followed at 7:30am. It's an early start for them - and for me. Here's hoping the day evens out in the end!

Weekending!

2011-08-08T09:21:00.003-04:00

Saturday I did very little except run errands. It was insane. I got up early, finished up some striped longies, ate breakfast, and then the craziness began.

First I took the oldest to the library and yarn store (to buy yarn for Sunday's antics). Within an hour I took the Imp to the grocery store. Came home, ate dinner, took the Beast out to buy cat food. Yes. Three trips out, each with a different child - in descending order of age. Oy.

That night I started on a hat for a friend's mother.

Sunday, aside from washing dishes, doing laundry, and making laundry soap, all I did was knit. Seriously. It was crazy.

(Rav notes here)

The hat is actually nicer looking when not on a balloon blown up so big. But it was the easiest way to photograph it. Today I'll be starting a test knit for a dog doll and when the Elf is otherwise occupied, I'll be working on his birthday gift.

Yarn Along!

2011-08-03T10:13:00.000-04:00

Visit Small Things to see more yummy knitting (and crochet!) posts!

First, what I'm currently working on:

Longies! I'm enjoying the color combination immensely. I'm not crazy about having two balls of yarn attached to my work all the time, though. I'm rereading more urban fantasy: The Blood Books Volume 1 by Tanya Huff.

And now! The recently finished items. Whee!

What's that? Longies? Who'd have thought? These are toddler sized and a lovely muted orange. They're headed for my Etsy shop when I get around to writing up the description. (Rav notes here)

A heart dish/washcloth. This is for a swap I'm doing. It's only one part, though. (Rav notes here)

Oh man. Lots of stuff here. We have seven critters (raccoon, fox, mouse, otter, squirrel, hare, hedgehog), three acorns, and two mushrooms. The raccoon wasn't part of the pattern set. I used someone else's as a base and cobbled together my own. My lighting sucks, but there you go. (Rav notes: critters, large acorn, small acorns, mushrooms)

The headache that isn't.

2011-08-03T08:07:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I disappear. We all do it. We get caught up in life and never find the time for sitting at the computer.

That's not what happened to me.

I had a headache for two weeks. A constant ache in my head that would increase in waves. B finally demanded that I see a doctor (back story: my mother died of a ruptured brain aneurysm after complaining about headaches - my complaints freak my entire family out). I've always had headaches. Once it was low iron. Recently I started taking magnesium (perhaps it's helped?). Anyway, my doctor didn't bother to see me - I saw his nurse instead. She told me that it sounds as though I have "classic tension headaches" and should take muscle relaxers. Um. No? Still breastfeeding two little guys. I'm not going to live on pain medication, thank you. So she gave me a referral to a physical therapist that I can't afford. Brilliant!

When I got home, B had me make an appointment for a massage therapist. This was Friday. My appointment was Monday afternoon. Let me say, first, that B has been amazing - rubbing my shoulders, trying to field the kids when I just want to lay down. So Monday comes and I go into the appointment without expecting much (I've had a massage before - it *hurt*). Mandy was amazing. When she was done I didn't get up so much as pour myself off the table. I've never felt so relaxed and at peace.

Of course, I can't afford to see her often, either. I'm hoping that we can find a way to afford every other month. Even if my neck and shoulders seize up again in another week and the massage didn't really fix it, it was so very good for my emotional well being. Seriously, it was.. bliss. It was calm. I always joke about not knowing how to relax. Only, it's not really a joke.

Okay, so this wasn't the post I was going to come back to blogland with. I was going to Yarn Along. And I still might - if I can manage to get things photographed. These past few weeks all I've done (besides moan and complain) is knit and read. Which leaves me piles of dishes and mountains of laundry. And more than a few unanswered emails.

But here I am. I'm back. And my head is wonderfully free of pain.

Yarn Along - Knit and crochet!

2011-07-20T08:28:00.003-04:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

So. Of course, after my previous post needing help with crochet.. I almost immediately was able to find a video that *finally* made the magic ring make sense. Now I just have to figure out how to decrease..

Crocheting: Pichu. Maybe. Mostly I'm just playing to see if I can do it. Because obviously my yarn isn't the right color.

Knitting: Longies! Of course! I will finish this pair eventually.

Reading: Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance. It's book.. two. I think. Yes. Two. I love this series. And Borders recently had a coupon for 30% off all fantasy novels. I went with the intention of picking up books two, four, and five (because I'm crazy and already owned one and three). But they didn't have four. So it's waiting at the library for me. I know that I've read through three before. Likely I've read book four. But I know that five will be new to me. Whee!

Crochet help?

2011-07-19T14:48:00.003-04:00

Okay. Some background. I can knit. I cannot crochet. I didn't learn to knit the "proper" way. After learning the long tail cast on and the knit stitch I tackled this as my first pattern. I Googled for videos to describe everything I needed to know for it: knitting in the round, magic loop, picking up stitches, short rows, purling. That's how I learn. I find something I want to make and then I work my way through it.

I want to crochet this (among many others) for my two older sons for their upcoming birthdays. Only.. I don't know how to crochet. So I've tried to approach this the same way I did with knitting. But crochet seems more complicated. Crocheting flat versus in the round versus joining rounds and continuous rounds. I'm so very lost.

So my question is, can anyone point me to a good starting place for this pattern? I know how to chain. I can find videos for single, double, etc crochet. But.. magic ring? That can't be like magic loop because it's just a single hook. Do I chain six to single crochet in this supposed magic ring?

So. Lost.

If only I had some local friends who crocheted! Of course.. I think I'd need local friends in general first, wouldn't I?

Right Now I'm Loving..

2011-07-19T10:53:00.002-04:00

A baby (perhaps I should be calling him a toddler now) who is learning to fall asleep on his own. Even if it is only for a few minutes. And while he ought to be awake, at that. But it tickles me that he can go from this:

To this:

To this:

And all in the span of about ten minutes.

A giveaway!

2011-07-18T11:25:00.003-04:00

Over at This Cosy Life you can enter the Meltdown Monday Giveaway where you can win this:

It's a six inch doll that I made using the Wee Folk Art pattern (adapted to be in-the-round).

Here's hoping we can avoid a meltdown at our house today!

Weekending!

2011-07-18T10:43:00.000-04:00

Oh man, this weekend was full. There was:
- knitting a teeny cat and a pair of longies
- 30% off all fantasy books at Borders? Score!
- one-on-one time with the Elf while planning herbal studies for "school"
- used book store finds (classics for the Elf)
- hair cuts - homemade style
Before:

After:

- finding a learning tower on craigslist for $60!

- finally got through a backlog of emails (though now I have new ones to respond to!)
- Brooklyn style pizza for Sunday dinner

Shamless promotion

2011-07-17T09:04:00.002-04:00

I have finally added the longies/board shorts from last month to my Etsy shop. I'm also half done with a pair of pumpkin colored longies. I haven't decided if I'll sell them or keep them, yet. Whee!

A Wee Hare

2011-07-15T22:58:00.003-04:00

I spent every free moment of my day knitting a hare. I'm crazy, I know. I'm working on a set of woodland critters for someone. I tried out one of the patterns to make sure I could do it (Ravelry notes here. Turns out that I can. I think the critters will look nicer with bigger eyes (I used embroidery thread because it was handy).

This was the best photograph I could get of it.

Because this kept happening..

And this..

So at least I know that it's loved!

Yarn Along!

2011-07-13T22:51:00.002-04:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

I am knitting a teeny cat body to go with my teeny cat head. Actually, since taking this picture I have finished the body and am knitting a teeny cat paw.

I just started reading The Backyard Homestead. No opinion yet as I've only read a few pages. Whee!

Weekending!

2011-07-11T15:45:00.002-04:00

Oh! This weekend was packed. With knitting!

This is what I have to show for it:

The pattern is written by the amazing Emily of Yarn Miracle. I cannot tell you how much fun I had knitting this guy. And my Beast *adores* him. He played with each and every piece (well, except for the body) prior to them being sewn together. His eyes lit up when I handed him the toy all completed. This cat has seen a lot of action and he's only a couple of days old.

Of course, the pattern is written for bulky yarn. I used worsted. Which got me thinking. And plotting. So Saturday on the way to my youngest niece's birthday party we swung by the yarn store where I pictured up some lace weight yarn. I've never knit with such fine yarn before. It's.. interesting. I clearly need better lighting and eyesight for this sort of work.

Regardless, now I have this to show for it (I did say that it was taking me longer):

I'm most of the way through a book that keeps getting more interesting. It's called The Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. Someone had posted about it, but of course now I can't recall who (does this prove that I read too many blogs?). In any case, I'm really enjoying it.

Hmm. What else? I made yummy pizza and the Elf is reading books again with little grumbling. His Singapore books (I bought them used from a yahoo group) arrived today. I've been putting off working on his curriculum, but I'm going to have to tackle once I'm done with this cat. Oh! And he officially passed third grade - he had his evaluation on Friday.

And now a baby has awoken from his nap! Whee!

Not Quite A Yarn Along

2011-07-07T10:35:00.005-04:00

I missed the Yarn Along again. Melissa + deadlines (recently) = at least a day late. Oops.

Here's what I've been working on knitting-wise:

A knitted cushion/stool. I used a seriously freaky thick cotton yarn that I bought from someone in a yahoo group. I found size 19 wooden needles on sale for $2 and used about 260 yards of yarn. The stuffing is: one king sized feather blanket, one twin comforter, and three pillows. My kids *adore* it.

Shorties! Of course. I hope to get these into my Etsy shop soon (where I've lowered a lot of my prices because nothing is selling and buying curriculum pieces is *expensive!*).

A cat! Oh, I am having so much fun with this one. I've cast on the body and will hopefully get some time to work on him today. B asked me why I'd made a cat with entrails (the yarn tails hanging from the neck). Since then my boys have completely latched on to this idea. Yes, I most definitely have boys. This cat head has seen a wicked amount of play already. In fact, the Beast wandered off with one of the ears while I was knitting the second one.

The eyes are very special on my cat head. Seaming, sewing, and embroidery are just not things that I'm good at. You can see the second eye better in this picture (with Surreal, one of our younger cats).

Also, you may see this guy (the wooden house is just there to prop him up) in a giveaway at one of my favorite blogs. I'll post about it when/if it happens.

Calling homeschoolers!

2011-06-28T09:22:00.000-04:00

Help!

Okay. Short version: B has said that with three kids, we could conceivably afford to purchase a curriculum package each year with the intention of keeping it to use for the younger kids (yes, we would have to go back and order the earlier grades that the Elf has already done). We can't afford it Right Now. But it's a good time to start looking, right? Maybe with all this looking we'll decide not to purchase a packaged deal. Who knows.

The help I need is this: what do you use? What works for you and your kids? What have you tried and disliked?

My heart loves Waldorf. But my head acknowledges that we aren't those people. We don't sing, we don't rise with the sun and put our kids to bed at 6pm. We don't have baking days. I cannot make myself joyful about all of our daily tasks (scooping cat litter is not something I can do with a smile on my face). I don't have the time (or capacity at this point) to memorize stories to tell to the extent that it would seem I need to. So I don't think I can do a pure Waldorf curriculum. That seems to rule out Live Ed and A Little Garden Flower.

We are not Christian. So I don't want anything religious (it seems silly to pay for a package that I need to ditch half of). I'm not entirely sure what that rules out.

I love the idea of a nature-based curriculum. Summers here are intense and it's often hard to go outside. Think deep winter in some places, only hot instead. And winter? Not so much. Yes, it gets cold. But my kids don't really understand what snow is.

The Elf (since I can't yet speak for the younger two) isn't all about the worksheets - at least not an endless stream of them though he does enjoy some. He also isn't enthused about reading straight texts. He reads above his "level" but is.. picky.. about what he wants to read. He's stubborn and willful and.. well, almost nine. But he's extremely smart. He asks the most amazing questions. At the same time, he doesn't always know the days of the week in order. He can't tell the difference between cities, states, and countries. He gets confused about the difference between months and seasons. I'm still not sure he knows the alphabet in order completely.

I'm looking at Ambleside Online because it was suggested to me by the lovely Wool and Chocolate. It's a lot to look through, so I haven't made much of a dent yet.

I'm open to any and all suggestions. B ideally wants to buy whatever we buy used (or extremely cheaply). I just want to make the right decision.

Thanks in advance! I'm positively drowning in uncertainties.

2011-06-27T14:17:00.002-04:00

Things are looking up. I've tried my very best to heed every one's excellent advice. I feel as though I've been almost *lazy* in fact. Which is odd to think since I've probably gotten much more accomplished these last few days than I have in weeks. I think the key is that I've allowed myself to relax without feeling guilty (it's also possible that having stayed home the majority of the weekend helped). Over the weekend I spent a great deal of time knitting. I'd have photos of the longies/board shorts that I finished. Only the script I use to dump the pictures, properly named, from my camera to my computer is.. not working. These things happen when I consent to B updating things on my computer.

I feel so grateful for the outpouring of love and compassion in the comments (and private emails) of my last post. I cannot find the words to express my gratitude for knowing such amazing people.

There has been some drama at our house, as well as the calm. We have homeschooled the Elf since Kindergarten. Over the years it has become a literal battle to get him interested in anything. Anything at all. We wanted to unschool. We wanted to trust that he'd learn all on his own. And he does. I guess. But if the words "learning" or "schoolwork" or "educational" ever come near him, he breaks down. He doesn't want anything to do with history, English (beyond reading comic books and writing his own), science. Really, all he does is play with Star Wars toys or Legos. Or complain about video games.

We've tried workbooks. I researched Waldorf (and cannot fathom having the time or concentration to put together my own curriculum nor can we afford to buy one). I've read parenting/teaching books. Nothing ever seems to work for him. It all came to a head last week. He doesn't seem to understand that he has to learn - at home or at school. There is no third option.

It's possible that over the last few days I've finally gotten through to him. I've found that he needs much more one-on-one attention when it comes to "schoolwork." In any course, sending him to school has been discussed. I don't want to. I really don't want to. But I also cannot spend so much energy fighting this same fight. As you can imagine, this does not lend to a calm mind.

And this is me being distracted by Pride and Prejudice in the background (I love this movie!) and thoughts of yummy iced coffee.

Right Now - not a Yarn Along

2011-06-22T11:30:00.000-04:00

Well. It's been more than a week and it's taken days of talking myself into it to just sit down and open a "New Post" screen.

Right Now:

- the Beast is better. We think it was Roseola (I keep wanting to say Roselia - can you tell that I have Pokemon addicts around here?). He had a fairly high fever for three or four days and then a rash for two days after. He seems to be back to his usual self (he even had a case of the giggles all yesterday).

- I'm still knitting the Playground Shirt. I don't think I care for the yarn. At least, that's my excuse for letting it collect dust as much as I am. I've started a new pair of longies (more likely, board shorts) in a lovely Noro. I'll probably put them in my Etsy shop because we could really use the money (sad, yes?).

- I feel scattered. Unfocused. Lost. Confused much of the time. I've always had very minor dislexia but recently I've had.. episodes where it's worse. Reading the credit card number to the pizza place over the phone was a nightmare two weeks ago. My mouth was saying numbers but my brain wasn't sure if I was reading it correctly. I forget things - not just forgetting.. it's.. hard to explain. I feel like I'm going crazy. B tells me that it's likely just exhaustion, that it will pass if I find a way to get more sleep. I have my doubts.

- all three boys are sitting happily at the table playing. Star Wars toys are tap dancing and they (the boys, not the toys) are coloring with soy crayon rocks - though the Beast really wants to eat the crayons.

- there are half a dozen cardinals on our tree right outside. Not one of them will go near my tea cup feeder. It's been out for days. Even the titmice and chickadees ignore it. Maybe they can't perch on it? Maybe it's too exposed? Bah.

- I'm trying, I really am. I'm not sure that anyone sees it. Sure, the laundry is piled up and I'm way behind on dishes. The bills are a little late. Emails are rarely written (because really, who wants my response a month late?) and posts rarely made. Dinners have been sad - French toast last night? Not my best moment there. But I'm trying. I will climb out of this emotional hole that I've dug for myself.

Weekending.

2011-06-13T08:49:00.002-04:00

Joining Amanda today.

This weekend. Wow. Sunday, 5am I woke up to a fever-hot baby next to me. We've been battling his poor temperature since. I know that his fever is doing a service. I know that it's necessary. But I can't make myself let it be so high. I've spent the last 28 or so hours trying to keep my little Beast from cooking himself.

Did we do stuff before 5am Sunday? Yes, it's likely. Though, until typing an entire paragraph after this, I could not recall a single thing. Now, of course, I can. Friday we went in search of tea cups and saucers to make these. Saturday was another trip out to score a long handled spoon from a Goodwill across town. I had plans to go to a hardware store and nursery Sunday, but it fell by the wayside. I've cleaned the kitchen at least three times, made delightful Indian food, washed my brand new batch of diapers, made the yummiest mint-tarragon soda, and nearly finished reading Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris.

The weekend could have been better. It could have been loads worse. Mostly I just want my little Beast to feel better.

(late) Yarn Along!

2011-06-09T09:22:00.000-04:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

I'm behind on everything (as anyone expecting an email from me knows), so here's my day late Yarn Along post. Since the epic sweater fail I haven't been focusing on knitting as much. I have worked a bit on the Playground Shirt for the boys. And I'm reading The Lightning Thief at the urging of my oldest, the Elf.

Here is what I've mostly been focusing on: part of my Four Seasons Exchange swap.

See that tree stump? Embroidery. Let's just say that I've discovered that I'm not patient enough for embroidery.

The flower gnome has a little sleeping sack thing. I was half thinking root child, but this is supposed to be a summer swap not spring.. so.. it's a sleeping sack.

I'm not happy with the cap. Sewing it together, stuffing it, having the pieces not exactly fit. The perfectionist in me is crying. I think I may just try needle felting the edges down and see how I feel about it then. Of course, the stabilizer inside might not like that too much. Oh well.

Now I just have to figure out what else to make and send for this swap.

A lot of things.

2011-06-04T22:49:00.004-04:00

It has been a very up and down day today. This morning we headed out to town and stopped by a shindig in Midtown where local businesses were peddling their wares with a focus on moms and babies. I'd wanted to stop by because Ecological Babies was going to be there and we are in desperate need of some new diaper covers. Nearly every booth was pink and frilly. Dresses, hair bows. What's a mother of boys to do? My oldest son pointed out a tent full of wooden toys. The name of business sounded familiar. Lo! They have an Etsy shop: Natural Wood Toys. A lot of their items looked familiar - especially a Three Billy Goats Gruff set that I fell in love with (I've been looking for one for ages). Happily, B decided to let us buy it. So now, we're the proud owners of this:

When we got home I checked the Etsy shop. And what do you know, I've had it on my favorites for a while now! The Elf fell in love with a T-Rex figure they have. Unfortunately we didn't have enough cash (or, you know, the budget) to buy it at the shindig. I suspect he'll be getting one for his birthday this year, though. They have the sweetest foxes and manatees. It's great to see some Florida wildlife in there. The shop owners were the nicest people, too. So head over there and give them some love.

And the the downside of today. After knitting on my sweater for nearly two weeks I finally got to the the row below the arms today. I put everything on appropriate waste yarn to try it on. What's that? It's too freaking big! How does that work? I'm not a small person. Turns out my gauge was off. By a quarter of a stitch per inch. Sigh. So yes, it's all been frogged. Nearly six hundred yards of lovely silk yarn is now back into nicely wound balls.

Needless to say, I will not be restarting it just yet. I'm too mad at myself. Instead I'll be focusing on the shirt I started for the boys and working on my Four Seasons Exchange swap.

Right. I also have swap pictures (received) to post. But it's late and the Beast is yanking on my power cord. Perhaps I'll get to it tomorrow!

Yarn Along - Attack of the sweater!

2011-06-01T21:36:00.003-04:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

I think I'm being overambitious. Pictured here: this sweater in Araucania Chaiten (100% silk and all for me!), this shirt in Jojoland Rhythm (superwash wool in camouflage), and a small leaf in dishrag cotton (for a swap). Oh. And the book that I'm reading Chickens in your Backyard by Rick and Gail Luttmann.

The sweater is what I'm working on primarily. The yarn is thinner than what the pattern calls for, so I'm using a larger needle to get gauge. It'll be a breezy summer sweater. Okay, a spring and fall sweater. Summers here are too hot for anything long sleeved. The book is daunting. I'm not sure I'm up for raising chickens - it seems so very complicated. Of course, we aren't planning on chickens for several years anyway. There's time for me to read more and ease into it.

I've also been dyeing yarn. I wanted to post pictures of it but I'm too lazy to slough through the 500+ pictures that I've recently dumped from my camera. I've dyed six hanks of Wool of the Andes Bare (worsted) a pale orange color. I'm hoping to knit the infamous Shalom cardigan. It'll take some finagling since it's sized for a not huge person like me - hence my enormous amount of yarn (which I'll be knitting doubled anyway). So yes. I'm happily drowning in yarn.

More shorties!

2011-05-26T14:08:00.002-04:00

(Ravelry details here.)

These are why I didn't play along with the Yarn Along yesterday. I was too busy knitting to stop and take a picture! Whew! These medium/large shorties are now listed in my Etsy shop. I love the colors in this yarn. It reminds me of mossy stones and mushroom forests. I have just enough left for another pair.

Next up.. well, I'm not sure yet. I need to figure out how to adjust the Shalom Cardigan pattern so that I can possibly join in with a Knit Along. I also have enough of my lovely silk yarn for a sweater/top for myself.

Can you imagine? Me knitting for myself? Crazy, I know.

Operation Opossum Rescue!

2011-05-21T19:07:00.003-04:00

It's Wednesday and I'm in the bedroom nursing the Beast to sleep (it works for us, don't judge) for a nap in the middle of the afternoon. The Elf comes running in (which is strictly against the "rules" when babies are trying to sleep). He informs me that there is a baby opossum outside eating the food I put out for Constantine (a neighborhood cat - the litter mate of one of our rescues). Now, we're used to opossums and raccoons eating leftover cat food. But in the middle of the day? That's weird. So I think to myself that clearly there is something wrong, but that the Elf is probably exaggerating - we get smallish opossums sometimes, but not *baby* ones.

Eventually I give up on trying to get the Beast to sleep. Cynddl, our lab mutt, is whining in the hallway, the older kids are excitedly exclaiming about the opossum. I get up, instructing the Elf to watch his brother. The Imp and I venture outside. And there, next to our front door, is the tiniest opossum I've ever seen. Small enough to cup in one hand. It was obviously terrified - opening it's little mouth and making these not-growling noises at me. After trying to climb the side of the house, it crawled along the edge of the house and disappeared around the corner.

I love opossums. They are sweet, beautiful creatures. They get a bad reputation for all manner of reasons. Some can be justified. Others are just.. stereotypes and misinformation. Either way, we welcome wild animals into our yard. But we don't touch them, we don't interfere with them. However, this little guy was clearly much too young to be on his own. But I couldn't go running off after him. He was scared and I had kids to take care of.

That night, it came back. Perched on our front window ledge it seemed to be trying to cuddle up to one of our cats through the glass. The older two boys were already in bed and the youngest was working his way there. B did some quick research online and we decided it would be best to try and catch it so that we could take it to a wildlife rehabilitation center. While I nursed the Beast to sleep while sitting on the couch, B readied the cat carrier and went outside armed with some towels. Apparently, the teeny, terrified opossum just let B pick him up (in a towel, of course). Opossums are extremely docile. They look terrifying with their pointy jaws and tiny, sharp teeth. But they're so calm. We got it settled in the carrier, gave it food and water (B even fed it water from a dropper) and put it (and the Beast) to bed in our room (on the dresser where the kids can't reach).

I woke up a great many times during the night to the sound of scratching and bar rattling. In the morning we checked on it and it had wrapped itself into a teeny ball inside of an old shirt. It had eaten and defecated, so we knew it was at least relatively healthy. After the center opened, B drove to St. Francis Wildlife Association with the opossum and the Imp. The people there confirmed that it was indeed too young to be on it's own - needing at least five more weeks of care before it could really survive on it's own.

That's our opossum story. Thanks to my lovely and compassionate husband we were able to help an orphaned baby have a better chance of survival. B is an amazing person. He rescues mice from our cats, stops in the middle of streets to move turtles from the road to the grass. He let me adopt and rescue nine cats (okay, seven - two I had before I met him) and two dogs (one of which, sadly, does not live with us anymore). He generally catches bugs to move them outside rather than kill them. He helps corral birds and butterflies off of our dilapidated "screened" porch (that is *covered* in spider webs). I love this man - he is my hero.

{this moment} - baby rescue!

2011-05-20T11:44:00.003-04:00

Yarn Along - Headband failure!

2011-05-18T22:27:00.003-04:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

Blergh. I worked so hard on this thing. I wanted a headband thingy because the one I bought about three years ago from a trendy store in the mall keeps getting misplaced. I took this picture this morning - fingers tired and aching. All those yarn overs and knit-two-togethers. And the stupid thing is too big now that I've finished it. It's lovely and I'm thrilled with the way it looks. But I'd need a giant-sized head. Literally. It'd make a great neck warmer/cowl/whatever. But I live in Florida - home of the hot. I don't do neck warmers. Boo. So now I've cast on this and if we're being honest, I think it's going to be too small. No, I can't win, why do you ask?

I'm reading The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry. It's an advanced reader copy I got through LibraryThing. I've been a bit slow reading it and getting it reviewed, though - it was officially available in stores yesterday. Oops.

Swaps!

2011-05-17T13:28:00.000-04:00

I've been knitting like crazy lately. First I finished up a doll for Belle + Bee.

I used this hair tutorial for her hair. I suspect it takes practice, because I don't think I did it very well. It looks okay, but it's just not the sort of coverage I was going for. So I made her a headband - which spurred me to start one for myself, too (which I'll try to post about for tomorrow's Yarn Along).

And then, I finished up my items for the Wings of Spring Bird Swap. I started out with some owls (pattern here). Then I added some lovebirds (pattern here). While helping the Elf learn to fold paper cranes, I decided to throw in a few of those. And then the whole thing looked like it really needed a nest. So I made some (pattern here).

And here are the Elf's cranes for the kids' bird swap. We've had to ship them flat (and folded in half!).

Life, the Universe, and Yarn.

2011-05-10T08:17:00.003-04:00

The past two weeks have been craziness. The Beast's birthday, B's birthday, free comic book day, Mother's Day - not to mention that B was home from work for more than a week! Whew. Craziness. Now B has gone back to work (unfortunately) and things are slowly sliding back to normal paces. Except that the Imp woke up vomitting at 6:30 this morning.

A few good things:

- B made a kite with the older boys out of slick paper, bamboo, hemp twine, and a can tab. And tape. Lots of tape. It didn't fly, but they had fun trying.

- Yesterday, while getting the mail, the younger boys and I discovered hydrangea blooms in our yard (from a neighbor's bush that has grown wildly out of control). We decided to pick a few (we knew she wouldn't mind - especially since she hasn't lived in the house for nearly a year and her yard is going crazy). The Imp kept wanting "more! more!" He even requested that I take a few steps over the property line for the oh-so-beautiful blue ones. Amazingly, the cats haven't tried to eat these (as they usually do with anything remotely green that I bring in the house).

- Sonya gave me some yarn once upon a time. It's been sitting on my shelf, waiting for a project. I decided to dye it (with easter egg dye - safe for kidlets) for doll hair. The orange was supposed to be more of a variegated yellow/brown - oops. The blue should have been more blue and less green. But I like it.

- The doll I'm making for Bell + Bee is finally coming along. I'm trying out a new (to me) way to add the hair. I'm using this tutorial, though I don't think I'm doing a very good job of it. It looks okay (I've added more hair since this photograph), but I think I'll keep looking for another way to do it.

Yarn Along!

2011-05-04T22:45:00.004-04:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

I didn't get around to taking a picture for the Yarn Along until this evening. And then, within an hour, I'd completed my knitting project. So here are the images.

Ravelry notes are here. I didn't block them (because I don't know how) and my arms are a bit too big for them. They were made for the lovely We Bloom Here in return for a catapulting pixie game she made for my boys (and some aromatherapy oil and an adorable peg faerie).

I'm reading Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison. Again, my book was elsewhere when I was photographing things. Oops.

I'll leave you with one of the very few pictures ever taken of me that I don't mind. B took it from the top of a staircase at Wakulla Springs on the Beast's birthday (we're both loving our new camera - can you tell?.

First Birthday!

2011-04-29T23:43:00.003-04:00

Today my little Beast finished his first journey around the sun. It's really hard to believe that he's only been with us for one year.

But now, after a long day and a trip to Wakulla Springs, he's finally asleep. And I think, as it was 365 days ago, I'll go join him.

Yarn Along, Swaps, and More.

2011-04-27T12:50:00.000-04:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

I've been terrible about posting. About, well, everything. B and I came down with some body-ache-flu-thing and we've been cleaning like crazy people for his mother's visit. She's arriving today and I still don't feel that things are up to par.

I didn't get a picture of what I'm reading. I'm actually waffling between books. First I picked up The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett. Then I picked up Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - which I've already read. This morning I picked up a book about Bach flower remedies by Stefan Ball.

I just don't know what I'm in the mood to read.

Knitting. I'm still knitting a doll - I didn't take a picture of it though. I'm also knitting fingerless gloves for a swap with a friend. The picture doesn't do the yarn justice. And the cables look funny when not stretched as though being worn.

Here are some things I've made recently.

A leaf washcloth. It doesn't look great, but it feels lovely.

Wee peg gnome hats. These are for a swap hosted by One Hook Wonder.

A rainbow bird. B and the Elf told me that it looked like a Beluga whale or manatee before I added a beak. Hrmph. Boys.

These are flower gnomes and acorn babies (that look more like acorn capped Tibetan monks to me!) for a Yahoo group swap.

And now! The swaps I've received but have been horribly remiss in posting about!

First, the peg doll swap that We Bloom Here hosted.

And the lovely (and well loved already!) doll that Belle + Bee sent for my boys.

He can also be a knight! (The Elf loves this costume - though we've misplaced the belt at the moment)

And a super hero! (The Imp's favorite!)

There. And now I need to get back to prepping the house for company and the Beast's first birthday (can you believe he'll be one this Friday?!).

Complete!

2011-04-16T18:10:00.004-04:00

The hair that wouldn't end - it's done! Over! Finally!

She done and listed in my shop.

Now I can finally focus on the copious number of swaps that I signed up for.

Yarn Along - Doll everywhere!

2011-04-13T10:30:00.002-04:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

I couldn't fit all of my knitting into one photograph (though I suppose the doll hair isn't properly *knitting* exactly). Right now I have three sets of needle occupied. Crazy, right? Starting on the top and going clockwise: Doll-in-the-round in Sawya, doll shorts in Blue Sky Alpaca organic cotton, doll-in-the-round in Spud and Chloe's sweater. I'm nearly done reading Twilight's Dawn by Anne Bishop. I still need to write a review of The Circle Cast for LibraryThing, though (and then I'm passing it on to a fellow blogger - if I ever get around to emailing her back *falls over*).

And the doll hair that wouldn't quit. Believe it or not, she has a bald spot and needs more bangs. I had to run to the yarn store yesterday because I ran out of her hair (210 yards and I need more?! There has to be a better way!). Lucky for me they had one hank left of this colorway. With luck I'll get her hair done today or tomorrow, give her a trim, and then focus on her clothes. Whew. And then she'll be off to the shop.

That's a lot of hair.

2011-04-11T21:44:00.000-04:00

Every time I work on this (temporarily armless) doll, I hear that line from Tangled: That's *a lot* of hair.

Can you believe that? There's more yarn on her head than in her entire body! In fact, I ran out - 210 yards and I still need more. Bleh. There *has* to be a better way to do this. I've ordered a tutorial for long hair form Adirondack Patterns. I'm hoping the technique is something other than what I'm already doing.

So. This weekend? Yeah. It was all hair all the time. Except for a trip to EarthFare where I indulged in The Best Soda Ever. I don't generally like soda. It's too sweet, too thick, too.. ick. But this. Yummm! Lavender soda! Just sweet enough and ooooooooooh so good.

The Sewing Bee

2011-04-07T09:00:00.003-04:00

Go visit The Sewing Bee over at Happiness Comes in little bits... - this is my first time participating!

I was intimidated by this. Sewing, to me, brings thoughts of ironing, pinning patterns, sewing machines. Ugh. I am not a fan of those things - and they aren't terribly crazy about me, either. So there I was, working on some playmats for my Etsy shop when it hit me. I was sewing! Handsewing, but sewing all the same! So I thought I'd jump into the fun.

I had a little Imp helping to test the stability of my tree (with a bee and Howl's Moving Castle figures by Mamaroots). Both mats are done now. And I have to say that I'm quite pleased. It's amazing how addicting it is to sew these things - though that tree did give me some trouble. I even used pins! The dreaded pins! And used my limited quilting knowledge to stabalize the batting inside. Sheesh. Who knew I'd enjoy *this?!*

Yarn Along!

2011-04-06T14:58:00.002-04:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

Knitting another doll. I'm about to cast on the arms. This one will be slightly smaller as I'm using a different weight yarn and smaller needles. The yarn is Sawya - it's a pima cotton/alpaca/silk blend. I think I love it.

I'm still reading The Circle Cast by Alex Epstein. It's still quite enjoyable, though it's meandering a bit right now.

Tomorrow I'm going to participate (for the first time) in the The Sewing Bee. Woohoo!

Sizing.

2011-04-05T13:09:00.000-04:00

I'm having a heck of a time finding some sort of standard guide for sizing longies and shorties. My kids are all veritable giants (in height if nothing else), so I know that I can't use their clothes for any range of "normal" (my 11 month old wears 4T shirts, as does my 2.5 year old).

I've googled and found.. either conflicting information or completely useless information. Anyone have some advice?

Based on measurements for diaper covers (mass produced wrap-style) and some "standards" I found for handmade clothing on a forum somewhere, this is what I've come up with:

Newborn: 11 inch waist, 12 inch rise, 6-7 inch crotch-to-ankle
3-9 months: 16 inch waist, 14 inch rise, 8 inch crotch-to-ankle
9-18 months: 19 inch waist, 16 inch rise, 9 inch crotch-to-ankle
18-24 months: 22 inch waist, 18 inch rise, 10 inch crotch-to-ankle

Do those sound right? I always just measure the boys and knit from there.

It's about time!

2011-04-02T16:32:00.002-04:00

That's what my husband said when I announced that I'd finally listed something in my (defunct) Etsy shop. I've been talking about listing some longies, some peg gnomes, some knitted dolls. I've had grand plans. Grand plans. What I'm lacking is time. So my sad little Etsy shop (where I previously sold handmade blank books) now has one whole listing! Woo! In all honesty, I probably spent longer on the banner, policies, etc than I did on writing up the listing. Gah.

Anyway. This is the shop. Whee!

Yarn Along - Ninja!

2011-03-30T12:43:00.001-04:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

Okay. Yes. It looks bad (physically *on* my needles are the arms). I should have put the "face" on the back of the head to avoid the split rows. The "face" should also be larger - and not stark white. Aaaand, while I like the way it looks, I shouldn't have tried to "improve" upon a pattern that worked just fine the way it was written. My idea was to form the head as a ball rather than gather the top edge at the end. Well, I think the head is proportionally smaller than it ought to be. I also shaped the legs instead of gathering. The whole thing had to be slightly smaller so that I'd have even numbers that worked with my math. All in all, my "improvements" probably were not worth the trouble. The next doll I make, I'll shape the legs and arms again, but leave the head according to the pattern - maybe there's a compromise to be had. The original pattern is by the amazing folks at Wee Folk Art.

I'm reading a book I got through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. It's called The Circle Cast: The Lost Years of Morgan Le Fay and it's by Alex Epstein. I'm not ver far into it, but it's really interesting so far. It helps that I have a soft spot for Arthurian fiction.

She's done!

2011-03-25T12:09:00.000-04:00

She's all done and ready for her new home! Yippie! The Imp has decided that he loves this doll - checked her "diaper" and everything. So now I'm off to make clothes for his doll (and yes, I still owe the Elf a ninja doll).

I'm, personally, rather happy with how this turned out.

Here are the Ravelry details for all the pieces:
The doll (using this pattern)
The knickers
The dress (using this pattern)

Knickers!

2011-03-23T15:43:00.002-04:00

Ha! I'm going to say that as often as I can get away with - I'm driving my boys nuts.

(Ravelry notes here.)

I'm quite pleased with how they turned out. I put elastic in the waist instead of a drawstring so that little hands could handle dressing the doll.

Now she just needs a full head of hair. And maybe a bracelet?

Yarn Along - knickers!

2011-03-23T09:52:00.002-04:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

Knickers! I love that I get to post about knickers! Today I'm working on a pair of ruffled shorties for the doll I was working on last week. I'm also adding hand dyed wool yarn for her hair. Over the weekend I finished her dress (you can see it here). Soon she'll be ready for her new home - yay!

I'm finishing up Shalador's Lady by Anne Bishop. Next I'll start Little Fur by Isobelle Carmody (suggested to me by the lovely We Bloom Here).

2011-03-22T08:53:00.000-04:00

Marie was kind enough to swap with me again. Her work is so amazing, if you've never see it - you should check out her Etsy shop.

Early last week, this is where I was:

Three peg dolls with burned details and watercolors, capes and hats cut out, caves felted and cut, the ground freshly knitted (while waiting with the Elf at the doctor's office).

Here's detail of the doll bodies:

This past weekend, I finished them up. Now they look like this:

I also finished this doll dress as part of a swap I'm doing with Belle + Bee.

(Ravelry notes here)

I'm pretty happy with it. It was my first time knitting a top/dress of any kind. It was also my first time using such thin yarn.

I'm now knitting shorties for the doll. Switching to worsted cotton felt so clumsy after such a delicate yarn. I'm used to it now, though.

Peg dolls by the Elf.

2011-03-16T20:47:00.003-04:00

I finally got the pictures off my camera. I don't know if it's the batteries (they're rechargeable), the camera, or the two year old who constantly plays with it.. but I've charged the batteries in my camera three times already this week. ugh.

Here are the peg dolls the Elf made for the wee folk swap hosted by We Bloom Here.

He wrote a little "flower fairy" blurb for the fairies and based his robot on Dav Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta series.

Yarn Along - Doll.

2011-03-16T20:44:00.000-04:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

I took this picture this morning. On the needles was the second arm for a doll (pattern link here) I'm knitting for Belle + Bee. It's night now, and the doll is knitted, stuffed, and sewn together. It still needs hair and clothes, though. My next knitting projects are ground for some gnome caves and a dress (pattern link here) for said naked, hairless doll.

I'm reading The Lady of Shalador by Anne Bishop. It's book.. er.. six? in the Black Jewels trilogy. I found out that I'm two books behind now. I swear, I used to keep really good track of these things.

Here's the doll pre stuffing/sewing.

And here's a truly terrible picture post-stuffing.

Waffles and peg people.

2011-03-13T13:11:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we bought a waffle maker. I'm a waffle addict. This way, at least, I can control what goes into the waffles. That must count for something, right?

That one is the Elf's. He, of course, loves syrup. I prefer mine with just butter.

I joined a peg doll swap hosted by the lovely We Bloom Here. Well, it's taken me the full time alloted, but I'm done!.

This is why I've not been posting. Or answering emails promptly.

I decided that my peg folk needed caves. See, I wrote this little "story" for them. And they *had* to have caves. I tried wet felting some. That failed miserably. I tried a variety of ways to knit them. Finally I settled on this:

Which turned into this:

And needed the addition of this (which I didn't remember to photograph until after I'd already thrown it in the washer):

Combined together, I ended up with this:

So. The people are composed of watercolor paint, tea-dyed wool felt, finger knitted (crocheted?) wool trim, curly roving for hair, and some wood burning detail. The caves (which didn't turn out how I'd planned - but what ever does?) are knitted and then felted (fulled?) wool that have been cut and sewn. Whee!

I hope their new families enjoy them. They'll be off to the post office tomorrow.

The Elf also joined the swap. His are still awaiting some Mama-assisted glueing, so the pictures will have to wait.

Swap request.

2011-03-13T12:00:00.000-04:00

I'm still working my way towards a post with some form of substance. Really. I promise.

In the meantime.. would any one out there care for a swap? I'm just finishing up a peg doll swap (yes, I am pushing the deadline to the very last minute) and that leaves me with just one more swap - a knitted doll for a sweet baby loving little girl.

Here's the thing. My youngest, the Beast, will be celebrating his first birthday at the end of April. I have no gifts for him. None. Gah. I know that a one year old doesn't really need gifts. But... I don't know.

I also need to start "stockpiling" for Summer Solstice and a ninth birthday in August as well as a third birthday in September. And and and. Yeah.

Any one want to swap with me? I can knit. I can dye yarn. I can make peg dolls, salves, and balms. Mostly, I knit these days, though. Longies, shorties, dolls, Angry Birds, balls, soap bags, washcloths. And I'm always up for a challenge.

Yarn Along!

2011-03-09T13:48:00.002-05:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

Okay. I'm knitting a large grey ball that I intend to stuff with plastic grocery bags (that have been waiting to be recycled for a long while now). Don't ask, I'll explain later... if it works. Once this killer headache subsides, I'll be starting on an in-the-round doll (pattern here) using a lovely organic cotton by Blue Sky Alpaca.

I'm reading Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison and loving it, of course. I think I may need to go back and reread the series again sometime soon, though. There are details that aren't clear any more.

The rainbow shorties are done. They seem bigger than I expected. But that could be because I've been washing the smaller longies lately. Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll keep them for the Imp or list them on Etsy. They're a bit.. er.. bright.

Later, if my head and children cooperate, I may even post something that isn't a weekly thing. Whee!

{this moment} - brothers

2011-03-04T10:43:00.001-05:00

Yarn Along!

2011-03-02T15:45:00.000-05:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

Longies! Or more likely, shorties! It's getting much too warm here in Florida already. Longies are on the way out. I'm not sure about this pair, though. They may end up being too bright/pastel/pink for my little Imp. We'll see. Worst comes to worst, I'll list them in my old Etsy shop and see what happens.

Reading: The Vampire Diaries (though I grabbed the wrong book for this photo - I'm on book four, not three). Next I'll be reading the "new" (to me) Kim Harrison book (how did I get so far behind on all my series?). I've also been browsing Vampire Knits (do you see a theme?). It's amusing, but there isn't much that I'd bother to try.

(Ravelry details)

I finished the shorties using my new Noro yarn. I have to say, I love this yarn. It's so very, very fun to work with. I'm not sure how well it will hold up against my kids, though.

They're kind of big and I suspect I could fit them on the Imp fairly easily. In fact, I intend to try that out tomorrow!

Saturday night scare.

2011-02-27T11:58:00.002-05:00

Last night. Oh my. There was someone shooting a gun at a car (with people inside) in the street. It was in front of the house next to ours (which is empty). I'm still not really sure what happened. All I know is that I was truly terrified. The police didn't leave our street until after 11:30pm.

I don't know if they caught any one. I don't know anything. Except that things like this shouldn't happen. I wouldn't be so scared if it were just me here. But I have babies. I have babies and a husband and I don't know what I would do if anything happened to them.

My head knows that my husband is right - we're unlikely to be hurt in our house. That it's more likely we'll get hurt in a car accident. I know that. But my heart, my nerves - they don't agree. I understand now what true panic attacks are. I had to fight down rising, debilitating panic many times over the course of the night.

I know this fear, this terror, will pass. Some day I will feel safe again. I hope. But at the moment, I'm afraid to leave my house. But.. I'm also afraid to be in my house. Much of this is my penchant for worry and my extremely overactive imagination. But for now, I will be more aware. And I will hold my children tightly as frequently as they let me.

Yarn Along!

2011-02-23T16:37:00.003-05:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

On the needles: two pairs of longies. Rainbow longies for the Imp and Noro longies for the Beast. Soon I'm going to have to switch to shorties. Also, I've been thinking about listing longies (in the future) on Etsy. I'm not in it to make money. I figure that eventually the boys will have enough longies, but I'm unlikely to stop knitting them. So they have to go somewhere, right? And selling them would at least keep me in yarn.. Anyway, it's a thought.

Reading: still reading The Vampire Diaries series. The television show is much better - but then, it isn't aimed at highschoolers.
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I seem to be turning into one of those bloggers that only posts for weekly "challenges" and the like. I don't want to be that person (there's nothing wrong with those people, don't get me wrong). It's just been rough finding the motivation to slough through all my photographs. I haven't even been keeping up with the Year of Good Things photos. I have been ending each day by mentally listing the good things, though. This has done wonders for my general attitude about life.

Right. On to completed projects!

"Creeper" longies! Boring, yes. But weirdly satisfying to knit. And they fit the Beast so well. I love that I've finally gotten the "pattern" down.

The Imp's doll finally has a full head of hair! My goodness this took forever (and the better part of a ball of dishcloth yarn). But I'm happy with the result - I hope he is, too.
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I bought some yarn today. Blue Sky Alpacas organic cotton. It's super soft and I can't wait to use it. I also was thrilled to find some 100% wool felt at our local Big Box Store (read: Joann's). It's a light color so I have plans to dye it. This weekend I'll be using it to make some wee peg-folk for a swap. Perhaps I'll buy some more bases and make some wee peg-folk for the boys, as well. I've been meaning to for so long. As it is, the Imp calls the doll bases "naked gnomes."

Yarn Along!

2011-02-16T11:43:00.003-05:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

I'm working on adding hair to a doll I made for the Imp last year. It's a very slow process. He asked and I comply. I took him into the bedroom and let him pick any yarn he wanted from my stash for the hair. He made his choice without any hesitation. This kid always knows exactly what he wants.

I'm also still working on longies for the Beast. We're calling the yarn "Creeper" because it reminds B and the Elf of a monster in MindCraft (a computer game they play). I'm not getting very far very fast because I've been bitten by the Spring Bug. The windows are open, the sun is shining. I want to garden and clean. Of course, I'm not getting a great deal of anything done. My mantra right now is: baby steps!

As for reading, I gave up on the last parenting book I'd gotten from the library. So I'm indulging in a young adult book. Vampire Diaries: The Awakening by L.J. Smith. We're one episode away from being caught up with the television show (yes, guilty indulgence for after the kids go to bed at night). So far, I'm feeling old. Young adult books just seem so.. basic.. to me. Oh well.

Life, the Universe..

2011-02-15T08:17:00.003-05:00

I find myself thinking "Hey, I should post about that!" frequently these days. And then life swoops along and I don't get around to it. I manage to find the time to read so many blogs - read and enjoy them. But I can't seem to set aside time to focus on my own. Blah.

As mentioned before (at least, I think I've mentioned it), I've joined Gypsy Forest in a year of good things. Not all of my good things can be or have been documented with photographs. So I thought I'd list a few of them here:
11/365: We got our tax return. Woo? This allowed us to pay off the last of our credit card debt. Woo!
12/365: My boys took me out for breakfast. Spinach and artichoke egg souffle. Yum!
13/365: We all went out for dinner (which cannot become a habit as we're already over budget for the week). Everyone ate. Everyone. The picky two year old that thinks breastmilk is all he'll ever need. The infant. The eight year old. Everyone. And there was no screaming. No crying. It. Was. Awesome.
14/365: The Beast ate part of a banana. It was the cutest thing I think I've ever seen. I took some pictures, but I'm not sure if any are non-blurry. He sat on the bed inspecting it, tentatively cramming it into his mouth, making adorable faces.

On the knitting front, I've broken my one-project-at-a-time rule. I have a "secret" project that just isn't working out, a pair of longies that reminds me of a computer game the boys play, and hair for the Imp's knitted doll. I'll have pictures tomorrow for the Yarn Along.

Life keeps moving. Let's hope I can keep up!

Yarn Along - More Angry Birds!

2011-02-09T19:14:00.003-05:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

I'm working on another Angry Bird. I've frogged the beak four or five times in the last twenty four hours. Sheesh. It's still not great, but I'm ready to move on (and the tail is perhaps a bit too low). I think I've finished the knitting aspects of it - just sewing and needle felting left. Next I'll be casting on the green dyed yarn for another pair of longies.

I just finished The Kensei (not impressed), picked up I'm Outnumbered (just to find it's more god-centric than I'm comfortable with), and received Altar of Bones in the mail. I'll try I'm Outnumbered for another day or two, but may have to give up on it.

Oink?

2011-02-08T15:18:00.004-05:00

Two posts in one day?! Oh no!

The pig is finished! Also, I felted the first angry bird. Which was a mistake. It fuzzed big time. And most of the belly came off. But, I gave it a good shave and ~~broke three needles~~ needle felted some more wool on. Now it's just.. very dense. Ah well. Live, learn, repeat as necessary.

(Ravelry details)

B has requested a blue bird. The Elf wants me to try a yellow one. He also wants more pigs - soldiers, kings, sleepy ones. Oy. Will I ever be free of the Angry Birds?

Finally!

2011-02-08T14:10:00.002-05:00

Whew! I finished these over the weekend. With a sick toddler and a total lack of sunshine I was beginning to think I'd never get pictures taken.

These are the fingerless gloves (pattern here) that I made for myself, though my husband is modeling them for me.

(Ravelry details)
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Now I'm working on a pig to go along with the angry bird. I may even have pictures later!

365 and Help!

2011-02-03T20:01:00.004-05:00

I decided to join Gypsy Forest in her "A Year of Good Things" flickr group. Being behind, as always, my year started in February. You can see my photos here.

Also, I'm on a quest. Perhaps you knitters out there can help me. I want to knit myself a sweater. Now, I live in Florida. So I'll likely make it for next winter as there's no way I'll finish one before it warms up again (so I'm not in any hurry). Right. Here's where you come in. I need a pattern. I've looked on Ravelry and found a few possibilities. Here are my criteria:

- I prefer a free pattern for obvious reasons (hi, I'm broke)
- I'd like to use worsted weight yarn
- I'm not skinny, nor a child, so it'll need larger sizes
- nothing fancy - no cables, no lace. I'm good with stockinette. Plain and boring suits my attention span just fine.
- I'd like the neck to be the style of the shirt I'm wear in this (fuzzy) picture:

Yes. So. Any suggestions? Most of the patterns I've found that I like want bulky yarn and I'm still too much of a novice to know how to work around that.

Yarn Along - For Me!

2011-02-02T08:57:00.002-05:00

I decided to participate in the Yarn Along I've read about on several blogs. You can be a part, too. Stop by Small Things to read about it.

For the first time since learning to knit, I'm making something just for me. I've been wanting this pair of fingerless gloves. So I'm finally making them - using the Brown Sheep yarn I bought on my first trip to a yarn store. I must say, I love it! How I wish I'd discovered this yarn when I first started knitting - it makes me a little sad to know that I have all of this other yarn to use before I can splurge on more yummy Brown Sheep.

Books! Last night I finished reading The Orchid Affair (book eight in the Pink Carnation series) by Lauren Willig. Today I will start The Kensei by Jon F. Merz. I received it as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. Hence it has been shuffled onto the top of my reading stack (I still haven't read Grave Goods from the library and there's another parenting book waiting for me as well).

Whee!

Please forgive the yellowness of my photograph. What with the weird light, my limited photo taking time (the Imp *loves* my camera), and my sleepiness - I just can't be bothered to tinker with it too much.

An Angry Bird!

2011-01-31T12:14:00.000-05:00

I finished my angry bird! Or rather, the Imp's angry bird.

I may (or may not) felt the whole thing. It turned out to be a combination of knitting and needle felting. Overall I'm really happy with it.

This is the pattern I used for the ball base.

For the top feathers I picked up four stitches and knit in stockinette for four rows, k2tog twice, and pulled through. On mine, the not-stockinette side is visible because the other side naturally laid back.

For the beak I cast on 18 or 20 (I don't remember now) stitches and knit in stockinette in the round for two rows and then switched to *k1, k2tog* repeated (if I had extra stitches at the end of rows that didn't fit in that pattern I just knit them), and finally pulled through and sewed it on (with stuffing).

For the eyebrows I cast on four stitches, knit in stockinette (seeing a trend here?) for a couple rows and the k2tog, k the rest for each row (purling in between). After ending up with just one stitch (for three rows) I switched the pattern to increasing (kfb instead of k2tog) and worked it in reverse order. I needle felted the eyes and then sewed the brows on.

The tail is: cast on 4, knit in stockinette for four rows, k2tog twice, purl a row, knit a row, pull through. I did that three times and then sewed them together at the small end before sewing them onto the bird. Then I needled felted the belly and voila!

Blerg. People who write patterns must have a lot more patience than I do. I winged most of it and probably typed half of it wrong.

{this moment} and a recap

2011-01-28T21:23:00.002-05:00

A Friday ritual inspired by Soulemama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savor and remember.

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Yesterday was my 30th birthday. My boys took me out for breakfast and a late lunch/early dinner. And then they made me cookies. Yum!

My mother-in-law sent me birthday money and instructed me to do something Just For Me. So I did. I went to a real yarn shop for the first time ever. It was lovely! Women sitting around knitting and talking. Beautiful yarn everywhere. Mmmm. I came home with four balls of Poems (in 564) by Wisdom Yarns, four hanks of Brown Sheep "top of the lamb" - two in stone(101) and two in graphite(102).

Yay! I'm excited to use the new yarns. But first I have to finish my Secret Project for the Imp - knitted Angry Bird toys!