new socks

Socks!



These have been dragged hither and yon for months as my in the car/waiting room project. They are simple top-down socks, 60 stitches on US size 2 needles. Each sock is made from one skein of KnitPicks Sock Garden in the Zinnia colorway.

As you can see, it is a lovely day. Time to get Daughter up from her nap and play outside.

get a drink & a snack...we've got a lot to talk about

First up: big balls

Of YARN. Sheesh. Quit being pervy! This is a family-friendly blog!

Check these out! I made them! Ok, that is a partial lie. The yarn came pre-made, but I dyed them myself. Now, I do not claim to be Scout, but I am proud of these nonetheless. They are actually 2 different shades, though that's a bit hard to discern in the photo. I tried and tried to get an accurate picture, but even with some tweaking it was really hard. Anyway, I split a skein of Lion Fisherman Wool in half (by eyeballing, so I am pretty amazed that they came out to be almost exactly the same), then dyed the first half with a bunch of black cherry kool aid a few weeks ago. The resulting color was putrid, to say the least, so I let it sit in my laundry room until Hubs started asking questions.

On Saturday night (while Hubs was out), I hauled out my giant stockpot (which I have never, in 10 years, used for stock...and never intend to), filled it with hot tap water, set it on the stove to heat, and then mixed in an entire packet of Rit dye in Scarlet. I put in both halves of the skein of wool, stirred, and let it cook away for 30 minutes. The twice-dyed yarn is on the right as you look at the photo above. It came out a lovely deep crimson. The yarn dyed only once came out more of a cherry shade, so I'm glad I followed the advice on the dye box and used 2X the amount (of dye) recommended or the yarn would have come out too light.

Some thoughts:

I did not stir constantly as the package recommends. Then again, nowhere on the package or Rit website do they even mention using their product to dye yarn, so I'm all about breaking the rules. Also, I was petrified of splashing scarlet dye all over my almond stovetop. Which I did anyway, so thank goodness for Clorox bleach spray.

If you want to do this, go for it, but remember that dye is dangerously permanent. My utility sink is super duper stained from draining and rinsing the yarn. WEAR GLOVES. BE CAREFUL. DO NOT SPLASH. I did this after my daughter was asleep in bed because I definitely did not want to be carrying a huge pot of hot scarlet dye while she nipped at my ankles.

Finally, I am HOOKED on this now. I want to buy a shipping container of Lion Fisherman Wool and several cases of Rit and experiment till the cows come home. I may just start creating my own worsted weight wool colors for future projects. The Rit website has a humongous chart of color blending ideas. Awesome.

More wardrobe enhancement for the kid


This is the Knitting Pure & Simple cardigan in the 18 month size. It's plenty big for my petite girl. I still need to weave in a few ends and sew on the buttons, but for blogging purposes I am considering it complete. My blog...I make the rules, right? Right.

The yarn used for this sweater was Bernat Denim Style, almost 3 skeins. Needles used were US sizes 7 and 8. The pattern calls for sizes 6 and 8, but I don't like tight ribbing. I also made this a tad longer than called for, so it will be a bit more jacket-like.


I couldn't resist making another sweet dress for Daughter, even though she has plenty of summer clothes already. This is McCall's Easy Stitch 'N Save #M5370 in size 2. The fabric is by Nancy Halvorsen, my favorite designer, from her Winsome collection. I knew when I saw this collection online that I would end up buying at least a little of it, and serindipitously a coupon for my local quilt shop arrived soon after. For 40% off, this was an affordable project. Unfortunately, it is totally HUGE and will not fit Daughter anytime soon. Poop. I should have made the size 1. Now I'm worried about all the other size 2 outfits I made her already. Sigh. Here's hoping she has a growth spurt between now and, say, June.

In which I complain a lot


During a recent trip to Joann Fabrics to buy interfacing, I got the crazy idea to sew for myself again. Probably a bad decision.

This is Butterick 6016, I don't remember which view. "But Kate," you are thinking, "this looks like a shapeless sack!" Yes, dear reader, it does. Why? BECAUSE IT IS A SHAPELESS SACK.

The front darts are ok, but only because I moved them down (who are commercial patterns written for? Whose boobs are really THAT high? Mine weren't, even pre-motherhood!) but there is no shaping at all for the rest of the body. Which is such a scam, because on the pattern cover the dress totally looks like it has shape. I called my mom to complain about this and luckily she is both patient and wise - she suggested trying a couple of darts in the back. Ah. Yes. A good idea, as the dress fits, it just makes me look very, very odd.

So, any tips on putting darts into an already-finished dress?


And look! Because I am a glutton for punishment, I'm going to try making this skirt! Me+Zippers=much cursing and gnashing of teeth, generally speaking, but I'm going to try it anyway. The fabric should be relatively forgiving (just a black calico with tiny white pindots). At least my sure-to-be-funky stitching won't show too well against the black. If, by some chance, it works out, I will wear it for Easter with a bright sweater.

And finally, something that seems to be going well!


Seriously, I think it is safe to say that I am really more of a knitter than a seamstress. Knitting is more forgiving, and I need that in my life. I have also recently decided to start knitting more things for myself rather than just making stuff for Daughter all the time.

I bought 6 skeins of blueberry Cotton Ease 2 years ago, right after Daughter was born. Joann Fabrics was unloading their supply of this discontinued yarn (but they've brought it back! Huzzah! No more funky bright colors, though...), so I got the last 6 skeins they had of this colorway for $1.50 per skein. Awwwwww yeeeeaaaaaahhhhh. I loves me a bargain!

I had intended to make Sitcom Chic, but dumped that idea when I got pregnant again and knew I'd be unable to wear it for a long while. After my finishing frenzy over the past few months, I started digging for a fun, simple project to use up stash yarn, and this popped out at me. So what you see above is the body of Sitcom Chic (the fronts are tucked under the back...it's knit in one piece from the bottom up), as well as the yarn to finish it. I think it's long enough now (it's a sort-of cropped style), so I'll be starting the sleeves tonight.

So that's what I've been up to. Well, that and playing outside, but I've discovered that I can set Daughter up with her chalks and her outside toys and actually get a smidge of simple knitting done while sitting in a lawn chair and keeping an eye on her. Sah-weet!

a better 300th post...playin' outside

photo removed....sorry!

Favorite little tree


Communing with nature

photo removed...sorry!

"Drawin' chalks"

photo removed...sorry!

Wheelbarrow rides


Kickin' a ball

a post about nothing much, really

Wow, I totally didn't mean to maintain radio silence for a whole week. Has it really been a week? Where on earth did that time go?


Well, we've been doing a lot of this. Spring is kicking and clawing its way forth, and it is finally warm(ish) enough to play outside. Until today our yard has still been covered with a light layer of crunchy, dirty snow, which was ok with Daughter. She llllllllloved it.


The poor child has been cooped up in our boring little house all winter, and has reached an age where if she is not occupied she becomes destructive. So we go outside a lot, where she cannot break anything. The detritus of our ice dams can be seen above. Yes, I moved the sharp piece of broken plastic right after this photo was taken. She didn't care about that, anyway. She just wanted to splash in the ooky puddle.


This is the best we can do so far. Itty bitty lilac buds (I think). Those of you who live in nice climates where it is already warm and things are blooming...count your blessings. It's still cold and rainy here, and will be for some time. Bleh.

I've been surveying the house and yard during my rock-and-stick-gathering sessions with Daughter. I swear, I feel like a prairie homesteader when I look at the damage and all the repairs that need to be made. Winter was not kind to our little dwelling this year. Repairs will begin soon, at considerable cost for young, single-income folks like us. And the grass! Oh, the grass. Where it's not just totally gone it's...it's...traumatized. There's hardly any green to be found out there. The blades are actually bleached out to a whitish shade and the whole mess just looks sad.


We also have lots of mole-holes to trip over.


Le sigh. There are so many things I want to make and do! I'm working feverishly, milking every naptime for all it's worth, just trying to create, create, create before we become shackled to the endless yardwork of spring/summer/fall. Sometimes I think I'd love to go back to renting. Homeownership is for the birds. Thpppppt.


But then Daughter gets out there and runs around our scrabbly yard, and I guess it's worth it in the end.

really hoping this is leftover from halloween

this 'n that

This will be brief, because it's flipping gorgeous outside and I want to get out and enjoy it. As soon as Daughter is up from her nap we are so outta here.

First up, a skirt for the sewing seeds project. This skirt will eventually be going to Africa for a little girl who needs it. I really like to participate in projects like this because I have the ability and the supplies, both of which are typically used for pleasure only. I mean, quite frankly, I could just go to Target and buy Daughter a season's worth of clothing, but I like to create much of her wardrobe because it's fun. Some folks don't have the option of driving down to the local superstore to buy whatever they want/need. Some don't even have the option of sewing. It is the least we can do as the most privileged country on the planet.

I don't know what pattern this is because I had to borrow it - my Joann Fabrics was sold out when I tried to go buy a copy. But this tiered-style skirt is everywhere this season, so you could find one from any of the major pattern companies. I believe this was from Simplicity. I made a size 5. The fabric is a nice quilt-shop quality 100% cotton calico that I've had sitting around here for ages. I'm so glad I was able to use it for something worthwhile. The gathers almost killed me, but boy, the final result is adorable.

On the homefront, I have been doing some utilitarian knitting. Daughter is growing like a weed and needs a cardigan to wear for spring. I wanted a cotton blend but I can't find Lion Brand's reissued Cotton Ease in my local stores. Anyone know if the big stores will be selling it? I tried Joann's, AC Moore, and Michaels. Nothing. So I went with Bernat Denim Style (30% cotton/70% acrylic) in the natural colorway. It's a nice heavy worsted and knits up soft and purdy. I'm using the Knitting Pure and Simple infant cardigan pattern in the 18-month size because it's still plenty big around for Daughter. I'm just lengthening the body and sleeves. I think I'll put a hood on it too, both because it's cute and because Spring can be chilly.

The only problem I'm having is that this yarn 'fuzzes' and little bits get all over my clothes, up my nose, and in my eyes. I hope that problem goes away after washing and drying.

And now, just for pure eye candy goodness...tastycakes! Of yarn, that is...

Mom wanted to order some yarn from Knitpicks but needed to get to $45 to avoid paying shipping (sheesh, remember when you only had to order $30 to get free shipping?). So I graciously volunteered to buy some stuff. People, I am selfless. The things I will do to help others! It boggles the mind!

This is 3 skeins of Sock Memories in the Yukon colorway to make socks for Hubs' birthday (in July). I figure if I start now I can throw them aside occasionally when I get bored knitting ten miles of stockinette for his size 12 feet. So, see, that wasn't such a selfish order.

But it is also 2 skeins of Sock Memories in the Geranium colorway. All for moi. Oh, come on, I have to do something for myself sometimes. Anyway, I needed to be cheered because my house is crumbling and we will be forking over mucho dinero to fix it very soon. And what is more cheerful than spring-like weather and red/hot pink/orange/chartreuse yarn?

Speaking of which...I'm heading outside. Catch ya' later.

get out!

I have seen this commercial several times and I really like it. But I did not know until I found this link on another blog that the actress is Clare Danes. She looks really different in the ad and I have to say, it is the best thing I've seen her do. It's a great commercial!

Gap Ad

wardrobe update

When I was away from the blog for about a week I did a lot of sewing. I couldn't resist this cute flannel at Joann Fabrics, so I grabbed some to make a quick pair of pants for Daughter.


I used my usual pattern (New Look "easy" #6175) but lengthened it by about 3 inches. Daughter is tall and skinny, so she can still wear the larger baby sizes of some patterns if I lengthen the legs. These should hopefully also fit in the fall.


More sundresses. Surprise, it's New Look Kids #6578. This time in size 2 but size 4 length.


This is my favorite of the fabrics I bought for sundresses. You can see tiny dots on the background if you look closely - they're like clear sequins right in the fabric and they sparkle when they catch the light. Adorable.


It's so easy it's Simplicity #4142 tank and shorts, size 2. The fabrics are cotton and cotton/poly blend. Easy care for summer. I know all this stuff looks crazy wrinkled, and I swear I press as I sew. Somehow everything always looks mushed up when I take photos. I promise I'll iron it all before she wears it out of the house.

I'm taking a wee break from sewing - I sew in the dining room and after awhile I just can't stand seeing the mess, so I pack everything up and stop for short periods of time. I'll get back to it after Daughter's birthday when I can assess what she still needs for summer. My mom and sisters tend to buy really cute clothes so we'll wait and see.

In other news, the sun has been shining like mad for 3 days. The way this affects my mood is ridiculous. I just feel SO much better when the sun is out. Now all I need is for temps to rise above the 30s so we can actually get outside and experience fresh air. YAY SPRING! Also, I am psyched for DST to start earlier this year. It's so nice to eat dinner with some light left in the sky, don't you agree?

and speaking of irony...

This is my daughter, holding the tassel I got when I graduated with a master's degree in education 5 years ago:



And here she is using it as the world's tiniest mop:



A LITTLE TOO SYMBOLIC, THANKS.

don'tcha think?

Your 1996 Theme Song Is: Ironic by Alanis Morisette

It's like rain on your wedding day It's a free ride when you've already paid It's the good advice that you just didn't take Who would've thought ... it figures

What's Your 1996 Theme Song?

Bwaaaaa! This cracked me up. I don't really even like Alanis Morisette. And why 1996? I don't know. Go check this out and tell me - what's your song?

Firth

Well, my own-horn-tootingness came back and bit me in the butt. My Firth sweater is finished, but the last steps took me a looooooooooooooooong time and tried my patience.

Here is the info:
Pattern: Firth from A Season's Tale, women's size large
Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino in dark grey mix, black, deep red, natural mix, and leaf green
Needles: US 7, 8, and 9

Modifications: I knitted the body of this sweater several inches longer than the directions called for, and it could be longer still. When I tried it on Hubs said, "it's nice, but if it were me I would have made it a little longer." Seriously - the models must have been really short or the book has a typo or something. It hits me around hip-level and though I'm a bit over 5'7" I have a short torso. So I don't know what's up with the pattern. Moral of the story: If I make it again, I will knit more rows for the body, and just a few more for the sleeves as well.

Other than that I knit it to the pattern specs. Well, I eliminated one of the colors in the fairisle section, ending up with 4 instead of 5.

Seaming this thing was a pain. As I mentioned before, it was my first raglan style sweater knit in pieces. It would have been easy without the colorwork, but seaming that part almost killed me. It took me 3 nights. Then there was the weaving of the ends, and putting in the zipper (another 2 nights). I didn't do a great job with the zipper. It's acceptable, but again the colorwork makes all mistakes look really, really bad. There's a point where the pattern on the front is off by what looks like a full row - but I am leaving it for now. If I don't zip it all the way up you can't see the problem anyway. It's good enough, and dudes, I SO don't want to redo it. If it bothers me in the future, or if I find I'm not wearing it because of the zipper, I will fix it.

So this was supposed to be a stash-busting project, and somehow that went awry.


Because I had to buy a few skeins for Firth's colorwork, I ended up with this lovely collection (all Paton's Classic Merino). I am thinking a small afghan or maybe a color block or striped sweater for Daughter. Don't know...for now I'm letting it sit in this basket because it looks pretty.

Well, even though it's March it is only 3 degrees outside. That's 3. THREE DEGREES. And with the wind chill it apparently feels like -10. My house was 60 degrees inside when we woke up this morning, and it's still chilly. My fingers are cold. If Spring doesn't arrive soon I'm going to lose my mind.

We had terrible ice dams on our roof in 2 places (very old house, very poor insulation) resulting in bad leakage into our bathroom. We will be replacing at least one wall and the ceiling. One of the ice dams started to melt last week when it warmed up and rained, causing it to let go and rip off the gutter and flashing on one side of the house. Conveniently, it was over the driveway, where Hubs' car was parked. The ice hit the bumper - luckily only the bumper - and completely dented it. We have a white plastic picket fence that cuts across our driveway (a vestige of the former owners) and one section is now completely smashed into bits. It was quite a spectacular show when this thing let go and came smashing down. It's too cold to go out there and do much fixing right now, so when I pull into or out of my driveway I just feel terrible. Our house looks like total white trashville. And it's going to cost a lot to fix, I expect. We are praying our homeowner's insurance will help.

That sound you hear? It's me, sighing. Over and over. It's hard to be in a good mood when your house is crumbling around you. Beh. I really hope Spring comes soon.

parts is parts

I'm truckin' along toward the finish line...


Lookit! All the parts of Firth are done. Well, ok not entirely done because there are 100 or so ends to weave in. 100 or so, for real. That's a lot of weave-age. I might cry. But once that weaving is done I can sew it up, knit the collar, sew in the zipper and voila! I will have a new sweater. Oh, who am I kidding, those last 3 steps could take as long as the knitting of all the parts put together. I had hoped to get this done before the end of February, but I doubt I can finish it in, what, less than 36 hours? Ha.

I'm going to go ahead and toot my own horn for a second. This is my first real attempt at fairisle, and while I realize it's not a complicated pattern (not by a long shot) I am still quite proud of how it turned out. I was able to keep my tension nice and even and I didn't screw up any color changes. At least I don't think I did. This is also my first-ever raglan style seamed sweater (I have made lots of top-down raglans) so I'm really challenging myself with some of the elements of this pattern. We'll see how the actual seaming goes. If all is well I am definitely considering knitting one for Daughter, but in different colors.

Want to see the fairisle again? Oh, indulge me:


Off I go to start weaving ends...

summer look #2 and an SRI

Summer outfit number 2:


1-2-3, 4-5-6, 7-8-9, 10-11-12 ladybugs came to the ladybug picnic!
They had 12 sacks so they ran sack races
And they fell on their backs and they fell on their faces
Ladybugs 12, at the ladybug picnic!

Ok, I'll stop.

This is, of course, the ubiquitous jumper.
Pattern: New Look Kids #6578, size 2 but adjusted to the size 4 length
Fabric: According to Daughter this is "Ladybugs, mommy!" from Joann Fabrics

I like this fabric but as with much of the stuff on the wall at Joann's it is flimsy and thin. I hope it holds up after being washed a bunch of times. When the fabric is only $3.99 per yard you know it's not going to be the best, but oh well. Also, I biffed when deciding how much to buy. Silly me, I forgot I'm not buying fabric for the wee tiny size anymore. I asked for 3/4 yard but it turns out that wasn't enough for facings as well. I found a yellow fat quarter in my stash that was starting to fade, so I put it to use as facing. I often use a contrasting fabric for the facings of these little dresses, but I prefer to do so with a solid fabric and a print facing. This was a solution born of desperation, but I think it's ok. Here's a closeup:


The facing is just a lighter yellow with white stars. I don't love it, but anything darker would have shown through this flimsy fabric. Oh well, it is what it is and I'm happy with the dress. Sheesh, I could make these in my sleep at this point. And there are 2 more cut out and ready to be stitched! Obviously I have a problem. I was thinking about why I'm so obsessed with making all these cute dresses for my child and it occurred to me that I'm bracing myself for her to turn out like me - after about the age of 4, getting a dress on my body was darn near impossible. In fact, in all my first communion photos I'm wearing a very pretty dress and a very un-pretty scowl. In almost no photos will you see me wearing the veil, oh heavens no. It was jeans and a ponytail or pigtails from just past toddlerhood until...well, until now, I guess. I'm still not a huge fan of dresses. So I guess I'm afraid the day will come when she'll refuse to wear little adorable girly things and I have to get while the gettin's good.

And I seriously hope she grows in the next 4 months because all this size 2 stuff is looking hy-ooge.

Oh - I know there are no buttons on the straps yet. I think this dress demands either biggish ladybug buttons, or if that's overkill perhaps large black plastic circles would be cute. Something a tad over-the-top to go with that outrageous yellow. I'll have to think on it.

While making the pants outfit on Wednesday, I gave myself a sewing related injury (SRI). My sewing machine has an AC motor and when you push the pedal it doesn't start as smoothly as the computerized electronic machines with DC motors. It kind of 'jerks' to life, but I'm used to it and it never bothers me. I was preparing to start sewing a seam and lining up my fabric with my foot resting on the pedal, and the silly thing is so sensitive that a tiny bit of pressure from my foot sent it into motion. The needle bar came slamming down on my left ring finger and took such a chunk out of the tip I couldn't even believe it. It wasn't the needle itself (though I have stitched right through my fingertip with an embroidery machine...I don't recommend it), it was the actual needle bar with the apparatus that holds the needle in place. Holy expletives, batman. It really hurt. And bled! Whoa. So let that be a lesson to you - keep your foot off the pedal till you're ready to sew. Accidents happen. Ouch.

Knitting News:

Firth's front has a friend:


I finished up the right front last night (you can see what blocking does for this pattern). Due to my SRI, Thursday was kind of a loss. We went to Grandma's house and hung out because I couldn't sew or knit much anyway. My finger felt better last night so I went to town on this piece of my new sweater. Hubs kept telling me it was time for bed, but I stayed up till midnight to finish. If I don't get to do any crafting during naptime, I feel all unsettled at night, so I stay up too late doing my thing. Dumb, because I'm super tired in the morning, but whatever, that's what coffee is for.

I hope to finish up the sleeves over the weekend, and the back early next week. Will this be ready to wear on March 1? I just know you're on the edge of your seat. Well, I'm hoping it will be done. Have a lovely weekend, all. I hope it's warming up wherever you are. We're finally making it back into the 30s and the chunks of ice are slowly melting from our gutters. Still 3 feet of snow in the front yard though. Bah!

the 2007 summer collection begins

Daughter's first summer look for 2007 is runway-ready.


Ok, not entirely. The shirt needs a button, but we'll get to that in a minute.

The pattern is McCall's Stitch 'n Save #M5371, made in size 2. (Please make a note of the pattern number if you want to make this outfit. People are always asking me for the patterns I use and I always tell that information when I show a finished piece of clothing.)

The shirt is view B, and the pants are sort-of view D. The pattern calls for view D to have a few rows of trim on the cuff area of the pant, but I didn't want that as this fabric seems to speak for itself. The fabrics are: solid cotton in "parchment" from Joann Fabrics (whatever was on sale over the weekend for $1.99), and Keepsake Calico called "apples and pears" (I think) from the calico wall at Joann's. It was a teeny splurge at $7.99/yard, but they were on sale for 30% off, so I went for it. I have to admit, I got this fabric because I saw it made into pants on Amanda's adorable baby girl and I HAD TO HAVE IT TOO.

I have several knee-jerk reactions I could share about this pattern, but I think I will wait to talk about it until I make another outfit. I have another one planned and ready to go, and now that I've been through the directions once I should be able to evaluate it more accurately. The first run-through of a pattern is always frought with difficulty for me because I tend to think I'm smarter than the pattern. I'm usually quite wrong about that. C'est la vie.

Anyway, the top is super easy but time consuming because it is a wrap top, self-faced (I think that is the correct term...?) and there's a lot of pinning involved.


The top buttons on the left, and snaps closed inside on the right. I think I bought some small clear plastic snaps last year. Do any of you know where I put them? Cause I sure don't, and now I can't even remember if I really bought them, or just held them in the store for a minute and then changed my mind.


The directions call for the front facing to be slip-stitched over the side seam allowance. Shyeah, right. I whipped out my edge-stitch foot and just zipped along the side from underarm to hem.

I will share one gripe about the pattern in relation to the shirt - nowhere does it tell you to trim the seams or clip the curves. Well, good luck getting anything wearable if you skip that step! Luckily I have enough experience to know I had to do that, but if a total beginner picked up this pattern they would be extremely frustrated trying to press out the armholes and neckline.


The pants. I love these pants. I want these pants for myself. Alas, I don't know if I could pull off the fruit look. If these look a little stumpy, that's because they're capri pants. But they could easily be made into full-length pants with the same pattern. There's a 2-inch hem allowance. Weird.

I know the fruits don't match up. I don't have the patience to line up my pattern pieces with individual motifs. These will be worn by a 2 year old. Who cares?

This was my first time making pants with a waistband. I always feared the waistband. Why? It is super easy! And it adds a really nice finished look.


The back of the pants are elasticized, for pull-on comfort. Also incredibly easy to do.


Now I just need to know which color button to put on the shirt. Please vote!

Knitting News

Aaaaaaaaaaaand,,,back to winter. I finished one front of Firth.


I really, really, really like knitting this pattern. It looks much more complicated than it really is, and that fairisle section is knit on size 9 needles, people. FAST. I changed my color selections after knitting and ripping and knitting and ripping and agonizing and knitting and ripping some more. My original color choices made the sweater look like it came from 1987 (too bright), so I switched them around until they made me happy.


I realize that hit of leaf green might not be everyone's cup of tea. But I adore that shade and cannot wear it, so I snuck it into this sweater for fun. As my Daughter would say, "I lllllllllllllove it!"

Weaving in all those ends is going to stinkety-stink, though.

love her madly

I love my kid so much. That may seem like such an obvious thing to say, but sometimes in the day-to-day struggle to keep everyone in the house clean, fed, and occupied the important feelings get squelched underneath frustration and exhaustion.

Until they come roaring back to the surface, that is. Yesterday was one of those days when everything Daughter did and said was adorable and surprising and sweet and hilarious. At her age (22 months) she is unpredictable, so I am always bracing myself for questionable behavior. Sometimes I am simply amazed by how wonderful she can be.

I took her to Joann Fabrics for the big Presidents' Day sale (isn't that what all good patriotic Americans do on federal holidays? Shop the sales?) and she wasn't too happy about it. As I was putting her in the car and driving away she kept whining, "hoooooooome," but man, we needed to get out of the house and stop watching videos. The outside temp got above freezing yesterday for the first time in weeks so darn it, we were heading out. And actually, I did have good reason to be going to Joann Fabrics in the first place - read Karen's post about an excellent charity sewing opportunity. I needed to get the skirt pattern for this project.

At the store I let Daughter walk partway through the parking lot, holding my hand. When I got her out of the car she stood next to me while I got out the diaper bag, and when I said, "don't touch the dirty car," she did not. She just pointed to the tires and said, "ABCs, Mommy!" Yes, yes, sweetheart, there are letters on the tires. You're right!

We got to the door and I said, "ok, how about you ride in this cart?" And she said, "cart? Ok Mommy!"

I let her carry my little swatches, which are from fabrics I bought last year. As the solids were on sale for $1.99 I was trying to match some for little coordinating tops/bottoms. I took them from her one at a time to hold them up against bolts, saying, "hmmmm, let's see. Does this one match? What do you think? Let's check this one..." And after a few minutes, she started doing the exact same thing. Holding the swatches against bolts on the wall, saying, "hmmmmm. Check this one!"

When I would pick out a bolt I liked, I would lay it across the bar of the cart so she could see it. I would say, "I like this one, what do you think?" And she would yell loud enough for the whole store to hear, "Oh, I LOVE it, Mommy! I LLLLLLLOVE it!"

As we walked down the wall of calicos she would holler out what she saw, both color and pattern.

"Ladybugs, Mommy!"

"PINK!"

"Oh, flowers!"

She is unbelievable. My kid. What did I do to deserve such a great kid?? I figured she surely deserved a treat for being so well behaved, so I asked her if she'd like to go look for some playdough before we went home.

"OH! Playdough! YES MOMMY YES!"

We got a 6-pack of playdough, oh yes we did. She talked about it all the way home. When we got home she refused her snack. It was playdough time. She asked me to cut out a "girl" and a "guy" (guy?), so I did it with my gingerbread cutters. When I rolled the dough with the rolling pin she said, "try? try!" so I gave her the pin and she tried, grunting and exclaiming the whole time because she couldn't push hard enough to flatten the dough. When I cut out the girl, she said, "try? try!" so I gave her the cutter and she pushed too.

She made the girl dance around, and when one of the arms came off she immediately stuck it on the girl's head, and told me it was a hat.

I cut out a "guy" and she started pulling bits of playdough off a hunk of a different color and pushing them into his body. I asked her what it was and she said, "jammies on!" People. She was putting playdough jammies on her playdough guy.

The child played with the playdough for AN HOUR. We haven't had that much fun in ages. I even had enough time to wash and dry all the new fabrics we got. She was so blissed out that when I said, "I'm going in the laundry room to switch the stuff to the dryer," she flipped her hand in my direction and said, "ok, bye."

I know, I know, this is cheese-o-rama. And believe me, sometimes Daughter can be a booger. Not too often, though. She's really a good kid. I just wanted to write this out to help me appreciate it. I love her madly and can't wait to see what adorable things she comes up with today.

Enjoy your Shrove Tuesday/Fat Tuesday/Pancake Day/Pazcki Day. Buffalo is still multi-ethnic enough that you can't walk 10 feet today without tripping over a pazcki or a fastnacht, so Daughter and I may just go out and find one of these tasty sweets.

Photos of our fabric adventures to come...

off the wagon...ish

Well friends, I fell off the wagon. But not too badly, I have to say. However, I am in danger of going back and doing more damage this weekend when Joann Fabrics has their President's Day sale, what with the whole 10% off your entire order business. What can I say? I love the Tutti-Frutti fabrics and would happily buy yards and yards of them for Daughter's summer wardrobe.

I went out with the sole purpose of getting some pattern-ease, so I could use the patterns I have but make bigger sizes. Those of you who sew - do you use this product? I started using it when I realized I could get a lot more use out of toddler patterns if I didn't hack them down to size 1, thus ruining sizes 2-4 forever. Now I can't imagine ever chopping up a tissue pattern again. It's so cheap - $1.99 per yard, 46" wide - and you just write on it with a sharpie or whatever. It's much firmer than tissue so the traced pattern will last and last, and once you're done with the pattern (ie: when your kid grows out of it) you can pass along or sell the original tissue pattern in un-cut, perfect condition. Try it, you'll like it!

So I tried to get some at W@lm@rt in the craft department, because I have been trying so hard to stay out of Joann Fabrics. The willpower, it dissolves in that place. But WM didn't have it. However, WM did have some excellent new toddler patterns for summer from my favorite company, McCall's easy stitch 'n save:


I don't know if these are actually new or not, but they are new to me. They are M5371, M5370, and M5351. The bottom one starts with size 3, so I guess we'll wait a year on that one. But maybe I can take it in a little and make it work this summer. My favorite is this one:


When I saw that little wrap top with the ric-rac on it, I freaked. LOVE!! As you know by now, I adore simple, simple, simple clothing for children that can be accented with trims and buttons. This pattern is perfect for that. Imagine the possibilities!! I adore view A with the coordinating pockets and trim. Can't wait to dive in and make this one.

Well, then I had to hit Joann's for the pattern-ease. I tried to just get it and leave, but you know how that place is. I managed to bypass the fabrics, but got hung up thinking about ric-rac and trims. After having a weird conversation with the lady at the cutting counter (Me: 5 yards of pattern-ease, please. Lady: so...you do a lot of pattern tracing? Me: yes. yes I do.) Daughter and I hit the trims. Lookee here:


These are some Tutti-Frutti fabrics and some cottons I got last summer on super-sale. There will be some sundresses, but also some shorts and/or tops, which will now have coordinating white pants or shorts or maybe a little jacket or whatever with perfectly coordinated ric-rac trim! The photo doesn't even do justice to the perfection of the matchiness. Yeah, watch out for some major ric-rac on this here blog...I have scads of it from my grandma's crafting stash and suddenly I'm liking it. Egads.

Moving on, luckily Joann's didn't have the yarn that I needed on sale, and I totally don't buy yarn at full price, like ever, because I think it is just silliness to do so. If you need it and can wait a week or two, inevitably one of the major stores will have a yarn sale. This week it was NOT Joann's so I got away clean yesterday. However, I am making myself a sweater and it needs a yoke, so I had to come up with some yarns.

I started Firth, from Rowan's A Season's Tale, a week ago today. I decided to buy the book sight unseen and knit the sweater based on Siri's gorgeous version, seen here. Luckily I had an Amazon gift certificate laying around and I was able to get the book used for a cheap-o price (it doesn't look remotely used, though, and has many, many awesome patterns, so it was totally worth buying). Thankfully Firth calls for worsted weight yarn, and I happened to have 5 skeins of Paton's Classic Merino, my go-to yarn for all worsted wool projects, in my stash. They are multiple dye lots of dark grey mix, but I had 2 the same for the sleeves and 2 the same for the fronts, and a solo skein for the back. I don't think there is much difference but since I didn't use multiple skeins for each piece, I can't see any problem. Here's the sweater and my chosen yarns:



Knit on US needles 7, 8, and 9, this sweater has been so fast to crank out. Here is where I am as of this post:


Two sleeves knit up to the colorwork portion, the back also knit up to the start of the colorwork, and the start of the left front.

I really like the original colors you see in the picture from the book, but a gal with my coloring cannot wear that pea green without looking corpse-like. Also, hello, this was supposed to be a stash-buster. Which it still sort of is, but I did go to Michael's today, where Paton's Classic Merino is currently $3.99 (you're welcome, broke knitters like me! Go stock up!) and I grabbed one skein each of new denim, leaf green, royal purple, and natural mix. The red skein may be crimson, I'm not sure. That's a partial skein from my stash and the label is long gone.

Now, normally my knitting mantra is "texture, not colorwork" but in this case I am making an exception out of sheer loooooooooove of the pattern. This is a sweater I will wear until it falls apart, I just know it. Simple styling, soft yarn, beautiful patterning. And did I mention FAST? It will slow way down now that I've hit the fairisle portion, but I still think I can knock this one out by the end of February (don't hold me to it, though).

Oh, and also? There are directions for a child size Firth. Daughter and I could be matchy-matchy! Ok, maybe that would be pushing it.

Have a great weekend, all! Stay warm!

my funny valentine

Do you have moments like I do when you wonder if your spouse knows anything about you? Moments when you think perhaps he has been asleep for a large portion of your marriage? Because how could he not know that you hate onions on your sub, don't like rose-scented things, dislike bubble baths, and no, this shirt is not new, you wore it on one of your first dates...

...but then your faith is restored when he shows up after work on Valentine's Day with something like this:


Coffee ice cream (which he hates so I never buy it), orange chocolate milanos for which I would sell my soul, Ghirardelli dark, dark chocolate with orange and hazelnut, and le petit ecolier cookies in dark and super dark chocolate. People, not only does he know me, he knows me well. And it is all for me, me, me. Well, ok, I will share. It would be kind of gross to eat all this myself. So who's coming over? I'll put the kettle on. Wear boots, it's really snowy out.

Sorry the blog has been wholly uninspiring lately. The truth is, between Daughter and I being sick and the general malaise of February, I haven't been too creative. Drunk on the excitement of finishing a sweater for myself, I started another and it's coming along. Photos when I get a bit further in the pattern. I have managed to get a couple sundresses cut out for Daughter:


I want to get more garments cut out before I set up the machines, but I've run out of pattern tracing material and need to hit Joann Fabrics for more. I haven't set foot in a craft/fabric/yarn store yet in 2007 and I hate to break the streak. Once I go in ugly things might happen and I've been so good using stash and saving money...but if I'm going to sew more summer clothes for Daughter I'll have to be strong and just shoot straight for the cutting counter. Wish me luck.

To answer April's question from the comments yesterday, ten years ago I was "studying abroad" in Australia, which is code for "going to the beach every day." Haha, just kidding Mom and Dad! I was studying hard! (Ok, not. But I made dean's list and that's good, right?)

hot kool-aid

Ten years ago on Valentine's Day I was floating on my back in the Indian Ocean, roasting in the unbelievably intense Australian sun, slathering on the sunblock, laying on the sand, scooting back into the tepid water when I couldn't take the heat any longer, and laughing at the folks back home who were shoveling snow.

If you've been following the national weather scene, you know, as I do, that there is such a thing as karma.

In honor of V-day, I am dyeing some yarn red on my stovetop. The kitchen is filled with the stank-nasty aroma of hot kool-aid. Mmmmmmmmm.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours.

6 months

Today is the 12th, so it has been exactly 6 months since I said hello and goodbye to baby Elizabeth. Interestingly, it has also been almost exactly 1 year to the day since finding out I was pregnant with her.

I'm feeling pretty reflective about the whole thing today, trying to put words to my emotions. I've pretty much kept my grief and healing process off the blog, and that was a conscious decision. Rather than sitting here typing a bunch of angry or sad words, I've chosen to work through it myself. Yes, I know I am free to write and share and all that, but after the initial shock began to wear off, I chose to grieve quietly and personally. It has been working well, I think. I guess I just want to bring you in for a moment on this day, 6 months later, to let you all know that I am doing fine. 'Fine' is a relative term, of course, because I am still sad and sometimes angry and often hurting, but I can honestly say I don't feel straight-up awful anymore. And that is a sweet, sweet relief.

Last month, on the 12th, I was sitting with a friend and having lunch with our kids when she asked me how I was doing. She said, "you know, it really hasn't been that long." And that struck me, because truly, what is that long? What's a long time in this situation? 5 months certainly isn't long, but then again 5 years isn't that long either. When August 12, 2011 rolls around I will most likely be sitting against a headstone and weeping for my baby. And I know it will feel like it just happened. That's the nature of this whole thing. It never, ever goes away. It just becomes easier to work with the memories and get through my days. I think of my baby every single day. But I have come to a point where I can focus on her, on her tiny sweet face, on what it felt like to hold her in my arms, rather than on what I felt like. I can think of how beautiful she was, rather than thinking about the looks of pity and sadness on the faces of everyone around me. I can remember the things I said to her, rather than all the things that were said to me.

I think often about having another baby, as the idea of pregnancy slowly moves from 'terrifying' to 'exciting,' though I'm not there yet. And the thought will always scare me now, at least a little. We'll see what happens with that.

Hubs is good. He deals with it in his own way, though he doesn't like to talk about it. That's ok with me, as I know he is willing to discuss it if I need to. He just chooses not to bring it up.

And Daughter. Oh, Daughter. Love of my life, joy of my days, bringer of light and happiness in our home. I thank God she will not remember any of what went on. She drives us totally nuts in her almost-2-year-old way, but oh, how we adore her. I sit with her every morning at her request and we watch "It's a Big, Big World" and "Sesame Street" in our jammies under a blanket. I kiss her head and inhale her smell until she wiggles away. I treasure every kiss and hug she chooses to give. If nothing else, the experience of losing one child has made us a thousand times more grateful for the other.

So that is that. I just felt the need to say something and now I've done it and I feel better. Back to the regularly scheduled lightness and mild sarcasm in a day or two. Thanks for once again reading and understanding and supporting me.

WANT

This. Badly. Right now.

Oh man, and these too.