Silly Me

We stayed up until almost 1 a.m. Friday night watching movies.

First, we had movie night with H. Every 4-6 weeks or so we either rent or buy a new kids movie, have pizza (or some other favorite meal of his), get on our pjs and snuggle up on the couch to watch a movie. Friday night was "Night at the Museum". His favorite part... Anything with the T-Rex. It was a movie that we all enjoyed. After he was in bed we watched Casino Royale (I love James Bond movies! Daniel Craig does an excellent job!) I loved the movie and I'm glad I got to see it, but staying up until 1 was not a great idea. I worked on the sock during both movies (finished the gusset and am almost to the toe decreases), but the movies were so exciting that I think I used a little extra torque with the yarn and needles. I don't do this with other projects, but I seem to knit tight on socks anyway.

Then, after dinner last night we put L in the stroller and the four of us walked to the custard shop (a little over a mile each way) to meet my brother, SIL and nephew. The custard was delicious and we got a good amount of exercise!

SO... this morning my arms are killing me from knitting so hard on Friday. Luckily, our friend Becky is in town right now (she's in hubby's band and was at the birth of L). She's a licensed massage therapist and in a hour or so I will be on her table turning into Jello! She's actually the recipient of the socks, so I'm hoping that I'll come home refreshed from my massage and can finish off the sock before they have band practice tonight. I started the socks as a gift to her for being at the birth (her massage and Doug's ice feeding and support were what enabled me to go natural with the birth) and they've taken a long time! They're ready to go home with her!

I hope to post soon with pictures of the next project(s)!

Jenn

Road to Recovery

L and I came down with head colds on Sunday. Hers hasn't been nearly as bad as mine. I've been so congested that I thought it might take dynamite to get some air through. I'm finally feeling better. L is still breastfeeding, so I'm sure that's what saved her. I turned around after she finally slept well for a night (Wednesday night - 8p.m. to 8 a.m. with one wake up to nurse at 5:30! Sleeping was going better, then we got sick... I'm hoping we can get more rest this weekend!)

Anyway, not a lot of knitting going on and nothing worthy of pictures. I'm working on the Opal socks and re-reading Harry Potter. I'm hoping the socks will be done by Sunday so that I can start another pair (Coriolis sock by Cat Bordhi is a possibility). I'm also leaning towards a pair of Jaywalkers. Something a bit more interesting that straight stockinette! I was also looking around the other day and realized that the LoopyEwe is in St. Louis. They have an amazing selection of sock yarn and patterns! Then, when I've returned to my normal self, I'll start on Sahara. I'm beginning to doubt it will be ready for our trip to New Orleans. I may just go ahead and start on my Clapotis. I'll decide soon. I've also sent and email trying to join Destash - Cash for Yarn. I'm going to try to whittle down my yarn stash, some needles and, possibly, a few books. We'll see if I'm accepted!

Jenn

No Sahara Yet

I'm sure I'm just biased, but are these not the sweetest feet you've ever seen! I could just eat those little rolls on her ankles. The Sahara has been sidelined for a few days because I decided that she needed an equally sweet pair of socks for those toes. I'm using a pattern (changed for a larger size, etc. Basically I just used the idea and went from there.) from the latest Debbie Bliss book and some baby cashmerino that I had in stash. I know a lot of people have problems with DB patterns, but this is the first one that I just haven't liked. I wanted a little something before I knuckle down and work on Sahara. I figure I'll wait until I can have some alone time this weekend to get started.

Here are the finished socks... (They're cuter than they show in the picture. I had trouble getting her to hold still long enough to snap a picture.) They'll keep those piggies warm and feel so soft for her. I'm sure she'll outgrow them quickly, although there is a bit of extra room, and I'll have to make another pair for the Fall, but they were pretty quick so I don't mind. H wants a pair of socks as well. He's requested that his be red (it's all about red.... red sheets, shoes, sweats, t-shirts. Our house would be red if he could convince me. I keep thinking he'll outgrow the red phase, but it's been this way for 2 years. Half of his life has been devoted to his search for red... He cracks me up!)

Also, still plugging along on my pair of Opal socks. I'm ready to start the heel, but just haven't done it yet. Maybe I just need to get it done before I start my Sahara... then, I can start another pair of socks (for my secret sock pal??) before we go on our trip to New Orleans in May. Usually socks don't take me this long, but I think it's just the plain stockinette. I'm looking forward to something with a pattern and trying toe-up.

Jenn

Green Gable

It's finally finished! It's been a slow week for knitting and it seems like it's taken forever. Here's a quick picture of it blocking, but I'll take a picture of it on once it's dry. I added about an inch of lenth, but the rest is by the pattern. I stayed up late to get it done.
I also finished a swatch for Sahara last week, but my gauge was off. I'm going to swatch again on size 7s and see what I get. I'm hoping to start the Sahara tomorrow.

Also, on a non-knitting note... We've finally gotten around to the sleep issue with L. We had her 1 year appointment last week and I spoke with the Dr. about it. All of her teeth have come in, no sicknesses about and we started letting her fuss. I appreciate both sides of this argument and we've tried many different things before we started this. We kept her up an extra 30 minutes Friday night. It took about 45 minutes for her to go to sleep with us entering after 3 minutes, then 5 minutes and then 10 minute increments until she was asleep. She was up 3 times in the night. Each time she was back down in less than 10 minutes total. I only nursed her once over the course of the night (it was quite a feat with her standing in her crib... anyone who has nursed a toddler can attest to the gymnastics sometimes needed!) She woke for the final time at 7:30 a.m. Her naps went well too. I went in once after 3 minutes for the first and didn't have to go in again at all for the second. She seems to be catching on well. Bedtime went better tonight. I went in twice with the timing lenthened a bit and she was asleep within 20 minutes. I'm trying not to be overly optimistic, but think we're on the right path (finally!)

Oh, I joined the Sockapalooza 4 last night. I can't wait to see who my secret sock pal will be!

Jenn

Ready to Start Sahara

My KnitPicks replacement needles came in the mail on Monday. I'm going to try to swatch for the Sahara soon, but I haven't decided if I want to finish Green Gable before I actually start another project. I've taken the sleeves off the needles and just finished one of them (so I can see how it looks the next time I try it on). I'm sure it will go much faster now since I only have 180 stitches going.

We've had a huge cool off weather wise and will be having temps in the mid to upper twenties for the next few nights. Guess it's a good thing I've been busy knitting and haven't had time to plant anything yet. I'm trying to decide if I'll actually have a garden this year. Maybe just tomatoes. H has decided that he loves cucumbers now. He even tried some lettuce and said he liked it. He's always loved veggies and fruits, but those are two things that he's never liked. Guess turning 4 changes things (he keeps telling me he can do "XXXX" now that he's four.) He knows his ABC's, can count to 50 (he still misses 15 sometimes) and can spell and write his first name.

Does anyone have any suggestions for teaching kids to knit? My neighbor's daughter is 5 and she wants to learn. I've got yarn and needles for her, but need a little help on the best way to approach this. I've had some adults that have trouble with a slip knot for the long tail cast on (I pulled up a video link for the LTCO and they didn't use a slip knot. Was I taught something weird?)

I had 4 kids in the house (4 mo, 1 yo, and 2 4 yos) for part of the day yesterday. I'm hoping the two little ones take coinciding naps again (2 hours Tuesday, but the littlest slept for 3 hours.) I was able to clean up the house a bit, start laundry and still had some time to knit.

Jenn

No Knitting, but Lots of Fun

Yesterday was a crazy day! Doug's gone, so the kids and I took a trip to St. Louis to visit a few friends and a new baby, stop by the Zoo, eat too much, shop at Trader Joe's and get caught in several huge storms/downpours. We left at 9:15 Saturday a.m. and got home around 10:30 Saturday night. It was a long day for all of us, but we had a lot of fun! I managed about two rows on the Green Gable before bed last night, but I didn't figure I'd have much time for knitting. I'm hoping for a nap today and kids to bed early. No real progress to show!