A Trick...

...brought to me by Fetching. I knew that I would be cutting it close with the amount of yarn I bought (one skein), but I ended up being about 12 inches off--in the wrong direction! So, I wasn't able to finish the second mitt last night. :( I took out two rows this morning, so hopefully now I'll be able to finish the thumb. I definately don't like these kinds of tricks!

Matthew is a bee for his first Halloween, and he's already had a couple of opportunities to show off his costume. Last Friday we went to trick or treating on Main Street--small town fun. This morning I took him to the elementary school I worked at for three years to watch the Halloween parade. I enjoyed seeing my colleagues and former students. Of course, Matthew received many compliments. I hope to have pics of him in his costume up by this weekend.

Happy Halloween! :)

Updated Pics

Today I finally finished the wavy fingerless mitts from One Skein Wonders. It wasn't a difficult project at all, but I worked on it just a couple of rows at a time while I was nursing. I'm happy to have one more item to put away for a Christmas present. I'm also nearly done with my first pair of Fetching--just four more rows, a bind off, and a thumb to go! That means tomorrow I'll start on Matthew's longies. I'm always excited to start a new project!

Here are some updated pics of Matthew (and one with his dad). Enjoy! :)

Clothe Diapering Woes

I am so frustrated right now with our clothe diapers. I've been using the Mother-ease cloth diapering system for a couple of months now (before that we used prefolds), and everything has been going fine. Then the detergent we used changed to a concentrated formula and all heck broke loose. I used the concentrated formula and put in half of what I normally would, but following that wash Matthew got an awful rash all over his diaper area in places he never had a rash before-poor guy. I switched to disposable and the rash went away. I rinsed the diapers and tried them again. Another rash. We washed the diapers with a different detergent and tried them again. Another rash. I love my clothe diapers and the whole concept of using them, so all of this really frustrates me. Of course, it also makes me upset to see Matthew hurting. Does anyone have any suggestions? (Thanks again, Heidi, for your previous suggestions!)

In knitting news, I have completed two Lucy bags (from my own pattern) for a friend and her daughter, as well as one half of Fetching. I love the simplicity of Fetching and bought yarn for a pair for myself and a pair for a friend for Christmas (but I'm not telling who in case she's reading!). Hopefully I'll finish both pairs in the next couple of days and will be ready for Matthew's longies. He's actually too big for his six month clothes, so he desperately needs new pants anyways!

Snow! PLUS a photo gallery of FOs

I can't believe it! It's finally here! Snow! Can you tell I'm excited? At about 3:00 pm the clouds rolled in from the north. It started with popcorn snow, and now it's a full-blown snow storm outside! Whoopee! I'm sure it won't last long, but I will enjoy it as much as I can while it's here. :)

I also have some promised pics of finished projects:

First, I have the Harvey Kimono from Louisa Harding's Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. I followed the pattern exactly except that I used Knit Picks DK merino in taupe.

Next I have another pattern from Natural Knits: the Oz Vest. I used Knit Picks DK merino as well, but in fern. This one is still a little big for Matthew, so it will be perfect around Christmas.

Here is a VERY handsome young man modeling a sweater (Debbie Bliss pattern) with matching booties (Zoe Mellor pattern) that were started way before he was even born (but the sweater was just competed!) I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino for both, and they are so soft!

I have also made a couple of "Lucy Bags" from my own pattern (sorry, these are a little blurry). I haven't seen the Lucy Bag pattern, so I'm not sure how the patterns are different, but what I can see by looking at the bags are that mine seem to be a little more like totes.

Last, but certainly not least, is the "Pity Hat for Pat." :)

Whew, I sure have been a knitting fool!

Willpower

...or not so much. Here is how closely I followed my little knitting schedule yesterday: I worked on my sock the entire day! Pat took the day off so we could go to Santa Fe to raise some hell about getting Matthew's birth certificate (they told us we'd receive it between 8-12 weeks and he's now 19 weeks old!). We finally got it, but on the certificate it says he was "registered" in the system yesterday. I seriously wonder how long it would take the state to register him if we didn't go in. No wonder people call New Mexico the "land of manana!" Ok, enough about that. Anyway, since the drive to Santa Fe is 45 min each way, I was able to get some good knitting done. Hey, at least the sock is a UFO and not a new project. :)

I have joined my first KAL: Fingerless Mitts for Fall. I have several patterns that I'm excited to try. Plus, it will help me crank out some Christmas gifts. I'm also in love...with this. I'm already planning on placing a yarn order next Friday. I decided on that day because it's the beginning of my credit card cycle. I can just see Pat's eyes rolling when he sees the amount of yarn being purchased on my credit carn statements! Ah well, he has his football videos!

A Windy Day!

Wow, the weather sure has changed here the past couple of days! Today the high was 60 degrees (F), and it was WINDY! I was planning on going to the Farmer's Market to meet a friend and her son, but decided against it once I stepped outside. My friend ended up coming over after she went to the market. While we were drinking tea and entertaining our sons (and watching them entertain themselves), I thought, "this is why I'm so thankful to be at home right now." It was nice to have a relaxing day around the house, especially since yesterday we were busy running errands.

I have so many Works in Progress right now that I've decided to apply some kind of knitting schedule to my day. I know it sounds rigid, but it's what i need to turn my UFOs into FOs! So, during Matt's morning naps I'm going to work on my projects for Pat (fly fishing cross-stich and sweater from a year ago!). In the afternoon I'm going to work on some felted bags I'm making for friends, and the evening (after Matt goes to sleep) is reserved for whatever the heck I want to do! Tonight I picked up some socks I started last spring. This has definately been a case of the dreaded second-sock syndrome. I have to say, however, that I really enjoyed the delicate work of sock-knitting, as well as the soft yarn being worked with my addi turbos (I love using the Cat Bordhi method of two circular needles). I have some sock yarn in my stash, as well as some patterns I'd like to try, so perhaps my evening will turn into "sock time."

Stay tuned for some pics of my finished projects. I've been using my parents camera, and they finally got their new dock for it. The old one was fried after a lightning strike at their house! Yikes!

You Are Sunrise

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary. You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward. Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts. All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?

I got this fun quiz idea from the blog, Home Made Originals. I have to be honest: the first time I took the quiz I was "midnight," which I didn't think fit me at all, so I took it again (I actually would love to be Midnight, but just know that I'm not). Sunrise seems more like me, or who I would like to be. I am really trying to live a peaceful, everyday life full of love and joy. I've always been pretty introverted, but at the same time really care for the close friends I do have. I think that the fact that I have a blog is telling about the "reflection" characteristic. Give the quiz a try, and let me know what time of day you are!

Yesterday Pat was complaining about me never making him anything, so I made him a hat that I'll name, "Pity Hat for Pat." It's blue and grey with a little bit of intarsia. He really likes it and says that it'll be perfect for skiing this year. Maybe I'll make one for myself! I also finally finished the Oz Vest! It turned out well, but is pretty big. I'd much rather it be too big than too small, especially since Matthew has been growing so quickly! I'm really going to try to finish piecing together his sweater that I started last spring when I was pregnant. I'm not letting myself start anything else until I've finished that. Let's just see how much willpower I have...

Blessed

Today we took our walk mid-morning instead of evening. It seems as though something has been going on each evening this week that has gotten in the way of our walks. We may have to move them back to the mornings permanantly. It was a beautiful fall day, which got me thinking of all the ways I am blessed.

Sometimes when Pat gets home I take some time to vent to him about how my day has gone. I get frustrated with Matthew's 30-minute naps, I sit in our living room while nursing and look at our dog-chewed rug wondering when we're going to get a new one. There are always little things to be annoyed, frustrated and disgusted with. On our walk today I started to think about the BIG things and how truly fortunate I am: I have a beautiful son with whom to spend my day with and God has given me to raise on this earth (I had three miscarraiges before Matthew). I have a loving husband who is intelligent, passionate, and has a great sense of humor. My husband is also a wonderful dad! I am fortunate to have family so close: my in-laws live next door and my parents live 15 minutes away. My mom works about two minutes from my house and comes over whenever I need her help. I have a house full of life with two dogs, two cats, and a baby. I have a home and (way to many!) possessions that bring me comfort. I hope to always remember the "big picture" and how God has blessed me.

FO High

Today I finished the asymmetrical strap bag (aka Lucy Bag) and was even able to felt it while Matthew was taking a nap. Since I used worsted yarn instead of bulky, it is a bit smaller than the first, but still really cute. I think that I'll save it to give as a Christmas present. It's times like these when I REALLY wish I had a working digital camera. I actually have one picked out, but we're waiting for it to go on sale. Anyway, finishing a project was so exciting that I got cracking right away on the Oz Vest. I finished the edgings, and now all I have to do is sew up the sides. Hopefully I'll stay on my "finished objects high" and complete it tomorrow before starting any new projects!

Yesterday Matthew had his four-month check-up, and it went really well. He hardly even cried for his shots! He is now 17 pounds and is in the 85 %ile for weight and 75 %ile for length! It's amazing considering he was only in the 5 %ile after he came home from the hospital. We must be doing something right!

Yarn Festival

Yesterday Pat, Matthew and I drove to the annual Yarn Festival in Taos, New Mexico. On Saturday I said half-jokingly that I really wanted to go, and I was pleasantly surprised when Pat agreed! Taos is about an hour and a half away, so Matthew slept both on the way there and back. It was a beautiful New Mexico-mountain-fall day. The sun was shining, the leaves were starting to turn, and I was surrounded by yarn, my husband, and my son. Who could ask for anything better? I was able to pick up some untreated wool skeins from a company in Colorado as well as some local New Mexico alpaca hand-painted yarn. I don't know what I'll use the yarn for yet, but I'm excited for when I do use it!

While browsing through some blogs, I came across a cloth-diapering knitter who cited a pattern for wool covers. Instead of designing my own, I'm going to be less impressive and buy a couple of patterns from Little Turtle Knits. Perhaps I'll use some of the untreated wool I bought?

I've come to the conclusion that Matthew is just a very slight sleeper during the "light sleep" stage of the sleep cycle and that it's developmental. Even when I'm holding him while he's sleeping I'll watch him go through the cycle, his eyes will move under his eye lids, he'll smile, then frown. Then suddenly his little eyes will pop open! I just don't know what to do besides accepting the fact that naptime may be rough for a while. I have a difficult time letting him "cry it out," but I am letting him spend more and more time entertaining himself. He is such a sweetheart, especially when he's had enough sleep. I just wish I knew how to help him have more sleep!

I've had a couple of pretty rough days with Matthew and his (not!) sleeping routines, so I haven't been able to get too much done. Yesterday I finally had enough, put him in the car, and drove to a yarn shop in Santa Fe (about 40 min away). I knew that would finally put Matthew to sleep, and it worked like a charm (I know, I know, I can't put him in the car multiple times a day for hours at a time). I picked up one skein of baby cashmerino to finish up one of Matthew's sweaters, and I also picked up the new Interweave Knits. Here are some of my favorite patterns: Placed Cable Aran, Tilted Duster, Luna Dress. There are several others I like as well! Now, where I'm going to get the time to make anything is the question!



Here is a pic of the kimono sweater, minus buttons. I'm now almost finished with the Oz vest. I just need to do the edging, but that involves picking up stitches and I'm really not in the mood right now. Hopefully I'll finish it within the next couple of days.