Happy New Year!

I decided I needed to post today, the last day of the year. I've put off posting because I have no pictures to share. I have no pictures because we left our camera at Mom and Dad's house on Christmas Day and I haven't made it back there to pick it up. I'll probably go tomorrow to pick it up, but in the meantime:

We almost finished the secret gift. It was a green granny square afghan for my parents-in-law that Andy and I both worked on, making the squares and seaming them together. I got one round of border done before we went over there for Christmas celebrations on Saturday, and we gave it to them like that, promising it would be finished soon.

This was the first Christmas Rose really understood about presents and she was quite excited that the one gift she had been hoping for was under the tree. "I got my Christmas Wish!" she said. Jamie didn't care about presents, much, but stared and stared at the lights and the shiny paper.

I've been cleaning the house one baby step at a time all week, and it should be ready for Rose's birthday on Saturday. I'm not sure I'm ready for her to be four. She won't be a baby anymore, for real. At least at 3 I could pretend she's still a little one. Four means she'll be a girl. Sigh.

I hope everyone has a fantastic night doing whatever you like -- staying in or going out. Please be safe, and please have a wonderful New Year!

7 Quick Takes

I finished a Christmas gift this morning.

***

I finished this a few weeks ago. Can you guess what it is? Is it a Batty Bat?

Nope, it's a cute little hat!

Unfortunately, everytime I've put it on him, it's made his eczema flare up. :( Maybe his skin will clear up by next winter, and he can wear it then. There's certainly enough room for growth.

***

It's a snow day today. I love being married to a teacher. We're supposed to go carolling downtown tonight, but if things don't clear up, well, I wouldn't complain if we got to have a night at home.

***

Rose had her very first Christmas program last night.

Her class did great! They recited a little piece about Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay, and then they sang a song about Santa.

***

Some geek jokes:

How can you tell that a mathematician is an extrovert? When he talks to you, he looks at your shoes and not his own.

A neutron walks into a bar and asks the bartender, “How much for a martini?” The bartender says, “For you? No charge.”

If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate.

***

I've been feeling very nostalgic lately. I don't know if it's the season, or if it's because I've reconnected with some good friends on Facebook that I never thought I'd be able to find again, but I've been thinking a lot about how I used to be, how my life was, and how my life has turned out. It's a strange sensation, not unpleasant, but strange.

***

I always seem to forget in December that there's another month and more activities to follow after the holidays. In the past it hasn't been such a big deal. But Rose's birthday is on January 3, and having the family over is something that I don't like to throw together at the last minute. Somehow this year I have to start getting ready for that sooner.

Green things

I am currently working on four green projects. It wasn't on purpose; it just happened that way. The Charade socks are green.

This gift project is green (Ravelry link -- I'm pretty sure the recipient doesn't read this blog, but just in case, I'm not posting a pic -- I know she's not on Ravelry).

This little hat is greenish.
I know it doesn't look like a hat, but trust me. It's a clever little design.



This wristwarmer is green.
Also a gift, but not a surprise. They're for my sister, who specifically requested the pair and picked out the pattern. I'm also going to have to make her try on the first one. It might be too big.


The yarn I have set aside for my next sweater is also green. I hope that gets me over this green kick so I can move on to some other colors.


So, four green projects and the Tangled Yoke cardi. That's two more projects than I usually like to have on the needles at once. I guess I better get off the computer and get knitting!

This 'n' that, part III

One of my favorite bloggers occasionally has posts entitled "7 Quick Takes," and basically lists things that are on her mind as an exercise to post even when she doesn't feel she has material for a longer post. She's a brilliant writer, and her longer essays can be very thought-provoking or very funny, and often they are both. But I love her Quick Takes, and thought I'd borrow the idea for today.

Then I realized that I'd done it before, and called it "This 'n' that." Well, no wonder I liked the idea so much. So, while not as entertaining or well-written as Jen's, here's today's "This 'n' that."

...
I bought a new cordless phone yesterday. The old one had had it's battery replaced several times and the current battery (bought quite recently) was just not holding its charge for more than, oh, two minutes. It was a great source of exercise since when it would ring, I'd try in vain to press the answer button as the display flashed LOW BATTERY, drop it and dash up the stairs to the corded phone and, usually, miss the call. This happened at least four times a day. So the new one has charged for the recommended 20 hours and is all hooked in... and I'm sitting here waiting like a loser for someone to call me so I can try out my new phone. Why don't I call someone, you ask? Because I want to hear it ring!
...
Jamie has eczema and I feel so bad for the little guy, partly because of the itching, and partly because it took three visits to the doctor to nail down what the rash is. Poor little dude.
...
I am having a crazy busy week, but I think I've gotten done all the little tasks that I can get done at home. Everything else has to be done at church or school. Tomorrow happens to be the zenith (or nadir, if you will) of the activity -- a funeral, rehearsal with the school choir, and a harp gig all within 5 hours -- and guess what else? The moon will also be full. I'll be so glad when it's Friday night and Rachel and I are chowing down on Indian food.
...
I've been on Facebook for about a month now and I still am a little perplexed by it. I enjoy keeping up with my old friends, but I just don't understand a lot of the other things that go on in that site. I like the games, though.
...
I've been sneezing my head off today. I hope it's just allergies, as in addition to the funeral and harp gig, there's school Mass Friday and a wedding, too. I told you, crazy week.
...
Rose starts gymnastics tonight. I hope it helps her to become less clumsy than her mother.

Halloween and more

Halloween pictures!
Rose as Annie from "Little Einsteins."
The actual Annie from "Little Einsteins." Pretty close, yes? I only wish we had been able to find pink high-tops for her. Also, it was so warm on Halloween that she could have worn a short-sleeved t-shirt like Annie.
Jamie was a little vampire.
Or, as Rose kept saying, "bamfire."

Then Lena came over to play the next day.

Yay for autumn!

Cheese!

The Tangled Yoke cardigan is coming along really well, considering I can really only work two rows a day. Jo, I do like the grey. It really is a nice color. And to answer your other question, I'm knitting the 38" size, but because of gauge differences, it's going to end up being 40"(that is, if I did my math right!), which will be perfect for me. The socks on the other hand, ugh. I'm not loving the yarn and pattern together. The only thing that's keeping me going is I really like the end result. I like it enough to consider keeping them for myself, if only the recipient's feet weren't an inch longer than mine.

Tangled Yoke Cardigan

It's the Tangled Yoke Cardigan from Interweave Knits Fall '07. I've been dying to knit this one since I saw it a year ago, and it's finally on the needles. I bought the yarn -- Silky Wool -- on sale (40% off, not too shabby), so the color choices were limited. I thought grey would be a good neutral and go with a lot of my clothes, but looking over the project gallery on Ravelry, I was just drooling over the reds and roses and greens that others had used for this sweater. *sigh* Oh, well. Guess I'll have to knit a red sweater soon! ;D

Mosaic

I've been wanting to do this project since I saw Jo's in July. I tried a few weeks ago, but one of the photographers had restrictions on his/her photos and so the mosaic had one empty box in it, and I had to start all over again but couldn't find the time. Well, now that Jamie's napping more reliably, I thought I'd give it another go.


Here’s how you do it:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page, pick an image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.


These are the questions, and my answers (and commentary):
1. What is your first name? Kim
2. What is your favorite food? Sushi (this was a hard one -- how do you pick one favorite food?)
3. What high school did you go to? Theodore Roosevelt
4. What is your favorite color? Blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Connor Trinneer
6. Favorite drink? Coffee
7. Dream vacation? Ireland (Also hard. There are so many places I want to go.)
8. Favorite dessert? Hazelnut mousse (from Richter's Chalet in Dearborn, yum!)
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Content
10. What do you love most in life? Cats (again, seriously? It could have easily been music, yarn, books...)
11. One Word to describe you. Competent
12. Your flickr name. Nualacat (I had to cheat and enter Nuala cat as two words because I got no results for my user name as it is.)

It's got to get better

Just a note, added later: Upon rereading this post, I'm noticing that it's very "me, me, me" -- especially the parts about the funeral. I just want to mention that the family was very gracious when I spoke with them and apologized (profusely) afterward.


So I've had a hacking cough for a few days now, enough to be annoying during the day and keep me awake at night (as if having Jamie in the house wasn't enough).

Yesterday I started to lose my voice after playing and singing (and coughing through) weekly Mass with the parochial school kids and a funeral immediately after.

There's a hole in the knee of my favorite jeans.

This morning I had to play another funeral at a neighboring parish. I thought it was at 11:00. When I got there at 10:20, the priest was already singing the Gospel Acclamation. Without accompaniment. Because the organist (me!) was late. Because the funeral apparently started at 10:00.

I dashed up the stairs to the choir loft and proceeded to announce my presence by dropping a hymnal on the keyboard as I was frantically trying to set up for the next song. I am not kidding. I dropped a freaking hymnal on the freaking keyboard. Can you imagine the lovely sound that reverberated through the nave? It's a good thing Fr. Mike likes me.

I croaked my way through the rest of the service, and redeemed myself fairly well until ... well, let's see if I can explain what happened next. I was to play a lovely song called "Eye Has Not Seen." The accompaniment books at this other church do not have the full organ arrangements, they only have the melody and chords. But "Eye Has Not Seen" has a beautiful introduction, and I've played it enough that I know it by heart. So I started playing the intro, then realized that I was not playing the intro to "Eye Has Not Seen," I was playing the intro to a completely different song, and not only that, but this completely different song was in a completely different key than "Eye Has Not Seen." So it went kinda like this: play play play play (me: oh, this is great, I'm so glad I'm remembering this beautiful introduction) play play play play, start singing (me: oh crap, this song is in two sharps, why am I playing in three flats, oh NO that was the intro to "We Have Been Told" guess I better just start playing the right song) complete tonal shift play sing play sing. What a train wreck.

Then I grafted the toe of my first Charade sock knit purl knit purl instead of knit purl purl knit so instead of a lovely invisible seam, it's got a row of purl bumps across the toe. I could scream.

But this morning Jamie laughed out loud for the first time, and hearing that after a sleepless night was like a tonic, and hearing it again this evening before his bedtime routine got started made the whole day go away.

It sounds like I'm complaining and I'm really not. The day just got to a point where it was just ridiculous how wrong things were going. I just had to laugh and list them all down because it truly was unreal. I'm grateful for these little problems, especially when I realize that if a few sleepless nights and embarrassing moments are all I have to worry about right now, then I am truly blessed.

Some cute kids

If I do say so myself...

Done and done

So I finished both the Garter Mitts and the Chevron Scarf last week, Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, respectively. It took all weekend to get the pictures taken, and then this long to have a half an hour to myself at the computer. I'm disappointed by the color in this photo; it's not quite accurate. The photos in my last post show the purply-greeny-bluey blend a lot better.

They're lovely, mooshy, smooshy, comfy mitts and I can't wait until it's cool enough to wear them. Actually, I could have used them last night!

I did have to frog the scarf back a bit to finish up the mitts, but it still ended up being 70 inches long. The pattern called for a 77 1/2 inch scarf. I think it's quite long enough, though.

It really blocked out well. I love the changing waves of color. This pattern was an absolute pleasure to knit, especially in the current state of my life. It was just interesting enough to keep me coming back to it, but mindless enough so that I could set it down at anytime and come back to it at anytime. I could have kept knitting this for a while, which is really saying something for a scarf made from fingering weight yarn.

It's likely I'd use this pattern again; I liked knitting it that much.

So I've started swatching for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan -- so excited! And still slogging along on the Charade socks, sigh.

Hey, Happy October! I love the Fall!

One of my WIPs

So here's the half-done first Garter Mitt. The project is similar to Ann Budd's wristwarmers from Weekend Knitting in the sideways construction with short rows, but Ysolda Teague adds an ingeniously constructed thumb. The pattern is written for sport weight yarn, but I wanted to use Jo's handspun so they would be in the same yarn as my scarf. The yarn is fingering weight, so I doubled it and I was getting pretty close to the pattern's gauge, but the resulting fabric was too dense, and using up the yarn too fast.

So I went up two needle sizes and the fabric was much nicer -- still firm enough to keep out wind and precipitation, but drapey enough to be comfortable. Unfortunately, the stitch count was now off, which I expected, but I didn't adjust for it enough (hand was too short, wrist/arm was too long). Frog! So the third time I was very careful and, except for having to tink and reknit the thumb a couple of times, it's worked out much better.

Have I mentioned how yummy this yarn is? The colors are so rich and deep, and the garter stitch makes it feel even smooshier and lovlier.

I've taken a break from the scarf to knit these up, since I don't know how much yarn I'll need. If I run out before the pair is finished, I'll rip back the scarf a little. It's plenty long already, so loosing a few inches won't hurt it.

I'm so glad the weather is cooling off and it will soon be time to wrap myself in wooly goodness!

Quote of the week, from Rose. She said to me yesterday morning, "It's Fall now!" I said, "Yes, Fall is coming soon." "No," she said, "Fall is when the children go back to school, and I'm going back to school today [after the weekend], so it's Fall today." :) According to Rose logic, we'll have Fall once a week until June.

Fall Startitis

It got cool for a couple of days and I got a pretty bad case (for me) of Startitis.

To wit:

One pair of Christine's Baby Booties for Jamie's baptism (nearly finished).

Mom made my nephew Noah's baptism outfit, and now Jamie is going to wear it. She told me she couldn't find the bonnet or booties, though. Luckily, we were gifted with a hanky bonnet, and, well, booties are never a problem for a crazy knitter! I love the pair Jo sent me so much I used the same pattern with some white yarn I had left over from Jamie's sweater.

I also started a pair of Garter Mitts. No photo since I've started over about four times to make various adjustments for gauge. Also since it's been raining and the light is lousy for picture taking anyway. I think I've finally figured out what needles and stitch count are going to work for the yarn I'm using, so there should be a photo or two in the next post.

I also bought enough yarn (and then some) for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan from IK Fall 2007.

Rachel and I attended Ewe-Nique Knits annual Fall sale and I promised myself I'd only buy yarn if I had an actual project in mind for it. I've known that I needed to knit this sweater since I first saw it a year ago, but I was waiting to start until I was wearing pre-pregnancy clothes again. Then to find all this Silky Wool on sale! The only thing keeping me from casting on is I have four projects on the needles, which is one more than I normally like to have. I can't wait (but I'm going to)!

My Big Girl

Rose started preschool yesterday.

She was so excited. We'd visited many times (the preschool is in the same building as our church offices) and she never wanted to leave after we peeked in. Finally, she was there to stay for the whole morning!

When we went in, her teacher asked if she'd like to paint. Boy howdy, you'd have thought she offered her a million chocolate chip cookies.



My last words to Rose as I left: "'Bye, baby. I love you."

Her last words to me? "'Bye, mommy. Have fun." No tears, no hesitation, no glance back, nothing. She was too busy painting.


When Andy and I went to take her home at noon, she didn't want to leave. After we had lunch, she was ready to go back. We had to tell her she had to wait until the next morning. I think she had a good time.

Oh my goodness

Two weird yarn-related items:

#1 The Bizarre Case of the Exploding Knitting Needle Old news, but who ever said I was on top of current events?

#2 Crocheted Mythbusters I can think of no better reason than this to pick up my crochet hook again. :D

And look, I've made it past the heel of my first Charade!

I may yet finish this pair of socks this year.

Hot fun in the Summertime

We've had some August fun in the sprinkler. Last summer Rose wasn't so sure that standing in the spraying water and getting wet was a great idea, but now she loves it.

She and I had a great time acting silly in the sprinkler. We ran around and jumped over it and had lots of fun until I landed on it after a jump. I wasn't hurt, but I cracked the base of the sprinkler. Whoops! At least it still works.

Then I had to wrap her up like a little baby ('cause she is still my baby!).

In the last couple of weeks, Jamie has really become a baby, rather than a newborn. He's started smiling, and he's gotten very interested in the world around him.

He just gets cuter every day. Sleeping is slowly getting better -- his longest stretch of sleep is at night, around 5 or 6 hours, and it's pretty easy to get him to go back down after a late night nursing session. So Andy and I are finally starting to feel more human. In the daytime he's still not so much with the sleeping alone thing, but I'm not worrying about that yet. We'll get the nighttime going well, then worry about the day.

So the blog is two years old! It's funny -- at the beginning, I thought it would be great for keeping track of progress and projects. Now I use Ravelry for more of that and I'm finding that blogging is becoming more and more about journaling and making friends. There was a point I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep it up, but I miss it when I don't get to do it, and I'm always thinking, "That would be great for the blog." I'm glad I'm here.

So, the first picture I ever posted:

Rose riding the train at Greenfield Village.

Here she is, just this past month, drawing Red the Fire Engine. My, how time flies.

A post about nothing much

Okay, first of all, I realize I did not spell the plural of "scarf" properly in the title of the last post. I feel I must apologize to my fourth grade teacher and offer a correction: "Two Scarves." Sorry. :P

But the big news is that Andy has been back at work for two days and I haven't completely lost my mind trying to wrangle both children through nursing and meal times and playing and crying and (scariest of all) putting each down for naps by myself, especially when little Jamie still hasn't quite gotten the hang of falling asleep on his own.

All is well right now -- each is actually asleep in their own place, and I hardly know what to do with myself. I'm not sure how long Jamie will make it, but I'm trying to just enjoy this alone time while it lasts.

I've had about eleven brilliant ideas for blog posts over the last week. An idea will pop into my head, and I'll tell myself to blog about it, then forget it as soon as I get near the computer. Isn't sleep deprivation wonderful? I guess I could jot myself notes, but that would mean I'd need a hand free, and that hasn't happened much lately. :)

So I'm praying Jamie's new trend of actually sleeping in his crib for more than 12 minutes at a time continues. Right now I'm going to stop talking and start knitting!

Two scarfs

My dear Andrew has taken both of our children to his parents' house and given me a morning off. I spent it paying bills and writing thank you cards while listening to loud music. I know there were about a billion more fun things I could have done, but I really feel better for having taken care of those tasks. Now I'm making my monthy blog post. I don't want my posts to be this far apart, but I'm afraid that for the time being, it's just got to be that way.

Here is the Chevron Scarf again, now halfway complete. I love Jo's yarn, love the feel, love the colors, love everything about it. And the pattern is so easy that I can work a row or two here and there and put it down when Jamie fusses or Rose wants to play.

I was thinking about the first scarf I knit, which, stereotypically, was my first project. The yarn was a skein of jewel-toned acrylic. Just one skein. I knitted it up in seed stitch on needles that were probably two sizes too small for the yarn (they were all I had), so I ended up with this very dense, cardboard-like, too short scarf. I gave it to my mother, who praised me sincerely then proceeded to never wear it. Not that I blame her; she probably couldn't make it bend around her neck! Fortunately or not, I have no photo of that poor project.

What a far cry this beautiful, wooly, soft, drapey scarf is from that first one! I'm not giving it to Mom, though, this one's for me!

Jamie's booties

When Jo mailed me the yarn I had bought from her Etsy shop, she also included some surprises: a sweet card of congratulations on Jamie's arrival, a coloring book and markers for Rose, and these adorable baby booties! I know this is not the greatest photo, but you can see them better here.

I'm typing this one-handed because someone just won't settle down unless he's in his mama's arms. :) So it's another brief post, but I couldn't go another day without showing Jo how the booties look on his little bitty feet!

Briefly

I'm stealing a few moments for a family and knitting update. Sleep has been much more valuable to me than computer and knitting time lately, but I've managed to get in a few stitches and a little browsing here and there. I need the escape and reminder of "normal" life.


This is one of my two current projects:

The Chevron Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, knitted up in a beautiful yarn I bought from my friend Jo at her Etsy shop. The colors are blending so subtly and gorgeously together. I'm also knitting the Charade socks, but it's a slow go. I'm only halfway down the leg of the first sock and I've been working on it for more than a month now. Usually I'm done with an entire pair in a month. Of course, I've had other stuff going on, haven't I?

My dear Andrew and our son. As the days go by, Jamie looks more and more like his Daddy. Andy says "poor thing" every time I say that, but I think Andy's pretty cute, so of course I think Jamie's a living doll.

An early arrival

Our family would like to welcome Jamie. He was due the 13th of July, but born last Monday, June 30 at 8:30 am.
He weighed 6 lbs, 1 oz, and measured 18 1/2 inches.
We are glad he's here, even though we weren't quite ready.

More soon.

For fun and profit

Friends of ours from church were cleaning out the home of a recently deceased parent and found an amazing collection of needlework magazines from the 1950s. Knowing my, ah, interest in knitting as well as the affection my husband and I both have for vintage items, they knew exactly who to give this treasure to.




Just a small sampling:


"The Workbasket," from May 1952, featuring patterns for a crochet doily and a "shoulderette."




















Another issue, dated August 1954, with patterns for booties and knit edging among other articles. I love how pleased the model seems with her lace collar.






















The third one I scanned is from September 1956. I really like the rug on the cover. Another project from this issue is a "TV scarf," which is a runner to place over your television. I'm not sure how that would fly today.

Looking through these has been so much fun. One thing that struck me was the emphasis on "fun and profit" in both the articles and the advertisements. Here's a small sampling:

• "Earn extra money making artificial flowers at home! In spare time!"
• "Turn cooking talent into cash at home!"
• "Make big money at home -- Be an invisible reweaver"
• "Ladies! If you have spare or full time you'd like to turn into money, here is a wonderful new idea. Show latest dress styles to friends and neighbors and take the fast orders they will give you ... "
• "I'll pay you to 'give away' nylons at 49 cents!"

There's more to share, but I'm getting tired again. :-)

If I get more time to scan more covers or some of the articles or ads, I will. With at least thirty magazines, there's a lot to share here.

Just don't feel like blogging

But I finished a little sweater last night, and I think I like it very much.


It's for Peanut, knit in a 6 month size (I hope). It's not blue because the baby is a boy -- we don't know that yet, and we don't want to -- it's blue because a) my favorite color is blue, b) I feel blue looks beautiful on a boy or a girl, and c) the other colors I noticed in this yarn were lime green and coral and other tropical colors, which I also like a lot, but not for Norwegian-style colorwork.

Wow, how was that for a run-on sentence?

The yarn is Schoeller + Stahl Baby Micro, a superwash wool and microfiber blend. It's fingering weight and very, very soft. I really loved knitting with it and I'm almost -- almost -- tempted to make myself something with it, except I just can't imagine knitting an adult sized sweater at 7 stitches to the inch.

I bought it at a new yarn store in Wyandotte. Yes, a yarn store here in my own town! I didn't have to drive 30 minutes to buy a #3 16" circular needle when I needed it, I just headed downtown and had it in my hand! The store is fairly small and the selection is still limited to mostly basic "workhorse" yarns (and sock yarn, yay!), but the owner is very friendly and open to requests from her customers. She's getting more yarns in this August (one is a camel/merino blend, yum!), so here's to hoping the shop will keep growing.

In the meantime, I'm getting bigger and tireder, and haven't felt much like blogging. Andy's home for summer vacation now; that is such a blessing. We have 3-4 weeks to get the baby's room done. I hope it happens sooner than later.

A little meme

This meme is courtesy of my friend Jo. I'm quite grateful since I needed some blog fodder. (My life is very good lately, but very boring!)

1. What I was doing 10 years ago:
I was 25, living in a little house with two kittens, working at Bon Secours Nursing Care Center as a Music Therapist and commuting 50 minutes each way -- boy am I glad I don't have to do that any more. And dating Andrew Kilburn and waiting (somewhat) patiently for him to ask me to marry him!

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Pay bills
Take Rose to the park if it doesn't rain
Go to an OB appointment
Buy a #3 16" circular needle
Attend a surprise retirement dinner

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Peanut butter with apple, Tagalog (Girl Scout) cookies, Combos, candy corn, peanut butter M&Ms

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:
Set up accounts for us and our families to live as comfortably as possible for the rest of our lives; support our parish; buy a building for the local community theatre; go to Disney World every winter; go to Nova Scotia; go everywhere we've always wanted to go.

5. Places I have lived:
Wyandotte
Kalamazoo
Delaware
Caro
Wyandotte

My Winnie-the-Pooh quiz results

Your Score: Kanga

You scored 13 Ego, 14 Anxiety, and 14 Agency!

"I am not Roo," said Piglet loudly. "I am Piglet!"

"Yes, dear, yes," said Kanga soothingly. "And imitating Piglet's voice too! So clever of him," she went on, as she took a large bar of yellow soap out of the cupboard. "What will he be doing next"

"Can't you see?" shouted Piglet "Haven't you got eyes? Look at me!"

"I am looking, Roo, dear," said Kanga rather severely. "And you know what I told you yesterday about making faces. If you go on making faces like Piglet's, you will grow up to look like Piglet -- and then think how sorry you will be. Now then, into the bath, and don't let me have to speak to you about it again."

You scored as Kanga!

ABOUT KANGA: Kanga is Roo's mother and Tigger's foster mother. While she is a kind and motherly sort of person, the other inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood suspect that underneath, she is a Fierce Animal. Her hobbies involve talking about Roo's health and development, watching Roo while he practices jumping, and making Roo and Tigger take their strengthening medicine.

WHAT THIS SAYS ABOUT YOU: You are the kind of person who takes on other people's worries. You are efficient and a person of action - the type of person who Gets Things Done. Your friends tend to rely on you to get them moving and keep things running.

The problem is that you tend to forget about yourself in all of this. You need to remember that you are an important and worthwhile person, and sometimes it is okay to say "no" to people's constant requests and demands. Give yourself some time off.

Link: The Deep and Meaningful Winnie-The-Pooh Character Test written by wolfcaroling on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(wolfcaroling)

Peanut's blanket

We've taken to calling the little one on the way "Peanut." We haven't found out the sex of the baby and we don't want to know until the birth. We did it that way with Rose and it was a lot a fun to hear the doctor say, "It's a girl!" So even though we have a name chosen for a boy and for a girl, since we don't know who's coming, its name is Peanut. Rose loves this, and talks to my belly all the time.

The other day the conversation went something like this.
Rose: "Peanut, when you come out, we'll go to the park and swing on the swings."
Me: "Peanut will love that, but at first he [note: I choose a pronoun at random when talking about the baby to Rose. I hope it doesn't mess her up.] won't be big enough to ride the swing.
Rose: "Oh."
Me: "But I know Peanut would love to watch while you ride the swing."
Rose: "Okay. Peanut, you can sit on the bench and watch me swing."
Me (trying not to laugh): "Well, he might not be able to sit on the bench, either. Maybe Peanut can sit in your stroller and watch you."
Rose: "My stroller?"
Me (thinking "uh-oh"): "Yes, you're so big you almost never need to ride in the stroller anymore. So maybe Peanut can use it when we go to the park."
Rose (thinking for a moment): "Okay, Peanut, I guess I can share my stroller with you."
Whew!

So I've started this Moderne Baby Blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting and it's going pretty well.

I decided to use a heavy worsted weight yarn to help all that garter stitch go faster, and bought some cotton from Blue Sky Alpacas in these great warm shades. I did a little math to figure out what number of stitches would give me color blocks in the same dimensions as the original DK weight blanket. Well, my math was just a teensy bit off, because I'm only halfway through this blanket and it already measures 30" by 34" -- the pattern says the finished blanket should measure 28" by 38"! Whoops!

I don't care; I like big blankets, and this one will last Peanut for a while. But I did need to get more yarn.

Rose's Lullaby

Rose has lately become very fond of tucking me in at bedtime. I lie in my bed and she "reads" me a story then sings me a song or two. She loves to pull the chain on my bedside lamp to turn it off and tells me "Have a good sleep, Mommy." Then she goes to her room and Daddy reads her a story and sings a song while I sneak out of my bed and go do whatever I was going to do that evening.

Here is a sample of one of her lullabyes:
Rock-a-bye, Mommy,
Don't go away.
(unintelligible)
And Rocket flies away.

Alrighty then...

I'm going to give it a go, and we'll see what happens. I thought to myself, it's 12 1/2 weeks until my due date; I may not be able to do much for a few weeks after that, but I'll try to get back into the swing of blogging until then.

My knitting mojo is definitely back. For a few months there, I didn't even want to see my knitting bag, let alone get anything out of it. But now, let's see...

I've finished this,

in which the zipper is not great, but not absolutely horrible, either;

and this, too:

The Tilted Duster from Interweave Knits, fall 2007. I made it to my pre-pregnancy bust size, so it gapes a bit in front, but I hope it will look nicer after the baby is weaned. Otherwise, I'm very pleased with it.

Then, just for fun (and perhaps for a warmer second cup of tea):

A quick little knit -- a tea cozy in trinity stitch.

There, now. I guess that wasn't so bad. :)

I'm thinking that since I've got Ravelry, more of this blog will end up being daily life and random thoughts. Be warned!