Socks and kids

So I left off last time saying there would be more socks next time. I had some free time this week, since Andy was home for Easter break. I decided to put together some sock kits for myself, in the way that the Yarn Harlot did. Now, I don't intend to knit a pair a month, because I wouldn't get anything else knit that way. But I've matched sock yarn to pattern and now when I'm ready for a fresh pair, the decision making has already been done.

Really what I wanted to show you today are some more recent pictures of the kids. I realized that it's been quite a while since I've written about much else besides knitting, and I just love these kids, so...

Jamie applauds himself after a little piano tune. One of these days I'll get a non-blurry picture of this kid.

Rose in the sunshine.

Rose shows Jamie how to play dollhouse.

I think I'm done updating the look of the blog now. I spent some time yesterday editing a picture of sock yarn on my piano I had taken a couple of years ago and turning it into a banner. I'm really happy with how it turned out, so I think this one is going to be around for a while. I've been using Blogger in draft, and I really like some things about it, but the formatting for new posts is taking some getting used to.

7 Quick Takes Friday, 4/17

1. I haven't been blogging much lately, and that's okay with me. I really curtailed my computer use over Lent and found I had a lot more time for a) knitting, b) caring for my family, c) caring for my home, and d) sleeping. So I feel the trend needs to continue for a little while. I'm cutting back on the blogs I read and not blogging myself as much, so I can be present in my real life.

2. Rose has taken to calling me "Mother" for the last few days. I have no idea where that came from, but it's really cute.

3. We had our family portraits taken this week. Holy cow. I'm still getting over how expensive they are. But we got such cute shots of the kids, I think it was worth it.

4. A phrase I've been hearing a lot on TV and radio has really been bugging me: "really kind of." As in "I was really kind of surprised at his reaction." No. You were either really surprised, or you were kind of surprised. Not both.

5. We're going to Greenfield Village today! First trip of the year -- we're members and we go several times over the season. Can't wait!

6. I actually finished my legwarmers in time for the last (I hope!) cold blast of the lingering winter. They were so cozy and warm!

7. I've been asked by my Godson's mother to knit another Baby Yours in white for his Baptism! Isn't that sweet? I know the photo of the original looks white, but it's really an orange-tinged cream. Plus, Gabriel was such a big boy when he was born that the newborn size is probably already too small. I'm so excited -- off to knit a few more rows!

7 Quick Takes Friday, 2/6

I can't believe it's already Friday again! Time for my 7 Quick Takes -- don't forget to visit Jen at Conversion Diary for hers and the rest.

-1-

Yesterday I taught a song I learned at my grade school to the school choir at the same grade school. That particular layering of memories was a very interesting experience.

-2-

With the encouragement of my friend Jazmyn, I'm trying out Twitter. So far I'm reserving judgement, but I have enjoyed reading "tweets" from fellow bloggers and real life friends. And the idea of "microblogging" is very appealing. Here's my page, if you'd like to read my very random thoughts and what I had for dinner (mushroom ravioli, yum!).

-3-

I wish I could go back in time and make all my usernames the same on all the sites I frequent. Not only so my friends from different sites would recognize from site to site, but also so I would feel more like just one person!

-4-

Andy and Rose are attending a Daddy-Daughter Dance at the school where he teaches tonight. It will be their first, and both are so excited about their "date," they could hardly talk about anything else at dinner last night. It's going to be so sweet.

-5-

However, because of #4, we will have to miss the Annual Alumni Concert at our high school. It's a great tradition. The current choir students present pieces from their repetoire, an alumnus or group of alumni perform, and then at the end, all alumni attending are invited up to the stage to sing two pieces that have been sung for decades by the choir. Andy and I met through the choir, so there's that added level of specialness. We haven't been able to go for the last few years, but I was really hoping to go this year since I've reconnected with a lot of choir friends through Facebook. I just didn't feel like arranging for a babysitter for Jamie just to go by myself. Oh well, maybe next year.

-6-

My little James is sitting up better and better. I know you're not supposed to compare your children, so I won't. I'm just glad he's finally doing it. Look how hard he's working to get at that toy! And here he is, not too schlumped over.
-7-

I get to have some "me" time tomorrow morning with my best friend Rachel. We're going to shop and have lunch together. I can't wait!

An award? For me?

This is from Debbie, a fellow "7 Quick Takes"-er and knitter. I'm honored, really, as I don't feel particularly creative most days, but I will graciously accept it.

Here are the official rules:

1. Copy the award to your site
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers
4. Link to those on your blog
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated
   

And two addenda from me:

1. If you just want to accept and not tag anyone, I have no problem with that.
2. I'm only nominating the crafting blogs I actually comment to and who have commented to me. No "big names" here, just friends. :)

Here are my nominations:

1. Jo from freestylefibre (blog) and limegreenjelly (etsy shop, check it out!). Jo and I "met" through a knitting swap and she is an artist in many media, but particularly dyeing and spinning.
2. Amanda at OldFashionedGirl. I love her escapades into sewing and baking, and am slightly envious of both.
3. My friend Jazmyn. She also has an etsy shop, and is a mad crocheter and jewelry maker!
4. Katherine at FuzzyLove, a fellow Raveler and mom. I enjoy her posts a great deal.

On Resolutions and Goals

I don't usually make New Year Resolutions. If I discover I should be doing something in my life differently, I try to make that change when I notice it, or when it becomes appropriate, not just because the calendar says I need to. For example, I started going to Curves after my O.B. gave me the okay to exercise when James was 6 weeks old. I could have waited until January, with a resolution to "lose weight," but I started in August -- and not to lose weight, but to get healthy and strong.

But even though I don't usually do the whole New Year thing, this year I was thinking about why it's so common for people to fail their resolutions, to lose momentum by February, if not to give up on them altogether. And the best I could come up with is the difference between "resolutions" and "goals." What I mean is something like this --

• Resolution: to lose weight
• Goal: to exercise 3 times a week for 30 minutes
• Resolution: to get organized
• Goal: to spend 15 minutes per day in one room decluttering
• Resolution: to save more money
• Goal: to put away $100 in a savings account each pay

See, resolutions tend to be big, vague, and overwhelming, while goals are small, concrete, and achievable. A person could certainly have a big resolution, but if she doesn't break it down into measureable goals, it's too easy to flounder around and then give up.

For myself, just for fun, I decided at the end of December that my resolution would be "to blog more," with the immediate goal "to post each day in January, except Sundays." Really, I was just curious to see if I could do it. I decided that I would regroup at the end of January to see if I could continue with that goal, or if I should modify it. This is what I learned from this experiment:

• That I could, indeed, post every day (except Sundays) for a month.
• That it was tricky -- okay, not possible -- for me to come up with intereresting posts that often.
• That I enjoy blogging more when I'm not putting myself under pressure to do it.

So for the next month, I'm modifying my goal. I plan to post no less than twice a week for the month of February. That way I'm still accountable to myself to be out there regularly, but I don't have to kill myself coming up with ideas every single day. We'll see what happens this month!

One reason I love the internet

I just read Sarah's review of a parenting book by Dr. Ray Guarendi. The book is called You're a Better Parent Than You Think!: A Guide to Common-sense Parenting. The review was a good one, and very timely, as I'm starting to find myself reacting to some of Rose's behaviors with frustration and anger. She and I are a great deal alike, which I know adds to the frustration. I'm hoping that the book will give me some insights into how I can react appropriately to her, or better yet, be proactive in what I do and say to help her act better. Sarah points out that in the text of the book, Dr. Ray uses the term "good sense" rather than "common sense," which I like very much since it seems common sense isn't really all that common!

Anyway, back to why I love the internet. First, the whole concept of blogging as a means of "regular people" sharing information and opinions. Next, as soon as I had read her post, I went to The Library Network for my area, checked to see if it is available, and it is, at a couple of the libraries. I placed a hold on it, and I'll receive an e-mail in a day or two, as soon as it's been delivered to my local library. All within a matter of minutes! I love the internet.

Fiber Cafe

So, why "Fiber Cafe?"

After Rachel had taught me to knit, and I started to really get into it, I started wishing there was a yarn shop closer to me than downtown Detroit. Now, I love City Knits, and I love Ewe-Nique Knits, up by where Rachel lives, but either way I was going to be in the car for at least an hour getting there and back, not to mention the time spent petting and ogling the yarn. So I spent a lot of time daydreaming about opening a yarn shop in my town. I knew it would never happen, with my non-existent business sense, but it was so fun to imagine "the perfect yarn shop."

First of all, it would be in downtown Wyandotte, because I love our little downtown. Not to mention it would be nearby.

It would be cozy, but not too small. I would carry all my favorite yarns, and have a running "wish list" on the counter so customers could request their favorites, too.

There would be comfy seating, warm lighting, and coffee and tea available around the clock.

I wanted a clever name, and thought "Fiber Cafe" was a cute pun on "Cyber Cafe." Of course, those who knit and those who don't probably have different connotations of fiber. For me, "fiber" = wool or cotton or alpaca, etc. For most of my friends, "fiber" = bran muffins. Come to the Fiber Cafe, have a bran muffin with your coffee! Hee hee.

Anyhow, when Rachel and I started this blog together a couple years ago, we went through a whole list of names, all of which had been taken by other people in Blogger land. The only one which hadn't was the name of my imaginary yarn shop, so we went with that. It was only after we started that I thought to Google "Fiber Cafe," wondering if we had stepped on anyone's toes. I found an alpaca farm, a couple of clubs, and something about fiber optics, but no shops and no other blogs by this name.

The happy ending is that there really is finally a yarn shop here in Wyandotte, yay! It is indeed cozy, there's comfy seating, it's downtown, and while there's not coffee, every Friday night there's a knit night with food for only $5. The name is also a clever one -- "Miles and Miles of Yarn," after the owner, Diana Miles. I'm so glad she's here.

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.

Is anyone still out there?

Dear friends,

I'm guessing that the answer to the above is "probably not." But, just in case, if you are reading this, would you please leave a comment and let me know? I'm feeling much better and have even finished two projects in the last month, but blogging has fallen very far down the list of priorities.

So I'm trying to figure out if I want to resume blogging or just use Ravelry to post progress notes and log finished projects (which is why I started this blog in the first place). What will help me decide is if anyone answers my plea. :) Just a little comment, please.

Thanks,

Kim

One Year

This blog is a year old!


This time last year, Lena and Rose looked like this:

Just babies! Now they are "big girls" and so funny together.

A sample of dialogue from yesterday's visit --

Lena: (holds up a stack of colored wooden disks) "I made a birthday cake! Rose, sing 'Happy Birthday!'"

(both girls sing)

Rose: "That cake smells delicious!"

Lena: "It's a splendid birthday cake!"

At the time of this writing, Rose is supposed to be having a nap. I've already been upstairs three times to remind her of this. The second time was because she had reached through the bars of her crib to turn off the nursery monitor. The third time was because I could hear her jumping on the bed. Now she's up there saying "huevos con papas" over and over again. In different voices. High, low, slow. "Hueeeevoooos con paaapaaaaas." If it weren't so funny, I'd be losing my mind. She's been great with naps all summer; now Andy's gone back to school and it's like she's forgotten how to sleep.

In knitting news, I'd started another pair of toe-up socks and worked the heel too soon, which became obvious when I tried them on after starting the ankle rounds. I know I've got to frog it back, but I don't want to. So I'm at this stupid impasse with myself: I know the sooner I rip the heel out, the sooner I can get back to work on it and make the foot the right length, but I just hate the idea of going backwards. *Sigh* Well, I like to knit, right? I mean, it's my hobby. This just means I'll get to knit more.

Finished in August

These are the all-knit Monkey socks I started before our NYC trip. I borrowed the idea from Rachel at Sticks and Thread, who had borrowed it from someone else. It had occured to me, as I was knitting my first (normal) pair, that the pattern would look great if all the purls were replaced with knits, but her post really convinced me to try it.

Yarn used: Knit Picks Gloss in Cocoa. This yarn feels amazing on the feet. I've worn and washed them a handful of times already, and I am noticing a bit of fuzziness starting to happen where the socks meet the shoes, but nothing awful.

I also decided to use some leftover Lamb's Pride to learn to make mittens.

Not too bad, if I do say so myself.I had originally used this yarn to knit Coronet from Knitty, which I loved to knit and love to wear. Now I have mittens to match. There's even enough left to make a scarf, but I'm not crazy about the idea of a plain stockinette scarf in this heavy worsted, and cables would make it even bulkier. Perhaps a simple lace, I mean as simple as K2tog, YO, etc. for one row and knit the next, and repeat the two rows. Just something to create a loose, drapey fabric.

It's good to be home, and I'm trying to get back on track with the blogging. Here's one vacation pic: the obligatory Rockefeller Plaza shot.

Going for a new look

I'm going to be trying out a few new things here at the Fiber Cafe. Last night I experimented with a new header (that's my Mason-Dixon neverending log cabin baby blanket up there) and soon I'm going to adjust other pieces of the blog. So if the place seems a little different soon, don't worry, it's still me; I'm just playing around with the look.Here's a photo of Nuala to make up for no knitting content. :)

Love,

Kim