knit on my cat

Pack It Up!

I'm packing for vacation. Even though I am now loading up suitcases for a family of three for the first time, you'll be glad to see that my priorities are still in order:

I'll be back in a little over a week!

A Walk with Iris

After dinner during the week, I've been trying to take Iris out for a little walk around our apartment complex. It's a good way for both of us to get a little activity, and provides a nice respite from finding entertainment for a toddler who is getting progressively crankier as the evening goes on.

This probably goes without saying, but taking a walk with a toddler is a completely different experience from the evening time "power walks" I used to take alone. Obviously, they are slower. Also, I notice things I didn't pay much attention to before.

Like how long our shadows are:

How interesting this drain is:

Tiny flowers:

Gravel is fun to take out of potholes:

And stairs are fun to climb...

over...

And over.

Sometime after this picture was taken, there was a tiny tumble from the second stair, so our walk ended a little prematurely. I carried a tired and slightly disgruntled baby home, but she doesn't seem any worse for wear.

Some more pictures I couldn't resist putting in. You can click to make big.

   

I'm so grateful to be sharing these walks with her right now.

Almost Finished

The BSJ is now EBB (everything but buttons).

In other breaking news, last Saturday, Iris had her first (long overdue) haircut.

Before:

After:

(With Kym, our lovely stylist.)

 

She still has plenty of hair... it's just not in her face so much now. So we're both happy. I think it was one of the less traumatizing firsts for both of us, on the whole.

Caddywompus

That is the word that best describes my current WIP, this Baby Surprise Jacket. (Do I really need to put up this Rav link?) Besides that the pattern is sort of that way to begin with, I strongly suspect that all my increases and decreases are not quite perfectly aligned. Fortunately, I think the fingering weight yarn will hide many ills (Dream in Color Starry in Punky Fuschia. I don't think it shows in pictures, but in real life, it has a subtle sparkle. Just right for your baby bling needs!)

Maybe you can see the sparkle in that one. I hate to even post pictures of WIPs around here anymore, because I seldom seem to have a finished object to show off later. I don't want to be a tease! I'm feeling pretty confident about this one. Fun, ingenious, keeps you guessing... all things that keep me engaged in a knitting pattern.

I'm trying to find things to do with my sock yarn stash this summer that aren't socks. Baby stuff, hats, shawls, scarves. This caught my attention yesterday in a big way. It is practically begging for the Malabrigo Sock treatment. I'll take other suggestions of course. I am not going to run out of sock yarn anytime soon!

June is for...

1. Jam!

Last weekend, I picked strawberries and made my first freezer jam. It was super easy to make, and the results are spectacular! I don't think I'll ever go back to store bought. Not when there are so many delicious fruits to experiment with! I am not usually a fan of sugar free jam from the store, but I substituted the sugar for Splenda and it worked fine. There is so much fresh strawberry flavor here, I don't miss the sugar at all. (I used Ball Simple Creations No Cook Fruit Pectin. I don't think you can just go swapping sugar and Splenda willy nilly... it really depends on your pectin. So be careful!)

2. Bread!

 

Because you need homemade bread to go with homemade jam, right? I don't think it gets any better, really.

Of course, June is not just for eating things. More on my summer fiber pursuits coming soon.!

I would like to give a way a jar of jam to a blog reader in the Metro-Louisville area. If you want one, leave me a comment and I'll pick someone at random on 06/12/2009. I wish I could open this little contest up to everyone, but I don't think I can put this stuff in the mail, so you also win my delightful in-person delivery. Yay! (Oh, and if you're interested in making your own, Erin put up this really nice tutorial. I promise you, it is sooooo worth it!)

Thriftin' and Knittin'

Iris had a wee bit of an ear infection last week, so I didn't get much of anything done. I am not complaining! She is 19 months old and this is the first time we've ever had to get a prescription filled for her (Thanks, boobs!) She's feeling much better now, which is good, because we had an action packed three day weekend!

On Saturday, I went thrifting with Allison. I was looking for a coffee table, but instead I came home with a sweater that I hope will fit me in the fall, a housecoat that I plan to recycle into something cute for Iris, and this cute little box for sewing notions (among other things).

 

(You can click to "embiggen" as the Yarn Harlot says.)

That is the cool thing about going to yard sales and thrift stores. Frequently, you don't find what you were looking for... but you find other stuff that makes you just as happy, if not more so!

Iris had a good time roaming the Goodwills and Salvation Armies of Southern Indiana, but she was plumb tuckered out when we got home!

Sunday was mostly a day for moving furniture around and cleaning. Not terribly blog-worthy. But my living room looks a heck of a lot better!

Today, I got to spend four blissful hours sans child at the Knit Nook. I feel like a super productive knitter now. I almost finished the yoke section of the top down cardigan I started for myself on Friday night. (But I couldn't get a good picture, so we'll put that in the "later" pile.) I also almost finished the ribbing section on my Mini Mochi socks!

 

For some reason I can no longer remember, I decided to do a twisted 1x1 rib on the cuff. It looks pretty, but I think it might be the death of me. It is taking FOREVER to make it to two inches. I am not ready to officially declare this ribbing to be at black hole status... but I am close. I will make it. The end of the yellow is nigh. I am primed for green!

When Sinuses Attack

I am feeling cruddy today with allergies and what not, so I am trying to lay low for the day. Which leaves me plenty of time for blogging, for a change.

I still haven't gotten my act together on the buttons for Iris's cardigan, in spite of all my good intentions. But here's a little preview:

Are you excited? I am too... maybe even enough to sew those buttons on today!

I did turn the heel on my Jaywalkers, which went fine, but since then, they have been nothing but trouble. I think I need a private lesson with someone who has actually knit a pair or two so they can show me where I have gone awry with getting the stitch pattern to line up on the instep.

In the meantime, I'm casting on for a pair of socks that will hopefully prove to be less painful.

The yarn is Mini Mochi from Crystal Palace. It is a really unusual sock yarn- a single ply, spun very loosely, but in an 80/20 merino and nylon blend. Theoretically, that should make it a little more durable than say, Noro Sock. I happen to have a "thing" for rainbows so this colorway is right up my alley.

Zoo Day!

I took a day off work today to take Iris to the zoo with Allison and her sister. First we had breakfast at Wild Eggs. (Hands down, the best waffle of my life. So sad I didn't take a picture of it!) Iris colored a picture, which looks like fun.

Pancakes were enjoyed, but did not elicit the level of excitement that crayons did.

At the zoo, Iris rode on a baby elephant. (Well, a statue of a baby elephant anyway.)

We petted goats. (Bonus points for fiber bearing creatures!)

I wanted to bring this guy home, but he wouldn't fit in the stroller.

This tortoise was really booking it across the petting zoo area. Not as slow as previously reported by certain hares....

I think she is ready to leave us and join the gorillas.

I got landed on by a lorikeet! I'm really glad I wasn't wearing anything low cut. It was still a little freaky though!

Please don't tell my mom I let Iris get this close to a snake! Even one safely behind glass!

Some other snazzy reptiles.

We came home happy, but ridiculously exhausted. Iris took this longest nap she has taken since she was about four months old. Theoretically I could have gotten a lot of knitting done while she was asleep, but I needed a rest too! Thanks to Allison and Lori for spending a fun day with us.

 

Happy Mother's Day

I hope you had a happy one, whether you are a mother, love your mother, or are just a fan of mothers in general. (I'll take all three!)

My day mostly involved piecing a quilt destined for Iris.

I'm using couple of charm packs from the Oh My Dog! collection by Lori Gardner. We do not have a dog. I'm not really what you would call a "dog person". (See the name of this blog?) But Iris is really interested in them. Book about dogs, dogs on TV, dogs walking by us in the park... all very exciting for her. (For the non-quilting folk, a charm pack is a little bundle of 5" squares. I think it's the quilting equivalent of a garter stitch scarf.) Even as a not-so-crazy-about-dogs person, I really like the fabric. The palette is really fun, and I love those polka dots!

I also finished up a cardigan that I designed for Iris (everything but ends-weaving and buttons), so there's something blog worthy to look forward to his week. Yay!

Lest you think that I am selflessly throwing myself into projects for her and nothing for me, I'll reassure you that tonight, I have designs on finishing the heel flap on my first Jaywalker (Rav link). (Yes, the one I started over a year ago. Shut up! I'm working on it already!) If my luck holds out, I could have a turned heel before bedtime! I am such a party animal. Happy Mother's Day to me!

Sea Legs

I ended up with a Canon Powershot A590IS.

My old camera was bought at the last minute before a vacation, mostly chosen because it was on clearance. This time, I shopped around a little more and found a camera with a lot of features I like. So far, so good!

Today I realized that if I was going to start blogging again, I was going to have to clean up my little crafting area.

Eek! See how not blogging has made me lazy!?!

Ah, much better. Nothing makes me happy quite like a drawer full of reasonably well organized fat quarters.

Sewing has kind of taken over around here. That pink floral thing laying on my ironing board in the craft station "before" picture is my first skirt, just finished a couple days ago.

I love it, even though it is wrinkly like a mofo after wearing it for even a few minutes. Does anyone know what to do about that? Starch or something maybe?

And just for Holly, and everyone else who has missed seeing Iris around here....

I think she is enjoying having a camera regularly pointed in her face again. It's that whole first/only child thing, you know.