Wee Tiny Sock Swap 2008

I've knitted big socks before but never a wee tiny sock. So when a Sock Swap was announced by yarnmiracle I jumped on board. Sure, I'm a joiner, but the thought of getting a handmade gift from another knitter was exciting and getting a piece of mail that wasn't a bill...hold me back!

So on Friday night I got my person...Pamela from Ohio. I thought about emailing for her color preferences etc...but decided to keep myself and my plans a secret. [insert evil laugh] I chose the theme "think spring" and picked out a nice pink and yellow marbled yarn.

Saturday I finished with the sock. It only took an hour but the results were less than satisfying. Not at all what I had envisioned. So that night I casted on for another. Sunday was a bit busy so I had to wait until after the tot went to bed before finishing. I decided to try a picot edge. Now remind me again why I wait until the worst time possible to try new techniques? Bah..


Anyhoo, the sock turned out really cute. The edge makes the top of the sock look like little petals, working nicely into my theme. I also added some flower seeds and a portland postcard. This was so much fun I already put my name down for another swap....joy.

What a day.

The day began with such promise. B and I sat down and made a list of everything we wanted to get accomplished.

First up was a trip to Fred Meyer (like Mejer's for those midwestern folk). B instantly asked to go to the play area (one hour free daycare). I was surprised. We had never used this service before...but okay. So I did my shopping without a kid in the cart and oh my goodness, why haven't I done this before!

Second on the list was peanut butter cookies.


I seriously think the only reason she wanted to make cookies was to lick the bowl.



Then the library. We usually go every other Sunday right when it opens and every time there is a large group of kids just waiting to get on the computers. Today we went about two hours later so we only waited about five minutes before a computer opened up. Woot woot. B was especially excited to practice her spelling with a cool Spongebob program they had. We checked out our 10 books and went on our way.

So in between these activities laundry and dishes had to be done and dogs walked. We had two items left on our list; music and board game. Just as I was finishing up dinner dishes I hear a "Mom...i did a bad thing!" I rushed to the bathroom in time to stop the toilet water from flooding the bathroom floor. Now what happened next is enough to take away my mommy of the weekend award. I had the water, the mouth of a sailer...all I needed was the eye patch. After an hour of plunging (still clogged...urg) and being asked such questions like, "Mommy, is it fixed yet?" I have declared this weekend over. The remainder of the list will have to wait for a weekday.

Mommy is taking some mental time off.

Seeing Stars

It's been a while since B and I have done an art project so today we busted out the finger paints and glitter and made stars!

First, the finger painting was dainty and polite.


Then the crazy artist came out.


There was more paint on her arms then on the table! Next came the glitter. She is such a huge fan of the glitter!


I will be cleaning this stuff up for weeks, even with the use of the glitter catch box! But the resulting wall bling was worth it.

Life without C

Has it been a week? It feels like a month since C left for Florida. He's been gone at least a week a month since December and I'm ready for him to just be home for a while. A good long while.

I always thought of myself a strong woman who can rise up against impending dust bunny invasions and natural dog disasters, but lately my will to fight the good fight is withering. I see the layer of dog fur on the carpet, frown and walk on. I see the scum on the shower doors and ignore it. I see the art table items dribble onto the floor and well, you get the idea. I fear C will come home into the garbage scene from Star Wars and will need a pole just to push back the junk!

I haven't had much time to knit or do other things when I get home. And I find myself falling asleep along with B at bedtime. So in lieu of knitting pictures here is my Calvary. My little sharp shooter...

Isn't she adorable?

Thank you so much for your condolences.

C leaves tomorrow night for Florida. He'll be back when Linda's estate is settled. It could take a week or two, so we wanted to make the most of this weekend with the kids. We decided to do something FUN!

Alpenrose dairy holds an easter egg hunt every year that has become legendary among Portlanders. Each age group from 3-8 gets their chance to run out onto a baseball field and find little chocolate eggs that were strewn about by the workers.


The smaller kids are fun to watch. They all run out onto the field with the parental units running behind them snapping pictures and giving "advice" on where to go next (i being one of them). C made sure to lay out the best strategies for B beforehand so she didn't need any coaching at all.


The next event was the mom's hunt. Oh My. I wish I could have seen this one from the stands. The lure of free diamond earrings and a sunny day brought out the inner huntress of a LOT of women. Someone jumped the gun. Everyone ran. Eggs were snatched from fingertips just about to touch the shiny colored wrapper. There was carnage, there was mayhem. And no...i didn't win anything. :-(

The final event was R's egg find. He is eight so this was his last year to participate. He scored lots of eggs and had fun. We all had fun.



Here's B cheesing it up with the Easter Bunny.


And the kids hamming it up for the camera. Here's to having lots of happy memories.

A house in mourning.

This afternoon C received word that his mom passed away.

Today is a sad day.

yes we can...

This morning Obama will be talking in Portland. C and B stood in line for tickets for an hour and were a few people short of getting tickets. I was willing to take the kids out of school and daycare to let them witness this event. Democracy at work. The energy of the crowd as the speaker took the stand. I am tired and unhappy with the current administration. I am not a political person, but how can you not be inspired by HOPE.



Whatever your political associations, make your voice heard. VOTE 08

camera's broke and other reasons to avoid blogging

Well it's official. My one year old Sony Cyber-shot has lost it's will to flash me. I tired sweet talking, pleading, begging, demanding, but nothing seemed to work. My trusty friend will still be used on wonderful sunny days. But we live in Oregon, so it's anyone's guess when that may be!

Knitting has been keeping me relatively sane this past week. I am wonderfully delighted to be at the "shaping" part of my wicked sweater. I am starting the shaping earlier then called for in the pattern (no fear baby) and am happy with the progress.

[if my camera had been working i would have inserted a picture of me with a half completed sweater on. Preferably with my head ingeniously cut off on the top and with a much younger, slimmer body...a girl can dream!]

I also have a pair of Cherry Tree Hill socks on my needles. It's always good to have traveling socks handy and they are so very patient sitting in the key basket by the front door.

[Insert, yet again, another toe up sock picture. The wow factor of LOOK MOM I CAN MAKE A SOCK has left so long ago that I would most likely take a picture of it slathered with bubbles in a martini glass!]

I have also started another fun non-knitting project, but I'll wait and save that little jem for later!

To Linda.

Yesterday Linda, C's mother, decided she was ready to go into hospice. When C left Florida last she was on an upswing...but soon things turned south and the pain returned. She was moved into a facility this afternoon. The hardest part is not knowing. Not knowing how to feel, not knowing when she'll pass, not knowing what to do. There is this massive underlying stress in the house and we are all trying our best to live our lives.

I only had the pleasure of meeting Linda once. She came down for Christmas '06. We rented a cabin near Mt. Hood and stayed for an extended weekend. It was fun going rustic; listening to old records and playing board games by the fireplace. Linda is a lady in every sense of the word. Witty, polite, and oh so caring. She embraced B and I like family. I only met Linda once, but I will always remember the amazing women who managed to raise such an amazing son.

I've been had.

B: Moooommmmmm

V: Yeah

B: I went poop in my pants.

V: [trying to remain calm and positive] That's okay sweetie, let's get you cleaned up.

...in the bathroom...

B: See mom [as she points to a big bulge in her pants]

V: u...hugh.

And as I pulled down her pants expecting to see something disguisting, I see socks.

B: [laughing uncontrollably] I GOT YOU!

OMG...I've just been had by a four year old!

Weekend Wool

Let's ignore for a minute the cramps, moodiness and overall blech that underlined this weekend and focus on the wonderful wooliness that came in a package on Friday. That's right, I treated myself to wool and lots of it.

So first up were the skull wristbands from hello yarn, requested from C. I never knew wristbands had purpose, but it seems that musicians can wear them to keep their wrists warm and thus keeping their fingers limber. Who knew.



I've only knitted one so far. This is my first stranded color project. It's a bit rough around the bind off edge. I'll put more thought into the kind of BO that I choose for it's mate. I'm sure once it's blocked it'll look better.

I also knitted a swatch with the new Knit Picks Swish Superwash in Merlot Heather. It's a dark subtle yarn, but it's seriously beautiful under natural light.



I'm going to try Wicked with this yarn. I'm a little nervous. This will be my first ever adult sized sweater project. We'll see...

Full House + 1

Yesterday I received three very special gifts.

One was the return of C from Florida. His mom is doing better. Thanks for all your good vibes! She is out of the ICU (woot woot) and is ready to tackle the next phase of her recovery...PT. C and I were up late last night talking and snuggling. It's so good to have him back!

He recently took some band Polaroid shots... They are thinking of a new name for themselves. Currently they are Neighborhood Incorporated. As you can see I'm not above shameless band promotion on this blog! What can I say, I'm a sucker for number crunching bass guitar rock stars. Oh C...how I adore your dancing chinchilla!


...give me a moment...joy.

The second, was Bean. We will be dog sitting Miss K's baby while she is away. It'll be two months of extra doggy love and we couldn't be more excited. You can see her exploits at our house on her blog...

And the third, I casted on. I have been without a knitting project for three days. I was worried that the thrill was gone; that I was in the middle of a crisis of knit. But I'm not. I just needed a little time to regroup, recharge and focus.

Jaywalker Bust.

Meet the Jaywalker socks that went wrong...terribly wrong.




Pattern: Jaywalker
Yarn: Painted Skeins Superwash Merino Sock Yarn in Afterglow
Needles: 2

The heels turned out so floppy that after I knitted a few more rounds I gave up and binded off. I didn't even have the heart to try to "stage" the picture. One day I'll frog these suckers and make little socks for the munchkin, but until then they will sit in my special pile for misbehaving knits.

So what went wrong? I started the heel too late and the larger of the two gusset patterns that i tried and loved...didn't end up working at all. But honestly, the real issue is that I'm just sick of making socks. I could have ripped back and tried the heel again but my heart wasn't in it.

Perhaps I'm having a crisis of knit. Perhaps I'm just ready to move onto something else. Good thing that I have a package full of yarn being mailed to me as we speak....enough yarn to make a sweater. Yup, my very first adult sized sweater! I too am squealing with delight! JOY!!

With the master away...the dog will play.

I should order myself a T-shirt that says, "Big dogs do it Bigger!".

For those who haven't met, this is Noro. He is a Newfoundland who embodies everything Newf-alicious.

I grew up with a lab mix, so I am used to (what I always thought) were big dogs. Boy was I in for a surprise when I first saw Noro. I'd never seen a dog this big. He was literally the same height as my four year old daughter! Not to mention he had an additional forty pounds he was sportin'! But somehow he found our way into our hearts and into our home.

Well, the honeymoon is over. Don't get me wrong. I love Noro. But having a 160 lb dog has unique challenges. He's a big dog therefore anything destructive that happens when normal dogs are left to their own devices are more tragic with this one.

So far numerous dishes have been broken, carpet has been shredded, a handmade string puppet was decapitated, many feet and hands stepped on, and little bits of hair mixed with drool dried on the ceilings and walls. Not to mention he broke a Grateful Dead dancing bear hand-etched beer glass I made for C. This happened today and yes, I'm still very bitter about this.

....

I can't wait until the alpha dog returns this week. And when he does there will be another dog in the house. That's right. While K is on assignment in Korea for two months, Bean will be here.

But two dogs? For two months? OMG. Let the hijinks begin!