Honesty and Knitting

Yesterday, I forgot to post about the little shrug I made for Scratchy. Here it is. The pattern is called Confection (Rav link). It's really simple and quite versatile. I have made 3 so far and I've yet to tire of it. Shrugs are quite useful around here considering how odd the weather can be. This one is knit in cotton, perfect for spring I think. With a little math I'm sure I can make one big enough for Jess and Lily.

Yarn: Classic Elite, Provence.

Needles: Knit Picks 16" circular 5mm (US 8)

A few days ago somewhere in the Ravelry forums someone posted that they believed every ones house was in order and that she felt people exaggerated the state of the messiness of their houses. So to demonstrate that my house is not always in order I give thee my coffee table as of 10am this morning.

It has looked this way since yesterday afternoon. With the only change being the addition of yarn that I got from my buddies Heather and Carroll, during a de-stash at last night's knitting night.

It took alot of courage for me to post this shot, and I swear that I'm tidying it all up as soon as I post this, but I wanted to reassure that person, that indeed every ones houses are in various states of untidiness at some point. Mine more so than normal. Most of the mess is knitting related, but messy none the less.

Below you see a shot of the as yet unfinished hat for Superman. If you look in the shot above you can see the printed pattern laying on the coffee table. You can also see how small the shrug is.

The picture is driving me bananas. I bet If I hadn't posted it, it wouldn't bother me. Hmn, maybe if I post a picture of my closet, I'll want to clean that up too.

Sorry that shot is so dark, but you get the general idea, right? Alrighty then I'm off to clean up the coffee table. Have a great day.

Allergic

Last night I went to bed. I was not tired (much) and I was definitely not sleepy, but I went to bed none the less. I expected to lay there awake for hours but surprisingly I fell asleep. Dudes I woke up this morning all kinds of shocked! I really couldn't believe I'd slept a whole night. This morning I feel so.....exhausted. Who knew sleeping could take it outta you so much. I feel like I didn't sleep at all. Four cups of coffee later and I still can't stop yawning. I think I've developed an allergy to sleep. Because I'm tired and don't know any eloquent way of moving on I shall do it bluntly. Ahem. Knitting, look. These are the socks I'm working on right now. Just turned the heel. The yarn is from the first round of a yarn swap I took part in last April. It's been marinating int the stash since. It a cotton/wool combo and I love it. It is the first sock yarn I ever owned. This yarn is what started the addiction.

Yarn: Plymouth Sockotta. Needles: KnitPicks DPNs 2.5mm (US1.5)

This is a hat for Superman. He wanted something snug and really warm. So, 100% wool it is! The pattern is called The Boy Hat (rav link). I like how rhythmic it is and the decrease construction is very amusing. This hat would have been finished Monday, but it was too short so I had to rip back and add an inch. It looks better now.

Yarn: Louet Gems Opal. Needles: KnitPicks 16" circulars 4mm (US6)

Finally I give you. The socks that broke my heart and killed my knitting mojo for a good 3 days. See how beautiful they were? I still have high hope for the yarn though. Maybe in a week or so I'll have the heart to use it again. On the left you see the wee little socks for Scratchy. They were quick. The entire pair took about 4 hours. If you re looking for a cheap thrill and and a fast project, make baby socks. You will feel very, very accomplished.

Scratchy's Socks

Yarn: Sirdar country DK. Needles: Boye DPNs 3.25mm (US 3)

Alright,that is it for today better go get more coffee. Have a great day!

I'm here.

So, it's been a while, eh? I apologize for going silent for so long. I have no real reasons or excuses for it. I just haven't been in a very chatty mood. But then again I'd like to direct you to the name of the Blog. The only real explanation I can give you is this: I was lazy, moody, unimaginative, and too busy trying to get out of my funk, oh and also lazy. For those of you who are related to me or happen to live with me then you understand. I have been knitting however. During my silence I knit a pair of socks for Scratchy, 2 dishcloths, 2 dishcloth coasters, a hat and fingerless mitts for Lily, oh and I frogged some socks . There was an odd 3 day period when I had nothing on the needles. Not only was it odd it was downright disturbing. Even Superman was a little disconcerted by the lack of knitting. Ever since I got on this crazy knitting adventure in June of 2007, I've always had something going. But for some odd reason I just didn't for 3 days! It started after I frogged the socks, maybe I was suffering from a broken heart. You see the socks were beautiful, they were my first cables and they were in a gorgeous yarn. Sadly, as I turned the heel of the second sock (shut up!) I came to the harsh realization that.....oh gosh....the pain is still so painful. The dang socks were NOT going to fit me. Some people mentioned that I should give them to someone with smaller feet, but honestly, this was so beyond not happening. The yarn is gorgeous and one of a kind. I am the only owner of the beautiful colourway, there was no chance in hell I was giving it away,None! IT is mine....my preciouuuuusssssss. Where was I? Oh yeah. So I frogged the socks and afterwards I had nothing. At first it was because I couldn't make up my mind as to what I wanted to make(day1). Once I got over that the problem became that I couldn't choose a yarn for the projects that I did want to cast on(day2). On day three I had chosen the yarn (from my stash) but just never managed to cast on. Finally on day four I decided that I just needed to cast something, anything on. So I did, dishcloths. I just grabbed some cotton from waaaay back in the day when I first began knitting. It worked. Once I'd finished the dishcloths I did the only thing that made sense. I cast on 3 different projects. So now I have 3 things going. They're all small and take up only 1 ball of yarn. I'm making a shrug for Scratchy, a hat for Superman and a pair of socks for me. I'm also working on a secret project, but I can't comment on it. Today my goal is to finish the hat and work on the shrug. The socks are really just so that I'm never caught without knitting. I don't care what anyone thinks, that was scary and a wee bit sad. Ok, now that the silence has been 'splained I must go take pictures. Have a great day.

Saturday

Since I didn't blog on Thursday, I would like to bore you with a Saturday edition of my life. I finished my socks-that-weren't-gonna-match-but-ended-up-matching-anyway. My first pair for the first week of the year. Today was cold. So I decided I would make Chicken Soup for dinner. After speaking to my mom I decided to make tortillas by hand. Good thing I thought of this, cause the gurlies were itching for something to do. Here we see them helping out. Lily seems sleepy. My chicken soup contained potatoes, tomatoes, onions and chicken (duh). This potato intrigued me. Here we see the fruit of my gurlies labour. 12 mini-tortillas. We will call them tortilla chips. We'll be rich! Here are mine. I tore them into little bits and put them into my bowl of soup. Mmmmm. Yum!

So there you have it. Saturday with Moody and the Gurlies. Aren't you glad I wrote about it. I bet you wish you had those 5 minutes back now. Too Bad, they are belong to us now!

Day Off

Yesterday Superman finally had a day off. It was glorious, absolutely glorious. We spent the morning at home and just lounging around trying to figure out what we were going to do. Then at noon it hit me, we should go to Discovery Green, it's a new park here in Houston. The weather was just perfect for it too. It was 70F and sunny, with a mild cool wind. I felt like spring. It could have been yesterday for the rest of my life. Wonderful.

We were lucky enough to accidentally stumble into the weekly outdoor market that the Central City Co- Op holds at the park. We bought cherries and the booth woman, Carolyn, gave the gurlies a free apple and pear.

I love this organization and look forward to becoming a regular customer. Carolyn informed me that the co-op has a weekly sale there on Thursdays, but that beginning January 18th the sale is moving to Sundays. Even better, I think. For all my buddies here in Houston please be sure to check out those links. It is a wonderful organization that provides fresh, organic, locally grown produce at really reasonable prices. For all my homies in the WHMU-WHSKAL, there is a person who is opening up a branch of this market here in West Houston, convenient no?

OK I'm done, but please check it out!

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The gurlies had a wonderful time a in the fountain at the park. We weren't prepared for them to play in the water, but given that they didn't get to ice skate, we figured what the hell.

Before jumping in to the fountain they had a great time playing in the kids play area.

I found this picture quite amusing. What with the high rises and all. How metropolitan of us.

Later, I went to KnitNight where we had a gift exchange. Heather, Secret Santa Extraordinaire, gifted me with the most superfantastical presents ever.

Here we see:

Malabrigo Sock yarn(!?)

Koigu Kersti Yarn (my new object d'lust)

Handmade (by her) stitch markers.

A Yarn Clam-How intriguing.

Some Knitterly Stickers.

Not seen: A beyuuutiful Ribbed Keyhole Scarf (which is busy drying)

I'm so grateful and blessed to have such kind and generous friends. Thanks you so much Heather, from the heart of my bottom. :P

Now, an update on the socks (shu-up! you know you wanna know). I'm down to the foot on the second sock. My goal is to finish it tonight. I already have next weeks pair in mind.

Have a great day!

Editted to fix likypoos.

Goals and Cojones!

I haz themz. I have spent the better part of the morning learning something new. In knitting of course. A few days ago I acquired Charlene Schurch's, Sensational Knitted Socks. I had the 2nd book, but my friend Carroll, drove into my mind a deep painful desire for the first one. I have longed for his book for like 3 months now and on Monday, I finally got it. The book has instructions on how to do the Forethought heel. Which is what I have been practicing all morning. I'm so proud of me. I hate trying new things, I used to think it was because I was scared, now I know that the real reason is that I'm Lazy! Hooray for self insight!

Took me 20 years, but I finally figured it out. Now, I'm working on not being lazy. For what's better than figuring out something about yourself than to kill yourself trying to change it. With that I give you;

My forethought afterthought heel! I learned something new and now I quit. Time to go back to my OTN socks.

Ready for the toe decreases.

I think it would have been finished by now, except that well, you know, I, wasn't knitting it. And because I'm high on the self-discovery stuff, I feel the need to cast on a shawl. I've never done full-on lace, mostly cause you know I was skeered (read lazy) to learn to do lace. But now with my new found self-knowledge I really want to. Tomorrow I will be looking into acquiring some lace weight yarn. I'm thinking triangular shawl, top-down, or a lacy stole. Hmn...the possibilities. Are these perhaps the early symptoms of a raging case of Start-itis?. Help me Rhonda!

Success.

Today is a good day, scratch that, today is a FANTASTIC day. Sure it's cold and rainy outside, sure I'll have to bundle Scratchy up and take her into that foul weather today, but you know what, I'm totally OK with it. Totally.

You see today (not yesterday, even though we got up and actually went to the shool only to find out that Today is the first day back.) the oldest two gurlies are at school! Finally. I feel so, so, freeee. I love my gurlies and I love spending time with them, but to be completely honest. I needed a break. Between "mommy lets make_____( cupcakes, cookies, ornaments, a mess)" and "mommieee, she stolled my___ (trash, toy, air,)" I nearly put them in a basket on dropped them off at their grandma's door. To make things even sweeter, Scratchy seems exhausted and is relishing in the lack of eardrum-busting noise. She awoke at 9am, had breakfast and is still napping. I've literally had the day to myself. I've been doing this;

Yarn: LionBrand Magic Stripes , Jelly Bean Stripe(discontinued). Needles: Susan Bates 2.75mm(US2) DPNs.

Unfortunately, this yarn is not cutting it. I'm trying to come to grips with the realization that my socks will not match. The stripe pattern was repeating fine right up until the heel, where for some reason, a whole color skipped and the sequence went bananas after that. I think I'll be ok, but it is irking me. This picture was taken yesterday afternoon and it is further along now, so that's how I know. On a happier note. This came in the mail yesterday. My Ravelry buddy Naomi (JollyPyrate) sent me this nifty calendar as a RAK (random act of kindness). Her very loving family has bombarded her with this calendar. I think she received 6 of them total, and therefore she has been spreading the joy that is the Yarn Harlot. How absolutely fabulous of her. Thank you Naomi! Now, I'm off. Part of my resolution includes de-clutering for about 15 minutes and I have yet to do it. Have a good day! ETA: Porpoise, thanks or the Rockstar comment (I'm Momma-Mom-tana). I sometimes feel the need to close the door and not speak to anyone for 3 hours, but you know, the CPS looks down on those types of shinanigans. Something about "child negelct" or some such.

Knitting?

Yes Please!!

I'm glad that the hustle and bustle of the holidays are over. Cause I was done, done, done. I love the holidays but it seems that every year there is just one more present to buy and one more present to forget to buy. Glad it's over.

So, yesterday Meli came over to pick up a coffee table that no longer fit in my house. She, The Boy and the Mr. Alex ended up staying for dinner and a movie. When she arrived I was in the middle of going through some stitch dictionaries and trying to figure out what my next project would be. She noticed that her long overdue cardigan was lying on the new coffee table and asked to try it on.

Looks good no? Still needs button bands though. I have knit those squack-forsaken button bands once already, but sadly they were full of stupid. They were very unceremoniously ripped. The yarn and I are on a break. I will try again tomorrow when hopefully the yarn ad I will be in a better mood.

A few weeks ago I made Superman a hat but never documented it's existence. Here we see it modeled by The Boy. The Boy is Alex's daddy, he won't admit that Alex is a better bowler than he is.

Superman like this hat alot. I always forget to take a picture of him wearing it though.

Speaking of Superman here is a picture of my spiffy new swift that he got me for Christmas.

I finally remembered to take a picture of it while winding up my new favourite sock yarn.

Colinette Jitterbug, int the Toscana colorway.

This is my reward yarn, I will begin knitting me a new pair of socks as soon as I finish the danged button bands of the long awaited cardigan. It's divided tht way because there was a knot int he skein (ugh!). In the meantime I have started another pair of socks for me. I'll take picture of those tomorrow.

Have a good day.

Happy 2nd day of the new year.

To reward you all for the patience in my lack of posts lately, I hereby promise to blog daily. At least until some or of catastrophe or boatload of stupid is dumped on me. Also, because I like to be as random as possible. I give you a list of stuff I want to discuss but have no way of linking together in an eloquent and coherent way. Ahem...

• I'm still sore from the New Years dancing. I will go out for a walk and I will eat as healthy as I did yesterday, but that's it.
• I want coffee and a doughnut, but I'll settle for the coffee. Lots of coffee.
• Yesterday, Superman went out to rent a movie. Being the most amazing man in the world, he also brought 2 KING size bars of chocolate. I reminded him of my new goal; he said I didn't need it (even though I desperately do) and handed me a bar. When I realized I'd eaten HALF the flipping bar I told him to take it from me. He took it. I regret this now. I think he ate it.
• I have to take Jess to the Dr. again this morning, her wound hasn't healed even though the staple was removed. It isn't bleeding but it has become a big lump and it looks like a massive bloody pimple. TMI, but I know you all worry. Oh and sorry if I ruined any of your meals. Hey at least I didn't post a picture.
• Meli's cardi is finally in the final stages of being finalized. All it needs is button bands. The sad part is; I don't know if I will have enough yarn.
• I reeeally want coffee.
• I want to take a picture of the amazing present that Superman got me. He gave me a swift. (I love him.) But I'm too lazy to set it up, see I cleaned my living room and I don't want to pull stuff out.

I think that's it. Have a good day. Smile. Here's a picture of Miss I'm so cute it hurts. FYI she's 15 months old and is finally* walking. Sad.

*To be totally honest, it pisses me off when people ask why she isn't walking yet. My babies have always walked at around this age and even though all the baby books said they should already be walking, I could care less. No wait, I already do. I think walking is a sign of growing up and if I had it my way these little gurlies would have stayed 9 months old for waaay longer than 9 months. Walking is a lovely and heartbreaking milestone for me. I wont get too much into to it 'cause y'all already know that my kids getting bigger is a bit of tear inducing-uterus cramping-melodramatic episode waiting to happen-topic. In short, she's walking. Are you happy now, look she's walking away, now you go get her!

New Year's Resolution

Every year millions of people do this. Some make a paper and pencil list. Some make a mental list. Others tell other people what their resolutions are and by the second week of the year completely forget or just plain abandon them. I have done them all. I usually manage to keep to least one resolution though. The only 2008 resolution I kept was; to do more for me and not feel guilty about it. I was quite successful at it actually. I'm very proud of this. This year I'm writing my resolutions out here, in public. Thereby making me mindful of what I list. Ready? Here goed it: In no particular order;

1. Follow the Flylady method the way she means it. I have learned alot from this site since I discovered it (in 2002), but I have always failed at executing the plan as it is meant to be. I've already mastered the first step (years ago) but I'd like to do better with the rest of the house.
2. Get rid of at least 1o4 unnecessary items in my house by 2010. I really want to begin leading less materialistic and cluttered life. I want to teach my daughters to live more with less. I think getting rid of 2 things a week make resolution #1 much easier to get done.
3. Get myself a work out buddy. I desperately need to get into a better state of health. I've given up the notion of having my pre-baby body. After 3 kids, it aint gonna happen captain! Rachel, will you be my buddy?
4. Continue to do more things that renew my spirit and my sense of self. Remember that being a Mommy is no reason to forget about me. I need to not only do this for myself but also to teach my daughters that they don't have to sacrifice their happiness for their kids'. Because I firmly believe (as does Superman) that if Momma ain't happy, no one is happy.

That's it 4 things on my list. Simple enough, but challenging enough not to give up on.

What are yours?