Bea Knits

two posts..

2008-06-19T22:05:00.004-04:00

in a week! just popping in to show you guys my progress on Somewhat Cowl, she's so lovely! who knows, maybe i'm just giddy because robby's been sleeping a seven hour stretch from midnight to 7am! and it only took 18 months!
i'm seriously considering whittling down my yarn stash with a stash sale, the two large tupperwares are getting a little ridiculous....

hola!!

2008-06-16T22:03:00.006-04:00

hey everyone, i missed you guys, not a day goes by that i don't think about posting some of my FOs and WIPs, but with a new work schedule, and life just being hectic, it's been hard to find motivation to get a photo shoot together!

lots of exciting things on the knitting front, i finished indigo ripples, i love the skirt, it's really comfy, but it's just a wee bit too big for me.
it was a relatively quick knit, so i may do this one again, and give the skirt to my sis (who is going to harvard for grad school in the fall :( any readers from the boston area?)
this is a skirt i made out of some lovely anna maria horner fabric i got from my local quilt shop, i love the crazy print, and it is a super comfy skirt, especially in this hot weather! my only trouble is i have a hard time trying to figure out what shirt to wear with it.

i've been doing the bulky knits thing, i finished this sweater in three days, i used some rowan big wool i got on sale, at a LYS. i feel kind of "meh" about it, maybe i'll feel differently about it in the winter. I think it's the big open lacy, stitch pattern, it feels strange to me. and i don't like the way the collar fits.
i have caught the chunky knits bug, as a mom to a very active 18 month old, these bulky knits make me feel very productive because i can accomplish so much in an hour or two. i've started this wenlan chia sweater from big city knits, it's more my style than the karate sweater.
it's three strands of cascade 220, and 1 strand of kidsilk haze, it will be a lovely warm sweater, although i may look like a polar bear in it! these chunky knits don't exactly have a slimming effect :D
remember that somewhat cowl from my previous post? the knitting goddess got me good for not gauge swatching, it was too big, so i frogged it and started with cherry. this is definitely a better match.

since i love the somewhat cowl pattern so much, i decided to use the yarn called for in the pattern, and i've already got to the point where i'm knitting the body, i think this will turn out so much better, i love this sweater so much already, and the yarn is so beautiful!
and last but not least, i'm also working on thermal.i've wanted to knit this since the pattern came out, but i didn't find a yarn i liked until i found this punta del sol merino cashmere blend on sale at a LYS. it's really soft, and will make a great winter sweater.

phew! i'm glad to have gotten all those out in the open, i have one more sweater i started, another chunky knit, but i'll save that for later. i've been keeping up with all of you guy's blogs, i'm loving everything i'm seeing, i hope i will have more time to comment and blog myself!

it's a stockinette in the round

2008-04-03T11:33:00.005-04:00

kind of month...

this is indigo ripples from Interweave Spring 2007. Here is the ravelry info page. I'm loving the pattern, it's amazing how quickly, just plain old stockinette goes, compared to cables, lace, fair isle, it's just the kind of knitting I need right now! I'm about halfway through the lace section, I actually think I may have the skirt done in time for warm weather! The yarn is Elann Den-m-Knt, I got it for a steal, I think I paid 30-40 bucks for a whole bag!
This lovely vision in red is Wendy Bernard's Somewhat Cowl. It's taken me over a year to figure out what to do with the seven skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca I scored at my LYS. I think this project is the worthy one, it's relatively quick, I'm almost done with the waist decreasing, and a nice, classy, but not dowdy fitted sweater that will go just as well with jeans or a skirt!I've also updated Robby's blog. So, if you need some cuteness, head on over!

If you like kimchi...

2008-03-28T13:15:00.000-04:00

Hey!

2008-03-09T22:29:00.002-05:00

For some cute baby action, check out Robby's blog at www.robbycubed.blogspot.com, I've updated it with all the funny things he can do this month! If you don't have access, just leave me a comment here, and I'll get you hooked up!

Tangled Yoke is done!!

2008-03-09T14:02:00.004-05:00

I loved working on this sweater, and I love wearing it! It's got some funky areas, especially the buttonband, it kind of pulls when all the buttons are buttoned, but I don't wear cardigans that way, so that's good :) The yarn is already starting to pill, but it's wonderfully soft, light and warm. I used 6 balls of Rowan Cashsoft 4-ply. I really would like a version in the Felted Tweed, I think it would be a nice addition to my closet!

wool rulz

2008-02-11T10:46:00.000-05:00

This is actually the second wool soaker I've knit, this is the leggings pattern from the Opinionated Knitter.It works SO well, and they are nice and cozy for winter. I made them out of Cascade 220, 1 skein, using size 4 needles. It's a quick project, and EZ really knew what she was doing with this pattern, the high waist is perfect for cloth diaper bottoms. Check out Robby WALKING in them on www.robbycubed.blogspot.com. If you can't access it, leave me a comment and I'll set you up!

Here is a progress shot on Tangled Yoke, I'm so close to being done, I just need to do the neckband, and the buttonband, and block of course.

i heart tangled yoke

2008-01-27T13:59:00.000-05:00

..what's that? you want another picture? ooookkkk.

late nights...

2008-01-15T21:45:00.000-05:00

I'm starting my first Baby Surprise Jacket for a new addition to our clan (not me). It's done in Blue Sky Cotton, a chocolate brown and pink.This is a bobbin full of the brown BFL, I started spindle spinning a long time ago.
I'm having such a fun time with my new wheel, I stayed up till 1am one morning, not a good thing when your little one gets up at 6am and still doesn't sleep through the night :P No matter, I'll catch up on my sleep in 7-10 years!

A new baby...

2008-01-08T12:28:00.000-05:00

Not the people kind of baby, but a neglected Jensen Tina II (my guess from pictures online), that I got for FREE from my good friend at my most favorite LYS. I'm going to use it until I get a wheel of my very own someday, isn't she lovely? Tina's got all her parts, she just needs a proper drive band, and a good dusting. I'm getting the hang of spinning, after this picture was taken, I got into a groove and spun some decent stuff, I can say that spindling really helped because I knew how to draft consistently.

And then Robby woke up from his nap!

uhhhhhh...

2008-01-04T22:53:00.000-05:00

We've been struck down with yucky sickness, as my hubby said earlier today "my throat feels like I've swallowed hot toxic sand." Robby is feeling fine, I'm just doing my best to nurse this cold and keep him from licking shoe soles and eating day old pancetta bits that have fallen on the floor.

You guys are so nice, sticking with me so far, and for your patience, I've got some goodies to show you. After some discussion and three failed sleeves on the Adult Tomten, I'm giving up on it, and making myself a Demi from Vintage Knits. I'm using the Beaverslide Fisherman Weight. It's bobble-licious.This is the Tangled Yoke, I've got the body done up to the armholes and am now working on the first sleeve. I'm using Rowan Cashsoft 4-ply.
Christmas came and went in a blur, I made lots of knitted gifts, and stayed up many late nights, I made three Gretel's, a pattern from Ysolda, and a pair of fingerless mitts for the husband. I've also started on a Noro scarf for my cousin, I know it's a very belated Christmas gift, but that's ok.

Check out Robby's blog at www.robbycubed.blogspot.com (sorry for the lack of linkage, blogspot is doing something funky). If you don't have the super secret password, just leave me a comment!

Oh one more thing...

2007-11-29T22:14:00.000-05:00

quickie baby hat, done with Blizzard Chunky, I think?

Size 9 DPNs

Knit 2x2 ribbing then worked till I deemed it was big enough for Robby's cranium then decreased then bound off. Only took a few days spread out over a month!

'Ello

2007-11-28T11:17:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been really hard to find time to blog these days, but I've got lots of goodies to show you! First, I finished a sweater last night, I still need to block and weave in the ends, it's Wicked by the Zephyr gals. I started about two months ago, and it's a real quick knit, I used Classic Elite Inca Alpaca, on size 7's and switched to size 5's after the bust shaping.Please excuse the dirty mirror :P Next is the Gryffindor scarf for my nephew Ethan, I still have a few feet to go, but it's a pretty quick knit, I'm using size 9's and Plymouth Encore Worsted.I also finished a Koolhaas hat for my hubby, but I'll post pics later, it still needs blocking and ends woven in. And for the piece de resistance, here is one sleeve of the Autumn Rose, I finally settled on this color combo, what do you guys think?I had the yarn dominance reversed for the first medallion so it doesn't pop quite like it should, but I still love it! Check out Robby's blog too for some new pictures!

Tomten-DONE!

2007-10-13T12:25:00.000-04:00

I finished R's little tomten. It's big for him, but that's ok, I need to sew in a zipper eventually too.This was a relatively quick knit, I actually finished a few weeks ago, but it just now got cold enough where Robby could wear it. He always tries to pull the hood off. I love how it turned out, the modular construction kept the knitting interesting, and the Malabrigo was lovely to work with. The neon green border is actually a little brighter than it looked on the screen when I bought it online, but it works, I think. I will be able to see Robby in the dark!I'll post some of the pictures on Robby's special blog so you guys can get your daily dose of cuteness!...Oh wait, you guys are still here! I have another FO to show you! Remember that Rebecca sweater that I was having so much trouble with? After two years it's finally DONE. Thanks to some gentle prompting by Mrs. Knitsane, I got enough get up and go to finish seaming the sweater up. And despite my gauge issues and mistakes, I'm really happy with it. It's a perfect fall sweater and is very warm and comfortable. And because the yarn is a cotton/acrylic blend, it's easy to take care of...it's murder to knit, but I can just throw it in the wash!Hello. I have bad posture.While seaming and cursing this sweater, I thought, why didn't I just do it in the round? But thanks to Wry Punster's thoughtful blog entries on sweater construction, I realized, this heavy, heavy sweater, needed the rigid line of seams that go up the sides of the sweater to give it some stability, kind of like supporting beams in a house.Without the seams, the sweater would continue to sag and hang way too low. Since the yarn is very non-stretchy, the seams are very rigid, and they help the sweater keep it's shape. There is no real waste shaping, the 2x2 rib on the sides kind of act as waist shaping.

Now you guys know me too well, to know that when I finish one project I automatically MUST start another one. I'm continuing to work on Rob's Adult Tomten, I finished the short row sleeve cap shaping on it, and am going to work a few rows into the sleeve to decide whether it works or not. I took pretty good notes, so I'll try and explain what I did in a later post.

I've been obsessing over Eunny's Autumn Rose, and wanted to do it in green and purple hues. I ordered a buttload of Jamieson's Spindrift and have been experimenting with different colors. This is what I have so far, I'm going to rip out to the cuff and replace the white with dark gray and add in some blues.It's been fun, knitting with different color combos and seeing what works and what doesn't.

Thanks for reading and sticking with me thus far! If you want an invite to Robby's special blog, just e-mail me at robunderscorebeaatmsndotcom!

Most of

2007-09-11T14:47:00.001-04:00

the time, knitting is very relaxing for me. Lace, garter stitch, cables, I love it all, and those nights where I got maybe 2 hours of sleep in a row, knitting socks kept me sane. I always feel a sense of accomplishment and not much makes me happier than giving my loved ones knitted gifts. NOT.THIS.WEEKEND. I guess this is what I get for rushing through things, knitting with one eye and the other eye on Robby, it was bound to happen, I've had many knitting successes, and it was payback time. I've been working on a Rebecca sweater for going on two years, I think she was mad at me because she was stuffed in various boxes and tupperware while I knitted bright, shiny, new things. After finally knitting the sleeves, I noticed on the front that sunlight had bleached a portion of the sweater (she sat in my car for a month). I was tempted to go over it with a black Sharpie, but I did the right thing and frogged it. When it came time to block the sweater, something terrible happened, I wet blocked it and like a good little knitter I started all my new balls of yarns on the ends so I could weave them up the sides. Well, I was in a rush, because Robby was in the bouncy chair, something got snagged, and a section on the side got pulled too tight and snapped. I managed to untangle this wet sogging mess and get the stitches on dpns so I could graft when everything was dry.See that little frayed tail? That's where it snapped, I could have unknitted further, but the idea of trying to graft and do a cable at the same time struck fear into my heart. So, once everything was mostly dry (and smelling kind of dank) I tied on a new piece of yarn to that little mangled tail, and said a prayer then I tried to graft the ribbing, then tried it again...and again..and finally I thought I got it right, then I looked at it today and it was still wrong, finally I got it to where it looks ok.It's not perfect, but after the 6th time of trying to graft, my yarn was getting all untwisted (I hate you GOA! You and your 10 little singles plied into one are the bane of my life!) and fraggly looking so I'm leaving it, at least it's on the side so it won't be noticeable. If that wasn't enough for ya, remember Robby's lil' Malabrigo Tomten I've been working on? Well, you know after you have knit 28 ridges on the fronts, and the back, you rejoin all the stitches to make the hood? Make sure you don't twist any of those panels, like this.I wasn't undoing the grafting on the hood and ripping it out, so I broke out the scissors and snipped, did I mention I had NO green Malabrigo left? So, I unknit one row and grafted from each side and had the two tails meet in the middle in the back.I did have a bit of success this weekend, I made some progress on one sleeve, and experimented with some short rows to get a little bit of shaping on the sleeve. It's not much, but I think it makes a nice transition from the shoulder to the arm, it has more of a ben d to it, I wanted to practice the technique for when I do the shoulders on Rob's Tomten. Speaking of, here it is 19" of garter stitch goodness,I'm ready to divide everything up for the fronts and back, I'm making the armholes much shallower, more like a regular sweater. More on that next time!

I've just posted to Robby's blog so go check it out too! If you want to get on the list, just leave me a comment, and I'll email you an invite.

Swallowtail

2007-08-28T09:50:00.000-04:00

Finito!

Specs:

Yarn: Fino Alpaca with a Twist
Needles: Size 4 Addi Lace
Started: Early June
Finished: Late August

I don't have much to say about this, except that I love lace, and that I'm rigging up some blocking wires for the next go-round! Oh, and Addi Turbos are awesome, and even though nupps are hard, they are so worth the effort.

Edited to add: I blocked the sh#! out of this shawl. Also, I wanted to say that there are a few people I know of in the knitting world who are suffering from multiple myeloma. Alot of people know of Gerry, Annie Modiesitt's husband, and I *kind of* personally know Betty. Julie is doing the York Beach Light the Night Walk to raise money for doing research to develop new treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. Last year she raised $1216 dollars! Let's help her reach her goal of $1500, she's got some great prizes in the raffle, so go check it out!

Ch ch changes

2007-08-21T14:55:00.000-04:00

You guys might have noticed that I took down all of Robby's pictures off of this blog, I'm hearing more and more stories of predators using pictures of kids on the internet for nefarious purposes, so I thought, hey, maybe I'll just make this blog about knitting! Hahaha! I will be setting up a private blog so I can keep friends and family updated on Mr. Robby's latest adventures, so if you would still like to see His Cuteness, just comment and let me know, and I can put you on the list! Who am I kidding, my knitted objects are so few and far between, Robby's the real star of the show these days anyway :) To appease you all, here are pictures of the Snug as a Bug Entrelac Blanket in all of it's blocked glory, right now, it's with it's new owners, keeping their little one...well..snug as a bug!

Specs:
Louet Opal Sport Weight - 2 skeins of each color
Post blocking size - almost 3'x4'
Used size 5 knitting needles
Pattern downloaded from Parikha's blog.
Start date: About 9 months ago :P

In our next installment: Completed Swallowtail!

And I thought last week was bad...

2007-08-08T15:21:00.000-04:00

Well ya'll it's been a pretty bad week, I know I've done a lot of whining on this blog lately, it just seems like when it rains it pours! Sorry about that, blogging is my therapy :P Robby had a terrible day on Monday, even with me he was crying inconsolably, and my gut kept telling me that something besides the toofs were bothering him. Tuesday was better, but this morning I took him to the emergency room. I'll spare you guys the gory details, but you know those little foil wrappers on wine bottles? Robby had eaten one, probably picked it up off my not so clean kitchen floor, and he swallowed it, digested it, it went all the way through his tummy, intestines, and got stuck on the exit ramp if you guys know what I mean, I saw it this morning when I was changing his diaper. So, I rushed him on over to the emergency room, everything is ok, the blockage was extracted, and prescriptions were filled, there were some cuts, but the doctor said it's pretty normal, especially when kids get constipated, and these things heal pretty quickly. They did x-rays and there are no more bits of foil in his tummy, whew. Robby's with his Aunt Amanda now, but I'm counting the hours until I can see him again. I just feel SO bad. I'm sure it will be funny one of these days, but honestly, what the heck am I gonna do when he starts driving? It just scares the crap out of me sometimes! So if you guys could send Robby some get well vibes through the blogosphere, I know he doesn't know what's going on, he was back to his ol' self(except for the toofs), I'm sure he felt some relief, I just hope he heals up very quickly! I'll leave you guys with some of the latest pictures of His Chubbiness.

A morning

2007-07-28T09:45:00.000-04:00

alone! Rob took baby Robby on a walk to give me some much needed after yesterday, it was hellacious. Robby napped for 1.5 hours the whole day and was fussy, whiny, and cranky for 90 percent of the day, plus trying to get work done, sigh... I normally don't do this, but yesterday I was so overwhelmed, I let him cry in his bouncy chair for 5 minutes because I was so worn out. I'm guessing it's his top teeth coming in, it seems to be extra rough for him this go-round. This past month, I haven't been letting Robby nap in my lap, and it WAS working well, but this past week, he wakes up after 15-30 minutes and doesn't go back to sleep, so I'm torn between letting him stay in my lap so he can get some good naptime in, or just pressing through and continue to lay him in his crib when he's asleep. He hasn't been sleeping well at night, he's getting up 3-4 times a night, and I've read that if babies don't nap well during the day, they don't sleep well at night. Any ideas?

So, here I am, doing one of my favorite things, blogging, and after this uploading some projects into Ravelry :) I've made some progress on Robby's Tomten.I'm 1-2 rows away from splitting up into the arm holes. I think I'll do the armholes as specified in EZ's pattern, but do some mods when I start the sleeves. I'm also making pretty good progress on my MIL's Swallowtail.I'm on the third row of nupps, and it's moving along!

Ravelry

2007-07-26T11:08:00.000-04:00

I'M IN! Turns out I got my email May 2nd, but it went to my junk mail, I found out when I submitted my email to see how far down the list I am. I've uploaded about half my stash, but haven't submitted any WIPS in. Being somewhat of a techno geek, and being married to a techno geek, I have to say, it's awesome. The interfaces are all very intuitive, everything has worked great so far, and I love it! It's totally Myspace for knitters/crocheters, etc., but way cooler! My username is bapple, so if you are on, and I haven't already bugged you, add me as a friend!

The blanket

2007-07-14T16:25:00.000-04:00

is done! I just have to weave in 40 ends, YUCK. Oh for other exciting news, I got namedby Jessie! Thanks Jessie! I feel honored to join the ranks of all you other bloggers, it is amazing how much happiness, fun, and friendship I have gotten in the past year! I couldn't even narrow down 5 bloggers to name as Rockin' Girl Blogger, I think you guys are all awesome! And Robby says thanks too. And just to show how we aren't all fun and games around here, here is a picture of Robby when he wakes up from a nap and realized he's not in my lap :PHe's even cute when he's bawling, the little toot, he is SO sad. I also realized this last week that he wakes up from naps because he has to go to the bathroom, so I tried taking him to the bathroom to potty and it works! Weird, huh? Robby gives the blanket his seal of approval.See those little shoes he's wearing? I got them from Johanna. Her daughter Kaya was born the same day as Robby and is EXTREMELY cute, maybe Robby's future girlfriend :) Johanna makes shoes to sell on her etsy shop. These shoes are awesome, they are very flexible, which is good for babies feet, and they don't come off. Robby is an extremely active baby, and while crawling, scooting, walking, kicking, they didn't slip off once! And only 13 dollars for a custom pair made for Robby's big ol' feet.Oh yeah, I better explain, see I was reading through my bloglines, and came across this. My husband saw it and told me this is the sweater that he's been wanting me to knit for him forever, so, I put in an order for some of the Beaverslide color cards. I'm a little nervous about all the mods Brooklyn Tweed did, the smaller hood, the short row shaping in the shoulders, etc., so I'm making a miniature version for Robby using the Malabrigo I got from Knitch. The yarn is a dream to knit up, so soft, and the chunky garter stitch is a nice departure from the entrelac done on sport weight, ugh, and the lace stuff I've been doing. I still love you Swallowtail, but Momma needs a break.

Gasp..Knitting Content!

2007-07-08T20:38:00.000-04:00

A while back, when Nona was working on a blanket, she talked about "heft".It's the point in the blanket where you feel that you are on the other side of the hill and nearing completion.I think I've reached that point. It's not so much in the length of the blanket, but the width, and when I block it, it should grow considerably. I think I have maybe 6-8 more rows, and then BO, then sewing in off the ends. I have three weeks left till the recipient is born, wish me luck! Robby also turned seven months on July 4th, and of course I wouldn't want to let down all of his fans :) After all, after he was born, this blog went from blog to a blog about Robby with some knitting thrown in there :) Robby is getting SO big, 19 lbs, 29 inches long! This month has been a little rough with all the moving, and I've been trying to wean Robby off napping in my lap, I know, can you believe I'm still letting him do that :P Actually he's napping in my lap now, but I'm giving him a free pass because of his teething. I've been doing it gently, no crying, just waiting till he's asleep then setting him down in a playpen. If he cries, I pick him up and try again, and slowly but surely, he's starting to nap alone. When I get frustrated, I just try to remember that a month ago he wasn't doing it at all! I've been giving him solid food, twice a day, homemade rice cereal, butternut squash, avocado, but he hasn't shown interest in it, except for chewing on the spoon, and smearing it all over the place. I don't force the issue, I've read some babies don't like to eat and prefer to nurse when teething. I'm not in a rush, plus the 500 calories a day I'm burning nursing him don't hurt either! He's pulling himself up all the time, and now he'll crawl to me and want me to help him stand up on wobbly legs! Something about that really touches me, I guess maybe because it's the first time I've really seen him MOVE towards me and ask for my help, well he doesn't really ASK, but I know that's what he wants. He's thinking, "I want to stand, and Mommy will help me." He is starting to say "Mamamamamama", sometimes he just says "MOM", and sometimes he says "Ummah" which is the Korean word for mom. I don't know if he's just vocalizing or he's really calling me, but I like to think so, especially because I've invested so much time and energy into him so far! He's SO active, the only time he's still is when he's sleeping or nursing. He loves to pinch now and has a serious death grip. He's so happy and content most of the time and it's such a joy being his mom. Here is the obligatory bathtub shot that I will use to embarass him in front of his prom dates.Aren't those toofs cute?! He's been pretty cranky this past week, I think his top teeth are about to make their entrance.Here's the big hat shot.And here he is with his Aunt Kathy, everyone send out your good vibes, Auntie Kathy is in Costa Rica for a month having some fun in the sun, and I always worry about my little sister. She is an ESL teacher and is fluent in Spanish! Why she's still single, I don't know, she's been such a huge help to me, after Robby's birth she was over at our house every night after work, helping me do laundry, wash dishes and holding Robby if I needed a break! She's helped us pack, then unpack, and all she gets in return is some homemade Korean food made by me, and lots of slobber from Robby! We miss you Auntie Kathy, come back safe to us! We spent this 4th with our really good friends, who I'm making the entrelac blanket for, and had a great time. Robby spent some quality time with the COOLEST DOGS EVER, Barkley and Hobbes.They may look fierce, but they are the sweetest, gentlest dogs I've ever known. Barkley is the oldest, he is kind of a "low quality" Doberman, but he has the best temperment. Lately, as he gets older, he's become much less energetic, and prefers to hide out in the barn...until nighttime when he roams around our friends property doing whatever it is that dogs do at night, mostly killing small critters and protecting their owners. This is Robby and Hobbes. Hobbes is the younger one, only a few years old, and he LOVES people. From the time he was a puppy, he just loves to cuddle and be with you. His mom died when she had just birthed the puppies and the breeders bottlefed all the puppies and took care of them as well as their own mother would have, which explains a lot of his personality. He actually is a distant relative of Barkley if I remember correctly. Robby loves dogs, he squeals and laughs and always tries to pull their fur, the good thing about Barkley and Hobbes, is I know they would never try to bite him and their fur is short :)See how Hobbes's ears are laid back? That's because he knows he needs to be gentle with Robby. Here is Robby chilling with Barkley, Barkley actually wanted to do his own thing, but he obeyed my "stay" command so I could get some good pictures in.And, here is a random shot of our house, we finally moved in and slowly but surely are getting it comfortable to live in, our first real house ever! I'll post some more pictures once I find the before shots, and we get it all nice and purty.Sorry about such a long post! I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying the hot hot weather!

I Miss You Robby

2007-06-27T13:54:00.000-04:00

This is the only way I can get him really interested in food, if I let him "feed" himself.Ok, I know I just saw you at lunch, but you're so darn cute, I can't help it! No new knitting content, big surprise, huh? We've been so busy moving into our new house, I haven't had the git-er-done to get knitting done, just slogging away on my baby entrelac blanket for my good friend's baby, due in a little over a month, eeep! He's starting to pull himself up from a scooting position to standing. It's hard to say whether he's any good at just plain old sitting down, because he never wants to sit, it's either scooting or standing for him. Lord help me....

Goodies!

2007-06-12T15:20:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of the goodies I got at Knitch in Atlanta. Their customer service was great, they had a basket of toys and didn't bat an eye at Robby scooting all over the place polishing the floor with his drool. Since I have such a great LYS, I just bought stuff I haven't found there. I got this book,two skeins of Malabrigo,3 skeins of Cascade 220,and I can't find the 4th skein I bought of the Cascade 220 in a reddish purple. The Malabrigo is for the Baby Surprise Jacket, I've been inspired by Adrian's BSJ. I'm going to make the biggest size so Robby will fit into it this winter. Talk about soft, I've heard alot about Malabrigo on the blogs, it's a single ply and will probably pill quite a bit, but I don't care, it will make a beautiful jacket for The Turd, and did I mention it was soft? The Cascade is for a felted vest I want to make for my Aunt, inspired by this. I'll have to buy a copy of Felted Knits. Does anyone have this book? What do you think of it? Are their other good patterns besides the vest? The EZ book is awesome, I love how she writes, very inspiring, and I'm watching Jared and Adrian's progress on their Tomten's because I want to knit one for Rob one of these days.

All I want for Christmas

2007-06-07T16:34:00.000-04:00

is my two front teeth! Robby is 6 months old as of June 4th! During our trip to Atlanta, Robby has grown by leaps and bounds, after two incredibly fussy days, he sprouted one of his bottom teeth, and in the past few days, the second one has emerged. Now that his bottom teeth have almost come in, he's been such a happy baby, smiling at Wal-Mart cashiers and anyone else who catches his eye! When we were in Atlanta he also started scooting all over the place. He doesn't crawl, he pulls himself along the floor with his arms and uses his toes to push on the floor.He is definitely a baby on the move! My parents and halmoni were so impressed, they kept saying how fast he was for his age. We would all be sitting down to dinner and I would set Robby down on the floor so I could eat, next thing you know, Robby is scooting towards the table so he can join the party! My family said he is such an easy baby, they hardly ever heard him cry, and he played by himself really well. He didn't show too much stranger anxiety, and only cried when someone else tried to hold him a few times, he warmed up very quickly to my auntand uncleand seemed to instantly develop a connection with my halmoniand my uncle's oldest sister. He was fascinated with his cousin Christine, anytime she was around he would just stare at her and try to catch up to her!Despite all the fun, I could tell he missed being home. Robby is getting so big, he weighs almost 20 lbs! He spends less and less time in the sling, but when he's hurting or tired, he just wants to be snuggled. He loves taking baths, he's discovered the fun of water and likes to splash, but does it all with a very serious look on his face. Due to his new scooting abilities, I've found this kid is interested in ANYTHING that's not a baby toy, including: plastic bags (very dangerous), any kind of paper, dog cage, bed frame, suitcase wheel, laptop bag, electrical cords, tv stands, wood trim, door stopper thingys, chair legs, long pile carpet, tassels on rugs, this has made life more difficult, but it's kind of funny seeing what he will go for next! I haven't consistently fed him solids, a fingertip of plum and avocado last night, he liked it! I LOVE his personality, he's so happy generally, and has the BEST laugh. He loves to "walk" around the house and one of his new favorite activities is being "flown" around the house on his Aunt Olivia's shoulders. He still likes to nap in my lap, but he is starting to nap on his own in our bed once a day, I know I'm way behind on this aspect, but it's worked out ok for me. Anyway enough of my rambling, happy 6th month birthday Robby, we love you!

Greetings from Ataranta

2007-05-29T10:58:00.000-04:00

I'm posting from Atlanta this week, we've had lots of fun so far. Robby's been a hit so far. We tried feeding him a little rice cereal to see how he would doCheck out the crazy eyes in the first picture! He didn't take as well to it as I thought he would, I think he's more interested in the spoon, so I just give him a few tablespoons a day at most. I finished my shawl.Here is a picture of it warming the shoulders of my halmoni, it was 80 degrees in the house but she was happy to oblige, I hope it keeps her cozy when the weather gets cold this fall. It's been great being with my family, but I really wish my Korean was better, it's so hard to communicate with my halmoni, I wish I could understand more of her stories, she was born in 1916 and has so many interesting stories I wish I could hear.I'm already thinking of what I can make for my aunt for a present, a felted vest maybe....And speaking of presents, I started this for my mother in law, a belated birthday present, but heck, everything is belated these days!

Foiled again!

2007-05-22T18:10:00.000-04:00

This is how much yarn I had with two rows left to go in the Swallowtail.Anyone know of a good use for almost 200 yards of KSH? So, I made an emergency trip to the yarn store. I'm not sure how it happened, but somewhow I walked out with some Addi Lace needles and this yarn,destined to be a gift for my mother in law. Check out the tip comparison between the Inox and the Addi,these are some seriously sharp tips people, I'm excited to try them out. These are a size 3 versus the size 4 Inox needles, but still, they have a very sharp tip.Here is Robby smiling at his mama!And here is a picture of him conversing with his friendly neighborhood Spiderman!

Meme!

2007-05-22T09:33:00.000-04:00

I have achieved a milestone in my blogging, I got tagged for the 8 random things meme, AND by two people! From Rachel Ann, and from Beth! Ok, I've thought long and hard about this one.

The rules:

1: Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.

2: People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these
rules.

3: At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.

4: Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I am a one handed yoyo expert. Back in college, I worked at a yoyo store in Chattanooga, TN called Yo Mamma, (i'm serious), and at a yoyo/kite store on the Huntington Beach, CA pier. I can do all kinds of tricks, and even went to Hawaii with a group of kids from HB to the World Yoyo Championships. I totally choked in our group performance. No matter how awesome my Brain Twister or Atom Smasher is, the one trick I get the most requests for is Rock the Baby and Walk the Dog. I have a special yoyo case with a foam insert for about 15 yoyos, the holes are all filled up. One time, while I was yoyoing on the pier, it was getting dark, and while doing a Shoot the Moon, I smacked myself in the face, good thing the yoyo was rubber. Oh yeah, the Smothers Brother's? AWESOME.
2. I taught myself how to knit as a little girl living in the Bronx. I taught myself out of library books, and it took forever for me to understand how to do it. I just found out a few years ago, I was actually knitting through the back loops.
3. I have weird cravings for canned meat, SPAM, vienna sausages, corned beef hash, sardines. I don't often indulge in those cravings, because it's so bad for you, but every once in a while, I make me some SPAM fried rice.
4. I went to college and got a degree in electrical engineering, I didn't get very good grades, but I am working in my field doing 3D modeling on the compooter. I was inspired to get this degree by the light show at a U2 concert I went to my freshman year of college. Turns out, real engineering isn't quite that glamorous, sigh... It did pay off, I was able to wire every dang receptacle and light in our last house.
5. My favorite TV show of all time is I Love Lucy, I think I've seen every episode, and know all kinds of weird trivia about the show.
6. I LOVE garlic, raw, roasted, fried, baked, pickled, I love it. When my husband and I were dating I went home to visit my family and ate so much Korean food, when I came back, he said he could smell the gsrlic oozing from my pores. Good thing he likes garlic too.
7. I gained 50 lbs while pregnant with Robby. When Rob had to help me out of chairs, he had to plant his feet and get a goood grip. I have since lost the weight and can fit into my old jeans. Anybody know a cure for stretch marks?
8. I watched the Bachelor finale last night, this is the first Bachelor I've actually watched all the way through, I was rooting for Tessa. This is the most embarassing random fact I think.

I tag anyone who reads this blog and wants to participate!

Mother's Day Numero Uno

2007-05-15T14:34:00.000-04:00

I had a great first Mother's Day. Robby got me this card and even signed it, with Daddy's help of course.The inside of the card says "Mommy, you do so much to make me feel loved. And guess what? I love you right back! Happy Mother's Day." Awwww. And here is a picture of Robby's signature.He's getting so big, and it gets more and more fun being his mom. He's not crawling yet, but will get on his hands and knees and rock back and forth. He can sit up for several seconds if he supports himself with his hands. He already tries to get out of the car seat, the other day I put him in it and walked away for a second, and he had rolled over in the seat and was attempting to back out of the chair! The past two mornings, when he wakes up, he makes these funny noises, he will purse his lips and "bthhhhh" sounds. And he has become a lot more vocal lately, while on his belly chewing a teething ring, he will say, "Wowohh wowooooh." He is such a happy baby, he is warming up to all of his aunts, cousins, and grandparents. I'm excited to see how he does around my half of the family, only ten days till I get to see them, and stuff my face with Korean food! I've been zooming along on Swallowtail, I'm done with the nupps, yay!It's hard to get a good picture of the shawl, since I only have two hands, but I think these pictures show how drapey, light, and fluffy it is. I'm very happy with how it's turned out so far, and I have 10 days left to finish it.I think my grandma will love it. I've definitely caught the lace bug, I bought a copy of Lace Style, there are some amazing patterns in it. I definitely think I want to do another lace project for myself, maybe Eunny's Print O' The Wave stole? I think I have a sickness, I finish one project and start two more...sigh.

Goodies!

2007-05-11T12:06:00.000-04:00

Look what I won from Francesca!She had a contest a few weeks ago, and Pipie picked my name out of the hat! I love the sock yarn, Regia is the first yarn I used to make socks, a LONG time ago. I love that you can get two socks out of one skein of yarn. I'm going to make these leg warmers for Robby. Now that he is scooting around all over the place and our house has wood floors, these will be great for keeping him warm, but will make diaper changes a breeze and keep his knees protected! I'm thinking I will do them in a 1x1 rib so they will be extra cushiony, and I may even double the yarn. These will be so cute :) Thanks Francesca!

Treeline Cardigan

2007-05-11T10:00:00.000-04:00

I've been stalled on my Swallowtail because I left the pattern at my LYS when I went there last Saturday to knit for 5 WHOLE HOURS without ze bebe. Thanks Rob! I'm on the second border pattern, so I'm getting there. Soooo, this week, I've been working on the entrelac baby blanket, AND, last night, while getting caught up on some episodes of Lost, I started that Treeline cardigan. I'm thinking I will do the white and green together because the colors are kind of spring-y and a little more fun. Everything in my closet is some variation on black, gray, brown, or white, and it could use a little color, so I'm going to step out of my comfort zone. Like my yarn cakes? I bought the swift and ball winder last weekend, I can't believe I've waited so long, it saves me lots of time, which is very important when you have a baby, and my husband is free from yarn holding duty, so he was pretty excited about that. Like Adrian says, the combo of Kidsilk Haze, and wool (I'm using Cascade 220) is so soft. I got gauge first time, yay! I think I'll be working some mods, waist shaping, solid color ribbing on the front and neck, and I think, I'm going to beef up the shawl collar with short rows. Here is a another shot several rows in.The jog isn't totally jogless, but its symetrical, which is good, and is a nice detail, think. It took me several tries to get it right, this website has a very detailed tutorial, and I finally got it after seeing these instructions. Talk about knitting as therapy, the yarn is so soft, and working with worsted on size 8 needles is SO speedy compared to the socks, blanket, and shawl, I have been working on. Robby is helping me,he's become very grabby lately, and loves to grab on whatever yarn I'm working on, a future knitter maybe? He's not crawling yet, but scoots and shifts until he gets where he wants to be, and likes to grab onto anything that is NOT a baby toy and shake it or put it in his mouth. He actually got upset with me last night because I pulled some yarn out of his hand! We've both been feeling under the weather for the past two weeks, I can't shake a sore throat and sinus issues, and Robby's been super stuffy too, which means the booger sucker is being used a lot, and he's not too happy about that. Life is good, chaotic, but soon we will be moving into our new old house and we will finally be settled, I hope!

Almost!

2007-05-03T14:43:00.000-04:00

Almost done with the Swallowtail, well, kind of. I've reached the border of the shawl, and am on my 3rd row of "nupps".They are a k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, then on the next row you purl into each of those, making 5 stitches, then on the next row, you PURL 5 together, yuck. I wouldn't even want to try these on the Addi Turbos, thank goodness, my Inox circulars came in just in time, and they are working great. The surface of the needle is just the right amount of stickiness without being so sticky that the stitches don't slide easily. Plus, the tips are nice and pointy, so I can do those purl 5 togethers without too much trouble. In Robby news, check out these action shots, sorry about the blurriness, but it's hard to get Robby still these days unless he's sleeping.This is my favorite picture,even though it's blurry, you can tell he's smiling, excited about being able to almost crawl, and smiling at me because I'm cheering him on. When he's trying to crawl, he gets frustrated sometimes, but when we get down on the floor with him and cheer him on, he always tries harder, it's so great. Can you believe he's almost crawling? He just rocks back and forth now, and has mastered the art of scooting backwards, but hasn't developed the coordination it takes to crawl. It was only a few weeks ago he was rolling over...sniff... I'll blink and he'll be a pimply 16 year old asking for the keys to my car, gosh it goes by fast.

Chugging along!

2007-04-28T10:23:00.000-04:00

I won't talk about the million other projects I have lingering that really need to get done, like the entrelac baby blanket, and Robby's little jeans, and sweaters, not to mention that Treeline cardigan that I have yet to start on, because Swallowtail is my focus at the moment.Looks like third time was the charm!I've had a few scares, but since I understand the lace pattern now, I was able to fix mistakes without ripping out. It's not perfect, but the pursuit of perfection was abandoned a LONG time ago. I had one really scary incident involving thisguy getting tangled up in the yarn and dragging my knitting downstairs, thankfully no stitches were dropped in the process.

In Robby news, his Aunt Amanda has been watching him since Aunt Olivia has been sick. He loves his auntie, and he LOVES his cousin Lizzie. He is just fascinated with her. I think when he gets a little bigger they will be really good buddies, what do you guys think?Don't they look like they will be serious partners in crime here?She is such a doll and calls herself "big sister" :) Check out the super long drool string! That big smile is for Aunt Amanda, which shows how much he has taken to her! His separation anxiety is starting to ease up, I also was told that he put himself to sleep and napped for an hour, hmmmm, must be a different baby. The cut on his face is from this week, I left him in his cosleeper for a minute, and he grabbed his Snappi and hooked his face! I felt SO bad, but it's healing up nicely thanks to help from Aunt Kacey, NICU nurse extraordinaire and owner of Baxter, the above mentioned doggie. I have some photograhic evidence of some hijinks Baxter and his brother Bentley carried out on Robear and the blanket I knitted, but that's for a different post.

Damn!

2007-04-23T13:14:00.000-04:00

Thanks for all of the kind comments about the Swallowtail! Unfortunately we are having technical difficulties, due to the unfroggable nature of Kidsilk Haze, Robby sleeping on my lap while knitting, and slippery Addi Turbo's. I'm thinking about ordering some Inox circulars, because I read they are not quite as slippery and have a nice sharp tip, that's suited for lace. Have no fear, I'm not giving up, it's a pride thing now, I'm on my third attempt, let's hope this one works out.

Unassuming

2007-04-21T21:37:00.000-04:00

grey blob,and then the magic happens. It's the Swallowtail Shawl from the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits.

I decided to do this project after I found out that my grandma is going to be visiting my family in Atlanta for a month, and I wanted to make her a gift that would be fitting for this amazing woman that raised her children during the Korean War and has this amazing history. I can hardly communicate with her because I speak very little Korean, but hope this gift can convey how much I admire and respect her.

From the moment I cast on, I knew this was going to be a different kind of project. I've never tackled lace before, much less with Kidsilk Haze. It's so light and airy it catches on the slightest breeze, and it has this wonderfully soft halo around the core. I find myself holding my breath till I get to the end of a row and find that I've counted the stitches correctly, although that will get harder as the rows get longer. I'm loosening up though, and going with the flow of the yarnovers and decreases, it's definitely a challenge, but it's a refreshing change from the mind numbing countless diaper changes!

Look

2007-04-17T13:12:00.000-04:00

what Robby started doing yesterday! Here are the finally finished socks for my aunt.And the Jaywalkers for my Maw Maw.

And in this corner...

2007-04-13T13:28:00.000-04:00

weighing in at 15.37 lbs and 26 inches tall, is Robby..the Robertater!!!! We went to the doctor for Robby's 4 month checkup and booster shots. He's grown 2 inches in the past two months! Jessie, that's your yarn in the picture in case you're wondering :) Robby's been feeling yucky since he got his shots, he woke me up every hour last night and then started crying at about 3 in the morning. He had a fever and was probably just feeling achy and sick. Poor bubba. Today he has been very SENSITIVE. He has been sleeping and nursing all day and cries if he wets his diaper or if I disturb him by coughing or chewing too loud. Sigh. Poor booger. Rob did a Wal-Mart run at 3am to get me a thermometer because I forgot to pack it. So, he has been on my lap all day except for diaper changes and I'm getting work stuff done when I can. Do you guys like his shirt? Here is a happy moment yesterday before the yuckiness settled in. I'm also almost finished with my Jaywalkers! Yayyy! I ordered the yarn for the Treeline cardigan I blogged about and am finally going to invest in a swift and a ball winder so I can make those yummy little yarn cakes. Joy and Colleen, save the ones at the yarn store for me! I have a whole crapload of skeins that need to be wound in our storage unit. Oh and if you happen to be moving into your brother in law's house temporarily and pack your yarn stash, put the box in front of the storage unit. My yarn is stuck behind a gajillion heavy Tupperware and will probably stay there until we move into our newly remodeled house...someday... And because it's too funny not to post, here is another installment in the Robby hat series. He used to fit into it, for about a week.

Why

2007-04-05T16:15:00.000-04:00

must she do this to me. Knitters, what do you do when a project grabs your eye and you REALLY want to make it, and it's really hard to pass up deals like this to make that certain project? Am I crazy to buy more yarn, when I have so much in my stash already and have so many projects going on? Rob, don't comment on this post! Help!

Happy Berfday Bubba

2007-04-03T15:35:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow, you will be 4 months old Robby! I can hardly believe it, these past four months have been the longest and the shortest months of my life. When we first brought you home from the hospital, you were a little slug that only ate, pooped, and peed. It was all we could do to get you to open your eyes, every once in a while, you would crack one eye, take a quick glance around and shut them really quick. Very gradually, you started opening your eyes more and more, looking around you, and staring at people's faces. Then, wonder of wonders, you started giving us real smiles! At four months, we are starting to see more and more of your personality. Firstly, you LOVE mommy! Whenever I walk into the room, your eyes light up and follow me around the room. You get this HUGE smile as if to say, "Hey, I know you! You are the lady that feeds me and holds me and changes me and plays with me! You're cool!" If I'm gone for too long, you have this whine that sounds like you're saying, "Hey......hey......helloooo.....lady...where are you? I'm all alone here....heyyyyyy." When you are with me, you rarely cry, unless I break out the big blue booger sucker of death, but when you are with your Aunt Olivia, or your Dad, or your Aunt Kathy, every once in a while you will cry for 45 minutes straight, and be inconsolable, nothing works, feeding you, slinging you, rocking you, you just cry and cry because you miss mommy. It takes a while for you to trust someone, you usually cry when someone you don't know holds you, your forehead worry wrinkles come out, then you break out into a wailing cry, head thrown back, tears streaming, it's so sad, but a little funny because your sad face is a perfect sad face, like those Greek tragedy masks. You are also a very shy baby. When someone smiles at you and I'm holding you, you smile back then bury your head in my chest. When I'm holding you and we walk by a mirror, you look around in the mirror till you see me smiling back at you, then you smile at yourself and then bury your head in my chest. Your laughs are a thing of wonder, and daddy and I will make total fools of ourselves to hear it. You save your best laughs for daddy, his stubble can elicit deep throated chuckles when he eats your chubby armpits and legs. You love when we read to you, sometimes you will talk back to us! You really like for us to hold you so you can stand on your legs, you will stomp your feet and bend your legs. You just discovered your feet a few days ago, and are actively trying to get your foot into your mouth. You haven't gotten that far yet, but I'm sure you'll reach that goal someday. For the most part, you are a very quiet baby, and when I'm holding you, you are content to look around and take everything in. You are the best thing that's happened to us, even when you are being a little Robby the Turd, we love you so much. It's been an adventure, happy four month birthday, we look forward to many many more.
Gosh this is a long post! I still struggle with doubt about you being too attached to me, but I'm working through it. You are a very good baby, and to get on my soapbox here, the Western idea of a good baby is silly, most little babies will not lie passively in their cribs entertaining themselves, they need to be attached to people at this stage, not a doll, a mobile, or a pacifier. Needs that aren't met in infancy don't go away, they get replaced by other needs, so while it's hard sometimes to respond to your need to be held, hugged, played with, I know it will pay off in the future. I know the time will come when you are independent, the time when you are ready to sleep by yourself and start detaching from me, but for now, you are still your mama's boy and that's ok.

Procrastination is my middle name...

2007-03-29T13:37:00.000-04:00

Ok, so we are moving out of our 850 sq ft apartment into my brother in law's house for a week or two, until the remodels on our house are done. We are supposed to be out this Saturday, so you guys know what that means. Time to...try on hats!

Hmmm, the situation in the Mideast looks interesting.Naah, I'll just eat the paper instead of read it.

Wanna go fishing?Why is everyone laughing? Heck, I'll join in. Chicken or steak?

Lynda Jo

2007-03-29T13:31:00.000-04:00

this one's for you. My knit night buddy had a dream I named Robby "G" for Gangsta. This is how he rolls.

1/2 an FO

2007-03-25T11:05:00.000-04:00

I finished one Jaywalker sock, I had a lot of fun knitting this sock. And once I picked them back up out of the unfinished pile, I zoomed right along with the easy stitch pattern. The Lorna's Laces yarn worked up beautifully. I love handknit socks, I have yet to knit a pair for myself, but they feel so good on your feet.Now I just need to finish the second one!Next time I make socks, I'm going to try a toe up version, because I don't really like doing kitchener stitch.I have to post lots of pictures of FO's because they are so few and far between lately, but hey, check out the neat color effect on the sole of the sock!Just one more, I swear.And now for a Robby update. He is really starting to laugh and squeal! Especially when Daddy eats his arms and his legs and his belly. I have to try and capture the moment on tape and post it for you all to hear, because it's a very funny gravelly (sp?) laugh. Sorry about the blurry picture, I was crawling on my stomach, Navy Seal style to try and get this picture without Robby getting distracted. I was so worried about Rob not bonding to Robby at first, but it looks like all my fears were unfounded. It just takes time, and for the first few months, all Robby needed was to have his physical needs met and be in a warm, cozy, small space. But now, he's stretching out, growing up, noticing the world around him, wanting to explore, walk, fly, crawl, and watch other people. Especially in new environments, he likes to do all those things from the safety of his mommy or daddy's arms, and when we hold him, we can see him soaking up his environment. Attachment parenting has its "dark side", the part where they are attached, ALL the time, and there are those times where I just want to knit or sew or do anything by myself, but then, Robby smiles or laughs or kicks his legs in excitement, and it buoys me up for the next day. As a new mom, I've learned if you are just exhausted with the phase your baby is in, wait a week or two, it will change.

The thing

2007-03-25T10:25:00.000-04:00

about sewing cloth diapers, is no matter how butt ugly your sewing is, you have to REALLY booger it up for it not to work.Robby was nice enough to sit in his swing for 45 minutes, while I got some of these sewn up. I just need to finish putting on the foldover elastic, and then when I get my serger, I'm going to sew the inner soaker pads.The color side is the waterproof layer, and on the other side is white microfleece, that's the side that touches Robby's skin. Hopefully the microfleece will act as a wicking layer, drawing the moisture into the removable soaker pad. The pattern is a Chloe Toes diaper pattern. The version I'm making is the pocket diaper. In the back there will be an opening that allows me to stuff the diaper with an absorbent insert. When I finish sewing all the elastic on, I'm going to use a snap press to put snaps on the diaper. I sewed up this style of diaper for convenience, they act alot like disposables, waterproof, once the pocket is stuffed, you just put them on and go! I've used both disposables and cloth and really, cloth isn't that much more of a hassle than disposable. At home I keep Robby in a prefold without a cover, and that helps keep diaper rash at bay. When Robby was a newborn, it was definitely harder because he went #2 a LOT, as all babies do, but now that he's a little older and doesn't go #2 at night anymore, and maybe every other day, it's become a lot easier. I've also found that cloth diapers are MUCH better at keeping messes in. You know those infant #2 blowouts? The ones where poo goes all the way up the babies back, soaking an outfit? The only time I have had those is in a disposable. In a cloth diaper, the worst was I get a little leak. And for laundry, I haven't had too bad of a problem with stains. Especially with breastfed babies, you don't need to scrape off solids or anything like that, their poo is totally water soluble so it just gets washed away, and I have a tiny front loading washer, so you don't have to have anything fancy to get your diapers clean. This post is for those moms who are considering cloth diapers, knitting content to come!

Mr. Rogers talks to the US senate

2007-03-20T10:58:00.001-04:00

I found this video on Ann and Kay's website. It made me want to cry. I grew up watching Mr. Rogers, I was so fascinated with the trolley going into the land of make believe. As a child I never saw the significance of his words, but looking back on it, I can see how his message is so refreshing from what you normally see on TV, and how important it is for children to grow up hearing that they are valued. Today would have been Mr. Roger's 79th birthday.

Jaywalkin'

2007-03-16T10:45:00.000-04:00

I've made some progress on the Jaywalker's I'm knitting for my grandma-in-law, or Maw Maw. I love knitting with Lorna's Laces and I love this Jaywalker pattern, I can see why it's so popular, it's easy to knit, but it's interesting enough, especially with a striping yarn, to hold your attention.Judging from Robby's activities that he likes to do, I'm thinking this is a very plausible career choice.What do you guys think? I think he's got the guns, do you?His favorite thing to do is stand, albeit on very wobbly legs!

The big blue booger sucker of death...

2007-03-15T09:57:00.000-04:00

Something I've been having to do about every other day is clear Robby's nose in the morning. Babies aren't really good at breathing out of their mouth if their nose is stuffed up so as bad as I hate to do it, I have to break this out.This is Robby's face as he sees the big blue booger sucker of death coming closer and closer.In other news, I finished my Anemoi Mittens! I still need to block and sew in the ends, but I'll wait on that. Here is a picture of the left one, the right one is resting in her vacation home at the LYS for the spring and summer.And to end this post here is a little baby chin for breakfast!

My kingdom for a yarn needle...

2007-03-13T15:09:00.000-04:00

I'm so close to finishing these socks for my aunt, but I can't find a yarn needle to finish the toe. Check out this yummy yarn I got from Jessie.It's a blend of 70% Romney/Corriedale and 30% mohair. It's so soft and squishy, I don't know if it's the mohair or the wool, but it has a very silky feel to it. I got the yarn with this pattern in mind, but now I'm thinking maybe a lacy rectangular stole, maybe something like this? Help! I can't make up my mind!

Why my allowance should be higher..

2007-03-12T14:44:00.000-04:00

Alternative titles to this post:

1. Mooooo.
2. Why I wish I didn't have to walk through the breakroom at work to get to the bathroom.

Robby aka the Michelin Man

2007-03-11T18:40:00.000-04:00

Robby didn't want to disappoint some fans, so here are some pictures!

This weekend

2007-03-11T14:59:00.000-04:00

I watched thisthisand did this.Needless to say, my house is a mess. Babel was a good movie, but dang it was depressing! And I liked The Departed, but I don't think they said the f*&! word enough in the movie...

I finished

2007-03-04T08:56:00.000-05:00

one Anemoi Mitten, I'll block and weave in the ends when I finish the second one. I'm hoping blocking will even out some of the inconsistencies in the knitting, especially when I'm carrying colors from one DPN to another, my tension was a little funky, so you can see a ridge where the yarn didn't have enough slack.This was a really fun project, and the knitting moved pretty quickly (quick being a relative term since Robby's arrival).And to cap off my yarn spree, I ordered some yarn from one of my favorite bloggers, I'll keep you guys in suspense until it gets here! And because this blog entry wouldn't be complete without a Robby story, Friday night, he got really fussy and everything I did just didn't work, so finally I just laid him down on his bouncy chair and daddy came over and started playing with him, and he actually got Robby to laugh! That was the first laugh I've heard, and I've never been able to make him laugh! That was the first time he actually fussed because he wanted daddy to play with him! I was worried because it didn't seem like Robby was bonding to dad at all, but it looks like my fears were unfounded. People always say this time goes by fast, it wasn't feeling that way, but it seems like overnight Robby has become this little person that interacts with the world around him. Check out the forehead wrinkles, hee hee.

Booty-licious

2007-03-02T17:17:00.000-05:00

No, not THAT kind of booty, I'm talking about my LYS's Clearance Sale booty. For the red and orange Blue Sky Alpaca, I'm thinking of some kind of dainty cardigan, or a short sleeved sweater, or maybe a striped v-neck??For, the Classic AL, I have a trusty crochet hat that looks kind of like a 20's flapper hat that has been very popular with my family for Christmas gifts. I think I'll make one or two, and post the pattern. Maybe a long, cabled, belted cardigan? This was a Vivian Hoxbro kit, I'm going to use the yarn for some kind of yoke cardigan or sweater, I would like to try out the steeking thing, the yarn is 100% shetland wool, so it would be perfect for it.More GOA just in case I don't have enough to finish my Rebecca sweater.This is the only thing I've bought besides the GOA that I had a specific pattern in mind. I think this will knit up quick and be nice for the spring and summer. It was 3.75 a ball, you can't beat that with a stick!Paradoxically, these additions to my stash have reinspired me to get my existing projects out the door to make room for the new projects. I've always wanted to design my own knitwear, so this is a good opportunity to continue what I started with Rob's Banana Republic Sweater. So, I'm determined to finish my Rebecca sweater and all the other stuff I've got laying around the house. So, maybe I went a little (ok a LOT) overboard, but I've been good and saved my allowance! Plus, I figure all the money I'm saving breastfeeding and cloth diapering, why the heck not?

Slowly but surely...

2007-03-01T14:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I frogged the entrelac blanket and started over on size 5 needles, and I'm much happier with the results. I also learned how to knit backwards from this tutorial! It is helping things go faster because I don't have to keep turning my work, and my stockinette is much more consistent, I tend to purl loosely, so knitting backwards helps my work look much more even.I love taking pictures of entrelac, it's so multi-dimensional... In other knitting news, my most favorite LYS is having it's spring clearance sale, yippeee! I went this morning and scoped everything out but will be coming back tonight with a game plan. Plus they are having a party for all their loyal customers to celebrate the first ever shipment of Koigu! I love that stuff, I volunteered my one almost finished Anemoi Mitten as a sample knit. I'm also going to start teaching crochet classes again in March. Yay! More yarn money :D If anyone in the area is interested in learning, it's 30 dollars + materials for two 2-hour sessions on March 10 and 14. We do a very cute beanie made out of Rowan Big Wool. If you read this blog and live in Northwest Arkansas get your tushies over to Handheld Knitting and take advantage of the sale! See how well he holds his head up! He loves the blanket that all the wonderful ladies at my knitting group made for him. He likes to touch all the different textures of the blanket and look at the patterns. My new goal is to blog more consistently, it's one of the things I love, talking about knitting and motherhood and it really makes my day to hear from all of you!

Ladykiller

2007-02-12T08:27:00.000-05:00

This weekend, we visited some friends of ours, who gave birth to their daughter Violet, an hour before us, down the hall, in the same hospital. Last night was the first time Robby and Violet met. Notice my commentary, and Robby's bewildered expression. I imagine, someday when Robby has his own relationships, he will experience the same thing, a girl crying and him just being befuddled.

Robby and Violet

Progress...but not much

2007-02-10T13:46:00.000-05:00

I'm almost done with one of the Anemoi Mittens. I just need to do the three needle bind off at the top and finish the thumb! Part of me wants spring to come, but part of me also wants winter to last a little longer so I can have a chance to wear my mittens! I've decided to save my allowance to buy a spinning wheel. Depending on which wheel I get, I could either have one by April or June. These are my top three picks:
1. The Schacht Matchless DT
2. Lendrum DT
3. The Majacraft Rose
4. The Kromski Sonata
I've heard the double treadle action is better, and I like folding wheels. I haven't actually tried any wheels, but I'm hoping I can try some out in Atlanta, when we visit my family for Robby's 100 day celebration. Alas, I have added another project to the roster, some really good friends of ours are having a baby, so there is a definite timeline to this project. It is Pariha's Snug as a Bug baby blanket. I'm using Louet Opal. I love the colors, but the pattern called for a size 7 needle to use with sportweight/DK yarn and I'm not too happy with the density of the fabric. And I don't like the way my picked up stitches look, it just doesn't look pretty, too loose. Especially after it's blocked and gets stretched out more, it's going to look really hole-y. I'm contemplating ripping it out and working it on a size 5 or size 6 needle. What do you guys think? I'm still early enough in the project where it doesn't kill me to do that. Here are a couple pictures with the fabric stretched out, I'm curious to see what other people's entrelac looks like. I think if I work it on smaller needles, the fabric won't look quite so hole-y on the edges where I pick up stitches.

In other news, I won a contest!!! Noolie had a contest on her blog to come up with a funny caption for a picture of Mr. Mugatoo, her big, beautamous cat, and guess his weight. Through the magic of the random number generator, a copy of Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles is making its way to meeee!!! Yayyy, thanks to Noolie for her generosity and her encouraging comments on me blog!

Cloth Diapers Part II

2007-01-28T13:10:00.000-05:00

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for their encouraging comments and compliments on Robby and being a mom. They really encourage me and help me feel good about what I am doing! Also, Robby is just so blown away by everyone thinking he is so cute, he is starting to get a big head (oh wait he already has a big head like his mommy and daddy :D).

I'm embarking on sewing the next size up cloth diapers for Robby. I put in a big order for fabric AND an industrial snap press! I'm pretty excited. My plan is to make a better diaper so I can start using cloth diapers exclusively. For those of you who are interested, I'm going to be making two types of diapers, the first type is a pocket diaper with a PUL outer and a microfleece inner, which I will stuff with hemp soakers. I'm hoping the microfleece will help wick moisture away from Robby's skin into the soaker part of the diaper, and the PUL will prevent wetness from soaking through. I'm also going to make a regular fitted diaper out of hemp jersey and fleece with the same microfleece layer inside to help Robby feel dry, and I'm thinking about trying to make wool covers out of old wool sweaters that I will felt, and I might also knit a cover or two and felt them for special occasions. Robby is almost too big for the newborn diapers I made him, so I'm hoping I can get the new batch finished in the next couple weeks!

Calling all moms!!!!

2007-01-25T18:30:00.000-05:00

This post isn't about knitting, but about motherhood. I'm a little worried because the only place Robby can take good long naps is on my lap after breastfeeding, or in my baby sling. We are co-sleeping and he does great at that, but sometimes I have moments of self doubt where I think "Is he too attached?" But then I think, he is only going to be this age for a little while and I think that knowing his mommy will always be there will help him later in life to become independent and secure. My mom died when I was really young, and I've always dealt with issues of security even at the age of 27, so I hope that I can circumvent a lot of that angst by being so bonded with him in his early years. I'm sure that there will be phases where he will think he's too cool for ol' mother, so I'll enjoy this while I can. I am very flattered, I don't think there is anyone else who cries if I'm not within viewing distance :) I'll end this post with a shot of Robby in his daddy's sling, he's already too big for it!

She's my mommy not my nanny....

2007-01-18T10:19:00.000-05:00

It looks like I'm going to have to get one of these shirts for Robby. Yesterday I was setting up a gift registry for a baby shower my mother in law is having for me, and the lady at Dillard's thought I was the nanny.

In knitting news, I have a TON of current projects. The purple socks for my aunt, Grumperina's Jaywalker socks in Lorna's Laces, the little denim jeans, Rob's banana republic sweater, Rob's handspun sweater (on hold till I get a wheel), Eunny's Anemoi Mittens in Koigu Premium Merino, Rebecca's black cabled sweater, I think that's it. Insane isn't it?

Here is a picture of one of Robby's first real smiles.He had a bit of baby acne but it's getting better, that's a great smile isn't it? It reminds me of one time back in college I was getting my yearbook pictures taken, and being of Asian descent, when I smile, my eyes turn into upside down U's and they look almost closed, so I'm sitting there smiling, and the photographer (in thick Southern accent), says, "Now hon, can you just open yer eyes wider?" I said through gritted teeth, "I can't." What do you all think? Is he getting enough to eat?

I still knit!!

2006-12-28T13:50:00.000-05:00

Ok, I don't have much time to knit, but I was able to finish the fair isle mittens for my mother in law, and I have also started another project, a pair of thick socks for my aunt. Technically these are all Christmas gifts, but I don't think people will mind if they are a little bit late. I used the pattern for Eunny's Endpaper Mitts and modified them slightly to be mittens. I used Louet Gems Pearl fingering weight yarn. I also started a new project, some thick socks for my aunt, made with Mission Falls Wool on size 5 dpns. I'm using a pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. And in case you guys were dying for more Robby pictures, here is a good one of his eyes open!

Thanks everyone!

2006-12-11T11:58:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, I wanted to say thanks to everybody for all the encouraging comments, as you all know, it's been kind of crazy around here. I actually got 4 hours of sleep last night straight through and I feel great! I have been able to do a little knitting, I'm almost finished with one fair isle mitten and have been working on Robby's little jeans. Thanks to my sister for being at our house everyday after work to help me with laundry and cleaning the house, and cooking dinner. Also, thanks to my friends who brought me food, and to my mother in law who helped during the labor. Rob is a great dad, very involved and can swaddle Robby and change a cloth diaper like a pro. He is also teaching Robby the fine art of shaking your groove thang.

Cloth diapers are working out well, I never believed people when they said your own baby's poo wouldn't bother you, but I think it's true. For those of you who are interested in the cloth diaper thing, some things I would change for the next batch I sew. I think I will have to use a different type of fabric for the inner soaker pad. The woven cotton terry doesn't absorb very well, so even the diapers with the three layer soaker pad, Robby still soaks through. Another thing is for the layer that touches his skin, I need to use a fabric that will wick the moisture away from his skin. He doesn't always cry when he wets his diaper and with the flannel, the wetness just kind of sits on his skin. So, maybe with the next batch, I will try a fleece type fabric that will pull the wetness away from his skin. Another thing is, I need to find a fabric that has greater absorbency so I don't need to use so many layers for the soaker pad. While the cloth diapers are cute, those things can get bulky really quick. I can't dry them completely in the dryer, so I have to hang them up to dry overnight to get them completely dry. I also would like to try an AIO because it does get to be a pain with the cover and the inner part of the diaper. And I would also like to try other options for waterproofing the covers besides PUL, maybe felted wool, or fleece, I'm not sure. I have a tiny washing machine so I'm doing laundry everyday, and I have an emergency stash of disposables for those times where I'm going to go crazy and the thought of dealing with a cloth diaper is just too much, usually around 3am in the morning, when I've been up for 2 hours feeding.

That's what I'm learning about being a mom, I have all these grand schemes for cloth diapering, breastfeeding, etc., but sometimes, to keep yourself sane you have to compromise and take it easy on yourself for the good of the baby and for the mom. I don't have any knitty pictures to show, but I will leave you guys with a picture I took of Robby when we were still in the hospital.

Robby's First Bath and his thoughts....

2006-12-09T15:05:00.000-05:00

While Mommy and Auntie Kathy were sponging me off, I wasn't too happy, although I did like the feel of her hemp washcloths. Mommy washed my hair too, who knew it had so much body? I thought it would always just stick to my head. Now I'm all snuggly in my socks and cloth diaper! Much better feeling against me bum than those disposables. I like to be swaddled up real tight.I sneezed all over Auntie Kathy!

Helloooo Nurse

2006-12-07T11:54:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, this is Rob. Bea wanted me to put the official announcement up about Robby. Bea is doing great and so is the baby.

He was born on December 4th at 10:02 PM. He was 8 lbs 14 oz and 21 ¾ inches. This is him a few hours later.

The birth was difficult and there were some concerns, but after a while we heard from the staff that he was doing just fine. He appears generally happy and he likes to open his eyes when he hears a new voice. However, when he does this the light makes him sneeze. It’s pretty funny.

Here is another picture with "robear". We are going to post more pictures on Bea’s family website, but that might be a few days.

Strategerie...

2006-11-30T10:57:00.000-05:00

Fair isle in the round on dpns....it's hard! Normally with knitting, I can be doing multiple things at once, not so in this case. This is the first of my Christmas knitting, Rob was really impressed. He actually said, "I would like some socks like that, but in different colors." Oy vey, for those size 12 feet?! But, how can I deny the man socks when he compliments my knitting! The pattern is from See Eunny Knit's blog. This girl is amazing. I'm modifying the pattern for actual mittens. The yarn is Louet Gems Pearl, a very lovely fingering weight merino yarn. Here is a shot of the inside.I'm about halfway through the first mitten. This project has been a challenge to say the least, learning tubular cast on for 1x1 rib, doing fair isle in the round and learning how to hold the yarns, just so, but it is really fun, and a good counterpoint to the endless rows of stockinette for Rob's BR sweater. Only 6 days till Robby's due date! Rob, the doctor, and I all think he is going to be a little late, but that's ok, Rob will be done with school in a week or so, thank the Lord.

Daddy Pouch is done!!!

2006-11-25T18:07:00.000-05:00

I've been working on getting a daddy pouch for Rob made. Sorry about the poor picture quality, no sunlight... The pouch has been one of the things that I have been needing to get finished before Robby makes his arrival. In less than two weeks, we will have an actual baby instead of stuffed animals I can model all of my sewn/knitted objects on. Robby doesn't know what's coming! All I have left after the pouch is hemp washcloths I want to sew up with a few yards of hemp french terry I got in the mail last week. Our Thanksgiving went great, LOTS of food and great family time. Here is the latest belly shot, can you tell Robby has dropped?He is now at station -3. I've been making good progress on Rob's BR sweater, I won't bore you guys with endless rows of stockinette, but I did finish the front and am halfway finished with the back. I also started those denim jeans I found in Knitty, did you know the dark colored Rowan Denim yarn will stain your fingers and your needles? I'm making them the 6-12 month size because everything I read says the baby will be that size before you know it.

BWAHAHAHA EETS ALIVE!!!!

2006-11-21T10:39:00.000-05:00

Here are some progress shots on the BR sweater. I'm really excited because my calculations are correct and it's actually knitting up like the BR sweater!The sweater is a size M, so if anyone is interested, I will write up a pattern when I'm done, I doubt I will have the energy to figure the numbers for other sizes, but if the man you want to knit it for is a M you are in luck!

Endless Baby Blanket Finished!

2006-11-17T13:54:00.000-05:00

Finally! I started this blanket about a month after I found out we were pregnant, and it's taken me this long to get through 7 strips and endless rows of garter stitch and endless yarn tails to sew in. I'm very happy with the results, it looks and feels great! I used Mission Falls Superwash Wool, I don't even know how many balls I've used...and I don't think I want to know.The back looks ok too, I may sew a fleece back onto it, like the yarn ladies did for the blanket they made for me.But for now, I think I will just enjoy the fact I finished a knitting project, lately it seems like I just start things and never finish them. I have a secret project for a friend I need to finish, and I have some more sewing I need to do, including a daddy sling for Rob to hold Robby in. Only 3 weeks left till Robby's official due date. I'm looking forward to lots of yummy food for Thanksgiving!

Nesting Induced Breakdown and the Cure

2006-11-14T15:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got a fire under my butt to start getting our office ready for Robby's arrival. About halfway into the process, with dust everywhere, dirty dishes in the sink, books up to my ears, yarn, fabric scraps and other items, all over the place I kind of freaked out. Well, after I got everything cleaned up, I got ready to go to my Monday Night knit night at my LYS for some yarn group therapy and knitting. I walked in, and the ladies had planned a surprise baby shower for me! I was so surprised and moved, they went through a ton of effort and made me the most beautiful blanket. Each lady knitted a special square and sewed it together and put a soft fleece back on it. Needless to say, I about started bawling again because I was so amazed by the thoughtfulness of the gift. I also got some other very useful lovely items that I've really been needing, but the blanket was the centerpiece (along with the chocolate/vanilla cake :)). Robear and Pooh love the blankie and are patiently waiting to keep Robby company on it. When I first met all the ladies at the yarn shop, I never knew I would end up having so many good friends and experience so much love, laughter, and friendship. Thanks so much to all my friends at the yarn store from me, Rob, and Robby!

Totally Tubular Dude

2006-11-11T13:57:00.000-05:00

I'm designing a sweater for Rob! I'm modeling it off of his favorite Banana Republic sweater and knitting it with Rowanspun DK. The ribbing is 2x2 and the body is all stockinette and it has a nice standup collar. You can't really see the sleeves in the picture, but you get the idea. This is my first real attempt at designing a sweater, so we will see how it goes. I'm making pretty good progress, I've got 12in done on the body and I learned how to do a tubular cast on for the bottom ribbing.
I also finally have pictures of the Rebecca sweater, I've been working on FOREVER. I already have one in white, and decided to do one in black when my LYS had a great sale on the black Muench GOA. I love the sweater, it's an acrylic/cotton blend so I can wash and dry it. I modified the pattern slightly to lengthen the body. Aren't the cables pretty? In the process of knitting this sweater, I also learned how to do cable stitches without a cable needle which helped speed it up a bit. I have the back and front done so far, and I'm a few inches along on the sleeve.

Only 4 weeks to go until Robby makes his arrival! I'm really excited and sewing up diaper covers today like a madwoman. I'll post pictures of those when I'm finished with them.

Baby Blues

2006-11-08T17:59:00.000-05:00

Ok, I just had to do a quickie post. I just found this pattern online. How cute is that!!! I love it!

Sling it to me!

2006-11-04T13:21:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of the baby sling I made. Sorry about the poor quality, they are very awkward pictures to take unless you are 8 feet tall.

I'm back!

2006-11-03T10:27:00.000-05:00

I know all of you have been breathlessly waiting for my next post (just kidding). My camera took a trip to New Mexico so I have been unable to keep you all posted on all my crafty things. Lots of knitting has been happening, mostly the endless baby blanket, Rebecca sweater (pictures later), but the main focus has been sewing things for Robby. The deadline is fast approaching! Only 5 weeks left, eep! I've also discovered a new hobby, (I need another hobby like a hole in the head). First, this is the stash of cloth diapers I've sewn up so far. See the little T-shaped thingy? That is a Snappi. It's what I will use to hold the diaper closed, which eliminates the need for pins. I have 9 more I'm working on for a total of 24 fitted diapers, then I'm going to order some prefolds online. I also am waiting for a fabric order, polyurethane laminate fabric, which is basically fabric with a plastic coating on one side to make a waterproof barrier. I'm going to take that, line it with some of this cute fabric, sew foldover elastic binding around the edges, and velcro tabs to make diaper covers! Those covers will go over the fitted cloth diapers I made to prevent leaks. I also finished a baby sling made out of this beautiful black linen, but I can't seem to find it to take a picture of it. I'll post that later. And finally, I have discovered beading! I made a bunch of earrings to bring to a shower some good friends were throwing for me, and I had a few leftover (darn!). I'm tossing around the idea of making a bunch of them and maybe selling them online on an Etsy shop or something. They wouldn't be expensive, maybr $5-$20 dollars a pair depending on the types of beads used. I found a great online bead supplier that sells natural stones like opal, citrine, tigereye, turquoise, freshwater pearls, some really beautiful stuff. What do you guys think? I checked out a bunch of books on the library on beading to improve my technique. Is buying earrings online something you guys would be interested in? Or is the market too saturated already? Does the price range sound reasonable? I know you can get earrings at Wal-Mart or Claire's and shops like that, do you guys typically buy earrings from big chains or local suppliers? Feel free to comment, this is my market research.

WARNING: Awesome Shoes Ahead

2006-10-27T11:20:00.000-04:00

Ok this is a non-knitting post, but I'm really excited about this. It was my birthday on Wednesday, and I've REALLY been wanting this special pair of boots. I've wanted them for about two years, and lately, as Rob and I visit our family's land where we will eventually build our dream house, I have visions of me planting our garden, building stone walls, hanging laundry in the sun, hiking through the woods in fall, all of this with Robby slung on my back and Rob walking beside me, with these boots on. These are the kind of shoes that will last years and years. Ok, enough about that, here they are. They were on sale from 240 dollars to 168 dollars here. So, if you like them too, snatch them up before they are all gone!

Update on EZ Sweater

2006-10-19T15:23:00.000-04:00

Here are some progress photos on Rob's Seamless Hybrid. I had some gauge issues, so I started a few different times, then I cast on for the sweater, and after getting about 10 rows in, read about a much cleaner technique for doing the hem on the sweater, so I ripped out and started again, but now I'm chugging along. The problem with knitting with my own handspun is my gauge was varying from between 4.5 sts/in to 5 sts/in. I first cast on 200, but that ended being way too big, then tried 180, that was still too big, then finally cast on 170. I pulled it off the needles after knitting a few rows to check the size, and I think this will work. I figured if it's slightly small circumference-wise, I can block it and the wool has enough stretch where it should give. I hope! Any thoughts on this? Besides my gauge and hem woes, I'm really happy with the way it's coming along and Rob was pretty stoked about it too, he's really excited about wearing it and is really hoping he can wear it this winter, I'm going to try my darndest to accomplish that. I love this wool, and I love it more and more as I knit with it. The bits of leaves from the sheep that I just spun into the yarn make it look a little tweedy in some spots, and there is this really pretty halo to the sweater. Something about knitting with my own handspun, while a daunting task, is very satisfying, and the fact that I'm knitting it for Rob, and that he really likes it, until this point, I've only made him hats, and one sweater that I just kind of made up as I went (it doesn't fit very well, I'm going to rip it out someday), I REALLY want to finish this for him. His b-day is coming up, as well as, he's going to be a daddy in about 7 weeks, and I'm sure being a new mommy will take over knitting time :) So, I'm knitting like a madwoman!

Y is for Yoyo and Yarn

2006-10-17T15:45:00.000-04:00

Robear was a hit with my sister's ESL class. I had to keep him in the Ziploc bag for the visit so he wouldn't get lots of germies. My sister teaches ESL at a local school and has been asking me for weeks to do a yoyo demonstration, I finally caved and went today to show the little kids some yoyo tricks and give them a spinning demo. The kids were SO cute and very entertaining. They were so hyper too! Climbing all over each other, asking questions, and requesting for me to "walk the dog" and "rock the baby." I have a new respect for elementary school teachers, it takes some serious patience to keep the kids inline and focused! I also showed them samples of my BFL wool top and my BL top, they thought the brown wool smelled like chocolate :) I also showed them how they spun yarn back in the 'ol days. They all thought he was so cute and were very excited about the baby in my belly. As I was leaving, they all gave me hugs. It was amazing how open these little boys and girls were, and how they were unashamed to be excited or give hugs. I work in a male-dominated environment and am not around kids very much at all, so this was a really fun experience. I asked my sister about one of the kids who seemed really needy for love and affection, and apparently he doesn't have a good home life. It really got me thinking about how hard it must be for teachers to try to meet the needs of children in their classes who are struggling with difficult situations at home and how heartbreaking it must be at times to balance the desire to help as much as you can, but still maintain a balance between your own things you have to deal with. Anyway, when my kids are in school, my goal is to really try to support the teachers I come in contact with and help them out if I can. They have a huge job!

Now Presenting...Robear!

2006-10-17T09:31:00.000-04:00

I've been putting off finishing Robear because I find finishing work to be somewhat tedious. But seeing as Robby Cubed's arrival is only 7 weeks away, I thought I better get on it. So, I began, sewing up his body, and it turns out, it was actually really fun finishing him! It was cool watching his body come together. Here he is pre-stuffing. When Rob saw that Robear was ready to stuff, he got interested and wanted to help. Robear was very patient and did not cry or fuss during the stuffing. He actually seemed quite happy to finally have a body and be free of the Ziploc bag. I then sewed his head to his body.Tada! He is all done. Now he is ready to be a friend to little Robby Cubed.

Four Things

2006-10-16T10:15:00.000-04:00

Well, Crazy Aunt Purl, technically tagged me for this questionnaire, so I will participate. So, whoever reads this post, consider yourself tagged and answer these questions!

Four Jobs I've Had
A yoyo cart in a mall named Yo Mamma (I'm not kidding)
Sandwich artist at Subway
Yoyo and kite store on the Huntington Beach Pier
Electrical Design Engineer for a company that builds submarines (I'm not kidding about that one either)

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over
Amelie
The Hustler
The Motorcycle Diaries
The Princess Bride

Four Places I Have Lived
Bronx, NY
Huntington Beach, CA
Hixson, TN
Fayetteville, AR

Four Television Shows I Love to Watch
CSI: Las Vegas
24
Lost
I Love Lucy

Four Places I Have Been On Vacation
Costa Rica
Istanbul, Turkey
Yamaranguila, Honduras
Mystic, CT

Four of My Favorite Dishes
Bibimbap
hard tacos with ground beef sauteed with taco seasoning, tomatoes, guacomole, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, refried beans, and salsa
Stuffed Pasta Shells
any kind of sushi

Four Websites I Visit Daily
my bloglines, which includes all the knitting, spinning, and crafty blogs I visit
news.yahoo.com
www.babycenter.com
my email

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now
at home with my husband
at my LYS
at my mother-in-law's house talking, drinking spiced tea, and watching the birds in her huge catawba tree
at my aunt's house in Georgia, pigging out on korean food

Four Bloggers I Am Tagging
i'm a little shy about tagging all my favorite bloggers, so anyone who reads this, feel free to answer the questions, and leave a comment letting me know, so i can read your responses!

EZ PZ

2006-10-13T09:07:00.000-04:00

Update on MHH. He decided that instead of a hoodie, he would like just a plain sweater in my BL handspun that looks like this. So, we were flipping through Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears that I FINALLY got from the library, and we came across a picture of EZ's Tomten Jacket. Here is a link to a completed jacket on a little kid. He exclaimed, "Why don't you make me that? That's perfect, exactly what I was picturing for my hoodie." As I'm always excited when Rob gets into my handknit item's for himself, I compromised and said I would do his Tomten jacket out of plain ol' storebought yarn, in a dark gray I think. I did a gauge swatch with my handspun last night, and began casting on for the body of the Seamless Hybrid, more pictures to come soon!

Twisted Knitters

2006-10-11T13:46:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'm taking the knitting and spinning thing to the next level. No, I'm not getting a wheel, darn it! But I am joining my first knit-a-long. I am now officially a Twisted Knitter! My twisted knitting project is going to be My Husband's Hoodie or MHH for short. So please, comment and encourage me as I spin my way to 1000+ yds!

Ode to my Local Yarn Store

2006-10-10T11:18:00.000-04:00

Well, I thought I would give all of you people in Bloglandia some info on a very important place in my life. My local yarn store. It's in the lovely town of Fayetteville, Arkansas and is relatively new. I think it's only been open for a couple of years. In college, when I would buy yarn for various projects my only sources for yarn were Hobby Lobby and Walmart. Blecch! I was so excited when this yarn store opened. At the time, I wasn't working, so I worked there one day out of the week as a trade for yarn, whoo hoo! Then, I started teaching crochet classes. I also went to the awesome Monday night Knit Night otherwise known as the Monday Night Tear Out, where many glasses of wine were consumed and lots of laughs were to be had. The past year I've been so busy with remodeling, pregnancy, and working I haven't been able to spend as much time as I would like at the shop, but I try to make it at least a couple times a month. SO, if you are in the Northwest Arkansas Area, check it out! Colleen and Joy are the owners of the shop and very knowledgeable, helpful, and fun. And on any given day, you may catch any of the other LYS regulars. The customer service is great and there is a coffee shop across the street if you want to stay and chat for a while. Here are some pictures of the shop.
Here is the main yarn goodies area.More yarn goodies and our yarn table.And because no yarn shop is complete without a shop cat, here she is, Queen Sasha. You can also find Handheld Knitting online here.

North Korea - Children of the Secret State

2006-10-10T10:42:00.000-04:00


North Korea - Children of the Secret State

Watch this video, and if you are interested in finding out more, check out the following sites:
Amnesty International
Liberty in North Korea
North Korea Freedom Coalition

The sad thing for me is that because North Korea's government is so closed, it's impossible to directly help the people with food, adopting children, etc.. Right now, it's down to hoping the government is replaced and the country opens up. I don't know much about the history, but I'm trying to educate myself to see what the historical context is for the current situation. I've got a really good book that I started reading on the topic. As a first generation Korean American living in the US, I'm so thankful and blessed with family, friends, and prosperity. I know my grandma and my parents had to live through the Japanese occupation and the Korean War, thank goodness they are here in the US and have been able to make a good life for themselves.

We interrupt our regular scheduled programming to bring you....

2006-10-05T16:34:00.000-04:00

DIAPERS!!!!
I sewed my first two diapers today, and I think I actually did alright! They are newborn size that I will keep closed with a Snappi. I had a good time figuring out how to do this. I used two layers of flannel with two layers of terry cloth in the middle, all 100% cotton. The first diaper I used a straight stitch to sew the right sides together then turned it inside out, the second diaper, I figured out how to use the overcast stitch on my sewing machine so I could eliminate a step. The edges are a little more wavy with the second method, I think because the fabric has some stretch to it and as I sewed, I was stretching the fabric causing it to give it that funky edge. Oh well. I didn't have a baby on hand to try the diaper on, so I drafted my 25 yr old bear, Peachy. He was very embarassed that he had to wear a diaper, being that he IS 25 years old, but he just kept his mouth shut and indulged my whims. Ignore the sewing pins I used to hold the diaper closed, obviously I won't be using those on Robby :)Note the sweater Peachy is wearing, I think I knitted that thing for him 15 years ago. Awwwwwwww...

Chocolate-y Goodness

2006-10-05T09:46:00.000-04:00

I wanted to post some pictures of some of the BL fiber I have spun on the spindle for Rob's monk sweater. 116 yds spun, only 1000+ to go!!! Yikes! This stuff is amazing, it's so soft and fluffy. I spin it into relatively thin singles, but when I ply it, it blooms and makes the softest, cushiest yarn.
I got some great advice from Hello Yarn. Thanks Adrian! I wound the singles off onto toilet paper tubes and mounted them on a spare shoe box and stood across the room to even out the twist.

I also used Marnie's tips on achieving balanced yarn on a spindle, and when I finished plying, I had a beautiful perfectly balanced skein of yarn.
Isn't it pretty, the color is such a rich, chocolate-y brown. And, there is very minimal shedding. Excuse the leg in the background, I really need to get a Swift Model #GLI-222.

For those of you who like the cooking portion of this blog, I made "Bea's Famous Chicken Curry". Not the salad, but curry. Actually, it's not my recipe, it's Maya Kaimal's Chandran's Chicken Curry. The only thing I change is she sauteed zucchini and squash with basically the same spices she uses in the curry with the addition of mustard seeds and serves that as a side dish. To minimize on time and dirty dishes, I just add my veggies to the curry and it turns out pretty well. I served it with jasmine rice, if you haven't cooked jasmine rice before, it really complements the taste of this curry and has the best smell when cooking. Here is a picture of the finished product.
You can check out the pictures I took of the cooking process HERE.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

2006-10-03T08:48:00.000-04:00

Lots of news to update all you folks and a bonus cooking section! Well, it's not really my birthday yet, only 22 days to go, but I got some birthday gifts in the mail! Ok, I bought them for myself, but the spindle is Rob's present to me :D.

After lots of research, I decided on the Golding spindle, 1.7 oz weight. After much deliberation, I decided I wanted kind of a medium weight spindle that would spin DK to worsted 2-ply yarns. She said I could even spin lace weight on it, but I think I will just have to buy another spindle for that :) Even Rob was impressed by the way it spins, it took me a little bit to get used to how fast it spins. I couldn't draft fiber fast enough to keep up with it. I'm really happy with it, and have been spinning this:

I should have put something in the picture for scale; it's 1 lb of Border Leicester wool, the brown is the natural color of the sheep! I got this from Blue Goose Glen's Ebay store, and I also got 1 lb of black merino wool. The BL fiber is very soft and fluffy, but I'm finding alot more clumps of wool and bits of vegetable matter in the fiber. It doesn't really bother me though, some of the lumps get spun into the single and gives it a earthy look. I like that I'm so close to the sheep, you know? Can we say compulsive? How the heck am I going to spin through all this fiber with a spindle? Where there's a will there is a way... Roberto actually has told me twice that he really likes the color of the BL wool, and I have something in mind that he has asked me for, a Christmas present. Roberto very rarely make requests so I'm really excited about making something for him. We have been talking about a sweater, kind of tunic-y with a monk type hood. I think the brown fiber would look very monk-like. I was initially thinking I would do stockinette, but now I'm thinking I would like the look of a woven type stitch. I really like the look of Veronica's Woven Stitch Poncho. Something along those lines on a smaller scale. Any ideas?
In other knitting news, I have finished all of Robear's body parts and just need to sew and stuff him. I also did another hat for Robby Cubed with the BFL fiber I got from Hello Yarn. Rob was kind enough to model the hat for me.

Onto foodie things, there was a recipe on Hello Yarn's blog for an amazing lasagna recipe that I had to try. Click on the Flickr badge in the sidebar to view all of the pictures. Here is the link for Martha's Favorite Vinaigrette.

Oh the hypocrisy of it all and other random things...

2006-09-22T17:45:00.000-04:00

So, I was contemplating cleaning the house, and I was thinking about how I always get onto Rob for leaving his messes everywhere. Then as I was looking around, I realized, I leave messes ALL the time. Of course in my mind it's not really a mess, because it's usually yarn/reading/craft related, but I had to break down and admit IT'S A MESS. To prove my point, I have taken some pictures of my mess to illustrate. These pictures have not been tampered with, they are actual photos of an honest to goodness mess.Click on picture to zoom in on text.

Here are some belly shots so my family can see how big I'm getting. Thank goodness for black and maternity jeans, I finally broke down and bought some this week. A little expensive, but stylish, eh?

Presents for Robby Cubed

2006-09-22T10:47:00.000-04:00

So, last night Rob and I were discussing, actually, Rob was listening patiently as I showed off my handspun that I had just wound into a center pull ball and my musings on whether to dye it and what to make of it. A hat..a sweater... I just wasn't inspired. I was a little nervous about knitting up my handspun, it's not very consistent and I was afraid it would look sloppy. Anyway, so this morning, Rob and I had this conversation.... WARNING - if you are allergic to cuteness, you may want to skip the following.

Rob: (out of the blue) i think you should make a bear out of that yarn
Bea: what yarn?
Rob: the stuff you spun
Bea: why a bear?
Rob: what else? a hat that he will grow out of, a sweater, that he will grow out of... but if he had a bear that his mom made from wool fibers with stitching on the eyes :) we can give it to him for his first christmas. and tell him it was his first christmas present ever. we should name the bear... robert pronounced in french...spell it robear

I was so overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness of this suggestion, I informed Rob that i was going to HAVE to blog on this topic and so I'm off on a new project, to make a Robear for Robby Cubed to love on till he has another Robby to the Fourth Power.

And so I begin to turn this
into this

The pattern is from Erika Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies. It's a very lovely book with simple, classic patterns in an easy to read, abbreviation lite format.

First Things First

2006-09-19T19:52:00.000-04:00

Before I post Bea's Famous Curry Chicken Salad Recipe, I'm going to force all of you out there in Bloglandia to ogle my lovely BFL roving handspun by yours truly.

Ooooooooo..

Aaaaaahhhh...To dye or not to dye that is the question. The natural color is a very pretty creamy white, and I would like to use the yarn for something for Robby Cubed. What do you guys think?

Ok.. On to Bea's Famous Curry Chicken Salad (OK, maybe not famous outside of my little circle of friends and family, but what the hay.)

First, I like to use the chicken tenders because they cook faster and stay more well, tender because it doesn't take as long to get the middle done. I sprinkle both sides with salt, garlic powder, and black pepper (from a pepper mill). Note: This recipe for the chicken is great by itself, in quesadillas, salad, whatever you can think of.

Heat some butter and olive oil in a pan over medium heat.

Saute chicken in pan 3-5 minutes per side. Food safety first! Always make sure your chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

While chicken is cooking, dice up some celery and onion. I like to add mango to my chicken salad, but Roberto is not a fan of sweet things in his chicken salad. But feel free to add whatever floats your boat.

Put celery, onion, chicken (diced up) into bowl and sprinkle the following spices on it. I don't really measure. I just add a lot of coriander, a medium amount of cumin, a dash of turmeric, a couple pinches of salt, and a healthy sprinkle of black pepper.

Put a few big glops of mayo on top and mix.

Enjoy! Yummy on crackers or on a sandwich.

Spin, Spin, Spin, and Cloth Diapers

2006-09-13T20:12:00.000-04:00

This past week, I have been working on spinning up some undyed Blueface Leicester top I got from Hello Yarn. I read on sweet georgia's blog that one of her favorite wools to spin with was BFL, so I thought I would give it a shot. I separated them into strips about the width of my thumb then drafted each strips really well, because I wanted to spin a much thinner yarn.

Not bad, eh? My goal is to spin enough to make a baby sweater. I'm going to ply two singles together to make a worsted weight-ish yarn. I really want to do a laceweight yarn, but I need to wait till my birthday, because I want a Golding spindle. I was thinking that I would die the roving with Kool-Aid, but I decided to spin up different thicknesses, and dye them different colors depending on what I wanted them for.

I'm pretty happy with the consistency of my yarn, I'm a little nervous I may have underspun some sections, but I will make that up and overspin the two-ply. There are so many things I want to do and make. This pregnancy is flying by, only 11 weeks left! I feel like there is so much I have to do. We aren't really doing a nursery or anything like that, but today I got the bug to try and make my own cloth nappies(diapers), and ordered a pattern online, and there is still a bunch of stuff I want to make for little Robby Cubed. Oh to be a housewife and get to stay at home full time and work on all these crafty things I want to do.

I discovered another great crafty blog. SouleMama inspires me with her sewing skills, and I really admire the way she interacts with her children. Her kids are so creative, and really seem to benefit from lack of TV and lots of playtime outside acting out the Wizard of Oz... I'm so ready to be out in the woods with Rob and our brood of kids, spinning, knitting, cooking and enjoying life.

I WON I WON I WON

2006-09-08T19:01:00.000-04:00

Ok, I just had to post twice in one day because I won a prize! Every Friday, Veronica over at the a year in stitches blog has fun prizes to give if you comment on her blog. And today, my name got picked for the Knitted Babes book!!

She has a lot of cool stuff for knitters for sale too!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Robby Cubed Knitting Projects

2006-09-08T09:44:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of the hat I knitted up for Robby^3.
I didn't have a model to try the hat on, but Rob was happy to use his hand as a stand in.

Rob and I both have big heads, and in the measurements taken so far, little Robby has a slightly big head. Maybe I'll make an extra hat just in case hat #1 is too small.

I'm also working on this blanket. I was laying out the strips for the blanket when I realized I made a booboo. Do you ever get that feeling when you are knitting something that you are doing something wrong, but you don't know what, and you keep pressing on anyway? Yeah, I had a feeling about the strip I'm working on. Oh well, I'll be taking a visit to the frog pond today. But...the end is in sight. I've totally lost track of how much yarn I've used. Let's just hope this blankie is well used. It's very cushy and soft, and I bet once I wash it, it will be even cushier and softer. I've never blocked anything in my whole knitting career (shame on me!!) but I think I may have to block the strips so they all match up.

Tomorrows post: Rebecca GOA sweater progress

First Spinning Project

2006-09-07T09:32:00.000-04:00

I got this great superwash merino roving from Hello Yarn along with a beginners Louet spindle. I was so excited to get started, I didn't take any pictures of everything I got in the mail, and I didn't have a blog then anyway. The spinning went really well, I spun up about 80+ yards total of a slubby single slightly thinner than worsted, then I plyed two strands together to create this....

Isn't it purty? I made a little baby hat for Robby Cubed. More pictures to come. Unfortunately, the first casualty of my weekend of spinning was my Louet spindle. Adrian at Hello Yarn was great and she is sending me a new spindle to replace the defective one.

I think for my next spinning project, I'm going to order a pound of Bluefaced Leicester wool and try my hand at dyeing it with Kool-Aid. Knitty has a great Kool-Aid tutorial . Of course, I also have a ton of other projects I'm currently working on. A baby blanket from Last Minute Knitted gifts done in Mission Falls Wool, AAAHHHHH no more garter stitch!!!!! And a sweater from last year's Summer Issue of Rebecca, done in black GOA.

More knitting goodness to come!

First Post to Bloglandia

2006-09-06T21:37:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! This is my first post... I will be putting up pictures of my first spinning/knitting project soon.

Bea Knits

two posts..

hola!!

it's a stockinette in the round

If you like kimchi...

Hey!

Tangled Yoke is done!!

wool rulz

i *heart* tangled yoke

late nights...

A new baby...

uhhhhhh...

Oh one more thing...

'Ello

Tomten-DONE!

Most of

Swallowtail

Ch ch changes

And I thought last week was bad...

A morning

Ravelry

The blanket

Gasp..Knitting Content!

I Miss You Robby

Goodies!

All I want for Christmas

Greetings from Ataranta

Foiled again!

Meme!

Mother's Day Numero Uno

Goodies!

Treeline Cardigan

Almost!

Chugging along!

Damn!

Unassuming

Look

And in this corner...

Why

Happy Berfday Bubba

Procrastination is my middle name...

Lynda Jo

1/2 an FO

The thing

Mr. Rogers talks to the US senate

Jaywalkin'

The big blue booger sucker of death...

My kingdom for a yarn needle...

Why my allowance should be higher..

Robby aka the Michelin Man

This weekend

I finished

Booty-licious

Slowly but surely...

Ladykiller

Progress...but not much

Cloth Diapers Part II

Calling all moms!!!!

She's my mommy not my nanny....

I still knit!!

Thanks everyone!

Robby's First Bath and his thoughts....

Helloooo Nurse

Strategerie...

Daddy Pouch is done!!!

BWAHAHAHA EETS ALIVE!!!!

Endless Baby Blanket Finished!

Nesting Induced Breakdown and the Cure

Totally Tubular Dude

Baby Blues

Sling it to me!

I'm back!

WARNING: Awesome Shoes Ahead

Update on EZ Sweater

Y is for Yoyo and Yarn

Now Presenting...Robear!

Four Things

EZ PZ

Twisted Knitters

Ode to my Local Yarn Store

i heart tangled yoke