Yums

"Hey Mom, this is a pretty cool chair you got me.  It's got this big tray to play with stuff on.  I like the comfy back support..."

"What!?!  I'm going to get food.  That is totally awesome.  I'm so excited I can hardly sit still.  I can't wait to get food..."

"Oh, it's just rice cereal."

I was really just trying to think of a new way to show off pictures of Chicklet.  She likes to talk a lot.  Well, at least Chiquita likes it when mom talks for Chicklet.  So far the two girls have had conversations about Rudolph being the best reindeer, iCarly being the best show ever, and not messing with the hair.  They also sing the Poopies in the Pants song, our favorite.

We have introduced foods to Chicklet.  It started with a little applesauce.  She was watching me eat, so I thought that I would share with her.  Can you say grub?  Since then, she has gotten rice cereal, applesauce, bananas, and cantaloupe.  I finally bought real baby food the other day, so the veggies are on their way.  With the exception of the rice cereal, everything else has just been what is already in the kitchen.


Note: the cool stockings in the background.  I love our stockings.  Everyone always asks where we got them.  They are these from PotteryBarnKids.  We bought them a few years ago and had to add Chicklet's this year.  Hers is slightly different, but both the girls were able to have ice skaters that way.  

It's That Time of Year

It's that time of year when all of us mothers get to go through our house and completely redecorate it.  In a festive holiday theme of course.  We've got our stockings hung on the fireplace and a few decorations here and there.  But most of all, we have our tree up.  I actually put it up the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  It's been loaded up with presents underneath and Thomas the Train is running his route around the tree.

I suppose I could of taken a better picture of it.  But, you know, whatever.  This thing is completely loaded down.  I don't think that I could find room for another decoration.  It's all silver/white and blue.  The red and gold decorations stayed packed up.  Next year I might get a smaller tree to put by the fireplace and that one can be red and gold and have all the kiddy decorations on it.  It has to go over there to match the stockings. 

I love this tree.  It was the prettiest one at the shop.  There are little pine cones and flocking.  Two types actually.  The stuff that looks like snow and GLITTER!!!  How awesome is a tree that comes with glitter.  We are such girls in our house.  DH says that it is going to make a mess, but hey, I like sweeping the floors. And a real tree would make a much bigger mess.  We didn't go real partly because I think fake trees are prettier, easier to decorate and I have allergy issues.  We have a couple of pine table top arrangements and I've noticed the increase in stuffy nosed days.  It stinks being allergic to Christmas.

Here's one of my favorite ornaments and the only one on the tree that isn't silver or blue.  It took me a couple of days to get all the ornaments on.  At first our tree was decorated by a couple of teenagers that were visiting.  They just put anything up anywhere.  It looked nice, but not symmetrical enough for my taste.  So, the other night I took everything off and put it back up.  This is of course after categorizing all the ornaments by size and color.  Starting with the largest of ornaments and making my way down to the smallest.  It's just absolutely perfect. 

I really am going to have issues when the kids are older.

Bottle Cap Trivet

Here is some more of my new found skill of crochet.  I made a tea trivet.  Too bad I don't have a tea pot to put on it.  Too bad I don't drink tea often.  Why did I make this?  'Cause it's cool and you have to drink beer in order to make it.  Ok, DH drank beer because I was pregnant at the time and I just stole the bottle caps from the beer bottles.  I think there is an orange soda cap in there somewhere.  Why did I make this???

Making this is pretty basic and I stuck to my usual MO of only half following the directions.  If you look at the pattern, there is a very tricky step when you have several stitches all on your hook at once.  Then it magically doesn't.  I decided I didn't want to follow this step and it's the bottom of the trivet, so who is going to be looking at it?  No one.  I just decreased the stitches and was still able to easily put the bottle cap inside my little crochet circle, so it all worked out in the end.

The only thing I would of done differently is use more colors.  Even though I have several small balls of left over sock yarn, I only have two of light-weight sock yarn.  The medium weight is just too heavy for this project.  One day I may come back to this project.  Maybe add some circles so that I can use it in the kitchen.  Or make matching coasters for the tea cups that I don't use.  Why did I make this?

I know why I made it.  For the BattleStar Galactica game that I am playing.  One of the missions was to make something by reducing, reusing or recycling.  I reused bottle caps and made them into a tea trivet.  It's all in good fun.

Thanks for the Time

If only I were able to be thankful for all the free time on my hands.  But alas, I have none.  With Christmas coming up, there will be even less free time.

As far as the knitting world goes, here is what is in my queue:

• the final sleeve for Chiquita's Baby February Jacket that I reknit
• button shopping for both the Baby Februarys so the kid can wear them before they outgrow them
  
• crochet Chicklet's blanket that I frogged
• knit two more baby blankets for the 2010 babies in the family
  
• Chiquita has requested a pair of blue socks and has already picked out the yarn and pattern that she would like
• finish the BFF's fair isle mitts hopefully by Christmas
• finish the other fair isle mitts I made a pair, but they didn't match, so now I will have two pairs
• finish the Rainy Day gloves so Senora Fuerte can make her pair we went in together to pay for the yarn

Those are just the immediate knits that are always on my mind.  Some of them with due date, quite literally.   I have two other WIPs that don't even make it into my thought process.

Thank You Dishcloths

Since it is Thanksgiving Weekend, the appropriate FO to blog about would be the Thank You dishcloths.  Being that I am so thankful and everything.   I made four sets of dishcloths for the lovely ladies girls that threw me my baby shower back in July.  I corrected my use of the word ladies because the other day, while writing an email, I called to a group of women in my age group "ladies".  Yeah, that's a great way to feel old fast.  I had a blast working with these bright colors.  The are the Sugar'n Cream cottons in the Hot colors.  Hot Pink, Hot Blue, etc.  I also crocheted these.

I have been working on expanding my fiber world and am teaching myself to crochet.  It started with a blanket for Chicklet, that has since been frogged.  Little squares are a lot easier to practice with.  Since making these 10 cloths for the baby shower girls, I have made some for Chiquita's teachers that we left in LA and two more that are just sitting at home unused.  I haven't decided if I should keep them for myself or keep them as stock for the next time I need to give someone something.  They are great gifts.  I quick and easy and cheap gift that stills shows off my fabulous, talented self.  Oh, that sounded conceited.

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful.  It was just the our family, plus one and a half.  DH's brother and his dog have been staying the weekend with us.  He brought his PS3 and Rock Band gear.  We have been jamming to the sweet songs of the Beatles.  Chiquita is quite the singer and it's great reading practice for her since she doesn't know all the lyrics.

DH order a smoked turkey and he was in charge of  cooking that.  I did all the rest of the traditional yummy stuff and Chiquita made cookies.  Star shaped sugar cookies with sprinkles.  They are all gone now.  We were thankful for our full tummies and the dishwasher to do all the dishes in.  I really am thankful for where I now live.  There is a washer and dryer, my allergies love the wood floors throughout, the kids love the private backyard and hiking trails.  Not being stacked up on top of each other is also great.

A Few Things that I am Thankful For :

• My Family
• DH's great job that pays for everything
• Living in lots of space, even if it takes me half an hour to sweep it.  I like sweeping better than vacuuming anyways
• Hugs and cuddles from my girls
• In house appliances, I just can't get over this
• Getting more sleep

I think I am about to be kicked off the computer.  Time for breakfast and then some Rock Band.  I'm thinking Santa may be bringing this down our chimney this year.  Did I tell you we have a chimney, too?

Stockings to Iraq

Just an early morning shout out to my BFF's daughter.  Katelynn's dad is in Iraq, yellow ribbon to the left, and she put to together a special surprise for him and all of his unit.  She had her fourth grade class help her stuff stockings for all 50 members of her dad's unit.  They are filled with shampoo, toothbrush and paste, snacks and candies, and other assortments that they were able to have donated by friends, family and local businesses. 

You can read all about it here in the local paper.

We are so proud of her and her dad.

Monkey Socks V

What do you call a group of Monkeys?

My MIL calls everyone monkeys.  So, it seems appropriate that if I am going to make matching socks for her and the girls, that they be Monkey Socks.  This is part of why the Froot Loops took me so long to make.  I had to make socks for us girls to wear together at the hospital.  We didn't do that.  Sad thing it that I still have not sewn in the ends to my pair.  I will, when my feet get cold enough.  My MIL is calling me a monkey right now.

These socks are placed in order of made first to last.  Did you notice that the main color got lighter and lighter?   Thank goodness I didn't make one pair of normal length socks from this.  The two wouldn't match.  I think that it is so odd that the yarn did this.  And it's nice yarn, Lisa Souza Sock.  I've always heard good things about her yarn, so she must of been monkeying around when she dyed it.  Oh, I crack myself up.

Chicklet's pair makes four, but it's my fifth pair of monkeys.  The title is not a typo.  They are still a little too big of our 3.5 month old.  If you can believe she is already that old.  And such a cutie.  Chiquita has fun wearing her matching socks. 

These are the "No Purls" Monkeys.  Basically the regular pattern, but you knit wherever it says to purl, with the exception of the rib cuff.  They actually are quite fun and I can see why it became such a popular pattern.  The baby pair is very modified to get four repeats in a round.  I was surprised the other day when a knitter identified them correctly.  I don't think they look anything like monkeys.  I also don't think people look like monkeys, but what do I know.

Okay, MIL doesn't call people monkeys because they look or act like monkeys.  I think it is because back in her single, modeling days... my girls have good genes...  she had pet monkeys.  Spider monkeys!  I have no idea where she got them.  Probably Mexico.  That's where we got our turtle.  Maybe monkeys come from there, too?  I guessing later I'm going to get the whole story on this.

It's Official...

We now live in San Diego.  Well, just north of San Diego.  I feel like I have moved out of the city and into the 'burbs.  In the South Bay (LA - there is a San Diego South Bay, too), you don't see a lot of open land.  There is just about everything within walking distance of everywhere.  We are talking at least two donut shops within half a mile of each other because there is a big enough population to support them both.  And the grocery store, round trip plus shopping, 1700 steps on the pedometer.  It was really congested and it's not quite the same here.

Today I went to Target.  The GPS took me to the nearest intersection and then stopped.  It told me I had reached my destination.  Then, where the heck is Target?  I'm driving around like a completely lost person and have a cop driving next to me.  Crap, am I speeding?  No, I was just driving past where you turn into the Target parking lot.  You see with all of this open land, there are a lot of trees.  Trees on hills to be exact.  And I figure, to keep the city looking pretty, they put all the shopping centers behind the trees on the hills.  As a result I drove past the Target.  On the bright side, while I was turning around I found the Post Office.

I make my way to Target, which is in the very back of the shopping center and pick up a couple of items.  Now I have to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Punch it into the GPS and, oh look, the Post Office is right next to the exit by the Target.  If only I had driven another 30 feet I wouldn't of needed to turn around.  I would of known that if I could of seen the Target through the trees.

Fifteen minutes later, I find the Bed, Bath and Beyond, which is actually only five minutes from the Target.   The GPS took me to an intersection that I swear had nothing but a sign that said, The Forums.  Of course, it told me to turn right instead of left and I had to make another U-turn.  On the bright side, I did find a nice looking church.  Couldn't see where the Forums where from the intersection, but heck, I haven't driven in this direction yet.  Found the B,B and B.  Did my shopping.

Now I need gas.  Go figure.  Turns out if you want to go to a gas station, you need to know the freaking DaVinci Code.  I could see the Shell station, but circled it twice before finding the correct road that would take me down the right hill to get to it.  I needed gas when I was down here last week.  I'm telling you... DA VINCI CODE.  I'd walk, but nothing is within walking distance. 

I'm certain that a couple of trips around town and I'll know where everything is.  But it sure is confusing when you are in a new place.  I got lost in Redondo all the time when we moved there, too.  For example, those that live there will understand this better, I lived at Artesia and Aviation.  I used to drive down south on Aviation to PCH in order to get to the Target at Sepulveda and Manhattan Beach Blvd.  I knew Aviation would get me to PCH and that Target was on the same street.  Two months later when I took a wrong turn, I discovered that Manhattan Beach Blvd was just north of my house and I was driving four miles for a one mile trip.   I'm really not the best when it comes to driving around.

At least I know how to get to and from the new school :)

Froot Loops III

Here are my pair of Froot Loops.  I can't believe how long it took me to finish these.  Of course, there were several other projects in between.  But, really, it took a year to make all three pairs of socks.  At least I got them done in time to wear them once for Spirit Friday.

What's Spirit Friday, you ask?  Every Friday at school, the kids wear the school colors of Red and White.  It is the whole reason I bought the red yarn.  Red knit socks on Spirit Day is an absolute must when your mom knits.  Chiquita has been wearing hers all year.  Chicklet has been seen in her on occasion.  I finally wore mine last Friday.  I get to wear them again tomorrow, but the girls will be wearing pink socks to go with their Halloween costumes.

Now I get to start knitting light blue Spirit Socks for the new school colors.  Chiquita and I went to the yarn shop and picked out some really pretty blue yarn with sparkles of silver in it.  Can you believe that my kid picked out yarn with sparkles in it?  I'm currently taking bets as to whether or not I'll have all three pairs done before the 2nd grade.

Froot Loops II

I find that I like knitting socks in threes.  One pair for me, one for Chiquita, and one for Chicklet.  I finished another set of three and went to blog when I noticed that I hadn't blogged about the pair that I finished in January.  Yeah, it's be that long.  I didn't realize how much of a dent the pregnancy put into my blog.  So before I can blog about the pair I just finished, I have to blog about the second pair that was made.  The good news is that you can expect another post tomorrow. 

Here are Froot Loops II (Chicklet's pair).  You might remember Froot Loops I (Chiquita's pair).  You might not.  I finished Froot Loops III two days shy of a year of finishing Froot Loops I.  It took me a year to finish three pairs of socks, one for a kid and the other for a baby.  Hangs head in shame.

Back to these socks.  It's not the greatest picture.  I made them for Chicklet before we learned the sex.  Red works for boys and girls you know.  I took the picture at my MIL's after telling her that we were pregnant.  I guess I wanted to hurry up an blog about it.  Ha!  I do remember that it was overcast and I was having a hard time photographing the red.

These are the greatest socks.  They stay on Chicklet beautifully.  In fact, so well that I have to give a little tug to get them off, but they don't leave any pressure marks on her skin.  I think that it is because I did the pattern on the leg only.  I've heard people say to put decreases above the ankles for babies to keep them from coming off.

Last weekend all three of us sported our matching socks.  It was so much fun.  You get more compliments that way, too.

Bathroom Scrubbies

Let's write a post about cleaning. Isn't that exciting. I haven't blog in for-ev-er and I want to talk about cleaning. I'll start with the fun side of cleaning... knitting!Knitted Bath Scrubbies! I took this pattern, which is actually for dish scrubbies, and made them for the shower instead. Basically it is some kitchen cotton and a couple of bath loofahs that fell apart. The biggest part of this project was cutting the tulle and tying it into strips to be knit up. I held the cotton and tulle together and just knit a square. I made a little border around the edge by not knitting the tulle with the first and last stitches. These are actually pretty great. And they haven't gotten smelly, yet. It must be all the Strawberry Swirl and Sorbet Smoothie bath wash that Chiquita uses.

To me they look like watermelon and kiwi strawberry bubble gum. You know, the Bubblicious brand bubble gums. My favorite thing about Bubblicious Gum is that they have two colors in each piece. The thing I like the least about Bubblicious Gum, or any gum for that matter, I always seem to bite my cheek. You think I would remember that it's there. So, I just don't chew gum anymore.

Now I get to transition into the less fun side of being cleaning. I've been cleaning out my house. Everything is getting scrubbed, there are things going to Goodwill, but mostly everything is being packed up into boxes. Boxes? you ask. Have I neglected to mention that my little family is moving. Geez... you'd think I would blog more often. I've been busy. Chicklet is sleeping on my lap as I write this and I should be packing or cleaning, but I'm taking a break. Knitting has come to a complete stop, not that I would blog about it. (I have a ton of catchup blogging to do just in the knitting dept).

We are moving. We're leaving the busy, crowded life of LA and heading to San Diego. Moving out of our tiny apartment, that we needed to move out of now that Chicklet is here, and into a house. Yes, a house. With a backyard, a dishwasher and room for kids to play inside. And our own driveway. My own parking spot that no one else is allowed to park in and no one will yell at me for parking there. I've been living in an apartment for the last twelve years. I can't wait until I don't have to check my quarter supply before doing laundry. It's going to be so wonderful. After I pack everything, clean everything, move everything, unpack everything. Sigh, the joys of moving. I know you are insanely jealous.

There is one more aspect of cleaning that I've been having fun with. Exploding diapers. There have only been a few of them, but thank you Simple Green. It gets poop stains out of everything. Just thought I would share.

Chicklet Smiling

I finally got Chicklet smiling on film!!! I just had to share.

It was so much fun to wake up this morning to her being this cheerful.





Chicklet is 8 weeks today and looking a bit less... I believe the word is "fresh." She looks a bit more like a baby and not a newborn. Chiquita is still in love with her and we monitor to make sure she isn't too motherly.

On a different note, Chiquita made me so proud the other day. I went to back to school night. Chiquita told me that I had to sit in her desk. She had already been moved twice, so this was certainly the right seat for her. When I asked why she moved desks twice... "It's because I was talking. But now I sit next to Gregory and I not going to talk to him because I only talk to him at Math when I get to help him."

Brings tears to a mother's eyes. She's just like me. Even better... Guess where her seat is??? Right next to the teacher. Love it. She's a delight to have in class though. I know because her teacher told me.

Saartje's Booties I

I love these little booties. They are just too darn cute. These are a gift for one of my Cylon Friends. Yes, if you can believe it I am still playing that Battlestar Galactica game. In fact, the game has ended and we are starting a second season in October. But, back to the point. I made these for Kesten. She had her little boy, "Leoben", a couple of weeks before I had my little Chicklet. As soon as I was done making this pattern, I knew I was going to have to make another pair for Chicklet. They knit up super fast and you get to go button shopping afterward. It's also a great project for that left over sock yarn. Kesten was beyond super sweet and sent me a little something, too. A very cute striped purple hat. She wears it in the morning when it's still a little chilly while walking Chiquita to school. The picture is at 6 weeks old.

Pattern: Saartje's Bootees

Source: Saartje's Bootees by Saartje de Bruijn
Yarn: Conjoined Creations Flat Feet

Burp Cloths

I was trying to show off all the neat handmade gifts that had to do with baby, when I was interrupted by having a baby. There was the bulk of the gifts that I had received so far and then a Lace-Edge Blanket that I had made for a friend of mine. I've been pretty busy lately. But I'm going to try to work on this again.
These are one of the more recent gifts I received. I was so surprised when they showed up in the mail. They are made by one of my favorite designers, Carrie from Sommer Designs. I didn't even know she had my address. I own a couple of her bags and can't wait until October when I'll get to see her again. I'm thinking that I'll be walking away with one of her Hostess Aprons. Probably the Green Apples one. Oh wait, I just looked and it's not there anymore. Everyone must of loved it. I'll dig around in her inventory and share which one I come home with in October.
Back to the gift. These are great. They are burp cloths. I keep one in the diaper bag for when I'm out and about. I've gotten a bunch of compliments on them already. I feel so snazzy with my pretty cloths. Thank you so much, Carrie.

It's Been A While

It's been a while since I last posted. Not that I'm complaining because every time you check the blog, you see those great pictures of my family. hehe. But really, I can't believe how busy I have been. It's a wonder that I was able to have a job and get anything done. There has been no blogging, a little knitting (for my game), I've finally mailed out all the thank yous from the baby shower and most of the birth announcements. Then there has been the walks to the park, post office, ice cream shop, and the play dates, errands that need to be ran, cleaning around the house. Not to mention the diapers, feedings, rocking to sleep and floor playtime.Chicklet is four weeks old yesterday. She's a pretty good baby. Pretty cute, too. I don't know why people make ugly babies? This picture is from when she was about two weeks old. That little toy is almost the same size she is.
Chiquita has been soooo bored. Being home with mom all day is just a killer. Especially when all your friends decide to travel out of state for the last couple of weeks of summer. She did start the new school year yesterday and is so happy to be with all of her friends again.

Chicklet's Arrival

One of the things about having a baby is that you can never know what the day you have your baby has in store for you. Wednesday morning I certainly didn't think that I was going to be holding a little angel that night. Here's our little story with lots of pictures along the way.
Wednesday Morning: I woke up early, I'm not sleeping all night. I had been getting very miserable the last couple of days. The Sciatic nerve was acting up more than usual. It felt like Chicklet was rubbing up against my pelvic bone making moving in any direction difficult. There were other ailments but I was basically telling everyone that "I'm done." The only thing really different with this morning compared to the others was that I swore my boobs had gotten bigger over night. I also complained later to Senora Fuerte that there was extra pressure today. Not "urge to push" pressure, but pressure in the same area. -I'm sooooo done with this.
Off to Work: Roll call is at 7:30am around these parts. I was glad that it was my last day of work. We were having a half day and I was counting down the hours. It was very busy with a few last minute additions, but I was able to see some of my favorite patients before leaving this week. At 12:30 we stood around, avoiding our last work goodbyes and keeping some of the tears back. Senora Fuerte said if felt like high school graduation; you're are still going to see each other, but you are sad that you regular routine is over. At 1:00pm we finally all went home.

I had been telling a joke for the last week. I wasn't allowed to have the baby until after 12:30pm on Wednesday. Because at 12:31, I didn't work for "that guy" anymore,-pointing at the Dr while laughing at my own jokes. I know everyone thinks that I'm silly, but really, sometimes, you really should take me seriously. I like to think that the Dr. is wiping the sweat off his brow about now.
Before Going Home: I had a couple of errands to run. I went to Whole Foods and got one of my favorite lunches, aka. attacked their salad bar. Then I was off to my 2:30 appt. for my 38 week check-up. I had set it up for Wednesday so that I could meet the new doctor, otherwise I normally went in on Fridays. I was expecting the, "Hmm, it seems your cervix is made out of titanium because it's not doing anything," response I had with Chiquita. Instead I had a very painful check -how new is this doctor?, but I think that she was trying to get things moving. "Look at that, you're dilated 4cms and 50% effaced!" I was so happy, it was the best thing that a pregnant woman could hear. The only thing is she made it sound like I could be like that for 3hrs or another 3 days. -I don't want 3 more days, I'm done!

I left and went to the grocery store to buy Popsicles. No, I wasn't celebrating. I was picking up Chiquita on her last day of Summer Camp and had promised to bring Popsicles to the park. You know how much trouble I would be in if I didn't bring Popsicles.
Finally Home: Chiquita and I started getting things done that I thought I would have the time to do after I was done with my job. I was expecting that I would have another week to work on this stuff. We did laundry, packed our bags, cleaned the house up -mostly. I was having occasional contractions, but nothing really different than what I had been feeling during the week. The ones that I thought! were Braxton Hicks.

The contractions were more noticeable around 5pm. Then became more regular around 7:30pm. I tracked them for an hour and then called my doctor. I got the on call doctor whom was different from the one I saw earlier. She was a little miffed with me for not being at the hospital already. -Sorry, last time I was induced, what can I say. I've been busy.At the Hospital 9pm: Well, getting here late I didn't feel so bad. The contractions were more intense now, but I was only dilated to 5cm. For like a whole half hour. Then suddenly I was 8 cm. Half hour after that I was ready to go. They were going to let me try a walking labor, but I guess I did all that at home. The poor nurse. She was really impressed with how well I was taking everything in, being that they barely had time to call the OB, let alone an anesthesiologist. She told me next time, "Come sooner!!!" It is a lot easier to grasp the idea of having a baby without any pain meds when you know you're going to have her in the next hour... or as soon as the doctor gets there. Plus, I was distracted with us keeping everyone updated in real time on Facebook.

And then there was her...

August 5, 2009 at 11:02pm 7 pounds 0 ounces, 20 inches long

And we are loving every nibblet of her. Especially Chiquita, I can't keep the two of them apart.

38 Weeks

I'd show you a picture of me at 38 weeks, but I am not pregnant anymore.
More to come once I'm home.

Lace-Edged Blanket

Projects, projects, you guys needs some projects. Since we are on a baby gift theme, I'm going to start with something I made for another baby. This is for Zuul. I mean, if he's going to be a future prom date, I should knit him something. He likes his blankie.This blanket was finished literally the day before the baby shower. I took the pictures in the car on the way there. The funny thing is, it took a couple of years to get this all knit up. Mind it sat in a basket for 8 months at one point in time. Senora Fuerte gave me fair warning when I had only 6 months left to finish it.

It's knit with DK weight cotton on size US3 needles. It measures a bit larger than 4feet square out of alternating stockinette squares. Then I added a lace edge. The cotton is great and I hear very washable and baby spit-up resistant. hehe.

Pattern: Lace-Edged Cuddle Blanket

Source: Simple Knits for Cherished Babies by Erika Knight (Rav link)
Yarn: Elann Sonata Mercerized Cotton in Sage Green

Knit Gifts

It was a pretty busy week last week. There were a lot of family events from birthdays to baby showers. In fact, it was so packed that Chiquita is still celebrating her birthday because there just wasn't enough time last weekend to fit it all in. With all this celebrating, there have also been a lot of gifts received. Some of them knit related. So, I'm sharing the great talents of those that I have in my life.

First on the bill is actually from the BattleStar Galactica game. I won two prizes. One for completing all the Ready Rooms in the first round, which is not going to happen this month. The second is for being an outstanding player. Did I mention I got a promotion, too? I'm a Captain of one of the Ready Rooms. Both prizes are stitchmarkers handmade by Admiral IYN and my Commander, Kesten. I love these and have already put them to use on a project. Next are gifts for Chicklet. We had our baby shower last weekend and it was very fun. All the games were good and the guest were wonderful.

I received this gorgeous knit dress with matching hat from Liz. The detail in this is absolutely amazing. I could take pictures of it all afternoon, but since it's not my handy work, I won't. All I know it that I think Chicklet will be coming home from the hospital in this. Then there will be an entire afternoon of picture taking. Liz also gave me pink Converse Booties. Chicklet's baby buddy Zuul also has a pair in blue. I can picture the two of them cruising in their strollers to the park with their matching booties. All the other babies will be jealous. Chicklet is betrothed to Zuul for one obligatory high school dance. Chiquita also has a pre-selected "prom date." Hey, I could betroth them to marriage and if they want to pick the Freshman Year Winter Ball, that is fine with me. They just have to go to one school dance together.

Senora Fuerte knit me a beautiful Feather and Fan Blanket. (She's Zuul's mom, too). I love the feather and fan detail. It matches the bassinet perfectly, but I think it'll get taken around town with us, to show off if for nothing else. Oh, yeah. And to keep the baby warm. Finally is a Bunny Rattle from my sister. I love that she uses blush on the cheeks of her toys that she crochets. It gives it that little extra touch. This is a good pattern, too. Easy areas for little baby hands to grab onto. Next on the line is my birthday present. And yes, some of you family members should feel guilty for not calling me on my birthday and still forgetting to wish me a happy birthday even though I've talked to you on the phone since. You know who you are.

Anywho. Chiquita and DH went to my favorite yarn shop and picked up some of my favorite yarn for me. Malabrigo..mmm yummy. Chiquita picked out green (Lettuce) because green is my favorite color. Every year I get a green colored present from her. She also picked out a red (Ravelry Red) color to go with it. Then declared that I should make something for Santa Claus. Shhh. Don't tell her, but I'm not going to do that. Lastly aren't really gifts considering that I paid for them. But they colorways were picked out by someone else. My Dad was traveling on the East Coast this summer and I gave him some cash to pick up some sock yarn for me.

Both of these are from a shop in Charleston, SC. I believe both of these are dyed by the LYS owner, at least that is what my Dad said. The first is based on the colors of the Charleston Harbor. I unrolled it to show off the colors a little better. If you use Google Maps in the satellite view, the colors match the harbor. The second is called The Low Country. That's the nickname for South Carolina, opposed to North Carolina. This yarn is from a sock club. But apparently the shop girl thought my Dad would be a perfect dating match for the LYS owner and sold him this yarn to smooze him. Yeah, I was a little funny to get a phone call that afternoon asking if my Dad was single. (They had my number because I had called ahead to check their hours, location, etc.).

All that said, I am the only non-club owner of these lovely little wee skeins. I've never knit socks with wee skeins and all I can think of is eight ends per sock to sew in. It should be fun though. Phew, that's a lot of knit stuff to show off.

35 Weeks

I'm very bad in that I haven't posted this yet. Since I haven't posted anything, I'm going to back date it to actually match 35 weeks. The good news is that the pictures were taken on time. So, here I am at 35 Weeks and very uncomfortable. I've... what's the word... Popped Out. I've been feeling great up until the last week. I still feel very healthy, but things are starting to hurt. Some of them painfully. All the typical pregnancy things like heartburn and Sciatic nerves. The muscles on the top of my tummy have decided that they don't want to work anymore and get very sore holding up the belly's weight. Here are the comparison posts: 30 Weeks, 25 Weeks and 20 Weeks. I have no idea how close to accurate the belly down picture is compared to the others. It's hard to keep my balance when taking this picture and I don't think it's lined up just right. But being huge is the proper mental perspective. I completely cannot see under my belly no matter what position I try to bend over in. Who knows what food drops and gets stuck on my shirt past the belly button point?

I'm thinking the next update will be early, 38 weeks. Hopefully at 40 weeks I'll have better pictures to show you than me in the bathroom.

Easter Egg Yarn

Here are the finished results of all that Easter Egg dyeing. I only dyed three skeins, and had a ton of dye leftover. I think that next time we will do a lot more, or a heavier weight yarn.

The first is Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. Here are the two balls skein together. I love these colors. I really want to make something striped like a Chevron Scarf. Chiquita has already decided that I have to make something for the baby and the other one is hers. Here they are balled up. The left is teal, strawberry, yellow and purple. The right is blue, green, yellow, orange, and purple. I love the colors. They are so bright and pretty. The only thing about this yarn is that it's 33% Microfiber. I think that it made the dyeing process a little harder. I had to "squeeze" the color into the yarn. I didn't have this problem when using the 100% natural fiber yarn. In the end, there are no white spots and I think the yarn looks great. It kept all it's shine and softness.

Here's the other ball of yarn. It's about 158 yards of leftover Gemini from Twist Yarns. That would mean it's a special yarn brought into my LYS called Twist Yarns. It is made up of 50/50 Wool and Silk. Here's is the big shocker. I dyed it for my game. That game... the BattleStar Galactica game. Hey, it got me dyeing yarn which I have been wanting to try. The colors used are strawberry, blue and yellow. I don't know if I am ever going to knit this up. I kinda want to keep it to remember the game by. But maybe the perfect project will present itself next month. Yes, the game is not over until the end of August. And again. A really fun project!

Happy Friday

I don't normally blog about my daily going ons, but Friday was a lot of fun. It started with sleeping in and missing my OB appointment. Oops. I'll be making up for that Monday afternoon. It was one of the first days in a very long time that I have been able to sleep in and actually did sleep in. So, maybe worth missing an appointment.

Chiquita and I went for a long walk later that morning. We decided to make a giant loop and end it with Taco Bell for lunch. The entire purpose of this walk was to go to the Krazy $1 and Up Store. We had to pass three thrift shops in order to get to the store going the long way. When we got there, it went out of business. At least we still get to go to Taco Bell!We had to jump in the car and go to the .99 Cents Only Store. I didn't really want to go there, but it wasn't too bad. Chiquita ended up picking up a few things that were not on the list. And there was candy. The other place didn't really have candy. We were picking up clear condiment bottles to use with all of this stuff. Have you figured out what we did next? It was so much fun! We dyed yarn with an Easter Egg kit. Chiquita had so much fun, too. It's a great craft to share with your kids. Though, she is being a little bit bossy about what I can knit with the yarn. Here's everything before we steamed it. My day was so full of giggles and being busy, that I decided to get a power nap. I was really tired. I started steaming the first batch of yarn, set the kitchen timer for 30 minutes, took the timer with me and slept for 1 hour and 20 minutes. I slept through a kitchen timer beeping for 1 minute right next to my head.Thankfully, nothing happened to the yarn. Stay tuned until tomorrow to see the final results.

Toast

Hello, would you like another FO? You are actually getting this the day after I finished it. That might be a record. Getting pictures done the same day as I BO is certainly a record. I think that I still have 8 projects to post about and I keep knitting. Back to the topic on hand. Haha "on hand." I laugh because I'm showing off my Don't Frak With Me Mitts. This is Toast. Haha, I laugh again. The pattern is called Toast, knit in Organic Cotton in the color Toast, knit for a game with at bunch of Toasters.

Are you confused yet? These were knit up for the Battlestar Galactica game that I am playing on Ravelry. If you are familiar with the TV show, you already know what Toasters are and what the frak "Frak" means. Otherwise, I'm not going to explain it to you. The game is why I keep on knitting. We have 6 missions every month, so 6 projects to get done. Some of them are small and not very impressive, but will get a little post shoved in somewhere. Others are pretty cool...

...Like my Toast. Actually, they aren't my Toast. They are for someone else. This is such a fun and easy pattern and I have so much yarn left over, that I am going to make myself a pair, eventually. I modified this pattern just a little bit. There are two versions. Toast and Toasty. Toast is more of an arm warmer. Meant to be worn with 3/4 sleeve sweaters to give you that extra bit of warmth if needed. Toasty has a thumb knit onto it. I didn't want to do the thumb, because I like the look of the regular Toast better. But the recipient of these really wants wrist warmers, so I just added a hole for the thumb to stick out of. That way they can be worn both ways.

I wish you could feel how wonderful the organic cotton knit up. It's really feels like a luxurious knit. I picked this up at an incredible price, 300yd. for $20. Then the company sold to an exclusive distributor and the same yardage is almost $100. Which is insane. I was showing them off to my LYSs owner when she let me know all this. I guess people still come in looking for it and she won't bring it in at that price because it's just too much. I'm so making myself a pair... eventually.

Pattern: Toast

Source: A Friend to Knit With by Leslie Friend (Rav link)
Yarn: Twist Yarns Organic Cotton in Toast