Have a happy hand-knit holiday…
2008 @ 9:53 am
All our best at the end of 2008. Our hand-knits are all being put to good use and I hope yours are too.
If I look tired to you it’s because I AM. My New Year’s resolution is to get my eyebrows waxed.
Our Favorite Song for Children…
2008 @ 11:50 am
Another Boheme
2008 @ 11:30 am
I am totally running wild with this sweater. I’ve just completed my fourth. Isn’t that obscene? And this isn’t even it… this is only the third! Photos to come of the fourth.
See Ravelry for complete details. I made the newborn size with sock yarn on size three needles. Yarn is Colinette Jitterbug. It’s extremely saturated colorway that I believe is called Jewel, although I am not positive. I chose to use it because this particular baby’s mama once told me that until she met her husband (my longtime friend) she wore only black. She was wearing a tangerine sun dress and aqua eyeshadow as she told me the tale. I figured it was a-ok to stray from the traditional pastels for their daughter, Ava (ah-va).
I also made a Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap to match, but can’t find the photo. It was quick, easy and oh-so-cute!
Now on the needles: another Brooklyn General Hood to match Boheme #4!
FORGOTTEN POST! A fall recap
2008 @ 8:33 am
A FORGOTTEN POST! This should have posted on November 24th.
Since fall has turned to winter overnight here in NYC, I thought I would do a little recapping.
Let’s start with Halloween! Some pumpkin shopping…
At 60+ degrees, costumes were easy. Maia and I made this cute as can be ladybug costume out of felt and twill tape. If you want to make one too, visit here. Simplicity is best when it comes to costumes, I say.
Maia and her bf were both bugs. Love bugs, as it turned out!
Poor Cassie was a hodge podge hobo, but she had fun anyway 
She grabbed this freaky decapitated skeleton out of the ground and giggled at it for a few minutes. We put it back when she started sampling its nose.
Our fall fun ended with a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. We often visit cousins there, but this is the first time we visited the aquarium. It was very cool–especially the sharks and our glimpse of the baby dolphin! Amazing. Sorry we don’t have pics, but suffice to say we had our hands full that weekend. We’ve all been under the weather since.
Cassie started sitting up a week or so ago and also moved out of our bedroom and into her own–shared with Maia. The transition has happily been going extremely well. With two kids with very different needs, blogging has become more difficult. I look forward to the day they play together!
Cobblestone Complete!
2008 @ 9:15 am
I finished my husband’s first hand knit sweater just in time for his birthday! We will no longer speak of which birthday it is, okay? I decided I’ll block this when it’s dirty.
I had two false starts with this sweater and wound up knitting the entire body twice. It wasn’t until I was done with the second knitting that I realized I had made a major boo boo in the stitch pattern for the side panels (I knit reverse st st instead of garter). No way was I going back. Now, I like it better this way! it gives the sweater an eensy bit of negative ease.
Full details can be found on Ravelry, but the main details are that I used Rowan’s Scottish Tweed Aran on size 9 needles. The kitchener under the arms looks great and I used the ends of that yarn to tighten up the pit holes.
Considering my original deadline, without any screw ups, was January 2009, I am really happy it’s complete before the year is out. Jason is very happy with the sweater and I think it looks great on him. I highly recommend this pattern for a man in your life.
PS-don’t even think about skipping the short rows. This is where the magic of the fit lies!
$200 on the nose… not bad
2008 @ 9:09 am
On our way up to Rhinebeck Jason asked what my budget was. Since I had nothing particular in mind, I said $150. We were only there on Saturday for a couple of hours and I figured I couldn’t do too much damage. Turns out I came in under budget! See my Ravelry Stash for the full details. This is my first trip to Rhinebeck since I was preggers with Maia! It’s definitely grown.
First purchase was one HUGE skein of Sport weight superwash… suitable for both genders of babies, I think.
Then a skein of Decedent Fibers-Creme Puff in a colorway I can’t remember.
It was at this point that my shopping companion and I realized that we might be experiencing a bit of a fiber high. We both bought this and had to admit that if it had come into stock at our favorite shop, we wouldn’t even look twice! Still though, we are both looking forward to big, warm mufflers of this winter.
We stopped at many other booths, but I was holding out for the much loved Brooks Farm. There I picked up two skeins of their new Solana–a superwash merino.
Finally, we stopped at the super-packed Socks that Rock booth. I couldn’t even get in there (with Cassie strapped onto my chest). Oh well. I let it go.
But wait… thanks to the generosity Maura and her family, we got to go back on Sunday! We Wongs stayed up at the Green and Purple House for the night, had some fun with the kiddies and then made our way back to the festival before driving home. The frenetic (frantic?) pace of shopping while the kids are being occupied by fathers didn’t allow for the most clarity on day one. Sadly, it also meant not really hanging out with Spiders or Brooklyn General knitters either. I was pretty surprised when we counted up our haul and I only had four skeins!
So, on day two we knew exactly what we were doing. I bought one skein of Solana for my sister (not pictured), a skein of Socks that Rock Heavyweight:
Four skeins of this stuff I can’t find a receipt for. I am pretty pissed about this. This wool is super soft and I am hoping to turn it into something for Cassie.
All in all, it was a pretty great experience. Both kids have colds again and Cassie is a little windburned on her face, but that just makes them stronger, right? Our overnight was lovely and we even got to stop by my parent’s house in the way home. I’m happy with my purchases and i think I kept a handle on my wallet too. Save being able to spend time with anyone or even people watch, it was a success! But, believe me, I missed you girls 
. Next year no kids, I think.
Is it too late to mention that I’ll be at Rhinebeck?
2008 @ 10:00 pm
Cuz I will… whole family in tow. see you there!
Some progress, albeit slow
2008 @ 10:30 am
I completed the second Boheme for Maia about a week ago.
Pattern: Boheme by Allegra Wermuth
Yarn: Lamb’s Pride Worsted in Raspberry (2)
Needles: size 7… i think.
Mods: I increased the largest size by 4 stitches and went on my merry way, skipping the lace pattern cuz I am not in good head space for lace these days.
Results?: Great! A little big, which is perfect. I think it will last for a couple of years. Maia LOVES it. I am so so lucky to have a kid who truly appreciates the things I make for her. She even pretends to knit me hats in the car. Because mine always seem to blow away. Oh yea, I got the cute triangle turquoise buttons while visiting the Gleek out in Bay Ridge. The shop had a HUGE selection of buttons, ribbons and other notions. Not to mention fabric and patterns.
I also knit some socks for Cassie–that was a bust.
Pattern: socks with short-row heel (my first, with help). I cast on 36 stitches and did a 3×1 rib.
Yarn: Koigu KPM in a purpley colorway (p324)
Needles: sz 1 magic loop
Results?: note to self–no need to rib the whole thing for a baby. The socks look great, but they are too tight. They’ll be gifted to a skinnier baby sometime this week.
Bonus photos
blog moments? oh there have been many…
2008 @ 10:25 am
I just haven’t been able to get them down on paper–never mind the blog. I’m just now grabbing the last gasp of summer off of the camera. I’ll just share what I find since there’s bound to be something fiber related…
oh yes… Maia woke up this morning and declared, “You forgot about my red sweater!!!” To someone with no sense of time, I’m sure it seemed like I had.
I’m working on a third Boheme for Maia. I think I added 6 stitches to the pattern to increase it to a two year old size. I think it’s a little too big! Oh well. Kids grow. I’m using Raspberry Lamb’s Pride. Since I only had one skein, I perused Ravelry to locate another. I got lucky and found one for 5 bucks. I always bypass lamb’s pride these days, but it really is a solid choice for a warm kid’s sweater. I’m glad this has short sleeves though… it would be way hot.
Maia got her first haircut this summer. With playschool starting this month I though it was time. not too mention that she would NOT let me brush it or put it up. The end of the day was always a sticky, sweaty mess. Now, because she has a haircut, she allows me to brush it. Yay!
Toward the end of summer we were able to partake in Brooklyn General’s knitting breakfast on a few regular Fridays. Maia and her buddy Miss P had fun moving the ENORMOUS amount of new stock all around the store and Cassie got to spend some quality time with her built-in bf. Miss P’s sister arrived just a few months behind Cass.
Oh yea, those home improvements? The hallway and my “office” area are complete, but I haven’t taken photos yet. Guess I’ll work on that next.
Happy 4th Anniversary to me and my husband…
2008 @ 8:20 am
In honor, I would like to share the reading our friend Sean did at the ceremony…
Each generation, in its turn, is a link between all that has gone before and all that comes after. That is true genetically, and it is equally true in the transmission of identity. Our parents gave us what they were able to give, and we took what we could of it and made parts of ourselves. If we knew our grandparents, we will have taken from them what they could offer us, too. All that helped to make us who we are. We, in our turn, will offer what we can of ourselves to our children and their offspring.
The greatest gift you ever give is your honest self.
When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong along with the fearful, the true mixed in with the façade, and of course, the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way.
We need to help people to discover the true meaning of love. Love is generally confused with dependence. Those of us who have grown in true love know that we can love only in proportion to our capacity for independence.
Love and trust, in the space between what’s said and what’s heard in our life, can make all the difference in the world.
All excerpts from the writings of Mr. Rogers. Yes, that Mr. Rogers.
Off to celebrate!
