orinda5

Firework Fun

2010-07-02T18:57:00.004-06:00

Happy 4th to those in the States.
May your weekend be filled with many "ooohs" and "aaahs".

A few more things...

2010-06-29T08:33:00.006-06:00

I forgot to mention a big thing that happened this spring for the Bud...

He has been using his running bike for a few summers now ( September 2008, November 2008), and last summer he alternated using that and his "big bike" with training wheels, so all it took this spring was a little push from Mr 5 and he was off.

The cupcake's new love is a musical card that plays "Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches and Herb.
She has been cracking us up with her dancing:

One more thing...
I needed a little purple.

I think it goes well with the gray "highlights" I have been adding over the past few years.

I've been plugging away on the Green Mountain Shawl, but it doesn't look that much different. The rows are getting a lot shorter, and I hope to be wrapping it up soon.

Mr 5 Tomato-Seed

2010-06-22T13:21:00.008-06:00

It's officially summer (here in the northern hemisphere anyhow), and it is about time for an update on this blog.
So join me on the morning deck - and I'll pour another cup of coffee (it's never too hot for coffee, in my opinion) and let's catch up.

Mr 5 got on a gardening kick this spring and started lots of seeds inside - including 120 heirloom tomato plants - who could resist with names like "Bloody Butcher" and "Mortgage Lifter". We only saved 18 for our own garden and spread the rest about town - like some sort of Tomato version of Johnny Appleseed.

The clever Mr 5 also altered some large cans from my school's cafeteria to hang a few grape tomato plants.
(Thanks to the cafeteria staff for saving them and running them through the industrial dishwasher for us!)

We are eagerly awaiting the first pick of the season.

We have already been harvesting from our small crop of lettuce - or as we say at our house "le-tooce"

Our summer plans mainly involve hanging out around home, so we invested in a small improvement for the backyard.

Thanks to craigslist, we paid very little, but it was pretty cut-throat for swing set listings this spring. I emailed my interest about 30 minutes after this one was listed, and I thought I had already missed out.
The Bud picked out the material for the new canopy. I love it.

The morning deck is the perfect place from which to supervise. To shade it in the afternoon, the eternally creative Mr 5 snagged a used sail from a local sailing shop (for free!) and rigged it up as an awning.
It also shades the door into the house, which keeps our kitchen sooo much cooler! His thoughtful design is easy to adjust or quickly take down in the case of inclement weather. I'm in love!

This really is where we will be all summer if you happen to be looking for us.

During all of this blog silence, our little cupcake has been growing up. She is 11 months old today!
I can hardly believe that in one month it will have been a year since her eventful birth.

She has mastered moving herself around in her own special way which involves pulling with her arms and pushing with her toes. And just this past weekend she figured out how to get herself back into a sitting position.
She is an easy going sweetie who loves to watch her brother, the ultimate entertainer.

My big news on the knitting front, is that I finally tried my hand at stranded knitting.

It's like having a new toy. And so many more patterns have moved themselves from "that's lovely" to "that's possible" in my brain.
I love the traditional Norwegian "Selbu style" patterns, so I see more snowflakes in my future.

I am also still working on the Green Mountain Shawl from the first issue of St-Denis Magazine.
This thing will be mammoth once it is blocked.

Thanks to the Bud for adding some scale. This shawl starts from the outer edge and works increasingly shorter rows to the center neck, so what's left should seem to go far faster than what I have completed so far. It is a little warm on the lap for the current weather, but I hope to make some more progress on it soon.

Happy June Solstice, Everyone!

giggles and milk love

2010-03-21T10:23:00.003-06:00

It's been quite a long time since I have posted a movie of any sort. We no longer have a working device to capture video... but I recently discovered what I can do with just the voice recorder on my phone.

And so for your listening pleasure...

Cupcake is such a serious (but happy and easy going) baby - especially when compared to her kooky brother. She usually gives us subtle smiles instead of big grins, but somehow we managed to capture this rare giggle-fest.

It's hard to believe our little Cupcake is already 8 months old.

(Click here to see a slideshow of her growing)

She just started blowing raspberries this week and is loving bananas and carrots with rice cereal. She is a pro at rolling over and looks like she tries to get her knees under her at times. She loves to stand and play in her exersaucer - marching in place and spinning around.

A few weeks ago she grew two small razors in the bottom of her mouth - I'm still healing.
Click the photo to enlarge and get a peak at her tiny weapons.

The Bud is constantly pretending to be a new character in his world that is always a stage.
Random items (considered by many to be trash) become fantastical props.

We have become used to stealthily throwing away things like the foil top to his yogurt at breakfast time because "that's my new toy."
This morning he was either a tiger or "the coolest puppy in the world" depending on the moment.

He has been singing lots of original songs lately that evolve into variations on a theme.
I love his "I like milk" song - especially the end note on this version I recorded.

Stitches in time and space

2010-03-20T09:44:00.004-06:00

I have recently finished a couple of projects that have been on the needles for over a year. Not because they are large projects - just because of various extended hibernation periods.

One of my finally finished projects is my Ishbel shawl out of Serenity Sock by Zen Yarn Garden (that little bit of cashmere makes it so wonderfully smooshy!).

I started this in March 2009 during the part of my pregnancy when knitting (and even reading) made me nauseated. I'm not sure why I decided that this was the moment for me to knit my first lace shawl, but everyone was making them - and they all just looked so lovely.

I made it through the stockinette portion just fine. But for some reason I screwed up on each repeat of lace in a way that my preggo brain could not find and fix - leaving me to rip out and re-do multiple times. I finally refused to rip back again and just shoved it in a bag.

Months later in the throws of gift knitting, I pulled it out for a status check. I was easily able to find the last elusive mistake and fix it without ripping anything back.

Now it was back on my radar - ready and waiting for a little finishing time.

I only needed about 4 hours to have a finished Ishbel just in time to wear it for my birthday a few weeks ago.

Ravelry Link

I love how it turned out. I only wish I had done the large stockinette with the small lace border.

Knitting on this again brought me back to thoughts and feelings of a year ago. How things have changed!

I also recently finished a plain pair of socks that have been on the needles since January 2009.

Stitched into these socks are so many places and memories.

The yarn was a birthday present back in 2008 from my knitting neighbor pal who dyed it herself.

I wanted a pair of plain socks to work on at the Bohus Exhibit at the Swedish Institute.

I cast on both socks - trading off knitting time to keep them at about the same place.

The cuff and most of the legs remind me of this.

Then they sat until about April when they traveled to Yarnover - where I worked through the increases and decreases of a small gusset and added a piece of scrap yarn to pull out later for an afterthought heel.

They sat again until August - after the Cupcake had arrived, and I needed some easy and portable crib-side knitting. Thinking about finishing the feet on both socks takes me back to a specific corner Abbott Northwestern Special Care Nursury where I spent a lot of time.

That just left the toes and heels which I WIPed to FO during this year's Ravelympics

Ravelry Link

Although I didn't like to have a heel to knit after I felt like I should be done, the fit is fabulous, so I think I will probably do it again. There are a few gusset/heel details on my ravelry project page.

I was an Olympic junkie this year watching any event that was on, and consulting my Olympic iPhone app for up to date info. I finished the above socks in the WIP category, and

the Cupcake's Tulip sweater in the children and sweater categories.

Now I'm focusing on what I am calling my shoulder blanket. The cover project from the first issue of St. Denis Yarn Magazine.

Ravelry Link

The piles of snow are gone and it feels like spring is finally here.

Not quite perfect timing for a huge worsted weight shawl. Hmmm.

It is supremely enjoyable knitting however, so I am loving it anyhow.

Happy Spring, everyone!

still a favorite

2010-02-07T10:28:00.004-06:00

Remember that new favorite video I mentioned? (OK Go's This Too Shall Pass)

If you know the Bud, you know it's all about the dress up and pretend. So it came as no surprise that after watching the video for about the 55th time this morning, the Bud wanted a drum and "feather hat" like the lead singer.

We used a few things we had sitting around, and voila!

We are now playing the video repeatedly so that the Bud can drum along.

It cracks me up to no end that when the drum stops at certain parts in the song, he stands and waits for it to start up again.

Thanks for the fun, OK Go!

a new favorite

2010-02-06T13:33:00.003-06:00

Going back to work has been not so bad.

It does make me really appreciate sleep and weekends. A snow day in the near future would totally kick derriere (although I've probably ruined any chance of that happening by actually saying it out loud).

We've got a new family favorite youtube video (sorry no embedding on this one) - it just makes me smile and sing along each time. Maybe it's the marching band - I had a little marching band envy in high school. Violists don't ever march, and those band folk always seemed to be having a lot of fun.

The Bud has decided that the song is about his little pal Molly, and that the lyrics are actually "when the Molly comes."

There has been nothing at all happening on the knitting front since the start date back at work, but I did manage to finish a couple of quickie projects during the final countdown:

Ravelry Link

The Bud was in dire need of a new hat. He loved my Thorpe, and I had a few leftovers around that seemed a perfect fit.

Ravelry Link

I also finished my "back to work" mittens - I love Through the Loops and her patterns - so lovely and always well written.

Everyone is napping but me, so I will end with a gratuitous baby pic (our little Cupcake is now over 6 months old!) and enjoy a few precious moments of silence. Shhhh.

Whew! I made it!

2010-01-11T10:09:00.005-06:00

Back in September I created a challenging list of gift knitting for myself: 3 shawls, one scarf, one pair of mittens, a pair of fingerless mitts and some ornaments.

It was September, I had months to finish everything.

I got a few "you'll learn" sorts of smiles and nods from those who thought my after Christmas post would most likely be titled "Grand Plans".

Well, to that I say, Ha!

I made it, even with last minute additions and a detour for myself.

BSJ for little Cupcake
Stetland Triangle for Mom
Breathe Deep Mittens for SIL
Scholar Collar in One Row Scarf Pattern for Dad
Evangeline Fingerless Mitts for Niece
Ornaments for lil gifties
Lace Beret for myself
Highline Shawl for Sis
Elfin baby hat for a wee one's shower
198 Yards of Heaven for MIL

The BSJ was added to the list a little late to finish by Christmas, but it was very close. And Cupcake didn't know the difference, so I'm safe there.

For months I've been putting off selfish knitting. Oh I did take a short detour to make a beret for myself, but that felt like a blip in the sea gift knitting. Don't get me wrong - I loved all of those projects, but now it is January the time for selfish knitting, and the time for new projects. Perhaps later it will be the time for finishing some WIPs, but only once the joy of starting long awaited new projects has worn off.

The first FO for the new year is a Thorpe from my own handspun.

Ravelry Link

I love the browny stripe in the middle and the chunky braids for the ties.

Thorpe is one of the many fabulous patterns from the talented Kristen at Through the Loops. I used two of her patterns for gifts (Breathe Deep and Highline), and I just started a pair of mittens using her All the Water pattern with some juicy cables. Yum!

A story of socks reborn

2010-01-05T11:01:00.004-06:00

It's a new year, a time for looking ahead and focusing on the future.

It is in that spirit that I plunged a pair of socks into kool-aid and vinegar last night.

It was January 2008 when I knit these foot coverings of orangey goodness:

Ravelry Link

I was in love. I dyed the yarn myself with kool-aid.

The repeat worked well with the pattern.

They were the most beautiful socks I had created.
(cue ominous music)
Until the unthinkable happened...

new - black - leather - shoes

those new shoes coupled with my sock pride (I just had to show them off in my new shoes) ultimately lead to hand-dyed, hand-knit sock disaster.

I have no pictures because the result made me so sad: black stains all over the foot of each sock.
I soaked, and soaked the socks, and much of the black came out, but out came most of the beautiful orange color as well. I could hardly bring myself to look at the resulting dingy yellow color.

It took over a year and a half, but I was finally emotionally ready to do something about this sock tragedy.

Last night I overdyed them with some Blue Raspberry and Tropical Punch.
I wasn't sure what the final color would be, but they ended up a nice rusty orange-red.

The feet have some wear - fuzziness that looks a little white in the photo on the heel and ball, but it's not horrible for 2 year old socks.

It's almost like a brand new pair of socks for a brand new year.

Happy new year, everyone!

the buck stopped here

2009-11-13T13:05:00.000-06:00

Yesterday around lunch my neighbor called from her car to say that she just pulled into her driveway and saw this guy hanging out.

Not a normal visitor to our 1st ring suburban neighborhood.

Later he circled back for a closer shot.

The bud kept calling him a reindeer. It seems the excitement of the "reindeer season" is already upon us.

Our poor little tiger (aka the Bud) seemed to catch just about every bug out there last month. I am crossing my fingers that he is finally on the mend for good.

Thankfully we have managed to keep the Cupcake healthy during this very germy time.

Meanwhile... I have been knitting away on many secret projects.

finished this (ravelry link)

checked off this (ravelry link)

still working on this (ravelry link)

and this (ravelry link)

and this (ravelry link)

(I recently learned that I can now post photos directly to Ravelry - so there are more pics and details there)

I did take a little break from secret knitting to whip up a beret for myself - or as my friend called it, a beret-k (just say it out loud).

I love a good beret - every girl needs at least one in her hat arsenal - and when I saw this one in the recent Vogue Holiday magazine, I knew I needed to cast on.

I have finally learned how to read a chart "lefty style" - it's like a whole new knitting world just opened itself up to me. This lace cart based on a Japanese stitch pattern was a joy to knit.

Many folks, including the infamous yarn harlot, have fallen in love with Dream in Color Starry lately - this is very similar (superwash, semi-solid, fingering weight, spun with a little silver), but is from Zen Yarn Garden - a favorite little shop of mine.

Ravelry Link

I hope you all are making time for a break (or a beret-k) for yourselves.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T20:06:00.002-06:00

Time with Sweeties

2009-10-03T10:05:00.006-06:00

It seems these days that when I am not spending my time with this little sweetie

or this little ~~goofball~~ sweetie

there is not much time left for online adventures - if you are looking for me these days, I tend to spend my limited online time checking in on Ravelry or with a quick photo dump on flickr.

We have made it out and about in the real world a bit recently...

We couldn't miss the fabulous Franconia Sculpture Park Fall Festival last weekend,

where you can view my new favorite sculpture.

More photos from FSP

We also celebrated Great-Grandma Alphie's 95th birthday

More Photos of Alphie's Birthday

Our little Cupcake is named for Alphie's mom. Yes, "Cupcake" is a traditional Norwegian name.

There has been some knitting, but the change to Fall has brought about the change to secret, gift knitting. There may be some sneak peeks on Ravelry as things get finished.

And I do have it in my plans to eventually post a pattern here for my Blue Wheaties Socks.

Note to self: find those notes.

Our little Cupcake has been home for 4 weeks now.

If you know me in real life, you may know about my cousin's little Tinkerbell born three days before Cupcake, who is not yet home. The two girls started off together in the same NICU. Cupcake finally passed her "due date" this week - little Tinkerbell has another month and a half until she passes hers.

Please send thoughts and prayers to my cousin's little one: Tinkerbell's Site

No ribbons, but a prize

2009-09-05T07:47:00.003-06:00

Well... my knitting did not bring home any ribbons from the State Fair this year,

but we brought home a far better prize yesterday.

Hooray! Our Cupcake is home!

It's a... Cupcake!

2009-08-24T19:30:00.000-06:00

Never have I loved having my iPhone as much as I have over these past many weeks. Every email and message on flickr, facebook and my blog came to me via my phone at points when I really needed to have some good thoughts coming my way. Thank you!

I really haven't had much energy for responding to things, and now it seems like so much time has passed - please forgive me and know that I appreciated every single message!

Here is a quick overview of our wild ride:

Saturday, June 17^th, we went up to Grand Forks for a family wedding. That evening I wasn’t feeling quite right, so Mr. 5 and I went to the ER just to get reassurance that all was well. Instead of getting reassurance, I was admitted with preeclampsia and told to get ready to deliver that week (10 weeks early!).

Both Mr. 5 and I felt very strongly about having this happen back home, so luckily on Monday I was transported via ambulance from Grand Forks down to Abbott in Minneapolis.

The goal was to let cupcake keep growing inside me as long as possible, but on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning the preeclampsia started to affect my liver – that meant delivery needed to happen right away.

Our little Cupcake was born at 5:44 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22. She was 3 lbs 6 ounces and came out crying!

In the 24 hours after she was born, I was not recovering quite as expected. There was some scariness on Wednesday night getting me stable, but nothing 4 units of blood and a little monitoring in the ICU couldn’t fix.

Cupcake has done amazingly well since arriving a bit early in the world. She needed a bit of help with oxygen as her first day went on, so they put her on a C-Pap machine (which is like a baby version of the ones folks use for sleep apnea).

On her third day she graduated from the C-Pap machine to just a nasal cannula (the little tube that blows oxygen under her nose).

After a few days she was breathing room air just fine.

Over the past weeks, our Cupcake has been growing....

and growing...

and growing!

She is now about 5 and a half pounds! It blows my mind that she has grown so fast.

We are hearing talk from doctors and nurses that she could come home as early as next week.

ETA: I just looked at the post settings, and I started writing this post on August 7th - I hope my next post doesn't take quite so long.

Cupcake Still Cooking

2009-07-21T17:49:00.000-06:00

After a wedding outside of Grand Forks on Saturday, I went to the ER and was admitted for preeclampsia. Made it down to Abbott on Monday night. I'm holding steady and will be here until delivery - whenever that happens. I'm 30 weeks Wednesday (tomorrow) , and the goal is to keep Cupcake "cooking" as long as possible.

My little Donald O'Connor

2009-06-29T07:46:00.003-06:00

The Bud is totally enamored with Donald O'Connor's number "Make 'Em Laugh" from Singing in the Rain.

He has been reenacting it for a few days now. He doesn't know all the words - but enough to make it pretty convincing. Key components to the reenactment include jumping down from someplace to start off the song (O'Connor jumps down from a piano at the beginning), hitting someone with a hat, sliding on the floor on your knees, spinning in a circle on the floor while laughing like crazy, and general jumping around with fancy leg kicks. Thankfully there have been no attempts to do the wall climbing flips. Whew!

What Mind?

2009-06-24T08:12:00.003-06:00

For the life of me I cannot find anything I need this morning.

I said to the Bud, "I'm losing my mind!"

He replied earnestly, "What mind?"

Exactly.

Coffee-Boo on the Morning Deck

2009-06-22T10:44:00.011-06:00

It's Monday, and I have no clear plan of when I will get out of my Jim-Jams for the day. I love summer!

So far we have done some stamping (note the blue ink on the arms and face of the Bud in the close-up pic below), played a little Chutes and Ladders, and had a coffee-boo on the morning deck.

Last week Mr. 5 made a deck in a day on the back side of our house (the side that faces the garage and driveway - a prime playing area). He has had some scrap lumber set aside for the project for awhile. The back side of our house is always shady until noon - perfect for enjoying a morning cup of coffee. The cabin deck on the other side of the house (which I love - don't get me wrong) gets blasted with sun until the evening.

It's the perfect size for a couple of chairs and a little table.

The Bud loves his "coffee-boo". Which should probably be spelled Coffee-bou after this place - which is where he first had a steamed milk with caramel syrup. I'm not sure how he decided on the name - they call it a reindeer drink there.

My brain is in "easy knitting only" mode. So I started a simple garter stitch shawl with an eyelet row every so often. The pattern calls for a ruffled edge with a crocheted picot edge on the ruffle. I plan to keep the ruffle, but not the crochet picot - that's a little too much frosting for me. Ravelry Link

I've been feeling a little under the weather with a summer cold for the past few days. With Cupcake along for the ride, I am unwilling to take any drugs, so the cold seems a bit worse than it really is. Grandma G loaned me one of these yesterday. I was frightened at first, but once I tried it - it made a lot of sense. Today I feel like I am more on the mend. I'm hoping that feeling continues.

Happy Summer, Everyone!

They say it's June

2009-06-07T19:05:00.004-06:00

...but you wouldn't know it from the weather this weekend.
It's been so cold and rainy.
The drizzle stopped enough today for a small group of us from the Roseville String Ensemble to play at a re-dedication of an amphitheater of a local park.

Let me tell you... it was cold. I was very thankful for my fingerless mitts - and yes, I kept them on during our performance. Did I say it was cold?

We had no idea just how cold and windy it would feel out at the park.
Grandma and Grandpa pulled out the emergency blanket they had stashed in the car!

Thanks to Mr. 5 for taking a few photos while I was trying to keep my fingers warm and moving enough to play selections from Fiddler on the Roof and West Side Story.
There is something special about playing show tunes in a park though. I don't get to do that enough.

Speaking of the photos. We got ourselves a new camera in preparation for a new spurt of important photo taking with Cupcake arriving this fall. Thanks, Bertha, for allowing us to upgrade with your upgrade.

Also in preparation for Cupcake...

...the Baby Surprise Jacket is finished. I used fingering weight, so it is small - but it is the perfect size for a newborn.
I love how this pattern looks in a semi-solid yarn.

I love knitting away at the soothing garter stitch.

And I love the complete genius of Elizabeth Zimmerman - only an amazingly gifted knitting mind could come up with such a pattern.
I am knitting a Sweet Baby Cap to match, and I might think about some booties or socks if I have enough yarn left after that.

Ravelry Project Page

I may need to make another BSJ in a slightly larger size, we will see.
I did splurge last weekend and purchased a kit for a Tulip Cardigan (with the Anita's Rainbow set of colors), and I have some other ideas too. I'm not sure what I will start next.

So many choices.

It's a.... Cupcake!

2009-05-25T18:35:00.000-06:00

Recently we had the big ultrasound and found out that the little one on the way is a girl. I'm "old" this time around and had the super-duper ultrasound, so they were very sure (they were not just looking for the absence of boy parts, but clearly saw the presence of girl ones).

When we told the Bud, he was convinced that we had ignored his request for a baby brother - until he talked to his good friend A. who has a 6 month old baby sister. Her excitement for him turned him around (Thank you, A!). She also had a ton of advice for him - including that he needed to come up with a nickname for the baby before she is born. He thought for a bit and came up with cupcake.
So, Cupcake it is.

Ravelry Link

I finally finished the "Jim Shirt" (aka vest) I was working on for the Bud this weekend. I only knit on it about 5 different days, but it took about a month to squeeze those 5 days in.

The fit is good except for the length. I followed the length guidelines for his size in the pattern, but I think I may rip out the cast on edge and make it longer at some point.

The Bud is a big fan though, and that's what counts.

Grandma and Grandpa came over for Memorial Day today. We planted tomatoes, and had a fabulous lunch on the deck.

The Bud got to plant his very own garden of marigolds with Grandma, who also brought him a special bud-sized watering can. He has been watering everything possible all day.

I have been working a little on the lace part of my Ishbel Shawl (Ravelry Link), but I must be too tired for lace - I've messed up somehow three different times, and I just need to let it rest for a bit before I do something rash. Perhaps once school is out, my head will be clearer.

Instead I cast on a little something for Cupcake with lots of soothing garter stitch.

Ravelry Link

It's my first Baby Surprise Jacket, and like so many knitters before me, I am wowed by the genius of Elizabeth Zimmerman. Since I am using fingering weight yarn, this will be "first week of life" size. I wouldn't make this size for a gift, but I know that I want to have a little sweater to wear coming home, and this will be perfect.

Here's to great spring weather and days off with family.

Shepherd's Harvest

2009-05-10T11:25:00.005-06:00

It was chilly yesterday at Shepherd's Harvest, but the rain stayed away.

Mr. 5 and the Bud came for the morning, and I met up with my good friend R and her little one who was a trooper through the whole day.

I stuck pretty close to my budget plan - there was so much eye candy, it was a little tough at times.

There was one thing I knew for sure I was going to get for myself, a pendant from Jennie the Potter. I was eyeing them at Yarnover, and knew she would be selling at SH too.

To my complete surprise, Mr. 5 and the Bud picked up one of her beautiful bowls for a sweet Mother's day gift. I don't know how they did it without me seeing - they are just that good.

Her sheepy wares are cute, but I'm a huge fan of her other non-knitting related designs.

I also budgeted to pick up some fiber yesterday.
I have not done much spinning since I got my wheel a few months ago - mostly because I have been exhausted from working on this. But I am back at it again (now that I have more energy) and hope to spin more through the summer.

I am getting better at spinning thinner and more evenly, but I wanted some more fiber to practice on. And I wanted enough to have some usable yardage at the end just in case it ends up being a little thicker. So I ended up bringing home close to a pound of this coopsworth in "Maple Leaves".

My last purchase was from the Briar Rose stand. I couldn't resist their colors.

Everything of theirs was so lovely - I could have just picked a skein with my eyes closed and been completely happy.

Shepherd's Harvest also gave me the chance to do my first official Kinnearing of local reporter Maya Nishikawa.

Here is her photo she posted via twitter. (Scroll up to my photo of the sheep shearing - look familiar?)

I'm looking forward to an evening on the deck with ribs on the grill. Mmmmm.

I won!

2009-05-10T05:21:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it - it was an honor just to be nominated - I never thought it could actually be me!

Click here for a video about the announcement.
(The part about looking for the retainer in the garbage cracks me up.)

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there.

Knitting with Glass?

2009-05-08T17:57:00.003-06:00

When we were out an about the other day, I saw this light fixture in the window of a local lighting store.

The shop was closed, so I couldn't get very close with the phone on my camera, but here is a somewhat closer shot of the glass stitches.

I'm headed to Shepherd's Harvest tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers for no rain!

Thank you!

2009-05-02T20:45:00.000-06:00

Many, many thanks to those of you who donated to the Roseville String Ensemble and sent good wishes to our group over the last month.
Your generosity was wonderful, and raised $400 for the RSE - enough to cover the cost of purchasing/renting music for one of our concerts next year!

Throughout the past month I have added each new entry to the drawing into an excel spreadsheet automatically assigning a number to each entry.
Today, with the help of a trusty online number generator, I "drew" names.

The first prize package of Malabrigo worsted goes to... #9 - Michelle of KnittingInTransit

The Malabrigo Lace prize package goes to... #29 - Carrie of sadlonelycreator

The sock knitter's prize package goes to... #3 - Joan of joanie1803knits

and the skein of "Lame Duck" beautifully spun generously donated by Nuttnbunny goes to... #36 - Annette of confessionsofayarnaddict

I will send out prizes this week.

For those of you who might be in the twin cities area, tomorrow is our last concert of the season:

A Senior Shoppe Jim

2009-04-27T17:44:00.005-06:00

We actually had some warm days last week. Warm enough to eat out on the deck and chat with the neighbors. It's gotten a bit chilly and rainy since then, but soon it will be deck weather all the time - I can feel it.
And just in case you didn't know, I totally *heart* my deck.

Thank you for all of the congratulations on the last post. We are pretty excited around here. As I get more and more into the second trimester, I feel my knitting mojo returning. Soon we will have the big appointment where we should learn gender.

Then I can know if I want to use this for a BSJ,

or perhaps one of these for another February Baby sweater.

I think I might need to make another one of these too.

Until then... I'm working on a Jim.
A Jim?
Yes, a Jim.

We don't dress up much around here at la casa de cinco, but we made an attempt on Easter. I dug around in the hand-me-downs from my favorite nephew and found a sweater vest that was a right-now-perfect-fit on the Bud. He loved it, and called it a "Jim".
We were confused for a bit, but we have come to the conclusion that he met someone recently named Jim who was wearing a sweater vest.
Mr. 5 decided to join in the fun and wear a vest too, and the Bud declared them both "Jims" for Easter.

Hence my latest project - a larger Jim for the Bud.
I even swatched. Whoa!

All the yarn is from a find at the senior run gift shoppe (that's right - a shoppe, not a shop) at the community center where I sometimes have meetings for work.
The main color was a white wool (similar to Cascade 220) that I dyed with coffee.
The stripes are some discontinued Green Mountain Spinnery I snagged at the same shoppe for a few quarters.
I started with only my wits and a little math, but then I took a look at Blank Canvas [rav link] and that was pretty much my plan, so I will make that my official pattern.

I love how Yarn Pirate's striping pattern worked out with one thicker stripe in the middle, and imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, right?

I realize it is spring, and then it will be summer - probably not the best time to get the most wear out of a wool vest... so I am trying to make it a bit big for the Bud with the hope that he will still be able to wear it this fall. He's been growing so much, we will have to see how my over sizing works out.

One final reminder...
The RSE drawing is coming to a close this Friday (click on the image in the sidebar to see all posts related to the drawing). I should be able to draw names on Saturday.
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far!
If you would still like to make a donation and/or be entered in the drawing - see this post.