It's that time of year...

...where we all migrate to SAFF. I hope to see you guys there. If Ryan cooperates, I will be heading up with my husband on Friday. Now, my husband said he is going with me, and I hope he does but you all know how guys are.

Here are some of the latest pics. He already has his first tooth! I swear to God he will be starting college tomorrow at the rate he is going. :) He is also in a growth spurt.

Isn't he dreamy? Too cute for words. I am just all a-squish.

I have started knitting. It is only a hat for my husband, but at least it is something that I can manage. Ryan is funny as he likes to watch me knit. He stares as if he is trying to figure it out. I let him touch the yarn and the knitted fabric. But not the needles! He is at the grabby stage, and I do not need him poking his own eyes!

Gloriously Delinquent...

...is how I would describe myself. My mom just left town from her first visit to see her grandson. I have also been sooo busy running around to Doctors and therapy appointments for Ryan. We are still seeing an OT for eating (though we have started practicing spoon feeding to get ready for the next step) and a PT to address his development. He has challenges because he is hypotonic and has reflux. But he has made amazing progress in the last two weeks. He has already rolled over many times, is feeling and grabbing things with his index finger and thumb, and so many other things I can't remember them all. So he is really catching up.

As you can see, he is really a character. He is quiet, observant, and social. Every day, I am more and more convinced that babies are a miracle. Each and every one.

Every now and then I get to see a few knitters. I have to avoid one knitting group because people have shingles in it, and I can't risk exposing Ryan to the chicken pox at such a young age. If I can get my yarn out of storage, I hope to start knitting a hat for my husband in his school colors.

Things are getting better...

...the little guy is finally managing his acid reflux, thanks to Prevacid and formula with rice cereal in it. He is finally sleeping better, and is smiling alot! I think he was delayed on smiling because the acid reflux put him in so much pain that he did not feel like smiling. Now he smiles all the time! He gets his 2 month old shots tomorrow morning. I am so proud of him and I am looking forward to getting out more after he has the shots. Maybe I can finally start making it to some of my old knitting groups once in awhile!

Here is an old picture of him smiling. It is hard to catch him smiling on film, as he gets serious anytime a camera is near.

And here is a picture of his chubbier self, rockin' the faux hawk.

Of course, I still don't have time to knit. But maybe I will try to work on that. It is hard to do when you know you need to play with your baby and still get chores done. It is funny that he is so big (already 14 lbs and at least 25 inches), that he would never fit into anything I would have knit for him for this winter, even with all of my best guesses as to how big to make it. So it is a good think I did not finish knitting anything!

I am ecstatic! I found out today that someone finally bought my shirt design on zazzle.com (there is a link on the bottom of my page). I think that means I need to finally get off my butt and design some more. It is the tshirt that I wore to Stitches East last year. I know you all know how tough it is to wear or display your art and receive zero positive comments on it. It is almost as bad as getting negative criticsm. Well, that is what had happened to me. So it feels so nice that someone actually liked it enough to buy it! Thank you whoever you are! You made my day. :)

Don't mind while I do...

...take a break from regular blog posting. The little guy now has acid reflux, and every day is a new adventure with what and how much medication, what to feed and how much, and whether he is sleeping or playing enough. Yes, you can tell this is my first child and he is one grand science experiment (as my mom says).

Anyhoo, here is the picture I used for his birth announcement. I hope you like it. I took it myself. :) I had to take like 80 pictures to get 2 good ones.

Ta daa!

May I introduce to you, my new son, Ryan?!

He was born after 17 hours of hard labor, and a C-section. He was 8 lbs, 12 ounces, 22 inches long, head circumference 14 inches, and feet over 3 inches long. He is a big boy! In addition to his size, my sacral region was shaped slightly flatter such that a vaginal birth would not have been possible. But this is something the doctors don't know until they go in. That is why after the induction we waited so long before doing the C-section. No amount of picotin made my body progress with the labor (though the doctors, nurses and doula DEFINITELY tried), and he would never have been able to make it through anyway. All I can say is that modern medicine is a miracle, that we are able to have babies under difficult physical circumstances and have both the baby and the mom survive. It is a blessing. I wish this was the case in every country. And I don't feel any less of a mother for not having a vaginal birth. It was just not meant to be. I guess our combined family genetics leads to huge babies! :)

All of his nurses thought he was the cutest. And he really is.

I am healing well, but I really should rest more than I do. I am going to try to force myself to rest more today. My feet are swelling so huge that they are scary looking.

He has feeding problems, so we are working with training him to eat faster, more aggressively, stronger. All I can say is, moms, trust your instincts. Even when the doctors and some nurses think nothing is wrong with your baby, pursue it. I ended up eliminating sources of fussiness until I got down to the fact he was probably not taking in enough milk...so back to the lactation center I went. Fortunately, there I found a nurse who figured it out right away and helped us with a concrete plan. I highly recommend using lactation specialists, especially those who support both breast and bottle feeding. The ones I use are wonderful nurses, some with master's degrees, and IBCLC certifications and experience. Their knowledge of breastfeeding led to the diagnosis of his problem (which extends to both breast and bottle feeding). Even if you don't think you need help, chances are that YOU WILL. So try to reach out for these resources in your community. My lactation center understands that we have to use a bottle as part of the baby's therapy to become stronger. Because if we don't use a bottle, he would take so long to eat enough that the feedings would blur into each other and we would never sleep! He may never fully take to breast feeding, but we will try a little every day. But all of this is okay, as we are doing what we can and what is best for him to grow and thrive.

Okay, enough gabbing. I really need to get ready to feed him again and get back to sleeping. I have only slept about 5 hours. And I still need to catch up from missing sleep for about 5 days! Ah, well one more thing. My husband can't handle the sleep deprivation as well as I. It is really quite funny. All of that GREEAAT Arrrr-my training in sleep deprivation has finally paid off in my personal life. I didn't hallucinate once. I have not fallen asleep on the job (though you ladies who breastfeed know that breastfeeding and pumping do their best to make you fall asleep while you are doing it). And I would let my husband sleep whenever he could while we were in the hospital and at home. He is better at powernaps than I. And since I can't drive, we have to keep him in the best shape we can.

Okay, that is all for now. I really must go.... :)

Still preggo....

The baby is nearly a week past his due date. If the hospital has a bed available, we will induce tomorrow.

Wish us luck. :)

On the crafty front, I finished my hooter hider. Yay!

Driving for the hoop....

That is what the baby is doing. I have exactly two weeks until my due date, and the last few days he has been so active, trying to push down that it is kind of funny and scary at the same time. It is endearing, but then you don't want him to come too early. Again, he kicked where the ultrasound monitor was placed on my belly. He always makes the nurses and doctors laugh. My son will have the protective instinct from the womb. :)

One of the things that is so frustrating right now is finding baby products that do not contain bisphenol-A (BPA). Baby bottles are easy, it is the teething rings and other gifts people gave me that are hard to tell. Some you just have to check with manufacturers or guess by how soft or hard the plastic is. For those of you in the same predicament, this link is good to use. Between this and lead paint in everything from China, what the heck are parents supposed to do nowadays? You are basically left with cloth items being the safest toys to use. I guess that is good for a knitter.

I have worked a little farther along on the Baby Surprise Jacket, but not much farther. My back has really acted up this week, so I have been focusing on chores and getting my back better. I was so happy to hear my husband say this morning that he feels this weekend is "...going to be a nesting weekend. I feel like I need to nest." Yay! Hopefully I won't have to remind him 10 times to do the chores we need to get done! :)

If it wasn't for the baby...

...I would have given up by now. Pregnancy makes me stupid. As in, I can't follow directions for anything other than assembling baby gear. (And thank goodness I can manage that, as my husband cannot. He has NO patience for it.) I had to frog back the Baby Surprise Jacket *yet again.* Someone shoot me now. I managed to catch back up to where I was today, sitting on the back porch and knitting in the nice weather. It is too hot for a pregnant lady to be in the sun, but the shade was not so bad.

I also managed to make it up to the Northwoods Fiber Farm sale. I bought some plain old cascade 220 in hopes of finally doing a Noni bag pattern that I bought back at Stitches East, and some Manos del Uruguay in lilac/lavender color to do a sweater vest for myself.

Edited to add: And thanks to my fellow veterans. Thank you for your service to our country. I will never forget you.

I just have to say...

...thanks. It is so nice that my different knitting buddies have been so positive and supportive to talk to about the pregnancy. Especially the NwAnon group. It is nice to be around other women who are positive mommy role models, and who give positive advice. It truly means alot to me to be surrounded by optimistic people.

I have to admit that I am really lucky and have not ran into TOO many negative people, but there are some out there. Like the woman who told me that children never get better after the newborn/infant stage. Yah, thanks for that one. Thanks for making me feel like I am sentenced to prison for 18 years. And then other people who (alternately) complain strongly about their kids in private, but do nothing but laud them in the public arena like they are saints. Which is it? I know it is both, but don't act like it isn't. I know I didn't always make my parents smile. :)

I don't know, I guess it is hard for me to understand because I tend to be an optimist. Even when things are really cruddy in my life, I don't stay sad for long.

Ring Momma Administrivia: AlaskanKnitters RingSurf

I hate to be a negative ring momma, but I had to finally crack down and delete some sites out of the ring. This is because for days, weeks or months now, these websites have failed to carry the ring code. If you are interested in rejoining the ring, life is simple:
1. Add the ring code back to your MAIN blog page.
2. Request to be added back into the ring.

Alright, easy then, huh? And if you need help, let me know. The only thing is, I am about 3 weeks from my due date (I am pregnant), so I may not have the speediest response time anymore. Just be patient with me. :)

In the interest...

...of full disclosure, I forgot to say in my last post that things have also been just crazy IRL (in real life).

Family issues, vehicle issues, etc.. So that is another reason why I have been away so much. I have to take time out to handle family issues and to handle business. I know you all understand what that is like.

When will these crazy winds die down? I need to clean my back porch, but it is no use if the wind is just going to blow the red clay dust back into my face! :)

I will be volunteering at Paris Mtn Park tomorrow, for Music in the Woods. The concerts are free with admission into the park. Come, hang out and knit!

One month to go...

...until the baby (should) be born. It is so hard to believe I just let time slip by so much between updates for my blog. But I have had to realize in the last few weeks that I need to slow myself down. I am so freakin' independent and headstrong that I am always trying to do so many things. But my body is telling me, woah. I was getting nauseous just grocery shopping today (after other errands of course). But it is getting tougher and tougher to get stuff done.

In the last few days, I can feel the baby starting to push his head down (the beginning of lightening). It is right on time, according to baby websites.

A friend of mine in one of my knitting groups told me about the hooter hider. So I am going to try to make one. Let's hope my sewing curse does not rear up.

I did finish DH's socks in time for his birthday. I have put away my camera so it is ready to go to the hospital. Let's just say he was thrilled. He has waited WAY too long for those. AND I have frogged back the EZ baby surprise jacket for the 7th time or so, and it is slowly going. It is hard to knit as often when my most comfortable prone position is to lay down on my side.

The nursery is pretty much done. It is time to put away the power tools and set up the lamp and air purifier. :) Maybe then it will be picture worthy.

And here I was...

...thinking that I was only one week behind in posting to my blog. Man, how time flies. This morning I went to the SC Native Plant Society Sale and bought Darrow's Blueberries, Coral Trumpet, PeeWee Hydrangeas, and Crested Irises. Only the weather is supposed to get really cold at night for the next week. So I will have to make DH help me on his BDay weekend next weekend to plant them all then. I hope that my blueberries really do grow. I recommend trying to find organizations such as this in your area, so that you can learn to landscape your yard with more native plants. Not only will you be working to preserve local wild beauty that is often destroyed by urban growth, but the plants will be much more tolerant of severe weather, frosts and drought in your area. Also, many of the plants are lower maintenance, which is nice if you have a busy lifestyle or physical limitations. Okay, enough of that PSA.



I am also taking a beginning scrapbooking class today. I know a little, but I figure I need to be schooled before the baby gets here. I want to do things right so that I can print out all of these digital pictures I have accumulated in a form where I can actually share some of them with people in a nice format.



Right now I am drooling over the following Fuzzymitten patterns, because I am such a fan of Little Cotton Rabbits. But, I can never seem to get in on purchasing any of Little Cotton Rabbits' productions. My husband is a huge fan of bunnies, and I don't know if you have noticed, but these days EVERYTHING in the baby store that has a bunny on it MUST ALSO BE pink. It is sexist. So anyway, I am drooling over the little floppy-eared bunny (because again DH loves floppy-eared bunnies) to knit it up for our (expected) baby boy.

In the comments to my last post, Tiffany asked if this was my first Baby Surprise Jacket. Yes, it is. And I honestly have not picked it up again for the last two weeks. Bad momma, bad momma! What little knitting I have been doing has been on my DH's sock. Admittedly, I am reading a lot of baby books and doing GRFB chores. So maybe I am not such a bad momma. :) In one book I am currently reading, I actually read a story where one set of parents did not even realize they needed to set up a changing station with all of the supplies, and the crib with all of the bedding, before their baby was born. I can't believe that. You would think some things would be so basic and intuitive. But maybe they work at jobs that take up all their time and stress them out, like I used to. I should pat myself on the back for having two changing stations set up already (on both stories of the house), and all of the same supplies in the bathroom to be used for bathing. And the crib has been ready for a month. I just installed the carseats last week, and will get them inspected this week. I am trying to be ready if the baby is premature. Because that has happened to two of my friends.

Well, I better run and eat something before my scrapbooking class.

So much better...

My back healed up fine by the next day. No pain at all. I don't know how that is possible; it must be some sort of baby miracle. Either the bath and tylenol worked, or the same hormones that make your joints all lose and drop things also helped my back to loosen itself up. All I can say is thank goodness. Because normally I would be fighting the pain for 3-4 days (or longer at the worst case).

I am trying to get my knitting mojo back. I think it is slowly. I am trying to fit some knitting back into my mornings while drinking my coffee and watching the news. Then I can still spend most of my time later in the day still "getting ready for baby" (GRFB). Part of it is some finishitis (DH's socks) and startitis (Baby Surprise Sweater).

DH's socks are the Garter Stitch socks I have been working on forever. I am finally past the gusset and working on the foot. He will be so happy now since the weather was 78 degrees yesterday and I am finally finishing his first pair of wool socks! (Yeah, doh!)

My baby-chemical addled brain is easily tricked by the sketchy instructions of the EZ Baby Surprise Sweater. Bare with me if I sound like a whiner; I honestly don't mean to. I am normally very good at less than obvious instructions that lead to math, hence the engineering degree. I am just easily confused right now and when I have a tendency to set this down for a week at a time, I forget where I was. The colors are actually much deeper and intense in person.

Pattern: EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket

Yarn: Yarn By Mills Worsted Hand-Dyed

(sorry, I can't find the label)

Needles: Size 5, 36" circ Addi Turbos

And my new STR kit came in! It is gorgeous. I will post about it soon.

Why oh why?

Why oh why can't my husband remember to take out the recycling ever? Or to even sort it correctly (he is getting better).

I have killed my back today lugging out the paper and aluminum recycling, even with splitting it up into two different containers to lighten the load.

I don't need this with the pregnancy. I *just* entered the last trimester. To try to counteract it, I have already done my physical therapy today but it is not enough. I envision some light walking and ice in my near future. Darn it. I wish I could take advil, but with being pregnant I am stuck with tylenol only.

I had the blood glucose test yesterday. The doctor went to check the fetal heart rate and immediately said "He is a really active baby, isn't he?" My husband and I had to laugh. Because I have been saying for at least two months now how active he is, but honestly we have no point of reference. And I don't want to label my child as "hyperactive" from the womb. That would be some bad parenting right there. But it did reassure me that all of these Rocky Balboa punches that I am receiving indicate that he is THAT active and not just my bad judgement. It took the doctor a little longer to find the heart rate for all of the noise and moving the baby was doing. (I suspect he also enjoyed the sugar rush of that fruit punch flavored glucose drink. :) )

Boston LYS Reviews

Windsor Button - This store looks a little bit like an old, run down Woolworth's when you walk in the door. But don't turn around and walk out the door! It has a great selection of yarns (including sock yarns), and of course, buttons! Also, the staff was very friendly and helpful. It is a nice place to stop in and get a yarn fix if you are in the area. I bought some plymouth sock yarn there, which I have since sold to a friend at cost. But I also purchased some Malabrigo Worsted in a lovely orange and light blue colorway called Sunny Valley which I have not seen anywhere else. It may be turned into a scarf for my husband.

Mind's Eye Yarns - This store is very close to the T stop. It has a small selection of yarns, I think about 1/3 of which are dyed by the owner. I picked up some lovely tencel blend sock yarn, custom dyed in the University of Florida colors orange and blue (she dyes it custom for the new yarn shop in Gainesville) and then in black, red and white (NOOOO, not for Harvard or MIT. For Cornell.) Locals rave about this yarn, so I can't wait to knit with it. The flash I accidentally left on shows the tencel's sheen. The shop owner is very friendly and happy to stop what she is doing to talk with you.

A Good Yarn - This yarn shop is RIGHT off of the T stop. It is on the same street as the station, so you can't miss it! They have a great selection of yarn packed into their little shop, including plenty of sock yarn. They also have a decent selection of books. These ladies were also helpful, but knew when to let you alone to browse. :)

Newbury Yarns - Very small shop tucked away in the beautiful shopping district of Newbury St., so it is a worth a stop in if you are in the area. I only bought a book here...there is not *alot* of yarn, but apparently they have another store somewhere else in Boston. The employee working there was very nice.

Knit and Needlepoint - This shop is also on Newbury St. The person working there was helpful and friendly, but there was not much of a selection of yarn and some of the prices were quite high (compared to other shops in the area with the same yarn). I imagine it is to cover there overhead of high rent for the location.

Woolcott & Co. - in Harvard Square Area, Cambridge. It is a small store, but not as small as some of the others I have already reviewed. They have a good selection of yarns, and sell enough of some of them such that you can knit a whole sweater (that is something to be said in a world where it seems most yarn stores are leaning away from that trend). They have a good selection of sock yarns too. I bought two hand-dyed sock yarns there. The lovely, subtley variegated red one is Scarlet by Madeline Tosh (a wee pricey but I hope it is worth it) and the blues is Blue Ridge Yarns Jubilee in Ocean Wave.

Dear shop owners,

I wish I could have bought more, but with all of the baby gear I am buying, I really need to limit my purchases. I know you understand the need for financial discipline. Honestly, I bought too much even with my belt tightening.

Man, I need to quit with the sock yarn addiction. The stash is outgrowing my time availability and knitting speed.

My Celebrity Look-a-likes....

Not the best picture...I had to pull it out from a group picture that was stored on this computer.

Jimminy Crickets!

Good God! Has it been over a month since I have posted? It does not help that we took a trip to Boston for a conference, and since then I have been generally freaking out by cleaning out closets and cupboards purging stuff. Trying to make room for baby. Getting rid of junk I don't use. Many of you know that I do this periodically anyway, but since my feet are starting to hurt so soon after standing (even with shoes on) that I am trying to find ways I can help fix up the house without my husband being here to help...as in small projects.

The good news is that we have finished painting the nursery and setting up the furniture. I need to get crafty and try to convert the unused bumper pad into a wall hanging for toy storage. Maybe I will do a tutorial on that! That would be cool. The room is still a mess because I turned out the entire closet (aka yarn stash storage central) and am still trying to find places to store the stash. I purged 3 grocery bags of yarn to donate to charity and friends. So I still kept most of my stash of course. I still have to find someplace to put the UFOs, and then organize all of my sewing and knitting stuff that is now relegated to a tiny corner of our office. I will try to get this done today. I hope to install rubbermaid adjustable shelving in the nursery closet this weekend to expand baby stuff storage. I have to wait for DH's help as that will involve leveling an 8 ft track which is a little hard to do on your own. :)

I have already sold a few skeins I bought in Boston. I always go overboard. I will try to take pictures of what else I bought, do some store reviews, and a nursery in progress picture this weekend.

Preggo Rant of the Day: February 8, 2008

Why is it that when I tell people my back hurts (now that I am only 5 months along), they say that it will NEVER GO AWAY?

Counterpoints:
1. I have had long term back problems for the last several years.
2. I do physical therapy exercises for my back EVERY DAY. I have done them every day for the last 3 freakin' years of my life. (Believe me, there are many nights I wish I could just go to sleep, but I cannot do that without doing exercise first or suffer the consequences.)
3. The chairs at the Knit Inn wrecked my back this last weekend.
4. What ever happened to the power of positive thinking? I believe that if I work on it, it will get better. I don't believe at 5 months I will be resigned to intense pain EVERY DAY for the next 4 months. I would think it would come a little later in the pregnancy. I am not that big yet.
5. These same people did not have these same comments until this week. As if I have magically changed overnight. Edited to add: And why do they walk away from you before you can even argue with them?

Thanks for letting me rant. I know that now that I am visibly pregnant, it is only the beginning of the stupid comments I will suffer for the next few months.

Drumroll please............

........the sex of our new baby is.......
















a boy! DH is over the moon with this news.

See y'all...

...out and about this weekend. I will try to stop by the Knit Inn this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon. Just look for the 5-month pregnant lady with short brown hair and glasses. :) I should be the only one fitting that description (I do know at least two other pregnant knitters, but their hair is much longer than mine!). I may be waddling and breathing hard, too. I will also be running around like a crazy woman buying some groceries to make things for Super Bowl parties and to bake sugar cookies to ice in either pink or blue to announce the baby's sex on Monday! I can't wait to find out, and the little gal/guy is kicking and punching my stomach as I write. I must need to feed him some more yogurt and do less typing. :) I also hope to finish painting the nursery in the next few days, to include the faux clouds.

On the knitting front, I did finish a charity hat. Nothing fancy, just a regular ear-flapped hat. Maybe I will finish the fleece artist cardigan this weekend. We can only hope. :)

Is anyone else sick of this election yet? I hope for the next presidential election, we can learn not to start the darn thing so early. I had already hated how long they dragged on before this. Because all of the negativity that starts to come out, just like the intolerance in this election. Just nuts.

This weekend....

Don't forget that the SC Knitting Guild's Knit Inn will be held. It starts Friday night, and formally ends Saturday night (but informally usually Sunday morning). It is a good way to spend your time before Super Bowl festivities, or to do something nice for yourself to make up for being ignored by your significant other during the Super Bowl. I will be balancing cooking for Super Bowl parties and attending the Knit Inn.

Check out my new Dansko clogs. A little over half off at Mast General, and more top o' the foot space to show off cute knit socks. I know you are jealous. I really don't need to spend money on myself with the baby coming, but since I foresee in the near future not being able to tie my shoes, more slip on shoes cannot hurt. I will probably be living in Danskos and Crocs very soon. :)

I did not get much knitting done over the weekend, but I did order nursery furniture and install more shelving in the laundry room. I am so proud of myself for finally getting the shelving up and therefore being able to clean off the top of the dryer and the few huge things of detergent on the floor. DH finished painting the ceiling in the nursery; we still have to do touch up painting and then faux some clouds on the ceiling.

Yarn P0rn for this week:

I received the January STR club kit. I am excited by the color of this one. I just need to get going on knitting socks again. The pattern is called Serendipity and the colorway is called Dragon Dance in lightweight sock yarn.

And then I bought this Shui Bui sock yarn at The Needle Tree. I went there to buy some knitwear wash for my mom and to see what baby yarns they had. I ended up with this sock yarn. I just need to figure out what I will do with it. They say this yarn has been very popular. There is no name for the colorway, it is just called color #41301.

I am on a push to finish some projects. So I am still working on the Fleece Artist Cardigan on and off, and a charity hat. I hope to start on poor DH's socks again too. Definite SSS.

Don't forget....

To go vote today if you are voting in the Democrat Primary. You would vote at your regular precinct location, just like in the general elections.

As for me, I have a baby conference to go to today. Woohoo!

Irish Hiking Scarf - done!

Here it is, in pre-blocked condition. Not bad....

Pattern: Irish Hiking Scarf

Yarn: Natural Alaskan Alpaca, fingering weight, from an alpaca named "Cocoa" :) I knitted two strands together.

Source: I can't remember the farm's name, my Mom's coworker

Needle: Size 9, 16" bamboo circs

Sorry this post did not happen yesterday. DH ended up giving me those puppy dog eyes to go and help him at work. Which I have to go do again today.

I just think I need something more challenging. Repetitive cables are too boring for me. Or maybe it is the fact that it is just a straight garment, a scarf that never changes in dimension. What is with this crazy mind of mine? I am turned on by challenge...maybe too much for my own good. It is soon time to get off my mental butt and start designing my own patterns, in order to get some challenge in. I hope to do that as soon as I find out what sex my baby is, as I have some ideas in mind for baby patterns. I just want to test knit in suitable colors. I also think sometimes the hardest thing to do is to give yourself that push into the unknown. People who really know me know that I have done alot of different things in my life, because everytime I have fear of the unknown I push myself into doing whatever it is anyway. The pregnancy has me procrastinating more than usual...but now that I am in the second trimester and have slightly more energy, I can tackle more things again.


Oh, and I have sooo many other projects to clean up and finish!

Getting there....

I just bound off the Irish Hiking Scarf for my mom just this morning. I want to at least weave in the ends tonight before I post some pictures. I do need to wash it and block it, too, before I send it to her, since she is allergic to some natural oils and musky animal smells.

I FINALLY get to go to one of my knitting groups tonight. I have been missing so many of my groups due to classes and board meetings. It seems every organization here in Greenville tries to meet on Monday nights. It ends up being very annoying when you are trying to balance out commitments and schedules.

Between the storm fronts making me sick this weekend, and my laundry room retrofitting duties (new hoses, new vent ducts), not much other knitting was done this weekend. However, I did start looking for baby blanket patterns, and found this nontraditional one on knitty.com. If you have used KnitPicks Merino style, please let me know what you think of it. I want to use natural fibers for my baby blankets since they are more fire resistant than synthetics. Plus, the knitpicks would be inexpensive. And with the baby costs piling up, I am all about saving some benjamins!

Good Morning Greenville!

Here is what it looks like from my back porch this morning:

Time for a rude awakening. It is still raining, and it is an icy slush out on the roads. My husband will either get pissed when he realizes the new satellite dish is freaking out, or he will just pop in a DVD. I don't know, I give the chances 70-30. Of course, he is still sleeping. Why be awake when you don't have to go to work?

I am nearly done with my mom's Irish Hiking Scarf. Maybe then I will get around to finally posting a picture.

Wish me luck. I have to get to my training and massage appointments today (trying to keep my back in shape during the pregnancy). If I cancel, I have to pay anyway. So I might as well try. I will do okay as I have 4WD; I am just worried about everyone else driving too fast for the conditions.

So please, take it slow! :)

Oh, and something hilarious. I swear my baby belly has grown significantly in the last day. It is kind of funny. Because my DH said to me last night, "You are DEFINITELY pregnant." Then I looked in the mirror and was shocked! I was not this big when I looked in the mirror in the morning or the day before. What the heck?! It is amusing and scary at the same time, to see one's body go through changes so fast.

Squee! STR 2008!

In the back of my mind it was lurking...I have not heard anything from Blue Moon on paying for the 2008 Club. I was starting to wonder, because it feels like January is almost over already. But I checked my credit card online (Thank God for online banking, because it really has made my life sooo easy) and behold! The charge for the club posted yesterday. Yay! That means I am on my way. I just have to check to see if my friend has seen hers go through or not. I had to send in her registration while she was away on a cruise, so I am a little worried about whether she will be signed up or not.

It took me 9 days to recover from that hellish virus. I am calling it the mondo virus. It seems to wipe out everyone in its path except DH. Go figure. Anyway, since then I have been making a concious effort to Get Ready for Baby (GRB). Lots of reading and phone calls and baby registry junk and organization. And I know my poor husband is stressing out about his work projects. He gave me the puppy dog eyes this morning asking if I could come in and help out. I don't know what the heck to do sometimes. Of course he says he would rather have me organize the house, but the poor man seems to be so stressed. So I have to go in. I may not work for a salary anymore, but I can't get it all done as one think I should. I am going to have to make a conscious effort to work even more. But it is hard. Being pregnant makes one so tired. I spent the whole afternoon running errands (to conserve gas) and by the time I came home, all I could do was sit there with my feet up. It is too hard to try to work in the kitchen from a stool. It strains my back too much.

I hope all of my SC friends will go and vote in the primary this week (Revised to say: Jan 19if you are voting Republican. Jan 26th if you are voting Democratic. Sorry, I blame the TV news for dumbing it down for me and my forgetfulness.). I can't stand seeing on TV how 6 inches of snow in Michigan, and I think it was 30 degree weather, was keeping people home from voting. WTF?! I remember my parents voting in every election in Alaska, no matter what the weather was like. And I would think, that like Alaska, 6 inches of snow in Michigan would be considered a "routine" snowfall. No biggie, break out the shovel and ice scraper and get on with life. The snowplows are out so you should be able to catch the bus to the polling place. I mean, come on. People have no excuse. And before I hear excuses about those less fortunate, YES, I have been without the benefit of a car until I bought my own AFTER college (college paid for by ROTC scholarship and work money). And I struggled to pay it off in 4 years. Yes, I wanted a nicer car, but I bought what I could afford. I rode buses to almost all of my jobs in high school, or walked and took the bus to jobs and classes. I know what it is like to walk home alone at night, on top of 4 feet of snow in the dark cold next to a highway hoping you don't fall down into traffic. Or walk to 6 am ROTC workouts 5 days a week in all sorts of weather. And never did I complain about my situation. You just suck it up and deal. The only excuse would be if your shift schedule vs poll times made it impossible for you to go. So that is what I am saying about voting. It is a privilege not matter what the weather is. And if you don't think it is, just look at what that cutie Chavez is trying to pull in Venezuela. Well anyway, enough of politics. No matter who you vote for, just vote.

Sicky break....

I think I have the worst cold I have had in about a year. For a while there, I thought it might be strep throat. Normally, I am a pretty tough cookie. But when it comes to that strep throat test, I will still to this day pull my hands out from under my seat and yank the swab from my throat using the doctor's own hands (I sit on my hands to try to prevent this.). I am such a big baby about the whole gag reflex thing, but I can't help it. I guess it is better that I am a baby about that than the drawing of blood and receiving of shots. I can do that like a champ. Anyway, the Airborne is helping me beat this back, but it sure is taking a whole lot of doses (compared to my average cold).

I wanted to go to a knit group last night, and to meet some new people at a ravelry meet up today. But it was not meant to be. I hope I will meet some of you at the Knitting Guild Knit Inn, when I hope to be noncontagious.

So I am going to postpone my Stitches East class reviews for now, in exchange for bedtime. Also, I got some cool new glasses this week. So I am debating on changing my profile pic. I really should. But I will have to come up with some other silly look than Princess Leia buns.

Knitting Resolutions, Revisited

This is the time of year that we all post our knitting resolutions. I do need to visit my own, and to see what my progress is. I know I have done okay against some.

Last year's resolutions were:

1. Practice knitting continental by finishing more washcloths, then starting and completing an entire project in continental. (Started this last year, need to become even better.) --> Oooh, did not do the last part. Need to keep this one on the list.

2. Restart fair isle projects and finish them, with good gage. --> Uh, no.

3. Knit a pair of socks every month. --> This one fell apart sometime around April. Hey, it was worth a shot. I just fell so far behind by doing other projects, and I am not the fastest knitter. I think I will drop this one.

4. Learn to dye. (Already scheduled for a class on March 3rd to learn to dye my own self-striping sock yarn. Yee!) --> I did take a dying class, but did not feel I learned enough to just up and do it without having to do alot more research. So I will revisit this topic this year. It is a keeper.

5. Start learning to design own patterns. --> Yes, I did take design classes at Stitches East, and will start working on my own baby hat patterns soon. Now that I have a kid on the way, I can feel more motivated. Plus that dreaded first trimester energy slump seems to be waning.

6. Complete another Morehouse Farm Sweater kit (from Stash). --> Started but did not finish. Need to keep on the list.

7. Go to Maryland Sheep and Wool. (Hotel already booked!) --> Done. This one was too easy.
8. Learn to crochet. --> Started to learn from a friend but I did not stick with it. Too many other knitting obligations like the sock a month got in the way.

Now to establish this year's resolutions:

1. Design and publish two of my own patterns.

2. Complete another Morehouse Farm Sweater kit (from Stash).

3. Restart fair isle projects and finish them, with good gage.

4. Start and complete a project in continental. This should be combined with resolution #3.

5. Dye on my own.

6. Use of some of my insane sock yarn stash by knitting baby items.

7. Put more of my stash and projects on Ravelry. --> Such a huge undertaking. I am just trying to still hide the stash in what is left of the new nursery (my former sewing room). Yikes!

8. Knit and/or quilt two baby blankets. One for stroller and carseat, one full sized.

9. Avoid Christmas knitting requests. This year, I will just say no. The only knitted Christmas presents will be surprises.

That is not bad. I still need to do alot more growth and learning in my knitting. I will also be helping a friend to learn to knit, so that will be nice.

I also promise, just because I am having a baby, that I will not ignore my childless friends. I will also not be one of those mothers whose only possible topic of conversation is what my child's poop is like (color, consistency, odor). I can't handle that. I must keep up with current events. Oooh, and a warning...I will be dragging the tike to knitting groups, as soon as WE are able. That is, after we are both on a schedule with sufficient rest.

I also have to catch up on so much that I have left undone since Stitches East. I need to write up Stitches East Class Review. I will try to get it done this weekend. In the meantime, here is my one picture from Stitches East. Two gals on Ravelry, Booksherpa (on the right) and Sweetness (on the left). They were really fun to talk to. And in the middle is my travelling knitter buddy, Mary. She is the same friend I go to MDSW with.