Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Dryer Sheets & Other Mysteries

Why are there always dryer sheets all over my house? Granted as a family of 5 we do a lot of laundry, but there seems to be a ton of these stupid things just floating around. I'm forever picking them up. Do they multiply on their own? Do they show up to replace the socks that have disappeared by way of the dryer? The world may never know.

Why do kids have phone radar? The minute the phone rings there is some 'urgent' problem that needs addressing (like needing a snack RIGHT NOW), the baby starts hollering, or the kids are trying to kill each other. Multiply the drama times 10 if it's actual business, and not just a friend or my mom.

Why is it so flipping hot outside? Doesn't mother nature know that the only way to preserve my sanity is to let the kids out to play? Doesn't she know I can't do that if it's a million degrees?

*sigh*

I'm almost done with the little green vest, just some seaming and stitch 'picking~up' (?) to do. I let the boys look through my books to pick something for mommy to knit. My 4 year old chose the pirate sweater out of Adorable Knits for Tots. Apparently this is the end of the season for cotton (or so I was told by one of my LYS~what about those of us who are year round cotton knitters?), so I couldn't find the Rowan the pattern called for. I'm sure I could have ordered it but I'm an instant gratification type of gal so I went to Springwater Fiber Shop and picked up some Tahki Cotton Classic. It seems to have slightly more sheen than the Rowan Handknit dk but other than that it's identical...and was only $5/skein! My 6 year old chose Max from Junior Knits. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to use Mission Falls Superwash or the called~for Debbie Bliss Merino Aran. I have some time to decide, since the pirate sweater will be my first attempt at intarsia in any way, shape or form. I'm sure it'll take me a minute to complete :o)

The orange blanket? Don't ask.

Tonight is knit night at Folk Art. Last week we recieved some bad news...the shop is closing. So, we're looking for a new place to host our group. I started a yahoo group today in oreder for us to keep in touch and distribute info. Hopefully this will also bring us some new recruits! It's a work in progress, but if you live in Southern Maryland check us out.

Kidlet news...soccer started this week. Too bad it's hot as hades and all the kids look like they are being tortured on the field. School starts next week. Since we were (well, thus far) unsuccessful in finding an appropriate (and affordable) preschool program for my 4 year old I'm prepared for him to complain about being bored.

Baby news...Isaiah will sleep for about a 5 to 6 hour stretch if he is either a)in his bouncy seat or b)in our bed. Apparently the bassinet is some sort of evil contraption since he starts hollering as soon as we put him in it. He's smiling and starting to be a little more aware of his surroundings.

Due to the lack of pictures in this post I leave you with this...

Umm...ok. What is she doing? Is that her sexy pose? What is she wearing?!? I guess at one time, years ago, such garments were considered Hand Knits for Young Moderns. You can view more fabulous frocks here.

You want a coat like that, don't you?

;o)

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Scare Mail

Well I was scared anyway. I checked my mail the other day and saw this...

Now I know I can't possibly be the only one disturbed by excessive amounts of fun fur, can I? I did however decide to put my fears aside and thumb through the $5(!)catalog and two things caught my eye. First is that there were Addi Turbos in the catalog. Second is that starting Septembet 1st, Lion Brand will offer a Cashmere blend. Wow! Then I checked out the price...$10 for 88 yards? Surely you jest, Lion Brand. Perhaps it's some amazing yarn, but considering that Debbie Bliss Cashmerino costs less and has about 10 more yards per ball it would have to be *really* amazing!

My knitting progress is slow. It seems as though Isaiah has radar for when I pick up my needles. I've managed to start a little sweater vest, though

The pattern is from Sirdar's Cheeky Chinos and the yarn is Debbie Bliss' cotton cashmere. The book has some really cute patterns and Sirdar Snuggly DK is pretty cheap so I'll probably make a few sweaters out of this book. I'm also still working on the orange blanket but I'll spare you guys the details. It seems like no matter how much I knit it's not getting any larger. I think the Yarn Harlot talks about this phenomenon in her book.

Since it's much easier to read and nurse than knit with a baby in your arms, I picked up a couple of books.

First I started The Time Traveler's Wife but all that time traveling was wreaking havoc on my already confused new mommy brain. It's got potential, but I had to put it aside. I couldn't keep track of who was where and why they were there. Now Brick Lane is more my speed! I'm finding it hard to put down and I'm reading even when I'm not nursing...like when I could be knitting or sleeping.

My older boys are home from their summer vacation in GA. Now it's time to start up some semblance of a routine. With school and sports starting up in a few weeks we've got lots to do! The boys are happy to be home and I'm happy to have them~it was getting a little too quiet around here!

I want to thank everyone for all the well~wishes in the comments of my last post, you guys are great! I can't believe he's 4 weeks already! I'll leave you all with a chubby baby shot :o)