Just another month

Haven't mentioned being pregnant much on the blog - not a preggo blog after all - but it's obviously on my mind more and more as I approach 200lb and ankles the size my knees used to be.
Yesterday my lovely work friends had a shower for me - totally unnecessary as I have a 4 year old and they held me a shower for him back in '04, but I was really chuffed, and we had sheet cake - yay!
Last night we went for dinner at the mall and then lined up for over an hour to see Santa. Little guy was just delighted to see him, but apparently even standing for an hour is too much for me now - spent the night in hospital with v sore contractions, and came home this morning still cooking this baby but poked full of holes and exhausted.
Like I say, just another month.
Maybe I'm just a moaner. I mean - look at this woman. Hats off...

fun

Only 9 days til Christmas!

Cookie swap was lots of fun last week, like I knew it would be. Made my 200 cookies, that's my baking over for another year. And brought loads home, have a couple of bags enticingly lining my freezer, yum.

Here is diastelo's Irish Potato Candy - not strictly a cookie but I forgive her -


KnitRedSox loitering by the chocolate fountain...

Table o' goodies, mmm

Pheelya and Knitty showing off their knitted finery!

There was even a rare appearance by Twiceknit, in between her travels round the world. Great minty cookies too, yummm...

Here's my Argosy scarf, which I am working on between Babette and wee sweaters. Just love the colours. And yes, it's for me. I really am embracing this whole 'Selfish Knitter' ethos...

On the home front - getting ready for Christmas by dropping many dollars at the post office. I always have a helper when I go:

Cheriwan got her swap package and I think she was pleased :) This is one of the best swaps I've been in. Thanks for organizing Pheelya and TulaBug!!

Paddy and Jamie also join in the festivities. Not willingly, necessarily. You know I had to hold out some serious treats to get this picture...

Thank Youuuuu!

To my new friend Cheriwan (real name Jillian - rechristened "Jennifer" don't ask) who vvv generously sent me the following in the recent Ravelry swap:

Don'tcha love opening mystery boxes with wee individually wrapped presents inside?? Some lovely yarn (have always loved working with Crystal Palace yarns!) in pink (looks more red in pic), v. handy looking stitch markers, skull yarn notions bag (love.it.) funky bubblegum girlie card and bookmark - candy! And 2 patterns!! Yay She even went to the trouble of ordering me things from etsy - have included the links.

Thanks again Jillian!

Yarn as art

Look at this site:


I want every single thing she makes, especially this:

This is how it's described:

"DOLLHOUSE UPSET - This yarn is split into two skeins (because it was hard to fit on the bobbin with those doll heads). It is spun from various colours and fibers, a thick and thin single. There are hard plastic doll vintage doll heads throughout. Their hair is spun right into the yarn. "

I could never knit with any of it though - it's too pretty and magnificent to disrupt from the skein...so while it's the most impractical yarn purchase I may ever make it just might have to happen...will let you know...

A year already?

Yayyy been blathering on here (intermittently) for a year now. And I still have stuff to say!

Well - the knitting is going good - deep into scarf season, my favourite. I recently finished a skinny clapotis and a short entrelac scarf for my friend's 5 year old - and am on my second entrelac scarf, all looking lovely and - thankfully - not boring to knit. I am using Noro matsuri for the scarf on the needles now and it's a lot of fun to see the colours developing. It's a cotton/wool blend - so no wispy bits to stick to my winter-chapped lips. (Note: I have been listening to this on audiobook while knitting this scarf, so will probably always have some weird associations with this particular garment...)

In sad knitting news - Himself washed and tumble-dried the purple cardi :(

let's just say it is now a wee bit snug...It may be stretchable, or maybe I'll have to wait to wear it when I drop some of the baby blubber. Speaking of, am now nearly 7 months along.

I tested presumptive for gestational diabetes though, have to do the follow-up this weekend. My major in college was Human Nutrition, I should know better*(she says, still scarfing down Halloween candy).

In other sad knitting news - the hat and scarf I donated to the school's fund riaser? They were put on sale for $2 each! I nearly bought them back in annoyance. I should have added labels saying they were handmade especially, washing instruction etc. But didn't. Ah well. Last I checked they were gone. No update on this accursed item...

In other sad news, my Tivo died :( And even though I have 18 months service paid up, the only option to access it is to buy a whole new Tivo box. Ranging from $150 to $350. Grr. And I had loads of stuff saved on there that I was going to watch sometime. Am a big fan of 'Murder TV' as himself calls it. I particularly like the Oxygen show "Snapped" where some long suffering women off their men. Usually following laundry-related mishaps...

Rare trip to the movies last weekend, to see Zack and Miri make a porno. I really liked it, Seth Rogen always cracks me up. The only reason I mention it here, though, is for the surprising amount of knitted and crocheted items on view - it's set in wintertime Pennsylvania so afghans/scarves/hats/sweaters are in nearly every scene. Good a reason as any to check it out :)

The Columbia Sip n Knit celebrated 2 years and counting last Wednesday, still going strong. I've been a member just over a year, and I love it. A nicer bunch of ladies (and Textillian!) you couldn't hope to meet. Lynn even had cake for us - and surprises from her trip to China!

Last night I experimented with a new cookie recipe for the 2nd annual cookie swap at Stacey's house next month: Cherry chocolate Yumsters, I think I'll call them. Himself thought I was having a 'craving' he should know by now that I kind of always crave cookies, and now I have an excuse to eat them (see*!!)

really fun project!

Have a look at this great link from Berroco: Minutia 2008 - 12 tiny sweater patterns, some knit, some crochet instructions - perfect for favours or coworkers and a great way to use of left over bits-n-pieces of yarn. Yay!

The Baby 'Surprise' Jacket - now with pictures!

So, after a few blah months, I finally found a pattern to get excited about again. Browsing around Webs I found the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket pattern. Being a 40-year-old pattern this is old hat to many people (but it was new to everyone once). Here's the description from the Ravelry page:

The Baby Surprise Jacket was designed by Elizabeth Zimmerman in 1968 and remains a popular baby garment to this day. It is an excellent pattern for making use of oddments of yarn or self striping yarns with long color repeats, but looks equally nice knit in a single color with a contrasting button band.”

The jacket is knit in a single piece with just two seams that run across the shoulders and down the length of the sleeves. It includes extra ease across the back of the garment to fit well over a nappy (diaper).

Commonly referred to as the "BSJ", the baby surprise jacket is a very entertaining piece of knitted engineering."

I was intrigued by the whole 'entertaining engineering' thing - so I cast on the evening the pattern arrived, using Schachenmayr nomotta Crazy Cotton, colorway # 81 (pink and green). I very soon realized that the almost blasé instructions weren't going to cut it for this literal chick (hen*) so I wrote notes all over the A4 envelope the pattern came in...At this point The Other Denise mentioned she'd seen a handy spreadsheet for this pattern online, and sent me the link. Very helpful.

From there I sped along. I was out of town on a business trip last week - usually this allows for plenty of knitting time, but as my family (including in-laws) were along on this trip, not so much. (Did get to have Club Orange and Taytos at the Dublin, OH Irish Festival though...mmm).
Anyhoo...on the plane back I cast off. Yay! Figured out how to fold it, and...oh dear...
It's a surprise alright...Look at those joins across the front!Here's the instructions that do not say anything about making a hole-free join, grr...
Actually it looks better mid-blocking. Or maybe I'm just getting used to looking at it :)

*Had another birthday yesterday - already!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ah happy days...Candy corn back in the stores! I bought myself some Autumn Mix in Giant on July 31st. Time really is moving faster as I get older...