Sunday Night Random

I love knitting tiny baby things.  They knit up so quickly.

I know I should be working on Squishy's quilt.  I should do it.  I should just do it.  I love pretty quilts.  I love having pretty quilt that I have made.  But the process of creating the quilts just isn't as exciting for me as the owning of the quilts.

So instead of quilting as I should, I've cast on for something new.

This is my very favorite yarn in the whole wide world.  It was handspun by a beloved friend of mine.  I love everything about this yarn.  I love the smooshy feel.  I love the colors.  It reminds me of the beach and mermaids.  I love how the colors twist around one another.  I've tried knitting this into something several different times, but it always ends half way through with a trip to the frog pond.  I've never been able to create a finished object that I love as much as I love the yarn.  I'm not sure this version is going to be "IT" but I'm trying.  I think I just love this yarn and love the maker so much that no pattern can live up to my expectations.  That is a lot of pressure to put on one little pattern.  We'll just have to wait and see where my fickle mind takes us.

In random cuteness

Sweet Pea was serenading Squishy with her own rendition of "Let It Go."  I think all children ages 2-13 are now legally obligated to sing this song at least four times a day.  Sweet Pea was just belting it out double time when I hear her joyously sing "I'm never going back, the past is in the a$$."  I asked her to repeat it and sure enough, that is exactly what she sang.  I assured her that wasn't how the song went and the words were "the past is in the past."  She is pretty sure I'm wrong, and even if I'm not, she wants to sing it her way.  I'm all for artistic interpretation, but just this once I think it is important for her to get this one right.

But not until I get a chance to get her version of film.

Happy Friday

Can You Believe Two In One Week?

"Ummm, Mom, your socks don't have any toes!"

"Yup."

"They don't have any heels either."

"I know that too."

"You're so weird Mom."

"Yup."

Pattern:  All Twisted Up Yoga Socks

Yarn:  Knit Picks Sock Garden in Zinnia (discontinued)

Needles:  My blue metal dpns.  I know, that is so unhelpful.  Maybe 2.25mm?

Modifications:  I added five rows of ribbing on either side of the heel opening.  I just thought it gave a little more of a finished look.

Review:  I really like them.

Knitting them was an exercise in frustration.

Not with the pattern.  The pattern was super easy, and I knit these in less than a week.

No, my frustration was with the yarn.

Many many  many many many years ago I took part in Sock Wars.  It was fun, but not all of the socks I knit were patterns I would have necessarily chosen for myself.  This yarn was originally used to knit a pair of Sock Wars socks.  It was a clever pattern, with a folded over cuff, and cute little triangle points.  They were also something I would never wear.  The cute unloved socks languished in The Abyss.

Then a couple of years ago The Greatest moved the contents of The Abyss into the garage for the Christmas season.  Does anyone remember that travesty?  While in the garage something... crickets?  moths?  desperate elves? decided my yarn would be the tastiest of tasty snacks.  I am still discovering the exact extent of the carnage.

My unloved socks with the fold over cuff were part of the feast.

When I did my purge of The Abyss earlier this year I finally frogged those socks with the intent of reusing the yarn to create something I would wear.  I was devastated to discover precisely how chewed the socks were.  But for some unknown reason I would not let it go.  The shade of red is so pretty, and it complements the orange so nicely.  I even like the brightly contrasting yellow.  And this yarn is discontinued.  It isn't like I can go buy more of it.  I am sure with all the indie dyers, and yarn companies that exist in the world that I could find a clone of this yarn somewhere, but for some reason I couldn't let it go.  I frogged the socks, and discarded what I thought were all the chewed spots, and put the resulting yarn cake in my yarn cabinet waiting for inspiration.

Inspiration struck in the form of yoga socks.

But as I knit the yoga socks I discovered more weak spots in the yarn.  More frayed spots.  More chewed spots.  Sometimes I broke the yarn, discarded the weak section and began again.  Other times I just held a length of good yarn double with the weak spot in the hopes that if the weak spot were to give the good yarn would hold the socks together.

On and on I knit, and how the yarn ends added up.  I think there were forty three yarn ends when all was said and done.  And we all know how much I LOVE, I mean, LOATHE finishing work.

In the end I think it was worth the effort.  A fun little knit with beautiful results.

Now if only I did yoga.

Instead of exercising, in my rare bit of down time I have cast on something new

I'm getting a bit of an early start on this years round of Christmas Weasley Sweaters.  Here's hoping this fits come December.

Perfection

Are you sitting down?

Cause I finished something.

Pattern:  Spindleberry

Yarn:  Knitpicks lace weight yarn, maybe Shadow Lace, but I don't remember

Needles:  Size 4 Caspian needles

Modifications:  I used two strands of lace weight yarn held together.  That's it.  I knit the rest exactly as written.

Review:  I love this little shawlette.  It was the perfect mindless knitting for my sleep deprived brain.

I've realized I don't get to sleep at night.  I just take naps.  A short nap between when I go to bed and when I get up to pump.  Then a shorter nap between pumping and morning.  I don't even dream anymore.  It is only for a season, and my season is almost half way over (see how optimistic my mental manipulation of time is.  Five months is almost six and six is half way over.  So I'm almost half way over-ish).  But man, I'll be glad when the season of my boobs is complete.

But back to the knitting.  I love the clever way this pattern integrated the fringe right into the knitting so there was almost zero finishing work.  Which is good.  Because we all know how much I love finishing work.

This little project was perfect, perfect color, perfect yarn, perfect button, perfectly easy knitting, perfect everything.  

It only had one flaw.

It wasn't for me.

One of my kindred spirits asked if anyone from our knitting group would like to knit this for her, and I jumped at the chance.  I think my exact words were "I'd love to do it if you don't need it to be finished anytime this year."  Because she has listened to me whine on more than one occasion, (blah blah blah tired, blah blah boobs, blah blah blah world's cutest baby, blah blah blah insurance company sucks, I'm a broken record) she quickly agreed there was no rush.

And there was no rush to the knitting, but still it knit up surprisingly fast.  I know she'll appreciate the fact that most of it was knit while The Greatest and I Netflixed old seasons of Supernatural. 

It brought me joy to create for someone I care for.  

It was a perfection.

More Happiness

I know, I know.  The photo montages are cute and all but you deserve actual content.

I know.

And real content is coming.

Soon...

ish...

Until then please enjoy another happy photo montage.

Happy Friday

Can you believe I'm still doing this?

I never stick with anything this long.

I love finding little things that make me happy throughout my day.  The more I look for reasons to smile the more reasons I find.  I often have to choose between several fantastic moments.  I've realized that some of the pictures I've posted on my blog weren't my "official" tagged happy moment for the day, they are just moments that made me happy.  I will admit, I recently joined the 21st century and got a cell phone.  Having a phone with a camera has made documenting my happy moments much easier.  I have it with me everywhere I go, and I don't worry about it getting banged around the way I worry about my fancy camera.  My phone makes me happy!

Other things that make me happy...

It Was Cute While It Lasted

I'll admit it, the loss of my sock knitting needle was rather demoralizing.

I don't think I'm overly hard on my needles, but I also don't think that Knit Picks makes a crappy needle that falls apart if you look at it wrong.

I don't know what's happening here.

To soothe my wounded soul I turned to hooking.

I've recently invested in a hands free bra for pumping (yes, as I explained to the pediatrician yesterday, I'm still doing that).

The words "life changing" are not an exaggeration.

How did I pump for four months without one?

At the very least it makes it so much easier to feed the baby/play with the baby while I pump.

On the life changing end of the spectrum, if the stars align just so, and a grey cat walks backwards, and a lizard in the back yard sings "Roxanne" while I sacrifice a chicken, then sometimes Squishy naps while I pump, and then I get to KNIT while I pump.

Or in this case crochet.

One pumping session and oh-my-goodness-they're-so-cute-I'm-going-to-die!

Barefoot sandals.

This needs to happen in every color imaginable.

Squishy wore them for ten minutes.

And then she lost one.

I'll always have the picture right?

Seriously Knitpicks?

These were the replacement needles for my needles that broke in August.

I can't even...

Happy Friday

Happy Happy Happy...

Some Days

This morning I got dressed to take Squishy to her weekly occupation therapy appointment.

It was a bad body morning.  Nothing I wanted to wear fit my super schmexy post pregnancy body.  It can be quite demoralizing to stand in front of your clothes hanging neatly in your closet and know not a single piece works with your current body.  I know this is temporary, but it still stings.

I finally put together a skirt/t-shirt combo that was weather appropriate (it was 100 degrees today) and kinda worked with my body.  Comfy and borderline stylish.  While not exactly good, it was close enough for me.

I dressed Squishy in her new pink romper and we were ready to go.

We were even ready to leave ten minutes before we had to leave.

It was a Thursday miracle.

Squishy took advantage of this unexpected down time by demanding a last minute bottle.  This was a good idea.  It is always better to show up for her therapies with a full tummy.  I encouraged her to drink as quickly a possible before we had to leave.  She drank three ounces then lost interest in the bottle with not a moment to lose.  It was time to walk out the door.

As I stood to leave, Squishy promptly threw up all three ounces down the front of my almost stylish shirt and skirt.

On the bright side nary a drop got on her romper.

I raced upstairs to change clothes.  No time to feel depressed about my body now, I grabbed a pair of pants and a t shirt that *almost* fit and changed in record time.

Into the car we went, and we arrived at our appointment with five minutes to spare.

Squishy took this time to drink the last ounce of her bottle.

She then pooped the most epic of epic poops (you were expecting more vomit weren't you).

Her diaper struggled valiantly, but it could not contain the beast within.

And there I was with baby poop on my shirt.  And my pants.  And her romper.

I cleaned her up in the bathroom, only to discover the extra outfit in the diaper bag was not weather appropriate.  It had long sleeves.  And little footie-feet.  And a big yellow stain on the back from a previous blow out.

Awesome.

I recently read an article that said a well packed diaper bag should include a new shirt for Mom, just in case.

They're not wrong.

But I obviously don't have a well-packed diaper bag (see above description of weather inappropriate back up baby outfit.  No more letting The Greatest "help" by packing the diaper bag.)

So I sat through her therapy session.  In ill fitting clothes because she puked on the clothes that did fit.  And did I mention I was covered in poop?

I'll laugh at this some day.

The sleepless nights.  The endless rocking of a cranky baby.  The poop, all the poop.  The never ever ever getting to pee alone.  These are the memories that become fuzzy around the edges from sleep deprivation.

I am deep in the trenches of babyhood.

I'd forgotten how many bodily fluids there were down here.

Happy Friday

My week was very happy...