Dichotomy - everything to everyone

Still making dolls?

2012-01-19T15:31:00.001-05:00

Someone asked me this question recently -- and yes, I am!

I'm up to Waldorf doll #35 (I think) now, and I'm also making some other styles.
Here's a collage of a few of the dolls I made last year.

Some days are diamonds . . .

2012-01-04T16:05:00.000-05:00

I'm having one of those days. You know the type -- where you just want to sit down and scream?
It started out well enough. Boober slept until 7:something - a feat which has been beyond him for quite some time. There were no night wakings between 11:30 and 7:30. And in a complete break with tradition, I didn't have to spend 2 hours convincing him to go back to sleep around 4 am. So I got a decent night's sleep for a change. And he even stayed relatively still throughout his diaper change, which is very much out of character for him.
I decided since he was in a good mood I would get him dressed. He HATES getting undressed. He HATES getting dressed again. Whatever state of nudity he's in, that's where he'd like to stay, no matter the temperature. As expected, getting him dressed was a bit of a challenge. Whatever. It's not like he never fights the onsie. Nevertheless, my veneer of 'well enough' was already wearing out.
Then Sweet Pea requested that she get dressed as well. Abnormal. Usually I have to coax her out of her PJs too. So I jumped on it. But she wanted to dress herself. As anyone with a three year old knows, that takes some serious time. So here we were at 8:10 and my patience was already wearing thin - because there is nothing quite like having your child look up at you with tears in her eyes and beg for help in doing up her pants, and then watching her totally lose it because she wanted to do it herself.
There is no correct response in a situation like this, btw. If you undo the pants you have to listen to the kid lose her shit over that, and THEN fight to do them back up, and THEN ask for help, and THEN the meltdown 2.0. If you leave them done up you will listen to the accompanying whining and moaning and possibly sobbing that she wanted to do it 'her own self'.
It was at this point that I realized I had neglected to make coffee.This was problematic because Mr. Wonderful was already running late for work. The coffee maker takes 10 minutes from start to finish, and he was already 10 minutes behind. Okay, no coffee today. I hate to be the one that let down the team. Now my patience was wearing very thin, and I felt like the weak link for letting the coffee slide. I think I was more upset about it than he was, but I still felt like a 10 year old who had been caught doing something terribly wrong -- like adding that extra pen stroke to turn an F into an A, or what have you.
After Mr. Wonderful's departure for work, the kids settled in for breakfast. Sweet Pea and Boober ate Reese Puffs. And every time I tried to put the box away, Sweet Pea lit into me. She was reading that! She wanted it back! I took another step toward the edge. And then I looked at the clock. 8:37. Time to go.
Boober is registered in a program which takes place at 9:30. In order to make it there on time, it is advisable that we leave our house at 8:30. 8:45 at the latest. It's a bit of a drive.
Sweet Pea was sent upstairs to use the bathroom. Debacle. She was sent downstairs to put on her coat, boots, hat and mittens. Debacle. Boober was packed screaming and sobbing into his boots, hat, mittens and coat. I juggled the kids out the door and into the car with many tears on Boober's part. That boy hates his car seat. Sweet Pea stood at her car door poking it ineffectually with her mitten and telling me it wouldn't open because "I CAN'T!!" There is little that sets me off more effectively than I CAN'T - especially when it's something that's been done before.
Finally, everyone is settled in the car. I get in the driver's seat, turn the engine over with a little effort, and turn on the heater full blast. For the past few weeks, I don't get hot air out of the heater. I get sort of warm air from it, and thus far, that's been enough. This morning, the windows of the car were fully frosted - inside and out. So I got out the scraper and dealt with the outer frost. Then I got in the car and scraped what I could of the inner frost away.
So there I was, running late, driving up the road peering through the holes and lines left by the scraper when I decided Fuck It. I'm already having a hell of a morning, I'm stopping for coffee, dammit!
I was at the drive thru speaker, ready to place my order when I learned my windows were frozen shut. Oh good. Entire transaction? Done with the door open. Maybe that's why I wound up with a lap full of coffee, dumped from . Who knows? Whatever the reason, my much-anticipated coffee was not as well enjoyed as I had hoped. The fact that the smell of the coffee is still with me and my pants . . . it sometimes seems pleasant.
And then for a while things went relatively well. The windows cleared. We made the program with 5 minutes to spare somehow. It was our first time in the older group, and I'm not entirely sure Boober is ready for it, but Sweet Pea really enjoyed it. I let the kids play for about a half hour. It all seemed to be turning around.
In fact, Sweet Pea was resting up for a giant douchebag manouever that would take her a lot of energy and possibly planning.
Time to go. No complaints. Until we got to the door and she realized it was really happening. Sweet Pea pitched a fit. Not your usual run of the mill fit, either. A fit so epic and massive that the staff at the centre actually came out of their offices to see what was going on. Please keep in mind that this is a children's centre. They see dozens of tantrums every week. There I was with Boober on my hip, a dipaer bag slung over my shoulder, fully expecting that we were about to put on our outerwear with no drama -- and my 65 pound 3.5 year old daughter throws herself on the floor and starts howling. I did all the right things. I talked to her. I empathised with her. I did not smack the crap out of her or threaten her with violence or any of the 'not right' things. She did not respond. I told her that Boober and I were headed to the coat room to get ready and that I hoped she would join us. She did not. It was at this point that one of the staff members came and took the baby off my hands so I could deal with my situation. I mean, I'm grateful for the assistance, I really am . . . but that means that Sweet Pea was so disruptive that they felt I needed someone to take pity on my soul. Shelby (the staff-member) stayed with me right until the kids were strapped into the car - but it took a very long time to get there. There was a lot of cajoling, threats of loss of privelege, angry words, sweet words, etc between myself and Sweet Pea. She won't be watching TV for a few days.
Then there was a swift trip to Shall We Knit? It was mostly alright - just a little bit of acting out. Apparently home is a great place to finish up with your Alpha behaviour, though because those two kids put me through the wringer when we got here. It's exceedingly difficult to make the lunch your baby is requesting at the top of his lungs when he won't accept being set down. Boober cried. And cried. And howled. Until I gave him a fistful of crackers. Sweet Pea did her part as well. She whined, moaned and begged for mac & cheese - because we were not having mac & cheese. Then she stole Boober's crackers. Even though she had her own. ROAR!!!
Finally lunch was ready. Each child recieved a plateful. Boober ate a bit of his and then dumped his plate on the floor. He cried when I wouldn't give it back. I made him a peanut butter sandwich that he refused to eat. Sweet Pea ate all the chicken out of hers, and then requested a peanut butter sandwich. Finally, something worked to my advantage. I gave Boober Sweet Pea's plate, and Sweet Pea Boober's sandwich. It was 12:30 when they finished lunch. Boober went down for a nap without fighting at all. He woke at 1:30, and snuggled up with me until 2:30. Sweet Pea went down for a nap at 1:30. It's now 4:04 and I just heard her wake up. So we've all three had naps now. Hopefully this afternoon will be better??

Boober's first visit with Santa

2011-12-16T15:00:00.002-05:00

A picture is worth a thousand words, right?
Well, Boober is a big fan of things that make noise. Like the bell on Santa's hat. Yes, my kid is totally the one that ripped the hat and glasses right off of Santa's head.
This Santa is the cream of the crop though, and simply thanked Boober for giving his head a minute to breathe. "It was getting pretty hot in there!"

However, it would seem the damage was done. Boober decided this Santa business was just too alarming for words. He wouldn't sit on Santa's knee anymore.

Sweet Pea on the other hand -- she has always known that Santa is a cool guy.

Stocking for Boober!

2011-12-08T15:35:00.001-05:00

Boober was born on December 10 last year. Yes, he arrived before Christmas -- but we completely ignored his arrival for his first Christmas. There were a lot of valid reasons.

In all honesty, I think of this year as Boober's first Christmas. We've picked up some fun stuff for him. I think he'll have a great day. And now I've made him a perfectly lovely stocking - and I hope he'll like it!

First, I took Mr. Wonderful's stocking - which is the perfect shape and size - and used it as a template.

Once I had the pattern, I cut out: 2 of the patterned fabric, 2 'warm and natural' cotton batting and 2 plain inside pieces.

Then I immediately messed everything up by doing this:

Yeah . . . don't do that. If you do that, you get this:

Instead, put the patterned pieces right sides together, INSIDE the batting. Then when you turn it right side out, you'll get this:

Sew together the plain lining pieces. Don't turn the piece after you've sewn it, just shove it in there and smooth everything out.

Then I took a length of ribbon, and some furry trim I had on hand, and I eyeballed out the trim. Inside the stocking, I layered the ribbon and the trim, then sewed around. It looked like this:

Then I just flipped everything to the outside, et voila!

I was definitely inspired by a tutorial I saw online - but I couldn't be bothered to look it up to follow the directions. Maybe this is mostly the same, maybe it isn't. I don't even know - because I never got past reading the materials section of that tutorial.

So . . . enjoy! I have a bunch more of these to whip up.

I haven't blogged HALLOWEEN yet??

2011-12-06T20:15:00.001-05:00

Holy shit! I've been gone for a long while, eh?

Boober-bot and his big sister Froggy.
It was a cold night, the candy was flowing freely, and we walked and walked. Sweet Pea was in her glory! Boober was not so impressed, but he only cried twice.
She's still working on her bowl of trick or treats.

Rainy days and new toys

2011-10-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

It's been raining . . . for . . . like . . . 3 weeks. Blech.
We've done so many couch forts, they've lost their shine.

In fact, they're so dull now that the kids have to find stuff to poke and bother on the bookshelves instead. Poor children!

But we DO have a new way to pass the time. Mr. Wonderful did a sweet, sweet thing, and bought me an amazing new camera. I used to shoot an SLR back in the day. I haven't shot an SLR in about 7 years. I'm amazed at just how much I've forgotten about aperture, exposure, ISO . . . it's just . . . buh. But the kids are giving me lots of practice.

We've been doing an awful lot of baking around here lately. This is Boober and his pilfered cookie face. Isn't he a happy boy?? Yup, that chocolate chip cookie jumped the cooling rack and he was on it faster than I expected. By the time I finished with the cookie sheet, he had eaten half the cookie. Little stinker!

Sibling love! Sweet Pea is still so in love with her baby brother. Every time I try to loan him out to someone else she throws down and insists that we HAVE to keep him!! Big Cuddly HUG!!

This one cracks me up -- look how effective child locks can be when you neglect to do them up. And the little bugger is just so pleased with himself! Look mom! I found a new toy cupboard!

Converted?

2011-10-28T20:45:00.001-04:00

See, it's the same old problem . . . I loved knitting these socks. Absolutely I did . . . but they feel gnarly on my feet. :: Sad Face::

Just . . . too loose. Maybe a smaller needle? I had to use a 2.75mm on these. Sadly, my LYS is just out of 2.5mm needles, with a delay on their expected shipment. I thought a 2.75mm was the way to go, but . . . no. Maybe it's the lace? I don't know.

They look amazing. I'll likely still end up wearing them . . but . . meh.

I still plan on knitting another pair of socks - ribbed ones this time. I have some really beautiful locally produced yarn queued up. Looking forward to getting that all worked up. For now, I need to work on Making Friends and pulling together holiday orders.

Did I drink the kool-aid? I did, didn't I?

2011-10-23T11:00:00.003-04:00

There I was, loudly denying my conversion at knit night when it hit me . . .
I have one pair of hand-knit socks. One pair that I made myself, and even though they're slightly too small, I still wear them the second they're dry. When I was looking for new shoes recently, I looked for shoes that would display my socks, not hide them. I've queued 4 or 5 sock patterns. I've wound 3 balls of sock yarn into cakes . . . and the final nail in the coffin -- I bought more sock needles.
I'm a sock knitter now, aren't I? Doomed to second sock syndrome, mass amounts of fingering weight yarns, and constant WIPs.

It's not like I've never knit socks.
I made my mom a pair years ago.

I made myself a pair that I couldn't even get on my feet (cast on was too tight).

And then only doll socks and baby socks for roughly 3 years.

But one day I was complaining about my uncomfortable store-bought socks when my good friend Jen suggested I give hand-knit another shot. And the seed was planted. I thought about it. And I thought about it.
And I decided to give it a shot . . . after I found an absolutely lovely sock yarn that just called my name.

So I made myself 'Jeck' . . . and at first I didn't like them much. I mean, they looked great, but it takes some getting used to.

Hand-knit socks feel odd around the ankle. And my cast-on was still a little snug, so it takes some work to actually get them on. But I'm a mom with 2 little wee kids, and that particular day once I had my socks on, I didn't have an opportunity to take them off again. And I learned that hand-knit socks are actually pretty decent. I mean, sure they cost more than bagged socks from the store. And yeah, washing them is less convenient and more work than other socks. But I like them.

So I picked out some patterns, and wound some skeins of yarn into cakes, and had a 3 day hunt for sock needles, ending with the purchase of new needles. And then I cast on for another pair of socks. This time it's a different pattern. I've already finished the leg, turned the heel, and finished the gussets. I'm 3 pattern repeats and a toe away from finished the first one!

I've been so crazy with Making Friends that it's nice to take some time to do something for me.

Of moose and men

2011-10-07T14:35:00.004-04:00

We're heading in to Moose Season, so to commemorate let me share my latest project.

Mr. Wonderful called it a Tanned Camel Sack (as in testes) and I laughed so hard, I nearly peed on the couch. Then I added eyes and nostrils, and it started to look more like something.

One set of antlers later and it was really taking shape.

And then I finished it up!Here we have it, the confused moose. He's supposed to have birds in his antlers, but to be honest, I can't be bothered.

Going to the park: An exercise in WTFery.

2011-10-07T14:23:00.002-04:00

This morning I took the kids to the park. It's a nice walk, followed by some great play time, followed by an uphill trudge back home.
Today, we were the only ones there. For a while.

Exhibit 1: Old people are fucking WEIRD.
A car pulls up. Parks - not in a parking spot, but across several parking spots. Whatever. There's no one else here, right? A gentleman in his late mid-life gets out of the car, and begins unloading the trunk. 2 lawn chairs. Some blankets. A sun umbrella. A pillow?
An older woman gets out of the car. Her hair looks just like every other older woman's hair. Seriously - why does every woman of a certain age have the same damned hair cut?? She is wearing a jacket that can only be described as an afront to fashion. She is wearing electric blue splash pants.
The couple makes their way across the park. The go around several trees, and finally set up UNDER one of them. Why is this weird? Because they then settle into their chair and lounger, wrap themselves in blankets, and just sit. And sit. And sit. Dudes, it was warm enough in the sun that I wished for a hair elastic. Old people, if you are cold, move forward 3 feet and sit in the freakin' sun!!

Exhibit 2: Other people's children are fucking WEIRD.
Sweet Pea was collecting pretty rocks. We found her a lovely sparkly one in the gravel under the jungle gym.
Another family arrives to play at the park. Sweet Pea accidentally knocks down her sparkly rock into the gravel, never to be seen again. A great gnashing of teeth commences. A little boy offers to help her find it. Aw, so sweet! They look for a while. No luck. The boy starts talking to me. Yes, the baby is mine. Yes, we're here to play today. No, we haven't had our lunch yet. Yes, those things on the bench are ours. Yes, they are. Excuse me, that bag is mine. WHAT ARE YOU DOING RIFLING THROUGH MY BAG? No, it's not appropriate to go through other people's things. I don't care that you weren't going to take anything - IT'S NOT YOURS. Believe it or not, you should never go through someone else's things.
And his mom? Didn't bat an eye. Didn't say a word. Didn't reprimand or berate or even shake her head.

That cleaning thing . . .

2011-09-03T10:27:00.000-04:00

There is a difference between clean and tidy you know. Tidy means all the toys are put away. All the laundry is in the laundry room, and the dishes are in the dishwasher. Tidy means the appearance of clean. Clean, however . . . clean takes some real work. Clean means the floors are scrubbed. The toilet too. Clean means laundry and dishes are DONE. Clean means it's okay if Boober decides today's adventure is licking the floors and giggling. Clean means smelling fresh, and maybe even sparkling a bit.

For anyone who's interested, the cleaning of our home is still coming along. I got derailed over the course of last weekend - looks like it's best to consider this a Monday - Friday venture.
Today we're expecting an old friend of Mr. Wonderful's to visit, along with her 10 month old daughter. For once, there was no panic, no fight, no hurt feelings the night before a visit. Our home is presentable. Not fantastic, not lovely, not perfect by any stretch. But now it looks like it's lived in by a busy family of 4 -- not a family of squirrels.
Cleaning the kitchen was definitely an excercise in frustration. It took me three tries to mop the floor. First attempt - me on my hands and knees with a scrub brush. I got the deep dirt out, but the floor didn't look very clean . . .
Second attempt - mop. I mopped up the ick from attempt #1. It looked AWESOME! Until Sweet Pea wondered through with her dirty feet and my wet floor. And then Boober followed her. And . . . fuck.
Third attempt - I tried to wait until they were both napping, but it just wasn't a simul-nap kind of a day. So I stacked all the 'stuff'' from the kitchen in the doorways to prevent entry. Sweet Pea complained bitterly, but her whining fell on deaf ears. Then I threatened the two of them with SEVERE CONSEQUENCES!! if they went in the kitchen before the floor dried. And. It. Worked! Today my kitchen floor is amazing! Well, it has some breakfast on it. And a touch of last night's dinner too . . . but it's still smooth and nice to walk on.

I'm finding that there are chores I'm adding to the checklist these days. I'm learing enough about my routine and lack thereof to know what needs to be added. It's a pretty good feeling, actually. I like not having to wrestle the baby for items of an icky nature several times daily. I'm down to just a few times a day now -- it's a work in progress. It's going to take time to make it REALLY clean . . . but I'm still doing it, and that's what counts!

318 days

2011-08-28T10:06:00.002-04:00

318 days of work. Not like, every day work . . . but it was there and in progress for 318 days.

That's 10.5 months.

I started it before Boober was born. It was supposed to be his. Now, I don't think I can let the kids play with it.
What is it? My trusty and faithful Companion Cube.

Long ago, I went to Shall We Knit, and I got myself 3 skeins of Cascade 220. 1 in pink and 2 shades of grey. I carefully transported it home, and brought it inside, full of caution and optimism. This was to be Boober's Companion Cube - to keep him company on long, cold nights. To always be there for him when he needed it most. To play with in the car seat, and the stroller, and wherever else he might be.
And then I prepped for the big cast on. I printed out the pattern. I wound skeins into infinitely more useable balls. I checked the Ravelry pattern page for info re: needle size - and I froze in horror. The yarn called for in the original pattern is fingering weight. The yarn I purchased was worsted weight. For those of you who a) don't knit, or b) don't give a fig about gauge - there is marked difference in the size of these 2 yarns. This would take the Cube from a handful, to something rather . . . large.
I cast on anyway. 'So what,' I thought, 'it's a toy! Gauge isn't really important! It's kind of funny when you think about it.'
And then I knit a few rows. And it was kind of tedious. But hey, it was for Boober and his Cube! A worthy cause! But stranding over 13 stitches kind of made me want to stab one of my needles into my hand over and over. So I put it down. For months.
It was only when I decided to knit the cube itself in a plain grey, and duplicate stitch the motif on that I was able to actually make the knitted sides. At first, I was knitting a row, and then doing the duplicate stitch on that same row. Eventually, I declared that too boring to proceed, and just did the whole grey cube in a few sittings.
Duplicate stitch is fun in short doses. I learned this over the next few months. When I was feeling very motivated, I could crank out 1/4 - 1/2 of a side in motif in one night. When I wasn't feeling motivated, it would stare at me reproachfully from the coffee table while I worked on other things.
And then Boober was born, and the whole thing got shelved for many, many months. I would occasionally flirt with the Cube. Do a few rows of duplicate stitch before putting it down. Getting the first 2 sides done was really exciting for me -- I was able to cut the steeks, which I find really exciting, and get the sides blocking, which I find to be the opposite of really exciting.

And then, something happened. Remember that mobile I made? Well the baby it was meant for was due - and that made me think a lot of the Cube . . . and I wanted to cast on new things, and that made me think of finishing up. And suddenly, I was hauling ass through the Cube again.

I got more sides done, and seamed, and blocked and blocking.

For a lot of people, this sort of finishing on a project is a major deterrent. I actually enjoyed it. I recently learned how to properly seam, and now I find it much more enjoyable. It took me a week to get it all set - but then . . . .

I was just about ready to sew it shut. The foam was in there - I got a piece of furniture foam and a bread knife - it was a little hairy for a while! First the cube was 8" square, but things were looking a little stretched. I cut it down to 7" square, and it was a little too small. So I wrapped the foam block in 2 layers of quilt batt. Perfect.
And then I sewed it shut . . . .

And then I was just kind of . . . astonished that it was finally finished, and sitting there in front of me. Just. Wow.

Things I learned about this pattern: the stranding will give the cube structure. Do The Stranding! Even if you think it's dumb. Or impossible. Do it.
Turn each side perpendicular to the last when seaming. It looks cool.
Felting (my original intent) with duplicate stitch is ill-advised. Think about it - different thicknesses of fabric, not good.
Putting plastic canvas or a foam sheet in each side for structure is a good idea in theory. In practice it made me totally crazy. I threw out $3 worth of supplies for this reason.

For those of you who think I might be crazy for even doing this, yes it's a video game thing, and no I'm not a gamer . . . but look at it! The nod to Maslow and his monkey experiment kills me! I Love It! Only a homicidal computer could think that taking an inanimate weighted cube and putting hearts on it would be a comfort. And yet, somehow, you do become fond of your cube. Fond enough to make one of your very own.

Turning over a new leaf.

2011-08-27T11:55:00.002-04:00

Recently it occurred to me - as I picked my way through piles of shit, in an attempt to pluck something unsavoury from Boober's mouth - that I am a slob. A complete slob. Well, maybe not complete. I throw away trash most of the time, my house is not full of bugs or rodents, I can't be a complete slob. But there have been back-handed comments, and seeing the shit that Boober finds around to nom on is very telling . . . so it's been front of mind lately.

The state of my home: horrifying. I made a decision right then that for the sake of my children, and my own stress and sanity level, I need to do better. But where do you start? When you have finite and limited amounts of space, and 2 kids up in your grill at all times . . . what can you do? I've been in a holding pattern of ick for so long. And then my SIL hit me up for info on smartphones (I work for a wireless provider. This info is like breathing for me - although it's wildly confusing for the uninitiated) and she mentioned an app that she was lusting after. I checked it out. The skies cleared. The angels sang. A checklist! A daily checklist! It's perfect!

This app gives me a list of things to do daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly. It's possible (maybe advisable) to edit frequency and tasks. Sure, lists are 'silly' and you can totally make them yourself and all that -- but it's a free app, and it seems to be working for me.

Wednesday, I cleaned the bathroom. Including the tub and surround. I last did this while nesting with Sweet Pea. She's 3 now. I am Horrifying.
Thursday, I cleaned the fridge with soap and everything! Last time I did this? Never. I am so gross.
Friday I took 2 or 3 hours to cull the massive toy herd we've grown. Currently my kitchen floor is covered in boxes for donation.
Today I've cleared off some of the kitchen table. It's our shit pile. Where we dump everything. When it gets full, we clear it off on to the living room floor, or the bookshelf, and we start again.

I've only just begun with this, but I'm really, really tired of being gross. I'm tired of putting it all on Mr. Wonderful - it shouldn't all be his problem. Days when the kids simul-nap, I can use that time to be productive rather than napping along side them or surfing the tubes or otherwise wasting time. Of course, napping is a completely valid pastime, and can be done on days when I'm tired too, but it doesn't have to be the default.

I'm so hoping this sticks. Because I'm tired of being gross.

Start-itis, Finish-itis, and sewing in general

2011-08-22T15:12:00.002-04:00

The weather is getting cooler. By cooler, I mean TOLERABLE. Finally.
This means one thing to me and my brain. It's time. Time to plan new things, start new things, and finish all the things that have been hanging over my head for the past 3 or 4 months. This is how we come to have in-numerable sets of knitting needles and balls of yarn scattered around our house. They keep the piles of fabric good company. And all the spools of thread? I hear those keep . . . umm . . . MICE! Yes, mice . . . away.

So my current queue/work list is starting to look pretty insurmountable.
Dolls. Lots and lots of dolls because I'm really hoping for a guest spot with the Stitch & Kitsch this year. I need to bring along like . . . 15 - 20 dolls.
Doll clothes for the same reason.
Small stuffed animals.
My entire knitting queue (20-some items) call my name. I really want to make some more socks. And knit some toys for some kids who lost their 6 year old sister in a car accident this summer. And knit pants for my tiny son that will actually fit him. He's very tall and thin. And I owe my nephew a sweater. And I'd love some new fingerless gloves for me.
But if I cast all of that on -- yikes. So I've been really trying to finish a few things. I got Boober's sweater done.

I really like it!
Enough that I'm planning on making a few more in different colours and sizes.

This yarn (Spud & Chloe Sweater) is my new favourite. I've purchased a fair bit of it in the recent past. It's nice and soft, and thick and works up (and WEARS) beautifully.

I've also made strides on my Knitted Companion Cube. Inspired by the recent birth of a friend's baby, I cranked out the remaining duplicate stitch, blocked the remaining sides, and seamed 4/6 of the blocks this weekend.

I'm waiting on the 2 pinned sides there to dry completely, then I can complete the seaming (which I actually find enjoyable. I know. Weird) and stuff the bugger.

And I got more done on the Sk8r.

Clearly not even close yet, but it's progressing.

I need to focus on 2 special projects for a while now . . . I wonder if I can be somewhat monogamous for a while.

Omg, seriously?

2011-08-18T07:30:00.000-04:00

Has it been that long? I suck.
I just get lured into long days at the park, or knitting, or doll-making, or worst of all . . . hanging out on Ravelry and Facebook. And then suddenly I realize I can't remember the last time I blogged.

So. Hi!
Life is good. Lots of knitting, playing and doll-making going on.
Sold 4 dolls last month. 2 more on order - they're only cuddle beans, but it's something.

This is the most recent sale, and I think she's lovely!

She was purchased as a birthday gift for a little girl in the local area. It was very cool to be able to deliver the doll in person.

In the last month I also made and delivered a great big order of project bags and shop aprons to SWK. It took up about a week of my spare time. Maybe more.
And just yesterday I learned about a new yarn shop hoping to open in my own little town. I, of course, have offered my services as a sample knitter, and as a project bag supplier. We'll see what comes of it.

Aside of that, there's been much playing

A bit of knitting

Both of these look considerably different now - but I have no current photos. The stripey one is finished - just needs some buttons.

Boober got too big for his bucket, and is in a convertible these days.

This means Sweet Pea is in a booster, which makes her really happy. She's enormous, and does meet the legal requirements, but I keep having this bizarre dream where she's suddenly lost a bunch of weight and is no longer eligible. It's weird.

But this week's BIG excitement?

"Smile with your teeth"
"I can't. They're not clean yet"

Sweet Pea went to the dentist for the very first time. She did so well. I am a super-proud mommy! No tears, no drama, no whimpers. She looked worried for about 3 seconds when they came to get her from the waiting room. By the time she left the chair, she was best friends for life with Terri - who was completely impressed and enamoured with her, in kind. And best of all? No Cavities!

Catching up

2011-07-19T09:09:00.002-04:00

Because somehow I have managed to skip over an awful lot of living, it's time to catch up here and now.

Let's see. I did the Making Friends giveaway and sent off a rainbow girl to the US. Then Sweet Pea had her birthday. This year, her real birthday fell on a Wednesday. In the morning, when she got up my three year old found three helium balloons floating in the hallway for her. The balloons were a source of much amusement for both my wee kids.

She got a gift from Boober

And watched Toy Story 1 & 2 with her dad who took the day off work to spend with his princess.

We had planned to host her birthday party on the Saturday following Sweet Pea's birthday, but her Uncle decided to get married that day. He gave us three whole weeks notice. In case you're wondering, no his bride was not pregnant, and the reception was quite beautiful. In fact, I'm slightly jealous - and that's significant since I loved my wedding so very much. Sweet Pea went home with her cousins for a sleep over, which enabled us to get her party all prepped.
I was not aware that throwing a party for a three year old with a 7 month old (and all his needs) on my hip would be so complicated. I'm extremely grateful that our guests were so flexible and accommodating.
I only got 2 photos of the party. I was too busy. It looked a lot like last years party - kiddie pool, smiles, presents. The gifts are getting more complex as the child gets older . . . now I get to clean up PlayDoh 3 times a day. She's so happy though. How can I complain?

I finally finished knitting my socks!

I made another rainbow doll. She sold in 2 days. (Score!)

Knitted a bear, and made a simple rag doll to go with it.

This will be a birthday gift for a little girl I know.

Oh, and Sweet Pea got a scooter. She loves it. Beyond reason.

In Boober news: he's crawling like a pro, pulling up on everything, even doing a little cruising. Drooling like crazy, but still no teeth. I'm sure this child has a death wish - if you put out 20 toys, 1 piece of barbed wire, and 1 choking hazard you would be sure to find him with barbed wire in his little hands and the choking hazard in his mouth. Best of all, he'll scream his face off when you take them away.

I do believe that catches us up!

Nursing the distracted nurser.

2011-07-13T16:03:00.002-04:00

Boober's stream of conciousness:
I'm hungry! Oh good, boobies. Ah, that's good milk, yum yum yum. Hey, that looks like fun. ::pop:: is it more fun than boobies? ... nope. ::latch:: Milk, milk, milk. I love milk. Hey, what is Sweet Pea doing? ::Turns to look, yanking nipple:: What's mommy's problem? Yeesh! ... Boobs! ::latch:: Milk is good, but there is something better. Food! Food is better because you can smear it in your hair and eyebrows, and hide it in your ears and nostrils. Is there any food around? ::pop:: Nope, I don't see anything but this boob ::latch:: Oh milk. I do like milk. Hey what's that noise?! ::pop:: ::looks around:: I don't see anything . . . HEY! WHERE'D MY BOOB GO?! WAHHHHHHH!! WAHHHHHHH! ::latch:: Can you even believe that? Why would you put away the boob when I am clearly still using it? Cripes. Slurp, slurp. Sweet Pea has a neat toy. ::pop:: Oh, I remember that toy, I've seen it before . . . when you push the button . . . yup, when you push the button a song comes on. Oh right, boobs. ::latch:: Hey, this boob is making me sleepy. ::pop:: Maybe if I fuss a little it will keep me awake. Fuss. Yup, that's better. ::latch:: Oh no, sleepy again. ::pop:: fuss. ::latch:: Oh . . . man . . . zzzzzzz.

Boober! SLOW DOWN, DAMMIT!!

2011-07-01T10:26:00.002-04:00

It's about my little wee baby. The itty bitty one who still wears size 3 months, albeit only in certain brands. The teeny, tiny, still looks brand new one.
I mentioned he crawls (and he's getting much better at it, btw). Just this week, he learned a whole new skill -- pulling himself up to standing. Boober is closing in on 7 months old (10 days from now), but he looks so darned little, it just seems too early. I'm tempted to knock him down, but he's so PROUD of himself that I can't bring myself to do it. His little chirp of happiness when he pulls it off makes me smile.

I got through the leg, heel turn, and gusset for my socks before I got drawn into making another doll. With the giveaway, I'm getting a lot of views and publicity, so I figured now would be a good time to . . . make more.

I CAN KNIT AGAIN!!!

2011-06-27T14:50:00.004-04:00

For the last month, my every free moment has been monopolized. By dolls. Their hair. Their clothes. The little details that make them so charming.
But I am pleased to announce that the giveaway dolls are finally done, and the giveaway is live on my Making Friends blog.

Enter if you'd like. There are no restrictions, no strings attached.

Now I am free to knit again! I have made a bunch of a sock in the last 18 hours. A whole BUNCH of a sock!! Soon I will have my very own hand made socks, and I can wear them and feel happy.
I can maybe finally finish that which is on the needles.
I can knit the sample I owe Shall we Knit? That would be great.
I can sew project bags and finish aprons, finish up that quilt, and move on to new things.

In other news, Boober has learned how to sit by himself. Also, just last week he started crawling in a spastic, interrupted manner. It takes him a while to get going - but he's determined! No one but the family has seen him do it yet, but it's a brand-new skill. Soon he'll be doing it all the time. Then his grandparents will finally see and maybe even believe me that I'm not crazy!!

The cake is a lie.

2011-06-17T20:12:00.002-04:00

There are a million things going on in my life right now. Seriously. At least a million.
Between kids and Making Friends and Carried Away and attempts at domesticity, I am stressed right out. This month is particularly rough due to the Making Friends giveaway - which is supposed to be ready for release next Tuesday. Honestly, it will take a freakin' miracle. Or some miraculous time management. I have one of the three dolls done. If I can get the others stuffed, I can cart them around to detail and put hair on and things throughout my weekend commitments, but god only knows.
The one doll I have done is cute as a button. I'm well pleased with her. She's still naked . . . but thems the breaks. The second doll is stuffed and mostly assembled, but still needs some serious work. The final doll has a head. Let's not speak of the final doll.

Anyway, what I'm getting at here is that there is an awful lot I could be blogging, but I don't have the time to sit and apply myself. Sad.
So let me tell you about last weekend. Last weekend I attended a baby shower. I believe I've expressed my feelings re: showers in the past, but to re-cap: hate 'em. Nothing worse than sitting in a room with a bunch of other women you don't know or want to know, listening to blather and small talk.
This shower was different. It was small and intimate. I know more than 1/2 the guests, and no one there made me want to slap them repeatedly. The games were minimal and in good fun - not rude or insulting to our expecting friend. Does any pregnant woman feel better about her size after seeing it in toilet paper?
I was most anticipating the reaction to the gift I made for this shower. See, the baby's daddy is a gamer. This man LOVES games of any sort. He and I have common ground in Portal. So when I was invited to the shower, I knew I wanted to do something around the running jokes in Portal - specifically 'the cake is a lie' and the weighted Companion Cube. I thought about making a pillow, but meh. After thinking about it for a short while, I came up with the perfect idea -- a mobile! I still had the frame from Sweet Pea's Care Bears mobile. This was the end result.

The cake was made by an Etsy seller - I lack the skill and patience for that. The cube was my creation though.
I hope baby B loves it!

A new blog for my side business

2011-06-07T09:57:00.004-04:00

As you all know, I make Waldorf dolls. I sell them on Etsy, and through contacts, and so on.

I've started a blog for this venture, so that fans of my work can follow along without full access to my life. Yes, I recognize that this blog is a public forum, and that anyone can find it, read it, etc. I know it links to my Etsy shop. But I feel that this is my personal blog. A place where I don't need to present a professional, polished face at all times. I don't want to drive my customer base to this blog. Instead, I started up a new, dedicated blog for Making Friends. You can find it here.
This means you may be seeing less about the dolls here in the future.

You should also know that June 21 marks the 1 year anniversary of the launch of Making Friends. To celebrate, I'll be giving away a doll. Go check it out!

SONOFABITCH!! Or 2 seconds out of my moring.

2011-05-29T22:17:00.003-04:00

Place baby in pack & play, rush off to get in the shower before he notices.
Toe forcibly meets wall.
::audible snap::
A thought: "oh damn, that's going to (waves of pain) HURT!!"
::flail-y muppet arms, muffled screams and curses::

Yup, I broke a toe.

Boober groweth big and whatnot.

2011-05-26T09:15:00.003-04:00

Boober. Growing. Sort of.

He's still a bitty little bugger, and he's only just barely in size 3-6 months at 5.5 months . . . but he's getting bigger, I swear!

For example:
Newborn Boober in his car seat

Recent Boober in his car seat

And this particular picture I took just this past weekend. My wee boy looks so grown, and so very adorable!

This little baby is 100% convinced that he should be walking on his own, crawling, talking and using the toilet. I constantly remind him that he is just 5 months old, and there is plenty of time for all this stuff. He doesn't believe me. Poor wee soul, he is so very sad that he is a baby.

Well that doesn't bode well . . .

2011-05-26T08:54:00.002-04:00

It's a rainy morning - the kind of rain that hammers down on your roof and wakes your kids up ungodly early. The kind of rain that keeps you closeted inside doing laundry and finding things to keep the kids occupied. In short, it's the kind of day where you feel the urge to get things done! finally.

Right now, I have a lot on the go. I have an order of aprons and bags in the works for Shall We Knit? who have recently opened at their new location - 11 Willow St in Waterloo. I have a doll who just needs legs and 2 snaps on her dress and she's ready to be listed. I have the Companion Cube still sitting around. I have a messy house that aches to be cleaned properly. I have a quilt that still needs finishing touches to work up for a friend. I have piles of laundry - some clean, some waiting for washer time. I have a knitting queue that makes me itch to sit and knit and knit and knit. Socks for me, Sk8r sweater for SWK, baby boy knits, toys for the girl . . .
But right now, very much on my mind is my nephew's birthday sweater.

His birthday was in April. I started knitting in April - there was an outside possibility that I could get it done by party day, however slim that possibility. I shared the progress of the sweater earlier - remember this?

Well, I got the body finished and moved on to a sleeve. Last night, I finished the sleeve (it's been slow going. Shut up!) This morning, I wanted to put the sleeve with the sweater body. Keep it all in one place. Makes sense, right? So I open up my knitting stand . . .

It's not in there. I start thinking . . . where could it be? And all I could think of is where it's NOT.
Yarn bag?

Nope.
Sewing desk? Nope. Drawers? Nope. My table beside the couch? Nope . . . wait . . .

Believe it or not, the sweater body IS there. Under the pile of out-grown kid clothes right at the back. All's well that ends well, but for a moment there I was pretty concerned.

Now I just have to decide how to keep the kids busy and happy today. I foresee a movie.

Mother's Day. Sigh.

2011-05-06T14:41:00.002-04:00

When I was a kid, mother's day was an event. Even if we weren't doing something or going somewhere (and we rarely did) I was always concious of wanting to make mother's day special for my mom. I appreciated what she did for me, and I wanted to show her. So I made her things, or spent time, effort and my own money planning out what gift to buy her. I went out of my way to be sweet to her on The Day.
And then I moved out on my own, and mother's day became a huge pain in my ass for several years. There was the balancing - making sure neither Wonderful's mom nor mine was getting preferential treatment. There was the fact that I was falling away from my parents and didn't really know what was desired/appropriate to buy my mom anymore. Then, and this was the biggest thing, there was the fact that even though she'll always be my mom, I didn't need mothering anymore. I didn't need drives to the mall, help with my homework, or someone to fold my laundry anymore. My mom and I were at arm's length now. How do you do mother's day at arm's length? What does it mean? What's appropriate?
This is the point where most people, I think, move into a phone call, a card or flowers. For me, I just got bent out of shape and resentful of mother's day.
And then I became a mother - and now mother's day is a whole NEW variety of pain in my ass. The earlier issue was resolved - I sometimes need my mom's help again, so I do in fact feel that a token of appreciation is called for. But now, as the mother of two small kids . . . well . . . I have to think of something to want FOR ME. And everything I can think of - I can think of a 'yeah, but' to go with it. And poor Mr. Wonderful is totally sweating it. I don't blame him.
Allow me to demonstrate:
I would love a spa day of some type - massage, manicure, the whole bit. That would be phenomenal! Yeah, but, I can't be away from Boober for any length of time. He would be very hungry, I would be very engorged.
I need new pants. My jeans are a) too big b) shape-less and approaching hole-y or c) bit of both. New pants would be great! Yeah, but, I have a hard enough time shopping pants on my own without making it someone else's problem. Fashion this season is hideous. The kids have short attention spans. Forget it.
Flowers would be lovely. Nobody doesn't like a vase of flowers! Yeah, but, Mr. Wonderful thinks it would be an abomination and I would have to hear about it for a very, very long time. He would be all down on himself for that one.
Jewellery! Yeah, but, I rarely wear jewellery. Boober is newly grabby, which means no necklaces - the only jewellry I really wear.
A lot of moms want the gift of time. Alone time. Yeah, but, I'm not one of those moms. I really enjoy being with my kids most of the time. And when they're driving me nuts, Wonderful steps in to give me a break.
Other folks suggest letting him do the cooking and cleaning for the day. Yeah, but, that would be just like every other day. I have an awesome husband. If I need help, he readily provides it. As for cleaning - if he doesn't do it, it doesn't get done. I suppose I could suggest a one-time maid service for the deep cleaning, but I'm not sure what that would cost.
Knitting stuff? Used that one up on my birthday. Besides, the yarn shop is in the middle of a move and isn't open yet.
Family movies would be great . . . actually, that one works. Yeah, it's mostly for the kids, but the time it buys me is great!
Practical stuff is too practical, frivolous thoughts are focussed on the kids. All in all, we're both getting stressed over it.
Maybe I should tell him to take Sweet Pea out for an hour or two. Maybe a gift certificate for a manicure would be good. Maybe I should just throw in the towel.

Teething pain relief: it's all in your head.

2011-05-01T08:16:00.002-04:00

Maybe it's a function of mothering a baby in the teething stages. Maybe it's a trend in parenting. Whatever the reason, I'm hearing more and more about bullshit teething remedies. And it KILLS ME!

I get wanting to avoid medicine. Hell, I won't take anything for a headache unless I start feeling nauseated from the pain. But you're talking about your BABY here. A tiny person incapable of making his or her own decisions, or dealing with a great deal of pain. So before I shoot my mouth off on Facebook and alienate someone, allow me to blow my stack here.

Amber and other bullshit materials teething necklaces:
First off, the idea that something millions of years old, repeated warmed and cooled by the earth and sun could harbour the magic perfect dose of 'natural pain reliever' for your baby - released and absorbed by the warmth of their of skin - is utterly absurd. Just take a step back, and think about it. Yes, I really do wish it worked. No, it really doesn't. There is absolutely NO scientific, empirical proof for these products. You'll find pages and pages of anecdotal evidence for the efficacy of these things, but REALLY? I suspect what you're seeing here is a combination of confirmation bias, parental expectation and that deep down desire we all have to be right about something. And the most reprehensible part? The necklaces must be replaced every 2 - 3 months, or when the symptoms re-appear. We all know teething takes place in cycles, right? Dudes, they are Taking Your Money!! For a real researched and footnoted article on this bullshit, click here.
Then there's hazelwood, which is supposed to neutralize the body's acidity - just about the dumbest thing I've heard today. Correct me if I'm wrong (seriously, there's a comments field down there for just such a purpose) but teething pain has to do with the inflammation and discomfort of a tooth bursting through gum tissue. Right? Where does acidity factor in? Also, neutralizing the acid of the body? Through a little piece of wood? Seriously? And people are BUYING this shit.
Now let's imagine for one moment that this isn't bullshit. It's trufax. The truest thing that ever was. How great an idea is it to allow an unmeasured, constant dose of anything course through your infant's veins? Nevermind the obvious strangulation and choking hazard a necklace on an infant presents.
If you want to put one of these on your baby because it looks cool and it's trendy - hey, whatever. But don't con yourself. Your child is in pain. Acetaminophen works for that. It's even scientifically proven. With empirical evidence and the whole thing.

Camilia, teething tabs, other homeopathic remedies:
If one more concerned mother approaches me in public again and tells me I need to try Camilia for my wailing, drooling son . . . well, I'll do what I always do. Smile politely and tell her 'in our household, we demand empirical proof before we accept anything. Anecdotal evidence is insufficient. I'll give him some acetaminophen just as soon as we get home.' Camilia is a homeopathic blend of belladonna, camomile, and iron phosphate. The important thing (as with all homeopathy) is the dilution. When it comes to camilia, it seems to me that you may as well be giving your child a dose of 1ml of bottled water. Again, there are scores of parents eager to insist they havent' been wasting their money, and proclaiming these remedies to work. Again, there is no evidence to prove its efficacy. In the case of camilia, I have to laugh at the dosing guidelines. 1 dose every 15 minutes to a maximum of 3 doses. I don't know about your baby, but mine will cry himself to sleep before 45 minutes have lapsed. Crying is hard work for an infant, and even if you're being cuddled, rocked, sang to, attended . . . pain will make you cry. This, of course, leads to confirmation bias - the baby is sleeping, therefore (s)he must be comfortable, therefore the remedy in question is responsible. It worked! Oh, I wish it did. I sincerely do.

The fact of the matter is, there is no miracle cure. Teething sucks. Plain and simple. It's painful. Rather than causing your child to suffer through it, get some acetaminophen. Do some research on distraction and pain management. Help your baby through it, and stop deluding yourself. If amber, hazelwood, etc remedies had any effect at all, there would be peer reviewed research studies on it. Your doctor would suggest it at your well-baby visits. You might even get a sample of it from your midwife or OB. Instead, you're hearing about it from other moms going through the desperation of teething, or the seller themself. And something about that just doesn't sit right.

A myriad of stuff and things.

2011-04-28T20:37:00.002-04:00

This one rolls over now. Both directions. Has done for about 2 weeks now. He's also very fond of snuggling. He's . . . well . . . clingy. And loud. And opinionated. We're in that wretched stretch of infancy where said baby wants to do and try everything on his own - and simply isn't capable. It leads to a lot of crying. Factor in the teething, and oh holy shit.
That said, he's a happy little baby. He loves to play. All. The. Time. Our days and evenings are a mix of aggravation and laughter. I'm not getting things done like I want to! And yet, I know from experience it'll be over far too soon.

And if I may brag . . . my little boy is ahead on the milestone that matters most: touching his penis. I am such a proud mommy.

Sweater knitting. This project is total murder on my hands. The yarn is a discontinued one - Debbie Bliss Stella. It's a cotton/silk blend. No bounce or give in that one at all. I'm loving the way it looks though. Can't wait to see it finished. But it's tough given . . . life . . . at the moment.

Pattern: Gramps

My knitted companion cube. Well, 2 sides of it anyway. I started it eons ago . . . it's not really an enjoyable knit, I find. But I love it anyway! And if you don't know why this is awesome (!!) you need to discover Portal.
We have Portal 2 now - I haven't seen much of it . . . but I'm very much looking forward to it. I missed GlaDOS. It's nice when a video game character just really comes together for you.

Doll #24
I realize I haven't shared dolls #21 on, and I'm working on it. I've made 24 now. Yup.

Election
Next Monday, Canadians are headed to the polls for a big, exciting election!! In actuality, this election is dullsville. I haven't heard much about . . . anything really. I mean, there was the Liberal candidate in Toronto (I think) who had a handler removing opponents flyers from mail boxes. There's shitharperdid.com, which will make you cringe, gasp, and goggle all at once. Seriously, if you haven't been yet, you've got to check this site out. But there's really nothing impressive going on. Politicians are douchebags. This isn't new. I still haven't decided how I'm voting. More research needed. One thing is certain though - I WILL be voting.

We're still here!!

2011-04-05T16:17:00.002-04:00

Just busy . . . well, living life!
Going for walks with our baby Boober.

Just hanging around in the dress I made her when she was still a fetus. Gotta love how lace stretches!!

I made and shipped a Cuddle Bean last week. I don't feel it was my finest work, but it was pretty fine.

I'm working on a 10" jointed Ballerina right now. Hopefully she'll be done by Thursday morning, so I can get her delivered. The ballerina is a favour to a co-worker of Mr. Wonderful's. She's going to be pretty cute, I think.

MORE KNITTING!

2011-03-28T13:05:00.003-04:00

Don't act like you're not shocked. I totally know you are!
Recently, Tottoppers put out a call for test knitters. She pays in patterns, and it just so happens that I really like a number of her patterns. PLUS, test knitting is one of those 'notch in my belt, I'm a REAL knitter now!' things for me. So I got myself added to her test pool. And then I instantly worried that I may have done something stupid ... I mean, a nursing infant, a toilet training kid, dolls on order, bags on order - when do I have the time?? Well, I'm glad I signed on! Check out these adorable knits!

First was Jimmy & Millie Monkey - a sock monkey hat. I made it up, and the whole family took turns wearing it. Thing is, it wasn't for any of us . . . it was for my SIL - who has a thing for sock monkeys. So I pried it out of Sweet Pea's mitts after promising her one of her own someday, and presented it to the lucky recipient.

The pattern was really simple, concise, neatly written. I was pretty concerned about all the finishing, but the thing about a knit like this - you really want to see it finished! You just know it's going to be beyond cute, and you HAVE to see it completed. FAST! Deadline aside, it's one of those things that goes quickly.

On the heels of that one, I received a second test knit opportunity, and this one I just couldn't pass up. A girl's spring cardigan, worked in a worsted weight. Short sleeved and bottom up raglan - tight deadline . . . just 10 days . . . but it would be perfect for Sweet Pea, who has been sorely neglected in the hand-knits department as of late.
So I took her to Shall We Knit? and I let her pick out her yarn. In a testament to just how neglected she has been, when we got home she asked me what I would be knitting for Boober in the yarn she picked out. Frankly, it gave me a bit of a sad. And a bit of a laugh. Because the yarn in question was lipstick pink.

Did she love it? Yes, she certainly did.

Every day she asked me if it was finished yet. When it finally WAS finished, I put it on her for photos - and she didn't take it off all day. We're talking about a little girl who picks out a sweater to wear every day, and then takes it off before breakfast.

She spent at least an hour buttoning and unbuttoning.

I don't blame her - the buttons totally rock.

At the end of the day, I was happy to have made her happy. And the sweater was wearing a fine coating of crumbs and chocolate. Ah, to be 2 years old again.

As for the pattern, it represented some firsts for me: first inset pockets, first bottom up seamless raglan. I was able to give some input for Kate, and felt all-around useful. Again, a quick knit, deadline aside, this time due to sheer knit-ability. With all that stockinette, you can just . . . go. And getting the sleeves and pocket inserts done first makes it a really straightforward process. I loved making it, and I likely will again. I know my girl is big, but I knit her a size 4 -- and it fits perfectly. I was hoping to get a spring, a fall, and maybe another spring out of it.

I can't believe I haven't learned . . .

2011-03-10T20:52:00.002-05:00

The importance of swatching. SERIOUSLY!!i

Today I was just about to pick up my knitting and go to it. But something . . . just didn't make sense. It was just off. Too long and skinny. And I still had 3 inches to go on the body. And . . . what?? So I got out the measuring tape, and my gauge was way, WAY off. I was missing 6 inches of width. SIX INCHES!! In fact, this sweater is supposed to fit a 1 year old -- check this out:

Boober is 3 months old today. So . . . I frogged it.

Straight from the sweater to the winder. It was actually a pretty good way to approach things. Minimal fuss.

Now Boober's sweater looks like this:

And I'm kind of fine with that. I started this sweater before I got to know Boober. Now I know he HATES having anything pulled over his head. Lots of babies dislike having clothing pulled over their heads, but Boober will lose his bananas when I pull things over his head. And the following shoving of arms into sleeves?? The world is ending. Ending!!
So I'm going to re-do the sweater, but in cardigan format. It's not all bad news.

The road to hell . . .

2011-03-01T21:08:00.002-05:00

Paved with good intentions? Absolutely. It's hard to find blogging time with 2 wee ones. Boober just wants to . . . well . . . BOOB! All the time. Sweet Pea wants to sing, dance, read stories, and most exciting - Pee On The Toilet! All the time. Believe me, it's not that I don't want to ... I even upload the photos for posts. It's just finding time.

Not nap time. During nap time I should be:

Cleaning
Doing dishes
Doing laundry
Folding laundry
Making dolls a bit at a time
Knitting more adorable things for my beautiful babies
Answering correspondence, paying bills and other assorted admin
Planning excursions
Packing the diaper bag for said excursions
Connecting with friends for a minute or two

What am I actually doing at nap time?

Napping
Staring into space wishing I was napping
Dealing with whichever child isn't napping

Lately it's a lot of #3. (I'm looking at you, Boober)

So what have I been mentally blogging?
Sweet Pea knitting

She calls them knitting noodles. And no, she can't actually knit, nor have I even tried to show her how. She just enjoys messing around with the stitches on the needle for the time being.

I found this in the garden last week:

Messed up, right? It's too early for tulips!

Boober is a three speed model:

Crying

Sleeping

And my favourite speed - giggling, smiling, being cute as hell.

Lately, he's as impressed with his sister as she is with him. He even smiles just at her. She made him cry for the first time this week. She was ever so repentant, and has been extremely careful around him since. He's been responding to her songs and stories, so she has a renewed interest in him as of late. I think the two of them are going to be really tight.

I have no photos of this, because . . . seriously. Sweet Pea has been toilet training since February 9th. I've been ready to call her fully trained a few times now - sadly, those are the days she has accidents. I have to say it was fully heart rending to hear this:
I have to pee! I have to pee! Oh . . . I'm peeing . . . (looks down mournfully) . . . sorry pants.
Awwww!
She's doing really well. Just a few accidents here and there. We put her in training pants before we go out, so we're stacking the deck at least a little. The training pants are dry more often than not though.

I'd say I'm sorry for abandoning the blog, but I'm not. I'm spending time with my babies. I'm not sorry for doing that at all.

See? Told ya.

2011-02-17T21:42:00.002-05:00

And just because I can . . . here are 2 images of my baby boy that make me melt inside.

A post about knitting. Yes, Knitting!

2011-02-12T20:17:00.002-05:00

Remember back in the good old days? I'm talking 3, maybe even 4 years ago -- before I had kids? Oh yeah, ancient history. Well, back in those days this was a knitting blog. No dolls, no parenting, no adorable babies ... just knitting. And yarn. Yummy yarn. Well today I'm going back to my roots.

Fisherman Fred:

Made for Shall We Knit? as a store sample. I really enjoyed this knit. Quick, straight forward, but not dull. In reviewing knits for baby boys (and indeed grown-ass boys as well) I see a plethora of stripes worked in boring stockinette. The purl ridge chevron pattern seen here keeps things interesting without being overwhelming. The yarn I was given to work with was heavenly. Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK. Don't know how it will wear, but it was lovely to work with.

Textured Rufus Cardi:

This one is almost done -- you'll see it on Boober soon. Just working on the button bands now. This one is from a book called Vintage Baby Knits. I really do love most of the patterns in this book - they're lovely. The author seems to be a pretty great woman as well - answers questions without being a douche, etc. There is a definite difference in the way her mind and my mind work. Understanding the way some of the instructions are phrased can take several readings and sometimes I have to sketch out a diagram or two. That said, I have made 3 of the designs from this book and have definitely not been disappointed in the least.
I see a great deal of criticism for this particular pattern on Ravelry. Why so much seaming? Why so many pieces? Easy. 1) seams provide structure. Bones, if you will. 2) the button bands are worked on smaller needles in a different stitch pattern. Working them at the same time is just asking for puckers and pulling. Take the time, do the seaming ... you won't regret it.
I'm using some Sublime Soya Cotton from my stash for this one. I can say from experience that the yarn washes and dries beautifully by machine, wears like nobody's business, and has fabulous drape. It's the perfect yarn for textured garments.

And now this:

What? There's a sweater in there!!

Take three: Twinkle Vintage Cardi

2011-01-26T11:24:00.002-05:00

Awww! So cute!

This is my third go at this pattern. I made 2 previously for expecting friends. Out of delicious cashmere.
Bub's Twinkle is made with Dalegarn Baby Ull - not quite as delectable . . . but still functional. I started this sweater before we knew the boy was a boy, WAY back in July. Lost my steam due to tiny stitches and black yarn. Just finished it on Monday. It looks great on him!

I love him, fun and games, and the plague of 2011

2011-01-13T09:57:00.002-05:00

Sweet Pea is still very much enamoured of her little brother. I'm glad she doesn't hate him, but I wish she didn't love him so violently!
She simply doesn't understand that 1 month old babies are 1) easily overwhelmed, 2) incapable of playing with their adoring big sisters.
For example, I put him out on his quilt for some 'play time' last week. This is what I wanted play time to look like:

This is what it looked like when Sweet Pea was done with him:

Life is not completely devoid of play time, mind you. There are still couch forts a-plenty

And shoveling is apparently a good time . . . .

And she loves to read stories to her little brother at bedtime.

As is tradition for the month of January, our household has been struck once again with the plague. Wonderful got it first, then I came down with it. We suspect Sweet Pea is next as she has the warning cough and has been sneezing a fair bit. I sincerely hope she skips it - while we're fairly certain it's just a cold, it's the worst cold I've ever had. I had to call in reinforcements to take care of the kids yesterday so I could just lie in bed and fight off a fever of 39.5 (Celsius - that's 103.1F). If our little man gets it, I'm pretty sure he's screwed and will need admission to the hospital. I'm crossing everything I have that he's getting adequate anti-bodies from my milk and he'll skip it. So far, so good. He doesn't have a cough, and he sneezes infrequently. We seem to be on the right track! If Sweet Pea does, in fact, contract the plague . . . I don't know. It's a terribly high fever, and a lot of dehydration. Here's hoping both of the kids come through no worse for wear.

Time flies?

2011-01-05T21:03:00.002-05:00

It's been 3 weeks since my last post. Almost a month since the birth of my son. There have been a lot of surprises, a lot of sweet moments, and a smidge of regret.

I'll be honest. There have been times when I have looked at my small son, and my not-so-small daughter and thought to myself 'I made a mistake. What was I thinking, having another child?'. These moments were largely in the first 2 weeks, when my hormones were unstable and I was struggling with Boy-zooka's weight-gain. I certainly don't feel that way anymore, or most of the time.

At first, Boy-zooka appeared to be doing just fine. He was lazy, he was a little jaundiced, but otherwise he seemed just fine. He wasn't fine. At his three day check up, the midwife noted that he was losing weight. This was the start of a 3 week battle to turn our son's nose-dive around. It was exhausting, disheartening, and it just about broke me. Every other day a midwife would be at our home to weigh our small son. Every other day, he lost a few more ounces. We supplemented his nursing sessions with expressed breast milk, he lost weight. We fed him more frequently, he lost weight. He would fight the breast so forcefully that I would give up after 45 minutes of attempting to get him latched - often I would be in tears, every time I felt rejected. Finally, we gave him breast milk in a bottle. He loved it. I cried through every bottle feeding, and finally decided to cut him off the bottle altogether since it was making his already poor nursing skills even more lax - but he got what he needed from those bottles. He started nursing better and better. On Christmas Eve we saw his first weight gain - just as I was about to give up on nursing altogether. In the end, Boy-zooka needed to nurse every hour or hour and a half and he required a top-up of 1 ounce of expressed milk in order to gain weight. On his three week birthday, he finally surpassed his birth weight by a whole 2 ounces. Tomorrow he will be weighed again. I'm both interested and wholly worried to find out what the scale says. This boy would rather sleep than eat. He would rather sleep than anything. This would be fantastic if 1) his weight gain were acceptable and 2) he didn't abandon this ideology every night around 3am.

The fight to nurse my baby certainly came as a surprise to me. When Sweet Pea was born, she took right to nursing - there was no fight, no learning curve . . . nothing. Just a hungry baby and an eager new mom. Boy-zooka, however . . . he feels differently.
Other surprises:
Boys pee A LOT. A LOT! Every time he pees in his own face, Boy-zooka gets really pissed off (Pissed! Ha!). He once peed in his own ear. It was rather amusing.
Sweet Pea loves her brother an awful lot. More than I thought she would. She loves him so much that I fear for his safety. She has no idea how destructive and rough she is!
Laundry for 4 is infinitely more voluminous than laundry for 3. It helps that one of us pees or pukes on everything. It's shocking. Absolutely shocking.
Days with 2 kids go by so fast. I'm always changing, feeding, or snuggling someone. There is so much to do that adding anything (like making dinner or doing the dishes) just seems ill-advised at this juncture. I'm trying to get out more, so we're going to have to figure this out and fast. I've been able to figure out some knitting time, and I get a shower almost every day now . . . so that's progress.
Recovery for baby #2 has been a complete nightmare. I didn't expect that. It seems that due to the speed of Boy-zooka's delivery, some stuff was really messed up. I still feel bruised and tender in places - and it was almost a month ago now. Apparently firing a baby down the birth canal is less of a good idea than easing said baby down the birth canal. Duly noted.

Sweet moments are primarily on Sweet Pea. She says and does the most charming things. She gives Boy-zooka the most tender, loving kisses I have ever seen. She desperately wants to play with him.

Some of the sweet moments are just between my Boy-zooka and I.

With one month of living in the big world just a few days away for my wee boy, I finally finished his blanket. When I gave it to him, he immediately pulled it up to his mouth for tasting. Apparently it passed the test.

It passes my test as well. It's a hand-knit I can be proud of. The FO is lovely, although I don't look forward to blocking it with each washing. The lace chart just about made me lose my mind - the symbols and legend just never really came together for me.

It's remarkably tiny, and if I were to do it again, I'd likely buy a third skein of the yarn and go for a full sized blanket. That said, it's a great size for car seat cuddling or snuggling in the swing. The smaller size also makes it great for carting around. I hope he likes it!

Progress: 100%

2010-12-13T10:58:00.002-05:00

Ah, but it's not what you think!
The blanket is about 70% done - I need to get 2 more lace panels completed and one of those is about 20% done already.

So what is it that's no longer a WIP?

We went from this:

to this:

in just 2 hours. On Friday morning. It was a complete whirlwind.

I woke up at 2:56 am on Friday with some pretty intense contractions. Didn't think much of it. I'd had 8 bouts of false or prodromal labour in the preceding 3 weeks, and the baby wasn't due for another 11 days. I tried to go back to sleep, but no dice. At 3:15 I got out of bed, drank a litre or so of water, and did some rocking to cope with the pain. It didn't get better, so I filled a tub with warm water and just sat for about an hour. The water made the contractions so manageable that I actually thought they had stopped. I went back to bed, thoroughly annoyed at the loss of sleep and glad I hadn't woken and inconvenienced anyone.
Within minutes, I had woken Mr. Wonderful with moaning and heavy breathing - and not the good kind either. The contractions were back in full force. We laid there and discussed my state for a few minutes. He convinced me that we should call the midwife, and I asked him to take care of it. I was in no state to talk on the phone. In retrospect, all signs point to active labour. Why didn't I see it then?
Suddenly I was hit by an unending contraction - it just kept building and peaking, it never dissipated. Even then, it only lasted a few minutes . . . 3 peaks. And then, I HAD to get on the toilet. In spite of the intensity of the contraction, I got up and ran for the bathroom. Mr. Wonderful was finally able to go get the midwife's number. As he ran down the stairs, my water broke. And then I had to push. 3 pushes. And then the baby was crowning, although I didn't know it at the time.
I sat there and listened to Wonderful leave a message for the midwife. He turned to me and said 'and now we wait 15 minutes'. I remember thinking 'we don't have 15 minutes'. And I was right.
Our son was born minutes before the midwife arrived. And she lives just up the street from us. When I realized the burning was due to crowning, I felt like I had to push his head out. I sat and considered what to do for a few minutes - then decided to get him out. The what ifs were overwhelming - what if he's got a prolapsed cord and waiting is dangerous? What if the cord is around his neck and waiting will kill him? What if there are complications and giving birth to him here and now hurts or kills one or both of us? But the midwife was on her way, and I knew she'd come prepared for resuscitation if needed. It was risky, but so was sitting there with a baby's head birthed. So I stood up, and pushed. And then he was here, and wet and slimy . . . and in my hands. I caught my own baby.
At first he didn't breathe. He didn't cry. His face and extremities were purple. Turns out Wonderful and I both thought the worst, but neither of us had the strength to say it. It seemed like several minutes passed before he started snorting and several minutes more before his first wail - but I'm sure it was much quicker than that.
The midwife arrived shortly behind our wee son. She took care of the two of us, checked us out, made sure we were in good health. It wasn't the birth I had in mind - and I wouldn't recommend it as it was fully unplanned and we had no training 'just in case' . . . but all said, we're in good shape.

Our baby boy was born at 5:17am, weighing 7lbs, 6ozs and measuring 21". He's still looking for his blog name - he's no longer a son-thingy, he's now a son. I'm sure we'll figure something out.

Sweet Pea is adjusting well, with a few rough spots. She's absolutely enamoured of her 'baby butter' and kisses him all the time. I can't lay him down for even 2 minutes without a kiss. I'm glad she's so in love.

Currently, we're all doing well. The baby is thriving and has learned how to nurse finally. Shy of a little sleep deprivation, it's business as usual chez nous . . . in spite of a really exciting Friday morning.

Progress: 30%

2010-12-03T20:19:00.003-05:00

At least, I estimate the progress to be at 30%.
Thus far, the blanket is shockingly small. The centre bit is only 14 inches wide, and will be roughly the same height. I'm planning on blocking the ever-loving crap out of it to make it a reasonable size. Because to me, right now, it looks like a slightly larger than normal hankie.
I have most of the middle done. I haven't even used half the yarn yet. This bodes well.

Progress indeed!

Poll: on a scale of 1-10 . . . .

2010-11-30T20:28:00.003-05:00

. . . . just how crazy would I be to cast on a new baby project? What if it were a blanket? And son-thingy were due in just three short weeks?

Keep the following in mind:
1) the blanket is made of light fingering weight yarn.
2) The three weeks before Sweet Pea's birth, I made an adult sized sweater, a whole lace stole, and a third of a second lace stole.
3) the three weeks before Sweet Pea's birth I didn't have a 2 year old to entertain.
4) the three weeks before Sweet Pea's birth I DID have to work . . . well, some of it, anyway.
5) Friday is my last day of work this go-around.
6) I have a history of getting sick of blankets and abandoning them partially finished - only to get guilty and finish them months, if not years, later.
7) This blanket is made of Lorna's Laces, in a really enticing colourway - Zombie BBQ. It makes it even more fun to work on. The yarn is delicious! Plus, wrapping my son in something called Zombie BBQ makes me gleeful.

So . . . I cast on for the blanket this morning. And I got 2 inches in, checked my gauge, and ripped it all out again. I've gone up a needle size - still don't have stitch gauge, but it's close enough at 24 st/4" as opposed to 22 sts.

I'm hoping to have it done by the boy's birth day. We'll see. The centre panel seems like it'll go quickly. I'm using some mods to make it half sized. That should help!

So, what do you think? Am I crazy??

Peeves: pet and otherwise. Warning: do not read if easily butthurt.

2010-11-10T19:54:00.003-05:00

I think I'm going to have to avoid Facebook tomorrow. I'll explain why - Remembrance Day. Yup, it's important to remember the sacrifices of soldiers and civilians young and old. Yup, it's important to honour our past. Lest we forget? Don't make me laugh. We've clearly forgotten. Have a look at all the conflict and war in the world today. Lest we forget is about more than the graves of those who have lost their lives - it's about not repeating the mistakes and horrors of the past . . . and yet . . . Genocide? Check. Murder? Check. Inexcusable crimes? Check.

War? Lots of it? Check.

Makes me shake my head. Here are all these citizens wandering about with their token poppies, spouting off about their grandparents and their contributions to WW1 and WW2 - and completely neglecting to REMEMBER.
Please understand, I'm not out to disrespect our veterans. I'm not scoffing at my rights and freedoms. I'm just saying . . . who remembers anymore? Does anyone?
So tomorrow I may need to avoid Facebook, so as not to 1) lose any friends, or 2) start any flame wars. There are sure to be arm loads of trite and tired status updates. This here? This is my blog, I feel safe expressing myself here.

Other peeves lately include (but are not limited to):
1) Hypocrisy over obvious shit. Especially prominent in town on garbage day. We've just started a green bin program here in town. For those of you not familiar with 'green binning' it's a program where your household waste that isn't garbage (ie. facial tissues, food scraps, etc) is taken to a facility for composting. We're talking stuff that can't go in your back yard composter. Meat. Bones. Pretty much anything that isn't plastic. Good idea, right? Reduces landfill while creating a sustainable, green source of energy. What kills me is the sight of these green bins lined up along the streets all proud and smug . . . right next to the 'NO BIO WASTE PLANT' signs on some of the lawns.
Recently, a bio waste plant was proposed for the town of Elmira. It's meant to be right on the edge of town. People are freaking out about this. It's going to stink. It's going to promote lots and lots of noisy truck traffic. NOT IN MY BACKYARD WHARRRGRBL!!! The dude who runs the plant (or will be running the plant) has released a statement to the paper outlining that really there will be a handful of trucks a week, and that if the plant is smelly then they're losing the energy they're trying to harness - they'd be doin' it wrong. No dice. Elmira is still wharrrgrbl-ing. Seriously people - where do you think the contents of your oh so friendly green bin go? To a bio waste plant. Dur.
2) Smug-ass pregnant women. I am, as you know, pregnant myself. Nothing bugs the hell out of me like a smug-ass pregnant woman. The kind who won't get off her delicate tushy to get herself a glass of water if her fucking life depended on it. The kind who are more precious and important than everyone else in the world because they are creating life! Bitch, it's been done before, by countless women, countless generations and you are not so shit hot for getting knocked up. You're not special. I try, when pregnant, to have outside interests and maintain some semblance of an interesting life. When someone asks what I did on the weekend, I like to have something to say aside of 'admired my belly and considered the specialness of my fetus - have you seen this stretch mark over here?'. There are some boards/online groups I frequent that make me bananas. I had to leave all but one of them, actually . . . for fear of shooting my mouth off and making enemies. Now the one group I have left is making my eyelids twitch. They are 37 weeks along maximum (all due in December this year) and have been talking for about 6 weeks now about the contents of their hospital bags, what labour comfort measures they'll be taking, etc, etc. Some of their labour comfort measures include: bringing karaoke/video game consoles to their respective hospitals, and my favourite yet "making love" while labouring. Best of luck to you, ladies. I can tell you right now my hospital wouldn't allow any of that shit. It's too noisy - it will totally harass the other labouring women. Further, you probably won't even want anything to do with any of that . . . since these women want natural, drug-free deliveries. Cripes.
Also, from the second you pee on that stick and learn you are pregnant . . . you don't need to ensure every conversation includes a reference to your impending child. I get it, you're expecting. Hearing about it constantly is aggravating to me. Imagine what it does to someone who wants kids and can't have them. Or to someone who is child-free by choice and feels judged for his/her decision. Knock it off already.

T-MINUS:

2010-11-05T20:14:00.002-04:00

6 weeks. Of work. Max. Because baby is due in 6.5 weeks.

(This is the part where I freak out and flail and go WTH? and perform a small piece of performance art I call 'where did the time go and WHAT is coming out of WHERE and do I HAVE to wait 6 more weeks?')

Know what this means? Means I'm getting nesty. And none too soon. 6 weeks to due date means 4 weeks to full-term, and we have an awful lot to do. Sort of. I have been somewhat nesty before, but I usually a) turn it on Sweet Pea and sort her entire wardrobe by colour and functionality - much to her confusion or b) sit and fret because I am too tired to get off my sizable pregnant ass and do something!! On the upside, Sweet Pea's wardrobe is fully sorted and quite functional! On the downside . . . she has to be moved out of the nursery and in to her big girl room. This means a closet re-do.

Since son-thingy is baby #2, most of the urgent stuff is already done. Lots of the stuff I'd like to do isn't so urgent.
Urgent stuff:
Create a nursery. Check. Now to get Sweet Pea out of it.
Buy itty bitty diapers. Check. Frequent squeeing over said itty bitty diapers is also paramount. They are less than half the size of Sweet Pea's diapers. Awww!
Obtain tiny clothes. Check. I won't have to buy a damn thing for son-thingy until he's in size 6 mos. I think. (Except more diapers. And maybe socks.)
Pack hospital bag. Too soon. I'm waiting at least 2 more weeks for this one. Provided I can ignore the urge long enough.
Pack home birth kit, in case of raging snowstorm, or labour on Christmas Eve. Still too soon. See Hospital bag.
Not so urgent stuff:
Clean all the things! Probably won't. I'm a wretched, horrible housekeeper, and a lazy pregnant woman.
Freeze lots of meals. I've frozen enough meals that we had to break in to a fresh box of Corning Ware. I don't think we'll starve. I've been doing a fair bit of baking too.
Create a birth plan. Meh. Didn't bother last time, probably won't this time either.
Knit some more stuff?

And of course, we must remember to load the Giftmas crap on the wagon too. Fun, fun, fun. Busy days.

#19

2010-10-30T07:21:00.002-04:00

May I present Danny: doll #19.

Danny was a custom order from a lady who loved Gilbert so much, she wanted one who looked similar. And he sure does.

I'm down to one custom order right now, and it's one I'm not too excited about. Makes it hard to really get in there and do it. I have the body sewed up - but that's it. I also have about 3 ready to go dolls in the works for the shop. And one Cuddle Bean.
I've had a serious crimp thrown in though - I can't work at work anymore. I have a new manager, who is kind of a hard-ass . . so no knitting, no sewing, no anything to occupy my time between calls. Sigh. I need a few more weeks before I can start gently introducing crafting to my work day again. You know, ease her into it . . . and I only have 7 weeks of work maximum left.

Too bad too. I have a few knitting projects on the go that could really use some care and attention. I'm making son-thingy a weighted companion cube. I'm only about three rows in though. It's HUGE - I think it's about 250 stitches per round. It's epic. I'm also still working on a black twinkle vintage cardigan for him. I think it will never be done. Well, until I hit the FINISH FINISH OMG FINISH part of nesting . . . right now I seem to be in the 'Start All The Things!' nesting stage.

Photo shoots!

2010-10-17T19:41:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow I'm back to work, and let me assure you -- I am not looking forward to it. Sadly (sarcasm! See what I did there?) I have only a few weeks of work left - 9 weeks until baby's due date. That's about 2 months of work, right? I can make it, right?

Given that I've been home during daylight hours, I took some better photos of Gilbert. He's definitely one of my favourites to date. Right up there with the ballerina and the princess.

And today, we got a belly shot. Behold, my 30 week girth:

What a difference a week makes (and some vacation time)

2010-10-13T09:19:00.002-04:00

I haven't been to work in 4 days. Today is my 5th day off. And even though I did a lot of errands and running around yesterday, even though I was out of the house for the same period of time as usual - man, I feel better! I think work is just stressing me way out, and I'm ill-equipped to deal with it in my present state.
Thanks for the encouragement, btw. I got phone calls and emails, and your messages here - and I really felt supported.

Yesterday was a follow-up ultrasound for a complication that was discovered in our 20 week ultrasound. (Don't worry - the baby and I are both going to be fine . . . we just may not have the natural birth we were hoping for. 7 weeks ago, I was very distraught over this idea. Today, I feel much more okay with it.) It was the most clinical ultrasound I have ever attended. I've been at 7 now. It was very dissatisfying. I saw the baby for approximately 15 seconds. "Here's the head, here's the face, we'll print that out, here's the legs down here." His face freaked me out a little. I wish I hadn't seen it, actually. Everything looks odd under ultrasound and I know he'll be beautiful when he's born. Hell, even if I could peer in there and see him without ultrasound, he'd be beautiful now . . . but it was kind of creepy seeing him. And of course, that's the print out they gave me to take home. So now I'm dissatisfied with my ultrasound, and feeling guilty over being creeped out by my son's ultrasounded face, which I felt obligated to hang on the fridge. (I hid it under some other stuff.) Awesome.

Then I went for my glucose tolerance test (yawn). Then I went shopping. Went to Shall We Knit? which was a fruitful and positive trip. Visited Meme's cafe for lunch (stuffed Portobello YUM!). Hit Toys R Us, which didn't have a single thing I was looking for. Went to the mall where I nearly struck out on everything again, but was able to get some jeans for Sweet Pea - who currently has nothing but white pants and jersey pants to wear. I have to wonder how that happened. Then I was supposed to go to Walmart, but I was just too tired and sore to continue. I went home. At home I discovered that I was missing 2 key ingredients for dinner. Macaroni it is! Sweet Pea was happy as a clam with her macaroni, shaky cheese (Parmesan. We have Mr. Wonderful to thank for that one) and salad. I crocheted a wig, and we went to bed.

This morning . . . #18!!

I'll get better photos later. This little guy (I call him Gilbert) is going to China to live with a little boy. His mom really liked Henry, but the little boy is only 2 and Henry is a little . . . well, HUGE for him. So she ordered a custom just like Henry. Clever mommy!

How do I do it?

2010-10-06T20:24:00.002-04:00

Last trimester woes. This go around . . . well, I'm seriously feeling it.

It doesn't help that my employer is pulling some bullshit stuff lately - not allowing me to cash out my time bank for prenatal appointments, giving me a hard time about all my pee breaks, putting us through constant changes and uncertainty, etc, etc. I'm stressed. I'm at the end of my rope. And I have 11 weeks to go.

Then there's the usual stuff: tired, immense, sore as hell. The kicks and thumps that were once awe-inspiring and exciting are now painful and a little terrifying (what exactly am I gestating?), hungry but so inclined to heart burn that I'm afraid to ingest anything. I don't mean to complain. I know there are many, many other women the world over who would gladly take my place - but today I'm feeling so low. And I have 11 weeks to go.

And there's parenting a toddler. Sweet Pea really is such a good girl. She's the best kid I could ask for. But I'm over-tired, spread thin, and low on patience. I want to be a great, patient and always loving mommy to her, but I'm finding her antics difficult to take some days. I know that after the baby arrives, I'll be just as tired, but much less hormonal. And I have 11 weeks left to go.

I'm just done, y'know? Done. If I could start my maternity leave without being detrimental, I would. On the other hand, it's beneficial to work as long as possible.

How do I get through this?

16 & 17

2010-10-04T20:09:00.002-04:00

It's been so busy around here lately with doll making that I have nothing really fun to report. With the exception of Sweet Pea. She is 2.25 now, and the most fun I've ever seen on 2 legs. Yes, she tests her limits, yes she tests my patience . . . but she's still a blast!
She's learning so fast. She's singing and dancing, undressing herself with only a bit of help, brushing her own hair, and voicing all of her various opinions whether we want her to or not.
She amazes me. Every day. And she melts my heart - every day. "I love you mommy. You make me happy when skies are cake" Awwwwwwwww! Wait, cake??

Dolls #16 and 17 were completed recently.

#16, Lonni, was shipped off to the US.

She's a mocha-skinned fairy princess, and I completely love her finished look.

She's going to a military family with 7 children. I wish her luck. All the luck in the world.

#17 I'm not sold on.
17 is a custom order - 17's customer wanted to order the hair from an Etsy seller herself. It's her doll, right? I let her.
It's definitely something else. A little bright for my tastes. Okay, a lot bright for my tastes. But she's a custom - who am I to judge?

I like her best as a mermaid. She has another outfit, but I feel like it doesn't reflect well on my doll-making abilities to show it. Apparently the customer didn't like it so much either. Currently, I'm working on an alternate outfit for this one.

#15

2010-09-25T20:01:00.003-04:00

Way, way busy over here - and loving it!
I'm considering applying for a guest artist spot for the December Stitch n' Kitsch, but then I'm not sure if I'm hard core enough to want to do a 7 hour craft show . . . no matter how awesome it appears to be.
See, the show is on December 4th - which is just 17 days before my due date. It's also about 2 months away from now. If I pull out all the stops, ignore my family and home life, and just make dolls for the next 2 months, I figure I could have about 20-30 to take with me. But then there's the whole 'who goes to a craft sale looking to spend $90 on a doll?' argument - would I even need that many? Can I handle the set up, take down and a full 7 hours of selling at 37 weeks pregnant? Am I crazy for even considering this?

As you can see, I am of 2 minds on this topic.

But I promised you a 15th doll. At least, the 15th in my mind -- I don't think cuddle beans count. (Maybe doll nuggets?)

This doll was custom ordered a long, long time ago - before anyone even knew she was going to a little girl. See, her momma was pregnant and looking forward to the arrival of her baby - but it was early and she didn't even know if her baby was a girl or a boy. Well, that baby is now a few months old, the final details were decided this week, and she's done! Ready to go home!
The momma in question is a spinner and will be making the hair for her little girl's doll herself. I love the face on this one - very friendly!

DONE!

2010-09-22T20:02:00.002-04:00

Ta DAAAA!

Currently deciding on what they're called - Peanuts, cuddlebugs, cuddlebeans . . .

And now for something completely different!

2010-09-20T13:59:00.001-04:00

These aren't done yet . . . but . . . .

That second one is very much in progress still. I'll post a pic when they're all done - but I'll be adding this design to the shop in the near future. I'm thinking $20/doll. Cute little dolls for infants and young toddlers.

September so far.

2010-09-19T10:49:00.003-04:00

I am so busy, and loving it!

Currently, I have 6 custom doll orders on the go (YAY!) and knitting to be done for the gestating boy. Then of course there's regular day-to-day life too.

So far, gestating boy has 3 hand-knit itty sweaters for his enjoyment. Or for mine, you know . . . whatever. I still have to photograph them. He has a hat. I think that's it for hand-knits. There are a bunch in the queue, and I even have the yarn for most of them - but I am definitely starting to slow down. The ones I really wanted to make, I've made.

I finished doll #14 - a Princess. When our son arrives, he's bringing a special gift for Sweet Pea -- and here it is:

I'm remarkably pleased with how she turned out. Her clothing isn't even close to natural materials, but I figure she's for our family - who cares?! I just love everything about this doll, and I don't mind keeping her around at all.

We've been harvesting little bits of things from our garden. Our tomatoes are delicious! Our green peppers are not. The weather here is cooling down, and the days are getting shorter. I think autumn has arrived.

Oh Good! It's hot again.

2010-08-29T20:53:00.002-04:00

Of course it is! Why? Because my fingers are itching to turn out tiny adorable sweaters. I've even been working on another one. Proof:

This will be our boy's requisite infant Aran. Originally I had intended this yarn for a different sweater altogether, but there's enough of it for this cabled sweater -- and I like it better, too.

And while we're talking baby boy clothes - I found an amazing sale at Bonnie Togs this weekend. I got all of this:

for $88! What a freakin' steal! As it happens, they're clearing out the summer line, and much of what you see here was marked down to $3/hanger. On the hangers, there is one t-shirt, one onesie, and one pair of shorts. So I still have to buy our little fellow some pants, but 2 shirts for $3 is still awesome! I also need to get him some sweaters, but as noted above, I'm working on that. Or I will be . . . once it's no longer hot.

Lucky Number Thirteen! And some knitting.

2010-08-27T20:49:00.003-04:00

Seems like all I blog about lately are dolls. Seems like all I've done for a while is sew dolls. I'm not complaining - this is good news! I'm just sorry I'm not more interesting.

Suddenly I'm in a doll dry spot - which is probably for the best since I'm running low on interlock (skin) and stockinette again, and I'm nearly out of wool stuffing . . . but it kind of makes me sad at the same time. I wish I were enjoying the success of Bamboletta, Fig and Me, Dragonfly's Hollow . . . but for some reason, my dolls aren't really moving. Of the 13 dolls I've made, five were sold. 2 are hanging around waiting to be sold. The rest were given away - except Beebie. She's still here. Anyway, you didn't click this way to watch me mope . . but if you have a few moments, check out my shop here and tell me if you can why these dolls aren't going anywhere. Should I just chalk it up to being new on the scene? Is something terribly wrong and I've over-looked it? What's the deal?

Doll #13! Beth-Anne.

Oh yeah, she's cute! Of the 5 dolls that have sold, 3 are this pattern - the 10" jointed doll. It seems to be a favourite.

I also did some knitting in the past week. Since we now know the gestating addition is a boy, I was able to get some nice boy coloured yarn, and queued some nice boy type patterns . . . and I knit this:

Baby Sophisticate. And it's darn cute too. Still needs buttons (gimme a break! This time last week I was still pondering yarn choices!), and a blocking - but I can't wait to see it on my tiny baby son!

OMG CUTE!

2010-08-22T21:53:00.002-04:00

So I gave you a sneak peek at #12 earlier - but now that she's done, packed and ready to be sent off . . . here she is!

Belonging to a young ballerina in New Brunswick - Mom wanted something really special for her little girl's birthday. I like to think I rose to the challenge.

Right down to the shoes:

And then I figured since I had a doll on hand who was the right size, and since this pattern is proving to be pretty popular - why not do some experimenting?

PJ's:

And a dress:

All in all, I'm really happy with her. I love her hair, and her ballet outfit. Too cute.

Sneak a Peek! #12

2010-08-17T20:18:00.003-04:00

This lovely doll will be heading to NB for a special girl's birthday. She just needs some clothing, and she's all set!

I feel like it's been a while.

2010-08-13T20:23:00.003-04:00

Last Friday, our internet went out. We weren't around to have it restored until last night. That's one week. One week without internet - I still have it at work, and on my phone, but I am somewhat more limited. It felt like a very long time. I'm extremely happy to have it fixed, and even happier that the ISP we use is crediting our service for that week.

A week without internet or TV is a productive week. I got doll clothes made. 2 pairs of custom ordered PJs and one pair of PJs for an auction. I got 2 dolls cut out and partially made. They have heads and torsos. They need more work, but that's not a big deal.

I got a little wee sweater mostly knit for our upcoming son. Yes, that's right - it's a boy! We look forward to welcoming a little brother for Sweet Pea.

I wanted to show you some pictures of our garden, but something seems to be going wrong. I was going to show you the tiny green peppers and the sidewalk full of cherry tomatoes. I was going to show you the beefsteak tomatoes the size of my fist - still green and growing bigger every day . . . but I can't seem to get photos to upload. Just as soon as I get it figured out, I'll share.

Meet Lindy, #11

2010-08-05T11:16:00.003-04:00

Ah, Lindy. Doll #11.

I tried something new with Lindy, and I'm just not sold on it. Usually, for hair I do the crocheted cap with the hooked hair style. It's fully style-able, easily changed if need be (we all have an incident with a favourite doll and a hair cut in our past, don't we?) terrifically time consuming, and since I'm not a crocheter wildly difficult and aggravating for me. For Lindy's hair, I decided to try the layered wig I hear so much about.
Pros: it's quick, easy, doesn't take a huge amount of yarn or self-control, easy to add awesome highlights.Cons: Not as styleable, I just don't like the way it lies.
The pros do outweigh the cons, but the cons are pretty sizeable. As such, I won't be adding the layered wig to my rotation for dolls. I think as a doll maker - or really as anyone who sells anything, you have to be proud of the product you're putting out there with your name on it. With my dolls, I tend to make them with this criteria in mind: would I put this doll in Sweet Pea's hands? Would I let her take it out in public? If someone asked me where I got it, would I tell them I made it? If it's not good enough for my daughter, it's certainly not good enough to sell. The layered wig is not good enough. I guess I'll have to brush up on my crochet skills.

I also want to apologize for my recent radio silence. Life is catching up with me, and there have been a lot of early nights - pregnancy and summer are a poor combination.

Dolls # 9 and 10

2010-07-24T20:09:00.002-04:00

A while back, I finished 2 more dolls. Then I took a few months to clothe and detail them fully.

They're probably my best and favourite dolls to date. You can find them for sale in my Etsy shop, if you so desire.

Doll # 9: Henry.
The jury was out on Henry until his cheeks were blushed. This is the final step. Until I did it, I was reasonably certain that I hated him. Now, he's my favourite doll. I love his little bug shirt, and his wild hair, and his peachy skin tone. He's awesome. He's also pretty large - finding a box to fit him has been problematic. I can buy one if/when the time comes to ship him to a new home.

Doll #10: still nameless.

A friend of mine suggested Thomas, and I feel like she was on the right track . . . but just a smidge off the mark.
His pattern (including clothing) is totally my own fabrication - and he's pretty cute if I may say so. Mr. Wonderful says this little guy is his favourite. His hair line looks a little off to me.

Doll #11 is currently in progress - needs legs, hair and clothes and then she's done. I had to make this one to replace Rachel in the Etsy shop. Rachel is on her way to her new home . . . in Belgium! That doll is going to be better traveled than I am!

The 10 hat challenge: DONE!

2010-07-09T13:03:00.002-04:00

This morning I put the finishing touches on the last hat. I was going to run them up to the hospital today, but then I realized that it would make much more sense to take them in after work on Monday. That's the new plan.

All the hats:

The 10 hat challenge

2010-07-08T08:53:00.003-04:00

I'm up to 9! I'm going to try to get another one done tonight, and then take them to the hospital tomorrow.
We're experiencing a heat wave right now. It's brutal, shocking, wet, disgusting heat the likes of which we rarely see in Canada. Makes it virtually impossible to get ANYTHING done. We don't have a/c - we have a number of fans, and a dehumidifier. The temperature inside our house is 30 degrees. Imagine how hot it is outside our house!

My girl is 2.

2010-07-07T10:29:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it's only been 2 years since our daughter entered our lives. She is such an integral part of our every day. When she isn't here, I miss her terribly. She is such a capable, articulate, tall child that it's sometimes hard to convince the world that she is a well-behaved 2 year old, and not a 3 year old at all. Sometimes it's hard for me to keep that tidbit in mind.

I also can't believe she's 2 already. Seems like just a few weeks ago I was toughing out the summer heat, pregnant, over-due and waiting impatiently for a little stranger's arrival. There have been some really aggravating days between then and now, but I wouldn't trade one of them for all the money/malabrigo/etc. in the world.

On Sunday we hosted Sweet Pea's birthday party, and what a great time we had!

Here we see a very happy girl in the pool she got from her Nana and Papa. She and her young guests played in the pool for most of the afternoon.

Eventually, our girl wanted to get out.

Although she regretted her decision almost instantly.

She sulked about it for a few minutes.

But then she got to open some presents! Inside one, she found a yummy treat.

Inside another, she found a new friend to kiss and love.

Another one gave her a bunch of stuff to be a little mommy!

Then there was the monkey cake!

And candles to blow out.

And then there was fishing in the pool.

And finally, popsicles just before everyone went home.
It was long, full busy day - but we all had a great time.

The 12 hat . . . errrr . . . 10 hat challenge

2010-06-29T19:44:00.002-04:00

Last year, around Sweet Pea's birthday, I took a shoebox full of hand-knit, newborn hats to the childbirth centre where my girl was born. This year, her birthday has sort of snuck up on me. I realized about a week ago that I needed to make some hats. I don't want to bring in 2 or 3 hats, I want to bring in a big bunch of hats.
I decided on 12. 12 hats in 14 days. Reasonable, right? No. Maybe in the old days. The days when I wasn't chasing an active toddler, or managing her tantrums and mood swings. Maybe before I found out how much fun playing together is, and how much my big almost 2 year old likes to pretend she's a 'tiny baby'. I swaddle her, and snuggle her and rock her, and she says "waa!" and "momma!" It's cuter than it sounds.
The first day, I got a hat done in under 24 hours. Good!

The second day, I got the second hat halfway done. Not as good, but it took more attention. PLUS, I had to finish the first hat that day.

The third day, I finished the above hat.
The fourth, fifth and sixth day, I made this one.

(This is where I realize that I'm lying to myself because there are 7 days in a week, not six, and I just finished the bunny hat this morning.)
Today, I started a mini Odessa. It's not even halfway finished. Fortunately, I found a hat that I made last year and forgot to put in the box! I'm up to four finished hats to bring to the hospital next Tuesday . . . or so. So I set my sights a little lower. I'm scaling back to 10 hats. 10 hats is still good, right?

Potential problem: I'm running out of useable yarn scraps. I have bits of DK, and bits of fingering . . . but not enough of any one colour to make a hat, and not enough of any co-ordinating colours to make a striped hat. I may have to start cutting into 'sweater's worths'.

Catching up

2010-06-25T12:30:00.003-04:00

Lots and lots going on chez nous. Well, actually not that much - but a few big things.

1) Sweet Pea is doing well with her bed. She's fallen out twice and now tells me every night when I tuck her in "no fall out you bed, mommy." I have promised her I won't. She seems reassured.

2) A few weeks ago, we found this in our clematis:

On Monday it looked like this:

This is where the updates end, because Momma robin has become super protective and dive-bombs anything that goes into our backyard. We may be forced to deal with the nest, since Sweet Pea's birthday party is next weekend - I hope it's not a problem by then.

3) Finally launched my Etsy shop with three cuties. Find me here!

4) We're expanding! Or rather, I'm expanding. For Christmas this year, we'll be getting a new family member. So far so good, but I'm glad to see the end of the super-tiring, nauseated first trimester.

Big Day

2010-06-07T20:47:00.002-04:00

Saturday was a big day in our household. Saturday THIS happened:

Maybe I'm jinxing it saying this, but . . . so far, so good. I think she was more than ready for the change - she's been such a good girl. This morning I heard her get out of bed at 5:45, and walk around her room - but then she went right back to bed and slept until 7:15.

And I will say it's cute as a button to watch her climb into her bed, snuggle in with her Beebie and her monkey, and pull the blankets over herself. My baby is turning into a little girl, right before my eyes.

Overrun.

2010-06-04T09:17:00.003-04:00

We are overrun. Completely, fully overrun.

With Toys.

It's impossible to keep an area clean when there are a million toys in it! I swear we clean the living room 10 times a day. But then Sweet Pea wants to play with her zoo, or pulls out all the stuffies, and we're right back at square one.

Sweet Pea is turning 2 at the beginning of July. She will doubtless receive lots of new toys. She already has too many toys. So I have started culling the herd, so to speak. Last weekend, I reduced the stuff in her toy tub by 1/2. She didn't notice. This weekend, I'll eliminate a little more. I bet she won't notice. Hopefully, we'll be able to hold steady at the insane volume of toys we have NOW for after her birthday.

You think I can convince people to give her pajamas instead??

Big bad Betty

2010-05-12T20:16:00.002-04:00

You remember Betty? The cute pink sock monster from a few posts back?

Well, it would seem Betty was a hit at the Knitter's Frolic. Etcgirl tells me that Betty was so well met, in fact, that they sold out of Sock Monster kits.

Mission accomplished.

My Girl

2010-05-02T12:31:00.002-04:00

Ah, my Sweet Pea. Just shy of 2, full of enthusiasm and silliness.

She loves to play outside. We'll be getting her a full outdoor playset soon . . I just have to decide on one.

She also loves to eat . . . even when she's not supposed to be eating. Here she is getting dinner ready for me -- and snacking.

And with her really exciting hot dog picnic.

But I think this was her favourite of all -- driving my car!!

I'm almost done.

2010-05-02T12:09:00.003-04:00

I'm in a weird, weird place right now.
In the last week or so, for various reasons, I've really been pushing to finish up all my knitting projects.

Yesterday, I completed (Bad-Ass) Betty.

Another sock monster, this one is a store sample for Shall We Knit? To make her one of the girls, I gave her a string of pearls, and a polka dot apron of her own - just like they wear to all their events.

She is my favourite sock monster to date. Love her!
She was a rush job because Karen of SWK hinted that Betty might be going to the Knitter's Frolic with the store display. Since the pattern is a blast, and the finished product is adorable, I really wanted to have her ready to go. Sadly, the last week or so I've been feeling a mite under the weather - totally screws with the knitting. I really had to buckle down to get her done. But I finish her I did! I delivered her to the store yesterday.

There was much squeeing. Made the nauseated knitting worth it. (Thanks Etcgirl!)

The other project on the go was my Summer Fun Tee. I wanted to get it done, so that I could wear it. Just this morning, I put the final trim on around the neck. Now I have to weave in ends, and sew 2 tiny seams, and it's ready for wearing!

So why does this put me in a weird place? Because now I have nothing on the needles. No works in progress. There are things I'd like to cast on . . . but given the state of my health right now, I'm not motivated to actually start anything. I promised a friend of mine some small items as donations for her local hospital, but that's going to take a while - I need to be in the right head space to make preemie burial items, and I'm definitely not there right now. I have a pair of baby mittens that I had set aside a long time ago, after I misplaced one . . . they only need a thumb, but it's May and not the right time of year for making mittens.
But . . . what do I do at work if I'm not knitting between calls?

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

2010-04-25T11:58:00.002-04:00

What have I been up to since I made that mermaid? Um . . . good question. I made some doll clothes!

Beebie modeled the sweater for me, but is much to small to show off the dress. You can see the skirt lying across her lap.
Pattern: February Doll Sweater from Petite Purls.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino - took almost the entire skein.

I've been working on yet another Sock Monster for Shall We Knit?
I love the colour! Koigu makes some really beautiful yarns.

I have some really crazy finishing ideas for this one, but it needs to go to the Knitter's Frolic with them very soon, so I need to get on it!

I'm working on another doll from a pattern I created - looks really good so far. It just needs a little tweaking to make the whole thing match better.

In case you were wondering, I went with the green on the right for the eye colour.

But my main focus has been finishing this:

Because I really want to wear it this year!
So far, it's coming along well - I'm working on the bottom edging right now, actually. That means less than 5 rows left in the body, then I think 6 rows for each 'sleeve' and the neck edging. I could get this finished today or tomorrow if I apply myself!
Pattern: Buttercup
Yarn: Classic Elite cotton Bam Boo - should have unbelievable drape.

Doll #8

2010-04-07T20:27:00.003-04:00

This fine mermaid is currently in the post . . . on her way to Alabama.

She is the first doll I sold - and is fully custom made. I think she's awesome, and I'll definitely make more mermaids!

Why? Why? WHY?!

2010-04-07T20:08:00.002-04:00

Can I be the whiny toddler for a few minutes here?

We're sick. AGAIN! It's obscene the number of illnesses we've had in the household for the last 6 months. I can honestly only think of about 15 healthy days I've had. I'm so tired of being sick!

We've gone through 12-15 boxes of facial tissue, 3 boxes of sudafed, and I can't even tell you how many bottles of children's pain reliever and fever reducer. Since January.

About a month ago, Sweet Pea had an ear infection.

She went on antibiotics for the first time in her life. They worked quickly, and she felt better in short order, but the cold that caused her ear infection did a number on me. I just got better from it week before last.
Then last week, on Thursday, we started over again. There's a long, aggravating story here - to sum up though, she was in a bad, bad way. Because of the kind of doctor situation we're involved in, we are asked not to go to walk-in clinics or ERs unless we absolutely have to. I would have liked to take Sweet Pea to the ER on Saturday, but I was talked out of it. She had a fever of 38.9 (103) for three days, ate nothing for five days, and drank very little for 2 days. I was very worried. She spent Saturday sleeping on my chest, crying and being lethargic. Sunday she seemed to be coming around, until the afternoon. She laid on the floor all afternoon and whined. Monday she seemed to be on the rebound, but developed a really scary, wet, choking cough. We called the Dr's office and made an appointment. Tuesday we arrive for our appointment at 5:27 - they tell us we've missed it - we're 10 minutes late. We weren't, but the receptionist refused to admit us. I made a scene at the office, and spent 90 minutes last night drafting an email letting them know just how I feel about this whole thing. I spent much of the night last night listening to my daughter choking and coughing in her sleep. Today we took Sweet Pea to a walk-in clinic. She has another ear infection, and possibly something going on with her lungs, although the dr said they sound pretty clear. He thought something might be brewing based on her cough and prescribed a heavy duty antibiotic. Hopefully she'll be much better very soon.

But me? I have another crap-tastic cold. And I'm getting tired of being on cold meds, and not being able to taste, or smell or anything. I just want to be healthy! I can only hope with spring and summer on the horizon we can shake all this illness BS for a few months.

Some vacations are better than others.

2010-03-31T20:03:00.003-04:00

Today was only day 3 of my vacation, and I'm all vacationed out. From this point on, it's all gravy.
Is it because it's the first vacation I've really had since going back to work? Probably. And so far, it rocks.

Yesterday, I had the best day EVER with Sweet Pea. We did lots of snuggling, and singing, and playing. We went swimming (!!). We went to the park (!!).

We went grocery shopping. It was awesome! If every day were like yesterday, I would already have a slew of children. Days like yesterday make me sincerely yearn for more babies to share more love and fun with.

Today, I took Sweet Pea to daycare, and spent much of the day at the LYS fondling, sniffing, and finally purchasing some really great stuff. I have purples for a wee girl cardi. I have black for a mystery project. I have pinks for another sock monster (store sample - yay!!). I bought 2 new books. I am in a state of complete bliss.

I filled the mommy jones. I filled the me jones. Tomorrow Mr. Wonderful will be home, and I will hopefully fill the family jones. Ah, yes . . . life is good.

Sneak Peek.

2010-03-29T20:23:00.002-04:00

Making dolls = fun!

A month late and $167 short.

2010-03-21T20:52:00.002-04:00

This post is about Valentine's day.
Initially I didn't blog it because there was unresolved issues and I wanted to see how it all panned out first.
Then I didn't blog it because it was too late, and just weird.

But I feel like discussing.

Valentines day. Mr Wonderful and I always agree on not doing gifts for V-day. Then W goes and gets me a gift anyway. Every year I don't, so that he won't feel like a heel if he hasn't. You'd think I'd learn.
This year's gift, I'm still working on.

I am making that shit last! Oh Lush, how I love you. I take the bags out and sniff them every now and then. Sigh. It is pure happiness.

Generally, we make a big fancy V-day dinner at home. This year, we were invited to attend a friend's 30th birthday party at a ritzy, novelty-esque restaurant in Toronto. We went. Here is the letter I sent when we returned home:

*******************
My husband, daughter and I have just returned home from what we hoped would be a memorable and enjoyable Valentine's day. Unfortunately, our experience at *** was less than satisfactory, and certainly not even close to acceptable.

We knew going in that dinner was going to be expensive. We accepted that idea. We were meeting friends for a 30th birthday party and had arrived at the conclusion that certainly it would be well worth it. I asked the woman arranging the gathering to call and ensure that *** is a family friendly restaurant - our daughter is 1 and a half, as is their son. We were assured that toddlers would be most welcome, and high chairs provided. I asked her to call again and look into the children's menu - she did. We did everything we could to ensure that our children would not be a burden, or a bother.
Our party was split up over 2 tables - understandable in a small space. What I cannot understand is why the children and mothers at one table received our meals within minutes, while the remainder of our party waited one hour and forty five minutes between appetizers and entrees. No, I am not exaggerating. I wish I were.
Whoever you are reading this email - if you have children of your own, you can understand the difficulty in keeping a toddler engaged, quiet, well-behaved . . . for over 90 minutes. In a high chair. Eventually the children got restless. They started getting noisy. We let them out of the high chairs. This is where things really get aggravating for me. My daughter wanted to walk. There is nowhere to walk in this restaurant with the sole exception of the middle - the circle. So I took her up and let her walk. The wait staff and bus staff really need some lessons in manners. REALLY. Excuse me goes a long, long way. 'Watch it', 'behind you' etc is just plain rude. And when I was told that *** wasn't a safe place for my daughter to play, I had to really work to hold my tongue. I'm sure it isn't an optimal place for a child to walk - but she was tied down in a high chair for over 90 minutes while we sat and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited for her father's meal to arrive. (He was at the other table - lovely Valentines for us.) You could have avoided this. Fairly easily, I might add. See to it that your patrons are served in a timely fashion, and their children won't need to stretch their legs mid-way through their meals. Simple.
When I returned to my table I was shaking with rage. I took my daughter down to the observation level and told her father to call my cell phone when his food arrived. He did, and we returned to our table for dessert and our bill. The bill and payment took over half an hour as well.
Our dinner reservation was at 5. We were prompt and punctual. We didn't leave *** until 7:35. And that was after advising the staff that we were in a rush and couldn't wait any longer to pay for our meal. (To that, I got a 'yeah, yeah'. Pleasant, right?)
I'm writing to tell you about our experience because after paying $168 for our meals, $27 for our elevation tickets (yes, they would have been refunded IF we were willing to stand in a line that exceeded the stanchions, and didn't move in the 10 minutes we stood there) $23 for parking and $40 for gas, we feel extremely . . . well, ripped off. And I can tell you right now, none of us will ever be returning to ***, or recommending it to anyone. The view from *** was lovely. And I didn't need 2.5 hours to take it all in.

It was a colossal waste of time, money and energy.
Take your staff, and train them in customer service. Please.
************

I got an email apology the next day, asking for some further info. I provided it. A week later, I got a phone call. A week later, I got a cheque for the cost of our meals. Sometimes complaining is really worth it. We won't get the lovely Valentine's dinner we were hoping for - but at the very least, the compensation took the sting out of the whole thing. I still won't recommend the restaurant to others, but I certainly won't smack talk them either.

I shouldn't have!

2010-03-21T20:43:00.002-04:00

I really shouldn't have. I have so much sewing on the go right now . . but when saw this pattern online, and it was free - well, I just had to make one for Sweet Pea.

And she seems genuinely happy with her. Glommed on before I had a chance to sew up her leg holes, or make her a skirt.

Look at that happy, happy girl!

Here is her new monkey pal's face. Oh hey, I didn't get the ears finished either. Huh.

Oh yeah, it's love.

Sweet Pea and her new monkey pal did all sorts of things together today. I hope it's a lasting friendship!

Toys, toys, toys.

2010-03-13T10:42:00.002-05:00

I've been making toys, of late. I've made a second monster!

Roary. She's always laughing at something. Sometimes it gets annoying. And she's only had her mouth for an hour now.

Roary just won't shut up. Even before she got her mouth, she would hum, and talk excitedly in a mashed up mumble for hours on end. I'm going to have to send her away. I should have known she was going to be trouble when she asked for the pink eyes.

I've also made an alligator.

This is for The Toy Society.

I'm a sucker for this kind of project. Something that requires minimal investment (time OR money) from me, and might just bring a smile to someone . . . I'm in.

My office building also houses our Passport office. I see all kinds of folks coming through the lobby - a lot of them have little children with them. Some of them are clearly in need of a gesture. This gator took me maybe 30 minutes to whip up last night. It's baby friendly, soft, cuddly -- and best of all FREE. I was going to package it and leave it today - but I don't have it all ready to go yet.

I mean, the alligator is ready. The packaging really isn't.

I have a few other drop locations in mind. The post box across the street from Sweet Pea's daycare. The fence for the construction zone across from the halfway house for women. I could be busy for a while yet making toys.

And in other toy news, I SOLD A DOLL!

I have a deposit for a custom mermaid Waldorf doll. I have the materials all amassed. I have the pattern (which is approved for commercial use). I have an incredible desire to get started right away! But first, I have to finish the order of bags for Shall We Knit? which is due for the 27th. I have most of it done. I'm about 2 or 3 machine sewing hours away from done, then there's the hand work -- buttons, toggles, etc.

And then I have a doll dress to make in pink.

But once those are done, I'm so cutting into this memaid thing!!

Then I have another order of bags for SWK?

And a quilt to finish for a friend.

And I need to make some dolls to go into an etsy store.

And some doll clothes.

I'm stressed. But it's a good stressed.

Doll # 7

2010-03-09T12:27:00.003-05:00

Meet Rachel.

She still needs shoes, and her panties need some elastic. Then she might get a sweater or a coat. And then I'll be listing her on Etsy - unless she finds a home before then, of course.

Give me some advice

2010-02-27T06:45:00.002-05:00

As of late, Sweet Pea has been attempting to escape her crib. There were even nights where she would get halfway out, get stuck, and cry for rescue. This was cutting into my sleep so 2 nights ago we made the time to drop the crib mattress. It's now at the lowest setting, and 2 inches lower than it was before. Problem solved, right? Wrong.

This morning, 5am, I awake to the sounds of Sweet Pea crying. She is calling "mommy, hug! Mommy, hug!" It's 5am. No way am I getting out of bed for a hug. Generally she will go back to sleep in a case like this. This morning, her calling escalated - and then she sounded down right panic-stricken. So I dragged myself out of bed, and went to her room to find her with her foot (once again) stuck on the rail of her crib. Sigh.

So what do you think? Weigh in. Should I convert her crib to a toddler bed?

If I don't, she'll continue trying to escape and there will be more scenes of frightened, frustrated toddler in my future -- never mind the idea that eventually she will be able climb over and may hurt herself climbing out.
If I do I imagine she'll be out of bed constantly. I'm sort of fine with that - as long as she doesn't wake anyone else up. It does mean she'll be tired as they come for a while though.

What should I do??

FEARLESS!

2010-02-15T09:31:00.003-05:00

Sweet Pea really enjoyed the glass floor at the CN Tower this weekend!

Where getting up at 6 on a work day gets me.

2010-02-12T10:34:00.004-05:00

We've been running late chez nous. Every day.

I've been enjoying sleeping in, Sweet Pea is asleep or quiet until 7:15, Mr. Wonderful has never been great at getting up when the alarm goes off the first time. Or second time. Or fourth time.

I decided to take charge. Late is not good. Chronically late is really not good. Last Thursday night I set my phone alarm for 6 am. When it went off, I got up. Well, after 8 minutes of lounging, but it was worth it. And I was still getting up early!

Sweet Pea started singing and chattering in her room just as I was getting ready to step into the shower. Instead of showering, I nursed her, changed her and got her dressed. Stress free. Then we went to the kitchen, where we did our Joaquin photo shoot - featured earlier - while Wonderful showered. Sweet Pea ate her breakfast, and was ready to play by the time her daddy came downstairs. I showered. Stress free. We put Sweet Pea in her coat and boots and hat and mittens without a fight. We went outside and played 'mommy monster chases Sweet Pea' for a few minutes before we had to put her in her car seat and get moving. I dropped her at the sitters without a meltdown, or a fight, or even an utterance of 'no'.

The drive to work was less stressful.

I got to park INDOORS at the parking garage. All said, it was a really pleasant morning.

I've been getting up early this week too. With varying results - but almost always better than the rushed, yelling, melt-down prone mornings we used to have. I seem to have a new wake-up time.

I've made a monster.

2010-02-12T10:09:00.002-05:00

Completed him last night, in fact.

Meet Joaquin. Joaquin is a sock monster. Or rather, he was a sock monster.

You see, this morning, Joaquin was sitting on the table all unassuming. Then suddenly -- this happened!!!

Yup, Sweet Pea caught Joaquin with his hand in the cereal bowl. I don't think he's entirely to blame -- I'm sure I saw Sweet Pea force feeding him Mini Wheats while I got the milk out of the fridge.

But justice was swift, and revenge exacted.

"Don't eat my cereal, Joaquin."

For the record, Joaquin is fine. I brought him to work today - just to make sure he doesn't get any cereal burglary in while the house is empty.

The details:

Pattern: Sock Monster by Heather Sebastian of Joey's House

Yarn: Shibuiknits sock. Really nice yarn. I enjoyed working with it, I love the colour - which I can't seem to capture on the camera -- all around, great!

Needles: 2.25 mm. There is nothing quite like tiny yarn on tiny needles. I love the firm fabric I get.

Eyes: The finishing touch! Ordered from 6060 on Etsy. I foresee more eye orders in my future!

Such a Pretty Thing

2010-02-11T10:46:00.003-05:00

On the weekend, I hung out with one of my pals. She was assisting me in pressing the 'reset' button on my crap week of mild to extreme crappiness. It worked.

On Friday last I got to a really weird place. I had nothing on the needles. Nothing. How do I - nonstopknitter - get to this place? I cannot say. Nothing was begging me to be cast on. Or I didn't have the right yarn. Or the right pattern. Saturday this situation was remedied with a trip to Shall We Knit? in New Hamburg. Dudes, we were there for three hours. It was freakin' awesome.

I bought me some yarn. Jenny gifted me some patterns. Sunday, I cast on.

Today, I am in the last 15 rows.

What is it? A cowl. Pretty Thing. It's made with the most luxurious yarn I have touched to my cheek -- qiviut, alpaca, merino, in a perfect split - 33%. When I rub it on Sweet Pea's cheek, she smiles. Sometimes she giggles. Damn, I love that kid!

But my cowl has not been all sunshine and roses. The pattern is 61 rows long. I was on row23 or so when I realized that I had been doing all the k2tog and the ssk in reverse. I had transposed them. I had to frog. I had a sad. Today, I realized that the cowl is looking a mite snug . . . I hope it will fit over my head. If it won't I'll have to give it a stern blocking. This will shorten my life by several months as I stress and fret.

Actual honest knitting content. For realsies.

2010-02-05T21:56:00.002-05:00

Believe it or not, I do still knit.

No really, I do!
I get to knit at work, which pretty much rocks - added bonus: it also keeps me sane!

So here's the latest in my knitting life.
For smallest niece's birthday, I was asked for socks, mitts and a sweater coat. Behold:

There were actually 4 pairs of socks - but they all look remarkably similar.
There was also a sweater, but I feel a little lukewarm on that one, so no photo to share.

I had to finish the final details in the car due to this little monster

taking up all my knitting time. I know it doesn't look like much now, but just you wait!!

Other knitting: I also finished these today

yes, I do have a photo of them finished, but I like this one better - shows the colours.

Finishing these mittens puts me in strange territory . . . I currently have nothing on the needles. As such, JennyP and I will be traveling to the LYS tomorrow! (Like I need more yarn.)

Potty talk

2010-02-03T13:49:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned previously, Sweet Pea has taken quite an interest in potty training recently. I spoke with her day care provider and learned that she is one of 2, or sometimes 3 kids at day care who is still in diapers. The other one is an 8 month old baby. Why am I not surprised that my daughter is feeling the pressure?

So we went out on the weekend, and we bought 23 tiny pairs of panties. We also bought a potty. I wasn't planning on buying the potty for sure and for certain, but when she saw it, and looked at me with such big, hopeful eyes . . . Add to the that the reverant tone when she said "My Potty?" so hopefully - I didn't stand a chance. We brought home our purchases, showed them off to daddy, and then Sweet Pea requested 'Pin-teeesssss'. And so it began.
There was a lot of peeing of the pants on Saturday. And there was more on Sunday. But she got a drop - one single drop - into her potty on Sunday. I think it was the catalyst for her. The 'ah-ha!' moment. Unfortunately we had to go to a birthday party, so she wore diapers for the rest of the day. Monday morning, my wee girl told me she wanted to sit on the potty while I was changing her diaper. And then -- she pooped! On the toilet!!
There was a repeat performance this morning (bliss!).

We're still sending her to daycare in diapers. Because she's not really trained yet - she may just be playing with it. On weekends I'd like to keep her in panties most of the time. We'll see how that works out.

I can't really believe this is actually happening. She's only 18 months old (for another 3 days, anyway). I worry that she might not be ready. But I think if she wants to try, I'd be crazy not to give her the chance.

Doll #6

2010-01-31T20:52:00.002-05:00

I just realized I haven't introduced doll #6 yet!

Here are #s 5 and 6 together. You may recognize #5 from a previous post.

As you can see, my mom wanted them naked. It's almost too bad, because I find naked Waldorf dolls to be a little weird looking. She's an expert with a sewing machine, so I'm sure they'll have a whole wardrobe of adorable outfits before you can say boo - and Sweet Pea will be so happy to visit them at Grandma's house . . . but for now -- weird!

Look, look! In this picture, you can see that I gave them knobby knees!

I'm not a huge fan of this pattern in particular. I don't like the idea of jointing a doll with just a piece of string (singular) and hoping it never comes apart. It's not like children go easy on their toys and realize they're handmade. It would be easy enough to fix if the string did break, but still . . . freaks me out.
I need to make another of the small ones for Sweet Pea. I've never seen her nurture a doll like she nurtured this one before it went to her Grandma's place.

It's about Sweet Pea . . .

2010-01-26T11:31:00.003-05:00

She's getting . . . opinionated these days.

Like Sunday. Sunday, this transpired:
I was changing her diapers, it was about 9:30am. She wanted to sit on the toilet, so I got out her pee seat, and let her perch there for a while. After using approximately half of the toilet paper on the roll to wipe her nose and her various bits, we head back to the change table. I'm not surprised or dismayed that perching on the toilet was fruitless -- she's been doing it for about 8 months now with no results. (She used to pee in the bath the second her toes grazed the water. We've been engaged in a rather half assed elimination communication attempt for a long while now.)
I lift her up to the table, lie her down, and reach for a diaper.
Sweet Pea: NOOOOOOO!
Me: (jumps out of my skin)
SP: No Baby!
Me: You're not a baby?
SP: NO!
Me: are you a big girl then?
SP: Yeah.
Me (thinking I'm all clever): Well, big girls wear diapers too
SP: No!

So we struck a deal. As long as she could stay clean and dry, she didn't have to wear a diaper. I put her in some easy to pull down jersey pants, put the pee seat on the toilet and braced myself.
She danced down the hallway, clearly elated. I've never seen her so happy.
She lasted until just after 11. I'm actually pretty impressed. (Next weekend, we'll be getting some panties in case of future attempts at being a big girl.)

She's growing up.
It's great, and it's saddening.
She speaks in almost sentences. Most often now, I hear "mommy, er doo-neen?" (Mommy, what are you doing?) - and she seems to understand and process the answers.
She loves to play 'no more monkeys jumping on the bed!' which she chants while she bounces all over our bed.
She sings identifiable songs. I sure didn't teach her 'the wheels on the bus', or 'ring around the rosey'.
She's so much fun. And she's so maddening. Especially when she wants to do something that just isn't in the schedule.

Damn, I love that kid!

Fixed. Ish.

2010-01-24T19:47:00.002-05:00

The heartbreak.
This was the hardest part - to just suck it up and put the live stitches on needles. This is a necessary step to facilitate the fix, but also hardest step to take. Fortunately for me, Sue at SWK did it for me. Wait, I don't know that it's Sue. It could be Soo. Or Sault.

After talking me off the ledge, and convincing me that it would in fact be alright - well, I'll let the photo speak for itself.What horrifying, gaping hole?

My stole needs stitches

2010-01-20T10:11:00.003-05:00

In July of 2008, one day before Sweet Pea's due date, I cast on a lace stole.

Foolhardy? I figured the infant in my pelvis wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. I was more or less trapped at home in a heat wave - I sure as hell wasn't going anywhere with labour looming. I (wrongly) assumed that the infant in my pelvis was going to stay put, and be induced in 10 days or so. So I cast on, and I knit like crazy, and I had enough of the stole done that on Saturday, I figured I could finish it by the next Friday. Sweet Pea was born on Sunday . . . thereby ending my mad quest to finish the stole 6 days later. In my defense, I had just finished a lace stole in 6 days, it wasn't completely impossible.

Just yesterday I cast off the stole.

A year and a half. A year and a half! Now, it's not like I worked on it every day - but it was there . . . in the background . . . in that bag on the couch. Over on the table. Beside the chair. It was around. And now it's done.

There is nothing quite as thrilling as casting off a long term project. There is a sense of accomplishment that I just don't really get anywhere else. I was so thrilled about the end of the stole, in fact, that I set out to block it last night.

I got out the blocking mat. I laid the stole out. I stepped back to admire it. I stared in horror at the HOLE in the middle of it!! There is a hole in the middle of my stole!!
It probably isn't as bad as I think it is. It's probably just a few stitches. I almost cried. I almost threw it in the garbage. I almost lit it on fire first.
But I didn't. I got some safety pins, and I caught the live stitches, and I put it on the coffee table, and I'm going to fix it. I hope. I'll need help. I'm taking it to my LYS on the weekend, and I figure if they can't help, or point me in the direction of someone who can . . . well, then I'll throw in the towel.

My stole needs stitches.

Doll the fifth

2010-01-10T21:25:00.002-05:00

This little baby is for my mom. She actually has 2 babies on order, and I plan on tackling the second one as soon as I can -- but I finished this wee baby this morning.

Sweet Pea is really rather taken with this small doll. Probably because it's only about 9 inches, and manageable for her. Maybe because it fits into her orange crate dolly bed so nicely. But what happens when you tell Sweet Pea she can't keep something??

You get the power scowl. Good thing the baby just keeps smiling!

Christmas part 2

2010-01-07T13:09:00.003-05:00

Let's begin with Christmas Eve.

Here is Sweet Pea in her lovely new dress. I put it on her just to see how much too big it was. Apparently she liked it. She wouldn't let me take it off until bedtime.

Christmas morning came early in our house this year. 5:30 am. She's ONE. She doesn't even know yet! I kept her snuggly and busy until 6:30, but then I just couldn't convince her she didn't need breakfast anymore. It was time to get Mr. Wonderful up - I mean, really . . . how can you keep a kid out of her presents on Christmas morning??

First off, this little girl has no attitude of entitlement what so ever. It took some work to convince her the toys under the tree had been left for her. When it finally clicked that these were hers(!) the gasp of delight made the early hour bearable.

First, she took her new broom for a test drive. Thanks Santa!

Then she tried out her cookie jar/shape sorter. THANKS Santa. She also played with Toodee for a while. THANKS SANTA!!

Next up: Stockings. Please, oh please tell me that one's for me!

Once all of the wrapping paper was cleared, and the gifts were opened, Sweet Pea settled into her rocking chair with a bagel and an apple. She ate on that apple all morning.

There were other houses to celebrate Christmas at, and Sweet Pea got some great new stuff. She's particularly fond of this play food!

This was my favourite gift. 2 skeins of Lacey Lamb from Mr. Wonderful!

Christmas . . . it's over, but still worth talking about.

2010-01-07T13:00:00.003-05:00

Let's start with the baking.

Christmas eve day I made a tonne of cookies.

Shortbread

Chocolate chip - in reverse.

And I made ginger snap dough, which I put in the fridge to chill -- and promptly forgot about. A week later, it made its way to the garbage can.

But this, THIS . . . my crowning acheivement.

Cake fail.

The fluted springform pan leaked out the bottom. The smell of burning cake batter alerted me. I put the pan on a cookie sheet. Minutes later, the cake erupted out of the top of the pan. There was no winning. The cake looked atrocious. We threw it out.

Look at all the crap in the bottom of my oven. Some of it was on fire, at one point. It was very exciting.

Back on track: Doll clothes

2010-01-02T19:45:00.004-05:00

For Christmas, I was told all Smallest Niece wanted was some clothes to go with the dolly her momma got her. I was all too pleased to comply.
When the dolly arrived, I sneaked her home with me. This way, I could make clothes to fit her properly . . . or close, anyway.

The final result:

We shall start with accessories.

Mittens! Not an actual thumb there. The fabric is so light and stretchy it just looks like a thumb!

Socks. Okay, how cute are these? I made 3 pair, but only remembered to photograph these ones. Funny enough, these are the ones I kept for Sweet Pea's Beebie.

Next up, actual clothes.

Jacket. Note the socks and mittens-on-a-string.
I made up the pattern for this jacket as I went. I didn't write it down either. It was cute, but not quite what I had in mind.

Nightgown. Sleeves are much too long, but still . . . cute!

Cardigan. Again, no pattern - I used up a lot of odds and ends making this colourful little cardi though!

And finally, my 2 favourites:
Tiered skirt with starry tank top. Cuuute! I didn't make the shoes, she came with those.

Charming dress. This one was easily the biggest pain in the ass to make, but it's also completely adorable.

So did Smallest Niece approve? I have no idea. I can tell you that she stuck the socks on her doll's hands right away, thinking they were mittens. The rest of the clothes? I hope she's enjoying them.

From bad to worse

2009-12-30T19:45:00.002-05:00

I told you last post about the double up on the Worst Colds I've Ever Had, right? Well, apparently I should have kept my fool mouth shut. On Monday night, our whole household came down with a stomach flu the likes of which we have never seen before.

This is problematic because our house has only one bathroom.

Around 1 am, we found creative new uses for garbage cans.

On Tuesday morning, when the puke had cleared, and Sweet Pea was ready to get up, I learned that I was unable to care for her. Mr. Wonderful, also in terrible shape, wouldn't be able to care for her either. I could hardly even lift the little soul out of her crib, I was so weak. It would be impossible for me to entertain her, never mind change her diapers, or get her breakfast. In desperation (and tears) I picked up the phone and called my mom.
Realistically, I expected that Wonderful and I would be on our own for a few hours, and then my mom would drop by for a few hours, she'd sit on the couch and watch Sweet Pea play, and then she'd be on her way. I did not expect that she would arrive with my dad at her side, clean my house, do my puke-covered laundry, and bring me ginger ale in bed all the while showing Sweet Pea The Best Time Ever!
I didn't expect that I would appreciate it so much, either.

So mom (and dad) I know you read the blog . . . thank you. Thank you so much! You didn't have to do that, but I'm so glad that you did. I love that I can count on you to be there for me - and that you exceed my expectations. I am still aghast, and I think I will always be grateful for your help yesterday.

Sigh.

2009-12-27T21:27:00.002-05:00

I have tonnes of shit to share with you, and so little time/energy to do it.

We've been sick here for three weeks now. First a head cold, that became a chest cold with a wicked cough. It is/was a mean, nasty, disgusting cold. One of the nastiest colds I've ever gone through. Now a new head cold, complete with eye-watering sinus pain. Awesome. The first round had Mr. Wonderful in bed for 3 days. This round has me wishing I could hide in bed for three days.

Coming up:

Doll clothes
Argyle mittens
Christmas baking
Christmas re-cap

Let us start with Argyle mittens.

I decided that I wanted to knit myself a pair of awesome mittens. You may recall my plea for decisive assistance here. I neglected to list as an option the pattern that I eventually settled on, Vespergyle Mitts. So I cast on, and made this much progress the first day.

Stirring, isn't it?

By the end of day 2, I had this much done:

After a week, my mitten looked like this:

It didn't stay like that though. The thumb is too small, so I had to rip it back. Right now it's in time out. Eventually, I'll get back at it. For now, I'm angry with it and refuse to speak to it.

The mitten fits beautifully, and the yarns (STR Silky, and Koigu KPM) are a dream on my hands. I really look forward to burying the hatchet with my mitten, and making it a mate.

More posting later. For now, tired. Must sleep.

How inadvertently festive of me!

2009-12-19T20:22:00.001-05:00

There I was, clearing up the scraps from some little knits I've just finished up, when I noticed the colours . . . .

Happy Holidays!

Picking your brains. OR get out your thinking caps. OR another plea for help

2009-12-02T13:10:00.002-05:00

I need assistance!

As you all know, I make dolls. As some of you know, I've been toying (ha! Toying!) with the idea of launching a business - making these dolls for sale. I need me a good name for this potential business. I've been mulling it over for weeks now . . . no ideas.

I want the name to invoke certain things, which makes it difficult, since I can't really put into words what those certain things are. It's more a feeling really. In an attempt to put it into words, I'm hoping for ethereal, funky, lovable, all-natural, handmade . . . or any combination thereof.

Ideas?

Notes from the change table

2009-12-01T13:39:00.000-05:00

Me: What does a kitty say?
Sweet Pea: Meow
Me: What does a puppy say?
Sweet Pea: Woof, woof
Me: What does . . . a mommy say?
Sweet Pea: BOOBIES!
Me: What does a daddy say?
Sweet Pea: Shh, shh, shh (little index finger up to her lips and everything)
Me: What does a Sweet Pea say?
Sweet Pea: . . . . (deep in thought) . . . NANA!

3 points

2009-11-21T19:24:00.003-05:00

1) Re: last post's request.
I decided to go for the gloves. The dream gloves . . . and I wound the yarn into cakes, and I cast on, and worked about 10 rows . . . . and it looked like utter shit. So I frogged. Now I'm back at square one.

2) Doll #4
I finished dressing doll #4 in the car today, on the way to a play date. Don't worry -- I wasn't driving.
All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the way he turned out. There were some harrowing moments, and he fought being made all the way . . . but I think he's looking rather dapper.
Beebie (Sweet Pea's doll - she named it herself) and this little fellow are made from the same pattern -- look at the difference.

I think the practice is paying off.

3) The Zoo
Today we went to the Zoo with another little family that we're pretty tight with. The above doll is for their youngest family member, Lovey.
We had a great time checking out the animals! Sweet Pea was really excited about all the puppies and ducks - apparently if she's not sure what it is, and it has 4 limbs, it's a puppy. If there are only 2 limbs, it must be a duck.
Here are some of her favourite puppies:

It's hard to teach a toddler to say 'Arctic Wolf'. That bottom pic? Polar bear. Dirty, dirty polar bear.

Sweet Pea rode a hippo

She and Lovey adored the wall of fish

And admired the crocodile together.

Big, full day for us!

help me, Help Me, HELP ME!

2009-11-06T20:04:00.003-05:00

So, I have this problem - and I suppose it's not an uncommon, or even terrible problem to have. But I need some nudging, convincing, or otherwise helping with this problem.

I need mittens. Possibly gloves.
I want them to be made from fingering weight yarn.

Here are my possible yarns.

These are my possible patterns.
Heather's mittens
Citrus mittens (for which I already own the pattern)
Fiesta mittens - feeling a little lukewarm on this one, but I think it would showcase my yarns nicely
Kingdom - really lovely . . . just not sure if I would wear them.
And my dream gloves. They are gorgeous, but the pattern is intimidating as all hell. Not only do I not know anything about making gloves, I don't speak/read Japanese.

So help me out here - which pattern, and which yarn(s) should I use? Every time I think I've made a decision, I get as far as the swift and winder before I freak out and start thinking again.

Sweet Pea's first cognitive snow experience

2009-11-06T11:32:00.003-05:00

You can just see it on her little face, can't you?

W. T. F?

Sweet Pea's first trick-or-treat.

2009-11-01T08:21:00.003-05:00

Even though Sweet Pea is only 15 months old, we thought this year we would take her out for her very first trick-or-treat, just to the houses on our block. Only to the 4 doors on our street that know her, and would be friendly and non-threatening.

At about 6pm, we put our girl in her costume.

She was, in a word, unconvinced. She didn't seem to mind the costume so much, she just really didn't understand why we were doing this to her!

"Mother, are you quite certain this is entirely necessary?"

I'm sure in years to come, things will go differently . . . but this year, Sweet Pea was more interested in raiding the diaper bag for snacks and messing about in the leaves than in going to stranger's homes and asking for treats.

But once she got it, man did she ever get it! There was excitement on every walkway, anticipation at every door, and appreciation of every treat. She even loved putting the treats into her bag.

At the end of the night, when all was said and done, she was happy enough to get home.

Her loot bag looked like this:

Not bad for 4 doors, eh?