This is it!

OK - I'm going to be "going away" for a while.... I'm having a baby tomorrow! And I have no idea when I'll be back to post - probably during a late night adventure with the new baby? Nah... but I'll figure out some time to hop back online with updates and pictures!

I finished up my final Christmas knit last night. And I so wish I had my camera during this entire process.... I left my camera at my in-laws for the 2 weeks there were exciting things to take pictures of.

Remember this that I wanted to knit for my brother? First of all, I have no idea how she got hers to come out so square. And neat looking. All I can say is that I hope my brother appreciates the time and love that went into this thing. All Hubby does when he looks at it is laugh...

Here's a picture from the side. The bump is made from where the acrylic yarn did not felt. So now my brother will always have something to remind him that I was great with child when I knitted this thing for him.

Sigh... It really was not a hard knit. And sewing it all together was a breeze, too. It felted well (except for the acrylic, duh....), and stuffed and finished well. Why does it look so silly? hmmmm....

I did have some issues, though. The pattern said it would take one skein of yarn - and I got the exact same specs for the yarn I used as she did with the yarn she used.... however, it was definitely not a one=skein wonder. As I started on the back of the robot, I realized there was no way I would be able to finish the thing with the amount of yarn that I had. So out I run, hoping that this yarn is still carried, since I've had the first skein in my stash since the spring. Thankfully, it's a staple in Lion Brand's collection, so I got one more skein. Not in the same dye-lot, but I didn't think my brother would mind or even notice.

Then, as I'm knitting up all the little pieces that go around the edges of the robot, I again start thinking, "There is no way I will have enough yarn to finish this, even with the second skein!" So I run out again to get another one... This is all happening while I don't have my camera, but I wanted to document what I had left over when I finished all the knitting pieces.

Sorry about the quality - if you can't tell, it's a picture of a picture on my phone. That is a picture of the last arm that I knit, along with the smallest ball of yarn I've ever worked with. A quarter would've easily hid that little ball from sight.

With that little ball of yarn, I was able to sew all the pieces together AND sew up the robot after felting and stuffing. I seriously only had a couple of inches left over.

And now, with Hubby laughing, I will wrap that little sucker up and proudly put him under the tree for my lil' bro. Merry Christmas, UncaDo!

Themed gifts....

Amanda is going strong on her oh ho ho a bloggy Christmas with oh amanda... check it out! She's asking now about any themed gifts we've given or gotten, or even we would like to give... Honestly, I couldn't think of any! Until I remembered.... I sent Amanda one - it was a blue, white, and silver holiday themed gift! Remember? And then I sent this one, which never got to its intended recipient....

But thinking about true holiday gifts that I've given or gotten with themes.... I'm truly at a loss! My aunt and cousins all gave me Christmas ornaments the first year I had my own tree - but they weren't all given together. I think I've given some book-themed gifts - to either my brother or to a close friend, but I can't remember what themes they were (besides books)! Dang this pregnancy brain! I bought my SIL a pre-packaged theme gift from the Pampered Chef last year - their Pizza Party gift set.... hmmm... I've tried several years to "reform" my dad's taste in cheesy jazz by giving him what I consider gifts of good jazz (it's hard to undo 60 years of cheesy jazz, though!).

But if I had a million dollars to give a themed gift... I think I'd like to give my Hubby a "Thank You" themed gift. A "Thank-You-for-all-you-sacrifice-and-do-so-we-can-raise-our-little-family-the-way-the-Lord-wants-us-to" gift.

First of all (and everything could go inside this one), I would give him his dream car, for driving crappy cars for years so that I can drive the boys around in a new, safe car. I think that for a dream car, this is a very realistic choice, and I would really like to make sure he drives one one day.

Then, for the years wearing of hand-me-downs and not buying clothing for himself, I would buy him a new wardrobe.

I would also give him some type of gutter-shield, for the years of climbing up onto the roof to empty out our gutters. And while I'm at it, I think I'd get him at least a year of a lawn service so he can take a break. Well, let's see - installation of a lawn and then a year of care. I think we'd like to do this together with the kids when they start getting older, so if we can get a good lawn established, then we can take over from there.

For the backyard, I'd like to get him a "sports complex." Nothing fancy - just a concrete pad for a basketball hoop (our driveway has no room for one!) and a sand pit volleyball court. We have a nice sized backyard... Hubby loves a pick up game of basketball, and he would play volleyball every night if he could! So instead of having him go to play with others, let others come and play with him! The boys could grow up enjoying these, too.

Then I have to find something to keep his coffee hot! I think I found something like this for his Christmas gift - so I'm not going into too much detail here. But one of his pet-peeves is drinking cold coffee.

The rest of the million (heck, I have the whole million, right? it's my pretend gift!).... I calculate to have spent:

• $25,000 for car (I rounded up a bit from what the website said, so he could get some upgrades)
• $5000 for wardrobe, according to WNTW
• $5000 for installation of gutter shields, lawn, and year of lawn care (only speculating on cost of these items!)
• $5000 for "sports complex" - I think this might be high, but then he could get stocked with nice equipment
• $25 for coffee solution

for a total of $40,025. OK, so I would pay off the mortgage and put the rest in a high-yield account so Hubby would never have to worry about providing what we need again.

There you go! I know a lot of these things I would benefit from, too, but if I could take some of the pressure away from my Hubby so he can enjoy our family more, I think it would be mighty fine!

Merry pretend Christmas, my love...

It's amazing what lack of sleep can do for your productivity!

So I'm having trouble sleeping. A lot of trouble. My doctor has been wonderful in giving me some sleeping aids, but on the nights I'm not supposed to take anything (that's every other night....), I. just. don't. sleep. Sigh... But I'm getting some great late night knitting done!

Last night, Hubby went to see the Skins play in DC. Of course, it took me a while to get to sleep, as usual. But then, when he got home at 2:30ish (that's AM, folks...), I was wide awake. I laid there for a little bit, in pain, until I couldn't lay there any more. I think I got out of bed around 3:00. AM. I went out to the den, opened up iTunes, and played some Robert Shaw Christmas. Nice and soothing... so calm, so Christmasy. And I picked up some knitting... and got started on these bracelets. Remember me saying I wanted to knit some? I just wanted a nice mindless knit so that maybe I could drift off after a while.

I started my swatches, and I finished 2 today during the day! See?

I love them! The first is Lion Brand Organic Cotton. Oooo, I like it. and I like how the seed stitch looks in it, how defined the stitches are... The yarn is a bit splitty, but it's so nice and soft! mmmm... The second is Lion Brand Jiffy. I have tons of it, so I thought I'd use some. I really like the color, but it fluffs up a bit too much for me when you knit it. I did the same seed stitch in it, but you can't really see the stitches.

I did a bracelet a couple of days ago, but I didn't take a picture of it. It's laughable. I thought I'd do it in the round, so I'd only have to finish up the sides.... it's about 4 inches too large to go around the bracelet insert. I thought fleetingly about cutting it (steeking it? What's the correct terminology?) - then I laughed at myself.

What did I use as the bracelets? This plastic thing I got on sale at... you know. I tried on several bangle bracelets at places at the mall, only to find that either my arms and hands have gotten fat, too, or I'm just really big-boned. None of them fit onto my wrist. So I bought 3 of these stretchy things. I think they look really good covered. Some of the bracelets I'm giving as gifts to much smaller relatives, so if I find solid bangles on sale someplace, I'll snatch them up and use those. The yarn adds considerable bulk to the bracelets, though, so I'll have to watch that.

Oh, wait - go back a couple of days! Look at what I used to wind my organic cotton into a center-pull ball!

Mmmm - too much fun! I need to buy more yarn to wind myself! Like this yarn!!! Next step will be a swift, but it wasn't too bad winding it off of the back of a chair.

Also, last night (before the above-mentioned attempt at sleep) I got a big chunk of the PillowBot done for my brother. The pattern calls for some intarsia. But I realized the yarn I had for the stripes was an acrylic blend and would not felt as needed. So I doubled the stripe colors with the main body color. I think it will be fine. I'd like to get these all marked off my list as I count down the days to baby...

Photos (not taken by me!)

Fun fun fun! My last Color Me Happy Swaparooni swap pal has a great blog - she's a great person, too! And I have to say, in my pregnancy-brain-fog-slash-lack-of-sleep-for-the-past-7-months-fog, she's given me some great blog reads and some great ideas! I liked this photo meme that she just did...

If you like it, join me! Just type in the answers to the questions on Google Images. Then paste the first picture that comes up in as your answer.

1. Age at my next birthday…

2. Place I’d like to travel…

3. Favorite place…

4. Favorite objects…

5. Favorite food…

6. Favorite color…

7. Nickname…

8. Place I was born…

A note about the nickname... it's not the Hurricane part. But when I typed in Li-li, I got a picture of a scantily clad woman as the first image. The Hurricane was the first appropriate picture!

Some Christmas knits...

No baby knits, but some Christmas knits to show you!

It's a knit Squid iPod cozy! In it's Christmas habitat, a bowl of ornaments on my side board!



It must be comfortable there... look, it's comfortable enough to show you its backside, too!



For my new SIL... it was a special request, made in her favorite color, an unknown red from Red Heart.... at least I think it was a Red Heart yarn I used. I went stash diving for a red, and found this one rolled into a big ball - no labels anywhere. It was not the most fun yarn to knit with, but it was a fun, quick knit! Mr. Squid is a bit stiff, due to the yarn, but he'll be oh so fashionable with an iPod nestled inside him, the earphone cords dangling out of his little pointy head-hole... I would've finished it in one day save for the toddler crawling all over me.


Here's the other Gillian scarf I cast on a while back. I love this one, too. It's for my cousin, who apparently will be skiing away the winter blues in Aspen. Sigh.... I hope a bit of me will hit the slopes with her when she wears this one...



I love the colors on this. It's like a classic red scarf, but it's not.... it goes from an orange to a brownish-red to a maroony color, and I love it! I think the yarn is a Moda Dea - ooo, I'm so bad! I just bought the yarn for this one, and I've tossed the label and can't even remember any specs on it! I think this is it, in Cinnamon Twist. I like the yarn - it's a great, bulky, wool and acrylic blend. Very soft.



This is what it looks like in post-snow gloom, sitting on my sofa. I missed the sun that melted the little bit of snow we got this morning, so all I got was gloom.

But I think the colors really perk up the place, don't you?

So, as I said, no new baby knits. I still have only one leg of the cargo pants done. And I'm OK with this. I need to finish up on my brother's PillowBot, and then I'm going to try to make a couple of these up quickly for gifts, and if the cargo pants need to wait, that's OK.

Oooo, and did you see this? mmmmm..... bags.....

At last, some FOs!

But not what I'm supposed to be be knitting.... I'm getting nowhere fast on my cargo pants... It would really help if I actually worked on it. I have about an inch to go on the first leg.

So what did I do? I've cast on some Christmas knits. I was going to knit up a lot of things for a lot of people. But then I decided I wasn't going to knit anything. Ha! So I've cast on a PillowBot for my robot-loving brother. And then I need to cast on a squid iPod cozy for his new wife. And then I've cast on another Gillian scarf....

I knit one of the Gillian scarves for a swap that I did over on Flickr... I couldn't post it before my swap-pal got it, because I wanted it to be a surprise! So I finished that a while ago. Here's a pic...

It was so much fun to knit! So like I've said, I've cast on another one. It is another gift, for a cousin who's coming for Christmas.

Speaking of the above swap - it's the Color Me Happy Swaparooni on Flickr, as I mentioned. It was so much fun! My swap pal rocked (rocks - she still does!)!!! Look at all the fun stuff she sent me! And, as a non-knitter, I have to give her major props - she ventured into a yarn shop and got me some yummy soft yarn (upper left hand corner). I'm having problems remembering things, like how to take good pictures of things, so I have no pics of the yarn up close.

I also knitted a way-too-small hat for the Big Boy. It looked big enough for him - honestly it did. sigh...

He barely even let me put it on him for pictures.

OK - so I'm off to knit some and watch some TV.

Peace out, dudes!

Ah, what a night!

mmmm.... Hubby's band is in the recording studio, working late on a demo CD. So I'm home alone (with the Big Boy in bed, of course), and the TV on... and it's nostalgia night on TBS! I swear - the original How The Grinch Stole Christmas followed by The Wizard of Oz... I am in heaven! So in between dishes and laundry, I managed to sit down and cast on for the baby's cargo pants... and I got about 5 inches done on the first leg.

I feel much better about this now that I'm actually knitting it. I don't feel as panicky, that I'm not going to get things done.

Also, in my nesting-stage, I cleaned up my craft armoire, and I stashed part of my stash under my bed. I'm relieved about this, too... a lot of this is just really cheap yarn that I can't see myself working with, but I can't get rid of yet. So it's nice to have it out of sight, and I'm surrounded by my pretty, squishy yarn. I didn't take a picture of my armoire, because even though it's "de-yarnified," it's not decluttered. I still have a lot of mess in there. Sigh.... but here's a peak at what's now living under my bed.

I feel kind of accomplished as a knitter - like my stash is growing now that it's officially out-grown the space I had for it! hee hee! I'm now on a self-imposed yarn restriction, because I have so much yarn that I bought for specific projects that I need to cast on for - so I'm not buying anymore until I knit some more of this up!

No Knits....

No knitting... lots of sitting. Bad combination! I need to get busy! Only about 6 weeks until the baby gets here - yikes! I'm so ready to have him here, but I need to start those cargo pants. If I can get those and a hat done before he gets here, I'll be happy.

I wonder if I'll be able to do any Christmas knitting this year.... people might just have to wait another year!

I want to win!

From one of my new favorite blogs, Oh My Stinkin' Heck, I found out about a Pink Dyson Vacuum Cleaner Give-away Contest at The Domestic Diva. Our current vacuum does not currently do as well as it should - in short, it doesn't suck enough... hahaha... So I want to win the Pink Dyson they are giving away. Note the button on my sidebar, as requested, and if you want to win it, go to the site - but if I hear you win it after hearing about it from me, I only ask that you come over weekly to my house with your new Dyson and vacuum my floors. Does that sound fair?

I'd buy one if I could - Dyson donates $40 to help Breast Cancer Research for each Pink Dyson that is purchased! I just don't have $400 for a new vacuum. Sigh....

In other (knitting) news - I have some FOs, but I can't show them until later in November - because they are for a SWAP! One whipped up real fast, and it's so cool - I'm so happy that I knit it! And I think my swap-pal will really like it!

In other (non-knitting) news, I joined the NaBloPoMo - but not here.... at my other blog, My Adventures in Mother-land. I started that blog a couple of months ago, so I could write about my kid(s) and their development and eventually have it published in a book for them down the road (whoa! I went searching for the link that I thought I had saved with the website from which you could order a book from your blog - but I can't find it!!!! Does anyone know what I"m talking about?!?). I haven't done well with my blogging there... So hopefully I will be able to get a whole bunch of thoughts and feelings down as I blog every day in November over there! Wish me luck!

Half-way there!

I finished baby's sweater! See?
It's so soft... I love the Rowan All-Season's cotton! I'm so glad I'm doing the cargo pants in the same yarn. mmmmm..... Notice I'm not showing you up-close pictures of any of the seams. No, that would be silly of me. Because then you'd doubt my judgement in even calling it complete. What is it with me and seams? I can't get the Kitchener's stitch or the mattress stitch - I don't even know what to call what I did at the shoulders... And the pattern was still weird. If I followed it to the letter, I wouldn't have had to (apparently) sew the arms together at the bottom or the front and back together at the sides. The only seam mentioned in the pattern in the shoulder seam. Also, I did not complete the bottom hem or the collar hem as mentioned in the pattern. I did finish the sleeves with the extra rows that you fold up and sew on the inside. I didn't want to pick up anymore stitches at the waist or the collar to create more work for me - and I'm sure in an adult sweater it would make sense, since you would want to wear it for years. This will be lucky to be worn once. And the number of stitches she said to pick up seemed... odd... Anyways... I muddled through it - and I LOVE it!!!

It's so tiny... and I love love love the collar!!!! It's so... cute! and boyishly manly. Is that appropriate to say for an infant's sweater?

I got my swapbox from my first-ever dishcloth swap this week! I was so excited... and I managed to remember to take pictures as I opened up the box, instead of ripping into it and not being able to share the joy!

There were some yummy bath-stuffs, fun knitting notions, delicious choclate truffles (yum! they were gone in a heart beat!), and some fun yarn! I've never worked with any KnitPicks yarn, and she included some beautiful gray Essential Solid yarn in Ash... I'm going to poke around on their website to find some sock patterns I can whip up!

Then, as I peeled away the first layer, I got to the dishcloth:

I love it! So bright and sunny! The pattern was included below the dishcloth, and I'm now inspired to start a notebook for all the patterns I'm using/have used. Right now, they are all folded up and crammed into my craft cabinet.

Hubby is confused that we would use something so nice for dishes! Here's a better picture of the pattern (forgive the window pane shadows - I was attempting to get it into sunlight on the only sunny day we had this week!):

Thank you so much, my sweet swap pal!!!

Unfortunately, I found out that the swap package I sent has not yet reached its recipient. The delivery confirmation that I bought for it says it was delivered, but she hasn't gotten it. I don't think there is much the post office can do - I hope I had the right address on the box... I'm so sad about that!

I have signed up to do another swap, though - and I'm very excited! See details for the Color Me Happy Swaparooni at its Flickr group page...

A quick diversion...

I have a commitment problem right now. I am so flighty, and no knitting project is keeping my attention for long at all. I put down the Kipling Sweater, and picked up a ribbon yarn that's been sitting in my teeny-weeny stash for a while. I think the ribbon yarn is beautiful - I just had no idea what to make with it. Then I thought about the Dream Swatch Head Wrap. The pattern looked intimidating to me at first, but once I dove in, it was such a fun knit. See the results?

I love it! I had only half of the yarn she called for, so I modified the pattern to stretch the yarn a bit - and I think it's still about a foot short. But it fits around my head, and it's beautiful! The yarn is Knit One Crochet Too's Tartlette in Spring Meadow. I'm going to knit up another one in a plain color, to see how it works.

I also have some sewing I need to do. Oh yeah, and I need to finish up the baby sweater. I need sleep first...

mmmmm.... nice!

Rowan All-Seasons Cotton. mmmmmm - yummy! It's so soft, and so nice - Hubby declared it "Shexy," which is not what I'd call the yarn being used for a baby sweater, but, um, yes - it is shexy. Hubby thinks the pattern I'm using looks girly... what?!? I picked this one because it is one of the least girly ones out there. He just has no idea. Looking at the pattern initially, there were several parts that confused me. They still confused me as I knit through them, and I know it's not the prettiest knit sweater ever, as far as seaming and shoulders and arms and etc. But it's my first sweater ever (is the Coachella a sweater? hmmm - it didn't have arms, though). And I've decided that it's the process and the enjoyment I get out of the knitting that's important. The finished product is a plus, but I'm not going to knit-pick (bwa-hahahahahahaha!).

I have some khaki-colored All-Season Cotton to make these cargo pants with - and I think I'm going to have enough of the blue left from the sweater to make a hat - maybe I can put some khaki stripes in the hat to make it a set. Yay!

On another note - I feel like a new person. I got a new pair of glasses! Isn't it funny how the littlest things make the biggest difference? Big Boy had effectively ruined my other "new" pair, so I was relegated to wearing old old glasses for the longest time. I felt frumpy and unattractive. The littlest things....

We also signed up for a membership at our local YMCA. I am so excited - they have some water aerobics classes that are supposed to be really good for pre-natal workouts. And our family membership includes a Child Watch program, so I can drop Big Boy off and have some mommy-time. Ahhh.... I cannot wait! I might go in tomorrow to walk on the treadmill for a bit, just to get some time to myself. The water classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I'll be doing those until the baby comes.

Big Boy wants to show you my new glasses, which he has promised not to break or ruin in anyway.

My first pair - ever!

I've finished Baby's socks.... I knocked out the last one tonight while Hubby and I were watching The Italian Job (I love that movie!). See?

The second one turned out better than the first one. The pattern is actually a variation on one that looked too girly to me, so when it said "turn the heel according to xxxx pattern", and "complete the toe as written in xxxx pattern", it actually did not leave me at the right place either time, stitch-wise. Did that make sense? So I did what I thought needed to be done. And on the first sock.... look:

I didn't pay close attention to where I started knitting the side cables. It's not bad, but look at the second sock:

The cable continues down the side from one of the top cables. I think I'm only a stitch or two off on the socks from making them identical - and it's so hard to see the cables with the variegated yarn anyway - so I'm happy.

Sorry for the fuzzy photos! On to knitting sweaters!

One done.

From Interweave Knits - a free pattern called Better-Than-Booties Baby Socks.


The first sock is done. The second sock is nearly finished. The only thing getting me through this pair is that they're so small. Aren't they cute? I'm amazed that I'll have a little one that will fit into these soon...

Anyway - I'm so afraid I'm not a sock person. At least, I'm not enjoying the short-row heel, and then I basically have to turn the same short-row heel for the toe to finish it off. I liked knitting the heel flap for the Breeze Sock - it's the foot of the sock that's stopped me there. I need to find a pattern that will keep me interested - or not knit socks while I'm pregnant. I need instant results right now... the nine-month baking period is the only long project I can work on right now.

So I'm going to make this sweater next, with these cargo pants. Then some booties, and then the Yoda sweater. That's my list right now. Let's see how I do....

I feel like I am stuck right now. Kind of in a rut, but not one I can change. It's so weird - it's like I'm in a holding pattern until Baby #2 makes his entrance. I'm glad that the holidays are coming up - that will be a nice distraction. But until then, I am just stuck. Same thing, everyday - no new things, no new ideas... I feel so bad for Big Boy, being stuck inside in 90+ degree weather (what is up with that? It's so wrong!!!!!) with a mom who can't get down on the floor with him right now - with a mom who only wants to sit and sleep. All he wants to do is run. Poor guy.

Swap spoiler alert...

April, if you're reading this and you want your package to be a surprise, stop reading now!

So... through Ravelry, I signed up for a Christian Knitters group, and they set up a dish cloth swap right away. I've been looking at dish cloth patterns for a little while and have found many I'd like to try, so I signed up!!! We were to knit a dish cloth and send it with something encouraging for our swap pal, and we are to do it by October 5. Um, I'm mailing it tomorrow.

BUT - I didn't just make one dish cloth. I made a pair! See?

I modified this pattern, as my pal asked for dish cloths no larger than 5 inches square. I actually think these are 5.5 inches, but I hope that's OK. I think she told the moderator that set up the swap that her hands are small, and she likes smaller cloths. Sounds good! Her favorite colors are lime green and chocolate. I love those colors together, and I really wanted to put them together in the same dish cloth. The yarn is Sugar 'n Cream, and I'm so glad I found the colors she likes!

I then poked around looking for fun things to put in the box... I didn't find any fun knitting things - I forgot the one time I went into a LYS while I was doing this - and the larger craft stores just didn't have anything fun. So I found a devotional book of Beth Moore's that I hope will bless my pal's socks off... and I added 2 new skeins of the Sugar 'n Cream yarn, plus the leftover yarn I had from making the dish cloths.

I also had purchased some chocolates to go into the box, but then I re-read what was sent to me, and since it's still hot out here in RVA, I agreed with my swap pal that chocolates may not be the best thing to send, especially if the box has to sit in her mailbox all day. So I'll be eating the chocolates. But I topped off her box with other yummy stuff, so I hope she won't be disappointed.

This was fun! I'll have to sign up for more swaps after the baby comes. I'm concentrating on my baby knits right now. I still am working on the Petal Sweater - I am such a slow knitter on this one! I've timed it, and it takes me a full hour to do 2 rows - knit and increase across, then purl back. I'm afraid I'm not going to finish it by the time I have the baby! But to give me confidence, I started a quick knit - a pair of baby socks. So much fun...

I forgot!

I was tagged by Sherri while I was gone - and I forgot I needed to post my 7 random things...

1. I have gotten hooked on Facebook and finding old friends from high school and college, even though I vowed I would never do a networking website (mostly because I think that MySpace is scary).

2. I hate doing laundry. Period.

3. I cut Hubby's and Big Boy's hair at the same time tonight. Pretty much! I wanted to use the clippers on Big Boy, but I was pretty sure he'd freak on me - so Hubby held him in his lap, and Big Boy watched while I cut Hubby's hair for a while - then I started in on Big Boy. He did really well with the clippers - he didn't start freaking until I tried to finish up around his ears with the scissors. Hubby and I are going to go in and try to finish that part up while he's sleeping... He looks pretty silly with all this hair hanging over his ears right now!

4. I love fall and winter. I love the cold weather and being able to bundle up in front of a fire, wearing a lot of clothing.

5. I have 2 tattoos and would love another one. I don't think it will ever happen, though.

6. I almost became an insurance salesman. In Colorado.

7. I love scrapbooking - not as much as knitting at this point, but I've always put my pictures in scrapbooks, even before it was a big craze like it is now.

I tried to make these different ones than I've done before - it was kind of hard thinking of 7 more random things about me. I almost put in there about my feet being asleep right now, but I think that's kind of cheating.

Since I've done this before, I won't tag anyone. But if you'd like to do it, please do and let me know!!! I'd love to learn some random things about you!

FOs from the road!

Our "ocean-view" from our balcony - not bad, not bad...

I meant to post something after I got back from Myrtle Beach (which, by the way, was a blast. No diapers, no schedules.... ahh, heaven!). But I blink, and time flies!

I got some major knitting done while at the beach. It helped that Hubby and I are home-bodies, and not at all interested in the "night-life" of wherever we are. So after the sun went down and dinner was done, we sat in front of the TV and I knitted! And then on Wednesday and Thursday, it rained - so when we weren't trying to figure out what we could do indoors that did not include draining our bank account, I knitted again! I took 3 projects, and got 1 and a half done!

A rainy day at the aquarium... Hubby watching the shark swim over his head...

YES - I FINISHED THE COACHELLA! Finally! I actually even had a friend try it on for size - and I have a problem.... Apparently my bind-off is way too tight. My friend is tiny-tiny like my cousin, but the waist was pretty tight. I have to figure out something - and I think I have an idea, but man, I'm nervous. What do you think about steeking 2 side slits? Am I crazy for considering that? I know no other way to bind-off - are there looser ways? Should I tink off the bind-off and re-do it? Or would I be OK with the steeking?

Thanks to my friend, Kelly, who did a bit of impromptu modeling for me...

Then, I did something I never thought I would be able to do - knit in the car. I get sooooo carsick if I'm not looking straight ahead with cold air blowing on me, so looking back, I was silly to even try. But I had just finished the Coachella, and wanted to get something else done while I was gone - and a 5 hour car trip seemed like perfect timing! I have no pictures of me doing it - or of the finished project. I knitted my first dishcloth for a swap I'm doing in a Ravelry group, and I don't know if my pal is reading my blog - so no pictures until I send everything off. I am proud of myself, though - not only for the car-knitting, but also for modifying a pattern to fit my pal's request for a small dishcloth - a 5 inch square to fit into her hands without being too bulky. All I have to do is gather some goodies and send my package on the way! This is my first swap, too, so I'm excited about that!

I have one other quick little knit I want to finish up, and then it's on to baby knits! Did I mention I am really excited about football season? I love football anyway, and the fact that now I have knitting I can do while rooting on the 'Skins - life is good! We're teaching Big Boy how to say "TOUCH-DOWN!" He's got the arms up in the air, but he gets so excited he forgets to say anything.

I lied.

OK, well, I didn't lie. I just changed my mind. I started knitting the Petal sweater (using the K1C2 Cotonade I got a while back - remember?). I want to be able to wear it while I'm still pregnant. You know, I thought that would be nice. Neither the Coachella or the sock are done. The Coachella, though - I am making progress. I'm done with most of the pattern - now it just says "Knit until piece measures 22.5 inches." I haven't measured yet, so I don't know how much longer I have to go. Then I put some trim on it, and it's done!

I'm taking it and the Petal sweater to North Myrtle Beach next week. I anticipate some good, quality knitting time, as the Big Boy is not coming with us. Yup, this will probably be our last child-free vacation for a while. I think it's harder to leave 2 kids with someone than it is with one... at least until they get a bit older and are more self-sufficient. That's my theory, anyway...

So while I wasn't going to start knitting anything new, I still needed to get the yarns for upcoming projects.... that way I could start as soon as I finished one thing. So I went shopping. See?!?
Two shops, one chain, one LYS... almost the same exact amount spent at each. I really couldn't have planned it better if I tried.

The top photo is from the chain store. I hit a great sale - 30% off all knitting needles. So I got ALL of the needles needed for upcoming projects - 3 circulars, 3 straights, and 1 set of dpns (I stocked up on a bunch of those a while ago). Everything I got there is for baby knits, except the Sugar 'n Cream - that's for a dishcloth swap I'm doing.

So the next picture is from my LYS... again, everything is for baby knits, except some yummy yummy sock yarn for me, and the PillowBot pattern. That's a planned Christmas knit for my brother, who is robot-crazy and really hard to shop for.

Next time, I'll show you some details of the yarns. Or maybe I'll talk about football. I don't know....

I've decided...

...I'm not going to pick up any baby knits, or even Stefanie Japel's Petal Sweater (which, by the way, I found the perfect yarn for - in my stash!!!), until I am done with the Coachella and one Breeze sock. Period.

Now, if I could only pick up the knits and work on getting them finished.

I'm back!

Ok, so I've been back for a full week now. It's hard to recover from being here....

Real hard...

Knitting? I am 3/4ths of the way done with my sock. I have 1 and 1/2 more repeats to go of the pattern. I am now convinced I am all about the quick knit. This is taking way too long. The speed with which the heel was finished deceived me into thinking I'd whip out the whole pair of socks while I was vacationing. But who can knit when you're sitting here?


I mean, really?

I think I'm going to start a new blog - one for my family. Look at this. It lets you print books of your blogs. I love it, and I think I'm going to do this. For prosperity. Maybe one day I'll do one of this blog. As a gift to myself. One day.

By the way.... it's going to be a BOY!!!!