I'm seeing stars.

I don't think I actually posted about this project, that I had finished it. This is the replacement for DS2's other blankie, the one I fried in the washer and dryer after the unfortunate stomach flu incident.

This is a crocheted star blanket, made from Lily's Sugar'n'Cream, color chosen by DS2. I can't remember what hook size I used. It crocheted up fairly quickly, and it's not that big. Big enough that he can snuggle, but not big enough to use as an actual blanket. They don't do nap at school and he doesn't nap here anymore (hah! he hasn't napped in at least a year), so it's more of snuggly lovey for him. I haven't washed it yet, but I know the cotton can go through the washer and dryer just fine (and hopefully I won't need to sanitize it any time soon).

I'm not sure how people avoid this issue, but I don't like in crochet in the round how the very first thing you're doing is a chain of 2 or 3 (or whatever you need), rather than an actual sc or dc or what-have-you. As you can see in the valley on the left side, it looks a little different. DS2 doesn't care, so no worries, but it would annoy me if I'd worked hard to make a full-size blanket for something and had that happen. How to avoid? I don't know.

Deep Thoughts by KWAP

Am I betraying my age by referencing Deep Thoughts? I haven't even watched SNL in *years*, do they still do them? Ah, the past.

It's the end of summer. School starts up for us this week (two kids in preschool! Sadly, they never overlap.). We just had DS1's birthday party yesterday, he turned FIVE. DS2 is 3 and 1/3. DD is almost 4 months. Where is the time going? How did it come to be that I have three kids? And a minivan.

I feel like there's a way in which I've lost track of some things...some parts of myself. That's not surprising, considering that I've not gotten more than 4 consecutive hours of sleep in a few months (and considered it amazing to get more than an hour and half). I've got three kids, two cats, one husband, a life that's very focused on the home and hearth right now.

When I started this blog, almost two years ago, I was in the midst of a huge transition. The two women that had been my closest friends through the first part of learning to be a mother (particularly, learning to be a stay-at-home-mom) had dumped me. I still don't understand why. Was it something I did? Something I should have done? I loved those women and relied on them, too much probably, but they were almost like family to me. In most ways, the pain has ebbed, but it was a *huge* loss. Not just for me, but for DS1 too - these kids were almost like siblings to him. When DS2 came along, it apparently threw the whole system into disarray, and since I was the one who disrupted it, I was the one who was ousted (I guess, neither one ever said anything clear to me, one just got really mean, and the other just faded, and didn't choose me).

I was looking for things to fill me up, and one of the things I found was knitting, particularly the knitting for donation. I made baby hats for the NICU at Children's Hospital in Boston. This was the NICU where we spent a terrifying 24 hours thinking DS2 had liver damage, and then another 5 days just waiting for his bilirubin levels to drop. The nurses were amazing, and I wanted to give back something to them, and give something those little bubs I saw who were so small, so sick. I wanted those moms and dads to know that someone out there was celebrating their baby, even though the circumstances might be terrifying, scary, or tragic. Someone was saying "Hooray, your beautiful baby is here!"

I've somehow let go the knitting for donation, and I'm feeling guilty about it. I am so lucky, so completely *blessed* by the amazing family I have, my wonderful husband and children, my parents and sister, my in-laws. Family of origin, family of marriage, and family of creation. I am, however, also pretty consumed by them at this point as well. My knitting is very family-focused right now too. I'm struggling with feeling like I should be giving more out to the world than I am, but I also feel like I'm sort of maxed out on the giving right now.

I'm not sure where the "should" comes from. I don't think it's from the world around me. To be honest, it seems to me the main message of modern US culture is about CONSUME BUY ME ME ME. I've never wanted to be that person, I've always wanted to be someone who gives, who lives some, if not all, of her life in service to others. This matters to me.

So, how do I get back to this, what is the best focus for my time and energy? We moved much further away from Boston (though technically still in the 'burbs). The hospital where I delivered DD (and who cared for us when she was jaundiced too) apparently has a corps of women who crochet hats for them, so they don't need something from me. Although I certainly didn't do the NICU hats for thanks, never getting *any* acknowledgment that they were even received, let alone feedback as to whether they were helpful or not was...discouraging. I'd really like my efforts to go to my own community, but I'm not sure how.

One thing I'm feeling really drawn to doing right now is crocheting small blankets. I'm wondering if that is something that would be a useful donation for the hospital, particularly for the Level II nursery where DD was delivered and spent time (both as a "preemie" ha ha, she was born at 36 weeks 6 days, and when she was jaundiced). Perhaps I'll call them and ask. Again, it's not really about being appreciated for the effort, but rather that the effort go where it's needed.

Gotta make this quick...

...because my internet cuts out in about 8 minutes! (DH set up my computer so the internet shuts off at 9:30 which forces me to do things like, oh, go to bed).

This will be a non-knitting post because I haven't been doing much knitting. It's been a hectic week, culminating in DS1's birthday party today! The actual day is tomorrow. How did he go from this...to this?
















He had a blast at his party, and was just a total delight today. He was gracious, happy, appreciative, calm, and just wonderful! He's my spirited one, so that' s not always the case, but it was so, so nice today.

Happy birthday, baby. Mama loves you!

Running to Stand Still

I cannot believe we're almost done with summer. I remember when school ended for DS1, that sort of sinking feeling of "oh man, how are we going to get through!" And we did. I think overall, it was a good summer (and we have one more week). We didn't make as many friends as I had hoped, but we're starting to settle in, and I think starting school is going to be awesome. Both boys are anxious about it, but I think it'll be really good to get going. I've always been this way when anticipating something, the last week or so I just want it OVER with, to move on.

I'm chugging away on DS2's lime green star blankie. I have no idea how big he wants it. He also changed his mind about adding the funky variegated yarn, so it's just...lime green. VERY green.

With cooler weather coming, I want to be reignited on sock making. Since, you know, I'm really low on socks! DD is now doing some napping in the morning, though that may change with school. I guess mainly I'm just waiting to see what sort of routine we enter into!

In the meantime, we've got DS1's 5th birthday to plan!!

Back from vaction.

It was not the best vacation we've ever had. We got the call on the Friday before we left that DH's grandmother was failing (this has been expected for some time, so it was not a shock). We were supposed to be going on vacation with my MIL and FIL, my folks, DH's older sister and her husband and three kids, and DH's younger sister (who lives in London). MIL, FIL and younger SIL instead went straight to MN where they were with his Grandmother (MIL's mom) when she died. The rest of us went to the vacation house, but SIL and DH left midweek to go out for the funeral (she passed away on Tuesday). So yeah.

In a way, the timing was actually as good as it could have been. DH and older SIL both were already off from work. Younger SIL was in the country and available (she lives in London and travels a lot). BIL and I both weren't stuck at home alone with 3 kids each.

In non-family loss news, I was in the Walmart in Riverhead NY (on Long Island), and found Peaches and Cream yarn, which I had never seen. I feel so disloyal, but I think I actually prefer it to Sugar'n'Cream!! It feels softer. I did a star washcloth for my SIL in one of the really bright variegated colors (maybe Fiesta?), and it pooled in such a way that it looked tie dyed! It was really cool (and I did the pattern from memory, go me!). I did almost no knitting. I started a hat for DD, but I brought smaller needles than I should have so I'm going to pull the bit I did and start over.

I'm determed to go get some more pink Cottontots to do a plain cardigan for DD because she needs one. Needs as in doesn't NEED exactly because she has far more clothes than she'll ever wear but I want to make her one. Now I'm pondering...pink or lilac?

AGAIN with the Startitis

We're going on vacation on Sunday for a week. I have my folks here tomorrow night before we go. We have no food, the house is a mess, and I've got Mount Laundry to scale before we can leave. So what do I do?

YES! I started a new project! Go me!

My fantasy was actually to get this knit before we go. It turns out I am obsessed with knitting for my daughter. (My daughter! How odd that sounds, after almost five years of sons.) The sweater I knit for her is almost too small. And, although it's very pretty, I don't actually put her in it that much because it's variegated and clashes with most of her clothes. What she needs is a simple little pink or purple cardigan. So, I started one.

It's a variation of this pattern. In my usual way, I decided simply to wing it. The pattern doesn't actually tell you what the gauge is, so I picked the needles that my yarn called for. I did the collar in the leftover lilac from the pinwheel blanket, and started the body in the pale pink (so the yarn is Bernat Cottontots). As I did the increases, it seemed to me that if I kept going the way the pattern was written, the sweater would be more of a 2T or 3T size than what I need now. So I went off-pattern.

This does not always bode well for the utility of my projects, but we'll see. After being concerned that the thing would be huge, now I'm worried it's going to be too small. I also decided to do three buttonholes close together at the top, and do a slip-stitch edging, though I clearly have messed that up a couple of times. I also forgot to do the garter stitch button band edge for one row. I am too tired to care, honestly. I need her to have a little sweater that I can just toss on over lighter outfits.

I've just put the sleeves onto scrap yarn, so I figure I've got about 20 rows to do or so. Hopefully it'll fit her!

I wish I lived in Canada.

Specifically, Toronto. The Yarn Harlot is starting a Yoga for Knitters class (I almost just wrote "a knitting for yoga-ers class" which could also be fun), and I wanna go!!!! I used to do yoga every day, for a good long time, and I *loved* it. I miss it. Trying to find a time to do even my 25 minute Ashtanga Yoga DVD is challenging. Anything that helps me to slow down, be present, and breathe a little more is something I need.

Two nights ago, DS2 and I took a walk in the rain afternoon, just around the block. The sun was coming out as we walked down by the lake, and I thought "huh, this is rainbow weather." We went a little further, and saw the most amazing, full-arc rainbow, with a double shimmering next to it. I wished I had my camera. Then I thought that maybe I could just try to be present in the moment, to just enjoy the amazing sight with my son.

Knitting away on BYOB, almost done with the openwork section. Feeling a tad bored with it, honestly. I had such momentum but the crochet stars derailed me. DS1 now wants a Crescent Moon blankie. How the heck does one do that??

I have conquered the STARS!

So after much gnashing of teeth and a couple of choice swear words, I have figure out BOTH the little star patterns! I didn't knit either one to blanket size. I made a washcloth out of some cotton (leftover from the pinwheel blanket) and then a lovie for one of my kids with some (ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE) Red Heart acrylic crap I had in my stash. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm really not a yarn snob, but this stuff just feels cheap and rough and plasticky (that's plastic and icky all at once!). If I'm going to put effort into making a blankie, it's going to be with something nicer than that. Pity, because I do love the colors (but not how they pooled).

The reason I need to make another blankie is because DS's green blankie had a tragedy. I knit it from Lion Brand Thick and Quick Chenille, which is mostly acrylic. We had an unfortunate stomach flu incident, and the blankie got nailed. Not thinking (it WAS 1:00 am), I tossed it in with all his sheets on the Sanitize selection, which is HOT HOT water. Yeah, I fried it. It came out all nasty and crunchy with the loops all pulling out (I did a simple diagonal garter stitch blanket). It's not salvageable, as far as I can tell. So, I'm going to do him a new one, out of natural fibers that can stand being washed and dried. You know, it's not the machine washable I really need (though I prefer that for this sort of thing), it's the DRYABLE. I just don't want to have to think when tossing laundry into the dryer, you know? ANYWAY. I digress.

The first star I did was from Beth's Little Star Afghan. The beginning is sort of tricky, but there's a great tutorial here. I did this in some leftover Bernat Cottontots. The pattern is not too difficult, once you get passed the opening rounds. I'm not sure why, but where my rounds join, I have two holes instead of one (from the stretchiness of the cotton? because I suck at crocheting? Who knows.). I think I did 5 rounds or so on this, and then decided to turn it into a face cloth for me. It's pretty, but I'm not loving the 5 holes in the center. So, I just knotted it off. Since it's just a washcloth for me, I didn't really bother to weave in the ends (yes, I am so lazy about that, I know).

The second one I did was from the Dive Crochet's pattern. Wow, did I have a hard time with this pattern! I'm not sure if it's that I'm so novice, or if there are actually issues with the pattern. For example, once the pattern is established, a typical row reads like this: Round 4: Ch 3, dc each over next 3 dc’s, {shell in ch 2 sp, dc in next 4 dc’s, sk 2 dc's (this is the valley), dc in next 4 dc’s}. Repeat { } around. Repeat * of Round 3. The last series of DCs (underlined) are actually the beginning of the next peak, so after I had done all 5 peaks, I didn't do these, even though they are within the brackets to be repeated. I'm not sure if that' sk next dc, sc, dcs correct or not, but it didn't make sense to me.

I also had THE hardest time with Row 3, which reads: Round 3: Sl st in sc, sl st in first 2 dc’s of first shell, ch 3, dc in 3rd dc of first shell, {shell in ch 2 sp, 2 dc over next 2 dc, sk next dc, sc, dc, 2 dc over next 2 dc’s}. Repeat { } all around. * Sl st in 3rd ch of ch 3, sl st in dc after ch 3 of R 3. She even has her "user friendly" version of it. I had gotten this far about 5 times before I finally understood that sk next dc, sc, dc does NOT mean: skip next double crochet, then do a single crochet, then a double crochet. It means skip all three. AH HAH! The lightbulb went off and that made the whole thing work. While it's not entirely clear in the pattern, she does state it clearing in the user friendly version, so I'm blaming my non-comprehension on my own exhaustion. I'm not sure if the joins are better in this because the yarn is much less elastic, but they do look better. I also think I like the look of the single center hole a bit better. Not sure.

This yarn is Red Heart Super Saver, and while the colors are pretty, the feel is awful. So scratchy and rough. The fabric it makes is actually unpleasant to hold. It feels like fingernails scratching on a chalkboard sound, you know? I've heard that if you wash it, it does soften up, but I just couldn't picture finishing a blankie out of yarn that was so unpleasant to hold. So once I knew I had the pattern down, I did a row of sc to finish it off, and called it a night.

Now that I know the pattern, I can see that this would be a really fun baby blankie to make, and super-easy, once you're in the groove. I was watching the Olympics (I had to see Michael Phelps get his medals!), and didn't need the pattern at all to chug along on this. And I think it's faster than knitting. So now I need to find a good, sturdy, machine washable and dryable yarn for DS2 (in green, natch), to do a big star blanket. I'll see if DS1 wants one too.

ETA: I'm getting a lot of hits from the Yarn Diva's link, so if you're coming here from there, well, HEY! Nice to see you! Feel free to stay a while! :)

There's a reason why this blog isn't called Crocheting with a Purpose.

Because apparently I *suck* at crocheting.

Back story - I saw a woman crocheting a star shaped baby blanket at the beach, and immediately became obsessed with making it. As I am wont to do.

I got onto Ravelry and Google and found two different free patterns: The Diva Crochets Starghan and Beth's Little Star Afghan. I cannot do either of them. I have started this thing a good 15 times (did I mention the obsession thing?) and I just can't do it. I think I'm doing it right through round 3, and then round 4 (doesn't matter which pattern), it turns out that I have done SOMETHING wrong and it's not coming together.

I just cast on for Beth's Little Star Afghan AGAIN, and I'm going to give it another try. *sigh* My poor BYOB is languishing, calling to me.

FO: Pinwheel Blanket

It's DONE! It took me a good 2+ hours just to bind off this bad boy, but it's done! Okay, I admit it, I was lazy and didn't do a great job of weaving in ends. When I say "didn't do a good job", what I really mean is "I didn't do it, I just tied knots and snipped them close." Don't tell, okay? I love this blanket! As you can see from the pictures, I haven't blocked it (yet), and I'm not decided if I'm going to, as I think it's going into rotation immediately. I realized that I can't find the other blanket I knit for DD (which is going to make me crazy until I do find it), and we're having weird, cool rainy weather. Besides, when I was taking pictures of her on it, she urped a bit on it, so I *think* that means she wants it. :)

Details

Pattern: Genia Plank's Pinwheel or Round Blanket (ravelry link here, you should check out some of the projects people have done, they're GORGEOUS!).
Needles: KnitPicks Options, size 8 for the blanket. size 10.5 for the bind-off. Various cord lengths.
Yarn: Bernat CottonTots. I really liked this yarn, actually. It wasn't too rough on the hands, and makes a nice, drapey fabric. I'll have to see how it washes and dries before I commit fully to it. I used .7 skein of the light pink, 1.6 skein of the lilac, 1.04 skein of the variegated, and .95 skein of the dark pink.

The pattern is either confusing or has a typo at the very beginning, where it jumps from Round 2 to Round 5. I chose to interpret that as you knit around for Rows 3 & 4, but I don't think it matters *all* that much. For the edging, I switched and did one round of knit with the dark pink. The next round I kfb every stitch to double my number of stitches, then did seed stitch, which makes a non-curling ruffle. I definitely made some mistakes, mainly I have a few spots where I forgot my YOs and then didn't notice on the knit round, but that's okay. I'm not thrilled with how the variegated pooled overall, but that's the fun of working with variegated yarns, right? And now some pictures!!

K1, P1

All increases are done. I finished with approximately 470 stitches. Ruffle color is attached, increases are done, and seed stitch is commenced. I figure I've got another 4-5 hours of work to do the 4-5 rows plus bind-off for the ruffle.

Since it's all squinched up on the needles, I also have no idea how it's really going to look. I hope it's cute!!

Pinwheel Progress

We're getting there! I did some knitting while we were in the Berkshires this weekend, and knit pretty much the whole way home (and it didn't make me want to vomit, hooray!). I've got just over 4 rows left of the body. I've decided to do a seed stitch ruffle (in for a penny, in for a pound, you know?) for the edging. From the comments I've gotten, I won't do the increases on the ruffle. It's going to be a heck of a lot of stitches, but I think it's going to look really cute, and since I sort doubt I'll make another one of these, I want to do it right!

Okay, WHAT was I thinking??

So, on my way to the grocery store, I just happened to stop in at my lovely local yarn shop. What's that you say? It's not actually on the way to the grocery store? In fact, it's a couple miles in an entirely different direction? Huh.

Anyway, so we stopped in, me and my many children. I needed some yarn to redo the ruffly hat since it's just too short. Probably by about 1/2 to 1 inch, which makes a difference in a baby hat. This shop carries the Tahki Cotton Classic that I so love for baby hats, so I got some. This ruffly version will be a pale pink with a deep purple ruffle. I eyed some other colors to make my non-traditional friend a non-traditional ruffly hat as well. Then the boys became enamored with some buttons, so I ended up getting yarn to make each one of them a hat and buttons to put their names on them. DS1 chose a pink hat with his name, plus train buttons; DS2 chose a green hat (of course), with a tractor button and his name. So yes, I just signed on to knit more hats. :) I also got some to redo the peapod hat.

*sigh* I really have a problem. I gotta reconnect with the pinwheel blanket to get that done.

FO: Top Down Ruffly Baby Hat

Okay, forgive the diaper background, I just wanted something less distracting than the random swirly of my ironing board. I'd love to be one of those people who takes really beautiful, artsy shots of my knitting, but (a) I really don't have the time and (b) I'm not that detail-oriented, really.

So, I finished something! This is a prototype for a pattern I'm writing (yikes, that sounds so official!), and I can see what I need to do differently next time.

This is a top-down baby hat with contrasting ruffle. I'll take a picture tomorrow of DD wearing it, but I wanted to at least post that WOW, I finished something! So, details.

Pattern: My Own
Needles: KnitPick Options, size 6, 40" cable for Magic Loop
Yarn: Takhi Cotton Classic, leftovers in my stash

Notes: The main thing I'd do differently next time is make the body longer. This is barely 5" (because I ran out of yarn!), and it needs to be about 1/4 to 1/2" longer. I would also make the ruffle a tad longer, just one or two rounds maybe, but a bit more. I did the last two rounds (pre-bind off) in seed stitch, and I might do the whole ruffle in seed stitch, or I might not do it in seed stitch at all, and block it. The picture above is post-blocking, and here's a shot pre-blocking.
This may actually be the very first thing I have blocked (not including the acrylic baby sweater before I knew that you can't actually block acrylic). I did a steam block by soaking a pillow case and wringing it out, and then putting the hat the way I wanted (I didn't actually pin it) and steaming the ruffle so it'll lay flat. I am hoping I didn't do TOO much, and hopefully it'll look cute on her.

Yes, I started yet another project.

Just a little one, this time. DD needs a hat. NEEDS. Well, maybe she doesn't need it, but I suddenly wanted to try and knit a baby hat top-down (no, I can't explain myself). So I threw aside the blanket (which is not going to the original recipient because her niece told me that she's "totally not into pink"), and thought I'd do a hat. I had some really pretty yarn that I thought would be great - nice and vibrant but pretty too. Except it turns out I only had enough to knit about 3 inches of the hat, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly sure babies' heads are longer than that. Even newborns. So I frogged that, but started on a hat (in PINK) for my little girl. I don't actually have enough to do the whole hat, so the bottom part will be lavender. Considering I dress her pretty much entirely in pink and purple, it should work. Can I still be considered a good feminist if I dress her in pink? :)

And I haven't forgotten poor BYOB to be finished as well.

This blog needs more pictures.

Sometimes I am not so smart.

So, yesterday, I was all like "Dude! I feel so much better! I'm gonna take the boys to the beach! And go grocery shopping! And eat a bunch because I'm hungry!" Then last night I was all "duuuuude....error." So today I took it really easy.

We had massive thunderstorms all day, so swimming lessons were canceled. The boys were so sad, we ended up playing for a bit at the beach until it started to storm again and then we left to go buy local, raw honey. I think DS1 is getting allergies and I want to try it on him (and me). So, there are these twins boys that DS1 has connected really nicely with, and as far as I can tell, their parents think I'm the Antichrist for some reason. I tried to suggest a play date to which I got some really weird response, and now they won't even really acknowledge my existence. Oh well, their loss, right? I'm wondering if the nose ring or tattoos put them off. Which would be amusing because I am so not threatening and so vanilla. Suburban mom! Minivan!

Anywhere, where was I? Oh yes, trying not to barf. I ended up getting more done on the Pinwheel Blanket, and I'm really rethinking the recipient because it's pretty...girly, and I'm not sure how much she'd appreciate the amount of work a handmade baby blanket actually is. Maybe I'll whip out a fruit hat for Saturday and find some cute outfit. I'm also at the point where the knitting is getting a tad tedious. Each row takes 10+ minutes now, and I've got quite a bit more to do. I just ordered some longer cords for my KnitPicks Options set, which can't come soon enough because it's really all bunched up on the 40".

I can't decide what sort of edge to do. To ruffle or not? Pros: it's adorable. Cons: It'll be somewhere around 900-1000 stitches for ONE ROW. Seed stitch? Ruffly seed stitch? If I don't ruffle but do a seed stitch, I can't figure out if I do the increases or not. I assume not, as that'd screw up the seed stitch but I don't know! Does leaving out the YO increases screw up the flatness? WHO CAN TELL ME THESE THINGS???

I also have two friends due in October. Since I was ordering cables from KnitPicks anyway, I ordered this pattern and the yarn (if memory serves, I ordered the yarn in Asparagus). I think that'll be for L's baby girl. I almost ordered this pattern but then realized it was knit on size TWO needles and came to my senses. I just don't have that kind of time. Damn but it's cute though. Now I need to figure out something for P's baby boy. Maybe some longies? To match this? Or maybe this? (Must. Stop. Cafe-Pressing. Must. Go. To. Bed.) These are cute, but $12.00 for the pattern is a lot. Oh and a blogger I read made this top and now I have to make it for DD.

Anyway, I also ordered some of this in Lost Lake (though I'm now doubting that choice) to do this pattern. I have this book out of the library right now. Yes, I have become someone who reads a book of lace patterns for fun. When I'll actually do this? I don't know, I really don't have the brain cells/time right now but I want to do a big lace project, just to prove to myself that I *can*. After I swore that I wasn't a lace knitter. Hah! I like the idea of a challenge, and I really don't enjoy colorwork, so lace it is! And then maybe I'll take the plunge and knit myself a sweater, eh? I am scared of projects where gague matters.

And then I had to order a new tapestry needle simply to get the free shipping.

Stomach Flu 1: Pinwheel Blanket 0

Well, not quite zero, but it's not going to get done for the party on Saturday. I had a baby shower to attend on Sunday, which took up most of the day, but got some knitting done. I woke up Monday feeling...off, shall we say, and that was *it* until about 4 this afternoon, when I started feeling better and my poor husband succumbed.

I'm at the point where each row is now taking quite a bit of time (300 stitches and increasing), so I just really don't think it's going to happen. Ah well, I'll keep going with my efforts and see how far I get!

Countdown to Baby Party - Day 7

Pattern: Pinwheel Blanket
Needles: Knitpicks Options, size 8 (I think)
Yarn: Bernat Cottontots (I'm doing/planning stripes in Very Berry, Pretty in Pink, and Lovely Lilac, and a Strawberry seed stitch ruffle).

The way I interpreted the pattern, I cast-on 5, knit 1 round, kfb in all sts on round 2, knit 3 rounds, then started the YOs on round 5. I've clearly screwed up a few times, but hey, it's handmade, right?

I don't particularly like the way the variegated yarn pooled at the center, so I'll be intersted to see what it does with much longer rows.

Geek that I am, I'm trying to remember different formulas related to circles (diameter, circumference, area).

I think there's really a snowball's chance in hell that I can finish in time, but I'm enjoying it. I really like the yarn.

It's funny, I feel like my struggles in life paralell my struggles in crafting. I get excited about a project, I love the planning and starting, but I do get bored (curse that ADD) and just want it to be done already. I'm working on just being present in the process, and enjoying where I am with it. That's why larger projects are a real struggle for me, a struggle not to just bag it. I used to think of myself as someone who never finished what I started, and knitting is one of the things I do that proves me wrong on that, and helps change how I think and feel about myself. (Finishing a Ph.D. went a long way to dispelling those thoughts and feelings too.)

You may say that I'm a dreamer...

and in this particular dream, I probably am the only one.

I am seeing an old friend next weekend, who's visiting from CA to show off her new baby. I just got it into my head to knit something. I also have a baby shower on Sunday and was toying with the idea of whipping out a little hat or something.

I am also the full-time caretaker for three small children, including one who insists on being strapped onto my body 90% of the time and when she's not on me, she's well, nursing.

Do I have time to do this? No. No, I don't. But I BY GOD am going to give it a try!!

Still here!

I'm still alive, just swamped by summer fun! The boys have been doing swim lessons at our local beach (less than a 1/2 mile from our house) and loving it! Well, DS2 took some bribing positive reinforcement to get into the water but once he was in, he did great! It definitely takes a lot of time though. It's good to get out of the house. I'm a better parent when I'm not at home. I worry a bit about having DD out in the hot morning so much, but I think she's fine. We've also been spending time with family, and yesterday we went blueberry picking! Today I need to bake something (after DH goes to the store for flour).

Knitting...ah yes, knitting. I'm still plugging away on BYOB. I'm in the openwork section, and it's going fine. I've managed not to screw it up (yet). My green stripy sock is languishing, which is terrible, because I'm only about 10 rounds away from turning the heel, and then it's just KNITTING. Oh well, I'm not wearing socks much right now, so maybe I'll be more motivated in the Fall.

I'm hoping to go to knitting at the library next Tuesday, but I'm getting my HAIR CUT (YAY!!!!) at 6:30, so I need to figure out the logistics of it. Maybe I can pump and DH can give DD a bottle, how cool would that be??

And, just because I can't resist, here's my baby!!