Happy Black Friday!

We braved the crowds for much of the day, though this is probably the most broke we've been on Black Friday. We were still able to catch a few deals.

My Thanksgiving was decent. It was quiet. The first year ever that I didn't have a huge family gathering (or 5) to attend. Just the husband, the kids, and my mom. I have a lot to be thankful for. The in the respect of being in the right frame of mind for the holiday, Thanksgiving has got it about right.

This Thanksgiving will be memorable. It was my first humble Thanksgiving and I felt like I was really involved in it for all the right reasons. Tradition is changing since my grandpa died early this year. This Thanksgiving is the anniversary of his falling gravely ill.

Also marking a memorable Thanksgiving, is the phone call I received from my dad. That probably isn't remarkable to many others, but my father has been missing almost half my life. We have begun reconnecting via email, but this was the first time I have heard is voice since I was a teen. It was tender. Small, awkward moments, but contact with my dad. That is incredible to me. I struggle to form succinct thoughts on the matter, so that should be about all I say. lol

I feel like the last year has been a focus of male energy. My son was born, my grandfather passed, and my father re-entered. It has been a while since I thanked my husband for being my constant, but he still is. He's a pretty good one, if I do say so myself.

Knitwise, I have realized I'm full on addicted. I HAVE to be working on something lately. When I finish a project without anything specific in mind, I feel aimless even in other endeavors.

Testing... Testing

I hope to begin testing the WAHM (work at home mom) waters! I just sold my first pair of custom longies to a mama I've been communicating with. She's been so great to work with I'm excited to expand to a few more. I just barely bought the Hudson Hat pattern (a popular hat in the cloth diapering world) and made my first to send with the longies as a gift.

Here is the set I made as my first foot in Wahmhood. I can't wait until "Happymom" (GREAT username!) receives these!



I couldn't wait for daylight and snapped this pic a bit ago. ;)

Same Knit Different Month

A week and a half in and I still can't believe it's November. We have started Christmas shopping! I seem to be the only one around me who LOVES Christmas. Of course, I understand the sentiment that it has turned into a corporate holiday/season of greed. I love giving things to the people I love. I love shopping and trudging through snow, wet to the knees, to come home and bake and drink hot beverages. I like Christmas music and the smell of cinnamon and pine. I love wearing warm clothes and I LOVE making warmies with needles and soft yarn.

I knit this hat and longies set for Jack back in September. The longies are still a little long and I cringe when they come unrolled and he tromps all over them. I love the colorway. It's Trinidad from 100purewool.com. Of course, these action shots are more action than shot with my squirmy wormy boy.



At the last minute, I found this shot in my flickr account which shows the longies a little better. =)


Happy November!

And... done! (Braided Cable Longies)

It took me a few goes, but I figured out the cable I wanted. I posted an early WIP (work-in-progress) photo of these longies. The colors couldn't be more perfect. They match everything and look dressy and casual at the same time. I almost feel guilty using them because I know they are going to be felted in some places and pilly as all get out soon.



The patterning is interesting. It striped perfectly for the body, but I alternated skeins for the legs to combat pooling. The stripes look thinner in the body and thicker in the legs, which makes the braid look thicker in the legs.




Happy mommy. Cozy baby. =)

Papa Capa

Poppy Cap
Originally uploaded by mrrnymrr

I recently made this hat for my 2-year old. Surprisingly, she loves it and keeps it on. I think she's starting to understand that hats are to keep you warm when it's cold outside. We tested this guy out at a frozen (not literally) pumpkin patch last weekend. Pattern here. I love how this came out. I'm surprised by the colorway, but I think Eva likes it, too. I did buy some lime ribbon to thread through, but I kind of like the look of the yarn scrap bow.

Story time. My grandfather passed away in January of this year and my daughter always talks about him. It's amazing what children remember. Yesterday, as I was making dinner, she was going on and on about how she wanted "Papa." I wasn't paying much attention when I replied with "I don't know where Papa is right now." Obviously, this wasn't a satisfying answer and she went on to demand Papa. I finally blurted "Papa's dead, honey." I realized at his point that I haven't actually said he's dead. This seemed to be good enough an answer because she replied with "Dead? Oh." and went on to play.

I have lost a daughter. It was devastating and the effects of losing her were immediate and apparent. There wasn't anything else I was going through at that time. Not that I didn't have day to day life to deal with, but that nothing was done without heartbreak. With my grandfather, the effects are much more subtle and gradual. Grief from my grandfather's death hits at seemingly random times. Grief from my daughter's is all-encompassing, something I'm always handling. The message always seems to be to love the ones you have and to not take them for granted. Ever.

Not intended to depress. Just some thoughts. =) Knit on.

Nodding Off

It's an incredibly cruel joke your body plays on you. The one where you are tired enough to be jittery, slurry, confused but your body will not let you fall asleep. Maybe it's the mind. It has been a rough week sleep-wise, but I'm on the path to recovery. Staying up late and waking up early, but no real major problem. I told my husband that tired was worse than pregnancy tired. Worse than newborn tired. I do not remember being that tired ever... even when I had insomnia. I missed a walk I planned on doing for domestic violence awareness yesterday. I was a little bummed about that.

I have a ball winder that turns my yarn into cute little diaper cakes. It was a yarn cake party here when it arrived. E and J helped. A yarn swift is the next big knitting-related purchase on my list. I found some on eBay for reasonable prices and while I was there browsing, I realized a niddy noddy needs to be on my list. Sharing the stream of ideas with my husband, as I usually do when I'm online browsing, I told him I needed the swift, a niddy noddy, spinning wheel, and a sheep farm. "Niddy.... noddy?" his reply. I think he thought I made the niddy noddy part up. No questions or concerns about the sheep farm. Was I joking?

I've got buying yarn down, dyeing is next on my list to try and a niddy noddy, a device that skeins yarn, will make dyeing/skeining easier. Enter jokes about dyeing, collecting fluff insurance in the event of my dyeth. Really, though, a yarn farm is in my retirement plan. One can dream of it happening sooner. Or at all.

Micro-knitting

Meet Althea Crome. Mad knitter. Micro-knitter.

Incredible! Please take a moment to look at her galleries (one click and you get the gist. ;) ) I love her, her knitting, and her eclectic clothing/jewelry taste. Who knew there were knitting idols out there?

I'm curious of this method, but I don't think my hands would do well. There are things I do with average-sized needles that keeeel my wrists.







One last thing, check out what she did for the movie Coraline (short vid):


I've seen the movie several times. Her creations give me tinglies. If I didn't know how much thought, patience, and super raw talent went into her items, I'd eat them.