Super Trade!

As I said in my last post, I traded those Cat Bordhi markers that I made for some notebooks from Sandi.  Here are a couple of them:

Vintage knitting magazines made into blank notebooks! She even put the interior pages of the magazines in the middle of the notebook.  The people in the college fashions notebook look pretty perky –  I think I’ll knit a pair of the anklet socks with some of my stash (when I’m done with the never ending sock, that is).  Think I’ll be as stylish as the people on the cover?

I’ll post the remainder of my cool ass notebooks when I get a picture of them!!!

Absent!

I’ve been absent!  What gives?  Well….let me search my limited memory (stress of children will do this to you)…I do remember that my crafty buddy, Kristin, came to visit last week.  We got to spend lots of time knitting, which was so very nice.  She always helps me to be more productive with my knitting — I worked on my never ending sock and made some good progress! (of course, now that she’s gone, I’ve done nothing but drop stitches and have to rip back because of inadvertant yarn overs):

Kristin, it was great to see you.  Lainie and I drove past your old apartment the other night and Lainie said she missed you and Sloane & Bueller.

This week I’ve been watching the Democratic Convention and knitting.  And I worked on some stitch markers for Sandi two weeks ago (and tonight) and came up with these:

These are markers for Cat Bordhi socks.  I am not real familiar with her patterns, but I understand they are wildly popular.  (Sandi, if you’re reading, I hope you like them!!)

Finally, Cole started 3rd grade this week (though it already seems like we never stopped).  

On another (knitting) note (as this is what you’re here for, right?), I kicked off my winter knitting by starting hats for the kids.  I knit a navy one for Cole, but the picture I took was blurry, so you don’t get to see it.  Here’s Lainie’s hat:

I pull out leftovers to do hats.  This kind of reminds me of a Dr. Seuss hat.  Doesn’t this look big for a 4 1/2 year old?  The hat I knit for Cole can fit an adult head.  

(Does anyone know how to make vertical pictures shorter but keep the width to an acceptable level and where it doesn’t look distorted?)

That’s about it from here…other than Barack Obama’s speech tonight was truly inspirational!  The next 2 months are going to be really exciting.

Relaxing with the Olympics

It has been a long week.  Really, aren’t all weeks long?  Anyhoo…by tonight at 7:00 p.m. I had had enough of my children bickering and Lainie crying because she was tired.  The children were in bed by 8:25 p.m. (a world record!  And the winner of the gold in the category of shoving children into bed early….is….the USA contender, CAROLYN SWAFFORD!!!!!) 

I sat.  I drank green tea and broke my general rule of not eating after dinner.  I kept the volume low on the tv (ah, the sound of quiet), knit on a hat for Cole and watched the Olympics.  So nice…funny how 2 1/2 hours of peace and quiet can make a person feel human again.

TGIF, people!!!

FO’s and some progress!

I’ve been trying to tie up some loose ends and make progress on my other big projects.  Drum roll, please…..FO’s:

Do I look like I have the world’s longest hands or what?  First pair - D-O-N-E!!!  And for those in the Stitch ‘n Bitch I’ve made try on the first mitten (including our waiter) – the second mitten has a much looser thumb.

Second up, charity knitting (which I selfishly didn’t enjoy, but maybe it’s because of the squeaky acrylic yarn I used):

Yeah, not too exciting.  But guilt be gone!  I actually accomplished something I promised to do!

Now for the progress photo:

Truckin’ right along.  Didn’t I just post a picture of this?  Excuse me, it’s 11:23 p.m. and my brain is becoming foggy. As of late tonight,  I am halfway through the orange strip.  This is going surprisingly fast, but perhaps it’s because of the mindless garter stitch.

I took both kids to the library tonight and Lainie’s preschool/daycare class is having an alphabet theme this week and of course we had to check out Chicka Chicka Boom Boom – they read it today and she looooves it (and I can’t find our copy).  Cole just goes for the Pokemon books, though we are reading Profiles in Sports Courage along with Harry Potter #5. Tonight we read about Muhammad Ali.  Anyone know why he was a profile in courage?  Because he was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam war and was fined and sentenced to jail, had his boxing license stripped for something like 6 years while it was on appeal.  It went to the Supreme Court and he won.  Up after Profiles?  Why, a book about wastewater treatment plants.  Yup, that’s my kid…the one who wants to know how things work.  I have to tell you – they went out into the courtyard while I was finishing up at the children’s checkout area and sat there looking at books.  That felt great.  Hopefully all these years of reading every night before bed is turning them into book readers!

And one last picture that Cole took tonight (yes, I conned him into taking the mitten picture):

That’s my happy girl. 

Could I be the chicest gal around?

with this mirror — yes!

Purchased from Sandi’s shop on etsy.  Check out her “naughty” mirror section – hilarious!

The Knitting Update

Well, folks, I like to throw in those family tidbits and whatnot for those of you that -gasp- do not craft (Christina) — but I gotta show what’s close to my heart.  That’s right, in progress knitting!  It’s geek out time!!!!

Here’s what I am currently working on:

The second sock that is going slower than molasses.  No, make that slower than my 85 year old trust customer walking along.

Log Cabin Blanket!  It’s growing on me the more colors I add.  The next side stripe will be green.  Our last living room had one wall that was green, one wall that was orange and one wall that was mustard.  We had a green couch, tan loveseat and burgundy curtains with turquoise, orange and yellow threads going through it.  Folks, you’d have to see the artwork we got as a wedding present to understand the color scheme…sometime I’ll post a picture.  It makes sense once you see it.

Mitten #2!

There’s a group on ravelry that are going to give blankets made of knitted/crocheted squares to each of the families of the students who were killed in Cole Hall this next February (on the first anniversary).  The blankets are in the colors of NIU.  It’s going quickly, though I have to rip out that whole last section on the top square because I messed up the pattern.  Hmmm…

I’ve had fall on the brain lately!  I want to finish with some of this so that I can move onto hats for the kids and more mittens.  Mittens!  Mittens! I’m in love with mittens now that I’m knitting a pair!

Hangin’ with my gun happy kid

Explaining the intricacies of the air soft rifle.

Taking careful aim into the tall grass.

Now shooting at a box on top of the phone doojobbie in our yard.

What a sweet looking child, holding an air soft rifle, no less.  The NRA would be so pleased.  (disgusted sigh)

Ummm…kind of pointing that a little too much in my direction, aren’t you? 

The green pool has finally gone outside!

Fast Forward

Fast Forward from July 30, 1993 to August 5, 2008:

AAAAAAACCCCCKKKK!!!!!

This is me, completely relaxed.  Good god, look at the frown lines.  If this is me completely relaxed, I feel sorry for my husband and children when I’m in a bad mood.  What happened to that carefree, happy chick of 1993?  Life, I suppose.

GROW, HAIR, GROW!!!