Lindsey-Woolsey

"John the Rabbit, AGAIN!" he says

2010-11-11T10:16:00.000-05:00

Locals

2010-11-01T17:36:00.000-04:00

Baby's first trip to the library! After "school" last Monday, we went to the library. I was put on-call at work due to low patient census, so I ended up with a whole week off to play with my buddy. Since I don't have any vacation time built up at my new job, I gladly took a little pay cut to have a week to play during my favorite month of the year with my favorite kiddo.

Peggy Parish, the author of the Amelia Bedelia books, was from Clarendon County. Dana got to "meet" the statue of Amelia Bedelia outside of the library's front entrance. At first, he was a little shy, and he would only give her knuckles.

But then he got up enough nerve to really check her out!

As a child, I did not like Dr. Seuss books. I could do the ABCs until we got to F, and then he lost me on the "fiffer-feffer-feff." Wha? Huh?

BUT I LOVED AMELIA BEDELIA! All of her misunderstanding and sillyness and good-heartedness. She is a great character, and I can't wait until Dana is old enough to laugh at Peggy Parish's books. But in the meantime, he looooooves a "Barber, baby, bubbles, and a bumblebee."

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2010-10-31T16:00:00.000-04:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Fruits of my Labor

2010-10-28T15:42:00.002-04:00

Baby Lulu's mom happens to be a really cool lady. She's one of my dearest hometown friends, and I love the way she nonchalantly asks me, "Want to go pick some fruit in the Enchanted Kiwi Forest?" Of course, the answer is yes! And then I probably say something like, "What? You have a kiwi forest?" I thought we would frolick and the bairns would play... but kiwi picking can be hard work! Poison ivy, a coyote-beating stick (just in case), and some good old-fashioned sweat. Good thing both babies were napping in our cars. Page's in-laws rent 16 acres of kiwi! I can't wait to go again... I donated most of my kiwi to The Cause (they are selling 7000 to a local CSA), but I have about fifteen furry little brown fruits ripening on the kitchen countertop.

I've never seen anything like it.

The tree of life grows, too! I am on my third repeat of the tree of life design on Lil D. Mo's sweater!

Speaking of little D, he just said, "Dana Out!" so I guess naptime/blogtime is over.

Thunderstorm Knitting

2010-10-25T15:40:00.000-04:00

A great dark thundercloud has just rolled over my house... the babe is sleeping... I have a hot cocoa packet left over from camping at LEAF... Clearly, it's knitting time! I cast-on for a sweater for my little guy while driving up to the mountains (he calls them "mounts.... big mounts") for LEAF two weekends ago. It's coming along slowly, steadily.

Here is my rainy little knitting nook:

It's really coming down!

Baby Lulu Photo Shoot

2010-09-28T13:38:00.001-04:00

Finished romper on a precious baby! These photos were taken a week or so ago, but I haven't made the time to post. (I did put them on FB so her mother's friends could admire her cuteness, though.) The romper was a little too big but she is growing like a weed. I can't believe how well she is holding up that pretty red head.

I can't help but include a few pics of my buddy... taken at a wedding in the Upstate two weekends ago. I used this cupcake-eating shot for a photo thank-you card on Shutterfly last night. Big D. was about to kill me because I was making greeting cards at 11pm (but the offer for 10 free cards expired at midnight!! So how could I pass up that deal ?)

My mom tried to dress the boy is this outfit to go to church last weekend and he went balistic. I think it's because we were in the car for 6 hours roundtrip for the wedding! It must bring back bad memories for him. His daddy and I were so jacked up on lattes that we kept singing "You Got To Fight For Your Right To Paaaaarrrrtttty!" But we could only remember one verse, so it was pretty bad. This outfit was a hand-me-down from his cousin Drew who is now a sophomore in high school!

I have been lazy... knitting nothing but washcloths for weeks now. I did start another little sewing project for Lucy. Butterfly Bloomers... every gal needs a pair. The butterflies are making their final hoorah-- it's the twilight of summer. Today has been the most autumn-like day so far this month. A nice long, cool morning. It felt so good in my sunny laundry room, folding clothes on the church pew and soaking up the sun.

The boy has two long sleeve shirts... not much of a Fall wardrobe, and I really really want to knit him a sweater. I just feel so unmotivated to use my brain to do something New with my hands... Unless it's making Pumpkin-Cranberry Scones, which have been calling my name for some time now.

Twenty Months

2010-09-15T17:26:00.000-04:00

My baby is soooo close to being 2! He says "two" a lot now and tries to hold up two fingers, although I'm not sure he knows what it means. He says "home," mostly when he picks up the phone and pretends to talk. His conversation is usually something like, "Hello (pronounced ah-lo) Daddy Home." We are working on colors. He says blue, yellow and green, although without much rhyme or reason. Here's a little video of him with my mom and his 90-year-old great-grandmother yesterday.

Creative Juices

2010-09-10T15:39:00.001-04:00

My housework has been sadly neglected this week, as I have tried to spend all of my extra time crafting and creating. I suppose everyone has the feeling that they want to burn their house down and live a very tidy and simple life, say, out of their station wagon or garden shed... right?

Maybe I could live here?

(don't you love this mysterious place? I'm not sure what it is... but it's behind the hardware shop in town)

I had a long weekend for Labor Day and decided to pull the fabric out from underneath the guest bed... I wanted to put my days off to good use, so I thought I would sew a little romper for "Baby Lulu," the nickname D. has given to by friend's daughter, Lucy. I have lots of great girly fabrics, many of which were purchased in very small quantities when I was either dreaming of quilts or didn't have much of a plan.

Meet Baby Lulu:

She's a redhead... and nothing looks finer on a redhead than green. I just happened to have this bright green fabric with dogwood blooms in my stash, so I decided to make Lucy the Oliver + S pattern that I made for D. last year.

It is mostly-finished... I am befuddled by the snap-tape that I am somehow supposed to install in the crotch. I know it is important, but it is so tricky too! I skipped this step on the romper I made for baby D. and regretted it. It is a pain to have to wiggle a baby in and out of a jumpsuit for a diaper change, and I want Lucy to get plenty of wear out of it before it cools off for autumn.

I feel entitled to typing up this post because the babe is asleep, and I am completely ready for work tomorrow... The scrubs are ironed (yes, I iron my scrubs)... the supper is cooked... (Not Yo Mama's Pot Roast-- a new recipe today since it did not involve going to the grocery store)... the coffee pot is set... the automobile has sufficient gasoline.

Believe it or not, this beauty is vegetarian!

The boy picked my mom (he calls her Ma) one of the last zinnias around. Here is the view from my kitchen sink-- I think it's pretty lovely.

I cranked out a few washcloths for my kitchen-- There were a few new colors of kitchen cotton at our local yarn purveyor (haha!.. that would be Wal-Mart), and sometimes the littlest things make me happy. Well not sometimes... most of the time.

Other Firsts... and a Lace re-bound

2010-09-03T15:51:00.000-04:00

This week we had another big first... the first day of "school." We signed Little D. up for a Mother's Morning Out (MMO) program at a local church. He goes from 9am to noon on my workdays. and it gives his babysitter a little break. We also thought it might be time to socialize our little wild animal. He has a sun with his name on it and his own little hook in the classroom to hang his doggie backpack, pronounced "backback." It is too cute. He calls the other children "babies," and if he hears you say the word "school" then he automatically says "backback."

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (house), I have been rebounding from the lace shawl accomplishment with some friendly and simplistic garter stitch wash cloths. Over a year ago, I asked my friend Mary what she wanted as a gift for her blessingway, and she said some handknit kitchen washrags... Her boy just turned ONE, and I just put them in the mail. I love me some Mary. She is my mommy role model. She sent me the most encouraging text message on Little D.'s first day of school. "LUV some MMO!"

A few more favorite pics from this week... a family portrait from our VW ride and a very sleepy baby.

FO: Sarah's Web

2010-08-31T11:17:00.000-04:00

At Bayly's wedding in April (after several glasses of wine,) I promised the lovely Sarah a wedding shawl of her own! After all, it was April... August was so far away. Plenty of time to plan and to leisurely knit while the little one naps, right? Well, apparently I love deadline-knitting, knitting under pressure, last minute Lindsey strikes again... etc. Sarah was a wonderful, flexible, creative bride and let me do absolutely whatever I wanted. She sent me a sneak preview of the bridesmaid dresses and of her own gown. Rather than making something to match or 'go with' her wedding dress, which was very romantic and kind of timeless... I thought it would be more fun to have something a little bohemian that would contrast with her dress and hopefully be something she could wear to a future LEAF or under her coat while she's off lawyering in D.C. I am (again) ashamed of the photos I took.

The details on the shawl... I chose the Charlotte's Web pattern by Koigu which has been in my Ravelry knitting queue since 2007 and on my to-knit list for much longer... Probably since I saw a sample knitted up at Knit in Charleston. I put together five skeins of Koigu KPPPM with colors ranging from a peacocky green (the color of the bridesmaid dresses), Sarah's favorite color (a mossy green), yellow (she told me that the lace of her dress was an almost-yellow that was hard to match), browns, and pinks. While it was on the needles, I thought the green section might look a little too muddled... but when I took it off the needles! Ah, I was in love. Here she is, pre-blocked.

The only post-blocking picture I took...

Baby's First VW Van Ride

2010-08-29T20:00:00.000-04:00

It seems as though our family has a lot of "firsts" that are not included in most baby books... For instance, baby's first bluegrass festival... baby's first experimental film screening, baby's first black eye, and baby's first VW van ride. It was hands-down THE best trip to the grocery store EVER. We all three went, coupons in hand...large thermos of iced mint tea... taking our time, plotting future VW adventures. To make it even better, we ran into a friend who gave us a big container of homemade strawberry icecream. We even had a spoon at the ready! Although we've kept the VW legal all these years (insured and properly registered), we have major rust issues and haven't trusted the engine to take us very far. We are daydreaming of blowing our tax return on her this year and having her ready for Spring LEAF.

Bayly's Something Blue

2010-08-05T22:01:00.000-04:00

I found a few more pics of Bayly's wedding shawl. I knitted this up with a lovely silvery-blue yarn by Debbie Bliss... believe it was called "Pure Silk." Bayly picked out the yarn, and I got to choose everything else. I had to choose a pattern that I knew I could finish by the wedding date deadline, while working, living, chasing little Dana, etc. I also contemplated knitting this... but wasn't sure if I could pull it off. Knitters out there seem to have a love/hate relationship with Kidsilk Haze. I have only attempted to knit with it once, and that project is RIP-ing in my cedar chest. To my credit, I was making one of my first attempts at lace while knitting on a cross-country road trip in a pick-up truck with a 45 pound dog and a man who believed that riding with the windows down instead of running the AC would give us better gas mileage. Keep in mind that this yarn is 'airy' and creates a 'cobweb' like fabric...

The Pure Silk Clapotis was a perfect choice, after all. I love the one I made for myself years ago, and after making Bayly's, I think it might be nice to have a silk one of my own. I do have a cone of silk from a San Francisco trip lying around somewhere... now that I mention it.

Had to include a pic of the beautiful bride with my handsome devil in his seersucker suit.

Getting Up to Speed (January to April 2010)

2010-08-01T15:14:00.000-04:00

In January, my baby boy turned one!

I FINALLY finished by sister Lauren's Jaywalker socks, and she FINALLY sent me a picture of them. My sister Lauren is a bit more style-conscious than I am.... so I was thrilled that she wanted a pair of *my* handknit socks. But you would never know it... since it took me so long to finish them. I cast on in August and didn't mail them off until January! Or maybe it was because my little one starting crawling, pulling up, and walking... Lauren thought it was weird to have random sock glamour shots on her digital camera... in my world, that is just the norm.

In January, I also began knitting a pair of Jaywalkers socks for myself in the most ice-creamy colors I could find.

We also had a reunion of our Charleston Birth Place/Birthing From Within class... It was so great to see the boys together again and to compare notes with other parents. I hope the boys grow up knowing each other. Little D. is wearing his Wolverine hoodie in the middle.

In February, it snowed!

I was with my knitting girlfriends on a little retreat, and Daddy D. brought the wee one out to me so I could see him play in the snow. (Notice my handknit hat and scarf!) We dorked out on wool that weekend. We didn't even finish a bottle of red wine among 4 knitters-- Just stuck to hot tea since no one wanted to drop a stitch. You can read more about it on Knitty Nikki's blog... She's such a better blogger than me! The snow came at dusk and was gone by late morning the following day-- it was the perfect snowstorm.

February also marked a milestone for my father-in-law. On his 71st birthday, he was admitted to MUSC to have surgery for esophageal cancer. He is a former Hokie football player and a diehard Virginia Tech fan. I knitted him a little VT-inspired cap to keep his head warm and to show his Hokie Pride.

In March, my father-in-law was cancer-free! Yay!

And I was knitting like crazy on a silvery blue silk Clapotis for my college roommate's wedding day...

In April, I finished the shawl at the last possible minute for Bayly's big day. She wore it to cut the cake, and it really looked lovely with her dress. I have to admit that I was nervous about this handknit gift. Bayly has a very unique style, and she knows what she wants. I was worried that it wouldn't work with her dress or that she would fee obligated to wear it for my sake. I think we were both happy with the way it turned out... Unfortunately, I didn't get too many great shots of the Clapotis because of the lighting at the reception. I will have to see if the photographer got any better pictures.

Christmas Card Recession-Style

2009-12-15T21:17:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to get my holiday on whenever I have a day or two off work. On Saturday, I made a winecork wreath-- the idea was to have somewhere to hang my Christmas cards. I found several examples online being sold from anywhere between $70-90! About a dozen hot-glue gun sticks later... I give you my (free) version:

Seriously, I had the worst hot-glue headache, and I no longer had fingerprints on most of my fingertips. Now I guess I know why they charge so much... I had plenty of help with artistic decisions (and the wee one) since I made it at my in-laws' house. If you want to make one, I recommend cutting the corks in half lengthwise and covering the entire wreath form before beginning to build it up with whole corks. I used a foam wreath form that my MIL gave me, and I still have a whole bag of corks left if anyone wants them! My family will probably generate another bag-full with both sisters home for the holidays... hehe.

On Monday, my sis-in-law and I baked the gingerbread cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World... We had to makes lots of dairylicious modifications because that's all we could find around here. I hope the authors don't mind me un-veganizing their recipe! It's funny how I spent nine years veganizing things, and now I'm doing it the other way around. They were delish... and with a neice and a nephew home & hungry after school, our dozen cupcakes didn't make it in time for Daddy Dana to get home from work. Whoops. They were a definite do-over. We plan to make them again on the day after Christmas when we have our big Moberg reunion. My sis-in-law and I make a good team because I love to bake but hate to do things like make frosting. She made the frosting, frosted them, and topped them with crystallized ginger... while I moved on to mending my neice's favorite cat stuffed animal.

We also tortured the wee one with a Christmas photo shoot. Enjoy, because I think this is my version of a Christmas card this year!

My little boy is eleven months old today! You know what comes next... the big First Birthday... and then college, and he'll find a wife and leave me! Look at this sweetness. His little posture is just irresistable. I know he must wonder why he gets scooped up and smothered with kisses when he is just minding his own business and playing with his toys. But how can I not!?

Thanksgiving

2009-12-12T21:36:00.000-05:00

I had five glorious days off work over Thanksgiving weekend. I hope I don't see another casserole until Christmas... I am proud of some of the productivity--

FO: Modern Cabled Baby Bib... I thought perhaps crappy pics were better than none at all! I knitted the pattern as written, using some cheap-y kitchen cotton.

two bobbins of handspun (rovings purchased at SAFF 2008)

a little embroidery... A tea towel for my sister that I must have started four years ago... It's finally finished... She has strict orders to use it, but not stain it!

We had a Thanksgiving celebration at our house on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to accomodate my work schedule. I'm talking about thirty hungry people and a pool table covered in casseroles (please see above.) Here are a few quick pics... Two picnic tables full of family (from both ends of the table...)

We also found a little dachshund along-side the road over Thanksgiving weekend. Dana had named her Phoebe before he even came through the kitchen door with her in his arms. We tried to find her home, with no luck. So, it seems like we might have a new addition to the family. She is a total love-bug, and she is great with Little Dana. Here they are like Romeo and Juliet.

We do have a lot to be thankful for, not to be a total cheeseball. My father-in-law (aka Pop Pop) is doing great with chemo and radiation. Here are the three bald Danas! The little one either didn't recognize them at first... or wasn't sure why they were bitin' his style!

November's Best Pics

2009-11-29T11:54:00.002-05:00

Re-cap

2009-11-13T10:46:00.001-05:00

Not so sure where I've been & what I've been doing lately... Let's see if we can piece it together!

Before I left for SAFF, we had a wonderful family bonfire. Everyone chipped in to create a feast, and we sat around the fire telling our "how we met" and "how we got engaged" stories. That very day, I discovered something new about my son-- He had TEETH cutting through his gums. (This picture was taken a week later when his little pearly whites were out enough to be photographed.)

SAFF was sooooo much fun and a much-needed girl/yarn weekend. I will have to do a SAFF stash line-up later. I haven't taken any photos of my new yarns. On Sunday morning, Morgan and I took the class "Wonderful Wool" by Rita Buchanan. It was more about properties of wool and wool preparation than a spinning technique class. I learned a lot-- especially how to be a better shopper when it comes to buying wool for spinning... Here is a picture Morgan snapped of me at my Lendrum spinning wheel. I'm wearing my Noro Kureyon entrelac scarf... If you are dying to see all the handknits me and my friends sported at SAFF check this post on Knitty Nikki's blog!

To be honest, Halloween was a bust. I had to work. Our porch light was burned out. We had no candy. The boy's costume was a bit... make-shift. His daddy didn't take him trick-or-treating. His mother wouldn't let him have candy anyway. He was supposed to be a lumberjack. Here is the only picture taken of him on Halloween. Told you it was pretty lame... His dada allegedly could not find his crocheted chainsaw to complete the costume.

The Friday before Halloween was lots of fun, however. We carved pumpkins with my neice and nephew... Here was mine...

Morgan came over last weekend for lunch and knitting. While the baby napped, we knitted and had tea...

I finished one Fetching (fingerless mittens with a cabled pattern) and she knocked out a hat and worked on a sock.

On the value and function of hats...

2009-10-23T10:51:00.000-04:00

Little D. learned a lesson this weekend about hats. He learned the 'why' of hats, let's say. It turns out that they are especially important in the mountains and to people with no hair and nice, soft ears. I did manage to snap one pic of the boys in their matching hats. I love my boys.

LEAF was awesome... great group, great music, and our campsite was like a living room, complete with a plastic oriental rug, purple glider, end tables with candles and lanterns, teapot on the stove, and about seven coolers full of goodies... We had lots of reasons to celebrate-- three engagements, a baby on the way, and a 30th birthday! LEAFing with baby is a bit trickier than I thought it might be. I didn't get to see as much music as I would have liked to between managing naptime, feedings, and keeping baby warm enough. He rocked out to Cowboy Junkies on Friday night, and Soul Feather (New Orleans Indians in full regalia with horns and everything) on Saturday. Daddy tucked baby in bed on Saturday night so mama could go dance to Zap Mama. I thought he would sleep in the wagon at the main stage (haha!) The weather was kinda rough-- rain on Friday and winds on Saturday-- but on Sunday the sun came out. Baby could crawl in the grass again! Without mittens! All our friends were wonderful helpers with the wee one. On Saturday night, six of us piled in the camper and sang an endless chorus of "Twinkle, twinkle" until he nodded off to dreamland. The verdict: Spring LEAF, here we come!

On Monday, a new toy arrived in the mail... A surprise from Aunt Carol in Florida-- Baby's First Chainsaw! She designed and crocheted him a chainsaw "stuffed animal." I'm not sure if it is a Husqvarna or a Stihl, but he loves it! All he needs is a Carolina Tree Care t-shirt, and he can be daddy for Halloween!

2009-10-15T14:38:00.001-04:00

Off to LEAF (with everything plus the kitchen sink)! Have a great weekend...

a-choo!

2009-10-13T10:33:00.001-04:00

Click here to view this video

Boy Meets Apple

2009-10-12T12:14:00.000-04:00

Still no teeth... but those gums can chomp!

FO: Hats for the Danas

2009-10-08T14:09:00.004-04:00

How bout some actual knitting content?

The pattern: Basic Cable Hat from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation

The yarn: mystery acrylic

The needles: US 7s and 8s for the daddy hat and US7s for the baby hat

The story: Pictured above are the two acrylic hats I knitted for the boys. (Since I can't get living & breathing actual models, you shall see them as pictured on my doorstep.) It's not my style to knit with synthetic yarn, but I did enjoy making these. In 2000, I bought this yarn in Maine when I was a mere twenty years old, dreaming of learning to learn to knit or crochet a hat for my boyfriend. For years, I never learned, but I couldn't bring myself to donate the yarn to Goodwill. When I did learn to knit in 2004 and became a lover of wool, I still never threw out the mystery acrylic. The ballband is long lost. At least it's tweed acrylic, right? Nine years+ later, the boyfriend is the husband and the father. I knitted his hat first, while pregnant with our little boy who was very late in coming. I decided to boycott baby knitting and cranked out a few hats for the family. It only seemed appropriate now to finish up the leftovers into a matching hat for my little guy.

The mods: I knitted the ribbing of both hats using a 2x2 rib, instead of a K1,P1 as specified in the pattern. I think this flows into the cables nicely. I completed several more pattern repeats for the daddy hat, as I found the version in the book to be too short. I cast-on only 72 stitches for the baby hat. I would say it's a 9-12 mos. size.

2009-10-06T16:59:00.007-04:00

The boy has been a real fashion animal lately... Here he is dressed to go to church last Sunday. He likes the contrast between fancy john-john and bare legs and feet. Rockin out in his African safari PJs (a gift from Aunt Lolly) this morning.Playing in the hay/"carpet" in Morgan's tent at Campmeeting. Like those pumpkin stains on his onesie? This is our normal day-t0-day look.

Every little boy needs a pair of railroad striped overalls. Out cold.

His newest wardrobe acquisition is a rib & cabled hat knitted by mommy. Unfortunately, he HATES it and snatches it off his head so fast that I can't get a decent picture. I knitted it out of *gasp* acrylic that was leftover from an identical hat that I made for his father when I was pregnant. I can't wait to see the boys in matching hats at LEAF.

Back to Aunt Lolly's jaywalkers... One down, one to go.

2009-10-03T20:07:00.001-04:00

Little man serenaded us on our 5th wedding anniversary yesterday. Enjoy!

2009-10-02T08:03:00.000-04:00

While in the Charleston area last weekend, we also visited the nearby Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island, which has been on my to-do list for ages. We made it in time for one of the last trolley ride/tours on Saturday. Little Dana got boisterous and very vocal toward the end of the tour, and I plugged him up with his favorite chew toy, my cellphone. So if you don't get any return texts from me, that's why! I learned so much about tea (Camellia sinesis) at the gardens. I had no idea what a sustainable and unique plant tea is! Once planted, the land never has to be tilled. The tea shrub can produce delicious tea leaves for 600 years. Tea doesn't require pesticides or herbicides, and because of the way it is harvested, most of the weeding is done by hand. I got the impression that only the new plants required much irrigation. I was fascinated by the place and would love to return for a flushing or when the plants are in bloom. The only tea grown in America is right down the road in Charleston.

Here are the boys on the trolley. Note that Little D. is wearing his feather romper. We have been getting lots of good use out of it, but next time I will definitely use the snap tape for easy access during diaper changes.

Hedgerows of Camellia sinesis.The nearest tea plantations are far, far away. The tour guide said that tea is not grown elsewhere in the US because it's not cost-effective, not because the climate is not right. It blows my mind that we can import a product, prepared by a thousand hands, from around the globe for cheaper than we can harvest it right here at home. A close-up in the propagation hut.
Tea is related to Camellia japonica and Camellia sasanqua, which Southerners are used to seeing growing down here. There is a tiny bloom on the plant... In a few weeks, the fields will be covered. I would love to go back and see this. Wouldn't you love to have honey made from the nectar of tea blossoms? Does this exist? If so, I need some. Here is the plantation's custom-made tea harvester... and my cute little boy and his grandmother. This machine does the work of five hundred men.

Little Dana helped host a tea party picnic for his cousins after school one day last week. It was pretty muggy before a thunderstorm, but everyone enjoyed several cups of tea... The menu included edamame, blueberry snacking cake, and little mock-chicken salad sandwiches.

2009-09-30T13:43:00.009-04:00

Last weekend we stayed on Seabrook Island and went to a lovely wedding on John's Island. It was a big weekend for the little man. Baby D. got to crawl on the beach for the first time... He went for a late September dip in the ocean with his grandmother... He rocked his "nailor nuit" (as my mom calls his sailor suit) for the probable last time. Even though it was his second wedding, it was the first time he was held by a bride! As always, I wish I'd taken more pictures! We tried various ways to keep him entertained throughout the reception... stroller, baby Bjorn, any available arms, but his favorite time was crawling around under live oaks. He is his father's son.

2009-09-20T13:26:00.006-04:00

In other wardrobe news, the little guy is quickly growing into the sweater that my dear friend Morgan knitted for him. She was the smart one, knitting things much larger than good ole mama here did. The sweater is knit from Cascade 220, a nice all-purpose wool that, best of all, can be purchased right in Orangeburg County... I know he will get a lot of good use out of it this fall at LEAF.

I think I forgot to mention that I won a lot of vintage buttons, complements of Baby Cocktails, in the Knitters Against MS Fundraiser on Claudia's blog. I donated in honor of my friend's father who passed this year. I didn't expect to win a prize... which made it all the sweeter. The buttons are perfect in light of my recent sewing adventures. Next, I will sew another romper (in the 18-24 mos. size) out of blue corduroy with embroidered trucks and use some of these lovely buttons.

Morgan is coming over to knit today... I have a little goal to reach. If I can complete one Jaywalker (they are pooling badly since shaping the gusset, which is not really motivating me) then I will allow myself to whip up a little hat for my boy. I'm so worried that he's going to be cold at LEAF!

FO: Feather Romper

2009-09-19T12:13:00.013-04:00

Yesterday, while Little D. was napping, I finished the Tea Party Romper. I discovered this pattern by Oliver + S on the blog A Mingled Yarn. I finally splurged and bought the pattern not too long ago. I wasn't sure if my sewing skills were up to snuff, but I managed to start and finish the project all by my lonesome. No one wanted to sew with me! I struggled to take some pics of the little one modeling the garment. He's not really into holding still these days, so a flash is a necessary evil! I also took several pics of the romper on the front porch swing too. I concentrated very hard on my buttonholes and made several trial ones on a scrap of fabric. Then I proceeded to sew, reinforce, and clip my buttonholes on the garment, only to realize that I had sewed them on the front of the bodice instead of the back! I just sewed the buttons over them and kept right on going! I added a little tag, an old Levi's label, that reads "We sew our own" in honor of my independent sewing adventures (who cares about a few little mistakes!?)

2009-08-22T09:10:00.000-04:00

I have a confession to make... I love Coinstar. You know, those things in the grocery store where you can cash in your piggybank for real money? I get amazon.com gift certificates and use it to splurge on little things for the boy without feeling guilty. I ususally buy him board books, but last week, I cashed the piggybank in for some American Apparel baby clothes and Sophie the giraffe, an overpriced teething toy that is so precious and old-timey looking that I couldn't resist. Here are some pics of him playing (in his new shirt) in his toy basket (Sophie is in there somewhere) this morning. Ok, he didn't exactly crawl in there by himself... but he was hamming it up on his own while I snapped a few pictures. He'll probably be too big to fit him inside a pumpkin when Halloween rolls around, right? Oooh, that reminds me that I need to start thinking about costumes. Any ideas/suggestions?

2009-08-21T09:53:00.004-04:00

Here's a little teaser... some of the new skills we've been tackling lately. We also met the milestone, Baby's First Fever, this week. Guess what else?! Four days off in a row!!! Ooh, the mail-lady just left... Let's see, what did she bring? Jackpot-- the mortgage statement. Why is this a good thing? Because our loan/escrow account was reassessed, and the monthly payment went down about thirty bucks, that's why! What else? A package of goodies for the little one. He's asleep, so I'm going to tear into this package, and then maybe try to make some pumpkin scones in the food processor.

2009-08-19T12:50:00.008-04:00

I have a confession to make... my bathroom has a name, and it's Pretty Paradise. You see, my bathroom is pink (with lavender tile on the floor.) This weekend-- Saturday, August 23rd-- marks our second anniversary in our home, and we moved here from a little lake house with only one bathroom that had a small stand-up shower. You see, I am a bath-taker. I knitted myself a special-edition lavendar cotton washcloth to commemorate my first bath as a homeowner.

When we bought our house, we decided to embrace the very 1970s bathrooms, instead of viewing them as a flaw. I bought a lovely floral shower curtain, began taking long baths nightly, and made a fairly stringent No-Boys-Allowed rule. Pretty Paradise has been completely disrupted since The Flood. In April, the toliet in the yellow bathroom (aka the men's restroom) ran and ran all day (on my third day back to work after maternity leave) with a broken donut or seal or something (excuse me for not knowing anything about plumbing, but you get the gist...) and flooded our entire home. We had to tear up the flooring and were out of our house for over a month, during which time our son quit sleeping through the night due to the disruption. We moved home in May but never took the time to fix our plumbing issues. When the toliet in Pretty Paradise started leaking around the base, it was time to take action! I was also tired of finding wood chips, beard hairs, and toliet seats in the upright position in my pink bathroom.

While the plumbers were here to fix both toliets, they installed the new faucet I ordered online. I knew exactly what I wanted, but it took me a fair amount of time to find it. It looks soooooooo cute! Here is the old faucet. The knob that held the hot water handle in place fell down the drain... and it was a bit rusty.

And here is my shiny new one!

2009-08-13T22:41:00.006-04:00

What a forgetful day I've had! I changed up my routine a little bit this morning-- I didn't wake the little man up to nurse, but he woke up anyway as I was leaving. I ended up walking out the door with him in my arms, getting in one quick snuggle, instead of the lunch I had packed. Later at work when I took my first pumping break, I realized I didn't pack any milk storage bags either! If there hadn't been another breastfeeding mother on the job, I don't know what I would have done... Pump into sterile specimen cups or a colostomy bag??? I had to stay late for a training tonight, so I didn't get to see the little one at all when I got home. Man, that lunch made a good supper, though! I made a cauliflower-mushroom potpie with an olive biscuit crust from the Veganomicon cookbook last night for supper. It was a definite do-over.

The little one has been doing the cutest things lately... sleeping on his belly with his little rump in the air... and he's figured out how to get into a seated position by himself. It's a four-step process that involves rolling to his belly, getting up on his knees and then plopping back on his bottom to play. The past two mornings when I've gone to get him out of his crib, he's been just babbling and playing and sitting upright like a real little kid. I can put him on the rug in the den with a basket of toys, and he will rifle through it like he's at a rummage sale, playing with it all (which means putting it in his mouth or banging it on the ground.) He does a lot of "revving" and rocking on his hands and knees. Here is a video of him rocking out in his crib--

He seems soooo ready to crawl, with just a few minor details to work out. With all of his activity, there hasn't been much knitting lately. I cast-on my my sister's Jaywalker socks on the way to the airport for our Vermont trip. I did the second size of the pattern (84 stitch cast-on, I believe?) and I hope they are not going to be too large. My sister has long, narrow feet. I was so surprised and excited when she asked for handknit socks, and I want them to be right. She plans to only wear them as house socks, but I think she will discover how practical they are and how nothing else really compares! She just moved to London, so I know she will get good use out of them.

P.S. After typing this post (in the spirit of being forgetful) I left a whole bag of freshly-expressed milk out overnight! Ack.

2009-08-12T10:27:00.008-04:00

Vermont is for knitters! I had such a relaxing, wonderful time in the Huntington/Burlington area for my dear friend's wedding this past weekend. I narrowly avoided a knitting disaster with the Flower Basket Shawl, and it turned out PERFECT (if I do say so myself!) Two Sundays ago, as we were driving to Charleston to take my sister to the airport, I somehow lost the pattern to shawl... It must have fallen out the car at some point with all the loading and unloading of sister, luggage, baby, stroller, etc. On the same road trip, I knitted up the last few yards of my last skein of yarn with five rows and the bind-off left to complete the project! It was not my day... My friend who taught me how to knit, Dawn from California who is pregnant with a little boy, emailed me the pattern with lightening speed-- Thanks, Dawn! One disaster down, one to go. I guess the yarn shortage wouldn't have been that big of a deal if I hadn't run out on Sunday, discovered that the yarn store (in Columbia, one hour+ away) was closed on Monday, and scheduled myself to work from 7am to 7pm on Tuesday. That left me only Wednesday to procure the yarn, finish knitting the shawl, pack our family, and ready the house for leaving Thursday morning. Then what about blocking??? While at work on Tuesday, I called the store and had a momentary freak-out that the yarn was sold out. I realized at this point that maybe I should have ripped back the last repeat and made the shawl slightly smaller instead of waiting and packing all day on Monday! The wonderful and friendly store owner at In The Loop, Lara, found me a skein, and my mom drove to Columbia to pick it up. How am I 29 years old and my mom is still taking care of me? Anyway, moving on... I finished the shawl Wednesday morning and decided not to block it (which I wasn't exactly sure how to do) until I got to Vermont. The good news about this is that I would get to visit a local VT yarn store! On Friday in Vermont, after some coffee and maple syrup, we drove to Essex Junction to the knitter's heaven, Kaleidoscope Yarns. The shopkeepers were so helpful, and so I had to pick up a few extra souvenirs... the long-coveted Namaste Newport bag in the saddle color... a ball of Opal Rainforest yarn in Daggy... and the super-cute Prehistoric Pals pattern by Knitting at Knoon. My kid needs a Noro Triceratops!.. Oh, and I picked up some T-pins for blocking. The shawl was blocked and dry by Friday night... Here is a picture of it blocking on the daybed in our room at Sleep Hollow Inn. Honestly, I had little idea what I was doing when I pinned it out. I figured the bride was going to be holding still very much, so it didn't matter if it wasn't perfectly symmetrical. I would love to become a better blocker... as I see more lace shawls on the horizon.

Here is the lovely bride in the FO!

2009-08-10T21:21:00.007-04:00

Nooknook pics, posted especially for Aunt Lolly-

2009-08-03T20:21:00.007-04:00

Dinner is simmering, the boy is down for the count in a spiffy new pair of PJs... Ah, where were we? He is eating like a champ... peas, carrots, rice, oats, sweet potatoes, winter squash, apples, bananas, plums, blueberries, peaches... His first (and only) spice was cinnamon. Here is a picture from his first feeding. He started off fairly interested, shoveling down bite after bite of liquidy rice cereal. He eventually was making terrible faces, even at an empty spoon... and then tried to escape from the Bumbo chair all-together.

2009-07-19T09:00:00.004-04:00

While Daddy D. was away in California, we sent him this picture via cellphone. The baby began sitting up unsupported the very day his dad flew cross-country! My mom thought it would be fun to wash him in the kitchen sick, now that he's a big boy and can sit up on his own. We ended up with a very wet kitchen, but got this sweet snapshot in return. We tried some organic rice cereal after a family nap on the day his dad arrived back home in SC. Pics to come!

2009-07-01T09:13:00.005-04:00

No knitting pics today. My camera is in California... with my husband. The little one and I are roughing it without daddy for a week+ while he climbs giant redwood trees with friends on the west coast. To make matters worse, Aunt Lolly went with him! What are we going to do without them?!

I've completed five repeats for Laura D.'s wedding shawl... Made up the bed with soft, secondhand, girly-licious pink and purple sheets... Picking out paint colors to re-paint the entire house... Trying to remember to do all the things he does for us. This list is rather long-- making sure the dog and cat are fed, watering the veggie pots, making childcare/dogcare arrangements on my workdays, figuring out healthy meals on my workdays, and on and on. Well, last night supper was a spinach and cheddar omelet with oven fries, but you know what I mean.

Little D. and I are waiting for the arrival of a new friend, the Myers baby, due any day now. We don't know if we are waiting on a little boy or a little girl, so it is even more exciting. I don't want to call and bug them-- I remember ALL the is-he-here-yet calls I got when I went into my 40th and then 41st week of pregnancy. It's not like I was going to forget to tell the biggest news of my life. The birth of my son was the most grueling and euphoric experience of my life, and I cannot wait for Jennifer to experience birth and her new identity as a mother.

What is my little guy doing these days? He babbles a lot now... "Da-da-da-da" was the first syllable, which thrilled his father to no end. The baby was clearly saying daddy, right? I'm using these 10 days while he's in California to work on "ma-ma-ma-ma," especially while nursing, ha! He can sit up without support now. He topples over every so often, but he can sit and play and look around. He loves the view from off the ground! He doesn't want to lay and kick in the bathtub anymore... He wants to sit up and splash with his hands. We meant to try cereal before Dana left for California, but there just wasn't time. I think when he comes home, I will be ready for our adventures in food.

My grandmother's 89th birthday was last weekend. We gave her the digital frame that we have been working on with over 300 family photos. Here are a few of my favorites-- her as a young mother with my uncle, and then six years later with my father.

2009-06-24T18:07:00.005-04:00

I had two days off in a row... so back to Edisto I went. While the kiddo was napping and everyone else in the family was sunning on the beach, I cast-on for the Flower Basket Shawl. I was desperate to get knitting, so I had to use a piece of twine and my finger as a crochet hook for the provisional cast-on! The Mirasol Nuna knits up nicely, is very soft, and has a pretty sheen. I'm using a size US 8 needle, which might be too large for this lace pattern... but I'm learning as I go. This is my first lace shawl, and the first time I've done much chart-reading. I finished the Upper Flower Basket chart on the beach, having to rip back once for a missed yo. Otherwise, it's been smooth sailing, and I am working on the second Lower Flower Basket repeat now. Since every other row is purling, I get a little break. I need to blow the chart up on a photocopier because it kills my eyes. Here is a WIP photo of the first twenty-four rows.

My knitting nook got a face-lift. I ordered a recycled plastic rug for the front porch to jazz it up a bit. Speaking of places to knit, I read on Ravelry about a yarn store in Summerville called the Village Knittery. It looks lovely and very well-stocked. I feel a field trip to Summerville coming on!

2009-06-19T13:20:00.007-04:00

I am proud to report that the Monkey mission was accomplished! I finished the socks before the clock struck midnight on my birthday... In fact, around midnight I was wearing them while eating a big bowl of icecream. I had a lovely, lazy birthday, complete with blueberry pancakes, lots of knitting time while my sisters entertained the little one, a late afternoon on the beach, and then a glorious thunderstorm. Four days in a sleepy beach town is a good way to knit a sock... but I had a good headstart. My local knitting friend, Morgan and I traveled to Columbia to the Thursday night Stitch & Bitch at In the Loop on Devine Street. The Columbia knitters are so nice to host us when we are able to drop in to knit. I bought three skeins of Mirasol Nuna, a lovely merino, silk and bamboo blend to knit the Flower Basket Shawl for my friend Laura. I think I might cast-on today...

It's funny that the one thing I didn't request for my birthday was yarn... (A coworker and fellow knitter came through and gave me a ball of Noro Silk Garden sock yarn anyway!!!) This is very unlike me. There are a few knitting accessories I have been craving... I would like to try some of the Knit Picks needles (size 1 dpns for socks, of course-- nickle-plated and wooden, if you're out there reading, honey) and I love the Namaste knitting bags. But lately, I've been feeling like I have more yarn (and STUFF, in general) than I know what to do with. That said, the gorgeous ball of Noro is the only thing that got me through a long, busy day on the job. Four days off will ruin a person, apparently.

2009-06-09T10:05:00.005-04:00

Ah, what a lovely day off! Still in the cut-off sweats & drinking coffee at 10am... Is this too much information? Please don't visualize the tangled curls and crooked glasses! Just finished kitchener stitching the toe of my Lotus Monkey sock. It is a perfect fit, and I loooove the pattern. My next socks will definitely be another Cookie A. pattern. I have crossed a few things off the to-do list this morning... mostly things that can be done over the phone/internet. Been padding around the house with one new sock on my foot, listening to WNCW online, hanging out on the front porch swing to enjoy the blooming lavender. It's been a busy morning! My goal is the complete the second Monkey by my 29th birthday-- June 16th. Is this possible? It has been taking me an average of one month to complete a sock. I will be spending four days relaxing on Edisto Island next week, so it MIGHT be an attainable goal. We shall see. Better start casting-on... Here is the solo Monkey... I love the background details of my life.. Pup-chewed ottoman, new wood floors, crocheted baby blanket, one bare foot-- oh, and those cut-off sweats...

There are a few new projects on the horizon, including socks for my sister who is moving to London. I will have her take a look at the stash sometime soon... Second is a triangular lace shawl that I will give to my college roommate as a wedding gift. I am thinking of knitting the Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn Clark, which seems like a simple enough first lace shawl. I will have to go shopping for the right yarn for this project.

What's new with the little one? I had to work Saturday and Monday... So we made the most of our Sunday... Early morning coffee on the front porch and then a boat ride on the lake. We splurged on a bimini top for my dad's boat (a thank-you for letting us crash with them for over a month while our house was under construction.) This makes for shade for mama and baby... Soooo nice! He did great on the boat-- covered in sunscreen and then wrapped like a gypsy in my Kenyan sarong. He got to kick around in the lake with Dad too.

2009-06-03T10:54:00.006-04:00

Home sweet home! We cleaned all day last Friday... Then enjoyed a day at the Iris Festival at Swan Lake in Sumter. We found a homemade Raggedy Andy for Little D.

Nothing like a festival to give you the worst stomach-ache from lemonade and butterflied french fries! At home (after a bath, a nap, and a rain storm), we caught our second wind and planted our new trees. My japanese maple is now in front of our large bedroom window. My idea is that when the tree grows and branches out, it will provide a privacy screen while still allowing lots of natural light. I have a lovely wall of corn across the street too! We planted the baby's white oak on my favorite side of the yard... with all of our flowering trees, azaleas, shade trees... where we will have a courtyard one day soon. Please pardon the spit-up on my dress...

Is he starting to look like me???

2009-05-20T20:31:00.005-04:00

Little Dana... weighing in at 16lbs 10oz! We had our 4 month check-up on Monday and our pediatrician said that we could start introducing rice cereal and other pureed fruits and veggies. But I don't think mama is ready! He is still solely on breast milk... and even though I have the Beaba BabyCook from Williams-Sonoma and a lovely baby food cookbook, both gifts from my grandmother that I am soooo excited about... I am just not ready for the spoon. I can't explain it! My friend, another new mama, assured me that they don't go directly to college after their first bite of food, but I think I am leaning closer to the six-month mark to begin our adventures at the table. However, I have been making a series of iron-on T-shirts with a food theme. The first is an album cover...

The second is a scan of the cookbook that my mom fed my sisters and me from. It's this wonderfully worn little paperback called Feed Me, I'm Yours. I must have picked up a slightly-used T-shirt from the laundry pile, because when I hit this one with the iron, the familiar aroma of baby spit wafted up. He looks so sweet in his Ts and cloth diapers! The only thing he's eating right now is his hand!
One T-shirt left to decorate... Still knitting the Monkeys... Still living with my folks!

2009-05-14T16:58:00.005-04:00

Last week, I had two days off in row with a terrible cold, which makes for good knitting time... I finished the six repeats of the cuff of my first Monkey sock, the most popular sock pattern on Ravelry. I think I was about the 9,0005th person to cast-on for these.

I felt so badly on Friday, I didn't want to hold the baby all day and risk getting him sick(er.) So he spent most of the day kicking and cooing on his playmat/toy canopy thingy. And then... he rolled over!!! Again and again, I lost count at about nineteen times. I snapped a quick video with the camera to send to his aunties who live up north.

On Saturday, we celebrated my first mother's day early because I had to go to work on Sunday. We went to a wonderful plant nursery, and I got a red tea rose to trellis on our front porch and a pretty decent sized Japanese Maple to plant in the front yard. D. bought a white oak (Quirkus alba) to plant in honor of his son. Pics to come!

2009-05-08T10:31:00.004-04:00

I miss my home! Shortly before The Flood, my one true love hung our front porch swing, creating a new knitting and tea-sipping nook. He also planted about a dozen large white azaleas for me to enjoy! I leave a wonderfully colorful acrylic afghan (crocheted by my mother, back in the day) out front for extra comfort. My friend who taught me how to knit was horrified at my love of acrylic thrift-store sweaters... and I have another confession to make-- I love acrylic blankets too! They are so easy to wash and are good for outdoor use! I also want to get a recycled plastic rug for the front porch to give the area a more home-y feel.

I'm still suffering from a terrible cold, complete with runny nose, cough, sore throat, headache, occasional sweats... Yuck! The good news is that baby is muuuuccccch better than mama. He has an occasional lingering cough and a boogie or two that needs aspirating. His daddy is an angel, letting me sleep in and trying to convince me to go to the doctor. How about casting on for the Monkey socks instead?

2009-05-06T12:42:00.006-04:00

Where have we been all this time? Homeless... well, staying at Mama D's Bed and Breakfast. Shortly after my last post, our house flooded due to a major plumbing disaster, and we moved in with my parents. The repairs are still underway. In fact, we JUST got around to agreeing on and ordering our new flooring. I got lovely new kitchen tile out of the deal, so that is my silver lining. Also, it has been wonderful staying with my mama! Every woman needs a wife! She has been so much help as I've juggled work and motherhood. And to top it off, both baby and I have a cold. I'm feeling like a total slug today, sipping a cup of Nursing Tea and watching the baby doze on the couch.

What's knitting, you ask? The Orange Daisies are complete, save for the ends being woven in. While grabbing life's essentials out of my house and not-so-carefully throwing them in the back seat of my wagon, I selected three balls of sock yarn... Ok, it's been taking me about a month to knit a pair of socks, and we're probably only out of our house for another week and a half... So I'm not too clear on the logic there; let's just say I was in a panic.

Two of my selections were yarn I bought last May at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I was so sad that I wasn't able to make it this year. What a different place I am in! Last year, I was a few weeks pregnant and didn't know it... Now, I am a working mother.

Baby, daddy, and I were in D.C. last weekend, and we didn't even go to a yarn store! Can you believe it? I am still yarn fasting. We did go to the lovely Textile Museum, though. Baby's First Museum!

Spring is over... It's getting pretty darn warm here, and the mosquitos chase us inside after late afternoon stroller rides. Before the flood, I packed up all my hand-knit socks and moved them to the attic! Bye-bye, winter!

2009-03-29T14:35:00.008-04:00

The Jaywalkers are complete! Yes, that means I wove the ends in and everything! Now I'm meditating on my next sock pattern and yarn choices... My husband is encouraging me to continue to branch out with my sock choices, knitting ones that are more complicated and fancy-looking (and therefore take longer to complete.) I have so many pairs of 4x4 ribbed socks in my drawer that it's not like I'm knitting them out of necessity for warmth anymore. Sooo, I really love these daisy eyelet socks or there's Pomatomus by the famous Cookie A... Pulled out the box of yarn from underneath the guest bed and chose a brilliant orange Casbah sock yarn by Handmaiden.

This is an old post! Here are the socks in progress... the Orange Daisies.

Last night, while watching The Secret Life Of Bees with my mom and sister and sleeping babe, I cast-on for the Organic Guernsey in Blue Sky Organic Cotton. This morning, with a mug of Earl Grey in progress and before the sweater was joined for working in the round, I slipped the baby into the yoke of the pullover... It already fits! Granted, he was wearing a sleeper underneath, but he's not even three months yet! I think I either have an exceptionally big baby or I didn't get gauge. The thinking is that perhaps I shoud cast-on with size 8 (or even 9) needles and knit the largest size (18 months.) However, I only have two balls of yarn, so I may end up running out. I could always do the ribbing in another tone?

This project is still languishing, untouched in the fiber basket.

The moebius Easter baskets are felted and drying. They look so cute. I wish I had a staircase to set them on the steps and take a sweet picture, like the one in Cat Bordhi's book. We are having the baby christened on Easter Sunday and going out for a dutch-treat lunch afterwards. Yesterday, my mother-in-law and I went shopping to scope out the local availability of christening gowns, and she also brought over my husband's gown to try on the wee one. It was a little on the small side to use, but I snapped a few pics to remember the moment by. He looks like this doll named Victoria that I had as a little girl... Will have to resurrect a pic of her!

I need to be outside in the sunny, breezy afternoon, so it's time to go... Look what I baked for lunch! Black cherry & bourbon brownie-cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I used organic dairy yogurt though, because it's all I had.

2009-03-26T10:27:00.007-04:00

The wee one is 10 weeks old today! I have two more weekends of maternity leave, and then it's back to work on April 7th... To be honest, I'm getting cold feet! I can't really complain about my schedule-- I work something like: a day on, a day off, a day back on. This will probably kill our social life (ha!) and our ability to go far distances on the weekends, but at least I won't have to be separated from my baby for two days in a row.

My goal is to breastfeed/express breastmilk exclusively for the first six months and nurse in tandem with baby foods for at least the first year. We will see how this first month back at work goes... how I manage, I mean. My goal (I realize I keep talking about goals) is to be superduper organized-- all scrubs ironed and meals shopped for and prepped as much as possible-- one week at a time. This will cut down on time spent doing the chores of living and more time to bathe and snuggle with baby on work days.

Really, I haven't gotten the baby in much of a routine. For instance, he barely napped on Tuesday and slept almost all day yesterday. I feed on demand/cue during the day and am working toward a midnight/1 am feeding and one when we wake up for work around 5 am. Baby and I travelled to Florida two weeks ago, and he's been sleeping in his own crib, in his own room since then. It has helped us both sleep for longer stretches, since I don't hear every sigh and coo. I've spent some energy working on his nursery, which was terribly unfinished when he was born, and we've been spending some of our free time hanging out in his room. I hung a lovely Amish quilt that was given to me by my Aunt Pam on the wall, organized his cupboard, and hung a little shelf of Hummels, the cutest German kiddos you've ever seen. The rocking chair was my great-grandmothers, draped in the yellow Never Ending Baby Blanket that I made for him.

In knitting, plowing away on the second Jaywalker... The gusset shaping is complete, just knitting onward toward the toe shaping. I felted the three moebius baskets last night, using my mom's top loader. Pics to come! Still have not begun any purposeful knitting. Alas, it seems like I won't get a "real" project completed during my maternity leave.

The first picture is baby enjoying himself in Florida... the Garden of Eden...

2009-03-24T11:31:00.008-04:00

What have we been up to? Knitting in the hammock...

Sleeping in...

Experimenting with cloth diapering...

These are the Bum Genius brand. I've also used some hand-me-downs and some homemade ones. The diapers I sewed were using the Rita's Rump Pocket pattern. The Bum Genius definitely take the cake for ease of use. They are the most like standard disposable diapers that I have used. They also seem to wick away moisture the best and don't seem as cold on baby's little tush. There are some very high-tech sewing patterns and materials out there to hand-sew diapers that are very similiar to these, but I'm not sure if my skills are up to snuff. I have followed Stephanie Japel, at Glam Knits, through her diaper-sewing adventures to get most of my information. My goal is to cloth diaper on my off-days and use a disposable such as Seventh Generation on the days when I have to work. I think the cloth gives the skin a rest while cutting down on all the waste!

Finishing up the last of the mitered hanging towels...

a lovely trio in bold colors to match some of my favorite kitchen items, a yellow picnic-y checkered table cloth, an embroidered wall-hanging made by my sister (lyrics from a Joanna Newsom song), and little candle-holders from Pakistan, given to me by my friend Julia.

2009-03-06T11:51:00.004-05:00

You know what they say: Out with the old red station wagon!

And in with the new(er) red station wagon!

2009-03-04T12:16:00.008-05:00

The little one is wearing a variety of custom baby things this morning... Actually, we've already gone through two other outfits. Lost one to spit up and the other to a massive poo blow-out. I thought I'd take a picture of this one, since it includes some homemade items that he is fast outgrowing.

The britches were sewn from the Crescent Moon Yoga Pants pattern by Little Comet Tails. I love this fabric because it reminds me of old man bath robes. The onesie is something that I ironed-on on a whim... I guess that's what listening to a Scottish highland romance time-travel novel does to a girl. The hoodie is a gift from Aunt Lolly.

And mama is wearing... non-elastic jeans today!!!

2009-03-03T15:15:00.006-05:00

The poor man's pantry... that's what we're working with today. Feeling particularly broke, I've drafted a list of six meals that I can prepare this week almost entirely from the cupboard. I'm in need of a half-dozen or so items from the grocery store, so I'm hoping to feed my family this week on a budget of twenty dollars. Simmering on the stove right now is a pot of organic brown rice and green split peas, which will be the base of a soup for tonight. The recipe is from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook by Cathe Olson. I purchased this cookbook online when I was pregnant, and at first, I was disappointed with the simplicity of the recipes. Then I realized that this might be the key to successful vegetarian pregnancy and postpartum... cheap, easy, hearty and healthy meals. I lived on the pumpkin scones with my morning cup of milky black tea for many months of my pregnancy.

Happily, I'm realizing that the pantry includes all of the ingredients needed for another loaf of the Rosewater Pound Cake from Veganomicon!

On the thrifty knitting front, I've completed the three moebius baskets (except for felting.) I'll post the baskets-- they just look like not-very-impressive bags until felting-- in the order that they were knitted.

This morning, I cast-on for a tea mug cozy in warm heathered gray Cascade 220. The pattern is from the Holiday 2007 issue of Interweave Knits.

2009-03-02T13:43:00.004-05:00

The surprise party was a success... and it made for a sleepy weekend. Saturday was a rainy day, spent by sitting around with coffee or bloody Mary (choose your weapon) in hand and telling stories with my husband's family. My mother-in-law made an out-of-this-world brunch, and because everyone was dying to hold the baby, I got lots of knitting time in! We were expecting bad weather on Sunday night, so we took dog and baby to my folks' house and spent the night. Even though we didn't get snow or ice, it was so cozy sitting by their hearth and around their kitchen table. I'm going to miss this tea and wool weather.

I thought I would post Aunt Ione's Coleslaw recipe because it was such a hit at the party.

Aunt Ione's Coleslaw
Finely shred and toss together in large bowl:
1 medium head green cabbage
2-3 carrots
1 green pepper
1/2 to 1 red onion
sliced green olives (to taste)
Bring to a boil the following ingredients for the marinade:
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cup sugar
1 teasp salt
1 teasp celery seed
1 teasp yellow mustard
Pour the boiling marinade over the slaw and do not stir until serving time.

Two of three moebius baskets are complete, except for felting. I'm feeling the urge to start a significant knitting project, a sweater for me or the babe, to accomplish during my time off from work. I have enough stash yarn for several types of projects. I'm vacillating between Estes Vest and the popular February Lady Sweater.

2009-02-26T07:57:00.000-05:00

I used this video by Cat Bordhi to relearn how to do the moebius cast-on and to remember how to count the number of stitches that have been cast-on. I only had to do it twice before I got the hang of it again. I've made one successful moebius basket, a pink one for me, in a class at In the Loop in Columbia. My pink basket resides in my pink bathroom, Pretty Paradise. My next moebius was a disaster-- It was supposed to be a cowl and ended up being more of a jump rope. I think I cast-on twice as many stitches as were needed and didn't even realize it until I was binding off! Although I don't understand the mathematics of a moebius, it makes me feel very clever when knitting one and tracing the line with my finger.

My current moebius basket is in several shades of blue... it's for the little one. I will knit up three or four before felting, probably. His daddy's will be green and gold. I might even make a Clemson Tigers one. Cascade 220 stash, be gone!

While the little man sleeps today, I have to shred two heads of cabbage (everyone knows it's best if you do it by hand!) and some of the other fixings for coleslaw. My father-in-law turns seventy this weekend, and we are hosting a surprise party at our place on Friday night. I'm in charge of a double batch of coleslaw, six pounds of potato salad, and if feeling like a total overachiever, another rosewater pound cake. This afternoon, we go to The City for our six-week checkup with the midwives. For supper tonight: Wheat Meat Stroganoff. Other not-so-crafty things that must be done today... wash the guest bed sheets, wash the dog.

The little man is wearing this hilarious bright yellow sleeper with blue and green robots, planets and rockets. It reminds me of the Highwoods String Band album Feed Your Babies Onions (so you can find them in the dark!) Hmmm... that would make a great iron-on transfer onesie!

These two pics taken back-to-back... They don't call it a pacifier for nothing.

2009-02-25T14:21:00.007-05:00

I've made a pact with myself to do something creative, no matter how small, everyday of my maternity leave. Now that I'm at the half-way point, it occurred to me that it might be a good time to revitalize this blog space. Yesterday's adventures included baking a rosewater pound cake and finishing the knitting of one Jaywalker sock. Baby Dane and I nursed throughout the day to the audiobook Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon.

The sock reminds me of a snake, stretched out flat like this...

I think I might take a quick break from the Jaywalker socks (the double decrease hurts my hands a bit) to crank out a quickie distraction project. I was drooling over a Williams-Sonoma catalog that came in the mail and realizing that I couldn't afford anything out of it, when I got the idea to knit moebius Easter baskets for my boys. I can use Cascade 220 stash yarn and make them for free! Yum, I can just see them on the lowboy on Easter morning filled with Reese's Easter eggs, quite possibly the best thing about being a regular old vegetarian and eating dairy again!

I'm also eyeing the Garter stitch mug cozie pattern from IK's Holiday Gifts 2007 issue. I know I have this magazine somewhere... just when I thought I had my crafting supplies organized... Another great use for my bag of Cascade 220 . Here is the mug I want to keep warm, my 2008 Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair mug:

My final distraction will be a third Mitered Hanging Towel from the second Mason-Dixon book. In red.

2006-11-16T14:20:00.000-05:00

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