multitude monday

is it monday again already?  i just about forgot i was going to start posting again today!  here we go...
if you want to see my other multitudes on mondays posts, they began on mother's day with this post.

54. holiday weekend in Duluth with just my hubby!!!   (Thanks AGAIN to my parents for making it possible by taking the kids.)
55. yarn shops!  and getting to shop at 4 in one weekend!  WOOT!
56. a mall to shop at too!  (can you tell we live in the middle of nowhere?)
57. my new purse in a lovely shade of PINK! yes!
58. a couple new outfits too
59. new clothes for my man as well
60. finding a fun gift for hubby's dad (his early b-day/father's day gift)
61. did i mention yarn shops?  well, i should have mentioned my beautiful new yarns and needles too!
62. going out to the movies with my man--we saw Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Kung Fu Panda 2 (in 3D).  and yes, we enjoyed them all.
63. coming home
64. hugs and kisses from my boys
65. my hubby's 45th birthday
66. getting our Bible Bee box on Friday (exciting!!!)
67. dinner with my inlaws (to celebrate their eldest son, of course)
68. the first day of summer swim lessons (today)
69. finding out there's another boy in bubba's level who's "behind" on swim lessons so he's not the only 11 year old in level 4
70. time to knit while bubba was in lessons because cj was being such a good boy
71. planting raspberry plants that were given to me (actually, we were originally getting them for my mom, but she let me have them since she already has a few plants and i didn't have any yet)
72. going for a walk with my little man, cj, to try and find monarch caterpillars (no luck this time)
73. finding tadpoles in our front ditch instead!
74. being the kind of mom who catches tadpoles--eight in all--so we can watch them grow legs

75. accidentally catching THIS while trying to get tadpoles and being thrilled even though we didn't know what it was

76. learning that it's a triops (i couldn't find any info to tell me if they are native to minnesota though)
77. going for a family walk and seeing all kinds of wild strawberry plants in blossom.  (gonna have to keep my eyes on those for berries!)
78. pizza
79. falling asleep to the sounds of a gentle rain and distant thunder
80. waking up to the sounds of birds (the one rather loud and crazy bird that has a bunch of different calls was kind of annoying at 4:30am, but otherwise it's kind of a nice way to wake up)

 
On a side note: I decided to put the tadpoles and triops in the same container.  Mr. Triops (as he's been dubbed) eats mosquito larvae and other stuff like that so I'm hoping he'll clean out any bugs from the ditch water we collected with these critters.  Hopefully he won't be hungry enough to eat the tadpoles! Not sure he'd do that, but you never know...

 

They seem to be getting along well enough, but it's only been a few hours. 

a sock fix

I love my hand knit socks. 

So I was rather disappointed to see a weak spot developing on the heel of a pair I made last April.  Less than a year later and you could just about see through the stitches in that one spot.  But I knew that a hole would be worse, so I set them aside with the intent to learn how to reinforce the weakened stitches aka darning. 

It only took me 4 months or so to get up enough gumption to give it a go.  On Monday, I finally did. I Googled instructions and other helpful info on sock darning.   I learned that the kind of darning I needed to do is called "Swiss darning" or duplicate stitch.  I found a really good video tutorial here.  Armed with this info, the yarn leftovers from making this pair of socks (saved for just such an emergency!), a yarn needle, and a darning egg, I set forth into the realm of sock darning to tame the mighty sock beast!  Uh. Oops!  What I meant was to fix the weakened stitches.  But taming a sock beast sounds much more exciting, don't you think?


Of course, I didn't think to take a "before" photo.  So you'll have to take my word for it when I tell you if I had but worn these colorful sockies even one more time, I would have had to learn how to fix a hole in my sock instead!

the darned socks!  

{note: only one actually needed darning at this time. thankfully, i've got lots of yarn leftovers remaining so this pair should last me a very long time now that i know how to darn 'em!}

{here you can see the darned stitches where the brighter not-yet-faded yarn is! :D}

So that was my knitting (repair) lesson for this week! 

Actually, I also learned how to do an invisible double increase as well.  But I won't bore you with that story.  At least, I won't today.  [grin]

Ravelympic Finish

the Ravelympics are done now that the Olympics are. it was a fun 17 days and i've completed more projects than i had first anticipated.

so just how many projects did i finish? 5
2 pairs of Fetching mitts (i really like the pattern!)
1 Darkside cowl in toddler size
1 Nest Tote market bag
1 Luna Lovegood crochet scarf

the bonus {for me} is that i've also got one more project that i sort of planned to do for the Ravelympics until i started working on it and realized it would take me too long. it's a beautiful scarf in Malabrigo lace yarn. the pattern i'm using also required that i learn how to ktbl and ptbl {that's knitting and purling thru the back loops}. so i got a new technique bonus as well!



it's such soft yarn and makes a delicately soft fabric, but the yarn is so skinny that i'm finding it much more difficult to knit with. i do like the way the colors are pooling. it's interesting. so this is one project i'm happy to have started {even though it didn't get to cross the finish line!} and will just have to keep working on it until it's done.

only a couple more days

of Olympic {and thus, my Ravelympic} coverage.

here's a quick update.

cj's darkside cowl

Medals were awarded:


Most recent project completed is a pair of fingerless mitts for my mom.

Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: Cascade 220 wool in Navy #8393
Needles: US8 Bamboo dpns
Started: 2.23.2010
Finished: 2.26.2010
Medals:

I liked how this pair turned out even better than the 1st pair I made last week. Made one pattern change. I didn't go with the picot edge at the top of the mitt. Rather, I used a normal bind off...just doing so in pattern instead. I think I may have to redo the top edge of my brown mitts this way also so it doesn't roll back anymore.

more FOs and medals too!

Luna Lovegood Scarf (see post on 2.18.2010 for more info)

Medals:

my next project to cross the Finish Line was this grocery style bag:

Pattern: Elisa's Nest Tote

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fine in New Age Teal (knit with 2 strands held together)
Needle Size: US 10 straight and US4 dpns
Start Date: 2.16.2010
Finish Date: 2.20.2010
Medal:


And most recent project to cross the finish line is this cute cowl I made for cj!
(medals to be awarded later today)

Pattern: Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama
Yarn: TLC Baby in Sky Blue
Needle Size: US 8 (16" circ)
Start Date: 2.21.2010
Finish Date: 2.23.2010

I'm REALLY enjoying this. I'm getting so many projects done or at least begun! What fun!

another Ravelympics project completed!

check out my new scarf:

Pattern: Luna Lovegood Scarf by pinkleo {on Ravelry}
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Grey Heather
Hook: Size F {yup...this one's crocheted!}
Start Date: 2.14.2010
Finish Date: 2.18.2010

handmade christmas gifts

here it is after midnight and i'm {still} wide awake so i thought i'd put my alertness to good use and spend some quality time online. well, i'm not exactly sure if time online actually qualifies for having much quality, but i know it sure gets spent quickly enough! alas, i digress!

the Christmas season is in bloom, the Christmas celebration is just around the corner, and i've been busy knitting and crocheting gift items. i have little to no money to spend on gifts this year, so i've limited myself to using what i've already got on hand. i'm finding this decision is a good one for many reasons. first, i'm not adding to my yarn stash, rather i'm using my excess. {it's really quite like going on a diet.} second, i'm not spending money we don't have. and third, handmade gifts are, in part, a gift of the time spent making them and hopefully will be appreciated and enjoyed by their recipients all the more because of that fact.

the progress of my handmade gifts as of right now is as follows:
1 knitted gift completed
1 non-yarn {gasp!} gift that is basically finished
1 crocheted project that just needs loose ends weaved in
another crocheted project in progress
and another knit gift just started today
{and that's not counting the 5 knitting projects i'm working on for myself! }

for the rather obvious reason that i'd like to keep these gifts a surprise, i won't post photos of these works-in-progress at this point in time. :-)

i do have plans for a few more gifts depending on how much time it takes to make each one, so i'd better keep at it if i intend to have them all done by christmas!

happy knitting!

happy thanksgiving!

fall leaves
{since i don't have a thanksgiving day picture to share!}

we had a nice day celebrating thanksgiving yesterday. my parents hosted, but my hubby's parents came too. and one of T's sisters and family too.

i have so much to be thankful for!

about a month ago at another family get-together, one of my nieces, jillian, who is age 8 saw me knitting a pair of socks and started asking me questions about knitting. she ultimately asked if i could teach her how and i told her i would try to sometime. therefore, knowing jillian would be there, i came prepared just in case she might still be interested. she was! {grin}

i had brought along a few sets of my chunkier needles and some of the yarn i dyed with kool-aid back in january that i still hadn't used. i found it easy enough to teach her to do the long-tail cast-on, and she could do the knit stitch, but was struggling keeping the stitches on the needles and various other issues which made it impossible to consider doing an actual project. then her younger sisters, bethany, age 6, and katrina, age 4, both wanted in on the knitting action too. bethie could also cast-on well, but i knew there was no way a 4-year-old could handle it. seeing how frustrated these girls were getting, i took a few minutes and surfed the internet for ideas on how to teach children to knit. here's what i learned. it's easier for kids if they start off with finger knitting! and so i learned how to finger knit HERE.

i then showed the girls how to do it and they were able to make themselves headbands and bracelets. of course, i had to help little katrina with the wrapping, but she lifted the loops over and off herself. it was so much more rewarding for them than the needle knitting we had tried at first.

i'm so thankful for the internet and the many good ideas people share with it!

finally, jillian and i decided to try and make a scarf in the same way, but using 3 strands of yarn together to make it thicker. i added fringe to each end and it turned out super cute! i wish i had taken a picture, but i didn't think to until after they had gone home. bethany wanted a scarf too, so using up the rest of the color she had picked, she made one with only one strand. and after i added fringe, it was super cute too!

i'm so thankful to have nieces who are learning to play with yarn too!

{and maybe someday they'll be as addicted to the stuff as their aunt is!}

our projects

my new knitting project:
one of my husband's sisters, annie, gave me some fun yarns for my b-day this year. last night, since i had finished my kureyon kowl, i decided to start knitting with one of these, so i cast on a really easy lacy scarf using the ball of Artful Yarns Portrait which is basically a mohair yarn. it's really soft and fuzzy, and looks nice in the pattern i chose. it should be a really pretty scarf when i'm done. thanks, annie!


Artful Yarns Portrait
Pattern: One Row Lace Scarf by Turvid
{another free pattern i found via Ravelry, but this one's published on the designer's blog!}


T's woodworking project:
we decided the boys need a bunkbed ever since cj graduated to a twin mattress. so a couple months ago {at least}, T went and got materials for building it himself. since then, he's had little opportunity, but when he can he heads to his wood shop and has been cutting the pieces, assembling the bed frames and sanding everything smooth. yesterday he worked on it again for a few hours {he took the afternoon off from work so he could} and we took a few photos of the bunks in process. he's out in his shop again this morning because he wants to get all the pieces ready for stain. maybe he'll even get to start that today. i really can't say, since i'm not sure how much else he needs to do before the pieces are ready for that though.


T reminds me of a stormtrooper with his goggles and mask on.
it must be time to watch something Star Wars-ish. ;-)

bubba's school project:
a writing assignment! after 3 years of pulling out my hair every time we tried to do a writing assignment with Sonlight's LA programs {and i just LOVE Sonlight}, i finally realized that their methods just weren't working for us. so this year i switched to the English 4 workbook {since he's Grade 4} by Bob Jones University Press. i bought it thru Christian Liberty Press because of a friend's recommendation and am so glad i did! i especially like how CLP has published their own teacher's handbook and a test booklet for the student too. it's cheaper than buying the classroom-style teacher's book, yet makes my job much much easier than if i'd just bought the workbook. i also really like that it alternates a chapter of grammar and then a chapter on writing. this was bubba's first writing chapter with the new curriculum and it was so much easier for him. each step was well explained, and he was shown a really good example of what, in this case a personal narrative, should be like. all in all, i'm thrilled that this is working so well. and i'm proud of my son for a job well done!

cj's learning project:
uh. being three. he's learning his ABCs and can count to at least 15 without help. he can now climb up the ladder for the slide on our little swingset without help. and he is learning to pray at mealtimes.
{which is really cute!}


my boys helping mix up a batch of cookies last week. what fun!
too bad we ate 'em all already. gonna have to make more!

well, that's some of what's keeping us busy these days!
thanks for stoppin' by and taking the time to read all about it!

FO to show

{for my non-knitterly friends, FO = finished object!}

that's right! i finished one of my knitting projects.

here's my beautiful new Kureyon Kowl
{made with Noro Kureyon yarn}


pattern: Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama
{if you're a Ravelry member, you should be able to click on the link to get to the pattern.}

this is the first cowl i've ever made {or worn}. i like it! the colors in Kureyon are just gorgeous...the photo doesn't quite do it justice. and the pattern was pretty easy, yet interesting, and fun to knit which is always a plus!

birthday knitting

i've noticed i haven't written much lately about my knitting projects. rest assured, i've been busy knitting and recording my projects on ravelry. which is my main excuse for not blogging about it more.

well, to remedy this at least a little, here's my latest FO {finished object}

when i last posted, this was still just a ball of yarn.

but now it's a lovely pair of fingerless mitts!




pattern: Evangeline by Michelle Szeghalmi-Shirley

and since it SNOWED on friday {yes, you read that right. SNOW. and there's more lightly falling from the sky as i write} these mitts are perfect for keeping my hands and wrists toasty warm. they almost make that s-word not seem so terrible even though it's only october and therefore should still be autumn...without that cold, wet, white stuff on the ground already.

thirty-five

today i get to write about me. you see, it's my birthday today. in just a couple hours from now (at 3:32pm to be specific!) i will have been alive for 35 years. it really doesn't feel like it's been that many though. i think i must've lost a few somehow in the past nearly 10 years of being a parent. where does the time go?

i got a birthday card from a dear friend that i think really expresses this well. here's what it says:

We'll be friends until we can't remember how old we are.
In fact, that may be now! What are we? 26? Around 26. Maybe 25.

surely i'm no older than 26?! i most certainly don't feel it. to be honest, there are days i don't feel old enough to be a parent (let alone have a kid whose age is going to be two digits this year!)


the birthday girl {that's me!} a few weeks ago in boston.

well, to celebrate me, my mother took me shopping last saturday...specifically yarn shopping! we had to drive 3.5 hours to get there, but i got to check out TWO yarn shops in Fargo, ND. (there aren't any LYS...that is, local yarn shops, near my home.) i happily fingered the many different colors and textures of yarn at both shops {yarn petting is so much fun!}, and i now have three more yummy yarns and some new knitting needles too! mom got to shop for quilt fabric and found a pretty print that will be the backing of the quilt she's working on. and we also stopped by Barnes & Noble so i could pick out my b-day present from my hubby--knitting books! (he gave me $50 in gift cards to spend on me. i didn't quite spend all of it, but i got 2 books and a magazine. i can spend the rest later.) all in all, it was a very long, but very enjoyable day.


my yummy new yarns.

what's happening

i've been knitting and crocheting like crazy lately. i finished my husband's socks that were supposed to be his father's day present. they weren't done until july 7. {sheepish grin}

T's new socks

i've also been working on a cotton baby sweater--just for fun--but it's been giving me fits, so i'm ignoring it for the moment. hopefully by the time i come back around to working on it, it will behave so i can finish it without any more trouble.

my husband's rather large, extended family is having a reunion in a couple of weeks. we always have a silent auction to help defray the costs incurred. many items are homemade. last reunion i took a baby blanket i had crocheted. this year i've decided to donate a kimono-style baby sweater that i knitted up last fall. i also just finished a set of two crocheted washcloths and hope to have at least one more set made for the auction as well.

crocheted washcloths

then there are the other projects i intend to make. like a few dishcloths for myself since my old (store-bought) ones are getting really holey.

there just isn't enough time to blog when you're making so much stuff! {smile} and since i haven't blogged in a while, here's just a quick update on what's happening around here.

our Fourth of July was wonderful hanging with family and friends. i didn't take many pics, but a good time was had by all.

parade anticipation

bubba is taking swimming lessons (it's a two week course and this is the second week already). he's learning to tread water and do the front crawl. we'll have to see if he passes or if he'll have to re-do level 3 again next year. next week is our county fair, then the family reunion on the weekend. bubba says he can't wait for all the fair rides. it's funny--i used to just love going on the rides. i'm not sure what happened, but ever since i gave birth to bubba, i've gotten sick from fair rides. so now i just like to look around at the animals and exhibits. and every year i tell myself "next year i'll enter some of my yarn projects." then the next year comes and i still don't have anything i want to enter (or rather, that i've set aside and am not already using!) anyways, we get a week off after the fair week, and the next week is VBS already! {Lifeway's Boomerang Express VBS!} i'm helping with VBS again this year, but i haven't been told yet what i'll be doing. bubba has already started learning the new VBS songs since we've got our t-shirts and cd already. so he's pretty excited and can't wait for VBS either!

my grown-up art

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." ~Pablo Picasso

this quote speaks to me personally because it has been really hard for me as a grown-up, a wife, a mother, and a home-school teacher, to do art like i did when i was in college. i was sort of late in discovering my artistic side and it wasn't until i took my first ceramics course my freshman year of college that i started to see that not only is art fun, but i have some natural ability as well. after that, my college path took a slight turn. i found that i had a love for ceramics--turning clay into pottery gave me a sense of expectancy as well as a creative outlet. i liked painting and drawing. and i enjoyed learning about the history of art. by graduation (after 4 years), i had enough art credits to afford an art minor. i even considered taking another year to complete my art major, but quickly decided i was happy to be done with formal education and i really didn't want to add more to my student loans!

alas! these days i don't have the equipment necessary for making pottery or the time and energy to try and create beautiful paintings! i think that's, in part, why i've enjoyed knitting so much. knitting (and crochet) gives me a means of being creative. through it, i can express myself artistically. and it doesn't interfere with my day-to-day life very much. {except, of course when i'm so close to the end of a project that i just CAN'T put it down till it's done!} i use color, texture, and pattern to make something pretty and useful--and we all know the best art is art you can use! *wink*

socks are wonderful projects. they're relatively small, don't use a ton of yarn and you can practice or learn new techniques depending on the pattern you choose! i've learned a technique for making both socks at the same time on one long circular needle from a book called 2-at-a-time Socks by melissa morgan-oakes. i've found it a valuable resource since i love knitting socks, but typically have disliked finishing one sock and then having to start all over for sock #2. so, for me, this is definitely the way to knit socks!

to make a pair of socks, first, i must have yarn. i love sock yarns! and there are so many to choose from! {this can be both good and bad!} usually, i have to consider how much i can afford to spend and that will help narrow my choices a tad. so once a yarn is decided on (and shopping for yarn is half the fun!), then i get to choose a pattern. here's where it gets a little tricky for me...gauge. i currently only have 1 long circ for knitting socks. this means, for now at least, i can't just change needle size so my gauge will match the pattern's gauge. sometimes i'll knit a swatch first and try to find a pattern that has the same gauge as mine. sometimes i'll pick a pattern, then knit my swatch and try using math to adjust my stitches for it to work. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. but that's okay, because i'm doing something i love. for example, the socks i've got on my needles right now were a real trial. i picked a pattern that i thought would look nice and decided to change the cuff from a rolled to a ribbed one. it was working fine, but after a few inched of knitting, i could tell that it was going to be a tad too small. so, i frogged it (which is knitterly talk for ripping out every stitch of a project). attempt #2 ended up too large. at this point i decided that it was the pattern, so tried a different one. got a few inches into it and decided it looked awful. finally, i realized that a plain, no-frills sock was what the yarn was telling me. yes, just like paint, yarn speaks to the artist! it's crazy, but true!

new orleans trip (days 6, 7, & 8)

monday, feb. 16.

started the day out with the NRECA's annual meeting. it was somewhat boring for me until the guest speakers took the stage. we got to hear from cal thomas and bob beckel who, although they have differing political views, have found "common ground" and have been even written a book together. it was humorous, intelligent and thought-provoking that a liberal and conservative could not only agree to disagree agreeably, but actually be good friends to boot!

bob beckel and cal thomas selling books and autographing 'em. they ran out of time, but T was able to purchase one and they will sign it and send it to him. :-)

it was a windy, cool, but sunny day so that afternoon we decided to take a cruise down the mississippi on the steamboat Natchez. bought tickets, then went looking for food. we lunched at Hard Rock Cafe which was surprisingly not busy. T was so hungry for a burger. and we enjoyed some of the best burgers there. if you know me well, you probably know that i don't like onions. however, i do like onion rings. i guess all it takes is some breading/batter and deep-frying to make even onions taste good to me! anyways, i had some of the best onion rings with my burger. they were so yummy!

they had a Louis Armstrong trumpet on the wall too. T plays trumpet so this was kind of special for him.

pictures of Hard Rock Cafe taken that night...i really liked the neon.

our river cruise was a two hour long trip. we enjoyed seeing some more of the area and learning more historical info about new orleans. they started off the tour with calliope music played up on top of the boat.

the boat...calliope being played on top.

a happy couple enjoying the river cruise. oh wait! that's me and T!

a carnival cruise ship getting ready to leave. not sure where its destination was, but i'm sure it was someplace warm...

dinner that night was at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. yet another fine meal. the desserts were particularly nice.

T's bread pudding and my chocolate raspberry mini at Bubba Gump's. the berries were soooo juicy!

tuesday, feb. 17th.

another lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. guess we both enjoyed the food there, or we wouldn't have gone back! then we took time to tour the audubon aquarium where we took lots more pics.

oh look! a tunnel!

a crabby crab. i bought a little stuffed crab from the giftshop for cj (he adores it!)

a michievous macaw. in the amazon forest section.

mr. alligator is white? yep.

an interesting photo by T.

after the aquarium, we went for one last walk in the french quarter (to find dinner, of course!)

dinner? nope just an iron horse head.

and on the way, we went by a YARN SHOP! T was being a meanie. he wouldn't let me go in or even hardly peek in the windows. so i pouted. but i knew T was really hungry, so although i really really really wanted to stay and check out the pretty yarns, i didn't pout very much and we had an enjoyable dinner and went back to begin packing.

wednesday, feb. 18.

our last day in new orleans. in the morning, i got all our bags packed up while T went to the last NRECA meeting. it was interesting trying to fit everything back into our suitcases, but we had allowed for one more carry-on for the return trip so it worked out rather nicely. since we didn't have to leave for the airport until 2:30pm, and we had some time to spare, T agreed to take me back to the little yarn shop we had seen the night before. we checked our luggage in at the bell desk, checked out of our room and headed back to the shop. this was the first real yarn shop i've ever been in. it was really nice. small, but nice. i walked around touching and looking and touching more yarn.

after about a minute and a half, T decided to go check out the cathedral again since it was less than a block away. he did that, then sat on a bench in the park there for a bit, and enjoyed listening to a jazz band playing in the square there. i spent about an hour in the yarn shop. it's hard to decide what to buy. do i buy the one skein of noro silk garden sock yarn? or two skeins of the koigu painter's palette premium merino? either choice gets me one pair of yummy socks. the noro was a tad less expensive, but i wasn't sure about the texture...it felt stiff in places. the koigu on the other hand was blessedly soft, albeit a tad more spendy. i decide to get the koigu. only one problem remained--which color to get?

so here's my new yarn.

the nice lady even wound the skeins into balls for me.
(i hand-wind my yarns when needed, but that ball-winder made it so neat and fast!
i've gotta get myself one someday!)

i thought the packaging was a nice touch of special too.

so that (finally) is the end of my story of my trip to new orleans. it was interesting, fun, and i even bought yarn! yay!