When I was pregnant with Tadpole I told Andrew I had just two requests - that this one like me and that he not get car sick on the way to to grocery store. Check and check. But on that first point, perhaps I should have been more specific because my spiteful wish-granting genie fashioned me a child who wants to be held constantly. By me. Just me. Which is severly cutting into my knitting time and eating time, and showering time and...
Anyone know how to knit with one hand?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
SP14 Questionnaire
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I have a love affair with Rowan Linen Drape but I have recently discovered bamboo blends.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
A pink cardboard wine bottle gift cylinder thing holds my straight needles and a small basket holds the circular and double pointed needles.
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I have been knitting since elementary school, my mom taught me. I can knit almost anything though there are things that I am too afraid to try (steeks, for example) so perhaps an advanced intermediate.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
yes
5. What's your favorite scent?
fresh cut grass, rain, the ocean
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Of course! Sour patch kids, red Swedish fish, and those crunchy on the outside chewy on the inside raspberry things. Oh, and banana laffy taffy.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I started a scrapbook for my daughter this summer but with a three year old and a newborn knitting seems like enough right now. I have not tried spinning yet.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Jimmy Buffet, Jill Sobule, classical, Aerosmith, country... I'm really not into top 40 pop, rap, or hip hop.
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I like nature colors and I guess you can say all colors can be found in nature somewhere. I like fall and the ocean and the forest.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
One husband, a three year old girl, a newborn son, two dogs, a thirteen year old step daughter and a partridge in a pear tree.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves, hat, mittens yes. I love the look of ponchos but I've never been able to pull them off.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Whatever looks pretty in the book.
13. What are you knitting right now?
Current WIP's are the pinwheel sweater for me, a baby blanket, a baby sweater, two tank tops, a vest, two purses, and a couple gifts I can't mention. (How embarrassing... I should really try and finish something once in a while.)
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes, as long as it is something I will use. I would hate to have someone put a ton of time and effort into a tug boat cozy just to have it sit in my closet seeing as how I don't have a tug boat and all.
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Bamboo straights and addi circulars. I would rather swallow double pointed needles then knit with them. I use two circulars instead.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Winder yes. On the right day I might trade the three year old for a swift.
17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Sadly, about three years.
18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?
Christmas, the 4th of July, and Flag Day. Christmas was always a huge family holiday when I was a kid - all the aunts and uncles and cousins at my grandparents house. The Fourth of July was an equally big holiday with the other side of our family. Flag Day was my late grandmother's birthday - we were very close and I was hoping that Tadpole would be born on the 14th but he made his appearance six days earlier.
19. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn. Other than that I am not a knick-knack kind of person. I detest clutter (not that you can tell by the appearance of my house right now!!).
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Dying? Probably not. Knit So Fine has been on my wish list for a while. I subscribe to Interweave Knits.
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Magic Loop.
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
US Size 8. 9.5 inches (24cm) long, 3.5 inches (9cm) wide.
23. When is your birthday?
March 16
24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Meganlynn
I have a love affair with Rowan Linen Drape but I have recently discovered bamboo blends.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
A pink cardboard wine bottle gift cylinder thing holds my straight needles and a small basket holds the circular and double pointed needles.
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I have been knitting since elementary school, my mom taught me. I can knit almost anything though there are things that I am too afraid to try (steeks, for example) so perhaps an advanced intermediate.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
yes
5. What's your favorite scent?
fresh cut grass, rain, the ocean
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Of course! Sour patch kids, red Swedish fish, and those crunchy on the outside chewy on the inside raspberry things. Oh, and banana laffy taffy.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I started a scrapbook for my daughter this summer but with a three year old and a newborn knitting seems like enough right now. I have not tried spinning yet.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Jimmy Buffet, Jill Sobule, classical, Aerosmith, country... I'm really not into top 40 pop, rap, or hip hop.
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I like nature colors and I guess you can say all colors can be found in nature somewhere. I like fall and the ocean and the forest.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
One husband, a three year old girl, a newborn son, two dogs, a thirteen year old step daughter and a partridge in a pear tree.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves, hat, mittens yes. I love the look of ponchos but I've never been able to pull them off.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Whatever looks pretty in the book.
13. What are you knitting right now?
Current WIP's are the pinwheel sweater for me, a baby blanket, a baby sweater, two tank tops, a vest, two purses, and a couple gifts I can't mention. (How embarrassing... I should really try and finish something once in a while.)
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes, as long as it is something I will use. I would hate to have someone put a ton of time and effort into a tug boat cozy just to have it sit in my closet seeing as how I don't have a tug boat and all.
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Bamboo straights and addi circulars. I would rather swallow double pointed needles then knit with them. I use two circulars instead.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Winder yes. On the right day I might trade the three year old for a swift.
17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Sadly, about three years.
18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?
Christmas, the 4th of July, and Flag Day. Christmas was always a huge family holiday when I was a kid - all the aunts and uncles and cousins at my grandparents house. The Fourth of July was an equally big holiday with the other side of our family. Flag Day was my late grandmother's birthday - we were very close and I was hoping that Tadpole would be born on the 14th but he made his appearance six days earlier.
19. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn. Other than that I am not a knick-knack kind of person. I detest clutter (not that you can tell by the appearance of my house right now!!).
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Dying? Probably not. Knit So Fine has been on my wish list for a while. I subscribe to Interweave Knits.
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Magic Loop.
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
US Size 8. 9.5 inches (24cm) long, 3.5 inches (9cm) wide.
23. When is your birthday?
March 16
24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Meganlynn
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Tadpole's First Bottle
A momentous occasion for any baby no doubt. A more bittersweet occasion for mom.
With Bear, I gave her one bottle at about the same time - she took it without problem so I breathed a sigh of relief and avoided the whole subject of bottles and pumping until I had to go back to work. Of course, by then she had only had one bottle in three months and adamantly refused to accept a bottle for three heart wrenching, ear splitting days.
This time around we've decided to give Tadpole one bottle a day. You know, since it's so unlikely that I'll actually win the lottery by the end of August and I will have to go back to work. It's not that I think I'm cut out to be a stay at home mom - I think I'd lose my mind the first week. There's just something so horrible about leaving a three month old infant with strangers. And by the way, I LOVE our day care - they are fantastic people, very caring and compassionate. But they're not his mom, and he's so new, and little, and... sob.
This is about the time in my maternity leave with Bear that I started cursing the former president. Mister "Family Values" - we are the ONLY industrialized country without paid maternity leave. And even though it is unpaid, we have the SHORTEST amount of time that our employers are required to hold our job. Twelve weeks is just not enough time. The baby is so little and so helpless. And every pediatrician in the world will tell you that the best thing for a baby is to be exclusively breastfed for the first six months. How on earth is anyone supposed to do that?
OK. Sorry about the disjointed angry rant. Here are some cute pictures to make you forget my above spewing.
Ah, to add to my fabulous attitude the camera has eaten half of my Tadpole pictures. See you all another day.
With Bear, I gave her one bottle at about the same time - she took it without problem so I breathed a sigh of relief and avoided the whole subject of bottles and pumping until I had to go back to work. Of course, by then she had only had one bottle in three months and adamantly refused to accept a bottle for three heart wrenching, ear splitting days.
This time around we've decided to give Tadpole one bottle a day. You know, since it's so unlikely that I'll actually win the lottery by the end of August and I will have to go back to work. It's not that I think I'm cut out to be a stay at home mom - I think I'd lose my mind the first week. There's just something so horrible about leaving a three month old infant with strangers. And by the way, I LOVE our day care - they are fantastic people, very caring and compassionate. But they're not his mom, and he's so new, and little, and... sob.
This is about the time in my maternity leave with Bear that I started cursing the former president. Mister "Family Values" - we are the ONLY industrialized country without paid maternity leave. And even though it is unpaid, we have the SHORTEST amount of time that our employers are required to hold our job. Twelve weeks is just not enough time. The baby is so little and so helpless. And every pediatrician in the world will tell you that the best thing for a baby is to be exclusively breastfed for the first six months. How on earth is anyone supposed to do that?
OK. Sorry about the disjointed angry rant. Here are some cute pictures to make you forget my above spewing.
Ah, to add to my fabulous attitude the camera has eaten half of my Tadpole pictures. See you all another day.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Michael Jackson
Mmmm. I think I'll leave most of this subject be except to say that my first ever very own cassette tape was Thriller. I don't remember the occasion, but I know I received it as a gift from my Grammy and Grampy along with a Strawberry Shortcake cassette tape holder.
What an odd combination.
What an odd combination.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Pinwheel Sweater
So I've finally finalized my color palette for the pinwheel sweater, which turned out t0 be harder than I thought it would be. The Cascade Ginger and Knit Picks Maple Syrup are virtually identical in color so I've been torn between keeping or ditching the Knit Picks. I took the whole thing to my LYS this afternoon and spent about half an hour lining up different shades of brown next to my sweater. In the end I decided to keep the Knit Picks (for lack of a better option really) and use Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Potting Soil Mix for the last ring of my pinwheel.
You may be wondering where I'm getting all this knitting time with a newborn to take care of... well, Tadpole nurses endlessly. Between the Boppy pillow and my, um, generous endowment my hands are pretty much free for hours each day (and night). I've been knitting in circles and melting my mind with Tivo'd episodes of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The First of Many
Every year when my friend Jill makes her annual pilgrimage home from Ohio she, Jeanine, and I take our kids to have their pictures taken together. The three of us were inseparable in high school. I love seeing our kids play together. It's amazing how different the photo sessions have been - from the first one when the girls were just babies and Jill's son, barely a year older, smacked each of them in turn to this year where the three of them, now preschoolers, were hamming it up for the camera. This was Tadpole's first professional photo shoot and he wasn't particularly cooperative but I've already made the next appointment for his one month pictures.
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Birthday Story - Part 2
Once the triage nurses were finally able to get my IV going, they transferred me to my actual labor and delivery room. The nurses were going on and on about what a great room number 28 was - how it is newly renovated and big, and blah, blah, blah. Really, the last thing I cared about at that moment was the decor of the delivery room. I'm sure if the interior designer was asked to do her work during childbirth the room wouldn't look nearly as nice. Because it really doesn't matter!
My labor nurse, Kelly, was awesome. The anaesthesiology team was in the room prepping me as the last drops of the IV were dribbling in. Now, with Bear, I don't even remember the epidural being placed. I had either been in labor so long (14 hours at that point) that I didn't notice or it was so painful that I instantly blocked it out. Either way, that HURT! But then it was all good. :-)
Once I could relax, I started giving Andrew the to-do list. This week has been cold and rainy so we needed to pick out a different coming-home outfit for Tadpole. He was texting my friends and updating his Facebook status throughout the morning, so I was giving him the names of people he needed to actually call (my grandmother for instance). When I got to the part about making cupcakes with blue frosting for Bear to bring to pre-school he couldn't keep it in anymore - with a mixture of laughter and irritation he bellowed "Focus on the task at hand!" Kelly chimed in with, "You have a lot of hard work ahead of you. Rest." So I rested.
A bit later, I asked Kelly if the catheter was still in because it was really uncomfortable. She was like, "Um, no." So my doctor came in, took one look, and yelled for a baby nurse as she was gowning up. Apparently, the "catheter" was the baby. I had been telling everyone (the labor nurse, the doctor, the medical student) that I had pushed for almost four hours with Bear. Kelly kept saying, "Yeah, we're not doing that today." I kind of took it as her being positive and keeping me going. Well three contractions and eight pushes later, Tadpole arrived.
Andrew and I kept looking at each other saying, "Can you believe this?" It was incredible. We went from not even knowing if I was really in labor to holding our newborn son. What an amazing day.
My labor nurse, Kelly, was awesome. The anaesthesiology team was in the room prepping me as the last drops of the IV were dribbling in. Now, with Bear, I don't even remember the epidural being placed. I had either been in labor so long (14 hours at that point) that I didn't notice or it was so painful that I instantly blocked it out. Either way, that HURT! But then it was all good. :-)
Once I could relax, I started giving Andrew the to-do list. This week has been cold and rainy so we needed to pick out a different coming-home outfit for Tadpole. He was texting my friends and updating his Facebook status throughout the morning, so I was giving him the names of people he needed to actually call (my grandmother for instance). When I got to the part about making cupcakes with blue frosting for Bear to bring to pre-school he couldn't keep it in anymore - with a mixture of laughter and irritation he bellowed "Focus on the task at hand!" Kelly chimed in with, "You have a lot of hard work ahead of you. Rest." So I rested.
A bit later, I asked Kelly if the catheter was still in because it was really uncomfortable. She was like, "Um, no." So my doctor came in, took one look, and yelled for a baby nurse as she was gowning up. Apparently, the "catheter" was the baby. I had been telling everyone (the labor nurse, the doctor, the medical student) that I had pushed for almost four hours with Bear. Kelly kept saying, "Yeah, we're not doing that today." I kind of took it as her being positive and keeping me going. Well three contractions and eight pushes later, Tadpole arrived.
Andrew and I kept looking at each other saying, "Can you believe this?" It was incredible. We went from not even knowing if I was really in labor to holding our newborn son. What an amazing day.
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