Friday, May 29, 2009

First knit


Lots of knitting going on here, especially of the baby variety, for not just my belly but for the many, many friends who are expecting. Here's a pic of the first completed baby item for our little munchkin.

Otherwise, we've been doing a fair amount of yard work, trying to get the sprinkler system going and the mowing on a reasonable schedule, along with some tree trimming and weed pulling. We still have a lot I'd like to get slowly done over the next few years (like a good garden plot and compost pile), but this year's main project is getting rid of a sucker elm only inches from the house and fixing our gate and fence section. My wonderful parents are coming out tomorrow, chainsaw in hand, to help cut down the tree, which will later be mulched. It will be such a relief to have it down before our main event this fall. And as to the horrid amount of mint, while most of it (and another pernicious runner-based plant) has been removed, there are a few things to the raised garden bed that need to be changed to keep this from happening in the future. So that goes on the project list for sometime in fall or spring next year. Hopefully in time to do a proper garden next year, but we'll see.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Big (and little) news

So I was please to find out a few months ago that I would have a whole to new reason to cook and knit for another person..one of my own making! Yup, my hubby and I are expecting a wonderful baby boy this fall, and we couldn't be more thrilled. I wanted to wait until I had pics to show, and while he was a little shy the first time around, we were finally able to tell that it's a boy in the ultrasound today. I can't wait to start making lots of little baby knits and things for our own little guy, instead of just passing around the love to friends.

And speaking of activities and baby-having friends, I've been quite busy keeping up with the mini baby boom sweeping through all our friends recently with some baby knits. The red vest below is a modification of the Boy-O-Boy pattern from this book, which is a great thing to have around to get ideas for almost any project. I've also been doing some spinning and dyeing lately, with approx 400 yd of luscious handdyed BFL at sockweight, and some fun corriedale roving in nice, spring colors. Also wanted to post a pic of some socks I made for my MIL, a variation of this pattern but changed a bit to make the socks more gothic looking and keep the ribbing and heel detail matching with the pattern.

Otherwise, I've been enjoying the lovely spring/summer weather around lovely Colorado, and we even celebrated by doing some much needed yardwork! There were many weeds to be pulled, trees to trim, and very long grass to mow. I still have a lot of work left, mostly revolving around digging up and garden plot and planting something drought-resistant in the front yard, not to mention dealing with a hefty mint infestation in our backyard (anyone want some spearmint? Note to the wise for others: never plant in ground, as it will TAKE OVER your whole garden and it's a pain to remove, something the previous owners didn't know), but I can't wait to plant some lovely flowers and herbs in the garden