Some Soccer Shots 2013.09.21
12 years ago
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Fun mail and crazy weekends
So after much work and planning, this year's Sheep-to-Shawl for Estes Wool Market is officially over, and it was a blast. I'll post more details (and pics!) about it later, but for now I'm taking a mini break from spinning. Which for me means some sewing, yay!
Waiting for me in the mail on Saturday was this sweet little package of fat quarters from Alissa as part of the SMS giveaway. So cute and inspiring, I can't wait to start planning a new project. Any ideas?
I've also tried my hand at making a 90 min shirt from this awesome tutorial from Dana at MADE. I came across her awesome blog during the Celebrate the Boy month, and I have been wanting to try one for a long time. It was a lot of fun to sew, and I know I will be making a lot more, once I have some softer T-shirt material and tweak my pattern a bit for a better fit. The t-shirt I used was from hubby's pile of uncomfy shirts, which features his fav car, the 1970 Dodge Charger. Only fitting our little boy follow in his daddy's car preferences, right? Next up, have to find him a Porsche and a Volkswagon shirt, for his mommy's car tastes. Or I might try and attempt a freezer paper stencil design of the ubiquitous VW Bug or maybe a Thing.
Otherwise, the weather here has been a bit crazy, but mostly nice and summery, which means not only have I been making a few more skirts for me (I love it! So comfy and easy to wear), but I have been eating more fruit and baking some favorites, like tasty cherry clafoutis. Again, I love the recipe from Mark Bittman, but with a little bit of almond extract added, it's wonderful (and right now I'm too lazy, but if anyone wants my adapted recipe, let me know, k?). And I joined the local CSA with a friend, as I have missed giving it up since California. So far, the first batch was mostly lots of lettuces, plus some parsley and cilantro and spinach, so it look like lots of salad for us for a bit. In general, I have found this site to be a great resource for ideas with all the veggies, and again, the Bittman cookbooks are great too. My mom recently got me this great book for fruits, as a library weed, and the complimentary one for veggies looks good too.
And...baby pic!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Cupcakes!
Sadly, not the edible kind, but the awesome fabric kind to make a sweet apron! This already makes me feel happy and productive for just hanging around or crafting, plus the pockets are nice to put my iPod in while sewing in my new skirts. Like this one yard ruffle skirt! Bit higher than I normally like, but it still works pretty well.
Also, I have been cooking a fair deal lately, part of the housewife/mommy package, and while it is usually pretty standard fare, for us at least, a few months back I tried the awesome Tomato with 2 Fennels soup from Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life. Here is an adapted recipe, since I feel odd posting my adapted recipe, copyright and all. Plus, I'm lazy. Super tasty, and the goat cheese is a must!
Another thing I've been doing is making my own coarse grain beer mustard, from this awesome book. Super easy and way cheaper than storebought. Plus, I can use my hubby's yummy homebrewed ESB beer for it. Haven't tried many recipes so far from here, but the cuban black bean and plantain bake is great (especially with fresh mango), and I am a total convert of buying dried beans, cooking them in big batches, then freezing for use, as opposed to buying canned. I can control how done they are, how much salt, and again, way, way cheaper. I mean, a pound of dried beans usually costs the same price as one can of cooked!
Other news, trying my hand at growing some basic herbs, which are going pretty well, except puppy really wants to nibble on my chives, so those are currently on the counter to avoid "overharvesting". And poor Oz has a nasty head cold, which makes for a very cuddly, but tired baby. And now, a baby pic, of him with his Uncle Will!
Also, I have been cooking a fair deal lately, part of the housewife/mommy package, and while it is usually pretty standard fare, for us at least, a few months back I tried the awesome Tomato with 2 Fennels soup from Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life. Here is an adapted recipe, since I feel odd posting my adapted recipe, copyright and all. Plus, I'm lazy. Super tasty, and the goat cheese is a must!
Another thing I've been doing is making my own coarse grain beer mustard, from this awesome book. Super easy and way cheaper than storebought. Plus, I can use my hubby's yummy homebrewed ESB beer for it. Haven't tried many recipes so far from here, but the cuban black bean and plantain bake is great (especially with fresh mango), and I am a total convert of buying dried beans, cooking them in big batches, then freezing for use, as opposed to buying canned. I can control how done they are, how much salt, and again, way, way cheaper. I mean, a pound of dried beans usually costs the same price as one can of cooked!
Other news, trying my hand at growing some basic herbs, which are going pretty well, except puppy really wants to nibble on my chives, so those are currently on the counter to avoid "overharvesting". And poor Oz has a nasty head cold, which makes for a very cuddly, but tired baby. And now, a baby pic, of him with his Uncle Will!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
And we have had crazy spring weather here as well. Some awesome, gorgeous days around 85, but....currently we have 2 inches of snow on the ground and it's quite gloomy out. I guess nice for tea anyway, but I really didn't think Oz would still be wearing the wool jacket I knit him this late in the year.
However, I also got to take a wonderful class at Fancy Tiger with a friend for A-line skirts, which was a lot of fun and produced this:
And also on sat night, Kyle and I went to see the Denver Roller Dolls play a double header up in Broomfield. We saw the Mile High Club beat the Texecutioners, and the Bruising Altitude soundly beat O-Town Derby Dames from Utah. It was a lot of fun, and we can't wait to go back again. Also nice to have a date night, thanks to my lovely mom who babysat for us. Luckily since he goes to bed pretty early, evenings around here aren't too bad, but it sure is nice to leave every now and then.
Friday, March 05, 2010
Resolutions
Yeah, I know, the whole New year's resolution post. But I prefer to think of it as new mama resolutions, things that will help maintain my sanity and balance both as myself, a wife, a pet-owner and a mama through this year and all the ones following. They range from the simple to the more detailed, things like make time for myself in a calming way, either simply taking the time to listen to a quiet house with a cup of tea and no distractions, to spinning more in the evenings to celebrating life as a mama, much as some of the inspirational blogs I read do. And of course make some dedicated time for sewing, knitting, and cooking.
As our Mr. Man keeps shooting through clothes in no time (in 18 mo sleepers already, holy cow!), he's been reaching the ends of a commercially purchased sleep sack in no time. I finally put together a quick replacement in fleece with a separating zipper that is working well for now, but is none too pretty of an example of sew-manship. That being said, it was my first time installing a zipper, and it went pretty well. Hopefully on the next one I make, I will do a much better job and incorporate an excellent idea from finger thumb to add a front tab to avoid poking him on the chin.
Speaking of cute chins:
As our Mr. Man keeps shooting through clothes in no time (in 18 mo sleepers already, holy cow!), he's been reaching the ends of a commercially purchased sleep sack in no time. I finally put together a quick replacement in fleece with a separating zipper that is working well for now, but is none too pretty of an example of sew-manship. That being said, it was my first time installing a zipper, and it went pretty well. Hopefully on the next one I make, I will do a much better job and incorporate an excellent idea from finger thumb to add a front tab to avoid poking him on the chin.
Speaking of cute chins:
Wearing some of mama's knitwear, giving me an expression that is so his dad when I do something weird
Friday, January 22, 2010
So awhile back, one of the awesome blogs I visit, SlavetoSave, hosted a bunch of baby-themed giveaways, with some really cool stuff. I entered a few of them, and I actually won something! Been waiting to post, what with holidays and all, but I got it in the mail last week and had to take a pic.
It's a Snuggle Me'z carseat cover in the Brody pattern, and it's really come in handy with the cold weather we've had lately. Of course, this last week has been all about staying home and paying tribute to the many nap attempts that need to be made on behalf of proper day sleep, but hopefully I'll be able to go out again soon and show it off around the mall.
It's a Snuggle Me'z carseat cover in the Brody pattern, and it's really come in handy with the cold weather we've had lately. Of course, this last week has been all about staying home and paying tribute to the many nap attempts that need to be made on behalf of proper day sleep, but hopefully I'll be able to go out again soon and show it off around the mall.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
How food-adventerous are you?
Came across this list of omnivore foods and though it'd be fun to go over with Kyle and see what we have tried over the years, only bolding the ones we've tried. How did everyone else do?
The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
7. Cheese fondue
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
51. Prickly pear
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
93. Rose harissa
98. Polenta
100. Snake
ETA: I realized that with the font color, the bolding isn't clear, so I italicized tried items instead. Also, #36 bothers me, as I have had both some very tasty cognac, and a rather nice handrolled cigar, but on 2 separate occasions. Make of it what you will.
Friday, December 04, 2009
Awesome blog opportunity
One of the many blogs on my google reader is Sew, Mama, Sew and this week Dec 2nd through Dec 6th, they're hosting their 3rd annual giveaway. Many cool people with blogs, shops, and crafty-inspired items participate, so there's a pretty good chance of winning some cool hancrafted item or supply. But the best part is the exposure of some pretty neat blog and new artists that I wasn't aware of. Not only am I now hoping for some pretty sweet items to win, I now have a lot more blogs bookmarked and subscribed to for reading and inspiration.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Quick pics and update
Oz is 12 weeks old already, so crazy! In that time he has grown to over 12 lbs, zooming through clothes and now in mostly 6 month sizes, smiles and laughes tons, and is really, really interested in everything around him. So far, he loves baths with mommy, looking at the red chile-esque lights in our house, wearing clothes made by mommy (see pic), having us wash laundry a lot, and being rocked to sleep a lot.
Through some trial and error, we found out not only does he have "silent" reflux, but also a sensitivity to dairy, nuts, and possibly soy. But with meds and cutting those out of my diet, he's tons better. I do miss cheese though, but he more than makes up for it :)
Also he loves both sets of grandparents, as he's lucky enough to be near my parents a good deal, and Kyle's mom and dad came up for a nice visit a few weeks ago, and will soon see him again at Christmas. So lucky to have both families nearby, so he will grow up with tons of love and affection from many different people.
Otherwise, have been being a 24-hr mommy, with not much time for other cooking/knitterly pursuits. Did make a cute baby Jayne Hat, that Oz seems to like. And slowly working on some cozy cabled socks for me, after finishing a basic pair of socks for Kyle. And made a yummy butternut squash soup (from How to Cook Everything) the other night, topped with roasted pepitas and paired with crusty bread and chicken apple sausage from Sprouts (Cali friends, think Henry's, exact same thing). The no-dairy, no-soy has been a bit of a challenge, cooking-wise, but luckily in this day and age, there are a lot of other options, such as rice milk or coconut milk. Sadly no almond milk though, due to nut issues. The ped assures me that these food items are more of a protein issue for him, and don't necessarily mean a later dairy/nut allergy.
Also he loves both sets of grandparents, as he's lucky enough to be near my parents a good deal, and Kyle's mom and dad came up for a nice visit a few weeks ago, and will soon see him again at Christmas. So lucky to have both families nearby, so he will grow up with tons of love and affection from many different people.
Otherwise, have been being a 24-hr mommy, with not much time for other cooking/knitterly pursuits. Did make a cute baby Jayne Hat, that Oz seems to like. And slowly working on some cozy cabled socks for me, after finishing a basic pair of socks for Kyle. And made a yummy butternut squash soup (from How to Cook Everything) the other night, topped with roasted pepitas and paired with crusty bread and chicken apple sausage from Sprouts (Cali friends, think Henry's, exact same thing). The no-dairy, no-soy has been a bit of a challenge, cooking-wise, but luckily in this day and age, there are a lot of other options, such as rice milk or coconut milk. Sadly no almond milk though, due to nut issues. The ped assures me that these food items are more of a protein issue for him, and don't necessarily mean a later dairy/nut allergy.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
6 week madness and pics
Apparently the 6 week mark is one of great change and fussiness. Oz turned 6 weeks on Tuesday, and with it has come some intense parenting challenges and fussiness. But we also have had some great moments, like real grins and happy arms and legs. And he's growing so fast! He's already growing out of some 3 month size sleepers since he's so long!
My view these days (sling - only thing that calms him and lets him sleep)
Superman sleeps! (blankie by Amy)
Astronaut Oz (socks by Kristi)
These grins make up for any sleeplessness and fussy baby times
My view these days (sling - only thing that calms him and lets him sleep)
Superman sleeps! (blankie by Amy)
Astronaut Oz (socks by Kristi)
These grins make up for any sleeplessness and fussy baby times
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Baby Oz!
baby James Oz Campbell arrived, Sept 1st, coming in at 7lbs 2oz and 20.5in. We're thrilled to have such a wonderful baby and watching him change and grow is so wonderful
Parenthood has been a wonderful challenge so far, but it feels like I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Right now Oz is taking his morning nap (yay!), and a routine for the days is slowly forming. Odd to now have a schedule and eat dinner at 5-6pm, instead of the 8-9pm we did only a few short months ago. But with all the fun and craziness, i wanted to post a quick update with a list of a few things we have found indispensable as new parents:
1) Happiest Baby on the Block DVD - even after reading the book, some things didn't really click. Watching this made us realize that swaddling wasn't something all babies like at first, but does help them overall. Thanks to this, Oz is less overtired during the day and he gets better sleep at night, meaning we do as well
2) Circo brand Swaddling blankets - At 42" x 42", these blankets are nice for long babies. Also being a tad heavier than the standard receiving blanket, they're nice for colder nights.
3) Cradle - Very nice to have Oz next to us at night, so we don't worry about him. Also, the ability to just lean a bit over out of bed and touch or rock him for soothing makes sleep much easier to come by for all 3 of us
4) DIY Diaper Sprayer - From this tutorial online, it not only is great for diaper washing days, but the pressure is perfect for those pesky spit-up stains that can be a pain to wash out. Speaking of cloth diapers, I'm finding they really aren't much work at all, and diaper changes take about the same as with disposables. Says a lot, since we went with the prefold/fitted cover options, the cheaper but more time-consuming route of cloth diapering. Throwing in a load of laundry now and then also is no big deal, as babies tend to create more laundry anyway, with all the outfit changing and spit-up and other fluids, always right after you've gotten dressed or changed your own bedding, much less their clothes and bedding.
5) The Best Help of All - My wonderful hubby and the new dad
ETA: Also forgot (new mom, duh!) how much I love these two things as well:
6) Waterproof pads - awesome for placing in cradle, on changing table, in pack-n-play, etc. Just buy a few of these instead of a whole bunch of specialty sized ones, since baby is only so big at first and can't roll around anyway
7) Microwave steam sterilizer - Use it a ton, mostly to sterilize my breast pump (Avent Isis) parts. Great for the everyday use, but the steam bags will be nice for traveling, I imagine
Parenthood has been a wonderful challenge so far, but it feels like I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Right now Oz is taking his morning nap (yay!), and a routine for the days is slowly forming. Odd to now have a schedule and eat dinner at 5-6pm, instead of the 8-9pm we did only a few short months ago. But with all the fun and craziness, i wanted to post a quick update with a list of a few things we have found indispensable as new parents:
1) Happiest Baby on the Block DVD - even after reading the book, some things didn't really click. Watching this made us realize that swaddling wasn't something all babies like at first, but does help them overall. Thanks to this, Oz is less overtired during the day and he gets better sleep at night, meaning we do as well
2) Circo brand Swaddling blankets - At 42" x 42", these blankets are nice for long babies. Also being a tad heavier than the standard receiving blanket, they're nice for colder nights.
3) Cradle - Very nice to have Oz next to us at night, so we don't worry about him. Also, the ability to just lean a bit over out of bed and touch or rock him for soothing makes sleep much easier to come by for all 3 of us
4) DIY Diaper Sprayer - From this tutorial online, it not only is great for diaper washing days, but the pressure is perfect for those pesky spit-up stains that can be a pain to wash out. Speaking of cloth diapers, I'm finding they really aren't much work at all, and diaper changes take about the same as with disposables. Says a lot, since we went with the prefold/fitted cover options, the cheaper but more time-consuming route of cloth diapering. Throwing in a load of laundry now and then also is no big deal, as babies tend to create more laundry anyway, with all the outfit changing and spit-up and other fluids, always right after you've gotten dressed or changed your own bedding, much less their clothes and bedding.
5) The Best Help of All - My wonderful hubby and the new dad
ETA: Also forgot (new mom, duh!) how much I love these two things as well:
6) Waterproof pads - awesome for placing in cradle, on changing table, in pack-n-play, etc. Just buy a few of these instead of a whole bunch of specialty sized ones, since baby is only so big at first and can't roll around anyway
7) Microwave steam sterilizer - Use it a ton, mostly to sterilize my breast pump (Avent Isis) parts. Great for the everyday use, but the steam bags will be nice for traveling, I imagine
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Crafting crazy
Only about a week away from baby coming, and I've been pre-cooking and knitting and sewing a lot to get ready for our little guy. Last night we hung up the framed panels of Calvin and Hobbes in the baby room, and thanks to my mom's help, all the stuff is organized in a way that (hopefully) will make it easier for a sleep deprived mom like I soon will be.
A few weeks ago, the wonderful ladies of my knitting group held a combined baby shower for me, Carrie, and Kristi, and it was a blast! There was lots of yummy brunch foods, virgin peach bellinis, and tons of fun. We also painted some onesies and bibs with fabric paint, which was a lot of fun, and of course had fun opening gifts, all 3 of us together. So many adorable things and such talented knitting friends!
(From left to right, top to bottom: Knitted blanket from Amy, Avery sweater from Amy, Knitted hat from Debbie, Quilted blanket from Carrie; Sleeper, bib and tiny baby socks from Becky, Puppy Barley-appliqued onesie and knitted socks from Kristi, Knitted bear with removable clothes from Lara, Snuggle bunny from Leslie; Mitered blanket from Linda, Kimono from Michelle, painted bibs and onesies from shower, Cabled baby cardi from Celeste)
The amazing talent and love put into each of these is just fantastic! Our little guy is going to be so well-attired, and he'll grow up loving knitting, I just know it :) And of course, I was finally able to share what I had been making for Carrie and Kristi.
(Top row: gifts for Kristi; Bottom row: gifts for Carrie)
As you can see, I've been enjoying using my sewing machine, and I have been sewing little baby things like a madwoman. Between cute little pants for our guy and kimono tops (from tutorial here, a wonderful blog to browse through as well) with a few modifications. For the little pants, I have just used purchased baby pants to get the outline for a pattern, and sewn from there. The adorable pinafore dress and bloomers is from Simple Sewing for Baby by Lotta Jansdotter. All are very easy to do, and it's been fun learning how to use binding and even making my own for the finishing on the kimono tops. Been sewing much more as well, way too much to mention each here (but in my flickr photos), but it really has been a lot of fun. I guess this counts as nesting?
A few weeks ago, the wonderful ladies of my knitting group held a combined baby shower for me, Carrie, and Kristi, and it was a blast! There was lots of yummy brunch foods, virgin peach bellinis, and tons of fun. We also painted some onesies and bibs with fabric paint, which was a lot of fun, and of course had fun opening gifts, all 3 of us together. So many adorable things and such talented knitting friends!
(From left to right, top to bottom: Knitted blanket from Amy, Avery sweater from Amy, Knitted hat from Debbie, Quilted blanket from Carrie; Sleeper, bib and tiny baby socks from Becky, Puppy Barley-appliqued onesie and knitted socks from Kristi, Knitted bear with removable clothes from Lara, Snuggle bunny from Leslie; Mitered blanket from Linda, Kimono from Michelle, painted bibs and onesies from shower, Cabled baby cardi from Celeste)
The amazing talent and love put into each of these is just fantastic! Our little guy is going to be so well-attired, and he'll grow up loving knitting, I just know it :) And of course, I was finally able to share what I had been making for Carrie and Kristi.
(Top row: gifts for Kristi; Bottom row: gifts for Carrie)
As you can see, I've been enjoying using my sewing machine, and I have been sewing little baby things like a madwoman. Between cute little pants for our guy and kimono tops (from tutorial here, a wonderful blog to browse through as well) with a few modifications. For the little pants, I have just used purchased baby pants to get the outline for a pattern, and sewn from there. The adorable pinafore dress and bloomers is from Simple Sewing for Baby by Lotta Jansdotter. All are very easy to do, and it's been fun learning how to use binding and even making my own for the finishing on the kimono tops. Been sewing much more as well, way too much to mention each here (but in my flickr photos), but it really has been a lot of fun. I guess this counts as nesting?
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Teaching and Learning
Since posting last, much knitting has been accomplished, and the belly is even big enough to rest stuff on top while I knit or eat. Amazing how fast baby-belly has grown in just a month! As to the knitting, I taught an Intro to Knitting class at the Hudson Public Library in the beginning of June for the tween/teen age group, which went really well. I designed and wrote up a quick project (cell phone/mp3 cozy) and made up some handouts to show them the basics, then attempted to teach several kids around 5th grade level or so how to cast-on, knit, and generally how to hold yarn. It went pretty well, and hopefully a few of them will stick with it and try something new.
Otherwise, it turns out that 2 other women in my knitting group are also expecting, one in October, one in December, so I've been pretty busy knitting for their bellies as well as mine. And since one of the babies is for sure a girl, it's giving me a chance to try out some fun things to make for her that would not work for our little guy. I do love knitting baby stuff though, something so satisfying about making tiny garments and still trying out new techniques and patterns without a huge project undertaking. Right now I am working on the cutest little baby knit for our boy, the Little Bubbles kit from Knitpicks. Even though it's on size 2 1/2 needles, the Comfy sport is so soft to work with and it's going pretty fast. I have the yoke done, and I'm just getting ready to split for the sleeves. I'm trying to make a fair amount of baby clothes in the one year range, so that he'll get a little more wear out of it than just a few moments.
Mostly I've been all about getting things ready for baby and spinning and knitting when I can. My mom made me (and I helped!) some wonderful burp cloths out of some cute flannel we picked out at Joann's, and they turned out so well! I need to get around to sewing up the cloth wipes soon, now that I finally cut them out, but as I've been finding my zen in knitting lately, that's been the priority. And of course, I went up to the Estes Park Wool Market this year with some great girls from knitting (pic on Amy's blog), and even though I had no intention, I bought a lovely steel gray CVM fleece for play and learning on :). It's about 4.25 lbs unwashed with an approx. 2.5 to 3 inch staple with very nice crimp. Washed up a bit and kept lock formation, spun a few locks flick carded, and it is wonderful to spin. Think I'll try drum carding though to blend all the grays together into a heathered effect, and I can try spinning a few different ways. But I definitely have lots to play with and do, even before the baby comes!
Otherwise, it turns out that 2 other women in my knitting group are also expecting, one in October, one in December, so I've been pretty busy knitting for their bellies as well as mine. And since one of the babies is for sure a girl, it's giving me a chance to try out some fun things to make for her that would not work for our little guy. I do love knitting baby stuff though, something so satisfying about making tiny garments and still trying out new techniques and patterns without a huge project undertaking. Right now I am working on the cutest little baby knit for our boy, the Little Bubbles kit from Knitpicks. Even though it's on size 2 1/2 needles, the Comfy sport is so soft to work with and it's going pretty fast. I have the yoke done, and I'm just getting ready to split for the sleeves. I'm trying to make a fair amount of baby clothes in the one year range, so that he'll get a little more wear out of it than just a few moments.
Mostly I've been all about getting things ready for baby and spinning and knitting when I can. My mom made me (and I helped!) some wonderful burp cloths out of some cute flannel we picked out at Joann's, and they turned out so well! I need to get around to sewing up the cloth wipes soon, now that I finally cut them out, but as I've been finding my zen in knitting lately, that's been the priority. And of course, I went up to the Estes Park Wool Market this year with some great girls from knitting (pic on Amy's blog), and even though I had no intention, I bought a lovely steel gray CVM fleece for play and learning on :). It's about 4.25 lbs unwashed with an approx. 2.5 to 3 inch staple with very nice crimp. Washed up a bit and kept lock formation, spun a few locks flick carded, and it is wonderful to spin. Think I'll try drum carding though to blend all the grays together into a heathered effect, and I can try spinning a few different ways. But I definitely have lots to play with and do, even before the baby comes!
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 bee
n 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
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 bee
n 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
Friday, November 21, 2008
October/November
Looks like about once a month is all I can manage to post. Want to do a quick-ish recap though, about events lately (and there have been a lot!):
1. Homeowners, yup, new to the clan. Home Depot here we come.
2. Went to Edinburgh for work, and had way more fun than should be allowed. Kyle went with, and at some point I'll get around to posting pics on my Flickr, but until then, some key phrases: cold & windy, wonderful friendly people, whisky (yumm!), chips with curry sauce (double yumm!). Totally love the curry sauce on fries, now ranks up there with green chile cheese fries :)
3. Painting..a lovely blue to distract me from the cleaning needed in the house
4. Need glasses now. Hubby assures me I look adorable, but they still feel really odd. Never wearing glasses means I have to continuously resist the urge to swat them off my face like hair. Also, frames in the vision feel weird!
5. Been spinning a lot more lately, but not knitting too much. Made some fun navajo-plied superwash merino, about dk weight. Pretty lofty, which is nice
6. Taking Maggie Casey's Spinning 1 class at Shuttles, which is so awesome, as I am learning a ton! At some point I hope to do a brief summary of what I've learned, but so far I've gotten to try different wheels and types, worked with gorgeous fleece, and made my best spinning ever.
Been crazy busy lately, or maybe it just feels like it. Lots of changes/events in the last month, all of which have really gotten the creative side of me out. Hopefully I'll get my butt in gear and upload some pics of Barley running around in some of the snow we've been having around here, not to mention updating for December too :)
1. Homeowners, yup, new to the clan. Home Depot here we come.
2. Went to Edinburgh for work, and had way more fun than should be allowed. Kyle went with, and at some point I'll get around to posting pics on my Flickr, but until then, some key phrases: cold & windy, wonderful friendly people, whisky (yumm!), chips with curry sauce (double yumm!). Totally love the curry sauce on fries, now ranks up there with green chile cheese fries :)
3. Painting..a lovely blue to distract me from the cleaning needed in the house
4. Need glasses now. Hubby assures me I look adorable, but they still feel really odd. Never wearing glasses means I have to continuously resist the urge to swat them off my face like hair. Also, frames in the vision feel weird!
5. Been spinning a lot more lately, but not knitting too much. Made some fun navajo-plied superwash merino, about dk weight. Pretty lofty, which is nice
6. Taking Maggie Casey's Spinning 1 class at Shuttles, which is so awesome, as I am learning a ton! At some point I hope to do a brief summary of what I've learned, but so far I've gotten to try different wheels and types, worked with gorgeous fleece, and made my best spinning ever.
Been crazy busy lately, or maybe it just feels like it. Lots of changes/events in the last month, all of which have really gotten the creative side of me out. Hopefully I'll get my butt in gear and upload some pics of Barley running around in some of the snow we've been having around here, not to mention updating for December too :)
Friday, October 17, 2008
Home & Spinning
So you might be asking, did I mean homespinning? Nope, I mean home (we're buying a house!!!) and spinning (Spinning week Oct 4-10th all over, but spinning month for us Coloradians). Been doing more regarding buying a house than on the spinning side, but have gotten a bit of spinning love in.
First, the house: we are now under contract for a lovely 3bd, 3 bath house in the westminster/broomfield area. If all goes well (fingers crossed!) we will be homeowners by Nov 13th, which is very cool and scary all at once. Especially due to the bellyflops going on with everyone's finances now. Really, who can say their job is 100% secure, no matter who they are. And as Kyle works for a company tied to the financial sector, it does makes things potentially a bit more interesting. All part and parcel of why we went for the pricing range and house size that we did. We easily could have gotten a loan for more $$$, for a bigger house, buy why? So far, it's just the two of us (well, for now at least), and we both wanted to ensure that if for some horrid, unknown reason one of us lost our job, we could still make the mortgage payment and other bills. Granted, it'd be tight with no extra for fun stuff (like beer and yarn), but totally doable. Sometimes I think it pays to be very practical, even though I am often teased for it at work. Okay, okay, but besides financial reasons, we both do love the house we picked, plus the lovely deck and backyard. Barley will certainly have fun there. :)
Now as to the spinning, I've been working hard at not overtwisting some of my yarns when I spin, so I get a lofty endproduct. On my other wheelspuns, the yarns turn out a bit too tightly spun, and even with a generous plytwist and thwacking during finishing, they don't really relax to give a nice knitting hand. True, I spin worsted, so that decreases the loft factor, but these are way beyond that. So lately I've taken to spinning on the lowest ratio for my wheel, even for fairly fine (approx 24-30 wpi) singles. Seems to give me the lofty yarn I'm looking for, but makes me wonder if I don't have something set-up wrong? Well, hoping the Spinning class with Maggie at Shuttles will help me figure this out more.
**From top left, cwise 1) handspun, handdyed cumulonimbus 2)Autumn Sunset handdyed BFL top 3) Pansies handdyed 2ply fingering wt wool 4) Forest handdyed lcwt 2ply wool
Otherwise been working on knitting a few things (all gifts, shh!), but the lovely Kristi brought me back some lovely alpaca roving from the Taos Wool festival, so hopefully once done with current project, I can try my hand at it. So soft! Otherwise, also got a bit of dyeing done, also looking forward to knitting/spinning. Way too many projects and not enough time!
First, the house: we are now under contract for a lovely 3bd, 3 bath house in the westminster/broomfield area. If all goes well (fingers crossed!) we will be homeowners by Nov 13th, which is very cool and scary all at once. Especially due to the bellyflops going on with everyone's finances now. Really, who can say their job is 100% secure, no matter who they are. And as Kyle works for a company tied to the financial sector, it does makes things potentially a bit more interesting. All part and parcel of why we went for the pricing range and house size that we did. We easily could have gotten a loan for more $$$, for a bigger house, buy why? So far, it's just the two of us (well, for now at least), and we both wanted to ensure that if for some horrid, unknown reason one of us lost our job, we could still make the mortgage payment and other bills. Granted, it'd be tight with no extra for fun stuff (like beer and yarn), but totally doable. Sometimes I think it pays to be very practical, even though I am often teased for it at work. Okay, okay, but besides financial reasons, we both do love the house we picked, plus the lovely deck and backyard. Barley will certainly have fun there. :)
Now as to the spinning, I've been working hard at not overtwisting some of my yarns when I spin, so I get a lofty endproduct. On my other wheelspuns, the yarns turn out a bit too tightly spun, and even with a generous plytwist and thwacking during finishing, they don't really relax to give a nice knitting hand. True, I spin worsted, so that decreases the loft factor, but these are way beyond that. So lately I've taken to spinning on the lowest ratio for my wheel, even for fairly fine (approx 24-30 wpi) singles. Seems to give me the lofty yarn I'm looking for, but makes me wonder if I don't have something set-up wrong? Well, hoping the Spinning class with Maggie at Shuttles will help me figure this out more.
**From top left, cwise 1) handspun, handdyed cumulonimbus 2)Autumn Sunset handdyed BFL top 3) Pansies handdyed 2ply fingering wt wool 4) Forest handdyed lcwt 2ply wool
Otherwise been working on knitting a few things (all gifts, shh!), but the lovely Kristi brought me back some lovely alpaca roving from the Taos Wool festival, so hopefully once done with current project, I can try my hand at it. So soft! Otherwise, also got a bit of dyeing done, also looking forward to knitting/spinning. Way too many projects and not enough time!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Pirating
Ahoy, it be Talk like a Pirate day! In th' spirit, I bring you past posts in Arrrrr-speak. just type my url where there be a space, and hit the shiny button! can amuse this scallywag all th' day!
Scallywags' Blog
You are The Cap'n!
Scallywags' Blog
You are The Cap'n!
Some men and women are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any scalawag who stands between them and unlimited power. You never met a man - or woman - you couldn't eviscerate. You are the definitive Man of Action, the CEO of the Seven Seas, Lee Iacocca in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. You're mission-oriented, and if anyone gets in the way, that's his problem, now isn't? Your buckle was swashed long ago and you have never been so sure of anything as your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off his head if he shows any sign of taking you on or backing down. If one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones' locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed - a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not.
What's Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!
Be back a'later for more a'blogging!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Update
Been up to quite a lot lately, so finally here’s an overall update. Besides the craziness that has been work, I’ve been getting a lot done in the knitting/spinning/dyeing arena. On my shiny new wheel, I spun the below as a worsted, with the brown a NZ merino wool and the blue a self-dyed brown sheep wool top, both singles overspun then plied to give approx 14 wpi and approx 180 yards. 
My spinning seems to be pretty dense still on the wheel, as I only got 180 yards of a heavy fingering to dk weight out of 2oz of each fiber, which doesn’t seem like a lot. Seems like I can get a lot more yardage out of my drop spindles for now, but mostly because I’m still learning the ins and out of my wheel. Any way, for the first wheel spun, whee, pretty yarn from my wheel!
Also for dyeing, I’ve tried my hand at both food coloring dyes and acid dyes from Cushings, both with good results. Also, I’ve been using the KnitPicks Bare yarns, which I love! Made some very pretty sock yarn this weekend, all blues and purples, with the Cushings dyes. Then with essentially the rinse, squeezing of the dye, and a few select drops of green food coloring, dyed this wool (ensconced in pantyhose leg, to prevent any felting) to give a much softer effect.
I can’t wait to play with both! Also, I’ve been wanting to start some judicious naming of my dyeing and spinning projects, any suggestions? Was thinking “Starry Night” for the sock yarn, and something else for the roving? Maybe try theme names, like paintings or weather terms or something? Who knows maybe I just like naming stuff too. Is that a hobby as well? ;)
Regardless, I’m looking forward to making some socks for people (both in fingering and in heavier weights), as well as some gifts for fall/winter/Christmas times as well. If people are really good (and also tell me what style/color/size/how heavy) they may want it, they may find stockings in their stocking! (okay, so lots of caveats there, but people! It’s not just a scarf, which will fit any ol’ person either, but an honest-to-goodness garment to fit your individual foot!
My spinning seems to be pretty dense still on the wheel, as I only got 180 yards of a heavy fingering to dk weight out of 2oz of each fiber, which doesn’t seem like a lot. Seems like I can get a lot more yardage out of my drop spindles for now, but mostly because I’m still learning the ins and out of my wheel. Any way, for the first wheel spun, whee, pretty yarn from my wheel!Also for dyeing, I’ve tried my hand at both food coloring dyes and acid dyes from Cushings, both with good results. Also, I’ve been using the KnitPicks Bare yarns, which I love! Made some very pretty sock yarn this weekend, all blues and purples, with the Cushings dyes. Then with essentially the rinse, squeezing of the dye, and a few select drops of green food coloring, dyed this wool (ensconced in pantyhose leg, to prevent any felting) to give a much softer effect.
I can’t wait to play with both! Also, I’ve been wanting to start some judicious naming of my dyeing and spinning projects, any suggestions? Was thinking “Starry Night” for the sock yarn, and something else for the roving? Maybe try theme names, like paintings or weather terms or something? Who knows maybe I just like naming stuff too. Is that a hobby as well? ;)
Regardless, I’m looking forward to making some socks for people (both in fingering and in heavier weights), as well as some gifts for fall/winter/Christmas times as well. If people are really good (and also tell me what style/color/size/how heavy) they may want it, they may find stockings in their stocking! (okay, so lots of caveats there, but people! It’s not just a scarf, which will fit any ol’ person either, but an honest-to-goodness garment to fit your individual foot!
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