Flashback Friday

Last month we had a terrible leak that ended up destroying several things in Madison's closet. I had a box of old photo albums sitting on the floor of the closet and I came very close to losing all the pictures. These pictures go all the way back to the 8th grade. Luckily, only the album covers were destroyed. So I started thinking about how upset I would be if I had lost all the pictues. I started calling around to find out how much it would cost to have all my pictures scanned and put onto a disk. Well, it would be a couple thousand dollars!! I ended up buying a scanner and have started scanning all the pictures myself. The quality is not great, but since it is only a backup, it will do. Here is a picture from the first set of scanned pictures, a trip to Lake Tahoe for Fourth of July in 1998(?).

I Made a Sweater

I have finally completed my first adult sweater and it is wearable and the right size! I am very proud of the fact that I started and completed the entire sweater in a short amount of time. I also learned the mattress stitch which amazes me. It looks like I've been making sweaters for a long time.

Pictures

When we were in Seattle we had some pictures taken by a photographer and we got the pictures over the weekend. They turned out so great. Here are a few of my favorites:






I think we are finally done traveling for the year, but there is still no time to relax. Last week I started training for a bunch of runs this fall. I will be running 2 half marathons and a full marathon. I'm very excited and so far, totally committed to all the running I will have to do.

Saturday I will be starting my first sewing class at the local junior college. I've had a sewing machine sitting in my closet for almost a year and I just don't know how to work the thing. I have big dreams of new curtains, duvet covers, purses and clothes for Madison. I'm not sure how it will go, but I will keep you posted.

In Seattle Again

We were back in Seattle again last week and we packed in so much! The three of us drove, which really wasn't that bad, and it took us 14 hours. I've listened to more Sesame Street cd's than any person should ever have to listen to! We did a ton of shopping, spent a lot of time with Lisa and hit some of the big touristy spots.

Here is a picture of Madison at Pike's Market.


Madison running around Gas Works Park.


Lisa also set an appointment for us to have our pictures taken with a photographer (Tacoma Baby Photo) one morning. You can see some of the pictures on her blog.

Mandy: Next time we come I'll give you a call. I saw your email about moving so I figured you were pretty busy. Hope everything went well.

Busy Busy Busy

I can't believe it's already April! March was a crazy month and the time just flew right by. We all came down with the flu (lucky me got it twice) and we took a trip to Seattle to visit John, Lisa, Jackson and Brycie. It was a very hectic weekend but we had a great time. We took lots of walks and most of them were in the rain. Our first day in Seattle was the worst. We walked to Lisa's new neighborhood to take a look at the model homes and halfway there (about 3/4 of a mile), it started pouring rain. I was pushing Madison and Jackson in the stroller and Lisa had Bryce in the carrier. People that drove by looked at us like we were terrible mothers. We got several dirty looks, but there wasn't really anything we could do at that point.



We also ran the Shamrockin' 5K and I learned that my mom has never ever had beer! I couldn't believe it. We tried to get some of the green beer that was being served after the race but there were just too many people.



On our trip home Madison screamed during the entire flight (about 1 1/2). As soon as the plane landed she stopped crying, smiled and waved to everyone as they got off the plane. We got more dirty looks that day.

Even though we got many dirty looks during our trip, I must say that Seattle has the nicest people EVER! I have never had so many people willing to help open doors, carry my stroller or pick things up that Madison threw on the floor.

With everything we had going on in March, I got very little knitting done. However, I have done a lot of scrapbooking. Here are a few that I've done.

I have internet again!!

I have survived more than two weeks without internet and I hope I don't have to do that again. We have finally settled into our new place and I can finally start knitting again. It has been a crazy two weeks. Our van broke down after the first trip of moving boxes, so we had to use the little Honda. Then Madison got pneumonia and an ear infection in both ears, our garage sale got rained out, and a bunch of other stuff. But we have finally made it, all of our things are out of the old house and everything has been put away. I hope to finish my Deep V Sweater within the next week or so, so pictures coming soon!

Resolution Update

Here's how I've been doing on my new year's resolutions.

1. Save xxx amount of money. Off to a great start.
2. Read 20 books. On my fourth book.
3. Get rid of the clutter hiding in closets, under the bed, etc. This has been going very well, but only by default. I am moving next Friday, so cleaning/downsizing is more of a necessity rather than just trying to stay organized.
4. Take care of things when they need to be done, not at the last minute. I think I've done this. I can't think of anything I've been putting off.
5. Remember everyone's birthday. First four were remembered on time. A first for me.
6. Learn to sew with the new sewing machine I got for Christmas. Haven't even tried with all the packing going on.
7. Watch less TV. Not doing too well on this one. I love TV.
8. Update my blog more often. Better than last year, but hopefully will still be updated more often.
9. Begin crafting now for end of the year craft shows and Christmas. I will not be stressed out this year! Haven't started this one.
10. This is a big one: Run 1,000 miles in 2008. Terrible with this! I've only run three miles.

Finally, because I hate posts without pictures, here is one of Madison as she's learning how to walk.

Striped Noro Scarf

After seeing Brooklyn Tweed's striped scarf, I knew I had to have one of my own.



It was a very simple scarf to make. Knit in 1x1 rib, alternating the different colors every other row. The nice this about this scarf is that the yarn is hidden behind the slip stitched ends so there isn't a lot of weaving in yarn at the end.

Lady Eleanor Scarf

Way back when I posted this teaser and I am happy to say it is finally finished. I started this scarf last summer as a full Lady Eleanor with Paton's SWS. After I had done about 2/3 of the scarf I decided it would be much too heavy and too thick to wear as a scarf. So I frogged the entire thing and started all over again. It was a pain in the butt, but it was worth it. I wore the scarf for the first time today and I got so many compliments.





I am also very excited because I have gone back to school this semester. While it's not really a "real" class, I still like to say I'm going to school. I am taking a boot camp fitness class and yesterday was our first workout. Most of the class showed up in jeans (didn't they know what they were signing up for?) so the instructor only made us work out for 10 minutes. I'm a little (a lot) embarrassed to say that I thought I was going to die in that short time. I like to think that I'm in pretty good shape since I can run and run and not feel winded. However, I cannot do a push up to save my life. It also didn't help that the instructor asked me why I decided to take this class. I foolishly answered "I thought it would be fun." His response was "You think pain is fun?" Great. Now I've got a target on my back and I'm in for one long semester.

I Made Socks

I finally got around to knitting socks and now I'm hooked. When I ordered this yarn it was advertised as self striping. To me, these are not stripes. I expected thicker blocks of color, so I was very disappointed with the yarn. I used this pattern which was easy to follow, but I don't like the way the toe and heel "seeming" turned out. It looks a little messy. Still, I love the way they turned out since it was my first time making socks.





I've already started my next pair of socks, Snicket Socks. I'm using Socks that Rock yarn in Rose Quartz. Now, I always read blogs where people write entire posts about yarn. I think to myself, "Really? You're going to write an entire post about yarn?" Now I understand. I LOVE THIS YARN! The way it knits up: perfect; the color: perfect; everything about this yarn: perfect. Here is a progress shot of my pink Snicket Socks.

New Year's Resolutions

I think I may be the only person that loves making New Year's Resolutions. It's a chance to decide what type of person you want to be, how you want to live your life, an attempt to be a better person. And then, hoping that unlike the 20ish previous years, this will be the year you stick to it. I also might be the only person that does not put "work out more often" on the list since that is something I am constantly saying to myself. So, here is a start to this year's list:

1. Save xxx amount of money.
2. Read 20 books.
3. Get rid of the clutter hiding in closets, under the bed, etc.
4. Take care of things when they need to be done, not at the last minute.
5. Remember everyone's birthday.
6. Learn to sew with the new sewing machine I got for Christmas.
7. Watch less TV.
8. Update my blog more often.
9. Begin crafting now for end of the year craft shows and Christmas. I will not be stressed out this year!
10. This is a big one: Run 1,000 miles in 2008.

Final projects of 2007

I needed something easy and quick to do this weekend so I made a couple scarves. The first is my mom's birthday present she requested when she saw me wear this scarf a few months ago. It's hard to tell, but there are beads worked into the scarf.





The second is a scarf I'm sending to someone from a Craftster swap.



I have a bunch of projects already planned for 2008 and I hope you'll stick around to check them out. Have a great new year!

Christmas Knitting

Christmas is over and that means, no more midnight knitting, no more lunch break knitting, and no more car knitting. For awhile, anyway. Here are this year's homemade gifts:
An Anthropologie hat for the cold Seattle winter.


Gloves Lisa gave to Wendy.


And hats for Brycie and Michael.


We had a great Christmas this year and Madison had a lot of fun opening presents. She tried very hard to open all the presents under the tree. Here is a pictures of Madison and Jackson in the new Red Ryder wagon.

My Latest Project

Here is a little teaser of my latest project:



It will soon turn into: this

(you'll have to check back later this week to see! I'm almost finished.)

Birthday Invitations

It has come to my attention that I am not updating my blog often enough. So I am going to try very hard to at least update it once a week.

This week I have been working on Madison's birthday invitations. I found this cute little book filled with different types of invitations and I decided I would make a different one for every birthday. So, for her first birthday we have the ladybug invitations.



And when you open the wings:



And for fun, here are a few things you may not know about me (and some that are pretty obvious):

1. I love being a mom.
2. Someday I want to have a room filled with yarn and books. And yarn.
3. When I knit and/or crochet, sometimes I forget to eat.
4. I met my husband in a bar.
5. I like paying bills.
6. I am addicted to free samples (www.freegrabber.com)
7. Every time I drive somewhere, I measure the distance.
8. I've never lost a game of boggle.
9. I love Christmas music.

Latest Projects

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had any time to post finished projects. This happens every year. From November 1 to Christmas I craft like a mad woman. This year I made all the babies little pumpkin hats for the pumpkin patch. And, I must say, I was very excited to get so many compliments.



I also made Bryce a little baby hoodie that Madison is modeling so well.



My most exciting project (for me anyway) is this hat. I saw a similar hat at Anthropologie for $40.00!! So I made up my very own pattern. I have seen so many things online or in stores that could easily be knit at home, but I never actually have the time to sit down and try it. I finally set aside one weekend and did it. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I see sweater patterns in my future.



I'd love to post more, but I am in a craft fair next weekend and I have more knitting to do. If I can sell 5 things, I'll be really happy.

Baby Blanket

I am very excited to finally post a completed project. This blanket is for my brother's baby who is due sometime in November. I was very unsure about how this blanket would turn out, but in the end, I'm very happy with it. I found the pattern in Alterknits by Leigh Radford. It is worked in basic stockinette stitch with a seed stitch border. When I finally finished the blanket, it was very crooked, curled and not that pretty. I have never actually blocked anything and I didn't have high hopes. But in the end, blocking made a HUGE difference. I will now be blocking everything!!!

The blanket itself was easy to knit, the hard part for me was adding the fabric. I am not much of a sewer so that was difficult for me. I have also never used batting but it turns out that was easy to figure out.



The only modifications I would make next time would be to pick up and knit all the borders. If you follow the pattern, only the side borders are picked up and knit. While attaching the fabric there is a great edge with the picked up stitches that makes it easy to get a clean, straight line. It is very difficult to find that edge on the top and bottom borders because it seems to blend it with the back of the blanket.

Overall, I'm very excited about this blanket and excited that I have one less project to finish.

Every morning when I get to work, I get my coffee, turn on my computer and check to see of BrooklynTweed has posted anything new. Then I go through every single blog on his "favorite knitters" list and envy all of the gorgeous completed projects that have been posted.

And when I go home at night, I take a look at all the half finished projects hidden away in all rooms of my house. Since this week is premier week on TV, I will have plenty of knitting time as I sit and watch as many shows as possible. I hope by next week to have several projects to post so maybe someone will envy all the finished projects on my blog.

Blogging Again

It has been so long since I've even thought about posting something on this blog. I've been so busy making baby hats and starting new projects but not finishing anything. So I am finally prioritizing all my half finished items and soon I will be posting pictures again.

Baby Football Hat

I'm finally working on baby shower gifts. I know 6 people having babies this summer! I'm going to be so busy. I will probably be making hats for everyone, and since hats are so fast and easy, it shouldn't be a problem. My first hat is a baby football hat. I found the pattern in Itty-Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson. I love, love, love this book. I checked it out from the library but there are so many hats I want to make, I'm going to have to buy the book.

Fingerless Gloves

I have finally found a pattern for fingerless gloves that I really like. I had a really hard time reading the pattern, but once I figured it out, and rewrote it so I could understand it, it was really easy.

Faux Dotty Scarf

Since we've been trying to save money lately, I'm trying not to buy any yarn until I've used up most of the yarn in my stash (or until I start making a lot of money!). So this is one of the many projects I've been working on for the past month. I had five skeins, about 1/2 left of each. It's not a huge dent in my stash, but it's a good start. I loved making this scarf, but weaving in the ends was the worst part. I tried to weave as I went along, but it still took so much time. That is the only thing I don't like about crocheting or knitting. I love the way this scarf turned out and I can't wait until winter.