Ugh. Argh. and any other frustrated sound...

Well, it is official. My hard drive is toast. After three days of chasing customer service a new hard drive is being sent to me. Even before I could celebrate this positive development it rained on my parade again. Eager to get my laptop working again ASAP I asked if I could upgrade the shipping. After explaining what I meant (love that customer service based in other countries) I was told it would be 10 days (!!!!!!!) before I received my hard drive because it is backordered. At least that is what I think he said. My translation skills were a bit sketchy due to a lack of sleep (I'm still not sleeping well).

So the end result is that I am discovering the full extent of my internet/email/access addiction. Seriously. I expect to start shaking any minute. I cannot tell you how many times today I thought, oh, I'll just look that up, or, let me check that in my excel file, or, I'll just shoot so-and-so a quick email. Ack. Ten more days of this. Lord give me strength! Hubby claims he will get my old desktop computer up and running soon however, he just remembered that he got rid of my monitor when we moved so I'm not going to hold my breath...

To add insult to injury, it is likely that very little of the information on my hard drive will be recoverable so it is possible that we have lost the pictures from my daughter's first Christmas, first birthday, trip to the San Fran zoo, et cetera. Eek! This would be awful. I'm trying not to think about it too much because I can't control it and thinking about it will just cause me stress. But, ugh.

So let's see... knitting. I am knitting since the laptop is not competing for my free time so I guess that is the upside of all this... Monday night I went to a fabulous S'n'B and had a great time. I am still plugging away on the Albatross, I am now more than a third of the way done. I don't think I'm going to achieve my goal of finishing the blanket by the end of March but I haven't given up yet.

Progress is much faster on the baby wrap sweater. I have 9 rows to go on the the second front side so then I "just" have the seaming and the ties to go. Hopefully I'll have pictures for you soon...

I still owe a report on my trip to Cupcake Royale and I will try to confiscate Hubby's laptop again tomorrow to get that written and posted. I will leave you with this teaser: the Ballerina may be the perfect cupcake... at least to my taste buds.

OK, I'm off to fill out my NCAA bracket... one of these years I AM going to beat my husband.

Oh, quickly before I forget: Hello to my Secret Pal!!! I'm looking forward to the next three months and trying to solve your mystery persona :)

This morning's breakfast menu...

Included a large serving of Fried Laptop Hard Disk, seasoned with a bit too much aggravation to be palatable. Ugh. My laptop is only 8 months old and it really shouldn't be having issues yet. It is still under warranty but first we have to wait for someone to email us back about the problem to find out what our next step should be. The upshot is that I will be laptop-less for several days at least, very annoying. I am quite addicted to having access to my email, et cetera all day. I've hijacked the Hubby's laptop for now but since he actually has to work I won't have access to it much. He claims he will reset up my old desktop pc (in hibernation since we moved) but I'm not holding my breath. I think realistically it could be a couple weeks before my email/internet/blog IV is turned back on :(

I'll try to keep posting consistently but I can't make any promises... I do have a Cupcake Royale post just about ready to go so look for that soon.

BTW, is it just me or has there been a rash of hard drive issues in the knitting/crafting blog community of late? Hmmmmm.... is there a muggle conspiracy?

I love it. I love it not.

I LOVE it! The petal bib is complete and I am thrilled.
Just about 48 hours after I started it, the bib was done. Definitely the fastest knit I have ever done (with the possible exception of a scarf of giant yarn on enormous needles). Considering that this was at times a difficult project for me (several new techniques involved that I had to figure out) I am enormously pleased with the result.

Here are the details: Petal Bib from Oneskein by Leigh Radford. The yarn was Rowan handknit Cotton in #203 Fruit Salad. Knit on US #6 Crystal Palace bamboo straights and Prym metal dpns. BTW, I really liked the metal dpns. I have previously used bamboo dpns and I found the metal ones had a better feel, for me any way (and they were darn cheap, too).

One last thing, this was my first experience with i-cord and can I just say how clever it is? Maybe I'm easily amused but the way it came together and then attached itself to the bib was so cool.

So now it's back to the WIPs, I think I hear the Albatross whispering in my ear. Oh, no, that's just my daughter waking up from her nap. Perfect timing.

When the cat's away...

the mice will... Cast on?

So the Hubby left town yesterday for a quick overnight trip to San Fran for work. And really, I had no intention of starting a new knitting project. After all, I had promised, no new projects until I finished some of my WIPs. No problem. I completely understand the logic of his request. But. But. But then my friend called. Did I want to go over and visit our mutual friend (who just had a baby girl) this weekend? Of course I did. I got off the phone and realized I have no completed new baby knits stash left. I usually try to have a hat or some booties lying around, just in case. What to do? I always give a hand knit (well, always since I started knitting a year and a half ago).

I would have to start something new. And it would have to be fast, which for me means small. I wasn't in the mood for booties so I whipped out Oneskein and Last Minute Knitted Gifts. A quick perusal and my decision was made:
The Petal Bib from Oneskein. I even had the yarn, Rowan Handknit Cotton in my stash and it wasn't designated for anything. Not only that but I even had one of the colorways pictured in the book, Fruit Salad (love the color and the name!). Serendipity.

So yesterday during Pooh Bear's nap I cast on and you can see how far I've gotten. I think I have five rows and the i-cord left. Pretty swift knitting for me. Especially considering that the pattern has some technical "trickery" I don't have much experience with (and a couple things I've never seen before) - joining five pieces to start, short rows, wrapped stitches, i-cord. It isn't perfect but it will certainly do. I hope to finish it by tomorrow.

I want to make another one for my daughter - anyone know if you can get two of these from the same skein? I have a second skein in the same dye lot but I'm curious... it would be nice to get another bib without breaking into the new skein.

And I promise, I won't cast on until I finish a couple of other projects. Pinkie swear.

Is that a plane ticket I see on my husband's desk? Hmmmmmm......

denying me the ball

Just a quick rant (I know, last night I whined, now I rant... bear with me. I haven't been sleeping well and it is starting to show).

I don't think I've mentioned that I am a transplanted Southerner yet. That's right, I grew up in North Carolina. As such, I love ACC basketball. Living out here in Pac-10 territory makes it hard to catch as many games as I'd like (although the popularity of Carolina and Duke do make it slightly easier) so I always anxiously await this time of year - Tourney Time. All week I have been looking forward to spending today through Sunday camped out in front of the television, getting my fill of basketball (I know, it's a disease). Imagine my disappointment this morning when I check to see what time the viewing party could begin and I found that the first two games today (out of four) were only available on Pay Per View!!!??? No problem I thought. I'll just make the sacrifice and PPV them - they can't be more than five or six bucks a game, right? WRONG. Try $14.95 per game. Sorry, but that crossed my line of "worthwhile." *sigh* I guess I'll have to make do with the Pac-10 tournament coverage until my beloved Duke Blue Devils are on at 4:00.

Next year I'll have to plan a trip home to my parents so I can watch without interruption :) Hi Mom! Hi Dad! I know it's your anniversary but can I borrow your tv? Oh, yeah. Before I forget, Happy Anniversary Mom & Daddy! Thirty-eight years - amazing! (or is it 39? Sorry, the sleep thing again, I can't remember for sure). You two are an inspiration for everyone. Enjoy!

Oh, and one more thing: Go Devils!

***UPDATED*** It is worse than I originally thought. Turns out the fourth game of the day is also PPV. Oh the humanity. I may need treatment for withdrawal.

Three strikes and you're out?

Before got pregnant again I was still dancing with a semi-professional ballet company and a friend's modern company here in town (I danced until I was 5 months pregnant with my daughter, then started dancing again when she was 3 months old). The result was that I danced a minimum of three days a week, usually more, for around fourteen to eighteen hours a week so even after I was a stay at home mom I still had plenty of opportunity for adult interaction. Now that I am pregnant again, not so much. I have been searching for new social outlets and thought I had found one when a search of Yahoo Groups produced Seattle Stitch'n'Bitch. It was perfect, a knitting group that met weekly at time that was convenient for me at a location that was close to my house!! What could possibly be better?

I'll tell you what would be better. It would be better if people actually SHOWED UP for the group. Two weeks ago I attended the my first meeting with much trepidation. I'm not particularly keen on walking into a social environment where I know no one, it makes me nervous - what if nobody likes me? You know, all the usual self-confidence issues (Crazy Aunt Purl had a great post about this recently). At any rate, I overcame all those things and hauled myself and my knitting bag over to Cupcake Royale. I walked in, searching frantically for folks with needles. I found, ONE. One other person was in attendance, and get this: she was new too! Eventually a third knitter joined us but I was pretty disappointed by the turn out. Not that the women who were there weren't great but as someone who is trying expand her social circle, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind.

Last week I made arrangements for a babysitter as Hubby had a work function- I was not about to pass up my knitting/socialization opportunity. Again I walked in to CR and this time, NOBODY. Not a single one. I stayed and had a latte but I had a couple errands I needed to do so I left after thirty minutes. Tonight I decided I would give it one more try... Maybe last week's freaky weather (snow!) had my fellow Seattle knitters hibernating? Once more I had a sitter since Hubby is out of town for work. Yup. You guessed it, I was the only knitter there. I stayed. I knitted. I had a cupcake (yes, that means the Seattle Cupcake Tour Part 3 will be making an appearance soon). It wasn't too bad, sitting by myself, knitting. I needed a break and this worked. But still... I want a knitting group. I want to chat and laugh and bitch with my fellow needle wielders. *sigh* There are at least two other groups that meet to knit in Seattle but neither is really that convenient... I'm a glutton for punishment so I'll probably head back again next week, I mean, at some point someone might show up. At least next week I won't have to pay a sitter.

Oh my, this post is significantly longer than I intended - sorry for all the whining. I will end on a good note however. On my way out the door a small square red object caught my eye. Could that be? Was it? OMG, it WAS a row counter. Perched right there in front of someone with needles. And yarn. A knitter! Looking up at her I asked, "Are you here for the knitting? I mean the Stitch'n'Bitch?" (so stunned was I by the sight of knitting paraphernalia I had a hard time forming sentences) "No," the knitter replied, "but you look familiar." Lo' and behold it was Daphne from my LYS! I stood there by the door talking her ear off for ten or so minutes (thanks for being so kind and patient with me Daphne, I was in serious need of a chat!). She had just decided to pop in on her own, not realizing there were knitterly things scheduled (at least in theory). I walked out with a smile on my face.

evidence of progress?

We might want to contact KSI (Knitting Scene Investigation) but I think I might have actual photographic evidence of progress on my baby wrap sweater.

Ta da! This is the completed back. I have actually gone beyond this now, I have about a third of the right side complete as well but it was dark when I got home so you get yesterday's photo. Too bad for you. I'm really pleased with how the sweater is going and I am already envisioning a second version (heavens, let's not get ahead of ourselves).

I'd like to finish this wrap up in the next week or two. I am "supposed" to focus on the Albatross but I only have so much focus people. My compromise is that I let myself work on the wrap sweater for the first 30 minutes of my nightly knitting session (the beauty of having finally established a bedtime routine that works with my 13 month old) and then I work on the Albatross until I am ready to crash. Since the blanket is essential mindless at this point I can usually slog my through it relatively error free until I am just way too tired. Unfortunately I am having a bout of insomnia this week (ugh) so I am getting to my crash point earlier and earlier.

Anyway, that's it. No more time for typing of I'm going to get to that blanket - I still want to finish it by the end of March although that is looking less and less likely... Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and suddenly be a stunningly fast knitter? No. Oh, well, a girl can dream... well this girl could if only I could sleep.

No hormones, I swear...

...but the stash just keeps getting larger! Here's the scoop on my latest acquisitions.
First up, one skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton in Sage. This is destined to be the Baby Bolero from Oneskein. I picked this out before we knew that our Piglet-to-be was a boy. I wanted something gender neutral and I think this is just right.

This pile to the left will one day be the Classic Cardigan from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. Pile details: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, 3 balls of Denim, 1 of Light Lilac. A cardigan for my Pooh Bear who hates having anything pulled over her head. I cannot tell you how many adorable patterns I have ogled only to realize my munchkin would tear up at the mere thought of a buttonless neckhole coming within ten feet of her person.

Third on the list are two skeins of Louet Sales Merlin in Caribou. I want to make the Bubbly Curtain from Mason Dixon Knitting for the powder room on our main floor. I'm not totally sold on the color though... I originally envisioned a dark tan or a medium brown for the room... this is very dark but the other choice in the brown family at my lys was too light. I might see if another shop in town has a different selection or if they carry the Euroflax specified in the pattern. Still ruminating on this one...

Let's see... what to look at next. What? You thought I must be done by now. Oh, no. When I enhance I go all out. Well, at least on this occasion (can you say gift certificate?).
Ah yes. The pile of sherbet-y goodness! Just looking at the colors makes me yearn for a warm day, a spoon, and a container of rainbow sherbet. Yummy looking Cottonade in Kiwi, Petal Pink, Petal Blue, Pink (the darker/brighter one), Petal Yellow and Cantaloupe. I intend this for the Cot Blanket from Natural Knits for Babies & Moms, the colors match the new color scheme we plan for my daughter's room. Now I know that I have been moaning & groaning about my current blanket project, affectionately dubbed The Albatross, but this is different. Really. The blanket is knit in squares not one big thing so I think it will be much more pleasant. Just no one mention the seaming word ok? I am very happy in my delusional bubble with my sherbet, thank you very much.

Hang in there. We are almost to the end, only two more I promise.

Yup. The ubiquitous Sugar and Cream. Given that I am expecting a baby in July could it possible a Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono? I think so. I don't have the color in my spreadsheet and I am too lazy to walk up two flights to check on it so you'll have to wait until I cast on to know for sure. (don't hold your breath... it could be months before this gets done)

And finally, last but not least, my Bunny Hop from Crystal Palace Yarns. This is the same yarn I am using for the Royal Baby Set I posted about last week but in a different colorway. I think it is going to be a hat but I'm not sure yet. Waiting for divine inspiration or something...

22 skeins of new yarn intended for 6 new projects. That ought to keep me busy for a while. Shhhh... don't mention the five WIPs I already have- I'd love to cast on for something new but I don't dare. (yet) I'd best run and get some work done on the Albatross or all of the above fiber goodness will languish and we certainly can't have that!

Seattle Cupcake Tour, Part 2

Last week, I found myself at a local mall and what should thrust itself in front of me, demanding the full attention of my taste buds? New York Cupcakes. And thus, I have the second installment of my buttercream infused journey through the landscape of Seattle's cupcake purveyors.

I agonized over my flavor choices (so many and I am weak)... I decided that in the spirit of comparing apples to apples I would definitely try the white cake with vanilla icing to see how the Starbucks cupcake stood up to this latest entry in the cake stakes. But, I decided that I would also try one (or two) of NYC's specialty flavors to see what it was like. In the end I picked Vanilla Bean Dream, The Don Cappuccino, and the NY Black & White. Three cupcakes. The lengths I will go to in order to bring you critical cupcake information know no bounds.

Left to Right: NY Black & White, Don Cappuccino & Vanilla Bean Dream

1. New York Black & White - This is NYC's signature cupcake. The cake is half white and half chocolate cake and sports a chocolate buttercream frosting garnished with a milk and white chocolate straw.
• The Cake - The chocolate cake half of this cake is far superior to the white cake. I found it rich and fudgy (in taste, not texture). The white cake was nice but not as rich tasting as I prefer (generally I like my cakes to lean more towards a yellow cake than white). Both cakes were moist and dense without being heavy.
• The Icing - If you like your chocolate icing fudgy tasting (like those made with melted chocolate) you may be disappointed by this icing. I, on the other hand, found this icing delectable. It was a delicate chocolate flavor (I'm guessing they use cocoa powder) that maintained the underlying buttery-ness inherent in a buttercream. It was also wonderfully light and melted on my tongue. Yum.
  
2. The Don Cappuccino - A white cake with cappuccino frosting, garnished with a coffee bean.
• The Cake - The same basic white cake as in the NY B&W above, so adequate but not outstanding.
• The Icing - Well, I live in Seattle so I like coffee, ergo, I like this icing. A nice strong coffee flavor (if you are one of those people who likes her sugar and cream with some coffee to flavor it, you might find it a bit much). Like the chocolate buttercream, the icing was smooth, creamy and light.
  
3. Vanilla Bean Dream - This is a white cake with vanilla bean buttercream frosting garnished with a small piece of waffle cone.
• The Cake - Same white cake, same story.
• The Icing - Like the Starbucks cake I sampled last time, this vanilla buttercream also displayed the telltale bean "specks". Unlike the Starbucks icing, this one had a richness to it that gave my mouth a treat. I could taste the vanilla but it didn't "flatten" the flavor to one note, the underlying butter nature was maintained.

My Overall Impression: I would love to have the Vanilla Starbucks cupcake with the Vanilla Bean Dream icing from New York Cupcakes. That would be an almost perfect vanilla cupcake specimen (for me at least). As it is, I would stick to the chocolate cupcakes next time I visit NYC but I would go with any flavor icing since I found all three I tried to be quite tasty. If I had to pick my favorite from the three I tried on this trip it would be the New York Black and White without hesitation.

So there you have it, two down and at least two to go... I am on the lookout for additional cupcakes that need "testing" so let me know if you have any suggestions.

On the knitting front, since this is, ostensibly, a knitting blog, I am still knitting. Unfortunately, I am still plugging away on The Albatross (I'll never describe a baby blanket as small again). I am making progress but at sloth-like pace and I don't want to bore you with nearly identical photos of the blanket in progress so I'll hold off on that until it is at least halfway complete. I am also trying to squeeze in a few rows on my baby wrap sweater so hopefully I'll have something to show soon.

When The Albatross is complete I'll have to work on some smaller projects so I can take more photos and at least try to fake being entertaining. Until next we meet, vive le buttercream!

Secret Pal 10 Questionnaire

Yup. I'm participating in SP10 - my first time and I am really excited! My husband is mumbling something like, "...crazy whacko knitters..." Here's my info:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I really like knitting with alpaca and with cotton… Since I am a relatively new knitter I don’t have that much experience with various fibers and I have been reluctant to use wool because I can’t wear wool directly next to my skin without itching like crazy. I did recently knit a hat from Aurora 8 merino wool without incident, however, so maybe there is hope.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

At the moment, a lovely Ziploc bag. Tres Classy.

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 for about a year and a half with almost a year hiatus during that time. I took several Learn to Knit classes while I was pregnant with my daughter. I’d consider myself an advanced beginner to low intermediate. I routinely take project knitting classes and I don’t mind asking for help so I can tackle higher level projects.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I have an amazon wish list

5. What's your favorite scent?
Lavender

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Under normal circumstances I have a more savory than sweet tooth, HOWEVER! I am pregnant so all bets are off and I want way more sweets than usual. A favorite candy? Combinations of chocolate and caramel. I am really digging the Nestle Crunch with Caramel right now.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I cross-stitch. I dabble in other crafty things (scrapbooking and crochet for instance). I want to learn to sew. I am looking for a needle felting class and one of these days I’d like to tackle dying my own yarn. No spinning yet. But I’m not ruling it out.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I like all kinds of music. Really. Hip hop to opera. The only things I really can’t tolerate are heavy metal (the current crop of “artists”- I really like the old 80’s big hair bands), super electronic sounding techno & overly sappy easy listening (think Celine Deion – sorry!)

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

My favorite color is pink followed very closely by red. I’ve been really into wearing shades of green and I love wearing brown. I am not too keen on yellow.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I am married with one daughter and a new little one coming our way in mid-July (a boy). We have five cats which is a bit eccentric but it works for us J

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Mostly Scarves or mittens. It rarely gets cold enough for a hat but I have been known to sport a fashion hat on occasion. I do wear ponchos on occasion.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I have knit a fair number of baby things: booties & hats mostly. I am currently tackling my first baby sweater. Still learning so I don’t have a favorite thing yet really.

13. What are you knitting right now?

A baby blanket (bane of my existence- slow and, at this point, boring!), a baby sweater, a baby bonnet, and a scarf.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes. I like giving handmade gifts so it would be awkward if I didn’t like receiving them.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I prefer circulars (addi Turbo). If I am using straight needles I use bamboo. I do not like bamboo circulars.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

I wish! I’m thinking of asking Santa next Christmas.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

My oldest knitting UFO is the baby blanket mentioned above. I started it in November of 2005. My oldest general UFO is a cross-stitch project I started for my husband (a picture of an “old fashioned” golfer) about ten or eleven years ago. I may have to finish it because recently he has been giving me a ton of grief about it.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

I think I’d have to say Christmas though I also get a big kick out of decorating for Halloween and Easter. My mom decorated for most holidays so I do the same.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Sheep. It started when my husband and I went on our honeymoon to Scotland and he bought me a small stuffed sheep.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Fitted Knits, any Debbie Bliss baby book (except Baby Cashmerino which I already have). Trekking in colorway #126 (pink, brown and cream)- I can’t knit socks yet but I want it just in case! No subscriptions yet.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Intarsia. And I need to get better with Fair Isle I’ve only done one small project thus far).

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I want to be a sock knitter. It is on my list of things to do. I wear a size 6.5 to seven (sorry, no tape measure handy!).

23. When is your birthday?

December 11

I can't wait for the fun to start :)

Can I see that calendar?

Happy Thursday, y'all! I have to tell you I am embarrassed to say it took me 45 minutes this morning to realize today was Thursday and not Friday... I woke up and thought, "Friday. Got to get Pooh Bear up so we can make the mom's group meeting at ten. Keep moving. Parking will not be easy. Let's get going..." On this went for 45 minutes while I changed and dressed Pooh Bear and fed her a bottle and some breakfast. As I raced around to try to make my hair look presentable, it hit me. NOT Friday. Thursday. While a relaxing thought at the time, all it really means is that I get to repeat the whole procedure tomorrow. I enjoy my group but I am not a morning person (and neither is Pooh Bear) so the need to be somewhere on time before eleven is somewhat stress inducing.

I thought I would have some knitting related content today (stash enhancement pictures) but alas, by the time we returned from our errands the sun was gone and the chances of my getting a good picture was nil so... maybe tomorrow?

In other news, the Seattle Cupcake Tour will resume tomorrow with a report on New York Cupcakes. I know, I promised Cupcake Royale but my plans didn't work out as I thought they would and NYC just showed up in my path one day and really, "least Resistance" and all that.

And one last note before my daughter wakes up from her nap (type faster, type faster!). I want to send a big thank you to Melissa who became my first "official commenter" earlier today. I feel so proud that someone out there liked what I wrote (driveled on) about enough to take the time to leave me a sweet nothing! *grin* Melissa, I'd send you an email thanking you but Blogger is being weird and I can see your profile but not your address... oh well. One more thing to add to my "Things to Figure out How to Do with this Darn Blag" list.

What's That?!?

I haven't yet written of my husband laying down the law, so to speak, with regards to my on-going knitting projects. My friends, he is a muggle, and does not understand the way of the fiber (or any craft really) - please bear this in mind as you read my tale. He is a lovely man & we have been married for ten years and I look forward to many more. I'd hate for your sole impression to be of this situation but it is a tale that must be told so I will tell it and ask that you not hold it against him (too much).

About two weeks ago, when I picked up the albatross blanket again my husband declared that I was "not allowed (what am I? ten years old?) to begin any new projects until the current ones are finished." This includes all my current knitting projects as well as two large cross-stitch projects (the x-stitch projects I admit, are a little behind schedule, having begun them at least 8 years ago. However, this does not take into account all the things I have completed in the meantime, but I digress).

I smiled and nodded, thinking "you just don't get it, do you?" I mean, I just found out I am having a little boy! This completely changes the scope and nature of my knitting. I need to knit boy things. I still have little girl things I want to make. I am easily bored and/or distracted. But for 12 days I struggled, I overcame, I was a good girl. I diligently worked on the Ruffled Ridges Baby blanket whenever I knit.

But yesterday... yesterday I realized that I had a project knitting class today. Two hours with a wonderful instructor who would answer all my questions. I simply could not work on The Blanket. I have no questions about The Blanket, except how to make it go faster. If I am paying for a class I need a project with questions and challenges. A quick inventory of my other WIPs revealed no issues. *gasp* I needed a new project and I needed it quickly. My husband was playing hockey and would be home in an hour and a half.

I quickly whipped out the next project in line: The Royal Baby Set from Blue Sky Alpacas. I want to bring the Piglet-to-Be home from the hospital in this set. I wanted to use a different yarn so I swatched and found my gauge was a bit large but better too big than too small with baby clothes so I cast on and worked my way through the first ten or so rows. When my husband came home I was knitting away and he said nothing. About half an hour later he turned to me and said, "What's THAT?"
I calmly explained and gave him my reasoning. He looked bewildered. Oh well. I can't really expect him to understand, now can I?

But you understand. This is the back of the wrap sweater. I'm using Crystal Palace's Bunny Hop Yarn which is a microfiber with just a touch of angora thrown in (8% I think), the color is #2302. Knitting on US 4 needles.

After working on The Blanket, this is so much fun. It just seems to fly by! This is my first sweater and I am glad I picked a baby sweater, it seems much less daunting this way. Until next time!

Hiding in My Ziploc Bags

Just a quick post tonight as it is late and I would like to knit at least ONE little stitch before I crash. A couple days ago I showed you my albatross, I mean, my baby blanket in progress but I have a couple other things on the needles and hibernating in Ziploc.

First up, a classic baby bonnet.
Yup. I know it doesn't look like much now but someday it will grow up to be the Baby Bonnet & Socks from Blue Sky Alpacas. I just hope that happens before my little girl grows up! I am using Classic Yarns DK Cashsoft instead of the silk the pattern suggests. The color is a really lovely lilac/lavender (#502 Bella Dona). I plan to make the socks as well and I have recently started to think that Pooh Bear might need the Amelie Dress from Natural Knits for Babies & Moms, you know, to tie the whole thing together. I mean, I could find the time to knit the dress, it isn't like I have 18 other items on my list of things to knit... oh wait. I have 21 items on my wish list. And my bathrooms need cleaning. Maybe I could skip the bathrooms and not sleep for a few weeks?

The other RIP item (that's resting in plastic, not resting in peace! I will get it done. Someday.) is my Razor Shell Lace Scarf.
This is a pattern from Hilltop Yarn, my LYS. The yarn is the simply marvelous Blue Sky Alpacas Royal in Antique Black. It is actually slightly darker than the above picture shows but this picture showed the pattern (at least somewhat) so I went with it. Y'all can imagine it darker. This scarf is actually a present to me so it will probably be back-burnered from here to eternity. All right, I'm off to knit, hopefully I won't fall asleep in the act of opening the bag.

Seattle Cupcake Tour, Part 1

My sweet tooth seems to increase ten-fold when I am pregnant so I thought I would take advantage of that fact and really put my nose to the grindstone for all of you out there and taste test some of the cupcakes that are popping up all over Seattle (I know, an extremely tough job, but I think I'm your gal).

First up on the docket: the Vanilla Cupcake at Starbucks. I had this as a snack earlier today accompanied by a sugar free Cinnamon Dolce Latte. Here's my takeaway:

• The Cake - The yellow cake was just what I like, spongy and moist but not gummy. Sweet but not overly so. I'd call it a classic yellow cake taste (some get really vanilla-y but this one stopped short of that with more of a buttery undertone).
• The Icing - Honestly? A disappointment. Just kind of blah. I was really excited because the icing showed evidence of the vanilla bean (the telltale little black specks) but the richness wasn't there. Not cloyingly sweet, which was good, but, if you'll pardon the pun, just plain vanilla taste-wise. Also, I had a problem with the raw sugar decoration around the rim of the icing. It made for a very nice presentation but the resulting crunchy icing was just the wrong texture for me. I want my icing to be smooth and melty, not like I accidentally dropped my cupcake in the sand at the beach.
• Overall Impression - Not bad, but not great either... The cake itself I would go back for but the icing did nothing for me. I'll skip the cupcake next time and have something else. If I am going to pay for a cupcake (which I can quite easily make at home to good effect), it had better be outstanding.

A final note: I apologize for not having a picture to accompany this post but I was halfway through the cupcake before the inspiration for the Cupcake Tour hit. Next time there will be photos...

Next up on the Cupcake trail: Cupcake Royale in Ballard (I already have a trip planned for the middle of next week). I also have Trophy Cupcake in Wallingford on my list of places to go but if you have any suggestions for Seattle area cupcake havens let me know.

I feel Knitty!

Let me start by saying that I am fickle and it seems my fickleness is at an all time high. After totally changing my color scheme for this blog this morning I have now scrapped all that and picked a new template altogether. This is better. For now. Tune in tomorrow... Someday I'll figure out how to have my own banner and other nifty features like so many of the blogs I admire but, for now, I have other priorities...

A finished object for instance? It is true. I have finished something! This is a Strawberry Hat.
The pattern is Ann Norling's Fruit Cap. I used Aurora 8 Merino Wool in #5 Crimson and #1145 Hunter Green knit on Susan Bates Quicksilver circulars (US 7) and skacel wood dpn (US 7).
As modeled by my Pooh Bear:

*This photo is a little fuzzier than I expected, it looked good elsewhere. Oh, well.*

This was my first real foray into colorwork (I had done stripes before but that doesn't count) and it was not as difficult as I had anticipated which makes me very happy. I think the little Piglet-to-be may get a blueberry version...

I have to say that I felt like a "real" knitting blogger today. Racing outside to quickly snap a few photos while my daughter took a nap. That's right, a few photos - there is more to see!

Here is my major WIP at the moment, the Ruffled Ridges Baby Blanket:
The yarn is a bit deeper/darker than shows here but at least you can see the pattern in this picture.

I'm almost a third of the way done which is very exciting since I was about 1/30 of the way done a week ago when I picked this project up again after a year+ hiatus. I'm trying to stay motivated, but it is a bit grinding, row after 161 stitch row (not that I'm counting). I'm a slow knitter so I aim to complete one 8 row pattern each day. At that rate I'll be done by the end of March. I hope. I have so many other things I want to do, so many cute things lined up... not to mention the other two WIPs I have in the bag.

Time to go if I'm going to get any knitting done before Pooh Bear wakes up. I'll leave you with one last picture, just in case you think it always rains in Seattle...

A tisket, a tasket...

After posting my epic last light I realized that the colors here on my blog weren't doing anything for me so this morning I changed them. Control is a beautiful thing. I pushed a few buttons and made a few clicks and voila! I now have a blog page that reminds me of an Easter egg! Do you think I'm ready for Spring to hurry up and get here?

More later... I'm waiting to see if we get a sun break or two so I can take a few pictures.

the promised knitting content, but first...

I have been knitting... there is knitting to write about but before I get to that I simply must get something off my chest.

NBC is cancelling Studio 60. I am crushed. Devastated. Beside myself. They are canceling it due to lack of ratings so my guess is that there aren't many of you out there who feel my pain (damn it. it is all your fault... why didn't you watch???) I love this show! It is amusing, cleverly written and has good characterizations. It has real actors for goodness sakes, not just Joe Schmoe from down the street doing something ridiculous to gain his 15 minutes of fame and a few bucks. My hubby and I watch the show each week. Sometimes I watch it live and sit through the commercials without using a tivo-like product! That is how much I love this show (I record everything, I can no longer deal with the agony of sitting through a couple minutes of commercials... must. fast. forward.) NBC doesn't know when they will air the remaining 6 episodes. Talk about adding salt to the wound. Not only do I have to deal with the loss of my favorite show, I have to wait in limbo for the network to decide when I can find out what happens next. What will happen the Harriet and Matt? Will Tom and Lucy ever manage to go on their first date? And what about Danny and Jordan? Argh. This is the only new show I invested in this past fall and this is the thanks I get. My husband follows many shows: Lost, Heroes, Survivor, the list goes on. Me? Not very many (Studio 60, Numbers, CSI:original flavor and sometimes Miami, and Las Vegas) and Studio 60 is the only one I get upset about missing. Oh well. Seems that my luck with Bath & Body Works scents has transferred to tv shows, ie. if I like it, it won't be around for long.

OK. whew. So sorry about that, but jeez...

Onward to knitting!

Please alert the media, I have been knitting! That is, I think that is what it is called when I wrap the the yarn around the two pointy sticks, right? It has been so long...

So here's the saga (wow. this was going to be a short post but after my rant and now with my throwing around the term "saga" I think we can toss that idea into the scrap heap): I started knitting when I was 5 months pregnant with my daughter, Pooh Bear. I couldn't continue with my normal outlet activity, dancing (ballet & modern), because my body was no longer cooperating so I thought knitting seemed like the thing to do when you were expecting a baby. In the normal way of things I signed up for a weekly class and was hooked. That was in October 2006. Unfortunately, when December rolled around my body decided to start retaining every single molecule of water in the atmosphere and I swelled up so badly that I got carpal tunnel in both wrists. It was so bad the knitting had to be curtailed. Actually, I probably could have continued knitting had I been able to not type at work. That was not an option, typing being a major part of my job at the time, so the knitting suffered (I understand some might see this as a poor decision. I, too, wonder if I would have been better off picking the knitting). Anyway, my daughter was born in late January 2007 and I was caught up in the "OMG, what have I done, I have this little being that I created and now must be responsible for" swirl of things and knitting was really not a priority. I wanted it to be. I thought about it a lot but just could seem to squeeze it in. BTW, should any of you moms who claim to "knit while nursing" happen to read this post, please do email me. I am rather agile but cannot even begin to fathom the mechanics that make this possible. As I am having another baby in July, I am desperate to figure it out. Th upshot of all this is that with a few tiny exceptions (finishing off a couple gifts for friends that only needed seaming, the Candy Corn hat at Halloween, a few classes back in December) there has been no knitting!

All the adorable little projects I had lovingly picked out and planned for my daughter? Still in stash form. The baby blanket I had begun? It only had 33 of 300 rows complete. We're talking virtually no knitting in over a year! And yet I am still knitting obsessed. Clearly things could not continue in this manner.

And happily they have not. Two weeks ago I signed up for a project knitting class at my lys. Two hours of guaranteed knitting a week! Yippee! At the same time, my husband and I have finally managed to establish a bedtime routine for our daughter. Free time at night = knitting time! Amazing! And then, the discovery of not one knitting group I can attend, but two!!! My knitting cup runneth over. I have knit nine out of the last ten days (no knitting yet today as I wanted to blog and I only have two hands *sigh*).

There has been progress made on the aforementioned baby blanket, it almost is beginning to look like it might be a blanket instead of a scarf! So, what about this blanket, eh? It is the Ruffled Ridges pattern from Fiber Trends (pictured in pink in the link). I'm actually knitting it in a beautiful navy (Blue Sky Alpacas hand Dyed Cotton in #624 Indigo). I know, I know. Navy was an odd choice since I started this blanket for my daughter but I love navy. And now it will be perfect because I can make it for my new little boy instead (doing everything in my power to keep up the momentum so I can complete before his arrival in July). I promise a picture in my next post, I'm just to lazy to get the camera right now, and it is nighttime and it would be great to have natural light for a photo, and... you get the idea.

Lest you think my daughter will be denied her mommy-made blanket, fear not! I have already picked out a blanket pattern for her (and I have the yarn) but more about that and my recent stash enhancement next time. This post is already into quadruple overtime and needs to come to a close so you will just have to wait! (I think Dickens was really onto something when he created/popularized the whole cliffhanger concept...)

Look, I'm still Here! and I can still ramble...

Howdy. Been quite a while... I intended to write regularly but, um... not so much in practice. I have excuses (who doesn't?): we moved, we had the whole family here for Thanksgiving... Ok, that really only covers November doesn't it? But wait, just like Ginsu knives - there's more! At the endof November my hubby was offered an interesting job opportunity in California so we planned to move (again). Beginning in December he was commuting between Seattle and California each week so I was Pooh Bear's sole caregiver and I just couldn't find the energy to post (the idea being that Pooh Bear and I would move down to CA late February to mid-March).

*A quick aside here - I have SOOOOOOOOO much respect and admiration for single parents now. I have no idea how you do it. You must be stronger than I am! Actually, I've been impressed by single parents ever since my daughter was born but now my admiration has increased a hundred-fold.*

At any rate, life felt unbelievably crazy and I was anxious about picking up everything and heading down the coast. I felt overwhelmed by being with my daughter every moment of practically every day. I felt guilty for feeling like I was going to lose my mind if I spent one more minute with my daughter who is so cute and adorable, who I love dearly, and who really is well behaved. I just felt trapped. I was mad at my husband for putting me in a situation that made me anxious, depressed and guilty. Then I felt more guilty for being mad at him for seizing a great career opportunity - how selfish could I be? I was not a happy camper. My poor husband. I nearly tore his head off every time I saw him. It was ridiculous. All week I couldn't wait for him to come back home and then when he arrived I was a woman possessed. I was not nice. I yelled, I screamed, I pouted. I was a three year old (that might be an insult to three year olds). I was stressed and depressed and handled it extremely badly.

And then, an end of January miracle. The clouds parted and the sun appeared. After a meltdown involving a multitude of tears on my part and some job dissatisfaction on Hubby's part, we changed our minds. California was not going to happen. It was like flipping a switch. I'm happy to say I am now a normal person again. Seriously. Like it never happened. I am ecstatic. I can now really unpack and settle into the beautiful new house we purchased in October. I can plan Pooh Bear's room decor (pink! gotta get it in before she gets older and hates one her mom's favorite colors).

Even better, Hubby is transitioning out of the CA job which means he is AT HOME, ALL DAY! We can all spend time together! It is fantastic! Last week, the three of us went shopping downtown - on a Thursday. During the day. What a concept! It was a blast :)

So there you have it. My excuses. Moving, Family Holiday, Moving Again, Meltdown. But now: Rebirth. Which brings me to my last mitigating circumstance for my slackness over the last three and a half months...

A baby! That's right. Pooh Bear will get to be the Big Sister. A little brother is expected in mid-July. Very exciting! I feel so trendy as many of my favorite blog writers are also pregnant. It is kind of neat to follow everyone else's progress as they go on this incredible journey.

Anyway, I'll go now. Maybe tomorrow I'll have some knitting content... There has been knitting - at least in the last couple weeks, post-January miracle :)

PSA

That's right- I want to remind all of you to get out there and check out the new fangled EEE-lek-tronik voting machines. I know this is a new blog and the chances of anyone reading this is slim-to-none, but on the off chance that it might influence someone I feel obligated to remind you to vote. Yup. That is how important it is. Remember, you can't bitch if you don't vote (although plenty of folks do).

And by the by, what is it with the big freakout over electronic voting machines? We bank electronically, et cetera with nary a second thought (even if you eschew on-line banking an ATM is a form of electronic banking and who doesn't use those?) No system is perfect. People could probably rig the old mechanical machines if they wanted to, I guess it just sounds scarier when people talk about "hacking."

Regardless, vote. Vote. VOTE.

To my fellow Seattlites, the weather is no excuse- you won't melt. If your polling place has been closed due to flooding you can find your alternative place on-line, most of the local news station websites have links to the info. Going the extra mile or two won't kill ya'.

Any known allergies?

Just a few observations:

It is a bad idea to start a blog the week you plan to move.

You'd think this was obvious but somehow this little nugget of wisdom completely passed me by. Until now. Have spent the last week and a half trying to get all of our accumulated stuff from one house to the other. In a quest to simplify my husband and I are on a first name basis with the receiver at Goodwill. I think we are up to truckload number five (and we aren't talking about a compact truck either). Where did all the crap come from? But I digress, the upshot is that I have been so distracted by the moving ordeal that despite my promises to myself that I would blog regularly I haven't. (Not having internet access for several days didn't help the situation either)

Knitting goes slowly when you move.

Again, an obvious oservation but given that my role is this move has mostly been hanging out with my daughter attempting to keep her out of trouble while Hubby packs like a man possessed I thought I might get more accomplished. Oh, well. What have I accomplished? Are you ready? Sitting down? Eight rows on a MDK Ball Band washcloth. That's right folks. Eight whole rows. Considerably less than a row a day since my last post. A mere 360 stitches. Sad. Oh, did I mention that the eight rows were all knit in the past two nights?


Moving when you expect company is a stress inducing proposition.

Let me just say that our move was not planned. It was rather spontaneous. Our plan had been to remodel the house we were living in to accomodate our growing family. Ah, the best laid plans and all that. Suffice to say we found a new house (brand new, just built) that we really liked and the prospect of moving seemed more appealing than contracters traipsing through our house for the next 6-9 months. (Construction zone + nine month old = bad idea) And so, we bought the new house two weeks ago. Seemed like a good plan. Except we have my parents, my middle sister and fiance, Hubby's mom, Hubby's dad and his new wife, and Hubby's brother all converging on Seattle two weeks from tomorrow!!!!! ACCCKKKKK!!!! Did I mention we have no furniture? Did I mention that my kitchen is in multiple bins and boxes? Did I mention I am not only hosting/cooking for Thanksgiving but I am also hosting/cooking for a Baptism party for Pumpkin the Sunday after Thanksgiving? Did I mention I am a glutton for punishment?

Halloween has changed since I was a kid.

I'm not going to talk about the loss of neighborhood trick or treating in favor of retail trick or treating or any of a number of things I could touch on. I am just going to relate an experience I had:

Doorbells rings
I open the door.

Trick or Treator: "TRICK OR TREAT! I'm allergic to nuts and eggs."


I kid you not.