Whew!

Well, I think the temperature was over 96 degrees today (since it was 96 at 10am). Oh, I am so glad for air conditioning!!!! Joel worked today, so the kids and I spent the morning grocery shopping and the afternoon sitting in front of the air conditioner. The kids then went out this evening and actually got cold playing in the wading pool. Water is so fun!
I have to tell you a funny story about my 4-yr-old(the Elder Son). I went in the other night to wake him up to go to the bathroom (night-time potty training). He's on the top bunk, so I stood on the lower so I could reach him; and pulled him over to me. He immediately starts talking----"I don't want................I don't want pig..............I don't want pig.............I don't want Piglet............I don't want Piglet.............I don't want Piglet....................I don't want Piglet on me!!" It was a bit sleep slurred, but I'm pretty sure that's what he said. Sometimes I wish I knew what they dream about!!!!! It was so hard not to giggle at him; I don't think I did very well. He's my most avid sleep talker. He always has been. There have been nights where he has awakened Joel and I with shouts. We run in there and ask what's wrong....if we get an answer it's slurry, mumbly, and makes no sense. Other nights, very clearly, I've heard him say (vehemently!) "NO, it's MINE!! Stop!" DD on the other hand; if you open her door, she instantly starts intelligent conversation with you no matter how far into sleep she was. Ok, so that's an exaggeration--but not as big a one as you think! ;-)

I've been knitting a lot this week. I've been trying to catch up on knitting baby shower gifts-I really like having some on hand, because it seems like I go to them fairly regularly. So I now have a boy baby gift, a girl baby gift and a gender neutral gift. Now I am working on a hat I promised to make for a friend 4 months ago. And a Christmas gift for someone special who reads this blog, so I can't say any more about it. When these things are done, I am designing some things for the Unique Sheep, so "stay tuned" and check them out!

Busy World

I know I'm later than usual in my posting. I have been busy, but when I think about it, I can't think what I was busy doing that is worth mentioning! Just doing life, you know? It was really a fairly quiet week last week. I got to see my Dad and Sister on Saturday, that was pretty cool. My sister is back East somewhere, I can never remember where (I ask her, and try to remember, but within minutes it's been driven from my mind) amazing people with her math skills for a few weeks.
The kids have been busy as always. The sun has finally come out in force the last few days, so they are loving it and begging for water in the wading pool every day.
I didn't knit a lot last week. I'm not sure it was a good idea to take time off from knitting. I thought it would help my hands/arms, but it just made me feel weaker. I'm getting into the swing of it again now, though. :-) I've made 3 baby hats. Granted 2 were preemie hats, but still....

One thing I must mention--and I encourage you to check out on a regular basis--is my husband's new blog! Joel works for Skatechurch on support-based pay, and has started a blog to keep his supporters and anyone else who is interested informed about what he is doing. You can check out his blog here. There's also a link to it on the side of my blog. It is really a very important ministry; please check it out.

Tidbits

It is finally done!! The Celtic Icon took me 3 months, but it is done! And I actually like it on me. :-) I have knit a lot of tops that did not work when I tried them on, so I am extra happy that one that took this long, looks nice. The sleeve length is absolutely perfect! This is the best-finished project I think I've ever done. I learned how to do nice seams on this one- at last. :-) So here it is:














I've decided to take a small break from knitting-as my hands are really starting to hurt lately. But I can't just sit still......so I've decided to go back to the roving I got at Thanksgiving and barely spun a wee bit--and spin it up in the meantime. Here is the start:


My spindle is hand-made and so not the best balanced, but it works, and I am having fun learning how to do this. It's very lumpy and bumpy, but I think I will get better.
I am hoping that after a few days I will be able to get back to knitting, as I have a long list of things that need to get done. I will be test knitting a pattern for a designer, as well as having her test knit a glove design I have recently completed for the Unique Sheep (more details on that in the near future).
So I will spin for a few days, and then get back into the swing of knitting again.

Yesterday was World Wide Knit in Public day. One of my friends and I went out and knit outside a nice coffee shop in SE Portland. It was very pleasant. In fact, it was actually sunny!! It hasn't been very sunny here this spring, so it was a nice change. I am obviously not used to it--I sat half in the shade and burned one arm. :-D It looks a bit odd to have one white arm and one red one. I am hoping the sun will stick around for a few more days so I can even out a bit!!


It was gorgeous for Father's Day. I think DH (Darling Husband)had a good day. He went out with the kids this afternoon so they could bike and skate on the road. Our youngest really doesn't care to bike, he much prefers the skateboard. He figured out today how to go down the driveway; this was very exciting for him! Usually he just stands on the board stationary and taps it up and down. Motion is a bit scary. But he did this (picture) for an hour. Non-stop. He is very persistent, and doesn't mind falling down. I do believe we have another skater in the family!! :-) He cares a lot about what he wears for a 2-yr-old boy as well. Note the hat: he won't go outside without it anymore. :-) It's his "work-hat" or "skate-hat" as the mood takes him.

Who needs TV when you have kids!!!?

New Traditions

We are a very young family; and don't have a whole lot of traditions. We just started a new one that we hope will take off really well- especially as the kids get older.

Have you heard that song that goes:
"Here I raise my Ebenezer,
Hither by Thyhelp I come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home....."

I can't remember how it starts at the moment, but I can remember it from there. Anyway, have you ever wondered what in the world it means by "Ebenezer"?? It's an untranslated Hebrew word (according to my pastor), that literally means a pile of stones. A pile of stones for/of remembrance. You know- in the OT all the time the people are stacking stones to remember something God did. Jacob- when he dreamt of the angels going up and down the ladder made a stack of stones to commemorate it. The Israelites-when they crossed the Red Sea, and the Jordan, and in lots of other places. Abraham-when he covenanted with the Lord. There's lots more.

We were in a Home Community at one point that had an "Ebenezer jar". Every time someone had a story of God's providence, or a really great praise, they would put a stone in the jar to commemorate it. It was a rad idea.

So last weekend, DH and I were talking, and we decided to have our own "Ebenezer jar". The difference is, that instead of putting a stone in, we will put in a slip of paper that has the incident of God's awesomeness written on it. Then, at Thanksgiving, when we can't remember everything we want to praise God for, we will pull out our Ebenezer jar, and praise the Lord for His Awesomeness! I like new traditions. ;-)

Papa vs. Mama

Every once in a while, parents get a peek into the mind of a child. Oh, what a treat!! They have the most unique, fun ideas. :-) Yesterday, as we (Grandma, me and the children) were driving somewhere, Grandma and I were able to listen in on a very interesting conversation............. (approximate conversation due to time elapsed since then, and memory issues due to being Mama)

YS(younger son) has stuffed a thin straw into a crack in his carseat, and none of the children are able to get it out. They are discussing their options:
ES(elder son): "we could get some thin pincher things and stick them in and grab it and pull it out"
DD(dear daughter): "It would be best to take the car seat apart and put it back together"
ES: "What? Why? You can't break it!"
YS: "My staw!!"
DD: "You take the car seat out and turn it upside-down, then find the straw and pull it out!"
ES: "You can't take the seat apart, it doesn't come apart."
YS: "It stuck!!"
DD: "Well, Papa can saw it apart, and Mama can sew it back together!!"

At this point the conversation came to an end b/c Mama accidentally burst into laughter. :-D Isn't it cool how our children see us! Papa is good at taking things apart, and apparently, Mama can sew anything. I think they got that idea b/c they watched Mama stitching Papa's back support seat together last week. I really don't sew very much--knitting is more my style. :)

Speaking of which, I was able to borrow a digital camera this weekend, and have had much fun uploading a lot of my stash and WIP's onto Ravelry--- And here are some of them.
This one is my very first homespun. With a drop spindle. It was done at least 5 months ago, and I haven't picked up the spindle since. I want to! I am just so busy knitting, I have no time to spin!! When I use up a lot of my yarn, I think then I will spin more.

This little project is some socks. 2-at a time, on dpns. The ultimate in double knitting to my mind. However, I also think it takes me longer b/c of the amount of concentration needed. So when I have the right needle sizes, I prefer to work 2-at-a time in the Magic Loop method. Speaking of which, I am currently working on my first glove design in the Magic Loop method. I am very pleased with how it is turning out (the second time--the first needing immediate frogging!). When complete and test knit, it will be available at the Unique Sheep (see knitting resources).

This is the current status of my Celtic Icon sweater. It is missing the right sleeve and the sides of the hood. But what I have is all seamed up! B/c I dislike seaming so much, I thought I would seam as I finished each piece rather than save it all for the end. It turned out well. And I must say, I think it is the best seaming job I've ever done! I think I have finally conquered the intricacies of the mattress stitch! ;) B/c it's acrylic, I can't really block out the individual pieces anyway-and I am pleased with how it is turning out. It is a bit snugger than I wanted, but I think it will fit okay. Especially this fall.......I hope. :-) Of course, I may get to wear it sooner than that if I finish it quickly. The weather has been so odd here! So much cooler and wetter than usually for the end of May. We're still wearing sweaters in the morning and jeans all day instead of shorts. Not the usual! I'm glad. The heat bothers me; I 'd rather it stayed cooler. :-D

Frugal living--Menus

Knittingmama, thank you for the comment! I am more than happy to send you my actual menu if you want (you'd just have to give me your email address)--but it might not help you a whole lot that way, as we probably cook very differently. :) So I thought I would just give you the basic idea of what I did.I originally got this idea from a lady who said she sat down with her husband and they planned out what their family would eat every day all day for 3 weeks--breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner, all of it. Mine is not that extensive. I think it might save even more money done that way--but I like a little bit of choice in snacks etc. (I think laziness plays into it too *wink*)
Basically, I sat down, wrote out a list of the meals I cooked on a regular basis. Then I wrote them into a 3 week calendar. Then I looked through my cookbooks to find things to fill in the blank spaces (there where quite a few!!). To save money and effort, I initially tried to have a "beef week", "chicken/pork week" and "ham week". That way, I could use the leftovers. For example: on "ham week": Monday, we have beef & rice casserole for lunch (quick, easy, and rarely has leftovers), and a ham for dinner (with vegtables of course!). Before I serve the ham(a $15-$20 uncooked shank or butt portion cooked all day in the crockpot), I cut all the meat off the bone and put the majority of it in a Tupperware in the fridge for later meals. On Tuesday, we eat some easy beef meals (too much of one meat gets old very fast!). On Wednesday, we eat 2 meals that use up portions of the saved ham: ham&pasta salad, and a ham stir-fry. On Thursday, we eat leftovers for lunch, and scalloped mac&ham for dinner. On Friday we have ham chowder for lunch and a beef-based meal for dinner. Saturday and Sunday are my "days off" of cooking--we eat up the rest of the leftovers and some processed foods like fish sticks. I usually still have leftover ham from the week as well. I do something similar for the other weeks. If it's "beef week" make a roast on Monday, and use the leftovers for things like soup and sandwiches. $15-$20 seems like a lot for a ham or roast, but when you figure I use it for at least 5 meals for 5 people, that comes out to less than a dollar per person per meal. Not bad! :-)
Hope this is helpful to you!!

Swatches, Swatches, Swatches!!!

I hate swatching. Which seems a bit odd, as I like designing, and designing requires a multitude of swatching. But I do. I always avoid it when I can, but that is rare, and getting rarer. It took me 4+ years to learn how to do it right! I still wonder if I do it right. I never used to wash and block my swatches. I do mean never. But I have learned (the hard way) that in designing, swatches MUST be washed and blocked. So now I wash and block my design swatches (if I intend to submit them somewhere. If it's just for family----maybe, but not likely). But I still don't wash and block if I'm following someone else's pattern. I know that's bad, but I like to think I'm conserving yarn that way.

All of that said, I have been swatching like crazy this week- to the neglect of all my WIP's. I have done maybe 6-8" on the 1st sleeve of the Celtic Icon. I should be done with it by now. I cast on one sock that I am thinking might be for me (we'll see)--I want to do it with the double knitting on dpns b/c it's one of those self-patterning yarns and I won't be putting in any texture. But I'm also doing it toe-up, so have to start them one at a time. (sorry, side-tracking again)

I have been swatching b/c a couple of different magazines/companies have sent out calls for submissions. I have sent out 3, and have 2 more I am swatching this weekend, as well as finishing a swatch for a design that I am working on for the Unique Sheep. It seems silly that 3 swatches have taken me most of the week, but one of them was a very large and difficult one that took me 3 days. Admittedly, that was not consistent knitting. I've not actually had a lot of knitting time lately.

It's been a busy week. One good thing that has happened this week is that I've lost a few pounds! I have finally reached my pre-pregnancy weight from my 2-yr-old's conception/birth. I am very happy about that! But would still like to lose a few more (not unusual, I know). That of course takes away from my knitting--but I figure it's a good trade. :-D

One cute story from this week:
At the grocery store, the kids and I saw a man stocking eggs. ES said (very excited!) "I saw chocolate eggs!!! He was putting away CHOCOLATE eggs!!" He had never seen brown eggs before. It was very cute. :-)