Creating

Saturday afternoon. he with his duplo blocks making "a really big space ship" . Me with my needles making a really big vest thing.



During the week I had a sick baby at my side. I took advantage of his lack of mobility and sewed for the first time in months. While it was sad that the baby wasn't crawling around very much, the first time we have seen his disease affect him in a real noticeable way, the sewing helped me keep my mind occupied with something other than worry, something positive. After many 15 minute interludes of sewing, I was able to finish a pair of quick change trousers, a pair that has been in the planning for at least six months. Of course we wore them all weekend!




Over the weekend I was able to cut out for another pair. And when I declared at 4:00 on Sunday that I was going to retire into my sewing " studio" to work for one hour, guess what happened? My older one followed me into the living room, and said he wanted to learn. He has had a heavy interest in the mysterious sewing machine for awhile. So I suggested we make a tote bag for him to take to school. He picked out the fabric. He ironed it. I cut it. He picked the thread. We went over the sewing machine basics. He pushed down the pedal ( with great glee) while a guided the first few seams through. He is too short to both reach the pedal and steer, which is just as we'll, because I don't want his fingers getting crushed by the needle. So he helped sew the basic bag, and I made straps, and am in the process of hand sewing them onto the bag. He wants it done by tomorrow, but that is not going to happen.




crafting on with Frontier dreams
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The week gone by

It was a two pizza week.
The first due to an all day ER visit with Yo.
The second, burnt chili. Still cleaning out the pot ( my favorite).
A challenging week with a baby too sick to crawl,who took to mom and dad's bed, and got used to it ( so much for doing yoga after the kids are in bed)
By the end he was happier, and crawling, a bit shaky, but at least trying.
And there was snow.
Never seen a kid so happy with his orange shovel clearing the whole quarter inch off the driveway, probably making it slicker than it was or would have been.
He got a quarter anyway, for the x-wing fighter he is dreaming about.
And we got to finally use our sled and our new hill.


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State of the Stash

As I've been cleaning house in a project whose code name is project equanimity, I've run into my stash, hidden under the living room couch (mostly). I would like to say neatly hidden, but every now and then the littles find it and rummage through, and yes, I have also been known to rummage and then shove everything back all higgley-piggley.

The stash reminds me that I have no earthly reason to buy more yarn. There are at least 5 or 6 projects waiting to be knit or reknit as the case may be.

But the temptations are constant. Going to Yo's doctor brings me right near my favorite yarn store. And all the lovelies I see on line when I look at other people's knitting...sigh.

In the interest of stash busting, I am posting my yarn and what I intend to do with it.

Project 1: Vest for self using leftover quince and co. Osprey? It will be the same kind of garter stitch yoke I've used for some of Yogurt's vests, with a garter stitch bottom border ( instead of a roll). To be worn under long-sleeve t - shirts.




Project 2: Navy blue v-neck for Yogurt



Project 3:Honey Cowl in the lovely grey wool. This needs re knitting. I messed up the first time, and don't know how to fix it other than rip all the way back. I might change the size too.




Project 4: The red scarf inspired by the Night Circus. Haven't picked a pattern yet.



Project 5: Socks




This is just what jumps out at me when I look. Some other random yarn may also turn itself into something of the other. There is also I sweater stuffed in a bag, which needs to be reknit, cause I don't think the size will work.

So, no need to buy yarn, right? RIGHT?

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Square yoke vest

I just love me some variegated yarn in garter stitch! I am very proud of myself. I channelled EZ and I knit a bit dangerously, without a pattern or instruction, just by how it seemed it could work. Originally, I was going to knit the front and back separately back and forth as I normally do for this sort of garment. But, this yarn had such nice long runs, that I changed my mind. I wanted a square yoke like I've seen on "Milo", except I believe I am knitting in the other other direction ( from the bottom). And I thought about how I could do so. Making a mitered corner ( sl1 k2tog, psso on top of one another every other row) makes a right angle, right? and four right angles make a rectangle, right? I took a deep breath and channelled EZ, and I charged ahead, knitting without tears or fear.

After binding off for the armholes, I was left with 40 stitches for the front and 40 for the back. I cast on 40 stitches at each armhole to make the "straps" going up the side. And joined each to the rest of the work in the round as I went, careful not to twist them. Then did the decrease at the corners every other round and viola! A square yoke. I wasn't entirely sure it had worked until I bound off, and it would have been easier with a second needle to make the goemetry being forced on one circle needle a little less cumbersome, but I managed, and it is exactly what I wanted.

For anyone interested the yarn is classic elite, liberty wool. It is a very soft and light yarn, but to my hand lacks some of the elasticity of other similar weight yarns. All in all an okay yarn, but nothing I'm ecstatic about. But I like the variegated yarn which coordinates with the base. That is nice.

Until next week, may all your crafting be well!











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Here now

The last 4 months or so have seen a shift in our household. We went from normal, to slightly off normal. Yogurt started to have GI and weight issues at the time we started solids. At first we weren't too concerned. His brother had had issues with weight gain too, but then the symptoms got worse, and the weight kept coming on and then off. All the while he remained bright and happy, so I still wasn't that concerned, but the doctors got worried. "sometimes it's hard to tell at this age, whether they are in pain....." This got me thinking about every time Yo had trouble sleeping. But still he was a happy baby.
So we went to the hospital for tests, and we stayed a full week.... They put him on a restricted diet, taught us how to place an orange feeding tube, and fed him more calories then he could possible drink of yucky tasting (and expensive!) elemental formula. That week in the hospital was the worst week in my life. The doctor's disagreed on diagnosis which caused lots of worry and prompted lots of questions. In the end we switched to a third doctor, because we were a little unhappy with how things went down, and the old doctors' seemed completely unconcerned that our child was being fed exclusively through a tube.
The first words out of the new doctor's mouth were "How much is he getting by mouth?" I keep wondering how much of this would have been avoided if we had seen her in the first place.
Four months in and most days Yo still gets most of his food through a tube. We have started to add back some food, all of which I prepare. He has had problems with rice, and we suspect corn. We haven't tried any of the other big suspects.
The process has been draining and has taken a toll on the whole family, but especially me. Luckily, Yo still remains happy.
I desperately want to reclaim our life, and its still there, but I feel like as soon as things start improving, BAM! something happens and throws us off kilter again. We are getting by, but it doesn't take much to unsettle us.
So in this newest year I am embarking on getting back, recovering, and being here.
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State of the Blog

Been thinking about how best to use this space. I probably do this every year, thinking about how the blog fits in my life.

I looked over my old entries, and I have to say it was nice to have that sense of how things have happened.

What I noticed is that this blog has worked well as a knitting blog, but it also carries the thread of our life through it.

The two biggest years (the first and the last) in terms of postage were very craft centered years.

I like that, the crafty dialogue, so it will continue.

I've been experimenting with impressions, little bits of unstructured writing which try to convey a feeling more then explain in detail what the situation is, and I think I like that so you will see more of it too.

I love the pictures of the kids, but due to privacy concerns (theirs not mine) I think I may back off at least somewhat. That's going to be hard to do, and I will miss their pictures, but as they start getting older I don't want this space to be about them without their consent. However, I will still tell our story, sometimes obliquely, sometimes more directly as the situation fits.

I will always put thought into what I post, and what I choose to share.

I will try to improve my use of the English language, meaning I will try to spell correctly.

Also this won't be a space for selling anything. I'm just not into that ( not that I have a readership, but even if I did, I wouldn't except any kind of advertising, other the kind I am not compensated for).

Well that seems to be it. Thank you for allowing this space to just be here.

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Wishing....

Ever feel like as soon you feel confident things are under control, they go and spiral out all over again?

I have a horrible cold, yogurt has a horrible cold, and the weight of that makes everything feel dismal.

I wish a could curl up with some hot tea and knit, but alas...... With a yogurt around who either wants lots of mommy cuddle time, or is up to TROUBLE, we'll you understand.

So here it is, my knitting since Christmas.



Notice I'm knitting for the second time, didn't even bother ripping and rewinding. This is yogurt's Christmas sweater. First time it was way to large, and finally forced after knitting the full skein to admit it, I started again. It will be a roll bottomed vest. The top will be a matching variegated yarn in garter stitch. It is rolling quite a bit more than expected. I even put a garter stitch row to break the roll. Hopefully blocking and wear will fix it, because I am not knitting this skein again!