From Fiber to FO: Part 1 April 10, 2009

I’ve become absolutely enthralled by spinning.  It’s relaxing and just oh so fun to watch yarn take shape before my eyes.  So being the overachiever that I am, I’m going to attempt a fairly large project.  It’s the first time I’m spinning with a purpose: making yarn for a specific pattern.  I will be keeping track of my progress here.

The end goal of this endeavor is a Hemlock Ring Blanket.   It’s a beautiful pattern that originated as a lace doily.  I’m a semi-bridge jumper as several of my friends have knitted this very pretty blanket.

I decided that an undyed fiber would be the perfect showcase for the pattern.  I’ve been enjoying trying new fibers (so far I’ve spun Romney, BFL, and a wool/mohair blend).  Upon the recommendation of two fiber loving friends (paperclips and the Roving Gnome), I bought some Finn fiber from Hello Yarn.  Finn is a breed of sheep originally from Finland and first brought to North America in 1966.  For more about the breed and some cute pictures visit the American Finn Breeders Association.

My fiber arrived this past Tuesday:

Bag o'fiber

That’s 2 pounds of wool there.  The phrase,  “Every elephant gets eaten one steak at a time”, seems appropriate here.  I’m a bit unsure of where to begin.  I know I’m looking to end up with a worsted-aran weight 2-ply yarn.  I will just have to sit down and give it a spin (har, har, har).

Sleeping Beauty March 23, 2009

A quote from my friend’s almost 3 year old daughter about my newest obsession:  “Hollis has a spinning wheel.  She needs to be very careful.”  When asked why: “Because she might prick her finger and die”.  Upon the retelling of this story I laughed hysterically.  Who knew I could be the next Sleeping Beauty?  I will of course be extremely careful while embracing my newest obsession.

An update on the health front now.  Two weeks to go in the wrist brace and hopefully (hopefully!) I’ll be as good as new.  I can do pretty much everything now except for picking up Greyson in certain ways.  The wrist tends to be achy at the end of the day but overall, I’m pleased with my progress.

In other news, I am going to transform my self from a slug to a 5K runner over the next 9 weeks.  My friend Mrs. Knitpho has successfully completed several 5 K’s over the past year or so and I’ve been inspired to get my butt off the couch and do something good for myself.  I’m going to try this running regimen: Couch to 5K.  I’ve got new shoes and a good attitude and I’m ready to start this week!  Perhaps this may even help me lose the last of the stubborn baby weight.  A girl can dream right?

Finally, spring has sprung here in northern Massachusetts.  Well, kind of.  I have blooming crocuses and the tulips are working their way towards bloom right now.   Unfortunately today there is a decidedly wintry feel to the air.  But winter’s hold cannot last.  The inexorable tilt of the earth will soon lead to higher sun angles and warmer temperatures.  Science factoid of the day:  If your latitude is greater than 23.5 N or S the sun will never be directly overhead in the sky.

On tap for this week: back to work, preparation for Rich’s China trip, and hopefully some spinning and knitting time.

A Saturday February 21, 2009

Oops.  Been awhile since the last blogging.  There has been much drama, mostly of the sickness/injury kind.  Greyson had some terrible cold complete with wheezing and chest congestion.  I slipped and fell on some ice and sprained the heck outta my wrist.  Thankfully we are both on the mend.  I’m able to do most things now with the exception of picking up heavy objects (e.g. Greyson).  I’ve kinda devised a “scoop-with-the-left-hand” move to pick him up which will have to do for now.

It’s still cold outside.  I’m sure all my fellow Mass peeps will not be liking the forecast for Sunday.  Looks like a wet, pasty, heavy snow event.   In fact, one of the latest runs of the GFS model kills the interior with 12+”.  At least it’s not Wednesday.

I’ve been able to pick the knitting up again.  I finally got a good picture of my most extensive project of late:

Nice modeling action!

That is my clapotis.  Here are it’s stats:

Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert

Yarn: Brooks Farm Four Play

Needles: KP Harmony Options Size 8

My newest venture is the Squares blankie.  It’s working its way through my knitting group, much in the same way as the Clap.  I had all of this Cotton-Ease sitting around in the stash.  Inspired by the lovliness of the squares, I started one of my own:

The squares blanket in its embryonic form.

I also cast on another sock last night.  No pics of that one yet, but I’m through the cuff already.  It’s sportweight yarn so it should go pretty fast.  Or that’s what I hear.

I’m hoping for naptime now for the wee one and some knitting time for me!

Snow Day January 28, 2009

I like snow. It’s one of the reasons I moved up to New England.  Its always fascinated me, probably because I never got to see it much growing up.  Kinda like people in Oklahoma who are amazed by the ocean I guess.  When I was 10 it snowed about 6 inches on Christmas Eve, in Charleston SC.  It was amazing waking up on Christmas morning to a white wonderland.  It was a good thing it was Christmas too because if it had been a normal day, everything would have come to a screeching halt.  Snow of that magnitude is such a rare occurence that there are no plows.  No one owns a shovel (except for the kind you dig with).  But because it was Christmas, it was magical.  Anway, I digress.

In case you didn’t know, it’s snowing here today.  And normally I am down with that.  No problem.  Bring it ON.  Except for today is Wednesday.  Wednesday is also known as Hollis’ sanity day.  I work from home, pick up the house, run errands etc.  All things that are impossible to do on a day with the little ones.  And then the shining beacon of knitting night beckons me to the wonderful surroundings of great friends, coffee, laughter, and fiber.  Wednesday is my oasis in a desert of craziness.

So today, I am not at all pleased with you snow/sleet/freezing rain/water formations from the sky.  Nope.  Not one bit.  Could you have done this tomorrow?  Even Friday would have been alright.  It seems silly to anthropomorphize an area of low pressure or the jet stream. I certainly know why it is snowing today.  But it doesn’t make me feel any less like shaking my fist at the clouds and growling.  So GRRRRRRR to you snow.  GRRRRRRR.  The only saving grace for today is that LOST (!!!!) is on tonight.  Otherwise I think I might have to crawl into a corner and start sucking my thumb.

Firsts January 26, 2009

We had a big weekend.  Friday was the rescheduled Holiday Pageant for Elisabeth and Greyson’s school.  We had never gone before but this year Elisabeth was going to be performing with her class.   I had a hard time getting good pictures…here is the best of the bunch:

The big debut

Elisabeth is the little white hat by the woman in purple on the stage and Greyson is off to the right.  He didn’t actually perform   Elisbeth’s class “sang” (whispered) “I’m a little snowman”.  Here is Elisabeth having a snack after her big night.

Check out my hand-knits...Mommy knows what's up.

Afterwards at home there was much prepping for our other big event this weekend: Greyson’s first birthday.

Check out my cool elephant.

The birthday boy

The cake. Please admire.

Greyson's personal cake. I got mad skillz.

I don’t really think he knew what to make of the cake.

What is that glowing thing?

What do I do with it mama?

It's....weird.

But tasty.

Yum. Can I haz more pleaze?

I think he had fun!

Greyson with Uncle Rich (not his actual uncle but he plays one on tv)

And finally, Sunday brought church and a baby dedication.  At our church we do this in lieu of infant baptism.  So what’s the difference?  The baby dedication is really for the parents; Rich and I are making a promise to teach our children about God and His Son Jesus.  And at some point we hope that with that foundation Elisabeth and Greyson will choose to have the same belief.  But it is ultimately their choice because it is their life.  I can’t choose that for them anymore than I could or should choose their spouse or career.  So today we dedicated Greyson and pledged to do our best to raise him in a home where he will know and learn about the God who loves him so very much.

Our family and our pastor

Future metro?

The fun of taking pictures with babies.

‘Twas a good weekend.  Now I need a nap.

To my 1 year old January 21, 2009

You are one today Greyson. Looking back, it seemed like you were never going to arrive. Now you have lived a whole year. You have grown and changed so much. You were such a peanut when you were born. Just look at you!

January 21, 2008

Going home for the first time

You still love your hands but now you love cheerios almost as much. You’re an expert crawler. I still forget how fast you can get to the cat food. I love your smile and how you grin at me when I come into the room. When you headbutt my legs to say “pick me up”, it melts my heart. I know I’m getting a little sappy here Bubs (which is what we call you sometimes, especially Li-Li) but you are my only boy and my last little one. So today I am proud to be your mama and can’t wait to see all the wonderful things you are going to do this year.   I love you Greyson.

More chub = more to love

The sweetest face ever

Riding the bus

Long weekend January 19, 2009

Hello Monday morning.  This weekend seemed very long and not in a great way.  Saturday itself was actually very nice.  I took my Elisabeth out to a yarn shop and then to lunch.  It is great to be able to have a real lunch date with my daughter.  She ordered for herself (mac and cheese, french fries, apple juice), said please and thank you and charmed the pants off of the mother and son (college aged) who sat next to us.  Times like this make me believe that I really am doing a good job in the parenting department.  We next went to Target where she picked out a birthday present for Greyson.  She was very cute about the whole thing.  “I wonder what he would like”, she kept saying.  I kissed her while at the store and realized she was burning up.  Yikes.

Sunday was a day of a feverish and pretty sad little girl.  She would have moments when the motrin seemed to whack the fever down a notch and she seemed more like herself.  Most of the day she rested.  We watched Madagascar many times.  We had gotten it at Target the day before.  Cute movie.  I hadn’t seen it before.  Love the penguins.  She is also a fan of “Surf’s Up” which my mom left for her at my house.  She looooves Cody Maverick.  Anyway, between her being sick, the snow, and Greyson’s runny nose it was a long day.

Thankfully, there was no fever upon awakening this morning and E is back to being her happy (albeit somewhat demanding) self.  Tomorrow, I go back to work.  First day of class.  What to wear…???

Toil, Toil January 13, 2009

Today has been a day of peace, quiet, and lots of work. I’m trying to get ready for the beginning of the semester. Lots of writing, rewriting, planning etc. The laundry monster was rearing its ugly head again so I tackled some of that too.

Check this: I am making dinner for the second (yes…that’s 2nd!) day in a row. Tonight it’s beef stew flavored with beer. It is smelling good in here.

I just found out one of my favorite tv shows was canceled. I am bummed. Stoopid ABC!!! The show is Eli Stone. It was really well written and I just enjoyed watching it. Apparently they have filmed all 13 episodes that were ordered for the season but it’s been pulled from the schedule after only showing 9 episodes. Hope they show those last ones because they left with quite a cliff hanger. It didn’t get the best ratings. I guess ABC figures more people would like to watch Homeland Security USA or Dateline: What Would You Do? Um…no thanks. I guess I’ll just be doing more knitting.

Speaking of knitting: going to wind the 3rd ball of the Four Play tonight so I can finish the clappy. Woot woot!

A new home for a new year January 12, 2009

I like rearranging my furniture.  I just redid my living room.  It’s amazing how much different a room can feel with a bit of a switcheroo.  And so in that vein, I will be packing up my old blog (quasigeostrophictheory.blogspot.com) and reinventing it here.    I really want to get back into the blogging swing of things, so what better way than a whole new “living room” so to speak.  I’ll probably talk a lot about my new love: knitting.  Probably some about my kiddos.  Maybe a touch of weather.  And anything else that strikes my fancy.  So I’m shouting out a “Hootie Hoo” to all my peeps.  Come check it out!