Complaining and Compassion; Does One Make Up for the Other?

Why do I do this to myself?

Of course, my knitting is going at a snail's pace so this isn't a huge deal quite yet, but I will need another two, if not three to be super-safe, balls of Debbie Bliss Eco Cotton in Pumpkin, dye lot 7071. I bought the eight balls I have at The Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival, of all places as part of a kit and decided to try a different pattern (this one HERE) instead of a boring all-stockinette wrap pattern included with the yarn. I really liked the color and vegan/enviro friendly yarn and it was difficult at best to find any non-animal, much less green, fiber there. No, don't think I will waste my time and money there this year...

So here I am, trying tonight to sit down and find more yarn in this dye lot. No online stores seem to list dye lots; I can't be the only one out there who has not purchased enough yarn for something before, right? Does anyone know how I would go about finding this yarn? I did try Ravelry already and would prefer not to call every shop I find to ask about the dye lot. I will however do this if necessary.

Enough complaining about my silly knitting troubles. Wanted to mention a sweet idea here and also **gulp** publically commit myself to this project.

The idea is from Christabel and you can read about it RIGHT HERE. The first week of October will be Compassionate Craft Week 2010. I'm thinking most of you who look at this blog might already know of it and might be thinking of doing it anyway. If anyone out there knows of someone who might be crafty, please pass the word along. Thanks for your help (and compassion)!

Vandals Strike Knitsburgh, Leave Craftorium in Shambles

This weekend was wonderful! We managed to break out of the snowdrifts and drift up to the mountains and walk in the woods. It was perfect.

As the weekend ended, things changed.

The Craftorium was vandalized! The suspects? Moths. That's right, some moths apparently have been munching away on some old skeins of wool I had stockpiled PV (pre-vegan). I was heartsick; I had not really used any of the wool out of guilt but thought I would either pass it on to someone someday or use it up to knit things for non-vegan folk. The moths got to it much faster than my needles. As I filled a large garbage bag full with damaged skeins, tears fell out of anger at myself for not giving it away; regret at not knitting faster and more often.

The stuff left is mostly cotton with some acrylics, bamboo, corn, linen, hemp and two skeins of llama that Nature Boy's mother had gifted me two holidays ago. She purchased it from a neighborhood llama farm and I still don't know what I will use if for. Maybe some diaper covers for Wee One? Or a sweater for him? One thing is certain, I won't let it get eaten first.

Anyway, I'm off to search the net for ways to ensure the moths won't come back and ways to make sure they have all been banished from the estate. I think I remember lavender is a good moth repellent and I have some for soap making, so maybe tomorrow I can make some sachets to stick in the yarn baskets. I put one basket that did not have a fabric liner and wasn't as easily cleaned on the porch in the hopes of freezing temps taking care of things, but we haven't dropped to freezing in the past two days. It's just raining and all the snow and icicles on the house are melting. Disappearing slowly. Like my yarn.

Plans

Some days just don't go the way you planned.

Rain cancelled my walk with Wee One to the library this afternoon and our walk in the park with Nature Boy this evening.

A kitchen sink catastrophe cancelled out my hopes to chill on the couch and watch a movie with Nature Boy when Wee One had gone to bed (which he is still working on right now at 10PM on Friday night and that is why I am here blogging...it's best to just stay out of the way).

All of our zoo pics and videos were lost due to a "format error" on the little disk thing that goes in the Webbie video camera.

It will be ok though...my sissie is sending a disk with all of her photos from the weekend! Nature Boy is good at fixing stuff! It will not rain all day long tomorrow and we can walk and get to the library then!

This week, Nature Boy turned to me and said maybe I should go buy some yarn. That's right and I almost spit my drink out all over him in disbelief. What could ever make Nature Boy utter such a thing?

A holiday stocking for the Wee One, that's what! The only thing Nature Boy ever asked me to knit for him was a holiday stocking. Not a hat or scarf or sweater or socks or earwarmers. A stocking. So we hang it over the fireplace every Yule/Winter Solstice/Christmas/Hanukkah/Hogmany season. This Yule/Winter Solstice/Christmas/Hanukkah/Hogmany season, Nature Boy gifted me a set of deer stocking holders. There were three, a stag, a doe and a fawn, in anticipation of the new addition to our family and cause we really dig the deer. So Wee One needs a stocking to hang on his little fawn stocking hook over the fireplace.

We looked at many a pattern and narrowed it down to three. I haven't been thinking of it lately since I have three current projects on the needles but Nature Boy expressed some concern it will not be finished in time. So this week I looked at the three patterns and chose "the one." Wee One and I went to the yarn store and got us some yarn for the stocking (Hempton by Hemp for Knitting) and some other yarn too...whoops. Once I start it I will blog more about it, I'm excited and scared at once because I'll be embarking on New Technique Territory. I've been there before with mixed feelings. Sometimes it's a nice trip; other times you need a vacation from it when you come back to Same Old Same Oldsville.

Finally, here are some other things besides making a stocking I need to do soon...or at least sometime...
-Make THESE!!! For camping. Or just for any old day.
-Get cracking hard-core on Wee One's baby book. Before I forget stuff...
-Sew some more stuff. Like the pillows for the porch swing. And maybe a cushion for the new radiator covers in the bedrooms so the kitties have a soft landing. And make THIS. AND THIS!!!
-Rearrange our bedroom furniture and paint the walls.
-Read more.
-Turn off the TV more.
-Blog more.
-Use spellcheck.

Would you believe the asters in the above photo were unplanned? I planted them last year and they bloomed and apparently, they self-seeded and bloomed yet again this year for me too! Thanks Mother Nature for keeping the estate grounds looking cheery, in an unplanned lovely way.

Lots of Firsts

Can't even say how many First This and First That we are experiencing but thought I'd quickly touch on one; First Trip to the Yarn Shoppe for Wee One!


We went last week. Sadly, the yarn I was after is no longer being sold there...except some lonely pink and purple-y skeins in the sale bin. One day maybe I will learn my lesson! Instead, we got some of this:
Some 2nd Time Cotton (my fave fibre) in a bright, fiery red color. I'm thinking baby hoodie...


Wee One slept most of the time, including the car ride to and fro, but did wake to poop whilst there. Hopefully that's not a sign of what he feels about the place!


I did knit a small bit last week and hope to do some more tonight. The Kimono Sweater is coming along, I am just going to knit until the yarn runs out and see where we are; I did find some of the yarn online and can order some up, hoping to have just enough somehow...


We worked on birth announcements this week and managed to finisht them, take a walk to the post office and mail them out today. I feel somehow very accomplished of late to be able to cross one or two things off my list. And be able to eat and shower. Those are really good things too!!!

Wee One is HERE!!!!

Knitsburgh welcomes the Wee One!



He is so tiny and sweet and wonderful, I can't even say. I think he looks an awful lot like Nature Boy, his daddy. Especially his dimples and hands and feet.


I had an appointment to be induced chemically with pitocin at the hospital in the evening, however, my labor started naturally at 1AM that morning (you were right Affectioknit)! We got to the birth center at 9AM and I had him at 4:17 PM! We were home at 11:30PM that night, almost a full 24 hours from the time labor started. The birth was so wonderful, it was everything I had hoped for and more and I would recommend to anyone out there that they consider having a baby with midwives and at a birth center, for so many reasons. I am so thankful that women have many options and choices now and encourage women out there to consider them all and do what's best for them.


No knitting has transpired since the Wee One has arrived, but today we are making our first trip out to the LYS for you guessed it...yarn! I am typing this as I nurse him (don't ask) and may try to figure out a way to knit too. I nurse him about every 2 hours for 45 minutes, then there is a diaper change, then there is trying to eat some lunch or wash his nappies and hang them out to dry or tidying the house for the next grandparent visit so there is not a lot of time in there. I did manage to excercise about 1/2 an hour today too!


Things are so different now and so much better. Life is bliss, it really is!

Weight

There is weight on my body and weight on my mind. And there is Wait. Wait for the Wee One, for the summer, for the plans we are hatching. So weighty around here!

I did manage to get some of the weight off my mind this week, which I think is freeing me up for this last gainful stretch of the belly.

You would think with the unloading of mind weight, a mind and body could rest but not in my case. I've been up for hours again, unable to sleep, tossing in the bed. One of the residents of the estate, Ms. Isabella Maria, is not doing very well and woke up with me and had an accident on the floor. Seems she may be a bit older than we estimated when she chose to come to our place and live with us way back in the Colorado Time. She just came to our porch and wouldn't leave; she didn't want food, just attention and love. Poor sweet little thing, she was always the tiniest of our crew, so little weight. We took her in and at the time, she made three cats. She really shook some things up and as small as she is, she was always in charge of everything. I just hope we can give her some comfort and hope she has a chance to meet the Wee One.

Yesterday was Earth Day and the only thing I managed to do was get some good-for-the-earth fibre. I know, it's amazing how far I will go to do my part, right? Nature Boy called me at work to let me know my package had arrived. Behold the new yarny goodness: Knit Picks Organic Cotton, Worsted Weight, 4 skeins of Marshmallow.

Thinking of making a little Guernsey sweater with it for Wee One.

The blanket for Wee One is still not getting much play. Instead I've cast on for a wrap with some leftover yarn. I plan to use it as a nursing cover-up device when out in public or on the front grounds of the estate.

I don't think I've updated this in some time; we went to see Nature Boy's extended family for Russian Easter this past weekend and I've been busy first with preparations with going, then with getting things back to normal around here upon our return. It was nice to see everyone but also trying at times with the lack of space and older relatives who don't understand you are eating VEGAN frozen meals not DIET frozen meals and that your sodium intake is fine because you don't eat this crap all the time, only when you have to go away for a whole weekend and need easy meals that don't interfere with the meal prep for NON-VEGANS who make up the majority there. Oh and due to my "condition" I had to stay sober. We'll just leave it at that...

Rattled!

Here is the most recent finished project for Wee One:

A rattle! The Toadstool Baby Rattle by The Purl Bee. I used the Bamboo Fiber Fill and let me tell you, that stuff is so soft! The body was knit with some cotton fiber and the polka dots were added in duplicate stitch once it was completed, stuffed and all. The rattley part comes ala a toy given by the cats---that's right, one of their little balls with a bell inside it. Don't worry, we washed it first.

We had dinner at Kay and Bill's today. I made some vegan potato salad, some county fried seitan and a vegan poundcake that we smothered with strawberries and soy whipped cream. The seitan was only eaten by me as the rest of the crowd are carnivores and they ate some animals instead. We also had some roasted asparagus--it disappeared very quickly too!

Well, off to eat some leftovers, maybe order some new yummy fiber (while Nature Boy is occupied with a new video game...) and get ready for the finale to Rock of Love Bus. I know, quality TV, right?

New Moon, New Perspectives

So what does one do when they drag their arse into work on a Saturday morning and slave until midday, only to discover Nature Boy is not yet home from work himself?

One heads off to the yarn store and gets down with the fibre! I picked me a pretty bouquet of some cotton yummy-ness that also happened to be on sale. I got some very relaxed tones and then got some more exciting skeins in red and orange too.

The relaxed tones are going into the first sweater for the Wee One, from this pattern by Fawn Pea:

I started it yesterday and unlike the blanket, it is flying along. It seems so tiny, I can't believe a baby might fit into it soon!

The vibrant tones...I will reveal their purpose at some later date and time. After work and the yarn store, I ran to the market and then came home, gathered up Nature Boy and headed to Bill and Kay's for dinner. Yesterday instead of resting, I spent half the day decluttering and cleaning Knitsburgh, then relaxed on el-coucho with the little sweater. Nature Boy cooked me dinner too, isn't he sweet?

I never updated the world at large who flocks to read this regarding my cube troubles, but things have been much better. A few days after I posted about my "cube mate" our whole department had to move to another floor and were assigned new cubes. Now I sit a few cubes away from her and it's much easier to ignore her negativity. I love how things work themselves out! Thank you universe, you are truly amazing!

Plan for tonight: finish laundry, knit and watch Paranormal State. With a big bowl of soy ice cream and some crumbled up cookies and some chocolate syrup. Did I mention I'm pregnant?

Yarnburst

Look what came home with me!


During the photo shoot a passerby stopped to see my taking pics of yarn on my front steps. I felt the need to explain my actions. The next time I think I'll just say, "Move along ma'am, nothing to see here, that's it, on your way..."

Here is Sock #1, from Pair O'Sox:

Progress is slow but is still going onward, at least. I am already ruminating on what to make when I'm finished with Pair O'Sox.

Here is my vegan pudding waiting for me yesterday in the fridge when I came home from work:
I know, our fridge looks way classy, right?

So I saw Wicked and that night finished the last 50 pages of the book. They were very different and although I enjoyed the musical, I did like the book a lot better. Some things never change...

Some things do change. There's been lots of change around me of late, at my job and here at home and even amongst friends. Today I got news of the best kind of change ever so I'm over the moon right now. I've been enjoying meeting up with friends I haven't seen in a bit, both last weekend and today, and I think I've been grinning ear to ear all day thus far. The sun is shining, the earth is brown and red and orange and warm, and I feel at peace for the first time in over a month.

HERE I GO, HERE I GO, HERE I GO AGAIN, WHAT'S MY WEAKNESS...

YARN!!!


And some of you thought I would say "men"--HA!
That's my new Rowan "Calmer" purchased at the LYS, Knit One. The saleswoman was all like, "oh, this is my favorite yarn, it's the CASHMERE of cotton" about three times. I wanted to yak but choked it back. And yeah, THAT rhymes!!

Here is a view of my new current project (mind you I still have a sweater lanquishing at the bottom of my knitting bag/purse which yes, is one and the same, as well as half a sock hanging around on the needles). I will give you more details at another time, but it is CROCHET, not knitting and yes, I think I am finally getting it!


Here's a pic of my latest COMPLETED work, a blankey. I got the word it was received so now I can talk about it. I took me an eon to finish, I seem to have difficulty in that area, and was not done in time for me to give the recipients in person, but hey, at least I finished it right? It's the thought that counts, right? Everyone loves a lil' suprise package in the mail, right? You can also see a lil'lavendar sachet I made to enclose with it.



Wow, the holidays beat me up this year! I got a mega-cold and survived yet another birthday. I got to see my family and friends and that was really nice. I didn't get to see everyone, maybe next year (hint to MIA sister of mine and to MIA Kimberfly). Kris Kringle was also really good to me, I got lots of geek-tacular stuff like my label-maker. I am labeling EVERYTHING in my way so watch out, you may be next. My cats all have labels on their heads right now, in fact.

I think that cathes you up from Thanksgiving through the New Year. Oh, and to vent about my New Year's Eve. We (again) went to the outdoor event at Station Square titled "Tick Tock Rock." First year was Brett Michaels (of Poison) and it was great fun. Second year was Winger and that provided an almost equally laughable good time. This year? The Gin Blossoms. It sucked! There was only one woman with giant hair and she wasn't even in the crowd, she was on the stage! I'm all for braving the cold for a really good band or a really hilarious romp through the 80's but for semi-grungy, depressing flannel-ridden lyrics and non-danceable music? Not again! Hope your New Year's Eve was a little more upbeat! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

When the Cat's Away...

...the mice want to buy some yarn. My guy is out of town and for some reason, this makes it even more compelling to go shopping. I bought myself some new shoes (and scored some compliments on them too) but have resisted the yarn shoppage. Thus far. Don't know how much longer I can hold out though.

If you can read this baby, you better get your cute self back here quick!

Oh, but let me add this on: the yarn would not be for me but for a knitted up gift for someone else. Buying it would therefore almost promote me to martyr status. This is making it even harder for someone to disuade me...

Beret news: going VERY slowly. May not be done by Thanksgiving at this rate.