Happy Independence Day!

July 4, 2009 at 9:48 am | In Ladybug, Pigeon | 1 Comment

Stay safe out there! And please be considerate of any neighbors who have small children who don’t like loud booms in the middle of the night!

Home Again Home Again, Jiggity Jig

May 22, 2009 at 2:02 pm | In Ladybug, Pigeon | 1 Comment

Hubby’s Grandpa passed away last week, more than a month after his heart attack (when the doctors gave him on average a week to live.) We zipped on up to Chicago for the funeral and family togetherness. I brought some knitting ripping knitting and ripping to do, but didn’t have much time to get it to a very photo-worthy point. Maybe next week, my friends.

So instead of knitting, I bring you kids playing at Millennium Park.

OMG Momma, water!

Self portrait of the family as reflected on the inside of the Bean

We saw one of Chicago’s famous residents. (Which, by the way, the Art Institute was free because of the opening of the new modern wing. We were ecstatic.)

But none of its famous knitters.

Now, if only it hadn’t taken 10 hours to get there and 13 hours to get home again.

Where has the time gone?

April 23, 2009 at 9:27 am | In Pigeon | 2 Comments

It wasn’t that long ago that she was a scrawny little newborn!

We’re Having Fun!

April 9, 2009 at 1:53 pm | In Pigeon | 1 Comment

I probably come off as complaining an awful lot about Pidge staying home with me, but I really do embrace our time together. We played on the floor, chasing each other, knocking things off her head, and just had fun for a while today.

I know that I’m not cut out to be a stay at home Mom. I find taking care of the kids very stressful – they’re hard bosses to please.

But I can certainly cherish this bit of time together. 10 months old is a great age. I might get to see her first steps!

She’d likely be walking to grab on Callie. Poor kitty.

No Time, Must Blog!

April 7, 2009 at 3:24 pm | In Pigeon, knitting, me | 1 Comment

In an effort to save money, Pigeon is staying home with me during the day. This means that I have very little time for anything that isn’t entertaining the baby, or making sure she doesn’t crawl down the stairs (because up is so easy, she thinks down will be too, and MUST be done head-first), or eat all the paper in the house. (I still get Tuesdays though; my Aunt takes her for the day on Tuesday. Hence the blogging today. And job apps. And cleaning.)

But last week I did have some knitty fun. I picked up my Moderne Baby Blanket and knit a few ridges, and cast on for my Cardi Cozy in that gorgeous soft blue laceweight. I don’t have pictures because Hubby commandeered the camera for his trip to Phoenix and hasn’t yet returned it to its rightful place on my desk.

Phoenix? Well, Hubby’s Grandpa had a heart attack and his body is shutting down. He has a week or two left, and Hubby got the opportunity to fly down there and say his good-byes. It’s very sad, but Grandpa has led a very full life, and right now his quality of life is poor – he can’t walk any more, his kidneys are almost non-functioning, and he can’t take care of himself now. But his mind is all there, and that’s very reassuring.

On a lighter note, I got to go shopping with my Mom and Sister (who just got a job, yippie!) and got oodles of great interview/work outfits, and a couple pairs of very non-sensible shoes. I think my favorites are the python print pumps.

I know y’all read Techknitter, but did you know she reads my mind, and posts new articles about something I’m going to have to do on the next row of my current project?

I think that’s it.

Not a Book Review

February 25, 2009 at 2:22 pm | In Pigeon, books | 1 Comment

I am infatuated with the new Mason-Dixon Knitting book. Love it. I want to make the Cardi Cozy, Emma Peel, a kippah, and while I’ll probably never make it, I love the look of this coat. (If I ever get svelte and trim, I’ll totally be making it.) I’ve been hunting down some Kid Silk Haze through Ravelry, and I might just have found some I can afford. If I can really make the Cardi Cozy out of two balls (yes, I’ve seen that it might take more, but I would want mine to be very airy, like the sample in the book(OK, maybe I’m delusional. Even Margene needed 4 balls. Damn.)), I will be a very happy knitter.

The Knitting Workshop tapes from the library are here, and I started watching the first one. I am amused that the first project uses stranded knitting. I think it’s great, actually, that EZ is making it seem like it’s nothing to be afraid of. She doesn’t over analyze it, just says be consistent and you’ll be OK.

An evening at my house (not normally this dark, but what can you expect taking video on a digital camera?):

Yup, watch out. Pidge is mobile.

OOEEOOEEOOEEOOEEOOOOOO… WAH WAH WAH

February 18, 2009 at 11:22 am | In Ladybug, Pigeon | 3 Comments

The good

A friend of ours sent a package with hand knit and sewn gifts for the girls!

A Sheldon (in Ladybug’s favorite colors!), a Pea Pod (look at those cute green buttons!), a sewn portable drawing studio with gorgeous fabrics that didn’t make it into the picture, and some yummy looking jelly. (Sorry the picture’s not the best. Hubby doesn’t know how to focus on the knit stuff. Me, yeah, I’m peeling an orange for Ladybug.)

The bad

I’m a bad blogger. I finally fixed the hole in my Poms, and I didn’t take pictures. But I’ve learned something very important: DO NOT just knit past a knot in a ball of yarn. You will hate yourself later.

The ugly

Dude, the flu. ’nuff said.

Why I love knitting baby things

January 27, 2009 at 2:29 pm | In FO, Pigeon | 4 Comments

Is it because they’re blurry?

No, that’s just my inability to hold still while I’m pressing a button.

Is it because the recipient loves me so much she can’t help but stare at me adoringly?

Nope. She’s more interested in the TV than in me.

I guess it’s because she’s cute.

It better be, because 10 minutes after the photos were taken, there were illicit mashed potatoes smeared over the front of the sweater.

Resist me not

January 9, 2009 at 9:35 am | In Pigeon, me | 2 Comments

So, a friend of ours who lives far, far away recently came by for a visit. We were chatting about something when I paused, noticing her earrings. Initially, they looked like little dangling turquoise stones, but I should have known better. This friend is known for her unconventional jewelry (she has earrings that look like small scissors. I don’t think they work, but you never know.)

They were resistors! Dangly blue resistors!

And apparently there is a booming business in resistor jewelry on Etsy. This seller is setting my heart afire!

And then my mind jumped from jewelry to stitch markers, and I found these. I’m not so sure about the nut, though. I think it would be heavy and wide.

So, anyone know of anyone who makes resistor stitch markers?

OK, it’s not like I can do a lot of buying right now. But if I get this new job that I interviewed for, watch out! I’m going to be blinged out in resistors!

This friend made this hat for Pigeon.

She’s so photogenic. Me, not so much.

Ooh, A Package!

December 11, 2008 at 12:40 pm | In Ladybug, Pigeon, yarn | 2 Comments

One more reason why I love our new house – a locking mail box for packages. If we get something in the mail too big for our little box, they put a key in there for one of the two locking package mail boxes. (Of course, our town/neighborhood is pretty safe and low crime. I’ve never had anything stolen off the porch, but it’s nice to not have to worry about it at all!)