Froggin' Knitter

Time for change

2007-10-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

I've moved here. Hope to see you on the other side.

Busier than a bee...

2007-10-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest off of Etty: on the left, Juan Diego, single ply; on the right, "Happy Together", two ply. "Happy Together" is fairly accurate to my monitor, Juan is much richer than what the monitor shows. Thursday was Open House at our school. Kev got to hang with the older sister of Colt's best buddy, and she read a book to him. Kev was thrilled.
Saturday we headed to Port Angeles to watch hydroplanes. The sky was nasty, but held off all torrential showers until we left on Sunday.
Busy, busy, busy!

Project Updates

2007-09-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

Here is my Fair Isle headband. The grey is more of a dark charcoal. It's still not my favorite, but it's no longer as scary as it once was either. My first project entirely made by me, start to finish! The yarn is my own handspun. The roving is superwash merino in the "Happy Together" colorway from Crown Mountain Farms. I didn't do anything special to get the stripes, it just happened that way, which was pretty cool. I made it to be a "grow-with-me" hat for a friend's baby. It fits my head, although it's a bit short, so it should work just fine for a few years.
This was the first sock of my sock savior socks for Sockapalooza. This sock is now frogged and a new one is started. The pattern wasn't making me happy, so it had to go.
Next up, some more of the "Happy Together" and the progress of "Juan".

The "Haves" and the "Have-Nots"

2007-09-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

In light of the big fuss of Ravelry, here is my "invite"

You signed up on: Never
You are #0 on the list.
0 people are ahead of you in line.
Unknown people are behind you in line.
0% of the list has been invited so far

Yup, you got it, I don't have any overwhelming urge to join Ravelry. I'm sure it's lovely, fantastic, and the best thing since sliced bread. But I procrastinate enough on my own without help, and I don't feel the urge to put up every single thing in my stash and every single note I've ever taken on a project. If you find me and ask me what I did about a project, I'll tell you gladly. I'm just not big on all the hoopla with this one yet.

Speaking of procrastination, I have pics of socks, a hat, some Fair Isle (gasp!) and some "Juan" to post. Maybe I should do something about that...

Acts of Kindness

2007-09-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

Juan Diego (see last post) is actually alpaca, and he's soft enough that Dianna and I think he might be baby alpaca. I don't care what he is, he's soft and cuddly and he was a gift! and as soon as I get two bobbins cleared off (I've been practicing with keeping my thickness consistent), he'll be meeting my scale.

I'm a sockapalooza 4 sock savior as well. Hi, Tammy! I have some yummy yarn ordered from Woolgirl (2 orders down, 5 to go before Wooly Woolgirl status... mmm...) and I'm just digging for a fantastic pattern. I did Monkeys for my other sockapalooza pal, so I think I need to find something a bit different for this one.

Dianna gifted me Juan, I'm gifting Tammy some socks. "Pay it forward" at work.

What does a little llama look like?

2007-09-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

In this case, like this:This is Juan Diego, he weighs about 1.5 lbs, and he was born and raised in Alaska. Of course, this is just Juan's fleece, I'm hoping he's still alive and well in the North. Dianna passed him along to me, figuring I would put him to good use. Thank you sooooo much, Dianna! She thinks I should be able to spin enough for a shawl.

I finally bit the bullet and am currently enrolled in a Fair Isle class at The Knittery. We've progressed to actually working with both colors, one color in each hand. It's awkward, but I'm getting the hang of it. I don't think I'll claim it's my favorite, though.

Anyway, Dianna was working today and confusing some of the students when she kept saying that she was referring to her "map" instead of "pattern" for the FI project that she's currently working on. When asked, Dianna waxed poetic about the fact that there is a journey to Fair Isle and one needs to read the map to get there. Made sense to me.

A Guest at Rosh Hashanah

2007-09-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Mr. Pink was a quiet guest at Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year). He eyed the gifelte fish suspiciously, and declined to try a bite. He did, however, approve of the loaves of challah bread and wine.
Dinner progressed so fast that he was unable to be photographed due to the fact that he was tasting many of the dishes.

After dinner, I decided that Mr. Pink needed to learn how to knit. He perused my sock yarn collection (after all, he's a small dude and needed "small" yarn) and decided upon this colorway. He was quite proud to show the head kidnapper* his work-in-progress when he was returned to her presence at the Yarn Harlot's lecture. I was supposed to be at this lecture, but my boys (all 3, to be exact) had a meltdown, so I gave specific instructions to Mr. Pink about meeting the Harlot.

In passing in the crowd, I saw two Karens (Hi, Karen and Karen!) and a couple of babies, along with a bunch of knitters. *Sigh*... maybe the next time she's here the family won't meltdown...

*Mr. Pink is kind of kidnapped, but in a good way.

Delivery

2007-09-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

Mr. Pink arrived today...

Interested now, aren't you?

September 11th

2007-09-11T08:50:00.001-07:00

I remember what I was doing that morning 6 years ago. We lived in Pullman, WA. We didn't have cable TV, and we listened to the radio as long as it took to drop Colten off at daycare and then head to campus. On the way to drop Colten off at daycare, I heard on the radio that the towers had fallen down. I thought it was a huge joke. This was just something that didn't happen in America. Craig told me that he had heard about it on the radio earlier that morning before I got up. I looked at Colten in the backseat and had the immediate thought of just ditching classes that day and staying home and snuggling with my family. But Colt wanted to go to school, so we decided to keep it a normal day.

It was all that we talked about on campus. It wasn't uncommon to walk into a classroom and see a note that said classes were cancelled and to watch the news. TVs were set up in meeting places like the library so we could keep up on what was going on. The skies were eerily quiet. All planes were grounded, and the flights from Seattle to Pullman flew directly over campus, so a part of the normal background noise was gone.

Later that night I called my parents. My mom lives between the last two dams on the Columbia River and works at a county hospital in a really small town. She told us that the dams were closed to visitors and security was raised, and that safety and security at the hospital was hightened. Dad was just amazed at what had happened. Craig called his parents and they were shocked as well at what was going on.

I didn't know anyone who was lost directly related to the twin towers collapse. I know I'm lucky in that. I just wanted to mark the day so that we all take a small moment to remember those who weren't so lucky. I know I'll be making sure to give my kids an extra hug tonight.

Preschool

2007-09-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

He started the day smiling. He found that they have tractors to play with... And then he cried because mom was leaving and needed some time cuddled in mom's lap to realize that preschool wasn't all day and mom would come to pick him up before lunch.
"Mommy!"
And the little man is leaving the building!
It was a dramatic day for him, well, for both of us, but we survived, and he's still ok with going again next week.

Survived the First Day

2007-09-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

Well, he looks happy coming out... "How was school today?" "It was okay, good."
Colten with his teacher, Mrs. Banyai.
Stay tuned tomorrow for first day pics from Kevin going to preschool!

For Sale: 2 Circular Needles

2007-09-05T09:56:00.001-07:00

I have found out that I don't like addi turbo size 1's for my 2 circ knitting. I have two 16" addi turbo circulars for sale. Contact me at kjmbaker at gmail dot com if you're interested.

Re-Entry

2007-09-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

Colt heading up to the school steps. Colt heading into his new classroom.
He's very excited that today is the first day of school, and he's sitting with 3 of his best buds.

Words of Wisdom

2007-09-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

Things I learned today:

-Do NOT go to the Target on the Labor Day Monday before classes start for most of the Puget Sound Schools. Bad juju abounds! And they're all out of the good supplies unless you're willing to play treasure hunter.

-Vegetable oil, a fine-tooth comb, and a little perserverence, and latex house paint will come out of hair. The boys helped grandma and grandpa paint part of their house today.

-Find a friend with an Italian plum tree. Our friend Karen and Lee have a landlord with 2 plum trees. These happen to be my absolute favorties! Happy day.

-Instead of buying the more expensive trademarked popular character stuff, especially if you have plain folders and pencil holder, buy a bunch of cheap stickers of that character. Makes the almost-2nd grader happy, AND his little brother. :)

Probably seems like common sense stuff, but I take the happy where I can get it.
Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

"Labor" Day

2007-09-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

2 pallets of 96 bricks each... Bird's nest found while trimming the daylights out of the butterfly bush out back...
Husband over-estimating the weight of the trailer tongue compared to the weight of the yard waste...
And there's more tomorrow... *groan*

Goodies

2007-08-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

This is the smaller skein of the first handspun that was spun and plied completely on my new wheel Etty. It's merino, blue and teal blended, by a gal I know up North. She has a drum-carder and is fantastic at mixing fibers and colors. Let me tell you, it's sooooooooo soft and squooshy. This was my first order from Woolgirl. I decided to order from there due to seeing what you get after your 7th order, and well, I was hooked. These skeins are destined to become a pair of "Springtime in Paris" socks from the Six-Sox Knitalong. Since they're pinky, they're obviously NOT for me. :)
These are socks that were made in barter for a set of bronze dpns. I need to wash and ship them.

A better close-up. The trade for the dpns is closed, but when it opens again next year, I'll be sure to post.

Next up: baby hats and more handspun.

Where was I now?

2007-08-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

I was down canning with my mom. Yes, people do still can things for winter.

Spicey dill pickles. Yum... Peaches, good for ice cream later...
After a long day of canning, margaritas hit the spot.
This gentleman has a great sense of humor. If you look closely at his hood ornament, you'll see it's a skull wearing a viking hat. Classic.
I got some knitting done, I'll show you in the next post. Right now, it's time for re-entry into real life.

Doing a Wheelie!

2007-08-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

Meet "Etty". She joined our little family on Wednesday, August 15, around 1pm. She weighs approximately 11lbs and is very well behaved. Name prior to adoption: Ashford "Joy".
The skein below is my first handspun. The white is New Zealand wool, the brown/grey is a friend's "kitchen sink" blend of alpaca and different wool types. It was not spun on "Etty", but on a borrowed Ashford "Traveller".
The nickel shows the ... uniqueness of the yarn, otherwise known as a beginner trying to figure out how to properly spin and be somewhat consistent.

I must say, I enjoy spinning. I still enjoy the knitting and the tatting and all that stuff, too, but I like the spinning too. Now to get a Woolee Winder and I'd be set for life! Well, maybe a proper lazy kate too, although I had pretty good sucess with Etty's built-in lazy kate today.

My socks travelled far...

2007-08-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

My lovely jaywalkers travelled from the land of Regia: Germany! Look at that stripe-matching goodness! Along with Pyrm bamboo dpns and another ball of Regia in beautiful colors. A better shot of the colors. We'll see how the swatch makes out, but I'm thinking Monkeys.
Thank you, Katja!

Need another vacation...

2007-08-10T19:05:00.001-07:00

I'm home. I need another vacation to recover from this one. No one died, cried in public, or got totally plastered at the family reunion. No one got sick this year at the lake (last year Kev decided to share a little 24 hour or so bug that kicked your butt). I'm exhausted and have 40 tons of crap to unpack, and that's before I deal with the week's worth of mail looming on the dining room table. I'll post what I got sent right before I left, while I was gone, and what the current projects are looking like. Tomorrow... maybe Sunday... sometime in the next week, how 'bout that? :)

Family Reunion

2007-08-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Wish me luck, I'm off to the family reunion at Lake Chelan for a week. 50+ relatives. Help!

To my sockapalooza pal Carrie, you've found me! I hope you enjoyed your socks as much as I enjoyed making them and I'll contact you when I get home.

See you all on the other side...

Hey, Molly!

2007-07-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

What'cha think?

I want to be Canadian!

2007-07-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

I met Miss Amy Singer last night and decided something very important: I want to be a Canadian. And not just any Canadian, I want to live in Toronto, along with Amy and Stephane and all those other cool people!

Amy was just fantastic and as down to Earth as you could ever dream. She's sharp and witty and to the point and gives non-wool information like no other! Of course, that being said, you'll have to excuse my photos. I didn't want to blind the poor woman with my flash. One of the gals in class had a wonderful husband and two dogs waiting outside during class. Isn't this just the most spectacular coloring you've ever seen on a weinnie? And a fantastically photogenic dog to boot. He sat down when he saw the camera, and after the click, resumed his happy dance.
Amy taught some very important things. Like the fact of a gauge swatch in non-wooly things isn't going to tell you what you need to know. I am so whole-heartedly embracing my GeeKY thing now!
Just between you and me, I don't gauge swatch hardly at all. I also haven't made sweaters or anything like that yet. But when it's a GeeKY versus a swatch, I'll take the GeeKY.

C'est Fini!

2007-07-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

My Sockapalooza 4 socks, in all their unmatched glory. Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A at Knitty, Yarn: Crystal Palace "Panda Cotton" in Fall Herbs colorway, Needles: size 1 bamboo circs by AK needles. My sockapalooza pal emailed back and just thought that the fact that someone is knitting her socks was special enough that she didn't care if they were matchy-matchy. They're not too far off, you can still tell they're a pair and not fraternal twins.Kev is big on wanting to help out around the house. Saturday night he wanted to help cut daddy's hair. He did a fair job, with just a little help.
Also, I finished the last Harry Potter. Started it around 5ish on Saturday evening, finished it at 2:45 am on Monday. No spouses, children, or pets were neglected during this frantic reading.

They're here, they're HERE!!!

2007-07-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, finished the sockapalooza socks, just finished the second one due to two wonderful people telling me that my pal will still love them and no communication with said pal. No pics today, had them all planned out, then our mail carrier knocked on the door.

Guess what I'm reading now...

My husband cheated and read the last sentence. I just read the list of chapters and their names, and I got massive tingles! Oh, why does it have to end!?!

Happy Happy Joy Joy

2007-07-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Churchmouse Yarn and Tea on Tuesday the 24th to the "No Sheep for You" class with Miss Amy Singer of Knitty fame. Anyone else? I'll be the one in the walk-on passenger area practically jumping up and down like a toddler on a sugar high.

The lovely Yarn Harlot will be at Third Place Books on Friday, September 14th at 6:30pm. I've emailed them about tickets already. The last time I met her, it was only for a signing. I can't wait to see her in a longer venue, maybe get a turn at the sock.

It's really hard to type when you're jumping up and down in your chair.

In spinning news, I went to Weaving Works and tried my hand at the Ashford Joy. LOVE IT! But I'm going to be good. Hubby has a bonus check coming in from work next month, we'll wait until then. Unless I happen to find a new wheel to love. Some people have the shoe fixation, I have the fiber tool fixation.

All around goodness

2007-07-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

The first big batch of peas from the garden. Yum.A month ago I tried my hand at drop spindle. Not pretty, not pretty at all. Today, I tried my hand with an Ashford Traveller wheel. I swear, the skies opened, angels sang, and all deities smiled upon me. It was soooooo much better! I'm now in negotiations with the finances for an Ashford Joy wheel. We don't have a large house, so the portability and diminuitive size of the wheel will work better. And I can travel easier with it. Like to my mom's, Lake Chelan during our timeshare time, spin-ins... Did I mention that our time at Lake Chelan this year is a family reunion with my father-in-laws family? Oh, how I hope I get the wheel before then!

Well, Shpit!

2007-07-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

The first sockapalooza sock had issues, but they were issues that could be dealt with easily. Not so with sock 2. See my little issue? Look a little closer...
Now take a peek at sock 1.
Pooling! I've got freaking pooling! I need a little help here, before I either completely frog this sock or lose what mind I've got left.

Options:

A. Frog sock, redo and hope for no pooling.

B. Buy new skein of same yarn and hope for no pooling.

C. Finish sock and keep for self, and make new socks with Regia "Bamboo Color" in the Jamaica (#1066) colorway.

D. Email sock pal and see how she feels about not quite matchy matchy socks.

I'll do option D anyway, just to see how it goes, but if anyone has an option that I haven't thought of, or just an opinion on the options above, leave a comment. I need all the help I can get.

It figures...

2007-07-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

The first of the monkeys for my sockapalooza pal, and I run out of yarn just rows short of ending the toe. I think this is the skein where it had a defect and I had to trim some of the skein off, so I'm off to hunt for the remainder. At least the yarn is fairly reasonable if I need another skein. Sharing the sock shot is my pineapple mint. I love it for it's beauty, as well as how yummy it is in sweet sun tea. :)

Edit: I found the remainder and it was enough and then some! Sock 1 complete!

For anyone wanting to know, you can get one full Monkey sock out of 1 skein of Crystal Palace "Panda Cotton" with a little bit left over using size 1 needles.

Wheelin'

2007-07-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

Colt has mastered two-wheel transportation. He's very proud of himself and is ready to move on to a bigger bike. The two amigos riding into the sunset...
What to do with a pile of wood chips on a summer day.

Hum de dum de dum

2007-06-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Figured I should post, it's been a while.

Since I last posted, we've seen:

1. The beginning of Summer. I don't care that it official starts at dusk on June 21st. Summer officially starts for me when I see the first Swallowtail Butterfly flit by me. I've only seen two so far, but that's enough.

2. More bags of miracle-gro garden soil that you can shake a stick at. We went to see my mom last weekend and we heaved and hauled and dumped more than 20 bags of this stuff on her gardens. Did I mention that she has a full 1-acre lawn and it's surrounded by flower beds? And we still didn't cover everything!

3. Me go nuts with online ordering. Currently in the order que: a full set of knit picks options needles, a knit picks chart keeper, a really cool little project bag to stash in my haiku bag, and the Yarn Harlot's newest literary masterpiece and Favorite Socks (gotta love amazon's deals). My birthday was the 22nd of May and the fam got me a lot of gift cards and cash. It's all good. There's also a bunch of books coming in from Paperback Swap. If you read a lot, and have a bookshelf that needs to be whittled down to make room for more, I seriously suggest you go here! Free service.

My little project bag, delivered today. WooHoo!

4. Found yarn for my sockapalooza pal. She lives in Florida, so I wanted to make her socks that she could actually wear in "cooler" months with no wool. Enter Crystal Palace "Panda Cotton". I actually got this on the LYS tour the weekend before the last post, but just hadn't posted about it. It's my first time working with this yarn, but I've worked with the worsted weight of it ("Bamboozle") for a pair of anklets for my mom, and it worked up lovely and retains some of the spring of the elastic. If it doesn't work out, no biggie, just time to hit Etsy.

5. Pooled some gift cards together with my husband to get an awesome 3-person garden swing that folds down into a hammock-type platform. Needs to be assembled this weekend, but it will be soooooo sweet to just sit and swing in the back yard and not have to squeeze an adult-size butt into a child-size swingset swing. ETA: it's been put together, but notice who's on it!

6. Found a baby pepper on one of our pepper plants. It's so darn cute.

I know, I lead a small life, but it's a good life. :)

Meme 2: 7 Weird Things

2007-05-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

Wrap and Turn pinged me with this one, but if she'd read back farther, she'd realize I've done it before! Oh, well, I'm a sucker, I'll do it again.

The rules: Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those who are tagged need to write on their own blog those 7 facts as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven other people and list their names on your blog. Then you leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

1. My middle name is Jean. My mother's middle name is Jean. My sister-in-law's middle name is Jean. I seem to be in the "Jean" Burmuda-esque triangle.

2. My children were both born in the evening, and their birth times are opposite. Colten was born at 7:45 pm, Kevin was born at 5:47 pm.

3. My middle toe on both feet are longer than my second toes.

4. I can catch salimanders with the best of them. Yes, I put them back in their habitat when I'm done.

5. I've never seen lightning bugs.

6. My fingers are bent in funky ways from playing C flute from 5th grade to my second year in college. It's not terribly noticable, but they are.

7. I love lentle soup, but can't stand split-pea. This drives my mother nuts, she can't understand how I can like one and not the other.

I know I'm supposed to ping 7 people, but almost everyone I know has done this meme already!

Here's my shortened list:

Soccerchic Knits
Redshirt Knitting
Knitting RN

Ok, go forth and meme!

Meme 1: Your Spouse

2007-05-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

This post is brought to you via Sachi, who couldn't didn't want to meme 2 people, so I stepped up so she wouldn't have to.

2 things you compliment your husband on while in his presence:

1. The way he knows when I need snuggles and extra lovings
2. The way he balances out my insanity and puts up with my crap.

2 compliments you give about your husband to others:

1. The way he cooks (he makes bread from scratch!).
2. The way he helps parent our children.

2 Traits you married him for:

1. He's very cuddly and funny.
2. When you're really freaking out, he can talk you down and put things in a better perspective.

2 days you cherished most being together with your husband:

1. Well, this counts as 2 days: the births of both of our children. He was brave and put up with me being psycho and yelling that I was NOT pushing out this child with our second son and was steeled enough that he didn't freak out when our first son was born with a good portion of his insides hanging out.

2 Material things you would give your husband if you inherited a fortune:

1. His own shop to dink around on engines and cars and whatnot.
2. A business that he and his best friend (since they were 6 years) could run together.

2 things you would miss most if he left for 2 weeks:

1. His foot. You have to understand, when we sleep, we always have at least one part of our bodies touching. Usually it's a foot.
2. Having a pinch hitter when the boys are being truly unruly and I'm at wit's end.

2 things that crossed your mind the first time you met your future husband:

1. "Whoa, there's a cute guy sitting next to me!"
2. "Bicycle helment: means he's either insane or really geeky."

2 favorite dates:

1. Going to see "Shakesphere in Love."
2. When we lived in Pullman WA and used to have breakfast dates together at the Old European Waffle House after we dropped our older son off at daycare and before afternoon classes.

2 funny, odd things you love about your husband:

1. His fur. I married a sasquatch and I tease him a lot about this, but it's comforting to rub his chest hair when I'm really upset about something.
2. The fact that he is a huge computer geek. He loves it, it's his job, it's just a part of him.

2 places you have lived with your husband:

1. Pullman WA.
2. SeaTac WA, where we live now.

2 favorite vacations:

1. Cannon Beach OR for our honeymoon.
2. Orcas Island WA for our anniversary one year before the idea of our youngest son came to be.

2 people to tag:

1. LavenderSheep: I'm just nosy. :)
2. Wrap and Turn: she tagged me with the other meme of the day, so turnabout is fair play!

What do you want to do?

2007-05-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

Mark with bold the things you have knit (or are knitting), with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Sweater (It was a christmas ornament)
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn (well, I did a swatch in it, anyway)
Domino knitting
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting
Knitting to make money
Buttonholes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks on one circular simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener stitch
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching (I really should be better about this!)
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere (it was a blend and I found out I'm allergic!)
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine (Knitty and MagKnits, anyone?)
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public (All the time!)

This comes to you from here via here.

A Trial of Errors

2007-05-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

So, this great gal I know who owns a yarn shop is birthing a new (hopefully!) knitter in the next month or so. I had this great idea to make her crocheted baby sandals in size 10 thread. Don't freak out too much about the size 10 thread part, the thread I prefer to tat in is 20 or 30. My tatting instructor and idol tats in size 80 or smaller.

But I detract from the story.

So, I have this great idea to crochet baby sandals. I crochet the cute little flower. I crochet the top of the sandal. I crochet the sole. I go to line up the sole with the top of the sandal. Problem: sole is about 1/2" shorter and 1/4" or so narrower than the top of the sandal. Well, crap!

On to the next! I have some fantastic 3-ply yarn that I used for my MIL's Horcrux socks. Wouldn't the pinks just be adorable on some baby booties. So I choose the baby booties from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. In the book, the booties are worked in angora. It's apparent after the first bootie is mostly completed of why the booties are worked in fuzzy angora with a halo: the booties have a most FUNKY design. Murphy (as in Murphy's Law): 2, Me: 0, zip, nada.

I decide to move away from the eminent arrival's feet and go to what I know best: heads. Interweave's "Knitting Daily" just put out this adorable vine lace baby hat pattern. 3-ply yarn is re-routed to this hat. It's cute, but a wee bit short. Will work for about the first month, maybe less. But, AHA!, I have a fantastic skein of ArtYarns Supermerino in light varigated greens (which the mother of the intended recipient is fond of). Vine lace hat 2 is currently on the needles as I type.

This is just another normal day in my life. I just thought it'd be good for a few laughs out there.

Dearest Sockapalooza Sock Pal

2007-05-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

It's rather embarassing to say this, but I have all of one handknit pair of socks for myself. I tend to be a gift knitter than a knitter for myself. I have included a shot of my sock yarn drawer so you can see what is lurking in there to get an idea of what I like. Ignore the pinks, some of it is for a friend who is obsessed with pink and another is a gift skein of Blue Moon Fibers "Socks That Rock" that I can't quite bear to part with...

I tend to wear sneakers and closed-toe shoes, so a sock with a pattern that extends down the heel probably wouldn't be a good thing. I'm not super big on handwashing, but I do have the means to do it. :) I'm a busy mom with two boys, so anything washable is fantastic. I believe I noted my allergies in my database entry, but if that didn't come through, please let me know!

I hope this helps you on your way! Thanks for leaving a comment for me!

I'm here...

2007-04-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

I've been busy with PTA things (I'm the treasurer and the raffle coordiator. Would you like to donate?) and then got kicked by some nasty bug hubby bought home. I have been busy on the crafting front, too. Purple baby booties (Vogue Knitting-on-the-go Baby Knits 2) in Dale Baby Ull, Lace Ankle Sock (Cherry Tree Hill) in Crystal Palace Bamboozle (the worsted weight of CP's Panda Cotton), and some little doo-dads.
Sarah and I took tatting classes in February and through April. Above is a beaded brooch that I made in class a few weeks ago.

This is my little tatted dragonfly that I did on the same night. We're learning fancy things on both shuttles and needles, and it's a great class.

Something has changed in the sidebar. "Knotty K" is me. Well, me in the world. If you consider the world the little fruit stand that my family owns. I'm selling some hats and socks in the stand, and during the seasons we have awesome fruit and we ship! If we've got a website, I'll post it when I can.

The Knitting Expo

2007-04-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

The first purchase of the day: two cute stitch markers from Knitters Anonymous. Next up, some light worsted-weight yarn from Angora Valley Fibers for bed socks for someone.
Some lovely rosewood hair sticks for myself from Crown Mountain Farms. Pretty pretty and keep the hair in place!
I also purchased a smaller knitting organizer from the Organized Knitter, but it doesn't quite work for all the things I carry in my bag, so back to the vendor it goes. It's a great bag, and I really do suggest them for people who don't carry everything but the kitchen sink in their bag like I do.

Also, a big shout out to Sarah, Sachi, Erin (sorry if we freaked you out by stalking you down the isle), and Nicole! It was lovely to see all of you!

Pretties

2007-04-11T14:11:00.000-07:00

I don't have pictures of my finished knitting right now, so I'm offering up the tulips in my flower bed. This is Spring Break for us and I can't wait until next Monday when we're back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Running Away from Home

2007-04-06T10:13:00.000-07:00

The fam and I have survived Passover and are running away for the weekend to celebrate Easter with my mom.

However, there are some odds and ends I'd like to throw out there:

1. Our cats have not been affected by the pet food recalls. They're fed dry food and that has not been added to a list... yet.

2. It's been sunny and over 60 degrees here for the last few days. It's nice that it's so warm, but a bit worrysome for gardening. I worry that if I put things in that they'll bite the dust the first hard frost we have.

3. Malabrigo really is as soft as everyone says it is. It feels like petting bunnies.

Have a fantastic weekend and I'll see you all next week.

Fuzzy Buns

2007-03-30T22:21:00.000-07:00

My cats are weird (but aren't they all?) and most of the time can be found in separate parts of the house, but every once in a while, they look all cute like this.

Nobi: "Snxxxxxxx..."
George: "You can't prove ANYTHING!"

What was I thinking?

2007-03-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

Last year, I made my husband some lovely socks in weaver's wool quarters. I fiugred I'd be doing more handwashing than I really do and that it wouldn't be that difficult to just toss his socks in with the other handwash items.

WHAT WAS I THINKING!?!

I haven't made it through one bottle of SOAK yet and I handwash something maybe once a month. In my defense, it does need to be noted that my husband's sock drawer ate the socks for a good couple of months and only recently saw the light of day again.

To quote the beloved Yarn Harlot: "Pride goeth before the fall."

Scary Thoughts on a Sugar High

2007-03-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

Sarah had to work late and had a really bad day, so I went the rescue with sugar and an ear to listen. After lots of chocolate and caramel, I was spinning in an office chair and it suddenly dawned on me: what about a human spindle? One person in a spinny(you know, like spinning) chair holding on to the end of the fiber, one on a ladder (or somehow above the person in the chair so the person in the chair doesn't keep bumping them) holding the drafting fiber. Of course, you'd need to make sure that the spinner doesn't get motion sickness, otherwise innocent fiber could be befouled...

I swear, the scary things that come out of my mind in sugar hazes. Oh, heeeeeeeeeeey, what about the same idea on a merry-go-round...

Hmm, I think it may be time to go to bed.

What to do on a Rainy Day

2007-03-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

If you live in Seattle, there are too many rainy days to not shove your children out the door and just let them get wet. Especially if you arm them with their own spray bottles. Of course, my children are talented enough to drive their electric quad into the biggest hole in the yard and get it stuck.
My children are also smart enough to come in and ask daddy how to pull the stuck quad out.
Some rainy days are worth more smiles than others.

Why did I wait so long !?!

2007-03-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

My socks, not to be stolen by anyone. Made from Scholler & Stahl, lost the ball band. These socks are cozy, warm without being too warm, and they've survived a trip through the washer AND dryer (forgot to tell the hubby they were in the load).
Let's not forget the fact that they're blue, and I love blue. I also like the garter edging on the heel flap, but my photographic skills aren't able to pick this up well. The pattern is Garter Rib sock from Sensational Socks.

Happy Spring ?

2007-03-20T17:29:00.000-07:00

It's the first day of spring, and the day has gone from overcast to brightly sunny to very windy and overcast to hailing to overcast again. As my husband was trying to be witty: "Hail Spring..." Here was the start of a sock in Fortissima Cotton Color, or something like that. It's Fortissima's cotton/wool blend. I bought it because it I thought it would have more lavender in it and stripe slightly differently.
Umm, no, apparently not. Lavender to grey with blue flecks to grey to charcoal to grey with blue flecks to grey to lavender... you get the idea. Had I been able to discern the distinction between the stripes better, I may have kept going. But sometimes it's better to frog.
Much better as baby socks, loosely based on Ann Budd's "Better than baby booties" socks. And seeing as there are babies due all over the place, not a moment too soon.

Stolen Meme

2007-03-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

I found this on Knittin' Mom and decided to see just how much of this list I had read. 33 out of 100 isn't bad for not being 30-years-old yet, I think.

Look at the list of books below:
* Bold the ones you’ve read,
* Italicize the ones you want to read
* Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.

1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

And for those of you who actually read down to this point and may have noticed that I have read all of the Harry Potter books, yes, I do have a pre-order in for the last book. Can't beat 50% off at Amazon.

Things that Make you go Hmmm...

2007-03-05T13:29:00.000-08:00

Just a bunch of randomness from my life.

1. Things tend to happen in threes. In the last two weeks or so, I have seen my first:1)a lifted H2 (would somebody please explain to my WHY?!?), 2)an H2 on a tow truck with a severely crunched front end, and 3)an H2 being towed from the side of the freeway. I always see them zipping around town, but never quite like these 3 incidences. Kind of like catching an authority figure with their pants down.

2. When under the influence of a cold, do not operate heavy machinery. I got my butt kicked by a cold this weekend. Saturday was the worse day. I got up, got into the shower, washed up, and turned off the shower. I reached up to squish the excess water from my hair, and felt shampoo. Urgh. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day, so I camped out on the couch and didn't do a whole lot of anything except sleep and drink lots of fluids. The sad thing is, I only take zicam (homeopathic) for a cold, nothing else...

3. Apparently, I can't even Jaywalk correctly. I finished the second try of the Sock Candy ankle socks, and they're going to mom. I couldn't get the cuff to work out to fit my ankle and figured they could go to a good home with her. So I started some Jaywalkers for me out of some stash. After I tinked the first 'zigzag' row 5 times, I placed markers and finally got the idea.

4. I will probably go up in flames for saying this, but Sock Candy? Me no likey. It splits, it does funky things, I'm just not amused with it. Next up on cotton to try: Panda Cotton by Crystal Palace. This will wait till after the self-imposed yarn embargo. Easter gift to self?

5. Overheard outside of the Southcenter JoAnn's yesterday afternoon:
Husband: Why do I do this?
Wife: Because you love me.
Husband: I'd rather get whacked up side the head with a hammer...

6. Someone contact the Nation Weather Bureau: it's sunny in Seattle. And more than just 5 minutes!

Luck O' the Irish

2007-03-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

Here's Lil' Max's hat for March. Pattern is from Trish Designs. The big thing about this hat for me is that this is the first time I've done fair isle. Well, I cheated a bit. For the top shamrock leaf and the bend in the stem, I duplicate stitched. I didn't want really long green floats behind the beige sticking out like a sore thumb.
Pattern mods: pattern called for cotton, I used Heirloom "Easy Care" machine-washable wool. I also omited some of the pattern on the crown "wave" part.

I'm a bit worried it will be a smidge too big. It fits my 4-year-old snuggly. I can always add a knit liner in if need be.

Mail on a Crappy Day

2007-03-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

It's been one of those days. One of those days that I just want to quit life and go hide in a nice warm cave with a bunch of yarn and be left alone. One of those days where the phrase "don't poke the bear" is a stern warning.

Then I got home to find this on my doorstep. The day is still crappy, the bear still shouldn't be poked, but at least there is new fiber in the house and some lovely bright color.

Inevitability

2007-02-27T10:44:00.000-08:00

The Blue Moon Fiber Sock Candy socks I completed over the weekend. State of said socks as of 10 minutes ago...
What happened? I wore them last night to bed to see if what I thought was an issue existed. It did. The ankle doesn't hold up, the heel flap was too short. Sock Candy does not have the same flexibility as Cascade Fixation. So back to the drawing board. I think I'm going to cast on 40 instead of 44 stitches, do all 14 rows of ribbing, increase 4 stitches, make a slightly longer heel flap, and see if my issues are resolved. If not, this will be the last skein of Sock Candy that I purchase.

Where Were the Bakers?

2007-02-26T14:02:00.000-08:00

Here's my group of boys at the Portland Zoo. We went down to visit my parents. Left to right: Bryan, Colt, Papa, Kev, and Craig. They were embracing their inner primate.
This is what happened the next day: 5" of snow! Bry has some quads, so they broke them out and played in the white stuff. This is Craig spinning some doughnuts.

All in all, a good weekend. I finished a pair of socks, visited with mom, got to see my favorite pregnant yarn shop owner, and the boys got to play with some animals and some snow.

"Handle" with Care

2007-02-21T12:56:00.000-08:00

I'm coming unglued about a stupid handle. I've been to 3 different places: JoAnn Etc., Michaels, and Pacific Craft and Fabric. Too long, too short, wrong color, wrong materials. I tried looking at leather lacings and trim, thinking that I could make my own braided handle. Wrong color.

The handle used in the Brea bag is from M&J Trimmings. You know what, for $25 before shipping, they can keep it. And that's just for one single handle.

So, I've bitten the bullet, realized that I'm going to have to buy another skein of the Ultra Alpaca, bought some goldtone D-rings, and I'm going to figure out something from there. Not sure if it will be moss stitch like the gusset of the bag, or if I'll do a cable, but at least it will match the bag.

Mama's Making a Brand New Bag

2007-02-19T14:22:00.000-08:00

Here's the front of Berroco's Brea bag for a cousin's 18th birthday. It's Ultra Alpaca, so it's a bit fuzzy and I'm getting fluff up the nose when I work with it, but it's making a lovely, dense fabric. The thing I love most about this bag is that it looks like you make 4 separate triangles and then sew them together, but it's really cleverly placed double decreases that allow the front and back to be worked from the bottom of the pieces up to the top middle.
What can I say, I love ingenious construction.

Mama's Got A Brand New Bag

2007-02-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

My newest love, the Haiku bag with a design found specifically at Title Nine. Sorry about the pics, no sun, lots of rain today (it is Seattle, after all). I love the detail. It's small enough not to be overpowering, big enough to fit a medium-size project in the main pouch area.

Missed Blogiversary

2007-02-08T11:58:00.000-08:00

It's really sad when you miss your own blogiversary. Apparently I started this blog on Groundhog Day last year. I know I didn't see my shadow this year, does that count?

Happy Birthday Kev!

2007-02-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

Four years old today. Here he is, modeling his "all for me?" hat made from the leftovers of brother's helment. This was taken this morning. He woke up long enough to take a few sips from the sippy, and apparently that was good enough. It's hillarious to hear him snore around the sippy.
Happy birthday, little man.

Grumpy! Now with static-shock-therapy!

2007-02-02T13:33:00.000-08:00

My last two posts have been anything but happy and cheerful. This last week I've been grumpy and p**sy and just generally unpleasant. On top of all that, I've been shocking everything in sight. Hug the kids, zzzap! Kiss my husband, zzzap! Get adjusted by the chiropractor, zzzap! We may live in the "damp" Northwest, but this week has been as dry as the Sahara and it's making plenty of static.

In the wake of my grumpiness, no spouses, children, small fuzzy animals, or others were harmed during this week of ugly. And something good came out of some really big ugliness. The skein of Sea Silk I purchased at Madrona was poorly skeined, resulting in an hour of winding the skein off of the swift and then rewinding that ball. Not nice. But I started the Fiber Trends "Flower Basket Shawl" with it and it's all going well so far, only one restart. Compared to past lace experiences, this is going quite smoothly.

Beyond this past week being dry and sunny, apparently we have some early budding going on. This is the crazy willow that lives around our utility pole. It's already got buds, a full month and a half before the official start of Spring. Anyone else noticing early budding that's extrememly disturbing?

Apparently We're in a Handbasket

2007-01-30T12:57:00.000-08:00

I'm having a social issue right now. We live in a society where an aricle like this can be written about "sexy knitters" and naughty things they can knit, and an article like this can be written about breastfeeding in public and how some people consider it lewd and indecent exposure. The LYS that I frequent has no problem with me nursing an older toddler in the store, but the owner opened up the box of "Sexy Little Knits" and promptly closed it up and sent it back, deeming it too lewd and figured that people wouldn't buy it.

I think I'll step off my soapbox now. Just needed to blow off some steam.

The Good, The Bad, and The Fiber

2007-01-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

We all know who this is in the photo. She's wearing "the wedding shawl" and yes, it is even more beautiful in person than on her blog. I look pregnant due to having my camera bag shoved in my sweatshirt pouch, but one does what one can.
Sarah decided that we needed to go to the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival and get our books signed, so we dumped some kids and spouses and ran for it. As we were walking in to the hotel, we saw Stephanie in a small meeting room and almost turned ourselves in to little window suction cup creatures, squealing "that's THE Yarn Harlot! She's right there!!!" We kept walking and then turned around and there she was walking a way behind us. Sarah asked me if she thought she would mind if Sarah ran up to her and just gushed and hugged her. I believe I said something along the lines of "don't tackle the Yarn Harlot." We got our books signed, met a fun new blogger in the Port Orchard area, and purused the marketplace.

So, that was obviously The Good. The Bad is that my father has confessed something that is very upsetting to myself and my mother. My parents have been divorced about 22 years, but they've stayed close, and this was just a BIG change in the world as we've known it for like the last decade. I feel horrible. I can't do anything for my mom to help her hurt less and to heal. I feel like I can't do anything for her. But being a knitter, I've decided that there's one thing I can do to at least keep my mind from going nuts and keep her warm: I can knit her socks. I can't fix the problem, I can't run away from life and take her with me, but I can knit her socks.Which leads in to The Fiber. Above is Blue Moon Fibers Sock Candy in Velvet Moon colorway. I plan to knit my mother footie socks in this since it's cotton and elastane. I'm burnt out on Cascade Fixation and I'm not really loving the Cherry Tree Hill North Country Cotton socks I'm working on. The Cherry Tree Hill is just cotton, no elastic, so it doesn't really give a whole lot.

My other purchase was a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk in a lovely, kind of french vanilla color. It's for me, a little neck shawl thingy to wear in the European style. I have some gift certificates for clothing and I think I need to look at updating my look a bit. After all, handknit shawls don't really go with sweatshirts that you've had longer than your children...
Some of you might be saying "but wait, didn't she say she was on a no-yarn spree until April 1st?!" I had planned to go to Madrona, see the Yarn Harlot, walk around the marketplace and then just jot down what I liked and make my purchases after the self-imposed yarn moratorium. My husband had a different idea. He said take some mad money, buy a little bit, be happy, you've had a crappy week and you need some lovin' and this is what I can do for you right now. So technically this isn't really stash, the projects are planned. I ordered Fiber Trends Flower Basket Shawl for the Sea Silk and will probably just use Mom's Fast Florida Footies pattern for the Sock Candy.

Sunday Reading

2007-01-21T12:45:00.000-08:00

I was pleasantly surprised by this on the front page of the Arts and Entertainment section of The Seattle Times this morning. I think I'm going to check KCLS and see if it's in the system yet.

Still working on the fingers of the second Broad Street Glove. I just didn't have the oomph to deal with small DPNs last night, so I cast on and completed the top shell of the turtle pattern from FiberSpace. It's an easy knit, I've done it before, and it's on fat needles (well, 10.5's, but bigger than 2's).

Washing Sheep

2007-01-20T18:24:00.000-08:00

I love Wallace and Gromit, have since I was in college. In the short "A Close Shave", Wallace builds himself a autowash machine where the sheep are loaded, washed, shorn, and the resulting wool immediately spun into yarn and knit into sweaters. Boy, how I wish that little contraption was real.

I decided to wash Craig's gaiter so he can wear it on the slopes tomorrow. The yarn smelled pretty sheepy while I was working with it, but not really any more so than Cascade's Eco-Wool did.

The gaiter hit the water...

15 minutes in SOAK wash, citrus scent... sniff, sniff, SHEEPY.

Call to The Knittery to ask for help. Suggestion of mix of dawn dishwashing soap and hair conditioner for at least 3o minutes, or if that doesn't work, get a cheap bottle of white wine and soak for at least 30 minutes.

30 minute soak in dawn/conditioner mix... sniff, sniff, less sheepy, but still evident.

45 minute soak in a stronger dawn/conditioner mix... sniff, sniff, less sheepy to my nose, but I'm not the one who's going to be wearing it. Craig sniffs, calls it good enough, so the gaiter is drying on the rack.

If you see a harried woman looking for really cheap white wine at the local Safeway, smile gently, she's not the local wino, just a knitter.

Progress

2007-01-19T14:45:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning after the last snow fall. Thursday morning.
Friday afternoon.
Snow's all gone, just in time for more rain.

I hope to be close to finishing or finished with the second Broad Street Glove for Bryan this evening. It'll be nice to get that project out the way. Then I can go on to the second Lace Anklet that calls for the same needle size.

Mirror Mirror

2007-01-18T16:04:00.000-08:00

Mirror, mirror on the wall, our garbage men do exist after all... Our garbage men have been MIA due to snow and ice, so our garbage hasn't been picked up since the week before last. I was so happy to see them, I had to take a photo.

I know I said I wouldn't buy any new yarn unless it was for a specific project. Well, this yarn was purchased for chemo caps for kids at Boston's Childrens Hospital (info on the project here). There's a cancer ward there full of 10-16 year olds that need hats. The girls apparently love the fun fur, but having two boys of my own, I figured the guys would appreciate something more manly, like camo. The yarn is Bernat "Camoflage". I liked how the skein has the look of miters. I'm going to wash the hat and make sure it washes up soft before I break into the other two skeins I bought. If it's not soft enough, back to the store it goes. This is the only yarn I've purchased since New Year's Day and it's not going to the stash, it's getting worked up and going right back out the door. I think I'm doing pretty well, unlike a fellow knitter I know... but I still love her dearly.

Just in time

2007-01-17T14:22:00.000-08:00

There is joy in the house: there was SCHOOL today! Started 2 hours late, but hey, if it gives my nerves a bit of time to recover, I'll take it!

Craig requested a gaiter after freezing up on Snoqualmie Pass last weekend during ski lessons. I looked at the gaiter from "One Skein", adapted it for my yarn, Craig's measurements, and my gauge, and here's what I've got. Craig requested it to be longer so that he could pull it up over the lower half of his face and snug it up to his goggles. No problem!
The yarn is part of a 392 yard skein that I purchased at Warm Valley Orchard on Orcas Island near the ferry terminal. It's 50/50 handspun merino and silk dyed a lovely pewter color (color in the photos are not accurate). I purchased it because it was our anniversary and I was hoping to make Craig something out of it.
This is my first completed cabled project. I'm so proud of myself. And I still have enough yarn to make another small project.

6 Day Weekend

2007-01-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

I took down our nutcracker flag yesterday and put up this winter one instead. We were supposed to get some snow and then it was to turn to rain..Um, yeah, I don't see any rain here, just a solid 2 inches of snow on top of the snow that we've had since last Wednesday night. All the little snow-covered lumps in the yard are monster trucks and tractors. Gee, can't tell we have an all-boy house here, can you?

Of course, this means another snow day. That makes 3 in the last week. The state is discussing not having schools make up the snow days because the kids would be going to school until Independence Day, or later in some school districts, due to flood, power outage, and snow days. We'll have to stay tuned and see what they decide.

Socks and Monster Trucks

2007-01-15T16:02:00.000-08:00

Hmm, doesn't quite look right for my knitting area... Could this be the reason why I'm crammed into a small seat with my sock?
Yup, I'm weird. I knit and I like to go to the monster truck shows. Above are Grave Digger and Blue Thunder.
Grave Digger catching some air. How can you not get into this?

I did have a few little problems. I was grooving along on my sock, had picked up the gusset and was two rows in, and realized that I had forgotten to turn the heel. D'OH! So I ripped back and turned the heel and carried on. Then I got home that night and realized that I had missed a row of the lace pattern on the cuff (the sock is Lace Anklet by Cherry Tree Hill in High Country Cotton) and it looked wrong, so the whole thing got frogged. Lesson learned: socks probably aren't the best project to take to a monster truck show when you're also trying to take decent pictures. If you're interested, here's my flickr set for the rest of the show.

Blogger strikes again...

2007-01-14T13:40:00.000-08:00

Since Blogger is being mean and won't let me upload my photos from the monster truck show, here's a comic that's sure to tickle most knitters' funny bones.

ETA: Look at the comic for Sunday, January 14.

Sleepy Critters

2007-01-12T17:31:00.000-08:00

Here's George a few weeks ago as I was enjoying his body heat and he was happy to have a place to rest. This is how I found our youngest while I was in the middle of moving my stash this evening. I wondered why he had stopped whining and was being so quiet... I love his menagerie of stuffed animals (2 dalmations, 1 tan puppy, 1 monkey).

Snow Men

2007-01-11T16:01:00.000-08:00

I kicked the boys out the door this afternoon, decided that they needed some outdoor time before I pulled my hair out to the point of being bald.
A rare moment of them working together.

Cute Baby

2007-01-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

This is the baby set that I made for Baby Girl Smith-Casem, a friend of mine. Her mother isn't big on pink, so I chose Austermann Bamboo Soft Colors in an orange, purple, red, and lavender colorway. Worked on size 4's with modified ribbing and modifications on the booties so they looked more asthetically pleasing. Pattern is Fiber Trends "Baby Basics", variation on the ribbed version. I seem to be burning up the New Year, 3 FO's in the first week! Mom's scarf, this set, and an Odessa for my younger brother-in-law's girlfriend that wasn't completed in time for Christmas.

Today's entry brought to you by the letter P

2007-01-03T14:40:00.000-08:00

I saw this at January One who was tagged by another. A list of 10 aspects in your life beginning with a random letter assigned to you. Since I'm doing this without being tagged, I'll copy the letter P. Hmm, let's see how I do.

1. Potty Training. My littlest is almost 4, and is resisting all efforts of becoming a diaper-free child. Probably TMI, but I'm a stay-home mom.

2. Potholes. If you live the Seattle area, you know what I'm talking about. The huge holes on the streets that look like they can swallow whole Metro buses. The sneaky smaller ones that make you dribble your drink down yourself.

3. Procrastination. I'm a great procrastinator. Just ask the hordes of people waiting for handknit things promised months ago.

4. The 7 P's. Proper Prior Planning Prevents P--- Poor Performance. Learned it from a co-worker of my husband's who was in the military. Straight, simple, and to the point. I try to follow it.

5. Perfection. Not here, that's for sure. I like my knitting to look neat, but I'm bad at making proper gauge swatches prior to starting projects.

6. "Pretty in Pink". One of my favorite movies of all times. Of course, I'm fond of most John Hughes movies from this era.

7. Patterns. Love 'em if they're well-written, not so much if they're vague. I'm not really brave enough yet to design my own, but if a pattern's well-written, I can tink with it forever and a day.

8. Pictures. I don't think I look good in photos, even when disregarding the extra weight I have. I can count on one hand the number of photos that I've ever been happy with. This would be the reason my profile has a butterfly frog instead of a pic.

9. Plastic. Plastic has it's uses, like debit cards for those of us who don't carry cash. But not for grocery bags. I can't count the times I've seen them flying down the road at me or waving shredded from trees.

10. Pullman, WA. I went to WSU from 96-02, didn't graduate. But I did meet my husband and start my family there. And even now, four and a half years later, I still think of it as "home". I liked the way it was bigger than my hometown, smaller than a major city, and Summer was the calm season.

Bonus P: Project. I have completed the Fiber Trends Baby Basics pattern. It's now drying and waiting to be photographed.

If you read this and decide it's fun, my letter to you is L.

Short People

2007-01-03T13:21:00.000-08:00

We're getting rid of this bookshelf, minus the shelf model. Since I have two boys, and no girls, I tend to jump at the chance to knit for little girls. The bootie on the left is the final modified bootie from Fiber Trends "Baby Basics" pattern. The bootie on the right is the first modification. I seem to have issues with judging ankle size. Remember these socks? One day I will figure this out instead of having to screw one up or re-gift to get the idea.

Egghead

2007-01-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

I've been looking at glass and fabric head models on places like e-bay, but just not finding anything that I wanted to pay shipping for. Enter Ikea... By day, it's an unimposing glass egg, viewed by some as an object d'art, others as simply a folly of my mind.
But by night, it's a hat model! When I did the two Odessa of last year, I dried them flat and ended up with a heinous crease. Hopefully now, my little egghead will solve that problem. I have a small vase that should work for baby hats, too. Regularly $24.99, put in my posession for $11.99. Not too shabby, and it doesn't stare back.

2007 Inagural FO

2007-01-01T21:39:00.000-08:00

Little fluff scarf for my mom, sorry the lighting isn't so hot. Lion Brand "Fun Fur", colorway "sandstone", 20 stitches on size 11's, 2 skiens. Finished at 12:15am on this day.

Resolutions

2006-12-30T11:35:00.000-08:00

I guess I should figure out some resolutions. Some sane resolutions. Resolutions that I might actually keep for once.

Ideas for 2007
-finish projects within a reasonable amount of time. Remember that year's worth of baby hats for the nephew born in June? Yeah, um, I still need to do February through June...
-maintain weight, and hopefully lose a bit in the process. Time to tell the sweet tooth to shut up and eat more healthy. Momma resembles jello a little too much.
-after the new year sales, knit from stash unless it's a specific project for 3 months. I'm trying here, but who can resist the sales at Acorn Street (12-3) and Village Yarn and Tea (12-5) on New Year's Day?
-finish a volunteer project that I've been working on for almost 3 years before the end of January, absolutely by the end of February. My procrastination has gone on long enough, it's time to get this stuff DONE.
-tackle the fear of lace and fair isle. Stop treating them like vile 4-letter-words. Others can do this, so can I.

We'll see how this goes. Wish me luck. :)

Tag! I'm it!

2006-12-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, I've been hit with the "6 weird things" meme. I'm actually flattered, this is the first time I've been officially tagged.

6 weird things (or TMI)...

1. My dad has a mole on his chest. I have a mole in the same position. Neither of my boys have the mole.

2. I get more freaked before and during family gatherings with my in-laws than I do with rooms full of absolute strangers.

3. The punchline of my favorite joke is "My husband sent me to charm school to learn how to say 'that's nice, that's very nice' instead of 'who the f--k cares.'"

4. The first time I dyed my hair a non-normal hair color (blue streaks, to be exact) was when I was 22, my older son was 2, and it was right after Thanksgiving. A week later we were at the pediatrician's and he looked at me for a minute before stating "your hair is supposed to be blue, right?"

5. I was born a red-head, had it shaved off at 5 months old due to typhoid fever, was bald till about 2, then came back blond. Now it's dishwater blond if I don't highlight.

6. The sexiest smell in the world is fresh baked bread when my husband makes bread from scratch. That and the fact that he makes me laugh and balances me out were the main reasons I've kept him around for 7 years.

Probably not overtly weird, but it's all I can think of at this point in time.

Now go tag someone else!

Washrags

2006-12-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

Okay, here's the half-dozen going to our "Grammy" Marge:

From left to right: Little Houses Cloth, Wheatfields Dishcloth, Alex's Cloth, all found at the Discloth Boutique (scroll through the pages for the patterns). Left to right: Mason Dixon/Ballband warshcloth, Garterlac washcloth from Criminy Jickets, Garterlac washcloth 2 from LavenderSheep.

All of the cotton is Peaches and Cream. A few snazzy ones, a few workhorses. I'm sure she'll enjoy them. I think my favs are the Little Houses and the ball band. The entrelac ones look cool, but kind of a pain in the tush with the cotton.

It's REALLY Christmastime!

2006-12-07T16:02:00.000-08:00

Every year my mom sends me a wreath. Sounds crazy, right? Why the heck would my mother be sending me an ordinary wreath from 260-some-odd miles away? What could be so special about it?
Hmm, what's in the box?

Okaaaay, a sea of styrofoam peanuts...

Showing a little branch...

TaaDaa!

This is the reason why I don't believe it's Christmastime until I get my wreath. Every year my mom glues ornaments on wreaths and hands them out as gifts for select family and friends. We've had Pooh Bear wreaths, red white and blue wreaths, apple wreaths... Never the same two years in a row. I save all the ornaments to use the next year. Every year I dig out the past wreath ornaments and remember that Christmas and the love my mom sends in a box.

No Washcloths Today...

2006-12-07T09:51:00.000-08:00

But I do have some cute pics. This was our younger cat, Nobi, after we returned home from Thanksgiving. After she sat like this for a few hours, we got the idea. "You're NOT leaving again!"
My first sweater! Isn't it cute? Wait, you say there's something odd about it?
Well, that would be because it's an ORNAMENT! It's the mini sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I made it for an ornament exchange party last weekend. Made from Sundara Yarn sock yarn in colorway "Venetian Skies", it was the only handmade ornament there. But I'm still proud of my first sweater, no matter how small it was.

Washcloths

2006-12-05T16:11:00.000-08:00

I've finished the six washcloths for a family friend for Christmas, I just need to requisition my USB cable from my thieving husband before I can post pics. No two are alike and links will be included.

Traction Devices Advised

2006-11-28T18:01:00.000-08:00

Tire chains ring, are you listening?
To the sound of tires spinning...
A beautiful sight, if you're home tonight,
Living in a Winter wonderland.

I sucked at poetry, can't you tell, but the sentiment's all there. Western Washington has been socked in by a nice snow storm followed by freezing weather (my thermometer didn't get above freezing today). No school and the hubby decided to telecommute instead of try the roads, so I had 3 boys on my hands today. Oh please let there be school tomorrow... even if it starts late!

In knitting news, I've completed 2 (out of who knows how many I'll make) cotton washcloths for "Grammy" Marge. She's a widow who was best buddies with my grandmother before my grandma passed on and we've adopted her. Kind of a cheesy gift, but one she'll truly appreciate. One that my family is appreciating also, it's keeping my hands busy so I'm not driving them nuts.

Odelie

2006-11-20T21:56:00.000-08:00

This is Odelie from French Girl Knits. She was an easy project, lots of simple crochet. The only modification I made was to increase one more row on one side and make little medalions at the ends to pad it out. Other than that, it's as written. The lucky recepient is my son's 1st grade teacher.

Odessas

2006-11-20T21:50:00.000-08:00

Here are the two Odessas (Odessai? What would be the proper plural for this?) that I've made for Christmas gifts. The pink one goes to the receptionist at my chiropractor's office who loves all things pink. The cream one goes to my younger brother-in-law's girlfriend. She works at Nordies and I'm hoping it's sophisticated enough for her. :)

Commision Work

2006-11-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

Here is the hat and bootie set that I did for Ericka for her friend's baby shower. It's FiberTrends "Baby Basics" and I did them in Heirloom "Easy Care" 100% washable wool on size 5 needles.

The lace detail is cute, but a little squirelly on the hat and has a tendency to flop down before washing and pulling it into shape. Not a bad pattern to follow. Ericka's friend is due in early February and they're naming their baby "Ruby", so Ericka asked for Ruby slippers... how cute is that?!

How early is too early?

2006-11-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not talking about when to tell people you're pregnant. My baby-making days are over and I'm happy with the two boys.

I'm talking about how early is too early for Christmas decorations. Remember the days when they waited till closer to Thanksgiving? Dim memories. The Macy's Holiday Store at Bellevue Square was open before Halloween. No, not a typo, Hallo-freakin-ween. Unless you were dressing as the jolly fat man or a funky little elf, what the heck was the point? Starbucks had the decency to wait until this week to launch the Christmas stuff in their stores. I broke down and bought a peppermint mocha frappachino, just too yummy to pass up. They had Christmas music selections at the cashier and Kev was trying to talk me into buying them. I told him my rule: "mom doesn't do Christmas music until AFTER Thanksgiving." I may push it to Thanksgiving afternoon, but that's at the earliest.

I realize that retailers are trying to cash in more on the holiday spending, but all it gives me is Christmas burnout, as in I'm totally burnt out on Christmas weeks before it actually happens. Tired of tinseled wonderlands and ringing bells. Tired of seeing tired, cranky, and stressed out kids standing in line waiting to sit on Santa's lap (neither of my kids have ever sat on Santa's lap). Tired of no parking because some mammoth SUV has taken up more than one space.

Okay, I'm done ranting and stepping off my soapbox now. I finished the commissioned project and will post pictures later. It turned out adorable. :)

Hair Raising Experience

2006-11-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when you give a 7-year-old free reign over his hair. At least he has a nice-shaped head. And hair always grows back.

Eye Candy

2006-10-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

I know, we've all seen the Odessa a lot. But this one's mine and I caught it in what little sunshine there was this afternoon. I just liked the way the beads glittered.

Flying off the handle...

2006-10-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

Previous post deleted due to some information that came to me from someone who I feel is a reliable source. I'll leave my opinion at this: if you're going to state fiber content on your label, the content should somewhat match those numbers.

"One Skein" Hat Change

2006-10-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

I like the baby hat in "One Skein", but I always had an issue with the decreases. So I dinked with it and came up with this. This is the top with the new side and decrease pattern.

This is the view from the side. The four "quarters" that are made by the umbrella lace pattern on the bottom are more pronounced with my changes.
Here's the pattern changes:

Follow the pattern out of the book. Instead of going to straight stockinette stitch for the body of the hat, keep doing row 11 of the umbrella lace pattern all the way up to the decreases. I measured my hat from the shortest length to the cast-on edge.

Decreases: Knit to 2 stitches before the first purl stitch, k2tog these 2 stitches, p1, k1, p1, ssk. Do this for each p1 k1 p1 section. Next round, knit the knits, purl the purls. Continue this until you are left with 16 stitches. They will be in a k1 p1 pattern. K2tog all the way around, run thread through the 8 remaining stitches, weave in ends.

I like this, it gives a little more oomph to the hat and the cute little cross on the top so you can have something fun to look at when snuggling baby.

Trip to the Post Office

2006-10-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

7:30 pm- Arrive at post office.

7:45- Get to the point in line where I can find international customs declaration slip. Fill out slip.

7:50 - Postal worker realized that I have neglected to write addresses directly on package. I stand to the side and write addresses.

7:55 - Postal worker realizes that I have filled out the wrong form and gives me another form.

8:00 - I take the form home to be filled out later.

I realize they're a government agency and therefore they have to make everything as complicated as possible, but some days it would be nice if they could have someone in the line like a concierge to tell you what you really need to fill out.

Going Out, Coming In

2006-10-18T16:01:00.000-07:00

This is the package I am sending to my Hot Socks! pal in Norway: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Northern Lights, Mountain Colors Family Socks pattern, Bellagio cocoa, and a hot chocolate mug. I figure there is little to no chance that she's going to get Mountain Colors (dyed in Montanta) in Norway and I loved the colorway.

This is one of two packages that have come in in the last two days. This is from my Hot Socks! pal and includes: 4 bars of Cadbury chocolates (mmm, Cadbury...), honey lotion, English tea, and SOCKS THAT ROCK (Mist, medium weight)!!! I have been wanting to try some of this for a long while and now it's mine mine mine! I also got a totally cool bumper sticker that says "I knit, therefore I rock" How cool is that?!
Finally, there is my package from Sundara's Petals Collection. This set was Falling Foliage and it's just brilliant and saturated and the camera can just not do it justice.
Beyond that, I've been cranking out baby rattles for Lil' Max and getting ready for a birthday party for the almost 7-year-old. How did he get so big?! Must be all the rain...

Incommunicado

2006-10-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, despite what it may seem. I've just attended a La Leche League conference and have been knitting and getting ready for my older son's birthday. I can't believe he's going to be 7!

I've given up on BS Monday, it just doesn't seem worth it, although if I do see a truly excellent one, I'll post it. And alas, no knitting pics, again... I need to get back on the ball here!

There have been some memes going around about books and books that have knitting in them. In the next few days I'm thinking I'd like to dig through my stash and see what knitting references I can see in them and post them. Kind of nerdy, lots of fun since I read so avidly and widely (Anything from the Harry Potter books to Stiff by Roach). So, if you're an avid reader, and have some fantastic knitting quotes from non-knitting books, drop me a line in the comments or at karen_j_baker at msn dot com. :)

Something New

2006-10-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

I got a little tired of green, green, and more green, so I made a change. I hope you all like it. I'll be rebuilding it as I go, and hopefully will figure out how to post some of my free patterns as PDFs and how to play nicely with Flickr. Until then, have a little patience.

BS Monday

2006-10-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

Stating the obvious.

This was the license plate of a Porche Cayenne

PORCHE

Apparently they needed reminding of what they were driving...

BS Monday

2006-09-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

This one's kind of geeky, but it gave me a chuckle.

Can someone set my laser

printer to stun?

BS Monday

2006-09-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know, I haven't been too consistent with this, but I'm trying. :)

I did not escape

They gave me a day pass

Two of these were purchased in a funky little shop back home. One for the hubby, one for the hubby's best friend. Says a lot, doesn't it.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2006-09-16T22:29:00.000-07:00

It's getting chillier here in the Northwest, the leaves are invading my backyard, the oldest is back at school, and what am I thinking of? Christmas. Or, more to the point, the Christmas gifts to be knitted. I know that I could wuss out and buy presents and family and friends would still feel loved and not be slighted by the lack of a handmade gift. It's me. I bought two skeins of Rowan wool cotton on sale today and 2 skeins of Rowan cashsoft dk to be made into Christmas gifts. They haven't been designated for specific people yet, they'll probably end up tossed into the 'reserve' pile. But I only spent $25 on 4 skeins of Rowan (hee hee, gotta love a sale PLUS a $10 off coupon), so overall, not too shabby. Just trying to figure out how to fit it all in with PTA, La Leche League, family commitments, and keeping track of the house and family without becoming certifiable. Or maybe I should go nuts... if I could bring my needles to the nice padded room wtih me. ;)

Mother of the Year, and not in a good way

2006-09-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this?! Lowdown: mom smokes pot with tween-age son to reward him for doing his homework. What's next, crack for passing the driving exam?

Okay, so maybe I'm a bit critical when it comes to things like this. I grew up in a very small town, lived with my mom and grandparents, and my mother is a nurse. I got lectured about the pitfalls of alcohol, drugs, and smoking (well, the smoking via my grandparents who were smokers), saw what happened to the kid in my class who tried to be the local underage pot dealer (can we say 'jail'), and saw how fried a friend of the family was after many years of "mary jane" (went from graduating college with top honors for architecture to being one step above homeless). The fact that a mother would willingly give her child pot for something as small as doing his homework just really blows my mind. What happened the heck happened to society?

I realize that I have young children and things will probably be different when they're older. And I'm not above saying that while I didn't do drugs, I did drink underage, but I didn't drive when I did it and I knew exactly who was around me when I did. But you won't see me offering drugs to my kids just to pursuade them to do their homework. Summer school may suck, but it does less damage than other things out there.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

Signs you have children

2006-09-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

1. You have permanent lego impressions on your feet from trying to walk to the bathroom.
2. Your bathroom hand towel is a semi-permanent shade of mud.
3. It's not odd to find a matchbox car that has made it through the washer and dryer.
4. "Get off your brother" is the most common phrase used in the house.
5. The kid movie collection is coming precariously close to edging out your big people movie collection.

And the saddest sign that you have children: the untimely demise of the black sheep tape measurer that Micheala, my wonderful SP, sent me. The boys have played with both tape measurers before without harm, but evidently tonight was the night that they got a little too rambunctious and now my little baa-baa-black-sheep doesn't retract anymore. No more boys with sheepy tape measurers.