Smile!

SMILE!

Justin and Us

Justin and Grandpa. Need I say more?

Justin and me

Gen's Quilt

Gen made a quilt up for Justin. So we used it for play time on the floor. This almost smile was just before or just after a BIG smile. I just wasn't fast enough.

Justin and his sweaters

This is the goldfish sweater, with the Dale of Norway Baby Ull yarn Mabel and Kay bought in Norway. Honestly the first sweater we tried on, but he wasn't quite sure what that idiot Grandma was doing with the camera! grin She sure stuck it in his face a lot!

This is the Presto Chango sweater, from jimmy beans Wool, knit out of Brown Sheep superwash







This cardigan became a pullover because Grandma forgot the buttonholes! sigh I tried to continue as a cardigan. It would have none of it. Perhaps that is just as well, because buttons like this won't be easy to button on a squirming toddler. As you can see, I went with the majority rule, and put in an additional 3 buttons. There are still 4 buttons left to decorate something!

The Joy of a Grandson

We are a family of readers.

Justin was grumpy today. Actually, he was very hungry and wasn't happy about having to wait for his milk. We were trying to wait for Mommy to come home, but it wasn't going to happen. Sorry Mommy! I was holding him while Grandpa thawed milk for him. There was a copy of "Peter Rabbit" on the table, a tiny cardboard version of Beatrix Potter's beloved book. I picked it up in desperation and started reading it to him. I didn't show him pictures, but he quieted and listened to the rhythm of the words. The book ended and he started fussing again. So I read it again. Just as I finished, he came to the end of his patience, but Grandpa had come through! The milk was ready!

I think we have another reader!

Pictures will be coming! He is a toad like his Daddy about pictures. He will have the biggest smile on his face, but bring out the camera and it disappears! Especially as you push the button. It might have been there as you pushed, but in that moment, it is gone and there is a wide-eyed look of astonishment that you would even think that you could catch a smile. grin

chuckle

We stayed in a lovely hotel last night in St. Paul. There are lovely white comforters on the beds. I was knitting away at my Mermaid, and thought "this would be a great place to take a progress picture!" I guess it is official -- knitting rules! Howard, the sweety, just laughed. The body is officially to half. Yay!

We were going to explore downtown St. Paul by foot. I was wheezing, though, so we didn't go very far. I needed my prednisone, and couldn't take that until we ate. Stopped at a likely place and had a lovely time. I'm so glad that retaurants here are now smoke free! We ate at Matty B's, the maitre d' took special care so that I could eat safely. It is worrisome trying to eat away from home with so many food allergies, he went far out of his way so that I could have a delicious meal. There was a jazz band playing in the background, we were on the other side of the restaurant, so chatting was easy. It was a delightful experience.

As you may have noticed, I'm back on pred. There wasn't much wheezing, but there wasn't much air getting in and out of the lungs either. My voice has been staying in the bass register, which causes some hilarity with friends. There was a debate as to whether Howard and I had switched voices (which would have been a good trick in and of itself, but it has been deeper than his.) Some people close to me couldn't recognize my voice. I guess it is hard to process when you know the person's voice and it is suddenly SO much deeper. Memorable, I understand. grin

Oh Wow!

Not very long ago I talked with our dear friend Gen about making a quilt for our bed. I've loved Star of David quilts for so many years. I tried quilting in the early 80s, I made a few tiny things and stopped. The ladies in Idalia Colorado quilted, I learned a bit more. But my abilities are um, weak. Gen is a QUILT MAKER! She loves to piece the way I love to knit.
Gen generously told me to come over and choose the fabric from her stash. Yesteday she came over to give this to us. She wanted to give us a visible sign of her love. I think that she has given us a hug that will be cherished the rest of our lives. I had tears in my eyes as I unfolded this precious gift.

She apologized that she wasn't able to quilt it. Oh my word! I think she gave so much already. I have checked with a friend who knows a quilter who may be willing to quilt it.

Each time I see this quilt, I will be hugged by Gen. Her love will enfold us at night.

What an absolutely lovely gift from the heart! God bless you Gen!

The Goldfish Sweater

Here is the finished Goldfish! I dropped it down onto the snowbank outside the front door, then took it looking down at it. I couldn't quite reach the arm to untuck it where it fell, but the rest of the sweater almost looks posed. Almost.

Yarn used, Dale of Norway Baby Ull, 4 skeins, I started with Brenda Zuk's Salmon Run then played with it. My fish are shorter, thus they look fatter. Pattern designed using SweaterWizard and Stitch and Motif Maker.

Oh, and it is resting on a new bed of the white rain that fell last night.

Eep!

I started an e-book. I made the mistake of reading a review about it. Normally, a review is a summary of the absolute essentials of the book. This one says "Because this is such a great ending, I'm not going to divulge anything else about it. You'll have to read the book to find out."

Now, for a person who has a hard time starting a book without reading the ending to make sure it all comes out okay, this is horrible! One of the few times I didn't want to read the end to find out and the reviewer does this to me? mutter, mutter, mutter! Yes, despite the years of being yelled at by family and friends, I still read the end of the book first.

So far I've not given in to tempation. Will it last? I dunno. :)

Maybe I'll take a picture of the goldfish sweater in the white rain that is on the ground. The forecast was "it is too warm for any snow, it will all fall as rain." HAH! That is some awfully solid white rain on the ground, I watched the neighbor shoveling it.

The Goldfish Sweater, he is finished!

Between the county caucus this morning and the knitting group this afternoon, the goldfish sweater is completed! I need to give it a quick wash, then I'll post a picture. People seem to think it is cute!

Thank you again Kay and Mabel!

Oh for...

Then last night, as I'm knitting away at this Goldfish Sweater, I notice that the last cable I knit in the column with the wrong cable was wrong AGAIN! sigh I must have looked at the wrong cable when I glanced to see which way the cable was to go. After all, I've hit the stage where I really don't think I need the pattern. whimper

I spent most of the morning fixing those two cables. The first was done by snip, move stitches then kitchener. The second was dropped down, fixed, then knit up again. Just those 8 stitches. Now can I finish this sweater? snivel

Drat

I had planned to write a post today about the joy of knitting when the pattern finally "clicks." When you suddenly "get it" and develop a rhythm. You see the word PLANNED? HAH!

I am having trouble believing that I went 7 rows without noticing that cable crossed the wrong way! After all, I look at my knitting! I know that I have to check to see what row I am (which way the seed stitch starts.) I LOOK at my knitting. I thought. Now I'm on the 8th row, time for another cable crossing. ARGH! This yarn isn't nice to drop down and knit up, it splits better than cheerleaders! I'll wait until I'm done and do a snip and kitchener repair.

The good news is that it is beginning to look like a sweater! As you can see, the arms joined the body today!

The color is somewhere in between these two shots. It is not quite a baby yellow (I called it that and one vendor was quite offended, told me it was "real yellow." Okay. It isn't a BRIGHT yellow. The first picture is too gold. The second one is too pale. Somewhere in the middle. You imagine, as my camera doesn't want to see it that way. I tried playing with the color, it wants to turn it into a gold, and it isn't.

The Tale of a Sweater

Last fall, two wonderful ladies, Kay and Mabel, went on a trip to Norway. While they were there, they thought of Justin (who was had yet to make his appearance) and bought some yarn so I could make a sweater for him. It is beautifully soft Dale of Norway Baby Ull -- a superwash wool in a lovely yellow (safe for either sex!) That was so sweet of them!

Here is the sweater I've started from that yarn. I've had a bit of a time, my gauge changed after my swatch, and I had to start over again. I started over the next time when I realized my gauge had changed again. This time it seems to be consistent. I have both sleeves knit and am nearly 3 inches up the body. It is going to be a seamless pullover, with a shawl collar. I like how it is working.

I started with Brenda Zuk's cable pattern in Salmon Run, a pattern I'd purchased thinking about our son. I felt that an all-over texture would be too much on this sweater. And then, of course, I started playing with the cable and changed that. I think the fish is now more of a goldfish than a salmon. grin

So, thanks to Mabel and Kay, Justin is going to have a sweater with "fishies" that will keep him warm. I can't wait until I see it on him! I know it is going to be too big (I purposely designed it so he can grow into it) but I love the picture of him in the changed Tutti-Frutti.

Thank you, ladies!

We Belong

The song in the hotel ad is haunting me...the chorus sings "we belong" over and over again. I think it ends with the word "together", but the part that sings -- okay, I'll be honest, is STUCK in my mind is "we belong".

There are so many places where I have found I belong. Some are a good fit, others are...not so good, but I stay because of friends, or circumstances, duty and sometimes (unfortunately) from habit. Some ties are weak, some are strong. But they are there.

We each need to belong.

Newest Justin pics

This one is a bit old (if you consider his age, that seems to be all wrong!) Aunt Serena is a fan, can you tell? So is Grandpa H, for that matter. Aunt Serena is trying to catch him young, I believe.



Justin spent part of a day at day care yesterday, so they could all experience it before Mommy has to go back to work. As they said, doesn't he look worried? grin This is at the day care site. He''s changed a lot already!

From what we understand, there are a lot of pictures being taken, but not a lot of time at that end (and boy, do I remember that lack of time) to send them on. We will "have" (such a hardship) to make another trip north to visit, and copy their pictures onto CDs so we can have them as well. There are some cute pictures on his webpage, but I can't copy them for my computer. There is one that he looks just like Jack Benny! The only thing missing is the hand up to the face!