Sorry for the Lameness

So the parasite growing inside me is still a boy. It is supremely hard to believe that in a little over 12 weeks I can have an outside baby of my own. On Monday the hubs and I will leave for a mini vacation before the baby gets here. I am not that excited because we are driving, I don't like driving vacations, and we don't have a real game plan. I need to have things planned out, and I don't have a book to read on the beach or a project to work on. But we are making a stop at a tiny baby boutique to check out the Bumbleride stroller I really want, and at 6 months pregnant, I look just like I did before. I lost 20 pounds in the first 16 weeks, then was at a standstill until last week. Now at 25 weeks I have gained 3 pounds, still down 17.

Its a BOY!!!!!

So I had an ultrasound, and it was totally awesome! Everything is looking really good and normal with the baby and it turns out we are having a boy!!! I totally thought it was a girl for the past 2 weeks or so. I had a dream that I changed my baby girl's diaper, so in that moment I was going to be a mom to a girl. My intuition sucks! baby boy. I really have got to get knitting and quilting and figuring out what needs to go where to make room for baby! Off to do some more research on baby stuff.

Baby News

So as far as I know, and according to the first ultrasound, I am having a baby!! I have anther ultrasound on Monday, and I already saw the heartbeat, so things are looking good. I am currently only 7 weeks along, and due in Feb 2011. I am still being very cautious, and very few people know, so keep this on the down low.

New Projects

So last night was the Lost finale and I was so super disappointed by the entire thing. This last season has not bee what I expected, but I was at a Lost party and had a great time even thought the show was not what I expected.

I began the Traveling Sweater from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, and this sweater is going to take me forever. I have one wedge out of eight done, and then I still have the sleeves. I love the color of the Woobu, which is called Stormy Weather, and I have another few skeins of Tumbleweed that I might use this winter for the same Traveling Sweater.

And finally in quilt news, I finished the label for the back so that I can identify my quilts better when I get old, and the entire thing is halfway done and I need to flip it again. But I am having problems, my jaw hurts like none other, I have some sort of sore in my gums and it is pressing on the nerves of my teeth. My right side of my upper jaw is painful so I am having trouble sleeping and just in general.

Reading

Si I have blown through the first 2 books in the Sookie Stackhouse collection. I have just began on the third book and I hope to get it done in time for the third season of True Blood, but I have a feeling that it wont be a problem.

So I have had my trigger shot for this month's cycle, and now I wait. I feel really optimistic and hopeful for this month, and I think my husband is too. He started at the new job already and this saturday is his last day. His replacement started work today, and I guess he is trying to train him as best he can.

I am still quilting, trying to get it done before the summer hits in full swing. I hope I will get it done, because I am already a third of the way done. So there you have it for now, nothing much different.

Mothers Day

So I survived another Mother's day. I am not a mother, and although I have a wonderful mother and mother-in-law, I still feel like it is a punch in the guts. My mother, sister and I all went to the Blue Owl for lunch and pie, of course. We went on Saturday thinking they wouldn't be so busy, but we waited 45 minutes and the room kept filling up with at least half a dozen babies. It was hard, especially since my nerves were already fried from the wait and the stress of this cycle.

So My mom and us girls had a great time, and then on Sunday we had a brunch and cards and gifts and everything. Not so bad, I got my mom 2 Koi fish for her outside pond, and one is orange and white and the other is silverish blue and black. She loves them, so I am happy.

And finally last night we did my In-laws for mothers day. We went to see Cirque du Soliel, and then had dinner afterwards. We had a great time, and there were no small children. I know it really sounds like I have no use for small children at all, but it is all for the fact that I am not a mother, everytime I see my mom gaze at a baby it hurts because I haven't made her a grandma. It is had that everywhere I go I am surrounded by babies. But life must go on and I am living for Friday morning.

Nothing New

So today I don't have much to say, but making blogging a part of my daily life is what I want. The hubs got done with training, so whenever they call him in to work he can show up and make money! I am working on the farm everyday and hopefully have some time to quilt, I have totally fallen out of the zombie knitting I was doing before. I love to pick up an old craft and get so into it. I really want to make a quilt for my husband, and I think I have settled on a row quilt of a few different blocks. That is another quilt that I have waited to make for so long.

In baby news I am finishing pills tomorrow, and I have a doctors appointment for Friday, so now we wait. I am feeling rather excited about this cycle, which is strange because it is coming on 2 years now. How can I be so hopeful after so long? I have no idea, but I am doing good and the hubs hasn't lost hope. So I shall leave it at this.

Hubby got the Job!!

So my husband got the job and so I am on some awesome fertility meds that make me super mood swingy. So no mothers day for me, but maybe next year. I am super happy that my Amish Stripes quilt is on the frame, and hubby said that he would buy me a new quilt frame, and I am super excited. I got a new sampler blocks book and more reproduction fabric , because I love love love reproduction prints.

I am going to piece a quilt for my husband by hand and then quilt it because I need to do things especially for him. And with this new job he might be able to move ahead quicly, and we may have to move. I am worried about all kinds of things that moving entails, because it would be a wonderful oppurtunity, but we would be at least 3 hours from family. I would love to be a real grown up and own a house and decorate and be on our own. But how would I deal without my family? What if we had a baby? Would i need to get a job? How could I help my parents at the farm? We will see what happens a year from now. No worries til then. Living in the here and now. And now I feel hungry; dinner should be ready soon.

New Quilt

So I am not going to put up the Double Wedding ring because, lets face it, my house is not big enough to set up a huge king size quilt. So I started and finished piecing the top of a quilt I have wanted to make for years, an Amish stripes or Amish Shadows quilt. It will be queen sized and I had to make it twice. The first blocks I made were with my 7 year old fabric from when I couldn't afford good cotton fabric. So I made up the blocks with bad fabric and laid them all out the same way. Not how I wanted it to look, I reread the instructions and found that I was supposed to strip piece in a random order.
Now I went and got nicer fabric, which will last a long time, and better colors, so I remade the entire quilt. I now have on the frame my top that I made and have started quilting. I really hope to get this finished quickly because this is a quilt I always wanted. And I am itching to piece another top, something fancy next time.

Im Lame and I know it

So its been awhile, my bad I know. But there aren't many if any readers out there. I have been quilting up a storm so I have a completely finished quilt, the one I told you about before. And I finished making the top of a Double Wedding Ring and I plan on making it for my cousin's wedding in a year and a half, so there is time to get it on the frame. So now I have just begun an Amish Stripes quilt for myself. I have had the fabric for this quilt for about six years, so I finally have the time and the ambition to start and finish it.
So still no news on the baby front. If there is still nothing good to report, then I think we are going back to the specialist. It has been over a year and a half and we need help. Plus if my husband gets the job that he is supposed to he will be working a lot more and making more money. We can then afford to go to the specialist, because that is all out of pocket ad not cheap at all.

Its my blog and I will whine if I want to!

I will commence my whining session now. I am going to go way off the knitting theme here, and go on to the baby part of my blog. I have been married for over a year and a half now, and trying to create offspring for just as long. My entire life I have wanted to be a mom, and I always wanted to be a stay at home mom, well sort of. I work at my parents tomato farm in the summers, planting has already started, so I am working some days now. I will continue to work longer hours through the summer until Halloween. This set up works very well for having children, working in the summer and instilling a work ethic while they are young; and having my mom and sister and maybe grandma around to keep an eye on the little buggers, all while working as a family.

So I have had no luck in making my mommy dreams come true. I write this tonight after working at my churches fish dinner, I was the first of my peers to get married, I am young, and I own that fact. But my husband and I are financially stable, and on our own feet completely; my peers on the other hand are living at home with mom and dad, and oops, someone gets pregnant. Nothing kills me more than people having children and then getting married because of said children. Own the fact that you made a baby, and may not be suited for each other, and share custody or whatever. I am not knocking anyone's decisions, but for the most part, people that I know who are around my age, and have babies before being married or committed, and then getting married for the sake of appearances drive me crazy.

Long story short, I have fertility problems. I am angry and upset at the world and maybe even God. I did everything right. I graduated high school, I graduated college, I dated a lot of Mr. wrongs before I found my Mr. Right. We dated and were committed, we got a dog. We got engaged, and got married. We bought a house and another dog. He has a stable and good job, I work at the family business. I go to church, I help the community, I love his family, and he loves mine. So now I will ask and whine, Why not me? I do everything in my power to build a family and home to bring a child into, and I can't. I know I am the problem, I have been tested the husband has been tested, and the results all point to me as the problem.

Now comes the overshare... I have been pregnant; last summer we did it on our own, and it was the most glorious 8 weeks ever. Then my bubble popped. That was one of the very lowest points of my life, and I know my loss was not that great, compared to others. And now it is coming close to my original due date, and I get sad, wishing I still had the baby I lost. Now that I think about it, I am tired of all of it. I go to the special lady doctor, cause the regular ob/gyn can't handle my messed up body, and I get hormones and fetility pills, and I hot flash like a menopausal woman, then I get ultrasounds, then a shot, all paid for out of my pocket. I have health insurance, but my infertility is not their problem. That is not my issue, I can save my extra money, and sacrafice a vacation in order to have my baby. It just doesn't work. It hasn't so far.

I give up. If I offer up my utter failure to God, or the fates or who ever, will they have mercy on me? When I swore off men in my second semester of college, I met my future husband. Do I have to put it out there in order for it to be recognized? I know I am young and should not be worried, but it is all these people I know who are my age, and have accidental pregnancies and babies, then get married. I do everything right and I literally can't produce an heir without medical assistance. I am done, I give up. Do you hear me out there, I can't take it anymore. Maybe God is planning an elaborate 22nd birthday present for me, and it comes in the form of 2 pink lines. I doubt it, and I give up.

Quilt

So this quilt has been living in my family room for about a month now. I really need to finish it, but I would rather be knitting. Also, I have fallen out of love with this quilt in particular. I made the top, and there are like thousands of tiny pieces all sewn together, I wish I would have never made it, I hate it to the point that I will be giving it to my cousin's fiance as soon as I finish it, which may be never.
Oh, and I taught said cousin's fiance to knit, granted we only got a first lesson with cast on and the knit stitch before we had drank too many pineapple upside down martinis to make heads or tales of any knitting. I love having a girlfriend my age who wants to learn knitting. I don't know anyone else in my circle of friends who gives two hoots about my knitting adventures and sock club membership, but she loves it, and will always listen to me babble on about how socks rock, and acrylic is the devil, when blended incorrectly.
Now off to play with Ralph, my new Quaker parrot. (note to self, take pictures of Ralph to share with interwebs.)

Pictures!

So here is my mother in law's February Birthday Sweater.
Sorry for the bad lighting, and overall unhappy look on my face, but the husband was making it difficult to take nice pictures.
Here are pictures of my February Lady Sweater, also knit in Dyeabolical's Cotton Slub yarn. Bright green seemed appropriate, because I love color, and I can always wear a neutral cami underneath, or pop another bright color.

We got a Bird

So my husband and I have been thinking of adding another pet into our lives, and somehow a bird got thrown into the mix. We can't have a cat, the pugs would hate it, and no reptiles or amphibiens. Also, my hubby has a way of killing any fish in the vicinity, and not hamsters or other furry rodent creatures. So a bird, and not just a little parakeet or finch or anything, a parrot. A Quaker Parrot, like a fat parakeet who needs more attention.
So Ralph is our 3 month old Quaker, and we take him to the avian vet today. I really like playing with him, but I just don't know how to play with a bird. We are working on the up command and getting him in and out of the cage safely. He plays with his toys in the cage by himself, he eats regularly and enough, I just don't know the best way to bond and interact with him.
I talk to him all the time, and he will squeak back at me, and the pugs cry at him from the floor, and he mimics their cries.

In knitting news I finished my mother in laws February Lady sweater, so all I have to do is take pictures, wrap it up and hand it over. So after having such and easy time making her sweater, I have started one for myself. Same yarn, only mine is bright green, and mine will have longer sleeves and be a bit smaller. Hopefully I will get some pictures taken of my finished projects, and little Ralphie.

February Lady Sweater

So I am maybe halfway through this February Lady Sweater for my Mother in law. She tried it on over the weekend and it fits her wonderfully. I am just hoping that it doesn't grow when I block it. I need to find buttons for this birthday sweater, and I think I will have it finished by the end of February for her birthday.
Right now I am fighting one heck of a cold, and after 2 days of fever and night sweats, I am feeling better. I hope I will be better by Saturday, which is the Mardi Gras parade in Soulard, and I will be working for the Cat's Meow bar. I don't know exactly what I will be doing, but I can guarantee I will be outside freezing my butt off. That is one long day, and having a cold, or being sick in anyway would make that day even more miserable than dealing with drunks at noon.
I am off to drown myself in cold medicine and work through a big chunk of the February Lady Sweater. Wish me luck.

Its been awhile

So I lied... about taking a break from knitting. I am so bad, I try to take a break and a week later I remember about that cardigan I promised my mother in law, and that is just the start. Next, after I just cast on for her February Lady Sweater, in the mail come my Socks That Rock Sock Club shipment. Now what? So the MIL's sweater is on the needles looking good, and I want one of my own in a different color. The the Socks That Rock club, then I have two other Socks That Rock yarn that I want to wear right now!! So that makes about five total projects that I want to have done or in the works right now. But I digress.

I have decided that I will not wind any skeins of yarn until the very day I use them, because I just love, love, love, to pet the sock yarn skein from my club. My husband looks at me like a crazy person when I pick up the skein and hold it close to my face and tell it how pretty it looks today. Oh, I almost forgot the mini emergency skein, that I love, but it is not as sqwishable as the skein. There will be pictures later of all of the things I have been doing, but for now I must continue knitting, knitting, knitting.

Break From Knitting

OMG! I am going to take a much needed break from knitting. Hopefully a small break will give my fingers a rest, and my pocketbook. I have amassed a lovely stash of yarn, so I have decided to take a break and go slowly and work through my stocks of sock yarn. I will knit along with the Rockin' Sock Club, but the knitting will not consume my every waking thought and those little last drowsy moments before sleep takes over.
But here is the kicker internets, I have put my quilt frame back up in the living room, so my fingers will not be getting a rest. And I found a lovely piece of cross stitch I tucked away a long time ago, and will take me a long time to come. It is a full size or queen size piece of fabric (I don't quite remeber, and I don't want to look for the package) that is almost completely covered in cross stitches. There will be pictures and angry posts about how stupid this project is and how much I hate it, but for now I love it and am plugging along, getting stuff done.

There shall also be pictures of my monsterous quilt frame, that takes up 8 feet by 3 feet of my living room, and the husband is not happy. I had to move around some furniture to fit the beast into the room, and the husband hates my quirky moving of furniture.
I will say that I move the furniture in my house quite often. We have lived in the house for 2 years already, and I still can't figure out how to arrange my living room furniture. I move it in the middle of the day while he is at work, and he comes home and just stares at the room, and glances at me and shakes his head. He thinks I'm crazy and I think its fun.
Ok, I have jumped around my topics enough, and it has come to a close. I will continue to post pictures, of non knitted items, and rave about the awesomeness of the Rockin' Socks Club.

Dyeabolical Socks

So I finished my Dyeabolical socks, in the pattern Dead Simple Lace socks. They look good, and I am so upset because I worked them from the toe up, and tried a new cast-off method, and totally ruined the socks. I cannot get the socks onto my feet, I think I really messed up the cuff's cast-off. So I don't know how to repair this. I guess I do need to attack it, because I want to wear the socks.

Also, I tried my hand at dyeing yarn, and it did not come out quite right at first. I tried to handpaint the skein first, but the colors bled and was a nightmare. Planning is key to dyeing yarn, I found that out the hard way. So I kettle dyed the poor ugly skein, and it looked like this in the kettle.


Now it is a hot pink ball of bubblegum ishness. I always wanted hot pink socks, so we will see what they turn into eventually.

Rockin' Sock Club

So I have just joined Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock club! I am so excited and a little bit scared. I have no idea what I will be getting myself into, but if it opens my creative ability to see patterns and colors, it has to be good. I can't wait for the first package at the end of January.

I am currently completely bored with the socks I am currently working on. They are Dead Simple Lace Socks from the toe up, and they are so easy that I am bored. I just want to use up the Dyeabolical Strong Arm Sock Yarn and I have a little ways to go. Pictures to come when I am all finished.

Also I got a book about hand dyeing for Christmas, and so I ordered some natural uncolored sock yarn, and some PRO Wash fast acid dyes. I want to try my hand at dyeing a few skeins of sock yarn for me, so I am waiting for that package also. Hopefully I can mix up some pretty colors and make nice looking yarn, and put up pictures of my creation.

Socks!

So for Christmas I got the book Socks From the Toe Up, so of course I needed to make my first pair asap! But of course I also got Socks 2-at-a-time for Christmas also, so I needed to see if I could apply this thought to toe up socks the same as top down socks. So I did. And made the Ribbed Ribbon Socks, and when I got them finished and blocked, I wore them to show my mother, and she took them. Shelike the socks so much she took them off my feet and made me sockless. It is 15 degrees F outside with 2 or 3 inches of snow on the ground and I have no socks because she loved my first work with lace so much.

So now I started on a new pair of socks, cause I lost mine. So now I start on the Dead Simple Lace Socks, and I am using my Dyeabolical Strong Arm Sock Yarn, dyed right here in St. Louis, MO. So the yarn looked superb on the skein, and great on the ball, but knitting up, the stripes are kinda pooling, and I hope it looks better when all finished. The colorway is beautiful but I'm just not sure. More pictures on the new socks to come. These are pictures of the Ribbed Ribbon Socks that my mom took. They were made using Alpaca Sox yarn.

Actual Pattern for Jovie Hat

Jovie Hat (From the movie Elf)
Yarn: Malabrigo single ply worsted
Color: Natural, ivory, bone.
Needle: Size 8 circular, 16 inch
Cast on 104 stitches.
Work in a K1, P1 rib for 6+ inches, or until the length desired. (Brim gets folded over, so it only appears to
be 3 inches.)
Next start working in the cable pattern,
Work these 8 rows and repeat them as many times as necessary to get 8 inches of cable pattern.
Place stitch markers at -
Row 1: C4B, C4F, for 32 st,-P4, K12, P4,- C4B, C4F for 32 st,- P4, K12, P4-
Row 2: K32, P4, K12, P4, K32, P4, K12, P4.
Row 3: K32, P4, C6F, C6B, P4, K32, P4, C6B, C6F, P4.
Row4: K32, P4, K12, P4, K32, P4, K12, P4.
Row 5: C4F, C4B for 32 st, P4, K12, P4, C4F, C4B for 32 st, P4, K12, P4.
Row 6: K32, P4, K12, P4, K32, P4, K12, P4.
Row 7: K32, P4, C6F, C6B, P4, K32, P4, C6B, C6F, P4.
Row 8: K 32, P4, K12, P4, K32, P4, K12, P4.
Start Decreasing when the cable section measures 8 inches.
End after row 5 is complete
Decrease rows
9: ssk, k28, k2tog, p4, k12, p4, ssk, k28, k2tog, p4, k12, p4.
10: Next row: ssk, k26, k2tog, p4, c6f, c6b, p4, ssk, k26, k2tog, p4, c6b, c6f, p4.
11: Next row: ssk, k24, k2tog,p4, k12, p4, ssk, k24,k2tog, p4, k12, p4.
12: Next row: Slip first 3 stitches on CN and hold to the back, k2, then work stitches on CN as follows,
ssk, k, c4f, c4b, for 16 st, then place 2 st on cn and hold to front, k2tog, k, the k 2st form cn. P4, k12, p4.
Repeat for the other half of work.
13: Next row: ssk, k20, k2tog, p4, k12,p4. Repeat for other half of work.
14: Next row: ssk, k18, k2tog, p4, c6f, c6b, p4. Repeat for other half of work.
15: Next row: ssk, k16, k2tog, p4,k12,p4. Repeat for other half of work.
16: Next row: Work the same as 12.
17: Next row: ssk, k12, k2tog, p2tog, p2, k12, p2, p2tog. Repeat for other half of work.
18: Next row: ssk, k10, k2tog, p3, c6f, c6b, p3. Repeat.
19: Next row: ssk, k8, k2tog, p2tog, p1, k12, p1, p2tog. Repeat.
20: Next row: Work the same as 12, allowing for the decrease in p.
21: Next row: ssk, k4, k2tog, p2tog, ssk,k1,ssk,k1, k1, k2tog,k1,k2tog, p2tog. Repeat.
22: Next row: ssk, ssk,k2tog, p1, ssk, ssk, k2tog, k2tog, p1. Repeat.
Last row: ssk, k2tog, ssk, k2tog, p. repeat
10 live stitches reamin.
Draw working yarn through live stitches twice and pull tight, secure.
Make pom pom* 4 inches long and attach to the top of the hat where stitches were pulled tight.
*To make pom pom, wrap yarn around a 4 or 5 inch piece of cardboard about 120 times, or until at your
desired fluffiness. I enjoy a very fluffy pom. Then have a length of yarn to pull through loops, and secure
in a knot, then cut once at one end of the cardboard.




So this is the pattern for the hat I had been working on for sometime. Finally it is online here and on ravelry, so i hope to be done for awhile. All this learning about computers and pdf files, my head is spinning enough for one day.

Jovie Elf Hat

So here is the hat that everyone has wanted for so long.


https://acrobat.com/#d=WKhS-n7Oo7dcXQz9PzMw1g

This is a link for the pdf version.