Done Baby Done!

One more for the finished pile! This is the Cottage Creations Babies & Bears Sweater. It still needs buttons, but I don't have a needle that's got the right size eye. Crazy, yet true! I also weaved in the ends after taking the pictures - I was just too impatient! The color is slightly off in these pictures. It's a very soft green. The yarn is Rowan Soft Baby. Love it!!

Front

Back

Now if I could only hold Lily still long enough to get this on her! I try to put it on her and she says, "No jacket Momma." Ugh! Wouldn't it be my luck that the child doesn't want the sweater I knit for her?

The Socks Are Done!

The socks for my Sock It To Me pal are finally done. I don't want to post pictures yet until she receives the package - it might be a week or so since it's going to Denmark. I think they turned out pretty well. Someone asked me to review Soxx Appeal yarn from Knit One Crochet Too (the yarn I used for the socks.) I have a bunch of people who will disagree with me on this one, but I really disliked the yarn. I knit very tightly and I had a really hard time getting consistent tension with this yarn. It was just too elastic for me. I also didn't like that the yarn seems to be frizzy in sections where the plies weren't sticking together. That being said, the owner of my LYS is making mittens with Soxx Appeal and 2 strands of cashmere that are just gorgeous. She really likes working with the yarn.


Since I can't show you pictures of the socks yet, here is a picture of the big gray wrap which is coming out of hibernation. :) It's a basic feather and fan pattern made using baby alpaca from Knitpicks.

Poor Little Pumpkin

Forgive the silly formatting issues, I can't get it to fix itself! This picture was taken on Sunday - 2 days after a mega shot of amoxicillin. Believe it or not, she was starting to feel better by this point.

Hi.  As some of you know by now, Lily was in the hospital on Friday
night for a brief stay.  She had been sick with a fever and stomach pain
since Tuesday afternoon.  I brought her into the clinic and the doctor
decided she was too sick to go home.  The doctor initially thought she
was having an appendicitis so he told us to walk over to the hospital
and be admitted.  After a battery of tests and several long hours, she
was diagnosed with strep throat and slight dehydration, given a shot of
antibiotic and sent home.  Lily is feeling much better today, but she is
still very tired and neither of us are sleeping well at night.  (you can
read the whole story on my blog, www.poskozims.blogspot.com )

When we were admitted to the hospital, all I had with me was the
contents of her diaper bag.  I had wipes (no diapers left!), one book
and a change of clothes for Lily.  I didn't have a blanket or any toys
for her; none of the comforts of home.  I've got to think that most
parents are in the same boat when their child is admitted to the
hospital.  The nurses were able to give us the necessities.

I have several handmade blankets that I have been stockpiling to donate
to the Birth Center from the Optimist Club.  I am going to donate them
to the pediatric wing of SMDC instead.  If anyone has blankets that they
would also like to donate, I would be happy to take them over.   My
blankets are knit, however I think they would be happy with any
crocheted, tied or quilted blankets as well.  Any blanket for the kids
to snuggle with when they are not feeling well is appreciated.

I don't want to pressure anyone or make them feel guilty, I just see
this as an area where we can all give back to the community and help
some kids feel better.

Thanks,
Jess

8 Things About Me

I got tagged by KnittyMuggins for this game.

The Rules:
Once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged.

1. I took a sick day to stay home with Lily who was running a temperature today. I put her and Addie in the recliner with some juice and rearranged the furniture in the living room. There wasn't much cuddling going on this morning. I am appalled by the dust bunnies that were living under my couch. I probably won't win Mother of the Year for this one! *edited to add: Go Here to see the whole story about Lily being sick. She's finally feeling better, but we're all wiped out from the experience.

2. I love cookbooks, I read through them like novels. Whenever we go on vacation, I collect a cookbook from that area. I don't need anymore cookbooks. Hmmm... maybe that's why we haven't been on a real vacation in years!

3. I am a compulsive house shopper. I love driving through neighborhoods looking at the houses for sale. I even do this in towns I don't live in nor do I ever plan on living in. I am a realtor's worst nightmare, always shopping - never buying.

4. I cannot sew a straight seem. I'm actually kind of afraid of sewing machines. I'm really afraid that I will get my finger caught under the walking foot and sew my finger by mistake. In 7th grade we had a portion of home ec where we were supposed to make some sort of sewing project. I missed the day where we learned to use the sewing machine and got to practice. I made a small (very small) drawstring bag. I think the teacher had to help me with the drawstring part. Poor Mrs. Bisson, I think I probably failed that portion but she liked me so I passed. (Just for the record, I aced the rest of Home Ec.)

5. My feet are almost always cold. My kids, on the other hand, take after their Daddy and always have toasty warm feet. I can't keep the socks and shoes on those kids!

6. I carry a Hormel Cup of Soup in my knitting bag. This is because I carry my knitting bag with me most places when we are travelling. I know that I can't always find food that is dairy-free for Lily so this is my safety net. If nothing else I will find a microwave somewhere. I suppose I could just put it in the diaper bag, but instead it's in my knitting bag.

7. I am fiercely loyal. I will protect my friends to the end. On the other hand, if you upset me I will bash you to the world. See, for instance, my rant against Gerber. Seriously, I asked them to develop some dairy-free products and they sent me coupons for things that have dairy in them along with a note saying that they develop products based on demand. Well, I'm a consumer and I'm telling you that food allergies in children is at an all time high. Why would you produce products that makes a large number of children seriously ill?! Get with the program folks!

8. I would like to go back to school for nursing. I was a pre-med major in college and I decided to take a year off before taking the MCAT. 7 years later I'm selling advertising for a newspaper company. Don't get me wrong, I like my job - it's just not where I always want to be.

Now I have to tag 8 people. Yikes! This is definitely the hard part. I will tag Darla, D, Kris, Another Jess.. umm... that's all I can think of right now that I think will do this. I will link to them later when I don't have cranky kids hanging on me. :) Or better yet, leave me a comment with a link to your site. I can't link today.... take pity on me.

Look Ma, No Needle!

Not only are these my very first cables, but they are done without a cable needle. I was amazed at how easy cables really are. For some reason they look all hard and complicated. All you do is drop 3 stitches off your left hand needle, knit the next three stitches, then pick up the dropped stitches and knit them like you didn't do anything different. Cool! Kind of like riding a bike, it seems a lot harder than it really is.

The Return of the Blob...

Coming soon to a theater near you... it's The Return of the Blob! Whatever could it be?

Sock It To Me Jackpot

I got my package from Germany in the mail today. The mailman brought it to the house while I was in the shower so I had to go to the post office (not once, but twice!) to pick it up.

First of all, Lily would like to say thank you or "well ome" as she would say, for all the yummy chocolate. She's very happy that you took her not so subtle hint. Please ignore the dirty face and dirty clothes, she just came home from daycare where I swear they roll in dirt. :)

My package had lots and lots of chocolate (The little pieces didn't even make it home). Notice the little hand trying to grab some of the chocolate? My husband is pretty sure Christmas came early this year since there was chocolate covered Kirsch cherries, something he only gets once a year - and the US ones don't normally have the Kirsch in them. Adam's quote is, "dark chocolate and alcohol, how can you go wrong? I don't know this woman, but I sure do like her." There was also a sock blocker key chain, some post-its, a fantastic satchet from Scout's Swag (I want one for every room of my house and one for each car it smells too fantastic to just keep with my yarn!), and beautiful socks.

They are Embossed Leaves from Favorite Socks in Fiber Artist Merino - Marine colorway. Kris did an incredible job on these. The picture doesn't really do them justice. The colorway is beautiful shades of blue with hints of purple and just a touch of green. Kris was an awesome secret pal. She sent me little notes all along the way and was a lot of fun to email. Thanks Kris, you're the best!