Knitting, sewing, cross stitching, my life in general.





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The body of Rogue is finished! I think I need to take a bit of a break from it though, cuz I'm having some pain in my right arm. Maybe I will do a little bit of sewing (I have lots of cute maternity patterns, and my regular clothes are already getting a bit snug).

Goodbye 2004. I'm sure I will always remember this as the year that my first baby was conceived. Waaaay better than remembering it as the year I got pregnant, got fired, then had a miscarriage. Argh.

We don't have any big plans for tonight. I can't drink and the weather is cool and rainy. I have an apple pie in the oven and later I'm making a big dinner. What a boring old married couple are we!

posted by Stephanie at 3:42 PM

 
YAY
I'm making a bit of progress on Rogue. I finished the back and I'm currently working on the neck part of the front. Once I finish that it's just one (giant, cabled) hood and one sleeve. Woo!

BOO
This summer I bought yarn from elann so my sister could knit her very first sweater. Alas, she has run out of yarn (with one sleeve to finish) and elann doesn't have any more in that color. If anyone has a skein of Schoeller Stahl Volare in 6714 chocolate truffle, please let me know!

posted by Stephanie at 3:35 PM

 
Yes, I survived the holidays. On Christmas Eve, I did some baking and then DH & I opened presents and watched the Packer game (go NFC North champion Packers woooooo)! I made spinach lasagna for dinner and then we drove up to my MIL's house (we figured there would be less traffic than on Christmas day). Christmas Day we ate, exchanged gifts, and watched the Laker game. We also told DH's family about the baby and they were very excited.

As far as knitting is concerned, I did get one knitting-related gift and it was great. The fabulous Karen sent me some yellow cotton and some yellow wool yarn (to make baby things, of course). I also got some cash, but the only yarn purchase I made so far was 2 balls of sock yarn from eBay (1 trekking, 1 Regia). With all the baking and some sewing and cross stitching, I haven't been knitting much at all. I've been working on the pink Opal sock and I'm almost to the toe shaping on the first one. Brenda asked what Opal I was using. I don't know the name of the group, because I got this yarn a few years ago when I ordered a big box of Opal from Germany. But I can tell you that the ballband says Farbe (color?) 194 and Partie (lot?) 2804. Hope that helps.

In other news, we had a prenatal appointment this morning and I finally got to meet my OB. She was really nice and we like her a lot. She was just planning to listen to the baby's heartbeat with the doppler, but she couldn't find it. So I wouldn't panic, she hurried and got the ultrasound so we got another free look at the baby! Woo! It actually looks like a baby now and all is well


posted by Stephanie at 2:49 PM

 
Merry Christmas!


posted by Stephanie at 9:17 AM

 
Sock drama

Before:


After:


Now:


Ahh. I feel much better. I also worked on Rogue a bit this morning.
posted by Stephanie at 10:07 AM

 
Yesterday I cast on 2 new socks. Today I have decided that I don't want to knit socks anymore and I still don't feel like working on Rogue.

The new socks.
1) The beaded socks for the six socks knitalong. I finally decided on some dk orange/rust koigu and some tan stone-look beads that I had in my stash. I'm happy with the combination, but I'm not thrilled with the way I am putting the beads in the knitting. mneh.
2) A plain pair of self-patterning socks--lane cervinia forever jacquard (super-cheap from elann). The problem--the main colors are red, green, and navy, so they feel too much like another pair of xmas socks. mneh.

Maybe I just need a nap.

posted by Stephanie at 1:45 PM

 
YAY, my Christmas socks are done!



Now I can wear them several times this week! :) Of course, I'm immediately thinking about what socks to start next. Looks like I will do the beaded socks from the six socks knitalong. Right now I'm rummaging through my beads and my sock yarn trying to make a decision.

YAY, I got a temp job. It starts in January and will last for 4-6 weeks. The pay is very good and it's non-toxic (ie, safe for pregnant babes). I'm so happy about that.

YAY, my early pregnancy symptoms are starting to subside (mainly the fatigue and morning sickness). I have a bit more energy to get things done. Yesterday I sewed a matte jersey maternity dress that I can wear now if I want to (it's not obviously a maternity style) and I made some cinnamon-roasted almonds (yum). This morning I took the dog for a long walk and did some stretching so that's out of the way for today. I'm craving oatmeal cookies so I think that's what I will be baking this afternoon. I also printed out a recipe for peanut butter dog biscuits (you know, for Jackson's xmas gift), but I'm not sure if I will get to those today.

Enjoy the holidays!!
posted by Stephanie at 11:32 AM

 

Two cross stitched Christmas ornaments.
posted by Stephanie at 10:18 AM

 

Sweatshirt for me using hello kitty Christmas fleece. I {heart} it.
posted by Stephanie at 10:17 AM

 

$5 Old Navy maternity tee + iron-on letters from Michael's = tee that looks just like the $50 ones that are selling online.
posted by Stephanie at 10:15 AM

 

Poinsettia pins. The one on the left is made from craft store felt and beads. The one on the right is knit from leftover stone cotton. There was one other, but I already mailed it off!
posted by Stephanie at 10:13 AM

 

Baby bunting and hat made from some leftover holiday fleece. This is a 6 month size, so maybe it will get some use next Christmas!
posted by Stephanie at 10:11 AM

 
Yay, my Christmas stuff is all done!! People laugh at me when I start knitting xmas presents in March, but hey--it works for me. I knit a few gifts, sewed a few gifts, and purchased a few gifts at good prices throughout the year. This is a very good thing since we're broke at the moment, especially with all the cash we will have to shell out for the new apartment.

Anyway, presents are all done, wrapped, and mailed (I just made my last trip to the post office *shudder*). Christmas cards have been mailed and my little decorations are up. Yesterday I even made fudge and sewed a hello kitty Christmas fleece pullover for me. All that remains is some baking--I will probably save that for Christmas Eve so I can bring some goodies when we visit the in-laws on Christmas day.

Knitting--I haven't work on Rogue. I worked a bit on the xmas socks and last night I started a pink baby hat using Sirdar Snowflake dk (I have a friend who is due to have a baby girl on Jan. 4. Looks like she may come early, though)!

posted by Stephanie at 2:48 PM

 
Hey, do you have any old cell phones, pagers, or PDAs lying around? If so, here's a great way to recycle them and raise a little money for the charity of your choice!

Knitting news. I haven't been doing as much as I'd like because I'm having some pain in my left hand/arm. I'll blame it on pregnancy. On Rogue, I did get to the part where you separate for the front and the back. I've also been playing around with making some knit poinsettia pins (which led me to making one from felt as well).

Oh, it looks like we found a new apartment. I'm happy about the place, although the thought of packing and actually moving is a nightmare. We have too much stuff!!!! I think I will be putting a few things on eBay over the next few days.

posted by Stephanie at 1:17 PM

 

Yay! The boot socks are done (I just finished weaving in the ends this morning). So my Christmas knitting is done (except of course for Rogue, which I'm sure I won't finish in time).

posted by Stephanie at 9:12 AM

 
What have I been doing lately?

Well, morning sickness has finally hit me. I must say I'm pretty lucky though--it hasn't been much of a problem up until now and I haven't actually thrown up yet. Just feeling nauseous and dizzy. A lot.

I feel like I have a lot of knitting and sewing to do before Christmas and I'm getting nowhere fast. I finished stitching a small xs Christmas ornament for me and my Regia Christmas sock #1 is done. Hmmm, do we see a theme here? I'm supposed to be working on projects for other people! I think my goal is to finish the boot socks this weekend. And maybe do some sewing.

I did go to SnB at Starbucks Thursday night. That was fun. I worked on my xmas sock and chatted with some nice gals. I had a decaf soy latte and had to leave by 8:30 cuz I couldn't stop yawning. Oy.

posted by Stephanie at 9:33 AM

 
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care....



This is at my sister's place. I knit stockings for both her and her boyfriend (of course, I knit them at different times so I never thought about the fact that hers is way bigger than his)!

posted by Stephanie at 6:09 PM

 
I took care of the Christmas decorating situation. Sort of. Monday I took a trip to JoAnns where all their Christmas stuff is already 50 or 60% off. I got a little tabletop artificial tree, a tiny strand of lights, some ribbons, and a few other things. I only spent about $20 and I feel much better about not having the regular tree and all my other decorations. The living room is definitely more festive.

Over the past few days I did some knitting on my Regia Christmas socks while waiting at the clinic with DH. He got a nasty infection and they couldn't figure out what was going on, but they loaded him up with antibiotics and he's feeling a bit better already. I've also been working on Rogue and the boot socks.

I have homemade cinnamon rolls in the oven and later is our first big prenatal appointment. Wish us luck!

posted by Stephanie at 8:39 AM

 
It's 10:00 on a Monday morning and I'm in my jammies eating oatmeal. I never said being unemployed didn't have it's perks!

I must admit that I'm a bit bummed about this whole moving thing. Technically, we have until Feb 1st to move, but it's more likely that we will move around January 1st. That means trying to find a new place, trying to scrape up enough money for all the deposits, packing, packing, and more packing. Then of course there is moving, which I can't really help with since I can't lift anything heavy. Plus, there's really no point in hauling all of my Christmas decorations out of the storage space--that's just extra stuff to repack and move later. And I was really in the Christmas spirit this year--I guess cuz I'm so happy I'm pregnant and since I'm not working I thought I would have plenty of time for endless decorating and such. Oh well. I think I will go buy myself a poinsettia and a cheap strand of lights and that will have to do. Luckily my wrapping paper and my Christmas cds weren't in storage.

Knitting. Yesterday I got Rogue out and started working on it again, thinking it would be nice to actually finish it by Christmas and send it to my sister. Of course, that may not happen and I'm ok with that. I may just tell her about it and get it to her as soon as I can. She will understand. Right now I have one sleeve done and a good chunk of the body (which is done in the round). The problem is that I'm sure that big hood will take some time. The only other gift I need to finish is the pair of boot socks for DH's cousin. The first one is done and I cast on the second one. I'm using worsted, so they go quickly. Oh, I also have a few sewing things on my to do list as well.

Oh, the new knitty is up. There are some really cute patterns, but I really can't start anything new until at least January!

posted by Stephanie at 9:57 AM

 

The blue socks that went home with my mom. Elann sock-it-to-me yarn. Garter stitch short row heel from Lucy Neatby's sock book.
posted by Stephanie at 9:41 AM

 

Garter stitch scarf knit with the mystery yarn that I koolaid dyed this summer.
posted by Stephanie at 9:39 AM

 

Jackson modeling the apple (tomato) hat.
posted by Stephanie at 9:37 AM

 
Well, now blogger won't let me upload pictures. grrr. I'm wondering if I should just give up on blogging or switch to another host, like typepad. I know I shouldn't complain about a service that's free, but it's still annoying.

As far as knitting goes, I'm just working on my Regia Christmas socks. Yesterday I was at Michael's and I bought a ball of some Bernat yarn that looks like Eros. I knit up the neckerchief pattern that was on the ball band. What a pain in the butt (oh yeah, that's why I don't knit with this stuff) and I'm not really that pleased with the end result anyway. Well, I'm trying to block it out right now so we'll see if that helps. I was planning on this being a stocking stuffer for my mom.

I'm working on a cute snowman cross stitch right now--it's someone else's piece for the round robin I am in. It's fun to work on and perfect for this time of year. I'm looking forward to getting my piece back--the baby afghan with the baby dinosaur alphabet!

In other news, we may be moving to a new place soon. We are not looking forward to it, but I guess it will be better to do it now (rather than right before or right after the baby is born).

posted by Stephanie at 1:40 PM

 
Grrr. I'm starting to dislike Blogger. Between our archaic dial-up and Blogger's slow load time, it's been very hard for me to get on and post.

Anyway, I dropped my mom off at the airport yesterday afternoon. We had a great time while she was here. We did some shopping (she finished all of her Christmas shopping), saw a movie (Bridget Jones), ate (a lot), watched football, and even did some knitting. We made a trip to a LYS and had fun checking out baby patterns. Mom bought a new pattern book and immediately started on a super-cute fuzzy baby bathrobe using some yellow Sirdar Snowflake that was in my stash. I bought the Ann Norling fruit hat pattern and some stone cotton and made an apple (or a tomato, as DH claims).

I finished a few other things along the way (hopefully I can post pics tomorrow). I finished the blue socks made from elann Sock It To Me Puzzle and gave them to my mom. I also finished the garter stitch scarf I was making with my kool-aid dyed yarn (that needs a good wash and blocking now). I finished one toe-up sock using the yellow and green koigu from Stitches (my Packer sock), but I'm not really pleased with it. I'm thinking about frogging it.

In the meantime, I think I will start a nice mindless Christmas sock (with my Regia banner color in red, white, and green). The new pattern was announced today for the Six Sox Knitalong, but I'm not terribly excited about it. It's knitting with beads. I might have to put that one off until January--I have too much fun Christmas stuff to work on.

posted by Stephanie at 8:23 AM