The 'what was I thinking' cardigan...

a really exciting lump of knitted fabric, I know

Would be the Austin Hoodie by Connie Chang Chinchio.  It is gorgeous, really and truly it is, however it is a long sleeve, hooded cardigan knit with sock yarn!  Talk about a time consuming effort, yikes!  Then to make matters worse I decided I really didn't like the super loose gauge of the pattern as written so decided to go down a needle size, make that two, to tighten it up to a fabric I was happier with.  But I really, really want it so I got started with the hopes of having it done for Easter, I had already purchased some lovely Araucania Itata in lilac from WEBS for 50% off so was all set to get started.

I have now started it twice, the first time I followed the pattern with the turned under hem and knit for several inches before realizing that 1) I don't like that kind of hem as it folds up while being worn, 2) I was switching between skeins of yarn (no dye lot=work with 2 skeins at once) along the front edge, not the brightest idea since they are exposed, and 3) I put the dang buttonholes on the wrong side (I am adding on buttons as that is how I wear my cardis).  So I decided to rip out 5 days worth of work rather than continue on with a cardigan that I might not be happy with or wear when it was finally completed.  Let me tell you, that was a painful decision!  However, it was a necessary one.

I am now well past the point I was when I tore it out and am much happier with how it is coming along, The hem looks much nicer in garter stitch (plus it matches the garter stitch edge along the fronts quite nicely!) and will in all likelihood lay down rather than curl up like the picot turned hem on my Isabella does.  I am also switching out the skeins right next to one of the false seams along the side, it looks a little wonky in places but I think I will be able to even it out with a crochet hook.

 
To make up for my tight gauge I am following a size larger than I would normally knit, and since I may run a bit short on yarn I have decided to also go without the hood, opting for a collar instead.  I'll probably just start as directed for the hood and bind off after a few inches.  Here's to hoping for the rest of it going quickly and error-free!

To scrap or not to scrap...

 Did you know I scrapbook too?  Well, not nearly as often as I used to admittedly.  I actually feel guilty for 'falling behind' on my scrapbooking.  Whose behind?  I guess my own self-imposed idea of how quickly I should get the photos in the album I suppose.  I currently have the pictures ready to go for summer, but need to go through fall and the winter holidays photos to decide what gets printed.  Then of course I do birthday books for each of the kids and of course I still have to do their 2010 birthdays. 

I was talking to Mister Vonkysmeed about it the past weekend, that I felt bad I was so 'behind' on getting the photos done and he asked why I felt guilty, and more to the point, why was I trying to force myself to do something I really didn't want to do.  I thought about it a minute and realized gasp that he was right had a point.  So I gave myself permission to do as I liked and proceeded to knit on my Chevalier mittens.

However, I am beginning to feel like working on scrapping again.  I will admit to as much of an addiction to appreciation of scrapping paper as I have with yarn, I love the pretty stuff and am tempted endlessly to acquire.  But I had already purchased the materials to finish up summer and fall of 2010, so I just need to get around to actually working on it, which I have actually started to do (yea me!).  Next up, getting those birthday albums updated!

ees boke

some handy sign language in use

He Talks!  Well, kind of.  When a toy isn't working as expected, has another toy crammed into it, or just isn't doing what he wants Destructo-boy walks up to me (usually stomping on my feet in the most painful manner possible) and presents me with the toy stating "Boke!" or occasionally "Ees boke!"  Another common word is "Wah" meaning water which would be our cue to go get him a sippy cup.  We are also starting to say something resembling truck which are one of his favorite things right now (boy does this kid love trash day with trash, green waste and recycling designated trash trucks rumbling through the neighborhood!).

It is no less frustrating to communicate with the boy, he understands most of what we say to him and I know he is capable of speech now that he has said a few words.  He has decided however to use grunting and pointing most of the time, he will say a word and then not repeat it for weeks.  "Boke" and "Wah" seem to be the exceptions which he usually uses at least once a day.  Thankfully we also finally got him to use at least one sign language sign, putting his hand to his mouth to indicate being hungry.  This has certainly helped with some of the crying (yes, some of mine too!) around here.

At least I know for sure he is capable of speech, he is just stubborn about using it.  Although I have a sinking feeling once he starts talking he is not going to stop!

Christmas knitting already?!

Yup, it is only 27 days into the new year as of this writing and I have already completed three little Christmas presents.  I found these awesome little patterns for ornaments and I think they are perfect for using up my leftovers from knitting socks.  My plan is to knit up one of each after completing a pair of socks this year, that way I'll keep up with Christmas knitting all year and use up my scraps, happiness all around!

The patterns?  Yes, all three are well written and easy to follow, it will be a pleasure to make them over again multiple times.  On the left is Mini Mitten Ornament by Andrea Kopacek, in the center is Cheers! by Cheryl Niamath, and on the left is Mini Christmas Stocking by Little Cotton Rabbits.  I was able to get all three done over the course of a Saturday in between dealing with kids and getting distracted by my computer from time to time.  I used sock needles sizes US 2 1/2 and US 3, and each ornament used up about 5.5 grams of sport weight yarn.

The stocking ornament is knit flat and even comes with suggestions for different fair isle designs (maybe I can learn on something this small?) which look really fun to try.  Looking at other project pages quite a few people have added initials onto the sweater ornaments a'la Harry Potter, which look really adorable, I think I'll give that a try too!  Hooray for keeping another goal for the year!

Trains, trains, trains

Lil' Misses latest setup, pretty good for a 5 year old!

 It was Christmas of the year 2007 that we were introduced to GeoTrax.  From cruising around the 'net I quickly realized that these toys can become an addiction (well at least more for the parents if not the kids!).  I think everyone bought a little something for Lil' Miss that year to add to the GeoTrax set, this happened even though she didn't quite "get" what to do with it all and certainly couldn't build herself a track yet!  So, in spite of the somewhat uncomprehending 2 year old, the collection grew exponentially at first (mommy & daddy needed all those extras to build an interesting track!) with extra track packs, bridges, and assorted buildings.  She did however rather quickly understand that the controller for the R/C train was important (still didn't know exactly what to do with it) and refused to give it up.  So what did Mister Vonkysmeed do?  If you guessed he went out and bought another R/C train for his own use, give the lady a prize, you're a winner!

We are not lucky enough to have a basement, finished or not, as they do in other parts of the country in which to put a playroom for the kids.  We also have a fairly small home (Destructo-boy & Lil' Miss currently share a room, sorry kids but the planned addition will cost about 200K, gotta wait a few more years!) so our family room where the tv and my laptop reside also house most of the toys.  Of course, fairly quickly the family room was being completely taken over by train tracks.  We adults were getting ambitious with our constructions and every time someone wanted to sit down on a couch they quite literally had to step over various parts of the layout to get there.  So I decided that the trains did not need to be out all of the time.  But what to do with all those trains?  Target (pronounce it tar-jhey so it feels fancier somehow) gave me my affordable solution of two Rubbermaid plastic totes.  They fit ever so nicely behind the end table out of sight, keeping me happy and all the parts together when not in use.

Enter child #2 to the trains and what first started as a spot on imitation of Stitch in the "Ooh, SanFrancisco!" scene starring Destructo-boy as Stitch, has evolved into more interest in actually playing with the trains instead of tearing the tracks apart and flinging them all over the family room (yes, this resulted in Lil' Miss screaming and crying trying desperately to both stop him from pulling up more tracks and recover the pieces already flung across the room which would've been much funnier if I didn't have to physically pull them apart).  He is finally starting to 'get' how to use the trains on the tracks, placing them correctly and running them back and forth with his little hands, he even got an R/C train of his very own this past Christmas.

 I love to watch them when Lil' Miss is using the R/C train and Destructo-boy is madly running back and forth to keep up with the trains progress, squealing all the while, jumping up and down, pointing and yelling "Ack-Ack" (didn't know he had watched Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!).  They have gotten a whole room of adults to sit watching them play with the trains this way, quite entertaining (or are we just easily amused, hmmm).  He is absolutely fascinated with watching it go round and round, particularly when the track has been set up with lots of elevation changes, a roller coaster track as Lil' Miss calls it.  I love it when a toy entertains the children and adult equally, talk about value for the money!