Rugby

Go team.

I'm to the flap on the adult sized soaker. For some reason, I always get excited when I get to the flap. I know that most of the body is in the flap, and it goes on for waaaay longer than I think it will, but the prospect of ever decreasing rows makes me happy. Bringing it around to meet makes me happy. The fact that I will bring this one around to meet at an exact point in the striping pattern?

*shiver*

Carry on.

So it can't be misplaced...

I've done the math. again. Round pattern is repeat A, flap goes B, A, B and then will join with the front A. Short rows not figured as part of the pattern... they'll just be there.

Repeat A is
6 brown, 3 oat, 6 brown, 8 purple, 6 brown, 3 oat, 6 brown

Repeat B is
4 teal, 5 oat, 5 purple, 3 brown, 10 teal, 3 brown, 5 purple, 5 oat, 4 teal

204 waist, inc to 226, hold out 50 at the end of A1.

Take that Niall.

The week in review

This will be a picture heavy post. I'm trying to make up for all of the not putting pictures I've been doing.

Item one:
After two years of solid and very hard wear - Niall's longies made of the LTK Christmas Blocks yarn gave way at the knee.
I do have plans to salvage them into shorties, for our summer enjoyment.
*sigh*






Item two:


Niall needed some new jammies, so since Hancock here is going out of business we stopped by once or twice... or a few times.
I promise, I did follow the pattern for size 3T. I did increase the rise to a 4T to account for the diaper, but still, the length was the normal length and I didn't change the shirt at all. Ummm... I don't know what kind of Amazon toddler the folks at Simplicity were designing for, but the jammies fit Rowan (who will be 5 soon) perfectly. So now Rowan has some new jammies, and we are using a diaper pin to keep Niall from stripping in the middle of the night.











Item three:


Ruffles take up a lot of stitches. And they take up a lot of needles. And way more time than you think they're going to. Seriously, look at how many needles I had going over there. That's a size small soaker. Wuh!
But it is done, and marvelously cute. I will take pictures when it is dry.
By the way, Tracy, if you're reading this, I need your zipcode to figure out postage. Will mail on Monday.






Item four:


Reason one billion and seven to be a knitter:
if the boys are playing ball in the house - even though they are not supposed to and they know this - you can depend on your thoughtful and vigilant double points to put a stop to the madness.
Note: These double points are stored on an entertainment center no less than 5 feet off the ground - so you know they were throwing it. Busted!




Item five:

And last but not least, I have started my project for Neil.
205 stitches per round is A LOT.
Problem: I know I did mention that wonderful 56 row repeating stripe pattern that I made.
If you see a little black notebook with a bunch of math scribbled out and "if this happens try this" kinds of notes on it, as well as a code of a bunch of numbers with Ts, Bs, Ns and Ps as part of it....
Would you please let me know? It seems to have wandered off on little toddler feet.




Also in progress but not pictured: I have claimed one of the front rooms as an adult only room. The sewing machine and desk, almost all of the fabric, computer, and phone answering machine are living there. Once I get my hands on a saw there will be a properly fitting cover for the foosball table so I can use it to cut fabric (so long as I mind the handles on it. hmm I see bruises in my future). All manner of things are hiding in there as well -- phone books, library books, tools... The greatest benefit is that this is the room with a door. Why? See the post I made on Tuesday.

good night.

Why I'm not knitting today...

I posted this on my bulliten board, but just in case you wonder why the heck it's taking me so long to get anything done.....


I just can't take it! I can't keep up!
Niall is constant constant constant. He gets into everything. I babyproof it. He figures it out. This morning I caught him in my sewing drawer that has a baby latch on it that I HAVE TROUBLE getting open! He didn't get it open, but wedged his little hand in there trying to get my pins out anyway.
If it's not that, he's trying to mess with the computer, or outlets (I have to have SOME things plugged in! I can't keep the plastic outlet covers on everything), or the dog, or the fish, or dumping coffee on the couch, or...

it just goes on and on. All day long. I'm tearing my hair out and I feel like crying at the end of the day. Yesterday he moved a toy bin to climb to get to the mantle and tried to grab the fish, and dumped most of it out but luckily Shishy was ok. And JOHN WAS IN THE ROOM. I mean, it's not like we let him run wild here, but he still manages to wreak havok all day long every single day. I just can't do it.
I don't know what to do to make things managable.
I guess I could get rid of all the books so there wouldn't be anything to pull off bookcases and throw. And put all my sewing and knitting things in the shed so he can't get to them (and I couldn't either).
We could sell off all the furniture and sit on pillows on the floor, because basically that's all that I'm up for anymore.
If I just had a house with a freaking closet where I could put things, but then he'd probably figure out how to get it open and just stand there slamming the door all day.

I'm tapped. Anyone want a kid? After that glowing recommendation I'm sure you're all lining right up.

There's something about math...

that makes me feel like my brain is slowly leaking out of my ears.
never mind trying to come up with a repeating rugby stripe that will wrap around and connect at the right point in the pattern. Ummm... ya.
But I have a 56 row repeating rugby stripe pattern, and it will look great. It won't hit at the right spot because that would mean the universe is waaaay too kind. But it will look great anyway.
Now I just have to get it cast on. Tell Niall that, will you? Cause he thinks my lap belongs to him today.
He won't be 2 forever, but some days it feels like it.

I know it's Friday the 13th because

my brilliant dh waited until 10pm last night to tell me that we're out of coffee.

coffee is his job. I buy it, but he has to tell me when we're low. Not out, but lwo. so we dont' run out.

he waited until we're out. until 10pm of being out.

I did'nt really believe him. he wouldn't do that. he'd find a way. like getting starbucks and leaving it on the counter for me.

no

nothing.

no cofeee.

i needs coffee.

now I know. it's Friday the 13. no coffee.

maybe I will load the kdis int he stroller and go get coffe. cause this sure isn't working.

foul words. foul words.

--------------------------

later

oh get this.

I load up my kids in the stroller, their hair sticking up every which way. dont' care. need coffee.
Got my wallet. got my sunglasses. Starbucks is 2 blocks to the right, 3 blocks to the left. yep. Close the door.

no keys.

Locked out.

I'll deal with that later. i need coffee.

Walk to Starbucks. Yay for the crossing signals that chirp and beep to catch my attention.

Get to Starbucks. I never go here. it's right next to the grocery store but the only time I get it is if John gets it for a treat. So I don't know what to order. I'm squinting at the board to see what to get. Light Mocha looks good. That must be a mocha-y coffee with out the fatty stuff, right? I order it.

It's some icey coffee thing. Noooo.

I try a sip. No. It's not going to do it.

I go back around to the order side to try and see what I did wrong? Where did I go wrong? Oh... I ordered off the frappacino menu.

The order girl asks if everything is ok. I tell her what I did. Bless her, she takes the coffee back and says, oh did you want a [she rattles off some name that I can't understand, but it contains "mocha" and "skim milk"] and smiles.

Ummm ok. Bless her. It's hot the way coffee is supposed to be. I put a little sugar in. Taste it. yay.

putting the lid back on, I notice I spilled some on my shirt. Durn cups. Oh well.

Go into the grocery store to buy coffee. Buy 2, just in case.

I realize at the register, that I don't have my keys so I don't have my little VIC card for the discount stuff. No matter. The register guy is nice and takes my phone number so he can apply the discount anyway.

Walk home, trying to answer questions from Rowan like "Why do some people live on hills?"

Get home, go around back to try and find the hidden key [I know I know. But we hide one anyway for times like this] when Rowan asks if the back door is locked too. I try it. Bless my coffee deprived self... I forgot to lock the back door.

Things are looking up.

40 hats in 40 days

I had this idea.

I needed something to do for Lent. Something that would make things a little better than they were before.

My friend, Grumpy, once did a spell of knitting for her hospital's NICU. I thought that sounded just right. I'd be giving my time, my skill, and my yarn to some of God's smallest children.

Lent is 40 days long. So I chose 40 hats. I figured I could do one a day, and all would be well. I could contemplate and think while I knit, and knitting for babies is always fun.

It didn't quite go that way.

I started off easily enough. Knitting a hat a day. And then things got in the way... the kids, life, a trip out of town to visit family, allergies.... I had to come to a reckoning with myself. Was I going to do this or not? It was a promise I had made to myself, and to God.

I got my needles, I put all other knitting aside, and I set out to really do this. And I thought.

It was hard.

I thought of the moms who would pull out a teeny hat in another 18 years, and marvel at how far their little one had come from those days in the NICU. I also thought of the moms who might pull out a teeny hat every year, and wish for the baby they never got to bring home. I thought of my blessings, and the things I could do to make life better for my family. And for every hat I thanked God for my children and my life.

I guess I managed a Lenten journey after all.

So today I finished the last hat. I piled them on the floor so that I could marvel at the joy that was 40 baby hats. I took pictures from several angles, because once I take them to the hospital, I will never see any of these hats again. And they're probably the most meaningful little things I will ever knit.

I'm going to do this again.

I wonder if I can get 100 Santa hats done by the end of November?