The Amazing Adventures of Tom and Bel

Why Didn't I Know About This??

2011-01-29T22:46:00.001-06:00

Because I freaking love these wacky patterns.
She's brilliant. Simply brilliant.That is all.

Back to my swatching...

Ach. Gott in Himmel!

2011-01-23T18:16:00.004-06:00

To PDX peeps:

Mary Scott Huff, a hard-working knit designer, experienced a break in of her car on Thursday and lost a suitcase full of her lovely work. I don't know her at all, but I'm so sad for her, as I'm sure any knitter would be.
Please check her blog post. If by some miracle you happen to see any of these items, please get in touch with her.

She's (still) Crafty

2010-12-15T12:24:00.003-06:00

Law School (notice the capital letters?) is insane. It's good, it's challenging, but knitting time has been seriously curtailed. If I get a row done, it's a very, very good week.
So instead, I sneaked in this project:

I had the little deviants (er, darling children) rip out the old peel & stick:
and then tear up a bunch of paper bags from our local grocery stores:

Didn't count, but I'd guess we used ~30 bags.

At first I painted front and back of each paper sections, but when Z started to 'help':

I made it easier on us both by crumpling the sections of bag and dipping them in the watered-down glue. Much faster and had more texture, so I was happy.
Note: My floor had a combination of what appeared to be self-leveling compound and plywood underlayment, but I didn't worry about it and just papered right over it.

I let that dry for a day and a half, then I stained it with some cheesecloth and a tube of Minwax Express Color in mahogany.
[I was cheap, er, frugal and only bought one tube ($6.50) b/c our bathroom's not that big (abt 55 sq ft). Right now there's just the teensiest bit of stain left in the tube. If I were going to do it again, I'd buy a can of stain and hold on it for touch ups.]
Then I polyurethaned it many, many times.

When you're sick of this floor, to the best of my knowledge you can just do a new underlayment and then whatever your new choice of top layer is.

Here's some tips & good images if you want to try it:
http://www.yankeemagazine.com/issues/20 ... e/flooring
http://groceryshrink.com/2010/05/illust ... loors.html
http://www.anoregoncottage.com/2010/08/ ... loors.html (the video is quite helpful)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/di ... s=287x5019
http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubb ... 80/gonew/1

I was lazy and didn't take out the fixtures (horrors!) but I figure as a temporary (2-5 year) treatment, I'm not gonna worry too much about it. If it gets holes, you can just patch with another piece of bag and polyurethane.

I really like it, esp. b/c technically it means we now have a wood floor in that room.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T12:07:00.001-05:00

Here you go. You're welcome.

The Talented Mr. Flood

2010-10-02T02:18:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, if you are very patient, the universe will send you just the thing you need when you need it.
That's what happened when I met my husband, that's what happened when I got in to law school (which I am loving, BTW -- every single cracked-out, stress crazed moment of it), and I'm pretty sure it just happened in my knitting life, too.

I've been looking for a tweedy little something to swatch with -- I have an idea that's practically burning a hole in my brain, I want to knit it so badly -- and here comes Shelter, by Brooklyn Tweed AKA Jared Flood. I love his beautifully lit, atmospheric photos and clever designs. I am already in love with Shelter, too.

Hmmm...whose weekend plans suddenly include a lot more cups of tea and ~~rolling around nekkid in~~ playing with some yarn?

Missing The Ocean?

2010-08-20T16:58:00.003-05:00

Oh, my gosh -- I think I need these toys. Um, for the kids of course.

I mean, what would a grown up woman need with a toy starfish or orca?
(Goes off to find secret hiding spot for toys...)

It Comes in Threes

2010-08-15T12:05:00.003-05:00

Thanks so much for the kind words of support. It means more than I can say.

So much has changed in the last few months. Not just the loss of my dad, of course, though that is a sea change I still haven't fully processed.
But there are three big updates since I last checked in:

1) I sent N & T to Chicago for the summer, because their bio mom has been really sick. They've just returned -- and are huge! Many pounds and (shoe sizes!) have been added thanks to the Grandmas. Shopping for school will be interesting this year.

2) Miss Z will be starting school this fall! We've been home together for 2.5 years, and she's ready for a change. Unbelievably, we all loved the first place we checked out, so we're signing her up!

3) Mama will be going to school, too! I was accepted to Lewis & Clark Law School. I'll be starting in a couple of weeks.

My Dad

2010-05-14T08:22:00.001-05:00

My father died on Monday.
I am devastated.
Kind thoughts and prayers are much appreciated.

Nota Bene

2010-04-17T11:18:00.003-05:00

For the record, yarn/WIP should be hidden from 2 1/3 year old persons who are "helping" you with your knitting.

That is all.

More to come when I've detangled the mess.

Stirrings of Spring

2010-04-05T19:41:00.003-05:00

Trying to jump start my creative engine a little bit, I had a dig through the yarn stash and came up with this lovely pile of Swish Superwash. Think there's just about enough for a teeny little cardi for the little...

Loot

2010-03-31T10:04:00.004-05:00

No, not the Joe Orton play, but the generous birthday gift from my ILs:

I love this packaging. It's so simple, but really cute.

I'm trying to save this for a trip to the beach, appropriately enough.

Ahhh. The good stuff. I love Silky Wool.

(Tiny old dog tucked under table not included.)

I have no plan. In fact, I keep tucking everything back into the bag carefully, putting it away, and then opening it up again to look at it, which is its own reward. But it is definitely giving me the knitting urge, which in itself is a gift.

Poking My Head Up

2010-03-25T13:12:00.002-05:00

Much like my little babies above, I'm poking my head up to say hi. After a somewhat eventful month -- a car accident (we're all fine), my pop going to the hospital repeatedly (so far he's fine, too), a weird sickness I can't quite shake, homeschooling the kids while they're on spring break -- I'm just trying to take things slow and remember to breathe.

Still missing my knitting (would you believe I haven't even opened my winter knit mags yet?) but unable to concentrate long enough to actually work on something. I need something to jump start my engine. Suggestions for something speedy that I can pick up and put down (other than socks)?

Living Up to One's Potential

2010-02-18T17:28:00.004-06:00

On the one hand, I've just spent the last twenty minutes de-spamming my comments, so yes, Dick0369, you really are living up to your moniker.

On the other hand, it actually got me to write a blog post, so hey - silver lining on that there cloud, eh?

If anyone's still out there, hi! I can summarize what's gone on as follows: Xmas holidays, house stuff, toddler birthday/general wrangling, house stuff, kid stuff, house stuff, cold/allergy, kid stuff, house stuff, cold/allergy, kid stuff, bla bla bla --now you're up to date on the last two months. I totally miss knitting -- haven't had enough time to wrap my mind around anything, so there's been precious little of that these days.

Though I did a set of mittens for Twisted that I think turned out nicely.

Clever is as clever does

2009-12-22T02:55:00.004-06:00

I love to visit IKEA Hacks. It's inspiring, always offers up something clever and I can even occasionally do the projects.

Especially crafty ones I like recently include this yarn swift, this loom (!) and a cool crafty cabinet.

Colonial One

2009-12-10T13:21:00.005-06:00

Celebrating the little munchkin's b-day today, so busy busy busy getting things ready.

In the meanwhile, here's some house pics to distract you. These are from before we bought it, so they are empty:

Um, yeah. Colonial my ...er, eyeballs.

Living room. Gorgeous, gorgeous light in here.

Other end of the living room, which is kinda long and skinny; we're currently using this as our library area.

The kitchen, which you've seen before. It's an eat-in, and I think it needs just a bit more separation than that. I have a plan...

The first floor bathroom. While sorely lacking in style, it does have an adorable clawfoot tub. They are fiendishly impractical for all but the most fit people -- ever try getting out of one of these suckers? -- but I am a huge, huge fan. This is probably the easiest room to finish: it needs accessories, tile around the tub, new floor and window trim.

More later...

Bitter Much? (the sequel)

2009-12-01T18:28:00.004-06:00

So clearly, I shouldn't be optimistic. Every time I have a thought like, "Whew, almost done with that (long, long, long) list of things that need to be repaired," something freaky happens.

Exhibit A:

This, dear readers, is the new fridge. Delightful in its shiny black sexiness, no? Yet that was a significant chunk o'change we here at Casa Boy-O had not planned to part with. However, since we like to eat without risking ptomaine, and since the fridge part of the original fridge gave up the ghost, we resigned ourselves to this expenditure.

It's a much better one for the number of mouths we regularly feed, too, so that was another reason we were less inclined to moan. Onward and upward, we said. Let's just get through this list of repairs, and then we can move on to fun stuff.

Until last night when the microwave stuttered, sputtered and died so completely the screen went black and would not resurrect. I've never actually seen that happen: even the time I attempted to boil an egg in my mom's first microwave (I did mention that, didn't I, Mom? I didn't? Well, um, never mind. You just forget I said anything.) it eventually came back on.

Stunned, I assumed it was the circuit breaker, and visited the basement to try flipping that switch.

While down there, I thought, "Oh! I should throw in that load of laundry." 'Cause you know, clean socks? Turns out they really do make the day a little bit nicer for everyone involved.

Except, of course, when your attempt to start the washer results in GIANT BLUE SPARKS flying at your head. Then, not so much with the clean or the nice.

So once again, Mama will be trekking over to this fine establishment to see what I can see in the way of appliances that a) don't suck and b) won't bankrupt us. Ahh, the fun and joy just keep rolling on...

Better add some cute kid pics to get that bitter taste out:

(We were at One Green World for their annual open house. No, I have no idea why that required princess garb. Better safe than sorry, though, right? Cause how silly would you feel if you needed formal wear and didn't have it?)

Notice how slickly I slipped that adorable Baby Surprise Jacket in there? (Look Ma, actual knitting!) Not mine, of course, since I don't think I can even find a ball of yarn in the maze that is our basement. It was a baby shower gift from the very kind Chris T. of AliceThelma.

Little Things

2009-11-07T09:50:00.005-06:00

Still making my way out from underneath the avalanche of boxes which accompanies our move. After a frustrating week of getting repairs scheduled/done, unpacking only to find more to unpack, and weird vacation days for the kids, I wanted to feel like I'd accomplished something.

So I tackled the thing which had been annoying me all out of proportion to its importance:

Oh yes, friends, the dreaded 80's fug is alive and well. (Unbelievably, you can still purchase these same handles.) I had thought about replacing the doors, but decided that the cabs just weren't worth the investment. So I went for a subtler improvement:

My clever spouse picked these out --and, of course, the fancy new drill we used to install many of 'em (I did many by hand, but got tired).

More -- and better! -- pics to come of the house proper, which Boy-O and I have dubbed Colonial One (mostly 'cause we're BSG fans, but also because looking at this house from outer space is about the only way it could honestly be called a Colonial).

Homeward Bound

2009-11-01T09:57:00.003-06:00

And I'm back, just for a moment, to say hello to the blogosphere, especially to the nice folks who've come by from the Twist blog. Thanks so much for stopping by and I do hope you'll come again.

Posting will be much easier and more frequent in the days to come, as I've finally finished the big project I'd hinted about: we bought our first house!

Z enjoying both her new kitchen and Mama's shoes! Wow, that kid can multi-task.

That's right, kids, the Family Boy-O has moved on up to our version of the deluxe apt in the sky (which is more like a 4bd/2ba 2 story, but whatever).

Despite the mass of boxes and crates and cables and the temporarily lost dog (Tom & Bel was just Bel for *several* days!) and the dying washing machine and the astonishing number of repair-type projects to be done --and the *endless* hours spent waiting for contractors to show up (who knew "between 11 and noon" meant 1:30?), we are all supremely happy with the new digs. We've got much more room to roam, better access to the sorts of stuff we like to do and are pleased as punch with our new 'hood.

More later...just now I've got to rescue Boy-O from the tot!

Where did it go?

2009-10-17T09:03:00.010-05:00

My gosh, it's October! I'm still wondering where our summer went, though I suspect that at the time I was obsessively hoping to get the kids back to school. They are busy, busy, busy and it is a *lot* of work to keep them from destroying the house/each other/my sanity. I complained to a friend about the noise level when all three children are home and we decided that it works on the Richter scale. (!) Doesn't help, but it makes me feel better knowing that it's not just me who thinks it.

So: still working on that thing I mentioned last post, but this time when I say soon I really do mean it! Like in the next 24 hours.

In the meantime, I will share with y'all a little bit about the impetus behind Urbanite, my design in the Fall issue of Twist Collective.

(Awe inspiring sketch by Boy-O, mais oui)

My dad is the world's biggest clotheshorse. Seriously: the man must look good at all times.

His basement is like a one guy department store. It's completely amazing.

When we lived in the same city, we were shopping buddies. We often joked that if we had a family motto, it would be "Never pay retail."

Unsurprisingly, with a fellow like Dad for inspiration, the design had to handsome, practical and not too costly to knit. So as I noodled around with a lovely fluffy yarn for a ladies' pullover:

(Harrisville Yarns Orchid with Cashmere)

it occurred to me that this might be a good man's sweater as well. Having borrowed many of my dad's (and these days, my husband's) sweaters over the years, I figured I had a pretty good grasp on what makes a good one: long, lean look, attractive details like saddle shoulders and interesting-to-knit cables that are still understated, and a quiet color that didn't scream "look at me." Luckily for me, Twist's editors agreed.

After conferring with Kate, we decided to make the sweater a crew neck rather than the turtle I'd originally conceived (my husband and pop are both rather warm-blooded, so this made sense to me), and she selected the Soft Brown color in delicious Valley Yarns Amherst. I'd never knitted with this yarn before, but it is lovely. Soft and smooshy (yes, that's a technical term), easy on the hands, yet it shows off complex stitchwork beautifully. I am a big fan of yarns you can knit by touch, and Amherst delivers on that score. It's reasonably priced, too, which rocks my socks.

I can't wait for Urbanite to come back home just so I can wrap myself up in it. Though I may have to fight off the husband -- I think he's got his eye on this one, too.

Good grief

2009-09-15T18:39:00.002-05:00

Soon and very soon, I hope to have some positive news to share here. Not knitting related, but important nonetheless. That is, of course, if I survive homework hour.

(The toddler is feeling neglected and throwing things on the floor while the big ones both clamor for assistance. Gah!)

OMG! OMG!

2009-08-16T11:05:00.001-05:00

The new Twist Collective is out! And my sweater looks amazing. The model is super cute in that geeky way that I adore. Yay!!

Cute cute cute

2009-08-08T10:27:00.001-05:00

We interrupt this blog silence to show you the cutest thing we've seen in a while: Phildar's new layette.

Now I just need a little one to make it for! Somebody hurry up!

Baby's First Joke

2009-08-02T12:21:00.003-05:00

The big kids have been getting lots of joke books from the library, so our car rides have been filled with lots of silliness. So Z decided to get in on it, too:

Z: Knock knock

DH: Who's there?

Z: Cat.

DH: Cat who?

Z: Horse.

She's becoming such a sophisticate, our little one. ;-D

Why my kid is the Awesome

2009-07-22T10:40:00.003-05:00

Scene: our living room. We've just finished singing "Baa Baa Black Sheep." Babe looks over at book with picture of sheep, then at previous page with picture of cat and mouse.

Babe: (pointing @ mouse) Duckie?

Me: No, babe that's a mouse.

Babe: Duckie!

Me: Nah, hon - do we know any songs about a duckie?

Babe: (to the tune of Baa Baa Black Sheep) Baa baa duckie...

***********

In actual knitting-related news (gasp!), I've just received a review copy for my latest pattern, coming out in the Fall issue of Twist Collective. I'm sooo excited! The layout is gorgeous, the model is perfect, and I'm super thrilled to be a part of this awesome magazine. Yay!

Where I Have Been

2009-07-19T16:17:00.002-05:00

DSC00028
Originally uploaded by cmu204

Sauvie Island, just outside Portland, is mostly farmland -- including several wonderful nurseries and you-pick farms. We've gone just about every other week. The baby runs around and 'helps' (i.e., eats herself purple) and the big kids are focused for about an hour and a half, which is enough time to get a couple of flats filled.
It is a really lovely outing. Of course, it means a good bit of work afterwards -- washing, hulling, freezing and/or prepping something for us to eat right now.

Which mostly means there's been very little knitting this summer. A few swatches here and there, and I'm currently working on a project for one of my favorite LYS, but this has mostly been the summer of fruity deliciousness. I can't complain, but I do miss it a bit.

More Foolishness from the Mouths of Babes

2009-06-25T08:37:00.003-05:00

N: These boys were fooling around, and (name) kicked (other name) in the tentacles.

******

Me: Oh @!?! I forgot to call my Dad for Father's Day.

T: Maybe you could just call today and tell him Happy Melated Father's Day.

*****

(Waking up. Z puts her hands over my eyes, then removes them)

Z (big grin, sing-song voice): Boo-boo!

Hmmm. I love Italian.

2009-06-15T18:23:00.004-05:00

Scene: Our living room. The girls are looking at a book N has brought home from the library.

Miss N: Hey Z, wanna learn about the cannoli-al days?

Me: What?

N: The cannoli-al days?

Me (looking at the cover): Can you try that again?

N: Oh. (exaggerated pronunciation): The colonial days.

Holiday Headstart

2009-06-10T13:59:00.002-05:00

Ahem. If there happened to be someone out there who wanted to get a headstart on their holiday knitting, like say, a lovely pair of socks for their beloved daughter in law, I would highly encourage them to check out the summer issue of Knitty.

As for me, I'm highly tempted by the adorable Elenka. It's just too cute. And I love lime green, so it's doubly attractive.

Bitter Much?

2009-05-27T19:26:00.002-05:00

Okay, universe, I see that you are telling me I have no business going to the Sock Summit. After all, I'm on a yarn diet. I've got plenty of knitting books. I could practically open a shop with my magazine collection.

Perhaps it's completely wrong of me to be so angry, but you know, I wanted one. measly. class.

So now I shall have to take the mature road and pretend it's just not happening at all.

Dear Baba

2009-05-20T19:32:00.004-05:00

Dear Baba J,

I wouldn't ask for myself, but your granddaughter has several requests from the latest Knitpicks catalog. In particular, she's hot to trot for the Gurumi family (Click the link for some seriously funny video).

Can you say no to this little face?

I thought not. We'll be expecting our package any day now. Kthxbai.

Love, your Daughter In Law

On Food

2009-05-09T16:09:00.003-05:00

Somehow, someway, I've managed to develop a crazy sensitivity to pine nuts. I ate a bunch last week, and now everything I eat tastes weird and metallic. Odd, but survivable, n'est pas?

Except that yesterday, I ate something else -- don't know what yet -- and immediately got itching tongue, lips and mouth, sneezing and runny nose. My antihistamine's got it under control for now, but I need to get to the doctor PDQ.

I hate the idea that I'm developing a *new* allergy at this late date, but that's sure what it looks like. How annoying -- I lurve pine nuts, and they're treating me like a red-headed stepchild. Gah!

Cool & Crafty

2009-05-06T22:41:00.002-05:00

I so stink -- I'm behind the 8-ball on my project and need to keep my nose to the grindstone, so nothing interesting's coming from this quarter for a while. However, for some seriously crafty goodness, check out Cut Out & Keep. I so want to make this shrug for the niece!

On Hilarity

2009-05-04T10:45:00.000-05:00

This is the best Hamlet ever. That is all.

A Most Perfect Breakfast

2009-04-18T11:00:00.003-05:00

Try this recipe for quinoa instead of oatmeal. If you have kids, they will swallow the bowl in ten minutes flat.

On frak frak & double frak

2009-04-13T15:53:00.002-05:00

A tip, boys and girls: when knitting a fairly complex textured item of a rather sizable nature, be sure to count. Your editor will not be pleased if the front and back do not possess the *same* number of stitches.

That is all.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T12:15:00.006-05:00

I keep meaning to come back and post, but somehow, living the life keeps getting in the way of reflecting on it. It's a good problem to have, I think.

We've been busy! We're trying a container planting this year:

The children were excited about the potatoes we planted in our recycled buckets.

Watching the flowers bloom in our back yard:

This was a few days ago: the cherry blossoms have exploded like popcorn!

And introducing the baby to the wonders of sun protection:

She looks a bit geisha-like with all that sunscreen!

I'm also working on my new project for (HMMM HMMM), which arrived safely from (XXX) in a box perfectly suited to the little one:

Boy-O & I also celebrated our 4th anniversary (I think that means we're serious about this).

And now it's Easter. I'm a total heathen, but I love holidays -- largely because they are an excuse to make a larger, fancier meal than usual.

Today's dinner will be lamb, marinated in Greek herbs*, with eggplant moussaka and a garlicky rice. I can't wait.

*The herbs came from our very generous neighbors down the street, who gave me practically half their bay tree and rosemary shrub. (Just another reason to love Portland.)

Yay! (and Darn!)

2009-03-24T10:11:00.004-05:00

So I'm totally excited: I've just had a piece accepted for publication, which of course is the "Yay!" part of the title.

But that means there's even less knitting I can show you right now, so "Darn!"

Designering stinks in that way.

I can tell you I'm very excited about this piece. It's the sort of sweater I love and want to wear all the time, and I hope you will feel the same way when it hits the streets this fall.

Totally Silly, but Really Neat

2009-03-18T18:15:00.001-05:00

Boy-O sent me the link to BrowserBall. Very fun for the non-athletes among us (i.e., me, me and also me).

Neglected Passions

2009-03-16T11:10:00.005-05:00

It's been a busy week here at chez CrazyHouse (tm): Boy-O & I finally got to use my Christmas pressie (Wicked tickets), but in order to do so, we first had to remove the layers of dirt and dust from our house so the babysitter could come. (Seriously: there was a good chance the babe would have been lost in the mess!)

Once that was accomplished, we saw the show-- very fun, and Z did very well with her first professional sitter -- but the experience really got me thinking about my long-standing love of performing. It was a lifetime ago, but I sometimes wonder if I'd been braver, what might have been. I can't say I'd have been hugely successful: I am not especially driven in that particular way.

And I certainly wouldn't trade my life now; there's a richness to it I couldn't have imagined 10 years ago.

But it does remind me that I really do need to make sure my life includes more of the things I love. To wit:

mini-loaf. egg included for scale

tiny little slices. they are perfectly sized for Z's hands.

I'd been intimidated by sandwich bread, which seems ridiculous now, considering how simple it was, and that I've made far more complex recipes. I think it just seemed out of reach because buying loaves of bread from the store is so automatic. But these miniature loaves were just the ticket to get me started.

One of our wedding gifts was a set of four adorable mini-loaf pans -- any recipe that makes a single loaf fits them perfectly. I used the "American Sandwich Bread" recipe from Baking Illustrated. I'm a big fan of Cook's Illustrated's books in general, but I think this one in particular is excellent. (Plus it's on sale right now - who doesn't love that?)

The bread has good crumb, and is soft without falling apart. I'll *definitely* be making more.

Still swatching

2009-03-07T12:06:00.005-06:00

In a time-honored blogging technique, I'm distracting from a lack of crafty progress with cute kid pictures:

They are adorable, aren't they?

Haven't fallen off the planet, just busy swatching, celebrating -- Mr. T is 8 now! -- and doing daily playgroups with the babe. It all takes a good deal more time than I bargained for -- I'm making no progress at all on my latest sweater. No regrets, but I think all of my projects will have to be vests in oreder to complete NaKniSweMoDo.

For the moment, however, I'm home alone for the first time in ages: Boy-O's run off with the kids and allowed me to sleep in.

It's a very weird feeling, just me and the dogs, looking at each other as if to say "I dunno. What do you want to do?" I can't speak for the dogs, but I plan to enjoy an unhurried shower and then unparalleled excitement of eating something without my little companion stealing from my plate!

Heady times. ;-P

Break

2009-02-28T11:21:00.004-06:00

I've been taking a wee break this week, celebrating my birthday (Boy-O took me to Le Hana -- it was *so* delicious), knitting submission swatches I can't show you, and spending some fun time with the kids (the children's museum, the mounted police, library story time). It's been a pretty good week. As always, there's never enough time in the day, but I see myself accomplishing a good bit with the knitting and that's always heartening. (Just don't ask about housework!)

My NaKniSweMoDo project is languishing due to the above swatches, so no pics -- but really, how exciting is a big blob of blue ribbing, anyway? It doesn't look like an anemone anymore, so that's a start, right? I'm fairly confident about getting it done in the next two weeks -- less if DH & I get some new Netflix.

Sock Summit!

2009-02-21T10:27:00.003-06:00

I think, previously, I've indicated on the blog that I am not a Sock Knitter in any way, shape or form. In the four (?) or so years I've been blogging, while I have made sweaters, scarves, mittens and just about everything else, I believe I've completed exactly 3 socks -- none of which match.
So it was with some sense of "Why the heck not?" that I signed up for the Sock Summit 2009 update list. I figured it was a chance to get into the mind of the modern knitter, and see what was out there.
(Besides, Tina of BMFA is one of the minds behind it and that alone caught my interest: my love for STR was and is instant and total.)

Dudes: I am so glad I did. They just released the teacher list and Barbara "I am a goddess who walks upon the earth" Walker will be teaching!! Here!! In Portland!!! Sweet Lords of light, I'd listen to her riff on the phone book!!
I am *so* going. Even if I have to stand outside her classroom with a boombox ala John Cusack, I will be there.

My Favorite Memory

2009-02-16T23:33:00.004-06:00

Visiting with my sister over Christmas, I got to meet my niece for the first time. Miss K is quite the character, and I was so thrilled to finally check out her antics in person.
They'll need to come see us soon!

Er, no.

2009-02-13T08:30:00.001-06:00

While I'm following up on old posts, I should also mention my NaKniSweMoDo project:

Yeah, not so much with the completeness.
I was making speedy progress -- too speedy, which set my spidey-senses tingling. So I measured my gauge again, and discovered that I had taken some, how do you say, "creative license" with the numbers. Oy!

We ripped, we're trying again, and hopefully will have it done before the end of this month.

InVesting

2009-02-11T08:55:00.000-06:00

Whoops! Forgot that I'd promised to show the sketch for this vest, as it is so different from the version I created for the latest KnitScene.

As you can see, I originally intended a twinset, the inner piece being a lacy turtleneck shrug featuring the same ribbing pattern on the cuffs and collar. I submitted it in very soft yarns from RYC, thinking they individual pieces would be great indoor wear as separates, and as a pair, they'd work for the outdoors in Portland's mild spring.
Lisa (KnitScene's editrix) liked the vest, and came up with the idea of using making it in the very rustic yarn you see in the magazine.

I think it was an interesting choice, though I may (someday, someday) knit this as I originally intended. Perhaps when I'm leading a more glamourous life that doesn't involve a nursing toddler!

Silly Babes

2009-02-09T08:55:00.000-06:00

T: I've got chicken botch.

DH: That's chicken pox, boy.

*******

T: Feta jacques, feta jacques, gourmet vous, gourmet vous...

*******

N: The clouds are like a maze for the birds.

Oil Versus Coal

2009-01-27T19:50:00.003-06:00

Somewhat random, as environmental issues aren't usually my milieu, but I was intrigued by this article from Wired Magazine's blog. In a nutshell, the story posits that coal is the bigger problem, environmentally speaking. Intriguing. Anyone out there with a technical background care to comment?

25 Things

2009-01-27T10:17:00.003-06:00

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

Ah, well. This is a meme I thought I'd successfully dodged. But turns out, my dear Boy-O has got the bug. So here it is:

I hate, hate, hate, snow/cold/winter with a flaming purple passion. This is one of the big reasons I live in Oregon: snow is rare enough that it is an "event" here.
I love knitting giant warm, wooly, cable-y things -- the more complex the better.
Ironically, all my published pieces thus far are very simple.
I just don't 'get' the sock knitting craze -- it bores me to tears.
Despite this, I love sock yarn.
I'm addicted to word games. I joined Facebook not to keep up with my friends, but to feed the addiction.
I was thisclose to attending Kendall Culinary College.
I swore never to dress my kid in pink, b/c I didn't want to give in to gender stereotyping.
These days, approximately 85% of the clothes I buy for Z are pink or have pink accents.
The sound of Z's singing makes my heart tingle.
I think my husband is smarter than me -- and I'm happy about it.
I worry that my daughter will someday bring home that boy -- you know, the sort I dated before I met her dad.
I love being near the water, but I can't swim.
I detest camping, but love hiking.
I secretly wish naked were an option.
I have unrealistic expectations about my knitting speed, despite 23 years of experience.
If I weren't a knitter, I would totally be a house blogger.
Every summer, I taste melons to see if I still dislike them.
I hate being in the outside lanes on bridges.
Driving terrifies me.
I'm a perfectionist and a procrastinator. This often leads to comedy.
Despite vivid recollections of pregnancy and birth, I would totally do it again.
I hate going to sleep. It always seems to interfere with all the stuff I want to do.
My poor dogs are still not over being displaced by the children.
I think my kid is the best thing that ever happened in the history of the world -- and that I am a genius for marrying her dad.

Anyone else? Let me know if you do it.

At Long (Long) Last

2009-01-26T07:00:00.004-06:00

Dudes: 'member this teaser of a post from back in September? (It feels so long ago that I'd nearly forgotten about it). But finally, the new issue of KnitScene has hit the stands and you can see the cuteness that is the Triple Slip Vest!

(Photo shamelessly stolen from Knitscene's web site. All their rights reserved, etc., etc. Go see the bonus photos there.)

I love this vest. As always, I try to design the things I would like to wear. And for me, that means casual, yet feminine pieces you can easily integrate into your wardrobe.

I very much hope y'all like it as well. I can't wait to see it in the wild.

(Next time, I'll show you the original submitted sketch -- v. different from what you're seeing here. But I love this version, too.)

For My Next Trick...

2009-01-23T09:19:00.004-06:00

NaKniSweMoDo!

So now I'm going to turn this:

(crap cell pic, sorry. Disco'd colors of KP Sierra, from when it was still Sierra)

...into something resembling a garment. By the end of January. Did I mention that I thrive under pressure?

SonOfAB..

2009-01-20T02:34:00.001-06:00

In really, really, really irritating news, Portland's mayor has just revealed himself to be a predatory jackass -- and a big, fat liar. Ugh. I'm furious.

You Say You Want A Resolution? (2009 Version)

2009-01-06T12:43:00.007-06:00

I've got three:

Last month, while fondling a gorgeous skein of Dream In Color Starry (Ravelry link, since DIC doesn't have this on their own site) -- and reluctantly packing it in Mom-O's Christmas gift -- I rashly made a resolution. I'm blessed with an abundance of stash, and it makes zero sense for me to be coveting this (admittedly gorgeous) stuff when I haven't even scratched the surface of what I've already got in my possession.

I often joke that *my* hobby is yarn collecting -- the knitting is just an adjunct to that. But it's started to feel truer than I'm comfortable with, so I said to the Boy-O that 2009 would be my Year of the Stash.

Of course, when I said that, I didn't realize that the new year was coming up quite so soon. ;-P

But, in for a penny, in for a pound, eh? Therefore, with the obvious exceptions of commissioned projects or sample swatches that I absolutely cannot do with any of the yarn already here in the house, this year's knitting will be from things already in my possession.

#2) Now that Miss Z's a little bit older, and some of my time can belong to me again, I really, really need to do more submissions. I'm doing so much designing in my head, and it's totally frustrating not to be able to put it out there in the world. My goal is to get something out at least once a month. It's a small goal, but I think it's achievable.

#3) Finally, finally, finally, I am going to start publishing my own stuff. I've been threatening to get on this for months now, and I'm feeling like it's about time I put up or shut up.

So there you have it: the Tom & Bel KnitGoals for 2009. What are your knitting plans for this year?

Back From Outer Space

2009-01-06T12:38:00.004-06:00

(No knit content here today, but check back tomorrow: new and possibly insane developments are coming soon.)

Boy-O, the kids and I just did the grand tour of Chicago, visiting my folks and his to show off our adorable baby.

Exhausting, but worthwhile. Next visit, though, they are definitely coming to see us.

And, Done.

2008-12-24T17:56:00.002-06:00

Think he likes them?

I've got to get better at the embroidery, but hey -- not bad considering (1) the lack of a pattern (2) these are the first mittens I've made in 10 years.

Actual Knitting

2008-12-23T10:34:00.005-06:00

I've been so disgusted with the weather we're having (I live in the NW largely for weather-related reasons) that I refuse to take pictures or indulge in anything resembling acknowledgment of this unforseen, unwanted and most unwelcome snow.
It's made me positively grumpy in a most unpleasant way.

Yesterday, however, I decided to take some positive action:

Know what it is?

3 Years

2008-12-13T18:12:00.002-06:00

Today is the third anniversary of my brother's passing.
I think of him -- and miss him -- every day. There is an Antwyon-shaped hole in my heart that can never be filled.

But as I sit here, listening to my niece and nephew giggling and being silly with the baby, the hurt is less raw, the ache less intense. I see him in their faces, with beautiful dark eyes and gorgeous long lashes, and I'm comforted. Though life will never be the same, it is still good.

Go Baby, It's Your Birfday

2008-12-11T19:38:00.004-06:00

One year down, twenty more to go...

Working It Out

2008-11-29T14:48:00.003-06:00

I feel like I've fallen down the rabbit hole this month - I swear there should be more posts than this.
I would blame NaNoWriMo, but DH & I sort of bailed in the worst way. Instead, I'll blame the baby, since she is small and can't defend herself. ;-P
Z's been rather sad and clingy much of this month, but now we can see evidence of why:

That's my girl. Cutting her very first tooth ... just before her first birthday.

Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

2008-11-07T10:21:00.007-06:00

More gems from the minds of the minors:

From Boy-O: Miss N is being her usual chatty self, talking non-stop about something or other when she sees a sign on the door of the sub shop:
Ooh, help wanted. Can we help?

***
N, while writing a story: I'm gonna guess how to spell exactly.

***

T: Homework is (makes air quotes) "boring."

***
Baby Z, at this juncture, is limited to "gog" (dog), "mama" and "bapa" or "dada".
Therefore, her story is told via photo essay:

"Ooh -let's go over there."

Jezebel interrupts with an "Oh, please, can't I lick her a little?"

"Look, mama! I found the pretty pictures!"

[At this point, we genius parents realize that she's watching South Park. A hasty channel change is effected.]

"Mama Bear - what a huge head you have."

"Eh. I'm bored with this show."

"Ahh. The static channel is the best."

Unbelievable

2008-11-05T22:36:00.002-06:00

I haven't the words for how I feel today.
The thing I dared not believe in, that I couldn't possibly hope for, lest I get my heart broken again, actually happened.
The thing that reassures me that no matter what, America is not the same country todya that she was yesterday.
The thing that lets me tell my kids, honestly, that the American dream is their dream, too.
Damn. I'm so proud I could burst.

If You Haven't Already...

2008-11-04T10:35:00.001-06:00

VOTE.

That is all.

Hot Air

2008-11-03T15:41:00.004-06:00

Okay - am I the only one who hasn't heard of the Air Car?? Coming in as soon as 2011???
Dudes. If they make a minivan I am sold!

Hot Foolishness

2008-11-02T01:34:00.001-05:00

'Cause I don't have enough to do...

(S)watch(wo)men

2008-10-28T10:21:00.004-05:00

Prepping submissions for my favorite mags.

During this process, I talk to myself quite a bit, planning how a design would fit, working through how it should be knit, refining the details, etc.

Of course, it doesn't always pan out.

Day 1: I've been thinking about a particular sweater. It's a style I love, and I own several versions thereof. Decide to swatch for one.

Days 2-3: Let the idea percolate for a few days. Knit other swatches, cart baby around to all her activities, think occasionally about how much better life would be with this garment in wardrobe.

Days 4-5: Idea comes more into focus: Garment must be really cozy, but not sloppy; yarn choice is critical. Realize there's that one stitch pattern I always mean to use for something and never do. Resolve to swatch ASAP.

Days 6-7: Visit yarn shop. Look for yarn, but don't find the one you want. Go back to giant monster stash and find suitable sub.

Day 8: Stay up late knitting swatch. Be very pleased: this will make a very nice garment.

Day 8.5: Re examine swatch. Still pleased, but realize something is not..quite..right. Put away and go to bed.

Day 9: Wonder why, with dedicated night owls for parents, babe insists on wakng at crack of dawn. Struggle vainly to sleep in. Give up when babe starts growling like the dog.

Day 9.25: Check magazine stash. Realize "new" idea is essentially same as the cover of issue from two years ago. Sigh dramatically. Rip swatch; try again.

I So Need This

2008-10-23T19:06:00.001-05:00

I've always wanted a play kitchen, and this one is especially awesome.

I mean, er, baby wants one. Yeah, that's it.

I've fallen into Facebook...

2008-10-17T19:46:00.002-05:00

...and I can't get out. More later: I'm on a quest to beat my genius pen pal at Word Challenge.

(not so) Blue Moon

2008-09-29T18:57:00.004-05:00

Apparently, the universe likes me more than I thought. Monday, I got a call from Joann at BMFA. Unbelievably, they had my yarn and shipped it to me! Suh-weet.

I'm so jazzed, b/c it means I can work on the project I'm most excited about right now, rather than just the next one in the queue. I like that idea, too, of course, but I just love this yarn and this stunningly cool colorway. Pics soon.

Baby's Day OFFF

2008-09-29T01:03:00.005-05:00

Ever have one of those days that starts off a little weird but quickly ends with you feeling a bit like it's a ride on the Crazy Train? Such was this year's Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival.

It started, oddly enough, with me trying to convince Boy-O that we didn't have to go. I've been reading The Not So Big Life (particularly the chapter about "nut accumulation") and posited that, perhaps, really, I do have enough yarn. (I know, right? Smack some sense into me - I was attempting to be mature.)
However, the Boy insisted that we go because he knows how much I enjoy the event.

So we get in the car, discover that we are camera-less (gah!) but decide to continue on anyway. (How much do I love this man? He totally offered to go back home and retrieve the camera so that I could get pictures for the blog. What a sweetheart.) I figure, hey, it probably looks about the same as last year, minus the preggo tummy, so no big.

True enough, we arrive and the layout's very nearly the same. I head first to Blue Moon's booth so I can snag some mill ends of STR (I got some lovely skeins that I believe were meant to be Gypsum, and one that I think was Ruby Slippers). Once I've accomplished this mission, I'm happy to wander about willy nilly. We head upstairs to see the prize-winning fleece (fleeces? fleecii?), but that exhibit isn't open yet. (Nuts.)
So we wander around, in a very lax fashion, right up until I realize we've nearly interrupted Debbie New's class. (Whoops.) I am struck speechless by seeing the sight of this awesomely clever lady, and it takes me a moment to recover my wits, stop staring at her fabulous sweater, and sweep the kids out of the space. (Double whoops.)

We decide to check out the barns, and head across the lawn, wandering through the amazing crowd of fiber loving people. This is definitely *the* most laid back fiber event ever. Every one seems so darn happy to be there. Even the non-crafty spouses (spousees? spousii?) of the yarn/roving/spinning folks are smiling and yucking it up.

Just after we've read through the warning signs and told the kids to keep their hands in their pockets, we head into the barn. We get maybe halfway down an aisle when the sheep start making that plaintive sound that they make and baby Z starts giving the same distress call. She will not be soothed, so I take her out to watch a few minutes of the herding dog demo and calm her down a bit. I'm sad to miss the babies (always my favorites), but it's no big deal.

We reconnect with teh family, and after a quick nursing/diaper change/potty break, we decide to get lunch. The Boy-O ducks into the espresso hut and I entertain the kids with tales of the ancient technology called...the phone booth. (Mwaaaa-haha!)
Just then, a blond girl of about 11 or 12 walks by in a very shiny gold lamé outfit with what I think is a black person, but turns out to be a llama with an afro wig and a matching lamé cape.
(Which is where I really regretted not having the camera.)
Honestly, I don't know if she meant any insult (and in truth, it's not necessary that I know) but I certainly found it a strange and off-putting choice. Paticularly since I suspect she's from one of the smaller towns in Oregon where people of color are just a rumor.

At any rate, the rest of the festival was good: I met a couple of the PDX Knitbloggers, I had lamb kabobs (and damn, are those delicious!), and saw lots of stunning spindles and fiber and kicked myself for not being born rich and able to purchase all of it to take home with me.

In a fit of industriousness, I decided to start working on a new pattern I'm hoping to put out in a month of so. I've been pretty excited about this idea for a couple of months, and was sure that the four skeins of STR I got were perfect for this design. Except I opened up my bag for the first time since yesterday and I only have three of those four. (Gah.)
I put in a call to BMFA to check for it, but of course they're still at the festival and I'm not very hopeful that I can get that skein back. Which means I can't do that design as planned. Which means I need to get back to the drawing board on that one to use what I currently possess. So I'm totally thrown off my stride.

From the mouths of babes

2008-09-28T11:25:00.005-05:00

Preview

2008-09-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

Coming soon(ish) to a mag near you. Sorry, that's all you get. Now back to work for me!

Ssssh. Be Vewy Vewy Quiet

2008-09-16T22:49:00.000-05:00

I'm reading.

(Who knew it was a full-contact sport?)

Books on the Brain

2008-09-04T11:57:00.000-05:00

Snagged this one from dear Kim over at Random Fiber Ramblings:

"The Big Read is an NEA program designed to encourage community reading initiatives and of their top 100 books, they estimate the average adult has read only six."
*Look at the list and bold those we have read.
*Italicize those we intend to read.
*Underline the books we LOVE .

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Honestly, I think I've read more of these than I've checked; I just can't recall (I'm blaming "mommy brain" for that). I find this list intriguing, though incomplete: it's too heavily weighted toward 19th c. English Lit for me, and I find the fact that The DaVinci Code made the list appalling. (I detest that book.)

("Mommy brain" is the well-known phenom of forgetting everything you know for lists of kid-related info. The payback comes when your kids are a little older and you magically become smarter!)

Beautiful BSJ

2008-09-01T11:43:00.004-05:00

Have I mentioned lately that I love my MIL? It always amazes me how well we get along.
She is someone I'd want to know even if I weren't in love with her son.

When we found out about the baby, part of the thrill was knowing we'd be supplied with lovely baby knits. True to my expectations, Baba has come through magnificently:

Baby is stylin' in her lovely new Baby Surprise Jacket. (I would post a Schoolhouse Press link, but I couldn't find a direct link to the pattern or the DVD). I can't comment on the pattern, but given the vast number of these in the blogosphere -- 4,615 on Ravelry alone! -- and the fact that it's by the great EZ, I'm sure it's a good one.
(I love the February Baby Sweater so much that it's my standard baby gift; I've never even tried another one. But this is so cute; it's tempting me to branch out.)
Thank you so much, Baba J!

Real Knitting

2008-08-30T00:19:00.004-05:00

Unbelievably, I took about 400 pictures of Z with this little soaker on, and this was the best of the lot. I have come to the conclusion that I stink at photography. I'm okay with that, though; gives me something to learn.

Pattern is the Curly Purly Soaker, which was excellent, knit up quickly and fit my chunky boo bear well. I must make another. It'll be a littel while, tho, as I'm in the middle of a mag project.

These pix are for her baba, who will be interested to see that baby's first hair style makes her look like a little sumo wrestler:

And that Z totally has her Daddy's eyes:

A Meme I Can Totally Get Behind

2008-08-21T11:58:00.004-05:00

Generally, I skip memes, but this one's too good to resist.
Of the following hundred items, those in bold are the things I have eaten. What about you?

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (do I get a half-point if it wasn't raw?)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi (mango lassi and sweet lassi)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (again, I think I get half a point b/c it wasn't the rose kind)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

This was fun... I even had to look some of these things up! Post a comment if you do this one...
Tanks to LeLo for posting.

Technology is Teh Suck

2008-08-13T04:12:00.003-05:00

Is this thing on?

I'm still here, but my beloved laptop is on the fritz. Der bloggage will be minimal for the next while until I can get her back on her feet.

Baby's soaker is finished photographed, and I'm back on to her cardigan.
Waiting for yarn for a mag project -- I'd hoped to make my original deadline despite this delay, but that's just not gonna happen now. Ugh. Shipping delays are also teh suck.

Cheating a Little

2008-08-02T11:17:00.004-05:00

Though I am eager to see baby's new cardi finished, project monogamy has never been mama's strong suit. Especially when it's crunchy cotton. Thus, I've returned to the comfort of my old friend, wool.

And may I just say: Aaaaah. My wrists are so much happier!

In my defense, it is another project for baby, and promises to be a quickie (the Curly Purly Soaker). I've snagged a perky color of 220 -- honestly, it's called Shrimp! Too cute! -- and am halfway done with the ribbing. If this fits well, Miss Bebe may end up with a wardrobe of these.

Babe's First Shoes

2008-07-26T00:45:00.003-05:00

The shopping process was long and grueling...

...but my little granola baby is shod.

Not five minutes after we purchased them, baby got a compliment on her excellent sense of style. Z agrees that they are very tasteful:

I need a sweater as cute as these shoes. Hmmm...maybe that cute one by Kristin Nicholas...

Almost There

2008-07-24T12:57:00.001-05:00

Mi Familia

2008-07-22T21:29:00.005-05:00

Taking a little knitting break - baby's cotton sweater is a tough knit for me - so I have to show off my adorable family:

Baby's first bump: Z fell off the bed and scratched her head. I think I cried harder than she did.

I took the kids to Sand in the City this past weekend. Aside from seeing giant sand sculptures, having Hawaiian pizza, watching a puppet show and getting their faces painted, they had no fun at all. ;-D

Boy-O giving me "Blue Steel."

Oooh! Oooh!

2008-07-18T20:33:00.001-05:00

The Fall '08 Vogue Knitting preview is up. Sweet mercy, but it looks awesome.

Er, Whoops

2008-07-15T05:22:00.002-05:00

I have caused a bit of confusion, I see, with my last post. It's not actually my birthday - that was back in February. It's just that I haven't seen my in-laws since Christmas, and my MIL brought my present along on this trip.
Whoops. Better distract you with a cute baby picture:

There. Isn't that better? Pay no attention to the crazed woman behind the curtain....

B-day Redux

2008-07-12T14:29:00.004-05:00

Sometimes the good stuff just comes at you all at once.

1) My in-laws are in town. It's always a hoot when they visit. The big kids love them, and even little Z is starting to smile at her Baba and Papa. they are supposed to move out here in a few years, and we can't wait. I want our kids to have as good a relationship with them as I did with my Grandmas.
(Of course, the fact that they're taking the kids to the amusement park today means that our house is oddly quiet for a Saturday. That's nice, too.)

2) I got a copy of the Fall Knitscene -- it's gorgeous! (I'm not just saying that b/c my design's in it. There are several things in there that I want very much!)
And it's bigger! Love that.

3) I just had another piece accepted for publication; woot! (And yeah, I really do still go around the house saying, "Go Cher, it's ya birf-day...")

4) Speaking of birthdays, my MIL brought along my present:

It's a lovely shawl, made with Elann's Seta Lana, and I adore it.
This up close shot shows the texture and the color more accurately:

Baby liked it, too:

Now With Actual Kntting Content!

2008-07-09T13:39:00.010-05:00

Now that I'm done with submissions for a little while, my knitting time is free for playing around with some ideas.

This lovely pink yarn is a cone of 100% cotton I mixed up at Yarnia (3 strands pink, 3 strands orange). I'd tossed it up on the shelf in our bedroom closet and nearly forgotten about it in all the busy-ness of our little house, but every so often I'd look up and mentally remind myself that I've been saving it to make something especially for little miss Z.

I decided on a simple round yoked cardigan, and yarnover increases to add a tiny touch of femininity. I threw in the rounds of garter st just so I wouldn't get bored. The cardi's somewhat slow going - it's a sport weight, and my achy hands much prefer soft wool to crunchy cotton - but I suspect that has much to do with my cranky, newly locomoting babe. What you see here is about 2.5 weeks of work.

I popped in to Dublin Bay the other day, and picked some stunning Fleece Artist merino:

Seriously. This yarn demanded that I take it home. I mean, look at it:

And once again, I'm adding to the sock yarn stash despite the fact that I refuse to actually knit socks. But this yarn is so lovely, I'm sure I'll come up with a use for it soon.

Doing the Locomotion

2008-07-08T19:18:00.005-05:00

I am so not ready for a mobile baby!

Yup. They really said it.

2008-07-02T00:00:00.001-05:00

Our oh-so-classy kids strike again with the witticisms:

(Both children were given cashews & tea for a snack. Quite some time later, I notice the boy is still chewing.)

Me: T, what are you eating?

N: He’s still got his nuts.

Me: I should hope so.

******

T: (pretending to be hurt) I need crunches...

Boy-O: Wha?

N: You mean crutches…

******

N: (Indignantly) T! Imagine how your booty would feel if you did that!

******

T: (After watching the Muppet movie, where the bad guy sells frog legs) I want a frog egg.

******

T: (“Creole Lady Marmalade”) Itchy itchy mama ya ya…

Sweet

2008-07-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

While cruising the blogs, I discovered that the Knitscene preview is up.
(Thanks, Cirilia, for the heads up.)
Finally, I can stop obsessively checking the web site - and reveal the project I did for them!

Click on the link to see my Twisted Bridges hat and scarf set.
(Digression: isn't the model lovely? When I grow up I want to be that poised.)

Here it is in my rather less serious pose:

This is before blocking and end-weaving-in, so there are some stray strands in the photo. But at long last, this project's out there in the world, and I couldn't be happier. Huzzah!

Good News & Bad News

2008-06-30T10:22:00.002-05:00

Good News: The baby has learned to initiate play! She's figured out the hiding part of peek-a-boo.

Bad News: She decided to show off this new skill at 2 am.

We're very proud. Exhausted, but proud.

Froglegs and Prunes

2008-06-23T23:34:00.007-05:00

"Mmm... froggie is delicious..."

"...but I really enjoy dried plums."

Wounded

2008-06-16T21:27:00.005-05:00

Perfectly happy little boy, right? Don't be fooled by his brave exterior:

We started summer camp today and already, there's been a serious sports injury:

Let us all take a moment of silence to acknowledge the dangers of mixing kickball and giddy little boys.
Alas, poor Superman pants. I knew them well.
(This knowledge may have something to do with the number of times I washed these puppies. The disintegration may also have something to do with that number. They were favorite pants and in heavy rotation.)

****

In knitting news, I'm still working on unbloggable stuff, but I'm so excited that these arrived today:

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this masterwork, this is Maria Erlbacher's awesome series of twisted stitch dictionaries (Traditional Knitting Patterns from the Styrian Enns River Valley):

While I do not speak or read a lick of German, the book is full of beautifully clear charts that should be easy enough to work. If I can get mon petit monstre to sleep tonight, I hope to find a few minutes to play with these.

If you're interested, I ordered these from the kind folk at DAW. Again, I don't speak any German, but the transaction was speedy and painless, despite my communication handicap.

Burger-licious

2008-06-14T17:13:00.004-05:00

It's a glorious day here in PDX (Finally. I was beginning to wonder if this weather would ever come.)
Sunny, warm and perfect for playing music in the backyard -- and of course, for a turn at the grill.
Oddly, barbecue is the one area of cooking where I tend to be a little sexist. Though my mom and many other ladies I know are awesome grill mistresses, at our house, the little green machine is exclusively Boy-O's domain. Creating the flavorings is my contribution.

Inspired by the saucy, folksy, vaguely Middle Eastern music Boy-O and the big kids were playing, I've come up with the following. I like it so much, I think this'll be the new standard burger recipe 'round here. I do my ingredients to taste, but this is a rough approximation. I've included substitutes for spices you might not have handy:

Cher's Spicy Summer Burgers
1# ground lamb
1# ground beef

1.5 t. grains of paradise (sub: mixed peppercorns)
2 t. coriander
1.5 t. garlic powder
1.5 t. cumin
0.5 t. Aleppo pepper (sub: 1/4 t. red pepper flakes and 1/4 t. chipotle powder)
1 T. kosher salt

Yogurt cheese (plain yogurt is fine, too)
Mint leaves, chiffonaded
Slices of grilled onion

In a large bowl, combine the lamb and beef. Using your hands, mix them together thoroughly for at least five minutes. Set aside.

Combine all spices in a mortar; grind with the pestle. If you have a dedicated spice grinder or clean coffee grinder, feel free to use that instead. (I like the coarseness of hand grinding.)
Sprinkle approximately half the spice mixture onto the meat; mix in by hand for about 1 minute.
Fold the remaining spice mixture into the meat.

Grill to desired doneness. (I like mine just shy of medium, with a tiny dose of pink.)

Top with a dollop of yogurt cheese, a little mint chiffonade, and some grilled onion.
Somehow, we never have hamburger buns handy, so we serve ours on bagels.

Baby Z, of course, did not have a burger, but instead enjoyed some delicious applesauce courtesy of Earth's Best.

Summery Goodness

2008-06-11T21:17:00.003-05:00

I'm loving the Shetland Shorty in the summer Knitty. And Helena. And Thira. And Seascape.
So. Cute. I need more hands ...

Getting closer...

2008-06-09T17:58:00.003-05:00

I have to squee a little bit: the editor who is publishing the design I worked on this past winter just wrote and asked how I'd like my name to appear in the mag. Whee! It's that much closer to becoming a Real Pattern.
(I know, it's totally dorky, but I am so happy.)

Working on still more proposals; I'm having a blast with all the swatching. It's like doing an audition -- for that moment, at least, it's totally my part. Similarly, while I'm swatching, it's like I've created the most brilliant design ever -- of course they'll love and want it. (Hee.)
After this last batch, it's on to a project for the baby, I think. I need something cute and quick!

Hilarity is...

2008-06-05T21:35:00.003-05:00

...my big kids, playing out back, speaking FakeSpanish(™) to one another. Heh. One word out of ten may actually be legit.

...insane baby giggles while Miss N dances for her amusement.

Over Hill, Over Dale, Over Dye

2008-06-03T11:18:00.010-05:00

These days, when I'm not swatching for things I can't show you, I'm dyeing. I am absolutely entranced by the process, and am thrilled to discover what I can do with drink mix and food coloring.
I would love to explore acid dyes in a serious way, but since I'm doing it all in my kitchen, at the moment, I need everything to be food safe. Someday I think I will -- perhaps when we are child free.
But there is much to learn, and surprisingly sophisticated effects can be had with these materials, so I've no cause for complaint. It does mean, however, that no skein is safe in my clutches.
(MWAahahahaha!)

Ably assisted by my sidekick:

I took this:

And did this:

While my assistant enjoyed the fruits of her labors:

Mmmm. Tasty, tasty paper. Much more fun than winding yarn into skeins, I'm sure.

Later, I also did this:

Which didn't have the result I wanted. I'd added a good deal of black to the recipe, in order to deepen the color. Black dyes, I've learned, tend to 'break' - separate into their component colors and it did, but the results weren't quite what I was going for.
So I went back to the dyepot:

Overdyed my overdye, and came up with this:

I'm pretty pleased.

Azul Es El Color

2008-05-30T18:28:00.004-05:00

Another dyeing experiment produced this:

Approximately 12 drops of food coloring, 2 oz. vinegar and 4 c. water.

I'm liking it. It's much more variegated than the Kool Aid colors, and the blue reminds me of gorgeous azure skies.

Gotta hustle - I'm off to the Catherine Lowe lecture.

Snaggle Rock

2008-05-27T09:56:00.001-05:00

Two down, eighteen to go...

We Are So Kool

2008-05-26T19:21:00.004-05:00

It's been a crafty weekend around these parts. On Saturday, we stopped at the Crack...er, Craft Warehouse to pick up some beads and string for Miss N to make herself an eyeglass chain. It is a thing of 9 year old glory (including a giant sparkly snowflake bead that is almost as big as her head). She's giving it a wear test today before tomorrow's big debut at school. Pictures to come.

While we were there, Mr. T and I picked up some supercheap bulky wool yarn to play with. Below is his first attempt at Kool Aid dyeing:

Turned out pretty good, eh? I helped a bit (COUGH*alot*COUGH), but he chose the colors, stirred it up and mushed it about. I was in charge of the microwaving and handling the hot yarn.

I am in love with these colors. I think they suit him (pardon the pun) to a T.
So much so, in fact, that later that afternoon I picked up more discount yarn (some blah colored wool from Twisted's sale bin) with which to experiment.

And don't think little Miss Z was left out of the crafty goodness:

Her project? Devising ever sweeter smiles to convince Mama to pick her up right away. ;-D

All Along the Swatch Tower

2008-05-16T13:57:00.007-05:00

I've been swatching like a fiend for the last week, so haven't had enough time to properly blog, or much to blog about since I can't show you these. But the first of three (!) batches of swatches is out the door, and I have a moment to breathe before starting the next bunch. So the quick update:

First, and most important, the ghost of a smile, finally captured on film:

With the crazy hot weather we're having this weekend, our little Michelin Muffin will be spending much of her time dressed just this way.

Next: Colourlovers, one of my favorite web sites, is featuring an excellent tutorial on Kool Aid dyeing. Since we have the kids, that's the method I'm most comfortable with for now. I may branch out into acid dyes when they are older/less clutzy/less likely to spill it all over themselves.

Finally, I still haven't had any time to take proper shots of Streamlined, so you're getting the quick 'n dirty ones from last week:

Post-surgery, pre-blocking: I snipped and added short rows to accommodate the Nursing MegaBoobs (TM), then grafted the piece back together.
Extra work, but the fit was vastly improved by the addition. I will remember to knit those in next time I make this one.

I love details like side vents. They add a feminine, floaty feeling to an otherwise straight-forward piece. The tubular cast on I used for the edges is my all time favorite. I find it most elegant.

I'm a big fan of the cap sleeve as well. It's about as cool as a sleeveless piece, but covers up that little er, wadge of flesh many of us have at the underarms (y'all know what I mean, I'm sure).

Back to the swatching...

The Amazing Adventures of Tom and Bel

Why Didn't I Know About This??

Ach. Gott in Himmel!

She's (still) Crafty

Happy Halloween!

The Talented Mr. Flood

Missing The Ocean?

It Comes in Threes

My Dad

Nota Bene

Stirrings of Spring

Loot

Poking My Head Up

Living Up to One's Potential

Clever is as clever does

Colonial One

Bitter Much? (the sequel)

Little Things

Homeward Bound

Where did it go?

Good grief

OMG! OMG!

Cute cute cute

Baby's First Joke

Why my kid is the Awesome

Where I Have Been

More Foolishness from the Mouths of Babes

Hmmm. I love Italian.

Holiday Headstart

Bitter Much?

Dear Baba

On Food

Cool & Crafty

On Hilarity

A Most Perfect Breakfast

On frak frak & double frak

Happy Easter

Yay! (and Darn!)

Totally Silly, but Really Neat

Neglected Passions

Still swatching

Break

Sock Summit!

My Favorite Memory

Er, no.

InVesting

Silly Babes

Oil Versus Coal

25 Things

At Long (Long) Last

For My Next Trick...

SonOfAB..

You Say You Want A Resolution? (2009 Version)

Back From Outer Space

And, Done.

Actual Knitting

3 Years

Go Baby, It's Your Birfday

Working It Out

Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Unbelievable

If You Haven't Already...

Hot Air

Hot Foolishness

(S)watch(wo)men

I So Need This

I've fallen into Facebook...

More True Stories

(not so) Blue Moon

Baby's Day OFFF

From the mouths of babes

Preview

Ssssh. Be Vewy Vewy Quiet

Books on the Brain

Beautiful BSJ

Real Knitting

A Meme I Can Totally Get Behind

Technology is Teh Suck

Cheating a Little

Babe's First Shoes