On the needles

I had been trying really hard to keep my WIPs under control. I'm such a magpie when it comes to pretty knitting projects. Ravelry does not help. I was doing really good this winter/spring, and only had one or two active projects going at a time. I put off casting on a new project until I finished one. But....something happened....

I blame it on Jasmin of the Knitmore Girls podcast. She's always saying how we shouldn't have any guilt or shame when it comes to how many knitting projects we have going at a time. It's just knitting--what's the big deal? It's a hobby-- shouldn't we just enjoy ourselves and cast on/knit whatever we want, whenever we want?

I thought about this....and couldn't really come up with a good argument. It's frustrating to be slogging along on something you don't really like anymore when you're wanting to cast on something new. Personally, I think I was holding guilt because many times, to cast on that new project I needed to purchase new yarn. We just can't afford to do that--I have a set yarn/knitting budget each month, and I simply cannot go over. BUT, I decided that if I have yarn for the 'new' project already in my stash, or I can buy it while keeping in my budget, then why not go ahead with it? And if I don't have the yarn, I can save up to buy it if I need to. What freedom! LOL

So, to say the least, I've gone a bit crazy with the start-itis lately. Every project bag I own is occupied. Here's the rundown:

Green GoKnit bag: Garter stole in shiny yarn

Blue Batik bag (from here): Blue Jeans lace leaf shawl

Pink batik bag (from same place): Striped Bronco scarf for DS

Green cosmetic bag: ribbed socks in KP Felici yarn, Mixed Berries colorway

Black & White Piddly bag: Anastasia Socks for me in Claudia Handpainted, Peppermint Mocha colorway

Basket by chair: Clapotis in Dream in Color Classy, Happy Forest colorway (from The Loopy Ewe)

Blue Options bag: Liesl for me, in Rowan Summer Tweed, powder colorway.

OK, I think that's mostly it. There is at least one older project languishing in my closet, and I'm thinking about casting on a stuffed toy for the baby, to serve as a lovey as I'm trying to get him to sleep better for naps and nighttime. But that's another story.... :)

Crawling

Well, I'm officially the mom of a crawler. At 7 months, he now thinks he has full reign of the house. Just a month ago, baby H was barely sitting up, and just at his peak of rolling-around-the-room-ness. Then his rear end flattened out so he was a pro sitter, he scooted himself around the room backwards, and finally took his first real forward-crawl last week. The next day, I went into the room to get him up from his nap, and he was holding on to the side of his crib in a semi-stand! Why do babies have to grow up so fast?

So, he's been eating solids for about 3 weeks and is doing wonderfully with that. I start my babies on fruits and veggies, skipping the grains for as long as possible, usually 10-12 months. I think this general philosophy has its roots in Nourishing Traditions, but honestly, I can't remember for sure.

Which leads me to a frugal baby-food tip. You thought I was going to say make your own, didn't you? While this would be ideal, and something I aspire to, I just can't right now. There's no produce in season in my area (yet), and I just haven't gotten it done with store-bought stuff. So yes, I'm using the evil jarred processed stuff. Anyway, the tiny stage 1 jars (2.5 oz) are 48 cents and the stage 2 jars (3.5 oz) are 53 cents at my local grocery store. The only real difference is thickness, which can be remedied if your baby needs something thinner, by simply adding some water or br3astmilk. So I get the stage 2 jars, and just dump the small amount needed into a bowl.

I got the May 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens, and on the cover is a fabulous photo of fresh strawberry bars. I tried out the recipe last week and thought it was super yummy--but I think a more appropriate name would be peanut butter and jelly bars. The base is like a thick peanut butter cookie, then it has a thin layer of strawberry jam topped with fresh sliced strawberries. I loved it--just delicious!