Baby Knitting!

I don't know if I mentioned it, but as of Sunday evening, my first foray into fair-isle.....failed.

Well, really, it was more like sabotage.....of the toddler variety. Due to mommy-brain malfunction. I seemed to forget about one year olds and yarn, since it's been SOOO long since I've had a one-year-old. (insert sarcasm here *smile*)

Anyway, I'm moving on because we've got a new member of the (extended) family! A dear cousin welcomed a sweet baby girl into the world Sunday night, so I'm knitting with PINK.

If I've got enough yarn, I'll make matching berets for baby and big sis. We'll see when we get the baby version done.

Yay for plain stockinette (even if only for 3 inches). Oh, how I've missed thee.

Now is probably not the time...

...to be knitting mittens. By the time I'm done, I'm sure it will be the middle of July and I'll have to stuff them in the closet until winter arrives again.

Worse yet, I'll get sidetracked halfway through, set them aside, and I'll forget about them until next winter. When I'll *still* have cold hands.

Though I have no photos to show you just yet (can't find that blasted camera cable!), you might want to check out these patterns.

I'm following a pattern called Mittens to Order by Diane Mulholland (rav link HERE ).
But I'm inserting the pattern charts from these Swirly Mittens by goldenknits (rav link HERE ).

I LOVE the swirls! They're going to be gorgeous. If I finish them.

I'm using three different leftover sock yarns--with no idea how much I actually have of each one. It's one of those moments when I really miss my little postage scale. I pretty sure that I've deluded myself into believing I have enough yarn, but I'll probably end up with one and a half gorgeous mittens to display on my shelf. Or decorate bottles of soda, maybe?

Vase-warmers?

Anyway, I'm using THIS gorgeous yarn, Fleece Artist Trail Socks in the Aurora colorway, along with two solids. The solids are both Knit Picks Essential--Grass and African Violet. The two solids are actually found in the Fleece Artist skein, but both pretty briefly, so there shouldn't be much problem with the pattern getting lost.

I'm using the purple with the variegated for the cuff, which is based on the original pattern formula, a two-color rib. Then for the main body of the mitten, I'm switching over to Grass with the Fleece Artist. I actually have already gotten to the chart using the purple instead of green (had to rip it out), and something about the brightness of the purple was distracting. I think the green will be a better choice for the swirls, and they should stand out a bit more.

I'm not 100% sold on the pattern for the palm of the mitten. The first time around, I used the one that came with the swirl chart. But it seems to use a lot more of one color than the other. I think that if I keep the yarn usage at more of a 1:1 ratio, I'll have less chance of running out of one or the other of the yarns.

I may end up scouring stashes on Ravelry to find some matching yarn--at least that's an option! Thank goodness for Ravelry. :)

What are you all knitting or crafting these days? Are you finding enough time for your hobbies?

Hurry Up, Liesl!

For some reason, this sweater isn't in any hurry to join my wardrobe. Maybe it's just because I've been really super busy with a bajillion other things, and this sweater is jealous. Maybe it's because it wants me to find some buttons first. Maybe it's because I can't decide how long it should be.

Probably mostly number one. Yeah.

I've done a little bit of knitting on this, and am past the armholes a good couple of inches. At first I wanted this to be a shorter cardigan, but I tried it on the other day and well....I'm just not sure my non-existent waistline can pull that off. So now I'm debating on whether to make it just past my waist, or a little longer, to at least hit the top of my hips. I just really wanted more of an accessory-type cardi, this doesn't need to be a major coverup or keep-warm type of thing.

I know that I want 3/4 length sleeves. There's one decision made.

Oh, and the computer thing? Well, BIL installed all the parts (look! new processor! Oh, shiny motherboard! Yummy RAM... ). Hit the power button....nothing. Figured out that the switch went bad at some point between last Friday and just this evening. While it was sitting on my desk not being used. *sigh*

Being a mechanic (and son of a mechanic, and brother of a mechanic), BIL then commenced to 'hotwire' my computer. And it worked. So now he's re-installing a bunch of stuff and doing some other computer-person mumbojumbo and chatting with his brother while he waits for that stuff to happen.

So maybe I can post pictures again. In the near future.

Actual Knitting

Did I tell you about Multnomah(rav link)? She's a beauty of a shawl, simple and beautiful(non-rav link).



I used one 100g skein of TOFUtsies, a fingering weight yarn blended from 50% superwash wool, 25% soy silk, 22.5% cotton, 2.5% chitin (made from shrimp and crab shells!) The chitin is supposed to have antibacterial properties, which would be especially beneficial when making socks. However, when I was considering knitting a pair of socks from this yarn, I was deterred by the MANY plies and the thinner-than-my-usual-fingering weight. I figured I'd have to use size 0's to get a decent fabric for socks, and had a feeling that the combination of 0's and thin, many-plied yarn would result in a splitty nightmare.

So, I detoured to the Shawl department of Ravelry. They had quite a nice selection, which I browsed for quite a while before settling on this lovely.



Shawls on size 6's with fingering weight yarn--they're a joy. I'm not sure about lace weight shawls, 'cause I haven't finished one yet....



So, now that I'm (cough) finished with Multnomah (cough*exceptforweavingtheends*cough), what should I do with myself (besides cast on a pair of vanilla socks with some self-striping yarn, on my to-do list)?

Cast on a sweater, don't you think?



This is Liesl(rav link), by Ysolda Teague. I'm pretty sure this is the first pattern I've ever paid for. I've been admiring this pattern for months (a year?) and gave in this spring. I made the first one for my dd as a test-run with some inexpensive yarn. It went great, so I bought some slightly-pricier yarn for myself. I used Rowan Summer Tweed, an Aran weight mix of 70% silk and 30% cotton. Hey, I got a pretty good deal. :)



Factoring in that Liesl doesn't require much yarn due to the lacy patterning, I spent much less than a lot of knitters do for regular sweaters. I'm working up to buying sweater-quantities for 'real' sweaters.

Can't wait to wear it now that we've got nice, cool fall weather again! What's on your needles?

14 pints and counting...

Salsa, that is. I love homemade salsa. I love trying new recipes, though I won't try them without the recipe meeting a few conditions.

• Not too much cumin.
• Cilantro is wonderful.
• Not too spicy--a few jalapenos are fine, but nothing hotter than that.

Boring, maybe. But I love it. Here's the fabulous new recipe I found a couple weeks ago. Wonderful Salsa

The first batch I made as written, but with about half the amount of jalapenos. Very good--a tad spicy for my sensitive tastebuds, but I think it was actually the ton of black pepper rather than the jalapeno peppers. I made a second batch today with some modifications. My local grocery had fresh cilantro on sale, so I bought a couple packages and used some in the salsa, omitting the cumin and black pepper (wasn't sure how those flavors would work together). I LOVE it, it's just perfect. Oh, and I also used fewer jalapenos than called for, but made up the difference with extra green bell peppers (had a ton from the garden).

Also, I used to dread all the chopping that salsa required, but I got the grinder attachment for my KitchenAid mixer a couple months ago, and it makes the PERFECT salsa! It's the same consistency that they have in the Mexican restaurants around here. SO easy, just peel/cut into chunks/shove it in the grinder.

I've also got about a quart of salsa in the freezer. Now this is a different recipe: Tomato Freezer Salsa. I love the fresh lime juice and cilantro. So tasty and easy to fix. You can have a little bit of summer in the middle of winter, it tastes so fresh!

Still stalking twitter for Sock Summit details. I'm such a dork. But I've got about 5" knitted on my sock!

Tomorrow: Family Fun night with our church family. A bounce house, other inflatables/games, and free school supplies for community kids. It's going to be awesome. Especially if the heat index doesn't get to 107 as predicted, ugh.

Off to bed, have a great weekend where you are!

Cooties, CraftLit, and Canning

Some random thoughts...

We've been sick. Some kind of virus-plus-strep throat (for at least one of us). Doc put the whole lot of us on antibiotics which has helped the strep-py kid. The dh and I though? Not so much. Still have sore throats and dh has been very achy and tired. Better today, though--finally! Really not looking forward to winter sickness. We've stayed pretty healthy this summer, but it seems like when the cold weather hits we're sick a lot. And of course, we pass everything around to the whole house, so. Fun. Last winter wasn't as bad as usual, though. Don't know if it's because the older kids have learned to wash their hands more (cutting down the cooties brought into the house) or if it was all the Emergen-C we took. (You can get it at your local health food store or wal-mart.) Anytime we went somewhere, we all took some. Anytime one of us started feeling bad, we all took some. And I think it really helped. Not terribly expensive compared to a trip to the dr. and subsequent prescriptions.

Do you listen to CraftLit? It's an amazing podcast that I started listening to about a year and a half ago. It's done by an English professor, who taught high school for years in New York before moving to Arizona. She does some crafty talk--she knits, spins, draws, paints, etc. Then she teaches about the chapter(s) of the book for that show which is just SO wonderful. I've learned sooo much, which has been an incredible blessing for my dormant-bookworm brain. I used to read ALL.THE.TIME. before I started having baby after baby. I let the urgent everyday stuff fill in all that time that I should have been keeping my brain sharp. Anyway. Gift this podcast a listen. It's a good thing. OH, and she's got CD compilations off all the podcasts, divided by book, in case you've got dial-up or can't otherwise listen to the downloads. You may need to e-mail her for those--I know she's taking some to SOCK SUMMIT (where she's teaching a heel techniques class and a couple podcasting classes). BONUS for listening--her gramma's banana bread recipe. Oh yeah. Made two loaves last night. Let's just say it's a hit for breakfast.

Also, Librivox. In case you want MORE BOOKS! (Sometimes one or two chapters a week on CraftLit just isn't enough.) All public domain, recorded by volunteers. Some good readers, some not so good. But FREE!

Now, canning. I've only canned a few pints of salsa a couple years back. I always think I'm going to do it, I'll can whatever produce I can find good deals on. But I never do it. I chicken out. Right now I've got pint and quart jars that I bought, lids, rings, canning salt, vinegar, a pickling mix, tons of tomatoes and cucumbers exploding all over the vines, and.....um......a freezer salsa recipe that I've already made two batches of. What's my deal? I think it's the intimidation of cooking all the salsa/slicing the cucumbers, then trying to get everything hot at the same time, jar it up without burning myself, and the really scary part? Thinking that I have to keep things STERILE in MY HOUSE. I just don't think it can be done. Too many littles. Too many older kids who like to stick their fingers in things for a taste. I dunno. Maybe I'll get the salsa all ready today, put it in a pot in the fridge, then cook and can after bedtime. Think that would work? We'll see.

In other news? A knitting-related post--coming soon!

Catching Up

Did June happen? It's all such a blur...

There's so much to tell--there were many times when I thought of ideas for blog posts, took pictures, then proceeded to get distracted by the next thing and missed the chance.

I went to the Farmer's Market!



I updated my Ravelry page!

So many things on the needles right now, and all I can think about is what I want to cast on next.

Kids were crazy over the weekend. It might have had something to do with an abundance of sugary snacks and a deficiency of sleep. Also, the full moon. And fireworks. Just sayin'.


homemade patriotic parade, copyright 2009 by mycrazykids

I started using our cloth diapers again. The Happy Housewife had a post about CD'ing today, actually. A couple of weeks ago, we were running low on disposables that had been given to us, and I just decided I wasn't going to buy any more, at least for a while. I knitted up a couple of cute wool soakers and am really happy with how they're working. There's lots of info out there on the benefits of wool, so I'm not going to go into it here. I'm sure you can find some of it at Cloth Diaper Nation. I'm not a member there, but it was recommended by an acquaintance, and looks very comprehensive. So, I just use plain ol' chinese prefolds with a snappi, under the soaker or a homemade polar fleece cover I made a couple years ago. They work really well, too.

The weather cooled off this evening, bringing a shower along with it. After the very warm and humid afternoon, it was quite a relief. The short rain didn't deter my dh from taking off to go 'tubing on the lake with his buddies, though, leaving me a bit disappointed to not have a family dinner together. I cooked a ham in the crockpot on my back porch this afternoon, and whipped up some mashed potatoes and gravy, and some corn to go with it. He didn't know what he missed.

I think I'm gonna go warm up some bread and gravy right now. Sometimes, life is just better with gravy.

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.... :)

Another busy week....

Just when I thought things were going to normalize for a while, one of the twins burned her hand pretty badly last Saturday night. We were at a friend's house, and they had built a small fire in their firepit so the kids could roast marshmallows for s'mores after supper. You know it--kids + fire = emergency room visit. So we've been cleaning and dressing her burn twice a day, plus keeping on top of her pain with meds every 4-6 hours. She's been a trouper through it all, and is learning to do lots of things left-handed because of it (of course she'd have to injure her dominant hand).

Today was a great day, even though it was rainy off and on this morning. Dh took half the kids for a work day at church camp, so I kept the laundry going, fed the rest of the kids leftovers, and KNIT! I started up a Liesl sweater for my youngest dd. I started up a plain-jane stockinette sweater for her a while back, but quickly realized I just didn't have enough yarn for that. I thought something lacy would make the yarn go farther and I've loved this pattern for sooooo long. There were a couple of child-sized projects done on Ravelry, so I went for it. I'm knitting the smallest size on 7.0mm needles (KP options), using Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Bubblegum. It's a discontinued color, so I hope I've got enough.

I've been bitten by the startitis bug lately. I'm usually pretty monogamous--finished objects really keep me motivated. Recently, however, I've just been frustrated at how little progress I'd been making on my plain vanilla socks. There's just so much more I want to knit! Inspired by the Knitmore Girls' Jasmin (who claims to have 100+ WIPs), I decided that since knitting is my hobby and I do it for the entertainment/enjoyment, I may as well be ENJOYING my projects--whether I've got 1 or 10 or 100. So I cast on for two other pairs of socks as well as this sweater. I've also got a lace shawl on the needles, but it doesn't see much action lately due to lack of brain bandwidth.

Signing off to enjoy my kids before bedtime--they've actually been pleasant to be around this week! (it was a crazy full moon last week, let me tell ya--whew!)

On My Needles

Well, since I *did* title my blog, 'Many2Knit4', I thought it was probably time for some knitting content. That gorgeous yarn you see here, Fleece Artist Trail Socks in Aurora (purchased at The Loopy Ewe, is currently being knitted into my new favorite socks.

Now, there was a bit of drama regarding the pattern of these new favorite socks. I was participating in the Sock Knitters Anonymous KAL on Ravelry, and one of the theme options was a sock published in an online magazine. I use Knitty all the time, so wanted to try something from a different mag. I fell in love with Kaibashira, by Chrissy Gardiner. Did a guage swatch and found that the fabric I got at the recommended guage, was too stiff for my liking. Went up a needle size and got perfect fabric, but guage was too big. Long story short, the beautiful ruffly cast-on became the bane of my existence. I ripped and re-knit THREE times before I gave up. This pattern has become my Eleanor. Maybe someday I'll catch her.

I love this yarn, though. It wants to be my New Favorite Socks. So I've got half of a plain vanilla sock knit up. I love the bright spots of color on the dark, night-sky background. The yarn is soft, but the nylon gives it durablity. Not to mention, the colorway name is dear to my heart--the name of my firstborn. :)