Rainy Morning
Rainy Morning

Today is my birthday!

I'm 34 years old today!  I love February and I love it when my birthday falls on a Saturday. 

Ben gave me a splendid day.  I got to sleep in - a particularly precious gift because we were out late at A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder last night.  Birthday presents were opened with breakfast and I got many lovely things.  The kids went bonkers for the balloons my German pen pal sent with her package. 
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We took the boys to a park to enjoy the warm weather and meet some friends from Jack's school.  Then Ben took the kids to McDonalds while I escaped for a long, quiet lunch alone with my book.  Ah, bliss. 

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I went home to tuck Sam in for a nap and Amanda came by.  I always love seeing her!  She was in the middle of high hunting season for musical props.  I found some odd things they can use and we rehashed the show from last night and did some shop talk.

In the afternoon our friends the Arcands came over for the big event.  I had arranged sitters for our kids all together at my house while we adults went downtown for a puzzle room and dinner.  Jack, Nora, Henry, and Sam play so well together and Jack declared it was the BEST babysitting time EVER because his friends were there.

We had fun in our puzzle room.  It wasn't too challenging, but we still had a time crunch in the end, finishing in a mild adrenaline rush.  The host said our total time was 26.5 minutes, putting us in first place on their current leader board.  It was a little confusing how often they reset all scores, but she said the all-time record is 21 minutes.  So we are pretty proud of ourselves!  After the game we walked to 16th Street Mall and had dinner at Mellow Mushroom Pizzeria, then picked up ice cream in Milkbox Ice Creamery in the new Union Station building.
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At home we treated all the kids and sitters to ice cream and cake before saying good night and putting reluctant kids to bed.  

Now I have to decide whether to start my new sock yarn project or my new cardigan project, or to finish my shawl project!  So much beautiful knitting and sewing is queued in my craft baskets!

Ben is a rockstar

Sometimes Ben gets frustrated with work, like any person.  The last two (four? six?) weeks have been very busy for them, and an employee just gave his notice to leave, which will make things even crazier for Ben.  


But it seems like whenever things get bad, something good happens to remind him of why he sticks with this job, so far from home.  It might be a bonus or thanks from his boss.  Today one of his client companies scheduled him to be at a meeting.  To his surprise it was to give him a thank you party!

With a poster and cake in his likeness!  I'm so tickled for him.  There was no deadline or project completion.  Only thanks for his persistence and greatness.  

If only he had been wearing that shirt today ;-)

New bedroom decor

You may have glimpsed my new room in the previous blog post.  Ben suggested that for Christmas we buy ourselves a new bedroom set instead of getting each other a surprise gift.  I loved the idea!  He let me run with it, changing up the whole room arrangement and getting new curtains and a mirror. 

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I love our new room!  We spend more time in there now We read to the boys in here at bed time every night.  I used to be embarrassed when a guest saw my room.  Now I'm happy to keep the door open.

Jack Danger and Sam Storm


A transcript of the pre-nap playtime.  
J: I am Jack Danger!

S: I Sam Storm!

J: I have the power of all things that are dangerous!

S: I got storm!

J: You have lightening.  Sam, make lightening. 

S: Lightening!

J: I have dangerous powers.  Like scraping wood!  Now run!!
(boys take off running)
(boys pause to admire their capes)
Sam, Sam, make a storm.

S: Storm!  Lightening!

J: Scraping wood! 
 

 

Winter FOs

Ive had a busy little winter of knitting so far, with many lovely FOs (finished objects) to show for it!  I'm so pleased with all these, I had to share them here in addition to my Ravelry account.

(The next time you wonder why I haven't blogged in a while, remember this list representing my work from November to January.  My fingers are probably busy with yarn instead of a keyboard.)

I made this cardigan for Amanda for her birthday.  It's made with a linen blend from Madelinetosh called Dandelion.  It should get very soft and drapey with washing and wearing.  The garment is knit in one piece from top to bottom. 




Here is a warm hat with two different yarns I spun myself.  Never got a great photo of it.  Also, I made it a little too long and I keep thinking about pulling out the brim to take and inch off.  But it's wearable as is. 
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These are mittens I made for my Dad for Christmas.  I hadn't used this brand of yarn before.  It was so nubbly and fun to knit with!  I'd love a whole sweater out of it (but it would cost an arm and a leg!)

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This hat was a fun, quick project I gave to Jenn for Christmas.  The pattern is called Beeswax and I found this rich amber Madelinetosh Tosh DK for it.  I added a removable pompom and bee pins.  This picture is before I blocked it.  Jenn, please send me a better product photo for my collection! 


Not too exciting, but I had these sock "hibernating" on needles for over a year.  I finally finished the second sock.  For some reason the old one is much tighter than the one I finished recently!  Annoying, but I still wear them. 


I made these socks with Madelinetosh Sock yarn.  I hadn't used that type before, but like all things Madelinetosh, it was delightful to work with.  My feet want to wear hand knit socks every day!  Someone has a birthday coming up and would love some more sock yarn ;-) 

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Ben gave me some luxurious Woolfolk yarn for Christmas.  It's only merino wool but it's as soft as cashmere and so squishy soft.  I turned it into a cowl with lots of undulating brioche stitch ridges.  Love it so much, I'm wearing it now. 

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You may not remember this sweater from 2014 (but you probably remember that hair - yeesh!).  I had a hard time wearing this cardigan.  Too hot in warm weather, too cold for chilly days.  Not many outfits were flattered by it. 



Such a shame.  I was proud of the construction and work and I love the color and yarn (another Madelinetosh Tosh DK), but what good is that if I don't wear it?  

In a rush of bravery, I unraveled the whole thing.  I put them in loose hanks and reset the twist in a warm water bath.  After drying I wound them all back into cakes to use again. 

I made this sweater last spring of 2015.  I loved the fit, but hated the cheap yarn from Hobby Lobby.  It pilled terribly, looked messy after just a season of occasional use, and didn't block well. 


I decided to make this pattern again using the Tosh DK recycled yarn.  It's a masterpiece!  I've never been happier with a sweater I knit.  

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It looks great and fits great - despite a lot of improvising.  I had to adapt the pattern from fingering to DK weight (I'd already had to change it from fingering to worsted on the brown sweater).  I also added a deeper collar with shaping and cables along the body side and up the inner sleeve.  I jumped around from sleeve to neck to body, doing a little at a time to make sure I had enough yarn for each direction of growth. 

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Now I'm working on a new shawl with (you guessed it) Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light.  I have four gorgeous colors and a pattern with fun, new techniques.  Too bad I can only work on it when kids are sleeping.  If I try to knit when Sam is around he claims my lap. 

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I have two non-knit finished objects to show off.  Jack saw Dr. Doom on Super Hero Squad swearing a snuggie.  He asked me if I could make him "a blanket with sleeves."  Sure! What else is a crafty mom to do but whip up two snuggies on a Saturday night. 

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Christmas in pictures

Poor Sam was very sick on Christmas.  He couldn't muster much energy for toy playing, except for zoning out with his new tablet.  Jack took up the slack and had a fantastic time.  Overall it was a splendid, chill day, with a lot of presents, treats, and family time. 

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