Sunday, June 25, 2006
Not Quite Monday
This has been a hectic week for us. We had a friend come into town to visit and Dominic's birthday party on Saturday. I never quite got to uploading and cropping the photos I took. Here they are, though, the birthday boy and the not birthday girl:
Dominic after church Sunday, still holding the music.
Amira at home group, with her pigtails drooping.
I am trying feverishly to finish my design for the contest, though if I miss the deadline, it will still be a nice engagement gift for a woman newly engaged at our church. The question is simply when will it become hers?
Dominic after church Sunday, still holding the music.
Amira at home group, with her pigtails drooping.
I am trying feverishly to finish my design for the contest, though if I miss the deadline, it will still be a nice engagement gift for a woman newly engaged at our church. The question is simply when will it become hers?
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Belated Birthday Post
Rich and Dominic had their birthday on Sunday. Just like six years ago, it fell on Father's Day. I had great timing for Rich's birthday and Father's day present that year.
Dominic wore his sweater to church, to many compliments and congratulations. They've been watching me work on that sweater for far too long, so I think they were just as excited to see it finished. I did get a photo taken of him in it, just haven't fiddled with it yet.
Since I was able to do the side seams on his sweater so quickly, I decided to tackle Amira's bolero which had been languishing since December. It took me all of half an hour to sew each side seam and about 40 minutes to pick up the cuff evenly and do nine rounds of ribbing, then cast off. Why do I put this stuff off for so long?
SIX COOL THINGS ABOUT DOMINIC
1. He has real super powers, really. (That's what he tells us)
2. He is absolutely devoted to a girl he met in preschool, even though he hasn't seen her in a year. He will one day make some woman a great husband.
3. He bears all sorts of illness and discomfort with minimal complaint. He's been dealing with extreme exczema for the last several years, and itches all the time, and rarely says anything about it.
4. He sings all the time.
5. He cheers on his little brother and sister for every little accomplishment they achieve.
6. He is the absolute best baking partner in the world.
36 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT RICH
1. His smile.
2. The way he laughs at all my stupid jokes.
3. That he loves the way I look, even hugely pregnant.
4. He doesn't care how much money I spend on knitting, so long as we can pay the bills.
5. He loves me more than he loves aviation.
6. He is the best father I've ever met. I wish I had had a dad like him.
7. He insists on getting up with the kids at night, even when I hear them first, because he wants to let me rest.
8. He brags about me to everyone he meets, so I always hear about the good things they've heard long before they met me.
9. He honors marriage and our marriage in particular.
10. He sacrifices time, money and his own fulfillment to make sure he is available and active in our family life.
11. He thinks I'm the best cook in the world.
12. He still loves to dance, it didn't end at our wedding.
13. He still has lots to say to me and listens to all my ramblings, we will never run out of conversation.
14. He still romances me.
15. He talks to and sings to the babies in my belly while I'm pregnant.
16. He does what needs to be done, without my asking or begging.
17. He makes sure I have time to myself, take breaks, eat and drink.
18. He shares most of my dreams and encourages me in all of them, even the ones he isn't as interested in.
19. He never laughs at my dreams or tells me they are a waste of time.
20. He stays up late at night to work on school projects with the boys.
21. He isn't just the fun dad, leaving me to be the bad mom who disciplines.
22. He protects me.
23. He is teaching the boys how to be good men.
24. He is teaching our daughter what to look for in a good man.
25. He is still the most handsome man I've ever seen, and he makes me light up inside.
26. There is nothing in his past that I need to worry about intruding on our lives now.
27. He is willing to do whatever it takes to provide for our family.
28. He answers that I work all the time when people ask him if I "work."
29. He is always willing to take over when I am too exhausted to go on, even if he is, too.
30. He respects me.
31. He takes our faith seriously and tries to pass it on to our children.
32. He prays for us.
33. He seeks the friendship and counsel of other godly men, and offers his support to them as well.
34. He is glad to hear that I've taken a nap during the day, rather than being irritated that some task wasn't finished.
35. He looks at me like I am the only woman in the world.
36. He tells me every day how much he loves me.
Dominic wore his sweater to church, to many compliments and congratulations. They've been watching me work on that sweater for far too long, so I think they were just as excited to see it finished. I did get a photo taken of him in it, just haven't fiddled with it yet.
Since I was able to do the side seams on his sweater so quickly, I decided to tackle Amira's bolero which had been languishing since December. It took me all of half an hour to sew each side seam and about 40 minutes to pick up the cuff evenly and do nine rounds of ribbing, then cast off. Why do I put this stuff off for so long?
SIX COOL THINGS ABOUT DOMINIC
1. He has real super powers, really. (That's what he tells us)
2. He is absolutely devoted to a girl he met in preschool, even though he hasn't seen her in a year. He will one day make some woman a great husband.
3. He bears all sorts of illness and discomfort with minimal complaint. He's been dealing with extreme exczema for the last several years, and itches all the time, and rarely says anything about it.
4. He sings all the time.
5. He cheers on his little brother and sister for every little accomplishment they achieve.
6. He is the absolute best baking partner in the world.
36 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT RICH
1. His smile.
2. The way he laughs at all my stupid jokes.
3. That he loves the way I look, even hugely pregnant.
4. He doesn't care how much money I spend on knitting, so long as we can pay the bills.
5. He loves me more than he loves aviation.
6. He is the best father I've ever met. I wish I had had a dad like him.
7. He insists on getting up with the kids at night, even when I hear them first, because he wants to let me rest.
8. He brags about me to everyone he meets, so I always hear about the good things they've heard long before they met me.
9. He honors marriage and our marriage in particular.
10. He sacrifices time, money and his own fulfillment to make sure he is available and active in our family life.
11. He thinks I'm the best cook in the world.
12. He still loves to dance, it didn't end at our wedding.
13. He still has lots to say to me and listens to all my ramblings, we will never run out of conversation.
14. He still romances me.
15. He talks to and sings to the babies in my belly while I'm pregnant.
16. He does what needs to be done, without my asking or begging.
17. He makes sure I have time to myself, take breaks, eat and drink.
18. He shares most of my dreams and encourages me in all of them, even the ones he isn't as interested in.
19. He never laughs at my dreams or tells me they are a waste of time.
20. He stays up late at night to work on school projects with the boys.
21. He isn't just the fun dad, leaving me to be the bad mom who disciplines.
22. He protects me.
23. He is teaching the boys how to be good men.
24. He is teaching our daughter what to look for in a good man.
25. He is still the most handsome man I've ever seen, and he makes me light up inside.
26. There is nothing in his past that I need to worry about intruding on our lives now.
27. He is willing to do whatever it takes to provide for our family.
28. He answers that I work all the time when people ask him if I "work."
29. He is always willing to take over when I am too exhausted to go on, even if he is, too.
30. He respects me.
31. He takes our faith seriously and tries to pass it on to our children.
32. He prays for us.
33. He seeks the friendship and counsel of other godly men, and offers his support to them as well.
34. He is glad to hear that I've taken a nap during the day, rather than being irritated that some task wasn't finished.
35. He looks at me like I am the only woman in the world.
36. He tells me every day how much he loves me.
Labels: Birthday
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Two Days Early!!
It is finished! Dominic's Zig Zag sweater, which was begun too long ago to mention, is an FO.
Here is a picture of it on Amira's rocking chair. There will be a photo of Dominic in it, probably Monday.
So, here are the stats:
The pattern was in Little Badger Knitwear by Ros Badger. It was shown on a girl, in a rosy mauve cotton yarn, with side slits. I made it in Cross Country Green Naturespun Sport wool, and sewed up the entire side seam on each side.
Including the yarn used to sew seams, I used about four balls, and have about a third of the fourth ball left.
The only thing I didn't like about this pattern was that there is no four year old in the world with arms as short as the sleeves would be if you followed the instructions, let alone a six year old and had I known that before I finished the first sleeve, I would have done the decreases every ninth round rather than every seventh. Since I didn't want to rip out all that work, I ended up knitting about 36 rounds with the smaller needles to make up for the length.
There were two things I changed: One was how I started the top zig zag charts, the instructions would make you believe you are starting them on the right side, and that just didn't work out with how the bottom patterns worked and their instructions on moving to the charts. So, I just kind of flipped and fudged, and it worked out just fine. I also picked up the sts for the sleeves and knit them in the round down from the body of the sweater.
As for finishing and finesse, I made sure the seed st would match from front to back, starting it so it would sew up and line up nicely when it was flipped to make up the sweater and I did a three needle bind off on the shoulders rather than bind off and sew them together. Between that and knitting the sleeves down, I only had two seams to sew. There were 19 ends to weave in, even with spit splicing all but the first few joins. This, in contrast to the 136 on Elijah's sweater.
For the family members who read, and those friends who don't get to see the kids on a regular basis, here are the kids from two nights ago, sitting on each others' laps while we were gathering to say our nightly prayers.
Now that it's 1:00 a.m, I will sign off, satisfied that Zig Zag is finished in time for Dominic to wear it, before his birthday, and that it is finished period.
Here is a picture of it on Amira's rocking chair. There will be a photo of Dominic in it, probably Monday.
So, here are the stats:
The pattern was in Little Badger Knitwear by Ros Badger. It was shown on a girl, in a rosy mauve cotton yarn, with side slits. I made it in Cross Country Green Naturespun Sport wool, and sewed up the entire side seam on each side.
Including the yarn used to sew seams, I used about four balls, and have about a third of the fourth ball left.
The only thing I didn't like about this pattern was that there is no four year old in the world with arms as short as the sleeves would be if you followed the instructions, let alone a six year old and had I known that before I finished the first sleeve, I would have done the decreases every ninth round rather than every seventh. Since I didn't want to rip out all that work, I ended up knitting about 36 rounds with the smaller needles to make up for the length.
There were two things I changed: One was how I started the top zig zag charts, the instructions would make you believe you are starting them on the right side, and that just didn't work out with how the bottom patterns worked and their instructions on moving to the charts. So, I just kind of flipped and fudged, and it worked out just fine. I also picked up the sts for the sleeves and knit them in the round down from the body of the sweater.
As for finishing and finesse, I made sure the seed st would match from front to back, starting it so it would sew up and line up nicely when it was flipped to make up the sweater and I did a three needle bind off on the shoulders rather than bind off and sew them together. Between that and knitting the sleeves down, I only had two seams to sew. There were 19 ends to weave in, even with spit splicing all but the first few joins. This, in contrast to the 136 on Elijah's sweater.
For the family members who read, and those friends who don't get to see the kids on a regular basis, here are the kids from two nights ago, sitting on each others' laps while we were gathering to say our nightly prayers.
Now that it's 1:00 a.m, I will sign off, satisfied that Zig Zag is finished in time for Dominic to wear it, before his birthday, and that it is finished period.
Monday, June 12, 2006
30 Things
In order to participate in Kerrie's contest (who shares a birthday with both my husband and son), I am posting this list.
1. I am a mother of four (on the outside, one is still being grown on the inside) and am very open to having more.
2. I share a birthday with Amelia Earhart, the state of Utah and my husband's boss.
3. I feed four children and my husband three meals a day, that I prepare, and yet still manage to forget to eat on some days.
4. It takes food or knitting for me to be interested in anything. For example, the only gardening I really am interested in is herb, vegetable and orchard gardening. The only animals I am interested in are those which produce eggs/dairy/meat/wool. Although I like cats, the only reason I see to have one is as a mouser.
5. Almost all of my favorite smells are food smells: Creamed sugar and butter, sauteeing onions, citrus, real vanilla, cucumber, melon, honey.
6. I think blue food is an abomination. God intended blue to be a warning. Blueberries aren't even really blue, they're purple with green on the inside. Blue cheese is made of mold traveling through cheese, which is enough reason to abstain from it.
7. I love handknit socks, but I don't like making them. It takes me about a year to complete a pair.
8. The only exception to this is baby socks, because they go so quickly.
9. I am working on a book, although I don't know if it will ever be published.
10. I am not a big consumer. I just recently did a survey and realized that we didn't buy about 85% of what they were asking about. Then, looking around, realized we don't buy about 90% of what is available on the market.
11. I make almost all of our food from scratch, including yogurt, bread, jams and jellies, pickles and preserves. I am learning how to make cheese this summer.
12. I want to get to a point that I make most of our clothes as well.
13. I believe modesty is a virtue.
14. I am physically incapable of getting to bed at a decent hour.
15. I fall asleep about 30 minutes into most movies.
16. I want to be able to grow/raise about 80% of our food.
17. My fondest wish would be to live in a rural village with little farms and small businesses mixed in with houses and parks.
18. I have never bought a lottery ticket.
19. I have never used non-prescription drugs, nor used prescription drugs in a way not prescribed.
20. I married at age 20 thinking it should be the exception that people marry as young as I did. I now think more people would be happier in their marriages if they were married young and grew together.
21. I don't care about having a cool car, bigger house or newer gadgets.
22. We haven't had television reception for about three years and don't miss it. When people ask us what we do, we answer that we relate to each other. We pop popcorn, read aloud, do arts and crafts, play games, sing and dance, take walks, watch sunsets and actually talk to each other and get to know our children.
23. We spend our money on private school for our kids rather than big vacations. We still have fun and enjoy ourselves.
24. I am one of the few parents in America who actually doesn't want her children to go to an Ivy League school.
25. I recently rediscovered how nice I look in bright kelly green. I'm trying to find yarn in that color to knit with now.
26. I have only one daughter among four sons (that's how it looks so far, we might have two daughters and three sons if the u/s was wrong), and treat her like a girl.
27. I teach my boys that they need to treat girls and women differently than they treat boys and men. They know that it is a special kind of bad to mistreat a female.
28. I am completely countercultural. I have a large family, don't watch television, rarely see movies, I've been to a mall three times in the past two years, we don't buy premade snacks or eat much junk, we live on a tight budget and don't use credit, we are religious, conservative and traditional and we're trying to cut back on even the few things we buy and use now.
29. I love feminine styles, and don't find most current fashions to be flattering to women's bodies.
30. I think that fitted clothing makes all people look better than oversized clothes.
1. I am a mother of four (on the outside, one is still being grown on the inside) and am very open to having more.
2. I share a birthday with Amelia Earhart, the state of Utah and my husband's boss.
3. I feed four children and my husband three meals a day, that I prepare, and yet still manage to forget to eat on some days.
4. It takes food or knitting for me to be interested in anything. For example, the only gardening I really am interested in is herb, vegetable and orchard gardening. The only animals I am interested in are those which produce eggs/dairy/meat/wool. Although I like cats, the only reason I see to have one is as a mouser.
5. Almost all of my favorite smells are food smells: Creamed sugar and butter, sauteeing onions, citrus, real vanilla, cucumber, melon, honey.
6. I think blue food is an abomination. God intended blue to be a warning. Blueberries aren't even really blue, they're purple with green on the inside. Blue cheese is made of mold traveling through cheese, which is enough reason to abstain from it.
7. I love handknit socks, but I don't like making them. It takes me about a year to complete a pair.
8. The only exception to this is baby socks, because they go so quickly.
9. I am working on a book, although I don't know if it will ever be published.
10. I am not a big consumer. I just recently did a survey and realized that we didn't buy about 85% of what they were asking about. Then, looking around, realized we don't buy about 90% of what is available on the market.
11. I make almost all of our food from scratch, including yogurt, bread, jams and jellies, pickles and preserves. I am learning how to make cheese this summer.
12. I want to get to a point that I make most of our clothes as well.
13. I believe modesty is a virtue.
14. I am physically incapable of getting to bed at a decent hour.
15. I fall asleep about 30 minutes into most movies.
16. I want to be able to grow/raise about 80% of our food.
17. My fondest wish would be to live in a rural village with little farms and small businesses mixed in with houses and parks.
18. I have never bought a lottery ticket.
19. I have never used non-prescription drugs, nor used prescription drugs in a way not prescribed.
20. I married at age 20 thinking it should be the exception that people marry as young as I did. I now think more people would be happier in their marriages if they were married young and grew together.
21. I don't care about having a cool car, bigger house or newer gadgets.
22. We haven't had television reception for about three years and don't miss it. When people ask us what we do, we answer that we relate to each other. We pop popcorn, read aloud, do arts and crafts, play games, sing and dance, take walks, watch sunsets and actually talk to each other and get to know our children.
23. We spend our money on private school for our kids rather than big vacations. We still have fun and enjoy ourselves.
24. I am one of the few parents in America who actually doesn't want her children to go to an Ivy League school.
25. I recently rediscovered how nice I look in bright kelly green. I'm trying to find yarn in that color to knit with now.
26. I have only one daughter among four sons (that's how it looks so far, we might have two daughters and three sons if the u/s was wrong), and treat her like a girl.
27. I teach my boys that they need to treat girls and women differently than they treat boys and men. They know that it is a special kind of bad to mistreat a female.
28. I am completely countercultural. I have a large family, don't watch television, rarely see movies, I've been to a mall three times in the past two years, we don't buy premade snacks or eat much junk, we live on a tight budget and don't use credit, we are religious, conservative and traditional and we're trying to cut back on even the few things we buy and use now.
29. I love feminine styles, and don't find most current fashions to be flattering to women's bodies.
30. I think that fitted clothing makes all people look better than oversized clothes.
Six Days
And 12 rounds to go before all the knitting is finished on Dominic's Zig Zag sweater! I have a few ends to weave in, most were taken up with spit splicing, but where I started and ended on a piece or picked up stitches, I still have some yarn hanging off. Then, it's sew up the side seams, wash and dry flat and it is finished! I hope I can get it done in time!
Friday, June 09, 2006
Last Day of School
Today is the boys' last day of school. Last night we got to see them in their dramatical debut, as they sang and danced in Sound of Music. I got about 28 rounds finished on Dominic's sleeve during the show, in between watching, clapping and holding Amira in my lap. She spent the last half of the program laying on my belly and kissing the baby. She also wanted to dance when she saw the dancing, so she stood up in her seat, held my hand and bounced around happily.
I'm going to take a breather and rest over the next couple days, then I have lots of house projects planned, cleaning, organizing, yard work, etc. I am hoping that I can get a bunch of knitting done this summer as well.
I'm going to take a breather and rest over the next couple days, then I have lots of house projects planned, cleaning, organizing, yard work, etc. I am hoping that I can get a bunch of knitting done this summer as well.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Teetering
I am thinking of entering a design contest. However, the design has to be written and knit by the end of the month, and I'm not sure I can do that and get Dominic's sweater done in time, which is the priority. I have picked the yarn and am working on a stitch pattern, so I think I will be diligent about Dominic's sweater and try to get this done. If it is finished by deadline, I will enter, if not, then I'll give it to someone as a gift, or save the design for another contest. We shall see.
