Knitting Zeal

Embroidery trials

I purchased a couple of embroidery books with a gift card a while back and finally got the chance to use them.  I had been on the search for reasonably priced tea towels that were plain and in need of enhancements.  I found a few, but would like to find more.  I keep checking the local discount stores near me, which is where I found this batch.  Using sublime stitching patterns and Doodle Stitching as a guide, I sewed these two patterns onto towels.

I also found directions online to make a handkerchief hat for Andrew for his baptism.  I used one of Chris' handkerchiefs and some blue/brown ribbon.  There is a poem that goes with it, something about using it on a baby's baptism day and then later as a handkerchief on his/her wedding day.  I'm not sure if Andrew will wear it, but I'll try!

black outs and thunder storms

Last night we had a terrible thunder storm here with lots of close hitting lightening and winds upwards of 70 miles an hour.  We are surrounded by lots of very large, very old trees, and were fortunate to not have any damage.  Our neighbor's tree split and part of it landed on their shed, but it seems that no structural damage was done.  The thunder and lightening were very loud and one particular strike was immediately followed by an explosive sound.  Within a minute, we had no power.  It was still really hot and humid and was not comfortable sleeping weather for me.  I stayed downstairs in the living room and read by book light for a while and also made a plan for what I would do with the contents of my fridge/freezer if the power did not return by morning.  (Our power company suggested it may take days to return to full power.)  Just as I started to doze, power was restored and I was startled by the sound of the dishwasher resuming it's cycle and the lights coming on where we forgot to turn them off.  It was a nice reminder of how much energy we use and are dependent upon daily.  The house was so quiet without the buzz of electricity running all of the various appliances we keep plugged in.  Except for the humidity and temperature, it was a nice calm. 

Amazingly, Andrew slept through the whole thing.  He was still a bit of a sleepyhead today and even fell asleep while I was preparing his lunch.  Napping has always been an issue with him.  He fights falling asleep frequently and often will only sleep on me for a nap.  It is frustrating at times, but then also nice, as I know he won't always want to cuddle with his mom.  Today I put him in his crib to play while I got dressed.  He protested loudly for a few minutes, but then started his sleep song.  (He sings himself to sleep almost always.  It is rather cute.)  Before I knew it he was asleep and gave me time to put away laundry and dry my hair.  It only lasted about 30 minutes, but it was good enough for me.  Then later this afternoon, when I thought he would sleep after his bottle, he just cried and cried, despite having the sleepiest eyes ever.  In desperation, I put him down in his crib with his nighttime music playing.  After about ten minutes of protest, he started his sleep singing and was out.  He slept for an hour and a half!  It was amazing!  I was able to get so much done.  I made stitch markers for a friend and got dinner started.  He woke up looking much better.  I'm not sure if he went to bed nicely, as I was out tonight and daddy-o got to put him to bed, but I am hoping we are starting a trend for him. 

I recently finished a great book called Garden Spells--a great story that was well written.  My book list is growing a mile long lately.  I am trying to just borrow library books so as to not add to the stacks here already.  We are short on storage space. 

Andrew is loving his new talent of speeding around the rooms by crawling.  His poor little knees are so red!  He has knocked into the coffee table twice already, resulting in some tears, but not too much damage.  He is starting to pull himself up and loves it when I hold his hands and let him "walk" across the room.  He just wants to be mobile so much!  I took this photo of him kneeling the other day--it was too cute, to me.  I love his feet! 

iron on

I have been meaning to create some iron-on transfers to decorate onesies.  I had seen some really funny ones on Etsy, but since I'm so darn crafty, I wanted to try to make my own.  The pack of iron-on transfer pages I bought was relatively cheap, so I'm not sure if that is why the color was a bit faded, or it could be my printer.  (Although the printer is brand new with new ink.)  I also had bought the baby face iron on when I was still pregnant and was just trying to find a baby tee for it.  I can't believe how hard it is to find baby tees that are not onesie-styled.  I finally found the blue tee at Marshall's for $2 because it was irregular.

 

Andrew (read:  Mommy) loves Yo Gabba Gabba, so hence the Muno and group designs.  Daddy loves the Simpson's, so the Homer Scream one is for him.  Andrew already likes the Simpson's when it is on, which is good considering we have so  much Simpson's paraphernalia in the house.

Seven months, five teeth

So my little baby is actually seven months old now and celebrated yesterday with the arrival of his fifth tooth--the top left front tooth.  For a while I was concerned because he had a vampire grin, with two top teeth, but not the front ones.  It was looking funny!  This arrival explains the increased drool and sleeplessness of recent days.  We have been trying to teach the vampire baby how to brush his teeth with his chunky blue baby tooth brush.  He likes to chew on it, as it must feel good on those sore gummies.

In my need for solitude I spent an hour alone at the local bookstore on Sunday while the boys bonded.  I had two gift cards that were burning a hole in my wallet that I had to use.  I have been very frustrated with knitting lately.  Besides my hands hurting, the acrylic baby yarn eating up my already dry skin, and not having the time or concentration available to complete anything, I just keep looking at the piles of started projects with disgust.  I found two books that may help cure my malaise.  Stitch Graffiti is an updated cross stitch pattern book--not the traditional type.  It has a number of great patterns, many smaller, that I want to try. In checking for it on amazon.com, I realize it would have been much cheaper there than Barnes and Noble, but I did have gift cards.  I also picked up the Sublime Stitching Craft pad, which has many iron on transfer patterns for embroidery.  I have always enjoyed needlework and find it much quicker to finish than knitting, so hopefully a few imediate gratification projects will help my knitting frustrations!

Gotta make dinner for the vampire.  I hope he likes avocado and sweet potatoes!

an elephante in parts

So I cheated and had a crocheter make the elephante ears.  In exchange, I kitchenered the toes of a pair of socks for her.  I could never had figured out how to make these ears on my own.  Someday when I am able to concentrate on anything more complicated than shake and pour, I will try to learn, again, to crochet.  For now, mr. elephante is still in need of some whip-stitching to attach his parts, but at least his parts are completed.  He will be ready for Andrew's spring basket from the bunny.  Is it weird that the bunny is bringing him an elephant?  LOL

Andrew is very peacefully sleeping in his car seat now.  He fell asleep at the end of our playdate with his future girlfriend.  She is an older woman, by six months, but they gaze lovingly at each other already!  Andrew got to pet a beagle and some kitties at his friend's house.  The Grandparents' kitties always hide whenever Andrew, or other strangers for that matter, are around, so this was an opportunity to see moving animals. Unfortunately for him, we won't ever have living animals in our house due to allergies, but at least we can enjoy them when we are out.

I started a new blanket this week, but it is going more slowly than I'd like.  The rambling rows baby afghan is an easy pattern, but I fear I will never be able to get it done as fast as I would like, due to the fact that my knitting time is so limited now.  I need to stop reading Ravelry and finding more project ideas than I have time! 

Tomorrow I am supposed to pick up a jumperoo from someone who is selling it to me--I saw it listed on Craigslist at less than half the retail price.  Hopefully it will be in good condition.  Andrew really needs other activities to do to tire himself out during the day.  My theory is that more physical activity will help him sleep better at night.  He is getting close to mastering sitting up without help, although he still topples over at times.  I think once he figures out how to sit up nicely, he'll be able to play better with his baby toys.  We need to start baby proofing the house, or finish baby proofing, since I suspect crawling will start soon.  I have all of the cabinet locks purchased, I just need to install them without a baby around.  Maybe this weekend? 

Andrew's two bottom teeth are really visible now and darn sharp!  He is still chewing on everything, particularly terry cloth and his clothing, not to mention our fingers.  Ouch!  I am just waiting for the next tooth to pop out.  He keeps showing interest in food when we eat, so I am thinking we are going to have to start solids soon.  The pediatrician said to wait until he was six months old, which will be in two weeks.  I can't believe my baby is growing so fast!  I can't wait until his next well-visit to the pediatrican to see how much he has grown since his four month visit.  Even his face looks different to me now, much less baby-ish and more boy-like.  When he falls asleep he makes all sorts of grunts and groans and I think of a little old man trying to get comfortable and falling asleep.  He is a cutie!

Happy Weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day

I've been busy with Andrew and have wanted to blog about my "fascinating life" but just never have time.  Andrew is starting to enjoy time in his exersaucer, which helps because that gives me five minutes to eat, blog, and drink some tea.  I'm fighting a head cold this week and am hoping Andrew doesn't get it. 

I made homemade Valentine's cards this year and couldn't post them until I was sure they were received.  I like how they turned out.

I quit my job this week, after working there for almost 15 years.  I was on a leave of absence, but after several things occurred, I decided that it would be best to cut the ties now and collect my unused vacation pay.  At least I know that I can always go back there and I have great references.  For now I am going to focus upon Andrew and learning what it's like to be a SAHM.  Ugh.

Happy heart day--eat some chocolate!

Thing a day

I just signed up for this as inspiration for February craftiness.  The baby is sleeping on me, so I can't type now!