fiddlesticknitting

S

Saida *Sindy * Sandra * Sada *Saffron * Sanjaya *Sarabi *Scout *Season *Sephora *Serendipity *Sade * Shakira * Shawna * Snow * Solaris * Suave * Sundari *Syrita *Sable *Satchel *Sage * Selma * Santana * Sapphire *Sequoia * Shania *Sloane *Sojourn *Soleil * Sonnett * Svetlana *Sorelly *Shea * Simone * Sierra* Sienna * Sky *Serena * Selena *Shiloh * Savannah* Saskia * Sadie *Sidra * Sharla * Sabine* Shalimar* Sahara * Siobhan * Soraya * Selia * Selene * Shelby * Serenity * Sandra * Stacey * Susan* Samantha * Stephanie/Stefanie* Sara* Sky * Snow * Sophie * Sophia * Solange * Sidney * Stevie * Saana* Sabrina* Salome * Siddalee * Sylvie *Seona *Samara * Sally * Suri * Serafina * Simona * Sasha* Sora * Sujata* Sumika *Selah * Susannah* Samira* Sonja* Shana* Shirl* Sadhbh* Sarah* Signa* Summer* Sherry* Sybil* Suki* Sigourney* Sarita* Sari* Shoshana* Seline* Stacey* Seanna* Schuyler* Scarlett* Star* Sadie* Suenne* Sabra* Shannon* Suriah* Seraphim* Sumatra*

These are the S names I've received in comments so far. So many beautiful names, many creative names too! The bad news is that the name we've chosen for our baby is not in this list.. One of the names in this list was one we considered, so I think that will earn some yarn. The good news is that you can still try to figure out the name!!! You've got 2 or more weeks still!!! Keep the names coming!!

*******************************************************************
So I've decided to hold a CONTEST!!!!! We have finally settled on a name for our baby! This took forever, as no name was beautiful or perfect enough. Well, finally we agreed on one which is quite beautiful, perfect and has such a meaningful meaning. So here's the contest:
You have between now and when I pop this baby out to figure out what her name is.
I'll give you two clues:
It starts with an S, and it's not common.

Here are the potential prizes:

From L-R: STR Beryl, sKNITches Amethyst, STR Rooster Rock.

*So, if someone actually comes up with the name, I'll totally be impressed, the winner might get ALL THREE skeins because that would be very impressive.
*If more than one person gets the name, the winners can choose which skein they want.
*If no one gets the name, I will designate winners by the coolest names suggested.

How does that all sound? I hope good!!

You can "vote" more than once!

Just so you know, this is NOT a name we made up; it IS a real girl name, just not heard very often (at least in my world).

Frog Wild

For a long time (like almost my whole pregnancy) I really haven't been very enthusiastic about my knitting, whether it was lack of energy or being uninspired by the projects I had OTN. Lately, I've been able to hang with my knitting groups, which has helped, but that's usually the only time that I knit. I just haven't been inspired by anything that I've been knitting, which makes me sad because I really expected that I'd knit up an entire wardrobe for baby S. Nuh-uh. So today, I went frog-wild and frogged a ton of things that have been OTN for a long time (and I can't remember where I am in the pattern), and anything that wasn't inspiring me. I feel better now and did keep a few projects OTN.
Here is what I still have OTN:
*Chevron Scarf
* Plain Ol' Vanilla Socks
* Lizard Ridge (ok, I don't have a square OTN, but I really want to work on this project!!)

What I Frogged:
* Noro Fan and Feather Throw (didn't have much done and it already had a big mistake in it. Will try again sometime)
*Go with the Flow Socks with the cool Silkie yarn from the Rockin Sock Club (couldn't remember where I was in the pattern and wasn't too excited about them)
*Jaywalkers (I don't even know when I cast on for these....)
* EZ's February Baby Sweater (as much as I adore this sweater, I get bored knitting it, so until that changes....)

What I Need to Finish:
* Matinee Coat (blocking, seaming, edging)
* Stuffie Kitty ( need to stuff her and embroider?? a face......)

What I want to Cast On:
Saartje's Booties in all yarns!!!!
Tilted Duster in Malabrigo Brown Berries

I think I feel a lot better about my knitting now.

I decided to stay home tonight from my knitting group because I am totally exhausted and my back is throbbing in pain. I've been pretty blah, energy-wise for a couple days now. Just looking at all the things I still need to do, but really how I feel is that I am a Mama Bear just wanting to hibernate until baby bear is ready to be delivered. I wish I could be high-energy just for one more week, and then I'd feel good. Maybe once the full moon has passed tonight things will look up.

I want to thank Mer for nominating me as a

I sure don't feel like I deserve it, but thanks!! I am inspired by so many bloggers, it was hard for me to narrow it down, so I chose a bunch:

*Anna Maria Horner

* Aquaknits

*asiln28: one of my real life friends.

*Janey Choi: another real life friend.

*Knit-Eat-Sleep: one of my local knittahs. Nachaele always has a lot of great projects going and she actually finishes them too!!

*Sara+h

*Southern Fried Goodness: she has been a swap pal that has stayed a great blog friend!

*Sugar Bunny Boulevard: she has been a two-time swap pal and I feel a great connection with her. Plus it is so inspiring to see what she's done with her Rebuilding Greensburg project!

*String Theory: although I've only known her from blogland, I feel like she's a good friend and a very talented craftser!

*YarnThing: another one of my local knittahs. Marly has such enthusiasm about our craft and also has an awesome podcast.

Well, as you can see, I could go on and on and on with great bloggers. I think I'll try to go cast on some booties........

Contest

Keep those guesses coming!!! There have been a lot of beautiful names suggested.

********************************
So I've decided to hold a CONTEST!!!!! We have finally settled on a name for our baby! This took forever, as no name was beautiful or perfect enough. Well, finally we agreed on one which is quite beautiful, perfect and has such a meaningful meaning. So here's the contest:
You have between now and when I pop this baby out to figure out what her name is.
I'll give you two clues:
It starts with an S, and it's not common.

Here are the potential prizes:

From L-R: STR Beryl, sKNITches Amethyst, STR Rooster Rock.

*So, if someone actually comes up with the name, I'll totally be impressed, the winner might get ALL THREE skeins because that would be very impressive.
*If more than one person gets the name, the winners can choose which skein they want.
*If no one gets the name, I will designate winners by the coolest names suggested.

How does that all sound? I hope good!!

ETA: You can "vote" more than once!

Just so you know, this is NOT a name we made up; it IS a real girl name, just not heard very often (at least in my world).

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Nesting has begun.......and a contest!!

I woke up Monday morning like, holy sh*t we're having a baby in like three weeks!!!!! We need to clean! buy furniture for the nursery! get her room ready!! I'm glad it finally hit because up til now I've been quite lazy relaxed about it all. So yesterday we put together the crib, vacuumed a lot and gave baths to the cats!! I wish I had taken pictures, it was hilarious. We took them outside, brushed them like crazy, and then we decided to hose them down! Add some howls and some shampoo and voila! you have clean cats!! I think they were pretty horrified but they actually did really well and recovered nicely. I think they are very happy to be so clean and brushed. Today I bought a changing table and a glider and ottoman. Totally resale, baby!!! There's a great kids resale shop just down the street from us, and I bought both items there, plus it's where we got our crib a couple weeks ago. Good quality stuff for really great prices. Now I need to buy some cute baskets and things to add to the changing table and add curtains and I think we're set! I can't wait to post pics of the nursery! Now I'm going through bebe's wardrobe (oh yes, she has enough clothing to be considered a wardrobe!) and getting them ready to be laundered.
I have been knitting. I frogged my EZ February Baby Sweater and started it again in another yarn, which I think will work better. I also was jonesin' for some plain ol' vanilla. I mean plain ol' vanilla stockinette socks, so I started those over the weekend in ONline Supersocke 100 in Tropic. Unfortunately, I didn't get that much knitting done the rest of the weekend because I finally sat down to write the 80plus thank you notes I needed to write from the three baby showers that I've already had!!! 80!!!! The moms of my students are throwing me yet another one this coming Sunday, so I needed to get the first 80 cards out before more were added to the list.
****************************
So I've decided to hold a CONTEST!!!!! We have finally settled on a name for our baby! This took forever, as no name was beautiful or perfect enough. Well, finally we agreed on one which is quite beautiful, perfect and has such a meaningful meaning. So here's the contest:
You have between now and when I pop this baby out to figure out what her name is.
I'll give you two clues:
It starts with an S, and it's not common.

Here are the potential prizes:

From L-R: STR Beryl, sKNITches Amethyst, STR Rooster Rock.

*So, if someone actually comes up with the name, I'll totally be impressed, the winner might get ALL THREE skeins because that would be very impressive.
*If more than one person gets the name, the winners can choose which skein they want.
*If no one gets the name, I will designate winners by the coolest names suggested.

How does that all sound? I hope good!!

ETA: You can "vote" more than once!

Just so you know, this is NOT a name we made up; it IS a real girl name, just not heard very often (at least in my world).

GOOD LUCK!!!!

No, Hell hasn't Frozen Over......

I just have an FO to show you!!! I have finally finished my first pair of Monkey socks! I started the pair back during all the snowstorms that got me pregnant, and now I have finished the second sock, close to when I will have my baby. Isn't that nice?

Scoop:
Pattern: Monkey (duh), by Cookie A.
Yarn: Dragontooth, from sKNITches
Needles: Brittany DPNs, US 2
Timeline: First sock, sometime back in 12/06, finished second sock 8/9/07

On to more sock finishing!

The Hormonal Hex has Lifted

I am back from my hormonal hell and boy does it feel great!!!! I sleep through the night now (of course I get up a couple times to pee) and I'm not crying nine times a day while my heart races. I swear it's like someone cursed my house for 12 days and then all of the sudden it was lifted and I am Allegra again. If it was the full moon, then I just have to brace myself for one more at the end of this month before Little Miss arrives. Of course, now my problem is that I want to sleep all the time, so it's hard getting stuff done.
I have been knitting, and I have been hanging out with great knitters a lot these days. It's so nice. This is such a great community, it really is. I hope this weekend or sooner even that I have some FO pics for you. For now though, I am going to stall with some yarny goodness:

Scout's Gimlet

Scout's Zuluknitty in 100% silk. mmmmmmm. I hope to get this wound maybe even tonight and cast on for this.

Proof that Lovey has indeed been painting Little Miss' room. In fact, he says he's finished. I haven't gone in yet to see the damage because it's still fume-y in there. Fortunately the fumes haven't traveled to any other part of the house. I am a little worried because he keeps saying he's a shitty painter and that he did a bad job.....but I'm assuming all can be fixed with a little white?? Now I get to nest and figure out what the hell to do with the room. I have NO vision. I have a lot of ideas, but I don't know what I want the overall look to be.
We still have a lot of unpacking and organizing to do in the rest of the house. Can I tell you how SICK I am looking at the same damn packed boxes that I've been looking at for.... four months?!?!?! Something needs to be done!!!

Sorry, my brain is scattered this morning..... knitty talk:
so I've finished all the pieces to the Matinee Coat, am finishing the foot of a Monkey, have cast on for EZ's February Baby Sweater with SWTC Bamboo (I am hoping that the "relaxed" directions won't become a nightmare for me), and I plan to cast on the Forest Canopy Shawl sometime soon. Also, I'm totally in love with the Tilted Duster from IK Fall 2007. My Brown Berries Malabrigo is screaming to be knit up in this pattern!! My sock plan is to knit a sock every week (the Monkey I'm finishing, another Monkey and my Go with the Flow socks) until bebe gets here, therefore I will have THREE FINISHED PAIRS at least!!
I have sent two projects to the frog pond: The Retro Redux Shrug from LaceStyle and Clementine Shawlette. In both cases, I just didn't like how they were knitting up and am not really inspired by either.

Gotta go teach!!

Beginning to see clearly, at least a bit.

First, I want to thank you all for your suggestions and advice concerning my insomnia. I really appreciate it.
Also, I am going to try to not make this blog a "pity me I'm a zillion weeks pregnant" blog. It's going to be hard, but it will force me to talk about other things (uh, hello, knitting??). But just so you know, this post is all about being pregnant.
This past week has been really rough for me. Ever since I got home I have not slept through the night, I am pretty wired when I wake up after an hour of sleep and my heart is beating like crazy. Sunday night I fell asleep at 11:30, and then woke up at 12:30 and never went back to sleep ever. I called my Dr. at 7am, and was able to see a PCP that morning. We were there for four hours. My pulse is kind of high (but fortunately it was also high before I got pregnant, and it's not all the time), but my blood pressure is totally normal (phew!). They took a lot of blood, did an EKG, took an ultrasound of my legs to check for blood clots....everything looks good, nothing to worry about. So of course, I'm all fine, but I'm still not sleeping!!! They did recommend taking Benadryl, but both Lovey and I are against that, especially after I read that one of the side affects is rapid heart rate (hello??????? I'm trying to calm mine down thank you).
So yesterday I was at Whole Foods and found a tincture that is supposed to help pregnant mamas sleep better. NOTE: If you have heard anything negative about this product, I DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT. So, I took it and it was nice to be able to get into bed without my heart working overtime. But man, it gave me crazy leg spasms all night. Plus I think I was feeling a bit guilty about taking anything, even if it is homeopathic. So I am going to use it as a backup, like if I'm just going nuts, but I am going to focus more on doing things like work with my breathing and drinking warm milk (not soy milk, we're not getting along right now).
It's amazing how much happier and more peaceful I am when I do get some sleep, even if it's just an hour or two (if I'm that lucky). I think so much more clearly, so I am usually quite happy when I get up in the morning. I was sleeping on the couch this morning when Lovey woke up and he said, hey you slept! and I was like, yeah, but just sort of, not that much. And he said, there's no sort of, you were asleep... You slept. And it was like a lightbulb went off in my head, I did sleep, that's a million times better than not sleeping at all. I think for the past week I have been putting so much pressure on myself to fall asleep and stay asleep for 6-8 hours at a time. This morning, I realized that that is SO not going to happen anymore and I just have to adjust my thinking. Sleep when I sleep, rest or do something else when I can't sleep. I have to stop getting frustrated when I am getting up every hour. I do notice that when I just accept that I only slept an hour, I am more relaxed and am able to fall asleep sooner.
phew! This post is basically a journal entry for myself to figure out what's going on. If you're still reading this, bless you!
A lot of my problem is that I have too much free time on my hands.Like WAY TOO MUCH. I am so used to being ultra busy, so when I go to sleep, I pretty much pass out. I just went back to teaching yesterday and will be teaching three days a week until Little Miss arrives, so there is still a ton of free time. I need to find a lot of fun things (and not baby-related preferably) to do to keep me occupied. Lovey works every night with the show, and it's just so weird for me not to have any of that. I'm sure that mamas out there are yelling, enjoy the free time, revel in it because you won't ever have it again! Very true, very true. I've just never been good at being leisurely for a long time. So I have found a prenatal yoga class to get into, I'm going to start attending Posh's Stitch Therapy on Thursday nights, as well as meeting Sat and Tues with the Arvada Knitters, and still do some Pilates and swimming. Once Baby's room is all painted, I can start getting it ready, and I know that will be fun and exciting and a lot of work too! So Lovey needs to get on that soon.
I need to read fun things, watch fun movies. I notice that I like to watch a lot of intense movies, and same with the reading. Not for now, it's too much for me. I had to stop reading Harry Potter 7 because I was reading that during the night and it was just too dark and icky. I do want to finish it, but I guess I will have to limit it to afternoon reading.
So since I am going to go to Stitch Therapy night tomorrow, I better get all my knitting organized. That is a week long project right there!!
I hope to post again later today with pics of the lovely yarns I bought from Scout earlier this month. Gorgeous, pure gorgeousness. Really.
But for now here's a belly pic, finally!!

thanks for reading.