fiddlesticknitting

Country Kiddie

Pattern: Country Kiddie, by Pixie Purls
Yarn: STR Heavyweight in Bella Coola (RSC 2007 colorway)
Needles: Pink Denises, US 3
Timeline: Started in March, finished June 22, 2008
Mods: I did a Picot edging

I love this pattern. It has so many possibilities. Pixie just wrote a post today about some of the CKs out there in Ravelryland and they're great. I look forward to knitting one again and trying out some stitch patterns or some other add-ons.

Wanna see a crappy picture of my Thuja?



It's such a nice, easy pattern. At first I was mad about all the pooling, but I've grown to really like it (I'm using ShiBui Sock yarn in the Earth colorway). I am assuming that the 2nd sock will be very fraternal. Maybe even striped?

Since Typepad will only let me upload 2 pictures per post these days (grrrr....snarl........), I will show you some yarny pictures tomorrow.

We're Back!

Dear Typepad:  You suck. I am sick of this new compose page, it sucks. I hardly have time to post in the first place and now it takes even longer, especially when the screen freezes and I have to start my post all over again when I was almost finished.

This is my favorite picture of our trip to Phoenix. This is Satya with her cousin Ella, who will be 4 years old in September. They had such fun playing for the week.
We really had a wonderful time. And believe it or not, you get used to the 112 degree heat. Honest! It really wasn't that bad at all! We spent a lot of time at the pool, spent a day in Sedona, ate a lot, and I actually have an FO!!!!
I am annoyed with Typepad right now and want to go to bed, so I will post again tomorrow with more pictures from the trip and of my FO. Just wanted to let you all know that we didn't burst into flames :)

Bye-Bye My Lovelies

We're off to the hottest place in the US. (Or at least one of them, but I'm pretty sure it'll be the hottest while we're there). I've decided to take a computer break and will not be bringing my computer (gasp!!! the horror!). It will be hard, but it's time I take a break from it. I plan to read, knit (perhaps I'll have an FO?), sleep ( I hope!), and go with the flow. I am excited for Satya to take her first plane trip tomorrow. Hopefully she'll be excited too and not freak out or anything.

So I am going to get through as many of my blog subscriptions as possible tonight, then "Mark All Read" so that it'll be nice and fresh for me when I get home in a week. If something really exciting or noteworthy happens to you while I'm gone, leave me a comment, k?

ta-ta!

Crafty Swap (long, rambling post ahead, beware!)

I had a very nice day on Saturday WWKIPing. I met up with Nachaele, Leanne and Cathy in Littleton, and we went to an adorable lunch place called Tres Jolie. It is eclectic and funky with their pretty purple chandeliers, yummy sandwiches and fun drinks like lavender soda (tasty, but very sweet. very.) Here is a picture of Nachaele, Satya and I. I think that Satya is a bit enamored with Nachaele, don’t you agree? :)
You can check out Nachaele's blog for other pictures.
We then went to A Knitted Peace. What a lovely LYS! A great selection of yarn, a nice space, cozy and very friendly.  I love their comfy chairs, they are decorated either with knitted or felted covers, beautiful knitted pillows and of course blankets. If I were to have a craft studio, I would definitely want to dress up some old chairs like this. It was nice meeting Joanne, Jane and Sheila.  I plan to visit the shop as much as I can, especially since Nachaele lives closer to it and is always coming to Arvada to Knit Knack to knit. Share the love people, share the love.

Little Miss Satya is either teething or has a little cold. It’s frustrating not being able to really tell the difference. I am going with teething, but she sure is sniffly and sounds a little croupy sometimes. She’s is great spirits and slept a lot better last night than the rest of the week. Of course, though, still no sign of new teeth whatsoever. What a test in patience this is!

I am head-deep in laundry. I swear I’ve been trying to do 10 loads of laundry for the past three weeks, so now, of course, it’s doubled. I got a lot done today, so I can actually see our bedroom floor now. I am trying to get organized for this trip to Phoenix sooner rather than later. I think gone are the days where we could just throw a bunch of stuff in a bag the night before and go. I cannot even begin to think about all the things we will need to take for Satya!

So, I have been brainstorming for a while about a new crafty project. Funny how I haven’t even been finished with work for 24 hrs (our season’s over!!) and I already need a new “project” (I always hear Alicia Silverstone’s voice in Clueless when I hear that word!). But it’s something that I’ve actually been thinking about for the past month or so.
I know I’ve mentioned how much I like the CraftSanity podcast. It’s really a great show, I’ve listened to many great interviews and have found them all very inspiring.  What I like about it so much is that it’s about all crafts, not just needlecraft. I’ve learned about gardening, paper making, book writing, and so much more. Anyway, I am getting off topic (what a shock), but if you haven’t checked out the podcast, do.
So, anyway, CraftSanity has really made me want to broaden my crafty horizons. I’ve whined many times on this blog about how I want to learn to sew, but that isn’t all. So many ideas, so little time. I know there are many of you out there that are interested in many crafts, who like to dabble in this and that.  So this is what I’ve come up with: I would like to organize a crafty swap for Denver area crafters.  This would be a great opportunity to try a new craft, or to hone your skills with those crafts you already do.  Let’s say there are 20 people in the swap, you would make 20 items to share with everyone, meaning that we would all get to go home with 20 different and cool handmade items!                   
Am I making sense? This all makes total sense in my head, but I’m having a hard time writing it down.
I think it would be a really great idea: let the summer be a chance to try out something new. Have you always wanted to try your hand at making jewelry? Want to spin fiber? Make stitch markers? Those could work even for the non needlecrafter, because they could turn into earrings or those cute wine glass things that people use to determine who’s glass is their’s. (I think that that sentence had the worst possible grammar ever.) How about some non-fibery things, like gardening? You could bring everyone a cutting of a beautiful flower or herb that you've been growing all summer. What about baking? The options are endless. I have NO idea what I’d want to do. This could force me to finally break out the sewing machine, but maybe I would want to try something totally different.
I plan to start a webpage/blog for this idea. (ETA: here's the blog. I haven't done a thing to it.) What I would like to see on the blog would be people’s crafty ideas that they come across.  Let’s say you’ve decided to make soap, you could post a tutorial, or interesting tidbits about what goes into making soap.  Or you could post something that you found on the internet that inspired your crafty spirit on that particular day.
So I am making this a Denver area swap. Invite your crafty friends. If I get a lot of people interested in this, we might have to have “chapters” of the swap to keep the numbers at a realistic level for crafting. I would hate for someone to decide that they want to learn needlepoint and then find out that they have to create 75 items! You know what I mean, right? I am opening signups tonight and they will close on Thursday July 3rd.  Once signups are closed, I will post everyone’s name/blog on the blog and will invite everyone to join the blog so you can post your findings.  Once I know how many people will be involved, we can look for a place to meet for the swap.
I do hope that I am making sense and that people are going to be interested in doing this with me.  It would be really great to see this become at least an annual event, if not, biannual, or quarterly even if we wanted (like we could do a holiday ornament swap next!)

So here’s the signup info:

Signups will close on Thursday July 3rd at 12 PM MST.
Please email me at cocraftyATgmailDOTcom with the following info:
your name
your email
your blog/website address
anything else you might want me to know

I am thinking that the swap could take place either the weekend of August 24th or the weekend of August 30th, although that is Labor Day weekend, so people might not want to do that.

Like I said, this idea is still in the brainstorming phase, so I am totally open to ideas or suggestions. Hopefully no one will say “your idea sucks” or anything like that. I hope I hope!

Let me know your thoughts. I plan to post this info on the Colorado Knitters and Crocheters Forum on Ravelry too.

Happy Father's Day

Aren't they beautiful? I think I'll keep them :)
I hope everyone has a wonderful Father's Day!

Happy WWKIP Day!

I think I will be making two WWKIP appearances today. I haven't seen Sylvia since before Satya was born, so I think I'll start at Posh. The few times that I've been to Posh since September, Sylvia hasn't been working, so I look forward! Then I think we'll meet up with Nachaele over at A Knitted Peace, where I will get to meet Joanne Conklin, someone I've been wanting to meet for a while. I think I will knit on my Country Kiddie. I was an original test-knitter for Pixie's pattern way back in the winter, but do you think I actually finished it? Have a FO? Noooooo. So I just have a few more inches of stockinette to do and I think it will be the perfect knit to work on today...brainless. 

There hasn't been much blissful sleeping going on here at Casa de Satya. It all started when I was attacked by allergies last Saturday (now, I'm thinking I might just be sick or something, but I'm not sure). I couldn't sleep well because I couldn't breathe. Now Satya's up to something, either she's feeling a little under the weather or she's mega-teething. I really can't tell. She has all the signs of teething, except, duh, no sign of new teeth! Not even a hint. I really think it's her top two front teeth that are just making her miserable. She was up FIVE TIMES last night. FIVE. Last week she was only getting up 1-2 times a night (which is tolerable for me). I am totally exhausted. Yet another reason why knitting stockinette only will be the way to go today!

I did start Alhambra last weekend in BMFA Laci. I had about an inch done but it was a total mess (lack of sleep + lace pattern= not a good match). Does lace always look like yarn barf until you block it? I had way too many mistakes to continue. So I think I will be saving that pattern for a rainy day.

We are going on a family vacation starting on the 20th. Let me tell you the story:

So, my in-laws are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this year and they decided to take the whole family (three kids, two daughters in law, and two granddaughters) on a trip. Nice huh? They talked about the Caribbean, Mexico, a cruise, Martha's Vineyard. All lovely possibilities. So where are we going next week?

Phoenix.

In June.

(did you hear me just burst into flames?)

I hate complaining, because it's a free trip their trip, and it will be so nice to visit with everyone and have Satya meet her aunts and uncle and cousin. But it will be 105 or so degrees. At least. I plan on giving Satya an SPF dip at least twice a day. And we'll probably stay inside anyway!!! I hear where we're staying is lovely, so please cross all crossables that we have a good trip. I will for sure take pictures. And hopefully none of us bursting into flames :)

Since I will be stuck inside in air conditioning for a week, I need to start planning what knits to take. I am thinking of starting some Thujas in some pretty Shibui Sock. As well as some secret knitting. I might even try to read a book (or at least a chapter would be better than nothing!) and there's a stack of magazines on my kitchen island that are screaming "read me, read me!"

Well, Sleeping Beauty just woke up next to me already talking while her eyes were still closed (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree....), so I guess it's time to start our day!

Satya, 9 months

Today is Satya's nine month birthday. I cannot believe how quickly time has passed. I can't believe that the little baby that I had back in September now is all legs, close to 32 inches in length her whole body, not just the legs!!), has two teeth, claps and giggles all the time and is the greatest joy and love of my life. Sure, she's still not sleeping through the night, and around 5:30 or 6am I bring her into our room to sleep for a few more hours, but she's happy and very healthy. What more can I ask for? I don't feel sleep deprived anymore, although this weekend sucked because for the first time in 16 years, I have allergies. WTF in mega capital letters. So I haven't slept well, but it has nothing to do with Satya!
What else is Satya doing? She crawls everywhere, both combat style on her tummy and just recently in the last week on her hands and knees. A few weeks ago she decided one morning that she was going to figure out how to pull herself up on every piece of furniture, and she did. All day long. She's done it a bit since then, but it doesn't seem to be so important to her now.  She's not cruising the furniture at all, I guess she hasn't figured out that she can get places that way yet. We're going to put things a lot more out of her reach so that maybe she'll get frustrated and figure it out. I'm not really in a hurry though, although I would love to see her walking before we go to Ithaca in July (since Daddy isn't coming with us and I'd hate for him to miss that milestone!) She kind of calls me a combination of mama and baba. She calls Lovey a-Papa. She babbles all the time, from the second she wakes up. I love it! She's very squealy too and gets very excited at a loud decibel level. She definitely knows who we are by mama and papa or daddy. That's pretty cool.
I swear she has figured out how to reprogram any technological device in the house. Frightening. I know kids are good with computers and whatnot, but this is a little early, huh?
In less than two weeks we are going on a vacation. I will post more about that later. It will be Satya's first experience on a plane. And our first experience as parents of a nine month old on a plane. Should be fun!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday and I will leave you with my very favorite picture from two weekends ago.

ps. I really find Typepad and all it's new crap to be a major pain in the ass. Why fix something that wasn't broken in the first place??

Friday Favorites

Hmmm, it's been a while, huh? Things are slowing down with work (sort of) now, so hopefully there will be more time to post. I have been a busy bee knitting up a storm, but sharing that with you will have to wait. I am on pins and needles waiting for some information, so please cross all crossables. My creative brain has been going a mile a minute lately, you know, in my spare time :) Sorry to be vague, but stay tuned for hopefully some fun stuff.

I've got some Favorites today.....

*These dolls are adorable!

* I wish we had a Trader Joe's near us :(

*Parikha's FOs are always beautiful and classy. <sigh>, this week's reason why I must  learn to sew, <sigh>

*Isn't this Lacy Flower Sweater just adorable? The dress below it is pretty cute too.

* OMG I want a Fairy Party!!!! Or at least have one when Satya is older (is it too much to start planning one now??)

Well, that's all for today. I have a lot of time off this weekend, with the exception of our opening night performance of Nixon in China, and plan to cast on Alhambra for my MIL. Hope to have some progress pics soon!

Have a great weekend! 

A Meme

Nachaele tagged me,so here goes.........

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was working on my Masters degree at Northern Illinois University. I lived in Chicago and commuted almost daily (depending on the semester) to DeKalb (70 miles one way, I think....). Incidentally, gas back then was 90 cents a gallon.<Sigh> I was practicing a ton, playing lots of good concerts. I spent that summer in Charleston, SC at the Spoleto Festival and also in Norfolk, CT at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. It was a fun summer. 

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

Hmmm. today’s a day off, so I don’t really have a good to-do list, but here goes:

1. practice

2. knit

3. eat. lots

4. go for a walk with Satya

5. at least think about organizing the clutter in my house.

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Sweet: Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, or gelato from the gelato bar at Whole Foods.

Savory: Oogies Popcorn (Spicy Chipotle and Lime flavor), guacamole and chips.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: 

First I’d pay off all our debt. Then we’d give some money to family. Lots of traveling. I’d definitely quit my job, but still teach a bit. Focus on giving Satya the best possible “unschooled” education. Donate money to various things. Open a yarn shop/cafe, for sure!!!!

5) Places I have lived:

Kitchener, Ontario, Canada 

Upstate NY (various towns: Valatie, Kinderhook, Niverville, Albany)

Oberlin, OH

Oak Park, IL

Chicago, IL

Golden, CO

Arvada, CO

6) Jobs I have had:

babysitter, very short lived paper route, barista at Java Zone in Oberlin, violin teacher, many freelance orchestra jobs, title position in the Colorado Symphony, mama extraordinaire.

7) Peeps I wanna know more about: 

everyone! let me know if you do this meme, commenting on this post either with a link to yours or leaving the answers in your comments!

(Finally! Some) Friday Favorites

Uh, is this thing on? Man, do I get an F in blogging these days, huh? Sorry. When I become Queen of the World, I plan to erase May from the calendar and all it's hecticness (is that a word? hecticity? heh). I do have some Friday Favorites and a few recent acquisitions to show you. I have been busily knitting. But that's all I can tell you. Well, I'll tell you one more thing, I don't like knitty math. It makes my head hurt. A lot. Another thing that is making my head hurt is that Typepad has changed it's posting format and it's waaaayy slooooow. And I can't intentionally cross anything out anymore. Hrmph. Hopefully it will be nice and upload my pictures.

*This is what I've been working with lately:

ok. so Typepad won't let me upload pictures right now, so I will describe my pictures for you, ok? This should be fun!

You would see a picture of three yarn cakes in: Socks That Rock- Heavyweight in Mustang Sally, Turquoise and Jasper. They're all very pretty. 

*Recent Acquisitions:

You would see yet more Socks that Rock, in Lightweight this time, in Rockstar, Sherbet and a skein of Yarn Pirate's Culture Club. (What's with all the bright colors, anyway?)

*More Recent Acquisitions:

You would see four new books of the Harmony Series in a very nice display. I originally bought just the Lace and Eyelets book, but as soon as I saw it, I had to wipe off my drool from the gorgeous pictures and bought three other volumes. Run, don't walk to your nearest bookstore and buy all of them. Now.

* More LinkyDinks:

** cute button cards

** aren't these baby shower invites adorable?? Gotta love Anna Maria! Speaking of Anna Maria, have you seen her pictures of her newest fabric line. Incredible! I swear each time I do a Friday Favorites post, I come up with at least 10 more reasons to learn how to sew. Dammit!

** I mentioned this on my last post, but I'll mention it again. Marly, of Yarn Thing Podcast fame, is selling stitch markers. Go buy some. I did. 

** I love this chair project!

** These mugs are so adorable!

** My new, very favorite yogurt. And it's local! My favorite flavors are Plum Honey Lavender (omgomgomg) and Berry Jasmine (omgomgomg)

** Noro Taiyo. I am thinking that I must make this in Taiyo very very soon. I also want to make one for the fall, but the Taiyo being a cotton yarn would be perfect for a summer nursing top/shawl/boob-hider.

** This is a great website if you are looking for BPA-free baby bottles, cups, etc. as well as cloth diapers, and such. I spent some money here today.

Ok. When I started this post it was Friday. It's now Saturday. I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!