Tricycles

Who would have imagined that tricycles can be so stressful?

For the last several months, Lorelei has expressed interest in a bicycle (bicycle, tricycle - it's all the same to her). Whenever she saw one on tv, or the neighbor kids leave theirs lying around, etc. For a while the neighbor kids were leaving their bikes on the landing and Lorelei would try to get on every time we walked past, even though it was twice her size.

So I was planning to get her a tricycle after we moved to the new house (in a few weeks).

And then her preschool had a trike-a-thon. Where the kids learn about bike safety for a week and then bring in their trikes one day and ride for charity. So as we were leaving preschool on the one day, Lorelei tried to take someone's bike. [She's only two - she has some ownership issues. As in she thinks everything is hers or should be.] For days after that all we heard was "I want a bike. I want a bicycle." repeat ad nauseum.

Last weekend, we took Lorelei to the toy store to pick out a tricycle. She tried out about 4 of them. She would ride around a little bit (well, walk around, she doesn't understand how to use the pedals yet) and then "I don't like it." So we left without a tricycle. Of course as soon as we were back in the car, "I want a bike. I want a bicycle."

So Lorelei's Dad and I decided to just pick one for her. Dad bought one for her yesterday. She rode it for about 20 seconds. And then started screaming, "I want purple bicycle." [Dad had gotten the blue/red one since there were no more purple ones.] There was half an hour of the screaming tantrum. Dad threatened to return the trike.

So much drama! Hopefully, Lorelei will try out the trike again and decide she loves it. Otherwise, this saga may be continued...

Sad Sock Story

I love love love my Roza socks. It's been about 5 weeks and I'm just about through with the gusset on the second sock. This is super fast for me, considering that it took me 9 months to finish my Jaywalkers.

The Lorna's Laces is the softest sock yarn I've used. It's so squishy and pretty. The brioche pattern is quick and looks great. These are destined to be my favorite socks ever (or at least up to now).

AND THEN ...

Lorelei snapped one of my DPNs last night. My expensive rosewood Lantern Moon DPNs. Of the set that I've already had to replace one. Of the only set of size 1 DPNs in my house.

As much as I love my Lantern Moons - I think they're just too delicate for me. And expensive. Yes, Lantern Moon would probably replace them again and again for me, but that's too much trouble to go through. So I ordered a pair of Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs last night. I already own a pair of 1.5s which I love and they seem much sturdier. Hopefully I will be able to finish my pretty socks soon.

Additional DPNs are definitely on my shopping list for MS&W next week.

Happy to me!*

I had planned to post on Sunday about how it was my birthday. Happy Birthday to me!

But then the storm decided to knock out my power for 15 hours. Yeah! So I didn't get to post.

Anyway, to celebrate my birthday, yesterday Lorelei's Dad and I bought a house. Our first house.

So there has been lots of packing lately, but not much knitting, or anything else fun for that matter. I had thoughts of taking Lorelei to the zoo this weekend, but the yucky weather had us changing plans. Instead there were legos and Elmo and the princess movie (Cinderella for those that don't speak Lorelei). Lorelei also had a good time helping to make my cake, but she's getting to that age where she spends more time sticking her finger in the bowl than she does helping. She's a smart one!

By the way - when is Spring coming back?????

* "Happy to you" was what Lorelei used to say when she was less verbal. She's able to say the whole "Happy Birthday to you" now.

Random Monday

It's been a while since I've posted, so in an effort to catch up - randomness!

• I've finished the first Roza sock. I love it! It's so soft and squishy and pretty. It took two weeks start to finish (not including swatching), which is very fast for me knitting a whole sock on size 1 needles. I've balled up my new skein of Lorna's Laces and I'll probably cast on for sock #2 tonight.
• We took Lorelei to her first baseball game last week - the Nationals Opening Day game against our Florida Marlins. Lorelei had a good time clapping and cheering (until she had a tantrum in the 6th and then we left). Our Marlins won and had a pretty good first week.
• Cozy is still coming along. I'm on ball 5 of 9.
• It snowed here on Saturday morning. Just enough to make everything look white. Just enough to make me wonder why I ever left Florida.
• Lorelei has a stroller for her baby doll. The other day Lorelei was sitting in it and I threatened to put the stroller in time out if Lorelei didn't get out of it. And then I went back to my knitting. Five hours later (after Lorelei had gone to bed), I realized that Lorelei had put the stroller in time out herself. She is too funny!
• We're supposed to be closing on our first house next Monday. Wish me luck!

Happy Monday!

It's a Sock!

I started a pair of Roza's socks with my Lorna's Laces - girly stripe. I don't know whether it's the yarn or the pattern, but I am loving these socks. I can't put it down. I'm almost to the heel in about 4 days (which is definitely a record for me, my second Jaywalker took about 9 months). And so far, I am LOVING the Lorna's Laces. It's the nicest sock yarn I knit with (though I don't have that much to compare it to). The brioche stitch is also a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.

Happy Monday!

Tuesday update: I added a picture from Sunday night. I've already started the heel flap. I upsized this sock because I have wide feet and my gauge was a little off and I didn't want to change it. So I did quite a bit of math to figure out the heel (and toe) numbers. I feel like a big girl adjusting the pattern all by myself. Of course I say that before I actually knit it, it probably won't fit and then I'll feel stupid. Oh well.

I did it!

I finally finished my Jaywalkers. I started them on June 30, 2006 and finished March 18, 2007. I knit a whole other pair of socks in the time it took me to finish the second sock. I do love these socks and I love the pattern - I will definitely make another pair, I already have the yarn sitting in the stash. I also made a hat for Lorelei's baby doll yesterday. I love baby hats, they take no time to make.

Since I'm down to only 1 WIP (Cozy), I was finally able to pull out my new swift (my Christmas present to myself) and my not-so-new ballwinder. The swift makes it 1000 times easier to make pretty yarn balls. I balled some Lorna's Laces for my next pair of socks. I also balled some Cascade 220 to swatch for my Perfect Sweater. I don't think I'm going to start this for a while, but I'm getting ready for the day when I feel motivated.

100!

I'm finally up to post #100 and it only took a year and a half.

To celebrate - FOs!

I finally finished the socks for Lorelei's dad. The second sock took me two months, so the entire pair took about 6 months to finish. I've decided that I will never again have two pairs of socks OTN at any one time.

In other news, I'm in the process of buying my first house. We won't be moving in for another two months, until the current occupants move out, but I've already started preparing.


Look, new dishcloths for the new house!

I'm down to only two WIPs - my Jaywalkers (I'm half-way through the foot on the second sock so these are almost finished) and Cozy. Cozy is on ball 4 of 9 - it's taking forever, but I love the way it's turning out.

You are

What Rejected Crayon Are You?

TGIF

I don't want to be at work today ...

Randomness:

• Lorelei's Dad comes home tomorrow after two weeks in California. YEAH! I can't beleive I made through two weeks alone with Lorelei and the dog, and with a snow storm, too.
• I'm down to 3 WIPs: Jaywalker #2, Lorelei's Dad sock #2, and Cozy. I really want to cast on for Branching Out and some new socks and of course, my perfect sweater. But I won't. I'm trying to cut down on the number of WIPs I have going at any one time. Maybe if I only work on one (or two) project(s) at a time, they will be finished faster. I've been working on the second Jaywalker for what feels like 6 months - which is crazy.
• I finished the Log Cabin baby (doll) blanket this week. I'll post pictures after Lorelei's Dad brings back the camera.
• Tickets for the Nationals Opening Day game go on sale tomorrow. We're hoping to take Lorelei to her first baseball game (the Nats are playing our Marlins).
• February sweeps is over. My favorite shows right now - Lost, Heroes, The Office, Gilmore Girls, and Veronica Mars. Jericho is another show that I like - I ended up watching most of the first half of the season on the internet.

Have a great weekend!

Where am I?

How long do I need to live in DC before I remember that Indian heads mean "Redskins" and not "Seminoles?"

Every time I see the Redskins logo - I think "oh, a Florida State fan."

Who are you?

Bert is not one of Lorelei's favorite characters, but at least I wasn't Oscar.

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Happy Valentine's Day

Lorelei's Dad is in California for two weeks for work, so this is a pretty sucky Valentine's Day so far. And the weather is yuck, so I decided to stay home and knit. And update my blog.

I finished a pair of booties last night. No pictures because a) it's the fourth pair I've done of these and b) Lorelei's dad took the camera to CA. This makes 6 FOs in 2007 - two pairs of baby mittens, 1 baby hat, 1 pair of baby booties, 1 pair of Fetching, and a scarf. OK, so most of them are tiny and took a couple of days but they still count as FOs. I'm also almost finished with a log cabin blanket for Lorelei's baby doll.

A Case of the Mondays

I started nephew's mittens version 2.0. I realized what went wrong with the first pair. 1) My gauge was very off and 2) Nephew has giant hands. 5-month-old nephew's hands are the same size as 2-year-old Lorelei's hands. Anyway, I'm halfway through the second mitten of version 2.0 which will probably be too big, that's just the kind of luck I have.

I finally turned the heel of my second Jaywalker - I might have a finished pair by Spring.

I also made a baby hat for a friend who's due next month.



This is the umbilical cord hat from Stitch 'n Bitch in lovely acrylic. The yarn actually is pretty soft and looks nice.

Lorelei caught me using her baby as a model and now thinks that baby needs her own hat.

First FOs of 2007

Well, January is almost over and what do I have to show for it?

A scarf! I used 4 balls of fat yarn and it only took me two weeks to finish a scarf. I think it looks more pink in real life, but Lorelei's dad took the picture and he's convinced that it's red.

I also knit a pair of mittens for my 5 mo old nephew. My first completed mittens. Each mitten only took me an evening, but sadly they are too small for his giant boy hands. So I'll be working on my second pair of mittens this week - hopefully this pair will fit better.

I also got a lot of work done on Cozy this month. I was stuck in Austin during the ice storm and spent two days knitting. Cozy is at about 20" now (or about 1/3 of the way completed). I'm also still working on some socks - I turned the heel of Jaywalker #2 this weekend and the second sock for Lorelei's Dad is about a row away from the heel.

I now have the yarn for my Perfect Sweater - I need to wind it into balls and start swatching.

I'm not dead

For years, I was jealous of other people's business trips. Now that I've had two trips (+ another next week=3)in 2 months, I'm tired. I'm glad that this next one will be the last for at least several months. My life has been so crazy that I never did finish sending out my christmas cards.

But the travel has gotten me some good knitting time. I'm half way through the foot on the second sock for Lorelei's dad. I started a new scarf - it's about 20 inches long so far. And I'm making plans for my first sweater project. I think I'm going to make a Perfect Sweater in dark blue Cascade 220. As soon as I finish up some other projects and order some yarn.

I'm not sure what other projects I want to attempt this year. Last year I did hats, scarves, socks, bags, I learned cables, knitting in the round, several cast on techniques, felting.

So in addition to my first sweater here are some possible projects -

• Learn Fair isle - maybe a hat first.
• Work on lace - I'm working on cozy. I think after this I'll be ready for something more complicated - like maybe my charlotte's web shawl.
• Socks - there will always be socks. After I finish the two on the needles (both 2nd socks), I think I want to try something a little more complicated than the jaywalkers I've been working on (though I'll probably make some more jaywalkers too).
• I also need to make some baby things for my friend who is due in March.
• I guess I should finally finish the baby blanket I started for Lorelei's doll. I didn't find the log cabin thing as fun as everyone said it was, but I'll finish the thing anyway.

So that should keep me busy for a couple of months. Once work settles down, I'll start blogging more again. See you soon!

ACK!

Where did the year go?????

I can't believe the year is almost over. Between work, Christmas, and Lorelei, I haven't had a second to myself for ages. I spent the week before Christmas in Louisville and I'm getting ready to go to Austin as soon as the New Year's holiday is over. Oh yeah, and I've been sick for so long that I can't remember when it started.

I've knit about 8 rows on Cozy in the last 3 weeks. I knit half a heel flap on my second Jaywalker sock. Oh and I cast on for Lorelei's dad's second sock. And then stopped.

Hopefully, I'll have time soon to knit again. And time to use the new swift that I bought myself for Christmas.

Happy New Year's Blogland!

Belated Birthday Post

Here it is Thursday and I still haven't posted about Lorelei's 2nd birthday.

We had a party on Saturday. There was Elmo Cake, presents, balloons, and 4 loud preschoolers (Lorelei, 2 cousins, and L's best friend). Except for the cake decorating stress and the lost marker cap scavenger hunt, it was a really good day. But I have decided that I'm not making fancy cake again unless I take a cake decorating class first - even with only 4 colors, Elmo was difficult to decorate.

On Monday, Lorelei started a new preschool/daycare. She seems to be doing fine and the teachers all love her already, but she does miss her friends from the old daycare.

Knit-A-Thon!

I love Gilmore Girls! Last night's episode was all about a knit-a-thon to raise money to fix a local bridge - just the quirky kind of thing I expect from Stars Hollow. There were giant balls of yarn and giant knitting needles, yarn and swifts everywhere, and everyone was knitting. How great that one of my favorite shows brought two of my loves together - tv and knitting.

Thanksgiving update

I finally took pictures of all my WIPs, but it took so long to get them from the camera to the computer that one fo them is already an FO. So, let's get to the pictures.

This is the basic cable hat from Stitch 'N Bitch Nation. I actually finished this last night and wore it to work this morning. The pattern was pretty easy, though I added a couple of pattern repeats so that it covered more of my ears. I think I'm going to try to make one for Lorelei - if I take out one or two of the cables it should fit her. I used a little more than one ball of KnitPicks Swish in Red Pepper (the pattern as written would have taken one ball).


I decided to make Lorelei a baby blanket for her doll baby so that I could try out log cabin without a large commitment. I'm really not a fan of the picking up stitches. I think the blanket is now at aobut 9 inches and I need it to be at least 18. I'll still try to get it finished by Christmas, but I don't see myself doing any more log cabins.


Fetching from Knitty only needs a thumb and some ends woven in. These were pretty quick to knit, but I need to concentrate on the thumb and Lorelei hasn't given me much time to myself lately. I made these with cashmerino left over from Lorelei's dad's Irish Hiking scarf.

Finally, this is Cozy, also from Knitty. Almost all of this was done in the car when we drove to FL. I'm really liking this as my first real lace project since 1) it's worsted weight yarn, 2) it's rectangular so that every row has the same number of stitches, and 3) there are only 8 rows of the pattern, so once I got past the first 11 rows (3 rows of edge and 8 rows of pattern) I knew all I needed to know for the rest of the shawl.

That's it for now. I'll post a Lorelei update soon - only a little over a week until her birthday!

Pet Peeve #1

I was out of the office all day on Tuesday at a meeting, so I came in to work on Wednesday and there was a message on my voiccemail - "Hi Patty, ..."

I use Patricia at work, I use Trish at home, at no time do I encourage anyone to call my Patty. So why is it that people always think that it is acceptable to call me that????? And it's always people who don't know me very well. I might not get so irritated if it was used by someone close to me - I don't know, it doesn't happen.

Since Saturday Night Live, I'm not really fond of Pat, either.