sissy says

finally!

c's socks are finally finished.  all the ends are weaved, and washed and are hanging to dry.  this project only took me a year and a half to finish!  only...yeah.  i started these when i was still pregnant!  anyway, i'm glad to finally have them done.  i was tired of looking at that striped blue yarn in my knitting basket. 

"i like your socks daddy!!

i have nothing new on the needles - i haven't now for some time, but i have started sewing.  c bought me a sewing machine for xmas and i've been practicing every now and then on small projects.  i made a corduroy skirt but i haven't taken any pictures of it.  i'm working on the same skirt pattern, but this skirt will have a lining.  oooohhh...the challenge! 

the sock.

yes, just a sock.  not even a finished sock.  it's a sock for c i started over a year ago and this is all i've got...

it's all but the toe.  initially i started this with ribbing, but i didn't like the way it looked.  i ripped and went back to do a regular stockinette stitch.  i would have finished this one sock sooner, but i didn't make it long enough for c's foot.  it fit me perfectly, heheh...but when he tried it on, his toes were scrunched.  i'll eventually finish it...someday. :-]

here's the boy rockin' his new beanie.  it's knit with filatura de crosa, miliefili fine in black.  it took me a while to finish because i used sz 2 needles.  it's a pretty simple beanie knit with some extra thickness around the crown to keep the boy's head nice and toasty. 

specs
pattern:  snug from rowan babies
yarn:  filta de crosa millifili fine in black
needles:  size 2

that's so fall 2004.

how sad, i know.  i've finally jumped on the wagon and made on of these.  can you tell by looking at this picture?

it's my very own clapotis!  i bought the yarn awhile ago and it just sat in my stash for over a year!  sad.  it's taken me much longer to complete since my knitting time has been cut down to the boy's nap times and maybe an hour after i put him down for the evening.  but...i really like it! 

i know it's hard to tell that i really like it since i'm not smiling in the picture (and it's blurry...sorry!).  i forgot how hard it is to take self portraits without looking like a dork.  so there it is.  another finished knit just in time for the cold weather.

specs
pattern:  clapotis by Kate Gilbert
yarn:  lorna's lace lion and lamb in brick
needles:  denise US10

do over.

can i get one of those?  a do over?  for the longest time i've been wanting to start blogging again.  i've been lagging.  been busy with "the boy" (his nickname given by the fam).

plus my computer has been wacky since moving back from japan.  finally downloaded the pictures onto the laptop and i think i'm ready to get back into the groove of things!  i also haven't updated because there wasn't a lot of knitting going on for the first couple of months after giving birth. 

the boy used to do a lot of this

now he's doing a lot more of this...

he's sticking everything in his mouth!  including his feet which he just found a few days ago!  he's much more interactive now!  smiles when i say his name and has full on whole body belly laughs!  the best. 

so what else.  there really isn't much else.  a little knitting here and there.  not much time during the day except during naps and a little time in the evenings.  the latest knit is a sweater for the boy from the debbie bliss baby knits book. 

it's a little big, but here is the finished sweater on the boy.  :-D

specs:  4 balls of rowan handknit cotton in grey
             size 6 and 7 denise interchangable needles
            pattern from baby knits for beginners by debbie bliss

3 days and counting

3 more days.  i can't believe it!  i've been told it's rare that women do give birth on the actual due date.  my doc says it probably won't happen until a few days after.  i am progressing - 1 cm dilated since my last appointment.  it's getting a little hard to maneuver around these days - probably because i'm looking like this...

taken a few weeks ago.  i've already dropped and geez - look at my belly stickin' out of my shirt!  this last month has been the hardest.  heartburn, pelvic pain, middle of the night trips to the bathroom - it'll all be over soon.  but of course, the best part of it all...is feelin' him move around in my tummy.  he's got his own little schedule (well kinda...).  i can tell when he's awake and active and also when he's got hiccups!  i love to hear his heartbeat when i'm at the doctors.  i can't wait to meet him! 

i forgot to mention in the last post that i was working on another project.  i was able to finish this blanket.  i've been working on it on and off since i found out i was pregnant. 

my progress about a week ago...

and here it is finished

a patchwork blanket from debbie bliss' baby knits for beginners.  i used cashmerino aran in five different colors; wine, teal, purple, lt. blue, and lt. gray.  i tell ya...i'm WAY tired of knitting squares - and all the ends i had to darn...lordy.  what a pain.

my next project are socks for c.  this is my second try at knitting him socks.  i tried a few months ago, but he didn't like the ribbed pattern.  this one is a basic men's sock with slight calf shaping. 

check it out!

digga.  check what i got in the mail the other day!

my sockapal2za's socks!  wooo hooo!  LOVE the colors.  LOVE the design.  these were knit especially for me by karen of noctorne knits.  look at em!  she says that she's never knit socks before?  well she did a fabulous job on these!  i mean look at how great they fit...

PERFECT! :D 

ahhh...nice happy feet in warm and cozy koigu (yippee - my first pair! :D)  thanks again karen!  i LOVE them!

what a great swap!  thank you so much alison for hosting the swap!

i've got the start of a stripey blue pair of socks on my needles for c.  i'm using this pattern for his socks.  it's slow going (i think the ribbing is slowing me down, plus i'm knitting on size 2 needles) but i'm making progress.

i also started this...

it's the arm of hot lava of blue alvarez designs.  i decided to splurge on the yarn and use what the pattern calls for, manos del uruguay but in this warm brown and golden color.  man oh man...this stuff is great. 

finito

ahhh...my sockapal2za socks are done!  finished and completed sometime last week.  i made two pairs for my partner. i am still printer-less (can't download my pictures from my camera) / camera software-less, but buster came to save the day!  *thanks bud!* i borrowed his camera, he downloaded the pics and sent 'em to me via email...so here we are...

the first pair i made were the ankle socks by alison, using taupe and ecru.  i took the pictures at night, inside, and under fluorescent lighting so the colors seen are not true to life. 

heheh...i didn't realize how dark the picture came out..my bad. hmm...and it may look like the sock on the bottom is larger than the other, but i swear they're the same size!  i knit this pair in neutral colors for a more practical style sock for my pal.  i love the way the casecade fixation knit up.  the socks are casual and functional and i think everyone should have a pair! :D  i bought a few balls in different colors to make myself a couple of pairs. cute and easy fa-sheezy - so i started a 2nd pair!

specs
pattern:  ankle socks by alison
yarn:  cascade fixation main color in ecru and contrast in taupe.
needles:  2.7mm bamboo

the 2nd pair i made for my partner was an easy lace patterned sock from knit socks! by betsy lee mccarthy, called staight-laced (minus the fun-fur at the top shown in the book).  again, the color in the picture isn't the true color. 

but here they are...

my first lace sock pattern.  this book is great with instructions.  very easy to read and straight forward directions also giving options of knitting with different weights of yarns.  and the best thing?  there are a total of 15 patterns in the book and all look very cool to try!

specs
pattern:  straight-laced (knit socks! by betsy lee mccarthy)
yarn:  fortissima socka in light blue (click on the link for the true color of the blue)
needles:  2.7mm bamboo

thanks alison for hosting such a great swap!  :D

countdown: 2 weeks

okay.  so yes, the countdown continues.  i haven't really prepared much as of late - been doing a lot of shopping for folks back home.  this weekend though, seriously.  i have to separate what stays in storage what we need to remove from storage, what to pack in my suitcase for the few weeks while we wait for our ocean freight shipment to arrive (hmm...how many shoes can i fit in my suitcase?).  :-]

work.  4 more days of work.  count 'em baby.  1.2.3.4.  it's a good feeling - even though i get the occasional flashback of the time i was laid off for 8 months trying to look for a dang job!  what a nightmare.  i pray that it won't be as difficult when i return back home.  what's strange is that this will be the last four days of working with c.  that's weird for me.  that's how we met.  through work.  i'm a little sad that we won't be working together anymore.  it was nice (and convenient) when i just want to ask a question or talk about random stuff throughout the day, but there were those days - ya know.  them fightin' days.  those are tough.  not that there were many, but there were a few.  yeah, i am sad that we won't be working together.  (c, stop rolling  your eyes).

look and see what i got from my "not so secret pal"!

how sweet of her, no?  yummy yummy chocolate and jelly bellies and tea!  plus some nice fluffy rowan kid soft!  but my favorite of all would have to be this little guy...

he's a tape measure!  ya pull his little tail and out comes the tape! cute and soft...oh i love him so much! :D  thank you so much joy! 

lastly, i finished the ankle socks i was working on.

specs:  alison's ankle socks
yarn:  debbie bliss baby cashmerino in apple green
needles:  size 3

nice, quick and easy.  i love knitting with baby cashmerino!  so soft.  i think i need a little more practice with the short row technique.  there are so many resources online to find one that will work for me.  i probably won't start my swap partner's sock until after the move back home.

whew.  day 4 complete.

socks and the new knitty

didja see the new knitty?  yeah for pinn!  kumo is her design fashionably modeled by her fiance, ken.  outstanding!  cheers to you pinn! 

i've been doing a little knitting - practicing my short row techniques for my sock swap.  i decided to try alison's ankle socks.  being that this was my first time doing short row heels there was a lot of ripping back and starting over.  for my first attempt i tried the tutorial from knitty.  but it left me with some small eyelets when finishing up the last half of the heel rows.  it didn't look right to me!  pretty, but just not right. 

next i tried the method suggested by alison.  i was having trouble understanding the instructions (i'm lame like that)  by this method, i didn't have the eyelet problem, but one side ended up looking 'cleaner'  than the other side.

i'm not sure if you can see the difference between the two sides, but i can tell and i'm just not sure if that's the way it's supposed to be.  maybe i'm following the tutorial incorrectly.  anyway.  i ripped again and started over - tightened my gauge a bit and i'll try the tutorial again. 

snb 'n the summer solstice

5 weeks.  the countdown begins....

c & i have begun settling matters with work, the apartment, furniture rentals...blah blah and the rest for our move back home. 

one of things i think i'll miss the most is to get the opportunity to do things like this.  taeko from tokyo snb invited the group for a night out in yoyogi park to celebrate the summer solstice.  the weather was warm with tons of people, live music and food.  i intended to knit that night -- i even pulled out my needles, but it was a tad too dark for me...here are some pictures of those that did...

it was a hard catching these things with my camera.  that's pinn  and ken, the crafty duo.  she was knitting and he was spinning. such an awesome couple! :D

a group shot on the bridge.  no, that's not the moon, that's kat with her headlamp! :-]

happy summer solstice!