Battle of Knits

I love lamp.

I sit here, blogging away, feeling antsy. I thought I had a cold bottle of wine chilling from last night, but I was wrong. So all day I anticipated blogging and sipping a glass of wine and then having my second glass while watching TV and knitting my Tea Leaves Cardi. I dont really need a drink so much as I was just looking forward to the ritual of relaxing while writing my ramblings… do I complain enough? Wait, dont answer that.

Do not even ask about my title. Sometimes I am positive that my ADHD topics in one post will never be cohesive enough to come up with a title that ties it all together and then, some nights, I just dont care. (Damn wine!) It is 51 degrees out there and I am ready for some Spring! Yesterday I went by Hanks for Sunday “Stitch and Bitch” and I was knitting away on my cardi until the Super Bowl started. I got exactly the length I needed to get too so I could YET AGAIN separate for the sleeves. I went and did some super fast grocery shopping, then got home during the second quarter, finished up the baby bath and put the kiddo to bed. Then I watched the worst half-time show in history. Seriously. I pulled out my cardi and did a lot of counting, poured some wine  and went crazy… I got at least 3 inches knitted up by the end of Undercover Boss (loved it). I went to bed and today I wanted to take a pic in some good light to show off to my wild and crazy blog readers (because I know how to party) and to my dismay horror, I found that I had miscounted terribly since the sides were completely uneven. I felt ill. So a few hours later when my little Damien Love went to nap I pulled it out again, ripped back to the sleeve splits and re-counted… and then I counted again. Then I counted once more. I split for the sleeves and was nearly done knitting through the row when my son decided he was done sleeping. I was hoping I could at least get 4 rows done, but no luck. Tonight that damn cardi is mine. I will conquer this damn thing and even if I never even wear it I will feel completely satisfied! —Which brings me to why I brought this up in the first place… leaving Hanks last night around 6:30 it was just dark and it was chilly! I was thinking about how warm the sweater will be, you know, in like 2012. Because it might just take that long.

Today my son hit the dog in the head with a block. More than once. I saw him do it, didnt really get it, saw him do it again and jumped up to react and he had nearly conked the poor dog again when I grabbed the block and told him “No! We dont hit the doggie.” and then “Be nice to doggie” as I pet the dog, he then of course pet the dog, which resulted in the dog forgiving him, or I can only assume by the tongue bath he gave my son! This was my first instance of that– probably wont be the last, but nonetheless, I was pretty shocked. At the same time I realize it is just toddler behavior and I am glad that my dog, Monster is docile with my son and did not react. He pretty much just stood there. Poor dog. I gave him a chicken nugget for being a good sport, so I think he is okay about the whole ordeal.

I bought a book for my Kindle today. Don’t laugh… but please comment away! It is Dr. Laura (okay I hear you laughing) and the title is “The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands” (is this a ROTFLMAO moment?) and I was pointed towards in after reading another woman’s story. Her issues were similar to mine, her’s being a bit worse, and someone had asked her if she had ever read the book. I was curious. I remember listening to Dr. Laura when I was younger (of course regretting it every time) so I went on Amazon and bought it. I really hate the tone already. I already feel like she is yelling at me. Then I think about it… she is quite the career and power woman, conservative, yes, but also balancing a husband, kids and work. I want to know her secret. I dont work, but I do some side things with my knitting. In any case I usually end up feeling stressed at the end of the day, wishing I had just 4 more hours and 8 more ounces of coffee…I’m constantly stuck in that classic Saved By The Bell scene where Jessica Spano is hooked on the speed pills and trying to everything and she is screaming “There is NEVER enough time!“  before she collapses. It was truly the climatic acting moment for that series, but I feel like that is my life. I feel like a lot of moms feel the same way. You try so hard, but you can never do it all… well Dr. Laura says (so far) that if we (as women) take that out on our man we are selfish and doomed to be alone. She mentions that men are simple (Agree) and that to please them we need to do nothing more than feed them (Mine does not eat) and have sex with them (duh.). This apparently equals a happy man. Now as much as I would love to test this theory and really put it too the test, I still have to clean my house and maintain our everyday life. Plus, as I mentioned it is rare when josh eats dinner. He is very unhealthy and tends to eat one huge meal between 1pm and 6pm during work. Honestly, I do not think he is a fan of my cooking. Even before I went Gluten-free I dont think he liked my food. He is not your typical male who eats red meat often and could live on chicken and potatoes… he was raised vegetarian, so he did not grow up eating burgers, steak, meatloaf, shepards pie, casserole of any kind, chicken dishes or BBQ… so he always requests side dishes as meals… like Mac and Cheese… I get it. I know why he is that way, but I still to this day cannot wrap my head around it. I pretty much eat vegetarian these days, but I still do not eat the things he loves– pasta or sandwiches, unless they are gluten-free, which he wont eat. So I am stuck making 2 meals. I dont mind, since I eat before he comes home most days, but really he does not eat at home much. So Dr. Laura… does this mean I am screwed? That there is no hope??? That is 50 % of your equation! So for now, I will just keep reading  (and having sex). These two things are never really an issue, except when I feel like I have been disrespected (often) so I think this book might be a waste of $8.59. I am really trying to be optimistic though. (really, I swear.)

(really!)

(Is my friggin wine cold yet?)

(Now there is a title! HA!)

So, another fun thing today was the introduction of carrot sticks. I have been nervous to cut him up some for fear of choking, but I think raw food is important for children (and adults), besides, he has like a million teeth, right? So I took a carrot and sliced it into toothpick like strips–seriously. He loved them! He munched away on them until his Daddy came home. Then with carrots in his mouth he decided to run to the bed to play wrestle-fun-time with Dad… which resulted in him spitting chewed carrot all over my blanket and side of the bed. “Well, at least he didnt choke,” was all I could think. I am currently washing my comforter and sheets. So much for getting to bed early!

I was poking through blogs today. If you never surf my blog roll, you should. I felt like I was on a visit… I went to visit Marr Haven farm, Stephanie Japel, to see if she had her baby yet (go see for yourself!), I popped into my bitch Jen’s blog, Laura’s PhrogBlog and of course Yarn Harlot. It was fun. **Good Times**

(Remind me to talk about the new TV next time. )

I joined a congo…

http://hyenacart.com/Home2Home/ I joined the Home 2 Home Congo. I will be stocking my items with some other mamas who make diapers. There is some nice diapers and other things in the congo, so be sure and check it out! There is nothing more wonderful than cloth diapering… well, except supporting stay at home Moms!

I am going to let my Hyena Cart lapse, since it is cheaper to go with the congo and it easier to advertise when you have 7-8 other Moms helping! I can also focus more on stocking the congo. Stop by and check it out, tell me what you think!

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Felting & Sillyness

Here I am felting the butterfinger Marr Haven soaker.
I boiled some water and submersed the soaker.
Then I submersed it in cool water.

Being silly and hiding in the blinds.

Accomplishments ALL OVER !!!

Basking in my sock “after-glow”

What a feeling to have some empty hooks and needles. Well, now what?
I am going to get started on a few skirtys, my second sock and another baby afghan square. With my in-laws in town to help with the baby, I should have a bit of extra time to devote to knitting & crochet. I still have a pair of longies on the needles that need to be finished as well. I will be working on those today.

An online friend of mine has approached me about starting a congo or joining a current congo on hyena cart. Since I had already planned on starting a cart, a congo cannot hurt. I will be looking into all the details and figureing out what I need to do for this to happen.

Update: 20 followers as of today!!! WOW we are nearly halfway there!!! Keep posting on twitter and where ever else you can ladies! I am so happy!

SOCKS!!! On DPNs… Oh my!

Here are Aprils shorties, nearly finished. I put some fun trim on them… They are the perfect Gator orange. I love them.

Marr Haven: He just does not understand!

Look at how wonderfully chunky it is! I am literally smiling from ear-to-ear just typing this! I first read about this yarn on Knitter’s review and I felt like I was in love… I had to have some. Now that I have it, I have to have more! I wound it up and then decided to photograph it… about 30 pictures later… Josh says “How many pictures of that yarn are you going to take?” I just shook my head and kept snapping away. I wanted to get the lighting just right. This is a fabulous yarn and it is hard to capture the softness on digital film.

HE JUST DOES NOT UNDERSTAND!!!

Look, my dog understands… he can see the beauty he can envision the beautiful soaker it will become for Boo Bear!

From the Knitter’s review: ” While many yarn producers bleach their yarns — even before dyeing them other colors — Marr Haven does not. Hence the initially dimmer, just-off-the-sheep color.
And while many yarn companies subject their fibers to a carbonization process, adding acid to the wash to burn up any bits of vegetable matter, Marr Haven does not. That explains the flecks of hay and grass in the spun yarn.
By not being subject to such potentially harsh chemical processes, the fiber remains entirely scratch free and baby soft. It also retains a higher amount of lanolin, giving the fiber that telltale “wool” smell, softer hand, and greater water repellancy.
The yarn is spun on a mule spinning frame, a rare spinning device that closely duplicates a handspinner’s motion, producing a loftier yarn with a soft twist. (Bartlett Yarns is one of the few other companies that spins its yarns on a mule.)
The loft is so great, and twist so soft, that many of the fibers don’t even make it into the strand. They gently pill up on the surface, producing the tiny oatmeal-like pills mentioned earlier.”

It is so rare to find naturally processed wool. It is hard to find sustainable farms and I feel so good supporting the work Barbara Marr does. I touch this wool and I feel like I know the sheep personally… I feel the TLC between my fingers and I know that there is not a single drop off negitivity in this wool.

Perfect for making a wool soaker for my son’s precious bum. Since I started making wool diaper covers I have been searching for the perfect wool. I found it. I have not even started the soaker, but I know this is the best I will find.