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mid-april? already?

It’s been a fun last few weeks.  I think I said last post how I’d come down with strep?  Well 2 days after I finished my meds, Jakob tells me he’s scared of his food ‘cus it made a “boo-boo” throat.  I took him to the doctor and he had a positive strep culture.  That night I felt the signs and sure enough, the next morning I was at the clinic watching my own little culture stick show a positve sign.  The NEXT day Yannick mentioned that Henri was wincing a bit while eating breakfast…and about 2 hours later HIS culture was positive.  The day after that Yannick was diagnosed.  So it’s been fun around here.  I finally finished my final dose and am really hoping it doesn’t come back AGAIN. 

Until I get the latest photos uploaded, here’s another cute one of the boys playing with my grandfather’s hat.


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numbers

Aren’t numbers funny?  They rule our lives in so many ways…currency…time…sizing.

Before my time at the gym was put on hold by the hernia, I’d managed to lose Henri’s baby weight plus another 20 lbs.  Inspired by the fact that I was no longer even nursing, I packed away all my maternity clothes, even the items that were just for shlumping around the house.  Even the comfy yoga-style pants.  Even the nightgown.  The problem is that my “before” clothes don’t fit very well, but I don’t yet consider myself an “after”.

My closet and drawers currently have 3 levels of clothing.  Level 1 are the bigger stuff that I’m really trying to weed out.  Some of my old standbys really just look too baggy when I wear them, and anything that obviously doesn’t fit gets either tossed or donated, depending on the level of deterioration.  (Even the unfortunate don’t want plaid pj shorts that haven’t had elastic since 1993).  Level 3 clothes are the clothes I’ve been hanging on to since the days when I was closer to where I’d like my “after” to be.  I got rid of most of the really slutty stuff from my bartending days (small clothes = big tips) and the stuff that might fit one day, but styles have changed so I wouldn’t want to wear them anyways.  What’s left are classic pieces that won’t solely make up, but will round out a wardrobe nicely.  Some items still have price tags, bought when I lived in the make-believe land of “I’m only 5 lbs away from this shirt, and it’s on sale, so I’d be crazy NOT to buy it”.

Level 2 clothes are the ones I’m currently wearing.  I don’t really like them, they’re not really all that fashionable, but they fit better than either other level.  They’re the clothes that I can’t wait to no longer have to rely on.  The clothes I wear ‘cus I have to, but not ‘cus I want to.

I’ve been putting off going out to buy nicer stuff because of the age-old adage of anyone who has tried to lose weight- you don’t want to waste money investing in nice clothes that won’t fit you for very long (you hope).

On our way back from New York we stopped at the outlets in Lake George and my dad enouraged me to buy some new shirts for work, since I’d been complaining about my wardrobe.  There were some nice clothes at really good prices, and not at least taking a look would have been a wasted opportunity.  The first 2 stores were depressing.  I tried stuff on, it would fit, but not comfortably.  I knew I’d never wear it out without pulling at one part or trying to hide another.  Finally at the 3rd store I changed tactics.  Instead of taking the size I’d LIKE to be I sucked it up and tried on clothes in the size I AM.

Let me tell you, I felt like I was in Pretty Woman.  We got there 30 minutes before closing, but I had so much stuff in my dressing room between the stuff I’d gathered, stuff my mom gathered and then stuff Yannick brought me, that we ended up staying there for an hour.  I ended up getting a bunch of tops, everything from casual “throw-on-with jeans” tees and funky tops, to dressier shirts and blouses for work.  It felt so empowering to put on stuff that fit and was flattering to look at, and it makes such a difference when getting dressed in the morning.

This led me to take a good hard look at my Audrey cardigan.  When I’d cast on I’d had the choice between a size 1″ smaller than my bust, or a size 3-5″ bigger (I forget right now).  I chose to go with the smaller size, since I’m trying to get away from excess baggage.  When finished the sweater fit like a glove- literally.  The sleeves are perfect as is the body…except that I don’t have the body that I’d like to show off in a skin-tight sweater.

Luckily blocking helped tremendously.  The sweater now has a lovely drape even though it is knit in a bulky yarn.  The thickness at the seams has eased, and it actually grew a little too much, so much so that I need to remove about 5″ from each sleeve in length, and only once I fix the loosened buttonholes and sagging buttons will I know if it is too wide around.

I realized that while it was nice to have the quick knit of a bulky sweater, there’s NOTHING that can compare to a well-fitting item of clothing.  If I want something to be proud of, I can knit a bunch of bulky sweaters and frame them in shadow boxes.  But if I want something that I can also wear, I need to make sure it will fit and be flattering.  And if that means knitting a little longer but using thinner yarn, going for a better drape, or a different style than the one everyone else is knitting ‘cus it just won’t flatter me- then so be it it.  I know this cardigan will be one I’ll wear from time to time, and I can’t wait to wear the one I know I’m going to make that will fit beautifully.


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sizeFAIL

Thank God for antibiotics!  It’s been a few days, but I’m finally feeling better.  It really hit me hard this time, with full muscle pain around my neck, and no appetite (I think from both the pain and a side effect of the antibiotic or pain killer) so 24/7 headaches with one really bad migraine the other night.  Now I’m almost fine.  Still finishing the run of meds, and taking a pain killer before bed.  They are too strong to take during the day when I have to drive or be responsible for the boys, but between the hernia, a possible one starting on the opposite side, the lingering neck muscle/gland pains and the headaches…at least they let me sleep.

I was a little confused (let’s blame it on the meds) and thought that guild is next Tuesday, when in reality it is the 2nd Tues of the month…which means the week after.  Somehow I’d convinced myself that it was the Tuesday in the 2nd week since the month starts- not the same thing.  (Thanks Maaike!)  Anyhoo…thinking it was close to guild reminded me that I’d promised to do another quilt squre for our latest charity blanket project.  Wanting to get it out of the way, I cast on April 1st and did all the knitting and about 2 letters in duplicate stitch.  I finished the rest the next day.

Pattern:  Vancouver 2010 MKG Quilt Block

Size:  41 sts x 30 rows

Yarn:  donated scraps of Patons Decor in Red and White

Needles: 4 mm

Dates:  April 1-2 2010

Modifications:  I fixed up the chart that was given to me, and worked the lettering in duplicate stitch rather than intarsia.

Ravelry page here, Flickr project photos here.

I’m trying to clear off everything outstanding on my plate.  I know- it’s futile as more stuff will land there before it’s clear…kinda like at some strange buffet.  But I keep trying to keep up.  One of my most pressing deadlines is a baby gift for my friend Amanda.  She’s going to have the baby any day now, and I’m not prepared.  I finally decided what to knit and cast on Friday with stash yarn but…as you can see above…it didn’t work out.  The soda can and monitor are there for scale- that is the cast on and 5 rows of the circumference for the body.  It’s supposed to be size 0-6 months.  This is what I got after ripping out the hugeness I got when I cast on for the 6-12 month sweater size.  For contrast, if you gave a little tug to straighten out the measuring tape you see inside there, THAT is how big this size is supposed to be.  I’m just glad I listened to my gut and ripped it now after only wasting the last little while!

Finally, now that at least some of the backlogged photos are caught up, here are some recent photos of my precious boys.  Since I was feeling up to it, and the weather was so gorgeous, I took them to the park Thursday.

Here’s Jakob enjoying some craft time the other night after dinner.  He was having so much fun he wouldn’t even leave the table with the offer of some TV before bed!

And here’s Henri from 3 days ago.  I swear I could just eat them up.


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almost everything else missing

I’ve changed my mind, and am not going to post backdated photos of the boys doing cute things or playing together.  I’d wanted to catch up each month as it comes, but the more I delay the more recent events become part of the backlogged past, and I will never catch up.  Here are the last of Henri’s weekly photos and monthly chair photos, which will free me up to start posting “live” again. 

 

Here’s Henri’s 9 month chair photo.  I think I’m missing 7 and 8 months, but it doesn’t matter at this point!

Mommy with Henri at 38 weeks.

…39 weeks…

…40 weeks…

…41 weeks…

…42 weeks…

Here’s his 10 month chair photo…

…43 weeks…

…44 weeks…

…45 weeks…

…46 weeks…

…11 month chair photo…

…47 weeks…

…48 weeks…

…49 weeks (on his own ‘cus I’d forgotten to take one with me)…

Henri at 50 weeks

Henri at 51 weeks (forgot to take a photo with me again)

 And instead of a 52 week photo (‘cus I forgot that too…man second-kid-syndrome is accurate!) here’s his 1 year chair photo, from January.

Henri is an awesome, funny, happy kid.  He’s a mule who will bulldoze his way through anything, over your legs and even through walls somehow.  He is the epitome of persistant, and I truly don’t think there’s anything he can’t do if he wants to do it badly enough.  He’s always in such a good mood that when covered up, no one would ever guess how severe his skin problems are.  He probably thinks it’s normal, and behaves as such.  He’s a trouper, and beautiful, and loving, and so much his own person that it drives me crazy when I expect him to act like Jakob.  But he’s not Jakob.  He’s our wonderful Henri, and we are so happy to have him in our lives.

 There, you’re caught up!  Now all I have to do is catch up on uploading my knitting projects but hey- it’s a start!


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happy passover!

Hi!

Ok, this is good.  Typing is fun when you can’t talk- makes you feel like you can get stuff out.  🙂  Now if only the text would stop swirling around the page…

I missed last night’s seder, and will miss tonight’s too, ‘cus I’ve got strep once again.  I know- third time since September.  At least this time it seems like Henri has been spared the Superinfection he usually gets when I get it.  And now that it’s been documented as being this frequent, my family doctor is sending me to an ENT for further evaluation.

Let’s see…I’m seeing an ENT for strep, a surgeon for hernia(s), aren’t I supposed to be older before I start having a different doctor for every part of my body?  🙂

I haven’t posted in a bit ‘cus we’ve been so busy studying for school.  And, I confess to taking 2 weeks off studying after our last exam to get out some other knits.  Which made this last exam (done yesterday) real pain to study for.  ALL formulas, calculating focus lengths, angles of deviation, indices of refraction, etc… Thankfully our midterm will come with a formulas sheet.

I took my first-ever trip to New York two weeks ago to go to an optical exposition for work.  It was a lot of fun; I went with my mom and dad and Yannick, and we managed to fit a LOT into barely 2 days.  We left Saturday after work and drove straight down.  Our hotel was right in the heart of Time’s Square, so we walked around a bit that night before bed.  Sunday was the expo, and a real blast.  We couldn’t make it to the shuttle ‘cus the streets to cross were closed for the New York Marathon, so we had to take the subway instead.  Really makes you appreciate the STCUM metro system!  LOL  We made it to the exp on time, in the end.  It was so cool to see all the latest lines coming out, and newest gadgets, and we got a goodie bag when we walked in that made me feel like the celebs who get givaways when they go to awards shows.  After the fair we went back to Time’s Square and got last minute tickets to see Avenue Q that night.  Then we walked to Central Park ‘cus Yannick insisted I see it, walked around there for a bit and had a quick bite from a hot dog vendor.  (Hot dogs- thumbs up.  Pretzels- thumbs down.  Fresh nuts- didn’t get a chance to try.)  Then we walked back to the theatre and saw the show, which was absolutely insane, inane, and hysterical.  From there we walked back to Time’s Square, had supper at Olive Garden (my first time) and walked around some more.  Yannick was thrilled ‘cus the night before he’d found what seemed to be the only Tim Hortons around, and my dad was thrilled ‘cus the Hershey’s store was still open.  On Monday we left before eating so we could get on the road, and stopped in Albany to go to Joann’s (my first time).  I was good and only bought a few items, stuff I can’t get here, and NO yarn.  Then we went to Lake George and bought some work clothes at the outlets, then drove to Plattsburgh to have dinner at Applebee’s (my first time) and go to the huge Big Walmart before finally getting home around 1am.  It was a crazy weekend, but it was a lot of fun, and amazingly we all got along the whole time.  Plus, since I didn’t drive, I got to knit!  I managed to finish Anouk for a friend’s upcoming daughter, and even bought the perfect buttons at Joann’s.  Then while walking around the expo I finished my Toasted Almond socks and cast on for a new pair!

Photos to come as I feel a little better.


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guild sock contest winners!

How exciting!  We had a guild contest tonight- members were invited to submit socks into different categories, and then a special guest would be voting for the winners.  I decided to submit my Phlox Socks (Ravelry) and my Screwball Socks (Ravelry) but I didn’t get my hopes up because I don’t have sock blockers, and to be honest, both pairs look pretty crappy just laying flat on the table.  The lace from Phlox and the tread from Screwball both need a foot inside to show off properly, but I put them with my entry forms anyways, just for fun.

Our special guest judge was none other than Kate Gilbert.  Yes, the Kate Gilbert of Clapotis (Ravelry) and Twist Collective fame.  She comes to the meetings from time to time, and it was great to see her there tonight.

When they announced the winners they started with the Members’ Choice.  Anyone who wanted to was able to vote for socks into one of two categories- Members’ Choice – Classic, and Members’ Choice – Fun & Funky.  I actually voted for my cousin Robyn’s Mathematical Equation socks (Ravelry) for the Fun & Funky category.  I was SHOCKED when my Phlox Socks won for Members’ Choice – Fun & Funky!  (Especially because I wouldn’t have thought of the lace as “fun & funky”).  I got to pick from a small selection of wrapped prizes, and won 2 balls of sock yarn in soft blues and yellows.  It’s a new yarn for my stash, with 50% wool, 25% bamboo and 25% nylon, and really soft.

I almost wasn’t paying attention at the end, and was just so happy to have won something, when my other pair of socks was held up.  Kate had chosen my Screwball Socks as the winner of the Best Original Design Socks!  I got to pick another prize, and this time my gift bag had a set of point protectors, a really cute notion that I actually don’t own.

I’m really floored to have won a prize for both of my entries, and I honestly don’t know which one I value more- the Members’ Choice one because that means that my fellow knitters and guild members actually liked my socks (all the socks were labelled anonymously, by the way) or the Best Original Design one because Kate, a respected knitware designer, chose it (I hope) because it is actually an interesting and well thought out design. 

I’m really happy about both.  I don’t like to be singled out at guild because I think it is a place for everyone who knits, regardless of skill level or how many techniques you can do or whether you have published designs or not, and I think that everyone there should have fun, be included and be acknowledged.  So I did feel guilty getting up not once, but twice to go and pick prizes.  That being said, however, I do respect the other knitters there, and I’m honored that they liked my designs enough to vote for them.


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august to september 2009

Mommy with Henri at 31 weeks old.

I can’t get over this photo of Jakob.  Just Mr. Joe Cool, hanging out with his Mr. Potato Head cowboy hat.  I think this is a preview of what he’ll look like at 17.

Here’s Henri modeling the new chair I got for my office.

Mommy with Henri at 32 weeks…

…and 33 weeks old.  Ignore my sweaty skin and red cheeks, I think I’d just gotten back from the gym.

At the end of August I decided to give Jakob a rare treat and keep him up past his bedtime in order to bring him to the Shriner’s Circus.  He was as good as gold, stayed awake the whole time (even though I’d brought him in his pjs in case he fell asleep) and got to try his first popcorn and cotton candy (my first night as a pushover).  I think the highlight of his night was waiting for the show to start, because I took him on an elephant ride.  I didn’t think he’d cared much for it since he was really quiet and taking it all in, but when the elephants came back out to allow for more rides during intermission OH MY GOD- he THREW his sippy cup to the ground, JUMPED up and yelled “I RIDE THE ELEPHANT MOMMY!  MORE RIDE ELEPHANT!” 

Mommy with Henri at 34 weeks old.

I couldn’t resist snapping this photo.  Nothing was staged, I just happened to come across Sam sitting there, and the composition was just too perfect to pass up.

This was a peaceful Jakob one morning with his Cheerios and his Barney.  But later that night I went to check on him before I went to bed and found this:

The next morning I asked him why Barney had socks in his mouth.  The answer (translated from 2.5-year-old speech): so he’d be quiet so I could go to sleep.

Mommy with Henri at 35 weeks old (and Jakob too).

I was wrong.  THIS is what Jakob will look like at 17!  (Uh…minus the dolphin…I’d assume).

Mommy with Henri at 36 weeks old.  In this photo you can see some of the Strep A bacterial superinfection that had spread across his feet, hands and face.  This was taken about 3 days before we figured out what was wrong with him, so this doesn’t show it as bad as it actually got.

and finally, Mommy with Henri at 37 weeks old.

This covers the backdated stuff (except the monthly chair photos) until the end of September 2009.  I’m slowly working my way through the photos, both for knitting stuff and family photos, so I will keep at it until everything is caught up to date.


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2010 Knitting Olympics

I just went back through my archives to copy my “finished object” summary text and it took forever- my last finished knitting object was posted in April 2009!  I never even posted the final wrap-up of the Log Cabin Blanket the Robyn, Amy and I knit for our cousin Caryn’s bridal shower.

Hopefully I can remedy this.  I’m trying to finalize my “finished objects 2009” page so as I get that set up in Flickr and Ravelry, I’ll try to get those posts in here too.

To begin:

Pattern:  Prairie Spring Tunic by Franklin Habit (Ravelry link)

Size:  2 years

Yarn:  St-Denis Nordique, 3 balls Oatmeal, 1 each of Soft Yellow, Bottle Green & Bison (I used the Oatmeal in place of the Chalk Blue in the original pattern)

Needles: 3.75 mm and 4 mm

Notions: n/a

Dates:  February 12 – 26 2010

Modifications:  The biggest would be that I redid the charts to have chinchillas in them.  This gave me a 12 st repeat instead of 6 like the pattern, so I had to increase the st count of the body by 6 sts right before the Fair Isle section to accomodate my repeat.  The numbers worked fine for the sleeves.  I also used Oatmeal in place of the Chalk Blue ‘cus I’d used the blue for a swatch for another project.

This pattern was entered in Event Junior, Event Nordic Colorwork and Event Sweaterboard.

As usual you can find my finished (and unfinished!) projects in my “projects” page by clicking the tab up at the top of every page on my blog, and I also have this project in my Ravelry notebook here.

The second half of my 2010 Knitting Olympics project was the stuffed chinchilla:

Pattern:  Knitted Chinchilla by Helen Gibbons (Ravelry link)

Size:  one size

Yarn:  less than 1 ball each of Bernat Boa Fur in Silver Fox, Patons Decor in Woodbine Ombre , and Patons Decor in Pale Country Pink

Needles: 5 mm

Notions: 2 safety eyes, stuffing

Dates:  February 27 2010

Modifications:   I’d thought I’d add paws but it was cute as it is.  The only mod I did was to omit the pipe cleaner from the tail because I didn’t want to take a chance on it poking out and hurting the baby.

This pattern was entered in Event Skelegurumi, and Event Stash Dance.  The Woodbine Ombre was bought years ago at Michael’s in Ottawa, the Silver Fox Boa was from LAST December, leftovers from a chemo cap, and the pink Decor was leftovers from the 6 or so balls I’d bought YEARS ago when we did a Suzanne Atkinson workshop at guild and I’d planned on knitting the whole scarf she gave us the pattern for.

As usual you can find my finished (and unfinished!) projects in my “projects” page by clicking the tab up at the top of every page on my blog, and I also have this project in my Ravelry notebook here.

All in all the 2010 Knitting Olympics were a (mildly stressful) success.  I finished my baby shower gift well ahead of the party date, got more Fair Isle under my belt, and managed to use up some stash that was lying around.


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2010 knitting olympics, day 16

Stick a fork in me…

…’cus I’m done!  A full day ahead of pace, and I’m finished my 2010 Knitting Olympic self-set challenges.  In 16 days not only did I knit a colorwork size 2 years baby shower gift, with pretty-decent-looking Fair Isle that I recharted, but I also knit a chinchilla stuffed toy to go with it.  (And inside there I also spent 2 days knitting and preparing a knitting pattern submission and studied for an exam which I then did and got 100% on.  WOOT!)

Here’s the little guy, all ready for his closeup.  I used safety eyes and took a few photos of a non-standard tool I found that really helped with clamping the back pieces on.  Expect those in a few days.

I didn’t put the pipe-cleaner in his tail as per the pattern, because this is for a baby and I didn’t want to take any chances on sharp metal bits poking out.

He really makes me smile.  It’s smaller than I’d thought, but nicely solid and perfect for gripping by the ears or tail.  I hope the baby likes chewing on it!

To keep things complete, here’s the photo for day 16.  One chinchilla tunic, and one chinchilla, both done, dry, and ready to be wrapped.

Project specs coming next post.


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2010 knitting olympics, days 14-15

First here’s the progress by the end of Thursday night:

and now after Friday night:

Whee!  I finished the tunic last night!  With the time I had available to knit (since Yannick was working and the kids were sleeping) I parked myself in front of the Olympics, finished the last sleeve, wove in a few dozen ends then picked-up and knit the collar.  I even had time to let it soak in some Eucalan then put it up to block before I went to bed.

I’m debating sewing down the inside edges of the collar.  I think I’ll try it on Jakob first to see how it looks, since he’s about the size to wear it.

Chinchillas!  (Or random little pixillated rodents)

And a sleeve.

So by Friday night the main part of the gift (and my Knitting Olympics challenge) was complete.  All that remains for my official challenge is to knit, stuff and complete a chinchilla toy to go with the tunic.  Do you think I’ll make it in time?  The Olympics end tomorrow…