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no pressure, really

I know this is totally inane but I was leaving a comment on a blog I stalk read and this was my “verify that I’m a real human” word. I thought it was too cute! I want to knit a lufbug!

I’m getting close to the 3/4 mark of the first Mary Maxim contest submission, and am starting to think about upcoming deadlines. I think I do this every year- berate myself for imposing them, then impose new ones all over again!

Here’s the current plan, posted both to give me a push and to remind me later:
1. Finish Mary Maxim sub # 1
2. Design and knit Mary Maxium sub # 2
3. Go to the post office next Monday (!) and mail subs 1 & 2 to Ontario
4. Spend the week knitting something for my friend Bernie’s brand new daughter, as we will be going to Toronto the weekend of the 21st and we will be seeing Bernie and his wife and meeting little Eden for the first time.
5. Knit Mackenzie’s birth/bris gift hopefully by his bris
6. Knit my cousin’s fiancés bridal shower gift hopefully by her shower in early July
7. Knit Julie & Rich’s daughter’s birth gift…rediculously late- the baby is already 5 months old!
8. Try to finish the Silk Rumple shawl in time for my cousin’s wedding in early August.
9. Knit something for a friend’s late September/early October baby
10. Knit something for a friend’s November baby
11. Knit Christmas gifts for Yannick’s family, maybe early to get them out of the way.
I might need to switch the orders of 7 & 8, if Julie doesn’t mind waiting the extra month. At this point I’m going to knit Kayla something sized at least 12/18 months, so it will still fit when she gets it.
Holy crap my year is booked. That’s at least 1 project due every month! How did this happen??
I’m going to go wake Jakob up from his nap and go home- it’s almost 5pm and I’m going knitting at a pub with the West Island girls tonight! :]


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another meme

I just noticed I was tagged for a meme by Robyn, so here are my answers.

The Rules – Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What I was doing 10 years ago: 1998.

In the summer of 1998 I had, what I like to call, the Armageddon incident. I credit (or blame, depending on the day, lol) the movie Armageddon for me meeting Yannick. Three guy friends and I had gone to get tickets for the early show at the now-gone movie theater in the Zellers complex. The early show was sold out because the movie had *just* opened, and we were only able to get tickets for the late show that started over 2 hours later. Rather than leave, we decided to go to the bar in the same complex and hang out to kill time. As it was still rather early, the only patrons at the bar were the “regulars”, a bunch of older guys who wouldn’t “fit in” at other bars. We put our loonies down on the pool table to get in on the games, and they put theirs down, and after a few games we were all taking turns playing each other. I was much younger (and thinner) then, and I remember I was wearing a cute *little* tank top and shorts, and I was joking around with the regulars very easily, and the owner of the bar came up and offered me a job working there. I reminded him I’d applied when I was 18 and he wasn’t interested then, and said I’d have to think about it because I already had a full-time job working at a retail store.

I did end up taking the job, and the owner taught me how to bartend, and I ended up working there until the following February. I also kept my retail job, and for 2 months I worked 5 days a week 10am-5pm at the store, and 3 nights a week 10pm-3am at the bar. It was loooooong, but I ended up giving up the retail job because the bar was more fun and made me more money.

There was only one guy bartender there, and a bunch of his friends would come and hang out every night. Yannick was one of his friends. We met over the summer…we started hanging out in November…and we started dating on December 1st 1998. The rest, as they say, is history. 🙂

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
-buy milk for Jakob before I go home
-go to a local pub for a SnB with the West Island knitters
-get as much knitting done as possible on my Mary Maxim submission
-make sure I get my mom’s French Toast Cinnamon Casserole (or something) recipe so I can check what ingredients I’m missing to have everything on hand for this weekend when we do a Father’s Day brunch with Yannick’s family
-catch up on my Bloglines and maybe add an old project or two to my Ravelry notebook

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Regular flavored chips, Cheesies, almost anything that is fried or cheesy, fresh fruit, and lately anything that is sour.

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:
Clear my debts and any debts in my immediate family, give my dad enough to retire (my mom is retiring this year already), take a long trip with my family, buy the first 50 blog readers to respond 2 skeins of yarn of their choice, donate to charity, put money aside for my children’s education and savings accounts then sit back, relax, knit and finally have time to work on my designs.

5. Places I have lived:
Montreal, Quebec.

I tag:Tara, Kadi, Dianne, Maaike, JayJay (if you’re not too busy), and the blogless Kate to post her answers in the comments.


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Secret Pal 12 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I like everything. It’s more about the color than the feel for me, although I don’t like yarns that are very scratchy (like Alafoss Lopi). I can knit with them, but don’t want to wear them afterwards. I think acrylic has its place and have a lot of 100% acrylic in my stash, but I use it for specific projects. Same thing with 100% cotton. Also, a touch of mohair or alpaca or other fuzzy stuff is ok for the right project, but not my favorite. Oh- and I HATE yarn that sheds! I love any sock yarn but I’ve never knit with the 1 skein of Koigu or the 5 skeins of STR that I have. I’ve never used Dream in Color sock yarn, although I have 3 skeins of Smooshy for a shawl. I love, love, love Fleece Artist and Handmaiden’s colors, and their Sea Silk….oh my. I used it for a scarf for my mom and I am so jealous that I gave it to her!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
My straights are still packed but I used to store them in a white vase. My circulars (almost all I use) are stored in a plastic box-style pencil case. My dpns (the other half of what I use most often) are in a large butter cookie tin. My crochet hooks are in a crochet hook roll. All 3 containers (circs, dpns and crochet hooks) are in a clear, thick plastic bag with a snap cover that was the packaging for one of Jakob’s gift sets. (Kinda like the bag that linens come in).

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I consider myself advanced. The very few techniques I haven’t tried yet (is there anything besides steeking I haven’t tried?) are due to lack of time/project, not out of fear or insecurity. I learned how to knit at around 7 or 8 from my paternal grandmother, and I have vague memories of a doll-sized red and white stockinette scarf-in-progress. I picked the needles up again in 1998 with the intent of making a sweater for Yannick for Christmas, but found knitting slow and annoying. I taught myself to crochet instead and spent a few years crocheting clothing and toys and accessories. When I had a gift to make with a fuzzy yarn it was too frustrating to crochet so I decided to knit it. It went a lot better than I’d remembered, and I decided to try another project. When that one was actually fun too I bought all the how-to books I could find and took a class at my LYS. I also joined my local guild and some local knitting groups, and gleaned as much info from everyone as I could.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes, in my sidebar over to the left.

5. What’s your favorite scent?
Only one? Vanilla. If I can expand a bit…I also like the scent of mint, citrus, cinnamon, baking… The only scents I can’t stand are florals. Not in perfume, air fresheners, nothing.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I have a salt tooth! My absolute favorite snacks are chips and popcorn, I LOVE kettle-style chips like Miss Vickies and such, and Ruffles and Pringles. I like things simple- my favorite flavour of chips is “Regular”. I also LOVE movie theater popcorn DRIPPING with butter, but not the microwave version. I’d rather pop my own fresh and melt my own butter on it. Mmmm…. I don’t like caramel corn but I LOVE kettle corn…something about that slightly sweet taste with salt….

Ok, now I’m hungry!

I will eat candy, but not plain chocolate. I’m not a chocoholic and need there to be nuts or nougat in it to enjoy it. I HATE dried fruits IN food (like cake or chocolates) and I can’t stand black licorice.

Lately I have been craving the odd chocolate bar or three, though.

I also tend to gravitate towards stuff that has peanut butter in it. Mmmm….

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
Crochet and cross stitch. I can draw and paint and sculpt but I don’t do much of it any more. I have never spun anything or even tried but I will be taking a class on a spinning wheel later this summer. I enjoy to sew also, but do most of it by hand.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I listen to everything but my all-time favorite music is 80’s. The ballads…the rock songs…you wouldn’t believe how often I “rock out” to Bon Jovi in the car! My computer can play MP3s, my car can’t, but I have an iPod and/or I can burn music to a CD in another format and play it in the car.

9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?
I use them all, I like them all. Blue is my favorite but I hardly buy it ‘cus I live in jeans and am always afraid of wearing the wrong blue top. I gravitate towards autumn colors, the browns, the deep greens, the shot of oranges or reds… I love black too, and wear black most often. I’m not afraid of colour though!

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I’m married to Yannick and have a 1-year-old son, Jakob. We have an 8-year-old cat named Sam.

By the way, let me take this opportunity to make a small note. I’ve noticed that many people pronounce Yannick’s name wrong. Even when I introduce him…they change the pronunciation when saying it back. Let me clarify. His name is Yannick…said like “ya-nick”. Even though it is a French name. Even in French the accent is on the “ya” part, it comes out more like “yah-nick”. In fact, we met at the bar I used to work at, and it was so loud that for the longest time I thought his name was “Nick” ‘cus I only heard the end part over the din. I don’t understand why 80% of my family and friends INSIST on calling him “ya-neek”. And they say it WITH a Parisian accent, like they are trying to accomodate us. WE don’t use an accent! Ok, rant over. 🙂

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I don’t think I’ve worn a poncho since I was 6. This question hasn’t been updated in a few years eh? 😉 I wear scarves all Winter and half of Spring. I’m trying to wear more hats. I should wear mittens or gloves but I always forget to bring them with me.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Stuff that can be knit. Anything I can be proud of.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Can I have another sheet of paper? My list of ufos is looooooooooooooooong! But the stuff in the most active rotation right now are the projects I’m trying to design for the Mary Maxim contest, since they have a deadline that is right around the corner.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Sure!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Circulars, the longer the better since I magic-loop stuff in the round. Dpns too, for socks. Addi turbos all the way, but bamboo for the appropriate yarns when metal is too slippery.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes to both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
5 years? 4 years? If I don’t count a skirt/top combo that I’ve decided to scrap, my oldest is probably the Enchanted Forest cardigan by DKNY for Vogue Knitting. I’ve listed it in Ravelry as having been started in March of 2005…so just over 3 years.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Any one that gives me a day off of work!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Charming Tails figurines. Yarn. Stuff with ladybugs on it.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I’ve love Barbara Walker’s “Knitting from the Top”. I don’t need more needles. There are a lot of tops at the White Lies Designs site that I love. I have a subscription to Interweave Knits and Cast On (by the Knitting Guild of America).

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?
Intarsia in the round. I’d like to do a project that needs steeks.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I love to knit socks. My foot is 9.5″ around and 9.6″ long.

23. When is your birthday?
September 11.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what’s your ID?
Yup. My ID is jenniferlori .


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looooong weekend

I know, it’s almost next weekend. But I finally have a chance to tell you about last weekend, so here goes. Ignore the fact that the date on this post is about 2 days behind the day you’re actually reading this, I’ve been trying to get this post up for a while now.

So, where was I? Oh yeah, last weekend. I worked on Saturday, then spent the night working on the June sock and baking a cake. We were having a birthday party to celebrate Jakob’s first birthday with our family, and I wanted to bake a healthy birthday cake to counter all the sweets my mom would be preparing.

I baked the cake Saturday night so it would have time to cool overnight, and Sunday morning when we got back from Jakob’s swimming lessons, I iced it:


His party “theme” was Superman, and I really wanted to put a big “S” shield on the cake, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get the white icing tinted a vivid red, blue or yellow. The closest I got was cornflower blue, pepto pink and a pale yellow. So I moved on to option “B”:


There’s a local kitchen store who will take a photograph and print it (in edible dyes) on a thinner-than-paper sheet of edible icing. In this photo my printout of the image I made on the computer is on the left, and the icing photo is on the right. Not bad eh? It’s not as creative as icing it myself, but I’m happy with how it looks, and it only cost $12.95 for the icing sheet. It took 10 minutes of waiting at the store, which makes this a great option for a last-minute event.

And here’s how it turned out. The cake was cold from the fridge so the icing sheet didn’t melt into it, and I did have to cut away one side to be able to put his “1” candle in, but all in all, I think his first birthday cake came out ok. I would have rather have done some really cool decoration myself, but it didn’t work out.

Here he is, about to dig in…


…and enjoying his first slice. He spent a good 15 minutes licking up every drop of icing before working his way to the cake.

Here’s a photo of Jakob and me. I think this was the only time I actually got to hold him the entire party- between the family who rarely sees him and the family who always sees him, he was a very “in demand” baby!

A photo of the bubbies… from left: Sean (Robyn’s son), Carol (Robyn’s and Amy’s mom and my aunt), Jakob, my mom, Marlene (our cousin) and Oliver (also our cousin). Carol is my dad’s sister, and Marlene is my grandfather’s sister’s daughter.

(The last 5 photos were stolen with permission from Amy’s blog).

On Monday I finished the June socks. It felt good to cross something off my deadline list. I photographed them, finalized the pattern and sent it off to Robyn to include in her kits. So if you’ve ordered a Robyn’s Nest June Sock Club kit, they’re gonna be coming soon!

One project down, and on to the next. I’m designing 2 projects for the Mary Maxim 2008 contest. I hadn’t realized until after I’d sent in my entry fee that they get the sole distribution and publication rights to any winning patterns. I’m not thrilled about that, but I will be sending something in anyways. The pattern DOES keep my name as designer, and it can’t hurt to get my name out there.

Here’s my first swatch.

Don’t try and read it- that was just some test duplicate stitch to see what worked best. Also, don’t try and guess what it is…you won’t. Seriously.
This is the wip as of a few days ago. The yarn is Patons Shetland Chunky, in white and navy blue.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite photos lately.


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poetry and a meme

A while ago, Interweave Knits sponsored a poetry contest through their blog, Knitting Daily. Yannick and I had each entered a poem (but I’d written both…shhh!)

Seeing as how we didn’t win, or even place, I figured I’d share the poems with you now. The rules were simple- the poem could only use the words found in the Magnetic Poetry Set that Interweave sells.

The grand prize was to have your poem knit into a pair of mittens, and the other prizes were copies of Interweave’s knitting books and stuff like that. Anyone else but me think the other prizes were all much better than the grand prize??

Anyways, here are my two poems.
and
If you’d like to see the poems that did win (and deservedly so!), click here.

And now, a meme. Laura tagged me, so I’m playing along.
The rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names, linking to them.
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.
Thing the first: I can scream really, really loud. When I was in the play The Wizard of Oz when I was about 8, I played a munchkin and a flying monkey. When the flying monkeys captured Dorothy and pulled her offstage to take her to the Wicked Witch of the West, I was her stand-in scream because I was the loudest.
Thing the second: I’ve been in a bunch of plays: The Wizard of Oz (twice), Annie, Grease (twice, I think), The Sound of Music, I Remember Mama, Hair, Bye-Bye Birdie, Senior Square, Anything Goes, and I know I’m forgetting some. These aren’t in order. The biggest part I had was in I Remember Mama, I played Dagmar, an 8 year old girl. I was 18 at the time.
Thing the third: The best compliment I ever got after a show was when I was brought out to meet a little girl after a performance of I Remember Mama. They told her “this is her” and she started to cry and said “No! I wanted to meet the girl who was little, like me!”.
Thing the fourth: While most smoked herbal cigarettes, some of us smoked real cigarettes on stage during Hair. It was not as exhilarating as I’d thought it would be to blow smoke rings in front of my parents.
Thing the fifth: I miss being in shows and performing in front of a crowd. I’ve never, ever had stage fright.
I’m not tagging anyone, so yes, I’m breaking that rule. I like playing these things, but not everyone does, so if you want to play, consider yourself tagged.


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secret stuff

Argh. It’s tough when there’s stuff going on (p.s. I almost typed “it’s tuff when there’s stuff…”) and I can’t blog about it.

I’ve been knitting like mad every night. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m designing the sock for Robyn’s Robyn’s Nest June Sock Club Kit (that’s a mouthful!) and seeing as how it’s sold out twice, I’m trying very hard to have a sock that people will like.

I’ve finished designing the sock itself, and am in the process of typing up the pattern. I will then be knitting up a second sock following the pattern only, and choosing a different size than my first sample. This way I’m trying to test-knit my own pattern. The only downside to all this is that I can’t show you progress photos or even the yarn itself. But trust me- the yarn is beautiful, and I hope the sock is good too. 🙂

Once the sock is done I will have to rush like mad to design and knit my Mary Maxim contest submissions, since they have to arrive by mail in Ontario no later than June 20th. In other words, I’ve got less than 1 month to design them, knit them and mail them off, plus allow time for shipping. But no pressure, right?

Can you believe I’d actually thought I could squeeze 2 dinosaurs into this schedule? *snort*

On a slightly unrelated note- I’ve just signed up for Secret Pal 12. I haven’t done a secret pal exchange since they were at number 6 or so, so I’m looking forwards to this one.

Oh- and Pete Grimaldi of Skin MD Natural wants me to let you all know that the free samples (like the one I reviewed) are still available, so if you have a blog and want some free skincare to try out, head over to their website! (The links are in my last post).


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skin md natural

I don’t often use this blog as product placement, but a while ago I was given a sample of a product on the condition that I write a review about it and post it on my blog…so here I go. If you aren’t interested in skincare products or if you don’t like shameless product placement, then please come back next post. 🙂

I was sent a 4 ounce bottle and 3 sample packs of the Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion.

Wow. I mean really…wow.

I have very dry skin. We run a dehumidifier at home all year ’round, and I work at a store with a door that opens every 5 minutes, letting the air in, right onto me. Both of these factors resulted in me having hands that were ok, but often cracking around the nail beds or in worst cases, on the knuckles. Even worse than that, my face is really dry. I’ve had strangers tell me that there was some dry skin on my nose, and that’s because they were too polite to mention it was also on my forehead, around my eyebrows and elsewhere.

Regular blog readers will know from my weekly photos that I rarely wear makeup. The only thing I do try to use often is moisturizer. I rush to put it on right when I get out of the shower because my skin is so dry that if I wait too long, forget it- all it will do is leave an oily film on my skin.

That’s not the case with this product. Skin MD Natural is the best moisturizer I’ve come across in a long time. It’s billed as a “shielding lotion”, which their website describes as a product to “not only add moisture, but to help stop the loss of your own moisture”.

I love it. First of all, it takes very little. The 4oz bottle is supposed to last 1-2 months. I can agree, you definitely don’t need a lot of this product. A small amount (about the size of a pea) is enough for my face, although I usually cheat and squeeze out a little more, so once my face is done I can rub the rest into my hands.

I haven’t noticed any oily feeling or clammy residue. In fact, I’ve found the opposite. Within a few moments after application, I feel like my face and hands are smooth, dry and silky.

I’ve tried to figure out how to explain the feeling, and I’m afraid that my explanation will throw some people off, but this is what it reminds me of- do you remember when Garnier Fructis shampoos and conditioners came out? Their big draw was how silky they made your hair. Everyone I know used it, including me, and it was true- your hair felt soft and silky and had a great shine to it. A few months later there was a rumor going around NOT to use Fructis because it was a wax, and it was coating your hair, and THAT’S why your hair was shiny. Now, I don’t know if that rumor was true, but that’s kind of how I picture this shielding lotion. It makes me feel like my face is protected and anything that comes at it will be up against an invisible barrier.

For example- I put the lotion on my face one night. The next morning I was rushing to pick up Maaike for the Sally Melville workshop, and I banged my hip into the edge of our kitchen counter. Tears had spung to my eyes before I could react a little more calmly, and I remember wiping them away and being stunned- instead of leaving a wet, streaky trail on my face, every place where I’d wiped away my tears my face was dry. The lotion really did provide a layer of protection.

That might not be the best way of explaining it, but don’t let that deter you. This really is a great product. For the first time I don’t feel like I have to put on a moisturizer every morning. And guaranteed- every time I use it, I catch myself hours later, smoothing my fingers over my skin. I actually made Yannick feel my forehead a few days ago when I couldn’t stop rubbing it and remarking upon how soft it was.

I feel like I’m gushing. I hate gushing, it comes across so fake. Hopefully you know me well enough by now to know that I wouldn’t say I like something if I didn’t. And I like this product.
Ingredients:

The company claims its product is all natural. There is a complete breakdown of all the lotion’s ingredients here. Visit that page and you will see why they make the claim of having “the most transparent ingredient disclosure in the industry”.

Where to buy:
There is a store locator on their website but I wasn’t able to find any stores in Quebec that carry the product.

You can also order directly via their website here.

Pricing:
A 4oz bottle (the size of my sample) is $18 (US, probably), and shipping to the US and Canada is $4.95. Shipping to the rest of the world is $7.95. If you order 3 or more bottles, shipping is free.

There are also discounts for bulk orders, as the product is available by the case at a 15% discount, and also by the gallon in a large pump bottle.

Sample packs (3-5 use sachets the same size as wet-wipes at a restaurant) are $2 shipping for 2 free packets.

NOTE: you can also get the free samples by mailing in a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE).

I have to be honest here. I’m a bargain shopper. A remarkable amount of my wardrobe came from Wal-Mart (I know, don’t lecture me), and I practically live in t-shirts from Old Navy’s $4 section. I’m also a hoarder. I occassionally buy facial products (masks, toner, astringent, etc) and then try to avoid using them so they last longer. Of course, by the time I decide that my behavior is silly…they’ve expired.

I can’t imagine that happening with my bottle of Skin MD Natural. I truly love this product. I wouldn’t buy an $18 bottle of lotion at my local pharmacy. I know myself, and without trying it, there is no way that I would justify the price. But having already tried the product…it’s worth it. In fact, I am positive that as soon as my bottle is finished, I will be quickly heading over to the website to order 3 more for myself, and getting free shipping!

Guarantee:
The company guarantees your purchases with a full money-back guarantee, refunding not only your purchase price, but your shipping costs too. Talk about a satisfaction guarantee! Off the top of my head I can’t think of other companies who will even refund your shipping costs!

Skin MD Natural’s website, for more information.

21st Century Formulations

9663 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste #860

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

310-858-2929

310-858-2992 fax


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one year

According to What to Expect the First Year:
By twelve months, your baby

…should be able to:
-walk holding on to furniture (cruise) CHECK
-use a few gestures to get needs met KINDA

…will probably be able to:
-play patty-cake (clap hands) or wave bye-bye CHECK
-drink from a cup independently CHECK
-pick up a tiny object neatly with tips of thumb and forefinger CHECK
-stand alone momentarily KINDA
-say “dada” or “mama” discriminately WELL…he says “mama” now, but not always to me.
-say one word other than “mama” or “dada” CHECK he says “up”, “ban” (fan), “baby”. But I don’t consider any his first real world yet, because I don’t know if he knows what they mean. (Except maybe “up”. He always says it when he’s in his crib or tied into his bucket or chair and wants to get out).

…may possibly be able to:
-“play ball” SOMEWHAT
-stand alone well NO
-use immature jargoning ALL THE TIME
-walk well NO

…may even be able to:
-say three words or more other than “mama” or “dada” SEE ABOVE
-respond to a one-step command without gestures CHECK

One year.
It took about 20 minutes to go from this

to this.
And a few more to get to this.
6 months to get to this.

and another 6 to get to this.

Everything I need to say I’ve said to him already…he’s the best kid I’ve ever known. He’s sweet, he’s kind, he’s playful, he’s funny, he’s smart…and we are so lucky that he’s ours.

Happy Birthday Jakob.
p.s. Yes this is back-dated…we’ve had a very busy weekend.


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51 weeks

Before I get too sidetracked, here is last week’s photo- Mommy with Jakob at 51 weeks.

We had a great weekend with family, and celebrated Mother’s Day by attending an engagement brunch for my cousin and his fiance. We napped, which was wonderful, and in the evening we went to my parents’ house for supper. Absolutely no knitting was done on Mother’s Day, and it was alright with me. (Did I mention the 2 hour nap?!?)

Today was fun and full and busy. Jakob’s playgroup decided to meet at a local park instead of at one of our homes, and I got my sister to come along and hang out with us. Jakob doesn’t seem to enjoy the swings as much as he used to, but we had a good time sitting in the shade under a tree with about 10 other moms and kids. I drove my sister to work, then went upstairs in the mall to visit my brother (who would kill me if I was in the mall with Jakob and didn’t go visit him. By the time we got home we were right in time to meet Maaike and go to the park with her and her daughter, then I brought Jakob home and gave him supper. He hadn’t napped this afternoon so he went to bed a little early and I was able to enjoy a nice supper with Yannick and then some knitting/TV time.

I’ve got a busy week ahead of me and a lot of rearranging to do at work tomorrow since Yannick moved my entire office area to create a play area for Jakob. Tomorrow is the MKG meeting, Wed I might have supper plans, and Thurs is the West Island Knits meetup and/or the supper plans from Wed if they get pushed off. Friday Yannick and I were thinking about going to the movies, and Saturday…

…Saturday is Jakob’s first birthday. I know.

I’m going to bed.


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happy mother’s day!

To start this post off, let me wish a huge HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! to all the moms, grandmothers, mothers-to-be, foster mothers, and anyone else who raises, takes care of or in any way helps shape the life of a child. We rock!

Here’s Mommy with Jakob at 50 weeks (not this past week’s photo, but the one before).

I still haven’t uploaded the photos from my camera from last week, and my head is still in a fog. Sorry!

I have been knitting like mad, but can’t show any of it. See, I’m designing the sock for Robyn’s Robyn’s Nest June Sock Club Kit, and while it is going very well, it is a surprise. I still like my original design, but I came to realize that while many people might say “hey- that’s cool”, very few would actually want to knit it…or at least they’d want to knit it, but it wouldn’t be the kind of sock they’d want to wear. So I pored over my design books and was inspired by a little stitch pattern in a book by someone you might have heard of. Barbara Walker? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? I’ve been crunching more numbers than food this week, but things are starting to take shape, and I’m really pleased with the progress so far.

I can’t believe the kit is almost sold out! No pressure, or anything… 🙂

I do have some knitting that I can share, however.

Here’s the finished Marble Cabled Cardigan.

I’m really happy with how it came out. I knit the 1-2 year old size, and since Jakob is slim, I’m sure he’ll get to wear it even until next Fall.
Yannick chose the pattern when I told him I wanted to knit something with this particular Marble colorway. He also chose the buttons.
They are adorable, but a little heavy for the light sweater. I might have to change them.

Details: (from memory- so forgive any mistakes) The pattern is a pamphlet designed for the actual yarn. Needles are downstairs but I think I used a 4mm for the body and 3.25 for the ribbing.

Modifications: I reversed the cable on one side of the band so they would mirror each other instead of both leaning in the same direction. I didn’t do the hood, and did a simple ribbed collar instead. I did a one-row buttonhole instead of binding off in one row and casting on in the next. I’m pretty sure there was something else I changed but I don’t remember now.

Here’s a photo I’ve been wanting to take for almost a year.

Isn’t that cute??? I’d taken a photo of Yannick’s Mega Sock (Mega Boots Stretch yarn) next to the baby version I made for Jakob, but I always wanted to get a photo of my two boys IN their matching sock. I finally got one, and I LOVE this photo.

I leave you with a question…

My dad is trying to convince me to get these glasses for myself.

What does we thinks?

Does we likes? I really like the sides of the frame, and the side view. I’m scared to commit!
I think they’re too wide from my eyeball to my temple, but I do have a large head, and frames that fit nicely around my eye have the frame’s temple stretched sideways to go off to my ear.

So? I’ve taken the lenses out of the frame since these photos were taken, so I can take photos without the glare or designer name on the lenses, if necessary.