Friday was hectic! I didn’t go out all day because I was working on my submissions. They were due Saturday and I wanted to have them sent off before then. I even refused to go to the park with Maaike and Erika because I was working so hard to get them done.
Because I spent most of the day on the computer, I had to get creative in finding places for Jakob to play. I brought his play mat upstairs so we’d have that, and at times I put him on the bed behind me. I sit so close to the bed that the back of my chair touches it, so I was able to sit sideways and watch him while I worked. I was also close enough to swoop down for cuddles and kisses whenever I wanted too!
I love this peaceful look! He has completely discovered his hands and feet and will sometimes spend a few moments just staring at them, watching them work. Of course, two moments after taking this photo he was sucking on his toes and drooling. 🙂
We went to my parents’ house again, this time for leftovers. We only stayed until 10pm then came home to feed Jakob and put him to bed.
I can’t believe it…I had so much work still left to do for my submissions that I stayed up until 2:00am! I really wanted to get to bed earlier since Maaike and I were going to Effiloche in the morning and I knew I had to get up early, but I had no choice if I wanted to get my submissions in before the deadline expired.
I DID get a few rows knit on the Montego Bay scarf, however.
Thursday was night 2 of Rosh Hashana. I think I putzed around the house all day (the problem with post-blogging is a failing memory!) because I knew it would be a busy night. If memory serves at all, I worked on my Knitty submissions. We’re actually not hockey fans in this house. Hear that? That was a collective gasp from all the Canadians who read this blog. Don’t worry…we like hockey…we’re just not partial to a particular team, nor do we feel the need to watch it on TV. Get me tickets to a live game though, especially when the Habs (Canadians) are playing, and I’m SO there! Instead, we’re football fans…the Colts…and yes, we started rooting for them years before their superbowl win. Or, rather, Yannick has, which makes Jakob and I Colts fans by default. Unfortunately I don’t have any Colts stuff for Jakob yet, but I did have this cute little Canadians outfit that he was just about to grow out of, so I put it on him to go to my parents’ house for dinner.
It was with my dad’s side of the family so we got to see Robyn and Sean. I still didn’t get any knitting done, but I did manage to enhance my stash! :] Robyn brought me some Noro Silk Garden from her store. It is going to be a scarf, for me me me. I am a knitter who does not own a hand-knit scarf. (Yes, I’m ignoring the multicolored fun-fur one in my closet because I didn’t know any better, and yes, I’m also ignoring the Vegas scarf, which doesn’t match my Winter coat, and yes, I’m ignoring the unfinished Clapotis).
I also got my kit from her September Sock Club. The yarn was custom-dyed to match the colors of Robyn’s store, and while they are not colors I would have said to put together, the finished result is really funky! I am going to use it to make the socks from the pattern provided, and they will be for me me me too.
EDITED TO ADD: turns out the colors WERE custom dyed-but not specifically to match the shop. Which is funny, ‘cus they DO match the splash page of Robyn’s store (turquoise with an orange bird). In any case…I love the yarn! 🙂 Robyn also brought me a birthday present- more Socks that Rock! She didn’t know I was ordering with Maaike and had wanted to be the one to give me my first STR skein. I love the colors!
Sean had brought Jakob some clothes too as a gift for his first Rosh Hashana but they’re in the wash and I forgot to photograph them. 🙂
Sorry for the catch-up posts, last week was crazy hectic. I decided to go for it and submit 3 (!) patterns to Knitty for the Winter issue. The deadline was Saturday the 15th, and for one pattern I had to choose the photos I wanted to use, for another I had to find where I’d written the pattern down, actually type it up and choose the photos, and for a third I had to calculate the different sizes, type it up and choose the photos. Plus as I typed I found other stuff I had to do, like sketches and illustrations. It was a loooong week.
So. Wednesday…it was my friend Jackie’s birthday. Happy birthday Jackie!
I already mentioned some stuff from during the day- I’d gone to Maaike’s and picked up my yarn.
That night was the first supper for Rosh Hashana, and we met at my parents’ house. I decided to try Jakob in a high chair for the first time, so that if he was able to sit in it, he could sit at the table with us, instead of on the floor in a bouncer. I thought he’d prefer to be able to see everyone, and I was right!
Plus he was the only one who was allowed toys at the table. 😉 Look- he even got his own name card showing him where to sit!
On Rosh Hashana we pass around apples and honey to eat together to symbolize starting off a Sweet New Year. Jakob can’t eat…so I dressed him appropriately…
…and hopefully he will be having a Rocking New Year. (‘Cus he’s wearing a Bon Jovi baby onesie. Get it? *groan* I know, silly joke). The onesie was a gift from his uncle (and godfather) Mike, the biggest Bon Jovi fan I know- and I’m a huge Bon Jovi fan. I love the little jeans, and this was his first time in sneakers! He had a matching jean jacket too but it was too warm in the house to wear it.
Like my sticker? For my birthday Jakob had bought me a card (via Yannick) and inside was this “#1 Mom” sticker.
I didn’t get to knit on Wed, it was too distracting keeping an eye on Jakob or making sure no one went in to disturb him once I put him to bed for the night.
Update: see end of post for information about a downloadable pattern pdf
Hey guys! Even with my hands usually full of baby lol I managed to finish and write up a pattern!
After my son Jakob was born I told my husband we had no choice but to buy a new camera. Our existing camera was huge- larger than an 80’s cell phone! It was the kind of camera I couldn’t even bring to social events like a wedding or shower as it would have required its own carrying bag and I would have looked like overdressed paparazzi. Now that we had a child, I insisted, we needed a camera small enough to keep in the diaper bag or in my pocket. There was no way I would miss those special first moments!
Buying the camera didn’t solve all of my problems, however. The camera didn’t come with a case- only a thin tufted slip of paper that it fell out of easily. Friends and family of mine have knitted themselves camera cozies, but all had the same basic design; a tube with one closed end and one ribbed end. While you could knit it as tightly as you’d like, there was nothing to officially stop the camera from falling out.
I was determined to remedy that. Buttons and Velcro were out. I knew the camera would end up in my pocket and with my luck the flap wouldn’t be properly closed and the rough Velcro side would scratch the screen, or the button would cause worse damage. There had to be a better way…
And there is!
Elphie!
Presenting Elphie– a camera case that will fit any flat camera. Don’t worry about knitting to a particular gauge- this worksheet will accommodate any yarn and any size needles. The case has built-in, double-layer protection over your camera’s exposed screen area and a cover that stays on and CAN’T come off, all without any snaps, ties or Velcro. Oh, and did I mention that it’s seamless? Mine were designed to fit my Canon Digital Elph camera- hence the name.
Want to make one for yourself? Here’s how!
The first thing you’ll need to do is measure your camera, so get a measuring tape and paper and pencil/pen. And the camera of course! On the paper write “A”, “B”, “C”, “S” and “R” with a dash after each. We’ll be filling in those values as we go.
Step 1
Measure your camera and fill in the values for A, B and C on your paper, in inches.
Knit a 4″ x 4″ gauge swatch with your desired yarn and needles. Measure the swatch and figure out the number of stitches (S) and number of rows (R) for 1 (one) inch. Fill in the values on your paper.
Step 2
Multiply your stitch gauge by the width (C) of your case.
S_____ x C_____ = CO_____ sts. (If this results in an even number, add 1 to get an odd number of sts.
Begin knitting:
The case starts at the flap, knitted flat in Moss Stitch, then stitches are cast on for the body of the case which is knit in the round in ribbing.
Cast on the resulting CO value you obtained above.
Multiply your row gauge by the depth (A) of your case.
R_____ x A_____ = D_____ rows.
Work in Moss stitch for half this number of rows (D_____/2).
Next row: work in Moss Stitch until halfway across the row, BO 2 sts, then continue in Moss Stitch (paying attention to the pattern as established) to the end of the row.
Next row: Work in Moss Stitch until the gap created by the bound-off stitches, CO 2 sts, then continue in Moss Stitch (paying attention to the pattern as established) to the end of the row.
Continue working in Moss Stitch until your knitting reaches the length of A+B+A.
A_____ + B_____ + A_____ = _____inches.
Multiply your stitch gauge by the full measurement of your case.
Adjust this new number to the closest lower number that is a multiple of 4. AM=____
(For example, if your M = 28, the closest lower number below that which is divisible by 4 is 24, so your AM would = 24).
Subtract the number of sts you cast on from the adjusted measurement.
AM_____ – CO_____ = _____
Place a marker at the beginning of the next row, work in Moss Stitch across the row, then CO the resulting number of sts you just got after the last equation. Your total stitch count should now equal AM_____
NOTE: if you prefer a snugger case, subtract 4, 8 or 12 from the number of sts to cast on in the previous instruction.
Join in the round, being careful not to twist. Your stitch marker will serve as the beginning of each round.
Work in 2×2 rib until the tube portion of the case measures the length of B and half of A.
B_____ + (A_____/2) = _____ inches.
Make sure your stitches are evenly arranged on 4 needles, with 1/4 of the sts on each needle. (For example, if your AM = 24 sts, then you would have 6 sts on each of the 4 needles).
Decrease round: Ndl 1: ssk, k to 1 st before the end of needle, BO 1 st. Ndl 2: BO 1 st, k to 2 sts before end of needle, k2tog. Ndl 3: ssk, k to end of needle. Ndl 4: k to 2 sts before end of needle, k2tog.
Next round: Ndl 1: k to the end of the needle, CO 2 sts, Ndls 2-4: knit across
Continue in stockinette stitch until, counting from the decrease round, you have knit 2 rows less than D_____/2.
Finishing
Turn your work inside out and work a 3-Needle Bind-Off on the remaining stitches. Weave in all ends.
How To Use
To place the camera in the case, pull your camera’s strap through the hole at the bottom. Insert camera fully into case positioned so that the long flap folds over the screen area of your camera, providing it with a double layer of protection. Pull the camera strap through the hole in the flap to secure the flap shut.
And there you have it!
Feel free to knit as many of these as you like, and you can even sell items made from this pattern as long as you credit me as the designer of the pattern.
This pattern is provided free above, but if you’d prefer an easy-to-print PDF version, I have made it available here for a very small fee. The PDF includes the full instructions in an easy-to-follow worksheet, the definition of all abbreviations used in the pattern, yardage requirements, as well as instructions on the Moss Stitch, Ribbing and 3-Needle Bind-Off used in the pattern.
A quick primer, for those who don’t: Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, “head of the year” or “first of the year.” Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. This name is somewhat deceptive, because there is little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year, and the American midnight drinking bash and daytime football game. There is, however, one important similarity between the Jewish New Year and the American one: Many Americans use the New Year as a time to plan a better life, making “resolutions.” Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year.
The common greeting at this time is L’shanah tovah (“for a good year”). This is a shortening of “L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem” (or to women, “L’shanah tovah tikatevi v’taihatemi”), which means “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” The common greeting at this time is L’shanah tovah (“for a good year”). This is a shortening of “L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem” (or to women, “L’shanah tovah tikatevi v’taihatemi”), which means “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” The name “Rosh Hashanah” is not used in the Bible to discuss this holiday. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25.
The shofar is a ram’s horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue. A total of 100 notes are sounded each day. The Bible gives no specific reason for this practice. One that has been suggested is that the shofar’s sound is a call to repentance. The shofar is not blown if the holiday falls on Shabbat. No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah. Much of the day is spent in synagogue, where the regular daily liturgy is somewhat expanded. In fact, there is a special prayerbook called the machzor used for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur because of the extensive liturgical changes for these holidays. Another popular observance during this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey, a symbol of our wish for a sweet new year. We also dip bread in honey (instead of the usual practice of sprinkling salt on it) at this time of year for the same reason. Another popular practice of the holiday is Tashlikh (“casting off”). We walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty our pockets into the river, symbolically casting off our sins. Small pieces of bread are commonly put in the pocket to cast off. This practice is not discussed in the Bible, but is a long-standing custom. Tashlikh is normally observed on the afternoon of the first day, before afternoon services. When the first day occurs on Shabbat, many synagogues observe Tashlikh on Sunday afternoon, to avoid carrying (the bread) on Shabbat. (from http://www.jewfaq.org)
A quick primer, for those who don’t: Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, “head of the year” or “first of the year.” Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. This name is somewhat deceptive, because there is little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year, and the American midnight drinking bash and daytime football game. There is, however, one important similarity between the Jewish New Year and the American one: Many Americans use the New Year as a time to plan a better life, making “resolutions.” Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year.
The common greeting at this time is L’shanah tovah (“for a good year”). This is a shortening of “L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem” (or to women, “L’shanah tovah tikatevi v’taihatemi”), which means “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” The common greeting at this time is L’shanah tovah (“for a good year”). This is a shortening of “L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem” (or to women, “L’shanah tovah tikatevi v’taihatemi”), which means “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” The name “Rosh Hashanah” is not used in the Bible to discuss this holiday. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25.
The shofar is a ram’s horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue. A total of 100 notes are sounded each day. The Bible gives no specific reason for this practice. One that has been suggested is that the shofar’s sound is a call to repentance. The shofar is not blown if the holiday falls on Shabbat. No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah. Much of the day is spent in synagogue, where the regular daily liturgy is somewhat expanded. In fact, there is a special prayerbook called the machzor used for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur because of the extensive liturgical changes for these holidays. Another popular observance during this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey, a symbol of our wish for a sweet new year. We also dip bread in honey (instead of the usual practice of sprinkling salt on it) at this time of year for the same reason. Another popular practice of the holiday is Tashlikh (“casting off”). We walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty our pockets into the river, symbolically casting off our sins. Small pieces of bread are commonly put in the pocket to cast off. This practice is not discussed in the Bible, but is a long-standing custom. Tashlikh is normally observed on the afternoon of the first day, before afternoon services. When the first day occurs on Shabbat, many synagogues observe Tashlikh on Sunday afternoon, to avoid carrying (the bread) on Shabbat. (from http://www.jewfaq.org)
Within minutes I’d found exactly what I wanted, and it arrived today! :]]]
I had to go to Maaike’s anyways so she could help me out by photographing my other Knitty submission, and while I was there I got my yarn! My soft, squishy yarn!
Since the colors were all so wonderful, a big part of what drew me to these yarns in particular were their names.
I love it! It’s the perfect representation (to me) of the soft gray skies and purply-brown shadows you find on a dark, rainy day. Faithful readers will know that rainy days are my favorite (notice how it poured on my wedding day, Jakob’s birthday AND on my birthday yesterday?) and the name of this yarn drew me in right away. I think it will be perfect for a slouchy pair of comfy socks I’m thinking of designing.
The reason I decided to order at all was because I remembered the Rock and Weave socks I’d seen on the Yarn Harlot’s blog. It took me a while to find the perfect yarn to use…many of the STR have short color repeats and I didn’t want the colors to blend together in the socks, especially not in the linen-stitch cuffs. My eye kept getting drawn to a particular colorway, and when I read the name I knew I’d found the right one. It was a name that made me smile, and was silly and quirky…perfect!
Ok, truthfully my birthday started at midnight, when I opened up my first card. I was confused because there was no name on the outside, but it was all explained when the card turned out to be from our cat, Sam. He didn’t write my name on the outside of the card, since, DUH, cats can’t write. (Silly readers).
I signed up with a stroller walking group and since it was raining outside they were meeting at a local mall, so I packed up Jakob and went for some much-needed exercise. We were finished right about the time the stores were opening, so I went to go visit my brother at his work.
He took this lovely photo of us. Ignore my crazy-flat hair…I’d been sweating up a storm. Still…this is the only photo taken on my birthday that has ME in it, so here you go. For the first time ever I took advantage of my brother’s managerial discount to treat myself to something for my birthday. I keep hearing people praising Crocs (the real foam ones, not plastic knock-offs) and had been admiring the Mary-Jane style, so I picked up a pair of them in black. They are SO comfy! I wish I’d bought them earlier in the summer!
From Fairview Jakob and I went to the video game store to trade in the sucky game we’d bought that Saturday night a few weeks ago. I traded it for the 2 games I’m missing in the SpongeBob SquarePants series. Don’t laugh- the one I already have, The Battle For Bikini Bottom is a lot of fun, and not too hard that I can’t play it on my own. I picked up SpongeBob SquarePants: the Movie Game and Lights, Camera, Pants!. The first one is supposed to be similar to the one I have already, the second one is 30 mini-games that you can compete against others for “auditions” for a movie being filmed in Bikini Bottom.
We came home and spent the afternoon sewing in ends on my Knitty submission. (Well, I did. Jakob didn’t really help that much). Yannick has bowling every Tuesday so I didn’t feel guilty going to my first Knitting Guild meeting of the year. I didn’t think to ask my mom to babysit, so Jakob came with me.
He helped Norma teach the proper way of doing an SSK…
…and obediently modeled my Montego Bay Scarf-in-progress.
We left in time to put him to bed, and just as I’d sat down on the couch to relax, Yannick walked in with a little treat for me:
A Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard cake from Dairy Queen! YUM. As much as I can’t wait to dig in, I DON’T want the temptation of eating the whole thing, so we put it right into the freezer and will cut it Wed night after dinner at my parents’ house.
We watched the Big Brother episode that I’d taped earlier (bye bye Jameka!) and FINALLY saw some footage from the Jury house! I’d been wondering when we were going to see the evicted houseguests again…
In sad news, we tried the 2 SpongeBob games, and the Lights, Camera, Pants! one was defective. 😦 Yannick will return it for me on Wed and pick up something new.
Sunday was Julie’s birthday- Happy Birthday Julie!
Yannick had to work so Jakob and I had our usual day…feed, sleep, feed, try to knit, feed, play, feed, repeat ad nauseum. We had some fun playtime, and since lately he loves to try and stand, I figured we’d work on getting there by practicing his sitting first.
He did so well in his Bumbo…
…that I put on the Bumbo tray for the first time. At first he was confused but it didn’t take him long to realize that his toys were within reach…and that meant he could try to eat them! He’s already started bringing everything to his mouth, anything for his little gums to work at.
Sunday afternoon and night we vegged around the house, picked up some supper at Gigi’s (delicious, thanks Maaike!) and watched Big Brother before catching up on the next Harry Potter chapter. Yannick’s parents slept over so we spent some time with them before bed.
Today I didn’t do too much. I went to the bank to pay my license fees (always due on your birthday every two years, so I cut it really close this year LOL), then spent the rest of the day trying to finish my Knitty submission so I can photograph it. I went back to the park with Maaike and Jakob to do some more photos for my other submission, then came home and kept knitting. Yannick came home in time for supper with us but left again for his football pool picks, and I finally managed to finish my knitting. Now I just need to weave in the ends, do some seaming (uh…reverse that order) and type it up.
I leave you with this video of our little chatterbox. He talks like this ALL the time now, and it’s absolutely hysterical! (Please ignore my silly voice at the end…I was trying to make him laugh and I kinda sound like a man). 🙂
I forgot to take the weekly photo on Thursday- oops!
What did we do on Friday? I can’t remember…so I think we just vegged in the house all day and I worked on catching up the blog. Friday afternoon I went to the park with Maaike to take some photos for my Knitty submission and realized once we got there that I’d forgotten some necessary props, so we only did a short session.
Friday night? I think we just had supper and hung out.
Oh- I just remembered, but am too lazy to go back and edit…Thursday night my friend Debbie also came over. Sorry Debbie! 🙂
On Saturday we went for lunch at the new Mike’s Restaurant with Julie and Rich. Wow Mike’s sure went swanky! The food was good but they tried SO hard to be ritzy…instead of bread at the table it was mini baguettes which came to the table in paper cones that were suspended in metal holders. None of us had the same plate, they were all white but sized to your food…which was great when you had pasta or a sub but my small sandwich was on a plate no wider than the sandwich…which was NOT good when the sandwich top fell over. I had to eat over my salad bowl so as not to make a mess on the table. It was tasty though!
Saturday night my parents babysat Jakob and Yannick and I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum. It was a great movie! I just ordered the books…I understand that their only similarity is the fact that they star a guy named Jason Bourne with amnesia…but that the books are supposedly 100,000 times better. I can’t wait to get them!
Friday was hectic! I didn’t go out all day because I was working on my submissions. They were due Saturday and I wanted to have them sent off before then. I even refused to go to the park with Maaike and Erika because I was working so hard to get them done.
I love this peaceful look! He has completely discovered his hands and feet and will sometimes spend a few moments just staring at them, watching them work. Of course, two moments after taking this photo he was sucking on his toes and drooling. 🙂
jeloca.com 