hearth-Craft

Well, this blog was long overdue for a backend update to WordPress 2.6.  In the process of doing so, I decided to update the theme as well.

Things went fine, I think, with the exception of Categories.  Somehow all of my post categories went to no content - all blank.  So I had to delete them all and recreate my categories and go post by post to reassign categories.  Not fun.  I did the happy dances at least and some of the more recent posts. Maybe if I get caught in a really long telecon sometime I will finish going back to do more.

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This week’s sbq - which I haven’t done in quite a while… 

If you had to choose, would you rather spend money on overdyed floss
or hand-dyed fabric?

Honestly? I think I’d go for the overdyed floss for the current stash that I have.  The designs look so much better with the slight variations in color that that the overdyed floss has - and I really like the design as the focus and worry that normal floss on hand dyed fabric would take the ‘pop’ away from the design.

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So I decided to work remotely today and visit a bit with Alexd00 after my client trip in Rockville,MD.  As part of one of our breaks, Alexd00 took me to a nearby yarn shop to see how it was (he’s a very tolerant buddy ^_^;).

They had some comfy sofas for him to sit in as I browsed the shop for 20 minutes or so and he settled in with his Gameboy DS Lite like a smart man.

It wasn’t a bad shop at all, although they didn’t carry most of the luxury yarns I tend to prefer. I did pick up two yummy yarns for fall projects because they did feel soft and silky enough for my taste and had the perfect colors. I’m not sure what they’ll become but they’ve definitely been added to my stash:

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Well, I’m moving along with the baby’s blanket. I only have another inch or two before I’ll have to decide on a border.  The one I like best is a sort of ruffle border, but as Ami told me how to do it…it’ll be super tedious.  Still, it’s not like I don’t have the time. I’ll just have to be sure I have the yarn.

This little conversation may also be amusing for you:

Me: Do you think it’s big enough?

Hubby: Not yet.

Me: How big do you think it should be?

Hubby: Well, it needs to be big enough for a kid, so is it big enough yet for a baby to fit in there?

Me: This is not a bag.

Hubby: Works out the same. Baby in a bag means baby’ll fit in the blankie.

-_- His logic actually kinda makes sense, which is the craziest part of it all.

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Angela was kind enough to nominate me for the brilliante weblog award.

I’m really very flattered and she had wonderful things to say about both my blog and my writing style. So many thanks!

I have to admit though that just about all of the other blogs I read have already been nominated, I think. So I’ll let this year go without nominating additionals because I think all blogs such as these are pretty brilliante to begin with and well, it’s just so hard to choose.

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Well, I picked up cross stitch for the first time in a while.  I did a bit of stitching on the plane to Cali and then did some more stitching when I got home while watching a movie with the hubby. That’s when I noticed it. Doh!

Do you see it?

The M for March is way too big…I accidentally left way too many spaces when I started stitching it from the bottom up. I’ll have to frog the whole M and start over, including the cute ittle yelow buttons. -_-

Hubby suggested I keep going, but I just can’t leave it that way, I’ll see it and know it for a mistake and it Will bug me. So I’m going to frog it and save the floss and re-stitch it.  Then I’ll be much happer with the outcome.

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There’s some back story to this one.

I was at one of my favorite yarn shops with Ami. We didn’t have anything particularly specific in mind, so we weren’t on a mission. But I kept walking past this collection of yarn - the colors were luminescet without being overly bright and I hadn’t seen color combinations like that in baby yarns before, so I kept walking by over and over again.  I was even groping the yarn a bit. It wasn’t as silky as the Simply Soft I usually use, but it had a loft and softness that were still up to my standards for baby blankets.

The trouble? Usually I have a baby in mind when I start a baby blanket.  Usually one of my friends is expecting and I pick a pattern or make up a pattern that reflects their personality just a little bit. I pick colors that the parents enjoy - which can be the traditional colors for baby boys and girls but sometimes are unique color schemes.

This time I was looking at the yarn and wanting it…for me. Because those were colors and color combinations that I wanted for a baby I didn’t have yet.

This was symptomatic of the way I’ve been since March.  Ever since the latest baby shower, I’ve had baby on the brain. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking I need to feed the baby. I hear a baby cry and jerk around to find it.  I go all melty soft when I see babies out in public (moreso than usual). I even have nasty nightmares of a difficult pregnancy as a result of my stubborness when it comes to the health issues I have that might make a pregnancy difficult.

Yep folks, the biologic clock is ticking.

Ami pointed out that I obviuosly wanted the yarn, so I did buy it.  I came home and had a talk with the hubby, another in a series of talks we’ve been having.

The plans are beginning to fall into place, the budgeting has started. We’re both wrapping up school and will graduate next year, me with my Masters and he with his Bachelor of Science. My mommy retires next year and has expressed a very enthusiastic desire to be childcare for any future children while I maintain my career, which means I’d have free day care with a person I trust who is not only experienced with children but a registered nurse who also has my shared judgement as what constitutes a boo boo versus an emergency room trip.

So what’s a girl to do while waiting for the pieces to fall into place? Knit a baby blanket…for my own baby, that we’re thinking about trying to have sometime next year or the year after. Hubby wants a boy, btw, and I told him genetically speaking that’s all him. He does after all determine the X or Y aspect. ^_^

So here is the beginning pic of the WIP:

I decided I wanted to knit the Pinwheel Baby Blanket.  Ever since Ami did a couple, I’ve been wanting that design and the yarn is perfect for it.  You can already see the slow changes from color to color - they will progress from orange sherbert to lemon yellow to soft lavender to a touch of petal pink before repeating.

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Here’s a bit of a progress pic with the handpainted merino fiber from Spritely Goods in the Spring is Here colorway.  I think the yarn is coning out quite nicely considering that I was working on it on the subway in NY while I was on my way with hubby, Omo and Alexd00 to a Japanese Jpop concert in Central Park at the time. Once I finish this I’ll ply it with white english angora to give it an interesting effect with silky softness.

That is, by the way, the new drop spindle I bought at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival after ym Kaiser ate my previous drop spindle. I think it’s beautiful and it’s well balanced to spin for much longer than my previous drop spindle did.

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Started way back in March, this sleeveless tube vest was and is still the first sweater I’ve attempted to knit on my very own. As it turns out, I’m very close to finishing.  As it also turns out the knit 3, purl 3 ribbing at the end is taking me forever and I find I can only add a few rows every day before I get seriously bored.

I’ve got about another three inches of the ribbing pattern to go and then it should be ready for blocking - but here’s what it looks like now:

 

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I decided at the last minute to cosplay Tifa from Final Fantasy VII at Otakon.  I had the basic foundation of the outfit - but not the accessories.  It requires no sewing at all and just assembly.

 

Costume list:

• white tank (not wearing a sports bra and baring my torso)
• black miniskirt
• black suspenders
• black belt
• red grappling gloves (compliments of Mixed Martial Arts training)
• cloth bandage to wrap left glove
• black arm warmers
• black socks
• work boots (have black ones instead of the red)

I haven’t decided what to do about the elbow guard on the left arm.  I haven’t seen something that will work well yet - especially on short notice.  If I have a chance to get out to a nearby second hand sports equipment place I might find and elbow guard that I can modify to work for this. Hmm…or maybe i could use my old rollerblading gear…

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