New Years Resolutions Anyone?

I don't normally do the resolution thing, but things are changing around here, so why not? I'm sure there are many more that should be on here, but I don't want to let myself down too much by not achieving them ... keep the list short and sweet!

1. Loose the last 10 baby lbs.

2. Loose the last 10 lbs that I wanted to loose before Luke! (The men in my life think I'm going to be too skinny if I drop 20lbs, I've assured them that I'll still be plenty soft & curvy at 125lbs!!! Gotta love a man who loves ALL of me )

3. Meal Planning / Cooking ahead (Cook a couple big meals over the weekends then eat as left overs during the week)

4. Faith - REALLY try to find a church that meets my needs/desires

5. Give up Soda ... namely Dr. Pepper (I don't really want to do this, but I know it's not good for me ... it's my one guilty pleasure ... maybe I won't give it up??)

6. Do a better job of keeping in touch with Long Distance friends & Family

7. Be better at acknowledging the birthday's and anniversaries of my friends an family (I'm already ahead of the game on this one ... got a year membership to AmericanGreetings.com)

8. Write and SEND thank you notes ... I'm just terrible at this, everyone must think I'm ungrateful!

2008 is going to be GREAT

So I haven't posted in F-O-R-E-V-E-R. Not that I had an regular readers, but it's nice for me to keep my thoughts in one place. It's been a year since I've really posted anything of substance...that's gonna change. My mom always told me if I didn't have anything nice to say than I shouldn't say it ... and well this past year, I didn't feel like I had anything nice to say. There would have been lots of swearing at X and saying how much I hate him. True feelings at the time, but certainly not constructive. ANYWAY, I'm starting a new year, and an new attitude (actually the new attitude has been around for a while). Here's what I sent out in my New Years Greeting for 2008 ... this sums things up pretty good, then I'll start blogging for real again!!

This time last year I was quite afraid of what 2007 would bring me, I had no idea what the future had in store for me. I had just found out I was pregnant, on top of facing the sad reality that my marriage really was over. I remember sitting with Kim and telling her how scared I was to be facing the new year and a new life. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to handle it. Kim, thank you for being my rock this year, I don’t think I’d be here in the positive state I am with out you. So here it is the close of 2007, as it turns out it wasn't so bad. I was blessed with another perfect baby boy, and Jack who has been such a treasure and the best big brother in the world. Jack is such a special boy, I don’t think he knows how wonderful he is, so much wiser and stronger than his 5 years of life, he’s definitely an old soul. And Autumn, I need to thank you too … my other rock and voice of reason. You assured me that I would be able to date with a new baby…and you were right, breastfeeding isn’t an issue. So yeah, 2007 has turned out pretty great. There were some rough parts, that’s for sure, but the blessings and sweet memories far out number the negative. It was a year of transition. 2008 will continue to be a year of transition, while I finish finding my old self, and making a new life for my family. I’m looking forward to 2008 and all the new memories and fun which awaits me. I have a couple of new friends, who I'm looking forward to getting to know a lot better. A year of firsts with Luke; his first tooth, his first steps, his first words. First for Jack too, he’s going to playing his first team sport this year, T-Ball starts in February. He’ll also start school next fall. Oh how I love being a mom!

I will ring in the new year quietly and peacefully tonight. I will be thinking of you all tonight, and always. I hope you are looking forward to 2008 as much as I am. The best is yet to come.

Peace
Love
Happiness
Health
Good Will
Fun

All my best,
Gina

A Very Special FO

Newborn Sweater for my baby due to arrive 8/18/07

I'm sure much of my knitting content will involve babies in the coming months...bare with me :)

To Spin or Not To Spin?

I thought our last huskies had the softest fur. I remember hearing people talk about making sweaters and scarves out of their fur. At first I thought they were a little crazy, but later I did think it would be neat to have a husky hat. I didn't really know the whole process. Over 15 years and two huskies I'm sure I they shed pounds of fur. Now that I am a knitter I feel like we wasted a very valuable commodity. Two times a year a husky blows their coat. In the summer they blow their dense winter undercoat, in the winter it's their fluffy summer coat. You'd know it was time when you'd see what looked like cotton balls growing out of their fur and dropping on the floor. We would to take them to a park or the woods and use a horse shedder and rake out clumps and clumps of downy fiber and let it blow away. I never wanted to throw it in the trash because I knew small animals and birds would use it for their nests and burrows. I guess I really wouldn't have known what to do with it back then.

But now, what do I do? I don't know how to spin, and I don't own a wheel. I don't even know how husky fiber compares to others on the ease of spinning scale. Is it a difficult fiber to spin? Are the hairs too short? Too slippery? Now that the long puppy fur has dropped and his thick winter coat is coming in I've started collecting the fiber from his brushes and keeping it. I know that I don't want to loose it, and his fur is so much softer than any other husky that I have ever felt. I know I can find a place to send it out to be spun into yarn. But there is a certain part of me calling out, not wanting to pass on the biggest step of the fiber process. I don't know how long it will take me to get enough fiber to start with. But I'm thinking I need to start looking into learning. I'm wondering about the whole washing and carding process too. He doesn't have oily fur. I know for sure that I would not dye this fiber it would be just natural. It just seems wrong to mess with a coat as beautiful as this.

Only 78%

Your Stress Level is: 78%

You are prone to stress, and you're probably even pretty stressed right now.Life's problems seem to pile up on you, and this often makes you feel depressed and burned out.Learn to take time to relax and enjoy life, even if things are stressful. It's the only wa you'll get through the bad times.

How'>http://www.blogthings.com/howstressedareyouquiz/">How Stressed Are You?

Things have been tense in paradise. It doesn't feel much like paradise these days. My sink has litterally been full of dishes for a month. I finally did a load last night, I will get caught up tonight. But they aren't the problem. They are just a side effect of my stress/depression. The husband and I are sludging through some tough times. I can't even concentrate on knitting. Which is a whole other stress since I do have a couple Christmas gifts I'm working on!

Peace

This is what I see outside my front door. My ocean view. I look out often. I can also stand in the kitchen at the stove and look out and see the sunset through the French doors. It's funny because as I look at this picture, I realize that I don't really see the houses on the sides or that ugly telephone pole and wires. I just look past them or through them. Like I mentally block their existence. Looking at the picture they kind of irritate me. Maybe it's the intoxicating briny air that I inhale deeply as I search for peace and calm in those fluffy white clouds and the deep blue sea that erases the obstructions.

When we lived in Arizona I was tormented by the fact that there were no large bodies of water near me. Like I was out of balance. When ever I really needed to think or relax I used to go for a walk on the beach, find a quite spot to listen to the waves, and feel the ocean breeze on my face, basically meditate. We've lived near the beach for a long time. But until we moved here we had never lived so close. I feel so grounded here. It's so comforting to know that I am literally less than a tenth of a mile from dashing down to the waters edge and digging my toes in the sand.

Cathartic

There is something so liberating yet so intensely nerve wracking about purposely dropping a stitch. When I saw Clapotis, I recognized the dropped stitches, then I read the entire pattern before I cast on. I knew they were coming, but it was so hard to do it. Cast On. Set Up Rows. Increase Rows. Straight Rows. Row 8 ... I stopped, re-read the entire pattern...just to confirm. I didn't want to try and fix that kind of a mistake! Then I did it, and was afraid, but it did what it was supposed to. It stopped at the bottom, it didn't completely unravel. I was worried. I kept knitting, I got to the second dropped stitch. This time not so afraid, but still apprehensive. I didn't re-read the pattern, I'm making progress. I figured by the time I was finished I would be comfortable with the drop stitch, but suddenly I find myself knitting faster and faster, to get to that next one. I have to slow down, I'm making mistakes. I just have to take it easy. But I want to do it again, I want to drop another stitch and another on PURPOSE! Is there something wrong with me??

This is a Christmas present for some one on my list. I don't think that person reads the blog so I will post an updated picture, or at least and FO. The yarn is Andean Silk in Hyacinth. I like the variegated colors, but this yarn is amazing and will look lovely knit as Clapotis. Very elegant, yet warm.

Did you vote today?

If not, there is still time. It's important to go out and make sure your voice is heard. For those of you in California, it's even more important because we have to get the Terminator out of office ASAP! He is destroying California and our schools.

I've always wondered why people always feel like its a burden to go vote. Have we forgotten that it is a right and a privilege? That our ancestors fought for it, they came to this country to start a new society where they had choices and impact on how they lived. That today soldiers are still fighting and dying in the name of freedom. That freedom is a right to be heard to have your say. Even if you have to stand in line, maybe it's an hour or two out of your life. But at least it's for the greater good. Who hasn't stood in line for hours for concert tickets? Or even to go to opening night of a movie?

I've never understood why it is a burden. When I was young my grandparents used to host polling for their neighborhood. So we'd spend all day there watching people vote. Watching the whole process at work. Later I remember my grandfather telling a story about why he is a democrat. It was Roosevelt that allowed him to save his farm and his family. They literally didn't have food on the table, and had told us how ashamed he felt when he had to accept charity from a neighbor just to feed his family. Soon after a bill was passed that funded farming. My grandfather was able to buy the equipment and live stock he needed to run a successful dairy farm. I was already registered democrat at the time, but that sealed the deal for me. Today when I went to the polls, as always, it brought back fond memories of my grandparents and sitting in there garage running the polls. I miss them so much, and I am so proud of them and their contribution to society. And they put in the time and effort to make this a great place to live for me and our future generations.

I'll get off my soap box, after one last comment. I hope that you vote in support of the same candidates and issues as I. However, it is most important that you just get out there and vote, even if it opposes my views.

God Bless America.

How long will homemade frosting last?

First let me say HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Now onto the important things... So you know I made that huge cake for my mom and dads anniversary. And I made the Mexican Hot chocolate Buttercream for the frosting on the top and bottom cakes. When I read the reviews it said the recipe made "twice as much" frosting as needed. So instead of doubling the recipe like I did for the cake, I just made an normal batch of the frosting thinking it would work out perfect. Oh boy, "twice as much" was a understatement to say the least! Upon frosting a six and ten inch layer cake, I piled the left over buttercream into a gallon sized zip lock baggy...and it filled it more than half way, that is a 1/2 gallon of frosting. But, I thought, "no big deal, Mike's birthday is this week. He wanted a yellow cake with chocolate frosting so I'll just use this, perfect". NOT. Mike decided that he didn't want a homemade fancy from scratch cake, he wanted a plain old, out of the box cake with package frosting. Mike loves my cooking, he hates package food like casseroles, etc. But he said he just didn't want anything "fancy". I started to explain that nothing was fancy, I'd make a basic yellow cake out of the BHG Cookbook, and he had already said the frosting made with fine chocolate was good. So what's the deal? Anyway, I dropped it, it was his birthday.

So now I'm left with roughly $10 worth of frosting. Yes, that is right, the entire batch was easily $20 worth of fine organic ingredients. Metric is deceiving, 500 militers of Egg whites = roughly 1 dozen egg whites (you read that right, I separated 12 eggs in one sitting). 900 grams of butter = approximately 1 lb. of butter. You get the idea. Not that I minded spending the money, that's not the point. I just don't feel good about throwing it out. I already 86ed the yolks and felt bad about it. So what do I do with all this frosting? Will it freeze? I used about 1/2 a cup of it to frost the boy's Halloween cookies, but I don't have any other cake-warranting events in the near future. Should I just make dozens and dozens of cupcakes for the office? Really, any ideas, I'll take 'em!!

Alpaca Dilemma

Here is the boy's sweater in 100% Alpaca from Elann. I don't have a pattern, I estimated yardage and dimensions from another pattern I had for a similar gauge yarn. But different than the pattern I have, I worked it in the round and did my own design on the front. So when I got to the sleeves, which are knit from the cuff up in the pattern, I picked up 60 stitches around the arm whole to work the arm down. In the pattern, you work increases all the way up to 68 stitches then work 4 sets of decreases to 60 stitches and bind off. So I followed this. But now I'm worried, I don't think I'm going to have enough yarn to finish the sleeves. I had planned 1 ball for each arm. I think it's close, but not quite enough.

Of course my first instinct was to go buy another ball. I know there is no chance of getting the same dye lot. But, I was hoping it would be close enough. Particularly since the alpaca has a nice halo, maybe it wouldn't be too noticeable. And if it was only around the cuffs, would you really notice the contrast since it was rib stitch? You can probably guess they don't have anymore of the colorway I chose, Cedar. And I checked the swap boards and no one has any Cedar 100% Alpaca to swap.

Now that I am looking at the picture of the sweater laid out. I'm not sure I like those increases anyway. I think I might rip back to before the increases. I don't know how much more it will give me, but maybe, just maybe, it will be enough.

Wish me luck!

I'm now the official party cake baker in the family

Top and bottom cake was a Chocolate Black Out Wedding Cake with Mexican Hot Chocolate Buttercream and the middle cake was a Hummingbird cake from Tate's Bake Shop cookbook with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Before:

After:

Last night my parents celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary. It was a pleasure to make this cake for them. I would highly recommend the recipes I used, both were decadent. The cake was beautiful. I used fondant again with edible sparkles and I used Wilton tiers that I purchased at Michael's. Many old friends were there to celebrate with us. Even the man who introduced my parents in 1965!

I thought only cats played with yarn

'nough said

Can you believe Christmas is just around the corner?

I can't. But I decided if I was going to make stockings for us this year than I better start now. I couldn't find a pattern that was exactly what I wanted, so I just made up my own, and I think it turned out pretty good. It still needs some serious blocking, but I'll wait until I'm done with all of ours before I get to that.

Still 3 more to complete, and 2+ months to do it. I think I can, this one only took me a little over a week. And that was me trying to work the pattern out.

Ribby Shell Complete

Finally! And it only took just over l year! Holly cow, that is the longest it has ever taken me to finish a project!! I would like to be nobel and vow that I will never do it again, but I know better. It was really hard to finish this project, not because I didn't like the pattern or the yarn, I just kept finding new projects to start. I can't resist new patterns and yarn. I finished up just in time for fall. I love it, it's great for fall in So Cal, keeps me just right, warm in the foggy mornings and cool enough in the sunny afternoons. Perfect for work and play.

There's been a little more than just knitting happening here

I have a lot of knitting to do, but there are a lot of distractions right now. And it is all tied around Jack's 4th birthday.

First I spent a lot of time creating his birthday party invitation to be printed and sent out by Shutterfly. I'm pleased, I couldn't get it just perfect, hopefully I'm the only one that notices the few flaws. I love Photoshop and the web! As you can see the theme was Cars the movie. I downloaded images from the official website. Shifted them around a bit. Then I took a picture that I had taken of Jack at Legoland, used the magic tool and erased all the background, so I just had Jack in the car. Pasted Jack's image over the Cars image and Viola! It's a birthday invitation!

I ordered all the decorations and goodies from Birthday Express and Oriental Trading Company. Instead of birthday hats, each child got this hat, and made each child a pit pass with the checkered laynard. The we painted wooden race cars at Ramone's Paint shop, and had races with balloon race cars.

The big finale was the race track cake I made. Now, when I got the idea I had NO idea what I was getting into. And once I started I could not turn back. But my hard work was well worth it because I think the cake turned out awesome. Everybody raved about it and most of all Jack loved it.

I used Fondant, which I have never used before. It was fun to work with, once I got started, and most of all it allows you to be pretty creative. I can only imagine what someone with real artistic talent could do with this stuff.

I forgot to mention Jack's birthday present, Summit. He's a pure bred Siberian Husky, born on July 28th. He's such a cutie.

Bunny Hopping over the Blocked Trellis

I probably didn't need to use so many pins, did I? I was a little nervous, I figured better safe than sorry. I wanted straight edges.





Here's a close up. This will go great with that little black dress I've got hanging in the closet. Just need to loose 15 more lbs... Anyway, I love it. I can't wait for it to dry. Thanks Carol! Your dye work is amazing!!! ~Gina

Down to the wire

I knit this little cardigan up for my friend Danielle's new baby. I started it the weekend before the shower and I finished 42 minutes before I had to leave. I really don't like knitting with a deadline, but this was my own fault so I'm not going to complain too much. I'm proud of myself for thinking the project through and choosing a pattern that required very little finishing. Since this was knitted top down there were no seams to sew. Instead of little buttons which would be a chocking hazard I knitted bobbles that worked quite well. I don't know that this alternative would work for a more functional sweater for an older child, but it certainly works well for a newborn.

The pooling, yeah I figured you'd notice, how could you not?! It's awful, I only had one hank of yarn so I didn't have a lot of options. I used Knit Picks, Sock Memories in Yukon. I actually thought it worked out really well. I mean, and hand made gift for $3.99...I can't complain about that.

Everybody ooohhhed and awhhhhed over the sweater, so I felt good that no one noticed the pooling and everyone thought the bobble buttons were the cutuest.

The Little Bows Sweater Complete ... Finally!

Last October I was struggling to finish the body. The cotton was so stiff and it was killing my hands. I dreaded the two long sleeves the pattern called for. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift for my niece. Well Christmas came and went while I avoided this project. I think I had picked up the stitches to start the sleeves around thanksgiving, but they just sat. I'm not sure when, but somewhere along the line I decided to make this a short sleeve sweater. Since it was made of cotton and for a girl I figured I could pull it off, and I did! I think it turned out pretty cute. The pattern I used was heavily modified. I used a completely different fiber, it called for some fuzzy acrylic yarn. And I decided to knit in the round. Finally modification, was the sleeve length, of course. I think it turned out pretty cute.

We gave it to Arliegh for her fifth birthday. She really liked it. I'll have to get a picture of her wearing it, the color should look great with here eyes!


This is a close up of the stitch pattern. The color and lighting are awful, but you can see the bows better.

The pattern was real simple:
Row 1&3: K5, *P2, S1 knitwise, P2, K5. *Repeat to end.
Row 2: K7, S1 knitwise. Repeat to end
Row 4: K
Row 5&7: K10, *P2, S1 knitwise, P2, K5. *Repeat to end.
Row 6: K12, *S1 knitwise, K7. *Repeat to end
Row 8: K

Mommy + Knitting + 3 Year old =

Yeah, mud on the wall, the windows, the child ... I guess I should be paying more attention ... the the child that is. Thankfully no mud reached my knitting

Summer Time Knitting

As usual, our house is an oven in the summer, so we spend most of our time on the front patio. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. We have a beautiful view, and the ocean breeze is delightful, we live in paradise and I know it. It's just that somewhere along the way they said that when you live in paradise you don't need a/c. Well they are wrong. See with the spectacular sunset view through the 9 windows that allow us this luxury they not only let us see out, but also let the sunset in. From about 2pm until 8pm the house is pretty much unbearable. When it's a breezey 78 on the patio, it's a stifling 88 in the house. The thing is, of the windows that afford us this spectacular view, only 5 of them open, and they are the small ones. You combine that with the fact our little flat roofed house was built in 1952 and has a lot of Ole Hanson touches, it all adds up to very little circulation inside. I know, I know, no complaining, I live a block from the beach. Really life is good.

So anyway, most of my summer time knitting is conducted out front, which isn't too shabby. Jack has one of those sand and water tables and a pool out there, so I really only have to contend with an occasional splash of water or a few grains of sand. This is how I spent the 4th of July. I sat here knitting, gazing out at the beautiful sky, the briny breeze also carried traces of the roses I picked from our rose bush below. I really enjoy the time I get to sit and knit outside. We have very little street noise so it is quite peaceful up here.

The dreadful heat of summer demands lace knitting that's for sure. Good thing I caught the lace bug and am not sweltering under Mike's Aran ... that will wait for cooler temperatures! I finally understand the need for a safety line. Yeah, tinking back 5 rows of lace was no fun at all! But there is no way I'm experienced enough to pull of something like this. So it's a safety line for me all the way! This is the Candle Flame Shawl from Knit Picks, I'm using Shimmer in Morning Mist. In my book it's a pretty complex pattern with a 36 row repeat. I'm really enjoying it and can't wait to make a shawl for myself.