I did a little knitting on mom’s sweater today. I am having the hardest time measuring it. The combination of ribbing plus the nature of the cotton I’m using amounts to a lot of give. I can easily get the measurement I’m going for. I can also easily make it a lot bigger AS WELL AS a lot smaller than I’m going for. This is disconcerting. I am really glad that I am making the smallest size, and I think that instead of waiting for my mom to make a duct tape mannequin of herself and shipping it up to me, I’m going to forge ahead into realms unknown. My biggest concern is the size of the armhole. Here’s hoping.

Remember Olivia’s socks? Well, here’s a reminder….

They were knit with Dale of Norway because my LYS didn’t have any respectable sock yarn. I was skeptical as to how they’d hold up. They are Olivia’s favorite socks and she usually sneaks 2 to 4 wearings between washings, despite my protesting for sanitation’s sake. So, I’m washing them yesterday, and I give them a good look over, and they are holding up beautifully! They have fuzzed a little bit, (which they did right away, hence my concern in the first place), but that is all. They look really nice. I must say I’m surprised because the socks I knit for my sister using legitimate sock yarn (Regia self striping) were looking pretty worn before she even took them home. (I wore them a couple times before she came into town. They were my first socks, I couldn’t help it.) Hooray for Dale of Norway! I have most of four skeins left, maybe I’ll make myself a pair.

Part 2

Well, it happened. It’s finished. I plead, beg, and pray that there won’t be anymore cursed BIRTHDAY PARTIES for many, many months. If I make one more doll for someone other than Olivia or Veronica, I’ll be denounced as a BIG, FAT LIAR and subsequently disowned.

On a lighter note, here’s how I spent two days of last week.

First, there was a sweater.

Then the sweater discovered love. (Well, a hastily cross-stitched heart anyway).

They had twins.

Then came the eyes (which I’m not completely happy with, but I was racing the clock at this point).

They all fit together and lived happily ever after. The End.

Abby was so funny at the party. After Megan opened the gift and expressed warm appreciation, Abigail gave me a big hug and gushed. “She LOVED it mom! You’re the best knitter in the whole world! My mom made that. I love you mom!” Yes, my daughter was proud of me. She was exctatic. It felt good.

SO, onward and upward. I was struck by fear and nausea the other day when I realized that September 1st is rapidly approaching, and the girls’ school backpacks aren’t done yet. Abby’s isn’t even started. The whole strap issue is holding me up. I really like Yvette’s suggestion from many weeks ago about canvas tape and D rings, but I haven’t gone and done anything about it yet. Why do I do this to myself? I could have spent half the money, a fraction of the time, and not the tiniest bit of stress and worry by just going out and purchasing backpacks! As it is, I’m toying with the idea of buying one for Abby and just finishing up Olivia’s. Think about it, I would have all that glorious Lamb’s Pride to myself! (Actually, I’d probably make her a sweater with it). I’m not sure if the girl or the husband will go for it. I’ll keep you posted.

We’ve had some more suggestions for a group name. These are from Gayle:

Stitchin’ Fit
(Stitch & Fit)
(Stitch ‘n Fit)
Purlin’ Pounds

I thought Stitch ‘n Fit was pretty funny. And then the husband has one, which is “Dropped Stitches.” We’re still taking suggestions.

This week was better than last for me. Monday, I did weights, went on a 2 mile walk, and did my physical therapy.
Tuesday, I did weights, phys th, and a bike ride for 30 minutes.
Wednesday, I did weights.
Thursday I went on another walk. I know there was some phys th in there somewhere, but I didn’t write it down, so I don’t remember which day.
Friday, I’m afraid all I did was work on that birthday doll, so no exercise occurred.
Today I am determined to get upper and lower body weights in, physical therapy, but probably no official aerobic activity.

I’m pretty excited because my gimpy leg is getting better. I think that some of the hip stretches the physical therapist has me doing are helping to untwist my left leg. I’ve been walking faster and I’m having less pain. It’s still there, but it takes longer to show up and it isn’t bad enough to make me slow down. So I’m happy about that. Also, my back pain has been minimal this week, which is also very exciting. I’m doing some strengthening exercises in my lower back which seem to be helping.

As far as food goes, I’m still doing really well. I’m eating a ton of fresh vegetables and fruit. For most of the week, I’ve been 225 pounds, which means that I have lost 20 POUNDS!!! Woo hoo! But the last 2-3 mornings I’ve been a pound or so higher. So I don’t get to do the official happy dance yet. But it is coming, I can feel it. The problem yesterday is that I didn’t eat enough during the day because I was trying to get that birthday doll done (second photo journal coming on Monday), and so by dinner time, I made some quick spaghetti and buttered sourdough toast and I totally hoarfed. (That word, as far as I know, is the creation of Hilary, one of my sisters-in-law. I just realized that I don’t know how to spell it. I’ll have to call her.) I ate a ton of refined carbs for the first time all week last night, and it showed up on the scale this morning. How annoying. Another thing that has been sabotaging me the last couple of days has been some homemade blackberry ice cream. This wonderful older woman I know named Adele makes the stuff, so when the girls and I went into the backyard and picked a mountain of blackberries on Monday, I called her and asked if we could come over and turn them into ice cream. I probably don’t even need to tell you that it is divine, and I have about a gallon and a half of it in my freezer.

Your turn. Jenny has been walking. How’d you do this week?

The birthday party is this afternoon. The doll is not done. I have my work cut out for me.

Here’s a teaser shot…

We were up late last night at a great party a friend was throwing for some other friends who were visiting from out of town. I brought the knitting basket, but this was all I got done. It was a really fun party.

An aside- it is August, and it is pouring down rain. We woke up to the lovely sound of the roof leaking. In August. Gotta love Seattle.

We had a glorious time with the girls in Seattle yesterday where we saw some amazing bubble stuffs. First, we learned about the physics of bubbles, which included a pyrotechnic show of flaming hydrogen soap spheres. Next, we saw a terrific show by Fan Yang, (click on that link, it’s a good one). Then there was the basic coolness that is the Pacific Science Center. To top it off, we ate dinner at Dick’s Drive In on Queen Anne. (You know, for a local restaurant chain that has some style and attitude to it, their website SUCKS! It isn’t even orange. All their restaurants are orange! I don’t get it.) So why am I grumpy? Because, I forgot my camera. Many fabulous photo opportunities, and I didn’t have my stupid camera. As usual, Abigail looked like a mini version of Audrey Hepburn, and I didn’t have my camera. (She’s been wearing this cute little scarf thing in her hair the last few days. It is so cute. She is such a little lady, and she has that porcelain doll look to her that she’s had since the day she entered this world).

I didn’t get any knitting done (although I brought it along, as always), which is OK. We had a great time, and my life really doesn’t revolve around knitting. Well, I suppose that if you looked at it LITERALLY, considering that knitting is always present in some sense, (either as the verb, or as the noun that is tucked away close by), you might, maybe could say that my life revolves around knitting, but only in the strictest, physical sense of the term. Emotionally, my life does NOT revolve around knitting. I can’t exactly say that knitting revolves around life, because that would imply that it had more of a casual and detached role, which it certainly does not. (Notice here that the knitting made it to the city, but not the camera!)

How about you? How does knitting fit in to YOUR life?

Part 1-

Don’t you think it’s a shame that I have to cover a perfectly executed kitchener stitch with hair? I do.

Sewn and stuffed. There are a number of jokes I could make at this point, but they aren’t PC. (You know, “What do you call a doll with no arms and legs …..”) Right, moving on.

Hey, starting to look like a knitted representation of a human there.

Ah, hair. Yes, well…. Hmmm. It’s on, and that’s good. She needs a serious trip to the salon though. It’s bad.

Once again, I have ventured out on my own and designed an article of clothing for one of these dolls that doesn’t work at all. You know those clowns that walk around with suspenders holding a barrel around their mid section? You now have a pretty accurate picture of how this looks on her.

To be continued……

So there you have it! I still haven’t heard back from my mom about her duct tape mannequin. Maybe I’ll call her. We are taking the kids to the Seattle Center today. They are having some sort of bubble festival, and we’re gonna be there. Have a great day!

Can anyone tell me which Rebecca this is in? (I think it’s a Rebecca)

I really like the red one on the left. I drug this jPeg to my desktop awhile ago, stuffed it in a file, and I don’t remember where it came from. I need this pattern, so if anyone can help me out, I’d be oh-so-grateful.

I have a confession to make. I’ve been holding out on you. I started a lace swatch earlier this year, and I liked it so much, I just kept knitting. It has become my very first scarf in progress, but it hasn’t made it to the blog yet. Wanna see?

It is the palest of pinks, and I want to do a contrasting lace edging in a different color at each end. I don’t know how to do lace edgings, or color changes with lace yarn, so I guess that technically, it’s still a swatch! The color of this swatch-scarf is amazing next to my mom’s steel blue sweater, so I’ve contemplated giving it to her when the sweater is finished. I haven’t entirely decided yet. There’s plenty of this yarn in the stash to make another, and it is a very nice travel project….. Hmmm.

Good morning! First off, Clara has finished her Rebecca cardigan. The picture isn’t loading for me this morning, I hope you can see it. It is gorgeous.

Next, I taught my friend’s 11 year old daughter to knit last night. She was thrilled. It was a lot of fun. She had an instructional booklet, some yarn, and a Boyle circular needle set. I left her with a poem I’ve read that really helps teach the knit stitch, which is:

In the front door,
around the back,
through the window,
and off jumps Jack.

Isn’t that cute? Last night, I started something new. I figure I’ll show you progress bit by bit so you can see how it’s made.

It’s another best friend doll. What you see is the beginning of the body. I’m just about to shape the shoulders, then neck. Abigail’s fourth, and hopefully last birthday party of the summer is on Friday, so I need to get moving on it. I still haven’t made Olivia and Veronica their dolls, but they remain relatively patient.

Still plugging away on mom’s sweater. I’m a centimeter shy of the armhole shaping. I didn’t do too much work on it over the weekend because she said that she is going to do one of those body form things I told you about on Wednesday. If she really does it, it will be great, so I’m kind of holding out for awhile. I’m thinking about balling another skein and starting on the front to pass the time.