Friday, May 22, 2009

Back to your regularly scheduled knitting blog

Okay, so I guess I can post a couple things. I just didn't want to do it in the same super-story blog.
So, here's that crazy/lovely/hideous Noro!
The picture doesn't do it justice, but I'm really excited to make a super loose knit pullover with stripes that don't match anything.
And some delicious looking roving I picked up because there was a little confusion with my pound of merino and, really, can you leave empty-handed?!
The hot pink is a merino bamboo blend that is, well, HOT PINK! The other is some really pretty tonal blue pencil roving and I've never used pencil roving so this seemed like a lovely start.
And, finally, summer hit Anchorage like a green bomb and it is awesome.

Deviating post/ Story Time

I'm sorry, did I promise pictures of yarn and spring? Sorry, I lied, something more important came up. My son had his first visit to the ER. And I'm going to tell the story!
I'll start out by saying he's fine, you don't have to stick around if that's all you wanted to know.
So, we got together for our first play date with a friend of mine who has three boys 8, 5, and 3, just right for going bonkers in the play area of a particular mega fast-food chain of the Irish persuasion, if you catch my drift. And the kids played, then ate, then played, then had some ice cream, then played some more and two minutes after I said, "Just a few more minutes, it's past your bed-time!" he bounced off another kid and into one of the padded poles. Now, these poles have padding held on with these little bands that probably break a lot. Because the high-traffic area padded poles mostly have the padding held on with zip-ties. So, as my son bounced off this pole, one of those poorly cut zip-ties happened to be right at the level of his forehead. I watched him bounce off and fall down, I saw a spot on his forehead turn red and as I was getting up to see what happened, blood started gushing down his face.
Side note: I really try not to exaggerate unless it's for humorous purposes and there's really nothing humorous about blood gushing down my only child's face.
Side note: I'm not an over-reacting parent. I have only taken him to the doctor outside of regular check-ups three times. The first was when his penis was dripping blood after his circumcision didn't go quite perfectly (but his wee-wee is fine now!), the second was when he had a full body spotty-rash and the only reason I took him in was because we were going out to the middle of nowhere for the weekend. And this is the third.
So, I grab him, run back to the table and grab a napkin for his head, my friend is trying to help get the blood out of his eyes. Another couple came over to help, the husband was a chiropractor, so he had some medical knowledge and, with the best intentions, tells me it's probably not as bad as it seems, head wounds tend to bleed a lot. So I lifted the napkin for a second and got, "Oh..."
So, of course it's the one time I don't have my phone. But this other couple helped us get to the emergency room, he drove so I could keep a napkin on the gash. She followed and they went home when we got in, but gave me their phone numbers (I called and thanked them profusely on their voice mail).
My mom met us at the ER, I called her from the couples' phone, but called my husband at work from my mom's phone at the ER.
So, at the restaurant, the kiddo cried for about ten seconds then just dripped tears a little. He's not much of a crier and usually gets mad at me if I try to console him when he gets any kind of minor boo-boo. So, as we're cleaning him up and figuring out how to get to the hospital he says, kinda quietly, "Mama, I'm gonna be okay..." If I hadn't been in do-something-now mode, I probably would have cried. He's such a tough cookie. He even feel asleep on the way to the hospital. And don't get all upset with me, he was talking and acting totally normal and I was checking his eyes. It was just past his bedtime and he had been playing for nearly two hours before.
So, the two hour ER visit went fine, he was bored, but got to have a pirate cotton-ball strapped to his head for a half hour and then "they glued me back together!" Which, really, I was glad it was the glue and not sutures. The doctor said there may not even be a scar (which I doubt) or that it would be pretty small. And might I say, if there's something that can get the hackles up on the coolest of parents, it's a harsh doctor asking the nurse for the [pointy metal tweezers] because there's some fatty tissue that keeps wanting to come out of there. Lady, it's a REALLY good thing you numbed him up first, don't think I won't take those tweezers to you!
That's about it, then. The little guy didn't seem to mind anything, the nurse said he was easier to work with than some 16 year olds. Plus, he got THREE stickers when we left!
This picture is a little dramatic...
Because he's totally fine and it's difficult to keep him chill enough not to rip the damn thing open again.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Picture Post!

So, my camera battery died before I could take the "after" pictures for spring. I have some other pictures to share!
In case I haven't made myself clear, I procrastinate. Big time. So, I had a birthday party to go to on Saturday and around Wednesday I decided I should make her a purse. Because I had some great bamboo handles and she's an earthy girl. And some leftover sage green tweedy yarn from the sweater I made for the hubby. I started and ripped it out about half a dozen times before deciding on a lace leaf pattern over cables or other lace patterns. It was a pain in the arse working around the handles, but I like how it turned out, and so did she!
I even added a couple elastic-top pockets on the inside. I'm big on pockets.
One of the things I wanted to post a picture of is some new yarn I picked up yesterday. I keep telling myself I should use more of my stash, but isn't there always something?! So the conveniently close yarn shop just got in some new Noro. I've never been big on Noro, the color combinations usually appeal to me as much as nails on a chalk board. Usually. Then sometimes they have something come out that I'm absolutely into. And it happens to be the most HIDEOUSLY AWESOME colorway ever! I'm not even going to link to anything. I have to post my own picture so you can see the true glory of lime green, fucshia, purple, teal, orange and more. Picture next post, I promise (along with the spring ones, right?)
So, sew. A friend thought it would be a good idea for me to teach her to sew. I don't really know much, so we did a little project together. It turned out pretty awesome! We went all matchy-matchy to the birthday party.
This, by the way, is the friend who BAKES. And this is the cake of awesomeness she made for the birthday party!
Not only was it super cool to look at, it was chocolate cake with raspberry cream on the inside. My mouth is watering just thinking about it...
And finally, the kiddo:
Tyrannosaurus Rex says "RAWR!"

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Baby Cardi stumble

Somewhere between making the cardigan and writing the pattern, I gained two stitches. I'm not doubting my math, but perhaps I cast on two fewer stitches than I thought... And I already gave it away. I may have to steal it back for a bit so I can figure out what I did.
Just a hiccup, the pattern will be written!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew with the whole seedling thing. I don't have enough dirt or containers for everything and they're taking over!
Okay, the big tomato plants I bought at a greenhouse, but the rest is growing faster than I expected. This picture doesn't include the two big pots housing the okra and peas. Oy vey!
I have a couple pictures to demonstrate spring in Alaska.
Taken Saturday and Sunday in a couple locations, I'll have pictures next week from the same spots and chances are everything will be green, the lake will be totally melted and it will be awesome! (Yes, we do have a plastic deer in our yard, the kiddo likes to ride it like a horse.)
And, of course, knitting news. Spring makes me super productive, planting, sewing, knitting, all of it getting done in the last few days. I started this baby cardigan last night and finished it this morning. Quick, easy, cute! I suppose I'll write out the pattern.
Off to do something else before Monday sets in...