Spinning is out of hand.....

Shall we look at some yarn pr0n? Yes, we shall......

Alien Babies Got My Daughter!!!

Ok, Miss Violet, you'll be sure to get this one...






By the way, they come with kid's meals from Dairy Queen just in case you need some Alien Babies of your own.

Spinning Wheel Pr0n

MMMM.... with Merino/Tussah goodness.






And of course, the gratuitous shot of my rear.

You want to see some craft wool from Hobby Lobby? Of course you do....

Come and Get Your Elves!!!!!!

So, I'm just going to have to wing this one with no pictures. The camera went to Brazil again (Campenis, this time (yes, indeedy!)) and isn't unpacked yet.

Pomatomus #2 is 1 repeat away from heeldom.

Sleeve #1 on James' Viking Sweater is just even with my elbow.

2 packages of felting roving from Hobby Lobby have been spun up.

The finishing elves are done with Da's Vest. Unfortunately, no pics yet, because Da is ON A CRUISE!!!!! Yes, this is worth shouting about. This man is such a woodsman that his own dog attacked him when he tried on his "cruise clothes" (sandals, shorts, and a t-shirt). I used deer antler buttons to fasten it because I am such a geek. He loves it. He wouldn't take it off. I'm sure there's a man somewhere in the Caribbean right now wearing a mohair/wool vest with blaze orange lapels and antler buttons. HI DA!!!!!!!

The shawl for Mom has not progressed. Kiddos were without their father this week, so no laceknitting was practiced. I neeeeeeeeed my laceknittingcrack.

I found 2 knots in 1 skein of Colinette Jitterbug Copperbeach while balling it up. I am not happy.... and not even dead-center, either (which would've been ok, since I'm making Mommy-Mini-Socks (my mom wears a 4 1/2)).

Finishing Elves

This is what I've learned. As soon as you have the slightest urge to do finishing work, stop all your housework projects and DO IT! That's apparently the only way to get the finishing elves to come and live at your house.


... says the woman who stopped in the middle of doing dishes AND laundry to clean out a sink, weave in ends, and block a vest. Combination of handspun Gulf Coast Native/Mohair and Briggs&Little Canadian Blaze Orange for my dad. He works at a hunting property as a wildlife biologist.

More WIPs

Hmmm. I've got a lot of works in progress, apparently.



First up is the Braids and Leaves Sweater from Knitpicks that I got the pattern for last year. I'm knitting it with Bouton D'Or Merinosoie that Mary, Mary got for me from the Anny Blatt factory outlet in France last summer. (Yay Mary!!!!) I'm really loving this pattern.




Next is James' replacement sweater for the kitchen-cotton Starmore aran sweater that I knit him 5 years ago when we were both uber-poor. This one is my own design(leaning heavily on Elsebeth Lavold's Vikingmonster and EZ's Knitting Around)in Paton's Classic Merino. I am in serious love with Balene Circulars for needle-free cabling. See the cute husband initials in the waistband? Thanks to Beth Brown-Reinsel's Knitting Ganseys for that.




Finally, the restarted version of Mom's Mediterranean Lace Shawl in Zephyr. This is how I learned to WASH the coned zephyr before casting on.

More Knitting

Ooooooh. Sock knitting. It's Pomatomus #1 out of Wildfoote Brown Sugar. I lurve the Pomatomus.

Look! It's a logo for my handspun! I retouched photo of my tattoo. How sad is that.

And Mrs. Beetons!!! Made of cashmere and Jo Sharp Infusion for my dear aunt.

Who are YOU looking at?

Time Warp

These are FOs from the great bloglapse of 2006. Otherwise known as "when James lost the digital camera after returning from Brazil."

This is what happens when a baby finishes dinner and finishes his day at the same time.
















See the sweater I'm wearing? Knitpicks Fairfax Fibonacci Stripes. I finished it sometime around June or July. We're getting ready to go to our birthday dinner.




















This is my mom's tank top made Colinette Giotto in Marble. The pattern is a muddle of several different tank patterns.












See the close-up of Giotto in Indian Cross Stitch... otherwise known as pain-in-the-ass stitch.
















And last, but certainly not least, Adamas Shawl in Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud Iris. This was for my sister-in-law's mother for Christmas. Let's just say I love my brother. I had to rip out and redo the bind-off 4 times to get it to scallop like that. I ran out of Alpaca Cloud by the last time and the bind off row is done in Jo Sharp Infusion, but it looks really cool.

Cardinals

We're looking out the window to the deck this rainy morning and there's a pair of cardinals eating birdseed out of the "birdy highchair." That's "birdfeeder" to me and you.

All of a sudden, Toddlerette says, "Cardinals are sweet and juicy and yummy. Cardinals are red." Allllllllllrighty then. I have NO idea where she got that first sentence. Not from me.

Good vs Evil

Milk, that is.

You see, the mantra of our lives right now is Toddlerette saying, "I really want some milk."

When she's in a good mood, well-rested, etc, it's so precious.... "I really, really want some milk, please Mommy," in an Orphan Annie/Oliver Twist voice.

But when she's in a bad mood, I'm just glad we've made a point not to curse in front of her. She gets this Samuel L Jackson voice going.... "I REALLY want some [f***ing] milk, [m*****f*****]!"

She doesn't actually say the words in brackets, but she probably would if she knew them. The kiddo has too much attitude for her own size.

Snowy Freakishness

This is not normal for central Texas.

Just so weird.

Yarny Goodness

So what have I been doing this New Year?

Washing, picking, carding, and spinning half of a natural-colored Shetland fleece (from Shetland, mind you!).


I got it at Yarn Circle in Murphy, NC, while on Christmas vacation.

You did WHAT?!?!

"Mom, I pooped on the baby."

Yeah, that's right, boys and girls.... Toddlerette POOPED on the baby. She was leaning on the piano bench, he was crawling under it, and well..... poop happens.

Not even good hard poop. She's been sick, so that means lots of juice and pedialyte, and...well.... you get the picture. I even had to get out the carpet shampooer for this memorable event.

He had it all over his onesie and a full handful in each hand. And a smear on his cheek. No, I didn't sniff his breath. Don't even SUGGEST it, or I'll just put my hands on my ears and go, "lalalalalallalalalalala."

He's clean, she's still alive, and I'm.....well..... I'm pooped.

Sick Babies

There's nothing worse than sick babies.

Yes there is. Sick and teething toddlerette. My poor babies. They both have severe colds with fever (Yes, we've been to the doctor today) and Sarah's got a 2yr molar coming in.

And I'm out of cat food. Great. Just skippy dippy frickin great.

This kid has taste.

I'm knitting along on a piece of lace with Artyarns Ultramerino 4 in color 132.

Pookiebear crawls up into my lap and starts petting the butterfly yarn cake and says, "Mama, it's sooooo beautiful," in a longing voice.

So you know I'm going to end up knitting something for this kid in Supermerino by the end of the year..... probably a cardigan. I'm sold. Cute voice always trumps mommy's sanity.

As the Stash Grows....

My stash is growing. It has almost filled its pathetic little bookshelf!

First up is stuff from France via Mary,Mary.




The gold is Anny Blatt Kanpur.... as in, kanpurrrrrrrrrrrrr.... pure silk.

The burgundy is Bouton D'Or Merinosoie and it's MINE, ALL MINE!!!!!


Next up is a trade I did for some editions of ReadyMade (thanks Brady and Sunny!). Lots of sock yarn and 3 skeins of laceweight (1 of the skeins of Shimmer is already on the needles). Clockwise from center left:

Shimmer, Flower Garden
Alpaca Cloud, Iris
Sock Garden, Hydrangea
Sock Garden, Stargazer Lily
Sock Garden, Geranium
Sock Memories, Grandma
Sock Landscape, Rocky Mountain Dusk




Brady and Sunny get first pick for Christmas socks.

Listen Up!

This is a Public Service Announcement to all of my friends, family, and acquaintances.

I am a very, very busy lady. This means that if I acknowledge your existence in any way, shape, or form, you fit the very definition of "extremely admired and loved by Robin." If I hang out with you at least once a week, you go up into the category of "cool as shit." (Don't worry, Mom. You're cool as shit, too. Gas is just too $$ for me to go see you every week.)

I'm also a bit over-protective of my friends. Which means if you talk bad about one of my friends, we will be having a come-to-Jesus meeting.

So here's the crux of the problem. If you fit into one of the two above categories and you dare to belittle yourself, we're going to have a fight. A big fight. Therefore, don't pull that shit with me. I love you guys and gals. Don't make me hurt you.

Just so you don't think I'm a total meanie, I do understand venting and worrying. That's not what I'm referring to. I don't care if you say, "I feel like a poopie-head today," "I am a poopie-head today," or "I'm sorry if I was a poopie-head yesterday." That's fine. Just none of this, "You think I'm a poopie-head," or "I know I'm just an old poopie-head [in general]." (Not that any of my friends actually use the word "poopie-head." I'm just trying to keep the illustration semi-clean here.)

Last, but certainly not least, if you think this post is about you, do not get your panties in a wad. If we've had a C-T-J meeting within the last 48 hours, you and I are cool. There's just been a rash of this crap going around (from me included *sheepish*) and I am freaking sick and tired of it.

And remember, this crap wouldn't bother me at all if I didn't love you occasionally-aggravating people so gosh-darn much.

PSA over. Returning to local programming....

Hey, Hey, Ms Renee!

This is a preview of the yummy thrummy yarn I was telling you about yesterday.

Do you like it?

In March of 2003, my mother and I took a natural dyeing class and came home with lots and lots of 1yd samples of the different colors one could get with different mordants and dyes. The silverfish got to the cards, so I just pulled all the yarn off of the cards and started plying it together.

I think it would make a nice scarf, but I'll wait for Ms Renee to make that determination. ;)

I can't complain...

about my husband.

You see, last year we BOTH forgot our third anniversary. By "forgot" I mean we fought like Kilkenny cats and then remembered 2 days later.

But this year, the man remembered.... and OH, he remembered....

He got us [highly sought after] alcove reservations at the European Bistro, my favorite restaurant (Eastern European). Bear in mind that reserving the alcove involves a surcharge (I didn't ask) that gets the recipient an "occasion banner" on the table, use of the antique table, chairs, gold-plated tableware, a bouquet of roses, and a bottle of Torley (Hungarian sparkling wine -- it's good!).



We had fun. I had the Samosas, Beet Salad, Czech Pork Roast, and Black Forest Torte. As you can tell in the picture, that was the first time I had been drunkish in 3 years. Don't worry, the baby was on formula that night -- cause I can't pump and Anni serves a loooooong meal.

Juanita, Juanita

I love Muench BigBaby, although I've decided it's probably one of the world's hardest-to-find superchunky yarns on the internet (in the Baby Blue Jeans colorway, that is).

My grandmother-in-law, the famed Juanita, wants a blue sweater, because her favorite color is blue. Actually, she wants a blue sweater and a matching one for her yorkiehuahua, but I haven't gone THERE yet. So, I promptly found ye olde beautiful washable supersoft acrylic and bought 14 skeins of it.... and hated every single gosh-darned polar weight pattern I ever came across. Since I was test-knitting something for Ana (do we see a trend here?) in Entrelac, I thought, "Ooh, how fun!" and came up with this:




Why, yes, I AM standing on the bed!

Hulk Hand

There is a certain realization that one comes to after so many years.

Bruce Banner was not affected by radiation.

He dyed wool.



That's AFTER I washed it.

How do I know this, you ask? Well, you see, Richard is growing into his big sister's wool soakers and they happen to be an orangey-shade of variegated pink (otherwise known as "strawberry-mango" in the kool-aid world). So, I decided that overdyeing them green would be a success. It was. It successfully dyed my hand a brilliant shade of Incredible Hulk green. "YOU WEREN'T WEARING GLOVES????" you ask? No, I was not wearing gloves and I will never wear gloves with kool-aid or food dye (which this was -- McCormick's to be exact) because I am latex allergic and too cheap to pay the premium for non-latex gloves just for non-toxic dyeing.

By the way, the shorts are beautiful, but no pictures yet. They're still HOT in the microwave.

Where's Richard?

Where is he?



Here he is!!!!




And the highchair is finished!!

POOP!!!

It's amazing how happy a baby movement can make both the baby and the mommy. Richard had been very uncomfortable for several days, with the knitting girls as witness.

Well, the earth has finally moved! And did it move! He's such my happy crawler again!

Renee's House

The knitting girls are currently in their weekly migration from the clubhouse to Renee's apartment. We're about to eat some ice cream and we just had some phenomenal pizza. I'm showing Renee how to post on blogger if you're wondering.

We've discovered that Richard really likes pizza crust.

And ink pens.

Only a 2-Year-Old

Has this wonderful need to share with all of God's creatures.....

She had a hamburger from Wendy's and after she ate all she wanted, she decided to share the bun with her friend, the magical singing unicorn rocking-horse.

She's just so sweet.

Flashdance!!!!!!!

Ok, I know this is SO wrong, but he was getting carpet burns on his poor little knees! They're made out of long-orphaned trouser sock.


And that's his SISTER'S doll he's playing with (trying to behead).

Adventures In Babysitting

I have a confession. I love babysitting. Especially when it's Sarah's little boyfriend, Perrin.

Neon Green Tatas

Like my crazy new W?!?!

It's in KP Vacation...

Baby Face

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Daddy's Little Pool Shark

So my favorite quick-fix meal is multi-colored pasta with indian dressing, crumbled sausage, and green peas.

We're eating this as leftovers tonight when Sarah picks out her peas and puts them on the table into a solid diamond shape. She looks for a second, then says, "No, eight-ball," and promptly adds more peas to form a triangle.

Later, she moved them around with her fork to make a diamond and said, "Look Mom, 9-ball." This, from a 2-year-old.

Now I know what her and her daddy are up to while I'm at SnB on Sunday evenings.

I tawt I taw a knitty-tat.....

I DID, I DID, I DID saw a knitty-tat!!!

Ceci, Tucker, and I all had our tattoos done at Platinum Ink last Wednesday by Chris, who is now an honorary member of our knitting circle. Ceci drew mine and hers and Tucker's was taken from a knitting pattern.

The Color Orange

Richard likes the color orange. So much so, that Sarah calls him "Orange Baby" at dinner. MMMMMMM.... orange baby food. We keep Tide in business.

We needed a stinkin' badger...

To replace our broken stinkin' badger... Badger 5 Insinkerator, that is.

Gotta love those handyman husbands. :)

The Color Purple

Sarah likes purple. I mean she REALLY likes purple.

She likes to color purple when she's pooping.