Sweet Peas

I love this time of year.

Even if we don't keep up with it all.

Even if the weeds take over and eventually win.

We'll still have this time.

Knitting for tonight- kitchener a baby sock toe, then cast on for another pair, a size bigger, my babies grow fast... Oh, and write down the pattern this time, silly designer. Then start the knitting math for new Spud & Chloe design... Knitting math, I love it, once I finally got over the 'sit down and do it' hump. There are times when it takes me way too long to get over that hump. I am easily distracted. Big family = many distractions, but when they look like this, I don't mind so much.

I mean, would you?

This particular child is fortunate to be so cute, because she can be a little, um, 'high maintenance' at times, my biggest motherhood challenge so far. And then she smiles and bats her baby blues at me, and it's all good.

Up next: string beans!

Happy knitting-

ali

One Lucky Winner!

Okay, the moment has come- time to announce the yarny goodness winner. I was mighty impressed with the response- there were a lot of new names/faces for me, which is only logical considering the many thousands of knitters there are in this great big world we all share. I've been having fun stopping by so many new blogs, getting a glimpse of your interests and talents- what a super group of people!

Suzanne, of foofanagle, contact me at aliATskeinsherway DOTcom,

with your address- congrats & enjoy!

(She happens to be having a giveaway of her own right now- if you're also a quilter, you should head on over before 8 pm June 2nd!)

In garden news, it was a rather cool morning, which was nice for the hefty work of pounding in about a 100 stakes in the laying out of all the rows. There is much more work to be done yet this week and we will have some friends out to plant their own little plot as well. They have a small city lot and are looking forward to bringing their kids out to see how green their thumbs are. I can't wait! Fun stuff!

In knitting news, I've been swatching with another new Spud & Chloe yarn, their bulky weight aptly named "Outer". It is so very, very, soft. The cotten content simply begs petting, and I don't mind complying, not one little bit. My notebook is filling up with sketches of design ideas, now if only my days could fill up with several (dozen) more hours.

Kid Funny- As my youngest girls were settling in to bed tonight, I could hear the sing-song-y question "Can I get a napkin, please?", which is ten times funnier than it might seem at first glance, if you're a fan of musicals at all, and the Food Court Musical, in particular. Too cute. Oh stink, now it's stuck in my head, I'll probably drift off singing it too.

And speaking of cute, I'm totally biased, I know, but seriously-

Enough for now,

happy knitting-

ali

Quick Note

Just a quick note to say-

• 1 random winner has been drawn
• 1 cleverly written post will be up later (humor me...)
• busy morning
• starting the real planting
• in dire need of groceries

More later,
Happy knitting
ali

Plugging Away and a Contest!

I was going to start off by saying that life has been moving a-mile-a-minute for the past couple weeks, but then, after doing the math quickly in my head, I realized that if you still use the 'old math'* that would mean 60 miles per hour, which is not really very impressive. It's actually rather average. Life is moving 2-miles-a-minute just sounds silly...

"Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up." (reference anyone?)

I am now the owner of 2 very nice and very expensive pairs of lovely Dansko shoes. Why is this important? Well, it seems that wearing crummy shoes (crummy being defined as 'having little to no arch support) when one has extremely high arches can really catch up with a person, and make it quite difficult to do ordinary daily things, like walk. It would also seem that increasing inflammation in one's hip can actually cause said hip to go 'out of joint'.

A morning of crutches, an emergency chiropractor appointment or two, an ice pack, and new shoes... yeah, fun stuff. Sheesh!

The limping is much less now and the pain even lesser (except maybe the pain in the checkbook). I'm pretty sure that last pre-parenthetical phrase was nowhere near grammatically correct. I can't even blame it on heavy pain killers, as, due to nursing Baby J, I'm not taking anything other than an occasional ibuprofen.

Enough about my aches and pains already! Onto the knitting... or at least the new yarn giveaway! I've got 3 skeins of the new 'Sweater' yarn from Spud & Chloe that can be yours for the asking, or more blog-appropriately, the commenting. Comment here by midnight Memorial Day (or whenever I wake up on Tuesday...) for your chance to win! Post a link on your blog (and come back to leave the link here- it just makes it easier for me,...) for another chance. Tell me who's blog you link-hopped from and you'll both get another chance. Okay, I'd better get to work on the spreadsheet to keep track of it all.

I'm hoping to finally get some decent pictures taken of a few recent FOs this weekend. Would before, or after, our first camping adventure of the year be better? Hmmm...

Have fun, spread the word, and happy knitting-

ali

PS- After commenting here, hop on over to Susan B. Anderson's blog (by Friday!) for another chance to win some of this fabulous yarn and a copy of her Sweet Pea Hat pattern!

*If you use the 'new new math', well, then you could just go with whatever speed you feel is right... it's just easier that way.

A Strike and a Spare

We took a midday break yesterday and hit the bowling lanes with some homeschooling friends. If you've never bowled with people who can barely carry a 6 lb. ball, well, that's one thing to add to the list of things you're missing out on.

I had intended to watch and knit. I ended up bowling. I guess it was "the fun mom" thing to do. It was the slightly embarrassing thing to do as well, considering the 75 on the new-fangled computerized scoreboard next to my name. Ehem. I probably should have used the bumpers, like the girls, or, maybe, taken out the knitting, hehe. Ah, well, it was fun, so much fun that apparently my teenager wants to buy his own bowling ball. We may have inadvertently started something...

In other news- our seedlings are all still alive and well; so far, so good. The garden bed has had its first tilling, with another scheduled ASAP. The planting of cold hearty plants should begin next week, with the tender ones waiting, as is necessary in central Minnesota, until Memorial Day weekend or shortly thereafter. We're planning on doing some competitive gardening this year- boys' beans vs. girls' beans, etc... in hopes that the kids will really want to help keep up with it all once the heat moves in, along with the mosquitoes... It could get interesting.

I did manage to finish up a set of wrist and leg warmers for one of my girls, using the newer than new 'Sweater' from Spud and Chloe (dunno how to get the dots above the e, but don't let that stop you from clicking over and checking out their website- the interactive brochure is so cute!), the fabulous new line of yarns, which are about to be introduced at TNNA, from the folks at Blue Sky Alpacas. I absolutely love this new yarn, and the color palette is just amazing- but who would expect anything less? BSA's color lines have always impressed me.

I'm hoping to get some cute pics soon and then I'll get that pattern up as soon as the yarn is introduced at TNNA- this one will be another freebie!

In the meantime, I've got a couple skeins on the way, for a giveaway- so watch for it next week!

Happy knitting (and Happy Mother's Day to all of you Moms!)-

ali

eta: Oh, and we spotted the first hummingbird last night!

I Call it Cozy

Now available on the sidebar-

*I'm super excited about this one because it is my first independantly published design. I have more in the works and on the way and am looking forward to sharing them with you!

I'm a cold wimp. My kids are little heaters, but cool spring air is still a problem in little ears. I knew, as winter ended, that I was going to want a hat on my little guy while we're outside this time of year, but I also knew that the warmth of wool and/or alpaca would be a bit much for one of my kiddos (and me!) A cotton hat, with ear flaps, was in order, and given my love of stripes, this is what I ended up with.

I call it Cozy, because it is, and it's available as a free Ravelry download, as well as the new pdf link right over on the sidebar.

Cozy
Sizes: Preemie (Baby, Toddler, Child, Woman, Man) to fit approx 12 (14, 16, 18, 20, 2)"/ 30.5 (35.5, 40.5, 45.5, 50.5, 56) cm head
Gauge: 18 sts & 26 rows=4" in St st
Needles: Size 8 (5 mm), or size needed to obtain gauge
(I'm a tight knitter, you may find you need to go down a needle size or two)
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton
MC: 1 hank
CC1 & CC2: much less than 1 hank/scraps/odds & ends...

This design would also make a great hat worked in BSA's Worsted Hand Dyes as well, as they can be knit to a similar gauge, though you may have to go down a needle size, perhaps two. The resulting hat would be much warmer- perfect for colder weather, like a Minnesota winter. My husband has already requested a worsted one in his size...

A girly, bright, toddler sized, cotton one is in order for Little M as well!

Enjoy the knitting-
ali