Things can change on a dime...

Last time things were not going well, and then everything changed again.



I was told my car was not going to be covered under the warranty so I picked up my dad, we called an independent mechanic and stormed into Toyota to find out what the issue was. About an hour later they called back to say that it now would be covered. I think they may deny as many claims as they think they can get away with and see how many people just take the first answer. I was mad, they claimed I over revved my engine and this is what broke it. So anyways, I should have my car back tomorrow.

Then Kyle was offered a job today. It is with the same company, they are just reorganizing... maybe under a different name. I'm not really too sure, but he will be managing the company. He is excited and will probably be getting back to work in a couple of weeks. I guess he just got an extended vacation at half pay. The nice thing is they already told him there would be no lapse in our health insurance. Very good to know, since this is probably what had me most concerned!!

All is looking well. Including the brioche hat I am knitting for Kyle. I had lots of issues getting this bugger cast on. But finally moved forward, as some people on Raverly said that the cast on looked funny until they worked a few rows. I did drop a stitch and had no idea how to pick it up in Brioche cast on pattern so there is a funky spot where it looks like there is no black row between the green rows. Or like two green rows grow from one stitch. Anyways, I had Kyle inspect the mistake to make sure he would still wear the hat. He said it was fine. I even had him try on the half inch I've knit so far. I really like working brioche stitch, but it is slow. Essentially you knit every row (or in this case, round) two times. So it takes twice as long to make, what I would consider, normal progress. Plus the yarn overs and knitting/purling two together slow things down. But no complaining, I like the look. There was also lots of issues with the decrease rounds, so we'll see how that goes for me when I get there. It won't be for another 8.5 inches, so maybe next year sometime!



Here is the brioche scarf that I also began. FAster then the hat since it is only one color. But I don't think I like the yarn for this. I'm still pondering!

You know the saying...

When it rains, It pours.

Wow - Is that going on for us right now.

Kyle was laid off from work a few weeks ago (the company is closing). He was the main bread winner and was pretty much supporting the family. My contribution was minimal. I worked little while going to school and did not really intend to work more through the end of the pregnancy and first months of the baby's life. He will get unemployment at about half what he made before. The biggest concern for me is the loss of both of our health insurance. We should be able to get Cobra to cover things at least through the birth. We may re-evaluate what coverage we need after that.

Then last night my car would not start. We had been doing pretty good, living really tight. Eating what's in the house. Avoiding eating out. Not buying things we don't need (not really buying anything at all). Then this car problem. Today Kyle had it towed to the car dealership because my car is still under the extended warranty. The frustrating part is they do a diagnosis that you have to pay for unless they determine the problem is under warranty. I spoke with someone this afternoon and they think the engine may need to be replaced.... WHA'??? The car is less then 5 years old and hasn't had a single problem up to know. So if it is deemed to be a warranty problem, We'll be fine. If not, I am on the hook for about $450 just to find out what the diagnosis determines. What craziness. All I can say is, I'm glad I went for the extended warranty. I kind of regretted it after I did it, but can't say that I feel that way now. I should know more tomorrow afternoon.

Finally (small in comparison to the other issues) is the Tilted Duster. I don't know what I was thinking, but I kind of accidentally felted it. All that time, all that (expensive) yarn, all that work. And I toss it in the washing machine thinking that I never hand wash things and they turn out fine. It has shrunk considerably. The most concerning part is the sleeves. They are pretty short and snug. The body fits okay. Not loose and flowie like before, but wearable. I have been tugging on the sleeves quite a bit and need to wear it around the house to see if I can stretch it to a more appealing size. Pictures to come soon.

Here is an old picture of me knitting at our old apartment with the cat. Very cozy!

On other knitting news... I tried to start the brioche hat in the round from Weekend Knitting. This is hands down the longest I've worked on a project and have NOTHING to show for it. I spend at least one to two hours trying to cast on. The problem, it is in the round and it is cast on with two colors at once. I can't remember all the details, but I could not get anywhere with it. I think the problem is my needle was too long to combine in the round. And I could not get anywhere with DPN's. My next option is to try casting on with a really long circ needle and use the magic loop method.

Have you been to Ravelry?? I am in love. I could really get into it. Know that if you sign up, it may take a little while, but now too long to get your invite. I love the organization of it all. But what is the best is to see what other people are doing with the same project. I looked up the above hat and checked what other yarns people had used, and someone had subbed the Brown Sheep for some Karabella Aurora, what I wanted to do. It was nice to see how the sub worked out. Plus a lot of other people had issues with the cast on. Made me feel a little better.

All right, I'm off. I feel inspired to try tackling the hat again. Maybe with some better results!

4D Ultrasound

Today was our 4D Ultrasound. We got lots of pictures... Here are a few:



His nose is right in the center of the picture. His hand is by his chin. The darkish spot in the upper left corner is his eye.



Similar to the first picture, but his hand is close to his mouth.



Here he is frowning, this was taken after the ultrasound technician poked my belly a whole lot to try to get the baby to lower his hands from his face. (This is our third ultrasound and he has had his hands in front of his face every time). He made some very definite faces after she jiggled my belly.



This is him getting his hand in his mouth. He was working at trying to get the thumb in for nearly the whole ultrasound. We have a future thumb sucker.




Finally there is a picture of his hand. His face is in the background, you can see his mouth right behind his pointer finger and his eye is toward the corner. His hand is covering his nose. His thumb is sticking out like he is hitch hiking. Maybe looking for a ride out of me.

It was a good experience and I'm happy we got the pictures. I really appreciate that someone thought to get this for me as a Christmas gift.

Complete...

Well... Sort of!



I mean, it looks done. But I still have the two inside buttons to sew on and the hook and eye closure that others have found a helpful addition. Plus it still needs a good ol' blocking. But it looks great. I looked at hundreds of buttons today. It was funny, there were lots that I liked and then my mom pulled this button off the shelf and as soon as I saw it I knew it was "the" button. My mom made a comment about how I know what I like when I see it since I'd been hemming and hawing over about 10 other choices before this one.

What I like about the button:

• its pretty pewter like color
• the cool color dot center
• its organic shape (the two buttons are different shapes)
• the way it looks a little old

I am very, very happy with my choice.

Now I have some ugly (basic) black plastic buttons for the inside and the hook. YEAH!

I think the cat just tried to get in the baby swing. I am worried about her taking over baby items before the baby arrives. She won't like it if she gets kicked out of something she think belongs to her.

I will finish.

My plan is to finish the Tilted Duster today. I know that was my plan last weekend, but that sleeve took it all out of me. I really want to start a new project, but will not. I will finish the sleeve. So little to do, why would I want to start something new right now.

It is a good day too, Kyle is out of town all day. He is up at Sierra Summit (local ski place... is there a better name I should use to describe it) to play a show. This is the first show he has done it a LONG time. I don't think the band is getting back together for good, just for a couple of little weekend gigs to make some extra money.

So off I go for now... I am going to get busy with the seaming RIGHT NOW.

Hopefully pictures to follow this evening. I will have to make a trip to the store for buttons. I find choosing buttons really hard. It's funny because on a store bought sweater they mean next to nothing. But for some reason putting buttons on a hand knit sweater takes much more thought. Maybe my LYS has buttons. Or it will just be JoAnn's.

How long it is.

I have been working hard on this sleeve for what seems like hours. And now it is complete. One sleeve attached. Will I get the other on today?? I would like to, but don't know. It took so long. My yarn kept breaking which was really frustrating. The yarn would get weaker as I pulled it through the stitches over and over again creating the seam. I don't know if this is normal or not, but it is not a problem I've encountered before. Looking at the sweater in these pictures makes me think it may be a little too long. The back seems very long. I need to get the other sleeve on and some buttons (for the photo shoot, I used a safety pin).



The sweater is nice, not too itchy. At least not in the 5-10 minutes it was on my body. I hope it looks a little better after some blocking. Get rid of the curl on the bottom and even up some of the shaping. But so far I am pleased.

How Cute He Is!!

I only hope my little guy is this cute:



This may be the cutest picture to date of Aidan, my sisters 5 month old son. He is loud too, when ever we talk on the phone he squeals and coos and screams in the background.

I just had to share the cuteness!

Teagan is also very cute. I've only taken 10,000 pictures of her since birth. I just don't want to leave my love for her out.

More Dust

The tilted duster is all I can think about right now. I actually wished it was done this morning because I wanted to wear it. I needed a dark (black or grey family) cardigan and it needed to be long. I need long cardigans now for all of my longer pregnancy shirts. I am not much fond of the shirt that hangs out from under the normal length cardi.



So back to the sweater, I've finished the second sleeve. And thankfully it is the same length as number one. I wanted to sew them on last night, but thought the collar might be easier to knit without the added bulk of the sleeves. So I began the collar. Back to the tedious ribbing. I accidentally picked up and knit a few (30) too many stitches. So instead of doing it all over again, I just decreased in my first row by that number. It looks fine, I don't think anyone would even be able to tell. I decreased where I wasn't supposed to have picked them up in the first place. I felt the pattern was not descriptive enough about how many sts to pick up for each section of the sweater. No matter, it's fine. So I've completed about 3 to 3 1/2 inches of the 5 I need. This sweater will be done by the weekend, then a quick block, and I'll be wearing it!!



On a pregnancy note, I had my glucose test today. Yuck. That stuff doesn't taste good. I hate drinking overly sweat things, I am kind of picky. I don't like most soda's, Gatorade's, or flavored stuff. I like water and 100% juice. So I knew I would struggle. But it could have been worse. I guess mostly it was the not eating that was harder.

The Tilted Duster is Flying

Off the needles that is. I am done with one sleeve and just about to begin the sleeve cap on sleeve number two. Then I have to stitch them up and attach. This has me pretty scared as it will be my first time. I have the first sleeve safety pinned on and it looks good. I might have liked a little extra length. I actually knit an extra inch but think maybe two or three would be better. It will be fine, just not super long which is how I kind of like my sweaters.



Excuse my belly, it hangs out of so many shirts. When I'm just relaxing at home, all I wear is sweatpants and I can't believe how often my belly makes appearances.



On the baby front - the room is getting ready. My mom began painting it in the middle of November. She finally got back to it over the past couple of weekends. It looks fantastic, I am so excited. Then my mom could not resist herself and bought the bedding set for the crib. I have not opened it yet, she would like the honors and be able to make the bed. After all she is doing all the work.



We are going for an Australian theme in the baby's room. Kyle is a big lover of Australia due to his didgeridoo playing. We are going to hang the didg's on the wall and the bedding set is "Down Under" with kangaroos, koalas, and crocodiles. SO CUTE! Wow - I had no idea how to spell koala, sad. So it is kind of a jungle theme, but I am really working with things I already had, like the leaf lamp in the corner. I am so excited and looking forward to the arrival. I hope to have the room done by the beginning of March. That will be early enough that I won't be left doing a bunch of stuff right at the end of my pregnancy, but still gives us time to get stuff done without being over prepared.

Felting Going On

I've been busy felting today. At least my washing machine has been busy. I finished Kyle slippers and sent my slippers and Kyle's finger-less gloves through another cycle. The had both stretched out a little bit. My slippers are perfect, Kyle's gloves may have gone a little too far. The fit me now. They were really large before. Hopefully they will stretch a little to accommodate his big hands. He was pretty upset, but said he is not too worried. Good thing he is so laid back!!



And here is the quickie-cutie-Umbilical Hat from Stitch N Bitch. I will hopefully see the recipient this Sunday and can give it to him then. Tara has requested one for Aidan, I want to see how it fits before I make one for him since he is a little older and I would like it to fit his big head. But seeing as the recipient (Collin) is a big baby, my concerns may not be founded. Collin was born at 9 lbs 2 ounces. I hope to not have such a large baby, but health is the number one concern.



Also note Teagan and Aidan in the framed photo with the hat. This was my Christmas present from Tara. They are the two cutest kids (until mine gets here).



I have been trying to make room on my computer because I got a video camera for Christmas and want to load the videos. I have an external hard drive I rarely move files to. But began cleaning my photo folders out and have moved all my 2006 and 2007 photos. It is sad... I deleted about 2,500 pictures, mostly that were just no good, out of focus, or duplicate. But I am still left with an amazing 5,500 pictures. How is it even possible to take so many. This is from July '06 to Dec '07. That means I average about 300 pictures a month. It doesn't even include any of my knitting or sewing pictures because they go into a different file. WOW!!

I'm not alone.

I've noticed I'm not the only one who has been busy through the holidays with a reduction in posting. But I'm back. School's over, Holidays done, camera working.

That's right, the camera is fine. I poked at it, I pulled at the lens, I pushed the lens. It kept not working. I put it aside and was sad all day. Then late that night, I thought hmmmmm, its behavior is oddly like our old camera (now Kyle's camera) when the batteries are low. It did not occur to me that the batteries could be low because previously the camera just stopped working all together, but this time it kept doing stuff. So the next day I charged my batteries and lo and behold, it worked. Thankfully after all my fix-it attempts. I least I did not try anything drastic.



Tilted Duster is coming along. I finished the skirt portion and started a sleeve yesterday. The sleeve is flying after that huge skirt. By the end of the skit it was 270 sts (the math was just done in Kyle's head so it may or may not be right, but he is usually quite the adding machine!!). So it took forever for a single row. I think I was taking at least 15 minutes per row. Now I am flying through close to 12 rows of the sleeve. It is faster because I am not mixing it up with ribbing. I've decided ribbing adds the time equivalent of one stitch for every change from knit to purl and vice versa. I long to knit continental style where I don't have to take so much time to make the change. But I don't have the commitment to change from holding the yarn in my right hand.



I am smelling the delicious (hopefully) pear bread I just made while it is baking. It smells mouth wateringly yummy! I had lots of pears and needed to do something with them. So I can't wait!! I'll post the results tomorrow.



Here my belly is at week 27. I'm now in the third trimester. I've been taking my picture here every week consistently from week 18 on. I did miss a couple of weeks but I also took a few weeks before week 18 also. My goal was to get them all, but I just did not make it. Hopefully I won't miss any more. This little guy moves a lot. The movements have grown much stronger and feel weirder, mostly when he is flipping around. I can also tell he is getting a lot bigger by felling stuff on both sides of my stomach at the same time. Did I already say this. I can't remember, but he was doing that just this afternoon so it is fresh in my mind.

I guess I should post a picture of the quickie cap, but I haven't taken a picture yet. Soon.

Alright, I'm off to knit more of this sleeve!!

Happy New Year.

Quickie Complete

Well, I finished that cute little hat up yesterday. All said, it probably took me less than two hours. Now I have been requested to make one for Aidan and then Teagan by Tara. Plus, I'd really like to make one for my baby. Good thing it was quick.

On to my sad news... I was preparing to take a picture of the hat this afternoon when I think I broke my camera. This is devastating news for me. I LOVE that camera. A LOT!! I think I was near tears. The lens won't come out, it is making all kinds of weird motor noises and comes out about an eighth of an inch and then doesn't want to go back in. It won't go into "play" mode either. I am very worried, I don't know what the likely hood of getting it fixed is. Or will I have to buy a new one. I told Kyle it is because I was drooling over the big fancy schmancy cameras that people had at my work X-mas party last night. One was the canon EOS fancy thing and the other was this huge nikon. They were both so big and attractive. Anyways, I can't afford that kind of an upgrade. I can't really afford to replace the one I already have. We'll see what can be done.

So because of this, there will be no picture. I won't even post an old one, instead I'll just mourn the loss (hopefully not permanent) of my pretty camera.

Quickie

I know I should be working on the Tilted Duster. Or the slippers. Or at least the Cabled Riding Jacket. But no, I cast on for a new quickie project today.

I am making the Umbilical Cord Hat from the first Stitch 'n Bitch. It is for a friend who is having her baby on the 27th (planned c-section). So I want to knock it out real quick before baby arrives. It is coming along really cute, I am making it out of Main Line from Knitpicks.com in Cocoa and Butter Pecan, mmmmm sounds like a cookie.



So I put in this cute little stripe business near the bottom edge of the hat. It was the only color accent I was going to add. But the more I think about it, I think it might be cute to have the same pattern sequence on the I-cord top of the hat. However, that part will be tied off in a little knot. So I'm not sure if it would be so cute. Opinions?

On another subject, I think I need to knit this. My nose if FREEZING!! I just turned on the heater, but I prefer not to run if it I don't have to. But my nose gets so cold I can't stand it. The dog curls up in her bed and buries her nose. Here is a funny picture of the cat covering her nose.



However the picture is a lie. Trout is not covering her nose because it is cold, instead she is covering it because it smells really bad. When we refinished the floor in the bedroom, Trout could not stand the smell so she tucked her nose under her tail. Funny stuff, she spent the whole day like this. It was March, so it may have been chilly, so maybe she was doing this for two reasons.

Final

Two finals done and one left to take tonight at 8pm.

Only 20 (maybe 1 or 2 less) rows left on the skirt of the Tilted Duster.

Nesting has begun, I have been trying to clean things out and get rid of them. I went through my yarn stash and am getting rid of tons of stuff (mostly junk). I think some friends and I are going to start a knitting group so I am going to offer it to them first and what is left, I will see if anyone online is interested in obtaining. I really want to focus on getting yarn for something specific and then making that something instead of wasting my money of one or two skeins of something that while nice or even fantastic, I have no real use for!



I can't wait to throw out the semesters worth of junk also... but for that I like to wait for my grades to be posted. I don't want to have to fight over a score on a paper I no longer have a copy of. Then my time will free up considerably and I can really begin preparing for this little baby's arrival. He is busy all the time, swishing and flipping around my belly what feels like non-stop. Kyle has felt some very large kicks (or whatever) but still no one else. Mostly because the easiest time is when we are laying in bed together not really moving around. I had the oddest sensation the other day when the little man moved or pushed in a way that I felt on BOTH sides of my stomach. He must be getting so big in there!! My stomach is definitely getting larger, but is still looking mostly fat. Oh well, I may never be a super big stomach kind of gal. I think my proportions will lend themselves more to the wide flat pregnant stomach.

Alright, I'm off to study for this final. Then give a big sigh of relief for the end of yet another semester (my second to last - WOO-HOO).