FINISHED

I finally finished my first clapotis. I participated in the Second Wave Clapotis KAL. I casted on the first day of fall.... and I just finished this on Saturday. It did take me forever, but I really loved knitting this. It's a fun pattern.... brilliant actually. I don't "get" how it works, but it does. I added extra repeats in the straight section.... Man it is L O N G! I can really wrap it around and around me! I worked a TON last week to get it done so that I could wear it to hubby's work Christmas party.

Here it is...

(Some is actually hanging off the back of the couch)


close up


As for Will..... he had his first babysitters! I was a nervous wreck! I thought for sure he'd scream, be fussy and give them a hard time. They assured me that he was happy and did not cry at all. No problems getting him to sleep, he ate all his dinner...all in all a really good night. I was SO relieved to hear this. It was so weird to be out and know that our son was home with sitters. It was yet another "first" in our parenthood.

Will is walking like crazy. He seems so big to me when he's walking! He barely crawls anymore. My baby is growing up!

Hope you have a great week! Get lots done, and try to enjoy the Holidays!! :)

What a month!

We had a crazy past few weeks. We travelled to Illinois for the Thanksgiving holiday. Will did really well on the plane...even with all the delays! One thing that absolutely FLOORED me about American Airlines.... they do not have milk on the flights unless it is breakfast time?! What?! So... needless to say...we had NO MILK to feed our son during our 4 + hour flight (which had been delayed by 2 hours)! Even with w-a-y watered down formula, Will was a little trooper!

On my last post, I commented that I'd be getting alot of knitting done during my travel to IL. OK... I'm not sure what delusions I was having, but I did not get one stitch done. Not one!

It was a wonderful trip for our son! He got to meet 2 sets of Aunts and Uncles, meet 3 cousins, and see his Grandma and Grandpa again! He saw his first snowflakes, celebrated his first American Thanksgiving, and...

climbed on the tractors at the John Deere Pavilion! (Please notice the handknit hat I made him especially for this trip!)


The night we arrived back home, he got sick. It was not horrible, but he definitely was not himself for a good week! Then I got sick...whatever he had. Yuk. Thankfully we both seem to be on the mend.


On a much more sad note... we had to say goodbye to our sweet Smokers! :( My heart is broken. He was the most wonderful cat! He was loving, sweet, gentle, loyal, and he loved to cuddle. But, he had been sick for awhile with renal failure. When we took him in to board for our trip, we knew he was not feeling well. I thought his kidney disease had progressed a bit, and all we'd have to do was add some medicine or something. Within 2 days he had a clot in a major artery and they did not know why--apparently not related to the renal failure. We had to make the decision to let him go while we were in IL. We could not even be with him. In some ways, maybe this was a blessing. I did not have to see him in such a state of pain and suffering. Anyway you cut it... it really sucked.

I miss him terribly.


That is what has been happening here. Now I'm just trying to get geared up for Christmas. My list of to-dos is crazy--just like everyone else! Here's hoping that you all had a nice Thanksgiving and that you can keep the spirit of Christmas in your heart during this busy month of December!

Before & After, Dipsy, and FO's....

Been awhile since I updated... so here we go. Life has been busy, but good. We are getting ready to head back to Illinois for the holidays. I'm a bit nervous for the trip... hoping Will handles it all ok. I'm sure he will, he's so dang laid back. I'm so excited to go and see family, but man oh man, I'd love to have a week home with just Will, Chris and I.

Will's transition to our family continues to progress wonderfully! Can't believe that he has been home over 3 months! Will turned a year, and we had a very low keyed celebration with just the 3 of us (and everyone else who happened to be having dinner at Chilli's that night.) His bday was the week after the fire, and he was still a bit overwhelmed from the whole experience.

Here is Will before his very first ever haircut. Can't believe how shaggy he looked!


And TA DA.... after his cut. Doesn't he look so clean cut and a bit geeky?? LOVE IT


Bet you can never guess who Will was for Halloween?! Obviously he did not 'get' it this year. It still was fun for us to dress him all up.


And finally I have some FO's. This is a little capelet that knit up Uberfast! It is too little for me I'm thinking... Perhaps I'll give it to my tiny sister Amy.


And a hat for Will's first trip to COLD Illinois. It's the confetti cap from Debby Ware... but I did not do the confetti on it. Will keeps it on for all of 30 seconds. I just basically weaved in all ends and did the little twirls on top and called it finished. I'd rather spend time trying to finish my clapotis for myself. (Not looking like I'll finish before we leave... but can definitely finish while I'm there)


So, that is our life in a nutshell. Boring.. and I'm liking it that way! Happy Turkeyday all!

Money Can't Buy Happiness.....

....but a little retail therapy sure helps!

After the week from hell, (it looked and smelled like we were in hell) a couple of friends and I had a lovely day in La Jolla! We were able to spend quite a bit of time (and money) at Knitting in La Jolla. Had a bite to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. Tons of chit chat and girl time.... Just what the doctor ordered.

I was able to find quite a few treasures that HAD to come home with me!


Polka dot bag is a KnitPickers bag. Had a coupon and got it for half price! (From Michael's)
Striped bag is OffHand Designs.. I think it's the Zelda bag. Had a 20 % coupon for this one!


Strickmuse merging color shawl kit. Again had a 20% off coupon for this


Jolie... angora and merino I think. Yep 20% off too

I also scored a few books. 2 pattern books for babies/toddlers, and EZ's Knitting Workshop.

All in all it was a truly fabulous day!

The REAL reason we got together was to go to Knitting in La Jolla to buy a gift certificate for our friend. She lost her home in the fires... and she is the one who taught us all to knit. She was able to get some of her things out...but not enough. My heart is just sick for her. She's doing well and taking care of the logistics of trying to get back on her feet. I truly cannot imagine losing your home. Such a sobering thought.

There's no place like home!

What a horrible and tragic week it has been for San Diegans. These fires are causing such devastation...it is just unbelievable to me. We left our home Monday morning. We were so lucky to find a pet friendly hotel downtown. We stayed until the evacuation order was lifted on Wednesday afternoon. I have never been so thankful to come home!

When we came home, here is what we saw....


...taken from my backyard looking toward the house...



...one of the multiples piles of ash...



...our pool...

In all the rush of leaving... I only brought one knitting project with me... a pr of socks. I had no time to knit... wish I could have, it would have brought me comfort.

All I can say is that I am so thankful for my home, my family's safety, and all the firefighters who have been working day and night to stop this horrific fire. It takes a tragedy like this to really put your life in perspective! Tonight I hope you can take a moment to look around your home... and think about how truly blessed your are!

Progress on the clap

Here is the progress I have made on my clappy. I am REALLY enjoying this knit. It's fun for me and not too much to think about. The yarn is pretty good to work with too. It splits a bit if I'm not careful. Once I switched from metal circs to my new Harmony wood Knitpics needles... things started going much quicker. I'm LOVIN these needles. Beautiful and great to work with. All in all I'm having a fab experience with the Clap! I'm going to make it longer... I have plenty of yarn. It will be a Gorgeous wrap!

GO!

Casted on my first Clapotis on Sunday. Knit on it as much as I could on Sunday, a little on Monday and not a bit today. :( I'm on the 4th-ish set of increases on section 2. I'm REALLY enjoying this pattern... and REALLY REALLY enjoying my yarn choice. My needles suck... I'm using an old pair of #9 metal circs... the cable is all bent, and it is making it hard for me to work. Plus the yarn is slippery and metal is probably not the best choice. Good thing I ordered the new Knit Picks Options Harmony Wood Interchangeable needle set today. Man are they beautiful needles, and I can't wait to try them. They won't be here for awhile, but still... can't wait.

I had a bit of a shopping slip up these past few days. Last Thursday I ordered from The Loopy Ewe. I ordered 3 balls of Crystal Palace CP5 in the Green Canopy colorway. THEN yesterday there was a sneak up at TLE, so I placed another order. I scored Yarntini (lime twist) Yarn Pirate (lemonade stand) and some cute little knit labels. So... if I am keeping correct count, I just placed my 6th order which means I'm now a loopy groopie. DYING to get my shipments!The Thurs. order shipped on Monday and Yesterday's order shipped today. WOO HOO....... If that was not enough, I placed a big ol' order with Patternworks today too. I went HOG WILD. I got the Bloom Bracelet kit in natural, Inca Marl yarn (alpaca--on sale) in the jaspe colorway, Farmhouse silk blend in sedona colorway, my first Malabrigo in Emerald , Aloo yarn, Royal Llama silk in emerald, and this cute trinket bag kit (on sale) in gloxinia colorway. This was just the yarn... I also got a couple accessory type things too. THEN as listed above I got the needle kit from Knit Picks, and I threw in 2 skeins of Panache (on sale) in the dusk colorway for good measure... this yarn is alpaca, cashmere, silk and merino.... how could I not buy it???? Plus there was a FREE pattern especially for this yarn right on the knit picks website!

So.... Yikes.. that is all for me now. Once I get to the part in the Clappy when I can drop stitches, I'll post a pic. Happy day all! :)

Let's get ready to............

CAST ON! Woo Hoo... Tomorrow is the day I cast on my first Clapotis. I need to wind the yarn into balls (I have a ball winder, but I prefer to do it by hand. That and I don't have a swift! ) Perhaps even swatch a little bit... but I'm pretty sure I'll be using size 9's. I'm a bit nervous about doing this pattern... I dunno why. I've glanced at it...and some of it makes NO sense to me. I'm very thankful for the KAL to go to for advice. Can't Wait!! :)

If I spend as much time knitting....

as I do on Ravelry, I'd be through my queue pages! I LOVE LOVE LOVE ravelry. Today I entered in my stash... well at least my good yarn...not the silly stuff that I bought as a brand new knitter. I also worked on adding these yarns to my queued projects and arranged the CO order of my projects. Thanks to doing all this, I got a smack in the face that I DO NOT NEED any more yarn! I'm overwhelmed with what I need to get done. But I feel good that I have a plan! Now... If I could just get this newly cataloged yarn all organized here at home, I'd be golden!

Also, I joined the Second Wave Clapotis KAL. (www.secondwaveclapotis.blogspot.com )We CO 9/23/07. I missed the whole craze the first time, and I'm so excited to try this project. This is the first KAL I've done. I have my yarn purchased, I just need to wind it up. It's from Blue Heron Yarns and it's a rayon/metallic in Marshgrass colorway. (see above) I think it will be gorgeous as the clap!

Baby Will Blanket #2--FINISHED!

I finished this blanket late last night. I washed it today. I HATED working with this yarn! It kept getting stuck on the bobbles. However I LOVE the finished blanket. It's a great kid's blanket. It s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d alot when I washed it...but actually that will work out great!

I showed it to Will, and he smiled and reached for it. That made me so glad and worth the work! As soon as it's dry, it's going in his crib!

Must. Stop. Buying. Yarn.

OK... I just placed another order from Loopy Ewe. Dang. They got some yarn in stock that I have been eyeing.... Then I found cute stitch markers.... and the cutest keychain! Dang it! I seriously don't know when I'll ever have time to knit all my yarn. I did however purchase (rationalize) this yarn with a pattern AND a recipient in mind. *Sigh*

Laverne

I finished this scarf this morning. This is yarn from a llama named Laverne. It only had about 85 yards on the skein so it's more of a small scarfette type thing. The yarn is so shiny and the brown so deep. Obviously the picture does not do it justice.

The Loopy Ewe shipment arrived!

Ok. I cannot even begin to express how impressed I am with The Loopy Ewe. They are FAST. Love their yarn/gadgets. And Sheri.... so personable and generous! The extra goodies with all the orders are such a nice and unexpected touch. My Dream in Color smooshy came. The colorway (Beach Fog) is lovely. Just beautiful!!

I also rec'd a pattern for a shawl... It will be PERFECT for some hand-dyed yarn! The smooshy does not have enough yardage... I'll have to figure something else out. I'm SURE I can find something in my stash to use. If not... I have the perfect online store to go to!

All of a sudden, I have a low-grade fever and a sore throat.... Oh I hope I'm not getting sick. How, I wonder, do you care for a 10 mo. old when you are sick???? Hmmm... hope I don't have to find out!

On the knitting front...

I have been just itching to knit lately... and I've finally been able to do a bit. Baby Will's Blanket #2 is almost done. Just need to finish knitting the last skein, weave in ends and launder... I also placed an order at The Loopy Ewe. I could not resist trying some Dream in Color. I bought the beach fog colorway. Looks gorgeous on the screen, can't wait to actually feel it. When, I ask, will I EVER have a chance to knit it up???? Who knows.

Also... I just can't get enough of ravelry. Even when I have nothing new to add, I LOVE toodling around on there. When I'm too pooped to knit.... I go on there and feel connected to the whole knitting lifestyle!

That's about it. Hubby has the boy, I think I'll try to knit a bit!! :)

Baby Will

Here are a couple of pics of our son. He is the light of our lives. We still can hardly believe that he has been home a month already. He is now 10 mos old.

Announcing William Jose!!!

Holy Guacamole! What a month it has been!! Our son is HOME!!! It is truly unbelievable! Our trip to Guatemala City was smooth as could be! We left on July 28th... which was Will's 9 mos bday.... had a red eye flight from LAX and arrived on Sunday July 29th. We rested a few hours and then Will was placed in our arms on Sunday July 29th 2007 at 2pm. That is our official day of becoming a forever family!!!!! Such a long wait...but so worth it!

Our time in Guatemala waiting for embassy appt/paperwork was FANTASTIC. Will is such a laid back and easy going baby! I know in my heart that this baby is a gift from God! A loving gift from God meant especially for me and Chris. He was an ANGEL during our plane flight and drive home.... I was so terrified of this part of our trip. We could not have asked for a better trip.

We got home on Aug 2nd. I can't believe how time has flown by! So far he has received a clean bill of health from our Pediatrician, and his transition has been phenomenal! Tomorrow is his 10 mos bday.

Now about my knitting..... Hello?? what knitting?? I have picked up the needles 2 times since our trip. I've probably done a total of 4 rows in the last month! By the end of the day... I just wanna sleep!! I'm getting the itch to knit though.... I hope that this coming month will be more productive knitting wise.

Well, I'll post some updated pics soon. Hopefully all will begin to settle down now and I can get back to posting a bit more regularly.

Our son is coming HOME!

We get physical custody of Will on SUNDAY JULY 29, 2007. Holy Cow!! I can't believe we are FINALLY going to be a mommy and daddy to this sweet little boy. What a long road...but this is what it took to bring our boy home. We'll be home on Aug 2nd! Oh and by the way... I did not finish blankie #2 OR the baptismal wrap. Oh well... Hopefully I can sneak in some knitting while adjusting to motherhood! :)

We went "PINK"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got our call early this morning. We got our 'pink slip' and embassy appt. Baby Will is coming home! We get to leave this weekend, and will have him physically with us by Monday!! Still need to finish his second blanket.... I'd better get crackin'!

Crap

Just found out that we are a bit delayed with our son coming home. Looks like the earliest we can even get to be with him will be the week of July 30th. I'm so sad that we will miss his 9 month b-day. I know this adoption will be so worth it...but I'm so frustrated with delays and misinformation. I guess the bright side is that this gives me more time to finish his blanket #2 and the baptismal blankie/wrap. I'm tellin ya.... I'd much rather have those projects unfinished and be with my son. My heart just hurts. :(

Update

We got a call today to advise us that our new birth certificate has been issued and translated! The US Embassy has had it since late last week and it will take them about 72 hours to process it. That means....by the middle of THIS WEEK, we should "go pink" and find out our embassy appt. At this time, it's taking about a week to get the appt. So...... IF all goes well. We should be in GT getting our boy around June 25th. He turns 9 mos old on June 28th.... and we'd LOVE for him to be home by then. Still needing to finish Blanket #2.... better get going.

The start of Baby Will Blankie #2

Here is the start of the second blanket for our son. It is made with Filatura Di Crosa Baby Bon Bon. It's OK to work with. The nubs in the yarn make it a bit tough. However I LOVE the "bobble-y" look when it's knit up. I just cast on a bunch... like 120 sts... and started knitting every row. I'm using size 17's. I bought a pair of Addi-Turbos for this. One of the tips is defective and I've contacted skacel....but other than that I LOVE THESE NEEDLES! I want them in every size. It's going really quick and is pretty mindless. I'm fairly certain I can get this done before we go and pick up our son!

A little something for me :)

Here's a yummy little bit I whipped up for me. It is Superfine Alpaca. Just a triangle shawl. Kinda like how you'd do a dishcloth. It was HEAVEN to knit with. Used Peruvian Tweed. I did it on 15's. I love it. My only prob is that I wear alot of bracelets... and sometimes the dangles get caught in the shawl. Not so much when I'm wearing it... but if I'm carrying it around. I did not block this... and I'm not sure if I will or not. Either way I know I'll get tons of use from this and LOVE wearing it.

Baby Will Blankie #1----- FINISHED

Here is a close up of the first blanket for our boy. It was fun to do... the yarn is SO SOFT. Even done.... it is squishy and soft...LOVING IT. I seriously wanna keep it as a snuggle blankie for me.

Friend's baby blanket done.

Here is the finished blanket for our friend's baby. His name is Ryan... what a cutie pie! I knit this using Lily sugar and cream. French blue and denim ombre(I think) held together throughout. It was an easy and fun knit. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Hijo de mi alma (son of my soul)

Here is another pic of our boy.

Mijo (my beloved son)

Here is our boy! We found out that his Birthmom did her final sign off. We are just waiting to "go pink." Everything will then be in order and we will get our Embassy appt so we know when to travel. We are SO SO SO thrilled that he is our boy! I love him with all my heart and I can't wait to hold him again! Hope to hear more soon.

PGN Decree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hola! We got the call today that we received our PGN decree. So, what this means, in the eyes of the Guatemalan gov't we are his parents now. So thrilled, so excited so nervous..... Mostly so thankful. If all goes well, HOPEFULLY he will be home with us in 6 weeks or less. Birth mom still has to sign off one more time, then we get a new birth certificate issued. We will be listed as his parents and his last name will change to ours!!!!!!! Then, we get the embassy appointment and we are told when to travel to pick him up. As for my knitting.... YIKES... I'm not done yet with Baby Will Blanket #1. Then I have to finish his second blanket....this stuff MUST get done before we travel. Still need to finish up a baby blanket for a friend....so close on that. Maybe I'll get that one done tonight and then focus on Will's knitting. Got my June shipment of BMFA's Rocking Sock Club today. It is really gorgeous!!! The colorway is beautiful, and the pattern looks awesome. I have not even finished my "inside out" socks from my first club shipment. It will be awhile until I tackle the June kit project. Ok.... back to knitting!

School is DONE

Man oh man... have not posted forever. Just had to get everything done for my little class. I taught preschoolers (4-5 year olds). I had so much to finish up before their graduation.... and now it's done and I'm free! Woo Hoo. Free to knit like a fool! As an update to my previous posts..... All yarn pron arrived safe and sound. Good Stuff! I do believe that the Loopy Ewe was my fav. Their service was WONDERFUL. As for Baby Will's blanket #1... still OTN. Got sidetracked by school, and then had to rush and knit a blanket for a friend's baby who is due any second! That too is still OTN. Just a cotton blanket, double stranded on 13's. Pretty quick knit... hope to get it done in the next day or so. ABSOLUTELY no news on our son. It is so frustrating I can hardly stand it anymore. I know it will be worth it... but come on! There have been lots of ominous warnings from the DOS as well as the UN on Guatemalan adoptions. I just want to get my sweet boy home before a moratorium or complete shut down. I've met him, fed him, held him. He is our son and I hate thinking of him still down there and not here with us. We feel blessed that his foster mom seemed so loving and competent. But what it boils down to.... he is not here with his true mama and papa. That just kills us. Ok enough of my pity party. I'm on to knit like the wind!

Baby Will Blanket #1

Here is my first blanket for our son. The yarn is from Blue Sky Alpacas, Inc. It is their Blue Sky Cotton. The color is # 607....kind of a limey green. I thought this would be a fun non traditional color for a baby. It is SOFT,squishy and wonderful to work with. I'm probably 75% done. It's a fun and easy knit. Hope to get this finished this week. Now... Back to my knitting.

Fast and Furious Knitting

So I was listening to WeaveCast Episode 1 last night. Syne Mitchell gave this 'warning' to pregnant women. If you are making a special item for your baby.... baby tends to wait until you have finished your item until they make their debut. Well, I'm not preggers.... but we are ANXIOUSLY awaiting the finalization of the adoption of our son William from Guatemala. I am currently knitting one blanket for him. I have one more ready to cast on, and a shawl for me, which I thought would be a perfect baptismal day blankie for him. So now, I'm an on a mission people!!! I will knit, knit, knit all three of these items in hopes that his arrival will come as soon as I cast off the final project. As soon as hubby can help me figure out how to upload, I will add a pic of Baby Will's blanket #1. Must... go... knit.....

Yarn PrOn en route!!!

Oh my... I went a bit crazy this past weekend. I have yarn on the way from: pippikneesocks, lime n violet, Scout's Swag, AND The Loopy Ewe. OUCH! This is my first time ordering from each of these sites. I can HARDLY wait for the packages to come!!! Will update when the goodies arrive! :)

Welcome!

Hi all and welcome!. My name is Sarah and I'm a knitter. I'm also a wife and a mommy in waiting. I'm so glad you stopped by! Please check back for updates!