A Happy Discovery

Yesterday I had lunch with a group of moms and their babies. There was a little girl there wearing the cutest Dr. Seuss onesie. I asked her mom where it came from and she said she thought it came from Macy's. I was surprised, I didn't know Macy's had a children's department.
Today Little Sir and I went there today to hunt down a little Dr. Seuss gear. We were happily surprised to find two Dr. Seuss onesies- and a great sale going on. (I could only find a picture of one of them.)



We also had another fun discovery. Macy's has a line of baby clothes called Green Dog that I just love. It also happens to be pretty reasonable (especially when Macy's is having a big sale.)

There was a much bigger selection in the store than they have online, but here is a little sampling of the line.




We picked up a few outfits for "W" and a few for Little Sir. Such fun buying baby clothes!

Swimming and Spinning and Scenery: A Multi-Interest Post

For those interested in swimming - or in Little Sir- we went swimming (his first time) yesterday at the Mountlake Terrace Pool.

They have this cool little area that they call the Leisure Pool. It is a graduated pool, starting out at 6 inches and going down to 3 feet. It has gentle geysers and a little island under the water. It is a great place for kids. (photo from the pool's website)



Please pardon the crappy cell phone pictures, I was by myself and didn't think it a wise choice to take my new camera (or my old one for that matter) into the pool area while trying to keep my hands on a slippery little baby.



You can see that Little Sir just loved it. (Why do I think that the sight of my child crying is so hysterically funny?) He actually did like it, but this was the last thing I did before we went back to the locker room to reverse the circus-like process that was getting us both dressed for swimming at the same time. I learned a few tricks from the other moms that were around, and next time I think Sarah and Elliot will be joining us, so baby wrangling might be a bit easier.



Don't you wish 15 min. in the pool and a few ounces of of warm milk could make you sleep this soundly?



For those among us who are interested in fiber, this is the first bit of the amazing Optium that I am spinning. I have Navajo plyed it and it is destined to become socks. I have purposely over plyed it for better sock wearing and I was afraid that I would be giving up the softness for that, but after setting, it is clear that this fiber can be nothing but soft. I am truly amazed.



And for those who are just here for the pretty pictures, well, here you go. We went up to Mount Vernon to visit a friend who just bought a house up there. We took a little drive up to Little Mountain Park and this what lay below us. Truly I live in a beautiful place.

Redecorating

If you read my blog from a reader click through and check out my new banner.

New Blog Alert

Hey all. . .

You've all heard my talk about my extremely talented lil' sister, Princes P. Well one of her many talents is the ability to find delightful (and usually reasonable) products. She specializes in baby and kids products and design and function for the home.

She has created a new blog to keep track of her favorite finds. Add it to your readers, you'll be glad you did!

Bolt from the Blu

Swinging Along

Little Sir and I went to the park on Thursday. We took our new camera.
















I just had to include this one. I love it. My mom told me that we used to get so mad at her when she would take pictures of us crying.

Madrona

What do you get when you put two 4 month old babies and two fiber fanatics into an SUV and drive them to Tacoma for the day?


Chameleon Colorworks Optium (stretched merino- to DIE for soft. It has properties of both silk and wool, and it is machine washable- Amazing) in color way Briar Rose.
(this was a b-day gift from Sarah- thanks Sarah! I'm spinning it now- it's wonderful.)


Crown Mountain Farms Merino in color way "Light My Fire".
This is the same company I purchased the BFL roving from that I spun for this sweater. I loved spinning it, I loved knitting with it, I love wearing it. Recipe for repeat.


And the absolutely unbelievable 70/30 Alpaca Silk from Tactile. They are scheduled to have their website go live on 3 Mar. Until then, you can find them at Stitches West if you are lucky enough to get to go.

Progress and a Meme

I am slogging along. I have to get to 13 inches before I start the color work.

I have been dealing with an Econ midterm, but I turned it in tonight. I am working into recovery mode (yes, it was that bad.)

I'll have some photo oriented posts in the next few days, but in the mean time, Heather over at Magically Mama has tagged me for a meme about the Duke, and I am happy to share a little with you about my guy and the way we live.

How long have you been together? We are soon approaching 7 years of marriage.

How long did you date? Well, that is kind of hard to quantify. We went on 2 dates while both or one of us were in HS. Then we didn't see one another for over 2 years. Then we spent quite a bit of time together as friends and then started to date for a few months. Next we spent nearly another year apart, and when we were again reunited we dated for a few more months and then got engaged. We were engaged for nine months.

How old is he? 30

Who eats more? Oh that depends on the food, the meal, the day, the cycles of the moon. Both of us have strange eating habits. The Duke has the ability to eat enough for someone twice his size (without gaining an ounce of weight I might add.) He also has the ability to survive, at times, on nothing but oatmeal and PB&J sandwiches.

Who said "I love you" first? I haven't a clue. We both knew it before it was ever said.

Who is taller? We are EXACTLY the same height.

Who is smarter? Oh- that's a dangerous question. That would certainly depend on the topic at hand. We are a good match.

Who does the laundry? We both do. Lately the Duke has been doing it more often.

Who does the dishes? The Duke. He does the dishes and I clean up the kitchen. It's a nice time for us to talk.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? We have what we call "an equality of space" in our house. We don't have sides of the bed, we trade back and forth. We also don't have places at the dinner table.

Who pays the bills? I did until about 18 months ago when the Duke took that over when he was looking for ways to help me decrease the stress in my life. (Isn't he a good one?)

Who mows the lawn? Again, we both do, but I do it more often. Also, this isn't really a very big job when you only have 100 sq feet off grass.

Who cooks dinner? Either I do or we do it together.

Who is more stubborn? We are both so stubborn it's scary.

Who kissed who first? The Duke kissed me. (one of my sweetest memories-)

Who asked who out? He asked me on pretty much all our dates.

Who proposed? Well, we aren't really sure. We just knew it was time. The entire situation was very strange. Maybe some day I'll write about it.

Who is more sensitive? I am- but that's not to say he isn't.

Who has more friends? We pretty much have the same friends.

Who has more siblings? The Duke, by one sister.

Tagging? Sara- how about your first meme? Lucy at An Ordinary Mom. Oh and Heidi- how about your first meme too!

Oh and one last thing (or two)

All of you go over to Anna's blog and see some seriously beautiful photographs with some of my favorite subjects.

And if that isn't enough to make you say awwww- go on over to Georgia's blog and see her fresh from the oven Mr. Fatty Cakes.

Ahhhh- I love babies! It's so very strange.

An Epoch Begins?

The Genesis. . . (because a project like this should have its cast on called something grand.)
-CO 250 stitches with a size US 2 (2.25mm) needle.



Exodus- will this sweater take 40 years of wandering in the wilderness to finish? Or perhaps a miracle akin to the parting of the Red Sea will be required.



Numbers: (yes, I know I skipped Leviticus- you try to relate the Levitical Law to knitting)
Now I have to increase to 264 stitches and knit a trillion little tiny stitches before I get to more color work. I do get to switch to a size 3 needles, though. Yep, I must be nuts!

Here we GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. . . .

Proof

These are the needles- (size US 3)


That met this yarn-


That knit this swatch-


That proves the Duchess is INSANE!

Yes the time has come at last. It has been over a year since I bought the kit. The thing must be knit (on size US 2 and 3 needles.)

Really I am looking forward to the challenge. I'll let you know how I feel after 8 zillion stockinette stitches before I even get to any significant color work. Yep- I do love my Duke.


Mama, you are crazy!

Baby vs. Fiber

In this corner we have the Ultra Feather Weight Champion Time Snatcher: Little Sir.

In this corner we have the Ultra Fiber Weight Champion Time Snatcher: Knitting and Spinning.

I will give you .37 seconds to determine who is going to win the title of All Time Ultimate Time Snatcher!



Here is a sweater that I started sometime during my pregnancy.
The bottom is my hand spun, the top is Cascade 220.

When these photos were taken I had run out of yarn with about two inches of the sweater to go (it was knit bottom-up so two inches of small neck rounds.)



It took me about 3 days to make it to the yarn store to get the yarn needed to finish the sweater.
It took me another 4 days to get it wound into a cake.
It took me about 20 minutes to finish the silly thing.



I will have FO pics, oh you know, as soon as I can find time to put the sweater on, try to get the Duke to take more than 2 photos for me to choose from, when it's light outside (it was still light at 5:00 pm today- YAHOO!) and manage to do it all without getting spit-up on.

So what I'm telling you here is, don't hold your breath.


I did get a tiny bit of spinning done as well. This lovely BFL that Sarah brought me while I was frantically searching for ways to keep my sanity that didn't involve my pregnancy disabled hands, has been in single form on bobbins for many a moon now. It was time to ply some of it. It's lovely. I just love the color.



I went to Spinning Night on Friday as well, and got a very small amount of spinning done, but it did feel good to have my right foot being used in yarn production as opposed to sleep production (I often use the same treadle motion on Little Sir's bouncy chair to lull him to sleep.)



Superwash Merino singles, destined to become a two ply sock weight.

And there you go, a full fledged fiber post.

Wait until you see what craziness I am planning next. . .

A (Silent) Poetry Reading

It 2 Feb. 2008, the Third Annual Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading.

I didn't participate last year, but I did enjoy the event, so I thought this year I would participate. I went looking for a poem the captured how I have been feeling these past few months of new motherhood.

I couldn't find anything that resonated with me.

So. . . I did something that I rarely do. I wrote something.

I used to write quite a bit of poetry, but it has become a rare occasion in the past 8 or so years.

I am now also going to do something I have NEVER done. I'm going to share it with you all. So, um, be kind. I'm no Walt Whitman.

I Never Knew

It is a street lamp that illuminates your peaceful face.
Still sleeping, by instinct, you draw milk from my breast.
Bundled tight against the night, compact and tidy.
My exhaustion answers your father’s sounds of sleep.

It is a halo of innocence and light that humbles me.
In perfect peace you draw life and return awe, strength, assurance.
Presented, wrapped as the greatest of gifts.
I am fulfilled and realized, protected by sacred union.

I never knew, my child. . . my child.
You have made me new.
I love you. I love you.

Megan Wright
2/2/08

There you are, a perhaps not so elegant look into my heart. I do love that little boy in a way and with a strength that I could have never comprehended before.

I know I promised you knitting, and I have it to show you, but Photobucket is being a pain in the bucket, so you'll have to wait one more day.

Talk to you then!