A real post? Sort of. . .

I'm going to do it. I'm really going to put up a real post tonight, with real pictures and crafts and amazing garage sale finds and even some spinning. . . I'd say it's going to be awesome, but that might be taking it a little too far.

I am starting to feel like myself again.

So, why am I not just posting right now you might ask. . . Well, because right now I have a lot of things I need to do. . . I need to clean my very scary kitchen, I need to make dinner, and I really need to throw Litt'e Sir's bedding in the laundry because after his nap he woke up, took off his diaper, and let loose in his crib. I am viewing this as a Potty Training success, and please, don't correct me if I'm wrong. I'm like my own interpretation of reality just fine.

So, why am I not doing all of those things right now, why am I here posting about a post that I'm going to post later. . . ah, that all goes back to me feeling like myself, my happy procrastinating self.

But as long as I'm here, how about a little "Things I Like"

Have any of you tried Wyller's Italian Ice? They are like Otter Pops for adults. All four flavors are fantastic (my favorite is the orange cream) but the biggest surprise is the texture, really like Italian Ice. I have found them at Rite Aid and most recently at Albertsons. They are only 50 calories, and the perfect way to cool off during the summer.

What is sounds like in my head

This is why I am not blogging right now- kudos to you if you actually are able to read it.

Hello all, I am off to Utah on Friday to spend Mother's Day with all my favorite Moms. School, adoption, Little Sir, and sleep are consuming me. I am actually going days at a time without knitting (yes, I am loosing my mind.) I only have 5 weeks left of school, though. I am nearly finished with a sweater for Little Sir (couldn't handle turning heels, so socks are in waiting.) We are hopeful for some adoption progress soon (although that wouldn't free up any more time, would it?- Still that is one additional commitment I'll happily add!) I will try to blog about something interesting while I am there, but no promises. I all ready have "appointments" on several days and I am taking school work with me. Ugh- graduation you can't come soon enough. I am all ready frazzled about not being in Utah long enough to see everyone (hello! My best friend had a baby and I MUST go see her. When? Kerst? Sunday?) Also reminding myself that I will be in Utah again at the end of June and I will be there for longer then and I will be graduated by then (is that really going to happen? It seems so unreal.) Also, I want to finish the Duke's quilt and I NEED to finish the lace for my MIL's dress while I am there (which I am knitting- um, Princess and Queen, you may get a crash course in lace knitting while I am there.) But I am so getting ahead of myself. Before I go I have to buy Little Sir several pair of new pants, his 18 mo ones are all too short now, oh and onsies too, they all fit in the body, but too short in the arms. I am raising a monkey child. Speaking of which, did I tell you all about how he peed all over me today. Yup, he had a bad diaper rash (which appeared out of nowhere- he didn't have it this morning,) was crying because it hurt so bad when I changed his diaper, didn't want me to put a diaper back on, just wanted me to hold him and comfort him, so I did. Next thing I am SOAKED in baby urine. Yep, that is love. OK, and I need to do laundry, I have NO clean clothes and I want to buy a new outfit for the pictures we are getting taken on Tuesday. Hopefully something that make my massive breasts look smaller- I am thinking of having something done about them (read surgery,) they are so annoying and heavy. TMI? Sorry, I didn't think anyone would actually make it this far. Well, there you go, I blogged. This is a tribute to my mother (who not only thinks like this, but also talks and lives like this- can you imagine?) Love you, Mom. Thanks for passing on the never ending voice in my head. At least it sings sometimes. It is also a tribute to my education (may it come to an end soon) think about how much effort it has taken for me to learn how to write in a coherent way when I am thinking like this!



Now, your reward (or reprieve)- I can not believe this was my boy last summer. OOOOH, I so need another one of those sweet smelling, big deer eyed, cooing little, adorable beings. (Taking nothing, of course from Little Sir, who is the most perfect toddler on the plant- did I tell you he unloaded the silverware from the dish washer today for me- he can barley reach the drawer they go it, so I would wait until he went back to the dishwasher - this was a one by one process- and I would put the one he just put in the drawer into its proper slot- he is simply a genius, what can I say?) I just can't wait for another little bundle to come to our home. I guess I will get my temp fix this week with ET, the Princess' new little man. Gah! I can hardly wait to hold him. (I think I just started lactating a little- not really, just water I spilled on my previously mentioned massive breasts- they do get in the way.) Oh and I just wanted to let you know that this manic post was brought to you completely caffeine free. Imagine what happens after I've had a Coke! Now you know why I don't drink it very often!

Randomness

I am still working away on Oblique. No pictures, it looks just the same, just a bit longer.

I am stealth knitting a super fabulous Christmas present. It is currently taking up most of my knitting time.

The Duke and I are looking for alternatives to the traditional Thanksgiving. We have done something different every year for the past six years and we are not satisfied with anything thus far. Any ideas?

We should be approved to adopt by next Monday! YEAH! If you have been wondering where all the pictures of Little Sir are check out the adoption blog.

I am nearly done with another quarter, if I can just make it about 10 more days. Three classes to go. . .

Hopefully I will have a return to interesting blogging in the near future.

Must Have Boots

I am not a shoe person. I probably have fewer pairs of shoes than most men. I'm good with a pair of tennis shoe, two pairs of crocs (black and brown,) two pair of short dress boot (black and brown,) two pair of dress shoes (black and brown,) and a couple of pairs of flip flops and sandals. Yep, that's it. I know, super boring.

SO. . . now you know how big of a deal it is that I saw a pair of rain boots and HAD TO HAVE THEM. I bought them right then and there. I've never done that before.

So, here they are. . .



Don't you love it! Stockinette stitch printed on the boot. How could I resist? And I love the colors! Added bonus- now my feet won't get wet during mine and Little Sir's walks this winter.

BTW- they came from DSW and are made by On Your Feet.

What kind of awful person. . .

In case any of you don't read The Panopticon (you should, he's hysterical and talented) I thought I would cross post his recent news flash.

I've just had a conversation with Mary Ann, the owner of Knitter's Niche at 3026 N. Southport. Knitter's Niche isn't a big place, but it's one of Chicago's oldest yarn shops and Mary Ann is known far and wide for her deep knowledge (particularly of lace knitting), her enthusiasm, and her loveably gruff persona.

On Monday night, somebody broke into the shop and made off with $5,000 worth of yarn and, perhaps worse, eight lace stoles representing years of Mary Ann's work.

Whoever the thief or thieves are, they know the craft. With the exception of an entire shelf of inexpensive cotton, all the yarns taken were the cream of the crop, including chunky and worsted weight hand-dyed Misti Alpaca.

The finished works taken included:

• a white lace stole with clematis edging
• a capelet of mossy green, hand-dyed kidsilk with ribbon trim
• a stole in grey-beige hand-dyed alpaca
• a shoulder scarf in sage green cashmere
• a stole in rose hand-dyed cashmere/silk
• a stole in pink hand-dyed kidsilk
• a large feather-and-fan stole in variegated red, turquoise and copper bamboo/silk

The person(s) responsible took all this–but didn't touch the cash box.

If you have any information, please get in touch with Mary Ann at (773) 472-9276.

And if you're the person who did this, I hope:

• every skein of yarn you own or touch gets moths,
• every finished object you've ever made gets torn to pieces, and
  
• your fingers twist into knots so painful you can never knit, crochet or otherwise create anything ever again.

Stealing somebody's merchandise is wrong. Stealing years of someone's creativity is disgusting.

And karma, may I remind you, is a bitch.

Isn't that just about the worst thing you can imagine? I can't believe someone who knows the massive amount of work that goes into a lace shawl would even consider such an act.

1930's Marital Scale

70 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

I got this off of my friends, Darin and Liz's, blog. You should go take the test, it's seriously hysterical. I lost points because I:
"wear read nail polish" and
"wear pajamas instead of a nightgown"
among other things!

Oh and guys, there is a test for husbands too. . . I'll let you know how the Duke does after he is done taking his well earned nap.

Birds of Flight

Ok, I am not a proponent of any lottery, but have you all seen this commercial? Well, probably most of you haven't because many of you don't live in Washington so let me help you out. It is hysterical! I love it.



Doesn't that penguin look like he is really enjoying himself?

My little sister is in need of some random happiness. She likes hand made things. She likes toys. A little Etsy will do the trick, I think.

Here are a few Etsy treasures I found for you Princess. I hope they bring a bit of sunshine to your day.

Clicking on the picture will take you to the listing.

Follow that Quail

SleepingForest

I love that it's a quail! So unusual.


Owl with Teal Eyes

trulyoutrageous

Those EYES! So so cute.


bunny friend

mellie

Can't you see this little friend as your baby's constant companion. So sweet.


Max

morninglori

He is my favorite. You should click through and read the story that goes along with him.

Primitive Wooden Blocks ABCs Vintage Photos Personalized

MyFathersHouse4

Who wants plastic blocks when you can have these beautiful blocks?


Children's Natural Wooden Puzzle - Hand Carved

ettamae

This is so beautiful. I love functional art.


Albert the Long-Snouted Sock Dog

doodlebugfinery

I just want to squish him. He reminds me of my real dog (it's a snout thing!)

Mabuhay!

Translation: Welcome (formal)

You never know who is reading your blog. That is part of the fun, right?

This morning I got up and checked my email while I was eating breakfast. I nearly fell off my chair when I read the newest comment from Haloscan. Then I called my sister and we both laughed our silly heads off.

"Been lurking here for a long while, and just thought I'd out myself long enough to say that, I happen to be happily married to that "miscreant old flame" of yours. LOL"

Well, it is a small world. Let me extend to you, S.L., an official welcome to Yarnnation. It's a pleasure to have you here.

Now, the rest of you get to hear the story behind the comment. S.'s hubby is far from a miscreant, thus the quotation marks around the word in the previous post. Regardless, he was arrested as we traveled to Southern Utah for spring break the year we were seniors in high school.

So, here's a little Yarnnation history.

We were in the middle-of-nowhere Utah (Delta for those of you who are familiar with the geography.) Mr. Old Flame was driving my Honda Accord. It was a newer Accord, a standard transmission with a lot of pick-up. On the south end of the little town of Delta the speed limit goes from 25-60 with no transitional increase in speed. We could see the speed limit sign where it increased, and Mr. OF sped up to meet that speed. We were maybe 100 yds from the sign when he got pulled over. Technically speaking, he was going 60 in a 25 zone. He got arrested for reckless driving. It was absolutely ridiculous. The officer put him in his patrol car and made me follow them in my car to the county seat, an hour's drive away.

Mr. OF is one of those people who is very calm under pressure(at least he was back then.) He was fine. He and the officer talked, found that the officer and Mr. OF's father had worked together, and the "charge" was changed to an expensive speeding ticket over the course of the drive.

I, on the other hand, cried the entire way there. (Hum- that reaction has only slightly improved in the last 10 years. Personal growth? Meh. . .)

He paid the ticket and we were on our way again. Then, not 30 min later, as if the universe wanted to demonstrate to the world that this young man was far from a troublemaker, we witnessed a car roll, on the freeway, in front of us.

Despite my all ready excited anxiety, Mr. OF stopped, jumped out, and pulled a young couple out of that upside down car. (He was a trained First Responder, so he knew what to do.)
It was truly an act of heroism. As I recall, the young woman was in shock and the first this she said to Mr. OF was "we are getting married in two weeks." Mr. OF's reply: "Maybe someone will give you a new car."

It has been many years since I have talked to Mr. OF, but he was a good man then, and I am sure his wife would readily confirm that he still is.

Once again, welcome to my home on the web, S., and all of you lurkers, known or unknown to me. I am pleased to have you.

Mabuhay!

What is WRONG with me?

It is 5:10 am PST here at Yarnnation. That's right, the middle of the night by my standards. I don't think anyone should ever see 5:10 am on their clock if they can at all help it.

I could say that I am awake because I was happily nursing my adorable (if somewhat vampiresque) child who is going through yet another growth spurt. And I did nurse him- you know, about an hour ago, after I had all ready been awake for about an hour.

So there goes that excuse.

The real problem is that I woke up in the VERY middle of the night- around 3:00 am PST and realized that. . .

I HAVE TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL TOMORROW!

What was I thinking? I am not ready for this.

So, I am freaking out in my own particular Duchess way, which of course involves no sleep, because heaven forbid I be well rested when I am going through a stressful event in my life. That would make no sense what-so-ever.

OK- I'm going back to bed (so I can stare at the ceiling and wait for the doom of daylight to come.)

I'll let you all know how it goes- assuming I survive.

Welcome to Winter

It's SNOWING!

And not just a little bit, these are the biggest snowflakes I have ever seen. For those of you not familiar with Seattle's weather, snow is a novelty here, especially this early in the winter.








Sorry for the fairly crummy pictures. I didn't have any shoes on and I wasn't interested in staying outside for very long.

My dogs are so excited, they love the snow. I'll try to get pictures of them playing when there is a little more on the ground.

Grateful

The drugs seem to be working. I slept for 13 blessed hours last night. All day my heart, body, and soul were grateful for the miracle of modern medicine. I feel like myself for the first time in over seven months.

I also woke up on one of the most sober days of the year. It made me consider that through God, it is our open, educated, curious, and vibrant society that gave me this beautiful day. My doctors were educated in the US, the drug was developed in the US, and those things are available to me because I live in the US. Now, while we may not always agree with how our health care system works (and I don't) it is a complex and awe inspiring (if not always in a good way) part of our culture. It was our culture that was under attack six years ago today, our way of life.

Today I was grateful to be able to celebrate and live an amazing accomplishment of our culture. The men and women that died that day died as martyrs for the American way of life. Today I remembered them and rejoiced in the power and majesty of what they died for. We became stronger as a nation that day not weaker, that is the greatness of the American people.

Since that day when we stood united there has been a lot of questions, a lot of confusions, a lot of noise. It was an event that we will never understand, nor will we ever fully understand the aftermath. There will always be unanswered questions, anger, and frustration, but I suggest that amidst all the contention we remember that we are blessed to live in a simply magnificent country and enjoy a lifestyle few others enjoy. Remember that. We are not perfect, perfection is impossible, but would you live anywhere else? I have lived abroad, I have experienced the "other way." I am proud to be an American and I will forever be grateful for the blessing of living in this blessed land.

On our recent trip to NYC we were able to visit the 9-11 visitor's center and look down into the hole that was once the WTC. It was sobering, it was difficult, and it was powerful. Not only did the victims and their families become very real, so did the impassioned response of the country. We were all victims to some extent that day. Our peace of mind, our confidence, our way of life came under attack that day. It changed all of us.

Like all tragedies, we all dealt with it differently. Some of us became patriots that day, some of became cynics. Some of us asked "how could this happen?" and some asked "how will we heal?" Some of us tore down walls of solitude and some of us built them up.

However, we all cried, either aloud or in our hearts, we all mourned, and we promised to never forget.


The heroes.


The wreckage- part of an airplane.


The unimaginable- a basket used to transport remains.


The grief- "missing" fliers.




The unchangable reality.


The response - 10,000 hand folded Japanese paper cranes.

Jumble of Stuff

1. Ravelry is pretty cool. I think I suffered a bit from the build-up, but there really is nothing like it or even close to it. My favorite feature is that you can search for a book and any of the patterns that anyone on the site has knit (and some that no one has) come up and you can click and see it knit 'for real', read what other knitters thought about it, ect.

2. Remember this?


I've been working on it.

Here it is sanded (sorry for the terribly bright pics, mid-day sun and a funky camera)



Primed



Painted



And later tonight we should see the finished project. I am just waiting for the 7 drawer pulls to dry- yes I said 7, I accidentally only bought 7 instead of 8, so another trip to Home Depot to pick up a $1.29 pull. I'm, naturally, blaming it on pregnancy.

3. What's this



Well, I think it's another nearly completed baby sweater. The one the Duke 'designed' if I'm not mistaken. Look for a FO coming soon to a Yarnnation near you.

4. I want to express my appreciation to Crocs.
It may seem a little strange to you to publicly thank a shoe company. Perhaps, but let me explain. NONE of my shoes fit, literally not a single pair. I can only wear flip flops. Next month the Duke and the alien and I are off to NYC. Now, having been to NYC before, the idea of walking around the glorious (if a bit grimy) city in flip flops was grossing me out. My friend Lucy came to visit me on Sunday. She was wearing some very cute Mary Jane Crocs. She let me try her's on, and what do you know, THEY FIT!!! I went out the next day and procured two pair, one black, one brown. I think I am also going to have to order a pair in red. Thank you Lucy and thank you Crocs! I will not be walking around NYC with my bare feet only 1/4 inch from the streets.

5. On this same shopping excursion I walked past a display in Nordstrom's and saw something that caught my eye. . . a mannequin with a very cute duster on.

Something like this (image from Nordstroms)


Then I got my Real Simple Magazine.
and it has an article about cardigans in it. I open it and I see


(image from Liy McNeal)

and this,
(image from Land's End - I know it's a tiny pic, click on the link to see it up close, it's a beautiful sweater.)



and I think back about 5 or so years ago, the last time long sweaters were in style. At that time I thought to myself, "Self, you don't want to buy ALL that yarn, and knit that GIANT sweater for weeks and weeks just to have it not be in style next year."

And I wonder if I will be able to convince myself again.

And I remember this from this, and I doubt it.

6. The Duke and I are 1/4 of the way through the last Harry Potter. Yes, I know we are sadly behind, and that is fine. From the time the very first book came out when the Duke and I had just started dating, we have read each of them (with one exception when we were living in different cities) together. He reads out loud to me in the evenings while I knit. It is one of our very favorite past times, and we especially enjoy it with Harry Potter. So, don't talk to me about the book or I'll scream- oh yes, and as my poor family has found out, don't call me after about 6:30 pm Pacific Coast time for the next week and a half. I won't want to talk to you. :)

I'll take what ever I can get. . .

Sarah sent me a link to this study that suggests that nausea and vomiting in pregnanacy indicates a decreased risk for breast cancer. Hey, just goes to show that there is always a silver lining, even if I still feel like throwing up.

Thanks Sarah!

Royally Spoiled

The alien may not have officially been "styled" yet, but he is now riding around in serious style. His royal coach was delivered yesterday and he is very excited about it.
Now the alien can hear, and supposedly he can even make noise, but seeing as you and I can't hear him, Princess P. sent a proxy for him so that he could still show you his new coach.
This is Trip-Trap - Trap for short. He arrived with a message for the alien from his cousin "W". It said "My dad is cooler than your dad." The alien promptly erased it. He hasn't met his uncle Prince Bertram the Bad yet, but he's a smart little guy and isn't buying that anyone with the title "Bad" is better than his Daddy Duke.
So, here is Trap, standing in for the alien, to show off his new coach in a series of short clips.
Please keep in mind that I am no cinematographer, nor to I even have a video camera, just my simple digital with highly limited video capability.



"Check out my new ride!"





"I'm the coolest fetus ever!"







"Suh-weeet!"

__________________

The royal coach is a Hyundai Veracruz. If you've never heard of it, you're not alone, my insurance agent didn't even have it in her database yet. It was just released in June. You can get a better look at it here or read the buzz about it here.

An Encouragement

I have never before encouraged anyone who reads this blog to read my other blog, as it is religious in nature. The post I have just created, however, will be the first and possibly only exception to this rule. It is not at all religious in nature, but it is something that I think is important and that currently I feel strongly about. It contains my pledge to try to make life ever so slightly more enjoyable. I hope you all will take a moment to read it.

http://amusinglymormon.blogspot.com/

Eight Hundred Miles and Egg Shells

Please excuse my longer than typical absence from the blogging world. The past week and a half has been more than I could deal with, all non-essential functions were discontinued.

The past week was a full fledged, decked out in all her glory, this is not a drill, demonstration of why I live (and will always live) 800 miles away from the town I originally called home. Let me explain.

The Duke and I are originally from the same area, my parents, his parents, one set of my grandparents, one set of his grandparents, all my siblings, half of his siblings, and a multitude of aunts, uncles, and cousins all still live there. There has been a lot of pressure over the years for us to return, pressure that I have easily ignored with the great help of events like this past week.

Don't get me wrong, I love my family, and I dearly wish I my sister and her husband would move to Seattle (yes, I know it's never going to happen, but a Duchess can dream.) I just don't have the constitution to deal with the politics that are seemingly inevitable when not just one, but several, intermarried families live so close to one another. (My brother and sister also married into families from the same county. . . I don't even know who all my relatives are anymore.)

. . .

OK, I got about 2000 words into recapping my past week and got so upset that it ruined the rest of my day. You don't want to read it, and I don't want to write about it. Here's how things stand now.

The Bad

-I am exhausted from doing a poor excused for my best to host 16 people. (Much thanks to my wonderful parents for helping me enough to make this even remotely possible. I would have certainly killed someone if you hadn't been there.)
- My FIL crossed the line on Sunday. I have moved from expending a ridiculous amount of energy to try to tolerate "John's teasing" and trying to keep the peace in the face of a person who goes out of his way to upset me. I can't help the fact that he dislikes me because I married his son, that's his problem. I will now, instead, expend a much smaller amount of energy (heaven knows I need to conserve all I have at this point,) to avoid having unnecessary interaction with him. As a wise counselor once told me "Don't try to kiss a rattle snake."
- Due to other highly unpleasant circumstances the Duke and mine's future plans have radically changed. Nothing really to write about here, but it's very stressful at the moment.

The Good

-I definitively felt the little alien move last week. The little bugger kicked me hard enough that I felt it with my hand that was resting on my belly. I have been feeling these little movements for a few weeks now, but intermittently, and I didn't know for sure if that is what it was. Well, now this little alien has taken to romping around in my belly with great vigor. An athlete? Well, that depends on how much of his father's DNA he got as opposed to mine, but his energy is not mine, that's for sure. (Or rather it IS mine, plus his, as he continues to consume mine.)
- I now have some time to rest and recover until the next major event, our annual trip to the Oregon Coast. I'm not as excited for the beach trip as I usually am. We made an impromptu trip to Portland on Monday and the car trip was really hard on me. Luckily, the beach is a very restful place.
- I have some fabulous acquisitions to share with you all from last week before my home and life were invaded. My mom and I made a fun little excursion to Whidbey Island. . . aren't you excited?

A few more notes before I sign off.

Yes, we have a name chosen for the alien. I have been trying to decide if I should post it or not. The Duke preferes not to have our names posted to the blog, thus the Duchess and Duke. I agree, but want to share the name we've chosen. I'll think about it.

No, Patrick, rest assured, his name will not be Earl. (And sadly I had to explain that to the Duke- sigh.)

Yes, there do seem to be a multitude of boys coming around. My cousin just gave birth to twin boys a few days ago (just under 36 weeks, both healthy and adorable. I can't wait to meet them.) I have three friends expecting boys in the next 4 months, another cousin expecting a boy, and of course Princess P. will have W. in August. We actually have enough baby boys being born just within the family to have a basketball team. Too bad the parents are all so short, guess they'll just have to learn to knit ganseys instead!

Thank you all for your well wishes and congratulations. We are very excited.

Spinning? Do we do that here?

The Duke said he would know when I was feeling better when I started spinning again. Well, it is true that I am feeling much better and so it happened as the man said.





This Lorna's Laces roving (wool of unknown origin- but nice to spin) has been on my bobbins since pre-pregnancy. It was time to get it off. It was about 10 oz., but I used some of it for a non-spinning purpose, and there was a little waste, as is expected. I ended up with about 500 or so yards of a light worsted weight 2 ply. There are actually parts of it that are a little finer, as it is my nature to spin finer singles, but considering the length of time that elapse between start date and end date, it looks pretty consistent.

The Duke says thanks to all of you who sent congratulations via the blog. It really is such a big thing for us, it is still sinking in. We have been married for 6 years and he has been a student that entire time. At least I'm still a student for a bit longer, so we won't go into total culture shock all at once!

Next, remember you have until 5:00 pm today to comment on the Yarn of Yarnnation #3. A random commenter will get sent some fiber happiness.

Last, I have fixed my bloglines (I'm pretty sure) but I haven't been commenting a lot lately, mostly because I'm just tired. I am reading though- great midnight occupation! I'll be better after school is over. I have a feeling that the naughty alien is going to (per Murphy's law) give up the nausea battle just as soon as finals are over. Hopefully the mythical second trimester energy will show up around that time too. The reason I am telling you this- If you know I have read your blog in the past, or for that matter you think I should read your blog but haven't in the past and you don't see your blog on my sidebar, leave a comment or send me an email and let me know. I felt terrible when I discovered that I had somehow deleted three of my friend's blogs. I just thought they were going through a blogging dry spell. I'm blaming it all on the alien, it's all the alien's fault! It's a naughty little alien (and a week from today we will be able to assign the appropriate pronoun to that naughty little alien- YIPEEE!!!!)

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

I saw this on Lucy's blog. It's prety cool.

The Year of the Boar and other Randomness

Happy Chinese New Year. It's the year of the boar. While I was not born in a year of the boar (I in fact am a sheep, evidently, although I know little to nothing about the Chinese zodiac,) I do have a special place in my heart for pigs. And now I will have a little piglet nephew to love. Yes, the royal little baby of Princess P. and Prince B. will be a little bouncing baby boy! I all ready have projects lined up for him, starting with this, only in a nice brown. This book is adorable, I'm sure he will be getting other knitting goodness out of it.



Continuing, for the moment along the pig thread, the Duke and I have this print hanging our our wall. It is called Kohler's Pig by Michael Sowa and at our house we like to think that it is pig heaven, where pigs come when they die. It is here that they can fly.

Why do I like pigs you ask? It has to do with the legend of Carcassone

In 760, Pippin the Younger, king of the Franks and father of Charlemagne, had recaptured most of Southern France from the Saracens. But the impregnable fortress of Carcassonne resisted. According to legend, a Saracen princess named Carcas devised a ruse to save the city. After a long siege, she used the last sacks of grain to fatten up a pig, and then threw it over the ramparts. Seeing such a well-fed pig, the assailants gave up, thinking the city had enough food not to surrender for a long time. Carcas rang the bells to celebrate, and the city was named Carcas sonne (Carcas rings).
(http://www.bootsnall.com)

The Duke told me this story at a difficult time in my life. Now, when I am having a hard time, I think of Carcas and her pig who together saved the city. I realize this didn't end so well for the pig, that is why we have the painting in our house where pigs come to live in peace and happiness after they die.

Anywho, moving on. I listened to The Story of Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting. It was sweet and while not the most enthralling of literature, was enjoyable. It has a baby pig name Gub-Gub in it.

So, in honor of the Chinese New Year, which I love because it's like another chance at the fresh start that I always somehow miss in early Jan., I thought I would pull out my various WIPs.


Sebastion- on the needles since Nov. I will get this done soon, I swear.


The Duke's Aran Sweater- considering I've had to do "cable surgery" on it three times now, it's moving along, slowly, but surly.


My Eco Sweater is DONE! YIPEE- it just needs a closure of some sort, I'm undecided as to what it should be.


Green Socks (done in my own hand dyed yarn.)


The Shadow Scarf


My scarf which if I hadn't made myself insane enough knitting endless rows of garter stitch, then I decided it needed a crochet edging. Slowly, yes, but coming.


Here is a simple raglan that I cast on for last night. The Queen Mother Knitter sent me the yarn and the pattern as a b-day gift, and I needed some mindless knitting last night, it was perfect.


Last by not least, here is my nearly finished tote for the International Tote Exchange III. It just needed the bottom ribbon and handles. I hope my exchangee likes it.


And to finish off with some more randomness, this is my latest hand spun, 2 ply, 12 wraps per inch, spun from a Corriedale Grafton Fiber Batt. So nice.





And here are some adorable pictures of my two little beasts. Click here to visit my latest photo set of my cutie pie pups!