Uli's Creative Corner

I'm glad to hear that everyone can read my text again.  I have some work left to do on getting the template ie. the info in my sidebars back to where I want them but that will happen in the next couple of days as I can steal a free moment or two. 

Here is the fruit of my labour for the June Pincushion Challenge - a cherry themed pin cushion.  I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else who is participating in this came up with.  I'm not the most creative when it comes to crafty adventures like this but I'm glad I made this one.  It's simple and I like it and will use it especially after I dropped a whole case of quilting pins the other day.  I was on my hands and knees trying to keep the cats out of the room and picking up each pin hoping that none got lost in the carpet.

My knitting adventures will revolve around finishing up the mitered cardie and working on the sleeves for the ribbed top I'm working on today.  Maybe I will also cast on my Trekking socks for the Trek Along (sorry no time to insert the links right now).  We're running late getting ready for aerobics class.

Please be patient with me while I try to bring things around here back to normal.  I'm going to update my template in the next few days.  For one.... just to get out of the purple rut and in the hopes that the numerous readers who haven't been able to read the text on here will, once again, be able to read stuff on here again. 

It seems the problem is a problem for Mozilla Firefox users.  Things show up fine on Internet Explorer.  So I'm not sure what the deal is.  But if you haven't been able to read things in the last few days and now you are, please let me know.  And if you're still not able to read this then you won't know what I'm writing anyways.... how silly is that?

It's almost 8 am - knock on wood - JR is still sleeping and has been all night.  I'm about to explode so I actually want him to wake up but I really believe in letting sleeping babies lie.

I'm going to stitch my pincushion design for the pincushion challenge today and do some more finishing on the mitered squares cardigan.  I put most of it together yesterday.  Today I have tons of ends to weave in and the sleeve and side seams to seam up and then it's done except for some crochet edging and some crochet button loops.

A quick knit is what I needed so that's what I did........ and still no finishing done on any of the 3 finished projects.

Look at the cute hat I just finished for Jonathan.  It was a really, really fun knit and it fits super cute.  I used a skein of Cascade Fixation.  The stretch gives it a really nice fit and it's a fairly solid knit so the brim isn't floppy.  But take a look for yourself:

Details:

Yarn: Cascade Fixation

Needles: 3.5 mm 16" circular (and some DPNs to finish the crown)

Pattern: By Shelley of Fun Knits (see it here - May 14th entry) - I made some alterations but in general, it's exactly the same pattern - just adjusted for different yarn and the little one's head size.

Maybe I shall get a bit of finishing done tonight but I already started the same little hat for Erika using some OnLine cotton sock weight yarn.

Meet the Team - Team Love at First Sight

Of course, there's good old ME who will have to play an integral part in challenging this team to complete the race.  The road to success is paved with good intentions - isn't that what you say?

ME loves lace but doesn't do enough of it because ME lives with a family of people aka husband and kids and cats and there always seems to be some sort of distraction that could interfere with the counting and careful attention to detail that's necessary for lace.  ME has done lots of lace patterns but has only tackled one real lace shawl and that's Charlotte's Web.  Lace always seems to get set aside for the times when ME has peace and quiet........... and how often does that happen?  Now with baby boy on board, let's say, almost never.

And then, there it was, one day.............. Love at First Sight (do you believe in love at first sight?)

ME fell in love with yarn and pattern probably about the same time but didn't put the two together until me realized she could make a small version of the lace pattern and match it with the above mentioned yarn and have enough. 

The yarn is Seasons yarn purchased in the moment...... an instance of absolute and complete Love at First sight - we met on the internet - I couldn't even fondle but I knew that if my dear friend and yarn enabler Shelley at Fun Knits mentioned this new yarn on her blog I wanted to try it.  It's a fingering weight yarn and I thought socks would probably work and then it came and it was so soft and the colours even better in real life that it couldn't become a pair of socks.  The love was immediate and even stronger than when I saw it just on a computer screen.  That was quite some time ago.

About the same time, I met the Diamond Fantasy Scarf/Shawl designed by Sivia Harding and also succumbed to instant love.  I had seen it before but it didn't really register and then Brenda blogged about starting it using the same Seasons yarn just in a lace weight and in the spring colour way.  First of all, I joined the KAL and then I put two and two together the Diamond Fantasy Scarf and the Seasons yarn in the summer colour way were meant to be together.

ME started................... ME didn't get very far so ME and the scarf are taking on this challenge and we will be an amazing team working together to get to the finish line.  See our lovely start..............

Of course, as it is in any challenge there are obstacles that ME and the scarf will have to face.  Some of those of course, is the other lace yarns in the stash calling out loud and clear.... Knit Me, Knit Me..... see some of them here - and remember this is only a lovely sampling of some Lorna's Laces and some Knit Picks Alpacca lace weight.  There are others in that stash.

And then there are the patterns that might interfere in meeting the Amazing Lace Challenge - I can tell they are trying very hard to get ME's attention:

For example:

• Flower Basket Shawl (see that lovely blue alpacca lace weight at the top there.....)
• Triangles within Triangles by Heartstrings (I think the Lorna's Helen's Lace on the right above would be perfect)
• Candle Flame Shawl from Knit Picks

And that's just a sampling......... there are others lurking out there, wanting to interfere in this challenge.  Of course there are the other non lace projects that want some attention, too and guess what, as I stumble to the finish line (of course with my head held high) the road paved with good intentions will be littered with small little obstacles that are just too cute to not pay attention to............

Who wouldn't want to be sidelined every once in a while by these two faces?

Here's counting on lots of good nap times!!!!  Have a fun race and meet you at the next challenge.

As for other knitting:  the mitered squares cardigan for Little Miss is all finished the knitting part.  Now I have 3 items in the finishing basket.  Yikes.  I'll use my free time, if I get any, to do as much finishing as I can.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Twice in a day.......... well, you've got to see these bath time beauties:

Swim Goggles are mandatory!!!

Look at those curls!!!

Off to do some housework before sitting down in an attempt to knit a few more rows.

Strollerobics without a storller????

Well, you're incredibly lucky and meet another Mom in the parking lot who just happens to have 2 strollers in her Mom Mobile (aka the family van) and who is happy to share one with you.  I won't go into why I raced off to stroller aerobics and why I didn't have a stroller in the car.  Just think of it that way....... it was not my fault!!!

In a split second, I was trying to figure out whether it was worth taking the little guy in his baby bucket and parking him in a corner and pretending I was going around and around with a stroller.  Well, I didn't have to go there so thank you to a very kind Mom who was willing to share.

Right now the strollerobics is my big contribution to...........

and it feels so good to get out there and do something.  Walking is great but I do it by myself.  Getting out there with other Moms and seeing the other cute babies is a whole lot more fun.  I'm sore afterwards but I feel good, too.  It's a good thing.

If you're curious what it's about - the brief description is that strollerobics classes are often held outside but in this case (and many other cases) we're inside and we use a full size gymnasium.  I expected to have baby off to the side lines when I first started but then why call it "strollerobics"?  Well, we push our babies around the perimeter of the gym either walking, jogging or running.  This particular instructor is big on interval training so we do intervals where we go from walking to jugging to full out sprinting and back down.  And then every once in a while we "circle up" ie. we push all the strollers in the middle where babes can look at each other and then we do all kinds of stuff - some traditional aerobics routines, some kick boxing routines, and, at the end, of course, squats and lunges and other strength training exercises.  If babies are awake at the end, we can take them out of the stroller and put them down on a blanket or do squats while holding them as a weight.  On the floor we work on the traditional stuff ie. push ups, abs etc. with a nice quiet and calming stretch at the end.

I haven't really accomplished any strides in my weight loss goals even since I started this class.  It seems just as hard to keep a steady weight (or even lose) as it was before I got back to this heavier, more intense type of exercise.  But, I do have to admit that breastfeeding makes me so hungry and I crave chocolate like there's nothing else in the world.  I try to cut down on the stuff but sometimes I do give in.  So, along with the workouts, I'll have to get the eating thing back under control.

Well, that's my little exercise talk.  A little known secret is that I used to be a real gym/aerobics rat (about 10 years ago when I was doing my Master's degree, was single and had no kids).  I still love talking the talk but I'm not so good at walking the walk these days.  Back in those days I was exploring becoming a fitness instructor.  I kind of wish I had in some ways.  That might have kept me on the straight and narrow.  Now, I really have to work for it and keep pushing myself to try and get that weight off again.  At least I'm not fighting baby weight gain because I actually lost with JR rather than gained.  I'm still fighting the little Miss weight gain that all happened while I was on maternity leave.  I'm fighting to have it not happen again while I'm on leave this time and it's a battle.

Okay, off that horse.  Downstairs to do some knitting while JR is still sleeping.  I was complaining last night I never get to knit so I should take advantage of a few minutes of quiet.

I have my Amazing Lace intro post brewing in my head so that shall be next.

I love long weekends and I love it, if at the end of a long weekend, I have something to show for it.  Well, I don't have much to show......... so little, in fact, that I didn't take any pictures of anything.

I did almost complete the first sleeve for Littl Miss' mitered squares cardigan.  I'm only about 2 inches shy of finishing and then I have the 2nd sleeve to do.  Considering that I had envisioned that I could finish both sleeves this weekend that doesn't sound like much progress but I guess I am working on 3mm needles and her little arms are growing longer by the minute.  So I'll revise my goal and hope to finish the 2nd sleeve sometime this week.

And when that is finished, I think I need to set aside a finishing day.  I still have the little ribbed sweater for JR, Eris and then this cardigan to finish.  I really don't like finishing.  The push is greater to finish fast if it's something that I or someone else can wear right away.  In this case, JR's ribbed sweater is sized for next fall/winter season and Eris is out of season right now, too.  The mitered cardigan will be perfect for Erika right now so that should push me to finish.  She picked out a yellow dress on a shopping expedition on Friday and that cardigan will be great with it.

What else did we do?  A 1-year old birthday party, a trip to the park, little Miss had a sleepover at Oma and Opa's house so Evan took me out for breakfast after church.  JR of course was with us but he slept through the whole meal.  The weather behaved until yesterday and yesterday was soggy but that hopefully helped our newly re-seeded lawn in the backyard.  It was a bit hot earlier in the week to have any success.

JR is giving me an unexpected break right now so I'm off to solve my daily Sudoko.  Once that's done, he'll be up for his 2nd breakfast (his first one happened at 4:30 am this morning) and then we have to do a trip to the grocery store.  We're limping along with very little food in the house.

Notice the Sudoko puzzle to my right....... it's my newest addiction.  As a major math and numbers geek in highschool and in college, these puzzles are right up my alley.  Geez, I only just learned about them and now I'm doing them all the time.  They are fun but very addictive and a big time waster.  The basic concept is to fill each column and each row with numbers 1 through 9 and to not repeat any number in a column or a row.  You also have to fill each 3X3 square with numbers 1 through 9 without any repetitions.  At least I can solve these suckers while JR is eating on the left.  My right hand is free to plug in numbers.....

As for knitting........ mitered squares cardigan for Erika is being frantically worked on.  I would like to finish it by the end of the Victoria Day long weekend.  I only have 1 3/4 more sleeves to do.  Can I do it?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Hello, my name is Uli and I'm such a joiner.  Here are two summer activities that I thought would be quite fun to join in on:

I'm joining this one because I've had some Trekking XXL in my stash for a while now and haven't "dug" into it yet but I want to..... well, this is the perfect excuse (more on digging into my sock yarn stash later).  I'm going to start with colour #108.  It's a blend of blues/oranges maybe a bit brighter than in this little picture:

As for the "trekking" that will go along with the socks, I think we're looking at fairly urban trails around town.  Consider stroller and pre-schooler in tow......... nothing too rugged, especially not until I can move JR from the regular stroller into the jogging stroller.  But I have big plans for the summer in terms of outdoor activities.   So Trekking XXL in #108........... listen up, be warned, you're about to be removed from your friends in the stash!!!!  You can run and you can hide....... but I will track you down.

And then there's the "Amazing Lace Challenge".  I have visions of numerous lace projects so this is my kick start for some nice summer lace. 

I'm starting out partnering up with Sivia Harding's Diamond Fantasy Scarf using some of the lovely Seasons handpainted yarn from Fun Knits that I've talked about before.

I'd better get busy...........  I still have this month's pin cushion for the pincushion challenge to work on but I've got my project picked and planned out at this point.

And for Project Spectrum....... well, I started socks and they are growing slowly.  I don't think I will have finished a green project by the end of June.  We'll see.

Now about sock yarn........ if you're a sock yarn stasher, do you get attached to your sock yarn?  I sometimes have a hard time taking my very favourite balls of sock yarn and actually using them for actual socks or other knitted items.  It kind of feels like by "using" them up I will feel sad not having them in my stash any longer to look at and fondle and think of the possibilities.  It sounds so crazy but I really do have a thing about having just the right colour, right pattern, right whatever and I don't want to use it so that I still have it remain in the stash.   Crazy, eh?  I guess that's the sign of a real "stasher"

JR 4 month update........ We checked JR in with the doc on his 4-month birthday yesterday.  The little guy is now 14 lbs 6 ounces and is 24 1/2 inches long.  That means he's grown almost 5 inches since birth and of course, he's gained almost 9 lbs.  He's doing well.  He's still a bit more floppy than a term born 4-month old would be but he's getting stronger every day.  Cognitively he's right up there with a regular 4-month term baby in terms of his smiling, cooing, laughing, attentiveness etc.  It's all good.  My boy is growing up already and time is flying by so fast.

Gotta go.......... my spare time is up.  Someone is waking up and I have huge weekend housecleaning plans today.  The little Miss will be home with me tomorrow so we'll be doing some fun stuff and it's a long weekend so I want the house stuff done today so we can enjoy and relax.

Well, whatever it was has disappeared and I feel better now.

Today is Census Day in Canada and I've just been struggling with the census form.  Struggling only because I'm completing the form on-line and I guess everyone else and their dog is doing it today (I procrastinated like a true procrastinator).  So, as a result, the system seems very slugglish at loading the pages.  I almost was finished and the last few questions I didn't readily know the answers to so I have to figure them out and sign back in.  For now, I'll just give JR a bath.

I finished Eris.  Yahoo!!!!  I still have all the finishing touches and blocking to do but the knitting is done.  Yahoo, yahoo, yahoo...........

Next project of attack........ the yellow cotton mitered squares cardigan for Erika.