The Sniffles.

The sniffles…the girls have them.  Poor things.  Luckily, I have (miraculously) wound up with two girls who handle getting sick pretty well, and they are simply getting on with life and ignoring their colds.  I am fairly certain that they did not get this from me.

Of course, Marcus and I have them too–not from a cold or the weather, but because Anne and Phil’s time with us is up.  They left yesterday for a few days in NYC before they’ll return to the UK on Saturday.  We are both really, really sad to see them go.  Marcus and I were talking last night about how we would have liked to have met them earlier on in our stay overseas…but of course, we can’t go back.

We had a great time while they were here though!  We took them to Deep Creek, where we hiked and generally just hung out and relaxed.  They saw downtown Annapolis as it prepared for the boat show.  They got to play with the girls (they’re exhausted now, by the way).  Anne and I knitted, and Marcus and Phil played video games.

And when they left, Marcus commented about how we’ll really have to try to get me out there next year…so at least that’s something.

Cheers, Anne and Phil!  We miss you already!

 

In Which I Concede Defeat

I should be clear–I was not, I repeat, NOT, bested by a garter rib sweater.  My knitting ability is (not to toot my own horn) too advanced for that.

By all measures, there was no reason that I couldn’t finish Marcus’ Big Brown Blob.  The knitting is will within my ability level.  There aren’t skills involved that I’m not familiar with or that seem daunting.  There is absolutely nothing that makes this sweater too hard for me.

And yet, here I sit, conceding defeat to an inanimate object.  Not only do I admit to being outsmarted, but I have ripped the sucker out and thrown it away.

Here’s why:

1)  I didn’t like the yarn.  I bought it so early in my knitting career that I just didn’t know any better.  And every time I knit with it, I hated it.  It wasn’t nice to knit with, and even Marcus admitted that it was going to be scratchy.  For the record, it was Knit Picks Wool of the Andes.

2)  I didn’t like the pattern.  There wasn’t anything wrong with the Saranac pattern, per se.  It was just a lot of garter ribbing and some long ass arms to knit for my husband, who needed the 50 inch chest sized sweater.

3)  I didn’t want to knit it anymore.

The last item is, of course, the most important.  It’s the one Anne pointed out to me when she arrived this week and I showed it to her, the body 3/4 of the way done and one sleeve completed.

So, she, in her infinite wisdom, reminded me that I don’t have to knit it.

And she’s right.  So, I’m not.

I pulled out the sweater and tossed it in the bin (why would I save yarn I hate in order to knit something else?).  I have the remaining skeins for sale on Ravelry.

And I’m a much happier knitter.

 

In Threes

Ahh…the In Threes baby cardigan is finally out to test knitters, and if I do say so myself, I’m super pleased.  After four samples, I finally put together something I’m really proud of!

The pattern should release officially later this month after I get some feedback from my test knitters, who are all rockstars!  Thanks to each of you that has offered to help!

 

Who Does This?

Who gets themselves all into a tizzy about something, without going through the proper channels and looking for the easiest solution? Who forgets that when there are thousands that have gone before you, your problem isn’t unique and there’s an answer somewhere?

**Raises hand in the air, timidly**

Yep, that’s me.

Life is falling back into place here, and the anxiety has subsided. And all because I did what I should have done from the beginning, and asked for help.

Ahh…I can sleep again.

 

Four in the Morning

Those of you who suffer from depression and anxiety know how it can be the tiniest thing that gets to you.  For me, it’s happened quite a bit in the past week, and always over something small.

I have a new business venture, which I adore, but there are parts to it that I am just learning.  And as such, I’ve made mistakes.  And I hate that.  I hate failing and doing things wrong.  I hate not knowing the answers to things.  I hate feeling overwhelmed by such seemingly small details.

I know there’s a learning curve.  But I hate the learning curve.

It makes me frustrated about things that would normally not frustrate me–it brings out the worst in me when I have this small thing provoking all this anxiety in me behind the scenes.

And then it gets worse because I realize that if I had been perfect…had done it right the first time…none of this would have happened.

It doesn’t make it any better to realize that there’s a solution to everything and that these small business-related issues are not earth-shattering.

In fact, it makes it worse.  When I realize that, I get more upset with myself for not being able to handle such small things.

It’s four in the morning.  I can’t sleep for all the things running around in my head…and none of them can be handled at four in the morning anyway.

 

Tweaking

I’ve just finished my third prototype of the In Threes baby cardigan.

I absolutely love it.

The pattern itself isn’t complicated (the garter yoke and stockinette body are often seen in knitwear for children), though the math involved in the sizing options was more difficult than I thought it would be.  And my largest size is still a bit too large and needs a bit of tweaking.

Then, after I finished this one, I had this great idea for the side seams that would really add something unique to the cardigan that I haven’t seen done before, and I’m really excited about it!  Plus, it still keeps the pattern basic and simple, something I think people (or at least, I) crave in a baby knit.  Not to mention that I think the sleeves are super cute and love the way they look on the girls and will look on a baby–the perfect complement to any baby outfit!

Thanks so much to those of you that have volunteered to test knit.  I hope to get the tweaked pattern out to you early next week so that you can start knitting on or shortly after October 1st (the start of the Malabrigo Junkies October stockpile and their design contest).

Yay…what an exciting time for knitting!

 

Falling into Autumn

Another compilation of some of the writing I’ve done over the past few years.  This time, since it’s officially autumn, I thought I’d pull all my autumn & Halloween writing and put it together for those of you that might be interested!

Halloween Content

How to Care for Your Halloween Costume

Where to Find Barbie Halloween Costumes for Little Girls

Where to Find Disney Princess Halloween Costumes Online

How to Celebrate Halloween with Children When Living Overseas

Homecoming

Cheap and Fashionable Homecoming Dresses for 2009

Fashion

Fall Fashion: Update Your Fall Look

Build Back to School Shopping Into the Budget

It isn’t a large compilation…but just wait for the Christmas articles!

 

Who’s Counting?

25 weeks down, 15 (or so!) to go!  But, who’s counting?

25 Weeks Pregnant with #3!

 

The Pre Stage

First it was preschool, and now it’s pre-ballet classes.  Once a week for 12 weeks, Samantha is getting in touch with her inner ballerina.  She’s been asking for this since we left England and was enrolled in the Baby Ballet program, so I knew it was something she really wanted.

Of course, I’m sure there’s some of “me” in the decision…I’m not the most coordinated, and my dancing ability certainly leaves something to be desired.  So if this is something she wants, I’d like to support it.  Not to mention that long and lean, I suspect she’s got the body of a dancer on her hands.

It was hard to find somewhere that had what we were looking for–solely ballet, but not a yearlong commitment in case she changes her mind.  Luckily, the county offered a pre-ballet class for 5-6 year olds that seemed ideal.

Right now, Samantha is the only child in the class, but they’ll still run it.  And she get individual attention and the teacher says they’ll be able to do a lot more.  And she certainly loved her first class.

In just a month we’ve added preschool and pre-ballet to my oldest daughter’s schedule.  She’s certainly a busy bee.

 

Blog Contest Winners!

30,000 page views…I’m there!  Here’s to the next 30,000!

And if that weren’t enough excitement, we have blog contest winners, too!

I had one person pick the exact date I’d reach 30,000–Josie!  I also had one person pick the 17th (Patti) and one person pick the 19th (Melanie).  Since I’m feeling generous, I’ll up the prize count and each of these three winners something!

Josie, Patti, and Melanie, please leave a message in the comments with your color preferences (give me a first and second choice) and I’ll get your hats out to you soon! 

Your color choices are stonechat (greens and maroons),  paris night (dark blue, mostly solid), verdes (different shades of green) and olive (dark green, mostly solid).  Here are a few pictures to help you decide!

Unless one of you wants to take up knitting, in which case, be sure to let me know which color yarn you’d prefer!    Somehow, I suspect that might not be the case!

Congratulations to the winners!