Whoa! What happened to February?

And most of March for that matter?
Yeah, that was quick. Huh.
I'm running around like a headless chicken these days, chasing my almost-two-year-old. The Sprout really is a full time job, which means I have two full time jobs now.
I've been working a lot at the restaurant, mostly off the floor, which has been a nice change. We've installed a point of sale system and I've been helping with the programming of it. That means I spend a lot of time in the office during the day, in addition to my regularly scheduled wait shifts at night. This seems like a ton of time away from home, but since Sprout is bigger now, and since Matt isn't working as much, it really isn't too difficult to swing. It just means I have very little time for anything else.
In knitting news, I finally finished Zach's Knucks. They were supposed to be a Christmas gift, but I just finished them last week. Pitiful, I know. In order to prevent something of this sort happening again this year, I have decided to start my Christmas knitting for December '09 on April 1st. This is not an April Fool's Day joke. I am completely serious.
In house news, we are now officially one house. Matt knocked a vaguely door-shaped hole in the back of the kitchen wall, and VOILA! we now have access to the upper levels of our house! Yay! We plan to be sleeping on the second floor by April 4th.
Okay, I had a ton of stuff I wanted to blog about, but Toni just pulled up in front of my house and gave me a very ripe black truffle and I really must go make some truffle butter before the thing turns.

Socks that Rock

Color: Socks That Rock, Highway 30, Blue Moon Fibre Arts. Thanks Ann!
Pattern: Just your basic stockinette roll top with flap heel. Nothing fancy.
Comfort level: Squishy.

Now to make some for the Sprout.

Eight, nine, ten.

Okay, so the pictures from Columbia didn't turn out so great. Luckily we had such a good time that it really doesn't matter. The Destruction Junction Derby Dames were great and I can't wait to see how they come together as a league. The folks at Empire Rink were wonderful to host us again and we look forward to having other bouts there in the future. I think our rookies enjoyed their debuts and I'm very proud of Fraulein for blocking her butt off.
Now, knitting.

Three more blocks for Lizard Ridge. This whole not working thing makes for lots of knitting time. I finished two and a half blocks in the past two days. Number ten, on the right there, is being knit with the leftover ends from the previous nine blocks. It is not a new Noro color combo available. Sorry. I am enjoying the garishness of the blueish-purple against the peachy-yellow. I think I'll do the next repeat in a turquoise-to-orange shade I have left. This blanket is going to be so colorful that the Sprout's eyes will be permanantly crossed. Just kidding. Sprout will have perfect eyes and no vision issues like Mama and Daddy.
Speaking of Sprout, I have been having irregular contractions (totally normal, do not panic), and am suffering from ever-shrinking-bladder-syndrome, so you all know it is just a matter of time...

Saturday Only!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, ARRG will be holding our second annual Columbia Demonstration Derby Bout this Saturday, 3/10 at the lovely Empire Roller Rink. Tickets are $12 and the doors open at 9pm! I'll be announcing with the lovely and talented Grave Danger as the ARRG Pink Vixens take on the Black Angels for down and derby action!

In knitting news, I had tea at Shugga's with Ann this morning and she gave me yarn! I love Ann! She is also making Lizard Ridge, but wants to stick with earthy-non-yellow tones so I gve her one ball of Kureyon I had and she generously gave me two. And some Socks That Rock Highway 30! Thanks Ann!

On the baby front, I went to the OB today. Everything is fine and normal. Sprout is healthy and strong and coming soon. This baby is very active, recently started getting hiccups, and takes after Daddy in his or her preference for acting in a night-owl fashion. I am just about ready to pop. Many of you have offered suggestions on how to get labor jumpstarted. I am taking them all to heart. Here is a brief list:
eat something spicy
walk up and down the street with one foot in the gutter, one on the curb
jump on a trampoline
climb stairs
lift furniture
plan to do something you've really been looking forward to and will never have the oppurtunity to do again

It looks like I'll be busy for the next couple of weeks.

P.S. Hey April, we will announce our second season dates next week. We are finalizing our contract with the venue on Sunday. You don't need to use Derby as an excuse to visit, just tell Ryan you are racking up frequent flyer miles.

Six and Seven!

Moving right along with Lizard Ridge, here are blocks six and seven!

I went to Knit Night at Knitorious last night. It was really good to see everyone and to meet some new folks. I wish I could have gone to the Pancake Extravaganza afterwards, but duty called and I had a board meeting to attend. I plan to continue to go knitting until the Sprout comes, then I will attend as soon afterwards as possible. It is really nice to be around other knitters for a couple of hours. Also, Rachel brought in some samples of the yarn she has been dyeing and let us all fondle and admire. I cannot wait until her business is up and operational. Wait until she announces the company name, you'll want her yarn just so you can say where it came from!
I bought some more Noro Kureyon, most of it is in colors I already have. I plan to start making blocks from two different colors to mix it up a bit, instead of just waiting for the Noro order to come in at Knitorious. Am I a bit impatient? Possibly. I want to have this blanket as close to finished as possible when the Sprout arrives, and I still need 18 blocks.
I may have to swing by Knitorious again today. I really want to go back and get the Lorna's laces Dafodil sock yarn I was lovingly fondling last night, but didn't have the cash to purchase. I would like to make some new socks for myself and that colorway is so beautiful. See? So I really want to go back to the shop and grab some to make a pair of spring socks for myself. I think I actually might attempt some toe-up socks.
What's that you say? Sarah Kate has never made toe-up socks? And she calls herself a knitter! What a fraud! Here we all thought she was fancy and daring and cutting edge.
Confession time: I am a wimp. I have knit about seventeen pairs of socks and all of them have been from the ankle down on dpns. I have experimented with different heels and different patterns, but they have all been knit in the same basic way. But as of today, I promise to stop allowing monotony to infiltrate my sock knitting. I declare from here on out that I will be more adventurous! I will try to branch out. I will knit socks from the toe up! I also have resolved to put down the dpns and try at least one of the circular needle methods of sock knitting. I'm not going to go overboard and try to knit two socks from the toe up at once on two circular needles blindfolded with one hand behind my back or anything super fancy like that, but I am willing to embrace new methods.
See, I am flexible in my knitting.

lizard ridge, plodding along.

Don't get the wrong idea. I love knitting this blanket. Each skien is a surprise, the colors are beautiful and amazing, the yarn is so soft. I'm just not knitting as fast as I should be. Here is the begining of block #5.

I think this may be my favorite color of kureyon yet. Don't worry, I'm keeping notes of which colors I used and when I started and finished each rectangle.

Here's the other four pieces, all together. I love them.

I originally wanted to use a different color for each block, but now I'm thinking that I may do some repeats, with variations. More on that to come.

Updates.

Since this is actually a knitting blog, or at least that's what I intended when I started it way back in 2005, here is the latest knitting progress. What you see here is my fourth completed segment of Lizard Ridge, and the skein of Kureyon I will begin on tonight. I am loving knitting this blanket. I had to take a hiatus for a few weeks while I recovered from the nasty abraded (abraised? braised?) cornea, but I am back on track and moving right along. I don't know if the blanket will be finished for the Sprout's arrival, but I am optimistic.
I am so glad that my eye has healed. My doctor ended up putting a contact lens in my left eye and leaving it in for five days. This helped the abrasion to heal (Doctor actually used the words "tissue knitting together") and protected the scratch from becoming irritated by my incessant blinking. I still have to put non-medicated drops in my eye three times a day to prevent this from happening again. I hope none of you ever has to go through something like this, and if you do, you have my sympathies. Tearing a ligament in my ankle was less painful and less of a pain in the behind. I am once again fully capable of reading, knitting, driving and emerging from the house during daylight hours.

Here's a new shot of Sweet V, with her Mama. They came to visit this week. V is laughing and smiling all the time now.
I cannot believe she is almost 4 months old. The changes she has made and growing she has done in such a short time is incredible. People always say "Oh, they grow so fast!" but it is true. I know the Sprout will be the same way once he or she gets here.

Speaking of Sprout, I wanted to share with you the adorable burp cloths Miss Enya Nightmare had made for me. Aren't they cute? I love that she had them trimmed in the league colors too. This baby is going to be such a spoiled derby baby.

And speaking of Derby Babies, here we have Prima Basherina and her daughter G. I've known Prima for years, all the way back to when she was a Ballerina, not a Basherina, and was called Bean. When she told me she was joining up I was so excited to have her back in my life I almost squeaked. I am so happy she is a part of the league and I love the fact that she brings her daughter to practice. We seem to be growing an entire crop of next-generation derby girls already. If you go to my myspace page and look under comments for the one Shortkick left on February 14th, you can read how she feels about the famous Hel-Kat. I love that our league is somewhere the skaters feel comfortable bringing their children and that the kids I know have the chance to see female athletes in such a positive and supportive environment.

Okay, that's it for now. I need to take a nap. Sprout kept me up half the night with the rolling and kicking and playing bongos on my bladder. Maybe this kid will be a drummer like his or her Nonna. Only 6 1/2 weeks to go!

Knitting content only

To avoid jinxing the league, I will refrain from discussing my hopes and fears for our upcoming bout in Chicago.
To avoid grossing you out, gentle reader, I will avoid mentioning my continuing battle with eye disorders.
Because I am constantly being kicked from within, you all will understand that the sprout is healthy and growing.

On to knitting progress.

This is block #3 of Lizard Ridge in its finished glory. I started it at Knit Night at Knitorious. I had a great time, met some nice folks and plan on going back next week. Shanghai Lily and Gypsi Curse came with me, and maybe we can get Strawberry Shortkick to join us next week. If we can, I think we'll have all the knitters in the league with us. Rachel's head may explode.


Here is Lizard Ridge block #4, just started last night. This is the final ball of Kureyon I have in my possession. I may look for some other colors while I am in Chicago. There are two yarn stores I'd like to check out, but I'm reluctant to venture into uncharted territory, since I will be running the risk of encountering strange and beautiful new yarns that will want me to buy them and take them home with me. I am on a strict budget for this trip, and I really do not want to risk it.


Just for kicks and giggles, here are three small, plain hats all knit from one skein of Kara soysilk. I bought this yarn to make a new hat for Sweet V, but ended up with enough for V, her new cousin C and a tiny one for the sprout! What a good deal. Hats will be handed out soon to V and C.

Now back to the regularly scheduled laundry change outs and baggage packing routine.

Lost my last post.

It seems that blogger flushed the post I spent all afternoon working on. Sigh. Here's a couple photos to hold you over until I can dedicate another hour to setting up an interesting and informative post with lots of name dropping and links.

Come check out the Arch Rival Rollergirls travel team as they battle the Windy City Rollers at the Stadium, 1909 S. Laramie in Cicero Illinois on Saturday January 20th. Hopefully I'll be able to post from Chicago with all the derby info after the bout! Wish us luck as we take on the League responsible for our existence! If we can beat these ladies, we can conquer the world!

Here's my godson #2 wearing a hat that I made for him. He's cute.

Here is Lizard Ridge block #3, color 182. I was worried I would get bored with this project. Seriously, I plan on knitting twenty-five of the same pieces. Twenty-five! Talk about monotony. Fortunately, the amazing color changes in a single ball of Noro Kureyon are enough to keep me going. Still, just in case, I am planning on starting a sock tonight and finishing Penny the peanut's sweater on the plane on Saturday. If the sweater goes over well, I may write up the pattern and post it here. If.

Two down, twenty-three to go!

I've made some progress on Lizard Ridge. Here we have my first two rectangles. I'm stubborn and picky, so I decided to make some slight alterations to the pattern. Instead of 24 squares, each 3 repeats, I'm doing 25 rectangles, 5 repeats each. I also decided that I'm just going to stick with the very bright colors of Kureyon.
I have used #40


and #159


Now all I need is more money to buy more yarn. I've been too sick and gross with the pinkeye to work, so I'm broke. Also I don't want to inflict myself on the knitters of St. Louis, so I sat at home last Wednesday iunstead of going to Knit Night at Knitorious. Sigh. I'm trying to get better so I can go this week, but If I'm still gross and contagious I'm staying at home.

Why me?

So it is official, I have pinkeye. It is itchy and gross. I'm a bit perplexed as to where it came from, no one I know has been infected recently, and I haven't been around any small children in a while. This just may be the way the winter cold that is going around has decided to manifest itself in me. If that's the case I'll just deal with it. I guess it could be worse, I could have the cough and sinus stuff that everyone else seems to have. My doctor recommend a boric acid wash and that seems to be helping. The itching goes down when I rinse, but I am still contagious. I am trying to get someone to work for me tonight. Okay, enough nasty health stuff. On to the good news.

I saw my obstetrician today, everything is fine with the sprout. Sprout has a strong heartbeat, is very active and kicked for the doctor, which is more than s/he will do for Daddy. Poor Matt, whenever he tries to feel the baby kick, sprout freezes and refuses to move until Matt takes his and away. It's almost comical. I'm sticking with the whole "You have such a calming effect on the baby!" line. I'm trying to be patient with this kid, but I'm sure it's even more frustrating for Matt. Oh well. What can you do?

Now for knitting content.

Here is my first Lizard Ridge square, rectangle, whatever. I'm using Kureyon color #40 for this one. I have fondled Noro yarns in the store before, I've even considered making a cardigan from one of their pattern books, but this is the first time I'm actually knitting with this yarn. I totally understand why everyone is so in love with it. The colors are amazing, the yarn is soft but not delicate feeling, and I think I actually knit faster because I am so excited to see which color is coming next.



The pattern calls for you to switch back and forth from the outside of the ball to the inside, which helps create those awesome color changes. I can't wait to see how this ends up, I'm pretty sure that each square is going to be a surprise.

As promised, photos galore!

Okay, lets get back on track, shall we? First , let's do Christmas.
It was a great year yarnwise for me. I got cash and gift certificates to Knitorious, my LYS. Take a look. Let's start with this Noro Kureyon. I bought three skiens for my beginning of Lizard Ridge, which I have been wanting to make for the sprout since I first saw it. I plan to get a skein or two at a time, and have the blanket finished before sprout's arrival. Let's see how that works out. I may be setting myself up for a crash and burn, but oh well. If I don't finish it before the sprout gets here I'll have something to work on during all those sleepless nights I'll be having.

Here is a skein of trekking xxl color 109. I'm calling it smoky heather, since trekking only numbers their colors. It is much more purply-grey than it looks on my monitor. This yarn is intended for socks for Mom. She picked it out, I just have to choose a pattern. I am open to suggestions. I was thinking something along the lines of Broadripple or the ubiqutious Jaywalkers. You know. Lacy, but not too lacy. She plans to wear them with her clogs and jeans. I love that my mom is planning an outfit around the potential of hand knit socks. I love that she is as excited about having hand knit socks as I am about making them. Mom, you are the kind of person a knitter loves to have around. I promise to make your socks by your birthday. (That gives me about five months, which I think is a fair goal, considering that in three months I'll be all busy with the whole breastfeeding routine.)

Here are two skiens of sock yarn, the blue colorway is Cherry Tree Hill's "Green Mountain Madness," the purple colorway is Bearfoot Mountain Colors (my favorite sock yarn) in "Wildflower." These are seen here posing with two of my other Christmas presents. I'm loving "I like you: Hospitality under the influence" by Amy Sedaris. I've been itching to try some of the recipes in this book, "Lemon Chess Tarts" in particular. The teapot belonged to my great grandmother. Aunt Darlene gave me the teapot, along with the family highchair for Christmas. I do not have a photo of the highchair. My mom is refinishing it. I am very excited about having this highchair. My Grandfather built the highchair before my Uncle Marty was born. By the time the sprout uses it, it will be seventy years old and have held, at least 17 children in the family, and countless others who stopped in for a bite. The teapot is considerably older, it sat on my great grandmother's kitchen table for as long as anyone can remember. I am lucky to have it. It will sit on my kitchen table now.

Here's my haul of knitting books from Christmas. I have been on a hat kick as of late, and quite a few friends and family members got either a hat or gloves or a set of hat and gloves from me. I am thrilled with the "Folk Hats" book and I actually plan to make the crazy Samurai Kabuto as soon as I can get Mattie to agree to wear it. When asked, he said "Um, oh wow. I'd wear it at some point." The itty-bitty hats book is chock full of cute baby hats, most of which I will be making asap. I figure between the sprout and all the other babies I know, there will be no cold heads in St. Louis next winter.
The Domiknitrix book was from the Ingley clan. Alan has asked for the mohawk hat already and there is a beautiful "Mod Coat" that I am really wanting to make, but I am balking at the prospect of shelling out the cash for 35 skeins of bulky weight merino yarn. I mean, it's the middle of January already and by the time I finished a merino coat, it would probably be August. I'm being realistic. Please understand that I still may make this coat. I did vow to refuse to go on a yarn diet in a public forum not too long ago.

Here's the sprout's haul from Christmas.
A super soft blanket from Grandma and Grandpa Thenhaus; the much coveted sushi outfit from Psychobaby, courtsey of Princess Anne; The Night Before Christmas with classic illustrations from Aunt Patti; finger puppets form Nonna and Buck; and a stuffed dog from the Hel-Kat. Not too shabby for someone who hasn't even been born yet. I can't even begin to imagine what kind of haul this kid is going to get once it is born. I realize that I am in for one spoiled child.

This is Penny the peanut, or, the dog formerly known as Dolly.
She is the same pug seen on the blog before, but now she is all plumped up. Annie is in love, and Miss Penny has managed to charm the entire family with her cuteness and snuggly tendencies. We were all sad to see her go when Annie took her back to Chicago. The reports I 've been getting state that she had become the ultimate city dog. I am working on a sweater for this city dog.
So that's all for now. Hope it can hold you over until I have more time.

I used to post every day.

Now I'm lucky if I get around to it once a week. I have about fifty photos on the camera waiting to upload. I did so much gift knitting I got dizzy from cables. Did everyone and their mother make Fetching for their loved ones this winter? I am on my way to the ARRG board elections meeting and the sprout is kicking me all the time. My ObGyn says I should be happy that the baby is so active, this way we know that s/he is healthy and thriving, but I am starting to resent the rhythm section in my abdomen.
I resolve to get several picture-laden posts up this week and to keep them coming for the rest of this year. I will not be a slacker, I promise.