Jane Austen: Writer of Fancy

I hope y'all weren't hoping to read this book by my husband. The publisher has gone belly-up. Does anyone have any connections in the publishing world?

Just one more...

I should've known that the 4yo would have one more thing to say before she turned 5!

She was watching me get ready for church... I was putting on those panty hose. You know, the things that look as though they'd never fit, but somehow you stretch them in just the right places, and they pull up. And yes, she was watching from the backside :-X

Then she says "I can't wait until I'm big like you."

I say "Why?" thinking of course that I'm gonna get some smart aleck remark about her view of my dressing.

She says "'Cause then I can RULE!"

And I'm thinking "as if she doesn't rule already..."

Two New Sweaters.

Knitting and driving shouldn't mix....but sometimes it works! We all know that sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I don't recommend knitting in heavy traffic or on a road with lots of curves, but straightaways and when no one else is around seem to work fine. Also, casting on while sitting at a traffic light.... or even for a few stitches - again ONLY if there's not much traffic. And in Moscow, we don't have too much traffic most of the time.

I'm doing the proper thing and trying to work through the stash. I've done pretty well, having knitted up a few more baby hats, and am 99% done with the next sweater, all with previously purchased yarn. well done, don't you think? So, I got motivated to use up more. Yes, there's more. But trying to find the right pattern for the type of yarn, along with certain personal requirements like knitting on circulars!, can be challenging. So today I found a lovely pattern that will work with my worsted weight Lamb's Pride wool in a cornflower blue. It's a tunic sweater with a couple of cables up the front, back and sleeves. I'm converting it to circulars.... I hope this works. But also, I had to knit that swatch for gauge, and then I had to do research and math to see if the amount of yarn I had would be enough. whew! it all works! now I get to start that new project. (yes, it was the gauge swatch that I knitted today while driving...)

And because I've been inspired by a woman in our community to have more than one project going at one time, I've decided to start a child's sweater with some other yarn I had stashed. The two previous child sweaters that I knit were with chunky yarn. The yarn in my stash is worsted weight, so I had to find another pattern, or spend an eternity with my calculator. And remember that I want to work on circulars. Well, I think I've found a new pattern. It's knit from the top down on circulars. I'm so excited to start this sweater too!

I'll have to work that swatch now....measure things, etc. Maybe this time, I'll knit that swatch while at home, and not while driving.

Final 4yo post

This will likely be the last "cute 4yo" post, as that cute 4yo will turn 5 on Monday. Amazing!

So today, she is running all over the house...even more than usual. She comes running into the family room, drops onto the floor and starts doing push-ups (4yo style). Then I notice that she has some hand weights, and she begins lifting them in exercise. I give her a look that says "what in the world?!" She says "I've gotta exercise!" Then she runs outa the room and down the stairs. A little while later, this scenario repeats. This time, though, with my quizzical look, she says, "I've gotta stay in shape." HAHAHA, you all know what shape 4yo girls have! So I ask her why... and she says "'Cause I wanna live a long time!"

So for the life of me, I can't figure out where in the world this came from. Then this evening, I'm vacuuming the playroom, and I see the Wii Fit Board. and the light bulb goes on... On the Wii Fit, you can measure your BMI, balance, etc. and a voice reports your "healthy" age, as opposed to you real age. that MUST be where Garnett is hearing this stuff... good grief!

Wait, maybe her father told her....

Two Sweaters

I've got a sweater pattern that is knitted in the round. I love knitting in the round, and I purchased this pattern because it has a range of NB to XXL Adult. I'm working on a second sweater, a little larger than this first one. And in a different type yarn. My next project will be to add some variations to the sweater, like maybe a large cable up the front. I've found the sleeves to be way too long, so I've adjusted that on the second sweater.

Here's the second sweater:

I shortened the sleeves, but evidently still not enough. We like the color though.

Scarf and Hat

So the yarn that I was given about a year ago has now transformed into a scarf and hat. Well, the hat is nearly finished, but I thought I'd post some pictures anyway. I learned to cable with this yarn. The yarn was handspun by a friend and is a lovely blue purple color. The picture doesn't do it justice.