The Biggest Loser Swap Spoils... so far!

From grannyfaye, I received a kit for a posey pillow from www.annieamelia.com. It includes a skein of Araucania Nature Cotton, buttons, a piece of quilt for the applique flowers, a pattern, and some chocolate lip balm. Yum!



From knit1kids2, I got a vibrant skein of Sereknity sock yarn in a colorway called Macintosh-- I assume it's named for the apples-- it's fun to knit and good for you, too. :) It also included a pattern for a scarf that would work for the yarn. A mystery pattern... wonder what it will look like?


From knitster58, I received a wonderful package of goodies! It came in a really cool project bag, perfect for a small, portable project like a sock, and it included a skein of regia surf color sock yarn in a really juicy red and coral colorway, some nailpolish, tangerine and apple lip gloss, two notepads, some notecards, and what appear to be some handmade pearl stitch markers-- knitster58, did you make those yourself? Love it all!




MaybeeSomeday got me an on-line gift certificate to KnittingNotionsonline.com. I used it to purchase a skein of sock yarn in a colorway called Pink Grapefruit. It is so squishy and bright. I love it!


And from trueblonde, I received an on-line gift certificate to www.bluemoonfiberarts.com, which was used to get a skein of Socks that Rock Mediumweight in the colorway Koi Koi. It is hard to beat Blue Moon colorways and I had a really hard time choosing. I was not disappointed in my choice. So pretty!


That's my booty so far. Thank you everyone. I am having the best time contemplating projects, though I suspect a lot if not all of the sock yarn will end up contributing to a second Barn Raising Quilt. I can't help myself-- it's a totally addictive pattern!

A Little Gem

Elliott's been trying to find his voice lately... it's really cute, but it's so far elluded capture on film. However, I did capture THIS:

Finished a Book

I've actually finished reading two books in the past 8 weeks... that seems like a lot for a new mother to have gotten through. In all fairness, though, I started both before Elliott was born.

One was "Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay and other things I had to learn as a new mom" by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor. I recommend it for Mommy types. But only if you have a sense of humor about your status as a mommy. If you take it very seriously, if it is sacrosanct, you may not like it. But I found its irreverence perfect for me.

The other was the Yarn Harlot's most recent book "Free Range Knitter". Excellent for you knitter types, and especially for you breast-feeding knitter types. It was the perfect book for middle of the night feedings. Thank you, Yarn Harlot, for getting me through the first 52 nights of being awake when I used to be asleep.

Get some!

I can't believe he's almost 2 months old! I can't believe how I much personality such a small person can have!

Two pieces of news

One-- I won the Biggest Loser pool that I joined on Ravelry!!! When I was assigned the pink team I had my doubts. Not because I didn't think that Helen or Shannen could do it, but because I couldn't imagine that there would be not only a third female Biggest Loser in a row, but also a third pink team Biggest Loser in a row... it seemed much too far-fetched. Alas, Helen and I prevailed!!! Now I get yarn (or gift certificates for yarn) from all of the other knitters in my swap... one knitter for each color. How many colors were there? I didn't bother to count, but I think it was 10 total... Yippee!!

Two-- I don't know when something like this becomes official, probably around the time of the first "Where's my blankie?!" tantrum... but I think Elliott may have declared his eternal blanket love for the grey pinwheel blanket I knit for him!!! Is it too early at 7 weeks old to make that kind of commitment? Probably, but all I can say is that he responds to it with smiling and cuddling in a way that he doesn't respond to anything else in his small sphere of life... not even me or his daddy. As the knitter of the beloved item I find this almost more gratifying than I do as the mother of the beloving child. :)

The Great Debate

I keep getting asked two questions about being a mother to a boy:

Has he peed in your mouth yet?

Has he peed in your eye yet?

The answer to both questions is: Not yet. Apparently these two things are unavoidable, so I will not hope to avoid them. They seem to be everyone's worst case scenario... which makes me wonder: Which is actually worse? Anyone experienced both? While I dare not hope to avoid them both entirely, perhaps I can avoid one of them and never truly know... is it worse to get peed in the eye or the mouth?

Happy Mother's Day!!

Baby Boy Essential #1

(Insert Harlem Globetrotters music)

I had to make this for Elliott. It is specially designed NOT to come off. Of course, this design element is subject to testing, which will probably not occur until sock #2 has been completed. They are knee-high and totally rad. If I do say so myself... and I do.