Another breeder/blog neglector

Seems I've turned into a blog neglector. I used to follow a few blogs that fell by the wayside after babies were born. Here I thought that having a baby would be a great excuse to stock one's blog with gorgeous baby crafts and pics. Turns out having a baby takes up a lot of time and energy. Never would have thought that! I used to do a moderate amount of blogging while at my work desk, it was a great thing to do when my brain needed a little rest. But since returning to the states, I have no work desk. That is not a complaint. I am loving every minute of my stay-at-home momness.

Regardless of employment, when you are a parent having time to knit (or participate in any hobby) is a huge accomplishment. It seems that the photographing and writing about it go by the wayside. Such is life. Some day I may blog more regularly. I have been doing a bit of knitting, a few hats, a scarf, finished some socks I started long ago. I would really like to get some xmas knitting done (a stocking for the little girl is at the top of the list) and I long to spin something luscious.
A month and a half ago little girl turned one and we had a fine party in the park. I made her a cute princess hat and tutu to match her cupcake shirt (which incidentally matched the cupcakes I made). The green leaves are now gone and cool autumn weather will so on set in (we are really enjoying the nice warm days though). Before you know it the snow will be flying and hopefully the knitting needles along with it!

I miss my knitting group!

Sniff sniff sniff and a few tears this morning. I've been back in the states now for almost 4 months and have missed out on so many life events in my knitting group. One had a baby, one shifted house (which also shifted the meeting place), now my dear Michelle is closing her most amazing hand painted yarn business! They have also added a new member and had countless amazing gossipfests (bitchfest is probably a more appropriate term) without me! (woe is me ;-)

As for me, blue and I are still in Wisconsin splitting our time in the north of the state with my parents and the south of the state with his. He is still toiling away on his dissertation while I spend time with the little miss (who turns 1 very soon!). But come January we are headed to the east coast where blue has accepted a job. It is in the upstate so will be pretty rural I imagine. I'm hoping hoping hoping to be able to find a group of knitters close to as talented, funny, and supportive as those I had honor of joining for a few years in New Zealand.

I also just read the book 'Friday Night Knit Club' and this made me homesick for them as well!

And just for fun, here is my little miss doing what she loves - hanging out on the beach (and having a snack), lookin' cute.

Independence

What a nice Sunday morning. That baby is asleep. The husband on his bike. And me, I'm knitting on the couch and listening to neko case. The dishes need to be done, floor needs to be swept, and on and on go the never-ending list of chores. But this morning I'm taking advantage of the quiet house for some me time. Love it.

It also happens to be the fourth of July. Not a bad way to spend the morning of the 4th either. I was out on the porch this morning and an older lady walked by decked out in navy/white star shoes, red shorts, white shirt, and a denim visor with an american flag on it. Too cute.

This video isn't great quality but there are some great summer/nostalgia lyrics in it. I also saw Neko on this tour just before leaving for Nzed.


Happy 4th!

chirp chirp (or whatever noise crickets make)

Yikes, that's my longest blog break ever! One might think we took a ship to get back to the states! Alas, no, we flew and it took about 24 hours. That was quite enough with miss noseypants baby who wouldn't sleep with all the people around on the plane! By the end of the trip we had all had quite enough of the notsleepingbaby and not enough of the sleep.

The lack of sleep really put her back on track to get over jetlag though (always good to put a positive spin on these things!). I don't recall getting too many dirty looks from other passengers for having that screaming baby but I probably looked so miserable that people just felt sorry for me. And they were probably amazed at how cute my smiling, curious baby was (after all that screaming!).
Since getting back we have been bouncing around between the 2 grandma's houses. The little miss really enjoys both places, especially with their various animals that she likes to chase, pet, and climb on.
This week we are headed to Madison to move into my brother's apartment that is vacant for a month and half because he bought a house a few blocks away! So excited to have him and my future sister-in-law as neighbors!

my heart breaks

a little more each day as I realize I'm leaving New Zealand for good.

For each of my complaints of living here, there are probably 10 things that I love about it here. I will miss my friends, colleagues, knitting group, the weavers and spinners guild, the beautiful scenery, public healthcare, absolutely free maternity and baby healthcare, plunket, the organic/free range/grow your own mentality that most of the population possesses, the fact that you can bank, pay bills, do your dry cleaning and send mail at the postshop, hot pies, fish & chips, my friends' chickens' free range eggs, working half time, the little miss' daycare, tea breaks, trademe, no guns, no ratrace, my little red subaru, my clothesline, shortland street, the list goes on and on. Some of them are just little things, but I imagine those are the things I might miss the most.That said, I can't wait to see my own whānau and introduce them to my little sunshine! Also, can you say mexican food withdrawl! So many foodstuffs I plan to consume! (most of which are neither homegrown nor organic!)(friends checking out how the man in the moon is at a different angle down here!)

a long time coming

According to my ravelry project page, I started the Juno Regina pattern on August 9, 2008... I just finished it a few weeks ago. Yeah, more than a year and a half. That's commitment, or lack there of. Not surprisingly, it was my first (and maybe my last) lace weight project. Mind you a lot has happened in that year and a half and I have finished many other projects (not all of them knitting!).


I enjoy knitting lace patterns, I think I just prefer a slightly heavier yarn to work with (light fingering is fine enough for me). As you can see this scarf is fine, it fits through my wedding band!


Some specs:
I made this pattern a bit skinnier than the original so it is a scarf rather than a stole.
yarn - touch yarns kid mohair merino 2 ply
The middle section measured 42 inches post blocking
My gauge/tension changed several times throughout this knit, thankfully blocking fixed any issues there.

It's been a bit busy around here lately. We are preparing to move across the world, again, at the end of the month! So much to do... so little time! Anybody want to buy a fridge, bed, tv, washer, stereo, couch, dressers... the list goes on and on and on. Trademe is getting much business from us lately.

a clean catch

Oh that little girl of mine. She has not been feeling well all weekend long. I stayed home from work today with her. Even if she had miraculously gotten better by this morning, I was in no state to form sentences, let alone work.

We headed to the GP and it seems that she has some virus that needs to run its course, but he gave me a vessel to collect some urine in... a clean catch. The first time I attempted, she wasn't quite finished with what she was working on at the time. Always a fun thing to discover after you've begun the cleaning process. The other times not even a trickle. We shall try again in the morning.We started solids a week ago and she was really enjoying them until she got sick. Around the same time we got her to sleep through the night. Maybe in a couple of days she'll be back on the food/sleep track. Luckily, she is still as cute as a button and during the day her spirits are high and she gives smiles generously. Makes the sleepless nights bearable. Now if I could just get her to wipe her nose!

Check out what my friend Kellie made me! Cutest little wallet I ever did see!