novamade

what's doing

Thanks for all the congrats on baby Disco.  Gender TBA shortly (I know some of you are a little curious).  You guys know how to make a girl smile.  But don't think that I am using my present state as an excuse for not posting (what's a little exhaustion here and there?).  Oh no, I have another excuse.   Home renovations, improvements--or whatever you'd like to call it.  Special K and Little Sir are constructing a craft space for me.  So all of my materials are in a state of transition at the moment (or, if you'd like, you could call it chaos, that is what I am calling it). 

I once crafted and stored things in my basement, a place where good projects went to die.  This is the chaos in a craft space in a basement that is also a laundry room, storage area, office for a PhD student, guest room and lounge:

The lighting is really that bad.  That quilt in the back has been waiting to be quilted for months now.  I can't get to it.  Seriously.

I also can't really get to the sewing machine either.  But things are getting better.  My new space is going to be bright and spacious, well as spacious as possible given the amount of crap I have to shove into the room.

It's also going to have wooden laminate flooring, which (I am told) is a big deal.  Who am I to detract from workman's pride?

In the process of moving things, I have learned a few things about stashing.  Firstly, putting things in boxes and bins that you can not see through will likely make you forget that you have stashed things in the first place.  But when you find the stash you didn't know you had, it's truly an exciting thing.

I really love fabric, by the way.  Secondly, I don't have as much yarn as I thought I did.

 

So, please excuse me as I try to make some headway in filling up my new shelves with my stash.

It's all going to fit.  Totally.

zaftig

As Little Sir likes to say, "Look it," I finished something.  The story behind the sweater is a little embarrassing; but it's you guys, so I will share it (but should my witty commentary not interest you--um, why are you reading my blog, yo?-- you can find the details short (ha) and sweet in the gallery in the side bar and on ravelry as well; but you should totally read to the end...just saying).

I started this sweater last year in August.  My intent was to have it be Little Sir's Christmas sweater, you know a special something-something for the kid to wear in the cheesy Christmas photo you send out to friends and family and hope that they don't just trash as soon as they open your Christmas (or insert applicable winter observance here) card.  Well, I didn't finish it, so instead, the Wallaby was our featured sweater Christmas picture last year (I never uploaded the actual shot we used, but the one that's linked is similar).  So, fine.

Because I am lazy, and also because I have a certain degree of knitting/craft ADD, I left the sweater unfinished (I did, after all, have pies to bake).  You've all been there (okay, maybe not with the pies), stop shaking your heads.  In a fit of "if I don't finish something in this UFO pile I am going to gouge my eyes out" enthusiasm, I finished knitting the pieces and starting seaming the main parts of the sweater (that would be everything except the pockets--which obviously, I could not leave off).  If I had really put some effort into it, I could have finished this sweater in less than two weeks.  And had I finished it back in August or even September of 2007, I would have felt a lot better about this sweater at this point in the story.  But I didn't, so when I decided to have Little Sir (who could be described in many ways, among them pleasantly plump in the mid-section, or, if you wish, somewhat zaftig) try on the sweater pre-weaving in of ends and pre-pockets and button application, even he noticed that "the sweater is too small, mom."  Crap.  English kids are definitely smaller than their American counterparts.  Well, that and my kid likes to eat; and, fortunately or unfortunately his mom likes to cook.  So anyways...

 

I aggressively blocked the sweater the night before I flew out of town.  I took the sweater to California with me to apply the finishing touches like weaving in the ends (my most favoritest activity ever, obviously) and sew on the pockets.  Did that, felt proud.  But of course, I forgot the buttons.  Found a craft store (that would be Jo-Ann's), bought buttons.  Realized that the center of the buttons are black went back to store to buy thread.  Realized that you can't sew on buttons effectively without a needle which was left at home, because why would the TSA let me fly with a Chibi this time when they have confiscated them the last three times I have tried flying with one?  Got so disgusted with myself I just packed it up.  Needless to say, the sweater mocked me for the rest of my California getaway (which was kind of a work trip, details).

I sewed on the buttons at knitting group yesterday and called it done.  I took the pictures at sunset last night.  The sweater is not without its flaws.  Somehow (because I am stupid) the wearer's left front panel is missing one cable pattern repeat and thus is about 6 rows shorter than the right--also, the pocket is slightly higher.  I didn't notice this defect until I sewed on the buttons.  And you know, sometimes you just have to let things go.  I like the sweater.  The kid likes the sweater.  And it was blocked so aggressively, Little Sir should be able to fit into the sweater this Christmas, Buddha-belly and all.  And lest you think my Christmas picture worries have been solved for this year, rest assured that I am nothing if not a drama-provider.  I will, of course, need to finish some sort of complimentary sweater for Little Sir's sibling (currently referred to as Disco, as s/he likes to dance) while I deal with being in my own rather zaftig state-of-being over the course of the next few months.

I am due the first week of December, so yeah, that's plenty of time to knit a Christmas sweater.  Right?  Right.  Awesome.

*If you are related to me or happen to be one of my best friends from high school (hi Alanna!) who does not happen to live in the near vicinity of the place I call home and you are just now finding out this bit of news, my sincerest apologies...but really, did you expect a phone call?  And isn't this a much better way of finding out?  Okay, it's a little bit classier than announcing it on facebook, at least give me that.