novamade

novakkah 2014, day 3

What happened to day 2? Sorry.  I missed yesterday due to back pain and medication to treat such...so I guess a day of no blogging was my gift to myself yesterday?  Anyways...did anyone else go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this year?  I went with my family and we efficiently saw everything we wanted to see and buy everything we wanted to buy in a relatively short amount of time.  We were able to squeeze in a trip to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania before driving back home to Connecticut all in one day.  You may call it crazy, we just consider ourselves intrepid road warriors.

 

In any case, my purchases at the festival were all fiber related.  To be honest, I wasn't planning on buying anything; but, when your 5 year old (who understands the power of his cuteness and ruthlessly flaunts it to get his way whenver he feels it necessary) gives you puppy dog eyes and tells you that "if you knit a hat out of special yarn that you spin out of special fiber [he] will love you forever," you are pretty much going to let that kid pick out some fiber and buy it...with every intention to spin it into yarn and knit a hat with it.  Oh, just me?  Sure.

 

Today's gift is "spinning related,"  let's be honest here, it's probably going to be fiber to spin or felt...or not?    If you want to be a candidate for today's gift,  tell me the gift you are most hoping to receive for your next brithday. I am just hoping for more time.  I need more time to get things done, to spend with my family, etcetera.  So if anyone out there has a magical stopwatch, please feel free to wrap that up and ship it my way.

I will take comments for this post, and all Novakkah posts, until 11:59 EST (or 2359, should you prefer that), Monday, May 12th. Please leave your responses on the appropriate post.  One entry per post/person.  Giftees will be selected on the 13th and gifts sent out shortly thereafter.

a tale of sweater woe

While going through my the kids old clothes to store stuff away, I came across a sweater that I knit last year (one that I actually finished!).  I never blogged about it because, the whole episode gave me a sad.  So I went digging through my digital files to find this FO shoot. Again, these pictures, they're  so 2012 (they were taken a little over a year ago, actually).

 

So Mister asked me to make him a sweater of his very own, he wanted it to be green.  He picked out the yarn at Maryland Sheep and Wool (okay, the last one I went to was 2012, so it's been a while).  When he picked the yarn out, I told him, "you are going to think that's itchy when I knit that up, let me find you something else."  But no, someone wanted to be independent, and I am all about raising autonomous and self-reliant kids, so fine. I bought the yarn, I think I even talked about that somewhere, actually...here or flickr.  In any case, I found a great pattern, he said he liked it.  I knit it, and then he tried it on, did a little modeling for the blog...and then said he was taking it off and wouldn't wear it again.  

 

Say what?  Yeah,  it was "itchy," and "tight," and "there's no buttons."  What?! Okay, to be fair, the kid has really bad eczema and is pretty sensitive with the things he wears, but seriously?  I didn't want to be that mom.  So I just said fine, washed the sweater and tucked it away.  I guess I was hoping he would change his mind about it; no.  So I have this cute sweater which I am adding to my gift pile, I guess.  It makes me sad, because my kid looked really cute in this thing.  The neck did stand up a little; but, the yarn is pretty stiff, I think the yarn will relax...with some wear, cleary by someone that is not my kid.

 

pattern :: Soledad

pattern by ::  Annika Barranti

yarn :: Cestari, DK, in Green Heather (2 skeins)

needles :: US5

size ::  4T

 

The pattern was well-written and easy to follow.  The sweet  additions of the cables and their placement add up to all around excellence or rather, magnificence in my book.  If either of my kids would wear a more fitted pullover sweater, I would totally knit this again.  But since they won't and they are bigger, I guess I will have to knit something else.

a year of magnificent doings :: #yom

Well, here we are again, the start of a new year.  Have you done your resolutions yet?  I don't like the idea of resolutions, really.  At least, not for me, if that's your thing then by all means.  I sort of see resolutions as a list of failure, for the most part.  It's usually a list of  greatness that is, for the most part, not achievable; and, we eventually beat ourselves up about it when we don't accomplish the unlikely goals in the first place.  I am kind of over that.  This year, I just want to have an awesome year, and do awesome things.  I feel like that's something achievable, no?

I have noticed that my family says (well, me and the kids--K, being a man of few words, seems to use just the right words to sum up every occasion; but, there you are) the word "awesome" like it's going out of style. Well, to be honest, I feel like it has gone out of style.  I figured it was time to start exercising our vocabulary (I do have a young reader and an emerging reader in the house; so, totally appropriate) and highlight a new word to replace our use of the word "awesome" and reflections on all the "awesomeness" we hope to accomplish.  It's hard picking a word to sum up greatness.  But, well, I like a challenge and lo, I say to you: this will be a MAGNIFICENT year.

 
 

I use mind maps (you can call them something else if you want, but I call them mind maps, so that's what I am going with) when I teach introductory research classes at the library.  Students seem to like them; I like them too, they are... MAGNIFICENT (see what I did there?). In any case, there is a site called Think Map, which is puts the fun in functional (yep, that's right, I am on fire, people), so I mapped out possible new word contenders.  The candidates had to be words that my family and I don't normally think to use.  So there were words that I tossed out right away: great, fabulous, neat, keen, cool (obviously), amazing...the main two that were left were magnificent and brilliant.  I like "brilliant" but when I mapped it out, I was not as impressed as I was with magnificent (and all of its derivations), so that's what we are going with.  Magnificent.

 

I don't like to compare things too much, but all things being equal, it's not too hard to improve upon last year for me, at least craft wise.  Though I will share my portrait of the kids that I shot last December, which I think was rather fantastic, or rather, magnificent.

 

Craft wise, 2013 was a year of starts for me; I had hoped that it would be a year of finishes; but, well, we don't always get what we want.  I started a new job, which sort of twisted the routine of my whole life; and then my kids started getting involved in all of these weird kid activities (sports, scouts, music, etc.) which as a parent you get sucked into by default because, well, the kids can't really manage themselves, right?  But I think I have figured things out, and we (that was royal, obviously) are now back to the business of craft around these parts.  I am excited about getting my hands back into all the MAGNIFICENCE that is all things fiber-y. And I am excited to talk about it all again (...blog, what?).

 

So here is to a year of magnificence!  Join me, won't you?

the time, it flies

 

So now that the kids are back in school and I have been working at the new place for a while, I can establish a routine which will allow posting.  Yeah, let's go with that.

 

While the Littles start school today, I will be played around with this...

 

See crafty bits happening.  And, well, education...

boo.

We have no power, we have no water; but, we have Halloween spirit, apparently.  Our town canceled Halloween since 99% of the town has no power because of Sandy; but, we still have a house and we are fine.

The Littles wanted to be ghosts this year.  No seriously. Of all the things they could have been.  Ghosts.  And well, you know me, I like to make dreams and wishes come true.

Happy Halloween!

second day of novakkah (2012)

There are some people out there who don't buy into the whole celebrating birthdays bit.  I do not understand you people.  That being said, my birthday celebration this year is going great!  I spent half the day in the car driving back from Richmond, VA today, but since I slept for most of it...it was a clear win. 

I had a great time at MDSW by the way, I didn't buy much to be honest, it was fun to just be there (and meet blog readers!).

You are probably wondering what I am giving away today.  Oh, I am so glad you were wondering!  Today I am giving away a stitchie kit.  A while ago, I made two patterns based on the Littles, and I think they are pretty cute (I am biased, obviously).  The beautiful thing is this: you can alter the pattern as you see fit.  Making this for someone with blonde hair and blue eyes?  I am sure there is floss for that...and I probably have it!  in any case, stitchie kit.  Today's winner will get a sizable square of Kona cotton upon which to stitch your little heart out, embroidery floss, a needle and a pattern. Either Flying or Floating, you pick.

To get this prize of utter cuteness (again, bias...and maybe a little self-promotion, but whatever) please tell me: what is the best birthday gift you have ever gifted to another person?

I will take comments for this post, and all Novakkah posts, until 11:59 EST (or2359, should you prefer that), Saturday, May 12th. Please leave your responses on the appropriate post. One entry per post/person. I will show you what I have to gift each day and let you know what you need to tell me to try to get it. Giftees will be selected on the 13th and gifts sent out shortly thereafter.

happy easter!

happy st.patrick's day!

mittens are not sweaters

 

While it might appear that I am expertly avoiding the task of sweater knitting or quilt-making, do not be fooled. I am going to wow you with brilliance shortly (I am not kidding about this, prepare for a craft attack of shock and awe); but, for now you can be underwhelmed (or at least average-whelmed) by some mittens.

Little Mister loses mittens like it's his job. He is down to one store bought pair for the rest of the season (which has actually been pretty mild, if we are being honest); and, everyday we pick him up from school, the big question is always, "where are the mittens?" It's taken me a awhile to realize the stupidity of this conundrum, because here are the facts:

• I know how to knit (I know, shocking),
• mittens are actually pretty easy to knit (I am speaking of basic mittens without bells, whistles and accoutrement),
• mittens, particularly those for a child, are a pretty quick knit.

So yes, I knit a pair of mittens. I had to do something with the extra skein of handspun that I wound up for the Valentine's Day hats. The yarn was supposed to be Little Mister's hat, but the gauge was off, the yarn weight was more of a dk-light worsted yarn, and the hats were for heavy worsted, or aran weight yarn. In any case, I did a gauge swatch (I know, I do gauge swatches all the time now, I am just as surprised as you, really), and just knit based on a hand tracing of Little Mister's hand (which leads me to believe that Little Mister has big hands for a three year old; but, there you are).

So, while a pair of mittens do not a sweater (or a quilt) make, I made something pretty functional for Little Mister. And lets be honest, they are pretty fabulous (she says humbly, ahem).  He is a little annoyed that they are red and not green or some other color that he loves right now (like brown, or white--I have no idea), but really, he is just going to lose them anyway, so I suppose I will get around to a green pair eventually.

a presidential kind of halloween

"...please, step away from the President."

2011 will always be remembered as the year we went presidential for Halloween.  The extent of my craftiness this year was hijacking a campaign button and fashioning it into a button for Little Sir.  When asked what he was supposed to be for Halloween, his reply: "the President of the United States running for re-election in 2012".  In a true spirit of non-partisanship, he opted to be a member of the Independent Party...or, as he says, "the thinking party."  Okay.  And a President obviously can not get by without a security detail, so Little Mister was the lead agent on his team. 

The verdict is still out on whether I will don a suit and sunglasses tonight to take them trick-treating, but there you are.

I have been busy lately.  Because I am a glutton for punishment, I am taking two classes again (in addition to working full time and doing the wife thing, the mom thing and trying to do the sleep thing (only occasionally).  I have been doing a slew of crafting in spare moments here and there and I actually have something to show for my efforts, but more on that later.  I am heading out to Houston in a few days to go to the International Quilt Festival, so I will probably want to talk about quilts when I get back.  You can be excited, I am.

In the mean time, how about some studio shots from my photographic lighting class?