Cute Little Boy in his Sweater

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Ali

Wow. I don’t usually leave the blog completely unattended for a week! I hope I still have some readers left after my long vacation! I will be sharing more pictures throughout the week, but I wanted to show you this little cutie, who belongs to my bestie Autumn, wearing the hoodie I made for him before he was born.

Now, it’s still a little big for him, but that’s ok, so it’ll fit him all the way through the fall and the winter.

Isn’t he just the cutest EVER? I just want to squeeze him and eat him up! And he’s a happy little thing, too. Oh, I can’t wait to have my own little boy to dress up in handknits! Six more weeks!

In Which I Have Trouble Going Back and Forth.

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Ali

So I’m in the middle of working on two separate projects, and the gauge difference is kind of hard to overcome. I’ve never worked on two things simultaneously that have been so difficult to switch back and forth. I think I just need to finish one and then pick the other one back up.

And in case you’re wondering- the top (blue) project is a knitted tie. I know, I know. It’s a commissioned project, but I think it’s really going to turn out really awesome. It’s knit on size 1 needles (SIZE ONE, PEOPLE! That’s TINY!) on lace weight yarn, making it the smallest yarn and needles I’ve ever worked with before. The bottom project (green) is a baby-bag that I am making for Togglebuttons. It’s sort of a swaddling blanket. Who knows if it’ll be the right size for him, but I’ve got a ton of this green yarn to use up so I am gunna make one. It’s knit on size 10.5’s with super bulky yarn (In other words, it took me about 1 hour to knit a square that’s about 16x16inches.) It’s really hard to adjust my hands between the two projects, so I think when we leave town tonight I am just going to leave one of them behind!

Well, we’ll be at our Family Reunion for the next week, so posting might be light (or non-existent, we’ll see!) Hope you all have a grand weekend!

Mint Syrup

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Ali

I bought a large bunch of mint at the Farmer’s Market this weekend, and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. I’d love to make it into mojito’s, but until September hard alcohol is off the table… So, I decided to make mint syrup so that I can add it to my water (mmm tasty!) or save it and use it for mojito’s later on. And, it’s your lucky day, cuz I am going to show you how to make it!

What you’ll need:
1 bunch fresh mint (about two cups of leaves)
2 cups white sugar
2 cups water

Pluck all those beautiful leaves and get two cups of water boiling with two cups of sugar stirred in.

Once the water is boiling then stuff all of your leaves into the boiling water. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes then remove from heat.

It’ll start to look all wilty and slimy, but should start to smell good and minty. Let it steep for about an hour. I left mine in there for like two hours, because I forgot about it…

Then strain out the minty leaves and you’ve got yourself some delicious mint syrup. A note about this step, my strainer wasn’t quite fine enough to get all of the little bits of leaf out, so after I strained it I let it go through a coffee filter just to get all of the little floaty bits out.

Voila!

Monkey!

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Ali

Definitely still on a toy-making kick. I’ve got all these ideas floating around my head for more animal friends that I want to make, now.

I gave this little monkey a t-shirt because I didn’t quite have enough brown yarn to finish him off.

But I think the shirt turned out kinda cute.

Anybody got any name suggestions for this little guy? (I am going with Cornelius for the Elephant, thanks Rik!)

Oh man, I just LOVE making things for my OWN baby. It’s so exciting. I mean, I love making things to give away to people as well, and I love making commissioned items, but there is something so great about making something for your own little baby. Now just 7 1/2 (Give or take a few weeks) more weeks until we get to meet.

Elephant!

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Ali

I made an elephant this weekend. And I really-really-really like this one.

And this one I am keeping for my own baby.

I based it on the Jessikin’s Elephant Pattern, but made a few big changes. Mostly I just wanted him to be bigger, and I didn’t like her skinny little legs, so I made some more substantial ones.

I am pretty pleased with him.

And now I am on a toy making kick. I’ve already cast on for another fun little friend for my Togglebuttons.

What should I name the elephant? I couldn’t come up with a good name- so you should all help out and suggest cute names for this little boy elephant.

Barefoot and Pregnant in the Kitchen

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Ali

Fridays are one of those days where I always want the house to be at least tidied by the end of the day… there’s just something so nice about going into the weekend with a clean house. Anyway, today I’ve been cleaning and baking. Yep, barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen making cookies.

Gotta at least taste the cookie dough. Soo tasty.

Busting out of my apron… Yep. I’ll be 32 weeks on Sunday. 8 more weeks! Eek. It’s getting really, really close. TWO MONTHS AWAY! Well, two months if he decides to come on time. Two hot months. Two really, really hot months. I spent the last two afternoons at the pool, sitting in the shallow end letting the water just splash over me. Whenever I get in the water little Togglebuttons goes nuts and just starts moving around and going crazy. He’s still super active, moving around all the time and trying to kick his way out through the top of my belly. (Yay, this means he is still head down, so that’s awesome!) But I am getting anxious to meet my little boy. I think we’re pretty much prepared, or at least as prepared as I can be at this point, you know? I guess we will find out when he comes!

Ok. Also, on a completely unrelated note, has anyone ever tried the “No Shampoo” deal? I am kind of curious to try it because it seems like pretty much all shampoo dries out my hair really badly, even though I use plenty of conditioner- and it doesn’t seem to depend on the expensiveness of the shampoo, either. So, I might give it a try (maybe after the baby is born and I’m going to be staying at home alot, so if I end up with greasy hair no one will see….) So, if you’ve tried it, let me know how it worked for you.

A Little Too Much Sun.

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Ali

My sister warned me this was going to happen….

Ah, the first burn of the summer! It’s actually not too painful, which is weird, because I always burn, and it always hurts. But this one, so far, doesn’t hurt. I did rub aloe on it right when I got home an had the fan blowing on me all evening so maybe that was the trick. Don’t worry, I drank plenty of water and made sure to stay super-hydrated all day though. I didn’t want a repeat of Tuesday.

Man, being pregnant is so much fun, guys! On Tuesday I was just too dehydrated after a hot 3 day weekend, plus the last time I went to the doctor they said my iron levels were getting really low, anyhow, I was at work on Tuesday morning and all of the sudden I started to feel really nauseated and got some tunnel vision and next thing you know I woke up to my face smacking the desk. I had passed out cold. I called Paul and he came and took me to the doctors and they hooked me up to the monitor and did a non-stress test and everything looked okay, I was just not drinking enough water or getting enough iron. So I’ve been chugging water constantly and trying to remember to eat iron rich foods. And I’ll try to remember to reapply my sunscreen…

Another Blanket.

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Ali

I’ve started on another blanket. I know, I know. This kid doesn’t really need another blanket, but it’s so fun to make them and it’s nice to have a mindless project to work on.

It’s made out of Chenille Yarn, so it’s really really soft and cushy.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it reminds me of some kind of Oriental Rug or something. I don’t know if it’s the colors or if it’s the pattern, but either way I still love it. It’s just a simple single crochet. What’cha think?

31 Weeks, 2 days

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Ali

61 days until my due date. Whoa, that kind of snuck up on me.

31 weeks! He’s about 3 and a half pounds now, and I’ve gained a total of 9 pounds. Feeling pretty huge these days, and it’s getting really hot here.Getting lots of Braxton Hicks contractions and now a lot of back pain. Not like I didn’t expect the back pain part, but hey, it held out pretty well for the first 30 weeks!

This is my 4th of July outfit. I’ve got the red, white and blue represented, although I didn’t really have any red clothes (at least none that fit right now), but I did have a red button bobby-pin for my hair. I wish I was at Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Tom’s today with the rest of my extended family enjoying the water and fireworks, but I guess Northern Idaho is ok, too. There is a fireworks show in Pullman this evening that we might try to hit up, if I don’t fall asleep before they start.

Today I washed a load of baby clothes. Oh my WORD. I can’t believe that I’m washing baby clothes already! I got a big garbage bag full of baby boy clothes at a garage sale for FREE! (woo!) and a bag of clothes from my mom, a bag of clothes from my sister, plus several hand-me-down outfits from friends already, so this little boy already has more clothes than he needs for the first six months of his life. Plus, we’ve already got a swing, crib, a stroller, carseat AND another awesome thing that I got at the garage sale (also free) was a stroller, but without the seat in it, but you can click your regular carseat in it, so that will be super helpful for the first few months so I won’t have to wake him up and get him out of the carseat if I want to use the stroller. I’m going to try to get the crib set up today, just because I am anxious to see how it all looks in the bedroom.

Hope you all have a happy Independence Day!

Bear Hat

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Ali

So I made a little hat for Togglebuttons. It’s a bear hat. I think it’s pretty cute.

Paul suggested that I add cream or light pink on the inside of the ears to make it a little more ‘bear’ like. What do you think? Add that or leave it as-is?