Take THAT FO!

{ O.K., I'm going to try this again. Last night I posted this, but it ate my post and since it was getting late I didn't want to type everything again. Cross your fingers. And toes! }

K, so the other day I was quite disappointed in the weather forecast. We were supposed to have "storms" Monday night through Tuesday night. I wasn't disappointed that it was going to rain. I was disappointed that it only rained for ten minutes! Ten stinkin' minutes! I was driving back from a Dr. appointment and you could see how dark and foreboding the clouds approaching were. There were a few rain drops. I get home, get settled and look outside and this is what I see:

Yeah, ten minutes later and it's already clearing out! *sigh* Don't get me wrong, I love the warm, spring days where you can throw on a pair of shorts and flip flops. But I ♥ the rain much more. I would fare better in Seattle or London. (I've tried convincing Shawn, but I don't think he's ready to make that kind of move.)

Aside from the weather report, I've been keeping pretty busy. Busy knitting the fronts and the sleeves from the Debbie Bliss Matinee Coat from Simply Baby. Busy sewing the fronts and the sleeves too! (With the help of Debbie at Simply Knitting. The edging is difficult to sew in pattern so she showed me how to do it and I finished it yesterday.)

Here's the shoulder and sleeves, (mind you, the color is totally off...I had to take close ups without the flash):

And a better look at the lace pattern:

And here's Scout in her new duds, (which btw, shows the true color of the yarn):

Debbie Bliss Matinee Coat specs:

Yarn: RYC Cashsoft DK, in Dive, subbed for Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK, uber soft stuff! I ordered three skeins, (compared to needing 4 of the other stuff), which has about 197 yards per skein. I still have enough leftover to make a little hat or headband.

Needles: US 7/6/4/3 for 32 sts=4"

Size: I made the 9-12 month size

Mods: Three needle bind off for the shoulders and I didn't bind off the neck stitches. Instead of picking up stitches along the fronts and neck I did a single crochet along the edges.

Notes: If anything, I would do one extra stitch along the edges of the pattern if you want to do some easy sewing. There is already one, but you would need two to make the finishing easier. Altogether a very easy knit. Took me about a week and a half to do.

Along with some modeling pix from Scout, we took a few of us together though I can't say they are too good because a.) Shawn is not a photographer, b.) I am still feeling like poo from this cold and know I look it too and c.) there wasn't much lighting in the room. But either way, I have a few shots of me and Scout which are very special because I'm usually the one operating the camera:

Besides being busy with her knits and home life, I've done a little bit of online ordering. I saw Grumperina's Uptown Boot Socks from Favorite Socks by Interweave Knits and decided I need to knit that pattern and maybe the other 24 that are in the book too! So I ordered that and Charlene Schurch's, More Sensational Knitted Socks. I have to believe that this book is 100% as good, if not better, than the first. And since the first book is what got me knitting my first pair, well I needed that book too!

So what to knit now? I now have 14 UFO's/WIP's, (I finished one and got rid of another), so I suppose I should work on those? I think I'm going to work on the Cabled Tunic from Vogue Knitting from the Fall 2006 cover. I'm .... that close to finishing the back. Not so close to the front, the sleeves, the finishing...Woe is me! Why do I do this to myself? (Just a great excuse to buy more and knit more, so I can take a "break" from the hard stuff!)

I MUST be InSaNe

First and foremost, Happy Saint Patrick's Day! We didn't do much, but I did make cupcakes. I truly believe that any, and all, holidays should be celebrated with cupcakes. They are just too yummy! So I made four leaf clover cupcakes. Clever, aren't I?

We didn't do anything yesterday, aside from that. To tell the truth, I've had a rough spot for the past four days or so. I don't know why. Well, I think it has to do with the fact that I was trying to stop breastfeeding. Mentally I'd tried convincing myself that I was ready to stop. But in my heart, I'm not. Luckily my milk hadn't dried up and we are back to breastfeeding. I suppose I'll stop when I know I'm ready. But I'm pretty sure that the change in hormones caused a little emotional instability the past few days. And since I have not been on medications since last April, well yeah. (Though everyone says how great I'm doing, I have to say that they don't see how I am at home when I'm really a wreck! Yikes!)

Anyway, Shawn is also having troubles. As in he is diseased. He is ill. Damn him. (I really try so hard not to get sick I tell ya!) It turns out that a few coworkers came into work sick this week, which in turn means that Shawn brought back their germs! Ewww! He's hurting pretty bad though, poor guy. It's mainly his throat. Then this morning he turned the wrong way and now has a pinched nerve in his neck! (I did that about two or three weeks ago. Then he made fun of me, well just teasing, and not three days later he did the same thing to his back! I tell him all the time: KARMA KICKS ASS!) So he's trying to relax. (Trying is the operative word.)

In the midst of all of this relaxing, I decided to go through my stash. Not really to make myself feel utterly and totally horrible, (I can't help but to think that I might have an entires month rent sitting in these yarn tubs...tubs!). But I wanted to get my needles organized. I tend to just throw them back in the closet when I'm done using them and they are never to be seen again until I actually need to use them. And honestly, I'm sick of buying another set of size 9's, (even though I have 4 pairs of straight ones and 2 pairs of circulars and get this: I rarely need my size 9's).

So this is just part of the mess:

And here's another part of the mess:

And when it comes down to it, that's not even the entire mess. What makes the situation worse is that I decided, (lastnight), to see how many UFO's and WIP's I had. As of lastnight I had 13! As of today, the number increased, (couldn't have decreased somehow could it?), to 16! Sixteen projects on needles or in bags needing to be finished. Ay yi yi!

Which only makes me feel bad for having gotten this in the mail the other day:

It's Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK in Peacock. It's absolutely gorgeous and uber soft! This is the substitute yarn for the Norah Gaughan tank in the Interweave Knits Spring 2007 issue. Can't wait to start. AFTER I finish the other 16 projects I have going. (Yeah, right!)

I started the Matinee Coat for Scout, but also have been working on my Dalton socks. (Which, btw, thank you all for either your helpful tips, your links, or your support. I am hoping once I get to that point in the short row heels that the tips that Jillian sent to me will help. I'll let you know. All in all, I think that yarn over cable pattern is very pretty and the STR yarn is a wonder to work with. (So much so that I might have to order Little Bunny Foo Foo for another day!)

As for the Matinee Coat, well I don't think I need to explain do I?

The yarn is uber soft, (like the Cashmerino DK), and very easy to work with. The fact that a little less than three skeins will get me a beautifully knit sweater for Scout to wear in a few months just makes it all the more sweet. I decided to do the 12 month size to be safe. She's growing so rapidly and I don't want her to grow out of it too fast. (Friday's Dr. appointment: Scout weighs 13 lbs. 8 oz. and is 24 1/2 inches long. Her Dr. said that Scout's, "a perfect baby" and I totally agree!) Besides that, the yarn seems to be great for keeping someone warm, which she won't need until the Fall.

Yup. That's our weekend.