baby things...

I will never really understand the term sleeping like a baby... perhaps, could it be because Erin doesn't like to sleep... that the most we have gotten in a stretch was maybe 5 hours. Could a cold be causing her to stay awake, or to awaken every three to four hours... it couldn't be hunger, could it? Could it be her teeth, or lack thereof? WHERE ARE THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!!!! She is so cute... so very very cute... most of the time.

In the meantime... I have begun to discover the world that is ravelry and have begun to realize that I need more hours of the day when I am not either feeding or carrying Erin. Don't get me wrong, I still strongly believe in everything I have read about attachment parenting, and I know that I have to follow my heart in how we parent her, but... I wish I had a couple of more hours a day without her attached... like if she would only nap in her crib consistently... although we do seem to be getting there... perhaps it only takes 6 months for things to fall into place like this. Who knows?!?!

Or, perhaps it's just that I am only now figuring out what I want to do/be when I grow up? NO, it's not that. I just have so many things I want to be doing. Like finishing the garden (no, it isn't mulched yet, nor do we know what plants will end up where and no I haven't ordered fall planting bulbs yet... maybe next year...) Like organizing the basement (yes, it's still filled with boxes...) Like emptying out our stuff from Erin's room (of course, it's not like we decided until the last minute which room was going to be hers, but still...)

More importantly, we need to get our business going, and for that to happen I only need a little more time in the day, or at least a little more time when Erin doesn't need my direct attention... like I said before, baby things... can you tell we are "older" parents... people who already had sort of set routines which are now being totally turned upside down...

RAVELRY!

I just got my invite... will slowly get onboard with everything... very very exciting!!!! My name there is hockeyrachel... had to come up with something quick and rachelb was taken...it's okay - because it's something I will remember!

covering my head...

I plan on fully adding to this at a later date, and I have much more to say on the subject, however... since Erin has chosen to sleep for at least the moment... I will be brief. I cover my hair. It is for religious reasons which I will get into more later, but really what I wanted to say here was it's difficult once you have a child. B.E. (before Erin) I could put whatever I wanted to on my head and it didn't matter. There was no one pulling at my hair, no one pulling at my hat, no one trying to stuff my face/hair/head into their mouth and so it just didn't matter. I matched my head covering to my outfit (although that is clearly not the case with the one picture on this blog so far, but seeing as our daughter had just been born and the head covering in question there was chosen knowing we were going to the hospital, with contractions 6 minutes apart, and that I needed comfortable and something that would stay on.. well, I think that can be forgiven - plus I had no idea what color the hospital gown would be...that and probably 90% of my hats are either black or gray...

Anyway, now I have a new reality. I wear what little hair that sticks out below my hats in a ponytail that gets constantly pulled, so I am actually starting to stick the hair all up into the hats... but some of my hats don't fit with a ponytail, some don't fit with the hair stuck up inside... some are, well, a little dressier than staying at home to do laundry in. SO, I have been wearing a lot of bandanas... and been thinking that once I get through my list of WIPs that I should make myself some hats. Someone's up.... this is getting posted now.

and now a little addition - the hardest thing is that when I was teaching and moving around a lot in the classroom I was always warm with the wool/heavier hats... I am thinking perhaps the new reality is to make myself some berets... I have one I made, I will photograph it and post it here soon. Perhaps little beanie types hats, both crochet and knit with different yarns running through - coordinating colors - maybe I should branch out from black and gray... stop laughing.. it's possible!

picture this...

my undergraduate degree is in film, photography and visual arts, and yet, I have no pictures on here! Pretty sad, huh! Well. That is about to change. For now, and just because I am still learning this blog thing, I am going to post one photo. And, it's an older one... ok, not so old, but it's almost 6 months old. WOW. I can't believe Erin is almost 6 months old...


Now that I have that taken care of, I have to admit that 95% of all of our pictures are on our business computer, and need to be shrunk. I had one lesson that, but need a review. don't worry. There will be more.

SHOULD HAVE BEEN POSTED LONG AGO!!!!

When I began this Erin was napping, and I thought I would finish it, however, that never happened so I will post what is here, then continue this discussion...:
old post started here: so I am going to take advantage of this time to write about something that I have been wanting to write about for a long long time. My latest film project...I have had this one in the percolater for way too long. WAY TOO LONG!!!! I started to think about this and even began some preliminary research before I met my husband... We've been married now for three years. We've known each other for a little more than 3 and a half... okay, that doesn't sound like so much longer, but...

Back in 2002 I saw a film at the Pittsburgh Jewish Israeli Film Festival that changed the way I thought about my own filmmaking. For those of you who have known me for a long time, you may remember that when I was working on my MFA some of the faculty gave me a hard time for doing anything with any religious content, even though it was and still is a HUGE part of who I am. They kept telling me there was no market for it, and not that I only make films for the market, I mean lets face it, the festival circuit isn't exactly about the $ you make on a film!!!

Well, there is a market for what I want to do, and that is what I need to focus on. There is even now a Jewish Television channel, at least in NY there is, and so I need to remember that as I make this next film. I just need to make the time to make the film. It will be about the covering of one's head/hair. Unfortunately while I wanted to write about it now, I need to get some sleep...and so the last thing I will leave you with, other than the promise to write more on this topic, is that we have incorporated and so our business is on it's way to becoming a reality.

thoughts on fiber...

I am very excited about this. Combining two things I love - coffee and yarn! I have to admit I am a little intimidated by the luscious yarns I see out there. I have only recently become more particular about what I have on my needles/hooks. I was never a fan of the straight acrylic, but knew very little about LYS (local yarn stores) and only purchased yarn at big box craft stores... until... well, I am not sure exactly when it happened, but first I started looking for really soft/different acrylics, mainly because a lot of what I was making was for babies, and, well, let's face it, babies make messes. I didn't really know how much, but now that we have a baby, I am now really glad that pretty much all of the baby gifts I ever made prior to knowing anything about fiber were either 100% acrylic, or mostly acrylic because it makes care all that much easier.

HOWEVER...I have now seen the light and even the acrylics made by the smaller yarn companies are SOOOOOO much nicer that I can't use just a big box acrylic anymore! Take the car seat blanket I am working on (all that's left to do is weave in two ends) It is a 75% acrylic 25% wool blend and is really nice to touch and can go in the regular wash! As a new parent I am realizing that you don't have the brain capacity to remember what the different materials your handmade beautiful things are of and how to specially care for them without destroying them. And I want to use them. So, the challenge has become to find some really intriguing, beautiful, easy care yarns to make these baby gifts from.

Which leads me to 100% cotton. I am currently knitting a sweater for our daughter. I am making the 18 month size in the hopes that I will finish it before she outgrows it. Her Nanna bought the yarn and it is GORGEOUS!!!! I was first introduced to Manos de Uruguay in a LYS that has since closed. I picked up a skein of their kettle dyed wool. I made a scarf for myself. It was one of my first ever knit projects last winter. I LOVE IT!!!!! The color is gorgeous (when I learn to post pictures I will post one here) And, it's soft, not scratchy on my neck. When we (Erin and I) were in West Hartford, visiting Nanna we took a trip to the LYS. I think Nanna must have thought I was a crazy touching everything, but I had really only ever been in one or two LYS before and one was the place going out if business which was a mess as a huge sale was in progress and they were anti-crochet which ticks me off, and the other place was also anti-crochet and before I started knitting at all so I couldn't even fake "walk the walk, talk the talk..." Now that I can knit I feel a little more comfortable in those situations, but it still ticks me off!

Anyway, we went to Sit-n-Knit so I could check things out in a LYS and found the Manos del Uruguay yarn in cotton. I love it so much. The same kettle dyed variations, but the ease of cotton care. I think pretty much all of my baby gifts, once I work through the small stash of yarn I have is done, will be in either cotton or superwash wool. I haven't tried any yet, but have read so much about how great they are. The biggest challenge I have is finding a good LYS. One would think that here on Long Island, or as my SIL calls it, Strong Island - Shopping Capitol of the World, it would be easy to find one, however, I have located only two relatively nearby that are still open, and I haven't been able to get to either of them since Ms. Erin has entered this world. I know the internet has everything, but there is something about feeling the fiber that is very important to me.

However, I know of two LYS near Nanna, so we've been to one, and hopefully next visit we will try out the other one. And, in the meantime, I will use up what I have and go from there. I know I could recycle some of the acrylic I have, and I have done some of that, and I might do more. First I have some projects to finish. I have promised myself no new fiber projects until I have gotten the list under control and we have gotten some more stuff completed for our business and in the house. More on that later...

dreams of coffee...

so the impetus to start this blog was two fold, one was all the reasons I mentioned in the first post, the other was that I had seen (via someone else's blog and the button) the opportunity to participate in a swap of fiber and coffee... ok - so it was (is) called the knitters coffee swap and my first fiber love is still crochet, but still, it's all the same in this great big fiber world... I would imagine that spinners and weavers would be just as welcome to sign up... only I found the blog too late to participate, so I waited and waited and was very very patient, and hoped they would run another one and so they did... http://coffeeswapthree.blogspot.com/ and I am hopeful that I am in... I sent in my info and am now playing the waiting game to receive my invite. In hopeful anticipation, and because Knittymama said so, I am going to post and answer all the questions on the swap list.

The funny thing is that I was going to blog mainly about fiber today as I had a dream about wool last night, but instead, while sweet little teething Erin is sleeping I am going to answer these questions....

SWAP QUESTIONS

Here are the questions:
QUESTIONS
1. Whole bean or ground? whole bean - to me, part of the coffeemaking process/experience is grinding the beans... unfortunately Erin doesn't seem to be so fond of the sound the grinder makes- hopefully longterm exposure will temper that

2. Fully-loaded or decaf? fully-loaded - not that I have anything against decaf other than the decaffinating process is chemical laden for the most part...

3. Regular or flavored? usually regular, but every once and again I will taste a flavored coffee that I would consider drinking again

4. How do you drink your coffee? preferably with half and half, although if I have had a meat meal I would prefer black with sugar over the fake creamers... there is just something about them that makes me feel like I am drinking plastic and soy and rice milks don't do it for me. Recently I have tried two different varieties of almond milk to see if I like that any better... and the answer is no, not really - just doesn't do much for me!

5. Favorite coffee ever? pretty much anything I ever got at the Coffee and Tea Exchange in Chicago when I was living there.. it was right around the corner, most amazing aroma ever when you went in, and, there was a huge goldfish named Mary who lived on the counter and was like 10 years old or something amazing like that that made it, well, just like home... Strange thing, when I was in Havana three years ago I was hoping to have a "coffee nirvana experience" and while the coffee was good, it was served more like the bitter coffee I have had in Bedouin tents than what I had anticipated. Delicious, just not what I expected, now the ice cream... WOW!!!!!!!!! that was amazing... and the mangos......

6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? I am pretty open to trying any old bean, however, usually my preference is to go back to what I like afterward, although I will say that most beans I have tried from Trader Joes have been to my liking in terms of relatively inexpensive bean fixes.... in the cupboard to try now is a bag of organic coffee (breakfast blend, I believe) from our local health food store

7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? mmmmm....treats.... well, I am kinda a baked goods snob - really prefering only my own, but after that... chocolate.... the scones from Trader Joes are kinda nice as well - and since they are kosher it works for me if I have not baked in awhile - really like the lemon ginger ones and the blueberry

8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? I forgot to mention the rest of the experience above... it's all about the process... perfect morning is as follows... put up the water to boil, grind the beans, rinse the press (usually still filled with last pots beans...) put the new beans in the press, after the water is just beneath boiling so it doesn't burn the beans, pour away, let it sit 5 minutes... if my husband is home I let him know it's time, if not I do the pressing. He has a "patented swirl" method that he loves to do - doesn't drink coffee or any other hot beverage, but likes to press, and who am I to complain! Then, pour it in the cup, smell and savour the aroma, add the half and half and enjoy.

Erin just woke up so the fiber questiosn and the like will be in part two of this post...

the fiber questions...

More Swap Questions...
9. Yarn/fiber you love? I am really starting to prefer natural fibers - I very much like cottons for their easy washability, however I haven't really begun to explore the superwash wools. I have used a few wool/acrylic blends and have liked them - I just worry about their itchability... You know - how itchy they make you feel, plus my mom is allergic to wool, so I worry that gift recipients might be as well.

10. Yarn/fiber you hate? RED HEART ACRYLIC... okay, so maybe that makes me a yarn snob, I don't know but it just doesn't feel nice no matter how many times you wash it. I know a lot of crocheters use it and swear it's all they can afford in order to do larger projects - I say wait until good yarn is on sale or clearance and use the better stuff.

11. What's on your needles? WAY WAY too much - all of the actual projects are correct in the sidebar, just the percentages completed are off (except for the Mom's dishclothes - those are actually done!)

12. Favorite colors? greens and blues, although deep reds as well.. not a big fan of pastels or pink - purples depend on the shade. I received a skein of self-striping sock yarn as a gift and am really looking forward to using it - haven't had a chance to yet - am not starting any new projects right now - not until I finish some stuff!

13. Allergies? no allergies - important to know for this swap that I do keep kosher, so food products need to be marked that they are kosher. If you are my partner and don't know what this means, I can send you a list of what symbols to look for - even if you aren't my partner and are curious, I can still send you a list of stuff to look for...actually, this link is probably all you need.

14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? I am REALLY excited about this swap. I have only been knitting for a short time, have fallen in love with EZ's writing - although can't say I have the courage to start any of her projects yet. I have been crocheting for a million years and am looking forward to one day teaching my daughter how to both knit and crochet. I love the sound of metal knitting needles as they click. I don't like the feel of plastic knitting needles - I also don't like the way plastic crochet hooks feel on the yarn...

And, now, since for some reason my daughter went to sleep somewhat "early" I am going to take advantage of that and get a couple of rows done on her sweater.

some fiber talk...

okay - since it seems like it has been awhile since I mentioned anything really fiber related... all I can say is I love working with manos del urugual cotton stria yarn!!!!!!! It just seems to glide on my needles like I can't describe... uh - I can hear the baby fidgeting and it's time for the 11pm "dream feed." this was much shorter than intended... perhaps more later...

another week gone by....

This is going to be really short, but soon, I hope I will be able to fill in the blanks. I am exhausted. There is no reason in particular, other than having a 5 month old, and the string of Jewish holidays that have just concluded. This week is the first "full" week we have had in the last month. This last month has been rough, between Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shmini Atseret and Simchat Torah, mixed in with the regular weekly Shabbat, well, it just makes it down right crazy running from holiday to holiday. For the totally un-initiated, we celebrate our holidays fully, we don't use electricity, but no, we don't sit in the dark (we use either timers or leave lights on) we don't cook if we can help it (although on the holiday we can cook, on Shabbat we can't - we try to do all the preperations before hand) we spend a lot of time in the synagogue, with friends and family, and it makes it a full time/day.

However, it is now 10:24pm and I need to get some sleep... more later... and hopefully this will all make more sense as time goes by....