Knitter Coffee Swap 3 best box...

SO, I received my box yesterday... It was a hectic day, I had a Dr. appt, then running around with Erin, then she wouldn't sleep last night, so there was no blogging going on. No way to tell you all about the best box that I got! At least, I knew when I got up this morning that the box would still be on the counter, that it wasn't a dream!Because I was opening it with Erin around, I didn't have the chance to take pics as I opened it, but it was wrapped with bubble wrap and pink paper and it was really crinkly and Erin LOVED that!

I loved the contents...


I know that I was a little difficult as a swap partner because of the fact that we keep kosher and part of this swap included coffee, but Mary found some great beans that fit the bill, and a really cool mug (beautiful colors!) to drink it in. I have never tried this brand before, but breakfast blends tend to be my favorites. Also, any other food included also needed to be kosher and somehow (Mary must have been channeling my husband for this one!) she picked out his favorite kind of packaged cookies... and, some amazing chocolate that I may or may not share... we'll see... It looks really yummy...

But wait, there's more... Mary had asked me about my favorite yarns... and I am relatively new at the "good stuff" but one thing that makes it a little more difficult is the problem of something called shatnez. Because of this prohibition between mixing wool and linen there is a concern with some yarns as many are blends. Since I haven't really been using wools before, it hasn't been something I have had to really think about, but knowing that some beautiful yarn was heading my way, I had to bring it up. Mary, again, surpassed any difficulties and found this beautiful viscose yarn, which is apparently all plant based, so there is not a drop of wool to worry about! And, as an added bonus, for my birth anniversary, in addition to the two hanks that will find their way into becoming a hat for me...at some point... there was a beautiful, extremely colorful skein of sock yarn, that is going to become... well, something... I haven't decided yet.

The idea of the birth anniversary is intriguing as it is quite true - we are not birthed over and over again each year, but instead, we are celebrating the anniversary of the actual event.

And, there is still more... some beautiful cards with a young woman knitting on them.. trez cool...

Overall I would have to say this has been a FANTASTIC experience. I have made a new friend and I received some awesome treats that I will share with my family. Lucky for me no one else drinks coffee or uses yarn yet... The cookies and chocolate, well they are a different story...Mary, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! This was great. It was my first swap, so there was clearly potential for it to be a bust, but I think we both had a great time.

It's done...

My partner's box is done, and packed, and tomorrow (Friday) we are headed to the post office. I am very excited to send it, I hope Mary likes it. I had a great time putting it together. This was my first swap, and I will hopefully participate in more in the future. I hope the weather is nicer than today. I didn't go today because it was dark, wet and all around just gross. Not much to add right now as I wrote a lot earlier today. Good night!

wow... it's November... and turkey day is coming...

I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving. No real excuse for not posting anything yet this month other than, well, to be quite honest, I thought I had! I know I did post a picture to my swap site, so perhaps I just remembered incorrectly.

On the fiber front, in the process of putting together my swap partner's goodie box I had the opportunity to visit all of my LYS, including one new one that's only been open a month and one that I had heard was really snooty and so was sort of afraid of... WELL.... nothing to be afraid of - they weren't snooty at all, even when I was pretty clear I was only looking. They have a huge selection and the prices, while higher than your local big box, were what you would expect for the high quality yarn they carry. They even had a nice sale selection, so I will go again. I did fall in love with a skein of beaded silk that would make the most gorgeous anything, but at $35 for 50grams, and no real specific project that I need (or dress to make a hat for or anything like that) it will stay at the store, and I might visit it again sometime!

The new store was an incredible experience. It's a warehouse with closeouts or something like that. WHO KNOWS! All I can tell you is the prices were great, the owner was lovely and the selection was huge. I got one skein for my partner there, a skein of sock yarn to make socks for Erin and 2 skeins to make myself a hat. The bad thing about this place is that if you see and love it, you have to buy it because she doesn't replace what gets sold. Once it's gone, it's gone - hence the sock yarn as I already have a skein waiting to be knit and I really don't like adding to the stash that way, but I am sure Erin will like it and so there wasn't much choice. I also got a skein of a self-striping yarn to make her a simple hat. It was in the clearance bin and was quite pretty. Her hat will be done as soon as a certain secret project is finished.

And, then there was the LYS I found a couple of weeks ago. I got my partner 2 skeins there. They are very nice, but seem to carry a lot of novelty stuff and less just regular yarn - or maybe that was just what it felt like. Now, though, of the 3 stores, it has become my least favorite because of my least favorite retail trick which is to not price anything. You have to ask for a price on everything. That bugs me. Perhaps it's because I like to look and contemplate a lot. Maybe it's because I am very budget conscious, but regardless. I hate being in a store where I have to ask the price on every item I pick up. The only things that were priced there were the sale items.

Anyway, I am really psyched to have found these places as I was getting really tired of crap yarn from the big boxes. My biggest challenge is finding yarn for anything for my mother. She is allergic to wool. All wool. This makes even the smallest amount in a blend impossible for her. That would be why her afghan is being made of a cotton blend.

Also, I frogged the BMC babyghan. I just couldn't get it. I struggled at the beginning of each row to understand how the row began and how it matched the row below. I think it might be sleep deprivation related, but to be quite honest, it's not how I like to work, so because I had already allocated that blanket to be a gift for someone, I had to quickly get moving. The baby it's for could come anytime in the next couple of weeks, as the due date is next week. Instead I am joining the CAL baby blanket on my yahoo CAL group, Kim Guzman's Hugs and Kisses Baby Afghan . I hope to find it a bit easier to follow in the wee hours that are when I crochet.

I will have to update the side bar with my progresses.

In other news... my birthday was last week. I got the coolest Hartford Whalers sweatshirt from my husband. I will have to take a photo and post it here. It's in the laundry because a certain someone spit up on it, and then, when I was doing a midnight (okay, it was really 4am) diaper change, she peed on me. Yep. There I was, minding my own business, trying to get it done as fast as possible in an attempt to get back to sleep, and the next thing I know there is a fountain, and I have to change her pajamas and my sweatshirt. nice. NOT!

In any case, the Hartford Whalers were my favorite NHL team growing up, of course being from Hartford, who else could I root for! They left Hartford in 1996 to become the Carolina Hurricanes. Can't like them. They tore my heart out (only the people of Cleveland who lost their Browns can understand this!) Since then I haven't really picked a new team, although my husband would push me to be a NY Rangers fan. Anyway, in addition to the sweatshirt, I also got on ebay a Ron Francis jersey that we will be hanging in the hockey theme bathroom that we have. I will post pictures here, too. For our anniversary he had gotten me a Whaler's cap so now I have a matched set of Whaler sleepwear!

On the cuteness front, Erin has started solid food. Not really eating meals, but tasting new things. In a couple of short weeks we have added: avocado, sweet potato, rice cereal, banana and yogurt. The next thing to try will be butternut squash. Interestingly, at my LLL meeting yesterday we talked about how even for the next 6 months breastmilk should still be her primary source of nutrition, but if you don't begin introducing new things at around the 6 month mark they become too set in their ways to try new things when they are one. I have to say that just breastfeeding certainly made it easier to think about what to feed her. Now all of a sudden I have to think about it, and plan. Something I have never been good at before for David or myself for dinner, or myself for lunch, so it's a bit of a challenge, albeit a good one.

Wow, this post is long. I guess I need to just post more often. Not that I know if anyone is even reading, but whatever. I post because I have something to say, not because I know anyone is reading! Pictures will be forthcoming. I promise.

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.