about a week ago, i got this bug in my ear that told me that i should really finish KP's socks NOW so that i can just be done with them and move on. behold the beauty of knitting man-socks on size US5 needles.

ode to argyle socks

all the details are on ravelry. i made this pattern up but i have since seen similar ones in ravelry (just search for "socks diamond" and you'll see them) so there ya go.

diamonds

i placed them on the couch yesterday so that KP would see them when he got home. he immediately put them on and wore them all night. i suspect he's pleased! i really want to throw them in the wash though and hope some of the wonkiness comes out. let me tell you, near the end, i thought i was going to run out of yarn and have to join a new ball but thankfully i didn't. i realize now that i didn't because i totally forgot a whole row in one of the pattern repeats. whoops.

quickie mittens

i also whipped up a quick pair of mittens (ravelry) for the peanut using the SAME cashmerino i've used on every other peanut project since miss dashwood. i'm almost done with it! one more skein. i was hoping that if i made these mittens, spring would come. today it was 60 degrees. mission accomplished.

aside, do you realize that daylight saving time starts this weekend?! holy moses. where does the time go?

so, now what? the only thing i have on the needles is my miters (forgot about them, did ya) i knit on one last night and will continue tonight but i need something new. i've decided to knit a pair of pants for the peanut using this itchy fingers pattern i found (ravelry). it's a great "recipe" pattern and i already swatched for it. i'll be using knitpicks cotlin in nightfall (which i keep thinking is called "midnight".) i just threw the swatch into the wash and dryer with a bunch of clothes because that's what i'll do to the pants when they're done. we'll see what i get and then i'll fill in the numbers and cast on.

likes it!

here's a gratuitous peanut pic just for kicks. she's trying out the new stroller we got, which i love. by the way, she's crawling now!!!! just started this week. huzzah!

next up? i'm making a skirt. at least, i think that i am. i may be making it too complicated on myself by trying this pattern that i have, but we'll see. and knitting? not sure. flair? maybe. ugh, i have too many ideas of what to make and no sure-thing.

p.s. i'm starting a "food for babies or toddlers" flickr group with aimee (right aimee?) on flickr. if you'd like to join up, please do!

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when you have a baby, all you can think about sometimes is milestones. when will she smile? when will she eat solid food happily? crawl? walk? be potty-trained? with those milestones comes disruption, though, as we're finding out here at casa gleek. little peanut is going to crawl.. soon. she's obsessively getting on her stomach and thrusting her hips into the air. she's so obsessive about it that it's stopping her from sleeping well, and quite frankly, stopping everyone within two blocks of sleeping well! with age, the crying gets louder, unfortunately. so i'm a little worn out and i think that this post will be heavy on the pictures.

here, here are some happy peanut pics.

what's this?

happiness!

she loves those flowers sooooo much (thanks kate!) KP does a little puppet show with them and they make her giggle.

stop moving!

the eating part of lunchtime may not bring on the smiles, but funny faces from mom do.

in the box, yes, she still loves the box

cheerios make her happy too. especially the big yellow box.

standing!

and something that makes me happy: baby butt and legs.

know what else makes me happy? new things on the needles!

love yarn in little cakes

yep, i got busy on saturday night, winding up some yarn. then i cast on for gretel (ravelry)! finally something for myself. let's hope that it stays relatively cool outside so that i can wear it when i'm done with it.

and i also cast on for KP's second sock. he's not allowed to talk or ask about it again till it's done.

them's the rules. so i'm wrapping up this post so that i can watch project runway!

p.s. nutkin is pretty much done too. i just have to bind off the toe but i'm not going to do that until saturday when i present it to my secret pal. i'm SO nervous it's not going to fit. i've never knit for someone who has smaller feet than myself. i have confidence, but i'm not taking a chance by binding it off and weaving in the ends. i want her to love it and wear it!

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this is the obligatory happy new year blog entry, as usual. i'm going to keep it short though because one of my new year's resolutions is to post more often at the expense of long-ass posts. this is probably in everyone's best interests to be sure. let's look at 2007's resolutions (heh.)

• have a baby, take care of her, and get back into shape afterward.
• go back to work in the fall (this should be easy as i don't really have much of a choice!)
• launch my super secret website by july. i'm sure you'll hear more about this soon!
• watch more movies (basically use my netflix membership more.)
• knit from my stash for most of the year.
• do more colorwork.
• learn to steek something.
• make KP a sweater.
• sew more (we'll see if i can do that this year since i couldn't accomplish it in 2006.)

ok, so i had the baby (peanut!) and am taking care of her. i am not in shape. i miss the gym terribly but it was a package deal with work which i quit (there goes half of #1 resolution and #2 resolution was a bust [but a good one!] as well.) i wish it were easier to get out with the nut during the winter but dressing her up and getting out the door can sometimes take 30 minutes! and we don't always have the time to spare. oh well. when the spring comes and the weather is nicer (and hopefully i'm done breastfeeding) then i can really concentrate on getting back in shape.

the super secret website is on the WAY back burner. maybe late in 2008? i used netflix more and knit from my stash mostly. KP doesn't get a sweater (i'm not sure he ever will!) i've decided i'm not really into colorwork so why learn to steek? and my sewing is neither here nor there.

so what about 2008? here's what i'm thinking...

• knit a sweater for myself. just one, please!
• knit more accessories
• continue to knit from my stash
• keep sewing!
• lose some weight when breastfeeding is over
• socialize the peanut
• post to the blog at least once per week

this all seems pretty reasonable to me but, then again, last year's resolutions did too!

to end this post, i bring you some knitting updates. i recently decided that the peanut really needed a pair of legwarmers (ravelry). every time i suited her up to go out, her shins would be exposed.

warm those legs!

i whipped these up really quick using some cashmerino aran from the stash, just cast on 40, join in the round, 2x2 rib until they are long enough and bind-off. easy peasy. took two nights of watching "planet earth" which was really awesome. KP and i now speak like david attenborough constantly.

compact koolhaas

i also cast on for koolhaas which is coming along slowly (ravelry). all the cabling really bakes my noodle (which is already pretty toasty) and i'm doing it all without a cable needle which is a lot of fun. this one's going to my dad when it's done. i've owed him a hat for at least a year now!

almost done

oh and KP's first ode to argyle sock (ravelry) is complete and i really like the way it turned out! now just have to cast on the second one.

hope you're all having a lovely new year's day!

yes, i look tired

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it's a good thing that i'm not doing any christmas knitting this year because i know that i would have no time in which to do it! it's already the 13th of december and i cringe at the thought of 2008 approaching and i've done little to no knitting in 2007. i was just looking at my ravelry and i'm surprised by how few projects are in there! i could have sworn that i knit more than that. it's an illusion in my mind, i guess.

i've started something new and i think that this time, it's going to take. poor KP. i think that i've started and frogged about 3,278,763 socks for him at this point. either i choose the wrong pattern or the wrong yarn or a combination of both. this time, though, i feel the mojo, but time is limited around here. i'm not getting much done. a round here and there.

creeping along

i'm calling them "ode to argyle" socks. just a simple diamond pattern i drew up on some graph paper. i did my very first tubular cast-on (via ysolda) for them! i hope to knit on these and finish them before the end of the year. KP has off between christmas and new year's and i want to knit knit knit during that time!

recently, i dressed up the peanut and i took pictures of her looking cute for christmas cards. we had one spill but otherwise she sat for them nicely. i wish i had a more professional camera and lighting setup. she kept moving and making everything all blurry. i eventually had to cave and use the flash. the final photo was very cute but here's an outtake.

goo!

i had to give her curious george in order to make her happy enough to sit for 5 minutes at a time! those babies. short attention spans.

her aunt cheryl gave her a walker for christmas and it is the hottest thing around here. she still hates being on her stomach so now that she knows how to roll in both directions, she just rolls onto her back whenever we put her on her tummy. my guess is she won't be crawling for quite some time. but she wants to be MOBILE! she wants to follow us around! this walker is great for it. our apartment is a bit small for it but what little mobility it gives her makes her happy.

mobile nut

in other news, if you read subwayknitter then you know that i'm hard at work over here geeking out (another reason why i don't have a lot of knitting time.) i'm updating her movabletype and templates.. giving her a NY subway feel. we're not going kitchy (and besides i happen to know that the MTA hates it when you parody the subway) but instead minimalist with a hint of subway. i think that you'll like it when it's done. i'll give my geek review of MT4 when all is said and done.

p.s. i already know that my new year's resolution is going to be to post once per week. let's hope that i can do that starting in 2008!

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