hello 2009! how the heck did that happen? but i feel like i say that every year and this year it's no different. time is flying and before i know it, i'll be old and grey :)

so anyway, did lots of stuff in 2008 including a fair amount of knitting and sewing:

there are a few things that aren't on here like my rice pillows and the skully skirt i made but this is the majority of it!

1. on the feet!, 2. hiding in my koolhaas, 3. toasty topper complete!, 4. gretel from the top, 5. ode to argyle socks, 6. using up more of the cashmerino, 7. skirt done!, 8. elijah, 9. swiffer covers, 10. flair's snaps, 11. flair complete, 12. amanda's baby blanket, 13. spiders' blanket for cathy, 14. marigold socks, 15. sophie the cat, 16. frock camisole, 17. ridged lace cowl, 18. february lady sweater, 19. february lady sweater, 20. 365.152 (another FO), 21. christmas cowl #2 - new new shale cowl, 22. christmas cowl # 2 detail, 23. felicity, 24. mittens for C

i also started the 365 project in july and if there's one thing that i did in 2008 that i love the most it's this. i was never a good journal keeper growing up. i tried a few times but failed. taking a photo a day is so easy, even on the days that it's hard. the hard days, i just snap a random photo and call it done. if you don't follow me on flickr, please jump on over there and make me a contact! i would love to see you there too. for those who don't use flickr (you are missing out), just look here for my weekly recaps every week. i plan on keeping them up.

resolutions for 2009? none really except to continue on eating better, healthier, and at home. i'm already on this track and it's working out well. i'd like to explore becoming a vegan (slowly) and eating more raw foods as i know how healthy they are. we have a gym membership now so i'd like to use it more often (i only wish they had day care!) i've also gotta keep popknits running and in good shape. other than that, i just want all my friends and family to be happy and healthy as well.

happy new year everyone!

###

it's been a while since i've blogged, i know. in my defense, i've had a lot going on!

packing and moving

if you've been following me on flickr then you know that we made our move to our new apartment this week. it's really been the week from hell, to be sure. living out of boxes, barely eating, and cranky toddlers do not a happy mommy make.

i tried to keep my sanity with beer but it didn't always work. the good news is two-fold here.

#1. popknits is live! in case you didn't already know. went live on the 1st and despite a small hiccup the first day when all the rabid knitters brought down the site, the launch went really well. i blame time warner for many of my headaches that day. the cable modem went down repeatedly during the 3+ hours that i needed it and i thought that i would have an anxiety attack but i made it through.

#2. we're in our new place and i like it a lot. it's far out in brooklyn which definitely makes it harder to see my friends, but the it's big! three bedrooms, eat-in-kitchen! wow. and yeah, i did mention that we're saving a lot of cash each month on rent.

this third bedroom is what we refer to as the "popknits home office". it's going to take a while to unpack all those boxes and actually use the room but i think that i'll be in there by the end of october.

speaking of which, i'm going to rhinebeck for sure! i'll be there on saturday with peanut and my mom. i hope to have some popknits magnets or bookmarks (not sure which yet) to hand out. hope to see you there!

###

i could use some help from the mamas and papas out there. the peanut is proving to be a picky eater and i really thought that she would have lightened up about it now. there are only like 4 things on earth that she likes to eat and, with the way that she's going, it'll be 2 by week's end. just when i thought potatoes were ok, today she absolutely refused to put them in her mouth. i've tried a lot of tricks. she's not interested in a spoon or fork. she'll do finger foods. she likes most fruits, cheese, and bread. i'm trying to get more protein in her but she refuses things like boca burgers, beans, and tofu.

i could use some advice or recipes to try. remember that we're vegetarian and don't have any meat in the house (not even fish.) she's also not breastfeeding anymore which is another reason why i feel like protein is essential. please feel free to write or put suggestions in the comments. thanks!

###

i took a quick look at the calendar this morning and i'm reminded that a year ago this day i went on maternity leave from work. it seems like a lot more time has passed than a year! i can hardly believe that the peanut will be 1 year old in a few weeks! pretty amazing.

since i don't have a lot of crafting to show you today (i'm still working on my skirt and i've made some progress on the peanut pants), i thought that i would reminisce and give you a quick and certainly not-too-detailed account of my birth story which i never did elaborate on last year. it's in the extended entry. read it and weep (i always do) or not. i'll have crafty stuff in the next few days :)

continue reading -»

well, this entry is going to be a quickie. i'm thinking that 2008 is not starting off on such a great foot. the peanut is sick and miserable. this is her first time ever sick and, wow, she is not good at it. our boiler is on the fritz (yes, it was just installed two years ago.) it died around 6PM when i was trying to run a hot shower and steam the nut. of course, it died right before i was going to give her a bath. the whole rest of the night was downhill from there.

over the past two days, i've not changed out of my PJs (though i HAVE changed those) and i've only had two or three seconds to put together to stare out into space much less work on the new freelance i JUST got. yay. i'm hoping for longer peanut naps tomorrow. today she could only eke out three 45 minute naps. sad.

so instead of continuing to whine (i've heard enough "i'm sick and miserable" whining to last me a lifetime!) here's an FO, for ya.

happier, toastier times

pompoms make everything cute

it's the toasty topper (another cute shot.) i double-stranded cashmerino aran on size 8s for it. all the details are on ravelry. i even made a cute little pompom for the top (thanks kaitlyn!)

hopefully i'll be back soon with a better, happier update. i do have other things to talk about but no time.

ETA: heat and hot water have been restored to casa gleek. less than 24 hours! nice service. the starter was blown and the repairman had the part on him. little peanut is doing a bit better today so i'm hoping that some of the worst of it is behind us. be back after the weekend!

###

... and now i'm 32. KP is out of town for the day and won't be home till late. i have some lunch plans and then some friends may stop by later but otherwise, i'm just glad it's not snowing outside and the peanut is in a relatively good mood. happy birthday to me!

###

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

###

hope your holiday went well whichever holiday you celebrate! i'm going to try something new here and schedule a few posts to go live over the next week. first we'll talk about christmas and some spiders, then peanut, then knitting and the 2007 round-up. this first one's gonna be long but there'll be plenty of pics.

a few weeks ago was the spiders holiday party. i've neglected my camera recently and left all of the photos just sitting on the card since then. sorry! it was such a great time! knitters really know how to party, believe it or not. this year, instead of the white elephant i'm-gonna-steal-your-gift exchange we used a great online tool called elfster to do a secret santa swap. i gave a great vogue knitting accessories book to julia and kaitlyn gave me some great stuff!

my haul

here we have a pompom maker and the itty bitty hats book which i requested on my amazon wishlist. such cute hats in that book i couldn't resist! she also made me a keyboard dust cover for my powerbook.

photo courtesy of yarnmonster!

i had to give it back to her though because she wants to do a decorative stitch around the outside. thanks kaitlyn!

half naked cake

i really enjoyed baking for the spiders party. i made a gingerbread cake (recipe from the better homes and gardens cook book) with lemon yogurt frosting. it was a hit although my kitchen sure did take a beating. molasses is messy stuff.

you can see all the photos i took at the party in the gallery.

so, yesterday was christmas and we decided not to travel anywhere. the peanut has proven to be a horrible traveler and we just can't stomach the hours of unhappiness that it means if we have to go somewhere. we invited my side of the family to come over and i baked again. i made these awesome vegan cinnamon rolls and the no-knead bread again.

delightful

i also whipped up some brownies from the sinfully vegan cook book but they were only so-so (not photo worthy). vegan brownies are tough. i really love the gooey regular brownies you can get at the bakery and i have yet to find a recipe without dairy that competes with them. and sorry, tofu in brownies is just wrong. i've tried it and i can always taste the tofu which totally disgusts me.

me and the nut

grandma and peanut

christmas was really nice! i enjoyed staying at home for the day and we enjoyed some sparkling wine from mumm's that we bought last year in napa.

the really good news is that i got a new camera for christmas! actually i got the same camera twice! my parents bought me it off my wishlist and so did KP. i'm returning one of them to buy some accessories like a tripod and battery charger. i love this camera. it has all the advantages of an SLR plus a video camera. it's perfect for me. i couldn't have asked for a better present, huzzah!

i took the new camera out for a test drive and took some pictures of the one christmas gift that i did craft: a needle case for my mom. she uses straight needles almost exclusively so i whipped this up for her from my fabric stash.

needle roll

pockets

i included a set of bamboo needles and some sock yarn as well. the button band is made from an old bra strap. that's my favorite part.

closure

i used this tutorial which was very easy. note that if you make it, the directions don't tell you that you have to cut a 15"x15" inner lining. don't forget!

in the meantime, i have a lot to learn with the new camera. the manual is thick and i want to master it all! i hope to put up more posts next year with more photos and less words, maybe even figure out how to blog from flickr. who knows?! there's lots to accomplish and i have time in which to figure it all out.

come back later this week for peanuty news!

###

there i was, happy as a clam to be enjoying brooklyn with my baby in the jogging stroller almost everyday.. getting out of the house, getting the exercise that i so needed since i no longer have a gym membership. and what happens? some asshole steals my jogging stroller. yes. it's true. it's gone and i doubt i will ever see it again. and now that we're a one-income household, we really don't have the money to spend on a new one. yesterday, when i was in tears after i found it gone, i was gung-ho on buying a new one, but now i'm not so sure. it was expensive and we used gift certificates from our family to buy it in the first place.

you're probably wondering how it was stolen and i'll tell you that it's mainly my fault. the darn thing weighed about 40 pounds and carrying it up and down the 4 flights of stairs was hard for me when i also had to carry the peanut, so i left it in the inner vestibule with all the other strollers in our building. this is a mistake that i will never make again. it didn't help that on friday the tenants in the first floor apartment next to the vestibule moved out and left the doors open all day, but i won't blame them. much.

i have no idea how i'm going to get good exercise again. let's mourn the loss of my favorite mommy accessory by looking at the peanut enjoying the stroller for all it was worth.

at grand army plaza

hat and binky

ETA: after i got myself together yesterday and read all of your sympathetic comments (THANK YOU!) i decided to hit craigslist like a few of you suggested. i found a used jogging stroller that someone close by was selling for cheap and bought it, just like that! KP and the peanut went and picked it up yesterday and gave me some home time so that i could knit. it's now here and all ready to go and i expect to take it out after the nut wakes from her first nap. it makes me happy to know that i can get exercise again! still, there is a special place in hell for those who steal from babies... a special place.

###

yep, i'm 31 today. boy am i glad that i had that big blowout party last year for my 30th birthday! being pregnant sort of puts a damper on a good celebration (what's a celebration without prosecco anyway?) but today is guaranteed to be better than most lately. first of all, i'm happy to report that i only got up last night to pee twice (my usual is three) and even then, i managed to make it all the way to 3AM before i headed to the bathroom (usually my first trip is around 1:30AM). this means that i actually got a decent amount of sleep last night and i feel like a real human being! amazing.

also, my wonderful husband, KP, has treated me to a 75 minute massage at bliss tonight... the "great expectations" massage especially for pregnant women. i can't wait. now i just need to get through the day!

by the way, i thought that you might want to see bedtime bear all cleaned up. here he is hanging with his buddies, croc and curious george, in peanut's room.

see? he's clean. so clean. that last trip through the wash really did wonders.

now, onto my fair isle affair. so i've finished with all of the colorwork for the pirates hat.

outside is done!

and i have to say, i'm not sure if i like fair isle. i know, scandalous, right? it's just that it got boring because it's so slow! that, and when i made it to the decreases at the top, everything started to become really wonky and generally frustrating. maybe it's this pattern? i'm not sure, but floating the white across all that black WITH decreases was a 1) a pain in the neck and 2) not very pretty. i'm hoping that blocking will make it look better. if not, i might be done with colorwork on hats for some time. i'm still going to make the pirate mittens (which i've realized that i have to adjust to make man sized.)

another thing, i HATE the provisional cast on that i used. it took me over an hour to get those stitches off the cast on and on to the needles. i used the crochet cast on as demonstrated here in eunny's lace tutorial (Invisible Crochet Cast On I) but for some reason, when i pulled on the end with the knot (as she directed) the stitches did not just pop off the crochet chain. so i went at it from the other end and had to pick the waste yarn out of every stitch. did i do something wrong? maybe i should have used a bigger gauge waste yarn. or maybe it was just difficult because the yarn was black and i couldn't see the stitches as they came out. anyway, it was really frustrating.

do me a favor, ok? as a birthday present to me, please let me know what provisional cast on you like and tell me that it's easy and there's a good explanation of it on the web or in a popular knitting book, ok? if you don't have one, then that's ok too. maybe someone can enlighten us all in the comments.

###

not that i didn't feel pregnant last week or the week before, it's just that after a whole weekend of working on the apartment, i'm starting to feel tired to my bones. that and i'm not sleeping well. i got up this morning before the sun was even up so that i could make it to an early dentist appointment. and the dentist? not fun while pregnant either. it's just one of those things that they don't tell you about until you're in the chair and scraping away. trust me, you don't want to know the details.

thankfully it was a three day weekend for me so even though i spent saturday and sunday cleaning, reorganizing, and plugging up every last little hole into my apartment with triple expanding foam and steel wool (ah, NYC.. anyone who tells you that they naturally do not have a mouse problem is a big fat stinking' liar) i got a chance to camp it on the couch most of yesterday.

but before i got to do that, i did get to give bedtime bear a little scrub.

scrub a dub dub

more soap please!

what you see there is after TWO soakings and one scrubbing. the second scrubbing was the most successful. then he was thrown into the wash and the dryer and came out looking brand spankin' new. don't even ask how he got so filthy in the first place. he was well loved by KP and now he will keep the peanut company and will hopefully teach her that bedtime is good.

in response to all of the questions about the baby knits from the last post, all of those were made by family members for me when i was a baby and my parents stowed them away. i didn't even know that they kept them! it was a nice surprise. every one of them will be cared for put to good use. no, sorry, they are not for sale, but i'm sure that if i love one over the other, i may come up with a pattern for it. we'll see. everyone seems to love the poncho!

on my day off yesterday, i spent some quality time watching 24 saved from the previous evening while knitting on the 3-hole shawl. i redid the math and determined that i need at least two more balls of noro silk garden, putting this project at a whopping 13 balls needed. i ordered some from ebay (this is well within the guidelines of knit from your stash 2007, by the way) but the lot is different so i'm holding off working on it anymore until the new yarn arrives. i want to see if there's a real difference or not, and if so, i'll want to work it into the current panel.

the pirates hat also got some time yesterday and i'm about 6 rows from completing all the colorwork.

but i wanted to make good on my 2007 goal of "sewing more" so i decided to whip up a sewing machine cozy. this was a quick and dirty project which i totally made up as i went along using some stash fabric i had lying around. since my sewing machine does not have a permanent home (no room for it) it tends to get all dusty hanging out in the corner or on a shelf so this cozy was needed..

my scandalously naked sewing machine

much better!

the little bag off to the right is for the pedal and power cords (ignore my gatorade on the left.. love that fruit punch!) i even managed to put a slit in the top where i can grab the handle to get it off the shelf.

and here it is, sitting in its new home on the newly reorganized shelf with all of my craft books.

it's nice to have it accessible now with all of my craft books which were also hidden away in the corner until the major reorg of the apartment started happening last weekend. things are looking up! but damn am i tired! only a few more weekends of this sort of work to go before everything is ready for the peanut's arrival.

to come? a new desk, changing table/dresser, storage unit from ikea, new table and chairs from ikea, other assorted storage goodies from ikea, a crib and rocking chair from my parents, stuff from my registry, etc etc. wow, there's still a lot more to do and cram into the apartment!

###

i'm feeling a bit random today so let's just dive into it!

i joined the we call them pirates knit along this week. i figured that since i'm already making the items i may as well show them off! i'm really excited to see what other people there are doing with the pattern. lots of creative uses of colors and yarn! i have yet to post but i just uploaded a progress shot and i'll have to jump over there today and update everyone. wanna see?

past the second repeat..

i'm on to the third repeat! i have a feeling that i'll finish all the colorwork on this this weekend and then start on the lining of the hat. i have a three day weekend ahead of me (thank you MLK!) and i'm sure to spend most of it relaxing or working on the homefront.

i also joined project spectrum which is less of a knit along for me. i'm going to try and take more pictures that include the colors than craft with them mainly because i'm still knitting from my stash and i have baby things to make (and a baby to birth.) of course, if i have the chance, i will knit with the colors! they are all good choices picked by lolly!

my parents got a new digital camera this week courtesy of the amazon gift certificate that KP and i got them for christmas. what with the arrival of their first grandchild, they felt they needed a camera that would give them great pictures. here's the family dog.. HRH abby.

and here's a load of vintage knit and crocheted items that my dad found the other day! i'm getting them all for the peanut and will probably update them a little by replacing the buttons and ribbons.

dude, do you see the yellow and white poncho hoodie with the pompoms?! my daughter is definitely wearing that!

if you haven't seen the dumb moves of banks lately, you should check this out, though i'm sure this story is all over knitblogland by now. i, personally, have only knit with STR once and it was an ok experience. i fully support women-owned businesses though! especially knitting-related businesses so i feel it's necessary to say, "stupid bank, you know not who you deal with."

and lastly, TV has gotten really good around chez gleek lately. i've become enamored with without a trace (i guess it's on CBS but i watch it on TNT) and on sunday we have a big night of TV coming our way: rome, 24, AND battlestar galactica (well, strike that.. boy am i glad i checked their website.. they've moved the premiere to the 21st.) surely my DVR will lose its little mind over this.

p.s. i hear that jess is working on a tutorial on how to make her cute drawstring bags. stay tuned!

###

sorry for the week long blog absence. i really want to be good about posting while i can (before the peanut arrives and sucks away all my spare time!) but last week was incredibly busy as was this past weekend. the week that we all return to work after an extended vacation always seems hectic. yeah, i was at work between christmas and new year's but not many other people were so getting back in the swing of things was tough on tuesday and wednesday. then the rest of the week flew by in a big blur! i didn't get to do as much knitting as i had hoped but this weekend was full of progress at chez gleek.

without even a prompting from me, KP got going on house clearing and storage early on saturday morning. i was surprised and very grateful! we both worked on going through our massive library of books and sorted out the crap from keepable. about twenty books ended up on the curb (but they didn't stay there long thanks to the wonderful weather and abundant street traffic in the slope) and half of our collection ended up in the storage space in the basement. we ordered huge plastic storage containers last week for this very purpose. needless to say, it was very cleansing to me. i love a good purge of household items.

from there we cleaned and rearranged furniture in anticipation of moving items out of our second bedroom (formerly know as "the office") to make room for the peanut. i was exhausted by the end of the day but managed to knit a little and cut out some fabric.

on sunday, after a trip to babies "r" us with kaitlyn, i spent some time in front of the sewing machine and whipped up these two drawstring bags.

i got the formula for making these from jess. her instructions were quite clear up to the point of "sew the squares on the bottom of the long rectangle" at which point my pregnant brain completely checked out. for about an hour, i just couldn't figure it out! i tried pinning the square along the bottom but the darn things never matched up. i was beginning to get frustrated when i decided to go at them in reverse order and it worked! sorry this description is so vague but it's her pattern and i don't want to give away all the secrets in case she wants to make a tutorial. if she doesn't, maybe i'll do one. we'll see.

anyway, the bags are reversible. i picked some fabric for the insides and will still probably never turn them inside out.

inside out? maybe not

i really want to buy a fat quarter collection or two and make more! these were so easy once i got the hang of it.

in knitting news, i finally started some fair isle, though i'm beginning to wonder at the practicality of making winter items with the climate being all crazy lately. dude, it was close to 70 degrees here on saturday! beautiful but freaky.

aaarrrrr!!!

here be pirates!! my very first fair isle, and though it's a lot of work, it's fun and i am enjoying it. i've made it totally through the first repeat of the pattern and am now working on the second one. it's slow going but getting faster as i get used to knitting with two hands and keeping my floats loose. i can't wait to see it all done!

when i was just too tired to concentrate on the pirates hat (like after all that moving work on saturday), i worked on the 3-hole shawl which is now one more hole closer to done.

2 holes down, 1 to go

originally i bought one bag of silk garden (10 balls) on ebay to make this. then after working through the first 3 balls, i did some calculations and thought that i would need 11 balls so i bought one more ball on ebay. now, alas, i think that i'm going to need 12 to finish this sucker. either the yardage is just not consistent in silk garden or i've lost my brain and ability to do math. considering that i'm 30 weeks pregnant, i'm going to go with reason #2. looks like i'm going to have purchase another ball on ebay soon (which is the only place that i can find this particular colorway.) oh well, it's in the rules of KFYS2007 that i can do this, thankfully!

some of you are probably wondering about my stupid sock creatures. i hit a snafu last week with my first one being that i sorta sewed the tail on the wrong side of the body and it became not so much a tail anymore. use your imagination. it may be salvageable. we'll see. the second one is still in pieces because i need a lot of patience to sew such tiny things together. patience is something that i lack lately.

later this week, i hope to cast on for a knit for the peanut! i'm planning on making the baby sweater from elizabeth zimmerman's knitters almanac. see this lovely one that carrie made? i'm making mine with some RYC cashsoft DK. it looks like a quick knit so i hope it'll be done soon (look at me hoping for something to be done before i've even started it! i've clearly lost it) then it's on to more peanut knits! she is due on march 15th and i'd like her to be decked out in some of my handmade goods.

###

with only a few more hours to go in 2006, i'm here to reflect on all that's happened this year. it was quite a roller coaster ride!

early in 2006, my work life was turned upside down when my boss decided to quit so that he could travel the world (can't really blame him) and then one of my coworkers in my small department left to move to seattle. bummer. that left only me and one other coworker to do the work of four people (really five, we were always short staffed). working for the man is tough enough but doing work for others for the man is even worse. i had to cut back on all of my vacation time and burn myself to the quick in order to make things passable at my job. that was probably one of the toughest things i have ever done, and it went on for over four months while management tried to find replacements.

while dealing with work issues, i also helped put on two plays this year with madair. they were both a lot of fun to work on but very time consuming. it was a good thing that i refused to do freelance web work this year! i'm not really sure where i would have found the time. i did do a few jobs here and there for friends, but in the end, it was nothing compared with having a paying client who demands fast work for almost nothing.

then came the pregnancy, right at the tail end of summer. i'm glad that i got a chance to live it up a bit before heading into the first trimester of hell. i was so sick and i thought, "what happens if i'm like this the entire time?!" thankfully, around 15 weeks i stopped feeling ill, and around 20 weeks i got my regular appetite back. i've been able to go to the gym 2 or 3 times per week since the end of my first trimester and that's helped a lot. the gym is my saviour. i couldn't live without it.

speaking of which, my hubby, KP and i, also have had a chance to learn from each other and support each other this year. he is my rock and my love, and i couldn't live without him. kisses!

in non-personal matters, 2006 was not so bad! i got to spend lots of good times with the spiders. the spiders grew considerably this year and each week at the point got a little more busy and crowded. we supported each other through crises and laughed at each other's jokes. i could not do without those girls. i love them all!

they also helped me through plenty of knitting projects! let's take a look back at my goals for 2006. (i promise there will be pictures in this post.. hang with me!)

continue reading -»

the mondays after a five day weekend? mmm, not so much. nor tuesdays for that matter. especially when other coworkers are still on vacation and i have to cover for them. i've been so busy these past two days, i'm surprised i'm still alive! and you all have been updating your blogs and making it even harder for me to get around to updating mine. shame on you! no really, thanks. you saved me from having to commit seppuku at my desk and ending it all.

ok, enough with the sarcasm as i have a long post for you. it's mostly photos, you lucky people. first, let me showcase one of my two latest FOs (and possibly the last one you'll see for about a month).

me, the bump, and some legwarmers

yarn: one strand of silver sport weight alpaca from a touch of twist and one strand of grey munsell merino 150 rainbow color no. 136 leftover from the somewhat cowl
needles: US8 denise interchangables magic loop
pattern: cast on 48 stitches and do 1x1 rib

continue reading -»

the eviction notice was posted and being the good tenant that he is, baby N packed his bags and made his way to the real world this saturday morning. congrats to kate and chet! we're all so happy for you! i would post pictures but i don't have the parents' permission. the good news is that the baby N blanket is done (finished last night) and i will be travelling to NJ on saturday to present it and hopefully snap some pictures of it and the baby.

baby N blanket almost complete

due to the sun setting at around 7PM nowadays, i asked KP to take this picture just short of the blanket being done so that you could see just how big and stripey it is. personally, i LOVE this blanket. the mission falls cotton is so springy and soft and just perfect in this pattern. i just have to weave in the rest of the ends and give it a good wash before saturday. i'll move the project to the 2006 finished projects page once i have pictures.

so i was knitting like a madwoman all weekend! i wanted to finish the baby blanket so that i can get on to other things but it was too big to carry around with me. so on saturday, while i administrated the auditions for the second annual project playwright, i knit on the first angel sock and listened to my ipod. let me just say that i have found zen and it is the garter stitch short row heel using the misocrafty psso technique.

the zen of heels

it's brilliant, easy to do, and requires almost no thought whatsoever. i didn't even have any help from printouts at the auditions. i knit it entirely by memory. very zen. the psso method was super easy as well and there are no discernable holes in the heel.

no holes

i'm truly happy.

this is only the beginning of socks for me this month as i'm participating in socktoberfest! i'd like to get jamming on some knee highs soon (i have the perfect brooklyn handspun set aside for them) so i'm really going to work hard to get these finished as soon as possible.

i also knit on kyoto last night as well, but no progress shot. i'm not taking any more pictures of it till it's done and i'm wearing it, by jove!

and to top things off this morning here are a few things to note:

• lion brand is bringing back cotton ease! with new colors! huzzah! i see some some more baby blankets in my future.
• the october magknits is out. i love the minimalist sweater. sigh. if only i weren't pregnant.
• i'm just over 16 weeks preggers now. around week 20 we'll hopefully know the baby's sex!

###

well, i have to say that there's probably nothing worse than being sick during the summer. i would rather have a cold in the winter when we can rev up a fire in the fireplace, i can curl up on the couch with my favorite blanket and stare at the TV for hours at a time. but this time, i was not so lucky. 100°F heat is just miserable to be sick in!

this also explains my absence on the blog lately. last week i was struck down from above with a horrible cold -- of which i still have a cough -- and an infection that required antibiotics. i'm on the mend now but i barely knit a stitch in the past week! all i could do was lie on the couch and stare at the TV for hours at a time with the aircon on high. before the sickness hit, though, i made some good progress on kyoto. i now have two sleeves, a back (i found an error in the size large directions), and half of a left front. i'm determined to finish this soon so i'm just going to keep plugging away at it until it's done and save the baby log cabin blanket until later (my cousin isn't due till mid october anyway.)

so expect more from me soon! i hope to have the energy this weekend to knit some more and tonight i will definitely make some progress. thanks for being such patient readers.

###

yesterday, i finally served my jury duty like the good citizen that i am. remember when i was complaining about it back in january and then i ended up postponing it? yep, those few months really flew and the summons hit my mailbox again a few weeks ago. my suggestion to anyone who gets served is to postpone it and then give the date to be called again for a monday. i don't think that people like to schedule their court dates for mondays so there's bound to be a small case load, at least that's how it was for me.

of course, it was raining and windy over in downtown brooklyn and i was stuck with the wimpiest umbrella around. it snapped in half and got blown inside out the minute i stepped out of the station. piece of crap. then i went to the wrong courthouse and had to walk an extra three blocks in the sideways rain. i got to court soaking wet and sweating and generally grumpy. not happy!! but the rest of the day went smoothly. i casted on for green gables the friday before (but then i screwed up the lace on sunday night and ripped and re-casted back on again) and had it with me along with a good book and something to eat so once i was dry, i was happily relaxing in the comfy juror chairs.

the courthouse at 320 jay street is brand new according to KP and it showed. the chairs were black fake leather and comfortable, comfortable enough to sleep in as demonstrated by several potential jurors throughout the day. they had a nice lounge area with tons of stuff in the vending machines. i knit almost the entire time while listening to my ipod turned on way low. everytime they got on the loudspeaker to call new jurors, i put away all of my belongings figuring it would be my time to be called but each time i was not. after lunch, i sat there again and read and then at 3:45 they dismissed us all due to a small case load for the day! i don't have to go back for SIX years!

i got a lot done on my green gable.

green gable progress

i've been following the KAL which i'm a member of and now i have serious questions about a few items.

(edited in the extended post to correct my stupid and illiterate self)

continue reading -»

i owe you all big time. BIG TIME. it's busy in my life but that's no excuse for neglecting you for soooo long. in my defense, i've been working overtime at my day job and coming home to do freelance every night, as well as taking my japanese class and working for my production company, but it's just no excuse. i'm sorry.

... that and i lifted weights at the gym yesterday and my neck sorta hurts so i'm feeling a little battered. i decided that the only way to loosen up those muscles was to drink.. alone... during the day.. at home!

it IS st. paddy's day after all!

oops! what do we have here! those there be some finished arm warmers! and that's not just it.. i have tons more photos to show you.. so sit back and let me talk your ear off just for a sec..

continue reading -»

some people dread going to the dentist, but not me. i've had good relationships with my dentists since a young age (thanks mom and dr. sonne!) i guess i'm lucky on this one. KP hates going to the dentist and i have to twist his arm constantly to get him to go. what i dread the most every year is tax time. i HATE doing my taxes! and this is coming from the grandchild of an IRS man. my grandfather worked for the IRS for most of his life and by his account, the government NEEDS your money. "don't cheat the government!" he says every year. well, i just don't get it. why does it have to be so complicated? a million forms to fill out. you either have to buy software to do it or pay someone to do them. it sucks. KP and i agree that the government should just pick a percentage and everyone should pay that. 20%! 30%! whatever, just take it. stop making me fill out these forms! stick it to businesses. make them itemize! this IS a capitalist society, right?

i pay my taxes.. a lot of taxes. so why do i owe every year? i have no idea. i've made a bargain with KP so that he'll do all the taxes this year, and it's probably the best bargain i've ever made because the first couple of months every year, i'm so busy. excruciatingly busy! i even gave up doing my regular freelance job this year so that i could hang a bit but no luck. i have inadvertantly filled that void with more work. between the production company and working on a friend's website, i have barely had time to sit back and enjoy myself. i'm not complaining but damn i've been busy!

so that's my excuse for not being a good blogger. i can only hope that the spring and summer will be better around here (i haven't even updated the reading blog in forever! and i've been done with brave new world for at least two weeks now) when i don't have japanese class anymore (taking the summer off again) and the play will be over and the websites will all be launched.

in the meantime, i've managed to finish my first vino arm warmer!

one arm warmer down...

continue reading -»

this weekend, i played catch up. mainly i caught up on my sleep, laundry, cleaning, organizing, tv watching, and knitting but i'm sure there are a few other things that i caught up on as well. like socializing. i certainly haven't done as much socializing this winter as i hoped i would. last winter was particularly bad. KP and i spent loads of time hanging out at home and enjoying the fireplace but then all the rest of our social life suffered so we're making a concerted effort this year to get out more.

a couple of weeks ago, we attended a birthday party at my friend danielle's. i took a few pictures but mainly spent the party talking to people i hadn't seen in a very long time. i owe danielle though. she made this beautiful, absolutely stunning appetizer tray and i promised to put a picture up here and hadn't gotten around to it.

mmmmm, doesn't that look yummy?

isn't it gorgeous, ladies and gentlemen? danielle went out of her way to make sure there were plenty of vegetarian and vegan goods on hand to keep people satiated. she did a bang up job. party at danielle's next time!

the spread

it was great hanging out at her place and seeing all of our friends despite the total of 5 hours of sleep i was running on. this weekend, KP and i got to see everyone again at a baby shower (a baby shower with a keg even!) where i was admonished for not posting the above pictures. i'm a bad blogger.

ok, now it's time for an olympic update!!! the events are progressing quite smoothly around gleek's olympic village.

continue reading -»

well, we have been without heat and hot water now for two days at chez gleek. this morning, our boiler repairman showed up at 7:15AM (15 minutes early! can you believe it? around here, it takes significant bribes to get anyone to even show up, much less ON TIME), poked around in the boiler closet for an hour, pronounced the sucker dead, and then fled from the scene before we could ask any questions like "how long will it take to replace it?" my lovely landlord will be spending the rest of the day finding someone to work on it soon but who knows how much longer this will go on? it would be a week before i get a hot shower at home. thank god i have the gym at work but KP is really upset. he has no place to go for a hot shower unless his work ships him off... and then i would have to deal with the boiler all on my own. this is a no-win situation. i expect i'll be complaining about it a lot over the next couple of days. THAT and work has me totally swamped so in order to stay home next week (work from home AND handle any workers IN my home) i have to work this weekend. christ, this situation can only get worse. i can feel it.

not like it really matters... the boiler sucked rocks anyway. it's been threatening to die on us for over a year by producing grinding and clicking sounds that would wake the dead. i'm kind of glad it's gone. maybe we can get something quieter.

amidst my boiler troubs, i curled up on the couch last night and started watching prime suspect 6 while knitting on the embossed leaves socks. the good news is that i have finished them! i cranked out the toe and weaved in all the ends with a grateful sigh.

continue reading -»