Does this cheer you up?

Dear Jenn,
Maybe this will cheer you up?



Boy, I didn't notice until just now that I should probably wash my mirror. :)

I'm Here, Really I Am

Dear Milli,

I'm here, really. It's been a long month. My mom was here visiting for most of it. She just left yesterday. I miss her already! We had two birthdays and three birthday parties. The kids are each one year older (and I swear I've aged at least two more years myself.) Did some knitting, but nothing much really to write about. Learned a new washrag pattern. It's pretty simple and looks nice. Knits up really fast. I'll blog about it later. Mom and I did some sewing while she was here. Well, mostly Mom did the sewing. I cut out the fabric. (My Mom is lefthanded and I'm not - I don't have lefthanded scissors.) She made some cute things for Lilli and I am inspired to make Lilli a few more little tank-style A-line dresses (so simple, so cute!) Mom also did lots of cooking while she was here, so I've got lots of tastey recipes to share. I'll blog about those (or maybe just email them to you) later. And I'll post pictures later, too. So much to do - later! Today has been mostly about 'getting back to square One" as my MIL likes to say.

It's a beautiful day here - lots of sunshine, warm temps (55 - a veritable heatwave!) and breezy. I could do with a little less breezy, but it's still really nice. I've got all the doors and windows opened in an attempt to blow away all the germs that have been plaguing us all winter. I even rode my bike to pick Lilli up from school this afternoon. Spring is finally here!

Hope spring is there, too!

Jenn

Finally solo!

Dear Jenn,

It's been a while since I wrote, but I'm feeling more human now so will jump back into being a good friend again. yay!
So anyway, Rowan has always been reluctant to any steps to remove training wheels from his bike. I knew he could balance because I got him one of those little scooters for Christmas and if he can balance on those two little dinky wheels he can ride a bike.
So then I was reading about balance bikes, and how it's better to use those instead of training wheels because the child actually learns to lean and whatnot. But balance bikes are $$. But then my neighbor offered an old rusty 12" bike to us that we would be free to destroy. So we removed the pedals, chain, etc, and there you go. Balance bike.
He played with it all week and built up his nerve. And then I took the training wheels of his bike and said, "This is just like the walky bike, only it has pedals!" Wow! Concept!
It worked!
Rowan rides a bike.

Chocolate!

Dear Jenn,

I got a package in the mail! And a great note that gives me scientific backup as to the fact that pregnant women need all the chocolate they can get their hands on.
It helps that I've not had any problem with keeping the chocolate down. I think this baby will be made of choco dyno bites (the malt o meal version of cocoa pebbles). But hey, at least I'm getting all the calcium I need.
Speaking of cereal, what are those coated flake things in the bowl? And should I eat them with milk?

Managed SnB last night. Had a few dicey moments when I had to turn on the shock collar and just sit there. It bites that laughing makes me want to hurl. But I brought home two chocolate croissants (the chocolate content makes them hurl free food) and shared with John, so all was well in the end. And I took my sock and got mostly done with the heel flap, and you know, it wasn't as irritating as I thought it would be. I just might take to sock knitting again.

Lina's Scarf and the Kitty Hat

My friend, Lina, was my first friend over here in Sweden. And she told me about Anita's - a nice yarn shop downtown. So for International Women's Day (which was March 6th or 7th, I think) I gave her a scarf. Now, I've had the yarn for this scarf for a while now. I saw it and thought "That would make a really cool scarf for Lina!" And I had been holding onto it, just waiting for the perfect scarf pattern to show it off. And then I came across the Easy Drop Stitch Scarf pattern while playing around on Ravelry. It was perfect! The scarf actually went much quicker than I had anticipated, and it really does show off the yarn beautifully. And Lina loves it.



I would just like to state that I have now knit a hat that actually FIT in one try. No second attempts were necessary. There wasn't a first "oh, this will be Lilli's" hat, nor was there a first "I wonder what will happen if I felt this" hat. No, there was just one hat that fits perfectly!

The pattern is Kitty Hat. The pattern was very easy and it went together much quicker than I thought it would. As soon as I'd finished this hat Lilli ran up, grabbed it and yelled "Mine!" and ran off with it. So I think I'm going to have to make her one. Only I'm sure hers will be in pink. Unfortunately, I don't have a good picture to show off the pom poms at the bottom of the i-cords. I wasn't sure if I would like the pom poms, but they are kind of fun.

I wore this hat out yesterday when I was walking around downtown (it was snowing!) And I kept getting these weird looks from everyone. It finally ocurred to me that maybe it was the bright pink kitty ears that was drawing everyone's attention. Whatever - I love the hat. It's fun, warm and it FITS!

FO

Dear Jenn,

I made this veggie crown for someone who wants to have a veggie theme for her little guy's first birthday. The pattern isn't mine (it's the one from LTK) so no money could change hands, but she asked me to make it in exchange for a couple of shirts for the boys. So that's what I did.

The corn one is my favorite.

Coming Soon...

... pictures of some finished objects! To include: Kitty Hat, two Peeps (one pink, one white) and Lina's scarf. Oh, and a washcloth.

Pictures and details coming soon, I promise.