July 22, 2008
Actual Socks
First of all, Z and John and I would like to say thank you so much for all the birthday wishes. They are much appreciated and made us all smile. Ms. Z had a lovely first birthday, filled with family and friends and some good chocolate cake. Her favorite gifts so far are the "Bee Bop Band" -- a collection of music making toys in a drum -- and a card from her grandparents that plays the Chicken Dance. The Chicken Dance is low down on my list of favorite tunes (John and I informed our wedding band a long time ago that they would not get paid if we heard the song at our reception), but it's totally worth it to watch her bounce to it. She spent her whole party walking around like a pro. Crawling is definitely out, now. Walking is definitely where it's at. John and I are both losing weight chasing her around.

Speaking of walking and chasing, I'll have a new pair of socks to walk around in once it cools off enough for it to be wool sock season. These sock are of my own design and are knit from sKNITches Syncopation Sock Yarn in "Brick Layer" that I purchased from the Loopy Ewe some time ago. The socks were knit toe up with a short-row heel on 2.5 mm Harmony DP needles (US size 1). I found the yardage to be extremely generous and had plenty left over, even with longer than my usual leg area.
I chose the "Vine Lace Zig Zag" pattern from Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns
I was very pleased with the resulting socks. Not just because they matched, but because they matched so well. I think this speaks volumes to the care that is put into hand-dying sKNITches yarn. The color intervals were regular, the areas where the colors met were not muddy and throughout the skein the intervals remained regular enough that I was able to get beautiful results. Since there was a good deal of yarn left over, I have been thinking that I might use it for Z's first pair of fall socks. But I'm going to wait a while to start on that project. She's growing so fast, right now and I want them to last most of the winter.
Posted by Theresa at 12:16 AM|Comments (6)
| TrackBack (0)
This entry was posted in the following categories:
This entry was posted in the following categories:
July 17, 2008
And When I Was One, I Was Just Begun
Today is a very special baby's birthday. I can hardly believe that my tiny baby girl is well on her way to becoming a vibrant and active toddler. I've spent the better portion of the day wondering what I was going to say about what it meant to me to have a one year old baby. All I can say is that I still feel incredibly blessed to have been able to bring her into this world. I feel so lucky to have been able to go through all the experiences, good and bad, that are part of the first year of motherhood. I thought today, rather than rehash the year in words, I would share a collection of photos from my photo a day project that have not already made it onto my blog, and let you watch Ms. Z grow from month to month.

July Baby on a Quilt

June Baby at Grandma and Grandpa's House
Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! I can't wait to see all the things that you discover and do in the next year!
Posted by Theresa at 12:28 AM|Comments (29)
| TrackBack (0)
This entry was posted in the following categories: Z
This entry was posted in the following categories: Z
July 14, 2008
Finished Fairy Wings, Revisited
Not only was my "finished object" post for the Fairy Wings missing functional comments, but I did receive messages from people that they thought it was missing a child as well. I couldn't agree more with that last statement, but when I finished them, I didn't have a child who could model them for me (Ms. Z would not have sat still for it and they would have been hopelessly large for her anyway), but I didn't want to put them on any child until the special recipient had a chance to take them for their first flight.The weekend of th 4th brought the long awaited birthday party and the wings got to meet the little girl who would wear them. My very sweet little niece is definitely a girly girl. Princesses, pink and dress up form a very central part of her play time right now. I wanted her to have a handmade gift that fit in with the things that matter to her, which is why I decided to make the wings and why I selected the colors I did.
The funny thing about this project is that I was actually quite nervous about how she would like them. She's got a definite sense of style and taste all her own and she's not afraid to let people know when things don't quite fit in with that (which I think is perfectly delightful -- children should always be encouraged to have their own opinions!) and when we wrapped up the box with the wings in it, I was hoping, but not absolutely sure that she would like them.
From what I could tell when she opened them, they went over well. But there's nothing quite as heartwarming as seeing a child play with something you created for them.
Now that I have a child of my own, I am discovering how children bring a special excitement to simple things. They can believe in magic. A knitted gift can give them flight.
One of my favorite movies ever is Toy Story. A toy is given a special life when a child loves it.
I think my niece has given these wings some of that life, and they have most certainly taken flight.Thank you to my sister- and brother-in-law for not only taking these pictures, but letting me share them here on my blog. And thank you to the most lovely Miss O for being such a beautiful model. May these wings help you fly wherever your dreams take you.
Posted by Theresa at 12:47 AM|Comments (7)
This entry was posted in the following categories: Fairy Wings
This entry was posted in the following categories: Fairy Wings
July 11, 2008
Silk Road, Friday
~160 yards of two-ply 100% silk yarn from 1 ounce of hand dyed tussah silk.
It always hurts a little bit to go from the pretty twisted skein to the center pull ball. But I love to see the color progressions.
23 wraps per inch with the help of the WPI tool my dad created. Certainly in the lace/fingering weight category. And all ready to become a little something special for my summer wardrobe.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a comment on my post yesterday. I appreciate all the compliments on the yarn as well as your help making sure that my comments worked again. It is such a relief to have that part of my blog functioning again. I always love the new features I find in updated blogging software, but I just don't have the common sense sometimes to leave well enough alone now that my blog software maintenance time is more limited.
It always hurts a little bit to go from the pretty twisted skein to the center pull ball. But I love to see the color progressions.
23 wraps per inch with the help of the WPI tool my dad created. Certainly in the lace/fingering weight category. And all ready to become a little something special for my summer wardrobe.Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a comment on my post yesterday. I appreciate all the compliments on the yarn as well as your help making sure that my comments worked again. It is such a relief to have that part of my blog functioning again. I always love the new features I find in updated blogging software, but I just don't have the common sense sometimes to leave well enough alone now that my blog software maintenance time is more limited.
Posted by Theresa at 12:47 AM|Comments (2)
This entry was posted in the following categories: Handspun Yarn , Spinning
This entry was posted in the following categories: Handspun Yarn , Spinning
July 10, 2008
Silk Road, Thursday
After plying, the yarn had almost no extra twist. Ah, balance!
Finished yarn in a cool bath with a little gentle baby shampoo Not an iota of dye came out of this fiber.
After much fiddling I think I have rooted out the problems with my comments. I know that yarn getting a bath is not the most inspiring subject material, but if a few people would be so kind as to leave a comment just to help me confirm that they do actually work, I'd be much obliged!
Finished yarn in a cool bath with a little gentle baby shampoo Not an iota of dye came out of this fiber. After much fiddling I think I have rooted out the problems with my comments. I know that yarn getting a bath is not the most inspiring subject material, but if a few people would be so kind as to leave a comment just to help me confirm that they do actually work, I'd be much obliged!
Posted by Theresa at 12:43 AM|Comments (13)
This entry was posted in the following categories: Handspun Yarn , Spinning
This entry was posted in the following categories: Handspun Yarn , Spinning














