Vote for Me!!

Alrighty, folks, it is time for my loyal readers to do me proud. I recently entered a contest for some handmade christmas ornaments from a fellow blogger. To enter, we had to write about our favorite Christmas ornaments. (remember that post?) Anyways, she narrowed it down to her three favorites, and now has people voting, and well, I'm losing! And while I am above voting for myself a gazillion times, I'm definitely not above begging you to go vote for me. So go VOTE now!

Fuzzy Feet Progress

I've been working faithfully on my fuzzy feet, and it's going really well! I'm a little over halfway into the heel flap, and everythng is looking good. So far, it has been pretty easy- hopefully it continues to be easy and I can start on a piar of real socks- I've been looking forward to knitting up the yarn I got from KnitPastis for the Dye-O-Rama swap. The yarn I'm using for the fuzzy feet was my very first skein of dyed yarn- I dyed some Paton's Classic Merino Wool with Koolade and I love he way it is knitting up! Take a look! And here is a close-up of the yarn: I'm knitting it with a set of handmade (by me!) size 10.5 wooden DPNs. I Looove them! Want a pair for yourself? I'll trade ya....

Finished Reading

I finished reading Broken for You a few days ago. I absolutely loved it! It was really well written and a wonderful story. there are sad parts, but it isn't really told in a sad way- it is told more to give you hope. I would recommend this to a lot of readers I know. Miss Priss- I know you said it sounded interesting- I would read it if I were you! I really did like the way the story was told. There were some very cool things about this book that inspired me in a few ways. If you come across it, I would say read it! I give it 4 out of 5 stars. I'm not sure what I am going to read next- I think I might dive into The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. I'm going to have to look over my "books to read" pile and figure it out...

A Plethora of Stuff

I have quite a bit to write about today! some of it is new news, some of it is older news that I finally got around to. All of it is good news, though! For starters, here is the picture of the wrap dress I made for Joie. I have to put ribbon in the proper places so I can tie it in the back, but I think that can wait a while, seeing as this won't fit her for a few more months. This next one is a sweater that our friend Autumn knit for Joie. I've been meaning to share it with you guys since I got back from my vacation, but haven't found time to photograph it until now. Isn't is darling? It is going to fit her perfectly this winter. She did an awesome job on it, too! If only I could knit so flawlessly... Now for some fun news- our friend Amber just had her twin boys! We went to go see them on Sunday, and they are so tiny and precious! I can't even imajine having twins- I wish her the best of luck with her two beautiful little boys! Here is baby Cheden- he only weighs about 4 pounds! And this one is little Phoenix. He was about a pound smaller than his brother. Aren't they precious? Here is a picture of Joie trying to stick Cheden in her mouth. It's a good comparison shot- Joie is pretty small, and it makes you see just how tiny this little guys are! In other news, Joie is cutting a tooth. Her very first! It has made for an interesting few days. She had been pretty crabby, and I feel bad for her. I guess now I have to start figuring out our solid food regimen. I haven't really been feeding her solids regualrly, but I always said once she got teeth I would quit nursing. I'll probably go a little longer, but once she starts biting, that's the end of it! In knitting news, I decided to cast on for my Fuzzy Feet. The yarn I dyed is knitting up beautifully- once I get a bit further into the cuff, I'll take some pictures of it. I adjusted the pattern a bit instead of adjusting my needle size for gauge- it should work out just fine. turns out that I am a tight knitter- the main issue with the wrap dress was that I used a worsted weight yarn, and apparently the pattern yarn was smaller. Oh well! Realizing that patterns can be adjusted and learning more how patterns work want to make me design something myself. Maybe something else to do in the future...

Got Gauge?

Alright. I'm a fairly new knitter, and never have really knitted anything where gauge was important. (for those non-knitterly folks out there, gauge is how tightly or loosely you knit- you should test it compared to the pattern you are doing and adjust accordingly. Sounds tedious, right? I thought so too.) Well, as you all know, I have been knitting a wrap dress for Joie. Well, today it wandered into the Realm of Finished Objects! I cast off, lovingly wove all my loose ends in, read a bunch of articles, tips, and instructions on blocking, broke out the biggest towel I could find, and started pinning. I grabbed my pattern and tape measure to make sure I blocked it out to the correct size. And then I realized the nightmare- my dress was about 2 inches bigger all around than the biggest size of the pattern ( I was working the second largest size)!! So, I pinned it out neatly and without stretching it any, and have been steam blocking it. It really isn't that big of a deal- it'll still fit her and she can really grow into it. Yes, folks, I have learned my lesson. For anything more complicated that a dishcloth or scarf, I will be knitting up a swatch and checking my gauge to avoid further mishaps like this one. On a happy note, though, I just have to finish blocking this bad boy, get all the seams stitched up, and you can see pictures! WOOHOO! * Some of you may have noticed a few missing posts. If you are wondering where they went, I took them down because there seemed to be a complete lack of interest. If you think I am wrong, or you yourself were interested, then please email me at tbtyger@yahoo.com . If you have no clue what I am talking about, don't you worry your pretty little head.*

Favorite Christmas Ornaments

As a kid, our christmas tree was always crammed with a hodge-podge of ornaments, from the tradiotional glass balls to scribbly bits of paper and string from our days in pre-school and kindergarten. After the multi-colored lights and silver garland went on (but before the myriad of flavored candy canes) , we would take out the three or so giant tins of ornaments and go to town. There are mant fond memories that come with this task. As they all pass through our fingers and we recall, with a smile, where they came from, or declare, "man, I can't beleive mom saved this...". Some of the favorites on that tree include a collection of characters from the "Little Mermaid" movie with santa hats on- no doubt from a happy meal, play-doh ornaments with glitter glue, many ornaments that play cheery little Christmas tunes, all of our "baby's first Christmas" ornaments, and one costume-jewelry clip-on earring with "diamonds" and "emeralds" ( a long time favorite of my siter and I.) Now that I have my own family, though, I have started to collect my own ornaments. Although there aren't many at this point, I think that my favorite right now is Joie's "My First Christmas" ornament from the Christmas she should have been out for but wasn't. Short story- I was due to give birth on December 29th, but the doctor's wanted to induce labor because of my blood pressure being high. So we went in to be induced, and she didn't really agree with us and decided to stay in until her due date. My mom, however, jumped the gun and bought the ornament. She said we could just change the date on it, but I think this will spark giggles and the re-telling of this story for many years to come. ("mom, why do I have TWO first christmas ornaments from different years??")

Closest Blue Book

Here's a cool little meme I found while taking my stroll through blogland this morning. 1. Grab the nearest book with a blue cover. 2. Open the book to page 86. 3. Find the first full paragraph. 4. Post the text in your journal along with these instructions. 5. Don't search around and look for the coolest book you can find, just the closest blue book. Mr. Knightley was to dine with them- rahter against the inclination of Mr. Woodhouse, who did not like that any one should share with him in Isabella's first day. Emma's sense of right however decided it; and besides the consideration of what was due to each brother, she had particular pleasure, from the circumstance of the late disagreement between Mr. Knightley and herself, in procuring him the proper invitation. This is from Emma by Jane Austen. I haven't read it yet, so I really have no clue what the context of this paragraph is. It did remind me that this book is on my list to read, though! Speaking of reading, I am absolutely loving Broken for You. I have a feeling I might get a bit teary-eyed at the end, but the story is really awesome. Love love love. I'd reccomend it to anyone, and I'm not even done yet! Pretty close though- I was up until almost 2 AM this morning because I could barely put it down.

Saying Hello

Hello! Not much to write about today. Father's Day was fun, James' sister was in town from Wyoming and took us out to lunch at Garduno's- YUM! I made him breakfast, too. That was about it! Today I don't really have much planned besides hanging out and playing some video games. James and I picked up Dark Cloud 2, which we had picked up before because we really liked the first one. The first time we played the second one, we didn't like it because it's quite a bit different from the first. This time around we're really enjoying it. Check out this awesome picture- it's my blog flower! The program takes the url from any website and makes into this cool flowery graph. Thanks to Ann and Kay from Mason-Dixon Knitting for finding it. Want one of your own? click here!

Proximity

A little meme from strangelittlemama. Take a look around you. Apart from your computer and its peripherals, and your computer desk/table/milk crate and chair, what, in order of their physical closeness, are the five things nearest to you right now? 1. An empty bowl of cereal 2. a $20 bill 3. an unopened pack of mug hooks 4. A pen 5. salt shaker

Scootchin' Along

Well, Joie is scootching. I'm not sure what else to call it- she isn't quite crawling, but more wiggling and squirming and rolling her way all over the apartment. Getting into everything she can, as well! since yesterday, she has already successfully dumped out a bag of diapers, gotten under the crib, pulled a ball of yarn out a plastic bag, gotten tangled up in some cords...I could go on, but I'm sure you get the picture. I'm not sure what I am going to do when she actually starts crawling and gets around a lot faster...I wonder if they have something like a "dog run" for children?

Productive Weekend

This weekend has gone by so fast! I fee like I have gotten a lot done, though. For starters, I finished "A Night in the Lonesome October". It was a lot of fun to read! It was a really excellent story. It made me laugh a lot, and it was really easy to read because it was one of those books you just can't put down. I wanted to know what happened every time I turned the page. The new book I am reading is called "Broken for You" by Stephanie Callos. It it excellent so far- I really am interested in the characters and the story. It is told really well and I hope it continues to be told as well as it has been. I'll let you know what I think when I am done with it, of course! I'm glad that I am slowly working through my long list of "books to read". I also made a lot of progress on Joie's wrap dress. I decided that I just couldn't bear to rip it all out and start something new. I finished one side of the front part of the wrap, and am almost halfway through the other side. I'd like to have it finished this week- I'll make sure to post pictures of it when I'm done with it. I also bought yarn for the other pattern I want to do for her- the top I mentioned earlier. I bought more cotton, in a pretty white/pinks/purples yarn. I bought another set of size one needles, also, so I can get to work on my socks with the awesome yarn from my Dye-O-Rama pal! All in all, a good weekend. It went by way to fast, though.

Good Reads

Well, I finally finished reading Ayn Rand's "Fountainhead". I really enjoyed it! It was a long book, but well written. I found that I had to devote my full attention to it, not really a book I could pick up anywhere where there would be distractions. It drew me in every time I picked it up, though! I really enjoyed the story and it made me think about how I look at things. I would definitely reccomend it if you enjoy a slower paced read- this is not really a book for one who soley enjoys the novels of today, with lots of action. This book does come with lots of conflict, though- like a well written soap opera (I know, that sounds like an oxymoron). All in all, I would give this book a seven out of ten. Yesterday I recieved one of a duo of long-awaited packages of books I ordered over a month ago. Both seemed to get lost in the black hole of the Post Office, but one finally made it to my door! It included "Coraline" bt Neil Gaiman and "The Wee Free Men" and " A Hat Full of Sky" by Terry Pratchett. Now, I cannot go on without saying that Neil Gaiman is by far my favorite author, rivaled only by Joyce Carol Oates. Every book of his I have ever read I have loved immensely. I would (and do!) reccommend him to every reader and some non-readers I have ever met. If you have never heard of him, take yourself to the library or book store and give him a try. He is great! I even road tripped (about 5 months pregnant) the 7 hours to Denver with a fellow Gaiman lover for a book signing last summer. Anyways, on with the story... I read "Coraline" today in a matter of hours. It is a young adult novel, but it is wonderfully written and eery. It gave me a few tingles and shivers, but it isn't really scary in a horror movie kind of way. Shiny black buttons will never look the same to me! I really hope that if you rever get the chance to read this, you do, because it is truly amazing. All I can say is that it is yet another Gaiman book that I'm adding to my list of "books I love". Next on my reading list: "A Night in the Lonesome October" by Roger Zelazny. My dear friend is engaged to the author's son, and that is how I came upon this one. James loved it, and says I should read it right away! I'll let you know what I think of it. On the thought of books, are there any books that you have read that you absolutely love, and think everyone should read?

Oopsie.

I didn't realize that thew first post had posted because blogger was being wonky. Sorry about the repetitiveness of it all. Oh well. The second one is much better written though, don't you think?

Home Sweet Home

Well, I'm back from vacation. I had a lot of fun! We had a wonderful family reunion in Kansas City, Kansas- spent a lot of time hanging out by the pool and catching up with family that I haven't seen in over a year. Joie took her first dip in the pool and had a lot of fun. Everyone loved her, of course! Back in Minnesota we hung out and got together for dinner with friends, and spent a lot of time just hanging out with my family. I helped my mom do some painting and make some invites for my sister's graduation party this July. I had a really reat time, but I am glad to be home. I didn't take a single picture my entire vacation! I wish I had, but oh well. I haven't done any knitting in a while- I didn't take any on vacation, and I haven't really picked it up since I've been home. I think I may frog the wrap dress I've been making for Joie and do this pattern instead. I'd also like to get some sewing done- I have a ton of fabric waiting to be made into cute little dresses for Joie! Not to mention my fuzzy feet... So much to do! I need to get all of my crafty ideas organized in my head and figure out what I really want to do. Alright, I promised a cute Joie picture, so here it is!

Home Sweet Home

It sure is good to be home. I had a ton of fun visiting my family and friends in Minnesota, but I sure did miss my James and my bed and my mountains. (okay, maybe they really aren't mine, but I missed them nonetheless.) Ten days was a long time to be gone! I had lots of good times and it was good to be able to spend so much time with my family. Wa had our big family get-together in Kansas City, Kansas and then I spent the rest of the vacation at my parents house. I hung out with my sister, helped my mom paint and make some invites for my sister's graduation party, all kinds of fun stuff. It was a good vacation. I am glad to be home though! I just spent the last 2 hours reading all of the new blogs on my bloglines. Whew! I feel a bit overwhelmed with the knitty goodness. And a little bit of crochet goodness. And a sprinkle of Dting goodness. I didn't bring any knitting for my vacation, so I'm really jonesing for some knitting at the moment. I'm thinking I might frog the wrap dress I've been working on for Joie and make it into the cute top from the new knitty. I'm too lazy to post a link at the moment, but I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about. If not, google "knitty" and see if you can figure out which one. I need to pick up another pack of needles so I can start my socks. And some for the Knitty fuzzy feet, which I might do first. I probably should do first, so I don't get uber-frustrated with tiny needles and tiny yarn and put the whole mess in the garbage disposal and laugh maniacally while I watch it all grind into a pulp in the sink. Hee hee hee.... I didn't take a single picture on my vacation. I know I promised some cute Joie pictures, though, so you'll have to wait while I did out the camera and make her do something cute. I'll get some out in a few days!