~ [Shadkitty Knitty] ~

Oct 29, 2007

Anybody Still Out There?

Sorry about basically disappearing for the last week. Or so. I am totally spacing right now. My brain isn't working to full capacity. So this will be another picture-full post with few words.

Lately, I haven't been reading many blogs. Sorry about that folks! I'll be more energetic soon, I think. Anyways, I intend to join a gym soon, that should give me a bit more energy.

Ravelry has become a HUGE part of my life. I'm on it almost all of the time. My friends Kyle and Emily finally got back into town. Remind me to get pics with them soon. Made Nolan's Halloween costume this weekend, it's kinda weak and homemade looking. Still, he's cute, so it works. My parents came over, and my dad made chili!! It's one of my favorite dishes. Started (and am almost finished with) Pedicure Socks for my BFF, as a belated Birthday present. Crocheted a bookmark for a Read-Along I started on Ravelry, separated the sleeves for Tree Jacket, and started a hat out of the yarn I frogged. You know, the Mad Color Weave sock?

Yay pictures. I'm tired now.

Labels: blah, costume, crochet, family, Halloween, hat, knitting, sewing, socks, Tree Jacket

19:09 | |

Oct 20, 2007

One and Only (picture heavy)

So...I haven't been very active in the blogging world lately. I love to post, but haven't really felt like it. Instead of actually reading posts, I skim them. It's not that I don't love you all. Just hitting a plateau I think. Mr. Shad has been gone for about 5 weeks (I am rounding here, and guessing, I actually haven't been keeping track), we still haven't seen any of that "extra income", and there was an error in budgeting that has left us...well more than a little tight. Again. *sigh* Next month will be better. Man am I tired of saying that.

Lots has happened in the last four days, yeah, I know. Four days? What can happen in four days, you ask. Let me 'splain...no, there is too much, let me sum up. (If you get that I love you) I crocheted a ton of those little mice and plan to sell them at a craft fair, Kyran burned his hand (minor burn!), I finally made the "Bird" shirt for Nolan, I frogged the ill-fitting Amazonas sock, got some roving in, finished the hat for my brother, and cast-on for the Tree Jacket. Whew. Now, if you can, and you go to my Ravelry, you'll notice that I have *gasp!* only one WIP. Yep, Tree Jacket is the only thing on the needles. How? Well, I hibernated the Skating Sweater, just looking at it made me sweat (hehe, sweat, sweater). Frogged the Amazonas sock, so that's not even a UFO, it's gone. My brother's hat is done...so that's an FO now. Seriously, I have like five UFOs, things that are hibernating until the weather cools down a bit, or the holidays are over.

Now I am just going to bombard you with pictures. Then we will go into details. I didn't feel like trying to put the pictures all in order and stuff this time. lol

Right, that is done. You can see from the pictures that the decision to frog (officially) the Amazonas sock was one of the heart. lol I used the LOVEPAPER given to me by my PRGE pal Dawn! It came in really handy. I had been very back and forth about it, in the end, I knew that the sock had to come out, but it was so beautiful!! It's okay, I intend to come back to it after the holidays, and knit the right size this time, along with a few other minor tweaks to make the pattern better suit my foot and desires. Motivation to finish the hat was the Tree Jacket, I needed the size 8 needles for swatching. lol

Kyran's hand. Ah, so here is the story:
Imagine if you will, you are cooking dinner, and suddenly the kitchen is full of children!! You know that no amount of urging and pushing out the door will get them to go, so you try to balance cooking and keeping kids out of trouble. Heather is doing her homework on the counter to my right. Kyran is standing by my left leg, trying to trip me I think. Nolan is getting into cabinets and pulling out a number of tupperware containers. After putting back the containers, and removing the pot from the burner, Heather needs me. I turn to look at her and hear a scream. No. A squeal, really, of pain. Thinking it was Nolan, I turned to the cabinet...nope crawling around happily. If not a little confused. Then I realized it had been Ky, he must have put his hand on the stove where the pot had just been. "Buhn-ed," he said, "muh han' IS buhned!" We ran it under cold water and bandaged him. He was smart enough to pull his hand back quickly I think, it was really not bad at ALL.

Labels: accidents, batt, busy, fiber, kids, painting, socks, sweater, Tree Jacket, updating

17:27 | |

Oct 16, 2007

On Lesley, The "C" word, and Lmnoq (LONG post)

I meant to post this yesterday, but I am lazy.

This weekend was fantastic!!! Lesley

and her daughter came to visit with us! If you don't already, go read her blog. She's totally awesome and I am impressed by her strength of character. Seriously. Anyways, she got here early Friday morning (like 6am!), the both of us got a total of four hours of sleep between Thursday morning and Friday night. lol Still, we didn't let that stop us from having a blast! (Sorry about the exclamation points, but it rocked) Friday I let Heather stay home from school to hang out with Sym, and we went out to get some food and pick up some cleaning supplies that I needed. When we got to Wal-mart Heather decided to prove me right, see, I had been telling Lesley how clumsy and accident prone my daughter is. First thing Heather does is run to the stand of flowers in the front. She just

wanted to smell them!! Instead she tripped over a carpet that was probably only a half an inch off the floor, and faceplanted on the stand holding the flowers! The employees were quick to come to our aid (can't risk being sued, right?), Heather's nose was bloody and swelling. Poor girl! She will be alright, it got the tip where all that cartilage is, but right now she looks like someone beat her about the face. It even extended to her eye, she doesn't even notice it much anymore.

After that adventure we decided to go home, with a stop by the LYS on the way. Unfortunately it was closed, so we walked around the corner to the Luna Cafe, a cute

little ice cream/coffee shop. The kids played a bit and Lesley and I ate some delicious brownies! Nolan found a chair that was just his size, and climbed right in! It was too cute. Then he decided he would have more fun pushing it around, he's really close to walking now. I'll have to buy him one of those little walking toys. Of course, as I was talking about how Ty and I never actually call each other, we just text, he texts me! What did he want? For me to bring him food. Peanut butter sandwiches. Just peanut butter, no jelly. I knew there was a reason I liked this kid! I don't like jelly either. lol So I make a few sandwiches, we throw the kids in the car and drive out there. Now, just so you know, he works on LeJeune, which is further away than the Air Station (Mr. Shad's duty station). It's only about 10-20 minutes extra, still that makes a 30-40 min trip each way. But we had nothing else planned really, we were just gonna hang out. I've NEVER seen anyone have so much fun in an empty barracks room! Too much! The kids played catch with Ty, while Nolan flirted with his own reflection, and Lesley and I tried to keep Heather from falling and hurting herself even more. lol

Clicky click!

Whew. We left way too late, it was like 10-ish. The girls didn't go to sleep until well after midnight, after Sym cleaned Heather's room! lol Lesley and I didn't stay up much longer than they did, we were tiredddddd. The next morning we woke up at a

decent time and mostly just relaxed for awhile, knitting. At around noon we decided that we were hungry and it was time to venture out. I was in a Sonic mood, so it was off to Sonic! Lunch was great, the kids managed to play without being hurt or getting sand in their eyes. Since we didn't have any real plan, we went to the mall to walk off some of that food/energy. Mostly we just walked around aimlessly, looking at everything, buying nothing. lol On the way back I realized that we had an hour left before The Tail Spinner closed, and we just had to pop in, even if just for a bit. Plus, I knew that most people would be gone for the day and the kids wouldn't be in the way as much. I bought a lot of yarn. Well, for me it was. Even though most of it will become gifts for others. We hung, knit, watched tv, and had a good time. That night we decided to celebrate/say goodbye with a couple of drinks. Maybe a couple too many. lol Still, it was great!! Being able to talk to anyone over the age of five, especially another female was just fantastic! I really had the best time ever.

Sunday we got ready to say goodbye. The kids were not happy about it at all. Around 11 or maybe 12, I got a call from a couple of friends who were out of town. Their

car had broken and down, could I break into their house and get something for them? lol Well, I didn't always have such good taste in men, and one of my previous boyfriends had been of questionable caliber. At leat he taught me how to break into a house! :) It came in pretty handy, after probably 5-6 minutes of fiddling with the door, I popped the lock. And with minimal damage. I thought my filing system was a mess! Just a box of papers, which also contained broken glass, Sully, you're weird. What an interesting thing to do on your last day on vacation, right Lesley? After a few more hours of procrastinating, Lesley and Sym packed their things into the car. Kyran cried, he wanted to go too, poor guy. Sym cried, she wanted to stay, just one more day? Heather kept asking if

Sym could come back tomorrow. I think Lesley and I wanted to cry too, we are both on our own for the time being and it was just too much fun havinig a friend around. Lesley gave me a gift, a little can for needles, notions, or whatever I want, that she decorated just for me!! We added a little memento from our time together, it's kind of like an inside joke. hehe What a great way to spend the weekend. The rest of the day I just kind of moped around the house. But at least Dexter was on, so I had something to look forward to.

Yesterday I probably should have posted. This post wouldn't be as long. Can't help it. I think it was all the excitement from the weekend, I couldn't sleep well Sunday night. Most of yesterday was spent on the couch. The rest of it I was putzing about Ravelry and trying to learn to crochet. I didn't really want to knit anything I was supposed to be knitting. Instead, I wasted time making a granny square. There was no need to, just felt like it. At some point I need to learn to crochet, every time I

see something cute that is crocheted I curse. Then Mouse made this. If you remember correctly, my learning to knit was spurred by just one handknit hat that I fell in love with. That's all it takes to motivate me. There are a few crochet hooks I've picked up for making chains and picking up stitches (though I hardly use them for the latter), so I figured sure why not. I'll start out slow. The night Lesley was driving, I was practicing single crochet. After that I figured, well, I should make something. But...what? A granny square, sure. That's like a scarf, only a heck of a lot smaller. It's totally wonky, but that's okay. I tried.

Then...Heather asked me to knit her a mouse. It was totally random, but she usually

is. I think, well, there has to be a crochet mouse pattern somewhere, she won't know the difference and I need to practice. Yay Ravelry! I found a simple pattern (I verified that with Mouse) and grabbed my hook and some black yarn. Heather then makes it clear that her mouse should be pink. Pink? Yes, pink. Do I have any pink yarn, I wonder? It's not exactly my favorite color, so I buy it very rarely. But yes, I do have some, it was purchased to make baby booties that I never made. It's acrylic too, so not a big waste of my money. Perfect. Of course, I have to put the project in Ravelry. Can't neglect that, I mean, I did find the pattern there. Project name...well gee, she'll probably name her mouse.

Me: "What are you going to name the mouse?"
Heather (this is phoentic): "My-oh-knee-oh".
Myonio, I picture the word in my head. Whatever reason I had for asking a four-year-old this next question, it was definitely the start of something interesting.
Me: "How do you spell that"
Heather: "L-M-N-O-Q"

Right. Of course it is. Silly me. So, I introduce to you Lmnoq, whom I call Myonio - spelled LMNOQ. Or Lmnoq - pronounced My-oh-knee-oh.

Labels: accidents, blogging, crochet, friends, funny, granny square, hanging out, kids, Lesley, mouse, rambling, updating, weekend

08:47 | |

Oct 11, 2007

Baby Blue

As all of you know, Nolan is kind of an odd duck, lookswise, in our family. His blonde hair, pale skin, and soft blue eyes make him stand out. I was never really fond of blonde hair and blue eyes, but I can't get enough of his. Especially those eyes. They pretty much enchant me. His Irish eyes are always smiling, which is probably what I love so much. :)

At 4:30 this morning I got up and scrambled the kids together. They were dropped off while Nolan and I waded through traffic to get to base. After wearily finding my way to the APU, we were checked in, and sat back to relax a bit. The gentleman who helped us was really very sweet, I wish I had snapped a picture! His name was Matt, and he complimented Nolan on his name and demeanor. I love the people at the naval hospital, they are really great. Not weird and disassociated like I have experienced at other hospitals. Anyhow, we waited around rather patiently (for people who had woken up early and not eaten) for them to call us to the ORT. He got a little ancy in the ORT, but didn't take long to bond with the anesthesiologist. Then they were whisking my baby off and I had to find the waiting room. I think I was in there for all of 10 minutes.

He was pretty mad at first, very hungry and confused. When the nurses back in the

APU got some juice for him, he calmed right down. Even when he was crying people couldn't help but comment on how adorable he is. After hanging out in the APU/recovery room, drinkin some juice, and knitting, it was finally time to go home. And by finally, I mean it was 10:30. lol Matt had the hook up in the pharmacy (his wife) and saved us from waiting another half an hour to an hour for Nolan's eyedrops. He took us all the way to my van (it really wasn't that far), and we headed off to pick up Heather and Kyran.

Now Nolan's piercing blue eyes can really shine through. No more cleaning goopy eyes, and having to explain that he is not sick. Just, overpowering, pleasant, and joyful blue eyes. That's all.

P.S. I knit him the eye patch as a joke (it was Elizabeth 's idea!), yesterday while waiting to call and find out his arrival time for surgery

Labels: babies, Nolan, relief, surgery

13:57 | |

Oct 9, 2007

Sleepless

I don't sleep well anyways, but somehow without Mr. Shad here, it is actually worse. I fell asleep on the couch at 9pm this past Saturday...and it was very strange. So, I've finally decided to write/post my list of things to look forward to.

My bed is now all mine, which means I can use his side for blocking. :)
Nobody to eat up all my sweets. Except me.
I can watch whatever I want on TV. Without interruption
Nobody complains when I don't do the dishes for 3 days in a row.
I can balance the checkbook without worrying about Mr. Shad's impulsive buying habits.
The couch is all mine!
More time to knit.
Lesley is coming to visit! Okay, she probably could have if Mr. Shad was here. But it will be less crowded this way.
I get to decorate for Christmas without Mr. ~~Scrooge~~ Shad whining about it.
Less laundry.
If I can't find the camera, it's my fault.
No scrambling to clean the house at 5 o'clock.
We're going to my parents' for Thanksgiving, which is my favorite family holiday.
Nolan is going to be an ice-cream cone for Halloween, and there is nothing anybody can say to change my mind.
Nolan will be walking soon. And talking.
No more Netflix that I don't wanna watch.
I get to buy my own Birthday, Anniversary, and Christmas presents.

Nolan has a pre-op appointment today. I think I have neglected to mention the surgery altogether on here. Makes it easier for me to ignore, and therefore not be nervous. It's not horribly invasive or anything, and will most likely just be routine. But I am a mother, which means I worry. Besides all of that, it's his eye, those things are sensitive. Also, one of the fastest healing parts of our bodies. Anyways, he's had a blocked tear duct since he was born. It happens to all babies, but it usually goes away. When it did not, the doctor said, "Well, it should clear up by the time he is one." He's one...and it's still not. So, doctor gave us a referral. It will be nice not to have people recoil from my baby when they

see his eye. Really, Nolan is such a sweetie. Oh, and Lesley, I forgot to tell you, but I scheduled his appointment for Thursday. Hopefully it will not interfere too much with our plans. He's a trooper and at the very worst it will just mean that we can't go out. :)

Over the weekend, I finished almost 3 projects. The sleeves for the Skating sweater (seen in above photo) were blocked (for procrastination reasons mostly) and are awaiting seaming. When I am good and ready. Also, Goddess and MSCS 2 are officially off the needles. Both need a good blocking. But I did take a few pictures of Goddess. It fits like a dream. Too bad there is a "seam" where the EOR was. >.< D'oh! Hopefully nobody will notice it. I'll take a picture for you guys at a later date, but for now just wanted good pictures. Showing off my mad skillz. Yo. lol Alright, that's it for now. Must go take Nolan to his appointment.

Labels: babies, finished object, Goddess, life, lists/surveys

09:21 | |

Oct 4, 2007

Even God

Couldn't create the world in one day. Or so the saying goes. But he could probably knit a sweater in one! lol Sorry if I offended anyone with that, I am very lighthearted with my faith.

Anyways, I am definitely not God, but super bulky yarn makes even sweaters go by fast. I started the Skating Sweater on Tuesday, and finished the body today. All that is left are the sleeves, and I am almost finished with one. The super large straight needles are tough on my wrists though. So I am spinning right now. Took a quick break to change the channel. lol Oh, and I forgot to tell you about my winding adventures. I took the yarn to the LYS because there was no way my pitiful ball winder could handle all of that Magnum. And the owner wasn't there, and the lady who was didn't know how to work the "big" ball winder. Of course, neither did I. After a couple of tries, and some fiddling, my boys were wandering around naked (okay, just pantsless) so I gave up and went home. Now for a lesson in "How we be windin' in da ghetto!" lol, sorry, I had to. I mean, I bought the needles which you know meant I was dying to start. Even though Goddess is about 12 rounds from completion.

My new favorites for roving are Spincerely and Yarn Wench. How I lust after those Yarn Wench colors.... The Spincerely though, oh I bought some and it spins like a dream. It is just so beautiful.

(I keep doing this thing where I think I've posted but really I just clicked "Save As Draft" Does anyone else have this problem?)

Labels: blah, rambling, Skating Sweater, spinning, sweater

21:21 | |

Oct 1, 2007

It's Here!

My first PRGE package arrived today!! This is going to be a long post. So hold on!

This box reminded me of Rennfest. It was so bittersweet, I probably won't get to Rennfest this year. Anyways, I opened it and the smell floated up and sent me into a momentary flashback. I had to recover quickly though because my boys were desperate to get a peek into the box! The first discovery was a super cute card. My pal turned out to be Dawn of Wild Yarn!! She is really stellar! The package was so me.

Next I found the source of the lovely smell! A cute little purple bag (with feathers!) full of purple candles and some scented oil!!! Oh yeah, did I mention that the package had a purple theme to it? Oops. lol It does. On with the show. The candles were just perfect. Candles are a...guilty pleasure of mine. Because of the kids I can't usually burn them. My room is full of candles though, and I love them! I love going to stores and smelling them all, trying to find the best ever scent. When I was pregnant with Nolan (I don't remember if I ever posted about this) I set up a mirrored candle display over my bed. It's really pretty, and I just recently burned the last of my tea lights. I immediately set all of these up for ~~myself~~ you guys.

You can see my (husband's) Ramone's t-shirt in the mirror! Next up there is some yummy purple Cascade 220! I *heart* Cascade 220. Who doesn't? It is for the Wavy scarf from Knitty. But I might use it for something else. Only because I don't seem to actually wear scarves. Even when I have them. The color is gorgeous though.

We also have a copy of Rowan: Beach Cool. Okay, the patterns in here are super cute. And my LYS has lots of yarn that I think would work beautifully in them. The Family Fun has cute homemade costume ideas. One is an ice cream cone, which is what I am gonna make Nolan!! Except a little different. His hair always has a little curl on the top which makes him look like a Dairy Queen ice cream, so I will just get some white hair gel and slick it up. Plus lots of other cool stuff that I can look through and that will come in handy since the buget is so tight right now.

I'm almost done now. :) Though I am far from ogling and touching everything in the box. So, last up we have some LOVEPAPER and a super cute notions type bag!! Okay, so the LOVEPAPER is super cute!! You use it to make decisions "of the heart". Each side represents a choice. You tear the paper in half, et voila! The bigger piece is the winner. :) Too cute, n'est pas? How about that bag? Isn't it me? I love purple and chocolate brown together. I want to make a cute chocolate brown skirt to go with my Skating Sweater. (tangent) As I was saying, the bag is just adorable and I think it would nicely for my socks in progress. Since I usually use DPNs, they would fit right in there. Don't you think?

Labels: gifts, happiness, PRGE, yarn

13:12 | |