bebe blanket

i lost a little bit of steam this week on knitting

but i think i will add one last stripe and cast off


and call it done!

i'll have to weave in the ends and gently block, but that won't take too long


my plan is to have it up on etsy by friday


i'm giving first dibs to Holly M


but if she changes her mind it will be $50 (which includes shipping) and can be mailed out this weekend


i've knit this up in very soft acrylic yarn which will wash and be loved on for years


hopefully i can start on another one this weekend!

knit happens

let's get down to business

because

1. tuesday is the most productive work day

and

2.  i bought 3 lbs of cheez-its at sams this weekend, so i'm in a pretty good/cheesy mood

3. i opened my own etsy shop, that you can't even shop in, because i haven't listed anything, because i'm in the process of making things.  duh.  but even though i'm only planning on selling to a few facebook friends right now, i thought having a way to show off the goods/pay for the items would be great.

so there's that - you can search for my profile a la etsy - the shop name being "ah lavache"

4. what is "ah lavache?" you ask.  well as you can imagine there are hundreds of really cute sheep named stores on etsy having to do with wool and knits.

ah lavache in french translates into "oh the cow!" which would kind of be like saying "oh my gosh!" in english.  but "oh the cow!" is pretty funny, and the next best animal to a sheep is obviously a cow.

and, thus, by the transitive property - cows and knitting were born sole mates.

duh.

5.  i have, indeed cast-on another chevron baby blanket

it's not the exact colors of the last one, due to not being able to even find the same colors within 2 weeks of shopping for the last blanket.  ugh.  BUT - it think this one is going to be really pretty.  i have a couple of ladies who will get first dibs, but if they say nay i will list it on etsy.  and if you are eying a chevron blankey - i'm really hoping to crank out 1 a week throughout the weeks leading up to the holidays.  or at least until my hands are arthritic and crippled.

6.  i should have left this list @5 - because 6 is an odd list number, amiright?

 

knitter for hire

i feel so behind

i'm so glad i don't travel often for work

not only do i feel behind on work

but i feel behind on running, housework, tv shows, life with my husband etc

i think all the running around had my body feeling sluggish too - i got back late monday night, and i went to the grocery tuesday and picked up just about every vegetable and fruit kroger offered

peppers and hummus for lunch yesterday is on the menu again today

and breakfasts have been honeycrisp apples (found on sale this week for a steal!) with some PB2 (dehydrated peanut butter)

so while my running hasn't been anything to write home about - i've been able to keep in check with eating - and i believe i'm still losing weight - as i shimmied into some pants this morning that i haven't worn in 2 years.  and a medium top! (still slightly fitted, but no back fat - whoop!)

(a picture i took in the hotel this past weekend when i was seeing the progress i had made)

feels good!

traveling did leave me with lots of time to read - i finished gone girl on the 5 hours in flight back to louisville

and i was enthralled the whole time.  not giving anything away - but check out amazon, read the first few pages, and i guarantee you'll be purchasing it too

the cooler temps has also meant - fleece pj time - and KNITTING!

i'm making this blanket for baby H due in February, and i'm almost done.

i posted this picture last night on facebook and was overwhelmed with the comments.  i would love to knit a few more of these up for everyone expecting a baby!

i've had a couple of specific requests, so my plan is to knit up a blanket, offer to those individuals first, and if they change their mind, list them on facebook/instagram to sell. (rachel ottman or @rachelottman)

i would hate to promise people a blanket, especially if i get busy and can't work on them, so i thought my best bet would be to knit them first and then offer them up

for your information : the baby blankets are 100% cotton so they will be able to be washed and loved on for a long time

right now i'm guesstimating the finished size will be slightly larger than 30"x36" as knitting grows a bit once washed and laid flat to dry. (i will lay this one out and measure and take pictures for reference)

i'm also slightly limited on yarn choices right now, at least until i can order other yarn.  if i were to order a variety of colors - it would affect the price of my blankets as specialty yarn carries a heftier price tag than those found at Michael's/Joann's

SO - when i do list the blankets, I am asking $45 dollars for them using the cotton yarn i am using now (price would change as yarn price changes)

once i see how the initial few go, i would love to take on requests - knowing it takes me about a week to knit one of these up - working in my spare time.

for now, if you are at all interested - send me a facebook message or email me at lovelaughwag@gmail.com and let me know what color combinations you would be interested in seeing (i could do as little as two colors and up to as many as you would like)

this way i can gauge interest and order yarn if needed.

ok, so we're all caught up now, right?  good.

have a great rest of the week!

 

on the needles

i've taken 3 days off from running/exercise in order to get to feeling better

i probably should have ran last night

but bill was able to take off early

and the wind was unbearably cold

so, i took his advice and sat last night out so we could spend some time together and i could feel 100% back to normal.

but tonight - it's on!  i'm kicking up some pavement tonight!

the chillier weather did provide me with a good excuse to break this back out

oh hi there little knitting buddy!

and yeah, i'm still wearing chirstmas pj's - they are warm!

woodford wasn't too impressed, but

while i was over at kim and nick's house this past weekend with our friends sarah and jeff - they were commenting on my knitting skills - and it made me realize i should keep up my projects and do some more gift knitting.

the baby hat i made a month ago ended up being too small for the TODDLER it was for.  i really have no idea the sizes of babies...but since the hat is for next winter, i have time to redeem myself

and the hat on the needles - is for dana who requested one in navy - i swear that yarn is navy in person even if it may look indigo on your screen

and i'm 85% sure this one will fit because i have a pretty good idea of the size of adult heads...at least my own.  lord, i hope i don't have a freakishly big head or this one may not fit either...

 the pattern is the same as the red hat i knit myself - a very pretty, lacy pattern

this hat should be completed tonight - and ready to send to it's recipient.

i never know how people will feel about getting a hand knit gift - if they think it's horribly ugly, too old school, or feel pressured to wear it...so i usually get too nervous to make anyone anything

but hearing my friends talk about liking something hand knit, has peeked my interest again, and once this hat is off the needles, i may make a couple more for sarah and kim

how do you feel about homemade gifts?

new skills

you know it's going to be a good day when your vp of finance brings in biscuits and gravy for the friday of "close" week.

at least, i'm banking on it being a good day.

i worked for a few hours last night re-learning to crochet.

well

i guess i never knew how to crochet beyond a granny square

and i'm not sure you could consider that i know how now - at least not like i know knitting

but i did create a flower (it turned out too big for the hat - i need more than one hook size and probably another pattern)

and i did have to look up every stitch mentioned - but i was getting the hang of it

so much so that i started crocheting a hat

i ripped it out after making a little progress because i think i discovered i was missing one chain stitch somewhere

it's really hard to knit and crochet with dark navy yarn by the way...

but with a full stash of yarn, a new crocheting ability

oh

and a cardigan that needs sewn up

i believe i have my work cut out for me this weekend.

i'm going to try and make it my mission to take pretty pictures of my progress and blog this weekend

because i never do that

and i've made some really cute items recently that need their time in the spotlight

so until then

have a great weekend and hopefully you're not in the path of any crazy weather!

sick pup

i spent over an hour last night

following around a sick doggie

cleaning up sick mess

the poor guy decided he wanted to eat a tennis ball

at least part of a tennis ball

we're still monitoring him - he seems to be doing better and hasn't gotten sick this morning

but last night i was pretty worried if he didn't stop getting sick

he couldn't even keep water down for a period of time

and i tried to get him to eat a banana

but when he smelled it

he got sick again.

i'm convinced on some level that having a dog prepares you for children.

this morning - after too little sleep, and brewing two k-cups

bill handed woodford a piece of banana and he ate it

he also drank lots of water in his crate last night and kept it down

if he's acting himself today and eats some food i'm going to call an all clear

otherwise we might be headed to the vet.

on top of that excitement

i took woodford out to eat some grass at one point last night and we ran into a skunk

i wish i had my phone on me

because this skunk was huge

and i kid you not it started to come towards us - rather pissed off looking

all i could think about was the rugrats episode where chuckie gets sprayed by one and must take a tomato juice bath

and then i remembered the episode of myth busters where they tested different skunk odor fighters and tomato juice definitely didn't work

all these thoughts as woodford and i jog back to the house.

such a fun filled evening didn't result in much else getting accomplished

however

i do have pictures of an almost finished hat

imagine my water bottle is a cute baby with a cute wittle head (actually i think this hat is rather stretchy so, if it's a big baby head - hey i'm not judging - it will probably fit)

cute, huh?

looks finished, right?

well the pattern never connects the hat in the round, and you're left with this little tab on one side of the hat

it's meant to be sewn down with a button or crochet flower

i'm going to ask emily her preference - and then proceed

if a crochet flower is needed - i'm going to have to brush up on those skills...i've only ever crocheted granny squares

but i can't wait to mail this little hat - i'm going to bet it looks better on da bebe.

ok

i'm going in search of more coffee

and some crochet tutorials.

in stitches

hey ya'll

i was busy last night

i stopped at michaels - after almost driving straight home

it was rainy

and dark

and i wanted my pj's

but i powered through

and picked up yarn

and yarn accessories.

i've had this puppy waiting in the wings

until i could find my darning needle to sew 'er up!

i couldn't find it...so i bought a new one

and well, when i got home i didn't feel like stitching it together.

i don't know why i'm scared of doing this

but....

i did start on this

cute right?

oh you don't know what it is?

finished hat found here

i had promised to make a hat for a little girl - the requester asked for pink or purple...sadly, i didn't have any pink or purple but i thought this spring green would be fabulous - perhaps with a different color flower or accent button on the side?

ps Emily- i'm looking for a pretty purple or pink and once i find one - if this hat works out i'll knit up another and/or adjust the sizing

i do have another hat on the list for someone else which will be next on the needles - maybe even tonight if i finish the green aviatrix hat.

and i swear on my knitting needles i WILL sew up that cardigan this weekend and put it in the mail...i WILL!

i know it's already february, but if anyone is interested in a hat for themselves or a little one let me know - i would like to re-open my etsy store for special orders

the perfect knit hat

oh man

excuse my absenteeism

i took yesterday off to clean house

and get the ice maker fixed

except i got a phone call saying they were one repairman short and that my appointment was moved until today

so hopefully we have ice tonight

i did manage to clean behind the fridge.

it had been hoarding lots of dust bunnies

and a pine cone..?

but now it has had its bi-decade cleaning.

don't judge me.

but really there wasn't a lot to recap from the weekend

we washed the edge

 and we made a fabulous dinner

so good in fact

i used leftover ingredients to bake another dish sunday night

and yesterday i stayed in trying to stay warm

i wish i could have done the same today

feels like 4?

4 is an age

not a weather temperature.

i did do something cold weather productive with my time, though

i knit a hat

it was an effort to avoid seaming the baby cardigan which is stressing me (i WILL finish it this week...as soon as i get the courage)

i really don't want to mess up the cardigan, but i know my first ever cardigan won't be my best

and i don't want to rip the seams out over and over again

i just need to sit down in a quiet place

with a glass of wine

and tackle it.

oh, and it's extremely difficult to take a picture of your own head

i'll link to the pattern later if anyone is interested (it was found on ravelry)

super quick knit lace pattern that kept it interesting

knit with patons worsted wool

it kept my noggin warm on the drive in

and it's quite chilly in the office that i'm contemplating putting in back on

anyone else in need of a good hat?

i'm ready to start another.

week 3 of resolutions

i had high hopes of displaying my finished good

unfortunately i didn't finish the second sleeve until bout 9:55 last night, and by the time i googled how to seam a sweater i was too tired to put the needed effort into finishing the baby cardigan.

so now i have a pressed dismembered baby cardigan.

tonight is the night i finish! 

i'm also itching to go buy more yarn to knit another.  or make some socks.  or i guess i could make baby owen a hat to match his cardigan!  or i guess i could follow through with putting little elbow patches on this one...

decisions decisions...

speaking of

what decisions did i make for week 3 of resolutions?

my original goals were

1. no artificial sweeteners
2. more home cooking/less going out
3. cook more with Bill
4. clean closet
5. save money
6. run happy
7. knit more

and this is how i've been doing

1.  i still haven't 100% kicked the habit.  i'm still wanting a diet sprite with dinner and we had lunch out one day this week where i wanted diet peach sprite with my meal.  other than that my coffee is still sugar/artificial sweetener free.  EXCEPT.  i've been adding creamer to my coffee which is full of hydrogenated oils.  i've basically traded one evil for another.  maybe i can just switch to vanilla almond milk in my coffee?  i'm going to try it.  i've also developed a habit of having an evening coffee while knitting - which is making me wired!  i desperately need to pick up more decaf and/or get a nice herbal evening tea to sip.  BUT - my best accomplishment is not having a diet coke at work every day - actually i haven't bought one at all!  hooray!

2&3.  oh man - this has been such a good resolution!  bill and i are cooking so much more.  and actually eating our leftovers! bill is a smoothie making machine - which is being hindered by the fact that our ice maker stopped working yesterday!  we haven't had a full ice bucket in months and i just thought it was because we use a lot of ice.  well when our ice bucket was empty for over a day i knew something was wrong.  i've called to have it fixed - but they won't be out until MONDAY!  we'll be purchasing some bagged ice to get us through such depravity.   but on the cooking front, we've made potato soup, broccoli salad, eggplant parmesan - and it's all been so tasty.  but in an effort not to waste leftovers i haven't been cooking all the things i've set out to.  again i need to evaluate how much a recipe makes and how many leftover meals we can make out of it so i don't over buy produce for the week.  i also purchased a new cookbook - meatless meals by martha stewart.  there are several interesting meals i can't wait to try.  i'm really running out of meatless dishes that don't rely on noodles so much.  ALSO (i'm rambling) i've noticed our grocery bill has gone down - and it's from planning alone.  we're not buying lots of snacks, we're going in with a plan (and coupons) and coming out with only what we need.  i've also noticed we snack less - because we're making actual meals and not grazing all day. 

4.  no.  i need to be shamed into doing this i guess.

5.  i get paid on friday and plan on depositing some money into my savings!  i'm thinking about calculating how much money we would normally spend on eating out and putting that money into the savings account too - each time we chose to stay in.

6.  i don't wanna talk about it :(  i haven't ran happy all week.  i did start wearing my nike plus fuel band again - and the fact that i've maintained my (easy) goal, makes me want to get out and beat my record every day.  so there's that...

7.  i'm clearly surpassing this goal with flying colors.  i just think it's my passion right now.  i have lots of hobbies and right now this one is burning up!  come spring i'm sure i'll flip flop goals 6 & 7 - but for now i'm just going to roll with it and get lots of knitting projects completed.  tonight i sew up the seams!  and this weekend i buy more wool!

wee cuteness

can we all just agree

itty bitty baby sleeves are the cutest

i didn't get both sleeves done as planned

the pattern is knit flat in stockinette... and i hate switching between purling and knitting - something about my purl technique is really slow

and i also thought it was dumb to add another seam to such a small garment

so i knit the sleeve in the round

and turns out i don't have size 5 double pointed needles.

so i had to use magic loop with a pair of size 5 circulars.

so i traded not having to purl and seam

for constantly shifting stitches on the loop - and when you only have about 30 stitches

that's a lot of shifting.

so it took longer than expected

and coffee was needed.

i should have stuck to decaff

because sleeping was elusive.

but one sleeve down

and one more to go tonight.

i'll save seaming for tomorrow

and i promise

PROMISE

pretty pictures soon.

what projects are you working on?

knitting and cooking

it's back to work

but thankfully it was a great rainy weekend

cooking and knitting and a bit of shopping got done

i tackled eggplant parmesan for the first time using this recipe

cheesy goodness indeed!

bill and i made this together - i got him started on the flour, egg, breadcrumb baths for the slices of eggplant

and i fried the little slices up - we then assembled the pieces, enjoyed some wine while the whole dish cooked, and then chowed down.

this made a LOT.  eggplant is very meaty and filling, but i was worried how well the leftovers would be.

i had another slice saturday night and i promise this keeps very well in the fridge!  i was worried the whole dish would go soggy. but that wasn't the case.

bill and i had gotten in the habit of going out to eat every friday night and then head to target to pick up unnecessary items.

it was really nice to spend time cooking in the kitchen and just staying home to enjoy...well...our home!

woodford was grateful

saturday we had a few errands to tackle - which meant

starbucks was needed.

errands + coffee = more fun and caffeinated!

aside from needing to pick up a check from the consignment store, i needed to price frozen fruit and bananas at sams club, take my engagement ring in to get sized, shop some sales (bought nothing), annnnnd

check out a local yarn shop

to get inspired by some fibers

i just wish i hadn't showed up while they were having their knitting group.

i was interested in really looking at yarn - but it was too crowded and the tables were keeping me from even getting to some of their product. :(  i had hopes to find some pretty sock yarn but that got nixed

but i did find some lovely spud and chloe yarn

in waterslide to knit the sweater featured above

for a wee baby boy

it's my first attempt at a sweater - so i warned the mommy that this might turn out horrible but it was made with love and good intentions and that i only need to see a picture of it on him once :)

the pattern is knitting up very quickly and right now all i have left are the sleeves, piecing, ribbing around the collar, and adding buttons - maybe another 2 nights of work.

i'll take some prettier pictures tonight or tomorrow - the color is gorgeous - maybe not very manly - but very springy - i'm hoping to find some cool buttons to put on it - something hipster-y - maybe even stitch on some elbow pads.

tiny clothes are so cute.

IF...a big IF...this goes well, i would love to knit bill or myself a sweater or cardigan.

i'm just scared of big projects because they take so much longer to knit and stick with.  i should probably just go for it and knit smaller projects at the same time to keep myself distracted and engaged at the same time.

and don't get me started on the price of yarn.  buying lots of yarn for a big project scares me and my checking account.

and the best thing to soothe knitting worries, as well as fuel more knitting

bacon.

specifically bacon crumbles that go in potato soup.

i made this sunday - a day filled with more knitting and lots of football.  it rained hard all day, so it just made sense to hang out indoors.

and now...i'm hanging out indoors all day due to work

but at least i have leftover soup

i hope you had a great weekend!

welcome 2013!

day 2 of 2013 is only slightly better than day 1

i was suffering from a migraine all new years morning

and of course today i'm back at work.

time off from work never seems long enough

but i tried to make the most of it

by playing with new toys

playing outside with the woodford

enjoying the pretty snow that had fallen

trying not to fall on my ass as i shuffled through the neighborhood

and i really enjoyed the extra time to cook actual meals for bill and myself

egg dish with spinach and brussels sprouts slaw

 poor woodford tries so hard to sneak a bite...

i even had time to pick out patterns, shop, and begin knitting projects

multiple knitting projects!

i've made the most progress on this herringbone scarf for bill.  100% wool should make for a very cozy scarf.

new years eve was spent pretty low key

cuddle time was consumed

and ice cream was needed...and marshmallows...

for...

a marshmallow gun.  which completely terrified woodford.

i wanted to stay up so bad.  it was 11:30 and i was almost there...

we decided to watch the ball drop in bed

and at 11:50 i was sawing logs.

whoops.

and despite an irritating migraine

i managed to help bill clean up the christmas decorations

how sad is the spot the tree inhabited?  i'm pretty bummed the walls seem so bare.

but i think this means i need a new piece of furniture here (we used to have a bookcase here, but i'd rather have another chair)

and that was my exciting new years weekend.

but it felt nice to get a lot of things accomplished as well as cook and knit.

as for resolutions i'm not big on making those.

bill and i have made a loose agreement on staying healthy

sign up for a few races, eat more greens, and eat out less.

our fridge is stocked with lots of romaine, spinach, and kale.  i had a spinach smoothie for breakfast and packed a salad for lunch.

2 days in and i'm on track.

we've also decided to stick to making our own bread and bill has resolved to lay off the potato chips and stick with popcorn.

2012 was a great year for bill and i, but i'm looking forward to 2013 and some exciting things are in our future!

happy new year everyone!

knitting night in

back in the day

monday was just another excuse to go out

tuesdays i typically didnt have class or a heavy class schedule so monday night was fare game

nowadays

i'm in a cozy spot on the couch with tacky socks, a dog butt, and my knitting work in front of me.

i cannot wait to show you my finished product on this one!  it's a gift like the other items i've knitted - so until i've gifted them i don't want to share.  but this work in process is going to be perfect if it ever gets cold enough to wear!  which with yesterday's high in the mid 70's - it may never happen.

i've really been on the ball (no pun) with knitting lately and i'm considering knitting a few items to be sold on etsy or via the blog. 

i'll keep up updated once i finish the gifts.

any knitters out there?  i would love to host a craft night at my place with food and wine.

tacky socks, christmas themed pj's and pinot all welcomed.

what craft projects are you working on?  any meant to be gifts?