Plum Stitches

pizzazz

Now that the weather is getting a little cooler, Chloe's in school for longer days and I'm in the house, I'm starting a mental checklist of things I want to get done inside.  Our house could really use a interior paint job.  We painted all the rooms when we moved in, but since then we've done lots of work.  Lots of work that's created dings and marks in the walls.   Oh, and also, the occasional coffee accident that  creates splash marks everywhere.   I'm sure no one but myself notices dings, marks and splashes, but they're really starting to bother me!   

Check out this cool tutorial over on Etsy about how to make a felt pillow with rosettes.  I love the orange, so festive and fall-ish.  I have a pile of felt left over from last Christmas that could finally be put to use...

Pattern:  Bold Banded Mittens, from Adorable Knits for Tots, by Zoe Mellor
Yarn: Needles: Size 8 circular

Size: 3-4 years

Notes:  These are a gift for one of Chloe's friends.  I think I might add a flower to the front of them to pump up the bling.  Those four year old girls are bananas about bling. 

If you happen to be a power knitter you could easily finish these in an evening.  Also, I skipped the stripes in the pattern.

I had an unusual (at least these days) creative burst yesterday and cut three pairs of pants for Phoebe from fabric in my stash.  I'm hoping to sew them up over the weekend.  I love the corduroy and am considering buying  a bit more to make a skirt for Chloe.

blooming

All that rain and now lots of sun are proving to be a good thing for my garden (thankfully!)

My friend Jody made a trip to Gilberties a few weeks ago and brought back several Cosican Mint plants for us.  They all seem to be thriving at the moment - rapidly creeping between the stones of our patio.  Hopefully that continues as this is my favorite addition to our garden this year.  It smells fabulous when you step on it and unlike the Creeping Thyme there's so fear of bees stinging small children.

 

A few new Web sites I've stumbled on in the past week that have quickly become new favorites:

Moolka - similar to Oompa Toys, but the seem to have a wider selection.

LMNOP - love it.  Especially the music that plays when you log in.  Chloe always comes running when she hears it.  Who wouldn't?  Check out their blog too.

Making it Lovely - the name says it all.

I can't seem to get enough of this airplane - it's popping up everywhere.  I think Chloe would love playing with it (or maybe me?)  I had the Fisher Price version as a kid, which she plays with whenever we visit Vermont.

We're off for some afternoon fun playing with the Elephants nearby.

summer vacation

It's hard to believe on Friday, Chloe wraps up her first year of school.  Well, pre-k 3 that is.  Time just goes by too fast.  I really hope that despite life being frustrating at times, I'm enjoying it to it's fullest.  Because they ain't young for long.

She's off for a week and then I signed her up for the first session of summer camp at her school.  She'll be going in the morning for camp and then switching to the morning program come fall.  It's been a real challenge recently with the afternoon program.  The little girl still needs a nap, but if she naps after school then she never goes to bed at night.  And I'm done dealing with little kids come 7pm. 

I think it's all been exacerbated by the summer weather and just spending more time running around in the mornings.  By the time I pick her up from school she is DONE.

In anticipation of summer camp, I'm on the hunt for an insulated backpack as she'll be bringing her lunch everyday.  If you pack lunches, check out Biggie's Lunch in a Box blog for inspiration. 

We had a fabulous weekend, traveling up to Montgomery, NY for a friend's son's third birthday party.  The weather was gorgeous, but not too hot, and Chloe had a blast playing with all the other kids.



I did manage to get back on track with my little sweater - finished both sleeves and progressing on the body.  Need to figure out my next project - I seem to be trapped in the never ending baby projects.  Not that it's a bad thing, but sometimes I wonder if I'll ever move on!

What else?  Check out this decadent Princess Pavillion.  How cool is that?  If only I had the time and space to stretch out and make something like this, Chloe would be in heaven!  I can just see it now.

she can ski!

We spent the weekend in Vermont.  Not much snow, but we did manage to get Chloe out on skis and she really seemed to enjoy it!  These were starter Karhu cross country skis, that have the expandable binding and she can use a regular ski boot with them.  She should be able to use them another season or two and then they'll get passed on to Phoebe.  If we ever get a real snow storm again in New York, she could easily use them in the park around the corner.

I think I'm officially obsessed with the Orla Kiely for Target goods.  None of the Targets I've been to seem to have any of it!  Guess I'm a case study in how limited quantities turn someone into a maniac.  I love these tumblers  for outside in the summer,
and this tray.

I've been knitting like crazy, but also doing a good deal of frogging.  Trying to catch up on a few gifts.  Hopefully, I'll have something to show in the next few days.

On Saturday afternoon, as part of the Middlebury College Winter Carnival, there was a Chili Fest in downtown Middlebury.  I don't think I've ever seen it so crowded - looked like half the state of Vermont had shown up!  We bundled up and trekked out, although we didn't sample any of the chili.  We thought chili + a five hour car ride home that night wouldn't have been the greatest idea.

I've really been trying to limit Chloe's TV watching.  It's been a bit of a challenge with winter and Phoebe, but I do I find that the more she watches, the more she wants to watch. 

If I can make it until just before dinner and us e watching Curious George as a bit of reward at the end of the day, it seems to work best. 

Some days I'd love to push the TV into a closet and make it disappear for a bit.  I think I'd feel like I had a whole lot more time on my hands.  Maybe that's just wishful thinking!

dreaming of cherry bark

One day a week I get six hours to myself without small children.  Today, I helped a good friend with her wedding registry, kind of like shopping, but you don't spend any money.  You just get to dream about what you might buy... 

While we were in Bloomingdale's today, we wandered into the Michael Aram 'shop.'  When we lived in Hoboken his studio/warehouse was right across the street from our house.  We never realized who/what it was until they had a warehouse sale right before the relocated to somewhere in Bergen County.

I love this, something about it, that I can't put my finger on.  The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's made from oxidized copper that's supposed to evoke cherry bark.

After my dreamy six hours to myself, I came home to Sadie throwing up all over the house.  The poor dog!  You could tell she felt terrible about it as slunk over to the corner near the door.  I took her around the block, and without going into the gory details, she had some major issues.  Hopefully, it's over.

orla kiely for target

I read about this a few weeks ago in the New York Times.  Orla Kiely launched a collection of home products for Target, but I think in just a limited number of stores.  They do have a small selection on their Web site, but it seems to be mostly plates, etc.  I think what's left in the store is quickly vanishing!

I love the coaster and the apron/potholder.  Although, I'm not crazy about the apron/potholder color and am considering returning tme.  Check out the picture of the collection at Apartment Therapy.

Last week, I was very sad to hear about the demise of Domino magazine last week.   I was a HUGE fan!

More on the home front - I think this little Acorn Bird Apartment is adorable.  Every summer I say I'm going to make a gord bird house.  One year I even had the gords, but it didn't happen.

On the baby front - we've been 'trying' to get Phoebe on more of schedule.  I thought we might be able to stop the 10pm feeding.  That was a disaster.  We tried for three nights and it just hasn't worked, so we're attempting to get back on the old schedule of a 10pm feeding and then hopefully a 3-4am feeding.  Of course, if we ever do nail this down, she'll be on to another phase and we'll have to start all over again.  I suppose that's the beauty of being a parent, right?

Happy Friday!

slipping, just a bit

A week into the new year and I must admit my efforts to organize our house has not moved as quickly as I had hoped.  In my fantasy world, I thought I ould go floor by floor, but it's been more ad-hoc, which I suppose isn't so bad.  I've been eying the P-Touch, thinking that might help, but who am I kidding?  (I've secretly always wanted a P-Touch, so I think getting organized is my excuse. 

Since Chloe started school, I've been trying to figure out where to dedicate a wall to all of the paintings and craft projects.  I finally just bought these clips to hang things on.  Plus, I thought they would be good if we decided to shift where we were hanging her projects.

One thing that's a major drag about our house is that we don't have a basement or an attic, so we have all sorts of stuff crammed into our closets.  Enough about about my home organization woes...

On the knitting front...After my disaster with the Daisy Swing Coat, I searched on Ravelry for a new pattern and stumbled upon this Seamless Kimono Sweater Pattern.  It's knit from the top down, with virtually no seams.  I went for the 3-6 month size, although it appears to be a bit bigger.

I've also made some progress on the Tomten Jacket.  The yarn is from my stash (woohoo!)  I'm almost done with one of the sleeves and am hoping to wrap this up soon.  I'm not sure who this will be gifted to, but I like the idea of having a surplus of completed projects to give as birthdays approach.

first snow

We had big fluffy snow flakes this morning, didn't amount to anything but it was the first snow of the season!

My sister-in-law was here from the U.K. shortly after Phoebe was born and brought this adorable little dress as a gift.  They're very sweet - I'm hoping to make little sweater for both girls to go with them.

Finally, I finished the Fred Textured Sweater. 

Pattern:  Fred Textured Sweater from Natural Knits for Moms and Babies
Size:  Up to 6 months
Yarn:  2 skeins of Moda Dea Washable Wool from AC Moore
Needles:  Size 5 and Size 6 bamboo circular
Notes:  It felt like this took me forever, although it was only two months.  At this point, I'm not sure who I'll give it to as it's much too small at this point for the intended recipient.  Guess I'll save it for the next little boy born.

I picked this pattern book up from our new neighborhood yarn shop, The Stockinette a few weeks ago and have been working on the Little Daisy Swing Coat as a gift.  I love the little sweater on the front and was thinking it might be a good fit for the dresses my SIL gave C&P, just need to find the time.

And lastly, a picture of my hydrangea that's planted in front of our house.  I just love how the blooms change through the seasons.  I think this color is my favorite.

lazy?

I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had found a few things at Pottery Barn Kids for Chloe and the new baby's bedroom.  Just took me awhile to take pictures of them.  These flowers would be sooo easy to make, but I just didn't have it in me.  They're basically felt and then glued onto a a wire.  My plan is to use them as tie-backs for the curtains in the room. The birds below are from the mobile I found there as well in the sale bin.  Again, they would probably be pretty easy to make.  The mobile is hanging over Chloe's bed, but I still need something over the crib, so I have a little room to flex my sewing abilities still!





Sadly, I haven't done much knitting in the past week.  I just can't seem to get comfortable seated anywhere, although I have started numerous new projects.  I'm hoping that the four days spent in the hospital might give me the opportunity to finish a few of the projects.  Then again, I'm sure I'm being delusional!  Funny to think that in just a few days we'll have a new baby.

I thought this little Brunch Coat that Molly made over at The Purl Bee was adorable!  I just love the elephants.  I only wish I was a proficient enough sewer to whip this up.

where did September go???

I can't believe September is almost over!  It flew by.  I think our house is just about in order for the arrival of the new baby - we have a few things left to do, but overall we're in pretty good shape.

Over the weekend, we made a trip to Ikea and bought a cabinet for my yarn, fabric etc.  Wow, what a difference it makes to be able to see everything.  It needs a bit of organization and unfortunately our new guest room doesn't have quite enough room for me to set up my sewing machine, but it's a HUGE improvement.

A brief trip to Barnes & Noble yesterday ended with these magazines making their way home with us.  I've quickly flipped through them, but need to spend some more time with them to flag any projects that catch my eye.

The Stockinette opened a few weeks ago.  They have a much smaller, but very nice, selection of yarn.  Thinking of making a quick trip there this afternoon after I pick Chloe up from school.

Chloe is more or less acclimated to school now.  This week was her third week.  It's amazing how much her language skills have improved - she's much clearer and talking in more complete sentences.  I drop her off and she doesn't look back or even say goodbye!  But, when I go to pick her up she seems thrilled to see me and exhausted.  We still haven't figured out the best approach to her nap being gone and school tiring her out (she's in the afternoon program).  I have been putting her to bed a few nights around 5:30 pm and that seems to work well, but I'm not sure that's the most practical solution. 

Now that my yarn is in full view, I'm still trying to knit from my stash, with smaller infant projects, it may actually work!

I decided to use the remaining two skeins o Phildar yarn I had on hand to make this little Ribbon-Edged Cardigan from Debbie Bliss' Special Knits.  The yarn isn't as soft and cozy as the Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino, but I do like the colors.

One other thing I noticed from my magazine purchases yesterday was an advertisement for a new Debbie Bliss magazine.   Has anyone seen this yet?  I'm curious and want to track down a copy.