Showing posts with label knitting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label knitting. Show all posts

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Just a dream and the wind to carry me, soon I will be free.

Can you tell we went sailing yesterday?  One of our friends from work and his wife have a big Hobie, so we all went out for the day.  It was a lot of fun, but I might have gotten a little sun...

Anyway, this week I'm gearing up to go to a friends baby shower.  I'm fairly certain the friend who's shower it is doesn't read this, but just in case, Jenda, should you be reading this, here is your spoiler alert.

I debated for days on what to get her, and I decided to try to be crafty about it:
 I saw a 'quick change' project on Pinterest and knew I had to make it.  The idea is that you make a bunch of drawstring bags, and inside each one your put a diaper, some hand sanitizer, and some wipes so that mom can throw a quick change bag in her diaper bag and have a quick way to change the baby.  The only problem is, I can't really sew...  Ronnie is really handy with the sewing machine though, so he did most of the work for me.  I used this tutorial here.

I wanted to put numbers on each bag, so she would know when she gets to the last bag, it is time for her to refill them, but the shower is tomorrow and I still haven't gotten around to it.

I also knit her a little sweater.  It's really cute, but the way the sleeves were finished was kind of annoying.  I hope it fits...

Our fourth wedding anniversary was on Thursday.  We celebrated by going to the Melting Pot.  It was delicious as always.  I didn't really have much to wear, so we went out to Target to get my first maternity clothes purchase (unless you count my uniform, which I don't because that thing is an atrocity). 
15weeks
The dress is really cute, but I feel like it makes me look super pregnant. haha!

Nothing else is really new this week.  I've been feeling pretty good, aside from being a little tired.  My next appointment isn't until the 8th, so there is still a little time before that. 

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Cute. Cute. As a button.

Sorry that this is a little later than a week from my last entry.  I had planned to wait to update until after my appointment on the 4th, and then I ended up having a rough week at work on top of a buttload of school assignments this week (first half of the summer semester is over tonight, oh yes!) so I got a little behind.  So let's start with my appointment.

Everything at the appointment went great.  All of my tests from last month came back normal, and the visit was pretty routine.  I think I was in and out of there in about 15 minutes.  This months ultra sound was absolutely amazing.  When the baby first showed up on the screen, we had a really good view of the baby's spine and then it moved around a bit and we could see it holding its little arm up to its face - Ronnie said it looked like it was sucking its thumb.  At one point, the baby kicked its legs up in the air and kind of bicycled them around.  When I saw it kick its little feet, it became really real to me - last month it was hard to see anything and it still only had arm and leg buds, so seeing the baby's perfect little legs and feet kick up and move around was almost unreal.  I teared up and said something stupid like "Oh my god!  That's a baby!"  Then the OB took the picture and...

The elusive baby Webb - 12w3d
Is that even a picture of a baby?!  If I hadn't seen it squirming around on the screen myself I would suspect otherwise.  The OB wanted to take a picture of the baby's face, so apparently that is what this is.  Its little head is on the bottom right, and those are its legs on the left.  I know it sort of looks like an alien head with some pencil smudges...

No luck on finding out the sex this month.  The OB said maybe next month.  I also get to go for more lab work next month, I'm just thrilled about that. 

I finished a little knitted sweater for the baby this week:

I'm kind of in love with it.  I want to buy the yarn (Knit Picks Chroma Fingering) in every color to make a bunch of them. 

That's really everything this week.  Nothing too exciting to report. 




Saturday, July 26, 2014

Well hi, do you remember me?!

Okay, I know, I'm a bad blogger.  I haven't updated in over two years.  Admittedly, nothing super exciting has happened - I'm still in school, I still work at the same job, and I still knit and read all the time.  Nothing very exciting happened until a few weeks ago.

Tiny baby Webb at 6 weeks.  Can you see him/her? Yeah, I can't really either.

I'm going to try to write about things that have happened over the last 11 weeks or so of my pregnancy, and some stuff that happened over the last 2 years or so that I haven't blogged about (oops).  This entry might be a little long.  I'm going to try to attempt to write once a week, and those probably won't be so wordy. :)

I've always had this vague idea that if I ever got pregnant, I would blog once a week starting from the minute I knew.  I love looking at those weekly pictures where moms stand next to a chalkboard and write things like "the baby is the size of an avocado and I miss margaritas!" but I'm just not that motivated.  I haven't even taken one 'belly' picture yet.  I don't really feel like I look very pregnant yet, I sort of look like I ate a pan of potatoes and I can't suck anything in.    Someone at work did notice about 2 weeks ago though - she just walked up to me, patted my stomach and asked if there was a baby in there.  I asked her how in the world she could tell and she said that the bust on my uniform looked tighter than normal, but then she told me she is 'on the lookout', and likes asking people.  She said she had an exchange with someone at her church that went something like this:

Work lady:  "So, when are you expecting?"
Lady friend at church: "Expecting WHAT exactly?!"

Aside from my uniform being apparently tight in the bust, all of my clothes still fit.  The belt on my jeans has been annoying, but I have been spending most of my summer in dresses anyway.  I ordered my maternity uniforms from work this week.  Our uniforms usually come in regular sizes (4, 6, 8 etc.) but the maternity uniforms come in S, M or L.  Since I wasn't sure which size to order, and the ordering sheet didn't have measurements, I decided to order a M.  When I went to pick them up yesterday, I thought they looked big, but when I got home and tried them on they were hilariously large.  I'm pretty sure I can fit myself, Ronnie and 2 small children inside of them.  Needless to say, I need to go down a size - I hope my bust lasts in my regular uniforms for another week or two.  



 I have been trying to knit for the baby.  Since I don't know if it is a boy or a girl yet, everything has been neutral.  I think I have another pair of socks finished somewhere, but I can't find them anywhere.  I'm hoping that the baby will have a sock drawer that rivals mine.  Do you see the blue/red cardigan in the picture?  I knit that with yarn that I spun on my Valentines day present, a spinning wheel! (those are also the treadles poking out on the right of the picture)

My beloved Ashford Joy.  Ain't she a beaut?

The doctor seemed pretty confident that he would be able to tell the sex of the baby at my next appointment, but at the beginning of this month I had some severe lower back pain and my appointments were moved up a week.  So, my August appointment was originally set for the 13th, but now I go on the 4th.  If we don't find out next month, we will find out in September.

The doctor wasn't entirely sure what was going on with my back.  It started kind of randomly, I was sitting on the couch, and when I stood up I felt like I pulled a muscle.  I remember audibly saying "Ow, my back" while trying to limp away, but then every muscle in my lower back started twitching and spasming in pain.  It was the strangest, most painful thing I have felt.  I wanted to lay down in the bed, but any kind of movement shot through me like fire.  I thought it was possible that I was having a miscarriage, so I was asking Ronnie to Google search anything and everything trying to calm myself down.  Once we determined that no, it wasn't a miscarriage, I was a little more relaxed and could think a little more clearly.  It probably spasmed for about 4 or 5 hours, but since I was feeling more calm, it wasn't as bad.  That all happened on a Sunday, so I moved my appointment up to that Monday just to reassure myself.  The doctor thought maybe it was kidney stones, but the tests for that came back negative.  It hasn't happened again, aside from a little twitch here or there, so I guess it is just one of those weird pregnancy things.

The elusive baby Webb, 9 weeks.

The ultrasound picture at my second appointment wasn't much better than the first thanks to all the urine tests I had to take at my second appointment.  The doctor swears the baby's little head is under where it says HI, but I'm just going to have to take his word for it. I could definitely see the baby jiggling and wiggling around on the monitor but baby Webb doesn't like pictures apparently - hopefully the next one will be better.  :)  Weird back problem aside, my first trimester hasn't been too bad?  Everything smells bad, and I'm tired all the time but I haven't been sick yet which I am really, really thankful for!

Aside from the baby, school has been a huge focus for me.  Provided my fall internship goes through by September, I will be graduating with my Bachelor's in December.  I actually thought I wouldn't be done until next spring, so this was really exciting news for me.  Ronnie got hired at a new job in May, and he is supposed to start training at the end of the year.  We're also moving in December.  I'm slightly terrified that everything will be happening really quickly in December through February since the baby is due February 13th, but for the most part I'm extremely excited and ready for the change.  

I think that is everything for now, I'm going to try to stay on top of once a week entries so I don't have to post a wall of text again. 



Sunday, February 19, 2012

It's 2012 already?!

I know I said that I was going to finish up my 30 day knitting challenge, but I've been pretty swamped with school work lately.  I took astronomy as one of my electives, imagining that I would be outside with Ronnie's telescope gazing up at the night sky, contemplating the heavens and not doing much homework but sadly, it's nothing like that.  There is PHYSICS in the textbook, physics.  I'm also taking discrete math this semester which is a senior level class.  I'm trying to spend a lot of time with my text books because each class requires three chapters of reading a week.  I'd like to go back to my SQL class where I did almost all of the work in one day and spend the rest of the week knitting.

Speaking of school, I got nominated for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars:


What else?  I opened up my etsy shop that I posted about recently.


It's located here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/nuclearkitten  I don't have much in it yet, and I haven't made it look very fancy but I'm slowly working at it.

I'm the maid of honor for Sarah's wedding this year (so excited!!) and I ordered my dress this week.  They told me it should be here in April, but I'm thinking it will be a lot quicker than that.  Time is flying by and her wedding will be here before  I know it.  It's hard to believe that Jenda's wedding shower is already next month!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Twenty Three














30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Twenty Three

Day 23: If you had the supplies (and patience) for it, what project would you start today?

My queue on Ravelry is so unbelievably long, but here are some things that I find particularly lusty:

The Galaxy Afghan (I need to get a much better grip on crochet before this can happen)
The Marie Antoinette Doll
Paulie
Penrose

Friday, January 27, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Twenty Two













30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Twenty Two

Day 22: Have you ever stricken someone off your to-knit-for list because they didn’t appreciate/take care of your last knitted gift to them?

I don't really knit that much for my husband anymore.  Not because he doesn't appreciate the things I make him, but because he over appreciates them and leaves them lovingly in his closet.

Pictured is my super cute niece who is one of my very favorite people to knit for.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Thirty Day Knitting Challenge - Day Twenty One

Thirty Day Knitting Challenge - Day Twenty One

Day 21: Do you knit gifts for friends and family for the holidays or birthdays?

I love knitting for my friends and family.  I subject them to something for every holiday and birthday.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Twenty

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Twenty

Day 20: Do you knit in public? Was anyone offended/incredibly happy/curious that you were doing so?

I'm a flight attendant and I used to have really long breaks in between flights so I used to spend a lot of my downtime knitting.  A few years ago I switched my schedule around so I only do two flights a day so I don't have those sits anymore.  That being said, I don't find myself knitting out it the real world very often anymore.  When I used to knit at work, I always got a really positive response.  Most people who approached me were other knitters and just wanted to find out what I was making.  I've made a few friends on Ravelry because of this!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Nineteen













30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Nineteen

Day 19: Do you watch movies and/or listen to podcasts while knitting? What are your favorite things to knit to?

I have an addiction to Investigation Discovery, so a lot of times I will watch that.  Most recently I've re watched all of The Mis-adventures Awkward Black Girl and I'm making my way through Being Human (UK version) on Netflix. 

I like to read ebooks on my iPad too.  It's really easy to turn the pages while knitting.

Monday, January 23, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Eighteen

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Eighteen

Day 18: Do you knit English or Continental?

I do both!  I learned to knit in the English style and I happily knit that way until probably two years ago.  I mostly knit Continental now, but sometimes I'll find myself reverting back to English without noticing it.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Seventeen












30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Seventeen

Day 17: Have you ever had a project that you loved become ruined? What’s the story behind it?

The slippers that I knit for my wedding reception got pretty trashed by the end of the night.  It was worth it though because it was one of the best nights of my life. :)

Saturday, January 21, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Sixteen












30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Sixteen

Day 16: Have you ever had a knitting related injury?

Any kind of stitch pattern that requires you put more than 2 or 3 stitches in a single stitch generally makes my hands and wrists hurt after a while of knitting.  (pictured is my Knitting Needle bag by Pam Allen with the brutal berry stitch)

I also feel like my Knit Picks interchangeable needles are really pointy!  If I push the stitches off the end of the needle with the tip of my finger too many times it starts to hurt!   

Friday, January 20, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Fifteen



30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Fifteen

Day 15: What was your least favorite pattern and why?

I honestly don't have one!  I'm going to change this question to What is your most knitted pattern?
I feel like I've knitted Coco Knit's Malabrigo Loafers for everyone I know.  They're my moms favorite so I've knitted her 3 pairs.  I've also made a pair for my Auntie Kay, a pair for my dad and even a pair for my husband.   I love this pattern because not only are the slippers really cute, they're super easy to make.  I can knit up a pair of these in a day if I get myself motivated.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Fourteen












30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Fourteen

Day 14: What’s the worst yarn/fiber that you’ve worked with and why?

One of the girls I work with had been asking me to make her a sleeve for her laptop for ages.  She didn't ask for anything specific, she just wanted it orange.  One day when I was at the grocery store, I decided to just grab some Red Heart and make up something for her really quick.  I don't feel like I'm a huge yarn snob, but I just couldn't stand how this yarn felt when I was working with it.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Thirteen

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Thirteen

Day 13: Do you have yarn that you love but can’t find a project for?

I have one skein of this Lamb's Pride Bulky that has been sitting in my stash for ages because I have no idea what to do with it.

image via: http://www.knitculture.com/yarn/fiber/mohair/brown-sheep-lamb-pride-bulky.html

Monday, January 16, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Eleven

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Eleven

Day 11: Do you have a “Knitter Hero” or someone that is just way too awesome for their own good? Do share!

Elizabeth Zimmerman?  Everybody loves EZ right?

I think my real knitting hero is Stefanie Japel.  My little knitting life changed in 2007 when fitted knits came out and realized how many beautiful patterns can be knit in the round.  I think it's pretty norm to see seamless knits now, but it pretty much blew my mind back then.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Ten














30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Ten

Day 10: Do you have a favorite pattern or designer?

I have so many favorite patterns, but here are the designers that I want to knit just about everything they've designed.

Ysolda Teague
Rebecca Danger
Ellen Mason
Mari Muinonen

Saturday, January 14, 2012











30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Nine

Day 9: What fiber or yarn do you love working with?

I prefer to work with wool or a wool blend.  I usually use Patons classic wool because I really like their colorways and it's a yarn that is easy to get in a jiffy. 
Two of my favorite yarns that I've worked with are Dream in Color Smooshy and Madelinetosh Pashmina.

Smooshy image via FluffyKniterDeb, Pashmina image via Madelinetosh

Friday, January 13, 2012

30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Eight













30 Day Knitting Challenge - Day Eight

Day 8: What’s your most challenging project?

I think I started knitting this little baby blanket way back in 2007.  I didn't find doing entrelac to be very hard, but I couldn't wrap my mind around how to cast it off.  I remember reading and trying all different kinds of instructions before finally giving up and putting it in my closet for about a year.  I guess I must have gotten a bit better at reading patterns in that year because when I finally tried it again it was a piece of cake.