That single ball of yarn.

Five months...to the day! Hello!

ok, so, I've decided to try and clean up the little stash I have. I bought it for a reason...so why not knit with it?! Crazy concept.

I've had this single ball of Rowan's cashsoft 4ply in a beautiful grey sitting all lonely-like in the drawer.
What to do with it?
I've had an obsession with infinity scarves lately...but one ball is hardly enough.
Obviously in order for me to use up this single ball of yarn, I need another. I know, crazy but true. So off to the yarn store I went and oddly enough they had another ball, same colour and dyelot. BINGO. A grey loop it is...literally.



The lace pattern looked very simple and would be a great mindless knit. No thinking...easy to multitask, knitting and watching Roman, no problem. Well, the lace was written out wrong. Unlike the other knitters on Ravelry who were knitting this, I had to fix it. So simple, the designer didn't write in her plain knit rounds. So I was off again, knitting away. The yarn is beautiful and as soft as you would expect...perfect. I finished it up in a few days and blocked it.



Now the problem. It rolls. No, IT ROLLS!!



The garter stitch edge was not enought to stabalize it...oh does it roll...like the dead sea scroll. Crap. I don't mind a little rolling, the movement is part of it. But now the simple pattern is lost. (it's not too bad in this photo, but after wearing it for a while, it is REALLY bad.)



Again, in this photo it is fine, but that is me trying to pull it out for the picture.

Out comes the crochet hook. I figure, like I almost know what I am doing, I would crochet a single crochet line across the wrong side, near the edge.
This does eliminate some of the rolling. It's not so severe.

The next problem...I only had enough yarn to do the one edge.

Yeah, so off to the yarn store today to get another ball...hopefully. I might as well pick up a couple and make a matching hat, no?

Three more balls of yarn in order to eliminate this single ball from my stash...not bad!?

Move it or lose it.

There are very few downfalls in being a knitter. Knitting does do wonderful things for you. We all know it is a stress reliever, it keeps the mind moving, it shows one of your many talents, and you get a fantastic garment at the end of your work. So why would there be a problem?
Well, it causes you to sit.
I am guilty of this. I used to whip off sweaters in a few days. It is addictive...but it could be killing you!
Yes, that is right.
As knitters, we must be very mindful of our physical activity, or lack there of.

So this post, I hope, will inspire you to move. Sometimes it means we may need to put the knitting down for the better part of the day. I know...it will be a shock to the system, but you will thank me later.

This is one of the reasons that you are not seeing so many finished pieces from me...besides the fact that I have 3 boys plus a husband to look after, a house to keep up and I have lost my knitting mojo again. I have really been on a health kick. I work out at least 30 mins a day. It is not a lot, but it is something. It also gives me energy to complete all the other things that need to be done each day. I am back down to my prebaby weight...and even surpassed it a bit. I feel strong and healthy. I do knit, but it is only at night, after dinner. Sometimes I sneak in a 1/2hr during the day, and of course while waiting to pick up the boys from school...but that is it.

Don't laugh...I am a Jillian Michaels junkie.

I can't say that I love her technique on the Biggest Loser show. I know if I was a contestant, I would need her. I need someone to make me stop the excuses and get up and move. I am the queen of excuses for exercising. Too tired, no time, maybe later...I can talk my way out of it easily. Thankfully a friend introduced me to Jillians dvd's. Week one of ripped in 30, I was hooked. So do you really see results....ummmm...YEAH! It is a great work out dvd. You need very little room to do it and a set of hand weights. After doing 4 wks of this I started running again. 30 minutes 3 times a week, with the dvd on the other days. I have also picked up her Shred it with weights...yeah, did wk one yesterday and I am really sore today...a good sore, as well as her yoga dvd.

For about 10$, she can save your life. Go buy one. Seriously.
It is hard at first, but it gets easier. Trust me, after not having done anything during my pregnancy, it was very difficult to get through the first workout. Now, I love it.

I've also been reading Bob Greens new book 20 Years Younger. He talks about food, exercise, sleep and skincare. It is really a great book to inspire you to take care of yourself. Here's a little tidbit from the book that may scare you....especially if you are a knitter...

"according to an American cancer society study, women who are otherwise inactive and sit six hours a day increase their likelihood of early death by 98 percent compared to women who are very active and sit less than three hours per day."

Ouch. 98 percent!! Get off your butt. It's time. If you already do...fantastic, now inspire someone else and save their life!

We all have something to live longer for. Here is my something (oh that little one was awake last night crying from 3:55 am til 5:11am! I am exhausted today.)...from Matteo's first communion this past weekend...



(yes, it is hard to get a picture with all looking and smiling...)

Now, I am going to find the energy to do something...my workout clothes are on, I just need to force myself to get up;)

There is really no excuse.

He wakes up at 6 am this baby. I should be up and at'em...but I am just not a morning person. I bring him to bed and try and close my eyes, hoping he'll catch my drift and fall asleep....no luck. This morning my headband was interesting enough to by me a few more minutes.
So there is no excuse, I could have so much done before I drop the kids to school...including blogging! Fifteen minutes and counting...

My mothers day did not involve breakfast in bed followed by a day of pampering...I'll be waiting for that when the boys get older. (I won't hold my breath)
I did get the baby taken away at his crazy 6am awake hour for a few more precious hours of sleep. And my coffee was made for me...not too bad:)

The boys spent a little time together in a livingroom fort...



Then the rest of the day was spent outdoors.

I decided since it was mothers day I was going to put the boys to work.
Pulling weeds, mixing composte, filling pots and prepping the gardens. Without help, this would have taken all week...so I am glad it is done.
I'm potting alot of my veggies this year, incase we move...yes, that is in the near future plans.

Roman enjoyed the day outside as well...



Not really sure what he was suppose to do!



Hope all you mothers had a wonderful day!

Changes are coming

I've been considering shutting down...leaving the blog world. Most of my knitting content is updated pretty regularily on Ravelry, so why keep blogging? I clearly have little to no time for knitting or blogging, yet I am still drawn to it.

So I've made some decisions, or so I think I have.

I'll be making a little time for blogging, be it about the boys, my life, struggles, wins, knitting etc. Back to the basics, with some knitting on the side.

You may or may not find it interesting...to each their own:)

Make way for some changes, we all have to eventually.

Little Knitting

I'm still around....doing a "little" knitting:)






Someone needs to let him know that it is not for him...he's not very happy when I take it away!



Just soooo tempting! For those who want to feel like they knit something in an evening you can find the pattern here.
Makes a great little gift!

Guilty as charged!

Exhibit A



The mother who has not slept for more than 3 hours at a time for the past 6 months.

Notice the wrinkles in the brow and the eyes.
She has no energy to put on any make up to hide the bags under her eyes.
Yes, she has clean hair...today...but is still in her pj's. Well, she slept in her jogging pants. (yes, a puffy coat hides all when you are dropping your older children to school...not sure how that will work out come spring.)


Exhibit B



The choochie loving baby who keeps her up at night.

Do not be fooled by the cuteness...he can be a little devil.
He clearly has no understanding of the concept of weaning or sleeping through the night.
He will wake the neighbours to eat every few hours.

The baby would like to enter in exhibit C....



The sweater that has taken the constant attention off of him.
Do note that the mother was up finishing it off until 11:30 last night, instead of going to sleep when the baby did.
This sweater could be the cause of the wrinkles and bags...
And on top of all of this she is unsure of the length and will probably add more to it, which would require ripping back all of the bands to do so.
This mother is clearly indecisive.

Oh wait...the mother would like to enter exhibit D!!!



The valentines that she completed, keeping her up late in the evening the night before.
She would like to draw your attention to the crinkled up one on the right. The 8 year old who didn't like getting in trouble. He crinkled up the valentine and left it for her on her bedside table!
Added stress!

Ahhh, the rewards of motherhood.

Practical Knitting.

I am a process knitter. I love knitting interesting projects, textures and using new techniques. This makes for great knitting....but not necessarily knitting I will wear. I have piles of handknit sweaters. Really, a couple piles. I hardly wear any of them. The things I buy to wear don't match the projects I choose to knit. There is another reason for this tragedy...I keep the heat low in the house and walk around in a tank top all winter. I get really hot in wool...but occasionally I will wear a wool sweater...when chilled. So I have made a decision to not knit anymore sweaters. Really. Why knit them when I won't wear them.

Sooooo...

I cast on for a sweater.
In a beautiful tweedy wool with angora! Yeah, that's right, I have issues. I am gonna wear it. This is why...
It is so luxurious feeling.
It is an open cardigan that I can wear a tank under.
It is pretty much all stocking stitch...a pattern I wear!
Ok, it doesn't make for the most exciting knitting, but for some reason I am excited about knitting it. I am knitting up a storm. I cast on Friday during the day and am done the body as written! I am going to lengthen it a bit so I am just about done the body.
So WHAT am I knitting?!?
Well thanks to Michelle, I cast on for the Effortless Cardigan designed by Hannah Fettig. It's gorgeous and practical and surprisingly (or not) I already had it in my favourites! It is the perfect project for my Debbie Bliss luxurious tweed! Well, I shouldn't say perfect because the gauge doesn't match, but by knitting the xs size (while following the lengths for the med) I will get the perfect medium size!



So far so good. It is mixed with a little baby drool...well a lot of baby drool...but I am knitting again!
Speaking of which, my time is up...he is wailing. Gotta run, more soon!