WIP Wednesday: The Sweater 2

You thought I forgot, didn't you? Well, I didn't! I just wanted to work until the last possible second.

Here is Zeke trying on the sweater. Don't mind the '80s cut-off look. I promise it's going to be longer than that.

Where I stopped tonight. See that white string way down at the bottom, kind of peeking out from behind the curled up edge? It's running across the whole front of the sweater. That's called a lifeline. I will be using that to put on the pocket, if I have enough yarn to do that.
Okay, it's late. Way past when I wanted to go to bed. Both littles decided that a late night party would be fun. But they are both sleeping now, so it's time to head to bed. Goodnight!

4 Moms, 35 Kids Live-blogging

Four moms with larger than average families have started a new series. It's called 4 Moms, 35 Kids, and they post something new every Thursday. Last week they posted what a "typical" day looks like in their house. Today they are live-blogging what their day actually looks like.

Here are some links if you want to check them out:

The Headmistress at The Common Room.

Connie at Smockity Frocks.

Kim at Life In a Shoe.

Kimberly at Raising Olives.

These may hold my attention more than Facebook today.

WIP Wednesday: The Sweater

Okay, so it's not technically Wednesday anymore. But I promise I took these pictures before midnight!

Here is the beginnings of the sweater. This is the front view. The little dip in the middle is the front of the collar (or where I will start the hood if I have enough yarn).

This is a side view. Those little lines there, that are spreading from the top? Those are the shoulder seams. Pretty cool, eh?

I'm making this with yarn that I dyed. I'm really liking how this is turning out. Can't wait to see it with the trim yarn (solid gray).

So, that's the sweater for now. I'm hoping sure I will be much farther next week.

To Do list - Wednesday 3/17

I have a WIP Wednesday post to do later today, but I'm hoping to knit more on the sweater before I show it off. But I thought I'd put my To Do list up, for motivation. Here goes:

*Laundry

-Colors

-Jeans

-Towels

-Our sheets

*Dishes

*Empty dishwasher

*School

*Call WIC office

*Call Kristi about cookies

*Call Jenny about party and cookies

*Fill out MediCal paperwork

*Call Worker about tax refund

*Knit

*Clean our bathroom

That may or may not be everything. We'll see as I go through the day. I will be back later to hopefully cross some stuff off.

FO....Sunday?

If you remember from my last post, an FO is a Finished Object. Normally, I will be trying to share my FOs with you on Friday ('cause, ya' know, the first letters have to match and all). But I was so excited about finishing up my Organizing, and my yarn dyeing that I had to share a few days early late. So, here we go.

You've already seen this picture, but I figured it was worth repeating. This is my knitting gear, all in one place (in the proper packages, even). This is a BFD (big freakin' deal), 'cause my stuff was scattered all over the house. So now everything is where it is supposed to be, ready to go.

I'm caving, and showing you the whole yarn chest. Do you see the videos? They weren't there before. They were covered by unwound yarn. But not anymore. I got everything rewound while we were watching The Hangover last night. Yay for multi-tasking! So, that's half of the cedar chest, filled with lovely, lonely yarn. The chest is probably 15 inches deep, 12 inches wide, and half of it is about 18 inches long. That's over 3200 cubic inches filled with yummy yarn, just waiting to be used. I have summer projects planned for most of it, though.

And, finally, the last thing I had to finish before I could start Zeke's sweater. This is yarn I dyed for my friend, Suzie. Dyed blue and green on 3-Ply 100Purewool.

So, those are all my recent FOs. I'm planning to start the sweater tonight or tomorrow, so hopefully I will have part of it to show you on Wednesday.

Until next time...

WIP Wednesday: Organizing

For those of you not in "the know," WIP stands for Work In Progress (which it says right up there on that cute little header. Duh, I didn't even notice that.). I don't think WIP Wednesday has to just be for knitting or sewing projects though. I think it's a great way to show off whatever creative pursuits are occupying your time right now. You know, in between the cooking, the cleaning, the refereeing, the teaching, and the snot-wiping. It for sure could be knitting or sewing, if that's what you do. But it could also be scrapbooking, crocheting, home decorating, painting, drawing, whatever. Anything you use as an outlet for your creativity.

So, without further babbling ado, here are my current WIPs. Hmm, should that be WsIP? You know, Works In Progress? I've digressed.

I don't actually have any projects OTNs (On The Needles) right now. I finished one project this week (it's an FO (Finished Object) now, and I can't share it today, because, well, it's finished, not in progress....I've digressed again). What I'm working on right now is organizing my yarn and getting my gear in order in preparation for my next big project (a sweater.... for Zeke). I threatened promised myself that my stuff would be organized before I started anything new.

So, my "gear" is in order. Okay, I'll be honest. This is actually an FO. It shouldn't be here in this post. But it's part of this total package project. So it's here. Deal with it.

This is the yarn that is going to be used for the sweater, so this project needs to be frogged (pulled apart) and rewound.

All of this yarn needs to be rewound too, just because it's a big fat mess in my yarn chest. Yes, I have a yarn chest. Okay, the yarn actually shares a home with our videos. But it's a cedar chest, which makes it the perfect place for wool yarn. No mothies in this stash! Some of this yarn is partially used, some is completely unwound, some is just a big crazy blob. It's going to take a while. **I won't show you the other side of the yarn chest, which holds all the already-wound-yarn-just-waiting-to-be-used-for-an-actual-project. There's too much. You'd be ashamed jealous too impressed.**

And this is my other major WIP. This is some bare yarn that I need to dye for a friend. But first I have to untangle it and re-skein it (that means wind it around the back of the couch so it's in a really big loop) to get it ready for dyeing. Mama messed up and left the yarn in arm's reach of a certain toddler. Oops. I think I need to work on this one first, since this wonderful friend is waiting patiently for her yarn. Then I will move on to the other yarn.

Well, that's all my WIPs (WsIP?) for now. Hopefully I will have something more exciting to show you next week (if I remember to post). Like, maybe, the beginnings of a sweater?

'Til the next time I remember that I actually have a blog!

I've got this thing...

I really should be going to bed, but I figured I was due for a blog post soon. Now, if I could get my darn fingers to cooperate, we'd be good. My backspace key is seeing more action than my hubby did during my last pregnancy.

Anyway. Do you ever have that one thing? You know, the one that, if it changed, you are convinced the rest of your life would fall to order? Of course, once that thing changes, and your life goes magically perfect, another thing pops up, and the cycle continues. I guess that's where having joy (not just happiness) in all your circumstances comes in, huh? Being thankful to God for all that you have, and finding peace through him. But....there's still that thing.

Right now, my thing is Emma sleeping through the night. I am utterly convinced that life would be pure bliss if she would just sleep for 10 hours straight.

So, for your amusement, here's a list of ways that my life would change if my darling infant would just conk out already:

1. I would start going to bed at a normal time (say, 10:00 instead of 12:00 or 1:00).

2. I would get up early in the mornings to read my Bible and pray, instead of being completely useless before 8:00 a.m.

Sorry, I had to go get Emma to sleep. I'm back now. Did you miss me? Oh wait, you didn't even know I was gone. Anyway, back to the list:

3. My house would be completely cleaned, from top to bottom, in an orderly manner every week.

4. School would become the favorite part of everyone's day, instead of being something we struggle to get through before I get irritated, before the kids get bored, and just a few minutes after Zeke tears the house apart.

5. My knitting skillz would improve.

6. Dinner would appear on the table at 5:00 every night, with little to no planning and/or work from me.

7. My hair would be fabulous.

8. I'd lose that last 10 pounds.

9. Zeke would learn to use the potty.

10. All our bills would be paid off.

11. I'd find time during the day to sew.

12. Facebook would lose it's evil kryptonite-like hold on me.

13. I would start running/biking/working out everyday.

14. The piles of rubbish that occupy the flat spaces in my house would disappear.

15. I'd start buying/cooking healthier food for the whole fam.

Ummm...I'm sure there's a lot more, but it's almost 11:30, and my brain has gone to Standby mode, so that's all I can think of for now. And that was kind of a long sentence. Anyhoo....

Reading back over my list, I've realized something. Any of those items on that list could be my "thing." They are all pretty much interchangeable. Like, if my hair would just be fabulous, Zeke would learn to use the potty. Or if my knitting skillz improved, my flat spaces would be clean.

I guess this is just my lesson this week on how life is never going to be perfect, or even slightly normal (I do have four children after all). There is always going to be something that I can use as an excuse for bad behavior, something I can point to and say "See that there? That's the reason my life isn't how I want it to be. That's the reason I'm being selfish/lazy/whiny/grumpy. It's not my fault!".

*sigh* So this is the part where I tell you that it's not all Emma's fault. Although I do think it's her fault a little bit. Like I tell Tyner all. the. time. We all make our own choices. Whether they are good or bad, we choose how we will act and react to things.

Am I going to make a bad choice the next time I'm tired because we got up three times in the middle of the night? Or am I going to choose joy and peace? Am I going to turn to The One who gives those things to me, and ask for His help? Guess we'll see in the morning....