Overdue: Strolling for the Cure

Got the wacky idea to drive over to Spokane for the weekend a couple of weeks back to support Lisa by joining in the Race for the Cure. Her girls and Max came along and we did the mile walk, very very slowly (meandering kids'll do that). Here we are pre-race. Twas nice & chilly, with little flakes coming down now and then.

And here's the whole gang.

Boy, don't we look energetic. I'd meant to bring the jog stroller for Max, but sadly, left it in our garage at home. That doesn't help! So he had to hoof it most of the way and settle for intermittent piggy back rides.

Max and Maddie were impressed by the snacks at the end of the course. The yogurt, muffins, juice, and granola bars almost made up for the walking part.

It was great seeing Nana, Lisa, Van, and all the kids. Max had a swell time with cousins and Nana and wanted to come back the very next weekend.

You've already seen Colin and Lucy's posts on the other stuff we're doing around the house. Max participated in his T-Ball practice, but was still unwilling to play when it was game time. This might take all season.

Uh, spring?

Everyone says that the Gathered Pullover is a quick knit. I suppose it's relative. Nearly halfway (all the easy part behind me ;-). Now for neck & sleeves:

In KnitPick's Telemark, Colonial Blue.


So, did somebody say Spring? It's turning out to be a wild spring. Here's the contrast.

March 30th (temp obviously around freezing):


April 13th (temp yesterday was in the 70s):


Max loves him some dandelions. They're his favorite. Whenever anyone mentions dealing with weeds, he says "but not the dandelions! They're my favorite flower!". I fully expect to see him out there with a "Save the Dandelions" sign, picketing in front of the dandelions while Dad approaches with the weed killer.

And just to wrap up the updates, a couple of blankies for the Sather kids. Their new baby boy, just born Thursday, gets this one. Yep, those square are minky, and it's backed with satin. Hooboy, won't be doing that combo again any time soon, unless I have amnesia. Fuzzy, slippery, annoying. But oh sooooo soft.

While big sis gets a little something too. Cotton on the front, striped minky on the back. Very pink.


Other than that, the twin obsessions continue: Democratic primary, Indian movies. Netflix says I've rented 27 altogether, starting in April '06. Longest streak: 14 in a row (December through March, nuthin' but Indian movies :-).

Catching up on the crafts

Random pics of random projects...

Book bag for Max - made of placemats, with coaching from Noelle. Thanks for the tips, Noelle.

He seems to like it. It's good for holding the hugely oversized books he drags home from The Little School library.

Class pillows to match the class quilt. Split up the work with another mom, so you only see 1/2 of the class's pillows. Max was disappointed that they were going to be so small. He wanted one big enough to sleep on! We compromised with a pillowcase (thanks Grammy for the inspiration on custom pillowcases - very handy!).

And here's a quick blanket I whipped up for Max. We were in the fabric store, looking for fabrics to make a quilt for Jim & Kris's new baby-on-the-way, when Max spotted this. HE HAD TO HAVE IT! I thought it was insanely cute too, so I bought two panels worth, and then we went home, dug through my stash for some fleece for the back, and in less than 2 hours, Max had a new alien blankie. The fabric is Alien Invasion from Moda, and it's hysterical!

Sleep (lack of) and Trips (not taken)

Current effort making sleep difficult: get Max into his own bed all night long.

• Last week - awful! Not much sleep for me or Max most of the week. Cranky mom, cranky kid.
• Weekend - not bad! Escape valve of "okay to come in Saturday nights" seemed to help a lot.
• This week - much better. Two nights of staying in his bed (Monday, continuously, Tuesday, just one break for a snuggle). Too bad I'm now trained to wake up at 2 & 4 am every night. So now it's my sleep schedule that is the problem!

Trips that aren't getting taken:

• Considered a quick trip to Leavenworth for this weekend, looking for snow. Couldn't find an appropriate room, decided it was too much hassle anyway. Holding out for a drive to Snoqualmie on Saturday to see snow. Maybe it'll happen.
• Considered a spring break trip to Orlando - mostly so Max could see Kennedy Space Center. Thought, heck, why not see Disney World. Priced some packages, got extreme sticker shock, read the Unofficial Guide, decided it was a big hassle too! Scratch that vacation.

Other news:

• Observation: shouldn't tease others about blog breaks - it causes them on your own blog.
• New on the needles: Gathered Pullover in Knit Picks Telemark Colonial Blue. Getting gauge, but it seems too big. Hmm. Need to measure again.

Auction Project 2 - Sun Print Quilt - Check

Another year, another class auction project for The Little School. This time, a quilt (one of my specialities!). The kids did sun prints on fabric, some of us moms turned them into attic window blocks (thanks Aimee and Monika), I put it all together, and the moms and I tied it (thanks again, Monika and Aimee!).


I think it turned out fun with the bright batiks. What do you think?


Hmm. I must be over the blahs...

Hats are Easy-Peasy

A friend had a baby. I needed a gift asap. I realized that I had cute pink/white variegated cotton yarn, just a ball, enough for a little baby hat. I like hats. They're easy-peasy and super quick. All it takes is the right circumference, and the rest you can pretty much make up. I used a pattern for the sizing and decreases, but did some modifications for fun... and ain't it cute?





And boy, did I cut it close on the yardage (see, it was one ball, but I'd swatched with it before, so it was more like 3/4 of a ball). See photo above right for how much was left when I finished the decreases. Ooh that was close. Now I just hope it fits the little kidlet.

Specs

• Yarn: Trendsetter Yarns Scoubi Du in color 054 (Pink stone wash)
• Needles: Addi Turbo size 6, 16 inch circulars, plus bamboo size 6 dpns
• Pattern: Borrowed sizing & decreases from this one, but the hat itself doesn't really look much like it ;-). Thanks for the sizing, though!
• Modifications: Added eyelet row about an inch and a half up, skipped the top knot when I ran out of yarn.

In other news, I think I neglected to post a picture of Max's cool new loft bed from IKEA.

After spending the first night up top, he decided he'd rather sleep on the floor underneath. And after I ironed the canopy up top, he decided he didn't want that on the bed. Ah well.

The Winter Blahs

It's winter. Not the fun snowy winter of Christmas shows, but the oh-so-blah-and-grey winter of only 9 hours of rainy daylight in the Pacific Northwest. Sigh. It's given me the blahs. I don't even feel like crafting! No knitting progress to share (because I'm not doing any knitting). Can't work up the enthusiasm to make progress on the auction quilt either (even though it's due Feb 1st). Haven't gotten far on the"year of organization" idea that Colin and I had either (Cyndy's progress all last year was making us envious) - although we do have a nice new whiteboard/corkboard/calendar in the kitchen now.

Add on to the regular blahs a kiddo who's been sick on & off and wailing at school drop-offs and you get the picture of an exciting time at our house lately. Max is now on a bland food diet for a week, trying to stabilize his tummy and get it to digest foods correctly again, then off milk and cheese for another 2 weeks. Hmm, what can I make out of noodles, rice, or potatoes for dinner tonight? I'm exploring casseroles...

Hey, at least we have clean carpets now (finally used the coupon we bought at last year's auction) - and Max sure enjoyed taking everything out of his room & the office and putting it all back in.

Quick note to sis Lisa: Thinking about you today. Hope surgery went well. Love you!