december two :: 24 weeks old

Mack is 24 weeks old today.

I received another installment of the Vesper Sock Yarn Club, in Fireside. (LOVE IT!)

And I received my November package from my Falling for Ewe swap pal. (My October package is still AWOL). My pal, who I now know is Judith, rocks - she sent me some Malabrigo Sock Yarn in Abril! Oh my delicious! I cannot wait to try it out!

And here is the rest of the package! A Mini Fireside kit - which was on my want list! A needle case (love it! never seen it before!) and a pair of earrings as well as a knit book!

Here is the knitting earrings. Oh my gosh - I LOVE THEM. Don't they rock?? They're gorgeous!

Thanks Judith! You are an awesome pal! (I hope October's package is just taking the scenic route and it's not lost in the postal system somewhere).

Mackie had his very first sit up bath tonight. He's still not 100% sitting, but very good and getting there. He no longer fits into the other tub I had for him (very newborn) and it's not the greatest for him to sit up in (not padded/comfortable), so we blew up the duck over the weekend and he loved it! (Though, I'm not sure what he was thinking when he tried to climb out of it! LOL)

I've got the house to myself tonight, Jamie's out playing poker, so I'll leave you with this poem so I can go enjoy some peace & quiet now that both boys are in bed! (Sweet deal!) (I put this poem in the Montreal Knitting Guild Newsletter - which I'm in charge of - and just think it's too cute not to share!)

KNITTERS CHRISTMAS EVE

'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
Was unfinished knitting not under the tree.
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'Cause the heels and toes had not a stitch there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep; he was no help at all,
And the sweater for him was six inches too small,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tripped over my yarn and fell down with a crash.
The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how much I still had to go.
Out on my lawn I heard such a noise,
I thought it would wake both Dad and the boys.
And though I was tired, my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
But what I heard then left me perplex-ed,
For not a name I heard was what I expected,
"Move, Ashford! Move, Lopi! Move, Addi and Clover!
Move, Reynolds! Move Starmore! Move Froelich --move over
Paton, don't circle 'round; stand in the line.
Come now, you sheep will work out just fine!
I know this is hard; it's just your first year,
I'd hate to go back to eight tiny reindeer."
I peered over the sill; what I saw was amazing,
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing.
And then, in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's feet coming across the porch floor.
I rose from my knees and got back on my feet,
And as I turned 'round St Nick I did meet.
He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe,
And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.
A bright Fairisle sweater he wore on his back,
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His cap was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.
The scarf 'round his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
The back of his mittens bore an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I espied a small label,
"S.C." was duplicate stitched on the cuff,
And I asked, "Hey, Nick, did you knit all this stuff?"
He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to knit when I was a kid."
He was chubby and plump, a quite well-dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair,
He spoke not a word, but looked in his lap
Where I'd laid my needles and yarn for a cap.
He quickly began knitting, first one cap then two,
For the first time I thought I might really get through.
He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks.
While I sat back drinking scotch on the rocks.
So quickly like magic his needles they flew
That he was all finished by quarter to two.
He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me,
And I heard him exclaim as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year start your knitting sometime around June!"

october eight

Today's Earrings. (Blue-ish Purple Circles)

Today's cool find. (Picked them up a couple of days ago, but wanted to show you!) I suck at using chopsticks when I eat sushi. I usually tie an elastic around them, so they open and close easily without issues, so I can actually pick up the food. I found these, and they're like clothes pins in the way they open and shut, and they're meant for people to have ease with eating sushi, or other foods you'd use chopsticks for! How genius! And they're reusable!

I've got an Finished Object to Show you!

This morning I wet blocked the sweater. I pined it onto foam pads (like the ones that are for children's playrooms), and sprayed it wet. Left it all day to dry/take shape.

This evening at the West Island Knits meeting I sewed on the buttons. Here's the finished Boheme:

Specs:
Pattern: Boheme
For: Jamie's unborn cousin. His cousin Bonnie is due in November
with a little girl, Hannah-Rose. Baby shower is this Saturday.
Yarn: Louet Gems Sport Morning Dove (3/4 of a skein)
Needle: 4.0mm / US 6 32" circulars
Size: 6 months
Timeline: Saturday, October 4th, Wednesday, October 8th
Modifications: Followed pattern as published.
Opinion: Love it! Can't wait to get pictures of her daughter wearing it!

The back.

The buttons. (They're on sale in my shop!)

The close-up of the pattern.

I also started another project tonight:

The skull hat. The deadline for this one isn't until November 8th - the day of my nephew's 6th birthday party. Right now, I'm working on the inside lining of the hat. (It's worked first). I may be doing a few modifications to the pattern, but we'll see as I go along. This should be a really quick knit. I'm hoping, because I still have a ton of other stuff on my plate with deadlines to finish!

I have my high school 10 year reunion in 2 and a half weeks. They're looking for old photos from high school, so I started digging through my old photo box. I found a few, which I'll be scanning and emailing in for the slide show, it's bringing back some crazy memories. They'll have to be scanned though, this was pre-digital age! After I'm done going through the photo box, I'll have to go through my old albums, not everything had extra copies in the photo box.

Sean has been talking more and more lately, but not as much as other kids his age. He does repeat words now, so we have to be careful what we say. Today he repeated Bird and Fish after I said both of those words. He can also put two words together, like "down peas" (for Down Please), and "up peas" (for Up Please). He is also very good at saying No. He's been saying No to a lot of things, even if he meant to say yes.

The drop off to daycare today was a bit more brutal because he missed out the last 2 days because of the cough he had on the weekend. So, it was almost as if we started from scratch today. He cried. (They said he cried off and on all morning here and there - at least it's not all day anymore). And he DID NOT cry when I went to pick him up, though he still ran to give me a hug! He was playing nicely outside when I went to pick him up today, and they said he ate well, napped pretty decent and didn't cry at all in the afternoon.

This morning I had aqua-strollers with Mack. It was a lot of fun. I love that class, and I love being in the water. Mack was really good in the water, and he's fitting better and better into the floatation device that he sits in while I work out. The little guy is growing!

At lunch I went to go see Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. I really liked Michael Cera in Juno, and loved him even more in this one. And Kat Dennings, was great too. I LOVED this movie. I recommend it!

Robyn's Nest received in some Dream in Color Classy into the shop today. It's delicious! Until Monday, the Canadian Thanksgiving, I'm offering for every 2 skeins purchased, a free copy of the Dream in Color Shrug pattern. All you need is 2 skeins to make the shrug!

Anyone going to Rhinebeck and want to save on shipping charges? I'm offering local pick up at Rhinebeck next weekend. If you want to arrange this - please email me at robyn@robynsnest.ca for more information. Going to Rhinebeck and want to meet me?! I want to meet you! Contact me either via email or by leaving a comment and we'll arrange to meet up!

Today I heart Waffles and I want it in both sizes! You can actually buy it as a bundle. Maybe somehow the PDF will end up in my inbox.

This evening we were at Java U for West Island knits. It was a lot of fun. It was great to get out of the house and work on the Skull hat. (And sew on the buttons for Boheme). I think next week we'll go back to Java U - we liked it there, had good service, great lighting (to knit!), and no one screwed up on our orders! Great place, great service. We like!

october two

Today's earrings. Notice something around my neck?

I received in the mail my logo on a pendant from Jesse Jane's Etsy shop. She also sent me (on the right) another yarn logo that she sells. Her pendants (on scrabble letters) are too freaking cute. I love it.

While out with Angela today, I found this awesome picture frame. I love nifty things like this, so I couldn't resist. Isn't it awesome?

Back view of the neat frame!

While shopping I also came across this! World Monopoly with MONTREAL as Boardwalk! I'm so asking for this game for Xmas/Chanukah this year. How cool is that?

Some garden updates:

I may be able to get 2 more zucchinis out of the garden this year. There are two more growing. Let's hope they grow fast! I wouldn't mind it!

Today's picking loot consisted of this above. There is one more (possibly 2 more) cucumbers in the garden, I hope they grow grow grow!

My pumpkin! The bottom is completely orange and the top is just about fully orange. I'm going to wait another week or two before pulling it from the vine. It's very exciting. I hope to make pumpkin pie when we carve it for Halloween!

I got an awesome package from my Falling For Ewe swap pal today. Thank you so much! Here's the loot that I received:

Misti Alpaca Sock Yarn in Miriam 07.

Awesome earrings!

2 kids patterns!

Knit Fast, Die Young by Mary Kruger. I'm not usually into mysteries, but this one looks interesting and it includes a subject I like - yarn! Also, a very cute sweater keychain. I had one in another color and it fell off my keychain. Happy that I have a new one now. If I like it, I may pick up Died in the Wool.

Some gum (my fave) and a sheel nail file! How cute!

And some yummy delicious chocolates. MMMmmm!

Thank you pal! I love everything!

Tonight I went knitting with West Island Knits. We were 8 people strong tonight with one little Mack. I worked on the Moss Block Cardigan by Jenn and had a great time chatting it up with everyone.

I've added some new patterns to the Robyn's Nest pattern library. I now sell Dream in Color Designs Sleepwalker Socks and Sweet Dream Socks by Monica Nappe. In honor of these new patterns, I've listed my Dream in Color Smooshy on sale for the release of these patterns in my shop!

I've also stocked the shop with the Dream in Color Shrug Pattern by Kay Dahlquist. It calls for Dream in Color Classy which is on its way to me now. I've ordered a ton of colors and I can't wait to announce it's arrival in a few days. Stay tuned here for the yarn!

Very sad to learn that I'm all caught up on Monk and the 2nd half of the 7th season won't return until January. Why are they doing that to us?

Today when I dropped off Sean at daycare, he did the crying dance again. But, when I went to pick him up from daycare today, and peaked in, he was jumping around with his friends, laughing. I think it will get better sooner rather than later.... crossing my fingers.