A Few Sheep Shy of a Farm

 I really can’t believe its been all summer that I haven’t posted! Between being insanely busy (would someone tell me how I’m actually suppose to manage both kids when they want things at the same time, please!)  and the laptop being buried under my pile of knitting . . . . I just haven’t been making the effort to post.  Funny thing is after blogging for so long, I really do miss it.  Not only blogging but reading blogs, which I haven’t been doing either. It feels strange to be entirely out of contact with the friends I have in the blogging world! Strange how something like blogging works its way into every day life and just becomes a part of your routine . . .

It has actually been so long since I’ve written regularly that I’m not even sure what to write to catch up! Now that is bad.  Bad, bad blogger!

Guess I’ll give an overview of what we’ve been up to and post a bunch of photos

The baby is 4 months now and she’s gotten so big! I can’t believe how fast she has grown.  She can hold her own head and even almost sit now.  She smiles and is starting to laugh.  Last week was the first time she laughed for me.  It was the funny little, hesitant laugh, like she wasn’t sure she was doing it right or perhaps was slightly startled when she realized she was the one making that noise.  It was very cute, we were playing peek-a-boo and when I popped up from behind the cloth I was “hiding” behind she started to laugh! That made me laugh which made her laugh again . . . it was all very cute.

Mimmo is 3 now and has become such a “big kid”.  In fact, he’s so big he’s as big or bigger than some of the 4 year olds we know! He’s wearing a 4 and sometimes a 5 for clothes (I think he may be in the 5s by winter!) and he’s up to a size 11 shoe!  At his physical this year we found he’d gained 8 lbs and grown 6 inches in the past year!  I’m no expert but that seems like a lot of growing to me!

 I’ve been trying to make sure that he got to do lots of fun summer things this year even with a new sister.  I didn’t want him to not have a good summer just because of the baby and how much harder it is to get out with two of them. 

We’ve gone to the beach in Gloucester with his cousins for swimming lessons;

to a friend camp in NH where he got to swim with Dom;

he helped his dad with a painting project one day.

We went to the Stone Zoo with our new playgroup friends; and to the Aquarium with other friends (no photo, forgot the camera!);

We drove to NY for Dom’s Aunt & Uncle’s 50th Annivarsary;

and Mimmo was invited to a day of Preschool Summer camp which he LOVED!

We’ve also had a birthday party or two;

hatched a few baby chicks (3 hatched)

We also went to St. Anthony’s Feast at the church where Mimmo went on the rides this year!

And there is much more but I’m going to split it into a second post since I haven’t been able to get through it all yet as the photo thing is moving really slowly . . .

I also have knitting and spinning content but they may require a third post . . . . stay tuned!

I’ve all but finished the basic, top down baby sweater that I was working on . . . it just needs the underarm seams sewn up – something I didn’t have the concentration or lighting for the other night while I was at knitting group.  I’ll get to it sometime soon . . . really.

I’ve started working on the 2nd baby blanket.  I don’t have a picture of it yet but I really like it.  I’m knitting it in the round, based on EZ’s Februrary Shawl Pattern from Knitter’s Almanac.  I’ve decided to keep the bulk of it – the center square – in plain Stockinette Stitch (except where the increases are, I could have made them less visible but I just didn’t think of it until afterward) I’ve got 4 lines of double increases, yarn overs, that go from the center out to the corners.  Then I plan to add a knitted-on lace edging around the outside of it. 

The yarn for this one is something I picked up at Webs on my way to the KR Retreat last November – Misti Alpaca Suri Silk (80% Baby Suri Alpaca; 20% Silk) in Blush.  Its lovely stuff, very soft and light, and while probably less than ideal as a baby yarn in general it really is going to be a pretty, delicate little blanket.  I’ve gone through 2 skeins of it so far and have about a 22″ square at the moment . . . I’m thinking of working until its about 30 or 32 inches and then adding a 2-3 inch wide lace.  This will very likely be the blanket we bring her home in – and if things go well, there might be enough left for a tiny little newborn sized sweater!

I’ve also got some little, sample sized skeins of my hand-painted sock yarns around which have been collecting dust  . . . I’ve realized that each one is about the right amount for a baby sock and so I’m going to knit her some tiny little baby socks in handpainted yarns . . . I may cast on for one of them this morning if I get a chance. 

Baby update

Tomorrow we’ll be at 34 weeks – which for us means about 5 weeks left . . . and yes, I’m counting.  This little girl is trying like crazy to make more room in there – stretching and twisting and moving around almost all the time now.  Not a lot of big “kicks” anymore but she moves enough that you can actually watch my belly move like that scene in the
“Aliens” movie just before that first baby alien burts out of the guy! Tons of fun!

We still have a few more things to do to finish getting ready for her arrival – like bringing in and setting up the crib.  I’m hoping to do that today perhaps or tomorrow . . . once the crib is in I can go ahead with plans to  wash all the bedding etc and get that portion of the set-up done.  Then I need some good sunny days lined up so I can wash and sun-bleach all the diapers . . . oh, and I need to order a few more snappi’s and check to see if I have enough covers etc. . . .

There is a lot let prep this time around – given that we have basically everything and just need to wash up a few things . . . which with my “nesting” urges has definately led to more baby knitting this time around than last time.  Afterall, I feel like I need to be doing something to get ready . . . . so why not channel that energy into knitting, right? Its better than last time when I actually Ironed all the diapers – flats and prefolds – and the cloth wipes – dozens and dozens of them! That was until I found out that the don’t work as well after ironing and so I washed them all again!

I do feel like I should knit something else for Mimmo – so perhaps after this blanket (which is moving along quickly anyway) I’ll go ahead and knit him a sweater for next winter.  Since he’s already wearing a 4T (at 2.5!) I’m going to knit him a size 6 for next year . . .  I think there are only a few of the sweaters that he’s worn this winter that will actually fit next year – but I need to try them all on him again and check lengths to see which have a little wiggle room before I’ll know for sure . . .

Chicken Update

We’ve decided to reduce the number of Roosters – Dom had a friend who was looking for a couple of birds anyway and so we now have 2 Roosters left.  I’m really hoping that the reduced Testosterone level will lead to some better behavior – I’m really sick of being attacked for trying to do the daily chores! At the very least it means I only have to worry about them coming from 2 directions at once – not all sides at the same time! 

Egg production is down just a little – we’re getting just about a dozen a day.  Before we were getting 8 dozen a week . . . but that was when they were getting big batches of greens daily.  The supply has dried up temporarily as the people who were supplying MIL with greens are on vacation for 3 weeks – I think this is the 2nd week – but I’m willing to bet it will come back up once they are back on their daily salad.

Alrighty, off to make some coffee – I think I need it!

That is how things are going right now . . . plugging along.

 As of Friday we will be at 33 weeks – and since they plan to induce a week or so early that means another 6 weeks to go.  And yes, I’m counting.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled to be doing this again and am so happy that we are having a little girl – but I’m also at that point where I’m feeling big, awkward and uncomfortable all of the time.  Sleep is next to impossible since there is no such thing as a comfortable position and I’m up 3-4 times a night to pee – and then the baby is up and squirming or kicking for anywhere from 30-60 minutes afterward, making it impossible to go back to sleep.  Eating isn’t much better, with my stomach up in my ribs and someone kicking it enought that I frequently feel like I’m on an ocean liner . . .  I believe this is “Mother Nature’s” way of taking the fear and anxiety out of the delivery process.  At least, that is how it is working out for me – I’m so ready for this to be over with that I’m not nearly as worried about the delivery as I might otherwise be.

Yesterday, we had the fun of spending 2 hours at the Dr.’s office – waiting for him to see the little guy.  He’d been spiking a fever at night the past few nights and wasn’t eating much during the day or really eating dinner at all (highly unusual) and then he had a fever only on one side of his head for a while the other night (weird) so I had him checked out.  Turns out, he has his first ear infection.  We caught it before it had a chance to get bad (he’s not complaining about any pain) and he’s now on Amoxicillian – which isn’t helping his stomach any but at least we know what is wrong.

Speaking of not knowing what is wrong – we have  a rooster that isn’t well.  He seems fine mostly, isn’t acting ill per say, but he can’t stand up.  We’ve checked his legs and found no sign of injury  – no bleeding, swelling or obvious breaks – but he can’t stand.  We’ve got him in the “foyer” of the coop, where the feed barrels are and we’re giving him a chance to recover – if he isn’t better in a few days time he’ll likely “walk the plank” but we’re giving him a chance.

I’m also still plugging along on the baby blanket.  The rows are noticably shorter now but it still seems to be taking Forever! but maybe that is because I haven’t worked on it much the past few days  . . .

and on that note, back to the blanket.

This is what was waiting for me when I went to lock up the hens last night! Isn’t it a colorful array of eggs? There had actually been 4 in the morning as well for a total of 13 eggs yesterday . . . we’re averaging about a dozen a day lately!

Knitting

I’ve been doing some knitting lately . . . not as much as I’d like but general house stuff was getting in the way for a few days . . . darned housework!  I had hoped to finish the Minimalist Cardigan by this past Monday and actually wear it to knitting on Monday night but that just didn’t happen.  I’m now 11 inches into the sleeves and have about 1.5 inches to go before the decreases begin . . . from there I think it will move along but its driving me nuts – I just want it done!

I did take about 24 hours out of knitting on the sweater to do a quick Chemo cap for a friend of ours.  I had made her a hat last spring but it turned out that it was a bit too big and she asked if I could fix it . . . I offered to knit another instead and that is what I’ve done.  I just have to sew the hem and weave the ends and it will be ready for delivery.  I’ll try to remember to take a picture of it before I give it to her.

I had finished the KP socks I was doing – originally started in July of ‘06 – but I only just got around to taking a picture . . . There is a post on the finished socks a few posts ago which now includes the photo . . . if you look closely you’ll notice that one of the socks has a different colored toe – that is because I ran out of yarn entirely before I could finish the 2nd sock.  I realize that the pattern I did was a bit of a yarn hog, esp. with the length of the leg – but I’m still dissappointed that there wasn’t enough yarn in the 2 skeins.  I don’t think they even make that particular yarn anymore but if they did, I wouldn’t be buying any more of it!

Baby

Things are moving along nicely with the new little one.  She moves and twitches and kicks  all the time now – and I do mean all the time.  She esp. likes to start dancing after I finally get her big brother to bed and am able to sit down to rest and knit – figures, right?

I realized the other day that we had 14 weeks until our due date – and that since they plan to induce me a week early we really had 13 weeks (and now its closer to 12) and the funny part was that my main “panic” is that I haven’t finished the knitting I want to have done before she arrives!   We’re basically ready for her – we have a ton of clothes from the first one and from my neices – she is sharing a room with her big brother (at least for a few years) so that is done – I have the cloth diapers etc all ready to go with perhaps just a wash to get any dust out – the only things we really need to do are pick up a few small odd and ends, put together the crib and get a bureau for her clothes. 

However – I’m figuring with a new baby in the house my spring, summer and perhaps fall Knitting will be limited to small things – most likely what the kids need and perhaps a few socks for variety.  So before we reach that point I’d really like to finish the Minimalist Cardigan, knit myself a Fair Isle Yoke sweater as a cardigan and pehaps finish one or two of the other larger projects that are already started . . . oh and I haven’t knit any baby stuff yet!

Isn’t he cute?

This is the little guy wearing the Fair Isle Vest that his Godmother knit for him along with some “Harry Potter” glasses – isn’t he cute? He was headed to Church – one of the few places he can safely wear something as nice as this vest . . . though I did make him leave the glasses home

Its a little tough to be sure yet as they are hard to count . . . but we’re pretty sure we lost another chicken to the hawk this morning.  I had just let them out for the day and they were enjoying their morning veggies . . . I had come in and put the eggs away and then looked out the kitchen window just in time to see the biggest Hawk I’ve ever seen flying off from the corner of the chicken yard. 

I ran out, but it was too late – the preditor was long gone and from what I can tell it took one of my Australorp hens with it.  Bummer!

Dom is going to work on putting some chicken wire or something over the top of their run to prevent this from happening again but it may be a few days before he is able to get to it.  Afterall, it is raining and very muddy and slick down there right now.  We’re just hoping the hawk doesn’t come back for seconds before he can get it done.

We’ve been getting 10 – 13 eggs a day lately – though I expect we just lost about a half dozen a week . . . and we’ve begun selling some to friends and co-workers in the hopes of covering the feed costs (grain is getting expensive!) and afterall – 3 people can only eat so many eggs in one week!

Knitting wise I’ve managed to finish the KP socks about 2 weeks ago but still haven’t taken a picture . . .  and I’m now 2/3 of the way done with the Minimalist Cardigan.  I finished the 2 fronts last night – I knit them both at the same time and realized as I was working on them that the back and front are shaped identically, just split in half.  This meant instead of trying to really follow the individual directions for the fronts I was able to just work the decreases as if I were working one piece and follow the directions for the back – which I found much easier than keeping the other straight.

Since I’m working this sweater at a different gauge than the original I had to take a few minutes to refigure the number of stitches I’ll need for the sleeves and I haven’t figured out how the sleeve cap shaping is going to work yet at the new gauge but I figure I’ve got a few inches of knitting to do on the sleeves before I have to figure it out . . .  and perhaps I’ll read Pam Allen’s article in Interweave Knits about shaping sleeve caps again before I try . . .

Now that I’m most of the way through the Minimalist my mind is racing ahead to planning the next project.  I posted a note in Ravelry to the Monday Night Knitting Group to see if anyone is interested in doing another knit-a-long as I’m finding it both fun and educational to be knitting the same sweater, in person, with a group of people.

I’m leaning in the direction of wanting to do a cardigan, knit in the round with steeks and perhaps a small amount of colorwork for interest . . . . which leads me to EZ’s Fair Isle Yoke Sweater from The opininated knitter but done as a cardigan with a steek up the front.  Someone on Ravelry had done one that way and I just loved how it worked out and that seems like a great pattern to do with a group . . . And I think I may even have yarn to do it in! Which is even better since my yarn budget is pretty tight right now though the stash is pretty flush