My Marathon Scarf

I know I should start a second blog for all this knitting stuff, but frankly I'm too lazy. So you, dear reader looking for updates on Topher, will have to endure the occasional knitting exposure. I found a pattern for a scarf I wanted to try, but ended up altering it so that the pattern would be enlarged and more obvious. The resulting texture turned out to be a large waffle-weave. Even though it's not at all complex, it was my hardest scarf yet. At one point I put it down to measure it, and Topher thought that I made him "tracks" for his cars. I had to backtrack several times when I would let my mind wander and I would realize that I had done an entire row in the wrong stitch. Around the time it was about 36 inches long, I wanted to quit. By the time I had reached the end, it looked...all scrunched up. This is when I learned what blocking was. Usually reserved for wool yarn, it is a way to shape a knitted piece using water or steam. I found a blog that insisted you could block acrylic yarn and decided to try it. Since I don't own a blocking board, I pinned my scarf down to the carpet and used my clothing steamer. Holding the steamer a few inches above the scarf, I slowly moved down the length of the scarf until it was damp from steam. (You cannot get acrylic yarn too hot or it will melt. This scared me very much.) Then I let it dry in place, still pinned down flat. The result was a perfectly un-scrunched scarf. Thank goodness. Package it up with a couple home-made pom-poms and ta-da! I broke the marathon tape. Phew. Here is my altered pattern: Yarn: 4-ply worsted acrylic Needles: US #6 (4 mm) CO 26 sts Row 1 & 3: *k2, p2 repeat from * to end of row, ending on a k2 Row 2 & 4: *p2, k2 repeat from * to end of row, ending on a p2 Row 5 & 7: knit across Row 6 & 8: purl across Repeat rows 1-8 until scarf measures 60 inches long Bind off, weave in ends Now what to make next? --KC

Meet Miles

TJ's big sister, Lindsey, gave birth to her first baby early yesterday morning. She and her partner, Joanne, are very excited to welcome him into the world. He is Topher's first cousin on the Clark side, and we were very happy to drive to Iowa City yesterday morning to meet him. He's perfect. He's so perfect, in fact, that he didn't even cry when I held him (as all babies do). I have this feeling that he's going to be one of those babies. You know the ones...they only cry if they really need something, and they are easy to calm, sleep all night, and are just generally content. And even though I'd be madly jealous if that turns out to be the case, I'll love him anyway. And I suppose I'd be happy for the well-rested parents. :) Holding Miles felt good, and I can't wait to spend more time with him. Lindsey and Jo cruelly kept everyone guessing the gender and name for the full pregnancy (patience is not one of my many virtues). I was fully expecting a girl, but I was happily surprised to find out that Topher gained a little boy cousin. His name is Miles (which I love--good job, ladies) and he looks a lot like Lindsey we decided.

Oh, and not to brag but my hat looked killer on him. Topher wasn't quite sure what to do about Miles, but I suspect that it will take awhile for them to be very interested in each other. Lindsey and Jo, we love you guys and we're so glad that Miles is here and that everyone is healthy. Congratulations again.

We love you. We love him.

Welcome to Earth, Miles!

-KC

Knitting-ese

Not to be confused with knitting "ease". What I mean to say is that knitting has its own language. It is foreign. I call it knitting-ese. A pattern might be written as follows (this is in fact selected excerpts from a pattern I might someday be confident enough to attempt): using dpn's CO 5 (8, 12) sts (color A) join, being careful not to twist 2: *kfb, k1, rep from * until end of row, 15 sts. 15: k2tog, k22, pm, k2tog, k to end of row, 43 sts 16-27: Work in St. st BO, gather sts. and knot to form a crown Etc. and so on. What the...? When I first looked at instructions like these, I created new wrinkles on my forehead. Why patterns cannot be written in English I have no idea. But after many, many cyber-trips to different knitting dictionaries and tutorials, I think I am starting to understand it. Well, it's a lot like French, really. I can read it better than I can speak it. And don't even ask me about everything else that can complicate a knitting pattern. There are double-pointed needles, straight needles, circular needles, and interchangeable needles. There are yarns of every material, width, and color. Then there are whole discussions devoted to things like cast-on methods and blocking. But sometimes it can be fun to jump in the deep end and see if you can stay afloat. So with each scarf I make, I try to increase (inc in knitting-ese) the difficulty of the pattern to strengthen my skills. So I'm a little scared to try and make something that does not have straight sides yet. Maybe I am still wearing my floaties. But it's a fun hobby to be bobbing around in. --KC P.S. I have one completed scarf and another one in the works. Pictures (and incomprehensible patterns, haha) coming soon.

Turning Wheels

Sometimes you can just see the wheels in Topher's head turning. At times they churn in fast circles, every cog connecting and fueling another race around. Other times they slow, trying to place all the scattered pieces of the world together into a logical thought. Then occasionally they will grind to a protesting halt, creating a sudden meltdown for his two-year-old brain where patience sits lightly on a slippery slope.

A couple days ago, as he played on his toy computer and tried to find the letters it was asking him to find, the array of emotions on his face clearly projected the thoughts spinning through his active mind.

I love watching my son. I love it when his gray-blue eyes sparkle with raw-edged intelligence or when his little mouth forms an "O" as he grasps a concept and gasps softly. I even love it when his face folds into frustrated wrinkles because I'm the one who gets to untangle the problems and kiss the frowns away. I'm so lucky to be home with him, catching his every expression and bottling them up in the recesses of my own turning mind.

--KC

My New Obsession

Not quite 2 weeks ago I had a church activity where you could choose a new skill to learn. I chose knitting. After about an hour of instruction I had learned one of the basic stitches and I had a couple rows of a scarf started on my needle. I kept at it for another day or two, only to notice that it was getting worse as I worked along. Finally I decided to call it my "practice scarf" and start over, this time being more careful not to make so many mistakes. Here's the first attempt (it's quite hideous, I assure you):

I was thrilled to find that my second attempt went a lot more smoothly. There weren't even any holes in it!

About halfway through the scarf, I decided I wanted a more challenging project. I went online and watched a zillion tutorials on how to do different stitches, etc. Thank goodness for YouTube! I then found a pattern for a hat that I could make without having to knit-in-the-round (something I'm still scared to try). This hat is knitted flat and sewn up the sides. Add some fun tassels on top and voila! I call this hat "Fraggle Rock." I originally made it for TJ's sister, who is about to have a baby. However it turned out to be way too big for a newborn. It is modeled first by Topher and then by the little girl I babysit, Erin. Since it is a more girly hat, I'm giving this one to Erin. Doesn't she look too cute in it??:

The hat took about 2 days (and had plenty of mistakes so don't look too closely!) After that, I decided to finish my scarf, but I needed a new ball of yarn to complete it. (I had to watch several more tutorials in order to learn how to switch to a new skein of yarn.) This is literally the easiest project for a new knitter because you are only making one stitch. You just keep making it a million times until your scarf is long enough. I like the simplicity and clean look of it.

Now that I had a couple projects done, I decided to try again to make a hat sized for a newborn. I found a great pattern (again, it is knitted flat and then seamed up the side) that I was able to start on Monday and finish the next day (which apparently is not impressive at all because there are people online who can whip this out in about an hour and a half!) Then I watched another tutorial on making pom-poms and added one on top for a little bit of flair.

So there you have it. After 12 days of actively knitting, I have 3 projects done and a new hobby that I LOVE. Let me know if you would like a link to the patterns I have used!

Happy knitting! :)

--KC

We're still here...

I promise to post this week, we've all just been sick and/or busy lately. Plus I took up a new hobby...more to come. --KC

Vocal Diagnosis

The bad news:

He might have inherited my singing abilities.

The good news:

He's stinking cute enough that it doesn't matter.

And yes, that was some form of singing in case you weren't quite sure.

The block-on-a-stick in his hand is working as his microphone.

I truly had no idea what I would find when I walked up those stairs, but that strange noise--sorry, I mean, singing--was just too compelling to ignore.

Ahh, two-year-olds.

Ahh, Topher.

--KC