A Rainy Weekend in San Francisco

A weekend chronicle in pictures:

 On our way to a birthday party.

 



All partied out. 

Surf's up on Ocean Beach. Really good waves and high tide. The little black dots are surfers, who were out in droves.

 Graffiti art at the beach.

A rare shot of me with the kids.  Wearing my new favorite hat - Molly in madelinetosh dk Glazed Pecan.

 It's cold, but I have a bib in case I have to eat something at the drop of a hat.

 Deep thoughts by Ethan.

 Mud pie in your face!

A sand dollar treasure.

See,  I knew the bib would come in handy.

At home, safe and warm with hot chocolate faces.

Sourpatch Kid

Here's Emma (she turned three this month!) in her new Sourpatch sweater.   It's been a while since I have knit anything for her.  I love how she still gets excited about her handmade things.  I don't imagine that will last too much longer, when she will eventually whine, "I want the store bought designer sweater, Umma, not the one you made!!!"

But, for now, when she smiles and says "Thank you!  Pretty colors!" after I show her the finished knitted sweater, it makes my heart so glad. 

Color Affection Shawl and Date Night

Ok, I officially love this knit. 

Might be one of my all time favorite things I have made, not only because the yarn (Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering) is so soft and squishy with glowing colors, but also because:
- the pattern is very well written.
- I love the colors I picked (gray, yellow, and a difficult to describe and photograph hot pink/red.  I swear it does not read McDonald's, even if the pictures sort of do).
- the thing is knit in all garter stitch which is so easy and relaxing, with results that make it look more complicated than it really is.
- it is soooo freaking cozy and warm.

The weather in San Francisco for the past week and a half has been miserable.  It was dreary, rainy and cold.  Actually, it still is.  Wearing this shawl as a really big scarf around my neck has kept me warm and makes me look like I am wearing those big cowls that are so in fashion these days.
People are knocking this shawl out in a few days on Ravelry, but since I have limited time to knit, it took me a little while to finish it.

In other news, husband and I went out on a date without the kids for the first time in months.  We ate fondue at Fondue Cowboy.  Yes, a weird choice for food, but think about it, can you ever really eat fondue with kids around?   Not, really.

 French comte, white wine and mushroom fondue.

Dark chocolate and cayenne fondue.  This was unbelievably delicious - let's not think about the calories, ok?  Hey, there was a lot of fruit to make this a balanced dessert.

And we saw a movie - the first one since May 2011!  We went to see The Hunger Games.  I have read The Hunger Games trilogy, husband has not.  I loved the books, and was really excited to see the movie.  This was opening week, and I swear the line for the ticket holders went around the lobby and out the door, and we even arrived 30 minutes prior to the screening time.  I was reminded why we rarely go see movies on opening weekend even before we had kids.

In my opinion, movies based on books are never as nuanced as the actual books, given the constraints of time and format.  However, I thought this movie adaptation was really good.  I admit when I saw the actor cast for Peeta Mellark, I was initially disappointed.  From the books, I imagined a much taller and overall bigger person in the role.  But, by the end of the movie, I was convinced that the actor fit the role and did a great job.  I would recommend the movie to friends, and I wasn't sorry that we chose this movie as our date night movie (unlike the last one which was Pirates of the Caribbean).  Oh, yeah, husband enjoyed it, too and he says he will read the books.  Which means these books might be among the few things he reads that isn't 1) about baseball, 2) about samurais, 3) about work related computer stuff or 4) about Jeremy Lin. 

Recent FOs

When I started this blog, I posted stuff about my corporate peon role, books, knitting, cooking, travel, all sorts of things.  But over the last year and a half, this blog has evolved to become a forum about my family and children.  That's fine, I know the only people who really read this blog are our family and friends who are genuinely interested in our family life and long to see pictures of our oh-so-cute kids.  BUT, sometimes, looking at my older posts, I am nostalgic for those freer days when both husband and I had more time for our personal hobbies and pursuits.  

Because I don't really have that much time to knit anymore, I decided that instead of trying to start new ambitious projects that I know I will never be able to devote enough time to, I would pick up my old projects I started but never finished and actually finish them.  Doing this, I have been able to clear out a bunch of things from my knitting basket and have ended up with some pretty cute things.  Some things, like the Poppy Beret were started in 2008 and only had a few more rows to go before completion, but for some inexplicable reason, it languished in my basket for 2 years?! 

The 2 year Poppy Beret which was originally meant as a gift for my sister in law, but now has become mine.

Here's the Vine Lace Vest which I gave to my mom.  It's a horrible picture, but trust me the thing is pretty cute in person.  I admit I have borrowed it once or twice.

The Noro Entrelac Scarf.  Another well intentioned gift.  Even if posting a picture ends up ruining the surprise, I am posting it anyway because I think it is pretty and the knitting technique is neat.

 The Open Ribwork Socks for my mom.  I have only knit two pairs of socks in my life, and one of those pairs was the pair I knit in sock class while learning how to make socks.  People who don't knit will probably chuckle about handknit socks and wonder why anyone would bother in this day and age, but let me tell you this - the socks are measured to fit my mom's feet perfectly, the yarn is comfy and pretty and they are super warm.  My mother actually likes wearing them to bed to keep her feet warm at night.  Go figure!

I have other unfinshed sweaters and projects that will still take a while to finish.  Maybe some will be finished in another two years (yikes!). 

I did manage to knit three things for baby Ethan, mostly done very late at night/past midnight between feedings, diaper changes, etc.  I felt like I had to make some things for the little guy because his sister got so many handknit baby things, but he didn't yet have any. 

A plain ol' newborn knit cap which is already too small for my little guy.

The Garter Yoke Cardigan - probably will fit in another month or two.  Still need to find the right buttons for it.  Oh how I hate to sew buttons and seams...

The Sweet Norwegian Baby Cap.  This matches the cardigan.  It is a neat contruction, sort of like a bonnet because it covers his ears and the back of his head to the nape of his neck.  It's a little too big for him now, but he will grow into it.

Black Cherry Boheme

In May, I finished knitting a sweet little vest for Emma.  The free pattern is called Boheme and it is well written and easy to follow.  It's perfect for the San Francisco summer weather, just something to keep the chill away.

Pay no attention to the crazy mismatched outfit underneath! And the fact that I could not get a good shot with her face because little monkey kept squiggling around! 

I made this using hand dyed sock yarn from Mary Jane's Attic which I purchased at Urban Fauna Studio.  It is a bamboo, merino wool, nylon blend.  The bamboo keeps the garment light enough for summer time (at least here in San Francisco) and helps with the color saturation.  I think the colors are gorgeous and subtle, girly, without being obnoxious. 

My Foray into Crochet

Here's Emma in my Cheri crocheted cap: 

It's got a little brim and a crocheted flower on the side: 

I wanted to make Emma a cotton sun hat for the summer months.  I really like the result (it's a little big on her) but I think I will also make something with a floppier brim. 

I learned how to crochet before I learned how to knit, and I find that crocheted items are a lot faster to create than knitted items, but I still like knitting more.  My mother, an excellent crocheter and knitter herself, helped me make this hat.  Having not crocheted in years and years, but skills were rusty!

I actually think this hat could be made for a boy, too, just remove the flower and use a different color, and it would look sort of like a newsboy cap.

All's Well That Ends Well

My husband had surgery on April 22.  Here he is pre-op.  What the hell is he so happy about?

He had to have his gallbladder removed to fix what I used to call his old man stomach disease.  The surgery went well, thank goodness, but then there were some strange blood test results so he ended up staying in the hospital post operation for two days.  But, he is home now and recovering nicely. 

I knitted to stay calm and sane while I waited for his operation to finish and while wating for him to recover in the hospital.

I knitted a whole pair of fingerless mitts.  They are what my friend calls the "bum gloves."  Good for chilly mornings and to keep fingers warm while typing in my very ridiculously cold office. 

Emma was happy to have her daddy home again!

A Gift for Mom

The Wavy Ribbon Scarf, knitted from Tess' Designer Yarns Microfiber Ribbon in Enchanted Forest colorway. 

 The photos don't do the yarn justice.   The microfiber ribbon has a slight shine (think shimmer, and not horrible 80's spandex kind of shine) and the colors are really vibrant.   The look and feel of the scarf don't translate well into photos (well, at least the kind of photos my husband and I take anyway).

 It's a gift for my mother.   It's not a surprise because she and I went to Stitches West and she saw the scarf displayed there.  She actually asked me to make her one!   We couldn't purchase the yarn at Stitches because the vendor had sold out of the colorway, so I went home and ordered it online through the website.

Cabled Raglan Baby Sweater

Good Lord, this one took forever.  I started this one in November 2009. It still needs a button at the collar and it needs to be blocked, but I am calling this one DONE.   The original pattern for the Cabled Raglan Baby Sweater only has short sleeves.  I read a bunch of comments on Ravelry about the pattern's sleeves being very large, so I cut the number of stitches I picked up for the sleeves, and made them a few inches longer.

 Since Emma is a petite baby, the finished sweater still fits her, thank goodness.

Fiery Milkweed and Wedge of Lime

I finished a couple of shawlettes in the past two months.  I guess I could sign up for the 10 Shawls in 2010 challenge on Ravelry, but I don't want to put pressure on myself.  With work being as crazy as it has been and with little baby Emma, I feel like I could very easily be derailed on that challenge!

Here is my Milkweed Shawl.  I bought this yarn a year or so ago, promising my mother that I would make a scarf for her.  Well, a year later, I finally made something out of it, just in time for her arrival this week.

Here is the Citron Shawl (what I have renamed as a Wedge of Lime, because that is what it looks like to me).  I know, I know, it is in the same color and yarn as the pattern pictures.  No originality, but I love it.  I wore it around even before I finished blocking it, because I love the color, the softness of Malabrigo Lace, etc. etc. 

I will have to get some pictures to post with actual people wearing these shawlettes...

Both patterns are very well written and easy to follow.  The Milkweed Shawl pattern is especially nice because it gives both written and charted directions.  Milkweed is an incredibly fast knit (and I don't think I am a particularly speedy knitter) because it is all knit stitch, no purl (yay!).   A Wedge of Lime is my first completed laceweight project.  Very thin yarn = a long time knitting, but beautiful results. 

And just because, Emma wants to say "Oh, hai..."  (for those of us who love icanhascheezburger.com):

Sleeves - The Bane of My Knitting Existence

It's been going like gangbusters at work, and I have been putting in some very, very long days indeed.  The higher ups complain about how they can't get any help, but perhaps they should have thought about the consequences of  laying off half of your group during slow times, then expecting the remaining people to pick up twice as much work during the busy times, all for less pay. With work and little baby Emma, this means limited time for other pursuits, such as my knitting.  It also didn't help that for about a week, poor Emma and I were sick as dogs - we just couldn't shake off whatever bug we had.

In any case, I have decided that it is time to finally finish this baby sweater, before it becomes too small for Emma. 

The entire body is done, and all I have left to do are the sleeves.  I don't know why, but when it comes to sleeves, I just hate them.  I once started a sweater for husband (which I later ripped apart), but in the middle, I told him from now on all he would ever get are vests.  No sleeves!

A Seaman's Cap for a Landlubber

A hat for my father-in-law.  He requested one over the Christmas holidays.  I decided I had better make one quickly before he changed his mind about wanting a handmade knitted item.  Here it is - the Seaman's Cap for a Landlubber:

It is being modeled by husband, so it looks a little large.  My father-in-law has a big noggin (sorry, but, it's true)!  I had to make a few adjustments to the pattern to make it fit a larger circumfrence.  I hope it fits, and that I didn't overadjust.  I made a hat with a fold up brim because my father-in-law wanted a hat to cover his ears while gardening outside.  I didn't know how long the hat would have to be in order to do that, so I  made a brim he could pull down as necessary.

Turn a Square - Noro Striped Hat

Here's my latest knitting creation:

It's the Turn a Square Hat by Jared Flood, aka Brooklyn Tweed dude.  His designs are so stunning, and he himself is an excellent knitter.  His blog is beautiful, with gorgeous photos of his knitting and designwear.  I once told my cousin who lives in Brooklyn to try to find him and date him.  Yes, like a stalker.  I was having a crazy moment.  Anyway, I think he has a girlfriend already and now my cousin is engaged to someone she loves very much. 

The hat fits husband's head nicely. 

It's hard to see in the picture, but the hat pattern has an unusual decrease structure which results in the crown looking like it has little striped squares, instead of the traditional circular decreases.  I like it so much, I might "borrow" it.   Of course, now that I am back at work, much of my knitting has to take a backseat.  I hope I will get some Christmas gifts done, but not counting on it anymore.  Those hopes went out the door with the hope of slow transition back to work!