Poor Neglected Blog

Thursday, October 28, 2010

So it's been almost 6 months since I posted anything. I have been busy, but that's no excuse. I'll just update with a few highlights of the past 6 months.



We went to Santa Fe when Will was 8 weeks old. That was so much fun. I even found a bird walk with the Audubon society for my bird obsessed hubby. We now realize they are in every city in the country. It's a nice way to see the counrtyside.



I left Will with a sitter for the fist time to see The Psychedelic Furs. Our friend Rich is the guitarist, so we had dinner with him and the saxophonist first. The concert was fun, but the best part was after when Rich was surrounded by fan girls, hilarious.



I made a fish mobile for Will's room. When he out grows the mobile I can take the fish off and they become toys.



Daren's parents came out from England and spent 2 weeks. They were able to meet Will for the first time.

Daren and I both decided we needed to lose the baby weight, so we started eating out less and joined a gym. He's lost all the weight he wanted to (20 lbs in less then 2 months), I'm still working on it. I have lost over 25 lbs since having Will, still have more to go.



We flew out to the Bay Area to see my family. We stayed in San Jose, went to they Monterey Bay Aquarium and stayed in a really nice cabin in Big Sur. Will was able to meet my friends and almost my mom's entire side of the family.



Will and I went to Taos for the wool festival at the beginning of the month. I took a fantastic dying class, expect great thing to come. I went down with several girls from my knitting group and just had a great weekend. I'm totally doing it again next year. For some reason the only picture I took was of a Tardis tent at the Ravelry booth (Will told me he wants one).





That brings us up to this past weekend where we decided to drive up to Aspen for our anniversary. It is beautiful up there, but we forgot what it means when they say snow in Oct. We were parked on 70 just before the Eisenhower tunnel for 30 minutes. Over Independence pass was terrifying because of the narrow road and icy conditions. We had a nice meal, but that was about it for a fun weekend. Both Will and I were just getting colds, so I got 2 hours of sleep and felt terrible. We had to leave early before more storms hit and we got stuck up there.

If you want to see more pictures you can always visit my Flickr site.

WIP Cup

Monday, May 10, 2010

After the Knitting Olympics ended this year I thought of the upcoming World Cup and was suprised to see there was no knitting event associated with it. A friend of mine did all WIPs for the Ravelympics and I thought the World Cup would be the perfect excuse to get some of those WIPs sitting around.

Taken from the description on Ravelry;

The 2010 World Cup runs from 11 June - 11 July. That’s a whole month to clear out those WIPs.

Rules (Yes there will be rules):

• We will be using the Ravelympics Wip rules, projects must be dormant (no work being done) for a month before the start of the World Cup (11 May)
• A finalized list of Wips/Ufos that you will be working on must be decided on a week before the start date (June 4)
• Tag your projects WIPCup2010
• Post all of you finished works here
• To be eligible for the prize (yay prizes!) you must complete your list of Wips by 11 July (will figure out what time zone later)

The prize will be a skein of Skeindalous yarn dyed in the winning teams’ colors, a $25 gift certificate to Scout Swag and a stitch saver. It will be determined by a random drawing.

That means tomorrow is the when you need to put the needles down for the project to qualify for the Wip Cup. My projects will all be crochet (I hate to crochet). My list to work on will be:
* Hooded Beach Cover Up - I started this over 2 years ago while I still lived in Miami. It's a crochet pattern from a 1972 Women's Day magazine
* Plastic Grocery bag rug - I started this in Miami as well. It's a rectangular rug made out of plastic bags cut into strips and crocheted in single crochet stitch. I'm about 2/3 of the way done.
*Aspen Gloves - A pair of gloves using the Progressive gloves pattern from interweave. I started these our first winter here in Denver. I'm half way through the second glove.
It doesn't seem like much, but I think with little William it will be plenty to keep me busy.

Please join the group, it should be fun. I would love for this to become a regular event like the Knitting Olympics. Just like the the Olympics it's only every 4 years.

William Stewart

Monday, May 03, 2010

Our little frog finally arrived on April 20 (only 8 days late). My labor actually started on April 18, but it kept starting and stopping. So it was 40 hours before he finally showed up. I managed it with out drugs. He was 7 lbs, 4 oz and 19.75" long.




With Daddy.


This is from a couple of days ago. He's turned into a little chubster.

Only a Year

Saturday, April 10, 2010

I bought the materials for these cushions a year ago with the intention of using them last summer. Well a year later I've actually finished them. I think they look great and they were way to easy to sew. Now I think we need pillows to rest against the back. I have quite a bit of fabric left, so I will do placemats for the table on the deck and get some coordinating fabric to do the pillows.

Creme Eggs

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

I love Cadbury Creme Eggs! It's been my favorite Easter candy since I was a kid. I just found out my sister likes them just as much. It seems we are sugar junkies. The first time I went to England with Daren I was amazed they sell them year round there. There is a place called ShakeAway that even makes milkshakes out of them, yum! Well I just found this recipe for Because I Can Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes. I think I might skip the ganache when I make them.

On to some knitting projects. I made my mom a set of dishcloths for mother's day.



The Luv Bug Dishcloth.



Mother's Day Cloth by Kris Knits.



And the Be My Dishcloth.



I also made Newborn Sock for the our little frog. They are so tiny, it's hard to believe feet can be that small.





My due date is this coming Monday the 12th. I really want the baby to come soon. It doesn't seem like it will be this week, but maybe.

A Beautifully Finished Product

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Our first floor remodel is finally finished (for now). The wood flooring was installed Thursday and Friday. It's incredible the amount of dust that gets created for a project like this. Daren and I spent all of Saturday morning scouring the house to get rid of it all.

Here's the fireplace with the new floors and a new floor rug.



The entire living room.



Here's the dining room and kitchen. We have a new chandelier for the dining table and we want to reface the cabinets and get new counter tops. But for the near future we are done.

States of Deconstruction Part 2

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

We are now getting the flooring replaced on the entire first floor of the house. One of the more bizarre parts of having the house ripped apart is I currently have a toilet in my living room.



This is where the toilet should be. Once the grout cures tonight it can go back to it's home.



The kitchen is getting tiled as well. Yesterday my refrigerator and stove were in the dining room. The tilers put them back this morning.



There is also tile by the back door, which means the only usable exit in the house is through the garage. Jezebel is having a hard time understanding why she can't go out the back door to the back yard.



We get the hardwood installed tomorrow and by friday all of this work should be done and we'll have our house back.

One Fish, Two Fish

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

We decided on a Dr Suess theme for the baby's room. My friend Heather said she would be happy to paint the mural of one fish, two fish on our walls. She did such a great job, Daren and I couldn't be happier with the results.



Here's One Fish with his splash on another wall.



Two Fish



Red Fish



Blue Fish



Thank you so much Heather. This is way beyond what we could have done. Love it!

Dishcloth Mad

So ever since I started the Kris Knits dishcloth KAL I have become obsessed with them. I never understood the appeal of knitting dishcloth, I never actually made them when I was learning to knit. I now have plans to make them for my mom, to make some for gifts for other family members, and lots for me.

The only this I've knit for the frog so far are these set of Kris Knits Baby Cloths. I need one more color of Sugar and Cream to finish the last cloth. I figured out you can get 1 of her small cloths and 1 large cloth from 1 ball of sugar and cream.



Next up is the February KAL. Some people said they had a hard time seeing what it was. Once it was pointed out to me that there was a branch on the bottom I saw the love birds and the heart.



Last is one of a set of cloths I plan to make for my mom for mothers day. Another Kris Knits cloth (I told you I'm obsessed right?).



The little I-cord loop was from another cloth. Ladonna put one on her Jan cloth and I thought it was a great idea.

New Fireplace

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The fireplace was completed today. I am thrilled at how it turned out. It will be a beautiful focal point to our downstairs.

Here's the frame after we decided to take it all the way to the ceiling. We should have done that in the first place instead of having the framer come out twice.



The stonework was completed today. It is actually darker then I thought I wanted, but I love it.



The funny stone on the side with the white in it is the switch to turn fireplace on. I've already put some accessories on the mantle. We will set up the logs and see how it works tomorrow.



The french doors were also installed today. They look great, but I think they need trim. It took me a while to figure out what was missing. Maybe Daren and I will be brave enough to try it ourselves.

A Lion Among Men

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was just ok. It's corresponding tales of the lion's history and Yackle's past (she was in Wicked and Son of a Witch) as well as a current war started by Elphaba's younger brother. The ending made it seem like he's planning on write more Oz stories.

I loved Wicked and have not been impressed with Maguire's book since. This was interesting enough, but unless you're a fan of Wicked I wouldn't recommend it. If there are more books around Oz I will read them, but I've lost interest in Maguire as a writer.

View all my reviews >>

The Hero

Monday, March 08, 2010

I finished my Ravelympics project almost a week late. But it was only 3 weeks to knit a men's sweater, I'm pretty happy with that.

Here's the Hero Pullover by Ann Budd. I used Berroco Ultra Alpaca which I purchased in Denim Mix, then over-dyed with navy. It came out as a lovely shaded dark blue.



I actually blocked the gauge swatch I knit, which meant I knit this with size 7 needles in the size 44. It was way to small after knitting, but blocked out to perfectly fit Daren. I switched from knitting this in pieces to knitting in the round to the underarms. I knit the arms flat, just as instructed.

Here's the back of the pullover in a 3x1 rib.



The zipper was very easy to sew in. I don't think he'll actually use the zipper, but it gives it a finished look.



He loves it and says it may become one of his favorite sweaters. He wore it to dinner Saturday night, wore it yesterday when it got cold and wore it to work today. Let's hope he doesn't love it too much and wear it to excessive stinkiness.

States of Deconstruction

Thursday, March 04, 2010

We have wanted to do some major remodeling of our main floor since we bought this house (almost 2 years ago!) After having several contractors in and having issues just getting quotes (or ridiculously high quotes), we finally got one in.

The first thing done is removing a dated and awkward gas fire place in-between our living a dining room. This picture is the only one I have that actually shows a bit of the fire place. It's when we were looking at the house and has the previous owners' furniture. Maybe the lack of pictures show how much I hated that thing.



So first step this week was the old fire place was removed. You can see the 2 types of flooring that we have on this floor. We will be getting hardwood floors to replace the carpet and the current hardwood floors in 2 weeks.



The new fireplace is framed out and just needs stone and a mantle. I changed my mind on the height, so next week the frame will be raised to the ceiling. It's our long wall in the living room instead of splitting up 2 rooms.



We will be replacing the sliding doors with french doors. Hopefully they will be installed next week. They need to be installed before the flooring can be done. My biggest hope is that all of this work will get done before our little frog shows up. It's still 5 weeks until my due date, so cross your fingers for an on time baby.



I'm sewing cushions for a built in bench on our patio and had a little help. I guess all that fabric looked a bit like her bed.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Monday, February 22, 2010

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Starts out slow, but flowers into an interesting and magical book. I'm not sure I would recommend it, but I did enjoy the story. It's difficult when one of the main characters is so unlikable. Plus the book is written like a historical text full of foot notes, which can get a bit tedious.

Norrell is a whiny, selfish man. I'm not actually sure it's redemption he gets at the end, but you accept him for who he is. He actually seems to understand his faults. Strange is very likable in the beginning, but becomes more ambiguous towards the end.

What is done masterfully in the book is intertwining actual historical events with the story of magic without coming off silly. Napolean, Duke of Wellington, George III and Lord Byron make appearances or are referred to in the story.

The characters that are consider to be "lower classes" by the 2 magicians are who ultimately rise and prevail in the story. The underestimated powers of women and minorities are what finally save England.

View all my reviews >>

The next book to read is A Lion Amoung Men (book 3 in the Wicked series)

Drop Stitch Cable Cardigan

Thursday, February 11, 2010

I finally finished the Cable Band Cardigan from Vogue Fall 2008. I am mostly happy with it. It is so warm and cuddly, perfect for cold winter days. The collar wraps around the back of the neck like a scarf. It flares open a bit around the belly, so I should be able to wear it to the end of my pregnancy.



As you can see I have the sleeves rolled up a bit. For some reason I made them very long. It fits well enough, but I think I would make a size smaller next time. I was worried that the hips flared out too much, but looking at these pictures I think it's fine. I'm not happy with the buttons , I think they are a bit small. They will work for now, but I'm keeping my eyes open for better ones.



Nice back shot with big cable band just under the butt. Making that band was very tedious. I ended up knitting almost 11 repeats of the pattern. It says to do the band for 104", which I think I was pretty close to. Over all I'm very happy with the cardi. My winter jacket (non maternity) is quickly shrinking on me, so I think this could be good for the rest of winter. Well, as long as it doesn't get too cold.



I started some washcloths for the frog. They are Kris Knits patterns. These are 2 of 8 cloths. They knit up very quick, in an hour or less. She has several cloths this size, which I think are nice for baby washcloths, but a little small for dishcloths.

Making Room for Baby

Monday, February 08, 2010

Only two more months until our little frog makes an appearance. Daren and I have started the nursery. I should have taken a before picture of the dark greenish walls. We painted over them with a buttery cream color and will paint a mural of one fish two fish on one wall.



If you couldn't tell we are going with a Dr Suess theme in the room. All of the accesories will be in bright primary colors. There was a bit of drama putting the crib together. Why do they make the instructions so criptic?! After figuring out which legs were the front and which were the back we have a lovely sturdy crib.



Still a lot of work to be done, but we are on our way.



On a completely different note I finished the January dishcloth KAL yesterday after the last 2 clues were posted. It is so cute, I can't wait for this months KAL to start. I'm going to be doing a few of her other cloths, the are brilliant.