A little taste of what we've been up to...

I only have a moment, but we finally got a modem again! We're leaving town in the morning for my nephew's baptism in Portland, Oregon. Will post regularly again once we return and recover--hopefully by Wednesday. Happy knitting, blogging and living, everyone!

Hiatus continued

The blogging hiatus has extended due to unplanned circumstances. The night I got back in town, a power surge killed our router/modem. We're still waiting to get a new one mailed to us. Since we're leaving for Oregon on Thursday, the hiatus has been expanded. Sorry! Hope everyone is doing well. I should have a lot to report when we get back from our trip. Happy knitting and blogging, everyone!

Short Hiatus

Hey everyone, I'm in Virginia with Little Man visiting my family. Just wanted to let you know that I'm going to take a short blogging hiatus. With being out of town and needing to spend more time on my phonics workbooks (work), I'm going to take a short break from writing this blog and from reading most blogs. Please know that I will be back in a week or so. Until then, I hope everyone is well. Happy Knitting and Blogging! --Haley

Race for the Cure

Today I completed the Northeast Ohio Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for the sixth year in a row. I started doing the race when Ellin, my friend and boss at the time, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Happily, six years later Ellin is doing great. Anyway, I know that breast cancer is something that affects many many people in our lives and that some of these people are not as lucky as Ellin. So I will continue to support this great cause. The walk is my favorite way to do this as it's a very uplifting event. I love being surrounded by so many people who are either survivors or people who support them. Anyway, here are a ton of pictures of my morning at the Race. This post is dedicated to all the survivors and the many other people whose lives have been affected by breast cancer.

Right after we arrived, I lost my two friends. I panicked. There were tens of thousands of people. Was I going to have to walk by myself? Can you walk by yourself when surrounded by tens of thousands of people? Why was I in such a hurry that I lost my friends?

But then, I found them: Abby and Donna (two former co-workers).

I was racing in memory of: Corrine (my honorary grandmother), Laura J. (my mom's cousin), and my friend, Sarah M.'s mom. I was racing in celebration of: Ellin (my former boss), Rondys (a family friend), Coe (a nurse from my breastfeeding group) and Amy J. (a family friend).

A first glimpse of the masses.

A little bit of sculpture near the race site.

Me in my tennis shoes and pink pants.

People in front of us.

Even more people behind us. And if you look closely on the righthand side, you can see the runners heading toward the finish line.

A little inspiration. "In Celebration of Me 3x (13 yrs)." You go, girl!

Another "behind us" shot.

And another "in front of us" shot.

Windmill outside of the Science Museum.

Our pathetic finishing time. To our defense, we spent a LOT of time waiting for my friend while she stood in line for the porta-potties. Advice: Don't drink a lot of coffee before walking 5K.

A local ice cream maker was one of the sponsors.

Of course, I had to indulge. It was DELICIOUS! And for once, the weather was nice enough to eat some. For the past 4 years, it's been freezing and raining.

And, at the end of the race, as we were getting a bite to eat, we found Ellin! Our inspiration for this race. Doesn't she look great! You go, girl!

My Knitting Spot

Yarnhog just did a post about her "knitting spot" and challenged others to do the same. So, here I am, describing my knitting spot. Many of you probably remember this photo from my last post:
Well, this is basically my knitting spot, except in this instance I was being extra nice. You see, my dogs and I all have something in common--we all love to be on this couch (actually it's the only one the dogs are allowed on) and we all like the edge or corner seats. None of us like the middle seat. In this instance, I was just being nice and taking the middle because Zoe and Pauli got there first.

My main knitting spot is in the corner of the couch near the blue and white lamp (the spot Zoe is in). I like to sit kind of diagonally with my feet toward the Pauli end of the couch and my back nestled into the corner of the couch.

This is an OLD couch. I've owned it for about 8 years, but before that it lived in my parents' basement for about 25 years. It's been reupholstered multiple times (most recently right before I got married 7 years ago because my husband hated the lovely bright modern art looking fabric that was on the couch at the time). As you can see, it is partially covered by a lovely bedsheet in the hopes of minimizing the stains from muddy dog feet. This sofa is a sleeper sofa and weighs about a thousand pounds and my husband has vowed never to move it again.

Anyway, even thought it's old and actually not very cushiony at all, the girls and I love to hang out on it (together if they don't mind getting cozy). My husband is usually stretched out on the red and tan loveseat that you can see in the righthand edge of the photo. So it's a family hangout area. The tv and many of Little Man's toys are in this room (did I mention this is the smallest room in my house besides the bathrooms?)

Anyway, if I'm sitting, I'm probably knitting--so this is my knitting spot. Unless it's beautiful out, and then you might catch me here.

Top Ten Tuesday: Life is Good Edition

Can't believe it's Tuesday again already. I had a nice relaxing weekend full of knitting, reading and movie watching. It was really very nice. I've been meaning to blog about it, but haven't slowed down. So I thought I'd use this week's Top Ten Tuesday post to talk about it. Thus, without any further ado, this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic:

Top Ten Little Everyday Reasons Why Life is Good


10. My husband and I watched several movies this weekend and we both enjoyed them. Thanks to the library's expanded selection, we are watching movies again. And they're free! Life is good.

9. I am almost finished with my nephew's Wonderful Wallaby, the twin to this one. I thought I was going to be able to stretch a second one of the yarn leftover from my niece's, but I need one more skein. Luckily, it's inexpensive and I have a JoAnn's coupon. Life is good.

8. I wore my Rusted Root for the first time on Saturday. And it actually fits. I made a piece of clothing for myself and it actually fits. Life is good.

7. Little Man is making animal noises--and not just for me! We went to my in-laws for dinner on Sunday and Little Man was telling them what noises sheep, cows, owls and monkeys make. It was very exciting to see my little guy's budding drama skills put to better use than the usual one of throwing a huge fit over the remote control. Life is good.

6. I made a ton of progress on Little Man's sheep costume (yes, Alice and Kristin guessed correctly). It's really coming along quickly. I guess my plan to use chunky yarn and size 11 needles was a good one. It's all very exciting. I'm knitting a hooded sweater with ears and a tail and then my sister is helping sew some fleece pants. The last part is another reason life is good. I am an awful sewer.


5. I found some fluff. It was much needed. Ah, escapism through chick lit. So nice. Life is good.

4. I discovered this weekend that I can knit and read. Thanks Ashley for once commenting that you do this sometimes. Reading AND knitting--at the same time! Life is good.


3. I got asked to be godmother to my newest nephew. Remember this little cutie? I feel very honored. Life is good.

2. Good friends on the internet. I got the kindest comment ever from Yarnhog about my costume attempts. I am constantly encouraged and rewarded by the wonderful people I've met on the internet. Another person who is always leaving me encouraging comments is Lydee. She must be one of the nicest people I have ever met. Does knowing someone through the internet count as "meeting" them? Who knows. Life is good.

1. Good friends here. I got so many encouraging comments and compliments when I wore my Rusted Root for the first time to a playdate this weekend. These are my friends I met through a breastfeeding support group. Now, almost a year and a half later, I am still discovering how sweet and supportive these women are. Life is good.

A Contest

Sophanne over at beckyknitstoo is having a great contest. Check it out here to see if you can help her use her stash and win part of it.

Craziest Picture Ever

My sister-in-law is having triplets. She's currently 32 weeks along and they are estimating that she is carrying almost 12 lbs of baby. She just set up a website to keep everyone updated on the triplets. It includes a recent belly shot. It is the craziest picture I have ever seen. If you're up to it, please check out the belly shots, here(The Craziest one is Picture #9). If not, please just keep Shelley, the triplets, and my brother (John) in your prayers. Thanks, it is much appreciated.

Because I'm Crazy

I bought my supplies to make Little Man's Halloween costume.

Why? Because I'm crazy.

Can you guess what he's going to be?

Top Ten Tuesday: Rusted Root Edition

I can't believe it's Tuesday already. It was a fun three day weekend with Brian and our little man. We had beautiful weather and spent lots of time at various parks in the area. I also got some good naptime knitting done and finally finished my Rusted Root. Details on the finished project are at the end of this post. I couldn't wait to show it off so I took some pictures of myself and Brian took some of me as well. I needed a Top Ten Tuesday topic so I cheated and this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is:

Top Ten Pictures of My Finished Rusted Root

10. Full-length mirror shot

9. Self-taken shot with Little Man (not the best of either of us--got to love the double chin)

8. First shot by Brian--Little Man tries to escape
7. Detail of ribbing and lace (love the way the purls and knits lined up)


6. Trying to not feel self conscious (hands are down for Little Man)

5. Action shot (pushing Little Man on the swing)

4. Timer shot-lace panel (trying to suck in my stomach)
3. Timer shot--full view (trying to seem relaxed)

2. Oval mirror shot (love this little antique mirror)

1. Little Man and I (good one for the album)


Pattern: Rusted Root by Zephyr style

Yarn: Cascade Pima Tencel (less than 5 skeins for XS)

Needles: Size 4 and 6 (24" circular) and size 6 doublepoint

Adaptations: I had to play around a little to get the right size. I ended up doing the XS, but added a few extra rows in the raglan. I also had to add a few stitches in the sleeves and ended up doing the sleeve ribbing in a size 6 instead of a size 4 so the cuffs weren't too tight. The pattern called for 12 rows of ribbing on the bottom, but I only did 8 because I didn't want a huge band of ribbing.

Sorry for the unexciting Top Ten Tuesday topic. But, hey, I finished my Rusted Root before winter! I can actually wear it for a few weeks! I still need to block it, but it is otherwise ready to go. Any suggestions for blocking Pima Tencel?