Knit Knit Knit!

So after the one bootie...I kinda dropped knitting for a few weeks because I never seemed to have the right supplies around to try out any of the free patterns on Ravelry! And I was really itching to make my boys a hat, using the pattern out of the new Craftsanity magazine, since they are usually neglected in most of my crafting. Earlier this week on the way home from my doctors appointment Ben took me to Michaels and I bought the Boye "Needlemaster" set using the 50% off coupon (I'll give you my take on the product when I've had a little more experience with it), a size 8, 16" circular, and a set of size 8 double pointed needles. I figured that if I wasn't able to get out and buy needles again for another project that I should be able to get by with those. That very night I got started on Tim's hat in a pretty turquoise wool. I wonder...Can I say pretty if I'm talking about wool for a boy's hat? I don't know, well anyhow, I finally started a knitting project ON MY OWN!

It was so much fun figuring out how to make it all work out, sorta like a game. I learned so much on that first hat, in fact I made a mental list as I stitched. I called it: "The things you learn about knitting that I think you can only learn by DOING IT list". You want to hear what they are? Well of course you do! 1) I hate to knit ribbing. I just like to knit knit knit or purl purl purl, the switching up slows me down big time. 2) Stitch markers, circular needles, a measuring tape, a size G crochet hook, tiny scissors, and a little bag to hold it all are very good knitting supplies to have on hand. 3) My almost-seven-year-old has an adult sized head so next time I make him a hat it needs to be a couple of inches deeper. 4) Double pointed needles are tricky, but not impossible, and I think I'm going to like using two sets of circulars much better (I'm going to try that tonight, and by the way, this video is awesome and totally cracks me up!).  

And guess what? I did it! I knit a hat! Tim loves it, and I was such a proud mama giving it to him the next morning. He liked it so much that he was even willing to let me take his picture in it- now that is a real sign of love coming from this little guy. Another thing I really like is the fact that it covers up his neglected little hair! I have GOT to give that child a haircut before church on Sunday.

I just about couldn't wait to weave the ends in on Tim's hat so that I could get started on my big boy's hat. Ben wanted a stripe and I was pretty pumped about that little challenge. So I got to add changing thread colors to the list! Now I'm about to start decreasing and I'm going to try the "two sets of circulars trick". If anyone else has any suggestions to avoid working with (or having to purchase!) double pointed needles please share. I've heard of the magic loop method, but I haven't found a good video on it yet. Any favorites?

I've been thinking about what my next project will be and I'm very tempted to try this cabled baby hat on Ravelry. I'll let you know how it goes! Maybe I'll try a little practice section first and see how it goes.

I hope you guys have a very happy New Years! I'll be here knitting in my nest if you need me... :) xo, Sam

I can see the light...

...at the end of the tunnel! Yes! We woke up this morning and nobody had a fever!!! I do believe we are on the road to recovery people! Maddie still has a touch of croup, but it looks like we are finally on the other side of this hateful flu. We were sick all through Christmas, but the kids still seemed to have a good time despite feeling yucky. Luckily Molly and Tim were over the worst of it by then and Maddie was just starting to get sick so it worked out better than I thought it would.

There have been quite a few things going on around here besides the flu, thank goodness! Just before we got sick I bought the first edition of the Craftsanity magazine, and I'm so glad I did. I was in need of a good hand project to make for Christmas gifts since what I had planned kinda bombed at the last minute. I bought the PDF version (only $ 3.99!) since I was in a hurry to get something started, and I was very impressed! If you enjoy to knit, crochet, sew or embroider I think you would really like this too.

I found the perfect project right off and got started, Granny Stars! You know how I love me a good granny pattern. I made stacks of these little granny stars for Christmas ornaments to gift to family and friends. They really were a good quick project to work on in the small spaces of time between checking temperatures and comforting sick babies.

I really love the way they turned out and it felt nice to have something productive going on when it seemed like nothing else was getting done around here. I changed the pattern up just a bit on my ornaments by adding a picot to each point of the star. I just wanted a little more *point* at the points. :) Molly made a few of them too, I wish I had a picture of one of hers, but I'll take care of that tomorrow. I gave them away in sets of three like this....

I have started (and finished) another pattern from the magazine too! It's a knit pattern! *happy dance* I've been knitting my little heart out (and loving every minute) for the last couple of days..... and you know... I think I've finally got the hang of it! This may have been the perfect time for me to give knitting a fair try -when I have plenty of sit down time and not a lot of work related distractions. So nice.

I'm going to get back to knitting and praying for the first good night's rest to be tonight, and I'll see you back here soon with some knitting to show! I hope you all had a good Christmas friends! xo, Sam

Merry Christmas!

We are still a dull sickly crowd around here, but I planned to post this before Christmas because it's one of my favorites...enjoy. I pray that you all have a wonderful Christmas my sweet friends! xo, Sam

Sick, sick, sick

We have been battling one thing or another for almost a week now. Tim started us off last week with an infected tooth and our first round of antibiotics, then Molly got a bad (bad bad!) sinus infection and the second round of antibiotics......yesterday (after a somewhat well weekend) Tim, Molly, and I all started feeling bad. The flu has been moving through our area like crazy in the last couple of weeks and I have a feeling it may have caught us. I have lots to show and tell from the past week, but it will have to wait until this old body feels better. The one thing that makes me feel better is that I have talked to our family and we all agreed that if we are all sick for Christmas we will just move it back a week. I hope it doesn't come to that, but it's nice to not have to stress over my kids missing something like Christmas, and to just be able to rest and feel better. If I don't see you all again before then, I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas! The non-sick kind! xo, Sam

What?! HELP!

I have always taken a girl and boy Gymboree (or Janie and Jack) outfit (with the blanket to match) to the hospital, because I love to dress my babies in something cute for when people come to visit. I have always been able to get preemie sizes at Gymboree too which makes me very happy because my babies are little and short. BUT!! Today when I went over to the Gymboree website to look around I was shocked! First off they don't have any pretty sleepers (they have outfits, but you have to buy several pieces and shoes, I just want a one-piece), second they don't have many matching blankets, and third I couldn't find any preemie sizes! What happened in the last five years? Did people stop using blankets? And I love those sweet little soft sleepers that they used to carry. They were dressy enough to go out in (like to the first doctors visit) but still soft and comfy, and oh how it pleased me to have a matching blanket to swaddle and nurse under. What am I going to do? I need your help! Is there another store now that sells those little sets in preemie? Or maybe a website? I wanted to go ahead and get something now while the winter stuff is out....any ideas?

EDITED TO ADD: This is the type of stuff I like...

I really would like this better as a one piece sleeper, but it's so cute I could compromise!

More Flowers!

I've been making hair flowers again. They look so sweet in Molly and Maddie's hair! I can use them on my sweaters too, I just work the prongs of the alligator clip between the threads and they look so cute. It makes me so happy to have a little stash of them around! They work well for so many things, I plan on clipping them to the FOE headbands too....happiness. :)

I really miss sewing and designing, but these little projects are keeping me busy for now. I have a few "little designs" that I've been wanting to work on and I'm hoping I can start on them soon. I've started feeling much better in the last few days as my body has begun to adjust to the new preterm labor medicine (Procardia). The side effects are wearing off little by little so I hope to get a little time in at the machine! 

I can't believe that Christmas is so close! I had grand sewing and crafting plans for Christmas this year, but with all that has been going on I've had to let go of most of them.....there is just no sense in adding stress this year, a healthy baby is much more important, and the handmade gifts can wait. 

It looks like we have a full weekend ahead of us, celebrating Christmas with family and friends, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend too! I'll be back next week with Christmas tree pictures. xo, Sam

He got cut shaving.

You know an almost-seven-year-old's facial hair can get very out of control. I love this kid!

She has decided to grow out her bangs...

...so I decided to get to work on some cute hair accessories to make the next few months a little easier. I started gathering supplies a few weeks back when she first made her decision. I figured that this was a good  time to have a sit-down job like this!

I let Maddie pick out a lot of the materials, and you know my Maddie, she loves her some sparkle! Most of what she chose seemed to be sequined tulle, that sassy girl.

When I went to the fabric store I just got 1/8 or 1/4 yard cuts of everything that the girls liked and it didn't cost more than a few dollars. It really doesn't take much to make a flower or bow and tulle is pretty cheap!

I ordered FOE (foldover elastic) from Sew Sassy to make the headbands with. The girls really like the way the FOE feels, Molly says that it doesn't give her a headache like most headbands do, and the colors are so cute. I ordered the double pronged alligator clips from THIS ebay store for a very reasonable price. So now I am set! I've got plenty of supplies to make as many bows as my little fashionista could want and I've got plenty of sit-down time to do it in.

Oh my goodness!!! And guess what! I just got a call (while writing this post!) from my sis-in-law Cristina, and she's HAVING A GIRL!!!!! YAY! She said "Sam, I need to buy you some tulle so we can make her some headbands!" and I said "Girl, I've got it handled! Don't you worry about a thing!" Another sweet niece!!! YAY! Well, I better go get busy! Have a wonderful day all, I know I will! xo,Sam

Preterm Labor Day

In the last week or so I have been struggling to keep the preterm labor away by staying off of my feet, but I knew that it wouldn't work for long! This weekend I started contracting even when I had been resting all day...then on Tuesday night preterm labor hit full force, even when I dosed off during the night the pain worked it's way into my dreams. How crazy is that? So yesterday I spent most of my day at the doctor's office as a work-in appointment, and I left with a new preterm labor medicine.

 Since I had Madeline (five years ago) the treatment for preterm labor has changed a bit. At this point in my other pregnancies, I would start Brethine pills and use those until they didn't work anymore. When those didn't do the job any longer I would get a Brethine pump and stay on that until the baby came (around 35-36 weeks). This time the doc put me on a new-ish preterm labor medicine which has traditionally been used to lower blood pressure, Procardia. They say that in most patients it seems to do the job with less side effects than brethine. Brethine is kinda like taking speed, so it makes me shaky and I can't sleep! The usual side effects for this stuff is dizziness, headache, and weakness, and they said that those should get better with time. It's definitely got me feeling pretty weak, but the headache only seems to last for about thirty minutes after the meds kick in. It's no big secret that I HATE taking medicine, but as long as I have this old body I will need the help of modern medicine to keep me pregnant until it's safe for Baby to come.

So I said all of that to ask if any of you have been on this medicine before? Are there any tricks that I need to know that may make me feel better? Did you have a good experience?

Thanks for letting me ramble friends! I may not be around for a day or so while I rest and try to get feeling better... I'm hoping it won't be long. xo, Sam

And we have the winners!

Our Busy Little Bunch

kris

Sarah

Leslie

D-lyn

Elise

Amanda Haller

cre8tivecrys

If you winners happen to see this post go ahead and email me at mamacaffee@hotmail.com and let me know what pattern you would like, and if you would like that in PDF or print (if you want a hard copy I need your address too). It's been a bit of a long day here, I'll tell you more about that tomorrow. Have a good evening friends. xo, Sam