This & That

First Finish of 2011 & Sokkusu yarns

I figure I did well last year when I challenged myself to finish at least one project a month. I managed something like 25 finished items last year. So far this year i have made a cowl using Skein Queen Desire and the Noble Cowl pattern on Ravelry. It was super fast and easy knit and used up very little yarn (184yds). I need to wash and block it and I think I'll put it away toward Christmas gifts as I'm not entirely sure it's my color. Not to mention I rarely wear/keep anything I knit though I am trying to change that this year and be a bit more of a selfish knitter and make things I want to keep. 

Yesterday I met up with 8 other knitters at Westfields for lunch and some knitting. Alice who runs Socktopus brought some of her new yarns she has been busy dyeing. I managed to buy 2 skeins from her, one in a color that was on her blog earlier this week that I fell in love with but thought I wouldn't get as they were her Dyepot Babies. Anyway, it hasn't been officially named but I've named my skein Louis. The other skein was just a really good shade of a blue-red that I had to have. I love red but only if it's the right shade. I am not a fan of orange red at all and that's what I find more of when looking for yarn much to my dismay. 

Couldn't keep up...

with 2 blogs so I merged them. 

http://mimisaysmeow.typepad.com

Butterfly again!

Went to the park this afternoon with my parents after lunch and looked around for the butterfly hoping to see it again but gave up after a little while as I saw NOTHING. After about 45 minutes we decided to walk down to Starbucks and just as we were leaving the park something came out of nowhere, fluttered in front of me, circled overhead and then took off. My Mom saw it as well so at least I know I wasn't seeing things. It looked like the same butterfly as yesterday though I realize it could just be another one of the same kind. It was nice to see it again :) 

Butterflies and other things

Thought I'd share a recent photo of N for a change, taken over the weekend when we were at the park. She'll be 14 months tomorrow, amazing how fast time is flying. She's getting so big. This is a rare moment where she is wearing a hat but you can see her hand reaching up. Moments after this photo was taken the hat was off and flung aside. 

Tomorrow my sweet little princess is going in for hernia repair surgery. She was born with an umbilical hernia (apparently very common, as much as 1 in 6 births) which is not going to resolve itself as it's quite large. It's a routine op, usually a day procedure with minimal risks. After all we've been through, it should be a walk in the park. I'm hoping she sails through this like she sailed through her open heart surgery just about a year ago, last June. Can't say June is my favorite month by any stretch of the imagination. I'm totally dreading tomorrow but it has to be done. At least it's first thing in the morning and with any luck we can come home by the evening and all sleep in our own beds. There is the chance we'll stay in as they might want to monitor her to make sure all is well due to her heart history. Her cardiologist seems to be the least concerned out of everyone so that's a good sign I think? 

Speaking of signs... we were at the park yesterday as it was a really beautiful (though far too hot) day. While I was standing there watching N crawl around in the grass, I felt a nibble of sorts on my arm and jumped, thinking it was a spider or something. I looked down and saw a butterfly had landed on my bare arm! I wiggled my arm so it took off but within minutes it landed on my again, same spot. It was black when totally folded up but when it took off again it was a really pretty butterfly with colorful wings. So I stared at it circling in the sky above us and then couldn't see it anymore. Until I looked back down at Noemie and saw the butterfly had landed on her back! It stayed there for a few minutes while she continued playing and then took off. It circled over us a few more times, almost dive bombed me a few times, and then disappeared. So of course I had to google to make sure it wasn't a bad omen. I found that a lot of people think they are good luck. A sign of rebirth, new beginnings, freedom. Many think it's a message from a loved one that has passed to say they are okay and are still with us, watching over us. I'm usually not one to think of signs or believe in them, I'm far from spiritual and all that stuff but this just got me thinking as the timing was so perfect. I don't wear perfume nor do I wear lotion and on a hot day, I doubt I smelled sweet and flowery. I asked my folks about this and they told me that when I was little and would sit out in the garden, butterflies would land on me then as well. I've never had it happen since then (and I don't even remember it as I was less than a year old) until yesterday. Assuming all goes well tomorrow I think I'll have to get N a little butterfly necklace for her to wear when she is a bit older. 

Mini progress

Finally some more progress in the building side of things. I stained and cut wood slats to get the parlor and basement entrance hall floors completed. I still need to wax and polish them but it's so hot at the moment that wax might be a bit messy to work with. Maybe next weekend if it's cooler. I need to order a fire surround for the parlor this week. I also discovered that I can't find my stairs and landing for the basement entrance hall so I have emailed the people I bought the kit from to ask if they sell replacement parts. If not I will have to order stuff some somewhere else and make it work. It's the only thing I can't find so I almost wonder if it was missing from the kit to begin with but as it's been nearly 3 years since I bought it I can't remember. The cook is now in the kitchen but she looks a bit lost as she only has a knife but not much else. I need to get stuff unpacked and on display but with the heat I just want to melt so will save it for another day. I dressed the cook doll a long time ago and she has the craziest face. I can't remember who the doll kit was from but whoever it was wasn't too good at the face painting. Not that I could do any better but I also don't sell things. Though you can't see it, the cook is barefoot as I didn't know how to make shoes back then. Next step is to wallpaper the basement entrance hall and then the scullery then it's onto the external decorations. I need to go to Homebase first to buy some more paint to match the rest of the exterior windows. Meant to go today but it was way too nice to be in the car or in a hardware store. Instead we spent a lot of time down at the park. It was fun but I'm looking forward to the cooler weather later on this week. Tomorrow is meant to be another hot day so I might have to set up the portable AC unit in N's room as it was a tad too warm in there today. I'd kill for central AC...

Prince Charming in the making

Just charming and it's definitely still a boy. Only a boy would be picking his nose starting this early afterall! I had my OB flip over to 3d mode during our scan this morning so we could take a peek at what this kid might look like. Hard to say really as it's still about 7 weeks earlier than when we had N's 3d scan done. I doubt we're having 3d done this time as it's all just not as fascinating as it was the first time around. Poor kid, I haven't gone out and bought stuff or anything like I did last pregnancy. Second time around is definitely different. At least for us. We think we've got a name but might still change our minds. I suggested putting 100 random names in a hat and picking one in the delivery room. Not sure K was too thrilled with that idea. Stay tuned!

I am on a roll!!!

FFO number 5. I had about 1/3 of this one done and in the last 2 nights I got it finished off. It went so fast as it's on 40ct which is so easy once you get used to working on 54ct. I think this bell pull is going in the bedroom in my Victorian house. I need to work out how to hang the darn thing. It's approx 4" in length. I have to admit it's not my favorite design but as it's done I will put it on display. I started another project this morning, a 54ct sampler for the nursery. It'll take a while to get it done as it's so intricate but so far so good. I think as I hadn't stitched in a while, the floodgates of stitchery have opened up here. I'm going to take advantage while I'm in the mood and get as much as I can done! Must eventually get back to the building work on the Vic and teapot shop but it's easier for me to do that on the weekend as it's a hassle to get interrupted mid paint job or mid grouting and with K around to deal with N, I can work hassle free!

UFO (or FFO?) number 4

Yay another project completed! The stitchery is worked on 54ct (54 holes per inch) silk gauze using Mulberry Silk Threads. It's such a struggle to work on 54ct but I love the finished result as it's so much more detailed and delicate looking. There are 7,921 tiny little stitches in this piece and it's approx 1-3/4" square in size. The firescreen itself is by David Booth. I'm calling it an FFO (Finally Finished Object) after someone else on my stitching forum pointed out it's no longer an UFO. Still plugging along with my dollhouse. Have added most of the contents back in so will do updated photos next week. I've packed away my scrap stash for now as I can't see myself wanting to do any layouts in the near future. I'm still maintaining my other blog though so I have a reference point for later on when I decide to scrap the photos of N that I am still taking.

Woo hoo! Lights!

It only took me about three hours but my lights are all working in my Victorian house. I even got my new fires plugged in and they flicker but unfortunately they are very subtle and you can't even see them in the photos. I really need to learn how to use our camera considering it's got such potential but I'm lazy and I only know how to use it on auto-mode. So, these photos aren't great but they give an idea of all the lights in the house. I have a remote control system so can turn lights on individually rather than the basic system which means lights all on or all off. Now that the lighting it done I will spend the rest of the week adding all the furniture and accessories back into the house then I can figure out what I need to make (and buy of course!) along the way. The first photo is of the lights on in the house but turned off in my room. Bit blurry but I love how a house looks with the lights on at night time. The next two photos were taken with flash so that the lights looked like lights rather than glowing blobs! I don't have enough space to stand back far enough from the house to get it all into one shot so it's the top three floors then the bottom two. Hope to have more photos during the week!

Progress so far

I totally completely and utterly forgot how long things take when it comes to minis. This is my weekend progress... The entrance hall used to have wood flooring but when I added a basement I had to remove the flooring as it was blocking the opening for the stairs to come up from the basement. So, rather than wood floor it again I found some tiles in my stash instead. It was a bit of a hassle as I had to trim tiles to fit on both sides. All the little pieces are glued one by one. I wallpapered the kitchen and am surprised I managed to contort myself so I could reach inside to get it done. I forgot how much I hate to wallpaper though I love the effect when it's done. The scullery floor I did yesterday and I think I need to give it another good wipe as some of the grout dust seems to be on some of the tiles. The tiles were also a bit uneven which made grouting a bit difficult but it sort of adds some character so I'm happy with how it turned out. I've got the wall paper for this room on order and it should be here next week. The bulk of my time today was spent emptying out all the contents of the house, dusting the floors and then I sorted out all my fireplaces. I cut brick backings to go behind the fire surround and then drilled all my holes for the wires to the "coals" that will light up and flicker once I get my lighting sorted. Tomorrow K will help me turn my house around so I can access the back where all the wires come out and I will plug things back in, add on my flickering unit and with any luck, all my lights will work so I can then get back to the fun part: refurnishing and adding all the little accessories that have been sitting in boxes for the past two years. I can't believe how long I've neglected my poor house. Once I get the Vic to how I want it to be, I will go back to my teapot shop. Hopefully by then the roof tiles I've got on order will show up so I can get the external decoration all finished. Phew!