Cuter than Cute

These are my second pair of newborn slippers which are found here, as a free pattern. LOVE LOVE LOVE them, could they be any cuter? And they are easy too, perfect for all the babies in the world. I know the picture is a little dark, I couldn't get a decent shot with the flash on. I modeled them on this freaky little Urkle doll, who, oddly, has the same size feet as a newborn baby. Bizarre, I know, but kinda fun too.

Spring break is in full force right now, and we spent our Easter with J's parents. It was fun, and then they took the boys for a few days, so the house is sort of quiet. It is a little boring actually. I don't have anyone to play trains with me. Or anyone to take swimming. But they are having great fun, and they'll be home soon enough. And these are J's parent's neighbor's horses. Twenty pregnant ladies, all looking miserable and ready to pop. The cool thing was that you could see the little horses (foals) moving around in those big pregnant bellies. That is something I will always remember feeling and I still miss it, but just seeing these mares looking so ready makes me thankful it isn't me that is about to burst!

If you read it, I will blog...

I thought it might be fun to see if anyone besides my mom reads my blog, so if you do, give me a shout out in the comments and I will be happy. Creating a blog is so much fun, and I hope that there might be a few people out there lurking around not commenting because they think I am too cool and will not care. Not true, I am a total nerd AND I care, I really, really do. Holy Cow, that is pathetic, almost up there with buying friends on myspace. But still, I like to know who is reading.

Ok, commence commenting. Then tomorrow I'll post a real entry with a FO. Deal?

Wet and wild...and hairy

I am about to say something so unknitterly that I may be blackballed from the knitting world forever, but since I'm not known for holding my opinions to myself often (just ask my husband), I'll go ahead and say it...

I hate mohair! (A collective gasp goes out through knit-topia) There, that has been on my chest for a while now, every since I made my first felted purse.

Now, before you go and form an angry mob, put down those pitchforks and torches and let me tell you why. (Beware, this is a heavily parenthesized post)

I hate mohair because it is...so hairy. Seriously, if I wanted to look like a crazy cat lady, I would adopt a few dozen cats, but every time I knit with mohair, I have to bust out the packing tape and clean off all the long hairs that are all over me. This was especially bad when I was wearing a knee brace, because I would pull off the brace and the Velcro would literally be packed, the whole brace would look like I rolled it around in a kennel, or even worse, the hole where my knee stuck through would be covered and the rest of my leg would be hair free where it was covered by the brace. All the doctors thought that I ran a humane society. Not a good look...

Reason number two: It sticks to my hands when it is wet, (as when felting) I know that this is a result of its hairy-ness, which could be added above, but I still hate it, and since this is my blog, I get to put it as its own reason. When you reach into the garment bag to check your felting (or worse, when you put your feet into wet clogs) that mohair is all over the place, sticking and hairy...like petting a wet angora goat. Not that I've ever done that, but I imagine it a comparable experience, considering that the angora goat is the source behind mohair.

And lastly, I don't like it cause it is itchy. Yeah, so is wool, I know. But it is not as itchy as mohair, and it isn't as hairy. So the question which begs to be asked...why the spank do I keep buying it!? I. Don't. Know. Crazy cat lady, I'm just a step behind you.

This weekend was somewhat eventful. Friday was J's birthday, and even though I didn't make a post to tell him how much I love and enjoy him, I do. See, I even got him a can of menudo for his birthday, lucky guy! We also had dinner at the food court in the mall, can a husband ask for more??Jack and I made a cake, and then Mimi helped to frost it. It was like a knitting pattern. Spread, lick, *spread, lick, repeat from (*)

We usually clean our table off before we sit to eat, so all that mess is birthday-related. Just so ya know.

Saturday was crazy because J wanted to go to a promotional thing at a sporting-goods store, and then the gym that I am now a member of had a St. Patrick's day "party." There was free food which I find highly motivating, so we went. It was so cold! And the free food was somewhat skimpy. "Naked" burritos and a little bit of pizza. (I'm not sure what I was expecting from a gym promotion, most people would have realized that the food would be on the health conscious side) I could have gone for more food, but the trip was worth it when the Boulder Running Company gave away awesome water bottles and we all got one...free. The funny part of that is that I had actually bought a water bottle (the first one since in about eight years) at the sporting-goods store because when I use my Nalgene bottle on the treadmill, I dump water all over myself. Now I have two, though Mimi has claimed the one that I actually paid for.

Sunday found us in Denver for a Purim carnival, which the kids loved. We loved it too, but not as much because we were too big for the inflatables. We chased them all over for a few hours while they played games like Burst Haman's Bubble, Crown Esther and Purim Plinko. The biggest hit was the cotton candy which was devoured in record time. Fun times had by all.

B wore his hair like Albert Einstein, and his full-sleeve tattoo. Princess Mimi made her own crown and played the part well.Jumpin' Jack (with Robin Hood hat in hand)Then we went to an authentic-like New Mexican restaurant, which is one of the things we miss the most from New Mexico. I really love Denver, but I guess I am a little biased since it is the Capital of my home state.

Knitting news is nil, but I might have some time when I quit playing on Ravelry. Yeah, I was warned that it is a time sucker by every blogger in the world, but I still got on and I can't seem to quit.

Commitment Issues

So, last week, I joined a gym. How very urban of me, I know. The rub is, I had to join for two years. Two years people! Jack will be in kindergarten, B will be in middle school, Mimi will be dressing herself and in preschool. I will be two years older and hopefully, several million dollars richer. All that to say, I finally know what it must have felt like for J to get married. It is one thing to use a trial membership, to try all the fancy equipment, to even imagine being super fit and using the gym three to five times a week. It is another thing to actually sign the papers, for better or worse. Commitment IS a scary word. But I did it, and I have gone two times already. My arms feel like they were stretched on the rack, and I nearly collapsed on the elliptical machine, (nearly) but I went! And whats more, I plan to go back again. Unfortunately, knitting needles are too heavy to pick up for my rubber arms, so there is no knitting to report upon. Well, that isn't entirely true. I signed up for a Raverly invitation, so that is something knitterly. And I finished the tiny baby booties, and gave them away before I got a picture. I also made a trip to Denver a few weeks ago and while I was there, I actually felted the Nonibag and then we popped over to Purls of Wisdom, a new and oh-so-loverly knitting shop. I picked up some beautiful Brown Sheep Handpaint Original, and some chocolaty brown Berroco Bonsai. I have no idea what I will make, I thought a scarf of the Berroco, and the owner had a couple of hand-warmers made out of the Handpaint that are cute, but I am not sure that I would use them. I just don't want to commit to anything...

I have looked all over creation (or at least the small piece of it that I frequent) and I can't find my super-cute cloche hat that I made back in December. I never knit for myself, but I really wanted a cloche-like hat, so I made it and wore it and lost it, all before I got a picture of it. I am not sure I have it in me to make another one, and chances are, the minute I bind it off, I'll find the other one.

I bought this new hoodie-jacket a few weeks ago that is knit, and has a really great shape, and cute details that made it my new favorite...except that it pills really badly, being made of 100% acrylic. So I pulled out my handy-dandy fabric shaver to take care of those unsightly pills and I managed to cut it, not once but three times! Usually I pitch the extra thread that is always attached to clothing directly into the trash because I have never needed it before, but the force must have been with me when I brought that hoodie home, because I kept the little two foot length of thread. And low-and-behold, I used it to fix those holes and while I'm no good at mending, at least I saved it from the Good-Will heap.