Earthtones Girl

Have Snow, Will Knit

December 20, 2009 by earthtonesgirl

New York is blanketed right now, my car is parked in a great spot, the fridge is full of food and I’ve got tons of knitting to do by next Friday….Can you say hurray!!!! Kira is sleeping through the night and napping beautifully…I’m in heaven.

This is the first of a pair of socks for my sister for Christmas (I’m still hoping to get the pants done for Kira….hoping). It’s Socks That Rock in the Beryl colorway, medium weight. I love the colorways of this yarn but it is soooooo thick. I’m really not a fan of this weight for socks but I promised so I will knit on with love in my heart. She bought this 2 years ago at the Sheep and Wool festival. I promised her socks then…see where I’m going with this. I will knit on with love in my heart.

I was going to make Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Arch Shaped socks. I’ve being dying to cast them on after seeing this pair but this yarn is just getting on my nerves so I changed my mind midway and now I’m winging it…My sister will never know what they were going to be. And I know she is going to love what they become. So no worries…right?

Posted in Christmas 2009, Socks | 2 Comments »

First Snow!!!!

December 20, 2009 by earthtonesgirl

Yes, it’s cold but it was a moment we had to capture!!

My nose is cold mummy…

Ok, why am I sinking?

What is this stuff?

There so much of it…

Do I like this?

I think I like it…..:)!!

This is so much fun! For both of us…

Posted in Baby Things, Christmas 2009 | 3 Comments »

You Thought I Forgot!!

December 20, 2009 by earthtonesgirl

Yes, I can still knit. Though until very recently there wasn’t much of that going on around here. I will tell you all the story later because I honestly think it’s worth telling but in the meantime…This is for Kira for Christmas day. I’m hoping to have a pair of pants to go with it. We’ll see… The knitting mojo has me by the throat and there is nothing I can do but yield and knit away.

Quick, simple and beautiful…just what I needed!! It’s sized for 6-12months. Kira is now 7 1/2. So, I will certainly be making one or two more of these. Maybe a hood next time. Add some color, etc…

Just needs buttons, some blocking and it’ll be ready to go…

Pattern: Garter Yoke Bay Cardi by Jennifer Hoel

Yarn: Karabella Aurora 8, color #1350, 5 socks.

Needles: #6

No major mods just moved the button placement up a bit. Starting about 2-3 stitches from the neck and then about every 10 stitches until I had 5 buttons holes. Oh, and I added some short rows across the back of the sweater. Other than that, I knit as directed. Great pattern, super easy.

Posted in Baby Things | 2 Comments »

Mixed Messages!!!!

December 2, 2009 by earthtonesgirl

Breastfeeding vs. Bottle Feeding

Co-Sleeping vs. Not Co-Sleeping

What the hell do either of those have to do with this incredibly painful story. Of course we’re never going to know all the details but I would love to know exactly what happened in this case. This is going to fan the flames on the above and many other parenting issues.

BREASTFEEDING NOT TO BLAME FOR RECENT INFANT DEATH, URGE EXPERTS

And at the end of the day, that precious 4week old is still gone…

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Ten On Tuesday

December 1, 2009 by earthtonesgirl

10 Things You Want, but Wouldn’t Buy For Yourself

1. A red mini cooper

2. Pair of diamond earrings

3. First edition copy of anything by Emily Dickinson

4. First edition copy of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

5. A sweater’s worth of Skinny Bugga (two strands held together)

6. Trip to Tibet

7. A silent knitting retreat at Kripalu for a week

8. Weekly, private yoga lessons for a year

9. I can’t buy this but I want it more than anything…an afternoon to chat with my Granny King. She passed away when I was about 8. I would give almost anything to sit beside her, listen to her, smell her (I can still remember how good she smelled and how soft her skin was), and hug her. I want to ask her how she was always so gracious and loving no matter what life handed her and it handed her some not so nice things sometimes….

10. I would buy this if I could…the house of my husband’s dreams. Just to see the look of pride and peace on his face.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Simple Yet Satisfying

November 30, 2009 by earthtonesgirl

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was Kira’s first and I think we spent more time taking pictures of her then we did eating. There is something so camera worthy about sweet potatoes in a baby’s hair.

And thanks to everyone that commented on my last post. As the Knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade said, “You’ve chosen wisely”…and I have. I chosen my friends very wisely.

Now finally some knitting (and more pictures of the girl). I made these two little hats a few weeks ago, just didn’t get around to posting them. The sweetness factor is super high, like cavity inducing high…you’ve been warned.

Pattern: Chocqua

Source: Baby Beanies: Happy Hats to Knit for Little Heads by Amanda Keeys

Yarn: 1/2 skein each of, Aurora 8, and Zara (had both in my stash, and don’t remember the color numbers)

Needles #7

As I mentioned below, this yarn needs to be knit at a tighter gauge…it was stretched out in no time. But still cute, cute, cute!

And here she is in her Aviatrix Baby Hat. This is the fastest project I’ve ever made. I know it’s small but it just went super quick. Very clever design.

Is it me or is my daughter just edible?

I couldn’t quite get the pose I wanted so check out the still-life below.

Pattern: Aviatrix Baby Hat (a free Raverly download)

Yarn: Karabella Aurora 8, Merlot #2, 1 skein (98 yards)

Needles: #7

Thoughts: Love the pattern, love the hat, love the yarn but after about two or three wearings it started to get a bit stretched out. Especially the neck-band. As with the other hat this yarn is just way to soft and needs a smaller needle or rather knit at a tighter gauge. I would try a 6 or even a 5 next time. For now as a quick fix I just ripped a few rows out of the neck-band and it fit snug again.

In terms of modifications, I knit all the wraps on the short rows and also didn’t double them up as written in the pattern but staggered them. It was way to messy looking without that change.

This a great baby gift, quick, easy, inexpensive and it looks sooo fancy and complicated.

Just finishing up a jacket for her so I’ll post that one soon. And I’ll leave a hint about my project…

Posted in Baby Things, Hats | 5 Comments »

Happy Thanksgiving

November 26, 2009 by earthtonesgirl

On this day of thanks, There are the obvious things, my family, friends, husband, beautiful daughter, my dogs, roof over my head, food on the table, a peaceful life, and much more. I could write pages about each of those things and still not cover the depth of my gratitude. So I won’t try.

I will say, that on this day, in the quiet, private part of my heart I am most grateful to be me, for who I was and who I have become. Again it would take pages and pages…let it suffice that all is well.

I am also ever thankful to be a knitter and have the entire knitting world, literally, at my finger tips. I’ve been knitting for the bebe quite a bit and I’m so over due for a little treat for me.

The meal is digesting, the dishes washed, the hubby is working tonight, the babe is asleep and the dogs are having a sleep over at the inlaws…It’s just me, that beautiful chart and a bit of Skinny Bugga.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

PS. Two skeins of Lorna Lace’s Shepherd Sock to anyone who can guess what the pattern is.

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

Feels So Good

November 16, 2009 by earthtonesgirl

Thanks so much to everyone for that incredibly warm welcome back and for the words of understanding. I missed yall too.

Anyway, to continue catching up…

Here’s a bit of seasonal color I just had to share. T his is just a few blocks from home.

As I was walking through the woods by our apartment, there were so many leaves falling it sounded like rain…It was one of those rare, quiet moments when you stand perfectly still, listen, enjoy and know you are not alone.

Knitting coming up soon….stay tuned.

Posted in Inspiration, Nature Shots | 1 Comment »

Did Ya Miss Me? I’ve Missed Me…

November 14, 2009 by earthtonesgirl

When I was pregnant, the lovely ladies from the knitting class I used to teach threw a little baby shower for me. And as we were opening gifts (they were all children’s books and some of the sweetest I’ve ever seen/read) and enjoying each other’s company, Anne said to me. And if you ever feel down and it’s lingering and lingering don’t chalk it up to “par for the course”, talk to someone. Call me…”the baby blues” can be a very subtle and insidious thing. You don’t always see it coming and then you can be in trouble. Well I didn’t but it came and I’d call crying almost every day trouble.

Call it hormones, call it whatever you want but my anxiety over “am I doing the right thing” was becoming so overwhelming that I just didn’t know what to do with myself or my little girl. And then one day my husband grabbed me by the shoulders, kissed me and said you’re doing a great job, an amazing job. Kira is happy and healthy and loves her mummy but it’s time for mummy to do something for herself.

Which leads to the other thing that was getting to me. As you may or may not have noticed we didn’t go to the Sheep and Wool festival this year. It was such a hard decision but the weather was just too awful to be toting a 5 month old around worry. So that means I missed Knitting Camp, The Sock Summit, Sheep and Wool Festival and then Stitches East (We even tried to attend that, just to shop a bit but again bad weather and two-hour car ride (one way) was not going to work). Is it ok for the Mum to stomp her feet a bit? Yes!

I also want to take a moment and publicly apologize to my darling husband for not trusting him the way I should have regarding our daughter. I’m so sorry. I know you forgive me but I’ve been so hard on you…Forgive me. And again I refuse to say it was just hormones. We all know when we’re beening “not nice”. I was really not nice.

I won’t bore you anymore with all the epiphanies I’ve had in the last few days and with how crappy I’d been feeling for the last month suffice it to say. I’m back, I love my family, I trust myself and all is well again in our/my world.

So here’s a bit of what we’ve been up to…

Check out my girl’s new ride…the big girl high chair and Solid Food…(that’s worth a whole other post)

Look what I can do?

Like my fangs!?!

I am Tigger…Tigger is me!

A very special day…

Endless gratitude for my family…

Posted in Baby Things, Family | 6 Comments »

My Guest Today Is…

October 12, 2009 by earthtonesgirl

I’ve been knitting quite a bit lately but haven’t actually finished anything, so I thought I’d show off the knitting skills of a very dear friend. And a picture or two of my little pumpkin never hurts (ok there are 5). My friend Carolyn knit these for Kira and gave them to me back in April at my baby shower. They were the hit of party with more oohs and ahhs than one can imagine. I couldn’t wait to see them on her.

It’s a lovely, crisp, cool fall day today and I thought it’s a perfect day for knitted pants…

Cute could never even come close to describing these…

Could you just pinch that little butt or what? Of course that “potty flap” is the best feature.

Carolyn, you’ve out done yourself. The fit, the color, everything….PERFECTION!!!!

I don’t have much in the way of details. I’ve been trying to get her to write the pattern for these, maybe now she’ll be inspired to put down the needles and pick up the pen.

Here’s what I do know

Pattern: Personal

Source: The brilliant mind Carolyn B.

Yarn: Rowan Denim # 229 (I think the name of it is Nashville but don’t quote me)

Amount: ?

Needles: ?

Thoughts: I guess I’ll be counting stitches and pulling out the tape measure in order to duplicate. Though there are a few great pants patterns out there. Like this one and this one and this one.

Guess what we’ll be knitting and wearing this fall and winter.

A pair for me? Ya think? Maybe? I know, I can hear my friend May saying your butt’s way to big gurl…

Posted in Baby Things | 8 Comments »

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