fullofstitches.com Blog

I went to one of those ‘membership warehouses’ today. There’s a food court on the outside, so we had lunch before we went in. A man at the window next to me looked over and said, “That’s a nice start you’ve got.” I thanked him, “It gets easier,” he said, and we went to the drink machine. He has nine children, the three youngest were in a cart next to his wife. They’re oldest is 18, so they know.

It amazes how when I’m having one of those weeks where I’ve got to convince myself this is the life I want that someone pops up who understands.

Cow’s teething, maybe I’ll get to knitting or sewing next month.

Thanksgiving was nice. We drove up to Ben’s Dad’s house and enjoyed dinner with family and their friends. We stayed the night and were planning on heading back sometime Friday. Friday, we were asked if we could stay one more day. I had Ben look up the number for the portrait place and postponed our pictures.

Sometime that night, I woke to a burning screaming baby. I lay there trying to calm her and figure out what was wrong. I started to freak out, and prayed, and crawled out of the loft with the screaming burning baby and went downstairs. We lay on the couch by the wood burning stove so that I didn’t need a blanket but knew that she wouldn’t be too warm or cold outside her fever. The Lord granted me peace and told me it was her teeth.

She lay on me nursing for about 6 hours straight. At one point, I tried to take her back to bed, but I missed the step and the jolt startled her back to screaming. Ben called out to “stay there, don’t come up” and so I went back to the couch. Turned out, he thought it was one of the children not me. I did eventually get back to bed after nursing the baby back to sleep again.

Her fever went down somewhat during the day, but returned with a vengeance when she napped and during the night. We drove home Saturday night and slept in Sunday morning. Sure enough that tooth broke through Sunday and the fever was gone Monday. She’s slept in till 11AM both Monday and Tuesday.

Last night, I stayed up to finish the work for Bible study. I went to bed by 4AM and got up at 7:30Am. I had the children dressed and in the car by 9AM, but had to move Ben’s car out of the way (sorry about the mirror). At church, she decided to scream, she hardly nursed and wouldn’t sleep. She finally nodded off in the car, but I had to go to the store.

I received 3 orders for slings this morning (Does anyone know where I can find some BABY PINK twill or lightweight denim?). We stopped at Hancock’s, but they didn’t have it. They had the right color in the right area, but the bolt of fabric was in the wrong place.

We grabbed burgers on the way home, but Cow wouldn’t close her eyes. I needed a nap, anyway. Sometimes just a little shut eye can revive, other times it leaves one screaming grumpy. It was one of those days. I woke to crying baby and squealing girls and it hit a nerve.

When I finally calmed down, I left the TV on and started getting school paperwork ready. Cow screamed a few more times and taken two itsy bitsy naps, and she’s heating up again (there are 2 more teeth looking like they may come through in the next few weeks). I need to run off to the store for supplies and I’m not taking the children tonight (so it probably won’t happen).

If Cow is up to it, we’re supposed to walk to the library tomorrow.

Last year, someone had the bright idea to do a round robin style gift exchange between all the adults in my family. I thought it would be fun and agreed to sign up. The majority of the family is in SoCal and most of us think that gift cards are a fine gift, so I made arrangements between two people that the money would be transferred from one to the other so that the other would pick up the card and pass it on to the recipient.

Apparently, I failed in giving the gift. All year, I have been trying to get in touch with the person (in-person) with each trip I make to SoCal to make amends, and the person is either out-of-town or won’t return my phone calls or emails about visiting. And, the gossip-loop called and told me that the would-have-been recipient is so put-off by not having received this gift that s/he’s sworn off gift-giving at all (exclude me and mine, sure, but everyone else?).

Ah well, hopefully an apology and gift help, but such is life.

We used to just toss a backpack in the car and jaunt off to the mountains. We didn’t bat an eye at driving between L.A. and Denver. Then I married Ben. Now there are six family members, and trips take a little more forethought.

The laundry’s almost done washing. Half was folded and put away over the last couple days, we’re down to the final four loads. Clothes are chosen for tomorrow for four of the six of us. The children can wear aprons in the car to keep theirs nice.

The pie is in the oven.

I plan to have the car packed up tonight because he wants to be driving at 5AM.

My camera cracked. But I do have some pictures for you.

That’s my sweet little TJ (El Guapo, as Ben calls him.. hmm.. maybe that should be his name on my blog). Just a day or so old, my sister came to the hospital and took B&W photos of him for her photography class. I gave birth to him in the hospital (tradition, right?), and the first time he looked at me, he smiled. I looked at him and there he was, stoned out of his mind (Demerol…), and he looked up at me and just smiled like “Oh, there you are.” And all was alright in the world.

You know how cute and sweet he is, but it’s his personality that gets you:

I had to search, but I finally found my pattern! It was in a box of all sorts of diapering stuff, way down under everything.

My MIL asked what I use to make diapers. My favorite pattern is the Side-Snapping PooPockets by New Conceptions. Why? Aesthetics. I like the extra cuteness factor of the smoother front (the tabs get hidden behind the front layer instead of covering it over). They take a touch longer to make, but the fit is great.

(this is AJ, 4 years ago: about 11mo)
See? Smooth front, much cuter than bulky overlapping tabs.

Personally, I think it’s fun to get old sweatshirts from garage sales for these, but any good absorbent fabric works. Hemp is *great* for diapers! (Explanation of why hemp’s good.) The last time I made diapers, the outsides were shirts, sweatshirts or pants, and the insides were hemp. (In the photo above, the turned layer is hemp terry and has the soaker pad and elastic sewn to it, the blue layer will be the outside of the diaper and the hemp jersey will be the inner layer. I could just do the terry and outside because that terry is very durable!)

I’ve bought hemp at
Full Moon Hemp

Wow! Miss B really looks like little Cow, doesn’t she? (That’s baby BB in the photo, her face can be seen on the pattern page)

Finally got around to moving my soaker pattern here! Woolly Britches are available for your crocheting pleasure. My photos aren’t very organized (yes, they’re all digital) so I’m having trouble finding the one that goes in the middle of the page (Ben, help?)

That’s the original WB soaker that I made in 2004. Maybe I should take a new photo and show how well it’s aged. It went through the wash (oops) and shrunk a little, but still works great for Miss C.

I was at the yarn store a (couple) week(s) ago before yesterday (I’ve already forgotten how long it’s been), and the girls requested yarn. Each picked out a hank of sock yarn. When we were home, Miss A and I were looking at patterns online and came across one that she cried out, “I want that one!” So, yesterday I started knitting on her Rainbow Socks.

The yarn is Lorna’s Laces in “Baby Stripes” and the colors are actually baby blue and baby pink. Not my colors, but fun to watch the pattern.

Shall we have a quote of the day?
Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. -William Morris

Fantastic job seeing that I had two left feet! No one wrote in why!

Sock the first was done to pattern and fit me perfectly, so I added an extra lace chart repeat to sock the second and finished knitting it and that one fit Ben. A pair of mismatched socks is always a photo shoot (though some may be rather hush hush). I’ve since frogged the toe from sock the first and made it to match the other.

1. Not on raveley yet:
2. Pattern Source: Folk Socks by Nancy Bush
3. Yarn: Lorna’s Laces, 2 skeins in Pewter
4. Needle Size: US 0 (2mm)
5. Gauge: good question, will check when done NAK
6. Pattern Changes: No picot on hem (requested by recipient), Eye of Partridge heel, extra lace pattern repeat to give more length, used ssk at beginning of round on second toe to mirror first.
7. Yarn Review: Had a little tiny ball left from each foot as usual (even though the yarn shop insists I should get 3 socks from 2 skeins)
8. Did it fit: Yes, with the extra repeat. It fit my foot perfectly without it.
9. How many times did I frog: Just the toe once.
A. Usability analysis: Will be fabulous
B. Final Thoughts: I almost want to make a pair for me! So many other patterns to try first!

I went to the dentist this morning. For the third time in two months. I’ve got another appointment in two weeks to make a nice even four in two. She’s replaced crumbling fillings and done a little “deep cleaning.” Today, two rather deep cavities were re-filled. I moved a little when she did the shot and it didn’t numb my teeth, so she had to re-jab me. On the way home, I yawned and there was a pop in my jaw and my ear started going numb.