Where Did January Go?

Does anyone else out there feel like January was the Incredible Disappearing Month? I just sat down to write in my journal--I try to write nearly every day--and my last entry was LAST WEEK. I was like, what? A whole week, poof? Yes. Poof.

Part of it has to do with how busy my husband is right now. He's a live event producer, specializing in lighting and rigging (that silver truss stuff that hangs from ceilings that all the lights and speakers clamp on to). So, when he has a huge show, like he does this weekend, I'm basically a single mom for a week. Then Adrian got the barfies, and there went Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Awesome.

One more question: Any other pregnant knitters out there? Anyone else feel like every sweater they knit (while pregnant) makes you look like a cow? I do. Because, well, I kind of AM a cow. It's cool, it's worth it, but I don't recommend an Aran weight pullover right now. It's not going to look cute and snuggly.

I'm thinking it's time for a new shrug or shawl. Shrugs are cute on pregnant bellies. Hmm...

I did knit a shawl back in October:



Moire-effect color-changes, crocheted picot edging, top-down triangle...it's pretty great actually. And I gave it to my sister-in-law, so the only pictures I have are ones I took when she was here. She wore this for weeks while her mother was dying, because it was perfect shawl weather around here.



When Mary died, I just gave it to her. This one should be a free pattern, too. I think I'll call it Morning.

That's two patterns I owe you now--the sweater pillow and the morning shawl. Perhaps in February. (Isn't that a short month?)

--Katie Rose

On Mothers, Babies, and Cute-Ugly Sweaters

This is a blog post in three parts. (This is actually the second version of this blog post. I just wrote this long, gorgeous, and witty blog post and then deleted it from MarsEdit by accident. !!!!!! Hey, MarsEdit people. How about an undelete? A trash can? A second effing chance? So this post is a quick recap of that longer post that no one will ever get to read.)

Part 1. I Want a Nerdy Kid

And I got one!



You know how when you're half-asleep and making coffee and suddenly you realize that your kid isn't making his usual racket like banging a spoon on the coffee table? And you freak out for a moment? When I looked up, this is what he was doing.

Part 2. My Sister Had a Gorgeous Kid



Naomi. She's awesome. Hanging out with her is making me excited to meet my Edward-to-be (due in April).



Here is my sister with Naomi. Note that despite the fact that my sister just had a baby and hasn't slept in 1.5 weeks, her skin looks flawless. She is a dermatologist.

Part 3. The Cute-Ugly Sweater Pillow



I was going to put all these great instructions here. But the post got deleted. So you're going to have to wait til my next post for my super-quick, super-easy, turn a sweater into a pillow instructions. Sorry.

That Other Blog

I just posted this on my family/life blog (katie-and-michael.blogspot.com) because I realized that I just write all about my family and life here on this blog, and it seems silly to duplicate. Here's what I posted:

Hey folks.

This blog started as a pre-wedding diary for our family and friends a while back. Most of you know that I also keep another blog (along with a co-author) over at The Knitty Professors (knittyprofessors.com). Lately, my posts here have just been cross-posts from that other blog, since it is the one I more carefully maintain.

Because of this, I've decided to stop posting to this blog--at least as a trial--and only post to the Knitty Professors. Please join me over there if you would like to keep up with Pryal life (and learn a bit about fiber arts).

Now, for those of you who are not voyeurs, nosy folks, or otherwise have interest in my life (since Jordynn seems far less likely to chat about personal business here), please ignore the overly personal content that seems to sprout like flowers around here in Knitty Professor Land.

Those of you (like me) who are voyeurs, continue to enjoy! Since we're iced in here in the south at least for a day or two, I'll get started on another post.

A Quickie Update on that aforementioned personal life:
1. Michael's back is fully recovered. Miracle.
2. Mary, my mother in law, is still dead, and we still miss her dearly, and I think about her almost every minute--small reminders, all day long.
3. I'm still pregnant with Number Two, to arrive in April.
4. I'm only teaching one course this semester, which is AWESOME. More time to knit!

--Katie Rose

Some Updates, and one Knitting Idea

Knitting a whole sweater has seemed a little overwhelming lately. So here's something I did do:



This is a sweater I got from the Gap a few years ago that I really like--except that it's just a wee bit too short. And now that I'm pregnant, it's way too short. Plus, it didn't gather at the waist or the cuffs at all.

So I raided the stash and found some worsted weight wool and knit on cuffs and a hem using a k1, p1 rib stitch and some small needles so that the stitches would be tight. It came out completely great. I seriously can't believe it. I wear the sweater all the time now. (Remember, bind off LOOSELY, esp. at the hem.)

To follow up from my last post, right now, my husband Michael is at the neurosurgeon's--he's probably going to have surgery tonight to fix the ruptured disc in his back that's impinging on a nerve.

In better news, my son Adrian is over his strep throat. The best decision we made was heading to Greensboro and letting my folks take care of us. We came here last week and we're just staying through Christmas.

Here's to hoping that January will be reeeeeaaaalll slow and unexciting...and snowy! We're supposed to get some southern snow around Christmas, even.

After Mary's funeral and before Mike hurt his back, we had a snow day in Durham. Adrian really loved the snow. Here we are as the snow is falling, the flakes as large as oak leaves.



I'm wearing my handspun Nimbostratus lace scarf (available in my new eBook) and a City Girl Cap by Celeste Young, my absolute favorite hat to wear in the snow, because the brim keeps the flakes off of my glasses. I made a whole slew of them one weekend, some for gifts, and some to keep for myself.

Adrian is wearing moon pants. (I mean, a metallic snow bib that my neighbors gave us as a hand-me-down.) He was completely psyched.

Life of a Knitty Professor, Part 2

It's Tuesday, at 9 a.m.

I'm 21 weeks pregnant. I just dropped my 19 month old off at preschool. My husband threw his back out at work this weekend. It's been three days and he's worse. A revision of my latest book manuscript is due on Friday. I have a ton of Christmas presents to finish making. Because Michael's been hurt, house looks like Pompeii: The Morning After. There is nothing, I mean nothing, to eat. And at 12:30 I have an OB appointment.

What's a Knitty Professor to do?

9 a.m. I give Michael a big drug and a muscle relaxant and lay him down on the floor in the den on my yoga mat and turn out the lights. (Don't tell him I took this picture.)



9:30 a.m. I clean then kitchen, and then I start cooking. (I'm a snob about pasta. That's chicken sausage browning in olive oil and garlic, with some sun-dried tomatoes. Later I'll add a chopped onion 2-3 chopped tomatoes, and whole-grain penne.)



10 a.m. Clean my room, Adrian's room, and every other stinking room in the house.

12 p.m. Head to OB. Check out the cutest leg I've ever seen:



3 p.m. Getting in car from OB, phone rings. It's Adrian's preschool. He's sick, and I have to go pick him up. Seriously?

4 p.m. Home now. Sick kid and husband. Strangely, though, eggnog and a fire in the fireplace seem to be making things better, as does the pasta I threw together this morning. We're hanging out around the train table Michael made (as in, from scratch. carpenter. awesome.):



5 p.m. Mike says he'll watch Adrian so I can sew. I make this pillow using an old Christmas sweater that used to belong to Mary. I'll be mailing it to my sister-in-law so that she and her kids can enjoy it for Christmas.



6 p.m. Adrian to bath, then to bed. Relaxation all around. Whew.

We're really sad to be having Christmas without GrandMary. It's like a whole new holiday paradigm that we need to learn.

I'll post instructions on how to make a Christmas Sweater Pillow shortly. It was super easy and fun.

--Katie Rose

Return to the Mountains

I’m back in the Carolina Mountains, this time with my BF and snow-loving poodle, Iva.

It snowed several inches last night, so we are glad to have plenty of oatmeal, egg nog, and hot chocolate to welcome us after a romp in the snow. And Iva is glad to have her new sweater.

This is based on the Side Button Greyhound Sweater pattern, which I chose because I thought Iva’s body type was similar to a greyhound’s deep chest and slim waist.

Since Iva is a bit smaller than a greyhound, I modified the pattern in order to make a small (not listed in the sizes). I can post detailed notes later, but basically I reduced each measurement or stitch count based on the numerical differences between the sizes listed.

I used some khaki green Plymouth Encore yarn I found at a thrift store.

It worked out quite well, although you can see the sweater could be a bit longer.

You can also see that the sweater has a tendency to ride up in front, but mostly only after some serious romping, like this:

More details on Ravelry, here.

Sneaking Away During Sad Times

Mary died on a Tuesday--the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Michael and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house for all of our out-of-town family. The funeral was Saturday.

That Friday, after Mary died but before her funeral, Michael and I took our son Adrian to a local museum to sneak away just the three of us. We were sad, of course, and trying to find joy in small things. (That's my new thing, by the way.)

The local science museum has a small zoo of local animals--black bears, red wolves (my favorite), and lemurs. (Lemurs? Yes, they're local.) And every habitat we visited, it was like the animals knew we were coming, and put on the best show. It was incredible.

The black bears were snuggling right in front of us:



The lemurs were dancing around:



Two wolves ran all over their habitat, their red coats glimmering in the misty weather. Adrian loved watching:



He's wrapped in my version of the Lady Eleanor stole. I just made it wider and shorter, so it works as a stroller blanket. I used Noro Niji yarn, a crinkly yarn made of mostly silk and wool--so it is lightweight (fits under the stroller) and warm.

The morning we snuck away is such a precious memory for me. We didn't tell anyone we were going. Mike and I held hands the whole time. The museum was pretty empty because the morning started with rain and we got there early.

I've realized that sometimes happy memories don't just happen--you have to make them, on purpose.

--Katie Rose