Wedgewood Blouse-Not So Blousy

Finally, I broke down and took a pathetic picture of my wedgewood blouse, knit in Berrocco's Ultra Alpaca, some leftovers from the cabled hoodie I knit for LBB last year. As usual, the torso is too short for my liking, due to someone not checking her guage as usual, but I like the fitted top.

Also notable, this was my first project with dreaded bobbles...And like all the othet things I feared before, lace, charts, complex cables, it wasn't as bad as I expected. Silly girl...

And speaking of silly, here's my silly party face at my adorable cousin's bachelorette. I know, I know-we're not supposed to show pictures of these events, but it really was a good time. The bacherorette was sweet, cute, and even when tipsy, dignified in a way that made me both proud of being in the same family, and embarrassed about what a mushy mess I was at mine over seven years ago. I wish I could have been as composed and cute as this little bride. Isn't she beautiful? Makes me just bubble over with happiness . She's going to look picture-perfect in a wedding gown. *sigh*

Empowered

I got this forward in my email today-usually I ditch forwards like hot-cakes, but there were a few of these that made me go "hmm...I'm doing okay."

25 TIPS FOR A BETTER LIFE


1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
It is the ultimate anti-depressant. (okay, I can vouch that getting in better physical shape does wonders for your mood)

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to. (rrrrrriiiight....can I hire someone to do this for me?)

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the
following statement,
'My purpose is to __________ today.'

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and
eat less food that is manufactured in plants. (fresh food, CHECK!)

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries,
wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts. (CHECK!)

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day. (and to those who say I 'try too hard' go sit in your grumpy little corners)

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment. (or to paraphrase, keep moving forward, move on, get over it, look ahead)

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince
and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card. (Ramen?)

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. (I would love to tell some people that no one ever said life would be fair, but that sounds very trite.)

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. (I have never managed to hold a grudge longer than 48 hours...hehee)

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. (But some manage to put every word I say under a magnifying glass *ahem*)

12. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present. (Exes? What exes?)

14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. (Do they make this one in a bumper sticker?)

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you. (And only you can make good things happen. Why not do that, and then do something nice for someone else too?)

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words:
'In five years, will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals EVERYTHING, in HIS time.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. (Some people dwell so much in misery, it seems they wait for the next bad thing to seize upon. Those people are their own worst enemies.)

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.
Your friends will. Stay in touch.

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. (You probably have more than enough. Try downsizing a little-you'll appreciate what you have even more.)

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following
statements: I am thankful for __________.
Today I accomplished _________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed. (you lost me on this one....talk to the grey hairs....)

25. Please Forward this to everyone you care about.

So, I apologize for a non-knitty post, but I have two items in the works: one is a gift for a baby shower agaaaaain, and the other is the much sought-after version of the slouchy beret, a la fields of heather. Once its done I'll post the pictures and the pattern for FREE. Yay *ding ding ding*

And finally, have I mentioned I love my latest FO the Wedgewood Blouse? I just need to get my picture taken in it, which is challenging lately. Maybe I could teach my little lovebug how to use a camera, once he masters the potty, (not eating) crayons, and basic speach......

Beauty and the Beach

So, to play a little catch up, I collected a few pictures of the projects finished in the last few months.
First is the Kai sweater I made for Miss Dina's baby shower gift, as I love love LOVED the one my mom made for us. I deviated from the pattern just a scootch, and left the collar a little more open by creating a split in the front. My version, unlike my mom's, was way too tight around the neck, and babies aren't fond of that! I'm still worried about how closed it was at the neck, but we'll have to see.

I don't remember the yarn, but maybe it will come to me, but the pattern I believe, is from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding. A fantastic book, one of the few that I have knit several objects from, and I will most likely go back to it again and again. Thanks for lending it, Momsky!
Second is a little set I created without a pattern, just because I loved the soft blue of this Lorna's Laces bulky. My husband thought it might look a bit girlie, so I added a few stripes on one sleeve to make it sportier. The hat was just because LBB looks so darn cute in accessories...
So we set off for the great holiday weekend, which begins with a bang on the 3rd down on our beach, with wild bonfires and a great display of fireworks. I usually spend the night keeping cityfolk from parking on my lawn and discarding their trash in our pretty little neighborhood. Its not fun, but at least the police shoo them away at a decent hour. I get the added bonus of a fresh supply of sea glass to hunt down and collect, after all their fun & games are over. Thanks tourists!

Color Me Amazed

Hmm....Isn't technology terrific? So now I can do anything from my little cell phone; surf the internet, pay bills, navigate to Mars. Last week I decided it was high time to upgrade my phone, and when I checked my contract, lo and behold, it could have been done back in......2006. Shame on me.

So a week later this nifty little shiny black contraption is in my hands. And its shiny, and swirly, and makes funny sounds. And has moving graphic and pictures. And I am vvvvvery scared. So I stare at it for a few minutes, and then put it away for a few days. Not ready to commit just yet. (I have the same problem with my knitting projects, and every book of patterns currently in my posession)

But after a weekend of cautious 'getting to know one another', I'm sending photo messages to my hon, and WIP's to my email account. I'm saving personal pictures as my 'wallpaper' and poking in on my favorite websites over lunchbreak. And duble-checking the weather and tides before walking to the beach! And wondering if perhaps I should have scrapped the old digital camera, and spent a little extra for a phone with better pixels or whatchamacallits.

Well, anywhoooo, here's a fuzzy photo of my fuzzy Wedgewood Blouse, from Interweave Knits. I carefully checked the gage before beginning, but I believe its going to be very 'blousy,' and that seems to be the overall design. So that should be kinda sexy/cool with some superskinny jeans this fall. And its in ultra alpaca, so the yoke work will be softer and fuzzier, which I like much more than crisp cables and such. Those seem very old ladyish to me lately, and I'm favorite things that are soft and romantic. It goes along with the crazy long wavy hair that I'm struggling with, but more on that lata'

Back Again??

Two months since my last post?! How embarrassing! Even with a new digital camera from Christmas! Well, here's a quick catch-up from new-mommy-and-job-land:

First we have some clawing and pushing and nagging and lots of fingernail-biting over the last several months to get Mr. fieldsofheather the job of his dreams. And that was no small feat with all the reports and paperwork that our physician failed to complete, which ended up with me banging on his office door at 8AM with threats of violence (don't worry, no knitting needles were involved.)

Second, we have LBB turning ONE. I celebrated mostly because I couldn't beleive I have been a halfway decent mommy so far. Of course the celebrating came too soon, as LBB encountered his first ear infection that weekend, and I was too clueless to understand what was going on for a few days. Bad mommy.

Then we have some reading, and some daydreaming over Stephanie Japel's "Fitted Knits" book, none of which has come to fruition. I'm still mulling over my next ME-ME-All-about-ME project, while working on some baby shower gifts. Priorities, ya know!

Hmm...throw in some philosophy ("Plato and a Platypus" really good night-time reading), some home decorating (more on that later), and one of my favorite new developments, this old bookcase that was scavenged from a local school and remodeled by Mr. to house all my knitting 'stuff.' I absolutely love it, but need to reorganize all my books and yarn to look a little more crafty and neat. Its still have to make things managable with a little boy wobbling around, but its certainly getting a lot easier than those first few months! Hopefully, I'll be able to reconnect with my the bloggers I admire so much, and reconnect with my own desire for handiwork. *Big sigh!*