Wednesday, January 27, 2010

All Aboard!

We made good use of MLK Day last week by going on a GoSeeIt with Ty's Cub Scout Den. We went to the Museum of Transportation (because, really, what boy doesn't love trains & planes & cars & stuff?).

Did I mention that we are beginning to enter that phase where Mom & her camera are not always entirely cool? He humored me, anyway. Sweet boy.

Our whole family went, which is something I love about Cub Scouts. When one kid joins, the whole family joins too. It's fun.

Of course, Riley absolutely had to do everything that the big kids did. Here he is, trying to ring the bell. (Sorry, Sweetie! You need to gain a little weight first... so eat those veggies!)

They have some pretty cool trains there. I believe this is the one they called "Big Bertha." It's ginormous.

This was an old passenger train.

This is what they used to use to clear the tracks (of snow, & other debris). It's quite large.

They have a bit of risque St. Louis history inside the auto museum. In case you're not familiar with it, this is an actual piece of the Coral Court Motel. It was the last motel in St. Louis to rent rooms by the hour. Ahem.

We ran into my step sister there, too! She was doing some extra credit for school (way to go!).

And, there were two signs I couldn't resist sharing with you.

The first is an advertisement that was on the side of a very old delivery truck:
So, apparently, if you take this all-vegetable laxative, your blemishes will disappear over night. I wonder where they go? Hmmmmmm....

And this... well, it pretty much speaks for itself. Although I'm not sure why they needed to attach it to the back of a train.
Words to live by, my friends. Words to live by.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

This guy:
had his first Pinewood Derby on Saturday.

Here was the field he raced in:
Can you guess which car is his? I'll give you a hint: It's third from the left in the middle row.
And it has his name on it (although it's upside down).
He (& his Dad) worked very hard on his car last week. His Pappy cut it out on one of his big saws, and Matt helped him with some of the harder stuff (like making a cavity for the weights, attaching the wheels & using the electric sander). Ty did all the rest of it. He designed it, hand sanded it, painted it & attached the decals.

That's his on the second lane from the left (Lane 2)

In this picture it's neck & neck:
but Ty's car won this heat. (Each car races 4 heats, one in each lane)


And Tyson was very excited when his car won that heat! ( I really think he couldn't believe it!)

In the end, his car finished first in two heats and last in two heats. They determine the overall winners by the average time from all four heats. In his class (Tiger Cubs) Tyson placed 5th out of 24 cars. We were really proud of how hard he worked on his car, and he was just really excited to get to see it race.

And, of course, no matter where he placed in the pack, he always places 1st in our hearts!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Halfway Done

I finally got on of my Granville Island Mitts done. It took me three days to weave in the many, many ends I had. Some were from the stripes (I didn't want to carry the red across those longer spans of tan), and some were due to the fact that it's handspun wool & it broke several times in the beginning stages of the mitt.

It's a little more scratchy than I had hoped, especially on the inside of my wrist. Hopefully some SOAK will help with that a little.

If not, I might be asking for advice on softening up slightly prickly wool.
Notice the little green arm in the background? Riley & I were home for two days last week (due to a mild case of hand-foot-mouth, I think), and he saw me "modeling" my new mitt.


Ever the imitator, he wanted to get into the act.


But then he wanted to play with his car, and I think he wondered how to accomplish this while wearing a much-too-big, slightly prickly mitt.


He figured it out pretty quickly. There's not a lot that stands between this little guy & play.

I'll hopefully be casting on for the second one tonight. I must admit to having a bit of SSS (SMS?) and realize that I really should have cast on immediately after binding off & save the weaving in for another day(s).

Happy Knitting!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Come Out, Come Out Whomever You Are!

I stole this post, almost verbatim from my dear friend. Thanks!

My first stop on the blog trail this morning was Idgie's Place, where I quickly learned it was Delurking Week! How fun!!! An entire week dedicated to simply stepping out from behind the screen and saying “Hey there, I’m reading you”.

In the spirit of delurking, I hope that anyone that is reading this silly old thing will pipe up and say howdy! Feel free to tell me about yourself and how you found my blog. Or if you’re the shy sort, just a simple “Hi, I’m with you” will do.

And in the spirit of conversation, I’m opening up the Q and A for delurking week. I’m an open book, so if there is anything you’ve ever wanted to know, now is the time to ask. Just leave your question in the comments section and I will collect them and answer them in a post later this week.

I'll also hopefully have some progress to share on my Granville Island Mitts! I'm on the thumb gusset, and cruising right along!

Friday, January 1, 2010

New Year's Knitsolutions, 2010

Another year is upon us. This means a perfect opportunity for a fresh start, turning over some new leaves, blowing the dust off, etc., etc. After spending more than half of last year without my knitting mojo, I am determined to make this year a great year for knitting. So, here are my 2010 New Year's Knitsolutions (i.e. KNITting reSOLUTIONS):

1. In 2010, I will make 2010 the year of the ME. I looked back through my blog & Ravelry, and I discovered an extremely disturbing thing. The last knit I finished for myself was the Lattice socks. I finished them in 2007. (And, consequently, pests have eaten little holes in them sine then...) I will have a few knits for others (e.g. a new toy for Ty, a knit for a friend's new baby in May, a blanket for Riley), but I am determined to make lots & lots of knits for ME!

2. In 2010, I will dye more yarn. I did this at Christmas for my knitterly friends in 2007. I loved it! I gave away all the yarn I dyed. I will keep at least some of my own hand painted yarn.

3. In 2010, I will spin. I enjoy it, but I haven't even plied the stuff I started. This has been for 2 reasons. 1) I do not have a niddy noddy to make winding the yarn easier, and 2) I am deathly afraid of failure. This means that I have a hard time trying new things because I might mess it up. Why does it matter if I mess up in my spinning? The answer is this: I have no idea. But the idea of turning out yarn that is not as perfect as if it came from Rowan makes me twitchy. I will just have to get over this. Because, gosh darnit, I am going to make yarn in 2010!

4. In 2010, I will finish my Branching Out scarf. It's a lovely pattern in a lovely color, gifted by a lovely knitter. I can't wait to wear it, so even though the whole lace knitting thing still stresses me out (that chart makes me feel cross eyed!) I will conquer it!

5. In 2010, I will knit a sweater for me that I will actually wear. I picked a pattern (it's cabled & ribbed) and I bought the yarn (it's much more pink than this picture suggests). I am going to cast on as soon as I finish my current WIP. I will make it long enough in the torso & generous enough in the sleeves so that it fits me, and it will be a sweater that I will want to wear. I might even make another sweater after this one is finished!

6. In 2010, I will make myself a pair of fingerless gloves. I have wanted a pair for years. More than that, I have needed a pair for years. My job has me running in & out of buildings and playing my guitar all day long. My hands get cold, and I want something snuggly to keep them warm while I play guitar. (I actually already cast on for these. I couldn't wait until Jan 1!)
7. In 2010, I will do some color work. I have said this for years, and this is the year I actually do it. I love this sweater (below), but I know I will need to do something more basic to learn before I tackle it. I am currently accepting suggestions for basic color work projects, and any resources anyone cares to share to help me learn how the heck to do it!
So, there you have it. I've got a full plate this year, but I'm excited & ready to cast on! So, do you have any New Year's Knitsolutions? What will you tackle in 2010?