Resolution update 8 months in

Oops a little late on this one...I forgot in the midst of back to school and all...

•charity knitting: I didn't do much knitting at all this month actually. Did a few small things for Christmas, but nothing for charity so to speak.
•reading: finished up The Odyssey. Definitely not going on my list of faves, but glad I read it. I then turned to re-reading Harry Potter and read books 1-4.

•devos: working through Paul's letters. Lost some consistency when Xav got sick and the daily schedule changed. Trying to get back into it and hoping that I will keep it up while working.

•weightloss and fitness: I try to go for at least one walk and/or bike ride each day. I hope to still take some afternoon walks after I get home from work.

•family: of course I am doing well with this one! I love the time I get to spend with Mase and Xav this summer :-) Hopefully the school year doesnt cause too much stress.

Diary of a 'mamamamamama' (mom with a sick baby)

Xav got his first illness :-(

Thursday: A little whiney in the afternoon, but nothing too extreme. I went to a play at night and when I got home Mason had him laying in the living room watching a movie because he couldn't get him to settle in and go to sleep. I went to kiss his forehead and he was burning up. Checked the temp 101.4. Very long night - I pulled an all-nighter with him. We watched a whole lot of Baby Einstein and Praise Baby. He was exhausted, but wouldn't give in to go to sleep.

Friday: Took him to the doctor in the morning. She found nothing notable to be wrong, but he still had the high fever. Discovered that he would sleep in the stroller, so we took a couple walks to get him to nap. In the afternoon his temp spiked to 103.9. Long night again. Discovered that he would also sleep in the car, so Mason and I took turns driving him around in the middle of the night (Mason's turn was much longer than mine) until he was totally out and then he came in our bed to sleep for the night.

Saturday: Temp is down to normal. Still not feeling well though. Took LOTS of walks to get those naps in. He was coughing more often and would grab at his head/ears every time he coughed or cried. We took him in to the ER assuming that there is something wrong with his ears. His ears were still clear, but he had developed large blisters in his mouth/throat. Another night of doing some driving and slept in bed with us again.

Sunday: Temp still down. Improving. Nothing too notably new today. No driving necessary at night, but he needed to cuddle with "mamamamama" all night. Mama's back hurts bad!

Monday: Slept in until 10 AM! Doing a lot better again. Able to go down for short naps in his crib without going for a walk or drive. Mama got a massage for her sore back. He slept the whole night in his own bed needing only a few short cuddles!


I wanted him to learn to say "mama" so badly, but after hearing it in only a whiney, needy, voice for a few days I don't love it as much!

Resolution update 7 months in

After more than half the year, I am pleased to say that my resolutions are holding on strong!

• charity knitting: I did A LOT of this this month: 2 sets of hat and mittens; 3 squares for knit-a-square (see earlier post); and 4 bookmarks that resemble House Scarves from Harry Potter for a JK Rowling reading charity.
• reading: read book 4 of Percy Jackson series and started The Odyssey (Homer). It is a bit slow going, but good for me to step out of my regular choices
• devos: working through Paul's letters. Pretty consistent.
• weightloss and fitness: I am down past my goal (but still not to where I was before Xav); I try to go for at least one walk and/or bike ride each day. Sometimes more than one of each!
• family: of course I am doing well with this one! I love the time I get to spend with Mase and Xav this summer :-)

New Fiber Hobby - Handpainting/Dyeing

So, I decided that I wanted to dye up some of the plain roving that came with my wheel. I researched how to handpaint roving using Wilton's Cake Icing Dyes and jumped in...

I soaked the 4 oz. twists of roving in hot water and vinegar...












I mixed up dyes with water, vinegar, and the Wilton's in five colors (Violet, Teal, Brown, Copper, Golden Yellow)...

I set up my station with newspaper, glad plastic wrap, and laid out the roving (after gently wringing it out)...

I used a turkey baster to apply the dye to the roving in segments...

I rolled up the plastic wrap around the roving and placed in glass bowls, and then microwaved them rotating 2 min on 2 min off for 6 total "on" minutes each...

After they cooled a bit, I took then out of the plastic wrap and let them set over night...

In the morning, I rinsed them in cool water to make sure that the dye wouldn't bleed out and hung them to dry...

And Voila! The one is called 'A Midsummer's Night Experiment'. I intended it to be purple and green, but the Teal turned more blue than green...

This one is called "Mason's Earthy-tones' because Mason picked the colors for it. The brown turned out a bit more red than expected...











All in all, I am very thrilled with them. After they have set, I will experiment spinning a small section to see how easily they draft. I fear that they may have felted a bit. If they draft nice, I may try to sell them on etsy.

My baby is 8 months old!

And today he cut his first tooth!

Spinning Adict

Hi, my name is Liz and I am a spin-a-holic.

I am LOVING my new wheel. Here is the latest finished yarn.

Now I just have to try to reign in my fiber spending...

Charity Knitting

I was told about a charity called Knit A Square that you can knit or crochet 8 inch squares to make blankets for children orphaned by AIDS in South Africa. I couldn't resist making a few.