Monday, December 29, 2008

One sock done!

Finally, one sock is done! I already casted on for the second one. I am dyeing to make something else but I know that if I don't stick to one project I will never finish anything. 

I love how the two circulars don't leave a gap in between like the double points do. Can you see the gap in the middle of the bottom of the sock? you can see were the circulars started because the gap disappears after the last black stripe. 

I love how the sock turned out except that I wish I had had more yarn to make the leg higher but I went as far as I could calculating having enough yarn to finish the second sock. 

Ya terminé una media y comencé la segunda. Me gusta mucho como quedó.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

FELIZ NAVIDAD/ Merry Christmas

Desde California les deseamos a todos una muy Feliz Navidad y que Dios nuestro Señor los llene de bendiciones hoy y siempre.

Merry Christmas and blessings to all of our friends and family. May God bless you all richly.





Monday, December 22, 2008

A treasure of knitting videos by Cat Bordhi in UTube

I am still working in the sock. Yes, the same sock, not the second sock but the first and only sock I have been working on since July that my dad came to visit. Yes, part if the baby and part the tedious 5 needle knitting that makes it go so slow and part is the super fine gauge of 8.5 stitches bla bla bla.... more excuses... bla bla bla.

So, a couple of days ago I read an article from my email subscription to KNITTING DAILY about how this lady became a sockaholic when she found out how much easier it was to knit socks in two circulars instead of double points. I have tried to use two circulars before but I just couldn't figure it out. So I started to google about it and voila! 

I found a video in UTube posted by Cat Bordhi herself:

 



Needless to say I started to knit with two circulars yesterday and I am loving it! the sock is going so much faster!

Check out Cat's wonderful videos for anything you want to learn, they are a true treasure and the best part is... they are free!!!

Thank you so much Cat, you rock!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Caylee Anthony didn't have to die...

I just had to say something about this case because this little girl has been in my heart since day one. I wish someone will bring to people's attention what this case is really about. This case is about a young woman who is unfit to be mother and since pregnant was not up to be a parent or had any desire to rise a child. She was going to give this baby in adoption and her parents pretty much forced her to keep the baby. Big mistake! I think there is a huge need for easy anonymous routes to give children in adoption far pass the first days of birth. This will save children from all kinds of abuse. Also the adoption process needs to be completely redesigned as to make the process easier and inexpensive. With the average adoption process in the US been around $20,000 so many families who will be great adoption candidates are left out. I don't want to blame the grandmother of this child but I think that if she wanted to keep Caylee she should have adopted her granddaughter herself and ask full custody of her instead of forcing Casey to take responsibility of a child she never wanted in the first place. Not that this justifies in any way killing the child of course. It is just so sad, that such a beautiful child had to end up like that, in a plastic bag. It really brakes my heart.

They said in the news that Casey had told her friends that her mother told her she was an unfit mother several times... That means that the grandma new something was wrong. She should have acted to protect the child instead of trying to force Casey to be what she was not. Anyways poor lady I don't want to give her a hard time, I can only imagine her suffering, giving the fact that it was probably she the one that had rise that baby for the most part. 

Most of us parents are in denial when our children don't turn out to be what we expected. And this family continues to be in denial to this day. I think it is that parental denial that frame Caylee's dead.  

I just wish there was a system that would have allowed Casey to give this child up very easily to caring adopting parents. The problem right now is that if the mother does not give the newborn to the authorities right away or within a few days of the birth, giving up a baby or small child is nearly impossible. Wouldn't it be better to let parents give up their unwanted children at anytime? So many children would have a better life if they could be with people who can love them instead of been treated like a "holdback" or a "nuisance".

I could be wrong but I bet there are plenty of people wanting to adopt, enough to match the amount of unwanted children, if the system was easier and cheaper for both parts. And there were no limits on age to give up a baby.

Am I crazy for thinking this way? 

Friday, December 12, 2008

Aunt Ann's visit


J's aunt Ann came to visit! we hadn't seen in her in years! It was great to have her over. Ann is a knitter, so we were able to share a lot about our projects...

La tia de James vino a visitarnos, hace anos que no la veiamos. La pasamos super bien. La tia Ann tambien teje asi que pudimos compartir montones sobre nuestros tejidos...


She made this beautiful hat for Ian. I love it! I hadn't had a chance to make one for him and this one is so pretty and it fits perfectly! Thanks so much Ann!

Le hizo esta gorrita a Ian. Me encanta! Yo no habia tenido tiempo de tejerle una... Le quedo perfecta y los colores me encantan!


She also showed me how to spin yarn... it was fun to learn but I realized afterwards that spinning is not my thing! I think I am going to stick to knitting... lol

Tambien la tia me enseno a hilar lana... Fue interesante aprender pero me di cuenta que eso no es lo mio... Yo me quedo con la tejedera... JA JA 






Fog Delay?

Not for us... What can be better than stay in bed until 8:30 on a cold-foggy day? Get up and do your school in your p-j's while zipping on nice cup of hot cocoa ?

I truly feel sorry for the kids who have to go to school on a day like this... 



Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Bench Project / la banca que pintamos

This is a bench that I got at Woodland. It is really big and just what I was looking for to put Rachel's stuffed animals in. She has soooo many... 
Esta es la banca que compre para poner los peluches de Rachel. Ella tiene un monton!

Here is the finished product. It took more work that I expected to be honest. First you sand it, then you primer it, then sand it again, then paint it pink two coats, sand some parts that were still rough, and finally apply transfers and stickers and a coat of poly to protect the paint. I love it! and so does Rachel. 

Aqui esta la banca terminada. Primero se lija, se le pasa Primer blanco, luego dos capas de pintura rosada, luego lija, y por ultimo el Poli que es como una capa que sella y proteje la pintura. Ah y claro antes del poli se pegan las calcomanias y unas transferencias. A R y a mi nos encanta como nos quedo!




Sunday, November 30, 2008

CDC SAYS MELAMINE IN BABY FORMULA OK?

Just in case there was any doubt that the Food and Drug Adm. was on the industry and the Pharma's side, I am stunned that they had the nerve to say that trace amounts of Melamine in baby formula was OK! How much crap is a tiny baby supposed to overcome? How much toxic substances is an infant expected to asimilate? As if it wasn't bad enough to get Mercury and aluminum injected in your bloodstream on the vaccines, sleeping in matresses loaded with poisons like boric acid, wearing diapers with chemicals and drinking in bottles desthiling BPA plastics... Now the tiny babies are expected to also drink MELAMINE !?!?

Melamine was found in the 3 biggest brands sold in the US: ABBOT LABS maker of SIMILAC, MEAD JOHNSON maker of ENFAMIL, and NESTLE maker of GOOD START. 

This is an outrage! when are we going to wake up and demand that someone puts and end on the special interest of the organizations who's job is supposed to protect our children from all this crap!!! I am so mad!  Sorry I vented here... Thank God I exclusively breast feed my baby or else he would also be drinking all this garbage. 

En caso de que no quedara claro de que la Administracion de Drugas y Alimentos estaba del lado de la industria y las companias farmaceuticas y no del lado del consumidor, como para que no quedara la menor duda, ahora tienen el descaro de decir que esta bien si la formula para bebes contiene MELAMINA un quimico cancerigeno y toxico que ha enfermado de gravedad a miles de bebes en China. Como si no fuera suficiente con que los bebes tengan que beber en chupones que destilan peligrosos quimicos como BPA, como si no fuera suficiente que se les inyectan cantidades peligrosas de metales pesados en las vacunas (como aluminio y mercurio), como si no fuera suficiente dormir en colchones rociados con sustancias venenosas como ACIDO BORICO, como retardante inflamable, ahora tambien para satisfacer los intereses creados, se espera que las pobre criaturas beban formula con MELAMINA !!! que espanto! cuando vamos a despertar y demandar que las organizaciones que se supone que nos defiendan de los niveles toxicos industriales y famaceuticos hagan su trabajo? Despues se asustan de que las tasas de mortalidad infantil aumenten, de que la diabetes infantil, el autismo, el alzaimer y el cancer vayan por los cielos... Que horror! 

La melamina se encontro en los 3 principales fabricantes de formula de los EU: Laboratorios Abbot que hacen SIMILAC, Mead Johnson que hacen Enfamil, y Nestle los que hacen GOOD START. 

Gracias a Dios que tengo suficiente leche para amamantar yo misma a mi bebe o sino el tambien se estaria tragando esta porqueria...


Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The awesome FISHER PRICE RAINFOREST JUMPEROO

"

I love the Jumperoo. It is the best toy we could have gotten for Ian, he loves jumping as you can see. We had gotten a baby gym and he did not care for it. I took it back and got this instead and he loves it! Mommy loves it too because baby stays entreteined for a long time, giving mommy time to get lots of things done. :-))

Yo amo el Jumperoo, es el mejor juguete que pudimos haber comprado para Ian, a el le encanta y a mi mas porque se queda ahi brincando por un gran rato y se entretiene por un gran rato y me deja hacer cosas. :-)  

Monday, November 24, 2008

If you are planning to buy a BUXTON bag... don't!

If you are planning to buy a Buxton Bag... let me discourage you... when the bag is heavy it causes the stuff in the outer compartment to overflow and your things get out of the bag, the outer zipper in the back is upside down also causing your stuff to fall down if you forget to zip it. The only thing I really loved about this bag is the cell phone pouch
 which is very useful but the other issues make it a bad purchase in my opinion. The material is thin, it does not feel like leather at all, more like a plastic, it is got to be an imitation of leather. Mine got stained with some yellow paint from the Winnie the Pooh window shadow during the summer and to be honest I don't even care because I am getting rid of it anyways. This bag is driving me crazy... I can't believe I paid $40 plus shipping for this!


Yesterday I got this one at Kolhs to replace it, I love it! and unlike the Buxton bag this is genuine leather and only cost $20 on sale!


Baby pictures 7 months

For your delight here is Mr. Ian at 7 months!

Para el deleite de todos ustedes aqui esta Mr. Ian a los 7 meses! 






Happy birthday to me!

A couple weeks ago was my birthday. I turned 40. It was special just because a new decade kind of marks a new stage, doesn't it? We went out to eat to celebrate. As every Friday in "getting a little crowded here" city, all restaurants were packed. I wanted to eat at Olive Garden but the wait was about an hour... "no thanks!". We ended up eating at Mimi's Cafe and Ian cried the whole time we were there. No one was able to order what they wanted, except maybe Rachel. James ended up liking his clam showder and I took must of my pasta home for James to eat later, but the most important thing is that we were together and having my family was all the party I needed to have. James got me flowers and balloons and a special present that I have not received yet. He says it is in the mail... I wonder what it could be...   




Hace un par de semanas fue mi cumpleanos. Fue especial porque cumpli 40. Cada vez que se cambia de decada representa como una nueva etapa, verdad? James me regalo este arreglo de flores y fuimos a comer afuera. Es dificil aqui donde vivo porque los fines de semana todos los restaurantes estan saturados, pero por fin encontramos un lugar y aunque no era lo que queriamos comer e Ian lloro todo el rato, la pasamos bien, estar con mi familia es el mejor regalo que podia tener.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Victorian Knitting bedroom

I am planning on redecorating my bedroom in a victorian theme, so it occurred to me to collect some old prints and frame them to give the bedroom that old victorian feeling. I started searching online for prints related to ... "knitting" of course! I found some great paintings but the reproductions were very expensive. I ended up buying buying 3 from Ebay studios for a very reasonable price. This is the first one I got on the mail yesterday:
The picture is actually more beautiful in person, I will show it here once I frame it. I only paid about $11 plus shipping for this one. Isn't it gorgeous? you can order it in any size you want from this ebay seller: quaintcards


Sunday, November 02, 2008

Homeschooling

Wow! time flies by when you are exhausted ! LOL 
I can't believe I haven't post in so long. These had been some really hard days, mainly because I have been putting all of my energy in redesigning Rachel's schedule to catch up with her curriculum, we are so behind... it makes my stomach hurt when I think about it. My whole goal right now is to bring her up to grade level, so we are homeschooling day and night to try to catch up. I love homeschooling but I don't want Rachel to get behind so if we can not bring her up to grade level I might seriously consider putting her in school next year.
Well I am glad Halloween is over, I am not a fan of Halloween, this year James took Rachel to church for the Harvest Festival and I stayed home and turned off all the lights in the house and went to bed with the baby at 7:00 p.m. It worked! no body came to my door... Call me a grouch, but I was exhausted and all I wanted was going to bed. I have rested quite a bit during this weekend and I feel much better now, ready to start the week. 
We hired a awesome person to help tutoring Rachel and I am so thankful to have her, she will be helping me 3 mornings/week, I really need help so I have time to take care of the baby, cook, pick up messes, etc. Otherwise, the house falls apart. Besides, it is nice to be able to work with Rachel without interruptions, one of biggest problems is constantly having to stop the work to attend to the baby, this really disrupts Rachel's already difficult attention span, so been able to sit down and work without interruptions is important.
Here is a picture of Rachel, she was Hannah Montana for Halloween of 
course. I had bought a skunk outfit for Ian but it was too warm to wear it and besides he ended up staying home with mommy having a great nap instead of going out in the rain. :-)
 

Sunday, October 05, 2008

My 3 kids! / Mis 3 hijos

Mi three beautiful kids, Luz 19 (just dyed her hair blond -the only color she hadn't tried before), Rachel 8, and Ian (5 1/2 months). This is the first picture of the 3 of them together since Ian was born.

Aquí están mis 3 lindos hijos, Luz Mariel que cumple 19 años la próxima semana y que se acaba de teñir el pelo rubio, el único color que no había probado antes; Rachel de 8 años e Ian de 5 y medio meses. Esta es la primera foto que les tomo a los 3 juntos desde que Ian nació.

Sock progress / Progreso de las medias


Here you go, I just finished the heal flap. I can't believe it took me 2 weeks to get this much done! That means it is going to take me 1 month per each sock! Wow! that is horrible! I guess they will be ready for Christmas... I hope. I had a lot of doubts about this pattern since you leave a strand of yarn on the front of 3 stitches, I wasn't sure how that was going to turn out, but now I really love it. It looks great! I did not have the 150 grams of yarn that the pattern calls for, only 100 gr. So, I calculated I would probably use 5 grams for the ribbing, 10 for the leg, and the remining 35 gr for the actual foot. This should be enough to finish each sock and have some left over yarn. Of course my leg is shorter than the pattern, but it was the only way to make sure I will have enough yarn to finish the pair. We will see how this turns out.
Esto es lo que llevo de las medias. No puedo creer que me haya tomado 15 dias hacer esta parte, a penas es la mitad de una media! quiere decir que me va a tomar 2 meses terminar el par si sigo a este ritmo... por lo menos tal vez las termine a tiempo para Navidad... Qué frustrante es no tener tiempo para tejer! Tuve que hacer magia con la lana para que me alcance porque solo tenia 100 gramos en lugar de 150 gr que pedia el patrón, para esto hice la pierna mas corta, espero que resulte!
Ya tengo varios encargos de otras cosas que quiero tejer así que mejor me pongo las pilas!

I am an aunty !!! again!! / Otra vez soy tía!


My brother R just had his baby boy. Isn't he gorgeous ? His name is Daniel. I am so exited! I can't wait to go see him...
Mi hermano R acaba de tener a su bebé. Verdad que es lindísimo? Se llama Danielito. Estoy tan feliz! Ojalá que lo pueda ir a conocer pronto...

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Baby is 5 months!


My gorgeous baby turned 5 months last Friday. He is wearing clothes size 9-12 months and PJ's size 18 months! I am guessing he is about 17 pounds by now. Isn't he adorable? I need to get a new camera soon or all of his baby pictures are going to be blurry. This is one of the goals for this week. So much to do and so little time...

Mi precioso bebé cumplió 5 meses el viernes pasado. Esta usando ropita talla 9-12 meses y pijamas para 18 meses! Yo calculo que está pesando unas 17 libras. Verdad que está divino? Tengo que comprar una nueva cámara pronto o de lo contrario todas sus fotos de bebé van a ser borrosas... Odio esta cámara vieja! Así que esta semana sin falta me compro una...

Dad's socks - Medias para Papi


Started: 9/16/2008
Yarn: Schachenmayer Cotton
I started these socks when my dad was visiting. I measured his foot and started the toe kind of on my own pattern. However, as the toe grew it seemed soo huge, I started fearing I had miscalculated my gauge and my number of stitches, so I frogged it and started all over. This time I am following a top down pattern from Whimsical Knitting. The pattern calls for a size 0 cast on and ribbing. I know by experience that it does not matter how loose you cast on, it is always better to cast on a size bigger needle. At least that is the only way the cuff will be big enough for me, so I casted on a size 5 needle and continue the ribbing in a size 1. This cotton yarn is very fine so I am afraid if I use size 0 I would probably get a gauge of 10 instead of 8.5 which is what I am supposed to end up with. As always I am too lazy to make big swatches, I don't have time for that... so I am doing my best at calculating. If these socks end up too small, I can always keep them for me :-) or give them to a lucky female friend or family member. I love the colorway. Will be perfect to wear with jeans!
Estas medias las empecé cuando mi papá estaba aquí. Le medí el pie y las empecé a cálculo, pero luego me dio miedio por que las vi muy grandes, así que las deshice y empecé de nuevo con un patrón. Espero que queden bien, pero si acaso me salen muy pequeñas siempre se me las puedo dejar yo o dárselas a alguna dama en la familia... Me encantan los colores, son perfectos para usar con jeans!

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Great men's sock patterns!

I have been knitting a self designed sock for my dad. The yarn is beautiful but I am afraid my calculations were a bit off. I started researching for men sock patterns and I came across this wonderful website:

http://whimsicalknittingdesigns.blogspot.com/

It has many patterns. The owner offers them for FREE!!! They are all wonderful, I want to make a pair of each. There is also a great pair of fingerless gloves, I want to make those too!

She will be publishing a book on socks soon. I already went to my Amazon page to put it in my "whish list".

Out of respect for her I did not post any of her pictures here, but go to the website and see for yourself what a wonderful designer she is and the best of all is that she is giving all her designs for free!

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Sarah Palin


I usually don't like to post about politics but tonight it is an special occasion. The speech delivered by fellow mother of a special needs child/former beauty queen/basketball star; Sara Palin was outstanding. The ferocious attacks by the liberal media indicate to me their fear, in fact they are furious! And it is understandable why. They thought they had already won the election. That was until tonight. Hold on democrats... not so fast...
While many of us were voting for McCain as the "least of evils", we now feel exited and convicted to cast our vote. I am sure the polls will change drastically after today. Consider that in addition to the regular republican votes, McCain will pick up all the votes from families with special needs children, he already has the votes from the military families (I am sure), and a bunch of soccer/football/hockey moms. What a smart move for McCain!
For the first time in history a president or vice president nominee even mentions the special needs children and their families. I have to admit I cried during this part. Only those who have experienced been ignored and discriminated against by the "system" because of your child's condition, can understand the sense of victory and hope this represents for us.

For ones, a political speech that was heartfelt, for ones a chance to identify with a political leader. For ones, someone who cares about children with special needs and family values... What is not to love about Sarah Palin ???

I must admit also that I had little hope to win this election, but now I am starting to actually believe McCain has a real chance!

Go Palin !!!! I will be praying for her and her family !!!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Snappi prefold

I got my prefolds today but I can not figure out how to put on the Snappi thing. So I went to YOUTUBE and found some videos. I can't believe how easy it is! This is the one that I liked best:



Prefolds are so cheap (only $1.50 to $2 each) that there is not excuse to not use cloth diapers...

Hoy recibí mis pañales predoblados chinos pero no sabía como poner el SNAPPI que es una liguita que se usa en lugar de gasillas. Así que encontré este video en YOUTUBE que muestra como hacerlo. Es super fácil! Las mantillas predobladas son tan baratas que no hay excusa para no usar mantillas de tela y con el SNAPPI es un dos por tres y muy seguro!
Hi, I haven't post a picture of the baby in a while, so here he is with his mommy. He is 4 1/2 months old now and growing like a weed, but still not letting mommy sleep at day or night. :-(
Hola, hace dias que no pongo fotos del bebé, así que aquí les va. Ya tiene 4 meses y medio y sigue creciendo "como la mala hierva". Todavía no deja dormir a la pobre mamá ni de noche, ni de día.


Look what I got in the mail today. :-))) Knitting relief in a DVD case... Since I can't knit, because of the baby, at least I can watch knitting videos while I rock him to sleep... So far, I have watch, two episodes and my favorite is the second one they made on sweaters. I love the show, is very dynamic and they show different projects in one episode. They also have different segments by the sponsors of the show on different subjects. Very nice, I give it a 4 star so far.

On the diaper update, I am loving all of them but specially the hemp fitted diapers that I got. The velour diapers all wash really well and they don't get stained. Plus I like the fact that the Good Mamas have double booters which is critical at night. Still Ian soaks through the whole thing so I am going to wash the prefolds and try that, in that way I can add as many prefolds as needed. I have the feeling that he is going to end up looking like a ballon by the time I layer enough prefolds to keep him somewhat dry at night. LOL

Este fue un video que me llegó hoy sobre tejer, como no tengo tiempo de tejer por lo menos puedo ver estos videos mientras duermo al bebé... para quitarme un poco las ganas... Chao

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Why did I get rid of my BG 2.0

I got rid of my BG's because:
1- The manufacture says in order to keep the diaper you most not use diaper rash cream. (So its the good of the diaper for the good of the baby's skin?)
2- The manufacture also says you should not wash these microfiber diapers at the same time than your cotton diapers, thus forcing me to wash my diapers separately (two loads instead of one -what a pain-).
3- No matter how snug I adjusted the elastics on the legs they kept leaking on me.
4- Since they are all in ones, they robe me from the joy of using my wool covers... and I found these diapers to be very hot for the summer plus I don't really think they breath at all. My baby's skin was very red and humid when he wore these, unlike fabric+cover systems.

So, good by BG's... I should have read all the comments in the cottonbabies website before buying you... Although people seem to love the 3.0 version, I just do not want to deal with AIO and I don't really like microfiber.

The BG's will be replaced with a variaty of regular fitteds that I will be testing out in the following weeks, some of which I already got on the mail:

1- Velour Organic Cotton GOODMAMAS
2- Velour Organic Cotton SUGAR PLUM.
3- Hemp and Organic Cotton SWEET PEAS
4- Mother Easy SANDY'S
5- Plain old chinese prefolds.

Stay tooned to hear which diaper is the winner...

Thursday, August 21, 2008

My parents

My mom send me this old picture of her and my dad. I don't think I was even born when they took this picture, so it is probably from 1966 or 67. Aren't they cute?

Mi mamá me mandó esta foto de ella y mi papá. Creo que yo nisiquiera había nacido cuando tomaron esta foto. Debe ser del año 1966 o 67. Verdad que eran los dos muy guapos ?

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Knitting Daily TV Show

I have always wanted a TV show related to my favorite hobby "knitting", but there wasn't anything. Guys watch their favorite sports on TV all the time, there is even the Brazilian Ju-Jitsu videos my husband loves so much... But me, nothing! Nothing for us knitters except for some boring and expensive instructional videos that are for the most part pretty old. That is until recently, when they decided to launch an exciting TV SHOW called "Knitting Daily" by Eunny Jang editor of Interweave Knits. I was so trilled!!! I could not wait until July 20th (the date of the first episode...) I waited patiently... but the show never aired... Then I found out that not all PBS stations carry the show and we need to call them and request it if they are ever going to include it in their programing, so if you live in an area covered by KCET (which is PBS Los Angeles) please help us get the show on air by contacting them.

KCET
Comments & Questions
Viewer/Online Services:email: viewerservices@kcet.org
tel: (323) 953-5238

If you are like me and cannot wait to see the show, the DVDs of the first season can be purchased here for only $40. Now if you buy them before I do, please share... I am waiting to have a little bit of extra money to buy them but I don't know when am I going to be able to.

Now if my dear HUSBAND is reading this... This will be a good surprise present (hint-hint) to go along with the portable DVD player you gave me for mothers day and that only you use to watch your Ju-Jitsu videos... ahamm ahamm (clearing throat).

Hopefully a lot of us will call so we can get the show aired here!

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Not much time to blog around here... Lately I barely have time for frivolous affairs like eating and sleeping, (sinical comment). I had forgotten how much work a baby is... but I love my 16 pound bundle of joy. He is already making all kinds of noises, playing with his hands, and smiling at me everytime he sees me.

My dad came to visit and we had an awesome time. I need to post a picture once I transfer them from my other computer.

Speaking of having no time, it is very frustrating not having time to knit, I have tried to start a new pair of socks but each day I can barely get the basic things done and the day goes by without been able to knit a single stitch. All I can do is get on line and surf for interesting knitting projects, salivate over them and realize that is going to take a long time until I can actually work on a big project...

Long ago, I used to subscribe to knitting magazines, not any more. After collecting over a 100 magazines, I don't buy any new issues unless I have looked at them carefully. My favorite ones are Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits and knitters. I have already check the previews for both Interweave Knits and VK. Knitters does not have a preview of their fall issue available yet. I don't think I will be buying any of them, I can't believe how boring the designs are lately... The only thing I will consider knitting is this model by Robin Melanson in Vogue Knitting:

It is the green sweater at the right bottom of the page. Besides that, non of the other projects appeal me. Anyways, since I have so many projects lined up, I don't have to worry too much about it.

What is your favorite knitting magazine?

No hay mucho tiempo para escribir ultimamente por aquí. Con costo tengo tiempo para actividades frívolas como comer y dormir (comentario sarcástico), ya se me había olvidado cuanto trabajo es cuidar de un bebé, pero por supuesto cada día amo más a mi saco de ternura de 16 libras que ya hace muchos ruidos y se ríe conmigo a penas me ve...

Mi papá me vino a visitar y la pasamos super bien, lo malo es que después de que se fue me quedó como un vacío muy triste, y la necesidad de comer ensalada todos los días... ja ja

Hablando de no tener tiempo, es muy frustrante no tener tiempo para tejer. A penas me da tiempo de hacer lo básico y se me pasa el día sin poder tejer ni siquiera una puntada. Lo único que logro hacer para saciar mi sed de tejer es recorrer el internet viendo nuevos proyectos, aunque reconozco en mi interior que va a pasar mucho tiempo antes de que pueda embarcarme en un proyecto grande como un sueter.

Hace mucho yo acostumbraba subscribirme a revistas de tejer, pero después de amasar una colección de más de 100 revistas, solo las compro si me gustan mucho. Ya he estado revisando las del Otoño del 2008 y no me gusta nada. Me sorprende como entre tantos modelos, ninguno me apetece, y es que falta originalidad y los diseños me parecen aburridos y repetitivos. El único que salva la tanda es este sueter de Robin Melanson para Vogue Knitting. Es el sueter verde de la esquina inferior derecha. De ahi en fuera, no creo que me interese en ninguna revista, de todas maneras tengo muchos proyectos pendientes y no tengo tiempo para tejer.

Mis revistas de tejer favoritas son Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits y Knitters. Cuáles son las tuyas?

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Babylegs

(By the way this is not Ian in the picture although he sure looks alike...)
Like if getting obsessed over wool soakers wasn't enough, I discovered leg warmers for babies. This seems the latest fashion trend for babies. How cool is this? you don't even have to remove them when you change your baby. A pair of cotton leg warmers will keep the baby's legs from getting cold during the summer due to the air conditioning, a wool pair is a most have during fall afternoons or chilly mornings. These would protect the baby's knees when crawling. And if all these benefits weren't enough, they are super cute!!!

Babylegs are only around $12 but I wanted to see if I could make my own. I guess if I follow a regular sock pattern it could work?... I also found a website with instructions on how to make them from adult socks using a sewing machine... Now, if I only had a sewing machine...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/babyhopes/237398539/in/set-72157594274454468/
Found a better tutorial here:
http://everythingyourmamamade.com/2008/01/21/make-your-own-baby-leg-warmers/

Como si la obsesión por calzones de lana no fuera suficiente, hoy descubrí los calentadores para bebé. Son ideales porque si en la tarde se pone frío nada más se le ponen al bebé para que no se le enfrien las piernitas y si hay que cambiarlo no hay que quitarle los pañales. Es la última moda para bebés aquí en los Estados. Ahora en el verano unos de algodón serían perfectos para mantener las piernitas del bebé calientes y protegerlas del aire acondicionado, especialmente durante las noches. También protegen las rodillas del bebé al gatear. Cuestan solo $12 pero me puse a buscar a ver si encontraba un patron para tejerlas yo misma. No encontré ninguno pero aquí me encontré un link que explica como hacerlas cortando medias de adulto. Ahy si solo tuviera una maquina de coser...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/babyhopes/237398539/in/set-72157594274454468/
Las instrucciones se explican mejor aqui:

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Glider

I was given this glider as a gift. It was given to me by a lady who does not even know me, what a blessing!
I love it so much. I love it because Ian loves it. :-)
The baby fits in it very nice and snuggled and it has an inclination that helps with colics or when the baby is sick with a cold so he can breathe better. Thank God for technology! I give this glider a 5 star review. It works great and it is not as noisy as other swings or gliders.

Esta amaquita me encanta. Me encanta porque a Ian le encanta. Ahi se duermen, se mecen, etc. Me la regaló una señora que ni siquiera me conoce... fue una bendición! Le doy 5 estrellas porque es super cómoda para el bebé y no hace ruido además es inclinada lo que ayuda con cólicos y cuando el bebé está resfriado para que pueda respirar mejor. 100 puntos!

Striped Soaker Small


Date Started: June 18th, 2008
Date Finished: July 9, 2008
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool
Pattern: Little turtle knits classic soaker
Comments: No matter how much I try, the grafting does not work for me... I hate grafting. I ended up undoing the grafting and using a 3 needle bind off to join the crotch which of course leaves a ridge in the inside... but at least looks nice in the outside. :-)

Monday, July 07, 2008

Dying to dye some sock yarn...

I am almost done with the soaker. I will post a pic tomorrow when it is ready. Next, I really want to experiment with dyeing. I got Jaquard dyes from Knitpicks.com a long time ago but never did it. By the way, have you guys heard about Sock Blanks??? This is a new product from Knitpicks. It is a machine knit piece of fabric knitted with a double stranded blank yarn so you can dye the fabric and then knit with it. The benefit is to have: a-) full control of the color pattern that will form when you knit and b-) two strands of the same color variations for perfectly matching socks. Is this cool or what????

Watch a video of how is done in Youtube here:



I can't wait to make my own...

Friday, July 04, 2008

Bum Genius & soaker update


Ian just outgrew our set of 10 contour Kissaluvs. The maker says that the small size goes up to 20 pounds. No way Jose... At 15 pounds it looked like a thong on my baby! I decided to try some all in ones to replace these, so I went for the Bum Genius 2.0. I read a review from someone complaining about the one size 3.0 saying that it did not fit well on her small baby even though the baby was already 15 pounds, so I didn't want to spend so much money in the 3.0 just to be dissapointed. I decided to get 6 2.0 to try them out. Ian wanted to test them right away so he pooped on it as soon as I put it on. It seemed to hold the poop really well. This diapers are so cute, I am afraid I will turn into a diaper snob... Of course they are so pricey I might have to complement with some prefolds... as now I am officially broke. I still have my 8 Mother Easy which I like very much except that I discovered that they do stain in the outside when the poop is a lot. So, the protecting mesh works for the inside but does not protect the outside from getting stained. The other issue is I have to get Ian a size bigger of clothes when he wears the Mother Easy as they are very bulky and do not fit in his regular size clothes. (he is wearing 3-6 m). The Bum Genius 2.0 are great as they are not bulky but I read reviews saying the 3.0 version has the same bulkiness problem. Like I said before if you want a diaper that can fit a 2 year old, you can't expect it not to be bulky on a 2 month old. Right? It is a matter of sacrifices.


Here is the soaker that I am making. I am a bit disappointed with the results. Turns out that the side of the beginning of row ends up in the front, which is very inconvenient for the stripping I was doing. You can see the holes where the marker was and the start of row in the first 3 blue lines. This bothers me a lot. There is no way to hide this issue with the stripes and I did not even think about it when I decided on the colors. [mad face] Anyways, it is too late to look back so I think I'll just finish it.

En la primera foto se ve Ian con los pañales nuevos que le compré. Son supuestamente los mejores. Son igual que un pañal desechable y no requieren cubierta o calzón plástico. Están líndisimos y tengo miedo que ya ahora me acostumbre a lo caro, solo quiera usar de estos. Oh Oh... También aquí está la cubierta de lana que estoy tejiendo. Me da cólera de que la marca de inicio de fila quedó al puro frente del calzón y se nota! Qué chicha! Esto siempre pasa cuando uno teje rallas pero no pensé que me quedaría al frente! Sin embargo ya voy muy adelantada así que voy a terminarlo. No lo pienso deshacer.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Interesting sock book

I wonder if anybody has come across a book called "Crazy toes and Heals" I was reading about it in a Yahoo Group and then went to check out the author's webpage and it sounds great. I am very tempted to buy it. It is a self published book.

From the website:
http://queenkahuna-creations.com/crazytoesandheelsbook.html
  • Here are some features of Crazy Toes & Heels toe-up version...
    The toe is nice and round... no "points".
  • The toe-up sock pattern uses a technique to create immediate increases to get this look.
  • No heel flap to knit...
  • no gusset stitches to "pick up". You build a "gusset" then turn the heel. You are then to the ankle of your sock. Pattern includes a "slip-stitch" heel for durability, or a plain stockinet stitch heel.
  • If working on two circular needles, you can try the sock on for fit at any time.
  • Working two socks at the same time, you can wear them the instant they are done... no waiting to finish the second sock! (Or never finishing the second sock!)
  • Detailed, and I MEAN detailed, instructions guide you through knitting your socks on two circular needles from toe-to-cuff, or cuff-to-toe!

Since I have not been sucessful in learning how to knit socks on circular, this seems like the right book for me... I can't wait to get it!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Mastitis

My old friend mastitis, I can't not say I missed you... Last night I started to dream about wool socks, warm and soft wool socks on my feet... It was 3:00 a.m. I was shivering and I walked up, I can not say I welcome Mastitis back but I sure know her very well... I got up and found a sweater (to wear in my 80 degree bedroom), I did not even bother in taking my temperature, I know if I was that cold I was at least a 100 degrees. I got my heating pad out and damped two prefold diapers to put in between my skin and the heating pad. Then I pumped again. After that and went to get ice packs, put them in my breast and felt asleep. It was already 6:00 a.m. I was so tired I felt asleep deeply. Today I have been feeling very week, I have been trying to catch up on my sleep and drinking lots of water. As in the past, Tylenol will be my only help, as I don't like taking antibiotics. The reason for that is I get mastitis so many times that if took antibiotics every time I will be on antibiotics every other month. I can't afford that. I will be sick of my stomach and the antibiotic will change the flavor of the milk, killing all the good probiotics on it as well. I will try to manage just like I have done with my other two babies. I will survive!, I hope ;-(

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Happy 2 month birthday bebe!



This time daddy wanted to be in the picture. Ian turns 2 months today. He is 13 pounds which means he had doubled his birth weight.

Down here a picture of him taking a bath... You can guess by his expression how much he hates baths... I keep telling him: "Don't worry bebe, some day you will love it. I promise!" But he does not seem to believe me.
You can see the Michellin tire legs already taking shape...



Hoy Ian cumple 2 meses, hoy papi quería posar con el en la foto. Tiene 13 libras, lo cual significa que ya duplicó su peso de naciemiento. En la otra foto está tomando su baño, como pueden ver en la foto odia los baños, yo siempre le digo: "No te preocupes bebé, algún día te encantarán los baños de tina, te lo prometo! Pero como que no se la traga... Pueden ver en la foto las llantas de Michellin ya formándose...

Cafe Press Shirt







I was finally able to take a picture of Ian wearing his Cafepress shirt. He moves a lot and my cheap digital camera takes blurry pictures if you move a bit. The shirt says: I am a Breastfeeding, Sling Riding, Co-Sleeping, Cloth Diapered, Intact, Non-Vaccinated, Lucky Boy. Isn't that great? When I saw this shirt I couldn't believe it! I always though about making a shirt like this and when I saw it was available I just had to have it! Of course in this picture my model is also wearing the wool soaker mommy made for him. By the way, I love this soaker so much, I am making another one... I started to knit it yesterday. :-)
Por fin pude tomarle una foto a Ian con la camiseta de Cafepress. El bandido se mueve mucho entonces las fotos me quedan borrosas porque mi cámara digital no es muy buena. La camiseta dice: "Yo soy un afortunado bebé que toma leche materna, lo andan en un arnes en el pecho de mamá, duerme con los papás, le usan pañales de tela, está intacto (no fue circunsidado), y no ha sido vacunado." En cuanto vi esta camiseta tuve que comprarla porque todo lo que dice es lo que yo creo y simplemente no pude creerlo que existiera una camiseta que dijera exactamente todo lo que yo creo de cual es la manera mas sana de criar un bebé. También en la foto mi modelo lleva puesto la cubierta de pañal de lana que yo le tejí. Me encanta así que ya empecé a tejer otra. :-)

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Cute little project


I had so much fun making this... It was instant gratification. The peg board was $3.99, 1 acrylic green paint was $1, the 3 animals came already made for 59 cents each and a set of brushes cost $3.00 for a total of $ 9.76 plus tax (purchased at my local Michael's). I used some Wood Glue that I already had to glue the animals to the peg board. It ties up with the animal theme of our bedding set. I made it to have a place to put the baby's hats which here in "Hot City", California, are a most during the summer.

Monday, June 16, 2008

I got new diapers!

I was so eager to receive an order from Mother-Easy diapers... and finally I got them. These are one size diapers so they are really big of course they can be folded and set for small size (which is what we need now), but they are very bulky for a small baby. The fabric is different than the Kissaluvs that I love, it is more like a towel on the outside and a mesh fabric in the inside, which I think contributes the bulkiness, of course they absorb a lot which is the purpose of using this type of fabric, which by the way have an incredible washing capability as these diapers do not get stain like my Kissaluvs. They can go from the washer to the dryer, no need to sun them out for the most part, unless the diaper was too heavely soiled.

They have their regular one size diaper for $11 which is a good price (same as a fitted kissaluv) but I got the Stay Dry One Size Diaper thinking it would hold more liquid but now I realize it has a mesh fabric in the inside which they claim keeps the baby feeling dry as it separates the skin from the damped fabric and also prevents stains. This are more expensive ($14 each). Now I don't know if Ian feels dry even when he is soaked, but the part about the stains is TRUE! and this is a big plus for me as it really saves time not having to sun the diapers. It was a hard decision to switch brands because I do love my fitted Kissaluvs but as Ian outgrew the size 0, I realized I couln't afford buying new diapers every time he gained a few pounds, so I decided I needed to look into one size diapers. Now, Mother-Easy also carries the Sandy fitted diaper that looks very cute and it comes in two sizes; Small and Large, since the sizing range is wider I might endulge myself with a couple of these and a couple of their AIO'S to try them out. They have a separate Sandy for newborns and a Sandy for toddlers.

Due to the bulk, I am going to need bigger covers as well. I will probably order them from them since their Air Flow covers are my favorites. That is the whole reason I purchased their diapers in the first place. I figured if I love their covers, their diapers most be great too. And they are, if you don't mind the bulk like I said. Now they make the covers with beautiful prints on ecological themes. No other cover is 100% leak proof, as far as the ones I have tried. These are just the best, and the good part is that it does allow the flow or air like its name says.

There is never going to be a perfect diaper, you have to sacrifice fitting for investment protection, and putting up with the bulk if you want to save money in the long run. So far, this are my two cents regarding Mother-Easy Stay Dry One size diapers, I can't wait to try their other diapers. I will keep you posted of my opinion as I get to use these more. Here is a picture of how they look on Ian at 7 weeks (12 pounds):



Este es Ian con los pañales nuevos que le compramos, son excelentes porque se ajustan a diferentes tamaños. Se prensan con broches entonces no requieren gazilla. También me encanta el hecho de que no se manchan debido a una tela especial que tienen por dentro.

Happy father's day!



Every year is so hard to think of the perfect Father's Day gift... This year we took pictures of ourselves and made cards with them for daddy and both granpa Rodger and abuelito Carlos. Those we send via internet as both granpas live far away... We do miss them a lot but hopefully they will come to visit this summer to meet baby Ian.
Todos los años nos quebramos la cabeza pensando que regalar para el Día del Padre... Este año decidimos tomar estas fotos de nosotros y hacer tarjetas con ellas para el papi de la casa y para los dos abuelos quienes como viven lejos recibiran su tarjeta por internet. Los dos nos hacen mucha falta pero ojala que nos vengan a visitar este verano y vengan a conocer al bebé.

Monday, June 09, 2008

If you want cheeks like these...

If you want cheeks like these:
All you have to do is this:

Breastfeed!


Sunday, June 08, 2008

Wash a bunch of baby outfits is no fun...

I decided to get rid of the covers that leak. I am tired of washing the baby's outfits and he is tired of getting a change of clothes with every change of diaper... I am keeping only the ones that work, which means I might need some extra ones after all... Perhaps some hand made woolen soakers ???

Saturday, June 07, 2008

A prayer for all babies...

As I breastfeed my baby and I look at him, so incredibly innocent and helpless, makes me think of all the abused babies in the world. I have seen videos of people shaking babies, slapping babies in their little faces, etc. Most of the abuse is neglect, they are left alone crying for hours, thrown around, etc. And what about the unborn babies? There is no difference, inside or outside the womb, it is the same baby. What makes people think that because they can't see the baby, it is OK to make it go away with a medical procedure? What kind of world do we live in? and What kind of society prosecutes the same "violent action" as a crime only if the baby is out of the womb. It's the same baby. The same innocent creature, there is no difference. So join me today in praying for all of those babies whose mothers are considering abortion right this minute, join me to pray for all of those neglected and abused little ones who are helpless at the mercy of their parents even though they did not ask to be brought to this world. May God send angels to protect them and have mercy of their innocent little souls. Please take a minute now to pray for all suffering babies of the world.

Friday, June 06, 2008

My baby is getting really heavy. It is hard to carry him around already and he is only 6 weeks old. He is already 11 pounds!

I am a little depress at my weight. Yesterday I had to go buy clothes 2 sizes bigger than my normal size. I didn't want to keep using maternity clothes. I know it takes time to go back to your normal weight, but I didn't think it would take so long. Since I gave birth I have only loose 3 pounds... At this rate, is going to take me all year to go back to my former weight. Luckily my husband like chubby girls, so I am OK as far that goes. :-)

Mi bebé se está poniendo muy pesado. Me cuesta andarlo alzado y apenas tiene 6 semanas. Ya pesa 11 libras.

Estoy un poco deprimida por mi peso ya que desde que tuve a mi bebé solo he perdido 3 libras, a este paso me va a tomar un año volver a mi peso normal. Gracias a Dios a mi marido le gustan las gorditas... así que por ese lado estoy bien. :-)

Diapering tips...

Diapering tips I learned this week:
1- Use both a regular cover and wool pants at night.
2- Use prefolds as doublers inside a fitted diaper.
3- Switch to a size of clothes bigger to allow space for diapers and a more comfortable fit.
4- Buy "one size" fitted diapers at mother-easy.com to save money in the long term.

Sunday, June 01, 2008

I placed the Florence back on Ian to see if it would fit. It fits perfectly, which means by the time I finish the front (probably a month), it won't fit. So, I think it is a no go for Florence, which is a shame because it was comming out really pretty.

Here are the socks I was talking about. I just finished the toe of the second sock. I am using some cheap merino wool from China that I got from Ebay a long time ago. It is harsh to the touch but when you wash it (it is machine washable), it gets really soft.


Friday, May 30, 2008

What to knit next???

I am debating what to knit next. I had bought a bunch of wool to make covers but thanks to my friend Amanda who gave me a bunch of great diaper covers, knitting soakers is not a priority anymore. :-) Thanks Amanda I love everything you gave me! God bless you!

I had already finished the back for "Florence" but I am not sure I will finish it on time for I to wear it specially since I am knitting the smallest size.

The 4 seasons sweater is finished. I just have to work on the embroidery, block the pieces and put it together. So part of me just wants to do that.


Every year I plan on knitting something for each member of the family, and every year I fail. This year I really wanted to do it but with the baby it will be even harder as I have so little time to knit. However I am trying to set aside some time for myself when everybody is asleep around midnight for my blogging and knitting as this is something that really helps me to stay sane despite the lack of sleep... Any ways all that just to say I really want to start something new... but I won't because of my rule of 3 projects max at a time, actually is supposed to be only 2 one big project and 1 portable one. Right now I have 3, the 2 that I am showing and a pair of socks that is buried somewhere in my knitting tote. It was supposed to be a X-Mas present for my oldest daughter Luz but I think they are too small for her, and I want to make her a pair of socks from Cookie instead. So I might finish this socks and give them to my 8 year old Rachel.
What to do????