22nd day in a row posting and I’m finally beginning to run out of ideas.

I haven’t seen New Moon yet but will probably try to go to a matinee by myself this week.  David can watch the boys, but all of my girlfriends that I’d want to go with still have little ones at home with them.  I’m hoping all the teen-y-boppers out of school this week sleep in.  I’ll probably take some knitting.  I’m about halfway done with my lizard ridge.  You know the one… or maybe not.  Here’s the beginning of the first strip.  I’ve since finished it and am very nearly done with the second strip.  I need more Noro.  Maybe I’ll stop by Bluebonnet Yarns before the movie.

I haven’t knit in awhile, though I get at least 15 minutes per week in.  Last week it was spinning central.  I just love love love the way the BFL spins up.  I keep the handspun yarn hank that I finished last year laying around so I can squeeze it often.  I can’t spin until my left thumb heals though because of how I draft.  I gouged the daylights out of it while cleaning part of the humidifier.  It’s bled through the 3rd bandaid already.  It will be awhile before I can drop spindle again.  *sigh*

My current knitting projects are the lizard ridge, a sweater for David (I got the cuffs done for the sleeves and that’s it.  meh), some photog props for my biz… and I’m crocheting some slippers out of a scruptious 85/15 merino/cotton blend. for me. Merino is delicious, but not stretchy.

I’m still intent on finishing that baby clothes quilt, too.  Maybe I can pick that up again this week while David is home.  It’s going to end up about 80% hand stitched.  I should attempt photographing what I have done so far.  It’s gonna be — they’re gonna be (I’m making 3 at the same time) — wonderful.  if they ever get done, that is.

So I’ve been making hats. “Lots-m-lots-m hats! Mommy!” I figure the longer I stay pregnant, the more hats this baby girl or baby boy will have. And the more of the other color ones I will get to send to new mommies. Here are the pink ones… I might not have a chance to post much pink on the blog if this baby is a boy, so I’ll take every opportunity I get. ]]> http://davejenbarnes.com/archives/1408/feed 0 http://davejenbarnes.com/archives/1405 http://davejenbarnes.com/archives/1405#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:16:29 +0000 Jen http://www.davejenbarnes.com/wordpress/2008/11/17/another-hat/ NOTE: the images in this feed have been removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

newborn sized. crocheted in 2 hours with fingering weight merino wool. loving it!

This morning, since the “house” is pretty clean (main living areas, at least) I treated myself to some crocheting time.  I decided to stick to 4 colors and repeat the pattern of yellow, white, purple, and red… James is calling this one “Lowell’s blanket” whereas the blue circley one is “James blanket.”

The baby will probably get one in about 3 years… but for now, we have coming home outfits!

I’m trying not to be in so many pictures today… and James is getting tired of being in pictures, so here is the not-often photographed Lowell.

I took a walk around the newly decluttered/straightened-up kitchen and living room once the boys went down for their naps and found some spots of beauty that give my heart a lift.  I love that I can open the blinds and let more sunshine in without the temperature immediately rocketing into the 90º’s inside.

Here is the lens I shot with on Tuesday and Wednesday and part of today, along with the timer I use all day every day and the wacom pen Jer gave me for Christmas…  I switched the lens out for the 50mm EF 1:1.8 II for some different focus options which is what I used on the four pics above.

After naptime, we poked around inside for a few minutes then headed outside.

All of the afternoon pictures were taken with the 50mm lens.  No zoom.  Great aperture, though so excellent focusing to play with as long as I was smart enough to adjust the ISO so that the shutter speed cooperated.  All of these have been taken with my brother’s Canon 400D, which, if I had $500 laying around — that would be the first thing I would spend it on without a doubt.  The car problems would simply have to wait.  *grin*  Considering that we bought the 300D used 4 years ago for $500, and I STILL use it and am STILL impressed with the pictures that come off of that puppy, I’d say that a DSLR is a great investment if you’re willing to do a little work to get the kind of pictures you want to capture.  I think, just on the 3rd day of this camera-toting-around-ness, the photos have already begun to show some improvement.

It’s now 9:30 PM and despite the lovely children in these photos, I really did have a hellish day with them.  I think I will draw up a hot warm bath and try to relax, especially since the dishes are done and the house is clean.   That, alone, is priceless.

In unpacking a little the other day (yes, we are still unpacking) I found my Seraphina Shawl – unfinished, of course, and missing the hook.  I need to go back and experiment with hooks again to figure out what size I was using.  I think it was a K but, man, I just can’t remember.  I know I started it with a J hook because that’s what I put in my Ravelry notebook, but I’m also certain that I went up in hook size at least once, maybe twice.

I didn’t keep up the momentum I had in the beginning with this because the farther along you progress, the longer it takes to complete one row.  (Duh, it’s a growing triangleish shape, that happens on those!)  But it is so pretty I just can’t let it go unfinished.

In the meantime, I’ve also started another triangle shawl though it is knit, not crocheted, and I will post about that at a later time.  You can see the thumbnail of it over there –> in the sidebar (Forest Canopy Shawl).  I’ve also got a purple lace shawl on the needles which I am thinking about frogging in order to make something which does not contain anything resembling fan-and-feather in the pattern.  I had enough fan-and-feather in the Hemlock Ring to last me awhile… For now, though, the purple thing is staying put because what it IS will be gorgeous if I ever stick with it and finish it!