Happy Mama's Day

Let's review some fun times with all of the "moms" in my life in celebration of mother's day:

Beers at the ballpark with my mom:
Drinks with my sisters and step-mom:
Too much drinking with my mom-in-law
Happy Mother's day to all my favorite moms, including all the ladies above, the grandmas Alyce, Rita, and Margaret, to my sister-in-law and all of the Aunties too; and too all my fabulous mommy friends out there. I hope you all had days as wonderful as the one's pictured above.

Best Knitting Book Ever! (or at least really good)

Our household has been busy using up gift cards. We went to Crate and Barrel and bought a bowl and a glass to replace ones we've broken, a salad spinner to wash the lettuce and spinach we will be harvesting from our garden in a month or so, and a cookie press for me; Bed Bath and Beyond found us the owners of many new kitchen gadgets; and in that same spirit I used a Barnes and Noble giftcard I had for forever to buy myself Wendy Bernard's Custom Knits and it is the BEST KNITTING BOOK EVER!!! There are some really nice basic patterns and two simple recipes for top down sweaters as well as all sorts of good information on customization (duh). She also tells you how to make a dress form out of duct tape! So much excellent information and so perfect for making sweaters I'll actually wear. I can tell I will go to it over, and over again.

I'm a terrible blogger, but...

I have really cute nieces!

Iowa Pride

I lived in Iowa for six years! And I am proud!!! Go Iowa!!!

For the record, I have also lived in California (proud, and then embarrassed and disappointed), and New Mexico (indifferent) and Wisconsin (embarrassed and disappointed). 

This is a knitting blog right?

Beautiful hat on otherwise pretty girl making stupid face:

Pattern: Spring Time Beret by Natalie Larsen

Needles: size 6 and 7

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Jewel Blue .75 skeins

I went over to Loop yesterday to check out their sale, which was pretty lame as far as yarn sales go, but they carry so many lovely colors of malabrigo - lace, worsted, and silk blend -  that I couldn't leave without just one skein. And since it was snowing I decided to make a winterized version of the spring time beret. I finished it last night, wore it today, and love, love, love it! I still plan to block it to open up the lace and de-bump it a bit, but overall I am very happy with this easy, quick, and ever so practical knit.

Nieces!

We spent a few days down in Oklahoma with the family last week and it was awesome. Below is a picture of the whole fam minus Kevin who had too work, poor Kevin.


Above: What Matthew's life will look like in 5 or 6 years.
Above: Sweet baby, Cora Jane, and Below awesome little girl Evelyn Rose.
Below baby Cora models her moderne log cabin baby blanket.

my year of austentatiousness

It all started last June. I had recently watched Becoming Jane and the newest movie version of Pride and Prejudice and could no longer hide my shame at having never read any of Jane Austen's novels. I had tried Emma several times since highschool, but it had never taken. Someone suggested I try P&P for my first go, and so I picked up a copy from paperbackswap and took it along with me on my train ride from Santa Fe to Riverside. I started reading and within 24 hours had gluttonously finished the whole thing. I spent the next four weeks re-reading the book at a more reasonable pace and decided I was a true fan. This January I spent an entire day watching Jane Austen themed movies (P&P, Emma, and The Jane Austen Book Club) and knitting - it was pure pleasure. Then my sisters bought me the BBC version of P&P and I spent another day in January gorging on Jane Austen and knitting - more pure pleasure. I had recently been given a copy of Sense and Sensibility and so a few weeks ago I began reading that. As soon as the Dashwood sisters were happily settled I decided to try Emma for the umpteenth time and was delighted to find myself finally finishing it. I'm now ready to go pick up a new book and I cannot decide which to choose: Mansfield Park  or Persuasion. I'm putting off Northanger Abbey for a bit. Thus far P&P is my very favorite as Elizabeth is the perfect heroine, and there is no sexier Austen man than Mr. Darcy, but perhaps I will change my mind once I have read them all, which I plan to do before this June - and thus complete my year of living Austentatiously.