hey jen renee

sticks + string

2012-01-30T22:25:00.001-06:00

I spent this past weekend with four of my favorite girlfriends at a knitting retreat put together by our local knitting group, Des Moines Metro Knitters. It's called Sticks and String, and we look forward to it all year long. It's basically a whole weekend of uninterrupted knitting + girl time. We're already sad it's over.

We each spent the week prior going through our stashes and Ravelry queues to pick out the perfect projects to work on.

It's the perfect time to start some of those projects you've been wanting to work on forever but just haven't found the time. And while we always end up a bit more ambitious than time (or human knitting ability) allows with our plans, I think we all accomplished quite a lot.

It's so refreshing to get away for a weekend, indulge in our favorite snacks, hang out in yoga pants, go out to eat and chat the days away. We do knit, too. Here is our weekend in Instagrams.

Meet my friends. This is Nichole and Melissa hard at work, a most hilarious pair.

Amy, who first taught me how to knit. And managed to complete an indoor Triathalon in the middle of our knitting weekend.

And Sarah, who also taught me how to knit. (Okay, they co-taught.) She's all kinds of incredible.

A few pics from my new most favorite local breakfast/lunch spot, Tartine.

Melissa's fantastic turquoise vintage suitcase, full of knitting supplies. I love this suitcase.

The breakfast of my dreams. I want to go back and order this again immediately.

I hope to share a few finished knitting projects from the weekend soon. (Yes, I actually made some things!) I left totally inspired and wanting to do more. It all ended too quickly ... all five of us girls seem to have a joy hangover today now that it's over. But I am so happy that I got to spend this fantastic weekend doing one of my most-loved hobbies with some of my besties (especially since this was kind of my last big solo outing before the baby is born.) I loved it. Hope you had a great weekend, too.

37 weeks

2012-01-26T23:21:00.004-06:00

37 weeks. This is the week where things got big. Legit big. If you can't tell here, I'll assure you ... the kid is big and the belly is round.

According to our doc, the baby boy has dropped, I'm dilated to 3 cm, and things are a bit uncomfortable. Like ... even sitting. Is uncomfortable. But I'm good! Still trying to knock things off the to-do list ... car repairs, dentist appointments for Lo, and teaching my last round of knitting classes. Which I just finished tonight. My appetite hasn't been huge but I've been craving fruit. Berries. Smoothies. Mandarin oranges. Yummy treats for mom. Can't complain. We're almost there.

Mostly, my thoughts revolve around seeing this little boy's sweet little face for the first time. Any mom can relate. That's what gets you through those last weeks and days. Baby day-dreaming. So close now.

Lo's ballerina birthday party

2012-01-25T21:25:00.003-06:00

Over the weekend, we celebrated little Lo's 5th birthday with a ballerina party. Looking at these photos, it definitely hits me that she's growing up so fast. I know that everyone says the same thing about their kids; time goes so fast, they grow up so fast. But I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that it has been five whole years since she was just a tiny baby, entering our world. She has grown up so much!

In honor of this most special occasion, we had a small group of Lo's girlfriends over for a ballerina party. There was lots and lots of pink, tulle and girly tutus everywhere.

There were pink treats.

And a cake fit for a ballerina.

I made lots and lots of pink tulle puffs to use as garlands and cupcake toppers.

And we had pink ballerina goodie bags.

There were pink cake pops.

Pink number 5 cookies (made by Grandma Carol.)

And my sweet friend, Beth, made these adorable cookies to match our ballerina invites.

Lo's friends arrived wearing their tutus, ready to party.

We started off with a little crafting and made gumball necklaces.

But the party wouldn't have been complete without a little bit of actual dancing.

We asked Lo's sweet ballet teacher, Miss Aubrey, to come over and lead the girls in a little ballet fun.

Everyone loved Miss Aubrey and the girls had a blast!

And then ... it was cake time!

So sweet to see Lo with her little pals.

Pink sweets! (Sorry for the sugar overload, moms.)

And that pretty much sums up our super sweet pink ballerina birthday party! It was so, so much fun.

We celebrated early, since my due date with baby #2 is incredibly close to Lo's actual birthday, so now I'm left looking at my almost-five-year old and loving each and every moment we spend together before we welcome a brand new baby brother into our household. It's such an exciting time to be a Geigley, let me tell you. ;)

baby knits

2012-01-23T15:31:00.005-06:00

Socks with rib in "Baby Merino" by DROPS design

I'm gearing up for a knitting retreat this weekend with four of my most favorite knitting girlfriends. I absolutely cannot wait for a whole weekend of uninterrupted knitting time with them. We always manage to cause a little trouble, but in a good way. To get ready, I've been scouring Ravelry and my pattern books for the perfect projects to work on. I've picked out a hat and mitten pattern that I want to make for myself, a quick cowl pattern for Lo, but I've also been looking for one more baby project to possibly work on. I have managed to crank out one baby sweater for the little dude, and I have a baby hat and mitts set in progress, but not much else. Here are some of my favorite things that I've found so far. (All photos were taken by the pattern designers.)

Garter Stitch Baby Kimono by Joji Locatelli

Latte Baby Sweater by Liselotte Weller

Bulky Baby Blankets by Purl Soho

Mossy by Jolene Lye

Super Easy Baby Blanket by Purl Soho

Chunky Pea Pod by Paige Marecle

Wilhelmina's Baby Sweater by Karen Clements

Zozo Pixie Cables by Amanda Keeys

What are some of your go-to knitting patterns for babies? (And what should I start knitting now?) :)

36 weeks

2012-01-19T17:55:00.004-06:00

36 weeks. I have developed a serious waddle. People have commented on it. My hips and pelvis are under some major pressure. I had yet another ultrasound today and things are looking good. This little dude is no longer breech and my fingers are crossed that he'll stay that way. I'm a couple of centimeters dilated/70% effaced (sorry, TMI?) and well on my way. At least all of the contractions I've been having are doing some decent work. It's all about getting through it, now. You know ... survival mode.

But yet, I've been reminding myself to take a step back from whining about contractions or feeling exhausted. Just to make sure I'm taking the time to remember this experience. To internalize and process how incredibly cool it all is. To get the chance to be a mom. To carry a tiny fetus and allow it to grow for almost a year inside of your belly and become your newest, tiniest family member. Someone you've never met, a face you've never seen. But a little person you already love so much.

I remember telling Bo not long after Lo was born that, God willing, I wanted to try to do the pregnancy thing one more time. I wanted to feel that baby wriggling inside my ribcage and do it all again, just once more. Of course, we were lucky to get pregnant the first time, let alone a second time – you can't choose or plan these things. But I felt I hadn't said 'goodbye' to child-bearing when I was preggo with Lo, and that has been in my head off and on for the past nine months. This is it, the big goodbye, and I won't be doing this again. It's almost over and I feel like I need to prepare myself for that. That probably sounds really weird and maybe you think I'm off my rocker, but I do believe women kind of go through an acceptance thing when their childbearing days are over and you move on to raise your family. You have to sort of say goodbye to the baby-making. I feel so incredibly lucky and blessed and thankful that I get to do this. Every single day. I know that it's not an easy road for everyone. I don't take it for granted. I'm so happy to have made it this far. And I'm so excited for what's ahead.

35 weeks

2012-01-15T21:59:00.004-06:00

Week 35. This week, I multi-tasked. I went through bins in the basement, organized and purged. I took all of Lo's clothes out of her old dresser and closet and put them away in her new room. I washed all the un-washed baby clothes and put all the tiniest newborn-sized clothes into Lo's old, now empty dresser. I crossed things off lists. And made new lists.

I enjoyed the silence.

I opened the official first pack of diapers, put them into the drawer and marveled at how tiny they are. And breathed in that familiar clean-diaper smell. I made cake pops to freeze and tulle puff decorations for a certain little girl's birthday party. I shopped around for the best deals on pink party supplies. I went to my weekly doc appointment and found out I had actually lost a few pounds this week. Probably from all of the shopping for pink party supplies – ha. I played drums on our mini kid-sized drum kit while Bo played guitar and Lo hula-hooped. I located all of our old 'baby's first year' books (that had been hiding in all sorts of random places in our house.) I watched 'Never Say Never,' the Justin Bieber movie, in its entirety on Netflix late one night. Mixed in with a little 'United States of Tara' and the usual 'My So-Called Life' and a Charles and Ray Eames documentary.

I ended up scheduling Lo's annual 5-year check-up on my actual due date with baby #2. That's how close their birthdays could be. And the nurse figured, 'Hey, you can probably just bring Lo in for her appointment and also probably do the whole newborn check-up with your new baby at the same time.' (Wow. I guess. Okay?) Anyway. I'm on a productivity streak. Let's go.

tulle ballerina birthday party invites (2 ways)

2012-01-08T21:54:00.001-06:00

In an attempt to keep things sort of easy-going this year, we're celebrating Lo's birthday a little early with two small parties – one for her little girlfriends and another for immediate family. (My due date with baby #2 is really close to Lo's birthday, so partying early is the way to go.) Lo has has fallen in love with ballet this year, so we decided to do a ballerina birthday party (with lots and lots of pink.) I had two ideas for invites, and both involved tulle. So two parties gave me an excuse to made two versions of party invites: one with ruffles, the other with tiny tulle tutus. What little girl wouldn't love these?

First up is a ruffly vertical A10 invite (which is 1/3 of an 8.5x11 sheet of cardstock.) This one is the more simple/freeform of the two invites, and even if you're not an ace with the sewing machine, you can totally pull this off. I did the layout of the text and graphics in Adobe Illustrator. (The ballerina graphics are from Cocoa Mint.) Then I punched two holes on the top of the invite and tied a strip of tulle through the holes to make a little bow.

Next up is sewing the tulle ruffles. And I promise that sewing on paper/cardstock is not all that scary. I would definitely suggest a couple of practice runs on blank cardstock, however. You will want to test your machine's stitch length and tension before you start sewing the real deal. Once you have your settings figured out, lay your invite down under the presser foot and bunch up a strip of tulle on the edge where you'll begin to sew. I used strips of tulle that were 4" wide and about 8" long, and I folded them in thirds (the long way.) Otherwise, one layer of tulle is too see-through – it needs a few layers to show up and look 'ruffly.'

Starting with your bunched-up strip of tulle, slowly sew a single line of stitches across your cardstock using coordinating colored thread, continuing to bunch the tulle in front of the presser foot as you go. You'll be sewing right down the center of your strip of tulle to make the ruffle, and the tulle will fluff out on each side of your stitched line.

Trim off any extra tulle when you get to the opposite edge. Trim the threads hanging off each side, and also on the back of the invite. That's it! Quick and simple.

The second invite (for the little girls' party) involves making a tiny pink tutu. I just loved making these, although I'm not all that fantastic at sewing and it took some trial and error to find the best way to make tiny tulle skirts.

Again, I started with a ballerina graphic (from Cocoa Mint) and text similar to the first invite. The fonts, if you're at all curious, are a combination of Futura and Giddyup.

These invites fit an A6 envelope, and I measured my tulle according to the size of my ballerina's skirt. Again, I used strips of tulle that were 4" wide and about 8" long.

This time, you will once again fold the strips in thirds the long way, making a nice triple layer of tulle. Then, sew along one of the long sides, 1/4" from the edge. Do not cut the threads hanging from each end of your tulle strip.

Take one of the tail threads from each end of your strip and pull. (There should be two threads on each end of your strip. One will pull, one will not.) As you tug from each side, the tulle will gather. Keep pulling until all of your tulle puffs up into a tiny skirt, like in the pic above. It will form a ring that looks sort of like a waistband.

Take the four threads (two from each side) and securely knot them together in the back where they meet. Trim the threads close to the knot. Using a hot glue gun, make a little line of glue along the ballerina's waist and glue down the tutu with the 'nice' side of the skirt facing out. You could also try sewing these down, but I personally had better luck with the glue.

And there you have it! Two ways to add tulle to your invitations. These could also be modified to fit other birthday party themes, or showers/weddings. But they sure make for some cute ballerinas. :)

34 weeks

2012-01-06T08:00:00.006-06:00

34 weeks. I kind of want to live in my sweatpants right now. The dude weighs about five pounds. My stomach already feels like it's stretched to the max. We ordered a few baby things we needed and shopped for the necessities ... a pack of tiny diapers, pacifiers and various Johnson & Johnson products. It feels good to get ready. I feel so round that I'm barely even hungry and the dude is such a little wiggle worm! I know I've said it a million times before, but wow – this baby moves and flips around so much. We had yet another ultrasound and doc appointment last week, and within a few days he had flipped from head-first back to breech again. I can tell when he's doing this ... it feels pretty huge. This pregnancy has been so different than when I was expecting little Lo, but at least I know he's doing alright in there. He's definitely going to be a little skater boy.

This week, we worked on our decorating plan of attack for both Lo's room and the little dude's room. The prints on the floor here (both from Society6) are finding their way onto the kids' walls very soon. And if you know us in real life and have heard us joke about baby Cobra, the print on the left is the reason why. It says 'Lotus Cobra' and months and months ago when Bo and I first saw it, we immediately said 'that has to be his name!' It's kind of been a joke ever since, but we do really gravitate toward the odd names. So you never know.

Lo and I will be going to a 'sibling' class this weekend, where she'll learn all about her new big sister duties. She's pretty excited to go. I think she already has a lot of things figured out, and I'm really trying to make this whole thing a neat experience for her. I'm pretty proud of the responsibilities that she comes up with on her own; she already wants to teach him baby sign (she remembers a lot of them!) and read to him and give him baths. She's pretty much the sweetest. In the meantime, I'm getting ready for her fifth birthday party. Her actual birthday is quite close to my due date, which is kind of amazing. And a little scary. So we're planning the birthday festivities early, just in case. Let's hope that all works out. ;)

scooter mobile DIY

2012-01-05T08:00:00.007-06:00

My latest baby-related project is this Vespa/scooter mobile. (Because if this little dude is going to be anything like his dad, he'll probably spend his nights dreaming of scooters.) It was a simple project to make, for a child's room or any room in your house, and you only need a few supplies.

Start with three to four sheets of coordinating craft foam. (Craft foam, you say?) Yeah. It sounds weird, but when you neatly cut craft foam into shapes and then hang them from the ceiling, they totally look like they're made from plastic or wood or something entirely different. Another bonus to craft foam (besides the fact that it's so inexpensive) is that it is really light-weight, so the mobile will turn and spin easily if there's a bit of airflow in your room. Along with the craft foam, you'll need to come up with a simple shape or two and make a template. I free-handed this template onto cardstock and cut it out, using the Lambretta on this mug from Starbucks as a guide. But you can also raid children's coloring books or look online for simple clip art/silhouettes that you can trace to make your template. Each shape should be about 3 to 4 inches wide, and different sized shapes (some small, some larger) will work well together.

Then, use your cardstock template to trace the images onto the craft foam, and cut them out using a sharp scissors.

Take your little fleet of Vespas (or what-have-you) and clip them to your mobile and that's pretty much it! The mobile I used here is a Kikkerland hanging photoclip mobile, but you can find similar clip mobiles anywhere and they're really inexpensive. (Plus, you can change it up any time you want.) Add the $10 mobile plus three or four sheets of craft foam and you've got a pretty spiffy little customized mobile for less than $15.

Saftey note: this mobile is not meant to hang near the crib or low enough where a baby could reach it. Ours is hung high on the ceiling above the crib to keep it safely out of reach. (The last thing I want to do is go into my baby's room only to find a foam Vespa in his mouth. Um, yeah.)

That's it! Lo has requested some pink and orange butterflies and birds for her room, so that's what I'll be making next. Hope you have fun making your own mobiles. :)

knitting paralysis

2012-01-03T21:09:00.001-06:00

I'm currently suffering from a case of knitting paralysis. I have a million things I want to knit, but I can't get started or commit. I'm not going to tell you how many projects I have saved in my Ravelry queue. I'm not going to tell you about the yarn I bought months ago, set aside for specific projects that I haven't touched. It's weird; I knitted a zillion cowls for other people over the past few months, but now that I have time to take a break, I don't know what to do!

Luckily, ringing in the new year (teamed up with crazy pregnancy nesting obsessions) has a funny way of kicking me in the butt and making me want to accomplish things. I feel like I should start with a couple of baby things, since baby time is getting so close. And I recently realized how sad it is that my baby-to-be owns zero winter hats. That's just wrong. I am a knitter. So, here is a list of a few projects I've been dying to knit. Maybe this will be the kick in the ass I need to make a decision. I'm going to start working on something tonight. I swear.

Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap / Djevellue by Gro

Baby Mitts by Susan B. Anderson

Manda Ruth by Jane Richmond

Ribbed Far-Away Baby Socks by Amber Ward

Chevron Baby Blanket by Purl Soho

Mallory Cowl by Shannon Cook

Welcome to the World Newborn Hat by Nona

Journal Your Christmas/December Daily (in two hours)

2011-12-31T12:32:00.007-06:00

Last night, I took a look at a sad little pile of papers and pics on my desk and decided I had to tackle this project once and for all. For the past four (or five?) years, I have done some kind of variation of a Journal Your Christmas + December Daily book, but things got a little nuts this year. My 'pile of December' got pushed to the side. I had already concluded that my little tradition just might not happen this year.

If you're like me, after the holidays hit and January begins, Christmas is sooooo over. So I knew I had to do this fast, if I was going to do it at all. Like, in one night. So I cut and glued and made this happen in two hours last night. For realz.

All during the month of December, I had taken pics of the process of holiday magic. I had even snagged one of these rad mini journal kits from my good friend, Jamaica, to make things easy. I had printed photos every week or so from Instagram or iPhoto on contact sheets, so they were small enough to fit on the little pages. So when I finally sat down to work on this, it was actually pretty easy to throw together. (Click on pics to see them a bit larger.)

I didn't use any Christmas paper or stickers (except the ones that were included in Jamaica's little kit.) I didn't put dates on every single page, and I didn't write notes on every single page. But I'm so glad I threw these pics together and that I can stick this book next to the others on a little shelf so we can look back on what made this particular season in this particular year so special. Every Christmas is special.

So, if you're like me ... don't worry. There's still time to throw something like this together. Go print out your Instagrams, Facebook pics or cut up some of that holiday memorabilia that you have collected over the past month. That is my little nudge of encouragement for the day. ;)

Happy New Year's Eve!

33 weeks

2011-12-29T18:50:00.001-06:00

Things are going swimmingly and the nesting has begun. We've been gradually getting things set up in the little dude's room and I've been washing up tiny t-shirts and several pairs of Lo's old black and white Converse and Vans. Teeny tiny!

We were so smart to go unisex on a lot of the stuff we bought for her when she was a baby; I love that we have the chance to use it all again. Each time I pull a tiny pair of Vans out of a tiny shoebox, I can't help but let out a tiny squeal. They are so incredibly cute.

The holidays were fantastic and pretty chill, but this week was busy. After all of our family had come to visit, I had doc appointments, another ultrasound and had to pick up a rental car to drive around while my car was in the shop (after getting rear-ended) only to find out I have to take it back to get it fixed again next week. We got Lo a hamster for Christmas and we have discovered that (duh) it's nocturnal. The rest of the fam can sleep through its nightly activities and noisy wheel-running, but it's been driving me nuts and keeping me awake.

The little dude is now the size of a pineapple. Seriously. I can't stop drinking Ocean Spray cran-grape juice, can't stop eating sliced-up pears with peanut butter and I chew Tums like they're candy. I desperately want to fold things and organize things and put things away but at the same time, I know I should be spending these days resting up and enjoying the easy life. Soon enough, we're going to be shaking things up around here. I know what I'm in for (but it's still so hard to imagine.)

bits and pieces of our holiday

2011-12-23T13:54:00.003-06:00

Just a glimpse of what Christmas at our house looks like...

Doughnut/pajama days.

Letters written.

Gingerbread house construction.

Paper snowflakes.

Amazingly awesome Christmas cookies from our friend, Beth.

(Have you ever seen cuter cookies in your life? She's good.)

White Christmas.

Random decorations on our fireplace.

And our kitchen.

Brightly-colored stockings.

Craft projects.

Succulents.

Lo calls these 'mintys.'

Cookie baking.

(She can almost do everything all by herself this year.)

Tree decorating.

Advent calendar excitement.

Ornaments, old and new.

Ballet classes and The Nutcracker.

Silver + white.

Ice skating fun.

Glitter and glue.

A taste ... or two.

Happy holidays to you!

32 weeks

2011-12-20T23:17:00.002-06:00

32 weeks, and I've got a four-pound baby boy in there. But let's focus on big sis for a minute here. (Gosh, she's seriously the sweetest.)

Little Lo is my number one sidekick and we have spent almost every single second of her 4.5 years together. We are tight. She's definitely old enough to know what is going on with this new baby-to-be, and it's clear that she's noticing the changes and preparations we're making.

She's very excited to talk about all the fun things she'll get to do once the little dude arrives, but I'm careful to warn her that it's not all sunshine, cuteness and baby powder. That he'll also cry a lot, wake up at night a lot, spit up a lot and poop a lot. That we can't put him back. That I might not have as much one-on-one time to spread around at first. Gulp. We're obviously going to do our very best to make this special for her, too, and to include her in every way that we can. But naturally, I worry about what this new addition is going to do to this thing that she and I have, and it does make me a tiny bit sad. Because what we have is such a good thing. I don't want to break it.

But her deep-down sweetness is what assures me that everything will be okay. She's super nurturing, sensitive and wise beyond her years. She's already a natural caretaker. She's gentle and loving and I know she's going to be the best big sister ever. So I try not to worry. It's going to be good. So good.

31 weeks

2011-12-16T08:00:00.004-06:00

Dude, can I just say ... ow?

I'm officially at the uncomfortable point. Let's be honest. Hips hurt, can't sleep a wink ... and hot dang, this kid kicks hard. The little dude is also breech right now. What exactly is he doing in there? Kickflips and frontside airs? If you looked across the room at me, you'd see my belly jumping in four different directions at any given moment. I know all too well that I'm going to get huge over the next two months and things will be getting even more crowded in there. I still have a long way to go, but I get to have another ultrasound right after Christmas to see how we're doing. (This will be my fourth ultrasound ... or fifth?) I hope he flips back around to where he needs to be. Can we just fast-forward things a little bit?

chalkboard ornament DIY

2011-12-14T08:00:00.001-06:00

DIY chalkboard ornaments! So much fun. So, I was having one of those days where random craft supplies were jumping into my cart. Calling out to me. Like, 'You don't need me ... but you really want me.' And one of the craft supplies that was tempting me was this Martha Stewart Crafts chalkboard paint. It was right there on the shelf with its cute packaging in my two most favorite colors. So I grabbed it. Along with some plain frosted glass ornaments. And that pretty much explains what's going on here.

It's the easiest of easy DIY ornament projects you'll find this season. (And there's something weirdly soothing about painting on glass ... I don't know. It's just fun?) You'll need Martha's multi-surface chalkboard paint (I grabbed the mint green and light blue, but it's also available in gray and black,) a soft paint brush or sponge brush, a glass ornament and some chalk. I used inexpensive frosted glass ornaments, just because I thought they might take the paint a little better than a regular glass surface. But I'm sure this project would work on normal glass as well.

Remove the little silver cap from the top of your ornament and paint a thin coat of the chalkboard paint over the entire surface of the ball. Don't worry too much if your brushstrokes show a little bit; it will even out as it dries. (My personal drying method is shown above. I had good luck with wooden spoon and spatula handles.) Let the ornament dry for at least one hour, and then paint a second thin coat. Wait until the paint dries completely – another two hours or so – before you try writing on the ornament with chalk.

Then have at it! Make an ornament for each person in the family, or have everyone in your household sign their name and give the autographed ornament as a gift. Bust out the sidewalk chalk from last summer and let your kids draw all over them. So fun, so easy. Happy holidays.

30 weeks

2011-12-13T08:00:00.003-06:00

30 weeks, and hi there ... I am round. The sweet barista at the coffee shop where I knit told me that I had really 'blossomed' this week. I think that's the nice way of saying, 'wow, you're round!'

I'm grateful to have winter coats that I can still manage to button/zip to stay warm. This is not one of them. My outerwear options are narrowing day by day. But no complaints! Time is going fast and I know the holidays will make things fly by even quicker.

This week was kind of hectic. I was rear-ended in my car (but everything turned out okay.) Bo went to Aspen on a snowboarding trip. Lo and I had lots of slumber party/movie nights and went to Ballet Des Moines' Nutcracker. Which was amazing. Christmas prep and random craft projects are in full-swing around here and the hustle is starting to wear on me, but there's still lots to be done (and lots of extra little things I want to do.) How about you?

felt baby shoes

2011-12-12T08:00:00.001-06:00

Over the weekend, I finished up this quick DIY project from the Purl Bee. Tiny felt baby shoes.

You probably already have all of the supplies, and these are super fast to make. You just need a small amount of wool felt, embroidery thread, a tiny bit of 1/4" wide elastic, scissors, straight pins and the printable template.

I used gray felt and chartreuse embroidery thread, and I'm pretty much in love with how they turned out. How can you not love tiny felt shoes? So sweet. (You should make some.)

sale EXTENDED ... :)

2011-12-10T11:08:00.002-06:00

Hey, lucky you! I got a few emails last night and have decided to extend the sale through the weekend ... enter the coupon code WEEKEND when you place an order from my Etsy shop and receive free shipping (sorry, U.S. only.) And, all of my Boheme cowls (shown above) are still $10 off. Good through Sunday night at midnight, CST. 'Tis the season to be awesome. Go, now ... go!

sale!

2011-12-09T07:00:00.003-06:00

Today only ... enter the coupon code FRIDAY when you place an order from my Etsy shop and receive free shipping (sorry, U.S. only.) And! All of my Boheme cowls (shown above) are $10 off. Get some!

peace, out.

2011-12-07T15:31:00.000-06:00

I have a new pattern available on Ravelry today, and it's perfect for quick-stitching + gift giving.

Peace wristwarmers. Fingerless gloves that are chunky, cozy, seamless and super simple.

Best of all, each pair only takes about an hour to knit. (Go ahead ... check out the pattern here. Then bust some out!)

pregnancy picks

2011-12-05T08:00:00.005-06:00

I hadn't played around on Polyvore for awhile, and thought I'd share some of my favorite pregnancy must-haves. (A couple of these items are on my wish list, like that super cute dotted dress from Boden, but I own and recommend most of the other things shown here.)

GAP empire waist top
gap.com
Super nicely shaped sweater to show off the round belly.

Boden maternity easy tee and skinny jean
bodenusa.com
I don't own this exact outfit, but have some purplish skinny cargo maternity pants that look similar. Loving the colors.

Boden maternity knot front top
bodenusa.com
Recently scored this awesome mustard yellow printed top on sale. :)

Forever21/Love21 maternity starter kit
forever21.com
For only $16, you get a tank, leggings and a belly panel/band from Forever 21's maternity line. Must have!

Gap maternity forever skinny jeans
gap.com
These have been my go-to jeans for my entire pregnancy, along with Gap's 1969 full panel sexy boot jeans. They look just like regular jeans and fit the best.

maternity fold over underwear
motherhood.com
The comfiest, and from what I hear, a must-have if you're having a c-section.

Boden maternity easy jersey dress
bodenusa.com
I love love love this dress! The print, the colors ... everything. And it looks comfortable.

True Blue® Spa - Lay it on Thick
bathandbodyworks.com
For the belly.

Vitafusion PreNatal gummy vitamins
drugstore.com
In my first trimester, I was down and out with morning sickness and couldn't keep down any prenatal vitamins. Until I tried these. I was really skeptical about gummies, but they actually taste GOOD. I promise. I'm picky.

Mama Bee Belly Balm - Burt's Bees
burtsbees.com
Again ... for the belly. :)

29 weeks

2011-12-02T12:30:00.004-06:00

This week, I had another ultrasound to check on things. The news was not what we had hoped for but everything is still okay. I feel good. I'm on something they call 'pelvic rest.' I get Braxton Hicks like crazy. We signed Lo up for sibling classes at a local hospital, so she can hone her big sister skills. I watched 'The Business of Being Born,' researched the pros and cons of circumcision, and continued on the search for the perfect name. We have one we that we like, but we still need to sleep on it.

I made lists ... a 'what we already have vs. what we still need' list and a list of things to pack in my hospital bag. I feel like I have forgotten about all of the gear a newborn requires. The little dude is a major kicker ... way more than Lotus was back in the day, although she was really active, too. I'm already to the point where I can look down and see my stomach shift shape as he rolls around in there, jabbing outward with his elbows and knees and feet and rump. I really think he's going to be a mini-Bo.

I've fallen in love with a new late-night indulgence: Edy's Key Lime Pie Slow Churned Frozen Yogurt. Which tastes much more like ice cream than yogurt. It is divine. I desperately want to nest and move things from Lo's old room to her new room, but I'm not supposed to lift more than 10 pounds now, so I'm trying to relax and wait. This is hard. I did a lot of knitting this week (for other people and to fill orders) and will be taking part in my last craft show of the season tonight. I can't wait to start knitting a few projects on my own list ... stuff for the kids. I'm going to have two kids. (I can say that out loud now, right?)

the list - 2012

2011-12-02T08:00:00.002-06:00

banksy wall calendar
It's December, and I'm making the lists. Want to see what's on our wish list for the holidays?
I may have already snagged this, as I heard they sell out quickly. If you haven't heard of
Banksy and you have Netflix, I totally recommend that you watch Exit Through the Gift Shop.

arbor longboard

for my favorite grown-up skater boy.

scandinavian toy cats
fun and cute for Lo and/or baby.

turquoise lomography fisheye
neato! love the color. and it's on sale.

umbra fish hotel
we snagged this for Lo, since she still talks about Goldie ... a deceased fish from two years ago.

cool chalkboard ornament
(that you could totally diy.)

field notes 'northerly' edition
white + silver + finch paper ... so pretty!

What's on your list?

little brother

2011-12-01T07:37:00.000-06:00

Happy 30th birthday, little brother!

(Too bad you're not still rocking the corduroys + velour and the bowl cut.) :)

Lion Brand Notebook guest post

2011-11-28T12:48:00.001-06:00

I'm so excited! Today, I'm guest-blogging at Lion Brand Notebook, Lion Brand Yarn's blog. If you've seen my knitting over the past couple of years, you'll recognize that I use Lion Brand yarns almost all of the time. Especially my go-to yarn-of-choice, Wool-Ease Thick and Quick. Check out my guest post to see lots of chunky accessory projects that are fun and fast to knit/crochet, perfect for gift-giving.

cyber monday

2011-11-27T22:04:00.000-06:00

Hey, friends! It's a great day to grab something cozy. All day today (Monday, November 28th) until 11:59 PM CST, enjoy 20% off anything and everything in my Etsy shop. Just enter promo code CYBERMONDAY at checkout for your discount.

Hand-knits make fantastic gifts for your best girl friend. Your mom. Your sister. Your boyfriend. (Or, duh ... yourself.) Happy (handmade) Cyber Monday.

28 weeks (Thanksgiving edition)

2011-11-24T07:00:00.002-06:00

The grateful list, 2011:

- tiny baby boy clothes pre-washing in the laundry

- a big-sis-to-be who goes on and on about how excited she is to help out with the new little dude

- comfy sweatpants

- Vans slip-ons

- caramel apple spice cider

- pancake Sunday mornings/doughnut days in our pajamas

- turkey, cranberries, stuffing and pie
- handmade vintage potholders
- baby kicks to the ribcage (and not the bladder)

- cameras to play with

- a yellow kitchen

- friends who are hilarious (and always there when you need girl time)

- time for late-night knitting

- a husband who can do it all

- made-up songs and stories from Lo

- iPhones

- dark rinse Gap maternity jeans, oversized cardigans, and leggings

- my own little butterball in the oven

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

skip the chains + shop Market Day Black Friday!

2011-11-23T08:00:00.010-06:00

Instead of getting up at the butt-crack of dawn to stand in line, get trampled by crazy people, and buy something corporate and boring, do Black Friday the Market Day way. Here are three reasons to do your Black Friday shopping with us:

1. We have UNIQUE gifts. Market Day is great for those hard-to-give-to people. Make the rounds. Get inspired. Buy something awesome. We're all about selling handmade and local, which supports a creative economy of makers—meaning you can get something cool for Uncle Joe, instead of, ya know, a sweater. We have more than 50 vendors, so you can find something for everyone on your list. Bonus: All that sweet, sweet holiday spending stays in the community.

2. We're nice! No grabby people on their sixth cup of coffee, arm wrestling you for an iPad. (Okay, maybe we'll be on our sixth cup of coffee—but we won't be crazy about it.)

3. We keep reasonable hours! 9a-2p. Sleep in, for Pete's sake.

See you there!

(Where?) Des Moines Social Club. The Kirkwood Building. 400 Walnut Street. Downtown Des Moines at the corner of 4th and Walnut. From 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. More details at www.marketdayiowa.com.

27 weeks

2011-11-22T17:14:00.003-06:00

I have no idea where the time goes. Next week I'll be in my third trimester. The dude weighs about 2.5 pounds. And I have decided it's officially the time for warmth and comfort. I'm a big fan of comfortable anyway, so digging out all of my oversized cardigans has been the task of the week. I've also been eating my share of bananas as a potential remedy for the super intense middle-of-the-night charley horses in my calves. Ow ow ow. We have half-way transitioned Lo into her new bedroom. We think. And last night, she spent her first night in her new, bigger bed. There's getting to be less and less room for her to sit on my lap or lay next to me on the couch. I have a third ultrasound (to rule out previa) tomorrow and we've got our fingers crossed for good news.

I'm definitely looking forward to the holidays (and the food that comes with them) and I'm excited to make a turkey on Thursday. Feeling good, knitting lots and keeping comfy. That's the name of the game.

December Daily/Journal Your Christmas

2011-11-22T08:00:00.007-06:00

If there is anyone who can get me excited about starting a December holiday journal this year, it's Jamaica. Good grief, Charlie Brown ... she nailed it. I just snagged one of her perfectly simple and modern little December books. With custom letterpressed cover and 31 dated pages printed in coordinating ink on soft white Mr. French cardstock and 10 assorted stickers in traditional and non-traditional colors. (Gasp.) Can you tell I'm excited? She has them available in charcoal gray or chartreuse. Get yours here. Whether you're doing Journal Your Christmas or a December Daily this year or a combination of both, it does not get easier ... or better looking ... than this.

finger knitting (for little fingers)

2011-11-21T08:00:00.001-06:00

I knit a lot, and for a couple of years now, Lotus has been asking me to show her how to knit, too.

Finger knitting is a great introduction to knitting or weaving, and it's perfect for kids.

Lo is in preschool, and I taught her how to finger knit when she turned four. She can almost handle the needles, too, but this is a little bit more fun for now. She asks me if she can finger knit all of the time!

She loves picking out yarn and making things all by herself.

A few months ago, we made a little video to show you how to get started. I'll let the video explain, but it's basically like knitting on a loom. You wrap, and then lift the loops over each other to make knitted rows. Easy peasy!

When you're ready to finish off your strip of finger knitting, carefully remove the loops from your fingers and cut the yarn, leaving a 6" tail. Thread your tail through the eye of a needle (without pulling apart the loops) and go through each loop with your needle, one at a time, until you've caught all the loops. Pull tight and make a knot. If you want to make doll/stuffed animal scarves like we made here, cut a few pieces of fringe and attach them to each end. Hope you and your favorite little knitter have fun with this!

meeting Tony Alva

2011-11-19T13:45:00.003-06:00

Last night, we got the chance to hang out with skateboarding legend Tony Alva at our favorite local skate shop, Subsect. (Tony is one of the original Z-Boys and is considered to be one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. If you've ever seen Dogtown and Z-Boys or Lords of Dogtown, you'll know who I'm talking about.)

Bo has grown up skating and Tony has been a huge influence for him ever since he can remember. So it was extra cool for Bo to be able to meet and chat with him. He was a super chill guy and had a lot to say; he really liked Lotus's name and even went so far as to give us suggestions for the new baby's name. Which was pretty rad.

It was all part of Subsect's 'Get on the Bus Tour' 2011 which was hosted by Vans, and they packed the house. Andrew Langi was also there and the Vans bus was outside handing out lots of sweet t-shirts, hats and stickers.

We always have a great time hanging out at the shop for awhile, checking out the boards.

And hanging with Kevin and the rest of our friends there.

They even had free hot dogs on the grill. This girl ate two of them.

After we had chatted with everyone, we grabbed dinner at Zombie Burger and watched the fireworks.

It was such a rad Saturday night. We feel pretty grateful that we can do fun stuff like this right here in Des Moines.

Thank you, Subsect! :)

NYC: yarn, fabric, a dress and a pair of Levi's

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

So, you know we had to shop in nyc, too, right? Just a little bit. Here, I will share the documentation of our shopping adventures. Yes ... yes, this does deserve its own post. ;)

Hello hello, Marimekko.

Oh my. Jamaica and I drooled like crazy over everything in this store.

It was almost overwhelming.

Gorgeous bright prints ... everywhere!

We each debated over the awesomely huge prints and patterns, which are usually sold by the repeat and are kind of spendy. But we decided that you really need to go there with a plan and a pattern in mind. And I didn't have a plan. But wow, we had so much fun looking around.

Then, Jamaica introduced Kristi and I to Malin+Goetz. We walked away with a couple of indulgences and a crapload of samples. Samples are fun!

Everything in The Future Perfect was amazing and, well ... perfect. I really, really was into that green, yellow and white drawer set. Along with a crazy cool glass-top coffee table supported by skateboard wheels/trucks. Too awesome.

And then, sigh. Then, there was Purl Soho.

This year, I got to go inside. (Unlike last year ... see story here.)

I sort of flipped out over the Knit Collage yarn.

And flipped out again when I realized that they carried the brand-new Brooklyn Tweed yarn, Loft. I mean, of course they have it! But I was so totally stoked to see it there. (Here I am, making some kind of excited exclamation about Brooklyn Tweed to the guys who worked there. Yarn nerd.)

All of the displays were so fantastic and textural.

And I loved seeing all of these rad Purl projects in person – I had admired all of these online at The Purl Bee.

I have actually started knitting this exact baby blanket (in different colors) for our new little dude.

So many yarn colors and fabrics and samples ... I could have stayed there all day.

(Seriously. I could live, work and sleep there.)

I spent my last day in the city exploring a bit on my own (and taking the subway all by myself for the first time.) I magically ended up at Lion Brand Studio. Check out that huge crochet hook in the window. They always have such cool displays.

Like this life-size knitted tiger pelt! (Whoa.)

I loved the way the store was set up – the sampling wall is just too cool.

I knit with a lot of Lion Brand, and it's hands-down my go-to yarn of choice when I'm working on new projects. It was fantastic to be able to check out some of the specialty LB Collection yarns they offer that I had never seen in person before.

They also had all of the new Martha yarns on display. I picked up some of her mint green Roving Wool while I was there and can't wait to try it out.

So, what did I bring home after all of that? Well, there's only so much room in a suitcase. I brought home a wooden NYC building block set from Muji for Lo, and she's been playing with it a lot.

Other treasures included some yarn from Purl Soho, kitchen towels from Marimekko, a pair of skinny Levi's that I scored for $10, and a dress from Anthro that was $100 off. (Not bad, huh?)

local events to get excited about ...

2011-11-16T08:00:00.001-06:00

If you live in the Des Moines area, you have to hit up the East Village Holiday Promenade this Friday, November 18th. Fireworks, ice skating, free horse and carriage rides, treats and refreshments and all kinds of good things from the area businesses. My pal Chrissy at Domestica will be having cupcake tastings from A Cakes, plus other treats and spiked cider. Sign up to win one of two $40 gift vouchers. And check out her store full of fantastic gift ideas ... she seriously has the best stuff.

Subsect Skateshop, our one and only favorite local skate shop, will be hosting the Tony Alva. This is so exciting ... we can't even believe it. Plus they'll have Vans reps on hand, discounts on Vans and free bbq. We'll definitely be hanging there. I can't wait.

So many of my favorite shops in town will be all decked out. Ephemera. RAYGUN. Eden. The Village Bean. Ichi Bike. Projects. Be sure to check them all out. (And duh, fireworks! In the winter? That's just fun.)

Next Friday, November 25th, skip the malls and come out to visit us at Market Day Black Friday! It's the biggest and best show of the year.

I'm knitting a crazy amount of super cozy accessories to bring along – my best colors and biggest selection that I'll have all season. Cowls start at only $25 and make great gifts. Don't miss Market Day Black Friday – I hope to see you there!

block after block

2011-11-15T22:59:00.003-06:00

A couple of weekends ago, I had the most excellent adventures with these girls in wonderful NYC.

The four of us crashed in Brooklyn. We spent a long weekend trekking, eating, shopping, walking, laughing, navigating public transportation and taking a lot of photos. We had massive and delicious breakfasts/lunches. We saw bits and pieces of the NYC marathon and knitted with paintbrushes. We hit the Bushwick photobooth extra hard. We admired graffiti and handbags that were out of our reach and smiled. (A lot.) Here are some of my favorite parts of our adventures.

I had a beautiful time; I really did. It was just what I needed. I feel lucky to have friends and memories and adventures like these.

oh my

2011-11-14T12:43:00.000-06:00

Oh my! Check out all the spectacular new goods from my friend, Kara. (I'm especially in love with the yellow pullover.) She's opened up shop and you can find these pretties and more over at Stuff Kara Made. See something you like? Enter the coupon code 'stuff4you' to receive 25% off your order.

26 weeks

2011-11-13T08:56:00.001-06:00

Sometimes it actually feels as if someone is doing their laundry in there. Tumble dry.

This week, the little dude weighs two pounds. I feel huge already. We haven't found the perfect name for him yet, but we're working on it. I wonder a lot if he'll have dark hair like Lo did when she was born, and if the two of them will look alike. I picture him being an adventurous little skater boy, like his dad. My center of gravity has shifted. I get the midnight leg cramps. I already have trouble sleeping, but I smile a little smile when I'm up during those late hours, knowing that it will just be a matter of time until I'll be up at all hours of the night with a tiny babe in my arms. We have three months to go before he gets here, and sometimes I feel unprepared and I wonder how we'll get it all together. But I know deep down that we'll be more than ready for him. So ready to do this.

Do It Yourself mag feature

2011-11-11T19:39:00.005-06:00

If you happen to pick up the Winter 2011 issue of Do It Yourself magazine, you might spot a little home decor makeover project I worked on.

Check out the 'Before and After' section, and you'll see how six bloggers (me included!) reinvented a dated piece of thrift store furniture, giving it a new and fresh look. Such a fun challenge!

My original piece was a classic older wooden chair with a sad little maroon seat. It was definitely crying out for a little tlc. I gave it a new sunny yellow paint job, and then knitted a black and white chevron cushion cover. I had one weekend to do it and it was seriously too much fun!

Be sure to check out a few of my friends who also are featured in this issue! My pals Karen Brady and Arin Wiebers of Ephemera Design show off some fantastic gift wrapping ideas on page 8, my crafty friend Leslie Poyzer produced and contributed to several sections in the mag, and the gang at Renegade Handmade did a fantastic re-do on an old schoolhouse desk on page 43. There's lots of other great ideas in these pages, so go pick up your copy now. :)

25 weeks

2011-11-09T20:54:00.003-06:00

I spent the last part of my 25th week in beautiful nyc with three of my girlfriends. It was a total last-minute adventure that happened to work out for all of us, and I'm so happy that we were all able to meet up. I had an appointment with my doc right before I left and she gave me a permission slip to fly. During my stay, my belly button officially popped out. I consumed donuts, meatballs, fried chicken, pancakes and pizza. I taught a friend how to knit using two paintbrushes instead of needles. I took the G and L trains all by myself. We perused fabric shops, yarn shops, handmade/vintage markets, breakfast joints and coffee houses. It was fantastically perfect.

It was just what I needed; a long weekend with quality girl time, good food and that little bit of freedom that everyone longs for once in awhile. Don't get me wrong – I love my family with every single particle of my being, but this short getaway was such a refresher. I came back better and brighter because of it. (And also a bit rounder.)
More nyc pics and stories to come.

a million thanks

2011-11-06T19:54:00.000-06:00

So, yeah – I just wanted to take a second to say thank you for reading. Today, I reached a million hits. Whether you're a friend who has been following along here for a few years or you've been on my blog for 30 seconds, thank you. You are fantastic. I love blogland, I do.

So, let's hang out. Do you follow me on Bloglovin'? Do I follow you? If not, link me up. I love me some Twitter, too. Are you on Ravelry? Pinterest? Anything else you'd like to say? Hit me up on the email if you'd like.

And a big THANKS again for reading. You rule.

city love

2011-11-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

Off to do a little bit of nyc this weekend with my girls. Catch you later, skater. :)

the kitchen project

2011-10-31T13:35:00.001-05:00

It's done ... finally done! You may remember me mentioning our kitchen re-do a few months ago. (Take a look back to see where we started!) Or you may recall me gushing over yellow kitchens a few years ago, back when this remodel was our brain child. Well, the yellow has become a reality and now I can finally share our before and after pics.

Here was our kitchen before. There was nothing wrong with it, but we felt that our house deserved a more modern kitchen that matched the feel of the rest of our rooms. We were in awe of all of the cabinets and storage options that IKEA offered, so we began planning. The walls and ceilings (which you can't really see here) needed a ton of drywall work, which Bo did himself. And he and his dad laid the gray floor tile. Such handy guys. It was pretty major stuff.

Here's the other side of the room, which we had recently updated with stainless appliances. We ended up gutting the entire room and starting fresh.

And here's what it looks like now. White with a nice color block of yellow and gray countertops.

Clean lines, white and bright.

We ended up abandoning our DIY self-poured concrete countertop idea after doing a little research and finding out that long-term, concrete can be a real pain. It can require re-sealing every 6 months or so. And it can stain, or crack. This information made us sad, since we really had our hearts set on the idea, but then we fell in love with Formica. If you haven't seen their website/gallery, you have to check out all of the custom options they offer. Formica is cool. And it gave us the clean look we were going for.

One of our favorite things about this re-do is probably the simplest-looking; the high cabinet next to the fridge has become our new pantry and we're loving the pull-out storage. Love. (And yes, we had to keep Gene Simmons at his post on top of the fridge. He's always been there.) Our other favorite feature on our cabinets and drawers is the quiet-close feature, which I'm sure you've seen in action if you've visited and IKEA show room. If you accidentally slam a door, it catches and closes it quietly. We added a white desk to the wall next to this one for our Mac to sit on, and we plan to add a glass tile backsplash in the next few weeks.

After all of the months of hard work that Bo and his dad put into this room, we can finally enjoy it and take it all in. We had zero outside hired help with this room, so we have a little bit of extra love for it. We're so incredibly excited that all of our dishes have been put away in their new homes and we're thoroughly enjoying our new kitchen with the bright sunny yellow cabinets. No one can steal my sunshine. ;)

24 weeks

2011-10-30T22:36:00.002-05:00

There hasn't been a whole lot of time lately for naps or resting, but I'm feeling good. The aches in my hips and back have started in, especially when I wake up at night or walk for awhile. And I get bloody noses in the mornings, which I've never experienced before. My stomach is already sore from stretching and growing, but I know I have a long way to go. We've started collecting tiny boy baby clothes from kind friends and family members and I'm loving all of the blues and greens entering our home. I'm feeling pretty grateful. The little dude weighs a little over a pound and I get to take the oh-so-fun glucose test this week. I keep asking myself ... am I already this far along? (Oh yes ... I am.)

Happy Halloween!

23 weeks

2011-10-24T19:03:00.002-05:00

Yup, it's a legit bump. I find myself spilling crumbs on it and having to brush them off my shirt. It's getting harder and harder to zip my normal-sized hoodies. I have to try really hard not to have a little accident when I sneeze. I have had a craving for Chinese food for two solid weeks and at night, I almost always have a hankering for key lime Yoplait yogurt. I'm enjoying full-on karate chops to my insides. They keep me up late at night and that's okay. I've started to collect tiny baby boy clothes in various shades of blue and green. We've nearly finished our kitchen remodel and scored a new platform twin-sized bed for Lo's new room. A bigger bed for big sis ... it's almost exactly like the Berenstain Bears 'new baby' story. (Only papa bear isn't going into the woods to carve a new bigger bed ... out of a tree.) We're having fun with this new stage in our life, and looking forward to the months ahead.

diapers for your dollies

2011-10-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

Preschool problems: you have lots of babies (or animal babies) and none of them have diapers. What to do? Lo is fascinated with changing her dolls and stuffed animals, and she's been asking me to make them some diapers for awhile now. Below is my five-minute solution, which you too can whip up in no time should you feel so inclined. (Or pressured by a preschooler.) ;)

The finished 'diapers' look something like this. When you use felt, you can go crazy with the colors!

The only supplies you'll need are a few 8.5x11 scraps of felt, cardboard, scissors and (strong) self-stick velcro squares or dots. (You could also sew non-stick velcro on. This would obviously be a smarter and longer-lasting way to go, but surprisingly, the sticky back velcro we used has worked really well. Even after multiple uses. You could also sew two pieces of felt together, and then sew on velcro, to make thicker, more heavy-duty diapers. Up to you!)

Using the printable template at the end of this post, cut out and trace the diaper shape onto a piece of cardboard. Use this template to trace and cut out as many felt diapers as you want.

Stick or sew two squares of velcro to the longer back edge of the diaper.

Flip the diaper over to the other side, and stick/sew two more velcro squares to the shorter top edge. (Make sure that on one side, you're using the 'soft' velcro, and when you flip, use the 'scratchy' velcro. So they stick together.) ;)

It should fold up like this when you're done!

Then, use them to cover all of your littlest friends' tushies.

Click and download this template if you want to make your own. You can trace outside or inside the edges to make it bigger or smaller if you want, but this size seemed to fit almost all of our 12"-ish sized stuffed animals and dolls. Have fun diapering your dollies!

this & that

2011-10-20T21:26:00.003-05:00

I've been having the best time stocking up on Twinkle's insanely soft and chunky yarn in as many colors as I possibly can. I'm totally into the cool hues this week.

But the best part is quite possibly turning these ...

... into these. Lusciously huge skeins of wool knit themselves into colorful piles of super soft cowls. Almost like magic.

(I just updated my shop, by the way. Enter the coupon code FRIDAY – today only – to get free shipping in the U.S.) Have a good one!

carefree cowl knit-along

2011-10-20T08:00:00.006-05:00

So, yesterday I received a super sweet email from Shannon of luvinthemommyhood.com. She has started a stellar autumn knit-along that I know any and every knitter/crocheter will want to join. This is the perfect excuse to start and finish that cowl pattern that you've been wanting to knit or crochet since last season. (If you're like me, you probably already have the yarn set aside in your stash for it, just begging to be put to good use.) All you have to do is pick a cowl pattern – any cowl will do – and sign up before November 9th.

luvinthemommyhood carefree cowl knit along

You can find all things 'carefree cowl knit along' here:

posts | ravelry group thread | flickr group

Shannon mentioned that she had started off this knit-along with my Gap-tastic cowl pattern (pictured above) and that it had been a popular choice for knitters so far. So if you want to jump in but don't know what to knit, this would be the perfect project to get you started. Shannon has even created a button for you to add to your blog or what-have-you if you decide to knit along. You can grab yours here.

full-fledged fall

2011-10-19T16:21:00.001-05:00

We're loving this season.

Color-filled autumn walks and scavenger hunts.

Apple pies nearly every week. On average. (Ever since we picked up a peeler.)

Pumpkin patches and gourds.

Cut-out cookies.

A little autumn mix.

Pretty pumpkins.

Choosing the perfect one.

Haystacks and piggy-back rides.

Chrysanthemums in every color.

So much to love. What do you like best about the season?

over the weekend...

2011-10-17T11:14:00.001-05:00

Over the weekend, we saw Primus. They still sound so cool, and Les Claypool is definitely one of the best. (Yup, I take my kids to concerts in utero. Lo went to Ministry when she was in my belly. We raise these kids on rock.)

We also went to Minnepolis. Hit up IKEA to get the rest of our kitchen cabinets. And I ate some delicious bbq ribs while I was there. At IKEA. Which totally grossed Bo out.

And then after we got home, I smashed my foot into the metal part of our Le Corbusier couch and broke my toe. How was your weekend? :)

a baby sweater (for the little dude)

2011-10-17T00:01:00.004-05:00

I've had this tiny newborn sweater on the needles for awhile now, but finally had the chance to finish it over the weekend. I've decided that this is quite possibly the perfect simple baby sweater pattern. I'm thinking simple is good, especially if you're knitting for a boy.

The pattern is New Babeh by by Kayla Dyches, and I used Rowan's Amy Butler Belle Organic Aran yarn in this lovely soft gray color (zinc.) This yarn rules. It's incredibly soft – 50% organic wool and 50% organic cotton. I have a couple of extra skeins leftover, so I'm hoping to make some tiny socks or a hat (or both) to go with this sweater.

I'm pretty excited to add this to the pile of newborn clothes for our new little dude. I'm pretty sure that it will look much cuter once it's on a baby and not just lying flat on a blanket. Extra small knitting is turning out to be extra fun.

22 weeks

2011-10-14T22:24:00.000-05:00

It's been kind of easy so far to overlook the fact that we're already this far in. We've been busy with the kitchen re-do, and I hope to share some pics of the yellow this week. Exciting! One more trip to IKEA and we're on the home stretch. And we've been working on what we call 'the new room,' which was formerly part of our living room but now has been converted into a new bedroom for Lo. Bo and his dad are pretty amazing ... one weekend and we had new walls and a closet and light fixtures. Boom! New room. We still have quite a bit of work to do to on the whole bedroom switcheroo and get everything ready for this baby boy that will be arriving in ... oh gosh, three and a half months. Gulp.

But I've been thoroughly enjoying this time with my little Lo. I know too well that it won't be just the two of us hanging out every day for much longer. We snuggle more and we bake pies and read books and I'm just trying to make our time count. <3

21 weeks

2011-10-05T19:29:00.001-05:00

21 weeks and time seems to be going so fast. I'm definitely feeling as big as a pumpkin. How timely! Fall is in full swing and we've been hitting the pumpkin patches and apple orchards pretty hard. But you can't help but embrace the change of seasons when you're in a season of change yourself. Pretty much the only time I look forward to the bitter cold winter months is when I'm pregnant; I already can't wait to hold that little babe. (Lo was born in February, too. Winter babies!) And I'm already anticipating holiday family gatherings and second helpings of pumpkin pie. Are you loving the season, too?

halfway there

2011-09-27T22:32:00.004-05:00

20 weeks, halfway there. I've been knitting a lot and reading those weekly emails that you get when you're pregnant. The ones that you what size your baby is in comparison to the size of a certain fruit or vegetable. (The little dude is the length of a banana at this point.) The emails are kind of silly but it is fun to go to the grocery store with Lo and show her that this baby (that she can't actually see) is the size of a kumquat or avocado or whatever.

We've been doing and enjoying lots of fall things and I'm fully embracing the season. Hot tea and caramel apple cider. Talking about Halloween costumes and plans for jack-o-lanterns. Apple orchard field trips and pie baking. And the knitting. Oh so good.

the news ...

2011-09-20T21:47:00.004-05:00

We had our ultrasound today. So, what's the word?

Yup. :)

We're officially adding a little dude to the family. A boy is going to be running around our house, tearing it up. (And yes! I snagged the chalkboard thought bubble from Rachel at Red Velvet last weekend at Renegade. It's super fun and you can get one here.)

I think Lo was a tiny bit disappointed at first that she wasn't getting a little sister, but she's totally cool with the boy thing now. She's such a sweetie and is going to be a fantastic big sis.

Dad is super stoked. We all are super stoked! It was an extra fun day for all of us. Since the weather was completely gorgeous this evening, we ended the day with dinner on the grill, ate outside on the patio, and then we took a long family walk as the sun was setting. Feeling super blessed today, and you can't wipe the smile off my face.

to maternity ... and beyond

2011-09-19T10:00:00.002-05:00

Rockefeller Sweater by Wenlan Chia (this one was knit by Cirilia Rose)

Knits for the expectant mother. What a knitter should knit when a knitter is expecting. Something like that. I've been scouring Ravelry for a project that I could wear through maternity ... and beyond. Because if you're going to knit something, it had better last longer than one season. Here are some versatile cardigan patterns I've been digging that would be super cute on anyone.

Alaska by Jo Storie

Danforth Pullover by Pam Allen

Chloe Cardigan by Jo Storie

Solstice Cardigan by Cecily Glowik MacDonald

Anhinga by Norah Gaughan

Renegade Chicago recap

2011-09-16T22:41:00.010-05:00

I had a fantastic weekend at Renegade Chicago. The weather was gorgeously sunny and Division Street was crowded with lots of friendly faces shopping for handmade treasures. Loved it.

Even better, I was surrounded by this crafty mob of fellow Des Moines girls. They were great company throughout the weekend (although I wish I had more time to hang with them.) And they took good care of me when I was in need of a food or bathroom break.

In the booth right next to me were the super sweet girls of Urban Posture.

And in the very next booth down were my pals Chrissy, Danelle and Sarah at the Domestica booth. (Look at all of the gorgeous stuff they brought!) Further down the row from us was our other crafty pal, Amanda, of No Tengo Miedo Clay. (Next year, we'll coordinate that better.) ;)

This year, I decided to split a booth with another vendor – especially since I'm pregnant and didn't want to stress all summer about knitting enough to fill up an entire booth. So, I shared a space with a sweet girl named Kate Funk and her friend J. We consumed a lot of tacos and shared quite a few laughs during our two days in Wicker Park.

One of the highlights of my weekend, though, was finally getting to meet up with Rachel. We've emailed and tweeted and read each others' blogs for quite a few years now, so it was extra special to be able to chat in person during Renegade. What a lovely lady!

Here are a few pics of the knits I brought with me ...

(Lots and lots of cowls.)

I was worried that it would be too hot and sunny for people to be in the mood for cold-weather knits, but I guess Chicagoans know what's headed their way in the months ahead.

I met so many completely adorable shoppers and loved having friends and blog readers stop by to say hello.

Reckless Records kept our ears happy by spinning vinyl nearby. (Bo used to shop there a lot when he lived downtown during his college days.)

And our booth was super close to all of the food and entertainment near the center of the fair, which gave us easy access to favorite spots like BigBite. So good.

A barber magically appeared in the middle of the sidewalk to give free Renegade haircuts, barber's choice.

My boothmate's helper decided to get one and it turned out pretty rad ... he eventually had stripes shaved into one side of his head.

Gotta love the people watching – it's always lots of fun to see what everyone is wearing.

I managed to shop around a bit and hit up a few favorite booths like Vaya ...

... and Ork.

I even made a quick stop at the best yarn shop in Wicker Park, Nina. (I think they know me in there by now.) ;)

Lo and I did a little meandering on our own. She likes to meander.

Just like last year, I ended my two-day stay at Renegade on Sunday night with Starfruit. By Sunday, I definitely felt like I deserved a delicious fro-yo treat.

And as the day was coming to a close, my wonderful, buff, oh-so-helpful husband helped me load up all of my stuff back into our Civic Hybrid, and we drove off into the sunset. Back to good old Des Moines, Iowa, with my little girlie fast asleep in the back seat. Six hours later, we were home sweet home.

It was a good weekend.

18 weeks

2011-09-14T10:08:00.004-05:00

18 weeks and loving the comfy dresses during these last few hot Indian summer days. Renegade Craft Fair was an absolute blast and despite 600+ miles of driving (and taking a few more breaks than I normally would have,) I felt really good and had a wonderful time.

This little lady got to spend two full days hanging out with Bo in downtown Chicago. We are lucky to have family who lives there, so she spent lots of quality time with her aunt and uncle and favorite Chicago cousins as well. They hit up the beach, Millenium Park, Lincoln Park Zoo, and the ferris wheel at Navy Pier. We love Chicago and definitely had an eventful, fun-filled weekend. (More about Renegade later this week!)

happy birthday to my dude

2011-09-10T20:00:00.000-05:00

He's been spending an awful lot of time laboring over our kitchen remodel lately/chauffering me around Chicago, and not nearly enough time skateboarding or kayaking or exploring the city on his scooters. He's quite an amazing guy and we're lucky to have him. Happy birthday to you, Bo. We love you a lot.

17 weeks

2011-09-08T21:20:00.002-05:00

17 weeks and feeling little kicks. I'm really getting amped up to know more about who exactly is in there and I've been comparing everything I've been eating and feeling to the old wives tales that claim to predict gender. If you crave citrus, it's a girl. Feeling pretty? It's a boy. Who knows. I'm almost scared to guess (even though it seems that everyone I talk to thinks it's going to be a boy.) I'm not really sure I know what I think yet. We don't have any names picked out yet and we'll probably wait until the ultrasound to venture down that road.

I'm starting to miss my normal jeans (although I often cheat with the old ponytail elastic band through the buttonhole trick.) But I've been feeling pretty good these days and can't complain about a thing. Feeling lucky, feeling blessed, and trying my best to take it all in.

Renegade knitting

2011-09-08T21:17:00.000-05:00

Just a few things I'll be bringing to Chicago this weekend ... this giant shawl.

Long loopy cowls.

And some gorgeous Malabrigo hand-dyed options. The colors are so rad in person!

I'll be here on Saturday and Sunday! Stop out and say hi. :)

first day

2011-09-06T13:03:00.001-05:00

This morning, I dropped her off for her first day of preschool. This year, there weren't any tears. She hung up her Yo Gabba Gabba backpack, washed her hands according to classroom protocol, gave me a hug and let me know that she 'was cool.' I thought I'd be used to this after having last year under my belt, but I was still a little bit sad to leave her there. She's my fun little sidekick in pink and I kind of miss her! (She did great, by the way.) :)

16 weeks

2011-09-06T06:00:00.004-05:00

16 weeks and things are going swimmingly. I'm feeling like myself again and I'm finally ready to go back out and do stuff. (Just in time for Renegade Craft Fair, which is this weekend.) Lo starts preschool and ballet this week. And we'll hopefully be scheduling an ultrasound to find out who this kid is going to be ... I'm very, very excited to find out.

Renegade bound

2011-09-02T11:07:00.004-05:00

I'm headed to Renegade Craft Fair again, and the Chicago show comes around just in time for fall knits. (You know, the ones I've been knitting all summer long!) Renegade is only a week away, so my needles are flying furiously these last few days. Here's what you can expect to see if you come out to visit me next weekend.

Big, huge insanely soft 100% virgin wool cowls. They're seriously giant.

Smaller super chunky seed stitch cowls in every color in the rainbow. (Here are just a few!)

Long drapey cowls that you can loop around your neck twice (as shown in the first pic above.)

My mom even got in on the action and crocheted this beautiful rainbow of scrubby cotton dishcloths. I'm in love with them.

One week! Chicago. Wicker Park, Division + Damon Street. Over 300 handmade artists will be there and it's always such a fun time. (More info here.) Come on out!

15 weeks

2011-08-26T08:00:00.002-05:00

It's August, the height of summer. It's still hot, the state fair is over, I've been feeling better and I've been wanting corn dogs. (And delicious cherry limeades.) Sonic is my friend and luckily, we have one quite close to our house. So for just ninety-nine cents, I can indulge once in awhile.

fun with bento

2011-08-22T16:23:00.005-05:00

Along with back-to-school time comes lunch time, and I love lunch time. Our kitchen is still in mid-demolition stage, but that has given me the chance to go through everything that was in our cabinets so I can sort and reorganize. Which reminded me that while I've posted some of my past bento-ish lunch plates in the past, I've never really shared what was in my bento stash. Like, the tools. If you're curious about bento, here are the supplies I've stocked up on.

First, the little things. In the upper left corner are some small ocean-themed cutters (for cheese or meat or what-have-you) and hotdog shapers. (I'll get to those in a minute.) In the upper right are various food picks. Lower left has tiny sauce/condiment containers, as does the lower right (with one more wiener shaper.)

If you've never seen hotdog shapers, this should tell you everything you need to know. They're the newest addition to my bento supplies, and Lo just recently started eating hotdogs so I can't wait to try them out. This pack has a crab, a fish and penguins. Super cool or kind of gross? I can't decide. :)

Here we have some sandwich punches, egg shapers for hard-boiled eggs and baran sheets. (Which are little plastic-y dividers used to separate different foods in your box.) I ordered some of these new supplies last week with my pal Sarah from this website.

Here are several food cups in various sizes, some given to me by my sweet friend Morgan!

I stocked up on some new silicone baran sheets and dividers, which you can wash and use over and over again, unlike the paper kind.

This is my most favorite Hello Kitty rice mold set with punches, also from my friend Morgan. My niece has dared me to make one of those really elaborate Hello Kitty bentos, like these. Umm, someday?

And finally, two new bento boxes – the first one is 3-tiered (the top tier is for silverware) and the second box has just one compartment. These are really inexpensive and so cute ... each one was only $3.50. I promise to share some lunches soon so you can see what can be made with these lovelies. In the meantime, you should definitely check out two of my favorite bento blogs ... Wendolonia and Adventures in Bentomaking. (Wendy at Wendolonia just did an awesome post about bento box basics/tools. Check it.)

goodbye, kitchen.

2011-08-16T14:59:00.005-05:00

Bo and I been talking about doing a kitchen remodel for quite awhile now. It's always been on our to-do list (especially the floors, which were in major need of an overhaul.) And this summer, it's go time. The cabinets have been ripped out and the floor has been tiled. We have a long way to go, but I am so excited to watch this new kitchen materialize.

First came the new flooring. (And, well, ripping out the bottom cabinets. Ripping things out kind of scares me.) The new tile is a neutral gray and perfect for dancing on.

And if you've read here awhile, you may remember my obsession with yellow kitchens. I love yellow kitchens. We're going with IKEA cabinets and using four of these yellow doors that I bought on clearance awhile back. For $10 each. It was a crazy good deal. They'll be mixed with white cabinets and our plan is to get concrete countertops poured. Soon. (By the way, we've been super impressed with the quality of IKEA's cabinets and drawers. Wow. For anyone who challenges you with the argument that IKEA doesn't sell durable/high-quality stuff, you really must test these out in person. Even my father-in-law approves.)

So yeah, the old doors came off and here's where things started to get crazy. I had no idea how much stuff we actually had in our kitchen. The junk drawers. The mugs and knick-knacks and mis-matched dish sets. The cleaning supply cabinets. (And Lo's main concern, the candy drawer.)

For now, everything is laying in piles on our living room floor. So that's fun. Bo and his dad are doing the entire kitchen remodel themselves, so it has been in various states of de-construction as they move through each stage. They're both incredibly handy and I'm so lucky they know how to do all of this stuff.

This week will be the worst of it; we won't have a sink for a few days until we get the countertops squared away. But paper plates, pizza and carry-out are our friends and we're making the most of it. The end is in sight and I can't wait to pick up our next load of cabinets and see it all come together. Like, I really can't wait to see the yellow. :)

I must be feeling a little better ...

2011-08-11T19:40:00.000-05:00

Because look at me ... I'm back to blogging nearly every day! (Huh.) Anyway, here are a couple of pages I did for Kara Haupt's new online class, This & That. (Thanks, Kara!) You can sign up now, and you totally should.

These two pages are based on mix and match page ideas/topics:

* What’s your band name? Choose a group of friends, your family, or your Significant Other and yourself, and decide on what your “band name” would be if you were a band.

* Give a shout-out to anything by finishing the phrase “Hey, ______”.

* Use a page of your planner or calendar on a page.

* Use a stamp to create a custom patterned paper.

(So, above is obviously band name + calendar/planner page.)

And this page is the 'Hey' shout-out + stamping to create pattern on paper. (Fun, huh?)

So if you're stuck in a creative rut, or haven't scrapbooked in awhile, or have always wanted to try a journaling project but didn't know where to start, you should definitely sign up for This & That. If you're busy during the dates class is offered, no worries – a complete class pdf will be available at the end of class to peruse at your leisure. So jump in – I know you'll have a fantastic time with this!

Missoni for Target

2011-08-10T20:50:00.004-05:00

I realize that right now everyone is freaking out over the Missoni for Target preview but I am seriously excited about this. I posted about my love for the 2011 resort collection (wow) awhile back and started knitting that Missoni blanket. But this, this is too good. Here are my favorites and I can't wait to see the rest. (Ganked from all the way up here.)

Yeah, you can imagine my excitement when I saw the baby stuff. You can bet your ass I'm going to do my best to pull off a Missoni nursery. (Aren't these colors the greatest?) I hope we'll be able to find out if we're having a boy or girl by the time this stuff hits the shelves and I become the biggest Target stalker of all time ... :)

this & that winner!

2011-08-09T22:07:00.000-05:00

Hello hello – I (finally!) picked a winner for Kara Haupt's new online class, This & That! In the next day or two, I'll have some pages of my own to share from class so you can see how much fun this is going to be. :)

And the winner is Holly Knitlightly – yay! Send me your info and we'll get you set up for class. (And if you didn't win but still would like to join in, here's all the info about This & That. Class starts on August 15th, so you still have time to sign up!)

this & that

2011-08-05T23:07:00.003-05:00

Hey hey! My friend Kara is teaching a fantastic new online class called This & That. It's up for sale today, and you can register anytime between now and August 16th. Here's the details ...

This & That

Haven’t scrapbooked in awhile? Feeling uninspired with your current supplies and same old photos? Want to try scrapbooking or art journaling but don’t where to start?

This & That is a three week online class jam-packed with challenges, journaling prompts, and techniques designed to get you scrapbooking again. Mix and match and use this and that to create thirty plus pages! Choose one journaling prompt and one technique idea from the pool and combining ideas to get excited about creating again.

Price: $35 USD

Dates: August 15th-September 2nd

Included:

Access to private blog

30 journaling prompts
30 technique prompts and ideas
Tutorial for creating vintage handkerchief albums
Printable embellishment sheet
2 instructor videos
Email access to Kara
Giveaways!
PDF of the entirety of the class

Looks like fun, right? So would you like to win a free pass to This & That? Leave a comment here (anything will do) for a chance to win. I'll pick a lucky person by midnight CST on Monday, August 8th. Good luck!

big news/little bump

2011-08-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

Lately I've been taking some pretty long breaks from the blog. (The longest I've ever taken.) But all for a good reason. There's going to be a new babe in this family, and we could not be more excited. We're as ready as we'll ever be. Little Lo is not so little anymore; she'll be five by the time this new baby gets here. (I'm due on Valentine's Day!) And she is pretty stoked about the idea of being a big sis. I've been getting hit a little harder this time around with the sickness, and I had forgotten how pregnancy can instantly change your 'normal' into something quite different in a matter of days. I'm super close to being through my first trimester, and everything is feeling so familiar ... I want to nap all of the time, my favorite jeans are too tight to button, I eat completely bizarre things and can get sick at the drop of a hat. But I'm not complaining. It's totally, completely, absolutely worth it. We are blessed.

digi ain't fo' suckas

2011-07-27T16:18:00.000-05:00

New Dare is up today ... Digi can be dope. DIGI AIN'T FO SUCKAS. How to make your computer generated layouts unlame. Gettin' gnarly with pixelations. Check-check it out.

80/35

2011-07-05T21:39:00.006-05:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged! I do have a semi-decent reason for being MIA, but I'll get to that another day. Anyway, we spent our 4th of July weekend enjoying our city's annual music festival, 80/35. This was the fourth year we've attended, which I think officially makes it a family tradition.

What better way to spend the Fourth than by checking out two days of live music with downtown Des Moines as the backdrop? Here are some of my favorite moments from the weekend.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

The painted people.

Galactic.

Friends, friends and more friends ... everywhere you go.

Okkervil River.

Water fun in the hot sun.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

Star Troopers with sparklers.

Of Montreal.

Girl Talk!! (Which was way more fun that I had anticipated.)

The guy who climbed the light pole.

Balloons.

And confetti. (It was a fantastic weekend. We're still kind of tired. Hope you had a good Fourth!)

daddies + daughters

2011-06-19T11:06:00.001-05:00

There's nothing quite as sweet as this. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. (Including ours.) :)

Dareness

2011-06-15T13:02:00.002-05:00

The Dares girls are back at it. I'm smiling from ear to ear, because each and every one of us busted out the paper and glue this week. Jamaica, Gen, Nisa, Kristi, Vee, Tina ... if you haven't seen it yet, go now ... go. (P.S. April Foster is our guest this week. Play along and you could win Studio Calico's Countryside Collection.)

k.i.p. day

2011-06-13T16:58:00.001-05:00

World Wide Knit in Public Day was June 11th, and knitters/crocheters all around the world will be celebrating all week long. So I thought this might be a good time to look back at some of my k.i.p. photos from this past year and tell you some of the stories that go along with them.

On this day, I was working on a ginormous gray scarf out of Rowan Big Wool at a coffee shop downtown. A woman sat down by me and told me about her trip to Colorado and how she thought her coffee group that meets on Merle Hay had missed her.

This was taken against some very lovely hotel carpet from my first knitting retreat weekend with my pals Sarah, Amy, Nichole and Melissa. I finished knitting a sweater in one weekend.

Downtown coffee shop again, where a man who claimed to be an inventor sat down nearby. He showed me notebooks of drawings for farm equipment/machinery that he had hoped to produce someday, along with a arboretum he wanted to build somewhere downtown. He asked if I had any connections.

And yet another downtown coffee shop knitting day. A man who said he was 80 years old sat down and filled me in on the history of boxing. Sugar Ray Robinson, Sonny Liston, Willie Pep and more.

Through my public knitting, I've gathered a few things. Knitters in coffee shops are approachable and inviting. (Even though I normally just look down and avoid eye contact. Usually because I'm counting.) I am shocked at how often someone will sit down in a chair right by me to chat or tell a story.

The other thing is that everyone knows or knew someone who was a knitter. A grandma or aunt or neighbor or teacher. And that relationship always comes with a story as well.

So, to all of the storytellers and chatty coffee patrons, thanks for keeping it exciting. And happy Knitting in Public day.

my first pair

2011-06-03T19:41:00.008-05:00

Okay, at first glance, I will admit that these look pretty disgusting. But to me, they're an old friend. Perfectly faded. Kind of gross. But it's not like I can wash them. I'd wash off all of the history. Do you have any idea how many Lollapaloozas/Ozzfests/Vans Warped Tours these shoes have been through? (They may have even helped me survive a school dance or two.) It's like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. "I never wash my pants. I like to keep the night on them."

This weekend, I'm going to a 90s-themed party. So, I found myself digging through an old box of my high school stuff. I unearthed lots of old t-shirts, some Levis cut-offs, and these old shoes. My very first pair of All-Stars, ever. I wore them through four years of high school, and drug them through every concert and mud pit I encountered along the way.

The soles are worn smooth. I used to re-draw the star and the All-Star label on the back time and time again with a Sharpie every time it wore off. Oh, and apparently I liked to draw the Airwalk logo. (This was 1992-96, and I thought Airwalks were the shit. Obviously, this was before you could buy them at Payless.) There's half of a Hennepin Ave sticker that I found on the ground after some friends and I saw a show in Minneapolis. The rubber around the soles have my old favorite bands written on them ... L7, Slayer, Rage. The '1034' you see written there is my high school locker combination. The only boys' names I ever wrote on them were the Beastie Boys.

And so. This concludes my ode to an old and slightly disgusting pair of shoes. Do you hold on to old memories/stuff like this? I'm pretty happy I kept these.

the takeover

2011-05-30T22:10:00.007-05:00

What a weekend. There was rain, there was sun. People arrived on scooters from seven different states. Our friend Nam got married. New friends were made. Someone won a scooter. We stayed up until 4 am one night, and 3 am the next. I took a ride or two in the sidecar. There was an all-vinyl dance party (and Pressure Drop celebrated it's one-year anniversary.) There were scooter rides all over this beautiful city. And we saw nine bands in nine hours. I think. Bo and his friends worked hard to make it all happen and the rally was quite a success. People had fun. They liked our city. And everyone kept commenting on how 'nice' we all were. We're still a bit tired but wow, what a weekend. So, for all of the people who keep asking 'hey, how was that scooter thing that you guys had over the weekend?,' here's a photo recap. Hostile Takeover II.

A big thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make the rally so rad. You did good.

rally time

2011-05-27T15:48:00.001-05:00

It's finally here. A weekend of bands and DJs and dancing and food and scooter rides all over our lovely city. Tonight kicks off with The Bishops at the Fremont, tomorrow night is Pressure Drop (an all vinyl dance party and music celebration,) and we'll end the weekend with a music fest at Bombay Bicycle Club on Sunday. Nine bands for ten bucks. (Open to the public.) These guys have worked so hard to make Hostile Takeover the very best it can be, and we're pretty stoked to see it all unfold over the next couple of days. Hope you have a fantastic Memorial day weekend.

chevron

2011-05-25T07:00:00.005-05:00

I've just added a new knitting pattern on Ravelry. Chevron! If it looks a bit familiar, it's probably because it's based on a tie belt by J. Crew. I had seen it online, and theirs looks like it's woven, but I wanted to try to knit something similar. It turned out to be a simple and quick project that would look pretty rad in any two-color combination.

Check out the pattern here on Ravelry ... you can download it for free. :)

Hostile Takeover (it's this weekend!)

2011-05-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Thursday, May 26, 2011
For anyone arriving early, we will be fielding some informal rides and putting the finishing touches on the rally.

Friday, May 27, 2011

3pm – 7pm
Registration will be held at Greenwood Park Shelter #1. We will be passing out rally bags, shirts, tickets, and all other credentials during this time. We will handle all late arrivals on a one-on-one basis. For those staying at Corporate Headquarters, registration will be carried out upon arrival.

5pm – 7pm
Hang out time at the park while enjoying an Iowa pork loin dinner. (Vegetarian options will also be provided.)

7pm to 9pm
Evening ride about Des Moines ending at The Fremont.

9pm – 2am
Friday night at The Fremont! This little slice of heaven will host our evening entertainment, Omaha ska legends, The Bishops!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

10am – 12pm
Brunch and informational meeting for the afternoon events at the Heritage Carousel in Union Park. We will also register and hand out rally bags to any late arrivals.

12pm –4pm
Hard Ball Scooter Ride: It may sound like a Wisconsin Dells attraction, but this ride is no laughing matter! Our ride planners came up with this gem during a PBR/beef jerky fueled “brainstorming” session. Too many details would give it away, but this ride will be something. If the Scooter Cannonball Run and the World Series of Gymkhana shacked up in Iowa, this would be their unholy love child. Throw in some geocaching with a pinch of jackassery and you have a pretty sweet afternoon. But like all scooter events, the Rockers are waiting around every corner to ruin all of your fun…

5pm – 8pm
After Hard Ball, you WILL need some down time. So grab a nap/shower and recharge for Saturday night! Dinner is on your own, so check out the list of our favorite restaurants and check one out.

8pm – 2am
PRESSURE DROP: An all vinyl dance party and music celebration. Your host, DJ Eight Ten and his special guests, will spin the finest in Motown, Jamaica Ska, Northern Soul, Rare Funk, Roots Rock, Raw Rhythm n Blues and Reggae. It is a night to dress up, a night to celebrate, a night to blow off steam, a night to be thankful for what we’ve got and most importantly…a night to dance.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

12pm – 2pm
After PRESSURE DROP, you may not feel like moving for awhile, so there will be an optional brunch at The Fremont. Start with a build your own Bloody Mary bar, then add in biscuits and gravy, omelets, and doughnuts to round out the morning.

2pm – 4pm
Scooter Show/Slow Race/Raffle/Vendors. There will be a few informal rides during this time as well.

4pm – 2am
CORPORATE RETREAT 2011: Always wanting to go out strong, we are closing out Hostile Takeover II with a multi-genre music festival. Open to the public, we are using this show as a way of raising awareness of scooters and scooter culture to the average citizen. Check out the event page for more info. Between bands we will be awarding trophies for all of the competitions and announcing the winner of “The Kraken.”

All scooter makes and cafe racers welcome.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

http://whatisthecorporation.com

(it's okay to) play with your food

2011-05-23T12:14:00.002-05:00

This is something I like to call bento on a plate. It probably doesn't even qualify as 'real' bento but whatever. (This is just a grape jam 'hedgehog' sandwich with a raisin eye, teddy grahams, clementine sections, salami, edamame, and cut-up string cheese.)

And in case you're wondering what I do with the rest of the bread (no, I don't throw it away!) I usually end up eating my own sandwich, which looks something like this. Ha.

Lately, my most-used cookie cutter set is this one from IKEA. The wilderness edition, I guess. Forest friends? It's pretty cute.

Sometimes we eat quesadilla dinosaurs who walk on raisin rocks underneath a colby-jack sun.

Or have a edamame/peanut butter cracker flower with a fruit leather squirrel for a snack.

But all that matters is that she eats it. :) I've been playing with cute lunches for a couple of years, since Lo is stuck in that picky-eater phase. I definitely make more of them now that the weather is sunny and we're heading out on picnics and playdates more often. And I love reading bento blogs; my very favorite is written by my pal Wendy, so if you like this kind of stuff, you should def check out Wendolonia.

in my faves

2011-05-19T00:29:00.004-05:00

Just a few projects that are inspiring me lately (and lovely things going into my Ravelry faves.)

alicey's stripey sweater

makki's ARASHI scarf

jettshin's Urban Mandarin-UM Ambassador

neus' adirondack camouflage sweater

Olive's Afghan by Larissa Brown

Alexandra Tinsley's Bad Oyster

SweetMama's icing on the {birthday} cake

Vintage Crocheted Blanket by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas

kayanna's Springtime in Hollis

Solstice Cardigan by Cecily Glowik MacDonald

Me and my knitting pals have been thinking about starting a 'summer sweater knitting club.' You know ... so we can maybe finish a whole sweater by the time fall comes around. How about you? Do you have any big summer projects going on?

timestamp

2011-05-13T14:19:00.010-05:00

Yesterday, iVillage posted an older project I did when Lo was just a babe, back in the very beginnings of this blog. After she was born, I photographed her holding a calendar page once a month (on her birth date, the 2nd) until she was a year old to record how much she was growing and changing.

I created a calendar page in Adobe Illustrator so I could update and print it each month. (If you like this idea, the sweet girls at Rookie Moms made a page just like it that you can download and print in Word right here.)

At the end of the year, I had all of the photos printed and I put them into an accordian-fold album.

Looking back, I have to smile. I remember getting our first 'nice' camera the year Lo was born, but I didn't know how to use it. I propped her up against an enormous black backdrop every month and she'd try to eat the calendar page, crumple it up, spit up all over the place or crawl away. She's only four years old, but she's grown up so fast. It's pretty fantastic to look back at these photos now. And to remember everything about that little baby.

cleaning house

2011-05-12T14:54:00.000-05:00

This space has been neglected for too long and my banner has been the same for, um ... years. So here's the change-up/cleanup.