The Invisible Aviatrix: a how to on short rows

I have absolutely fallen in love with the little Aviatrix baby hat by Justine Turner. So much so that this tutorial was made from hat #4 that I've knit. The hat is geniusly constructed utilizing short rows to shape the head and a cute miter for the straps.

One thing I found though, while working out the short rows, was that while it didn't really matter how you worked off the wraps when using a variegated yarn, if you used yarn that was a solid color, the short rows were really obvious if not worked a certain way.

The following tutorial and videos were how I worked my short rows (specifically the wraps on the wrong side) to be as invisible as possible.

Working off the wraps on the right side short rows was simple enough. Slip the stitch purlwise, fully unwrap the stitch, slip the stitch and wrap back onto the left needle and k2tog (the stitch and the wrap).

In the video I work 1 wrapped stitch, 1k, 1 wrapped, 1k

Working off the wraps on the wrong side short rows is a bit more complicated.

First, work to the first wrapped stitch. Slip the wrapped stitch knitwise.

Fully unwrap the stitch


Pass both the stitch and the wrap back onto the left needle


Purl two together (the stitch and the wrap) through the back loop

In the video I work 1p, 1 wrapped stitch, 1p, 1 wrapped st, and 1p

Lastly, you have 2 short rows per section that are worked in knit stitch on the wrong side. Here's how I worked those.

Slip the wrapped stitch knitwise and fully unwrap the stitch like before.

Insert the left needle into the stitch and wrap as if to slip back but instead, yo the right needle


Work the stitch and wrap over the yo and off the needle

In the video I work 1 wrapped stitch, 1k, 1wrapped stitch, 1k

Update: I forgot to show you what this looks like in the end. Here's the side of the hat that had the ws wraps. It's not complete but you get the idea. And here's a linky to my Rav project page where you can find the other Aviatrix's I've made.

A pair of Leyburns and a Baby

So I've finished up my second pair of socks for the HyenaCart sock swap. The pattern is Leyburn Socks by MintyFresh. The yarn is Stile from Lana Grossa in color 8012 (blue/purple/grey) purchased at The Loopy Ewe.



My notes: Started on March 6th, 2011 and finished March 19th, 2011. Worked two at a time magic looped on my 2.5mm bamboo hiyas. Judy's magic cast on with 11st on top and bottom (22 total). Increased 4 st every other round and then 4 st every 3rd round towards the end because the toe wasn't turning out long enough. I increased to 31st on the instep and 29st on the sole because my gauge was a little under. I did the foot increases as written and the heel was done across the 29st as though I had 25. I did the heel inc as written also. By the end I had more stitches total but still the right number for the lattice pattern. The leg was worked for about two inches and then cuff and Jeny's super stretchy bind off.

I am absolutely in love with this pattern! It kept me interested the whole way through because each finished lattice was a mini instant grat moment and the yarn kept things interesting because I was always excited to see what color was going to carry over. The lattice pattern was uber easy to memorize so I could take the project with me anywhere.

...and now for the baby :D

I was knitting these socks with a fair amount of urgency because our newest little one was due on the 23rd. I was fully prepared (and actually looking forward) to having our baby after his due date. With only the cuffs to go... B had other ideas.



On March 14th (only two days after my birthday mind you) I was woken up at 4:30am by a fairly strong contraction. After going to the bathroom (yay baby who's dropped) and crawling back in couch (I'd been sleeping there since the snoring started... yet another joy of pregnancy) I had another contraction and realised that they were definitely not braxton hicks. After getting over the, 'No, I can't have him yet, it's too close to my birthday' thoughts, I woke the hubby and told him to get ready because today was the day. After he shaved, showered, and packed and I got my stuff gathered up, we got the kids up, told them what was going on and took them to the neighbor's where they quickly fell back asleep. Contractions were 5 minutes apart exactly while we were driving and I was really thinking that if they got much harder (which I was expecting them to) I was really going to want drugs. We arrived at the hospital around 6:40am and were given a room. We arrived in the middle of a shift change so the nurses were sparse. After sitting around for a while and getting through some pretty gnarly contractions, the nurse finally came in to check on everything. After hooking me up to the heart rate and contraction monitors she checked how far along we were and to both our surprise I was already 8cm dilated and pretty much fully effaced. In a slight panic she called for a bit more assistance, reminded me to keep breathing through contractions and to not push. The doctor moseyed in around 7:40, tried to lay me back in the prone position o_O which I was not having and I'm pretty sure that frustrated him a bit, broke the sack of water, told me I could push on the next contraction, so I did, and in that one push, Baby B's head was eased out and when I the nurse helped me pull one leg up (cause it wasn't going to happen in prone... good grief) the shoulders came out and B was born before 7:45am (yeah, it really was cut that close).

We've been home and happy for about a week now and life is adjusting quite well. Lulu is absolutely enamoured with B and the older two are enjoying him too. For now he had an amazingly chill disposition which I pray will continue on and not morph into a devious and mischievous personality :lol:

Pink Cheeks

It's finally done! My project that started at Stitches West last year has finally come to a finish. I purchased this roving from Miss Babs' booth last year with big plans for it.

100% BFL in Pink Cheeks


This was partially spun on a drop spindle but when I got Gretchen (yup, that's what I named my wheel) I transferred the singles to her bobbin and finished the spinning on her.


The it was on to plying. I had planned on plying this with pearls strung on cobweb merino but the merino proved to be too weak so that go scrapped. The I tried with crochet cotton but the amount of time it was taking vs. the results just weren't proving beneficial. So I spun up 100 yards of beaded yarn that will turn into some sort of airy scarf probably and the rest turned into this:

About 390yds of fingering weight yarn that is getting sent off to GnaS (from Ravelry) to be made into a Clapotis like scarf.

Ruby Red Socks

Fresh off the needles and not even blocked yet... though I'm not sure if I'm going to or not... are a pair of socks made for a swap over on the Hyena Cart forum. They totally remind me of ruby red slippers!

All in all I really enjoyed this pattern. But on a funny side note... once I got to where I would normally start toe decreases on my own foot, my brain decided it wanted to stop making the socks and went on shut down for a while. I had to pick-up another project for a bit before I was able to jump back in and finish these. I have a small amount of yarn left so I'm really happy I didn't push the leg to 2 full repeats.

The stats: made from fingering weight yarn dyed by EcoWrapz in the color Ruby Red. The pattern is Belle Vitini (rav link) by Kristi Geraci. Knit two at a time and I had to use two 29" Susan Bates Quicksilvers because apparently Addi doesn't make size 2.25mm needles. Made in size medium to fit a size US women's 9.5 foot. The leg was made with 1.5 repeats of the pattern and the heel flap was knit changing the ws to k instead of p like the chart suggests.

Sock Monkeying Around

So my latest craft endeavor has been to get some presents whipped up for the up-coming babies that are entering the world here soon.

A friend had a little treasure tucked away in her fabric bins that I ganked from her:



Yup, those are totally what you think they are! Three pairs of original Nelson Rockford red heeled socks... aka sock monkey socks.

Now, I've never attempted to make a sock monkey and I think that if I hadn't run into this specific item, I probably would never have tried. But I had to with these (that or sell them on ebay :lol:)

So after a little more research (the instructions are a bit on the vague side as far as limb placement -- the tail goes above the white butt, not in the middle), I got to sewing and stuffing and stitching and accessorizing and after a late night (love you Michelle!) and a couple more hours tacked on to that I now have three finished sock monkeys ready to go to three soon to be born boys! (accessory patterns are below)



Patterns for Accessories:

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
st = stitch
dc = double crochet
fphdc = front post half double crochet
bphdc = back post half double crochet

Hat: made with worsted weight scrap yarn and an H hook.

rnd 1: ch3. first two ch count as first dc. 9 dc in the third ch from hook and join to first dc (10 dc total)
rnd 2: ch2. dc in same st. 2dc in each st. join (20 dc total)
rnd 3: ch2. dc in same st. dc in next st. *2dc in next st. dc in next st.* repeat from *to* till end. join (30 dc total)
rnd 4: ch2. dc in every st. join (30 dc total)
rnd 5: ch2. fphdc around next st. *bphdc. fphdc* repeat from *to* to end. join. cut and weave in ends.

note: this also makes for a cute monkey beret if you let the ribbing tuck under instead of pull it around the monkey's head. Also, pom-poms would be a great touch but I decided against it for these because of the fact they are for newborns.

Scarf: made with worsted weight scrap yarn and an H hook.

ch 52. dc in back loop of 3rd ch from hook and each ch after. cut and weave in ends.

note: the green scarf is actually done in hdc because I didn't have enough yarn to make the full dc scarf. Also, a little fringe would be cute here if you like!

January thus far...

I've been working on a pair of socks that I'm making for a trade. The socks are made from Handmaiden Casbah (not Casbah Sock) in colorway Midnight and the pattern is Yarnissima's Firestarter.

Progress pic modeled on my hand. You can see the colorway beautifully here.


And the FO. There really are two but I can only find one of my blockers :lol:


Also, I found these at my local thrift store. Pretty much an entire set was included (missing one letter and one square) and the kids are getting a kick out of it.


But the real reason I purchased them was so I could use them for things like this:


Yup... mama got herself some blocking mats. I think my next investment is going to be blocking wires :blush:

BTW: the shawlette is hand spun and knit. Spun from chasing rainbows merino/bombyx in colorway Opal and knit with the Argus Shawlette pattern by Wendy D. Johnson

Simple Pleasure #5

A PB&J sandwich with extra peanut butter and extra jelly.



I'd forgotten how good these can taste. After having 100 too many throughout my grade school life, I denounced PB&J sandwiches for what I thought to be forever. Then the kids came and PB&J was back on the menu. Though I usually did not partake in their sandwich lunches (I would make myself a salad or something) they seemed to enjoy it so much. So one day I caved and had myself my first PB&J in probably 5 years... and it was glorious! Absence truly made my mouth grow fonder :)

My Christmas Knitting

The Christmas Knitting

During the loooong break, I was able to get a good amount of crafting done. As a tradition I started a couple years back, I make one knitted-ish item for each of the kids that goes in their stocking. This year, I asked the older two what they wanted.

My oldest told me she wanted a long pair of socks that kept her feet warm. That surprised me because she is so much like me in that her shoes and socks are the first things to come off where ever she goes. In fact, we were sitting in church today and about 5 minutes into it she asked if she could take her shoes off. Anyway, I happened to have this very loud yarn in my stash and though I didn't have a specific project in mind when I received it, it turned out perfect for my daughter who's top three favorite colors are pink, orange, and purple. The yarn is Happy Feet in colorway #9 and the pattern is the Mother's Day Trio Socks by Phyll Lagerman (who so so graciously gifted the pattern to me). Here's a linky to my Ravelry project page for more info.



turned into these:


Next up was a pair of mitts for Bubba. Bub has loved mitts since he learned how to put them on so I knew what project I wanted to work on for him. I had asked him what superhero he wanted on his mitts and he went off and drew me this picture:



He told me it is the symbol for Licorice Man, a superhero that he and my mother had invented a couple months ago. So from the picture came these. The yarn is mainly cascade 220 and the pattern came from the Basic Top Down Mittens by Patti Pierce Stone. Here's the project page for the mitts.



And lastly comes Loo's longies. She's been needing a nice thick pair of longies because it's starting to get cooler over here (if you count 50's as cooler :lol:). So, made from Araucania Nature Wool Chunky and the hand spun from my previous andean plying experiment came Loo's Christmas longies. Here's the Ravelry page for the longies.



Done up in my own Tunisian crochet pattern:

Long time no write!

Well hello there blogosphere. Long time no see. Not that you weren't missed though. Big news in our family!



That's right! We're expecting #4. I'm about 28 weeks along now and our littlest man is due March 23rd, 2011. We are finally starting to get really excited now that the Christmas season is over :) He's been the biggest reason why I've been lost in the real world for so long :lol:. Once morning sickness set in it was all over from there. For some odd reason, this pregnancy brought on motion sickness and that was no bueno when it came to working on the 'puter.

There's all sorts of other news going on over here but our little guy deserves his own post :)

Blessings all! You've been missed.

DIY Andean Plying Tool

So in an act of desperation I invented me an Andean plying tool. If you don't know what Andean plying is, it's a technique where you wind unplied yarn onto your wrist in a certain way and then you are able to ply it with itself and off your wrist. The biggest downfall with Andean plying bracelets (referring to the yarn that is around your wrist like a bracelet) is that 1)you are supposed to wrap part of the yarn around your finger and eventually, if you have enough yarn, your finger starts to lose feeling and turn blue and 2)once it's around your wrist, it's really hard to get it off when you need to, oh, I don't know... pee? So, with those two things in my head, I was looking at my spindle full of singles and dreading the bracelet (though it's my all time favorite way to ply). Then, inspiration struck.



It's made from a large disposable plastic cup, two 10" knitting needles and one 7" DPN.



The top needle is for wrapping around like you would on your finger. The bottom 10" is for holding the yarn as you wrap around. The DPN is for tying the ends to (It's not really that necessary. If you can think of another way of keeping the ends free... go for it). The picture of the inside shows how I used the three needles to stabilize each other.

Amber Alert

wonderful update! The 10 year old is back with her father and where she belongs. Thanks so much to everyone who helped either in prayer and thoughts or in locating the missing girl.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! I hope you have a wonderful day and I'll leave you with my favorite quote about daddies. It's from Chris Rock's Bigger and Blacker show and, though I cleaned it up with * in place of the swear words, it's still, well, from Chris Rock... be warned.

Now, if the kid can't read 'cause ain't no lights in the house, that's daddy fault. He got this down. Nobody give a * about daddy. There's some real daddies out there. I'm not talking about the guy that just * you and left, * him, okay? I'm talkin' about the real daddies. There's still some * out there that handle their business. There's some brothers who handle their business.

But nobody give a * about daddy. Everybody take daddy for granted. Just listen to the radio. Everything's mama, dear mama, always love my mama, mama, mama, mama. What's the daddy song? Papa was a rolling stone! Now, mama got the roughest job, I ain't gonna front. But at least people appreciate mama. That's right, every time mama do something right, mama get a compliment. 'Cause women need to hear compliments all the time. Women need food, water, and compliments. That's right, that's right. And an occasional pair of shoes. That's right. Women got to hear it all the time or they lose their mind. And make sure you thank your mama for everything. Tell your mama how good the food is. Tell your mama how nice the house looks. Tell your mama how nice her hair looks. Did you tell your mama? You better go in there and tell your mama. That's right, tell your mama, tell your mama, tell your mama.

Nobody ever tells daddy *! I'm talking about the real daddy that handle the * business. Nobody ever say, daddy, thanks for knocking out this rent. Hey, daddy, I sure love this hot water. Hey, daddy, this easy to read with all this light... Nobody give a * about daddy. Think about everything that the real daddy does. Pay the bills, buy the food, put a * roof over your head. Make your world a better, safer place. And what does daddy get for all his work? The big piece of chicken, that's all daddy get, is the big piece of chicken. That's right, and some women don't wanna give up the big piece of chicken. Who the * is you to keep the big piece of chicken? How dare you keep the big piece of chicken! A man can't work 12 hours and come home to a wing! When I was a kid, my mama would lose her mind if one of us ate the big piece of chicken by accident... you ate the big piece of chicken?! Oh, lord, no, no, no, now I got to take some chicken and sew it up. Give me two wings and a pork chop ! Daddy'll never know the difference.

...and for those who really have no reason to celebrate this day or who are hurting because of this day I want to send you a huge :hug: from me to you.

Taken Over

So my living room has been turned into Fort Knox. I love it.

Summer Family Movies

Just wanted to give you a heads up on a couple cheap or free movies that are happening over the summer break.

Free Family Film Festival. Certain Regal Cinemas are hosting weekly free family movies on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10am. . They have a G rated movie in one theatre and a PG rated movie in another. Doors open at 9:30and seating is on a first come first served basis. Once the theatre is full, it's full, so plan on showing up around 9:00 and waiting in line if the movie is a more current title. You can't reserve seating for friends that are planning on showing up either. They have to be in the theatre. To find if there is a theatre near you and what movies are playing, check out Regal Cinemas Free Family Film Festival site: http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx

AMC Summer Movie Camp. Certain AMC theatres are hosting a $1 family movie on Tuesday mornings at 10am. Admission is $1 and you can purchase advanced tickets online or at the theatre. Doors open at 9:30. Even if you purchase advanced tickets I would still suggest showing up at or before 9:30 in order to get seats that are actually next to each other. Their kid's concession combos are reduced to $4 also. To find a theatre near you, what movies will be playing, and to order tickets online, visit: http://www.amcentertainment.com/smc/

CineMark Summer Movie Clubhouse. CineMark which includes Century Theatres, CineArt, and Tinseltown is also having $1 family movies on Wednesdays at 10:00am. There is also a limited availability punch card for all 10 shows for $5 which is a savings of $.50 per show. To find a theatre, see what movies will be playing and to order the punch card, visit: http://www.cinemark.com/summermovieclubhouse/index.htm

Other chains also host free or reduced cost summer movies so check out your local theatre.

A couple movie tips.

Get your seats first. Generally, the theatre will fill up fast. Find your seat before you go to the bathroom or get concessions or you may not be able to find seats that are next to each other. Put down the, "these are my seats" sprawled out jackets or other items, then go do your other business.

Go to the bathroom before the movie starts. But if your kids have to go in the middle of the movie -- it's ok too.

Bring some before the movies games or activities. You may be waiting up to an hour or more in a line or in the theatre before the movies starts.

Bring your car seats with you. My little ones have a hard time sitting in the chairs without them collapsing and they have an even harder time seeing. Instead of fighting off all the other parents for one of the limited number of booster seats available through the theatre, just bring in your own booster from the car.

Don't worry about your fidgety, talkative, up and down child. Remember, you're in a theatre with over a hundred other families with small kids, they understand (and if they don't then they really shouldn't have come to the show). Don't be completely disrespective and let your baby cry through the movie but if your kids don't have the perfect theatre manners, don't worry about it.

Don't forget $ for concessions. Though the movies are free or reduced, chances are the concessions are not. Most of the time the concessions are regular priced.


Remember, enjoy your time together. This is supposed to be a family event. Try to keep your stress level down by preparing before hand and remembering that it's about the kids enjoying their theatre time, not whether or not you have everything together and your kids are on their most proper behavior. And hey, if you have to walk out, at least you didn't have to pay full price.

Part II: Pretending the Squiggle is a Square

Attempt #1: extreme organization

Seeing my struggle, a friend recommended going at my house with a much more organized approach. You see, because I'm a very... free... spirit, I don't have a routine and structured mindset so "cleaning routine" was new to my vocabulary. She suggest I write down the things I'd like to get accomplished on a daily/weekly/monthly basis and then organize it so I don't think I have to do it all every day.

I started by writing down everything that needed to be done. In the kitchen: dishes, counters, pantry organization, sweeping, moping, cleaning the microwave, fridge organization, etc. and I did that for every room in the house. Then it all got spread out onto a 6 day checklist with once weekly and once monthly columns and away I went with my new cleaning routine.

About a month into it I realized I couldn't keep up with the expectations I put on myself and started to slip back into discouragement and eventually scrapped the whole thing because, "Why try to be something I'm not. I can't keep a good home and that's all there is to it."

Back in to chaos my house went and I felt even more beat down than before. If this is how it's going to be then I'm out...

New Giveaway

Over at CraftBlog there's a review and giveaway for the book The Creative Family written by Amanda Blake Soule of SouleMama.com. It's a really great book to use as a springboard to adding more creativity into your everyday life. There are a couple things in it that, as a Jesus follower, I would not implement in my home, but with a little adaptation and tweaking, turn into great fits for my family. I highly recommend it for anyone with kids.

Check it out over at CraftBlog.com

I love indoor pools!

So my oldest went on a field trip today to a zoo/park and daddy chaperoned. To make the day equally as special for the younger two (specifically the boy), I wanted to take them some place out of the ordinary and fun. Unfortunately, weather being as strange as it is, it was a pretty damp and dismal day so things like the local amusement park were out of the question.

This morning my head popped off my pillow with the idea that my YMCA membership gave me the ability to go to any of the Y's in the association. What that meant to me is that we have the ability to go to one of the indoor pools... yeessss!

So we packed up our towels, swimsuits, flip-flops, and wet bags and headed into the rain to go to the pool. It was actually a really great time. We dropped the baby off at child watch for a bit and the boy and I had our own special time in the pool. Then we picked the baby up and took her into the pool. She loved it! The whole time she had a huge smile on her face and she laughed for anyone who would look at her -- all 3 other people at that pool.

All in all we had a very wonderful pool day.

Summer is fast approaching

So April went just as fast as it came and now we're into the middle of May and I've come to a startling realization that summer break is just around the bend. That means three months of having my oldest at home all day. Now I love my daughter to pieces and I love spending time with her, but she is a get up and go kinda girl and sometimes it can be just a bit too much for me. She's the one who jumps on my bed early in the morning and asks, "Where are we going today?" And when the answer is nowhere, she gets a very sad look on her face and then proceeds to act out for the rest of the day. So... I need a plan.

What is that plan you may ask? Well, I'm taking a cue from summer camps and homeschooling and we're going to have a theme for each week. It will start on Friday of the previous week where we will head to the library and choose a theme for the next week. Based on that theme we will pick up books on the theme and over the weekend I will come up with a game plan for the following week.

We are test driving this plan right now. Our theme is bugs and insects (oh.yay. mommy's.favorite*bleh*) and it seems to be going well so far. We have books on general information about insects, specific information about certain insects my kids like (roly polies) and an insect origami book. Outdoor activities such as going on a hiking trip with magnifying glasses to observe insects and insect photo shoots where we will take pictures and then make an album about what we've learned.

All in all I'm pretty excited about the summer. It should make for a pretty exciting time of getting to know each other again and learning something new.

Simple Pleasure #4

Whatching my children play well together.

There are those days when they don't. All kids have those. But when they do, it is so sweet. It usually ends with someone getting upset or hurt but for the moment, it's beautiful.

My prayer is that they can do that the rest of their lives.

Mother's Day 2010

Well... it came and it went. We did Mother's Day brunch yesterday and it was wonderful. A place called Chipotle's in Morgan Hill. Reminded me of Freebirds in Isla Vista (the UCSB college community) but healthier... awesome!

This morning, the little boy woke up feeling not so hot and since I had to get to church early, it was on daddy's shoulders to get the kids to church. They never made it... little man was too sick. That's ok, it was kinda nice not having to worry about whether the kids were having fun or the baby was crying or what the nursery workers were going to do with her cloth diaper when they go to change LooLoo. I came home, we had leftovers for lunch... yay :) Then, I laid the baby down and the big girl and I went off to Marshalls and Joann's (they're next door to each other, it's great). Picked up a much needed bra... funny how little things like that become really exciting when you normally have to spend your clothes budget on uniforms for the kids. Then went to Joann's to pick up materials for two skirts that have been floating around in my head that I reeeeaaaally want to see come alive.

Once we got home, the little man was asleep on the couch and daddy was no where to be found. I listened to Loo's door and realized she was awake (talking to herself -- so cute!) so I went in and found daddy asleep on little man's bed and the baby crawling on him. Gotta love it.

Turns out daddy's sick too... bummer.

So we had Trader Joe's orange chicken, love that stuff, and steamed broccoli and purple cabbage with an asian sauce and rice. I had to cook but it was simple enough and it tasted so dang good!

So, did you all have a good Mother's Day?