Going Domestic

Knitting Project #1: Madeline's Poncho

Knitting Project #1: Madeline's Poncho
Originally uploaded by goingdomestic.

I finished the last row of the toddler poncho yesterday afternoon and took it off of the needles. It took about an hour in the evening to weave in the stray ends from the yarn changes and to sew the front and back together. I might re-do the seam on the back as I didn't clue in soon enough that I should match the yarn that I was using for the sewing to the stripes, so I have little smidges of purple thread poking out where it really ought to be yellow. It's easy to fix, so I might as well do it and then I won't have a single regret about this. Did try to take a photo of Madeline in the poncho this morning, but she thinks it's better to dance in than to stand still for a photo :)

Onward: yarn is bought for the Rockstar scarf - not the exact ones in the pattern, but worthy substitutes.

cuter than a bath puff ...

... but is it cuter than a sock monkey?

Potential Gift-Exchange Item #3 is this cute little knitted bunny. I kind of want to snuggle it everything I peek at the website. I could hand-sew a little elf-hat for it, too, I suppose. The exchange ends on Dec 31, so I really ought to start making a decision.

that's what I call service

Something happened about three weeks ago that I meant to blog about, but had accidently forgotten.

Madeline and I arrived home from the YMCA one morning to discover a pair of notices from Canada Post taped to our door, signalling that we'd missed a parcel delivery. According to the notices, the packages could be collected from the post office nearest to us the next day. I was kind of sad to have missed the mail carrier, but it happens sometimes.

About half an hour later, I was in the middle of making a quesadilla for lunch when the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find our mail carrier standing there with two large packages for us! "I was driving past down your street again, and I noticed that your truck was in the driveway," she explained, "so I thought I'd drop off your packages!" I was stunned, but not stunned enough to thank the mail carrier profusely.

You see, when we were in Calgary, our mail carrier there often wouldn't even bother to ring the bell when delivering a package. He or she would just assume that we weren't home, I guess, because on several occasions I found a parcel collection notice in our mailbox when I'd been home the entire day. Grr!

it's pretty, but I'll just watch the DVD ...

I might be the last person on the planet to hear about The Shire in Bend, Oregon.  That's okay. I don't mind. I mean, I used to be a medieval history fanatic and do think that the LOTR films are really well done, but storing my gardening equipment and my daughter's red wagon in a hobbit hole just seems silly. Everything I own would feel out of place in that community. How do the residents come to terms with parking their SUVs there? I can't imagine ...

odd socks and other musings ...

I haven't been able to get to the yarn shop yet to pick up the supplies to make the Rock Star scarf, but it's just as well. I'm not going to make it to Stitch 'n Bitch tonight, nor next Monday, so I'm not in any danger of finishing the poncho without having another project ready to start.

Meanwhile, I'm on the hunt for some crafty thing to make that doesn't require a lot of time or a sewing machine (note to self: don't ever move again without bringing the Bernina along), for a gift exchange. So far, I'm contemplating this knitted bath puff or a sock monkey (my sister passed on this link to the most delightful sock monkeys, and I have to share it here!). A puppet might be a possibility (these ones are kind of cute).  When Julie and I were little, my mom once made us a stuffed pig out of one of my dad's athletic socks, and it was quite cute. I don't remember much about it's construction, though, besides that a button was used inside the sock to form the snout. What I really need, though, is a project to make out of a few dozen outgrown baby socks ... hmm ...

Speaking of buttons, check out this spectacularly gorgeous button creation of my internet-friend Sarah. I wonder exactly how many buttons my grandma has stashed away in jars in her sewing room ...

I *heart* free!

Sometimes I sit on the fence about whether having a Costco membership is worth it. I have no problem justifying it when we're going to make a big purchase there, like eyeglasses or an area rug, but if we're just buying pineapples and bathroom tissue, I have to wonder.

So, I was wondering that very thing in the line-up at Costco about a week ago. And then, something happened that hadn't ever happened before. We were given a big box of free promotional products! And there was a Swiffer Duster! A free Swiffer Duster! I was thrilled!

Guess I no longer can avoid dusting in-between the spindles on the staircase.

Sidenote: There also was a package of dryer sheets (Bounce sheets, I think), and gosh, are they ever strongly fragranced! I noticed that there was a "scent level" scale on their box, and they're ranked a 2 out of 4. I'd hate to run into anything rated a 3 or a 4. Oh my!

predictable = boring?

To my great surprise, I reached the halfway mark on the knitted poncho on Monday night at the Stitch 'n Bitch. Being 50% done my first knitted project naturally leads to the question: What should my second project be?

One of the girls at S&B suggested a scarf, which I first kind of scoffed about. A scarf? How boring! I deliberately wanted to avoid doing a scarf for my first project, thank you very much.

But ... both of my cold-weather jackets are red, and I don't really have any scarves that will look good with them. So, this Rockstar scarf from Knitty is a possibility. And it gives me an excuse to visit the local yarn store, too.

daffy idea

Does that sound inevitably unappetizing? Duck in a box?

I love roasted duck. When we had the turducken for Christmas dinner last year, I tried to sneak more duck leftovers than either the turkey or chicken. When our Dominion flyers arrived this past weekend, I noticed an advertisement for a new heat-and-serve Peking Duck from President's Choice in it, and I've been having an internal debate about it in my head for a few days. Should we try it? Is it possible for it to be anything but yucky?

I'll post an update if I ever have one :)

Work-in-Progress

Toddler Poncho, WIP Nov 9/06
Originally uploaded by goingdomestic.

Nothing has really inspired me to post this week, so today I'm just offering a peek at my progress on the toddler poncho knitting project. I started it two Tuesday ago, and probably have spent about five hours working on it (either whilst watching tv or at the Stitch & Bitch). The new skills that I learned to get this far on the project are the bar increase (thanks to the nifty video clip on KnittingHelp.com for that one), and how to change balls of yarn for the striping (really easy).

It's not my highest-priority project, but I hope it's done for the spring.

Even muffins need a makeover, sometimes

Swirly Chocolate Chips
Originally uploaded by goingdomestic.

Aren't these chocolate chips neat? Yesterday I found myself possessing four spotty old bananas simultaneously, which is always a sign to make a batch of my favourite banana/bran/flax muffins, but I needed some chocolate chips to complete the recipe. Usually I just buy milk chocolate ones (or peanutbutter ones - those are really yummy with banana), but I noticed these ones on the grocery store shelf right away! Swirled milk and white chocolate! I'd never seen them before! In case anyone wants to know, they're President's Choice brand, and the white chocolate flavour totally dominates. They'd look really pretty in cookies, I think, though the muffins are still quite tasty.