Christmas in August

I went and picked up a box of "craft items" from a Freecycler and boy did I hit the jackpot. Well, I guess the yarn could have been wool and the circular kit could have been Denise Interchangeables or KnitPicks Options, but overall, I feel like I got a really great present.
Bummer it's not wool, but pretty colors, maybe I could knit some charity items. The white thing is a corner turner or some such thing.

Crochet hooks, circular knitting needles, thread, needles, dpns, a bunch of scissors, some embroidery floss.

Ribbon, lace, picture frame keychains, pliers, wire cutters, gathering tools, latch hook, funky scissors, sewing rulers, manicure kit (?), needle threader, strip of magnetic tape, 3 tweezers, a seam ripper, some embroidery floss, small container of pins, more dpns, crochet hooks, 2 or 3 look like ivory, one even has grain lines like maybe it is, not sure tho. The pic on the right is a closeup of the manicure kit. There was this glass thing in it, I had no idea what it was. That was until I found it broken on the floor (G1 sat on it). I tossed it and then noticed an old lady perfumy smell coming from my fingers. Ugh! A perfume sample from who knows how many years ago is not something I wanted on my hands and in my carpet. Oh well, now I know what it is, lol.
Misc. sewing supplies (ribbon, lace...), large yarn needle, bells, dpns, dpn end caps that look like mittens, stapler, Mary Englebright iron on transfer, some attachments for a Kenmore sewing machine, hot gun glue, metallic gold & silver thread, stitch holders

Circular needles, Boye Circular needle kit only missing 1 size one needle point, stitch holders, crochet hooks, needle case with needles inside, more needles in packaging, small whet stones, very large (curved tip) yarn needles (G1 was duly impressed!), buttons, knitting stitch counter (2). Not sure what this pink and white thing is. The pink part snaps out of the white part. Maybe something for making circular knitted or crocheted things? I just can't imagine. Also, the little ivory looking toothpick thingy next to it... I have no clue.

And here is a 100% wool DKNY sweater that I snagged from the thrift store. The wool is rather chunky and uneven looking with thick and thin bits. I hope it will work well for a soaker. It will be dyable so that will be fun.

Soaker Sack

I just finished a soaker sack for E. I used it last night and it worked great, made diaper changes really simple. It's a Curly Purly waistband on both ends with stockinette in the middle.

Chef Boy R G

G1 has taken to cooking meals or parts of meals. This particular day (last week sometime), he decided on the chinese veggies and tomatoes. He cut the tomatoes (with supervision), put the veggies in a pot and added some salt. I made the rice. He "set" the table with the towels and put the spoons next to the bowls because it looks nicer than putting the spoons in the bowls. I think he did a great job for 5 yo.

Brussels Sprouts, Yum?

I get a certain feeling of glee when I think about how much my kids love their Brussels sprouts. I mean, they think they are a delicacy or something. They call them baby cabbages and ask for seconds and sometimes thirds.

I cook them in a little water, some palm oil (or you could use butter), some nutritional yeast flakes, some vegetable seasoning powder, and garlic salt. Yum.

Post baby hair loss

Aack! My hair is falling out in great gobs. I just brushed my hair and got enough to stuff a dollhouse sized pillow. I think it probably always happens to me after having a baby, but there just seems to be so much of it and I know hair grows back, but I have been growing those hairs for so long. I hope the shedding lets up soon!

Cheepo diapers

I got a glimpse inside my el cheepo box-store variety, most-people-use-them-for-burp-cloths diapers yesterday and I was disgusted to be greeted by a layer of poly fluff. Here I was under the impression that the innerds were just more birds-eye cloth, but no, just a non-absorbant, just to keep it soft, layer. Grrr. I will just have to make some more of my own diapers. Hmph!

Circular Fun

Inspired by Ev's tutorial on making your own circular knitting needles, I decided to try making my own. DH had the car so I couldn't go bopping down to the hardward store so I had to think outside the box. My grandma had given me a bunch of old knitting needles. Some of them were useable, others not so much. I took two of the old (maybe size 10 or 11) wooden knitting needles and chopped them in half:

Then I drilled holes in the flat ends of the DPNs, sharpened them, sanded them with 150 and 400 grit sandpaper, rubbed them with olive oil & wax paper (what I had on hand), cut a length of 50 pound fishing line (100 pound would be better if they make such a thing) folded the fishing line over at the end so it would be snug inside the hole (as the smallest drill bit I found was still too large for my cord), and glued them in. My 5 yo promptly pulled out the line, but that was before it had time to set. I'm hopeful that they will actually stay in once they've had enough time to dry and harden. I also made a set out of some bamboo chopsticks that will be in the range of 8's or 9's. I want to make a market bag with the larger set. I've been needing a set that size for awhile now and can't wait to try them out.Here's the finished product:

Soakers & Slings

The night before last, E slept from about midnight to 7. Probably the longest stretch he's slept since he was born. He was back to nursing about every 2 hours last night tho. He's really starting to "talk" and carry on conversations (well has been since he was about 2 months or so). He's getting really smiley, is very observant, people comment on how alert he looks and that he doesn't look like a baby anymore (he's only 3 months, sniff, guess he's a fast grower-upper). He has strong legs and very good head control.

I put my newly finished Tickle Turdle free crochet wool wrap on him last night, I had heavily lanolized it the day or so before using it (at least I thought I did, it was pretty sticky until it dried), but we still had a bad leak with it this morning. No diapers were peeking out anywhere. I'm hoping that it will start to behave a little better after it's second lanolizing, but I was a bit disappointed. I thought it looked thicker and more "bullet-proof" than any of the others that I've made so I was rather surprised. Right now I'm working on a sleep skirt, basically just the Curly Purly soaker without leg holes or crotch and just keep going to around the calves or ankles with a little ribbing at the bottom. Haven't worked out exactly how it's going to go yet, so far I've got the first 3" or so of the waistband done and have done 2 or 3 short rows and changed to larger needles. Hopefully it will make nighttime changes a little easeir. We'll see.

I made a Beth Mei Tai for him yesterday and I guess I could have gone with a little more height so maybe I'll have to make another one. I also want to try the Man Tai if i can find enough material for everything. I also stayed up later than I should have experimenting with making some receiving blanket/microfiber towel prefolds. I think they turned out pretty good, but now I'd really like to try some old baby towels (is that the same thing as stretch terry?) and microfiber towels after reading Paula's blog.