Sunday, March 31, 2013

March comes in like a lamb and leaves like a lion


My goodness I haven't updated lately.

I bet you think it's because we are so busy living full lives of craziness.

Not really true. Truth be told - it's more of 'we haven't done anything interesting in weeks'.

But we have had some interesting things pop up lately.

Last week Sam's bike got stolen from behind our apartment. When he talked to the police they said, 'Oh we know that area - that's the neighborhood place to go to get high.'

We still haven't seen a trace of his bike. I think that bike is cursed. In 6 months it had been both totaled and stolen.

And now I'm kind of freaked out to live here.
And to walk out back after dark.

Every time I turn around it seems as if everything is saying "Move!" and I can't wait to leave this apartment.

Not to mention the used needles we found in the street out front the other day. MOVE!
And the mom who yelled at her kids all the way down the block then finally came and got them (I think they were about 4 and 2) and hollered at them right in front of me and my boys, "I swear to ____ I'm gonna break your legs."

I wanted to cry for the little boy. Especially because it was a beautiful day and who wouldn't want to be outside?

And then Emmett got into the new neighbor's container of cigarette buts and so we came inside because even sidewalk chalk isn't enough to make me fight so much of the world for a few minutes of fun with my boys. MOVE!

We watched American Idol on the computer instead. Caleb loves it. He calls it American Idaho or The Concert Movie. Have I mentioned this kid loves music? You really should hear him singing Zip-a-dee-do-dah. He sounds like he just loves life and it always makes me smile inside and out.

The ants remembered that Emmett loves throwing his food. And they are taking over my kitchen. And I'm pretty sure they are living in the carpet. And I don't like ants much. MOVE!

Every time the neighbor goes out for a smoke we can smell it coming through our doors and windows and it gives me headaches almost every day. MOVE!

And so life feels a little depressing right now. (And yes - these are just the things that have happened in the past 10 days - though none of them completely surprise me - we're used to that in this neighborhood)

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

We are buying a house! All the paperwork is still going through but we are buying a house! So far nothings coming up (meth test, inspections, etc) to make it non-livable. Some work has to be done - mostly painting and carpet and adding a bathroom (they took EVERYTHING out of the bathroom; sink, counter, light fixtures, shower head - all that's left is the jetted tub which is missing the pump to make it work.) But it is going to be great!

It's on more than half an acre and in a really quiet neighborhood. The house is nearly 3 times the size of this apartment. It's at least double the size of our apartment just upstairs. We are hoping to get the basement turned into a basement apartment and we will still have so much more space even just living upstairs. It is definitely a bright spot on the horizon!

But for now we are waiting for paperwork to go through. And it's frustrating. We want to be out of here so badly but there's not much we can do just now. Hopefully in a few weeks. The other day we were out at the house talking to electricians and plumbers (Ok - Sam was talking to them - I was out back letting the boys play in the yard and watching the birds; robins, black capped chickadees, finches, steller jays) and I just wanted to weed the yard. Crazy right? Someone obviously loved this yard a lot. There are so many flower beds that I'm pretty sure we'll need to move the flowers and fill some of them in because there is NO way I can keep up with THAT many flowers. I am excited to see what is under the yard. As I was wishing I could weed everything and let the crocuses have a little more space I felt like the girl from Secret Garden. When we got home I ordered it from Amazon for less than $2. I can't wait till it comes! Sam doesn't know the story. And we are going to live that! I can't believe how many flowers are coming up in that yard. So far I've seen crocuses, snow drops, iris, tulips, daffodils and some tiny blue flowers. There are a bunch of grapes too.

I am finding it so hard to take to heart those lessons of 'don't wait to be happy' that you always hear in Conference. It feels like no matter how hard I try I cannot be truly happy until we get moved.

But then my boys do something darling/sweet/funny and I remember that I am happy now because I have them. Emmett is always looking for his shoes (even when they're on his feet) and Caleb's almost always singing something or saying funny things. And Sam keeps us all together and takes us out for drives when our adventures during the day fail so miserably.

Life is good - and we are excited for moving on. The ward I will miss - but that is the only tie I love about this place. Luckily we will still be close and luckily we have facebook for friends.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Loom Knit Hats

Something new and exciting for the angel baby crafter crowd:


knitting looms small enough to make hats for angel babies!

Why we like the looms:
Knit is a LOT stretchier than crochet - making it easier to get the hats on delicate little heads.

The pegs on these sock looms are close enough together AND they're adjustable so you can make hats to fit nearly any size! (30 pegs for a 20 week size hat)

These flower looms are the exact right sizes for our crochet outfits




These are a lot easier for some people to use, especially kids.

Things we don't like about the looms:
The flower looms are a little bit finicky. I LOVE the small and medium size, but the big size is mostly a pain. My hands are too small to really hold it in one hand - but it's not really big enough to rest on anything while I'm holding it. These don't have grooves for the hook so you just have to finagle it till you get it to work for you. I only loop around 4-6 pegs at a time and use one thumb to hold it on while I work on the rest. There aren't flat pieces on the pegs to keep the yarn on. But the tiny one is the right size for a 15-16 week size outfit - something we haven't been easily finding.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of the adjustable sock looms. But I know some others really like them.

These knit hats take me a lot longer than crocheting a hat. More than double the time for the big one.

All in all - we're finding the looms to be a great way to get some tiny hats that are really stretchy. There are pros and cons to each kind - but they are working really well!

Sizes:
Large (20 week size) hat: about 4 inches of knitting
Medium  size hat: about 3 inches of knitting
Small size hat: about 2 inches of knitting.



Small size fits on my thumb

Yarns:
Caron Simply Soft yarn works well on these types of looms. It isn't the best though - smaller baby Sport Weight yarns work better - but to match an outfit - you can definitely use the Simply Soft yarn. Also there are sock yarns that are a lot thinner and I've heard those work really well too.

Brims:
You can make a brimmed hat - but you will lose lots of the stretch. On a large brimmed knit hat I found it stretched almost the exact same amount as the crochet large hat. So that is definitely an option.

For the medium and small hats I recommend not doing a brim and just letting the edge roll up (it will kind of happen anyway) because the smaller ones need the stretch so much more.

These two hats are made from the same yarn. The brimmed one stretches 1/2" less than the one with a rolled up edge. Not a big problem for the bigger hats - but the extra stretch is so helpful on the tiny ones.




I compared a knit hat with a brim and a crochet hat (both large sized) and found that they stretched nearly the same. So for me it's a lot easier to crochet the bigger hats and knit with the loom for the smaller hats.

Christine at Sew Much to Share, Davis County has a lot more info about different looms and yarn types. She's also got lots of knitting experience (this post is everything I know about knitting) and she has lots of other patterns and angel baby info on her blog.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Angel Baby Bunting Gown

Angel Baby Bunting Gown Pattern



20 week size
Caron Simply Soft Yarn
F Hook
2 buttons
About 12" of 1/4" ribbon
SH = 3 stitches in the same stitch - some rows are sc some are dc - your SH stitches should match the rest of that particular row.

For more angel baby info and patterns (including best yarn types and colors) click HERE

Chain 33
1. sc 4 - SH - sc 6 - SH - sc 8 - SH - sc 6 - SH - sc 4 - chain 2 - turn
2. hdc 5 - SH (hdc) - hdc 8 - SH - hdc 10 - SH - hdc 8 - SH hdc 5 - ch 2 - turn
3. hdc 6 - SH - hdc 10 - SH - hdc 12 - SH - hdc 10 - SH - hdc 6 - ch 2 - turn
4. hdc 7 - SH - hdc 12 - SH - hdc 14 - SH - hdc 12 - SH - hdc 7 - ch 1 - turn
5. sc across the ooutfit - 64 - ch 1 - turn
6. sc 8 - skip 15 - sc 18 - skip 15 - sc 8 - ch 2 turn (This row makes the sleeves. Each of the skip 15 parts will become a sleeve. Do not crochet on the sleeves any more)
7. hdc 8 - hdc 2 in each of the next two stitches (total of 4 stitches in 2 stitches - should be under the arms - to add a little more width) - hdc 15 - hdc 2 in each of the next two stitches - hdc to the end of the row - ch 2 - turn
8. hdc across - 38 - ch 2 turn
9. hdc 10, hdc 2 in each of the next two stitches (under arms again), hdc 17, hdc 2 in each of the next two stitches, hdc to the end of the row - ch 2 turn
10 - 25: hdc across - 42 - ch 2 - turn
26 - this will be the row the ribbon goes through: ch 2 (you'll have a total of ch 4 here) skip first stitch - dc in next stitch - *ch 2 - skip 1 stitch - dc in next stitch* - repeat * to * across. For last stitch instead of a dc, ch 4 like you did at the beginning - slip stitch last one to the outfit.

Edge the outfit with1 row sc. After the slip stitch you might need to chain one so your first sc around the edge lays flat. Make sure to add button holes down one side of the outfit. I did one at the neck and one about row 10. To make a button hole instead of sc ch 2 and skip the next spot you would have sc. 2 rows of sc will make a nice flat edge.

I edged the edges of Row 26 as well - but it does make a little big of a bigger end there. The original one I made the pattern from did not have the edges of Row 26 edged. I think either will work. One row of sc will work - but I like the look of having two edge rows. Make sure button holes are on the first row of edging.  Do not edge the bottom of row 26. At each corner of the outfit do a SH stitch to turn the corner.

Add buttons. Weave a ribbon in and out of the stitches on row 26. Tie in a bow. You could substitute a ribbon for a crochet chain. Personally I like the buttons and ribbon bow in the front - but they can easily go in the back.

This outfit size matches nicely with the Teeny Tears Small Crochet Diaper and this hat.

For more angel baby info and patterns (including best yarn types and colors) click HERE

Thursday, March 14, 2013

E does the blogging 15 months



I am loving life as a 15 month old! I am always on the move. I love to climb on things and recently learned how to push large objects, like the toy box, around the room so that I can use it to climb up to get things that are supposed to be out of my reach. I love to climb on the back of the couch and play with the thermostat. I can get on the table behind the TV. I can get on the computer table. I can climb on anything!

I love shoes. If anyone asks me where my shoes are I run to find them. Usually I can find at least one of them. If I can't find my regular shoes (sometimes they are already on my feet) I go get my Sunday shoes or Caleb's shoes. I love shoes! I love getting ready to go outside. As soon as my coat and shoes are on I stand at the door squealing until someone opens the door to let me out.

I can say lots of words now. I've learned how to say "Cay" for Caleb - though usually I just call him "Daaaa" with everyone else. I can say "more" "no" "sit" "this" "uh oh" "go" "woof" "shoe" and something that resembles "thank you" and something that resembles "Where is it?" I love to tickle people and have my own word for tickle. It's hard to understand what I'm saying if I just say it - but I usually try to tickle when I do it so Mom and Dad can figure out what I'm saying.

I am very independent. I love to do things by myself. I like to have my own bowl or plate at dinner time along with a fork or spoon. When I get done eating I throw everything off my high chair tray. I love to eat anything except tortillas. The other night I even picked the peppers out of the fajitas and ate just those. I love vegetables! My favorite food is probably bananas.

I am learning to run. But I haven't quite figured out how to stop running. If I come running in your direction - watch out - I'm likely to smash right into you.

I got a new tooth last week. Now I am up to 8. I have had 3 different ear infections since we moved to Utah last year. The first two were really hard to get over. The last one wasn't too bad, though I also had croup.

I love to give kisses to anything soft and fuzzy and I recently learned how to blow kisses. I can't quite figure out how to make the kissing noise so I click my tongue while patting my mouth. Sometimes  my tongue hits my hand and I blow really drooly kisses.

I love my big brother more than anyone else in the world. I have to try to do everything he does and I'm always looking for him. Sometimes I hug him so hard it knocks us both over. That makes us both laugh a lot. I also really love seeing Dad come home from work. When he walks in the door I drop whatever I'm holding and holler "Daaaaaa!" as loud as I can. I love for Mom to snuggle me. I often plop myself in her lap for a few minutes so I can get some snuggles. I also love wrestling.

Sleep is still kind of hit and miss for me - but I'm sleeping through the night more often than not now.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Jacob's Ladder Crochet Angel Baby Blanket Pattern

Jacob's Ladder Crochet Blanket Pattern


Adapted for angel babies from this pattern

For more angel baby info and patterns (including best yarn types and colors) click HERE

When making this pattern there will be large holes at first. By the end these holes will be filled in making your blanket a lot smaller than you started with. This blanket started out being 18 inches long but by the time it was done it was only 12 (not including the edge).

I use Caron Simply Soft yarn and an F hook to start with.

20 week size:
Chain 73 - turn

Row 1: Dc in 3rd stitch from the start - counts as 2nd dc - chain counts as first - need a total of 8 dc, *chain 8, skip 8, dc 8* - repeat * - * to the end of the row - make sure to end with dc 8. Chain 3 - turn

Row 2: Skip first stitch - chain 3 will count as first dc - total of 8 dc (on top of the last dc 8 in previous row) Repeat * - * to the end. All sections of 8 dc should match up perfectly. The holes should also match up perfectly

Repeat row 3 until blanket is the length you want. 24 -26 rows.


Switch to a bigger hook. I used a J hook. Before you do an edge - twist the bottom row to create a loop of your ch 8 - then you'll pull the 8 chain from the row above it through. It will be like making a big crochet stitch. It feels kind of like a chain stitch. This is called climbing the ladder. Go all the way up the row of ch 8. Scroll down for pictures.

Now edge first with a sc around the edge. Make sure to sc in the center of the ch 8 stitches at the top so that they will be stuck and not come out. The bottom edge will look a little scalloped. DC in the bottom part of the ladder stitches to pull the blanket flat. Then I did a hdc edge and then another sc and then the crab stitch.  recommend doing at least 2 rows - so that your blanket will lay flatter.

My blanket ended up being 13 by 12.5 inches long.

For a smaller size (15-20 week size) start with chain 57 then follow the pattern the same - but you'll need less rows - probably closer to 20 rows.

For this blanket I did 4 rows of white, then one row of blue and repeated that all the way to the end, ending on the last of 4 rows of white. I think over all 25 rows is about perfect - but 24 fit with my pattern and was close enough.

For more angel baby info and patterns (including best yarn types and colors) click HERE


Same pattern with pictures:

Row 1: Dc in 3rd stitch from the start - counts as 2nd dc - chain counts as first - need a total of 8 dc, *chain 8, skip 8, dc 8* - repeat * - * to the end of the row - make sure to end with dc 8. Chain 3 - turn






Row 2: Skip first stitch - chain 3 will count as first dc - total of 8 dc (on top of the last dc 8 in previous row) Repeat * - * to the end. All sections of 8 dc should match up perfectly. The holes should also match up perfectly.






When you get to the end of this row it will look like there is only space for 7 stitches. You'll do the last one in the last of the chains from the previous row. It might feel like you're kind of falling off the edge of the blanket. But the next row where you skip the first stitch will pull it all back and make a nice, flat edge.






Repeat row 3 until blanket is the length you want. 24 -26 rows.




Switch to a bigger hook. I used a J hook. Before you do an edge - twist the bottom row to create a loop of your ch 8
 


then you'll pull the 8 chain from the row above it through.




It will be like making a big crochet stitch. It feels kind of like a chain stitch.




This is what you're going for in the end:


This is called climbing the ladder. Go all the way up the row of ch 8. Do this to every row of ch 8 - so it should look like this:




Now edge first with a sc around the edge. Make sure to sc in the center of the ch 8 stitches at the top so that they will be stuck and not come out.

The bottom part of the blanket is a little scalloped from the twist to start climbing the ladder. To offset the scalloped edge do a dc in the center of that first twist (you may have to scoot it over a bit - mine was kind of folded funny - but it was easy to stick the hook through the center. The dc will make that spot a little taller to hide the scallop look.





Then I did a hdc edge and then another sc and then the crab stitch.  I recommend doing at least 2 rows though - so that your blanket will lay flatter. This is the blanket after just the sc edge:



 This is the blanket after sc, hdc and a crab stitch edge:


My blanket ended up being 13 by 12.5 inches long.



For this blanket I did 4 rows of white, then one row of blue and repeated that all the way to the end, ending on the last of 4 rows of white. I think over all 25 rows is about perfect - but 24 fit with my pattern and was close enough.



For a smaller size (15-20 week size) start with chain 57 then follow the pattern the same - but you'll need less rows - probably closer to 20 rows.

For more angel baby info and patterns (including best yarn types and colors) click HERE