We've been busy over here. I've had the fortune to be off all this past week taking a vacation from work. I loved every minute of it. The best part was taking a nap whenever I wanted to. Boy did I need it. I've gotten into a sort of routine that around 1 or 2 pm I crash and sleep for about an hour. My doctor says my body is prepping for when the baby is born and I'm up at all hours of the night. Speaking of sleep, I tried unsuccessfully to sleep on the couch last night but I couldn't get comfortable at all. Usually the bed is hard to sleep in but ever since we got a really nice memory foam mattress pad (3 inches thick!) I've become accustomed to it. It doesn't stop me from tossing and turning but it does help my back from hurting.
My husband took Thursday off and he had Furlough Friday. He spent most of Thursday with his brother trying to figure out how to install crown molding. Once they got the angles right it was really easy to put up and while at first my husband said, "never again", when reviewing house projects it ended up being the least difficult so it got transferred to the maybe do again list. Things we will never do again by ourselves: Tile a kitchen counter-top, hang a door (frame and all), re-texture a room and ceiling, scrape popcorn from the ceiling (this one is a maybe we'll do it again). Painting is pretty easy, tiling floors (sometimes easy), baseboards, light fixtures, etc. I think we'll do all of these again.
Friday ended up being a day to finish up putting in the baseboards and putty and caulk. My poor husband had a horrible cramp in his whole arm from trying to get the caulking done. But he ran out of caulking so I ran to the local home improvement store the next morning at around 8am for more. Saturday he finished the caulking and started painting. Painting has continued through today and will be continued for many more days because we have different colors and types of paint that need to go up on the wall where the crown molding and baseboards are touching.
I have been at my command post on the couch and puttering around the kitchen because of the intense fumes from both the caulking and the paint. We were lucky that this weekend has been very cool for August (only in the 70s at the most). All the windows have been kept open and the air conditioner has been off. So nice! I love it when cooler weather comes in. Anyways, I've been making socks (knitted) and planning out Christmas gifts I want to make for my two nieces. I think I have the perfect gifts that they will hopefully keep for years and years. The socks are for me but my husband tried to appropriate them for himself, even though they were green and he doesn't like green. Plus they were too small for him. I'm going to make him some purple ones...eventually.
Tomorrow I return to work...sigh. I can't wait until I'm far enough along to take the time off. I'll be uncomfortable in that I'll be in my own way all the time but blissfully happy that I don't have to abide by a work schedule other than what my husband and I decide on. I'm 28 weeks pregnant and wishing I were off from work permanently.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Socks
I'm testing out a new pattern I found and I think it's looking really good. I like the way the stitches go diagonally towards the middle. This is the second time I've tried to knit this pattern. I twisted a stitch trying to go back then ended up dropping the stitch. I tried ripping the sock back to where the drop stitch was but then I ended up dropping 6 more stitches. I gave up and re-knit the pattern. You can actually see in this snapshot that I messed up on the cuff. The very first row of stitches I knit two stitches in a row and threw off the ribbing pattern. I chose not to start over again because I was tired of restarting. This is one problem I have with knitting socks. I'm a perfectionist and if I do something wrong I try to fix it. In trying to fix it I make it worse and have to start all over again. If I keep doing that I'll never get a sock made. So, I let the mistake be. It won't hurt and the cuff is still plenty elastic.
If you're scared of double pointed needles (especially 5 in one project), don't be. You only end up using two at a time and ignore the rest. I find it easier than working on circulars which stretch my work out too much and create ladders where I don't want them. I also like working with bamboo needles because aluminum tends to slip out of the stitches if I'm a little loose. Happy Knitting!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Hurray, I finished!
For years now I've had several projects on hold. They've been haunting me every time I go to work on a new project. But on Saturday, I finished a lot of projects.
For my two sister-in-law birthdays and my mom's birthday I've been working on some hand crafted projects. I can't reveal what they are yet because the birthdays haven't arrived. Anyways, one of them I've been working on for 5 years. I just didn't know until this year that it would be for my sister-in-law. All three projects have been finished and I can't wait for their birthday's to roll around so I can shower them with my love.
One of the other 5 year projects that I got finished were my master bedroom curtains. Yes, they've been hanging up this whole time but one of the panels didn't have a dark sheet sewn to the back side (so it would let in the light a little bit). I'm sure having light come into your bedroom in the middle of the night because of a street lamp is no big deal for most of the people I know, but I grew up in a rural area where it was really really dark outside. The only time I would close my blinds was when the moon was full. With the curtains I got the brilliant idea to take flat sheets ($3 at Wal-mart) in black and sew it to the back side of some curtains I had on hand. This was a lot cheaper than buying blackout curtains (which I do have but aren't enough to block the light).
I also installed curtain rods in my kitchen and put up bistro curtains. It looks much more complete. I needed to cut about 18 inches off the bottom panel so they wouldn't drag on the counter-top. More sewing! And ironing. I love my iron. It makes sewing so much easier and I don't have to use pins half the time.
The only curtain projects left to finish are in the front room where I have 2 windows. I haven't decided what curtains to hang on the big one but the skinny window has a curtain, I just need to cut it down and sew it because it's too long at the moment.
One other sewing project to finish that I started 2 years ago is a quilt top that I made. I still have to make a backing and sandwich it with batting. Then I'm going to hand sew it together because of the pattern I created. It would look quite awful with machine sewing.
I'm also going to start a few more sewing projects for Christmas and I hope I get them finished before the baby comes because I won't have any time on my hands after that. We'll see how things turn out. At least the quilt top that I started can be put on the back burner at any time since it's not for anyone, just me. :)
For my two sister-in-law birthdays and my mom's birthday I've been working on some hand crafted projects. I can't reveal what they are yet because the birthdays haven't arrived. Anyways, one of them I've been working on for 5 years. I just didn't know until this year that it would be for my sister-in-law. All three projects have been finished and I can't wait for their birthday's to roll around so I can shower them with my love.
One of the other 5 year projects that I got finished were my master bedroom curtains. Yes, they've been hanging up this whole time but one of the panels didn't have a dark sheet sewn to the back side (so it would let in the light a little bit). I'm sure having light come into your bedroom in the middle of the night because of a street lamp is no big deal for most of the people I know, but I grew up in a rural area where it was really really dark outside. The only time I would close my blinds was when the moon was full. With the curtains I got the brilliant idea to take flat sheets ($3 at Wal-mart) in black and sew it to the back side of some curtains I had on hand. This was a lot cheaper than buying blackout curtains (which I do have but aren't enough to block the light).
I also installed curtain rods in my kitchen and put up bistro curtains. It looks much more complete. I needed to cut about 18 inches off the bottom panel so they wouldn't drag on the counter-top. More sewing! And ironing. I love my iron. It makes sewing so much easier and I don't have to use pins half the time.
The only curtain projects left to finish are in the front room where I have 2 windows. I haven't decided what curtains to hang on the big one but the skinny window has a curtain, I just need to cut it down and sew it because it's too long at the moment.
One other sewing project to finish that I started 2 years ago is a quilt top that I made. I still have to make a backing and sandwich it with batting. Then I'm going to hand sew it together because of the pattern I created. It would look quite awful with machine sewing.
I'm also going to start a few more sewing projects for Christmas and I hope I get them finished before the baby comes because I won't have any time on my hands after that. We'll see how things turn out. At least the quilt top that I started can be put on the back burner at any time since it's not for anyone, just me. :)
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
A Week Off...
What to do? I have chosen to take a whole week off from work. I must admit I'm loving not having to rush off to work and I'm trying to see what things will be like when I get to stay home full time. Scheduling my day is interesting since I've been taking naps. I haven't been a nap person since I was in Kindergarten, that is until now. I didn't realize that being pregnant would make me so tired.
In my first trimester I was blessed with not having morning sickness. Rather, I was completely exhausted all the time. Eventually I had to cave in and leave work early to get a nap because I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and I really wanted my bed and a dark room. Then the 2nd trimester came around and I got my energy back. I've been very cautious so I don't lose my balance or drop things or carry things that were too heavy for me. Maybe I'm overly cautious, I don't know. I just want my pregnancy to be a good one. So, I've been taking it pretty easy. Now that I'm getting nearer to my 3rd trimester I've noticed a definite difference. I'm tired again but this time because our little boy is waking me up at night with his bouncing around. It's hard to sleep when your insides are getting yanked on. I'm also a lot more sore, so that doesn't contribute to sleep either. And lastly, I'm getting hot flashes. I didn't realize you could have hot flashes in pregnancy until I got them. I'd be fine one minute with the fans going and the air on, the next I would have a sweat mustache and my feet would be sweaty with flip flops on. Yucky. I'd check the thermostat and realize it was just me.
So, I get to take naps this week. I'm also working on finishing handmade birthday gifts. Last week I managed to get up the last of the mini blinds. Now I need to put up curtains and fix a curtain panel in the master. I also have plans for redoing the couch cushions in the living room but I don't know if I have the energy. Friday is my OBGYN appointment and I'm sure I'll get scheduled for the glucose test. Since I've got diabetes in our family and I love sweet things it's not entirely out of the question that I could be pre-diabetic. I hope not. That would be awful.
The nursery is slowly developing but that is more on my husband getting up the trim in the master. As soon as that is done the nursery will be getting furniture in it. I'm pretty excited. We haven't spent any money yet on what we have since it is all donations and gifts. Hopefully, we'll continue to save thanks to family and friends.
So, while my week is not planned, I have a lot to do if I want to do it.
In my first trimester I was blessed with not having morning sickness. Rather, I was completely exhausted all the time. Eventually I had to cave in and leave work early to get a nap because I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and I really wanted my bed and a dark room. Then the 2nd trimester came around and I got my energy back. I've been very cautious so I don't lose my balance or drop things or carry things that were too heavy for me. Maybe I'm overly cautious, I don't know. I just want my pregnancy to be a good one. So, I've been taking it pretty easy. Now that I'm getting nearer to my 3rd trimester I've noticed a definite difference. I'm tired again but this time because our little boy is waking me up at night with his bouncing around. It's hard to sleep when your insides are getting yanked on. I'm also a lot more sore, so that doesn't contribute to sleep either. And lastly, I'm getting hot flashes. I didn't realize you could have hot flashes in pregnancy until I got them. I'd be fine one minute with the fans going and the air on, the next I would have a sweat mustache and my feet would be sweaty with flip flops on. Yucky. I'd check the thermostat and realize it was just me.
So, I get to take naps this week. I'm also working on finishing handmade birthday gifts. Last week I managed to get up the last of the mini blinds. Now I need to put up curtains and fix a curtain panel in the master. I also have plans for redoing the couch cushions in the living room but I don't know if I have the energy. Friday is my OBGYN appointment and I'm sure I'll get scheduled for the glucose test. Since I've got diabetes in our family and I love sweet things it's not entirely out of the question that I could be pre-diabetic. I hope not. That would be awful.
The nursery is slowly developing but that is more on my husband getting up the trim in the master. As soon as that is done the nursery will be getting furniture in it. I'm pretty excited. We haven't spent any money yet on what we have since it is all donations and gifts. Hopefully, we'll continue to save thanks to family and friends.
So, while my week is not planned, I have a lot to do if I want to do it.
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