Neighborhood Pride

Clinton Hill is the bloggiest!

Lil' MC

I love him!

Thanks to those of you who left comments and emails of congratulations about the arrival of my nephew. I'm so proud to be his auntie, and I cannot wait to fly to Portland to visit him next month! Lil' MC and his parents got to go home over the weekend. They're adjusting to their new routine, and enjoying each other's company.

Cheers!

Oh boy!

He's here! He's here! My nephew has arrived!

Lil' MC was born on April 5, 2007 at 11:52 pm. He's 7 lbs 14 oz, has brown wavy hairs and blue eyes. He's a quiet, well-behaved boy so far. Mom and Dad are so happy to have their son with them! Good job, Sis.

Today's Forecast: Rainy, Leaky and Congested

Ugh. I'm STILL sick! This is getting annoying. Tomorrow I'm returning to work regardless of whether I'm feeling better or not. New York is not like Seattle, work-wise. While I have terrifically sweet and understanding coworkers, they are still workaholics. I feel like a freak being out three days in a row. Anyway, I do think the worst is over. Last night my sinuses cleared all of the sudden, and the nasal drip (TMI- sorry!) is history. Hooray!


Yesterday, desperate to work on something other than Jeremy's black stockinette sweater, I finally broke out my Stupid Sock Creatures, some socks, and scissors. I got as far as what's pictured below. I don't have any cheap fiber fill, and so I started stuffing my stupid creature with Beaverslide Merino roving. Halfway through the stuffing, I thought maybe I'd better hold off until I just get the fiber fill. It was taking a lot of merino to stuff this guy!

That's another project abandoned halfway through. I'm feeling very frustrated with myself, getting so discouraged in the middle of a project. I was trying to be good by focusing exclusively on Jeremy's sweater, but it was bo-ring!


Today, I decided to cast on for my Mom's Forecast. This is something I've needed to do ever since promising Mom one of her own over Christmas. Since my visit to Portland is coming up soon (end of May), I NEEDED to get started. Now I have another project option, and I don't have to feel guilty about ignoring the Black Stockinette Monster for a day or two. I really enjoyed this project last time, and I'm really looking forward to knitting it again. You can read more about it at the KAL.

I'm so happy that we're finally getting a decent amount of rainfall here in Brooklyn! I've really been missing the solid days of gorgeous, clean rain that we get in the northwest. It's supposed to stop raining after today, but at least today's dose has helped quench my thirst.


Unfortunately, my roof also soaked up the rain quite literally. Ugh, again. This is part of the inconvenience of living in an old building that had previously been neglected. You can see in the picture below that the spot had leaked before, and someone made a half-assed attempt to patch it up with goopy plaster. It's now crumbling a bit, and dropping in dime-sized chunks on the ground. Luckily, the new owners of my building intend to turn this building around, and have even registered it with the Brooklyn historic register, so this'll get taken care of.

In other news, I'm still waiting for Lil' MC to arrive. Rumor has it that he should join us in this world ANY DAY. I can't wait much longer, little man! Get here! My sister's doing well, though, handling all the anxious waiting and false starts with grace. She's going to be a fantastic mom.

Gifted FOs

The other day I'd mentioned that I had two FOs that I was withholding until they were gifted to their respective recipients. Well, my sister received her package the other day, and I had Korean food with Friend A last week to deliver her gift, so now I can reveal the FOs! Only, I didn't even think to take a picture of Friend A's. No matter. I knitted them both Pocketbook Slippers from this online pattern. Just imagine that Friend A's are completely heathered fawn color, with embroidered red mohair (very rustically embroidered) A's and hearts on them.

Here's a picture of me modeling my sister's. Aren't they hilarious? I love the little pointed toe they create. They're a fun, very quick knit. My gauge wasn't quite the same as what was called for, and so I knitted fewer inches in the K2, P2 section of the pattern.

I also added a little pompom to my sister's pair, just for a little flair. All of the yarns used here and for Friend A's slippers were stash yarns. I'm very proud of my self-restraint.

Here's the finished hat I made for Lil' MC. It's small, but something tells me it'll still be a bit big for a newborn. Maybe he'll fit it by the time I get to visit in late May! I knit the hat in the round out of stash yarns, using size 6 dpns, and a cast on of 72 stitches. I used the 3 needle bind off to close up the top, and then added little green and white tassels to the top corners. It'll look sort of like a little court jester's cap when his round little head fills up the cap and the corners hang down, as I demonstrate above. Cute!

Here's the gift package I sent to my sister. You'll notice that there is also a Black Apple print in there. We just love her! My sis has a very cute little house full of whimsical things, and I think the pear girl will fit in perfectly. Not visible, but tied behind Lil' MC's hat in the upper right is another Etsy purchase, a baby rattle made of cherry wood by Stump Pond Toys.


Happy birthdays Sister J, Friend A and (soon) Lil' MC!

Waiting

I haven't mentioned it too much here, but my big sis is about to have her first baby! Yes, I'll be Auntie D for the first time. I cannot wait much longer. Lil' MC should be here within a week! I wish I could be in Portland to welcome him into the world, but I will get to meet him soon enough. A trip is planned for May. In the mean time, it occurred to me that I've neglected my knitterly aunt duties. I haven't knitted a single stitch for my nephew! That needs to be remedied immediately, if not sooner:

no comment

Hmm.... Anyone out there know what I need to change in my blogger settings so I can reply to the comments I receive?

COMPLETELY random

Okay, so this is totally useless information, but since this blog has lacked some knitting/fiber content lately, I thought I'd post it. I'm having a relatively leisure work day, as our board meetings are this week, and away from the New York office. I happened to gaze out my window just now, to admire an unobstructed view of the Empire State building, and noticed a massive strip of white roving floating on the winter breeze, 21 stories above ground!

Happiness is...a 3-day weekend and an inspiring person

Lately things have been pretty inactive here at dlittlegarden. Sorry, folks. I owe a few people email responses, and definitely need to update the blog with pictures of the new apartment, plans for decorating, etc., but for today I'm just checking in to let you know I'm still alive. We should be getting internet access at the new place within the week, and then I promise to start posting with greater frequency.

One other thing I'd like to share: I had the privilege to go to Ishmael Beah's reading at UNICEF house last night, the eve of his book release. Ishmael is so inspiring! Even with all the hell he went through, experiencing armed conflict first-hand in Sierra-Leone, he encouraged all of us in attendance to remember that whatever loss of humanity we may experience in our own lives, it can always be regained. I look forward to reading the rest of his book this weekend.

I don't do these often, but I love my prepster name...

Your Preppy Name Is...

Pym Summerfield Loomis the Fourth But most people know you as Bunny

What's Your Preppy Name?