Big sister is about to turn THREE! Can you believe it? Wow, I sure can’t. Her language gets better and better all the time, her favorite thing to say now is “but” and she will find a way to fit it into a sentence 5 times, or she will ask “stop talking for me mama” because I used to always repeat what she said to make sure I understood her, guess I need to break that habit!

I don’t have a link for it, but I read an article by Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN a while ago, and it said how the air inside our houses is often 6 times more polluted then the air outside our house, and that having house plants can get rid of up to 90% of that bad stuff, so I’ve gone crazy with plants. I’ve killed two baby rose plants, but the ivy seams to stand up to any amount of abuse, and then I like to get cut flowers from the grocery store. I may be crazy, but I think the air in the house smells less “stale” somehow. Maybe Dr. Gupta is on to something.

I’ve been saving up for a while to get the girls some Petticoats (and also waiting for them to get bigger so they would last longer!) and I was finally able to get them, will be super cute for photos, they had a blast playing in them!

If you wonder what a day in the life here is like, or I should say a weekend, here is the husbeast playing video games and the girls of course must climb into his lap!

We are still trying to potty train, as you can see! Not a lot of success in that arena, but some! We’ll keep trying.

This brings us to the fantastic new book, “The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design“. You are probably familiar with Shannon Okey of Knitgrrl.com who has published many books, written many articles, designed many patterns and is part of the Stitch Cooperative. I had the pleasure of meeting Shannon at TNNA recently, and she’s just incredible sweet and enthusiastic about what she does.  I had heard about the pre-orders for her book in twitter, and quickly put in for one, and it just arrived yesterday! I read about 30% of it last night, using a flashlight because our electricity went out in a big storm. The first few pages read like a mini history lesson in the online knitting world and its humble beginnings, which was such fun to read.

The book is published by Cooperative Press which means its been independently published, and like many of the amazing entrepreneurial knitters I’ve met recently, the quality is superb. There are a bunch of interviews in the back which I have not gotten to yet, pages and pages of interviews with your favorite designs. There are even chapters talking about web design, blog set up and all the things involved in setting yourself up with an online presence in the ever growing world of social networking. This of course includes lots of good information on Ravelry as well. In the first two chapters I saw at-least half a dozen cited links that I wanted to follow up on, amazing amounts of information, stuff I was not even ware of and I consider myself fairly savvy.

If you are considering knitwear design, or are already designing but don’t know what to do next this book is for you! If you’re like me and you’ve been publishing for a little while on your own and consider yourself fairly knowledgeable, you too will find a wealth of information. I was not asked to write this review, and I bought the book on my own. I absolutely adore it, it’s the best thing out there for anyone who wants to or already is designing. Now please excuse my while I go run off to read the interviews chapter!

The hubseast went out to grab some lunch with BG, and didn’t come back for a very long time, but when he did come back he had apparently picked out something special with her.

I was a bit surprised, I’ve been stalking the kid consignment shops for used bikes because I thought he would think I was crazy to buy a new one, and yet he went out and did it himself! She just loves it, and was very amused by the little bell on the handlebars. Clearly she could use to grow a few more inches but she was able to peddle it a little bit!

Despite the fact that both children were rather moody today, it was fun to watch her delight over her first bike or “trike” as the husbeast calls it. I am sketching away on designs, lost in a sea of ill-conceived math!

Speaking of babies, here is a photo of my wonderful girl caught mid-bubble-making. She makes the funniest noise and face when she does it, and somehow I captured it! Going to have to frame this one for sure.

Have you seen the latest Petite Purls? Our amazing summer issue is up and I love it! I even got to take photos for several of the projects. Joan’s little dump truck and daisey jumper are so adorable and cleverly designed, and Carey’s birthday hats are amazing! She came to us with the idea, a way to celebrate our First Birthday. They come in a knit version and a crochet version. So very clever and designed so well.

I got to photograph those too, and of course LG was a model. She sort of took over this issue, oppsy! She won’t be a baby forever so it’s one of those things that must be taken advantage of. LG is almost a year old, I’m all weepy over it! She has just started to walk on her own, it’s a wonderful thing.

Speaking of wonderful things, BG used the “potty” at school today for the first time. Long time followers of my blog may remember I actually had her using the potty when she was VERY young, but I stopped doing it at 10 months and when I got pregnant I gave up and at nearly 3 with those memories I’ve been frustrated she has not learned yet (without showing her I am frustrated of course!). I bought her a new potty on monday so she would have an extra one, the kind that plays music when you “go”. I got the blue one though, that was too much pink for me. I guess it’s the “king” potty, heh! When we got her home I let her go diaper-less, she peed next to the potty because the back part of it was down and I guess she didn’t think to lift it, and then I let her go outside for a bit and I was just inside the door feeding the baby, and she comes to the window, sticks her nose against it and proclaims that she has “pooped in the grass, I DID IT!!” with ever so much pride.

Here the little trouble maker is saying “cover me up mommy, please”. Any times dolls are involved, she puts them to bed or reads to them. It’s friday night so I am going to have a little kntiting fun and work on a Danger Crafts Daphne, a little toy knitting is always good for the soul!

First and foremost thank you to Allegra for wearing her and watching her many times. Thank you to Kate for wearing her while we went off the interview Debbie Bliss, I really didn’t want to miss that opportunity! Thank you to Theresa for entertaining the baby and Stefanie for the moral support, and thank you to everyone else who smiled at her or offered to hold her (despite the fact she wouldn’t let anyone!).

Just a few of the people I got to meet in person (finally!) Boone Marie Burns, Stefanie Japel, Marly Bird, Olga (Olgajazzy), Melynda (FrenchPressKnits) Debbie Bliss, Amy Singer, Ysolda, and about 500 other people!!!

Everyone was so amazing, and so nice. I am just all filled up with goodness from the knit/crochet community. Oh wait, how can I forget about Amy Butler, who was just about the sweetest person ever. She has a new line of yarns out that are amazing, and don’t forget about her wonderful fabric (how could you?). I keep thinking of more names, it’s insane crazy how many talented and wonderful people are at TNNA, it’s an amazing opportunity so many thanks to TNNA for putting together such a great show, and how fun was the @hellotnna twitter stream (from the ever wonderful Ravelry team).

The first night we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning print screening some project bags to give away on the show room floor. I have a print Gocco and I burnt a screen and brought it with me, along with ink and a cloth stamping kit.

Allegra and I met for the first time EVER, and that of course was amazing, in many ways it felt totally normal like we have been buddies forever. I guess all those late night phone calls and google-chats can do that to you! I am flat out exhausted, and sad I never had any ice cream, but there will always be next year. Now off I go, to code up the last bits of the Petite Purls summer edition.

As you all know I am the queen of minimal knitting and finishing. I like something that’s simple, clean, elegant, sweet and super easy to knit. I am sure one day I will design more abstract and complex pattern, but I have so many ideas still for the easier sort that I can’t help it.

About a week ago I was lamenting over the fact that I myself have very few knits to wear to TNNA next week (A trade show for yarn shop owners, yarn manufacturers and publishers), I don’t design adult stuff (yet!) and I don’t have much knitting time for myself. Suddenly it occurred to me that i should be dressing LG in hand knits, lots of my designs she can wear. Do not ask me why this did not occur to me earlier, it’s sort of a DUH moment. Face palm! It came together quickly and just as I envisioned. This was designed specifically for TNNA, and will be available online for purchase in July!

The Bubble Frock is inspired by bubbles, which are of course made up of water and air (represented by white and blue yarn). It features a full back for structure, and one sweet little eyelet button opening, so it can easily be opened to fit over baby’s head. The front doubles up at the chest as the fabric bubbles out, for a comfortable and airy fit in the hot summer months. Knit bottom up with minimal finishing or edging, it’s a cinch to finish quickly. You may bind off at the shoulder straps and seam together, or if you are feeling adventurous just leave the stitches live on the needles, and kitchener them together for a supremely smooth fit and finished look.

Size shown, 12 months. Blue Sky Alpaca Multi Cotton and Worsted Cotton, 1 ball of each color. A second top can be knit out of the remaining yarn with the opposite color effect.

I found out about the Tri-State Bird Rescue that is leading the bird clean-up response for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. The Marine Mammal Center (based in CA) is another great organization involved in helping ocean mammals in need of help, and then there is the International Bird Rescue Center which is also already has more then 20 people helping out with the clean up now.

So here are the things I have decided to do in order to help;

• Encourage anyone I know with sheep to donate extra wool (like Fleury Sheep & Wool has done) to help with the clean up.
• Not buying gas from BP, we can all argue about how oil drilling in general is dangerous but the fact is this was a BP spill, so I have no quams about  boycotting them. If after an investigation is completed there is proof of negligence, well I hope they go out of business. Is that harsh? Is it bad for the economy? Not bailing out the banks would have been VERY bad for the economy but I don’t care, I am tired of companies screwing up and getting a get out of jail free card. If you can’t run your company properly, you don’t deserve to be in business. That includes not destroying the environment. Also their spraying of dispersants without disclosing the ingredients pisses me off to no end. There are many educated and intelligent people with experience with these things that say the dispersants are very dangerous, as the men on the boats who got sick miles away from the spraying well know (as reported on cnn.com).
• Boycotting rig owner Transocean and oilfield services contractor Halliburton, they and BP included are all pointing fingers and no one is taking responsibility for what happened on the rig.
• Adopting a bird from the Tri-State Bird Rescue, and also this year we will be doing bird adoptions as holiday gifts.
• Buying Dawn dish soap (I have not purchased their brand before) and following up on the donation website.
• Visiting the Gulf next spring. We take our annual trip in the spring, and we will not avoid it because of the oil, we will find something else to do there and help the community with our vacation dollars. I highly recommend Destin Florida, if I didn’t have little children I would take a vacation to a bad spot in the gulf and help clean up instead.

I believe each one of us should be empowered in some way to feel like we are making a difference, because we each can make a difference. Make yourself watch this. You will want to do something, you will be angry, you will cry. You will be enraged. You should be.

If you have Dawn dish soap in your house right now, run to your kitchen and plug the number on the back into the Dawn website please! If you did so please come back here and comment and let me know! If you go out and buy a new bottle, come back here and let me know! If you adopt a bird, come back here and let me know!

LG is now 9 months old, my favorite time for babies. They are still a baby, but also fun and mobile and able to express themselves in many different ways, they can eat all sorts of food so it’s easier to go out and about, and they are easily entertained simply by the sights and sounds of any general outing to the post office or the grocery store. At her 9 month appointment she weight 19.5 pounds, and was 28 inches tall. She seems big to me but she is sitting pretty at the 50th percentile.

She has her two bottom front teeth and is getting her two front teeth, she never seems to nap the same time each day and trying to keep her on a schedule is tough. So we just go with the flow. She’s lots of fun, and wants to be on the floor so she can crawl and climb as much as possible, her little 9 month self will cling to me and refuse to let me out her in the car-seat, she wants to be FREE! She’s easily distractible with toys, and she will eat just about anything. She in particular likes cooked carrots in chicken broth, or mashed potatoes.

(stole a pretzel from her sister I took from her 2 seconds after I got this shot)

This photo shows her crazy climbing ways, the chair she is standing on is a foot off the ground, and she’s balancing on it and fairly high off the ground, and she’s perfectly adept at getting down from it all by herself. She puts her hands into everything and anything she should not, which means I am washing her hands all day long most days. She’s my adorable little chunky money.