Ten - ELEVEN - Twelve

I am a big fan of numerology, hence the thrill of blogging on October 11, 2012, otherwise known as 10/11/12. Since it is the 11th, it is time to check in with our one-month-old cria Leven.

Posing...

Getting curious about the camera...

Itchy leg...

Leven's best friend is Cassidy (front). They spend large portions of the day chasing each other around the pen and grooming each other.

Or playing hide and seek or neck wrestling.

Happy Counting - 10, 11, 12!

Yarn Along - Sunday Sweater

It's Yarn Along Wednesday at Ginny's today, and I thought I would link up since I just started her pattern, the Sunday Sweater, and am already completely addicted! This one will be finished soon.

There are a multitude of plus points that this pattern offers. 1.) Buttonhole rows are clearly marked and the "how to" is written into the pattern. I am the worst at placing buttonholes onto a button band and deciding where the right place in the button band is. ALL designers should take note and incorporate this feature into patterns with buttons! 2.) The total number of stitches is listed at the end of each row with increases. No need to do fancy math if you lose your place and need to check the numbers. 3.) Most of the pattern is written for one size at a time. Less confusion equals more knitting enjoyment. 4.) Simplicity is a virtue I often forget about. This pattern embodies it perfectly, starting with the raglan sleeves, VERY basic lace pattern, and almost no finishing necessary at the end. Yet the result is stunning. Even a beginning knitter could enjoy and execute this piece.

In reading, I just started The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. The beginning already had an interesting twist. Looking forward to finding out what happens next!

Trachtenjacke: Must-Have for the Tourist's Nephew

Part 2 of Nephew #8's gift was at least one article of clothing that... ahem... I should have knit for him personally. This is a traditional jacket, or Trachtenjacke, often seen in southern Germany and throughout Austria.

Add to this charming and simple jacket a shirt stitched up with Edelweiss:

Cute combination!

Throw some Lederhosen into the mix:

Close-up of the Edelweiss in the cross strap:

Violá, a wonderful outfit for a 3-year-old!

I can't wait until Nephew #8 is 3!

In the mean time, hope to duplicate this knit jacket myself. Or I could go back to Innsbruck and purchase another. Innsbruck is a delightful city...

Baby SURPRISE!

Yes, this is the famous pattern by Elizabeth Zimmerman named the Baby Surprise Jacket, due to its ingenious construction. Wherein THIS amorphous fabric blob:

Becomes THIS tidy little sweater!

Of course you could have knocked me down with a feather when my Brother #1 called me to let me know that wife was going to have a baby in September. (Nephew #8 arrived in late-August, 2.5 hours before niece #4, who got the February Baby Sweater from the June post). At the time of Brother #1's phone call, I was knitting the Baby Surprise for Brother #2's latest addition. But upon visiting Brother #2 a few weeks after Brother #1's call, I assessed that the weather in that part of the country combined with the rapidly increasing size of the baby would render this particular knit useless to that nephew. (That would be Nephew #7, if you are keeping track... Are you confused yet??!)

A little advice from yet another relative inspired the Gryffindor patch to help "make more sense" of the loud color scheme. If you're going to put the Gryffindor lion on a jacket, you also need lion buttons.

And so we welcome another Gryffindor fan to the family. This child will be classmates with Albus Severus Potter. The first Potter book was published in 1997, at which point Harry was turning 11. Harry would turn of age in 2004, take a few years to wait for the dust of the Grand Finale to settle and become an Auror, marry Hermione and have his first son. Albus, who is the #2 son, was definitely born this year. I don't know about Albus, but I am pretty sure Nephew #8 will have a wand with a core of one white peacock tailfeather.

Winning No Sewing Awards

Well, there won't be many close-ups of my newly made iPad bag. I used this pattern, but made a few poor material choices. I had some black jeans material left from another project, which ended up making all the layers very thick. The color is also somewhat boring and lackluster. In addition, the cushioning and interfacing inner layers were also the thickest and most stiff available. My sewing machine was seriously groaning, not to mention that it was difficult achieve a straight seam on the finishing round. I ended up breaking three sewing machine needles.. ouch...

I added some pockets to store items that might scratch the screen. Represented are my school's colors: black and gold. Unfortunately you can't see the colors peek out because the bag is so stiff. An appliqué on the outside might make the whole thing more interesting.

All looted up. This project took me 8+ hours to finish... My initial hope was 3 hours. The time spent is worth the organization though, so no regrets.

Ready for business with my projector remote, voice amplifier, power cord, and iPad pen. I'll probably add some other classroom items for easy access.

On the whole, the bag is working out very well, and I feel a lot safer using the iPad now that I have a safe storage compartment at my hip. After all, the school district was nice enough to supply it, so I may as well take care of it-without dropping it or stepping on it any more... (oooops, don't tell!)

The goldenrods are so pretty right now, and I am amazed by the diverse bug life in the blooms. Hope you are enjoying the wonderful Fall weather. Till next time!

9/11 Blues, Improved

Usually I consciously avoid media and thinking about events associated with 9/11 in the weeks approaching the anniversary. The sadness that the memories of that day bring up are baggage that I don't want to bring with me to school. For some absurd reason I thought that the ten year anniversary last year was the magic eraser and that I would no longer have to deal with the emotions. But of course there were stories on the radio this morning. Military veterans had set up their flags on the overpasses. My reflection was interrupted as the Alpaca Farmer called me on the phone. He was on his way down to the barn, wanting information on another local news item. There was a lot of humming down there... And then there were maybe more animals than normal...

Sure enough, SIX animals in the barn at Shady Grove Alpacas - the new cria had been born in the night and was already dry, wandering about, taking a dust bath, etc! How can your mood not lift with this wonderful image in your head! It's a BOY, by the way! And he weighs 17.7 pounds.

What to name him? All animals born here at Shady Grove get named after songs by the Grateful Dead. We had thrown around names like Jack Straw, China Doll, Stella Blue, but those did not seem fitting for the day or the animal. We started thinking of commemorating the day, and other titles like "US Blues" (sometimes referred to as Wave the Flag) and "Chimes of Freedom" started sounding like better options. "Chimes" was written and performed by Bob Dylan with the Grateful Dead, but the Dead never covered it on their own. Coincidentally, Bob Dylan's 35th album came out today as well, so it would have been another nice connection to the day. In the end, calling the cria by one or the other word in the title did not have the right feel to it for us. And there happens to be another song named "The Eleven." The eleventh of September. The eleventh anniversary. Perfect. We will be calling the little man 'Leven for short. (The music geek in me is thrilled that the song is written in 11/4 time!)

The little animal is very red, but we suspect that it is the usual amniotic fluid stain on the fiber, and that the little guy will be a dark brown or black like his mom by the time the fleece grows out.

'Leven has a funny crimp in his tail. Curls? A weak bone?

Playing on the lawn with Cassidy. Cassidy is the slightly bigger cria on the left. The grown-ups are munching some grass. Go figure.

'Greta is the BEST mom ever. She is humming almost non-stop and looking after the 'Leven in all ways possible.

Off on a first adventure into the corner of the pen. Greta is following right behind. Later folks, there is some exploring to do!

Pasture-ized

We recently acquired some moveable fencing, allowing for a small pasture area. The alpacas were super happy, frolicking around and eating grass as quickly as possible. It is also helping restore some of the luster in Darkstar's fiber. Recent rains have restored the grass to "edible" status. It will be a happy Fall for the animals!