Life In Hollybroke

Fantastic link

2017-07-31T11:56:00.001-04:00

https://exemplore.com/wicca-witchcraft/Witchcraft-for-Beginners-Free-Spells-Exercises-and-Lessons

"Be the Change you want to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi

Cotton Candy Caridgan

2015-09-18T06:06:00.001-04:00

I got some Malabrigo Twist in Cookie just to make something for my girl and when I saw this pattern I thought it would be perfect.

The progress in the picture is just 2 hours of work on the size 3-4.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cotton-candy-cardigan-child

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Beach Hut Blanket

2015-09-15T16:05:00.001-04:00

Started this yesterday because the moment I saw it, it called out to me..!

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Drapey Cardigan

2015-09-02T14:04:00.000-04:00

Ravelry Project Page

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Change of Scenery

2015-08-26T07:05:00.001-04:00

(see full image)

Rockin' Out

2015-07-23T20:04:00.001-04:00

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

No Speeding Zone

2015-07-22T21:41:00.001-04:00

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Club Envy 2015 - 1

2015-07-22T07:16:00.001-04:00

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

New dress for the Spring

2015-04-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

This dress grabbed me and I really want to have it ready for warm weather and maybe some trips to the shore over the summer.

I subscribe to Red Heart's newsletter and sometimes I'm really impressed with the patterns that they put out and this one looks really great.

It's open and airy, has a simple but hopefully, flattering shape, and is FREE.

I started it with the hook recommended, but of course, my gauge was off and I went down a size. Unfortunately, the stitch height it slightly short, but that I can deal with. I'm slightly worried that blocking will really make it to big, but we'll see.

Project page here.

This is where I am so far. Just beginning the increases for the skirt.

Project Round Up

2015-04-07T21:25:00.002-04:00

I have finished those Anna and Elsa dolls that I spoke about here. No formal pattern was written up really. I did write something for Anna's cape, but it's not edited and I'm not sure it's really that fantastic.

I've made a baby blanket for my dear friend who has recently become a new mommy to a cute little baby boy. I'll also dug deep and made a pillow with his initial sewn on with buttons. You can see the project details here.

I'm obsessed with granny squares, but not the traditional ones. So I've started producing some 5" squares in baby weight yarn for the guest room bed to get a decent sized blanket on it.

I jumped on the band wagon to make the Cowl Neck Poncho....but...I'm not sure yet how it will turn out. I don't have too much left on it, maybe just a few rows...but it's not coming out exactly right and I'm not sure if blocking will do the job either. So I've kind of stalled on it until I decide to frog or finish and try to block. It's acrylic, so once I block it...I will kill it. Project details here.

I finished a crazy shawl pattern that I was dying to make for my sister. She is really into dragons and so this pattern was just perfect. I talked about it briefly in the fall. I pulled it out and restarted twice before I finally got something remotely close to the gauge in the pattern. Considering that you have to count to more than 600 for the starting chain, it was a valiant undertaking. Project details here.

I finally completed a baby blanket for Lily that has been hibernating since Spring last year. It just needs the ends tucked in and a decent blocking. I love the way it came out and it's bigger than just a regular baby blanket, so she can use for a number of years. This pattern is somewhat made up by me, using a stitch for the green from mypicot. Project details here.

I made a cowl for a friend of mine and she just loves it. I can't tell you how happy it makes me when I make something for someone and they actually use it. I was careful to send her a list of patterns that I could and would make along with some yarn suggestions from my stash....I had to hedge my bets that she would like, you know....Project details here.

I made a sweater for myself in the early fall. It was a fairly easy project and it's a really nice addition to my closet for the fall and spring weather. Project details here. Apologies for the sad looking cell phone shot...I never remember to get a picture with my real camera.

Spring Renewal

2015-03-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

As the weather here in the Northeast US continues to warm, new beginnings seem to abound. Although the New Year celebration is more of refresh for starting a new year, I feel like the Springtime offers longer sunshine days, warm happy outdoor activities, and a realization that you can always begin again.

Life with two children has been bewilderingly challenging (sorry 'bout that) and I find myself forever scrambling to keep up with just the regular daily grind. That means my blog, crafting, reading, game playing, socializing, and general sanity have been compromised.

I have a plan.

Mr. LIH and I have worked to figure out how to make things just a little bit easier. We each plan to take a day off work to cook meals for freezing for a month. This should leave time for me, after work and/or in the evenings for all the above mentioned hobbies, AND exercise.

I miss writing patterns, crafting, having quiet time for reading without feeling guilty because there isn't anything healthy to eat for dinner and now we're going to have pizza or chinese food.

See you all soon! When I visit again, I'll write about what crafting I have been up to.

More Than I Can Chew

2014-10-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

Every year, the company I work for donates dolls to the local shelters. They purchase the dolls and then ask that employees dress them and give them back for donation. It's completely voluntary and since those 18" dolls give me the creeps, I usually avoid the whole shindig.

Well, this year...I've decided that I really should participate. I really like to create things and I can crochet dresses for people, so why not dolls...why not dolls, indeed...

I wanted something relevant to a little girl so I decided to do two dolls, Anna and Elsa from Frozen. I searched on Ravelry, but I couldn't find anything that would really work...so that means that I will have to make something up.

Now this is good news for Ravelry and other pattern sites because I will write it up and offer it for free, but I don't have a lot of time to do this so...we'll see how it all goes.

Wish me luck...

Excited

2014-10-14T07:37:00.000-04:00

So this Saturday is Rhinebeck and I can't wait to go. My sister-in-law, a fellow fiber lover, will be coming along with me.

It's not so much all the buying options, but just seeing how many people are into what I'm into. It makes me feel like less of a weirdo. Some people think it's strange that I knit and crochet because I'm not a little, old granny hanging out in a rocking chair knitting up booties. Despite the recent "blow up" in popularity of the fiber world, it still remains quite a small blip on people's radar.

In other news, my Marshall sweater is chugging along quite rapidly. The pattern is easy and mindless so I 'm plowing through the body of it now. I haven't taken any photos of my progress because, even if I did, I probably wouldn't take them off my camera for days and days anyway.

I've stalled on the shawl. I think it's because I've pulled it out 3 different times, so now I have to kind of grin and bear it to get through the first bunch of rows before it will become fun again.

And since I have no content driven photos, here's a picture of something pretty.

Brush off the dust

2014-10-08T08:10:00.000-04:00

I know in my last post I said that we had found our stride. I think that I might have been lying.

Sometimes, that feeling of being in control is hovering just out of reach and it's covered in a slippery coating that is impossible for me to hold on to. Other times it's so far away that I don't see it at all. The worst part is that other people seem to have figured it all out, but I feel as though I'm not even close. Between guilt for working full time and being too tired to play with my kids at night and feeling rundown, it's as though I'm burning my candle at both ends and the middle is rapidly approaching. I almost have a feeling of impending disaster. Is this normal? If I could just put together some kind of strategy, maybe things would smooth out. At the moment, that is my priority; figuring this crazy life of mine, out.

I try to draw inspiration from people who have more challenges than me, because, truthfully, my life is good. I have a house, a family, a good job, and live in a safe area. Everyday, I work to remind myself that I have these things and even though everything is unbalanced, it's all good...

Step one, really, is to let go of the pressure. Let go of the self imposed, idealized versions of my life. I can't be super woman; I can't have a job, run a household, read all kinds of intelligent books, design patterns, write my own book, and care for my children, perfectly. That's the rub...perfection.

So, while I struggle to find my stride, maybe I will find time to log it all in here, and maybe I won't.

In my snippets of free time, I have been crocheting and knitting like mad. I've started a sweater as a Christmas gift and a shawl. The sweater is coming along ok, I had a few gauge issues, but I think I've worked it out. The shawl is still not working right. I used to knit/crochet very tightly and it was an annoying thing, but now it seems I'm the exact opposite and my gauge is way off. The sweater worked by going down a needle size, but the shawl...gosh...driving me nuts. You can see my tribulations on my Ravelry project pages.

And just because she's cute, here is a picture of my daughter.

Time

2014-08-19T07:14:00.002-04:00

Hello.

I think we have found our stride. It seems that things have finally smoothed out. I can breathe again and little E can walk again.

Lily is GROWING. I forget how fast it all goes, but in so many ways, I'm thankful for that. Newborns are hard work. She has been sleeping through the night for almost two weeks now and that's like a little miracle. She holds her head up on her own now, miracle two. Soon it will be baby cereal and sitting up. Even though I'm in a small rush to see her a little more independent, it's an amazing thing to watch her personality emerge. Everyday is something new.

I have had some time for crafting. I've started this top. UGH...it fits terribly so far. In the pictures it looks so great on people, but not me. I still have a few more inches to add and maybe it will carry the bulk away from my midsection. If not, I may add a few more inches to try and get a better fit. I would hate to pull it all out and it might not be me but maybe my choice in yarn. We'll see. It might look better in a drape-ier weight and material.

The pattern itself is sort of well written. I feel like, it could have been edited better. I think if you're a beginner, or even a not-so-confident intermediate crocheter, I would avoid this one for now. Here's my project page.

One thing that I've been sort of chugging along on when I have any free time is a garter stitch blanket made in this yarn. It makes such a cozy, easy to care for blanket and I had four skeins of it left over. Whenever I have a free moment, I pick it up and add a few stitches. So far, I've managed to get through two and a half skeins...

A few days ago I cut off about fifteen (FIFTEEN) inches of hair from my head. I was so tired of it and now...it alllll gone. Here's a sort of strange and forlorn picture of my ponytail. And the second is a less forlorn but possibly just as strange Before and After picture of me.

3 Down And 3 To Go

2014-07-11T22:57:00.001-04:00

Half way.....it feels like forever and it's going so fast. Little man has adjusted rather well and I've been lucky to be on maternity leave so that I can stay home and care for him. I also hired a nanny for three days a week and have had various family helping me every day.

I'm not sure when I will be able to resume my posting....my biggest obstacle to free time is my 6 week old little lady. She is high maintenance and happy to be that way. She's somewhat colic-y and seems to be a rather cranky infant. That means, right now, my time is consumed with trying to ease her gassy tummy and help her get sleep.

Soon, 2 weeks in fact, I go back to work. Little lady will go to daycare and little man will have our very wonderful nanny until his cast comes off. Hopefully, at her 2 month mark her miniature system will grow out of the colic and we can actually leave the house.

Right now, she hates her car seat (even with the car moving or the stroller...strolling), hates when you sit and hold her when she's fussy, hates her crib, hates her boppy, and hates her play mat; also, occasionally hates the baby sling. I literally have my hands full of baby most of the time.

Wish me luck because I really, really, REALLY miss having some time to knit or crochet. But, in a crazy way, it's nice to have both kids at home with me and I know that I will miss them like mad when I go back to work.

And then it got complicated

2014-06-28T22:02:00.001-04:00

Well, my little girl arrived 6 days late at 10:07a on May 25th. She was a healthy 7 pounds 7 ounces and 20.5 inches long. The pre labor was harder than actual hard labor...we named her Lily Hope.

Life was moving along...not much sleep, as expected...baby blues and a touch of post-partum, same as with my first...ok. Then disaster struck.

We were all coming home from Ethan's 2 year well baby visit. All was fine, and now his shots were all up to date. We got home past bed time, so he was cranky and he hates the doctor and had a shot...so I anticipated a difficult night. He ran into the playroom and proceeded to trip over Lily's playmat. Usually I put the thing away so his dirty little sneakers can't get it all mucked up, but today I forgot. My back was to him as I was putting Lily out of the playroom where he can't reach her.

I heard him fall and turned as he started crying....I thought the amount of crying was odd, but he was so cranky already that I figured it was time for immediate removal to bed. I did my usual injury check, squeezing various parts of him to see if he cried out...no particular response and I assumed he was fine. I had Mr. LIH watch after Lily while I got my son to bed.

He was acting strange...crying out seemingly (at first) randomly, and refusing to be put down. I got him settled to bed but he was still acting weird and was sweating a lot and crying when we moved him. My next thought was, he had a fever and was having pain when we touched him. In went some ibuprofen and we brought him to our bed.

It was now fairly late and he was still upset and not sleeping, so I called the doctor and spoke with a nurse. She assured me that the shot and his teething were the culprits and wanted me to keep an eye on the fever. Now, I'm thinking I'm a crazy, paranoid mom and tried to just comfort him through the night.

The next morning, he didn't seem better and now it was clear that he was screaming out in pain when we moved him and now he was shaking when he cried...then I noticed the swelling on his thigh and knee....

Ok, I'm thinking maybe he tore something or twisted something and I called the doc to make an appointment. I also thought he still had a fever from the shot, so the doc wanted me to come in right away.

In the office, she checked him over and sent me directly for X-rays. Until that moment I still felt like he wasn't injured too badly. Then the X-Ray tech took the first picture and when she looked at me, I knew it was bad. I went to move him for the second picture and she stopped me, saying that we needed to be very careful of his leg.

The doc got the "wet read" and called me immediately....his femur was fractured. I was stunned...how could my healthy toddler, who fell all the time, in all kinds of crazy ways fracture the biggest and strongest bone in his tiny baby body? She sent me to the ER and off I went. I made it to the car before I started crying.

We got to the hospital and the doc met us and looked over the X-rays. It was a total break and a spiral fracture, my son would require a spica cast....just to add more...the doc was required to contact Child Protective Services. She also dropped the little bomb that my son was in excruciating pain....they gave my little man, morphine for the pain. I had been so stupid...my poor child had been suffering like that for so long and I thought it was nothing....

Don't let anyone EVER convince you that you're wrong about what might be going on with your child. We were ready to go to the ER that night, but the on call nurse assured me it was the vaccine and teething...I should have been smarter about his behavior....instead he was left in pain by a mother who obviously sucks at her job.

So....to wrap it up...we were both interviewed by 6 people at 3am, they went to my house directly after that to take pictures and see my daughter, we are still being "investigated", my son is in a cast from his chest to ankle and down the other leg to his knee, and my daughter is 5 weeks old. I go back to work in 4 weeks. The doc feels bad for me because Lily is a rather difficult baby and doesn't really enjoy sleeping...ever.

Everything is so crazed that I don't even know what day of the week it is half the time. Sorry for the long, picture-less post, but I wanted to offer an explanation for the blog silence. I anticipate that it will continue as I struggle to find time to shower and eat, never mind posting. Also crying...there is a plethora of crying....my son, my daughter, and me.

One last thing...to anyone who reads this that has been helping and/or offering to help me...THANK YOU....without my family I would be lost.

Waiting

2014-05-16T10:57:00.003-04:00

Right now...we're just waiting...although I've been crafting, cleaning, cooking, and sleeping profusely my motivation to document and make coherent posts for this blog has been low.

I apologize for this, especially as I have a useful pattern modification for baby bloomers with a skirt attached to share.

I hope to get some inspiration and motivation soon, but hopefully my baby comes first. I'm ready to be over with the diabetes, itchy, ITCHY skin, and frequent trips to urinate. Wish me luck all and I'll be back, I promise.

WiP Wednesday - FO Edition & Home Update

2014-04-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

Although I have a new WiP, I didn't get a chance to spread it out properly and get pictures, so instead I will show what I have totally finished....there was a few FOs that needed to be blocked and finally I got around to it this week.

My maternity leave has been a whirlwind of appointments, household chores, and cooking for after the baby comes. I have to say I've done really well with that. I've gotten lots of batches done and in the freezer. All together I think I will have cooked about 22 lbs of chicken and 26 lbs of beef. I did not keep track of the pounds of veggies that goes with all of this though. Needless to say it was an expensive up front cost, but to keep us all fed and healthy for the first couple of weeks with a newborn at home, it was worth every penny and the hours on my feet, in the kitchen.

But I did squeeze in time to knit and crochet, and you will get to enjoy seeing the fruits of that labor....

Serriform Shawl :

Oaklet Shawl :

Simply Soft Blanket :

WiP Wednesday - Back to the Vest

2014-04-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

So, I've taken a break from the baby blanket to work on my vest again. Just ready to knit for a little while. I like this pattern, it's simple and I can watch TV while I knit.

I'm having such issues with this yarn, and although I already complained about the first faulty skein, I'm debating to complain about the second. Likely, I will not, but it's really got me annoyed with the large number of extra ends I'll have to weave in.

Ravelry Project Page
Pattern Page

In the last picture you can see all the ends....

Photo Friday

2014-04-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

(spring flower)

WiP - Baby Blanket

2014-04-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

I went on to Little Knits the other day.....and I saw this yarn. It's discontinued, but I knew it had to be a baby blanket and for the price, I couldn't pass it up.

Since it's such a busy yarn, I figured I wouldn't bother with any kind of fancy design; you wouldn't be able to see it anyway. Instead I chained about 150 and did double crochet until I ran out of yarn...about 10 rows. I grabbed my Bernat Baby Sport in Kiwi to make an "accent" row of tilted squares, using Mypicot's Openwork Lace # 2042. I can't link directly to the pattern, but her site is awesome.

The first time, I used the same size hook as the rest of the blanket, but it pulled a little tighter than I would like, and that was with me actively trying to keep the stitches big and loose. So the second accent row was done in a hook that was 0.5mm larger...so from 4.5mm (body of blanket) to 5.0mm (H hook). I think it works out much better now.

Here is my Ravelry Project Page. Don't worry, I'm still working on my vest, but my issue is that I keep finding breaks in the yarn. Although Knit Picks has compensated me for the one skein, another one has had multiple breaks and weak spots...it's getting rather frustrating. I'm on my third skein for the project and I have about 30 ends to tie in already.

Dress FO

2014-04-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

This dress is adorable and I could probably make hundreds of them. It's so easy to customize, if you choose and it can be worn as a little jumper or just as a dress with a onesie underneath for warmer weather.

This is the second pattern from her site that I've made and she really has quite a good collection going over there.

My modification for the pattern making itself, was to join in the round after Row 6. What I will do with it for wearing, is flip it around so that the open part will be in the front and tied with a ribbon. I might even trade out the ribbon for buttons and then do a ribbon woven around the "waist" and tied in the front. We'll see, as I really dislike sewing on buttons.

This pattern is the Angel Wing Pinafore by Maxine Gonser. My Ravelry project page.

Home Life

2014-04-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

One more week and I'm on leave from work for 4 weeks (maybe) before Lily gets here. We've decided on Lily Hope and I think it's nice and not too complicated. My goal is to make it to 38 weeks, I'm not greedy, I don't need all 40 weeks, but I'd like to get a little further than I did with my son.

I'm both terrified and excited. With Mr. LIH starting a new job and us having two kids, and the house to juggle, things have become somewhat more complicated.

You know that your weekend was busy, bordering on too much when you're ready to go back to work because it's easier. The weekend was BEAUTIFUL, it's that time of year again for mulching, planting, weeding, cleaning, and Mr. LIH had so much of it to do...I could only participate so much.

Tomorrow he starts his new job and we're both nervous and excited. It means more money, but with more money comes more sacrifice from your home life. I'm a little nervous to handle dinner, bedtime, and cleaning up all by myself while being so largely pregnant, but it's only a few days then at least I'm off from work. Once I'm not working, I know I can do it.

Also tomorrow is the first night for the Passover Seder. We will go to my in laws and hope that Ethan stays content in his chair for the readings...fingers crossed.

Enjoy some spring leaves.

Photo Friday

2014-04-11T06:48:00.000-04:00

(spring buds)