Turn a Square - FO

Turn A Square by Jared Flood

Yarn: Patons Classic Wool in Gray, Noro Kureyon from Holly Jo's stash

Needles: US size 6 and 7, circular

Papa sporting it while cross-country skiing in Girdwood. I'd make it a smidge longer next time, but a fun and fast knit. DEFINITELY do the jogless stripe technique!

Seven Months

As I type, the sun barely lights the sky. The wind is blowing, and the thermometer reads 0 degrees. Snow swirls its way across the land, and all the critters are hunkered down.

The time? 9 am. Welcome to winter in Alaska!

Tomorrow marks seven months of life for Peanut. He sits straight and tall, grabs toys, giggles, and eats all kinds of yummy pureed food. He babbles a lot; he and his brother have some great "conversations". Here's some video of him laughing with his brother, and dancing on the couch.

In honor of Squirt Boy's "whole moon" last week, we took a moon walk. It lasted all of 10 minutes. The beautiful moonlit evening was only marred by the bitter cold. Those of you in wintery climes can appreciate it taking us longer to get ready to go than the entirety of the outing. Here the boys are, waiting for cocoa. Okay, so Peanut snores while Squirt Boy craves marshmallows.

Squirt Boy's been singing smidgeons of songs lately - "Rocky Mountain High", "Happy Birthday", "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" are some favorites. The other day, I heard "Happy Birthday" coming from the bathroom Squirt Boy frequents as he learns to potty BY HIMSELF. Birthday cake, anyone?

For those that care, my Tangled Yoke Cardigan is about 4 inches of ribbing along. So far, it looks like it's going to fit! I'll keep trying to get a decent photo to show you.

In closing, a couple pictures of the cutest boys I know. Hope you are warm and cozy, wherever you are!

P.S. Sorry for the spacing issues. Don't have time to mess with them today.

Tangled Yoke Cardigan

A year after I fell in love with this sweater, I have finally cast on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. Maybe, in another year, you’ll see it finished!

Knick of Time Knitting

After many months, I’ve picked up my needles again!! I made a quick baby blanket for some friends of ours, for a baby shower last Friday. In classic form, I bound off and sewed in ends Friday morning. Good thing I finished it, too. Little Miss D. wasn't due until November 7; she came on Monday, and it was -4 in Fairbanks.

Yarn: Lion Brand Jiffy Thick and Quick in Raspberry, 3.5 skeins or so

Pattern: Garter stitch border with seed stitch

Needles: 13

A Busy Month

Thank you to all who've gently "encouraged" me to update the blog. If you're looking for knitting news, I'm entering Squirt Boy's Aran sweater in the Deltana Fair next week. Otherwise, we have been busy having fun since my last post.

For the Summer Solstice (where we have in excess of 22 hours of daylight), my dear friend Holly Jo and her family came to visit. Squirt Boy and Fuzzy Butt had a grand time with Bubba, Muskrat and Maisy. (And Papa and I enjoyed playing with friends, too!)


We found a wood frog in the yard. In case you didn’t know, Holly Jo is a master frog catcher, having caught many a frog as a youngster to ship in butter containers to a scientist far, far away.




We ate at the Drive In, and went to Rika’s Roadhouse to see the critters.



Daniel demonstrated our newest toy for them. Yes, it’s a real reel mower.




The boys were up early both days, and played, played, played. We are so glad they visited!



We had some down town that week, so Peanut talked to us (as he often does), and I gave Squirt Boy a “little boy” haircut.



Papa climbed Donnelly Dome, a local high spot with some friends. Here he is at the top.


Squirt Boy also bade farewell to his good buddy Rhett, who is moving to Georgia where his daddy got a new job.

The next weekend, we traveled to Tangle Lakes to camp with Granny and Grandaddy. Tangle Lakes is truly beautiful, and we love camping and boating there.

Squirt Boy went on a couple of different hikes.


One afternoon, Peanut stayed with Granny, and Papa, Fuzzy, Squirt Boy and I went paddling on the lakes.

For the 4th of July weekend, Adam and Andrea drove up to play with us. We picked wild strawberries. Oh so sweet! Oh so ripe! Oh so SMALL!

A quiet moment they spent with Peanut.

Adam and Andrea accompanied us on Squirt Boy and Peanut’s very first river canoeing trip. We traveled a several mile stretch of the Delta River, swollen with rain, on a gorgeous afternoon. We love river boating!!

Squirt Boy’s ready to paddle.

Andrea hanging with Peanut while I set up the inflatable canoe:


Notice Fuzzy standing on the edge of the boat. She tried walking around me at one point and ended up swimming. I’m glad there’s a handle on her life jacket.

The last couple weeks have been kind of rainy and blah. On the few nice days, we’ve had a chance to play with friends.

One of Squirt Boy’s new words is “backhoe”. I wonder why? (Do you see him?)

Peanut (in the middle) with two other new friends at the park last week.

In honor of the blueberries that will soon be ripe for the picking, I leave you with a picture of MY blueberry baby. Did I tell you he weighs somewhere around 16 pounds already? He’ll be three months old on Wednesday.

Dreams of Spring

Last week, we had temps over several days in the 40s with sunshine and (major) wind. I almost thought spring was here, as the frozen brown yard emerged from its winter blanket. Then, all hope was dashed when we had more snow and colder temps. So, maybe NEXT month....

In the meantime, Mama's belly continues to grow and grow. Peanut seems to wiggle and move and do all the appropriate preborn things, and Squirt Boy MIGHT have a clue that there is a baby in there. He zerbers my belly and pats "the baby" and giggles when Peanut moves underneath his hands.

Squirt Boy continues to delight and amaze us. His vocabulary is growing; in addition to his signs, we're hearing dog, ball, NO!, Mama, Papa and "ma" for moth. (I hope those beasties aren't eating what little yarn they can get to.) We often hear "goo ga" for good girl (Fuzzy's sometimes misappropriate name). He says "nee" for his knee, and can point out most of his body parts (and ours, too). He tries joyfully jumping, and doesn't get off the ground....yet.

He LOVES being Papa's helper and has learned to use a screwdriver properly. Here you can see the boys repairing our new pantry. We picked up this slightly battered, but very serviceable, locker at our local transfer station. It is now repaired, with shelves and paint, and is handsomely holding groceries in our kitchen.

Squirt Boy adores being outside. We enjoy walks every evening when Papa gets home, and he runs everywhere, tromps through whatever "new" snow he can find, finds and throws sticks for Fuzzy, and hates to come inside. Two little words do help on occasion: "Hot Cocoa?"

Papa has faithfully painted several rooms so far. The kitchen is now "Tide Pools", a soft blue-green. The main living area and walls going upstairs glow with "Warm Welcome", a medium, sunny yellow. The wall behind the woodstove boasts "Tomato Bisque", a lovely red to off-set the large yellow wall behind it. The upstairs loft will sport "Avocado Essence", a nice sage green. We are all about color at our house. The only white walls you will see are those that aren't painted yet. We have plans for orange in the main floor bath, a dark turquoise in the upstairs bath, and a rusty coral color in the master bath.

In other house news: we'll soon have a banister and railing for the stairs. We'll have lovely pine tongue and groove paneling on the vaulted ceiling. The upstairs bath will be finished shortly. We'll have doors in more strategic locations, so we'll be able to disassemble a portion of the baby gate maze. We're looking at flooring and carpet choices for the upper two levels. We're figuring out what type of trim to put around the windows. So many choices, but we continue to have fun with it.....most of the time.

As we get closer to spring, I find myself dreaming of putting in a garden and making use of the compost heap we started in the yard last year. I've found a great book by Mel Bartholomew called The Square Foot Gardener. I'm VERY excited about planting a low-maintenance, absolutely delicious garden this summer! Snap peas, miniature cantaloupes (the size of a softball), lettuce, spinach, basil, grape tomatoes, summer squash, sugar pumpkins, green beans, carrots...the possibilities are amazing! We could plant broccoli and cabbages, but a local farmer grows beautiful ones, and sells them at his U-Pick for 50 cents a pound. That's a bargain to me!

We also want to put in strawberry and raspberry plants, along with a lilac bush or two. It will be fun to focus on the outside of the house for the summer.

Yes, I've still been knitting. Some stealth projects for babies and birthdays that are coming up. I finished my socks. They are pretty. A little slouchy. I knit VERY loosely, apparently, and need to go down a couple of needle sizes. The foot fits nicely, though.

I also knitted a pair of longies for Peanut in a pretty blue-green yarn I had lying around. (Longies are pants and a cloth diaper cover all in one, for the uninitiated.) I hope to embroider some bugs or frogs or flowers on the rear, once we all meet Peanut.

There is much to be done in the next five weeks before Peanut (and Auntie Chele's) arrival! Feel free to come lend a hand anytime. Make your reservations now for all of your summer visits, too! We'd loved to show you around.

Note to self...

When trying to entertain a toddler while finishing up a bit of knitting, DO NOT give him all four balls of new cotton yarn to play with. One will do. If you give him all four, in two minutes you will have a nasty mess that will eat up two and a half hours of knitting time in the untangling.

At least they were all different colors.

I have finished a sock! My last attempt at socks languished for so long that my sister took them, finished one, knit the other and sent them to me. I've even cast on the next one, and am a quarter of the way through the cuff. There is hope yet for me. (The photo is of the first sock in a pretty Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. I think the color way is Earth? I can't find the tag to tell you.)

I'm also knitting Felted Clogs for Squirt Boy. Not because he really needs slippers, but more because Mama needed an instant gratification project. :)

Heat Wave

We are at almost 20 degrees ABOVE zero this beautiful morning. No hat or gloves needed. I like thawing out after last week's 37 below!

Speaking of cold, here is Papa after he walked home last week (when it was only 10 below zero). It's only about four miles from his office to our house. Note the powerful headlamp with a wire that goes to the battery pack INSIDE his warm coat and the lovely orange safety vest, so he doesn't get runover by those not expecting pedestrians in the bitter cold.

Here is Squirt Boy sporting his NEW and FINISHED (and a wee bit too big) Baby Aran Pullover!! It turned out really nicely; I like knitting it, and like having it finished even more.

For those of you who have various woolies to block and/or wash, may I recommend Sudz n' Dudz Wool Wash? I've used it mostly for washing wool diaper covers, and it makes things turn out very soft. An organic product, it comes in all sorts of yummy scents. My last bottle was Ginger Lime; my current one is Cardamom. It's a great product!!

A couple of other finished objects:

Toasty Topper from Knitty Winter 07, in Patons Classic Wool Merino. I love how it wraps down and around the neck and ears. Great for our windy weather!

FO: Flower Mittens, modified from Toddler Mittens in Knitting for Baby. Made for a birthday gift for a four year old. Hope they fit!

For you Ravelry junkies out there, I'm finally in, and my user name is katrinaknits. Look forward to meeting/seeing you!

Holiday Knitting, Part II

Following are the previously promised photos of holiday knitting. I worked until the 11th hour....literally 11PM on Christmas eve, but all the gifts and stockings are finished. Fuzzy even got into the holiday knitting spirit this year.


FO: Kureyon Kozy from the Winter 2004 Knitty.com

Yarn: Noro Kureyon, one skein

Needles: Size 7, circular and DPN

This is a project I've wanted to knit for a long time, but haven't had a teapot to dress. Gave it to someone who has dressable teapots. A fun and quick knit. Excellent for last minute gift-giving, or instant gratification knitting.

FO: Children's Neckdown Pullover by Knitting Plain and Simple, Size 6-8

Yarn: Patons Decor in Floral Variegated, 3.5 skeins

Needles: Size 8 and 6, circular and DPN

Made this for my niece Sparkle, who loves pinks and purples. I hear the sleeves are a bit long, but has growing room, which is nice. I love KP&S patterns; VERY LITTLE seaming involved, and straightforward directions.

FO: Teddy Bear from Melanie Falick's Knitting for Baby

Yarn: Plymouth Galway Heather, from stash. It's actually a darker purple. Sorry for the flash burn.

Needles: Size 7, circular and DPN

This was for another niece, Sugar. I got LOTS of seaming, mattress stitch, and embroidery practice on this one! Still, the end result is pretty cute, IMO.

FO: Diamonds in the Rough Argyle Stocking from IP's Christmas Stockings: 18 Holiday Treasures to Knit

Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted in Silver Sliver, Spice, Turkish Olive, Orange You Glad, and Sapphire

Needles: Size 8, straight and DPN

FINALLY!!! This stocking has been five years in the making. I'm pleased with how it turned out, though it is, in fact, GINORMOUS! We might have been able to stuff Squirt Boy in it, with room to spare. (Not that having a huge stocking is a bad thing.) Instead of carrying the orange and blue while knitting, I went back and duplicate stitched the x's in afterward. The modified Jester stocking next to it is Papa's, finished 2 or 3 years ago from the same book.

You would think that all this Christmas knitting would encourage me to take a break, but no! I can't get enough. I started and finished a Toasty Topper for Squirt Boy in the last few days (in Classic Wool Merino by Patons, Denim Marl). I knit a Christmas ornament for Holly Jo. I'm continuing on Squirt Boy's Aran sweater, hoping to finish as much as possible by next week's knitting circle, and bought the yarn for my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. It is Elizabeth Lavold's Silky Wool in a greenish-gray called Woodsmoke. I just ordered some Harmony wood needles from Knitpicks.com, and am SO looking forward to swatching! After all this, I'd love to learn magic loop socks for some pretty sock yarn I've collected, and I might even start on NEXT year's holiday knitting BEFORE Peanut arrives in April. (All bets are off after that...)

Holiday Knitting

Each year, I suffer grand delusions that I’ll be able to fashion with my needles, yarn and creative spirit thoughtful gifts for everyone on my Christmas list. Somehow, I believe I’ll have more time to create things of beauty and warmth for those I love. Of course, I decide on what to make and for whom around the middle of October. 60 days or so is not quite enough time to attempt such an Herculean feat, not with chasing a toddler, vainly trying to organize and clean my home, creatively feeding our hungry family, and staying warm!

That said, I have actually completed (and wrapped and mailed) 90% of my holiday knitting….a little knit-knack here, and a Christmas stocking there, and I’ll be done. I will post pretty pictures after the holiday.

I started the Christmas stocking about five years ago. It’s the “Diamonds in the Rough Argyle Stocking” in Interweave Press’ Christmas Stockings: 18 Holiday Treasures to Knit. The maturation of my knitting is less than remarkable, but now, it’s not scary to read through the pattern and actually understand everything I need to do to finish. Just need to finish toe shaping, knit the instep, duplicate stitch the x’s, seam the sock, finish the heel, and tack down the top edge. Sure…I can finish that in five days?

Other knitting news:

Finished Object (FO): Fiber Trends Felted Clogs
Yarn: Lamb’s Pride Bulky, in Kiwi and a lovely brown
Needles: Size 13

A quick pattern to knit, but you MUST pay attention. Not so good for watching movies. They sat around FOREVER, unseamed and unfelted. The photo is one clog, pre-felting. Over Thanksgiving, I used my darling mother-in-law’s top loading washer, and shrank them down. Now, I’m stabbing my fingers while sewing on the leather toe/heel pieces that Fiber Trends makes to go with them. They recommend blanket stitch; I’m having 6th grade home ec flashbacks, where I first (and likely, last) did the blanket stitch. I’m VERY excited to wear them; snug fit and TOASTY warm, for days like today’s 30 below zero temps.


WIP: Baby Aran from Melanie Falick’s Knitting for Baby
Size: 24 months
Yarn: Cascade 220 in a pretty denim blue
Needles: Size 7 and 5

Can we say “aran placemat”? This is the back of the sweater. I’m about 2/3 of the way through the front, then the sleeves. I’ve finally memorized the cable pattern, so I’ve sped up progress. Fortunately, Squirt Boy is not growing quite as quickly, so I may actually FINISH this so he can wear it. (His future sibling will wear it LOTS, I’m sure!)

I am saving birthday and Christmas money to buy yarn for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan in the Fall 2007 Interweave Knits. Yes, I’m pregnant, but I figure I’ll have LOTS of time to knit it for when I can ACTUALLY wear it.

Winter has arrived.

Holy Cow! I haven't posted for a month and a half. This is Squirt Boy, about a month ago, when we still had leaves. Notice the pretty yellow hue to them?

In the last six weeks, we watched fall disappear, and now snow blankets everything. Just a few inches, but it will be here until April. Stray flakes are drifting down onto the windshield in their perfect crystalline symmetry as I type this. I don't mind the snow or the cold, now that I finally excavated my warm winter gear from storage.

Squirt Boy has yet to play in the snow. I'm still looking for his boots I bought him at the end of last season.... He lunges for it everytime we are outside. He's fascinated by the cold white stuff.

Our house is warm and toasty. We are fully insulated with a fabulously working boiler and a wood stove that cranks out the heat (and ambiance) on a cold night. We have one set of new stairs, and the bathroom is within two weeks of completion. Have I told you lately how excited I am to go potty INSIDE? :)

With the cold, knitting has recommenced. I have finished knitting my felted clogs. I need to sew and felt them. I have also started the baby Aran sweater for Squirt Boy that I got hijacked from last spring. I must. knit. faster. He's growing, and I'm making the biggest size! That, along with an impossibly long holiday knitting list, make me anxious to knit more and organize our home less. So my priorities aren't quite right.

There is also knitting to be added for a certain little Fisher that will be coming in April. Yes, Squirt Boy gets to be a big brother. Wahoo!

In the past six weeks, we've had several visits from family which have been fun. Granny and Grandaddy were here last weekend. Thank you both for all of your house help! Auntie Chele and Larue were here in September. We gave them a cold, but we had a grand time gold panning and enjoying the Alaska fall.

Now that we are reconnected to the internet at home, look forward to more frequent posts and more pictures!

The Update

The House

We’ve MOVED to (but not quite into) our new place! We are living in Granny and Grandaddy’s pop-up camper while we finish a bathroom in order to move in. We are enjoying dining on the deck in the evenings.


Papa worked hard to provide us a working kitchen this weekend, and hopes to have the REAL stove functional by the end of the week. Have I told you today how wonderful he is?


Look! Running HOT water!



The Visits!

We’ve been blessed with visits from family and friends the past few weeks.

Auntie Paula, Uncle Lee and The Cousins were here for a week in June (along with Granny and Grandaddy).

Blue Lantern finally met Squirt Boy, his one and only cousin so far, and gave Squirt Boy his first underdog.

Super Climber taught Squirt Boy how to climb the stairs. He was fascinated by her walking abilities, too.

Wonder Woman greatly enjoyed the hammock in the yard with her brother, mothering the dogs, coloring pictures and going on walks.

The older kiddos braved frigid Alaska waters and swam in Birch Lake with Grandaddy. They also had a super time playing with our friends Isaac and Abigail, and we of course ate at the Drive In. (More than once. Wahoo!)

Aunt Jessica visited the following week. She also experienced fine Drive In cuisine. She and Squirt Boy had a grand time!

Last weekend, Jim and Nancy from Connecticut stopped by while driving from Prudhoe Bay with Nancy’s brother, who just completed some work up there. Sadly, they didn’t see any critters on the way down, but we are glad they stopped by to see us!


Other Random Things

Thought you might enjoy seeing Fuzzy with her namesake. (I know you’re shocked to learn Fuzzy Butt is not her real name.) The irises grow wild all over town; they’re beautiful!


Miracles DO happen! My beautiful tomato plant drowned in an afternoon thunderstorm several weeks ago. I poured water out of the pot, and sadly watched the perky green leaves shrivel, blacken and fall off. Not being one to bury my dead quickly, the pot sat on the porch with my other plants (which fared a bit better, but not much).

We drove into the yard one evening about a week ago, and I yelled, “Stop the car!” I ran up the stairs, and saw this. I guess it’s not REALLY dead…..yet!


I also promised a picture of Aunt Jessica’s bag. She liked it.


We celebrated the 4th at our town’s little shindig. Papa threw an axe for fun. Squirt Boy waved a flag. (Notice how the flag matches his groovy shorts.) We ate DELICIOUS homemade ice cream. We moved over to our new place. It was sunny and beautiful. No, we didn’t see any fireworks. They don’t do them here until February. It’s not dark enough at night in July.

The following weekend, we went camping with the Ruse and Whitson families at Tangle Lakes. It rained, but we ate S’Mores and enjoyed great company all the same. On the way home, we explored some new territory for future camping excursions.

After camping, Squirt Boy went to a “Look Who’s Turning One!” party along with four other little ones who have birthdays this summer. We had glorious weather and a great time watching all the babies play and eat together.

He especially enjoyed the sandbox. We now have five bags of sand waiting for a new home.