Extra Terrestial, New Sweater, Rain, and Moving Boxes.

It has been too long since I updated my blog, just around 24 weeks. I do have a fairly good excuse this time around: I am 24 weeks pregnant! I am also starting school again (today) and we are buying a house.

I just finished an adorable sweater for 'Brutus' (as my Father has named him) from a vintage pattern provided through Vintage Purls, it is the Baby Vest (Ravelry Link). My first finished project with sock yarn and I am very proud.

Now that the baby is moving around regularly it is interesting to feel another creature inside you almost constantly! Yesterday the dog barked and woke him up. This morning I woke up to lightning and thunder and the baby did also. He has a favorite position already which leaves only one side of my belly sore by the end of his late-night workout. He sleeps all afternoon-during my ultrasounds. Apparently babies can curl up tight enough to not get a profile shot.

Activity Jar

Brad and I decided that we waste most of our time doing unproductive things. Most of those unproductive activities we do under the pretense that we need "a break" or some time to ourselves. So we made a list of 62 activities (the number is still growing) that we want to do and some things that just need to get done. Here are a few:

go stargazing
clean the cars
build a rocking chair
read a book
refinish the back porch
plant flowers
plan a double date
buy a potted plant
give Cleo a bath

I went to the scrapbook store, bought cute paper, and cut the paper into 1/2" x 4" strips. I wrote all the activities on the strips of paper (you can get 62 strips from one 12"x 12" paper). We put these strips into a jar and now get to pick spontaneous activities to do when we feel like we are wasting our time. This easy idea could be used for children too, or dinners, or for picking your next knitting project!

The Beginning of the Blog Book

I love blogs, I love reading them, I love participating with them.
Do I have a blog? Yes.
Do I keep up on my blog? No.

This weekend I was at my parent's home and was telling my Mom that I should hire someone to write my blog for me.
She said, "You talk a lot, why don't you just write about that?"
That was the spark for the beginning of the blog-book. I went to Barnes and Noble, bought a journal 'refill' for under $6 and have been filling it up. I have been filling it up with my random thoughts very quickly (I should have thought of this way earlier). So to you few readers out there: Strap in because this ride is going to be crazy!

Haitian Roots- The 100 Miles Cowl

On Saturday I finally had a bit of time to do what I have felt I should do for awhile, I made a pattern where all proceeds go to a charitable organization-Haitian Roots. This is a pattern I was able to knit and design within a day, very easy and very quick. I have it up for sale on Ravelry as the '100 Miles Cowl', and with only a dollar you can help pay for the education of a Haitian Child.

Haitian Roots is based in Ogden Utah, they help to pay for the children of Haiti's education. You can read (and donate!) about it more on their website. A Child's education in Haiti only costs $250 for a year, but it is hard to get a child educated when 90% of the population only makes $100 a year. This program has been around for awhile, and they will be around even after the quake, they are some of the people who are truly working to make Haiti a better place. As long as Haitian Roots is up and running (and I am still designing) all profits from the 100 Miles Cowl Design will go to them.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Chinese Proverb

A Special opportunity for YOU!

I just finished one of my most favorite hats/tams. It is way cute, and it is just finishing being blocked before I attach it to my head! While I don't have any pictures (quite yet), I have the pattern written up and am looking for a couple of 'test knitters'! THIS COULD BE YOU!

Details:
Intermediate to Advanced (if you can do lace and bobbles and can follow a pattern well, you are good to go!)
knitted on US 4 needles with dk weight yarn (I used Elsebeth Lavold's Silky-Wool)
It requires between 225-250 yards (used just barely 200... too close for comfort)

The only requirement is that you look for my mistakes, and tell me how I can make it more understandable. If you want to help me out with this pattern before it is unleashed on the public, you can contact me here in the comments, on facebook, or Ravelry (BrookeBowen).

How I learned to knit

Surprisingly (to me) I get asked one question more than any other when I am knitting, "How did you learn to do... that?". It must be an age factor, most people thinking you should only learn how to knit when you are of a certain age. My journey of learning how to knit is different than anyone else's, so I thought I would share. (Disclaimer: If you are already bored I suggest you don't read on and get back to your crafting!)

Do you remember when those fun fur scarves where "like totally" in? I was somewhere between the ages of 12-15 when my sister and I wanted one! When we learned that we could make one ourselves we were immediately on board. My Mom went to JoAnns and bought some (now hideous) fun fur yarn, and two pairs of aluminum size 10 needles. I knew how to crochet at the time and thought knitting would be just as easy. After getting through a foot of the scarf, with half as many stitches I started with, it became a small monster that hid in the corner of my closet.
*(While it is widely believed that monsters live in the closet or underneath the bed, the origin is now thought to be from a mixture of abandoned crafts and dust)

Fast forward to a year ago... I am now working at "This is The Place, Heritage Park" enjoying my incredible job. As the summer dies down and there is more down time, we are asked to continue doing 'pioneer crafts', keeping the park authentic. Long days in a pioneer dress is perfect to try and pick up knitting again (the truth is that I wanted to learn to spin, but needed to find a craft that I can use all the yarn for...). After a few days I had it down, I am not dropping stitches, but I am also going at a turtle's pace. Some guests comes into the park, an older woman and her husband, and they come to see what I am doing. I learn very quickly that they are visiting from Germany and don't speak a word of English. She proceeded to motion to my needles, and I hand them to her. For the next five minutes she teaches me without words, how to knit with the yarn in my left hand, how to hold my needles better, and how to quicken my pace. What an incredible experience! I learned from someone I will never meet again in this life and got to feel the history in her knitting, that she probably learned from her Mother or Grandmother! It led to greater self-confidence and soon to an addiction I might never satisfy.

P.S. I couldn't find a picture of me knitting, but here is picture of me at work!

My hat featured on Studio 5 in Good Morning Utah!

Kelly Brown, one of my customers, wore her beautiful Rachel Cloche on Good Morning Utah this morning! Doesn't it look beautiful! And Kelly looks beautiful too.