Project 3: Polar Bear

I am so proud of this one!!!! I finished it yesterday! I came up with the design myself.

It all started when my daughter's babysitter asked me to make a "simple" scarf for the little one that was not too long or too wide. All the scarves that she has are too bulky and uncomfortable for my little munchkin. So I started thinking... A "simple scarf" never sounds too exciting for me... Boring...

But then I started wondering.... you can make a fabulous scarf, a fashionable scarf, a vintage-looking scarf or a funky-looking scarf - that sounds much better! OR, BETTER YET, you can make a "bear scarf"! The best idea ever! My little one LOVES bears (why?). She calls every fluffy toy a "bear" without differentiating between cats, dogs, bears, mice and frogs.... She very well knows cats, dogs and other creatures on pictures and on the street but when it comes to soft toys - they are all bears :))) Even a little red Elmo that she got for Hanukkah two nights ago is a BEAR!

Finally, my little girl can WEAR a bear :)))))) I will post the pictures of her wearing the scarf as soon as possible! Stay tuned!

Just a couple of close-ups of my bear scarf: 

Project 2: Eva's Hat

My oldest needed a warm hat. Well the project is not really super creative but I like the result very much.

Pssst, Eva likes the hat and is very proud that I made it with her input :)))

Project 1: Santa's Helper / Снегурочка

A set that I made for myself.
The scarf is from the Vogue Early Fall issue of this year. I loved this pattern from the first moment I saw it. At first I thought about making a set for my daughter but she does not like this color combination so - a gift for myself!
I designed the hat myself to go with the scarf. Quick knitting from an unidentified cotton by-the-pound yarn, very cheap :)))

Снегурочка, ну точно :)))))

New Life - New Posts

So I am starting a new line of posts!

I promised myself that I will start posting my finished knitting projects. So my goals for this weekend are:

1. Take beautiful (think Adushka :):) :) pictures of my finished work
2. Download them somewhere
3. Start posting

Stay tuned for that. I hope to have a new post on Monday!

Have a great weekend in On-linia....

Happy Hanukkah!

Happy Hanukkah!
Peace and joy to all of your families!
Light up the candles to celebrate the holiday of lights!

Happy with my results, but some words did not make any sense... and were not even Russian....

Я прошла "Тест на определение словарного запаса"

ВАШ СЛОВАРНЫЙ ЗАПАС - Результаты теста

Ваш словарный запас выше среднего уровня. Хороший результат. Вы ответили правильно на 24 вопроса из 35! Поздравляем!

Пройти "Тест на определение словарного запаса" здесь

Some of the words were not even Russian... And some of the choices were not even correct, for example:
Амбициозный:

талантливый
успешный
решительный
высокомерный

Nothing matches correctly... Oh, well... Just a fun thing to do :)

Новогодние праздники

Ну вот и настаёт моя самая любимая пора года - Новогодние праздники!


Люблю этот сезон ещё с детства, как и многие "дети" советского строя. У нас не было такого изобилия праздников как есть у детей в Америке и, теперь, в России. У нас был Новый Год!!! И мы ждали его целый год :))))


Вот мои детские воспоминания выраженные только "парой-тройкой" слов:

.... запах ёлки, гости, салаты, подарки, ёлка (опять!), игрушки, снег, солёности на балконе, папа и мама, новогодние концерты по телеку, посиделки до поздна, ёлки в окнах домов напротив, все "девятиэтажки" в ёлках :)))) подарки от бабушек и гостей :))) ещё раз салаты нy и конечно же вкусные торты :))) снег скрипит под ногами - идём кататься на коньках на городской стадион, там тоже ёлка наряженная, красота :))) потом, по дороге домой, подбираем какие-то огрызки от картона и катаемся на них как на санках с горок в парке.... ещё помню новогоднюю "газету" на пол стены в школе, украшенную дождиком и блестящим порошком, сделанным из битых игрушек с елки в спорт. зале в школе (как они побились???) :)))) все остальное на этой газете - нарисованно рукой, никаких там стикерcов не было :))) оливье......

Поделитесь своими воспоминаниями :)

What am I reading now :))))))

Детки-конфетки

Все кто тут мамы, меня поймут. Своих деток любишь больше чем собственную жизнь и очень тяжело выкраивать в своей душе и жизни время на что-то отдельное от них. Вот есть момент - редкий такой, таинственно-подкравшыйся - пойти на суши с друзьями в Пятницу. Радость, давно не виделись, хоца потрепаться и себя показать, не то что б сильно что было показывать, но все равно, хоца :) И вот начинаеш мЭдленно себе пускать кровь - Пятница, дети ждут вместе провести вечер... Не надо делать уроки, не надо рано бежать спать, можно побеситься, поиграться, потом карапуза положить спать и со старшей посмотреть что то на диване, уютно, тепло, даже вкусно, хотя для талии ето вред, ну да х... фиг, с ней, етой талией, хотя мы тут не о талии, слава богу... так о чем ето я.?... так, о детях которые сидят у меня под кожЭй так глобоко что нет сил... и я знаю что может мамы, которые сидят дома с детками - очень счастливые мамы, у которых есть такая возможность - может они не так сильно чувствуют Эту проблЭмму, но я работаю день и ночь. Я прихожу домой в 8:30 вечера, усталая и разбитая, заканчиваю домашнюю работу, муж купает деток, а потом они идут спать. и так каждый день... нда... вчера моя Ева говорит "мама, давай я буду вместо тебя на работу ходить..." спасибо ребёнок мой золотой, но я так работаю что бы тебе ещё долго не пришлось работать тяжело, ты пока наслаждайся жизнью и учись :)))

на суши не пойдем.... обойдемся ... домой закажем... :)

Уютный Домик Mozann'ы: снежная конфетка

ПРАЗДНИКИ, ПРАЗДНИКИ, КАК Я ИХ ОБОЖАЮ!!!!

Уютный Домик Mozann'ы: Моя снежная конфетка для Вас!!! / My Snow Candy for you!

Адушка, аладушка, ай да Адушка!

http://adushkaandco.blogspot.com/

Check out Adushka's FIRST and FABULOUS Blog Giveaway!!!!!

Back from Chicago

I loved Chicago!

Was there for four days, came back yesterday. My firm organized this training session for us in Chicago and flew us there.

Beautiful city, lovely people. Reminded me of New York somewhat - very similar architecture during the art deco periods.

Much more space though than in NY. I miss space and light in New York. Everything is too packed here in Manhattan. Chicago downtown is better planned or maybe it was just planned later with much more room in mind. The streets are much wider and the way the lighting gets into the city from the lake works wonderfully.

Chicago River is lovely. It adds some European charm to the city with lots of bridges and boat cruises.

Overall - A+!

Fun Fun Fun!!!! Mine, mine, mine!!!!!

A famous Lithuanian custom hand-made bear maker Bears&Roses is having a giveaway on her blog!!! Oh, I love this purple bear and I hope I win win win win win!!!!

Click below to learn more!

http://ina-smirnova.blogspot.com/2010/11/blog-giveaway.html

New Little Something - Dilemma

I am thinking of making a sweater for my little one and I am making a swatch.
Here are the pictures of the swatch.

Not sure I like the way the yarn stretches too much...

I really like the color and she does not have anything bright and white for the spring (me - thinking of spring already!!!) but I am not sure if this yarn is right for this project. I think it will loose its shape in one wash :(

Toys! Toys! Toys! ИГРУШКИ!

So I decided to do something good for the society:

I decided to describe and review some of the latest toys that we buy for our kids. Our oldest is 7 (almost 8 actually) and our little one is 17 months, so there will be a great range of toys that I plan to review. Since I do not have any affiliations with any toy companies, I will try to be as objective as possible but of course, any review is always subjective, no matter who the author is.

My first review: Zhu Zhu Pets

I got two Zhu Zhu Pets: Pax and Sweetie.

Here are the photos:

They look really adorable in real life. Pets require batteries, which were included in the package. Pets have three buttons that control them: one on the back, one on the head and one on the nose. They make funny noises, run around, chirp, sleep and otherwise try to imitate live hamsters.

Even though they are not recommended for kids under 3, my little one just LOVES her Pax!!!! She runs after it, puts it to sleep, kisses it and pets it. All of her actions, of course, elicit some "response" from the hamster, which in turn  makes my daughter happy! I have to say, I love these little guys.

The older kid, who was the one asking for it in the first place, I think, is a little disappointed in that they do not do much more than run around. The problem is that you really need to buy more accessories for them, so that they start interacting with their surroundings. She will get more of the accessories for the holidays but the fact that this toy calls for some additional purchases is not a happy outcome for the parents :))) That said, my oldest still loves her hamster and takes it everywhere with her. She puts it to bed every night and otherwise enjoys playing with it.

Summary

• Construction quality: very sturdy , survived being dropped from the second floor :)))
• Price: very reasonable, went on sale at some chains
• Kid play time: very frequent
• Adult annoyance level: very low, the toy becomes inactive automatically once it is not played with
• Money drain: moderate, requires accessories for more fun play
• Age-appropriate: yes but my little one also plays with the toy without any problems
• Educational: NO
• Overall happiness: 9 out of 10

Shhhh.... I am knitting something new....

In honor of the upcoming Halloween :)))

Here it is, my mystery project :)

Have fun and try to guess what it is...

I may even send out gifts to those who guess correctly :))

Random goodness

I was standing in the line to pay for some stuff that I selected for my girls at GAP. Two guys came over and offered me a coupon for 40% off that was being offered only today. Apparently, they no longer needed it.

How mighty nice of them! It made my day!

я работаю...

Ну вот уже два часа себе говорю, что надо работать, а не лазить по блогам и Равелри, и сама же себе отвечаю, что кому надо - пусть тот и работает. Понедельники - ето самые "страшные" дни. Когда все выходные провела с детками, с мужем, в спокойствии и радости, очень трудно вылазить из этой "тёплой пижамы" и начинать заниматься делами. И не хочется!

Вот сейчас была у Адушки в "гостях", посмотрела клипик о её детках и еще больше домой захотелось....

My first entry about my knitting - Princess

I finished knitting a cardigan for my daughter.
Here it is being washed before blocking.

Here it is being blocked.

I will post pictures of FO when I sew it up.

For the love of blogging

I love to read blogs. People write the most amazing things. Some are useful and some are simply entertaining. I love to read knitters' blogs. People publish picture of their finished work and it is always very inspiring to see how many people create beautiful things by hands in our automated world.

In connection to this topic, I call to all of you visiting my blog to post links to your favorite blogs in my comments section. I would love to visit them too.
In other words, take a risk and SHARE the beauty!

Rain all day long

MY FIRST BRRRRRRRRR-LOG FOLLOWER!

Hi, My First Blog Follower -

I am not sure what it means - to follow someone's blog - but I feel a little less lonely in the virtual reality of this blogged-to-death universe!

SHALOM! Мир вашему дому! Hello!

Моей бабушке Лизе (Лее) посвящается

Little Sundays

We had such a wonderful weekend even though I was so tired, I could just sleep through the whole Monday, if only I could. On Saturday, Baby 1 went to swimming with Daddy. Baby 2 stayed with me and we had a good time together. I miss spending time with her, she is such a precious little plump! The rest of the day was spent doing some house work, some cooking, some going to the park. Overall, a very good calm Saturday. On Sunday, my daughter had four of her classmates come to our house to write a class newspaper. That was so much fun. I had as much (or more??) fun than they did. We put the newspaper together, decorated it (can't have too many stickers... ever!) and colored things. We had some free time to eat and play. A very good time! The rest of the Sunday was spent doing some more house work, some more cooking and some more going for walks. Baby 1 was happy! Baby 2 was just sweet and yummy, all feet and cheeks!

Knitting ideas

I am thinking lavender, or camel or maybe turquoise.

This is a first sketch, it will be a project for my daughter, the older one :)

Now, I am also thinking, all these would look great but I DO NOT HAVE TIME to work on everything so I have to pick my battles :)

Kol Nidrei

Kol Nidrei

All vows, prohibitions, oaths, consecrations, konam-vows, konas-vows, or equivalent terms that we may vow, swear, consecrate, or prohibit upon ourselves - [from the last Yom Kippur until this Yom Kippur, and] from this Yom Kippur until the next Yom Kippur, may it come upon us for good - regarding them all, we regret them henceforth. They all will be permitted, abandoned, cancelled, null and void, without power and without standing. Our vows shall not be valid vows; our prohibitions shall not be valid prohibitions; and our oaths shall not be valid oaths.

People that are mine

Is it possible
to love anything more
than those two plump little feet?

Is it possible
to adore anything truer
than those two blue eyes?

Is it possible
to feel closer to anything
than to those warm big hands?

New page... no more compaining

And so I decided to start a new page, so to speak... I decided that rather than keep this blog as a collection of miserable little remarks, I would continue with it as a creative output for my unrealized creative potential ("creative" used twice in the same sentence is actually very creative).

Back to what this blog was originally opened for: I love to knit, spend time with my kids and I hope that one day I will be able to retire from my job to open an "arts and crafts" center for children.

New Day

It feels like a new day.
New beginnings. Why?
There are no old bills to pay
but only memories of lost friends.

To dwell on those is easy
and to move on is unthinkable.
To piece your life back together
is a brave thing to consider.

It is a new day
and things run as they do
without any control from you.
It is a new day.

Future versus Past

The only good day was yesterday.

The only happy day was yesterday.

The only clear day was yesterday.

Things tend to get worse;

we expect goodness

and out comes horror.

I look back and I see goodness.

I look into the future

and I see darkness.

One day, my today will be in the past.

That day,

I will see goodness in it

at last.

Amber died

He was a beautiful creature. So kind and understanding. He knew humans well, he knew when they felt bad or when they felt sad. He was smarter than most of them but never showed off. He was a beautiful soul and lived his life with integrity and dignity. He was better than most humans, cleaner in his thoughts and actions. He was a great friend.

Rest in peace.

Tell me what you think.

Time folds on itself
and I see myself twenty years from now
looking at me today.

Nothing much changes around.
But me.
Older, I see my despair at being better.
Older, I see my attempt at success.
Older, I see I should've paid more attention
at what I had.

Time seeps through my fingers like sand
but nature is constant in its wisdom.
Older, I see that time is meaningless.
Older, I see it so clearer.
Older, I see.