Baby, it's cold outside....

...so I knit Ava another hat. Hats seem to be the only thing I can knit anymore, because they go relatively quickly. I knit this one in just a few hours.

Pattern: Gnomey hat

Yarn: Araucania Aysen(?)

This yarn has been in my stash forever. I love the color, but I only had one skein of it, so I wasn't sure what to do with it. This pattern seemed to fit the yarn nicely.

I held the yarn doubled throughout (it's worsted weight) and used 10 1/2 needles. The only mods I made to the pattern were to omit the earflaps and pom-poms on the side of the head, and I made a larger pom-pom for the top instead. I think it's the cutest hat, and Ava seems to enjoy it too!

Finally, an FO!!!

Finally, a finished knit (albeit a small one)!!
It's fall, and like most other knitters, I've been itching to knit. However, my desire to knit hasn't been fulfilled, because there are about 1232438 other things that I need to be doing. But, this baby needed a pumpkin hat!
I used the pattern from Itty Bitty Hats. Most of the patterns in this book are just variations of about 3 basic hat styles. I've made a couple of other hats (Rav links) from this book, and have learned that the roll-brim style tends to be waaayy too long, and you end up with a huge brim on it. So, to make sure I didn't have that problem with this particular hat, I had Little Girl try it on several times along the way.

Doesn't she look thrilled?

I ended up starting the decreases about 2 inches before the pattern said to.

And the hat fits her perfectly.

Adorable, if I do say so myself.

2 weeks

These 2 weeks have absolutely flown by. I can't believe my baby is already over two weeks old. It's already going by too fast for my liking.

10 days old

It's also hard to believe how much life changes so quickly. (And how easily you adjust to lack of sleep.)

I really am happier than I look in this photo, just tired...

Since there won't be any new knitting here for, oh, I don't know how long, here's a picture of an old project, just this time with a cute little baby wearing it.

Waiting.

We waited years after getting married for the 'right' time to start a family, followed by several turbulent years of trying for a baby. When I got pregnant, we waited 9 long months filled with excitement, anticipation, and preparation.

For all the waiting, this is our reward:

Sweet Ava Jane.

Was it worth the wait?

EVERY

SINGLE

MINUTE.

Still waiting for my baby to decide she wants to come meet her parents (who wouldn't want to meet us?). Obviously, she's as stubborn as one of her parents already, but I won't say which parent that is.

3 days before due date

Here's a picture of Husband showing off his 'baby bump'. By the way, he's actually lost weight while I've been pregnant. Aren't men supposed to gain sympathy weight or something?

I've already started maternity leave. I was supposed to work Friday, but after my appointment with the doctor on Thursday, I just didn't think I had it in me to work another 12 hour shift. So, now I'm off work, with nothing to do except wait for a baby that doesn't seem to want grace us with her presence. (Be warned, Little Girl, you're getting an eviction notice of Thursday, so live it up in there!!) All this waiting has afforded me some time to do a little knitting though.

I've been in love with this RYC Cotton Jeans yarn for a while now, but I didn't have the right project in mind for it. I really like all of the colorways the Knit Nook has in stock, but this red/pink/orange combo is my favorite. I think it's because it reminds me of my favorite popsicles- which, by the way, if anyone in the Metro area finds them, please let me know where to get them. I only eat them when I visit California.

I decided to knit the Acerola, a cute (and free!) pattern from Tonya's blog. I'm really enjoying knitting baby things, because it gives me a sense of accomplishment. Things get done quickly!! Especially this pattern, because it's mostly knit in the round.

I knit the newborn size, so hopefully Little Girl can wear it a few times this summer as a dress, and maybe next spring as a tunic with some leggings. The yarn is so soft, and I am so glad I finally found something to knit with it.

The picture below is most true to color:

This dress/tunic/tank is a very simple knit, but it has lots of texture to keep it from looking frumpy. I love the seed stitch and the pattern on the body, and I learned how to do an applied i-cord, which was way easier than I thought it would be. The only mods I made were to shorten the i-cords (I only knit them 6 inches) and to leave off the ruffled edge, and instead knit a seed stitch edge to balance with the top. I think the ruffle is cute, and may show up on my next Acerola, but for now, I like the flat-lying edge.

Now, I'm off to occupy myself with more waiting.

A long overdue post...

I've been so lazy lately. I haven't been doing much other than growing a baby. I haven't even been knitting much, except that I finished my lace blanket-

(That big green thing at the bottom of the picture? Yeah, that's my belly.)

I made the blanket a bit shorter than the pattern called for, simply because I thought that if I knit another inch on it, I would poke my eye out with a knitting needle.
I like the way it turned out though, especially the crochet shell edging. Thanks, Jane, for teaching me how to do it!!


My friends at the Knit Nook had a shower for me a couple of weeks ago, and my baby got such great gifts.

Cindy, Suzanne, Irene, Vi, Margie, Kristen, me (the pregnant one in the middle), and Jane

I loved all of the gifts, but this was by far my favorite-

a blanket of squares knit/crochet by Knit Nookers.

Isn't this blanket beautiful? I love the way the knit and crochet squares look together in the varying shades of pink. And, I think this is the neatest crochet join I have ever seen-

I love it! Now I'm afraid to let Little Girl use it- I don't want spit up on it!!

She also got other cute handknits- a Mini Pini, several hats, a cardigan, booties, and a Baby Bib-o-Love.

At another shower put on by our 'couples' friends, they made onesies for Little Girl. To be honest, I was afraid of what they'd make that I'd have to put on my child, but I think these turned out pretty cute, in a funny way. Some may need some explanation, while others, like the stain resistant one (which clearly is stain resistant due to the large amount of puffy paint applied) do not.

(I know y'all are jealous, and all want a picture of a Dragicorn vomiting your child's name in rainbow colors on a onesie, but I'm sorry to inform you that this design is a trademark of Kevin. You'll have to ask him for one.)

baby cardi, and what's with these birds?

I finished the Feather and Fan cardigan for my baby.
This was the first time I've knit anything using the feather and fan pattern, and I love it! It's amazing how such a simple stitch can yield something that looks so complicated (well, it looks complicated to me, anyway).
This picture is a bit awkward, as the sweater was lying in a bush. It kept settling funny, and I was tired of getting strange looks from the lady across the street, so I just stuck with what I had. Which is this awkward photo.
I think the buttons are cute, but they were a bad choice for this sweater. The 'petals' of the buttons get hung up on the button holes. Maybe once the sweater is worn a couple of times the button holes will stretch out some.

The bottom is my very favorite part.

I'm just hoping that my baby has some hair on her head; I'd hate for people to think that she's a boy just because the sweater is blue. Nevermind the fact that the buttons are flowers and the bottom of the sweater is lace, but I've come to a point in my life where people don't surprise me. There are so many people out there whose filters have gone bad (if you know me at all, you've heard me complaining about this A LOT lately...)

So about these birds...

A few weeks ago, Husband told me that there was a bird trying to make a nest on our outside light fixture. He said the nest was small and not yet complete, so he knocked it down. The next day, I go outside and find this-

The ultimate "I'm giving you the middle finger" statement by the bird. I mean seriously, have you ever seen such an extravagant nest? Look at all those long things hanging down! Where did the bird find all this crap anyway?

I thought it was hilarious and sent a picture to Husband. He did not see the humor. Actually, all he saw was a fire hazard. So he knocked it down again.

The very next week, Husband finds this in our grill cover:

a nice, normal-sized bird nest, complete with 5 little eggs. I told Husband I would drop kick him if he bothered this nest.

I went out this morning to check on the nest, and 2 of the babies have hatched.

I can't wait until my baby hatches. I just hope she's cuter than this baby.

I've been so bored...

I've been on bedrest since Tuesday.
And it's been very boring.
I used to be one of those people who thought that surely, lounging around would be great, kinda like a vacation. Who wouldn't want to be ordered to stay in bed all day, allowing time to catch up on reading, watching TV, sleeping, etc....
Try it. I dare ya. See how long you last. Probably just long enough to realize that, even with cable, there is NOTHING on TV during the day, except court shows and poorly portrayed, 'unauthorized' biographies of Madonna. (I'm ashamed to admit that I wasted 2 hours of my life on this stupid movie.)

I also read an entire book on Friday- the latest installment of the Sookie Stackhouse series. It was good, but it left several loose ends. I suppose I'll have to wait until May 2010 to find out how the Sookie/Eric saga plays out.

I couldn't spend the entire week in my bed. I just couldn't. My hips started hurting, then my back, and even my butt was numb from staying in bed. So I've spent a large portion of the week in this-
my new comfy glider. I love it, and it was well worth the 10+ week wait.

I have been knitting a lot too. I finished the Boheme Sweater for Little Girl, modeled here by our creepy doll gifted to Husband by his grandmother. (The doll is actually supposed to be a boy, and I have no idea at all why his grandmother thought to give Husband this doll, other than the fact that they share the same name. They look nothing alike.)

This pattern was really simple, and I love the lace portion. However, I do have some mods planned for the next one:

~The button holes are oddly placed in this pattern. The top two are close together, and the third one looks like an afterthought. I hated the asymmetry so much I stitched the bottom hole closed. Also, I'll place them only 2 stitches in, instead of the called-for 3.

~I'll keep the first 3 stitches in garter stitch to keep the sides from curling so much.

~I think the picot edging is adorable, but it was a pain in the butt, and it causes the back to flip up. I may end up with a garter stitch border on the next one.

I've also started on another cardigan. This is the first time I've ever knit feather and fan, and I really like it!

It's made from Sheep Shop #3 (lovely yarn, BTW). The blue is actually more aqua than this picture.

And I've knit a couple more inches on the Daisy Chain blanket.

It's only about 40% complete. I really need to get on it and finish.

FO's for babes

I love knitting for babies. Not only are baby items so cute, but they're usually fairly quick to complete and give me a sense of accomplishment. In the case of this dinosaur, the knitting portion was done fairly quickly, but the seaming took f-o-r-e-v-e-r. There were entirely too many pieces to put together, and I'm not very good at seaming, which made it that much more difficult to complete.

However, I think it came together relatively nicely (thanks for the pictures, Kristen). I hope Clancy P. enjoys drooling on his new dinosaur.

Pattern: Roaring Dinosaur

Yarn: Cascade Cotton Rich DK

Needles: size 4

I also finished a dress for my baby.

And I think it's adorable.

Pattern: Mini Pini

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece

Needles: size 5

I really wanted to do this in a variegated yarn, but I didn't have anything in my stash that would fit this project. Husband has been complaining (more than normal recently) that I have "all this yarn, and never use it." So, I grudgingly began knitting this from stash yarn.

The only modification I made was to add a row of eyelets in the garter band, because it looked a bit too heavy at the bottom to leave it in plain garter stitch.

I can't wait to see my baby wearing it.

It's Derby time here in the 'ville, which means lots of traffic, parties, and drinking. I don't know that I've ever wanted a Miller Lite as bad as I did Saturday, but I did not partake in the drinking of alcoholic beverages. I resisted. Instead, I had this-

BYOB, maternity style. I must say, this is some damn good root beer.

But I did still have a great time, even without the beer.

Shannon, Allison, me, and Kari

.....

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged. I was in a non-knitting phase there for a while, but now, all I want to do is knit. But you wouldn't know it from my progress...

Speaking of progress, my pregnancy is progressing as would be expected. For those of you that haven't seen me in a while, here's a picture Husband took of me last night. I'm 25 weeks along now, and it's my first ever pregnant belly picture!



I read this whole article on how to look 'fabulous in photos every time'. One of the hints was to stand with your hands at your hips, so that your arms don't seem all fat and hanging at your sides. However, I think this backfired on me, as my elbow is now the closest thing to the camera, and therefore looks enormous. Ahem.

I have several WIPs going right now, but only one recent FO- Saartje's booties.
These are the cutest little things, and I like them so much I'm casting on for a second pair tonight, in the larger size. They're a very quick knit, despite the fact that they're knit on size 1's. Yup, 1's. I thought I was going to snap the skinny little needles in half, they're so thin.

Pattern: Saartje's Booties

Needles: size 1

Yarn: Gjestal Baby Bomull (??)

Here they are being modeled by a strange doll who has his (yes, his) big toes curled up. Not sure who designed him, but obviously they needed to consult a podiatrist as this is not normal toe posture for a baby.

I feel a bit guilty about this, but I started a FLS for myself. I feel guilty because I have only one finished project for my baby, the Saartje's, and I just finished those today. But the FLS seems to be knitting up so quickly, maybe I can squeeze it in before it gets too hot, and before my baby gets here.


I have a cute pink elephant going, and I'm also making another stuffed toy from this book for one of the Knitnook regulars who is due next month. It's blocking right now, then I have to seem the 47 (ok, 8) pieces together and stuff it. I'm just glad I started knitting the second toy before I had time to regret all the seeming I'll be doing soon. Seeming just isn't my strong point. Therefore I hate it.