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.