Baby Knits

I've got a baby (though he is starting to turn into a toddler) but I don't do a ton of baby knitting.

True, I've made him a few items: a blanket, two hats, and two sweaters. I've also got a vest in the works and want to make him a new hat for this winter.

But, I don't knit for other babies. I could knit for my nieces and nephews, but so far have only made one hat for one niece. Maybe it is because my family is so large and I fear that if I knit for one, then I'll have to knit for everyone at every occasion and then I would be constantly knitting for my family and never for me! I do knit for others. But I do so in a very limited way. I don't try to knit something for every family member for every Christmas and birthday. With five brothers, three sisters-in-law, five nieces/nephews, two grandparents and dozens of cousins, aunts and uncles, I couldn't do it. I'd have to open a small knitting business to cover them all. And that is just MY family. G's family adds a few more people to the mix.

But I do choose a few people to knit for each year. Last year, I made cowls for my sisters-in-law.

I also made scarves for G's dad and step-mom and a shawl for his mother.

And I made a hat for my youngest brother when he requested "a super cool hand knit hat" to wear at college. How could I say no to that?! (No picture, I'm afraid. I was so excited to finish it and send it to him that I forgot. And good luck getting a college boy to send you a picture of him modeling a hat (I did ask).

This year, I making a scarf for G's aunt who lives in DC and has been so generous with her time in the past year. She has cooked for us and babysat on several occasions.

I do like knitting for others. And I do like knitting for babies. Baby stuff is so tiny and dear and it goes quick! I think that if I had more knitting time, I would always have a baby item on the go for some future relative. But I really enjoy knitting most of all for me. And I don't feel bad about that. Well, I do sometimes feel bad about it: I would love to knit for everyone. If I had more knitting time, I would. But my way works for me. When I feel really compelled to knit for someone, then I do. Sometimes, I'll see a yarn and think that it belongs to so and so. Sometimes I just think so and so is so lovely, I'd like to make her something lovely. Last year, I fell in love with Lumpy Bumpy Yarn by Charlene and had to buy several skeins of it. I justified the cost by making it into cowls for my SILs.



That said, my favorite baby items to knit are hats. They are so quick and so cute on the little ones. I don't have a favorite hat pattern, but I did just make this one in a toddler/kid size by casting on 80 stitches instead of 100. I think I'll make another one. It's easy and the ribbing makes it easy to fit lots of different heads. It looks soooo cute on H even though it is not intended for him.



(Also, you can see his favorite toy, the monkey. He grabs that monkey, puts its arms over his head and walks or crawls all over the place with Monkey hanging on. Fun!)

Storms and a Shawl

We've had some big storms here last week. On Friday, I took myself out to lunch and made it home just in time before the downpour started. I even had time to snap this photos on my phone.

Looking West from my house:



Looking East from my house:



I was glad to be inside my house when the rain started, all nice and cosy. I even got a bit cold and had to put on my pink lace shawl. I don't think I put up a picture about this yet. I finished it in the spring. It is the Hunter's Safety Stole. I purchased the yarn (Black Bunny Fibers) and pattern at Stitches East 2006.



This photo shows how long it is, along with how messy my hair (G thought it looked tossled and sexy. Seeing it in this photo, it just looks a mess) and couch are. But I had to include it because I love that H is imitating me in the lower left corner with his arms stretched out. "Mama, I love you so much!"



Great, easy pattern. Beautiful yarn. Lovely stole that will be a great layering piece this winter. I can use it as a scarf and unfold it when I need a bit more on my shoulders.

Good Mail Day

The past week has been a big rough around here. Nothing huge, just exhausting. Last Thursday G came home from work with a fever and the aches. He promptly took himself to the doctor Friday morning because someone in his office had the swine flu.

But he tested negative (thank goodness) and was diagnosed with "just a virus." That virus turned out to be particularly nasty. He was so sore that he could barely walk and couldn't lift things. So that meant I was on H duty full time over the weekend. And on grocery duty and cooking duty. To make it worse, H was getting some molars and wasn't especially happy himself.

So by Monday, I was pretty tired and starting to get sick myself. But when the mail arrived with the Knitpicks catalog and a package from my Secret Pal, I was very excited! Two knitting things in one day!

Here's a photo.



I love everything. I needed new face clothes. And these are just perfect for me! I adore the pink.

The blue yarn is from her hand dye business. It's merino and I just love the color.

I'm not sure yet what I am going to do with the teal cotton yarn, but I am thinking it could make a cute dress for my new niece!

Plus it all arrived smelling so nice from the sachet.

Thanks, Pal! I really love it all!

Rhinebeck, maybe?

I am excited. Last week I was checking out the NY Sheep and Wool Festival Web site and saw all the cool kid activities. I showed G and we talked about possibly going this year. G went to school at Vassar in Poughkeepsie and he loves the area.

We're not going to decide until closer to the date, which I realize might make it impossible to go b/c the hotel rooms in the area could be sold out by then. But I am still excited. Even if we don't go this year, I think we'll go some year, which is very exciting!

I was very envious while reading all the reports from Sock Summit. I am craving a knitting event!

From Boston to St John (USVI!) Morning Glory Wrap

Behold, my From Boston to St. John (USVI!) Morning Glory Wrap.

I cast on July 6, 2008. The day before I went in to labor with H. I hoped that if I started a new project, my baby would be born a few days early. And it worked!

This is worked in two halves and grafted in the center. During my maternity leave, I knit the first half. Then I picked up the second half during the spring of 2009. I finished the knitting a few days after my son’s first birthday!

The pattern is fun. And pretty. But the stitch pattern is worked on both sides. There is no purl back "break" row. Instead, you've got things like purl three together through the back loops. AND and a section where you end in mid repeat. But the first few times you do those rows, you aren't sure where you end. I mean, the pattern doesn't specify what stitches to end on. So if one messed up a row or two before, it wouldn't be apparent right away that one had the wrong number of stitches. And tinking (and swearing) would occur.

I did a lot of tinking and ripping, especially while I worked on this late at night as a new mom. Probably not the best pattern to try when your brain is fried from lack of sleep, but I needed something to challenge me at the same time. I needed to proove to myself that I could still knit with a baby.

It went smoother once H was a month or two old and napped alone more and and played on his activity mat, batting at the toys. There were mornings when I was able to knit for an hour or so. It was such a sweet time. We were on the back porch, with lovely breezes coming in and nothing more pressing to do than nurse him and then knit while I watched him play or sleep. I'll always remember those lovely, free months when I wear this shawl.

As I said, I finished the first half on my maternity leave and then put it down when I went back to work. At that time, I switched to more basic knitting that I could pick up and work on without a lot of thought not knowing if I would have 10 minutes or two hours of free time.

But I picked it up again this past spring when I had longer blocks of time again. H didn't need to nurse every two hours anymore. He took longer daytime naps. A few times G took him to the grocery store and let me have an hour or so alone at home. I think I even brought it to knit night once, but it's not great social knitting.

A note about the shawl's name. It is officially the Morning Glory Wrap by Anne Hanson.

But I started calling it the From Boston to St. John (USVI) Morning Glory Wrap after a song on the "baby soothe" playlist on my podcast. Before H was born, G spent a lot of time making playlists for various situations. The baby soothe one has 100 or so songs and we put it on in the evenings while we all hung out in our bedroom. I listened to it many times while nursing H and one song stuck out to me. Boston and St. John's by Great Big Sea is a such a lovely, soft song. But one lyric in particular always confused me.

"There isn't that much ocean between Boston and St. John's."

Huh? I thought. There's the entire Atlantic coast and then the Caribbean between Boston and St John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. That seemed like a lot of ocean to me. So one night I mentioned this to G and he said, "um, it's the one in Canada?" Of course, the St. John in New Brunswick!

So back to the shawl. It is done in two colors of Briar Rose Fibers Wistful (gorgeous alpaca, merino and silk yarn) that I bought at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool festival in Sept. 2007. I bought both the yarn and pattern after I saw a sample in the Briar Rose booth. But they didn't have two skeins of the yarn in the same colorways (well, no they did, but in a mauve/magenta color that I wasn't me). So I picked out two skeins in blues, greens with a bit of tan. Only one was more navy and other more turqoise. The owner suggested I use one for the netting border and the other for the main pattern. So this is what I did. And while I worked on the shawl in the evenings in my room and listened to this song and thought of the colors of the ocean near Boston and near St. John, USVI, and thought the colors in this shawl captured those two waters nicely. And thus the name came into being (along with this long story).

I love this shawl! It is probably the most complicated thing that I've knit so far. And I love the memories that are knit up into it. I can't wait to wear it this fall when the temperature cools. In the meantime, I still have to block it!

New Socks

I finished a pair of vanilla socks. The yarn is Kona superwash sock dyed by blogger KnitPastis. She had a blog contest a few years ago and I won! I long ago used up all the other goodies she sent. I actually started a pair of Child's First Socks with this yarn back in 2007. But I very soon after got pregnant and stopped knitting because it made me nauseous. Fast forward to 2009. These days I need lots of plain projects with easy knitting that I can pick up on the go and don't need to waste precious knitting time figuring out where I left off. So the plain socks are my project these days. Well, that is when I only have a few minutes here and there to knit. When I know that I have an hour or more, I'll pick up a more complicated project like the Morning Glory Wrap (which will get its own post later).

I love this yarn! KnitPastis did a beautiful job dyeing it. The base is luscious. So happy to have another pair of hand-knit socks to wear this fall!

Secret Pal Goodies

Last week, I got my first package from my Secret Pal. Yeah for yarn goodies!



There were two skeins of Knit Picks Gloss, which is 70% merino and 30% silk. And it feels so lovely and soft. I love the chocolate brown color, too.

Speaking of chocolate, there was also a candy bar that I am savoring. I had a few bites this weekend and a few more right now!

Also, to go with the socks, a pretty pattern called Country Girl Socks.

Finally, a cute keychain with crocheted sweater rounded out the package.

Thank you, Pal!

I have my first box ready to go out to my pal today. I guess I should take pictures of that, too.

Random Things

For those of you on Facebook, you may recall that the 25 random things note was going around a few months ago. I need to post more to my blog--and I have things to photograph!--but haven't gotten to them yet. I think I'll have time this weekend though.

Anyway, I did this random things list several months ago on Facebook, and just realized, duh!, I could share here too. I wrote this in February, so I've add parentheses in a few spots to bring it up to date.

Here's a bunch of random things, some about me, some not.

1. I went to Catholic school from grade 1-3 and 5-8. For some reason grade 4 was public and it was in a building right next to the Catholic school. We all went over to the Catholic school once a week (Dyersville friends: is that right? More often?) for religion class.

2. This was in Dyersville, Iowa, home to the movie Field of Dreams. It was filmed after my family had moved away.

3. I don’t like the expressions “babywearing” or “wear your baby.” But I do love the concept. I carried H around in a sling, moby wrap and imitation baby bjorn thing a lot when he was smaller (and weighed less!). He loved it. But talking about wearing a baby just … creeps me out.

4. I like pickles a lot. G doesn’t.

5. I used to eat sand when I was a baby. On our recent trip [in Jan. not really so recent anymore] H ate sand. I think it’s genetic.

6. I’ve taken lots of dance classes as an adult, including ballroom, ballet, flamenco and belly.

7. I don’t use the terminal comma in lists.

8. Speaking of grammar, I hate how the overuse of “myself” has become so common in the last five years or so. As in, “Gary invited Jane and myself to the party.” It should be “Jane and me.” You wouldn’t say “Gary invited myself to the party,” right?

9. I wear my hair in pigtails a lot.

10. Somehow the hospital where I gave birth had my age wrong. Some paperwork said I was 31, when I was actually 32. But I was so out of it that I thought maybe they’re right and I’m wrong! After all, they probably plugged my birth date into some software program that spit out my age. How could it be wrong? I had to do the math to double check. I was bummed to discover that, yes, I was actually 32 [now 33].

11. I don’t know what I want for my birthday yet. That’s OK though cause it’s not til the end of May. [I figured it out eventually. I asked for, and got, a craft area set up in the basement. Now I have my sewing machine set up, a table for cutting fabric, all my yarn and fabric neatly (well...) stored. It was the best gift!]

12. There is a mattress in my office.

13. There’s also a pot of calla lilies (G’s V-day gift to me) and a baby activity center that a bunch of my coworkers pitched in to buy. H loves it! (Thanks, guys!) [The calla lilies are no longer in my office--but they did last from Valentine's Day until May! The activity center is in the basement now too as H long outgrew it.]

14. I once hiked to the top of a mountain that Cezanne painted.

15. I am tired of winter fruit. I want nectarines, cherries, berries and watermelon. [I am thoroughly enjoying my summer fruits! And I never tire of them.]

16. I am terrible about remembering people’s birthdays.

17. In the latest episode of Top Chef, Fabio wore a pink pashmina scarf. I thought that was cool. [this one is outdated too. This was during the last season of Top Chef. Am really enjoying Top Chef Masters right now.]

18. I don’t think that G would wear a pink, pashmina scarf. But he does wear the blue, merino/cashmere/alpaca blend scarf that I made for him.

19. I would like to be a judge at a pie-making contest.

20. We call H “burrito” a lot. It’s not because he tastes like a burrito (although he did sort of LOOK like a burrito when we used to swaddle him). And it’s not just because he’s great and burritos are great. It’s because we call him Henrito and that sorta rhymes with burrito. So we just started calling him Henrito Burrito and then just Burrito.

21. G really likes to watch funny cat videos. Thus, when we first started dating we watched a lot of America’s Funniest Videos. A friend couldn’t believe that: I don’t think she would have dated a guy who watched AFV. But I say: You can’t go wrong with funny cat videos.

22. I love G’s laugh. Sometimes, I’ll be feeding H upstairs in our bedroom and hear G laughing downstairs in the office (he’s probably watching funny cat videos online). Just hearing him makes me laugh out loud, too, and I tell H he’s got a funny father.

23. I like it that G sometimes calls me by family nickname of Resa.

24. I wore flip flops (granted, they were elegant flip flops) at my wedding and my brothers set up a game of beer pong. The party was in my parents’ backyard. I thought it was beautiful: June in Wisconsin, tons of flowers, white tents, fairy lights, candles, good music, simple but good food. Five cakes (we got five small ones with different flavors instead of one big, fancy wedding cake). I’m not a beer pong player, but I think it’s cool that the guys played.

25. I have 88 unheard podcasts on my itunes. Most of them are knitting podcasts. [oddly enough, this one is still accurate!]

26. Every week, G reads the Savage Love column to me.

27. I call blankets, especially the extra cozy ones like my mom’s quilts, doeys. (sounds like doe eese). It’s a word I made up when I was a kid.

28. I watched Man on Wire last night. It was good. [well, I watched Man on Wire several months ago now. But I still think it was good.]

29. In the town of Westford, Wis., a goat broke into a home and ate a cake. http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/438982

30. This list is too long. But I’m not cutting anything out.

Happy Birthday, Burrito!

Today is my little burrito's first birthday.

We celebrated with G's family on Friday. I made an apple cake with maple frosting. It was so good. I will definitely be baking it again. And I will be doing more baking from scratch in the future.

As you can see he really enjoyed the cake!



Other things he likes: dogs, melon, climbing up the stairs, balls, crawling away from me while he laughs, trashing my office and smiling at his mama and dada.

And here he is in a year of knits.

In his Yoda costume for Halloween:



And more recently "petting" Yoda:


In his winter hat:


In the Duffle Coat Sweater. Picture was taken in December.


No recent pictures of him in knitting. But I leave you with this adorable one. Ah! My baby.

Secret Pal 14 Questions

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely not like? I like soft yarns. I love wools and alpaca, the softer the better. Some yarns I love include: Dream in Color, Malabrigo, Blue Sky Alpacas. I like to try different yarns and dyers. I am not anti acrylic: I'll use it for baby items. But it doesn't get me very excited! I don't like scratchy wools for garments, but think they are great for felting.
   

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a couple of fabric needle holders. And the binder that came with my knitpicks options.
   

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I've been knitting for about 6 years, I think. My mom taught me to knit in my 20s. I can't remember what year exactly. I'm an intermediate knitter, I'd say.
   

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? no
   

5. What’s your favorite scent? I love grapefruit and bergamot.
   

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Yes! I don't think there is a candy I don't like. I love chocolate. I love fruity candy. I love licorice-y candy. Yum, candy.
   

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I sew. For mother's day and my birthday, my husband created a craft corner for me in the basement. Now I have a spot to sew again and I've been making small project bags. I don't spin. But ... there is this braid of roving at my LYS that I loving. So I am wondering how long I will resist. I don't really have time for spinning right now b/c I have a one-year-old. Some day I want to spin, but when he's older. At least that's what I tell myself. :)
   

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like folk, some rock and pop, oldies, opera, salsa, and some hip hop. Some of my favorite groups right now: HEM, Josh Ritter, Damien Rice, Kathleen Edwards, U2, Shakira. I can play MP3s.
   

9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand? I love blue, green, pink, red, brown ... I don't love (or even like) fushia.
   

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? It's me, my husband and our baby boy (he's actually turning 1 this week! How did that happen so fast?) right now. No pets.
    

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Yes to all.
    

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I always a sock or two going. With the kid, I need an easy to pick up and put down project. A plain sock is perfect. But I also love to knit lace so I usually will have something more complicated to work on when I am alone, which doesn't happen a lot lately.
    

13. What are you knitting right now? I have two socks in progress. A plain stockinette one and Outside In from the latest Knitty. I am also working on the Morning Glory Wrap by Anne Hanson. I've been working on that for exactly a year. I started in last year on the Sunday of 4th of July weekend while I waited to go into labor. I hoped that if I started a complicated shawl a few days before my due date, I would go into labor a few days early and I did! I have just a few rows left!
    

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Love to!
    

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I prefer circulars. I love my Knitpicks Options. Haven't tried the Harmonys yet. Bamboo makes my hands hurt. But wood doesn't for some reason. I have a few pairs of Lantern Moon wood circulars and one set of DPNs that I love.
    

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes, both.
    

17. How old is your oldest UFO? Hmmm, not too old really. But I am probably forgetting something. I do have a baby blanket from a few years that I never finished. But if I don't intend to finish it does it count? Probably, yes. OK, so about 3 years old. The next oldest is just a few months old. It's a vest I am knitting for baby H. It's almost done but he won't need it until Fall, so I stopped, just temporarily of course!
    

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe? I love Thanksgiving because my whole family gets together then. We celebrate Christmas in the winter.
    

19. Is there anything that you collect? Just yarn and fabric. Well, I guess I also collect funky (ie big, bold or unusual) necklaces.
    

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I have a lot of knitting books. Many that I have never even used. Three that I don't have but need for my queu are: More Big Girl Knits, Knit 2 Together and Simple Style. I'd also like to own the Harmony Guide:Knit and Purl. And I'd like to try the Knit Picks Harmony wood needles, especially the DPNs. I subscribe to Interweave Knits.
    

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn? I'd like to learn to knit socks toe up. But I love my DPNs.
    

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yes, I love to knit socks. My feet are 10.5 inches long. 8.5 inches around at the foot. And 10.5 inches around at the ankle.
    

23. When is your birthday? May 28.
    

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what’s your ID? I am knitsinpublic.
    

Something to show!

So I downloaded a new iphone app that lets me upload photos I take on my phone to flickr. And now I have something to show! (I wish there was a Blogger app that would let me take photos and upload them via the phone directly to Blogger. But hey, at least I'll finally get some photos on to Flickr now. For some reason taking the pics with my camera, downloading them to the computer, uploading them to flickr and then pasting into Blogger is a huge pain. Too many steps. I need fewer steps.)

So anyway, here's a pair of super plain basic socks I made. The yarn is Storm Moon Knits Twilight Sock in Purple Rain. Love this yarn! Love the colors and the stripes and the yarn base. I knit on US size 2, unusual for me who can easily knit socks on size 0s (not that I knit them easily on size 0s, bu that I knit loose and size 0s are usually my best bet). So size 2s were awesome!



Bought the yarn at Spinster Yarns & Fibers in Baltimore, Maryland. She had some Storm Moon Knits left the last time I was there, but maybe only in worsted weight. The dyer is no longer dying so this is hard to come by yarn.

And here is a progress shot of my Morning Glory Wrap by Anne Hanson. I started this the day before I went into labor last July. I was hoping that starting a new shawl would inspire the baby to be born that day. I wasn't far off! This is knit in two halves and then grafted in the center. This is the second half. Almost done! I knit the first half during my maternity leave while baby H napped and played on his activity nap. I had to put it aside for several months b/c I didn't have the energy or awaked-ness for the pattern. It's not really hard. But you do have to pay attention on both sides. And there are some nasty purl three togethers through the back loop. Ugh.



So there has been much tinking and ripping, but since I decided to only knit on it when I had time alone, it's gone much better.

Eh, cell phone pictures are kind of crap aren't they? Still better than no photos.

Secret Pal 14

I signed up for my first Secret Pal swap. Now I need to start blogging again! I've been wanting to do a swap for a while and decided to take the plunge.

Anyone else in?

I've been knitting a lot. But it's somehow too much to get pictures taken, off the camera, uploaded to Flickr and then posted here.

Since Jan., I've completed a hat, some socks and a shawl.

On the needles: a shawl I started the day before I went into labor last July. It's knit in two halves and then grafted at the center. I knit the first half while on maternity leave and picked up the second half this spring. Almost done, but I might run out of yarn.

Just started the Outside In pattern from the summer Knitty. I am using Lime and Violet Intentions yarn in "balance." So soft, so pretty.

I've got a vest for H in the works, but not do motivated to finish b/c he won't wear it until Fall. And I've got some basic socks in the works too.

It's all very pretty! I hope to get some pics soon. I've actually been posting pics to Facebook more than here b/c it's super easy to take a pic with my iPhone and upload to Facebook (granted the photos aren't the best quality, but it's better than nothing). If you want to connect with me a Facebook, add me as a friend! If you're not sure how to find me, search Theresa + Baltimore and I'll pop up. I don't want to list my last name on this blog.

Quickie

I've been busy. Neglecting the blog. Am spending all my time on Facebook, Ravelry,
Twitter, and Plurk (tawitham for those two if you want to chat there. though on Twitter I pretty much just lurk b/c I am following and followed by some work people and I don't want to piss off knitters with work stuff and work people with knitting stuff. Should probably do a separate account.).

Here's some stuff I knit last fall.



Whoops. I actually knit that hat last spring/summer before Henry was born. But here he is finally modeling it. Now it's almost too small. It's Reversible hat by Debbie Bliss in the book

Essential Baby. The yarn is two skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Cotton. I have some leftovers of both colors, enough to make some stripey baby/kid socks someday. Yarn purchased at Spinster Yarns & Fibers in Baltimore, Maryland.

This is a simple cowl I made in November. I knit three other cowls for Christmas gifts. Pics taken, but not loaded onto Flickr yet. Wish I could zap them directly from camera to Flickr, but my tiny camera does not have such awesome capabilities. This is a very basic cowl modeled after

knit COWL by Sophia Sallas-Brookwel, which is a free Ravelry download. I fell in love with this yarn-- Farmhouse Yarns Lumpy Bumpy Yarn-- at Spinsters and several skeins came home with me (and were eventually knit up into Christmas cowls). I have more. Might make some mittens with the leftovers. I love, love, love this yarn.

Finally, my Roza's Socks by Grumperina in the Spring 07 IK. Yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy in Chinatown Apple purchased at Lovelyarns in Baltimore. Great yarn, great pattern. Love!

Shetland Triangle

I wanted to get a photo of me wearing this before I blogged about it. But it's been done since August and that hasn't happened yet. I've worn it. But never remember to get out the camera.





I finished this Shetland Triangle (pattern in Wrap Style) July 5, just before Henry was born. I blocked it in August with my new Knit Picks lace blockers (awesome!). I love this shawl. It is so pretty. The yarn is Handmaiden Sea Silk, one jumbo skein that Larissa bought for my b-day in 2007. Normally the skeins are about 400 meters (437 yards) but mine was 600 meters (about 650 yards). There was some mixup somewhere and Handmaiden ended up with bigger skeins for a limited time. Lucky for me b/c this allowed me to do 13 repeats of the pattern to make it a nice sized shawl.

This was meant to be a nursing shawl. But the first time Henry spit up, I realized that sea silk plus baby is a bad idea.

Baby Yoda

I meant to post this before Halloween ... but Henry got sick and we were traveling to Wisconsin for a wedding.

So this is late.

I saw the patterns for a baby Yoda hat and sweater on Ravelry last spring and had to knit it for Henry's first Halloween. It was a surprise for G who loves Star Wars. He's not quite so dorky that he dresses up in costume to attend the movie premiers (nothing wrong with that. But have you seen the Triumph the Insult Comic Dog bit where he goes to a Star Wars premier? Funny, funny stuff). But he's is dorky enough that on our first date, which was six months before the final Star Wars movie came out, he spent a good amount of time outline his predictions for the movie.

So where was I? Saw the patterns, went to Cloverhill in June (last yarn store visit before H was born) and picked up some Plymouth Galway for the hat and Mission Falls superwash wool for the sweater. I knit them in Aug. and Sept. during my break.

This one we call "Yoda Strong With Force."



Here's "Yoda Smiling."



And finally, "Yoda, Adorable"



As you can see the hat is floppy. And it felted both a bit too big (around) and too small (too short). I didn't soak the ears in a glue/water mixture that the pattern suggests to stiffen them. No time. But I probably would next time.

The sweater is great. I didn't get to the icord ties. Probably won't since he'll outgrow this in about two minutes. But it's been serving as a nice fall jacket/sweater for him.

I did other knitting and blocking on my leave! I'll show that ... sometime.

He's Here!

Henry Michael was born July 8 at 9:59 p.m. He weighed 7 pounds 10.5 ounces and was (and is still) 21.5 inches long.

My water broke Monday night at 11 p.m. But I wasn't having contractions. We called the doctor who said to take our time coming in, so we ordered pizza (carbs! yeah!), packed up all the last minute items and took a nap.

Still no contractions when we got to the hospital at 5 a.m. The midwife and residents immediately mentioned starting me on pitocin to get things going. But I really wanted to go naturally, so I asked to be allowed to walk for a bit first. My awesome doctor said that was fine.

Our doula Dawn arrived and we walked the hall for about two hours. Still no effective contractions and my doctor said it was time to start the pitocin. So my hope of going all natural died then. But, I did want to get things going. I was afraid that if we waited too much longer, I'd end up with a c-section.

The thing with pitocin is you have to be hooked up the fetal monitor at all times. So, I couldn't use the bathtub or shower to relieve contractions, which are also supposed to be more intense on pitocin. I can't compare to non-pitocin contractions, but I'll just say that they were strong enough! And I didn't end up feeling the really big ones. In the beginning, I was able to get off the bed and use a birth ball and rocking chair. The chair was great. I was totally in the zone for a while. Until Henry started going in and out on the monitor. Then they wanted to have me stay on the bed to be in the best position for the monitor. This was late afternoon, I think.

The bed was a bad place for me to labor. The contractions were so much more intense there than on the chair. I just couldn't do it. This sweet young doctor, maybe another resident?, with the best curly hair stopped in and asked how my epidural was. I told her her I didn't have one but asked if I wanted one, would I have to wait long? She looked at me and said I could have it whenever and that I shouldn't feel like a failure or less of a woman for needing it. I wish I could remember her name ... I think it was Dr. Silversteen ... I want to write her a thank you. That little pep talk really helped. I told G that I couldn't do it and he was so supportive, telling me that whatever I needed was fine. And my doula also told me I was making the right decision since my labor was lasting so long.

I knew I made the right decision as soon as the drugs hit me! I zoned out for the rest of the evening. So when the nurses started setting up the room w/ the baby table and the tools, I thought they are being overly optimistic. But the amazing night nurse Rachelle came in a little after 9 and told me I was ready, I didn't believe her. My doctor didn't believe her either, but she examined me and pronounced that I was indeed ready. From there everything went so fast. They got me in position. G and Dawn grabbed my legs and they told me to push. Luckily I didn't have a problem pushing (sometimes the epidural can make it difficult). The baby didn't mind waiting around all day, but in the end he practically flew out! Only about 20 minutes of pushing.

Sigh. And then he was there on my chest and I just kept saying "baby, baby, baby" and kissing him.

It was a good day.

Other things I want to remember about that day: Much earlier G heard the cries of a baby being born and got all choked up. After his car accident six years ago, he didn't think he'd have a normal life and there he was sitting in the hospital waiting for his son to be born. Whenever I think about him saying that and how happy he was looking down at our child, I just bawl.

Ok, that's a start. I'll probably keep thinking of things to add, but I wanted to get this written down before it becomes too fuzzy in my mind.

Now, I've got to get back to that adorable baby, who's been rocking with his dad for the past hour.

Wrapping Up

I have been busy, busy at work, trying to get everything in order before I go on maternity leave. And I've been busy at home getting everything set up. The room is done. The house is reasonably clean. We prepared four casseroles on Sunday night! This morning I woke up early feeling the urge to fold all the laundry and clean up the kitchen, so I did that and still had time to knit before starting to work.

And this week, I've felt the urge to get my knits in order too.

But before I go into that, I need to give a big THANK YOU to dear Sarah for this adorable baby quilt. I saw it on her blog a while back and was so surprised when it ended up on my door! Thank you, Sarah. Everyone who has seen it loves it and thinks baby H will be so cozy under the soft fabrics.



His room is ready. G put together a ton of furniture! We have a rocking chair due today so he'll have one more project this weekend. We made up lists and went shopping and now have all the little baby essentials (I hope! If not drugstore.com is our friend).

I've started packing my bag for the hospital. I've got the essentials like clothes, and also a few extras: Hostess fruit pies for post delivery (I have gestational diabetes so sugary snacks are out for the time being. But post delivery I think I'll be allowed!); some magazines, an iPod full or good songs, some podcasts, maybe an audio book or two; essential oils for calming; and yarn! I decided to pack a ball of fluffy pink eyelash yarn that I got at a stash a year or two ago. It's been destined for my four-year-old niece. She will love it. And it will be a super easy thing to knit--if I feel inclined to knit that is.

I also have a bunch of pictures from my honeymoon and my garden to use as my focal points when the contractions get really bad. When I first read about using focal points during labor, I immediately thought about the incredible blue water at Cape Cod and the gorgeous gardens we saw there. Plus when I was going through all the pictures, I came across one of the blue malabrigo I bought on my honeymoon. I had to have it b/c the blue was the same color as the water. So that picture is coming along too. We'll see if it helps!



Oh and the WIP organization (I need to have this written down so that I can reference in a few months when I look at my projects and go "huh?" where was I at again?):

One pair of DK weight socks: almost to heel of second one.

One pair of Roza's Socks: Almost ready to start heel on first sock. But first I need to go back and remove extra yarn over on last needle. Then I need to do the heel based on my 72 stitches, not the 60 stitches in the pattern.

One Shetland Lace Shawl: almost finished 12 repeat of body (that's more than the 8 called for in the pattern). I may have enough yarn to do one more repeat before the edge. We'll see. (I frogged this last Thursday and started knitting it again on Friday. I needed a bit of time to accept my mistake and let it go. Now it's flying again and I have almost forgotten that it's the second attempt.)

One baby duffel coat: finished knitting. Just need to seem up.

That's it! Oh, well and a few projects that need blocking (and thanks to you two dears who offered to help with my Hemlock Ring blocking issues!)

So, I am feeling pretty ready. I would like to finish the lace shawl if I can. I've been knitting that and the DK basic sock currently. I did take a break to whip up a garterlac dishcloth!

But I alternate between the shawl and the sock. The sock is my doctor appointment project and I also work on it a bit every day while I sit on my birth ball. I can't knit the lace on the ball. But I have been doing about one chart repeat a night, so there is a good chance that I'll get it done. Especially with a long weekend ahead.

I am ready. Though one more three-day weekend just me and G with no chores, no furniture to put together, just three days to relax and be together as we get ready for the next stage of our lives would be wonderful. So listen here, little H, Sunday night works for me. What about you?

Oh, and here's a few pics from my garden. It hasn't been my top priority, but G has been taking care of everything!

Setbacks

In the past week, I've had a couple of knitting setbacks. Well, the first isn't a setback so much as a delay. A long delay.

I tried to block my Hemlock Ring blanket. I soaked it in the machine. Then I took it upstairs to pin out on my blocking surface: a spare queen-sized mattress on the floor in what will become the baby's room.

First problem: I ran out of needles about halfway through. Bigger problem: I ran out of stamina for bending over on the floor about halfway through. The belly is just too big for me to be kneeling or bending for that long. So I here's a photo of the blocked side. I think I'll have to re-block this after the baby is born ... if I can find time. Another idea: someone on Ravelry blocked her Hemlock Ring by having it steamed at the dry cleaner. That sounds tempting, but also a little scary.



What is the best way to block a circle? I started in the middle and worked by way around and out. But that was so fiddly that I then started at the edges and worked my way around. I don't think that would have worked all that great either though if I had actually gone all the way around. Oh well. This thing probably won't be properly blocked until the fall I guess.

Second and sadder setback: I was happily working along on my Shetland Triangle shawl. I was being super careful. I had a lifeline. I counted the stitches in every even row to make sure I hadn't missed a yarn over or something in the previous pattern row. I had memorized the pattern repeat. I had just finished the fifth chart repeat when I just glanced again at the chart. And somehow saw for the first time that it isn't supposed to be knit in garter stitch. There's a two-stitch garter border but that's why it's a border b/c there rest is stockinette. I don't how I missed this. It seems so obvious, but I was just so happily knitting along and paying attention to the yarn overs and increases and decreases that I really didn't look at the regular stitches.



I am so bummed. I still haven't ripped it out. I've been knitting on the Duffel Coat baby sweater while I stew about this obvious and stupid mistake. Err. It was going pretty fast so I know I can start over. But I hate all that wasted knitting time. I really wanted to have this done before the baby's born. And I should still be able to do it with five weeks to go. But still, errr.

Not Shopping

So today is my birthday. And instead of buying myself a present, I've decided that my special b-day treat will be to go down to my yarn stash and pick out something new to cast on.

I mean, I want to buy myself a present. The new knitpicks catalog came today and I am in love with the lace samplers on the back cover. I want the sunset one to do a gradient shawl! But, I am inspired by Laurie Perry's (aka Crazy Aunt Purl) recent posts about consumerism and not buying unnecessary stuff. I don't think I can be as extreme as she is going to be. We do after all need to buy stuff for the baby. He doesn't need a lot, but he does need some frivolous items, like toys. But b/c we have to buy stuff for him, they'll be less for other random spending. Like yarn.

Besides, I have been very good this year about not buying impulse yarn and I'd like to keep that up! (you have no idea how hard it was to resist the Webs sale. So glad it's over!) Yes, I did just buy a bunch of baby yarn. But that was to make specific items and I have already cast on and/or finished two of them. And I bought a skein of Cascade Eco Plus. But again, that was to make the Hemlock Ring blanket, which is done (though still not blocked).

I think that is all the yarn I have bought in 2008, maybe even since Stitches East last Oct. (My memory of Nov-Jan. is a bit fuzzy though. It seems like all I did was sit on the couch and try not to puke. I wasn't knitting then, so I can't imagine that I bought yarn ....)

Anyway, the point is, I have not purchased impulse yarn for a long time. And the knitpicks lace sampler would definitely be impulse yarn. It would arrive, I would pet it, but then it would go straight into a plastic storage bin and stay there until who knows when. I have lots of pretty lace in my bins. I can go take a dive and pick something yummy out to cast on tonight! Or maybe I want to start a sweater? I haven't officially joined any "knit from your stash" alongs or anything, but this year, I have been really trying to look at what I have, what I want to make and see how the two can intersect.

More on not spending: I am trying to convince myself that I can last with just one pair of maternity shorts that I found on clearance at Target for $4.24. I also have two maternity skirts and two pairs of gauchos/capri yoga pants. That is five summer bottoms. And do I need maternity tank tops? I have managed to get by w/o a lot of maternity clothes b/c I work at home and just wore my sweats up until now. Those sweats are starting to get a) too hot and b) too small. Plus there is this long dress at Target that looks so lovely and cool. There is just something nice about putting on a long dress in the summer. Hmmmm.

Oh god, I just remembered that I need to buy a breast pump. Since H will have to go to day care full time (sad), I'll need to get an expensive electronic one. Maybe no Target dress.

So today is my birthday and I don't need to buy myself a present. I got a lovely necklace from my in-laws. And some cute cards. And I know my husband is giving me two watches (but I haven't seen them yet!). My boss gave me a gift card to a local garden store (she searched on line for something local to me and discovered a great shop called Poor Boys.) I already spent the gift card, but I think I'm going back this weekend to get a hydrangea. I know! More spending! But the front of our house needs some curb appeal and I know I can't do it all at once, but one hydrangea and some mulch will go a long way and next year we can add something else.

Ok, so no yarn presents, but maybe some maternity shorts, a dress and a hydrangea. And! I get to go play in my stash and pick out a new project. I am off to do that now before G comes home to cook me his delicious cilantro laced burgers on the grill.

Start of a Layette

It's been a gorgeous weekend here in Baltimore and I got lots done! But was still able to relax and feel like I was having a mini vacation, or staycation since we stayed home.

We worked in the garden. I love working in the garden, but sometimes I get so impatient and want to do everything RIGHT NOW! But a garden evolves over years ... especially this year as my belly gets in the way a bit. But even though I want to tackle the hill in the front yard and so something cool like a rock garden or wildflowers, or a rock garden AND wildflowers, I just have to be patient and know that we'll get to it, eventually.

What I did do was plant flowers, and one small cherry tomato plant, in pots. And weeded. Just doing that already makes the yard look so much prettier.

G's been busy too. He put together a changing table, dresser and crib. And he's been painting banisters and painting some super secret project that I am not supposed to know about, but I know involves making a frame for one or our posters.

Plus we managed to chill on our porch each night and had a fire in our fire pit last night.

And I've been knitting. I've got the start of a layette going.





Here's a blanket I made a while back. The yellow is by Lucci. It's an eyelash yarn, but the fibers aren't as long as something like fun fur. It's more matted. And it is the softest yarn ever. I bought this three years ago at the Yarn Garden in Annapolis. Before I was even engaged. Long before baby H was even an idea. I touched the yarn and had to have it.

The blue is Berroco Plush Colors, another sort of matted nylon yarn. It isn't as plush as the Lucci, but I didn't have enough of that for a big blanket. So I thought I'd do stripes. I bought this about two years ago at Woolstock in Glydon. By that time I was engaged. So baby H was maybe a distant idea, but I think I just wanted to have enough yarn to make a baby blanket at some point for some baby. Not necessarily my own.

It's knit on the diagonal in garter stitch. Super easy. I weaved all the ends in at one of the Baltimore Knitting Meetup's Tue. night knits a few weeks ago.

The second item is a hat that I just love.



It's the reversible hat from Essential Baby by Debbie Bliss.



The yarn is Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Cotton that I bought at Spinster Yarns & Fibers Shop. (Aside: love this shop! It opened a few months ago in Baltimore and is very close to my house. It's my most local LYS. I can't wait to go again.)

So the yarn was totally a different gauge from the Debbie Bliss yarn the pattern calls for. I adjusted the numbers to make it about the right size for a 6-9 month baby. We'll see. Hopefully it will fit him sometime in the winter b/c it is a warm hat. Even with the cotton, it's thick b/c it's basically two hats. The pattern was a bit lame as it had you knitting the hats flat, sewing them up then sewing together. So I knit the first hat flat. But then I picked up stitches for the second, inner, hat and knit it it in the round. Much happier with that. I just love the colors!

And third, is a WIP shot of the sweater I started for H. It's just a sleeve so far.



It's the Duffle Coat from Essential Baby. The yarn is Berroco Comfort DK that I bought at Lovelyarns in Hampden. (One Saturday in April, I went on a mini yarn crawl to find baby yarns. I hit up Lovelyarns and then Spinsters Yarns.)

The Comfort is a very nice acrylic. Very soft. And machine wash and dry. Very important! I like it. Not sure if I could knit an adult sweater with it though. It is still a bit "squeaky." We'll see how I feel when I finish this sweater.

And lest you think I've only been knitting baby stuff, here's the Hemlock Ring Blanket that I knit (but haven't blocked).



I started this on April 12 and cast off on May 16. But I have not yet blocked it. Maybe this week or next weekend. The wool is Cascade Eco Plus (which is the Ecological wool that's been dyed). I had about a skein left over from a sweater so I used it to start the afghan and bought one more skein from Webs. Fun pattern! I really enjoyed this. Up until I cast off and it took two or three nights just to do the cast off row. I am eager to see it blocked out. I am not sure what I am going to do with this project. While I really enjoy working w/ the Eco wool, I think it will be too scratchy for me to snuggle under. Plus, we have so many lap blankets here (my mom quilts) that we don't need another one. So I might give it away maybe for Christmas. Maybe for a friend's wedding in the fall.

I think this is the first time that I just wanted to knit the item for the fun of knitting it, not for the finished object. It was on in my queue for awhile, but when I saw that the Columbia Sip-n-Knit (a meetup.com group) was doing a knit-a-long, I decided to join in. (I can't sing the praises of this group enough! Denise, the organizer of the KAL, had bound copies of the pattern, plus charts and info from the Webs "Ready Set Knit" podcast knit-along. And she gave each of us a set of stitch markers and a lifelong kit, with needle and cotton thread. Wow! Plus the group is made up of lots of lovely knitters! Since I live a 40-minute to an hour drive from Columbia, I don't attend the Wed. night meetups very often. But I've been following along online and on Ravelry.)

So now I am down to just one project (well ... I do have two pairs of socks ... but does that count?). Once I get a bit farther into the sweater I want to start a shawl for myself. I am thinking a nursing shawl for the summer in this Sea Silk would be perfect.



But what pattern? Maybe the Shetland Triangle by Evelyn A. Clark from Wrap Style? Someone on Ravelry knit it with just one skein of Sea Silk. Something rectangular might be good too. I'll have to explore some more. But if anyone has ideas, please share!