New red hat, finished in under 2 hours*. The pattern is the Yarn Harlot's, and it's called "an unoriginal hat". As she states in the pattern, it's like popcorn, and you can't knit just one. This is the third one I've done, and while I have many other projects in the works, I snuck this one in. Two hat misfortunes have come to Dave and I in the last week. One of our favorites (a variation on this one) went into the washer and dryer and came out baby sized. It felted and shrunk, but we're keeping it around just in case it does fit the baby's head. The other one was an original creation, a long Snoopy style cap, with bold green stripes and big ribbing. I'm terribly sad to say that one is currently missing, but I'm holding out hope that it will turn up. This fall I went on a hat jag, and knit up 6 new hats. We have a basket by the door full of knitted winter wear, so we can choose something new each time we walk out the door. Unfortunately, the first unoriginal hat is a favorite of both Dave and I, and with the other 2 favorites currently out of circulation, I thought it best to whip up another of these so we can both have warm heads. Plus it's red, so Dave'll probably leave this one to me.
*for those interested, the yarn was some thrift store acrylic, unmarked. I used a size 13 needle and held the yarn double. it's soft and warm and I like it, acrylic or not.
This week I'm suddenly feeling impatient. With just under 10 weeks until my due date, I feel like I may be pregnant for the rest of my life. I want to meet the kid, want to start the labor, want to have the time off work, want to see the spring peeking up through the snow. I consider myself a person who loves winter, and this winter has not disappointed me at all weather wise. But Dave started mapping out the garden this weekend and he's already placed his order for seeds with Baker Creek. It feels like spring is just around the corner, and we're barely into January. The garden has become such a central part of our home life that even in the dead of winter we can get excited just talking about all of the things that will be growing. This spring promises to be even more fun than usual, both because of the impending arrival of our baby and because of the garden expansions we made last year.
We now have 8 raised beds devoted entirely to vegetables, as well as a pumpkin patch, a raspberry patch, and a small section for herbs next to our walk. Along with those sites Dave will be incorporating vegetables and herbs into the flower beds this year. We added a second rain garden at the end of last summer, and if it's anything like the first one, flowers and native plants will be spilling out of it by June. We have hopes to improve the front and boulevard flower beds with more flowers, and this may be the year we put in an ornamental cherry tree. Most of the tree tree trimming and felling is complete now, and while I'm sure we'll probably cut down 1 or 2 more this year it seems like that phase is finally coming to an end. These plans are modest compared to our normal "to do" list for the summer gardening season. Since we'll have so many visitors wanting to spend time with us and the baby, they'll have to put in some work when they show up. Baby time is exchanged for shoveling and weeding, right? Dave is the master of this garden, and he did nearly all of the work last year. I was newly pregnant and plagued by exhaustion for the first 2 and a half months, and while I can say that I contributed a little bit, he did the lion's share of the work. I hope to be much more helpful this year, even if that means entertaining the kid and the pets so he can get serious work done.
The hooded baby blanket is nearly complete and I'm really happy with it. The main blanket is done with just a few more rows on the hood until I sew them together. The construction was simple, but the seed stitch took me forever. It always surprises me that seed stitch seems to take so long, but during the middle of this blanket I realized that it's the equivalent of 1x1 ribbing, so I felt a little better about the creeping progress.
I'm happy that I finally chose a baby project - making knitted items for others is great because I usually spend most of that knitting time thinking about the person who will receive it. In this case, it was fun to spend that time totally focused on the baby, and it was especially neat when the baby would kick and spin while I was working on the knitting. It made me feel even more connected to the little one.
In the meantime, though, my project list has grown. Next up is the Huge Triangle Shawl from Greetings From Knit Cafe. I got the book out of the library a few months ago and copied the pattern out. I can't find a photo of it online, so you'll have to wait. Our aunt was recently diagnosed with cancer, and while we haven't heard details or prognosis yet, Dave requested I make something for her. I've never done a shawl before, and I considered doing something lacy and fun. I want to whip this out quickly, though, so the one from GFKC will be perfect. It's entirely stockinette with simple construction, and it's done in a super soft alpaca yarn. It'll be the perfect thing to wrap around her shoulders in the coming months.
I must get those flip top mitts off to our friend before the weather starts to turn warm, and I really need to knit up another quick cabled hat for Dave and I. I did one on Thanksgiving between rolling of dough and pie construction. I think it took me about 3 hours total, and we fight over it each time we go out. I'm going to make the next one in a bright color, so Dave won't be tempted to take it. He prefers muted greys and greens, so I'm thinking a bold red will deter him. I want to do at least 2 stuffed animals for the baby, as well as one for Dave's coworker who is also about to become a father. I'd like to do one more blanket for the baby before the birth, but I'm not sure I've got time. Fortunately, I've been enjoying more and more time on the couch these days, and with the cold weather outside I have no incentive to do anything except hook up a movie, make a cup of tea, and sit down to knit.
Irene has begun to go a little grey around the edges. Nothing serious, just her white parts spreading into her black parts a little bit. I like to joke that in two years, the baby will have given her grey eyebrows like this ol' pup. Personally I think that would be adorable.
Happy new year! Things are falling into place, baby-wise. Dave and I unpacked the boxes of clothes that have been given to us by friends, we ordered for the furniture, we chose the car seat, and we picked up a stroller at a thrift store last weekend. We organized the closet and are feeling good about how much baby gear we've acquired. I think we've decided to forgo the baby shower, at least the traditional gift-giving type of shower. We may still have a big party in early February, just to celebrate the impending arrival. Thanks to our generous friends, we've got clothes, diapers and covers, a swing, a Baby Bjorn, and a boppy pillow. What else could we possibly need? The only thing left on my list is a sling, and I've got one picked out from Peapods. I've just got to make some time to go over there and pick it up.
It felt good to get organized and have the baby's room a little closer to completion. Once we get the furniture (hopefully this week) we'll see how much room is left for things like chairs and tables and lamps. We have a rocking chair and I'm hoping for an end table and lamp, and maybe a bookshelf. We chose the smallest room in the house for the nursery, both because we weren't really using the room and because it's the closest to our bedroom. Hopefully we can get everything in it without feeling squeezed.
My project list has grown, and while I'm still working on the Debbie Bliss hooded blanket, I've taken some time off to do other projects in between. I've finished some flip top mittens for myself, and have begun work on my first quilt. My mother in law kindly gave me some festive Christmas fabric, and I've got the quilt top all complete and began the quilting yesterday. I hope to finish it up this week and put the binding on by Friday. I can't wait to show this one off. While it is certainly not perfect, it is by far the best sewing project I've ever done. I've got a lob cabin pattern waiting in my head, and when I finish this one up, I'm hitting the fabric store. I'm thinking I'd like to do something in baby blue and brown for our bed, but I'm having trouble with the math - figuring out how much fabric I'll need. Maybe I can find a quilt pattern calculator somewhere online.
I like the idea of a lob cabin quilt because the piecing is easy and you essentially only have to do one block over and over. Once you're finished the blocks, though, you've got tons of options on putting them together. The work is simple but it looks fancy when it's complete. I'm excited to get started on it.
I've got a few more things planned for my knitting as well. There are two sweaters sitting in my basket which just need to be sewn up, and I'd like to do another quick blanket for the baby before it's born. I should also get to work on a stuffed animal, I like making bears and elephants and they go pretty quickly. There's such a variety of stuffed toy patterns available that I could do a whole family of them.
With just under 11 weeks left of this pregnancy I feel like time is flying by. So far the third trimester has been going well. I'm certainly feeling more tired than I was just a few weeks ago, but I'm also feeling the baby move all the time, so it's nice to take that time to lay down and feel the kicking and punching. According to babycenter.com, it is now 2 and a half pounds, or the weight of a butternut squash. We'll start seeing our midwives more often than our friends in the coming weeks, and I think between our homebirth and clinic midwives, we will have a visit every other week. The clinic visits are short, with a blood pressure and weight check, and a short chat with the CNM. We hear the baby's heartbeat, she measures the height of my uterus, and go on our merry way. The homebirth visits are way more fun. They do the blood pressure and weight check as well as checking for protein in my pee. Then we sit and chat about feelings and all that ooey-gooey stuff. They do a belly massage, helping to relax the involuntary muscles and ligaments around my uterus, and then the rebozo technique that I've talked about before. They listen to the baby's heartbeat, and check the height of my uterus. We talk about the birth and other things that are on our mind. The visits usually last about an hour and a half, sometimes longer if we have more to talk about. They're totally directed by Dave and I, and we've never felt rushed or hurried. It's been so fun to get to know these two ladies, and I'm excited to see them more often over the next few months. I feel like I'm getting really comfortable with them, which to me is an extremely important part of the birth. The more comfortable I am with them, the easier the birth will be, and I'm looking forward to starting the preparations for that as well.
I'm still doing yoga and attending class every week. I only got to the gym once last week to swim laps, but I'm hoping this week I'll go at least twice. Time is slipping past, but we're keeping our days and nights full and having fun too. I know I've been fortuante to have had such an easy pregnancy so far - I hope things continue to be this much fun!
New red hat, finished in under 2 hours*. The pattern is the Yarn Harlot's, and it's called "an unoriginal hat". As she states in the pattern, it's like popcorn, and you can't knit just one. This is the third one I've done, and while I have many other projects in the works, I snuck this one in. Two hat misfortunes have come to Dave and I in the last week. One of our favorites (a variation on this one) went into the washer and dryer and came out baby sized. It felted and shrunk, but we're keeping it around just in case it does fit the baby's head. The other one was an original creation, a long Snoopy style cap, with bold green stripes and big ribbing. I'm terribly sad to say that one is currently missing, but I'm holding out hope that it will turn up. This fall I went on a hat jag, and knit up 6 new hats. We have a basket by the door full of knitted winter wear, so we can choose something new each time we walk out the door. Unfortunately, the first unoriginal hat is a favorite of both Dave and I, and with the other 2 favorites currently out of circulation, I thought it best to whip up another of these so we can both have warm heads. Plus it's red, so Dave'll probably leave this one to me.
