My New WIP: Preventing Malaria

As you know, I try my best to keep this blog fairly light. I rarely tackle anything remotely hard-hitting preferring instead to attempt pithy comments and amusing banter. However, something has come to my attention recently and so, here, in my first post after a long absence I am going to do something serious, something I actually HATE doing. I am going to ask you for money. Not much money, but money nonetheless. Believe me, I know this is a tough time to open your wallet but I hope the you will read on and you will help. I know it's a long post, please indulge me :)

My husband, Todd, and I are trying to raise $500 in the next week to help our parish priest and native Kenyan provide 100 families in rural Kenya with anti-malarial mosquito nets for their children. Right now, when times are tough economically you can still help, even a small donation of just $5 - roughly your daily triple, non-fat, caramel machiatto - can buy a mosquito net that will keep children safe from malaria carrying mosquitoes.

Much has been made throughout the blogosphere of the generosity of the knitting and crafting community. I am hoping many of you choose to donate $5 for a net (and hopefully more), but please donate what you can, any amount puts us closer to giving a family a life saving tool. It’s important to note that 100% of the money we raise will go directly to buying the nets. No overhead, no wasted donations. Just money to save the lives of poor children in rural, western Kenya from malaria.

Why Are We Doing This? A Little Background

Todd and I belong to St. John’s Parish here in Seattle where a year ago Fr. Crispin Okoth, a village priest from Kenya, became our parish pastor. Fr. Crispin has been a wonderful addition to our lives. Listening to him preach and share stories of his life in Africa has been touching and a powerful reminder of how privileged we are to live in the United States. He is a joyful man, an even humbler priest and a selfless humanitarian. The last is not surprising given that Fr. Crispin hails from the rural, poor village of Bar-Kowino in Western Kenya outside the town of Bondo.

Father Crispin at St. John's School

Bar-Kowino has a little more then 4,000 residents, not a single paved road, and only a simple medical clinic in the nearby town of Bondo without a full time doctor. According to Fr. Crispin, the average “house” is a hut where all the kids of the “house” sleep together on the floor on mats.

This is a poor community that can use all the help it can get and where a little help goes a long way.

The Kenyan Goes Home - to help his Mother and Village

Fr. Crispin’s mother is ill and so he tries to go home as much as he can which, given the cost and distance, is only once or twice a year. When he has the chance to go home, Fr. Crispin likes to not only help his mom, but also do what he can do help his village. Fr. Crispin is well aware that very rural areas are often over-looked by the Kenyan government and international charities due to the logistics of getting to remote locations. So he takes it upon himself to cut through the red-tape to bring whatever assistance he can to his village.

One of the things that is near and dear to his heart is the fight against malaria. Priests are often surrogate care-givers in rural, poor areas of the developing world. And, as such, Fr. Crispin has done his fair share of acting as a medical proxy. Unfortunately that has meant holding way too many children in his arms as they suffered and died from malaria. All told, more then 50,000 (!) children die form malaria in Kenya every year. For comparison, there is a global swine flu epidemic that has dominated news cycles and public attention yet has killed less then a 1,000 world wide. How is it that we yet overlook the tragedy of malaria, horribly deadly but easily preventable? No one should die from malaria.

When the subject of malaria came up in a recent homily, Katie & I were both struck by the horror of so many children needlessly dying. One of the most effective ways to prevent malaria is to have children sleep under medically treated mosquito nets. And even better they are cheap solution- only $5 each! It truly only takes $5 to keep mosquitos form infecting and possibly killing a household of children because, as Fr. Crispin told us when we asked, all the children can sleep together under one large net on their sleeping mats. Both of us had heard of large charitable efforts like the one run by the NBA to help provide malarial nets, why did that not have a greater impact? The answer is two-fold. First is simply the scope of the need for the nets, Africa is, after all, an enormous, highly populous continent. The second reason is logistics. It is simply easier to distribute nets in more urban areas. The further from a population center you are, the less likely your are to have a net. Sadly, you are also far more likely to have less access to health care as well, not a good combination.

After several dinner table discussions, Todd and I agreed that we would try to help Fr. Crispin help his community back home by providing him with money to buy nets for his village. We set a (we hope) reasonable goal of raising $500, enough money to purchase 100 nets. And now we need your help. Your donations will have an immediate impact. Fr. Crispin leaves for Kenya on July 26th and will be distributing the nets to the neediest families as soon as he arrives. We need the donations by the 22nd so Fr. Crispin can order the nets in Nairobi for pickup when he arrives. Again, all the money donated will be used to purchase the nets. So please, help us help the children of Bar-kowino.

Remember, $500 = 100 families protected. $5.00 is not very much money and here is a situation where you can truly get a lot of bang for your buck.

And, if the knowledge that you are saving lives is not enough reward for you, I am sweetening the pot. If you donate, I will put your name into the hat for a yarn giveaway. Not a knitter? Don't worry, non-knitters who win will be gifted a handmade item. Here are the details:

1. Head over to the little Chipin widget on the right hand side of my blog.
2. Donate! (THANK YOU!!!!!)
   
3. Email me (dancingsheepnw [at] gmail.com, pm me on Ravelry (dancingsheep) or comment and tell me you donated (I'm not sure how much tracking Chipin let's us do so this will let me know who's donated). When you donate, your name goes in the proverbial hat.
   
4. After the donations close I will hold a drawing and give away the following:

For Knitters, 4 prizes:

• 2 skeins ShibuiKnits Sock in Pagoda plus a notions pouch made by me
  
• 2 skeins Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton in Sand plus a notions pouch made by me
• 3 skeins Malabrigo Worsted in Emerald plus a notions pouch made by me
• 1 skein Malabrigo Lace in Cuarzo plus a One Skein project bag made by me

For Non-Knitters (3 prizes):

• a handknit hat and baked goods (TBD based on the winner's preferences)
  
• a pair of fingerless gloves and baked goods
  
• a cosmetic bag made by me and baked goods
  

I hope you all can help us with this new project.

Thank you for your help and consideration,

Katie & Todd

I Hat Therefore I Am

A quick perusal of my projects page on Ravelry lead me to an interesting conclusion earlier today: I am not a knitter, I am a Hatter. With a capital H.

Of the 32 projects I've finished this year, a full 12 have been hats (that's 37.5% for those of you who are into math). You might think 12 hats is a full complement for a year. It is after all, one hat per month.

But no.

I have EIGHT (!!!!!!!) more on the needles. There is no other single category of knit items that even comes close to the dominance of the hats. Mitts are a distant second with 3 FO's and 4 WIPs. Or, if I combine scarves & cowls for a Neckwear category I have 2 Fo's and 7 WIPs.

Doesn't really matter. In my world of knitting, Hats Rule.

Ergo, I am a Hatter.

Who knew?

Still with me or did I drive you away with such minutia?

At any rate, I guess I like knitting hats. My kids certainly like wearing them:



Nottingham, Size Medium (Child)
Emerald Blue Malabrigo Merino Worsted
Size 6 Addi Turbos and Prym dpns


Toddler Republic Hat
Blue Surf Malabrigo Merino Worsted
Size 6 Addi Turbos and Prym dpns

I did cast on an extra ten stitches for the Republic hat as I was worried about it being to small.

The kiddos like them well enough. Now to put them away until it's hat season again.

So that's all the knitting for now. I also finished a square for a wedding blanket I am contributing to but I let it leave the house without taking a picture, oh well.

I need to work out some kind of balance between the sewing and knitting. As I do more sewing I get antsy about the knitting I'm not doing. Maybe once the shop is a bit more established I'll be better able to strike that balance.

In the meantime I've made bunches of zippered pouches like these:


And today I added a whole new bag style to the shop.


More of these project bags to come as the weekend progresses.

Until next time, enjoy the long weekend and have a fun (and safe) Memorial Day.

Oh, and, Happy Birthday Todd!!! (a day early but he doesn't read this blog anyway... but just in case...)

I'm just a Jamaican Bobsledder

For so many athletes the joy of the Olympics is in the participation. The accomplishment is merely making it to the Games perhaps setting a new personal best if they are lucky.

And so it is for me in the Ravelympics. I will not be completing my event, the Shawl Relay. Let's just say I am emulating the US track & field relay teams and I fumbled the baton hand-off.

Actually, the hand-off is the problem. Instead of attacking my Clementine Shawlette with single-minded focus and determination a la Michael Phelps, I spread myself too thin, taking on another large project at virtually the same time, the vest for Todd.

That's not to say I haven't tried. I've made a good effort, putting in the time and doing the training. I felt good going in but it just didn't happen for me this time. The Clementine will not be done before the closing ceremonies. Here are my results:

The shawl has passed the halfway point. The first half is complete and looks great. I'm just into Chart B for the second half, a few more rows than shown above. I am only working on the Clementine when Todd is around because I need to dedicate every free moment when he isn't present to this:

The Anniversary Vest. I am half a row away from dividing for the front and back (two more inches than pictured). FINALLY! It is going to be really hard to finish it by the 31st but I am going to go out there, stick to my game plan, and give 110%.

Hopefully I'll be back with a finished vest and fewer sports cliches next week. Have a great weekend!

Ravelry Killed My Blogging Star...

And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having lovely summers... I haven't been reading any blogs lately so I'm a bit behind- hopefully everything's groovy.

Groovy? Really? Man, I am out of practice.

Anyway, we're doing well here at Chez Sheep. A quick catch up:

The littles are still cute.

Matt turned one!!!

Gwen now thinks everything is a balance beam (even before the Olympics).

And I am still knitting...

gasp

This is my main Ravelympics project, the Clementine Shawlette from Interweave Knits (that's a Ravelry link, if you aren't signed up, MOM, get over there and do it). The yarn is Malabrigo Silky Merino in Camote and it is just delightful.

I'm not as far along as I'd like to be and I'm starting to think I won't finish before the closing ceremonies because I am also working on this:

The Subtle Stripe Vest by Lara Killian. This is going to be a gift for Todd for our anniversary at the end of the month so it has a definite deadline. (And I really hope that he doesn't read my blog... he says he doesn't so if he lied, well... too bad. No surprise for you.) The yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash which I like more than I thought I would. As much as I would have like to use Malabrigo Worsted for this vest Todd would felt it faster than you can say "Handknit."

That's it for now... I don't want to over do it- I might pull something as I work my way back into blogging shape.

Still more crazy weather!

We went out to brunch this morning and as we sat there big fat flakes started pouring from the sky... Insane. Did Mother Nature lose her calendar?

The kids were sick all week:noses running like faucets, huge hacking coughs, ear infections, and yes, throwing up. Good times. I'm a little worn out from all the associated tasks and the increased crankiness so I'll apologize for my incoherent post ahead of time.

Since the little ones were sick, I was stuck in the house most of the week so I am suffering from cabin fever and I am really looking forward to getting out to see the Yarn Harlot tomorrow night at Third Place Books. I haven't picked up her new book yet but I plan on getting it tomorrow as well. I'm excited to reading the book since her books always make me laugh out loud. Unfortunately, I realized tonight that I do not have any socks on the needles... Going to see the Harlot without a sock to work on. Yikes. Possible heresy. I may have to rectify the situation before tomorrow night. Hmmmm.... what to do? What to do?

When last we talked knitting I was stalled on the cardigan I was knitting for Gwen. I'm still stalled. I guess I have Second Sleeve Syndrome. My goal is to get the sleeve cast on this week. We'll see how that goes, I'm not holding out any great hope...

I think I had also just cast on for my Foliage. I am happy to say that that particular piece of knitting is no longer a WIP but a lovely Finished Object! Hooray!

Foliage from Knitty knit in Malabrigo Chunky on Size 9 & 10 Addi Turbo circulars and a set of size 10 dpns.Finally, a hat for me. ::happy dance::

A Knitting Update

I have been plugging along on a project for Gwen but I have yet to share it with you so allow me to rectify the situation.

This is the Lace Edge Cardigan from Debbie Bliss Simply Baby. I am using Baby Cashmerino in Chocolate and I had to go down a needle size (#2) to get gauge. I know the picture doesn't really show you anything but right now the cardigan is pretty much a brown blob of garter stitch so trust me, a picture of it all laid out is even less interesting.

So far I have finished the body (fronts & back are knit as one piece) and the above sleeve is now finished.

I need to cast on for the second sleeve but I am a bit bored with all the brown garter stitch so I did this instead:

Yes, I have finally jumped on the Foliage hat bandwagon. Goodness knows I have enough Malabrigo in my stash, I need to start using some of it. (I uploaded all my Malabrigo to Ravelry last night so now I know exactly how much of the yummy stuff I have been, ahem, collecting.) I am using Malabrigo Chunky in Lettuce and so far I am very happy with the project (I'm a little further along than in than in the photo). The pattern is easy but interesting. I found the beginning of the hat a little fiddly with the dpn's but I have switched to a circular now so that is behind me and really, it wasn't annoying enough to prevent me from making another hat in this pattern. I think part of the problem is also that I have been using small needles so much (see brown garter stitch blob above for example) that I find that the 10.5's feel like tree trunks!

Hopefully I'll get some pictures taken in the next couple days so I can show you everything I have on the needles. I have a shocking number of WIPs right now... Which is not good because I feel I case of cast-on-itis coming on, the downfall of documenting my delicious Malabrigo stash and reminding myself of what I could be making instead of what I am making... because you know, the grass is always greener when it is Lettuce Malabrigo.

Click... Click... Click...

I knit FOUR WHOLE ROWS tonight!

It's the little things people.

And speaking of little things, check out these booties:

Yup, this is the orange pair of the Angora Booties from Last Minute Knitted Gifts I wrote about the other day. I wish I could tell you about the yarn but Gwen made off with the ball band and several thorough searches of all possible resting places has yet to produce any evidence that it ever even existed. I can tell you that it is orange (mistress of the obvious) and that it is a wool/bamboo blend of some sort. DK weight. It was okay to work with, not something I would choose again which is unfortunate because I don't know what it is and with my luck some day I'll see it online and purchase a bag of it for something not realizing what it is. Oh, and the ball band was black. I'm sure that really narrows it down for you. I worked the booties on the next needle size up from what the pattern calls for and used a heavier weight yarn in order to get a larger size that might fit the weed for more than a day or two.

One thing you can't see in the above photo:

Uh huh. That would be me not paying attention when doing my three needle bind off. I was too lazy to pick it out and decided it was a design element.

I wanted Matthew to model the booties but as you see
he is sleeping. And Katie's First Law of Parenting? Never wake a sleeping baby. This, by the way is very closely related to Newton's Third Law of Motion: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In my experience, the reaction to breaking the 1st LOP is never pretty.

No picture of the second larger Simple Hat #1 from Itty Bitty Hats. As I mentioned in the other post, it looks just like the original only bigger so there is no point in photographing it without a cute little one wearing it. I have a limited (though valued) audience, no sense in boring you to death. Frankly, both hats look just like the one in the actual book (I used the same yarn and colorway for the smaller version) so I could have saved us all some time and eyestrain and directed you to check out the book's photo.

So those are my finished objects. But wait, there's more...

You know, I was reminded of the old Ginsu knife commercials earlier today while slicing a tomato... remember how the demonstrator would cut through a tin can and then a tomato? I think the 80's had much better ridiculous tv-only-product commercials. I mean, does the guy with the beard who pitches Oxy Clean really measure up to the Ginsu guy? I think not. And let's not forget the Clapper. That was a gold standard bad commercial.

Sorry. Tangent. Where was I? Right. Works in progress. Alright then without further ado...

My newest cast-on is the Border Wrap from Rowan Classic Nature. The yarn is the called for RYC Bamboo Soft in Beaver. Love the look and feel of the yarn. Hate that it is so damn splitty. Like knitting with DMC embroidery floss. Argh. The finished product better be worth it...

Here's a better picture of the color: I haven't done much yet as you can see... Well, in reality I have actually done at least twice this much, maybe even three times as much, because I cast-on, knit the garter border and then started the patterned section only to discover I had an error and my pattern didn't line up properly. I ripped and reknit the rows a couple times but couldn't make it work. I counted repeatedly and still couldn't figure it out. Frogged the whole thing and started over. There is still something funky (there is a missing stitch according to the way the pattern reads) but I can't figure out what it is (I have the required 121 stitches and I have worked the chart as it is written) so on the left hand side of my wrap the first row of the pattern touches the garter border instead of having a "blank" knit stitch there. Again, design element.

Next we have a pair of socks.

And I can say pair because I have managed to avoid the dreaded second sock syndrome. This is the project I knit four rows on tonight. I know. Now that you see the project you're not nearly so impressed. Four rows on the border wrap would be something. Four increase rows near the cast-on edge of a toe up sock? Not so much.

The pattern is a ribbed toe up sock from Shibui Knits and the yarn is Shibui Sock in Orchid.

These socks are for me (gasp, knitting for myself?) and I cannot wait to finsih the second one!

My last WIP is the Geordie Striped Yoke Jacket from... guess where? Natural Knits for Babies & Moms. I know you guys think this is the only book I own... I really do have others, really.

Here's the back:

And the two front pieces:

Notice anything wrong with this picture?

Yup. They are two different lengths. Now one is not finished but that isn't the problem, I have them lined up at a common point, the beginning of the neck shaping.

How on earth did this happen? For those of you who don't know me "in person" and haven't seen me knit, I am a compulsive row counter. I own at least ten row counters. I count rows even if the pattern indicated to knit until a certain length and no counting is required! Serious OCD stuff here. How did I manage to get four rows off? Because I counted (duh) the rows as soon as I saw the mistake when I put the pieces side by side tonight and I am fours rows off. Unbelievable. I know the row counter said 34 when I switched to the striped pattern. Argh. Apparently even the compulsive turning or clicking of a row counter cannot save you from the inattention to detail occurring from the acquisition of young human. Stupid, lying, cheating row counter. I'll never click you again.

Who am I kidding. Of course I will. I'm probably physically incapable of knitting without it.

"You remember Katie? She as that knitter who forswore row counters and could never make a decent purl again..."

Oh well. There's nothing for it but to rip back and click again.

Hey look! Knitting!

Another day done and BtB is still cooking :) It will be interesting to see what my OB says tomorrow afternoon- if things are progressing or if they have come to a standstill. Go baby, go! Mama is tired of being pregnant.

Tonight I actually have knitting to share... Here is my finished baby blanket.

This is the Baby Blanket from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. Knit from Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton in Willow on my trusty Addi Turbos (Size 7 & 8). It matches the hat I knit a couple weeks ago. Here they are as a duo:

This blanket was a super fast knit- it has been done for well over a week (it is a small blanket, 18" x 24", good for car seats or use in a swing or bouncy seat). I cast on for it on a Tuesday night and wove in the ends on the following Saturday afternoon. I would definitely make this again and I think it would be a great gift item.

That's it for tonight. I need to put the finishing touches on a couple things and then I need to do a little housework before bed. Sleep is good.

I'm pooped.

So excuse the lameness of this post. I have lots of goodies to share but it will have to wait for another day... I am just too tired tonight.

I have been plugging away on my two gifts. My bib and burp cloth are done except for the button that needs to be sewn on the bib. And I now have 21 of 29" complete on the bath scrubby. After I finish the tube I "just" need to do 19" of i-cord.

I have two baby projects that are eating away at me, crying out to be cast on but I am being good, holding them at bay until the gifts are done.

And speaking of the baby-to-be (BtB), he is certainly giving us a lot of hints that he will be putting in an early appearance (those of you who are only interested in knitting can turn away now, this post is taking sharp left into Babyville). I have been having consistent low-grade contractions since Saturday night with a journey into some pretty intense contractions Sunday night (as in I thought we were headed to full-on labor intense). As a result of Sunday's fun and games Hubby decided not to make his scheduled trip to San Fran this week. So of course, with that decision made the contractions let up and have been pretty mild and less frequent... Typical. You know that I would have gone into full blown labor the minute he stepped on that plane but now.... :)

And just to keep us on our toes, BtB decided to take a looooooooonnnnnnnngggg siesta today and not move or kick for hours, freaking us out. One trip to Labor & Delivery later everything is fine. As soon as the nurse hooked me up to the fetal monitors he "woke up" and his heart rate was everything it should be. I was grateful he was fine but somewhat chagrined at making a wholly unnecessary trip to the hospital. At least I found out that I am now 1.5 cm dilated (half a cm more than on Thursday) so things are making slow progress. My doctor has said she'll admit me when I hit 3 cm so I am halfway there (since I was induced last time we have no idea if I am a fast or slow laborer so they will admit me a little earlier than they would with some women just in case I am fast).

BtB will be 37 weeks (technically full term) on Saturday so he can feel free to put in an appearance anytime after that. I hope he doesn't dawdle. Stick a fork in me- I'm ready to be done.

Ack! I've lost my mojo.

Yup, Austin Powers and I have that in common (I hope that is all that we have in common).

For a couple weeks there I was flying. The needles were flying and the yarn was sailing. And now? Um. Not quite a grinding halt but reeeeeeeaaaaaaaalllllllllyyyyyyyyy slow.

Let me pose this question to you: What takes longer, a baby blanket or a burp cloth. Well, duh. The burp cloth should be a breeze and the blanket will take longer. Unless you are me. Last week I cast on for a baby blanket on Tuesday night and wove in the ends on Saturday afternoon. That's right, less than 5 full days start to finish- awesome! On Sunday I knit a Bib O'Love. Fantastic! On Monday I cast on for the Baby Genius Burp cloth. Figured it would be done on Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. Today is Friday. The burp cloth is incomplete. Really incomplete. Halfway done and that's it. I just cannot get going on it. I think about it when I sit down. I have it next to me on the couch. I pull it out of the bag and I think I knit but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Here's the problem, or at least what I suspect is the problem. I have many little knits I want to make for my impending arrival. The burp cloth- not for #2. It is a gift for friends of ours who just had a baby. They live in Rochester, NY so I need to get it done so I can mail it, the bib, and a couple other things off. But I really want to work on things for my baby. And so, I procrastinate and I make no progress on anything while every day the clock ticks closer to my due date and piles of yarn languish, hoping that someday they will be adorable little booties.

I actually have one other project, the bath scrubby, that I need to finish and mail off. I'm about halfway done with that too and it is also more time consuming than I thought (how hard can a 29" tube of stockinette knit in the round be?).

Ugh. Just last week I felt like I could whip out anything in a miraculously short time frame and now I am lodged in a quagmire.

I'll post pictures of the baby blanket soon. I also need to Flash my Stash for SP10 before the end of today. But for now? Back to the grind. The booties may be singing my name like a siren but I will prevail (I hope).

Same Knit Time, Same Knit Channel

I feel like I really am becoming the blog equivalent of a 24/7 all baby knits cable channel but I am in a rut rhythm and I am scared to go in another direction for fear I'll lose my BK mojo.

And so, here is today's humble offering:

And here is a close up to show the pattern and a better representation of the color (apologies for the sad indoor lighting).
This is the baby hat from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. I knit it in the called for Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton in the Willow colorway (#85). This colorway is basically a blend of the Sage and Bone colorways and I picked so that it would blend with the Bolero I finished few days ago. (Cute baby sets!) I won't bore you again with my undying passion for this yarn. Knit on size 7 & 8 Addi Turbo circulars. I finished this Tuesday night so it took no time at all (cast on Monday night) and it would have been even quicker if I had not had to rip the first 12 rows out because I can't read.


That done, last night I cast on for the matching blanket:

I am about a quarter of the way done already. It is a small blanket only 18" x 24" but after the Albatross Experience small is good (my mother always told me that good thing come in small packages). This is the same yarn as the hat.

Both the hat and the blanket together only take 3 skeins of yarn so I'm going to keep this in mind for future gifts as it is (relatively) thrifty and quick. When I purchased the yarn I had it in my head that it was going to take four skeins so I will have leftovers... Anybody have a good bootie pattern that utilizes worsted weight yarn? Or another little baby garment that only takes 150 yards? If not, I'll hang onto the yarn for future use but I just thought I'd ask.


Lastly, here is something I rarely do. I tend not to flash pictures of my daughter all over this blog because I am slightly paranoid (hence the use of a pet name for her) but tonight I cannot resist. She was just being too adorable and I have to show off share.
Besides, I'm sure that #2 will have plenty of pictures here on the blog when he joins us so this way when my daughter is 16 and hates me she can't say I didn't give her equal time.


OK. That's it for tonight... I'm going to go knit so I can get this blanket done (figuring it will take about a week) because at some point I need to make a pair of socks for me.

More of the same

That's right! More baby knits! I swear, one day I will make something else. I have yarn on hand for a few "for ME" knits but they always seem to get back-burnered. I wonder why that is? :)

Here is my latest incarnation of the Baby Bolero from Oneskein.

I really like this pattern. The yarn is fabulous- Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton (I used the Sage colorway). Soft and squishy and oh-so-nice to knit with. I worked this sweater as the pattern was written but I chose not to do the little motif on the back. I did have to go down a needle size to get gauge however (Addi Turbo's in Size 7 and 8).

This is my second bolero and I have plans to make a third with short sleeves and contrast trim (I may go really crazy and make the trim seed stitch instead of ribbing *gasp*).

Tonight I cast on for a new baby project- the baby hat & matching blanket from Natural Knits for Babies & Moms. OK, I only cast on for the hat but the blanket will be next. The hat shouldn't take too long so I'll wait until it is done to post pictures (I'd be halfway through right now if I hadn't misread the directions through a white chocolate cheesecake induced haze at Purly Girls earlier... I had to rip back to the cast-on and start over).

Lest you think knitting for baby-boy-to-be is my sole focus I am making some (slow) progress on my other WIPS. The Bath Puffy is about halfway done. I can only work on it for short amounts of time because the yarn annoys me so much.

Also, to mitigate a teensy bit of mommy guilt (I'm not making anything for daughter- I am a horrible person) I have been slowly working on the socks I started for her. To be honest, I love working on her socks. I love the yarn (Cashsoft DK), like the pattern and adore! my fabulous little teeny rosewood Lantern Moon Sock Stix. If it weren't for the impending baby deadline these socks would definitely be at the front of the line.

That's it for now, the bun in the oven is telling me to eat something sweet and delicious but since I am on a modified low-sugar/carb diet (ahem, please ignore the cheesecake reference above) I think he'll have to make do with some sugar free jello or pudding *sigh* So unfair. Whatever happened to eating (cookies) for two?

Phew!

Well, I am glad to hear that I am not alone in my bewilderment over clueless women birthing babes for fun and entertainment, I was beginning to wonder.... hmmmm. Maybe I should cut down on my cable tv consumption.

And to address a couple comments- I know the birth of my daughter was an anomaly- there was nothing normal about it and most women never even see a 24th of of labor, let alone twice that, thank goodness. A brief (as possible) explanation: I had pre-eclampsia and had to be induced at 37 and a half weeks. Inductions are not the fastest things ever and mine was no exception. I had two rounds of cervadil (12 hrs each) followed by pitocin. While the cervadil caused contractions I really made no progress dilation-wise until I got the pitocin so I got to experience all the fun of contractions with none of the results for a full day- yippee. My water broke naturally around 32 or so hours (not really sure, it is all a little hazy) and I finally dilated fully and got to push around 40 hours- and then I just kept pushing... I pushed for at least 7 hours which is unheard of but I had really good stamina and there was a complex emergency c-section down the hall that robbed me of my doctor for a while so the nurse and I just kept going (I'm a bit stubborn). It finally became apparent the Pooh Bear was stuck and I was delirious so it was c-section time. I keep saying I could write a book about the labor experience because I literally experienced almost every aspect possible.

This time will be better because I cannot be induced again due to the c-sec (the contractions induction causes are really hard on the uterus and can be too much for one that has been cut open previously). So it is either a naturally occurring labor or another c-section for me. I'm hoping to skip the c-section this time but I'll be happy with whatever method is the safest for #2.

One last comment before I move on to knitting (which is why most of you read this blog, not to hear my ridiculous life moments), so if you're bored hang tight... yarn is coming.

Despite the hours of labor and the exhaustion I experienced, the actual physical pain was not at all what I expected. Yes, I had an epidural but not until I was almost 9 cm so I felt my fair share of contractions... Honestly, and women everywhere are going to want to kill me for saying this, but it was a lot more painful when I blew out my ankle several years ago dancing. It was not as excruciating as I feared, for me anyway. Maybe I am just used to "playing through the pain" from dancing for so long (you know, if it ain't gushing blood or falling off, you're fine, keep pirouette-ing). Or maybe I had so freaked myself out to think it was going to be horribly painful that the actual experience was a "let down." Or maybe I'm just weird...

AND NOW WE COME TO THE KNITTING PORTION OF OUR PROGRAM

I am actually making progress on those WIPs I posted about last week- hooray! I'll be ready for another round of cast-on-itis in no time :)

I finished these three days ago but didn't get around to taking a photo until tonight.

These are the downsized booties from the Royal Baby set I made earlier. I'm just pleased my math worked out and they still look like the intended product. Here's a picture for size comparison's sake.

I also have been working on my baby bottoms.

I'm really pleased that I figured out how to do the foot on the first leg with a minimum of brow crinkling and swearing... not having made socks before this was my first experience with a seamless, sock-like structure. I'd like to complete these over the weekend so I can get to work on the other 200 baby knits I have in mind. Nine months is simply not a long enough gestational period to get all the requisite baby knitting in... I'm ready to be done being pregnant and mentally/physically wouldn't mind if he comes early but at the same time, every day he's in there = more rows completed!

Getting Closer....

Knitting, Knitting, Knitting!

Only 30 rows to go on the Albabtross- So close. So close. soclose. Must keep going. All else is ignored.

Slightly (hah, understatement) freaking out in my non-knitting life but that will have to wait for a longer post, let's just say that having really painful contractions at 3 in the morning 10 weeks before your due date is not a calming experience.

Back to knitting, knitting, knitting.

The Albatross calls and it wants to be finished. Now. (no comments about "nesting" from the peanut gallery)

This Time We're Keeping Them

I've hinted at my baby knits problem in previous posts but I don't think I have really explored it fully. It really isn't a problem, I guess, maybe more of an issue... You see, over the past year and a half since I learned to knit I have made many cute little things for babies. The issue (problem?) is that very few of these adorable little items actually reside at my house. I feel like my little Pooh Bear should have to show for all my industriousness.

A quick count. She has four things I've knit for her: 3 hats and the toy rabbit. A little reflection reminds me that I have knit several pairs of booties (4-5), a bunch of hats (5-6), a bib, and a sweater and I'm pretty sure I have forgotten something(s) in addition to the things I knit for Pooh Bear. Clearly my friends need to stop having babies so I can do more for my own baby and baby to be (got that ladies? no more babies! too bad I have five pregnant friends at the moment).

I feel like my knitting is a classic case of the cobbler's children having no shoes. It isn't that I don't have plans to make things for my family, they just always get back-burnered by more "urgent" projects that have deadlines.

But, no more! (or at least for a little bit)

Look! Baby Knits for MY Baby!

I finally finished the Royal Baby Set from Blue Sky Alpacas: Sleeveless wrap sweater, hat & slippers. Knit from Bunny Hop by Crystal Palace on size 4 needles. The colorway is #2302 Baby Blues and it is a bit lighter/brighter in real life - my picture is a bit dark. I used approximately 2 1/4 skeins. I'm really glad to have leftover yarn because these slippers are huge. Not what I would consider a newborn size. I'm going to downsize the pattern and make a smaller pair. My intention is to have this be #2's coming home outfit so I need smaller booties.

Work continues on the Albatross but I feel like I am almost to the homestretch (only 7 pattern repeats plus the border to go - 61 rows total).

I also have a pair of pants on the needles for the baby to be.

And a bib for my friend who will probably give birth this week (I just can't help it, can I?)

Hmmm... I guess I need to get something going for my darling girl- I don't want her to feel left out :)

Progress on the Albatross

I feel like my Ruffled Ridges Baby Blanket has become the KTSNBN (knit that shall not be named). I scrolled back through my blog and realized I have not mentioned this project since the first of the month. Which was appropriate, I guess, since I was busy ignoring it and there was no knitting happening with respect to the Albatross.

I even joined Ann's Slogalong over at Mason-Dixon Knitting hoping that the public forum would shame me into knitting, I mean, inspire me. But honestly... I would do a row here or there... never more than two in any sitting.

Until two nights ago. You my remember that my original goal was to finish the blanket by the end of March, when it became obvious that was not going to happen I revised my goal to the end of April. Surely I could do that. Well, of course I could, provided I actually did any knitting on the blasted thing. Anyway two nights ago I was in one of my "OMG, I have less than 12 weeks until this baby arrives" moments and it hit me that the end of the month was only 6 days away! If I missed the April deadline for the blanket and pushed it out again how was I ever going to finish the blanket before the baby arrived? I have other projects I want to make before he comes and I feel guilty every time I cast on for something new...

And so, I knitted. Like a fiend. At least for me...

And now, as of this afternoon, I am officially three quarters of the way complete. The end is in sight, although it is not near enough. But there is hope. No way I finish in the next three days but by May 15th *invokes spirit of Scarlett O'Hara* with God as my witness, I shall never have to work on this blanket again.

Were you wondering who that tail and paws belong to? They belong to Tigger...

He was snoopervising my wretched (indoor lighting on a cloudy day) photography efforts this afternoon (I can't believe this is the first appearance of one of our cats on this blog... unless you count the cat hair attached to everything I knit).

Like I wasn't even here...

Howdy folks! I'm blogging but this really won't be anything to write home about... just a quick drive by. Just throwing something out here so I don't feel guilty about not blogging for a while :)

I'm hard at work on the Baby Bolero from OneSkein and I need to finish it and a hat before 8:30am on Saturday when they will be gifted to a friend at a baby shower. I only started the bolero on Sunday so I'm a bit stressed. I've been told it is a quick knit but you never know. So far so good progress-wise (I am halfway through the second sleeve) but I'm a bit nervous about the whole "zipping" away of the provisional cast-on thing... I'm also not sure my finishing skills are up to the seaming. I'm signed up for a finishing skills class but ironically enough, the class starts 2 hours after the baby shower is over. A lot of good that does me, eh? Oh well, future projects will benefit.

I'll be sure to take pictures of the finished product but I don't have time to mess with any WIP pics... In addition to my project with a deadline I also just found out on Sunday that my father-in-law will be visiting us on Sunday and Monday so I need to whip the house into shape, as well.

I also need to post a couple of finished objects but again, no pictures yet. Soon. Yes, soon... a nice vague term that could mean tomorrow or three weeks from now. I wouldn't hold your breath for tomorrow.

Oh, and by-the-by, as of Saturday I will only have twelve weeks to go in my pregnancy and for some reason this is FREAKING ME OUT!!! Up until now I've been really lackadaisical... do ti do, plenty of time, not much to do, this is the second kid after all, we have most of the stuff we need, dum te dum... But now? Holy crap! I have so much to do... my daughter's room needs to be painted and decorated, we need to get her a toddler bed, the baby's room is not done, at all. No paint picked, I'm still sitting the fence on my choice of linens for him. I need to pick a new, double (ugh) stroller- this is going to be a pain- none of the choices really thrill me. I need to finally finish unpacking everything and putting the house in order because I know this will not get done once there are two bambinos running amok. And then there is the knitting- a million little projects I want to do. Oh yeah, and the damned Albatross. I have to finish that.

Ahoy, Albatross to Starboard!

Albatross rows knit since previous post: 6, p.

Well, it is a bit anticlimactic, given that I hit the halfway point on my Albatross, I mean, baby blanket a week ago, but I finally have a picture for you to see:

It was sunny a couple days ago so I ran outside and snapped a few pictures. I'm no photographer but you'll get the general idea.

I'm now a bit further along than seen above and I am start to contemplate a few tweaks to the pattern. First I think I am going to make it a bit shorter, maybe take off six pattern repeats. It is large-ish blanket compared to some other patterns out there (pattern claims a 35"x40" finished size, my gauge must be a little loose because I am on track for 37"x42"). If I limit it to 30 pattern repeats I'll get a blanket that is approximately 37"x37". The other thing is that the blanket is getting heavy - Blue Sky Alpacas Hand Dyed is soft but has some weight to it (no fluffy nothingness here!) so 5 skeins in this blanket is no longer a lightweight.

Second, the endless navy is getting to me. I love the color, it is very rich but I'm thinking maybe it is a bit much sooooo... I'm thinking of putting in 2-3 stripes of a beigey color (BSA Organic Cotton in Sand, I have almost a full ball in my stash). I would put them near the end of the blanket so I'll have an asymmetrical thing going on. I think it will add some visual interest and also will emphasize the rippled pattern which kind of gets lost in the darkness of the navy at the moment. What do you guys think? Leave as is? Add the stripes? How many? One? Two? Three? (I'm leaning towards 1-2)

And to answer a question from my previous post - A Hummingbird cupcake is a tropical fruit flavored cake...I forget what the three fruits were exactly, pineapple, something and something :)

(clever title here)

Rows Knit on Albatross since last post: 12, p.

While the above tally is not terribly impressive once you figure out that is has been almost four full days since I last posted (yep. that's a mere three rows per day. sad.) it does represent a milestone I have been anxiously awaiting and had begun to fear would never come:

The Halfway Point

That's right folks, guard the doors and bring your pets in because the world as we know it is going to end, I am (slightly) more than halfway done with the baby blanket from Hell. I actually got up off the couch and danced around in a little circle when I finished the eighteenth pattern repeat. Perhaps I exaggerate a bit at the implications of such and accomplishment? Perhaps it is my own poor attitude toward a perfectly innocent blanket that has caused this project to take on such startling proportions? Nah. That couldn't be it. I mean, I've only had the bloody thing on the needles since November of 2005, and heck, I took hiatus of over a year on it. I shouldn't be sick of it. It isn't a particularly difficult pattern. I love the yarn and I love the finished result. But it does feel like it is hanging over my head, or around my neck (hmmmm... Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, anyone?). I just want to be done. It's like that one particularly horrible term paper you had to do in college, you had a great topic and knew what you wanted to say at the halfway mark but it just wouldn't come together... I don't know. I'm rambling. I'm boring you.

Enough.

BTW, I know I promised a picture but the weather has been crappy and now it's dark so it'll have to wait for some sunshine. That dark a navy just looks like a blob without really good light. Heck, we've all waited this long, another day ain't gonna' kill us. ;)

In better news on the knitting front, I have a FO and a thisclosetobeingfinishedobject. I just put the finishing touches on the baby bonnet I've been working on about five minutes before I started this post. And my baby wrap sweater just needs a couple of i-cords and then, voila! Pictures and details of both in my next post.

Let's see, let's see... a little two word preview of a post for later this week: Snickerdoodle Cupcake.

Okay, back to knitting. Since I am not going to make my "finish the blanket by the end of March" goal I should Get Over Myself and get 'er done before April also passes me by.

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring?

Here is what the first day of Spring brought to the Pacific Northwest:

Don't be fooled by the flowering trees, the picture is fuzzy for a reason (other than my poor photography skills): SLEET.While it only sleeted briefly, the remainder of the day was unseasonably cold and very rainy. *sigh* I guess we need to cherish the nice weather we had on Saturday a bit longer...

In non-weather related news, here is the latest update on the Baby Wrap Sweater:

That's right, all knitted up and ready for blocking, seaming and finishing. The pattern calls for twisted ties to be added to the sweater as a means of closure but while the pattern is really specific as to placement of the ties, it gives no instructions what-so-ever as to how the twisted ties themselves are to be manufactured. I'm mulling two alternatives: a) using a ribbon as a tie and b) picking up three stitches on each side and making i-cord ties. I'll let you know what I decide.

In the meantime I am working on the lavender baby bonnet for Pooh Bear. I am on the last pattern repeat before I begin shaping the back so I think I might have a pictorial update for that later in the week. I intend to make the matching socks that are part of the bonnet pattern but even after that I think I will have a ball of yarn leftover so I am seriously contemplating making the Amelie Dress from Natural Knits for Babies & Mothers to match the bonnet, using the bonnet color as the contrast band on the dress. Eh, who am I kidding? I'm going to make it, I just have to pick a main color, buy the yarn and cast on.

I've decided for the sake of brevity that I am going to give my Albatross updates in a format that pays homage to Helen Fielding from now on. It will only take one line of space and will be easy to skip over for those of you bored by my endlessly going on about the blanket that won't end. So here is today's update:

Albatross rows knit since last post: 7, p. (poor)

In the future, I'll have the update at the top of the post a la Bridget Jones. I will post pictures at Critical junctures (halfway and the end). But other than that, I'll try to keep it short. Note, that I said try- we all know I am not above whining on and on if so moved (sorry).

Hmmm... I need to figure out what to do next, now that the wrap sweater is (mostly) done. The logical thing would be to immediately cast on for the matching hat or booties but I'm not sure. Maybe I need something totally new? Or maybe I could cast on for the hat and something new?

One last thing, had I known that Moonstruck chocolate was about to be embroiled in a lawsuit with a local coffee company I might not have blogged about them the other day. Or I might have... the chocolate is damned good.