Rest While You Can

Thanks for all your kind wishes! After some tests, my doctor has determined that it would be best for me to be on strict bedrest. So, my posting and blog reading will likely become less frequent while we try to convince this little girl that she needs to hold out until at least late February. In the meantime, I expect that being stuck in bed all day will at least give me more time to knit. Hopefully, I will have some cute new things to showcase at the end of it all, most importantly the baby!

A Dress Rehearsal?

Thanks for the compliments on my belly. For once, having a large belly is actually good! As for how close the big day is, I will be 40 weeks along in 7 weeks. However, the baby may be making her appearance a little sooner than that. Tuesday was my first day of class, so I got up, did some things around the house, and started getting ready for school. I soon realized something wasn't quite right. I called my doctor and ended up being admitted into the hospital for observation. Evidently, my body is trying to jump the gun a little, so I am home resting for a few days. Our goal is to make it to at least February 4 before this little one makes her debut, but the hubby and I are really hoping for longer. Her room isn't ready yet, and we haven't even bought a carseat! Just another lesson to remind us that we are no longer in control, I suppose.

The baby has also been on my mind for knitting as well. Take for example this knitted beach outfit from the book I received from Jennifer. I don't want to make it using as many colors (the hubby says that it looks too "court jester" the way it is), but the idea of the baby in this cute romper and hat at the beach was too much to resist. As luck would have it, soon after falling in love with the pattern I went to Alamitos Bay Yarn Company with Theresa of Knitting Underway. She and the hubby helped me pick out some adorable yarn so I can make it for the baby. I plan to use the blue for the main body and the green for trim. The hat would alternate the two colors.

Remembering Him

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -Martin Luther King Jr.

When I was applying for money for college as a high school junior, a scholarship for a local group advertised a $250 scholarship. My family was quite poor and college tuition was going to be very difficult to pay without a lot of financial assistance. The essay for the scholarship was to be written about the person you admired most. I chose Martin Luther King, Jr. as my person, and wrote my essay. I had a couple teachers read over my essay and one quietly pulled me aside and said that for this particular organization, an essay on Martin Luther King might not be a good idea. I caught the teacher's meaning; this organization was evidently known by those in the community to be racist and would probably not be that impressed by my admiration of a civil rights movement leader. I refused to pick someone else, and turned in my application. I'll never really know why, but I did not receive the scholarship. It seemed to me like an incredibly small price to pay compared to all those who had given their lives for their belief in equality. I hope we never forget their sacrifice.

Dressing Better

"I'm not a beautiful woman. I'm nothing to look at, so the only thing I can do is dress better than anyone else." - Wallis "Wally" Simpson

Dressing well is so easy when you have someone else's lovely knitwear. A very long time ago Theresa of Knitting Underway had some lovely knit items to purge from her closet. I was lucky enough to be the recipient of a sleeveless cable sweater.

I swear, I've already worn it several times and each time I was bombarded with complements. Just goes to show what an expert can really do with a bit of yarn and a couple sticks. It is knit in a lovely color of Lionbrand Homespun, with a large cable in the front. It almost looks like it was made for me, even with the expanding belly! Thanks Theresa, for being so generous with your knits.
I also have a progress shot of the ribbed hat I've been working on. The pattern is from One-Skein Wonders and is very easy. I am trying to use up this gray yarn, which I already used as part of a vest and a scarf. This yarn is about 12 years old and is a slightly itchy wool/acrylic blend. I think a little wool wash will probably soften it up. The color is nice and it knits up fast. The dark gray is wool-ease worsted.
I also have three FOs to post about, but I have to finish weaving in ends and remember to ask my husband to take some action shots for me. Classes start next week (eek!), so I'd better get moving on finishing up some of these projects!

Two FOs

"One good husband is worth two good wives; for the scarcer things are, the more they are valued." -Benjamin Franklin

The first FO is actually my brother's wedding, which is really a finished event rather than an object. I didn't really have a lot to do with its actual completion, but it was a very happy event. My new sister-in-law is a wonderful person that we are exceedingly happy to now call family, and she and my brother seem very happy together (I should apologize to him for the quote, but he loves Ben Franklin quotes and this one was too funny). It doesn't get much better than that! Here is a photo of me at the beautiful outdoor wedding at Red Rock Canyon this past weekend. It was a bit chilly, so I kept on my jacket for the ceremony and then took it off later for photos. Since this is a side view, you can sort of see my growing belly. I was my brother's Best Woman, and even got to hold the rings. I have to say the ceremony was very touching and I was so happy to be a part of it.

The second FO is actual knitting. I am willing to admit that my progress on even the simplest of projects has been pretty pathetic these past few months (one could argue that this has been the case since the beginning of this blog, but things have worsened to an even more atrociously slow state recently). There are numerous reasons for this, including a neck and shoulder injury brought on by too much time spent hunched over grading (I should have known that grading was dangerous for one's health; it sure feels unhealthy when you're doing it). Also, the yarn for Le Slouch was so old (12 years and moved more times than a failing TV series) that it really upset my dust allergy. I think I have enough yarn left to make matching fingerless gloves, but I plan to wash the it first.

Yarn: Lorena DK (40% wool/60% acrylic) in burgundy
Pattern: Le Slouch by Wendy Bernard
Changes: None, I basically knit the pattern as written
Yardage: 1 skein (200 yards)
Needle: US 7 dpns
Time: Started July 2007 and finished January 2008
Notes: The seed stitch was a little tedious and I kept dropping stitches from the dpns, but these were really minor negatives. Overall, the pattern was easy and fun and the result is a very flattering yet practical hat. Below are a couple photos of the finished hat and an actual action shot.





Shockingly, I have more FOs to post, but don't want to splurge on putting all of them in one post. It may be awhile before I finish anything else afterall.

Vegas, Baby

I wanted to post a quick New Year's post before the hubby and I drive off to Vegas for the weekend. Yes, we plan to have a rockin' good time in the city that never sleeps, particularly since my current bedtime is about 9:30 pm (being 7 months pregnant does cut into your night life). My younger brother is getting married, though, so I am really looking forward to the trip. Perhaps I will post some lovely photos of me looking very pregnant in my dress when I get back, if there actually are any photos that turn out lovely (I've heard that an extra large bouquet was ordered to offset my belly, so we'll see).

Much like other folks, I wanted to post a recap of 2007. Last year I basically gave myself three "resolutions" for 2007. How did I do? Well, not nearly as well as I'd hoped considering how low I set the bar, but to be fair to myself I had a busier than average year (new house, pregnancy).

1. organize, organize, organize
We moved into our house about 6 months later than planned, so this organization was really stalled by that (that's my official excuse, anyway). However, my wonderful husband just put all my crafting stuff in the office closet so I could easily access it. Really, is it any wonder I married him?

2. finish the projects in my sidebar
Actually, I've nearly used up all the really, really old yarn in my stash. It seems like there are some yarns I've made into a million different things and still have a skein or two left, but progress has been made. I recently finished several projects and then started a few new projects (posts coming soon).

3. Learn to cable and do colorwork
Hmm, not sure why I never got around to working on these types of projects, but I do think I'm ready to do some more complicated stuff. I did do some actual lace, which was quite fun.

Finally, I have been working through my nonstartitus (inability to start new projects) and have actually cast on for a new project. The pastels should probably give it away that this is indeed for the new baby, but also may reveal a little something more about the baby that you may have missed in my last post. Yep, it's a girl! I am making a fuzzy sweater for her to wear when we visit her grandparents in frigid Wisconsin.

Tis the Season

First, I want to mention that I got a lot of wonderful gifts from friends and family this year (including darling little New Zealand sheepskin slippers for the baby). This generosity is particularly amazing since moving meant that I did a pretty crappy job getting gifts for other people. I will just mention a few of the knitting-related gifts specifically on the blog. First my wonderful husband bought me Nicky Epstein's Knitting Beyond the Edge. It has all kinds of wonderful ideas for closures, collars, and necklines and I foresee this being an extremely useful reference book.

Also, my wonderful and crafty friend Kim brought me back some beautiful yarn from New Zealand, complete with a pattern and buttons for a lacy baby garment (left in photo). We were so happy that she was able to visit us briefly as she returned from an around-the-world trip (yes, I have extremely well-traveled friends; it helps me live and exciting life vicariously). My lovely and also crafty friend Jenn got me this fantastic soap in a knitted sock (right in photo). The sock actually felts to fit as you use the soap! Clever, huh? I really wish clothes would work the same away, only that they would expand to fit as you gain weight.

Theresa of Knitting Underway, also drove up from San Diego to visit and see our new abode just before Christmas, and if that weren't enough she brought some handknitted gifts! This little pink kimono sweater will be so cute when she needs to "dress up" for an occasion. It's made from machine-washable cotton, so no need to worry if she spits up. Theresa also gave us these adorable felted balls. I'm sure the baby will love gumming and rolling these!

Finally, she made a cute pair of miniature mittens to be used as a Christmas ornament. Here is an action shot of the mittens on our tree:

Oh, and you have probably guessed by the color of the kimono and the use of pronouns, we are having a GIRL! I foresee lots of fun knitting in my future.