Archive for the 'baby' Category
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More baby clothes
Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
So, Ok…I’m totally addicted to my baby. I know that sounds rediculous, and it probably is. But I can think of nothing else.
To help assuage this feeling of urgency in regard to “getting ready” I keep something baby on the needles at all times.
Here’s the most recent Baby Thing:
It’s a pair of “Picky Pants.” (Another soaker.) For this one, I used Theresa’s pattern and followed it to the T. The pattern is like a choose your own adventure novel, in that it’s 18 pages long…and after completing one step you decide whether to add some feature (short rows in the seat) or another (long or short legs, different hem treatments.) I’ll definitely make these again! (Yarn is Cascade 220 tweed.)
And here’s the most recent Baby Thing from Mom:
It’s a sweater from Jill Eaton’s “Minnies” baby book, with another set of handmade buttons. CUTE. This one is Malabrigo worsted!!
(photos taken at night, again!)
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns, baby | 11 Comments »
My first…soaker.
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007
To those of us who are new to the whole cloth-diapering world, the word “soaker” being used to describe a diaper cover is just gross.
But that that’s what it’s called.
And there are a million and a half free soaker patterns on the internet.
So (and they tell me this is true) apparently, you can put a cloth diaper on a baby, then put a pair of wool undies on top of that…and it won’t leak. You have to wash the wool undies in a lanolin mixture first, but isn’t that interesting? That wool is as waterproof as some other manmade stuff? I love wool.
I used the cast on number from this pattern and then “winged it.”
MODS:
Instead of doing the k1 p1 stitch pattern, I worked mine all in stockinette. I also did a more decorative decrease method at the edges (slip the first stitch, k1, skp, k to last 4 sts, k2tog, k2) on every RS row.I picked up a multiple of 4 sts for the waistband and worked that in k2p2 ribbing, making eyelets for the draw cord in every P rib, about 1 inch up. Also picked up for ribbing at legholes.
Main part is regular worsted yarn (maybe Brown Sheep naturespun?) that I dyed with KoolAid, and the ribbing is all Malabrigo merino worsted. The photos are kind of technicolor again…because when I get home from work I go to SLEEP. Then I can get up for a couple hours and do some stuff, like take photos…in the dark.
Posted in Patterns, baby | 15 Comments »
16-week midwife visit update / sewing
Saturday, August 4th, 2007
I did some sewing yesterday. The baby’s due January 18. Even though it doesn’t get really cold here in southern NM, it might be 30-40 degrees outside at that time. So I think we’ll need at least some winter stuff, but by mid-March it’s getting into spring again already so I don’t want to buy a whole ton.
ETA: All of the stuff above except diaper covers are from McCall’s pattern #M4236
I bought some brightly-colored polar fleece and made a sleeveless blanket sleeper and a pajama. I also made some fleece diaper covers and a couple pair of pull-on pants a few weeks ago. My zipper-inserting skills are really sad. I can’t help but try, though. I’ll probably use the rest of the fleece to line the moses basket and maybe make a blanket. I’m also trying my hand at cloth diaper sewing. I found a couple of patterns online. I love making stuff. I haven’t had the sewing machine out in a LONG time.
I went in for a checkup on Friday and everything went really well.
I talked to her about what the birth will be like, and a few other things that had seemed really abstract. She assured me that I’ll get to have the baby in my hospital room, and that Nate can be present in the birth. I’ll get to nurse as soon as possible, and it really sounds like they already do everything I was hoping for.
We used the doppler to eavesdrop on what the baby’s up to in there. The midwife was really laughing at how much movement there was…apparently our baby is unusually acrobatic. We hard its blood flowing, but no heartbeat. She said SHE caught a glimpse of heartbeat, but then couldn’t focus on it so that my untrained ears could hear it. (Maybe because the baby was too busy.)
I had blood drawn for the maternal serum screening and signed up for the level-II ultrasound, which will either be in 2 or 4 weeks, depending on their schedule. I’m really looking forward to seeing the baby again and knowing what’s going on! We’ll also find out if it’s a girl or a boy.
Any guesses??
At first I was super-convinced it was a boy. But my dreams lately have been about a girl. I’ve been having dreams about being in weird situations and having to figure out what to do. I’ve been at school in class and had to change the baby, or in a situation where I’ve had to rescue someone else’s baby. But sometimes I’m just walking around holding hands with a child looking at stuff, or just changing diapers or cuddling.
Here’s a baby hoodie that Mom knit out of Noro Lily:
She even made the buttons.
Posted in just chit chat, baby | 14 Comments »
A few FO shots
Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
SO…here are a few FO shots (click on one and it goes to the set). I’m pretty happy with how it came out. It needs a good blocking and buttons…but on the mannequin you can get an idea of where the buttons will be.
That’s our incredibly fancy backyard, complete with lots of random wires doing who-knows-what on the side of the house. AND…that’s my BELLY! I’m 16 weeks, almost halfway there!
It looks a LOT different on the mannequin with no curvy belly underneath!
Like I said, it’s pretty plain, but that’s part of what I like about it. I won’t have to think about it or work to put an outfit together around it. Believe it or not…purple actually does go with most of my wardrobe! I might do a wool one with long sleeves for winter. I think this will be great for nursing, too…what do you nursing moms think?
I’m feeling better today, and I’m SO GLAD. I don’t want to see another flu bug again! My appetite is back, and it’s so nice to be hungry again! 
We have another midwife appointment tomorrow, and we’ll start scheduling the 20-week tests. I’m looking forward to getting all of that out of the way. We don’t get an ultrasound this time, it’s hard to wait to see the baby again!
In general, feeling really good but tired. I’m not as nervous about everything as I was in the beginning. If I lie or sit still, I can feel the baby move around. That’s so reassuring!!
Posted in Uncategorized, just chit chat, Patterns, baby | 13 Comments »
Karida’s Saartje’s Booties!!
Saturday, July 28th, 2007
Aaw!! Look what Karida sent me!! I’ve got the Saatrje’s booties pattern downloaded onto my computer, but haven’t made them yet…and LOOK! She read my mind and made them FOR me!!
These are soooOOooo sweet!!
OK, I almost hit “publish” without really writing much or giving any updates…
SO. Here’s what’s new. I found out on Friday that I’ll be teaching an intro astronomy class this fall. I’m reading the textbook, planning lectures and reading labs. That’s going to be really fun, I think. I’ve never had an astronomy class with a lab before. Lots of chances to demonstrate principles with real life situations. I love labs.
The next big thing is that the final final FINAL deadline for my next knitting book is October 1. (That’s also my mom’s birthday, coincidentally.)
SO…while everything is going super-smooth so far, and I’m getting my steam back after the first trimester, I’m still feeling that little twinge of recognition that I *might* have a busy next couple of months.
I’m finally starting to look pregnant and not just chunky-in-the-exact-front-of-my-belly. SO…maybe I’ll post a belly photo one of these days. I just want it to be more obvious that it’s a baby. Even though I’m still not *quite* sure I look pregnant, it’s been so hot here I’ve been wearing men’s A-shirts as shirts(those ribbed undershirts) all the time. I’ve found myself sort of making a point to hold my belly and pat it in public, so people will think, “oh, it’s a baby.” and not, “She should NOT be wearing that!” I pat it pretty much all the time any way. (So excited!)
We’ve started having rainy season, so it cools down at night and we get really nice thunder and lightning storms. But it leaves the daytime really humid. You’d think I’d be used to it coming from Iowa, but no. I’m declimatized toward humidity. AND…we have a swamp cooler so to use it is to ADD humidity. So. We bought blackout curtains and installed those in all the windows and sliding doors on the NorthEast side of the house. It seems to be helping.
….And, now that I’m talking about curtains, I think that’s all the news worth reporting!
OH! here are a bunch more Saartje’s Booties photos.
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns, baby | 5 Comments »
Baby Bog: Finished!!
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007
I think it turned out pretty well. The yarns certainly look GREAT! I really love that the visual interest is totally amped by the combination of garter stitch and verigated handspun.
People are going to want to eat our kid for breakfast when (s)he’s in this sweater!
STATS:
Pattern: Bog Jacket from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Around.
Size: 24″ chest
Yarn: Spincycle Yarns handspun 100% merino in [MC] Booya Kasha [CC] Lummi Island Sunset
Needle: US7(4.5mm)
Mods: shortened the body, added the optional shoulder shaping, only did the applied i-cord along the fronts.
Things I’d do differently: hold the RS together when kitchnering up the pieces…holding WS together created a knit row where I’d have preferred a purl row. remember to incorporate buttonholes into the applied i-cord.
Posted in Patterns, baby | 9 Comments »
Baby Bog Jacket
Monday, July 16th, 2007
OK, so. This Elizabeth Zimmermann kick is all-consuming once you start. (friendly warning.)
This baby knitting is perfect for trying out EZ’s addictive shaping/construction techniques *and* satisfying the BABY-BABY-BABY *and* the “I just have to try this handspun merino right NOW” parts of my brain, all at the same time on itty bitty projects that don’t take up any time.
OK, so this is the start of my baby’s Bog Jacket by EZ, from Knitting Around. I didn’t follow the “Baby Bog” directions at all. Instead, I used the directions for the Adult Bog and sized them for a baby. SO…I don’t have the puffy, diaper-accommodating backside or the fancy “just for baby” sleeve shaping. I still think it’ll work, though. I just took EZ’s advice and started with my desired chest measurement (24″) and used that as my [X]. The rest is done in percents.
Even though this pattern is much more straightforward than the Baby Surprise…I still found myself wondering, “What part is THIS?” (baby brain) as I was knitting it. By the time I got to the shoulder shaping, though, I had it figured out.
We went to see a film on Sunday at the Fountain Theater in Mesilla, and on the way we stopped at The Bean. The Bean is a coffee house that has great atmosphere, great coffee, and pretty good food. I really like the colors of the walls and furniture. We were shooting on “manual” with some settings that I had put in for some other lighting conditions…so the photos look pretty Technicolor. Cool though, I think. I like the graininess. I made a Flickr set of all of them. The colors are so neat.
The film we saw was about Mexican women who come to the border towns (like Tijuana and Juarez) to work in the factories. Most of them have terrible conditions and become really ill from the chemicals they have to work with and the conditions in which they live. SO…this film followed a few of these women who have become educators within their factories.
They tell the employees about their rights and empower them to speak out against this treatment. It was really moving. Two of the film-makers and two of the workers were there to speak and answer questions afterward. It was a good reminder to buy Fair Trade when possible, and to minimize our environmental impact. Here’s an article about two of the women in the film.
**One of the comments yesterday was about the third printing of the book. We got all the errata (available in the upper left corner of this page, both as html and as a downloadable pdf file) for the book together and handed in at the end of March…but were too late for them to go into the second printing.
So the errata will be incorporated into the THIRD printing. It’ll go into press once it looks like the second printing will sell out. I don’t even know if the second printing WILL sell out. It’s be GREAT if I knew for sure. But, in reality, there are just too many factors governing that for me to hazard a guess.
If you have questions or comments regarding the book, and want the real official answers, F&W has a “contact us” page here. I don’t really know much about the book business, so anything relating to when, where, why, how things are printed should be addressed to the big wigs. I’ll put their contact info in the sidebar, so that if anything comes up later, you can find it.**
Posted in Book Talk, Patterns, baby | 4 Comments »
Mercury’s on the move!
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007
I feel like today is a lucky day, and like this will be a good week. Mercury came out of retrograde yesterday, so my (or ‘our’, judging by some of the comments and other blog posts I’ve been reading) communication woes and blockages of the mind should be over for a while.
I *do* feel unstuck. I only threw up once today, and not at all yesterday, so that tells me I *might* be at the end of Morning Sickness. Friday was the last day of the first trimester! We made it!!
Physical therapy also went well today. We’re moving past ‘adjusting’ into actually exercising and working on strength.
I made it to Post Office today, after several days of just not being up to it. Did you know that people can mail chickens? About 1/2 the times I go, there’s a rooster in the back, telling everyone, “Time to get up!” or “Let me out!!”
I finished up my baby surprise jacket. I never was able to find the label from that yarn, but believe me it’s just as well. I think it’s a little rough for baby garments, and I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s pretty on camera, though! Mom and I made some buttons last week, so I’ll take pics again when all the ends are woven in and the buttons are on.
The jacket was knit on 8s, so it’s a little big…maybe for an 18-24 month old. That’s ok, though.
**ETA: chest measured 24″ when I knit the BSJ on US 8s**
I wonder how much time I’ll have to knit for Hugo once he actually gets here?
I visualize myself having a happy, peaceful baby who loves to sit quietly. (insert big laugh) I picture myself just strapping him on in one of those sling things and going about my days knitting and writing and everything like normal. (Another laugh goes in here.)
The Spincycle yarn that I ordered arrived over the weekend, so I can make another sweater that will actually be soft and nice. (That’s a sexy sandwich of Booya Kasha and Lummi Island Sunset.) This yarn is so beautiful. I love the colors. It reminds me of saffron. Very India. SO. Do I do another BSJ? Do I do this other E.Z. sweater? (Brooklyn Tweed always makes me say, OK, I have GOT to make that.) Do I make one up? I’m feeling lazy, so I’ll probably wing it rather than try to follow a pattern.
Posted in yarn reviews, Patterns, baby | 12 Comments »
Baby Surprise Day 1
Thursday, July 5th, 2007
Here’s my progress day 1. This is completely obsessive, “must finish one stage before I stop” -style knitting.
This photo really represents what the inside of my brain looks like right now, too. We’re working on a paper for publication, so I’m frantically getting the figures together and putting the finishing touches on the data reduction. It’s a project that I’ve been invested in since grad school…so getting it finished up is a great feeling.
And THAT side of my brain is struggling with the other side that has BABY running through every fiber. If I can get my head into the project, I can really immerse myself in it and make great progress. If, however, I have to get up and be sick every 45 minutes…it’s just BABY BABY BABY in there.
Here’s a closeup, including the gorgeous markers that Lindsay made for me. She’s such a great person, and a friend I met on LJ, who *happens* to be from B-more, but I didn’t meet her when I lived there. She even works at my alma mater!!
Here we are at TNNA…that’s my booth in the background with the hot pink tulle and black star lamps.
PS: Knit your own iPhone! (link courtesy the amazing Xtina)
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns, baby | 2 Comments »
Baby Surprise Jacket
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007
Since I’m so obsessed with this pattern, I can’t wait until my Spincyle yarn arrives. I’ll make another one when it does…but for now I found something I can cast on with right away.
It’s some as yet unidentified (I need to look back though my notebook to find the label) handspun in very New Mexico colors: pink, tangerine, purple, and light turquoise blue. I bought it last summer in Minneapolis, washed it because it was too ‘raw’ for me, and accidentally felted it. So now I’m untangling it and un-dredding it. It’s not nearly as bad as I thought it was, but it IS pretty matted in places.
I have all the hanks wound into balls and am ready to cast on.
