Baby Bolero

Pattern: Baby Bolero from Debbie Bliss' Baby Cashmerino 2, size 3-6 months
Yarn: Baby Cashmerino, 2 skeins
Needles: Size 3 and 4 US straights and Size 3 US 40" circular
Started: Saturday, April 21
Finished: Wednesday, April 25
Modifications: The instructions say to seam together all of the pieces before blocking, which never makes sense to me. So I ignored that and blocked everything before seaming which makes me happy. I changed the garter edging from the way the pattern is written. The way they have you doing it is to basically knit a garter strip that is 5 or 6 stitches wide and attach it to the front edges as you go. There was no edging at the back of the piece which I thought looked rather shoddy considering how the bottom of the back is shaped. So rather than do it their way I used a circular needle and picked up stitches around the whole thing and then joined it and worked in the round for 6 rounds. This gives a nice finishing edge to it and I don't have to worry about the back rolling up. Also, I opted not to give the neckline a shawl collar.

I still have 1 skein of this yarn left over and I'm considering making a little skirt or something like that to go with it. You know, a girl needs a cute ensemble when she's going out on the town.

I am weak

So you know that yarn moratorium thing? Yeah, I already broke it. I only feel the slightest bit of remorse.

Yesterday was slooooooow at work because our FTP site was down, therefore we weren't able to receive orders from customers. We'd let people know about it in advance so there wasn't anyone calling frantically trying to figure out why their order wasn't sending. The lab manager was letting people in production go early and came up to tell customer service that one of us could go as well. Being that my supervisor and the lead cs rep were working on software stuff and my other coworker said she could use the money, I sacrificed of myself and left at 1:30.

I called Bryan to give him the joyous news and told him that I was going to pick up Owen from daycare and that we were going to go to the park. He reminded me that they had just started nap and that he wouldn't be up until 3:00, so maybe I could go to the yarn store to hang out and buy something. (This is why I married Bryan!) No, no buying yarn because I'm not buying yarn until August 1st.

Then I got to Simply Fibers. Maddie and I talked while I worked on the cotton stria wrap. It was quiet and cool in the store. Then I spotted it. The Jeanne yarn that I had used to make the baby bell bottoms... Carol had gotten in more colors! And, there was an adorable pattern for a swing top (it's the second one from the left) that would just look too cute with the pants. That's when I caved.

Last night was a good knitting night for me! I have a bit of startitis right now, (perhaps because we're finally prepared for the baby?), and I wound up some Sock Memories in S'mores that I've had since last summer and started knitting. This morning I finished the gusset decreases on the first sock. Not too shabby! Then I swatched for the Baby Bolero with the correct needle sizes and made gauge! Right now I'm almost done with the back of the bolero. Cute little baby jackets sure don't take long to make progress on!

Tomorrow after church we're driving to Bolivar to pick up a Wii that Bryan scored off of Craigslist. He's so stinking excited that it feels like Christmas. Me? I'm excited to have some time to knit in the car.

Happy

There are some days that you just know are going to be difficult. Maybe there's a task on that day that you know is going to take all of your energy, or a person you'll have to work with that you've never really gotten along with. No matter what it is that you're up against you know that it's going to take everything you have to make it through the day with your dignity and poise left intact.

Today was my day and it had been circled in red on my desk calendar at work for the past two and a half weeks. Getting ready for work this morning I did everything I could to prep myself.

Favorite and most comfortable maternity pants? Check.
Calming perfume? Check.
iPod ready to play upbeat music? Check.
Fun book to read at lunch so as to mentally escape? Check.

And the secret weapon... the socks. Yes, the socks that I finished over the weekend. I didn't even block them so that I could make sure that they were ready to wear on Monday morning.

Happy socks with other things that make me happy... my family.
That's Bryan and my youngest brother, Isaac, taken 4 years ago.

Ah, the socks.

And now for something completely different

On Thursday I purchased the needles I would need to successfully swatch the Baby Bolero. They're still in their packages. I was so excited about starting the bolero but my focus was not long maintained. I'm sure those needles will come out sometime this week, but I wouldn't be holding my breath if I were you.

No, I've been trying to faithfully work on the UnGranny Smith cardigan while I'm at home and the Sockotta socks while at work. The sleeves haven't changed much, they're just a few inches longer so I won't bore you with pictures! The socks, which I haven't taken any pictures of, are close to being done. I'll finish them up this weekend and get them on my feet for a photo shoot!

This morning, though, I was tempted by something else. While poking around Michael's a little while back I found an adorable birth announcement kit that I thought would be perfect for Owen. (Yes, I'm a little behind. You should see his scrapbook.) It's got bold blues and reds which is how his room is decorated. I started working on the first block of it a couple of weeks ago while I was at home after the car accident and then put it down. This morning I got some more of it finished and it will probably be put away again for a little longer.

I like being able to pick up other crafts now and then. Cross stitch is perfect for that kind of thing, I think. There's no wondering "Where did I leave off?" or "How does this stitch pattern go?" Although, I must say that I could never see myself doing a cross stitch in the car like I do with knitting.

And speaking of cars, we have purchased a vehicle to replace my poor Sorento that was totaled. My grandmother decided that with only about 10 years of driving left in her that she wanted a luxury car and wouldn't you know that she went and bought herself a fully loaded 2007 Lexus RX yesterday. We've purchased her 1999 Dodge Durango from her (with low mileage also fully loaded!) and she gave us the keys and car yesterday on her way home from the dealership. Owen and I sat in the backseat of the Durango for a few minutes and Owen said, "Nice car! My Rocket?" I think he'll tolerate the change well.

The State Of The Needles

I thought it high time that I give a current assessment of all of my current projects that are on the needles. Every once in a while a girl needs to take a look at where she is. This is my time.

I start with the Ungranny Smith cardigan from Knitty's Spring 2006 issue. I started this project in November (?) and here is where I am. Sleeves. Oh, you sleeves which frustrate me with your constant increases, how I wish that you were finished!

Then again, if I were finished with the sleeves I'd just be faced with picking up a million and a half stitches with size 3 US needles for the ribbing around the front and collar. You know, if I really put my mind to it I could have this cardi finished in about 3 weeks. That's really not going to happen, though.

Next, I bring you the Baby Bell Bottoms from The Blue Blog's Alison. As soon as I saw the pattern I knew that I had to make some for baby. This is a picture from Thursday night's knitting session with Tammy at Panera. One almost finished blue pair of pants and a just started cream pair.
And a picture from about 22 minutes ago....
Done! With elastic waistband sewn in and everything!

Pattern: Baby Bell Bottoms by Alison Hansel
Needles: Size 6 US Denise Circs
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn's Jeannee in color 10 (blue) and 7 (cream)
Date Started: March 31, 2007
Date Finished: April 8, 2007 (for both pairs)
Modifications: None
Notes: I think that next time I'd be interested in working both legs at once using the Magic Loop method so that there was no seaming of the legs involved.

Also finished this week were Mom's most coveted brown socks that I don't have any pictures of! How on earth did I just spend an entire weekend with her and not get any pictures of her with the new socks?! I'll see if she can help me out with that problem.

Pattern: Garter Basketweave from Sensational Knitted Socks
Needles: Size 1 US dpns
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Chocolate from KPixie.com
Date Started: February 17, 2007
Date Finished: April 1, 2007
Modifications: None
Notes: None

I have another pair of socks on the needles currently. I thought that I'd work on a simple sock but wanted to mix things up a bit so I'm using the Magic Loop method on these. Nothing fancy, just a 2x2 ribbed cuff with stockinette in the leg and foot. I'm using some Sockotta that Mom bought for me last January while she was visiting my sister in San Diego and the bright colors make me think of Spring. The first sock is done and I have about 3" done on the leg of the second sock.

Today I started a gauge swatch for the Baby Bolero in Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby. There's nothing like doing a gauge swatch in the completely wrong size needles to make you wonder if it's a bad omen for the whole project. Nevertheless, I'll be trying to get gauge again and should have much better results this time.

Both Tammy and Sarah have decided to not buy any yarn this Summer and after digging through my stash on Saturday morning I think I could certainly join them on this journey without feeling any ill effects for a while. I forget just how much great yarn I have at my disposal. Yes, I may have to get creative with some of it (what does one do with an individual skein of bulky, hand-dyed yarn?) but I see it as a challenge. So, therefore, I'm pledging that I will not purchase any yarn until after August 1, 2007. That's 4 months and I think that I can do it!!!