Happy Holidays!

Peace and Joy to you and yours!

Holiday Elf Baby

How about some holiday cuteness?



Candy cane hat from Itty Bitty Hats.



I love my boy!


Mmm...Turkey...

Twice in One Month?!

So it's still November and I'm posting again! Yay me!

And I've actually been doing some knitting, with some actual FO's to show for it. I knitted up two February Baby Sweaters for a friend who is expecting twin girls in the next month or two.



Details on Ravelry.

Also, I am so NOT a photographer. Such a crappy photo that is. Not really the actual color of the sweaters at all. But you get the general idea.

I liked this pattern quite a lot once I finally figured it out. But that took me a bit of figurin', which means that the first sweater (the purple one) has some mistakes which did not reappear in the second sweater. They match pretty well, aside from a few mistakes, and I accidentally did the buttonholes on different sides for each sweater. Oops! Lame, I know. Still, I'm quite pleased with the overall result. It's a sweet pattern and the yarn is a lovely soft superwash wool, Fibranatura Baby Merino which I got on some excellent clearance at Webs. And there's enough leftover to make two more baby sweaters...or something of that sort.

Now onto more important photos. And, although I am obviously terribly biased, I think there's really no denying that this is one very beautiful baby:



He's almost 4 months old already, and is growing so fast. My little angel boy.



Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, how quickly the time goes with a baby at home! I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since my last post. Yikes. So all is well with Baby Henry. He's a sweetie and I am so in love with him. He's learning all kinds of great things - such as how to suck his thumb, to reach and grab toys, to talk in his most excellent baby language, etc. We do struggle with some things, such as daytime naps, feeding, and some body stiffness. He's getting physical therapy and occupational therapy to help with those and I expect that before long he'll have it all figured out.

As for knitting, just a teensy bit of that going on. I'm amazed at how little free time I seem to have these days for knitting. But I do have a few pics to show:

These are some basic 3x1 ribbed socks I made for my husband. I lost the yarn label and I cannot remember what it was, but I'm pretty pleased with them. I was looking for a Trekking-like yarn and this seems like a pretty good substitute.


And here's Henry in his awesome wool diaper soaker. Obviously it's a titch big for him, but he'll grow into it. I find that I don't use these as often as I thought I would. The velcro closure diaper covers are just so much more convenient (and more waterproof).

I'm currently working on a February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I'm hoping to make two of these for some friends who are expecting twin girls in December or January.

And here's my two favorite guys!

My Favorite Baby Products

So we've had our boy home with us now for 4 weeks. He's doing great. We're doing great, still figuring out all the things you have to learn with a new baby - like how to get enough sleep, how to get stuff done, etc. There are so many fantastic inventions that make life easier with baby. Here are a few of my favorites...

Henry loves his rainforest bouncer...sometimes I think he loves it more than me. When he's crying inconsolably, the thing that will surely settle him down is setting him in his bouncy chair and turning on the vibrator and the little waterfall thing and the forest sounds.

Henry's sleep savior is the Miracle Blanket, a brilliant little baby straight-jacket. Henry loves this thing and he can really only get a decent night's sleep when he's swaddled up tight in his miracle blanket. I know babies can be swaddled in regular receiving blankets too, but this thing is virtually impossible to break out of, so he just relaxes and doesn't even try to free his arms. Brilliant! And then there's the Moby Wrap, a super comfy baby carrier. It's really just a very long (like 15 feet or so) piece of fabric that wraps around to create interesting ways to carry baby. Henry loves it because it's soft and stretchy and holds him close to me.

Another great invention that has turned out to be surprisingly useful for us is this Homedics Sound Spa...when we're putting Henry down to sleep we turn on the ocean sounds and set the timer for 15 minutes so we all fall asleep to the sound of ocean waves. It's super soothing for all of us. It makes other sounds too, like a heartbeat, or lullabies...but we like the ocean sound best, and I think it must be a little like the sounds of being in the womb.

And as for books...The Happiest Baby on the Block has been a great source of helpful info on calming and soothing an upsest baby.

So there's my list of just a few of the fantastic baby products that have really helped us.

Not much knitting going on here. A teensy bit of sock knitting now and again, so someday I will finish the pair of socks I've been working on for the last 2 months. Here's one last picture of Henry in his Baby Kimono sweater...

Baby's Home . . . Finally!

Here's baby Henry!



Poor little Henry got off to a very rough start in life. He was born by emergency c-section early Wednesday morning, July 30th after some oxygen deprivation issues during labor. He had some seizures hours later and was sent to the Intensive Care Nursery at UCSF where they took amazing care of him for 2 weeks. He was very very sick but has made an amazing recovery and we are so happy to finally have our boy home with us.

Here is a picture of me holding him for the first time, when he was 4 days old. How happy I was to finally have him in my arms!


And here's a couple more of his sweet face..

Baby Kimono

I finished the baby kimono sweater, and I love it. It was such a fast and easy project and it's sooooo adorable. Mine came out smaller than the pattern called for - it's probably about a 0-3 month size, but that's perfect, since most of the sweaters I've made are a little bigger, so it'll be good to have something the munchkin can wear when he's just a new babe.



Pattern: Baby Sachiko Kimono Sweater by Erika Flory
Yarn: TLC Cotton Plus light blue and sage
Needles: US7
Size: Small (about 3 month)

I made a little coordinating hat in the sage color, but it seems a little silly to me so I didn't picturize it. But even silly hats can look pretty sweet on a baby, so we'll try it out and see how it works. This may even be his going home from the hospital outfit if it's a cool day, and if it fits.

So no baby yet, but I do feel like it's going to be soon (but maybe every first time mom feels that way). My due date is still 10 days away, but my body is feeling quite ready. I had my last day of work on Thursday, so this is my first week off and I'm loving that. We did some serious hill walking over the weekend - the first time I've attempted that walk in months. It felt like such an accomplishment. Today I'll probably stick with swimming, just to give my achey body a break.

Hopefully any day now our little guy will join us in the big wide world!

Countdown

Just 2 1/2 weeks now til my due date! Exciting! I'm really beginning to feel ready, but not too impatient yet. I would like to get through at least one more week before baby comes. My brother and his wife are coming to town (from Venezuela) on Thursday, and we're having a family barbeque on Friday, so I'm hoping baby will hold off til after that to make his appearance. But I'll be thrilled, whenever he comes! Just 4 more days of work til I begin my leave (until January). Hurray!

I finished my Bird's Nest Shawl. It took almost two months, but I loved working on it. The yarn is so beautiful and soft, and the pattern is just lovely - not too complex, not too boring.

The shawl came out quite large (80" x 21"). It's surprisingly warm too.



Pattern: Bird's Nest Shawl by Cheryl Oberle from Folk Shawls (Ravelry Link)
Yarn: Indiecita Baby Alpaca from Peru (5.5 balls)
Needles: US6 and US5


When I finished the shawl I decided I should put some more energy into knitting baby stuff, which is so much faster. Love that instant gratification.

Pattern: Wool Diaper Soakers (Ravelry Link)
Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes
Needles: US7
Size: 0-6 month

And my current project is a baby kimono sweater. Ohmygoodness this thing is so tiny and adorable. It works up pretty quick too. Pictures of that soon I hope.

The Zoo

Yesterday hubby and I decided it was time for a trip to the San Francisco zoo. We wanted to take some cool animal pics for the baby's room, and to scope out the place for future trips with the little one. Plus, it just sounded like a fun idea. And it was!

Hubby took lots of excellent pics...







They have an awesome new grizzly bear exhibit, which lets you get pretty up close and personal with these beautiful creatures.






And these prairie dogs just cracked me up.


Here I am, with baby inside, on his first trip to the zoo.


I'm still plugging away at my Birds Nest Shawl, and I am still loving it. It's taking me forever, but I'm fine with that. I'm almost 2/3 done, so hopefully soon I'll be able to wrap it up and move on to some fast and rewarding baby knits. Meanwhile, I really do love working with this very soft yarn and this lovely, but fairly simple pattern.




Happy Fathers Day to everyone, including my honey, who is a truly remarkable dad!

Some Pregnancy Updates

I don't have much knitting to share. I'm working on a Bird's Nest Shawl from Folk Shawls, by Cheryl Oberle. I love love love this pattern. I'm about 1/3 of the way through it, and it's moving slow for me, but I really enjoy working on it.

In other news, the pregnancy is progressing very well. I'm 32 weeks now - just 8 weeks (give or take) to go. Very exciting. My amazing friends hosted a wonderful baby shower for us a few weeks ago and it was so much fun.

We got loads of wonderful baby gifts -lots of precious onesies, toys, books, etc. And a great jogging stroller for walks around our very hilly neighborhood. Here's a picture of the coolest hand-crafted gift ever- a fabulous quilt made by my friend Donna with adorable sock monkey fabric. I made sock monkeys for her boys years ago and she made this wonderful quilt for me. How sweet is that! And look how big it is....big enough for our boy to use for many years. I'm sure this quilt will get a lot of love for many years.


And here's a current picture of my big ol' pregnant belly. Funny thing is that people tell me that I don't look very big for being so far along. To me this just seems ridiculous. I am in fact, feeling plenty huge, but whatever. I find it a little surprising whenever someone comments on my size anyway, especially random strangers. I mean, people don't do that to non-pregnant women, right?

So we're feeling pretty ready for our little one, though he's still got to cook for at least another month. We've got most of the supplies and equipment we need; we're pretty much done with our childbirth classes; and now we just chill for the next month or two and we'll be good to go. Very exciting.

Back With a Couple Knits

I know it's been a long time since I've posted, but I'm here again. Been doing some knitting, not lightning fast or anything, but I have finished a couple things. Finished the Lacy Hug Me Tight from Knit 2 Together. Not sure I totally dig it though. I mean it'd probably be cute if I were skinnier and a lot less pregnant, but for now, not so much. But maybe someday it'll work for me.



Also, I whipped up some sweet diaper soakers. Love them. Such a fast and easy pattern, and if they actually work as effective cloth diaper covers I'll be stoked, because they are way cheaper and more fun than buying diaper covers. I've read that you should lanolize the wool to make it waterproof. (Anyone know anything about this?) So I'll give that a shot. And I'll definitely be knitting up more of these cuties.



I started the Bird's Nest Shawl, from Cheryl Oberle's Folks Shawls. I'm using some beautiful baby alpaca that my brother and sister-in-law brought me from Peru. It's soft and luscious. The shawl is knit lengthwise, so the rows are very long - 346 stitches and therefore move a little bit slowly. So I'm still working on the garter stitch edge, but so far I'm enjoying it.

I'm enjoying a couple days in Monterey, where it is unusually hot - over 90 degrees! But beautiful. Who could complain about a day in Monterey?! Walking along the coast in Pacific Grove we stumbled across a beach with a bunch of mama and baby harbor seals. Many of the babies were nursing. How sweet is that?






My pregnancy is progressing nicely - I'm bigger every day, which still shocks me when I see myself in the mirror. But I'm feeling good and everything seems fine, so hurray. And in 10 weeks or so, our new baby will be giving up the comfort of his watery cushy home for the real world. I am so looking forward to that moment!

Baby Daisy Hat

I'm still plugging away on my Lacy Hug Me Tight from Knit 2 Together. It's a lot of 2x2 ribbing, so it's a little tedious, but I'll get there. I'm a little discouraged because I'm going to run out of yarn - I'll need 2 more balls I think and I'm not sure where I'll get it. But I'll keep working away at it.

Meanwhile, for a little instant gratification I knit up an Upside Down Daisy Hat from Itty Bitty Hats. So fast and so cute.

Pattern: Upside Down Daisy Hat from Itty Bitty Hats
Yarn: TLC Cotton Plus, medium Rose
Needles: US7
Size: 0-6 month

It's for my husband's cousin's new baby (due next week). They have another daughter who is around 3, so I think I'll make a matching big sister hat. I'm so pleased with this little project.

In baby news... the little guy's very active these days, which is so fun. Lots of kicking going on. I'm feeling good and enjoying this stage of the pregnancy very much. We are gradually putting the baby's room together. We assembled the crib and I dyed some curtains the other day, and that worked out nicely. There's still lots to be done, but it feels good to make a little progress.

Have a great week!

My New Best Friend

So, about a month ago I started with the pregnancy aches and pains. But it was mostly caused by sleeping as far as I could tell. So I ordered myself this awesome (both in size and comfort) pregnancy pillow. And I tell you what, this thing is my new favorite thing. Soooo comfortable. Like sleeping on a cozy cloud. Now I'm a happy pregnant lady!



And in knitting news...I knit up this precious elephant. Sooooo cute. And fast and easy. The only challenging part for me was the ears, which are crocheted. And since I don't know how to crochet, that took a little figuring. But I figured it out and I think they came out okay. And really I love this little guy.


Pattern: Elefante by Susan B. Anderson (ravelry link)
Yarn: Cheap Blue Acrylic
Needles: US 4 double points

Li'l sweaters

I found this sweet little baby cardigan pattern and I liked it so much I had to make a second one. The first one is for our new baby boy, the second will be a girl baby gift.



Pattern: Knitting Pure and Simple, Easy Baby Cardigan
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino - Rich Red (about 300 yards)
Needles: US7
Size: 6 month




Pattern: Knitting Pure and Simple, Easy Baby Cardigan
Yarn: Moda Dea Dream - rasberry (about 300 yards)
Needles: US7
Size: 6 month

Cute cute cute. This is a great, easy baby sweater pattern. I'm going to make some booties now to go with the pink one. And if the booties work out, maybe more of them for other baby gifts.

And speaking of baby, all is well with the pregnancy so far. I'm at 20 weeks now, halfway there! My belly is getting big and the baby is strong. We had our 18 week ultrasound and everything looks healthy. We're beginning to collect some baby gear (crib, bassinet, carseat), and are getting more and more excited about our new little one, set to arrive at the end of July.

Hemlock Ring at last

I have been working on the Hemlock Ring blanket since December. For some reason I really struggled with completing this project. I grew bored with it at times, and it just seemed to move so slowly. Then, when I was finally approaching the end, and was feeling motivated to wrap it up, I couldn't get over how long the bind off row took me. 3 days! Blocking was another challenge too! I struggled to make it as symetrical as I could, but it is far from perfect. And still, I love it. It's a very pretty, very soft lap blanket.


Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket
Yarn: Cascade Eco-Wool, color #8063 (about 1.75 skeins)
Needles: US10.5
Modifications: I knit to row 60 of Brooklyn Tweed's chart (106 rows altogether), then did the bind off row. It measures about 54" across.





And, since it's been so long since I've posted, I never did post about my birthday. I turned 40 on February 19th. We celebrated with a trip to Santa Cruz and Monterey, which was wonderful as always. One of the highlights was our trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is just so spectacular. So here are some beautiful jellies from their incredible jelly exhibit:



Aren't they beautiful!