I've made a decision.

I have far too much on the go. I really do. In terms of WIP, I mean. So it's been decided: I either need to finish, or frog. Right now, I have 9 things on needles. I can really only work on one thing at a time, with one other thing for distraction if the first thing isn't doing it for me. So that's where I'd like to be. That, and I'm sure once the baby arrives, I won't be knitting on 9 things!

So I'll finish the stuff I have that's going well, frog Jane, my Anemois which wouldn't fit a 3 year old, and the mystic waters shawl I read backwards. All the work points down instead of up. It's hard to explain. This will leave me with 6 WIPs.

Skull Illusion scarf: needs lots more length, but is definitely work worthy. I'll likely have it done in 2 weeks max. Is that courting disaster? Giving it a time line?

Arabesque blanket: The panel bit is halfway to finished. It has definitely ground to a halt of late, but needs to be finished before sprout is. It will take time and patience. Usually, I do an hour on it each day before work. My shift has been bumped to an earlier one, so it will take time to work out a routine. I think I can have it finished by the end of February.

My Chocolate Jacket is another good work project - Lots of stockinette. Once the skull scarf is done, I'll start in again on the jacket.

So that leaves 3 things. Another scarf, my frost flowers shawl - which I think I'll make a large doily and give it to my mom or mother in law, and a baby sweater. Clearly there's a dead line on the baby sweater, the scarf is something I really enjoy, and the doily is nearly done. I think I can have my WIPs cleaned up by May.

Lookit!

See this pretty thing? It's for the munchkin!
I picked this lovely light yellow colour, the ball band calls it Natural -- it doesn't scream 'I didn't know the baby's gender' quite like mint green, or pastel yellow.

It's a pattern called Arabesque, which can found on the WIP insanity blog. The link may be accessible from Ravelry only, and if that's the case, I apologize. I'm not trying to be exclusive, I promise. And, as I said on Ravelry: Now that I’ve been cranking this out for a week, here are my insights: I would skip the textured yarn and do it in something smooth in future. The purl rows aren’t so bad, because I can just sit back and go. The right side rows are only difficult because I lose count so much, and the chart is so blinkin’ tiny! Rows take less than 10 minutes each, and I can do 2 chart repeats in a week, so even though it may feel a touch tedious at times, when I sit back and look at how far I’ve come, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

OMG!

See that? That's my baby! You will also note the nasty tile below the mirror, the yellowed shower surround, and the lovely, not retro at all turquoise tub. Nice, eh?
We planned on re-doing the bathroom and the kitchen when we moved into the house. We thought we'd get to it this spring actually . . . but now we kind of have to save our pennies for our impending addition. I don't think I even mind.

Where does the time go??

So here I am - at work, eating an apple and hoping to catch the world up. Or at least, catch up my handful of readers.

Knitting: Lots of things on the needles. I need to finish some stuff. I need to photo some stuff so you have some stuff to look at.
I've cast on for a gorgeous baby blanket, and a really cute little sweater with sherbet coloured yarn. I would like to eat it.

Pregnancy: Today marks 16 weeks, according to the doctor's office. That means 4 and a half months, according to What to Expect. And while we're on the topic, Christ Almighty I hate that book!! It's nothing but one huge blowoff and guilt trip. I wish I had borrowed it. Sadly, I purchased it. It comes highly recommended.
It's aggravating.
Baby Fingers has started moving from time to time. I'll get a little kick, or a tiny wiggle. It's amazing -- and making it all very real. I've also really started showing. I dont' really just look fat anymore - I look pregnant now. I'm totally revelling in my new roundness. I love it!

Next week I have some time off, so I'll be able to blog more!

It's about time!

PHOTOS!

Yes, I finally got my shit together and took, uploaded and am ready to share some photos.


First things first: I can't take credit for this one, but I sure wish I could! This is the end result of the not so secret scarf swap on Knitty. Lost for a while in the mail, it finally arrived yesterday - and isn't it beautiful??

It came with this stuff: An etsy necklace, Lexi Barnes zip bag, and a box of yummy peppermint tea. Absolutely wonderful!

And in other news:
Let us start with Odessa. I made Odessa to replace my lost, then found black toque. Here she is, in all her out of focus glory. It's HARD to photograph black!




When I finished with Odessa, I cast on for a cute little baby kimono. It's completely seamless, and darling, and only takes one skein of butterfly cotton, making it very cost effective. I plan on trimming it with some pretty ribbon I got at Michaels for $1. I bought several different spools, so I have yet to decide what actually goes on the kimono.

And then, since I was on a roll, and since it seemed like a good idea at the time, I cast on and knit this cute little preemie sweater. It's absolutely adorable, took less yarn than I thought - you could likely make it from skein of Sirdar Snuggly, and it took only one day. I would make some changes if I were to knit this again - one, it would not be in garter. Two, it would not be quite so bubbly. Three, the raglan increases would not be three stitches apart - it's a little too chunky for my liking. I absolutely love the colour combination though. Well worth it.

And THEN, since I had the extra yarn, and the time, and the ambition, I thought I would make up some cute teeny socks. Look how little! I made this whole sock at work yesterday, and got to the gusset on the second sock as well. Now, as a rule, I don't like sock making, but baby sock making is the exception. This is definitely my kind of sock! Fast, cute, NOT boring.

I also have another preemie sweater on the needles. Now for the heavy bit -- these tiny knits are all for Christopher's Angels.
They will go to a hospital somewhere to hopefully bring comfort to families who have lost their tiny babies, or perhaps who are bringing their little ones home.

Baby knitting is the ultimate in instant gratification! Look at it this way: in less than a week, I've finished 2 sweaters and almost a pair of socks!