Wednesday, January 28, 2009

This is the afghan that never ends....

...it just goes on, and on, and on.....


I started this last year for my MIL and made great progress on it, until it got bigger and warmer. To warm to have on your lap during the summer months. I have made a deal with myself that i can't start anything new until this is finished so I have been trying to work on it every night while watching TV. Doesn't require any real though at all, so hopefully it will be finished soon. I will finish it, i will finish it, I will, I will, I WILL.


Also, finished a BSJ for the new baby. Briefly considered adding a collar, but I don't think I will be that motivated. Or have the time. Cute, no?


Also, finally bought buttons for the Tomten I knit for Sweet P eons ago. I wasn't in too big a of a rush because, well, I didn't really check my gauge, and lets just say it will be at least another year until it will fit her. Oops. Over all I think it turned out really nicely!

Other things will also be put aside temporarily to knit up some projects that have a deadline. They are small and will lend themselves well to all of the sitting and waiting I will be doing at the doctors' offices from here on out. Everything is fine, but because I see my primary OB and an OB that specializes in Gestational Diabetes at EVMS, I'm now seeing one doctor or another every week to monitor blood sugar and fetal development.

P.S. For anyone interested, I couldn't decide between the ring sling and a Moby, I found one of each barely used for GREAT prices on Diaperswappers. I'll try them both. Mobility with the new baby is a real priority and it seems that these might work for different situations. Thanks for all of your input!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Bear with me...

In addition to cleaning out all of the random things in our house to make space for the new person who will be living here, I'm going through all of the stuff we had when Sweet P was a baby and making a list of things we still need. Turns out we don't really need much of anything; all of the big stuff is already taken care of. This time, though, I would really like to try some sort of sling to keep the new baby in when we are running around on errands and various classes and such. The one feature that I really would like is that it be adjustable and breastfeeding friendly.

Three that I am considering:
Sweet Pea RingSlings
Maya Wrap Ring Sling
Zolowear Ring Sling

Anyone have any thoughts or opinions about these are any other style sling? I have tried to find something like this to see IRL, but haven't had any luck. Is one better than the other? I'm leaning toward the Sweet Pea slings because I like to try to support smaller companies, but would love some feedback from moms who have actual experience. Thanks!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Actual Yarn

Recently I've been doing lots of spinning. My husband very thoughtfully gave me a 1 yard niddy-noddy, nostepinne, and two toy wheel spindles last November for my birthday, even though he had no idea what anything but the spindle actually did or functioned as. I already had a toy wheel spindle that I hadn't touched in a month or two but his gift renewed my interest. The spindles are kind of heavy, 1.5 - 2 oz., good for plying and thicker weight yarn, but I really wanted to try something lighter so I went on a spending spree and ordered lots of fiber from some really great shops on etsy and a lighter spindle. So I present to you what i consider to be my first real yarn.

It's a 50/50 superwash merino/tencel in the "Fraises" colorway from Squoosh. Very pretty. I didn't plan out how I was going to spin it in any way, so unfortunately to me it came out kind of muddled. I've got about 200 yds of sport to DK weight. Can't find any pattern that I like to knit this into, so it will sit until I find something.

So after doing my part to stimulate the economy, I now have 5 spindles, and quite a bit of fiber. I have some superwash merino hanging to dry that I will try to get pictures of if the sun ever somes out.

I also did lots of christmas knitting which I will not detail here because there was alot of it and, well, I don't feel like it. If you feel so inclined, it's all on my Ravelry page. What I am working on right now is Kingscot. Jaeger Extra-Fine Merino DK. It's yummy. But also difficult to take good photos of because of the color which is indigo. I've completed the back and left front but you'll have to wait to the sun to come out for more pics.

In other news, we are oficially in nesting mode here at the house. The new baby will be here in a mere three months (!) so it's time to rearrange bedrooms to accomodate. And take down wallpaper. Fun. But I'm very much looking forward to painting and having everything in it's place. In addition to the bedrooms, I will finally be tackling a small makeover of the mezzanine level of my house. Hubby is very skeptical of my color choices so I have recruited a more expert opinion. Paint samples this weekend!