Triple the fun

So I haven’t been on much lately, with my oldest heading to college in the fall and five younger siblings keeping me on my toes, I’ve been busy.  Not so busy that I haven’t been knitting just not as much as usual.  (I might be a little distracted by Pokemon too).  But I have three good reasons to buckle down and knit non-stop.  We are just weeks away from my best friends scheduled c-section for triplets.  Baby knitting times three…I am having fun buying yarn and knitting little items.  Three little girls, two are identical, third might be too but we won’t know until after they are born.  So exciting. So here is what I’m working on right now.

Perfect fit newborn socks
Love the stretchy fit of the socks, now to finish this pair and make two more pairs.

Busyness and Business

I haven’t posted in a few days because of how busy we have been. I did get a lot of knitting done. I have even come up with a new pattern, I just need to write the details down. Unfortunately the hat is just a pattern I modified to suit my needs so sadly the pattern will not be posted. The hat and and tie were made per the request from a photographer friend. I even whipped up a diaper cover but forgot to snap a picture before handing them off. I did get a picture of the hat and tie. I like designing for photographers as they usually have a good idea of what they are looking for and appreciate the behind-the-scene work involved. Hopefully I will get the diaper cover pattern written out too!

My knitting confessional

I am finally coming to grips with the fact that my life has changed. I will not be able to get around like I used to, I do have to limit the amount of time on my feet, and I really need to find healthy outlets that make me feel of use. It never occurred to me that the hardest thing about limitations is the change of mindset. I have spent my life running from one thing to the next and for the first time, life is telling me to stop running, to even stop moving fast at all. My frustration is mostly with myself, my inability to do things quickly. Never has it intentionally taken me so long to get through a grocery store, or walk through the mall. There is no such thing as a quick stop for me. When I was young I ran, fast. I loved the feeling of passing, of finishing first, of exceeding my own expectations. My patience has grown, but the emotional hurdles of sitting still have really surprised me. I thought this blog would help me and it has opened my eyes to my own avoidance of the inevitable reality before me, life changes….and I have to change too. I will make a point of writing more, of knitting more, and of being more open about my struggles. We are human, we fail, we triumph, we struggle, we ease through things…..I will find purpose in this. For now, I will knit newborn hats, by months end maybe something else, for now I will find purpose in this and pray that my heart heals along with my foot.

knitting pattern

Just thought I would attempt to post my first pattern…..

Bulky Rolled Rim Newborn Hat
Hometown USA Lion brand yarn
size 13 circular and/or double point needles

Cast on 25 stitches.
slip last stitch to front needle and knit 2 together. continue to knit in the round. 24 st
continue to knit to 5 inches approximately 15 rounds.
decrease for crown
round 1: knit 2, knit 2 together, repeat around 18 stitches
round 2: knit
round 3: knit 1, knit 2 together, repeat to end of round, 12 stitches
round 4: knit
round 5: knit 2 together around, 6 stitches
cut yarn about 12 inches from last stitch, slip stitches with yarn, pull tight, weave in ends.

knitting betrayal

I finished my hospital stay crocheting. I had to put down my knitting needles to pick up a simpler stitch, hoping the medication, wouldn’t prevent me from following the pattern. It was a nice break from knitting, and seemed to be easier on my hand with the IV. I did find the pattern in my knitting book so it was not a complete betrayal. The pattern is a nice simple lacy hat for a baby. Fun to crochet with quick results….just what my short attention span. Almost as short as this post.

Knit hat

I finished a hat. I thought about making a cool accessory for the top, but I like the way it looks too much. I did start an I-cord just in case I change my mind. The yarn’s variegated colors are some of my favorites. I bought more skeins than I should have but I couldn’t resist. It is very soft and works up great. Just enough shine to show off the stitches. Now that I left you hanging I will tell you which kind it is, only because now I’ll set down my phone long enough to find it! Deborah Norville’s Serenity Garden Yarn. I really do enjoy working with it. It is very soft.

A Smelly Bib

Have you seen the smelly yarn from Sugar’n Cream, oops, I mean scented.  It brought be me right back to childhood and reminded me of a strawberry shortcake doll.  Do you remember those dolls?  I didn’t even realize I had bought the smelly yarn, until my friend pointed out the balls of yarn at Michaels.  I wasn’t sure what to make with it.  The color is why I had bought it, a vibrant pink, almost red.  I have been waiting for inspiration to hit and it has.   I have transformed the smelly yarn into a smelly bib.  Using “Hot Green” as contrast with the I-cord ribbing and ties. I think the combination is adorable and can’t imagine any baby not willing to model it, well maybe a baby boy would resist but the smell might just make him give it a try.  So here is the big reveal of the adorable smelly bib.

the smelly yarn

the adorable smelly bib

Here is a link to the pattern….

http://www.lauratreadway.com/knitting/stockinette-babybib.pdf

and a link to the designers blog

http://potentialofyarn.blogspot.com/

 

Baby Blanket Bliss

I couldn’t resist.  I started yet another project.  I had to….it was calling me.  It has been too long since I have knitted a baby blanket and this yarn and this lace pattern are working out beautifully.  Please bear with me, as the photo does not do justice to what I am sure the finished product will look like.  Maybe I am just a little over confident, probably from the knitting-high of starting a new project, not just any project, but a lace one.   I am sure once it is blocked it will be gorgeous, of course, I will probably have no time to post a picture of the perfect masterpiece.  (convenient, don’t you think?)  I will give a taste of my new lace baby blanket.  I am sure I will finish this one soon, unlike the 1/3 done baby blanket it my knitting basket.  Well, now that I’ve given my fingers a stretch typing, it’s time to get back to my knitting.

unstretched lace

stretched lace

Procrastinating???? Or maybe just lazy.

I am almost done with another baby hat, well, maybe.  I just need to measure to make sure I am ready to decrease, but that would require some sort of measuring device.  One of my many, many measuring tapes would work, if I could remember where I left one.  I did ask for my daughters help, but after one reach into one of my many bottomless knitting bags she suggested I look for it myself and offered to hand me the bag.  Something must have distracted us because the bag never landed on my lap and here I sit hours later wondering what must have happened.  I suppose I could just get up and look but here I sit writing about it instead.  I think it is time for a nap.

Flying needles

I would like to think this refers to how fast I knit but it might refer to knitting-while-medicated.  My stage 1 procedure was completed last Tuesday.  It went so well, the Dr. thinks I may not need another procedure for a long time.  I will know for sure by the end of this week or the beginning of next week.   This “4th of July” stuff is inhibiting the flow of information.  Either way, today is a better day, because so far today, I am crutch free, painfully walking, but crutch free.  Can you hear the shouts of joy???  Probably not, because as I mentioned before in an earlier post, I am not a very good cheerleader (not just an opinion, a fact, unfortunately recorded forever in yearbook memories, oh well, it coincided with braces so maybe no one will recognize me).

But I digress, back to the knitting, in my highly medicated state I did manage to bust out a bunch of knitting, 2 baby cocoons, another diaper, another couple of hats, finished the hood of the wallaby.  Maybe I should be hospitalized more often.

knitting in the admitting area, knitted my way right up to pre-op sedation, about the time, my husband and I thought it would be a good idea to put the needles down, who knows what kind of project would’ve resulted if I kept going.

A little hospital fun, and an alternate use for the baby cocoon.

The foot with the hidden pain, minor looking at first glance but if you could see inside the foot quite angry, at this point, alcohol was destroying the criminal veins causing all the pain in my foot, unfortunately, killing blood vessels is incredibly painful, hopefully they learned their lesson and won’t come back.

The result of too much tme with my feet up.