Knitting Musings

Lame Duck Associate

I'm struggling through my last 7 days of sitting in my office before I start my maternity leave. Things are, thanks to the economy and so forth, beyond slow... and since I'm almost out the door, I'm not exactly in high demand for any new projects that come up. So I'm really just killing time. I guess I should try to enjoy the enforced periods of "sitting around doing nothing" since I'm pretty sure the Little Monster will be putting an end to those opportunities soon!

Speaking of the Little Monster, I ran out of subway-knitting, so I cast on for some thumbless mittens (on the advice of a mom at Late Night last week). I'll probably finish up the 3 pairs of thumbless mittens before I finish up the commuting, so I'm thinking I'll make matching pairs of socks and have 3 little sets (awwwwwwwwwwwww).

And the Little Monster itself? Definitely in the middle of a growth spurt. I feel more and more like I've got a basketball full of sand strapped to my stomach!

Over the weekend, S had the great idea to build a box to hold the plastic drawers we're using as a dresser for the Little Monster. So we headed out to buy wood, paint, and screws, and by the end of the weekend had this:

We figure that once we're done with the crib and get the Little Monster some real bedroom furniture, we can put shelves or doors on the box and use it as a toy chest or something. It's nothing fancy, but it makes a big difference! Plus, it gives us a great surface to use for drinks etc... while sitting in the rocking chair.

And the rocking chair? It's gotten the "cricket seal of approval."

Abby, on the other hand, prefers a slightly warmer mattress that is capable of giving the occasional belly-rub...

They slept like that for over an hour the other night. Awwwwww!

Labels: Baby

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Two Weeks

10 more days. It's almost here... as is the Little Monster! I've been riding the "nesting wave" and S has been helping me get things organized. Last weekend, we did the shed and the basement, and yesterday we used our holiday to finish setting up the Little Monster Lair.

Is anyone surprised that the wall art has a sheep-and-chicken theme?

Nothing in the room is "new" - the crib and changing table were passed on from friends, and the rocking chair saw service 30-odd years ago when my parents used it for both my brother and for me. I just bought new cushions!

After all of the crib-assembly and organizing, I continued the finishing-tear and dove into the knitting basket....

... and came out with matching Father-and-Little Monster chicken hats! These are FANTASTIC. I can't wait to do some photo shoots! And once the novelty has worn off, I plan to stuff them and sew up the bottoms to create a couple of awesome chicken dolls/pillows.

And yes, I am aware that other people may find this odd. But dude - CHICKEN HATS!! And the legs hang down to cover your ears, so it's actually a really comfy and warm hat!

I also FINALLY finished the Sheepie Blanket!!!!! For the record, there were 222 ends for the sheep, 79 ends for the various borders, and 53 ends for the dogs... for a grand total of 354 ends. I hate intarsia with a passion, but I'm really glad I stuck with it and finished this!

So a quick update of "The List" shows that I'm getting there... I should finish S' fingerless mitts this week (I've been knitting and re-knitting them over and over to get the fit exactly right!), and I should be finishing up my dad's vest in the next week or two. Once my maternity leave starts, I plan to go gangbusters on the sewing projects and start the mobile (sheep, of course!) I may still have bitten off more than I can chew, but I'm taking it one project at a time, and hopefully will get most of it done before the Little Monster makes its appearance!

Finished
1. Sew 3 baby bumpers for crib
2. Baby aran sweater
3. Baby Dale of Norway sweater
4. Socks for S
5. Chicken Hat for Little Monster and S (don't ask... really no rational explanation)
6. Sheepie Blanket

Almost Finished
1. Dad's Christmas Vest (cut steeks, neck and arm bands, sew in ends, block)
2. Finally hem living room and dining room curtains
3. Fingerless mitts for S

Haven't Started
1. Shaun the Sheep mobile for Little Monster
2. Sew sleep sacks for Little Monster
3. Sew ring sling for Little Monster
4. Sew crib sheets for Little Monster

Labels: Baby, Sheepie Blanket

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Bring on Thanksgiving

Ok, ok... so I know that Halloween was just last weekend, and normally I'm not one to rush to the next holiday... but Thanksgiving marks my first day of maternity leave, so pardon me if I am a little extra-eager to get through November. (For the record - 14 more days, including today, of dragging my sorry butt into the office. In 3 weeks from today, I'll be DONE.)

So right - Halloween. I'm a big loser and didn't dress up this year, but we did carve our pumpkin (Abby helped us by eating all of the "extra pieces!")

And before the trick-or-treaters started arriving, we made sure Abby got into the Halloween spirit. She was not particularly amused, but it definitely helped make her less threatening when she ran to the door woofing at each group of kids (we had a baby gate up to make sure she couldn't get out.)

Eventually, she (sort of) got used to the constant stream of visitors and settled down for a more comfortable door-guarding experience...

Poor Abby got quite a workout - we completely ran out of candy and granola bars (our back-up food) by around 8:30! We had at least 75 trick-or-treaters! Next year we'll be sure to buy more candy, but this was our first Halloween in our new neighborhood, so we had no idea what to expect.

The rest of the weekend was spent being productive. Saturday's weather was AWESOME, so we took advantage of the sunny day and mild temperatures to do some cleaning. I washed a bunch of baby stuff I was gifted (car seat and stroller), and S steam-cleaned the dining room and kitchen rugs. As you can see, we definitely knew when the rugs were dry!

After a day filled with all sorts of productivity, we all settled down for a nice relaxing evening. As you can see, both Abby and Cricket have done their best to adjust their snuggling to accomodate the growing belly!

Since I managed to tweak my lower back during all of Saturday's productivity, I spent Sunday being much more sedentary. But LOOK! I'm just about done with the Sheepie Blanket!!!

I just have to weave in the last billion or so ends I created knitting the two doggies, and it will be DONE. And the Little Monster had better be worth it, because I REALLY HATE INTARSIA.

And for the record, Abby would like to point out that she is MUCH more photogenic than some stupid blanket, and that you should all come over and rub on her tummy.

And finally, what weekend wouldn't be complete without some bizarre squirrel behavior? This particular squirrel stole an empty hot chocolate container from our recycle bin, and attempted to bring it up various trees in the yard.

He would do really well, but then would drop it and have to start all over. We tried to help out by keeping the dog and cat inside, but eventually he gave up and left the container in our neighbor's yard. We still don't know what he was trying to do with it!