T-1Day til Turkey time!

The hours are counting down til the big day, and for the first time ever, I'm not going home. There were several factors surrounding this dicission. Part of me is kicking myself for not going, but it's too late now. So last weekend, I knit a turkey (pictures to follow) and got a wonderful (and yet stupid) idea. I am not one of those people who knits people gifts for christmas. Mainly because of the same problem I had with all the babies... hard and fast deadlines. It makes knitting more stressful. But for some reason this year I am feeling artistic. A friend of mine is getting a painted Bar sign, and now I've come to the idea of personalized christmas stockings. This isn't just putting someones name on the stocking. That's a bit boring. I'm talking about doing something thats more unique. One friend is getting a black and gold CU stocking. Snowflake on one side, CU on the other. Another is gonna get something along the lines of a stocking with the doctor who tardis on one side. There's an orange one in my head too, and a Charlie Brown one that's made from recycled silk and looks a bit rough. There is no way I can finish all of these. I'm hoping to finish two of them (plus the painted bar sign) before christmas (or since I'm going home for christmas, before I get back and throw a holiday party) Hopefully all will go well and smooth. Plus it gives me something to do while I watch other people cook thanksgiving dinner, I can just sit back, smell the goodness, chat about whatever, and knit away.

Pink....so not me

So when I was buying some yarn and other art/craft projects, I saw this cute baby blanket, puffy yarn, and orange. There was only one color option, so unisex orange made sense. I thought it might be a cool addition to the baby basket for Brandon and Angie (especially since Brandon has an orange obession)... well it arrived, and it's pink. So I'm trying to make it work. The blanket can go to my boss because he's having a girl... but, well the baby is going to come early, and the yarn is hard to work with... so I'm stepping away from the pink. Who knows, maybe one day I will get back to doing something that's so puffy and so pink.

For now I think I am going to work on finishing up my skirt, then maybe move on to something christmasy, or even my couch blanket. But for now...the baby stuff is going to rest for a while.

The nerdling has a blanket!

So I'm watching the snow fall, trying to get everything together in my carry on and my suitcase, hoping that I can get out to the airport and takeoff. But this vacation has more fun things in store beyond just getting to travel. I'm going to a wedding in Seattle, I get to see friends, family, and give one of my friends his baby blanket. I started this a long long time ago. Was going to be finished for the due date (July 7th) but things kept getting in the way. My cousin's baby shower (thing 1 and thing 2) and Angie's baby shower (Fruit basket) and of course the normal wear and tears of life. Work, friends, illness. But I finally finished it. We decided that a warm blanket for July isn't that fitting, so I'm bringing it for halloween. :)

Since he was the first one to announce that there would be an addition to the family, I took on a larger project. A baby blanket, which is big and warm to wrap both baby and mother together. The one side (yes there are two sides) is knit in Cadet blue, with white lettering that says "My daddy is a nerd and I love him" in binary. Because the father...is a huge nerd, a very huge nerd, and I love him for it and so will his little boy. Everyone who knows him loves him for that reason. I chose to do two sides because I didn't want to deal with trying to hide the wrong side. So the otherside is done in Teaberry red...I wish it was a darker red but oh well.

The otherside says "My mommy is a knitter and I love her" because the mother is also a knitter. This should be a double thrill. The love of knitting is universal, so I hope she loves getting a knitted item instead of just loving making one. Now that the baby blanket is done, I have no more baby projects (except for one remote one) so I'm not sure what to do for my flight. I think I have settled on doing a shawl using a wonderfully multicolored fall colors. It should keep me occupied on the flight as well as keep me warm at work once its finished. Hurray!

Pretty colors eh? This yarn always reminds me of a jaw breaker :)

The glorious finish!

Thats right, the baby shower happened on Oct. 17th and everything was finished in glorious style! The pumpkin hat went quick, much like the other hats, though I forgot to do my ribbed plan to get the bumpy nature of the pumpkin, but everyone got the idea that it was a pumpkin. I'll make a note to try and remember to do it next time. So with the hats all done...what did I do? I made my own version of a diaper cake. For those who are unaware about what a diaper cake is, here's a brief description: Take diapers, roll them up (securing with rubberbands or string) put them in a circle standing up, basically creating a sheet cake. From there you make several 'cakes' and stick baby items in them. Wrapping blankets around them, sticking in toys, pacifiers, spoons, whatever you want to give.

Well I wanted to make a fruit basket. So I used the rolled diapers to fill the basket, prop up the hats and hold everything together. Additionally I took a bundle of socks and converted them into sock flowers! (In reality I couldn't make the sock roses or sock ribbons, so I had to figure out something else to make, but I think they look good). In the end the basket all came together. A handful of socks, knitted fruit and veggie hats along with a warm and wonderful little sweater. Then of course the non-artsy stuff: bottles, pacifiers, recieving blankets, rockie's onesies, and a Daddy's little wing man shirt. Angie loved them all so mission accomplished! I even have a few people who want their own, so there are now talks of opening a knitting store. Selling hats, small baby items, and maybe even hand warmers or something. The idea is either just baby items or expanding to doing many knitted items as well. Who knows....

Its warm, its blue, its Done!

The finishing touches have been added and everything is looking wonderful. When I asked Angie what she wanted as a knitting present, she answered "Hat" because babies loose heat from thier heads and her little boy is a winter baby. Which is great, and hence created the series of veggie hats. But I love coats and I decided to make her baby the "Baby Einstien Coat" and its finally finished. Starting off with just a few balls of yarn, I ended up with:

Doesn't Really look like a jacket does it? Well its bascially the back, front, sleves all knitted together. This actually hasn't gone through any finishing. Everything was done with a "pickup and knit" which isnt my favorite, but with the slipped stich edging it went easy. So now...then fun part, make it come together and look like an actual jacket! Add the little blue bear buttons and I'm all done! Now ready to finish the pumpkin hat and then Angie's gift is complete.

Confusing

I have entered the world of multiple challenges. This Baby Einstien pattern is a little confusing, and not knowing what typical baby sizes are, or for that matter how big they are when they are how old, means that I am almost completely blind and just following the pattern. My guage is close, kinda depends on if the finished piece is stretched or not, I'm getting the right number of stitches/rows. Its just...I have no idea if it even looks right. Oh well. I guess I'll see when its finished, and either way, it will fit the baby at some point in his life. It just might not fit the intended size. Hrm

Why couldn't it be Saturday

Aside from needing to finish 3 baby items quickly, I feel crappy today. I feel tired and run down. This is the kind of day that calls for soup to be bubbling on the stove, tea sitting on the table next to me, and knitting in hand. Alas, I am at work. No knitting to be had. The nice thing is my current task is going well, although much slower than the knitted hats. Its the baby Einstien coat, in 2 different shades of blue (with little sparkles in them)

This coat is a little weird. The bottom piece is not knit top-down or bottom-up like most sweaters, instead you knit a scarf like object, turn it 90 degrees and that becomes the main sides of the coat. Weird. The really interesting part is that this patten comes in 3 forms: Baby coat, a light adult coat, and a heavy thick adult coat. All are basically the same pattern so if I love the finished project I can make one for myself!