Baby Mario: Warren's First Cosplay

For Warren's first anime convention, we dressed him up as Mario. I knit the hat using this pattern generator.


There was much squee-ing. Much, much, much...


And just when we thought it couldn't get any cuter, this happened:


Cuteness overload.

**Also, the 3rd episode of Revenge of the Knits is available through itunes and the Revenge of the Knits website. Episode 4 is coming soon!

Some things

Well, I'm officially full term with all this pregnancy business. That's a big deal. We only have 14 days until the due date. So, there's that going on...just waiting. So much waiting.

To pass the time, we took some belly shots. Here are a few of my favorites:



These were taken at 37 Weeks, 4 Days. :)

I have been sewing diapers. Here they are:




I used the Rita's Rump Pocket pattern for them. The first four (dogs and monsters) are "stuffable" and the other two (frogs) are "done stuffed and ready." I'm going to keep making the "done stuffed and ready" variety, but I think I'm going to try out a different pattern to see what I like the most. Another thing I am hoping to change is the material that I use to make the soaker pads. I have a ton of polyester fleece fabric and that is what I used, but I think I'd rather use a few layers of thin cotton batting and flannel. I just have to find some. I'm not sure that 100% cotton batting is something I can easily find at Joann's. Not being a quilter, I've never looked at the batting they carry.

I hear pregnant women can be crazy. I guess I am no different. On a whim, I decided to start two shawls. One of which is of the beaded lace variety: Aeolian. It's actually moving along quite quickly. I am surprised because it looks like it should be really complicated. Of course, I'm only on the first chart. I might be singing a different tune in a week or so when I'm juggling a complicated lace pattern and a newborn on close to zero sleep. Yeah, didn't really think that through...because I also bought needles to start a Shipwreck Shawl...and hope to get it started as soon as said needles arrive.

Here's the Aeolian in progress. I've done a few more repeats since the photo was taken:


The second shawl I started is less crazy making and I'm loving it because I'm using my handspun! It's the Citron shawl, but my yarn is much thicker and I'm using size 8s instead of the 6s called for in the pattern. It's also working up quickly...but I'm going to have to spin up the rest of the yarn soon or it will be stalled indefinitely!


See? It looks good in my handspun! :) I don't knit with handspun very much, but I really should make more of an effort to do so. I'm so much more proud of the results when I know I made the yarn myself.

Well, I don't know what else to say. That's about it. Maybe next time I blog, I'll have a baby to show you. I'm really hoping he comes sooner rather than later. :)

Falling behind, catching up

So, I have not updated the blog in a while. I have been avoiding it. It isn't that I don't have anything to share. It's more that I just didn't want to sit still for long enough to write about it all. :) I have been knitting. A lot. An awful lot. I have much to show you.But before the knitting, I will show my latest weaving project (albeit, a few weeks old now).




The yarn is Elsebeth Lavold Silky wool in various colors. Stash yarn, all. Weaving really uses it up. I have a few other things planned for other pesky yarns in the stash that just can't seem to find appropriate projects. :) Yay!

As for knitting. Where did we leave off? I'm just going to plow through and not give much detail here, because there is a lot of stuff!
First, this is a gift that I pulled together for my BFF who is due only a few weeks after me!:



Patterns here and here. I fully intend to make matching ones for our little guy. Squee.

Here is another super easy crocheted soaker:


It's not as cute as some of the others I've made, but it will fit for a long time and that is possibly more important. :) Pattern here.

I was commissioned by a friend to knit a yellow vest for one of her ACEN cosplays this year. I worked my bum off and managed to finish with time to spare! The convention is May 14th-16th.



The actual color is more yellow in person. It looks really light in the photo. It fit her. Success. I will post pics of her wearing it with the rest of the costume (which I didn't make, for the record) after this weekend. :)

Finally, I just finished this vest over the weekend. It is from a Japanese pattern from this book. It was comically small before blocking, but now it fits just right! This was another stash buster project. I've gotta get through it before the baby gets here!




I'm starting to feel very cluttered and panicked over the state of the condo. I don't feel like any room in the entire place is up to my standards at the moment. We need more bookcases, and storage. I need to go through every cabinet in the kitchen and re-organize it all. I need to fill up a few boxes for the Salvation Army...trouble is, I don't know what to fill them with! All I know is that there is way too much going on in this tiny space and I am SICK TO DEATH OF IT ALL! I know that this is all a part of nesting and completely normal, but I'm definitely working myself up over it. I just feel like I don't even know where to start.

Otherwise, this being pregnant thing is a good experience (can that go on my resume someday?). I've not had many issues or discomfort...just a bit of acid reflux/heartburn and sore and swollen legs. I don't sleep as well either, but I think that's just nature's way of preparing me for the sleepless nights to come. Thanks a lot. I really like making my husband do things for me...like the laundry and sweeping. :) We thought we had decided on a name a long time ago, but now we are changing our mind and haven't made the final decision yet. For certain, his middle name will be Uel after my great-grandfather.

The baby's room is slowly coming together. Pics when it is more presentable. We have a crib and a glider/ottoman (thanks to the in-laws). It's looking cute (but cluttered) so far. Oh clutter. Hopefully our trip to IKEA tonight will help with that a little.

OK, that's enough of an update for now, I think.

FO's and WIP's (Image HEAVY)

First up, I finished my Slouchy Entrelac Tam:



Apologies for the nightgown and scummy mirror.

• Pattern: Slouchy Entrelac Tam by Linsay Ingram

• Yarn: Noro Silk Garden (2 balls)

• Modifications: Pom pom! I did one extra round of 8 stitch squares to use up more yarn and add more floppiness. I blocked it on a dinner plate.

• Verdict: Love it! I've worn it a million times (well, not really)

• Link to my Ravelry entry for this project here.

Second in line, my Moderne Jacket is finished! And I didn't run out of yarn! Phew!

• Pattern: Moderne Jacket--free pattern from Lion Brand

• Yarn: This was a stash extravaganza! Cascade 220 Heathers and random Japanese stash yarn (cashmere content)

• Modifications: I fudged a few of the numbers in an attempt to get between two sizes. It didn't really work, lol. No buttons or buttonholes.
  

• Verdict: I didn't do a great job seaming because I'm not quite sure where to pick up stitches with crochet. Also, the seams might be a bit tight in some places. Again, I'm not super experienced with crochet...yet. I think it looks quite adorable without buttons as an open "jacket" thing. My favorite thing about making this was how much yarn it ate up! I only have one ball left of the Cascade 220 and just a scrap length of the blue Japanese yarn! Woot!

• Link to my Ravelry entry for this project here.

First up in the WIP's department:

We have a nearly finished soaker! All I need to do is figure out how many stitches to pick up around the legholes and do some ribbing. The pattern doesn't specify how many, all it says is pick them up "evenly."

Let's just say, I've already tried that once or twice. I'll figure it out eventually.

• Pattern: Adirondack Soaker

• Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted...Hand dyed by me!

• Modifications thus far: None

• Verdict thus far: Cute and easy!

And finally, yet another WIP:

• Pattern: Your Nana's Potholders. That's not a Ravelry link, so anyone should be able to click to see it! :)

• Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream (stash yarn!)
  

• Verdict thus far: Oh, so very kitschy! Love it!
  

You might have noticed that I am all about the crochet lately. I'm sure it's only because it eats up tons of yarn and is fast, fast, FAST! I'm still predominantly a knitter, but I am loving the change and challenge (and it's good for the brain!). :)

Turtle Butt

• Pattern: Turtle Butt Soaker by Melanie Hoffman

• Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Turquoise and Orange

• Recipient: Armen Uel (aka, "Womb Monster.")

• Verdict: Adorable, as expected. I think with this pattern it is nearly impossible for it not to be cute. I'm only making this one in the newborn size because it was a lot of work for something that will only last a few weeks. Also, I won't make any more in this yarn. It's just a little bit too fuzzy for my liking. I have a ton left over, and I'm thinking of making a striped sweater or something with it.

So, you might have noticed above that the Womb Monster now has a name. That is because we had another ultrasound about a week ago and found out "it" is a "he," with 80-90% certainty. He wiggled around too much and when he was sitting still, it was an awkward position. So, we are just going with "It's a Boy!!!!" and leaving it at that. :)

Snug (and Ravelympics Day 15)

I finished that cute baby sweater.



Squee.

• Pattern: Snug by Hinke
• Yarn: Cascade Eco + (half a ball, if that)
• Modifications: I believe I made the sleeves a bit longer than suggested. This is because they can be rolled up and maybe this thing will get more wear that way!
  
• Verdict: So very cute! Because it is garter stitch, it is super stretchy. That's a good thing for baby clothes! My only complaint is that I bound off perhaps a little too tightly on the front button bands, so there isn't as much give there as I would like. Still, I think it will be ok.
  

The fuscia pullover is coming along, but not without rage.


Yes, it looks pretty on the dressform (you can't see how it sags in the back, but I knew it was going to be a looser fitting sweater than I'm used to and it doesn't bother me).

Ok, now let's rant. This pattern is easy. Because it is is easy, it shouldn't be "wrong." It is wrong. The pattern is wrong. If you do what the pattern tells you to do for the smallest size, you will have a wacky number of stitches and not at all the number of stitches they tell you to have (not even close!). I discovered this after finishing the bust section and had to frog back and fudge the directions to make it work.

All was supposed to be well after that, right? Wrong. I finished the first sleeve, all my stitch counts were spot on. On the last row, they have you slip the first 9 stitches and double crochet 31 stitches to create a gap for the underarm...much the same as was done on the body. The only problem here is that it creates quite a larger gap than that created on the body. My stitch counts are right, so I'm leaving it, but I'm a bit worried that I'll be having some difficulty when it comes time to connect those underarm seams. I'll have to seam 10 stitches to nearly 20 stitches, which might make things bulky. Bulky underarms don't make me feel "Ladylike," they make me feel sweaty and gross.

A resounding "ugh" of disapproval. Maybe this underarm worry is all premature. We will see how it turns out. If I can keep up this pace, I might actually get it done by Sunday and "win" a "medal" for this in the Ravelympics. We shall see.

We shall see.

Soaker #2

Earlier this week, I finished another soaker:



Pattern: same as in last post, Wool Diaper Cover by Ottobre Design.

Recipient: Unborn Womb Monster

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky Handdyed in Cherry Cordial colorway

Size: Newborn, but knit on bigger needles this time. It's slightly larger than the last one.

Verdict: LOVE! SQUEE! GULP! CUTE!

I've also been up to no good making some fleece soakers in a newborn size and have dastardly plans to make them in a few bigger sizes as well. I'll post them once they are finished. I might even decide to sew a few diapers, because I found an awesome free pattern online that looks really easy! :)

Today, I have my 20 week OB appt. We aren't having an ultrasound or anything exciting like that...something that I've heard is standard (so, of course I go to the office that DOESN'T do it as a standard). Grrr. I think we have decided that we want to know the gender (despite having said this entire time that we wanted it to be a surprise). SURPRISE, we don't want a surprise anymore!

Here's what I look like now:


20 weeks means that we are halfway there. Hopefully everything will be fine at today's appt. :)

Silly, but ambitious, Icarus

Well, as promised, here is another FO post. This one has been a long time in the making! I have completed my Icarus Shawl, just in time for the New Year!




Now for the specs:

Started: April 13th, 2008

Completed: December 28th, 2009 (Over a year in the making! Damn, that feels good!)

Yarn: Baruffa Cashwool in Dark Green (I have a ton of this yarn left. I have no idea what I will do with it!)

Modifications: I did fewer repeats of the first chart. At least I think I did. In all honesty, I was just too lazy to count my repeats as I went along and also too lazy to count the stitches.

Verdict: I love it. The yarn is really light and airy. I like that it isn't a fuzzy yarn, so you can really see the details of the lace. I might have wanted it a bit bigger, but let's be honest here. I have no patience. Once I start to feel like I'm forcing myself to work on something, it's time to finish it! Fortunately, lace shawls sort of lend themselves to size modifications. The final word is that I love it!

To shift gears, since it is New Year's Eve after all, I think it is necessary to make the ubiquitous resolutions blog post. I don't think these are going to be too terribly difficult, but we shall see.

2010 RESOLUTIONS

Before the baby arrives:

• Finish Max's Argyle vest (This is the only resolution that should be ridiculously challenging. I don't know why I hate working on it. I think there is some kind of mental block there. It's easy knitting...and I'm excited to learn to steek, which is something I worked into this project)

• Go through stuff in basement. This is really urgent. We need the storage space cleared out before the baby comes and I know that half of the stuff in there is only there because we have been too lazy to throw it out/take it to Salvation Army. Some of the stuff is just junky crap from when I was in grade school that I kept for no good reason. Garbage. Out with it.

Throughout the year:

• Get WIPS down to only 4-5 at a time

• Spin a sweater's worth of yarn (and possibly dye it, see item 4)
  

• Knit a sweater from my handspun
  

• After the baby is born, get back to dyeing yarn (with natural dyes!!)

• Gym once a week (I'll have to lose the baby weight, after all)

• Take a prenatal yoga course

• Write something (Too vague? Here's an explanation from my "other" blog)

• If I don't like it, frog it. (This isn't just about the knitting, folks!)

In other news, I might be considering a destash in the new year. I have way more yarn right now that I will ever knit and I'm going to have to say "bye bye" to the craft room once the baby takes it over. We are planning to keep the baby in our room with us for a while to make feeding (and bonding time!) easier, but "it" will still need a place for clothes, a changing table, stuffed animals, and other silly things we and others will be spoiling the tiny womb monster with. So, just be prepared for that. ::wink, wink, nudge, nudge::

And come back in a few days for ANOTHER FO!!!! I know!!! Crazy, right? It's nothing too exciting or impressive, just another quick knit baby item! Squee!