Busy, busy

I've been so busy knitting that I haven't had time for blogging. I've also had a hard time actually taking pictures of my knitting so that I could have something to show you.This is the Mommy Snug sweater from last summer's IK. I made the smallest size and knit one set of short rows for the belly. I figure it's only going to be cold for a few more months so I don't need it to be too big. The only change I made to the pattern was to lengthen the sleeves. Does anyone else always have to do that too? I used Knitpicks Wool of the Andes. It's the 1st time I've used that yarn and I really like it! It's soft enough to wear against my skin. This picture was taken at the dog park but you can't really see the details and I don't even look pregnant!

So, I took another picture. This is a different day and it was really cold and windy and I just wanted to hurry up and get the picture taken. That's why I have a stupid look on my face. But you can see the buttons on the side. When I knitted the sweater, I didn't think about having to sew on 14 buttons. 14! I hate sewing buttons but I managed to get it done. I also knit Mike a new hat since he claimed his grey one doesn't match his brown coat. Apparently green is a much more fashionable choice. He wanted a tank on it so that's what he got. It's made with a mystery alpaca yarn. I lost the label. If you need to know, I can probably figure it out but you probably don't care that much. He likes it and now he doesn't have to be a walking fashion faux pas with his grey hat and brown clothes. I also knit a cardigan for sesame. Well, it started out as a cardigan for my coworkers baby. Her shower is in a few days. I kept thinking of things to add to the cardigan to make it cuter and tonight I realized I needed to keep it. I'm not really that close to this particular coworker and it just seemed too nice to give her. It would have felt awkward to give someone I don't know very well this little cardigan that clearly took a lot of time and effort to make. So sesame gets it! Since I do need a gift, I'm going to part with the Miss Dashwood I knit for sesame. I have another skein of that yarn so I can knit another for sesame.

I used Bernat cotton tots and followed the pattern for the kimono cardigan in the summer 2005 issue of IK. The Ik cardigan is in garter stitch but I don't really like knitting garter stitch so I altered it for stockinette. To keep the edges from rolling, I sewed satiny blanket binding to the inside edges. It'll be soft against little baby's skin.
Last but not least, little sesame will need socks- cute socks! This pattern was also in the summer 2005 Ik but several similar baby socks are free online at Interweave Knit's website. These are with Wildfoote sock yarn and I used size 0 needles. Before I knit them, I thought these might become my baby shower gift of choice (I have 3 pregnant coworkers!) but that won't be the case. I realized I don't like using size 0 dpns, and I like cabling using size 0 dpns even less. It sure made for some cute little socks, though!

A month!

I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted! This is what I've been doing.
Vacationing! We spent Christmas at the beach in L.A. this year. My dad lives 2 blocks from the beach and the weather was a nice change from the freezing Portland temperatures! This photo was taken on Christmas Eve. It was so warm! It's been hard adjusting to Portland again.
All my Christmas gifts were received well. My Aunt Judy loved her scarf and happened to be wearing an outfit that matched it when she opened it! The story is that My Aunt Karen was jealous and wanted one for herself. She was out of town for Christmas so she didn't open her gift from me until a few days later. She was really excited to find this:I'm happy that my aunts liked the scarves! My mom loved her blanket too. I was so glad to finally finish it that I wrapped it up before taking a picture. Sorry.

Now that Christmas is over, I've been knitting for myself. I finally finished my Over-the-Knee Socks, though not by the Christmas deadline I had set for myself. They are so pretty, if I do say so myself! I have also started a new sweater for myself. It's a maternity sweater from last summer's IK. I'm using Knitpicks Wool of the Andes and I'm really liking it. The bump in the front is because it has short rows under the bustline to accommodate a baby belly. Here's a modeled picture of the front. I can't believe I'm half done with being pregnant! One good thing about being back from my beach vacation is that I get to go to the doctor tomorrow and see if baby Sesame is a boy or a girl! I'm really excited but a little nervous too. We call the baby Sesame because when I first found out I was pregnant, I read that the baby was as big as a sesame seed and the name stuck. It's a lot bigger than a sesame seed now but my family is starting to think that maybe the baby should actually be named Sesame!

I need to say a great big THANK YOU to my secret pal! She got me a ball winder!! I have already used and I love, love, love it. I don't know how I went this long without one!