Want to see some more baby photos?

Sure you do!
Here's Darcy in her new mitts from Knitty - and her hat from Nan (cardi shop-bought - but knit by somebody)

And here she is with her superhero Sheldon! A lovely surprise from Twiceknit -

Even sleeps with him :)

And...would you believe I've got some kntting in? I bought this ribbon yarn at MD Sheep & Wool and decided I wasn't busy enough so cast on - v pretty and might be ready for the summer!

My Mum is here for a month, which is so nice, don't know how I'll manage when she leaves......and look what she got me...Sue want to visit and show me how to use this? Free baby cuddles with every visit!
And finally - Darcy is still getting used to her new blankie

Babette Bulletin

What do you think?

Finally finished the babette, and put it on the spare bed in Darcy's room (she, of course, sleeps in a crib!) It actually sewed up quicker than you'd think - took a whole day - and it turned out even better than I expected. This really is a little girl's room now.

PS - check out the wee boots by the bed. She has about 5 pairs of shoes, these are the ones she wears most days:

Last post of the year?

Maybe!

UPDATED TO ADD PICTURES

Though I have been making some progress :)
Finished my Argosy scarf...here it is pinned, blocking

this you have to see - I ran out of yarn mid way through the decreases...so I substituted some other pinkish sock yarn - v obvious I'm afraid. I considered ripping out and making the whole thing shorter, and then decided instead to just finish and block it and see. So after all that blocking and pinning, I discovered some left over original-coloured sock yarn (see there to the left of the orangey bit?)(still with me? Am not explaining this very well). So now I have the option of ripping out and redoing my blocked scarf (still pinned), or wearing it with a big un-matchy bit at the bottom. Hmm. TBD...

Babette is coming along well! I have about 20 4-round squares to go, they are quick in themselves but that's still a lot...an evening or two should knock that out then 'just' sewing and weaving in ends...am determined to finish before baby makes an appearance*. The nursery is shades of blue/lilac, so this blanket would go a long way to 'girling up' the place, if it turns out to be a wee girl.

And seeing as it's coming into frigid season here in Merrilen, I cast on for a hat last night - haven't the patience (or probably time) to make one of those cool slouchy berets, but I thought the Beaufort would be both pretty and quick, dug out some dark red Paton's classic wool Merino, and hope to be done by the weekend. UPDATE - knit this up in a day - and the lace pattern stretches out really nicely :)

*No more false labor scares - am getting tons of exercise walking to and from bathroom and eating loads. Heartburn - check. Bloated - check. Stretch marks - check. Excited - check! Here I am:

Hmm...

Just got an e-mail from Zazzle.com

I made some customized postage stamps on Zazzle.com last week, uploading the picture of my son holding the newspapers announcing President Elect Obama's victory.

Today, I received this e-mail from them:

"Policy Violations: ---

Incorporates the name or likeness of a current or former world leader or politician,

or a local, regional, national or international leader, religious figurehead, or politician."

Who'da thought, eh? Kind of annoying...

Still crocheting the Babette (really must take some pictures) and making wee little socks and sweaters for coworkers.

Or for my tree, haven't decided.
This is the first year we've had Christmas in our house, usually at one or other set of parents, so we're going all out this year - first house on the block to have lights out!

What's new with you?

Wintry weather setting in here...worked at home last Friday and enjoyed this - this - and this - And wore my new socks!

Made them way too big though. They are practically slippers - I always do this, none of my knit socks are fine enough to actually wear with normal shoes. For once I actually used the whole ball of yarn though, have maybe 2 yards left, instead of the usual small ball that you hate to throw away (the thought!) but can't think of anything creative to do with. Though there's always these.

Right now am back working on the Babette, crochet blanket. Hit All About Yarn on Saturday to get in more pink n green yarn supplies. Am on the home stretch, in terms of making the squares. The sewing and weaving-in-of-ends awaits...New pics coming.

A New Project

I put my knitting aside, put those three WIPs into hibernation, and revisited the Babette blanket idea. I've been putting aside oddments of pink and green for months, and then while laying around watching King of Queen's DVDs this weekend I decided to go ahead and cast on...or hook up I guess. This blanket involves making 126 granny squares:
50 x 2 rounds
49 x 4 rounds
16 x 6 rounds
7 x 8 rounds
2 x 10 rounds
2 x 12 rounds

So far I've done 25 x 2 rounds and 10 x 4 rounds. This is where I'd insert a lovely colourful picture if I hadn't stood on the USB cable insert thingy and squished it...

Colours are great though. If I have a girl, it'll be hers. If I have a boy, it'll be mine :) see below for details...

Jaywalkers and Tuvstarr

I am so pleased my my new commuting arrangement: having a dedicated train project makes me feel much better about the hours I spend there...

Here are K's Jaywalkers - still on track to have them done for her birthday. Took a pic of them laying on my clapotis/blanket, and no matter how I adjust the colours either the blanket or the socks look madly psychedelic...
Other things I have done on the train to amuse myself include:
- talking to people (hah!)
- reading work related materials (awoke snuggled up to grim-faced fed muttering about how she was getting too old for this shit)
- reading books from my stash (had to draw the line when the 7lb Happy Potters were released)
- reading the free papers (Metro/Examiner/Onion/City Paper)
- audiobooks/podcasts
- crosswords (I <3 Timothy E. Parker)
- Kakuro (haven't yet managed to finish a Sudoko...)
- people watching

Now there's a new distraction Bit o lit - the premier issue came out May 5th and included an excerpt of the book Sold by Patricia McCormick, the story of a young Asian girl sold into sex slavery. It's an overused word - but I found it riveting.

In other knitting news: my Tuvstarr vest is nearly done:
The Bling-Bling yarn leaves you all a-shimmer, but I think it'll be very cute when finished. I don't want to put buttons on (to avoid that grandpa look) and instead am going to just have an i-cord string to tie. I'll need to add a single crochet edging - look at the messy way I've knit the edges:
The bumpy side shows where I carried the silver and gold flecked yarns to alternate rows. Ah well.

I'm still collecting my guilty pleasure songs - which Bon Jovi song to pick? Which Air Supply? Decisions, decisions...

purple cardi and other knitting loveliness

Still working on the purple cardi, of course. The colour is quite something...I hope it doesn't become one of those things I always bypass in the wardrobe because it's too bright. Better finish it first then worry about such things I suppose. So here I am - back done and making my way up one front panel.

Here's the babysitter's birthday present: I got the pattern, by Mia Zamora-Johnson here on Ravelry - she crocheted up quickly, and so cute! I used up my Debbie Bliss Cashmerino that I bought for Fetching and other scraps of sock yarn and baby yarn. Just love it.

And on my way home from another stint in West Virginia, I had to stop off all All About Yarn and see what was going on there. Ran into Karen from Sip n Knit (Hi Karen!)

And I found their Noro stash! Ever since Crazy Aunt Purl raved about Noro Transitions I've wanted to get my hands on some. And they had it on sale, in a pinky colour (#7).

As you can see, I had to start knitting immediately. P r e t t y...

A Vicennial Event

Yes it's a word - refers to something that recurs every twenty years. Like me casting on for a sweater! Actually, a cardigan, The Dollar-and-a-half cardigan from Interweave Knits, Spring 2007, to be precise. I saw one of the Columbia Sip and Knitters wear hers (I really must introduce myself) and it looked so good I decided I'd go for it. Have vacillated back and forth between this and many, many other patterns since, but I like this. Plus - I already bought the yarn for it. Dale of Norway Svale: a cotton/viscose/silk blend in brightest purple. Fourteen balls of this have been looking accusingly at me since November, and so yesterday I cast on for something larger than a scarf for the first time in years (crocheted items do not count: crocheting is much faster).
You'd think I'd have a picture to show you. You'll just have to trust me that I did make a gauge swatch that came out quite close, and I've done the back rib plus six rows. And yes, I am very proud of myself.

Babette Blanket

At the knitting guild last night I also snagged some ball-ettes of pinks in various hues for the crochet Babette blanket (pattern from Interweave Crochet) I've been stashing for, for some time now. There is a babette group on Flickr that takes your breath away (especially the pink ones!!!) - and here's the original - I saw this when Flibbertygibbet brought me to Purl Soho last summer. I wanted so much to take it off the hanger and wrap it around me-
(picture from purlbee's Flickr page)
Colours are even better in person - you can see why I wanted to yank it off the wall right? I think it might be time to go back to hooking again...