Baby Dresses

Good thing all of these were sold out or I would have been explaining to my husband why our daughter needed a $40 dress for her first Christmas.




These dresses are Hug Me First brand and were spotted on Zulily. When I saw they were hand smocked I thought that explained the price, but after looking around (even on ebay) it seems $40-100 is the going price for smocked dresses. Can it really be?

Nest

It just hit me this week that I might only have a few weeks before the baby comes. Or I might have a month and a half. But there is no way to know. We don't have basic baby clothes, or the crib set up, or diapers (or a decision on cloth vs. disposables). And I don't want to fill the house up with junk OR be unprepared, which means I need to think about how this all will work.

At the same time I want to finish all the spinning and knitting and home decorating projects that I wanted to do in the next five years RIGHT NOW because I am afraid that I won't get to do any of these things for the foreseeable future. Silly I know... I know lots of people who've had kids and been able to continue doing things they love. Some have done those things with their children, and some have found that these things have returned after a season. But I've promised people some handmade knits, and there are a few things I want to make for myself... and there are cute babies coming that will need to be snuggled in knitted sweaters.

The physical changes make it difficult to sleep, which is making the physical and mental work of adjusting just that much harder.

So I'm a bit of a nesting loose cannon right now.

I might decide to buy 13lbs of apples at the grocery store for applesauce.



I might decide to make a pie, but make two when I cut up too many apples.



I might order a pile of gorgeous yarn that I won't have time to knit.



I might buy big heaps of fiber I don't have time to spin.

And photograph it.

#4 & The Nursery

Some of you may recall the 10 Shawls in 2010 challenge. Two of those shawls have to be over 546 yds. This is my first big one. Big enough in fact, to use as a baby blanket :) Although you can't tell from these pictures, the shawl is square in shape and about 36 inches on a side.



Alpaca Baby Shawl
in Rowan Purelife Organic Cotton DK, 778 yds.
US 6 needles

I love the softness of this yarn, but I'm reserving final judgement on its long term value. It is naturally dyed and is therefore supposed to be hand washed and stored out of direct sun. If I had checked into the care instructions before purchasing (duh) I might have chosen something more hearty. As it is, I plan to wash and tumble dry the blanket as needed and live with the consequences. The swatch I put through the wash only lightened slightly, although the water did show dye release.



My other boo boo was that I failed to plan on how to join the yarn. It is a fairly thick yarn, has no bounce and little grab. It is spun in multiple very small plies. I tried the knitting with two strands together... too lumpy. Russian join, very obvious. Weaving in didn't seem likely to stay put. I decided to tie knots and clip the ends, which I did. Then I chickened out at the thought of my lovely baby blanket unraveling and went back and dabbed superglue on the knots. Final result: lots of very pokey, hard spots on my soft, yummy baby blanket. So... maybe this will be a decor only / heirloom blanket? Or I could use it inside out? Or the scratchy parts aren't as bad as I imagine? Time will tell.



One thing that DOES thrill me about this yarn is how perfectly it matches my nursery color scheme. Maybe I should go back and mention where the idea came from... my mother-in-law made this amazing taupe wall quilt. She named it Taupe for Two and generously gave it to us :) When I found out we were expecting, I decided to use it as the focal point for the nursery. I think its gender neutral enough that if we have a boy it will still work. I also love the thought of quiet, warm colors for a snug little nursery. The shawl I knit coordinates with it and the artwork/frames/mats from earlier also pick up the tan color. I know the nursery is going to be full of all sorts of different colored things, but it is fun to put my stamp on some of it :)

One With The Yarn

My new lens lets me get closer to my yarn...



Much closer.



And it inspires me to try to capture these trees outside my window.



Some days they seem to float in the fog...

A Very Small Sweater

Minutes after I told my husband we were expecting, we had this conversation:

Him: "So, are you going to knit something for the baby?"
Me: "But we don't know if it is a boy or a girl."
Him: "You could knit a brown sweater."

How could I refuse a suggestion like that? I did almost immediately start a brown baby sweater, but with pregnancy fatigue and pregnancy brain, I didn't get around to sewing on the buttons and photographing it until this week. So, here it is, the baby's official first sweater...



Knitting details are here. My major advice is to be careful with superwash yarn. I didn't block
my swatch and the sweater developed an unexpectedly floppy texture after washing. But no harm done.

Apparently...

... I have a thing for blue green handspun. Isn't it funny how there is some deep part of one that loves certain colors and textures? And this time I'm not lamenting being "stuck in a rut"... I let myself create what felt right to make and that in itself is satisfying.





Knitting details here.

FO: Patchwork Skirt

I have a new skirt!



It is bright and happy...



and looks good with a 6 months pregnant tummy.

Hurrah!