Child's Placket Neck Pulli

Child's Placket Neck Pullover
Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Cotton Ease, Lake (1+ skeins) and Almond (a smidge)
US8 Needles

One of my dear girlfriends is expecting her second baby next month and we all joined for a shower this weekend. It was the best kind of shower, really a non-shower, since there were tons of people outside, lots of kids, lots of water to splash around in, and great food and company.

I started off with the smallest size, but since my gauge was much larger than the pattern called for, I followed the body and sleeve lengths for the middle (1-2 year old) size. That's a good size, anyway, since the baby will be able to wear it longer than an infant size. The fabric is very drapey and soft, which is lovely, but it made for a very floppy neckband, so I decided it looked better folded down polo style. Sweet.

Wild Bear in Captivity

This one's for Meredith... she sent this sweet hat to Baby A long ago and I wanted to let her see how stinking cute it is on our scary little bear.

Roar!

My Little Buttercup Has the Sweetest Smile

Not that you'd ever know it; her smiles are so random that we can't capture one with the camera yet!

But she does love taking a nice warm bath!

I can't believe she'll be three weeks old this weekend! Mr. Goodkarma and I are very much in love with our little girl and couldn't be happier to have her in our family.

I promised to show off Daisy. This cardi was meant to be part of a 4th of July ensemble. See, we have friends who have a houseboat on Lake Union where the big big fireworks display is every year in Seattle, and of course the 4th of July is their favorite holiday of the year. I bought Peanut a little American flag onesie and some blue pants and thought a red cardi would be the perfect topper. Well, we didn't end up going to the party (she was only a week old!), and the clothes were too big for her, but she's growing.

Daisy, Knitty.com
Designed by Stephanie Pearl McPhee
Cotton Fleece in Barn Red, 1 (and a tiny bit of a second) skein

This is a really, really, easy peasy cardi to knit. I knit most of it in one day in the car, and the trip was probably two hours roundtrip. Highly recommended pattern, easy to follow, simple for the babies, and Stephanie's directions are hilarious. I mean, she tells you to stop for chocolate for goodness sake! It's so easy, I started a green one for A's little buddy, Jack. I've knit about one row since Peanut was born...

Just today we got a surprise package from our friend Parikha. This I was not expecting at all. I opened the box and saw this sweet little handmade bag...



and inside were these sweet little booties! Ack! Tooooo cute. And Parikha, thank you for putting a little dab of pink on them but not going totally Pink Crazy. They're perfect!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Hello, my name is Karma and I am the luckiest girl in blogland! I'm sitting here waiting for peanut to be born, knitting, house cleaning, relaxing... the most exciting thing is when the mail carrier comes. Usually the best part of the mail being delivered is that a new DVD comes from Netflix, but that's not a surprise because I picked out what's coming.

Last week, the same day I had to say goodbye to my Julian kitty boy, I got a little package from Superstarra Christie. Isn't this the cutest thing? Not only is the monkey probably a spitting image of the alien that is growing inside me, but the color combo is so NOW. So brownand (hi Cathi!). I will have the best dressed baby on the block, lemme tellya! It couldn't have come on a better day. I was so emotional about my kitty and there was this sweetness in my mailbox.

Today, when I'm truly on maternity leave and getting used to my days being pretty uneventful, a package came from Meredith at Mer Knits!. She made an extra cute Winnie the Pooh hat for the peanut, but says it can be any bear, or even a dog, or her husband says it can even be a camel! What a joker. Guys really know just what to say, don't they? Heh.

She also included a little sweetness for Lennon. Notice how excited he is to have a new mouse to play with! He literally just killed his last (store-bought) mouse this week. So Mer's new mouse couldn't have come at a better time.

Finally, thanks to everyone who left such kind comments to my post last week about Julian. It was really hard to say goodbye to him... his health deteriorated pretty rapidly so it was a little shocking for me. As much as I miss him, I feel better about my decision to let him go since he was feeling so badly. At the very end they diagnosed him with a brain tumor, possibly cancerous. Poor little boy.

F is for feet

Where have I been? The past two weeks have been unbelievably frantic.

*Car repair estimates: check.

*Kitty cat feeling better: check.

*Attend Sen. Barack Obama rally for Sen. Maria Cantwell: check.

*Baby's first goth show: check. (Sisters of Mercy came to town... sadly, their show was very poorly engineered so they sounded awful and the smoke machine was working so well that you could only see the performers' sunglasses... but on a brighter note, Rob Dickinson, lead singer of The Catherine Wheel, opened with a solo set and was brilliant.)

*Prenatal yoga classes: check.

*Childbirth classes: check.

*Pass the gestational diabetes screening: check.

*Belly finally grown bigger than bust: check. check.

*Home office deconstructed to make room for nursery: check. I've been relegated to a corner in the dungeon basement rec room, which is working out pretty well. Lennon (in the picture to the right) welcomes me to his lair. His favorite spot is on top of the hot water heater.

*Bureaucratic meetings, workshops and conferences: check.

*Report cards: almost done.

*Knitting: check.

Ruffle Rib Socks
Interweave Knits, Summer 2005
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, Georgetown colorway, leftover from my own Conwys.
Addi Turbos size 0 (2mm)

These were fun to knit. At another time in my life, they would have taken so little time, but they were the perfect project to bring along to a meeting or to knit along with the little bit of TV I've had time for these days. A row here, a heel there, and they're finally done!

I've been wanting to try short row heels and this pattern felt like a sampler: short row toes and short row heels, plus a decorative zig-zag bind off that I hadn't tried before. I'm really happy with the results; I hope the future wearer of them feels the same way.

My Conwys (color is more true on the first two pictures than here) were knitted on Addi Turbos size 1 and I really, really like the denser fabric of these socks done on size 0. Lesson learned: check!

Double the Fun!

Remember my friend Lisa's twins who were born last month, about a month early?



Jacob and Sarah's Baby Raglan Sweaters
Erika Knight's Knitting For Two
Size 3 - 6 months
Cotton-Ease: Popsical Blue and Pistachio, about 1.3 skeins of each
Addi Turbos Size US8/5.0mm

This is such a simple and versatile pattern. The original pattern is called Embroidered Baby Raglan, which is very precious, but this time I was going for a more simple look. Like Kris, I wondered why I didn't knit these in the round. Duh. I spent too much time weaving in ends for such tiny sweaters. However, this pattern was just what the doctor ordered at the time; I did most of the work during my first trimester when I could barely keep my eyes open in the evenings and couldn't conjure up the brain cells to do anything other than exactly what the pattern called for. Of course, I saved button sewing and end weaving for trimester two when I am much more lively and alert!



I love the garter stitch detail at the raglan and hems! And the buttons on the raglan seam will (I hope) make dressing those squirmy little ones easier.

This was the first time I'd used Cotton-Ease. I bought a bunch of it last summer when it was being discontinued and on sale everywhere cheap cheap cheap. (These two sweaters, including buttons, cost under $5 each). Having already knit with Rowan All Seasons Cotton when I made my Raspberry Jacke, I can definitely appreciate the different levels of quality in acrylic blends. That said, I think there is a place for this yarn, and that it is a great alternative for everyday clothing and kidwear. Machine washable, great colors, soft.

Which sweater is more girly and which is more boyish? I suppose I'll let their parents decide.

Preemie Advice?

Introducing Lindsay Ella, born this week, seven weeks early. She weighed 2 pounds, 11 ounces, was 15 inches long, and is breathing and eating well. So far, she isn't having any of the complications preemies often have (fingers crossed). Her mama is a friend I've known for a long, long time, and she is the bebe I knit the Dainty Bonnet and Booties for.

I can't believe how small! If you can tell from the picture, Lindsay just looks teeny in her mama's arms. And her mama is a very petite lady as it is! Lindsay lives in California, so I haven't met her yet. I'm wondering if any of you have had preemies or know those who have, and have any advice on preemie knitting patterns or what a preemie might need in general; I'd like to send a care package down to her.

In other news, I'm chugging along on my Silky Wool Not-So-Shrunken Cardi; I was excited when I finished my first skein and got to spit splice the next one on. This puppy will have nearly no ends to weave in. I wish all fibers allowed that technique; the last couple of things I've been knitting didn't have wool content. I predict I'll be able to separate the yoke for the sleeves this weekend! Yay!

Sweetness

Dear Erika Knight,

Are you insane? Or are you a genius?

The first "Dainty Baby Bootee" I made, of the pair, propelled me to use not so dainty language. Cut yarn here, pick up stitches there. Create a free-form sculpture that somewhat resembles an octopus. WTF??



But the second one went along much, much more smoothly. I started seeing the logic behind the insanity, and the final result made me think that perhaps you knew what you were talking about after all.



Fortunately, the "Lacy Bonnet", which I made before the "loony bootees", made complete sense from stitch one and was a joy to knit. The rosette shape at the crown is absolutely gorgeous. The lacy pattern that makes up the rest of the bonnet has a wonderful repetitive flow; I started wondering if the lace were something like Orangina's. The only problem was the ribbon. The example in the book has one attach a head-sized ribbon rosette on each side, which is very beautiful to photograph, but very unrealistic for most of the babies I know. Also, it was tough to find a ribbon color that I liked with this dusty pink yarn, so I went with the antique white to pick up the pearly buttons (stitched on so firmly that no baby will ever be able to pull off) on the bootees.



Thank you for your designs, Ms. Knight. I'm sorry I thought you were crazy.

Sincerely,
Karma

P.S. The gifties were a big hit at the baby shower today. Everyone thought I was a genius.

P.P.S. Lacy Bonnet and Dainty Bootees,
Knitting For Two by Erika Knight
Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, pink, 1 skein for all
#4 bamboo straights (that's another agonizing story in itself, what the heck am I doing with bamboo straights anymore for goodness sake, pass the addis!!!)

Ask Me, I Know

In the last few days, new people found this blog by searching for:

1. How to pack a suitcase

2. How to have good karma

3. How do I know if I have good karma or not?

I think the "how to pack a suitcase" one is pretty funny. Mr. Goodkarma is packing for a business trip as I type and he's clueless. So maybe I *am* the right person to google about suitcase packing.

Does anyone recognize this? It's my lovely Aprikot Jacke from Rebecca, and it's blocking right now! It's about time I finished something, eh? Well, don't speak too soon; it's not finished until I can wear it. It looks quite red in these pictures, but it's more of a raspberry color called "Kiss". From now on, I call this sweater Raspberry Jacke.

And while I'm waiting for that lovely Rowan All Seasons Cotton to dry, I'm whipping up a little something for a baby shower I'm going to on Saturday. You can bet your bottom dollar that I'll have a finished picture of this very soon. Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, baby. So pretty!