Blanket Pictures...

As promised...a couple of pictures from my recent (and ongoing) Blanket Phase.

As you may recall, my Blanket Phase started when I knit up my first log cabin blanket. Once I finished it, I realized just how fun it was to knit up log cabin blankets. They're fabulously brainless without getting boring -- because once you get sick of knitting one color, you can just bind off and start another. Brilliant!

I also realized that Chandra was due to give birth to a little boy in a matter of weeks. At first, I considered giving Chandra the first blanket (even though, after I finished it, my mom looked at it and said, "Maybe you should just keep that one for yourself."), but it wasn't Chandra's colors. Chandra was doing browns and blues.

So I ran out to the store to by more yarn and ended up with this:



After I finished the blanket for Chandra's little guy (who's now known as Brooks), we went to Toronto to visit the in-laws. While we were there, we found out that our friends, Dan and Amber, are expecting their second in January (their first, little Hazel, is the cutest little girl I have ever seen). So, on the way home, we stopped at the yarn outlet, where I picked up a whole bunch of something in yellow and blue. Since it was in the Factory Seconds bin (for 35 cents an ounce), I don't really know what it was, but I think it may be Berella. Whatever it is, though, I absolutely LOVE this yarn. It's soft and squishy, and it's great to work with. And it makes a pretty cute blanket, too. This time, I decided to try something other than the log cabin blanket, so I went with a big stripey square:



When I was at the outlet, I wanted to make sure that I had enough yarn to make a blanket. I didn't know what gauge it would work up to or how much of everything I'd need, so I just grabbed five balls of each. I decided to shoot for about a 30" square blanket -- and it took me less than 1 1/2 balls of each color. So I had a ton left. I figured I'd just make two more blankets just like it, but my mom told me that I really need to use the blue to make myself a vest or something. So when I started the new blanket on Monday, I decided to make it all yellow.

No pictures of the new blanket yet -- because there isn't much to look at. It's just a 11x11 yellow square. But it'll be something soon enough...

Coolest. Baby Gift. Ever.

Okay, so perhaps it's not the coolest baby gift for *every* baby. But for a baby who also owns a Slayer onesie, I would have to say that this is the most brilliant baby bib ever.


It all started on Monday, when I was at the store and Barb showed me the cutest picture of a boys' sweater with a skull on it. Colorwork makes my head hurt, but I was intrigued enough to check out the pattern -- and that's when I discovered that it was just overstitching. Now *that* I could do (or at least I could try). And I knew it would be just the thing for little Garrett. It might go nicely with his Motorhead onesie. So when I got home on Monday night, I got to work. On Wednesday, while I was watching Paul's hockey game, I got started on the stitching (much to the fascination and amusement of the little girl who climbed up to the top of the bleachers, sat down next to me, and said, "Hi. What'cha makin'?").

Since the recipient's dad is a fellow film critic, I brought the mostly finished project along to our screening yesterday. Mark got a good laugh out of it -- because it's both totally me and totally appropriate for the baby in question -- and poor Clay (who's a regular reader and thus knew right away that it was a bib -- Hi Clay!) was shocked and perhaps a bit appalled. "You're giving that to a *baby*?" he asked.

Yes, my dear Clay -- but not just *any* baby. And besides, it's a pretty blue and green, and that makes it all okay, don't you think?

Now all it needs is a button. Despite my ever-growing button box. I'm finding the button thing to be a challenge. Sounds like I may have to take a trip out to JoAnn's this afternoon before we stop in to visit the happy (and somewhat exhausted) parents tonight.

Way Way Way Behind

Where oh where is that lull that I was looking for at the beginning of this year? I still haven’t seen it. Of course, it could have something to do with the fact that Paul’s just returned from his fifth business trip of the year (let’s see…he’s been in Germany, the Netherlands, Dallas, and twice in Malaysia), so our lives seem to be an endless cycle of:

- Preparing for Paul to travel
- Paul away from home
- Recovering from Paul’s travels
(Repeat)

Then, on the one weekend that Paul was actually in town, I took off to Cleveland for the film festival. And on Paul’s last trip, my parents came to town for the long weekend and ended up staying over a week. It was a wonderful week—tons of fun—but it meant that I’ve gotten a little bit behind on work…not to mention on my blogging.

Mostly, my knitting has consisted of little baby things. With everyone in some stage of pregnancy, it seems like the right thing to do. So I’ve got a pile of baby stuff, just waiting for the babies to arrive. Some of them, however, will be heading over to our friends, who are still celebrating the arrival of little Garrett James (formerly known as Frodo Skywalker/Orange Banana). In fact, Barb gave me a killer idea while I slowly lost my mind with the Knitastics yesterday (two hours of attention-deficient preteens telling blonde jokes is, I’m convinced, enough to make the sanest person lose his or her mind), and I’m currently trying to whip out The Coolest Baby Bib Ever before I head over to meet the little guy.

Here are the latest FOs in my recent string of baby knitting:


That’s a jumper and a cardi, three burp cloths, seven bibs (two of which are shadow knits), and a pair of booties (two pairs, actually—but the other pair went right off to another new little guy).

The biggest knitting news right now is that my longest-held UFO is now somewhat of a FO. When Mom arrived, she asked about Those Blanket Squares. You see, when I first learned to knit—and after I’d already made scarves for everyone I knew—I decided to make squares for a blanket. It soon became known as my Hockey Blanket—because I was constantly knitting squares while watching hockey. Right around the time that I finished the squares (60-some of them), Paul took the job in Massachusetts. So I packed up the squares in a box and moved them to Massachusetts. Two and a half years later, I moved the box again—to Ohio. And they’ve been sitting in my closet ever since. For some reason, though, Mom became absolutely obsessed with the blanket squares (admittedly, Mom does have a bit of an obsessive personality). So when she showed up, she refused to drop the issue until I produced the box of blanket squares. The next challenge was to try to figure out which pattern I’d planned to sew them into. I had a box full of squares in four different colors—and since it had been more than five years since I first planned the project, I didn’t quite remember. But we came up with something that seemed to make sense, and Mom dove in.

By the end of the week, Mom had sewn the whole thing together. Granted, there are still plenty of little ends that need to be woven in (or perhaps we’ll just sew some fabric on the back and pretend all those little ends don’t exist). But check it out—a finished blanket!



(Note: it’s folded in half. This thing is huge!)

Mom was so excited by the project that she decided to make a blanket of her own. We went running out to the store and picked up four colors that will look great in her new family room.

Besides the square-sewing, Mom and I made daily treks to JoAnn’s (actually, sometimes even more than once a day), looking for yarn, buttons, and fabric. Mom has also become obsessed with floor pillows, and we spent the week looking for the perfect fabric to match the living room. We didn’t find it. We did, however, find some really cute fabric that will make a cool apron.

Obviously, I'm Psychic

So tonight we get back from a nice dinner and a movie. Paul checks the phone and says, "Huh. My sister called."

"Ah. She's pregnant," I reply.

And, of course, I'm right. I mean, it doesn't really take a genius to figure it out, since (a) she confessed to me at the other sister's wedding in June (you know...the sister who's due in June) that they were going to start trying soon, and (b) Paul's sisters *never* call us. Never. Ever. And a + b = another new niece/nephew on the way in October.

Apparently, there's been a method to my baby-knitting madness lately. It's all the psychic pregnancy vibes.

But enough blogging for now. I've got more baby crap to knit.

More Baby FOs

When I get something in my head, I don't mess around.

Last weekend, I dove into baby knitting like a madwoman. In fact, I had so many projects going that I wanted to start a new one at one point, and I realized that I was totally out of Denise cables (note to self: pick up that set of extra cables at the store this week...). Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that I've got two sweaters on the needles that I haven't worked on lately -- just because I'm designing both, and I'm to the point where I need to try them on and do some figuring, and I really don't feel like it right now. So I had to finish a couple of projects early this week -- just so I could start a few new ones. So I finished a little something for Mom. And then I finished the gigantic navy blanket -- which looks absolutely lovely, but it isn't the least big photogenic, unfortunately. It's just too dark.

Then I finished a baby burp cloth -- pattern from Mason Dixon Knitting. I made this one to match the bib I just finished:



I've already started a pink one, too -- because Deb is due in three weeks' time, and I want to be prepared.

Okay...now the coolest thing I whipped up this week -- the Shadow Bib:


Isn't it fun? I'm still working on perfecting the pattern -- and coming up with new patterns, too. If you have any design suggestions, let me know!

Babies Galore

Today was the baby shower for little Orange Banana / Frodo Skywalker. That meant that yesterday, it was all about the babies. First, I had to run around and do all the last-minute errands -- you know, pick up a few last-minute add-on gifts like Velcro wrist rattley things. And then I had to get the gift bags and tissue paper and fancy curling ribbon.

Here we have the finished product:

Then, a strange thing happened: I actually became obsessed with knitting baby stuff. I know. Weird. So I started hunting for patterns and digging out cotton yarn in various shades. I even went to JoAnn's and bought more cotton and more cute baby buttons. Then I finished off a bib that I made this week:

Cute, huh? And so very simple. Here's the pattern. (Funny story -- last week, when Chandra and I went out for coffee, we were talking about knitting bibs, and I said I'd just found a pattern online, and we both, at the same time, pulled out a print-out of the same bib pattern. Great minds, I suppose.)

So then I started thinking about more baby projects. Like those little burp cloths from the Mason Dixon book, which I just got out of the library. And I started designing little bib patterns of my own (just wait until you see what I've got up my sleeve there...). And now I have a coffee table piled with balls of cotton baby yarn, just waiting to be turned into cute little baby gifts. I'd better get right to work -- because you never know when the novelty of this whole baby-knitting insanity will once again wear off, and I've got a whole slew of babies to knit for...