Knitting Zeal

bootees

So I tried to knit bootees for Andrew for his upcoming baptism, which would match the hat I knit but may not use since it will be August and hot.  I tried a pattern I found on Ravelry, which resembles mary jane shoes, but I thought maybe in white with blue buttons would look more male-like.   After one bootee attempt, I think this pattern will not work for him.  Not only does it look too girly to me, I used larger needles with the intention of making a bigger than newborn bootee size.  The bootee came out gigantic.  Plus, tyring to get socks on the wee one is a big enough challenge with all the kicking.  Trying to button on bootees will be ridiculous.  So, I am tossing out this idea and sticking with plain white socks for the service and bare feet the rest of the day, since that is just cuter in my opinion. 

I am slowly making progress on one of the twins' baby blankets.  My sister is really ready to pop any day now, but the babies will have to make due with just their hats until I get both blankets done.  I haven't photographed the baby girl blanket, but will soon. 

Andrew is not so sure about his new car seat yet.  He was just too heavy to carry in the infant seat anymore, so I sadly put it aside for his new super big boy car seat.  After much research and recommendations, I got him the Recaro Signo convertible seat, which means that for now he can still sit rear-facing until he is bigger and over one year old.  Getting him in and out of the seat is still awkward, but the seat seems really comfortable and he did fall asleep in it last night on our way to a birthday dinner. 

a day at the zoo

Late last week Andrew visited the Philadelphia Zoo for the first time.  We went with his future prom date and her mommy and had the most perfect weather.  I'm not sure how much he got out of it, as viewing animals from a stroller is a bit challenging.  I held him as we walked through the big cats exhibit, so he could see better there.  The giraffes were not outside that day, as they had a new male giraffe added and they were all spending time together to get to know each other.  Maybe there will be little giraffes next year!  (Sadly, Twigga, the oldest giraffe at the zoo, passed away last week from old age.) Eventually Andrew fell asleep for a nice nap.  Not knowing about Twigga's upcoming demise, I bought Andrew a really sweet looking stuffed giraffe as a souvenir, along with some new board books on monkeys.  It was a great day!

Last night I got to go out with just adults and see the Sex in the City movie and have dinner cooked by someone else.  Fun!  The movie was better than I expected.  It was a nice night out.  I came home energized, so I worked on figuring out more baby gates and cleaned the bathroom before finishing a really great novel, Pomegranate Soup.  I think sUsAn had read it and posted about it a year or more ago.  I had written down the name of the book at work and found it on a piece of paper when I moved out of my office.  It was a good story and relaxing read.

I knit another hat for Andrew last week.  Details are here.

Happy Monday!

Mother's Day

For Andrew's first Mother's Day he celebrated by taking me to brunch at Justin's in Skippack Village with our in-laws.  Andrew was not overly fond of the high chair there, so he spent most of the time being passed around and amusing his grandma and aunt Donna, while also making silly faces at uncle Lou.  He flirted with the waitress as well. 

Andrew, with the help of his daddy, got me a new Vera bag to hold all of our stuff on outings.  It is very roomy and will hold diapers, toys, and my crap as well! I also got a book about motherhood and a sweet DVD of Andrew and me since he was tiny to now.  He has grown so much! 

In knitting, I had a coupon for my favorite yarn shop for mother's day, so Andrew and I went shopping there.  I bought some yarn to knit him some new hats (a bigger pumpkin hat for this fall and an apple hat) and some cascade fixation to knit him some socks.  I wanted just plain blue, but they did not have any solid colors.  Andrew enjoyed chewing/teething on the ball of fixation, since it was wrapped in plastic.  The child has many toys but prefers plastic or paper to chew on instead.

I did knit a small chewing toy for Andrew the other night.  I used some leftover Colinette chenille yarn and basically knit three i-cords and connected them.  I was smart enough to soak it in some wool wash and discovered that the color bled.  I used a bit of vinegar in the final rinse to fix the color.

Happy Mother's Day!

Spring time finally!

Andrew visited the Easter Bunny at our local mall this week.  He seemed to really like him/her, even if he had no clue as to what the heck was going on.  There was no line!  I guess the bunny isn't as popular as Santa. 

Today Andrew and I went out for tea with friends at a really lovely tea shop in Souderton.  It was a long drive, but definitely worth it.  The shop owner was so nice to us and cracked Andrew up.  The tea was great--I had a French caramel creme brulee tea.  The tea sandwiches, scones, and desserts were yummy.   I also had a tiny cup of mushroom lentil soup that was amazing!  I must find the recipe to try to create it at home.  Andrew sat in his car seat for a while, but spent most of the time on laps, being passed from one person to the next.  After about three hours, he was ready to go and fell asleep in the car before the key was even in the ignition.  It was raining terribly, so instead of running the errands I had planned, we just came home and finished napping.

I have too many knitting projects going on right now.  Tonight at knitting group I worked on a monkey sock.  I like the pattern and the yarn, a silk and wool blend from Socks that Rock.  No photos of it yet.  I also have cast on for two baby blankets, but am stuck.  I want to knit a miniature version of clapotis for my massage therapist who is leaving the field and moving south.  I am sad to see her go--she really helped me during my pregnancy with all my aches.  She combines reiki with a therapeutic massage and it is amazing.  I am hoping to find someone else in the area for those occasional massages.  They really help!

Andrew wore his child's placket sweater today from my friend.  It will probably be the last time he wears it because it is so small on him and spring weather is about to be here.   I can't believe he is outgrowing all of his hand knit items already.  It is sad.  I need to work on new ones for the fall. He is growing so fast.  Yesterday he discovered that he has a tongue and spent most of the day sticking it out at me.  He also loves to grab his toes and do some odd baby yoga pose.  It is very cute.

I have to go to bed. This was the only time I had today to write.  I went grocery shopping after knitting and didn't get home until 11:30pm.  Ugh. 

Happy Spring!!  :-)

do you have any peanuts for my elephante?

More on my ravelry page.  He turned out so very cute, but I'm not sure he is sturdy enough for Andrew to chew on.  He'll look nice sitting on his shelf in his room, observing the life of a baby boy.

an elephante in parts

So I cheated and had a crocheter make the elephante ears.  In exchange, I kitchenered the toes of a pair of socks for her.  I could never had figured out how to make these ears on my own.  Someday when I am able to concentrate on anything more complicated than shake and pour, I will try to learn, again, to crochet.  For now, mr. elephante is still in need of some whip-stitching to attach his parts, but at least his parts are completed.  He will be ready for Andrew's spring basket from the bunny.  Is it weird that the bunny is bringing him an elephant?  LOL

Andrew is very peacefully sleeping in his car seat now.  He fell asleep at the end of our playdate with his future girlfriend.  She is an older woman, by six months, but they gaze lovingly at each other already!  Andrew got to pet a beagle and some kitties at his friend's house.  The Grandparents' kitties always hide whenever Andrew, or other strangers for that matter, are around, so this was an opportunity to see moving animals. Unfortunately for him, we won't ever have living animals in our house due to allergies, but at least we can enjoy them when we are out.

I started a new blanket this week, but it is going more slowly than I'd like.  The rambling rows baby afghan is an easy pattern, but I fear I will never be able to get it done as fast as I would like, due to the fact that my knitting time is so limited now.  I need to stop reading Ravelry and finding more project ideas than I have time! 

Tomorrow I am supposed to pick up a jumperoo from someone who is selling it to me--I saw it listed on Craigslist at less than half the retail price.  Hopefully it will be in good condition.  Andrew really needs other activities to do to tire himself out during the day.  My theory is that more physical activity will help him sleep better at night.  He is getting close to mastering sitting up without help, although he still topples over at times.  I think once he figures out how to sit up nicely, he'll be able to play better with his baby toys.  We need to start baby proofing the house, or finish baby proofing, since I suspect crawling will start soon.  I have all of the cabinet locks purchased, I just need to install them without a baby around.  Maybe this weekend? 

Andrew's two bottom teeth are really visible now and darn sharp!  He is still chewing on everything, particularly terry cloth and his clothing, not to mention our fingers.  Ouch!  I am just waiting for the next tooth to pop out.  He keeps showing interest in food when we eat, so I am thinking we are going to have to start solids soon.  The pediatrician said to wait until he was six months old, which will be in two weeks.  I can't believe my baby is growing so fast!  I can't wait until his next well-visit to the pediatrican to see how much he has grown since his four month visit.  Even his face looks different to me now, much less baby-ish and more boy-like.  When he falls asleep he makes all sorts of grunts and groans and I think of a little old man trying to get comfortable and falling asleep.  He is a cutie!

Happy Weekend!

Friday favorites

• Andrew has been sporting a new hat this week.  Details here on Ravelry. He seems to like this one a lot!  It was a very easy and quick knit.  I enjoyed the K3P1 ribbing.  It made a nice stretchy fabric that should still fit next year.
• Story time at the library was fun this week.  Afterwards we borrowed a new book, Llama Llama, Mad at Mamma.  It is a great little rhyme that makes me laugh, even if it is over Andrew's head.
• Cupcakes!  I have been searching for some good cupcake recipes to make for Easter day.  I think I've settled on chocolate peanut butter and coconut ones. I bought this book a while ago, and am anxious to try it out.  The recipes make just 12 cupcakes, so there won't be too many leftovers.
• Giant Supermarket: a new market opened up in my neighborhood this week and is apparently the largest market in the area.  It is huge!  It looked all pretty and clean, with everything in perfect order.  There is a cafe there with a fireplace.  My knitting group is meeting there now, since we were sort of booted out of Barnes and Noble.  (Bad and mean book managers, they are!)
• Socks!  I started a new pair of socks this week using Socks that Rock yarn from a kit from last years club.  I didn't like the pattern that came with this yarn, so I am using the Monkey pattern from Knitty.  I haven't gotten far, but so far I am enjoying the pattern.
• In my quest to try a new recipe each week, I used Good Morning America's mac and cheese winning recipe yesterday.  It is not healthy at all, but was tasty! I made a few changes, but nothing significant.  If I make it again, I will be making a lower fat version!!  This one had way too much butter in it!

The baby is awake and kicking/screaming.  Happy weekend!

Bunny Boy

I whipped up this simple and adorable bunny hat for Andrew to celebrate spring. He doesn't seem to mind it too much, although his father doesn't care for it.  He better watch out or a daddy-sized one might just show up so they can match!

It is incredibly early on Sunday morning and I have been up since 5 am with Andrew who is still having lots of teething pain--at least that is what I think it is.  He did sleep about ten hours (with a feeding in the middle) so at least he got a good night's sleep.  It would have been really nice if he slept until say, 7 am, though. 

Happy Sunday!

baby model

I borrowed a knitting book--itty bitty hats--from the library this week.  Someone actually stole at least two patterns out of the book!  I can't believe another knitter would do that.  Some people suck.  I was going to knit the bunny ear hat out of it, but decided to do another bunny hat pattern instead.  Not much progress, since I just cast on tonight.

Here is Andrew modeling a hat in progress.  I am using microspun yarn for this simple hat.  It should fit him next year too, since it is such a stretchy rib pattern.  He is on his tropical island mat here, which is where he also does "tummy time" which he hates.  I started reading the Little Prince to him during tummy time to distract him from hating it so much.  He has rolled over twice by accident, but hasn't figured out how to do it when he wants yet.  He is getting very good at wiggling, though and manages to turn himself around at times.  This morning he had turned himself 90 degrees from where I left him in the crib the night before.  I'm sure he will be mobile before long and I will miss the days of when I can leave him in a spot and not worry while I run to the bathroom! 

Martha Stewart featured knitting on Monday's show.  She showed her knitting project for one of her dogs.  It was a scarf knit out of yarn spun from her other dog's fur.  She seems to think her dogs would a.) enjoy wearing scarves and b.) want the older dog's fur around their neck.  I am not a dog person, more of a cat person, but this is just odd to me.  She did feature some interesting knitters and I loved the bubble bath, complete with baby knit bubbles.  So cute!

Andrew is officially five months old tommorow!  Happy 5 month bday baby boy!  Wow, has time flown by.

elephante part deux

I was itching to start this little guy, so I did last night.  So far I've got four feet for stomping!

So far, it's an easy knit.

Andrew is napping nicely in his car seat.  We had fun on our playdate and he is tired from the trip.  It's amazing how he will not nap well if we are at home, but stick him in the car and asleep he goes.  I can do the same thing! 

Our playdate was with my former co-worker who left the agency a little over three years ago when she had her first baby.  We used to talk about how hard it would be to do our jobs and raise children, back then.  Now I fully get that.  We joked now that despite having Master's degrees, this childrearing has stumped us.  Who would have thought such little humans could destroy the confidence of a woman so quickly.  Darn hormones!  Thankfully, it is much easier now and I am much less anxious than I was even a month ago.  Andrew is growing fast--sometimes even too fast!   

On Andrew's reading list of late is a new book he received from cupid called Gallop! This book uses scanimation for the illustrations--basically the pictures move as you turn the pages.  He isn't completely fascinated yet, but I love it.  It is a very clever concept for a kids book and I imagine when he is a toddler he will appreciate it more. 

Happy Wednesday!