Blanket update only

Hi guys!

Just thought I'd give a knitting update.... no baby to introduce you to yet.

Here is what I have of the blanket so far. I only have 2 squares left to knit so it's nearly done. I took a small break from this due to ravelry corruption.... too many patterns inspire me to just carry on with a main project!
These pictures turned out a bit pinky.... the 'medium' red is more orange in real life so it does look uber-girly-fied here.




















The colours are as follows: Gooseberry, custard (now discontinued I think), rooster, cornish, brighton rock, cherry (plus gooseberry again).




















It's strange how the lighting makes things so different. The 'rooster' red looks all wrong here... you can see a slightly more accurate colour here.

Here is the 8 squares already sewn together.













I like the scheme but I guess it wont be very boyish.... I changed my mind a few times but who says boys can't have a blanket with pink on.... if it were blue a girl could still use it right? Ah well... maybe it's wishful thinking ;o)

Well there is a little bit of baby news, but it isn't mine! My friend from work phoned and told me she'd gone for her mid-trimester scan and she's having a girl... which means I can knit frilly pink things! That was the only downside to us not knowing. I have had to as plain and neutral as possible with things I have bought or made, but the surprise will be worth it.... when it gets here! I really liked this pattern that someone had knitted on on the ravlery 'babycakes' forum. I was going to wait and see what we have before knitting anything girly, but I have an excuse now and if we have a girl I can always make another! Hurrah!

Well, goodnight folks I'm going to stretch out on the bed and attempt to sleep!

No news isn't always good news

Ok..... so now the baby is late.

I went to see the midwife on Wednesday and she booked me in for a membrane sweep for next thursday if nothing has happened by then. I had to have one with Seth and it got things going, but those who know what it is or have had one will understand why I cringe at the thought! Hopefully things will move along before then but as of today he/she is a day late. I'm not amused! Worst case scenario is even the sweep does nothing and I have to go into hospital and through labour induction next saturday. Please people pray for me while you knit for a nice spontaneous and quickly resolved labour.... like in the next five minutes, or an hour... just let me make sure I have time to pack the camera and chocolate!

On a more cheery note, the Green Thumb mittens are finished :o) Sheer miracle that I've completed them in 3 days and on dpns too. I'm going to attempt to configure a ribby scarf and hat to match using the leaf motif. I'm thinking that a scarf is no problem really, but the beanie hat- well a bit ambitious but I'll give it a go. It would make a great gift set for someone or even for myself. I'm still deciding!



















Im rather pleased with them and now Dan wants a non leafy pair in a manly but boring grey/blue/black. Hmmm for someone that doesn't "see the the point of knitting" he sure gets me to make him a few things like fingerless mitts while he's on the pc or an ipod cover ;o)

Hopefully I'll have more exciting news next time I blog. x

Something new (and not the baby)

Hey folks!

Just a note before I carry on... no baby not here :o(

However, I've been knitting on a new project which I literally cast on after seeing the pattern yesterday on Ravelry.

Here is the 1st of the Green Thumb mitts (details on my ravelry projects page)




















looks kinda squashed when not on



















stretched out on my hand but still very roomy



















leaf detail on the thumb gusset

The pics aren't great I know as they have been done by my phone. I had to email them from my phone to my hotmail before saving and editing them on the computer. That said, it only took a matter of minutes. Who needs camera cables?! ( me obviously)

I'm really pleased with how the first one has turned out. I have been knitting avidly throughout the day- a couple of hours here and there while Seth has been playing or napping and voila! A finished mitten in less than 12 hours. For those who are extremely prolific knitters, I know this is no biggie, but I'm not much of a sock/mitten knitter so for me to achieve this on dpns is quite a feat for me.

I couldn't find my 3.25mm dpns that the pattern calls for which is a shame as I reckon that would have made them a perfect fit. I cast on with 2.75mm but after a few rows I could tell they were way too small so I had to go with 3.5mm clover bamboo dpns. They knit up a dream and I reckon anyone with average hands would find them perfect. I've got quite small hands and wrists so they're a little roomy but that said they aren't too big so I'm going to keep them! I thought that if they came up way too big I'd gift them out but I'm smitten with my mittens!

Apart from that, not a lot else has happened today. I've been particularly lazy other than having a bath so can't really complain. I've got to go to ante-natal at the docs tomo for the average blood pressure/wee/blah blah check so I've got to be up and motivated tomorrow. Not easy when walking is excruciating but I'm sure I'll be able to get dad to come fetch me and Seth. Of course, thats if I don't miraculously give birth between then and now!

x

fingers crossed please

Hi guys!

Thought I'd say hi again while I have the chance and a huge thanks to those who said hi and left such supportive comments.

I've been inseparable from my laptop for hours at a time at night now it's fixed and getting to grips with whos going what etc. Also... thanks to DB I may add.... I've been stupidly addicted to a game he showed me. I should put my fingers in my ears and screw up my eyes when he does that, coz I know I'll end up playing silly games and wonder where 4 hours went ;o). To those who have ever heard of "Puzzle Quest" maybe they'll understand?

On the knitting front.... er well the afore mentioned game has thwarted progress a bit but I'm finishing up on block 9 of 12 of the Debbie Bliss mitred square blanket. The first 8 are sewn into place too which I'm proud of btw. I thought that if I left all the sewing until last then there would be no way I'd finish it as those who know me know I hate the sewing up. Strangely enough though it was nice and refreshing to have a balance of knitting and sewing up and have done it in strips of 4 together then joined 2 strips together in one go.

As part of getting ready for the baby, DB and I have had to do some major spring cleaning. To make room for the huge cot bed in our room, now that Seth has a big bed, we had to sort out wardrobes and drawers and all sorts of things. Now the fact that most of my wool storage is actually my wardrobe as well as alongside the wardrobes meant he actually saw the extent of the hoardage. Oh Dear! I was very ruthless though and chucked a lot of stuff out. I also found about 30 pairs of knitting needles that had been used for a project and not returned to the needle rolls so I have far far more needles that I imagined since I usually just buy another pair of I can't find what I'm looking for. I must have at least 10 pairs of 4mm needles I'm sure!

Well..... the baby is obviously still cooking and showing no signs of entering the outside world so of course I'm still fed up and grumpy. However, I guess it's better than being too early and then being sick though my hips, ribs and back have a hard time seeing it that way!

I'll be back with news soon hopefully. It'd better be soon.....

xxx

Back in the land of the internet

Hi guys!

I've been offline for sooo long but now I have me laptop working again and thought I'd better just grace yourselves with a really quick update.

So far I'm now on maternity leave after having 8 weeks sick leave due to a number of pregancy complications. Thankfully the baby is doing fine and I have a week exactly to the due date. I'm praying every five minutes that I'll go into labour! At 26 weeks I was told I had Symphis Pubis Dystonia, or SPD for short, which basically means that the ligaments that hold the pubic bone into place are weakened and pressure on the pubic bone basically gives you the most excruciating pain. The 'treatment' for this is not to walk or stand for long periods of time and also long periods of sitting can make it worse too. Ergo..... I had to have 8 weeks as sick leave, a couple weeks of annual leave and started my maternity leave at 36 weeks. So far I've also managed to put my back out so I can't walk very far without a walking stick at the moment :o(

The good news though at the 36 week scan was that the placenta wasn't low lying anymore and I didn't have to be booked in for a planned c-section. However, they did say that the baby was already about 6.5 lbs....EEEK! No wonder I'm absolutely huge and have so much pain. With the baby putting on roughly a pound a week I could have a huge baby that has to come out naturally!

That's pretty much it.... on the knitting front I've made a few baby cardis, finished off an old project or two and I'm currently 2/3 way through a baby blanket. I'm making a mitred square blanket that's a Debbie Bliss pattern. I've used Rooster Almerino Aran which is lovely and soft though not machine washable. I'll get around to pictures and stuff when I've found my camera leads and such again!

I've had a quick scan through the odd blog or two and hope to catch up on what everyone is doing over the next few weeks.... baby and Seth permitting! I'm also thinking of joining the latest UKSwap too which might me a bit optimistic since I'll have a newborn soon, but I think it will give me something other that babies and washing to think about which is vital when I have a very limited choice of people to talk to right now! I don't miss work for the work itself, but it's horrible not knowing the gossip and having adult conversation that goes further than what's for tea or what episode of Thomas the Tank Engine Seth wants to watch!


Hope to update soon
love Fi xxx