Knitting for babies is like chocolate

Instant gratification and a profound sense of pointlessness afterwards. (Because I don't have a baby and the people I know having babies don't have the same sense of what's cute.)

My thoughts are turning to spring...

and let me just say that I love 1930s sportswear. I need to get all up on that.

Baby Blanket Complete!

Well, I missed my deadline, but it came out so much better than I anticipated. The cotton is nice and soft and I do like the colors. Things I would change (about me not the pattern because my knitting can always be improved): Picking up stiches - there are so many things, that as a novice, half-hearted knitter I have not done much of and this is one of them. I felt that I was a bit sloppy here but once it was finished and blocked I found that I didn't mind so much. Perhaps when I'm a better knitter and I look back on this, I will be horrified, but for now, not so much. Still, I would improve this. Weaving in ends: Also, due to my lack of finishing projects, something I have not done much or if it was sloppy, at least it was hidden on the inside of a sweater like a mutated child in an attic. Too bad blankets don't have insides. How do I make this better? I have no idea. Some of the ends got fed through the inside of the i-cord bind off and hopefully remain hidden there. Blocking - such limited experience with blocking. While fine, I will invest in blocking wires for the future. The lace edge is not completely symmetrical all way around but close enough for horse shoes and hand grenades and good enough to please even me, for now. The lace pattern is called 'feather and fan' but I think my lace could have been more fan like. Next time, I'll work the blocking more.

All in all, I'm pleased! I enjoyed this pattern. It's portable, easy to memorize and easy to knit. I have a feeling I will be making more of these

I'm at the age where....

I'm at the age where more and more people my age start having babies. It makes me feel old. Babies are what you did when you were 30 and older....except I'll be 28 this year. When did that happen? Friends of my husband are having a baby shower this weekend and, true to form, I've waited till absolutely the last minute to start a project for them. Actually, it's been in the planning stages but I went back and forth for weeks on what kind of yarn and colors to use. I really really wanted to make this pattern by Jared Flood, when I first saw it...even without a baby of my own. I think what I like about it the most are the contrasts - baby blanket with lace edge in shades of grey wool tweed. I like the mix of feminine and masculine and would even make this blanket with the suggested yarn for a girl. The problem is that the couple I am making the blanket for are new parents and I didn't want to impose the chore of hand washing onto them. But I didn't like any colors of the washable wool....weird, right? I think I just couldn't get over how much I liked the original project. This is why I am so bad at sewing and knitting and crafting in general - the inability to visualize. Well, I've never claimed to be creative. Anyway, ended up choosing Rowan cotton glace, despite never having knit with cotton before. I don't think I'm going to be pleased with the end result but I'm in too deep now. At this point, I'm on a marathon blanket making race. I have to finish tonight, wash and block and hopefully it's dry for me to mail tomorrow....Why do I have a feeling that's not going to happen.

Pre vacation

I'm currently sitting at Pittsburgh International waitng for US Airways to open their ticket counter (not until 4:15, currently 1:00....that's a.m., btw). We drove out last night because the weather is supposed to be bad today and the temps are supposed to be below freezing all night and day. We were hoping to check our bags and get through security and not have to worry about anything but waiting for the plane. Oh well. The husband is currently passed out and I'm just trying to stay up. I'm determined to be first in line as soon as the counter opens. We're already checked in courtesy of online check-in. We managed to fit everything for the week into one suitcase and one carry on. I'm very proud of us. Every minute or so, the arrival/deptarture screen beeps and it's getting on my nerves.

Ravelry

I've been playing about on Ravelry a bit more, mainly looking through patterns and adding things to my queue and works in progress sections. There are quite a few 'works in progress' just because I can't add pictures to my queue and some of the patterns are ones in my collection, not on Ravelry. So far Ravelry has been a useful tool as an online notebook. It's nice to see the pattern next to yarns I'm thinking about so I can see colors and descriptions and all that stuff. So much better than what I had before which was just a bunch of bookmarks on my computer if I even got that far.

Such a Debonair Little Jumper pt. 1

Yea! New yarn, new project. Once again, I am totally digging my yarn from Knit Picks (courtesty of my grandmother for Christmas). It's a magenta-ish pink, nice and vibrant and slightly heathered though you can't really tell; it's pretty subtle. Holidays and vacation are right around the corner so there's no telling how much will get done before the new year.

I'd like to be able to knit on the plane to Jamaica and according to the TSA website, knitting needles are allowed, technically, but it's up to the officers' individual discretion. I'm just gonna assume that's a no-go.