WiP It Wednesday

Why, yes - real knitting has been going on around here.

Remember my Reverse Mullet Jaywalkers (party in the front, business in the back?). I am about 3 rows away from kitchnering the toe and starting on the second sock.



Despite the fact that the sock is holy crap pink, I'm still holding onto hope that these socks fit me - but there is no way I am going to try them on until after the baby is born and the swelling has gone down.



And then there are my ugly socks. I know I threatened to frog these - but sometimes a girl just needs a pair of plain jane socks that she doesn't need to think about when she knits.



I started this hat - a secret project - I won't get into who it is for because I'm really not sure whether that person reads my blog or not. In any case, it is Halfdome from Knitty knit in Malabrigo Silky Merino in Archangel. So soft! I could knit these all day just to feel the yarn. I decided to go with an inch of 2x2 ribbing rather than a rolled brim.



And my final WIP is still progressing - here is your weekly Sprog fix:



I found out today that while she is still head down, she is also 'sunny side up,' meaning that her back is to my back. Babies are supposed to come out with their backs to the mom's front - it makes for a smoother exit. Willow was also sunny side up, so I had some painful labour where she kept banging up against my pubic bone rather than sliding out. Here we go again -

Okay, Sprog - You Can Come Out Now

... Your blanket is done.



As my Mom predicted, it is going to be more of a pram blanket than anything else because of its rectangular shape. I was hoping for something a bit more square, but the final measurements are about 30" by 40".

The Particulars:

Pattern: None in particular - it was a 4x4 checkerboard with 4 rows of border on each end and 4 stitches of garter selvedge on each side.

Yarn: Plymouth Encore Colorspun Worsted in Colorway 7711 (green, white, and yellow stripes), 4 skeins

Needles: Aero Size 8 circulars (24")

I'm really happy with how seamless the striping is on the blanket, especially since 4 skeins of yarn are involved. I'm really particular about things like that, and each time I pulled a bit out of each remaining skein to see which one would match up the best.

Here's a close up of the checkerboard:



Whew! I was getting worried that Sprog wouldn't have a handknit by her Mama by the time she arrived - this is a big load off my back :) I have other things on the needles for Sprog, but I wanted to bring her home in her own blanket.

Don't Like Cutting It This Close...

I finished Sprog's baby blanket tonight - and this is how much yarn I had left when I had bound off the last edge. I really don't like cutting it this close! A finished object post will come tomorrow after the blanket has been washed.

Baby Arrival Pool - Updated!

Yay!



I had a much friendlier ultrasound tech yesterday - so I have a picture to show you this week!

Okay - here is a list of everyone who put their name in for a date:

1/5 Discoknits (Deborah)
1/8 Fiona
1/11 Karen
1/13 Penny Karma (Sarah)
1/15 Teri
1/16 Shirley
1/17 Kemtee (Kelly)
1/18 Batty (Vesna)
1/20 Dave
1/22 Dharma
1/23 Bezzie (Kaye)
1/24 Krysstyllanthrox (Haley)
1/27 Turtlegirl76 (Cristi)
1/28 Stariel (Ariel)
1/29 Jaime
1/30 Melyssa
1/31 Zonda
2/1 Tara
2/2 Mom
2/4 Kingshearte

Whew! As you can see, there are still a few days where no one guessed Sprog would arrive. What I will do if Sprog should happen to come on January 25th, for example, I will have a random drawing from everyone who picked a different day. I want there to be a winner regardless of what day Sprog shows up.

Good Luck!

Confounded by the Math

I've been on a frantic tear to get Sprog's baby blanket finished - and I honestly thought I was going to finish it this weekend. But then I measured it.

Sigh.

Let me back up. I'm not using a pattern here - it's a simple checkerboard pattern - 4 rows by 4 stitches. The striping is unplanned - simply a by-product of the yarn. I have 40 squares across the bottom, so I figured if I did 40 rows of squares up, I would have a pretty much square blanket. Not so.

I finished the 40 rows of squares last night, measured the blanket, and came up with 40 inches in width, but only 25 inches in length. CRAP! I'm on my last skein of yarn, so the blanket is only going to be as long as this yarn holds up (I'm anticipating maybe 5 -7 more inches in length).

Gah!

Baby Arrival Pool!

I think it is time for a contest, don't you?

We have less than 5 weeks to go until Sprog's due date, and I have had the odd day (like today) where the contractions have been strong enough to have me gasping and holding onto something. When I was pregnant with Willow, we had a huge number of friends and family who had birthdays in July, and everyone was trying to guess whose birthday she would land on. In the end she was born on two people's birthdays - my friend Yoko and GrandBag (the name would take some explaining - she is a friend of my grandmother).

So, my official due date is 2/1/11. Personally, I think I will be going earlier than that - but perhaps that is just wishful thinking. Please put your guess in the Blogger comments field. Please don't use the Facebook comment area for this because I won't be able to track them both - and you won't be able to see if someone else has already chosen that date.

And the prize? Well, if you are a knitter, the prize will be a skein or two of yarn. If you are not a knitter, I will make you something like a hat, sleeveless mitts, scarf, etc. - we can work out what you want/need if you win. The contest will close Wednesday, January 5th at 5pm EST.

Bring on the guesses!



Just a random picture of Willow - I hate to have pictureless blogposts, and the ultrasound tech I had this week was really grumpy - didn't speak to me unless solicited much less print off any pictures.

Dad's Rustic Garlic Cheese Bread

Just so you don't think my Mom is the only one in my family who bakes...



My Dad made some Rustic Garlic Cheese Bread, then taunted me with pictures. Doesn't he know that is not a very nice thing to do to a pregnant woman? It looks good, though - makes me think I need to make a hearty soup and some bread myself...

I Think I Owe My Mom An Apology

Mom, I'm sorry.



I had no earthly clue how time-consuming meat pies and cheese pies were to make. When I think about all the pies I have gobbled down in my 38 years, absolutely oblivious to the effort that goes into them... well, let's just say I feel very, very guilty.

And the crazy thing is I only made a dozen meat pies and a dozen cheese pies - and I am freaking exhausted! Yes, some of that has to do with the pregnancy, but there is a lot of mixing, bending over, and rolling out involved. I can't imagine making enough of these for a family of five plus extended family members like my Mom does. They aren't the prettiest pies, but as my friend Kelly says, they don't have to be pretty - they just have to be edible.

Andrew is going to have a fit when he sees how many dishes I dirtied in the preparation of the pies... hopefully he can be placated by their meat and cheesy goodness...

WiP It Wednesday: Sprog at 34 Weeks

Another week, another ultrasound. This was the fourth in the cycle, and every fourth appointment is a longer one where they measure the baby's limbs, weight, etc. How long was the appointment? I'm not entirely sure - because I fell asleep on the table! I've been on vacation since Monday afternoon and I have been indulging in all sorts of bad behaviour like staying up until 2am reading...

Sprog is trucking along - the ultrasound tech says Sprog is 4lbs 14oz now, and I was told that anything over 5lbs is not really considered premature. Not that I am advocating Sprog making an appearance before the new year, but I have a sneaky suspicion that we will not be going all the way until February 1st. I've been having Braxton-Hicks contractions every day for about a week now - the longest stretch was for about 90 minutes last Friday. I was knitting and catching up on all my documentaries (yes, I'm a nerd - I watch documentaries like some people watch soap operas) and after about 45 minutes I realized these contractions were coming at regular intervals. Hmm... maybe I should start timing these. They were about 6 minutes apart lasting for a minute each for about another half hour, and then they petered out. I mentioned them to Andrew as we were climbing into bed and his eyes just about bugged out.

The other funny thing about today's appointment was that Sprog was going crazy during the ultrasound - so much so that the tech was laughing because you could see the belly moving away from the ultrasound wand. Yep - sounds like one of mine.

Jo's Cheater White Chocolate Peppermint Christmas Cookies

I came up with these cookies last year quite by accident.  I was in Target and found these Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips in the clearance aisle (which should have given me a clue as to how difficult they would be to find later...) for $1.67 and bought them with no clear plan of how to use them.  As it turned out, I had to make cookies on short notice for Willow's class holiday party - so I added the chips to some Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix... and people couldn't get enough! (Especially my father-in-law!)



You will end up making these over two days (or at least in shifts in one day), so plan your time.  You will start with the baking chips, the cookie mix, 1 egg, and 1 stick (1/2c) of butter.  This isn't a deviation from the regular sugar cookie recipe - the 1 egg and 1 stick of butter are exactly what the package calls for.



As I mentioned above, after that initial find of the baking chips in the Target clearance aisle, I never saw them again.  I did find a few places where you could buy them online, but the price effectively double or tripled when you took the shipping charges into consideration.  Luckily, I was able to find the candy that the chips are made from easily enough, so I bought a few packages at Happy Harry's (a local drugstore chain). 



You need to put a little work into unwrapping the cookies and chopping them up into baking chip sized pieces, but it is so worth the effort.


Add the baking chips to the sugar cookie mix, softened butter, and egg.  Mix together with a spoon.  The mixture is on the dry end - you may need to get your hands in there and knead the dough to incorporate all the butter and egg.  It's a neat feeling, though - the peppermint oil in the candy makes your hands all tingly.


Form about a third of the dough into a log shape on a piece of plastic wrap.


Wrap it up, tuck the ends under, and roll until it becomes a more cohesive, even log.  Repeat with the other two-thirds of the dough.  At this point, I usually keep the dough in the refrigerator overnight - but I think if you were to do it for at least 4 hours, the dough would been firm enough.


When you are ready to bake the cookies, pre-heat your oven to 375'F (again, exactly what the package called for).  Once the oven is pre-heated, slice your logs into 1/4" slices.  You will need to use a very sharp knife to cut through the candy pieces.  Place on parchment-paper lined cookie sheets.


Pop into the oven and set the timer for 7 minutes.  At the 7 minute mark, open the oven to see how well-browned the cookies are (because your oven mileage may vary).  I found these were perfect when I did them for 7 + 2 minutes.  I've made a half dozen batches of these so far, and trust me - it's important to check on the browning - don't just set it for 9 minutes.  Be careful when you open the oven, as the peppermint oil wafts up pretty strongly.


Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a baking rack to cool the rest of the way.


Enjoy!  These are so yummy that it is really hard to believe they come from a mix.  You will get 3-4 dozen cookies from this batch, and at this time of year, both the cookie mix and the baking chips are plentiful and cheap.

Late WiP - Sorry!

Sorry for the tardiness - I was trying to wrap up some presents last night that will have to get sent out express mail because I hadn't realized it there were only 10 days left until Christmas. HOW IN BLOODY HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?

Anyway.

Yesterday was full of appointments - OB in the morning, perinatologist in the afternoon. Found out Sprog is still head down, heartrate of 146, and I had lost 3.5 pounds from my last appointment. They seemed surprised by the weight loss, but I wasn't - my previous appointment was in the late afternoon after a big lunch, and the nurse snagged me before I would whip off my winter sweater. At that appointment the nurse chastised me about gaining 5 pounds in 2 weeks, and all I could think was, "No freakin' way did I gain 5 pounds in 2 weeks..." A pound and a half over 3 weeks is much more reasonable.

At the ultrasound in the afternoon the tech told me that Sprog already has a headful of hair - they could see it standing up like a halo on the ultrasound screen (Ah well - Willow started out that way as well - dark and long - but it all fell out when she was 9 months old and grew in blonde and curly). And the nose isn't flat like in the picture - that's a distortion because of how the machine sees contours - this one might actually have my ski jump nose according to the profile shots.

Back to wrapping and mailing...

Due February 2011 Swap Package

My apologies! This post has been sitting in the queue since Friday and I haven't had a chance to add text.

I received my 'Due in February 2011' swap package last week, and to my surprise, my upstream partner this time was my downstream partner from the last swap - Lucy. Lucy lives in the UK, and she sent me these lovelies:



I completely squeed over the card - I absolutely love Licorice Allsorts, and Andrew can't stand them. He won't even kiss me if I have been eating them. I cut the card up into bookmarks to use later - if I can't eat licorice right now (they can jack up your blood pressure if you have hypertension), at least I can look at them. Lucy also included some muslin blankets, some great bright-coloured baby socks, some sweets (which Willow immediately laid claim to), and a beautifully soft tam and pair of booties.

A close up of the cabled booties:



A close up of the tam:



Another close up so you can see the different colour around the brim:



Lucy did a fantastic job with the pom-pom - mine never look that plush or filled out. Thank you, Lucy!

WiP It Wednesday

Yep, another Sprog ultrasound. One of my co-workers said that Sprog almost looks big enough to come out - no no no! Willow and I were in Carter's earlier this week, and she was frothing over the baby's first Christmas outfits. I had to put a stop to that right away - we definitely don't want Sprog to come out before Christmas.

I do have knitting WiPs also going on right now, but most of them are Christmas presents or birthday presents, so I can't post pictures of them without spoiling the surprise.

Wordless Weekend (Delayed): The Willow Edition

Due January 2011 Swap Package Received

I love getting packages in the mail - especially when one is in an exceedingly grumpy mood. The other day I didn't get home until nearly 6pm, it was pouring rain, somebody (ahem, Andrew!) was harassing me about what was for dinner... and there was this package on my steps...

This package is from Nikiana, one of my fellow members in the Due in January 2011 group. Yes, I know I'm not due until February 1st, but since I am straddling two months (and personally, I think I will be delivering in January) I joined both the January and February groups. The more the merrier!

I tried doing a photoshoot of all the neat stuff inside the box... but I had a very nosy cat who decided he needed to be in on the action as well...



I'm kind of curious whether Nikiana has a cat (or a dog) because Lucky was very interested in smelling everything that came out of the box!



My doll is the only thing I have around here that has a baby-sized head, so she got to do the modelling honours.



Willow loved this hat - I think she wants one, too! Oddly enough, she seems very keen right now with wearing matching clothes with Sprog. I'm trying to break it to her that we are not likely to find size 8 and size newborn stuff in the same styles or colours.



Lucky and the stuffy.



Nikiana even included some stuff for Willow (thus making a very happy little girl), including some headbands (she is wearing this one to school today),



a purse (yeah, not sure what is up with that super intent gaze), and



some bracelets that Lucky was certain were for him. He especially liked the purple one with the silver beads. Nikiana also included this baby toy - you pull it down and it vibrates back up, which sent Lucky into a paroxysm of pleasure. We didn't have a cat when we had Willow - somehow I foresee a lot of baby toys becoming cat toys...

Nikiana - thank you! It was a wonderful package and I love everything in it!

Sprog Update

Another ultrasound this afternoon, and another lovely picture of Sprog. I don't think I will ever get tired of this!



I still think that Sprog looks an awful lot like Willow, and have a sneaky suspicion that Willow will have a mini-me on her hands before long. Just for comparison, here is a picture of Willow when she was 5 days old:



This morning was feeling so much pressure in my upper abdomen right below my breasts, and the skin was stretched taut - very uncomfortable. According to the ultrasound technician, Sprog's bum is wedged up high in my abdomen, and Sprog is head down (Thank God!), with her feet down with her head. Look at the ultrasound below - those two small ovals to the upper right of Sprog's head are feet!



I hope Sprog finds a more comfortable position soon - but stays head down!

WiP It Wednesday: The Non-Knitting Version

I have two swap packages that I have to get out the door tomorrow, so I have been frantically trying to get everything finished. These two babies (haha - pun intended!) were the last things to get finished:



Anyone guess what they are?

Maybe this picture will help:



They are bib clips - so you can transform any napkin, handkerchief, or washcloth into a bib or a cover-up while nursing. I saw some on Etsy when I was looking for some baby presents, and I thought they would be easy enough to make. Who would have thought that the most difficult part of it all would have been finding the actual mitten clips! It may have been neater to do these with a sewing machine... but I don't have a sewing machine, so I whipped them up by hand. I hope my swap partners like them - I know I do - and I have one set of clips left so I can make a bib clip for Sprog.

And, I'm Done!

Okay, this wasn't so painful. I know that my Dad (WHO HASN'T POSTED A COMMENT THIS ENTIRE MONTH!) will probably say, "Then why don't you do this more often?"

Gah. Life gets in the way. Blogging every day in November is easy because A) it is one of my favourite times and seasons of the year, B) my birthday is smack dab in the middle, and C) it is so colourful that I can't wait to go outside and take pictures.

I do want to blog more often. I recently had to change my blogroll over from Bloglines to Google Reader, and it caused me to have to review the blogs I had been following. I came to the sad realization that many blogs I used to read and enjoy just aren't very active at all anymore - and that is if at all. I know people grow up, move on, get married, have babies, etc., etc., etc. Such is life. I'm not a big commenter on people's blogs - so maybe some of these bloggers didn't realize how much their writing affected other people.

Thanks to everyone who has left comments this month - I do get a kick out of seeing what other people have to think about what I write. I think that Odie deserves a frequent commenter award - for someone I've never met, he's left an awful lot of nice comments on my blog. Thank you - it makes blogging frequently that much more rewarding.

How Fat Is My Cat?

Well, he doesn't fit into the cat food bag...

That being said, Lucky isn't huge - he's a long tomcat and weighs about 16 pounds. We had him on diet cat food at one point and he slimmed down to 13 pounds - but then developed crystals in his bladder. At that point we had to switch to special moist food and limit his (also special) dry cat food to once a day. A fat, healthy cat is preferable to a skinnier one who pees blood (trust me, that was scary!).



Lucky is a lapcat by nature - if anyone sits on the sofa, he comes running up to claim the primo spot - and come to think of it, other than is 15 minute crazy freak out most nights, that is about all the exercise he gets. He loves the laser pointer, but those tend to go missing in our house. Trader Joe's paper grocery bags are great fun as well (he chases them around the kitchen and then hides in them). Does anyone have any other ideas on how to exercise your cat? I would love to hear them!

Wordless Weekend