My apologies for missing last week’s post. Things got a little sideways and all of a sudden BOOM! it’s Monday and there’s no blog post written.
You see I typically write these posts ahead of time. Sometimes they are written the night before and sometimes they have been in process for weeks before they’re published. I don’t have any in the queue right now so if I don’t get the chance to sit down and think for a good chunk of time, nothing gets written.
Last weekend, I got to go pick up the yarn for my Anni sweater. It’s a gorgeous grayish light blue. I made my swatches, and I washed and blocked them.
Yes, you heard that right, I made swatches. And I washed them. And I blocked them.
It took a couple of evenings of knitting time to get the swatches made, but taking the time now to find gauge and see how the yarn will behave when wet will save me some frustration later (flashback to Hubby’s sweater last year.) I would really like to make a sweater that fits me and avoid having to make it twice.
So, I started using the recommended needle size for the pattern which is a US 4 (3.5mm). The pattern lists two gauge swatches, one in stockinette (which is plain knitting) and the other in the smocking pattern that is used around the bottom of the bodice. The pattern’s gauge section says the stockinette gauge is 24 stitches by 36 rows and should measure 4 inches. The smocking gauge is 30 stitches and 36 rows for 4 inches.I cast on 6 extra stitches in order to make the garter stitch edge you see in the photo below.
Pre-washed swatches.
You can see that the pre-washed gauge is almost right on. But when washed and blocked: TADA! I got gauge on the first try. This means that I knit at the same tension as the pattern designer and I don’t have to change needle sizes in order to get the same result.
Post-blocking swatch size.
I have carefully measured myself, and carefully made and measured the swatches. I know what size I need to make in the pattern. Now I can get started. I have printed out the pattern and read through it, highlighting the instructions for the size I’m knitting. I’ve worked a few rows of the beginning, but I have other time-sensitive projects I need to finish before I can really work on this.
Just a side note, I am not a small person and I know this. I have been knitting long enough to know how much work is going to go into making myself a sweater with sock-weight yarn. I ordered two bags (10 skeins) of yarn to have enough to make the sweater in my size. If you’re a shop owner, and someone like me comes in to pick up yarn and tells you what their plans are for it, your next comment should not be, “That’s a lot of knitting.” Now, honestly, a fingering-weight sweater is a lot of knitting for any size person and that’s probably what she meant. I’ll assume that, anyway.
And with that bit, I’m off. Have a great week, friends!
I’m excited for knitting this year. I have plans for a couple of challenges, my typical knitting for the year and Christmas gifts.
First, my challenges:
A sweater for myself in fingering weight yarn
Fingering weight yarn is what’s typically used for socks. It’s a smaller yarn than what I’ve used for sweaters in the past, but it will make a tighter fabric, so it will be cozy. The smaller size yarn also means smaller stitches and LOTS more knitting. I’m planning to make Anni with Cascade Heritage in the denim colorway. I ordered the yarn last Monday and it should be here in a week or two. Then I can wind the first ball and start swatching!
Pi Shawl
I put my Evenstar shawl on hold for the holidays while I did all my Christmas knitting. It’s been sitting in my yarn bowl, patiently waiting on me to pick it up again. I’ve been focusing on some smaller projects these last few weeks, to give my brain a break after the holidays. I have a hat to finish first, but then I will start working on it again.
Write patterns for my designs
I love knitting, I really do, and it’s something I like to do to make a little extra money. However, I’m not the kind of person who can just sit down and crank out a dozen of the same thing at a time to sell. I just finished mittens for the boys and by the time I was working on the 4th mitten, I was SO BORED with it. It took so much discipline for me to just finish it. This is why my Etsy shop is so bare. I love making custom items, and I am happy to make anything you want, but I am definitely a project knitter.I also like to come up with new ideas. I almost never follow a pattern exactly since I like to put my own twist on things. Sometimes this doesn’t work out so well, but usually the changes aren’t drastic. I have a few items that I’ve designed that I would like to write the pattern for and put them up for sale. There are a couple of stocking patterns, a hat pattern and some fingerless mittens.It’s a little intimidating to think of putting my ideas out there for sale. What if no one buys them? What if people buy them but think the pattern is awful? Will anyone think my idea is worth paying a couple of dollars for? I know lots of people who will only make things if the pattern is free. I do love free patterns, too, but I am happy to pay for a pattern that I really like. However, nobody’s buying my patterns if they’re not out there for sale, either!
(Mental note: revisit this post at the end of the year and see how far these challenges have come.)
Next, I have some specific projects I want to make.
Elephant crochet wall art for Lollypop This pattern is for a rug, but there are a couple of people who have made it out of cotton yarn to make it a doily instead. (Or, according to their Ravelry project pages, they’ve started it.) I want to do that and frame it to hang on his wall. I need to find the yarn for it – I want a silver color and that is difficult to find in the cotton crochet thread – and I have no idea how much yarn it will take or what size it will ultimately be.
Halloween costumes for the boys
Maybe Jellybean will decide to be something other than a lion this year. Maybe Lollypop will not grow out of the Halloween costume before I get it finished this year. Hopefully I can make costumes that they will enjoy.When I made the lion costume in 2015, I intentionally made it much larger than Jellybean needed. The plan was for it to be a dress-up play costume throughout the year. That has actually been the case, and it’s so fun when he comes out with his lion costume on. Once Jellybean outgrows it, Lollypop will be able to have fun in it for years, too.
Winter sweaters for the boys
It’s become an annual tradition. It’s working on the assumption that they will outgrow the sweater I made this year by the time it gets cold next year. I actually didn’t have to make Jellybean the red sweater with pockets and a zipper for this winter. His blue sweater from last winter still fits him pretty well. But when he asks me for a red sweater with a hood, how can I say no?Then there’s Lollypop, who actually almost outgrew his winter sweater this year before I even finished it. I had to add some quick-thinking cuffs for his arms to be covered. I will have to time and size his sweater just right next winter. He’s 8 ½ months and is already starting to outgrow some 12 month clothes! This is not something I expected, given all his issues in his first couple of months of life.Sometimes I question myself for making winter sweaters every year. I certainly don’t have to. There are perfectly good jackets and coats available in the stores that I would be less heartbroken if they got dirty or torn. It would be much easier not to put that pressure on myself and just knit what I want to. But Jellybean asked for a specific sweater this year, and I really think he is proud to wear what I make him. The time is coming, way sooner than I probably expect, where he won’t want to wear handmade costumes, mittens, hats, or jackets. He’ll want to be the popular superhero for Halloween, he’ll want the same coat and hat that everyone else does, and handmade stuff will be just SO UNCOOL. But that time is not here yet. Even if his red sweater with the pockets, hood and zipper gets torn or stained, I can fix it and wash it, and if it’s beyond repair, then at least I know it was loved. I will make sweaters for my boys for as long as they want me to. (And maybe even longer.)
There are other, less specific things that I want to do with my knitting time this year. I have friends who are having babies. There’s Christmas and birthdays to think about. I really enjoyed knitting the toys for Christmas gifts, so I think there will be lots more of those to come. Plus, I bought a 3lb. bag of stuffing, so that’s gotta go somewhere!
I am still open and available for custom knitting. I am happy to make whatever you can think of. I do cut off custom orders in November, so I can get my own Christmas gifts finished, so it’s important to think about it early. If you have an idea that you want me to consider, please send me a message and we can talk about it!
Well, here goes 2016, a very hard year for many, many people. It’s been a tough one for us, too. We’ve had so many big transitions in the last year and it feels like it’s just been one thing after another.
There are many reasons that I just want to say a big Eff you and good riddance to this year. But I’ve managed to stay positive.
Our little Lollypop was born this year. Although he had a rough start, he’s a healthy, funny, chunky 20lb 8-month old, now and he’s crawling, cruising and babbling all over the place. He loves his big brother to pieces and most of the time, Jellybean loves him, too.
I started a full time job. This has not been without its drawbacks, but on the whole, it’s been a positive for me and my family. I get to interact with people outside of my family (which is a relief to my husband, I’m sure) and making money is always nice.
I did manage to get quite a bit of knitting done this year. With the layout of our new house, it’s been easier to knit a few stitches or a few rows in between chasing the baby around and keeping the big kiddo out of trouble. I actually managed to finish more this year than last year, even with the new baby and new job.
According to my Ravelry list, (if I have them all tagged correctly) I started 28 projects in 2016 and finished 29 projects. I finished a few in the year that I had started in previous years. 7 of those were Christmas gifts. And now that I’m writing this post, I realize that there’s one Christmas gift project that isn’t even listed (because my mom’s on Ravelry, too. :D) I actually got all my Christmas knitting done a few days before Christmas and was able to get a head start on next year’s knitting.
This was the year of knitted and crocheted toys for Christmas. Many of these I started back in February, but I got to the stuffing point and they sat until December. Haha.
I made one of these for my brother, but I didn’t get a picture of it! It turned out very huge, but so cute.
I did get pictures of most of them, like this Sunshine plushie for my eldest Niece.
Of all of those, I think the Capybara is my favorite. Capybaras are very large rodents native to South America who are relatives to Guinea Pigs. I love Guinea Pigs and I had one named Alfred when I was in High school. Anyway, that was much fun to make and turned out about twice the size I expected it to!
My own little ones got handmade toys, too. Lollypop got this cute little amigurumi elephant. It was fun to make, but I always tend to overstuff crochet plushies. Even though I used a small hook, some of the stuffing is still showing a bit.
And for my big kid Jellybean, I made a Red Dragon. Red is his favorite color and he’s been big into dragons and dinosaurs lately. When he opened the gift, he said, “Mama, did you make this for me?” When I told him I did, he said, “Oh, Thank you mama!” Talk about melting your heart! I make my kids lots of stuff, mostly articles of clothing, and he’s seen what work goes into those things. I feel like he knows and appreciates, at least on some level, the amount of time and effort I put into the things I make for him. I learned a long time ago that when you give a handmade gift, you must give it freely and let go of it when it’s given. Especially with kids, but even with adults, you can’t be guaranteed that they will cherish having it as much as you cherished making it. Seeing that he really loved it made me smile.
With that wild imagination of his, Jellybean named his dragon Benm. At least, that’s what his name is right now.
There were a few other gifts for Christmas, too. A crocheted doily for my mom, that I didn’t get a picture of (and almost forgotten I had made!) and an afghan that I made for my Mother-in-law. That one has a story behind it that I will have to tell at another time.
As far as the rest of the year goes, I did finish Jellybean’s sweater, finally, and I even got the zipper sewed in. It was nerve-wracking putting my hand knit through the sewing machine but it turned out to be quick and easy. He loves it and wears it frequently. I also made Lollypop a sweater and both of them hats.
Jellybean is wearing the sweater I made him last year.
Try to ignore the furniture in the background. One day, we’ll have coordinating furniture that isn’t cat-clawed. Maybe in about 20 years.
The hats are supposed to be dinosaur hats, but Lollypop’s just looks like a chicken and Jellybean calls his a dragon hat. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ They’re still cute!
I made several other things this year, but mostly for Lollypop and you’ve seen those before.
It’s become sort of a tradition to make a large project each year. Last year, I made myself a sweater, which I still wear constantly during the cool months. I also made my husband a sweater. Then I made it again in the right size. I just realized I never posted about the corrected sweater, but I finished it right as the last very cold days were wrapping up in February this year. I think I actually finished it on the last day it would have been comfortable to wear. He has worn it once, and it fits and looks pretty good, although I am going to go back and put elastic in the neck, cuffs and waistband. It’s 100% wool, though, and we live in Tennessee, and he works in a wood shop, so occasions to wear it are infrequent at best.
As I write this, there are two more days left in the year. I am 99% finished with a scarf for Jellybean (that he requested – it’s RED, of course!) and I think that may be the last project I will be able to finish. Currently, I only have the scarf, a baby blanket for a dear friend and my epic evenstar shawl on the needles, so I’m cleaning up my knitting nook, organizing my stash, and making a plan for the projects I’ll make next year.
Next time I’ll share my ideas and hopes for my knitting in 2017.
I hope you and your family have had a wonderful holiday and a very happy new year!
I think this is taking as long to make as my sweater took, maybe longer. Granted, I only have 1 good hour to knit most days, and some days less than that, but it just feels like this sweater is going SO S L O W!
However, it is coming along and since we have at least another week of 80-degree weather ahead of us, I do still have time.
I ended up closing the pockets up along the zipper edge of the sweater as I knit them up the sweater. It worked out really well.
The pattern says to pick up stitches for the pouch one row above the ribbing. I picked up half the required number of stitches from the zipper edge out toward the side. I followed the instructions for the shaping and edging for the pocket, but had to somehow close the pocket at the zipper edge. Typically what I do on edges where I know I’ll be picking up stitches later is to slip the first stitch of every row, instead of knitting/purling it. (I’ll be picking up those edge stitches to knit a band for the zipper to be sewn to.) That makes for a really clean edge like you see here on the edge of the sweater body.
Edge of sweater body
This means there is one edge stitch for every two rows of the main fabric.
One edge stitch for two rows.
On the edge of the sweater at the zipper edge, I picked up the next edge stitch…
Click on the photo to see the text details in the arrows.
…and knitted or purled (depending on which pocket I was working on) them together with the last stitch of the pocket.
Purling edge stitch of the body together with last pocket stitch.
This quite neatly closed up that side of the pocket that I was worried about. Then I just fused the pocket to the body by knitting the stitches of the pocket together with the corresponding stitch of the body along the top of the pocket.
Pocket on front needle, sweater body on back needle.
Knitting pocket and body together.
Pull the stitch through both loops.There’s a pocket!
It turned out to be easy-peasy and I’m pleased with how it looks.
We had Jellybean try it on before I finished the raglan decreases in the yoke and darn it if I’m not going to have to make the sleeves longer. This kid just keeps growing! The end of the sleeves comes right down to just above his wrists, and of course the sleeves are knit from the cuff up. No worries, though. When I finish the rest of the sweater, I’ll fix it. I’ll have to rip back all of the decreases (it was also tighter than I’d like at the cuff), pick up the stitches and knit down from there, decreasing more slowly (every 5 rows instead of every 4) and do one less decrease. I’ll show you how I manage that, too, when I get there.
Do you remember last year’s sweater? Jellybean has suddenly decided that it’s cool and he’ll wear it every chance he gets. I’m sure it has something to do with the Daniel Tiger episode where he learns to button his coat. After watching that episode, Jellybean remembered his sweater and put it on, buttoning all the buttons himself. (We actually sing the “Keep Trying” song a lot – we’re at a stage where we hear “I can’t do it!!” quite frequently.) He’s still excited about his new RED sweater, though!
Several times I’ve been tempted to buy him a light fleece jacket for playing on the playground at daycare so he doesn’t ruin his sweater. I stop myself every time, though. Where will he wear his sweater, if not daily on the playground? If it gets dirty or torn, I can wash or repair it. I would rather he wear this one and I have to repair it than it sit at the house shiny and new because I don’t want it to get ruined. I hope he really does want to wear it daily. I would be so proud and honored.
Oh, it’s been two weeks? Well, yes, that would explain it.
We’ve had to travel, we’ve had sick kiddos, knitting and crocheting have not gone as planned and I’m so irritable I can barely stand to be around myself.
But I made a pie.
A really beautiful, tasty apple pie.
Thank you, Southern Living magazine!
We’ve had sick kiddos around. I got a call Wednesday morning, before I even left the driveway to go to work, that Jellybean was sick. He got through the stomach issues, took him back on Thursday and I got a call about an hour later that he had a rash. Friday morning, the rash was worse and he had a fever. That afternoon we left the doctor’s office with a positive Flu test, positive strep test, flu shot for me, a prescription for antibiotics and a diagnosis of Scarlet Fever. Jellybean never had a sore throat, the only indication of strep was the rash and fever. We’re convinced the flu test was a false positive. Of course by Saturday morning, he as acting like nothing was ever wrong, but he still had to be out of daycare for more than a week.
Lollypop got to stay home this past Monday, too. He has this habit of not napping well on the weekends. On the one hand, I get it, he’s excited to see his family and doesn’t want to miss any action. But on the other hand, holy moly it makes it tough when he loses his mind along about 4pm. He’d been coughing quite a bit on Sunday night and was congested with runny nose and watery eyes. So, out of an abundance of caution, we all stayed home Monday. I did manage to get a 2-hour nap out of him and a 1-hour nap out of Jellybean that day, so at least I was able to work a bit and he was feeling much better the next day.
Lollypop is starting to get mobile and sit up on his own better. I’m excited about this – he’s less reliant on me for his every need. But it also means I can’t just lay him somewhere and expect him to stay there. We’ve started feeding him rice cereal from a spoon and he LOVES that! Our next step is trying some purees. I think I’ll get some peaches and see if he likes those mixed in with his cereal. He’s curious about everything, and thinks his big brother hung the moon. Jellybean is being so sweet to him, too. They’re starting to play together and JB will read LP books and hug on him. It’s really wonderful to watch their relationship grow.
It’s impossible to get a non-blurry picture of them.
On the knitting side, I’ve cast on and ripped out so many times I’ve lost count.
I started a Christmas present in crochet. I have no clue about gauge in crochet, so I just had to restart that one three times until I got the size right. That one’s a lap-sized afghan, so it was a bit of work to rip out. Of course I can’t show you yet, it’s that time of the year!
I also made a hat. I used instructions for a hat made with worsted weight yarn, but I was using bulky weight yarn. I ripped that one out once and I’m afraid it still might be too big.
I’ve redone Jellybean’s sweater at least twice. I’m on the last try. I’m not ripping it out again. He’ll just have to wear it the way it ends up. (It’ll be fine.)
A little more progress than last time.
I’m working along on the sweater last evening and I’m thinking about how I’m going to do the pockets. My original thought was to double-knit them so I could easily enclose the side next to the zipper. I checked the pattern to see where to start the pockets and I realize I’ve passed the spot. By about two inches. *sigh* (It’ll be fine.)
The pattern’s original design has one pouch pocket on the front of the sweater. You knit up the body to the top of where the pocket would be, pick up stitches near the ribbing and knit the pocket up. Then you work the pocket and sweater stitches together on the next row to close the top. If I had read the pattern fully before starting, I would have known this. I am not ripping out two inches of stockinette. (It’ll be fine.)
Note to self: Read the pattern before beginning!
I am NOT ripping out two inches of stockinette!
IT WILL BE FINE!
There.
I will just pick up stitches for the pockets, knit the pockets and figure out how to close the pocket next to the zipper later. I can use mattress stitch, but it won’t have the same stretch as the rest of the sweater. I can probably do a single crochet or slip stitch crochet thing on the inside of the pocket that would stretch some, but I’m not sure how that will look on the outside. I’ll have to think on that one. Do you have any suggestions?
I’ve paused on the Evenstar shawl for a bit. Fall weather is here this week and I decided I needed to focus on cold-weather wear. I still need to finish Lollypop’s stocking, sew up his sweater and find the perfect buttons for it. I have had to add a few new projects to my list, too. Jellybean came out of his room crying this week because his felted slippers don’t fit anymore. He was so very sad. He said, “Mama, make it go on my foot!” He got really upset with me when I told him they don’t fit anymore, but was better when I told him I would make him a new pair. And a new pair of mittens. Also, Jellybean and Lollypop need winter hats. These kids just keep growing!!
Let’s hope this next week goes better than the last two and I get some projects finished. We all need a break from the craziness!
My first trip out of town was a success, I think. I got quite a bit of work done and even got the chance to sleep through the night for several nights in a row. I know my husband had a rough night or two, and we were both ready for me to come home, but everybody survived.
I called home to talk to Jellybean on Tuesday night. He told me all about playing with his friends at preschool, singing songs and mentioned something about dada and a new dishwasher. I thought it was odd that he would mention a dishwasher, but I thought he might be talking about a play kitchen. I asked hubby about it later. He got really quiet. Surprise! We really do have a new dishwasher! Haha, Jellybean spilled the beans. It was still a surprise, though, because I had no idea hubby would replace our dishwasher while I was our of town. The new one is SO quiet and doesn’t leak, hang up, smell like a smelting plant or squeal like a banshee.
Shiny!
I got in Thursday night after the boys had gone to bed. Lollypop woke up at about 415, so I got up with him. I turned on the light to change his diaper and the look on his face when he realized it was me was just awesome. He had a big grin and was SO excited! We were up for quite a while longer than normal as he patted my face, chattered at me and hugged my neck. I didn’t mind it.
Jellybean woke up the next morning and said, “Oh hey, you’re back.” as if it was no big deal that I was gone. That’s my laid-back kiddo for you. Later, when I picked them up from daycare, he did tell me that he was glad I was home.
I got quite a bit of work done on the stocking, but didn’t finish it during the trip. I got the heel halfway done in the airport before the flight home, missed a stitch somewhere, and just put it away. I could have pulled the heel out, put in waste yarn and continued down the foot, but at that point, I was so exhausted and brain-fried I didn’t even want to think about it. Heels and toes should be done when I have time to concentrate. I found that time Friday night and I’m ready to continue on.
Loving it, so far!
I started to cast on for Jellybean’s 2016 Winter Sweater, but I didn’t bring the whole pattern with me. I made copies of the pertinent pages, or so I thought. I didn’t think to copy the measurement page. I cast on the 100 stitches, and it just felt like it was going to be really small. I didn’t want to waste time on it and I really felt like I would be ripping it out if I kept going. So, I undid the cast on and decided start it again when I can make sure I’m making the right size. Well, it turns out that there is no measurement page. I did the calculations for the gauge and I was definitely on track to make it too small. The stitch gauge is 9 stitches over 2 inches, so the size 4 sweater would be almost 25 inches around. After I got home, I measured last year’s sweater…. it was 28 inches. I’m so glad I didn’t keep going. I’ll be making the size 6 instead.
Cast on for JB’s sweater.
I will also be changing the pattern to be a zip-front sweater rather than a pullover. I’m using the Wonderful Wallaby pattern. I guess the pattern will be more of a guide, though. Changing it to have a zipper rather than being worked in one piece is a significant difference. I will have to make the pouch into two pockets, but I have an idea on how to manage that.
Before I left, I did manage to finish knitting on Lollypop’s winter sweater. I need to sew it up and get buttons for it, but it’s still 90 degrees daily, so I have some time.
LP’s sweater, nearly finished.
There’s not been much else going on this week. Just the happy homecoming and trying to get back into the groove after the trip. I have quite a bit to do for work, but I hope I’ll get some good knitting time, too.
I’ll leave you with this little gem. This was artwork that was in the hotel room. Can you spot the problem?
It’s been a long few months since my last post and so much has happened!
First of all, Lollypop is here!
After a long and hard labor (much, much love to my husband who coached me through it) Lollypop was born on Saturday April 23rd.
He (yes, he!) was 9lbs 10oz, 20 1/4 inches long.
Those cheeks!
Jellybean thinks his little brother is nice. He’s so sweet to his little brother – giving him hugs and kisses all the time. Thankfully he pretty much tunes out most of the crying!
We’re all adjusting to our life as a family of four. It’s been tough – Lollypop has been colicky with reflux and an apparent dairy allergy so he had a hard time gaining weight in the beginning. That made things a little rough, but we’ve found a solution that’s been working and he’s getting positively chunky! He’s doing all the things a healthy 4-month old should do: rolling over, chewing on everything in sight, sitting up with support and growing his first tooth! I feel like it’s too early for the first tooth to be here, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Next thing you know, he’ll be walking out the door to go to college! It makes me a little sad because this is my last first tooth bringing an end to my last toothless smile. (I get a little sappy about that sort of thing.)
We’ve found a rhythm to life, and I’m even starting to find time to knit a row or two occasionally. I’ve finished a Citron shawl which was easy, but just lovely. I’m working on winter sweaters for my boys and a new Christmas stocking for Lollypop! I’ve gotten a head start on my Christmas gift knitting, too!
Lollypop’s Winter Sweater in progress.
The beginning of Lollypop’s Christmas Stocking.
We’ve had lots of big changes these last few months, including me going back to work full time. It’s been exciting and worrysome at the same time. I’m thrilled for the opportunity to get right back into my field of Information Security and I pretty much picked up where I left off after Jellybean was born. I’m doing IT and Information Security audit this time around, rather than being on the implementation side. It means a bit of travel, especially in the fall, but mostly I’ll be working from home.
Jellybean and Lollypop are in full time daycare. I was feeling worried and guilty for sending them off to someone else 5 days a week, but it’s working out pretty well. We’ve found a great preschool and Jellybean has made lots of fast friends there. He looks forward to going every day and that makes me happy. He’s such an outgoing kiddo and needs the time to interact with his peers. He’s learning lots of new things, too. He comes home singing a new song just about every day and he can recite the Pledge of Allegiance (which is TOTES ADORBS coming from a three year old!)
I was really worried about leaving Lollypop, with him being so young and having so many issues, but it turns out that he’s a hardy kiddo and the girls at the preschool just love on him so much. It’s a great feeling to know your kids are in safe, loving hands every day.
I’m on my first overnight trip for my job this week. I am excited about it, but I’m nervous and sad, too. I’ve only been away from my husband a handful of nights since we married and I’ve only been away from Jellybean three nights (including when Lollypop was born). I’m glad we moved to be closer to family, so my husband will have some help nearby if he needs it. I know it’ll be OK, but until I’m back home, I’ll be a little worried and nervous.
Speaking of my first business trip, I definitely over packed the knitting. I brought Lollypop’s stocking to knit on the plane and I brought two other projects to work on in the evening. Because, you know, I might get bored. I haven’t flown in more than 6 years and the rules have changed a bit since then, so I had to plan what I can knit on the plane and put the rest in my checked bag. I have a bag of knitting accessories, which holds my scissors, stitch markers, ruler, needle point protectors, etc. I won’t need all of that for this trip, so I pared that down to just the essentials in case it got taken away at security. There were no issues, though, and I got to spend the flight knitting away on the stocking.
Just the essentials.
I have managed to get a bit done on the stocking today, with the flying and driving. There will be more driving and flying before the trip is over and I should be able to get a significant chunk finished.
Great progress!
And with that, I will finish this rambling post and try to relax before another busy day tomorrow. Have a great week, friends!
38 weeks, now and we’re still just waiting on Lollypop to choose a birthday.
I’ve not been doing much. For some reason, I don’t want to knit right now. I’ve been working on a cross stitch project, just as I feel like it.
I’m just trying to rest, as much as is possible with a wild 3 year old, and keep up with the housework.
Jellybean is really enjoying his PDO class and made an instant friend on day one. The teachers are wonderful: very kind and patient, and of course he’s showing them his very best side in these early days. I’m glad we were able to find this class for him – I think having the routine will help us all after Lollypop gets here.
Yesterday, my new friends held a Blessingway ceremony for me. It was wonderful and I left there feeling very loved and supported. I even had an old friend drive 2 1/2 hours to participate. Talk about feeling loved!
I wrote out my fears and we talked about those. I got so much support and advice and reassurance. Then I tossed the papers that gave my fears a voice into a fire. It felt like a weight lifting off me as I watched them burn.
Then my friends and mother-in-law read blessings for me that they wrote while I was writing my fears. Their words were beautiful as they washed over me. One blessing in particular stood out to me. “May you have the courage and voice and wisdom to ask for exactly what you need.” Isn’t that one we all need to hear and take to heart?
I was also given tokens with words of encouragement, to use during labor, or any time really. Single words of inspiration and motivation for when I might think I can’t go any further.
My new friends have known me less than a month, but have welcomed me with open arms and lots of love. I’m so thankful to have these ladies along for the journey as our family grows.
We have everything we need. All my critical tasks are done, now I am just trying to relax and enjoy these last few days (or weeks, maybe) of being a family of three.
I’m nesting and cleaning and getting things ready for baby, but not much else. I’ve spent my downtime working on a cross stitch project, so there’s nothing to show you this week.
Here we are, 36 weeks and counting. I’m getting to the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy. I’m always tired, no matter how much sleep I get. I’m an emotional basket-case. I’m aching in my hips and in between, thank you relaxin hormone. I have Pelvic Girdle Pain when I sit too long and Posterior Pelvic Pain (literally, a pain in the ass) when I stand up too long. I suspect I am developing diastasis recti. I can’t cook an entire meal without having to sit down for a few minutes in the middle. Doing our weekly grocery shop just wears me out. And I constantly have to pee.
Here we are at 36 weeks and counting and I wonder if I’ve enjoyed this pregnancy enough. I’m fairly certain this is my last baby and I really do love being pregnant, but did I really get the chance to enjoy this one? Having an energetic toddler around made it difficult to find quiet time to bond with the baby in the very beginning. Then we moved when I was 19 weeks, and all of that famous 2nd trimester energy went into packing and unpacking. I didn’t even really feel pregnant until I saw the ultrasound.
Here we are at 36 weeks and counting and I wonder if I’ve given my big kid enough only-child attention. Our world is about to get rocked. We’ve settled into a routine here just in time for everything to go sideways. (We’re actually changing our routine soon to include a PDO program, so let’s get a little sideways a little early.) There’s a blog post I’ve seen titled, “Did I Love You Enough Today?” And I wonder, have I loved him enough these three years? Does he know that he made me a mother and he will always have that special honor? Even on the days when I can’t pick him up, and the days when my emotions are too much and I just sit and cry, and the days when I don’t have the patience to say “put your pants on” a hundred times in a row.
Here we are at 36 weeks and I feel like we’re just waiting. I’ve started declining outings that are too close to my due date. I don’t want to travel too far or for to long. The diapers, clothes and bed are here. I have bottles, and burp cloths. I have our bag pretty much packed for the birth center. We’ve got everything we truly need for a new baby. So there’s only waiting left to do.
Here we are at 36 weeks and I am both terrified and excited about having a new baby. Jellybean’s birth was not so long ago that I don’t remember what it was like. He was born at home after just 7 hours of labor, so I am not afraid about laboring or giving birth. The first few weeks, though, they were so, so hard. In my memory they’re just a blur of sitting in the office chair, listening to jazz music feeding and holding a newborn. It got better after we figured out some issues, but I’m still haunted by just how hard it was.
It’s almost time for Lollypop to make the appearance of a lifetime. We’re going to be a family of four. We now talk about “the kids” instead of just Jellybean. (As in, “Can we pay off the mortgage before the kids graduate high school?”) We set things up in our new house knowing that we’d have a little one in it soon. Jellybean will be a really great big brother. Lollypop has all the necessities – clothes and diapers to wear, a bed to sleep in and food to eat. We’re prepared, even if I’m not quite ready yet. 🙂
