High Fiber—Waiting for Baby. Again. Still! Part II

Still no appearance from Baby Stuart, but we're getting knitting done for him.

I improvised this owl hat from the Knitculture Wise Old Owl Hat pattern and the rolled-brim hats I've been making. The yarn is Swish Worsted in "Allspice." This color and the "Gulfstream" I used for the blue hat are both on sale right now. This is the largest of the hat collection. I used a squash to block it, although I've used balloons in the past.

I finished the third soaker in the graduated set, which should get BS off to a good start. (He will be wearing cloth diapers, so soakers are handy and prevent diaper rash.)

The pattern is the Milo Soakers from Vintage Baby Knits by Kristen Rengren. The yarn is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in "Bare."

With those done, I decided to CO the Jasper Diamond Hoodie from the same book.

The two fronts and the back are worked together, so I already have a great start. The yarn is Stroll Sport in Stream Heather.

We have been busy here. DDIL's aunt had a big birthday, and we went to the party Friday night. A friend made her this beautiful quilt:

The back is almost as beautiful:

I love pieced backs but seldom find myself making them.

Somehow, I finally managed to come up with the time to set up my wheel:

The Tour de Fleece starts on June 30th, and I want to get some spinning done for it, although I'm sure Baby Stuart will make his appearance in time to be a major distraction! My goal will be to spin all of this during the Tour de Fleece this year. I have 8 oz of fiber.

I've been wondering if the Tour de Fleece will have the same problem as the Ravelympics over on Ravelry. So far, there have been no complaints. (If you have been out of the loop and haven't heard about it, the USOC has demanded that Ravelry stop using the term "Ravelympics" for the event they hold in conjunction with the Olympic Games. The letter to Ravelry was rather insulting to knitters and crocheters and has caused quite a stir. The Ravelympics will go on, but likely with a different name. Our own Mitts of Steal group will have a team.

What's on my needles: Besides the Dogwood Blossoms Cardigan and Fiji Socks, the Jasper Diamond Hoodie described above.
What's on my iPad: Finished Celia's House from Audible. Trying to decide what to put on next. Still reading The League of the Scarlet Pimpernell on iBooks.
What's my app of the week: Redownloaded Zite. I've been reading about the USOC/Ravelry controversy.
What's in my wine glass: Trader Joe's own Charles Shaw (Two-Buck-Chuck) Merlot 2010. So nice to be in Trader Joe's country!

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

High Fiber--Waiting for Stork...Again...Still!

Still no sign of BS, but some of his layette is completed:

The Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) is made from Swish DK in Grain Heather and Cinnamon (discontinued). The little hats are made from Stroll Sport in cork and Bare, Swish DK in Grain Heather and Swish Worsted in Hollyberry. The booties are in Stroll Sport in cork. The buttons on the BSJ are little duckies. I have since finished another baby hat in Swish Worsted Gulfstream:

It's a simple pattern. CO about 78 sts, join in the end, K until you have 5.5-6.5 sts, depending on size, do a round of K1, K2tog, then K2tog until you have about five sts left. Work I-cord for a few inches and tie in a knot, or just run the yarn through the sts on the needle and tie off. The brim rolls up, and you and roll it up or down to make it larger or smaller. I started the hat Friday evening when we were out for dinner, so I could participate in "Knit In Public" Day/Week.

Earlier in the week I finished the first of several soakers for new Baby Stuart, who will be using primarily cloth diapers, and the environmentally friendlier choice.

The pattern came from Vintage Baby Knits by Kristen Rengren. I'm using WotA in Bare and making one in each of the sizes in the book, plus one in newborn, which is easy to do by just casting on 4 fewer sts than for the 3-6 month size. It's a quick, easy knit. The soakers will need to be treated with lanolin to be leakproof. (Directions are in the book.) Ravelry also has patterns for soakers, and I saw one in Piecework Magazine, Nov/Dec 2008. 

The baby shower for young Master Stuart was held Saturday at the home of the other grandparents. He got lots of goodies. The knitted and quilted items from me were all in this diaper bag:

The diaper bag is made from the Tahki Stacy Charles Eco Tote pattern using Knit Picks WotA Bulky in Porcini and Navy, felted (fulled) and then lined with a coordinating dinosaur fabric that has pockets for smaller items.

My friend Joanie sent a lovely articulated teddy bear, and another friend, Ilene, an avid quilter, send this cute baby quilt:

A friend of the new Mommy-to-be knitted this cute sweater out of a color named "Pond Scum." The color is much lovelier than the name would indicate!

Now that the baby shower is over, I will be knitting up more of the soakers, maybe some baby socks and booties, and another hat. However, my spinning is calling to me, and since I have my wheel, Stanzi, along with me in the trailer, I plan on working on this lovely fiber:

It's the Mountain Colors' "Crazy Woman" Targhee. I've been looking forward to trying it out. 

What's on my needles: Newborn soaker from Vintage Baby Knits.
What's on my iPad: Celia's House by D. E. Stevenson from Audible and The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel from iBooks.
What's my app of the week: DogGoes Dog Parks, find a dog park near your location.
What's in my wine glass: Enjoying some Two-buck Chuck (Charles Shaw) Shiraz, normally Three-buck-Chuck outside of CA, but just $2.49 in Hillsboro, OR.

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

High Fiber--Travel

We arrived in Beaverton, OR, yesterday. Lots of knitting time in the car!

The BSJ is turning out well. I haven't decided on the buttons yet. Will have to look around for some nice ones.

The hat I made last week was so much fun, I decided to make a couple more. Here are the two little ones, for newborn, and I've started a bigger one. The red one will have a button or something. The white one is Stroll Sport in Bare. The red one is Swish Worsted in Cranberry. The tan one is Swish worsted in Doe.

I love traveling by car! Lots of knitting time!

We stopped in some interesting places on our trip. One was a winery--a real one, that has its own vineyard. That was Idaho. In spite of a wicked headwind, we reached OR Saturday and stayed at a nice place campground. I don't want to know what the gas bill was! I think it cost us double because of the headwind!

It was exciting to see Mt. Hood, because it meant that we were almost there! We were overjoyed to arrive in Beaverton before BS put in his appearance.

In quilting news, Julie finished quilting my Sparkling Gemstones quilt just before we left. I will put on the binding when I get back home. She used a pantograph and wool batting. It will crinkle up nicely after I wash it in hot water.

Stay tuned! We may have a baby by next week. I'll add a comment if the stork arrives this week.

What's on my needles: BSJ, Dogwood Blossoms, Fiji socks, various baby projects.
What's on my iPad: We just finished listening to Dean Koontz's The Good Guy. Very entertaining.
What's my app of the week: Fireplace. It's so realistic, and it kept me feeling cozy in the trailer.
What's in my wine glass: Old Moon Zinfandel, 2011. Very nice!

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

High Fiber--Odds and Ends

We're still at home, since BS hasn't put in his appearance this early, but we'll be taking off soon, regardless.

One of my projects this week was to finish the baby hat DGD1 started when she was here. I used it to teach her how to knit in the round, and then I continued it, but it has been on the back burner, with all the other things going on.

I topped it off with a little I-cord tied in a knot. The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Sport in Bare. It's 75% superwash merino and 25% nylon, so it can be washed in the washing machine. Perfect for baby things.

I finally got back to my spinning and finished plying my Caramel Full Circle wool roving. It still needs to be washed, though. 

Spring has finally arrived at the higher altitudes, and friends are having parties on their decks. This party was at a neighbor's house. At this party, DH and I met a couple who own llamas. Guess what? They neither spin, nor do they reap the fiber from these lovely fiber beasties, but just give it away! Uncarded fleece, of course, but do I not own a hackle? Do I not own a drum carder? Yes, I do! We will be gone when the lovely creatures are shorn, but they will save me some. I can hardly wait! It will be a nice welcome-home present for moi!

On the baby front, little Zachary is gaining weight and doing well. Daphne is turning into a little mother, helping look after baby brother when he needs something.

Daphne is turning into a real little girl. She now (finally) has enough hair to have ponytails! Soon it will be time to teach her cat's cradle, and then knitting, spinning and quilting! What fun!

My next blog post will probably be from the road. I'll try to take lots of photos to share.

What's on my needles: BS's BSJ, Dogwood Blossoms Cardigan, Fiji socks. Some of these projects are already packed away for the trip.
What's at the quilter's: The Sparkling Gemstones quilt. It may be ready before we leave town!
What's on my iPad: Celia's House by D. E. Stevenson from Audible, and The Scarlet Pimpernell by Baroness Orczy from iBooks.
What's my app of the week: Trail Explorer, from the Sierra Club, in case we want to do some hiking during our trip.
What's in my wine glass: Roccalta Sangiovese 2010. Nice! (DH picks the wines. I have to say, I haven't had a bad one since about 1996.)

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the iPad. (I used the Notes app to write it.) No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.