Finished with the baby blanket I've been working on, and by the time it was finished, it was like an old friend. One you know so well you don't really have to explain yourself, or vice versa. It was a simple yet satisfying knit--three sampler patterns, tied together by cables. Now I'm just looking forward to giving it to the baby's mother. One last pleasure for me, and I hope hours and hours of cozy pleasure for them.
A last look at the detail.
You know that knitting news is slow when I post a picture of the Yarn Eater. That, or he is so excited about a yarn that he begs for camera time. In this case, both are true. The Yarn Eater loooves Sublime, for it's squooshy softness and great stitch definition (er, well, no he really couldn't care less about stitch definition, but I like it).
It's a good thing that Sublime is a pleasure to work with, since that combined with the speed with which this project is going, is just what you want for gift knitting. This blanket, a simple sampler with some cables thrown in for interest, is going to take about ten longish car rides or movies to complete. Not bad. Especially since I do have the goal of getting at least one tee shirt finished before summer is over.
No, I am not advocating animal cruelty or child abuse. It simply occurred to me that there is a baby coming in early August, and I'd like to have a project completed before he comes, so it's time to start on the baby blanket that I planned to give him.
I'm not so crazy about knitting on deadline, especially when I have so many other projects in process, some of them (pin-tuck tee, esp.) in a state of crisis. And I'm certainly not crazy about the selflessness involved in putting aside projects for myself for projects for someone else.
On the plus side, this blanket looks to be a no-brainer pattern, and might offer some relief from the frustrations of other projects. Famous last words. Any way, I've got six weeks to go unless this boy is early, so the race against time starts now. Casting on...........
I was a bit desolate when I realized that I had forgotten my camera at the office last weekend. No matter, I cheered myself up chez Maxcine (Stitch Therapy, homegirls).
There is another baby on the way, and in hopes of being the creator of his binky or banky or blanky or whatever, I've decided to knit him a blanket. If my plan works, I can contribute to someone's well-being long before he ever winds up in a shrink's office. Hell, if this blanket is a good enough transitional object (that's what we analysts call the favorite blanket or stuffed animal), maybe he'll be spared the expense of the shrink altogether. D. W. Winnicott, a British analyst and pediatrician, thought that the blanket or teddy, or whatever it is for a child, is crucial for the child's developing a sense of well-being and faith in the reliable on-going-ness of life, imagination, and even trust in those around him. It's not just a blanket, that's why they go so ape when they lose it.
So I'm choosing between one of two patterns:
This one is a sampler. I'd leave off the date--obviously, you can't give this one as a gift before the baby arrives, now can you? I'd just knit some other sampler squares, which I would much prefer anyway.
Here's the other contender--and the yarn I'll be using- beautiful wool-silk-cashmere called "Sublime" that Maxcine says people are cold water washing with no problem. Very elegant for a baby, but it's a beautiful color and feel. Let's start him off right when it comes to his knits.
And while I was there, I happened upon this very interesting yarn that just might work up into a solution for the problem of this dress. It's got an unnaturally low cleavage, and I'll need something to cover it for some occasions. It's kind of hard to see, but this yarn is Berocco's "Seduce"--the label is covered up as I hope to be by the yarn--is that some kind of divine plan?
Here it is. It's a superfast knit, but the finishing took longer than the knitting---all those stripe-ends. Worth it for it's overall adorable-ness quotient. I'm sure the little guy and his parents will appreciate it. For the whole two months that it fits him. The ultimate tragedy of baby clothes--their short life in the life of the baby.
But who could resist this wonderful attention to detail, in miniature. Even Operations Man, who is not known for sartorial sentimentality, seems to get a little misty-eyed when he looks at this one. So cute we can't stand it.
Go ahead, ask me what I did on Friday.
OK, I'll tell you. I knit two sleeves. So what if they were smaller than a dishcloth (still an item I swear I will never knit). TWO SLEEVES. Baby clothes are the best. If instant gratification is your game, that is, and I guess I'm up for a little of it, try a little of this. At this rate, there's no risk this baby is going to be here before his sweater.
Next baby will be getting a somewhat more ambitious project from the same Sirdar book--"baby bamboo knits". This baby is a very long awaited guy. There was no instant gratification in his creation, and there will be no instant gratification in the making of his gift.
When it comes to babies, or just about anything else, gratification is gratification. Whether it comes easily or not, the main thing is that it comes at all.
It was a very good conference, in knitting and other respects. Here is the quickly growing body of the baby hoodie--knitted while listening to my colleagues present their work. This sweater is so incredibly cute that I'm a little sad that the baby will only be able to wear it for a wink of an eye. Hopefully, it'll survive his spills and whatever other messes he puts it through and get passed on for a while.
I did refrain from knitting during my own panel, which went very well, and was so much fun to put together. I must confess I love my fifteen minutes on stage, which I have been managing to snag for the last few years. Everyone wrote a really good paper, and the audience was great. They liked the papers, laughed in all the right places, and no one walked out in the middle. So many of our friends turned out to see us that it was a very happy experience. Now back to everyday life.......
Looks like there is going to be a crop of baby boys coming this spring and fall. Having finished a project this week, and cleared a spot in the stash drawer, I gave myself permission to head down to Stitch Therapy (perfect store for a knitting shrink, n'est pas?) 
to see what I could find in the way of baby clothes patterns. It took all of ten minutes to find this Sildar pattern. Coincidentally, I eavesdropped on Maxine, the store owner, explaining to a supplier that she did not carry baby colors, that this neighborhood is a little different than most of America. Yep, the last thing we want to make is a baby blue baby sweater.
Here's the yarn I chose for this sweater. It's Mirasol T' ika, a baby soft cotton blend from Peru. Notice that, well, I did sneak in a little of that traditional baby blue. And the little guy will be helping out other little guys right from the start since a portion of the cost of the yarn is used to fund a school in a remote part of Peru.
