Baby knits

I promised not to complain because we have had such a long, lovely spring, but the hot humid days seem to have arrived. I'm not complaining, but I'm envying my neighbors' good planning. They have two kiddie pools and a blow-up slide with a water pool at the end of the slide. Oh to be 8 years old again.

Despite the weather, I'm knitting. The 8-day baby sweater is so close to completion that I'll save that for another post. Baby knits are perfect for summer, wool or otherwise.
Diaper covers are a snap to knit. Baby butts are so little!

These were knit with odds and ends (can you tell? baby daddy just loves the colors) using CurlyPurly's pattern. It's such a guessing game - will my chubby little baby fit in these? Or will I have a scrawny pup who doesn't fill them out? I'm trying to find some balance - knitting on these a little, dreaming up other projects, knitting on my other projects...

Speaking of which, I'm keeping to my shawl commitment. Does it look 12% closer to completion? I promise not to show too many photos of this project - it's going to look like a wadded up tissue until at least August.

Lessons from the belly

Things you should not ask a pregnant woman

1) "You're only 5 months? You're kind of big for 5 months, aren't you?"
I've heard this one several times from both men and women of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, people I know well and people I've hardly spoken to before. I don't think they mean to say "Wow, you're fat" but that's how it's coming across. For the record, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be weight- and girth-wise. (trust me. I checked.) I'm trying to come up with an explanation for why people would say something so rude, and this is what I have so far:
For the women: Human nature dictates that we remember ourselves in a flattering light. Mothers who look at me don't remember exactly how big they were at specific points in their pregnancy, so the flattering haze of memory decries that they were much smaller than I am. (in contrast, the midwives who see pregnant women all day long think I'm right on target)
For the men: I'm at a loss. What do they know about pregnancy? Let's see them gain 30 pounds in as many weeks and see how they feel.

2) "Were you planning to have a baby?"
Seriously - do you want to get into a discussion with me about my birth control usage prior to conception? If I've gone through 3 years of fertility treatment do you want to stir that pot?

And the absolute best of them all:
3) "Are you pregnant?"
This simple question is so loaded and so dangerous that warning plaques should be installed in all public venues. If a woman's pregnancy isn't so obvious that you feel compelled to offer a "Congratulations," don't say anything at all. Really, she won't mind if you treat her like a normal human being instead of a pregnant human being.

Things you should say to a pregnant woman

1) "You look great."
We can't get enough of this. Just make sure you say it without surprise in your voice, as in - "Wow, you're super pregnant and I thought you'd look horrific by now, but you don't."

Things I am growing

Baby grass:

Baby Maslowski:

Who needs a gym?

Took SQ for a hike this weekend:

Note the turkey vulture on the right? The thing climbed up onto the boulder right next to us - it was apparently having a snack down in the crevice between the two boulders. The thing was THREE FEET TALL. Undaunted, SQ thought it would be worth checking out, so we had to move on so she had other, smaller and less carnivorous, wildlife to explore.

I'm hoping to find people who will join me on bi-weekly hikes in the area. I love the Sourlands, but I hope to discover other parks and preserved lands nearby. Send a note or comment if you have suggestions.

For Dawn

Painfully, adorably cute. Haven't started sock #2, but that baby has some gestating to do yet, so I'm not feeling rushed.

However, I am feeling a push to do some other baby knitting. I'm afraid the Socken it to the Family is taking a backseat for other family reasons. Namely, starting my own.

Before I dive headlong into the baby knitting, I'm trying to clear out the WIPs. It's been going well so far and I'm down to just these two:
The orange socks for myself are so close to being done it's a bit embarrassing so I don't have a photo. [update - guilt induced, I finished the socks]
The Mystery Shawl is so far from being finished that....well. I still have hopes of finishing it by my self-imposed deadline, but I'm not obsessive. I've completed 60% according to my calculations, but it has taken 4 months of off-and-on devotion to get this far. And lately I've been more off than on. Waaay more off. So. 40% in the next 4 months?


Baby knits so far
Finished: Baby hat (that really looks more like a blueberry pie than a hat) - knit using the Magic Loop technique I learned at Patricia's Yarn Shop.


On the needles: Baby blanket (because what knitter could pass up knitting her own baby a blanket?).

I'm using yarn I'd plan to turn into a sweater for myself. However, said yarn was purchased during the vacation when the little Pimento was conceived, and hopes of wearing a slinky fitted sweater next winter were dashed. The yarn is a lovely bamboo/wool blend, so soft on the hands, in a rich silvery brown. The pattern is a mix of basketweave and the reversible cable from Scarf Style (though I've since found this other reversible cable that I much prefer). I don't know if I have enough yarn to make the blanket reach the size I was hoping for, but at least it'll be bigger than the bambino.

In the works: Diaper covers, diaper covers, diaper covers. Photos soon...