Covet

Last week my mom and I took the wee babe to Princeton. He was a gem (or we were really boring), and autumn beauty was in full effect.

We wandered to Pins and Needles where I pondered many ideas for future projects but succeeded in walking out with a full wallet. I did see a much better rendition of the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket pattern – row by row directions. The version I bought is just her original newsletter, in true loosey-goosey EZ style. And when you have a newborn, sleep deprivation, and limited knitting time, clear concise patterns are preferred. Ah well.

To the topic of my post – though I walked out empty handed, I did fall in love. Stellar Babble had mentioned the new lace-weight yarn by Malabrigo that she sampled at Stitches East. I’m thinking more seriously about making myself a lace shawl (now that I’m enjoying knitting my second gift shawl), so I sought it out. And?

Wow.

I petted every color they had in stock. It’s soft. It’s 470 yards per skein (that’s enough for a decent sized triangular shawl). It’s only $9. It’s at the top of my want list. But I walked out without buying it because I’m starting to form a point scale to help me integrate the knitting with the motherhood. The baby sweater and gift shawl are both scoring well - 3 and 2 respectively - while the lace shawl for myself is a lowly zero. Doesn't mean I can't look for patterns, though...
The scale:
+2 points – I already have the yarn for the project
+2 points – The project is for a holiday gift
+1 points – The project is for a family member for winter
+ 1 points – The project is for the baby

Not dead, just busy

Haven't touched a knitting needle since the little was born. Though watching my mother knit is making the itch act up again, despite the hot weather and the even hotter baby pressed against me. But what to knit? Wool pants for the babe for winter? More diaper covers in the larger sizes? The EZ Baby Surprise Sweater I see everywhere? Socks for the family? Something completely selfish?

More on the soakers later, but they are amazing. Old technology doesn't fail to impress. And cloth diapers? Really not as hard as the disposable diaper community would have you believe.

I haven't fallen off the knitting band-wagon forever, and it looks like I'm going to be hooked back into it even sooner than I'd have expected:
According to Ravelry, there are only 663 people ahead of me in line. Remember when there were 16,000 people ahead of me? I had joked that I'd get my Ravelry invite about the same time I came out of hiding from babyland, and now it looks like that's really what is going to happen.

And now for some gratuitous baby love:

Being a mom is so much fun