Random Pregnant Yarnie Things

I'm still here, and still pregnant. I really hope he decides to show up soon because I am in so much pain and really uncomfortable because he has no room left!

While I'm waiting for his arrival I've been spinning, mostly. I am currently working on this:

4 oz. of natural colored Sweet Grass Targhee. I've been working toward singles of about 31 WPI and am aiming for a 3 ply. We'll see how it turns out. I'm happy that my singles have been pretty consistent so far. I'm just wondering if I'm putting in enough twist to the singles.

Shawls! Uh... yeah. I ran out of yarn for the Secrets of the Shawl (the green one) and I have all but 2 rows of the last clue left to do. I was hoping I would make it but no such luck. I need to order more, but I have a hard time spending shipping on $3 worth of yarn and don't want to spend $50 to get free shipping right now (even though I have plenty of other things I want). So it might be a little while before I get that done.

I'm about half way through clue 6 of 7 of the Springtime Swirl. I haven't been knitting a whole ton lately for various reasons (see the post about staring at walls). But I did work on it yesterday and hopefully might even finish it and start on 7 today. If I'm lucky.

I've been busy "nesting" today! Which is a really odd turn around from the zombie I've been feeling like for the past few weeks. I've already made granola bars, basil pesto and pumpkin bread this morning. Now off to fold laundry!

Spinning FO: Real Yarn!

This yarn has actually been in process for awhile, but I finally finished it last Thursday! I started it back in... October I think? And then I had to put the wheel in our bedroom at the apartment because the boys would get into it. Well, out of site out of mind and I didn't do a whole lot of spinning until we moved. But now that the wheel is safely tucked away behind a door in our office I have been trying to spin as much as I feel like. It's been so nice!

Fiber Type: Merino wool (from Merino Sheep)

Color: Multi-Grey

Quantity/Weight: I spun up about 4 oz. but not all of that got plied. I need to get a scale to weigh what I have left over.

Preparation: Combed Top

Divided: I just pulled the top apart into 4ths to make it easier for me to draft.

Number of Plies: 2

WPI (wraps per inch) of Finished yarn: 12

Finishing: Soak in lukewarm water with baby shampoo, beat the crap out of it (no, seriously.) against the side of the tub to fluff it up and release some of the built up over-twist, then hang dry.

Finished Yardage: Approximately 116 yards

Approximate Yarn Weight: Sport

Supposedly Merino is difficult for beginners (which I am) because of the shorter staple and slipperiness of it. But I have to say, I LOVED spinning this. It felt so smooth and sexy going through my fingers as I was drafting the singles. And I'm so happy with the finished yarn. It turned out great and I feel like I made something that I wouldn't be afraid to knit with - rather than a pile of cat vomit. My singles after coming back to it were much more even than the first attempts. I wonder why that is since I wasn't practicing.

Having such a good experience with it has renewed my energy for spinning and I've begun my next bit!

FO: Jasmine Lace Edge Cardigan - White

Ta-Da! I just finished sewing on buttons and it is all ready to go. Hopefully it will still fit the little one it was intended for.

Pattern: Jasmine Lace Edge Cardigan
from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms

Yarn: Ella Rae Baby Cotton (88% Cotton, 12% Nylon) in "White" - 1 and a half(ish) balls

Needles: Body - US 6/4mm
Sleeves and edging - US 5/3.75mm

Variations: Again, I knit this in one piece with picked up sleeves, rather than in pieces. I really hate seaming and doing it in one piece keeps my sanity. In addition to that, I did the lace edging on the sleeves a little differently too. Instead of knitting them up and then sewing them on, I attached them as I went by knitting the first stitch of every other row together with the edge of the jacket.

Zombie Knitting

Like I said over on my LJ, I haven't been knitting much lately because I'm pretty sure my brain has stolen from me by the little man I'm carrying and I'm not sure he has any plans to give it back. All I do is just sit around and stare at things. This also means I haven't gotten much housework done either, which I feel horrible about, but I just have no energy at all.

I have been doing a bit though. This is a picture-less post because... well I just haven't gotten around to taking pictures. I was going to take progress pics of the baby jacket but I'm lazy and today's lighting is weird with the odd cloud cover we have today. So you'll just get finished pics later.

I've switched over from the shawls to knitting the Jasmine Lace edge cardigan in white. The jacket itself is done (has been for awhile), I'm just working on the lace edging now and then will pick up for the edging around the fronts and neck. It's been going kind of slow but I think that's me, not the pattern since I did the pink one very quickly.

I think I've dropped off the shawls partly because it's been so hot that having a pile of yarn in my lap does not sound appealing at all, and I think the small baby thing has been good for my lack of knitting competence at the moment. But I am working on them slowly. The last clues have been out since last Wednesday and I have 2 clues left on each shawl before they are done. I think I'm a little crazy since I signed up for yet another mystery shawl-along that started Saturday. If I really think I'm going to be able to not only do it in my current state of mind, but get it done before this little guy shows up then I'm nuts. Especially since the clues come out once a week and I'm thinking he'll be here in about two.

But that's where I am for now. Sorry it's boring! But I figured that last FO post had enough pictures to hold you over for now.

Oh! I finished some spinning last week and this time turned out like actual, honest to goodness yarn! I'll post pics and info when I have them!

FO: Baby Outfit

This is going to be a picture heavy post. I finished knitting this up about two months ago, but finally put the buttons on the jacket and got pictures done yesterday. I had it packed away in my bag, awaiting the coming of the little one when I realized it had no closure device! So out it came and here it is!

Pattern: Beanie Hat
from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms

Yarn: Ella Rae Baby Cotton(88% Cotton, 12% Nylon) in "Aloha" - Not even a whole ball

Needles: US 6/4mm


Pattern: Harvey Kimono
from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms

Yarn: Ella Rae Baby Cotton(88% Cotton, 12% Nylon) in "Aloha" - Again, less than a ball

Needles: US 7/4.5mm


Pattern: Boy's Booties
from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms

Yarn: Ella Rae Baby Cotton(88% Cotton, 12% Nylon) in "Aloha" - Maybe a 1/4 of a ball

Needles: US 6/4mm

Variations: The only big variations I made where on the hat - solid color instead of stripes - and the jacket is a short sleeve instead of long sleeve the pattern called for. If I do the jacket again I will be converting it so I don't have to do as much seaming since I apparently suck at it!

I have spent the last few days thinking about how I want the little man to show up so bad just so I can put him in his outfit! Hopefully soon, and then I will have pictures of a baby in knitwear!

Now That I Have Time...

I've been getting things done! The house fixin' is pretty much done now, the BBQ we had on Sunday is over and now I get to sit and knit!

I finished Clue 4 of the Springtime Swirl Shawl:


AND Clue 4 of the Secret of the Shawl:

(Sorry for the smudges in the middle of the pics. One of the shorties apparently got ahold of the camera without me realizing it...)

I realized yesterday while blocking out a small piece of the Secret of the Shawl that it's going to be... "fun" to fully block when it's done. There are so many straight lines I think I will be going through a LOT of T-pins. I might even have to pick up some more. I did pick up so foam interlocking boards from Lowe's the other day and they work great! I'm so happy I found some in town that weren't too expensive.

I've been trying to figure out what I'm going to do with these once I'm done with them. I think I will wind up keeping the green shawl because I like the lines a lot. And seeing how the white one is turning out I have an idea what will happen with it... But that might be a long time coming.

Ok, so I guess my knitting hasn't been that interesting lately since ALL I've been doing is the shawls. I'll try to throw something else in soon to make it more worth reading about. Maybe I'll pick up Rach's sweater again...