Look what I did last night!
I knit! For a long time! And even though I messed up the first repeat on every pattern row, I LOVED IT! The color is still off on the photos, but trust me when I tell you I’m loving the pattern and I’m loving the yarn. It’s all I can do to get through the purl back row (something I usually love) in order to get to the pattern again. I’ve got 40 more rows in the first chart (I think I did about 20 yesterday) and I’m almost through the first skein of yarn. I think I’m going to need seven total, so that should let you know how much more I’ve got to go with this. BUT THAT’S OKAY! I’m enjoying myself. There are no races here.
As I knit this shawl, I’m loving the idea of shawls as a wrap for new babies. I imagine my babe all snuggled in my handspun Seraphim. A sleeping baby on Waves in the Square. PERFECT! I’m loving the knitting so much that when G told me he was going to be using MYthe computer for awhile this morning, I pulled out a sock! YIPEE! I’m in the middle of the heel flap on this sock, so the end is in sight. Wouldn’t that be fun!
Today I even thought about a baby knit. I was showing G the sock (the purple rain monkey) and he just loves purple these days. He said we should dress our baby in purple all the time! No pink or blue stuff for our kid. And I said purple and RED! (Lately my nursery fantasies have deviated from the peaceful sea green I’ve imagined for so long to purple and red. What can I say?) Then I said we should bring our baby home from the hospital in RED! For good luck! (In stark contrast to the more traditional gender neutral white – which has some sadly funereal qualities in certain cultures.) Immediately I wanted to knit my baby a red sweater for coming home! (But I can’t. I’d feel so guilty and god forbid if anything went wrong. Superstitions are silly and meaningless unless they mean something to you.)
Anyway, I just love to knit. That’s all.
Today I have to go to the dentist, which is very important for us pregnant gals. On a normal day I hate going to the dentist, no matter how much I love the women in the office! (Hi girls!) But now I’m all freaked out that I’m going to have throw up too. And that it will hurt and there will be tons of blood. But we all gotta do what we gotta do and it’s better to go than not go. Wish me luck. And no cavities. I don’t know what I’ll do if I have a cavity! Fingers crossed!
PS – SHIT! I just saw this and want to cast on THIS SECOND! And I’m thinking Cascade 220 would be PERFECT for this!
Funny! I had the same thought about baby colors last night. I’m not even preggers, but I suddenly decided there will be no pastels for my children. Glad to see your mojo is coming back.
yes! red for coming home from the hospital. yes, yes. yes. good luck at the dentist. hate that. (consider orange, too. for dressing the baby. along with purple.)
yeah! knitting! purple and red work just fine for any baby!
Me too – on the Oblique, except I looked at the price of the required 19 or so balls of yarn I’d need to fit my “Omar the TentMaker”-sized body and I’ll have to find a good substitute first! 🙂
Someone at your virtual shower should make that red for you … Is it okay to deliver gifts while in the hospital? If so, they could get it to you some how – after the baby is born – but not before you are supposed to have it. (okay – that may not have made sense… I’m posting anyway! :))
Go for the red! Red wards off the evil eye (I come from generations of superstitious people). My babies all had red ribbons in the hospital, and red ribbons under their mattresses at home. I also had a red ribbon under my mattress when I was pregnant (I think it’s still there) and one that went with me to the hospital, too.
And isn’t red a good luck color in some Asian cultures?
But the bottom line is: do what you want and enjoy it!
I looked at the Oblique and thought, if you put two rows of buttons on (one as shown and one on the button band), you could wear this for a long time in pregnancy! (When you need it; you have your own furnace going right now, but it will get colder outside too, so eventually you *may* need extra warmth.)
Then you could carry the baby in a front carrier inside the sweater too later on.
Mojo back with a vengeance, eh? It’s amazing what not puking will do for your energy!! Yay!
Waves looking fabulous! Oblique–I know! I’ve already been upstairs looking at yarn possiblities. That would be a great post-preg sweater, too.
Look at Saartje Knits for lovely pics of her neice wrapped in a lovely wedding shawl. I think you are on to something. Agree about the sweater from Knitty. I just KNEW that was the pattern you were talking about.
Look at Saartje Knits for lovely pics of her neice wrapped in a lovely wedding shawl. I think you are on to something. Agree about the sweater from Knitty. I just KNEW that was the pattern you were talking about.
so is it bad luck for someone else to make you a baby knit pre-delivery????
Purple and Red sound like great fun for the nursery and baby clothes.
And I totally agree about Oblique.It’s fabulous.
Beautiful!!
Hey, I hate going to the dentist too…and I’m not pregnant!
I don’t understand the red as bad luck reference. I am not superstitious and am not familiar with most superstitions at all. What is the story behind that?
Baby in RED! Perfect.
Awesome! Feels good to have the needles going again, doesn’t it? Like coming home again.
Channel your fears into your needles. Trust me on this. When you have teenagers out late, or choosing things that can harm them, your maternal instincts will go virtually haywire with nerves, and clicking needles will soothe. But before you get there, way before, you will enjoy that perfect day between 3 and 6 months when you’ve just bathed the little one and have fallen asleep nursing. Wouldn’t trade motherhood for Bill Gates’ fortune. All will be well. Blue skies!
Good to see that you are enjoying the knit again :-).
I LOVE the new Knitty patterns. Mim’s scarf is stunning!
I love purple. I love THAT purple. I think it’s fabulous for a nursery too. I’d have done it if hubby would have approved, but alas, the purple lives in the laundry room.
My second came home in red, not a handknit, but fuzzy Christmaas red velour, for the December 13th baby.
Now, that sounds more like the Cara we all know and love*. I’m so glad you’re feeling better! And red is a most excellent color, symbol (as I’m sure you know) of fertility and good luck. I love purple too. (And if you mix red and purple you get…)
*I loved you when you were all puking all the time too! But you didn’t sound like yourself, and you do now, brimming with excitement and enthusiasm. Yay! She’s ba-ack…
Yay for purple and reds! Yay for enjoying knitting! And triple-yay for feeling (and sounding) happy, cheerful and bright! 🙂
I brought my baby home from the hospital in a deep heathered purple Elizabeth Zimmerman baby sweater (silk and merino is my memory). She wore that sweater until she was 18 months old. (I’m getting completely weepy thinking back the very short 15 years to when she was born–on January first. Sniff, sniff! Seriously, there are tears in my eyes!) I loved both of my babies in charcoal gray, purple and red. I also fondly remember a lovely hat and bootie set in the deepest of reds that both babies wore through the winter.
Best of luck. I’m glad your feeling better.
ps–I LOVE that knitty surprise sweater too. I’m also thinking Cascade 220. Maybe in a nice gray heather?
Oh my *gosh*, that shawl is going to be a stunner.
And red is the perfect thing to take a newborn home in! 🙂
Could you get your baby knit fix by knitting to donate? Then you could make all the wonderful little baby things you want and not break any superstitions.
Yeah, that’s what I thought and went digging through a bag. Ha! I popped out of the bag with enough PURPLE Cascade 220! Yummy, but it will have to wait until I finish a few holiday presents.
As for the baby layette, I love the shawl. It should be perfect, but it is still technically not a baby knit so you will not be breaking any superstitions. As for bringing your future son/daughter home, go with the red. I am Chinese so perhaps I am genetically predispossed towards red. Perhaps you can buy something red on the way, while in labour? Ok…ok…bad idea.
Take care! max
Yay, it sounds like you got your knitting mojo back! I love the Knitty surprises too this time, Oblique and Juno Regina! I’m glad your lace knitting is going so swimmingly.
Me too on the Oblique sweater. It is a HAVE to do project, after the 3 projects I have to finish first. Now, what color????
Joanie R.
I second the “do what you want” school of thought. It’s your baby, after all. Besides, babies can’t see all those little pale pastels.
And may your dentist visit go as easy as your labor and birth will – quick, easy, and just want you wanted!
That sweater is exactly the thing this work-at-hom badly dressed person needed but didn’t know she was looking for — thanks! And red is very good luck for Chinese babies, so why not for yours? My daughter’s car blanket was red — doesn’t look dirty nearly as fast as pastels.
It’s good to hear that you are feeling well and enjoying yourself. Reading your happy post made me smile. Happy moms=happy babies.
I think red sounds wonderful for a baby; the shawl is gorgeous (I love purple too!) and I am having a hard time staying at work instead of rushing out to buy Cascade 220 and casting on for that sweater! Glad you’re feeling better.
What a beautiful purple! I love the idea of purple and red for a new baby. All of my children were mentally assigned colors before I knew who they were – the first was ocean blue, the second leaf green, the third merlot red. It’s such a pleasure to see deep, rich colors on baby items. I’ve never felt like pastels really suited my babes. I suppose the white spit up makes light colors practical, but I’d much rather see a baby in red.
Why oh why did I follow your link to Oblique?!? Hmmm, if I make it as a Christmas present, then I cover both the angle of the pleasure of knitting it and a present to give away. I’ll have to think about this…
Woo hoo! Back on the knitting horse! Congratulations! I’m really happy for you. It’s looking beautiful.
I had a cavity and drill-free dental visit last night, so I’ll pass you my good dentist vibes. (I was seriously anxious about it all afternoon leading up to the appointment, sure I was going to be hearing the drill!)
And I think purple and red are fine colors for a baby. Also, orange. I’m tired of pastels for babies, especially when you don’t know the sex of a baby and are reduced to buying mint greens and soft yellows. Who says baby clothes can’t be bright bold colors?
I think Red is a great color for bring home baby. In fact that is what I am bringing my baby home from the hospital in Jan’ 08. I knit the Kimono sweater from the Mason Dixon book. I made a whole layette. Pink and red. So if you want Purple and red then go for it.
Yay, so glad to see you get your knit mojo back.
You could buy a piece of red cloth, for swaddling. That’s not really making any kind of clothing, right? It’s just a bit of red cloth. You can use it as a tablecloth or a wall hanging or something until you use it to wrap up the baby?
I’m all for bright colors for babies but my brother & SIL are pastel baby people. So it’s kind of a course in Non-Saturated-Color Appreciation for me, knitting things for my neice.
I’m with you on Oblique — I moved it to the top of my Ravelry Queue – sort of a perfect sweater — interesting knitting, but not too. Nice comfy look, but some shape.
Glad you’re enjoying your knitting again! The purple is lovely. I dressed my little girl in lots of purpleish colors — bright magenta prints, etc. well, when she was little and I got to choose —
Yay! Lots of knitting! And even with the (invisible to everyone but you) mistake, it looks wonderful. I totally love the new approach to knitting, knitting for the pure joy of it. By the by, if you’re thinking cascade 220, I’m thinking you may have a more substantial sweater than the one shown on your hands. The fiber content of the yarn used, wool + alpaca + mohair = drape. Something to think about. Take care of yourself and baby!
Love the pattern of that shawl.
Man, everyone and their mother wants to knit Oblique! Including me! It’s really pretty. I hear a lot of working-at-home types say they want it to wear instead of a sweatshirt. I say I want it to wear to the office.
And yay for bright colors for babies. I brought my daughter home in a hand-knit (but rather ugly) purple…thing. (It was like a snow-suit, complete with hood, but knit.) And dressed her in bright blue all the time because she had such pretty blue eyes. Since she was bald until she was two or so, I got a lot of “What a handsome boy!” but who cares?
Great post, Cara, you sound so happy.
Yay!
My thought, is that maybe you could knit a red wrap for yourself. Then, (if/when/spit twice and all that) you would have a handknit to match any red clad babies that may choose to come home from a hospital with you.
That Oblique sure is pretty. Veronik is pretty reliable with the knittable patterns 🙂
I love lace in a tone-on-tone yarn and yours is no exception. It’s almost as beautiful as your baby pictures from a few days ago!
YUM! So glad you are feeling better (i.e. fully human) and KNITTING. Happy for you that there’s a bit of respit between the ghastly preggers symptoms and the night-time feedings. I am befuddled about whatever you are “shooting” however. I hope you hit the target is all I can say.