Gah, July!

Gah. where do I begin? I promised myself to blog at least TWICE a month and where did that get me? I have no other excuse other than I have been, as Americans would call it, "crazy busy." 


Let's see, I made more of those striped Maxi dresses for friends: 

Then I attempted to make a skirt with a bunch of cotton scarves that I got on sale:

I kinda wasn't feeling it, so I shelved the project for another day. Do you know why? Because my wonderful  mother distracted me with this:

She got me 4.5 meters of this staggeringly beautiful blue grey embroidered Indian silk. I want to do a tunic with it, nothing complicated with so many darts and tucks that I have to distort the beautiful embroidery on this fabric. I am, however, doing some more beading on it and it's so much fun. I'm using gold metal beads (not metallic beads, real metal beads. I'm so happy I found some.)


While I was beading, I also decided to make a wearable muslin of the tunic I want to make out of the Indian silk. I made it and my mother loved it so much, she claimed it. >D I will take in the sides a little bit and maybe add darts (maybe) at the back for the next version. My mom was happy with the first one, I'm not complaining. 

Self-drafted, 100% cotton.

Most of all, my time has been taken up by this little boy: 

I wake up to this everyday and I love it. 

He is the one I love the most.

EMBROIDERY IS DONE!

Mwahahaha!

And here's a couple of mostly unflattering behind the scenes photos. No makeup, hair unbrushed, no dignity:

Stitching while watching North by Northwest. Yahoo.

Taking a Connor break!

He is the one I love the most.

Sewing the tunic is gonna happen tomorrow, bright and early. Hurray! Can't wait.

I love my boys so much, it's making my heart hurt.

Finished Object, Work in Progress and My Growing Addiction

This was a fun knit. Though you do get apprehensive that you would run out of yarn one inch away from finishing the last sleeve. But I had none of those problems. In fact, instead of using a button and loop for closure, I crocheted two ties instead.

Pattern:
Malabrigo One Skein Baby Sweater
Size:
0-3 Months
Yarn Used:
Malabrigo Worsted in Verdes
Needles:
US Size 9

And I'm working on another one! I originally wanted to make a hat out of the skein I had of Malabrigo Cypress, but I changed my mind. I'm not really a hat person anyway.

And dude, Ravelry is seriously like crack.

SQUEE.

I had a wonderful time yesterday knitting with Chris, Royale, Erin and Barbara at Panera yesterday. It was absolutely inspiring to see what those lovely ladies had on their needles. It really helps to be in the company of people who know what you're talking about and want to talk about. No more glazed looks from my long-suffering husband when I talk about how soft and vividly dyed my new cake of Malabrigo is. These ladies know and its veneration is like a naughty yarn lover secret. Hee.

Speaking of Malabrigo, I bought my first two hanks of it last Monday. I was desperate enough to ask Royale to take me to a yarn store so I could get the emerald yarn I was craving for. Now I'm pacified and absolutely in love with what I have.

The Current Work In Progress.

I am working on a One Skein Malabrigo Baby Cardigan in Verdes. I also bought Cypress, it is dyed such a deep green, it's almost black. Don't let the picture on the website fool you, it's much much more vivid in real life and so so so so soft! I have worked with wool, and most (if not all) of the wool I worked with felt scratchy or icky regardless of how expensive or popular it was. But this one feels like butter in your hands. If I had loads of cash to burn I would drown myself in this stuff.

I love it so much that I even scanned it. I'm so lame. Hahaha.

I had a doctor's appointment after the Panera Knitting session and an already wonderful day was made perfect when we were able to get to see his face clearly for the first time:



We couldn't believe it. The first sonograms showed that Connor looked like his dad and now with this, he looks exactly like me: nose, eyes and all (I just hope he gets his dad's height). We're so happy and excited. Now I'm even more inspired.

Punk Baby Hoodie

At my husband's request, I made a punk-ish baby hoodie for the baby. It's made with Lionbrand Microspun in Ebony and Lime. I THINK I used US 4 needles (I may have used a smaller size. Hoh well.) Again, I winged the pattern.

In other news, I miss the Philippines.

Say hello to my baby!

Connor Joshua. Or at least that's his name until his dad changes his mind again. ;p

My startitis strikes again. The idea of knitting Sahara doesn't really appeal to me right now. It's not because it's not fun to knit etc... but what's the point of knitting something you can't wear anyway? Hours and hours of work will be wasted. SOOOOOOO, I decided to to put the project on the backburner for a while (or completely frog it and use the yarn for something else) and concentrate on making baby sweaters etc.


So this project is what is on my needles right now: The Bunny Hop Side Wrap Kimono. I thought it was adorable and the pattern sounds super duper easy. I did want to do something like The Harvey Kimono from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding, but I'm too impatient and I want to do work on something RIGHT. THIS. MINUTE. But this baby sweater is a good substitute (and it's free!)

Hmm... is it strange of me to crave emerald colored yarn?

What I've been up to...

I had to quit my job a few months after I found out I was pregnant. My doctor told me that I have a heart-shaped uterus (also called bicornial... or something like that) and because of that little difference I am apparently more prone to miscarriage or early delivery. My job required me to stand up for long lengths of time and sometimes I would have eleven hour shifts. I would start spotting and cramping after the end of every work day. It was definitely scary during those few weeks of all that. My parents urged me to leave work and take it easy, so I am taking it easy and enjoying things I know I wouldn't be able to do or enjoy for a while after this baby is born. It sounds completely scary, but I am absolutely excited about having this little one.

Tea and crochet. (The infamous Marguerite pattern.)

The most basic baby jacket and hat ever. Done with two strands of number 10 crochet thread and US size 2 knitting needles. I mixed a variegated yellow with white and the color turned out to be a cute baby duck yellow. Thanks for sending the yellow thread from the Philippines, Mom!

Another variation of the super-duper-no-brainer basic baby jacket pattern, only I used acrylic baby yarn and US size 6 knitting needles (I think). I was also playing with some watercolors that day (if you notice my Sakura Koi paints on the upper right hand side of the picture), but that's another entry.

I'm currently working on Opptuna by Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton in her Noro Collection Book 2. I'm using Caron in Autumn Red and US Size 7 knitting needles. The pattern is also very very easy. I can't believe I had second thoughts about tackling this project.

I'm now five months along and I'm more than halfway done! The baby is very active, and from what we saw in the sonogram two days ago, very healthy. He gives me spin kicks a couple of times a day and absolutely wriggles in delight when I demolish Banana Cream Pie Blizzards. Hoh yeah. What more could I ask for?