My daughter’s teacher is expecting, and I want to knit her something. I turn to you for your thoughts.
As a rule, I don’t like to knit tiny little baby things, because my baby was born at 9lbs+ and let me tell you, she grew out of her clothes quick. The smallest I’ll generally make is a six month size. But I had an idea.
I’m thinking about making this sweater, but in a lighter blue and a size 2. I’ve got lots of blue CottonEase hoarded during the Great CottonEase Drought of ’05. I might even have enough blue Aurora 8 if I check my stash again.
The difference is that I’m thinking about duplicate stitching or appliqueing a pencil into its mouth and giving it along with the book Giggle Giggle Quack by Doreen Cronin. I think an older toddler might enjoy it, but a baby wouldn’t really get it.
So, is it too old a gift for an expectant mom? Would I be better off making something more traditional? Sometimes knitters make gifts that are more about what they would want to knit and less about what the recipient would want to receive, so I want to be sure my thoughts are clear on this.
Pattern: Flame Wave Socks by Ann Budd from Interweave Knits’ Favorite Socks
Needles: Two circs in size 4US / 3.5mm and Size 3US / 3.25mm
Yarn: Cascade Fixation (just under two balls) 98.3% cotton 1.7% elastic
Ravelry Project Page
Pattern modifications: None, really. These were knit exactly according to the women’s sizing provided in the pattern, going down a needle size since I’m a loose knitter. It was my first time working with Cascade Fixation and I was uncertain how its elastic qualities would work, so I didn’t want to fiddle too much.
These took just under a ball for each sock. They’re quite comfortable. I got the yarn on sale so they came in for under $8. I’d use this pattern and this yarn again.
Knitters have something called “Second Sock Syndrome.” You finish one sock and then feel like you’ve completed the project and have no desire to do exactly the same thing all over again. I don’t suffer from this for two reasons.
One, I constantly knit the same thing over and over again anyway. It’s called a Jayne hat. I may have mentioned it.
Two, my daughter has a computer game called Pajama Sam: Life Is Rough When You Lose Your Stuff. In it, the main character wanders through a magical land that’s inhabited by all the things he’s left lying around in his room. One of them is a single sock, which sings a song about how it misses its matching sock. I will go out on a limb and call it the best musical number sung by an article of clothing in a video game ever. Sorry for the poor sound quality, but you get the gist.
I cannot let one of my socks suffer the same fate as this poor, lonely sweatsock, so I always knit the mate. Just doing my part to lift the spirits of socks everywhere.
The NC Zoo in Asheboro has an old helicopter near the elephants that kids can sit in and move the controls around. Looking at the picture after we got home, I realized there must be some sci-fi fans working at the zoo.
Can you see what leads me to say that?
I’ve heard from several folks this week that e-mails sent from jaynehat.com aren’t getting through. If you’ve sent me an inquiry and haven’t gotten a response, you are not being ignored! Please try me again at wearwithstyle at gmail dot com and I’ll get back to you. Those e-mails do seem to be getting through.
For the record, the list stands about 15-17 in line and the wait’s about five to six weeks. Things are a little slow this week because of Spring Break. My daughter has this crazy idea about me paying attention to her instead of knitting. Go figure.
This week we’re working on the Plants and Animals Girl Scout badge. To that end, today we’re going to the zoo. The weather is supposed to be absolutely beautiful, so we’re looking forward to a great time. I hope you’re able to enjoy your day, too!
So in the midst of last night’s mayhem, I had occasion to think, “hey, the giant celestial fire beetle is back!” Then I realized I’d never mentioned it in the writeups. So, without further ado, here is a word-for-word excerpt from week 2 or 3. We had just discovered a lift leading down to the lower levels of the mine. We’re just tooling along, minding our own business, when all of a sudden…
A celestial giant fire beetle appears out of no where.
We pick up in a cavern where we hear something scraping and chittering from behind the south wall.
Veracity: Veracity says, as she backs prudently away from the south wall, “Uh….guys.” Veracity points to the dust and debris falling from the wall. She makes sure the dwarves and the elf are between her and whatever it is.
After the GM asks if we’re all just standing around, Palin decides to swing her hammer at the wall. Out tumble twelve dire rats. Palin is buried under the wall. We’re cookin’ now!
GM: palin roll a 1d3
onlinehost: drtvini rolled 1 3-sided die: 2
Torkal: That is how many rats are in your pants.
GM: Palin will free herself in 2 rounds.
Torkal: My idea was better.
And then we fight! In the course of the fight, I am bitten on the nose and am diseased with what my teammates dub “the dire herp.” We finally kill the rats and I get better. When the rats gone, we’re able to see a hole leading into darkness. It’s too big for the Dwarves to go down, but just right for the Elf. For some reason he is not enthused about crawling face-first into a dark rat-infested hole so we leave it behind and continue on to what I call “The Little Adventure That Got Way Out Of Hand.”
Now, before I get to the adventure, I have to start with the following statement:
I AM SORRY.
Mystery Romney, likely dyed by tangles and mud at one of our dye days last year. Spindle by Preston at JetsyKnits: www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5760766 As I’ve been spinning it, it’s gotten thinner and thinner. It started about sockweight and now it veers toward thread sometimes. We’ll see how that turns out. I’m certainly enjoying spinning it.
The local knitting guild is renting a bus to go to Stitches South, and my good friend Illiane (of emergency knitting kit fame) is going. She doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to serenade her all the way there with “99 bobbins of wool on the wall.” Wait, Illiane, I kid! Where are you going?
My daughter got back her report card, which has four A’s and one B. It is very gratifying to see that all her hard work, and the metric ton of money that we’ve shoveled into the furnace for tutoring, has paid off.
I finally did our taxes, and we’re getting a nice refund from Uncle Sam. Ice cream’s on me!
My husband and daughter are out of town this weekend. As much as I love them, I will enjoy having the freedom to slide around the house in my socks, Risky Business style.
It’s an absolutely beautiful day outside. The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, and I’m going to get out in it later and stretch my legs and feel thankful.
I’m still a week behind, so here’s what happened last Tuesday! If you recall, we had defeated a goblin scouting party. Val the Elf lay dead after immolating himself and we were roughly 2/3 the way to the mine. We rolled Val up, burrito style, and proceeded to the mines to resurrect him at the shrine therein.
In the mines, we hear scuffling and get ready for our first butt-kicking of the night. We immediately find an ogre with its back to us chewing on a kobold.
Palin: We’ve got the element of surprise, at least.
Bentein: “Yeah, that’s always stood us in good stead before.”
We rush into the fray behind the cut!
