Author: Susan

Pembroke vest

Little cabled vests are so appealing, and I loved the Pembroke pattern that came out this summer. The yarn specified in the pattern seemed ideal down to the colorway, so I’ve been vaguely trying to track down a skein for the last few months. Finally found one (and even on sale!) and it arrived in the mail yesterday! Such fun. I cast on in the evening, then thanks to an unusually constant-nursing, no-sleep night managed to make it through fifteen rows of the chart last night.

The yarn is slightly more pastel than I anticipated, but so springy and lovely to work with. I briefly entertained hopes of trying to finish this for our family gathering at Thanksgiving, but I suspect that’s overly ambitious.

Blocks

H has still mostly been in the newborn sleep phase where none of the stretches are that long and he sleeps best when he’s being held. Not great for craft projects or for blogging. However, in the last week, he’s actually started napping during the day in his bouncy seat or next to me on the couch, and I’ve been stealing moments here and there to get some sewing done. (note sleeping baby in upper left corner!!)

My aunt sent him a mobile several weeks ago with black and white patterned cards — I’d read how much babies enjoy high contrast black and white, but it wasn’t until we saw him in action with the mobile that we realized how utterly captivated he was by that sort of visual. So intent. He can watch them for twenty minutes — such a long stretch in baby time. I’d mentally been nodding and smiling whenever I read about the black and white, but it hadn’t sunk in until I watched him. So when I was picking up the CSA bag two weeks ago, I went to the craft store next door and picked up two high contrast black and white fat quarters. Not my typical buy, but H was mesmerized by them (no sewing even needed).

During the naps, I finally had a chance to start pulling them together into stuffed cubes, with nice black and white contrast for him and log cabin colorfulness for me.

He’s still more into looking than holding (though he’s started reaching and batting in the last week and a half) but given his early interest, I think these will end up counting as a success.

More baby projects

H has been so happy in the bouncy chair for the last few days, watching things happen and trying to suck his thumb (still evading him — he can get his hands to his mouth but that thumb won’t stay in a suckable position). I took advantage and started fashioning him an activity gym out of spare PVC in the garage while he oversaw my progress.

The plan is to cover it in fabric and dangle interesting things from it for him to bat at. 🙂 Nice to have a free and easy-to-disassemble/store version of the $$ commercial products.

Resuming knitting

H’s grandparents and great grandmother left this morning after a great 5 day visit. We got up early to see them off, then spent the rest of the day in a nest on the red couch, nursing, snoozing, reading, relaxing and then swatching (!).

I’d sort of lost my knitting momentum when I finished the pumpkin hat, but I was so excited when the Yarn Harlot finally published her cowl pattern a few weeks ago. My friend Amanda had given me two skeins of gorgeous Alpaca & Silk yarn for my 25th birthday and I’ve been hoarding it for the last three years waiting for the right project to come along. It’s lovely to knit with, and a wonderful steel blue color, so it’s going to be a very enjoyable project. Well worth the wait.

What do Lions say? Rooaaar!

The lion costume was finished in time for work Halloween, but we didn’t get photos until Sunday. (It seemed like he’d be happier in the Moby wrap in his pumpkin hat than in full Halloween getup for a few hours, so I brought the costume and baby separately and everyone though he was cute in his hat and cute that the costume wasn’t on. Hard to go wrong when there’s a baby smiling at people — the ultimate distraction.)

He had been low on naps, coupled with a nice full stomach, and so he was out by the time I got him into the costume.

Oblivious kiddo with a hood/mane, tail and little paws:

Snoozing with Grammy while I looked at Kevin’s baby books:

Then more snoozing with Pop-Pop and Great Grandmom (perhaps this should be his standard outfit when it’s time for a nap?? Seems to have a soporific effect…).

Must have been an exhausting day on the savannah. Finally, the little lion woke up.

And delighted everyone with the cuteness.

Halloween is nearly here!

I brought the sewing machine in to the family room so that I could start sewing H’s lion costume while we watched TV. (We’d been holding onto a Netflix DVD since March, and finally despaired of ever being in the mood for it and sent it back. Now we’re watching season one of Mad Men — it’s such fun to have an “active” Netflix account again!) Putting the sewing machine on the side table while I sat on the ottoman worked surprisingly well, even if it doesn’t promote perfect posture.

Lots of little paws, a tail, and then cutting and sewing the body and fashioning a hood. I winged it instead of using a pattern which generally turns out reasonably well. (Not professional by any means, but close enough for a Halloween costume). I used a sleeper as a rough guide for sizing on the body. Unfortunately, though, it seems that all of the nursing and sleeping craziness in the last few days must have been a growth spurt (the well known 9 week one?? He must be on his own schedule) since all of the three month clothes are suddenly too small. Lion costume included. I have thoughts on how to add length and girth, but it’s going to be several more hours of sewing and won‘t be ready in time for the parent baby Halloween class. Luckily, Kevin’s parents and grandmother are arriving in two days so there will be plenty of hands to hold H while I finish his costume.