Bibs, Bibs and More Bibs

Once I finished the original bib that I started way too long ago to admit to, I've been churnin em out like they're going out of style. Which they might, we all know how picky babies are these days...

This was a teaching tool for my bfs sister. She decided that she wants to knit (yay) and that I need to teach her (uh...ok). I figured this would make a good starter project, its got minimal shaping, but is interesting to do and is garter stitch. And she'd have a baby gift for someone out of it. She's decided that her bib is more of a washcloth, which is fine. After all it is a beginning project, it can be whatever she wants. But this was made for my good friend in nursing school who is expecting (the same one the blanket is for).

She will probably kill me for posting this if she ever finds out... But here's the "baby" modeling her new bib. I'm planning on knitting a pile of bibs for this baby. She will never want for clothes protectors.

This bib is for my other friend that just had a little girl in June. The uneven coloring of the red and blue make it look very country to me. Kind of like painted wood that has been distressed. Its right up her alley, and is just too dang cute for words, especially with the little star button.
These bibs have given me my very first experience sewing on buttons, and apparently I need practice. But they'll stay on and its a live and learn moment. I also didn't know that buttons could be so expensive! I'm a sock knitter mostly and it never occurred to me that buttons were so pricey. The star buttons were worth it, they're so cute. I also have little yellow flower buttons for some of the bibs with yellow in them. I'm excited, but I've also got to hurry. These presents have a due date of exactly one week from today. We'll see if I make it, it's gonna be a close one.

Baby on The Brain

Let me start with announcing that I am Not pregnant! The projects mentioned in today's post are for a good friend of mine who is expecting a little girl sometime this fall.
This is the bib from Mason-Dixon Knitting, made with Peaches & Creme on size 6 needles. It still needs a button, but its so adorable it hurts. Its actually brighter in person, but since the computer doesn't want to read the memory card properly I had to make due with a phone picture. Sorry, I'll try to be a better blogger next time.

This is the yarn for the aforementioned baby's blanket. I was glad I asked her mommy what colors she liked, because she said brown and pink...and I was going to do a wild multi colored blanket similar to Noah's. I'm still doing a blanket from the Mason-Dixon team book, but I'm using Courthouse Steps instead of a traditional Log Cabin. I'm not doing the pattern exactly as written though, I'm kind of making it my way. It's turning out cute though, I'll get a picture of it in progress as soon as i finish an entire round. It's a weird thing, I hate taking pictures of these blankets if the round isn't complete. Something about it bothers me, I don't know why.
Fay totally missed us, a whole lot of worry about nothing. It didn't even rain on Tuesday! We are feeling her a bit now, it's been windy and stormy for the last few days, but nowhere near what they were predicting for our area. The barometric pressure changes have made for a few interesting evenings at work though :-p

Hurricane Party!

Oh goodie, tropical storm Fay is out there waiting to come ashore. Just in time for the kids to go back to school...lucky little kiddos. Getting a bit nervous, this is my first ever real tropical storm, we've been lucky the last few years and they've all passed us. But it might mean massive amounts of knitting time if we have to stay in all week.
I finished mom's first Christmas sock, I've nick named them the Ho Ho Ho socks because they seem like socks Santa would love.




Regia Nations, I think its supposed to be Italy, but don't quote me on it. I'm not really very good with international flags. I was in a LYS with bf's sister showing her the ropes (she wants to learn how to knit) when she spotted this and exclaimed over how cute the Christmas sock yarn was. I corrected her that it was actually flag themed, but saw her point when I looked again. So Christmas socks they became, and my mother has no idea they're actually for her.... Knit on them in front of her the entire trip, listened to her hint about how much she loves them, and managed to not blow the secret. This is a first for me, usually I can't keep a secret.

Edited to rotate top photo of Ho Ho Ho socks, genius that I am put in on here sideways and never noticed.

Back to Work

Or so I thought...sorry to interrupt the knit blog with a work issue, but it's so stupid that it bears repeating. I've been on orientation at a local hospital for quite some time now (first job as a nurse) and was unceremoniously kicked out of the loop last night. I get up to the floor, split the assignment with my preceptor so I have my own patients that she can check on if needed. Do my initial assessments and vital signs, come back to the desk only to find that the floor manager has called. Her brilliant command to the charge nurse? Send me home after an hour and a half! And she knew I was coming in earlier and never said a word! She let me drive to the hospital, establish a relationship with my patients and then sent me home.... Interesting approach, if my mother didn't work at this hospital too I'd probably have pitched a massive hissy fit on the phone with this woman, but she does and I got the job partially on her recommendation. I don't really mind the orientation bit, but I didn't sign up for any hours the next 2 weeks because I was planning on orienting still! Major problem, improvisation is needed now to figure out how to make this work. Almost feels like losing the job, even though I haven't. Maybe I'll get lucky and get called in for OT.
Anyway, rant over. On the knitting frontier I've gotten totally addicted to baby socks, they're so fast and so adorable! And so great for leftovers from adult pairs. There are only a few issues with this:
1) Not having babies, which means I either have to store all of these or give them to friends that do, which leads to;
2) Not enough people I know reproducing to merit this number of baby socks planned. The few I do know mostly live here in FL, not a whole lot of call for wool socks in 90 degree weather.
3) Which leaves charity, but these are bigger baby socks, probably around 6 mo, and I work with newborns (and the FL thing comes up again here).
So I guess I'll just send out as many as I can stand to and keep as many as I have room for. Gotta start making some boy socks though, so far they've all been girly. This makes it seem like I've made 20 pairs already, which isn't even close, but they're all planned. Shame I can't seem to finish any pairs for adults that would count for Summer of Socks. I am still at 0 for pairs completed! I do have 1.75 socks completed...but they're each singletons. Oh well, it's still been fun to participate in an online event. Must light fire under own behind to complete pairs.
Next post will have pictures I promise, I haven't taken any lately and my computer is not loving my memory card right now. So as soon as I get it figured out there will be photos.

Welcome to Hell

That was my first thought last night as my cat decided to meow every second she wasn't touching my person. She played a fun game all night too, here's how to play (for all the cats out there that want to mess with their owners.

1) Meow when not in presence of human pet
2) Jump onto bed
3) Walk in circles for a few minutes
4) Decide that under the covers is where you really want to be
5) Nudge human pets head until she lifts covers
6) Crawl underneath and fall over
7) Decide 5 minutes later that its too warm under the covers
8) Crawl out
9) Roam apartment
Repeat steps 1-9 until human pet is driven so totally insane by this pattern that she decides to cave and sleep on the living room floor. By the way, my living room is quite a bit cooler than the bedroom for some reason, so not only was i on the floor, but i froze. Was the vacation worth all of this?

Yup.
View is from the top of this lighthouse:

On different days obviously. This is the lighthouse on South Manitou Island in Northern Michigan. My dad is the maintenance supervisor of the island, so we got to go to the top before the tour. And get pictures like this one:


See us up there? We're the specs in the somewhat middle of the lighthouse. Cool eh?

Announcing

The Arrival of Mr Noah Benjamin. He arrived among rather tragic circumstances within the family, but he is a very welcome addition.Cute as can be, and I'd be willing to bet he'll be as sweet and smart as his older brother is.

Seen here together in this heartbreakingly adorable picture that I just can't stop staring at. I've met so many babies through the years but never has one touched me the way this little guy has.

And here is Noah's Blankie, all finished and given to the little guy. I was going to try and get a picture of him with it in the hospital but I had already given it to his mommy, it was 4 am and I was Not waking her up! Sorry about the weird edge appearance, they are actually straight... I just didn't straighten them enough for this picture.

Pattern: Log Cabin Blanket

Book: Mason Dixon Knitting

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft

Colors: White, Soft Yellow, Mango, Lime and Blueberry

I loved this pattern and fully intend on making another blanket for a friends baby that due this fall. Thank goodness this new little one will be a girl baby. New color palate to play with, but this blanket matches his nursery almost exactly, totally by accident.

Anyway, tomorrow we leave for Michigan for 8 days! I'm so excited I can hardly breathe, and I have no clue how I'm going to fall asleep with my heart beating out of my chest.