Sitting around with my feet up

I thought once I finished work that I'd have loads of time, and pictured myself crafting away whilst catching up with TV, updating my blog and reading my way through the huge pile of books sitting in a wobbly pile next to my bed. Well, it's now a month since I finished work (still another month before the baby is due!) and I haven't done that much crafting, or that much reading really. It's not particularly comfortable to sit still for large amounts of time, so I haven't been! I have done an awful lot of Sorting Things Out in the house, and boring but necessary tasks like organising people to service the boiler, clear the guttering of leaves and service the car. I'm kind of presuming that December will be a bit busy, so I've almost finished my Christmas shopping (should be completed this week!) and getting things like presents and cards ready to post.

This is what I have been doing, craft-wise:

Another Beyond Puerperium, this one in 3-6 month size to use up the oddments of sportweight yarn I had in my stash (I worked out that this was the biggest size I could make with what I had leftover). The yarn is a mixture of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, and MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino, both of which are lovely to knit with and have the same gauge. I pulled the yarn a bit too tight whilst changing colours at the ends of rows, so it's slightly skewed at one side, but I don't think that will matter (and the baby isn't going to mind, is it?!). I ended up buying a couple more balls of the MillaMia for the due date swap group I participated in, as I thought my swap partner would enjoy knitting with it just as much as I have. I also seem to be addicted to this pattern - that's the eleventh one I've made! I've now made newborn and 3-6 month sizes for my baby, so I will next be aiming to make the next size up. Some more stash yarn is earmarked for this.

I've finished another pair of children's socks for a birthday present. The yarn is My First Regia again, cos it's machine-washable and nice and soft. I initially started off with the Toots pattern, but this nearly drove me mad with bizarre lace patterning that wasn't particularly intuitive, so I switched to the Garter Rib socks pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, which I've made before, so know I enjoy knitting and that it works!

My latest project, only cast on last week, is a pair of slouchy bedsocks in DK yarn, Sirdar Crofter DK. I received one ball of this in last year's knitting group Secret Santa, and found the pattern in a yarn shop on holiday in June, and it only needed another ball, so it seemed a good way of using the yarn up. The socks are knitted flat and then seamed, and I'm now regretting not altering the pattern and knitting them in the round, as knitting them flat seems awkward. The heel instructions weren't very intuitive, so I had to do a lot of checking on other people's experiences on Ravelry forums before I could get anywhere. Does anyone else find this, after knitting indie patterns that are pdfs and so there is less limitation on space when providing instructions? Everytime I've used a bought printed pattern recently it seems to be a bit deficient in the instructions department.

I've also sewn this dress, for my swap partner in the due date swap group. The fabric is 100% cotton, and I was really pleased to find it in the closing down sale from our local haberdashery, as it was the perfect amount, and in the colours (pink and grey) which she said she preferred!

This is part of the present I received from my swap partner - a sheep baby hat! Isn't it cute?! There were also some other goodies in the parcel.

And, finally, I was given this baby blanket last night at my knitting group meeting - all my knitting group friends had made squares, which sounds like it needed a lot of organisation as they were apparently passing balls of yarn backwards and forwards to each other! Isn't it cool?!

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll get another update in in the not to distant future!

Many Puerperiums

Knitting recently has been dominated by the Beyond Puerperium pattern by Kelly Brooker, mainly because it's a great pattern (clearly written, for a range of sizes and different yarn weights) and I know loads of people with babies on the way! I'd already knitted three in previous years, plus another one in January, but another four have been added since then.

This one I got on with early as it was for a friend in the US who was due in March, so I needed time to post it too. In the end the baby wasn't born until 1st April! This one used Rico Classic Baby DK, which is nice and soft and machine washable, and

I found some cute duck buttons at Tatters.

I usually knit baby stuff for friends in the order of the babies' due dates... except then a friend's husband got in touch to say he was organising a surprise baby shower and would I like to come? I'd never been invited to a baby shower before, and I usually just knit for when the baby's due. The invite came 2.5 weeks before the event. I couldn't make it to the baby shower, but thought I'd try and get the gift done for the day anyway. Oh, and did I mention that she's expecting twins?!

I thought aran might be a better bet for a speedy knit, and went with a similar-but-different appearance, using a different yarn for the borders. The buttons again were from Tatters, ladybirds on one and pencils on the other. The yarn is Sirdar Supersoft Aran, which I know wears well as I've already used it for some garments for the nephews.

Amusingly her husband offered to come over to pick them up one evening, but they were only just finished that day and in the washing machine at that point so I had to decline. Did manage to get them there in time though, and apparently a good time was had by all. I tried looking for a baby shower card in several card shops, but such a thing doesn't seem to exist (I was rather relieved to discover).

But once the baby shower was past, that meant we were then only four days away from another friend's due date. PANIC STATIONS. No time to go yarn shopping, so this one ended up being Red Heart Super Saver yarn from my stash. I like the way the colours have turned out. It's thicker yarn than the Sirdar Supersoft Aran, and I used bigger needles, so it's more like a 6-9 month size, than a 3-6 month.

Of course, that baby then ended up being a week late, so all got done in time. The reason for the tiny picture is that I took a photo on my Iphone and uploaded it straight to Ravelry, then promptly deleted the picture, so I had to get a copy of it off Ravelry. No close up of the buttons, but they are cute little green ones with a picture of a dancing girl on them (I knew this baby was going to be a girl).

Phew, now all of those are done, I've got a couple of small things to knit, and can plan my next big project!

Beyond Puerperium

I can finally post a picture of a project I finished a few weeks ago, but which was for my Goddaughter's birthday, and as her Mum reads this blog, I couldn't post any pictures earlier. It's another Beyond Puerperium, but in a larger size this time. I really enjoy knitting this pattern, it's very portable, there's enough going on to keep it interesting and there's virtually no sewing up to do! The pattern is very clearly written, and I love the way it's written for multiple sizes of babies as well as different yarn weights. The yarn is 4 x balls of Patons Australia Merino Deluxe DK, which is 100% merino wool and  lovely to knit with.

And I also realised I'd forgotten to post a picture of the blanket we made over the summer at knitting group. It was for a member of the group who was moving into a flat of her own.

Various members of the group made squares, I made four of them (the four in variegated yarn) and I knitted/crocheted it all together and did the border. It was surprisingly hard to organise, as for a while I didn't actually know how many squares there were going to be, and whether we'd be making a cushion rather than a blanket. It actually turned into a pretty big blanket - it covers the queen size bed we've got here. It was also quite entertaining sitting joining it all together and covered in blanket during the hottest month of the year! It was well worth doing though, as she was overjoyed to receive it!