Pigs and Bears

Here in the United States, the H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccine just came out a couple of weeks ago and on our local mama yahoo group there’s been much a flurry about what to do. Everyone’s getting their two cents in- to vaccinate or not to vaccinate. I’ve read some interesting thoughts on both sides. What I like the most about this e-conversation is that people are being really nice about the whole thing. I haven’t heard anyone say anything mean about someone else’s choice. That’s how it should be. Everyone’s doing what they feel is best. How can I argue with that? Now, if someone wants my thoughts on this whole thing, they’ll get me on my preventative care soap box before I even enter the vaccine debate. Well, maybe; maybe not. Depends, I suppose.

I did want to share what our naturopath said about the vaccine. He doesn’t recommend it. Also, it appears that the complications have not happened among healthy families. Now I suppose we’d have to spell out what healthy means, right? Here’s what I do when someone in my family is sick: No sugar (including fruit), no dairy, but lots of Vitamin C, Elderberry tea, and other warm tea drinks all day, and lots and lots of rest. I also make sure that they’re eating things that will help them heal. Ginger is a good one for the beginning of a cold and will warm up the body very nicely. Bilingual papi and I also use the neti pot and do gargles with lemon juice and baking soda.

I think prevention and good health go a long way. Now, on to bears.

I was knitting a bear for baby brother from a Debbie Bliss pattern. You have to knit all these little pieces and then assemble them while stuffing it. I’ve got a couple of the pieces knit up but I’ve really lost interest in it, so I’m considering ripping it out and starting another bear pattern from the Drops Design site. It’s a bear you knit up in the round, with double pointed needles, and it looks like there’s only a small amount of finishing to do. Click here for the pattern.

I have to admit that as I write this I feel like I want to finish the other pieced bear and then make this one as well, just to see how they compare in the end. I’m almost done knitting up some wool leggings for baby brother and I have a bonnet I’m working on for him so we’ll see what gets put in the knitting queue.

Another generation of knitters?

I have to admit here (because I don’t want to overwhelm my daughter) that I got really giddy when she started wanting to read a book called Knitting Nell.  Preview it here. She’s seen me knit before but only recently has started enjoying longer stories. One of my Chicago knitting buddies gave us Knitting Nell when I was pregnant and I have been wanting to read it with my kids but knew I’d have to wait a bit.

The time has come! Bilingual baby says something that means Knitting Nell (sounds like “nene now”) and this morning she tried to say: knits a lot. If you click on the preview of the book you’ll see that the first page of the books starts with drawings of where Nell knits. Above the last drawing it says, “She knits… a lot.”

Now, in between playing with her new train, her dolls, and other toys, she picks up my circular size 6’s and walks with her stuffed dog as she pretends to knit, just like in the book. She knits… a lot.

Current projects

Since it looks like the horizon holds no nap for bilingual baby today, I’m double posting. Take that, no nap day.

I wrote as my facebook status that I had bunch of projects lined up and now I’m getting asked what these projects are. Here’s a list of my current crafty projects with the status of each, in the order I wish to finish them.

2nd Recon blanket
Made of old t-shirts and a yummy bamboo sheet for the back, this blanket (or quilt) is the second of its kind on my machine. Another time banking exchange that I’m really looking forward to. So far, the owner of the t-shirts has come over and we’ve mapped out what the quilt might look like. Here’s what we ended up with after about an hour of work.

I’ve started measuring and cutting, a long process but worth it in the end.

Nursing bra and tank

I’ve become bitter by the lack of choices for someone of my body type so I’m investigating making my own. Still a project in the planning, but soon to become reality.

Mystery present

I think my mil still reads my blog so I can’t really go into detail about this yet but I’ll present you with photos and details after it’s been gifted. Sorry for the tease.

Still in the planning phases are:

Wool diaper cover

A bit of a bigger toddler-sized diaper cover. Bilingual baby’s old ones are too small now.

Wool longies for baby brother

Bears pants

Pair of pants toddler sized from one of bilingual papi’s old shirts.

Shrug for bilingual baby

Note: It’s taken me forever to finish this post. I think my little boy is going through a growth spurt. He’s nursing up a storm. Paired with no-nap-day and teething, I hope to keep my cool and get to bed early… but maybe after cutting up a couple more t-shirts.

Crafting my last days of pregnancy away

The hum of my sewing machine no longer draws me near. Rather it’s the clicky sound my knitting needles make that calls my name. (Actually, I use bamboo needles, so there’s little clicking.) I had been stashing away left over balls of yarn with no idea how I would use them later. On ocassion, I’d even buy one skein just because it was so beautiful I needed to have it come live with me. Well, with all of our purging (which takes a long time cos I can’t just throw things into the trash) I’m also wanting to do something with the yarn I have. It’s not really that much yarn and I think I can do something with it (which is what I’ve been saying for a while).

But I’ve got it in me to knit little squares and turn these squares into a blanket! That’s the idea. I’ve got this perpetual knitting stitches calendar and I’m going through it making squares. It’s kind of fun to try out these different patterns at the same time that I’m making something. So, yay me.

my first sweater!… for myself.

About 5 years ago, I started knitting a sweater (does this sound familiar to any knitters out there?) and just last week I finished it. One of the reasons why I couldn’t work on it was that I was the creator of the pattern. In other words, I didn’t have a pattern and I was just kinda winging it as I went. Also, the yarn is silk denim (I don’t really know what that means… cotton?) and is a bear to knit with. Since I started knitting it so long ago, the measurements are for a pre-pregnant Leila. A me who had not been through labor, had nursed nor was pregnant again. Regardless, it still kinda works. It works because where my waist was back when I designed the sweater you now find pure belly. It’s short enough that it won’t look like I’m trying too hard to wear a sweater that doesn’t fit (although I can tell) and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to use it after my childbearing years. Here’s the sweater. Notice that the collar is very wide. For this, I added a clasp I got at JoAnn’s. Seems to work just fine.

I’d be happy to share the pattern I came up with for anyone who wants it- I just haven’t come up with other sizes besides the one I made. The final measurements are 38″ around (that’s both fronts plus the back) and 17″ length (shoulder to bottom edge). You could even install a zipper, but since baby 2.0 didn’t want me to I didn’t bother.

I’m so excited about this being my first original sweater. It’s the first successful sweater I’ve made for myself! And I’ve been knitting for 8 years. Yikes. I started out with scarves- as you should, then moved on to hats (in the round), then socks, then cooler scarves. Finally, I wanted to make sweaters but I thought I should knit baby sweaters to get an idea for the construction and all that before hitting adult sweaterland. I did make an adult sweater but I ended up giving to a good friend. I also recall making a cute tank top but also gave it away, as it didn’t turn out to look very nice on me. It looked beautiful on her! Time went on and more and more babies were born and more and more sweaters were knit for them. When I had bilingual baby, I slowed down considerably on the sweater making… until now. I owe a couple of friends’ babies hand made sweaters, but that’ll come. I did mention I’ve got a ton of new babies to knit for… and with my own on the way I can’t help but want to knit solely for baby 2.0- which reminds me. I need to get off the computer.

Scratch this sweater off my list. I should admit (though I know I’m not obligated to) that I am making another fit-for-pregnancy-and-beyond knit garment. Something that I’ve been meaning to do with this yarn for a while. Well, I’m not putting it off.

Off to knit.

Knitting diaper soaker

My mother in law gave me the Boho Baby Knits book when she came for a weekend visit (thank you!) and I can’t stop knitting and dreaming of what I’ll knit next. I did finish the diaper soaker. They are so cute. I learned how to make knit bobbles, which I only knew how to make when crocheting. The soaker is too big for bilingual baby now but she’s not gonna be shrinking any time soon so there’s always next winter.

Still asleep

Bilingual baby is still sleeping which gives me time to hustle downstairs and search for something for my timid tummy. After getting a piece of toast spread with flax seed oil, I had to check out this book online. It’s called Boho Baby Knits and it’s got the cutest up to date projects I’ve seen in a knitting book (for baby) in a while, maybe ever. I saw it at our local bookstore so if it’s still there in a couple of days, I might go get it and start knitting for #2.

By the way, now that I’ve knit for my nephew, other friends’ kid, and bilingual baby herself, I know what not to knit. Now, while booties are cute, if they don’t stay on they’re less likely to be used and won’t be used on a walker. Also, I made some items that would have been great if I hadn’t chosen to share my bed with bilingual baby or babywear her. So, I didn’t use the sleep sack that I made for my nephew years ago. The Boho Baby Knits book has projects for leg warmers (the big thing now for gapsiosis of the lower leg- a huge problem for young ones!), rocker pants, a fairy cape, among other things.

Browsing some more through Amazon, I came upon another new book on baby knits called … Baby Knits. The cover alone is cute enough to purchase the book. I’d have to see the projects inside first, though.

Right now, I’m working on some gifts for some of my pregnant friends- there are 11 of them. I make #12! Yikes. Looks like our kids are going to have crowded classrooms.

Projects update

Here are some pictures of the projects I’ve recently finished. The socks got done during a nap today. I even took out the toe of the first sock to add 3 rows before the toe decrease so that they would fit bilingual baby better. And they do!

Here’s a picture of a pair of tiny underwear I made for bilingual baby and some fabric cut out and ready to be made into tiny underwear. All I need to do is finish the waist and the leg cuffs. You may be able to tell that I trimmed the length of the underwear. Bilingual baby has a long torso and pants that start at her tummy end up below her belly button (ah, good ole’ placenta days).

And, since I’m having an upload party here on bilingual baby, I thought I’d throw in a picture of the new fabric I got. I had to go get some elastic and, as per my mum’s suggestion, perused the remnants before heading to the cash register. This is what I found. I’ve got ideas of what to make but what would you make with it? It’s cotton so think spring or summer. Any ideas?

Knitting season

It is now definitely knitting season! I’m experimenting with making gloves for bilingual baby. They’re quick and very much needed. I think I’m going to make a bunch of single gloves out of scrap yarn so that I don’t feel bad if one of them gets lost or left behind. I want to make them long enough in the cuff so that I can tuck them into her sweater and/or jacket. I just want them to fit right. I’ll post some pictures soon.

Let the knitting begin!

more babywearing coats- Updated info 10/20/09

Even though I’ve made a babywearing poncho, I’m still looking around for more options- either to buy or to try to make. I just know we’ll need more warmth. I also know a lot of us are looking so I’m trying to put some of these ideas on one page. I’m not going to talk up the Amautik just because of the price. Below are still quite a number of options. This link was dead and I can’t seem to find another site that carries them.

Little turtle knits offers a babywearing poncho pattern for $15. They say on their site that they give Mamaponcho 1/3 of the profit since they got their idea from them.

Peekaru (formerly Nori) offers a fleece vest for about $80- a nice option for layering. I think it’s adorable. Another site still calls it the Nori vest but it’s the same thing, at $84.95. You can find it here for $75 $80.

Almost as pricey as the Mamaponcho is the Aiska Poncho, at $180. UPDATE 10/20/09- There’s a sale on these right now. $80. If you’re really interested in one, just google Aiska Poncho if my links don’t work.

There’s also the new Suses Kindercoat, at $139. A 2 layer coat that sounds good for somewhat cold weather…but how cold?

Suses also has the Suses Kinder Babywearing Vest, at $65, which sounds like a good idea. This is one I ended up buying. I like it. I have to say, though, that the zipper is not the best zipper I’ve had on a jacket. I’ve replaced the zipper head and now I’ll have to repair the base as it’s falling apart. I do like it enough to replace these pieces.

There’s also the Ergo Papoose coat at $100- the wool version looks nice. I’ve seen it more expensive at other sites.

There’s also the Mama Jacket Babywearing coat at $219. Not a price I can afford to try it out, but it’s there.