7.15.2010

travelling woman shawl progress

I've nearly finished my second repeat of Chart A, and I have so much yarn left to use, that I think I'll repeat it three more times before starting Chart B.  This is the most fun variegated yarn ever- a hand-dyed superwash merino / nylon skein from Creatively Dyed.

7.14.2010

late night carding

I'm starting to think that folks out there think I'm lazy or a terrible time manager, and perhaps its true- I don't know how some women juggle it all.  My house would be total chaos if it weren't for my somewhat organized husband.  Between baby and housework and squeezing in a weekly update (if I'm lucky), this year is zipping by and I feel a little dumbstruck.

I took Ingrid to a cheap mall-studio type photographer for 6 month photos (well, she was closer to 7 months by the time we got there) and it hit me- the "baby" year is halfway over, my production level has been slashed in half, and I don't remember the last time I got a haircut.  (The haircut was quickly remedied when I asked my Mum to slash a few inches off, but I'm still unfashionably frazzled).    I feel compelled to make the most out of every second I'm with Ingrid, and I'm sure that comes from losing two siblings to childhood cancers.  Maybe I'm going a little too far though, and not giving her enough space to be independent.

Amidst this all, I took up lace knitting because I need something intellectually stimulating.  I've got brain sludge coming out of my ears and I think I can quote certain passages from certain Dr. Seuss books easier than I can remember the author of the last adult-ish novel I read.

Finally, however, there's a little bit of light at the end of this tunnel- Ingrid has FINALLY started to sleep through the night- about 4 times a week.  When she does wake up, she's usually ravenously hungry and will nurse for 20-30 minutes like she's in some kind of eating competition, so letting her self-soothe really isn't an option.  She's still in the 20th percentile for weight, so I feel like I should feed her all the time to fill in those funny skinny baby arms.  I remember reading in one of my parenting books something that suggested that most babies *should* sleep through the night at 8 weeks, and here I am at 7 months post-birth, finally getting a few solid nights of shut-eye each week.

Oh, and the lace knitting bit- it's wonderful!  The first pattern I'm doing is Travelling Woman by Liz Abinante, and I'm slightly reluctant to call it lace since it's so far a simple ripple.  Maybe I'll pull my hair out and scream LACE when I get to chart B, which looks slightly more complicated.   I'm half-way through the shawl right now, and have already picked out pattern #2, Blackbird by Kieran Foley of Knit/Lab.  Pictures coming soon, but don't be too harsh!  I'm not a very good knitter, so I'm sure my lace will be pure wack for the first few projects at least.