I've been busy.

Well, I done gone and got myself knocked up. The big boobs are really the best part of the above scenario. The swollen feet have to be the worst. I have decided that the whole cliche of "barefoot and pregnant" is really because the gal couldn't fit into any of her shoes, not because her man won't let her have any, which is always how I interpreted it. I wear these hideous 1990's era flip flops from Target every day. Even when it rains. My feet are like one big blister scab of doom from attempted efforts to wear real shoes. So, I have been busy...vomiting, sleeping and crying mostly, and that is why I have not blogged in so long. I did manage to pull together the Gertrude post, which I hope you will all appreciate much more now that you know I did it when I was 6 weeks pregnant. Ugh. But now things seem to have taken a turn for the better that I'm in the glorious and coveted second trimester so I'm back in buisness until October or so when I'll start getting tired and cranky again. But I have been knitting tons of stuff, if not getting anything done. Proof pathetic:This is the first thing I started, back in March, so thankfully I am nearly done. I just haven't touched it in over 6 weeks even though I only need to finish the shoulders on the fronts and sew the damned thing together. It's awfully freakin' cute. It's Penny Straker's baby owl sweater thing done in Rowan 4 ply soft, which I didn't know until I was pregnant is MACHINE WASHABLE! Crazy. So nice.

These are just awaiting their destiny which is to be ripped out and begun again. The gauge is so hideously off that they are really for a toddler which defeats the name of the pattern entirely, Baby Bottoms. It's a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern and it's so godawful cute I really want to knit them, or I guess I really want them to magically be done. They are being knit in Owool Balance, which is an organic cotton and wool blend, not machine washable but I'm not sure I care so much, most of my stuff I throw in the sink so why not baby's too? I know, those of you with children are laughing at me and my poor poor disillusionment right now but let me have my dreams of being knitter/mother extraordinaire for a little while longer.

Okay, these are just pathetic. No one tells you that when you get pregnant you get real stupid. No one ever told me that! It's for real, like I can't remember anything or pay attention or retain information. And people who have had kids are like, "oh, yeah. That happens," and they say it real nonchalant-like, as if it's NO BIG DEAL! Hey, I don't know about you, but I NEED my brain. And I want it back. I think it is back, a little bit, but maybe I'm just getting used to it. But the point of this is that these cute cute baby pants thingies have two feet, right? and 2 legs and a body and shoulder straps. Okay, fine. So you knit the two legs and then join them and work the body in the round and so on. But! Here's the stupid part! I knit two identical legs and joined them the way you are supposed to, with the increase seam on the inner leg and...get this...the feet are facing opposite directions. One foot faces forwards and one backwards. For a very short moment I thought, "Well, maybe the baby will be born with..." But I think I will have to reknit one of the legs. I thought for a moment about cutting one of the feet off and turning it around and grafting it on the right way but I haven't decided if that's more trouble then just reknitting. Stay tuned. Oh and it uses Nature's Palette from Hand Jive, which I absolutely love. It's naturally dyed in gorgeous colors and it's machine washable, how's that for contradiction?

These are my two favorite colors of Dale Baby Ull. It is supposed to be a simple fair isle pullover. One day.

This is another Smith Island Pattern Factory Pattern, coming soon-ish. I started it a year ago and then got bogged down when it came to doing the edging. I can't really decide how to do it. The picture is horrible, but it's a little a-line coat and it's crocheted in Koigu. It's really cool in person, but I am a knitter not a photographer. But hey, look how clean the floors are! See, there's something you can appreciate.

And this is a quilt of a topographic map of Smith Island. I started this last summer and went totally wild and then moved to Philly and in a fit of wishful thinking I brought it with me but haven't touched it. It's appliqued and then I was going to embroider all of the marshy stuff and other markers. It'll be great one day, but I don't think I'll be bringing the baby home in it or anything.

This is the pathetic beginnings of an edging for the Baby Shawl in Sarah Don's Art of Shetland Lace. An amazing book that has just been rereleased, everyone should have it. The yarn is Jade Sapphire's 2 ply Cashmere which is an amazing experience unto itself but in this heat, it'll stay on the shelf. What's the point of knitting an expensive cashmere shawl to sweat all over it like a disgusting pig person?

This is also Dale Baby Ull, one of the greatest yarns ever made. And the pattern is Pastel, which is also on the baby ull page at Rosie's. I have loved that pattern for years and remember picking colors for it forever ago with Grace. I have stuck to my color scheme (although for a minute the chocolate brown almost won out over the red) and Grace is knitting the pants / jumper thing and I am making the bonnet and sweater. I think this will be what the baby comes home in. I'll be november, so maybe it will be cold, unless like last year it's 20 degrees (68 farenheit, I am still on my kick that the u.s. standard system is whack. I pretend it doesn't exist).

These are some Anne socks that are also doomed for ripping, but the color is great.

Drops Alpaca shawl from Spring Issue of Spin off Magazine. It's pretty and easy and was a good project when my brain left the building.

So that's about it, except that I finished (mostly) my website!