What else but more baby knits!

JJ is quickly acquiring a stylish hat collection....

This one is based on the Gooseberry Hat pattern, except with some heavy mods because I only had 20g of this pretty yarn from Tasmania...I only included 6 sections instead of 8. I still had a few yards left at the end though, so I made a fat crochet flower to top it off.

Leftovers hat using a generic baby hat pattern...this will match the Crossover Top also made with Jaeger Aqua. I cast on 80 stitches on US6, and just alternated stockinette and garter rows. When the hat reached about 5" in length, I decreased 8 stitches every round until 8 stitches remained, then pulled it shut. The bow thing is made of the last couple yards knit into I-cord.

Ok, I didn't make this one...Courtney made it. She is spoiling JJ already. Isn't it cute?! It's super soft. This one is coming with us to the hospital!

Bitty baby socks made from leftover Plymouth Happy Feet...

And some adorable rollerskates and stuffed bunny from two lovely ladies at my knitting group!

Not particularly chatty today...just got back from an all-day Lamaze birthing class and feeling a little pooped. We talked about labour and delivery for almost 8 hours! It was a good class though and we are feeling more prepared for the big day.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Booties, Beanie, and Stuffed Buddies

Lots to show you today! I have one item on backlog, the blocked Amelia, but I'll get to that eventually (she turned out really well, and I have been wearing her quite a bit). First, some baby knitting. I was thinking that winter babies will need some warm things to wear, so I found this cute garter stitch booty pattern on Ravelry and made a few pairs... Aren't they super cute?!

The little hat is made from the Freshly Picked Baby Hat pattern also available on Ravelry...yes, I know it's not garter stitch to match, but whatever. What I didn't realize is that babies heads are shockingly large. Maybe that's why they're so cute. But man, their heads are BIG. I cast on 96 stitches for this on US4 dns, which is pretty huge! I just cast on 96 stitches on US6 for a hat for myself, as a comparison...


I also made a blue pair for baby Audrey (which I forgot to photo), and her mother says that they should stay on well (apparently socks can fall right off newborns, chilly feet being a bad thing). It takes about 4 hours to knit these up, which isn't too long, and I've got lots more DK superwash merino to make a couple more pairs.

Then we have: more animals! You might recognize these from a few (?) months ago, and sadly it has taken me this long to get around to putting faces on them now, and making a little bandana for bunny. I love, love, love this pattern (last minute knitted gifts)...I've probably made 6 or 7 of these toys by now!


That's about all for knitting. Now for some ultrasound pictures! Meet Jenny Junior, who is, in fact, 90% likely to be a girl:

Waving her fist at us...stop scanning me!

The anatomy scan was totally fascinating, and I pestered the technician endlessly about what we were seeing. Prior to this experience I had no idea you could see things like brain ventricles, heart chambers, kidneys, diaphragm and bones! From what we could tell, she wasn't missing any important bits and things looked just fine.

This one is my favourite b/c you can see the profile so clearly...along with the spine and heart too. Cool, eh?

Angoras and Alpacas: Cutest Post Ever

Did you ever wonder where that luxurious angora yarn comes from? Look no further than this fuzzy white blob in the photo. This is a recently groomed English (or possibly Giant) Angora rabbit stil sitting on its brushing stand, having just had a nice blow-out from its owner. So pampered.

This past Sunday Zarafa, Mr. Z, Sonja and I took a little field trip to the Ohio State Rabbit Breeder's Show & Sale, followed by a brief visit to the Buckeye Alpaca Show, all at the Ohio Expo Center (D and J declined to participate in the fuzzy cute fun - I think they felt threatened). Apparently this was the biggest state show, with about 5000 bunnies being exhibited. I have never seen so many rabbits in my life - and such an enormous variety! You realize how completely clueless you can be about something until you see it for yourself. I don't think I've gushed so much about animals. Ever. We had lots of fun to say the least, and the whole thing was made more enjoyable and educational by Mr. Z's rabbit expertise.

Are these not the cutest rabbits you have ever seen??

From Top Left: French Angora (probably), Flemish Giant,

English Angora, Dutch, American Fuzzy Lop,

Jersey Wooly (or young French/Satin Angora)

And then there was this little bunny was just hanging out on the camping chair, chilling. No sign that it was about to make a break for it. I wish Gatsby could behave so well. On our way out from the rabbit show, we passed some vendors selling rabbity goods including rabbit snack sticks, rabbit jerky, rabbit sausage, rabbit pelts and more. It felt a little wrong to be eating the bunny, but I suppose it is a means of sustainability - nothing goes to waste.

Afterward, we stopped by the Alpaca show to see if we could score some luscious yarn. Indeed we did. But first we actually had a look around at the alpacas and chatted with some of their breeders. They are the funniest creatures with their long gangly necks and all. Some of them had the most beautiful multi-coloured coats - I think Zarafa and I were both thinking the same thing "Hmm, which alpaca would give me the most variety in yarn colours?". The Suri alpaca was quite pretty too, in a funny sort of way. Their coats were almost rope-like, and looked like a semi-spun yarn. Up until Sunday, I thought Suri was a brand name. Oh, the ignorance.

Hanging out by the fan: "It's too hot with our coats on"

This is what I bought at the show: 600 yards of soft, squishy lovely alpaca - for $29! I thought it was a pretty good deal. I think I'll save it for winter knitting and make an extra long scarf out of it.

Hope you all had a nice weekend too!

Bunny and Bear

Yarn: Bernat Satin
Needles: US8
Pattern: Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Happy Weekend! This week flew by rather quickly and brought a major change in weather - wool sweaters, jackets and socks were needed. Wasn't I just eating turkey in a sundress 5 days ago?

Thanks for all the luck wished for my interview. It went well and I think they really liked me, so we'll wait and see. It's all dependent on whether I get licensure or not (a whole other story), but it was a good experience and good practice for my interviewing skills. I'm not sure the position is the best fit for me, but it's nice that someone was interested in my resume.

Last night and today were spent finishing the backs of the dining room chairs, so I won't post another entry about those. Let's just say that I'm happy with how they turned out and that burning my palm with hot glue was a minor sacrifice.

I'll leave you with another completed project for now until I have more new stuff to share. Here is bunny and bear from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (love this book). The bunny now lives with Owen, and bear is still looking for a home. I think I know who he will go to.