Monday, June 01, 2009

Still hanging in here

I just realized that it's been ages since I posted. This is the start of my third week of "leave" - officially, I'm on vacation right now - and it's amazing to me how quickly the time has gone.

I must say that I am relieved that I finished work when I did. My ankles and feet swell up if I'm on my feet or if I'm sitting with my feet down for very long. My doctor has told me to keep them up as much as possible. I was attempting to do that at the office, but it was very hard.

I find that sitting with my feet up is quite frustrating. I'm so accustomed to being able to do anything and everything on my own, so this stage of waddling, struggling to sit up and cursing every time I drop something on the floor, is definitely NOT my favourite. I knelt down to get something the other day and wasn't sure if I was going to get back up. I thought Mr. Happy was going to come home and find me on the floor! Luckily, I managed to pull myself up.

I've been keeping myself quite busy with knitting! I have to say, if it weren't for knitting, I would have to take up some sort of illicit drug use. How on earth do women who DON'T knit stand going on bed rest? I remember my great aunt Jean telling me about how, when she was on bed rest after surgery, her MIL came to her bedside and taught her how to tat. Aunt Jean knew how to knit, but it was too heavy for her, so if it weren't for the tatting, I think she would have gone stir crazy!


Here are the projects I've been working on:

Gryffindor the Second:

Back when I was optimistic about such things, I bought enough of Brown Sheep Nature Spun to knit TWO Gryffindor scarves. My intent was to knit two scarves for my two nephews for Christmas one year. I finished one.

Cruising through my stash, this winter, I came across the remaining yarn and decided to knit up another - my coworker's daughter is a big HP fan - so I said I'd do it for her, if he wouldn't mind paying for the yarn. He agreed - YAY! Now the yarn can stop taunting me from my stash. I just need to embroider her initials in the scarf and attached the fringe and I'm done!

Gryffindor the 2nd



I took the scarf to KOL last week and was asked if it was a sweater for a snake - the entire scarf is knit in a tube. It seems it also resembles a very long stocking cap:

Julie takes stocking cap to the next level



Soakers:
I've started making soakers (we're going with cloth diapers - woo hoo)

Soakers the first



These are made with Peace Fleece that came from a swap. I had about 10 inches left over when I was done.

Once those were done, I started another pair:

Soakers



This is Custom woolen mills yarn. I'm quite pleased with the amount of yarn in this skein. I'm using a contrasting yarn (Mr. Happy is only a little horrified that it's a coral colour) for the waistband and the cuffs on the legs, but I could have made the entire soaker with the one skein.

I may have to track down more of this yarn as it is affordable and has a nice amount on the skein.

Bib:
After I made the denim pants for the Mogrunt, I had lots of leftover yarn. I used the leftover to make a bib using the instructions in Mason Dixon Knitting (a book recently purchased 2nd hand from Ms. Frozen Extremities - thanks!)

Baby blues - bib



I need to wash this and sew on a button and we're good to go.

My other great aunt, Mary, and my cousin Denise (really my dad's cousin), arrived the other night with two parcels - a gift from them and a gift from Aunt Jean and my grandmother.

The Gift parade:
Auntie Jean knit a beautiful beige blanket for the Mogrunt - I don't have a picture, but trust me, it's gorgeous. Also, in the package were these little booties:

Gift from Grammy



I have to call them to be sure, but I think this is my grandmother's handiwork. They are made out of fleece. Pretty cute, eh?

You may have noticed by now the background in these photos is a quilt. Mr. Happy's cousin, Diane, sent this to us. She bought this quilt either in a Mennonite or an Amish community - I'm not sure which, I'd have to check the card which is upstairs (and we all know about the swollen ankles). It's beautifully made and I love the vintage look about it.

So, I'm still here. Still hanging in. Still building a person.

7 comments:

  1. I have used Custom Woolen Mills yarn for several soakers with good results. Slight pilling on one pair, but a newborn won't wear a soaker long enough for pilling to occur.

    Best of luck!

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  2. That pic of Julie is adorable :)

    The booties are gorgeous, but I must say I was totally distracted by the quilt fabric...

    Kitties! With YARNZ!!

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  3. Keep keepin' busy with the knitting...it's a good way to stay distracted. Good luck!

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  4. what a fetching hat that scarf makes! enjoy the knitting time before mogrunt arrives. an itty bitty part of me is jealous since i never got put on bedrest with either pregnancy, but the bigger part of me is thankful that you have your needles and "string" to play with! pregnancy makes you crazy enough with going shack happy to boot.

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  5. aw, good luck with the edema management. One little tip, that you probably already know but I will share anyway... try to get your legs ABOVE your heart, it's the best way to get the fluid out. The easiest way to do this is in a Lazy boy or recliner or bed, because unless you have the world's longest hamstrings there is no way your feet are going above your heart when bolt upright!

    PS: I miss KOL

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  6. I can't believe it's been three weeks already. holy cow. We miss you!

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  7. What a pretty quilt.

    The snake sweater keeps reminding me of the worm from Richard Scarey's busy town. I love how he has one shoe.

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