Baby Afghan = Done!
It scared me a little when I realized that I started this afghan back in September. Can you say procrastination? What was I waiting for, anyway? An engraved invitation to finish?
And there it is. One ripple baby afghan, approximately 30″ x 40″, or about 120 rows. I used the simple baby ripple afghan directions from Bev’s Country Cottage. Here’s the Ravelry link to the project. The whole darn thing is single crochet. That probably has to do with why it took me so long. An entire blanket in single crochet using a size K hook – well, it makes a fairly dense and serious piece of fabric. I’m not really afraid of this one falling apart, no matter how much it is used.
As I mentioned when I started this, the blanket is also something of a stash-busting project. Sadly, I still have not used up all the stash, so I’ll have to invent something else to make. The colors match the baby’s room, but as it happened I already had all the colors in my stash. The brown and natural are Caron Simply Soft, the orange and green are Red Heart Soft, and the blue is … oh dear. It is either Vanna’s Choice or Red Heart Soft. They’re all acrylics. Given my mom’s and my fiber allergies, it’s likely my child will inherit some sort of allergy, so this is both washable and hypoallergenic. And warm. I’ve used Caron and Red Heart Soft for another afghan, and I’ve been very pleased with how durable and soft it is.
I am quite fond of this color combination. It’s vaguely seventies because of the orange and brown (and maybe the green) but what I like about it is that there are no unnatural colors. Nothing you wouldn’t find in nature – and in fact, most of our baby items are somehow nature-oriented in theme and color. Of course, there really isn’t a lot in our entire house that isn’t nature-oriented somehow, come to think of it. Our living room plants and browns and leaves on the carpet and curtains, for example. The kitchen, as you know, looks like a basket of fruit landed and took up residence. I guess it’s a thing.
Still waiting on two final things before I show you the room (they are very cute things), but as these pictures suggest, the furniture is done. The rocking chair in the living room is the Poang rocking chair, which will be moving to the bedroom. I tried out a bunch of gliders, and (a) most gliders are truly ugly, (b) they are all way too big (I like to call this furniture trend “suburban super-sizing”), (c) they make me motion sick and (d) did I mention they are ugly? Ikea just came out with the rocking chair this year, and while it doesn’t rock a lot, it’s super comfortable, it didn’t cost two arms and a leg, I can sleep in it, and it doesn’t make me nauseous. I call that a win.
You can see the crib above. We put that together in January. Theoretically this will convert, and last until the baby is big enough for a regular bed. There may be decorative items on the wall.
So, that’s another thing to check off my list as I slowly work toward completion of all my baby projects. At least the ones I’ll be completing before the baby is born. This past week was a good week for sitting in bed crocheting and watching TV. I haven’t really felt well enough to do any sewing for almost two weeks now – the third trimester is harder than the second in terms of exhaustion, nausea and other ailments. People assure me I will survive. Occasionally I even believe them.
Decisions & Photography
So I’m pretty much done with my baby blanket and it’s time to choose a new crochet project. I’ve been thinking about making a baby cardigan. I only have time to make one, but I’ve found several patterns that I like and I can’t decide which one to try. So here are pictures of the cardigans, keep in mind that whatever colors or detailing I implement in the finished project will be gender neutral, so don’t let flowers or ruffles or whatnot throw you. I’ve indicated what pattern it is below, along with a note about changes I’d make.
With the exception of the bottom right one, all of these were actually designed by a mom with a baby, so I’m pretty sure any of them would work in real life to put on an actual kid. I’m intending to make a long-sleeved version of whatever I pick – it’s rather rare for it to be actually warm here, so I’m not worried about weight and the upcoming summer.
From top to bottom, and left to right. These are all Ravelry links, so you may not be able to access them without a Ravelry ID.
- Swing Set Cardigan by Linda Permann (I’d add long sleeves)
- Bombay Love by Rima Aranha (I’d add long sleeves)
- Baby Kimono Wrap by Susanne Visch
- Anna Cardigan by Robyn Chachula (long sleeves, front ties, and no flowers)
- Sorrento Hooded Cardigan by Mon Petit Violon
- Baby Hoodie (& hat) by Caron Yarns (add front ties)
OK! Now that I’ve got that out of my brain, let’s try something else. Here are my two favorite pictures I’ve taken lately.
Mmm, fennel.That lovely lacy plant is fennel, which grows wild here, and in this particular park, grows well over six feet tall. It remains tasty, however, no matter how big it gets. But I digress. Most likely, I am hungry and it’s hard NOT to remind me of food in some way.
What I intended to say before my stomach stepped in is that this picture is from Temescal Lake. It’s 5 minutes from my house, a small lake created by a dam and improved in one of those charming 1930s Army Corps of Engineer projects. It has a tiny beach, lots of fishing, and a couple of rustic stone buildings with a cafe, cookout areas, swimming amenities and such. We take Wesley there on the weekends and walk, and play ball with him in the open fields.
We walk near dusk, when the lake is calm and the ducks are out and the sky is beautiful. Pacific coast sunsets rarely fail to impress. It’s a peaceful spot. It’s hard to remember that the land depression the park sits in was created by the Hayward fault subsiding. The park and lake actually sit right on top of the Hayward fault line. If an earthquake happened? Perhaps this park would not be the calmest place to be. Of course, if there really WAS a big earthquake there’s not a spot in the area that would be calm.
On that note, I shall depart to go stare at my baby blanket, and attempt to finish it!
Losing my mind
In anywhere from one to four weeks I will finally reach the third trimester. Apparently this milestone is marked by the rate of baby development and not by calendar date, so it occurs roughly between 26 and 29 weeks. What this means on a practical level is that this kid is growing in size rapidly, and therefore so am I.
Every two or three days I grow enough in size to develop what I think of as “pregnancy walk” where I waddle a bit and can’t get up from chairs, and can’t sleep due to the pain in my pelvic region. Then I get used to it and go back to walking and sleeping normally. Rinse and repeat. It is *almost* comical, but not quite. I tend to start misplacing my sense of humor when I’m really tired.
All this growth, plus the greatly increased kicking that’s going on, has made me much more aware of impending motherhood, which has produced the desire to want to make ALL THE BABY THINGS ALL THE TIME. My Ravelry queue is looking a bit like a nursery.
From these urges was born two pair of booties and a small hat. There is another hat in progress. You see, I made the mistake of going to a Jo-Ann’’s last week, where I got lost in the yarn aisles feeling which yarn was the softest. I came home with Bernat Bamboo in linen, which is ridiculously soft, and the forest green is some stash yarn. I got lost in the fabric aisle as well – those projects are yet to come.
It’s a really disquieting feeling for a generally logical and non-sentimental person like myself to find myself in a yarn aisle feeling like I’m going to weep at any moment over the unbelievable cuteness of a tiny sweater in some book of crafts that I’d normally find rather pedestrian or tacky. It makes me cringe, thinking of it. I’m assuming all the hormones make most pregnant women behave somewhat kookily, but it’s hard to be comfortable with the level of strange behavior that I’m evincing.
However, it does explain why I came home with purple Fun Fur, lavender yarn called Cuddle (no kidding) and buttons, despite having no idea what to do with them.
Oy vey. And all I went to the craft store for was printable fabric.
