20 December 2006

Readership? What readership?

I was told once that if I didn't post regularly then no one would be interested in hanging around to read what I write. Though I was absent for 18 days or so (not that I'm counting) the thought has been very much on my mind. I worry, though that starting each post with an apology isn't a good idea, as it will most likley get annoying after a while. Rather than apologize yet again for the embarrassingly long time between posts, I would like to thank you for sticking by and still reading me. Thank you.

(right now, I can hear only the sound of metaphoric crickets chirping. I hope there are still people reading... )

There's quite a lot to catch up on, I hardly know where to start. Except, the contents of my brain pretty much look like this:

babybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybaby[patron question]babybabybabybabybabybabybabybaby[email]babybabybabybabybabybaby[patron question]babybabybaby...ad nauseam.

I suppose this is normal, this obsession with what's going on in, around and beneath my belly. And of course, what I'm obsessing about changes constantly. First, it was AmIShowing?AmIShowing?AmIShowing? and now it's HolyCrapI'mShowing!HolyCrapI'mShowing! I wish I could say that my mind was busy on wonderful intellectual pursuits (or even knitting) but sadly, this is what I've got. Now, my reason for not posting becomes clear, doesn't it?

Last baby thing, I promise?

Look at that! Something's going on in there! (Experienced mothers will recognize this as the stage when, unless you squish your shirt under your boobs and belly, no one else thinks you're pregnant, just hitting the buffet a little hard.)

But y'all came for the knitting, didn't you?

This is a bed sock for my grandmother. Most of what you see was done the day before Thanksgiving, as these are a really fast knit on size 7 needles. I know it is cheating, but oh! So nice to have a sock fly to the toe! (Let's not discuss the state of the second sock, ok? It seems to be, well, a bit stalled.)

And an action shot:


It's a simple baby cable, designed to look like I'm a far more clever knitter than I am. My grandmother is a champion crocheter (well, she's very good and very fast) but not a knitter. I was hoping to impress her with as little effort as possible, but since these won't show up until after 12/25, I'm thinking the impression factor is going to go down.

I've been doing other knitting, too. Back in November, I mentioned a wee project I was working on, but never followed up (be careful clicking on that link, that's the story of yaking on the cat). Here's what it was:


Now, this wee sockie is just a prototype. See, for some reason I still have a weird fear about knitting for the baby. What I was really trying to do here was fudge a pattern for a set of baby socks for Kristi and her boys. Sadly, I had no pattern at home (quite embarrassing, really) and was avoiding the computer (I was still working on papers for school). I decided to try out the first sock in Sensational Knitted Socks, the demo, to see how that would work out. Following the pattern, this is regular worsted weight *ahem*acrylic*ahem* on maybe size 5's. (It's just a template! I promise!)

The problem came when I finished and wove in the ends. I'd made a sock (a scratchy one, yes), but who would it fit? Is it too big for an infant? Too small? I have no experience with this.

Since then, I've checked out two baby knits books from the library, but haven't really looked at the sock patterns yet (which makes me feel like a complete chump, just so you know). Now that finals are over, and I'm in my second trimester, I have no excuse for not ripping myself out of the couch's gravitational pull. I'm just not sure why I haven't, yet.

Before I go (read: before my boss comes back from lunch) I want to thank everyone for their comments and emails about my Hanukkah bush crisis. Reading everyone's thoughts helped me put mine into place and into perspective, and basically stop freaking out over it. For the most part, I've become comfortable again with celebrating Hanukkah as Hanukkah, and exchanging gifts on Winter Consumer Holiday, aka Capitalist Gift-Giving Day, aka December 25 like most other Americans. The bush didn't get put up this year, but this had more to do with Juniper's obsessive chewing habit (the branches would reach into his cage, which isn't a good idea at all) than with either of our feelings. We did buy a little 2' table top model, but since neither of us has made it up into the attic for ornaments, it sits naked on our table. But we're ok with that.

While neither of us have really had the energy to do much (Mr. Cygknit is still in finals, and I'm, well, sleeping on the couch more often than not) in our own home, we have noticed a different perspective on others' decorations. We've found ourselves commenting on the merits of one neighbor's ostentatious display of inflatable elves over another's snowmen, and the tacky quotient of white lights vs. Colored vs. Blinking. While we're not going to be moving into the Christmas camp in the future, at least I'm not as afraid of it as I was. And that is a good thing.

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10 Comments:

At 7:10 PM, Blogger NeedleTart said...

Chirp, chirp, chirp? I'll have you know this is the second time today I have checked to see if you have some news. As for knitting for the baby, in some Jewish communities, the baby's room is not set up until after the birth and while the Mom is still in the hospital, just in case (ptuh, ptuh, ptuh, *spits to avoid the evil angel, who is actually Lilleth which is an interesting comment on women who know thier own minds, but I digress*)
Chappy Channukah! Be warned, I got The Baby an air-powered marshmallow gun and the popping is driving me nuts.

 
At 10:15 PM, Blogger KnitterBunny said...

Woo Hoo! So glad you're back. I missed you.

Tasteful belly shot.

Oh, and the tacky vs. classy (or Will's ideas vs. Kelli's ideas) Christmas decorations . . . we've been having that discussion quite frequently. If you need a laugh, ring me up and ask for the story.

It's snorting funny. ;)

 
At 10:35 PM, Blogger swan/dragon said...

Nice to see you back. If I could get back, I would...
I miss you.

 
At 10:46 PM, Blogger Baywood Yarns said...

Glad to see a post! I remember the exhaustion of being preggers, so no surprise that you've been sleeping more than anything else.

Socks for granny... brilliant idea. Wish I'd thought of it, since my Grammy doesn't really need pretty scarves now that she's in a nursing home...

 
At 9:06 AM, Blogger Netter said...

Good to see you again. Nice progress on the baby bump. It's perfectly normal that the baby's started taking over your brain, you're not going to be able to think about anything else much forever. Motherhood, blessing and curse.

 
At 9:35 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey you ARE still alive! ;o) Welcome back :o)

Superstitious me wouldn't be knitting for the baby prior to its arrival, either. As a matter of fact, that's why I haven't knit anything for him/her yet...*ahem*

 
At 9:50 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

FIRST - your bump is SO CUTE!! :)

Second...I have knit a couple pairs of baby socks w/ great success from the patterns in Sensational Knitted socks. I use the smallest size on the 5-stitch-wide pattern section, and it seems to work great. The socks I ended up with both times were a little big for newborns, but hey...it's not like they have to worry about the socks scrunching down into their shoes, right?! ;)

Glad to see you posting...keep us updated...xx

 
At 7:02 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, *I* won't abandon you if you only post every 18 days. That's what Bloglines is for.

Love the baby bump. In my case, I spent nine months thinking "adopting baby, adopting baby, adopting baby" but it amounts to the same thing, only with no excuse to hang out on the couch.

Good luck with your knitting. If you can do cables while being baby-obsessed, that's an accomplishment.

Happy, um, holidays. :-)

 
At 9:17 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Glad things are going well. What a cute baby bump! Love the sock!

 
At 6:57 AM, Blogger Devorah said...

No abandonment issues here -- I'm just a little behind in my blog reading!

Baby brain is quite normal and will eventually be followed with "new mom" brain (or lack there of) due to lack of sleep. You start becoming human again roughly about the time that your youngest hits 5 years. *grin*

As for lack of knitting for the little one -- hey, I am so superstitious that I did not even start my nephew's blankie until dear sis was in labor -- and even then I thought I was tempting the fates!

 

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