Me Knits?

I've not a lot of time before my head hits the keyboard in a full-on sleep, however, I really wanted to post a couple of "me knits" (no longer are they to be called selfish knits in the Schrodinger household, there's already enough guilt involved in being a Mum without the guilt of 'selfish' knitting). Both took very little time to knock out, both were a pleasure to knit (hence the speedy knitting) and both are going to get great use.

First of all we have the Ilean cowl. I had some malabrigo and had started a cabled hat of my own design, it turned out too small, so I ripped and gave up, and then decided that I didn't actually need another cabled hat, I needed a cowl instead. I adapted this to add a button band and buttons, just to make things easier on putting it on or off when wearing headphones :) Details on Ravelry.

After seeing Maya's stunningly beautiful FLS, a bunch of spiders have decided to jump on the February Lady Sweater bandwagon by doing a little, unofficial knitalong. I was not for it at first, stating that I just didn't "have the time" but then kept seeing FLS's in progress, and I caved. Out came a webs gift certificate and before I knew it, I had an FLS (according to ravelry, this knit only took me 20 days).


Like so many people before me, I adore this sweater, I love the color and fit and style. I'm thinking I will feel even more comfortable if/when my "lady bits" decrease a little in size.


I'm too lazy to post details here when I already pumped them into ravelry, so you'll need to go there if you want that info.

The Blue Dress

So I hinted that there was a lovely handknit for Baby E made by my Mum, her Grandma. It's a cute, blue dress. I ADORE this dress, it's so pretty, and I'm looking forward to when Baby E can fit in it and can model it. In the meantime, here's some pictures to keep you going.


I have no idea what pattern it is (Mum?) but I reckon I'm making a good guess that it's German.


I said this dress deserves it's own post, so that's all you're getting. Well, except that you should check out the shop, I'm celebrating my second year on Etsy (as a buyer initially). As of tomorrow, until the end of the month I'm offering FREE SHIPPING to the US and Canada, yes, you read that correctly, FREE SHIPPING in the US and Canada. The rest of the world is also getting just $1 shipping - how cool is that?! So, stop by and take advantage of the offer now at schrodinger.etsy.com

Turtle-y fun

Baby E had her first Halloween - to be honest I think it went by pretty much unnoticed by her (we'll see if that happens next year). But as her parents, we had fun dressing her up in the costume that Grandma bought for her (cute huh?), and taking her out to see friends in a bar in the city (yeah, bad parents I know) for a couple of hours. Much as it was tempting to, we did not use her to procure candy for our own sweet tooth needs - there were plenty of other parents out there doing that ;)

Yeah, nothing handmade here... this year.

The obligatory Rhinebeck post.

Okay, so my third time at Rhinebeck was such a different year for me, leaving behind my 8 week old child in the care of the incredibly capable Mr B. I caught a ride upstate with gleek (oh! and I've been meaning to mention, you should check our her new project, a new online magazine called Popknits, it's incredibly cool!) and Nancy, it was a beautiful day and I had a great time. Although I didn't get to meet many fellow bloggers (besides the spiders, of course, and Maryse [edited to add this info, sorry Maryse - it was great to meet you irl!) I was so happy to be out among the adults. I don't have an amazing haul to show you - in fact I've barely got a thing to show except the cool mug and yarn I bought from the last stand I went to.

I *love* this mug, I use it every day, now that my Mum (and lack of reflux) has helped my tea addiction come back in full swing. The [supersoft, lovely] yarn is most likely going to be used for some fair-isle mittens.

I don't have much in the way of knitting to show you this time, just a hat that I'm trying design - it's Malabrigo, which I also bought when upstate, from Fabulous Yarn we stopped in the village of Tivoli, NY for dinner before the Rav Party. The lady saw our desperate, yarn hungry faces peering in the window (yeah the festival didn't quite sate us) and she re-opened for us! how nice. I decided that I wanted a cabled hat, but could find no pattern that caught my fancy, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I still have no clue what I'm going to do come the crown...

Oh yes, I am actually in the middle of a row here, in fact, it's mid-cable! The joys of motherhood :)

I have been sewing like a maniac though (well, when I get a chance) and the shop has never been so full. The reason for this? Well, apart from the huge daycare deposit and severe lack of income (aaahh, US maternity coverage is astoundingly bad) I actually have an ad running on Ravelry for November and thought I better have some bags to offer - this is VERY exciting for me.

Good news is, I have lovely bags to show for it.

I'm Schrodinger and it's been 5 weeks since I last posted

Wow! It really is incredible how easy it is to neglect your blog and all blog reading when you have a baby. To everyone that has sent their congratulations, THANK YOU and please accept my apologies for not getting back to you. I've also neglecting blog reading, and am horrified when I see what I have to read - gulp! I have to admit, that it's not just the baby that kept me away, but also a new addiction... microblogging through twitter. My Mum also came to visit (Dad needed to stay back in Austria while they finish up renovations on their vacation apartments). Mum brought a ton of gifts for baby E, from them as well as other family over in the UK, one thing I had to share with you is this adorable sheep.

She also brought with her a stunning handknit dress that she had made, but that's going to wait for another time and it's own, special post :)

So, you can imagine there's not a huge amount of knitting going on here, but there are a few knits that Baby E has modeled so far to share with you all. I'm trying to take pictures of all the amazing handknits that Baby E has, as and when she wears them. There are still plenty more that she's yet to grow into.
Saartje Booties from Sharon, excuse the blurriness, baby E was fidgety here, this was the best shot I could get :)

Better than booties socks

Modeling the spider blanket before tummy time.

I've been knitting a bit myself (although the hat is the only FO I have to show for it so far)
I made this hat [rav link] last week, it has since been undone and reknit to add length, it fits better, but I've not taken new pics.

I'm thrilled to announce that Baby E is also able to bottle-feed, therefore I've been creating a stash of milk so that I'm free to go to Rhinebeck on Saturday - WOO HOO! Hope to see some of you there, you can distract me from buying yarn and fiber we can't afford.

2 weeks

Wow, it's been 2 weeks since baby E first made her appearance. I want to thank everyone for their congratulatory comments, notes and emails - it's been wonderful to share our joy with so many people I don't even know :)

I did toy with the idea of sharing our birth story, it was pretty eventful for both of us - we certainly tested our amazingly wonderful midwife, and Mr B, but since it all ended well and I'm pretty private, I'm keeping those memories to myself. Instead, here's a shot of baby E and myself on the morning of her 2 week birthday, she's a bit of a blur, a combination of birthday excitement and bad camera methinks.

Also, I have some baby modeling shots to share with you. There's only a few, since baby E is wearing them as they fit her. The quality of the pictures is not so great thanks to our decent camera crapping out on us, apparently electronics don't take to swimming in half a bottle of Gatorade. We've ordered a new point and shoot camera (Canon Powershot Elph SD750)

First up are a pair of socks from Maya (link to her ravelry info).


Next we have the Baby Leaf Hat (ravelry) which I knit, but don't remember blogging about. This was a perfect accessory to wear when leaving the hospital.


I have more, but I'm going to save them since I'm probably not going to have much knitting to show you for a while (and baby E is demanding more attention). I think I've knit 1 round on 2 pair of socks since baby E joined us.

She's here!

Introducing Baby E, my most ambitious FO. Born on August 24th, 2008 at 10:21am.

A shocking 8lbs 11 oz, 21.5" long of pure perfection.

Sorry for the blog update delay, we were held up at the hospital while Baby E worked on her tan. We were (finally) released and got home today.

Thank you to everyone for their well wishes and comments so far, we love reading them and apologize in advance for (potentially) dropping off the face of the earth while we drink in our new addition.

Sproglet-less

Yup, I could blog and bemoan the fact that I'm 3 days past the estimated due date and I'm about ready to burst - but I've managed to do that to anyone who'll listen, so you lucky guys don't have to endure that too.

Instead I will show you the finished Sunrise Sunset blanket (ravelry link). I finally completed it last night, the carpel tunnel slowed down my crochet, and the sc, dc border certainly killed my mojo a little. According to Ravelry, this project took a little over 3 months to complete, but as Mr. B. said (and I totally agree), it seemed a LOT longer than that.

It was a perfect project to carry around, since you are just crocheting 4.5" squares. However, if you're not a fan of seaming, you might want to give it a miss, or find a really good friend who can stand it - I'm okay with seaming, esp. now that I've actually got my own chibi needles, wow! what a difference that bent end makes, how did it take me so long to own some? I love how the blanket turned out, and we're all just going to pretend that it's had it's final wash and block (c'mon, you can't make a 9+ month preggers woman get on the floor and pin the bugger down can ya?)


As for the log cabin blanket, it's complete except for the border (again), I did a whip stitch border as the pattern suggests and it looked awful. Now I'm halfway through a single crochet border, but just realized that the hook I was using is a tad too big. Tonight I try again. In the meantime, I started another project. I wanted to use the noro sock yarn I bought on vacation in PA, but actually didn't want to make socks [gasp!] so started the chevron scarf (rav link) instead. I think the colours are cheerful, Mr B is unimpressed. I promised I wouldn't make him wear it :)

No! No Baby yet.

So I'm officially playing the waiting game, as are tons of anxious friends and relatives who's emails, calls and facebook contacts are sure to increase as the due date rolls nearer (which is Sunday btw). In the meantime, I finished work on Friday, I decided I could no longer handle the NY arseholes commute and heat, well, naturally it cools to the low 80's this week, but that wasn't going to encourage me to change my mind about work.

Before I update you one what I've been up to, I should show you once again, how wonderful people are out there. Sharon, not content with being super-busy with the birth of her second daughter (having just moved apartment, of course), she had to go ahead and send me this package of adorable goodies:

I believe I may have made even some girlie noise when I opened this package, the booties, the hat, the adorable little bunny, wow this bean is spoiled already :) Thank you Sharon!!

So inbetween watching the crappy NBC daytime version of the Olympics (which basically consists of beach volleyball and the swimming I saw last night) and finishing off projects I thought I better blog. I decided that I couldn't really sign up for Ravelympics as I could give birth at any time, but I could give myself some deadlines of my own to try and turn the giant UFO into an FO. You see, according to ravelry, I started the Sunrise Sunset blanket way back on May 10th, I have since distracted myself with numerous other, smaller, cute projects, but I know that I really need to finish this blanket. All the little Sunrise and Sunsets were made, some were finished and blocked, some were still waiting the end weaving (about 8 ends per piece) and blocking. Then there's the seaming together - not an enviable task, and not one that will do itself. If I just suck it up while I have the time at home, it will be done and I'll be wondering what all the fuss was about. As you can see, I made some good headway already.


I also wanted something pretty simple and satisfying, and kept looking at all the yarn that was left over from the amazingly beautiful Spider blanket. It kept bugging me that there is practically enough to make another blanket, and 3 baby blankets have got to be better than 2 right? So I cast on for a log cabin blanket for the bean. I've always wanted to make one, the simplicity of it and the squishiness of the garter stitch was too tempting. So I now have the goal of finishing 2 blankets before the bean arrives.


Good luck to me eh?

Showered

I've been busy, but there's no excuse for not sharing the wonderful handmade gifts bestowed upon me and the bean a couple of weeks ago at our baby shower. The shower was a beautiful affair, held in a Manhattan garden of a good friend, the cupcakes were delish, sandwiches tasty, sangria plentiful (lemonade with mint for me) and company delightful. I have no pictures of the event, although Virginia has some, less-than-flattering pics of me opening gifts (I think I need to work on my "ahhh that's cute" face). Nevertheless, I was thrilled with all the amazing and adorable gifts, the spider blanket, which is amazing! I can't imagine the behind-the-scenes knitting and passing around that went on - but I have to say a big and public THANK YOU to all the spiders that worked so hard on the beautiful blanket, I'm so lucky to know such a wonderful group of knitting pals.

And here's a flickr montage of the handmade goodies from the spiders (click on the image to get more info from flickr).

No, not baby stuff - this time.

I've been busy finishing stuff and making bags for the shop before I pop - I reckon it's my version of nesting. I'm now at the stage where I can say, "anytime now" from now for up to the next 6 weeks, yup I'm at that 36 week mark today - YIKES!

But I didn't decide to randomly post to talk about baby stuff... this time. I just want to let you know about Earthchicks amazing raffle. The prizes are fantastic (and I'm not just saying that cos one of them includes one of my cubes), and the story behind it all is incredibly touching. A $5 donation gives you a chance to win some phenomenal prizes - hands off the fabric though, it has my name written all over it ;)

Stay tuned, I do have some yummy handmade goodies to share with you, when I have the energy to write a proper post. So what are you waiting for? Go over and donate, donate, donate!

Cuteness, and a Thank You

I hope everyone has been enjoying their weekends - for many of you this is a long weekend, and I hope you're loving that as much as I am. I've been pretty busy since I last posted, almost all of it surrounds the impending arrival of the bean, which I'm pleasantly surprised at how excited I am about it all. First of all, my weekend began wonderfully with an unexpected package in the mail from Oiyi.

How can anyone resist a fabric book on Care Bears? Oiyi, you blow my mind, I'm always inspired by the crafting and cooking that you do, despite the adorable new distraction addition to your family. Thank you so much for finding the time to make this book for the bean, who will adore it.

Next up, the nursery has evolved into an actual *gasp* nursery. We had a lot of difficulty picking the paint colour, well, until we had the curtain fabric picked out that is - then it was a cinch.


That Echino fabric is fabulous isn't it? So cute with the little dragonflies and spiders.


Mr B has been busy drawing some classic Pooh for the walls, all the pictures are great, but my fave is of Pooh climbing the tree.


I've still been knitting, although it's mostly been train knitting recently, but that hasn't mean that there's been zero productivity. First up, I made some cute socks (if they look familiar, that's because they are).


And, last weekend I managed to finish this adorable seamless kimono -deets (as usual) are on ravelry.


Some people have noted that I haven't updated the shop in over a month, I used to find this situation stressful, but I just can't let it get to me anymore - sorry to anyone who's been patiently waiting for some more fabrics. I'm really hoping to make a few more bags before I pop, but I'm going to have to see if I can enlist the help of Mr B, since the cutting of fabric needs to be done on the floor - we have no other surface that is big enough.

Meet Elijah (too)

Ever since I finished the first Elijah for one of our newest spider mites, Mr B was pretty certain that we needed an Elijah for himself our growing bean. I have to admit that knitting this a second time was not twice the fun, far from it. I didn't really enjoy stuffing as I go since that took away the portability of this adorable project.

Mr B. chose the yarn (Lion-brand cotton-ease) and color from a limited selection of baby friendly yarn in the stash. I think he chose well, and I have to admit that I think he's adorable. More info on this Elijah can be found on ravelry.



Sad thing is that I would love to Sophie, but I'm not sure I have the mojo, I will continue with the sweaters and socks for now.

baby, baby, baby

If you don't care for baby items, I recommend skipping this post all together, cos that's all I've got for ya! Apparently I'm in the middle of a baby boom and a ton of friends are going forth and multiplying, myself included :) So I've been knitting, a lot of baby stuff, and it's time to share some of that stuff with you.

First up a little hat and pair of socks for Sharon's newest addition:

Next we have the Baby Surprise Jacket for Kaitlyn's little Cassie:



Aren't those colors so cute together? Who can resist a little brown and pink? Here's something else in a similar color scheme. My coworker, also with child, left to live in Chicago for a few years, naturally she needed a cute ribbed baby sweater for her little one due in October - a sign of my appreciation for her putting up with my daily witterings.



With all this knitting for other people's baby's, I certainly haven't forgotten my own! Last weekend I made 8 burp cloths for the bean (well, I guess more for us). I got the fabric for a bargain from Intercourse, PA (tee hee). I really enjoyed making something really quick and simple, the cloths took no more than a couple of hours to put together - pattern is free from a website called "New Conceptions".



And today I finished the February Sweater (which I mistakenly called the BSJ in my last post - yikes! talk about baby brain).



Not only did I have enough yarn (one skein of STR in Amber) to make the sweater, but also enough to make the matching hat! How cute is that?



Best thing is that I think it will fit....



There are approximately 10 weeks to go before chaos reigns over the Schrodinger household (depending on what the bean decides, of course). I have far too many ideas of what I want to knit, but hoping to at least finish the couple of projects I have on the needles - good knitting and cooling vibes will be appreciated :)

Still ticking away

So it's been a while, with many of lifes distractions keeping me away from the blog. All good stuff though, and the good news is that I get to have a few things to show you. First up, some WIPS.

I started the baby surprise jacket oops, February Baby Sweater [ravelry link] for the bean just before we went away on our babymoon. Yes, it was wonderful, we went to Lancaster, PA - Amish Country, and I strongly recommend the B&B we stayed at for the wonderful hosts and the delicious 3 course breakfasts. Here's a shot of it in progress while away, more is knit now, but I'll save further progress shots until it's finished.

It's being knit with Socks that Rock in Amber - I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the one skein will do it...

The sunset blanket is coming along. I have over 20 squares crocheted so far, I've blocked about half of them. The seaming won't be fun, but I can already tell that the end result will be worth it.


I managed to finish some stuff too though, first up is a gift for Amanda and her little one:


These better-than-booties socks [rav again] needed a matching hat, so I made this one up as I went along, I have no idea how I did it, and I'm just hoping that the little thing fits.

The biggest accomplishment this month is the quilt. Yes! I had a goal of making a quilt for the bean, and I DID IT! And I have to admit that I'm really happy with it.



It took some debate, but I finally decided on an orange binding for the edging, with a decorative stitch in yellow, pretty huh?



On the baby front, everything continues to go very well. I feel, surprisingly, healthy and happy - albeit a little tired - and we are told that all is developing well. Mr B and I have been doing some of the usual nesting stuff (decorating, buying and putting together furniture). I have a ton of projects in my head that I want to get done, but I'm being realistic and recognizing my time and energy limitations, one step at a time.

CONTEST!

No not here! Nothing to see here, go here instead. There's some great fantastic prizes to be won, of course I'm biased since there's something of mine in there, as well as other great creative works, but what are you still doing here reading, go away! Enter Katy's contest she really needs the book recommendations!

Shameless plug

Last week, Mr B. finished making a stop motion animation video for his band, Bellow. I'm so proud of him, I wanted to share it with you. Of course I'm aware this is a knitting/crafting blog, so I don't expect you to share my enthusiasm, but would be thrilled if you do.

5 Random Things Sunday

1. QUILT
I went over to Veronique's a couple of weekends ago, she had kindly volunteered to show me some quilting skills. V is an amazing teacher and she gave me the inspiration and confidence needed to start making the quilt I wanted to make for the growing bean. And I think it's going really well...

I actually have the backing and batting together now, it's just the fun of quilting it all, maybe this afternoon.

2. PIN CUSHION
I used the practice square (wasn't quite happy with one of the fabrics in the first one) to make a little pin cushion, something very necessary with those funny little quilting pins.



3. RAV GOODIES
A few weeks ago the Spiders had some visitors, Jess and Casey (AKA Mama and Papa Rav), came along with Maya and the very amusing Steve, it was fun spending a few hours with them, although I was sad not to join them for drinks, Jess and Casey made up for it with these adorable gifts.



How cute is that Bob pin? I believe that the pins, stickers and other good stuff will (most likely) be available in a soon-to-be Ravelry store.

4. GREEN SWIFFER
I'm happy to find different ways to do my bit for the environment. So when I saw this ingenious swiffer cover pattern in Sassy's Rav queue yesterday, I immediately grabbed some dish cotton and knit one up last night while watching junk telly.



It's got to beat those crappy throw-away swiffer cloths, and it's reusable! I can't wait to try it out - well, actually I lie about that part, but I hope it works nearly as well as being on my hands and knees with a sponge.

5. CROCHET
I'm a little into crochet now too. I started a blanket this week. It's the Sunset blanket (ravelry), and I think it's going to be adorable in chocolate brown and rosy pink.