The Universe Tends to Unfold As It Should

I know I have said this before, but it's so true. Warning, no actual knitting content ahead; instead I have lots of personal content for this entry. So, if you are only here for the knitting, be advised, it will return soon. Instead, this post is about the baby.

I am currently at 20 weeks and officially into the homestretch. Yahoo. And, now I can finally relax. At 14 weeks, we opted to do a routine (but optional) scan called a Nuchal Translucency where you go in to an accredited centre and they measure the fold of skin at the back of the baby's neck (called the nuchal fold) and the results are analyzed to determine if there are any markers present for chromosomal defects. Turns out the higher (or larger) this measurement, the higher correlation for scary things like Trisomy 13 (not compatible with life) , 18 (also not compatible with life), and 21 (Downs syndrome). Big scary stuff. Turns out, ours was very high. Like in the 95 percentile. They start to get concerned about anything over the 50 percentile. So, we met with the genetic counsellor and they gave us several options. Wait and do nothing. Right. Have another screening test which is non-invasive, but not necessarily conclusive. Right. Or, have an amnio. We choose the amnio and the results just came in.

Everything is fine!!

Now, the other great thing about this (other than the fact that we can stop holding our breath, start decorating, and stop preparing Bunny for the fact that she may never have a sibling) is that if we wanted to, we could find out conclusively what sex the baby is. Anytime I want to call, they can give me a 100% accurate answer as to whether we are on the blue or pink team. But, I don't want to know. Husband does. I am in charge. They won't tell him unless I give the go ahead and I think its driving him nuts. Heh.

So, the bottom line is that everything can really begin. We can get excited. We can start to decorate. And we can tell Bunny that she will have a brother or sister. Yahoo.

Finished - One pair of Bunny socks.

I am a good Mommy. Yes. I. Am. I made Bunny a pair of skating socks that she absolutely adores. Her little feets get so cold in her skates that she cries at the end of each lesson. So, like a good Mommy, I knit her a pair in Drops Alpaca and some other dark pink yarn that I had laying around.




I also made her a pair of mittens to match. I can't wait to try them out this weekend at skating. I plan on stuffing the toe with some fleece if these aren't warm enough still, but I am hoping that I will only have to do that as a last resort. There was no real pattern for these, but I did use this book (The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns: Basic Designs in Multiple Sizes & Gauges) as a guide . Of all the books that I have stockpiled over the last year, this one is my favorite as it seems to have all of the necessary measurements for knitting almost anything using any size needles and any weight yarn. All you have to do is pick your yarn, choose what ever needles you feel the yarn will best swatch up on, depending of course on what you are making (i.e. more dense for a hat or mittens, less so for something that you want to have more drape - like a sweater or scarf) , and then consult the various chart in the book to find out how many stitches to cast on. Hate math? No problem. This book does all the work for you. All you need to know is your gauge. There you have it: Bunny socks.


In other news, Terry is going to be presenting at the first ever Vancouver Tech Fest and he is super duper excited. Who can blame him really? This is a big step for him and he has really worked hard over the last year to earn it. Check him out here (scroll down to the bottom of the page). Could I be any more proud? I doubt it.

Finally, it has been brought to my attention that there has been a serious lack of yarn porn lately. In an attempt to rectify the situation, please accept this smattering of sock yarn and stitch markers. I found the stitch markers and the bottom two skeins of sock yarn here (she has the most amazing stitch markers) and the rest, including a skein of Fleece Artist Merino sock (in the red/burgundy colors), a skein of purple/green from All things Heather, a skein in the loveliest shade of blues from J-Knits, and two skeins of Regia Bamboo which I just love, came from theloopyewe. Enjoy. I know I will. And, I had the best of luck at my Tuesday night stitch and bitch at Make One. I received an offer from one of the other attendees to knit socks out of the ever growing stash that I am accumulating. I casually mentioned that the stash seems to be out of control (as does my habit I suppose) and she jumped at the chance to knit the yarn. Seems she can't afford to spend money on sock yarn right now, but has a burning desire to knit more socks. I have lots of sock yarn and not much time to knit it all. Voila. Symbiosis born. I can't wait to post some photos of my new socks that are not knit by me. Once question though -does this still count towards my FO count??

Of socks...

I haven't had as much time to blog lately as I would have liked. Between numerous ultrasounds, doctor's appointments, and being extra incredibly tired, I have just a little time to knit and no time to blog. The real hurdle for me, I find, is getting my act together to take some photos of the things that I am working on and a blog post without photos is, in my humble opinion, just boring. So, this morning, I comitted to taking some photos of the socks that I have been working on. Proof that I have actually been working through the sock yarn that I have stockpiled over the last year. On the right there is a skien of pinkish/purple sock yarn. This is my absolute favorite color of Colinette Jitterbug. I must love it as I bought 2 skeins at Make 1 on two seperate occasions by accident. On the far left, is a pink/green striped sock. This is being constructed out of a stretch yarn that I just love. It's the Cascade Fixation yarn that was used to make the Broadripple socks in the summer '03 issue of Knitty. Words can not express my love for this yarn. In the middle, is a sock that I am working on for my mom for her birthday. She choose the yarn (Trekking XXL self patterning) and I am knitting them up for her. I sure hope she likes them. I have actually never used Trekking before (can you believe it?) and I must admit that despite the slight scratchiness of the yarn, I love watching the patterns play out. Everytime I whip these out and KIP, I get comments on how clever I am for making the patterns. Sometimes I explain that its just the yarn. On the right is a pair of socks that I am making for Bunny. She needs some warmer socks for skating as her little feet get so cold that it makes skating even more challenging than it already is. I'm using some Drops Alpaca for this and doubling it (hence the two balls shown in the picture). This is some of the softest yarn I have ever worked with. Softer even than Malabrigo (shhh... don't tell any of the die hard Malabrigo fans out there... ) and its 100% alpaca. I lurve it. As soon as I am done with the socks, I plan to use the rest to make her some mittens for skating. She is becoming quite the little skater. Wanna see? Of course you do. Cute huh?

(Click on the photo to make it bigger).

Weird? Moi?

OK, as usual, I am the last to the party again. I was late with Clapotis, I was late with Jaywalkers, and I am going to be late to the six weird things meme. But, better late than never right?? So, without further ado... Six weird things about me:

1. I love sushi. Love it. But, I hate fish. Hate it. Raw fish? Gag. So, when I go for sushi, I order without fail, a green salad, assorted tempura (I like the sweet potato best), a California roll, and a tempura shrimp roll. That's it. Just enough food and no raw fish.

2. I go down stairs sideways. I never had good enough balance to go down forwards. I have tried it and I always feel like I am going to fall on my face.

3. I hate feet. They gross me out. I have always hated feet. I hate the way they look and I hate the way they feel. I won't touch any other feet and the thought of touching my own makes me gag. I never paint my toenails and I feel inexplicably sorry for the person who does my pedicures. I know it's my issue, but I still apologize the whole time I get a pedicure. Strangely enough though, I think my daughter has the cutest feet on the planet and I have no issues touching her feet at all.

4. I have huge and inexplicable fears of a good number of things. I am afraid of sharks, birds and dead things. The thought of any of these things makes me shudder. I have been afraid of all three for as long as I can remember and am not likely to get over any of them any time soon.

5. I am a super light sleeper. I can only fall asleep if there is absolutely no noise whatsoever. I can, however, fall asleep with all the lights on. I also wake up several times during the night and always at the same time.

6. I have almost no sweet tooth. I never eat cupcakes, cake, ice cream, and almost all types of pudding (except rice pudding and bread pudding). I made my mother crazy growing up because she would bake a cake every year for my birthday and I would never eat it. I also prefer hot food to cold food every time (except for sushi for some reason).

That's it. Six weird things. All about me. Next post - some pics of the new scarf and two new pairs of socks that I have been knitting.