Baby Time

For any of you reading my posts who know me (shout out to Kerry & Sarah), don't freak out by the title of this post - I'm not pregnant. My biological clock is still MIA, and I don't have any plans to go looking for it.

This post is titled "Baby Time" because one of my co-workers recently announced that she is pregnant with her first. When I asked how far along, she replied, "Fifteen weeks." I just looked at her, because for the life of me I couldn't see that she'd put on any weight. She's very thin to start with, and not having children myself, I don't automatically know when you're supposed to start showing. I suspect she'll carry all her weight up front - the kind of person who doesn't look pregnant from the back, then turns sideways to reveal this big(ish) baby bump.

I've knitted blankets for the past several baby arrivals, and my immediate thought was to knit another. But her mother-in-law makes beautiful quilts, and I knew she'd be getting at least one baby quilt. Maybe this time I'd make something else. I checked out several books from the library that looked promising: Wacky Baby Knits by Alison Jenkins, Knitting a Kiss in Every Stitch by Nicky Epstein, and Pretty Knits - 30 Designs from Loop in London by Susan Cropper. OK, that last one was just for me. :) Paging through these books, I saw many interesting designs that just didn't connect for me. I even looked through the latest Debbie Bliss magazine, but nothing really yelled, "Knit me!"

I needed something that was not gender specific, since I have no idea if she's having a boy or girl. I also didn't want something too involved, because I often underestimate the time involved with a project, and I've already had the pleasure of finishing a baby blanket right before leaving for the shower, thank you very much. I think I'll pass this time.

We're having a sustainability challenge at work, so I decided maybe I could use up some stash yarn rather than buying new yarn. Perusing the tub-o-stash, I found a bunch of leftover Lion Brand Cotton-Ease yarn from this baby blanket I made for Sarah. I didn't have any brilliant ideas for how to use up this yarn, so I decided to troll through the LBY website's free patterns. After considering the Twin Lakes Blankie I nixed the idea because I had partial balls of five different colors, and didn't like the idea of a striped basket weave blanket. I also pushed away from the Tumbling Blocks Blankie, because I've never tried entrelac before and again, didn't want to be pushing deadlines. Finally I saw this pattern for a cute little cardigan sweater and decided it was the one.

I tried to pick out the best color combination from what I already had (again...think sustainable), and finally decided upon a purple, yellow and lime green combo. Never having knit up baby clothes before, I was amazed at how quickly it started coming together (I know...I'm slow sometimes). Starting with the back, here's a picture of the ribbing:

Even though the light is not perfect for this picture, I chose it because it best shows the purple hue. And here are a couple of photos showing my progress over the weekend:

































At this rate, I may end up making her some coordinating baby socks and maybe a cute little baby hat, too. I could really get into this baby knitting thing, just not enough to have my own.