More Knitting - Knit Last Year

So remember way back in April when I knit a black sweater that I loved so much that I decided to make a tiny Queen sized version?

And then I ran out of yarn?

Yeah.  I barely remember it either.

Luckily for you it rained this week.

And by rained this week I mean it has rained every single day this week.  It is all gray skies, and gloomy clouds, and actual water falling from the sky.  I think we are trying to get our entire year's quota of rain in the first month of the year so we can then resume our uninterrupted blue skies.

I love the rain.

Love it, love it, love it, love it, love it.

And in case you missed it, I love the rain.

But it makes the house crazy cold.  I don't even understand it.  I think it has something to do with the tile floors laid on top of concrete.  So cool in the summer, but crazy cold when the rain drops the temperature suddenly.

The other day I put on a hand knit sweater.  And I was still cold.  So I put on some hand knit socks.  And I was still cold.  So I put on a hand knit scarf.  I was going to Wear.All.The.Knits.

The Queen is a little polar bear.  She loves the cold.  But I felt this was too much and went digging in her drawers from some baby sized warm knits.  I emerged with this little gem.

Don't let her sweet little face and pose fool you.  Most of the pictures I tried to take look slightly blurry (like the one above) and she's doing this at me.

You can thank her older sister for teaching her that face.

I knit this sweater when the Queen was wearing 6/9 month size clothes (which she wore until her growth spurt in October).  I made this a 2T size with the usual shortened sleeves and longer torso.

I got the sleeve length spot on (something I would like to attribute to my amazing knitting skills but really it was dumb luck.  It could have gone either way.  Case in point, see the extra long sleeves in my last post)

The lines of this sweater feature a longer back than the front.

I think the front could have used a little more length, but Queen Bean isn't complaining.

She's too busy being a toddler.  Her new favorite hobbies include dumping out things, opening the front door, getting into the pantry, spilling what ever she can reach onto the floor, and

then eating the food off the floor.

I suppose I should be happy she is eating.

I think I would like the sweater better if it were all one color, but all in all?  I can work with this.

First Featured Knit of the Year - Conveniently Knit Last Year

So I think it's time to feature some fine knitting on this here knitting blog.

I've heard rumor that I do in fact knit from time to time.  Like during nap time.  And after bed time.  And at knitting time.

I knit this little beauty during my summer spree of baby sweaters.

And it is a beauty to behold and the Queen really seems to enjoy wearing it.

Pattern:  Child's Aran Pullover

Yarn:  Recycled Cotton from a Savers sweater

Needles:  Size 7 and size 8

Modifications:  Because this sweater was for the Bean I attempted to modify it to fit her physiology better.  People with Down syndrome tend to have shorter limbs and a longer torso.  The Queen is no exception.  So while I cast on for a 2T size, I knit the sleeves an inch or so shorter than recommended, and I knit the torso for a 3T fit.

Review:

The sleeves are still too long

But how fabulous is all that knitted texture

It's the little details of a pattern that get me.  Like the cable running up the sleeve.

I just adore it.

Now this yarn may have been, alright let's keep it real, it absolutely was way too thin to knit on those size needles to this kind of gauge.

But I don't care.

I've realized that I prefer a big drapey fabric when I knit.  I don't want a sweater knit so tightly it can stand up all by itself.

So the pattern on the torso might be a bit more open than the designer intended.

Who cares?

I love it.

And so does the Queen.

And that's all that matters.

and now I will feature a cute picture of Queen Bean for no reason at all.

I love how tiny she looks on the new couch.

Side note:  Let me be a cautionary tale.  Never go shopping with low blood sugar.  You might black out and when you come to you find you've somehow managed to purchase two new couches and WAY too many throw pillows.

Or at least that's my story...

 and I'm sticking to it.

Hello 2016!

Let's face it.  2015 was a craptastic year.  Just craptastic.

And it went out with a bang.

We all got the lovely puking virus that was going around in early December.  It ran right through the family.  The Greatest and I consoled ourselves with the fact that we got it early and would be healthy for Christmas.  Only we didn't get better.  Or that is to say I didn't get better.  I stopped puking.  But the fatigue, the nausea, the cold symptoms, the fever.  None of that went away.  It hung around for weeks.  My friends have diagnosed me with the flu.  I diagnosed my lingering constant cough as bronchitis.  But I haven't bothered an actual medical professional, mostly because I feel too crappy to drag myself an hour away to a doctor who will say "yup, its bronchitis.  But since you're barely wheezing there's nothing we can really do at this time.  Come back if it gets worse, but in the mean time be sure to pay the receptionist $45 on the way out."

So good-bye and good riddance to 2015.

To be honest the prospects for 2016 aren't looking much brighter.  The Queen Bean's open heart surgery looms large on the horizon.  It fills me with fear.  Her tonsillectomy was not an easy recovery and I mentally multiply how hard it was by a billion in anticipation of what the recovery from heart surgery will be like.  It will be hard, but we can do hard things.  I'm just tempted to dig in my heels and tell them "No. I don't want to do this to my beautiful healthy baby."  I have a hard time reconciling the fact that my rambunctious, naughty, joyous, thriving toddler has a life threatening heart defect.

All of the challenges from 2015 are still in play for 2016.  But we're making a concerted effort to try a different approach this year.

The Greatest and I have decided our new motto is "Fuck it all."

I will do the very best I can, and I can't worry about the things that are out of my control.  I don't have that kind of time or energy on my hands.  When I try I end up so rundown that a 24 hour bug knocks me out for three weeks.  (In the plus column I am finally wearing all my prepregnancy jeans.  So there is that.)

I've got to do better.

I've heard that you should begin the new year as you mean to live the new year.

So I began my new year with cheesecake for breakfast.  (Evidently I don't intend to stay in my prepregnancy jeans for long)

And I fit in some knitting time.

While I watched our team DOMINATE!

GO BLUE!  Sidenote:  I love when my nail polish matches my yarn.

Bird made me her specialty

Cotton Candy Balls. (Food really seems to be a theme for the new year)

And The Greatest and I snuck out for Date Night.

Notice how he's watching the football game in the corner.  Next date night will feature a restaurant that doesn't have a tv.  Also note the change in nail polish.  I love that sparkly red!

To recap:  New Year's Day featured all my favorites:  Knitting, Food, My Man, and nailpolish.  (I know the kids aren't featured, but trust me, they were in the mix).  If this is how the year goes, it's going to be a great year!