#2

This post is rather late due to life circumstances. :-) But- in October, I had my 2nd pattern publication in Yarn Forward Magazine.
Issue 19, November.
Introducing
Ruth's Tunic
This is my photography-obviously. And the way I intended the sweater to be worn. A high collar, simple herringbone pattern that changes direction with the color changes. The yarn is, naturally, The Unique Sheep Sashimi. In Tritiziana Gradiance colorway.
This was the hardest pattern to write I have ever attempted. The knitting really wasn't that difficult, but the writing so that the knitting could be duplicated was very hard. There's a lot of things happening at the same time in this sweater. But I am thrilled with how it turned out. I absolutely loved working with the Sashimi yarn. It is so light, soft, and smooshy. It was wonderful. To get the color changes with this sweater, you have to use Unique Sheep yarn. They are the only ones who do the Gradiance colorways. You could do it with other yarn- but then it would just be a basic sweater with a lot of seaming. With Gradiance colorways- it's something more.
The funny thing about this sweater, is that when I sent it in to the magazine, I apparently didn't explain properly how it was to be worn (it was so obvious to me). This is what happened in the magazine- photo copyright St. Range Photography.

I love their photography, mine is horrible-- but the sweater is on backwards. :-) But, you know, it works great! So, unintentionally, I made a sweater that can be worn 2 different ways. If you like a high collar- or if you don't, this works. :-)

(the professional photo really does much better justice to the colors- they are lovely....)

BabyBug

At 9:08pm Friday October 16th, Milo was born. 8lbs, 2oz. Healthy and doing well.

He was allowed to go home w/ his family Saturday night. Where he promptly became an adorable little starfish.

His brothers and sister were thrilled to meet him- and cannot leave him alone for even a minute. We are all so glad he is here safely! Thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers.

Countdown shortened

Well, we had a good Dr's visit this morning. Came away with a plan, and a definite date. Now, don't get me wrong- I am all for waiting and having as natural a birth as possible. In fact, I really wanted to have this child without assistance from medication- but you know, sometimes, you have to take other things into consideration. Quite honestly, if I had my preference, I would have had all of my children at home with a midwife. But I have some health issues, and that is just not advisable- as was proven at the birth of my first child, where I would have died if I had tried to have a homebirth. No, some people really have to have medical intervention. And thank the Lord it is available!
Anyway, to get back to my point- for a variety of reasons, my Dr is concerned for the baby (and me) that it is not advisable to go past my due date with this pregnancy. So if this little bumper doesn't decide to come on his own in the next 7 days, we will go to the hospital for an induction. In the meantime, I'm going to use whatever safe "natural" methods possible to convince him it's time to make his appearance. Which basically means we'll try some chiropractic and acupuncture next week.
Come back in a couple weeks! I'll have pictures for you. :-)

The Pattern that brought about the Lord of the Rings Sock Club

In the interest of saving space and time-
Read all about it HERE
(Thanks)

Countdown

Well, it's been a busy week and a half. So much has been going on in babyville. Unfortunately- not what I want to be going on; baby hasn't decided to make his appearance yet. But it has been busy!! (Is this a taste of the future?)

So, a week ago last Monday, I found out at 2:15pm that I was supposed to be in the hospital at 4pm to get an NST (fetal Non-Stress Test: fetal monitoring of the heartbeat). So we dashed about and made it in time. During the NST, baby's heartrate dropped rather low for a few seconds, so they whisked us downstairs for a BioPhysical Profile (in depth Ultrasound). All of this b/c at the Ultrasound 2 weeks ago, they discovered that while baby is (finally) in the right position, I have more amniotic fluid than I should (don't google it- it's not reassuring). While we can't find a reason for the extra fluid, we are being very very careful and monitoring the baby very closely. Which means NST's twice a week, and the normal Dr's visit once a week (with some added checks on baby during that visit...) Hopefully, he'll decide to make his appearance in good time- as the NST's are rather expensive. Yes, we have health ins; but it only covers a percentage...

The important thing, everything (except the fluid level) seems to be fine. Baby's heart rate has been good at each subsequent check, and he is actually staying in the correct position ('course, now that I've said that.....).


So now we wait. I am not a patient person; and this is the hardest part for me. I am ready- ready to move on to the next phase- ready to hold this child in my arms and show him the world and all the other people that have been waiting for him. I'm trying to stay calm and use this time wisely. Use it to spend extra time w/ the other kids before they feel neglected for baby brother- use it to get things done that won't be so easy when this little bumper crys for attention instead of kicking me- use it for (you guessed it!) knitting. I'm trying..... the nesting is a bit out of control, though..... (I can still clean the bathtub!!!! Never could at this point w/ the other 3!)

Today, I intend to dust.

Yesterday; well, yesterday, I finished this:

The Evangeline Tunic. Done in Elann's Incense. I think I'm happy w/ it. It is so hard to know when I can't try it on..... I did the neckline differently, and lengthened the sleeves a bit. We'll see in a few months if it's a keeper or not. :-)

No Pictures

Last Wednesday, we went in for an UltraSound of the baby. I was really hoping to have pictures to post today- but at 36 1/2 weeks, it is hard to get a good picture- and baby wasn't exactly cooperative. In fact, this child truly seems to hate the US and Doppler- always kicking them. And putting his arm over his face when we tried to look at him. Very cute, really.

We got an UltraSound b/c this child has been moving all over the place and won't stay in the right position. Most of the pregnancy, baby has been breech. But for the Ultrasound, he was in the right position. Which is encouraging- if he will just stay there. ;-) The hope is now he's too big to flip- but that is debatable.....

Yes, I can say "he" now with knowledge. We are having boy #3! DD really wanted a girl, but she is taking it quite well. Even getting in on trying to find a name for him. The boys are excited. I'm not sure YS knows quite why- but he's happy about it all anyway. :-)

So, sorry for no pictures. You'll have to wait 'til after the birth like the rest of us......

A Month later....

Wow, it is hard to believe it's been almost a month since I last blogged! So much has been happening, I just haven't had time to sit down and write about it. I know I'm not the only one. I've seen a lot of blogs lately that say something similar.
So what's been going on?

Well.....

1)Joel went on the Canada trip with Skatechurch. It went well. Unfortunately, he was injured before he even went- so didn't get to skate much. But since the whole point of the trip is discipleship, he got to be involved in the important ways.


2)Speaking of Joel being injured, we found out that he most likely has a partially torn ligament in his left knee. He's able to use it; but is being very careful. We need to get him to an orthopedist, but are waiting until after the baby comes- prayers much appreciated on both those fronts.

3)The kids and I started school! Early, actually, b/c I know there's going to be a big break for them next month after the new kid arrives. We're trying to get as much done as possible before then. It's going really well! Much better than I thought it would. DD's in (mostly) 3rd grade, ES started 1st, and YS is doing some pre-school and a lot of playing. :-)

4)ES had his 6th birthday!!! We had some friends over, ate cake, had fun. He loved it. It is so crazy that he is 6. It seems like such a short time, and yet at the same time, I don't easily remember life without him.

5)Baby is growing so much! I am tired most of the time, but otherwise, doing alright. Ok, I'm a bit irrational- particularily in the emotional aspect- and not thinking clearly most of the time; but it's all normal pregnancy stuff. The amazing thing is, that even w/ how big the baby is getting, this child is flipping all over the place. Mostly, he/she seems to want to stay in the breech position, but every once in a while he/she will spend a week or so in the correct position just to give me false hope. So, next week, we are going in for an Ultrasound to see what's up and what we need to do for this child to be born safely. (again, prayers appreciated)

6)Knitting!! I actually have been doing some! I'm slow right now, it's not top on my priority list, but I have been doing a bit. I actually finished my 3rd design for Yarn Forward magazine this last week. I have now completed all my currently commissioned designs. I am so glad! I will be doing some designing on my own; but there are no deadline pressures to bother me now before or after the baby comes until I'm ready to go seeking them again. In the meantime, I am working on a double knit baby hat, a pair of socks for Joel, and another sweater for me. Since the last time I posted, I've completed several other projects as well.

This (there are 2 of them done) is the Milo sock from Sock Innovation done in The Unique Sheep's Tinsel Toes in The Fellowship colorway. I love how they turned out. Of course, it's me- the pattern is not followed exactly. The gauge is off, so the pattern looks different, and I had to make some sizing adjustments along w/ that. But I like it. They fit, and they are pretty. :-)

This is the Nordic Tradition Sweater from a 2008 Vogue Knitting Magazine. I've had this lovely yarn for 2 or 3 years, and finally put it to good use. I do like how the sweater turned out, but I'm not sure it's one I will wear a whole lot yet. We'll see how I feel about it after the baby comes. At this point, it is very hard to estimate how it will look on me. ;-)

This is a laced tank. Pattern again from a 2008 Vogue Knitting magazine. Not in the yarn called for- it's a ribbon yarn my mom bought for me about 3-4 years ago, plus another ribbon I got on sale about 2 yrs ago and finally found a pattern that worked for them. Lengthened the body and the armholes both, but am still concerned I will find it shorter than I like. Again- not that I can tell right now.... But I am fairly happy w/ the results.

Really, I could have designed something for both those yarns, I know. And maybe I should have. But my creativity seems to be in decline at the moment, and I am finding patterns that I like- so I am using them. I seem to design for others and follow patterns for me. It seems odd to me, but that's how it goes.

So it has been quite a busy month. While life is beginning to fall into a somewhat calmer routine at the moment- I don't expect to find any extra time on my hands in the near future. B/w school, baby, and normal life, time just seems to disappear somewhere. I know I'm not alone in experiencing this!