I know, I am supposed to be quilting now that all my old knitting projects are finished, but…  Knitting and pregnancy just go together so well!  I can sit in the lazy-boy, kick my feet up, and be brainless with a pair of needles.  This is another project that I cast on and finished in a couple days.  It is Debbie Bliss’ Baby Leg Warmers from her book Design It, Knit It: Babies.  I used Amy Butler’s “belle organic aran” by Rowan.  I am really happy with the result–they are so soft and the perfect weight.  These will be for the new baby.  Leg warmers are probably more on the girl side, but I figure a baby can get by with it.  Plus, there is always the hope that someday a little girl will be wearing them as well.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

I have been doing an itty bitty amount of quilting.  Here are some new blocks I put together.  They are not finished yet, but I had to show you something to prove that I do actually sew.

I discovered that this bird print goes perfectly with a lot of my modern prints in my stash.  Fun to mix them all up!

And here is what I do a lot of during my day.  Mommy stuff.  Elias is 14 months now and we are busy discovering new things every day.

Last week, I cast on and completed a new knitting project!   (Remember, I had to finish everything that was on my needles before I started something new.)  I decided on some Duffers.  They went together so quickly!  I actually made 2 slippers in one day, but decided that the first came out too small, so I had to make  a third one the next day.  The pattern is easy and FREE!  You can find it HERE.

This project does involve felting which means that you make the original slippers larger than you want out of 100% wool.  Then you wash them in hot water until they shrink to the size you want.  Here are my original slippers pre-felting.  I picked the colors, soft pink and natural, right after I found out I was having another boy.  I think I was craving some girly sweetness…

I ran the slippers once through a hot load of laundry, but decided I didn’t want to babysit my washing machine, so I finished by hand.  I filled my sink with hot soapy water and then went back and forth from that to an icy bowl of water.  That worked fine, but was taking a bit of time, so I boiled some water to try and make it go faster.  Talk about lack of patience!  (The way felting works is that the hot water relaxes the fibers in the wool and then you shock them back with the cold water, causing your item to shrink.)

After 3 days of air drying, they are finally done!  Almost.  I sewed on some buttons this morning, so that I could easily see which was the right and left foot.  DONE!  Happy feet.

Another knitting project done!  I finished the rather ugly old-school sweater about a week ago, but I have been waiting to have my lovely husband take a picture of me in it.  (To prove to you that it actually fits!)  We took the picture this morning…he was being a bit of a lazy camera man…and then, as only a husband can say, informed me that there was no way I would want the picture on the internet.  Supposedly my hair was crazy and I did not look blog worthy.  So you get the sweater on a hanger.  I’m so glad it is done!!!  7 years in the making.  In all, it turned out pretty good.  I probably should have done a couple more rows on the neck, but I was so scared it was going to turn into a mock turtle type neck that I made it a little short.  Tony also informed me that the neck is somewhat square.  I said I liked square necks.  :)

This morning I was also naughty and took a trip to the library before Elias got up.  Just what I need.  More reading.  My brother would make fun of me for my reading material choices, but I know what I like.  Christian historical fiction.  I’m a sucker for it.

And JUST finished, are my first ever knitted socks.  I love them!  I keep telling Tony he is jealous, he just hasn’t realized it yet.  (He’s currently scrambling to update our March Madness brackets because I have declared that I am whooping him.  HA!  I really think I might be.)

Another knitting project complete!  This is the Garden Mice Mobile I started from Susan B. Anderson‘s book Itty-Bitty Nursery.  Elias is too big for it now, but baby #2 will be able to enjoy it from day 1.

After the mice were all complete, I thought I’d let them have some time together before I hung them in their places.  They shared some giggles in the knitting basket and then moved on to some story time.

Here is the mobile all set up on the crib.  (It has to come down before Elias takes his morning nap, or I’m afraid it will need some repair.)

It really is adorable, and it got an A+ from Tony which is a true test for any knitting project.

Last fall I caught myself softly laughing as I carried a bag of newly purchased yarn to my car.  I was overwhelmed with the pure joy of living and enjoying so many different things.  Knitting, quilting, sewing, scrapbooking, gardening, baking, reading, music…maybe even cleaning cloth diapers.

Today I finished knitting my very first sock.  Tony looked over at me at one point and asked if it was worth it.  Oh yes it is.  Maybe it is the slow pace of progress, the gentle clicking of the needles, the connection to women of the past who depended on knitting socks for their families, the sheer thrill of making something…I don’t know.  But I do know it is totally worth it.

Tonight I am knitting on another project that I started last year.  I am listening to a book on tape.  Wishing I could also listen to newly discovered knitting podcasts.  Thinking I should be able to read and knit at the same time.  Taking a break from knitting to read a little bit of Growing a Farmer: How I Learned to Live Off the Land.  Dreaming of growing my own farm.  Realizing that tomorrow I need to bake bread.  Looking up a hard roll recipe from the author of “Growing a Farmer.”  Is it too late…9:52pm…to start a batch of hard rolls??  Yes it is, but there is always tomorrow.  Bottom line–I love life.  And all the things I listed above don’t even include my champion of a husband, or the little wonder breathing deeply in his crib, or the tiny being just beginning to make his movements known to his happy mama.  I love life!  Thank you God for small details and big moments that bring a smile to my face.