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.

I’ve been doing a lot of knitting lately.  I actually lay awake at night thinking about what projects I am working on and what I want to do next.  I keep telling myself that I am a quilter and should be thinking about new quilting designs.  All well.  The seasons of one’s life.  I do partially blame knitting podcasts as to this obsession.  I have been listening to The Knitmore Girls and Never Not Knitting.

I finished the front of my old-school sweater.  I was talking to Tony last night and he said “You’re not actually going to wear that in public??”  Ummm…you bet I am!  Proudly!

I think this will be my next baby project, after I finish Elias’ winter sweater.  

It’s from Debbie Bliss‘ book Design It, Knit It: Babies.  I think they are so sweet looking!

I’m trying to decide on color since I want them to work for baby boy #2, but also for a possible girl in the future.  I am leaning toward the cream since it is a bit heavier than the others and has a bit more stretch, so I think it will hold the shape better over time.

I also purchased this pattern online for myself from Never Not Knitting.  It is called Shawl Collared Cowl. Tony has agreed to take me to the yarn shop in honor of my birthday…maybe this afternoon????  I need some yarn for this project!  (Picture from Never Not Knitting)

And finally some progress on my Granny Squares.

Granny Squares in motion!!  There’s always help around here.

I thought today I would show you all the knitting projects I have on my needles.  5 projects–yikes!  I’m afraid it may only get worse as Christmas approaches.  (Alert!  Alert!  Less than 10 weeks until Christmas!!) For all you knitters out there–I hope you enjoy seeing what a fellow knitter is up to.  For all you wanna-be knitters–get learning!  You have lots of resources available.  For all you “don’t care about knitting” people–what’s wrong with you??!!  :)   Happy Monday!

*Before I actually start the video, you see me searching for a place to put my gum.   Kind of funny.

Movie Monday–On the Needles. from Ingrid Barlow on Vimeo.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Elias’ hat is a free pattern on Ravelry called Cozy.

I won a free Debbie Bliss book over at Susan B. Anderson’s blog–love it! (Susan’s blog and the book.) The book is called Design It, Knit It: Babies and it contains some beautiful patterns but also encourages you to do some designing of your own. Last night I started Elias’ Christmas sweater from the book.   Pattern is Shawl-Collar Jacket.

I wanted to do his in Scandinavian colors, so I chose navy blue, teal, white, and chocolate brown.  I think it will be perfect when it is done…I’m rather excited!  24 rows done and so far so good.

I count on some of my other knitting books so I don’t make any errors.  This time is no exception, and another Debbie Bliss book called Simply Baby: 20 Special Handknits for Baby’s First Two Years is helping me through.  Wonderful pictures in her books.

If you are on the fence about giving knitting a try, check out Debbie Bliss or Susan B. Anderson.  Fall is the perfect time to try it.  (Don’t blame me when you become addicted.)

Because I have been doing a lot of lazy-boy sitting lately, I have been craving a knitting project.  I headed out to a local shop called Athena Fibers on Saturday afternoon with a few ideas in mind.  I picked up a couple beautiful balls of baby yarn, a needle gauge so I can actually tell what size some of the old needles I inherited are, and a row counter so I don’t have to use pencil and paper anymore to make hatch marks.  The pattern I picked is called “Pixie Hat” by Debbie Bliss.  I am proud to say I completed the gauge, a rather tedious first step to a pattern to make sure your sizing is going to come out like the pattern, and only had a few false starts.  Let me just say I enjoy knitting, but I don’t think it is the easiest hobby–working with 4 needles at once!!!  Here’s to hoping this little hat is well used and loved by the coming little one!