New Blog

I have decided to make a fresh start for 2011.

My new blog will focus exclusively on knitting, particularly my attempts to get my SABLE (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) under control.

Will 2o11 be the year I knit more yarn than I buy? Only time will tell.

Visit my new blog here

Au revoir - for now

As is pretty obvious, I haven't blogged for a while.

Maybe it is a case of everything having its time; like many other net-savvy knitters I'm spending a lot more time on Ravelry, having direct real-time conversations with other knitters.

Maybe it's a case of me, myself moving on - I now have an adorable time-sapping baby to take care of and to knit for and to write about (although I've been pretty slack on the blogging about her too!)

Anyway, I hate the guilt of an unfinished blog just sitting here on the net without any closure. I'm still knitting - more than ever. Knitting for babies is quick and fun, even if they grow out of their clothes so fast. In yarn news, I've discovered a new obsession: the indie-dyer Mosaic Moon. Most famous amongst the cloth-nappying longies-knitting crowd, I use her gorgeous yarns for little dresses, hats and maybe a scarf for myself. Hannah wears disposables.

I may come back and restart this blog later; I may move onto other things. But to myself and anyone else who stumbles upon this, I say 'Au Revoir'.

She knits

I have a new favourite baby girl pattern - The Elizabeth Tunic. Not only is it a quick an easy - but not boring - knit that can be adapted in a variety of ways, but the final garment is an extremely practical and wearable item. The dress becomes a tunic top as the child grows and can be knitted in a variety of yarns for either summer or winter wear.

Hannah is modelling the 3-6 month size, knitted on Jolly Jumbuck Black Rainbow BFL Aran. Bellow is the 6-12 month size, knitted on Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 10-ply in the colourway 'Where the Wild Things Grow" dyed by Cordu of Wooltopia. It's for Sonya's daughter Georgia and will eventually make its way back to Hannah once she has outgrown it.


A third version that uses the remaining Wild Things yarn plus some purple Dream In Colour is almost finished.

And here is Georgia modelling the seamless kimono top.
Georgia will also get first wear of the Flapper Dress, made in the smallest size (1) as a test knit for designer Shannon Passmore.

Finally, a a bunny yarn winter set - hat, fingerless mitts and small moebius neck warmer made out of 175g of Ixchel Angora bunny/merino yarn.

Moebius Magic

I love knitting that gives a great deal of 'bang for the buck' - that looks a lot more complex and time-consuming to create than the reality.

Moebius shapes inherently stretch the minds of most people who encounter them. Fortunately for us knitters there is the irrepressible Cat Bordhi who has discovered a relatively simple way to cast stitches onto a circular needle to create moebius shapes.

The top scarf, knitted out of a skein of ixchel mulberry silk, is my own design - aside from Cat's clever cast-on. And it is simply a simple moss stitch, followed by a couple of knit and purl ridges and finished off with a crochet chain border (included at the last minute when I realised I had more yarn to play with than I appreciated).

The hat below is Cat's reversible lotus blossom design, with the moebius purl rib base providing a flattering 1920s-style look to a basic beanie.

Seemless kimono top

This is one of those items that look better in real life than in the photo. Knitted out of Wooltopia Cotton/Bamboo, it is super soft and I'm hoping the crochet around the neckline helps it retain its shape. The yarn is 10ply rather than the 8ply called for in the original pattern so I'm guessing this will be a bit bigger than the 3-6 month size that I knitted to. I'm going to see if it will fit 5-month-old Georgia; otherwise Hannah will get to wear it brand new.

Hannah Gitl - Knitwear model

Wearing Baby Surprise Jacket and matching hat made out of Zarina Baby Print

Wearing jacket and matching hat made out of Wooltopia's worsted bamboo/cotton blend

Wearing 5 hour baby sweater knitted in Dream in Color worsted visual purple

Wearing silk jacket knitted by Mel/womaninashoe

Wearing Saarjete's booties knitted out of Shiloah silk wool

All photos taken 6 March, 2010 when Hannah Gitl was 12 days old.

Introducing Hannah Gitl

We welcomed our daughter into the world last Monday, 22 February 2010 at 9.10pm. She is named - Hannah Gitl - the second name in honour of my late mother who would have loved being a grandmother very much.

Hannah is perfect and wonderful and we love her very, very much. While her resemblance to Jeff is obvious [as per Year 10 science - dark genes tend to dominate over fair ones], she seems to have been born with many of my expressions, including the most dubious and cynical eye movements and faces that just crack us up laughing.

I am extremely pleased to announce that despite all the doom and gloom predictions of the medical profession, I had an extremely healthy pregnancy and birth and both Hannah and I are recovering well from our 9 month journey together and separation.

I have started a separate blog - Hannah's first year - so far there is just one post in it but I hope to update it regularly for friends and family. The Knitaholic will revert to a knitting blog although at the moment I wonder if I'll get a chance to pick up some needles again. Motherhood is hard work but very very rewarding.

No news is good news

Or so the saying goes.

The official news is that there is still no news. I fear bub has become confused as to how to get out - the last few days there has been lots of kicking and pushing on the tum I think it is trying to break out Alien-style. I have taken to crossing off the dates on the calendar in our toilet, counting down to eviction day. The end is in sight one way or another.

I’m glad bub is clearly still well and feisty but would never have thought I'd be going overdue. The hot humid weather isn’t helping my sleeping/temper but apart from tiredness I am still disgustingly healthy myself. My friends rock.

Jayne's Hat

My friend Karen introduced me to Firefly, a quirky, intelligent and completely compelling sci-fi space western series which sadly only lasted 14 episodes and one film.

In the twelfth episode the character Jayne, a tough fighting and talking mercenary, receives a bright orange knitted cap, with ear flaps and a pompom, that his mother has sent him. He immediately puts it on, very impressed, much to the amusement of his crew mates.

"A man walks down the street in that hat, people know he's not afraid of anything," quips crew mate Wash.

The hat has become a fan favourite and there are at least half-a-dozen different free patterns for it on Ravelry. I used the one designed by Kath Loeffler to make a hat for Karen to thank her for lending us her DVDs of the series. It was a very quick and easy knit.

Waiting, waiting...

The bub was due yesterday but despite 3 weeks of intermittent contractions everything is still "locked up tight" according to the doctor. Accordingly an eviction notice has been served on the bub - if it's not out by next Thursday morning, I will be induced.

The always-funny zephyrama (Ravelry link) has written an appropriate notification for the bub.

Dear TheknitaholicBABY,

In accordance with the Womb of Maternal Bounty rental contract of 2009, we are giving you one week’s notice to vacate the premises.
In doing so you are required, as per the WOMB contract, to leave the premises in the same state that you found it and take with you any-all belongings.
If by the end of the week’s notice you haven’t seen fit to a: leave the premises or b: clean it, the owners may exercise their rights as set out by the WOMB contract.
This may involve the hiring of contractors to assist your move and subsequent cleaning and this can be done with or without your express permission. Such hiring of contractors will be done at your expense and payment by means of humiliating baby stories will be due on your 18th or 21st birthday, or as suits the owners.

If you have any queries in regards to the WOMB lease termination we suggest that you move out before the end of the week as it is not the owners fault that you did not read the fine print.

Yours, Zephyrama acting on behalf of the owners of the property set out in the WOMB contract.

If in doubt knit the next size up

This is my friend Sonya's gorgeous daughter, Georgia, wearing the Giant Peach dress I knitted her. Georgia is four months old and the dress is the 6-9 month size. It was supposed to be for her to wear this winter - thank goodness that being short sleeved she'll get at least a couple of wears out of it before she grows into the next size.

Must remember - if in doubt, knit the next size up. Nothing more frustrating than when a kid doesn't even have a chance to wear something one has spent weeks knitting.

Knitting WIN!!!

I had to post these pics of my Faraway, So Close shawl knitted out of Mosaic Moon Snow Blossom on Aran BFL with the pink trim. I used virtually 3 full skeins of SB plus virtually all the pink trim.

I am SO HAPPY how this shawl turned out - I think it is the most flattering garment I have ever made for myself. But for anyone else thinking of making the shawl please note that I am a 9-month pregnant plus-size woman; the large size when blocked (and probably knitted on too large needles - I didn’t bother checking my tension) would overwhelm a petite woman.

Faraway, So Close Shawl

The problem with many variegated yarns is that while they look fantastic on the skein, they pool badly and look rather ugly when knitted up.

However I think I have now found the ideal shawl pattern that makes the most of a good variegated yarn - Carina Spencer's Faraway, So Close Shawl.

I found this pattern while browsing Ravelry wondering what to make with my Mosaic Moon BFL Aran yarn in the Snow Blossom colourway. The yarn was deliciously soft but seemed a bit intense for anything I had in mind. One thing I noticed, however, was that every single Faraway, So Close Shawl made with Mosaic Moon yarn looked fantastic, no matter what the colourway.



I had 3 skeins of Snow Blossom plus a choice of 2 trims (green or pink), so plenty of yarn to make the large size version of the shawl.

I've already knitted up one skein (in just 2 days despite having to go quite slowly and take lots of breaks due to the crap-al tunnel) and am very impressed with how the shawl is turning out. This pattern could have been designed just to showcase the variegated Mosaic Moon yarns - very easy and fast knit that gives a lot of ‘bang for the buck’ in terms of results.

Rainbow love

Despite my crap-al tunnel, I managed to finish my 'Witch Cats Hat', an adoption of a Halloween Hat designed by Christine de Savoie.

I tweaked this pattern a bit. I cast on 168 stitches and started with 3 inches of 4X4 ribbing - this made the hat more of a ‘large’ size rather than a medium. I added 2 more stitches when I got to the stocking stitch part (170 stitches). After chart 3 I decreased 10 stitches.

By the fourth set of cat heads I felt the hat was getting too long, so I skipped the final black patterns and just decreased fairly sharply.

A little fudging was required at some parts to keep the pattern.

This is one of those knits where I’m very happy with the final result but didn’t overly enjoy the actual knitting. I used stranded knitting the whole way but as some of the motifs were wider than 5 stitches across this required me to catch the carried yarn at the back while knitting the motifs.

I used 70g of Kauni EQ - and still have another 70g left for matching mitts or the like. I'm really impressed with the yardage I've got out of these 2 balls! (I used 160g for the Rainbow Forrest Canopy shawl).

I also have some Jolly Jumbuck Baby Alpaca Gradual Gradient Gypsy Rainbow coming. This is meant to be super soft. Not quite sure what I'll make with it. After receiving a huge box of delectable baby clothes in 3 sizes from a friend whose bub is barely 4 months old I'm realising how fast babies grow, and am less inclined to spend weeks knitting something that a bub might only wear once or twice before growing out of.

Shoot me if I ever do this

I mean it.

I clicked on the blog of a certain Australian yarn dyer to see if there was any more information about when her next batch of yarn would be available for sale. The last time I visted her blog (in December) she had photos of the most delectable rainbow yarns that she had done for a wholesale order.

This time, however, I was confronted with a huge picture of a poo. Yes, her darling daughter had finally learnt to use the toilet. And not only did she choose to tell us (which I could have coped with) but she provided photographic proof.

I totally understand that parents are very proud of their children and that mothers who combine child rearing with a part-time business they run out of home often have business/family boundary issues. I don't mind seeing photos of their fully clothed kids and can skim over posts detailing their loved one's first day at school.

However a photo of a giant poo falls into the category of WAY TOO MUCH information. Especially when it is on a blog that is linked to a business website.

Personal thoughts; no knitting content

With the impending birth of my first child, it's probably not surprising that I've been thinking a lot about my mother who passed away six years ago. I know how much she would enjoy experiencing her first grandchild and feel sad that she missed out on the experience. But at the same time I feel like I have an essential part of her inside me which has been awakened and means she is experiencing all this through her. (I know this is probably just some physiological/psychological trick of my brain to cope with all the emotions, but it doesn't really matter because I know she would be very happy knowing I was so content and happy and looking forward to my child).

After my mum's death someone said to me that I would miss her the most during the happy times and I think I finally get what they meant. The level of excitement and joy I know she would be experiencing contrasts all too painfully with what can only be described as a lack of interest demonstrated by some people I really thought would care a little more. But at the same time I have to admit I've been quite overwhelmed by the support and even excitement of other people - particularly my friends and my friends' mothers (my aunt has been fantastically supportive and interested but she does, after all, share half my mum's genes). My conception of family has changed so much since my mum died; she really was the glue that held us all together. We are all living our own lives going in different directions. I don't think any of us have changed as such; it's more a case that different aspects of our personalities have come out more strongly since she passed away. My mum had this incredible capacity to bring out the best in people; she gave all of us unconditional love - even if she didn't always understand what we were doing and why. Unfortunately for a variety of reasons none of us left behind seem to have the required levels of both strength and lack of self-absorption to continue her legacy.

J is incredibly excited as we count down to "b-day". I don't know if he'll cope if the baby goes over the due date. The doctors have changed their tune from 4-5 months ago when they were warning me of possibly having to deliver early by c-section (the expected diabetes and hypertension never materialised); at the moment - although one is never taken off the high risk list once put there - it looks like they'll let me go up to 10 days over before inducing if both the baby and I stay healthy. J keeps on asking me if I've hit the point where I just want the baby out. "Not yet, I know it needs to cook a bit longer," I tell him serenely as he paces around the house reminding me to check my blood pressure and count the number of kicks, etc. I'm tired and often uncomfortable but quite content to rest and nap and have J wait on me hand and foot. And he has been very good about that I have to say. For both of us our greatest fear is that having got so far something will go wrong at the last minute. By the time the baby comes out, it will have been four years in the making.

I feel like I have to write down this stuff before the baby comes out, the pregnancy happy hormones vanish and J & I are juggling the biggest and most important challenge of our lives while almost certainly suffering sleep deprivation. It will be a huge test of our relationship but dare I say we've survived worse before. I don't know if it is just the pregnancy hormones (I have never felt this 'right' about something in my life) but I have huge confidence in our ability to not only survive but thrive in being parents. J has a very caring, empathetic, loyal and responsible side to his personality which is recognised by kids and animals (I suspect I fit into the latter category) - he resembles the malamute dog in personality (both good and bad). While I have the "inner-Gitl", part of my mum, inside me that just seems to instinctively know how to provide unconditional love and acceptance, and has this serene confidence that all will be right in the end. Undoubtedly we'll make our share of mistakes but our child will be loved and cared for by conscientious parents, and brought up with a love of animals, books and learning. We're not perfect but neither of us can think of a better start to a child's life.

ONLY carpel tunnel syndrome???

At my 36-week doctor's appointment, I mentioned that my left hand was going numb and tingly. Although my blood pressure was still well within the normal range, I was terrified that this could be a sign of an impending stroke or another serious health problem.

"Oh don't worry about that," said the doctor. "It's only carpel tunnel syndrome."

PARDON???

As a knitter, not to mention someone whose livelihood depends on being able to use a computer keyboard for 5+ hours day, every day, the words "only" and "carpel tunnel syndrome" do not belong in the same sentence. It is the most dreaded condition that a modern-day office worker (and knitter) can get as it is debilitating, difficult and sometimes impossible to treat, and virtually invisible to the naked eye leading to many people questioning the veracity of such a claim.

Fortunately J is the king of internet research and once we got home he managed in a short period of time to access several legitimate sites that explained that not only was carpel tunnel a common condition in pregnant women (estimates range from 20 to 60 per cent of all pregnant women), in the overwhelming majority of cases it was a temporary condition which disappeared after delivery. I started putting out questions to other mothers found that this did seem to be the case. Even if they hadn't experienced it themselves they knew other women who had and yes, except for one case where there were other underlying medical issues, it did disappear shortly after giving birth.

PHEW.

I'm determined to compile a list of 'secret pregnant women's business' as even for someone who reads all the books, there are many surprises en route and something that is commonplace to doctors and midwives can be both disconcerting and terrifying for a first-time pregnant woman. And as it is something that most of us only go through a handful of times, it's hard to know what is 'normal' and what isn't, and when one needs to push for additional medical testing or not.

For instance we are all told that fatigue is a normal part of pregnancy. Especially if you are older or overweight. But how much fatigue is normal?

I now know from bitter experience that being terrified to drive because you are worried about falling asleep at the wheel in the middle of the day is not normal. In my and another woman's case it was a sign of iron deficiency which wasn't picked up early enough. After I found out about the iron deficiency I let all my fellow pregnant friends know. One woman who had identical symptoms to me but was much earlier into her pregnancy, asked her obstetrician at the 20-week appointment for a blood test. He refused, saying it was done at 28 weeks. She persisted and talked her GP into ordering the test. Sure enough, she already had a serious iron deficiency which would have got worse - and impeded on her health and well-being for an additional 2 months - if she hadn't been confident enough to advocate on her own behalf.

I have since found out that around half of all pregnant women experience an iron deficiency, generally because their body has to produce an additional 10% of red blood cells for the baby and placenta, and because many pregnant women find it impossible to eat even their usual portions of red meat during the first trimester due to morning sickness. And about 20 per cent of women already have an iron deficiency before they even get pregnant! So why it is not automatically checked until the 28th week of pregnancy is beyond me.

Another friend's fatigue turned out to be linked to an undiagnosed brain tumour but fortunately this is a far less common condition.

Then there is learning what is considered 'normal' waiting times to see medical specialists during pregnancy. I've learnt that I may as well write off at least half a day when I go for a hospital appointment as I have never had to wait less than an hour to see a doctor, whatever the official appointment time may be (but if I don't turn up on time I lose my appointment!) And lest anyone reading this thinks that things are better in the private system, well in Australia they aren't. The only thing about the private system is that you get to see the same doctor each time but if you go into labour at an inconvenient time - say on on a weekend or public holiday, for example - there is a good chance that another doctor will be delivering your baby in the end anyway.

I had one appointment with a private doctor and quickly decided that if I was going to have to wait for hours and be treated like a number I may as well not pay through the nose for the privileged. Public or private, most obstetricians have trouble keeping their scheduled appointments because their other patients keep on going into labour and they must attend them. It's the nature of their work. We understand this. But at least in the public system I have never suffered the ignominy of having my appointment interrupted so the doctor can take a phone call regarding a payment on his American Express credit card (I have no problems with appointments being interrupted so the doctor can discuss treatment options for a patient who has turned up in emergency with a dangerously high blood pressure level or who has to run off to attend a birth). And the parking fees at my top-rated suburban-based public hospital are less per day than the fees charged each hour in East Melbourne.

Actually the more I think about it, the more I wonder why anyone would pay for the privileged of giving birth in a small private hospital where if anything goes wrong they or the baby will end up being rushed to one of the big public hospitals that have all the facilities on tap for emergency care. I like the fact that if anything goes wrong, I'll be less than a minute from some of the best neonatal beds and emergency facilities in the country; at the end of the day this is far more important to me than swish decor. But maybe it's just me.

First the good news

Blocking the shawl was not as painful as I feared and has made a huge difference - it grew from 49 inches in width to 60 inches in width. Yes, I'm using imperial measurements as my blocking kit came from the US which has yet to embrace the metric system. For those of us living in the 21st century, it grew from 122cm to 150cm. The spaces opened up nicely too. I'm really looking forward to wearing it although I don't know where.



My friend Mel visited on Friday with two of her eight kids (this is not a typo...) - while part of me is passing out that someone barely a year older than me has eight kids and 2 grand-kids, she is a constant reminder that there are some amazing parents out there who bring up the loveliest, nicest, most caring children in the world. I've already warned her that I'll be on the phone once J & my bub pops out. Mel also gave me this gorgeous SILK cardigan she made for the baby. I am both honoured (and scared) that she trusts me to take care of such an item. It feels so gorgeous and soft but I suspect it will only be worn for photo opportunities and the bub will quickly be put into machine-washable cottons for meal times.

And this morning my friend Sonya from work visited along with this HUGE box of clothes that her four-month old had already grown out of. It's official - we DO NOT need any more size 0000 or size 000 clothes (we also got a heap from our friends Phill & Jess, and Sam and Dean). Some of Sonya's clothes had come originally from another mum at our work, and with 3 more women expecting bubs within about 3 months of my bub, I suspect they'll be doing a few more rounds yet.

Finished projects

The great thing about the lull between finishing off work and a new baby arriving (I'll be 36 weeks on Tuesday - eek!) PLUS having my fatigue correctly diagnosed and treated as an iron deficiency is that I now have the time and energy to do a little knitting.

By the colours in the baby clothes one might make the prediction we are expecting a girl. All I will tell you is that I have four friends expecting babies within the next four months, as well as myself, and 2 of them have told me they are expecting a girl while one is expecting a boy and the fourth isn't saying. As I'm not saying. Let's just put it this way - our bub is showing remarkable dexterity in hiding at least part of the vital area during each scan, leading the operator to say "I think you are having a ** but we can't be sure as we can't see everything".


First up is a Baby Layette knitted out of a delectable cotton/bamboo blend, hand dyed by Wooltopia. Unlike the mass-produced bamboo/cotton yarns sold at Lincraft and Spotlight, this yarn is an absolute joy to knit and not splitty AT ALL. It is silk soft without being too slippery. I think it is a perfect yarn for baby clothes. The pattern is a modified version of the Pure and Sweet Layette published in Itty-Bitty Nursery. (Rav link) I'm not so thrilled with the pattern - IMHO there are far better patterns available free on line. I've already bought some more Wooltopia cotton/bamboo blend yarn and will be making a baby kimono out of it (plus probably matching hat, booties, etc).




Next is a Forest Canopy Shawl (Rav link), knitted in a Danish yarn, Kauni Wool 8/2 Effektgarn (a fingering/4ply weight yarn), in its most famous EQ rainbow colourway. It's my third attempt to make this shawl and the only one I've been happy with. I used 4mm needles and did 18 repeats of the main pattern (finishing with 323 stitches on the needle) - the original pattern calls for DK yarn, 5.5mm needles and finishing with just 195 stitches.

I used about 160g of Kauni yarn - if you only have one, 150g ball, finish at 17 repeats of the pattern.

I still need to block the shawl but even in its unblocked state it looks very, very impressive.

I was also super-impressed with the Kauni yarn. It is a little rough but certainly no rougher than Noro Kureyon sock - and the consistency and quality was far better than Noro-sock. There was not a single knot in my 150g ball. It is also the only yarn with long colour repeats to rival Noro - given a choice I'd definitely select Kauni over Noro in the fingering-weight.


Finally bellow are some bibs and bloomers made by the very talented Lis at Don't Tell Mamma. They are hand-sewn, made out of gorgeous 100% cotton fabric that can be thrown in the washing machine and the bibs are fully-revisable. Lis sent them to me as part of a swap for some of my excess yarn stash. I think they'd make an ideal practical and unique gift for any new parent.

Bib fronts and bloomers

With the reverse side of the bibs showing

Having spent a lot of time in both speciality baby stores and the baby section of retail stores such as Target, I have discovered that it is often no more expensive to buy quality hand-made items than the mass-produced versions if you know where to look. I also have to sing the praises of enjoyfully! who sells hand-sewn baby bedding on eBay - The Peter Rabbit cot and bassinet sets we bought from her were actually less expensive and infinitely better quality than many of the mass-produced sets we saw in the mainstream stores.