37 Week Update

I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday, an appointment at which I think I spent more time in tears than not.  Nothing was wrong – not even a tiny bit!  But I needed them to talk me through the risks and likelihoods and things like that and just hear the responses.  This is why I love my doctor – he was very honest, very reassuring and totally talked me down off the ledge of begging for an induction just to get her on the outside where I can see her and make sure she’s okay.

I’m feeling a little better today, probably helped along by the fact that the doctor told me she was engaged and I’m 50% effaced and 2-3 centimeters dilated!  Granted, I did walk around like this with Gabe for (I think?) 3 weeks before I was induced so I know it doesn’t mean labor is imminent.  But knowing I have only 7 or 8 centimeters to go during labor rather than the full 10 is strangely comforting!

In the meantime I’ve returned to knitting.  I knit a new baby hat (seriously – how many hats can one baby possibly need???) and found a pattern for a diaper cover and whipped that up last night.  Granted, we’re not cloth diapering and it’s still the middle of the winter which strongly implies we won’t be dressing the baby in onesies with diaper covers and baby legs, but it just seemed so cute that I had to make it!

Here are some of the knitting projects I’ve been working on lately.

This was the first little project I made – a colorful little hat.  I still haven’t finished the tails – they’re all stuffed inside the hat.  I was mostly happy with it, but when I saw the next hat I made I liked it much more!

This was my second hat, and for some reason I love the pattern so much!  It knits up really quickly and looks kind of tricky even though it’s really, really simple.  Seriously – I’m not an expert knitter, by far.  My grandmother taught me how to knit and pearl when I was about 10.  This hat basically relies on those skills in a way that’s pretty easy but looks complex.

I loved this hat so much I made a second one!  I thought I was making a bigger version – one that would fit after the newborn stage.  Once I saw it completed, however, I realized it’s still pretty small.  Darn – I’ll have to make more!

This is the project I was most excited to knit – a little cocoon for pictures.  I like it better in person than I do in the picture.  The pink yarn was very, very nice yarn – soft and easy to work with and pretty pricey!  I’m hoping she fits in it when she’s born – it might be small.  I can’t tell.

These projects all came from a book I’ve really enjoyed called Welcoming Home Baby by Tricia Drake.  I loved the patterns in here because they were easy and they only required that I learn one new skill at a time, for the most part.  I also love that they knit up quickly – she does mostly chunky yarns and big needles, and this kept me motivated because of the instant gratification of seeing progress on a piece!

An affiliate link to the book, but I think you can also find the book on etsy and other locations…

Welcoming Home Baby the Handcrafted Way

There are several more projects in the book I’d like to try – a few blankets, more hats and another cocoon, but I think I’m going to pause here for now!

I also found a blanket on Pinterest I fell in love with, and the pattern can be found (for free!) on Ravelry.  It was a very simple pattern – just took F O R E V E R because the blanket is pretty large!

Oh, but I love it!  I love how colorful and fun it is.  I made several errors – dropped a few stitches you can see and accidentally reversed the pattern twice, but I don’t even care because I love it so much.  Honestly, I want it for myself.  I don’t want to share!  I can’t find the pin on Pinterest anymore and I can’t find the pattern on Ravelry, either, but it’s basically 6 rows per stripe – first is k5 and then k1 p1 across until the last 5 stitches, which you knit.  Row 2 was all knit, row 3 was k5 pearl k5, row 4 repeated row 2, row 5 repeated row 3, and row 6 repeated row 2.  I think there were 130 stitches to cast on?  Oh – and there was a top and bottom border – 5 rows of all knit.

I think.

I’ll keep trying to find it and link to it if I can, because my explanation of the pattern leaves a lot to be desired!  :)

Edit – I found it!  Yay!  Ravelry pattern here…

Anyway, that’s the status – dilated and knitting.  Really, I should be taking down Christmas decorations.  But knitting is much more soothing, so I knit.  And knit.

And knit!