#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. :-)