Week Three and Some Knitting

I've been in the hospital on bed rest for three weeks now and I don't have anything more to say about it that is interesting. Basically, most of my comments can be reduced to sniff, sniff, whine, moan, complain, and some more sniffing. Oh--and my hips hurt. The staff at the hospital has been fantastic. They have made me feel very cared for and everyone is extremely competent at their job. I hope to be here for a long time still, so this is very important.

Already I have been here for a marathon of time and by the end of this I hope to be able to compete at Bed Rest on an Olympic level. If I can make it to 34 weeks, I'll get a gold medal and maybe some diamonds. There may be product endorsements as well and I will be anticipating calls from Motherhood Maternity as they search for a spokesmom for their Pajama Line. I'll go on tour and sign nursing bras. It'll be great.

That said, I'm going to move onto knitting.

You'll need to use your imagination to some extent since I don't have my camera available. When possible I'll try to provide links to patterns, though, to assist you.

So far I've knit both of the kids a pair of mittens. I wanted something small and fast that I could knit up so that they would have something soft to hold that I had made just for them. They LOVE it when I knit them things so this absolutely thrilled them. I made Anna's from some leftover pink and lime colored yarn Rachel gave me and Thomas and I ordered some Knit Picks kettle dyed Wool of the Andes in the Ivy colorway. I really, really like that yarn. Anna's been sleeping with her mittens "just in case it snows". How adorable is that?

I have knit no fewer than four (!) baby bonnets. I have no idea what got into me. None. But I have to thank Knittymama for mentioning this pattern on her website because it provided me with days of knitted entertainment. I used some Misti Alpaca for one hat in a nice silvery grey color. It was an alpaca/silk blend and it's so soft--just right for a preemie. I used Nature Spun yarn for the other three. I made two in green and one in navy blue. Now I just need to find baby heads that can wear them! My baby will only have one head (or so the ultrasound techs tell me) so there really is no call for the other hats. One went home with Kate, but I think I'll send the other one home with her, too, since it's in a larger size and may fit litte Meg better when winter comes.

I am currently working on a pair of socks for Peter. I'm using some Trekking XXL yarn that I got from a craft store that was going out of business. I am not a sock knitter. I want to be, but I worry too much that I'll put all of that work into a pair of socks that won't fit. This isn't my first attempt, but I hope it will be at least marginally successful. I really want Peter to like them. More than that, I just want him to be able to wear them! I'm worried already that they'll be too tight. I'm using the Basic Sock recipe from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's book Knitting Rules.

Next on the list is the Bunny Blanket Bunny that you can find on Ravelry and also on Lion Brand's website. This one, I'm making for the baby. It should be a very quick knit so that I can move on to a baby sweater for the little one. I'm very excited about the sweater. I had been looking and looking for a pattern to knit and couldn't find anything. I wanted something simple and gender-neutral, but couldn't find anything that suited me. Then Allison sent me a care package with the perfect pattern and the most beautiful yarn for a little baby sweater! Now I have the skeins sitting in my room at the hospital so I can give them a squeeze now and then. The yarn is organic cotten with a soft, peaceful color. It's so nice and just the thing for a little baby. I have to resisit the urge to knit a great, big sweater for what is certain to be a very little baby.

I'm rounding the corner toward week 27. I feel like I'm chasing down every day and pounding it into the ground as I move past. It's slow work, making a baby. There aren't any shortcuts.