Interview with a Muggle

Me: What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
My sweetie: It keeps you occupied when we go places that I like that you don't. (I am guessing that he is referring to Nascar Club, but really any Nascar or sporting even would qualify.)

Me: What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
My sweetie: When it lays around the house. (You mean that one sock in progress on the coffee table that I worked on last night and will work on this evening?)

Me: What is something I have knitted that you recall as being good?
My sweetie: My socks. (Ah, the Secret Wedding Socks that I gave at the rehersal dinner, so he wouldn't get cold feet before the wedding. At least he appreciates the finished product.)

Me: Do you think knitting is an expensive hobby?
My sweetie: No. (Ok, that is one facet of knitting ignorance I think is best left intact.)

Me: What are your hobbies?
My sweetie: Motorcycles, Nascar, hunting, fishing. . . . .what is this for, anyway?
Me: Um, nothing.

Me: If we compared money spent on hobbies, who would win?
My sweetie: You. You spend a lot of money.
Me: (Remembering that I had not bought yarn at all this calendar year, since I did so little pregnancy knitting.) You mean groceries?
My sweetie: Yes, and CVS. (We will ignore for the moment that he considers groceries and toiletries purchases as my "hobby".)

Me: Has my knitting in public ever embarassed you?
My sweetie: Oh yes! Um, I mean, no.

Me: Do you know my favorite yarn?
My sweetie: Baby yarn? (Sigh. I have one partial skein of cheap baby yarn. I have a small plastic bin of sock yarn in the house. The rest of my stash is stored off the premises, so I wouldn't expect him to know anything about. How can he not notice that most of what he sees me knitting is socks?)

Me: Can you name another blog?
My sweetie: No (Not even the Yarn Harlot? He really doesn't listen when I speak at all.)

Me: Do you mind that I want to check out yarn stores everywhere we go?
My sweetie: You do?

Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
My Sweetie: Sure, they tell time.

Me: Do you read my blog?
My Sweetie: No.

Me: Have you ever left a comment? . . . . That one would be "no" too, right?
My sweetie: Right.

Me: Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit?
My sweetie: Yes.

Me: Do you have anything to add in closing?
My sweetie: Less knitting; more cleaning.

Hands off, ladies. He's mine. I am trying to remind myself that he didn't marry me because he loves knitting, and that I have had a mere year and a half, and knit-love training takes a lot longer than that.

Any training methods that have worked for other knitters in the past would be appreciated.

Today, it is all about the training.

Knitting Amber Alert

We interrupt this blog for a Knit Amber Alert. Pictured is the mate of a missing sock in progress. The missing sock is approximately 75 % finished, and has been missing since returning from the hospital with baby. Please contact me with any sightings. A reward of competing sock yarn is offered.

In happier news, I finally finished the little guy's knitted hat. Isn't that cute? The picture doesn't really do it justice, since it looks like it could be the size of a thimble.

Mom, do I really need a cozy hat in August? Dad doesn't keep the air conditioning THAT cold.

Today, it is all about the finished hat.

A Well-loved baby

You can always recognize a well-loved baby. They are surrounded by hand-crafted items. Everyone loves babies, and crafters just can't resist making something tiny and cute for any baby that touches their lives. My baby is truly blessed. Here he is, surrounded by aphgans, quilts, hats sweaters and booties, all knitted, crocheted or stitched with love.

He looks so tiny next to that stack. And confused. "Mom, what are you doing?" Cameras are still new to him. I am just glad that I caught his eyes open. He is such a wiggler, half of my pictures show him turning away from the camera.

And here is my scrap of knitted love for the little guy. One unfinished hat. On the plus side, I did find the missing DPN. I have even been knitting on it, having finally coming to the conclusion that storing yarn and needles in the same bag does not spontaneously produce knitted finished objects.

Just so my stack doesn't look so paltry, don't forget I also made a stack of hand-finished receiving blankets. I received several as gifts, as well, but they are in use or in the laundry, so did not get pictured. You can never have enough receiving blankets for a newborn.

Today, it is all about the knitted love.

He's heeeeeerrrrre!

Little Thumper greeted the world on July 29, 2008, at 9:46 a.m., a mere 5 hour and 46 minutes after my water broke. 8 pounds, 4.2 ounces, with a FULL head of brown hair.

I promise that I will post soon pictures of him, and all the wonderful knitted gifts he received. Just haven't had the chance yet. I don't know what I have been doing!

Today, it is all about the little guy.

Not yet. . . .

My official due date is Thursday, and Thumper has not shown any inclination to enter the world early. My sweetie has become more impatient this past week, but I think that is mostly because it has been so ungodly hot, and it isn't like the poor boy works in air conditioning. I think he was hoping the hottest week of the summer so far would coincide with his maternity leave. Sorry, dear, no such luck.

Just to placate him, I did time my contractions last night. They aren't even painful yet, just a tightening pressure around my abdomen, but you can't tell my impatient father-to-be that. Ok, they are 90 minutes to three hours apart, and irregular. No need to go to the hospital yet.

Meanwhile, I have found a coupel scraps of time and energy to work on my mother's socks in progress. I turned the heel in, um, April, and have a good inch or two finished on the foot. At this rate, she may have them to wear by Christmas. It is just too bloody hot to knit anyway! Even in an air-conditioned house (too cold air conditioning, but that is an ongoing passive-agressive dispute between spouses), even the idea of knitting sounds hot.

Today, it is all about the heat.

Bad knitter!

I went to Sock Club last Saturday, with my giant belly preceding me. (24 days and counting til the due date, if anyone is wondering.) The fellow sock knitters chastized me because I had not yet knit anything for Thumper, other than an unfinished little hat. And even that will remain unfinished for a while, because the last time I went to pick it up, one DPN was missing. Oops. Why don't they sell those in sets of six or seven. It can't come as a surprise that we WILL lose one or two at some point. I want to conduct a search of all purses, briefcases and knitting bags before I break down and buy an additional set of that size.

However, in my knitting defense, I do want to point out that Thumper's little hat is the ONLY thing that I have started in my entire pregancy. It isn't like I have been knitting new projects for anyone else. Everything in my bag was started pre-pregnancy, and is STILL in progress. I honestly just haven't been doing much knitting. Normally, I knit while I do other things: watch TV, wait in line, wait for court, take a lunch break, and so on. These days, when I have an oppotunity to just sit still and rest for a few minutes, I take it.

Does Child Protective Services consider it nelgect if you fail to knit for your child?

Today, it is all about the knitting guilt.

Knitting Black Hole

I am in the knitting black hole. You know, where everything you are working on is in the vague area of half-done. You knit and knit and knit on various projects, and can see no noticeable difference on any of them. Pomatomus, baby hat, Mom's ribbed socks, I have knit on all of them, and they look exactly the same.

My sweetie (though I am mad at him today, so use the term with some annoyance) and I are going camping this weekend. Ok, I can laze around outside as easily as around the house. Just make sure we have comfortable chairs. So this may be a good time to make some knitterly progress, without the pesky distractions of housework and laundry. I don't even have to think about which projects to bring. All of them, of course.

The only thing I have been finishing lately is the flannel receiving blankets. Four down, last one half finished.

Well, I am "finishing" on little Thumper too. Eight weeks til his cast off! We won't talk about how I currently resemble a hippo.

Today, it is all about the blackness.