Category: Family

Shawl and Bump Progress

Marie Haigh8 Comments

I finally had enough stitches on the needle to jump to the next size up: a 40-inch circular. Frankly, I could have transferred it to a 60-inch circular, but since I don’t have one in my collection, this was the best I could do.

I think I cheered to see the shawl finally expanded and no longer crunched up in hat mode.

91 more rounds to knit in the mohair before I can design the border. I’m leaning towards a variation of the Alpine Edging in Barbara Walker’s 2nd Treasury book. Yesterday I ordered Barbara Abbey’s Knitting Lace to peruse her collection of lace edgings and see if I couldn’t locate something more suitable to the diamond motifs featured in the shawl.

Now that I have embraced the maternity clothes, it is hard to gauge whether or not I’ve gotten much bigger. I don’t feel bigger. Pictures don’t lie though.

The bump keeps growing. I should have guessed, since the kicks have gotten harder.

3.5 more months to go, assuming she arrives on time. Let the countdown begin.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

E is for Elizabeth

Marie Haigh6 Comments

I stumbled across this book, The Real Mother Goose ABCs, in the new bookstore that just opened up down the street from us.
Isn’t it perfect? I just had to buy it for our Elizabeth.

Lately, I have felt like I am dragging around a huge clock, listening to the seconds and minutes click by. Only 4 more months until Elly (our nickname for Elizabeth) is here and all my little projects have to be completed. Ack!
Sooo, I have been busy priming in the nursery and working diligently on the shawl.

Some progress has been made on the shawl.

It still looks like an oversized hat though. There are moments when I could kick myself for including such a detailed lace pattern. 

Progress has also been made in the nursery, but almost everything is white now and thus doesn’t make for good pictures.

In other news, one of my designs has been picked up by a magazine. It will be published in Spring of next year. Woo! Unfortunately I can’t give any more details, but I wanted to share my joy with you.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

Reality Hits Home

Marie Haigh7 Comments

I had assumed early on in pregnancy that my baggy t-shirts and elastic waistbands would last me through the first several months of pregnancy.  A month ago, Dan finally talked me into buying myself maternity pants. I bought 1 pair, since I was still convinced that I wouldn’t really need them until the last 2 – maybe 3 – months of the pregnancy.

OK. I admit it; I was wrong. Thankfully, my SIL had no such delusions. This weekend, she sent Dan home with 3 new maternity shirts, including the one I’m wearing above. Finally, I can stop trying to stuff myself into my old clothes and start embracing this new look of mine.

Though I did start on the pink dress for Elizabeth this weekend, I am nowhere near to finishing it. Instead, I opted to use my middle-of-the-night-snacking to knit her a bib.

Details
Pattern: Grandmother’s Favorite Baby Bib
Designer: Merin McManus Collins
Yarn: Lily’s Sugar n’ Cream in Peppermint, 100% cotton
Needles: Size 6 (I knit loose; you may want to go up to a size 8)

In my stash, I found the perfect button to use.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh. (Ensures that any scraper stealing content gives credit where credit is due. Trick learned from Joost de Valk).

Ultrasound Results

Marie Haigh16 Comments

We are the proud parents of a healthy, little baby made of sugar and spice and all things nice.


Can you see her little hand scratching the right side of her head? We thought it was so cute.

Yes, we’re having a GIRL! I can’t wait to sew her a little dress made from this gorgeous fabric.

 

Her name will be Elizabeth Conant Haigh.

Elizabeth was the middle name of my maternal grandmother. Truth be told, it is also the name of my favorite queen of England: Elizabeth I. Plus there are so many fun nicknames that one can come up with, such as Liz, Beth, Elly or Ella.

The name Conant was once a last name that can be traced back to the 1600s. Roger Conant arrived in Massachusetts on presumably the Ann ship and later founded the town Salem. When the last name was about to die out, a tradition was born that the father would pass the name down to his firstborn son in the form of a middle name who would then pass it down to his firstborn son. The tradition almost died during my generation since it was just my sister and I. I am resurrecting the tradition, but eliminating the male dominance. Henceforth, the middle name shall be passed down to the firstborn child.

From Generation to Generation

Marie Haigh10 Comments

My MIL sent me a wonderful package in the mail filled with hand-crocheted and hand-knit baby clothes.

What makes these clothes so special, outside of the obvious fact that they were made by hand, is that they were worn by Dan when he was a baby. Plus several of the items were made by Dan’s Great Aunt Kathleen, who is no longer with us.

Aunt Kathleen crocheted the cardigan with its matching bonnet, booties and mittens as well as the afghan.

My MIL had saved these clothes for years – waiting.

Receiving these clothes only punctuates the fact that I need to stop knitting for a while and get cracking on the nursery. For the meantime, I have added the clothes to the growing pile of baby goodies in the basement.

One of the items that has distracted me from the nursery is the shawl that I am knitting. I just graduated from 4 metal double pointed needles to an Addi Turbo needle. What an improvement! I should fly now.

Baby Notes:
I met with a midwife at The Birth Center yesterday for my 15-week appointment. I’m healthy. The baby is healthy.
The joy of the appointment was hearing the baby kick inside of me. It sounded like a whoosh on the fetal doppler. Hopefully, in a few weeks I’ll be able to feel the wee kicks.

Yarn Arrived for the Bump

Marie Haigh15 Comments

After failing twice to use yarn from my stash for the baby’s baseball blanket, I caved and ordered yarn from Webs. It arrived today!

The yarn is Schachenmayr Nomotta’s Extra Merino Big. It is 100% washable Merino wool in Ruby Red. The stitching will be done in bright white. Thus, Dan has dubbed the blanket a “Reverse Baseball”.

During the baseball game tonight, I plan to cast on for the swatch. I can’t wait to get started!

Baby Notes:
B6 vitamins are my friend. They are taking the morning sickness away and returning my energy level to me. For the first time in weeks, I’m starting to feel like a real person again.

Since I was a little dismayed for not looking exactly pregnant yet but no longer looking like my normal size, I bought myself a “Walking for Two” t-shirt to wear on the morning walks with Jake.

[Yes, that is my walking partner rolling around on the grass behind me. Silly dog].

As comfy and as cute as the shirt is, it hides the bump. The outfit I wore today showed it off a bit more.

Knitting Projects for Baby

Marie Haigh8 Comments

Like most knitters, I typically have several projects going at once. Not anymore.

Thanks to the lovely side effects of the 1st trimester (morning sickness and sheer exhaustion), I can barely muster the energy required to design and knit 2 projects. Until yesterday, it was just one.

I am still working out the kinks in the baseball blanket. The problem lies in with this construction of the middle panel. Once I fix that, I can cast on for the ‘actual’ size: about a 39-inch diameter. The size should be perfect to wrap a newborn in. (No, we don’t know that this baby will be a boy nor do we have a preference. The nursery will be decked out in a baseball theme no matter the sex of the baby. As I said to my Aunt while defending our decision, “I’m a girl and I LOVE baseball”.)

Thanks to Vicki, I also have cast on for a baby shawl. I won a skein of gorgeous red and blue kid mohair yarn on her blog. Paired with a skein of red merino laceweight yarn, I plan to knit a Pi shawl as made famous by EZ. It’s cold in January, you know.

 

Baby Notes: I had an ultrasound done on June 19th. The little alien inside of me has a huge head, stubbly little arms and legs, and a wee heart beating away. I laughed my way through most of the exam; it was such a joy to see this baby growing inside of me even if s/he is a bit odd looking right now.
Additionally, my due date was pushed back to January 18th, making it more unlikely that I’ll deliver on or around Christmas. What a relief!

In a Family Way

Marie Haigh23 Comments

The computer has been moved into our master bedroom.

The boxes labeled “Nursery” have been drug down from the attic.
My entire collection of children’s books has been corralled into one small bookcase.

The receiving blankets that were given to me for safe keeping have been located and are waiting to receive a little bundle of joy.

Our little bundle of joy.

After 9 years of a wonderful marriage, Dan and I are expecting our first child on January 15, 2010.

We couldn’t be more thrilled.