Rosy

Pattern: Rosy from Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora.

Yarn: 10 balls of Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora from eBay. That's right... only 10. The pattern calls for 12 for the smallest size, but I only bought 10 AND as it turns out, that's all that I needed! I really thought that I was going to get burned on this one. I usually don't make a habit of purchasing less yarn than a pattern suggests, but this was a special circumstance. I bought the yarn forever ago from eBay and as it happens, I was purchasing the seller's last ten skeins. ($30 for all ten!) So, I thought about going ahead and purchasing another two from someone else, but I decided to wait until I used up what I had purchased already. As it turns out, 10 was more than enough. I just barely hit that tenth ball and definitely have enough leftover to make a baby hat or something. I'm so thrilled. This never happens to me. Usually, I buy the amount the pattern suggests and still run out.

Adjustments: Since this sweater has no finishing, I decided to slip the first stitch of every row along the base and neckline to give the sweater a cleaner edge. I don't think it really makes much of a difference since the edges curl, but I wanted to anyway for my own peace of mind.

Comments: Sometimes I really find stockinette to be a complete bore. But other times, it's like an old friend. In this case, it was like an old friend. I was working on this during a short period of time when I was completely overwhelmed by other things going on in my life. So, having something simple to work on was like having a friend to fall back on. The kind of friend who keeps you company, but doesn't require that you be "on." You don't have to think or try to be entertaining. You just enjoy each others' company.

Second reason I enjoyed knitting this sweater - no finishing. Just seam it up and you're done. No button band. No neck band. Nothing.

Recipient: Me.

Yarn is NOT yarn.

Recently I've taught a few friends how to knit. I'm not a great teacher, but I figure that as long as I can show them how to knit and purl, they're well on their way. I don't know about other people, but when I teach someone how to knit, I really try to downplay what an expensive hobby it is. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I'm pretty thrifty for the most part. I'm one of those people who responds to a clothing compliment with the price of said item.... i.e. -

Friend says, "I love that shirt you're wearing."

I respond, "I got it for $10 from J. Crew! Plus these pants were only $15, which means my entire outfit only costs like $25!"

Hmmm... I just realized that might be a kind of annoying thing to do. Anyway, it's really ironic that I'm willing to pay more for the yarn for a sweater than I would actually pay for a finished sweater.

So, back to my story. I had taught a friend to knit. She was really into it. Fun times. Then, I was talking to her about her progress (she was working on the Harlot poncho pattern - a perfect beginner's pattern, in my opinion). She was telling me about how she went to buy the yarn for it, but she was in a hurry, so she just grabbed something because... and these are her words...

"Yarn is yarn."

Ahhh! No, no, no. Yarn is not yarn. I mean, every yarn has it's purpose. I have used the cheap stuff to make a couple afghans and other sundry low-maintenance stuff myself. But, to equate them all... put them all on the same level? The horror. I'm afraid I may have failed my friend. I mean I taught her to knit and purl, but I didn't teach her anything about the love of a good yarn. And what's knitting without the love of a good yarn?



Anyway, I do have a fo in the blocking stages. It's Rosy from Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora. For some reason it's taking forever to dry. Maybe because of the super dreary weather.

Baby Seizures

I didn't think that I was going to post about this, but it occurred to me that it's possible that someone might read this and be able to benefit from our experiences. (Not that I get a lot of readers, but anyway.)

Two weeks ago, in a twenty-four hour period, Baby Girl had two seizures. Apparently, seizures in babies can be quite common. Sometimes babies her age (6-12 months old) have seizures for no apparent reason and then never have them again. This is comforting to know after the fact, but during the seizure itself, I was almost paralyzed with fear. So, if your baby has a seizure, this is what you should know:

• Lay your baby on her side on the floor where she has space to seize.
• Do not put anything in her mouth... this is an old wives tale.
  
• If at any time during the seizure she has difficulty breathing or her heartbeat becomes irregular, call 911.
  
• Time the seizure... if it lasts longer than 5 minutes, call 911. (Technically, they consider any seizure under 20 minutes to be a short seizure, but you want to have enough time to get her to the hospital.)
  
• Try to get a video recording of the seizure. This part is really hard, but it can be invaluable. Describing an incident to a doctor can be very difficult and you want to make sure that they don't just blow you off since you're an upset parent.
• Of course, notify your child's doctor after the seizure.
• It's not uncommon for children to go into a deep sleep after they seize.
  

You know your child best. When the EMTs arrived after my daughter's first seizure, they told me that it was probably just a choking incident since she was nursing just prior. I wanted to believe them, but I know my child. She's gotten choked up before when she was nursing and that wasn't how she behaved.

For now, we have appointments for an EEG and with a children's neurologist for next month. God willing, these events will not repeat themselves.

Back to knitting content soon...

Take care of your babies!