Finishing and beginning

I've found that the best thing about Ravelry is that every time I log in, there are my WIPs. Staring me in the face. I can't ignore them. I can't stuff them in a bag or bin. I can't pretend they don't exist. They taunt me from my project page, saying, "Salleeeeeee, I'm over heeeeerrrrre." But this is a good thing, because what's the point of knitting and crocheting if you never actually produce anything?

Here is the finished outfit for Bridget, my father's Blythe doll. I used Dalegarn Stork in a pale green. The tank and skirt took one afternoon to knit, and the hat took another afternoon. It then took me about 6 weeks to seam it, because I am a lazy butt. But I finally finished it, and I think it looks pretty cute. I hope my dad likes it. I knit it on size 1 straights, and the flower was attached with Elmer's Glue, because I'm fancy like that.

Here's a project I started either late last year or early this year. It was languishing in the corner, sad and forgotten. It took me one and a half evenings to finish it, and now I have another useful bag to carry crap around in. This is the third bag of this kind that I have made. The pattern is free off the Lily website, and it's a pretty sturdy project. Unlike the knit version, it is not quite as stretchy, but still quite utilitarian.

My knitting group is working on a Project Linus blanket. We are all doing two to four 10" squares. Here are the first two that I made. I really like the first one a lot. It is based on the Queen Anne's Lace pattern from Jan Eaton's 200 Crochet Blocks. It is not exactly that block because for some reason I have a really hard time following written crochet patterns; I much prefer a chart when crocheting. Oh well. I like it anyhow.

I like this one too, but the final beige edge is too ripply. I may rip that out and redo it with fewer stitches, I think it will lay flatter and look nicer. Otherwise, I'm quite happy with this one as well.

I am still plugging away on the Ribbed Lace Bolero. I don't know why I'm having hard time with it. I ripped it completely after screwing up the lace portion, and now that this is my second time around, I think I am just bored with it. Maybe I'll just put it aside for a while. It's really frustrating me, because I have yet to knit anything that I'm really proud of and happy with. This is a simple pattern, and I understand what I need to do, and I am still screwing it up. Patience, Sal. Patience. (deep cleansing breath)

I have two small knitting projects that have been hibernating for some time, and I think I may finish them before I start anything else. It's the Puzzle Scarf and the legwarmers. They are easy and I know I could do them, so I'm hoping to finish them in the next two weeks or so, and then get started on Xmas presents. Woo hoo!

***

Banana turns five tomorrow. Five years old. I was still in my twenties when I had her. I had more hair. She had less. But she was just as cute. I remember sitting in my hospital bed, holding her tiny little squiggly body, contemplating her pink little gums as she cried. Kissing her little forehead. She cried when she came out, but then she stopped when they put her on my chest, and she opened her eyes and blinked in the bright lights, and I said, "It's me. It's Mom." And she looked and blinked and was quiet. She had the cutest little button nose, and big rosy cheeks, and little pointy ears, like an elf. We still haven't figured out where those ears came from. She had dimples where her knuckles were, and little rubberband wrists. She had baby head smell. And now she's going to kindergarten. She scrubs her toenails and fingernails with the nail brush, and she can brush her hair all by herself. She draws pictures every single day, and they usually have kittens and ballerinas and princesses in them. She starts ballet class next week, in fact. She loves pink and purple and she has such a distinct personality, already, at such a tender age. Her favorite show is America's Funniest Home Videos. She likes to watch Cops with her dad on Saturday nights. She has a pretty good sense of humor. She always liked to make people laugh, ever since she was a baby. She would play nursing games with me - she'd get a mouth full of milk, then smile at me, and all of the milk would dribble out of her mouth and all over my shirt. Or she would look at me and pretend to nurse (pretend at two months old!) and look at me to see if I was paying attention. And boy, does she like attention. She loves to perform. She likes to sing and dance and say her alphabet backwards and count to 20 in Spanish.

She's a piece of work. And I love her.