Jobo Designs

I’ve been knitting, honest! I’ve just been having a hard time getting to the computer what with the baby, and the release of Diablo III… I just never seem to get on here!

I’ve started swatching for another project… this time a sweater for Romy from some delish Alpaca fleece I got in a care package from Stella (over at Twist of Fate Family Farm)

The yarn is DK weight…. a blend of lovely Fawn Alpaca and Merino (60/40) spun into a traditional 3-ply yarn.  I really like how the wool gives that little extra bit of bounce to a lush soft yarn :)  The buttons are natural wood, and match just perfectly…. though I’m not sure if I will be dyeing the yarn in the end or not.  Beige is a lovely color, but for a teensy little girly, maybe not the most appropriate color?  I can’t remember where the buttons came from, but they are Guttermann brand, so likely bought somewhere where sewing threads are sold…

I have a few ideas for pattern, but I doubt I’ll be knitting the sweater exactly  according to any particular design.  You know me… I have to mess with things, and I rarely follow a pattern exactly anyways :)

Even with the hectic new mommy schedule... I managed to finish my Erato Shawl :)

The blocking this time was actually a snap.  I was worried about color bleeding, but there wasn?t a drop of red dye in my rinse water, so I didn?t worry too much about the bed.  I just threaded the wires through the points and eyelets and pulled the shawl out into a phoenix wing shape and left it alone.  Sometimes it?s easy to get carried away with trying to block perfectly.  I just don?t have a lot of time for that right now, so no-nonsense was the way to go :)

I really liked the center lace panel in this shawl... the YO?s on back side rows took a little getting used to, but after messing up the first one enough times, I marked my chart in red ink and was able to keep an eye out for them next time.  I find the lace motif looks like the human heart... complete with Aorta and Vena Cava branches.  I don?t know if this was on purpose, but a valentines day shawl with Actual Human Hearts on it?  pretty snazzy

I also really liked the ruffle section... as you can see, it?s kind of like finger braids with eyelets, and little webbed portions between them.  I think they really look like wings, maybe webbed dragon wings?  I also love the glow and shine in this yarn.  Delicious texture, even on plain stockinette.

As I was taking the shawl off the bed from being blocked... I walked by Romy, who was just waking up from a snooze.  So, as I usually do, I passed her the shawl and said ?Hey, Hold this for Mommy will ya?? and turned around to grab something else.  When I turned back she was playing with the shawl and smiling her little heart out.  This kid just cracks me up :)

Have you wondered where I disappeared to?  I?ve been hiding out, but with good reason this time?   My knitting time has been consumed by a new necessity:

Our Daughter Andromeda Lynn - ?Romy? was born Dec 30, 2011 ? at 6:23, weighing in at 7 lbs 13 oz.

Here we are at around 3 hours after her birth? the first time I got to hold her in my arms.  We had a bit of a challenging first meeting, and unfortunately we both needed a little help immediately after the delivery, so we didn?t really get to hang out and get acquainted for a few hours.  I?ll likely tell the whole birth story at some point when I have a bit more time to really write it out properly.

Romy, her Daddy and I are starting to get settled in now? I can?t believe that she will be 3 weeks old tomorrow!  We had some troubles with breastfeeding (which I hear now is a pretty common occurrence) but we are starting to move through them and things are gradually getting better with time.  I still haven?t managed to do much knitting, but I have really high hopes today that I might get to do a few rows on the socks I started the morning that we went to the hospital for labor to be induced.  I had knit about 3 inches worth of sock before the contractions got to be too intense to knit through :)

Welcome to the world little girly? oh all of the wonderful things Mommy wants to teach you and show you?