At least some knitting is getting done!

It's been a month and a half since I wrote last, and Ella is turning four months old on Saturday. We're starting to find a routine for our days, and I'm getting more and more comfortable going on outings and visiting friends and stuff like that. It takes some getting used to, toting a baby and all that comes with her around!

Since Ella is a pretty easy-going baby, I am actually finding some knitting time during some of the days. Since I wrote last I've finished two pairs of socks, one baby hat, and blocked my gigantous Mandala II shawl! First, I finished the Fruit Stripe Gum socks:

They are made with Regia sock yarn, in the colourway cassis, and I really like them. They turned out very soft after their wash, and I love the colours.

Then I picked up my Stricken socks, by Cookie A, and finshed them:

They are made with the Knitting Goddess sock yarn that I got from last year's sock club, and the colourway is called Where the Sun Does Not Shine, which is from the Dark Shadows movie. I really enjoyed working both this pattern and this yarn, and I think there might be more cabled socks soon.

After I finished both pairs of socks I only had two cardigans on the needles (Dark and Stormy, and the Austin Hoodie), so I decided I needed some smaller projects. This coincided with us going home to our parents for a few days, so I cast on for a new pair of striped socks:

These are the Walk the Line socks, and I'm using some more Regia sock yarn, this time in the colourway Clown. I made the heel as written in the pattern, but it turned out way too pointy for my taste (and didn't fit), so I ripped it out and put in some waste yarn to make an afterthought heel instead. I'm still enjoying the pattern though, and the yarn is a lot of fun to work with.

I also started a baby hat for Ella, the Swirl hat, in the Knitting Goddess sock yarn leftovers I had from the striped pyjama I made for her, in the colourway Trousers for a Fiend. I got almost perfect gauge, so I cast on for the 4-6 months size, and it still turned out way, way too small! So I ripped that one out too, and cast on a new one two sizes larger. I finished it in a few days, and it fits perfectly, just in time for the lovely warm weather we've been having to disappear. So Ella has worn it a couple of times already when we go for walks.

The other week I also blocked the Mandala II shawl that I finished in February, and it turned out huge! It's almost two meters across, and it's very pretty. I had to buy an additional skein to finsh it, and as you might recall that skein turned out to e very pale compared to my old ones. So after some thought I decided to over-dye it with some dyes I got fom KnitPicks a few years ago. It's still not perfect, some of the edging is still a litte bit lighter than the rest of the shawl, but it's a big improvement. I'm saving the shawl to wear at Ella's christening next weekend.

I also have yarn wound for a new shawl and a baby carigan. I'm going to start the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star shawl in Chili Gredelin Geisha silk lace yarn, in the colourway Lettuce, and the Flower cardigan in Wollmese DK yarn in the Sabrina colourway. There is also a matching Little Flower hat that I'll make if I have enough yarn. But before I start those projects I really want to finish the Austin Hoodie, and as I'm almost half-way through the first sleeve that should be prerty soon. I'm really liking this yarn with this pattern, I just hope I have enough to finish the hood! 

I noticed the other day that apparently my skeins (it's Manos Del Uruguay Fino) differ some in colour, and I was stupid enough not to alternate skeins. I should have, as it's hand dyed, but I have had pretty good luck not alternating in the past, so I just never remember to do it! But I won't frog the entire cardigan now that I've gotten this far, it will just have to be a design feature.

Other than knitting, my days are mostly filled with taking care of Ella and the household. It's still a bit overwhelming at times, but I'm also starting to feel comfortable in my role as a mother. And Ella is growing like a weed! It's so much fun to see her develop, sometimes I think she's learning new things every day. 

And Thomas is on vacation now until the beginning of August, which means that we'll get a lot of time together as a family. The project for this summer is to move our bedroom upstairs, as we have two rooms upstairs and one will be Ella's room eventually. The room which will be our new bedroom is now Thomas' computer/music room, and Ella's room is now my hobby room. So in order to fit everything in we're going to put Thomas' video game stuff in the guest room instead. But first we'll have to clean that out... Our schedule looks like this:

1. Clean out the storage room next to the garage. It is currently filled nostly with trash that needs to go to the dump, we just have to get it dobe.
2. Clean out the garage. A lot of stuff has been put in the garage since the storage room is full, but once that is emptied out the garage will be cleaned and sorted too.
3. Clean out the guest room. We have a lot of Thomas' brother's stuff in there as he currently lives in a student dorm room where he can't fit all his furniture. We will use some of it in the guest room, but some of it will go in the garage and some of it he's going to have to find some storage for himself.
4. Redecorate the guest room and move some of Thomas' stuff in there. It will mostly be a gaming room.
5. Move our bedroom downstairs up into Thomas' room. Also, put some of my craft stuff in the new bedroom.
6. Move the rest of Thomas' stuff into the now empty room downstairs.
7. Redecorate my hobby room into Ella's nursery.

Who said anything about resting during the vacation?! Hopefully most of it won't take too long, as it mostly involves moving stuff around. The only two things that might take some time is sorting through all the stuff in the garage and redecorating Ella's room, but the nursery doesn't have to be done duribg the summer as Ella will have her crib in our bedroom for a while yet. It's a lot of work, but it's also going to be a lot of fun to finally get all of this stuff done!

Ok, I think that's it for today. Next time I hope I'll have some new decorating to show you, and hopefully a new cardigan too!

/ Jenny