Persistance Pays Off in Spades

Okay, so I can still knit a little. I can do about 50 stitches per 15 minutes if I take a longer break every hour and don't do it for more than 3 hours at a time. Otherwise I lose complete control of my fingers as the numbness sets into my palms, and run the risk of making horrible errors. At this crawling pace I've finished the next strip of Baby J's blanket. I now only have one left and then I can do the border. If he holds on for another 2 weeks, I might be able to finish his afghan. :) Yay!

In other news, I have done good research and gotten past a block that had me preoccupied for two months. I still have some things to do to iron out the details, but the major part is resolved. Such a relief of frustration!

Oh, the Agony!

I won't be able to finish Baby J's afghan in time. Even if he isn't born early (which I'm still convinced he will) I won't be able to finish it. I can only knit about 50 stitches before my right hand goes completely numb and I have to wait a half hour for enough feeling to return to knit again. What kind of progress can a person make with a rate that slow?! WWAAHH!! The numbness is a result of pregnancy induced carpel tunnel syndrome. The doctor said it should go away within 6 weeks of delivery. 6 weeks! Mama assures me it doesn't take that long for most of the water retention to go away, so I should be able to knit again before then. But until then... WWWWAAAAHHHH!!!! Sadness!

I have made a decision about the size of the afghan. I've added the next pink and yellow strips and am working (if you can call 50 stitches an hour working) on a purple, then I will do a blue strip. The purple and blue strips will be added to the other side of the afghan so that green is what would be next on either side, and so that green is the center strip. Then I'll add a green border to the whole thing. So I'm very close to being done, really. And yet I can't just finish it. Pity me.

Pregnancy update

Baby J and I are very healthy, and he's actually "in position", but it's still too early for him to be born without having to stay in the hospital for a while. I have been having contractions periodically so the doctors want to see me again after a week. Otherwise, I only have normal complaints for a pregnant lady. :)

It's been a long time

Baby J's blanket:

So here is the latest photo of Baby J's blanket. I'd be a lot farther along if I hadn't taken a break, twice. To be honest the second break was forced by factors beyond my control. The first break of one week was because I was SOOOOO tired of this one pattern, that I was becoming a little violent about it. Since I want only love knit into this blanket for my first born child, I decided a break was in order. Then, over the weekend, I forgot my knitting bag a work. Yes, I said that right. I forgot my knitting bag. I don't know how this happened. I can only say that I am very VERY pregnant and having a hard time moving around and am very uncomfortable all the time, particularly when I'm having contractions, which happens pretty regularly, and so I get a bit distracted sometimes. I'm going to make this the center portion of the afghan. I'll add a pink (already finished and being blocked) and a yellow strip (almost done) to the left side, and a purple and blue on the right, then add a green border. That will make the size about right for a baby afghan, and it won't be too organized and linear looking. As a scientist, I do tend to make things a bit too orderly for my own good. In creative endeavors that's not always a good thing.


ANYONE NAMED RACHEL, MARY, KRISTIN, CHERI, OR BILL NEED TO LEAVE THIS BLOG NOW!!!!!!!!! OR YOU WILL SPOIL YOUR CHRISTMAS PRESENT SURPRISE. SO LOOK AWAY NOW AND DON'T EVEN TRY TO GET SOMEONE ELSE TO LOOK FOR YOU! I WILL FIND OUT AND I WILL GET REVENGE!!!!!!!!!!!










YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! LOOK AWAY NOW!!!!!!





























Okay, on with the blog.
While I was without what I needed to work on Baby J's blanket I finished 3 crochet projects I had lined up. They are for my sister's in law for Christmas and here they are:

For Rachel:

For Mary:

For Kristin:

I tried to get photos that showed the color better, but hopefully you can get the idea about how gorgeous these really are. It's hard to see in these pictures, but the stitches are different in each one. I picked out a pattern I thought would best suit each one, and they didn't take long to make. I still have one for my mother-in-law and one for my father-in-law to make yet. I think they will really like them.