You’d have thought that I’d have gotten a lot of knitting done these last three nights off, but you’d be wrong. On the first night, Tuesday, I was sick (with nothing contagious, but thank the goddess for Midol and ibuprofen), which was the only reason I was home. It was a work night, but I felt bad enough to call in sick for only the 5th time in 3.5 years. I took advantage of the night off to sleep late (like a good 2+ hours into my work shift), which helped immensely.
And when I awoke, I found the living room full of people: the BC19, Julie, Arianna, the BC19’s dad, and Shane. They were home from the hospital! Arianna was crying her frustration at that whole learning-to-nurse thing, and all three kitties were trying to figure out what the crying lump was. The rest of us were enchanted by that crying lump, but the cats were a bit alarmed: eyes wide, ears perked, noses twitching. Once Arianna latched on and consequently stopped crying, they just wanted to sniff her little head. So sweet!
The next few hours were spent busily not knitting. I supposed I could have cast on something simple, as the base FIL mitts were finished and I had yet to figure out how I was going to do the mitten caps, a task I wanted to tackle when not distracted by a beautiful baby and a room full of people. But I didn’t want to start anything new then, so I left my knitting bag in my bedroom and threw myself into being a doting (but not overbearing) Mimi. So much fun!
The last two nights I’ve taken my turn with Arianna mostly in the wee hours, when I’m up and rested anyway, which has let the new parents sleep a bit more than they might otherwise. I’ve kept her downstairs for several hours each night, holding her and kissing her little head and feeling the silk of her hair on my cheek. I haven’t wanted to put her down, in truth. When she has needed to nurse again, I’ve taken her upstairs to her mom and dad. She’s stayed with them after that feeding, so I’ve had some “me time,” too. Thus, my hands were free to do some knitting last night!
Before we get to the knitting, here’s a shot of the BC19 and Arianna, taken in the hospital shortly after her birth:
My baby's a daddy!
And here’s a photo of la petite princesse, taken yesterday:
Not everyone can pull of a hat with ears, ya know.
So sweet!
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Did I say there was knitting? There was!
It took four attempts, but I think I’ve gotten the mitten caps and their decreases worked out, although I still have to graft the tips and figure out where and how I’m gonna attach them to the FIL Dashing mitts. Um, I’ve only ever grafted once, so I’ll be finding an online tutorial to keep me from ruining them at this late point give me some pointers.
Here’s how they look now:
It's only grafting, right? Right?! Gulp.
Wonder how they’ll look post-grafting and -blocking. And once they’re attached.
And, oh frak, I’ve still gotta figure out the thumb caps!
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I looked over at the kitty boys sleeping on the futon a little while ago and was amused to see Chewie was crashed out with one paw sticking up into the air. He wasn’t reaching for anything, just had his paw extended upward. Check it out:
See the shadow behind his upraised paw? It’s totally just poking up into the air for no reason. He didn’t move it until after I’d taken four or five pictures with flash, then he rolled over and tucked it under his chin. Weirdo kitty!
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OK, enough blather and procrastination. Time to tackle the grafting monster. Wish me luck!
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Thanks to all of you who sent congratulations. I’ve shared them with the new parents and they send their appreciation, too.
Write, Knit, Read, Purrrrr 