A Baby Blanket Rant

    This one has been brewing for a while. All of my fellow crafters know that there's nothing more special than making a blanket for a wee newborn babe. I have noticed in the last few years, however, that there are no photos forthcoming from the new mommies of their tiny little bundles of joy wrapped up in all of our hard work.


    After all these thousands of years it apparently has been determined by medical experts that babies are not to be covered by blankies while sleeping. No more bumper pads in cribs, no toys of any kind. Nothing but the baby, in very heavy jammies, in the crib. How, I ask you, has the human race survived? We all laid our babies on their tummies to sleep. Now that is forbidden as well.


    I may have told this story already, but I feel the need to repeat myself. A year and some months ago, my daughter had two friends who were both pregnant. Coincidentally, they have the same name. One's baby shower was in November and one was in December. I made for them both my signature baby blanket. However, I didn't want them to be exactly the same. So I made one the usual twelve pointed star, and the other I made a circle. They were both lovely, if I do say so myself.


    I decided in my mind which mommy got which blanket. However, at the last minute I changed my mind, and the circular blanket went to the first baby shower. It turned out that the Yarn Goddess spoke to me that day. For the mommy whose baby got my circular blanket had also gotten a round bassinet! The blanket was the surprise hit of the shower.


    I know my blankies are well loved and hopefully used, but speaking for all my fellow crafters to all new mommies: Please lay the baby on each hand made blanket and snap a photo for the crafter. Post them on facebook, or send them in an email. All we crafters really want is to see our hard work underneath that adorable little baby.


   All crafters, I believe, would like to know that their efforts aren't being kept all folded up in a drawer, never to be used. We want them to be used and even abused. We want to see them with spit up stains on them, or even worn out!


   Speaking for myself, I won't be making any more baby blankets. And that makes me a little sad. With any luck, the two ladies will read this and get my blankets out and photograph their adorable little girls sitting on them, or dragging them around. That's all I really want.

   This Rant is now at an end. Thank you, and Good Night! Please keep in mind that it's tired and I'm late.....
   

Now that it's over....

    I can show you the photos I took of what I made!! This first set, I started right after we found out that Sara was expecting, at Hubs' request. I waited until we knew the baby's sex for absolute sure before I completely finished it. If the baby was a girl, everything was going to be trimmed in pink, and the sweater buttons were going to be pink too.

    This one is the Harley Davidson receiving blanket. There was also a black Harley onesie, and black Harley booties too. I didn't get photos of them for some reason. I think the bootie box was too shiny.

    It was funny, but after I found boxes for everything and got them wrapped, I sort of forgot what was in which box. I guess I got them all right, since there were no surprises at the shower.


    As for the knitting, I did quite a bit today, as I went to visit my good friend Bonny, so I sort of got caught up. I was too involved in the shower thing, being nervous about it and all, to get any knitting done in the week before the shower. Now that it's all over, I can relax.


    Oops, I almost forgot, that sweater in the top photo? I didn't make it, my friend Bonny made it for me. I was supposed to sew the buttons on, but that didn't work out. I did one, but it was in the wrong place, so I got mad and took it off. Bonny sewed the buttons on for me too. She's the best.

The Baby Shower

    It's all over now, and I'd say it was a success. There were mounds and mounds of gifts, and Sara got to open them all. There was a time concern, but we pulled it off.

   

 

 

    The food was really good, and it seems like everyone had a good time. We played some games, and prizes were handed out. Special kudos go out to Sara's mother-in-law Sue and sister-in-law Kelly, they were on decorations, and did a great job!


    Here are some photos of the attendees!

 

     And lastly, here are a few shots of Sara opening gifts... The last one is her showing everyone the blanket I made for her.

     Over the years, she has watched me make quite a few of these for friends and family, and it's finally her turn to get one. I think she was looking forward to getting it. It's a favorite of mine to make, and even Hubs loves it.

Shower Preparations

    I am spending the day finding boxes for baby gifts, packing them, and wrapping them for the baby shower tomorrow. I have taken photos but won't show them to you until after the shower.


    There are, however, a few that I can show you! This first one is all the presents on the table, covered by a towel because Sara was here and I didn't want her to see them.

 

    The next one is with the towel taken off. I guess she wouldn't have been able to see very much after all!

    And finally here is the monkey butt pants and two onesies it came with. Sara has seen these already, so it's OK to show them to you.

     It's hard to believe that she's already 7 months along, but on the other hand it feels like it's taking forever.... I just hope the shower goes well. I'm not very good at hostessing.


     I also have other things to do today, believe it or not! I have about three days worth of dishes to do, and laundry too. The dishes are nearly done, and I am about to start the laundry. Then I can wrap the last three boxes. I hope she appreciates that none of the boxes are taped shut. I figured I'd make it as easy to open them as possible.

Errands and such

    Today I spent the day running errands, most of which I could do right from my chair. I finalized the baby shower by calling the restaurant and giving them the final guest count and menu choices.


    I took a call from my pulmonary specialist's assistant, and made appointments for a CAT scan and a follow-up visit. I also made more laundry sauce today.


    As I re-read the recipe, to make sure I do it right, I read some of the comments on the original post. If you really read the entire thing, it tells you explicitly that you cannot make substitutions in ingredients, or mason jar size, or anything. You have to do it exactly as written. Yet there are yahoos out there who don't follow the directions, and ask why it didn't turn out right. It's not like it's that complicated, it has only three ingredients, besides the water. I shake my head. It just boggles the mind.


    Anyway, I also went out today, to visit with a friend while she was at karate with her daughter. That didn't last long, as she ended up leaving, with the intention of picking said daughter up later. She didn't feel like sitting there for three hours today. I don't blame her. When I do it, it's strictly on a volunteer basis. I've already put in my time there.


    Before she left, we went to the supermarket. And as long as I was there, I thought I would order the cake for this weekends baby shower. So, the cake is now ordered. I hope everyone enjoys it! I'm really looking forward to this shower, and meeting some of my daughter's in-laws that I haven't met yet.


    At one point this morning, I remembered to call my mom, since today is her 81st birthday. I couldn't make dinner with her and Sara, but I am going to spend the day with her soon, and we'll do lunch.


    In between phone calls and errands, I got some knitting done as well. I also plan on doing more after dinner while watching TV with the Hubs. This blanket is never going to get done. I still have shower gifts to wrap, and edgings to crochet, and buttons to sew on too!


    Sometimes I feel that it never ends. I just can't wait for this baby to come!

And now for some knitting news

    I know I haven't talked about it much lately, but I have been knitting again. The super secret project is coming along. It's been driving me nuts because I was having to do it on 60" circulars, which was cumbersome to say the least. I haven't been able to find any of my other, right size, shorter ones.


    So when I was out with my friend Bonny yesterday, we stopped at Michaels craft store and I picked up a 29" circular, which is just the right size. It's one of the cheapo Boyd ones and when I got it home I prepared to heat some water up to straighten it. When I took it out of the package, lo and behold, it wasn't made with the same old plastic that they used to use. It straightened out all on its own. Huzzah!


    I am going to take some photos of my projects that I've been working on, but I can't post them until after the baby shower next month. You see, my beloved daughter reads this blog. I don't want to give anything away. The shower is on October 27th, so look for the photos that night or the next day.


    Speaking of secret projects, I have some buttons to sew on. I was waiting for the baby's sex to be positively determined. Now that it has, I don't need the pink buttons or pink yarn that was to be used to trim some items. Trust me, they would've looked pretty cool with pink trim and buttons.

Changing direction midstream

    Since it is counterproductive to knit and cause myself pain, it looks like I'll have to go back to crocheting. I've decided not to frog the Super Secret Project, but to continue a crochet project I had stopped in order to do the secret one. Don't get me wrong, this one is secret too. Hopefully at some point I'll be able to knit again.


    I bought plenty of the yarn. I originally bought it for the crocheted secret project, but instead used it for the knitted one. Now I'll go back and use it as originally intended. If you're thoroughly confused, don't worry about it. All is well.


    Now I'm planning a baby shower. I am terrible at these things, but apparently it's my job as the mom-to-be's mom. The good thing is that I've got plenty of help! I'm absolutely no good at the games and things.