After considering a whole lot of names and giving the matter months of thought, we have decided that the Bean will be known as Griffin Alexander. We haven’t decided if he’ll be nicknamed Finn or Griff or what his last name will be, but at least we have something to fill in for the first two fields of the poor kid’s birth certificate!

It wasn’t finished in 5 hours or 5 days, and I stopped keeping track of the actual knitting time after about 2 hours, but it’s done.

I probably won’t bother with buttons or a closure; I thought about snaps, but I’m not sure there’s much point. I’ll probably just be happy if I can struggle the Bean’s arms into the sleeves and keep him in it long enough to take a picture. 🙂

Perl objected to having her legs inserted into the armholes, but did consent to model it draped over her shoulders.

I compared it to some 0-3 month onesies we have, and it looks like a perfect match, so he’ll be able to wear it during the possibly chilly springtime weather as a newborn.

And now to start knitting on some wooly soakers for the little Bean butt!

I haven’t made quite as much progress on the Bean’s “Five Hour” Sweater as I’d hoped, since this weekend was a bit busier and more draining than I expected, but I’m definitely on the home stretch of finishing the body. It’s very cute, and I have no idea if it’ll be too small or if he’ll need to grow into it, but I hope he’ll be able to wear it at least once!

I’m gathering a little pile of all my oddball skeins of non-superwash wool to make knit soakers with. I have a couple free patterns I want to try, in particular this one (Ravelry link) from Warm Heart Woolies, which is shaped like a standard wrap diaper cover and can have a button or velcro/Applix closure. Here’s a random example picture from Flickr; for some reason a baby in a wooly little diaper cover is just too adorable!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15115763@N04/3692080974

I also ordered three kinds of home-dec-weight fabric on sale from fabric.com for making a ring sling and a pouch/tube sling. I’ll see which kind me and the Bean like best, and make a second one of whatever type that is. (Jag doesn’t get one because he’s much more interested in using the Baby Bjorn carrier we got second-hand from one of my very generous coworkers.)

And now to bed.

I am definitely in a dedicated Bean Knitting period. Does this count as nesting? I finished the Bean Socks to go with the hat, and they’re very cute and fuzzy. According to the various sites that list baby foot/head/etc measurements for this sort of thing, they should fit an average newborn to 3 month old, so hopefully he’ll get to wear them at least a few times. There’s still some yarn left in the skein, but not enough to do a whole lot with. Maybe I’ll use it as a trim color on something else.

We were kind of curious as to what they’d look like if Jag (aka Mr. Size 15 Shoes) tried them on. Toe socks!!!

I also started on the famous “Five Hour Baby Sweater” in a Cascade 220 superwash handpaint. I suspect it’s going to take me a few hours longer than 5, but it’s a simple raglan cardigan and should be finished quickly, especially with the help of my new sheepie stitch markers. I’ll have to find a cute button to close the front with.

I finished a little apple-y hat for the Bean, using Crystal Palace Mini Mochi striping sock yarn and a pattern I found here: http://happyasianwomenknitting.com/?p=235.

It’s definitely a newborn-sized hat (hopefully his noggin won’t be too huge to wear it when he’s born!). Since it only took a few hours to make, I’m thinking of whipping up a bigger one in a thicker yarn so he can continue to have his head encased in fruit-shaped hats further into his infancy. 😉

Lacking a baby doll to model the hat, I tried it on all of the cats. They were less thrilled about this than you’d think. Go figure!

I have plenty of yarn left in the skein, so I think I’ll try some matching booties next.

I finished Dad’s Christmas socks today (only 5 days late). They took a refreshing Eucalan bath and are currently drying comfortably on a fluffy towel. In retrospect, I should have chosen a less “interesting” pattern to save time; these weren’t exactly hard, but the knitting was a lot less mindless than a simple 2×2 rib would have been. Still, I think it’s a cool-looking and masculine texture for a pair of guy’s socks.

Undulating Rib Socks by Ann Budd, from Interweave’s Favorite Socks book. Dye Dreams sock yarn in Dark Denim on size 2 needles.

Now that these are finished, my self-imposed ban on Bean knitting has been lifted and I can go crazy making little hats and sweaters and sockies!

We had a very successful waffle iron experience this morning. This time it was blueberry waffles (using frozen small wild blueberries), and I used a recipe that called for leavening with buttermilk/baking soda and required separating the eggs and folding in the beaten whites to add lightness at the end. I have to say, this is now my go-to waffle recipe. The previous waffles were great, but a little dense and heavy. These waffles, despite the added fruit, were lighter, crisper, tasted better, and, I hate to admit it, more like Eggo waffles (but better!).

While Jag relaxed with his new Wii game (Mini Ninjas, which is seriously adorable and fun to watch), I spent a while washing up two small batches of the silver/black Icelandic fleece. After reading a variety of online tutorials, I used the following procedure.

1.) A wash/soak in HOT water with a tablespoon of Charlie’s Soap Powder (which is actually a detergent with washing soda, not a soap)

2.) A rinse/soak in HOT water with a glug of white vinegar, recommended to soften the wool and restore some of the natural acidity.

The wool was seriously barnyard-y smelling before, but smells nice and neutrally wooly after a wash and rinse. It’s drying outside on a rack and looking very pretty. There’s still some VM to pick out, but it seems non-greasy and soft. If this batch turns out well, I’ll use the same method on the rest.

It’s one thing to have a collection of gifted baby clothes already assembled, but reality really starts to sink in when you open up your first shipment of stuff like…diapers.

We’re planning to cloth diaper at home (this won’t be an option at daycare, unfortunately), so we ordered a prefold cloth diapering “starter kit” with all the basics. (Prefolds are the cheapest type of cloth diapers, and we’ll definitely save money just using them part of the time.) The kit contains 3 dozen newborn diapers, 1 dozen of the next size up, 6 different brands/types of waterproof diaper covers to try out, 2 dozen cloth wipes, wipes solution, spray bottle, and a Snappi diaper fastener. We added 2 washable/waterproof changing pads and a wet bag. Everything looks very nice.

Bartholomew Bunny patiently modeled the diaper covers for us. There were some fit issues in the rear, but we’re assuming that the Bean probably won’t have a fluffy bunny tail.

It’s really interesting how different all the diaper cover designs are. Some have only snaps, some only velcro, some a mix, some have adjustable heights, leg gussets, etc. This will definitely be one of those cases where we’ll have try them all and see what works best.

Perl definitely approves of our hippie cloth-diapering ways.

We had a good 2-day family Christmas celebration this year. As usual, we opened gifts on Christmas Eve after chowing down on the appetizer extravaganza and cookies.

Robin had the most festive socks.

Dad received the World’s Largest Pizza Wheel; I think it can probably used to cut shingles and tile as well as pizza.

Dad’s one sock fit just fine, so I kidnapped it back and will use it as a length template for sock #2.

To the dismay of other household members, Mom discovered that the size 50 knitting needles she’s planning to use for making broomstick lace can also be used as weapons.

Robin seemed to like her Aromatherapy Piggie, which can be used hot or cold, just like a thermos!

My mom crocheted some gifts for the Bean, including this lovely blankie…

…and a set of bibs, including an octopus she modified to include a pirate eyepatch. 🙂
(If you had asked me last Christmas if I’d be getting baby stuff as gifts this year….but I digress.)

Toby got into the holiday spirit as well (whether he wanted to or not).

Christmas dinner was a fondue-fest. For dinner, we had hot oil fondue with a selection of meats (beef, chicken, catfish, shrimp) and lots of veggies, with tempura batter and a variety of sauces. For dessert, chocolate fondue with fruits and cheesecake and pound cake. I about had to roll myself home.

And now to spend a few days recovering from the excitement.

Together at last….

Also, Dad’s secret project is just not going to be finished, unless the TARDIS stops by and I can spend several hours knitting on board while time stops here on earth. He’ll be getting it in its current state, and I’ll try to finish it up as soon as I can (which should only be a few days).