Yarn Along

This last week I've been working on a matching bonnet to go with Ingrid's romper that she wears when we go outside to brave the cold.  Puffy snowsuits aren't the rage anymore like when Silje was born.  I think I prefer a good, cozy hand knit wool romper anyway.

She must have been conducting in her sleep, while I was taking these pictures.  Like her biggest sister, Silje, she loves to sleep with her arms everywhere.  Unlike Solveig who is 2 and still likes to be swaddled.

I'm using the Small Things Bonnet, which I've made twice before, and liked it.  Really, the whole ebook of the Small Things patterns is wonderful.  I've made the patterns more than once.  Really I picked up this project because I've been aching to knit and design again, but as I've been working on designs, my brain seems to be stuck.  I normally sort out my brain by knitting, but when designing, it's important to have a plan laid out first.

So I had to take a step back from my sketch/numbers book, and pick up a tried and true pattern that required no planning on my part, and just a bunch of quick knitting.  I realized that I had never made the matching bonnet to go with Ingrid's romper which was made before she was born.  I had the leftover yarn already in my stash.  I had the pattern.  She didn't need another hat, but I needed a project to un-stick my brain and this fit the bill perfectly.  Plus, matching is fun.

Of course, as I'm doing the kitchener stitch in the back, I get to the end, and as I'm straightening out the stitches, I find a bit of a mistake of mine.  I must have missed closing up one of the stitches.  So it won't be perfect.  Ripping out stitches is painful, but ripping out a kitchener stitch is just preparation for suicide, so I'm going to attempt to just secure the random stitch and hide it somehow when I weave in the ends.  The weaving, and an i-cord tie is all that remains to this quicky project.  Pre-baby this project would have taken me an evening.  Post-baby it has been about a week.  We're still working on that.

And I have picked up some reading.  I decided to lead a little mom's book study at my house Thursday evenings, as I've heard so much about this book: Desperate.  It's a book of encouragement "for moms who need to breathe."  What attracted me to the book was the depth I read in in on the author's blog.  It talks about struggling with sin and selfishness as a mother, failing to reach expectations, etc.  I also liked that it's co-authored by an older mom who has grown kids who comes alongside this "desperate" author and breathes into her grace and encouragement, and reminding her of God's faithfulness.  So far I've found the introduction very real and honest, the first chapter a tiny bit cheesy and "like every other mom book" but by the 2nd chapter this book grabbed me again with both the reminder of who God is, as well as some practical ways and insights to not isolate ourselves, find a mentor and support group.  There's nothing Satan would like more than to make us feel alone in our sufferings, like we were the only ones, and the chapter I'm on gives some practical advice in fighting loneliness.

So I have some friends coming over tomorrow night (if they decide to brave the cold, cold temps) to chat about this book and our lives, and mothering, etc.  I'm really looking forward to it.

Linking up with Ginny.