House Arrest

FOs: Cabled Pocket Shawl, Classic Cashmere Sweaters, One Skein Wonder, Shedir

I told you Ravelry was good for motivating me.

FO: Cabled Pocket Shawl
Pattern: free pattern from KnitPicks
Yarn: KnitPick's Bare - 100% Peruvian Wool Bulky Weight
Needles: KnitPicks circulars, whatever sizes the pattern called for since gauge wasn't important
Began: October 13, 2006
Knitting completed: October 25, 2006
Blocked: November 5, 2006
Finished: July 30, 2007

I call this my "dog walking shawl." It's the purpose that I had in mind for it when I saw the pattern. Now that it's done I can see that it is perfect for that. The pockets can hold dog-poop bags and the shawl covers just enough to take away the chill on those fall evenings. I kinda regret not taking the plunge and finishing it earlier.

FO: One Skein Wonder
Pattern: designed by Stefanie Japel
Yarn: Gedifra Living, Graphite & Ruby
Needles: Don't remember
Began: Mid-October (?)
Knitting completed: November 4, 2006
Blocked: N/A
Finished: July 30, 2007

This is my second "One Skein Wonder." I made my first one out of some Noro yarn and it wound up being WAY too big. This one is just right size-wise, but I bound off too tightly around the neckline. I also ran out of the grey yarn and had to use the red that I bought for a third (never to be made) one. All in all it's aiight and will suit it's purpose — I made it to be worn around the house in the winter — but I won't be running to make another any time soon.

FO: Shedir
Pattern: designed by Jenna Wilson for Knitty's Breast Cancer Issue
Yarn: Norway Heilo, Charcoal
Needles: Don't remember, something small
Began: November 6, 2006
Knitting completed: December 15, 2006
Blocked: N/A
Finished: July 30, 2007

This is another project that languished forever. I loved, loved, loved knitting up Shedir. When I finished, I was almost sad but then I was excited by the thought of wearing it. All I needed to do to finish it was weave in two ends. So what happened?

Well... I put it on.

Can you say "Mushmouth?"

I like my hats much shorter, almost beanie style. I could have accomplished the look I like by omitting two of the pattern repeats but I didn't think of it at the time. I can still wear the hat with the brim turned up but chances are it's being gifted to Mark.

Pity cause while I really liked it, I'm not going to be knitting up a second one.

FO: Classic Cashmere Sweaters
Pattern: Simple Knits for Cherished Babies
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere, Khaki & French Blue
Needles: KnitPicks Options, sizes 4 & 5

Sweater 1 (Khaki):
Knitting started: January 15, 2007
Knitting completed: January 27, 2007

Sweater 2 (French Blue):
Knitting started: January 29, 2007
Knitting completed: February 16, 2007
Blocking and finishing for both: July 30, 2007

The first of the babies sweaters are finally done de done done and I couldn't be more pleased! The sweaters are still a little big for my bebes but will be perfect for the fall.

The only modification that I made was not to have closure at the back. The pattern calls for twill tape to tie it closed but I figured it wasn't necessary.

I'm halfway through seaming the first of the Hooded Jackets and hope to finish both of them and the two Oz vests today. As for the Baby Surprise Jacket and Three Piece Layette... well those are on hold until I'm done with my finishing.

And to think that in six days I have to kiss this goodbye and work all day:

6 weeks, 3 days

According to this due date calculator, I'm 6 weeks and 3 days along. Somehow I can't wrap my head around that so I tend to think of everything as being "post-transfer" (PT). In that world I'm 25 days PT and the ultrasound is scheduled for 30 days PT. The sea monkeys will have been hanging out for a full month by then.

The pregnancy symptoms continue, but milder than before, which is worrisome for me mainly because I don't know what to expect. So I've been googling and reading. I've even gone so far as borrowing my co-worker's copy of "What to Expect When You're Expecting," although I haven't found that book to be of much help to me at this stage.

Despite each author's reassurances that each pregnancy is different I find myself worrying that i'm not normal. But then again, I can't even be sure about that. After all, most of the articles available were written for women who conceived naturally, sans assistance.

There is little googlable info on what happens after a succesful IVF. (I knew the IVF rates were low, but sheesh!) Hell I found precious little on progesterone supplementation to maintain a pregnancy or progesterone symptoms. I find the only place for me to get a semblance of info on this topic is to go to other IVF blogs. And, as they say, mileage varies.

There are blogs that make me feel like I totally chose the wrong clinic because I don't know my current progesterone level or that I'm not still going for blood tests or that I haven't had two ultrasounds by now. Then there are blogs that are all about the gushing wonder of knowing they are pregnant or having twins. And of course, there are the blogs that talk about multiple IVF cycles and attempts.

I know that I've been lucky so far and thank my fortune / fate / stars. Still, I need the in-between info -- between being assuredly pregnant and not -- and unfortunately it's been hard to eke out.

Still, I'm trying to remain as optimistic as possible. I figure that whatever's happening, I'll have a clearer picture in 5 days. I can't really do anything about it other than continuing to feed myself right, relaxing and doing what I do.

Knittingwise, I removed my shawl from my blocking rugs this morning:

The only thing that remains is for the loose ends to be woven in and the pockets seamed. Otherwise, I'm pretty freaking thrilled with how it came out. I quickly draped it around my shoulders and found that the blocking definitely helped it tons. I didn't think it was very shawl-like before but it most definitely is now and I can totally see this being the quick wrap I toss on when I go walk the dog.

Also, here's the pic I promised of my unfinished One Skein Wonder:

I tried it on today and found that it fits much better than the first one I made so it will probably grow on me over time.

Shedir is coming along. I'm up to row 21 which is a teeny bit less than 1/4 of the way through the pattern. I'm expecting a lot of progress today, though, because I have Knit Club with Kelly and Michelle tonight.

Last but not least, here's a sneak peek at my next knittable for Mark:

The yarn arrived yesterday. 17 balls of Jo Sharp DK Tweed in colorway 408 - Cedar (a dark green). I've a year deadline to make it, but first I need to finish his vest which has been 3/4 done for a year now. I'll finish that by the end of this year and then fully assault his new sweater.

Of course, if everything goes well (knock on wood), I'll be taking breaks to make smaller items also.

Go sea monkeys, go!

Anxiety Revisited and Updates

The waiting periods have been extremely hard to deal with. I'm constantly plagued by anxiety and the fear that something is going or has gone wrong. I evaluate how I feel each day, comparing my symptoms to the day before. My internal dialogue can be overwhelming at times.

Gee, my boobs are not as swollen today as they were yesterday... Is something wrong? Come to think of it, I've been feeling less crampy, too. Is that bad? Why haven't I gotten morning sickness yet? According to what I've read women who get morning sickness are less likely to miscarry. Goddamnit, I want morning sickness already! I'm sick of waiting for it... Does that mean...? I wasn't exhausted last night. Is that a bad sign? Do pregnant women get insomnia? What if they don't find anything at the ultrasound?

And so on... I really really -- did I say REALLY -- want this pregnancy to stick and the anxiety over my biology is enough to drive me batty at times. Or to mindless TV and knitting. Lots of it.

Case in point, my One-Skein Wonder is officially a UFO now. I finished the knitting on Saturday and have to weave in the ends to be done. I know... I said I'd finish it in one fell swoop but once the knitting was done, I didn't want anything else to do with it. Originally this one was going to be all gray but I ran out(!!!) of gray yarn and wound up finishing it off with red yarn that I'd bought for another one. I also misread the pattern -- I was tired! -- and wound up knitting seed stitch where I shouldn't have. So, instead of ripping back, I modified things a bit. It definitely works... but surprisingly, I'm much less enthused by it now than when I first started. (Full-scale picture tomorrow. In the meantime check the UFO sidebar for a shot.)

Finishing my One-Skein Wonder was enough knitting for me on Saturday. I worked a teeny bit on the "Pirates" hat but mostly I spent the day lounging and flipping through the new Interweave Knits, where I spotted this:

I totally can't wait until next February when it comes out! I've been telling myself that 2007 will be the year of busting my stash and finishing all my lace projects. And along comes Interweave to make things more delicious.

As for the mag itself, it was solid but I have too many projects already going on and in mind to start yet another new thing. However, if I had to choose something I would drop everything to make, I would say that the Venezia Pullover (by Eunny Jang) and the Wine and Roses Mitts (by JoLene Treace) were my faves.

On Sunday I got the apartment to the right level of cleanliness (i.e. all the visible dirt and dog fur vaccumed up and the floor mopped) necessary to block my Cabled Pocket shawl.

The whole thing:

One of the pockets:

Stretching the 3-Needle Bind-off to get it straight:

My shawl protected from Maia by my exercise bike:

I also cast on for the Lace and Cable Capelet:

and for Shedir:

I had a hard time putting Shedir down, truth be told, but eventually I stopped working on it and made further progress on the "We Call Them Pirates" hat:

I was hoping to finish it last night, but I got tired and a little frustrated with knitting on the double pointeds. However, it's only eight rows away from being done and I guess is that I'll finish it next weekend.

Well, that's the weekend update from anxiety ridden me. Send me sticky sea monkey vibes. I could use them.

Hang in there, sea monkeys!

Cabled Pocket Shawl and Day 12 hCG

I finished the knitting on my Cabled Pocket Shawl last night:

The finished pieces:

Closeup of the three-needle bind-off:

The finished collar:

Smugly proud:

I still need to sew the pockets down, block it and weave in the ends in order to be finished. I could, technically, get away without blocking this piece, but I really do think it would look much better if I did. So, it's off the needles and into the UFO pile along with the Portland Pullover. I'm hoping that I will be able to tackle finishing both this weekend. We'll see how I feel -- I've been really low on energy lately.

Two teeny gripes about this project:

1. While this was a really simple pattern, portions of the instructions could have been better written (e.g. joining the pockets). I felt that they were a little convoluted and should have been rephrased -- but maybe I was just being ultra-dense that week.
2. The project took exactly five of the seven balls of yarn called for. I have no real desire to make the matching headband so I don't really have a use for the leftover two balls right now. I don't mind being one ball over, but two? It's not really that big of a deal though...

Otherwise, easy peasy. It made for perfect subway knitting.

Which brings me to what's next... I've reorganized some of the projects in my sidebar. Basically I've put the larger projects on hold until the holidays. I'm taking a week off work at both Thanksgiving and Christmas and I plan to work on those then. In the meantime, I've made the Candle Flame Shawl and One Skein Wonder #1 my commuting projects. (Oh, and I've ordered yarn to make this and a Namaste executive knitting bag as treats but more on those later...)

As for the second half of this post title... I went in for my hCG bloodwork monitoring this morning. According to what I've read, they're looking for the levels to double every 48 - 72 hours. Two days later my level has hit over 230. (I can't remember the exact number since my office was noisy while I was taking the call.)

The nurse told me that I'm progressing pretty well and that I don't have to come back for bloodwork until Monday. Hurrah! A reprieve from getting up early this weekend. I can truly enjoy my anniversary in bed now...

Incidentally, Mark has begun his multiples speculation, but I told him it's too early to tell. Again, anything might happen. I'm just focusing on staying positive, eating as healthfully as I can and getting enough rest.

Go, sea monkeys, go!

Anticipation

Have I mentioned that the waiting is killing me? Or that I have googled "early pregnancy symptoms" a few more times than is good for me? That I'm seriously overthinking it? And, that I'm obsessed with looking at pregnant bellies? (They're everywhere.) Or that all I want to do is start casting on for baby sweaters and booties and bibs and... (I even found a knit along for expectant moms to be...)

I know I have to stop since I might be setting myself up for a huge bout of depression. But I can't help but hope and be hopeful... Here's to the power of positive thinking... and prayer.

Last night was night 3 of our office knit club. It was a MUCH smaller group (thankfully; I didn't have the energy for the usual 16 odd that show up) and we basically went over purling and started learning basic patterns. I taught seed, showed how cables were formed and briefly discussed ribbing. I was a bit all over the place with my teaching, but it worked out well. These ladies are sponges -- they want to know EVERYTHING about knitting, especially the advanced stuff.

I brought in all my weekend projects for a bit of "show and tell" and inspiration: the completed Portland Pullover, Fetching fingerless gloves and Over the Knee Sock, along with my Candle Flame and Gorgonian shawls and the finished first half of the Cabled Pocket shawl:

Much oohing and "I want to make that" ensued.

Tonight I have our regular Knit Club with my friends Kelly and Michelle. Kelly is working on her first lace project -- Silvia Harding's Faroese Peaks Shawl. Michelle is making pop-top fingerless gloves (the convert to mittens) from a Paton's pattern. I expect to work on one of my three shawls or to continue with the second of the Over the Knee Socks.

But what I would really like to do... is go out an buy the nicest organic cotton I can find... and cast on for a teeny weeny little jacket... But I won't...

Not yet. Not until I know for sure.

Three, Six, Ten and Fifteen

A quickie update on how things are going:

Three:
They implanted three embryos -- I affectionately refer to them as "sea monkeys" -- yesterday. The full story on this later, but let me briefly mention that I DID have a bladder problem yesterday in an amusing yet painful sort of way.

In the meantime you can read about what Mark's been through.

Six:
Out of the 15 embryos, six had made it to blastocyst stage by Saturday. They picked the best three to implant and are waiting to see how the remaining three develop. If all goes well with them we will be able to freeze them for use in the future.

Ten:
I go in for a pregnancy blood test in ten days, not fourteen. Tuesday the 24th is D-day. I'm relieved because that means I won't be sweating about the results the day before our anniversary.

I'll know whether everything took by 4 PM that day.

Fifteen:
I'm up to cable #15 out of 20 on the first half of the cabled pocket shawl. I expect to finish the first half of the shawl and start the second part today. I've been a knitting fiend on this and hope to have it blocking by next Saturday.

I'm going to lie down and knit now. Thanks for the good wishes everyone. I have my fingers, toes and other extremities crossed.

Grow, little sea monkeys, grow!

Shiny Nickled*

A curious Samwise wonders what mommy is up to...

Maia, on the other hand, is used to this, and decides to hog the covers.

* Easily distracted by new, pretty, soft, covetable, luscious, drool-worthy... ahem... by new things.