Michael wanted to do a baby pool (pink/blue and the date) from the beginning, but we talked ourselves out of it. Teyani has talked us back into it.

He’s decided to handle bets by email (which I suspect might be a mistake). Visit his post (here) to see the details. Basically: email Michael (ivey at gweezlebur dot com) with the subject line “Baby Pool,” your pick for pink or blue, your pick for a date (the official due date is in the middle of February), and whether you would prefer Regular (for non-knitters) or Extra Fiber as far as prizes are concerned. To win the Grand Prize, you’ve got to get both pink/blue and the date. It looks like there will be a smaller prize for just getting the date right (if you are only right about pink/blue, you will receive the good feeling that you get from a well-made guess). Multiple right answers will be entered into a drawing.

One guess per individual, please, so choose wisely! The book will close on February 8, 2008.

I like to be prepared.

I figure there is a pretty good chance that we will have either a boy or a girl, and that someone is bound to have the opposite of that at some point in the future. So why not make hats in both colors? These are based on the basic hat pattern in The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns (one of the most useful books I own) in Rowan Wool Cotton. The flowers on the girly hat were a blast to knit – the pattern can be found at the beginning of Knitting Stitches.

Another of my projects last week was the elephant pacifier clip from Itty-Bitty Nursery.

It helps if you have a Great Gran to explain how to make the crochet ears.

This little guy was ridiculously fun and quick to make in spite of his many parts. Susan B. Anderson (the designer) has the pattern for the flower clip available for free on her website. I made the flower in green, white and yellow, but I need another clip to actually finish it. Target carries a $.99 store brand line of clips in lots of colors, so I think I will pick up extras for quick baby presents.

I am off to spend the afternoon with Great Gran! Our action-packed plans include knitting and watching HGTV.

We are such party animals.

Dear Jerkface Spammer,
Dude, borrowing my domain name so that you can spam bajillions of email accounts is seriously uncool. That I received thousands (and I mean that literally: the total peaked at over 7000) of “delivery status – failed” messages in my in-box makes me want to hunt you down and hurt your feelings.
Sincerely,
yarnmiracle (you know the one)

PS If any one real sent me an email that needed a response and you haven’t heard back from me, it was probably lost in the Giant Delete. Would you please try again?
PPS My CounterPain Goal for 2008 is 24 squares (shown in green on the status indicator in the side bar). I think two for each month is reasonable.

Little stuff always makes me smile.

Little hats.

Snuggly Baby Hat, Interweave Knits (Summer 2004) in Wool Cotton

Little socks.

Infant Socks by Judy Ellis in Ruby Sapphire Pine Haven

Little kitties.

All six of the cats in miniature! Based on Barbara Prime‘s Tabby Kitty.

Their sweaters match their collars (and stocking tops): Betty – yellow, Abigail – green, Lady Bird – purple, Lucy – pink, Mamie – orange, William Henry – blue. Mom put their faces on after Christmas (whiskers were added on New Year’s Day).

Little cake.

That’s a salad plate. The cake is 4.5″ in diameter.

Up until my most recent trip to the bookstore, I had a terrible problem: I have a recurring urge to bake and eat a cookie. This doesn’t seem like much of a problem until you consider the other 3 dozen cookies that my recipes require me to bake and eat. See where I’m going with this? But I will never have that problem again thanks to Small-Batch Baking. All the recipes contained in this miraculous book make just a couple servings! Want a piece of cake? Try the Old-Fashioned Yellow Cake and top it with one of the great frostings (the frosting recipes only make a cup – enough for a tiny layer cake). Want a cookie? The recipes make half a dozen. The cinnamon roll recipe makes four rolls, the muffin recipes make two or three muffins, the mini breads, tarts and pies sound delicious (with pie crust recipes that make enough for just two pies). I am going to try them ALL!

I may try them all twice – the yellow cake was delicious.

Can I knit three quarters of a pair of socks in just four days?

Yes, indeed. So far, 2008 is looking pretty good.

It helps that I changed my mind at the last minute and used the December Rockin’ Sock Club Yarn (as soon as I opened the package and saw that it was Medium-Weight and in great colors, I knew that the day was saved). The stitch pattern is taken from the Best Foot Forward socks in Knit Socks! They are all boxed up and on their way north. I don’t think I am giving away too much saying that – pretty much everything is north of here.

The deadline for my other large work-in-progress is a little more relaxed than the last couple have been. After all, what could be more relaxed than a tree skirt I don’t need until next year?

Check out my stylin’ new yarn tote.

I have completed an eleventh of the tree skirt from Handknit Holidays. This is such a pleasant knit, I really love the cables and the super thick yarn. I can put it down at any time to pick up other little projects:

Little projects like baby knits!