i tried not to

Really, I promised myself I'd be better about avoiding nutritionally-devoid, fatty and/or sugary foods for the next twelve weeks. You know, so our child doesn't exit the womb already hardwired to crave Doritos and chocolate chip cookies. I stocked the fridge up with all kinds of great fruits & veggies, including a big bag of dark, juicy cherries, which were well-intended for virtuous snacking.

Instead, after a moment of weakness triggered by this, a few of them ended up garnishing one very lovely tea cake:

It's this recipe, minus the lemon zest, plus a rounded teaspoon of sour cream, one prepared serving of Ener-G instead of an egg, and a 1/2 tsp. of almond extract.

Unfortunately (but not unsurprisingly), I broke the cake into five pieces when I tried to coordinate my clumsy hands into flipping it right-side up for cooling, but nevermind. It still tastes delicious, and is best enjoyed fresh, while the sugary topping is still crunchy and crackly. I half-expected it to turn out on the sturdier, chewier side, but it's oh-so-soft and pillowy inside.

Now excuse me while I go finish licking the casualty crumbs off the counter.

Sweet Pea Set

Finally, it's done!

Pattern: Sweet Pea Set by Chris de Longpre
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport, Silver Sage
Raveled

It wasn't the most riveting knit, but I figure I'll appreciate its practicality for baby later in the fall. The sacque does look a bit longer than I remember from the last time I knit this pattern, though.

I've cast on for a quick little newborn cardigan next, then I'm hoping to get one more hooded bunting bag and an FBS eked out before October. If things go really well, I also have my eye on a classy baby blanket, too, but that may be too ambitious. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting a little bit tired of baby knits, but seeing as there's no use in making anything for myself right now, these will keep my hands sufficiently busy until baby arrives.

And lest you thought Georgie's modeling career was over:

red, white and blue

Fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants eggless french toast: whisk together some milk, a few teaspoons of chickpea flour, nutmeg, cinnamon & a pinch of sugar, dip in slices of day-old Italian bread and cook on each side in a small pat of butter.

Hope everyone had a happy fourth!

things i miss

Most moms I meet tell me how pregnancy was such a happy, wonderful, glowy time in their lives. And don't get me wrong, not a day goes by that I don't marvel at the miracle of my body being able to grow a little person for nine months. But there are times, like now, when I start thinking wistfully (selfishly?) about some of the things I miss from before I got pregnant:

1. My waistline.

2. Ordering a restaurant item with cheese without having the server embark on an epic quest to find out whether it's pasteurized.

3. Beer. Not that I was much of a drinker before getting pregnant, but now that I can't have it, I really want it.

4. Being able to see the portion of my body between my belly button and the tops of my feet (Dear legs: you guys OK down there?)

5. My trusty old friends, Salicylic Acid and Retinol.

On the other hand, I already know there's one thing I'll definitely miss about being pregnant:

Feeling the delightful motions of my little one fidgeting inside my belly. I could happily sit around and do this all day...

still working

...on the Sweet Pea set. It's being done in KnitPicks Shine Sport (same as last time), in Silver Sage. I forgot how boring the body of the sacque gets; I feel like I've been working on it forever, even though I added a dot stitch to give it a bit of interest. Only a couple of more inches before the body split, and after that it shouldn't be too much longer to completion.

Also, thanks for all of your wonderful well wishes on the move - I especially appreciate those of you who've written from our new neighborhood with welcomes and tips on the area! We're still kind of in transition, as we're in corporate housing until next week, and after that we're just in a 3-month temporary apartment while we scramble to find a house to buy before the baby arrives. People have started asking us what our nursery theme is, to which we say: "Nursery theme? We don't even have the nursery yet!" All in good time, I'm sure.

so many changes.

Things have been so chaotic here, I haven't even had the chance to tell you that we're leaving DC to move to the Philadelphia area. Tomorrow, in fact. We ate our last falafel, took one last walk around the neighborhood, watched all our things get packed up and loaded onto a moving van, and now we're just sitting on an air mattress in an empty, echo-y apartment. The move is for a good reason--H got a great new job--but the farewell is bittersweet. This was our first home together being married, after all. We complained a lot about DC not being as great as Boston, but now that we're leaving, we're suddenly realizing how good we had it here, especially after having lived here to see this past election. DC's definitely got its own brand of charm.

Onward and upward, I suppose. At least we're moving to a place where we can live on the first floor without bars on our windows.

offset wraplan

Another sweater crossed off the list; this one was pretty quick & easy (aren't most baby knits, though?), even with all those fussy ends to weave in from the stripes. I didn't have time to go all the way to the big fabric store for buttons, so I popped into my LYS, where Holly helped me pick out with the cutest little duckies:

Pattern: Offset Wraplan
Size: 3-6 months
Yarn: Ella Rae Baby Cotton & Mirasol Samp'a Organic Cotton, 2 skeins each

Is it just me, or is the neckline on this a bit wide? I tried putting this on Georgie for the photos, but it kind of fell off his shoulders and ended up looking more like a dress. I suppose baby will be wearing a onesie underneath so it won't really matter, but if I were to make this pattern again, I'd go with smaller needles for the edgings.

And now onto a little Sweet Pea Sacque...

baby yoda

Thanks so much for all the sweet and supportive comments to our bun-in-the-oven announcement - we read and truly appreciate each and every one of them! Now onto some baby knitting...

Pattern: Baby Yoda Sweater
Yarn: Plymouth Oceanside Organic (3 skeins)
Raveled

It didn't really take me a month to finish it, I swear. It just took me a month to finish the inside ties and sew down the buttons.

Also, Georgie will be modeling all baby knits until the real deal arrives, just so you know.

and then there were three.

I've been sitting on some news for a while, and today seems as good a day as any to finally share it with you...

We're expecting! Our little pumpkin is due at the beginning of October, and we couldn't be happier :)

Happy Mother's Day!

fifteen seconds (or is it minutes?)

If you've picked up the latest issue of Knit.1 magazine, you might notice a familiar face on page 18:

I really enjoyed "meeting" Tanis & answering her questions, and there are a some lovely patterns in the issue. If only I had the time to knit my own pajamas (and then lounge around in them!).

Many thanks to Knit.1 for inviting me to contribute! Can't wait to see who pops up on that page next month...