Sunday, March 07, 2010

Harbingers of Spring (and a knitting-related question)

The snow is melting slowly, which is a good thing, as it helps minimize the possibility of flooding, and it's actually gotten above 40 for a couple days. This week's predicted precipitation is rain and fog, not snow.

Yesterday, a few geese returned to the pond.

The geese think it's Spring
Click to enbiggen

The pond is creek-fed (and in fact, the creek continues on beyond the pond), so where the water is flowing in, the ice has melted. Notice the goose standing on the ice, though!

I am very ready for Spring. This is the time of year when I really miss San Antonio, where it's already Spring and, if the wildflowers aren't already blooming, they will be soon.

Knitting-wise, I'm forcing myself to keep working on the blanket. I'm 40% done - it's easy to keep track of when you've got 10 skeins of yarn and plan on using them all! It's reached the bulky and non-portable point and is boring knitting, which is a deadly combination for me. Occasionally, I take a break to work on any of the several pairs of socks that are on the needles.

I need baby-knitting advice. I have a friend who is due in May and is not going to learn the sex of the baby. Although she's not a knitter, she always admires my knitting, so I want to knit something nice for her. However, the fact that I don't know whether I'm knitting for a boy or girl has me stumped. I do NOT want to knit another blanket - I'd rather do a sweater or maybe a hat and booties. Any gender-neutral suggestions, not just for patterns but for colors and yarns? (I think I have problems with this because I'm such a girly-girl...)

I promise knitting pictures next time!

8 comments:

Chris said...

Bibs! Or just a simple cardi (something from Knitting Pure & Simple maybe) in a neutral color, like pale olive or tan or black (really, babies look cute in black!).

Bezzie said...

I always knit my standard Tulip Baby Cardigan because the style goes either way and it's easy to "neutral" it up.

It's funny, I miss AK this time of year because it's still cold and a bit snowy. It's getting too warm too fast down here!

Steven said...

The word on the street is that the wildflowers are going to be stunning this year. But I haven't seen anything yet -- in fact, this cool winter has pushed things back again.

How about one of those Elizabeth Zimmerman baby surprise jackets? I' haven't made one myself, but I've been meaning too.

Mary Lou said...

I was in DC over the weekend and saw a crocus! I like gender neutral stuff for babies - primary colors are always great. I have a few patterns for baby stuff in sock yarns that also work in DK, but I agree with Chris that there a some nice KPS baby things. And I like the Tomten better than baby surprise.

Anonymous said...

The most well received thing I ever knit for a baby was blocks that spelled out the baby's name, however since no gender, obviously no name pre-birth.

I like Chris' bibs. They are cute, practical, and always well used. But then other than that, I like stripey baby socks (I think socks stay on better then booties), and/or toys. But then I just like toys.

Janne said...

There is a great book called Itty-bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson. It has really cute knitted toys. I like them all, but the lamb is so cute.

WK said...

I think as long as you avoid pink just about anything will work. Bright red is good for anyone. Yellow green and orange all would work (and I have used variants of them all). The baby surprise jacket is fun. A hat - sweater/jackiet bootie/sock combination in orange and green was really well received by my cousin. But the toys are good since they aren't outgrown as quickly.

Sarah said...

I have SUCH a hard time knitting baby clothes if I don't know the sex...even the most gender-neutral things usually look "girl" or "boy" to me for one reason or another. In fact, this is the primary reason I wanted to know what we were having -- so I'd know what to knit! ;-)

I usually default to knitted toys if I don't know the sex, or just wait till after the baby is born. Baby sweaters are so quick, I can still have one to the family before the baby's a month old...