Weekly unravelling

So what's unraveled here lately? Me for one. And my baby's new sock for another. First here's why I'm unraveled.

I knew that having a toddler and an infant would be tough. I knew this because I'd read a book and heard a few stories from other parents, that makes me an expert right? But wow, it did not adequately prepare me for this, one of the greatest challenges of my parenthood so far (I know, it's only been 2 1/2 years sigh). My infant is now 8 weeks old and most of it has been a blur. But one thing that stands out is how my sweet 2 and 1/2 year old turned into a bitter teenager in such a short time. It seems like nothing my husband and I do is right; she yells at us and tells us to "let me be" or "just go away". Where did she learn this language anyway? Her new nickname is the "obstructionist" because apparently her resolution for 2010 was to impede whatever it is that Chris and I are trying to do, walk through the hall, open the bathroom door, and it goes on and on.

So I've been thinking of how I could explain the juggling act to my girlfriends. And then life provided a good example for me. So I'm changing Violet's diaper on the changing table. And Olivia insists on getting into the room to stand on her stool and watch. As I'm cleaning up one of the poopiest diapers Vi has created in her new short life, I mean there was poop all the way to the poor girls chest with an impressive amount pooled up in her bellybutton, Liv has put her hands on every part of Vi that I'm trying to clean or dress. I can't pick up Vi to remove her poopy onesie without prying Liv's hands off of her. Then I've got to remove Liv's grip from Vi's arm just so I could put on her clean shirt. It's amazing that neither Liv nor I ended up splattered in poo. And the walls were still clean too! Now that's some juggling.

Now for the sock's unraveling. Like I mentioned in my previous post I'm adapting a pattern for an adult-sized sock to fit an infant. So I guessed at the number of stitches to cast on. I thought well if I cast on 60 for me surely Vi's foot couldn't require more than half of that! So I'm knitting happily along, and watching the Oscars (hello George!) when I get far enough with the foot portion to want to see the cute little sock on my chubby girl. I had tried the leg section on her a day ago, before I worked the heel and thought that it was just big enough. Well I can't quite figure out what changed but I was wrong! I couldn't even get it over her ankle tonight. I am a stubborn Texan and so was tempted to "make it work" and then realized that having a screaming baby was not what I wanted to sacrifice in order to see some knitting success. So I made my husband admire the sock, I even made him touch it, he rolled his eyes and muttered something about me being a little scary, before I ripped it all out. I'm pretty sure he thought I was losing it but I just haven't had a lot of knitting success lately and had it in my mind that this project would be a slam-dunk. And now my cold has blossomed into something finer and the paranoid side of me thinks I must have pneumonia and pink eye. Oh I'm not sure when I'll have the fortitude to start the sock again, is it wise to knit with an itchy, swollen eye?

Violet's Baby Socks

A few nights ago I realized that my baby has only one pair of socks that fit her. So I grabbed some sock yarn from my stash and started looking for a baby sock pattern on Ravelry. There were a lot but I didn't have time to search for one written for two circular needles. Since I was anxious to start knitting I decided to use the pattern I have and adapt it to fit an infant.

I really like the Adam's Rib His and Hers Socks pattern. It's the pattern I used for the first pair of socks I knit and it is very easy to understand. Also it is written for two circular needles which suits me because I am all thumbs with double pointed needles.