Category: Knitting & Crochet

Why My Son Doesn’t Wear Handknit

~ marobbie ~ Leave a comment

There are reasons why I do not produce much hand-knit material, and I have very little to show for it once the I actually finish an object.

When Robert was born I knitted him a jacket, it ended up getting stolen from my ex’s car along with the baby backpack I received from Cape
Town Mediclinic, a baby bottle, a board book and other baby paraphernalia. Last week I did finish a sweater for Robert, it was lying there awaiting completion since September. In fact it traveled with me to Germany and back, and was just missing half a sleeve. I finished it even in the middle of a rush translation project because I wanted to make sure that he gets to wear it as the weather gets cooler. The sweater was a little on the small side – the pattern was for a one-year-old not 18 months +, but I had elaborate plans of blocking it or even unravelling it from the bottom and knitting longer ribbings. My plans did not come to pass, and the sweater was worn for TWO times only.  I forgot that it was not 100% acrylic and put it in the washing machine along with other synthetics. When it came out it was felted and shrunk beyond recognition. The heat was not an issue I think but rather all the spinning and agitating. Now it has been put away out of sight, I am not even sure whether I can give it away to a smaller baby, I am too upset to even have a second look.

Now like its predecessor the cardigan all that is left are photos. Shame, because I liked the sweater so much, it matched Robert’s eyes perfectly.

Crocheting and Unraveling

~ marobbie ~ Leave a comment

Two weeks ago I started crocheting a dress for Olivia, who was yet to be born. After almost finishing the dress I discovered that it was sitting too stiffly and was not the greatest piece. I unraveled the whole thing and started over with a larger hook, and crocheted a jacket this time. I always unravel stuff when I am not too happy about something, or when I spot a mistake that nobody else would Two weeks ago I started crocheting a dress for Olivia, who was yet to be born. After almost finishing the dress I discovered that it was sitting too stiffly and was not the greatest piece. I unraveled the whole thing and started over with a larger hook, and crocheted a jacket this time. I always unravel stuff when I am not too happy about something, or when I spot a mistake that nobody else would notice. This time my aborted project was an imitation of my life. I am unraveling my marriage because it is obviously not working. The jacket turned out beautiful, more so because the wool was softened and stretched with unraveling. Perhaps this is what will happen to me sometime in the distant future.

Creative Timout

~ marobbie ~ Leave a comment

Two weeks ago I started crocheting a dress for Olivia, who was yet to be born. After almost finishing the dress I discovered that it was sitting too stiffly and was not the greatest piece. I unraveled the whole thing and started over with a larger hook, and crocheted a jacket this time. I always unravel stuff when I am not too happy about something, or when I spot a mistake that nobody else would notice. This time my aborted project was an imitation of my life. I am unraveling my marriage because it is obviously not working. The jacket turned out beautiful, more so because the wool was softened and stretched with unraveling. Perhaps this is what will happen to me sometime in the distant future.

I enjoyed working on the pink jacket so much, I knitted one more in variegated wool, Baby Milkyway which is a local brand. The wool is very soft, but perhaps more suited to knitting than crochet. My second jacket, this one for Kylie the newborn daughter of a colleague at work, turned out okay, but not as nice as the one crocheted in solid pink (double knitting yarn also a local brand). Too bad I do not have a picture of it.

Obscurity

~ marobbie ~ 1 Comment

The latest mindless book I read was by Evelyn Anthony. I am happy to say that I no longer have any of her works in my possession, this is the last one and it is going out the window soon. The title is obscure enough that only ten people have it listed on librarything.com. I am not listing it because I try to appear a little more intelligent than I am.

Today I have resumed menstruating unexpectedly. My body is perhaps telling me that I am ready for the next baby, which is not bloody likely to happen unless I get raped – well lets not tempt fate shall we, this place is full of nasty crime and I am not planning on becoming another statistic.

On Saturday the weather was extremely hot, Sunday was cloudy and humid, today it is raining and cool. But give me the cold any day instead of the suffocating heat.Hubby is resuming his social life, which is a great success since he never had one to start with. Yesterday he was out with (???). He later said that they went to a pizza place and a fish restaurant. Well, whatever floats his boat. Meanwhile I am still coasting and waiting for what he comes up with in the next few weeks. He wants some time, and as he constantly drones whenever I try to talk it out with him : “Give me a break”.A friend of mine spent the weekend in Swellendam, which is medium sized town two hours away from here. She and her family are planning to relocate there. Considering that she has a very successful swim school here and her husband runs a successful plumbing business, the move might be foolhardy, but I can fully understand. People move on with their lives, they take charge and they make workable plans. Unlike my husband who is fond of dreaming of whatever is not achievable at the moment.I also have plans. I can relocate with my son to join my family. I can also move upcountry and build a small house. I have thousands of different plans. The only problem I have is the husband, who has a difficult time accepting available options.

I have been knitting as well. Knitting is therapeutic and very relaxing. As you build up the stitches of your work, your mind wanders and you consider your life. I hatched many dreams and plans as I was knitting. I even came up with a plot of a new story. It is a kind of sci-fi scientific thriller and takes place in a futuristic world where women learned to do without men. They even managed to pro-create by cloning without the need for men. Quite a neat idea, don’t you think, but it doesn’t end as you would expect, because women in the end are their own worst enemy and they actually give men the power over them. My story is still unformed, but the knitting has taken shape and it is a purple turtle that will find its home with a special little girl. There are plenty of flaws and mistakes in the turtle, but I learned quite a few techniques by making it. The pattern had just enough kinks and twists to be challenging.While my husband was painting the town I cooked and I baked. I cooked a kind of paella with a tin of mackerel, which turned out a little bland. Then I baked chocolate brownies which were slightly over-baked and tasted funny. The recipe came from here. I thought it had too much salt for one thing, and then there was no vanilla or any other flavouring. I had my fill of chocolate batter and crunchy over-baked, funny tasting brownies. I simply pigged out, since there is no one at home with beady eyes to watch every mouthful that I take. Yes, I needed it.

Six Weeks : Colicky or What?

~ marobbie ~ Leave a comment

I am now almost ready to admit that Robert is colicky. If he is, then there is some good news for us at six weeks: Firstly, we are halfway through this tiresome stage, and secondly it doesn’t get any worse after this.

The cause of colic is not known for sure, but there are many theories trying to explain it. According to these, the crying may be caused by any of the following: gas, immature digestive system, expanding lungs, misaligned limbs (in c-section babies), and/or overstimulation. Most of these theories are unproven, but in Robert’s case the most likely one would be overstimulation. We noticed that his crying got much worse on days when there was too much going on. For example when we go out for a long walk in our noisy neighborhood, or when he stays awake for too long without sleep. One particularly nasty episode of crying occurred last week after a long talk with my aunt on Skype. Ron often comments on how animated (and loud) my talks with my family are – this is a middle eastern trait, people in that part of the world cannot speak quietly. It is possible that Robert did not react very well to this excitement, especially since it happened dangerously close to the time of day when he starts getting cranky.

We have tried several strategies to deal with Robert’s crying. The most successful one so far is putting him in the baby carrier. This works very well, and whenever I start walking around with him he calms down, and falls asleep soon after. The only problem is that he wakes up as soon as he is taken out of the carrier. As a result, he spent more time sitting in the carrier than out of it in the past few days, especially when it is cold.

Despite my ample experience at walking around with baby in the carrier, I had a scary incident last Friday. I twisted my ankle while walking down the hill and went straight down on one knee. Fortunately, I held on to baby and kept my upper body upright. Robert bounced against the padding of the carrier, and wasn’t affected much. In fact, he only grunted, changed position and then resumed his nap, while I got away with a nasty scrape on my right knee. Ron also had an alarming experience. He was looking after Robert one evening while I was trying to get some sleep. Robert was sitting in his chair in the lounge, in a lively but non-threatening mood. Ron must have gone to the bathroom for a minute and when he came back, I just heard him exclaim: “Oh my God”, then he brought Robert over to the bedroom and started asking me tense question whether I took the baby out of the chair. He then told me that something awful had happened ! When he walked back into the lounge, he saw baby lying flat on the floor with his head underneath the chair. Of course, he panicked and it took him a few seconds to realise that baby was quite alright. Later we concluded that Robert must have gradually slipped down from his sitting position in the chair (which is designed to work as a rocking chair). As he slipped down he must have tipped the chair forward, so that its seat touched the floor and created a sliding surface. Thus he ended up on the floor without a thud or a cry. The incident made us realise the danger of leaving baby unattended even for a minute. It was even scarier for us because sometimes we put the baby chair up on our breakfast table while we are eating.

The weather is still cold. Sunday was particularly dismal, and it was on that day that I finally finished knitting Robert’s baby jacket, which I started two weeks before he was born. It turned out nice and he finally got to wear it today, thanks to the late arrival of spring.

On the brighter side of things, Robert is cooing, gurgling, and trying to make conversation. This is starting to happen now more often; once he gets his fill of milk he looks up at me and smiles and starts up with his side of the story. I always give him a playback of the sounds he makes. Ron for his part, swears that baby is almost ready to stand up by himself. When he holds him upright, Robert plants his feet on his lap and locks his knees to carry his weight on little legs. Ron also ‘exercises’ Robert’s muscles regularly, and the little one likes that. I can tell that he is an active little baby, and will take after his father in this respect. He will be quite a handful once he gets bigger.