I've Shaved My Legs... What More Do You Want From Me??

A Few Knitted Objects
Originally uploaded by The Stitchin Sheep.

I've done everything under the sun to convince this bun in my oven to come on out and say hello. I'll give you the short list.

*Taken our bumpy dirt road a million times in the past two weeks.
*Walked all over the village next to us on one occasion.
*Worked almost three hours in the garden the other day pulling weeds and harvesting tomatoes.
*Baked/Cooked/Frozen countless meals, breads, sauces, etc. (our refrigerator/freezer is now officially full).
*Washed and put away appropriately-sized baby clothes.
*Tried to jinx myself by renting a movie (therefore attempting to provoke Murphy's Law into action, but NOOO, it didn't work. We got to watch the whole thing AND return it on time.).
*I even shaved my legs, thinking maybe the baby was trying to save its mommy some embarrassment in front of medical staff (though, I'm in France, and this surely wouldn't have mattered to anyone).

Nothing seems to work. So, you, know, I got to thinking the baby wasn't satisfied with just one little knitted object for it to wear (remember the kimono sweater I finished quite a while back?). What did I do, then? I whipped out my needles and threw together some little baby socks. That's the cream-colored pair in the picture. The brownish ones are still a work in progress, but I swear they'll be too big for a newborn (unless, of course, this little one decides to bake long enough to have to come out my mouth (because surely it's bigger than my... umm... other parts), so I'm not in a huge hurry.

In the background is a little washcloth I knitted to make Lambchop #1 happy. It's just some basket weave pattern I threw together. I kind of like it, and it was excellent mindless knitting when I was very preoccupied a week or so ago. The yarn I used is a little something I bought on our little trip to Germany. We had just enough time to drop by the Wolle Rodel shop in Frankfurt, and I picked a few things up. I love this yarn, and I'm thinking if I can ever get ahold of more, it'd make a very nice cotton sweater (it's part of their own little line of yarns, thus ver inexpensive).

The unfinished pair of socks (I'm on the heel of the second one) is made of some yarn I had leftover from my Go With the Flow Socks (actually, it's hard to call it leftover when you haven't actually finished the second sock yet, but I'm throwing caution to the wind and assuming that if I had more than enough yarn leftover from the first sock's ball to make a little baby sock, then I should be fine for the second as well). It's the Fawn color in Knit Picks Essential yarn. Now, I've yet to actually wash this stuff yet, but it's growing on me the more I knit with it.

The littler pair of socks (you know, the ones that should actually fit a baby) are made of a leftover ball of the yarn I used to make that cable baby blanket so long ago. It's Jaeger Baby Merino and has two wonderful qualities that make it ideal for baby socks. First, it's really soft and squishy - always a plus for delicate baby skin. Second, it's thick enough to be knit on 4mm (size 7 US, I think) needles. That meant that I finished the whole pair in a few hours time. I'm all for that kind of instant gratification. Maybe I can't get my baby to come out in the next couple of days, but I know that I could whip out another pair of these babies in no time if I wanted.

Oh, and for those of you who are doing the count-down with me. My American due date (40 weeks) is coming up in a couple of days. The French one (41 weeks) is on the 3rd or 4th of September, and my father-in-law swears I'll be giving birth on the 1st. How does he know? Well, he has used the ever-so-scientific method of asking the good ole divining rods their humble opinion. Will they prove effective at anything other than wowing the crowd gathered around a potential water well dig spot? We'll have to wait and see. I for one, hope their wrong, and that we'll be headed for the clinic later today. Hey, you don't know. It could happen!