Yarn Along: Baby Stuff

I haven't written a Yarn Along post in a long time, partly because I haven't been knitting as much (see recent posts on sewing and embroidery), and partly because the stuff I've been knitting is all neutrally colored baby stuff.... and I wasn't ready to announce my pregnancy until earlier this week.  :)  So.  Now that the cat's outta the bag, I can start showing off all the bitty baby things I've been knitting.

First up is this sweet little newborn hat I'm knitting in Knit Picks Shine Sport on size 4 needles. It's Ginny's simple newborn hat with a touch of lace and I'm enjoying it, especially the lace portion.

I'll showcase some of the other baby knits soon, including what I made with that beautiful sunshine-yellow yarn from Creating a Family Home sponsor Brambleberry Yarns.  I hope you didn't think I'd finish an object knitted with such lovely yarn and not report about it here.  ;)

I finished reading The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse that Inspired a Nation, and I've officially classified it as the best book I've ever read.  It's an amazing true story that is so well-written it's hard to believe it's all true.  I look forward to reading it again someday.

Now I'm on to The Help, which I'm enjoying immensely even though I only just started the second chapter.  More on this book next week.  This one's gonna fly!

What are you reading and knitting these days?

Pinned It, Did It #3: Embroidered Family Tree & BIG NEWS!!!

It seems like it's been forever since I've written a post -- well, two weeks, but that seems like forever in the Internet age, right?  Or maybe just to busy moms, who get so much accomplished in two weeks they can't believe that only two weeks have passed.  Either way, thanks for sticking around and for reading! 

Today I have my third Pinned It, Did It project to share with you, plus some really big news!

The project is an embroidered family tree:

The pattern is from Cozy Blue, an etsy shop I'd read about in Better Homes & Gardens a few months ago.  It has mine and T.J.'s names in the middle, the date we started our family on one leaf (our wedding day), Nathan's name in another leaf.... and then there's a blank leaf awaiting a name.

You may have figured it out -- this is our big news -- we're expecting baby number two!!!  We couldn't be more happy and excited.  Baby is due in late September and I'm almost 15 weeks along. 

So that's one of the reasons why I haven't been around much lately -- a little exhaustion, a lot to do and some time-consuming sewing projects. (If you follow my Facebook page or Twitter, you already know that my sewing machine has been giving me problems and that's been taking up more time than the actual sewing. But I dropped it off at the shop today, so hopefully I'll be up and running again soon with more Pinned It, Did It projects to share with you.)

So, back to the embroidery. The pattern is fun and easy and works up quickly.  Some of the water-soluble pen has come back, so I need to work on that a bit more and iron and finish the back of the piece.

I really enjoyed the change of pace -- I find embroidery really relaxing.  I've recently pinned some other really cute embroidery projects, most of which I hope to use in the new baby's nursery.  But don't worry, I'll find out the baby's sex before I begin working!

I've been adding more pins lately, including some baby-related pins that I found out have recently sparked some curiosity among my friends (I only announced my pregnancy to the "public" yesterday) -- so please have a look and follow along if you'd like!

Here's today's Instagram (Instagram is a photo-sharing iPhone app, in case you didn't know):

It was my sneak peek of today's announcement.  If you use Instagram, please find me and I'll follow you back!  My username is kellypatla.  I love looking at other people's pictures.  Hope you do, too!