Changing allegiances: my first knitted finished item!

To use a well worn daytime tv phrase: "here's one I prepared earlier".  I had a nasty bout of mastitis last week, backed up with a weekend to the inlaws house so I didn't get much done and am still trying to catch up in terms of washing and housework, let alone sewing and blogging. 

Actually that blog title isn't true in either aspect - I shan't be changing allegiances from sewing to knitting because I'm a terribly slow knitter and also a terrible knitter (so many dropped stitches!). It's not my first finished knitted item either, I've just repressed the memory of the ugly chocolate brown jumper that took me ages to knit but my tension was so tight that it didn't even fit when I did finally finish it.  My mum repeatedly told me to loosen my tension, much like she repeatedly told me to lower the presser foot when I was learning to sew, hence my blog name.......

Anyway, during the last month of my pregnancy I finally conceded to the aches and pains I was experiencing and gave up trying to spend some frantic last minute sewing each night.  It was just too painful to constantly move between my sewing machine, ironing board and cutting table.  But I just can't sit still and waste time watching tv, I have to keep doing something.  So while I was laying on the lounge like a beached whale I got out the knitting needles and made the baby a simple raglan sleeved cardigan in a neutral flecked grey coloured wool that I had in a big box of wool inherited from my gran.  It only took me a few weeks, and even though I thought I might be able to finish it during the labour if necessary (expecting an epidural during a long labour - ha! how funny am I?) I did actually manage to finish it a few days before Toby was born.  I think I did pretty well too - there aren't any holes in it, I didn't make too many mistakes and I managed the fancy manoeuvres like ssk (slip, slip, knit), using stitch holders - thank the internets for youtube instructional videos.  And I swear knitters use more acronyms than us sewists do - all these co, yo, bo and ss that I had to look up.

I left off sewing on the buttons until I knew what the baby turned out to be, and in a typical lazy fashion I still haven't sewn any on! This is how UFOs get made, except that I've been dressing Toby in it anyway.  Luckily I decided to make the 3-6 month size to compensate for my tension issues, and it fits the wombat perfectly since he is larger than the average 3 months old:

Look at those chubby cheeks! The chunky monkey has been putting on about 400gms each week, and he is off the charts now for his weight and height.  His legs are so chunky that when he had his vaccinations last week he didn't even flinch, let alone cry. 

Despite being terribly sick last week with mastitis (how horrible is that!), we had a good weekend at the inlaws and I'm feeling recharged.  Which is a good thing because I'm currently replacing the elastic on Anna's cloth nappies so that Toby can start using them, and it's such a mind numbing boring task but we're getting proper smiles from the little wombat now so it makes it all worthwhile:

And whilst I was in Spotlight the other day I picked up some more balls of wool on sale and have already half finished a little vest for him - hopefully I'll finish it before he busts incredilbe hulk style out of his clothes!