Do I have enough knitting projects for this trip?

Well, I finished the green & pink BSJ jacket, the one on which Snickers forced me to change needles unexpectedly. (The dog is just fine.) It is very nice.

I love how the stripes came out, so I will try to post a decent photo of it in the next week or so. Using the Knit-Along Notes from the KnitBabySurprise Group at Yahoo! Groups, I planned a border of 4 ridges (8 rows) green, then a striping of 4 ridges (8 rows) of the variegated yarn plus 1 ridge (2 rows) of the green, and finished with exactly 4 ridges (8 rows) on the other end in the green for a matching border. Quite a switch from the randomized, bold colors in the first one I did.

My only issue is size. This one came out LARGER than the blue & purple striped one. I used needles at least two sizes smaller(size 5 vs. size 8, I think), and I believed this yarn(Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece & Cascade Sierra Quattro) was slightly smaller than the Cascade 220 Superwash. I shall have to put them both down and measure for guage. It's a good thing that even though the sweater is going to be enormous for the baby girl as she is now, that in all likelihood, she'll grow enough in the next 24 months or so, that, at some point, it will fit her. Perhaps it is the stretchiness of the cotton-wool blend yarn.

I love the buttons that I found, for both jackets. Neither is really a classic baby or kid button, but I like them both. I need to sew them both up and get them ready to present to their respective recipients.

I've cast on another one, using Lion Brand Magic Stripe sock yarn, in the 'jellybean' colorway, on size 3 needles. This one is going to be smaller than the earlier ones. I am certain already.

One problem: I hate this colorway. It is striping nicely on the sleeves, but the alternating colors on the garter stitch rows in the back look far too random to me right now. I'm calling it the Hippy Baby Sweater. So, anyone in need of a Hippy baby sweater in about a 3-6 month size, in a nice mostly-wool, definitely washable? (In other words, I think I'm going to hate it so much that I won't be able to give it to anyone I know.)

I received word on Friday that my paternal grandmother had died. Joan had been ill for many years, with dementia of some sort, so the real good-byes had already been said. My aunt, who worked so hard as Joan's primary caregiver for many, many years, put together a nice 90th birthday celebration in February, which we were able to attend. It was a lovely day for all, despite Joan's persistence in trying to figure out who the guests were every two minutes or so. Her death means a three-day trip to Seattle for the service.

So, I have to figure out, do I have enough knitting projects for this trip? Do I have a good variety of projects to take with me? Are my projects small enough to travel with me.

On Saturday, I got to spend a few hours with Becci, who is a blogger in Portland, chronicaling her experiences on bedrest during her pregnancy. She has begun to crochet as part of her defense against the twin demons of boreom and anxiety that all such bedresting moms must fight. Becci showed me a few things about blogging and posting, and I watched her figure out how to edge her beautiful green baby blanket with nice even picots. It is a lovely piece and I hope she posts a photo soon. She's at-see I still don't know how to do this part- http://miraclebabyb.blogspot.com. My prayers are with her and with baby Dorothy, and husband/dad, Dave. Such nice folks.

I'll let you know how I progressed on this funeral roadtrip.

And no, I'm not actually going to knit during the service. Maybe if Joan had been a knitter that would have been OK, but she was more of a sewer and a cook, and one who would sing in the kitchen as she cleaned up.