knitted baby things (baby bear hat, booties, blanket, and bubble pants)

I've been busily knitting for this baby of mine, who is set to arrive in less than 7 weeks! The deadline seems to be approaching ever faster.

My favorite project so far is this Baby Bear Hat. It's tiny and has such cute round ears. It was a breeze to knit up, and the pattern is free. I'd happily knit more hats like this if I didn't have so many other projects I want tackle in the next few weeks.

I also knitted a pair of baby booties, though they might end up fitting the baby in the heat of summer because the smallest size was 3 months. Oh well. If he can't wear them to cover his little newborn toes, we'll just have to venture out to somewhere air-conditioned come July.

This Umaro blanket is coming along so slowly, even though I'm knitting it on giant needles. I'm not enjoying knitting it very much because the rows are long and require me to refer to the pattern quite often. However, I'm think that if I don't finish this before the baby is born, I may never finish it, so that's keeping me motivated. And I do like the look of it, so the finished product will be worth it.

Because I can't take the Umaro blanket with me for commuter knitting, I cast on a vanilla pattern: Balloon Baby Pants. I call them old man pants and think they're about the cutest things ever. I first saw them on Alicia's blog and have been pining for a pair since then. I'm knitting this pair from the same yarn as my blue featherweight because I had it on hand.

K and I have picked up a few children's books, including The Snowy Day, at thrift stores and sales. Some nights we have story time and he reads to the baby. I not-so-secretly enjoy being read to as well, but I haven't been able to convince K that the baby really wants to hear the Harry Potter books.

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P.S. The quilt in the background of some of these photos is one I've been working on with my mom. We're making two baby quilts together, and this vintage sheet one is our practice version. I'll post more on our quilting adventures soon.

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P.P.S. I'm trying to keep my word of the year (resourceful) in mind lately and really weigh wants versus needs. However, Alicia is making it so dang hard with the adorable bunny kits she's putting together and her promises of little boy bunnies, too. Double want.