Wow, I don't think the mother will be pissed off with you, but she may want to help you finish the blanket. But hopefully she is in air-conditioning, even if you aren't. I'm glad to hear you are beginning to see light, and am enjoying seeing you post a little more. That lets us all know you are still breathing.

my youngest was born in early August - every second counts! - knit like the wind!

BTW, I meant to add, I love the design of the blanket. It looks so airy.

I'm sure you'll be forgiven when she gets the gorgeous blanket.

That's odd; the babies in my life have zero regard for blankets, finished or otherwise (though I guess if they did, respective moms wouldn't be pleased).

I know you say you aren't superwoman, but you have a lot of us out here in the blogosphere convinced of it. Lovely blanket, totally worth the wait!

Sock Summit is *nothing* compared to finishing that blanket. How do I know? Because packing up my family for a month in Greece is *nothing* compared to finishing a hat for my mother before her hair falls out from the chemo. We leave in two days.

My youngest was born in *late* August. Keep knitting, please - for mama's sake. For the record, I still call that kid "bratchild" even though she's long since had her own brood. Trust me, she's earned it. lol

It looks so fluffy! :D

Wow! Sock Summit isn't over yet? It feels like it has been going on for years now.

The blanket is so beautiful! I know you are really busy, and at the risk of pushing you over the edge I would like to ask for the pattern. I only ask because my husband's niece is expecting in November and since she is naming the baby after him, I feel like I need to knit something fairly spectacular for her...so no pressure :)

I cannot believe that I am the first commenter! I was only 7 months pregnant in July, but that was uncomfortable enough! (it was 1985, but I still remember). Let's hope for everybody's sake that sock summit stuff and the blanket both get done soon! Hopefully there will be another sock summit some day and I will get to attend! If you guys make it through this one! Don't worry, I have faith in you! Keep calm and carry on!

That would be an awesome Twilight Zone episode - a knitter is forced to knit blankie after blankie while the town's women get closer and closer to their due dates. Finally the knitter snaps and drives all the men out of town so she can get some peace and quiet with no more endless line of baby blankies.

Soon this will be all over, you just have to live through it moment by moment. This applies equally to SS drama and impending babies.

Breathe in, focus, joy, happy, joy, Breathe out....coffee.... Breathe in....

You know what they say about legends. I can't imagine anyone, baby or adult, who would even want to think about wrapping up in any kind of blanket, no matter how lovely and lovingly made, at this point in the summer from hell in the Northeast. And it is still only July.

I know exactly what you mean when you say that even 20 minutes of knitting time helps you feel more sane. But I don't know how you do it without air-conditioning!

Or another option on a Twilight Zone episode is every mother must knit a blankie for her child before her child gets here.

On another note my mother had 5 children in the summer with no A/C in Kansas. The soonest was the end of May, two at the end of July, one at the end of August in a year that set records for heat that still haven't been broken, and the last was end of September. I don't know how she did it I was miserable with my July baby and I had A/C!

As one who is 27 weeks pregnant, I'm sending wishes for you to have lots of knitting time (possibly even knitting elves to help while you're sleeping?) -may the new mama have a safe and speedy delivery soon!

Yes knitting faster, is probably a good idea. I would have went in a manic rampage if I was thinking the baby was waiting for a blanket to be finished. Good luck! I am sure sock summit is going to be wonderful! I can't wait to get there.

sweet little baby blanket - looks all nice and squooshy

Knitting in this heat is only possible inside. I really must find that painting on Etsy (or what is Design Sponge?) where the 19th century ladies are knitting outside on their rocking chairs in the heat. They're passing out, falling on the floor with their knitting needles and all.

Pattern, please? Looks nice and airy--good for a Central Texas baby.

Maybe it could be a wee baby shawl?

I think it is extra-hot back East because our summer has gone to visit yours. We, on the other hand, have been left with temperatures that still haven't reliably hit the 20s, and we had a lousy winter and a wet, miserable spring. The entire city is taking stoicism to a new high (or is that low?)

Oh my! That mama is only gonna be patient for so long. He could pop down here in Oregon, where it is overcast and rainy. We got more rain on Sunday than the usual July yield combined. Its perfect pregnant summer weather!

This literally made me LoL....that poor mama!!

Must knit. Don't leave that poor mother hanging. Besides, it makes a wonderful excuse to others (and yourself boss lady) to knit instead of work. :)

Ditto for the pattern. It is gorgeous!!

It's a beautiful blanket, but I have to say it makes me sweaty just looking at it. It's about 100 degrees F here in Iowa with about 10000% humidity. I think I'll come back and look at this blog post sometime in October.

I always thought no baby came before I finished knitting for him or her. And then last week my friend had her baby at 31 weeks and I hadn't even started her blanket. Happily, the baby is fine but I am in shock that I don't have as much power as I thought. Or maybe this baby doesn't like handknits. Heaven forbid.

hahahahahahaha! you don't know my life!

I SAY THAT ALL OF THE TIME!

I feel your pain. I have/had 7 baby blankets to knit and the first five were blue. I have two left----pink!!! My daughter is 39 and these are for friends she grew up with. They have to stop sometime I keep telling myself!!! And we do not even have long cold winters in Calif!!

I second (or third) the request for pattern and yarn info! The blanket looks so yummy...

Also, would it be possible for you to video-kinnear Natalie as she screams at the printer???

Please say yes.

I love the blanket. It looks pretty good, and it is wonderful that you are getting more knitting time. It is a key to sanity, like a daily walk or the morning coffee. Without it I would crumple like a (something witty here?).

That wip is looking great!

So excited for SS!

Oh whirlybird... I LOVE that potential Twilight Zone episode! Made me actually LOL.....

Go Stephanie Go! You can do it!

I.want

pattern, yarn, FO, baby

(no one should suffer heat while PG)

I shopped for border fabric for my son's baby quilt the day before he arrived, mid-August, 1993. First year we ever turned on the central air ever, and now New Jersey is just horribly humid and gross.

But I'm doing a lace sock, because that last sock post was so inspiring! Good luck with the blanket and the event.

Take your time, little one, it's easier in than out for the next month.

And such a pretty blanket to look forward to.

So glad to see I'm not the only one who knits when it's beastly hot! We're in our "hovering around a hundred" season and some of my nearest and dearest think I should be locked up for my own safety when I start playing with wool. (They don't think spinning's all that sane either, lol.)

That's a lovely blanket, btw.

I'm glad I'm not the only one holding up a baby present. I'm designing baby socks for a kit and a friend of mine has requested it for a baby shower. At least I'm on the coast where there is lots of fog.

I hope you find more knitting time and I'll refrain from sending the cool weather your way. It has a lot of fog with it and it might mess up your hair

I remember being 36 weeks pregnant in a hot and steamy July (he'll be 14 years old in a few weeks), knit faster! Have fun at Sock Summit, it'll be fabulous just because you're there. :D

Smaller blanket? Somebody did that to me. I thought she was knitting it for another pregnant friend and when she asked "Do you think she'll notice" I said " No, it's big enough and she's not a knitter." Whoops! thirty three years later I can still look at it and think,"Me and my big mouth!" :>)

So sorry to hear that you all are having this heat wave as well. We're at 107F now 60 miles south of Chicago. The power company has the internet and cable company cycling their power usage. Ours just cam e back on, but we are due for another time out later this evening. They don't want any blackouts occurring due to the heat. Ugh!

It seems that Rachel H. isn't sharing your steamy dining room this time around. Too bad she's missing all the fun!

If I were her, in this heatwave. I would move in with you until you finish it. Seriously . . . I can't imagine being pregnant in this heat.

oh, i love you stephanie:-) i just do. good night from germany, mara

Never occurred to me on deadlines that the light could be an on coming train. Be glass half full girl. Its near the end :)in a good way.

I told a friend of mine (when she was 41 weeks!) about the theory that babies don't come until all the handknits are done. Her response was "Screw it, I'm ripping out the booties I just started!" I said it wouldn't help, I was still working on some ears for a teddy bear, and she hung up the phone on me.

This baby blanket is beautiful. I agree with everyone else that I would love to have the pattern even if it means begging. I am also terribly jealous of the impending sock summit and my being stuck here on the east coast. Thanks for letting us live through you.

I think you should schedule in a few minutes of knitting time (or learn to knit in your sleep) or I fear this may turn into a hostage situation.

Put the Sock Summit stuff down & knit for crying out loud - have mercy on that poor mother to be!

When I was pregnant with my last (4th) child, I was nearly finished knitting his blanket. #3 was napping and I ran across the street to give my neighbor something - we talked a few minutes in her doorway and who should appear in MY doorway but #3 who had arisen, taken the blanket off the needles and was standing there just ripping out the stitches. I ran home, salvaged the blanket and somehow finished it that afternoon (thank heavens!) as #4 was born that night. They are now 41 and 43 years old but I thought my heart might stop when I saw him doing that! Your blanket is gorgeous and would love the pattern.

Hmmmmm. I was not even a knitter when my July 23rd baby arrived 2 weeks early 43 years ago. She had been forecast to arrive in the first week of August. I did however, for some reason, take a knitting class very soon after her birth. Must be SOME kind of connection between knitting and early kiddos. I am currently making blankies for a longed-for but as yet totally imaginary great-grand. Can you make 'em happen that way, or do they still need the dad and all?

Eventually Mama will learn that Babies are like Cats...they have their own agenda and even your stupendous knitting cannot keep them from their appointed round! That said, I hope it cools off there a bit for Mama (we are having it HOT here too, if it's any consolation), and that all flows smoothly -- and SOON! :-)

The blanket is gorgeous!

Hope everything continues to get done!

I know you live in Canada (aka the world's most civilized icebox) and all, but there's this neat little invention called air conditioning that we in the US are very fond of when heat waves (like the one we're suffering through right now) strike. You just might want to look into it....if not for your own sake, but for your poor sweat shop girl!

Hey, wasn't it just a VERY few weeks ago we were all b***hing about how cold it was?
Sorry all of you, but my heater went on yesterday am, and it was 61 degrees in the house (California, no less!)
Babies always need (beautiful) blankets - at least for dragging about when he/she starts walking!

Thanks for the laugh and taking time out of your busy schedule to post. The baby blanket is very beautiful.

I'm MELLLLTING!

And, not from the heat...that blanket just melted my heart, I love it so!

Beautiful baby blanket! I just love it. That heat is just terrible. I hope you have fans and some air conditioning. It too will pass!

Thank you for the awesome work on the summit. The blanket looks like frosty snowflakes.

Dude, can you knit a blanket for my client? She's 39 weeks and MELTING.

About your tweet on taking out the trash, if the neighbor say anything, give them what my brother calls "the evil squinty-eyed look," and tell them it was a bikini bottnm.

What yarn are you using? It looks gorgeous! All bouncy and sproingy and woolly and white and lovely and I think I'm in love with it.

And I haven't even touched it yet.

Or smelled it.

This is the moment that I feel so brilliant for giving birth in February. By the time spring had arrived she was ready to go out and so was I. The giant month was in the cold of winter (but not that cold, we lived in the South) and not so horrible. Never mind that my brilliance had nothing to do with the conception of the sweet thing, it still makes me feel smart.

I didn't knit at the time, but I didn't finish her quilt until I was home from the hospital.

That Blanket looks like it needs to be blocked...which means you are close to finishing:)

I'm really glad Sock Summit is coming along nicely, but as a mother of 9, let me just encourage you not to prolong that poor mother's misery!! :)

I love that sock summit is getting done. While I won't be there, I do think that it could almost be a meatphor for life. Because at the end of it, all you want is a little time to knit.

I sat in front of an air conditioner during the last couple of weeks of pregnancy with my own July baby!

I just finished a blanket for a new baby. It is white and soft as a little cloud. Stockinette, Moss Seed Stitch, and edged with a picot edging.
I am inordinately proud of this project...you would think I HAD delivered this wee one! haha!
(by the way her name is Olivia Elise), and her Christening is in August!

Is she cold? How can she be complaining in this amazingly temperate season????

What a whiny face.

AND, who knits faster than you??????????

Glad the light is starting to peep through. If July is as hot and steamy as you say,the baby's not going to need that blanket for a while anyway....:-)

Throughout that last month I always felt like pregnancy was a permanent condition. Yes, knit faster. ;-)

Just curious, Steph. . . What kind of yarn do you like to use for baby blankets? Many friends here like acrylic or bamboo for easy care, but I like wool. Superwash?

I was lucky enough to have both of my girls born in the spring. But, ever since the day it hut 80* in late February during one pregnancy, I have felt guilty for having been born Sept 5. (And I was born in south Texas - my mother shuddered about the size of the bugs for years afterward)

Very pretty!

Now for the other side - they've been doing a really data-based study here in the US on inductions and early deliveries. And guess what? For a variety of reasons, the recommendation is - surprise! - let labor start when it starts.

And when they made doctors give a MEDICAL reason for an early delivery, the rates plummeted, as did the occupancy rate in NICU.

So don't knit TOO fast. Since delivery dates are notoriously wrong, even 39 weeks may in reality be too early by 2 weeks.

The blanket looks good though- like it has some spring to the touch - good for a summer baby- not too heavy.

Beautiful baby blanket! I'm happy for you that you have a little time to knit again!

I'm really impressed that you're still blogging with everything else going on. Everyone already knew it, but you are SuperBlogger! (and my birthday is in August and I was born in southern Virginia, so this time of year, I think of my 8 mo. pregnant mom with some awe.)

I was pretty pissed last summer when DS was 10 "late". Worth the wait of course, but I did not enjoy the bonus time being pregnant.

Yeah, that could get a little dangerous!

Good heavens...knit like the wind - with great power comes great responsibility!

Knit that baby's blanket like your life depends on it .... seriously, you know better than to mess around with a pregnant woman.

I hope all knitterly people heading to Portland are as grateful as I am for your hard work and lack of knitting time. What a sacrifice! You Rock!

Please please please put that baby blanket pattern and yarn info on the web!

Ditto Nancy Wagner's post--please, please, please put that baby blanket patern and yarn info on the web/Ravelry, etc.

It is so very lovely.

Another vote to put the info on the baby blanket in your next blog post. It's lovely. Would like to give it a try myself--not as a baby blanket, probably, but as another entity more fitting with my life.

The terrible little sweatshop situation may have something to do with the printer malfunction - computers and their electronic relatives don't work their best in extreme heat (really, which of us does?). I hope Natalie was able to convince it to cooperate before she ended up bludgeoning it to death.

Gosh, I wish it was steamy here, too. Down in Oklahoma we have 116 degrees of DRY heat. Can we please trade?

P.S - Absolutely gorgeous shawl. All the time you put into it is definitively worth it!:)

I've done the August babies twice without AC. Once living in Hawaii and once in Iowa (living in a mobile home tin can). I do not recommend getting pregnant between the months of September, October, November and December.

My significant other's daughter just announced she is getting married 10/12/12. All I could think, was Phew, I have plenty of time to knit her wedding shawl. The tradition in our family is to give the bride a wedding shawl, usually created by her mother or grandmother, which is then used as a baptismal shawl for her children. My mom passed away when I was 12, so she was not able to make my wedding shawl, instead I made the shawl, and since I wore her wedding dress, I carefully took the excess Italian lace my great-grandmother had made and edged my shawl with it. My three boys were baptized in this shawl. The gift you are giving is priceless.

What's that fabulous pattern? Looks like blackberry stitch and lace. I'll quit bitching about the heat here (Asheville). HOW are you managing to do anything but pant?

Sounds like you need a pick me up! I found these a while ago and I think theyre hilarious: Renaissance celebrity portraits. The one of Hugh Laurie gets me every time! http://macguffinandpuffin.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/renaissance-celebrity-portraits/

A (cool breezy-type) thought for TO & windsor, where it sounds like thermometers are about to pop! and - speaking of popping - can't even imagine being hugely pregnant in this weather. Glad my 3 kids are all winter babes!

48 degrees?!? Goodness gracious that is seriously warm! Knitting anything in that kind of heat is impressive, let alone something you have to rest on your lap! An air conditioner sounds good...

I love the blanket! I can't wait for you to share the pattern with us! Or rather I can, since I don't have an immediate baby to knit for. BUT, I would love love love to know what you are knitting it with! Wool? Wool blend? Acrylic??

I thought that Thai food was involved somewhere

Oh goodness. Pregnant in July in a place that has real summers? Not to put any pressure on you, but on the off chance that you do have power over baby arrival times, it really behooves you to get that blanket done ASAP.