Too many cute things

When preparing for a baby, cuteness really shouldn't be a priority, but sometimes you just can't help it, especially when the stuff is affordable. I've been really good so far I think, considering all the cute kids' stuff there is out there.

Today Sejin picked up our crib sheet sets in Dongdaemun. We had them custom made because they're really hard to find here. One set consists of the matress cover, a top flat sheet, and bumper covers. When you go to Dongdaemun Shopping Town, you first have to find a seamstress (in the basement) who will sew for you, and tell her what you want. She'll tell you how much fabric you need to buy. One set requires about eight yards of fabric. Then you go shopping for the fabric, bring it back to her, and pick it up at the appointed time. All together, fabric + sewing, each set cost us 70,000 won, which I don't think is too bad to have custom made bedding. It's really cute fabric, too. I still have to wash it up and make the crib properly, but you get the idea:

Here is some other stuff I couldn't resist buying.

My doctor's appointment was good. I was told it's normal for me to be sore right now, so that's good; I like normal. I'm continuing to gain weight... so far over 30 pounds! Do I look impressed?

Yarn therapy

Yarn shopping is one of my favourite things to do. It's so much fun to look at all the colours and textures and imagine what you could make out of them if you only had the time. It's especially fun when you haven't been in a while. I think the last time I bought yarn was in the spring when the vendors got the cotton out. That's a pretty good stretch of time without buying yarn, so I indulged a little today.

So Karen and I headed to Dongdaemun Shopping Town around 10 this morning when it was nice and quiet. We were both looking for baby yarn and we both managed to find some. Unfortunately we both don't know the sex of our babies yet, so I ended up buying yellow, and she bought green. I also bought some which may or may not go to making baby stuff.

Here's the yellow stuff. Just standard baby yarn.

This says baby alpaca, and I'm thinking it'll make a nice scarf and hat set for me, plus a baby cardigan or something.

Finally, just when we were going to leave the building, I spied this Noro Silk Garden yarn, which I had to get. Noro has to be one of the most popular yarns out there and I've heard so much about it, but I've never tried it. I didn't know it was available in Dongdaemun, and I assumed that if it was, it would be too expensive. To my surprise, the man only charged me $65 for the bag of 10 balls, which I think is a pretty good deal. Kind of hurts to shell out that kind of cash all at once, but when you break it down to the per ball cost, it's really not bad at all. I tried knitting up a swatch with it and I can see why people like it. Because of the silk content, it slips very nice over the bamboo needles and the colourway is so gradual and vivid. So it was a great trip. Karen and I then had lunch at one of my favourite restaurants, Himalaya, near Dongmyo Station. It was delicious and we had a nice talk about babies and childcare. Got some good book and product recommendations.

All in all, it was a good Korea day. Living here is full of ups and downs sometimes. Today all the vendors were very friendly -- I got a few discounts which rarely happens in Shopping Town, some free needles, and a free pattern magazine. Then on the subway home an old man offered his seat to me, which was really weird because often the young people don't even do that. Plus, the weather was fantastic (for me, anyway). It was very cool and overcast. I even got some work done tonight.

Ravelympics

I've been participating in the 2008 Ravelympics, which is just knitting/crocheting a project during the Olympics. It's through the site Ravelry. The rules are just that you can cast on any time once the opening ceremonies begin, and you must finish by the closing ceremonies. I'm very surprised I finished in time, as I've been pretty busy the last couple of weeks, and I even had to rip out my first attempt at my project because of gauge/sizing issues. But I stayed up late last night knitting away, finished all the knitting, and sewed on the buttons this afternoon. I was competing in the "baby dressage" event and my project was Presto Chango. This is a must-do baby knitting pattern. It's very easy, there's not much seaming, and the finished product is very practical (at least I'll find out if it is!). The front panel comes off so you can lay the baby on the sweater to put his arms in and then just button the panel on. Plus, you could make multiple panels for the same sweater, in case of accidents, or just for fun. I may make another cabled panel or two for this one. Aren't the buttons cute? Dongdaemun Shopping Town is "the place" for buttons and all those little notions, not to mention fabrics and yarn. Get off at Dongdaemun Station (line 1 and 3) and take exit 9. Dongdaemun Shopping Town (aka crafters' paradise) is the humongous building immediately on your left. Yarn is in the basement. First floor is all kinds of stuff like bedding, towels, and curtains (just bring your window measurements here if you want custom curtains!). Second floor and up are purely fabrics -- and lots of them. The top floor is all kind of accessories you might need like buttons, beads, ribbon, sequins....you name it. Dongdaemun Shopping Town is a very, very dangerous place if you like crafting, so you've been warned.