enough moping

I think it's important to remember that we had a good time in Italy, before we realized that we would have to leave early.

Proof:This is my friend Carlotta. I met her back when she was a senior in high school, and I was a college student studying in Florence. I lived with Carlotta's aunt and uncle (her zii- I love how in Italian you can just group aunts and uncles together into one word.) She and I took 19th century ballroom dancing classes together back then, which was really fun.

As you can see, Carlotta is pregnant. Her baby boy is due sometime in June. The exact date seems to be debated, at least by her. I think officially it's due around the middle of June, but Carlotta is sure that she will go into labor when the moon is full. I asked her to explain this logic but just could not grasp the moon-due date theory.

A month or two before we went to Italy, I consulted Carlotta about what she would like for her baby, if I were to knit something, and she said she'd like a little cotton cardigan for the summer, something the baby could wear every day. She gave me a lot of color choices: caffé macchiato, sage or sky blue. Or of course she also liked red and orange. It was a little hard for me to narrow it down until I found a big ball of orange cotton in my stash, and felt like it would work perfectly.Of course I didn't have enough orange for the whole sweater, so I had to buy a contrasting color for the cuffs, buttonband and collar. I really stressed over what would match, and only found a paler orange when I went to Stitch Therapy.
I think it works well, in any case. And Carlotta was estatic when I gave it to her. I should have gotten a photo of her holding it over her belly, which she did more than once. It's so nice to make something for someone who really appreciates and treasures it. I can't wait to see a photo of the baby in his new sweater, or his golf. (yes, that's really what they call cardigans in Italy.) I guess in this case it's a golfino, since it's a little cardigan. (What a great language!)Pattern: Offset Wraplan by Sara Morris (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Provence and Berroco Pure Pima
Needles: #6 US
Buttons: from a great button store I found with my mom in Philadelphia

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I should give an eye update, since many of you wrote such kind notes. The long and the short of it is that the doctor wants to wait and see. There is some sort of bleeding in the back of my eye, almost like a bruise, and it can clear itself up apparently, though it might take a few months. Of course, it may also get worse. It's all about watching it.

Working on the computer is problematic, as is reading, though I am going to try going back to work tomorrow. I just need a sense of normalcy and routine. The doctor thought that my brain will probably adjust to having this smudge on my vision and compensate for it somehow. We shall see.