a new baby

Yesterday, my cousin Joshua's little girl Julia Grace was born! Apparently, it was a bit of a nail-biter at the end. They took her to the NICU afterward, but let her out within a few hours. Doesn't she look sweet... and tired! It's kinda funny, yesterday I was thinking "didn't they say she was due in January? It's hardly January any more..." Lo and behold, my uncle Ted called a few hours after that.

Though they didn't know it at the time, it seems that Julia is a family name. My Grandpop's parents were Hungarian immigrants living in Pennsylvania coal country. We knew that one of his younger sisters was killed at the age of four by a lightning strike. What we hadn't heard was that at some point, his mother took three or four of the children on a trip back to Hungary. They were delayed at Ellis Island on their return, and two died while they were stuck there. One of those was Julia. Another one of his brothers died during the War, when his hospital ship was torpedoed in the Pacific. Grandpop always told us a lot of stories about growing up, but we never heard about Ellis Island.

On a happier note, I have a really cute outfit to send to little Julia. It started with Elizabeth Zimmermann's February Baby Sweater. Then, I added Saartje's Bootees, which are incredibly sweet and easy to make (my mods here) To top it off, I made a little hat based on the jacket. It's almost sad to part with them, but I'm determined to send them off quickly; "little" Julia's actually 9lbs 8oz! This also means that the matching Tomten jacket will go to Duncan, another cousin's baby. I hope to make something for Mitchell this winter. He's got a cute hat, but the little guy needs a sweater, in my opinion.

Sweater details:
yarn: Araucania Nature Wool (currently on closeout at WEBS)
needles: size 6 straights and circulars
buttons: metal celtic-motif from webs. plastic for the booties.