Stupid Cowl.

Here's the bobbled cowl in all its finished bobbly glory. Sadly it is of an annoying size. I can't wrap it around my neck twice, and it is a bit too wide to offer snug winter comfort. I'm sure this is because I didn't really go by the wool recommendations in the pattern, and because I am a lose knitter and didn't do a swatch. I must applaud myself for taking such good preparatory measures with my knitting to make sure it turns out right.

I have never knitted a sample swatch in my life. Shame, shame, shame on me! If I am a fan of anything, it would have to be cutting corners. Even if it means producing more fails than any whale in the ocean ever could.

I suppose I could find other creative uses for the cowl.

A belly warmer?

Emily Green

I found out about Emily Green from the Harvest girls. I couldn't resist this one.

PS: What are your favourite baby knit patterns? I'm going mad on Ravelry trying to decide! 

I am really enjoying THIS blog at the moment

And because I love Maggie Beer we will cook the roast chicken she made on Masterchef tomorrow.

Happy Birthday

Today would have been my dad's birthday. This is the first of his birthdays we have to celebrate without him.
My dad was born 3 days after VE day in Berlin in 1945. My grandma had to feed him soup made from grass.  He always had an issue with me not finishing my food when I was little.  My dad was a great doctor. In all the 31 years I got to spend with him he never once failed to fake enthusiasm at the terrible gifts he received for his birthday. Even the bizarre Irish wax cloth golf hat I gave him, and the entirely useless Chinese back massager last year. My dad could speak old Greek and in the days before he died we sat on his bed and listened to the Iliad on audiotape. As much as I'd much rather have him here with me, I hope the sun is shining wherever he is celebrating his birthday today.

Goings-On

1. Sometime ages ago I made these and they were delicious!
2. I took my mum to Daylesford for mother's day.
3. I am knitting 12 things at a time, and not making progress with a single one.
4.The bump and me went with some friends to have a lovely relaxed weekend away.
5. Is it just me, or is this the most attractive dude to have a baby with.
6. I am getting things for the baby that it actually needs!
7. And of course every baby needs an Enid.

Baby Essentials

Screenprinted Scandinavian Flowers

Screenprinted Owl

When you are overwhelmed by life in general and also by what kind of carseat to by for your newborn, and facing all kinds of other debilitating decisions on nursery equipment on a shoestring budget, then the best thing to do is clearly to stick to the essentials. In my case, I went forth to purchase these prints and this owl. The baby won't need a crib if it can play with this owl. Please do not disapprove of my logic.

Ps: We have started buying proper things for the baby. We also have to move house and my mum is here on an extended visit, so it's not been a calm and peaceful time! I got very overwhelmed with what to buy for this baby. We have lots of offers of second-hand things that are so much appreciated I can't tell you. We have picked out a pram and my mum bought us an ErgoCarrier (did you know that baby bjorns are bad for your baby's hip joints. I didn't either. But my sister knows everything). At the moment I'm working out on how babies sleep. In bags, it turns out. What kind of sleeping bag to buy is a whole different story...

Finished

Wow. I finished something! These photos are attempts at snapping my own head.
I made up this pattern for a friend, whose pretty head I could picture in this mega chunky beanie. It turned out a little large and has some little mistakes in it, so I might just need to keep this one or give it to the husband to wear.

I still have not been back into the sewing room - I struggle calling it studio because it looks a lot more like a primary school craft enclosure. Everytime I go in there I just feel foggy brained and overwhelmed. Turns out I am rather anaemic so that might explain the general fogginess. The good thing about having to go to the doctors so much is listening to the little heart beat at every visit. I just love lying there listening to the little heart sounds. I felt some little kicks the other day too. I want more of those, but this baby is a snoozer. Just like its mother it's taking things slowly.

Holiday with Extra Baggage

I was laughing all the way to New Zealand and back. Except when I had to walk miles down to a cove, the bottom of the path had been torn off my a tornado, and I had to lower myself down some muddy cliffs hanging on to a piece of rope.   

Important fact: When taking boat trips, and you usually don't get seasick, you are likely to get seasick when pregnant. When approaching this "world famous hole in the rock" on the boat, I had just eaten a Kit Kat and also had a ginger beer.

By the time the (insane) person steering the boat approached the world famous hole in the rock and drove us right through it, the Kit Kat and ginger beer re-emerged unpleasantly.

But dolphins! 

It is not really advisable to fly when pregnant when flying is something you hate doing when not pregnant.

On the way back, I started feeling very nauseous and woozy, and the nice flight attendant put me on some oxygen and told me that "every pregnant woman gets like this" and that "I probably shouldn't travel". I replied: "Actually it was the smell of your plane food that made me feel sick". 

True story. It was the lamb my husband was eating merrily that to me smelled like microwaved feet. It tipped me over the edge. 

Ah it's so nice to be home.

Belly

it likes to eat smarties, pickles, coffee, cheese sticks, hot potato chips, apple juice, apples, sparkling water, plum jam. 

nomnom

via Slow Noodle

How gorgeous are these baby blankets!!! Available as kits at Purl Soho. I want them all. 

I wanted to post about these yesterday, but I forgot. It's a recurring theme, forgetting things.

Just in case you thought I was slacking off, I have nearly finished my bobble cowl. Just ran out of Debbie Bliss so need to run to the shop today. Which I will probably also forget to do. 

Things are looking up - I am no longer nauseous 24/7, but the medications I'm on have messed with my system so I'm seeing a lot more of my doctor than I'd like! I am suffering from bad pregnancy brain - yesterday I went to see Michelle and managed to forget her address in the 7 minutes it took to drive to her house. Then I stopped to get some flowers, and forgot my pin number. I did not realise that I would lose control of my cognitive skills! 

Michelle donated an entire bag of maternity clothes to me. That's just about the nicest thing I've ever heard of! We had a lovely chat and some tea in her backyard and I marvelled at the results of her digital printing work. I seriously just love bloggy world. Now that I know a little bit about Michelle's style I will set to craft her a present - I should probably write that down so I don't forget. I know I have somewhere to go today but I can't remember where. 

Happy Weekend

Enjoying the view of the sea and of my feet - I can still seem them, just!
Hope you had a lovely weekend and lots of fun at Finders Keepers. xx

Pho.

via 16 house

See this is why I am looking forward to having kids so much. I can't wait to find notes like these in my house.

When we were little my sister and I used to go to this shop that a friend of my mum's owned called La Maison, and we used to leave a note saying "we have gone to lar moesjoe". That's how we spelled it. The note is still on my mum's mirror. I also once drew her a picture that said "heppi boerste" which was my way of spelling happy birthday.

This week has been hard - writing cards and condolence letters and funeral speeches. But on the upside, I spoke and emailed with very close friends, and as always when there's a tragedy happening, it feels like we're all huddling together and waiting out the storm. I got a text message from my best friend back home just as I was in Myer looking for some very urgently needed maternity tights. So I texted her back, saying that going to a department store asking for maternity tights in extra large seemed a bit mundane in the circumstances, but nevertheless it was quite humiliating.

I am fairly broke so I can't afford to shop for maternity clothes much, plus I refuse to go into stores called Pea in a Pod and Egg. I think I will survive in my Just Jeans maternity jeans and the couple of Tshirts I got on Ebay.

Today I had a lovely lunch with my friend at Mekong on Swanston and managed to eat a Pho soup. Wow!

I am so pleased that the cortisone seems to be working and I am getting a bit of an appetite back. Last night I ate an entire pack of sour gummy bears.

The craft posts are far and few between here now that I'm temporarily couched. I did do some knitting and I am looking forward to presenting the finished cowl soon!

And I have been working on a strip quilt for my niece (who rocks her baby English and can say epple and elefent) and been checking out helpful hints on Film in the Fridge. I adore how this lady is not afraid of colour.

And finally, thanks for your thoughtful comments on my last post.

x

I forgot my camera...

... so I stole a picture from Craft Victoria. The edge of my stall. It was fairly shambolic!
The market was quiet which suited me well as I was exhausted and nauseated. My favourite thing about markets is getting positive feedback on my stuff. It really means the world. And catching up with other makers is great. It was so nice to meet Jess from TeddyBearsWednesday and we may have bought the first ever present for baby from her!

I am still on steroids to deal with the evils of hyperemesis and it appears this week is dealing out more blows to the world. I have lost my oldest childhood friend to suicide just a few days ago and the shock won't leave my body. It was a reminder that if you ever even get the slightest inkling that something isn't right in someone's world, you need to act on it immediately. This is another experience that won't ever leave me and that has already changed the way I view the world. It is odd being so far away, keeping the phone line free and waiting for 6pm so I can ring people back home. Distance is a hard.

But life goes on, I have 3 market boxes to unpack, and take shots of my new prints, and finish a quilt.
And on Thursday night I will attempt to drag myself to the Brown Owls meeting at the Windsor Deli.
Who else is coming?

Bobbled Cowl

Image and pattern on Ravelry

 I started this last year before my dad got sick and then attempted to finish it while I was in Europe, in the sveltering heat, mostly on the sticky train travelling between Zurich and Munich. Needless to say I did not manage to finish it, but unraveled it when we got back home because it reminded me too much of some very unhappy hours and made me quite furious. I still have the crunched up ball of yarn somewhere but I can't even bring myself to look at it. But since my husband recently said 'I don't like quitters' (he said it to the TV, not to me, he gets a bit too much involved in reality TV programmes but the upside is he will watch Project Runway with me!) I am willing to try it again. Also since my dad would have found the idea of knitting a bobbled cowl more than a bit odd, and who am I not to continue to amuse my father.
As far as I remember it wasn't too hard to knit, once I figured out how to make the bobbles. I think I will even treat myself to some yummy golden Peartree Yarn for it. If you want to bobble along let me know - I am an expert bobbler and can get you bobbling in no time!

I hope your weekend will be full of sunshine!

PS: My belly is so itchy. I really don't care about stretchmarks, but I'd love to trade the itchiness in for something a bit less embarrassing in public...

My Creative Space

I finished my other bag project! I get asked about these so much I think I started in the wrong trade.
I do love making bags.

I do however wonder if the constant nausea combined with feeling seasick from the vigorous shaking of the overlocker and the industrial-type noises will make our unborn think it's going to grow up on an old pirate ship.

Thank you for all your sweet comments on my last post. I've had so many helpful tips from lovely mums who've been through extreme morning sickness, or suckness as I call it, and I really appreciate it. It's a nice change from people telling me to just "distract myself" or saying things like "but you don't look that bad".
Ho. Hum. KAPOW. I think by now I am so iron deficient I've got something like cold sores on my mouth. Extra-revolting!

For more creative, but less retchy spaces click here

It's been quite quiet around these parts because I have been poorly for the last three months.
Baby number 1 is on the way! Needless to say we are super thrilled.

The last months have been quite hellish - I've had to battle hyperemesis which is basically when you are sick as a dog all day long. It's been a real struggle. It's hard to convey just how debilitating full-on all day long nausea can be. I have barely left the house. It's been very boring.

I am taking my hat off to all my fellow ladies who've been through this successfully! Congrats for making it!

I have had lovely help from lovely people. So I am not going to complain too much. I am looking forward to being all glowy and radiant and showing my bump off to the world. Until then sadly me and my bump have to stay indoors and retch a bit more!