Happy Weekend!

now for something completely different

finished and on its way to a new baby's home. Trebbled back and forth in cotton. Noone stop trebbling until the fat lady sings. I can honestly say I don't want to trebble again in the foreseeable future.

My Pre-Conception Body

Well here is the image Babble has on their website anyway. Other than the disconcerting lack of arms, there are other things wrong with this image. But I don't want to go into that. I am not one to discuss how anyone could believe this represents a normal woman, why it is on a pregnancy website, or generally the use of "this is how you should look" photos on such websites, and how dangerous I find it.

Nono. Instead here's a picture I will send to the babble editors in a moment. They might want to replace the one they have.


My Pre-Conception Body

HUGE.

OK. I am big. My belly is big. I am not. My baby is a normal size. But my belly is a large one.


Is it normal to get very anxious and upset about this? I guess not. But I am not sure how to cope with literally everyone I meet saying "oh my god you're HUGE", "are you sure it's not twins", or "are you due next month?". I worry what will happen to me in the next 4 remaining months of pregnancy.

Will I be able to get out of bed?  Will my favourite mode of transport be rolling along the street? Will the hip and back pain get even worse? Will people run and seek shelter when they see the ueber-large whale sized me dinosaur-walk along the footpath?

What do people want to achieve with these comments?

And I am not talking one comment a day. I am talking 30. The next person I'll meet who won't say "YOU'RE HUGE" will get a hug and a kiss. And probably some emotional hormone-tears.

What We Don't Need

are more high rise real estate developments and the destruction of beautiful old buildings that house creative communities.

Head over to the Ink & Spindle blog and help the ladies save the Younghusband building!

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