Birds on the wall

I decided that this little wallhanging had been waiting around to be quilted for too long, and the nursery was looking very bare, so I just bound the edges and hung it up. I don't think Thomas will notice the difference, and I can always come back and quilt it later. It felt good just to take it off the to do list.



Thomas has been very cute, smiling and laughing at the birdies and saying goodnight to them (well gurgling something unintelligible, but you know..)



I think he might have made the connection to the real birdies which are visiting our backyard. This is a terrible photo, but you can see a pair of rainbow coloured birds here, they are Eastern Rosellas - common in Canberra, but strikingly beautiful.



Thomas has now learned to crawl (I blame the other babies at childcare for teaching him) and has gone straight to trying to pull himself up on anything he can get hold of, usually something unstable and dangerous, like the TV stand. Even when he finds something relatively benign, like the couch to clutch onto, he still wobbles perilously, with his legs shaking, and often forgets to hold on, so he pitches sideways and I have to be quick to catch him.

This has added a new dimension to my days at home with him, no more putting him down to play happily with some toys, now I'm always hovering around anxiously, retrieving him from forbidden areas or waiting for him to topple over. We went to check out childproof fences and gates, but they are pretty ugly and hideously expensive. I think it would be cheaper to buy some new furniture.

I can see why Margie on BigLove just leaves her babies in the playpen all day. I got quite hooked on that polygamous soapie (as Warren calls it), and am a bit forlorn now its finished.

I think I'm ready for some more knitting, so I've snapped up a pattern for this gorgeous cardigan from six and a half stitches. I love the idea of combining fabric with knitting. How cute is that cheekybeaks fabric used on this cardie?! I'm wondering if I could make the fabric panels detachable, so that they could be swapped around to give a new look and for the inevitable mess that Thomas would spill down the front. I think I'll start on the 2yr size, ready for next winter.

Hooray, it's finished!

The cable knit jumper I've been working on forever for Thomas is finally done so he can wear it a few times before he grows out of it!

It actually fits well, but has a fair bit of stretch in the rib pattern, so perhaps I might be able to squeeze the poor boy into again it next winter.

It was from Debbie Bliss Simply Baby, and actually looks like the one in the photo - how amazing! I nearly ran out of yarn (I used Cleckheaton Country naturals), and was dismayed to find that it had been discontinued, but I managed to find some of the same colour online, and even in the same dyelot - a very lucky break.

We had a marvellous time on holidays in Melbourne, despite some cold and rainy weather.

I just love the many laneways and hidden treasures around the city, there seems to be artwork on the walls everywhere.

This mural is in a laneway of Flinders Lane in the CBD

The lovely seat is in Brunswick St, Fitzroy

And this is part of Federation Square, I love the jelly fish and the lights shining through bundles of twigs.

Of course we also did some skiing, this photo is from Lake Mountain, which is a resort just for cross country skiing.

After a lovely few days, we drove back via Cabramurra, where Warren was organising a ski race. There was a snap frost the next morning, which left all the trees outlined in the most delicate white.

And now we are back home and back to work and back to childcare. So far so good....