hello little elephant

Just a brief post to introduce this little fellow. He has gone to a good home with a beautiful newborn boy, and I had to take a quick photo this morning. He is from this book, and is nice and quick to knit, although a bit fiddly to make up - for some reason you knit the feet separately, like little cupcakes, and then attach them to the suit!

We're off on holidays on Friday, hooray! Hoping for some nice weather.

Birthday treats

Last week was my 35th birthday - scary stuff! Still I had a lovely day and was thoroughly spoiled by Warren, with gorgeous flowers, dinner and some books from my wish list. The paper cutouts is particularly inspiring, full of wonderful bold folk inspired designs in a single colour which of course are great as papercuts (must get myself a scalpel!) but could also work as screenprints or perhaps jewellery designs. The itty bitty nursery book is also gorgeous, with lots of very cute things to knit.



The Russian textiles book is a gift from my mum, mouthwatering textile designs which are quite unique and combine a kind of folk feel with eastern decoration. So much inspiration in these three books, I am just waiting for some more quiet time to curl up with them.



This beautiful elephant cushion was a gift from a friend, Thomas loves it too.



And finally, arriving amazingly enough on my birthday, beautifully wrapped and with a gorgeous card, were these stunning oven mitts from Lily. They are even more beautiful up close, meticulously sewn, with another lovely matching fabric for the lining. I proudly used them for the roast when Warren's dad came over for lunch yesterday, and they are a lovely addition to our kitchen. Thanks sooo much Lily!



Here is rainbow baby doll no 2. I think I now have these out of my system, but I am working on a little elephant. I do like having knitting to pick up when I collapse in front of the tv at the end of the day.



It has been a busy and sociable week for us, hosting mother's group (here is Thomas looking enchanted by a recent arrival), having friends to stay for a few days, and Warren's dad and his partner visiting. We also have a family wedding next weekend and we are off to the Gold Coast for a few days to thaw out from Canberra's chilly weather. I am so looking forward to a change of scene, I can't wait.

I also have my first meeting with my midwife tomorrow - this time round I'm going through the birth centre rather than the hospital so I think I see one midwife for the rest of the pregnancy and labour (although I still have to deliver in the hospital because I had a caesar last time). I'm hoping this time round that we might have a more natural birth, and that the baby will stay put until the due date, but we will have to wait and see.

Rainbow baby doll 1

Thank you so much for all your very lovely comments on the pregnancy - we are very thrilled, although sometimes I think we must be mad to do it all again!



Here is my first attempt at a rainbow baby doll. Quite addictive to knit something that is so quick to make up - a couple of evenings (for me as a very slow knitter) rather than the usual weeks for a garment. I can definitely feel another one coming on! They would be good for a baby toy, as no small parts to come off and get swallowed - even the pompom is knitted as part of the hat, and the pattern is super easy.



Thomas quite likes it too, not that you could tell from this photo!

I also found out that I am the very, very lucky winner of Lily's blog giveaway, the most beautiful oven mitts made from Denyse Schmidt fabric. I just love them, I can't tell you how thrilled I am!

I must be on a winning streak lately, as I also won Leah's gorgeous knitted washcloth and soap a few weeks ago. Usually I never win anything (really!) so perhaps its time to get a lottery ticket! I must definitely do a giveaway myself soon too, to reciprocate all this kindness, so stay tuned.

Up the duff

You have probably already guessed by now, but the reason I've been so sick for the last couple of months is that we are expecting another baby. Although if you look at the ultrasound photos from my 12 week scan yesterday, it looks more like we will have a little alien, or perhaps a seal pup. These pictures are always hard to decipher, but if you look closely you can see the alien face in frontal view and hands (or are they flippers?) on either side of its head. The little peanut was very unco-operative with the scan, jumping about all over the place and the poor techician was there forever trying to get the right angles, but it seems that everything is developing fine.



Funnily enough, we have been given exactly the same due date as for Thomas, (12 November) two years later, so there must be something special about the date both were concieved!

Anyway, luckily the all day nausea seems to be gradually subsiding, and I am feeling more human again. Thank goodness as I need all my energy to cope with Thomas, who is getting more and more adventurous and mischevious by the day.



He is also going through a sudden burst of separation anxiety, so leaving him at childcare three days a week has become an exercise in guilt. His carers reassure me that he stops crying as soon as I leave, but it still feels awful to put him through this. It would be nice to have the option not to work, but as well as preserving some of my sanity, at the moment we would really struggle without my income. I guess it's a very common dilemma, but no easier because of that.

On the creative side, I'm easing myself back into knitting with this rainbow doll pattern (a free pattern from Jean Greenhowe - not the eggs - keep scrolling down to the bottom - but check out those mini knitted cakes and sandwiches too!) which reminds me of some beautiful knitted dolls my mum made for us years ago. I'm not so keen on the super bright colours, but am experimenting with leftover scraps from the knitting I did for Thomas last year.