A close call

We had a scary day yesterday - it started out normally, with a home visit from my lovely midwife. Everything was normal until we got to the doppler ultrasound of the heartbeat, which was very unusual, out of rhythm - a strange irregular three beat sound rather than the normal two beats I'd heard so many times before.

The midwife still wasn't too worried, but suggested that I go into the hospital to have it checked out, so Thomas and I drove in there, and we went into one of the delivery suites to be strapped up to the heart monitor. From there things got scary very quickly, the baby's heartbeat was reading as being very slow, something called brachycardia, and the registrar came in and suddenly I was being prepared for an emergency caesar. This was awfully familiar, as it was also week 34 when I had the caesar with Thomas after an abruption, so I knew all the routine of putting in canulas and drips, the gown and strange socks and signing the consent forms etc.

Poor Thomas had no idea what was going on but was extremely good, and just played quietly while all this was happening until Warren arrived.

Anyway, just when we thought it was all happening, they decided to confirm the problem with the more sophisticated ultrasound in the fetal medicine unit, which showed that the baby's heartbeat was arrhythmic but not as slow as it was reading upstairs. All very confusing to me. So all of a sudden everyone relaxed, and said we could go home, just come back for a scan next week.

Very strange indeed to come so close to another emergency premmie delivery, being treated like an invalid, and then to be getting dressed and driving home again minutes later! Of course we were hugely relieved not to be having the baby early, knowing how stressful it is to have a baby struggling in those early days in the NICU.

So now we're back home, just keeping an anxious eye on those foetal movements, but hoping everything will get back to normal and it will go to term.

So back to life as usual - it is Thomas' second birthday this weekend, so I am now madly planning a bananas in pyjamas cake, food and decorations. Hoping for some more good weather - it has been lovely here lately. Here is Thomas at the animal nursery at Floriade - we got there late in the afternoon and had it almost all to ourselves.

Thanks for the very helpful comments about the courses, I'm still pondering, but will have to make a decision before the end of October.

Lots of thinking, not much else!

Another unintended blogging break. Sorry I have been out of touch - the pregnancy is going pretty well (33 weeks now I think), baby is exceptionally active, but I have been getting bad back pain every evening which has slowed me down, I think because I have become so enormous in every dimension - no cute designer bump here!



My only creative activity lately has been slowly working on my knitted asymetric vest, which is coming along, but still has 3 balls left to go. I've still got a few more weeks at work, and have been a bit frantic trying to tie up many many loose ends there.

The impending arrival has brought on lots of thinking about the future, and what I will do when my maternity leave finishes. My contract at the uni comes to an end pretty much at the same time. I am really, really longing to do something more creative as a career rather than just in my spare time (which there won't be much of at all, once bub 2 arrives). I've always wanted to go back to art school and study art or graphic design. I wish I'd paid more attention to my misgivings which surfaced fairly early in law school, but instead I went on to finish an honours degree, and just kept going after that.

Financially, and with two little ones, it won't be an option to study full time, so I've been researching part time and correspondence courses. Unfortunately the options are pretty limited in Canberra. Now I'm tossing up between a graphic design degree program by distance education through Charles Sturt Uni which would take 6 years part time (help - I'll be 40!) or a commercial correspondence course in desktop publishing (using InDesign) which is only 6 months but is not accredited. Hard decisions to make - perhaps it is crazy to be thinking of taking on something like this right now, but having another baby has made me feel like if I don't do something soon, it might never happen.



Meanwhile, Thomas is becoming more of a little person every day, and constantly delights me - learning new words and concepts all the time. He talks a lot about himself in the third person now, which is quite funny. His favourite phrase is 'Tommy do it' (often followed by 'oh, bit hard, mummy do it?') and he tells himself to 'try again' or says 'good boy Thomas!' We have been telling him about the baby in my tummy, and the other day he was asking about it and said 'baby - mummy pouch - kangaroo?' It must be very confusing for him!



Here he is at a little friend's birthday party, sporting a birthday cake moustache and his new very short first haircut. I think it will look better in a few weeks! His 2nd birthday is coming up in early October, and he is very interested in cakes and candles - I think he will love it this time around.



And here he is with the most beautiful hand knitted jumper and hat which arrived in the post from my mum.

That's all from me, off to lie down again and think some more - hope everyone is well in blogland.

Dabbling with dyes

Yesterday Warren looked after Thomas to give me a whole day off to go to the craft and quilt fair - what bliss! So wonderful to be able to browse and learn and absorb the creativity without trying to keep a little one happy.

I went to workshops on all sorts of random things, like making circles in patchwork, stained glass applique, dyeing lace and even picture framing. I also saw the beautiful Canberra quilts exhibition which is always really inspiring - sadly I'd forgotten my camera. There was a spectacular quilt there with an incredibly intricate persian pattern that had taken something like 17,000 hours to finish, and was a true masterpiece - wish I'd had a photo of that one.



I did make a completely unintended and indulgently extravagant purchase of some Noro silk garden yarn to make a shawl/vest after wandering into one workshop on knitwear, where an very elegant older woman was modeling the most gorgeous handknitted garments. I'm not quite sure about my colour choice, it seems to have more mustardy yellow in the blend now that I've got it home, but I'm sure it will be lovely anyway.

I had been thinking about doing some yarn dyeing experiments for a while, as I can never seem to find colours I like (apart from the beautiful expensive hand dyes), so inspired by all this creativity and the various kool-aid dyeing tutorials on the web, I also had a quick go today at dyeing some yarn just with ordinary food colouring and vinegar, as food colour is really the active ingredient in kool aid, and easier to blend this way.

I started with some jars half full of water and a splash of vinegar, then added a few drops of Queen brand food colours, mixing some together. I had the small packet of four colours, plus a rose pink. I also had some old ivory/brown coloured wilton colour. The yarn is a cream merino crepe from Lincraft (100% wool).



I plonked a mini skein of yarn in each one, covered with glad wrap (don't forget this step or you will have dye all over the microwave - trust me!) and then in the microwave for 2 mins off, two minutes on until the dye was absorbed -two zaps each with two jars in at a time.



You can see how the water goes clear once the dye is absorbed. Then you gently rinse in hot water (avoiding shocking the yarn with a sudden change of temperature) then wash in wool wash. I was surprised how little dye came out at this stage - the colour is very colour fast.



Here are the final colours. Pretty bright and garish, but they could be a lot more subtle with less dye (or more wool) and some more judicious blending. You can see on the pink shades how more or less of the same colour comes out very differently. The candy pink was just one drop, and the darker cherry red/pink was a few drops.

The next thing I'd like to try is some variegated blends. Some of these actually have some nice mottling, because I didn't soak the wool beforehand for very long - I like this look.

So there you go, all done in about half an hour - and lots of fun!

Not happy mummy

Poor Thomas is having a rough time with a bad cold, a fever that comes and goes and all his molars coming through at once. We went with Warren to the snow again on the weekend, just for a change of scene, and stayed with some wonderful friends, but Thomas wasn't well enough to venture out, so we just cuddled up on the couch most of the day watching his dvds. I can now recite all the adventures of Maisy and Bananas in pyjamas by heart (a very useful skill, I'm sure you'd agree).



He has been rejecting his bottle because it seems to hurt his mouth and it has been an anxious struggle getting fluids into him, but the doctor is not too worried, and I hope he might finally be on the mend.



The snow has been great after a slow start, and Warren has been making the most of it, doing lots of cross country racing.



We drove back through a snow shower, and stopped so I could take this photo looking back.



This was a pine tree I spotted while we were filling up with petrol on the way home, I love all the twisty intertwined branches, it reminded me of a Japanese stencil design.

Craft wise I am still plotting quilts, but waiting on an elusive delivery of back-ordered fabric (the downside of my online shopping addiction) before I can really get started. In the meantime I've finally taught myself to crochet in the round, and have been experimenting with flowers and granny squares using leftover yarns. I'm excited to have mastered the technique, but my early attempts at colour combinations have been surprisingly and disappointingly hideous, so I won't inflict them on you yet.

Spending long days at home with Thomas I have been doing lots of thinking about getting my craft space more organised, and generally freshening up our living area, which has been the same dark colours for years and is starting to get me down. I have lots of ideas but not a lot of energy and no money to splash around, but I think it would lift my mood just to start in a small way, perhaps just clearing up the endless clutter here.

Hope you are all having a better week.

Winter is here

Sorry for the unintended blogging break, winter has arrived here and the time has just slipped away.



We took Thomas to the snow last weekend and tried out his new European style sled, a lovely Christmas present from my uncle. Thomas was hard to miss in his charming 8o's ski suit, which we bought in a community sale. He loved the sled of course.



Warren and I loved it too. It is the closest to downhill thrills I am going to get this winter - I've decided that skiing is just a bit too risky in my whale-like state.



I have been spending most of Thomas' nap times working lately, and have not had time for any crafting, but I have been doing a lot of daydreaming about quilting, and did find some time to research some online fabric sites. It seems easy to justify the occasional purchase when the exchange rate is so favourable and prices are about a quarter of the cost of fabrics in our local shops. My favourites so far have been Hancocks at Paducah, for their range and specials, QuiltHome for a great variety of older Kaffe Fassett and Amy Butler fabrics hard to find elsewhere, and their design board which allows you to play with colour combinations, and Quilters warehouse, for $1.99 fat quarters.

My problem with quilting is that my ambitions and ideas tend to outstrip my patience for actually cutting piecing it all together, let alone the binding and quilting parts. I already have so many projects in mind, like a batik kaleidoscope quilt, a wonky log cabin wallhanging, cot quilts for friends babies and something with appliqued butterflies. I think I'd better get started while the enthusiasm lasts!

First school photos

Well, not school really, but these are Thomas' first official photos from childcare.



I think we'll have to order copies for the Grandparents.



And here is a slightly less formal photo taken this morning in his jammies, when he decided that he wanted to walk in Daddy's shoes.

Nothing else to show I'm afraid, it has been very busy at work, and Thomas has been teething (finally getting some molars) so we haven't been getting much sleep. So hard to get up in the middle of the night when it is freezing - I guess I'd better get used to it again! Still, I'm glad its the weekend, and nice and sunny, and I've sent my last book chapter off to the reviewers for work, so I can relax for a little while.

We had our 20 week scan, and all is very well with sprog no 2. I found out the sex of the bub, but am sworn to absolute secrecy because Warren doesn't want to know yet. I have a feeling this will be a very hard secret to keep, I'm already bursting to tell him, but will have to restrain myself. I'm now feeling lots of kicking and moving around, which is a very lovely part of pregnancy, and makes it feel much more real.

I'm getting very interested in quilting again but will have to finish off the long standing work in progress (oh dear that was over a year ago!) before I can justify buying any more fabric. Perhaps we could just have a little browse at the fabric shop this weekend though!

This little piggy...

... is finally finished! After a long search I found the joints and snapped him together so he has moveable arms and legs. I have to confess there was some (ok lots of) swearing involved at certain points, they were much trickier than I thought to put in, trying to snap them together through two layers of knitting.

This means that he can sit down when he gets a bit tired. He has very odd little bowed legs, and his top looks like it has shrunk in the wash, but does have a certain rakish charm.

The back view with his tail poking through a hole in the pants.

He is from a pattern in this women's weekly craft book - I recommend it if you can find it, as it has a lot of nice things, even though the knitting patterns assume a fair amount of competence, and took a bit of figuring out.

Sun, sea, kangaroos and carrots

We had a lovely time on holidays at the Gold Coast. The weather was perfect, warm but not too hot, and just right for sandcastles and paddling.



It was so nice just to put on a summer dress again and enjoy the last of the warm days. I am feeling fantastic now that the nausea of the first trimester is all over. It is great just waking up without feeling sick, and I'm grateful for it every day. I think this is week 17, but I keep losing track. I just know that I am already the size of a house.



We avoided the big theme parks, but went to Currumbin nature sanctuary which was wonderful, Thomas had a fabulous time riding on the little train, and seeing koalas, Tassie devils, wombats and lots of birds. We even got to pat and feed a mother kangaroo and her little joeys.



We had a few days in Sydney staying with my parents and, catching up with some friends and relatives. Our friend Lamorna has a great veggie garden, and Thomas was amazed to see that carrots really grow in the ground.



Here he is in a very cute jumper my mum knitted for him. Check out those pom poms!

I have been busy knitting one of the three little pigs, but have had trouble finding the plastic joints required by the pattern, so it might take a while to get it finished. At the moment it is a dismembered piggy body in a plastic bag, not quite worthy of a photo!

Now I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home, sorting out all our chaos, and perhaps some fireworks (I still can't believe Canberra still lets us set these off ourselves!). Happy long weekend everyone!

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.