festive fish surprise...

Well, it turns out that I am not the only one who has been making beautiful things for my baby girl...

Isn't this the most gorgeous blanket?

I have to say a super big thank you to my dear friend Tess for this wonderful creation. She has put so much work into this piece... and every one of those little fishies has been individually blocked before joining. Now that's dedication to the cause!!!

I love the colours...



I love the textures too... look closely at the eyes and the fins... what wonderful depth the project has!

And the joining method is exquisite...

The pattern is Festive Fish by Paula Levy. You can also check out the project page by Tess over at Ravelry for more details.

round ripple baby afghan

For a while there, I was expecting to spend the last six weeks of my pregnancy in hospital. I had been told to make all necessary arrangements, and have myself packed and ready to go...

And do you know what the hardest part was?

Packing clothes and toiletries were easy...

Selecting reading material was easy...

Organising care for the three other children was easy...

The hardest part was choosing which craft projects to take with me!!!

The thing was... I was quite healthy - so I knew that I would be bored out of my brain if I didn't take my craft along with me...

But how much should I take???

I mean, I was going to have all day... every day... for six weeks... to craft to my heart's content. No washing. No cleaning. No cooking. No children!

I was so worried that I might run out if I didn't take enough along with me!

Anyway, I bundled up a number of projects and squeezed them into a bag. Then, feeling rather sorry for myself, I decided that I needed some more!

So I went shopping...

Real shopping...

For NEW yarn! (shock, horror)

I've been wanting to make this round ripple blanket for a while now. In fact, it has been in my Ravelry queue since 2008! At that point I was thinking I would make it for a gift, but now I had a need for one myself! I also had a number of gift vouchers to use up, so I took myself along to Lincraft to check out the baby yarn there...

I found the gorgeous range of Shepherd yarns, and chose the 4ply Baby Wool Merino in a number of bright colours. It felt so decadent to buy brand new yarn after so many years of recycling, but to be honest, I loved every minute of it!



So the pattern is Lyn's Round Ripple Baby Afghan. I used the 4ply yarn with a 3.0mm hook, and it came up beautifully. As you can see, I started with a solid red centre, and then just randomly worked each round in a different colour. To finish off I worked several rounds in the red again, with a final round of hdc as suggested in the pattern.

The only down side to all those colour changes, is the end which need woven in. And I have a confession to make...

I still have some ends left!

look what I made!

Okay... so I didn't do it entirely on my own, but look at what I made

A gorgeous little girl baby!



Little Miss Charlotte is three weeks old now. I'd forgotten just how much of my day would be absorbed by her - the feeding and burping and changing for starters, and then the cuddling... I could quite happily spend the entire day just cuddling her (and sometimes I do)

Thanks to everyone for all your well wishes throughout the pregnancy. I'm afraid I zoned out through most of it. It was almost as though the process of growing a baby was consuming all of my energy, and there was none left at the end of the day for thinking, let alone blogging!

Back soon to tell you all about that gorgeous bright blanket which is keeping my little girl warm...

what are you making for the baby???

"What are you making for the baby???"

It would have to be one of the most frequently asked questions of me at the moment... it's right up there with "When are you due?" and "How far along are you?" and "Is it a boy or a girl?"

So to answer a few of those others... I am due June 19th... which happens to also be my 12th Wedding Anniversary (and three days before I turn 40)

Which makes me 26 weeks along at the moment, and those weeks really are starting to fly by.

No idea what the gender is. I like surprises, so I'll just be patient and wait until it POPS OUT and then find out! Not sure what it's like in your part of the world, but I almost feel like a bit of a freak here for not yet knowing the gender. So many expectant mothers do choose to know, and it feels quite odd to NOT know.

As for my own maternal instinct... who knows? Most days I'm certain that I'm carrying a girl... but then there's the odd day when I'm just as certain that it is a boy!!!

SO...

What am I making for the baby???

Well... remember all those mini skeins?

I started making them into small knitted squares...

And then joined them together in a basketweave type layout...

But I didn't like how they sat so unevenly... it kind of gave a wavy appearance, rather than clean straight lines...

So I started over again, this time working in lengths like so...

And when I find the battery charger for my camera, I'll be able to take a progress photo to show you where I'm up to now!

I'm loving the way it looks, and I think you will too...

Now..

Does anyone know where my charger is???

I haven't used it since before I fell pregnant... and it isn't where I expected it to be!

Aaarghhhh!!!

craft market at Hanging Rock...

Helloooooo....

Is anyone out there???

I've been absent from Blogland for such along time now... I'm wondering if there are any readers left out there!

Please stop and leave a comment... that way I know you are still there...



I feel like my craft mojo has been missing for a long time now, so when I had the opportunity to visit a Craft Market at the weekend... I simply had to say YES!

It's always inspiring for me to see what fellow crafters are up to... to see, feel and touch their work... and 'ooh' and 'ahh' over the techniques and materials used.

Inevitably, I find myself wanting to learn new skills to add to my repertoire... this time I feel the need to learn welding, so that I can create sculptures from scrap metal!!! But maybe I should work my way through my huge fabric/yarn stash before I start collecting scrap metal too... And I would certainly need some extra storage space...

Meanwhile, what I actually bought was this adorable dress, made from vintage fabric, for Little Miss Six.



It came from the wonderfully talented girls at Fine Little Finches - Kim and Anna. Aren't they clever?

I'll admit to being a little biased - as Kim is friend of mine... but I love their work! Check out the precious shoes they have started making...

I fell in love with this vintage fabric immediately. I'm thinking perhaps it reminds me of a pillow case I had as a child, but there is something really familiar and reassuring about it.

But more importantly, since I've had the dress at home, I keep looking at it... thinking it needs SOMETHING MORE... thinking, thinking, thinking... thinking it needs some kind of EMBELLISHMENT... thinking, thinking, thinking... not quite sure what I'd add to it... perhaps a trim around the sleeves and the hem, or an applique of some kind... maybe just a set of matching hairclips or a headband...

Doesn't really matter which way I go with it... the REALLY EXCITING part was that I was CREATIVELY INSPIRED, and that's been a long time coming!!!

a surprise delivery

During the week, I had an unexpected package arrive in the mail...



There were no identifying marks on the package, so I didn't have a clue who it came from.

All I could figure was that it was someone who knows my real name and address... and who lives in Australia.

Which lead me to Crochet Lovers Victoria...

But when I went to post in the forums there, I discovered that I was not the only one who received a secret package this week!

So many other members were posting about their surprises too... and NONE of us know where they came from.

So I need to say a very BIG THANK YOU to my secret santa (whoever you might be)

I love the washer and the sparkly thread, and those stitch markers are going to come in very handy. Your stitch work is exquisitely tidy!

But most of all, I love the thought you have given... investing time and effort making these surprises and sharing them with us...

It's also been fabulous fun to watch everyone play detective, and try to discover your identity

Thanks again for the wonderful Christmas surprise!!

my latest project

I've been in hibernation for a long, long time now... haven't I???

Truth is, I've hardly felt HUMAN over the last few months.

I've been so utterly exhausted, that there's been NO TIME or INTEREST for craft of any kind, let alone blogging about it.

As you can guess from the photo, I've been busy working on my latest project...

growing another BABY GOLDFISH!!!


It's been a lot of years since I last did this... and I don't remember it being quite this much of a challenge last time! Then again, maybe we're programmed to forget about the nightmare parts of pregnancy and childbirth... otherwise no one would ever do it more than once!!!

So, here I am...

At the end of the first trimester...

Finally experiencing little bursts of energy...

And becoming inspired to get back into my craft!