It's a...

I've been trying to come up with some cute and clever way of doing the 'big reveal' of the results of the 3d ultrasound today, as I know there are at least a few people out there who are mildly interested in finding out what we're having (I've gotten your messages ladies).

Anyhow, all relevant immediate family have been contacted now and it's late and I'm tired, so I guess it's time just to be out with it.

We are having




a little





GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



To my Knitterpudlian compatriots, have 'atter with the pink yarn.

Pictures are amazing. I think she actually looks like me. So weird and cool at the same time.

Anyhow, gotsta sleep. It's been quite the exciting day. Until later...

Last Solo Flight...

One round trip ticket to Ontario on Westjet: Reasonably priced, with a seat sale on both ends

One rental car picked up in Hamilton: Also reasonably priced, with a ten percent discount

Being able to surprise your BFF on the day of her baby shower: Priceless.

Her husband and I had been planning it for about a month, sending super secret squirrel emails back and forth and it went off without a hitch. She was all surprised and discombobulated and I was delighted that I could be there for it. I left Friday, returned Monday so was back in my hometown area in Ontario for, what, a little more than 72 hrs., but it was a blast. The shower was a major success, if I do say so myself.

When she mentioned that she would be having a shower way back sometime in October, I went berserk and didn't stop for an entire month. Behold:



And that wasn't everything. I included another receiving blanket, a sleep sack that I had sewn, a memory book and some stuff to throw in the diaper bag. Included in this photo are a pair of Fetching in alpaca, some felted slippers, socks knit from Fleece Artist Nova Socks, a top down cardigan from Top Down for Toddlers...umm, what else...a couple of knitted washcloths. Too fun. I did actually get a few photos of the opening process, but for some reason, my computer won't recognize them on my memory card. Must print them soon lest they be lost forever.



I think this may have been the biggest hit all 'round. My Knit Nite ladies went nuts for it while I was in the process of creating it (which spawned two more like it from NovaKnitter) and it seemed to resonate with the shower attendees as well. It's Debbie Bliss' Cabled Tank Top knit with DB Baby Cashmerino. I have two balls of deep indigo in my knitting basket waiting for my own little version of this. It's so so sweet.



I was really pleased with how this one turned out as well. I wasn't so sure in the early stages of knitting if I would like how it turned out, but when it was finished, I thought, and still do think, that it's as sweet as can be. Top Down Cardigan from Top Down for Toddlers (Carrie, you should seriously get this book, you'll love it) sized for one year knit out of Bernat Jr. Jacquards in the Country Kid colourway. Acrylic and nylon I believe, but quite soft. Perfect for early fall weather over top of those denim overalls!

So that was my stealth knitting for most of the autumn. What a blast it was to get it all together and keep it all a secret...whee. I had a few comments that perhaps a nearly seven month pregnant lady shouldn't be travelling in the skies and on the roads alone at this time of year, but I figured, as the title suggests, that this will be my last solo flight for a very long time. Plus, the baby is easier to lug around like this than any other possible configuration. Less stuff to contend with. Only my own.

Now it's time to settle into the long dark winter and wait for the excitement of the spring. Tomorrow we find out what this little bean will be and perhaps even what he/she might look like (one of those funky 3d ultrasounds). I'm quite excited. Pinto seemed to enjoy flying (or perhaps not, as the case may be...one never really knows) as I was kicked all the way from Halifax to Hamilton and back again, the most active in one sitting that the baby has been. It's hard to believe that there is only 90 days or so left...it's gone by rather quickly. And with Christmas and New Years and then my b-day tacked onto the end of that, I'm sure this next little while will buzz by as well. Exciting times.

I've been tagged to do a meme as well, and I will get to that in another post but for now I'm still a bit knackered from the trip and I have some Christmassy type things to attend to, ie. get packages ready for sending. I'm forever dragging my feet on this and end up paying dearly for it, literally, in the end. Last year I decided to let myself off the hook with any sort of Christmas related knitting, except for perhaps myself and the constable, so that's a relief. No pressure there. Just looking forward to enjoying the holiday with my feet up.

Until later...

Lame Duck Pregnancy...

According to my ticker, there's one hundred days left. One hundred days to that rather arbitrary number of a due date. Whee.

Some drive-by blogging coming up...



Hat. Skull Isle pattern from Son of Stich n' Bitch. Knit this in like, two and half days. Haven't picked up the needles since. But I love my new hat.



Two more sleep sacks. I love these things...they're so sweet.



Doing some more onesies as well. I was hunting around at Frenchy's for some and it was just more of the same of what I've already picked up. Then it dawned on me that I could scour the bin of men's t-shirts for usable material, most of which wasn't worn at all. So I've got a stack to work on, some of which I'm thinking might be good for gifts.

And that's it. I'm starting to tire easily again, getting back in the habit of napping, which I must admit I'm not all that upset about. The fact that they are more like three hour complete and total black-outs is a little bothersome, as the better part of my day has disappeared once I regain conciousness. Sleeping at night is getting complicated...just not comfortable. I suspect, like everything else, this will no go away or improve. *sigh*

Anyhow, I'm trying to blog and watch Dragon's Den at the same time and I must admit, Dragon's Den is winning. Until later...

At It Again...

Pumpkin spice muffins are yummy.

So the whole refashion/recycling sweatshirt project was so much fun that I thought I would see what else I could do. I don't recall whether I mentioned it in the sweatshirt post, but I thought that I could crank out a few onesies out of some old t-shirts that I had lying around. Just so happens I have a pattern for onesies.



This isn't really a tutorial, but if you happen to have a pattern lying around for onesies or want to try this yourself, you'll want t-shirts that are a) big enough (these are men's large and extra large) and b) t-shirts that don't have seams on the sides. The front and back pattern pieces are meant to be cut on the fold of the fabric, so as you can see here, I've placed them on the sides of the t-shirt where the 'fold' is. I know the photos are a little dull, but I've just not been all that enamoured with my flash lately. Weird lighting this time of year. I'm also doing the small size in the pattern. It goes down as far as xxs, which would also be fine, and I may have been able to eek out a medium, but small was fine for my purposes. (In my amateur estimation, the resulting size is about a 3-6/6-9 month size, compared with some other store bought onesies I have already).



So yadda yadda yadda, I get a little into what I'm doing and forget to take some 'in progress' photos. But here is the the onesies all sewn, or rather, serged, together. If it wasn't for my serger, I don't think I would bother with these projects, since sewing with t-shirt or jersey material on just a sewing machine is a fast track to insanity. For the crotch area, I made sure that my pattern piece went as far down as the bottom hem of the t-shirt. The pattern called for cutting out pieces for the neck bands and for bands around the leg. Again, since I wanted fast and easy and not so much on the insane part, I opted just to serge around these areas. It gives a less finished look, but whatever. These are clothes that are likely to be barfed on. I'm not that fussy.



The t-shirt I used for this onesie was a little worn and thin, so while likely pretty comfy, would only be good for very warm weather or perhaps at night for sleeping, in a sleep sack. Anyway, I remembered that in purging a lot of his t-shirts, the constable was a little bummed out that some of his favourite logo's would also be lost to the rag pile. So I cut out one of the smaller ones, went and got some stuff called Wonder Under (or Heat n' Bond as I knew it), which through the magical process of ironing, creates a nice iron-on logo or patch. Ta-da! Funkified.



That is until I went to finish the process, which requires that you put a damp cloth on top of the logo for the final ironing which bonds the logo to the project and used a red cloth that bled all over my white onesie. DAR! Ruination. So I'm gonna wash it and if it doesn't come out, try and peel it off and do it again on another onesie or take the cursed cloth and do the same thing all over the rest of the outfit to get a mottled/tie-dye effect.



Not satisfied to stop at one, I did it again, this time with one of my own old t-shirts. I got this for volunteering for the conservation authority in my last county of residence. Does anyone ever wear these things after the fact, other than for painting houses or doing yard work? Neon orange just isn't my colour. Needless to say, it's never been worn. This time I flipped the shirt over and cut out the pieces on the back, so that I could avoid getting any writing in my cutting.



And this is how I did the sleeves; cut the sleeves off the t-shirt and through the underarm seam so that they would lie flat. Placed them wrong sides together, centered the pattern piece and cut away. The hem of the t-shirt sleeve becomes the hem of the onesie sleeve. Easy peesy, lemon squeezy.



This time around I wanted a more finished/less homemade look, so I cut the neck band off the shirt and used it for the neck band of the onesies, topstitching on the right side to secure the seam. Same with the leg bands, although this time I had to salvage some neckbands from two other white t-shirts, but I think it looks rather cute! I also added a Simple Knot Newborn Cap like the ones Carrie made, which are too cute for words (link to pattern via her website if you're interested). I thought about adding the logo from the front of the shirt to the onesie, but it was too heavy to bond well and I didn't care for it anyway. So in the garbage it went along with the scraps of the shirt and I am quite pleased to see the end of it, knowing I've at least given it a second life. The only thing left to do on both onesies is sew or hammer on some snaps in the crotch and at either side of the neck. El finito.

Isn't this orange onesie now just screaming for some matching socks? And I have just the yarn in my stash too. Stay tuned...

Definitely Not a Monkey...

The aforementioned sheep from yesterdays post arrived about an hour after I hit the publish button. Is this not the most hilarious sheep you've ever seen? The tag identifies him as a Pudgie and I think I want one of each. I was really hoping they made hippo's too, but not yet. I can't wait to sit the baby next to this gigantic blob of a sheep once the wee bean is able to sit up.

So I had a bit of a brain storm today that I thought would be blog worthy. A while back I bought a baby pattern that was on for half price at the fabric shop. It was for a couple of little hoodies with matching bottoms. I browsed the sweat shirt fabric that they had last time I was there and there didn't appear to be much in the way of selection. Then I remembered the last clothing purge we did that resulted in a large pile of old t-shirts etc. being deposited in my craft room for dust rags et al.



Why not re purpose the hubby's big sweatshirt into a little hoodie? Why not indeed.



I cut the sleeves off, saved them for the sleeves of the hoodie, and also cut off the wrist and bottom bands of the sweatshirt. Just for ease of cutting, and they were pretty worn out anyway. The pieces of the hoodie, fronts, back, hood and bottom band I cut out of the body of the sweatshirt.



Yadda yadda yadda, sew sew sew, and now I've got a little hoodie where once there was just a sad sorry old sweatshirt. The shirt itself kinda had that distressed look to it, as I think the constable wore it working one of his previous jobs. Anyhow, imagine what you might pay at the Gap for something of a similar nature. Hehehe...

I could only go so far as to serge around the hood and fronts for now as I didn't have a separating zipper on hand. I think I'll pick one up tomorrow.

Anyhow, from start to finish I think this took about two hours. I made the largest size in the pattern, which looks to me to be about twelve to twenty-four months. I think the colour works for either gender as well. If my husband could wear it from high school on, that's good enough for me. I'll be happy to know what we're having though, once we finally find out. It'll make crafting and shopping so much easier.

So that's today's FO.

Meanwhile, in Sewing...

I'm starting to waddle now. This can't be good. By the way, this is a picture heavy post.

Anyhow, in addition to some furious knitting, I've also been doing some sewing. All baby related, of course. This past weekend was particularly productive, which was kind of a fluke. I happened upon this link via WhipUp which I like to check in with on occasion just to see what is up in the crafting world.

So here was an idea for a nice easy quilt. I like easy. Especially when it comes to quilts. I think, even though I enjoy the process just as much, I am overall a product crafter, and quilts are not the right kinds of projects for cranking out product. Unless you don't mind year or two lags between FO's. The fluke part about this is a long while ago, when I first discovered the whole pregnancy thing, I started rummaging through my fabric stash to see what potential might lie there. I had lots of flannel remnants. Lots. I love flannel. I've made flannel stuff for me, the hubby, babies in my life...can't get enough flannel. So as a brain dead project, I started cutting up these flannel remnants, all shades of blue, into different sized squares. I had no particular project in mind. I just figured that having lots of squares instead of lots of oddments of fabric was a step in the direction of fabric destash.

Then I happened upon the ragged squares link and a light bulb went off. Up to the craft room I went and after some futzing and finagling, I had this...



Insta-quilt top. Never one to follow a pattern or direction to the letter, I took the small middle square and made it a diamond. Funky. The squares are also not the exact size given in the tutorial, but whatever...I knew it was going to be a baby blanket anyway.



Here we have the binding attached. Here's the calm before the storm as well. I usually do pretty well with the piecing of quilts and then inevitably arse up the actually quilting part. I'm partial to hand quilting, but I was looking to have this done and over with last evening (re: addicted to finished objects at the moment) so I heaved a large sigh of submission and gave into the machine quilting part of the direction. I knew it wouldn't go well.



Not that it went horribly. Just that because of the diamonds, I couldn't do the quilting as directed in the tutorial, so I just did a big kinda swirly thing with the sewing machine and called it quilted. My free thinking nature has inevitable consequences.



The ragged part comes in after you wash the quilt, so that all of those raw seams get all fuzzed up. It's quite cute. And very soft and squishy.



I also have some of the crib bedding finished. I love the letters in the crib sheet...I'm hoping to inspire a lifelong love of reading through osmosis. And those are all my toys from childhood. We recently unearthed them from the mountain of stuff still as yet unpacked in the garage. I went through them all, washed them up and there are now two full big totes of stuffed animals in the baby's room. No baby yet, just a boatload of toys. I guess I'm more of a pack rat than I'm willing to admit. Anyhow, at some point I'll post a bit about them as well...there's some real blasts from the past in there.



Extra crib sheets, cuz I hear those come in handy. All flannel, but of course. These are way easy. I could make dozens.



Some receiving blankets, one with a nice finished hem, the other a lazy serged edge. I love my serger. Very nice of ma to hand that down to me.



And of course, sheep. More receiving blankets here. I don't know if you can see it on the light blue/grey one, but it says 'Sheepy Time'. I've tried very hard to resist the pull of a sheep-themed nursery, which would've been oh so easy to do, and yet they've found their way in anyway. I should've taken a picture, but on the baby's dresser, there is already a corner of sheep toys. Stuffed animals, puppets. Now blankets. When I was home last, I saw this gigantic sheep pillow/stuffed animal thing that I fell in love with and have been mooning over ever since. My mother has been itching to buy things, so I sent her on a mission to retrieve the sheep. Her first trip was a miss, but did result in a sheep, just not the one I wanted. So back she went and now there is a box on it's way here from Ontario that will hopefully contain said sheep (though for some reason, she keeps saying it looks like a monkey. I would not be the least bit surprised if when I open the box, it's actually a monkey. There is much that gets lost in translation when in conversation with my mother).

So what now? I've got nothing on the needles at this precise moment, and no projects piled up on the cutting table and I'm feeling a little woozy. Time to start something new.

Until later...

Busy Weekend...

On the twelfth, Hank and the constable celebrated their birthdays. It was Hanks first. I think he liked it.



Hank got a new toy. He's not good at sharing (yes, that's me snorting on the video).

Had some people over for Thanksgiving dinner, which was lovely. I like making a big meal every now and then, as long as there are lots of mouths to enjoy it. I think it went over well. And I had no problem eating turkey sandwiches for lunch and another full turkey dinner last night as well. With some stuffing and gravy and turkey still left over. Mmmmm....don't have to cook for the rest of the week.

I've been knitting furiously as well, all stuff I can't show you just yet. All in good time, my pretties. All in good time.

Yesterday was a big day. First ultrasound which I was pretty excited/nervous about and ended up being totally amazing. I have to say though, I was pretty bitter (re: exceptionally bitter...only time I wished I still lived in Ontario...don't get me started) over the fact that they don't give out ultrasound photos here in this fine province (at least not in my little corner of it), but was pleasantly surprised when I was able to snag one for myself anyway. Check this out:



The detail that they can pick up these days is just outstanding. And my suspicions were confirmed; there is indeed an alien life form dwelling deep within. And apparently it hearts NY. Who can blame him really?

Then there was that little matter of a federal election. I voted, hope you did too.

And now the week is half over and I still feel like it's Sunday. Holidays totally screw me up. Must get some work done then.

Until later...

Worst...Birthday Present...Ever...

Hank turns 1 year old on the 12th of this month and yesterday he was neutered. We waffled on the decision for a very long time, even though we were contractually obligated to have it done. Just seemed, I dunno, hurtful. I didn't go to drop him off, but I went to pick him up. I thought about him all day. And he was just as spry and bouncy when we went to get him as he was that morning. I don't know what I was expecting...some sort of drunken stagger I suppose, perhaps a bit of 'what the hell?' aloofness. But he was talking up a storm when he saw us, which I like to believe translated to 'Get me outta here!!! Do you have any idea what it is that they do back there?'

The drunken stagger he saved for the ride home. I think the initial excitement of being picked up wore off and he was a little mellow and drowsy on the ride. It was kinda funny actually; he sat there with his mouth open, but I don't think he was actually panting. Anyhow, he seems to be fine. Slept a lot last night but was up and at 'em first thing this morning. He even made a bee-line for the van when I took him out, which I was a little surprised at. But I think that had more to do with his trips to the beach the two days prior to surgery. I'm sure he'd be all for going out and chasing the ball on this lovely fall day, but I'm making him chill out and of course keeping a watchful eye out for, um, licking. Gross. I know he probably is a little none the wiser about the whole affair, but I still feel kinda bad. The constable and I were worried about strange things, like will it change his personality. But if today is any indication, he's as clingy and loving as ever. Emphasis on the clingy. Has yet to leave my side.



So I used playing doggy nurse maid as an excuse to sit and get the hood finished on my Central Park Hoodie. I still need to do the button bands, but this is pretty much all I've been working on since the last blog post, and it was getting a little stale, so I thought it was time for an update.



I've tried it on with a t-shirt and it just kinda fits at this point, though I won't be able to do it up even after the button bands are done, but it is super cute and there will be a nice cardi waiting for me at the other end of this pregnancy thing egging me on to get back into some other shape than round. I'll of course model it a bit once the bands are knit.



I think I should've gone with my original instinct which was to do a collar instead of a hood, but it seemed a little pointless to knit a Central Park Hoodie and omit the hoodie part. The hood seems a little small, although it hasn't been washed or blocked like the rest of the sweater, so perhaps it's just a little bunched up and tense. Overall, I'm very pleased with this sweater. It's a quick and easy knit.



I had this to distract me when I got bored of the sweater. Just a plain crochet bib of my own devising. When I was done, I thought it looked a little bland, so I perked it up with a couple of red buttons and a little felt applique. Which sent me on this tangent...



The photo is a little blaseh, guess the sun when behind a cloud at that moment, but it's actually quite bright. Maybe I should stop taking photos with the lime green cutting mat as a background. In any case, I've got sketches for half a dozen bibs with different fruity themes. Too much fun. It's terry cloth backed with white flannel with a lightweight interfacing in between and of course, the felt applique. Makes me smile.

So were you watching the debates last night? Either side of the border? I find it kind of interesting that so many people think Canadian politics is boring, but frankly, I thought the format that they used for the leaders debate was much more...entertaining, for lack of a better word. Five leaders, one roundish table, questions posed by actual Canadian citizens covering a spectrum of topics...I found it more engaging than the vice-presidential format, that's for sure. Two candidates, pretty predictable outcome. But I'm not a pundit and I did finally pack it in at 11:30. So there you go.

I'm at knitting odds now. I've gotten to the point with the sweater that I just want it done without having to actually do the knitting. And I'd like to move onto baby things. It suddenly dawned on me that five months can go by pretty quickly. If I'd like to have a small arsenal of items, I'd better get crackin'.

Until later...

I'm still sailing...

I'm still enthralled with this whole crochet business, most of it being that I was able to finally figure it out. I've picked up my hooks (formerly my mom's) many many times and was only able to accomplish a gradually growing or shrinking square of fabric each time. So the fact that I have not one but several finished granny squares is to me, a revelation. The photos from yesterday were my practise ones. It's nice to have gobs of acrylic on hand to try out new things.

I've had my eye on the Babette Blanket for quite some time, so I finally have decided to make one, or a version thereof. I've only gone with four colours, rather than what, seventeen? I so don't have the brain power for that at the moment.



I just couldn't resist the pull and call of the yarn shop yesterday. It was a gorgeous day after a really lousy weekend (something about hurricanes or tropical storms...I should pay more attention), so I headed off in search of THE yarn. I finally settled on some Sisu. Not sure why I picked sock yarn for this project (oh yeah, it's going to be a baby blanket), maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment. But crochet goes so much faster than knitting anyway, so small doesn't factor in so much. Unless you have to make a bunch of squares, then small figures pretty prominently.

There is another reason why I decided that yesterday was the day for a medium sized yarn purchase. We heard the wee Pinto Bean's heart beat for the first time. What a great sound. Just what I needed to assuage and calm any concerns for fears I might have. I headed pretty much straight from the doctors office to the fabric store where I picked up a pattern for the crib bedding and brought home some upholstery/fabric samples to show the constable to get his input.



This is the first set of samples in the book, the one that really caught my eye. At first I thought of doing a variety of items in my craft room with these fabrics, and then I guess I just forgot about that idea and when I was browsing in the fabric store yesterday, it jumped right out at me again. Anyhow, I think this is quite pretty without being...overly juvenile? I've been having a hard time in looking for crib bedding. I want the room to be youthful and fun, but not drowning in jungle characters or choo-choo trains or the like. Not that there's anything wrong with any of that mind you...most of the sets I've seen are quite adorable. I just have a really anal sense of home decor. As I was telling my BFF the other day, I may not have much of a sense of personal style, but I try to make up for it in my decorating. Whether I succeed or not is a matter of personal opinion.



Same sample, different colouring, and my original thought was this could quite easily go either way, boy or girl. Which is exactly what the constable said he came home and I was thrilled. Until he qualified it by saying that it would do very nicely if we weren't going to find out what we are having, but since we are, then there is no way he would abide this for a boys room. Humph. For a split second there, I thought my life was going to be very easy. I had brought another book home with a sample that I thought would be very boyish, lots of blue and red, but with big cartoony looking flowers, not at all floral and that got the veto right away. In the end, after some consideration, I wasn't that crazy about it anyway. In any event, if it is a girl, this is the one. On my way home from the yarn shop I hit Atlantic Fabrics as well and found some more boyish fabrics that I thought would do and would also go with the blanket colours. No photos unfortunately.

Another equally nice thing that happened to me yesterday was that I got blue ribboned by Chicken Betty :) See?



The idea is that you give a blue ribbon to the person who's blog you dig and then you link back to the prize giver and then award said prize to four more people. That I'm going to have to work on...I like lots of blogs and narrowing, particularly in my current state of hormone-assisted stupidness, is a rather daunting task. But how lovely is that, to be awarded a ribbon? I've never gotten a blue ribbon. I used to get a lot of purple participation ones in grade school. A word to school administrators; children know when they are being patronized. Just give the winners theirs and be done with it. Those of us that came last didn't want to be there anyway so if we had had the vocabulary (which we did, just not in your company), we would've told you what you could do with your purple ribbons. But I'm seriously digressing here...

Betty has been my longest and greatest blog supporter. She's super crafty, designs all kinds of her own stuff (which I hope to aspire to someday), is a DIY-er of the first degree, which totally appeals, and has a wicked sense of humour to boot. And good taste in music. What's not to love? So I'm honoured to be blue ribboned by the likes of she and I'm not sure if this is in the rules, but blue ribbon right back atchya. Double blue ribbons for you.

Anyhoo, that's what I've been up to. I'm really anxious to start on the salon de bebe, now that I have concrete ideas, but it's a wee bit early for that. Which is driving me bonkers. I'm the kind of person who likes to have a plan well in advance, whether I put it in action or not. I like to have it in my head. And the not knowing, on top of not being able to find out what we're having without certain expense, (they won't tell you during ultrasounds here in NS, so if you want to know, you have to pay for it at a private clinic, which apparently just takes messages on a voicemail...will they call back? No one knows...anyone out there been to UC Baby in Halifax?) makes me cranky. But it's all very early for that anyway. So let's have some fun with it. Want to chime in? What do you think baby Marti will be? Boy? Girl? Space alien love child? I've added a poll in the sidebar, or you can leave a comment or both. I've set it up until the end of March...should show up by then I hope. So get your votes in...you only have 202 days left...hehehe.

Until later...

Bibs n' a Bathroom...

First, the bibs. Carrie was making some bibs the other day, which got me to thinking that hey, those are cute and quick and easy and oh yea, I just happen to have a bit of a fabric stash myself. So while I may not feel much like knitting lately, I seem to have re-discovered the sewing bug.



Various flannel remnants, some of which, ironically enough, were gifted to me from Carrie.



And now from the back. Twelve bibs for the price of...well, nothing really. Maybe a couple of hours of my time. Too fun! Totally mindless sewing...love it. I barely made a dent in the flannel stash, so I think I'll make some matching wash cloths. As I was sifting through the rather robust blue flannel section, I started cutting squares of various sizes. I have no real plan, I just now have a lot of squares. I forsee a flannel baby quilt before too long though. Love the fabrics.



So I haven't posted about the house in a while. We've actually made some really amazing progress this spring and summer. We're now living in the house, have been for a few months and as of yesterday, we are officially fully functional!! The above photo is where we started with the main upstairs bathroom of the house. That's the sink area. Nice, eh? Wonder why we ever decided to change it up. But wait, there's more...



...this was the tub and surround! Whoa Nelly. The rest of the room was just...horror movie. The toilet...oh the toilet. There were partial walls, cracked plaster ceilings. Someone really should've scouted this place out for some sort of Saw sequel. Twas scary. We tore down everything, and I do mean everything, to bare studs and plywood floor.



But I think this is a bit of an improvement, don't you? (disregarding of course that the cover for the heater is missing, there is no trim, nor is the window framed in).



We've got this huge, beautiful, totally private back yard which makes for a lovely view from the window. It's so green and peaceful outside.



I finally took the tub for a test drive this morning...luxurious. We will be installing a curtain rod that hangs from the ceiling, so we will be able to have stand up showers as well. So there are still some accessories and such that need to be attended to, but for now, it's finished enough to use. Huzzah.

So anyway, that's it for today. Blogger totally punked out on me this morning while I was crafting this post, and in the interim, I started on some matching flannel cloths to go with the bibs. Pictures when they're all completed.

Until later...

The Remorseless Eating Machine I've Become...

So if I were to tell you that within the last couple of weeks we...



...acquired a mini-van to compliment our Heep...er, I mean, Jeep...(seriously...is it ever going to stop raining?)



...that I have been concentrating my knitting efforts on rather small items made out of rather soft, person-specific yarn...(it's not pink...it's a rather yellowy-peach or peachy-yellow...but it's Rowan so who cares)



...or that yesterday I went to Frenchy's and spent ONLY $37.00 (and some change) on all of this (officially a Frenchy's convert now). What do you suppose I would be trying to get at?

Still not quite clear? Maybe for some this will help clarify. The other day, in a blind haze of ravenous hunger, I sat down to a plate of six chicken wings, which at the time seemed like the most glorious meal on the planet. The constable came in from the shed and innocently said, 'Hey, can I have one?!'

My response was what I liken to perhaps a cave woman, crouched near the fire with a grisly leg of stegosaurus (or some other sort of Flintstones reference) clenched triumphantly in her fists. The rest of the tribe is sitting tentatively on the other side of the fire, watching carefully and apprehensively, and with much envy as the woman gnashes her teeth and savours every last morsel. No one dare approach the woman, for beside her, laying in full view for all to see, is a large and heavy club that she has no trouble wielding at any individual that dare come between her and her feast.

Does this sound familiar to any other pregnant or previously pregnant women out there or am I just totally out of control?

So yes, I be pregnant. With child. In the family way. The rabbit done died (that one I've never quite understood). I'm just soooo excited. We both are. Something we've wanted for quite some time so it seems and now we're on our way. Terrifying, exciting, bewildering...it's all good. Lots and lots to do in the next seven months or so. So much crafting. The weirdest thing though...in all the baby crafting I've done over the last few years for friends and family around me who've had wee ones, I've always been very definite in what I wanted to make and had no problem just jumping right in and getting to it. But this little bean (hereafter referred to as Pinto Bean, as it was about that size when we first let the cat out of the bag and it's just stuck) has me a bit stumped. Stymied.

Maybe it's a perfectionist thing, like I have to make just the right this or that. Or maybe it's just not knowing what we're going to have just yet. I'm a bit on the impatient side as well. But it's getting better. I went to the fabric store yesterday and came away with some great ideas. There's lots of stuff I'd like to knit. Who knows if I'll get around to half of it. It's all going to be lovingly barfed on anyway, so I shouldn't get to hung up about it.

Anyhoo, seeing as it's Saturday and I'm here all by my lonesome, save my trusty compatriot Hank, (who startled a deer the other night when I sent him out into the back yard on the end of my flashlight beam for his evening poo. Didn't bark or chase or anything...he got a treat for that) and I have no motivation for cleaning when it's this miserable outside, I think I'll give my craft room a proper christening and while away the afternoon. Stay tuned for a rather steady stream of baby related items in the months to come. Whee!!!

Until later...

PS: Another note about Frenchy's; also in my purchases I got What to Expect the First Year (had picked up What to Expect When You're Expecting a while back for fifty cents...awesome) and another child rearing book for birth to five years. I also had one for the constable titled 'How to Keep the Baby Alive Until Your Wife Gets Home' but figured other than the title, he wasn't likely to read it anyway! I'm keeping him pretty well informed. I never believed it before when people tried to tell me, but this whole Frenchy's thing really has it going on. Most of the baby clothes I bought were all Old Navy, Baby Gap and Carters. Barely, if ever, used. In excellent condition. And honestly, I found more gender neutral stuff there than any store I've been to yet. Twas mightily awesome. But really, seeing as blue is my favourite colour, all shades, but navy in particular, even a daughter of mine will spend quite a bit of time in that colour anyway. When we do know what we're going to be welcoming home, I see shopping sprees of epic proportions taking place. Hubs got a little fashion show when he got home last night and was mightily impressed at the price tag. Yay bargains.