Snow baby

Our baby Phoebe finally arrived on Tuesday 30th November :) 

Our St Andrew's Day baby certainly timed her arrival to make things interesting!  This is a long wordy post, the Baby Post, enjoy...!

This was my car on the morning I went into labour...

Baby Phoebe decided the day to arrive would be the day a massive snow blizzard hit Kent.  It had started snowing overnight and when we woke up we'd already had a couple of feet, and the snow just kept coming, it didn't stop.  The schools were closed so hubby set off to get Lillia to her Granny's whilst I stayed at home to handle the contractions.  Two hours later hubby had to turn back as he just couldn't get there - the roads were gridlocked.

By this time things were getting quite painful and the weather situation was looking a bit worrying, the snow just kept falling.  Luckily the traffic coming the other way from my mum's was ok and she managed to get to us in the end, making the usual ten minute drive in forty-five.  We set off for the hospital as soon as she arrived, me wired up to my tens machine and clutching a bowl in case I was sick! 

The hospital is usually a ten minute drive away - it took us just over two hours.  The roads were gridlocked so we had to resort to the motorway in the hope it would be clearer, but there were several lorries stuck unable to move and we couldn't get past.  At one point I thought I would end up giving birth on the motorway, I could almost see the local paper headlines! 

When we finally got past and off the motorway, negotiated a couple of gridlocked roundabouts and turned the corner on to the final stretch of road we were confronted with a long queue of cars stuck behind a lorry stuck in a snow drift.  There was nothing left to do but to start driving madly: hubby put on the hazard lights and we started our way up as far as we could on the opposite side of the road.  Then we pulled in, hubby got out and ran up the the policeman who was helping dig the lorry out, he explained his wife was in labour and we needed to get to the hospital fast!  The policeman initially offered us a lift in the police 4x4, but all we needed was to get up the hill and round the corner so in the end he stopped all the on-coming traffic to let us through.  One of the memories that will always stay with me is driving past that policeman, clutching my tens machine and breathing through a contraction, with him shouting "good luck!" and giving us the thumbs up.

In the end we made it in plenty of time.  Phoebe was born just before 11pm, with the snow still continually falling outside, much to our joy and relief!

We made it home the next day - the roads being snowy but no longer gridlocked - but the whole country had come to a halt and all we four could do was pull up plenty of blankets and hunker down.  No visitors, no post, no midwife visits, no getting out and about, no school!  We have been completely snowed in.

The thaw started on Saturday and visitors have started to trickle through, though the roads are now icy and dangerous.  We are hoping school will be back tomorrow so poor Lillia can escape the cabin fever.

It has been quite a week to say the least!  I will be back very soon, but for now I will be mostly crying, breastfeeding and feeling tired but happy :)

Yup I am still here...

39 weeks, 2 days and counting!  I am still here, waiting waiting waiting and getting larger and more uncomfortable by the day.  Every twinge gets me thinking that things are about to get going, then...nothing.

*sigh*

So the crochet fest continues!  A hat for baby Bonnie, our newest neice who was due the same time as our own but arrived over two weeks ago.  Jealous, me?

The sockathon also continues, the latest are a pink pair and a green pair...

These are already in envelopes winging their way through the royal mail to their new owners :)

So, I will no doubt see you all tomorrow, or Monday, or the next day!  At this rate it could be a December baby after all!

xx

Cosy feet

Apparently snow is on its way so I made myself my own pair of slipper socks to match Hubby's and Lillia's.  Now we shall all have cosy toes when the white stuff arrives.

Yellow is my absolute favourite colour so they had to be yellow :)  I mixed some soft acrylic double-knit yarn with the same aran yarn I used for their's.

Perfect.

On the hook is the next pair - aran with a deep purple this time...

I am slightly addicted to making these.  Every time I finish one pair I think of somebody else to make a pair for and a fair stock of these socks are slowly piling up in my Christmas present basket!  And lets face it I have plenty of time to sit and make them - with just over a week until my due date I am still here at home waiting for signs that this baby is going to make an appearance. I have been so convinced all the way through that she would be early that now the due date is approaching I am beginning to doubt my instincts!
Still, wtih Lillia at school for a large portion of each day it has been nice to enjoy some nice quiet time on my own before the whirlwind of a newborn arrives.  In the kitchen some homemade bakewell tart...

I still can't believe I actually made this, it's totally divine!

And also some fresh pineapple...

I think I'd have to eat about ten fresh pineapples to actually stimulate labour of course...but at least it's tasty and healthy :)

Hats

My step-mum is currently undergoing a very aggressive form of chemotherapy for an aggressive form of breast cancer.  As a result she is losing her hair and has taken to wearing hats.  I made her a lovely pink crochet hat which I then promptly forgot to take a photograph off before she headed off on a mini-break to Paris with it! 

But now I have a bit of a hat bug and Ravelry does nothing to curb the problem with all its lovely free patterns.

So first I used up the rest of the Wendy Serenity yarn I had left over from the Li'l Monkey blanket and made myself a lovely winter hat using this pattern....

My mum then tried it on and has requested one for herself, so I may have to attempt a trip into the Outside World today and get some more yarn.

I love this pattern, it is utterly fabulous, and it only took about two hours to make.

With all the hat making going on Lillia felt left out and requested a new hat for herself.  So last night I used this pattern that has been lurking in my Ravelry favourites for a wee while and ran up this cute little butterfly beanie...

The early morning frosty light and my inability to function much before 10am didn't help with the photos!

But trust me this hat looks super cool, and most importantly for out little lady - super pink!

It's been nice to pass the time with some leisurely crocheting.  I now 38 weeks pregnant, so due any day, and very uncomfortable indeed.  The baby seems to sit on every internal organ at the same time leaving me breathless and pretty miserable.  Although I remain at home for now my illness is still flaring up quite badly and draining me. Whinge whinge...  I could do with this baby arriving very soon!

£40 voucher winner!

Sorry sorry, I am so tardy in revealing the winner of the £40 voucher giveaway! 

I numbered the comments 1-14, then I used the good old random Random Number Generator and extracted a rather blurry snapshot of the result...

And lucky number 13 is...Claire of The Hookery!  Congratulations Claire!  I will forward your email to CSN who will email you your £40 voucher so you can get shopping!

Thanks so much everyone who commented and left me positive vibes - it seems to have worked as for now I still out of hopsital and actually seeing some improvement to the blasted condition that makes me so unwell!  Still no sign of baby, I will keep you all posted!

xx

Handmade rabbit

On my last day at work my lovely colleagues sent me off with some lovely clothes and toys for the baby.  They know how much I love handmade so the clothes were handmade and beautiful, as well as this gorgeous little bunny...

Isn't she lovely?  She is called "Rag Rab" and she is made by Once Upon Juliet.  Unfortunately they have no online presence that I can find so I can't provide you with a link, but if you live in London they have a stall at Spitalfields Market every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

The view from where I'm sitting

During my first "proper" week of maternity leave now that no.1 is back at school I have spent some quality time crocheting on the sofa.  Not as much time as I would like so far, due the ongoing nesting operation, but a fair amount of time :)

The Colour Bar blanket is coming along very nicely, despite me mucking it up considerably on the first assembly.  I used a 4mm hook when I should have used a 6mm and ended up with a very crinkly blanket that just wouldn't sit right at all.

It took me ages to work out what I had done and you can imagine the reaction of an eight-month pregnant woman with heartburn when I realised I had to rip it apart and start again.  However the end is now in sight and I am pleased to report that a 6mm hook and a lot of patience has indeed solved the issue.

So excuse me whilst I sit here and hook away, it's easier than getting up.  If only someone would bring me a cup of raspberry leaf tea my afternoon would be complete...

Cleaning cupboards

I  have been somewhat distracted of late so you will have to excuse my erratic visits to blogland :)

I have been doing a lot of clearing cupboards, cleaning, sorting, preparing and general nesting. I am a domestic-organisation-zilla at the best of times but throw those pregnancy hormones in and I am like a tasmanian devil with a cleaning addiction. It's exhausting!
 

My kitchen is now fully organised and ready to function seamlessly during the coming sleepless nights...and days.

My cupboards are cleaned, my mugs are organised (important for all the tea drinking I'll be doing) and my little bird from Mairuru will bring a little cheeriness to the long nights and early starts, as will my little collection of teacups which sit atop my cupboards.

And if all else fails, there's always sugar :)

I will return again far quicker next time I promise x

New shelves

In a mad rush to get the house ready for the new arrival Hubby and I have been finally getting around to all those niggly DIY jobs that have been waiting to happen since we moved in three years ago.  Well I say Hubby and I...I take on more of a directorial role you understand :)

We finally have shelves installed in one of our alcoves.  Don't you just love choosing what to put on new shelves?

Not just me is it?  Who likes sorting books in order of height, possibly even colour...choosing the right placement for things..standing back to look...rearranging again...

Now it's time to start on sorting those drawers out...think the nesting is kicking in!

Gloomy side...Bright side...and crochet...

Gloomy side...

Early mornings leaving at just gone 6am whilst my little family still snores.  Long drives stuck in traffic.  Popping pills that do no good.  Limping towards maternity leave slowly.

Steoids and me have a long thorny history but they are the only available option whilst I am pregnant (aside from homeopathy and yoga, which I am already doing).  I am not responsive to them, I have just taken too many over the years - pills, more pills, intravenous...any way they get them into me in large doses, in a constant battle to avoid the surgeon's knife.  They've brought me back from the brink a couple of times though, I have to give them that.

Bright side...

The darned pills might just work, given more time, so there's always that hope.  My last work day is next Friday then I am free of early starts, London traffic, work stress and bother.  Most importantly the pregnancy is going brilliantly well with no issues or complications despite my illness.

Aaaaaand, I am at the beginning of the next big crochet project!  Always a fabulous feeling.  Want to know what the Happy Hooker Backwards Project no.38 is?

The Colour Bay Blanket by Cat Mazza!  A nice big simple blanket, and this one is definitely for us grown-ups!  There are ten colours to choose for this blanket.  I am not using the colours suggested in the book as I want the blanket to match our bedroom, which is more muted browns and greens than rainbow brights.

Lots of fun to be had with this one!  Best get started....

Pink weekend

Oopsy!  Sometimes over a week can lapse and I don't even realise.  Is it me or does blogland time run faster than ordinary time?  I could have sworn I ony wrote that last post a day or two ago!

To be honest crafting has been shelved this week in favour of Autumn Cleaning.  There has been massive clear-outs of clutter going on - old furniture is off to new homes on freecycle, boxes of books donated to charity shops, unworn clothes and shoes are on ebay and drawers and cupboards are being cleared.  It is time to make space for a new person coming to live with us!  The resulting mayhem has kind of put a hold on crafting acivities.

The weekend was spent mostly at home, pottering about working my way through the washing, sorting through boxes and getting Ready.  Lillia chose the pink flowers when we went shopping for supplies of popcorn to eat whilst watching far too many DVDs, I let her choose whatever she wanted and I love the cheerful pinkness of them :)

It has been both lazy and exhausting at the same time.  The man of the house was caught having a little snooze under Lillia's birthday ripple blanket, which has taken residence on the sofa for frequent snuggling...

I think he has accepted that pink is the way of the future for him now...come December he will be outnumbered 3 to 1!

Transitions

Oooops! Where did that last week and a half go?  As you can imagine life is somewhat hectic with antenatal appointments coming out of my ears, along with trips to gastroenteology thanks to the ol' ulcerative colitis playing up again. And most of all my darling girl is all grown up and will be starting school next week! So suddenly I find myself knee deep in polo shirts and pinafores, sewing name tags and packing plimsols.

At the same time we are unpacking bags of tiny pink things - little hats, sleep suits and outfits tiny enough to fit Lillia's dolls - and clearing drawers to put them in once they have been carefully sorted, washed and folded. It feels like I am on a continual conveyor belt of clothes organising.  But it's not a bad thing, it feels good :)

The crochet has been slowed down somewhat by all this activity and anticipation but I have still managed a respectable amount of chunky soft granny squares to go towards my Li'l Monkey blanket...

And there has been other crafting going on to, oh yes!  I did mention it fleetingly on twitter recently, but if you are not inclined to tweet, or if you missed it, just check back here tomorrow when all will be revealed!

:)

Crochet flower hat for Ruby

Hubby's step-sister gave birth to baby Ruby on Monday so I jumped onto Ravelry for a newborn hat pattern...

This little easy hat was created over a few hours in front of the telly, I may have stayed up a tad too late to finish it, but I was having such fun :)

Then today I added a little pink flower and a leaf for good measure, well a girl has to learn to accessorise young right?  I am really rather pleased with this little creation and I am delighted to have my own baby to make another for, plus hubby's brother and his partner are expecting a girl in the same week as us! I am very happy when I am crocheting with purpose!

(If you want to say hi to me on Ravelry by the way I'm under my snipsnaphappy name!)

Hope you are having a lovely weekend :)

x

Lack of sleep

Usual crafting has been slower this week.  My previously slightly swollen tummy has suddenly turned much larger, and the baby within is very wriggly, especially throughout the night.  Then there's the night-time weeing and the strange hormone-induced dreams, all of which make for rather sleepless nights.  I am exhausted.

My sewing basket, stuffed to the brim with cut fabric ready to be turned into various bags and boxy pouches, is somewhat neglected...

Although my crochet is still by my side most evenings, especially as the first of the babies due in our family this year arrived yesterday!  Another little hat is in production...

It's lovely to be able to crochet little personal gifts for people.

Of course when you're tired tea and biscuits are always a fabulous remedy so activity in the kitchen has been a little less sluggish...

(Some of these are supposed to be Gingerbread Monsters...!)

Plus I have another little project up my sleeve, all to be revealed shortly but here's a sneaky peek...

All will be revealed very soon :)  In the meantime, another cup of tea and a lie down is in order *yawn*

The Happy Hooker Backwards Project

I had an exciting delivery this morning! 

I ordered some 100% acrylic yarn in this lovely combination of colours in order to make a buggy blanket and matching hat using the pattern on page 281 of the Happy Hooker book...

You will notice pink features...Yes, we found out last Friday that we are having another little girl!  The current little lady of the house is very pleased indeed, she had said she didn't mind either way but I think she really wanted a sister.  For me it's great, I already have everything I need and I won't have to learn a new way of nappy changing!  Plus hubby will be outnumbered entirely which amuses me greatly :)

So now I know what colour blankets I need to be crocheting, what fabrics I will use for toys, and what names I need to narrow down.

The pattern I started with my new yarn today is the "Seija Set" Baby Hat and Stroller Blanket (buggy blanket to us in the UK!)  Within 20 minutes of the postie delivering the parcel I had made a start...

I am very excited to get started on a crochet project, it seems like ages since I last picked up my hooks. I think this one is going to be a lot of fun. How fortunate we are to be having a winter baby! It will be the snuggliest winter baby ever.

Coincidentally this pattern happens to be the very last pattern in the Happy Hooker book which, in the words of the fictional Cary Bradshaw, got me to thinking – what if I just kept going? 

So an idea formed in the messy crafty recesses of my mind – a project! Why don’t I just make it all, pattern by pattern, from back to front? It so happens that the next (or rather, previous) few projects contain some rather nice baby things, like the monkey hat and blanket, and the softies, which at the time the idea formed seemed to make a hell of a lot of sense.  And so the Happy Hooker Backwards project is born! It will take me a while of course, I am not made of yarn for start, nor money, nor time. Plus there’s the small matter of having a baby at some point in the next three months or so, that might slow things down slightly. But darn it I shall keep going until I have made every pattern in that book! Even if I am hooking away in the birthing pool…ok maybe not but you get the idea.

I will of course be keeping you updated every step of the way.  Now do excuse me, I have a hat to finish off...