Craft actually

Party

Pauline introduced Sophie to Rosie at Gail's birthday party at the Britannia on the weekend (Cool sofas eh?! Although not for dogs apparently - but I have to say I think small children are more dangerous to sofas than dogs. never mind)

Then things got a little out of hand....

Sophie enjoyed lots of cuddles from the girls and we made a hasty exit before she got too tired and emotional. Hope you had a great birthday weekend Gail! 

I was knitting like a demon on the shawl most of the weekend to the detriment of my admin. Forgot to do Sophie's UK visa application and now I'm procrastinating again. And now she's awake. Hmmmm.

One more photo before I go....

This is for some Kanoko Pants...so frickin' cute!

Happy tunes

Thanks so much for everyone's lovely words and thoughts for Andrea and great suggestions for uplifting music. She is going pretty well when I've spoken to her this week despite there being nothing nice about chemo. 

This is the mix I've put together... its eclectic to say the least but I like it! Robbo has a bit more indie taste than me so it might be a bit pop-y for her but she can skip some of the more cheesy ones!

Sweet Home Alabama - Lynryd Skynryd

Sing - Travis

Feel - Robbie Williams

Feeling Good - Nina Simone

Super Trouper - ABBA

Don't Stop Me Now - Queen

Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum

Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond

I Can See Clearly Now - Jimmy Cliff

Black Balloon - The Goo Goo Dolls

Everlasting Friend - Blue October

You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban

Fly Me Away - Goldfrapp

Mint Car - The Cure

Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Angels - Robbie Williams

Imagine - John Lennon

Over the Rainbow - Eva Cassidy

Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera - Vivaldi

I've been knitting like a demon on the blanket/shawl. I'm using this pattern by Marie Grace

I'm loving it - simple yet effective and going round and round in a square is really quick. Loving the Blue Sky Alpaca Melange too in cornflower.

And just to get your mouth watering...here are some florentines I made this morning for Friday drinks DVD with the mummies. Good old Australian Women's Weekly recipe.

F*cking B*stard B*llocks cancer rears its ugly head again

My best mate Robbo started her first cycle of chemo today. She found out last week that she has four new tumors since her operation on her lungs six months ago. Three on her liver and one in the original site. 

From what I have read leiomyosarcoma (LMS for short) is a real little bastard of a cancer but Robbo is being incredibly brave and amazing. She hasn't cried at all on the phone even though I've been calling her every day trying to make her (just kidding). She is following a strict anti-cancer diet and has been meditating every day since around when she had her first operation about two years ago based on principles from the Australian Gawler Foundation.

I am bouncing off the walls over here hoping it is all going ok for her today in Brissie. I probably would have been on a plane over there by now if Sophie's passport had come through but I'll just have to wait until our trip in a couple of months. In the meantime I've cast on for a shawl for her for something to keep my hands busy. When she first found out about the LMS I had the same urge to make something and knitted the clapotis but I was never fully happy with it (too small) so I'm going to try again.

Please, please say lots of prayers or send healing vibes, whatever your thing over the next few days. I really believe it makes a difference.

I have also been meaning to mention Flibbertygibbet's efforts at making a difference. She is doing the Race for Life in May with an I Knit London team and is giving away some GORGEOUS sock yarn to someone who donates so its a nice chance to contribute to a very good cause. I am considering joining her although will have to work out logistics with the Bean. I may do a day event instead as that one is in the evening.

PS: Oh yes and I want to make a CD for Andrea but am pretty hopeless at keeping up with good music so if you have any suggestions for uplifting cool tunes - pop, classical, indie, whatever - leave a comment please! I will send a little something to a random commenter (maybe a little something from the Alpaca stash - depending on if you're a knitter or not!)

 

Man Shed

Once the old shed came down it was very quick for the new one to appear in its place. 

After two weeks its nearly finished and the builders are just finishing off the inside this week.

It has two rooms - one for a study and one for a sauna (no I'm not joking). I think Smithy has put everything in his man shed that I wouldn't let him have in the house like the bright red walls in the study. 

Its been gorgeous spring weather the last couple of weeks. Coffee with the girls has been outside a few days and we had a BBQ yesterday. The magnolia is starting to bloom.

Entrance

When I saw this entrance pictured above in December 2008 Livingetc I thought of four hooks I had bought a couple of years ago on our summer road trip to Provence. I thought they were v. cool (being French and all) but had never figured out what to do with them.

I collected some more hooks, umed and ahed about it for a few months and finally bit the bullet today and put them up in the hall.

I like the effect although not sure if I've put a few too many up. But it beats throwing coats over the bannister or nearest chair.

I bought the horse head hook on ebay, the silver hook is Ikea and the crown is from Cox & Cox. I looked at my inspiration picture and realised that what it really needed was the bright yellow Selfridges bag to complete the look.

BSJ

I finished this Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket aka BSJ yesterday.

It worked out about newborn size and is now way too small for Sophie so will be a gift for a new bebe sometime.

Super easy to knit especially using Dawn Adcock's notes to keep track of rows. Although I wish I had read the Ravelry wiki on this pattern before hand as I would have done the increases differently to avoid the big holes.

It does come together amazingly simply from this shape although when I was knitting it I had no idea what part I was knitting at any time. Will definitely do another one - I can see how people get a bit addicted! 

family .... familiar

Whenever anyone we know meets Sophie for the first time they look at her, look at me and then very cautiously say...."She looks like her dad... doesn't she?" Just a little bit. I was beginning to wonder if she was my daughter.

But Mum has saved the day...she has been going through the old family albumns (LOVE the 70's!) and sent me some pics. With a bit of imagination I think she *kind of* looks like me as a baby.

The photo on the left is me at 4 months with my Uncle Jim and the photo on the right is Soph with her Auntie Naomi at 3 months to the day. Is it just me or is there a little bit of resemblance there?

 

This one is a classic....love that beard Dad! With Grandma Stewart. I definitely see Sophie in that expression....

Check out that knit wear!! Talk about matchy-matchy! (We need to have words Mum ;)) Chubby 10 month old!

New toy for Miss S

Sophie is such a lucky duck to get some presents in the mail this week. Two cute summer tops and a gorgeous handmade toy from her Auntie Soozie. 

She liked the toy a lot and here are just a few expressions from the 100 or so I took....

amazed....

delighted...

perplexed...

not quite sure what this expression is but I think it means enough tummy time already!...

We had a successful trip to Australia House on the Strand yesterday to apply for her Aussie passport. We went in with Katie and baby Isobel for a group booking.

I had densely forgotten to get Smithy to sign the form so we caught a black cab from London Bridge to meet him for a coffee beforehand. Smithy and Soph weren't complaining about the unexpected cuddle.

It was actually a nice beauracracy experience - those friendly Aussies eh?! I put my bag through the scanner and the security guard said "no drama". Haven't heard that for awhile. I wanted to add "pig farmer" but resisted the urge. 

We were out and done in about 20 mins so decided to jump on a bus to Oxford Street for a few errands which quickly became an out of control baby clothes shopping trip. No trip to Oxford Street is complete these days with out a visit to H&M and I picked up a few things that I had managed to resist on the weekend. Then we had a quick look next door at Mamas and Papas which I thought would be safe as its pretty exy but oh no 50% off everything!! No way to resist those gorgeous outfits at half the price - saving so much money right?!!  I bought stuff a few sizes bigger in the hope that we are going to have a nice summer and she will actually get to wear them.  

A quick stop in John Lewis for the Clinique free gift (its those cute toiletry bags that suck me in) and then on to the Jubilee line back to London bridge.

Train, Black Cab, Bus, Tube and Train.... not a bad outing for the little ones who rose to the occasion for their first shopping trip in town.

Buttony

I knitted this cardy with Drops Eskimo yarn purchased in Copenhagen on our knitting girls trip to visit Loba.

Pattern is Buttony with Raptwithfibre's (Ravelry) modifications for a bulky version. I would change a few things next time round (more fitted and better shaping) but generally very happy with it and am wearing it all the time. Love the colour!

Photo by my lovely assistant Smithy :)

Spring

Its Spring (whoohoo) its a sunny day and the buds are starting to form on the magnolia tree.

Time for a spring clean of my priorities I think!  I usually enjoy having a bit of a roundup of the year and setting new years resolutions but this year the lack of sleep meant that any thoughts other than "how long since the last feed?" just flittered away from me. So before my maternity leave is over and I'm back at work I had better make some plans! Its all about the lists for me...without them I achieve nothing. And I like the satisfaction of crossing things off too much.

1. Look after Sophie and play with her (I like to start off with something I know I'll definitely do!)

2. Revive my etsy shop and make a few things ideally each week but realistically would be happy with a few things a month.

3. Photography - get out the DSLR and use some of the skills I learnt at my course this time last year 

4. Too many knitting projects to mention

5. Make a log cabin quilt for myself (or Sophie) like this one from Machine Made Patchworks

6. Enjoy weekends with Smithy, go for weekends to the country, go for picnics in the park (hoping for a nice summer this year!) and see lots of friends and family

7. Pay some attention to fitness, maybe get out for a run occasionally

8. Cook new recipies every week

9. Sew clothes for Sophie (and maybe me too)

10. Blog more and find the balance between doing this stuff and writing about it.

How am I going to do this is what I'm trying to figure out. Some ideas....

1. Get going more quickly in the morning

2. Don't procrastinate on boring admin - get it out of the way quickly

3. Focus on one thing at a time

4. Lists (more lists?!!)

5. Enlist Smithy to spend more quality time with Sophie :)

I've been seeing this book Getting Things Done pop up on blogs here and there. Looks kind of interesting but I wonder if I would just be procrastinating by reading it! Has anyone read it? Recommended?