Pattern Review – Easy peasy baby jacket

Late last year my grandmother came to visit for the arrival of my cousin’s first baby. I was so happy to have her visit, as I hadn’t seen her in three years, and since I was a few weeks pregnant, I was excited to be able to share the news with her in person. Once we announced the pregnancy, my grandmother wasted no time in sourcing needles and wool, and began making a variety of beautiful cardigans/jackets, a pullover, a jumpsuit, and even a teddy bear for Froggie. During her stay, my grandmother and I would sit, knit (I would crochet), and chat, and for the first time in my adult life, I got to have some real special one-on-one time with a grandparent. I loved spending this quality time with her, and look forward to the day that I can do it again. So it was while I watched my grandmother make these woollen items, I decided that I needed to knit something more substantial than just the bubba booties.

I’d read about the Bendigo Woollen Mills on this blog, so I went to their website and bought this awesome baby wool:

And here is what I made:

The pattern is from Patons Quick & Easy Baby Knits #6000 (the only knitting book I own!), and as the title suggests, was very easy. It wasn’t a quick knit for me, but that’s because I am not yet a super fast knitter, but I’m sure I will get there. I just love the stone colour of the wool, and I love how it feels. I added orange buttons to the jacket, as that’s all I had on hand, and I think they look great, adding a pop of colour to the jacket. Here are the details on ravelry. I can’t wait for Froggie to get bigger so that he can wear it, he will be gorgeous in it I’m sure!

When I was at my parent’s house recently, I noticed that one of Mum’s gossip magazines came with a knitting booklet, so I think I’ve found inspiration for my next knitting project!

xoxo Bronwyn

I *heart* mail

I can’t believe Froggie is almost seven weeks old.

The time has flown by so fast that I’m already feeling the first (of many I’m sure) guilt pangs when it comes to my baby.

My first feelings of guilt come from photos.

I feel like maybe I haven’t taken any good enough photos. And I’ve been feeling really guilty about it, especially since I was on a six week c-section healing house arrest. Yes, I do have a digital camera (non dSLR), but these photos just don't seem to be good enough, *sigh*. But with Froggie growing bigger everyday, and losing his newborn features at en exponential rate, this tells me I need to make taking photos a priority, pronto!

One thing that I have been doing (while not taking photos of my baby), in between feeding, sleeping, changing nappies and play time, is waiting for the door to knock. Or even better, the unexpected door knock. Yes, I have had a lot of lovely visitors (thank you friends!), but the door knocking I’m referring to is the postman. Specifically, the postman who HAS TO knock on your door because he wants to deliver something that won’t fit into the letterbox *smiley face*.

I’ve said it before, but golly, I do love getting parcels in the mail. Check out this stash that came last week:

I haven’t received anything (so far)  in the mail this week *sad face* but I have been waiting for something for a few months now (but I can’t say what it is because he/she might look at this blog post) so I’m hoping it arrives before the end of the week.

Do you like getting parcels too? Leave me a comment on the best thing that has arrived in the mail at your house.

xoxo Bronwyn

P.S. the postman delivered the parcel I've been waiting for, my Mother's Day gift for my mum! Yes, I know Mother's Day was two months ago, and no, I'm not forgetful or slack. I ordered my mum some personalised jewellery at the beginning of April, and after waiting patiently, then not-so-patiently, and then sending some email rage, the parcel(s) finally arrive, and to my surprise, the jewellery company sends me two! (It must be their way of an apology!)

#1 Have a Baby

IT'S A BOY!

Yes, my little man arrived one day after his due date, weighing in at 3.74kg, and 53cm long:

We call him Froggie. Because when he lies on your chest in his green onsie with his arms and legs are tucked up into his body, well, he looks like a frog. See?

My labour/delivery didn’t go as expected, (but then everyone told me not to have any expectations), but it also was not as bad as I thought it would be. Yes I was in labour for 12 hours, and yes it hurt (a lot!), but most importantly we came out the other side an instant family.

The midwives and the doctors at the hospital were great. And I mean really great. A few of my friends have had babies and they have all told me stories of not-so-nice midwives, and doctors whose faces they would not remember as they only got to see them very briefly. So I was very glad that when all the hospital staff, (six days in the hospital x three shift changes = 18 different midwives during my stay) were supportive of my needs, pleasant to be around, and didn’t give too much conflicting opposing information. I would definitely go back there to have my future babies.

Motherhood is exactly what people say, you’re sleep deprived, you never have enough time for anything, and in the first days home, family and friends make, bring and buy you dinner. I’ve been home from the hospital for a week and a half and today is the first time I’ve been able to get onto my laptop, which I think is scary. In my digital world, there are over 500 emails waiting to be deleted opened, and 80+ blog posts to read in my reading list. But in my physical world there is a load of washing to hang out, a load of washing to put in the machine and a baby to feed (which can happen anytime between now and the next 90 minutes.)

So I can mark off  #1 on my Mrs Bucket list:

#1 Have a Baby

That makes three items marked off my Mrs Bucket list.

I’m still committed to the list, but realistically, I may not get to all of them before I turn thirty. So I’ve decided that rather than try to complete the remaining twenty-seven items in the next twelve weeks, I have decided to extend my Mrs Bucket list time frame to the end of the year, with the aim of completing half the list before I’m thirty. When I was paid employment, extending deadlines was not something I was ever allowed liked to do, but since I’m now doing home duties, I’m going to throw myself a bone.

Ahh, there’s the baby crying, it must be feeding time, at least I got to finish writing this blog post. If you’re a mama, leave me a comment on time management tips that worked for you with your new baby.

xoxo Bronwyn

The waiting game and the considerate baby

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It’s becoming clearer as every day passes that this baby is in no hurry to make an appearance. As soon as 1 May arrived, I said to my belly:

It’s ok to come out now!

*silence*

I like to consider myself to be a pretty patient person, and by no means am I over being pregnant, I’ve just been hoping that the baby might have wanted to come and say hi a little bit earlier. I know that on average, first babies are notorious for being overdue. But recently I’ve heard of a few friends of friends, whose babies have arrived early (one of these girlies even had a due date after me!) I feel calm, relaxed, good and ready, which is why I am confused curious banging my head against the wall wondering why the baby is staying quiet.

Hello?

*silence*

Everyday I give myself a reason why the baby hasn’t arrived yet.

Yesterday the baby didn’t arrive because I still hadn’t finished picking up the last minute items needed for my hospital bag.

On the weekend the baby didn’t arrive because I HAD to go to the NKOTBSB concert was in town.

And last week the baby didn’t arrive because Maxi and Ralphi decided to do some last minute house renovations and smash crash through remove a window for some unknown reason.

Rather than feel bummed that the baby hasn’t arrived, I really should be more glass half full.

It was rather considerate that the baby didn’t arrive yesterday; otherwise I could not confidently say that I am finally packed. It was considerate that the baby didn’t arrive before the weekend otherwise I would not have been able to go to the NKOTBSB concert (and go back to being the high school groupie in me who LOVES the Backstreet Boys). And it was considerate that the baby didn’t arrive last week so that I could tend to the Maxi and Ralphi’s attempts at DIY.

So today, instead of thinking of a reason why the baby may or may not arrive today, I’m just going to sit back, relax and take in some sun (it’s 17 degrees today, but at least it’s not raining!)

xoxo Bronwyn

#23 Go without TV for a month

Today is 2 May 2012. So this means two things:

1. I am exactly 37 + 1 weeks into this pregnancy (eeeek!), and
2. I have finished #23 on my bucket list, no Stevie the TV for a month (woo hoo!)

The woo hoo may be a bit much, as my mum my dad my sister mr gasket many people have told me, a month without TV was too easy for me. For some reason, they seem to think that I should have done something more challenging, like going without my iPad for a month (ARE THEY CRAZY??!?!?!?)

But in my defence, I would actually have to agree (not much of a defence really) that going without TV has been very easy. Here are the reasons why:

• BROADBAND! I can get all the news, weather forecasts, gossip entertainment updates from the internet.
• I was organising an event, my baby shower, so I kept myself busy making the invites, the games, and the decorations.
• I would go shopping for dinner every day (although this is not a cost effective thing to do) so that I could leave the house for a couple of hours everyday.

However, I was really happy to discover a one big misconception about me and my TV consumption. Are you ready? Here it is:

Not watching TV does not make me more productive

Yep, I know, shocker isn't it?

I thought by not watching TV I would have more free time. But thi was not the case. I got the same amount of work done, regardless of whether the TV is on or not. Who knew?

But now it’s time for what I missed about TV. Quite simply, I missed that I missed out on watching stuff, including:

• Season 3 premier of Offspring. After the shocking revelation during the Season 2 final, I’ve been waiting months to see what happens in Season 3.
• The Voice blind auditions, especially the blind girl auditioning at the blind audition.
• Watching Toddlers and Tiara’s at my parents house (they have pay TV). I know this is not something I should have missed, but I find this show HILARIOUS, I love the obnoxious kids, and the catty parents, fun, fun, fun!

So I can officially mark off  #23 on my Mrs Bucket list:

#23 Go without TV for a month

Ahhh, that feels good. Now with only 17 weeks until I’m 30, and only marking off *gulp* two items, I need to get cracking! I have a few things ready for some of the items on my list, so watch this space!

xoxo Bronwyn

Mad Hatter Tea Party Baby Shower

Last week I had my Mad Hatter Tea Party Baby Shower, and I had a blast.

In the weeks prior to the baby shower, I was on Google, Pinterest, Ravelry, Etsy, (everything!), looking for inspiration and ideas on how to make it a fun afternoon for everyone. I made all the decorations, including a Mad Hatter bunting, crochet love heart garland, paper flowers, Cheshire cat tail, and This Way signs, so that my family and friends could get a wonderland feel about the party.

I even found this guy during the after Easter sales, perfect for those need to "follow the white rabbit.”

For food, we had cupcakes, biscuits, slices, jam tarts, cheese platter, sausage rolls, dips, veggie sticks, and cake, most of which was gobbled up at the party.

And I can’t forget the tea, hot and iced, mr gasket even bought me a brand new tea pot just for the party!

I asked everyone to wear a hat during the baby shower (and to my surprise most people did), and even more impressively, a lot of the party go-ers made their own hats, nice work people! I made my own hat, and I also made a few back-up hats in case anyone forgot to bring theirs.

Yes, two decks of cards and two Alice in Wonderland books were harmed in the making of this hat.

Overall I had a great time, although I didn’t get to mingle as much as I’d like to, and my good friend did an amazing job at hosting all the games, which including Price is Right, Everything Baby A-Z, and Baby Shower Bingo. The baby got lots of beautiful, fun and practical things, it makes me feel really blessed to have such wonderful and generous people in my life.

I had so much fun with this themed tea party baby shower, I’m already thinking of the next themed party to have … maybe for the baby’s first birthday … but mr gasket thinks I might be getting a bit off with your head ahead of myself.

Let me know what you think of my baby shower, or let me know about the best themed party you hosted/attended!

xoxo Bronwyn

Crochet cat headband (Tutorial)

Are you a cat person or a dog person?

If you would have asked me that question four years ago, I would have unequivocally said:

Dogs!

And I will ashamedly admit, that I would have scoffed at those who call themselves cat people, mr gasket included. Because I. just. didn’t. get. cats. They just seemed to either a) sit there, or b) FREAK OUT! Neither of which seemed to be endearing features of a furry companion.

So when we inherited Maxi, mr gaskets family cat, who miraculously appeared after 10 months on the run, we became a cat household. I was supportive of Maxi coming to live with us, on the proviso that he NEVER runs away again (mr gasket was sad when Maxi decided to leave home and didn’t to tell anyone where he was going).

A year later we adopted Ralphi, his mum was a feral bogan free spirit who had given birth in someone’s back yard. Luckily the backyard belonged to a Vet’s assistant who promptly scooped up Ralphi and his brother’s and sisters, and found them homes, ours being one of them. Again, I was supportive, but I was afraid to death of the stigma, you know, of being a two cat household.

Fast forward to today, me, mr gasket, Maxi and Ralphi are happy like pigs in … mud ;) and so I dedicate my first original tutorial to my two mates, who a) sometimes DO just sit there b) sometimes do FREAK OUT, but c) I NOW. do. get.

Crochet cat headband

*lots of picures!*

Materials:

1 x main colour 8ply wool

1 x contrast colour of 8ply wool

4.0mm crochet hook

Wool needle

Hobby fill

Glue gun

Plastic headband

Ear (create two)

Using main colour, create a magic loop. To create a magic loop, wrap main colour wool around your three middle fingers, then wrap a second and thrid time around only your middle and ring finger.

Secure the magic loop by hooking the large hoop and pulling underneath the two small hoops, to create a single chain. Hook the large loop again and pull through the single chain.

Now make five double crochets into the magic loop.Tighten the magic loop by slowly pulling on the loop closest to the end of the wool (you will notice that the other magic loop starts to close), and continue to pull until the other magic loop is completely closed.

Slip stitch into the first double crochet, and this is your first row/round.

Row 2: chain one, two single crochets in first stitch, then a single crochet in the next two stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, then a single crochet in the next two stitches, then slip stitch into the first stitch to close the loop.

Row 3: chain one, two single crochets in first stitch, then a single crochet in the next three stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, then a single crochet in the next three stitches, then slip stitch into the first stitch to close the loop.

Row 4: chain one, two single crochets in first stitch, then a single crochet in the next four stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, then a single crochet in the next four stitches, then slip stitch into the first stitch to close the loop.

Row 5: chain one, two single crochets in first stitch, then a single crochet in the next five stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, then a single crochet in the next five stitches, then slip stitch into the first stitch to close the loop.

Row 6: chain one, two single crochets in first stitch, then a single crochet in the next six stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, then a single crochet in the next six stitches, then slip stitch into the first stitch to close the loop.

Row 7: chain one, two single crochets in first stitch, then a single crochet in the next seven stitches, two single crochets in the next stitch, then a single crochet in the next seven stitches, then slip stitch into the first stitch to close the loop. Cut end and cast off.

Inner ear (create two)

Using the contrast colour, create a magic loop. Chain two, then make two double crochets into the magic loop, (three chain, then three double crochets into the magic loop) twice. Cut end and cast off. the shape should resemble a flat triangle.

Make-up

Cut 20cm skein of contrast wool, and using a wool needle, hand sew one inner ear to the front of the main ear, starting at the bottom opening. Repeat for other ear.

Grab a small handful of hobby fill, and gently fill the inside of the main ear, but not too full that the front and back of the main ear cant be closed. Repeat for other ear. Cut a 20cm skein of main wool, and using wool needle, hand sew the front and back of the main ear closed, keeping as much of the hobby fill on the inside as possible.

Squeeze a small drop on the inside of one of the headband ends, and place the tip end of the main wool onto the glue. When it safe to touch, gently push the tip end of the wool into glue, and beginning from the bottom, wind the wool around the headband. Once you get to the other end of the headband, cut the wool from the ball, squeeze a small drop of glue on the inside of the headband end, and when it is safe to touch, push the tip end of the wool into the glue. Trim any excess.

*yes that is craft PVA glue in the picture, but a hot glue gun works better

Cut a 30cm skien of main wool, and using a wool needle, attach the wool to the bottom front left of one of the ears. Decide how far apart/close together you would like each ear to be, then begin to hand sew the ear around the headband, working from front to back, then around to the front again, making sure to gently pull tight each time you pull the needle through the ear. Repeat until you get to the end of the ear.

I wanted a small gap in between each ear at the top, so I just wound the wool around the headband until I was ready to attach the next ear (this also saves you from cutting the wool and then reattaching it to the next ear).

Hand sew the other ear around the headband from front to back until you get to the end. Knot, then sew in the end.

And here is the end result:

Meow!

Oh, and for the record I consider myself neither a dog person or a cat person. I consider myself to be a neutral middleground on the fence Switzerland person. Leave me a comment on what you consider yourself to be!

xoxo Bronwyn