An Extremely Busy Year!

So it's been another year without an update, but with a very good excuse as I've been getting used to being a mum of two. I'll be honest, this has been a lot harder than becoming a mum of one. People talk about the upheaval of becoming a mum for the first time and yes, it's different and sometimes hard, but I had been looking forward to having a baby so much that everything paled into insignificance compared to the joy of having him there.

This time, looking after the new one was pretty easy, but dealing with a now three year old whose life had been turned upside down was not so much fun, and was accompanied by constant mummy guilt that I couldn't be two people at once and give them both the attention they deserved. Couple all this with a husband completing a PGCE and starting a new job and J starting preschool last September and all in all its been stressful and challenging and non-stop at times. But I wouldn't change it for the world!

Here is a pretty recent photo taken by my sister in law of me and E, who is now 9 months old - can you believe it? I won't share too many photos of her on here for obvious reasons, but I felt introductions were necessary!

This photo actually doesn't look that much like her to me, as in reality she has the cheekiest face and happiest smile. She is so different to her brother in lots of ways - way more active, independent and social than he was. I don't think I have done anything differently in bringing them up, so it must just be down to personalities. They get on well, though it can be a bit of a love-hate relationship for J, especially as she is starting to crash in on his games and slobber on his toys (which he hates!).

So, as this is basically a crafting blog I want to get back to sharing my forays into my various hobbies. I think I had been knitting on the endless stocking stitch tube that is Boxy last time? Suffice to say it finally got finished and has been worn several times and I love it! I'll share another post on it soon.

I've also still been hooking the interminable ripple blanket which is pretty big now but still not finished! It gets plenty of use though, J cuddles in it most mornings and it often gets used for den building and other games, so I'm not too worried - I'll work on it as and when.

In the meantime, a lot more projects have been both cast on and finished. Probably the most recent one is the gorgeous Juniper by Veera Valimaki. Veera is probably my favourite designer on Ravelry and I'm so pleased with the garments I've made from her patterns. I've been rubbish at getting Ed to take photos of my finished objects though, so these were the best selfies I could manage with my iPhone!

I knit this inside out, which was a steep learning curve and probably means it's full of mistakes, but it really extended my skills and challenged me to understand my knitting rather than mindlessly follow a pattern, so it's all good experience. And there was no way I was doing all that purling! The yarn is Malabrigo Sock in Lettuce. It's the first time I've used Malabrigo yarn and I loved it. The colour is stunning, it just glows! And the yarn is soooo soft, it was a pleasure to knit with. I may have ordered hanks of two more colour ways as a result of this knit (whistles innocently).

I've got a gorgeous jumper in Sublime Superfine Alpaca dk on the needles right now - just need to finish the second sleeve. It's really cosy and a tighter fit than most of the garments I've knit recently but I think I like the change. May need to buy some boot cut jeans to style it with though...

After that, I think I've got a design from one of these little beauties on the cards:

Veera and my second favourite designer on Ravelry, Joji Locatelli, have released their Interpretations collections as three print books via the PomPom Press. I just had to get my hands on them and I'm so pleased I did - the designs are beautiful. I plan to knit Breathing Space from Interpretations 3 as part of the Interpretations KAL on Ravelry. I doubt I'll finish it by the end of April but it might incentivise me a bit!

I've got loads more knits to share, but will have to do this after I have grabbed some decent photos of them - I will get on it in the next few days. Hopefully I can keep up a little blogging momentum again, as it is lovely to read back over my posts and remember what we have been doing, but I know how easily time can move on when I have two little people clamouring for my attention!

 

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The Ruby in the Smoke

I love a good story. Always have. When I was young, I used to lock myself in the bathroom so I could read undisturbed, or smuggle a torch to bed with me to read under the covers. I love the classics of Bronte, Austen and Hardy. I love the fantastical world of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. I love books that are just a little bit quirky or off the wall. The literary world represents true escapism for me
But these days I want to spend my free time doing something creative. I have little enough spare time as it is, so I often feel like time spent simply reading is wasted time. This is why I am a massive audiobook fan. Don't get me wrong, I still think that actually reading a book is not only quicker, but a far more immersive experience that really lets your imagination fly. But listening also requires you to fill in the visual blanks, and often gives a different spin on a story as the narrator puts their unique stamp on a reading.
I have been a member of Audible for several years now. I get a book a month; and that, along with a few extra purchases, have built up to a library of some fifty audiobooks, all of which can be downloaded and listened to on my iPhone. I have discovered some real gems through this subscription.

The latest series to garner my attention is Phillip Pullman's Sally Lockhart series. I bought The Ruby in the Smoke, the first novel, some time ago but only recently got around to listening. They are aimed at young adults, but I never let that put me off a good read - hasn't half the world read Harry Potter after all?

I really enjoyed this novel. Set in Victorian England and ranging from opium dens to a shipping merchant's offices to dockside dosshouses, the book really built up a picture of imperial adventure, burgeoning industry and thriving criminality, as Sally Lockhart tries to unravel the mystery surrounding her father's death, the eponymous ruby and the Seven Blessings, as well as evade the deadly clutches of the evil crone Mrs Holland. I promptly set up the next novel to download, then discovered that back in 2006 the BBC had made an adaptation of The Ruby in the Smoke that had somehow totally passed me by! How had this happened? I'm normally first in line to watch anything with a hint of period drama about it.
So I downloaded the TV programme on iTunes and watched it - quite entertaining it was too. Although Billy Piper was not exactly the best choice in the lead role, I thought that J.J.Feild was the perfect Fred Garland - I had only ever seen him in an Agatha Christie's Marple adaptation before, and I confess in a slightly fangirlish way I headed off to watch Northanger Abbey in which he also stars. Go watch them, if you have an hour or two free and no energy to actually get up and leave the house!

I've now nearly finished listening to The Shadow in the North (why, Phillip Pullman, why?! How could you? So sad!), and have The Tiger in the Well ready and waiting on my Audible app. Plenty more hours of entertainment to come.
In craft related news, I am currently short row shaping the border of J's little stripy jacket, so after a lot of weaving in of ends I should be ready to share that very soon. I'll be back with a review of the latest issue of The Knitter in the next few days.

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Benjy the Blanket Buddy

Let me introduce you to Benjy.
Benjy is a mischievous little monster made from scraps of yarn left over from Jake's stripy blanket.

I had been planning on knitting up a Rebecca Danger design for a while, after picking up her Knitted Monster Nursery book on Amazon. There are some really cute knits in the book, and her little son's nursery must look amazing! I haven't got nearly enough time to knit a whole nursery, but one of the monster toys I can stretch to.
I chose the Vinny V pattern, knitted in the Hayfield Bonus dk I had leftover, about 3/4 of each ball. As it turns out, I still have leftovers - Vinny doesn't use much yarn. I named him Benjy the Blanket Buddy because I intended him to be used for snuggling when Jake is all wrapped up in his blanket. I'm sure one day little J will rename him though.
Benjy literally flew off the needles - he is such an easy knit, and knitting all the pieces in the round meant there was next to no making up to do. Even then, I put it off for a few days - sewing up is never as fun as the knitting.

Probably my favourite bit was giving Benjy his face. I couldn't use safety eyes or felt teeth because my 6 month old would chew those right off, so I made some knotted yarn eyes, made famous by Jean Greenhowe, and embroidered the teeth on using a double thickness of white dk yarn.
I am absolutely over the moon with how Benjy turned out - he looks like he has a real personality, and Jake has played with, or should I say chewed, him lots. Hopefully he will be tough enough to last - at least he is made from washable yarn and stuffing, something I can see being quite useful in the future!

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The Flat Battery

If you have ever had a C-section, or know someone who has, you will know that one of the biggest problems following it is being unable to drive for weeks. I got by very well due to a good network of new mum friends, but unfortunately my car was not very happy about the lack of attention received for six weeks. Needless to say, when I tried to drive it again the battery was flat, and despite several charges and jump starts, when the recent cold weather hit my little car decided enough was enough and it wanted a new battery.
Unfortunately, I didn't discover this until I left the house last Thursday intending to visit friends. I was so frustrated that I had got me and little J out of the house promptly after his nap, only to find that we couldn't get to my friend's house after all. I won't lie, I shed a few disappointed tears while standing on the pavement deciding what to do.
Fortunately for me, there is a yarn store in my local parade of shops. Although the ground was pretty snowy, I decided to brave it with the pushchair rather than heading back inside to sulk for the afternoon. Despite my meagre statutory maternity pay, I knew I wanted to treat myself to something, and spent a good half hour browsing the shelves. My yarn store doesn't do a lot of the high end brands like Rowan or Louisa Harding unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately!), but it does do my favourite Sublime, Sirdar, King Cole, and some always useful Stylecraft.
I hit upon a ball of King Cole Supa Dupa Chunky in a gorgeous olive green and decided to knit myself a cowl to keep me toasty in this extremely cold snap we are currently enjoying. Spontaneous purchase achieved, I headed off home to feed J and search for any likely patterns.

In the end I decided simple was best, and went for a cowl based loosely on the My Kind of Town Cowl, although in reality the only thing it really shares with it is the provisional cast on and graft, as I used thicker yarn, bigger needles, cast on fewer stitches and knitted fewer rows. In the end I even regretted the graft as I messed it up the first time whilst trying to simultaneously have a conversation with my mother in law! I ended up knitting the whole thing again. Being super chunky at least it knit up quickly.

Today I got Ed to take some photos of me in my new super-warm cowl - minutes after these were taken he pelted me with snow balls. What a joker.

In other news, Benjy the Blanket Buddy is flying off the needles - just half a leg left to knit! Photos will be shared in due course...

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Jake's Stripy Blanket

So here, as promised, is the big reveal of Jake's Stripy Blanket, though a little later than I intended - somehow taking care of a 6 month old who suddenly decides he is not going to nap anymore can be time consuming! But normal service has resumed, little man is sleeping and I have time to write a post.
I started my blanket for two reasons - firstly, my friend Rach gave little J a gorgeous pram blanket when he was born, and it got so many compliments from my friends that I knew I wanted to make a bigger one for J when the little blanket became too small. Then one of my new mum friends asked if I could show her how to make one for her little boy. Of course, I agreed. I have a basic knowledge of crochet and knew I would be able to teach my friend who was a complete beginner, but I needed to make sure I understood how the blanket was constructed myself first. So, the perfect excuse to start my own!

I took a quick trip to my local yarn shop to pick up some acrylic in some nice bright shades. I went for two shades of Hayfield Bonus and two shades of Stylecraft Special - very economical and great for baby knits as they are easy to wash. I decided on a range of blues with a splash of yellow thrown in for contrast.
I followed the instructions for the Granny Stripe blanket on the Attic24 blog - this is an extremely popular pattern for a reason, once you get going, it is so simple and very 'moreish' if that is an appropriate term for a yarn project? You know what I mean anyway!

The blanket was so easy to pick up and put down to just add another stripe when I could, perfect for fitting in around little J's nap times. I decided to crochet until I ran out of yarn, but then typically I ran out of a colour in the middle of a stripe. So another trip to the LYS was in order, and I picked up another couple of balls so I could also add a border, which I hadn't originally intended to do. However, my tension had been a bit iffy over the course of the project and I thought the border might disguise that a bit. I am so glad I did! It makes the blanket, and really did sort out the slightly wonky edges. I just added a round of granny stripe all around the edge and a row of treble crochet, simple but effective I think.

I would love to make another one of these and probably will do in the future. My friend who I taught to crochet is already on her second! I love this - spreading the yarn love. But in the meantime, I had some of the extra balls of yarn leftover, so I decided to create a little blanket buddy to go with J's blanket. More on that another day...

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The Little Vintage Gansey

One of the most satisfying experiences as a knitter is seeing a garment you have made (and sometimes sweated blood, sweat and tears over!) not only being worn but really suiting the recipient. And this is exactly what happened when I made J a Little Vintage Gansey. The design is by Sublime yarns, and can be found in this book, which is full of gorgeous baby patterns so well worth a look if you have any little people to knit for.

There were a few patterns that I liked the look of, but the Little Vintage Gansey caught my eye for its simple but effective patterning, all produced through a simple combination of knit and purl stitches. I loved the colour used in the book, so decided to use the same for my version - Sublime Baby Cashmerino 4ply in Button. Because it is a 4ply, it takes only a couple of skeins to create a garment, so you can justify the expense of a luxury yarn. And I was more than pleased with the result:

The jumper knit up so quickly considering I had a newborn to contend with and very little time to myself. It is an easy enough pattern for beginners, but looks more complicated than it really is - always the best type of knit!

Here is the garment being modelled by my willing volunteer, and very smart he looks too. On a side note, he never fails to dribble on or be sick down this, and it washes up beautifully. Always a consideration for the mummy knitters out there!

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Five months

So what have I been getting up to in the five months since my little man came into my life?

Mainly enjoying the wonder that is watching him grow up; so, so fast! Seriously, everyone told me that I had to enjoy every minute, or I'd blink and miss it, but I didn't realise quite how truthful they were being. Every now and then I catch myself feeling sad and shed a tear because my tiny baby has disappeared. And this may be the only time I experience such complete and utter fragility and vulnerability. But mostly I am amazed about the little personality my boy has become.




I don't want to put too much of Jake out there on my blog. Life being what it is, you can't afford to be too open.




But a part of me wants to share just a few things. Like his favourite toy, little blue donkey. The way he giggles without fail when Ed clicks his tongue at him. The way he watches me so intently when I sing Wheels on the Bus or Five Little Ducks. The extremely angry cry should I dare to try and put a vest on over his head!

These are all the little things that are so everyday at the moment, but will probably be forgotten in time. So instead I'll record them here.

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Jake

So I thought it was about time I updated my blog. It's been a very busy month. I have gone from a pregnant lady with a massive bump...


...to becoming a mummy!
Jake arrived on the 2nd July, a week before my planned C-section after I experienced some bleeding and started going into early labour. I blame a trip round Ikea the previous day and an inexplicable need to clean the bathroom - what was I thinking?
I was so shocked when they said I would be having Jake early. The C-section itself was very straightforward and I have recovered from it very well -my scar is really neat, and although I feel a bit tender when I walk far, we have started getting out and about a bit.
Unfortunately, Jake had a slightly worse experience of birth, about half an hour after birth they realised he had wet lungs which needed clearing because he was coughing up gunk. He was brought back an hour later but then had a 'dusky episode' while breastfeeding - he basically forgot to breathe. He got taken to the Special Care Baby Unit and I wasn't able to see him for another 12 hours until my spinal had worn off. It was probably one of the most difficult times of my life, I couldn't wait to get wheeled down to see my baby.
Jake had no more breathing problems, but was kept in the unit for nearly three days. I was going up and down at all hours of the day to feed my baby, but was reliant on the staff to call the ward I was in.
When Jake was finally allowed out of SCBU, he had lost too much of his birthweight. This meant a round the clock feeding regime and a fight to keep breastfeeding, which was hard but I stuck to my guns. However Jake kept losing weight, and I felt like I was going to have a breakdown!
We were finally allowed out of the hospital just over a week ago when a consultant took pity and decided our home would be a better environment for Jake and me. Sure enough, as soon as we were home Jake started putting on weight and has been very happy and contented.
Becoming a mummy has been the best thing that ever happened to me. I know it's a cliche but it totally changes your life (in a good way!). Total unconditional love for another person, no matter how many times they wee, poo or vomit on you! I can't wait to spend the next year with my little man x x x