the news....

we're expecting a baby!!! this is exciting news, i can finally tell because i'm over the 'mystical' 12 week mark, although i know that doesn't neccessarily mean all will be well... the last pregnancy ended with a (missed) miscarriage at 8 weeks on christmas day, so we're delighted to actually get to see a baby and a heartbeat on the ultrasound this time.

but if you think i'm done worrying now you're wrong... I am very worried the baby might be too small, i had an ultrasound at a GP and it wasn't a very good machine, but on the printout it says 14cm and there are two marks, so technical me assumes that that is the scale of the image so i couldn't resist measuring the baby. on the day of the ultrasound it was supposed to be around 48mm but according to the scale on the printout it's only 34mm, which is nearly two weeks to small! i've been trying to contact the GP since to find out did he take an actual measurement during the scan and are the 14cm on the ultrasound picture an actual scale... but he hasn't called back yet. he's probably sick of me worrying... do any of you know anything about measuring babys on ultrasounds??

how am i feeling? still quite tired, but not as bad as a few weeks ago, a little nauseous, but not really, i get a gagging reflex a lot of the time, when it's bad it makes my stomach contract as well and i probably could get sick quite easily, but it only actually happened once, when i decided to gurgle with mouthwash, maybe not the smartest idea seeing as even just brushing my teeth is the number one gagging trigger! i get exhausted quite easily when i have a stressful day at work, but when it's not too bad i sometimes have the energy to cook dinner or tidy up, but most days i just refuse to see the dust motes and am happy enough to just have a yoghurt for my dinner. the husband unfortunately doesn't care as much about dinners as i, he'd quite happily live on takeouts and frozen pizzas...

i maybe have put on half a kilo now, although i already carried an extra 2 kilos from the last pregnancy, i didn't try to lose it because i thought a bit of extra fat might help me get pregnant again more quickly (and maybe it worked, it only took 2 months) disappointingly i haven't put on a cup size yet! i'm quite sure i got better endowed, but when i went to M&S to get measured for a non wired bra (non existent in a pityful 34B's wardrobe, i heavily rely on padded and wired to balance out my bottom heavy figure), instead of the usual 34B i was measured 32B! i either have been wearing the wrong bra size all along or i actually got thinner... in fact, thinking of my wedding, i was measured 32B then, which surprised me then, and I lost a bit more of my womanly figure after the wedding when i stopped taking the pill... however, the lady in the shop recommended the 34B bras because i'd only get bigger. the maternity ones she showed me were awful, thin cotton things with no support whatsoever! in the end i bought so called 't-shirt' bras, which are comfy and give a nice shape under tops, and give me a nice bit of support. i definitely got nicer cleavage now, whatever the woman's measuring tape says...

i know, i'm getting unusually chatty here, i just can't help myself, it's all so exciting!

string bag 1.1 photos

excuse the bad quality, i had trouble using the flash as it completely overexposed the images (see saturday's) . I must invest in a proper camera. but i think a real SLR is out of the question. Anybody got any experience with the 'nearly SLRs'?

string bag 1.1

progress!
i think i figured out how to make this, it doesn't really look anything like the bag i linked to, but then i'm not actually doing that exact stitch. I am now doing round after round of *yo, k2tog* and am getting a tidy looking result. i have 1 thread separating the 'holes', (like on that one row that was a mistake on the previous version, so i now know what i'd done wrong there, i'd missed one knit row). the previous pattern would make for a sturdier bag, but this one is much easier to keep track of, and to see if there have been any mistakes. i think i may have an uneven number of stitches, which means i have no visible line where i go to the next round, i am always yo and then ktog having the yo of the previous row on the left, and the stitch on the right.
I took some photos showing what the pattern looks like and how i knit it but i must have left my camera cable at work :-( hopefully i will find it there tomorrow morning and i can then upload them, in case anybody is interested!

string bag 1.0

i started on a string bag and just ripped it back to the crochet base! i'm using this method where on the first round you wrap one and knit two together, then a knit round, then one round of wrap one - k2tog again, but shifted by one stitch, then again a knit row. but somehow, maybe i because i want to knit in the round, it's not as straight forward as it sounds. after about ten rows i noticed i'd accidentally increased a few times, causing messy bits, and also i had half a round of a weird looking stitch, where i didn't have two twisted strands separating the 'holes' but only one! anyhow, i ripped back and now i'm going to try 'Turkish Stitch', like in this bag i think it'll also be more 'netty'! the stitch i was doing was a bit bulky.

interesting posts

i would like to post interesting and up to date things, yet, at this moment there isn't much i can post about...


so instead i will show you pictures of a birthday cake i made for my sister in law, it had 30 candles on it! unfortunately i don't have any pictures of it with the candles lit, they were blown out so fast! it's a chocolate sponge with cherries, fresh cream (about two pints!) and dark chocolate shavings. baked the cake at home, and then assembled it in longford, while the SIL went for a hair appointment. even though we'd had a big feed of sausages, wings and sandwiches, at nine o'clock at night, the cake went down well, there were only three pieces left after about twenty minutes, which we brought into the kitchen for my brother in law's wife and kids to have the next day, but his mother in law ate them late at night and didn't leave a crumb for them! three large pieces of a 3-layer-cake!




























i like cream cakes! proper real fresh dairy cream, not uht, not from a spray can, no sugar and vanilla in it...

rhubarb crumble

mmh... i just put the 1st rhubarb crumble of the year into the oven! we had to cut back our rhubarb plant allready, it started growing over the path (our garden is small so everything is small and narrow and close together). my mother in law's in longford has only just started sprouting, i didn't realise there was such a difference in climate! we're lucky though, our garden is south facing and quite sheltered.

we also did a little trip to woodies yesterday and bought a patio set: two chairs and a table. the table was put together quick enough despite the usual useless drawings and instructions, i mean, why do they have to label the pieces a1 and b2 and so on, why not just say outer left leg, inner right leg etc. it would save all the guessing and turning each piece every way to figure out whether it's a1 or b2! anyhow, for the 2 chairs we got 3 left arm rests and one right... so today i had to go back and swap one of them, it took the customer service girl, a boy, a manager and another boy, and some animated discussions amongst them, to get me the right piece, good job i brought the drawing with me, only after i showed that to one of them did they understand what i meant by 'i would like to exchange this left armrest for a right armrest'.


not many crafty news here, i have been extremely tired lately, i still haven't finished the cream wool clapotis scarf, or the mirasol sulka hat, but i've started a flannel blanket (just 2 pieces of flannel and a blanket stitch edging) and a granny square blanket, from a mixture of rialto, sublime cashmere merino and some other similar leftover yarn. i started 25 squares during our little easter getaway, i've used some pale grey and sage green so far, and a dark fuchsia. i will see how far i get. with what i have and then maybe buy some more in a matching colour to make borders for them all. i had initially thought i might make my usual 'giant granny square' but with every round in a different colour, but i thought if the different types of wool shrink differently in the wash it'll be nicer if each square has slight bumps than if the whole blanket's structure is uneven.



oh, and i cut up an unshapely cardigan in a lovely dusky pink soft loose knit, and made a thin scarf and a head band from the sleeves. i still have the body part, a strange round shape, to make something with! must take some pics. every time i dug this out of the wardrobe i though ' why am i not wearing this lovely soft cardi in that beautiful colour more often, only to realise after i've left the house in it, that it makes my arse look huge (it is quite big but not THAT BIG).


i would also like to make this blanket and this scarf, but with my current energy levels they will be projects for next winter.

i like this story

http://www.grannymar.com/blog/2008/03/16/the-important-things-in-life/

found via infantasia, which i love to catch up on with.

P's Gran

Who would have thunk it! She got her way and is out of hospital, back at home, out of bed and feeding herself again! They have a nurse coming in once a day and P's mum is doind A LOT of work, and one of her sons is staying in the house every night. She has a baby monitor in her room so at night she only has to call out and he can come in and get her what she needs or he can call P's mum to help. I'm so glad she's at home and might not have to die in a hospital. At this point it's about quality -not quantity- of life for her, and her doctor now agrees. I just hope it's not too hard on P's mum! The granny's weak now, and needs a lot of help, and a wheelchair, but just so happy to be home, I don't think P's mum is letting on how much work it is for her.
No other news, really... I'm smothered with a cold, i even was off work for a day! i'm much better now, but sound like a phlegm ball and am coughing like an old man... not pleasant.

a few photographs

the dunes, eaten away by the water, roots exposed.



the last minute 'purled' beret, now with 'beanie topper'



new shoes - green



new shoes - red!

p's granny (2)

hi, thanks for your comments! p's granny is stable, still holding up, she's very weak though. himself and his brother went down to visit her yesterday, the hospital is very busy and she's on a big ward, there's lots of children and grandchildren wanting to see her and they take terms sitting by her side. p's glad he went to see her again, i'm not going to go down to the hospital myself as it's so busy and i don't want to take time away from her grandchildren, granny herself is sleeping through most of it.

p's granny

p's granny is very sick, she had a slow heart attack and there's nothing more the doctors can do at her age, she's getting pain killers and had her family around, taking turns staying with her. she's quite calm and recognising everybody but she can't really talk as she's getting oxygen. p's going down this afternoon, i might follow this evening or tomorrow...

aprons

Isn't this the loveliest apron ever!?
It's so flattering and the colours are brilliant and it's reversible, too! I don't usually buy many patterns, especially not for practical things like aprons, but I am very very tempted! It's by Meg from Montessori By Hand, a very talented lady!

These are some photos of aprons i made over the last few years...

this one's made from habitat teatowels, for my friend





the first ovenglove was a bit too snug for its own good, it got donated to my other friend's kids' toybox... the second ovenglove was a little better and is actually still in use in hel's house!

this one is my own, again, habitat tea towels... i am planning to make matching oven gloves with the left over tea towel, using the pattern from lotta jansdotter's simple sewing book.



i made this little one for p's niece, she loves it!


and these two for p's granny. she's not been feeling well for the last two weeks and hasn't been baking. today she was brought into hospital! i hope she'll get her spirits up again, she's been a bit down about being weak and old and everybody around her is very worried.

This hat actually suits my friend Catherine really well, making me realise how it doesn't really suit me, after all, I think it may be the colour more than the shape though... Anyhow, C will be wearing this hat from now on, she prefers the knit side, so I'll redo the weaving in to look better on that side, also she requested a beanie topper which I will attach... I think I'll also add a bit of elastic in the brim...

That sorted, and after some green tea with ginger honey had been drunk, we then went for a quick walk on the beach, just in time before the sun set.





Other news, I got myself a ravelry account! Like I don't have enough time-eating internet hobbies already... Must take photos of my 'stash' soon and put them up... I love that site, it's great to see what other people made from the same pattern...

P's brother is coming to stay with us for 3 months! That's a long time for a small house like ours... And we only just 'got rid' of the last 'tenant', a friend of P's who was waiting for his house purchase to go through and didn't want to take out a lease on an apartment in between... Ant, as I like to call my brother in law, will be doing work experience for his college course in Dublin. I just hope he'll behave himself and clean up after himself... he's the baby of the family, 19, and very much used to mammy looking after him...

aaargh - blogger header picture

i just noticed that i now can easily add a header picture but it's soooo frustrating, i don't seem to be able to get it in at the right size or ratio! i think i spent an hour half heartedly messing with it, and now i've given up... i'd be a lot happier if i could get it to be centred in the header border, but even that i can't seem to get to work... i managed to crop one picture so it's not aligned left any more, but it's still aligned to the bottom and doesn't look great. i'm not used to looking at code any more... help, anybody???