applehead

chasing my tail...

it feels as though this is what I have been doing for the past six months. And not very successfully, I might add. There are still boxes to be sorted through and two rooms to be organised.

If I focus too much on the things I haven't managed to get done, I get quite frustrated and annoyed. So, possibly more useful to look at what I have achieved so far.

I started this last year, just before I began packing to move to the UK. All it needs now is to weave in the end( artfully hidden in the photo) and lightly block it.

 

A simple charcoal cowl....
I decided halfway through knitting it, that it would be perfect for a friend,so the fact that it is summer here and rather hot isn't really important.
It is my own pattern ( if you can call it that) using a Jo Sharp silk,alpaca and merino mix. I find that this type of knitting suits me perfectly - in the round, so no seams to sew and a few cables to make me feel a little bit clever without trying to hard.

This little girl is now sleeping from around 7.30 pm until 4.30 ( or 5.30 on a really good day) - which is quite something,considering she was waking every two hours and needing attention( mine!) back in January.
It certainly hasn't been quick or particularly easy but I held firm to my resolve to avoid the controlled crying regime and I think we are both the happier for it.
Now I have to work on going to bed a little earlier so that I can catch up on a little missed sleep.

My big girls are trundling along quite nicely as well - all good here.

If I can work out what is happening with my broadband connection ( painfully slow to the point that I can feel myself aging as I wait for pages to load), I aim to start posting a little more regularly. Once every month or so does not a good blog make. 

See, glass half full kind of stuff.

What I have done, rather than what I haven't. That would be me, Pollyanna all the way.

Tail is in sight. At least I think that's my tail.

small bear for Grace...

finished just in time for Grace's first birthday...
The alpaca felted most happily (to my great relief) and both Rose and Charlotte decided that I was one extremely clever mama.

Grace,on the other hand, took one look,chewed thoughtfully on his nose for a minute and then dropped him on the floor.
She was far more interested in the silver paper that the bear had been wrapped in.
You would think I might have worked that one out by baby number three.
Instead of sitting up knitting and stuffing bears until the early hours of the morning, I could have just given her the bright shiny paper.
Oh,well....

there's a bear in there...

Grace turns one on Tuesday.
This means that I spent a stupid amount of time last week searching the web for that right something to knit her. Because you can't have your first birthday without a handmade present from your mama.
(Of course Grace could but would I ever get over the guilt of knowing that the other two received their toys knitted by me but not poor third baby Grace....)
After a tip off from Di, I made my way to I Knit in London on Tuesday to do a bit of wool looking ( who am I kidding - of course I bought something).
On a high shelf on the way out,I spotted a lovely little polar bear. I found out that the pattern had come via patternfish, went home and looked it up and hit the 'add to cart ' button.

One ball of cream alpaca from the stash and two nights of knitting( and counting - you really need to keep count on those short rows) and the bear is ready to make up. Hopefully I have chosen a fiber that will felt- possible something I should have checked before I started knitting....
Looks just like one of those bear rugs that you throw on the floor in front of the roaring open fire. Maybe I'll knit me a big one for the living room when I'm done with first birthday bears.
Fingers crossed that he felts.

cute hat...

My marvelous mother in law has just returned from a trip to South America, where she explored the Amazon River, went piranha fishing and paddled about in a dug out canoe.
As you do.
She also bought Gracie pie this very cute hat.
Now I just have to work out how to knit another one - the bobbles are just so.....bobbly.
.

any excuse...

to stop sorting and packing for a while.
This time I was meant to be sorting through my wool stash, deciding what to take with me, what to store and (gasp!) what to give away. However once I stumbled across a single ball of Noro (actually the only ball of Noro I have ever purchased) it was game over as far as the task at hand was concerned.
I have a Teva Durham pattern  for a Lace leaf scarf  that I had purchased long ago but never found a reason to knit up - now I had a ball of wool and a reason to give it a whirl.

I then came across this post over at the purlbee and decided that I am going to alter the pattern and add a keyhole closure like the one shown. I have also made the neck part twice as wide so that it will actually keep the neck warm! I think it will be perfect for one( or maybe both) of the girls.
Next up on the list of Things to Sort are the art/craft supplies.
I'm thinking that might take a while and a good quantity of tea.

eating elephants...

Spring already.
A few warm days and the old oak tree in our back yard is covered with bright green tips.
Summer will be upon us before we know it.
Meanwhile, I'm busy knitting. 

Warm things like a grey silk,alpaca and merino cabled neck warmer and this irresistible red cape for Charlotte (or Grace more likely at the rate I am knitting it!).
Odd?
Not really when you are about to head from one winter into another.
Our family is on the move in December from Sydney to London for two years.
Two years.
I know it's exciting.

A wonderful opportunity to travel.

I'm sure after a while, I'll love it.

At the moment though I'm sad. Sad to be leaving family and friends. Sad to be leaving behind my home and the wonderful lifestyle we have here. Sad that Grace won't get to spend her first summer lying bare bottomed on a blanket in the shade of the oak tree.

The excitement will come later, I know. For now I am daunted by the task of packing up our life and relocating to the other side of the world. 

They say it's best to do it one bite at a time.

Sigh.

It seems like an awfully big elephant so I guess I better start eating. I just wish I was a little bit hungrier....

 

my, what big eyes you have....

Grace has discovered her hands.

Now she wakes singing and gurgling in the morning and always has a big smile for her sisters.
And when Grace smiles, she smiles with her whole face- even her slightly sticky out ears wiggle with happiness.

She has an infectious chuckle that sometimes turns into a belly laugh.She truly is a content,relaxed little soul.

16 weeks old and my baby has grown out of her little hats that I knitted for her.
Not such a tiny applehead anymore...and time to knit another hat.

(Knitted hat in Rosegarden popcorn wool using this pattern.)

small luxuries

knitted washcloth with crochet picot edging, in a favourite organic cotton found here....
I have knitted many variations of these- somehow I've never managed to keep one for myself.
This one is ready to be packed and posted ...maybe the next one might make it's way into my linen closet.
 

Thank you for all of the suggestions about how I might deal with Grace's cradle cap. I'll give them a try (although not all at once). The coconut oil sounds good - she'll smell just like summer...

At the moment I'm trying her  Bottom Balm on her head - it's a thick mix of sweet almond oil, beeswax, lavender and other good smelling things. Seems to work wonders on her bottom so fingers crossed it will work it's magic on her head!

button, button...

It's always the small details that seem to take so much time and thought. I finished knitting this neckwarmer just before Grace was born. It's taken me almost four months to choose a button that felt right.

At last I can wrap it up and send it on it's way...

And speaking of buttons, I have one small girl who is a cute as....

 

(You didn't think I was going to let a week slip by without a kiddie shot did you?)
While I have your attention, anyone know of any gentle yet effective suggestions for banishing cradle cap? I have tried the olive oil trick a few times which helps a little - however I am starting to feel like a mother monkey, continually picking at my small one's head. And I'm sure Grace is getting sick of it! Otherwise, I'm just going to leave it and smile politely at anyone who so helpfully points it out to me. Just in case I hadn't noticed...

the look...

Grace has it down pat...perfect for showing off the finished cache coeur.
Yawn...what a bore this modelling gig is...think I'll grow up to be a rocket scientist instead....

No model around for this scarf (in this wool) which is a present for Georgie.

Finished the crocheting last year but took a while to find just the right green button.

I'm very satisfied with this one - the colour and the shape is just right.