New Baby & House Warming Ta-Dahs

So I finally finished a couple of projects and delivered them to their special recipients today. Remember ageeees ago I was chatting about picking yarn and going on and on about picking colours? Well my friend finally had her baby and I finally finished the blanket. I worked the blanket up in gender neutral colours since I didn't know the baby's sex and I decided that when I found out I would do a border in a gender specific colour. Well a little boy arrived, Baby E and this gave me the poke that I needed to finish the blanket. Oh I never used to be a last minute person, when I was at school I used to do my homework on Friday night so that I didn't have that Sunday night dread but now I seem to work best under pressure and leave things to the last minute. Very, very bold! Anyway I only really had a couple of stripes left to do so I guess it could have been worse (my new mantra in life! Oh dear). 

It's actually supposed to be a vertical stripe blanket but I forgot this when I was taking photos! I did the starting chain too long... hope it doesn't really matter!

My friend had just moved into a new house a few weeks before the baby was born so I wanted to make them I little house warming gift. I thought it best to do something small since I wanted to visit them soon after the baby was born and if I picked a larger project well sure I'd still be doing it well into 2013!! So I came across these little crochet jar covers on the internet...

I think they are so lovely, I don't mean my handy work I just mean they are so effective. They make the coldest evening seem so cosy, although I do suspect there is colder to come (please no snow in January!). The link to the very clever lady who made them and her tutorial can be found here. They are super easy to do and now I really want my own and I feel I should make some as christmas gifts for some craft friends but we shall see if time permits.

I like how they look with the baby blanket. I hope my friends and their new baby will be snug as bugs in rugs this winter!

I just love candlelight and yarny creations... 

Ooh and another thing I've been up to.....

 Well for years D didn't like coffee so if we ever went out for coffee or tea he would have a diet coke and while that's perfectly fine, there is something really nice about sharing coffee together.. maybe that's just me. Well anyway since the birth of my Little R, D has felt the need for some extra stimulation each day and as his teeth can no longer stick Coke he has persevered with coffee. At first it was sickly sweet mochaccinos and the like, then a gradual conversion to lattes. I really dislike milky coffees, I find them really sickly but I really wanted to perfect a homemade latte for D. I found this video on youtube for how to make frothy milk. I have been really intrigued by the coffees made by Attic24 as they always have a little embellishment on them.. a star or a heart and I really wanted to do this too. I found coffee stencils online but at £5 a pop I figured I could do a homemade one myself from a milk bottle. And today I finally made the perfect homemade latte for D...

It got a 9.5 score (I told you how my family like to give me marks out of 10!). So I was chuffed to bits. It really makes me smile, just going that extra little mile for my beloved. A little thank you for all the extra work he's putting in at the minute now the third trimester tiredness has kicked in! 

And finally we are getting super excited about Christmas. Today D taught Little R the  start of Jingle Bells... not the whole song but just "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells" which I think is pretty cool for a little 22 month old to learn in about a minute. Oh we are in for a lot of fun this year. And I just noticed that there is a new animation this year... 'The Snowman and the Snowdog' which is going to premiere on Channel 4 this Christmas Eve. I am doing all I can to contain the excitement!!

Thanks for reading xx

/\/\/\ Ripple Ta-Dah /\/\/\

Woohoo, I'm back in less than a week. Whoopie! Well lets get to it, the point of this post is to show you my, I mean, Baby R's ripple blanket. I finished it a while ago and it has been in a lot of use since. I was thinking/worried that it might be too warm by the time I got it finished to actually get any use out of it, but hey it's May and it's baltic so the blanket is getting plenty of action... see there's always a silver lining haha*

So the yarn was bought at Christmas with vouchers for the local craft shop from my very thoughtful secret santa. I picked up some Rico Baby Classic DK and I fell in love with it straight away. It's 100% acrylic and it's super soft, I have never felt such a soft and luscious acrylic yarn, it's really lovely stuff. And after thinking I wasn't going to go down the stereotypical boy route I ended up picking very boy colours, I just couldn't help it.

I used a ripple pattern from the lovely and extremely generous Lucy at Attic24. I started with a chain of 168 which was very generous and I'm glad I did because I think/hope it will last little R as he grows into a little boy which he is rapidly doing! I did double rows of each colour and a total of 55 double rows. I wanted to keep going because it was lovely to work on but somehow I ran out of one colour and had ample left of the others (mystifying!) and I took this as a sign to stop. So would you like to see? As if you have a choice teehee!

Here goes...

The full blanket is actually fairly big

Soft and snuggly...

 Mmmm ripples...

♥♥ mummy blanket & baby blanket ♥♥

I like how the ripple ties in with my own granny blanket. I have to confess I really am not in love with the colours of my granny blanket but I do like how to two blankets compliment each other. 

I took a few snaps of Baby R with the blanket, we mostly use it when he is out in the pram cos the weather is rubbish (rubbish I tells ya)

Cosy and warm

He looks like a little egyptian mummy 

The seal of approval xox

♥♥ I'm thrilled to have finished it and I am thrilled to have made Baby R his first crocheted blanket. I hope it gets loved and used a lot over the years ♥♥ 

Thanks for all your lovely comments on my last post. Thankfully Baby R is doing much better and we are all enjoying the weekend together.  Now it just needs to stop raining so we can go outside!

*Note to the weather:Please sort yourself out and stop being so beeping cold, it's May you know!!

Where does the time go.....

Well when I said it would probably be 2 months until I blogged again, I was only joking. But as it turns out it has taken me nearly 2 months. Good grief! It's actually been a difficult few weeks, Baby R has taken to his feet which is so exciting, he has been mobile since my last post but then he has also been floored by illnesses. He had a tummy bug (which D and I both ended up with), then he had a nasty sore throat and really sore ears over Easter (we were in the out-of-hours doc at 8.30am Easter Sunday morning - that's how we spent out Easter holidays), after finishing a really strong antibiotic (Amoxicillin didn't work so after 48hours of it and poor Little R's temp not dropping below 39C we were given a stronger antibiotic) we thought he was ok but then started having trouble with teething and we thought surely he can't be sick again but a trip to the doc last week confirmed that he has a sore throat and really red, sore ears AGAIN, 3 weeks after finishing a really strong antibiotic. I just feel awful for him because his temperature has been through the roof and he was trying to solider on but sore ears are one of the worst pains especially for little ones, and this is now his 4th ear infection so I'm worried that this is going to be a recurrent thing for him. I would do anything to make him better and so for the last week I have taken baby R into bed beside me and cuddled him all night to help him sleep. I think we are finally over the worst so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a few weeks/months of good health and fun for my little one. Trying to juggle all this with work is challenging to say the least... but hey we are still able to tell the tale!

Sooooooo I'm going to attempt not to write an essay and let my photos explain what I've been up to, aside from nursing my sick little R. Here goes.....

This was taken on Mother's day and it was Baby R's first ever walk in out local park. He was laughing his little head off and I was almost in tears with happiness...

While I was stuck in bed with the tummy bug my masking tape finally arrived and I may have went a little over board but I added some bunting wherever I could think of.... 

Bookcase bunting...

Bunting for the piano...

 Happy Hallway bunting...

At this stage I thought D was going to have a fit but somehow the Bedroom bunting has survived... (he kept saying "Not in the bedroom, Not in the bedroom")

I also managed to make some fabric bunting (I can't remember when I did this, I think it was in Feb sometime but Im sure you will forgive me a little chronological error or two!). This was inspired by Cherry Heart, I saw her Bathroom Bunting and thought I had to have some! Cherry's is much prettier but in my defence I'm always in a rush!!

I finished my ripple blanket, or rather Baby R's ripple blanket! I am so chuffed with this and I really think it deserves it's own post. So just a sneak preview...

I was also very, very, very, extremely lucky to win my first giveaway. I won a beautiful handmade apron from the absolutely wonderful Mrs Thomasina Tittlemouse. I really wanted to post about this sooner as I was soooo hugely grateful to receive something so beautiful but I just couldn't get the time to. Thankfully I did manage to send Mrs Tittlemouse a little something in the post to reciprocate her generosity. I spent the entire Easter weekend (well not the trip to the out-of-hours doc obviously!) in my new apron. A more beautiful apron I have never seen. 

I was also inspired by Elizabeth to make some very, extremely, tasty Olives. You can find the recipe here. The apron kept me cleaning from a good splattering of D's new fancy Balsamic Vinegar, beautiful and functional! 

Hard at it!

 Yummy, scrummy Olives

I also made some bread to go with the tasty Olives. I haven't done any fun cooking in ages and I was determined to make some tasty treats over the Easter Weekend and I succeeded in doing this (pre out-of-hours doc visit mind you!)

We deserved this...

I have been working on my Japanese Flower Scarf... it's a beautiful project to work on. I was so proud of myself for working out the pattern, my husband insisted that not reading Japanese would cause a problem for me and I was very happy to prove him wrong! The colours of the yarn all work together so well so it's lovely to add flower after flower and see it grow (not that I am that quick with it mind you!)

I have purchased a few wee squares of fabric from ebay to cover the seat of a velvet chair that we bought after Baby R was born, so that I could nurse him in comfort but more recently he likes to splash his milk around and slabber over it, so a thought a pretty floral cover for the seat might just help the lovely chair see another day!

I think I better leave it there. I'm so happy to finally get back to my little part of the internet, I was worried I had lost my mojo, but I think I found it again, it was hidden under a pile of toys, snotty tissues, calpol and nurofen! I can't guarantee when I'll be back but thank you as ever if you have managed to stop by, you know I'm very grateful ♥♥

I'd just like to leave you with one of my favourite photos of 2012 so far...

PS can you tell I've been mucking about with photos? They are probably all over the show but I love messing about with them. I was very sad that Picnik has gone but I just found PicMonkey and it's just as much fun! Hurray!!

~ ♥ Happy Mother's Day ♥~

 Just a quick word to wish you all a very Happy Mother's Day. It's bright and sunny here in Belfast and it has been a great start to the day. Baby R and his Dada very kindly offered me a lie-in. Baby R still wakes around 5.30am these days and I try to keep him in bed for as long as possible by lying him back down in his cot, tucking him in and giving him the dummy (that he has cheekily thrown across the room), I usually have to do this  3 or 4 times but in saying that we usually get up around 6.20am. This is fine on a work day but unfortunately Baby R doesn't know the difference between the working week and the weekend. So anyway this morning D kindly offered to give Baby R his milk and take him downstairs for a play so I could rest my eyes for a little bit. Wakening at 5.30am every day is usually fine but I guess it takes it's tole eventually so I appreciated the rest this morning. Then I when a woke I was greeted with this...

 ♥ A scrummy breakfast of Lady Grey Tea, cereal, yummy hot cross bread (in a loaf - whodathunkit!) and tulips (my favourite)

  ♥ I was lucky enough to receive two lovely cards from my little sweetheart. One was helped by Dada (the one to the left with bunting on it - yes that's right bunting on a card whodathunkit! - my dream card). And one was helped by our lovely childminder Mrs A (the handmade one on the right - I'm chuffed to bits with this card, she really is a lovely lady). *Mrs A and the children she takes care off all made their Mums a lovely hand painted terracotta pot with a lovely primrose in it and I'd love to share it with you but I forgot to water it yesterday and it's gone a bit wilty. Eek! I have promptly watered it and I'm hoping it will return to full health soon!. 

 ♥ Now I was a very lucky girl and got a few beautiful gifts too. 

I probably look a little spoilt but the CK spotty bag was sort of a gift to myself, I've been having a hard time in work of late and decided I needed to treat myself. Now I have buyers remorse and feel guilty for spending money on myself as we really need to be careful with money. So part of me is tempted to return it but I do love it and I really don't buy myself things that often. Hmmm not sure what to do. Anyway Baby R and his Dada were so thoughtful. They got me a little fabric bundle with birds and trees on it (I had been moaning about not having a fabric stash and I think little/big ears picked up on this). A beautiful floral greengate spoon.  A CK picture frame to put a lovely picture of my little darling in. And a CK notebook and jotter. I am one very happy Mummy. 


♥ Regardless of all these lovely gifts this is the main thing making me happy today and everyday...

♥ And his dada of course for giving me such a lovely morning


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a rare event for me to manage 2 blog posts in 2 days, no doubt it will take me another 2 months before writing another one soooo.... 
I just wanted to quickly say that I love that people pop by and read my blog, I really love this as I know how precious time is. And I love that some people feel compelled to comment, it's delightful reading that someone likes my blog. I understand the time constraints on modern life, I'm finding it difficult myself to get the right balance between work-life and home-life but we are coping ok, so far. I guess I'm trying to explain why I haven't been commenting on as many blogs as I'd like to. I love reading blogs and the lovely things that people are working on and their lives but I just can't always find the time to say hello and comment and this makes me feel a little bad. I hope you understand and you are all so lovely, I kinda know you will. 

♥~♥~♥ Happy Mother's Day Everyone ♥~♥~♥

♣♥ Shamrocks and Hearts ♥♣

♣♣♣♣♣♣

Firstly I'd like to wish you all a very Happy St Patrick's Day from us here in Ireland. Baby R and I are wearing green today but other than we don't have any other plans to celebrate the day.

 We are visiting Toys R Us today to get Baby R some much needed toys. We didn't go over board at Christmas because he wasn't even a year yet and it was hard to know what he needed. But now he is toddling and developing a bit more we think he needs a few more toys. So it's not really celebrating our patron saint but we are doing it in green!

♥♥ Ta-Dah ♥♥

So anyway the main reason I am blogging today is because I have finished something on my to-do list. This is my Granny Heart Bunting Ta-Dah! The pattern/tutorial is from the very lovely Sandra at Cherry Heart  and if you don't know her blog I strongly recommending popping by - she has the most beautiful blog with such gorgeous ideas and is very generous with her time posting lovely tutorials for anyone to use. I am attempting to keep this post brief as I usually tend to write an essay so hopefully the photos speak for themselves!

Happy daffs, yummy yarn and scrummy bunting..

An in situ shot. I just love looking up to see the bunting across the archway it just looks like it should always have been there. It makes me smile a big, dopey, beaming smile when I glance upon it. I am easily pleased....

  And finally Baby R and I in our greenery. I think he likes the bunting too!!

A big thank you to ♥Sandra♥ for the tutorial. I am super happy to have made it. I love it when I achieve something, it helps to keep me going and keep me smiling.

♥ Enjoy the weekend and the sunshine everyone ♥