Crochet Complete!!

I can't believe I have finally finished our new baby's blanket :) it has taken me best part of 30 weeks on and off though! It is very simple and very homemade - can see now where I made few mistakes that I wouldn't make second time round but I have thoroughly loved making this blanket and found it so therapeutic!

The blanket has taken pride of place in Baby Edwards crib which is now up along with our new curtains in our bedroom. All bags are packed (except for Aaron's) so we are officially 'ready' for the arrival... Only 6 weeks till due date, I wonder what I can make between now and then?? We do need a mobile to go above the crib so I might check out Pinterest for some inspiration on how to make one myself!

Hope you are all having a fabulous weekend xxx

So we are having a baby this year....!

Happy New Year everyone! We had a truly amazing Christmas celebrating Jesus's birth with friends and family near and far, we enjoyed singing carols, playing lots of board games, walks in the park and far too much chocolate :) We stayed local this year having lunch at my parents after church on Christmas Day then Dave's parents stayed from Boxing Day onwards then we enjoyed birthday and New Year celebrations with our lovely friends twin boys.

But now the decorations are down and it's back to work and nursery (or start of maternity leave for me!!) I am now 32 weeks pregnant and on the official final countdown to our second sons arrival. This also marks the start of my stepping down from the worship team and choir until after the birth as a) I can't stand for long periods of time and b) there is increasingly less room for my diaphragm to flatten therefore I can't reach the notes I used to and also get out of breath quickly! Will miss it :(

We are so excited that we finally meet our newest addition in a matter of weeks and we are getting all the final preparations underway....washing Aaron's baby clothes, cloth nappies and bedding, fishing out and cleaning the car seat and building the crib and packing the all important hospital bags!

Plus the all important comforter has finally been chosen today by Aaron... He has had a Disney 'Roo' bear since birth and he and Roo are inseparable three years on so we knew we wanted the baby to have one of his own so we are proud to introduce you to 'Blu' bear!

The impending arrival also means that I need to crack on with finishing my crochet blanket for the baby....only two stripes left to go in my pattern! Can't believe how long this blanket had taken me, but I have genuinely loved making this little item to wrap our new bundle up in, even if it won't last him much past 12 months... I can always add rows on later if necessary right...?

Where has 2012 gone??

Where has this year gone?? 2012 has been a whirlwind of contract jobs and trying for a baby (yay!) and all of a sudden I have realised that it is November and I haven't put up a single post to show everyone my crafting successes over the year and also to announce that we are expecting our second son in February 2013!

Having recently completed a Mum Blogger E-course courtesy of Littlemummy.com I plan to be much more proactive with my blogging and look forward to chatting with you all lots more in the coming weeks (especially when my contract ends and I can enjoy an extended maternity leave!)

So here are just a few of my lovely little projects that I have completed this year:

I was given a lovely hamper of crafting gifts and vouchers when I left my part time job at Volvo and I bought some beautiful fat quarters with floral print from hobbycraft with the intention of making bunting for the garden.

On account of the dismal British Summertime that we experienced I thought I would bring the outdoors indoors and used the fat quarters to make two sided rectangular cushions for my leather sofa!

I was tasked with overseeing the decor for the ladies Blessed event at Renewal Christian Centre in the Summer.

'So Blessed So California' was the first event I have ever managed decor for and I made (amongst many other things!) some lovely curtains to dress our stage with. They were very simple and tied with blue organza but I loved spending an afternoon with just me and my vintage sewing machine putting them together!

I bought some lovely wool and am in the process of making a crochet stripy blanket for our new baby!

Aaron and the baby will share a room eventually so we have decorated their room with a nautical theme in red white and blue, and the blanket will be cot size with blue, grey, white and red stripes. I am really enjoying making it but am not following a set pattern as such, just repeating the double crochet stitch over and over!

More projects to follow but thats all for now!

Lots of love R xx

Crochet hooks and cookery books!

Sooo I popped into my local wool shop in Sheldon to ask if they knew of any good sewing machine stockists and got chatting to the owner who is a fantastic crochet expert... and before I knew it I was walking out with a crochet needle and a ball of wool.... several days (and attempts) later this is what we have so far!

I think I will probably continue as I am and make a scarf out of this for Aaron as he doesn't have one, but I would like to try some new colours too so may just stop my 'practice run' and start an actual design...

I really love crochet, it is actually very simple to do, as long as you don't do the stitches (chains) too tight in the first instance until you have got the hang of it! I followed the 'how to' bit in Kirstie's Homemade Home book, which was very useful, and have since borrowed a fabulous book called Amigurumi by By Lan-Anh Bui, Josephine Wan which contains lots of crochet designs to make at home including soft toys, bags and much more! Am truly inspired...thanks to Gina for lending it to me!

As if my new craft wasn't enough to keep me busy this week... I then decided to have a go at making my own pastry which resulted in a rather miraculous homemade pie and with the leftover dough I made some scrummy jam tarts with my little man the day after! All in a days work... :)


 
The pie received my dear husband's (DH) full approval although I think he was as genuinely surprised by my success as I was.... lets hope I haven't set myself up for a fall as  I dare say future crafty and cookery experiments may not be quite so successful!!