has it really been this long!?

I can't believe it's been over a year since I wrote anything here. That's what having a baby does I guess! So much has happened in the past year, mainly not on the good side, so I bid a respectful farewell to 2013 and I know 2014 will be a much better year for all of us. I started another blog about cooking, well mainly what I cook - I really wanted to have that be a separate entity from this but it makes more sense to me in these busy days to just go ahead and roll everything together. Being a mother of 5 has its challenges, mentally and physically, and right now I tell you I'm the most tired I've ever been! Our fifth munchkin was born on my birthday, December 27th 2012 and she has brought so much joy and happiness to our family I don't remember life without her. But you know I mentioned tired... well! You can imagine. I have a toddler that has started waking in the night again and insisting on sleeping with us, which in turn wakes the baby, and these past few months my others have started to be early risers, coming into the room at daybreak - exhausting! I'm still plodding on with my business - Bramble Boutique - we are on etsy - and while I find it a little financially rewarding at times, it can be a lot of work and not much return most of the time. I decided to stray away from my graphic design roots and swing into the animation field. SO that's what's next on the agenda. On that note my latest thing is bulk cooking.

Inspired by The Pioneer Woman cooking show, I've started making sure I cook double, sometimes triple every time I prepare something which can be frozen. So far this has included chicken pot pie, lasagne, meatballs, chicken breasts, pie crusts, pasta bakes and so forth! It's a really good feeling on a weeknight when I don't have a lot of time (or brain power!) to just grab something out of the freezer and stick it in the oven. 

A quick note before I get on with "laundry mountain" - is anyone else out there struggling with the nightmare that is Common Core in NY State? I'm not sure of the quality of the work they get to do at school but I can tell you the sheets they bring home for homework are consistently misspelled, miss-written, miscalculated miss everything really! So frustrating. More tomorrow!

Fantastic Felt!

Since I made the children the Bucilla stockings last Christmas - I've really enjoyed browsing for other felt crafts - mainly to sell on etsy. This week I made a Santa, also Bucilla. Here he is below - not very cost effective as took forever to make and can't really sell him for much!

So now I've been hitting google on an hourly basis whenever I think of a key word! Of course I started with Christmas  searchings, as I love anything to do with it! But now I'm thinking start now - the beginnings of Autumn are upon us and Halloween is just 7 weeks away! I needed some simple designs to look to and tweak as my own. These are my favorites so far:

And back to Christmas - I'm loving these simple but stunning ornaments:

I'm also working on some new baby hats to sell.. I think it's too soon to start gearing them to be elf-inspired so a few in lovely pastel colors to start - then the red and white stripes come later!

et voila

I didn't mean for it to have short sleeves, although that is one of the options on the pattern.. I just realised a few rows in that it wasn't knitting but gartering or whatever you call it! Regardless it'll be a warm layer over a white sleepsuit - lovely.

knitting again

So after the success of my snowflake hat (even though I didn't listen to the pattern for knitting in the round so have a pearl row where it should be all stockinette!) and the gorgeous tulip sleeved cardigan, I'm knitting again. This time its a lovely cardigan sweater for a newborn I got from ravelry - details here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/puerperium-cardigan I'm using a very pretty brighter pink and whte combo yarn and have some sweet little buttons for when its done.  Pictures to come on completion!

et voila!

The 5 hour/5 day cardigan is done - added some fancier trumpet style sleeves and the sweetest snow bird buttons to complete it and it looks beautiful:

I will definitely be making another one - but this time remembering the whole, no pun intended, knit into the back not front to get the holey lacey effect you want for girlish style. But as it is I love it. Can't wait to see baby wearing it with a little sleepsuit underneath. Perfect for chilly winter days! Next on the knitting agenda is a hat using Martha Stewart's yarn range, available at Michaels. I'm switching the colors a bit and doing a soft lilac instead of the green - I think it will be beautiful. Will update with a completed pic when it's finished.

It's a girl!

Had the ultrasound yesterday and a consult with the Dr afterwards - and delighted to say she told us we are almost out of the woods with the Parvo virus exposure - in 2 weeks they will do a doppler on the baby's brain to check for anemia - but as its going on 2 months since I had exposure she highly doubts we will have any problems.  Also found out for sure that baby numero 5 is a little girl! So excited to have another ballerina join the gaggle.  With my last daughter 4 years ago I was in a yellow stage - so I'm very happy to be thinking pink this time! I'm about half way done with the supposed 5 hour cardigan.. I say supposed because when you have little minions interrupting your knitting flow every 15 minutes - 5 hrs turns into 5 days pretty quickly! Also I realized this morning the reason I haven't got the lacy hole pattern and instead the stripe - which is really aimed at the boy version - turns out when I've been "making one (M1)" I was knitting into the back of the stitch thus not giving the hole. Oh well - by the time I finally do the few last lace holes to the bottom of it and add the little mushroom buttons I got - I'm sure it'll be perfect.  I'm very excited to be having a Christmas baby - it's going to be a lot of fun knitting for her. Happy times ahead.

it's never an easy road

Each pregnancy for me has brought with it some challenges, be it preterm labor or dealing with a tremendous amount of back pain.  This one is proving to be no exception. I caught Fifth Disease from my daughter, which apparently most people have had by adulthood, not I.  Also it has no real harmful effects for children or adults - unless - of course - they are pregnant! So now I have to have regular ultrasounds to make sure the baby is not becoming anemic which could then cause heart failure. I'm heading into my 16th week - so far all is good, crossing fingers that it stays that way.

I've been so busy with the house that I haven't had time to think about it - which is probably a blessing, seen as I am the worlds worst person for patience and waiting for news.  I'm currently waiting for an appointment with a specialist at the local hospital who will then decide how regular the scans need to be, so of course I'm on pins waiting for that phone call.  Also it's been 3 weeks since my last scan, so I'm nervous to go in when the call comes - just in case something has now gone wrong.  The chances are very small - after the initial threat of miscarriage which I think is 10% has passed - it's now around 5% that have issues.  So 1 in 20 - which of course sounds much worse than 5%! I can't really start planning for the baby - preparing the little nursery off our bedroom, buying things I like as I see them, until after the 25th week - which as far as I can tell is when if you've had no problems arise the likelihood is slim to none of any further down the line.  But I am knitting.  The first cardigan I attempted went very wrong and somehow I knitted the sleeve backwards - don't ask! Now I'm attempting a new pattern.  There's nothing like a brand new baby in a hand knit goodie.  So I'm focusing on that. And nothing else.