Update!

So what can I say... Pregnancy and working full-time are incompatible with blogging... With both of us working there hasn't really been a lot of chances for us to do anything blog worthy - especially when we don't always get the same days off. Now that there is a baby involved I'm sure I can find heaps to blog about but I don't know how interesting of a read it would be for anyone else!

My mum has been here since the beginning of September so that's been a lot of fun. The first month she was here we spent a lot of time going on walks and things trying to spur the baby into coming on time. The baby had her own plans and ended up coming two weeks late! If we would've known that we could've done all sorts of things and gone on even more day trips and things (near the end I didn't really like going too far from home just in case!).

So yes, the baby is here! Born a full two weeks late (born Oct. 4th) and having to be forcefully evicted (they broke my water and I had a surprisingly quick labour - 6h 25min - drug free and as natural as an induction can be!). Despite being two weeks late, she was a petite 6lbs 12oz and 19.6" long. She was pretty tangled in the cord so we think that's why she didn't come on her own and possibly why she didn't get very big in the last few weeks.
We are of course biased but think she is the most gorgeous baby ever!

Aurora Elizabeth (11 days old)

I hardly did any knitting while I was pregnant and only managed this set along with a few other things:

Coming home from the hospital (3 days old)
(A pattern from Pattons Heirloom Knitting)

And I managed to get the Puerperium Cardigan done just after she was born (I had the sleeves left to do and knit most of them while I was at the hospital being induced. I think I had about 2" left on one sleeve to do when we came home):

12 days old

I knit a few vests but I don't have pictures of those yet because they're slightly too big still (they won't be for long, this baby is an eating machine! She's gone from 6lbs 12oz to 8lbs 4oz in two weeks!)

Glen goes back to work next week and before that we're trying to cram in some touristy things with mum. We just got back from driving The Great Ocean Road and next week we're going to Wilson's Prom and Philip Island.
I'm still doing my Project 365 photos but haven't uploaded them onto my computer in months (see above re: lazy!).

So yes! I don't know how good I'll be at updating now that the baby is here but I'll really try. Once things settle into more of a routine things might (maybe?) be easier.



Temperature: +14C
Sunrise: 6:28am
Sunset: 7:43pm

A bit of knitting!

The wife of one of our coworkers was expecting a baby a few weeks ago so I decided to knit them something.
I don't have a lot of strictly baby yarn - especially in boy colours. I know a lot of people are fans of bright colours for their babies but I didn't want to go too "out there" in case they were fans of more traditional colours.
I had a bunch of Patons Beehive Baby in white/yellow/green, green and blue. I wasn't sure how much a sweater would take so I decided to use my white/yellow/green because I had quite a few skeins of it.

I made a cute little cabled sweater first but it turned out VERY small. I was worried it wouldn't fit so I quickly knit up a baby surprise jacket. After fussing with the first jacket I didn't really want to make a hat or booties and have them be doll sized so I just skipped them.

I think it turned out well. It's still quite small but apparently this baby is a bit on the small side (two weeks early and the parents are quite small).
I forgot how much I like this pattern! Once you get over the initial confusion, it's pretty straight forward. It only took me a little while to remember all the quirks.

I'm in the process of knitting a bear so we'll see how that turns out!


Temperature: +12C
Sunrise: 7:23am
Sunset: 5:30pm

A Bit of Knitting

I know I haven't done a lot of posts on knitting and there are a few reasons for it. My craft stuff is still in boxes - I have easy access to it all but it's a royal pain in the arse to dig everything out. I haven't really been in the mood to knit - I spend a lot of time thinking of what I want to knit and planning new projects but a lot of things don't get out of the planning stage. The most recent thing is that my hands have been really cold. I've figured out how to wrap my blanket(s) around me to cover my hands so I can use the computer but I haven't quite worked out something that works with holding knitting needles and yarn. I WAS working in a pair of fingerless mitts but the first one turned out too big so I have to rip it back.

Since it's been so cold, I've been working on (and planning) a series of slippers. I'm planning to make my own basket of "house shoes" for guests when they come over. This is something I first learned about in Germany. The concept of slippers (obviously) isn't new but the concept of having a basket of slippers by the door for guests is. Basically, in a lot of houses, you only heat the room you are in (each room has a radiator or separate thermostat) which makes the rest of the house pretty chilly so guests are offered slippers to keep their feet warm. I've always thought this was a cool idea and even toyed with the idea of buying a house shoe basket when I was in Germany. Here are some examples of a typical basket I found when I did a quick search - 1, 2, 3, 4.
Anyway, so because our apartment is chilly and I'm finding myself 1. wearing my slippers A LOT more than usual and 2. taking a pair of slippers when I go to visit family (like my grandmother does!) and 3. We're a shoes off house (which is not common here) I figured it's a good time to make a basket (it might encourage people to take their shoes off). This is an idea I've been carrying around with me for 8 years!

Firs thing is first though, I had to knit Glen a pair of slippers. He's been asking for a pair for a while. I was working on a thrummed pair but the first one turned out too small. I was going to make a pair of felted clogs but I think the felting part might be difficult. Our hot water tank is TINY and just filling up the washing machine on warm empties it. So I searched and found a pattern that looked quick, easy and most importantly warm. -Click- (ravelry link -- the website the pattern is on is only in PDF - I can link to that if anyone is interested).

I used sized 9 needles and Lion Brand Wool-Ease that's been languishing in my stash since 2006. I wanted a nice thick slipper that would be warm so this seems to fit the bill. I sewed some thick felt onto the bottom so that they'll last longer AND it helps with not being able to feel the seam on the bottom. I think I sewed the bottom seam on the first slipper about 5 times before giving up - no matter how I sewed it, you could feel it.
I encourage people to go to Rav to look at the pattern because despite how my (poorly photographed) slipper looks, they're really cute. I couldn't be bothered stuffing the slippers and posing them nicely. These slippers and definitely a candidate for my house shoe basket - I might actually make a few different kinds of slippers just to keep things interesting.

(and yes, I still haven't finished my February Lady Sweater...)



Temperature: +11C
Sunrise: 7:32am
Sunset: 5:07pm

Finally getting around to it...

Posting pictures of my knitting that is!

So I've been working on the February Lady Sweater. I SHOULD be done by now but moving into our place and being sick on and off for the last month has put a damper on my knitting time.

I think I'm about 1/2 way through the body, maybe a little bit more. Before it went into hibernation, I was really enjoying it because as complicated as it looks, the pattern is easy to memorize AND I can easily read my stitches if I happen to make a mistake (so I can easily tell what row/etc I'm on). I'm not too thrilled with the colour though. We'll see how it looks once it's finished but I'm seriously considering over-dyeing it. I did a few button holes at the top but I'm not too pleased with those either so I might to a button/snap thing... We'll see on that too.

We've made a few trips to IKEA as Glen's schedule has allowed (which I've been enjoying since I LOVE IKEA, Glen not so much) We might be adding another short bookcase in the middle but we'll see about that (kind of depends on whether or not we get a bigger TV).

Things are still pretty messy since I just managed to rearrange everything today. The TV isn't where it's staying, I'm waiting for Glen to get home from work with a longer cable. It's nice to see all my stuff again (or well some of my stuff!). The apartment was smelling strongly of smoked moose hide until I was able to open some windows today.
It's at least looking a little more put together than it was even yesterday!

The clocks were set back an hour last weekend so it's getting dark fairly early and it's starting to get cooler during the day.


Temperature: +19C
Sunrise: 6:40am
Sunset: 6:04pm