Baby Love

Victorian Romantic Tarot

The kids have gone to my MIL for a couple of weeks, but I have not leaped into my usual annual frenzy of deep-cleaning, as Mini Diva's parting gift was a particularly foul cough & cold which has seen me curled up on the sofa alternately burning up and shivering. I have avoided the I.D channel in case it gave me ideas, and instead have been wedged on NatGeoWild so I've been watching wildlife die instead. Most of the victims get eaten, which is fairly rare on the I.D channel.

No, I don't understand why you would call me gloomy and morose.

After dwelling too much on endings, I can tell you my neighbor has a new beginning - Baby was born fine and healthy in July.

Well, of course I had made some things, I love an excuse to make baby clothes.

No, I wasn't even a tiny bit broody.

Yes, I am lying. 

This is a pattern I've made a few times - Bonnie by Patons. I like it for the unusual side fastening design, and the choice of 2 motifs for the centre; I didn't bother with a motif this time as I was using Peter Pan Cupcake, which looks kind of lacklustre in the photo, but is amazingly soft and squooshy. I made the 6 month size so Baby can wear it in Winter.

 I loves me some cables, and have made this before as a school cardigan for Destructo Boy - which was stolen from school never to be seen again. Which I guess is a kind of compliment. There aren't so many cables as to be too fussy on such a small item in Sirdar 1561 so I chanced my arm on using Sirdar Snuggly Baby Cotton yarn (very unforgiving of errors) to make this again. The cute owl buttons finish it off perfectly.

This was a simple pattern (Sirdar 1354 which must have been my sister's as it's not the kind of style I would buy) - anything else would have been wasted with this Sirdar Tiny Tots yarn; the texture was a bit stiff until it was washed. 

All the yarns I used were bought at rock-bottom prices - as in, 79p/$1.03 per ball (yes, look at that horrendous exchange rate; thank you, Brexit) a ball type prices from the marvellous Kemps clearance section.

Things will be a bit quiet on the baby-clothes knitting for some while, as I don't know anyone who is expecting ... time to focus on larger projects ...

Sunshine & Storms

Robin Wood Tarot

Titch took a day off to drive us to Norwich for a day out, as Mini Diva wanted to go to the RAF Careers Centre - our closest one. It was no sacrifice at all as we used to live in Norwich years ago, and it's one of our favorite cities: the size of a city but with a village feel, full of unique non-chain shops too. 

While we were there, she also blew most of her birthday money on posh sports clothes, so she was happy; I found 2 posh yarn shops: Norfolk Yarn which stocked Tibetan Yak yarn, and The Crafty Ewe which does late night opening once a week ! Plus a Hobbycraft, all of which made me happy - but (making Titch happy) from a stall on the huge market bought only a crochet hook and cute buttons for this:

Sirdar Tiny Tots DK 1561

The rest of the weekend was spent in clearing out our shed in order to put a 2nd-hand chest freezer there ready for storing supplies for the cricket season which starts next week - I am amazed, if not gobsmacked, that Titch volunteered to do the snack kitchen again this year; quite frankly I am really not looking forward to it: after an autumn and winter of merely showing up to watch the kids play rugby at a semi-civilized 10am, being out of bed every Sunday at 6:30am for an 8am start from now until August has NO appeal whatsoever.

Which brings me to the reason for the 3 of Swords. In clearing the shed, we found a box that we both thought had been stored in the house. Unfortunately it and its contents have been ruined by damp and mold:

This is Mini Diva's baby 'coming home' outfit, her first pairs of baby shoes, first lock of hair .... you get the idea. Every single one of the congratulations cards was ruined too. The tears ran down my face like Niagara.