Progress: 100%

Ah, but it's not what you think!
The blanket is about 70% done - I need to get 2 more lace panels completed and one of those is about 20% done already.

So what is it that's no longer a WIP?

We went from this:



to this:



in just 2 hours. On Friday morning. It was a complete whirlwind.

I woke up at 2:56 am on Friday with some pretty intense contractions. Didn't think much of it. I'd had 8 bouts of false or prodromal labour in the preceding 3 weeks, and the baby wasn't due for another 11 days. I tried to go back to sleep, but no dice. At 3:15 I got out of bed, drank a litre or so of water, and did some rocking to cope with the pain. It didn't get better, so I filled a tub with warm water and just sat for about an hour. The water made the contractions so manageable that I actually thought they had stopped. I went back to bed, thoroughly annoyed at the loss of sleep and glad I hadn't woken and inconvenienced anyone.
Within minutes, I had woken Mr. Wonderful with moaning and heavy breathing - and not the good kind either. The contractions were back in full force. We laid there and discussed my state for a few minutes. He convinced me that we should call the midwife, and I asked him to take care of it. I was in no state to talk on the phone. In retrospect, all signs point to active labour. Why didn't I see it then?
Suddenly I was hit by an unending contraction - it just kept building and peaking, it never dissipated. Even then, it only lasted a few minutes . . . 3 peaks. And then, I HAD to get on the toilet. In spite of the intensity of the contraction, I got up and ran for the bathroom. Mr. Wonderful was finally able to go get the midwife's number. As he ran down the stairs, my water broke. And then I had to push. 3 pushes. And then the baby was crowning, although I didn't know it at the time.
I sat there and listened to Wonderful leave a message for the midwife. He turned to me and said 'and now we wait 15 minutes'. I remember thinking 'we don't have 15 minutes'. And I was right.
Our son was born minutes before the midwife arrived. And she lives just up the street from us. When I realized the burning was due to crowning, I felt like I had to push his head out. I sat and considered what to do for a few minutes - then decided to get him out. The what ifs were overwhelming - what if he's got a prolapsed cord and waiting is dangerous? What if the cord is around his neck and waiting will kill him? What if there are complications and giving birth to him here and now hurts or kills one or both of us? But the midwife was on her way, and I knew she'd come prepared for resuscitation if needed. It was risky, but so was sitting there with a baby's head birthed. So I stood up, and pushed. And then he was here, and wet and slimy . . . and in my hands. I caught my own baby.
At first he didn't breathe. He didn't cry. His face and extremities were purple. Turns out Wonderful and I both thought the worst, but neither of us had the strength to say it. It seemed like several minutes passed before he started snorting and several minutes more before his first wail - but I'm sure it was much quicker than that.
The midwife arrived shortly behind our wee son. She took care of the two of us, checked us out, made sure we were in good health. It wasn't the birth I had in mind - and I wouldn't recommend it as it was fully unplanned and we had no training 'just in case' . . . but all said, we're in good shape.

Our baby boy was born at 5:17am, weighing 7lbs, 6ozs and measuring 21". He's still looking for his blog name - he's no longer a son-thingy, he's now a son. I'm sure we'll figure something out.

Sweet Pea is adjusting well, with a few rough spots. She's absolutely enamoured of her 'baby butter' and kisses him all the time. I can't lay him down for even 2 minutes without a kiss. I'm glad she's so in love.





Currently, we're all doing well. The baby is thriving and has learned how to nurse finally. Shy of a little sleep deprivation, it's business as usual chez nous . . . in spite of a really exciting Friday morning.

Progress: 30%

At least, I estimate the progress to be at 30%.
Thus far, the blanket is shockingly small. The centre bit is only 14 inches wide, and will be roughly the same height. I'm planning on blocking the ever-loving crap out of it to make it a reasonable size. Because to me, right now, it looks like a slightly larger than normal hankie.
I have most of the middle done. I haven't even used half the yarn yet. This bodes well.

Progress indeed!

Poll: on a scale of 1-10 . . . .

. . . . just how crazy would I be to cast on a new baby project? What if it were a blanket? And son-thingy were due in just three short weeks?

Keep the following in mind:
1) the blanket is made of light fingering weight yarn.
2) The three weeks before Sweet Pea's birth, I made an adult sized sweater, a whole lace stole, and a third of a second lace stole.
3) the three weeks before Sweet Pea's birth I didn't have a 2 year old to entertain.
4) the three weeks before Sweet Pea's birth I DID have to work . . . well, some of it, anyway.
5) Friday is my last day of work this go-around.
6) I have a history of getting sick of blankets and abandoning them partially finished - only to get guilty and finish them months, if not years, later.
7) This blanket is made of Lorna's Laces, in a really enticing colourway - Zombie BBQ. It makes it even more fun to work on. The yarn is delicious! Plus, wrapping my son in something called Zombie BBQ makes me gleeful.

So . . . I cast on for the blanket this morning. And I got 2 inches in, checked my gauge, and ripped it all out again. I've gone up a needle size - still don't have stitch gauge, but it's close enough at 24 st/4" as opposed to 22 sts.



I'm hoping to have it done by the boy's birth day. We'll see. The centre panel seems like it'll go quickly. I'm using some mods to make it half sized. That should help!

So, what do you think? Am I crazy??

Peeves: pet and otherwise. Warning: do not read if easily butthurt.

I think I'm going to have to avoid Facebook tomorrow. I'll explain why - Remembrance Day. Yup, it's important to remember the sacrifices of soldiers and civilians young and old. Yup, it's important to honour our past. Lest we forget? Don't make me laugh. We've clearly forgotten. Have a look at all the conflict and war in the world today. Lest we forget is about more than the graves of those who have lost their lives - it's about not repeating the mistakes and horrors of the past . . . and yet . . . Genocide? Check. Murder? Check. Inexcusable crimes? Check.

War? Lots of it? Check.

Makes me shake my head. Here are all these citizens wandering about with their token poppies, spouting off about their grandparents and their contributions to WW1 and WW2 - and completely neglecting to REMEMBER.
Please understand, I'm not out to disrespect our veterans. I'm not scoffing at my rights and freedoms. I'm just saying . . . who remembers anymore? Does anyone?
So tomorrow I may need to avoid Facebook, so as not to 1) lose any friends, or 2) start any flame wars. There are sure to be arm loads of trite and tired status updates. This here? This is my blog, I feel safe expressing myself here.

Other peeves lately include (but are not limited to):
1) Hypocrisy over obvious shit. Especially prominent in town on garbage day. We've just started a green bin program here in town. For those of you not familiar with 'green binning' it's a program where your household waste that isn't garbage (ie. facial tissues, food scraps, etc) is taken to a facility for composting. We're talking stuff that can't go in your back yard composter. Meat. Bones. Pretty much anything that isn't plastic. Good idea, right? Reduces landfill while creating a sustainable, green source of energy. What kills me is the sight of these green bins lined up along the streets all proud and smug . . . right next to the 'NO BIO WASTE PLANT' signs on some of the lawns.
Recently, a bio waste plant was proposed for the town of Elmira. It's meant to be right on the edge of town. People are freaking out about this. It's going to stink. It's going to promote lots and lots of noisy truck traffic. NOT IN MY BACKYARD WHARRRGRBL!!! The dude who runs the plant (or will be running the plant) has released a statement to the paper outlining that really there will be a handful of trucks a week, and that if the plant is smelly then they're losing the energy they're trying to harness - they'd be doin' it wrong. No dice. Elmira is still wharrrgrbl-ing. Seriously people - where do you think the contents of your oh so friendly green bin go? To a bio waste plant. Dur.
2) Smug-ass pregnant women. I am, as you know, pregnant myself. Nothing bugs the hell out of me like a smug-ass pregnant woman. The kind who won't get off her delicate tushy to get herself a glass of water if her fucking life depended on it. The kind who are more precious and important than everyone else in the world because they are creating life! Bitch, it's been done before, by countless women, countless generations and you are not so shit hot for getting knocked up. You're not special. I try, when pregnant, to have outside interests and maintain some semblance of an interesting life. When someone asks what I did on the weekend, I like to have something to say aside of 'admired my belly and considered the specialness of my fetus - have you seen this stretch mark over here?'. There are some boards/online groups I frequent that make me bananas. I had to leave all but one of them, actually . . . for fear of shooting my mouth off and making enemies. Now the one group I have left is making my eyelids twitch. They are 37 weeks along maximum (all due in December this year) and have been talking for about 6 weeks now about the contents of their hospital bags, what labour comfort measures they'll be taking, etc, etc. Some of their labour comfort measures include: bringing karaoke/video game consoles to their respective hospitals, and my favourite yet "making love" while labouring. Best of luck to you, ladies. I can tell you right now my hospital wouldn't allow any of that shit. It's too noisy - it will totally harass the other labouring women. Further, you probably won't even want anything to do with any of that . . . since these women want natural, drug-free deliveries. Cripes.
Also, from the second you pee on that stick and learn you are pregnant . . . you don't need to ensure every conversation includes a reference to your impending child. I get it, you're expecting. Hearing about it constantly is aggravating to me. Imagine what it does to someone who wants kids and can't have them. Or to someone who is child-free by choice and feels judged for his/her decision. Knock it off already.

T-MINUS:

6 weeks. Of work. Max. Because baby is due in 6.5 weeks.

(This is the part where I freak out and flail and go WTH? and perform a small piece of performance art I call 'where did the time go and WHAT is coming out of WHERE and do I HAVE to wait 6 more weeks?')

Know what this means? Means I'm getting nesty. And none too soon. 6 weeks to due date means 4 weeks to full-term, and we have an awful lot to do. Sort of. I have been somewhat nesty before, but I usually a) turn it on Sweet Pea and sort her entire wardrobe by colour and functionality - much to her confusion or b) sit and fret because I am too tired to get off my sizable pregnant ass and do something!! On the upside, Sweet Pea's wardrobe is fully sorted and quite functional! On the downside . . . she has to be moved out of the nursery and in to her big girl room. This means a closet re-do.

Since son-thingy is baby #2, most of the urgent stuff is already done. Lots of the stuff I'd like to do isn't so urgent.
Urgent stuff:
Create a nursery. Check. Now to get Sweet Pea out of it.
Buy itty bitty diapers. Check. Frequent squeeing over said itty bitty diapers is also paramount. They are less than half the size of Sweet Pea's diapers. Awww!
Obtain tiny clothes. Check. I won't have to buy a damn thing for son-thingy until he's in size 6 mos. I think. (Except more diapers. And maybe socks.)
Pack hospital bag. Too soon. I'm waiting at least 2 more weeks for this one. Provided I can ignore the urge long enough.
Pack home birth kit, in case of raging snowstorm, or labour on Christmas Eve. Still too soon. See Hospital bag.
Not so urgent stuff:
Clean all the things! Probably won't. I'm a wretched, horrible housekeeper, and a lazy pregnant woman.
Freeze lots of meals. I've frozen enough meals that we had to break in to a fresh box of Corning Ware. I don't think we'll starve. I've been doing a fair bit of baking too.
Create a birth plan. Meh. Didn't bother last time, probably won't this time either.
Knit some more stuff?

And of course, we must remember to load the Giftmas crap on the wagon too. Fun, fun, fun. Busy days.

#19

May I present Danny: doll #19.

Danny was a custom order from a lady who loved Gilbert so much, she wanted one who looked similar. And he sure does.







I'm down to one custom order right now, and it's one I'm not too excited about. Makes it hard to really get in there and do it. I have the body sewed up - but that's it. I also have about 3 ready to go dolls in the works for the shop. And one Cuddle Bean.
I've had a serious crimp thrown in though - I can't work at work anymore. I have a new manager, who is kind of a hard-ass . . so no knitting, no sewing, no anything to occupy my time between calls. Sigh. I need a few more weeks before I can start gently introducing crafting to my work day again. You know, ease her into it . . . and I only have 7 weeks of work maximum left.

Too bad too. I have a few knitting projects on the go that could really use some care and attention. I'm making son-thingy a weighted companion cube. I'm only about three rows in though. It's HUGE - I think it's about 250 stitches per round. It's epic. I'm also still working on a black twinkle vintage cardigan for him. I think it will never be done. Well, until I hit the FINISH FINISH OMG FINISH part of nesting . . . right now I seem to be in the 'Start All The Things!' nesting stage.

Photo shoots!

Tomorrow I'm back to work, and let me assure you -- I am not looking forward to it. Sadly (sarcasm! See what I did there?) I have only a few weeks of work left - 9 weeks until baby's due date. That's about 2 months of work, right? I can make it, right?

Given that I've been home during daylight hours, I took some better photos of Gilbert. He's definitely one of my favourites to date. Right up there with the ballerina and the princess.






And today, we got a belly shot. Behold, my 30 week girth:

What a difference a week makes (and some vacation time)

I haven't been to work in 4 days. Today is my 5th day off. And even though I did a lot of errands and running around yesterday, even though I was out of the house for the same period of time as usual - man, I feel better! I think work is just stressing me way out, and I'm ill-equipped to deal with it in my present state.
Thanks for the encouragement, btw. I got phone calls and emails, and your messages here - and I really felt supported.

Yesterday was a follow-up ultrasound for a complication that was discovered in our 20 week ultrasound. (Don't worry - the baby and I are both going to be fine . . . we just may not have the natural birth we were hoping for. 7 weeks ago, I was very distraught over this idea. Today, I feel much more okay with it.) It was the most clinical ultrasound I have ever attended. I've been at 7 now. It was very dissatisfying. I saw the baby for approximately 15 seconds. "Here's the head, here's the face, we'll print that out, here's the legs down here." His face freaked me out a little. I wish I hadn't seen it, actually. Everything looks odd under ultrasound and I know he'll be beautiful when he's born. Hell, even if I could peer in there and see him without ultrasound, he'd be beautiful now . . . but it was kind of creepy seeing him. And of course, that's the print out they gave me to take home. So now I'm dissatisfied with my ultrasound, and feeling guilty over being creeped out by my son's ultrasounded face, which I felt obligated to hang on the fridge. (I hid it under some other stuff.) Awesome.

Then I went for my glucose tolerance test (yawn). Then I went shopping. Went to Shall We Knit? which was a fruitful and positive trip. Visited Meme's cafe for lunch (stuffed Portobello YUM!). Hit Toys R Us, which didn't have a single thing I was looking for. Went to the mall where I nearly struck out on everything again, but was able to get some jeans for Sweet Pea - who currently has nothing but white pants and jersey pants to wear. I have to wonder how that happened. Then I was supposed to go to Walmart, but I was just too tired and sore to continue. I went home. At home I discovered that I was missing 2 key ingredients for dinner. Macaroni it is! Sweet Pea was happy as a clam with her macaroni, shaky cheese (Parmesan. We have Mr. Wonderful to thank for that one) and salad. I crocheted a wig, and we went to bed.

This morning . . . #18!!



I'll get better photos later. This little guy (I call him Gilbert) is going to China to live with a little boy. His mom really liked Henry, but the little boy is only 2 and Henry is a little . . . well, HUGE for him. So she ordered a custom just like Henry. Clever mommy!

How do I do it?

Last trimester woes. This go around . . . well, I'm seriously feeling it.

It doesn't help that my employer is pulling some bullshit stuff lately - not allowing me to cash out my time bank for prenatal appointments, giving me a hard time about all my pee breaks, putting us through constant changes and uncertainty, etc, etc. I'm stressed. I'm at the end of my rope. And I have 11 weeks to go.

Then there's the usual stuff: tired, immense, sore as hell. The kicks and thumps that were once awe-inspiring and exciting are now painful and a little terrifying (what exactly am I gestating?), hungry but so inclined to heart burn that I'm afraid to ingest anything. I don't mean to complain. I know there are many, many other women the world over who would gladly take my place - but today I'm feeling so low. And I have 11 weeks to go.

And there's parenting a toddler. Sweet Pea really is such a good girl. She's the best kid I could ask for. But I'm over-tired, spread thin, and low on patience. I want to be a great, patient and always loving mommy to her, but I'm finding her antics difficult to take some days. I know that after the baby arrives, I'll be just as tired, but much less hormonal. And I have 11 weeks left to go.

I'm just done, y'know? Done. If I could start my maternity leave without being detrimental, I would. On the other hand, it's beneficial to work as long as possible.

How do I get through this?

16 & 17

It's been so busy around here lately with doll making that I have nothing really fun to report. With the exception of Sweet Pea. She is 2.25 now, and the most fun I've ever seen on 2 legs. Yes, she tests her limits, yes she tests my patience . . . but she's still a blast!
She's learning so fast. She's singing and dancing, undressing herself with only a bit of help, brushing her own hair, and voicing all of her various opinions whether we want her to or not.
She amazes me. Every day. And she melts my heart - every day. "I love you mommy. You make me happy when skies are cake" Awwwwwwwww! Wait, cake??

Dolls #16 and 17 were completed recently.

#16, Lonni, was shipped off to the US.

She's a mocha-skinned fairy princess, and I completely love her finished look.

She's going to a military family with 7 children. I wish her luck. All the luck in the world.

#17 I'm not sold on.
17 is a custom order - 17's customer wanted to order the hair from an Etsy seller herself. It's her doll, right? I let her.
It's definitely something else. A little bright for my tastes. Okay, a lot bright for my tastes. But she's a custom - who am I to judge?

I like her best as a mermaid. She has another outfit, but I feel like it doesn't reflect well on my doll-making abilities to show it. Apparently the customer didn't like it so much either. Currently, I'm working on an alternate outfit for this one.

#15

Way, way busy over here - and loving it!
I'm considering applying for a guest artist spot for the December Stitch n' Kitsch, but then I'm not sure if I'm hard core enough to want to do a 7 hour craft show . . . no matter how awesome it appears to be.
See, the show is on December 4th - which is just 17 days before my due date. It's also about 2 months away from now. If I pull out all the stops, ignore my family and home life, and just make dolls for the next 2 months, I figure I could have about 20-30 to take with me. But then there's the whole 'who goes to a craft sale looking to spend $90 on a doll?' argument - would I even need that many? Can I handle the set up, take down and a full 7 hours of selling at 37 weeks pregnant? Am I crazy for even considering this?

As you can see, I am of 2 minds on this topic.

But I promised you a 15th doll. At least, the 15th in my mind -- I don't think cuddle beans count. (Maybe doll nuggets?)

This doll was custom ordered a long, long time ago - before anyone even knew she was going to a little girl. See, her momma was pregnant and looking forward to the arrival of her baby - but it was early and she didn't even know if her baby was a girl or a boy. Well, that baby is now a few months old, the final details were decided this week, and she's done! Ready to go home!
The momma in question is a spinner and will be making the hair for her little girl's doll herself. I love the face on this one - very friendly!

DONE!

Ta DAAAA!




Currently deciding on what they're called - Peanuts, cuddlebugs, cuddlebeans . . .

And now for something completely different!

These aren't done yet . . . but . . . .





That second one is very much in progress still. I'll post a pic when they're all done - but I'll be adding this design to the shop in the near future. I'm thinking $20/doll. Cute little dolls for infants and young toddlers.

September so far.

I am so busy, and loving it!

Currently, I have 6 custom doll orders on the go (YAY!) and knitting to be done for the gestating boy. Then of course there's regular day-to-day life too.

So far, gestating boy has 3 hand-knit itty sweaters for his enjoyment. Or for mine, you know . . . whatever. I still have to photograph them. He has a hat. I think that's it for hand-knits. There are a bunch in the queue, and I even have the yarn for most of them - but I am definitely starting to slow down. The ones I really wanted to make, I've made.

I finished doll #14 - a Princess. When our son arrives, he's bringing a special gift for Sweet Pea -- and here it is:

I'm remarkably pleased with how she turned out. Her clothing isn't even close to natural materials, but I figure she's for our family - who cares?! I just love everything about this doll, and I don't mind keeping her around at all.

We've been harvesting little bits of things from our garden. Our tomatoes are delicious! Our green peppers are not. The weather here is cooling down, and the days are getting shorter. I think autumn has arrived.

Oh Good! It's hot again.

Of course it is! Why? Because my fingers are itching to turn out tiny adorable sweaters. I've even been working on another one. Proof:

This will be our boy's requisite infant Aran. Originally I had intended this yarn for a different sweater altogether, but there's enough of it for this cabled sweater -- and I like it better, too.

And while we're talking baby boy clothes - I found an amazing sale at Bonnie Togs this weekend. I got all of this:

for $88! What a freakin' steal! As it happens, they're clearing out the summer line, and much of what you see here was marked down to $3/hanger. On the hangers, there is one t-shirt, one onesie, and one pair of shorts. So I still have to buy our little fellow some pants, but 2 shirts for $3 is still awesome! I also need to get him some sweaters, but as noted above, I'm working on that. Or I will be . . . once it's no longer hot.

Lucky Number Thirteen! And some knitting.

Seems like all I blog about lately are dolls. Seems like all I've done for a while is sew dolls. I'm not complaining - this is good news! I'm just sorry I'm not more interesting.

Suddenly I'm in a doll dry spot - which is probably for the best since I'm running low on interlock (skin) and stockinette again, and I'm nearly out of wool stuffing . . . but it kind of makes me sad at the same time. I wish I were enjoying the success of Bamboletta, Fig and Me, Dragonfly's Hollow . . . but for some reason, my dolls aren't really moving. Of the 13 dolls I've made, five were sold. 2 are hanging around waiting to be sold. The rest were given away - except Beebie. She's still here. Anyway, you didn't click this way to watch me mope . . but if you have a few moments, check out my shop here and tell me if you can why these dolls aren't going anywhere. Should I just chalk it up to being new on the scene? Is something terribly wrong and I've over-looked it? What's the deal?

Doll #13! Beth-Anne.



Oh yeah, she's cute! Of the 5 dolls that have sold, 3 are this pattern - the 10" jointed doll. It seems to be a favourite.

I also did some knitting in the past week. Since we now know the gestating addition is a boy, I was able to get some nice boy coloured yarn, and queued some nice boy type patterns . . . and I knit this:



Baby Sophisticate. And it's darn cute too. Still needs buttons (gimme a break! This time last week I was still pondering yarn choices!), and a blocking - but I can't wait to see it on my tiny baby son!

OMG CUTE!

So I gave you a sneak peek at #12 earlier - but now that she's done, packed and ready to be sent off . . . here she is!



Belonging to a young ballerina in New Brunswick - Mom wanted something really special for her little girl's birthday. I like to think I rose to the challenge.

Right down to the shoes:



And then I figured since I had a doll on hand who was the right size, and since this pattern is proving to be pretty popular - why not do some experimenting?

PJ's:



And a dress:



All in all, I'm really happy with her. I love her hair, and her ballet outfit. Too cute.

Sneak a Peek! #12

This lovely doll will be heading to NB for a special girl's birthday. She just needs some clothing, and she's all set!

I feel like it's been a while.

Last Friday, our internet went out. We weren't around to have it restored until last night. That's one week. One week without internet - I still have it at work, and on my phone, but I am somewhat more limited. It felt like a very long time. I'm extremely happy to have it fixed, and even happier that the ISP we use is crediting our service for that week.

A week without internet or TV is a productive week. I got doll clothes made. 2 pairs of custom ordered PJs and one pair of PJs for an auction. I got 2 dolls cut out and partially made. They have heads and torsos. They need more work, but that's not a big deal.

I got a little wee sweater mostly knit for our upcoming son. Yes, that's right - it's a boy! We look forward to welcoming a little brother for Sweet Pea.

I wanted to show you some pictures of our garden, but something seems to be going wrong. I was going to show you the tiny green peppers and the sidewalk full of cherry tomatoes. I was going to show you the beefsteak tomatoes the size of my fist - still green and growing bigger every day . . . but I can't seem to get photos to upload. Just as soon as I get it figured out, I'll share.

Meet Lindy, #11

Ah, Lindy. Doll #11.

I tried something new with Lindy, and I'm just not sold on it. Usually, for hair I do the crocheted cap with the hooked hair style. It's fully style-able, easily changed if need be (we all have an incident with a favourite doll and a hair cut in our past, don't we?) terrifically time consuming, and since I'm not a crocheter wildly difficult and aggravating for me. For Lindy's hair, I decided to try the layered wig I hear so much about.
Pros: it's quick, easy, doesn't take a huge amount of yarn or self-control, easy to add awesome highlights.Cons: Not as styleable, I just don't like the way it lies.
The pros do outweigh the cons, but the cons are pretty sizeable. As such, I won't be adding the layered wig to my rotation for dolls. I think as a doll maker - or really as anyone who sells anything, you have to be proud of the product you're putting out there with your name on it. With my dolls, I tend to make them with this criteria in mind: would I put this doll in Sweet Pea's hands? Would I let her take it out in public? If someone asked me where I got it, would I tell them I made it? If it's not good enough for my daughter, it's certainly not good enough to sell. The layered wig is not good enough. I guess I'll have to brush up on my crochet skills.

I also want to apologize for my recent radio silence. Life is catching up with me, and there have been a lot of early nights - pregnancy and summer are a poor combination.

Dolls # 9 and 10

A while back, I finished 2 more dolls. Then I took a few months to clothe and detail them fully.

They're probably my best and favourite dolls to date. You can find them for sale in my Etsy shop, if you so desire.

Doll # 9: Henry.
The jury was out on Henry until his cheeks were blushed. This is the final step. Until I did it, I was reasonably certain that I hated him. Now, he's my favourite doll. I love his little bug shirt, and his wild hair, and his peachy skin tone. He's awesome. He's also pretty large - finding a box to fit him has been problematic. I can buy one if/when the time comes to ship him to a new home.

Doll #10: still nameless.

A friend of mine suggested Thomas, and I feel like she was on the right track . . . but just a smidge off the mark.
His pattern (including clothing) is totally my own fabrication - and he's pretty cute if I may say so. Mr. Wonderful says this little guy is his favourite. His hair line looks a little off to me.

Doll #11 is currently in progress - needs legs, hair and clothes and then she's done. I had to make this one to replace Rachel in the Etsy shop. Rachel is on her way to her new home . . . in Belgium! That doll is going to be better traveled than I am!

The 10 hat challenge: DONE!

This morning I put the finishing touches on the last hat. I was going to run them up to the hospital today, but then I realized that it would make much more sense to take them in after work on Monday. That's the new plan.

All the hats:

The 10 hat challenge

I'm up to 9! I'm going to try to get another one done tonight, and then take them to the hospital tomorrow.
We're experiencing a heat wave right now. It's brutal, shocking, wet, disgusting heat the likes of which we rarely see in Canada. Makes it virtually impossible to get ANYTHING done. We don't have a/c - we have a number of fans, and a dehumidifier. The temperature inside our house is 30 degrees. Imagine how hot it is outside our house!

My girl is 2.

I can't believe it's only been 2 years since our daughter entered our lives. She is such an integral part of our every day. When she isn't here, I miss her terribly. She is such a capable, articulate, tall child that it's sometimes hard to convince the world that she is a well-behaved 2 year old, and not a 3 year old at all. Sometimes it's hard for me to keep that tidbit in mind.

I also can't believe she's 2 already. Seems like just a few weeks ago I was toughing out the summer heat, pregnant, over-due and waiting impatiently for a little stranger's arrival. There have been some really aggravating days between then and now, but I wouldn't trade one of them for all the money/malabrigo/etc. in the world.

On Sunday we hosted Sweet Pea's birthday party, and what a great time we had!


Here we see a very happy girl in the pool she got from her Nana and Papa. She and her young guests played in the pool for most of the afternoon.


Eventually, our girl wanted to get out.


Although she regretted her decision almost instantly.

She sulked about it for a few minutes.

But then she got to open some presents! Inside one, she found a yummy treat.


Inside another, she found a new friend to kiss and love.


Another one gave her a bunch of stuff to be a little mommy!


Then there was the monkey cake!


And candles to blow out.


And then there was fishing in the pool.


And finally, popsicles just before everyone went home.
It was long, full busy day - but we all had a great time.