#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.