safe arrival

Let me introduce you to Small Pink Bundle #2!!

Yes its a girl! And we are over the moon excited and happy that she's arrived!

Born at home yesterday 10th of June at 3.55am

Weighing a rather hefty 8 lb. 14 oz (not sure but I think its about 4kg's)

My beautiful Nina is amazing - she simply breathes these little ones into expression in a few short hours and then calmly rings me at 5am and says "do you want to come seem my baby?"
Yes, of course!

The big sister is very dedicated at the moment but wondering why this new small playmate doesn't yet grasp and use the large variety of toys that she is so nicely sharing with her!

Right now, I'm off to blend up a nice green smoothie for my clever daughter and give the new tiny baby another Oma snug. I'll be back after I've enjoyed the baby moon!!

a blessing for mama and babe

Which mama and babe? Yes, yes, its this one again! Almost nine months ago another little soul chose my lovely girl as its earth mother and she's been carefully nurturing it close to her heart for all that time. I just recently realised that I haven't even mentioned that there is another tiny one coming to our family - I remembered around the time that I started preparing for the Blessingway we were holding to give her strength for this rite of passage. I spent quite some time preparing a meaningful ceremony and I was very happy with how the day flowed. She had several friends, quite a few sisters and sisters in law and four wise women to honour and encourage her and we spent a delightful afternoon creating, chatting and reminiscing.

This card from my Druid Craft Tarot deck has always been one of my favourites and when I snapped the top pic of my girl, it reminded me of it. Don't you think there's a resemblance?

So, we started the afternoon with soup and bread - this was intentional because the babe will be born in the late autumn month of June, when it is almost winter and there's a drawing in of energy. A nice hearty lentil and veg soup with sourdough bread was just right to complement the sleety rain and wind outdoors! After lunch we sat in circle, I said a few words regarding the intention of the ceremony, lit a candle, then Nina began and spoke of her thoughts and feelings with this, her second pregnancy, and of the changes that were to come. As she finished speaking she passed on a ball of gorgeous homespun wool and as each woman there received the wool, they too spoke some wise words, encouraging thoughts or offered a blessing for the birthing and each of us added a bead to a small felt basket. Nina has since turned them into a birthing necklace which she will wear until baby is here and then later, she'll incorporate them into a dreamcatcher, as a symbol of all the hopes and dreams for this babes new life.

I had organised some arty, painty creative bits (of course!) and spent a few minutes explaining what I had provided and how to do the activities. My Golden Girl wanted a small book to record babys firsts, so with watercolour, pencils and pre cut pages ready, the girls decorated and conversed to their hearts delight.

I'd spent the previous week designing and drawing up a mandala on a large piece of canvas with the intention of sewing up a cushion. The plan was to get everyone to paint a round, although the larger rounds were done by two or three at a time! It was interesting to hear some women saying they hadn't painted for years and being quite reluctant to try, although when they did they realised how soothing and enjoyable wielding a paintbrush could be! Hearing that, makes me more determined to encourage women to express themselves with paint, paper and glue through classes and workshops. I have a plan!!!

There was also going to be another mandala done in henna on the beautiful round belly but sadly the henna needed a few hours to be ready and we hadn't realised that before. We made do with some lovely ripe chocolate cervixes complete with emerging jelly babies!!

There was a lot of eating and chatting and sharing of birthing stories and babyhood and, I think, all the lovely women in our life went home a little richer in spirit. A friend shared how much more meaningful she felt this was, compared to a regular type of baby shower and its given me a nudge to offer to organise something like this for other expecting mamas. We'll see.

At the end of the day, we waved them all good-bye - mamas, babies, children, grandmamas - cleaned up a little, rehashed some extra good bits, wondered at the beautiful pages that had been made and washed up paint brushes. My girl was feeling so special, loved and vibrant and all set for another birthing and I felt relieved that it had all gone so well, been so well received.

Each of us went home with a piece of the birthing wool wrapped around our wrist - a symbol of our support for her during labour, which will be removed when bub has arrived. Interestingly, I have two - the green one and that pink one which was from an April womens circle held with my beautiful friends in NSW, honouring my transition to MidWoman or Maga. Two quite different stages of life and two which most women will enter and travel through, with varying degrees of equanimity.

Now, to wait.


Edited to add - here is a link to the first Blessingway we had for my girl. A different one, seeing as she was having a summer baby. And I just noticed that we had jellybabies then too ;) 

knitting but not reading

Doesn't the photo look gorgeous? 

Much nicer than in real life, although it is very bright then too! 

I'm knitting another little cardigan for the Tiny Granddaughter and this one is a bit more challenging for my new knitting skills. It's called Playful Stripes and so far so good! 

Initially I wanted to use up some of the leftover wool I had but in actual fact I ended up buying most of it new because I couldn't work out how to make it with more stripes. There will be wool left over again so perhaps next time I'll pick a pattern that does use up various stash wools!

You may notice that the green border on the left hand piece is different from the piece on the right? Thats because I couldn't wait to start knitting and only had the pink and two greens, so the greens became the border. When I started the sleeve (after having purchased a few extra colours) I decided that it needed a 'zinger' colour so added the orange. It's only a play cardi so it wont matter, I think but it's supposed to be finished for Christmas........!

Let me tell you about needles..... (say I who really doesn't have much of a clue!!!) I do know what feels good to use though, so maybe that gives me some kudos, eh? 

Anyway, originally I was given a pack of bamboo circular needles by a friend and thought they were pretty much the ant pants! After all, here I was, a new knitter and all, using circulars!! Oh my, the prestige, I thought! And I was very happy with them. 

Fast forward to the beginnings of this project where I needed a variety of circular needle sizes and lengths and stopped by a shop to stock up. The lovely lady there encouraged me to try the Knit Pro Symfonie Interchangeable needles and oh my, what a difference! 

So smooth! 

Such elegant points!

What delightful colours! 

I'm sold!! 

No kidding, they really are fantastic and smooth - the wool glides along the plastic cable bits beautifully and the handy little locking device keeps them securely done up. And the cables are in my fave colour too!! 

I've just realised that I"m supposed to be doing some reading along with the knitting but alas there's not much of that going on right now. The Diggers club catalogue for garden and gift inspiration and a quick peek into my Trim Healthy Mama ebook for a recipe now and then, thats about all. 

Thanks for stopping by to see what I'm doing! 

Joining in with Ginnys Yarn Along today. 

Ich bin amall wieder beim stricken. Eine kleine rosa rote Jacke für die kleinste maus im haus! Aber nicht heuer weil jetzt kommt ja der Sommer, sondern nächstes Jahr für den Herbst und Winter. Ich komm leider nicht zum viel lesen aber das stricken kann ich immer wieder abheben und eine reihe machen daweil ich mit meine Kinder rede oder ihre schule Unterricht. Ich mochte es fertig machen vor Weihnachten aber wehr weis ob das auch wert!!  

just in time for spring!!

It's done! Finished and on the babe! 

And she is looking so cute! 

I loved knitting this - quite easy for a beginner like me, knitted up quickly, giving almost instant gratification! 

Spring has sprung here in the southern most state of Australia. Daffodils are blooming at every corner, plum blossoms are dusted over branches that were bare just a few short weeks ago, the grass is lush and has that certain tinge of green that only spring grass has and, in paddocks everywhere, there are sweet little lambs frisking about! 

This is the Elf's first spring - well, the first one she can actually get amongst and it's such a joy to see her stumbling about in the sweet spring grass! Everything is new again in the eternal cycle of rebirth but for her it is new, new. And because she is new too, there is a freshness for us looking on and watching, while she discovers and delights. 

She reminds me so much of my daughter at that age, both of them blonde haired, blue eyed, fresh faced and eminently kissable!! 

LOVE!!  

look what i can do!!

My dear mama taught me to knit many years ago, but it was too slow for me, this going to and fro in minute increments...... with barely a change in size to show for all that needle clacking.  

I knitted a couple of vests - one of which I still wear - and that was that. 

I had some babies, sewed lots of clothes and quilts, learnt smocking, embroidery, crochet and cooking. 

Wool was for finger knitting at the Steiner kindergarten or for hanging up shell and driftwood mobiles, right?? 

When I discovered this bloggy world, I read how so many lovely women were knitting up a storm and I was intrigued. 

Jackets, beanies, socks, casting on, cable and icord; lots of gorgeous hand knits and baby knits and home decorating knits; luscious alpaca, fluffy angora and silk blends; terms that slowly, slowly made sense and gave me a gentle nudge to perhaps give two sticks and a bit of string another try.

And then I had a granddaughter. Stuy and the children suggested that I had better start knitting now that I was a granny. In fact its a bit of a joke for them now, ribbing me about Granny.com!! 

So I did have a try..... and it must be like riding a bike, because although I was slow and couldn't read a pattern, I could still knit!! Yep, it just came back or was there but hidden, all along. 

I knit in the continental style, so spent quite a while searching for how to's and videos that would tell me what ssl and yoh meant! 

First a tiny vest, then a beanie or two, and now another vest (Pickles Plain vest) with button holes!! There's no stopping me now! 

The little one was ho hum, her mama was suitably impressed, and I am ecstatic!! 

I can knit!!!! 

I am a knitter!!!!

How exciting is that?? 

Meine mama hatt mir stricken gelernt wenn ich ganz jung war aber außer zwei Vesten, hab ich nie mehr was gestrickt.

Und dann bin ich Großmutter geworden.

Großmütter tun ja stricken, nit? So hab ich müssen schnell wieder lernen wie es geht. Und jetzt hab Ichs geschafft - hier ist eine Veste fix fertig und auf die süsse Lola.

Jetzt kann ich mich selbst auch Strickerin nennen!!    

repurposed nappy

One would think that I have enough to do with packing and organising for The Trip, but obviously I like to live on the edge........ and packing has been relegated for next week! Instead, I zipped up these four little bibs out of an old tie dyed nappy that was too thin to use for a tiny bottom. This small girl is a dribbler and badly needed something to catch all that drool - can you see the dark marks on her mamas top?  

I sized the pattern to fit four on the nappy and used a selection of leftover flannelettes for the backing, finishing them off with a button and machine made button hole. 

That was another item crossed off my ever so long list!!!  

And tonight we drew the winner of my give away........ we used the Random Generator Hat and The Mechanical Multicoloured Arm! Well, alright we gave the Best Man the privilege of drawing a name and getting a mention here.....!  

So, knitgirl66, I'll be sending you these Tassie goodies just as soon as I can get in touch with you! 

Joining in with Natural Suburbias Creative Friday again. 

There are always so many creative items over at Linda's on a Friday that I spend too many late nights looking through - well worth it though, just for the inspiration! Thanks Linda!!  

visiting

Last weekend we had a visit from a Tiny Elf and her mama. She is adorable (the Elf, that is, although I am partial to her mama too!) and there was a considerable amount of vying amongst younger family members for cuddle rights! 

I managed to get a nice snuggle while the rest of the clan chuckled over her new look in the gnome hat that I finally finished for her. I made a size for a 6 - 12 month old so it's still a bit big, but she still looked rather cute with the ears turned up. 

The Best Man stopped working and went for a wander in the great out doors with her - she looks quite happy sucking her fingers and dreaming right along with him! 

Alas, I did not knit her pixie hat - it came from a market stall and is just the cutest thing!! 

My apologies to all of you that are not related either by family or friendship to our new little one. I have had a few gentle reminders that I need to post some more pics for far away loved ones to drool over and am merely satisfying their requests!! 

I will be a bit sporadic in this space this next week as I have a very dear friend staying here over Easter - and we have a lot of chatting to do..........! 

Granny break...

Right........ sorry about that.......... I've been having a little granny break - you know, using the time to gain a bit of wisdom in the art of grand-mothering! In order to do that I had to visit with my Golden Girl for four days and help her get settled and allay any dilemmas she may have had. 

Well, ok...... what I really mean is that I've been smooching and cuddling the newest family member for the last four days ............oh, and knitting. Yes, knitting!!! 

You see, the Best Man said I'd need to learn how to knit really well so I could get my Granny Ticket, which I believe is like a Fork Lift Driver Ticket or maybe a Chainsaw Operator Ticket where you do a short course and then you're a pro! 

So that's what I've been doing - knitting...... and smooching. Because smooching the new little one must account for a large part of the New Granny course, don't you think? 

I saw the cute little Pebble Vest that Soulemama whipped up for her newest babe and thought to myself that I could just about knit that in a reasonable space of time (not three years like my sock!) With the guidance of the lovely lady on Knitting Help who explains all the stitches in both continental and regular style, I have almost managed to finish it. Yes, there will be a proud Tah Da post soon!!  

The wool is from a garage sale and I used the only needles that I happened to find amongst my sewing treasures. Hoping that it would work out anyway, I cast on.........all the wrong gauge of course but I added an extra few rows and another button hole to lengthen it and it kind of looks in proportion. 

Of course, the hands on module of my Granny Ticket was an absolute joy to work on!! 

I passed with flying colours!!!  

Dyeing with turmeric

About 6 weeks ago, we were finally reunited with all the belongings that we'd left behind in a storage bay when we moved to Tassie. It's been almost 4 years since our move and while a lot of stuff hadn't been thought of in all that time, some had been sorely missed and eagerly waited for. 

The baby clothes from my little ones were some of the things that we really wanted because of course they are needed for the new arrival ...when it finally makes an entrance!! I had kept a lot of baby bits partly because I am a hoarder and also because I'm sentimental... I love to see my babes in blankets or jumpsuits that an older one has worn or that I'd made for my first born. 

And now I get to pass them on to a new generation! 

So when we unloaded all the boxes we immediately peeked into, and sorted out, some useful items for the new mama to take home. One of them was this tiny double breasted cardigan for a new born, which unfortunately had some stains near the neck. What to do? 

I had read about dyeing with turmeric before but not enough to be really sure of what to do - I was a bit worried that I would felt the jumper by putting it in hot water and stirring! 

Then just by chance I met a lovely lady at a little market who was spinning and selling wool that she had dyed with natural dyes such as paprika and turmeric. We had a good chat and she gave me some encouragement and a 'recipe' to dye my little jumper. Now I must stress here that I literally scribbled down her words as she spoke and I'm pretty sure this is how it goes although I feel it needs some fine tuning! She told me that it only works with animal fibres so I refrained from adding the white bunny rug that I'd planned to dye too! 

This is what she said...... and I did -

Fill a large pot with enough cold water to cover whatever you are dyeing and 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Add garment or wool and leave to sit over night. 

Next day, remove garment and squeeze excess water back into pot.

Add 3 or 4 tablespoons of salt and enough turmeric to make the desired colour.

Add garment and bring to simmering point.

Simmer for 5 to 10 mins using a wooden spoon to push the garment around gently. DON'T felt it!! 

Leave in pot to cool over night.

Rinse in cold water until water runs clear.  

You can see in the pic with the pot of water that the cardy is a bright orange colour - next time I'll go a bit easier on the turmeric. I added about 5 dessert spoons of the stuff and got a surprise when I pulled it out!! It reminded me very much of Buddhist monks and saffron coloured robes!

Once I'd rinsed it and rolled it in a towel to remove the excess water, the colour became a bit lighter but still several shades darker than I'd wanted. Even the buttons turned a bright yellow!

And then I hung it in the sun to dry....... and that was a mistake. It was a hot day, I went to town in the afternoon and when I returned and brought it inside I noticed the colour had faded in certain areas. I'm sure it was the sun because where it had been folded it was still quite bright.  

Now I'm not sure what to do - wash it and hope some more dye comes out to even it all up? Lay it in the sun with the dark bits showing and the rest covered? Or leave as is and see it as a lesson learned?