Feeling sheepish...

Hmmm, two weeks have passed and I haven't been blogging, I've been reading plenty but not adding to my own, why? I keep asking myself why not and the best I can come up with is I don't know what to write! It's such a blanket excuse but it's the best I can come up with. During the day I usually think of something I could write about but when it comes time to sitting down at the computer do you think I can remember what it was going to be about - no of course not! Anyway I can't make this whole post a lament about my lack of things to write about, I'll just do it and see what happens.
Today is my friends birthday, she also gave birth to a little girl today, two months early. I don't know what the details are, I just got the message that she was born, is 1.6kg and mum and baby are doing well. I can't help but worry, I guess it's just natural to do so. I've been telling myself that two months early in this day and age isn't too drastic and I'm sure she's getting the best possible care. I'll just have to put myself into action instead and start making some of those lovely Saartje's booties for the teeny tiny little feet, and keep thinking positive thoughts.

Yes, I'm wearing a beret!

I would never have thought of myself as someone who wears berets, but now I've made myself one I'll just have to see if it ever gets worn!! Being new to knitting I thought that I should start with quick, simple patterns and so this one appealed to me, being a Jo Sharp pattern and all. It was fun to make and I would consider making another one in the future so I guess that's a positive sign. I'm starting to get more adventurous now though and have bought some beautiful Rowan Felted Tweed to make Kim Hargreave's Dusk, a nice simple wrap around cardigan. I'm very much looking forward to my Finishing Class tomorrow so that I can get that extra information that I need to help my confidence in getting something finished to a wearable standard....more updates later!

Heartbreaking

Yesterday and today my little man has not been himself, so much so that today I took him to the Doctor. The poor little thing has been running a temperature, has not wanted to eat (which is very unusual) and has just been lying on the couch wanting to cuddle up to me. Usually I'm having to chase him around the house and am constantly telling him he can't jump on the couch or stand on the coffee table. Luckily the doc says he's ok, just a bit of fluid in his ear which isn't infected, so hopefully he'll be back to his usual bubbly self tomorrow. It was just heartbreaking knowing that he was hurting and he couldn't tell me what it was. It made me think of how terrible it must be to have a little one sick in hospital with something serious and thankful that we're not having to deal with that horror.

This Is...what I do with a spare 10 minutes

Hmmm, this one's a tricky one, there are so many things I try to do with a spare 10 minutes. These days I try and squeeze in some knitting, or I peruse knitting pattern books, or a cooking magazine, or any other magazine, or a few blog spots, or visit Ravelry, or......
As you can see the list can go on. I guess I'm pretty lucky really, being a stay at home mum to master 20 months I can try and squeeze as many 10minute breaks as I dare, usually at the expense of cleaning the bathroom, or ironing or the many other household things I should be doing. I figure that if I'm happy my little boy will be happy and therefore the rest of the household will be happy, that's my excuse any way.

PS I forgot to mention that a few squares of chocolate usually also feature in my spare time breaks, a bad habit that I'm trying to break.

Thanks to Hoppo Bumpo for this week's thought provoker, and to Handmaiden for hosting This Is while Three Buttons is enjoying a holiday.

This Is...My favourite band of all time

Oops, I almost forgot this one, and it's such an easy one to answer. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is my all time most favourite band, has been for nearly twenty years now I reckon (wow, how's that for making me feel old!!). I love his voice, his anger, his poetry, his sadness, his style, his dry Australian humour....everything. I also got very excited when looking at the tv guide for this week to see that SBS are showing a documentary this coming Saturday on one of his albums. I'd be hard pressed to pick one as an absolute favourite as there are so many but the ones on high rotation are 'Henry's Dream', 'The Good Son' and at the moment 'Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!'. As for concerts, I have attended many and have never been disappointed, they are a truly professional band with an impeccable ability together. I could go on gushing for ages but I will leave it here with thanks to CurlyPops for this week's 'This Is..' and for helping me remember that I do have a favourite band and did once have the time for listening to music other than that by 'The Wiggles'.

Spring= New Beginnings

September is here already and after two beautiful spring like days, the tail end of winter has decided to remind us that it's not quite over yet, for today anyway. As usual I've promised myself that with the new warmer weather starting my lazy ways are going to change. Rather than talk about losing weight, I'm actually going to do something about it, I even bought the exercise bike to help that along. My nephew's christening is six weeks away so I've got until then to lose the 10kilos gained after finishing breastfeeding. It doesn't sound like too much but I have a feeling that these lumps and bumps are going to be stubborn, especially seeing as I like my chocolate too much.

I'm also going to see if I can find a good playgroup for my son to join, he's so full of energy that I think it would be good for both of us if he can go somewhere to burn some of it up. I think too that with the warmer weather we should make better use of the beach that we have near by, there's a great kiddy pool there that he can splash around in.

There are other plans too, but rather than list them all here I'll keep a couple with me and will maybe expand upon them at a later date. Hmmm, sounds mysterious doesn't it?

This is...My favourite fabric/craft supplies shop

Unfortunately, living in Wollongong does not provide many options on the craft side of things, so the internet has become my place to shop. I recently found one site that I found to be a great source of Jo Sharp wool and books (she is my new hero after all). Thicket is a beautiful site, with a fantastic feel, or you could say atmosphere, and when you join the mailing list you get a little welcome package with a couple of samples of various yarns in your favourite color (see earlier post). You also get complimentary patterns periodically, I received Faolin which is in my queue to be made up soon.

As for actual stores to walk into Tapestry Craft in Sydney is a great place to be, if a bit on the expensive side. I like the fact that whenever you walk in there on the weekend there is always a group sitting around the table knitting and chatting. It's usually a class but that's great, in fact I've signed up to their Finishing Class later this month so that I can learn the basics for finishing a piece nicely so that I don't look like a complete hack and so that I can move on from making scarves for the rest of my life.

Thanks to Handmaiden for this weeks This Is... and head over to Three Buttons to learn more about joining in (I'm still tagging along unofficially).