ted and agnes

socks socks glorious socks.....

at last I've finished my first ever pair of socks and am onto my 2nd & 3rd pair....I'm so chuffed

Knitting has been great as the Lily Rose lump gets bigger and I retreat off to bed earlier, I feel like I am doing something useful rather than just slothing about in bed at 7pm watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! As you can see my 2nd pair of socks and a wool nappy wrap in progress

Its also good for a bit of hand quilting but I find it harder to concentrate for some reason.

I'm also having a few issues with arranging my home water birth at the moment as the Trust I am under has a No water birth policy which is very backward and foolish of them in my opinion and that I will be asked to stand up to deliver...no chance! I was shocked to find out yesterday that some months they have a 50% csection rate....glad I won't be birthing there. So I have been called to a meeting with my midwife next week and we shall see what happens but lots of letter writing in the next couple of days.

I feel its such a shame that women have this struggle to have the birth that we want and I think so many women have forgotten/given up on their bodies and let medical intervention take over. Luckily I have a slight advantage that I grew up with a Mum who was a midwife for 30 years and into natural child birth and having the inside scoop I decided at an early age that I would be having waterbirths. Both Jake & Tom were born in water (Tom at Home) with no intervention, complications or drugs and both births were so amazing, wonderful and quick that I believe every woman should have the chance to experience birth as they want it not how midwives, consultants & uncle Tom Cobbly & all want it.

Don't get me wrong there is every need for the wisdom & experience of intervention at birth when something is wrong but I feel its become the norm for many maternity services to intervene when maybe not neccessary.

Rant over and what that got to do with socks honestly!!!!

our favourite place for lunch

I love going out for lunch it always feels like such a treat and it gives me a break + I don't have to do the washing up! So as today was the last day free before Keith goes bak to work we decided to go to our favourite place...The Highwayman Inn

This has been a relatively new find for us and meets everything we need as a family out to lunch...The food is a joy, the childrens meals are smaller versions of the adult menu, not something nasty with chips, the ingredients are locally sourced, fresh & delicious.....and I love the milkshake bottles...hands up who remembers these from school, not with lovely chocolate milk shake though but the warm nasty stuff that had sat in the sun for a few hours....bleugh...

and after the lancashire hot pot & pickled red cabbage

and the lemon meringue pie was simply divine

and to top it all off the staff are lovely, polite & cheerful, its spotlessly clean and you always know that whatever you order will be excellent...only 5 mins from Kirby Lonsdale so if you are ever in the area I can highly recommend it for a bite but get there early as it fills up fast.

taggy chicken, delicious baby apparel and yet more unfinished business

Finally finished the taggy chicken in a flourish of activity last week....

Once I've worked out how I will post a pattern to download.

Dropped into my fav shop yesterday Parma Violet in Kirkby Lonsdale and bought my first (new) baby piece of clothing made by Organics for Kids. I rather indulged a little as so far I been tring to make, use charity shops and hand me downs and so I figured the money I'd saved could be spent on more expensive deliciousness

I love the idea of nightgowns rather than a sleepsuit, all snuggled in but room to wriggle about and if the party going on in my tummy at various times of the day and night is anything to go by then Lily Rose will like a good kick about!!

I have also started another couple of bits(just to add to the 50 half finished projects already waiting in the wings) a rose square blanket to match the colours of the room and a quilt which was orginally going to be the blind for the nursery but didn't cut enough squares....and note to self 'I am NOT starting any more projects til all these are finished' so the floral union jack cushions will have to wait!!!

 

then there is the nursery....see I have made some progress! I am determined to get stuck in this afternoon after I've had my sock knitting heel lesson before bump grows far too big to do anything slightly creative other than knit & sew.....

who forgot to get the bread out the freezer....

oops me! So time to rumage through the empty cupboards (day before monthly shop...cupboard really is bare) to see what I could rustle up for brekkie.......30 mins later

Soda bread....

450g plain flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

25g butter

300mls buttermilk

Preheat oven to 200 & lightly flour a baking tray. Sift flour, salt & Bicarb into a bowl then gently rub in the butter. Add enough buttermilk to form a soft dough. Knead gently for 1-2mins, shape into round (or whatever shape you fancy) place on baking tray and with a sharp knife slash across the top. A little sprinkle of flour, in the oven for 30-35mins until well risen and slightly brown...

This is my usual recipe but in times of emergency like this morning I used bread flour, baking marg & semi skimmed milk as replacements

Cool slightly on a wire rack then scoff....before anyone else gets up!

with a cup of my fav tea

I am such a sucker for packaging and this tea just jumped off the shelf at me, so I had to try it and as it turns out a really nice breakfast cuppa.

I also wanted to say a quick but very big thankyou to Jo my strawberries & cream swap partner for sending me this delicious parcel and strawberry carmex...genius invention

and lots of lovely ribbon to add to the taggy chicken i am going to try to make today....

on to pastures new

I really meant to post this on Friday  but a few things got in the way so better late than never!! My little Jake has left Primary school and is moving on up... It has been a brilliant last week even though the highlight of the year 'Sports Day' was cancelled again due to the rain... Tuesday was the fab summer performance which in my foolish pregnancy head forgot the camera twice (pm & eve performances) Weds was the fab leavers church service...thankyou Mrs Harper you did a fab job

(sorry about the appalling photo, bit blurry from the back of the church wobbling around with my hands above my head)

a fab heartfelt rendition of 'Consider yourself' by the year 5's. Jake also performed a recorder solo, 'in your dreams' from Lord of the Rings which was also brill and then there was the leavers disco on Thursday, lots of gadding about & yummy food and his final whole school picnic in the pouring rain up to Ingleborough Cave and there we have it.

He recieved a lovely folder with various pieces of work over the years which I shall scan in and add to the post later....Love you Jakee my special squirrel!

at last I've cracked it.....

knitting socks that is, 2 together on a circular needle and I do in fact think I'm hooked.

I have been drooling over the fine socks created by the amazing Jane over at yarnstorm and struggled with trying to crack the mystery of tiny little dpns, thrown the wool across the room on several occassions and vowed never again and to admire from afar......then the wonderful Sandra at Beckside yarns let me into a magical secret of socks on a circular needle knitted from the toe up.....and there you have it, although I haven't braced the heel yet that's lesson 2!

I've also finished a couple of these cute tank tops and a pom pom beret. The striped one is in Rowan's Purelife organic cotton and it is delicious to knit with. In fact I indulged in a couple more balls to knit a little cardy which hopefully will make an appearance later.

and finally my pic of the week

 

 a picture for the nursery (which is almost there....) my favouritest story ever, princess and the pea. I am hoping that Lily-Rose will be a fan as the boys were never too keen + I've started ready my top ten tales to the bump just to get a head start....I do admit that I borrowed the idea for the image from this fantastic site Hiya Kids but stitched it in my own style and I can say that I will definately be buying various items from the site its fab.

So projects on the go are....

taggy comfort chicken/ cloth dolls/dolly peg dolls

felt vegetables/dolly peg soilders for my nephew

various knitting projects for when my back is just too much

and of course the nursery...I promise promise pictures soon. Rx

introducing.........

lily - rose......well almost that will be official later in the year. Look at that little button nose.

Had the scan for 3 weeks but have been totally neglecting my blog as I have been busy beavering away on nursery, knitting & making cute little liberty clothes ( in between being crippled on the sofa with my saggy sacroiliac joint) which I shall definately be sharing soon. (not the back pain obviously!).

today i've mostly been making this.....

my cath kidston dressing gown....I've been wanting a new one for a while as my present one is bleach stained and a bit ratty. I've also made a couple of pairs of pj trousers from some lovely liberty prints & have a camisole style top in the pipeline. Whilst I am feeling chipper and not too tired I am trying to make war on the 'to do' list before the bump hinders progress...

local food heros

I've been trying for a while now to do as little supermarket shopping as possible and when neccessary only those with more ethical efforts than not and only go once a month for a stock up. So I thought I would give a mention to a couple of my local food heros.

Luckily we have an organic co-operative in the village 'Growing with Grace' which has a fab range of produce and I buy my large sacks of bread making flour from them....friendly staff and a excellent ethos and I feel good about spending my money there! Then the main reason for this post was to celebrate my fabulous farm find Sillfield Farm....

We had these for Sunday Lunch this week...

chicken parcels stuffed with wild boar & wrapped in bacon...they were delicious and the prices are highly competative with supermarket meat, the taste is far superior and no plastic cartons to deal with! (and a lovely warm welcome & service with a smile) and they look really cool too! plus I can also say that I will never buy sausages from anywhere else.

The other real treat is that when you drive up to the farm you get to see the wild boars roaming about in the woods, shuffling about in the mud, chickens clacketting about the place and a sense of harmony that animals are being well treated and cared for before their eventual fate.

So I salute you local heros keep up the good work.

Sunday show and tell

Baking done for the week, Archers caught up on and so I thought I'd do a spot of blogging...I have finally completed several of my projects this week and so I am posting a few pics for you to have a gander at if you so choose!!

I would just like to say that I don't have any intentions of turning this into a baby blog but obviously in preparation for the little one I am beavering away on various things. I am trying my best not to have to buy anything for baby in a bid to be as eco as poss, live by the principles of reducing, reusing & recycling etc that I firmly believe we all need to adopt to protect our childrens future, being inspired by several fab blogs like becoming domestic & down to earth and so far so good...plus freecycle has yet again been brilliant.

The first project completed is a baby bouncer that had already had use for 2 generations in one family and is now off to a new home. The cover had seen better days so a new one was whizzed up with some fabric from the stash.

We tried it out on baby Hector when we looked after him earlier in the week ...he seemed to like it but I think he was a little overwhelmed by the attention from Jake and Tom not quite understanding that 4mth old babies aren't really into star wars yet!

Next to be finished are a couple of crocheted cot blankets....

 

Lastly a quilt in progress, I am just handstitching at the moment so when that is complete I will bind & finish the edges...

The nursery is progressing slowly (actually a big fib beacuse I haven't done anything in there except make a bigger mess sorting my fabric stash) but I am holding out until 18th June for my next scan when we will hopefully find out whether its a girl/boy. So then thing will busy up until I am too heffalumpus to move!

My next project are some wool nappy wraps. I have been kindly given lots of washable nappies, I plan to make some also and have found this great site selling fabric for that purpose and would prefer not to use any plastics for the wraps. SInce I had used traditional terries & the Kooshies with the two boys I had not heard of using wool (in the dark days before the www) before but it came highly recommended by a lady that had given me some nappies earlier in the week. So on doing a little research found a few sites with patterns to knit so I will be giving these a go and will post info links later if anyone is interested.