Bump Camoflage

Spring has finally sprung, there are little flowers popping up in the garden, and the past two days have been warm. Too warm to hide away in my big maternity coat and woolly scarf.
Today I felt positively light headed on my way home from school,but I'm not ready to give up my safety blanket of coat and scarf either, so I've just ordered myself a lovely new coat from Boden.



I'll need a nice light scarf to wear with it I think, so might go fabric hunting in my stash later....Oh the Anna Maria Voiles would make a lovely scarf.....

An Accidental Make

An accidental make, originally uploaded by indiaeden.

I've been working on something else this week, drafting and re drafting a pattern for a baby/toddler dress for a secret project. I got to a point where I needed some haberdashery supplies, and being the great big wuss I am I decided I'd rather start on something else than actually get in my car and (eeek!) drive to the store to buy supplies.

So I started work on this little newborn baby smock, but clearly my brain was still in dress mode, because I completely forgot to put in the sleeves on the smock! Still, it's quite cute anyway, and I am expecting a summer baby...plus, I have enough fabric left to make one with sleeves.

The voile sews up lovely too, I used french seams, and pondered a rolled hem, which although would work well on this fabric I decided against, because I prefer a proper hem.

Oh yes, and it fastens on the shoulders with little buttons.

And a Little Knotty Hat

And a little knotty hat, originally uploaded by indiaeden.

Now There are Two

A pair, originally uploaded by indiaeden.

Made using this pattern, and leftover Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.

Oh yes, and check out Anna Maria's blog for the full low down on her voiles. I so so want more of these.

More Treats

More treats, originally uploaded by indiaeden.

These gorgeous fabrics arrived yesterday, and I'm in love. These are the Voiles from Anna Maria Horner, and nothing I had read about how lovely they are had prepared me for their gorgeousness. They are so soft, light and tactile. I wish I'd ordered more, and even prefer them to my usual summer faves, Liberty Tana Lawn.
The blue dobby is destined to be newborn trousers, and the print a little smock style top.
They should go perfectly with the cardigan I finished the other day and these bootees...well when I've knitted the matching one.



Hopefully, a coming home outfit for baby.
( This is where I want to add in all the doom and gloom stuff that spins round in my head, but I wont, I'll be a good girl ..)

Treated Myself

Blankets?, originally uploaded by indiaeden.

After a huge de clutter of my fabric supplies the other week, I decided to treat myself to just a few yards of some fabrics I'd had my eye on for some time.
This is one of them. Three yards of Anna Maria Horners Folksy Flannel, Forest Hills in Moonlight. I love these colours, and look how well they go with the blanket I've been working on for baby.
This fabric will be a receiving blanket, and possibly more,I haven't decided yet.
I'm not finding it easy to balance my need to prepare for this baby, with my fears for this baby.
Part of me so wants to let go of the pain, and fear and enjoy the process of sewing and knitting sweet baby things, while another part of me is paralysed with fear.
I know doing these things can't kill my baby, but I also know I have a cupboard downstairs stuffed full of all the baby things I prepared for Florence.
So, I tell myself, this baby deserves things made just for him (or her!), and even if I'm just being practical, this baby will need at least one outfit and one blanket...
I wish it wasn't so hard.

First Cardigan

First Cardigan, originally uploaded by indiaeden.

Hmmm, this feels weird. I didn't expect to finish this quite so quickly. I've wrapped it and hidden it away for now.

Louise Cardigan from Vintage Baby Knits by Kristen Rengren. I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK.

Blankets

Blankets, originally uploaded by indiaeden.

It's been a while since I've made any blankets for my local hospital bereavement suite. these are double sided minkee/flannel or minkee/knit.I'm trying to get a package together for next time I visit the hospital. Next on my list are burial pouches for the really tiny ones.
Tiny hats too, they knit up in no time.

Hope

DSC_0002, originally uploaded by indiaeden.

In every stitch.....

Never Enough

Florence, originally uploaded by indiaeden.

When Florence was born Woody grabbed the camera from the shelf and hastily took a few shots of her . Four in all, grainy hastily taken photos in poor light. The only four photos of her alive.
Later in hospital, the midwives suggested they take some more of the three of us. We were not sure at the time, after all we had four precious shots at home of her alive. The midwives took five more photos, you can clearly see the tears in our eyes on those photos.
When we took the children into the hospital to see Florence that evening,I grabbed my camera as we headed out. I took as many shots as I could of the children with their baby sister. I didn't really consider lighting or composition, and I was worrying over Florence's delicate body. Her lungs were at that point saturated with blood, and the slightest movement would cause her to bleed out through her nose.

So we have perhaps twenty photos of her, some no one outside of us have ever seen, though to us she's beautiful on every one.We know to others she may not be.

Twenty or so photos is just not enough, a thousand photos would never be enough,but I wish we'd taken more.

After seeing Sally's beautiful necklace in a recent post by her, I showed it to Woody, and he has ordered a similar one for me for Mothers Day (14th March here in the UK). I had to choose two photos for it and I wished I had more to choose from. I could never tire of looking at her, not ever.

Bounty, and I should know better.

Here in the UK, pregnant and new Mums are given Bounty Packs at various stages during pregnancy and after birth. They are really a marketing excercise, lots of big companies pay to have their products in each pack, and hopefully the new Mum will be hooked for life, but for lots of Mums it's quite exciting to get your big bag or box of freebies.
I quite enjoyed claiming my packs when India was small,but never bothered after that because I knew most of the products included were things I wouldn't use anyway.
Fast forward to now, and my curiosity got the better of me, so I filled in the form (Oh dear cue junk mail for the rest of my life!), and sent Woody off to Boots to claim my "Mum To Be Essentials" pack. I thought maybe there might be some sample sized bits and pieces useful for my hospital bag, maybe a breast pad or two, or some antibacterial gel.
I ripped open the bag, and found a bib, a spoon, some perfumed washing powder.....and a guide on caring for your baby now she's six months old!
The lady in the shop had given Woody the 6+ months bag, not the Mum To Be bag. So I have the bag I should be getting right about now for Florence...sheeesh, I should've known better!

This looks like a much better bet.