November Roundup

So from my 'do before the baby comes' list I have:

1. Alphabuddies quilt - made the top
   
2. Slash and sew baby quilt - made the top
   
3. Stitched Noah's Ark baby quilt - stitched up a storm!
4. Bag - a christmas gift for my MIL - started
5. Sue Hawkins book marker for teacher gift - finished
6. Sue Hawkins book marker for teacher gift - finished
7. Sue Hawkins book marker for my god daughter - started
8. Blue christmas quilt - started
   
9. Red christmas quilt - started

So not a bad start. I also had a sneaky new start on a Michael Powell mini christmas design but I've put that aside for now and am going to start the Tatty Teddy birth sampler I need to do by Christmas. I really hate the TT designs because of the back stitching but my niece picked one for her first DD so wants a matching one for the second...

Everything is going okay

So I had my latest scan yesterday and, as far as they can tell, all is okay which is a relief. We also found out the sex but we're going to wait a while before we share that news with everyone, we're enjoying it as a family at the moment.

I have the another scan in three and a half weeks which is to check the heart in more detail but the sonographer said that as far as she can see all is okay so I'm a bit less stressed about that now. It's all much more real now we're over half way and we know that things are okay in there - we're starting to plan the bedroom now and come the new year it'll be all systems go to get organised.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers (yes I know it's a day late but yesterday was Thanksgiving for my little family too) and have a great weekend all of you

More time wasting...

Super Mario is still alive and well in our household and keeping me busy LOL.

I am trying to get more done around the house too and have started cutting up fabric for this years christmas quilt. To be honest all I am really focussed on is the baby scan this thursday - I can't really get my head around doing anything until I know that all is okay, still, it's only two more days to wait and then I'm hoping for a real energy burst so I can get lots done between now and Christmas.

To be fair though I might have to sell the Wii if I can't control my obsession.

All is well with me - I'm now over half way so that's a great milestone and baby is giving me a serious kicking as I type so all would appear to be well inside too. Sleep is still a luxury but I can deal with that.

Lia is loving school still and there's lots to do in the run up to Christmas - it won't be too long before she's too excited to sleep I'm sure. I've been holding her off the whole 'it's Christmas soon' thing by telling her it doesn't count till there are decorations up in the house but that's only a week away now! Why is it that days drag along but weeks fly by?

Oh dear...

I've re-discovered the joys of the Wii. I lost two hours last night playing Mario and am totally addicted! I'm wondering if it's too early to take my maternity leave LOL.

I don't play many games - I'm not a shoot-em-up kind of girl for a start - but I love Zelda games and Mario too. The first game I ever played was SuperMario Land on the SNES all those years ago and I've just discovered that it has the same level of addiction for me now as it did then.

Looks like stitching time may be curtailed by yet another 'hobby'! I have been doing a bit - mainly working on the Noah's Ark quilt but with one thing and another I've just not really had time to get my sewing machine out. I'm hoping that next weeks evenings will be spent motoring through some of my projects - if I don't I have no hope of finishing up the things I want to gift at Christmas...

Christmas is coming...

... and Joy is getting fat LOL.

Baby bump well and truly starting to make it's presence felt.

It feels a lot like Christmas around here today, or at least it smells a lot like Christmas, as I have three Christmas puddings steaming on the hob and a Christmas cake cooking in the oven. I've been the family chief pudding maker since I was 15 and some years I have made up to 8 but I cut back this year just because of time and energy. Still, it's one for our family Christmas, one for my Brother and SIL and one taster pudding for DH.

I am now flu jabbed up. Swine flu in one arm and seasonal flu in the other. Apart from general soreness in the sf arm I haven't had any nasty symptoms. It's much better today as well - just sore to touch or if I stretch it out.

We are having a nice sunday - the weather here is lovely and we're getting some jobs done then this afternoon we have friends coming over who are staying for dinner and DH is doing the cooking so I'll be able to chill out.

Jab update

Well my consultant said that there is absolutely no reason to wait till 20 weeks to have the swine flu jab so I'm booked in for it at 5.20pm tomorrow evening.

I was surprised that there was an appointment so quickly but at least it gives me less time to fret.

In other health news everything is hunky dory with the pregnancy - I'm just over 18 weeks now and can feel the baby wriggling all the time. My 'anomaly' scan is in just under two weeks and we're hoping to find out what flavour we're having then if the baby isn't sitting with it's legs crossed.

I can't believe I'm almost half way there now!

I'm done!

As of 5.30pm this evening my Christmas shopping is completed!

2010 Stash

So it's that time of year when I get all wound up about the stash I've purchased this year compared with my actual output LOL.

I worked hard to reduce my WIP list and did manage to get it down to 23 from 30 which I consider an achievement plus I also had another three finishes. But this still makes my total stitching finishes for 2009 a quite pathetic 10!

Okay, I'll console myself with the fact that since August I've done very little due to a circumstance not exactly in my control but that's still quite a small number for me. And I have certainly increased my stash by more than 10 projects during this year so, yet again, I have mild(ish) guilt.

So, 2010, the year of baby number 2 has to be different. I imagine I will be lucky to achieve anywhere near 10 finishes next year so I am fully determined to keep my stash purchases to a complete minimum. Yes I can hear you laughing at the back but I will just keep reminding myself:

'I have over 100 projects that I am totally in love with and want to complete, I don't need any more!'

I do have three commitments that will continue into 2010 - my Baby Jane BOM that isn't due to finish until April 2011 (eek!), my Tail Feathers BOM which finishes in April 2010 and my SamSarah autoship on the Alphabet Baubles (we're half way through so I imagine they will finish late next year). All other Autoships I signed up for this year finish by mid December.

So, I cannot even think I will manage no new stash in 2010 other than the above mentioned but my intention is to try. Of course having a drop in my earnings whilst on maternity leave will help focus my willpower too LOL.

I have big plans for a total spring clean before the baby comes - not just stash, the whole house - so hopefully I might even ebay some stash and get some funds to pay for the two quilting BOMs. I have pretty much whittled down my charts and kits to things I am determined to stitch at some point but I have an awful lot of hand-dyed fabric that I know I just won't use so that can go.

Swine Flu

So I'm in the top two risk categories for complications from Swine Flu. Yay me.

However the policy in the UK is that the vaccination is not given to pregnant women until they are 20 weeks or over which give me another two weeks before I can have the vaccination (I have had a letter inviting me to have it done so I can go as soon as I hit the magic number).

I don't tend to worry too much about this kind of thing but given how much the risk of complications rises just because you are pregnant (you are approximately 10 times more likely to end up in intensive care) I'm a little nervous.

Even more so when this morning Lia's teacher confirmed there is a suspected case of swine flu in her class...

Christmas Shopping

Well I've officially started! My Mum, Sister, Niece and I all pay into a 'Christmas Club' bank account over the year - so 12 monthly payments - and we then get a nice lump sum to pay for Christmas.

I got my payment this weekend so I just put in a very large Amazon order that will cover DH's birthday (Boxing Day) and my Great Niece, Nephew and Godson's Christmas plus some things for me and Lia (just because!)

We don't buy presents for adults in my family as it's so expensive and a bit daft to just be swapping stuff we don't really need. There's enough kids now that it's just easier to buy for them. We do buy for each other and my Mum still and she for us but that's all. We do also buy for the Greeks as they get a bit more offended if we don't get them anything but I leave that to DH to organise.

Lia is getting a bicycle this Christmas and it's already paid for as DH's Grandmother gave some money for Lia a while back. We have a few small bits and pieces for her but I don't see us getting her a big present too, she was spoiled enough last year!

DH wants a telescope but is still looking to decide which actual one he would like. He's lucky because his family all give him money for Christmas and his birthday so he should have a nice sum to put towards whatever he chooses, I'll also give him some money too but have got him a book and DVD so he does at least have something extra to open on the day.

Now I just have to turn out my 'toy store' cupboard to see what's there that I can give out as gifts - I buy things over the year in the sales so I can usually cover at least half of the kids gifts I need from that.

Ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Don't tell anyone but I got one of the new Michael Powell kits in the post today (I ordered it when I went to Ally Pally) and instead of focusing on my to do list I just had to start it...

Noah's Ark Baby Quilt

So here's my progress on the Noah's Ark stitched quilt. I've been working on this pretty much any time I have free and it actually stitches up pretty quickly. I wouldn't say it was a fun stitch though, the pre-quilting means it can be a bit of a bugger in places as I chose not to have threads showing on the back so I'm stitching only through the top two layers. In some places the pre-quilting is so tight that this can be a real struggle!

I also don't like how it looks stitched with the blue still showing but that's just be being daft and once it's all done the blue markings will disappear with a wash. Sorry it's a bit of a naff photo but I'm just going to have to face the fact that I'm crap at getting good pics!

My Framed Happy Haunting

I've had this for about a month now and only just got round to taking the pics. Badly. I apologise for the flash mark but at least you can see the mounts and framing which are absolutely superb!

And just as a reminder here's the completed stitching

Christmas Stocking

Last Saturday I went to a quilting course and we made a quilted Christmas Stocking. I totally over-achieved during the class and was the only one who finished and here it is:

It was a fun day and certainly motivated me to be getting on with projects at home - I miss my sewing machine!

School disco and Halloween

Lia had her first school disco just before half term - it only lasted 45 mins for the little kids but they loved it. Here she is posing with one of her new school friends:

And here's her enjoying some Halloween fun with Daddy - the local John Lewis branch had a whole day of free activities so there was cookie making, pin the wart on the witch, a treasure hunt and more sweeties than you can imagine!

Getting Started

Well I had a very productive day yesterday despite having a three hour 'power nap' in the afternoon. My plan to get the sewing machine out was unsuccessful but I did:

1. Cut out three quilt tops
   
2. Sort out some fabric for the binding of the two Christmas stockings I have to make
3. Choose the colours for the three Sue Hawkins bookmarkers and cut the thread to the right length
4. Locate the Winnie the Pooh book panels
5. Stitch on the Noah's Ark Quilt

I'm definitely feeling fired up - posting the list yesterday has certainly focussed my mind. Today I have to find and order some backing fabric for the Advent panels and I'll probably need to order some wadding this month too as there's no way I have enough for all the projects I want to do. I will wait a bit though so I can better estimate the amount to order.

So, does that help or hinder your guess as to how many I'll finish before the end of March?

November Goals

So, in line with my post on 25th October I am slightly changing my goals list as I have a long list of things I want to complete before the baby arrives.

The list splits roughly into four categories - things I want to do for the baby, things I want to gift, things I'd like to do for christmas and things that I really could do with finishing because they are lying around making the place look messy! Having done this before I am fully aware of how little crafting I am going to get done after the baby arrives so clearing out this little lot will be a big bonus.

Anyway, here's the list and I will keep it updated over the next five months - anyone care to bet on how well I do? I'm sure I can come up with some sort of prize if anyone gets the right answer - pick a number between 1 and 30 and leave a comment on this post before I post my first update on 30th November and we will see who is closest. If people guess the same correct number I'll get Lia to draw a name from a hat.

For the Baby

1. Silly Safari Quilt - blocks and border all made, it just needs to be put together and quilted
2. Alphabuddies quilt - not started
3. Slash and sew baby quilt - not started
4. Raggedy pram quilt - not started
5. Stitched Noah's Ark baby quilt - working on

Christmas Gifts

1. Bag - a christmas gift for my MIL
2. New Baby Sampler - for my Great Niece, promised by Christmas
3. Baby Quilt - for my Great Niece as a Christmas gift
4. Winnie the Pooh quilted book - Christmas gift for my nephew, cut out
5. Sue Hawkins book marker for teacher gift - not started
6. Sue Hawkins book marker for teacher gift - not started
7. Sue Hawkins book marker for my god daughter - not started
   

To be done for Christmas

1. Christmas Stocking - pre quilted and have been cut out so just need to be put together
2. Christmas Stocking - pre quilted and have been cut out so just need to be put together
3. Advent panel - not started
4. Advent panel - not started
   
5. Blue christmas quilt - fabric sorted
6. Red christmas quilt - fabric sorted
7. Christmas panel 1 - started last year, needs finishing off
8. Christmas panel 2 - started last year, needs finishing off

For Stash Reduction

1. Scream House - all the stitching done
2. Plaid quilt - two blocks made
3. Bag - a birthday present for my Mum last August
   
4. Grandma's thread minder - stitching all done
5. Jingle In the Tin - stitching all done
6. Boo In the Tin - stitching all done
7. Hop In the Tin - stitching all done
8. Sue Hawkins pin cushion - stitching all done
9. Flannel quilt for Lia - top made, quilting to do
10. Table topper - it's done other than finishing the quilting and sewing some binding