Reading

My reading mojo appears to be back with a vengence!

As long as I can remember reading has been a big part of my life - I was quite a solitary kid and regularly read a book a day - and that didn't change much all the way up until Lia's arrival. Obviously my reading levels dipped at this point as I was a little preoccupied but I've never not had at least one book on the go.

This last couple of weeks I've been seriously tired in the evenings - work plus being a Mum plus not much sleep pretty much wipes out my reserve energy stocks and stitching and quilting tend to just get put to oneside, especially on weekday evenings. However, I have been picking up books again and getting through them at something like my old speed - two or three evenings can see off a novel.

As previously mentioned reducing my stockpile of unread books is on my to do list for this year (my buying books mojo never stopped despite my reading mojo taking a dive LOL) so that was my motivation to push myself into reading more. Of course I only have approx six weeks before there'll be another reason to be preoccupied but for now I'm making the most of it.

My current reading is 'The Truth about Melody Browne' by Lisa Jewell and I highly recommend it. I don't think I've read anything from this author before but I'll certainly seek out other things she's written as this is a cracking good read and I should finish it today (I started it two evenings ago).

Has anyone seen the foot pedal for my sewing machine?

I know it's in the house somewhere. Or at least I am sure it's in the house somewhere LOL.

I want to have the machine serviced and the guy I spoke to made a point of mentioning I should bring the foot pedal in with the machine. Well I don't use the foot pedal at all and I have absolutely no idea where it might be. I know I saw it not so long ago but can I remember where?

Hopefully it'll turn up in my general tidy up of the house that is now underway. We've pretty much finished the baby's room now (just the blind to put up) and all of his stuff is in there instead of being scattered around everywhere. I have washed, dryed and ironed all the clothes, sheets, blankets, bibs, etc I have and they are all sorted and put away. We've been so lucky that I actually have excess clothes and have put aside a big bag full for a friend who is having boy/girl twins a few weeks after I'm due.

I ran through my inventory of baby stuff and there is now absolutely nothing I need. Seriously. With what we've been given, what we had stored and the odd thing that we've gone and bought the only thing that I don't have in the house right now is powdered baby milk (I intend to breast and bottle feed combined just as I did with Lia).

I am officially ready to have a baby LOL.

So now all of that stuff is safely packed away in his room I can start clearing up the piles of mess that have appeared around the house and you never know, I might even find that foot pedal...

Tail Feathers

Last June I signed up for the Buttonberry BOM for the Cinderberry Stitches Tail Feathers Quilt. I got my first months package, made up the block and started the stitchery and then it all fell apart a bit as I got pregnant!

The best laid plans and all that...

Anyway, I decided that it would be sensible to get as much of the actual block making bit of the quilt done before the baby arrives as I might then have some kind of chance of getting the stitcheries done.

It's a pretty intensive quilt top, there's definitely no way I'd do it if it wasn't a BOM as the fabric strips are all 1.5 inches wide and as well as the main parts of the blocks there are 376 one inch squares and 24 log cabin blocks each with 13 pieces! There's enough cutting as it is but if I had to cut the strips as well...

At the point I was inspired to get on I had the first seven parts of the BOM (there's 10 in all) so I put together the seven centre blocks including the appliqued birds and stitchery transfers, I cut all the mini squares and I put together the first 12 of the log cabin blocks. I now have part 8 but haven't put it together yet as I'm waiting for part 9 to arrive so I have enough fabric to make the second half of the log cabins. I'll then also put together the last two middle blocks. I'm presuming month 10 will be the final four appliqued birds in the corners of the border but they'll just have to wait till I have the time and inclination to get them done - the package should arrive around the same time as I'm in hospital giving birth LOL.

So here's the blocks I've put together so far:

Log Cabins

A couple of weeks ago I had a burst of energy and got a bunch of quilting done.

A friend mentioned an eBay seller who had some lovely batik log cabin kits and I ordered one which resulted in:

and

There are actually 16 blocks in all which I am putting together into four cushion covers, I just haven't sewn the last 8 together yet. The kits are extremely well cut and presented so I just had to buy another couple once I'd done these, the next ones being blue and purple. They arrived this week so I may just get them put together before the imminent arrival...

17 working days...

And counting!

Yep, that really is all I have left at work, two full days this week and then three more weeks to the finishing line. I can't believe it has come round so quickly but, to be honest, I'm really feeling the tiredness now so I'm glad it has.

I've also got problems with a guy at work who has major issues with me because I'm pregnant. He has major issues full stop and has, over the last couple of years, upset, angered and generally pissed off every single person in our office with his attitude and behaviour. Granted, he has several personal issues but he treats people appallingly, ie he talks to people like they are a piece of crap, and then uses his problems as a get out clause for behaving that way.

I am not unsympathetic to his problems but he certainly isn't the only one with issues and none of the rest of us feel the need to bring ours into the work place. Certainly none of us use them as an excuse for our behaviour.

Anyway, one of his problems is that he and his wife cannot have kids of their own. They do have an adopted son but this guys whole attitude is that this isn't good enough and it's not the same as having his own. In itself I find this offensive as he truly behaves like his son doesn't count in the same way as a 'real' child would. I have friends and family who have adopted children and not one of them would dream of having this attitude, equally I have childless friends who have not managed to adopt who would kill to be in the position he is in.

So, to cut a long story a little bit short, this guy cannot cope with sitting in an office with me because I am pregnant. He sent me an email telling me this and stating that it was like 'being stabbed in the guts' when I was around. To be fair, I didn't need the email as he'd made it abundantly clear that he has a problem with me - he puts his headphones on when I walk in the room, he doesn't acknowledge me speaking, he lets doors slam in my face, that kind of thing - but to have it written down in that way was really upsetting.

Thankfully my boss thought so too and he has been ordered to attend counselling and is currently only working part time hours. His attacks on me are the end of a long line of official complaints but thankfully because he did this part of it in writing (most of his previous encounters with me and other staff have been verbal) it is easier for the boss to make this an official process.

DH is, as you can imagine, a little stressed out about me being here with him and some of the other staff are also concerned that he is unhinged enough to actually harm me. Obviously I try not to think about this too much and I honestly don't think it would come to him being a physical threat to me but it is extremely uncomfortable being around him. I work in a large open plan office though and there are 20 guys around all of whom would welcome the chance to throw themselves between me and him so hopefully the next three and a half weeks will pass without incident and then I don't have to worry about him for nine months.

Another not good thing is that DH's cousin died in his sleep on Friday night. He was only 30 and, as far as everyone knew, was fit and healthy. The autopsy showed it was a massive stroke which, if one can take comfort from things, is a good thing because it means there is nothing that anyone could have done to save him. As you can imagine the whole family is devastated - he was the baby of his generation and he and DH were extremely close growing up. I never had the chance to meet him although I have met his parents and grandparents - we had hoped to catch up with him last summer but our trip to Greece was aborted due to my pregnancy.

Poor DH, I've never seen him this upset and it's awful not being able to make it better for him - it's good that he has the baby to focus on but nothing is really going to be able to fix this pain.

On the good things front we're finally making progress on the baby's room and doing that is keeping DH occupied. It's practically empty (just one chest of drawers left in there we don't have any room for anywhere else) and painting has begun. Carpet is being fitted friday afternoon so all other decorating has to be done by then but we are currently on schedule to be done so I'm not too worried. Yet. I am relying on DH getting his finger out when I'm not there to nag though (he's home doing child care for half term whilst I'm at work cos I have no holiday left).

A bit of a makeover...

So what do you think?

I thought it was time for a change and, in honour of the expected arrival I thought I'd move to a more 'boy' coloured theme for a while.

My only issue is that in changing it I have somehow lost my links to the blogs that I read. And of course I didn't have them backed up anywhere! Oh well, I guess it's an excuse to go read lots of blogs!

Another Hobby?

When we moved house my sister gave us a piano and that piano has sat in our house for two years waiting to be tuned. Yes, I am a disgrace!

However, in the spirit of getting lots of things done before the baby comes and we have no spare money for things I decided to get it sorted and, as of yesterday, the piano is now tuned and ready to go.

When I was a kid I had piano lessons for a while and then my Dad bought a Yamaha organ (go figure!) so I switched to having organ lessons and continued those for several years. Don't get me wrong, I'm no great musician but I could play well enough to entertain myself and, occasionally, others.

I can't sing a note and am unable to play by ear but give me the music for something and I can pick my way through it. I remember a family friend who would always play when he came round and he couldn't read a note of music but could play anything he'd heard and I was so envious of him but he envied me because I could play something I didn't know if you just gave me the music. Just goes to show nobody is ever happy LOL.

Anyway, it must be at least 15 years since I played anything more than Chopsticks on a piano but last night I impressed myself by picking up the sheet music for Fur Elise and, after a few run throughs, being able to play it! Okay, it's not the most challenging piece but it's a recognisable tune and I played it.

Of course I'm now obsessed with continuing to play and get back into the swing of it and am keen to get out and get some sheet music. All that's been going round in my head since yesterday is the theme from The Piano which I absolutely adore so that is my goal, to learn to play that piece. In my head I now have time - only four more weeks of work and then nine months of maternity leave - but I'm not sure that it's a realistic goal given the production of a baby very soon LOL.

The funny thing is that 36 years ago my Sister bought the piano whilst she was pregnant with her first child (I should probably say that, due to my father marrying twice, there is 24 years age difference between me and my Sis, or rather my half-Sis to be accurate) with the idea that she'd have plenty of time to play it. I don't ever remember her playing it that much but me, my Bro and my two nieces did all learn to play on it so it wasn't a wasted investment.

Still, even if I don't have much time, Lia is showing an interest in it so hopefully the next generation will learn to enjoy it as much as I do.

An update on Lia

It occurs to me that I've not mentioned Lia that much lately and if I don't boast about her achievements while she's still an only child she's likely to get even more overlooked in a few weeks LOL.

She's settled into school fantastically well and is still really enthusiastic about going which is great. She's got a 'best' friend plus a small group of good friends and has at least one play date a week at the moment (while I still have the energy to cope!) Last weekend we got her a scooter as it's the current craze and all the girls we walk home with have them. I'm not normally an indulgent parent but she was really good for the first three weeks of term and never once asked for one even though she was the only one that didn't have one.

Her school subscribes to a national maths website called Mathletics. It's not part of the curriculum, it's purely for her to do at home as additional tuition option, and it is based on the curriculum and features short exercises and tests that she gets points for completing. And we all know that Points mean Prizes!1000 points or more in a week gains her a bronze certificate that she gets given in assembly at school. Five bronze certificates get her a silver certificate and four silvers gains a gold medal. You can only gain one bronze a week so it's at least 20 weeks of consistent work to gain the medal.

We currently have four bronze certificates and she's determined to get a medal (even if she's not exactly sure what a medal is LOL). I've got a display book that I'm keeping her certificates in - as well as her maths ones she's got ones for attendance, good work and a 'star of the week' for her class. At this rate I'm going to need a much bigger book! She loves getting the certificates though so I can't complain - they really motivate her to concentrate and learn.

As for reading, again she's doing really well. She's in the higher group for reading which is encouraging and she can pretty much read the books she is bringing home to practice on. Most days she reads at least one book to us, more likely two, at bedtime and it's amazing to see her progress just since Christmas.

Thankfully, getting Lia to do all of this isn't a struggle - she absolutely loves doing it so I don't feel like a pushy parent. In fact sometimes I feel like a bad Mum as I just don't have the energy to help her as much as I should LOL.

She's growing up fast and I'm really enjoying watching her. I'm so pleased that she's settled into school and has her own things to focus on, hopefully it will make her more comfortable in her world when the baby arrives.

Oh and her current best achievement as far as she's concerned? She can finally whistle! Okay it's a bit of a windy whistle still but she is constantly practising in order to get better...

Stitching for Me!

Well Spooky Spots is now officially my second finish of 2010. Of course I don't have a picture yet but I will take one soon.

I've never been a particularly organised stitcher - to begin with I just stitched whatever I fancied, mainly finishing things before starting something else, but then, as my stash expanded rapidly so did my WIP list until I ended up with over 40 WIPs, some with literally no more than 30 - 40 stitches in.

So, at the beginning of last year I wrote myself an extremely strict rotation that was designed to reduce my WIP list dramatically and, for the first six months, it was working perfectly. Then I got pregnant. To be fair, I didn't increase my WIP list in the second half of the year but I didn't reduce it much either.

I now have a little over eight weeks before baby arrives so I am determined to just stitch on exactly what I want in 2010, new project or WIP, whatever I fancy with the only rule that anything new has to be completed so my WIP list doesn't grow. Given I have already finished one WIP from my list this year I'm pretty much guaranteed to end the year with less WIPs than I start with as long as I'm careful.

Why am I wittering on about this? Basically as justification for picking up the new Just Nan Winter Hearts Humbug as a new start last night rather than going through my WIP pile...

I am stitching!

Here's my finished Michael Powell Mini Snowy Chapel:

And here's my Shepherd's Bush Spooky Spots WIP (almost a finish now, I've made a lot of progress since I took this pic!)

Both of these were kits in my stash - the Michael Powell was started last year so is officially a WIP off my list and the Spooky Spots is a new start this year - I'm only allowed new starts this year if they are also going to be finishes too which means small projects only. I'm also mainly going to pick up small kits in my stash so I don't have to worry about any floss or fabric I don't have. See, all in the name of stash reduction!

I've also finished my second book of the year too. But I also caved in and used my christmas book token (what can I say, it was burning a hole in my pocket LOL) so three more books arrived in the house (I just can't resist a 3 for 2 offer).

Also, I had a lovely stash parcel arrive today - everything included was either a commitment or some stash additions for projects I already have but it a relatively large parcel so I'm not yet feeling that virtuous with my clearing out. It included the first Just Nan Humbug, SamSarah Alphabet Baubles N and O, a part of The Big Round Zipper, a cut of 20ct linen and a button pack for Shepherd's Bush Halloween Night and several skeins of weeks and gast.

It was a lovely thing to receive on a dull and gray Tuesday morning!

De-Cluttering

So, in six weeks I finish work and will be at home until 4th January 2011! I was originally only going to take six months leave but having worked out the money angle I decided to take nine months (with DH's full support) as we'll be no worse off months 6 - 9 if I work or I stay at home.

I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that I only have six more weeks to work THIS YEAR and I'm still going to get paid for the rest of it LOL. However, I am determined to reduce my stash intake significantly this year in all areas. So stitching, quilting, reading, toys, gadgets, general stuff that I just buy cos I like it, cute kids clothes, colouring books for Lia (seriously I have about 50 stored away!) and so on and so on, all will take a significant cut in 2010.

Right now I'm on a de-cluttering mission. It's going to have to be slow and steady but I'm determined that things will be sold/donated/trashed rather than left in boxes in the loft and garage. We have boxes we haven't touched since we moved two years ago which rather suggests that most of it is unnecessary to us continuing to live full and happy lives.

I've piled all my unread books into one place and I am picking them out one at a time, reading them and then getting rid of them - either by giving to friends or donating to charity. Okay, I'm only on book two out of about 150 but I will not go into a book shop and buy more. For definite. I have a £10 book token in my purse from Christmas that I will use if I absolutely can't cope without getting a couple of new books but other than that I will not go into a book shop! It's ridiculous that I have so many unread books - everything I own I bought because I really wanted to read it so I should actually get on and do just that.

Quilting and stitching stash will be a bit harder as I have some commitments to BOMs and stitched series but other than those I am determined to be good. Just as I bought every book because I really wanted to read it I bought every project or piece of fabric because I really wanted to stitch it so I really need to get on with doing just that.

It's not going to be easy - I can be a real spendthrift - but less money coming in and significantly less time available to me mean I'm determined to get my head into gear and try. I'm sure the longer I manage to get on with it the better I'll feel and the easier it'll be. DH is fantastic, he absolutely never nags me about my stash (although to be fair he probably doesn't realise just how extensive it is LOL) and he says that he doesn't mind because he sees me using it every day. However, what I am seriously determined to fight is the tide of things that arrive in the post that more than replace what I'm using up!

So, watch this space. I'm hoping to have lots and lots of things to post over the next two months as it's my last free time for a while. I'm also keeping a log of all the comes in and all that gets finished and goes out so I'm hoping that later in the year when I review things I can be proud of my achievements.

At least one thing is guaranteed to reduce - we kept all of the baby/toddler stuff from when Lia arrived and, because this is definitely the last addition to our family, we can use and remove it all now. No re-storing anything. In fact, because we know this is a boy we have already cleared out six bin bags full of saved girls clothes and passed them on to other family members. Admittedly we have inherited a whole bunch of boy stuff from others too but at least it'll be used and then passed on again.

Have I convinced you guys? Well all I have to do is keep on trying to convince me too LOL

AWOL

Apologies, I yet again let time pass without popping in here to say hi.

All is okay, in fact, better than okay. I now have less than 10 weeks to go till Junior arrives - I do have an official 'too posh to push' date now but I'm not sharing because I'd rather announce his arrival than have everyone knowing it is just about to happen - and my consultants are extremely happy with my progress.

I guess everyone pretty much knows that diabetic mothers have big babies but the truth is a little less cut and dried than that. If you are diabetic you have the potential to have a big baby and you also are at a higher risk of pretty much every complication there can be from miscarriage to still birth and all the defects in between but, and it's an important but, if you keep your blood sugars as perfect as possible you will have as normal a pregnancy as a non-diabetic woman, risk levels are no different.

So it doesn't take a genius to work out that it is entirely the mother's responsibility to control her blood sugars as well as she can. Not just because you don't want to have to get a 19lb baby out but because the higher your blood sugar at birth the more dangerous it is for the baby. Very simply this is because if the mother's blood sugar is high and her blood is being transferred to the baby then the baby will over produce insulin to combat the additional sugar. Once baby is out there is no high sugar level but there is still an over-production of insulin so the baby's blood sugar will drop significantly and quickly causing serious problems. The over production of insulin is what causes the baby to get fat too.

So there endeth todays medical lesson LOL. Very simply, the more normal my blood sugar the better for my child and my sugars are pretty much spot on perfect. I also have a fantastic medical team supporting me - a dedicated diabetic specialist midwife, a dedicated diabetic consultant and a dedicated diabetic specialist obstetrician - and I have been seeing them every three weeks throughout the pregnancy so far. After I get to 32 weeks I'll see them every two weeks up until the birth.

I was in the same medical position when I was pregnant with Lia and she weighed in at 7lb 15oz (3.6kg) and was absolutely perfect, I'm thinking I'm not going to get junior in under 8lb but I'm hoping for not much over. At the moment he's exactly on the 50th centile of the growth scale which is fantastic.

It certainly makes me glad how medical science has progressed because as little as fifty years ago diabetic women were routinely sterilised because it was too dangerous for them to become pregnant...

On a lighter note, we're just starting to get the room ready for the baby. We have a plumber coming a week tomorrow to move the radiator in his room and then we can paint and get the new carpet down. We pretty much have all the furniture we need but I need to see it all arranged in the room with everything in its place so I can be sure we have all we need.

Lia is still extremely excited at the prospect of a baby brother and is very keen to help with all the organising. She's also still enjoying school and seems to be thriving. She was the 'star of the week' in her class last week which meant she got a certificate from the Head teacher - she got hers for making a big effort to listen to everybody for the whole week. It's caused a lot of fun in our family as she's now officially the first female on both sides that can produce documented evidence of her ability to listen LOL.

On the crafting front I have been sewing up a storm, I finished my Michael Powell mini design and am over half way through Spooky Spots by Shepherd's Bush. I've been getting my money's worth from the sewing machine too. I will definitely be taking pictures this weekend so will bore you all with them next week

Have a good weekend everyone

Snow!!!!

Firstly, a Happy New Year to you all. I apologise it's a late greeting but hey, better late than never right?

The Family V had a great festive season - Lia was spoiled rotten by Santa but is just a bit too small to understand she needed to make the most of her last christmas as an only child LOL. It shows what a terrible Mum I am that when asked what her favourite present was she will tell you 'sweeties!' Sure, not the bike or the Barbie or anything that cost more than £1, just all the sweets and chocolate she doesn't normally get...

We spent Christmas with my family (my sister and BIL were fantastic hosts as always) and it was nice to be spoiled a bit. Being six months pregnant meant nobody expected me to do anything so I got extra brownie points when I did help out. It was also nice to catch up with the other kids in the family, Lia has three cousins, all younger, and she loves them to bits. The oldest one is now two and a half and a right little chatterbox - her and Lia together really are hard on the ears! My bro's little boy is now 13 months old and running around, he's a real delight and it'll be great when I give him a boy cousin to play with as the others are all girls. The youngest is only a few weeks old but that just meant I got in some baby cuddles too.

We spent New Years at home but with friends round - Lia had her first friend on a sleep over so sleep for me was short. We got to bed around 1.30am and, despite being awake until nearly 11pm, the girls were awake at 6.30am! I was the only one of the three parents left in the house that wasn't hung over (the other dad sensibly headed home around 1am to get a decent kip in his empty house) so I got to be the responsible adult whilst DH and the other Mum suffered.

As for me, I'm fine. Only around 12 weeks to go now, I can't believe how time is flying! To answer Kathy's question yes we do know the sex and it's a boy this time. Lia is so excited and keeps telling me how she was right all along and I was wrong (she was so adamant that she wanted a baby brother that I spent the first 20 weeks trying to convince her it could be a sister just to avoid disappointment).

Health wise I'm doing great - the diabetes makes pregnancy interesting to say the least but, just as I managed with Lia, I'm doing pretty much text book perfect at the moment so I'm getting great reports every time I see my consultant. It'll be another six weeks or so before we start talking birth options though and I know that it's pretty much an elective caesarian or nothing but until it's actually agreed I'm trying not to think about it too much.

So anyway, on to the snow mentioned in the title of this post. We in the UK have been in the grip of a major cold snap for the last week and where we are we had over 12 inches of the white stuff in approx 12 hours a few days ago. I only remember one or two winters as a kid where I saw as much snow as we have now, we've actually been snowed in for three days!

Lia's school has been closed for the last three days and I have not even considered venturing the 20 miles to work. At six months pregnant and being insulin dependent I don't think I should be risking getting stuck anywhere. I did walk to the hospital yesterday for an appointment - it took just over half an hour to get there and I lost count of the number of times I nearly fell as the pavements are just blocks of ice. Thankfully I got there with no mishaps (DH was with me to make sure I was okay) and the route home was a bit less slippy.

So here's some pics of the snow and Lia and her Daddy building a snowman

An arty shot taken about 11pm after six hours of constant snow fall

The garden first thing in the morning after several more hours of snow

The beginning of a snowman...

Can you tell what it is yet?

Getting there...

Where's Daddy?

Here he is!

Yes I do pose for the camera a lot...

Snow wouldn't melt

The three of us!

WIP List as of 01/01/10

Current Stitching WIP List

1. Bent Creek - Snapperbets
2. Dimensions - Sleigh Ride
3. Bothy Threads - Row of Christmas Fairies
4. Margaret Sherry - Santa's Journey Afghan
5. Dimenions - Noah's Ark Quilt
6. Michael Powell - Mini Chapel
7. Glendon Place - Murky Manor
8. Tournicoton - Coeur de Brodeuse
9. The Cat's Whiskers - Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag
10. Michael Powell - Cottage Garden 2
11. Just Nan - Four Wishes
12. Bent Creek - Snapperville Series
13. Ink Circles - Cirque des Cercles
14. Michael Powell - Handmade Houses 4
15. Stoney Creek - Noah's Sub
16. Shepherd's Bush - Be Attitudes Afghan
17. Dragon Dreams - Dragon Virtues Afghan
18. Bothy Threads - Cut Thru Fairy Hill
19. Lizzie*Kate - ABC Lessons
20. Lizzie*Kate - Christmas by the Letter
21. Stitching Kitty - Snowman Trio
22. DMC - Wild Ones Alphabet
23. Midsummer Night Designs - Heaven Above
24. Anchor - Baby Sampler

Current Quilting / Sewing WIP List

1. Baby Jane quilt
2. Tail Feathers quilt
3. Lia's flannel quilt
4. Baby's Slash and Sew quilt
5. Baby's Alphabuddies quilt
6. Baby's Second Steps quilt
7. Silly Safari quilt
8. Raggedy pram quilt
9. Baby quilt for Great Niece
10. Winnie the Pooh book
11. 2 x Christmas Stockings
12. Blue Christmas Quilt
13. Red Christmas Quilt
14. Jelly Roll Quilt
15. ABC Christmas Panel
16. Santa Christmas Panel
17. Table Topper
18. Plaid Quilt
19. Bag for Mum

Items needing finishing

1. Sue Hawkins Pin Cushion
2. Boo In the Tin
3. Hop In the Tin
4. Scream House

January Goals

So, here's the updated 'to do before the baby comes' list. Anything in italics has been worked on since the list was compiled. Anything finished is crossed off.

For the Baby

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

Christmas Gifts

1. Bag 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
   
6. Sue Hawkins book marker for teacher gift
7. Sue Hawkins book marker for my god daughter
   

To be done for Christmas

1. Christmas Stocking - binding done on top
   
2. Christmas Stocking - binding done on top
   
3. Advent panel - not started
4. Advent panel - not started
5. Blue christmas quilt - started
6. Red christmas quilt - started
   
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
5. Jingle In the Tin
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, layering and quilting to do
10. Table topper - it's done other than finishing the quilting and sewing some binding

2010 Goals

For obvious reasons I'm not going have any serious goals in 2010 other than to arrive at the other end of they year with my sanity intact but I do have some stash goals:

1. Buy nothing other than my current obligations (Baby Jane BOM, Tail Feathers BOM, SamSarah Alphabet Baubles, Just Nan Humbugs and PTP FOTM) or any supplies vital to the completion of a project

2. End the year with less WIPs than I started.

3. Work on making good progress on at least one of my BAPs.

And I obviously have my 'To Do' list of desired completions before the baby arrives (which, I have to say, is looking more and more unlikely!)

Bag Number 1

So back in the summer, before I got pregnant and lost several months to excess sleeping, I picked up a bag pattern that both my Mum and MIL liked and they both picked the same fabrics for it. I promised my Mum hers for her birthday back in August which never happened (oops!) and I inteneded my MIL to have hers as a Christmas gift.

So here's the first bag which will be going to Greece for Christmas. My Mum is cool with the fact that she's still waiting but I do hope to get hers done too as I know if I leave it till after the baby comes she'll be lucky to get it before next August!

Tis the Season to be Jolly...

How much do I love Christmas?

I'm now on a serious countdown to fun stuff. This week is Lia's last week of school, or rather last four days at school as she finishes Thursday. Wednesday is the school Christingle Service so I'm going to that and then Thurdsay she finishes early so so do I. Then this Friday DH and I are off into London to see the musical Wicked and then on Saturday we're all going to the local Panto (Cinderella). Sunday if the weather is nice we're off to London again for a trip to Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland.

And that's just this week!

Next week I'm only working Wednesday so Monday and Tuesday Lia and I will be doing Christmassy things and I have my next scan so she can come and see the baby too. I remembered this morning that I didn't share the fact that it's a boy this time. I'm sure you're all as excited as we are by that news LOL. Seriously though, Lia is over the moon as she was sure all along that's what it was and she was very righteous about it when we found out. There is absolutely no question it's a boy - he was lying there with his legs wide open showing himself off to the world!

One other exciting thing (for me anyway) I bought myself a brand new laptop at the weekend. The one I had been using was works and they kind of wanted it back because I no longer work from home once a week. I splashed out on a Dell Inspiron purely because I'm a girl and I wanted a red one! It's fantastic and I was busy playing whenever I could over the weekend.

In crafty news I finally got my finger out and did some this weekend. I finished Grandma's Thread Minder and the Jingle In the Tin biscornu. I also spent most of yesterday making my MIL a bag for her Christmas present so I'm feeling very virtuous! Pics will follow...

Is it a record?

On Saturday there was an attempt at the world record for 'the most trees planted by hand by any number of people in an hour' and DH and Lia took part.

We're still waiting to hear if it was actually a record as they are still collecting results but whatever happens the pair of them had fun and got EXTREMELY muddy LOL.

December Goals

So, here's the updated 'to do before the baby comes' list. Anything in italics has been worked on during November. Anything finished is crossed off. But I guess you could work that out yourselves...

For the Baby

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

Christmas Gifts

1. Bag - started
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
   
6. Sue Hawkins book marker for teacher gift
7. Sue Hawkins book marker for my god daughter - started
   

To be done for Christmas

1. Christmas Stocking - binding done on top
   
2. Christmas Stocking - binding done on top
   
3. Advent panel - not started
4. Advent panel - not started
5. Blue christmas quilt - started
6. Red christmas quilt - started
   
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, layering and quilting to do
10. Table topper - it's done other than finishing the quilting and sewing some binding