still no baby...

I now know that if a doctor tells a pregnant lady "You'll definitely go early," what he's really doing is filling the space between the ultrasound and you writing the check for the co-pay with lies, lies, and more lies.

My sister is due in a week, and although we were warned there'd be an early baby, little Liam is showing no signs of leaving his ever-expanding home. 

I decided to crochet the alphabet to pass the time, and because I coudn't find a pattern for lowercase letters  in any of the usual haunts, I wrote everything down.  That's right- I wrote a pattern! 

I'm definitely nervous about having someone test it.  Any volunteers?

Hurry Up and Wait

Last week my sister, my BIL, and I ran around the house packing hospital bags, folding baby clothes, and making sure everything was ready for the arrival of little Liam.

And now, we wait. 

In the interim, I've been trying to keep busy. 

I made some shortcake.

I made a new web banner (see above). E and I are fans, but we're very open to your comments.

And I made a Laurel Love Cocoon...unfortunately the intended model has not yet made an appearance, so we used the next best one.

Yep, it's a fit!

Melissa's pattern suggests bulky yarn and size 13 circular needles.  But we all know I can't follow a pattern.  I used just shy of 2 skeins of Peaches n Creme (in Sea Mist, in case you're wondering) and size 8 circulars.  I cast on 70 instead of 40, and it's 8.25 inches wide (measured with my ribbon bracelet).  Success!

Now, time for more waiting, and if I'm lucky later, maybe some Guinness. 

Caught banana-handed

I just finished a little crochet banana using a pattern from Amigurumi Paradise. Its for my soon-to-be-here nephew, Liam (remember when babies were named after they were born?) to match the monkey hat I finished last month. 

I put the banana in a plastic bag and snuck it and a camera to the local grocery store for a quick pic among the "real bananas."  I tried to be covert because there was a stockman on the other side filling in some bare spots.

I made two mistakes:
  1. I left the flash on, which said "hey everyone, look at me!  I'm doing something questionable in the store!"
  2. I left the memory card at home.  The camera was quite angry about this and started beeping. Effect?  See above. 

So, no picture and the banana man came over to check things out.  I grabbed my little fake and  a bunch of reals and scurried off.  This pic is from my kitchen counter, where weird stunts are expected. 

Who Dat?

Who Dat? Who Dat? Who Dat say de gonna beat dem Saints?

Superbowl prep has begun. Hastened by some Mardi Gras Mambo & the surprise purchase of plane tickets back home for... that's right, Mardi Gras!

There must be a direct link between Louisiana and my craft thumb. Or maybe it is my need to create a new costume for each last minute adventure.

Do you remember the pre-protest craft fest, JB? That one got us on the front of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette!

Anyway, pulled out the contact paper last night & cut out Zander's new Fleur de lis.

And this morning Iwashed & dried Z's latest hand-me-down grey T-shirt.

Got out the acrylic paint & paint medium. Mixed it up 2-1. Dabbed it on.

And, Who Dat? I couldnt wait for the babes to wake up from his nap to snap his picture in his new Super Bowl get-up... maybe tomorrow!

If only the husband had remembered to print the awesome & free diaper bag pattern on Amber Dusick's blog... I'd have something new for the trip too! Maybe next week...

Sack Suki

Although JB had a crafty West Virginian summer, I got very little crafting accomplished. Actually, I did a bit of de-crafting.

After a nasty baby-related incident, I had to put Zander's Monkey through the wash. Unfortunately, he jumped from the sanitize cycle much worse for wear. Of course, Zander still loves him!


But today, after a lovely hike around a moss-green lake, the babe took a 2 hour nap, the hub was out building a garage and I pulled out my sewing machine. JB sacrificed her sleep the night before she left WV & stitched up a stupendous sack for herself. I loved it so much, she left it behind. The best purse ever has been pathetically hanging on the basement door ever since she left, waiting for a liner. Because Queen Brown forbid me from carrying it until it had a liner.

Today, it got a liner.

I believe JB found the crochet pattern @ the Future Girl Craft Blog, http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/8/no-time-for-love-dr-jones.aspx.

And I definitely found the liner pattern there. I used to hate pattern sewing, and to a certain extend I like to think I still do. But with time limits & baby-induced insomnia, patterns are the best thing that ever happened to me! http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2008/1/tutorial-sew-lining-for-crocheted-bag.aspx.

The fabric came from JB's private stash. I can only dream of finding fabric this fine on the clearance rack!