New Year, new stuff

So, it's been a while since my last post. A bunch of stuff, both crafty and not have happened. Let's start with the biggest news.

Hello, Baby Nathan!

Baby Nate showed up on January 3, 2013, and has been a wonderful addition to our family. He was in a big hurry to show up, and we were seriously half an hour away from a home-birth. Only Jamie's nervous nature and our midwives' sensible advice prevented that from happening. Here's a few more photos, since you really can't have enough photos of cute babies.

I didn't manage to finish his blanket before he arrived, but we've got so many from Andrew's baby days that I'm not worried. Still, I want Nathan to have something that was just his, so I'll be sure to finish it before too long. Being a second child myself who always got hand-me-downs from my older brother, I'm pretty conscious about making sure the younger child gets new stuff too.

Andrew's been adjusting to being a big brother, and more importantly, having to share our attention with Nathan. Can't say the transition hasn't been bumpy, and it continues to be a challenge, but we're happy with our family make-up. Here are some photos of Andrew to round out the kid-related part of this post.

Chinese New Year dinner at the grandparents'. We could only get him into half of his celebratory outfit.

With moments like this, we get the feeling that things will be okay. Then again, the camera didn't capture  Andrew diving onto Nathan.

In crafting news, here are some photos of things I finished since my last post.

Here's the finished doggie toy that I gifted to my good friend's daughter for Christmas.

Finally finished the Milkweed Shawl

Made this scarf for Andrew, which he refuses to wear

Just finished this hat for Nathan. I've since blocked it, but you get the idea

There's a bunch of stuff that I'd like to make for myself, but I'll save divulging those until a later date. Jamie is going away on business soon, so I'm pretty sure there will be no time for crafting until he gets back.

Planning for the holidays

The last little while hasn't been devoid of crafting, though I've been pretty slow with things. I have some fun DIY stuff that I've been doing, but I can't post it here just yet because they're Christmas gifts that I'm planning to give away.

I do have a couple things that I've been working on gift-wise that I CAN post about here. The first is a Citron that I've just set out to block tonight.

It's made out of Dream in Color Starry, in the colour In Vino Veritas. This was a great subway knit since it doesn't take a whole lot of brain power. I was a little surprised how much bigger it got after blocking.


Another thing I've been working on is improving my crochet skills. I'm currently working on a doggy amigurumi toy pattern called Buffy.

As you can see, I'm not exactly done yet, but I've been having a lot of fun with it. Since it's a toy, I just picked up some acrylic worsted weight at Michaels. Cheap and cheerful. I've finished all the limbs, and am working on the body now.

In other news, I've discovered Pintrest recently, and have been having lots of fun with it. Mostly, I've been using it to keep track of recipes I'd like to try, DIY projects, and some helpful hints for organizing and/or cleaning the house. Very domestic, I know. Still, I've learned a bunch of nice little tricks that have come in handy leading up to the holiday season.

Hope you're all doing well!

I can see why these things are addictive

Say hello to my new buddy. He has no name was of yet, but I'm still thinking of one. I suppose one could argue that this little octopus could be female, but I get the distinct feeling that it's male.

Here he is gazing wistfully out the little window by my front door.


I embroidered his eyes on, but decided that next time I'm going to use safety eyes instead. It was a pain to do the embroidery.