A different pace.

Life is going along at rather a different pace at the moment.  In some ways it is incredibly busy- family life with two little ones is rather more hectic than with one! and in addition, we had E's second birthday to celebrate last week (I know that a 2 year old wouldn't have noticed if we'd let his birthday slip by without noticing it much, but I think I needed to make a big deal of it for my own sanity!).  So, on Saturday whilst E was having a morning with Grandparents, Al and I made a train cake...!

Admittedly the colours are a little unconventional and it lacks a certain finesse, but we were quite pleased with our efforts 1 week post-natal, and E loved it!

Thinking back to how I felt a week post-natal last time, it is a totally different ball game the second time round (helped immeasurably by a speedy birth!) as it was a rather tiring feat to host a little tea party, but fun was had by everyone, and E's 2nd birthday did not slip by unnoticed!

As well as going by in a bustle, life is also passing at rather a relaxed pace at the moment- I rather love having my Husband off work- E loves the constant opportunity to play and draw with him, and I enjoy the company and the help around the house.  A lot of my days are currently spent feeding P at the moment- something which I am having to learn how to do on-the-move whilst helping to supervise E!  I might not get started today on the wonders of breastfeeding, as I'm sure I'll not be able to stop, but, suffice to say I am a true devotee.  E fed happily until he was about 20 months or so, and the benefits are so many fold.  The thing I notice most though, is that there is really inadequate support for women who desperately want to feed, and the fact that life is so much less community-centred means that people who'd previously be learning from older and wiser women who went through it all before are now trying to navigate it on their own!

Luckily in Oxford we are immensely rich in breastfeeding support and help with the Baby Cafe in locations all over the city Monday-Friday, and a clinic in the hospital for 2 days a week too.  If you (or someone you know is in the situation of wanting to feed, but struggling to, then I urge you to check out their website as they are in locations all over the country!).  Two other amazing resources are the fabulous book "The food of love" by Kate Evans, and the website Kellymom!  Right.  Enough said for now!

So, yesterday I mastered the art of knitting whilst feeding!  Admittedly it was a little slow, but still, it felt nice to be doing something crafty at the same time! (Obviously she's not actually feeding in the picture below!)

Other lovely slow paced things I've been enjoying are Tea and Crosswords with Al...

... And being very blessed by several weeks of wonderful meals-on-wheels provided on the post-natal meal rota that people do at my church!

Our wonderful dinner tonight, cooked by Vicki!

I hope you are having a lovely week.

C x

Yellow and Blue inspiration

Today has been such a lovely day.  The weather has been beautiful- blue skies, and really mild.  E is so much better now (thank goodness for prayer and antibiotics!), and there's something even more wonderful about a cheerful child after a few days of them being miserable.

Scrummy!

I had the morning off today! E went and had fun with his Grandma, and I took a leisurely bath, and then had a little jaunt into town.  Oxford is such a beautiful place to live- particularly on days like today!

One place I particularly wanted to visit was Oxford's new little haberdashery.  For a reasonable sized city, Oxford has had no haberdashery (apart from a wall in a department store) since the fabric shop closed about 18 months ago.  This little place is little, and full of charm, tucked away beside Christ Church College.

And, they do day workshops and endorse local craft groups, such as a Monday night sewing and knitting group that meets in a local pub- fantastic.  You can find more information here.  

I had to go in and have a little mosy round, and although I intended to buy nothing, this lovely little pack of fat-quarters caught my eye.

They just looked so spring-like, and they were just crying out to be made into a bag. I really like some of the lovely pleated bags I've seen around, and decided that they couldn't be that difficult to make, so this afternoon whilst the boy was sleeping I set about designing a pattern for my own.  Who knows how it'll turn out, but so far it's going well.

Although my only problem is deciding what colour to do the straps.  I have the floral fabric as the outside, the plain yellow as the lining, and the blue as a kind of 'band' on top.  What do you think would do well for some straps out of the following?

I'll be getting on with it next tomorrow, so if you have any inspiration or opinions, I'd love to hear from you!

In other news I bought myself two lovely new items of clothing today.  I was given some vouchers last summer, and I figured that pretty soon I'd have less time on my hands to go shopping at leisure, so I got myself...

This lovely shirt (which doesn't quite fit now, but will do after birth!) which is a) rather gorgeous, and a style I've wanted for a while and b) ideal for breastfeeding, which I shall be doing rather a lot of in a few weeks' time! And...

A new pair of PJs- again, I'm going to be very good and save them for after the big day, so I have something nice to wear.

So. All in all a Good Day. 

Right. Must dash. The bread needs taking out of the bread maker.  Granary this time.

Owen's Cardi and lots of snow

After a few weeks of knitting, the cardigan for the little man was ready and Al, Elysee and I trekked through the snow for the company of some lovely friends, and to deliver the little Christmas/ birthday cardi.

My favourite thing about making an item of clothing for someone is actually seeing them wearing it, so I was delighted that there was lots of space in it for him to grow (as when I was making it, I was hoping desperately that it wouldn't be too small!) and that he looked lovely in it.

The weather in Oxford is absolutely crazy at the moment- yesterday about twelve inches of snow fell, and the world came to a stand-still.  We managed to drive the short distance we needed to get to a family (early) Christmas day and when we got back had great fun 'stomping' in the snow.  This is all totally new for E, and he is loving it.  Today, again, the world seemed very quiet and deserted, but we had a lovely day with friends, and then an evening meeting our neighbours over mulled wine and mince pies.  

In other crafty news I have been making lots of Christmas presents. Two of the recent ones (already opened!) were a cafetiere cosy, made out of fair trade material, as well as a cut up pair of old jeans and tied with a ribbon rather than buttons so that it could swap between a very large cafetiere and a somewhat smaller one...

As well as this, some fingerless gloves, requested in pale blue, using the basics of a pattern I had used before.  Rather than doing cabling on this pair, as I often do, I opted for the more simple Moss Stitch, so that it wouldn't seem too busy with the slight pattern to the yarn.

Lots of fun.  Right now I am knitting a tea cosy, but I couldn't find a pattern that was quite what I wanted, so I am trying to design one as I go along. We'll see how it works out....!

In other news this week we got a kitten of about 8 months old.  It has been immense fun, but also total chaos, as E has tried to copy lots of Stencil's acrobatic moves, and when not doing that, has chased him around the house.  

Anyhow.  It is getting late and I must sleep now. I hope you are safe wherever you are, and are enjoying the first White Christmas that I can remember.