No mama, it's sleeping time. No Finnlay, you can't come in. Our tent. Isla has become quite a bossy boots lately, and it's marvellous. She articulates so well, and has an expanded and impressive vocabulary that makes me laugh every day. Her brother does not approve of being left out of the playdate pillowfort though. He stole the fairy lights and made a dash for the stairs - his most favourite destination which he knows will pull mama out from any activity to run after him.
Want to build your own historically-accurate and over-pillowfied playfort? Click here for Wayfair's instructions with an explanatory video of greatness. It's totally acceptable to replace the pillows with stuffed toys, methinks.
Thank you so much for your messages, emails, and more. Surgery went as well as expected, and I'm very grateful to be home now and recovering. There's not as much resting as I'd like, but I have my two little ones running circles around me as I move through the day.
I'm filled with appreciation after receiving lovely flowers through the post from the furthest corners of the globe from friends afar, cards enthusing get well and thinking of you (and the glitter! Glitter makes everyone feel better, doesn't it?) and even a huggable monster pillow with the biggest googly eyes I've ever seen.
Thank you all, for your thoughts and kindness. I've been keeping myself very busy - with soap, recovery, craft, yarn and exploring Essex (!) and finding all of the lovely things on our new doorstep. I've got a lot to show you. And, it might even be summer soon. Here's hoping. x
I have this rule. It's a silly little rule, but here it is anyway:
I'm not allowed to buy a craft magazine unless I make something from it
I think it's partially because I don't want to end up with a pile of magazines I've never read, and partially because craft magazines are really quite expensive and I feel that I must justify it to myself when I want to buy one.
Anyway.
So every now and then I see something in a magazine that I love, and I get to make a no-pressure project that has no deadlines and no real purpose other than sheer loveliness. It's a bit like old William Morris. What did he say?
"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." William Morris
And so this is my latest make: a crochet summer dress that's decidedly watermelon-esque. It's from Simply Crochet, issue 46. Raveled here.
I made it in age 3-4 for little Isla (hoping it would last until Summer because it is definitely not dress weather at the moment!). It has a really charming little yoke construction with a swing skirt and added black watermelon pips/seeds for detailing. It closes at the back with a button or a ribbon.
I'm not allowed to buy a craft magazine unless I make something from it
I think it's partially because I don't want to end up with a pile of magazines I've never read, and partially because craft magazines are really quite expensive and I feel that I must justify it to myself when I want to buy one.
Anyway.
So every now and then I see something in a magazine that I love, and I get to make a no-pressure project that has no deadlines and no real purpose other than sheer loveliness. It's a bit like old William Morris. What did he say?
"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." William Morris
And so this is my latest make: a crochet summer dress that's decidedly watermelon-esque. It's from Simply Crochet, issue 46. Raveled here.
I made it in age 3-4 for little Isla (hoping it would last until Summer because it is definitely not dress weather at the moment!). It has a really charming little yoke construction with a swing skirt and added black watermelon pips/seeds for detailing. It closes at the back with a button or a ribbon.
There were a few bits in the pattern that I wasn't impressed with, mostly because they weren't clear enough and there weren't any diagrams (why are there never any diagrams?!), but thankfully I found a few photographs online which made it a bit clearer to see what they meant. Overall, I like the swing in the skirt, and the basic (but beautiful) yoke construction which I suspect will get a lot of use future projects! I really want to make this into a tutu dress with net tulle for the skirt.
Here's my little chocolate-face modeling her dress that she insisted on wearing while it was still in progress (and wouldn't take it off). I think that's a success.
I've not been very well. My gall bladder, it seems, does not like me very much these days. I've been in and out of the GPs office since October, and (after a trip to A&E and a day in the ward) have finally been scheduled for emergency gall bladder removal surgery which will be in the next few weeks. It's all very scary, but I think it will be infinitely better than the alternative which has left me too scared to eat, and completely immobile for bursts of time with an alarming number of painkillers.
I did learn that a sick bowl from the emergency ward looks exactly like an upside-down bowler hat. Thank goodness for 2 year olds and boundless imagination.
All this to-and-fro between home and hosptail wards does make me wonder. what's the gall bladder for anyway? I mean, I know what it does. But how can we function perfectly fine without it? A friend of mine told me that it gets treated in Chinese Medicine whether it is present or not, and I've met a number of people who have had it removed and are just fine afterwards. What happens next? I've read up a lot about it on the internet and have asked the consultants but there isn't an awful lot of information. Maybe I'm just worrying too much about the details, but it does seem like rather a big deal. The consultant surgeon told me that there was no other alternative for my particular situation.
Ah well. The weather has been up and down, snowing and sleeting and frosty. It has been rather lovely being bundled up indoors, and I'm so grateful to my two little troopers keeping me entertained and on my toes. And of course to Graeme, who reminds me regularly to drink water and comes running with nappies, wipes, painkillers, toys. Thank goodness.
