Made it through the 4th birthday...

Although I'm completely exhausted and had to get up early to let the plumbers in, we had a successful 4th birthday party last night at my in-laws.
Elsie helped me bake and frost her cake....



okay... maybe the black frosting wasn't such a great idea. But the cake turned out really well....




























I even managed to spend a little time sitting and finally finishing this 1x1 knit hat for the new little man.



I just wanted something really simple since the yarn had so much going on. Recognize the yarn? It's from the dog/pod foot sock from a few posts ago. I unravelled and re-knitted. I kept loosing count for the stitch reductions at the crown and would wind up with 2 or 3 left over stitches. I don't know how many times I had to rip back and start over, but I perservered and am happy with the hat. Now it's time to move onto some other projects.
I talked to Dad this morning and he's doing much, much better. What a relief! He sounds more lively and happy. His pain is pretty well gone which is what the doctors were waiting for. Hopefully he can go home soon.

When it rains....

These last few days have been unbelievably hectic. My parents were supposed to arrive yesterday, Tuesday, to help out around the house and watch Elsie while I rested. Mom called a little before 7am to tell me that Dad was in the hospital with chest pains and that they would not be coming. Since I'm so far along in my pregnancy, I can't leave Portland, so I couldn't fly or drive home to be with Mom. Then the concrete cutter arrived... late... and set up to start cutting... which meant that Elsie and I had to be out of the house for a couple of hours. I was exhausted from not getting enough sleep and the early phone call and worrying, that I really just wanted to lay on the couch. But out we went to run some errands and have lunch. When we came home, Mom called to say that they were Life-Flighting my Dad to Spokane. So as Dad was taking his first helicopter ride, I was on my way to the hospital to have my contractions monitored. Everything is fine... baby is fine, my contractions weren't too close together and I'm not dangerously dialated, so they sent me home to rest and drink lots of water. Dad is doing much better. He has a small blockage that they are hoping to treat with medication, but, as of this morning, they may be putting in a stint... he is still having some pain. My sister was able to fly into Spokane to be with Mom so she is not there alone.
And this morning a whole team of plumbers have arrived to replumb the house. So there is much noise of jackhammers (for the new floor drains) and drilling (all the pipes are being moved into the joists). We also have no water... save for what is in the pitchers on the counter for drinking/cooking and what is in the bathtub for flushing the toilet. Tony, the head plumber, has promised water service when they leave today at 4pm. Good thing I got up early and took that shower.
AND today is Miss Elsie's 4th birthday....

Thankfully my mother-in-law offered to host the party at her house. I can't get things cleaned up, and we have a lot of things from the basement stored in the dining room. I'm basically out of room for stashing things. However, I need to bake a lady bug cake... I was going to do that this morning, but the jack hammer is making so much noise the I think the cake might fall. So I think I'm going to wait until that phase is over to bake the cake. A concave lady bug would be no fun.
So with all this chaos and drama going on, a wonderful distraction arrived in the mail. My first issue of Marie Claire Idees! I can't believe that I have never purchased or subscribed to this publication. It is packed full of beautiful crafts and lovely things to make. I found out about it on Posie Gets Cozy. There are such inspiring images... maybe I'll finally make something today.

Basement Update

Check out these before and in process photos.
Before...


Current state of things...


The concrete cutter is coming tomorrow to cut a new hole in the foundation for an additional window. Yay! More light! We still have a few things to move out of the way tonight, but the project is on the verge of starting.

Feeling Rather Big...

I am getting bigger every day and when you are only 5 feet tall there is only so much room for the baby. He is currently wedged between my bladder and my lower ribs... which means all my organs have migrated to my chest cavity for the time being. Some of my maternity clothes no longer fit me. I really disliked this phase of pregnancy last time. The clothes that I no longer fit into seemed huge when I tried them on 3 months ago. I know it is a temporary state and will be over soon, but when you are in the middle of it, you start to get tired of the whole thing. I sort of look like this....

...well, not really, but it's how I feel. My hair isn't quite that cool.
We are going to make progress on the basement remodel this week! Yay- finally! Foundation cutting for the new window starts on Tuesday and the plumber is coming on Wednesday to do some ripping and tearing. The framer should be in sometime this week too. I've started boxing up fabrics and things from the upstairs. I can't wait to move into a new space... and decorate and set up tables and storage spaces... and, of course, lots of display opportunities. Patience... and everything will come together at the right time. So easy to say, yet so hard to do.

Bouquet du Jour...

Here are some of my dahlias clustered together...



I love all the hot colors with the chartreuse hosta leaves.... which my daughter calls "pastas". Unfortunately it's a dark day here in Portland, so the lighting isn't very good. I had to use a flash which washes out the color.

Photo Upload is Working!!!

Finally, I can upload pictures again. I shot these over the weekend of my sparse flowers that are in bloom...

I can't remember the name of this lovely dahlia, but it is now occupying a vase on my desk....


I think this was a left over amarylis from one Christmastime. I planted it in the ground and forgot about it. This year it expanded and sent up 3 blossom clusters. Maybe next year, I'll be brave enough to cut one stem and bring it inside....


This is a Just Joey rose which is usually a great producer of blossoms... however, that requires water which the roses have not been receiving much of...


This one is a little blurry, but I just love the colors together... the deep purple of the Grandpa Ott morning glory with the vivid orange of the Swan's Olympic Flame Dahlia... which is an outstanding producer. I probably should divide it this fall.


As far as the pregnancy progress, I'm at 34 weeks and as big as a house. I have to take it really, REALLY easy because all signs indicate an early delivery and my OB is on vacation all next week! So no stairs, resting most of the afternoons, not lifting things and trying to keep my contractions to a minimum. I'm trying to do some crafting, but it's hard to find a comfortable position in which to work. I'm still knitting a bit and trying to get some sewing done. My parents are arriving on Saturday and will stay for quite awhile and help with projects and general baby prep. Thank goodness!!!! The house needs cleaning too....

Picture Problems

After trying to upload pictures for 3 days, I've given up and sent Blogger an email. It is no fun having a blog without pictures. Hopefully I will be back in the swing of things soon.

Summer Flowers

Usually I have copious amounts of roses and dahlias by this time of the year, but due to infrequent watering, I am having infrequent flowers. But I did have enough to make this bouquet...



... the Bauer pot was a birthday present from the spouse and offspring. I've been on a white pottery kick for awhile. I need to group everything together, but for now it is scattered about the house as other projects are in process.



I'm having another day of rest. After a trip to the doctor's office and grocery shopping, I am pooped out. I will probably spend the rest of the day knitting.

Another low energy day....

Yesterday, Miss Elsie and I took our friend Larissa and her very new baby, Miss Bea- 7 weeks old, to the Oregon Zoo for 2 hours. The new cougar exhibit was open, and we were excited to see it. Unfortunately it was too hot, so the cougars were napping and not moving... which translates as "impossible to see by an almost 4-year old". Apparently the 2 hours were about 1-1/2 hours too long for me. I came home absolutely exhausted and not feeling well. I spent the rest of the day and evening on the couch propped up with pillows.
I finished another set of socks and a hat for the new little man.....



I think he probably has enough of these things now... and I hope he doesn't arrive with large feet, or some of these socks will not fit him.
I also received part of my Amazon order this week. I treated myself to this beautiful book from Cath Kidston...



... and being too pooped to fire up the scanner, I snapped a few quick pictures of the inside.


It makes me want to tackle some projects, but I just can't do anything for awhile. Dave will be moving my sewing machines and equipment down to the first floor this evening, since climbing the stairs is getting too difficult. It's more of a once a day event now... I come down in the morning and go back up in the evening. Maybe with my stuff down here with me I'll complete that maternity dress I have cut out.
Just a quick basement update... our new windows are being installed as we speak... YAY!

Command Center

In an effort to curb the clutter (which is only going to get worse when the baby arrives), I've installed a few organizing things. Here is the before picture....


... and the after...


The key rack is from Target and the red magazine bins are from See Jane Work. If you have never ordered from See Jane Work, I highly recommend it. Everything comes wrapped in light blue tissue sealed with a sticker. So girly, yet office-y at the same time.
The top bin is for the spouse and the bottom for me. I still need to put some cool name plates on each. Each bin came with 6 tiny powerful magnets, so we can use them as message boards too. Hopefully this will prove to be easy to use and will eliminate the ever present pile of mail and paper on our kitchen table. Will have to keep you posted on that.

Low Energy Day....

I did not sleep well last night, so consequently I have no ambition or energy today. I've been pooping around on the computer for the last 2 hours. I wanted to do some sewing this morning, since it is nice and cool, but the thought of climbing the stairs to the second floor and focusing on a project wears me out. Maybe later today. The spouse is currently out of town on business, but our niece has been coming in the afternoon to entertain Miss Elsie while I nap. Dave returns tomorrow... I'm really looking forward to that.
Yesterday the new Oilily catalog arrived. I get so inspired to sew and create when I see their products. Their website is absolutely gorgeous as well. Several years ago, I was on a business trip to Amsterdam and we took the train up to Alkmaar to visit the Oilily outlet. It was absolutely fantastic, and I recommend it to anyone who is going to Holland. Alkmaar is only 45 minutes from Amsterdam, and the trains run every half hour or so. The big surprise was that they sell their closeout fabric there. And stupid me did not buy any!! I will get over there again and make up for that error in judgement.



Look at these boots!

... and the back pack, skirt, etc..... such fun and beautiful product.

Some more monitoring....

I had small contractions all weekend and called the doctor on Monday for some advice... which of course meant spending the afternoon at the hospital attached to a monitor. I'm at 32 weeks which is a little early to have the baby. The lungs will not be fully developed yet. They were able to do a test to determine if I am going to deliver in the next two weeks. Fortunately the test was negative, so I have a two week window to get some things done.... HOWEVER, I'm waiting for a call from the doctor. I have a bad feeling that she is going to put me on modified bed rest which is no fun when one is trying to get some house projects done.
And of course while all this drama was going on, I had to cancel my meeting with the plumber for the basement project!!!! He was going to come out and schedule a start date! Once he starts, the project is underway. Hopefully he can come out this afternoon.
I have done zero work upstairs on the kids' rooms. The first step involves cleaning out my studio enough so we can paint the walls for Elsie. And the nursery is still very girly. The walls are chartreuse which we will leave, but one wall has hot pink stripes and the inside of the closet is hot pink... so we don't have a lot of repainting to do but some. We will paint over the pink with the leftover living room color and I found this great brown fabric with dots for the curtains....

... and here is another picture with our living room color in it. I really do love this color.

That is one giant hydrangea blossom... very big and very beautiful. One of the houses on our block had about 5 of this type of hydrangea shrub out front. The owners started ripping them out much to my dismay, but they offered us one. I jumped at the chance and headed down with my wheelbarrow. Unfortunately they cut off quite a bit of the roots, so it took about 3 years before it was established enough to start sending up these giant mopheads. This one is about 10 inches across and not the biggest one on the plant. I do love hydrangeas... especially the color.... maybe I need a purple room in the house somewhere.... we've been talking about adding some color to our white on white bathroom... the spouse will have a nervous breakdown if I add another project to the list

Back from Boise... and a lesson in yarn...

Elsie and I returned from Boise on Tuesday. We had a wonderful time and Elsie enjoyed playing with her cousins. Miss Natalie loves her pointy kitty! The kitty is a nice portable size. However, the biggest hit were the dress up shoes that Elsie and I gave her. She put them on and did not take them off. She wore the skin off her little toes, but still would not remove them.
I had some contractions one night that sent me to the hospital for some monitoring, but everything is fine. Eventually the contractions stopped, but I took it easy the rest of the visit. My dear sister watched all three kids while I took a 2 hour nap every afternoon. And I did a lot of knitting.
I had purchased various yarns completely disregarding weight and recommended needle size. I am still a novice knitter and didn't know quite how important this was.... until I produced this interesting pod-type sock (the marled one on the left)....

Both my sister and I think it would fit their dog much better than a 3 month old child. The solid red sock on the right is done with the same number of stitches and same size knitting needles, but using a finer yarn. This was a good learning experience. The pod sock will be unravelled and turned into a hat because the yarn is so cool... can't waste it.
My sister and I also logged some time with Jane Austen watching both Sense and Sensibility AND Pride and Prejudice.... the latter one twice. Several visitors to my blog recommended "Sense and Sensibility" since I was so enamored with "Pride and Prejudice". Both were wonderful movies, and we totally swoon for Mr. Darcy. It was great to have some sister time... even if it meant staying up until midnight.

Another Pointy Kitty

Elsie and I are leaving to go to Boise, ID tomorrow to visit my sister and her family. My niece will be celebrating her second birthday while we are there, so I've made her a bright and cheery Point Kitty...


When my sister saw the one I made for Back Tack and really, really liked it, we decided Miss Natalie needed one as well.

Coloring Book Daddy

Miss Elsie came into the family room last night clutching two fistfuls of markers. She marched up to David and asked "Can I color in your tattoo?" Fortunately for the spouse, the markers were Crayola washable ones. Elsie plopped down on the floor and got to work...

Then after finishing the technocolor dragon proceeded to apply some tattoos to herself....

The markers rinse off easily which is a good thing. Today, I thought Elsie was napping, so I took a nap too. However she was not napping and at some point applied some more tattoo artwork. So when I got up from my nap, Elsie had stripes on one arm, a colored in belly button, and a lady on her leg. Fortunately her wading pool was full of water... so in she went for some tattoo removal. I hope this phase doesn't last too long.

Back from San Francisco

We are back from an extremely hot San Francisco. While the spouse worked, Elsie and I had a great time shopping around and hanging out in Union Square...

Then she and I had dinner one night at the Floating Boat Sushi Restaurant in Chinatown.

Elsie was surprised to see boats rather than the usual conveyor belt. It was very exciting.
Our hotel room was really cool... (note the tiny bather peering over the edge of the tub)

Cool in the design sense, not cool in the heat sense. It did not have air conditioning and there was a heat wave on. I think it was in the 90's while we were there which is very unusual for San Francisco. I was hoping it would have been in the low 70's... which it was the week earlier. The hot temperatures and no AC made for some sleepless nights... especially since I get up every 3 hours to go to the bathroom.

Most of the rooms in the Hotel Des Artes are painted by graphic designers.
Ours was painted by Jet Martinez. The gold is all gold leaf. The location was great... right next to the China Gate around the corner from the Hotel Triton.... and the prices are really reasonable. I would recommend it for anytime, but in the heat of summer.

Of course Portland was at the end of a heat wave when we came home Sunday morning... and with the hot being completely closed for four days it was a balmy 87 degrees inside. Since the outside temperature was already nearing 90 degrees, there was no way to cool off the house. Finally today we've been able to keep the inside temperature under 80... much better... and my feet and ankles aren't swelling as much!

It's my birthday!

Today is my 36th birthday! My birthday and Christmas are my two favorite holidays... and lucky for me they occur 6 months apart rather than right next to each other. It spreads out the goodies. I've borrowed an idea from my dear friend Stacey who celebrates her birthday the entire month of June rather that just one day. Genius! So I started celebrating Sunday with a trip to the antique expo. I love the summer one the best. The outdoor vendors have so many great textiles and vintage sewing goodies... and they are waaaay less expensive than the vendors inside (who always seem to have the same thing show after show).
I found this beautifully embroidered dresser scarf and two enamel pins. One pin was an absolute steal and the other was a bit of a splurge.... oh well, it's my birthday...

... and then some more vintage sewing patterns. They were $2 each which was reasonable....

Next I found this great tablecloth in a booth where everything was half off. I paid a whopping $5. There is one stain that I think I can get out and no tears...

The spouse bought me this fabulous calla lily drip glaze pot to add to my collection. Thanks, honey!!! He found it in a booth filled with tools and other dark things. Goes to show, it pays to really look hard sometimes.

... the little white pot was a birthday present this morning.... as well as these great pin cards...

which I think I will frame and hang in the basement studio... whenever that project is finished. Next photo are the lovely, handmade cards from Elsie. She is now drawing flowers and they are so adorable. I think this grouping needs to be framed and hung in her new bedroom... another project that needs starting and finishing.

And from my wonderful in-laws, these pink garden supplies. A brand new pair of leather gloves, garden clogs, and a kneeling mat. I'm so excited! My old leather gloves have too many holes and offer no protection from the roses... and the clogs are so cute and cheery. They will be a great replacement for my current garden clogs which the spouse has always called my "Ugly Shoes".

The birthday extravaganza continues tomorrow as we fly to San Francisco for 5 days! I can hardly wait to visit Britex - the ultimate fabric mecca. If the Greeks threw a fabric orgy, this would be the location... and it's within walking distance to our hotel... what could be better!

I'm making socks!!!

I have expanded my knitting skills and can know make these little bitty socks...


I am not a fan of the knit baby bootie. For some reason, they don't look right to me... so I've been making these little socks for our little man. Since he is due on October 2, the weather will be starting to cool and he may need some footwear. I had a three hour glucose test this morning and spent three hours in the waiting room, so was able to get quite a bit of knitting done. These little socks knit up fairly fast, and the spouse is happy to see some of my projects actually get finished.

Speaking of unfinished projects, here is Miss Elsie's sweater being blocked on my ironing board...

I hope I did this correctly. Things seem to be laying flatter. Now I just need to attach the sleeves and join the side seams. The picking up of the stitches at the neckline wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. It was a good way to learn a skill that I needed for the socks. I can now see why a friend of mine prefers to pick up stitches at the armhole for the sleeves and knit down to the cuff rather than making separate sleeves and joining them.

The great orchid growning contest....

About 5 years ago, the spouse and I went to Hawaii and brought back orchids for ourselves, my parents, and the in-laws. My father-in-law,Mac, is a natural green thumb and can grow anything... so he saw it as a challenge. So far I have killed all the orchids we had. My mom still has hers, but it has not rebloomed. Mac's died, but he was able to get it to bloom once which he showed off every time we were over. However, when Mac was yard sale-ing, he found someone selling a bunch of orchids. He bought some for himself and for me (to replace the crop I had decimated). I have had my orchid for 4 years with nothing. Maybe the occasional new leaf, but nothing bloom-like... until this week.

I have no idea what I did. It has been sitting in the same window for about a year. It hasn't been fertilized in probably 2 years, and I have a hard time remembering to water it. Maybe it thrives on neglect. For now I'm enjoying the beautiful bloom... I don't know if it will do it again.

Fresh blueberries....

Our blueberry bushes are producing heavily this year... YAY! I went out this morning a picked a bowlful for our breakfast...

...yummy! Some of them are 3/4" across and very, very sweet. Elsie and I enjoyed generous helpings with our cereal.
The tablecloth was my mom's when she was a little girl. It's kid sized for a tiny table.

Good things in the mail last week...

I love ordering things from the internet. Sometimes it takes so long for things to arrive that you have forgotten you ordered them in the first place and are pleasantly surprised by a box on your front porch.
Hillary posted a picture of some awesome Keds shoes. Little slip-ons... kind of ballerina-like. I gave up wearing shoes with laces about a month ago (too hard to reach past the belly) and these little ones were perfect....so I ordered my own....

... that's Miss Elsie acting as hand model.
I also received my first order of stuff from Yes Asia. I had seen these sewing books on a few different blogs most recently on Crafting Japanese. The pictures are absolutely precious and all the patterns are in the back of the book.

ISBN 4-579-11091-9
ISBN 4-579-11054-4

They came really well packaged so not even the post office could damage them. They were individually bubble wrapped and wrapped again in plastic. I think I may be ordering some more books. Mariko at SuperEggplant has been making some darling things for herself out of another Japanese sewing book.

Project Update

Here is my progress on Elsie's sweater. This is what it is supposed to look like...

... and here is what I have knitted so far...

... It really rolls a lot. I hope this is normal. I will block the pieces before joining, so hopefully they will lay flatter. I had to purchase stitch holders for this project which means my skills are advancing... I think. I love to purchase new equipment. I have a whole sewing basket full of various needles, crochet hooks, and stitch markers. The next challenge with this project is picking up stitches which I have not done before. I have a how-to-knit book with good pictures and lots of friends who knit, so I should be able to figure it out. If not, I'll just head over to the Sipperie at the Yarn Garden and they can answer my questions.