So the weather forecast is for cold, wet and miserable this weekend in Melbourne. Great reading weather! You think I should head out and pick up the other two books?

I just checked my Books iRead on Facebook - I’ve been plugging in books this year as I read them - looks like I’ve managed 22 books so far this year - I’d say that’s one successful resolution for 2008. (Ahem… ‘more stitching’ was clearly not such a success).

Ooh, and in other (wonderful) news today - I passed my first glucose tolerance test. Whoohoo! I had to do an early one this time - at 18 weeks - on account of having had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with Niamh. I was (and am still) fully expecting to have GD again - there is a fairly high probability, I’m only being realistic. But the 18 week test came back normal. Which means, although I have to repeat it at 28 weeks to see if things change, I won’t be a diabetic for Christmas! Restricted portions, no refined sugar, and four-times-daily finger pricks would not make for a terribly festive Festive Season. (Not that I’m taking this as free rein to be a sugar glutton mind you).

Thanks for allowing me that little sidetrack off the sanity wagon. For your patience, you get to (finally) witness some craftiness around here.

I have a bit of a problem with craft markets - occasionally I walk in and get a bad case of I-can-make-that-itis. Then I get an attack the guilts, because crafters gotta eat, too! It’s a fine line though, between supporting small makers and blowing my budget. So I do my best, but frequently I leave with a head full of ideas, and my money still in my purse.

Mathilda’s market yesterday was bit like that. I went on a whim, since I was heading that way anyway. I spent 40 minutes or so dodging baby-bumps and uber-prams (I took neither, since the kids stayed home with Dermot, and to be honest, my ‘bump’ is still more fat-like than bump-like), but left almost empty handed. I did say a brief hello to the lovely Leslie on my way our, and immediately felt kind of blog-stalkerish and awkward

The afternoon proved much more just-what-I-needed - I picked up a friend, and we made our way to the Shirt & Skirt market at the Abbotsford Convent. Which is sensational! I had a really good time. We grabbed some yummy lunch at Lentil as Anything and had a catch up, then wandered the market (markets, actually - there’s a second ‘Maker’s Market’ inside the refectory) and the convent grounds for much of the afternoon. I still managed to avoid parting with much cash, but there was much less I-can-make-that-itis, and much more How-awesome-is-that-I-wish-it-would-fit-me-itis!

I did buy the nifty stone necklace you see above (hello cleavage!). I’m convinced there’s a name for stacks of rocks like this (are they cairns? or something different?), but for now I’m calling this my Makka Pakka necklace (that’s a parents-of-young-children reference ). I like it a lot. The artist is Martina Öhlinger. She doesn’t sell online, but is definitely someone to seek out if you’re at a future S&S market.

The wee chicky and his mum are a gift for someone I quite like, if I can bear to part with them. I didn’t get the details from this stall (inside, in the Makers’ Market), but there were a bunch of other lovely Steiner/Waldorf-y playthings to be found there.

Also seen above are two things made… by me! The amigurumi boy-in-dragon-suit I finished up quite some eons ago. This is the first ami I’ve ever finished. He’s a little bit wonky, and I’m not quite happy with the stuffing showing through the stitches look, but he’s still cute! I bought the pattern from Owlishly (Etsy shop here, Blog here), and it’s very well written and easy to follow. Highly recommended.

Little Ms Red Riding Hood is an entirely-by-me creation. A few weeks back it was badge night at Brown Owls. The badges I made that night are currently all AWOL (blame Niamh, she took a liking to them!) - but I found this ‘in progress’ shot on one of Steph’s many blogs. Aaaanyway (geesh, this is getting rambly and long), we had a bit of a felt-badgy-tutorial from Ms Anna Laura, she of cute lady-badges, and I was inspired a couple of days later to whip up Ms Red here. I won’t point out her flaws, because I’m starting to realise I do that a lot. She’s pretty ace, if I do say so myself!

And now. I’m off to bed to make a start on Twilight. I wasn’t going to, since I’ve already done the whole Anne Rice vampirey thing in my youth and all, but I finally gave in and decided to borrow it from the library. Then I went and bought it instead, because I didn’t feel like waiting until next century (seriously - #64 on the holds list? Stuff that!) So it better be all everyone says it is.

.. does not have anything whatsoever to do with a certain bun-in-the-oven.

You know. Just in case you were to misconstrue my bizarr-ity (if that’s not a word, it should be).

Oh, and thank you for asking after me, I ‘preciate it

But then I wrote that post down, and it sounded stupid (I know, what are the odds…?!), so I didn’t post it.

Only now, I sort of did. Because I have to somehow get past this thing that is causing me undue tension. That is causing me to not want to craft or blog. That is interfering with my life on a daily basis.

I want to craft and blog and be happy again. And I’m tired of the elephant crap. So it occurs to me that even though the elephant gets what the elephant always wanted, the healthiest thing for me to do is leave the room. Right? Right.

And take that shower, dammit!

What I really wanted to say was, thanks for coming to my pity-party the other day. All hugs and premature congratulations much appreciated, and I’ll try not to do it again… much. (Fair warning though: see most of my last pregnancy!)

Minor important details I should probably dish out here are: I’m only 9.5 weeks so far, and I’m still (probably excessively) concerned about the slapped cheek virus and possible subsequent miscarriage. Lets keep all minor appendages crossed, shall we?

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On another rant entirely, tomorrow, Finn’s school is having a ‘Footy Fun Day’ - an out-of-uniform-wear-your-team-colours kind of hullabaloo. Which is fine. Except you’re looking at one of the teeny-tiny-minority of families in Victoria who do not follow AFL! I know! The Shock! The Horror!

Anyway, Finn barely knows what ‘footy’ is, except what he hears from class mates (which is mostly along the lines of ‘you should… (follow x team/y team/collect footy cards/go to Auskick)’). Whatever. I’m totally on board if he decides to do any of those things, I am. But what’s incensed me today is the suggestion that if they don’t wear footy colours tomorrow, they have to come to school in uniform. Pfft to that (if it’s accurate, which, to be fair, it may not be, since I did only heard it from Finn so far). However… since he’s a small boy who’s sometimes overly concerned about doing the right thing, I’ve convinced him that since ‘footy’ also encompasses soccer/rugby/whatever else (Gaelic football, anyone?), he can get away with wearing the only piece of football paraphernalia which exists in our house - which just happens to be….

…an All Blacks hat brought back as a souvenir for Finn from NZ by my Dad.

Ahahahahaha. Take that, patriotic loyalty

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Back next time with actual photographic evidence of crafting. I swear it’s true!

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PS. We can thank Dermot for getting my blog images back in operation, since I was being a complete dolt about it. Also, he provided hugs as requested. Yay for husbands.

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PPS. Finn will also be wearing other clothes. Not just the hat. In case you were concerned for his welfare and my sanity!

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PPPPPPS. Is 9.5 weeks too early to be breaking out the maternity gear, d’you think?! Because, damn, third pregnancies really suck in that regard!

The last two weeks, and most especially, the last three days, have been shit. (I’m not going to apologise for the language, because you know what, I’m done apologising for now). I shouldn’t and won’t bring dirty family laundry to the blog, but sometimes, I’m acutely aware that the distance between my siblings and I is not purely geographical.

I’m tired. Weary. Over the drama.

But most of all. I’m wishing that I hadn’t spent the last 24 hours Googling ’slapped cheek disease’ and ‘pregnancy’.

(And yes… you may now feel free to draw conclusions - the whole world seems to be finding out by accident anyway)

I think I might need a hug.

Also. While I am showing off gifties, I must apologise to Barbara, who sent me this wee little floss tag a little while ago as a Thank You for sending her a chart. Aren’t these just the cross-stitch ‘thing-of-the-moment’? I love it, and I am definitely going to have to make some more of these. Niamh snaffled it the moment it arrived, as you can see:

(This was an ‘experimental-bed-in-the-loungeroom’ day. Did I mention already I was not coping with the demise of the Afternoon Nap?)

Also, just very quickly (because this has turned into less of a drive-by blogging, and more of an essay!), a little snap of my toadstool pincushion from Brown Owls on Monday night. You might have seen them doing the blog rounds already, but here’s mine. Complete with ‘ten-minutes-left-to-go-what-shall-I-do-now’ ladybird addition (which is also out of focus, I am just now noticing. Pfft).

One of the things I love about Brown Owls is the spontaneity of the projects. Normally at home I will agonize over materials and details for way too long. But once a month or so on a Monday, there’s a whole lot less ‘how should it look’, and a whole lot more ‘let’s just have some fun’ (and some tea and some biscuits and some gossip chatter). Cool.

Some time back I signed up for a blog meetup - ‘Mixtogether’ - held by Nichola & Justine (aka the crafty girls behind Mixtape Zine). Sounded good - come up with a crafty gift (the theme this time being Creative Journals), turn up, meet & greet other crafty-bloggy girls, eat & drink yummy stuff. Yay. Only we know how good I am with deadlines, so it’s probably not terribly surprising to you that - with the Mixtogether on today - I was just starting my gift two days ago!

Anyway, long story short (too late!). I got it all done in time with only a few moments of panicky stress and swap anxiety (would it be good enough? would I be laughed out of Amitie in shame?) I’ve been meaning to have a go at some bookbinding for ages (Dermot gave me this book for Christmas - it came in handy). This binding is a Japanese stab binding, with a hinged front cover. I’m pretty happy with the outcome, and I’m pretty sure Nichola liked it too

Here’s the inside of the journal so you can see the funky end papers (it’s difficult to photograph a book that by design does not lay flat):

And to go with this, I whipped up a pencil roll which is a slightly more grown up version of the crayon and pencil rolls I’ve made before. This kind of just evolved from fabrics I had in stash. It’s a little bit reminiscent of the aesthetic of two of my very favourite bloggers, I think (Tree Fall and Soulemama).

Here’s the inside - Finn helped me to pick out floss colours to match all the coloured pencils (they’re watercolour pencils, in case you’re wondering about the paint brush there in the middle):

And a close up, coz I just can’t get over those little circles! They were fun to stitch while we were watching the Olympic opening ceremony last night:

Despite me feeling less than perfect (random virus #27 (or so) for the year is still hanging about, and I have an ongoing headachy thing), the mixtogether afternoon was lovely. I received a beautifully made portfolio from Jane, but that will have to wait for some morning light before I get photographs. I’m dragging me and my sore head off to bed.

Yessirree… fun and games in the Sugarlemon household this morning. The F-word may or may not have been used

Anyway, we aren’t going to dwell on that now, are we? (Fear not - I talked Niamh into a nap, and spent that time taking the keyboard apart and judiciously applying the vacuum and canned air. All is well.)

Instead, I have an actual post-with-photographs lined up! For starters, here’s the pic I grabbed yesterday with the intention of joining Kirsty’s On My Desk meme. So here’s my ‘desk’. Aka the kitchen table. Let’s be generous and call it a ‘workspace’ shall we?

This is pretty much all leftover cruft from Monday and Tuesday craftiness. Do you see that little sketch of an idea just there? And the pattern pieces, and the scraps of fabric? And that really looong needle? Well, lookee here:

Yay. I had an idea come to fruition for once! I’ve taken off the softy training-wheels. This here is Leopold - my very first ever original stuffed critter. I’ve had a couple of ideas rumbling around in my head for a while, and I finally decided to just go for it and see if I could make them work. You can see a bit more of how he’s constructed in this photo:

He’s basically four ‘2D’ components stitched together through the middle (hence that very long needle). After a bit of faffing around, I’m really happy with him. I’m really happy with the ribbon-tag mane.

King of the jungle indeed. How convenient that our backyard is looking particularly jung-ular (!) at the moment

Leopold is off to Pip, hopefully tomorrow, for the Softies for Mirabel cause. Niamh is not totally on board with this idea, and I have a feeling I’m going to miss his friendly face as well. I think there may well be a Leopold Mk II in my near future. In fact, I was also considering a hand puppet version…