Monday, 28 December 2009

8

So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, good-bye


By the time you read this post, I will be well into The Best Day of My Life. Why?
  1. After packing, I found out we had 50% of the baggage allowance I was anticipating.
  2. We have to leave the house at 3:30AM to get to the airport to check in for our 5:55AM flight.
  3. After arriving in Amsterdam, we have a six hour layover.
  4. Wait... Amsterdam? Isn't that where the most recent terrorist embarked? Yes. Good thing we have six hours to go through security.
  5. Enhanced security will require us to stay in our seats for the last hour of the flight. And no blankets on laps. And we can't go into our bags. Say, for example, when Maia wets herself or vomits all over my head. Because all terrorists are the same and they only have one plan.
Provided I survive today (and can tear myself away from Baby Calvin), I'll check back later in the week!

Sunday, 27 December 2009

9

Warning: contains awesomeness

Remember when I said everyone was getting a Thinsulate-based gift for Christmas? They did. They took a lot longer to make than you'd think. Because drawing on Thinsulate with markers is actually very hard.

For Jamie, in homage to The Love of the Dida, a Ryvita cosy:

For Maia, in homage to The Love of Boobies, a pretty brooch:
For Steven, in homage to His Love for Me, a Thinsulate covered notebook:

And look, he likes it so much he's already on page three!

Please try not to be overcome with jealousy. Maybe one day you can marry into my family and get hooked up with Thinsulate gifts too.

Saturday, 26 December 2009

5

Highbrow Hobo bag

After the aggravation of making my own handbag without a pattern, I bought the Highbrow Hobo pattern from U-Handbag to make a present for my soon-to-be-sister-in-law. It has a generous deep pocket between the straps on the outside and I added another pocket to the inside as it's rather capacious in there. Please take a minute to marvel at my first magnetic clasp.

I have the utmost respect for you bagmakers. They really do take a surprisingly long time to make. And require so much ironing. And topstitching. The toil is slightly mitigated by the pleasure I gain from sewing those rectangular cross thingeys on the straps.

And another, more straightfoward bag was made for my mother-in-law.

It's a perfect size for holding make-up or toiletries, with a boxed base so it stands up on it's own.

It's fully lined with dotty fabric and has covered fabric zipper ends for a neater finish.

Friday, 25 December 2009

6

Merry Christmas


Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

Thursday, 24 December 2009

3

Santa snowman

Being the final coutdown to Christmas, everything I'm making at the moment is Top Secret. Except for the Santa Snowman.

Standing five feet tall, he's in our shared back garden smiling at the building, and no doubt aggravating our pernickity elderly neighbours' angina for being so gorgeous.

Wednesday, 23 December 2009

2

The Snow dress

This velveteen dress is a custom order for a six year old and the first one I made with my new spotty binding.

As you can see from the background, Edinburgh finally got the snow the rest of the UK has been experiencing this week. And it is the absolute perfect consistency for snowmen.

We started working on a giant snowman Santa in our back garden but the children didn't take it as seriously as some other people did (can you guess?) so it was shelved until I can lower my expectations this afternoon.

Or maybe even after they're in bed. I might have to go out with a flashlight tonight to finish.

Tuesday, 22 December 2009

9

The internet saved my life

When I made a passing reference yesterday to the fact I can wear Maia's hat, I didn't expect to receive thousands of emails and comments begging for proof. And I didn't but, hey. So here I am giving that hat the thumbs up:

Why should you be concerned about this picture? Beyond the fact that I look like Dorkness Incarnate? Because that's a hat for a two year old. Which means I have a very small head. I remember learning in high school that one of the manifestations of cretinism (as in actual cretins not slandered cretins) was a small head so I thought I'd do little search to confirm. And what did I find? That your morbid curiosity might have saved my life.

That's right. On top of the three suspected serious illnesses causing my hair to fall out, it's possible I have a further 778 diseases purely for having a small head. And thirteen of them are very rare, so expect a documentary about me on Channel 4 in the New Year. Called 'Me and my small head are riddled with rare diseases'. These are just the ones that start with the letter A:

Anyone else this the repetition of 'small head' is practically taunting me? I was further alarmed to find that my small head is causing me all sorts of problems. When my ears hurt? Small head. Depression? Small head. Mouth ulcer? Small head. Next time Steven complains about my behaviour, I'm going to say 'There are 481 reasons that my bad behavior is directly attributable to my small head. Stop persecuting me.'

And my long term prospects? Not good:

Luckily, I found a very helpful worksheet that will help me focus before the inevitable doctor's appointment.


Isn't the power of the internet amazing?