Swimming with Dolphins

Well we're back from the first half of the teeth pulling exercise with Brittany. Because she's having 4 out, two on one side top and bottom and two on the other top and bottom, they do it in two lots. She's been worried all week about it, probably due to her having to have some baby teeth out when she was a lot younger and it being traumatic for her, so I was a bit concerned about how she'd go. They numbed her up (the absolute worst part) and she wasn't quite so happy, they took out the top one and she cried a bit but then when they did the bottom she didn't make a peep.

On the way home we took her to the supermarket to get some treats - yummy soup for lunch and some icecream and I praised her on how well she did, especially the last one and her response:

'Well I decided wriggling my toes wasn't working (my idea of a good distraction technique) so I pretended I was Swimming with Dophins and it worked. On Wednesday I think I'm going to imagine something different but I'll definately use that technique again'

THAT'S MY GIRL!!

It's always hard to see your children anxious about things and know that although what they're having done is for their own good, you'd just like to be there in their place. Poor Brittany though has been through so much in her short 12 years that there are times I'd just like to wrap her in cotton wool.

As she herself said though - It'll be worth it at the end and at least she's having the braces now at 12 so it should be all over with by 15. She also made another comment that made me giggle:

'I'm so glad I have contacts now as can you imagine - glasses and braces, book always in hand and excellences galore, I would have been a total nerd'

Hermione's Hat

I'm really happy at how this turned out. It was a well-written, easy to follow pattern and knitted up quick. It fits Britt perfectly but if I was to do it again for an adult I would definately make it slightly wider and longer, or possibly go up to 4.5mm needles. The wool was lovely to use and I would use it again.

Brittany loves it, she hardly takes it off and in fact wore it all day yesterday inside (though she's taken it off now).

I now have a couple of orders to fill and then I can finish my next project, the ballet cardi.

Grump, Grump, Grump

I was so very excited to find the pattern for Hermione's Hat and Brit was so totally over the moon that I wanted to get it finished ASAP. We looked everywhere for the right shade of grey and I found it, just a tad darker than the picture but that was fine, at Nancy's in Wellington - the lovely, lovely Debbie Bliss Rialto Merino (a yarn that I haven't used before but I must say I am very pleased with.) I bought one ball, it had a generous meterage so I figured one would be enough as the pattern called for a Paton's merino that I knew had 92mtrs a ball, and what do you know, I've run out!! With literally only the decreasing to do so 11 rows in total. :-(

How can that be I asked myself? so I looked up the yarn over the internet to find that overseas the Paton's merino is sold as a double ball with 205mtrs in it - arghhhhh, I should have looked first.

*SIGH* so now I've lost my mojo, I was all hyped up thinking I'd have this done and dusted today ready for her to wear and wear and now I have to wait till tomorrow before I can duck into town and get another ball. Lesson here is check and double check.

On a positive note though today at Craft 2.0 I got some beautiful sock wool from the lovely needlefood (http://www.needlefood.co.nz/). I'm very impressed and was really restrained only buying 3 hanks.

Thinking Hurts the Brain!!

I've been thinking a lot about the direction I would like this blog to take. What it's intended for, the things I want to post about, how much I want to share and/or if I want it to only be an advertising platform for Supurlative?

I can answer a definate NO to the last one - personally I find blogs that simply blow the maker's own trumpet a bit boring, if I want to know how wonderful you are, I'll check out your feedback or products myself thanks, in fact, you telling me how good you are sort of puts me off. (I should add here after re-reading this - this doesn't actually apply to any bloggers I do follow, more those that I've come about in 'blogland' and I soon stop reading. Also it is my opinion, doesn't make those that blog like that bad or wrong, it's just how I feel about it :-)

As to the rest, that's quite hard. The blogs I like to read, and read often, are those that share a bit of everything - a little advertising, a little bit about latest products and a little home life. They have funny, sad, serious and not so serious stories, posts about techniques and new creations and forward planning and yes, that's how I would like this to be. However the reality is that this is open for the world to see - hey that's the point isn't it - so how little (or big) is what I need to decide on.

I'd like to share everything - that's the sort of person I am, open and outgoing, I find it hard to keep secrets when it comes to me (don't worry I can keep other people's!) but if I'm excited about something I like to tell people and IRL I often do LOL!! However, that's probably not the best idea in the WWW. So I guess for now I'll keep thinking about it but if you're out there reading this I'd love to hear your views on it and what you think makes for good blog reading.

However I will share this with you: I had a tooth out on Wednesday and man it's #$%^*&^ sore :-( and I can't even complain, mope about or tell people how much it hurts (so I'm telling you!!) because my darling daughter has to have 4 - yes that's right - 4!!!! out next week . So I have to be brave and pretend it's a breeze and doesn't hurt and all the other things us parents have to do so our children are OK when it comes to these things. Her's will be a lot easier as they've not been there as long, as proven when Gareth had his 4 out, but she's already freaking out about it so if I act like it hurt she'll freak even more.

Then in a month's time I'll be in even more agony as we fork out $ for her braces ;-)

WOOHOO - Thank you Ravelry

Thanks to the wonderful people on the forums at Ravelry I have a this photo of Hermione's Hat and Scarf and a link to the hat pattern that someone has already designed. I had to add it straight to my queue for Brittany.

I was also reminded of the best bit in the movie: Dumbledore saying that he loves knitting patterns!! Welcome to the club Prof D!

Please Ignore this post :-)

sqjztw9m2y

A good day and a bad all rolled into one!!

Today Mark and I both had the day off work and we took the kids to see Harry Potter. Really enjoyable movie and we would totally recommend it. In fact it did not seem like we sat there for 2 hours and 40 mins and to me that's a sure sign of a good movie. One tip though - don't take black knitting to the theatre LOL!! Luckily I had a pink knit as well, just in case I finished the black (always the optomist but at least it meant I had a back up).

Of couse I sit there looking at the costumes and I'm most pleased to see them wearing jersey's. Probably shop bought but one of Hermione's looked like it could have been a hand-knit. However she had a hat and scarf that she wore a couple of times that were really nice and even if shop bought they could be converted into hand-knits. I'm sure a pattern will pop up sometime soon, or a picture at least so I can try to find one similar. All colourworks it would be interesting to do. I actually have something similar in a Rowan book, however the colourwork is just at the bottom of the scarf, Hermione's was completely covered in it.

Now comes the bad bit - we then took the kids round the mall to spend some of their birthday money and I ended up fainting in Whitcoulls (book store), a crowd of people stood round me, including I find out afterwards (as I was pretty in-coherant while on the floor) two police, an ambulance was called and I was karted off to hospital. Goodness, I've never fainted before in my life and luckily they can't really find a reason for it but I've been ordered to visit my GP for a barrage of tests. I suspect it was because we went from the cold theatre (why are they always cold!?!) to the very hot mall (and why are they always hot!?!)

I must say it was a very scarey thing and I'm now pretty tired but at least I'm home and well. Mark said he knew I was feeling better in the hospital when I asked where my knitting was :-) A sure sign!!

I'm back for 5 secs .....

I just had to share this with someone (even if it is myself) - arghhhhh

I'm sitting here just finished posting and into my e-mail comes a 'Spring fashion' preview from a local store. It's July people - JULY!!!!!! Why on earth would I want to preview Spring, Winter is really only just starting here. Give me a Spring preview in September thanks very much.

I have a sulky 12 year old!!

Well, apparently that photo makes her look 'deranged' and she was not happy that I put it up 'for the whole wide world to see'. Baby girl, your Mother has no delusions of grandeur - while it's nice to think that people want to read my blog, I doubt very much that the 'whole wide world' is reading so I'm pretty sure you're safe on that count.

So...the photo is staying, I love it (and I love you) and I promise it doesn't make you look deranged :-)

Oh and on the note of the reading thing it's seriously driving me crazy that I cannot for the life of me figure out how to find one of those cute counter things that others have at the bottom of their blog that tells them how many hits they've had (I'm sure in my case it's not so many but it'd still be nice to know if I'm just talking to myself here!)- so much so that I'm thinking of paying someone to design my blog just so I'll get one - now that's deranged!!

I have a 12 year old

As of last week the youngest member of our house is now 12 (well not counting the dogs!!)

I cannot believe my baby girl is 12, that's only one year away from 13!!! Then I will really have two teenagers in the house, well offically anyway - for all intents and purposes Britt behaves like a teenager already.

Following in our normal tradition we had a birthday 'week'. Starting with a party on Sunday, the birthday in the week and peppered through it lots of visitors. Also cards from family in England and friends in New Zealand meant there was something to do with her birthday happening every day.

Apparently this was one of her best birthday's EVER! It's much nicer to have a birthday at her new school than her old don't you know. Lots of fuss was made of her from being sung Happy Birthday in tutor group, having to carry round a ballon from her tutor teacher, getting to brag about her pressies, having even the seniors know it was your birthday and then being sung Happy Birthday again in French (a real highlight although only the French teacher actually knew the words haha!)

I can't tell you what a joy it is to see your child so happy and feel so loved. Her day at school was an absolute highlight and I am once again so very grateful that she was accepted into her school. Now we only hope it continues.

I have to put up a photo here - this is one of my favorites of the huge lot we took - there is a small story behind it - her good friend bought her this HUGE box to open. The first layer had another box in it and this tiny present. Open present, then open next box to find a giant ball and this:
Yes that's a bag of $10 pick and mix lollies - her friends know her so well, I'm just amazed that there's still over half left!!

Plus she just looks so happy - giggling her head off.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DARLING DAUGHTER XXXX