Momentous Occurrences

So, yesterday was the first time I left Immy alone with her Dad for more than just a few minutes.  It was the first time, in fact, that I went out alone in a very long while.  And it necessitated the purchase and use of a breast pump.

Goodness me, they're weird contraptions!  It took me quite a while to get the hang of it.  And when I did, it was very bizarre indeed.  The noise it makes, and heaven knows why this surprised me, is EXACTLY like the sound of goat's or cow's milk hitting the pail.  And I mean, exactly.  I managed to get 6 1/2 fl. oz, which I'm told is not bad for a first attempt.  I must have been mangling it to start with, however, since I managed to make myself sore in the process!  But it does at least mean that I have the option of going out again at some point in the future.

And what was the occasion that set this all off, you ask?  My first cinema trip of the year to go and see Sex in the City with a friend and friend to be (I hope, anyway, since she seemed very nice).  I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the series.  Parts of it were very emotional, as per the series, really, I suppose.  But mostly it was funny and sweet and felt like just a long episode of the series.  Well worth going to see!

The only downside was that when I got home I found out that Immy had apparently been missing me so much that she cried non-stop from 9.15pm to 10.30pm and nothing would placate her.  I'm not sure whether it was helpful for Marc to tell me this or not because it was quite upsetting.  Although, I have to admit that a tiny part of me was a bit gratified since it's a bit difficult to tell if someone loves you if all they do is eat and sleep.  I mean, she does giggle and smile, but you don't know if that is because something is inherently amusing or if she genuinely enjoys your company.  Last night I realised that it was the latter.  Hopefully she will be less upset the next time I go out since she will now know that I am coming back!  Poor little mite.  Needless to say (so I'm going to say it!) she got lots and lots of hugs and seems contented enough now.  She is gurgling and examining her fingers as per usual!

May the Saints in heaven preserve us

Big Brother 2008 has just started and Marc, in his infinite wisdom and equal stupidity, has decided that he simply HAS to watch it.  It's enough to drive me completely demented (which state I'm not too far from as it is, frankly).  I've warned him that he can't watch the whole series, but I'm not convinced that he was listening.  Knitting was slightly distracting me, but not altogether and I'm worried that the stress of putting up with Davina MacCall (sp?) squawking in the background has thrown my tension off.  So I've come out of the lounge to use the computer instead, in the hope that something online will soothe me.

Progress on the scarf is coming along.  It's been slightly slower going than I'd hoped for because Immy has been teething over the past few days and she's not been best happy about it - poor thing.   I've calculated that it will take about 300 - 325 rows to reach 54" and I've now completed 240 rows.  Anna's birthday is on the 12th, apparently, so I'm hoping to have completed it by the end of the weekend (including blocking) so that I can post it on either Monday or Tuesday.   The yarn really is very lovely and there will easily be the best part of a skein left so I'll be able to make me a hat, which I'm very pleased about.  

People and projects

Well, Tilly's lunch was lovely.  Both the trifle and the poncho were a great success.  Claire preferred the loose fit, so I didn't need to worry about fitting the snap closures.  Which was, to be frank, a relief, as I was a bit worried about them pulling on the fabric.  Not sure I really trust anything other than buttons or ties with knitted items.  Owing to the weather, it wasn't really practical to get a photo of Tilly wearing it, but I'm hoping that one comes my way once the weather turns.

I'm now about half way through Anna's scarf, but I've not worked on it for the past couple of days since I feel that I need to concentrate on every third row.  So I've also started a baby hat, which will be my first foray into colour work.  I'm hoping it works as I'm interpreting a pattern rather than following precise instructions.  I do seem to have a case of starteritis, though, since I've also got a hat for me on the go as well (in Wendy Fusion - should be pretty!).  Let's just hope that I get them all done soon as there are loads of other patterns I'm hankering after and I don't think having more than three projects on the go is a sensible idea!

Cooking again!

I appear to have managed to make three things in the kitchen (which aren't dead simple - like boiled egg) in the past 24 hours.  This is an achievement, since I haven't been cooking properly since I was pregnant.  It's entirely possible that this might not last (especially if Immy has another growth spurt), but I just wanted to record the occasion for posterity (lucky posterity).  

Yesterday, it was the rather unappetizingly entitled 'Brown Stew' from my Mum's old Stork cookbook.  I varied it a bit by seasoning the flour with paprika and adding tinned tomatoes and porcini mushrooms.  And apart from a mini mini disaster in the shape of some of it sticking to the bottom of the pan (I managed to ignore the injunction to stir it occasionally), it was actually rather yum.  I think it might have to go onto the list of keepers (dishes Marc would like me to make again).

And today I managed to make the passionfruit trifle from the BBC Good Food Desserts cookbook.  I have no clue what it tastes like yet since it's to be taken to Claire and Kev's for lunch tomorrow.  However, it smells divine and it's taking me all my self-control not to wolf the lot and make up some poor excuse for its absence.  Cross your fingers for me!

I also made the pork chops in mustard sauce from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries.  People, you have to try this recipe!  It's so gorgeous I could probably eat it all week.  Well, not quite, but it was seriously delicious.  We had it with mashed potatoes (Nigella style made with warm cream and freshly grated nutmeg) and peas.  This too is a keeper.

No knitting,  but half the day was spent shopping and then it was Too Darn Hot and humid to even contemplate it.  Plus I was shattered.  I'm going to try and manage something this weekend.

It's infected my dreams

That's it, I think I've finally gone completely mad (something my friends have been predicting for years).  I've started dreaming about knitting.  Now, those who are Knitters may say that this is perfectly reasonable.  They may start talking about beautiful lace, gorgeous colours and the like.  And if it were that of which I had been dreaming, I would suggest they had a point.  Unfortunately, I woke up this morning realising that I had been dreaming about how to do mattress stitch.  Now, I realise that you might claim that this is at least an appropriate stitch to be dreaming about in bed.  And, in my defence, I had been reading Maggie Righetti's excellent, Knitting in Plain English the night before.  But, really.  I'm sure there's something wrong with me.  And I still can't seam neatly.

Hurrah!

Tilly's poncho is finally finished.  Here it is:



I'm reasonably pleased with how it's turned out. I had to disguise a couple of miscreant holes. And I'm not sure that the blocking worked entirely (I perhaps should have got the towels hotter and steamier). But hopefully Claire will be able to reshape it after handwashing and it will be better. Otherwise I'll email her the instructions I had for steam blocking and that should remedy it.

Now, onto my next project!

Progress on Tilly's Poncho!

I have now managed to do all of Tilly's poncho bar the hood, which I'm going to tackle this evening.  The quality of this photo isn't great (oh how I'd love to live in a house with better light), but it does show you that it's looking vaguely garment-like:



Just hoping I don't foul it all up with the hood. The pattern said to work the back until it was 14 1/2 inches, but this didn't seem quite right, so I just made it match the back (fortunately I'd been counting rows, so could work that out). The instructions for the hood say to sew it up, but I'm going to pinch Elizabeth Zimmermann's method and graft the top together (hopefully). That way it ought to look a bit neater.

Fingers crossed!