Dreaming of Summer :: Festivals ::

So I really cannot complain about the weather of late, the last few days have been especially glorious, even prompting our first trip of the year to Cheltenham's Lido.  But today is dreary and rainy (though still lovely and warm) and I appear to have caught a cold.  So I'm feeling a little sorry for myself and in an attempt to cheer up am dreaming of hot summer days and festival season.

Last year Milo and I headed to Latitude, which was by far and away the best festival I have attended to date.  I wrote all about it over on the Ask Baby Cotswold website.  The whole atmosphere and the location were just perfect for a family and I heavily recommend it if you have little ones to entertain.

It's definitely high on my list of festivals I'd like to attend this year.  I haven't even really considered the line up, but I just know that we'll all find something that we love there and pleasing everyone in my family isn't always the easiest of tasks!  The only downside to me, for Latitude, is that for us it isn't a short journey away. In fact I think last year from leaving our home to setting up camp it took a grand total of 10 hours.  It was certainly worth it, but I wonder if I'll feel the same way this year, seeing as I'll be 30 weeks pregnant and all.

Looking more locally I really love the sound of Camp Bestival.  It's on the weekend after Latitude, which also means it doesn't conflict with school and should be only half the journey time.  I've never been before, but it seems even more kids orientated than Latitude.  The list of kids activities and performances is incredible and I have absolutely no doubt Milo would be in heaven.

Another family festival that really caught my eye is the Big Feastival, organsised by Jamie Oliver and Alex James, and super local to us in Kingham, pretty much mid way between here and Oxford.  Ang from Ask Baby Cotswold went last year and reviewed it over on their website and it certainly sounds like the perfect mix of everything I love, food, music and entertainment for the kids.  Though it's on right at the end of August, I'll be about 37 weeks pregnant...I like the idea of it now, but may feel a bit differently at the time! I would still certainly consider going, especially as it's so close to home.

I would love to hear of any of your experiences festivalling whilst pregnant or with little ones in tow.

Dragon Finger Puppets :: A Tutorial ::

A couple of weeks ago Milo shared a Knights and Princesses themed party with his best friend.  As the big day approached, Ang (best friend's mum) and I took to pinterest (of course) for inspiration.  One of things I volunteered to organise were the party bags.  We sourced some fabulous knightly themed little pieces (courtesy of pinterest) and added the usual sweets etc...  But I decided, on a bit of whim (something that seems to be happening more and more recently, I'm blaming the pregnancy hormones!) that I would make some dragon finger puppets to include.  So in short, I decided 1 week before the party that I would make, by hand, 30 dragon finger puppets.  As it was I managed to get them finished in plenty of time without any late nights or anything.

As they turned out to be a fairly simple affair, I thought I'd share with you how I made them, in case you to find yourself wanting to make a whole children's party's worth of dragon themed favours, just fancy making a couple for your own children or as a gift for a particular knightly or dragon obsessed child.  I also think they double quite well as dinosaurs if that's more your thing.

This Week ::

A round up of some of my favourite moments from my Instagram this week ::

Finding Inspiration :: Baby Sewing ::

Since finding out that baby number 2 is going to be a girl, I won't lie, I have been getting a little excited about all the new clothing possibilities.  However on actually going out to investigate shopping options I found myself incredibly disappointed by the choices available to girls.

Throughout Milo's childhood I have complained endlessly about how girls have so much more choice than boys when it comes to the clothing departments and they certainly do, the girls departments are generally about two thirds bigger than the boys.  However since actually attempting to shop these departments I've found them so uninspiring, so full of frills and lace and pink.

After meeting Tilly of Tilly and Buttons last weekend and since then purchasing her book, I feel I may actually be able to sew some pieces for the little one myself.  Which has of course sent me into a pinterest binge-discovering the most wonderfully adorable patterns for little ones.  I've also found Plush Addict (via Tilly's blog) which is so full of beautiful fabrics.

Now to dust off my sewing machine and stock up on supplies :)

Here are a few of my favourites ::

Baby Sewing by vickibrown on Polyvore

Click the little pics at the bottom to see the source of the pics above and the big pic to see more of my sewing pins over on pinterest.

I would love to hear any recommendations you may have or any sewing for baby experiences you have.

22 Weeks ::

Now I'm getting back into regular blogging, I thought it would be nice (for me as much as anyone else!) to keep a little pregnancy diary here on the blog.
So I start today at 22 weeks.

(I really wanted to include a bump picture, but to be honest, could not get one I would be willing to share publicly!  I really need an assistant! Will see if I can get Milo to have a go for me next week.  So instead here's some shots of the baby knitting I've been indulging in. More on these next week.)

I'm really beginning to feel so much better now, I'm no where near as exhausted as I was back in those first few months.  All nausea has passed too.  Though there are new ailments to contend with, namely, dreadful, indigestion.  I suffered from this with Milo but to be honest had forgotten all about it.  Fortunately Joanne gave me a lifesaving tip at the weekend - chew gum.  Your saliva has natural neutralising qualities, which really does work incredibly well.

The only other problem I'm really enduring at the moment is what to wear.  I seem to be growing in a variety of places, not just my bump!  I'm sure this wasn't such an issue in my first pregnancy.
Almost all of my regular clothes are now much too much on the snug side.  I'm finding leggings, bump bands and maternity vests my best friends, but definitely feel the need to invest in some more appealing maternity wear.  If you have any suggestions of where to find such things I'd love to hear them.
Joy of Oh Joy has started a great video series on her blog this week, which tackles the whole issue of maternity wear fabulously.

Otherwise all is well.  She's moving about so much more now, it feels so strange compared to Milo, because I have an anterior placenta (at the front) meaning the movement feels so much more internal.  Johnny still has yet to feel any kicks as external movement is so rare.  Although Milo just felt her hiccupping, which was wonderful.

Crochet Granny Bunting :: A Pattern ::

Many moons ago I wrote my first ever crochet pattern, a series of simple crochet triangles strung together to create some bunting.  The original bunting still hangs in my garden, looking much more 'antique' than it did back then, in all it's faded glory, but I still love it and admire it everytime I head outside.  We're currently having a bit of shuffle about in our house, swapping rooms around, freshening things up and doing a little redecorating.  As I headed out the door to Craft Night on Wednesday with literally nothing on my knitting needles to take along, I grabbed a handful of blue yarns and decided to whip up a string of bunting for Milo's new bedroom makeover. At that moment he was adamant he wanted a blue bedroom, though this has since changed, of course.

This pattern is so quick and simple, I made the entire length of bunting here over the space of 2.5 hours whilst chatting with friends and consuming cake.

If you fancy having a go at making your own version you can head on over to the original post to see the pattern.  For this version I made each triangle in a single colour, but I was so undecided! I really love the original with lots of different colours, maybe I could make some more for the baby, before she can dictate colour choices for me!

Win :: Issues 50, 51, 52 and 53 of Inside Crochet Magazine ::

I'm excited to have 4 copies of Inside Crochet Magazine to giveaway!
Each and everyone of these issues is full of wonderful patterns, created by truly fabulous designers.
I've picked out a few of my favourites from each issue below (including a cheeky couple of my own!), but if you click on the images you can see the full collections over on ravelry.

Competition is open worldwide and closes next wednesday.  Simply enter via the rafflecopter form below.

All the beautiful photography in Inside Crochet is shot by Britt Spring

Good luck :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway