Thank you for the nice comments on my Whip Up entry. It is a good motivator.

This was the only way I could get Eliot to sleep yesterday. He was exercising his little lungs non stop until I slid him in the sling. As soon as he went in he passed right out! Today he has been a perfect little boy..taking lots of naps and eating well...maybe it was something I ate? Too much pie?

This is the awesome round baby blanket that Kirstin made for Eliot. It is so nice and bright. I have had it on him since she gave it to us. The colors seem a little off in this picture but once we get some decent light (sun) I will get a good picture with the boy wrapped up in it. You got me motivated to learn some more fancy knitting thank you!

We had a great Thanksgiving. We went to Kevins Aunt and Uncles house down in Cape Cod for the day. We took the train down on Wed. and came back on Fri. Eliot really enjoyed the train by sleeping the whole way. I was a little worried about taking the little guy away from home for so long but he did really well! We stayed in Boston for the night and had a nice time eating good food (cake!) and catching up with the family. Kevins cousin Kirstin (hope I am spelling that right?) knitted Eliot the most beautiful baby blanket. Once I get a good picture of it I will post it. I also started a new knitting project.. very small and simple to keep occupied when I have two hands free. I have also been brainstorming lots of different kinds of baby quilts. I think I may try to start making some to try and sell around town...we will see how that pans out.

Here is Mama and Baby on the train:

This is my Whip-Up entry for the category of Design. The topic 'alternative craft' got me thinking about what craft is and what is my definition of craft.

This project came to mind because it is not a traditional means of embroidery and drawing. The finished product is on a heavy paper with torn edges. The drawing is in graphite and loosely based on a photograph of me. I embellished the drawing with embroidery and then tea stained the lot to give it a little more depth. I definitely want to keep working like this and see where it goes. I would like to eventually incorporate the embroidery a little more with a little less symbolism but I am happy with this as a personal representation of the past few months!

The embroidery is obviously full of symbolism related to the family tree and pregnancy.

The following are a couple of details:


The is the drawing before I stained it and added the white lines by the face and torso:

I really like the texture the embroidery gives the flat paper. The sound of stitching in paper is fabulous!

Starting to feel better slowly.. went out for the first time in a while this evening. Kevin and I walked down to the Pine Street Gallery for a little while to say hi to the gang. It was good practice to nurse in public. I'm still a little awkward without all of my props. On crafting news.. I am almost done with my whipup challenge submission. Not a moment to soon as it looks like there have been a lack of submissions this month. Too bad as I think crafting can be very alternative sometimes. It is hard to think outside the 'box' sometimes. Kevin brought home a couple of art books from the library the other day. One was about paper craft. It made me motivated to try paper mache again. All I have ever succeeded in doing has been a balloon based pinata so a little sculpture would be fun...I really need to write down all of my ideas so I don't forget them! I never seem to remember to have anything handy within arms reach when I am nursing. I'll learn sooner or later!

I tried to take a picture of the leaves blowing to show the wind today but it came out pretty terrible. So.. here is another picture of the boy and his big feet.


And Father and Son:

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.. I am back on bed/house rest. Slow going but I suppose I don't really have much else going on. It is sort of nice with the rainy weather to lounge and watch lots of movies. I started working on my Whip - up entry. I don't really like how the first one came out so I am trying to work on another one. I'll post them all in the next few days. Here is a picture of the first part of the process. I am working with stitching into paper. Here I have a photo that I am transferring the major lines onto heavier paper which I will then rework with the stitching.

I

also wish that I knew how to spin. My rabbit is shedding sooo much right now. Although, I don't think I could get enough from him to make anything. He is pretty interested in the baby these days. He likes to sit in Eliot's bouncy chair, it is very charming.

nap time...i should really be napping too..instead i am one handed typing with the babe tucked under my left arm. we had a dr. Appointment this morning so he is sufficiently crashed out. he is up to 9.3 lb now! now if i can just get my iron levels back up to normal all will be fabulous. the sleep deprivation is exhausting enough!

this is a picture i am working with for the Whip Up competition, i hope to have the first step of what i am doing completed sometime today...it is really nice in color but i cant find the original right now...

Happy One Month Eliot! I thought of a project for Whip-up this month...let's see if I can get around to it : )

Geek sheek.. My glasses broke and what a pain it is to find frames that will fit these lenses! Good thing I have no shame. It is funny who comments and who doesn't heh. Had a busy day of laundry at Grammies today. Took a nice long nap with my cat, who really isn't my cat anymore but it was nice just the same. His purring was very good for the soul.