Women

At some point in our lives, we are suddenly hit by the realisation that we are adults. Big grown up adults who face adversity, commitment and responsibility. While I love to find playful things in life, life sometimes offers challenges that are huge. What really hit home this week is that women often face more. 

Women in my life are facing great adversity right now. They are doing so with dignity and strength that quite frankly, humbles me. I too am now facing a life altering decision that many women face as loving members of a family. We do these things. 

For no particular reason other than I'm so overwhelmed by things going on right now and how women are solving things, I wanted to say it out loud. Women, you are amazingly. 

And the Winner is.....

... random number 1, Fruitful Fusion! You said in your comment, 'I'm such a beginner when it comes to socks, I'd definitely start with the basic toe up in that cute little baby size and then work my way up to the other lovely patterns!'

(c) Cooperative Press

Please get in contact for your digital copy of Tiny Treads  that features 12 sock patterns for infants and children

If you weren't lucky this time, you can always purchase your copy here or simply check out more of the fab designs in this book. Stay tuned for another fab giveaway later in the week!

Our Current Favourite

It's been a while since I talked food and recipes and my gluttony for good food. 6 months of a certain little lady will do that to you. Finding time to eat let alone cook has been near impossible and with so much off the menu while my little girl's tummy was so sensitive, food just became an exhausting exercise.

Just as I felt it would never end however, this happened:

Shortly followed by this:

Where has my baby gone?? Now we share meals with her excitedly whacking her high chair, supported by cushions and covered in a smock bib. Wow this weaning thing is one glorious mess isn't it?

I knew I would be baby led. I breast fed exclusively on demand and it just made sense to leave her in control of what she was eating. With so much negative association with food so young thanks to chronic reflux, I also felt the exploration would be fun. It turns out she loves it and letting her set the pace has shown me just what she's capable of. She's amazing quite frankly. Pears, bananas, crusts of bread, carrots and cucumber are destroyed, gummed and delighted in. I can't wait to start cooking for her. We just have to take things a little slow as she's not quite 6 months and her reflux needs careful monitoring. Still, she's setting the pace so I'm learning from her this way.

In anticipation of this event, my mum bought me a copy of River Cottage Baby and Toddler Cookbook. It's my new favourite cookbook. We have a weekly veg box delivery and a great local green grocers, fishmonger and butcher so we eat seasonally and as locally as possible. I have long been a fan of Hugh's team and publications so I knew I'd love this. It's a whole food philosophy that we totally believe in too.

The book starts with helpful advice about how to wean, how to feed your growing baby healthily and is encouraging and non judgemental. I have found the early section of very early weaning extremely handy already as I check how best to prep some fruit etc.

It does contain purée recipes if you are so inclined which I think I'll use for exploration and with dippers such as pitta or lollipops of broccoli. The nice touch is each recipe explains how to make it safe for tiny babies but also appropriate for adults. The idea of meal sharing is very much a part if the giant and I's philosophy.

This book is a great compliment to the Baby Led Weaning books. I'd actually say that I preferred it in terms of explaining the practicalities and making me feel excited about this new world.

And with that its time I went and pressure washed the ceiling. More soon!

Tiny Treads by Joeli Caparco

Right out the gate I want to say this is a long overdue review and feature. I had plans to interview the oh so talented Ms Caparco but you know, babies happen. I still predict this in my podcasting future but in the meantime I've been dying to share this because it's such a good bit of work. Let me tell you why.

(c) Cooperative Press

Tiny Treads features 12 sock patterns for infants and children by a mother who knows her knit stuff. It's packed full of practical tips from how to get little ones to wash their own handwash socks (oh yes) to sizing for different tiny feet. What makes this super practical is that it's written by someone who is a whizz tech editor so the patterns just make sense. This is what happens when good editors design: the patterns are thoughtfully and carefully produced with that critical eye for detail.

With tiny feet, it might be tricky to measure, get gauge, get the correct size and yarns and so on, especially if you want to use a partially leftover skein rather than break into a beloved whole skein of deliciousness. The solution is simple: Joeli provides options for whatever gauge you are knitting at. That's genius quite frankly and so much more practical for busy mum's who've grabbed yarn and a 5 minute knitting time out and don't have time to perfectly match yarn.

Gepetto, (c) Cooperative Press

As for the designs themselves, they're practical, fun and make good use of a range of yarns. There's slippers, leg warmers, socks and different weights of yarn so you can find some good foot solutions in here. As someone who baby wears everyday, I predict a lot of these in my future knitting. I also like the fact that it's produced by Cooperative Press, so has clear layout and availability both in print and digitally. It ticks all the right boxes for me when I'm looking for new pattern collections.

Banbury Cross, (c) Cooperative Press

A few highlights I particularly liked were 'Gepetto' legwarmers: a worsted weight pair of cabled leggies that I know I'll be casting on. Also, I loved the 'grown upness' of Banbury Cross socks, a sockweight ribbed pattern that I should imagine work super fast for teeny feet. I am also completely charmed and intrigued in equal measure by these Cinderslippers in two colours of Sock weight. Aren't they cute?

(c) Cooperative Press

If you like mini knits and mini feet and would like the chance to win a digital copy of Joeli's book, please leave a comment below telling me which of the designs you would most likely knit first. The random number generator will select a winner on the 29th April 2013 and announced here on the blog. Good luck!

Of course if you can't wait that long, you can always purchase your copy here or simply check out more of the fab designs in this book.

Spring!

It's finally here! Oh thank God! I was positively miserable about the weather but two days of Spring sunshine, blossom and long naptime walks and I'm positively brimming with happiness. Things are happening, blossoming, growing and so I attacked my crafting pile. 

This happened. 

I then did a WIPS count. Prizes if you remember this old friend:

These are getting there

This is not. 

There was ripping, stashing and packing away. It felt good. Spring is springing.  Stay tuned for the next gleeful post-it's a review AND giveaway. Yipppeeee!!!