First time crocheting

You may have noticed that I posted a little while ago that I was learning how to crochet. So after perfecting the single, double crochet and assorted combinations, I was finally ready to attempt a bigger project. So I've started a pram blanket for Jaeminkins which I'm yet to finish.

Youtube is a fantastic resource especially watching a clip of learning how to crochet a granny square. After a watching the clips a few times probably more like 20 times, I finally got the hang of it. Art of crochet by Teresa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Wh7IOT9BI was the best clip to learn from as a beginner.

Think my motivation to finish my first granny square blanket was due to fact it was going to be a present for Little Rosie for her 4th birthday. So I had to get it finished by Monday absolute latest.

I started on Thursday and finished on Saturday so it took 3 days to finish. Basically I was crocheting when Jaeminkins was asleep or happy amusing himself with his toys. The ball of wool was as big as him.

I decided to finish it off with scalloped edging. Doesn't look too bad.

As it was a little wrinkly in places, I used a steam iron to straighten it out. It made the blanket softer and flattened the crochet design.

Hoping that Little Rosie likes her one of a kind crochet blanket.

Christmas and all that jazz

The lead up to Christmas has been crazy, you notice that the shops suddenly become jam packed with people, the streets are even more crowded than usual and there are queues to use the parent's room?! It's been tricky trying to navigating with a pram with so many people about but luckily this year I haven't had to do too much Christmas shopping.

This year's gift to the family was a 12 month calendar of James. I titled it the 12 weeks of James so you could see the progression of changes taking place and it just happened to fit in that James would be 12 weeks by Christmas. It was difficult to choose only 12 photos as I had been taking photos of him everyday since he's been born so I think there would be a few thousand shots by now. I was really impressed with the final product too.

We also made a couple of batches of orange marmalade with Cognac to give as presents as well. As the creative one, I created labels for the jars Jaemin's Jam with his footprints shrunk to fit. These turned out to be a hit with the family too. Recipe is courtesy of SBS food -orange marmalade.(http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/1387/Orange_marmalade)

The weather on Christmas day turned out to be perfect for an Aussie Xmas. As always there's reigning chaos with preparing food, kids running around, stereo blaring, Dad trying to time the BBQ so that the meat is still hot on the table and of course some Korean soap blaring in the background. As the dining area was west facing it was stinking hot so the only way to cool down was to jump into the pool. It was James' first dip in the pool and he wasn't too fussed, think he was more preoccupied with trying to eat his fists. It was a great day with lots of feasting with Korean, Romanian and Aussie dishes to choose from. I know an interesting hodge podge of cultures.

Boxing day was spent up at Wentworth Falls with about 20 extended family members. We had an impressive 7 course degustation menu which was dedicated to James. By the end of it, I was stuffed. Worked off the feast with a few games of badminton before the the rainclouds descended.

As this was James' first Christmas, I was taken aback by his collection of presents. My husband commented that this would be the only year that I would be able to open his presents, next year he'll probably open them himself but probably be excited by the wrapping paper rather than the gift itself. Who knows?!