The Happy Living Shop: great idea's for living a happy joyfull life!

I want to highlight all the items I’ve made but never blogged about. So in todays blast from the past a funky little beret, perfect for girls that love pink!

My friend from work, Leigh, who runs her own Quilting business here in England, Quilting Pleasures, asked me last year to knit a hat for her daughter. Amelia was then a beautiful girl of 5 years old, who likes things pink. Imagine she’s six now!

As winter was very far away I decided to find a summer yarn… Yep: cotton! I found a great uk based supplier (Create & Knit) of Peaches & Crème, that fab American brand that’s available in a multitude of colours and quite affordable.

Leigh choose a mix of pinks and whites called Strawberry Cream and I found a lovely free slouchy beret pattern with lace, called Spring Beret by Natalie Larson on Ravelry. I did adjust it to fit Amelia’s smaller head. It used up exactly 1 ball of the Peaches. So I have one left over to knit someone else a summer hat too. I say summer, but the hat is warm enough for usage well into autumn.

Summer Beret for Amelia

I’ve made some adjustments to the pattern, but I think it was still a bit too big for a 5 year old.

Summer Beret detail for Amelia

I love beautiful items. Especially for the home. Unfortunately my budget doesn’t allow me to obtain much designer furniture, but I still appreciate it greatly. I was looking for a replacement cat palace – more commonly know as a cat tree. We just call it a ‘palace’ because it’s a ridiculously big piece of furniture to have for two cats. But it has saved the sofa from the claws of our two felines. And Solo & Bella – as our furry friends are called – sill use it daily! In short a good purchase which, after three years, has seen better days. Time for a replacement.

Imagine my surprise that besides the bog standard cat trees, there are now some seriously designer goods. My eye was drawn to this cat scratcher called Leo designed by James Owen. It is like a sculpture and would grace and modern interior with it’s shiny metallic base. As early as 2007 Yanko Design reported on this item, describing it as:

“Leo can be had with either a stabilized or rounded base. The rounded base is gently curved and produces a slight rocking motion whenever kitty wants to sharpen its claws and engage in some playtime activity. The stabilized base is for the cat that prefers an inert foundation when it does it’s scratching. Leo is also offered in White Cedar and Maple varieties as well as 32″, 24″, and 18′ heights.”

The Leo however can’t be purchased anywhere. A great dissapointment! Another example of a great design concept but no company to actually produce the goods.

And then there is the Lotus Cat Tower. Which I think looks fab, be it a bit pricy at approx $400. It is stylish however and retailers know it. I’m not quite sure where they found the voice over in the presentation film on the Refined Feline website, but it is a bit odd to say the least. Have a listen yourself.

And finally we have the Cat Rondo. A round chair like piece of furniture for pussy cat that looks so good, it will probably make all the other furniture look shabby (well it would in our house). It’s designed by Christel & Otto Meyer and depending on the style you will have to fork out around $1000. Yep, so that one is out of the question too. But I think if I had the money this would probably be the one I’d go for.

I’m currently developing a Baby Shower Download Pack. It is in the last stages and I hope to have it ready in the coming months (bare in mind I have a little one and am about to return to work). In any case I wanted to give you all an idea of what it’s all about with these free downloadable Note Cards.

For the best results, print on thicker paper, like 200gsm A4 or US Letter paper. Although it works fine for standard paper too!

One of the many downsides of pregnancy, giving birth and breast feeding is loosing your body. I know some women delight in the whole mother goddess (as they often call it) look, but not me.

I felt like a blob. Then a blob in agony. To be followed by a blob with two extra blobs which where exposed more often in the last few months than ever before.

The whole “natal” experience (be it pre/pro/post or whichever ‘P’ you can think of) does away with any shame you may have had. But now, 7 months down the line and with a little one who is starting on solids I am sooooo ready to have my body back!

So after a ‘prep’ of three weeks (eating the stores we had that I now can’t have), I rejoined Slimming World on Tuesday. This is a British Weight Watchers kinda diet system which I had used before successfully.

In the coming weeks I’ll be updating the blog on my progress. I’ve decided write more about my personal experiences to overcome the writers block I seemed to have been suffering from.

So wish me luck (… Or better yet: determination).

The past weeks I’ve been working hard to create more sizes for the Rem Koolhaas socks. Back in December I published the pattern for size L: EURO 43/ US 9 / UK 9.5 (please see my original blog post for more info), with a promise for more sizes so without further ado here they are:

S: EURO 36 / US 6 / UK 3.5
M: EURO 39 / US 8.5 / 6
L: EURO 43/ US 9 / UK 9.5
XL: EURO 46 / US 12 / UK 11

Each pattern has additional sizes included at the back. I hate going back and forth when knitting (often only taking the page I’m on with me on the go), so I thought to offer them seperate, but include other sizes at the end in case you ever want to knit them again in a different size.

I designed these for my boyfriend. Most exsisting patterns were a bit too girly for him. So I decided to create a pattern that suited him better. I loved them so much and think they will suit girls too! So I guess they are uni-sex. Anyway whomever you decide to knit them for, be warned they are a bit of a challenge. I would only recommend them to experienced knitters. They are toe up and I can recommend this brilliant cast on from Knitty: The Magic Cast On!

Rem Koolhaas Socks

price: £4.00

buy now:  S / EURO 36 / US 6 / UK 3.5
buy now: M / EURO 39 / US 8.5 / 6
buy now: L / EURO 43/ US 9 / UK 9.5
buy now: XL / EURO 46 / US 12 / UK 11

(additional sizes INCLUDED at the back, so you only need to buy the pattern once)

Skill Level: advanced intermediate
Skills: knit in the round & cabling
Size: Size Euro 36 / US: 6 / UK: 3.5) – XL: Euro 46 / US 12 / UK 11
gauge: 23 sts per 10cm/4inch in pattern stitch

Materials needed

• 1x skein of Dream in Color Smooshy (colour used:
  blue lagoon vs160) or similar fingering/4 ply sock
  yarn, 450 yards (400 meters) which is circa 4 oz
  (100 gr)
• 2 mm/US size 0 circular needle (40 cm/16 inch)
  or DPNS
• small thin cable needle (I preffered a 2.25 mm /
  size 1 US DPN needle)
• 1 stitch marker in main color
• several stitch markers in alternative color
• tapestry needle to weave in the ends

The Rem Koolhaas Sock pattern is currently for sale through Ravelry only. Ravelry is a free online website for the knitting/crochet community. It has a pattern library, forums and a system to manage and plan your projects. If you don’t have a Ravelry account, please open one for free.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions/remarks. I have a very young baby at the moment so it might be some time before I can get back to you. I will do my very best but please keep this in mind.

Elimination Communication

Babies eat, sleep, cry, pee and poo. We feed them, we rock them (till our arms hurt), we comfort them and we put them in nappies/diapers. Well if you can afford them that is. Did you know that millions of parents can’t pay for disposable nappies or they are simply not available (in many poorer countries in the world disposable nappies are just not an option). Poor sods you may think: cloth nappies! Err, nope. Think again. …no nappies??! Yep! No nappies and no mess (well very little)

It seems pampers & co have brainwashed people in our neck of the woods to believing babies – nappies = mess. So much so that we have forgotten so very simple technics. Babies are capable to control their elimination needs (that is peeing and pooing to us). Not only that they try to let us know, if we only look. This means we can help our infants go when they need to go, minimising the ’sitting in your own excrements’ time. No more nappy rash either.

yay! for EC

When I first heard if elimination communication or EC (reading this Times article)I though: seriously? Babies without nappies?? I didn’t really know what to think it was so alien to me. But I believe in getting to know the facts before dismissing an idea. So why EC?

1. Babies have the ability to control their toilet going needs. They feel when they need to go and can also decide when to go. By putting our infants in nappies they loose those abilities and have to relearn them when potty training at the age of 2 or 3. Unless you do (part time) EC, which helps retain this contol
2. Babies seem to communicate with us when they need to go. If someone is trying to tell you something it’s only polite to listen and try to understand them. And if they need help, how lovely to offer it to them. It’s great for the bond between you and baby. Plus unlike breast feeding, EC can be done by dad!!
3. How would you like sitting in your own poo? Exactly. So not surprising that babies usually go when you place them over a potty. No need to explain. Plus nappy rash clears quickly too.
4. A bonus one. Most EC babies don’t need conventional toilet training. They are ‘dry’ earlier and with less hassle.
5. Another bonus: less nappies = less money and less waste!

I started daughter on this last week. She is three months now and I thought I’d give it a go after reading about it online. I’d ordered the book Diaper Free Baby, but couldn’t wait. So I placed baby above a big bowl, having seen how to hold her on a YouTube video. I cued her with a few ‘pssssshhh’ sounds and she went!!! Straight away as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She went 10 times thar day! And since then her ‘crying for no reason I could see’ has gone down a lot.

I bought a small potty called Pourty, which specially designed to pour the mess out easily and with no spilage. I think it’s brilliant, but I’ve learned that many EC-parents go for the BabyBjorn Little Potty.

So in case you want to give it a go, check out the links below. However I highly recommend the book Diaper Free Baby. It’s well written and gives you a part time option which I’m following right now. You’ll be surprised what babies can do!!

Links:

Wikipedia page on EC

Diaper Free Baby website/forum

YouTube video with really good explination

Infant Potty Training

What you should be told….

When leaving hospital with your new baby you should – on the way out – receive a bag of essential goodies. No, I’m not talking of a few nappies and mini bottle of baby oil. But real unmissable items that will help keep your baby happy and you keep you sanity. That is what these tips are about. It’s basically everything you should be told, but for some mysterious reason aren’t. Being a new parent is tough, but I found that with little knowledge it’s… Well a little less tough.

How to calm a crying baby
My little one was crying and crying when we came home. We went through the normal checklist:

1. Does she need a nappy (diaper) change?
2. Is she too hot/cold (feel tummy when checking nappy)
3. Does she need feeding (this was usually it, you won’t believe how much babies eat!!!)?
4. Does she need sleep?

Yes, she needed sleep. Our little one had issues sleeping. At night she was fine but during the day she just could not sleep!! So more crying! It was heart wrenching and there was nothing I could do, or so I thought. “babies cry”, people say, “just let them”! Well I’m sorry but that is just not good enough! There must be something!! Well there is!! So let’s cut to the chase.

The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD

One of the best tools for comforting our new born baby girl came in the form of a DVD called: The Happiest Baby On The Block. I bought it off eBay because it’s American (I’m in the UK). They do books too, for sale via Amazon. But you can also find a lot of info online. The DVD just explains and let’s you perfect it.

So the steps are (you may only need one or all five – like us most of the time):
1. Swaddle – wrap baby tight. Our girl hated it for the first minutes, but don’t let that stop you. Try several times.
2. Stomach – turn baby on the side or over on their stomach. Our daughter preferred in-between side and stomach. Try to see what you little one likes best.
3. Shushing – making a Sssss sound in baby’s ear that is louder than the crying. So when baby cries less loud, shush less loud. Keep it up for a little longer when baby is quiet.
4. Swinging – although I’d call it jiggling. The idea is to jiggle the head softly. A bit like a wobbly jelly.
5. Sucking – some babies have a great sucking reflex. Giving them a dummy (pacifier) will calm them down a lot!! We had to use this a few times, but no worries, our girl didn’t take to them outside those few occasions.

Swaddle instructions on E-I-E-I-O baby gear website

Know your baby, trust you instinct
If you have done all the above and baby is still crying then go through the normal list again. Baby is probably hungry. I cant recall how often I said: but she CAN’T be hungry!! Only to have her breastfeed for 30+ min. Granted that was partly comfort sucking, but that is what little ones need. Anyway my dear daughter is now 3 months old and this week I still applied the face down jiggle + shushing to get her to sleep one particular night. It now worked in about 3 minutes.

Don’t get me wrong this is not a miracle cure for crying babies. But at least it’s something that might help, which is better than nothing at all. My philosophy was not to have my little one cry when I could prevent it. I still spend many hours walking her around in the position she prefered, jiggling her head. But it was the only way to stop her crying. Once calm she could at least fall asleep. And as I stated above she is now so used to it that if we have a hard day, I can still use it to calm her down. This also goes for the shushing, which I use when she’s on the verge or crying (e.g. when she startles because of a sound) and it calm her down 9 out of 10 times. Brilliant!

Good luck new mummies!!

Online resources:
Happiest Baby website 
YouTube video 1 - Happiest Baby discussed on Richard & Judy show
YouTube video 2 – Happiest Baby discussed on Alpha Mom
Facebook group
The Happiest Baby on the Block Book via Amazon.co.uk
The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD via Amazon.co.uk

I’ve decided to publish the long awaited Koolhaas Socks in their current form (Size 43 euro only) and add the size alteration info later when I’ve had time to check the calculations.

Knitting socks is a joy. No matter what the weather outside, it is always a good time to knit socks because you wear them year round. No matter where you are, it is always a good time to knit socks because they are so portable. No matter what your state of mind, it is always a good time to knit socks because they can be as easy or as complicated as you like. Socks Rock! So is there a downside? Yes, there is. Often the (male) loved ones of sock knitters don’t appreciate fully the valuable gift they get given. They seem to think the lace is too girly?!? Well that can be solved. With hardcore achitectural structures incorporated into these socks the sock knitter can do no wrong. So to our little list above we can now add:

No matter who you knit for, it is always a good time to knit socks because there is a new pattern: Rem Koolhaas Socks!

This is a great project for intermediate beginners. Those ready to move a step up. The skills needed for this pattern are:

• cast on
• knit/purl
• knit in the round
• cabling
• decreases

Rem Koolhaas Socks

price: £4.00
buy now

Skill Level: advanced intermediate
Skills: knit in the round & cabling
Size: European 43 (UK: 9/9.5, US: 9.5/10)

gauge: 23 sts per 10cm/4inch in pattern stitch

Materials needed

• 1x skein of Dream in Color Smooshy (colour used:
  blue lagoon vs160) or similar fingering/4 ply sock
  yarn, 450 yards (400 meters) which is circa 4 oz
  (100 gr)
• 2 mm/US size 0 circular needle (40 cm/16 inch)
  or DPNS
• small thin cable needle (I preffered a 2.25 mm /
  size 1 US DPN needle)
• 1 stitch marker in main color
• several stitch markers in alternative color
• tapestry needle to weave in the ends

The Rem Koolhaas Sock pattern is currently for sale through Ravelry only. Ravelry is a free online website for the knitting/crochet community. It has a pattern library, forums and a system to manage and plan your projects. If you don’t have a Ravelry account, please open one for free.

Oh Baby! Having a baby is quite an experience I tell you. I’m breastfeeding and changing nappies all day. This means nothing else gets done. I’ve been working on this fabulous Kookhaas sock pattern for over a year and it’s almost ready for publication. But alas I don’t have time to finish it. Baby still claims all my time, it will have to wait.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking. I don’t seem to write long blog entries, so I thought I’d do short ones. And about babies and relating topics. These I can compose during my night time feeding sessions.

So I’m back, sort of, in miniature

A whole new world is opening up now that I’m expecting our first baby. There are so many new products I’ve never even looked at. And some are very (VERY!) stylish. Although I question the practicallity. One of these is this super duper cutie and elegant Diaper Clutch, spotted at Posh Tots. Yep! You heard it, not a diaper bag, but a diaper clutch!!

Yummy Mommy Clutch!

Petunia Pickle Bottom is an American brand that puts the yummy back in the mommy. Their little clutch might not have space for essentials as: toys, a change of clothes, burp cloths, bottles, dummies, tissues, etc.

But there is space for: diapers/wipes, ointment/cream and it has a large fold-out/snap-out wipe-able changing pad. And I’m sure you can take a little plastic bag to put the used diaper in. What you then do with that used diaper if there is no bin around I hate to think about.

So practical? No, not at all. Thankfully they have a (almost as) cute backpack with plenty of space for all listed above. I might try and get a hold of one of those. And should anyone want to give one of those nice clutches away: I still wouldn’t say no!

Loads of space in this baby!