Thursday 21 February 2013

Knitting

This last couple of weeks I have caught the knitting bug. The "bug" could indeed be referring to some sort of lingering malady, as it seems to have turned me into some sort of a sallow skinned, claw-fingered, lank-haired recluse. It's very more-ish, is knitting. So much so that I have - on at least one occasion - taken my knitting needles and "work" to bed with me; The Other Half burying his head in his pillow ("bright light bright light!) and trying fruitlessly to ignore the click clack click clack clickety click click coming from my lovely self. What can I say? He's a lucky man.

The particular item being crafted was an item known (in 1970s rural Borders country) as a neckwarmer. Something that is just BEGGING to be reintroduced to 2013 city kids! My thinking was as follows:

  1. The Bairn's winter coat has failed to take into account the condition tubby-toddler-no-neck. Result - scratchy zip/Velcro rubbing his delicate chins (plural meant) skin.
  2. He is too wee for a scarf - he'll only strangle himself one way or another.
  3. A scarf is quite long and might take a while.
So I designed this.....  



Hold on! Hold on! Gis a break (as we say in these parts)! Okay, I accept that it may be a little rough around the edges. I concede - a whole lot rough around the edges. And the first finished effort wouldn't even squeeze past his ears. But I TRIED!

The next week my incredible Ma'am (born knitting - ouch, poor Nana! That would bring tears to the eyes.) arrived on my doorstep with a little something she'd Thrown Together. Yes, an actual dog scarf. This photo doesn't do it justice, but there are actual little ears on there too. Ridiculously cute - and know what? - The Bairn didn't strangle himself. Not even a bit. Of course, he's attached to me at all times by safety reins, but still.

Feeling suitably inadequate, I vowed to step up my game and came up with this monstrosity.

An ACTUAL monster hat! I was fairly self-impressed, until I realised

  1. It would fit a 10 year old. God, it would house a 10 year old.
  2. It's so fluffy, The Bairn's breathing is obstructed when its on his little cranium.
  3. Clearly it's only acceptable to wear fluff if you're a girl.
Perhaps I should pursue other hobbies.

Friday 8 February 2013

Rainy Days - Art, Toddler Style

So so so cold and rainy and dark and miserable and..... Scotland.

Guess I still live here, so may as well shut up and stop whingeing about it! I do love this place with all my heart (except a ventricle that belongs to Iceland, and perhaps a wee section of aorta for Malaysia) but being stuck inside with a hyperactive toddler is enough to have me hyperventilating sometimes.

At nursery, The Bairn appears to be a prolific artist, turfing out multicoloured abstract pieces on garish sugar paper regularly. I thought to myself - "'Mon The Bairn! Let's get creative here - I'm sure one of your Grannies has space on the fridge door for a poster paint masterpiece!"

I also thought to myself - "Eeeugh. Paint=mess. New travertine (ie pale and impractical) effect flooring may not thank me for this moment of inspiration."

This is the genius idea I came up with.... Put paper in a ziplock freezer bag, squidge paint in, and let your impressionist imp get busy squashing that paint over the paper.

So now I have new confidence in toddler art, we have also expanded into messy painting! Turns out it's a bit boring painting through a plastic bag. And my boy has a taste for painting! Literally, a taste for painting. Especially blue - it seems to be exceedingly tasty.

We made Uncle Ali a birthday card. (White crayon message - The Bairn's handwriting's fair coming on, no? Finger painted over with child friendly water based paint.)

And our favourite creation yet, we made a beautiful butterfly for one of the Grannies who recently moved house. I folded the paper, cut out a butterfly, then my artistic little monkey carefully applied painstakingly selected coloured paint to the entire thing. I then folded again (simultaneously creating a stunning butterfly shaped coloured halo onto the mango wood dining table) to give this SIMPLY SPECTACULAR symmetrical pattern.

Could rainy days be more fun?
No! And that is a fact.