Baby's Blanket: A Colour Story

This summer I knit a baby blanket. It came out a lot longer than I planned. I used every inch of each colour yarn and just kind of let it be. I used this pattern, and this colour scheme for my inspiration. Thankfully it goes great in the baby's room. 

As I was knitting this blanket, I took photos and shared them on my Instagram account. It took me longer than I thought to knit the blanket, but that's because we had such an eventful summer. I'm glad I took the time to document my progress, as each colour now tells a story.

May 28th, 2014

I must have started the blanket this day. I was probably sitting on the couch in my Leuven apartment, watching television. I tried to get my baby bump in the photo. Jon had just returned to Leuven to move us to Sweden. I started with red. I don't know why. While I was knitting it, I was reminded of the crocheted bedspreads my grandmother made for my older brothers. Red for one brother, blue for the other. 

 May 29th, 2014

This was Ascension Day, a holiday in Belgium. We had friends fly in from Peru on their way home to Rotterdam. We lived close to Brussels International Airport so they stayed with us and visited for the day. They were jet lagged, so Jon and I went upstairs to enjoy the sunshine on the deck while they napped. We made dinner together, and said Tot ziens! (See you later!) Considering that I had just started the blanket the day before, I'd say I was pretty fast! My second colour choice was navy blue. I kept the darker colours closer together and it just seemed like a natural progression after being reminded of the bed spreads that my grandmother had made.

June 3rd, 2014

I cast on this colour thinking that I would fly through it like I did the other two colours, but I had no idea that this colour of avocado green would knit up through one the most tragic events of my life. My beautiful friend and brother Daniel passed away suddenly during this time. It was unexpected and is still very new for me to process, even today. I was in Spain while all of this transpired and as the events unfolded I would knit and pray, knit and pray, knit and pray, repeat. Knitting simple stitches like this garter stitch keeps my hands busy, it became a kind of meditation. 

June 27th, 2014

This was an epic day. Not only did I start the fourth colour of my blanket, but we also placed all our belongings on a moving van to Sweden. Jon worked so hard to pack and load everything for our move, while I felt like a useless lump of a lady. My last doctor's appointment also happened on this day. It was a dreary rainy day in Belgium that day, so it seems fitting that the colour that I started on this day was grey. 

July 5th, 2014

Our first full day in our new home in Göteborg. As you can see, I wasted no time settling in a comfy spot on the sofa. We watched Belgium lose to Argentina in the World Cup Games. I thought it was a good omen that I was knitting with a colour from the Belgian flag. Turns out yellow is also in the Argentinian flag. 

July 8th, 2014

Same view, different colour: Aqua. 

World Cup was on again and we watched Germany clobber Brazil. I couldn't believe it, I know the neighbours heard me laughing in disbelief! I thought it was a replay, but actually Germany kept scoring against Brazil.

July 15th, 2014

This shade of orange also reminded me of my brother Daniel. It is the school colour of the University of Texas at Austin, the alma matter of both of my older brothers and Jon.

July 22nd, 2014

I saved the best colour for last: hot pink! I was trying to stay away from pink while knitting this blanket, but decided to add it at the last minute. I'm glad I did. It was exceptionally hot in Göteborg this summer, a few locals have mentioned that to me. My feet were really swollen and to find some relief I would put my feet up and knit while watching a few series on Netflix. I watched House of Cards and Call the Midwife. I really enjoyed both shows, but prefer Call the Midwife because I love period drama and particularly historical non-fiction. I only mention this because this is what I think of when I look at that hot pink colour at the end.

July 12th, 2014

Seems fitting to end this post with this photo because this is the view from the balcony, just outside the spot on the sofa where I sat while knitting. This photo was taken at 22:15, or 10:15 in the evening. These beautiful colours remind me of my baby's blanket, they remind me of the summer, they remind me of the events and memories of this season almost gone. They remind me that I am ready for something new.  

A New Start - 365 Photos: Days 1 - 7

Ok - I'm picking up the daily photo project again because I feel like this is something that I can keep up with once the baby is born. The first two photos were shared on my Instagram account, but I hope to avoid double posting in the future.

Day 1: Monday, September 1
Morotskaka (carrot cake) from this recipe by Smitten Kitchen, which I highly recommend. 

Day 2: Tuesday, September 2
A lovely day to run errands, so I ran to The English Shop near the Prinsgatan tram stop for some Branston Pickle.

Day 3: Wednesday, September 3
As I was taking pictures of the nursery, I decided to take a picture of the baby's closet.

Day 4: Thursday, September 4
Midwife appointment. This is my view in the waiting room.

Day 5: Friday, September 5
Jon took this panorama while we were drinking tea in Haga.  

Day 6: Saturday, September 6
41 weeks... That's all I have to say about this.

Day 7: Sunday, September 7
It's not much to look at, but this is a delicious hot dog and it was tonight's dinner. 

Sharing Experiences from Today

No baby yet which means we were able to take care of some business today, and for that I am thankful. I'm also thankful for the amazing lie-in that I had this morning - until 11! Thankful again that I haven't had any trouble sleeping this last trimester, which I hear can be bothersome for some women.

Today's weather was lovely: sunny and 70s! I started to read this book, and so far so good! I didn't have a post in mind for today, but knew that I wanted to blog to keep the momentum going. So, I'm taking a note from the pages of this book - I just thought I would show up and share some experiences from today.

Enjoying some tea and waiting for a doctor's appointment in Haga.

There are food trucks here in Göteborg! Jon spied this burger truck the other day. It's pretty popular with the hip crowd. 

The burger was delicious - nice and juicy, topped with bacon, roasted tomatoes, grilled onions, but the best part was the brioche bun. So good! Jon sure does know the way to my heart and I am so glad we filled up on burgers for lunch because we were out and about for 9 hours today! I haven't had a day like this in a long time. Maybe this will be what it takes to get baby moving? We'll see...

We went to the bank, tried to obtain a Swedish ID card, got a hair cut, saw the doctor, and then we took a commuter train to pick up some cloth diaper supplies in another town south of Göteborg. 

"Watch our kids. Drive slowly." 

What a day! It was fun. 

Shelfies - The Baby's Room, Part II

 Have you heard of a shelfie? It's a selfie with a shelf! 

This is the only shelf that we have in the baby's room so far. It's filled with a few of my favourite things. 

I fell in love with this giraffe at a store here in Göteborg called Afro Art. The colours and patterns are fantastic and I thought it would look great in the nursery. The striped zebra is one of the first purchases I made for baby back in 2010. It's from Peir One Imports and I had to have it for my future child. When I was in Texas last December I found out I was pregnant. Upon my return to Belgium this zebra came back with me, because I've always known it would go in my baby's room. 

The origami elephant is a prototype for a mobile that I am in the process of making for the baby. Thankfully, my mother-in-law is bringing a 10-inch embroidery hoop with her when she comes to visit next week! I've had no luck finding one here in Göteborg. Sometimes I really miss shopping in the USA. 

Here we have baby's first Dala horse and traditional wooden clogs - a nod to her Belgian and Swedish beginnings. The 'Hey Girl' bib is an absolute treasure. It was hand stitched by a friend referencing this hilarious video, and sent to me this summer when things were especially tough and sad - it was one of the sweetest gifts and reminded me how good laughter through tears can feel. I have the card that came with it in a frame, which you can see in the first photo. However, I've decided that the bib is too beautiful to use and will also get a frame the next time I happen to go to IKEA.

We've received many gifts for the baby from friends and family. We are truly blessed. These past two months I have spent many days washing, folding and organising tiny pants, onesies and socks. I've never been so organised in my entire life. I am hoping for better skills, as I want to set a good example for my daughter.

Ideally, baby girl will have her own book shelf one day, but for now all books reside on this huge set of shevles in the living room. Books are such trouble to have while living abroad, but I love my books and I believe books make a home. 

I have many, many more books in Texas, and I miss my collection. I also have many books from my teaching days that will create baby girl's library some day. I want my daughter to grow up with as many books around her as possible, it makes such a difference and I believe establishes a love of literacy. I realise that this will be tricky, seeing as how we live abroad and move so much, but I am determined to find a way to make sure that this happens. It made such a difference in my life. I am thankful for that experience. 

By the way... have you experienced the power of a bookbook™?

The Baby's Room and Other Things, Part I

Well, I am not in the hospital today, so I will share some details from the baby's room. By the way, this website is really funny.

These past two months have felt like a mad dash to the finish line. We literally had nothing in terms of baby equipment when we arrived in Sweden. As someone  who loves to shop, I was completely overwhelmed during the entire process of shopping for baby. Most of the items we purchased were either from IKEA or Blocket - a website in Sweden similar to Craigslist. Since we are subletting the apartment for two years, we had some furniture to work with - the dresser, the nightstand and also the striped beige wall paper that came in this tiny room. I had been wanting that three tiered Råskog kitchen cart from IKEA since it came out a few years ago. I love the functionality of it, and also that it has wheels.

This wall hanging was the inspiration for the room, and I've had my eye on it since my first trimester. It's called Karkuteillä and produced for the iconic Finnish design company Marimekko.

I love it because it's so whimsical and colourful, and I love the fact that the elephant is wearing black cowboy boots - a nod to my daughter's Texas heritage. Interesting side note, in 2012 Jon and I heard the designer of this textile speak in Brussels at a design fair. Her name is Maija Louekari and she's very talented; read more about her here.

Our first purchase for the baby was our stroller. It's a used Bugaboo Cameleon and I love it! I test drove a similar new model at a baby store and really liked the way it "drove."  When Jon found our bright red one on Blocket, I wasn't convinced that it was the "one" because of the colour. As it turns out, I'm so glad we went for a bright colour instead of black, which I feel is too dark for a baby and reminiscent of a funerary car. We took it for a test drive for a picnic back in July. We got a lot of stares - probably because there was no baby in there.

This is Slottsskogen - a huge park in the middle of Göteborg. It was a lovely July evening, and I'm looking forward to going back and exploring with the baby. There's even a small zoo in the park!

Back to the baby's room...

I spent the summer knitting the blanket hanging on the rocking chair. It ended up being rather large for a baby blanket, but I really like the colours and it works well in the room. Every colour on that blanket tells a story. I hope to write more about it later, and also the small quilt in the picnic in the park picture.

Our rocking chair was found second hand on Blocket. We went to pick it up in the centre of town and brought it back on the tram. Jon carried it all the way home on his head. Here I am waiting for the tram, in front of a burger. I think this is a funny picture.

We also found our bedside crib on Blocket, but we went to a store to make this purchase. It's new but was priced much lower than advertised in other stores. The store owner even delivered it to our house after hours at no charge when she saw Jon try to roll it out of the store on a toddler sized skate board. Have I mentioned how kind everyone is in Sweden?

The Troll bedside crib also has wheels that lock, and one of the sides slides down for easy access. This crib can be placed next to our bed and I feel great about using it in our room the first few months. I love the bedding pictured here in the crib. At the moment it's only for decoration, but it was one of the first gifts for baby purchased at Petit Pan in Paris. Ooh-la-la!

The nice thing about these larger pieces is that we can easily move them into our room where baby will sleep the first few months. We have a nice corner space in our bedroom ready to arrange what ever items we find that we'll need. We're flexible and thankfully the furniture is too!

It was a bit of work to get everything organised, but I feel really good about the purchases we've made for baby thus far. We didn't go overboard and I feel like this arrangement will function well for us, but only time will tell.

Part II tomorrow...maybe. 

Seconds

I got a new computer back in December because my old one is almost fried. I still need to get photos and documents off of it, but for now the photos on my new computer go back to January of this year. Last night I had the "brilliant" idea of sharing photos from the 2nd of each month going back to January in an effort to share some insight into life these past few months. However, after working on this post today, I don't know how "brilliant" this idea is. It might not make much sense. It's just kind of scratching the surface with all that has transpired. In any case, here goes...

January 2, 2014

After spending a couple of weeks in Texas for the holidays, we returned to Europe via Amsterdam.

Two interior shots of our friend's place in Amsterdam, which also happens to be on AirBnB. I'll have to search for the link, but will post it as soon as I find it. It's a great space in a great location!

I always make time for some herring when I am in Amsterdam. 

 February 2, 2014

A rainy Sunday afternoon read. Vincent by Barbara Stok.

March 2, 2014

No photo on this day, but I know that I was planning to knit this blanket for the babe. 

April 2, 2014
I took a quick road trip with some friends to see Monet's garden in Giverny.

I'm about 18 weeks pregnant in this photo. 

May 2, 2014
My mom came to see me in May and it was her first visit to Europe! She returns later this month - but this time we won't be taking in so many sights - just baby snuggles.

Enjoying a Gaufre de Bruxelles, (Brussels Waffle), and charming Art Nouveau interior at Le Cirio in Brussels. 

June 2, 2014

I've craved fruit my entire pregnancy. When it was strawberry season in Belgium I would make this mocktail for myself. It's easy to make and only uses three ingredients - fresh strawberries that have been puréed, agave syrup (add enough to your taste) and sparkling water. I think there also may have been some fresh lime juice squeezed in there too. Mmmmmm!

July 2, 2014

This was our 2nd day in London. Just a sampling of our activities this day included:

Walking around Chelsea, 

Exploring and sampling the fine fare in and around the Borough Market,

Fulfilling a dream and visiting the amazing Liberty of London store,

Sight seeing, 

And eating a delicious curry dinner and then walking through SoHo.
I first saw Les Miserables in London 22 years ago! Wow! 

August 2, 2014

We ran errands this day and also started getting the room ready for the baby. 

I'll share more about that tomorrow, unless I don't... 
In which case I will probably be in the hospital laboring away.