What is happen'n in the belly???....and a NEW all silk colorway

I have miraculously hit the 39 week mark. That means that Piccadilly is "officially" due next Tuesday Nov 2. I had two awesome weeks in this whole pregnancy and those were weeks 36 to 38, no vomiting, no migraines etc. But this past week has been full of painful non-stop contractions. ...Nothing new for me right? Yes I have had contractions around the clock, ALL THE TIME, day in and day out, every hour for 6 months, but these ones have been different, much stronger, longer and painful. Every day we wonder is today THE day? Because of my history we opted not to rush to the hospital but to wait for other signs of labor...(obviously my contractions cannot be trusted.) I decided to hold out until my next doctors appointment which was yesterday (same day pic was taken). I was appalled and discouraged to find out that I have barely progressed since last week. I mean come on?!?!? What the goob are all these contractions for if they aren't going to do anything?!?!? My level of frustration is out the roof. I cried almost all day yesterday. I am so tired of being in this constant state of labor and getting nowhere. I have been in pain, all day, everyday, not sleeping for the past week. It is like Piccadilly and I are stuck. I am effaced, have begun to dilate, her head is low and in position for her grand entrance and ...tic toc...tic toc....nothing. How anticlimactic is this? Anyhow, the docs offered to induce me today but I declined. There is a 66% chance of ending up in a C-section when labor is induced. That is 2 in 3 births...how horrible are those statistics? I am hoping and praying that she comes before Halloween. My birthday is this Friday, I was born on my biological father's birthday, so how cool would it be if Piccadilly was born on our birthday too?
I guess she will come when she is ready...it is just that this state of painful limbo is extremely tiresome.
On to some good news. My docs are still amazed that we made it this far after all this drama. I completely attribute this miracle to all the prayers that have been sent our way, so thank you all so very much! In spite of all the complications I have been able to gain a total of 13 pounds and baby seems to be close to target for weight and size. I expect the next time you hear from me we will have come through the other side of this adventure with something to show for all this work.

PEARLS
This is the all new silk-only colorway.
HOSTA LEAF
HYDRANGEA
And here are new batches of old favorites.

XOXOXO ~ Hopefully for the next post we will have baby pictures.

Passing the time

Well I am sure it is no surprise that I am back on bed rest. BOOOO!
Anyway I thought I would share a little of what I have been doing.

Diamond Doily in progress. Tatted in size 80 majestic tatting threads.

I fell in love with Jane Eborall's patchwork doily the very first time I saw it. It has been a project that has been in the back of my mind for some time. ...and now that I have a lot of time...there is no time like the present right? Jane has generously shared her diamond pattern as well as some templates to help you design your own pattern.

I am hoping that in the end....probably a year from now...it might look like this.



...and here is my latest belly photo for those who enjoy this sort of thing.

Entries are in...

I worked my tuckus off and this is my entry. It is quite a large piece...about 3 feet wide. In retrospect it looks a bit bare to me. Due to lack of time I had to cut some elements out. When the State Fair is over I will finish this by adding more animals and a garden and maybe a few puffy clouds here and there. This will hang in Picadilly's room. It is the very first thing I have made for her so far. I hope she likes it!



I entered several other items but didn't have time to photograph them. As I turned in my tatted pieces a crowd of ladies gathered to oohh and ahhh. Some of them had never seen tatting in "real" life before. Between the tatting and my ever blossoming belly, we were quite the spectacle.
I will know if I have won any ribbons by this weekend. It is all so exciting!

Here is my most recent belly picture. It is getting bigger everyday and I can almost hear my skin stretching...eeww!

My big belly, New HDT's and a Catalog for you!

Here is my nearly 7 month belly photo. I am happy to report that as of today I am 6 pounds up from my pre-pregnancy weight. I am still suffering from almost constant nausea but I haven't actually been throwing up as much. With being able to keep more food in and having my physical activities greatly restricted, I expect that I will continue to put on weight. I am loving my basketball belly!

"WINTER HAZE"




"DIABLO"



"AMERICANA"


Added some new colorways to my Hand Dyed Tatting threads arsenal.
Speaking of which, I have finally finished one of my long term projects, and that is an HDT Catalog. It's fabulous! I currently have 69 different colorways to choose from. All of which include sizes 100, 80, 50, 20 in cotton and size 20 in %100 Pure Silk.
Get yours here:
Summer 2010 HDT Catalog by LadyShuttleMaker