Living close to grandchildren or far away?

I live 300 miles from my grandchild. I saw him the day after he was born, and again at 4 weeks old. That was two weeks ago, and it's 3 more weeks until I can next see him.

 Talking to friends who are surrounded by their grandchildren I feel jealous- they can see them anytime. Then I talked to two more friends who each had one grandchild- in Australia. They Skype a lot, but they feel the distance. Maybe it's not so bad for me. 4 hours door to door thank to Virgin Trains is not too bad.

 I've joined Gransnet, the Grans' version of Mumsnet. Gransnet is full of useful tips and discussions. It's nowhere near as big as Mumsnet, but it's well worth taking a look.

I'm also on Twitter . You find me @DotingGran. I'm looking for people to follow, so please follow me and I'll follow you ( There's a song in there somewhere- Peter Gabriel I think?)

Recommended knitting for doting grandmothers.

If you want a great book of knitting patterns for babies and toddlers up to 2, I think you can't beat The Ultimate book of baby knits from top designer Debbie Bliss

So far I've knitted two jackets and two pairs of booties using patterns from this book, and there are lots more for me to do in the months ahead. This makes the book really great value, and I really recommend that you use Debbie Bliss yarns for these patterns. So far, all my knits have been made using Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, which is a beautiful fine yarn, a little thicker than 4 ply.Many of the patterns use this yarn, but there are also some using Debbie Bliss DK and Aran weights.

Here's the little jacket I knitted

Jacket knitted in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.

I used Ecru edged in Duck Egg Blue.

I've written a review of the Debbie Bliss Ultimate Book of Baby knits which you can read here.

You can buy it from Amazon- just click on the picture below.

It's a boy!

Baby Felix was born at 2.15 am on Sunday 1 September. I was lucky enough to be able to visit him and his parents as he came home from hospital on Monday, and spent a lovely day on Tuesday with them.

It was tough to say goodbye on Wednesday, and it will be some weeks before we can see them again. I'll be using Skype for the first time!

Now I'm a real, bona fide Grandmother......................at last! Amazing!

One day to go?

The baby is due tomorrow. Looks like it might not arrive over the Bank Holiday weekend now, which must be good news. In my experience, staffing at hospitals over holiday weekends tends to be rather thin. Not blaming them- everyone has families, and they want breaks too.

Waiting for the phone call....................

It's a nervous time- we're all waiting for the phone call..........

It's the first time I've really experienced the wait for the phone call about a new baby. When you're the one expecting it's all very different.

4 days to go until the due date.......

The Doting Grandmother writes on Zujava!

What is Zujava I hear you ask? Take a look here and you'll find out!

Click on the link  Create a free account on Zujava and try it out. It's easy to use and there is lots of helpful advice available.

Zujava is a platform where writers can write about things they like and enjoy, and they can, potentially make money as well. My first three articles on Zujava are all ( not surprisingly)baby related.
Here they are;

The perfect jacket, hat and booties for a newborn baby

Organic baby clothes for newborn babies

Becoming a first time grandparent -helpful books

Here's a picture of the booties I knitted.

Cute? Yes! Easy to knit? Yes! Click the link above to find out more.

Do modern babies (and their mums) like hand knitted clothes?

I've been assured that hand knitted baby clothes are very, very desirable these days. That's good news for those doting grandmothers who have run out of projects for themselves, their spouses, their distant relatives and their friends. Now there is a new person to knit for, new patterns to peruse, new yarn to buy. Those of you who love to knit ( and there are many of us out there ) will appreciate the joy of starting new projects, adding to your stash, seeking out patterns, and reading posts on Ravelry. What's Ravelry? It's free site for knitters and crocheters, where tips are shared, patterns are posted, yarns are discussed and yarnies get together. Take a look here, log in and join Ravelry. Take a look at the knitting page to the right for my first project.