Have brought home Baby!

Her due date was May 1, but on April 18, got the call from the birth father that the birth mother has gone into labor.  Then at about 10am EST, got the call that Baby was born.

What followed was a whirlwind of ticket-buying, packing, and traveling to California on April 19. I needed to be there to take physical custody of Baby by the time birthmom was discharged from the hospital.  If she had given vaginal birth, discharge would be 24 hours later.  Since it was cesarean birth, discharge was 48 to 72 hours after birth.  That gave Husband enough time to wrap things up at work and be there on Saturday.

The hospital was great.  They let me stay overnight in a room down the hall from the birthmother and I got to room in with Baby on April 19.

Birth parents were great.  They're smart, they made the best plan they could for Baby. Husband and I traveled to CA to meet them in March and really like them.  Baby comes from good people and I will only ever have good things to say about them.

After about a week in CA, while waiting for the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children to clear in CA and GA, I could finally bring Baby home to Atlanta.

Husband couldn't stay in CA for the the 10 days I was there.  But at least his mother came from Wisconsin to help out and meet Baby.

Baby's pretty well behaved so far.  Sleeps most of the time, waking about every 3 or 4 hours around the clock to eat.

I'm doing pretty well.  The bout of insomnia I had earlier this year has trained me up for this.

Baby is perfect and Husband and I are thrilled.

Five, er, Ten Year Quilt

It's done!

Here it is, on a bare queen-sized bed.

Started: 200? Was so long ago, I don't remember anymore.  But I know I started it while living at the first house I owned so was sometime after 2000.

Finished:  April 4, 2012.

All fussy-cut and hand sewn. Tied, instead of quilted. Binding is pre-made of Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

I love it.

Swaddling blankets

I am very close to finishing the 5 year quilt,which I think actually took 10 years.  Pictures soon.

I have a ton of things to do to wrap up work for a client and to prepare for the baby (find pediatricians, figure out health insurance stuff, learning how to take care of a baby, etc).

However, all I want to do is make swaddling blankets.  I pulled these quilting cottons from my stash and want to just sit and sew.

One more month

If all goes well, will be going out of state to pick up new daughter

The Oscars and the Bechdel Test

Feminist Frequency is awesome.

Guess which *1* movie passes the Bechdel test?  And whether any pass the Johnson test?

http://www.feministfrequency.com/2012/02/the-2012-oscars-and-the-bechdel-test/

Beginning of her blog post:

It’s been a few years since I’ve checked in with The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies so I thought it would be a good time to look in on Hollywood and see if there’s been any substantial improvement in women’s representations on the big screen.  In this updated video, I go through the 2011 films nominated for Best Picture at the 84th annual Academy Awards and see how they measure up to the Bechdel Test. Keep watching because I also propose a small addendum to help clarify the spirit of the test and provide a solution on how Hollywood can fix the glaring problem that the Bechdel Test exposes. I’ll also address the question, “What about the reverse test?” and I’ll show an alternative test that has been adapted by critics to identify the presence of people of colour in films.  Sprinkled throughout this video I offer a few movie recommendations.

a (fake) Encyclopedia of Feminism According to Harry Potter

I saw this on Ekaterina Sedia's twitter feed.  I have one of Ms. Sedia's steampunk novels, The Alchemy of Stone.  I give it a B.  The story, plot, and world building was interesting, but emotionally it didn't grab me.

Anyway, she found a (fake) table of contents for a this encyclopedia, written in Russian.  She's translated it.

The link is here: http://squirrel-monkey.livejournal.com/180067.html

and I've reposted the whole thing here.

If this was a real book, in English, I'd love to read it.

Russian Language Harry Potter Fandom is Awesome

• Feb. 20th, 2012 at 9:27 PM

So blades_of_grass linked to this amazing Table of Contents, posted here, and authored by (c) sadcrixivan, frau_derrida, _palka. This is meant to be a ToC for ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FEMINISM ACCORDING TO HARRY POTTER. Of course, as it’s third wave, there are quite a few intersectional articles. What I want to know is why is this not real!

Anyway, blades_of_grass kindly asked for permission to translate this gem on my behalf, because I feel everyone should see this. With many thanks to the talented authors, here’s my translation:

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FEMINISM ACCORDING TO HARRY POTTER.

The Practice of Female Separatism in Daily Life of Luna Lovegood

Hermione Granger on Liberal Feminism

Female Empowerment in Academia Through the Eyes of Minerva McGonagall

Women in Politics: The Dilemma of Dolores Umbridge

Women in the Military and Psychological Violence: The Case of Bellatrix Lestrange

Consequences of Limiting Abortion Rights: The Tragedy of Lily Potter

The Death Toll of Unpaid Labor: The Duel of Molly Weasley and Bellatrix Lestrange

Replication of Violent Family Practices: Family Strategies of Nymphadora Tonks

The Duality of Economic Strategies for Women: Narcissa Malfoy

The Internalized Misogyny Among Successful Women: Rita Skeeter

Woman as a Scapegoat in Political Processes: Marietta Edgecombe

Forced Marriage as a Conduit of Classism: Pansy Parkinson

Fatphobia: Millicent Bulstrode

Ridicule of Victims of Violence as a Form of Demonization: Moaning Myrtle

The Founders of Hogwarts, or Men are Always in Charge: False Equality

Hufflepuff and the "Virtue of the Working Class": The Silent Majority

Cho Chang: The Relations with Racial and Ethnic Minorities as a Casual Entertainment

The Marriage of Ginny Weasley: "Woman Exchange"

Good Homosexual is a Well-Educated White Men with No Sexual Liaisons: Albus Dumbledore

Polyamory and Childfree Lifestyle -- Self-Positioning of Bellatrix Lestrange

Ariana Dumbledore: Murder of a Disabled Person as a Social Necessity

Argus Filch: Even Harry and Ron Can Laugh at the Handicapped

Goblins: The Apotheosis of the British Antisemitic Tradition

Flitwick and Hagrid: Ethnic Minorities Will Always Clean Up After You, or Uncle Tom in Hogwarts

If the Protagonist is Fed, Slavery is Awesome: House Elves

Only Stupid Girls Fight Slavery

Hermione Granger: A Good Woman Defends Others' Rights and Provides Others' Lessons

Alcoholism and the Esoteric: Coping Mechanisms under Conditions of Discrimination

House Elves: Just Like Women, Only Ugly and Invisible

Pomona Sprout: Good Girls are Liked but not Noticed

Professor Vector, or Anonymity of Women in Mathematics

Poppy Pomfrey: a Subservient Suffragette, or the Outcome of Courses of Higher Women's Studies in St Petersburg

Bellatrix Lestrange and Luna Lovegood: Psychiatric Disabilities and Ableism in Hogwarts

Luna Lovegood, Tom Riddle, Harry Potter" Good Children Don't Get PTSD

Luna Lovegood: Forced Acceptance into the Family Strategies of Psychological Repression

Conventional Man is Allowed Anger but not Grief. Harry Potter: The Masculinity Trap

Remus Lupin and the "Good Cripple" Archetype

Rolanda Hooch: Professional Women's Athletics as Deviation

Molly Weasley and Fleur Delacourt: Differentiation Between Women as a Tool of Oppression

Momo

This is Momo. I used the pattern Owl Puffs by Jenna Krupar.  It's supposed to be stuffed in a way that makes the corners stick up like ears.  But I rolled up some left over quilt batting and there wasn't enough for the ears.  So they droop.  Hence I made it into a dog.

Details:
Yarn:  Lamb's Pride Bulky, leftover from a sweater I made for my sister years ago.  The photo is off, since the yarn is turquoise, not blue blue.
Needle: US 10, one metal circular, one bamboo circular

Method:
~ Used Turkish cast on at the top of the head and 2 circulars to knit downwards.  It was really easy and resulted in a pouch that I could keep the yarn and needles in when not knitting on it.
~ Then I stuffed it and knitted the bottom closed in a flat hexagon so it would sit up.
~ I threw it in the wash to felt it a bit.  I have front loading washing and drying machines, so it didn't felt very much.
~ Embroidered on face with worsted weight wool.  I'll wash it again to felt it in place.  I hope.

Started Jan 12, 2012, finished Jan 19.  It really could be done in a just a few days but I've been sticking to my project rotation, so have worked on this only every 4 days.

I made it for Husband's secretary who is expecting her first kid in February.  I really love Momo.

I'm going to make a baby sweater or toy a month so I'll have something ready to give when I hear about an impending baby.

I forsee making several more Momos or stuffies.  I have so much feltable wool that needs to be used!