KissKus

Bibs aplenty

Even though Linus lives on a strict diet of breastmilk I made him a couple of bibs that I'm sure will come in handy in the future.

I made the patchwork with some of my favourite Dutch fabrics combined with the fabric that I bought on Queensday.

They close with a handy snap (it took me an embarrasingly long time to work out how to adjust these guys...) and are backed with terrycloth.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with these bibs.
However, not as satisfied as I am with the matching cuddly cloth that I made:

Somehow I love how this turned out. The colours, the texture, the pretty ribbons... I'm telling you, if Linus decides for some reason not to cuddle with it then I will!

Going Dutch

We've been having the most wonderful spring weather for some days. We enjoy it as much as we can, spending whole days in the garden.

Linus loves to sleep outside in his pram and when he wakes up hungrily then I just breastfeed him there and then. I cover him up with a blanket at such times, since the sun is really strong and the last thing that I want is for him to get sunburnt. However, all of his blankies are pretty warm so that this was becoming a rather sweaty bussiness... I had to make a 'light' blanket!

So that's what I did this morning, hurrying while Linus was taking a nap.

I used a cotton diaper and one of my lovely Dutch fabrics. Windmills, tulips, the whole lot. I really just sewed to two fabrics together and then 'quilted' it with some squares around the images. Easypeasy, but exactly what we needed.

I'm going to use this for his carseat as well, so that he won't stick to that either. I might have to make another one.

But first I'll finish my other Dutch project... patchwork bibs!

Luxurious burping

On thursday evening my sewing machine and I were reunited and we were both thrilled! It gave me a taste for more, much more. I have so many ideas swimming around in my head; I just need some time to get going. I do think the evenings are best for sewing. Michel and I agreed that we'll both spend some evenings a week being crafty. He'll work on his writing and I will be sewing. A good plan, no?!

Now what did I make? Something quick and very useful... burp cloths! Although I have quite a stack of them already, I never seem to have enough. Linus regularly spits up quite a bit of milk, so I need a clean cloth constantly. Besides, the ones I have are boring!

I used a nice soft towel for these. Drew a rough flowerlike pattern and dug up my fanciest biastape. Sewed it all together et voila! Six pretty burp cloths that no baby will be ashamed to be seen with.

Although I must say that Linus (who is 1 month old today, by the way) seems rather unimpressed by them...

So... now what?!

Yesterday I was able to tick off another project of my to-do-list after I'd finished the travelcot. And unbelievable as it may sound, I'm starting to run out of things to do. In fact, right now there is no project that just *has* to be finished before the baby's arrival... does this mean that I'm ready?!

I did really want to get this project finished as I think we will be using it a lot in the next couple of months. I'm pretty sure I want the baby to be close to me often and it's going to be too much trouble dragging the 'real' cot up and down the stairs.
So first I bought a new mattrass (the old one was yuk) which I cut to size and then covered with white cotton.

Then I started with the blanket. It turned out very simple, but I didn't want to add any more frills because the fabric is so pretty. Unfortunately I cut off one bit of the extra fabric of the back that I was going to use for the binding, which caused a bit of frustration and delay, but I managed to fix it alright.

Next up was the lining. Not difficult at all, because I used the old fabric as a template, so all I had to do was sew it together and make openings for the handles.
All in all, I'm very pleased with it and I'm glad that I found a way to use my beloved matryoshka fabric.

While I was at it I also made two matryoshka dolls from the gorgeous fabric that I ordered from the lovely and helpful Erika from MikoDesign. She printed the fabric herself.

I want to make some more to use as decoration. Also, I would like to make a cushion out of the tree fabric for the chair in the nursery. So it seems that I'm not quite done with my to-do-list yet after all ;)

Au revoir!

Tomorrow morning (apparently before dawn, if Michel has his way) we'll leave for Paris!!
Yes, that's right... PARIS!!

Well, alright, not quite the capital of France itself, but Disneyland Paris.
Although I'm not a great Disney-fan, I'm looking forward to spending two whole days with my husband and children doing something other than working on the house. Besides, this trip is more or less free, since it came with the car... I'm not complaining!

I'm even looking forward to the 5-hour journey. I've always enjoyed being confined to the car with my loved ones... except when the children are whining, needing pee... etc. ;))

So hopefully we'll be able to relax and enjoy it. If the weather is as nice as it was today then I'm sure we will.

Thankfully I'm feeling a little less stressed out already. Wednesday morning at work I didn't make it past the receptionist's desk. I was so tired and sore that when she asked me how I was feeling, I started crying right there and then. She was so kind to me, she phoned someone and said I wasn't able to work anymore and then she sent me home. After a couple of hours in bed I felt not so disappointed in myself anymore, after all I had just one more week to go, so I nearly made it till the end. I do feel that I really need to get a little more rest now; it's not just wise, but a necessity.

Anyway, have a lovely weekend everyone! I'll be back in a couple of days with a full report of our trip!
Bissoux!!

The photos btw are some of the tissueholders I've been making these past weeks... I've got a little factory going on here :)

Back to normal

The Christmas decorations have been cleared away, Amber's back in school, I'm back at work and tonight we're having hutspot for dinner... finally things are back to normal and what a relief it is!

Simon and I are no longer sick and thankfully the flu seems to have passed the other two by.

It's time to concentrate on our house now, we have exactly two months to get everything organised and to get properly prepared for baby's arrival. It's do-able, but we have to get a move on.

Photos are of some felt tissueholders that I made last week... don't they breath "seventies"?!

With a bang

Well, 2008 has been quite eventful so far...

It started on New Year's Eve. Having spent a great time with friends, we woke the children to go home around 2.30 a.m.. We all got into the car and waited for the windows to clear. It didn't take long for us to realise that they were perfectly clear already, and that we could not see further than our car's bumper was due to the "killer fog" that had emerged in the hours before.
Against better knowledge I started to drive, guessing which way to go and hoping we would not bump into anything. After about 50 meters we gave up and Michel walked in front of the car to guide us back to our parking space.
As a modern day Joseph and Mary we knocked on our friends' door and asked for shelter. We crashed on their floor and that was the first night without sleep.

Tuesday night I lay awake worrying a little about the next months of my pregnancy. I was convinced that the baby had turned and was now continually kicking at my stomach... it was soooo uncomfortable!! When I had to rush to the bathroom to throw up I was still under the impression that it was the baby's doing, but after my second, third, fourth, etc. trip to the bathroom it became clear that I had caught some kind of stomach virus. Sorry, baby, for falsely accusing you! That was the second night without sleep.

After a whole day in bed, being sick and nothing else, I went to bed that night with a back so sore it woke me up every hour. That was the third night without sleep.

Yesterday, I still wasn't feeling up to much and luckily my sisters came to help me out with the children and cooking. My body wasn't aching so much anymore though and I longed for a good night's sleep. Once in bed however, I was awake thinking too many things, also the baby was having a kick-fest. When I had finally dozed off Simon called for me. It wasn't long after that that he called again and when Michel went into his room, found that he'd been sick all over himself and the bed. The poor guy had woken up being sick... he was so shocked! After emergency cleaning and showering, we tucked him into his fresh bed and then he was sick three more times in the following 45 minutes. After that I just couldn't sleep anymore. And that was the fourth night.

Today has gone by rather quickly. The washing machine and dryer have been going non-stop. I've been functioning as well as possible. Simon hasn't been sick since this morning.

I'm sure I will sleep like a log tonight -unless someone else gets sick tonight of course ;)

On a positive note, there have been good things too these days, such as Amber's festive make-up

and the new purse that I made and that I like.

I've just been rather occupied. I hope that explains the fact that I haven't yet been round to everyone's blogs to say Happy New Year. So Happy New Year everyone!!

A Christmas wonderland

The weather has been very obliging this year and has provided us with a beautiful winter wonderland. Just in time for Christmas. Everything looks gorgeous!

Today the four of us spent a lovely quiet day at home. Michel took the kids out for a refreshing walk, while I stayed at home sewing. I managed to sew up four Christmas presents and I'll be finishing three more tonight. I never thought I'd be able to achieve so much last minute... I suppose it's a handmade Christmas for me after all!

Tomorrow morning I have to go into work for a couple of hours and after that we'll start the Christmas festivities at my parents' house. I'm looking forward to it.

I hope you'll all be able to enjoy the next couple of days, wherever you are and whatever way you choose to celebrate. Happy Christmas!

LBD

Here are some photos of the dress I made for Amber. Her Little Black Dress for the holidays.

She picked out the fabric herself weeks ago and I was very pleased that she chose such a chique fabric, instead of the obligatory pink.

This was the pattern, which turned out to be a little weird. There was no opening, no zipper or anything, which made it impossible to put on (the fabric doesn't stretch). I used my creativity and put two little buttons on the shoulder, so that now it is possible to get it over her head.

Amber loved how the dress turned out and was very proud to wear it. She told me:"Mama, I think everybody will be looking at me, because no-one else has a dress like mine!" Bless her little heart... she really appreciates the uniqueness of something handmade :)

The irony is that I myself have not seen her wear it yet at all. Unfortunately I couldn't attend her performance in church, because I had to work. However, it's already packed to come with us for our sleep-over at my parents' house, so tomorrow I'll finally be able to see how it looks on her.

I'll leave with one last photo of Simon... apparently he also enjoyed himself in church!

Pyramid bags

Something new has been born out of my oilcloth stash... pyramid bags!

As much as I would like to say that I thought these up all by myself, I have to admit that I saw them in a stall at the Christmas market in Germany. Although they looked different and weren't made of oilcloth there, I did steal shamelessly steal the design (and my mother-in-law was my partner in crime!).
So thank you anonymous German lady for providing me with this idea!

These are fun to make too! Not nearly as hard as it might initially look like. I did notice that some fabrics are better suited for this than others. The best ones for this are those with the black or purple design. The good thing is that these bags can be folded as well without leaving ugly creases, which means they can be put in an envelope.

I made a whole bunch at once along with matching tissueholders. My sister-in-law wanted to take some back to Australia with her to hand out as Christmas gifts. Yay, my things will be used in Australia!

I will be making more. I want to try and make them with a folded opening instead of a zipper, so you can use them in the bathroom for cotton wool and stuff.

By the way, I bought a new supply of oilcloth this weekend... yummy, yummy!!