KissKus

Peek-a-boo

To hopefully make up for my lack of posting I have a short video of Linus playing peek-a-boo to show.
Watch it here.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

My skirt-y bag

I finally finished the bag that I'd started working on weeks months ago.

The idea of making a bag using both oilcloth and cotton had been going through my head for ages. I'm sure you all know the feeling of restlessness you get when you have a creative plan but don't have the time/opportunity/energy to execute it... well, at least I don't have to feel restless about this anymore!

I started with drawing a (simple) pattern and trying to determine all the sewing steps BEFORE I started sewing. I was prepared! And it almost completely went as I'd imagined :)

I really like how it turned out.  I think I'll be using this bag for our library books... isn't that the ultimate test for a bag?

Amber was impressed with the bag, but also laughingly pointed out that it looked like a skirt. And indeed the bottom is a bit too wide, so I'll change that next time.

My friend and I have decided to hire a stall at a Christmas market in Amsterdam. A crazy plan, but also lots of fun, I hope! I'm thinking of selling these bags there... what do you reckon?

Oh, I also made this oilcloth bib! It looks very cute hanging in Linus' room, but I have my doubts about its practicality. More bibs coming soon!

Wave, girls!

Hello, just look what my mother-in-law gave me last week...

her matryoshka-collection!

I suppose that day was lucky-me-day, because I found this beautiful Oilily fabric in a very cute little shop.

Two wonderful metres of it! Plus that lovely gingham, yay!
I'm thinking of making something for Amber of it... a dress perhaps? (Lately I've been trying to use more of my "good" fabrics. At first it hurts a little, but it's a true pleasure as well to actually make something out of them.)

 

It makes me happy just to look at it :)

Pieces

I love sewing fabric strips together.

It's wonderful to create a whole new piece of fabric out of all those different strips.

It's actually quite a lot of work, but very relaxing.
I used big and small scraps, new and vintage fabric. Some fabrics I bought, some were swapped or given to me. A lovely palette.

Here are some more patchwork strips:

I came across this pouch/wristlet that I made last year.

Hello, happy little pouch, I love your polkadots!

Mag 'n cheese

Lunch and Sew Hip: an excellent combination.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Score at the thriftstore

I promised to show you the goodies I scored at the thriftstore yesterday, so here goes...

I fell instantly in love with these mugs; I simply had to have them. I never did tell about our mug-love, did I? Perhaps a topic for another post. Let me just say that the mugs are spilling from our cupboard, but after buying these we got rid of three others. So good of us.

Then these shirts... aren't they totally fug fantastic?! Michel is going to spend a weekend with his best friend soon and he says they will wear these shirts. At least I don't have to worry that they'll be chased by any girls then ;)

Rattle socks for Linus. I'm thinking of putting the rattles into a fabric ball that I want make for him. Or should I leave them as they are? They're cute!

Lovely books for everyone. Click the photo to see who they are for. Of course, the bottom one is for me.

It only cost a couple of cents and there are some great softies in there as you can see: I love that Adam and Eve!

And then finally I found four nifty baskets. I have a feeling that they're from Ikea; at least that would explain their tight fit into our Billy bookcase!

As you can tell, Michel and I were mighty pleased with our finds. When we go to the thriftstore we always come away with something... do you ever leave empty handed?!

Hurray!

I'm feeling very happy right now. This was such a good day!
Hurray for:

• The second undisturbed night in a row... yay, Linus!!
• A great thrifting/coffee drinking morning with my lovely hubby and gorgeous baby
• Cute, inexpensive things bought today
• A husband that took the car to the garage, did the shopping, cooked a yummy meal and went shoe-shopping with Simon
• Sewing during nap-time (yes, you read that right... I sewed!!! And Linus napped!!!

We bought the prints above in the sale today... what a find, I really love them! They're designed by Atelier LZC; a design studio I'd never heard of before, but I think they make wonderful things. I just don't know where to hang them yet. I would love to hang them in the living room where I can look at them all day, but the colours don't really match our furniture. What to do?! Paint the furniture, I suppose :)

Next post I'll show you what I dragged home with me from the thriftstore!

Six months

Happy half year, baby!!

So much has happened this past month. You are growing so fast (68 cms/7,1 kgs). Your little face is slowly becoming less baby-ish and more you. Some say you look like me, others say you look like your father or brother. Without question you are you.

There are so many things that you're able to do now. You flip over from your back to your stomach and vice versa (you've been able to do that since before you were four months old). You spin, you move towards objects that you want to grab, you reach out and you grab them. You can hold two objects at the same time. You can sit unassisted, but will loose your balance at any given moment. You love it when we hold your hands and let you stand.

Your babbling varies enormously. You try out new sounds at different volumes all the time. The other day we heard you say papa, while papa was playing with you... I'm sure that was a coincidence, right?! Last month you loved blowing raspberries, but you seem to have lost interest in that. Strangely enough you seem to have forgotten how to do it too. I suppose you must divide your attention. You learn a thing and then you move on to the next.

Sadly, we're still experiencing very frustrating times together. You cry so much and you do not like to be left alone. You refuse to sleep during the day. Something seems to be bothering you, but what it is is still a big mystery. It makes me feel desperate and powerless... I really really really want you to be happy and satisfied, but I don't know what to do. The pediatrician could find nothing wrong with you physically. We're going to try something else now, an osteopath probably. In the meantime we're working on finding a rhythm that works for both of us. I'm trying to be very perceptive to the signals that you give out, so that I can anticipate to your needs. Sometimes I'm successful, which makes me feel very happy and gives me new confidence that we will find our voice to communicate. We will work it out, I'm certain of that.

And although you hardly sleep during the day, the nights have become so much more peaceful since you sleep in your own room. I'm so proud of you that you're sleeping so well! When you cry we just have to give you your dummy and you will go back to sleep without a problem. We all feel better because of it.

We've started giving you fruit now. First apple, now banana. You prefer the banana by far, but are still reluctant about the whole eating thing (we both secretly feel that breastfeeding is the best, which we still enjoy five times a day).

You played with Simon and his train today. Simon built and you demolished. It was a wonderful scene. Both your siblings are crazy about you.

You're such a beautiful, sensitive little boy. You need a lot of physical contact; you simply demand it. You like to cuddle and snuggle, you're always stroking something with your little hands. When you smile, we all smile. We're all so happy that you joined our family, Linus!

Play

Last week my Sheet Square Swap package arrived. And what a fun package it was!
I swear that I looked at each and every piece of fabric that was in there... all 200 of them!
After that Amber and I spent a lovely afternoon sorting the fabric by colour and making patchwork patterns with them on the garden table.

It was very comforting to be playing with fabric in these harsh times of sewing drought. It almost felt as if I was really working on something... bliss!

Anyway, I do definitely think that our sofa needs a new patchwork snuggle blanket this winter. It must be possible to sew one before March 21st 2009, right?!

Also last week I received this lovely package with pretty goodies. I'd won a give-away on Lisette's blog. All items are already being used and loved.

Thank you Katie and Lisette for brightening up my day with your great packages!