Fixer Upper

Jemmie got black paint on one of her t-shirts. I can't remember if it happened at preschool or home, but I do remember thinking, "Oh that'll come out." I don't know why I am always so optimistic about getting stains out, as I am not very good at doing it (not been a mum for long enough I guess!)

I have seen applique in the face of failed stain removal before and have always planned to give it a go.

I realised when I was finished I had decided to do a house or houses, but this is what I did without paying much attention obviously. A gratifying little project all in all.

I hope she will wear it. It won't fit much longer.

Getting back into things (a bit)

Yesterday I did some sewing. Hooray! A friend got married at the beginning of March and I haven't given her a gift yet. She is a friendly eco-warrier so I really wanted to make her something out of recycled/scrap materials.

Jemima was at preschool at the time of this revival of the sewing machine and Caleb sat with me and quietly did some crafting of his own. It was one of those nice moments, when all is well with the world.

I feel like I have to hold onto those moments on days like today where the fatigue was so overwhelming the TV went on again and again. I don't have huge objections to my kids watching TV, but I feel there is a limit. I surpassed that limit many times over today.

The solution? Early to bed, and a little begging session with Jemima to please not wake up mummy while it is still very dark. Also Chris is away on a 10 day stint in Las Vegas. So if he could come back, that would help muchly. Bring on Saturday.

Preschool Girl and Movie Boy and their tearful Mother

Jemima started preschool the other day. She was so ready to go that she barely said goodbye when we got there and didn't want to leave when I picked her up. It felt very strange to leave her there *cue misty eyes here* and hang out with Caleb, who is enjoying his first set of holidays ++.

I had planned to take Caleb to see the new Nanny McPhee movie- his first trip to the movies ever! He was so excited he was practically skipping along to the theatre, but alas, tickets all sold out! His big eyes widened and misted with tears, with the corners of his mouth down turned. But he pulled himself together and tried not to look too disappointed. I, on the other hand, let a tear or two escape on his behalf. I was so sad for him. And so very proud of him for behaving in such a grown up way.

We managed to go today, with Jemima happily hanging at Grandmas. And it was so worth the wait! The movie was lovely, but even better was enjoying this moment together with my son who was so sweet ensconced in the too big seat and getting chocolate choc top all over his face at 9:30 in the morning. I half watched the movie, half watched him watching the movie. And more than a few of those pesky tears escaped again. I could blame pregnancy hormones, but I am a sook descended from a long line of sooks, so I won't.

I'm busting to sew something, but just can't find the energy yet. I tried to make some baby booties for someone who had a little girl, but it was a fail as I did not read the instructions properly. I sewed from A to B instead of seam C. Which I didn't realise until pretty much the end. Nuts. Oh well. At least not much fabric went to waste! (And I didn't cry about it either in case you were wondering).

Baby on Board

I have really missed making things and blogging about them. But I have been busy: incubating our new little baby. This is the picture we got of him/her today! A very wriggly little thing just like big brother and sister. I feel a crazy amount of mummy love for that little grainy black and white image up there.

I have been sick sick sick, hence my absence from the makey scene. But on Wednesday I seem to have turned a corner. I still feel "off", but on the bright side I can get out of bed and eat and drink! Yay! I won't go into detail because that would be gross, but let's just say it has been a difficult time.

We could not have functioned with out the incredible selfless support of our parents, and I could not have functioned without Chris (in the midst of a job change himself) doing all the stuff I usually do and not once making me feel bad about it.

So bring on September, we can't wait to meet and nurture our little spring lamb.

Bridesmaid Dress Part 1

My sister is in the bridal party for a wedding in March and the girls are wearing long knit dresses. She wasn't confident that she would find something off the rack that would suit her body shape, so I bravely offered my sewing services. To make sure I could actually do it, I made a practice one in black. I bought the fabric (of the Bride's choosing) from Spotlight, it is called "Kaleidoscope Interlock" or something like that, and it has a surprisingly lovely drape to it.

I used the Anda dress pattern from the Burdastyle website as a base and changed up the neckline to make it more scoopy, arms to make it sleeveless, lengthened it to the floor, and added a ruffle around the neckline too. I also made the elastic casing inside the dress, rather than on the outside.

The bride and my sister are both really happy with the outcome, and so am I. (It actually looks better in real life than in this picture, if I can swell my head to say so.)

It didn't take that long to make in the end, and now I have to rally all of my energy to make the "real deal".

PS I didn't end up using my overlocker, I needed the familiarity of a machine that I felt secure with- especially with the wedding in less than a month away. I used much of the wisdom in "Sew U Home Stretch" by Wendy Mullin.

In other consuming news, Caleb is settling in at "big school" and overall it is going fairly well, but statements like, "I like preschool better (because there is more stuff to do)," and "I asked some girls to be my friend and they just pretended I wasn't there!", indicate that this adjustment is not without its challenges. He pulled his brave poker face (the face he pulls when he is a bit overwhelmed) as he lined up with his class and tottered off to his classroom for Day 3- and that had my eyes welling up behind my big dark sunglasses!

Having said all that, I am pretty darn proud of him for how he has gone so far. It is a big culture shock for a 5 year old to adapt to the school system I think, and he is doing great. (And I am doing OK too.)

Caleb's first day of school EVA!

Caleb started school today! Most of his friends started earlier in the week, or even last week, so this week has dragged for my new kinder kid.

I thought I would be tearful, but I have been OK. I think I felt this week dragging too, and eager for him to get started so we can all move into this new phase for our family.

I am about to go and pick him up and I can't wait to hear about his day. I hope he is feeling his usual verbose self. I want to know everything.

In a galaxy far far away...

I am a little out of the habit of posting at the moment, evidently!

This is a present I made for Caleb for Christmas. Back when I was painting the dolls for Jemima's Christmas present, Caleb wanted a set of his own. He is right into Star Wars at the moment, so I drew my inspiration from there. Chewie is my absolute favourite of the set.

Here they are already looking well loved with Luke Skywalker sporting some battle wounds from a pencil or 2.