It's a girl!

We're very excited to announce that the baby is a little girl! She was being very proper in the doctor's office, and had her legs crossed, which must be the Brit in her!

And to celebrate, I thought I'd share with you a couple of drawings from my pregnancy journal.

Drawings

Sweet little Bella curled up against my belly.

Baby was kicking and bumping around, but Bella didn't move at all!

Documenting my silly cravings, and my new wardrobe!

When I finally managed to gain a few pounds!

Definitely not a problem anymore...

Of course, now crafting can really get going! First thing on the list: a play mat from Lotta's Simple Sewing for Baby! Hopefully, it'll be a great simple introduction to making a useful quilt, and I'm giving my sense of colour free range!

New Projects

It's been a lovely weekend-- part relaxation, part getting-things-done. We went to the cinema, barbequed four of the best sausages I've ever eaten, cleaned the shed, and Justin 'fixed' the vacuum cleaner (i.e. took it apart, cleaned it, reassembled it, and then found I'd been trying to use it while it was on the 'hose' setting... oops!) so I could do a major clean around here.

I've got a few new craft projects on the go, too.

Firstly, a little wool soaker to put over the baby's nappy, which should turn out a bit like this (but in red, of course!):

(Pattern from here)

I love knitting for the baby, as it's so calming, and I feel like all the emotions I feel go right into the wool! And this will actually be a doubly heart-felt soaker, as I knitted the entire thing with a twist in it the first time (assuming, incorrectly, that knitting in the round would 'sort itself out'!) and had to start over.

Secondly, a quilt for Justin (probably for Valentine's day... but maybe 'just because' if I finish earlier or later!)

I'm hoping to make something like the quilt my Mum just made for my Dad's birthday, from special old shirts that no longer fit (or have been quietly moved from the wardrobe for fashion reasons!).

Mum's quilt, from her lovely blog, here

(Stop by and visit... you'll love it!)

So, plenty to do!

And... we should find out if our newest family member will be a boy or girl this Thursday, hopefully, thanks to a kind friend with after-hours access to an ultrasound machine! EXCITING!

(My bet's on boy, by the way!)

The Tale of Wodger Weginald Wabbit

I've been having such fun with Wodger Wabbit all day, and he's been begging me to write a story about him.

So far, he's told me that he's the littlest in a litter of twenty rabbits.

He has ten brothers: Wandolph, Wupert, Wemington, Wichard, Woland, Wonald, Wobert, Wadcliff, and Wafferty.

And nine sisters: Webecca, Wamona, Waphaella, Wose, Whonda, Wowena, Woberta, Wosanna, Wosalind, and Wuth.

When his siblings were mean to him, he ran away and made his home in the first warm place he found: an Ugg boot.

Which is where he stayed, until discovered by a passing Mr. Monkey and Fatty McBeaver, who took him in and became his friends.

What silliness! Wodger is really excited to get posted today, and is writing a little letter to Alice at the moment to introduce himself. Hopefully, he'll share it when it's done.

Wodger Weginald Wabbit

A new toy has taken shape:

He was originally going to be for the baby, but I couldn't resist sewing a red pom-pom onto his bottom, thus making him 'risky' as a choking hazard.

So, he will be packaging himself up in an envelope shortly and sending himself to one little wabbit-lover in China: my little sister, Alice!

(And I'll be making another, pom-pom-less version, for baby in the near future!)

Family Heart

A couple of days ago, Justin was offered a new position with his company, one that will require rather a lot of travelling. And so, as a little present for him (and fun project for me!), I thought I'd make him a little something that might make the travelling a little easier.

The inspiration comes from Handmade Home again, and is what Amanda calls the "Family Heart". The idea is that when one in the family has to go away, whether for a sleepover or a business trip, they can take the heart with them and feel a bit more connected.

My heart is made out of my favourite spotty red batik fabric, with a little patch of soft flannel sewn on for the pocket. And inside the pocket is a little note.

It's the first few lines of E. E. Cumming's poem, "i carry your heart with me" which I thought fitted extremely well. (Although I did add in grammar and capital letters... sorry, E. E.!)

And it sits inside my big branchy heart over the fireplace, ready to be given to Justin tonight, when he gets home from accepting the job!

P.S. My sewing machine skills are improving no end! I can sew curves now without stopping to adjust every two seconds! Yay!

Mystery Project

I'm working on something new, and I'm so excited about it! But, until it's finished and in its proper home, I don't want to give any details. Sorry! But here are a few clues:

I'm using some of these beautiful spotty batik fabrics:

Taking some inspiration from Thailand:

And using some new techniques from the amazing Janet Bolton's "Patchwork Folk Art":

I can't wait to tell you more, but it may be a few months, so please be patient!

Moose Rattle

Here's another simple little toy to add to my "Ready for Baby" box! Again, the pattern is from Lotta Jandotter's "Simple Sewing for Baby", and again, it was incredibly easy.

Just a bit of pinning, cutting, machining, and then stuffing with poly fill and a little bell.

Lotta's example in the book was a sweet little giraffe, but somehow mine came out looking more like a moose! I think it's the uneven seaming on the nose which creates a moose-like bump!

Bella goes a bit crazy over this rattle, and begged me to let her model it, but I didn't think it would last longer than me taking the photo if she had!

Best of the Red: Pincushions

With all the new sewing I'm doing, I've become a little obsessed with unusual pincushions. And though I made my own the other day, these beauties are very tempting!

Too Pretty to Pin Anything to:

Kup Kup Pincushions by Kup Kup Land

Don't Let Your Hedgehog Go Bald:

Polka-dot Hedgehog Pincushion by strawberriesandcream, $12.50

Wearing Your Heart on Your Finger:

Needle-felted Heart Pincushion Ring by MissKnits, $6

All the Best Things Are Named Betsy:

Betsy the Chicken Pincushion by WarmandSunny, $7.50

Now, back to pinning my new project together!

I'll show you later...

Ribbon Blanky

"Simple Sewing for Baby" has arrived! And so today I got started on my first project: the Tag Blanky.

The idea is that babies love to put the tags of toys in their mouths, and little ribbons sewn around the edges of a blanket feel just like that.

So, with a little red gingham fabric (I told you our baby would see a lot of that!) and some ribbons, I got pinning...

...and then simply machine stitched it together inside out, turned it, and stitched it once more. Finished!

Bella thought it might be a nice bottom warmer...

...or possibly a hat!

So, I'm feeling very good about having something completed from my book already! It was the perfect little project to refresh my sewing machine skills (or lack thereof!) as a warm up for some of the more challenging ideas.

Next on my list from Lotta's "Simple Sewing for Baby":

• Gingham baby bloomers
• Simple trousers (for which I've got my eye on Justin's old striped shirts)
• Roll-up changing blanket
• Rattle

And a couple from the lovely lovely "Handmade Home":

• Family heart
• Eco-friendly cleaner

How wonderful to have such inspiring books! I highly recommend both of these.

When I Grow Up...

I often have to remind myself that being creative is too important to leave for another day. It's so easy for work and chores and spending time with the husband to take up a whole day, and then a whole week, and the crafting be shoved aside.

So, here are a few lovely things that remind me to make time for creating:

This one always makes me think of birthdays, with the party hat, apron for cake baking, and the string of red hearts ready to be hung. Birthdays were always such a special day when I was growing up, and I love to be a bit over the top about them still!

And this one makes me think back to our wedding, with the Chinese-style paper cut (we got married in Beijing), and the mixture of red and pink (our wedding colours). That was definitely the most beautiful day of my life (thanks mostly to my Mum!) and I try to bring a bit of that into our every day lives.

And Mrs. Birdie with her two chicks reminds me of all the wonderful ways I can pass the creativity onto the new baby. Red gingham, just like the little chicks' scarves, will definitely be a feature of baby's wardrobe!

Hope you're having a lovely weekend!

Patchwork Cushion

I'm all about the patches right now! This is a little doggie bed for folky pets that I love, and would like to attempt one of these days!

Patchwork Dog Pillow

Hope Is the Thing

Another inspiration...

Hope Is the Thing

I'm thinking about using the lyrics to a song Justin always sings, "the stars at night, are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas", in place of this Emily Dickinson poem. I just love the one letter per square layout.

Too many ideas! :)

Interview

The job interview today went well, and I should hear tomorrow if I got it. It'll be two evenings a week, caring for elderly patients at the hospital, so I think it should be very rewarding.

And, with my mind on interviews, I couldn't resist posting this:

Yay, IKEA! How I love assembling things... our baby is definitely going to be an IKEA baby through and through!

These are the IKEA things I have my eye on so far...

Duvet for future Traffic Wardens

Funky wardrobe that I always wanted for myself as a kid!

(Um... when I say 'kid', I mean fifteen-year-old)

And yes, it really is a Rocking Moose!

I can't wait to start decorating! (I do need to keep reminding myself, though, that no, baby won't need a rocking moose ready and waiting as soon as we get home from the hospital!)

Quilt for Baby

Oh, and I found the sweetest quilt idea for the baby!

It's got the first few lines of "All Things Bright and Beautiful" around the edge, and all sorts of animals in the center. It's so colourful, and I bet baby would have lots of fun identifying the different creatures.

Of course, I didn't buy the book I found it in (the other patterns were kind of boring) so, I'll be interpreting this Astrid-style!

Big Brave Wednesday

Today, I've been brave.

Firstly, I called someone about a potential job opening, and braved my phonephobia. Yay, interview tomorrow at 10am! So, we'll see if that works out.

And secondly, I got myself down to the hairdresser and broke my 6 month hair-cut boycott! The mulletty horrible ends have gone, and I've got a very simple long bob that can be curly or straight, flicked out or turned under.

I'm going for this sort of thing, (but a bit longer because i'm not that brave!)...

And, even better, I stopped off at the second-hand book store first, and sold them a couple of oldies from my shelf. It worked out perfectly to cover the price of the haircut (ahem, $9, I'm so cheap!) and a tip! So, budgeting for 2010 is going strong!

Hope you all have a courageous day, too!

And Bella makes three

I did manage to make Bella a stocking in time for Christmas, with green felt and little doggie paws along the top:

We filled it with raw-hide treats, a new squeaky beaver, and a big bone to chew on. And how fun, our initials spell out a word, 'Jab'!