lately

Alright, I realize that lots, maybe even most, of the online journalists whose sites I visit have children and still seem to get lots of brilliant things done. But I don't seem to fall into that category. My littlest is already 9 months old, but I feel like I'm still going through my days like the mother of a newborn. So few things get accomplished without it being in teeny little increments spread out over the day. And those things are just laundry and dishes and getting the kids fed and bathed and dressed and fed again. So I'm trying not to be so hard on myself about the lack of creative projects going on around here. And I know that I don't have to wait until I complete something in order to post, but I don't get around to doing much done at the computer right now either. A pair of tiny hands likes to crawl up next to me and push on the keys when he sees me typing. And a pair of three year old eyes spots me sitting down with the laptop and begins to request various videos or pictures she wants to see. I can't very well say, "Hang on, Mama has to write about how much stuff she has to do."

Moving on, I am eager to sew a few skirts and maybe a dress or two for Anna very soon. I decided I'd begin with a nightgown since she's eager for a new one and it's a good way to get some sewing practice in without putting too much pressure on myself. I wanted something super soft and lightweight. I was having trouble coming up with the right fabric and then finally came upon an old dress in my studio outside that's hanging around with a collection of household goods we got when cleaning out an estate for a friend of a friend. (We scored with that deal---even got paid for getting all of the amazing goodies out of the house!). So I took the old dress and did a lot of cutting and used the soft, soft, pale sea-green fabric for the nightgown and I worked in some elastic around the neckline for the first time. I sewed that part by hand, mostly in the car on various family excursions. Anna put it on yesterday and although she really likes it (which makes it successful in my mind) it looks like it's made for someone twice her size. I'm going to have to do a little nipping and tucking and hopefully I'll figure out a way to do this which will allow for me to undo my tailoring so that she really can wear it when she's twice her present size. **I'll have to wait til later to add a photo**

3 baby gifts

photo no. 1: i l*o*v*e this fabric. i ordered it from someone off etsy and now can't remember who. (the baby was sleeping and the bib is sorta big, so sometimes you have to do everything yourself.)

photo no. 2: this burp cloth was made from things i had on hand: a white flannel crib sheet and my favorite bird fabric. the back is made from a receiving blanket (see photo no. 3). the bird pocket was a last-minute decision but i'm happy with it. what's that? did you ask what one puts into a pocket on a burp cloth? oops, running out of time and must move on to photo no. 3!

photo no. 3: teeny bib made from soft soft receiving blanket. this blanket was one from a pack that i'd received for the second baby and i really really didn't need any more receiving blankets. but i thought, maybe i'll do something with them one day; perhaps a gift? and usually that just results in another bag of stuff sitting around waiting for me to do something with it. but this time, this time, i made good and i've used that polka-dot blanket for about 4 different projects already. hurray!

i suppose i should have photographed the snaps but they're not visually exciting. just snaps. and don't mind the pointedness of the second bib. anna likes to step on the pedal of the sewing maching and have me say, "Okay, go!" and then, "Stop!" sometimes, her foot stops a few seconds after my command and there are a few hints of this throughout. oh well.

with love from finland

fevers and croupy coughs have been haunting us for a while around here, but in between, i was able to throw together a few things to make me feel a little less unproductive. we were the happy recipients of a collection of dollhouse furniture from finland last week and when anna asked me to make blankets and pillows for the bed, instead of just talking about it and never following through, i went straight to the sewing machine and let her pick out fabric and push the pedal and even pull some stuffing out of the open cushion on the chair that really needs a foam insert rather than the leaking stuffing that she's always tempted to pull out. soon we had made the little wooden beds much more inviting. she and her daddy have been sketching out ideas for a dollhouse that he will soon make her. and now i'm on the lookout for some dollhouse figures that are halfway cute. they're all so creepy! there are a few from magic cabin that are okay but they're nearly $20 a piece! but even without a house or proper dollhouse people, anna is having fun with her new toys, setting up tiny teaparties for whoever will fit in the little chairs, arranging the pieces to resemble our house, and making up stories.

i also finally conquered the task of setting snaps in the bibs i made for a friend's baby. i never figured out the snap-setter tool that i once used years ago. so i pulled out an old wooden spool and a hammer and after two attempts, got the snaps in place and they look...real. and i finished up a burp cloth to go along with it. i'll post pictures tomorrow, God willing.

did i mention that i cast on 40 stitches while standing with an almost-20 pound baby on my hip the other day?

that's all for my accomplishments as of late. but i had to list them so i'd feel a little more upbeat about our recent state around here, getting so little sleep and always needing more from the store and barely getting dressed by dinner. i'm hoping for a week of healing.