Cotton Strudel

Swirl cake

One of the things that people with children warn you about when they find out you’re expecting is the lack of personal time you’ll experience.

They are right. The first few weeks with a newborn at home just melt into one long day broken up into a repetitive sequence of feeding, sleeping, changing nappies. I completely lost track of time. Didn’t know what day it was, is it time to eat lunch already? But I just got dressed, surely it’s breakfast time.

As the weeks move on, and still with sleep deprivation, you figure out how to make the most of the bits of time when the little one sleeps. Of course, since those times are very inconsistent (you can’t be sure when they’re coming or how long they’ll last) you must be flexible. And realistic too, sometimes you have to use them to catch up on sleep.

Then again, sometimes it’s worth trading a bit of sleep for a bit of homemade goodness. Especially on a Sunday, when it’s lazy day and you can lounge with the newspaper or a movie and need something to go with our cup of tea.

Eager to try something new, I went for the swirl cake in the current issue of Everyday Food. The recipe calls for blackberries but I had lots of blueberries waiting to be used. Very delicious, especially with a little bit of sour cream on top.

The good news about the whole exercise is that I learned when time’s not abundant, I become more efficient.

Off to sleep now before someone wakes up…
- 2 comments
- 12:06 | Wednesday 28 July, 2010
- Categories :: Food | Tags :: blogging, cakes, family, Food, homelife
Miracle

I disappeared again, I know.

The truth is, I’ve been working on my latest project and I have to say it’s the most demanding and most precious of all the things I’ve done so far.

Our little boy was born last June and since then it’s been a whirlwind of emotions and time spent getting to know this new little man. As everybody warns you, time does slip through your fingers at alarming rates. I can’t believe he’ll soon be six weeks old!

The good news is that I’ve been slowly catching up with craft blogs when I nurse in the middle of the night. It’s nice to see that some of you are taking time off to enjoy life (and hopefully come back full of wonderful stories to share), some of you have books coming out soon and many of you still share your creativity and daily moments with us.

I hope you’re still out there and if you are, I’ll show you some projects I did for the little one and share the ones that are on the to do list still.

I’m signing off now, some little feet need kissing…
- 3 comments
- 6:47 | Saturday 24 July, 2010
- Categories :: Children, General, News | Tags :: collaboration, family, homelife, life
Knitting for baby

The wonderful thing about knitting for baby is that the projects are quite short, or at least the simple ones I choose are, and so it’s a lot of instant gratification.

The booties above were knitted years ago using a pattern my gran knew by heart. As soon as she found out that someone was expecting, she’d knit up a pair of these in no time, instant cute present. Back then, when we were trying to figure out the pattern with my mum, I asked her to show me how to knit a pair. Funny to think that now my baby will be wearing them.

These are a couple of Umbilical Cord Hats from Debbie Stoller’s Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook, ISBN 0761128182. They’re quick and easy to knit and I think they look cute.

Since we’re not finding out what we’re having, I’m working on a few colours. As you can see, the pink and green ones are done. The white ones are on the needles and the blue one will soon follow.

Of course, I am not the only one knitting for this baby. My mum quickly took out her needles and, being that she’s a fast knitter, baby scored a beautiful wolly blanket and a pair of little booties.

I’m really enjoying knitting for baby and I can’t help myself. So what’s a girl to do? Well, you start a few projects, of course!

I have a green pair of booties and a grey one that I’m knitting long distance with my mum (just like when we cross stitched Holly Hobbie). The white project on the circular needles is another hat.

There you have it, our efforts so far in knitting for baby.
- 2 comments
- 19:20 | Wednesday 21 April, 2010
- Categories :: Children, Knits | Tags :: collaboration, crossstitch, family, knitting
Sewing away

There you have it, mystery revealed. Or at least part of it ;-)

All those dotty fabrics were used to create bedding for our little one’s bassinet. I must say I’m quite pleased with it, especially for having been done on the fly!

This is where the baby will sleep by our bed for the first few months and it is very special because it comes with a history. The bassinet you see above was bought by my mum many years ago when she was newly pregnant. As you can imagine, it was chosen with a lot of love and dreams of what the future might hold…

Little did she know that not only would all her kids sleep in it but also her grandchildren would! When my sister found out she was pregnant, she requested it and after sewing new bedding for it, her kids spent their first months there too.

And now it’s my turn. We were not sure at first whether we’d be able to ship it over, but after inquiring here and there we found out it could be done. It may not be the most modern or fancy one but I’m thrilled to have it with me. It just radiates so much love and happiness and has a beautiful history.

Once it arrived, I had to start measuring and thinking on bedding. Since we’re not finding out whether we’re having a boy or a girl, I had to choose a neutral pattern and when I saw all those dots at the fabric shop I knew it was the one.

I first made the padding to go round the basket, as you see in the photo above. I knew I wanted a skirt around it to cover the little old legs but I wasn’t sure I wanted to sew it onto the padding as I quite like how it looks without it. I think it’ll be good if I want to take the basket with me anywhere, I can just leave the legs and skirt at home. Then baby will have a safe and known bed wherever we go!

I used two different colours for the skirt and think it looks quite nice. I simply sewed a long strip of fabric, added some elastic and now it can be just adjusted over the padding. It works rather well and I’m happy to have it as two separate pieces.

The skirt is not as full as I had hoped when I first planned it and that’s probably due to my poor measuring but I think overall it has a modern feel to it and I am pleased.

It fits quite nicely next to the bed and it’s the right height to pick up the baby without having to leave the bed.

The last thing to do was to make a sheet to cover the mattress. I did a simple fitted one and that completes the look. Well, I am working on the last element for it, but that will take quite a few more weeks still ;-)

The next fabrics are already being sewn into a little something else for baby… Stay tuned.
- 2 comments
- 10:43 | Friday 12 March, 2010
- Categories :: Children, Crafts, Sewing | Tags :: family, Sewing, story
Patience

Sewing away at my secret project. It’s taking longer than I thought but I think that’s due to a combination of things. I am making things up as I go along – checking an already made item and a pattern – and I think I finally understand what my gran tried to teach me all those years ago… patience!

It’s a well-known fact that my gran had the most patience of anyone I have ever met. She was a perfectionist too. She’s known to have frogged an almost finished knitted item just because she discovered a dropped stitch or a missing increase somewhere along the lines. “You can’t even see it!” – my mum would plead. “But I know it’s there. And it bothers me.” would be her reply, and off the needles her jumper would come to be frogged, the yarn washed and carefully be started again.

When I started to learn knitting and sewing with her, and much until this very day, the thought of doing something like that would be enough to put me off the whole thing. I like that jumper in the magazine and I want to have it now! I didn’t understand that the actual process of creating something can be as enjoyable as finishing it and trying it on.

I wished and hoped I could get a bit of her patience to no avail. She told me many times how she used to be the same as me when her sisters started teaching her how to sew. There were stories about endless days spent just ironing seams or basting fabric pieces when all she wanted to do was to make herself a dress. She loved fashion and had movie star looks that could pull off any style but with so many brothers and sisters there was never enough money for fancy clothes. That’s when she discovered sewing and fell in love with fabric. The possibilities opening up to her were endless!

When I started making the curtains for the nursery, I feared I’d end up in the usual way: I want them now, even if the seams are crooked! But then, as if by magic, I found myself carefully measuring the windows, trimming the fabric and taking my time to make sure everything was done as best as I could.

Could it be I’m getting a bit of my gran’s patience? I thought it may have been a one off, but as I put the curtains in place and moved to my current project, I found that I’m taking my time with this one too. Ironing seams open, measuring carefully, pinning hems properly, ironing again. And of course, she was right, all this work turns out to help make your job easier and your finished project better.

Maybe I’m finally lucky enough to understand what my gran meant about doing things right and enjoying yourself in the process. Even if it takes a little longer than you’d like.

Better late than never, I guess.
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- 9:17 | Sunday 28 February, 2010
- Categories :: Children, Sewing | Tags :: family, life, Sewing