Stitch 2 Stitch

That my time management once I get home is going to be a mess! LOL Thank goodness Mum is here with me, to help out for about 6 weeks so it is indeed a blessing from above. I am in awe as to how mums with more than 3 kids manage to keep their home clean, cook and feed the kids, take and fetch them from school, then prepare dinner, sew and sell their products and then have time to be on the net!! Crikey….you women are amazing and you know who you are. Me? I’m still trying to get my head around as to how I ended up with 3 under 4 years of age!! Ok, I *know* how I got here but thats besides the point!

Arianna is 3.5 yrs now so in due time we’ll have to look into schools for her and KR is 1.5yrs now so it’s not too bad just yet but because she is still not confident enough to walk around on her own, we tend to carry her around too much and now with Brandon around, we really lack a pair of hands although we have a double stroller to help out with that. With Mum here, I dont have to worry about meals during the day coz she’s been cooking for us but once she goes home, it falls on me to continue and Lord know that’s the bulk of it all. From the look of things, what I enjoy doing will soon suffer the most – my sewing.

I guess I need to get my priorities right and then take it from there…but to think that sewing might have to be on hold. It’s very sad!! (

I am still in the hospital and with a bit of luck, we should be able to have a chance to continue our package at the Ridges Hotel in Rosehill. It would be excellent but it will depend on Brandon and his jaundice. Anyway, my plans of knitting up something for Brandon is a major no go. Well, firstly I really dont have the time coz I try to rest when I can and when he is down. But also, I forgot to bring the lot with me and I really dont want to trouble Ted anymore than I have to.

He’s handling the girls well but I think it’s also a wee bit taxing on him. Thank goodness Mum is there to help out and lucky for him, he doesnt need any sort of eczema treatments when he is stressed and his body goes into stress mode. Unlike this friend of mine who has this major skin issue. I really sympathise with her coz she works in a rather stressful environment and it does nothing if at all, makes it worst for her skin. Poor thing! I’m so looking forward to going home….I think I’ve had enough of the hospital.

Both my ‘babies’ have been tucked away about a week before Brancdon was born. But I have to say that although I have missed running the heck out of them both, I was glad for the rest that I got from not being on them. In fact, I had gotten rather use to having my daily afternoon siesta. lol Yes, it was indeed a luxury to be able to about 1.5 to 2 hours of sleep every afternoon. I tried not to make it a habit but, it was just too good!!

I reckon that this would be the best method on how to remove dark circles around the eyes. Panda bears might be cute but I doubt the same look would work on us humans! And when you have girls who have fair skin like Arianna and KR, its more obvious but also a dead giveaway that they are in dire need of a nap. So there’s no fooling Mum!

I’ve been hoarding this fabric for what seems like forever!! I really love it and I just couldn’t pick the one pattern that it would be perfect for until now. Needless to say when Arianna saw the fabric, she went ‘Arianna’s pretty dress!’ as if every fabric that she sees, she knows it’s hers. lol Can’t get any more spoilt than that!

Sewn in size 104 but lengthen to 110 with added gathers. That’s the thing with Otto, which I noticed. Tops need to be lengthen and gathers to be added, provided you want your gathers to be more noticeable like I do.

Tie Back Tunic, #15, 3/08 (Back view)

Back view with contrasting straps.

This pattern really did my head in coz it took more thinking that I thought it would! I guess the tip here is to remember the words ‘finishing the raw edges not necessary because they are on the inside’. That was the key phrase so it gives you an idea that everything had to be tucked in. I handsewed the lining down instead of stitch-in-the-ditch coz it was just easily for me. Major hit with Arianna! She loves the print way too much.

So much so that today, after she had a little wee incident and it had to be thrown into the wash, we had a screaming match coz she wouldn’t let me take it off!! I know actions speak louder than words and perhaps its ONE way of telling me how much she loves that dress but it was just ridiculous! Ted’s answer when I told him was, ‘If you stop making those dresses, you wouldn’t have this problem’. *me rolls eyes*

I’ve been having some ideas recently to sew up some chair covers for our tapestry. We have 3 chairs in our living room which MIL have us and they are ancient! But ancient in a good way as in they are heirloom and can be considered as antiques. And having 2 toddlers at home only means they need more protection from itchy fingers and idle hands.

I have an unused lacey curtain that Mum suggested I cut up and sew into covers for the chair and I think it’s an excellent idea. I’m also think of making some sort of protective cover for the kids mattresses as well as our coz we only have one. So many idea but oh so little time especially now that Brandon is here and boy, I really have my hands full!! I reckon it would be nice to sew something else other than clothes and it is about time too.

I know this is not sewing related but I simply just had to share. We are all living in the 21st century however, I am a little shy to admit that I am not all that uptodate with all these hi-tech gadgets that surround me. Every other day, there’s some new gadget in the market that is meant to make life easier and more lazy if you ask me!

I don’t have to look far to see how well kids these days adapt themselves to the latest technology coz it’s happening right here at home. The moment Ted powers up the PC and the Windows logo comes on, Arianna can easily identify it and I reckon it won’t be long before KR picks that up too. I guess its all part and parcel of living in the now. I think the people most uptodate about technology these days would be students what with their peers and literally living on the net. I bet every student in Australia owns a laptop and of course, while the kids want the best, it’s up to Mum and Dad at the end of the day to buy what they can afford. You know, I never knew that there was such a thing as student laptop insurance until recently and with the crime rates going up every day and houses being broken into, I think it’s almost a must to get this insurance if you own a laptop, especially if it’s a pricey one.

From one of my fav Otto issues, this is one of those tops that you just can’t fault or not like. I reckon it can be worn during any season, except perhaps summer!

Sewn in size 92 for KR, I modified it a wee bit by extending the length and adding more gathers. Perfect, just the way I like it!

A little iron-on to make it a little more interesting, and twas a hit with KR indeed. It’s not very hard to please this little one although she is still too young to get picky. She was quite happy to have a ‘dress’ or so she calls it and willing let me put it on her. Havent have the chance to take an action shot just yet, both girls are down for the arvo.

I should be resting but my pile of to-do is screaming out for me!! lol I best get back to it. I MUST REACH MY TARGET!!!

TFL….

Yay!! My first attempt at an Enid Gilchrist pattern, Pinafore and I reckon it was a success. I’m quite happy how it turned out seeing that I had to literally draft out the pattern from scratch. It intimidated me but I took the bull by the horns and conquered it!

They say that actions speak louder than words. I seriously couldn’t agree more coz Arianna absolutely loves this pinny sooooo much that she refused to take it off, and wore it to bed! *lol* I tried to coax her into taking it off so she could wear it tomorrow, but nup. She flat out refused to budget on that and if I tried any harder, I’d most likely burst a vein in the attempt and might have to get an ekg machine in to keep check of my hearbeat!! Yes, that girl really has a mind of her own and when she puts her foot down about something, you can be sure that she ain’t changing her mind so soon!

This is just a test piece so next time I attempt this, I’ll most likely use this lovely floral drill that I have left balance from another project.

The other thing that I’m pretty happy about is my improvement on sewing zippers. I’m dreadful at it and I’m glad that I’m getting the hang of it! What do you reckon?

I know that it’s not perfect (if I compare it to my Mum’s) but I’ll keep practising and I’m sure I’ll get there some day. I also need to start getting used to invisible zippers too. I’ve recently bought my invisible zipper foot and some zippers as well and Mum’s bringing some with her too, so I’ll all stocked up and zipping to go!

TFL….

Well, although it wouldn’t be the same as it was when we were in Malaysia BUT, at least not that Brandon is here, my acne will hopefully disappear too. I know that it wont be an overnight thing as the hormones are still mucking around in me BUT to know that the day will come when most things will return to normal is such a relief. Some of my mama friends have asked me for some acne tips but really, if you’re talking to pregnancy related acne, there really isn’t a straightforward answer. Only thing I ever did was kept to my basic facial regime, ate more veg and drink a lot of water which is basically what everyone should do.

But the one thing I wish that would go away is my dry skin! Omg, no matter what I do or put on or whatever, nothing seems to work. I have the snake-scale looks it gives to my legs, it’s so ugly! Must really find out how to be rid of this, it’s so depressing. (

Although I’m still on a baby-high, it’s sad to note that I still look pregnant!! LOL Yes, I know my baby belly won’t just disappear overnight nor will it go away even after a few months, after all, I’m no celebrity but just to know that it will definitely go would be a relief but sadly, nothing of this sort if a guarantee.

After 3 babies, I guess my body has just gone blah and it really is time to shape up and heck, looking like a yummy mummy really wouldn’t hurt, would it? I’m going to try to get Ted on board of this with me coz his waistline was the same as mine when I was 8.5 months. LOL The thing is that there are so many machines out there that suitable but we’re not really sure what to get so we might have to scout around starting with the precor elliptical machines. Will have to ask around as well, hopefully someone we know is already using it.