Let the Baby Crafting Begin!

  • June 30, 2010 6:05 PM

There are so many great patterns and tutorials for baby items out there. Last week, I made a long list of things that I can make … then crossed a bunch off because it would just be easier or cheaper to buy them. :) Clothes still intimidate me and if it requires a special fabric (like jersey for a Moby Wrap), then I probably can’t find it here. This weekend, while Thomas went to Graspop (a metal music festival), I rocked out with my sewing machine and got 3 projects done.

First, I made a ruffly pillow. I had a bear family fat quarter that was too cute to cut up into small pieces, so I thought it would make a good pillow for a rocking chair…well, or my computer desk chair while I’m rocking the baby. I used part of a yellow sheet from my stash for the back and the ruffle. The ruffle isn’t quite even, so the perfectionist in me might re-attach it. Otherwise, it’s an improvement from the bland denim pillow I stole the insides from. I didn’t use a pattern (my ruffle might have come out better if I had), but of you give it a try, I recommend the Ruffly Pillow Pattern by Portabello Pixie.

Next, I made a fabric box…actually two. The first one went into the scrap bin due to a math error on my part. I accidentally made the box 5×13 inches – an awkward size. The second box is 8×10 inches and works much better. For the outside, I used a heavy weight decorating fabric that happens to be the same pattern as some paper I was planning on using for a mobile. The inside was another yellow sheet from my stash. I used the Fabric Basket pattern by Stitchin’ Chicken, but made the box extra tall so I can fold the edge over – I think it made it a little more stable.

The final project was burp cloths. I’ve made these before for baby showers, usually making 2 patchwork cloths. This time, though, realizing babies use much more than just 2 burp cloths, I made them much simpler with no patchwork. Mine are more rectangle (7.5x18inches) but the Easy Peasy Burp Cloth Tutorial by My Longest Year gives you directions. And these were easy peasy to make – I think I spent more time picking out the fabrics. :)

I think the interesting part about these projects was going through my fabric stash. I was surprised that I didn’t really have that many delicate baby girl fabric patterns – lots of blues, greens, yellows, and bold prints. Relying only on my fabric stash, this may be one brightly-colored child! So next up on my craft list…bibs, a travel changing pad, a nursing cover, and a mobile. Do you have any favorite baby craft projects I should check out?

Swimming and Sunning in Sardinia

  • June 26, 2010 4:10 PM

I had one main goal for my US trip – you know, other than see family, go shopping, and eat my favorite foods. It was to go swimming. I don’t know where I thought I’d go, but I had grand hopes of finding a pool somewhere and just floating. I was definitely a sea animal in a previous life. Unfortunately, I never found a pool, ocean, lake, or even a large bathtub. So when we got back to Belgium, I started planning a trip to a sunny warm place on the ocean.

The Costa Rei Beach

A couple weekends ago, Thomas and I headed down to Sardinia. It’s an island just off of Italy, on the southwest side between Corsica and Sicily. It was wonderful! We stayed on the eastern coast (Costa Rei beach) in a quiet little resort town with gorgeous beaches and clear blue water. The other tourists were definitely European (mostly German), as most of the men wore speedos and women occassionally went topless. I think a bigger shock to some may have been the naked or topless children on the beach. As long as they’re sunscreened well, I guess I can’t see any problem with it.

Shallow pools and smooth rocks

Speaking of sunscreen, we got our fair share of burn. Traveling with only a carry-on, and limited to 3 oz of liquids, we skimped on the sunscreen and came home with peeling feet and shoulders. When I went to the baby doctor the other day, she was concerned about the marbled spots on my legs and asked if everything was okay. I had to explain that I just didn’t do a very good job at spreading my sunscreen evenly.

Delicious caprese salad

So other than the sun, the water was wonderful. It was warm enough to swim, and the beach had huge sandbars and smooth rocks that you could walk out on. The food was delicious too. Thomas was the photographer for the weekend and spent a lot of time on the local birds. We mostly saw sparrows and swallows, but also some martins, flycatchers, and a cormorant in the ocean.

Sparrow on a rock

Cormorant in the ocean

On our last day, we drove back along the southern coast, and stopped at the salt marshes outside of Cagliari. We had heard that flamingos often visit here, and we found them! There were a bunch, maybe 60 at least, but they were on the other side of the lake, so we didn’t get that many photos. It was interesting to see pink feathers on the shore, but with a bird-touching phobia, I didn’t bother to bring any home with me.

Flamingos in the salt marshes

So if you ever need a little getaway with gorgeous weather, relaxing views, delicious food, and plenty of swimming, I recommend Sardinia. If you want to see more photos from our trip, I’ve posted them on PicasaWeb.

Letter to our Baby Girl – Week 21

  • June 25, 2010 7:12 PM

21 weeks pregnant

Hello baby. I’m your Mama, and I can’t wait to meet you in 4 months! Your Daddy is the one who keeps pressing his nose into you each morning with cheery Hellos. He’s a morning person – I’m not. At night, when I lay still, I can sometimes feel you kick, and he’s even felt you a couple of times too. Both of us are so excited for you to arrive.

Yesterday, we found out that you’re a little girl and we couldn’t be more pleased. It doesn’t change our feelings for you, being one sex or the other, but I think we can now settle on a name easier. Currently, we call you Baguette, our interpretation of a Belgian ‘bun in the oven’.

Though we have a good idea for what your name will be, we plan to keep it to ourselves until you arrive. We lean a little toward less-common names, and I’m not sure I wouldn’t start to doubt myself if it didn’t get a good initial reaction. I love that my name was picked out to fit in with my family and I hope that your name will be just as special.

The pregnancy has been great so far. I never had morning sickness, though we were in Taiwan during your first trimester and the foreign food smells were quite intense. We’re now halfway through and I’m starting to show a bit in the chest and the belly. Unfortunately, I have my own hangups about whether my bump looks like a baby bump or if it just looks like I’m overweight. Hopefully, I don’t pass these worries on to you. The doctor said she’s pleased with the amount of weight I’ve gained so far.

People have asked me if I would rather give birth to you in the US, and honestly, I prefer Belgium. We’ve found a good doctor (very calm, quiet, and direct) who speaks English and I feel that the health care here is a better fit to our ideas. I’m hoping to have a natural birth and look forward to the ability to labor freely, be it standing up, in a pool, or sitting on a ball. I also understand that if the need for medication, pain relief, or cesarean is necessary to protect you or me, then that’s okay too. The hospitals here seem to have really good care and we have a great group of friends here that will welcome you.

Both of your grandmothers have mentioned visiting you sometime shortly after your birth, and I hope they do. As we live in a tiny apartment in another country, you’ll probably have to wait until Christmas to meet the rest of your relatives, but they are all very excited. You also have two grandfathers, a great-grandmother, an aunt, three uncles, two cousins, and lots of great aunts/uncles, second cousins, and close family friends.

This weekend, your daddy has gone to a music festival with a friend and I am staying home to do some sewing for you. Though you’ll live in our room for the first couple of months, I’ve picked some fabrics from my stash to make you some decorations for your nursery – it looks like yellow will be the predominant color. We really haven’t bought any baby gear yet, but I’ve started researching strollers and cloth diapers. Let me tell you, there is enough options out there to make a bridezilla out of a pregnant woman.

I feel like there is so much to tell you and I’m a little disappointed in myself that this is just my first letter to you. I had always imagined I would write throughout the entire pregnancy, but though we planned and expected you from the start, it felt a little distant until just a couple weeks ago. Now though, as we know you’re a girl, you’re starting to show, and I can feel your kicks, talking to you is a lot easier. We’ll see you in a couple months.

Love and snuggles,
Mama

Happy Midsummer’s Day

  • June 21, 2010 3:25 PM

Happy Midsummer’s Day! It’s the longest day of the year, though here in Belgium, the sun is barely peeking through and we’re huddled inside. Instead, I’ll tell you about my Midsummer’s Day last year in Sweden. It was really fun!

Picking Wildflowers

Closeup of Maypole Decorations

Thomas was working in the US and I couldn’t go along, so I headed up to Stockholm to visit my in-laws. In Sweden, Midsummer’s Day is a national holiday. Celebrating the longest day of the year is important when their winters have only 5 hours of daylight. The celebrations start with raising a maypole decorated in greens. Then, with wildflower wreaths in their hair, Swedes dance around the maypole and sing traditional songs.

My favorite is called Små grodorna:

Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se.
Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se.
Ej öron, ej öron, ej svansar hava de.
Ej öron, ej öron, ej svansar hava de.
Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,
kou ack ack ack ack kaa.
Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,
kou ack ack ack ack kaa.

English translation:
Small frogs, small frogs are funny to see.
Small frogs, small frogs are funny to see.
No ears, no ears, no tails have they.
No ears, no ears, no tails have they.
Quack quack quack, quack quack quack,
Quack quack quack quacka.
Quack quack quack, quack quack quack,
Quack quack quack quacka.

To celebrate, my in-laws took me to Skansen, an open-air musem and zoo in downtown Stockholm where there was a big Midsummer’s Day celebration.  Until it started, we toured through the 19th-century replica town, where my Mother-in-law pointed out things that reminded her of her grandmother’s home.  We also checked out the Nordic animals in the zoo, and watched visitors picnicking and making wildflower wreaths.

Traditional 19th-century farmhouse

Making wreaths

In the afternoon, we headed over to the maypole where there was a band in traditional costumes singing and dancing.  They raised the maypole and everyone joined in a circle for more singing and dancing.  Thankfully, my mother-in-law translated for me. :)  It was great fun to let loose and be silly – folks of all ages were joining in.

The Midsummer parties head on late into the night. At this time of year, the sun is up almost to midnight. Swedes enjoy a smörgåsbord (large buffet of Swedish food – bread, cheese, meatballs, pickled herring, strawberries, etc. – and lots of vodka. Bonfires are another tradition. They say that if you jump over the bonfire (the vodka may help here), the height of your jump predicts the height of the crops in the following year.

Overall, it was a really fun celebration and I can’t wait to go with Thomas and Baguette there sometime in the future. If you’d like to see more photos from Midsummer’s Day, I’ve posted them on PicasaWeb:

The Backyard Quilt

  • June 15, 2010 10:21 AM

When I first saw the Timeless Treasures Central Park Quilt kit for sale in the US, I had to pick it up. It reminded me of the sun shining through our Atlanta backyard trees. Then, it sat in my fabric stash for a couple years as I hesitated starting it with a fear of sewing curves.

Timeless Treasures Central Park Quilt Top

Last year, I visited my in-laws for a week, where my MIL showed me that curves are a piece of cake. I finished the quilt top (made a little smaller to be a wall hanging), and then left it for a few more months to be quilted.

Dallas is quilting curves

I finally discovered that quilting on my machine is relatively easy – when using Pfaff’s Integrated Dual Feed. I quilted it following the curves – the fanciest quilting I’ve done yet (aka: not completely straight). :) Add a quick binding, a wall hanging sleeve, and it’s done!

Finished Mini Timeless Treasures Central Park Quilt

This is my mini Timeless Treasures Central Park Quilt, measuring at 50×43 inches. I used my extra fabric from the kit to make a patchwork back and do the binding. Now, I just need to figure out where to hang it.