Cut, print, sew, attach, dress

"Fun!!"

(or alternative title: How to Distract Caleb from Throwing Balls Down the Stairs so that I can Just Finish What I am Sewing)
Ummm, I hope this doesn't too seriously dent my parenting credibility...

Aftermath...

...from last week's sewing frenzy. If you've been around for a while you may recall my search for fabric last year. I finally had success at Spotlight in Albany (all the fabrics I was after, as well as good service!!) as well as a bulk order of t-shirt fabric from Standard Knits Australia. Which means I have a nice stash to work with, and last week I had a lot of fun putting together a batch of coordinating clothes for Caleb.He likes them, but can't work out why I haven't buttoned up his overshirt.

My thing and not my thing

We were treated to a package from Holland again this week. I know that my dear auntie took a perverse delight in sending these over for Hannah, knowing how they are so NOT my thing......but the look on Hannah's face says it all, doesn't it!
Meanwhile Caleb is enjoying his ball...
..and we all enjoy Aaron's book (by the same artist as Sinterklaas) (very much my kind of thing). Thankyou very much, Annemieke!

Aftermath...

...from yesterday's screenprinting session.

Nappy happy

I have discovered that assigning Caleb the task of watering the pot plants with the baby bathwater, using a cup, is a great way to keep him occupied* and gain some uninterrupted time for myself to do various other jobs...
...like washing nappies... and speaking of nappies, I'm sure you're dying to know how our cloth ones are going... I'm still very much in love with them! Especially now that I know they really are one-size-fits-all - Caleb and Daniel are both wearing the same nappies, Caleb on the largest setting and Daniel on the smallest. Not only do they work extremely well, but I also think they look quite smart. I am so glad to be done with those old plastic pants! I made 24 nappies last year, and they are now in constant circulation!*I'm contemplating giving him a thimble next time, to stretch out the pleasure for all of us...

Three days of snow

I discovered a serious gap in my childrens' education on Saturday - they had never made paper 'snowflakes' before. Since showing them how, the snowfall hasn't stopped. It's keeping Hannah particularly well occupied. I can relate to her interest... Do you remember the thrill of unfolding the paper to see what pattern you have made?

Out the window (or in the bin)

All regular routines and activities have gone out the window here this week. Yesterday I even binned my weekly cleaning list without completing anything on it! For the last four days breast feeding Daniel has been an excruciatingly painful experience, and has therefore taken all of my focus. Last night I couldn't do it anymore, and we made the switch to bottle feeding. Now we are taking things a bit easier around here to allow everything to settle down again.
But Daniel and I had quite a chat this afternoon, and he agrees that things went rather well today, and that no, it doesn't matter at all that he has to have his milk from a bottle now, even if mummy is a bit disappointed!

It must be bathtime

Coming together...

...piece by piece, ten minutes here, fifteen minutes there...very slowly, but progressing nonetheless! What you see here is a little girl's top. Can you tell?

Playing with ideas

Priorities

A few posts back I mentioned that I had been thinking about priorities. This was prompted by the fact that there are many deadlines coming up for various exhibitions this year. There are quite a number that I would especially like to enter. But of course life is rather busy right now. After Phil, I have four other priorities that come before entering art exhibitions:
So I have had to get my head around the fact that I may not be able to make entries for these exhibitions this year. I have also decided that managing my daily routine to include those various daily activities mentioned a few posts ago, is more important than pushing myself to enter these exhibitions.

Meanwhile, I have three major quilts in various states of progress:
I will continue to work away at these, of course. And who knows, maybe I will still have entries completed for some of these shows by the time the deadlines approach.