Sunday 21 March 2010

where to begin

more apologies and excuses for my long absence: with the airport not working on my macbook pro, i have to plug into the modem, which currently sits on our kitchen counter, which means i have to sit on a vintage, wooden chair to do any serious interneting, which means my pregnant body complains all too quickly, which means no bloggidy blog posts for me. i have an appointment at the genius bar this coming week so hopefully they will be able to find a fix for my no airport/no sound mess or at least comfirm that i just need to take a chunk of our house reno money and buy a new laptop. i've had lots of things to write about, lots of things to share but i don't want to make this the absolute longest post in the world so here's a short(ish) form:

slide

swing

after nap

:: two huge things with maesey: she started an afternoon of childcare last week and absolutely loved it. when i arrived at the end of her session, she didn't have any interest in leaving and i eventually had to pick her up to get her out of there! such a relief for me as i'm finding it a bit challenging to entertain her seven days a week while shane works on the house so the extra three hours means she has good exposure to all sorts of fun stuff and i get a bit of a break. the second thing is that MAE IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. i'm talking 7pm to 7am without a peep aside from the chatting she does to herself before dropping off. it's been 10 nights now, with a couple of weeks of hits and misses before that, and i still can't quite believe it. i'm putting it down to basic development as we haven't done anything hugely different - slightly more rigid routine? more toys in the cot to entertain her? offering her only water during the night? these things have all happened over the last couple of months but she just seems so much more receptive to reasoning these days. like, she gets that it's bedtime. finally.


new baby quilt fini

new baby quilt fini

:: back in february, i spent a glorious weekend in rye with some wonderful, crafty friends and, in between stuffing my face with food and partaking in all manner of true-confessions-style conversation, managed to finish a quilt top for baby no.2. i decided to work in pink, purple and grey and i am so thrilled with how this little pram quilt turned out. it is soft and sweet and interesting and the print on the back couldn't be more perfect. i feel it is somewhat symbolic as well - this will be the last quilt i work on for some time now as i decided to push all of my custom quilt orders until some indefinite time later this year. i unfortunately just don't have the time, energy or creativity to do them justice these days and i'm under no illusions as to how crazy my life is going to be 12 weeks from now. i have one quilt left to show that i finished about six months ago and is destined for a pattern release - again at some indefinite time. maybe when my computer is back in action i will have the inclination to actually get the pattern written up...

maternity dress

:: instead of quilts, i've been strangely drawn to sewing clothes for myself and mae lately. i go through phases where all i feel like doing is making stock for my shop and sewing clothes seems like a waste of time and now i find myself in a phase of avoiding onegirl "work" in favour of small personal projects - perhaps a nesting of the wardrobe? i made myself the above dress last week, using a lovely shot cotton that i found at savers for $3.99 and a pattern from the stylish dress book (pg 26). i had fun tweaking the pattern a bit, using a bit of shirring on the sleeves instead of a gather and the selvedge for the sleeve hem. it makes a great maternity dress and i got plenty of compliments from my amazing mothers group pals when i wore it out for tapas on friday night (first time out since mae was born - ALMOST TWENTY MONTHS, PEOPLE). i'll do a separate post for mae's wardobe enhancements as there are quite a few of them and i just may have a little freebie pattern to offer you kind, patient folk...

21 comments:

  1. I bet you feel so much better with all that sleep!

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  2. so nice to see you in this space. your dress is so nice and such a lovely colour. great that mae is being such a good girl {maybe she could come and give my baby some tips?!?!} chat soon.

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  3. As soon as you mentioned wooden chair, I wanted to yell: STOP! stop typing! Go rest you and bump in overstuffed armchair with poof accompaniment and a nice hot mug of Milo. I bet that wooden chair makes you type fast though.

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  4. I'm with Jo - so nice to see you posting again. The quilt looks as gorgeous in photographs as it did "in person". I'm absolutely wrapped for your tired, pregnant body that you have the option of a full nights sleep. Heaven. And I have to say you're an absolute soldier to not have had a night out with the girls in 20 months and not have complained every day about it. What a special treat. Go Mae! Just proves that each stage is temporary. It doesn't help to hear it when you're going through it, but once you're past it you'll hold onto that knowledge for the next stage. x

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  5. Mae sleeps through the night! Yeah! What wonderful news. I am strangly drawn to making dresses too at the moment. Must be a nesting thing...I love the quilt you made too.

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  6. So much good news and pretty things!! Beautiful dress, and the quilt is absolutely stunning, as usual, Leslie.
    Wheeee!

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  7. Love the quilt Leslie, the colors, the piecing - it looks beautiful. I'm glad for you too about Mae sleeping through the night, that must be very nice.

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  8. I have this book too and have been eyeing off that exact pattern, yours looks fantastic. Enjoy the sleep!!

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  9. I can't stop making clothes and am very good at starting quilts. It's the finishing- that's another story.
    Well, I did finish one this year.
    This pram quilt is really gorgeous. Love the color scheme.
    Mae is growing up so fast. Love the rosy cheeks on the swings!

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  10. Seriously good dress. Your use of the fabric and contrast panels is fantastic!

    And such good news about the sleeping! I remember when Amy finally 'got it' (she was almost 3) and it was like the world was made over. So I really get what a huge thing it is for you and it couldn't have come at a better time (unless it was like, you know, a year or so ago).

    Really looking ofrward to saying hi soon!

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  11. Anonymous9:56 am

    Beautiful photos of Mae...those liquid brown eyes. It's such a huge relief when they get the sleep thing. Life just gets easier and easier. And even after the new babe arrives, you'll have a good while before it starts to crawl around and turns your life upside down again. I totally discouraged my second from any movement for as long as possible!

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  12. Your girl is so beautiful! Congrats on the full nights sleep thing, maybe she knows you need it before baby number 2 arrives?
    The dress looks great, the shirring on the sleeves is a great detail.
    Your first night out?! Hey you know i don't live too far away, i'd be more than happy to babysit one night ;)

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  13. Your first night out... does that mean you take Mae on your weekends away crafting? How has she managed sleeping away from home?

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  14. Hey, it was great to hear an update from you Leslie, and to know that all is going well! Mae is looking delightful. x

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  15. re: my first night out - i mean my first night out on the town on my own, without shane or mae (although really, i think shane and i have only been out one or two times together as well)! mae doesn't come on craft weekends and she doesn't sleep well any place but at home, even for naps.

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  16. The blanket turned out very pretty indeed! And I just love the dress!! Clothes are so rewarding to sew and wear, especially on nights out with friends. So good to see you last night. Will let you know when we are in the hood and you can drop by and inspect the renos :)

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  17. Anonymous12:35 pm

    I just adore your blog. Beautiful little girl, beautiful projects ... so inspiring. Have a great day!

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  18. Go Mae! Love the sleeve detail on the dress. Nice work.

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  19. [groan] - hearing you about the achey pregnant body... only five or six weeks left for us, hurrah! studying over the computer is just not happening at the moment...

    Your preggy dress is beautiful, and the quilt, and of course your very beautiful daughter Mae. She is looking much older. Amazing how quickly they start to look like little girls/boys instead of babies.

    Stay well, and I will try to keep more up to date. xo

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  20. Awesome, love the quilt, is this another super pattern or the same as the beaut blue quilt. Happy Sewing

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  21. Gorgeous quilts & gorgeous Mae! So happy to hear she's gifted you with good sleep - finally. I was so stinking relieved when that happened with Bird. Your dress is awesome as well. Someday I'll figure out how to sew clothes (that don't look like I sewed them...). :o)

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