Clothes for the kid



Hopefully I'll be pushing out a baby mid-Kids' Clothing Week Challenge, so I wanted to get a head start and use up some of the fabric stash I have on hand to clothe Mabel this summer. Plus, sewing has been a good excuse to sit on my rump and make things without the effort of renovating another room in the house.


A little bit of the sewing I did: The Pretty Ruffled Wrap Pinafore minus the ruffle. It was too snug on Mabel, so it will be a gift. I liked the fabric so much, I used it for the second version, too.


Pattern minus the wrap, shortened to shirt length and a gathered ruffle at the bottom. This one was a birthday gift for a friend of Mabel's. The crown was part of the gift as well, and just a little something I made up on my own.


I made a purple gingham shirt just like the middle one, and then this madras version. Shorter bodice, longer gathered torso, added pockets and fudged some fluttery sleeves. It's a far cry from the original pattern, but built from the same concept. I made one more tunic (without the wrap) in this Merlot swirl pattern (Jenaveve Collection by Valeri Wells for Free Spirit Fabrics).

Now I've turned my attention to shirts with sleeves to outfit M through the summer. Wish me luck figuring out how to read the Figgy's Ayashe pattern. The pattern itself is written really well, but I have a feeling there will be numerous user (that's me!) errors.

The last mile




Sixteen days until my due date, and over the weekend all motivation to finish the bedroom flew out the door. There was about 3 square feet of floor left to paint, and there are papers to shuffle, file, or shred, and a few tools to clean up. There are also some holes to fill in on the walls and touch up with paint. This is what Charlie calls "the last mile", it's when things become "good enough" and I get tired of a project and call it finished.


See? This side of the room is where the floor paint needed finishing (which I did last night!) and some final purging and organizing needs to be done. The clothes on the arm of the chair and the empty pillowcase on the ottoman perform as cat scratch detractors. We'll come up with something prettier over the next couple days, I'm sure. If not, I'll get back to the project in 3 years, when I can tell Fox to go play with his sister.  For now, it's good enough. 

Belly Time



Everyone say hello to giant baby Fox.

We're officially at 37 weeks today, which means we've reached full term. While I say I hope Fox is early, it's only the impatience of a few months of poor sleep, continual hip pain, and a belly that arrives in a room five minutes before I do that hope so.  I want him to be happy and healthy on that great big water slide into the world, and if that means 40 or 41 weeks, so be it.

I've read and memorized every "signs of labor" site on the web, at least the ones that had somewhat reputable sounding names. What do you mean I can't will myself to go into labor? 

Other thoughts on Week 37 (and/or) the 3rd trimester:

Baby Center explains week 37 in layman's terms.


Though in more casual terms this is about right...looks like A Lovely Lark is a week ahead of me (and yes, I'm jealous of that fact).

But if you really want a straight shooter account: AlphaMom knows what it's all about. Her Windex example is the equivalent to my pacing back and forth for half an hour in front of a desk that needed moving right. then. or. I. was. going. to. move. it. myself. On my shoulders, if need be.  


Fox made an appearance in this pic (striped sweater, lower left).


Playing House



Enough with the sale talk, I know. Bit by bit, small investment by small investment, we're getting our room finished.



I found a good deal on velvet World Market curtains in "Latte", 2 neutral beige 3x5 rugs on clearance with free shipping from PB Teen, and stalked Craigslist until I found a glider that was good quality and affordable. The glider is a little awkward, visually because it's red gingham and the rest of the room is neutraled out and somewhat modern. I'm not sure how to tone the the "country" look down. Any suggestions?

We already had a mid-century walnut dresser, mid-century teak desk, and 2 Adrian Pearsall end tables (all found over the years on Craigslist). Charlie made the sconces out of ipe wood. My knot painting, still unfinished, hangs above the bed, and an affirmation banner from Secret Holiday hangs on the wall across from the bed.
So far everything else is pretty sparse and I like it that way; we have too few "sparse" spaces in our house. I think I've told Charlie every single night before bedtime that I like our grown up bedroom. It's fun to play house with him.