Sewing...

I have mentioned my big pile of UFO's on a regular basis here. And I just seeam to keep adding new ones to the pile, instead of finishing some.
But this week, I started and finished something for myself. And I am very proud of it!

I started off with an old top. One that got a lot of wear, and that got a little too snug in the bombonella-department (one of the 'benefits' of breastfeeding...I guess). I reaaaaaally loved the shirt and was a little sad about it being to small. I have searched my photos to look if I could find one of me wearing the old shirt, but no luck. So you just have to look at this pic:

a very raggidy-ragged shirt..

The knit fabric on this top was getting very thin, so using the seamripper was a mandatory. Only 2 patternpieces (cut 2 of each), a small long rectangle for the tie at the back, and a sort of bias tape for the neckline. I pressed every seam, and I really love how smooth it made my seams look.

Now, my machine only sews straight and zigzag lines. I used a narrow zigzag for all the seams, to keep the stretch in the entire garment... 

And now the end result of my hard labor:

 I used this very bold patterned knit fabric from my stash. I bought it about 2 years ago, really cheap. I really thought it was too loud, and thought it would be a great starting muslin. But I actually love the result. I think I will wear it a lot! I entered this top for the Spring Top Sew Along 2012 at Made-by-Rae. Take a look at the pool for some more lovely Spring Tops!



A Pebble for my Baby

I am the Queen of UFOs. I start a gazillion projects and finish nearly one. I love sewing and knitting, but the projects involve so much more time then a beadingproject takes. When beading was my single crafty hobby, I finished nearly everything I started...
Or is it? Come to think of it, a Beady-UFO is far more easier to stash away (or hide) then half knit sweaters and half finished dresses are.
But then there was a baby... and a sewing or knittingproject is as tiny as a large beaded necklace....
Last week I decided it was time to finish SOMETHING. And so, instead of doing something a normal person would do - pick up an UFO and finish it - I decided to start something new. For Isalena. In comes Pebble.
I have seen this lovely pattern a lot in the Blogosphere. I loved both Amanda's and Heather's version. Off to Ravelry I went, browsed through all the lovely finished Pebbles and decided I could do it! And I did! I casted on on Friday Night, and finished it on Monday Morning. Buttons attached and all ends finished, I even made a project sheet on Ravelry 

And here is my little miss, showing off Mama's Fruit of the Labor (please correct me if I said this wrong...)
I am so proud of myself....

Getting restarted

I have been writing lots of blogposts in the last couple of months, but none of them suited my needs on telling you guys about my life. I became a Mama on August 25, 2011, and I have been loving every second of my life, since. I wanted to tell you guys everything, give you updates on the ups and downs, tell my birthstory, and show all the lovely things I made for the nursery and my precious little girl.
But I just didn't know where to start, and the longer I waited, the harder it got. So I decided that I should get the weight of my shoulders and just write a post as if I had written one yesterday. I can always show snippets of my life from the blogging-gap, right?
So that's just what I will do. Tomorrow....
First, I'll show you some of my BabyBliss.

 1 week old

 sigh....

 8 weeks old

5 months allready!

Nursery D.I.Y. part 2

No baby yet, she apparently decided that she likes here hide-away, and I don't feel like she's planning on showing herself soon...
So lets get on with the nursery projects.
The crocheted t-shirt yarn rug was merely the beginning of the DIY's for the nursery. The next thing I made, or actually restyled, was the main light for the room. We bought this old thing a couple of years ago through Marktplaats (which is the Dutch version of Craigslist) for 20 euro's.

It was a complete light, but in a terrible style. We had it in our bedroom for several months, but eventually we took it down, because it was just tooooooooo wrong... It went into storage until I decided I could give it a new life with some spraypaint, some shades and a little love. I went to the market on a Tuesday afternoon and bought some fabric and trimmings.

I used primer basecoat spraypaint to give the entire thing a matte white finish, and glued fabric and trimmings on the shades. This is the result:




I really adore how it turned out. The first shade was a pain in the  >uhm< rear to do, but after 4 you get a routine, and by the time I finished all 8 I considered myself a pro. (sidenote: I notice some of the ribbon let loose, and the fixture is a bit off.... But I fixed it.)

No Longer a WIP!

Yay! I managed to transform a WIP from being a WIP to a FFI! (Fabulous Finished Item! don't know if it's an existing term, but I like it!)

Ive blogged about this rug a couple of months ago', when it was still a WIP. I was struggeling with the edges of the rug, they were curling up like a mad man! I finally sat down, ripped the last 4 rows and decided that the curling was probably caused by the thicker (or broader) yarn. I fixed this by cutting it in half lengthwise (yes, it was a lot of work) and using the thinner yarn for the new rows. It worked like a charm, the rug stays perfectly flat on the floor.

I added some more rows, because there were some more shirts discarded for recycling in our home, and because Bigger is always Better.

I finished the rug with a cotton thread scalloped edge, which gives the rug a nice and smoother finish. I absolutely adore this thing! The best features? It's Major Recycling, it's sort of a keepsake, because there are shirts from a couple of family members in it and it's the very first thing I finished for the baby...

The last days with the baby-bump

The last couple of months have flown by... Just one more week before my due date! We are anxiously waiting for this little one to arrive. I guess she will probably be late, because her Papa & Mama never seem to manage to arrive somewhere on time too.
We have done so much to get the nursery ready, I have made a lot of things myself. I'm looking forward to show you guys around, and maybe tell a little about the projects.

A little bit absent

Hi all,


Just a little update to tell you all that I’ve been a little absent from my blog. Because I am tired, but mainly because my camera is Kaput and I haven’t had the time to take it back to the store to get it fixed. About the tired thing: yeah well; doing your household chores, decorating a nursery and working fulltime isn’t done easily, I find myself sleeping often in the car (not whilst driving it myself, mind you), and wanting to crawl under the blankets of our very big bed at 9… BUT all is well and I guess that after a Saturday filled with a little celebrating – Mr Dull turned 32 on March 1st – and a Sunday spent relaxing, taking a short hike and some DVD-time I know I’ll be feeling fine again on Monday.

Now to find the time to go to the store…