The Saturday Update

It's been yet another quiet week around here. We had a long hot weekend where we didn't do much. The heat was just starting to get to me before it cooled off a bit. 

We both did a bit of sewing and continued researching and stocking our sewing workshop. More to come on that.

On Wednesday, baby and I had our regular checkups with the doctor and midwife. All is well and progressing slowly so that's good.

Thursday was a busy day getting jobs done in the flat but nothing exciting.

Yesterday was my last swimming session for a while followed by another nice visit to work. Afterwards I did a spot of shopping for the baby and me and got a nice lunch for Nico and me. 

We're having another quiet weekend doing bits and bobs, reading, sewing and waiting...

Currently...

...waiting patiently for the stork.
...drinking lots of water and tea.
...trying to stay cool in this heat!
...reading Gone With the Wind.
...enjoying our time as two.
...catching up with friends.
...getting very crafty in our new sewing workshop.
...watching the tomato plants shoot up.
...nesting.
...eating lots of risotto.
...feeling glad that the midwife is back from holidays.
...house-hunting.
...listening to the chirpy neighbourhood birds.

Sewing Project 2014: 12 - Baby T-shirt

Nico recently bought this book in German to bring us some inspiration for new projects. He finished a little double sided Buddha jacket in no time and I started with this simple newborn t-shirt.

I love the finished product. It's the first time I've ever made clothing and it was good to start small. I'm especially pleased with the ribbing around the neck but also with my first ever attempt at sleeves.

It's certainly not perfect - it wasn't easy working with stretch material and the zigzag hems are a bit messy - I would stick to the straight stitch for future projects. However, any new project is a learning curve and I'm still riding this wave of sewing inspiration at the moment.

Also, both of our baby projects were made with some of Nico's old clothes so they cost nothing!

Bump Photos

Looking huge now!

With our due date looming we were keen to get some last bump photos, especially some with Nico as well. It took a bit of time and effort digging out the camera gear on another hot day but yesterday, we finally got around to it and I love the results.

The belly button is almost popping!

All together

Belly close-up!

Sewing Project 2014: 11- Headscarf

Recently, I stumbled across a new blog to read - Tilly and the Buttons. Tilly was on the first series of The Great British Sewing Bee and recently released her first book, which is on its way to me as I write.

I was on the lookout for another little project to keep me busy without the possibility of getting into something huge and going into labour. I was also keen to make something I can wear without having to wait until I lose my bump.

This project was perfect. I had it done in under an hour and got to use a new stitch on the machine for decoration. I love Tilly's back to basics approach and really recommend her site for sewers of all levels. I'll be scouring it for a while yet.

Recipe: Summer Vegetable Risotto

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 225g risotto rice
• Spring onions
• Garlic
• 100ml white wine
• 850ml vegetable stock
• Red pepper
• Yellow pepper
• Courgette
• 50g peas
• Seasoning
• Parmesan
• Fresh basil

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil and add the rice for 2-3 minutes before adding the spring onions and garlic.
2. After about a minute, add the wine and a ladle of stock. Simmer for five minutes.
3. Add the vegetables. Cook for about twenty minutes, adding the stock gradually as it is soaked up by the rice.
4. When the rice is tender, season to taste and serve with the basil and parmesan to taste.

Sewing Project 2014 - 10 Nursery birdy

Yesterday I dug out a book of sewing projects that I got for my birthday last year. It's a German book and it's full of stuffed animals for children.

I decided to go with this little bird for the nursery as it was a small project and would use up some material I had. The colour is not a sign - I plan to make a pink one too. To be fair though, the nursery is so full of pink things from my childhood, that the blue brings a little balance.

I loved the combination of machine and hand stitching. I liked using the buttons and I liked adding in the pleated wool for the legs.

The challenges came with the beak and the generally tricky side of tackling such a small project with the machine. I adapted the pattern a little from the book. For example the eyes should be little beads but I didn't have any so I used some embroidery silks and stitches. 

I'm pleased with the finished product and I'm thinking of making some for the Etsy shop when I relaunch later this year.