A diploma for swimming? You might be asked if your child has one if you take her swimming in The Netherlands! Why all the fuss, and what does this mean to Dutch people? Let’s take a stab at this rite of passage for Dutch children.
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At last, they are finished! Two rainbow patchwork duvet covers are ready to be loved and cuddled. I made two of them, since duvets need to be washed much more than quilts. How about some construction notes?
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Yesterday was the first time that I sewed a garment without taking any measurements or following any directions. It was just a skirt, a really simple one, but that felt good! With my leftover Rosette rayon fabric from The Confident Stitch, I sewed an easy-peasy, elastic waist skirt. I could have made it shorter, but I had the feeling that Elora would find the extra length charming, and she did!
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In December we will move house. For the first time, Elora is helping to design her own room. To begin, I gathered together a lot of fun girl’s room images on Pinterest to expose her a wide variety of styles. She quickly and confidently zeroed in on this dreamy pastel room from Lay Baby Lay.
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Springtime is the season for sewing little girl dresses. Time flies, and before long my girl won’t be little any more. At this point, when I get the itch to sew her a dress, I can poke around in my sewing room for yardage and come up with something that delights her every time. Gotta make the most of that!
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Yesterday, when it was quite overcast, little miss braved the cool weather for a lightning fast photo op. We dashed out our front door, across to the road to the daffodils and were back inside in less than five minutes! Aren’t you glad she was a good sport?
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Come see what Elora made! It’s her first sewing project. Plus, my tips for how to ease a first machine sewing experience with a cautious child, like my sweet 6-year-old.
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Yesterday was a special day for Elora and I - her last speech therapy lesson. In the past year Elora has made fantastic progress, thanks in great part to the two specialists who uncovered the origin of her language development challenges.
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When Elora caught sight of this fabric, she asked if I would sew her a skirt. I thought, perfect! The fabric is dark enough to avoid staining, strong enough (it’s a linen blend) for everyday play and exactly right for the fall weather to come. How serendipitous!
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June has finally brought warm weather to The Netherlands. After an unusually long and cool spring, we’re feeling the sun on our legs and looking for some water to splash around in. Time to welcome summer with a new sundress!
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It’s normal to have doubts in the process of creating. The tricky thing is to know when to press on despite them. Midway into joining blocks in the original layout, I jumped up from the sewing machine and quickly rearranged what was left on my design wall!
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I spoke to her of Eleni when she was only days old. I remember standing before Eleni’s photos and the words I needed to say out loud, This is your sister, Eleni. I held my new, healthy baby close and felt how hard it would be to tell her this story when it mattered to her.
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Well, that was quick! Here’s Elora in her new Playtime tunic. This weekend I had other plans, but when I realized that I already had a great pattern for this fabric on hand, I just went ahead and made it happen.
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Weaving together my life as a maker and other spheres of life: Best of February, an optimistic new book recommendation, a few shots of our renovation in process and a little update on Elora.
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Weaving together my life as a maker and other spheres of life: Best of September + October, imagining a mystery quilt-along, enjoying simple fall gatherings and some good news about our house search!
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Weaving together my life as a maker and other spheres of life: Best of August, experimenting with hexagons + triangles, two very good books and an update on our house search.
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