slow sewing

I've finally finished sewing my second garment of this year - this is slow sewing to the extreme! Which is fine if you are sewing couture garments that deserve slavish attention to detail, but not so when I'm just doing a simple skirt and desperately need some new clothes because my maternity clothes are way too big now (yay for me!) but my pre preggo clothes still do not quite fit (damn chocolate bullets I ate during my pregnancy).

Anyway, I made a denim skirt which I'm not sure is in fashion anymore but I always find them to be a good basic staple in my wardrobe. I made this from a dark lightweight denim I've had maturing in the stash a while, that has a little bit of stretch to it so that it's more forgiving to wear. I used Butterick 3132 which seems to be OOP now, shame on me for having a pattern for so long before using it the first time it's no longer printed! But it is a fairly simple style with some nice detailing at the back:

And here it is modelled in front of the unpainted walls in my soon to be new living room:

Happily those walls got a coat of undercoat today by my obliging husband, and hopefully next weekend will have some paint on them. I'm pretty excited at the prospect of having a lounge room again...

The fabric is a bit dark to get any details, but you get the idea. I topstitched the front pockets and pleats on the back with a dark orange thread like you see on most RTW jeans , so nothing unusual here. Of course the downside to such slow sewing is that I have lost weight in between cutting this out and finishing this, so I'll have to take it in somehow, maybe by putting a centre front and back seam in because with a side zipper and the rear vents it will be too much effort to take it all apart.

Happily I've dropped 10kg of baby weight, but still have about 7 - 10kg of pregnancy comfort food weigh to get rid of, depending on whether I get to my pre-preggo weight or my ideal weight. But no real hurry I guess, it took 9 months to get that way so I'll have to be patient in getting rid of it especially when I'm so hungry due to breastfeeding.

Well I'll finish this post with a totally unrelated photo of Anna, but hey I like showing her off and I know you all like it too! Here she is doing a baby eskimo impression in a fluffy jacket when the weather turned cold last week:

why I'm not sewing baby girl clothes.....

because I keep receiving the cutest baby outfits as gifts and hand me downs from friends that's why! Seriously, Anna has so many clothes that I'm not going to sew her any for quite some time to make sure we get good use out of all the clothes we've been given, such as this gorgeous dress Anna received from one of my close friends:

Red and white polka dots with ric rac, what's not to love about it? This photo was taken last Sunday when it was really really hot here, but now the crazy weather has turned and it's so cold I've put my flannelette pyjamas on tonight. So here's another photo of Anna in some warmer clothes, giving Oscar the nosy dog a kung fu kick to the nose 'cos he's always sniffing around checking what she's doing:

Hasn't it been a dramatic and extremely sad week in Australia this week? I'm sure you've all heard about the horrific bushfires in Victoria, the likes of which are unprecedented in Australia and just seem surreal to me. Terrible floods in far north Queensland, with a crocodile taking a little boy. And then there were two shark attacks in the last two days, one in Sydney Harbour and the other at Bondi and let me tell you as someone who used to swim in the sea every day as a youngster there's nothing scarier than being in the water when the shark alarm goes off. It feels like those dreams you have when you are being chased but are moving in slow motion: you just can't get out of the water fast enough.

So let's all be thankful for the good things in life, big or small. I'm thankful that Anna's gone to sleep 'cos she has been a bit crabby this week, staying up from 2am to 4.30am most mornings and then only sleeping for an hour during the day, which is unpleasant for all of us. But I'm sure it will pass all too soon so I'm trying to be positive and look at it as being extra time spent with my little girl - because earlier in the week I was doing the cliched new mum lament of "what have I done, I've ruined my life!" LOL

And I have managed to get some sewing done, probably because I'm only doing minimal housework in the rooms not affected by construction at the moment so I've had a bit of spare time in between naps. Also my husband does all the cooking and grocery shopping (I know, I'm extremely lucky) so I do manage to find time to do some things for me which is great for my sanity. Also thank god my mum is so calm and full of common sense, she always points me in the right direction as well as holding Anna whenever she's here which gives me a break.

Well I have some homework to do thanks to Jean for pointing out the machine hemming technique. I admit that I've never read the manual that came with my sewing machine and I assumed because it's a basic machine that it wouldn't do anything so fancy, so I'm off to explore and experiment. Thanks Jean, you truly are my sewing godmother! Of course now I'll have to find a different excuse for all my UFOs......

Finally some sewing

Well I have officially upgraded my birth experience from painful to traumatic: I spent most of last week back in hospital after suffering a post partum haemorrage due to some retained placenta. It was an extremely scary few days but it has all been resolved now without the need for a further operation (a D&C). On the bright side however, Anna and I got to stay in the airconditioned hospital during the hot weather Sydney has been having (I feel for you Vicki, Melbourne has been ever hotter) and whilst the hospital is pretty noisy what with those annoying buzzers going off every few seconds it had nothing on the noise my builders create around here so a few days bed rest in hospital wasn't a bad idea in the end.

But the enforced rest gave me some time to finish sewing a top I have been making for the last two weeks and just needed to do those pesky handsewing of hems that we all seem to put off. I've made this pattern a few times before and I can get it done in about 2 or 3 hours, but now with all the interruptions thanks to a certain little miss who has suddenly taken to exercising her vocal cords loudly and often it has taken me two weeks. But slow and steady gets you there in the end, just ignore the lack of hair brushing and make up in this photo!:

I really need some half decent breastfeeding clothes to wear out on the few occasions I do leave the construction zone that is my home, and while I did make a few dresses that are b/feeding friendly last year, I wanted to make some seperates that I could wear with pants and that would be ok for the rest of the year as well.

For Elizabethe who is having her own baby in 5 months and expressed interest in seeing how I would modify patterns for b/f clothes (there's a challenge if I ever I heard one!) or for anyone else who wants ready access to their breasts (the mind boggles but you never know.....) I based this top on an Elizabeth Lee design. This pattern company are one of the few that do specific nursing patterns, and whilst I think the patterns use really clever techniques to enable access for nursing, the actual styles themselves aren't really me, so I decided to modify some patterns I already had inspired by these designs.

Using Simplicity 4589, I modified it based on this technique:

source: Elizabeth Lee designs

I used a crisp cotton pale yellow with khaki green leaf print fabric that I've had in the stash for a few years, from Spotlight originally I think. I also changed the pattern by making the sleeves a little longer because cap sleeves aren't so flattering on my chicken wing arms, and I also lengthened it a litle, but added slits to the bottom of side seams for movement ease. The print fabric was a good choice too, because by lining up the leaf print the opening is barely visible, especially since I topstitched the opening closed at the top and bottom along the vertical black lines:

I tested it out and it does actually work so I am pretty pleased with the outcome. I gave it a generous overlap so that there would be no peep shows, but it hardly gapes at all. I will make this again, but I will delete the gathers across the front and back under the yoke which are part of the original pattern because I think it adds volume around my middle and since my stomach is going back to pre-pregnancy shape (not my rear end though) I don't really want clothes that make me still look preggers! Of course if I'm going out somewhere fancy I could always put on a belt and cinch it like this:

And in exciting house news the works are nearly finished except for a little bit of wall lining and electrical work to do. Then we get to do the fun bits: painting, laying the flooring and setting up furniture. Well it's fun for me because all I have to do is pick out the colours and sit back while my husband and dad do the hard work LOL!

thank you Jean!

How good is getting a unexpected parcel of goodies along with your boring bills and bank statements in the mail? Thanks to Jean, of Sewing Along Life's Seams, today that goodness landed in my little hands with a parcel that contained a gorgeous quilt, some burp cloths (already put to good use), a taggie blanket, a little rattle and some yummy caramel 'sugar daddy' lollypops - good thing I went for a walk today and ate a carrot so that should have cancelled out the two that I ate already......

Anna is 3 weeks old today and is starting to take more notice of her surroundings. She flapped her arms around on the quilt like a little snow angel feeling the textures I think, and was certainly eyeing off the taggie blanket. Thank you so much Jean for sending these, they are absolutely gorgeous and so practical too. I was going to make a taggie blanket, but since I didn't have any ribbon and am avoiding the fabric stores in order to keep to my fabric diet I hadn't made one yet, so you have perfect timing Jean! And I would never have the patience to make a quilt but it is delightful to have one.

I have to say once again that I am overwhelmed and astounded by the generosity of bloggers - from gifts to all the well wishes I have received, I am so grateful and they mean alot to me.

Well yesterday was Australia Day and Chinese New Year so there was much activity around here. We took Anna into the city for the Australia Day celebrations, and here she is being carried by her dad with the free Aussie flag being handed out:

Don't take any notice of that funny mark across my forehead, I was wearing a hat and it seems even my head has gotten bigger after this pregnancy caper! And Anna also scored another quintessential Australian experience - a little mosquito bite on her face which you can see in the photo above on the quilt.

And for all you northern hemispherers suffering through freezing conditions, you have no sympathy from me because we are sweltering through a heatwave, made even worse for me having to stay home to let the builders in, the air condition being taken out for the recladding of the house and just me in general not being able to cope in the sun and heat with my fair skin. I don't want to wish time away because I'm loving having Anna so small she fits easily in my arms, but I wish this summer weather would pass! When the building works are done we'll all be so much happier, because at the moment walking around our house necessitates turning sideways in some spots to squeeze past furniture LOL.

As for the inlaws, it was good of them to go home for now - they live in Brisbane which is about a 2 hour flight away so they can come back easily when all works are done and dusted, but in the meantime we've been taking many many photos to keep them up to date...

Anyway must fly, I can hear Anna exercising her lungs again - she has found the volume switch in the past few days and her crying is no longer cute (if it ever was to anyone else but me!) and she cries a lot when left by herself, but at only 3 weeks old I'd be pretty scared in this big world too so I don't think I can love her or spoil her enough at this age (tough love will have to come soon though!)

Oh and to all of you that nominated me for a blogging award - thank you! I never imagined my blog would be interesting to so many of you, but thank you for reading along and being part of my world. I'll have to find some time to bestow it upon other deserving bloggers.

where does the time go?

You all knew this was going to happen didn't you? I remember the friendly warnings whilst I was still pregnant to cherish the time alone and that a new baby means no time for practically anything else at all! Anna is now two weeks old and I've only left the house a few times which has meant I have stuck to my fabric diet thus far, I have managed to shower, do washing, and even nearly finished eating a few meals, but everything else has practically been looking after the baby. But we are settling into a feeding routine now, and she is a good sleeper in between feeds so I'm hoping that once the house is sorted out I'll be able to get some 'real' stuff done, like sewing my new post maternity wardrobe!

But in fabulous news, my in laws have finally realised that now wasn't the best time for them to be staying with us and have flown home two weeks early. As much as I want them to be part of Anna's life, now isn't exactly the right time. Especially since our building works have picked up pace enormously and there is lots going on right now which means we should be finished up in a few weeks (except for the fun part of decorating), but it also means that we are now living in bascially a bedroom of the house because our lounge room has been divided up into a hallway, study and walk in pantry and there is even less room than ever:

Yes that is cabling running over the floor taped down, and electrical wires hanging out of the ceiling, a big hole in the wall where a window was taken out and where the lounge is (in our future study) it is basically a few metres away from the tv, in fact so close I could probably watch it without my glasses! Oh and to top it off, apart from lights in the kitchen there are no other overhead lights so we are relying on lamps to avoid sitting in total darkness. I guess this is going to be a really funny story when it's all over and done with, and of course Anna won't remember any of it so I just have to grin and bear it....

Speaking of Anna she has been absolutely showered with gifts and has received so many gorgeous little clothes that I doubt I'll need to sew anything for her for at least 6 months. She is the first grandchild for my parents who are super excited, and the second grandchild (by only two months) for my in laws so they are equally excited too, and lots of little pink things have made their way into our house. And she has started down the dangerous path of shoe obsession, thanks to my close family friend Jenny buying her these gorgeous little shoes (thanks Jenny!):

Anna had her first check up with the early childhood health nurse and she has already put on weight above her birth weight (apparently most babies lose a bit of weight in the first few weeks), and they revised her length to 57cm which is above average for girls her age so I am pretty sure she's going to be tall like her dad.

serenity now (and repeat ad infinitaeum.....)

wow everyone, I'm completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of joyous and warm comments left to my last post - thank you all so much for taking the time to congratulate someone you only know 'virtually'!

well little Anna is now a week old, and changing all the time (losing that screwed up newborn look thankfully). Of course it hasn't been all beer and skittles since we've been home, which I totally expected (hence my new mantra of the title post!). My milk only came in the day before yesterday so she has been doing what the midwives called a feeding frenzy - wanting a feed or to be settled practially 45 minutes out of every night time hour because she wasn't getting enough each time. So not much sleep was had for the first few days but luckily she is settled during the day so I could catch up on the zzzz's. Last night she was much better, going 2 - 3 hours between feeds so I could actually sleep a bit.

But I haven't exactly bought her home to a safe little cocoon - the builders are busy working away the hardest I've seen them, with at least three different things going on at once as opposed to one thing going on over three weeks LOL! At this stage they think they'll be finished in a few weeks, but the bad news is that they have started on the inside works to connect the existing house to the new extension, so we now have half a lounge room and even more furniture in weird spots that are out of the way of the building works.

To make matters worse my in laws are staying with us for three weeks (despite me emphasing the current state of the house), so we have 4 adults, a newborn baby and a dog in a building zone that has now usable area of the size of a large studio apartment! So I'm a bit stressed out having an audience watch everything I do with the baby, especially since they only want to hold her when she is quiet and hand her back quick smart when she cries, so I look forward to retreating to my bedroom to feed her, it's become my little sanctuary of peace and quiet. We had to dismantle the baby's room to fit the in laws in, so her bassinet and change table are crammed in our bedroom which is all very cozy to say the least!

Oscar the wonder dog has been great though - he lays besides her cot and as soon as she makes a noise he runs over to me and whimpers. Sure beats a baby monitor any day! And he is gentle with his sniffing of her, so I think the introduction has gone well:

You can see in the photo the yellow pair of the pyjamas I made using the BWOF pattern (the wrap around top) a while ago, these pyjamas are an absolute god send for feeding, too bad I didn't make them in plainer fabric so I could wear them out and about! Oh and someone asked me in a comment a little while ago what BWOF meant - it refers to the Burda World of Fashion sewing magazine, obviously you haven't been exposed to the joys of it but you should track down a copy it is totally worth it (and the start of a dangerous obsession).

In response to some other comments, we call the baby just Anna, Mei is just her middle name that will probably be rarely used. No particular reason for the name or family connection, I just like the sound of it and it supposedly means 'beautiful' in Chinese.

And Lisa you're so right about losing the baby weight - I've already dropped 10kg in a week which I'm pretty sure was helped by all the feeding I've been doing (plus the workout of getting out of bed and walking around jiggling the baby trying to soothe her!). Only another 1okg to go to get to my pre baby weight....

Anna's hair is surprisingly a light brown, and not the dark black Chinese hair I was expecting. I know they lose their hair and it comes back different so we'll see what she ends up with, but it will be a real shock if she turns out a red head too!

Sadly all my sewing stuff has been packed up to fit the in laws in the house so no sewing until the works are done, but I am already revising the stash contents and going through patterns for when I can sit down and get cracking at not only baby clothes but new clothes for me - I'm not going to need my suits or heels this year and the wardrobe of a stay at home mum (SAHM) is a whole new challenge for me! I'm going to try to go down Erica Bunker's path and being a sassy stylish SAHM, even if it is only for going to the shops or the doctors!

So excuse me all while I post sporadically for the next few weeks, but I am reading your blogs to steal some of your mojo for when I can back into action....

Anyway must go, I can hear the little angel stirring and pretty soon she'll turn from this to a screaming devil!

introducing my future fashionista.....

sorry for leaving you all in suspense, but it seems my husband is not only all thumbs when it comes to babies but to blog updating as well! But he has been pretty occupied this week spending time at hospital, at work, looking after the dog, dealing with the pesky builders and getting used to being a new dad so I'm sure you all forgive him.

Well, little Anna Mei Chan finally emerged into the outside world at 1.37am on Tuesday morning, weighing in at 3.62kg (nearly 8 pounds) and 51.2cm (20in). She seems to be changing appearance as each day passes and she loses that screwed up red face look that newborns get. Here she is on day 2:

She certainly was a stubborn little lady, because being 12 days late wasn't enough, she dragged my labour out to more than 14 hours! But I don't think she cares about that, judging by this cheeky look she gave us shortly after coming out:

I'll spare you the gory details because I'm sure many of you have been there done that, and if you haven't you really don't want to know until it's too late to back out! Suffice to say it was the most pain I've ever experienced, and I endured about 4 hours of very painful and frequent contractions that were too short to effectively dilate (only 3cm in that time) before breaking down in tears begging for an epidural. And post epidural? Well then I could manage a smile, and even read the paper while we waited, and waited, and waited to reach the magic 10cm dilation time:

I was extremely sad to have the epi turned off for the final phase (ie the pushing) - which took an hour and a half, and in the end required the vacuum to pull her out because her shoulders were stuck.

Now I'm happily at home, the dog is going beserk wagging his tail he's so happy, but he does look startled at every little noise that comes from her way! And in other good news the pesky builders have done more work this week than just about the entire project so far so we are only a few weeks off finishing now. It's almost as if they didn't believe that I was having a baby until it actually came out.....

And as for me? Well I know have a spongy round stomach and still look a few months pregnant, I have quiet a few stitches down there and my nipples are starting to feel well used already but I'm so happy it doesn't matter too much.