Thankyou Playschool!!

I've had a very productive day.

1. I got in and out of Spotlight to exchange some thread in 10 minutes!!!

2. Swept the floors and cleared the kitchen counters.

3. Washed (some of) the walls.

4. All beds were made this morning!

5. I cleaned the bathroom and toilet.

6. Made banana muffins withe Hayden.

7. I folded and put away a load of washing (which had been on the line since Friday.... *sigh*)

8. Played boardgames and blocks, and read books with Hayden.

9. Picked up a sick child early from school

So I thought I deserved some 'me time'. (btw, why do I accomplish housework and then automatically assume I deserve some fun in return? That is my job. Another post on that another day.)

Anyway, I need a rest ;) My poor pregnant body (oh please!) was sore and I needed a little sit down.

So, thankyou Playschool for 30minutes of peace so I could finish a few things off.

(For some reason the photos didn't flip like they normally do....)

Last time I had a baby I remember not having the time nor inclination to make or even send thankyou notes to the kind people who brought meals or gifts.

So this time I thought I better be prepared with some notes BEFOREHAND.

They're simple but still cute I think!!!

Bunting Round 2 to continue the boost of colour in the boys' room.

And I needed to change that thread so I could sew some colour to this muslim wrap.

Yes, I like red!

Anti-Halloween

Apparently it's Halloween this coming weekend.

Don't people know that we are in Australia? This is NOT America and it is not Fall.

It is in fact nearly Summer and we have no affiliation with Halloween.

What is Halloween anyway?

And really, do we need to encourage another teeth-rotting festivity?

That said, I did thoroughly enjoy watching my young women carve Watermelons last week. Look at this fabulous creation

And just in case you needed to know, on Friday it's 8 weeks to Christmas. How's your shopping going? Mine's 70% done!

Miracle.....two days in a row!

A miracle has occurred.

Yesterday morning we woke up and looked at the clock and it was 6.45am.

I had not heard the pitter of patter of feet yet.

Another 15mins passed and then we heard 2 boys pad down the hallway.

It felt glorious. Wonderful to wake up at a 'decent' hour.

And then today it happened again.

It was 6.55am before we heard the patter of feet.

It was just as glorious the second time.

I wonder, will I dare hope that it may happen tomorrow?

Gorgeous giveaway

I'm torn between posting this and keeping it to myself.

But if I blog about it, then I get another entry to win. And not many people read this here blog so I don't suppose I will add too much competition for myself.

Go over here.

Growing bigger

Yesterday I was 31 weeks. Here's my belly with still another 9 weeks to grow!

I'm feeling great (except for the cold that has been shared within our family). Baby is making lots of movements and has already had it's head down for a while. What clever babies I have! I love this stage when space is running out and you can really feel the baby in there. Love seeing the foot sticking out! - though we haven't go there yet. Still a fair bit to grow yet. Not in any real hurry for this pregnancy to end, though I can't help but be excited to meet my little baby is just 9 weeks!

Bundles of goodness

My baby girl's quilt is making some progress finally. I put off cutting the fabric for so long. I was scared. Scared by it's gorgeousness and didn't want to stuff it up. So the fabric sat in it's lovely packet for quite some time and I would lovingly caress it and admire it's beauty for a few weeks :)

So anyway, I finally cut the 150 strips out over the last week and last night I layed them in the squares that will make up my rail pattern.

I've decided to try a square quilt this time. The pattern I'm following has done 6 rows instead of my five so I may add the last row yet - I'm just seeing how I go!

When I was happy with the layout and the colour combinations in each block, I pinned the strips for that block together and put a number on it. (Looking at this photo I can see some strips that need swapping though. I cannot do random!!! So some changes will be made!)

So now I have a bunch of these:

I was scared to cut the fabric.

I'm much more scared to sew it. I want this quilt to look like the ones you'd pay good money for. I really need to sew all of these perfectly straight. But I don't have the time to let them sit around till I get the courage up. Time is running out! And I have so many other things on my "to-make" list. I wonder why I suddenly have the sewing bug after years of doing nothing. I guess it's the nesting?!?!??!?!

So now I have a request..... Does anyone reading this blog have the expertise OR know of anyone who does, to do the squiggly quilting on top of the quilt? You know like this:

I got a quote from a shop to do it for me but it was RIDICULOUS - about $80. You kidding me!

So I'm calling all quilters for a huge favour. Can anyone help me??? PLEASE!??!?!?

A Bunting Good Time

I want to make some bunting for the baby's room and since the boys' room needed some sprucing up I thought I'd do a practice on some boys bunting. At first when I cut the triangles out I thought they were too small, but being the frugle person I am not wanting to waste the gorgeous fabric I went ahead anyway. In the end, they aren't too small at all. I would probably make the next lot a bit bigger, but overall not a bad first attempt! Sorry for the bad photos.....

Next project: baby quilt. I've cut all the fabrics and now just need to get sewing the 150strips together!! Just 10 weeks to go so I better get cracking.

Evans Head

I've been totally slack in updating events in the Cowan house..... September holidays means the annual "Jeffrey Family Holiday". This year, with Elliot at uni and work, we only went from Tuesday to Saturday. I must say, with the weather turning out the way it did, I'm glad we went for the shorter time. It rained on Wednesday but was sunny and clear on Thursday and Friday so did manage to get the beach, which was lovely.

Pop has a boat at the moment so one afternoon we went out on the river.... to do some fishing. Or rather, to feed the fish our bait. It seems the boys were all very good at casting and giving the fish a feed, but nothing was actually caught.

On Thursday Uncle Carl built this massive sand hill and the kids all had a ball climbing up and then jumping, rolling or sliding down it. It kept them amused for hours!

And here's Hayden surfing the COLD waves. He didn't like getting flipped off it though.... Naughty waves!
All in all, despite the bad weather it was a really nice time away to relax and spend time with great people.

Going out in style

I just made up my own pattern for a change wallet! I am rather proud of myself! I scoped out the net for ideas and found one I really like that someone had made, and then just............. totally copied it!!

All folded up - it just needs a loop of elastic and a button. It's a little bulkier than I anticipated, but I guess that can't be helped when it contains all the essentials for changing baby's nappy.

When folded out, it's a padded change mat with 2 pockets containing wipes and nappies. I've used 50/50 bamboo batting so it's machine washable and lovely and soft without being too thick.

I totally love the fabric! Red is my favourite colour in the whole world and I was so pleased to see this floral new in at Spotlight yesterday.

This really was rather easy to make. I jokingly said to Elliot that maybe I should offer them up for sale?!!!!