Spring Break: Icecream

The darling Franca has put together a month of just photos as she takes a 'writing' break from her blog, and I was thinking that considering my due date is just days away, I might do the same! I'll call it Spring Break because: ... it's spring and we're very happy to see the blossoms and sunshine and blue skies and even the glossy rain and rainbows that September in Melbourne brings us!

My first photo for Spring Break (Veronica Darling on Maternity Leave Style):

White Mudcake, Choc Mint and Watermelon icecream and gelato from the shopping centre. I needed to pick up a few things, but had to shop close by to bathrooms, so I went to the massive shopping centre. But you need treats first, right?

xoxo

Baby Sleeping Bag

Last week, I caught a little 'Me-Time' in the Sewing Room before the newborn arrives in the real world. And with some cotton towelling from Spotlight, I made a Sleeping Bag with a little Hoodie! 

My Mama gave me the bias tape last year, and the mismatched buttons are from the stash, and I only included them because Max in Where the Wild Things Are has them on his jumpsuit... The ears were just really improvised pieces that I turned inside out, and stitched on, and then hand stitched so they'd stay up if one was to wear the hoodie... And one doesn't even know if one's child will wear this (what we think is adorable is often not comfy for the kidlets, right?)! But it's just so lovely anyways!

Being on maternity leave has left me as a Lady of Leisure, but a lady who can't go too far from the bathroom, or too far from a nice siesta spot ... so my daytime activities are small, close to home and often car trips. (For example, I changed my shopping schedule yesterday to visit a real life annoying shopping mall/centre because there were lovely bathrooms. And yes, I was there for 2 hours and visited the bathroom 4 times).

ANYWAYS, so much pregnancy goss and sidetracking! I was in our lovely west village for a massage and enjoyed a lovely late morning brunch with Nikkishell the other week! And she passed on so many lovely goodies, these baby sewing patterns above being the ones I Frankenstein-ed together for the Sleeping Bag. It's absolutely massive, not a 3 month old size (like it suggests) and I'm not sure if that's the pattern or the material I chose?!

Thanks Nichola! My offspring sewing is only just beginning... not sure if I'll make anything else (oh boy am I rolypoly today - BIG but no baby yet) before the birth... but we'll see.

Have a great weekend and thanks again for your thoughts and comments this week! Maybe we'll have news within the next week or so?!

xoxo

Little Toys

A gorgeous soft toy rabbit for Baby Darling. Yes I may have cuddled it a little already, just to warm it up!

Hope you're having a lovely week! I'm so loved and gushed about the pleasant weather and love having so much maternity leave to enjoy it. Vitamin D top up is good for the both of us!

xoxo

Sew Weekly: Nursing the Wild Side

While I was doing a bit of this on the couch for most of this week, I also pottered my way into the Sewing Room. WTF, I KNOW! As you've probably noticed, I'm not really in the creating mood this year, I've been tired, busy and doing the grown up thing of actually slowing things down while I grow a real life human child. A VERY different pace of life for me this year. And how great do I feel (beside the heart burn, weird pelvic tingles and puffy feet) for it? GREAT!

But with a little nudge from some online friends, I also got a little inspired to take my time and make a few things this week. The first, this WILD dress which only came about because the lovely Megan Nielson sent me the BEST maternity pattern... the Perfect Nursing & Maternity Top and I turned it into a little/large dress for to wear now and after birth.

The Sew Weekly theme this week was about being inspired by literature, and Husbie and I have been feeling a little in love with children's books at the moment. My work sent me a great collection of darling children's books to start our library for the new addition, and we've always had a really beautiful hardcover edition of 'Where The Wild Things Are'... it might have been a subconscious inspiration to our new kitchen wallpaper as well...

Anyways, so great inspiration from Megan's pattern, some fun and totally cheap fabric from Spotlight and a fun Sew Weekly challenge brought about the dress and this hilarious photo shoot in the kitchen. All my Sew Weekly details are up on Mena's blog and this week I'll post the little Max costume I made as well, thanks to darling Nikkishell's baby patterns!

I do LOVE Meg's nursing pattern, it was really so easy to make up and I can imagine I'll be making it again once I work the whole breastfeeding thing out. I've been wearing clippy bras through my pregnancy, as I can't stand underwire or anything tight (I ripped off some tights this morning that were just way too clingy) so I just hope they're big enough to accommodate a milk filled boob as well, who the hell knows!

Anyways, today the neighbours decided the bump shape was definitely a boy shape, and I know some of you have had your pick too... I wonder what he or she will be like! Now that the Little Darling is 38 weeks old in utero, birth could happen anytime. The midwives again say it's head down, fixed now, and its little back is along the front of me... so perfect birthing possie. At the most recent heart beat monitoring, the midwife told me the myth was that at full term if the heart beat is a certain number it means a boy and if it's another it means a girl. My little fetus was still being a trickster, and gave us a heartbeat reading of first a boy, then a girl, then a boy. I love not knowing, it's so funny thinking of who they'll be and so amazing knowing they'll be in our lives and we'll love them no matter what. SO MUCH love and gush in our house at the moment!

Have a gorgeous weekend and I'll hopefully see you here soon! xoxo

This.

Yep. Just this.

Happy x

Hello darling blog friend! Happy Friday!

Today's my birthday, and I'm a very happy young lady indeed. My day has been simple, relaxed, delish, and mostly just me and the unborn one sharing cuddles as we only know how. Unless it's the fastest labour ever, it seems I won't share my birthday with my first born and after our midwife check up today, we might not see the little Baby Darling til well into September anyways, as yes, there's a bit of growing to do.

I thought I'd share some small glimpses of our kitchen renovation as we're nearing the gorgeous pointy end with a few days left to go, perhaps a week at most. Yippee! This week I got a little pampering on the tootsies, a little facial and my darling hair done again at Corrin's Hair Lounge. And, my birthday present was some lovely make up that'll get me through the next few months being simple and stylish. Thank you to my darling sister in law who was spot on with just what I need! Just enough glamour for this little Mama to Be!

So very happy and enjoying my Friday, and sending some love and gush and happy thoughts your way.

xoxo

Wool Scraps for Crochet

When you're thrifty, it's hard to throw anything away, and I've been saving up a whole bunch of wool bits just in case, just in case, just in case! Every so often I get a wave of inspiration and add a few granny squares to this collection from those scraps of wool. A while back I got a heap of red wool at the op shop, so thought that colour would tie it all together...

And the dear little suitcase keeps it all nice and tidy when I don't feel as inspired to crochet... it can sit on the vinyl record collection or slide under the couch! I might have to decide on a thrifty way to join them all together (might have to be a beige border as I have a lot of beige wool from the op shop that is kind of bland for anything else)...

I might have enough squares for my last baby blanket before the little Baby Darling arrives... we'll see!

Birthday Bunting

My little nephew turned 1 on Monday, and I was determined to be a little DIY last week during my first week of maternity leave. Using my mum's machine (I stayed in the country for a while as our kitchen is being renovated - of course - what else would you do at 36 weeks pregnant?) I created some dreamy birthday bunting... but made the circus colours so he and his mum can use them anytime as well!

For his name bunting, I took a little more care, curved the edges (using a soup bowl for the pattern) of the bunting, and backed each with cotton drill...  and zig zag stitched his name to each 'flag'... but I also used thicker ribbon and top stitched the ribbon *between* the top fabric and the backing drill, so his name bunting can be washed up on and used again and again (OF COURSE you'd love your name hung around the house, or is that just me?)...

The normal bunting I just cut into triangles, and zig zag stitched it to a 4 metre ribbon (if you look in Spotlight the cheapest stuff is actually 3m or 4m of satin-esque 3mm or 4mm ribbon, heaps of colours, for maybe 99 cents... instead of the normal cotton bias binding which is 69 cents a metre)... cheap and nasty, but fine for kids bunting...

I have heaps of triangles left over, so will make more for any OTHER BABIES that come along and need some circus colour n cheer.

How gorgeous is his birthday cake too?

(The Smarties were my sewing snack food last week! I *still* can't get enough chocolate and ice cream!)

xoxo

Last Week of Work: Friday

My last day at work started off very early (but not so 'bright' as in bright and early, right?) as I produced the breakfast show boys! And it was SO gorgeous and fun! A perfect last day... You might be like, WHAT? Producing BREAKFAST RADIO is perfect? But as I don't do it all the time, it was really great working with the boys again and Friday's radio shows are always really great, uplifting etc.

Husbie took these photos at 4.45am, and I couldn't see him (nor him, me) so please forgive me for I look like a startled bunny in the headlights, but I didn't want to blink or stand outside for long because it was COLD.

BUT, it's a new handmade dress (I KNOW!):

The Facts

Fabric: Some sort of wool blend stretch knit (from Lincraft) and about $8 or $9 a metre
Pattern: Self drafted, but using Built By Wendy's Sew U Stretch techniques, with a scoopier neckline for future breastfeeding days.
Notions: just thread
Year: 2012
Time to complete: 1.5 hours
First worn: August 2012
Wear again? Yes!

Total Cost: $10



It's a long sleeves tshirt dress, and I made the neckline thicker but looser for the breastfeeding option (so you just pull it and unclip the maternity bra... not that I know yet, but I'll report back). My maternity dresses have just been long tubes, rectangles for front and back, usually for my frame I curve them to fit, but to stretch out for Le Bump now and to be a baggier dress for post-birth, a rectangle should be ok.

Here's how dark it really was, no flash:

Hope you've enjoyed seeing my pregz fash outfits from my last working week! It's a bit selfish, because it's kinda for me to reflect and show my little Bunny Boo later (oh the pet names our little human has already, I could write a book)... but thanks for all your kind notes and wishes through the week!

Have a great weekend! xoxo

Last Week of Work: Thursday

Last Thursday was a ker-razy day at work. KER-fuffles and things to fix, a problem solving kinda day, and I was thinking "Please universe, I have to leave work, I have to go on maternity leave... just let me go..." because I felt like everything was stirring and sad that I was leaving so it threw all kinds of shit that hittith the fan. You know what I mean. But, we overcame all obstacles AS ALWAYS (even though some lasted til Friday too!) and all was good in the world again.

And FINALLY, here's another stretchy T shirt dress I made last month that's been a gem to wear as the body expands....

But these photos make Le Bump look smaller than Wednesday's photos... how WEIRD.

And the info for the new handmade dress (how little I have made this year compared to last year, OMG):


The Facts

Fabric: Light stretch polyester blend of something, Spotlight $7 a metre
Pattern: Self drafted, but using Built By Wendy's Sew U Stretch techniques, with a scoopier neckline for future breastfeeding days.
Notions: just thread
Year: 2012
Time to complete: 2 hours
First worn: July 2012
Wear again? Yes!

Total Cost: $14

AMAZING. Thanks again for your lovely comments! And love the guesses on the baby's gender... I WONDER so much more these days... but still no vibes either way.

P.S. A few maternity leave questions have popped up recently in my comments... just thought I'd get some info out here... Yes in my area of public service/government organisation, I had to take maternity leave 6 weeks prior to the due date... (and for you feminists, they actually called it 'confinement date' not due date. How I gnashed teeth and even tried to call it parental leave - to no avail) ... you CAN stay longer at work, if you get a Doctor's approval. My Dr approved an extra week, so that's why I've wrapped up work at 35 weeks pregnant... which gave me a little less than 4 weeks with my Sept 12th due date. I could have pushed for more, as I've been totally healthy and happy throughout the pregz (morning sickness and heartburn was my only worry) but just thought I should get into a different mindset for birth and post birth life... which has been good so far this week.

Yep, we get 3 months paid maternity leave at my work, and nup, I'm taking 6 months at half pay... which combined with my 3 months Long Service Leave at half pay ... gives me just around 12 months... So quite the break from work, but as I'm looking at parenthood as my new 'role' and like a job (just a different job), I don't see it as a 'break' or a 'holiday'.

Anyways, hope that's cleared a bit for you guys asking... I know it's different for everyone, and I'm extremely luckily 12 months can be paid (even on half pay) leave for me...

Last Week of Work: Wednesday

It was an absolutely freezing day last Wednesday, and yep that's why I look pained with my smilez but why the big old teddy bear jacket had to return! Luckily I was inside for most of the day at work... but how much bigger do I look on the side here:

Gigantic! Every Wednesday or Thursday is our new 'week' so these photos show me as 35 weeks pregz, and TOTALLY showing it. I also think after wearing these undies and tights together, I had really puffy legs, as I've gone up 2 sizes in undies, but sometimes I forget and wear my old ones. YES, I'm talking underwear on my blog, and yes, that is a photo of my undie curves on my blog. #NoFear here my friends.

You've seen this pregz fash dress before, I made it a few weeks back from leftover stretch knit my friend gave me, and it might be on it's last legs already this week or next... we'll see if I get any bigger up front.

Op shopped scarf with that 80s nautical look (I've had it for at least 5 years I think, so not a new op shop purchase) and the jacket was a present at least 12 years ago from my flatmate. And good old Melissa shoes in jungle print (do we say jungle when we don't know the animal responsible for the print? Or is it just 'animal' print?).

xoxo