Happy Easter

We are having a very happy Easter. So far we've had loads of hot cross buns and had a lovely Good Friday dinner of white fish and parsley sauce just like every year.

The Sandbox

Henry is more into the sand box now. He still mostly likes throwing the toys out of the sandbox but he likes being in the sand box and that's the main bit I think.


And he really likes walking around the backyard now, either just doing laps or exploring the grass and the soil. I am ready to spend the next few months back there with him. But not this weekend, it's cold and rainy.

Summer Pants

I did some more summer sewing for Henry this week. Finally got to try out this pattern from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings for reversible pants. Just like Anna Maria Horner's baby in the hood jacket they involved co-ordinating several fabrics. With the different coloured back yoke and the turned up cuff, that's 3 fabrics to pick to coordinate. Plus the reverse side. So that was the hardest part - choosing the fabrics. I got to use this fish fabric that I got from a man's shirt and the very very last of that indian fabric, a fabric that has shown up in almost all of my sewing projects in the last few months, I will miss it.

And for the reverse side I used two linens that I had scraps of. This side was the afterthought side but I definitely like how it turned out too.

The pants are just two layers of thin cotton so perfect for summer. At first I was reluctant to complicate elastic-waisted pants because they are usually so simple and easy to make. But making them reversible is great for rolling them up - perfect for summer and perfect for growing boys. These should fit him for a while.

A Sun Hat

This warm sunny weather we've been having meant I had to quickly make Henry a sun hat. Luckily I had a pattern for one from the book Little Things to Sew. See lots more examples of this hat here. I finished it up yesterday and he got to test it out today.

It is a really nice pattern, good sized brim and I like the seams on the side instead of the back. I didn't quite follow the directions because they involved a lot of hand sewing and I added the band of lining fabric around the cap. I couldn't make it reversible because I needed to put a strap on it. And instead of interfacing I just put a couple extra layers of fabric in the brim and it is plenty stiff enough.
We are having great weather this week and have been spending lots of time out in the backyard. Henry likes it some of the time but he'd rather be walking down the street.

I put sand in his sand box today hoping that that would keep him happy but he only liked it for about 5 minutes.

And while I'm posting pictures from the backyard, this bird showed up on our patio yesterday. We think it flew into the window and hurt itself. It lay there for a couple hours and then it was gone so we have every reason to believe that it recovered and flew away. I'm glad we got the chance to see it, it is such a striking bird and I've never seen one before.

For a new baby

Kevin has some friends expecting in May. So I was excited to sew something for the new baby. They know they are having a girl but I am still learning the ropes of serging and sewing with knits so I didn't make a dress. I made a little sweat suit from an old Ottobre magazine, the same one I made for Henry in the fall.

I used some knit fabric I got from our thrift store that has little mermaids on it and some pink trim. I love the mermaid fabric for the cuteness but after sewing it up it became very obvious that it's not very good quality. Very thin and not super soft. I should have paid more attention beforehand instead of being too in love with the mermaids. Lesson learned.


And to finish off the post here are some recent pictures of Henry, this is as good as photos get at the moment as I just cannot get him to look at the camera.

Saturday

We worked hard trying to take advantage of the nice weather we had this Saturday. We spent just about all day outside.

Did lots of gardening.

Trampled some flowers, maybe that counts as gardening, not sure.

Went for our first bike ride as a family of 3.
Henry seemed to like the bike trailer. Well he fell asleep on the way there and the way back, I think that counts as liking it.

Played at Breithaupt Park and had a picnic there.

Found a couple of moles living in the compost! They have no eyes!
Looks like a lot of rain this coming week so we will have to get used to being inside again.

Baby in the Hood Jacket

I finally put the buttons on this jacket that I made for Henry and now it is the perfect weather for it. It is the baby in the hood jacket from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings, a really great sewing pattern book that I bought for myself. So far I've also made the cushion and the booties from this book.

Instead of making it a summer jacket like it is meant to be I did fleece for the lining so it is a bit warmer. I think he will get more wear out of it this way. It turned out alright with the alteration, I just went up a size. The only place it maybe didn't work so well is the sleeves are a bit tight. But they fit.

It was very hard picking the fabrics to use. He does already have a plaid jacket as well as several shirts but I just love him in plaid. And combined with the indian print placket I think it looks quite different than anything else.

I would love to make him another summer weight jacket using the same pattern but I have so much on my list to sew I'm not sure if I'll get around to it. I'll just have to enjoy this one.

Fingerpainting

Henry tried fingerpainting again earlier this week. He seemed to "get it" much more this time. And he did seem to enjoy it though he quickly got bored.

And he made this beautiful piece of art.

Matching Outfits

This is why I sew. So I can do fun things like this. I found this jersey flat sheet in this nice leaf pattern at the thrift store and have been using it while I am still learning how to use my new serger. And this is what I've made with it so far. A T-shirt for me and a little PJ outfit for Henry.

For all 3 pieces I just traced existing clothes for the pattern. They all turned out alright. Henry's leggings are a bit snug at the bottom. And my neck band got a bit stretched out. But Henry's turned out fine so I think I've figured that one out already.

Happy 10 Years

I've been with this guy for 10 years now. We celebrated on Sunday. We were in Mississauga and went on some walks with my family and Henry and then had a meal out in the evening just the two of us.
We are also celebrating by taking an evening pottery class together that starts this Thursday. We thought it would be a fun thing to do together and we decided we preferred that to a weekend getaway at this point in our lives.

I dug out some of our old photos to display to help us in reminiscing about the past 10 years.


I also made this patchwork photo frame to commemorate the event. It was a fun project and I took photos along the way so that if I ever get around to it I can put together some instructions in case anyone else ever wants to make it. I like how it turned out but I know it could look much better if a more meticulous sewist made one.

It is now hanging in our bedroom.