Is that the sun .........

The sun is shining,

the birds are singing, the garden has come alive it is a truly magnificent day.
Such a contrast to the grey drizzly days we've been having lately.

What a great opportunity to show you my latest sewing project out in the sunshine.
I've been wanting to make a bag/bucket to house all of E's baby toys in since xmas, to get them off the sofa's where they are usually left lying around.

The outside and bottom are quilted which helps keep the shape. I've used a bamboo/cotton blend wadding that I buy from my local fabric shop by the meter, but I think I might try a heavier weight wadding next time to make it even sturdier.

Overall I'm really pleased with it. The only thing is, it's a little big. Why I made it the size I did, I'm not sure! Though as Mr D said it'll soon fill up with toys! So I'm already planning to make more in different sizes. I can imagine a whole line of these in the nursery.
Well I'm off to hang some washing on the line something I haven't done for weeks. I hope it's not too grey with you and that this sunshine stays for the weekend.
It really feels like Spring is in the air!

Anxiety and play dough

It's been a strange few days even the weathers up and down. We woke on both Saturday and Sunday to a sprinkling of snow, which then quickly disappeared, especially on Saturday which turned into a lovely sunny day, enabling us to spend time in the garden doing jobs we've been wanting to do for weeks. The spring like weather got us excitedly planning our veg plot. I must get the seeds out and see what we need to order. J's put a request in for sweetcorn and peas, it's great that he remembers the allotment with such excitement.

It was a good distraction as there's been a lot of stress in the house. As children grow their personalities and characteristics become more apparent. Some surprise you others are more familiar and it's easy to see which parent they have inherited them from. J's been doing well at school, slowly finding his feet and building good relationships with his teachers and the children around him. And then bang, Thursday night it all changed. Seeing a child so upset and worried is horrible and the need to wrap your arms around them and make everything alright is overwhelming.

It had been arranged for J's class to put on an assembly for all the parents and carers this Monday. A great idea for most the class, but for a child like J the thought of being in front of so many people is a nightmare. We are only just starting to see the depth of his anxiety and how it grips him. Trying to calm him down Thursday evening was a struggle. He could not understand how a place where he was beginning to feel safe and secure could suddenly make him so anxious.

We are very lucky that the school treats all the children as individuals, so with their agreement we made the decision not to include him in the assembly, and to not take him to school until it was all over. Even with these promises it's been a difficult few days, ending with a very disturbed night last night for J. A night full of bad dreams, a night when he just couldn't settle. And as I lay in bed next to him I couldn't help but feel quite guilty. If you were to ask me to stand in front of 60 plus adults and sing and talk, I would be a nervous wreck and the thought of it would take over my thoughts for days before hand. I would be just like J, I guess this is one trait I have unwillingly passed on.

And then there's the two year old. Not realising for a moment what his older brother is going through and still so blissfully unaware of the pressures life has in store. For little A, the fact that his mummy has found such a quick and easy play dough recipe is all it takes for contentment. If only everything in life was this easy.

A little light reading

One of my favourite past times has got to be

having a good rummage around a charity shop.
Its the anticipation and excitement at what you might just be about to find. Luckily my thrifting hobby is shared by Mr D, this I guess is not so lucky for the boys! Our searching is often cut short with cries of "Not another shop", and "why are you buying THAT!" and then when they really have had enough there's the stamping of feet and a chorus of "I want to go home NOW"!!
So Saturday we agreed we would only go in one charity shop, what kind parents we are, or was it just that we had so much to do!
Luckily it didn't disappoint.

There's something so playful and joyful about craft books from the seventies.

The second book is "100 Japanese Stencil Designs" in their words "a book ready for use as patterns for wallpaper, textiles, graphics, and needlework, these delicate royalty-free images are ideal for a host of modern decorative and graphic needs".

Quite a few of the designs remind me of the echino prints I'm thinking of using in baby E's room. Oh so much inspiration, the trouble is it makes me wonder what other exciting things are in the thrift shops we didn't explore!! I think they should call it thrift addiction and I truly have the bug!

Bring on the dribble!

I knew my collection of thrifted bedlinen would come in handy one day!

I pulled out some pretty Amy Butler fabric, a bit of
Anna Maria Horner, nothings to good for my little girl, right?!
Err wrong!
A quick glimpse at one gurgling baby and I put all my selected prints back in the cupboard and reached for my pile of charity shop bed linen!!
Now if I was to make bibs out of my favourite prints I know that I would end up being reluctant to use them, choosing probably to hang them up some where rather than see them covered in dribble, milk and eventually carrot puree!
Sad of me I know but sometimes the truth hurts!
Now these sheets on the other hand deserve to have pride of place rather than only being used to line bags and back quilts, so I decided they were just what I needed.

I've backed them with cotton flannel so they are lovely and soft
and have made them quite large so they should keep her clothes clean and dry.
So as soon as I've finished admiring the bibs (!!!)

Baby E will get a chance to wear them and the dribbling can begin!

Sunshine Award

I can't stop smiling!

A very big thank you to Ali at snipsnaphappy who has given me a
sunshine award.
It was just what I needed this morning as I've just got back from school were I left an upset little boy. So as I was feeling pretty fed up when I logged on and then I saw this award and haven't stopped smiling since!
Also a very kind lady has just phoned from the school to let me know J is fine and now happily playing, so 2 things to smile about.
Can't be bad!

The conditions of this award are,

• Put the logo on your blog or within your post,

• Pass the award onto 12 bloggers,

• Link the nominees within your post,

• Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog,

• Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

So I better get on with it, all this smiling can wait!!!
Here are my 12 bloggers,
I think a few might have already received this award but I want to pass it on to people who have made my first few months of blogging feel really worth it, and to blogs that I look forward to reading. Also this is a bit of a kick up the backside for me, I must stop lurking on sites and start saying "hello"!
So here you are,

Handmade at Home

Tabiboo

Quilt while your ahead

Noodlehead

Primrose corner

The swede Records

Lilys House

My Sewing Serenity

M is for make

Blueberry Park

SweetMyrtle

Dragonfly

I must say I'm really enjoying finding new blogs and making new friends
Thanks again to Ali for making my day.

Go on make someone smile!

It's all about days like this

The weekend carried on where the week left off.

Awful!

How many times do we need to tell J to leave his little brother alone, and with the rain pelting down we had an exhausting day as parents. So after a very frustrating Saturday Mr D and I plotted!
Space,

we needed space especially outdoor space and lots of it.
So come rain or shine we planned a day out.
And what a day.

We couldn't have planned it any better!
Household chores were forgotten, sewing plans were shelved.
Crazy to think last week we had snow.

The boys had space,
the sun shone, our first picnic of the year was eaten!
Does it get any better?

As I wandered off to the car to feed baby E
I looked down on the boys (that includes Mr D!)
and boy did I feel happy
and very pleased to be a mummy.

Where does the time go?

It's Friday already!

Where has the week gone?

I asked myself that question this morning walking back from dropping off a very reluctant boy at school. I know the answer of course, the walking to and from school, nursing baby E nearly every 3 hours, the mounds of washing that a household of 5 create (it truly is shocking!) and then in between all the other daily chores there is the entertaining of a 2 year old who I'm desperately trying not to leave out.

This week really has been all about surviving,

I'm sure as the weeks go on we will get into a better routine and as J gets more use to school we will all become that little bit less stressed!
As for time spent on the sewing machine that right now is very limited but I did get half an hour yesterday and was hoping to be able to show you my latest project.

Unfortunately in my haste last night I left it out uncovered on my sewing table
and when I came to photograph it this morning I found it covered in muddy cat prints!
It really has been one of those weeks!

It's not just cats you have to be aware of!
Little fingers seem to love my sewing area as well!

Thank goodness it's the weekend!