Little Ida

Felt Garland Fun

She's a mother of five yet somehow finds the time to design her exquisite fabrics, as well as consistently coming up with what seems like a never-ending flow of craft ideas, and still manages (from where I sit) to live a full life with lots of parent/child interaction. Anna Maria Horner is fantastic! I found this fun project on Anna's blog, that looks so straight forward even I should be able to find the time to do it.

Anna's colorful garland is made from felt circles. A simple blanket stitch is used to attach pairs of circles which are then threaded through to connect them, resulting in a beautiful garland. If you already know how to do the blanket stitch (I actually just learned very recently) then this will be very easy. Learning the blanket stitch itself (instructions can also be found on Anna's page) should be quick and simple too.

"Simple" is key for me because I am still quite the novice sewer. I've probably mentioned before that I love design and pairing up colors and fabrics, but am not a very good sewer. I recently made up my mind to start working on little felt animals and sachet type things so that I could strengthen my sewing skills. This will help me to realize my dream of starting to make things again. I so miss my teenage years when I had all the time in the world to draw, paint, write, and collage.

I started my first business at the age of twenty-two when my oldest child was a year old. So from the age of about twenty on, I've been busy with the cycles of pending motherhood, motherhood, and running a business. When I met Michael I had two children from my previous marriage, and he had two children. We now have a total of six. Jessica, his oldest, is eighteen, and on her own. The rest live with us, making a household of seven. Needless to say our days are packed full!

Back to my original thought...Anna Maria's project is perfect for busy mothers like me who want to fit in some craft-time. When I showed Anna Maria's page to Michael and told him I wanted to work on this with the kids, he said "Sixty pairs of felt circles? That's going to take hours!" "Precisely," was my  reply. If I can get them excited about something that will keep them busy so that I have a little time to myself, I'm on it!

Five Weeks & Thirteen Years

Jasper turns five weeks tomorrow. I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. He slept for hours and hours today, and is sleeping well tonight too. I feel a twinge of guilt for not resting when he's resting. Instead I'm trying to get some work done.

Today (or I should say yesterday now that it's past midnight) was Anton's thirteenth birthday. Anton is my oldest. Thirteen years seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye. I am now officially the mother of a teenager, and it feels kind of bitter-sweet. I can feel him slipping away into adulthood. At the same time the cycle begins all over again with another newborn. I'll try to post a couple of pics of these two guys tomorrow.

Baby Wrapping

After four babies I finally know how to swaddle, thanks to this nifty Miracle Blanket Michael's mom gave us. It's designed to give the most novice of novices the perfect swaddle, ideally resulting in a good night's sleep (or at the very least, longer rest times in between wake-ups). It comes with a diagram demonstrating the correct way to swaddle, and it's all very easy.

Now that I've seen the results (in increased sleep), I'm impressed with how soothing swaddling is for Jasper. It's a dream come true. If only these blankets were around (thirteen years ago) when my oldest was a colicky newborn. Oh the sleep we all could have had!   

Hard as I tried, I was never able to get my first three babies to stay wrapped. I now know that the main problem was in my choice of blanket (along with the task seeming just a wee bit daunting). The standard receiving blanket just doesn't cut it because it's too small and not stretchy.

Did you know there's a book devoted to the art of swaddling? I also found these cute blankets designed especially for swaddling, complete with a sewn in "tip tag."

The Boys’ Tea Party

“Mint Cup with Handle” by Sweden-based ceramic designer/crafter Karin Eriksson, who finds inspiration in fashion, old craft objects and nature.
Photo by Lars Jonsson

It’s amazing how rambunctious three year olds can be; simply getting a sip of water can be a challenge when you’ve got one to chase after. Lately little Liam has taken to committing some rather destructive acts. These have involved smashing several of his sisters’ glass and other fragile items. During one notable episode he took a delicate keepsake box, and quite deliberately launched it into the bathtub.

   

Adding another couple of three year olds to the mix could spell serious disaster. Well that’s just what we did a few weeks ago, when we had two friends and their moms visit. You can be sure that the other mothers and I each experienced a fair share of all around chasing the kids and general damage control duty. Not such an easy feat when you’re 26 weeks pregnant!

 

There came a moment —or at least five minutes— of peace when one of the moms suggested a tea party. It was quite a sight to see the trio of three year old boys sitting in perfect silence, sipping their tea from teeny tiny cups, everything laid out neatly on the table cloth. Each boy reveled in little details like refilling friends’ teacups etc.  Inevitably the pouring got out of hand and became spilling, napkins were fought over, and the concept of taking turns became a distant memory. It was fun while it lasted and I think the experience of ‘taking a breath’ was a valuable one for all of us.