happy 12 weeks

maesey mae,

twelve weeks ago, we brought you home from the hospital. the first few weeks were terrifying, i hate to admit. i worried that you weren't getting enough food, that you were unhappy, that you were in pain, that maybe you were just possessed by the devil (hey, five straight hours of scream crying makes you wonder)... and then, little by little, day by day, things got better. you started to look around, take things in, give fleeting, tentative smiles, one day, to my utter surprise and heart stopping delight, you gave a big, hearty laugh. and i can truly say that the last four or five weeks have been, on the whole, just wonderful. you smile and chatter away throughout the day, little coos and laughs, chuckles and mini screams of delight and i just sit and watch you in wonder. it's getting easier and easier to get a laugh out of you, a raspberry on the tummy or a particularly vigorous side to side shake of your lower body while i try to get your little pants onto you usually does the trick. you're a bit suspicious of the camera lately, though, and when i pull it out to try and get a shot of your grins, you just give me the very familiar quizzical furrowed brow. for some reason you love to look at the light reflecting off of the vintage bread box we use to store odds and ends - you'll talk to it like it's your best friend that you haven't seen for weeks.

we go for long walks in the park down the street, where baxy can go off leash, almost everyday or sometimes on little jaunts to the local post office. last week was your first experience with sitting up in the pram, not lying down in the little cocoon that attaches to it, and you absolutely love to look around. you used to fuss and cry for a little bit before falling asleep on our walks but now you're so happy just to check everything out, although you're still usually asleep by the time we get home. you're pretty good at napping, sometimes surprising me with a lovely three hour stretch, which leaves both of us refreshed and in a great mood. because, baby, when you get overtired you're still quite a handful!

the colour of your eyes is a constant source of discussion around here. when you were born they were the most amazing shade of dark grey with just a hint of lavender. i've tried on so many occasions to catch the colour with the camera but it never quite gets it quite right, the depth and gorgeousness of that grey. for the past couple of weeks your father and i thought that your eyes were showing hints of changing to green, like mine but this week, i'm pretty convinced that they are heading towards brown, like your dad. my brown eyed girl. and as your little fuzzy hair grows, it's looking like it might have a bit of a wave to it which thrills me to bits - i'll be so happy if you end up with your father's gorgeous curls.

i love staying home with you, wee one, i wouldn't have it any other way. the days just fly by in a series of nappy changes, cuddles and gazing at your little face. i'm heeding the advice of so many other mothers and really trying to be aware of each moment i have with you, savouring these weeks as you change and grow and i get to know your sweet self.

love,
mom
xox

pretty in pink (by request)

it's my big sister's birthday today and her one birthday wish was to see her niece in something pink for a change. it's true, maesey does have a lot of blue in her wardrobe - it's my favourite colour, after all - and the fact that she looks a wee bit like a boy doesn't help. in fact, the doctor who took her one day old stats at the hospital exclaimed, "oh, it's a girl - she looks like a boy!" (not very diplomatic for a maternity doctor, she's running the risk of a hormonal backlash with comments like that). just yesterday, when i took her for her first pram ride around the supermarket, wearing a full pink onesie, her toes covered in a pink blanket and clutching her very pastel coloured oobee blankee, an older gentleman exclaimed (with the best of intentions, i'm sure), "HE's not missing a thing, just looking around at everything!"

so, without further adeiu, and with the very happiest birthday wishes to my lovely sis, here is mae, trying to look as girly as she can...

oh canada.

i just finished reading alicia's account of her little holiday in victoria, bc and i'm having the strangest, lump-in-throat, nostalgic reaction to all of her gorgeous photos. it's no secret that i love melbourne, the creativity and activity in this city is unrivaled, not to mention the beaches, the shopping, the parks, the gorgeous spring and autumn weather... but i've never felt more "at home" than i did when i lived in vancouver. something about the west coast just feels so right to me. as soon as i get off the plane and breathe in the slightly humid air, i just feel *good*. perfect. full of possibility somehow. i love the perpetual and almost overwhelming lush green. i love the coastline with it's gorgeous islands and inlets, seals and killer whales. i love the abundance of locally grown fruits and veggies, every variety of berry, mushrooms, you name it. *sigh* i don't know if we'll ever live in canada again but, if we do, i know where. if nothing else, we're going to have to spend a good couple of months on the west coast in a few years so mae can experience all the things i was lucky enough to as a kid in canada - mushroom picking, apple harvesting, clam digging, starfish collecting, trout fishing...

anyone else have a special connection to a place? where and what about it makes it feel like home to you?

alright, mustn't waste any more precious nap time on nostalgia, there is gardening to be done and many sewing piles to tackle : )

my kids

mae has reached that "must put everything in my mouth and if nothing is available i will just make loud sucking noises with my fingers" stage. i have had basically zero experience with babies before so every wee little thing she does delights the hell out of me.



she's so cute : )


and just in case anyone is worried that baxter might be suffering from neglect...

finished bits

the completed pink cot quilt to take to matilda's market in november... if i can bear to part with it.


little sunhat for mae. made from this pattern (found thanks to summer pickles) but it seemed way too shallow to stay on anybody's head, let alone a baby's, so i added some loose elastic. still don't know if she'll ever wear it but it's pretty cute, anyway.


not two weeks after telling dana that i had given up on the idea of even sewing myself clothes, i decided on a whim to whip up this tunicy top from one of my japanese craft books. but, you see, i'm not at my japanese waif-y best after giving birth three months ago so it's a little *snug* around the hip area, where it should be all loose and flowy. whatever, it was a great experience and i'll hang onto it until it fits properly. i promised myself that i wouldn't by any more japanese craft books until i actually finished something from one of them so you know what this means... except that now i have to wait for the aussie dollar to recover a bit. damnit.


selvedge from the above top, just cause it's so nice. so nice, in fact, that i decided to forgo hemming (which i hate anyway) and leave the selvedge on the bottom and sleeves of the top.

coming soon...

i've had heaps of inquiries about the playmat that mae is seen laying on in so many recent photos (here she is modeling her first pair of jeans and discovering that we actually have a dog) and yes, as leah guessed in the comments of the last post, it is indeed a fleur playmat, based on my flower toy design. the pattern for this playmat will be available in early december in Homespun magazine here in australia. i designed a slightly different version for the magazine, in vintage florals and with more petals. mae's was a bit of a prototype but i love it so much, it's been killing me not to show it in full but not much longer now... i have the rights to the pattern two months after publication date so overseas readers may just be able to get their hands on it early next year.

aussie pricing

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade onegirl.etsy.com

the fluctuating australian dollar has been on my mind a lot lately. i got a bit spoiled by having our dollar almost par with the US and now have a well ingrained habit of ordering tons of loot online, especially from etsy, which now has to cease for awhile. i know most of you out there (from australia) are in the same boat and, with the christmas season coming up, i've been struggling to find a way to offer my australian customers more reasonable pricing, and in our own dollar. i don't want to have to keep lowering and then raising prices in my etsy shop with the crazy rise and fall of our dollar. i thought about opening a bigcartel shop just for aussies but then i have the problem of managing two shops - do they have the same inventory and risk two people ordering the same thing or do they have separate inventory and someone will want something from the other shop? it's too much to deal with for me right now so i've come up with this simple plan:

i'm happy to offer my products to australian customers at the same prices that they would pay were they to visit me at a market here, provided they pay by direct deposit. simply visit my etsy shop to see what i have available, then send me an email at leslie::dot::keating::at::gmail::dot::com with the details of what you'd like to order and your mailing address. i will email you back with my direct deposit details and, once payment has gone through, i will pop your goodies in the post. pricing, for australian residents, in australian dollars, is as follows (i will combine shipping whenever possible):
oobees = $35 plus $5.00 shipping
well dressed oobees = $45 plus $5.00 shipping
oobee blankees = $40 plus $5.00 shipping
fleurs = $30 plus $5.00 shipping
windsees = $40 plus $5.00 shipping


any questions?

to every pal i have

dear friend,

i'm so sorry i haven't emailed you/returned your call/replied to your sms. the past two weeks or so have just passed in an absolute whirlwind. i don't know if it's the fact that i'm ripped out of deep dreams two or three times a night or just my complete and utter fascination with every little coo and smile my daughter emits but my brain doesn't seem to hold onto details for very long these days. i think, yes, i HAVE to write to you and then, by the time i get some two handed computer time at 8pm, my eyes and fingers just want to glide over other people's pretty images and read their words while i sip my glass of wine. but i'm up early this morning, and after projectile vomiting on me and talking to her playmat for awhile, mae has gone back to bed, leaving me caffiened up and ready to tackle some replies. if you don't hear from me today, it's only because she has woken up and again, i'm so sorry. let's make plans to catch up real soon, by skype, by phone, over lunch, over coffee.

cheers,
leslie
xox

the last post about nappies for awhile (i promise)

here mae is modeling one of the first nappies off the line, in uninspiring white pul. it looks huge but the pattern i'm using (that i made myself by altering the shape of a nappy i bought) is meant to fit until toilet training and fits nice and snug around the waist and legs so i'm happy with it. no messy leaks or explosions so far...

my biggest challenge with this cloth nappy making adventure has been finding material in colours and patterns that i actually want my kid to be seen in. i know, they are only diapers, but the designer in me just can't not care about these types of things. i searched and searched online and just couldn't find any patterned pul from australian retailers that i liked. i finally settled on ordering some white and yellow pul and cream microfleece from Bubba Earth, as their prices are great and i've ordered from them before. when the fabric arrived, however, it was a huge disappointment - the white has a discoy sheen to it that screams "synthetic" (again, i know, it IS synthetic but it doesn't have to be so obvious *pout*), the yellow is without said disco sheen but is dayglo bright, not the soft buttery yellow i was expecting and the "cream" microfleece is undoubtedly a pale peach, absolutely horrid when paired with the yellow and only mildy acceptable with the white. it was fine to make my first few nappies with but i knew i'd need to search further if i wanted to make more. the other shops i found online in australia were more expensive and most only offered nappy cuts (a 50 x 50cm cut), not the meterage that i wanted and still didn't have colours that i liked. finally, i had two breakthroughs: i saw a cloth nappy on flickr that someone had made using amy butler fabric and it just clicked - use a layer of whatever gorgeous patterned fabric i want layered over top of the pul. i got busy during naptime the other day and used up the last bit of disco white to make this:



it's a revelation, i tells ya. i can make cute diapers using whatever fabric i want (i chose the peachy polka dots 'cause it helped me use up the peach microfleece for the inside). i've already picked out some patterns to use to cover up that god awful bright yellow...

the other breakthrough was ordering more pul from GreenBeans in new zealand. shipping was a bit pricey but the fabric prices were great so it kind of evened out plus my order arrived today and the colours (peach, celery and seaspray, which is a soft turquoise) are exactly as looked on the website and no disco to be seen. such a relief.

anyway, i really, REALLY encourage anyone else thinking about making their own nappies to give it a go. it really is so easy (and this is coming from someone who HATED sewing with elastic before making these), quick and satisfying. there are patterns available all over the internet, i was hoping to provide links as i think i'm going to try a couple of other patterns as well but i hear maesey stirring - i'm out of time! a quick google search should give you plenty of options, anyway : )

fabric or "the lack of blog post title"

latest fabric order from the fat quarter shop. i can't stop. and no, i'm not getting kickbacks for mentioning them every 5th post - wouldn't that be great though??

thanks so much for all the great cotton nappy input and links that were left in the comments! there is so much great information out there and lovely kristy provided me with exactly what i've been searching for all week - somewhere to order all sorts of nappy material online that is reasonably nearby (new zealand). because, yes, as so many of you have said, it IS addictive. i've sewn three now and i'm totally hooked. i've been meaning to get a pic of mae in the goods but she's been a bit trying the past couple of days. we had our first big day out on saturday, a quick road trip down the coast to spend the day with ben, emily and her baby belly at their beach house in blairgowrie. mae was absolutely perfect all day long, sleeping, smiling, making her parents proud (and mildly astonished) and i think we've been paying for it ever since. the past few days have ranged from plain old grumpy baby to full blown losing-her-mind-with-the-crying baby, none of whom are much fun to try and deal with 24 hours a day. today has been marginally better, the only reason that i can even quickly type this post out while she's sort of napping. i know i owe a whole heap of you emails and replies to etsy and flickr conversations - please bear with me for a couple of days!