Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day in the UK, which is a bit odd to me as I'm always used to it being in May in the US. I had noticed Mother's Day type signs and whatnot in stores lately, but it didn't occur to me it was actually this weekend until a friend mentioned it last week. Andrew and Lois got me some pretty gerbera daisys, which I think look really pretty in our front room. Of course motherhood is not always roses and sunshine and often has me about to yank my hair out, but as frustrating and hard that it can be, it's also very enjoyable and rewarding. It's definitely harder than I expected though. I read this on Facebook today and could relate to much of what she wrote.

Shift Top

Yay, I made a top I like! I don't think the Sencha blouse suits me very well (or maybe I've just sewn it poorly), so I thought I'd try another top using my shift dress pattern from Sew Over It. I loved the dress I made in class and thought it would make a cute top. It was really easy to sew. My darts are a tad bit pointier than I'd like, though I did knot them rather than backing up, but other than that, I really like it.

Making Time

It always seems hard to make time to do everything I want and need to do (I'm sure I'm not alone here in feeling this way). I'm a fairly productive person but I still often feel like a rat running on a wheel, leaving me frustrated at the end of the day for not having gotten more done. It puts me in a panic sometimes feeling time slip away! I'm glad that yesterday I decided to stop and smell the roses, or rather document the daffs and granola, as it were. It's been a while since I pulled out our macro lens. It's really fun to use. Ah, I love it! I should use it more often. I also used our 50mm 1.2 lens, which is wonderful as well. Much more lens for me really, but I'm very grateful to have it. Lately we've been eating lots of granola. Yum! I love homemade granola. I've been using the recipe in La Tartine Gourmande, which is delicious, but Beatrice also has a version here online. Though that one is a bit different and includes millet puffs, rice puffs and chocolate, everything else is about the same but also the one in the book includes pecans and walnuts. I like the idea of the puffs for cereal though, so I might have to try that one. I often eat quickly in the morning and usually just standing at the counter as I'm cleaning at the same time. Always busy, busy in the morning it seems. And messiness kind of makes me feel crazy so I'm pretty much constantly cleaning. But it's nice to look out the window and see the little daffodils blooming while I eat, even if I am standing and eating quickly. The last few times I made granola and stared out the window I thought, "I really should be taking a picture of this pretty sight!" But then it's rush, rush, rush and I don't get to it. So yesterday while Ellie napped I made afternoon granola and took time to take photos of it as well as flowers in the garden. Then I took some photos of Miss Ellie after she woke up. She's also long overdue for some proper photos. It reminded me of my blueberry breakfast with Lois when she was about the same age. How time flies! Here's a bit from our granola afternoon in bloom...

Stitching up a Storm

The last few days my sewing machine has been humming away during most of my free time. Ellie naps well and goes to nursery part-time a few days each week, so I have a bit more time to do some fun things, and I love it. Of course I always feel like I have a million other things to do as well (I feel a bit like the Tasmanian devil, uh sort of like this, when my children aren't around and can barely focus for all the things buzzing in my head that I want to do), but I've mostly been inspired to sew so I manage to make time for it lately. I finished my miette skirt and almost finished a sencha blouse. First though, the skirt...

Motivation

Lately I've had the urge to hit the fabric store, but then I look at my pile of unfinished projects and tell myself I have no business buying anything new! In general I'm much better at starting something than finishing and it often drives me crazy. Last week my desire for new fabric for a new project thrusted me into sewing mode. Before setting foot in a fabric store I was determined to finish at least one thing. I made a round cushion that I started a while back and now I'm finishing the Miette skirt, which I started last fall. I only need to finish the waistband and hem so I hope to post that next. It's looking really cute! But until then I thought I'd show you the little cushion.