the fruits of my labour

It was Isobel’s first birthday on Tuesday. Almost unbelievable (to me, anyway), but true. I so clearly the remember the moment I first saw her, and the joy, not to mention the relief, I felt at her arrival. I can still feel her skin against mine as we snuggled and slept under the covers in the hospital in an effort to raise her temperature. (Ironically, Melbourne was experiencing a heatwave at the time.)

But a year has definitely passed and we have all grown to know and love Isobel as a beautiful, strong, delightful and life-loving individual. At the same time I can distinctly remember life before Isobel, but cannot imagine our family without her. She brings joy to us all, and I dearly hope we bring joy to hers. Before I had children I never realised how much of a personality babies display and thought they were all pretty much the same. Both Elliott and Isobel have categorically proven me wrong and thrilled me in the process.

We celebrated Isobel’s birthday two weeks early on New Year’s Day when we were in Tasmania with my family. Here she is in all her early birthday party finery:

That’s not her wine, by the way. Here’s the cake I made:

It’s an adaptation of Nigella Lawson’s Strawberry Meringue Layer Cake, using blueberries instead of strawberries. I wanted something fairly light and summery and not too much for a baby (her first taste of cake!). Well, it didn’t seem to be too much. I think it got her approval:

Then last Sunday we celebrated again in Melbourne with Mum and a few of Chris’s family members. We had a lovely barbecue (using the barbecue Chris and I gave ourselves for Christmas), followed by cake and homemade ice cream.

Here’s Isobel reigning messily over her birthday lunch table:

And here is the cupcake “cake” I made:

Thanks to Anna for the photo. And thanks to Chris for all the shots of Isobel (I think). The above photo also shows a glimpse of the number one biscuits Elliott and I made together. Both the recipe for these and the cupcakes come from Nigella Lawson’s How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking, which I find invaluable, especially when it comes to children’s birthdays.

As usual, I had grand plans for Isobel’s gift from us. She really doesn’t need anything at the moment, but I decided to make her some things. We haven’t actually bought her anything. And I haven’t actually made anything for her yet, but I figured this is probably the only time we can get away with a late present. I’m pretty sure she’ll notice from here on in and she may not be all that understanding. Not that birthdays are just about the presents, but do kids really believe that? Anyway, she got lots of other lovely things from other people and I’ll be showing here what she eventually gets from us, as I make it. Don’t worry, though, I have started and I’m raring to go.

It’s hot. Really hot. It reached 41.2 degrees at 5:30 today and apparently won’t drop below 30 until some time tomorrow afternoon. I’m just trying to do as little as possible until then. Which is pretty frustrating given I want to act on all my usual New Year good intentions. I might be able to muster up the energy for a little sewing, but so far since we got back from our two week holiday to Tasmania for Christmas and New Year, I haven’t felt able to get stuck into anything. Not sure what that’s about, as there are so many projects I am dying to complete. The heat certainly doesn’t help. Neither does the fact that the place is a mess, but we are working on that, with more Freecycling, plans for more eBaying and the discovery of somewhere to take our excess recyclables (mostly cardboard boxes). One day we’ll be sorted and clutter-free!

The fact that I’m writing this post is a good sign, as this is one of the things I’ve really wanted to do, but have struggled to bring myself to start. Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on myself (yes, I should), because I also began, and have been nurturing, this sourdough starter since Monday:

I tried this once before and somehow stuffed it, and I thought it might be the same story this time, but it seems it might be OK, although obviously the heat has made it almost explode. If all goes to plan, I’ll be baking a loaf on Saturday morning, so hopefully I can report back with good bready news.

Despite the heat, Isobel has been continuing as normal. Last night she pulled herself up into a standing position for the second time that we’re aware of (the first time happened on holiday), much like she did tonight:

As you can see, she was pretty pleased with herself. A few minutes after Chris took this photo, she managed to make her way over to me, taking a few tiny, hesitant steps, while tightly gripping the bed. It was wonderful, but I cannot believe it is almost a year since she was born. I still clearly remember being heavily pregnant in the heat and giving birth to her during a heatwave, as though it was yesterday. But she’s not the tiny, helpless bundle she once was. She’s been commando crawling at the speed of light, taking on the role of the our second vacuum cleaner, which we obviously need, for no matter how often or thoroughly I clean, Isobel always manages to find something on the floor to put in her mouth. I don’t really understand how kids can decide they don’t like lettuce, for example, but are quite happy to eat whatever crap they find on the floor. Having said that, Isobel eats almost anything, which makes life easier for us, as does the fact that she may be one of the happiest babies who ever lived. She has such a radiant smile and beautifully big and shiny eyes. And unlike before, I now know how to make her laugh. Guess that’s what happens when you get to know someone.

Elliott, who is now three and a half and is very proud of this fact, is, of course, still developing, and he hasn’t stopped delighting us. He seems to be going through a “learning spurt” or something at the moment. In the last couple of months or so, he has become obsessed with numbers, letters, how to spell words, playing music, building, creating, pretending, drawing, painting and finding out how things work. It’s both exhausting and thrilling to be around him. We’re going to have to start hitting the library and/or the Internet more, though, because (surprisingly!) we don’t know everything and he seems to want to know everything! A very encouraging sign. Even if it is a little awkward to give an answer to, “How was I made?”, just as we’re tucking him in to bed. These kids certainly keep us on our toes!

How cute does Isobel look in this dress? OK, you don’t have to answer that (not that you were going to), I know I’m biased. I also know I’ve gone a bit crazy on the kid shots lately. But how cute is the dress? This was mine and it has a matching bonnet and cardigan. I’m not sure who made it, probably Mum or Grandma. Was it you, Mum? Whoever made it, it looks as though it was finished yesterday, not 30 years ago.

I love the fact that something created in another place and time, can find a new life in some other place, some other time. And I love that I can share things like this with Isobel. I never had a preference for a son or a daughter in either pregnancy, just a healthy baby, but it is nice to be able pass on things, mother to daughter. Sure, I can pass on all sorts of things to Elliott, maybe things I won’t or can’t pass on to Isobel, and I have and continue to do so, but I guess clothing and especially handmade clothing, is one of the most intimate things a person can share, so it seems extra special to me. Who knows, though, maybe if Mum had given me all these old clothes of mine when Elliott was a baby, I might have put him in a dress. That’s the great thing about little kids: they’ll wear whatever you tell them to. Usually.

I would like to think that something I make for Elliott or Isobel is treasured and used by another generation. I have a feeling that more and more people are going to start to value the handmade over the mass-produced. I know I am feeling that more every day.

New growth:

Preparing to sow:

Spring cleaning (with newspaper and vinegar and water in a recycled Windex spray bottle):

It is amazing how much better windows and what’s on either side of them look when you clean them. I find it’s one of the easiest chores to forget about it, but I’m always really pleased when I’ve done it. And it certainly helps to have an enthusiastic assistant.

I’m really inspired to give the house a good clean this spring and my ongoing decluttering efforts have doubled. I even gave away a big pile of uni text books I’d been hanging onto for no good reason. I’m not sure why I get the urge to do a deep clean in spring. I don’t think it’s just because it’s the traditional thing to do. I suspect it may have something to do with the extra and stronger sunshine showing up all the dust and dirt.

***

Along with a change in seasons, we’ve had a change in sleeping arrangements. At almost eight months, Isobel had finally grown out of her bassinette. So we moved her into a cot and out of our room and into Elliott’s room. Now Elliott and Isobel’s room. She didn’t seem overly impressed with the move, and it was fairly bittersweet for me. Sad to no longer have her by my side, but it feels great to be able to read and talk before drifting off to sleep again. Isobel seems to be slowly getting used to the much bigger bed and the different room and roommate, and as usual, Elliott’s been a real trouper, despite the interruptions to his sleep.

1. Last weekend we moved Elliott into a new bed:

Before that he was sleeping in a toddler bed, which converts into a cot and vice versa. Isobel’s really going to need the cot soon (she’s currently sleeping in a bassinette), so we had to get on with it. Elliott was both happy and very tired when that photo was taken. The bed and bedside table are from Ikea and I quite like the bedding, which Chris and Elliott chose together, but I am hoping we can get something from here soon. The transition has been a breeze for all of us. And without any prompting (but with a little bit of sadness on my part), he hasn’t asked to sleep with his previous bedtime companions (three of them!) once since he made the move. He’s so big now, but still so small. Just don’t try to tell him that!

2. Isobel’s been wearing a lot of Elliott’s hand-me-downs. Lots of blue. So yeah, she does get mistaken for a boy sometimes. But not as often as Elliott was mistaken for a girl and we never dressed him in pink! Not because of the colour, but because I wanted to make some of Elliott’s old clothes more “Isobel”, I decided to try my hand at appliqueing, following the excellent instructions of Erin at house on hill road. I turned this plain navy blue top, as shown by Elliott at six months:

into this initialised top for Isobel, at about six and a half months:

The stitching’s not that straight, but it was late at night, and I really didn’t care enough to unpick it. I like to think of it as more personal the way it is. I’m quite happy with it, though, and I’ll think I’ll be looking for something else to applique soon…

Isobel looks so serious in this photo. She’s such a happy, placid baby, though. We thought Elliott was too, but I think Isobel may be even more so. But it is so hard to get her to laugh! Her giggle, like that of most babies, is so cute, but she really makes us work for it. I guess she’s a lot like me in that regard. I don’t laugh out loud all that often, so when I do, you know it was funny. Anyway, I’m going to have to work on being funnier for Isobel.

Wow. I can’t believe Isobel came into the world a whole six months ago. I swear they were the fastest six months of my life. I hope the next six are a bit slower, and that we can savour them more. Isobel has been a relatively easy baby, very placid and undemanding (almost to a fault). She has settled into our family very nicely and we’re all excited to watch her grow and change. Elliott loves having her around. Hopefully, for the most part, it will always be that way.

Happy first six months, Isobel! We hope it’s been at least as good for you as it has been for us.

I haven’t been able to find a lot of time for craft lately, sadly. But when I have (usually only minutes from bedtime, when everyone else is asleep and I’ve finished most of the pressing chores), I’ve been knitting. A few weeks ago I made Isobel this wool nappy cover. I followed the free Ottobre pattern here. I used 12 ply machine washable wool, rather than untreated wool roving, which the pattern calls for, because that’s what I had leftover from other projects and I’d read on the Oz Cloth Nappies email list that other people had used it successfully. It seems to be working quite well over a fitted nappy, although I haven’t been brave enough to try it at night. If you think it sounds crazy to use wool as a nappy cover (and I admit it is a bit counterintuitive) and want to know more about its benefits, especially overnight, and how to lanolise (a must) go here. You should know that we have been using these wool covers very successfully on Elliott at nights for months, and wish we’d known about them sooner.

This is the most complicated thing I’ve ever knitted, which is saying something, as it’s pretty basic. I found the hardest part was picking up stitches along the leg openings. How do you do that?! I just kind of made it up. It looks OK, but I’ll try to find a tutorial on it before I try it again. I’ve started another one in 8 ply, hoping I’ve correctly calculated the pattern adjustments. We’ll see! Again, I’m just using what I have.

And if that’s not enough knitting news for you, there’s even more to come soon, as I visited Sunspun the other day and bought some beautiful wool to make a couple of things for Chris. I just need to work on my technique, though, because I know it’s not right and it’s slowing me down.

In other craft supply shopping news, I received some fabric in the mail a couple of weeks or so from Quilt Fabric Delights. Here it is, all freshly washed and ironed:

It’s now waiting for me to do something with it, along with some natural linen from here. Hopefully that something will include some aprons for me, Chris and Elliott, and some fabric coasters. A couple of family members who shall remain nameless think the fabric coaster idea is nuts (”Why would you want to make coasters out of something you’d have to wash?“) , but I am desperate to make my first attempt at patchwork and maybe quilting, very much inspired by these, these, and these. We’ll see who’s nuts…