Got some sewing done!

Today the kids were at school so it was just Sami and I in the morning which meant I could get a little sewing done. I managed to finish a towel I had on the go for Sami. Actually it had started as a gift for someone else but I was not happy with the appliqué and I did not have time correct it. Today I did some corrective stitching on the applique and then added Sami's name. It is off centre. I am still getting the hang of hooping. I tried a new design I purchased a while ago. It had 5 colour changes! Pure madness, it took me all day given that I did not have it finished by the time i picked up the kids so this afternoons efforts were always interrupted. To be honest I am not that happy with the stitchout of his name but I am sure he won't complain.

I also got started on a sling for a friend of mine. She has a wedding to go to back home and when she saw this fabric (fantastic red dragon silk brocade) she thought it would make a great "accessory". I hope to finish it tonight.

Lastly here are a few pics of my supervisor Sami. He is 8 and 1/2 months old now! He is always so curious and of course he wants to eat everything (except for real food!).

Lulu's Smock

And then it was Lulu's turn ... I have been meaning to make her an apron or smock to wear when she is doing arts and crafts at home. Usually pens and paint pens are only given out under strict supervision however yesterday I was "watching" the kids doing some painting and colouring when my mum nudged me on MSN so I went off for a little chat ... I am sure I don't need to finish this sentence do I?

After washing the paint off Lulu I promised that I would make a smock later that night.

This was the end result. It is a reversible smock that ties over the shoulder. It has a Winnie the Pooh print on one side and Barbie print on the other (can I just pipe in and say when I got the fabric at my favourite "fell off the back of the truck" place in Ruwi, I got it for the princess crown and slippers and then later realised it had Barbie all over it! LOL.

FRONT
BACK

I tried it on my little princess this morning and it is too snug for what should be a comfy play smock so I will make another one larger and see if I can give this one to Lola or one of the bubs of my friends.

THE REVERSE SIDE

I really like the fact that it is reversible and I think in my next one I will either embroider one side or put a pocket. Also I am thinking of doing one with PUL (water resistent fabric I use for the nappies) on one side but I have not yet figured out how to do it as you could not make the straps of PUL as they would tier nicely.

I could get hooked on aprons I think, they are nice to make and usually very much appreciated. One of my favourite blogs for "apron chat" is this one.

Laith's Pirate Shorts

It was Laith's turn for mummy to sew him something nice ... a pair of reversible pirate shorts.
I have a favourite website at the moment called www.youcanmakethis.com which is a site where many Mumma's have made patterns you can buy online with nice step by step instructions. This one is by Nanoo Designs which in fact now that i go and search for the link I see that I got it on Etsy.com instead here. I also decided to do some embroidery on a T-Shirt to go with the shorts. I can't really remember why I thought doing it on the back was a good idea but Laith has told me in no uncertain terms (politely of course!) that in future I should put the words and pictures on the front of the shirt (Yes SIR!).

Here is a pic of the set

and this is the reverse side.

and here is "Captain Laith" in action.

Thank you Nanette for such a lovely pattern that I was able to make in about an hour (if you take out the little people interruptions).

Laith was so thrilled with these shorts and his shirt that I was the proudest Mumma that day.

I also did some appliqué on a Onesie for Sami to match his shorts but I have yet to take a picture.

Lulu's turn next ...

the kiddies

(yes on a Blogger roll tonight)

Just a few shots of the kids recently. I try so hard to get in and update the blog but lately I just feel I never get 5 mins uninterrupted time. I was just saying to my friend today "How did my mum do it? raise three kids and work full time?" man I have a lot to learn for sure.

I really need to update my photos and get them printed. The other day Laith said to Lulu "mummy and Daddy have 2 albums of me but there are no photos of you" and then he thinks and says "maybe you can do one for Sami mummy" ... next thing you know he will be convincing her she is adopted!

Every week we try to do some arts and crafts, particularly now that the summer is upon us. This was the other day when Laith and Lujayne were making posters for their room.

Here are some shots of Sami and Laith too.

Update on The Gift Pledge

A while back you may have read my post about my effort to hand make gifts this year. So far I have been doing very well with the exception of a train that I purchased and then remembered about my pledge (however it was always my intention to make a bag to go with it so that all the bits would not get lost).

Anyway here are some recent gifts ...

Laila's birthday Apron Front
Closeup
and the gift bag.

Salim's birthday towels
Abdullah's birthday train bag

My new baby

I couldn't resist her. Actually it was my friend Laila's fault for talking to me about buying a new machine and the SALE was on ... how could I resist? So my new little Janome QC6262 is now going to be my "workhorse" so I can leave my Memorycraft Embroidery machine just for embroidery.

I wanted to test it out so I made a pair of shorts for Sami ... ah she hummed along nicely ... thanks LAILA!

Governent Friendly Laith

Just thought I would share our revised photo of Laith ... I hope this is serious enough for the Aussie Government now!

in the press again

This picture was taken a few months back but it was in the "social" pages this week for Lulu's nursery who had an arts and crafts fair (maybe they didn't take any photos?). In fact Lulu was too sick to go that night.

Ahhh what can I say the paparazzi must be stalking us LOL!

Too Happy for the Australian Government

It is such a drama to renew a childs passport while your overseas. firstly it is not classified a renewal instead it is treated as a new application except with no interview. So I went and got all the necessary documents certified etc etc and then paid a whopping RO55 (approx $175AUD) courier charges for a return service to Saudi where the embassy is located.

I was on my way out the door with Sami to the dr / hospital and Lulu was crying at my feet when I got a call from embassy saying they had received my application (yay) however they were unable to process it as Laith was smiling in his photo (silence). I almost broke down in tears ... but hey what can you do. So off we go to get another shot taken and then make sure his head is the correct cm and of course that his is very very very serious!

In the press

Our famous Dad and son at the HSBC family day. They made the socialpages of "Y" oman's latest weekly glossy mag.

P.S. Do you like the Bubbas and Mummas bib!

still here

Hi there we are still all here! We have had a bad run of sickness in the Al Abri house so my time on the computer has been drastically reduced to ... NONE. (sob sob) So hang in there I will be back here posting soon.

We have had a change of guard too (that means we have a new housekeeper) and believe me I am super happy to have finally taken the step to change over. Never mind that only the 11th hour did we discover her "dark" side of which I won't go into detail here. BUT I have decided there is a book in all of this.

chat again soon i promise ...