Stuffed, stitched, and eyed

Now that school is finished, I have much more time to finish all the little projects I've had tucked away!

The photo above shows the assortment of felt I found in my things, leftover from various projects. I made the bird and wing stencil, all the other pieces I just cut as needed.

These are all the felt bits needed for a bird- two sides to the body, two wings, a beak, and six tail feathers, three per side. I also used stuffing to make the birds dimensional, two small buttons for eyes, and string with a button on the end. The button went inside the bird as I stitched it up so the string wouldn't come out.

These were the assembled, pre-stitched, eyeless unstuffed birds. Basically, the layout.

Birds, stuffed, stitched, and eyed.

The mobile- not the best photo. Five birds, four shapes, hanging from two wooden clothes hangers screwed together. Happy birds!

Heather's How-To

Let's call this project "Things to do with leftover fabric." Click on the photos to see a larger picture.

1. Cut into strips of equal width and length. Lay out in pretty pattern.

2. Sew right sides of strips together. Notice I didn't pin them together or anything... I was lazy!

3. Ta da!

4. Cut into strips the width of your original strips. (Yes, you do have to remember the original width!)

5. Sew right sides of strips together. Turn every second strip around to vary the pattern.

6. Once again, no pins. I used the guides on the sewing machine to keep things even-ish.

7. Make something with your fabric. I made a pillow.

I am content that the squares aren't even and the corners don't line up- I wasn't trying to make it absolutely perfect! That would have required pins, and effort!

Time spent: About 3 hours. My fabric was already in strips. It would have taken less time if I didn't keep sewing a right side to a wrong side and then had to unpick it all. Or if I hadn't put the bobbin in the wrong way around.

Evaluation: Fun! I wanted something quick and easy- I don't have the patience for long, exacting projects right now. I have enough leftover fabric (in strips, sewn together, like #3) to make another pillow... but a stripey one.

Photos

Here are two photos- we don't have many on our camera of the two of us! The first is at the lighthouse in Exmouth, the second at AQWA with Mom.
 
Have a good day!
 
Heather

Zebras in trees, and babies with brains

We have a lively flock of zebra finches around the house. They are tiny- the length of the palm of my hand- but super-quick and very curious! They enjoyed sitting on top of the bird netting over the veggies and watching us watch them.


The male zebra finch has orange cheeks.

This weeks random conversation with the class involved them overhearing me use the phrase 'baby brain." One of the girls said that "Baby doesn't have a brain yet." And I said, "It does, its just like a real baby, only littler." So they wanted to know how big the baby was, and I showed them with my hands. Then they wanted to know what baby did all day, and I said it mostly slept. I asked them what they thought the baby did when it wasn't asleep, and the suggestions included looking at my ribs, heart, and guts!

30 weeks down, 10 to go!

For your amusement... The first photo is at 29 weeks...

This next one is me at 30 weeks!

Okay, not really. This is me at 30 weeks:


Baby...

• is about 30 cm long, or nearly 16 inches from head to toes.
• is weighing in at 3 lbs (1.35 kilos) and is having a weight-growth spurt from now until birth
• is not laying across my stomach anymore, but seems to be at an angle (we'll have an ultrasound on Monday)
• seems to enjoy head-butting my bellybutton (I have no concept of what baby actually does in there)

and I...

• am tempted to scratch my belly like a monkey
• lose my ankles each afternoon I work (but then regain them when I get home)
• think the zebra print dress makes me look short
• just realized this week that we I'll be leaving for Carnarvon in 7-8 weeks to wait for the baby. In between then and now is 4 more weeks of work, travelling to Perth, Christmas, and a visit from Dave's sister and brother-in-law and their baby. Time suddenly feels short!
  

Dave...

• is training two new staff at work
• has been reading a book for Dads-to-be about what to expect the first weeks and months of the baby's life and is a source of really interesting facts
• gets to assemble a rocking chair soon
• gets kicked in the head a lot by baby while he's talking to the baby belly!
  
  
  
  
  

Big Bellies and Kids

Now that I look pregnant, and not merely pudgy, my students say the most interesting things. It seems to be the boys that ask the odd questions, the girls seem to be content with the idea. So, here's a few gems...
 
Conversation 1:

Boy: Do you have a baby in your tummy?
Me: Yes, but the baby won't be here until you are in year 1. (My usual answer)
Boy: Is it in your tummy right now?
Me: (Thinking, uh oh...). Yes...
Boy: Is it in your tummy when your tummy's big?
Me: Yes, when my tummy's big there is a baby in there... but not all ladies with big tummies have babies in there.
Boy: Oh (long pause). Are they just fat, then?
Me: Umm, yes, but we don't tell them that. It may hurt their feelings.
Boy: Okay. (Wanders off).

You have to love 5 year old bluntness. They tell it like it is.
 

Conversation 2:

Boy (a different one): Can I meet the baby?
Me: Yes, but when you're in year 1.
Boy: Did the doctor help the baby get in your tummy?
Me: A doctor kind of helped... go play.

I justified the doctor comment because Dave is a doctor. And I wasn't sure if this boy's parents did need medical intervention to get pregnant.
 

Conversation 3:

Boy (showing me the underside of a toy kangaroo, where the 'bits' are): Where does it come from?
Me: (Ummm...) What do you mean?
Boy: The words- where was it made?
Me (I read): "Made in China"

I hope this student doesn't think kangaroos come from China!

25 Weeks

Baby Shower in Perth... family photo

Me, Mom, Illma (Dave's Grandma), Evelyn (Dave's Mum), Linda (Dave's sister), and little James (Linda's son)


At 25 Weeks...

• The baby now weighs nearly 660 grams and is approximately 35 centimetres long from crown to heel.
  
• Baby makes breathing movements but has no air in its lungs yet.
  
• Around pregnancy week 25, the structures of his spine are starting to form, including 33 vertebrae (rings of bone), 150 joints, and 1,000 ligaments. These structures will eventually support your baby's body weight.
  
• Baby's capillaries are also forming this week.
  

23 Weeks

It is lovely to have Mom here for the 6th month milestone and at the reading of the books for "23 weeks pregnant."

So, at 23 weeks...

• I am looking huge! Of course I'm supposed to say I am glowing and all that... but really... I am going to be an elephant by the end of January. But it does all seem to be in my belly. Big baby.
• We are feeling (and seeing) lots of movement- the worst was the continual somersaults for the glucose tolerance test. I asked the lady drawing my blood if I would have to take the test again if I threw up. She said yes, so I managed to keep the glucose drink down. I will admit, the cool sweet drink was nice for the first sip or two, then it was like drinking undiluted lime cordial or jello... blech. I don't think baby liked it much...
  
• Baby is supposed to be able to hear and be startled by loud noises. I haven't yelled at my stomach yet, so I don't know for sure!
• We still haven't figured out the whole week/month thing. 23 weeks along, but 4 ish months to go.
  

Halfway there, Oh Baby!

At 20 weeks the little dumpling is...

• as long as a banana (10 inches) from head to heel
• rolling in my tummy and thumping about (Dave can occasionally feel the thumps!)
• hard to hide (my students rather spontaneously figured it out... and luckily didn't ask any difficult questions!)
• can hear my voice (a lot, considering I teach!)

 
This week we have the 20 week ultrasound, and then Friday I leave for Perth for a professional development course. Mom is flying into Australia and on Sunday we will both fly back to Exmouth together!

Unexpected...

Recently we've been planting seeds and seedlings around the house to see what happens. Only natives so far- hardy local species that can grow in these tough conditions. We've also continued to water the plants that popped up after the last rain.

We reuse as much water as we can- all of our washing machine water goes out in the garden, as well as our dish water.

We noticed this little plant that had popped up just past the carport. Dave said, "It looks like a tomato plant" and we laughed about the idea of a tomato plant surving in the pindan, without water, without being eaten by kangaroos, emus, rabbits and everything else.

Guess what we saw this morning? A tomato. It is a tomato plant. It must have sprung up from a seed in the dishwashing water!

Nearly Halfway

19 Weeks Pregnant! The baby is starting to grow hair on its' head and is developing tastebuds.

This week we had an open night at school. Here is my classroom without my students in it:

In the photo above you can see our word wall (top right, green background) my desk (almost in the center at the top), as well as our Rainbow Fish and caterpillars in the style of Eric Carle (hanging from the ceiling).

This photo shows our mat area, my chair, and the students work areas. We rotate through different activities during the day so we don't have assigned seats.

18 Weeks

So, we've reached 18 weeks- the beginning of the 5 month mark- but are two weeks short of halfway through the pregnancy. The whole month/week thing is rather confusing. At 18 weeks...
 

• baby measures approximately 12.5-14cm (5-5.6 inches) in length and weighs about 150 grams (5.25 ounces)
• baby can hear is my heartbeat and the flow of my digestive system
• baby can now make facial expressions, including frowning and squinting

 
I'm not sure if I've felt the baby move yet, I have had some flutters but they were followed by tummy gurgles... so probably not baby.
 
A conversation from the classroom on a weary Friday...

Two students are being silly and increasingly disruptive during a cooking lesson...

Me- "If you keep that up, I will ask you to leave the table."
Student 1 (a few minutes later)- "He's keeping it up!"
Student 2- "No, HE's keeping it up!"
Third Student- "What is 'keeping it up'? followed by a tableful of blank looks at me.

What odd phrases am I teaching these kids?
 

It reminds me of the first few weeks of school when I was teaching my class to sit on the mat without squishing each other. Soon the catchphrase for anything on the playground was "He's squishing me!" or "She's squishing me!"

 

Quite a few of the parents have figured out I am pregnant. At least one student has her suspicions, and keeps asking me if I have kids yet, and how exciting it will be when I do. I could bring it for my news! None have commented on my increasing belly size yet.

Distractions

My last post was in May! I have to admit, we've been a bit distracted lately by a little jellybean...

The baby (8 and a half weeks here) is between the two little white plus signs. It was 2.5 cm long- about an inch.

This was taken at 17 weeks, baby is the size of an avocado, about 13 centimeters or 5 inches.


When I get a chance, I've been having fun with my new sewing machine (thanks, Grandma! [Dave's Grandma]). Since we're not finding out the gender until the baby is born, we're sticking with a neutral theme.


Curtains & singlets- I did the applique myself! Yay!

Tanker strays near Ningaloo - The West Australian

Some news from home...

Tanker strays near Ningaloo - The West Australian

Weekend Away

We drove to a lesser-known place for the weekend- about 5 hours away. Very remote, thankfully yet 'undiscovered' by the masses. No power, no running water in the shack.

Our beach shack...

Looking at the view

Dave fishing at sunset (view from the shack)

Sunset

Sunset a bit later still

Osprey on the path to our hut


Cooking, day two without a shower

Dave enjoying the waves

Dave and the waves (too big for me!)

Shadows in the rock pool

Wordless Wednesday

Back to School!

Term 2 is about to begin. I'm looking forward to our fairy tales unit, starting off with the Three Little Pigs (not really a fairy tale, but will be this term). The room has been re-arranged, and somehow it looks more spacious... I will have to post a photo soon!

Meanwhile, my current 'project'- paper roses: http://dozidesign.blogspot.com/2008/05/paper-flower-tutorial.html

Sunset at the Lighthouse

Thursday night we hosted drinks & nibblies at the Lighthouse for sunset. We used the back of the ute as a table, as anything else would have blown over. There was a fair crowd up there, they all seemed to enjoy themselves.


And we managed not to feed any random tourists.

The House

So, family and friends, here are some house photos. Explanations follow each photo.


This is looking from the living room through the kitchen, with our bedroom at the far end. We chose a flooring that was a reddish wood colour, to match the red dirt around the house! The orange thingy in the top left is a patchwork doo-dad hanging on the back of the front door. The ceiling is slanted, and for some reason that makes the hall look weird, though it isn't!


This is from the hallway looking into the living room. The kitchenette (china cabinet) is one of my favourite things in the house! Each set of windows has a higher smaller window above it- lots of light to make the small house seem airy.



Guest room/second bedroom, aka where I keep my teaching stuff. On an unrelated note, we are not on mains water, so we are economical with our rainwater (considering we live in desert, the rainwater is scarce!)

Bathroom/laundry/fish rug. Gigantic sink. We use our grey water from the washing machine to water the trees and grass out the back, so we use low-sodium environmentally friendly detergent. For more information on making your laundry more environmentally responsible, look here: http://www.washwise.org.au/

Bedroom. Dave assembled the ikea bed. There is a large dresser and built in robe you can't see in this photo.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday, 5:45 a.m.


Sunrise service at the Lighthouse.

Hot Cross Buns!

The ingredients!


340 ml water
2 tbsp. oil
2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. brown sugar


600 g. bread flour
3 tbsp. milk powder
1 tbsp. ground mixed spice
1 tbsp. cinnamon
2 1/4 tsp. yeast


And in the bread machine it went, on the dough setting. It mixes it and allows it to rise. Thanks, Julie, for lending me the bread machine!

Then you mix in the sultanas or chocolate chips. Technically, the recipe says to toss them in the bread machine when it beeps three times... but I haven't heard it beep yet, so mine go in at the end!

Then I left it to rise 20 minutes.

`

I mixed 2 tbsp water and 40g. plain flour to make a sticky goo that I drew the crosses with. I used a piping bag and a wide flat piping nozzle. They go in the oven at 190 C for 15 or 20 minutes.

When they came out of the oven I glazed them with a mixture of 1/2 c. icing sugar, 1/4 tsp. allspice, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and 1 tbsp. water.

They didn't last long after that!

**NOTE: The more observant may notice that the buns in the earlier photos had raisins, and the buns in the last photo had chocolate chips. I brought the sultana ones to church Frinday night for the Good Friday service, so I didn't get photos after they came out of the oven (I was in a bit of a rush!)