A New Addition

Last Monday was a big day around here, we finally got to meet our little girl!   She held out an extra week and a half beyond her due date (Aug 31st), but the wait was worth it.  So,  I'd like to officially introduce you to....

Even after "baking" for an extra few days, she was quite small, so all of her clothing is pretty baggy at the moment, but I know soon enough that she will be outgrowing everything at a mommy tear inducing rate.

We are back home from the hospital, H is back at work, and I have started my new "job" as SAHM..... it still hasn't really soaked in that this is my life and routine for the next year.    But I know that the time we are offered in Canada for maternity leave is something to really appreciate (in Belgium you get 3-6 months, and our southern neighbours only get 6 weeks!)

On Monday Maya and I did her first photo shoot, it's amazing how much she, and we, have changed over the past week and a half.  And I am doing my best to capture on film all the little newborn details that may/will change as she ages.

There has been a lot of things going on before she arrived as well as some exciting things since she arrived, so once I catch my breath I'll be filling you in on everything.

Modern Quilting Bee- Family Style

With Baby V's impending arrival, I knew one of the things that I had to make was a quilt.  But what design?!  The result of a "probable girl" threw me an extra curve ball, as I essentially had to go gender neutral if I wanted it completed started before the baby arrived.    So... I procrastinated.  I poked around the Internet for some inspiration for which there were many ( like this, this), with the front runner being the Pow-Wow by Cluck Cluck Sew, but it still didn't have the "it factor" that I was looking for.

Inspiration finally struck back in May during H and my "babymoon" trip to Europe (yeah, oops, never blogged about that yet...).  While we were in the UK visiting my family my 97 year old Grandma A showed off a new project she'd been involved in- a English paper piecing quilt for charity.  After having fun chatting about fabric selection, hand sewing vs machine sewing etc. I didn't think much more about it after we left, but it was obviously brewing away in my head as a few days later the lightbulb went off and I formed a plan.   

My Mom can paper piece.... my Grandma can paper piece.... and H's mother can sew...... how about making Baby V's quilt a family project?!   I pitched the idea to the ladies on the family, and they were all game, success!  

So, I looked online for some English paper piecing patterns that were not the typical hexagonal flower as I wanted to stick to a gender neutral design, and I stumbled across the jewel star design - a bit different, but not too complex for the beginner/older sewer.  

from here

After a feasibility check with my mom to make sure I was not asking too much from the others, I did a few test runs to see how hard/easy the design was, and if I liked the finished look in reality.   And.... I did!

So I packaged up some instructions, paper templates, and pre-cut fabric and popped them in the mail to my Grandma, and dropped some more star "kits" off with my Mom.

And the virgin quilter, H's Mom, will be tackling her stars during her visit to Vancouver in October.  

I have to say these things are perfect for a summer quilting project as they are small and portable, and are easy to pick up and put down.... suntanning and quilting, now that's a relaxing summer!

Now to decide if I go with the diamond or hexagon white spacers.... which do you prefer?

layout images from here

Rewind- Action Station Carport

So, I jumped the gun a bit with my post last week..... I was just too gosh darn excited!

The Monday before I started my maternity leave I got that magical call I'd been waiting months for, we were next on our contractors list, and his crew were coming our way!    One of his guys was coming to make a order list for materials the next day, and would be starting working on Wednesday (aka 2 days from "now"). So, after a few fist pumps and a happy dance or two, I had a reality check....  we have a tonne of stuff to clear outta their way and I'm 8.5 months preggers so H has to essentially tackle it all on his own in 1 night.

So, I called the pregnancy card and called in bribed some recruits with a dinner in exchange for labour.   Luckily my parents are a pretty easy sell.

In pretty short order, we were able to empty the "toilets", move everything into the house or out of the construction crews way, and re-locate a few plants.  We were even able to and do the demo--- which luckily for us, was only removing the trellis pieces, removing the front light fixture, and partially dismantling the "toilets".

And just in time, because 2 days later H and I came home from work to this beautiful sight....

Turning Lemons into Lemonade

This week I got the long awaited call...  our new back door had arrived!

So, H and I headed down on Saturday to pick it up.  We popped it into our Matrix (man that thing has been amazing at dragging all sorts of big things home for us!) and headed back up the hill to our house.

While I was inappropriately fondling it, I had a big rain cloud drop a bucket of cold water on me....... there was a big problem with our new door....

Notice anything? .....    Maybe this might help....

Yup, we only wanted 1 hole for the lock- aaaahhhg!  So, after a frantic call to the door supplier, he confirmed by fear that as a custom order door we were essentially s*#t outta luck, and we'd have to find a work around (lesson learned for next time, entry doors come standard with 2 holes unless specified!).

So, I asked him what he would suggest to get me out of the predicament I had found myself in.  I explained that I really wanted to stick with the square back plated design as it has a nice vintage vibe and matched the square door lites so well, and that I wanted Weiser to keep it compatible with the rest of the doors in the house.

So, we checked out the Weiser website and came up with two options that had matching square back plated levers and deadbolts.

The Standard Collections which I was familiar with:

And, the Metropolitan Boutique collection which I hadn't seen in stores:

Doing some reading on the Metropolitan and finding out that it was in Canada Only (unlike our southern neighbours it's a pretty rare moment when us Canucks can boast that fact), had even cleaner lines, same lifetime warranty.... and, the real kicker that it was about $40 cheaper for the lock and handle set than the Standard Collection (and amazingly, the set worked out over $20 cheaper than the original Verdani keyed lever that I was originally planning to use) I was sold.

So, I've placed my order for Halifax Square and matching deadbolt, which should be arriving in a week or so.  And....yes, I may have done an awkward 8.5 month pregnant dance to celebrate my win ;)