Fun with photography....

I've haven't had much opportunity to do any photography for other people recently so I was a very happy girl when an old acquaintance got in touch with me to ask if I would be interested in doing a family session for them.  She told me that she'd been looking for a photographer but really wanted me beacuse she loved my style. Awww! We set a time and I met with this sweet family for a couple of hours of fun photography. With two cute little kiddies, one a little shy and one a little tired I was hopeful that it would all go smoothly and we'd get some good shots. In the end, I  really enjoyed being a photographer again and was so happy with the shots that the clients ended up with double the amount of photos I had originally told them to expect. Unfortunately I can't share the images on the blog but I will share my new way of presenting my clients with their digital copies. Disk's are no more my friends! Did you know that the new Macbook pro doesn't even have a disk drive? Well, I don't want to be outdated so I've decided to present digital copies on a flash drive. A cute box with a bit of ribbon and and a printed label makes it all look so pretty and shows that I care about my work and about giving my clients their little box of memories the attention they deserve. 

I like it. A lot. 

:)

Legging love...

I do love leggings. There's nothing quite as comfy or as easy as a nice pair of leggings. I'm sad to say I pretty much live in leggings but seem to have noticed that all my beloved soft and stretchy friends were looking a bit worse for wear recently (yes, holes in the seam right on my butt! Why does it always happen there?) I've made a couple of repairs but eventually decided it was time to go legging shopping....until I discovered this video tutorial by Amy Karol. It shows you a quick way of making a new pair of leggings using an old pair of leggings as a template. That lady is a genius! If you like leggings and can get your hands on a sewing machine you must try it! Here are my finished lovely leggings....(please accept my apologies for the weirdness of my legs from this angle (at least I hope it's just the angle). I didn't have anyone else around to take a better picture).

Me and my girl...

Since Seb has been at school every afternoon I've been getting to spend a bit of girly time with Bel. It's kind of interesting that I've never really got to spend time with just Bel before and it's funny how different it is to be in the company of just one kid. Yesterday we went to the supermarket and I can't believe how much calmer the whole experience was (not to mention productive)! Usually I've got to herd the two kids in the general direction I want to head and have to stop every couple of minutes to remove whichever items they've picked off the shelves from their hands or from my shopping cart. More often than not I give up before I've got everything I need because I just want to get outta there! I also usually find myself doing a lot of shouting down the aisle's trying to get whichever kid has run away to return before they get too lost. It's usualy pretty chaotic but not this time.  With just Bel quietly pushing her mini cart around and not being distracted or egged-on by Seb, I would even go so far as to say it was a pleasant experience! The two of us finished our afternoon with a quick stop in Starbucks for a steamed milk and a shared slice of lemon poppyseed loaf. Bel sat on her chair and chatted away to me while we leisurely sipped our drinks.... no running around, no screaming, no hysterical laughter, no squabbling, is this my life or someone elses? I can't get over how relaxing it all is! I'm pretty sure it would be much the same if I was only with Seb. I think that the two of them together are just much more interested in eachother and tend to feed off one anothers energy. When you separate them, they suddenly have to engage in more adult conversation and generally don't run about like lunatics quite as much! Apart from the added calmness it's so nice to be able to give Bel a bit of one on one attention. She's hilariously funny when you get her chatting without any other distractions. She does love Seb so much and has a tendancy to copy his every word and action so  it's lovely to see a bit more of her own personality come through when he's not around. Did I tell you that she made me play mermaids with her and she told me I could be the chubby mermaid! She does make me chuckle! We've played "atocktives' (I think she means detectives) and Mama's today and then had a great time pushing her newly named doggy toy, Sandwich (??), around the garden in his stroller. She's such a happy and loveable girl, she tells me she loves me about fifty times a day, sometimes, when she sees I'm really busy but wants to talk to me she says, "but Mummy, I need to tell you something......." she gets my attention, pauses for a second...... then says "I really love you Mummy." She knows how to get my attention that's for sure. 

I love her little beaky lip in these photos below...When she speaks her lips are so expressive, kind of like a french person.....that sounds weird but I'm sure you know what I mean :)

Love you so much my little pixie girl!
x

Before I forget....

or more acurately, before it dies......

Here's proof that I grew a plant. This is the Oregano plant I grew from seed. I also succeded with a Thyme. Unfortunately my lettuces aren't looking so photogenic or edible. Not to worry.....small steps!

Lady bug invasion!

Our street is crawling with Lady Bugs. I'm not sure what they're up to or how long they're planning on staying but I'm pretty sure I've never seen this many Lady Bugs in one place. There must be a hundred or more lady bugs on every tree in the street, it's like a Lady Bug convention or something! Seb and Isobel seems to love it and after spending the best part of an hour the other night staring at the tree outside our house I literally had to drag them away and pick the lady bugs off their clothes and out of their hair before they came back inside. 

I had perviously heard that the city of Victoria releases Lady Bugs in their thousands as a natural means of preventing aphid invasions or something and I'm wondering if the town of Beaumont has done the same thing. Does anyone know anything about swarms of Lady bugs??? I'd be very interested to find out. 

Can you believe it??

Last week Seb went to school. It has been traumatic, mostly for me but a teeny bit for him too. He's been with me pretty much all day, everyday for the last nearly five years. Don't get me wrong, he isn't the least bit shy or clingy, in fact quite the opposite, he's probably one of the most confident and socially outgoing kids I've ever come across. He just doesn't seem to like change. His first day went quite smoothly, it was what they call a staggered entry day so there were just a few kids from his class and we got to join him in the classroom for the first 45 minutes to talk to the teacher and fill in forms and stuff then we said a quick goodbye and left him playing quietly with the others. All good. The next time was a little tougher for me. The school was bustlingly busy and as Bel and I marched Seb into the school and down to his classroom we noticed that all the other kids were already lined up to go in. No sooner had I scrambled to get his outdoor shoes off and put his bag away than the teacher swooped in and  ushered him away and into the classroom without me even getting to say good bye. Bel and I stood there for a minute and then left feeling a bit empty and sad. As I walked her back to the entrance she turned to me and said in a very worried voice "I love you Mummy". I think she thought I was about to let her get swept away into a class room too! For the next few days I dropped Seb off and have wondered every minute what he's up to and if he's ok. When I pick him up he's blasé and answers my torrent of questions with minimal detail and enthusiam, leaving me feeling all the more frustrated about the whole thing. Is he having any fun? Is his teacher nice? Does he like it at all? I hate the feeling of dropping him in a completely strange place and not having a flipping clue what he does for the next 3 hours! To top it all off, at home he's been extra moody, extra sensitive and seems to flip out at the most insignificant things. The only other time I remember him being like this is when we first moved to Tofino. I just don't think he likes his world to take such drastic changes. On the positive side he seems very relaxed about actually going to school so that's a big relief. After my first few stressy days I'm starting to feel better about it too. Neil and I attended a kindergarten orientation the other night and got to spend a bit of time with his teacher and learn about their curriculum and daily schedules. We had a proper look around his classroom and even got to see some of Seb's crafts (so hilarious and cute!) which really helped take away my building anxiety about the whole thing. I'm sure this is all very normal and that most other Mum's feel like this to a degree, I just don't think I was prepared for quite how strongly I would feel. I know he's ready for school, he's got a lovely teacher and things can only get better from here!

P.S I have know idea where all this attitude comes from but he's started to pose like this every time I get my camera out!

a bit of knit

They say that knitting is very therapeutic and apparently has even been prescribed as a remedy for people with anxiety issues. I don't think I've got anxiety issues (yet) but, as you might have gathered, I've been feeling a little stressed lately so I took up knitting :)
I actually did go through a little knitting stage a few years ago, I mostly made a lot of wobbly edged scarves and only really learnt how to cast-on, knit (badly) and cast off. My scarves were a hit with my friends at work (well at least 2 of them) and they were affectionately known as "Scophies". You usually could spot a Scophie a mile off they were so unique! Anyway this time I've bothered to also learn how to purl and do a couple of other tricks and have invested in a circular needle as well as a couple of pairs of straight needles. As with the sewing I LOVE it!! I am still intending to sew lots but that's something I have to schedule when the kids are otherwise entertained or fast asleep but with knitting I can do it while we all watch a movie or while I'm at the park with the kiddies it's so amazingly portable! I've discovered a whole new world of fibre and have quickly learnt that fancy yarn can be pretty darned exciting!! Oh I do hope I'm not boring you to tears!
Here are a few of my first creations.....

This is a hat (or a touque if your from around these parts) that I knitted for Neil for his birthday. He really seems to like it and has worn it already a few times for our eveing dog walks now that things are turning chilly. It's a magical hat that seems to fit everyone from the tinniest Bel to the big-headed Neil. You can see Seb modelling it further down the page to see what I mean. 

This one is a neck warmer thingy with a nice wooden button. This was my very first project and I really like how it turned out. I think I might send it off to my good friend Caroline (if she likes it). It's a chartreuse green which I think would look lovely on her and she is my biggest "Scophie" fan so I think she deserves an updated version. 

This one  was a lesson in doing a few fancy lace type stiches, it's a scarf that I knitted in two pieces and sewed together. One end has a little hole that you pull the opposite end through to secure it around your neck. It's a little on the big side for Bel but I think she models it with flair!

Here are a few more interesting pics for you thanks to my trusty child models....

I'm starting work on my Christmas pressies so you all know what to expect now! First job is the most lovely and perfect hat for my sister!
 Hooray! I love knitting! 

Calgary Zoo

Way back at the beginning of August we joined the Headley's on a trip to Calgary Zoo. I've finally found a minute to post some pictures for you. For me the Gorillas and the Elephants are always the best bit but it seemed as though Bel and Seb were most impressed with the section dedicated to plastic dinosaurs,  that and the zoo staff walking about in big stuffed animal suits. They really didn't seem that impressed with the real animals. It was a hot day and we all over indulged on ice cream and various other naughty treats but it was fun to get out of Edmonton for a bit and distract ourselves from our ever so slightly stressful lives at the moment!

A quilt for Violet...

So I have a bit of a thing for quilts. Of course I mean the kind of quilts that are made by one person who painstakingly pieces it all together and crafts it with care into something lovely. Even better if it's made of beautiful colours and a patchwork of all kinds of fabric all coming together to create a thing of beauty. Quilts are for comfort and warmth, to be a reminder of home, happiness and snuggles.  I love the idea of creating something like that as a gift for someone you care about. Unlike a piece of clothing or a toy, you can never grow out of a quilt. My sister has made us  a couple of quilts and one of hers even features in our wedding photos. We love them. I had one made by a very talented lady for Isobel when she was a wee baby and then when my niece Molly was born I had the same lady make one for her. Bel sleeps with her quilt every night. It gets dragged all over the place, made into forts and wrapped around her if she's ever feeling sick. I hope that it'll always be a reminder of a happy home for her and that one day maybe it'll be wrapped around her babies. Anyway I've always kinda hoped that maybe one day I'd be able to make one myself. As soon as I got the gist of sewing I had quilts on my mind but to be honest I felt like it was beyond me and I didn't know where to start. When my niece Violet was born I was going to get her a quilt from the same lady that made Bel's and Molly's but for various reasons I didn't get it done. Violet's first birthday is coming up and I figured that there wasn't ever going to be another person so worthy of me giving it my best shot. Now, my quilt isn't fancy and isn't very elaborate but I made it with lots and lots of love for one of the sweetest, most adorable little girls you could ever meet and I'm just over the moon with the end result! I hope it keeps her warm and cosy and feeling loved for a long long time.

I decided not to attempt piecework on the actual quilt top just yet, I mean I didn't want to set myself up for failure! I decided on a cute fabric for the front. It has owls (Bel loves owls) spider webs (Seb loves spidey) and dragon flies and they always remind me of my sister because she had a dragonfly tatooed onto her foot while staying with me here in Canada. I made my own bias tape for the binding by cutting scraps of some pretty yellow polka dot and striped fabric and sewing them together into a long strip. The yellow spotty fabric was given to me by my sister (Violets mummy) in the sewing kit she made for me and I'd previously made some little tooth fairy pillow creatures for Molly and Violet with it and with  the yellow stripy one so they had a touch of personal meaning to them.  The back of the quilt is made from an old bed sheet of Seb's that  I'd also used to line that first bag I made. So it's got a touch of the upcycling tradition of quilting too. I also decided to appliqué Violets initials and a couple of the little owls and spider webs onto the back just to make it extra personal to her. After a whole lot of pinterest browsing and googling I'd formulated a basic plan of action and felt ready to start sewing.

Here's where I have a bit f a confession.....I bought a new sewing machine.  I know, I know, I went on and on about how I loved my old Singer and I do so appreciate that machine for getting me started. I honestly don't think I'd have had the confidence to even know what to look for in a sewing machine before I used that good old girl. The trouble was that I found it difficult to sew in a straight line with the old Singer, she was just too flippin fast. Knowing also that I really really wanted to get into making some quilts I did a bit of research and then made the fatal mistake of going into a sewing machine shop and , well, that was that. I went for a machine with lots of space for quilting and even considering that and the fact that this was just a baby sized quilt I was quite taken aback by how hard it is to work on such a big piece and still see what the heck you're sewing!



Once I'd started I just couldn't stop! I worked all day and nearly all night with barely a breather to feed my children some scraps before getting back to it. By the time I got to binding, I think it was nearly 2 am hence the very bad lighting in the photo below. Time to pin that binding tape....

I kept going and learnt a very important fact of sewing..... wearing shorts while working on a big quilt covered in pins is a bad idea. I'm honestly surprised there's no blood on that there quilt!

By some time in the early morning the quilt was done. With no one else up to show it to I was so ridiculously happy and tired I didn't know what to do with myself. For at least half an hour I sat on my sofa in the early morning light with a big smile on my face...all snuggled in Violets quilt. :)

I love it! And best of all, I think she will too.