A silent revolution.

There’s something new taking place in our home. Although Pelle is in the room, I sometimes don’t hear him, anymore. He is reading!

After all those years of always talking, asking hundreds of questions each day and always wanting my attention it is a completely new experience for me.

It’s a reflection of him becoming so much more mature. I love it.

Awaiting Spring / Laat nu de lente maar komen

(Het Nederlandse stukje is onderaan).

I made 3 T’s for Pelle, to wear for the upcoming season. I bought the fabric online in Germany. It’s a bit uncommon for me, but I let the fabric do all the work and did not add any appliqués or embellishments. The sleeves are from second-hand T’s. I might change the neck ribbon of the orange one. It’s made from the same knit as the sleeves, and it is not quite the way I like it. I find real ribbon has a far smoother result, but since I had no red I opted for the knit. Won’t do that again.

link to the fabric.

link to the fabric



link to the fabric.

The only thing we need right now, here in Holland, is spring weather. We had an unusually cold March and April month, but the forecasts are promising for this weekend.

 

Ik heb 3 nieuwe T-shirts voor Pelle gemaakt, voor het komende seizoen. De stof heb ik online gekocht bij onze oosterburen. Als je daar meer over wilt weten, klik dan even op de linkjes onder de foto's.

Ik hoop dat Pelle ze veel kan dragen dit komende periode.

The return of Packman.

(Het Nederlandse stukje is hieronder).

 

Original T. Het orgineel.

This is another T I picked up at the secondhand clothes sale, a few weeks ago. I liked the packman pictures and wanted to make it more vivid and looking a bit less worn. I altered the neck and put on larger sleeves to make it less girly. I also made an appliqué on the back and finished it of with a red binding. I like how it turned out.

Dit T-shirt heb ik een tijdje geleden gekocht op een tweedehands kledingbeurs. Goed qua maat, maar wel met gebruikssporen en kleine mouwtjes die beter geschikt zijn voor een meisje. Omdat ik de print zo leuk vond (van het spelletje Packman) heb ik het gekocht. Met een nieuwe boord, mouwtjes en een applicatie op de rug is het weer helemaal up-to-date. En makkelijk te combineren met broeken in verschillende kleuren. Die moet ik dan nog wel gaan naaien :-)

 

 

 

Original back. Orginele rugpand.

After altering it. Het resultaat.

Appliqué made out of knit, with eyes from felt.
De applicatie is van tricot, de ogen zijn van vilt.

 On to the thrid and last makeover.  Hope to post it soon.

Op naar het volgende project. Dat hoop ik snel te laten zien.

 

Another challenge.

(Het Nederlandse stukje is hieronder).

This T started with a small one I bought second hand. I liked the logo and couldn’t help hearing the song in my head (  ~ see you later, alligator ~). I combined it with another T I got for free (an XS ladies size) and some fabric I bought a while ago.

 

 

As I thought I would be funny to put the picture on the back, and not wanting the front to be to boring, the idea of making a placket came up. Another challenge. I used the regular pattern for a short sleeved T (Ottobre 2004/4, #35) and combined it with a more recent one (Ottobre 2010/6, # 33). As I did not understand the instructions, I used an old booklet and made a probe to figure out what to do.

 

 

 

 

I’m very pleased with the result. I mastered something new (not 100 % perfect but good enough for a first time) and also used plastic snaps for the first time. They seem to be very sturdy and were very easy to apply.

 

 

The T came out looking a bit retro. It won’t be my favorite, but I would love Pelle to wear it with a green short. Since we’re preparing for one of the coldest weekends ever in March (Siberian temperatures) that will take a while, I’m afraid.

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Grenzen verleggen.

Het begon met een T-shirtje van de tweedehands kledingbeurs bij ons in het dorp. Ik vond de krokodil zo leuk en moest steeds aan het liedje denken: ~See you later alligator, After a while, crocodile ~. Het shirt was veel te klein voor Pelle, die van krokodillen houdt, maar leuk genoeg om er wat anders van te maken. Ik heb het gecombineerd met een ander oud T-shirt (uit een zak vol kleding van de zus van de buurvrouw) en een nieuwe tricot lap. Het leek me leuk om het logo op de rug te doen (terwijl Pelle wegloopt zie je dan de tekst) maar dan moest ik voor de voorkant wel iets bedenken, anders zou die een beetje saai worden. Als extra accent heb ik een polo-sluiting gemaakt.. Met kraag vind ik een polo te truttig, maar zo met alleen een boord wel  leuk. Het was nog een heel gepuzzel, want de aanwijzingen uit de Ottobre waren wel heel spaarzaam. Gelukkig heb ik ook nog een Knip naaiboek met instructies. Ik heb een heus proefstukje gemaakt om te kijken hoe ik alles het beste kon aanpakken en durfde het daarna wel aan, hoewel ik wel zenuwachtig was. Maar ja, dat was ik ook toen ik voor het eerst stof ging knippen, een halsboordje aan ging zetten, drukknopen in een tuinbroekje sloeg. Nu ben ik blij dat ik dat soort dingen ooit gewoon ben gaan doen en wil ik verder met het verleggen van mijn grenzen. De plastic drukknopen gebruikte ik ook voor het eerst en zijn veel steviger dan ik verwacht had. Nu maar hopen dat hij het T-shirt dit jaar nog kan dragen. Zal het ooit nog warm worden?

Update.

Pretending to buy stuff in a store.

As promised, an update for all of you who are curious about my little, already 7-uears old boy. Cos my, it’s been a long time since I wrote about Pelle in English (8 month!). So where should I begin? We had a wonderful summer holiday. We stayed at a campsite for two weeks and it amazed me how independent my boy gets. Biking on his on around the grounds, doing chores, keeping himself busy. What a difference with last year (2011) when we where at the same place. He hardly left my side. Unlike last year, he enjoyed the theater the animation team put up every night. Singing songs, doing sketches, telling yokes. He was there waiting for the bell to toll every day at a quarter to seven, announcing the activities. It was a great two weeks, and for the first time in all these years of raising him, it felt like a holiday for me, too.

Back home, we intensified our Dutch version of the Son-Rise program. Dutch meaning, among other things, that we don’t emphasize on being happy so much, as is the case with the American approach. I think it’s important for Pelle to learn about emotions and that they are all equally important in a human’s live. Off course I want him to be happy, but if he’s not, that’s also OK. I try to teach him how he can cope with anger, frustration, anxiety and so much more a person can feel. I try to be patient, embrace and reflect what he is feeling and if it’s necessary, talk with him about it. I’m very happy with Pelle, but I do have my moments of being grumpy and tired, and that’s OK, too. Most of the time I enjoy playing with him very, very much. It makes me so cheery.
After the summer we continued with three players. I felt so very fortunate as I could contract a male student, after quite a search. He was one of the guys from the animation team from the campsite and Pelle and he chase each other a lot, play tiger, running games and do more boy stuff. Mart is very expressive and loves to act funny. Lila stayed on, my trusted companion and the one with whom I discuss our goals and the way we try to accomplish them. She’s doing a lot to try to engage Pelle in drawing and other artistic expressions. Tamara also stayed. Pelle and she did a lot of board games and small role-plays.
Pelle's really learning to play like a kid, now. It's wonderful to see.
After the Christmas holidays his imagination started blossoming. What a huge reward for all of us. He is now enacting things he sees on the television or on You Tube. If you’re curious, take a look here on my Dutch blog. Although in black-and-with and with a bit trouble with our handy cam, you can see him pretending to be a reporter and doing the children’s news. It’s about a crocodile that died (by an ice spark). I am interviewed (and impersonating 2 characters) about the matter. Off course I’m glad, because I’m scared of the crock. He’s also doing two other items (about skating and the weather) and vocalizing the tunes.
We keep working on our goals, like playing together (flexibility, eye-contact and non-verbal expression), enjoying yourself (playing alone and trying to cope with delayed attention) and drawing (he’s not making much progress there, but we continue anyway). Later this year, we will start introducing play-dates as he still has minimal contact with other children.
At school he’s doing fine, with some aid of a student who comes twice a week for an hour to help him with his writing and to teach him how to do the tasks he is supposed to do on his own.
I am still loving him to bits. He’s my sweet, sweet, joyful and vivid boy and he is unfolding his potential in a wonderful way. And as I see how people are taken by him, I'm so proud to be his mom.

Fleece sweater / Schaatstrui.

(Beste mensen, het Nederlandse stukje is onderaan te lezen).

Dear people,

I know, it’s been a long time since I last wrote a post on this blog. I was to busy writing my adventures with Pelle, my boy, in Dutch. But here I am again, and welcome (back), dear readers.

With pride I present a fleece sweater which is a bit of a masterpiece for me. It started of as a plain project, but I just can’t do plain. I rather spend more time than making something fast but with an unappealing result. So I added some Ottobre touches to the basic Burda pattern (no. 647 from a special children’s edition from 2005) and here’s the result. I’m very pleased with it. The collar demanded some technique and as I was afraid that 2 layers of fleece would be hard to sew, I used a corduroy for the lining and back of the collar.
The fancy stitch is from my regular Pfaff, partly crossed over, to imitate a cover lock stitch.

The sweater became a bit heavy due to the corduroy stripes I sewed on front, back and arms. And frankly, the cold season seems to vanish here, but I do hope Pelle can wear it a few times and I hope it's large enough for next winter and he can wear it while skating on our local ice ring.

(If you know me longer and are interested in my sweet, sweet boy, I promise to write about him in English next week). This year, I will also write in Dutch, because I like to express myself in my own language and it will work as an incentive to post more regular, I hope. That's below.

 

The collar. The rocket is from Rintintin, but I'm going to search for a snowflake.
 

 

Fancy stitches from my old Pfaff, partly crossed over.

 

 

Back. I added the stripe and the binding

.

Pocket after Ottobre.



The original Burda pattern.

Ottobre jacket which inspired me for the extra details. It's from winter 2008

Hij is af! De schaatstrui waar ik lang mee bezig ben geweest (af en toe een avond gedurende 2 weken) en waar ik heel tevreden over ben. Ik heb als basis een Burda patroon gebruikt uit een oude kinderspecial (waar ik ook Pelle’s allereerste tuinbroekje uit heb genaaid, in 2005). Omdat ik Burda wel heel goed vind qua patronen maar ook vaak saai, heb ik allerhande Ottobre elementen toegevoegd, zoals een bies, een langer achterpand, zakken en een siersteek. Het liefst zou ik bij de rits nog een dingetje met een sneeuwkristal eraan hangen, of bv. schaatsen, maar dat heb ik niet dus voor nu is het een raket van Kuifje.

Ik ben vooral heel tevreden over de hals. Die vergde behoorlijke wat precisie maar is goed gelukt.  Ik heb ribfluweel gebruikt omdat ik bang was dat 2 lagen fleece wel heel dik zouden worden (en dan ook nog een beleg van fleece) en moeilijk te naaien. Het liefst had ik overal hezelfde ribfluweel gebruikt, maar ik had niet meer genoeg van het dikkere gele, dus heb ik voor de voering van de zakken en de onderkraag wat dunner spul genomen.

Eigenlijk is het seizoen voor fleecetruien al weer bijna voorbij en loop ik achter, maar ik hoop dat Pelle volgend jaar ook weer zal schitteren op de ijsbaan en de trui dan nog kan dragen.