vrijdag 15 februari 2013

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.

dinsdag 5 februari 2013

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.