Tea time again

I recently bought some wonderful fabrics and am busy making T-shirts for Pelle.
I finished a stripy orange one, which unfortunately turned out a little tight. He can wear it as an undergarment, but that was not my intention. Luckily I still have a lot of fabric left, so I can make him a real nice summerversion in spring, because I so love those colourtones.





I made this patch on the back, from 2 different cottons.

This T is a little thicker and wider (still size 110, but with seamallowances this time) and will be comfy now and still wearable a few month from now, I hope.



Finally, I'm getting a bit faster in sewing these T's. They still take me 4-5 hours, but I really like playing around with shapes and colours. The black trim from the hedgehog T is from an old ribknit T from Mark and it gives me such a pleasure to combine it with other fabrics into a whole new look.

Next up is a longsleeve raglan from monkey fabric. I hope to show you that one at the end of this week.

As Pelle sees it

A weekly picture, taken by my boy.

Green Sweater

I made Pelle another sweater. This is from a lovely green soft terry knit I bought in Germany (through internet ), at Micha's Stoffecke (the fabriccorner of Micha, although 'corner' is an understatement, because they have a huge supply).
After I finished, I made an applique, but didn't like that one. So I removed it, but than there was some glue left on the shirt (I used Vlieso-fix, a European version of the paper-and-adhesive iron-on stuff). So I had to come up with another idea. Hence the robot on some cotton scraps . Next time, I just make a plain shirt. He doesn't have to wear embellishments all the time.



This little robot is an iron-on gadget I bought in Denmark (through the internet), at Stof og Stil (Fabric and Style). They have some really nice fabrics as well.

As Pelle sees it

A weekly picture, made by my boy.

Another milestone

This is what we did yesterday. Coloring. A first. Of course Pelle does a lot of painting and coloring at school, but until now, he didn’t do this at home. But recently, he likes to do a thing we call “prikken”. It’s something I don’t know the English word for, but you can see it on the picture, where he’s making holes in the carton, using a sharp pen.



He’s really good at it, pinching hole after hole and being focused.
Since the images are white, I suggested coloring them, yesterday. So there we were, on the bench, working together. It’s still a bit hard for him, because of his grip (using his fists more often than his fingers) but I was so glad, suggesting colours and doing the parts he didn’t want to do. A real co-production!

It’s just an example of the huge changes he is going through. Becoming far more active. Doing things in stead of talking all the time and asking the same questions over and over again. He almost lost that repetitious behavior. And if he does come up with his favorite topics I really concentrate and sincerely answer him, knowing he needs it to digest his imput.

Here you can see him backing bread,



Keen on wearing those mittens



He announced that from now on, he wants to help in the kitchen every day. It slows down my cooking, but oh boy, how I love to give him instructions and enjoy his company.
This morning he said: “Do you know why I want to make the croissants? Because I like to roll them”. So I suggested using clay (we can only eat that much, can we). Also something we didn’t do in a long, long time, because Pelle only wanted to eat it, last year (asking me to make him an icecream). I’m looking forward to do it more often.



In the meantime he has mastered a skill from a whole different kind. He can see the time on a clock. It doesn’t even have to have numbers on it. Now is this the boy with an IQ of 65, as they said last year? I really don’t believe those values anymore.

I'm wishing on a star

I've been making a T-shirt again, using the basic Ottobre pattern and making some alterations inspired by some of the latest T's I saw in the mag. The stars are made of a rose-red cotton and I used the same colour for the honeycomb stitches. This is not a colour I would normaly use, but I think it turned out just fine. I would have loved to make the neckbinding in the same colour as the star, but couldn't find the right fabric for it. So I ended up using another striped jersey.
As the days are rapidly getting colder now, I hope Pelle can wear it often (it's a bit tight, so he can only wear it this season, have to size up for the next batch).

Like a flower

I followed a Dutch course, this weekend. Based upon the principles of Son-Rise, but with a Dutch twist to it. And as it goes in courses, you have to introduce yourself to the group. What to say? And then it came all naturally to me, and with great intensity. Pelle has opened up my world. Literally and spiritually. I feel it so strong and with great passion.
Everything I once thought would be ‘normal’, lost it’s meaning. Everything is possible. I really don’t mind if he is developing in another way. Because there are so many possibilities. He freed me of the thought that the only meaningful way of living is going to school, going to college, marry and raise a family. The world is bigger than that. And being alive is more. It’s about having your own place in the world. He taught me that setting boundaries is not useful at all. And I felt so free, truly free upon realizing that. And so grateful.
Now I can look at him without fear of the future, without wanting him to be different. Finally I can meet him soul to soul. And feel enlightened and full of love.
And now as I’m letting go of all my expectations he is changing in a pace I can not believe. He is starting to make little jokes. Such a pure, innocent humor. My mother asked him “Do you need to be washed? “. He said “yes, put me in the washingmachine, gran”. He is telling more about how he feels. “No I don’t want to sleep under the bed, because that’s a bit scary”. Is this the boy who didn’t even say “I” only a year ago? It’s so hard to believe. He still is hyperactive sometimes, but has calmed down in other ways. Like when we are in the woods, he holds my hands almost all the time. He never did that, because he was always running, when we where there. And I so love the touch of his small hands. But you know what? I’m even missing seeing him run so much. Oh boy, I so loved to see him run on his little legs. He was so fast. A classmate of him said to me once "Pelle's always in a hurry". Not anymore.

Last week he said he wanted to glue. You have never seen a mum run and grab the stuff faster than I did. I joined him and we had such good, relaxing times. Another dream comes true.

He learns to do pretend play. And so much more. He is blossoming, really blossoming. Like his mom.