Baby Goodness

My very good friend Fiona had a little baby boy nearly three weeks ago. Congratulations!!! He is a very gorgeous and quiet little boy.

I have been crocheting a blanket for weeks now


and luckily got it finished just in time for my first visit. But I knew I also wanted to make her a bag. So I spent nearly three days solid a couple of weeks ago on the sewing machine and again got it finished just in time.



The pattern is from Anna Maria Horner's new book, which I can only recommend for anybody who either just had a baby, is expecting one or likes to give handmade presents rather than mass produced ones. I have been making blankets now as presents for over a year and can hardly imagine ever buying a baby present again. The book has lovely patterns for different things and I will certainly make some of them for our own little baby.
There is also a changing mat for the bag.


I filled the bag with a few goodies:



My favourite is the book. It helped me a lot through difficult times in Lucy's first 18 months. The book describes different phases of mental development of children and why they can be a bit more difficult than usual in those times.

This was my last baby present. From now on its all for our own little one. I still have until November, which isn't really that long I guess.


P.S: I have been writing on this post for a week now I think. So, my apologies if it doesn't flow, but I was having difficulties concentrating on it. I am feeling like that a lot lately: restless and bored. Must be the fact that I am soon entering my third trimester and its all coming to an end...

Oh my.....I cannot believe that it has been nearly two months since my last post. how bad am I?

Life is crazy at the moment. I will not pretend that I find it all easy going, looking after a toddler, who is in her terrible twos, while being pregnant and getting heavier. Today I think I started to waddle....yes, we are at that stage now. Any lady out there, who has been pregnant or is pregnant at the moment will understand what I am talking about. Your legs feel heavy and your whole gravity shifts to the front. You are not quite as mobile anymore and therefore have to walk like a freaking duck. But hey, it's all good.

On Monday ware having our big 20 week scan, where they check all the organs and where we can potentially find out if we are having a girl or a boy. I am really excited and cannot wait. We found out with Lucy, too. I know there are a lot of people out there who will say say love the surprise. But hey, it's a 50/50 chance. No BIG surprises there. You are either having a girl or a boy, right? Anyway I am one of the curious, nosy ones who has to find out ;)

Lots of people seem to be having babies in this part of the world. Two friends of mine, whom I met when Lucy was a little baby, just had their second children (for one of them I made the blanket above). My very dear friend Fiona is due at the end of the month (any time now really) with her second baby (how exciting). And another girl I know found out she is pregnant a few weeks after I found out about my pregnancy. Is it in other parts of the world like this, too at the moment?

So, anyway, I have been tired a lot and feeling nauseous, which means I have not been up for much crafting lately. But at the moment I am making another blanket, which I will not be able to show you until the person has received it as she snoops around here from time to time ;) and I will be doing some sewing soon also, which again I will be showing you a little later.

The only other thing I wanna say is: if anybody out there has any experience with a Phil and Teds tandem buggy please let me know how you got on. Thanks a million and I hope you are all well. Have a nice weekend

Another crochetlicious pouch

I have finally finished the crochet pouch that I started at the end of january for my friend. But with Lucy's birthday preperations I was so busy that it had to wait to be finished until after. And as my friend Liana just visited me this weekend (she only left a couple of hours ago), I thought it would be nice to give it to her personaly. So on thursday afternoon, Lucy and I sat down for a crafty afternoon. While I was sewing the inside of the pouch, she was playing with clay and kept saying: "Oh, look!" over and over again. It was a lovely afternoon and here is the result:






She wanted to use it as a little make up bag for her purse. I think it works just fine and hope she will get many years out of it.

Birthday Celebrations and the finished blanket

On Monday, the 22nd February 2010, my little baby girl Lucy turn 2. Very emotional times, I have to say. She is now officialy not a baby anymore (even though she seems to think she is ;) she calls herself baby all the time at the moment, just so she gets a cuddle), but a little bouncy toddler. funnily I even treat her differently now, let her do more and give her more little tasks. She really enjoys that. I even style her hair differently now, which makes her look more like a proper little girl. So cute.

We had two parties. One, on Sunday, for my husbands parents and sisters, and one on Monday, for children. Both were nice in their own special way. Lucy loved the attention, the presents and most importantly, the cake. Well, one in particular: the chocolate cake.


It is her favourite cake in the whole world. She ate three pieces on monday ;) And being her birthday, I didn't deny her any cake. I might share the recipie later with you, if you are interested. It is the simplest cake ever and has no flour in it. Perfect for people with a gluten allergy.

I also made a German strawberry gateaux with a white chocolate and joghurt mousse. It was sooo yummy.



The children party was more enjoyable from the aspect that I could decorate the table a little bit more.




I made little individual bug cakes in the shape of a butterfly,


a bee,


a dragonfly


and a lady bird


for the children, with each having a windmill stuck in the middle of it.

The main birthday cake was a butterfly. I used the same mould last year and think it might turn into a bit of a tradition :)


Our present to Lucy was, if you remember, the den under the stairs. Well, the space under the stairs is still looking the same as the last time I showed you. For one did I just about manage to finish the blanket, but we also have tilers in the house this week and she wouldn't have been able to use it any way. I decided that it has to be a slower job instead of rushing and pressurising myself. So, I thought I would share the finished product of the blanket with you.




Lucy also got a mini table from Ikea with two matching chairs, which was the biggest hit ever.

Granny Square Crochet

I have decided to make a granny square blanket for Lucy. In the spirit of the colour scheme I am useing for her birthday i am sticking to lime green, orange, purple and cream. I just love those colours at the moment and it makes me happy working with them.

My dear online friend Carina was so kind to get me the beautiful yarn she is using from Denmark. This is the nicest yarn. It is so soft, easy to work with and has these amazingly vibrant colours.


The only thing that scares me now is the amount of squares I have to make in comparison to the time I have left. I have started on Monday and have made so far eight squares. But I only have until the 22nd of February. Ah well, I have always been a positive thinker ;)

January Madness

There was me thinking all the christmas hustle and bustle was over and I could finally get stuck into some much needed crocheting and sewing for my still to open etsy shop. But of course, as life goes, mothers just seem to have no time...EVER for anything else. Or so it seems to me (any advice on how to change that is welcome ;)

This month is now keeping me busy with the preparations for Lucy's 2nd birthday and I am beginning to wonder if I have taken on to much with her present. i still have to pick a fabric for the curtains to partition the den off, which I then have to sew. I also still have to crochet a granny square blanket with is meant to be a decent size and not just something that will last her one year. eventually i would like it to maybe go onto her bed or so. And I have started the snake which has turned out a bit of a nightmare. there are so many colours in the pattern, which constantly change and I don't like crocheting rounds very much. It has over 200 rounds!!! HELP! But I thought I would share my progress with you and see what you think about the colour scheme:




Can you see all the ends? I am NOT looking forward to weaving them in.

I have also agreed to make another little pouch, similar as the one I made for my cousin.I really enjoy doing this, even though it is extra work. Luckily it is a much smaller version and I am already nearly finished with the crochet bit.


This pouch is for my very best friend Liana, whom I know now for 10 years. She has picked the colours and yarn herself and we chose the button together. i love the button. It looks so bright and cheerful. I really do enjoy making these pouches and am seriously considering selling these. What do you think? Would you buy them?

Birthday Surprise

This time of the year is birthday time in my family. First, Lucy will be 2 years old on the 22nd of February, then I will be 29 on the 17th of March (Oh oh, the big three O is getting closer. Not that I mind ;). I also just discovered that my blog is gonna be ONE on the 13th of March.

BUt of course Lucy's second birthday is my main focus and will from now on get most of my attention. As her birthday is so close to christmas, it is difficult to get her presents. i don't like a toy overflow. There is nothing worse than giving a child too many toys. In my opinion they only end up not knowing what to play with and get bored. And to be quite honest, Lucy already has quite a substantial amount of things to play with. So, the plan for her second birthday is to give her a permanent fixture in our house: a den under the stairs.

This is the space I want to close off for. All the way up to the radiator.




And as you can see, there is enough space for her there. Even when she is older, she can still sit in it and have her own little hide-away, whee she can have secret tea parties with her teddy bears and dolls.

I will close it off with curtains, so that one day it can be easily dismantled again. There will also be a lot of cushions and a blanket that I will crochet for her. Oh, I don't think I have quite realised yet just how much work it will be. And not that much time left.

I have been thinking about a colour scheme. I am not a very pinky pink person. I love greens and purples and blues and turquoise. But I am also an Interior Designer and it is important to me that no matter what it is, that comes into our house, it has to match somehow the rest of the decoration in that room. The wall that goes up beside our stairs is a light purple, so I thought of this colour scheme:


I am not so sure about the last three colours yet as I want to stick mainly to lime green, dark purple and orange. We will see. I will keep you updated on the progress.

Happy New Year! and wintery past times.

First of all: A Happy New Year to all of you!!!

I have been so busy in the past few months that this little blog of mine had to come last on the long list of making presents, preparing the house for several visitors and first of all of course, taking care of my sweet baby Lucy. Not so much a baby anymore, she will be turning two next month. And I will be boring you with all the birthday preparations as I am making her present myself. But more about that the next time


This is the way Northern Ireland looked yesterday. Well, at least my part of the country. There was not only a lot of snow (if you consider that we nearly never have snow), but also a loooot of fog. This is nothing unusual, but the combination of snow and fog made everything look really eerie and quiet. As if the world is wrapped in cotton wool. There were hardly any cars on the roads and I think not many people left their home. Unless they had to work of course.

This kind of weather calls for lots of wintery indoor activities. So, this is what we have been up to yesterday:


You gotta have a fire to keep you warm.


Lucy was entertaining herself with this lovely wooden jigsaw/puzzle.


And I was finishing off a granny blanket for friend's new baby girl.

Manic November

It has been a looooong time since my last post and I have been manically busy with making Xmas presents. Especially since I have quite spontaneously decided to fly over to Germany for my mum's 50th birthday on 5th December. She is only having a small thing at home as the real big party will happen next March in conjunction with my 29th birthday, but it is a big event after all. You only turn 50 once, right? And as I haven't been over for my mum's birthday in the last 8 years, I really wanted to be there this time.

The plan is to take all presents with me to save on postage and as I am only going for a week I don't need as many clothes for me and Lucy. Therefore I have been busy busy busy. I also didn't feel quite ready so far to share these handmade presents with you as I didn't want anybody to see anything. But I also don't want to put them on here after Xmas either.

So, here are a few of my favourite things:

a crochet hook+accessories wrap





potholders for my granny



scarf galore- for several people...



Peony corsage for my MIL





I can't believe how much work this all took. When I decided to make as many presents myself this year as possible I didn't realise how much it would take. I just hope they will all know to appreciate it...

P.S: Please excuse the quality of the photographs. The light here is very poor at the moment.

Red/Orange Delight

I have finally finished the present for my cousin. About time, too. After all, I will be going to Germany next friday. At least now, I can concentrate on packing and getting the house into shape.

And this is the finished product:


I am sure you can guess by the photograph that it is a pouch. I guess it could be a clutch as well, but it was intended as something she can put make up or similar things in. But hey, I am happt for her to use it as she wishes :)


To give it extra strength I have lined it with two layers of orange felt. I also have attached two magnetic buttons to make it last longer.


As you can see it can hold a few things, like a mobile phone, lip gloss and your credit cards ;)


For the first time I have added my very own label as this is the first thing I have made and designed completely on my own since I got the labels. I love them. They look very professional. I like that its printed on gross grain and not a woven label. I can also fold them in half in sew them into something, so that they look out on the side.


If you are interested in such beautiful labels, you can get them on Mommie Made It 's etsy shop

Sneak Peak

of my cousin's present.


I made this flower yesterday evening. It is the first flower I made and I quite enjoyed it. I couldn't find the perfect one in any book that I looked at. Either they were way too small, the wrong design or weren't colourful enough.


Flower Power! thats what I wsnted. My cousin only turned 18 and although she is maybe more on the conservative side for her age I still wanted something young and fun. I knew I wanted to use quite a few colours, so the flower had to be very layered. I also knew I wanted a colour in the inside that was very different to the pinks and orange. So, it had to be lime green as that is my most favourite colour and a nice citrusy contrast. But it still goes nicely with the orange (limes and oranges...get it? ;)

The flower will be attached to the finished piece of the big red crochet thing I showed you in my last post ;) I am very tempted to show you the whole thing, but instead I will show you one corner of it, together with the flower.


I am waiting for some felt at the moment and then I should hopefuly have the presenr finished soon and can move on to other things (like finishing the pink elephant..oops). Although I have to see how much time I will have to start any new things as I am going to Germany in 2 weeks. Yay!