FTL sewing finnished!

Your historically inspired garments wouldn't be perchance the ones you needed the piping for? Did you get the stuff you needed? You are such a busy bee! I don't know how you manage. Me, I feel totally drained after taking care of baby and husband and doing what is absolutely necessary to keep the household working. I've made up my mind about the fabric for my little reticule workbag, gotten all the materials needed for it and for the ottobre bag, but just can't get round to start woking on it and thus feeling frustrated. How do you all manage to do all this work? Ah well, I'll grow, just as DD grows. Can I have a little pat on the back? Just for support? ;-)

U.

You can. You will.

And thank you.

You can do that too. :) Let's be honest: if *I* can lose 70lbs, ANYONE can!

I really like the way the first

Funny you should say that.... See other post!

Just getting carried away a little after a couple

BTDT! And James DRIBBLED everywhere and chewed anything he could stuff in, from my fingers to the cat's tail!

Yes, and not yet, BUT! I need it in gold, not red. That said, I might know where to get some of it... :D

You are such a busy

My men sometimes get left to feed themselves - and me! And I managed to hoover the floor for the first time in a fortnight this morning, before the visitors arrived!

I've made up my mind about the fabric for my little

All the support in the world! Remember, I've been there and know what it's like!

Consider yourself properly patted on the back, Ursula. Take just 10 minutes every day, when DD is sleeping or after putting her down for the night, relax and work on your project. If there is a spot where it can be left out convenient to reach, that will be good. Then, get a cup of tea or whatever liquid you like, and spend those few minutes, concentrating on the project, you'll feel better and surprised at how quickly it is finished. As a mother of 5, I learned very quickly to make the most of naps, etc. to have a bit of time for something I wanted to do. HTH, Emily

My very first "job" when I was eleven was to pick up a neighbor's baby in a pram, and walk it around the neighborhood. Fresh air for babies was very big in those days. I would spend about an hour and a half or two hours doing this, giving the mother time to nap or do whatever she wanted, and I think I earned the princely sum of twenty-five cents an hour. Do people do this anymore?

Do you mean do they walk children, or do they hire it done?

Joanne, go to any park, and you'll see moms walking their little ones. Usually also talking on cell phones, sadly. I was in NYC recently and saw many young children being aired in strollers, but I'm almost positive most of those doing the pushing were caregivers, as it was during the week.

My "employer" was a stay-at-home mom, which was more common then, I think. It was a great little job for a kid, very affordable for the mom, and it gave her a breathing space. I guess nowadays, kids don't work - with soccer practice and cheerleading practice and karate classes, they don't have time anymore.

I don't know about that. Our kids all "learned to drive" by cutting the grass on the riding lawn mower (almost two acres of it), and they also got put to work in my business, updating QuickBooks for me, as well as doing grunt work for their dad at his office. I would say some people don't make their kids work, but there are a lot of us who do. Our paperboy has been delivering our Wednesday community paper for five years now.

That's cool. Our paper is delivered by someone with a car who delivers the Wall Street Journal, the LA Times, and the local paper, and even so, there's a lot of turnover in the position. Kids around here don't seem to work until high school when they can get fast food jobs.

I'm not sure, but I'll try. Really, sometime the lure of cream in sauces, tea and on cakes is just too strong, and then I want loads of it. I wish I could find some sort of balance, just a little for enjoyment, not until I burst.

I swear, I didn't see that! ;-) Yeah, pirates is all the fashion these days... (I think I should see the movies; still haven't gotten beyond part

1).

Hehehe, our cats are too quick and to wary, too, to let her get their tails. I bought her a violet root yesterday, and now she's in our bed and is chewing on it (with DH to supervise). So far she sounds quite content, so it seems to work. ;-) Against the drooling she's got those cheap-o bibs, but when she's on her back she sometimes chokes on her spittle and coughes in a funny baby way.

YEs, I remember, I clicked on every link the others sent you, and thought that gold piping was to be had most easily.

My husband does so, too, he's a great maker of 'Bratkartoffeln' (fried or sauteed potatoes), spaghetti sauce, and 'fresh soup', broth made from beef or chicken with rice or noodles in it. But it still doesn't solve the general problem. I think it's just that I haven't worked out how to make best use of my time. Ah well, you live, you learn. ;-)

Thank you, I feel so much better now. It's great to have a place to go and chat with 'the girls'. ;-)

U.

Wow, five kids! And I have doubts if I'll be able to manage a second one if that should happen. Yes, you'll have to make the best of those precious moments when they are asleep or busy otherwise. I have to admit that I use this time currently mostly for posting in this ng. ;-) Well, as I wrote in my reply to Kate XXXXX, I need the time with you girls here, probably more than sewing, or I'd do that.

OK, I'm doing things bit by bit, and sometimes I'm perhaps not aware enough of the progress I make. For the last couple of days I've been using the time DD is awake for sorting my sewing things into the big wardrobe in her room, which is to be the permanent home for my stash. The thing is, you don't see it (which of course is the purpose of this excercise) and so I tend to forget that all these tiny steps will lead me to my final goal just as surely as one afternoon of undisturbed fiddling with my sewing did in the past. Perhaps I just need some praise, as my husband (as husbands tend to do) doesn't really appreciate what I do with words.

Also, I forget the advantages that come along with a longer planning period: So far I have found several hitches in my workbasket project that would have turned out quite irksome if I had hit them in the actual process of sewing. I might have even have to stop work and go shopping for some notion or material. Ah, it's good to have a place to mull these things over with someone, especially since none of my rw-friends are interested in needlework. Thanks for listening (and commeting)!

U.

James earns his pocket money: mows the grass, washes the car, loads and unloads the dishwasher, provides the muscles when needed for grunt work. Some jobs earn points, some cash in hand. Points earn privileges as well as being convertable: they allow him trips like the Kandersteg international centenary scout jamboree one last year, and a trip to Soustons on an outward bound trip this year, both of which will cost as much as a family holiday in a cottage in Wales or Scotland for a week!

This is why I love Weight Watchers. I'm not trying to sell them to you, but I just found it so flexible. You can have a day off for celebrations now and again, and just start again the next day: no guilt. We have occasional treats, not sins and bad foods.

I loved them all. :D

I'm still learning that one! It was so easy when I was teaching and had a regular timetable...

And us, who KNOW the lure of the scent of new fabric... and sewing machine oil!

Ursula, I've had great luck, and so have others I know, with the easiest method of all--portion control. There are sizes that you learn to eyeball that are the most optimal-sized portions, without either throwing off a balanced diet or making too much sacrifice. As in: your meat/protein course should be no larger than the palm of your hand, and vegetables should comprise something like 60% of the plate. Fresh salads help, as well, as long as the dressings are used sparingly, and not drenched over the greens. You can even have a treat now and then, as long as it's just a taste, and not an entire portion. I also find that alcohol packs on pounds; it's empty calories, and so my husband and I share a glass of wine at night, or I have nothing. It really works.

The weather will be getting better soon, won't it? That might help, too, especially if you're more inclined to take your little one out for a longer, more vigorous walk. I sympathize with you, truly, since I've been there myself! Good luck.

Ursula, Being a mom with a little one is not an easy job, Being in a place you don't like makes it worse. As you say you do have this group and it's a big outlet for you. Adults to "talk" to make a world of difference. I think most of us have had to face the same problems and understand your frustrations. A few suggestions, All my daughters felt the same as you about letting a stranger take a baby out,they solved the problem by calling the local college to find students who were willing to come into their homes for a few hours a week and look after the children while mom did something, at home, she wanted to do. That way they were able to free up a little time for projects, have the baby looked after and never leave the children alone with someone they didn't know. They were always on hand to supervise if necessary. Have you considered doing something like that? Can someone in your family come once in awhile and give you some time? When my children were small my Father-in-law would come to the house occasionally, take the children outside to play or sometimes fix dinner or let me get out to the store by myself.I had 4 children, my husband worked a 14 hour day, getting a business up and running and my parents lived far enough away and had full time jobs, so it was difficult for them to help. My FIL saved my sanity. Juno

Ah, on that sad chapter, please read my reply to Karen Maslowski. However, I will try...

Well, my cat Sparrow is named after Jack Sparrow because he used to be so talkative when I first saw him in the garden. That was even before I was allowed to pat and scratch. ;-) However, as this thread contains so many good ideas on babysitting and time management, I'm sure I'll be able to visit a real cinema in the very near future. OK, 'Pirates' are probably out on DVD by now, can't tell, lost track... But anyway! ;-)

I used to have so much trouble with regular timetables as soon as I left school. It only got better in the last three years or so. Studying architecture was my ruin, with nobody to make me go and do things. I was somewhat thriving in my days as a cabinetmaker, and I positively flourished when I did the foreign language correspondent thing. I guess it was just my kind of thing. But now I'm a housewife and mom and find myself the motor of our household and am sometimes not up to it. It's winter, DH is at home and staying in bed as long as he wants. Nothing gets done if I'm not behind it, and I sometimes am just too tired. I'm sure we'll find a solution for our little family...

Yes, that scent! And it is a special scent, indeed. I remembered it the moment I read. My mom's Elna machine used to be in a case and whenever you'd open it, this special scent would waft out. A promise of new garments, so to say. Oh, that reminds me (I wanted to ask but didn't dare in case it had been discussed before but now I just want to know it) : What does FTL sewing stand for? (OK, I'm stupid, I know. ;-))

U.

WW helped to teach me about portion control. The trick is to weigh everything until you get your eye in, and even then still check now and again, as the eyeballs drift...

All three out on DVD now... Have a Movie Night In at home, complete with popcorn and ice cream if you like. Skinny Cow ice cream is really yummy and not at all bad for the waistliine.

I went from boarding school to college, where I had regular lectures and a reading list a mile long to get through each week (never a big problem!), and then into teaching: timetables all the way! After I finished regular teaching, scheduling was my greatest downfall, and can still be problematic!

Faster Than Light! Blue-shifted sewing... ;)

And nothing beats the smell of warm sewing machine oil and new fabric TOGETHER! :D

Alan has been digging into the guts of my Frister & Rossman Cub 8, extracting the stitch selectore for repair... Wonderful smell in there...

Hm... My electronic Lily is wonderful, and the Bernina is great, but I'm looking forward to the kids' project in a couple of weeks, when I get out the Elnas and Singers and New Home and other golden Oldies with the fabulous smell!

Ursula,

Have a hug. I became a Mum at 33 and boy was it a shock to the system! There is a lot of adjustment to get through - child to care for, complete change in lifestyle, metal attitude changes, you name it, a lot happens.

1) Please check with your Doc / health visitor you haven't got post natal depression - I had a couple of weeks where all I did was cry!

2) babies like routines, and work best when kept in one. Learn to live with it, like it. And yes, the routine does change with time as the child grows

3) Give your DH a HUGE kick up the rear and make sure he does his share. I had BIG trouble with my DH - he carried on bachelor lifestyle while I hit 24hr / day Mummy-hood - it wasn't good. He gave me $%^&* all support the couple of weeks PND kicked in - he'd gone out one evening - popped back in to find DD in one room crying in the cot, and me in another screaming, crying and punching the wall in frustration and anger (yes, punching the wall hurts, but better that than DD......) - he went back out again - the next day I went to see my health visitor. 2 years down the line, he's finally doing more chores and spending more time with DD. It's not perfect, but better, and took a LOT of nagging to get there. Go for it! If he's home full time - get him to help 50% of the time - apart from those little chores only Mummy can do - which is only breastfeeding in my book!

HTH

Sarah

Sarah Dale wrote: I guess it was

Sarah, I'm so glad you told Ursula all the things you did. It sounds like she's either in a postpartum depression or heading for one. Right now Ursula you need all the support you can get. Please see your health care provider and talk it over with her/him. You can only stretch the rubber band so far you know. Back in the days when my children were babies few people believed that new mothers got depressed. Now it's a well recognized problem. As Sarah said get your DH up and helping. You didn't have this baby by yourself. It is unfair for all the work to land on one person. A baby is work and mommy needs time and help. Don't forget Ursula we are here. Juno