Quick March Update

My Ocean Waves is coming along - I am now up to adding the plain borders and then the pieced borders.  All the fabrics are homespun - yikes!  Lots of stretchy triangles but I am in the homestretch now.

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I figured out a German sewing pattern!  Yes, I did.  It is from a pattern magazine called Moden Diana.  Now, I don't know if I "followed" the directions because I couldn't understand them - but I think the dress turned out pretty good!  It actually took me longer to find all the supplies to trace the pattern (I needed a pronged wheelie-thingy and I use gift wrap for paper).  Here is a photo before I put the final hem in - it is now hemmed and I fixed that the back was slightly longer than the front.  I tried the dress on to check the hem and then my son and I were playing with the self-timer.  I love this photo of us - look how much he is growing!!!

Here is a little line-diagram of the dress so you can see the details.  I did top-stitch all the seams - especially where the skirt joins the bodice to help hold it all down.  I am getting ready for warmer weather!

I've gone with my son's class 2X for iceskating lessons.  There are no school buses here so that involves walking 20 kids down the busy city sidewalks and waiting for the tram - getting them all on and off the tram, etc.  The kids had alot of fun, but it was very hard on me being outside for so long - my lungs are still very sensive to cold air.  Here they are (about 1/2 the group) - lined up for some sort of relay thing.

The kids all have rigid backpack/bookbags which are much different than the backpacks the kids use in North America.  But the bags are bulky, especially on the crowded trams, so the kids also have very small snack backpacks or messenger bags for class outings.  Oh, how my son really wanted this red plaid messenger bag featuring Felix the Bunny.  So, this is his snack bag now.  Just the right size for a few snacks and his water bottle.  He has younger cousins we can pass it on down to when he outgrows the theme, but right now he is pleased as punch with this bag!

They didn't go this week because all week at school they had a special study of Africa and Friday they put on a concert/show for the parents.  Lots of bongo drumming!  My son really enjoyed the week which included food, dancing, singing and decorating t-shirts with wood blocks, plus all the stuff they learned.  I thought it was a nice change of pace for the kids mid-winter.

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We have also been to the opera house to see a special program that was being put on for children.  We got a tour of opera house which was more like a 45 minute lecture and all the kids really had to suffer through it after losing interest in about 15 minutes.  But, we did see some interesting stuff back-stage.  The show we saw was 80 Days Around the World, which was good, but again - a bit long for the kids.  All in all though it was a nice activity for a cold Saturday.  I will have to go back another day to take photos of the outside, but here is a photo of the inside that I took during the tour.

So, I am trying to stay busy - but let me tell you - I am tired of winter!  We had ONE nice day and I got all excited and washed up the winter coats and gear and had my DH carry the boots down to our storage area in the basement - and don't you know - it turned cold and snowed alot a few days later.  The nerve!