A Visit from Sankt Nikolaus

When we woke up last Saturday, we'd had a visit from SANKT NIKOLAUS!  Now we have Bo (who was born here in Germany), we decided that this was a tradition we'd like to start in our household.  

When they go to bed on the night of the 5th December, German children leave their boots by the door.  In the night, Sankt Nikolaus stops by and stuffs little gifts and sweets into the shoes.       

Though, all along, we were keen to start following the St. Nik tradition with Bo, we didn't want it to detract from our family's Christmas stocking tradition.  When I was younger, I LOVED opening my stocking pressies on Christmas morning!  I'd drag my stocking into my parents' room (before even going downstairs to spy on my 'big' presents under the tree), wake them up, climb into their bed, and start unwrapping.  The presents in my stocking were always just little 'bits and bobs' (things like colouring books, pencils, bubble bath, hair bands, small books and toys, sweets, and ALWAYS ALWAYS chocolate coins) - but I thought they were FANTASTIC!  Because I loved my stockings so much, I want to do something similar with Bo.  BUT, the sorts of things I see as stocking-fillers are exactly the same sorts of things that St. Nik brings kids over here!  

SO.....  we decided that St. Nik would always bring Bo JUST Christmas-related things (we were thinking decorations, baking kits, Christmas books and colouring books, christmassy outfits, christmassy craft kits, chocoltate Santas, candy canes, christmassy stationary bits).  This way, he can use and enjoy his gifts in the run-up to Christmas - AND opening his St. Nik gifts will be totally different from opening his stocking gifts on Christmas morning.  So, we contacted St. Nik - and he was fine with our plan!

Here's what Bo woke up to on his very first Sankt Nikolaus Tag.....

Check out his tiddly little boot:

A Santa outfit/babygrow:

A stripy reindeer top:

A stocking to hang up on Christmas Eve (mommy-made, of course):

  

And two christmassy dribble-bibs (also mommy-made):

Thank you, St. Nik!!!

What are your best memories of Christmas traditions from your childhood???

See you soon.....

Carly

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Baby's Bedroom

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post!  You're all so sweet!!!

Now here's a post I've been meaning to do for aaages.....  Bo's bedroom!  

It was a joint effort.  Simon did all the decorating, sticking on of wall-stickers, and putting together of IKEA furniture.  And I did all the making (and buying)!

Here it is (apologies in advance for the photo-overload).....

We're very happy with how it turned out!  I love how bright and colourful it is!  We hope Bo'll like it when he eventually starts sleeping in there.....  Fingers crossed!!!

See you soon!

Carly

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Bo's Rainbow Triangles Cot Quilt

Since I posted that our little Bo had been born, I've had so many messages and mails from you all, asking how he's doing and how I'm feeling.....  Thank you SO much for caring - and for being such lovely, lovely blogging pals!!!

We're all doing good!  Simon's been back at school (work) for 3 weeks now.  I was REALLY spoilt having him at home with us for almost two months over the summer holidays, and dreaded the start of term.  But being 'home alone' with Bo has been fine.  He's a good boy - he doesn't cry TOO much, and has settled into a pretty predictable routine.  I have to admit that I still haven't managed to find the time to do any crafting since he was born.  But I'm working on it..... ;-)

So, today's show-and-tell is about another project completed pre-Bo.  This is the quilt I made for the cot in his bedroom:

And here's a sneaky peek at the quilt IN Bo's bedroom (another blog post, coming soon):

This quilt is the first I've made from triangular pieces.  I found sewing them together a bit fiddly at first (I had to do some un-picking because my rows were wonky), but it got easier after a few goes!  

When I'd finished it, I was REALLY pleased with how it looked!  In fact, I think it's probably my FAVOURITE EVER make!!!  :-) 

Which of your makes are you most proud of???

Until next time.....

Carly

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New Garden Furniture

I know that, at the end of my last post, I said my next one would probably be about another quilt I made for Bo. But then I remembered that I'd taken some photos of our new garden furniture - and the bits and bobs I made to prettify it.  

So, a change of plan.....  I've decided to post a show-and-tell about the garden stuff first, before it feels too autumny to write about that kind of thing!

Knowing that we'd be staying at home for the summer this year (and that we'd be having several sets of visitors), we decided to buy some new garden furniture so that we'd be able to enjoy the sunshine right here.  

We found a set that we liked in IKEA (of course).  But it needed brightening up, I thought (actually, I was just in need of a new sewing project at that time).  So I made some patchwork cushions for the seats, and some coasters for the table.  Here they are(along with a couple of flower photos).....

When I'd finished making the cushions and coasters, I planned to make a couple of lengths of bunting to match.  But little Bo arrived before I got the chance. It's on my 'to-do' list for next spring.....

Happy Friday!!!

Carly

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Mini-cot Quilt

Hello there,

Thank you all SO much for your sweet comments on my last post.  You're all so kind!  

This time, I wanted to show you a quilt I made for Bo, before he was born (of course BEFORE he was born - I haven't yet found the time for ANY crafting SINCE).  

One of the first baby items we bought was a 'mini-cot'.  We wanted something for the baby to sleep in, in our bedroom, for the first few months.  But we weren't keen on any of the moses baskets or cribs we'd seen around.  They were all either really stylish but WAY too expensive, or a reasonable price but WAY too flouncy/pastely/twee for our tastes.  Then we saw this 'mini-cot' on Kiddicare.  It was exactly what we'd had in mind - and it was a sensible price!

So then I had to make a quilt to go inside it.  Of course, it's only been used for decorative purposes (advise is to definitely NOT use quilts for babies), but I had to make one just the same!  

And, here it is.....

And here are some photos of our bedroom (there's a whole post on it here) - I made Bo's quilt to match, of course.....

Next time, I think I might do a 'show-and-tell' of the quilt I made for Bo's BIG cot.....  because a baby can never have too many (purely decorative) quilts!!!  

Wishing you all a happy (and sunny) weekend.....

Carly

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