DIY Play Kitchen

My husband is a brilliant man. I mentioned that I wanted to make Audrey a play kitchen for Christmas. After a few drawings and after much discussion we settled on it delivering it sometime during Phil's vacation time (but wouldn't be finished in time for Christmas). I originally imaged something simple and wooden, without much detail. What we got, though, is a gorgeous miniature country kitchen that I am a little envious of. Phil built the frame out of new timber but the sides, benchtop, faucets, sink bowl, hinges, and doorknobs are all recycled materials. The sides are made out of wooden floorboards and the faucets were found in a trash heap (years ago! We've had them saved ever since). The sink is a metal bowl that I found at a thrift store. The bench top are two wooden shelves that Phil sanded down and fit together to make it deeper. The result is beautiful!

Audrey loves her little kitchen and faithfully makes me 'tea' and 'coffee' and 'dinner' all day long. She carefully lays out the dishes and pretends to wash her hands over and over. It's a treat to watch her play and enjoy something that we* made by hand.

Next is a stove/oven and a little pantry.

*Okay. Phil made it. I just stood around and clapped when things got particularly exciting. Also, I helped paint. But let's not get confused... Phil was definitely the brains AND braun behind this operation. MY HUSBAND IS AMAZING.

Pomegranate Progress

I've been making some slow and steady progress on spinning up this merino and silk for the baby. I'm really liking the way it's turning out!

Have you been working on any special projects lately? I've usually always got a few projects going.

Cardigan Restyle

Thoughts while they're still fresh:

1. Sewing baby clothes is AWESOME. So quick. I'm feeling extremely productive right now. I finished sewing this entire project in an afternoon. BOOM.
2. Knits. Not as hard as I thought but... still a little tricky. In hindsight I'd tell myself, "GO SLOWER! THIS IS NOT A RACE!" Even though it kind of always is a race against the clock (you know, when Audrey rises from her afternoon slumber).
3. DRATS. I messed up the collar. Twice. Oh well.
4. WAHWWWW!!! SO LITTLE AND CUTE!
5. I need a baby to cuddle.

I've had this old XS cardigan lying around for ages. It's insanely soft. It's from Target. And it stopped buttoning up over my bod a long time ago (pre-pregnancy, even). Well, I mean... It still buttoned fine, it just showed off my love handles in a few unsavory way. So yeah, there's that. Into the "donate, sell, or reuse" pile it went. It sat there for years because that's how I roll. Then I came across a LOVELY sewing pattern in a fancy-pants sewing magazine my dear friend Sarah lent to me. Seeing the pattern for the baby pullover was love at first sight and I knew if I fiddled with it a little I could make it work with the fabric from the cardigan.

So I sewed this up in like 2 seconds. (Kind of)

Now all I need is a baby to put it in! And winter.

Spinning wool: For the baby

I splashed out on some extra fancy wool to spin for the new baby! I have big plans for a baby blanket (and possibly a matching hat and sweater). After days of searching I finally settled on this luscious silk and merino blend by Ashford in the Pomegranate color way. This luxuriously soft blend boasts deep pinks, mauves, burgundy and an array of orange hues. Perfect for our baby girl but mature enough for me to love.

It's downright delicious. Stay tuned for when I spin it up into a soft, lofty yarn! And then knit it.

I better get started.

Colored Wooden Playing Blocks

Dear Reader,

My name is Philip van der Wel: husband to Talia Christine van der Wel, and papa to Audrey Eleanor van der Wel. I love them with all of my heart, particularly Talia.


Introductions aside, I make no claims to be a carpenter in any sense of the word. I do, however, love to work with wood. Six or so months ago I decided to fashion some wooden playing blocks for Audrey; like the ones I, and so many of you I am sure, played with as children.

I searched through my meagre timber collection and found a few bedraggled posts I had previously collected from a neighbor's landfill-bound trailer, which looked to be the right dimension for blocks.



I took to them with 80 grit sandpaper and was pleased to find a beautiful grain beneath the weathered moss-covered exterior.



I decided on lengths (four times the width, three times the width, and so forth), cut each to size, and rounded the corners. You will notice I dangerously cleverly devised a bench-sander by clamping my upside down belt-sander to a saw horse.




I was happy so far, and tempted to keep them al naturale. I decided to let our daughter be the judge, and placed her amongst the blocks.





Her initial confusion turned to elation, and then quickly to disinterest (or rather re-interest in whatever else was within her reach).

In the end I did color them. I mixed green, yellow, red, and blue food dye with boiling water (in separate containers), soaked the blocks for ten minutes or so, and let them dry over the next few days. We were a little worried about the color leaching onto our offspring and their (future tense) clothing but thankfully our worries were not realized.




Colored wooden playing blocks.

Fin.


Thank you all for taking the time to read my first ever (multi-lingual) blog post. I am going to make an effort to document more projects, big and small, so you'll be hearing from me now and again.

On a side note, Audrey rarely plays with her blocks. I take comfort in the aesthetic value they add to her toy corner.



Phil, the Husband

Zeal Night Market

Things are a bit mental around here lately! We're preparing for our first market next month right here in Hamilton--Zeal Night Market.

So exciting!

You can expect to see pretty handmade moccasins, clutches and burper cloths made from up-cycled vintage linens, some hand spun yarn and a few bits of this and that.

But between baby wrangling, blog designs, and cooking dinner I have less time that I'd like to work on crafty things for the market. Busy busy busy!

So come on down to Zeal Night Market next month and pop on down to our stall to say hello!

xoxo

Coming Soon

Handmade from us to you.

See more: Here

Coming Soon

Handmade from us to you.

See more: here

Coming Soon

Handmade from us to you.

Handmade Dolls

With Phil's help we finished the rag dolls last night! I sewed the dresses and he helped make and stitch the doll wigs while we watched The Mentalist last night. He's the best. And I'm so proud with how they turned out!

A bit about the dolls:

The dolls and dresses were made with my own pattern. All the dresses are made from vintage linens. The hair is a mixture of handspun and commercial yarn. The faces are left blank to allow more room for the imagination! This way the dolls can be happy, sad, sleeping, or awake!

I love them. I hope our little nieces like them too. (I always get nervous when I give away handmade gifts!)

xo
Talia Christine

Baby Moccasins

Remember earlier this year when Phil and I worked on some prototypes for making baby moccasins? We finally came up with a shoe we were happy with but needed to try them out on a baby. After Audrey came along we realized that our design didn't stay on baby feet very well, so it was back to the drawing board to find something that actually stayed on.

We're really happy with the moccasins! Audrey is a little enamored with them too. She likes to stare at her feet and tries to grab the shoes. Cute!







We have two designs, with fringe and without.
The sizes range from 6 weeks-12 months.

Each moccasin is hand cut from recycled leather and hand-stitched. The soles are machine stitched for reinforcement.

We've decided to sell a limited number of these moccasins initially at a special price of 30 dollars (plus shipping). Please email me at taliavanderwel(at)gmail(dot)com if you are interested!

xoxo
Talia Christine

Baby Moccassins

We've been busy around here and we've finished the final prototype for our baby moccasins!

After lots and lots of mockups, stitching and restitching, we finally have a pattern that we're ready to go forward with! We'll start production and sizing soon. I'm so excited! Stay tuned!

P.S. - Why is anything miniature SO MUCH cuter than its bigger size?

xoxo
Talia Christine

First Blanket

I finally finished spinning and knitting the blanket for Baby vdW! I love how it turned out and it's incredibly soft. I've put the blanket in the bassinet and I can't stop taking little peeks at it and imagining our little one snoozing in it.

Today marks 4 more weeks until the due date! One more week and I'll be considered full term. We are getting so close!








With the leftover yarn I made a little matching hat (Phil's idea) so when the Little is all swaddled up he or she has a little hat to match! CUTE! I think I'm going to work on some little booties tonight.

Total yardage spun: 646 yards 3-ply
Weight: fingering/worsted
Blend: merino/tencel

xoxo
Talia Christine