Handy Tip: How to Keep Your Duvet From Bunching Up

One thing I love is jumping into a nice comfy bed and crawling under a huge cozy duvet. Even better if the duvet cover is flannel. However, it only takes about 1 night before the duvet migrates through the cover and ends up in large bunches. Usually the duvet ends up on Hubby's side, and I end up with just a thin, measly cover to try and keep me warm. Less than ideal to say the least. 
And don't even get me started on trying to fix it. It's like some strange mix between a wrestling match and yoga. Holding one end up in the air while trying to somehow inch the cover back down. You get one corner in, only to have it back out again when you try to work on the next one. It's a nightmare. And definitely a 2 person job. 
I know there are clips you can purchase that supposedly solve the problem, but to be honest they looked like they wouldn't really help much at all. I had a feeling we would spend the money, install them, get our hopes up and then find out that they didn't work well and be stuck back in our original bunchiness, but this time even more frustrated since our hopes were dashed. 
So, when I was reading a forum I belong to and someone mentioned using ribbons, I was flabbergasted. Could the solution really be so easy?! And free?! Well, let me tell you that it is! 

You need:some old ribbon (the colour doesn't matter, as it will be hidden)A needle and some threadA lighter (if your ribbon will fray)
Start by cutting the ribbon into 2 lengths: 1 for the loops and one for the ties. The loops should be fairly small, to keep the duvet close to the corners. The ties should be long enough to tie a bow, or to double knot if you prefer. Once you cut your ribbon, be sure to hold the ends close to a flame so that they won't start to unravel when you wash them. 
Using your needle and thread, stitch the loops onto the corners of the duvet and the ties onto the inside corners of the duvet cover. You could also add ones in the middle, so that the sides don't sag if your duvet is thick and heavy.  (This is one project where it doesn't matter that my hand-sewing skills have not improved since Girl Guides. Phew!) 
And there you have it! Simple and free solution to an annoying problem! Thank you ladies of the internet! 

I've Climbed Mt Everest!

Well, not literally. More in the figurative sense. If you recall my sewing project (here for a refresher), it was not going too well. Ok, that might be an understatement. It was going atrociously. However, I have done it! The masterpiece is completed!

A friend of ours had finally had enough of reading along with my horrible failures. She came over with a different sewing machine and gave me some lessons. And thanks to her (Thanks Joan!!), I did it! 

First off, let me start by saying that most of my failure can be attributed to the sewing machine I was using. I have a feeling that no matter how skilled you are, you might have encountered some difficulty. I have absolutely no skill, so it was a train wreck. With the new sewing machine, I actually was able to produce a half-decent product.

And now for the results:

First, here was my practice project. This was started because I found out that I can't actually sew in a straight line, and needed the practice. I thought jumping right in to dressmaking was a little over my head, so I decided to make a baby blanket. 

All I had to do was sew 2 pieces of flannel together, and then bind it with a satin blanket binding. It actually was super easy once I got the machine figured out. And it turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. I mean, it's not like I could sell them or anything, but it's for our little Peanut. And as Hubby says,  as if he'll know the difference! It looks great from across the room. 

After I came off the high of actually completing something, and rather successfully, I tried to tackle that beauty of a dress. Remember the one? Here's what it's supposed to look like:

I went with the red and white version. The material was from 1980, and has been laying all folded up in a bag with the half cut-out pattern for 30 years. I've laundered it twice, and it is still holding on strong to the creases. My mom didn't get too far with the whole project. After Joan gave me a quick tutorial on how to gather the fabric, I started off on my own. 

It was pretty difficult, I'm not going to lie. Mostly because I have no idea what most of the instructions mean. Sure, it sounds easy, and they have little pictures, but I really don't know what the heck they are talking about. I had to apply a healthy dose of logical reasoning to figure out what they MUST mean, and tried it from there. 

I had one fatal error, which was buying a zipper which was 2 inches too long. I just looked for a red zipper. It didn't occur to me that they come in different sizes!! Also, I really didn't do a very good job of sewing that puppy on. The hard won straight-sewing skills all went to hell after I put on the zipper foot thingy. In any case, some unsightly improvised adjustments and it became functional. 

I put it on to show Hubby, and he was all proud and gushy about me finishing it. Although any compliments on how it actually looked were noticeably absent. And I do have to admit, it looks rather like a floral potato sack. Any thoughts of me having this amazingly retro dress to stroll around in, amidst the oohs and aahs of envious preggos were put to rest that day. In order to make it slightly less sacky, I added a ribbon between the ever decreasing area between the bust and the belly. But I just tied it on. That part wasn't in the instructions. 

So, without further ado, here she is! The most hard-won, unattractive maternity outfit EVER!!

I wore it over to my Mom and Dad's place for mother's day, and it was a cute little surprise for my mommy. 

This adventure has definitely not inspired me to start sewing my own clothes yet, although I think I might tackle some sheets and a crib skirt for the nursery. But there really is nothing like the feeling of defeating an inanimate object.

Duck Face

Choices...Do We Have To??

One of the hardest things about this whole pregnancy journey, and impending arrival of our little man is all the decisions we have to make. Some decisions have been so easy, and we are excited about them. For example, we are going to cloth diaper our little one. But others? Oh boy…and Hubby and I may be the most indecisive people in the whole world.

When we were travelling, this indecisiveness was perfect. Since we could not really make plans in advance due to our inability to actually opt for one course of action over another, we usually just ended up going with the flow, and that was always the right choice. Not being tied down to a strict itinerary really made for an amazing travel experience. However, now that we are settled down, and decisions need to be made all. the. time. we are struggling. Take for instance the simple act of what to do on a Friday night. Last Friday we were trying to decide what to do after work. Would we go to a movie? Out for a bite to eat? Stay in and watch one of the 3 million movies we have on the PVR (we just got HBO…it’s a habit)? We could NOT decide. Luckily, my parents sent a text that they were going to the pub by our house for some wings, so they decided for us, and we joined them. Phew! Crisis averted!

But now that we are supposed to be the adults, and we will be responsible for someone else’s life, the stakes are much higher. It’s not just us that we can potentially screw up! The decisions range from inconsequential in the grand scheme of things (what to do with the nursery) to potentially life-altering (naming our baby…will he need therapy because of our choice later in life??).

When we first got pregnant, it was easy to postpone these decisions because we didn’t know the gender, and so we didn’t really feel any pressure. But it’s been  3 months since we found out we are most likely having a boy, and we were still stuck in the rut of not actually deciding anything last week. We talked about a million different options for names, and looked at paint samples in Home Depot 10 times, and were still never any closer to deciding anything. Every new option we came up with just made things harder.

However, we finally have made some headway this week, and I think we have both a plan for the nursery, and a name. The problem is, neither of us really want to fully commit to it yet, since we keep thinking there might be something out there that is the “perfect” one. These plans are awesome, but are they perfect?! I think we have to give up the dream that we will ever feel we have 100% made the right decision. This, from what I understand, is part of being a parent, and it’s going to get a lot harder!

Finally making a firm (well, sort of), confident (it’s not set in stone or anything) decision on these 2 things has really given Hubby and I a boost. We did it (for the most part)! We decided important things like adults do!  Huzzah!

I have an update about my sewing project, but in order to post it I would like to have a little photo session. Every night after work we have planned to do it, and every night a hurricane-force wind blows in (ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration…but it’s really windy), and we can’t do them. So, hopefully we will be able to grab some this weekend, and then you can see the monstrosity  dress.

Also, a huge thank you to everyone who voted for the Top 25 Pregnancy Journals from Circle of Moms. We did it! I placed 3^rd! How exciting! There will be a feature on their website, including an interview. So stay tuned for that…

What's New Pussycat?

So exciting news! I have been nominated for Circle of Moms Top 25 Pregnancy Journals. Woo hoo! If you would like to help me make the list, then please click through the little pink badge on the right hand side and vote for Up Mommy Creek. A big heartfelt thank you to all the readers who have voted so far! You guys all rock! The voting is open until May 18^th, and you can vote once per day.

Because of this nomination, my brother actually read my blog. Previous to this, I don’t think he even knew what it looked like (although he definitely knew it existed). When Hubby posted the link about the nomination on his Facebook page, Brother Dearest commented that the blog was actually pretty good, so he threw in a vote. Now, my bro has been campaigning hard for us to name our little Peanut after him (well, for a middle name). My brother’s nickname has been Mike D. for a very long time. So he would like us to name our child Peanut (well, a real name, but we are indecisive) Mike-Dee OurLastName. For real. Needless to say, we haven’t considered it.

Yet, somehow the bargain was struck between Hubby and Brother that if Brother spread the word about the nomination, that we would consider this Mike-Dee business. So he did. And then he got interested in the outcome, since I was pretty close to the top at that time. There are 2 things I know for sure about my brother. 1 is that he is incredibly competitive. 2 is that he never lets things go. EVER. So, this has now become a personal campaign for him to win me the top spot, simply for the act of winning. He sends me morning updates about his voting, and the current status of my blog in the standings. He posts witty blurbs about it on Facebook. He is mobilizing his immense network of friends to vote for a pregnancy blog. It’s quite astounding and amusing, really. So thanks Mike D and all of Mike D’s friends. Hopefully the world of preggo-ness is a little less mystifying for you now.

Update on my sewing project (see here for more info):

After many weeks of being at a stand-still due to a malfunctioning bobbin winder on the machine (Sister-In-Law came over and confirmed it was not my incompetence. The machine is, in fact, not able to wind a bobbin), I finally just decided to use a white bobbin and purchased a pre-wound one. I had attempted to sew the pocket for the dress, and quickly discovered that in order to be able to sew a dress, you actually need to be able to sew in a straight line. Which I am not able to do. At all. Even though there are guides on the machine to make it easy. So, I decided to practice first by making a flannel baby blanket for Peanut.

The best thing about this (in my mind) was that it was super easy, since you just had to sew a square, and all the stitching would be covered up by the satin binding. And by the time I got to the binding, I would be a pro sewer. (Wait…sewer? That just spells sewer, and I know I am not a pro receptacle for waste…edit that to be seamstress.) Well, I did sew the square, in a horrendous massacre of thread and flannel. I don’t think there is even an inch of the blanket that has straight stitches. Even my Mom couldn’t say anything nice about it. It was THAT BAD. But no worries, right? It will be covered by the binding! So, I went to sew the binding, but then I broke the machine’s needle.

So really, I am the worst possible seamstress in the world. However, I will not give up! I will still attempt to sew the horrible monstrosity that will be called “dress”. A couple of you have mentioned that you are actually very good at sewing, so I may take you up on the offer for help. I think I probably have the machine set up wrong as well. This is not my forte. The good thing is that the weather has been so disgusting (it snowed today), that even if it was gloriously assembled, I wouldn’t be able to wear it yet anyway. So I will keep trying to plug along. Even though it is agonizingly painful, and incredibly embarrassing. 

Update on pregnancy:

I have entered the Twilight Zone stage. After the general miserableness (throwing up, exhausted, breaking out) of the First Trimester, the Second Trimester was like a All-Inclusive resort. I felt much better and the morning sickness eased up about midway through, and cleared up completely near the end. My skin improved. I started feeling the baby move, and so did Hubby, and it was amazing and cool, and real! I had a ton more energy, and my appetite was just right.

Well, the Third Trimester has begun, and it’s much less awesome. Things are just generally uncomfortable now. My feet are tight, my ankles are swollen, Peanut is starting to encroach on my lung space so sitting, standing, laying down, everything is uncomfortable. The awesome little kicks are starting to become creepy alien movements in my belly. You can see my belly moving and rippling. I really wonder what the heck he is doing in there. Also, he likes to perform these acrobatic feats at the most inopportune times. Mostly this involves bedtime. Also, things have started leaking. Things that have never leaked before. Very weird. Cue music…

Nothing but Failure...

I am seriously getting discouraged with this whole sewing thing. I was this close to throwing the bobbin and the bobbin case out the window this morning. The only thing stopping me was that there is a massive snow storm (oh yeah, another thing that has me super cheery today...) and I didn't want to get cold, since the room was nice and toasty. So instead, I threw them on the carpet and stormed out of the room.


The thing about it, is that it's not my ineptitude that is causing the problem, it's that the machine won't wind a bobbin. (I am a little bit proud of myself for knowing what a bobbin is now). So even if I can eventually get it to wind a bit, it's all uneven, and then I can't sew because the whole thing falls apart underneath, and I have to start all over again. And every time I have to start again, my frustration level rises until I eventually had a Chernobyl-like breakdown and stormed downstairs. I didn't even get to sew 1 crooked stitch (which WOULD be due to my ineptitude...apparently sewing straight is not something I possess in my skill set). Hubby has wisely not said anything and is upstairs hiding until he judges it to be safe to come down.


I did start on my dress, and definitely realized I am in over my head, but I know that I will try and finish it, even if it looks hideous. I thought I might try and sew a simple flannel blanket for Baby, since it is really very easy (just stitch in a straight-ish line 4 times), and would give me some practice for the dress. Well, I haven't even been able to get past pinning the blanket because of the machine, and so I am in severe danger of giving up. I am the type of person who needs to have some successes if I am to continue doing something. Having nothing but failures is very dangerous, and leads to me getting so upset I never pick it up again. Which is very common, and most likely why I have absolutely no hobbies. It is not feasible that I can do things well on the first try, but if I can't, then I quit. Sigh...


Anyway, I looked online and it seems that you can purchase a bobbin-winder device for a rather small fee. So once the condo people dig us out of our house, I will head into the Large Store of Insanity (i.e. Wal-Mart) and pick one up and try again. At least that is the plan.


So now I am sitting here fuming at an inanimate object. And I can't even go for a walk to clear my head because I don't own snowshoes. Perhaps I should go and bake something. At least I know I am pretty decent at that, plus it has the added bonus of me getting to devour whatever sweet deliciousness that results to ease my pain.


I will most likely make this: Pioneer Woman's Raspberry Crisp (delicious, but still slightly "healthy")


But I wish I could make this: How Sweet Eats' Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake
(Stupid snowstorm is keeping me from getting the required ingredients...)


Also, I wish I could finish a nice bottle of red wine as well, but I guess that is not the best thing for a preggo to be doing these days...

A New Adventure!

We were at my parent’s house last night for dinner, and my mom surprised me by saying she had a sewing pattern for a maternity dress and fabric from when she was pregnant with me that she never used, and since I have a sewing machine now, would I like it? I was pretty surprised. First off, I didn’t know my mom sewed, really (well, considering she never made the dress, maybe she didn’t?!?). Second, I actually have no idea how to use the sewing machine at all.

The extent of my sewing knowledge is what I learned in Girl Guides, which is basically how to hand sew a badge to your sash. I have gotten by all these years by employing my very horribly limited hand-sewing talents to the jobs that arose. If anyone ever got a good look at the hem jobs I have done, they would be horrified; it looks like a 7 year old did it. When I moved to Alberta in Grade 9, I was forced to take a Home Economics class, which did include a sewing unit. I remember I made a pretty simple dress. I also remember that when it came time for the fashion show where all the students had to show off their projects, the straps on my dress came off from the shoddy job I did, and I had to emergency MacGuyver it with safety pins. My dress wasn’t even able to stay together for me to wear it once for 5 minutes. So sad. This experience was only slightly overshadowed by the Shop teacher telling me that I was perhaps the worst student to ever attempt the photography unit. Well, I win, because then they invented digital cameras, and I didn’t have to learn any of that crap, SO THERE! Victory is mine!!! Anyway…

So, when Hubby’s sister gave me the family’s old sewing machine, I thought it would be an awesome idea. I imagined myself sewing all these cool outfits, and a whole bunch of stuff for the baby, and having the hems on my pants actually straight. Well, I soon realized once I got the thing home that I have absolutely no idea how to use it. In fact, I don’t even know what I need to use it. I am assuming thread. But I seem to remember something about a bobbin from Home Ec, so that adds another dimension of mystery to it. Needless to say it has sat in the spare room and I haven’t even taken the cover off of it yet.

So this dress is the perfect opportunity, right? It’s a little dated, I admit, but vintage is totally in now, isn’t it? Here is the pattern (I will not be using the beautiful beach fabric, nor will I be making the blazer…let’s keep this simple).

I really think that my expectations are probably completely unrealistic about completing this dress in a wearable fashion. However, I am willing to try. It’s sort of cool that the dress my mom was going to wear while pregnant with me will be worn by me. That is, if I don’t end up like my mom. She got as far as pinning the pattern to the fabric. But hey, at least that step is done, right?!

I have this vision of me all gloriously and radiantly pregnant in the summer (if it ever comes…) with this awesome dress that I sewed and someone will approach me and  it will go like this:

Random admiring person on the street: “Where did you get such a fabulous dress?”

Me: “Oh, this little thing? My mom bought the pattern 30 years ago when she was pregnant with me, and I just whipped it together.”

Random admiring person walks away all envious because it’s so unique and vintage, and they will be flabbergasted at my amazing sewing skills.

In reality, it might end up more like this:

Mom: So, how did that dress make out

Me: I don’t want to talk about it

Or like this:

Random observer: What the heck are you wearing?!

Me: (thinking up a lie really quick) “Um, my 5 year old niece made it for me, and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings” (as I slowly slink away in shame)

So, I will attempt this little project, and I will keep you guys updated on my progress (or lack of). Wish me luck! Also, if anyone knows how to work a sewing machine, I would be much obliged if you could give me some pointers…like, what the heck a bobbin is, for starters.