Another Fabric Giveaway I Won Has Arrived!

Yeay! As mentioned before in this post, I won 2 fabric giveaways from Sew Mama Sew giveaway day last year. This one also comes from Canada from the lovely blog Fabulous Home Sewn. The blogger Fenna is a lovely lady, I'm so happy I discovered her blog during the giveaway :)

These are the pretty fabrics I won, I am so happy!

I mean who doesn't love cute owl prints? I love everything owl-y!

I love the jewel tones! They are fat quarters and I think this would make very cute baby girl patchwork quilts!

Thank you so much for the fabrics Jenna!

Second Label & My Etsy Shop!

Yesss! I've taken the plunge and created my 2nd label & opened my Etsy shop :D

I made this decision after much thought. I need a more neutral label as my first label Lovemelots Creations is just too girly for me to sew anything other than girls dresses. I can't even use it to sew boys outfits for baby E lol! So I just decided this time it has to be a label I could use for anything else I want to sew while Lovemelots will remain exclusively for girls clothing :)

Have you noticed the Etsy mini on the right of this blog? Yep, feel free to drop by! I love the freedom to create over there. I am still searching for my niche though but as of now I am just listing what I managed to sew up in between custom dresses order for Lovemelots, which currenly am operating solely on Facebook.

I am still thinking if I should change the name of this blog to Stitch by Zura or not. It's too much work for me at the moment so I'm just gonna let it be for now :)

Meanwhile, I have so many things to sew in between tending to this bubba of mine who is fast approaching his first birthday! I knowww....so fast I can't believe it!

Ribbon Tag Block Toy For Baby Erfan

Erfan is at this stage where he  chews on EVERYTHING....sighhh.....

So I made him a soft toy cube block with ribbon tags for him to play and chew on...

I appliqued his initial E on the front of the block and used a few cute prints from my scraps. There are many tutorials online for this type of toy, I referred mainly to this and this. But I made mine bigger with 6 inches initial cut of squares. It's not very fat because I ran out of fiberfill but it is fluffy still.

Erfan loves it of course! And you have to excuse me for the pics overload...  :P

Last one I promise! This is the face that I kiss everyday mmmuaaahhh!

My Sweet Aisha Learns To Knit

When I was pregnant with Erfan, I had this strong urge to knit something warm and nice for the baby. Problem was - I don't know how. So I just bought some yarn and went at it.

Ermmm....I got bored after 10 rows of repetitive movement :P

So when my girl Aisha told me she wants to learn I handed ove all my yarn and tools and she begin her new knitting adventure with the help of Youtube tutorials :D

She was SO determined, but she had a few mishaps that saw the first 2 projects thrown out (mainly size issues). But on her 3rd attempt, she managed to complete a small-ish beanie hat for her baby brother.

It's tiny and barely covers baby Erfan's huge head lol!! The reason it is a tad small is because somehow she got the yarn pulled and tangled beyond salvation so she had to cut the project short.

We still put it on Erfan though. Mainly because we are so excited that unlike mummy, Aisha actually has the patience to knit yeay!

We could get a few more wear out of this. Afterwards, we will gift this cute hat to my brother & sister in law who are expecting their first baby  boy in January. Another nephew yeay!

I want to encourage Aisha to explore her creative side more. I love that she is a doer instead of a dreamer like me. Love her to bits!

Here's the big boss, he's going to be an 8 month old in 5 days, how fast time flies! :'(

Till next posts folks, have a productive day! <3 p="">

WIP Wednesday

Haha...I'm gonna start my own wip post here!

I do have a few projects at one time in my sewing room. Figured it would be fun to share this in my blog and the documentation will in the future provides me with some insight on how long it would take me to finish my projects. Some projects, like quilts for example, takes longer to finish. And I'd love to look back and see what were my thoughts when I firts started these projects.

First of all, of course current dress orders in production. I do have at least 2 dresses cut up and in queue for sewing at any one time. The time it takes to finish them will really depends on how many good sewing hours I get, which of course depends on baby nap time now :P

These 2 ruffle neck dresses, one in Circa and another in Pam Kitty Love. BOTH yummy! :D

Next, my quilty project. I have started on a baby quilt I'm gifting my SIL who is now expecting her first baby, my 4th nephew yeay!!!

I am so excited for this new arrival as this time around Mami Zura is hooked on making quilts so this is a great opportunity for me to practice.

I am making pinwheel blocks for the first time and I love it! I am bravely not following a pattern because I just want a simple quilt using pinwheel blocks. But now I wish I had followed a pattern because all the maths and trimming down blocks are making me dizzy lol....

That's it for WIP Wednesday! What do you have brewing in your sewing room at the moment? I would love to hear about it and visit your blog. Till later, thanks for reading! *hugs*

Little Snippets

...of update that is... :)

Wow...long time no blog....Eid 2013 went by so fast I didn't even get to blog about it this year. I guess I'd just pick up where I left off and try my best to keep this blog alive. Besides, I meant this to be a space my kids would be able to come to and read when they grow up :)

I've been busy...you know, living, sewing and mostly...being a mom. And of course, kissing and cuddling this little bear of mine :

Hehe...yup, baby Erfan is now 6 months plus, and growing like weed! And very much loved by his big sisters too. Cheeky and mostly happy...we are blessed.

 

I'm sure you noticed how chubby he is now...already over 8 kg at 6 months. However, he is  not rolling over yet. Sometimes I forget that he is a premature baby, so mommy is trying not to worry too much with this developmental delay. We still could not believe that he used to look this tiny and frail as a newborn (in the NICU) :

...and 6 months later, he is this cheeky little angel...

...such a delightful baby, always happy and smiling and of course at the center of every camera shots lol...here he is with mommy dearest :D

I guess that's all for now. I have mentioned before that other than sewing dresses for my customers, I have now ventured into the exciting world of quilting. I am so hooked, there is no turning back lol. It is now what I obsessed about in my reading, blog haunts etc. I am like a sponge, absorbing all I could learn about the craft. I have been practicing with baby quilts, patchwork blanket and mug rugs.

My next posts will be on the quilting I managed to do, one example is this one I made for Erfan when he was in my tummy :)

Till then, if you are on Instagram, feel free to follow me zura_lovemelots. I post pictures a lot over there :) 

Oh and I also wanna say, thank you for still reading...love you! :)

Turning A New Page

Yup. I am going through a major change in life at the moment and taking steps to ensure it's going to be a smooth ride.

Other than being occupied with my lil bean, Erfan who's now a little over 2 months old, I am also busy sewing my heart's out to complete this year's Raya orders. These are some completed so far and mama still going strong lol

And the best news came a few days ago :

Alhamdulillah...my application for unpaid leave was approved. Yes, I am taking couple of years off work to focus on the kids and family. This also means I will work harder on Lovemelots Creations as it is no longer a side job, it is now my only job, a sole source of income for me. Therefore whatever decisions I make for Lovemelots will now be a business decision and a matter of survival :)

I am so excited to venture on a new life without the stress and guilt that comes with having a full time job outside. I know for sure that my heart & soul belongs in this home with my family. Thank you Allah for answering my prayers & for this opportunity to be with my beloved kids everyday...

Baby Erfan - My Birth Story

Today, the 30th of May, was supposed to be the day of our baby's arrival.

However, he was determined to come early, 5 weeks earlier than EDD to be exact. Yup, our little angel, born a late preterm at 35 weeks. My baby, Erfan :)

On the night of before his arrival, I went out shopping for groceries with hubby and the girls. Back home afterwards, I felt some contractions but seriously thought it was Braxton Hix and tried to ignore it by focusing on sewing the binding of the baby quilt I was making...

Then, after midnight the contractions were stronger and by 3am I could no longer bear it as it was 3 minutes apart! I remember thinking - It cannot be...it's too early! And with the girls it was totally different - I would either have a bloody show or my water broke long before any contractions! So we rushed to the hospital. Around 10 minutes after, my water broke and I immediately feel the urge to push.

I remember the havoc it was as they rushed me to the labor room and just another two pushes my little warrior arrived, gliding out and seconds later came his loud cry...both hubby and me were shocked...never crossed our mind that our precious little boy would be premature...but then again this pregnancy had been extra strenuous for me as I dealt with the stress of my job & extremely bad edema..I was swollen all over and ballooned so big! I also was diagnosed with polyhydramnious just a week before...

Nonetheless, he's just beautiful...he weighs a tiny 2.4kg but his apgar score was 9/10..he was given oxygen to help him breathe better initially and after that cleared to nurse. His latching & feeding was great too so we were not very worried.

That was until the next day when the doctor said he looks jaundiced. On day 3, Erfan was admitted to NICU at Putrajaya Hospital for Severe Jaundice. His bilirubin level reached the exchange blood phase as the doctors stuggled to bring it down. Nothing could describe my worry at that time..but finally received the good news that he responded to ivig treatment on day 4. Erfan ended up in the hospital for 5 days and when we were discharged we were told that we need to bring Erfan for motor & developmental follow up by the specialists every 3 months until he reaches 2 years old. This is because his jaundiced was severe and they fear it might have affected the brain...I am praying hard now that my little warrior would be okay...

Erfan is now 33 days old..I am exclusively breastfeeding him..he seems to gain weight and active but we could see that the jaundice is still there, maybe just less severe. We are waiting for his 1st month appointment to see what the doctor says.

Other than this, Erfan is a happy baby who cries for milk almost every hour! He loves to play at night and mostly naps in the morning & afternoon...his looks changes almost everyday as we cherish this very short newborn stage..I am so very much in love and we are so grateful for him Alhamdulillah...

The big sisters are also over the moon of their baby brother...and its heartwarming to see how in love hubby is with his son. Grandma & grandpa was smitten too!  :)

Today, my lil love bug is 33 days out in the real world. We have only the best dreams and wishes for him and pray endlessly that he would grow up healthy and happy...looking at his chubby cheeks now..well I am grateful for Allah's blessings and I could just kiss him all day long!