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One of my son’s current favourite toys is his stuffed monkey which he calls “Munga”. I bought Munga a $0.99 knitted sweater from the discount sewing store today and after I placed the sweater on the monkey my son says, “Munga wear pants.” I said, “But we do not have any pants for Munga. Do you want mommy to make Munga some pants?” And of course he says, “Yah.” At first he asked for pink pants, but I eventually convinced him for brown ones.

Anyhow, it turns out that I don’t have any plain brown fabric so I ended up using this funky print (yes, I realize that it does not match the sweater). So tonight I ended up sewing a pair of pants for the monkey and I will quickly share with you how this was accomplished.

How To Make Pants

Gather the materials that you will need:

• fabric
• elastic for the band
• thread
• safety pin
• some paper, a marker (or pencil), and some scissors for creating a quick pattern

1. First of all, create a pattern by placing the subject on a piece of paper and then tracing around a leg. Then extend the tracing by adding about 1 to 2 inches more. You should end up with one side of a pant leg that you will use to place on your folded fabric. Cut pant leg pattern.
2. Place pattern on fold of the fabric and cut so that you end up with what looks like 2D flat pants. Repeat on another piece of fabric so that you have 2 matching pieces.
3. Place the 2 pieces you have cut right sides together and sew along the inside of the pant leg and then on the sides of the pant leg. You can then serge the edges if you like or use a zigzag stitch to make sure the ends do not fray. I was lazy and just used pinking shears to trim the edges.
4. Roll up the bottom of the pants and sew edges.
5. Measure your subject with the elastic band and trim to desired length.
6. Roll down the waist of the pants and make sure there is enough room to fit the width of the elastic. Sew edges down, but leave an opening of about 1 inch so that you can later run the elastic inside the waistline.
7. Place the measured elastic band on a safety pin. Run the safety pin inside the waistline of the pants and gather until you reach all the way around.
8. Sew the ends of the elastic band with a zigzag stitch to keep it in place.
9. Finish sewing the edge of the waistline.
10. Flip the pants inside out and you are done!

I also created a hole in the back of the pants for the tail of the monkey. If you would also like to do this, just create a “button hole” large enough to fit the tail in the back of the pants between steps 2 and 3. Make sure you place the button hole low enough to leave space for the waistline to be folded down.

Here are the pictures of the process. Sorry, I am too lazy right now and I just put the pictures together into this mini gallery. Hopefully it makes sense when you look at it and read the instructions above.

Have fun!

Our friends Joe & Sharon came by our house this weekend for a ChicGeek photo shoot. They are starting out their own photography business and are really talented! They took some fantastic shots of our family and some really nice belly pics. Check out some of the photos that they took in my Flickr set.

Thanks for the wonderful pictures Joe & Sharon!

Hello friends. Hope you are all doing well. Happy New Year! Cannot believe that it is 2010 already. Time really flies.

Looks like it has been a while again since my last update. Looking back at 2009, so many things have happened. Sort of sad to see that there were only 5 posts within the year. Perhaps I shall try harder at updating my blog this year if at all possible. This year is also going to be a fairly busy year, but first of all let me quickly summarize the highlights of 2009…

• Car: We got a new Mazda 5 in the spring. We still love our car. My hubby got into a car accident though in the fall (thankfully nobody got hurt) and we had to be without it for over a month. It was so nice to be riding in our own car again before Christmas after all the repairs.
• Travel: We went to Whistler, Hawaii, and Parksville for family vacations. I went to Toronto on my own once for work.
• Weddings: We went to 3 weddings this year.
• Summer: We had an excellent summer. Lots of activities with the kidlet. It was really fun being able to go out more with a toddler rather than a baby. We visited many local fairs and went to many barbecues. One of the highlights was blueberry picking (see previous post) and eating all those sweet and juicy berries. Cannot wait until blueberry season again this year.
• Fall: We went to the pumpkin patch with our friends and had fun picking out pumpkins. My son also went Trick-or-Treating around our neighbourhood for the first time. He really enjoyed asking our neighbours for some candy! To this day, he still mentions about getting candy on Halloween.
• Christmas: We had a fabulous holiday this year. Took a few days off work and spent a lot of quality family time. I also had a really good time decorating and baking with my son. For a 2 year-old he is a pretty good helper. One of his favourite was decorating cookies and the gingerbread house. He also really enjoys helping me make homemade waffles (we made some today).
• Crafting: I have had the opportunity to spend more time crafting during the evenings. Now that my son is older and sleeps through the night, I find that I have more “me” time. It is so nice to be able to craft again although sometimes I wish I had more of that “me” time. Been mostly making baby blankets and bags (see my sewing set on flickr for photos). Would like to eventually sew some dolly dresses again if I have the chance.
• Techie: I got an iPhone and a new DSLR (Canon T1i) and also a new lens (Canon 50mm f1.4 EF). Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I got a new computer (Toshiba laptop). Been very happy with all of these purchases so far .
• Nanny: We have a new live-in nanny now. Rather than have my son go to daycare, we have opted to have a live-in nanny stay with us. The paperwork took a while (we are sponsoring a nanny from overseas) but it all went through with the government and she finally came in December. She’s been here for over a month now and has been super helpful around the house as well as watching after the kidlet. We really feel blessed to have her around.
• New Baby: Yup, we got pregnant again and we’ll be expecting another baby in May of 2010! My son is going to be a big brother. I had my ultrasound this month and I found out that we’ll be having another boy. It is going to be nuts in this household with so many males…

2010 is going to be an exciting year. Obviously there will be a new baby in the household and I will be on maternity leave again. Sort of looking forward to it and yet I am somewhat sad to be leaving work again. I think finding that balance of being a mom and working in today’s society can be somewhat difficult. I want to do well and advance in my career and yet I also want to be a good mom. There is definitely guilt sometimes for not spending enough time with my son when I am at work, but I also know that I am the type of person that needs to work to keep her sanity. I love spending time with my boy but I also love the mental stimulation of being at work (and also the contact with other adults!).

The winter Olympics are also coming to the city of Vancouver. How exciting to be living in a city that will be hosting such a big event. Hubby and I have tickets for 2 events. The city is getting busy as the days of the event are approaching. I wonder how busy it will get with all the visitors and people trying to get to the events.

I am not much of a person to make up new year resolutions but if there were a few things I would like to do more of, it would be:

1. More photography. I need to take more pictures in general. I want to get better at photography and one of the best ways to improve is to practice, practice, practice. I also purchased a used lens from a co-worker (Canon 17-85mm) so I should have an excuse to take more pictures. I would love to get more higher end lenses, but at this point I shall be satisfied with what I have.
2. More crafting. As mentioned earlier, wish I had more time for this. Maybe with the new baby on the way, I have an excuse to make him some baby stuff.
3. More reading. Been borrowing from the public library a lot. So many books I want to read! (I should also spend more quiet time too for self-reflection rather than try to be “busy” all the time.) I love to learn so I find many things very fascinating to read.
4. More blogging. Not just for the purpose of having other people read my entries but I find that I also like recording the events in my life. It is nice to go back to previous posts to reminisce about certain things. I find that as I get older, I tend to forget more often. Blogging is a nice way to record some of these things.
5. More journaling. As mentioned above, I tend to forget things more easily these days (besides the fact that I have pregnant brain). I want to be able to remember those moments (some of which are more personal and aren’t quite suited for a public blog). My son is growing up so fast and it has been so amazing seeing him progress in the last year. I also find that recording both your blessings and your trials make you appreciate life a lot more.

Anyhow, it is getting late and it looks like I have written a lot already. Thanks for reading and I wish you all a very wonderful 2010!

Hello friends.

The hubby, the kidlet and I went blueberry picking today. We went to Birak Berry Farm in Richmond and picked 13 lbs of blueberries. We wished we had more time there to pick more, but we had to head for lunch. Also, the kidlet got a bit bored of picking blueberries after about an hour. We ended up buying an additional 5 lbs of blueberries that were already picked from the farmers.

This was my first time picking blueberries and it was actually quite fun. It is pretty easy and not too much strain to reach for the berries. No need for a ladder or gloves. Some of the berries on the branches are low enough for the little kids to pick off the tree. I would highly recommend any family to try this if you have kids.

We paid $1.50/lbs although we had heard that last week was even cheaper (some places were selling at $0.77/lbs!). The warm spell from a couple of weeks ago really made the berries grow like crazy and there are so many that even the farmers cannot pick all of them. Hence the big discount in blueberry picking. My family can eat blueberries really fast. My husband and toddler really like them.

I made some blueberry scones from a Martha Stewart recipe (it is actually a cranberry scone recipe but I substituted with blueberries instead). They turned out really tasty! Here is the recipe below for those that like to bake.

Blueberry Scone

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together flour, 5 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 2/3 cup half-and-half until just moistened. Gently fold in blueberries.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently, 5 to 10 times. Pat into a 1-inch-thick round. Cut into 8 wedges; place on a baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Brush tops with remaining tablespoon half-and-half; sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Well hello! I have been way overdue for an update to this blog. I am sure more people would actually read this blog if I bothered to update more frequently.

Here is a recap of some interesting happenings in the last month:

• I bought a new camera. The Canon T1i really rocks!
• We went to Hawaii (yes, again!)
• My son celebrated his 2nd birthday
• My dog celebrated his 6th (human years) birthday

I got the new Canon T1i and I am so pleased with it! If you read the specs for this camera, it’s hard not to want it (unless you already have the 5D Mark II!). It was about time that I upgraded from my Canon XT (which I so dearly loved also). The sensors are great (colours are wonderful) and the faster speed is a definite plus. Now that I finally got a new camera body, I am coveting another lens. I am very pleased with the EF 50mm F1.4 USM. This is an excellent lens that is fast and that takes really sharp images. I highly recommend this fixed lens to anybody that likes to take portrait shots. I have heard that the 24-70mm is also another great Canon lens. I am going to test it out late when I rent the lens for a wedding in July. In a way I hope I do not fall in love with it or I am going to want to purchase it (it is a $1K plus lens).

We visited the island of Oahu (we when to Maui back in September) and it was a much more pleasant trip this time around. My son really enjoyed the beach and it was especially nice for us to not worry about him too much since the beach in Waikiki (where we stayed) is rather calm and shallow. We had a great time of eating a lot of great food and just relaxing a lot on the beach. The highlights were going to Hanauma Bay, the Honolulu Zoo, and the Lantern Floating Festival. We were lucky to have a friend show us around the town too since he is now a local there. We were there for a week and I wished we could have stayed longer. I do miss the Hawaiian beaches. Hawaii is definitely on my top 3 list of best places to live in the world. Vancouver is of course also on this list .

Check out my flickr account to see the rest of the pictures taken in Hawaii. Or click here to see the slideshow.

My little monkey turned 2 last month. I cannot believe that my baby is growing up so fast! Isn’t he the most handsome little kid you have ever seen? Of course I am biased but how can you not like this little guy?

My dog Solomon also had a birthday recently. He is 6 years old but he still acts like a pup! He is really a wonderful dog and I am very thankful for such a loyal and gentle dog. My son likes to play with him and sometimes gets a bit rough with Solomon, but even then Solomon is always so nicely behaved. Not sure what I did to deserved such an obedient little dog. That’s a picture of him with his new couch on the right. Isn’t he also a handsome little dog? I guess I am just filled with handsome boys in my life!

So besides those updates above, this is going to be a busy month. I have 2 weddings to go to (I am taking pictures for them too!), bridal showers to attend, and birthday parties to celebrate (mine included). Oh, and Father’s day is also coming too.

I am hoping to finish up some sewing projects that I want to eventually sell on Etsy. I am sometimes too ambitious with the things I want to do. If only there was more time during the day! I have also been reading a lot of interesting books lately. I really love the local library as a resource. Apparently there is this feature where you can request books and they are reserved for you for 5 business days once the book is available. It is really a great system and I have been totally taking advantage of it. The Vancouver Library also stocks a lot of very current books. I have been taking out craft books, sewing books, gardening books, Malcolm Gladwell books, business related books, etc. I love absorbing all that knowledge! Perhaps that is why I have so many hobbies because I want to know more about everything.

Anyhow, I really must finish this update as it is getting late and I must get some rest (despite wanting to do so many things, it is also very important to get some rest). I am looking forward to hanging out with my son tomorrow morning. Hopefully he will sleep in a little so that I can catch some extra zzz’s.

Goodnight folks!