Sewing, sewing, sewing, drawing

This post will be dull for anybody wishing to hear about D. It is largely about sewing, with one drawing reference which is sort of to do with D.

Here is a picture of some baby trousers I just sewed, I used a (charity) shop-bought pair to make the pattern so hopefully they will fit. They are a bit baggy on D's frog here (I was going to ues koala again but Ben is having a nap and has locked the door to stop me bugging him!), who is also modeling a yellow batwing jumper I knitted a while back. The batwings are not evident on dumpy ol' frog.

Here is a picture of me in my jolly maternity frock, which wasn't really intended to be a maternity frock. I just happen to like empire line dresses and this was a 'copy' of one I already owned, but I put a little too much fullness into the skirt. Ideal for pregnancy.

Don't know if it shows, but the miraculous thing about this dress is the buttonholes. I don't know if I'll ever be brave enough to put buttonholes in something again, but I hope so, because they really work. Wish I knew how to turn photos round though. This is the sort of garment I worry Ben despairs of because it proves just how barmy I am. But actually he really likes it, perhaps because because it is traditionally feminine, or perhaps just because it has a skirt. Oh Christ look at my knees.

And here is a hint of the Smaug drawing D has been asking for...it's a copy of a picture I found on the net because the ones in his book are too stylised. Its supposed to be Smaug blowing flames all over Laketown, shortly before he killed. Also, I wanted to try the oil pastels which found their way into my cupboard after Grandma passed away. It is drawn on paper from a pad which also contains a couple of sketches of boats and things begun by Grandma. I am very similar to her I think when it comes to hobbies - many interests, not enough time to spend on any one of them. However, the purpose of a hobby should largely be enjoyment, and so I decided to just go for it like Grandma would have. She was actually quite good at art and drawing and things. I am scared of anything that isn't a line drawing, so this is quite scary. But I'm trying not to worry, will just do my best with it, because D is bound to be pleased even if its a bit rubbishy.

Obviously this is still very much in the early stages. It is very tricky because I can't get nearly as much detail with pastels as I would like, as the 2 or 3 drawings I have ever done were in pencil, and I tend to get a bit obsessed with perfect proportion and replication of detail, which isn't always a good thing. I did it at 4 this morning, which is a good time for scary new things. I'd gone to bed at 7pm, woke up about 3, then went back to bed a couple of hours later. This is a fairly common pattern because I get so tired, but also get a lot of back pain in bed which can wake me up.