Since being on light duties as per Dr's orders I have been pottering away at a couple of little projects. In sorting out the babies room, I stumbled upon a row I had sewn for the big raggedy quilt I made HERE but somehow managed to leave off. To ensure it wasn't wasted I whipped up a couple more squares and made a little bassinet quilt. I also made a sweet velour Waldorf doll which is suitable from birth up. She is super soft and snuggly. One of these days I'll publish a free pattern for a Waldorf doll, it's just I tend to measure some things as I go! Perhaps that will be my next blog post.
Quick and easy raggedy bassinet quilt. Made from 100% cotton and up-cycled Australian wool batting.
Little Waldorf doll made from cotton velour, cotton tricot, stuffed with pure wool and a naturally died mohair wig.
Babies room. Waiting on some paint and a blind but perfectly clean usable even if it's not Pinterest worthy. The car seat has been washed up and is ready to be installed. The changing table is full of cloth nappies and cotton flannel wipes ready for a new zero-waste little bum.
Though baby will be sleeping in a bassinet next to our bed mostly, we wanted to create a room for her that could act as a quiet space if we need one. With one thing or another, we didn't get to paint it but I don't suppose she will notice for quite a while.
In other non-baby related yurt jobs, I'm pleased to say I finally have a proper pantry. It makes a real difference to space in the yurt. Currently, it holds crockery, pots and pans as well as pantry items. When we build the kitchen a lot of those items will be moved, freeing up more space for bulk food storage, a necessity when living out of town. For now though, its a vast improvement on the two little open-wire racks that served as the pantry previously. Grant did a brilliant job of making the most of the space under the stairs using all salvaged materials, and I reckon it looks pretty great. It needs finishing yet as some of the old timbers/central tree log will be sanded/varnished and all the ply will be painted, but we will most likely paint in one big swoop at a later stage.
The boxes on the wall on the right are our solar converter/inverter. They help us gauge how much power we have coming in and out and how much charge is in our batteries. There are fancy computer systems in which we can track all of that, but we have not got around to setting it up yet. It's been really surprising to see how little power we actually need and how much power our small system produces.
The staircase is really easy for the kids to manage, though we still need to fix a handrail and some little LED 12v lights for night time access. The kids love sitting up in the loft peering down, separate from us yet with us. The cats think we built them their own cubby and none of the dogs have ventured up there yet. Admittedly Aggie has short little legs and she is not a huge fan of stairs in general. I guess that's natural when the stairs are at the same height as your nose!
Living in such a small space certainly has its challenges. But one year in and I still think we made the right decision, small living in the yurt continues to serve our family well. Grant particularly enjoys how quick it is to clean, something he is currently doing more of as I'm on light duties! Getting a big undercover deck built this year will be a huge achievement and will make trecking to the loo at night in the rain and mud non-existant. Currently, there is a 20m walk to our little makeshift bathroom which is somewhat tedious. The new bathroom will be a proper bathroom, with a bath and good composting toilet just out the side door on the deck, all under shelter. The height of luxury! A proper bathroom and full indoor kitchen will make all the difference. I reckon I owe Grant a year of making morning coffees, I'm not remotely enthralled by having to treck outside to the BBQ/gas burner to heat the kettle for my morning coffee so in the aim of keeping me sane it has become his job. One I have promised to take over (mostly) when I have an indoor gas oven. Or in winter, when the wood oven is going again, whichever comes first.
On that note, I best toddle and get this place a little tidied after the hurricane that is a school morning. I hope this finds you well and that if you are in Australia you have been getting some of the heavy rain we have.
Much love,
Emma
xx
