Forgotten Jewels #6

I already wrote about THE rugby event of the year in Dubai; although I failed to inform you that there was some kind of a garment-making-bet related to the rugby 7s this year.

After I saw the gorgeous jumpsuits my teammates purchased to support their favorite rugby nations, I got slightly jealous about the fact there were no available jumpsuits for Belgium supporters! Off course not! So I told them I would make one that would make them all jealous about not being Belgium supporters.

The creation already took shape in my mind but the actual production only happened very last minute. So there was no time left for a photo shoot.

This weekend when we went on a short family trip to the desert I decided it was time to reveal to you my Belgian jumpsuit.

Belgium above all!

Walloon Rooster on one side.

Flemish Lion on the other side.

Luckily nobody really knows about the community question in Belgium so I got no remarks or questions rand the Belgian Rugby players were just happy somebody clearly choose their side!

The fabric was purchased at Bengali Market in Ajman; it is always a pleasure to purchase 2 meter of fabric at 0.6€ /meter. The fabric needs a good wash before use but regardless of that is of superb quality.

The desert is an ideal spot to act silly and have great fun.

… and gives lovely family pictures.

Somebody send me this picture of the jumpsuit –and me- during the Dubai rugby 7s 2014, not the best pose, but the prove I really wore it during the event.

You can read more about what I did day two of this weekend on her blog:

http://celebrationoflife.org/news/celebrate-life-at-the-wadi-bih-run/

Great article for all runners among you, a running team-relay of 72 kilometers, 1000 altitude meters up and down.

Wadi Bih, the run of a lifetime.

Forgotten jewels #2

Our girls won a hat with a kid’s game at the Dubai Rugby 7s. They instantly loved it and since then the hat hasn’t left their head. 

It is a cute little thing and since we removed the advertisement and upcycled it to a more personal version it looks even better.

It looks so good that Felix claims Louka her hat is his’ and it really irritates her; slowly hitting the difficult years does not make it easy to deal with a tiny sibling.

The best weekend of the year is on its way, Dubai Rugby 7s, and that means: last hard training sessions, and some practice games. Our practice game against Brasil got some press coverage. In this picture you see Moeke attack against the National Brasilian ladies. We lost against a fast and strong Brasil nevertheless this game was a great preparation for the main tournament this weekend.

The National - 1st of December 2014

The National

He was as proud as punch when he looked at his own picture in The National newspaper!

A weekend at Al Ain (hospital)

Last weekend the kids had a rugby tournament that started very early so we decided to make turn it into a family-weekend-trip. The first day we spend in Al Ain zoo, we stayed overnight at a local hotel, and on the second day the kids participated at the youth rugby festival.

The zoo suited us fine especially in comparison to Dubai Zoo –well Dubai Zoo is probably not worth the name Zoo!

Especially the monkeys worked inspiring!

Omar and Elias searched for the crocodiles.

Their search was rewarded as one of the crocodiles walked to the glass and proudly showed all her teeth.

We saw white lions, white tigers, giraffes, rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, and lots of other animals.

Jade pushed her brother the whole time.

Well, until she got exhausted and then he sat on her lap for the remaining of the trip.

We ate real Belgian ‘Prins’-biscuits.

Dad left for the airport shortly after we finished our trip to the zoo and the kids slept all together in the big bed.

The kids played out of this world, first on and later of the pitch.

He finally wore this jacket without crying!

We should have left after the last game, because on the bouncy castle it went wrong!

Elias fell out of the back of the castle on the machine that inflates the air. As the castle was rather high the paramedic on duty did not take any risk and drove him with the ambulance to the hospital. He needed checkup and stitches (he finally got 4 stitches).

The siren coaxed a watery smile from Elias, so I knew that a concussion -feared by the paramedic- was probably not under discussion.

It took about 4 hours before he was taken care off and when the cashier appeared not to be on duty –on a break to pray. I nearly lost my patience, I desperately wanted to go back to pick up the other children whom I left alone with a –really nice- lady I never saw before!

All is well that ends well, the fraternal/sisterly love was never that big; and -after an exhausting drive home- we all slept in the double bed. All their warm bodies –with a here and there a scar- cozy together!

Hijab

Our sportive trip to India is already behind us. We fought our self to a reasonable 6^th place at the 2013 Asian Championships.

Just like in the previous edition of the Championship I was moved by the fighting spirit of the Iranian ladies team. We had to fight back strongly to defend our try line.

In addition the Iranian ladies team plays with long sleeves, long legs and Hijab, which makes it noteworthy more difficult to play in 32°C.

We got invited and agreed to go to Iran next spring to participate in a tournament. I am already looking forward to see those lovely girls back in Iran, within a couple of months to play our very first game in long sleeves and Hijab!

There was no time for sightseeing and the only taste of India was during a short walk. A busy road all of a sudden changed into a rural scenery, with horses carrying lambs followed by a herd of sheep.

Pattern reinstatement

The pattern of this ugly duckling got reinstated by the latest version that we made.

The bag is made with Chinese Blue –hand dyed fabric I bought in Shanghai- the details are in red to contrast with the blue of the main fabric.

A little treasure I made for myself and in which I proudly sew my label.

The bag got finished just in time to take to Pune, India, where I, together with the other girls of the National Rugby Team will represent the United Arab Emirates at the Asian Championships.

The luggage is ready, I need another hour to study the National anthem and then we can take off to play against Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, and Iran.

Wish us good luck!

Double winner

This weekend we won the last tournament of the 2012-2013 rugby season. The Dubai Hurricanes got the first place after five blood-curdling games.

As a souvenir: I got two medals! The blue medal makes me feel like a champion every morning when I look in the mirror.

Artificial grass and RUGBY!

It is time for the best weekend of the year again; this weekend it is Dubai Rugby Sevens. A full weekend of rugby, sweat, toned bodies and egg shaped balls.

Do not run away from this blog as you think rugby or sport in general isn’t your thing because it gets better!

This weekend I will not think about nor use my sewing machine, but every year I do spend a lot of time before the event to stitch up costumes or gadgets. The theme is usually grass oriented; as one of the sponsors of our local rugby club produces artificial grass. Every year we try to brighten up the event with some grass.

A T-shirt with some grass on the front and in the grass we attached a little plastic toy –a frivolous link to the country of origin of each player. The rugby pitch in Kuwait can use some grass, as you can see we play on sand only over there.

A hoodie with grass on the hood.

Close by this looks this.

An A-line dress completely out of grass. Pay close attention to the finishing of this dress; completely with lining and biais binding on arm and neck openings.

In the side there even is a zipper. The child’s size dress is a simplified version, velcro on both sides of the dress en no biais binding nor lining.

 Foto: Michael Hook - Lightbulb Studio

A beanbag with grass on the top.

Do not leave the plastic bag with styrofoam balls wonder around. Your kids might find the bag, jump on it and you will lose precious time to do fun things as you will have to remove styrofoam balls out of the whole backyard.

This weekend –for the second time this year- I represent the UAE and with the National Team we will play rugby against some big rugby nations such as Canadian Maple Leafs, South African University, Russian Regions, Swedish Vikings, and Kenyan Lionesses!

Wish me luck!

Pune, India

I am leaving for Pune, India, to represent the United Arab Emirates at the Asian Rugby Championships. Not much time left! Just wanted to share the luggage tags I made for all the girls, the manager and our trainer.

There was not a lot of time to be creative so got some inspiration on my pinterest boards and copied these cute luggage tags.

India, here we come!