While Margreet looked outside every now and then, pleased with the new plants she saw there, she continued sewing on her second kimono. The first one, from the golden brown fabric, had turned out nicely. While sewing, she had envisioned how to make the sleeves and the side seams. The sleeves were actually flaps of one of the rectangular pieces of cloth, which she partially sewed together, which then became the sleeve seams under her arms.

When she had started on the side seams, pinning them down to see how it would turn out, she had seen that the kimono would be armpit fresh. A section remained open between the sleeve seam and the side seam, but because the patch of sleeves fell to chest height front and back, that opening was not visible. For the side seam, she had inserted another piece of fabric from below, a triangle. It looked nice, it really completed the pattern. And her belly could easily grow into it.

Since a few days her regular pants and skirts were not all that comfortable anymore. They were starting to be a little too tight. She was now three months pregnant, and it was only when she was naked that she could see she was pregnant. But she could already feel it in her clothes, so she had decided to wear her golden brown wraparound skirt and matching kimono. At breakfast she had received praising reactions about it. Everyone thought the patterns of the skirt and kimono were special, and was excited about the beautiful color.

Now she was working on her second kimono, from the green fabric, from which she had also made a wrap skirt. The kimono was already almost finished.

She still had quite a bit of fabric left, from both colors. She had already laid them on top of each other and found that they matched nicely. So she had decided to make a third kimono from a combination of both colors. She stitched off the last thread and held her green kimono in front of her. She walked with it to the bedroom and swapped the golden brown set for the green one. She spun around in front of the mirror and was very pleased with the result. She decided to keep the green set and show it to the family at dinner.

She quickly went to work on the two fabrics for the third kimono. She had fun with it, the model was so simple, but also so much fun!

When she went to the kitchen to help with the cooking, she had already cut both pieces of cloth for the third kimono and secured them against fraying with a zigzag stitch all around. She walked over to Huib in his work shed.

He looked at her questioningly: "This morning you had that golden brown set on, didn't you? Is this your second set? Is that one already ready now?"

"Yes, how do you like this one then?"

"Perfect! The color matches the color of your eyes just fine, they look like the same," he said holding her slightly away from him to compare. "You really are a magician at handiwork. It almost looks dignified on you, even though it's so simple."

"I think that's because of the types of fabric and the colors. I've just started a third kimono, where I'm going to use both fabrics together. The linen is a little thicker than the cotton, but it feels good together. I'm curious to see what the result will be like. But hey, I have to go on, help Annerieke with the cooking." After a quick kiss, she walked on.

.

Annerieke immediately noticed, "Your second set is also ready! How beautiful, Margreet. It looks so nice on you, so dressed up, so fancy".

Lisa, with her sharp knife still in her hands, joined her with enthusiastic reactions.

Margreet felt happy: "I feel so at home in these clothes, so truly female, and... well, just at home. And your reactions confirm, emphasize that feeling. Thankie!"

As they cut the vegetables together, she went on to talk about the kimono she had started that afternoon. "So I still have two projects running side by side, clothing and your tapestry, Lisa."

"Oh, have you started on that too?" asked Lisa in surprise.

"Yes, but not yet with embroidery though. I've only cut the cloth I'm going to embroider on and worked it over with a zigzag stitch, to prevent fraying. Next time I'm going to start with patches and threads on them."

.

During the meal, Margreet mentioned that she wanted to go to the thrift store the next day. "I have thought of going there every now and then, not only for pieces of fabric and balls of knitting yarn, but also in the meantime for children's stuff. Annerieke, shall we take the crib you have in the attic to the nursery soon?"

"Very good girl, I have already cleaned it and washed the canopy, comforter covers and sheets. If you want to change things, another canopy or other comforter covers, feel free to do so. Make something beautiful out of it!"

"What color is the canopy and the bedding?" asked Margreet curiously.

Annerieke thought for a moment how she wanted to tell her wonderful discovery.

"When Elly was working on the mural, that first time I went to look at it, I noticed something. I think that light lilac paint you used for the window frames and the door is exactly the base color of the canopy and bedding. I have as many as eight under sheets, comforter covers, and matching sheets for under the baby's head, and in all of them that light lilac comes back as the base color."

"Then I'm certainly not going to change that, am I?" exclaimed Margreet. "This is just too beautiful for words! Now I feel like taking it to the nursery!"

Annerieke laughed, "Then we'll do that right away, when we're done here in the kitchen. Then we'll put the pile of bedding in the crib, and bring him to the nursery like that!"

Annerieke, however, had not reckoned with the others. Everyone walked with them after dinner, and it eventually came down to Annerieke carrying the mattress and Margreet and Lisa carrying the bedding, while Huib and Simon carried the crib to the nursery. Annerieke put the mattress with the bottom sheet back in the crib, while Margreet and Lisa still stood with the bedding in their hands. With open mouths they stared at their pile, the crib and the surroundings around it.

"Surely you can't imagine this... Did you remember, Huib, that you had that color around you when you were a baby?"

"Yes of course, I have a memory like that of a computer!" He chuckled, "No dear, I didn't know this. Annerieke never told me this, nor can I remember it from my childhood photos. In fact, I doubt I ever saw a picture of this crib."

"Sorry kid, Erik and I didn't allow ourselves the time for that, we preferred to spend our time with you and each other," Annerieke said. "And when you switched to a toddler bed, we put the crib in the attic. I think, if you've ever been up there, you haven't seen it, because I had hung a sheet over it, to protect it from dirt a bit."

"I think it's beautiful!" Margreet hugged Annerieke. "And I'm very happy that we get to use it."

"Of course, I'd rather that sweet girl go to sleep in this, than that it just stays empty in the attic! I still have the toddler bed and the stroller, by the way. And two playpens. Come and see if you want to use them. For the toddler bed I used the same fabric for the bedding."

"Then I think I'll like to use it when the crib gets too small," Margreet said, laughing. "But why two playpens?"

"One for home, and one for the guesthouse. That seems handy for now, too. When the baby is awake, she can lie nicely in that playpen while we are busy at the guest house. And you can put that bin of the baby carriage in the playpen, so she can sleep there. We'll just have to move the dining table around a bit, leaving a little less room for ourselves, but it will all fit."

They decided to go look right away. The stroller, the toddler bed and both playpens were just as Margreet and Huib liked them.

"That toddler bed, must see, as if you made that yourself, Huib. It's all your style!" remarked Sjaak.

"Yeah yeah, it was in there early on," said Huib with a serious face.

Lisa laughed: "I can totally see it, a baby of a few months who is making a toddler bed for himself!"

She laughed so terribly, she could hardly stop. The whole family was infected by it and laughing merrily they went downstairs again, while lugging the stroller and a playpen with them.

Annerieke told Margreet that she had used the linen from the crib for the stroller. "Those comforters are the same size, so that worked fine."

"Great," sighed Margreet. "Really great..."

"For me too, I really like that they're going to be used again. I have more baby stuff by the way, diapers and stuff, I started with cotton diapers. And rompers and, well, I don't know, it's been so long. Now look at that baby of mine, that guy of yours!"

Grinning, they went after the others. They put the stroller in the shed and the playpen in the living room. It fitted perfectly against a still bare piece of wall, between the sitting area and the dining area, with a window to the left and right.

"As if the room was made for it..." Margreet thought.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Erik thought of it that way too," thought Huib.

"I think you're right Huib, after all he saw it all in front of him, didn’t he?" Annerieke had come to stand between them and put her arms around them. "He's happy about this, for sure!"

Simon watched them from a distance, visibly enjoying himself.

.

The next morning, Margreet wondered if she still wanted to go to the thrift store. She decided to go there just to get away from it all. She found a few nice baby dresses in different sizes, and crawling suits. She thought about it for a moment: dresses she actually really liked herself, but if the baby started crawling, they might bother her. She decided to take the dresses she really liked, and also some crawling suits. Further on, near the toys, she found a few stuffed animals, which still looked like new and felt nice and soft. A woman next to her noticed that she was standing to feel at the stuffed animals.

"After washing them, put them in the dryer, cold program, they will stay nice and soft," she informed Margreet.

Margreet looked at her smiling: "Thanks for the tip, I'll remember that!"

She took a few stuffed animals and put them in the playpen and in the crib at home.

"So, pretty couple, you have to be patient, Gloria is not coming for another six months!"

Huib heard what she said and laughed. "Nice that you already bought those stuffed animals. And these dresses... it's getting more real, isn't it?"

He thought for a moment, and continued, "I've almost finished the furniture for Simon's study, and was going to start on the bed for Johan and Marieke after that, but I think I'd better start with the closet for Gloria, so you can get rid of your stash of linens and clothes. I expect I'll need a few days for that at most. Then I'll do that bed after that and then some shelves for toys in the nursery and hobby room. For now, you can still put toys and stuffed animals in the playpen."

"If you think Johan and Marieke won't mind, I think that's a good plan. I want to look around the thrift store every now and then, and then I'll see what I come across. It's nice to be working on that already at my leisure."

Huib pulled her affectionately against him and said, playing with his fingers in her hair, "You know what also seems fun to me? A rocking horse, and for outside one of those walking bikes. I know she's not ready for that yet for the time being, but if you ever come across one, don't hesitate! Oh yes, and a swing, a baby swing, and a sturdy swing for the garden, we'll need those in due course!"

Margreet laughed, remembering that Huib had seen that in front of her, Gloria on a swing, while she herself had had no idea she was pregnant.

"I'll keep an eye on it all," she promised.

To chapter 232. New impressions

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