Birthdays and Babies

Today we went to a friend's 2nd birthday party.  The request went out for no more toys or books because she had too many already.  That always turns my mind to consumables, so I thought crayons and a colouring pad.  Of course that sounded too simple, so I just HAD to make something.

Thus, crayon roll

It was made using this great tutorial from Chocolate on my Cranium.  I just reduced the pattern slightly because I only had 12 crayons instead of 16.  I think when I make another one, I will include a flap over the top of the crayons because as I was carrying it down the hall to show my husband my fine work, one of the crayons fell out.

The birthday girl also recently became a big sister, so I made some funky bibs for the baby, from this free pattern at Chickpea Sewing Studio.

I'm grateful for...

The way my baby's skin feels when she has just woken up from a nap.

It makes me remember why I wanted this, and makes me forget about the hours spent crying (both her and me), the late nights, the early mornings, the dirty nappies, and all the things I don't get done because I have a special little girl to take care of.

Go to Maxbella Loves and see what other people are grateful for this week.  Share what you are grateful for and add your name to the list.

Elephants on Parade

My baby elephants quilt is finished!  It's only taken me a little over 18 months, but I got sick of seeing it lying around the sewing room so I decided I'd better get in and do it.

I'd been working on the last of the machine quilting over the previous couple of months.  I'd decided on a wavy pattern as you can see, which really should have been done with a free motion foot but at the last minute I got nervous and did it with a walking foot.  I had to repeatedly stop, raise the foot, and reangle the fabric, but it worked for me in the end.  It's not perfect but it's the most fancy quilting work I've ever done!

I think one of my main issues with the quilting was marking out the design on the purple border.  On all the other colours I was just able to see the design from the paper underneath and trace it through, but the purple was too dark.  I think I tried all the white marking methods I could think of.  I got dressmakers carbon paper, I used a tracing wheel, even got out my talc powder!  None of them seemed to leave an impression.  I think in the end I put the pattern underneath and could just make out some major intersections and kind of made up the rest.  The purple quilting isn't as good as the other colours.

Speaking of colours.... I used monofilament thread for the border quilting, as I had used on the coffee quilt. I don't think I'll use that again unless I really don't want the quilting thread to show.  I used it for this quilt because I just wanted the effect of the quilting, didn't specifically want the lines to show up. Next time I'll just try using a matching coloured thread.  Nothing specifically wrong with the monofilament but it was just very fiddly sewing the ends in and things like that.

On the topic of quilting, I did hand quilting around the outside of the elephants.  You can't really see the quilting on the front, but it does add a certain amount of dimension to the blocks.  I had hoped on the back that there would be an outline of the elephant in white, but the thread I chose was not thick enough (Gutermann Quilting thread) and the backing fabric is just too busy.

The other problem I had with this quilt was the binding.  The pattern called for one strip of each of 4 colours, one for each side in a different colour to the border strip on that side.  When I'd finished my quilt and measured it up, my strips weren't long enough.  The quilt's finished size was supposed to be 112cm, but I think mine came out ever so slightly longer because of inaccurate seams, and also my fabric was 112cm from selvedge to selvedge, but I didn't want to include the selvedges in my sewing.  Since I had to join the binding strips anyway, I decided to make the bindings match the border, including doing the little bit around the corners (you can see this in the first photo).

The other thing I did to this quilt to make it a little more unique was to applique one square instead of embroidering it.

And the final bit of a quilt which often takes the longest...... is the label on the back!  I'd found an image on the internet somewhere ages ago that I decided I wanted to use, so that settled the decision of how I was going to make the label.  It was to be printed on Matilda's Own Injet Printable Fabric.  I had used this once previously for a quilt label.  Of couse it meant a trip to the shops for hubby to pick up a new colour catridge for the printer!

I edited the image, changing the colours of the elephants to match the quilt.  This took a few goes of printing on paper because of course colours on the screen don't look the same in print.

I also embroidered elephant footprints onto the label.  I had intended to hand quilt some foot prints into the cream inner boarder, but after the time it took me to quilt around the elephants I'd had enough hand quilting for now.  This was my compromise to get some footprints onto the quilt.  The printable fabric is rather had to sew through I discovered.  Embroidering the footprints was just bearable, given that I hadn't hooped it up.  Attaching the label to the quilt was another matter!  I was trying to only pick up a few threads for each stitch to make an invisible stitch, but the threads didn't separate very easily to let the needle through, and on more than one occasion where I had carefully picked up only one thread from the fabric, it broke with the force of the needle being pushed through.  I didn't remember this being a problem last time I used it, but I think I must have attached the label with blanket stitch that time.  So there's a tip for you - don't bother trying to do invisible stitches on printable fabric.  It's not really worth the effort.

I had thought the quilt was going to end up way too large, but the finished size would fit nicely in the cot if you tucked the large borders down the sides and end of the cot.  It leaves just enough space at the top for a pillow, the same as how a regular quilt covers a bed.  Unfortunately this is not usually how you place a baby in a cot.  It will, however, be very useful to cover the bed once Abigail is a little older and we convert the cot into a toddler bed, and also as a lap quilt after that.  Until then I think it will be used as a floor mat for her to lie on.... and hopefully sit on soon!  It should fill in the gap nicely until she is ready for a big girl bed, and needs a big girl bed quilt, which I'm hoping will end up being the Birdie Stitches BOM I'm currently working on.

Now that this quilt is no longer on my to-do list, I've got a free space for something new!!  I've decided that I want to make my niece and nephew lap quilts for their birthdays this year (August and September).  They will be turning 10 and 7.  She LOVES puppies and the colour green, he LOVES dinosaurs but I'll have to check on his favourite colour.  These quilts are going to be mostly or all pieced with little or no applique, and I intend to follow someone else's pattern, so this *should* make then quicker and easier to finish.  Think I've found a pattern for the puppies, and bought some fabric online today that I just loved... but more on that later.... and I'd better get in and finish the music quilt first.

Back to the baby elephants... here it is in action being approved by it's new owner

..... and yes it has been sicked on already!  Only a little dribble though.

QLD Flood Relief part 2

Following on from receiving Dave the Giraffe, yesterday I also received the raffle prize that I won.

 

The cushion cover is from monkeemoomoo and I think it's awesome!

That cute elephant will be finding a home in the nursery eventually, but little Abigail is a bit too small for it just yet.





Speaking of little Abigail... here is her enjoying her new friend Dave

Joe's Baby Quilt Finished!

The baby quilt is all finished!

I think also that was the best photo I got of it!  Have to remember that for photographing baby quilts in future.

This quilt involved a lot of experimenting and a lot of learning.  I'd decided to fairly heavily quilt the main panel (heavy compared to other quilts I've done), but I think it was too much for the high loft wadding I had.  I'd just used regular polyester thin wadding from Lincraft because this is what I had on hand.  This shows you better why my quilting was not the best choice for the wadding:

The patchwork is almost lost to the quilting lines.  You can also see that the border is a bit ripply.  This is because I was trying to square up the uneven lengths that were caused by the poor quality fabric, as previously mentioned.

The quilt was a really nice size to work with, but not sure if it's a good size for use.  It's slightly too small for a cot quilt....

 

but too big for a pram quilt....

 

The dimensions are 28" x 34" so I might have to play with them and get a feel for what a good size is.  The elephant baby quilt I am making is quite a lot bigger, but I think ultimately it will be too big as a cot quilt (but excellent once the cot is turned into a toddler bed!).

I think if I made a quilt the same size as the centre panel of this green one (without the plain borders) it would be a really good pram size.

I really had fun making this quilt because I felt free to experiment.  There are many faults in it but the person I am making it for really wont be that critical, and as soon as I started using the fabric which was cut crooked I knew it wasn't going to be of the highest standard so I let my standards drop a little.  That sounds a bit bad, but it freed me up to try new things and not be so obsessive about making it perfect.

I can't wait to try and make another one.  I do have about half the jelly roll left, and I have another roll the same in pink to play with as well!  I just have to finish the music quilt before I'm allowed to start any other new projects.

I almost forgot.... the last detail of the quilt is the label of course!  Because this quilt is for Joe I decided to make it a J

Baby's Day Out

Yesterday I bundled up little Abigail into Grandma's car, and with Ergobaby on board the three of us headed to CraftExpo.

I met up with Margaret and Jayne out the front, but quickly we separated to follow our own time schedule.

It wasn't a big haul this year.  I think I've bought up big recently on 'treats' and wasn't drawn in by the "it's pretty, I MUST buy it" motivation.  I guess also a lot of it is things I've seen before.  Maybe you can go to craft shows a little too often ;)

I did pick up lots of fabric for the Homespun Harmony wall hanging (pattern came from the previous craft show) I am going to do for a friend's baby.  Most of the fabric came from Patchwork with Gail B but some also came from Logan's Patchwork.  Obviously you can see that I haven't gone with the traditional colours on the pattern cover.

Not exactly sure where I'm going to put what fabric but I think I'll just do it block by block and see how it all ends up.  Probably have to buy a bit more fabric later, but it will develop and grow as it gets sewn, rather than being all planned out from the onset.

I have also decided to make a cot quilt for my cousin's new baby.  He was born back in March but it always takes me ages to get around to these things ;)  Now that she has sent me a gift for the birth of Abigail I figured I should get around to sending her something.  I bought some fabric rolls from Spotlight a few months ago so have broken open one of them for the baby quilt.  At the craft show yesterday I bought the brown dotty fabric to go with them.

I'm designed a quilt which incorporates the pictures off the fabric.  I'm going to copy them up larger and make applique designs out of them for some of the blocks.  Also went along to Spotlight today to get some plain green to coordinate with it.  I hope it works out, I haven't really designed a quilt from scratch before.

Also at the show yesterday I picked up this interesting looking contraption.

It's a Flower Stitcher foot from Punch With Judy.  You can do funky things like this with it:

 That picture is from the book I bought to go with it, but I've just discovered people have posted YouTube videos of how to use it and what to do with it, so I might have to go exploring once I've learnt the basics!

Not sure what I'm going to do yet, it just looked cool so I bought it.  I want to have a play with it but Dad is camped out in my sewing room for the next two days so it will have to wait a while.  Not like I've really had the time to play with anything anyway now that Madam Abigail is in the world and refuses to go to sleep!

So a big milestone was achieved this weekend.  Abigail went to her first craft show AND she had her first trip to Spotlight.  Two things that I'm sure she will do lots of over the next few years.

Oh, and I'm beginning to feel like I'm Wonder Woman or something. The number of people commenting on me being out and about with a three week old baby.  Apparently I'm supposed to be in my pyjamas, slobbing around the house, not going anywhere, just 'cause I have a new baby.  Pooey to them I say!!

Special Delivery

This week I received my order from Green Fairy Quilts which I placed the other week.  They had a bit of a sale on and for $AU100 (incl postage) I got a jelly roll, two honey buns and a charm pack, all from Moda.

The honey buns are Clementine and Happy, both by Me & My Sister.  The jelly roll is Me & My Sister Favorites, and the charm pack is City Weekend by Liesl Gibson.

Of course I have no idea what I'm going to do with them yet, but it was a bit of a spending spluge since I haven't been out of the house much lately and had money to spend ;)

I haven't actually worked with a jelly roll/honey bun or charm pack before.  All the quilting work I've done has been from buying fat quarters or lengths of fabric so I'll be interested to see what I can come up with.

Also arriving a week ago was Abigail Mackenzie!  Born on Sunday evening 19th Sept at 10:53pm, weighing in at 4.02kg.  Is she now a finished project, or is she just the biggest work-in-progress ever?

The ultimate DIY craft project

Here is what I have been working on over the last several weeks that has prevent me from doing anything else..

 

I have had time for a few little things here and there.

At work I am on the testing team for a new software package to completely manage our internal systems.  As part of that, eight of us have become "superusers", the idea being that we know the system inside out and we can train all the other users.   To make the job a bit more fun, I decided we had to have capes if we are to be SUPERusers....

 

It's all made of felt, and the black is just marker pen and the white is glued down.  I feel like a traitor to my sewing skills but it was something quick and fun.