New blog

I've just moved over to a new blog, it's called SewSquirrel and funnily enough, it's hosted at www.sewsquirrel.com

If you're looking for the pattern store, come say hello at www.sewsquirrel.com.au

Sew productive

See what I did there? I was productive. As I was sewing. No?

Let's just shuffle along then. The last few weeks have been CRAZY busy with sewing. Honestly, three projects were started and finished, and b's quit has been machine quilted. The binding has already been started.

The strangest thing has happened though. I'm not sick of sewing, quite the opposite.

I feel like it's easy to dream of all the things I want to do, and there isn't the time to do it. Turns out it's a fear of failure more than actual procrastination.

Game on.

Sometime soon, check back here and there might be some very exciting news.

Quilt for Ben (attempt two)

So after the baby confusion, I finally set about making a baby boy quilt for Ben.  As really multi-age boy prints are thin on the ground, I opted for a pet themed charm pack with plenty of brown orange and blue.  He's totally going to get it BEFORE his first birthday.  Most likely....

It's a simple design, using a 5" charm back and a co-ordinating fabric cut into 5" squares.  It's a moda print with a spotted grey.  I'm going to do more on this later, but it's crazy trying to juggle projects!  Having joined the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild though, it's inspiration time to get some quilts (currently doing 4) finished.   How are your unfinished projects going?

A murder of quilts

What is the correct term for a great number of quilts? A pod? A flock? A....murder?

There has been a flurry of quilting activity around here, babies babies more babies and a big birthday for my own mother. The only possible gift? A very late quilt. It's okay as long ad it's finished before the next major birthday.

This is a slightly elaborate spinning wheel quilt, using the ruby charm packs and layer cakes by moda, and also a few metres of fabric from thr ruby moda range. It's been growing fairly organically, as it started with just one charm pack. Then it was just too small.

small quilt before being pinwheeled

So a layer cake was ordered.

The now medium sized quilt

But it was still too small. And it needed borders. AND there were still some 5" spinning wheels left.

The final size!  Still to be basted and bound

Hip dysplasia and sleeping bags

When our daughter R was born, we found out that she had Developmental Hip Dysplasia (DDH) and was promptly put in a Dennis Browne Brace (DBB).

Aside from the initial shock of finding out, there were quite a few practical issues to contend with, the first being - what on earth do I put her in?  The brace holds the hip stable, but makes baby look like a little frog with legs akimbo.  For clothes it was fine, nothing with pants or feet, and being a little girl in an Australian summer dresses were just fine.

We got to the stage however when you aren't meant to wrap babies anymore, and sids & kids recommend putting baby to sleep in a sleeping bag.  Which is fine if you're not trussed up like a frog.

In the end I had to make her own sleeping bags which were quite flared at the bottom.  It took three goes to get the right construction, but really if you had half a brain it is very simple.

I used the pattern from small dream factory and adapted it as shown below.

Adjusted pattern

 The first sleeping bag was unlined and by all accounts a success, except I listened to someone else on the internet saying to put the zip in upside down so baby can't let themselves out.  Bugger that, it also means that the top of my baby is a solid join and putting the baby in it is cumbersome.  If she unzips herself then R will get cold.  Maybe she won't do it again.

The next sleeping bag was made from a jersey ($2 a metre from Darn Cheap Fabrics in Heidelberg) with a zip running all the way along the bottom.  This actually works pretty well to keep baby in and to put baby in.

R liked to kick her legs at night, so having the extra stretch was great for her as her legs kicked outwards.

If you are looking for a quick easy bag for a baby in a spica or brace, this construction is the best.  If anyone is interested in a tutorial, leave a comment or email me and I'll whip one up.

The final sleeping bag was done when R came out of her brace, and is constructed like a normal baby sleeping bag, but that my friends, is another post for another day.

Sad owl

Sad owl went with fat cat to a new home

Baby quilt for a baby girl

When I was pregnant I was convinced that I was having a baby boy. We didn't find out but we didn't need to- it was obviously a little boy.

The upside of this was our friends who were due a week earlier were having a little girl, so how nice! One of each!

Cue quilt time. Using part of a moda charm pack, and two matching pinkish fabrics from darn cheap fabrics in Heidelberg, one quick sashed baby girl quilt was done.

This was by far the fastest quilt I've ever made, all by machine (the fact it was machine quilted probably helped the speed). This was whipped together so fast, that J was about 33 weeks preggo when I finished it.

Cue late term ultrasound. J was having a boy! Oh the spite of the quilting gods!

But it turned out ok, J has the most gorgeous bubba, and getting to meet the little man he's getting his own planned quilt. And the pink quilt? Oh cue the arrival of...

My baby girl R.