Tick, tick

Now that could be the clock ticking down as we near closer to D-day... counting down the days now at only 10 days till my due date (last chance to place your guesses in the baby stats game in my sidebar!). Or it could be me, slowly ticking of the items on my list of things to do before bubs arrives.

I now have the nappy bag completed and filled with stuff for the baby's stay in hospital. We hardly took anything when Austy was born as the hospital claimed to stock everything you needed except the going home outfit, but this time I know better. Luckily this bag is big enough to store either a days worth of cloth nappies, or 4 days worth of clothes. Since I'm happy to use disposables while in hospital, there is plenty of room for nightgowns and day wear for bubs, with a few extra changes as well as that first cloth nappy and going home outfit. Austy hardly fitted the little gowns they had for him there and they tied around the neck which I was unsure about, so I ended up getting Austy's Dad to bring in a few bodysuits for him during our stay. This time I'm all prepared.

Here's the nappy bag in all it's glory. Not the best pics as the battery went flat on my camera while I was taking them, but you get the idea. I used some of my favourite quilting fabric - the bag designed for MY liking rather than for Austy's Dad or for the baby. We still have Austy's old very boring plain kapoochi bag if Austy's Dad wants to use it, but I last time I found that because of the milk bar, the baby was always with me anyhow, so I figured I should have a pretty nappy bag just for me!! So here it is in my favourite colours, with bag feet and lots of pockets!!

And another tick - Austy's big brother tee-shirt that the baby will "give" him on the first visit to the hospital. We figured that first visit he will be fascinated with the baby anyway and so thought a tee would be fine. Each day he visits after that he will get quiet play type toys - I have wrapped in my hospita bag a box of wooden jigsaw puzzles, a foam "tools" lacing set (where the kids thread shoelaces through holes in the tool shapes) and a zoo themed felt board. They should keep him amused so that we can all be together for longer, without Austy's Dad having to rush him home before he destroys everything.

Unfortunately when tried to embroider the design directly onto the tee, I felt it was safe to leave the machine and fold some washing, only to hear a long beep and check it to find a big tangled knot at the back and a hole gobbled into the t-shirt. Sometimes this embroidery machine really does my head in... you'd think it would be simple, press start and walk away. But no. I managed to salvage it by sewing the design to a patch instead and appliqueing it on. Austy won't know the difference...

Oh, and that's my nursery curtains you can see in the background - the sheers are all done, and this one blackout curtain, with the front two blackouts yet to be cut and sewn. I would do them tonight but some electrical work done today has meant we have no lights tonight... Hopefully tomorrow night.

And finally, a huge welcome to my newest nephew, Ashton Tomas, born on Monday and a great test run for Austy at hospital visits. Of course we all had a cuddle of the little man, and Austy was sooooo well behaved, and even more excited to sit up on the bed with his Aunty Katy and hold Ashton in his lap. Check out the huge grin! I can't wait to see how excited he is when it's his own baby brother or sister he is cuddling. He is going to be the best big brother around!

Round Robin Returns!

Remember back in February, when I put together this centre block? Well after a little trip around Australia, it has now returned as a quilt top all ready for me to finish off and quilt! Although it will have to stay on my WIP pile for a little while as I have to do te last round on Emma's before doing anything on mine, and still have two more curtains to make for the baby's room, a few more nappies and some hand stitching on the nappy bag. And at least one of bub's quilt's might need to get done first too.

But that doesn't stop me staring at it lovingly!! Emma did the second round, which pushed my block slightly off centre with some gorgeous kaleidescope blocks and adorable little seahorses. I love how she used the print to give them eyes - so clever! Don't miss seahorse number three poking his head around my centre block at the top either - very cute! I think with some quilting close to the edge, perhaps with some metallic thread, these little guys might be forced to come out of hiding a little more, despite their shy nature. They are too cute not to show them off!

Then Emma sent it off to Perth, where Helen raided her stash, brightening it up with the stripey border which reminds me so much of many of Helen's quilts. It ties in with the turtle shell fabrics nicely and livens it up a bit out of all the batiks. I remeber seeing her sneak peak on her blog when she did it a while back, feeling a little gyped because she didn't show off very much of her section at all, but now I can see it would have been a dead give-away!

Finally, AJ found the perfect batik fabric for the outer border, calming down the busy-ness of the design and adding a simple but very beautiful fish and seaweed applique to the bottom corner, all done painstakingly by hand - practising for that Noah quilt we've both been working on I think!

All in all I adore every bit of it, and wouldn't change a thing. This round robin (my first ever) has certainly been a wonderful, challenging, inspiring and very creative endevour, of which I have loved being a part. I have a good idea what I want to do with Emma's, I just need to find a little time somewhere...

New nephew arrival day

My new nephew is about to make his entrance any minute now, (my sister is in the throws of labour as I type) so here's another little set I whipped up for him to go into a basket full of goodies. I think I need to make Austy a PJ set similar to these little baby sets (but with t-shirt and shorts instead of course).

And a couple of baby bibs for the gift basket:

Lastly, something for my baby... due any day now! I have been terrified of fold-over-elastic but when my purchased PUL nappy covers (Tots Bots size 1) arrived looking rather large for a tiny new baby, I decided I should give it a shot. I wasn't sure how much elastic to buy so unfortunately what I have left won't make another. So I have an excuse to go shopping again... The next ones will be coloured or printed - a little more exciting.

While the elastic on the legs (over the leg gussets) was a little challenging, I'm happy with how the cover turned out. A much better size too! Although by the size of my bump, if this little one hangs out in there too much longer, it may be a whopper!! Another size update tomorrow after my ob appointment. Last check it was measuring a week ahead, and starting to engage. I'm hoping for next week to give me a little more time to finish the curtains and some more nappy sewing. Austy's Dad is hoping for the 14th... or even the induction date on the 19th. Hmmm... no thanks - going by last time induction does NOT always mean a quick labour - just excrutiating and painful!!

Soft shoe love!

When I was told last night that today's combined mother's group birthday party was definitely a goer, I had a brief moment of panic, realising that last time I saw our first mum to bring another baby into our group, I promised her I had a little gift for him at home. (A little fib, saying I already had it, but I had only the fabric and hadn't gotten around to doing anything with it...)

After finishing my own bubba's blockout curtain #1 ready to hang, I pulled out my Ottobre magazines ready to make up a cute pair of overalls that would be the perfect size for him. However on closer inspection the little overalls had a sewn crotch rather than snaps there. Sure I could modify it, but it was already 10pm, I hadn't even drafted the pattern, and I was in no mood for modifying patterns to watch it all go wrong due to being so tired.

So out came the baby shoes pattern again. I just love it. So quick to make and so gratifying as they are just too cute for words. And this time I decided to use the beautifully soft suede that one of my due in December forum buddies sent me last time she spied baby shoes on my blog. She had a whole heap of scraps given to her, not big enough for much else except baby shoes and maybe teddybear paw pads, but oh so soft and a gorgeous colour, and perfect for the shoes! I love stroking the soles of these shoes, just so nice to touch!

I had the shoes made by 11:30 and then waddled off to bed, thinking I'd grab a little white gift box on the way to the party and tie it with a nice blue ribbon. But the 4:30am loo stop woke me up, and suffering "pregnancy back" I tossed and turned and couldn't get back to sleep. SO what is one to do at a quarter to six when the house is all quiet? Head to the sewing room to applique a onesie of course! Luckily I had a 00 in my box of things to embellish as little Lachlan is already nearing the 3m mark - it has been a while since I've been able to catch up with the Mums due to work.

So here is what I will be giving Lachlan's mummy today. I hope it's a hit!

One for Inca

I decided to keep that little pink dress after all and hunted through my stash for more 1yrd pieces that I could make more dresses from. I decided on this Robert Kauffman number for Inca (although it's one of my favourite fabrics). Being a second dress it is better made than the first so I decided to gift this one to little Inca.

We didn't get to see them on the weekend, so I made some matching shoes to make it a set.

Then I had a gift to make for my Secret Stork pressie on the Essential Baby forums (Due in December group). I had planned on using a Peter Rabit fabric (on a green background) but didn't quite have enough so decided on this moda fabric by Me & My Sister designs (Sweet baby Jane).

Of course I had to turn it into a set too, so added this cute little sunhat I have made before as a gift when Elizabeth was born.

Now I think I need to make hat AND baby shoes to go with that pink dress... and if bub comes out a girl, perhaps a matching nappy (since nappies aren't the best things to store for gifts because hardly anyone I know uses cloth nappies).

LAST DAY OF WORK TOMORROW!!! Yipeeee! Looking forward to not feeling dead on my feet, for at least a couple of weeks anyway.

Festive butt!

Here's the little Christmas nappy I whipped up after embroidering the reindeer the other week. I had to wait for the red velour to arrive for the inner before I could sew it up, and found a little scrap of red star fabric for the tabs in my scrap bag - perfect! Can't wait to see it on the baby now. I followed this tutorial to help roll in the legs this time and it worked out so much better than the last one. I think I'm quite happy with my pattern now.

And then there is this little dress I made this week for friends who are the proud new parents of little Inca, however I think I like it too much to give it away... just in case we have a little girl too. I might have to make another one and then decide which one to give. I want to make a matching sun hat or pair of baby shoes too before we go and visit for a cuddle.

The pattern was from Ottobre 3/2007 and quite simple except for the sleeve easing - I think I might need to get some practise at that if we do have a little girl bundle - because of course it would mean I'd be making tonnes more little dresses!

The washing machine is calling me now, filled to the brim with little white onsies, singlets, socks etc. waiting to be hung on the line and put neatly in the drawers to await bub's arrival. Three days left of work and then I can hopefully get those curtains finished and get some rest before the big event - less than a month to go now!!

Doll quilt recieved and 3rd birthday gifts

Yesterday morning, before the Christmas pageant Austy and I did our grand opening of the EB Doll Quilt Swap parcel that finally got here unscathed, after a few mishaps with the post and confusion over our address. It was well worth the wait - the photos tell the story!

How cute is this little robot, designed and made by Lily in my favourite colours - pale aqua and rich deep brown? Austy was besotted and so happy that his "baby" now had his own quilt (Benji Bear claimed the one AJ made him last year) that he ran and grabbed him and proceeded to read him stories on his new quilt. Aaaawww...

And today was no less busy. After finishing James' birthday gift at 2am this morning, we woke at 8am to get ready for two birthday parties - Austy's best friend and Emma's gorgeous boy James, and Austy's equally favourite 3 yr old, his cousin Elizabeth both had their big day today. I had decided that I wanted to make James a personalised cushion a few weeks ago, but amidst all the nappy making, curtain making and Masters thesis writing (I submitted my completed draft on Friday which just needs a final tweek after I hear from the faculty advisor), I just didn't get it started until Thursday. All I managed on Thursday night was the embroidery, which was causing me grief as my machine was having a bad day, and catching the bobbin thread in knots in one area so the threads kept breaking. It took 2hrs to do just the embroidery, stop start all the way so it was quite frustrating. Friday was a dedicated curtain making day as I was work and Austy free, so I didn't get to start the actual cushion piecing until Saturday night - and we didn't get Austy to bed until 9pm so it was a late start. I enjoyed the quilting process though - such a nice size to spin through the machine - I love it! Here's the result:

It was cute watching James open it, he just wrapped his arms around it and gave it a cuddle! The frogs go with his bedroom theme, just as Austy's cushion is designed to suit his room theme.

Then it was onto party number 2 where we gifted the birthday girl with this little number, a ruffled skirt I made up as I went along. Unfortunately the rushed photo doesn't show up the fabrics clearly - the top tier is a Michael Miller aqua swirl, then the next is a Michael Miller daisy fabric followed by a Timeless Treasures print in the perfect shade of green to match the daisies that I had left over from a quilt border. The binding and waistband is a Michael Miller chocolate swirl (same as the aqua) and the ties are stitched to elastic, and made from a fabric strip that came wrapped around one of my Z&S Fabrics orders through the year.

Austy tried it on for me during the making process and wouldn't take it off - he loved twirling in it!! Even though at that stage it had no elastic and needed to be held up. I think I might have to make him a skirt for the dress-ups box... although his Dad would be less than amused!!! I was in trouble for taking this photo:

Unfortunately the excitement and sunshine was too much for our boy today as no sooner had we come home and bathed him, he was sick all over the rug... We are hoping it's not gastro, but he actually ate quite healthily today considering he was at two parties, he didn't even eat birthday cake and was much happier eating fairy bread and watermelon over sausages so I don't think it was anything he ate. Hoping a good night's sleep fixes him.

EB Sewing Buddies - Secret Santa Swap

Just as one swap ends, another one starts! Hopefully I can manage to stitch something for this one, otherwise I will send some scrummy sewing supplies and fabric instead.

My answers:

Would you like something handmade as a gift?
I don't mind if it's handmade or bought, more fabric never goes astray if my swappee doesn't have alot of time. It would be nice to get something handmade, but I would be equally happy with quilting fabric or luscious minkee or velour nappy cuts for my nappy sewing addiction, or funky modern patterns.

Do you have a favourite Christmas Colour?
I love bright Christmas fabrics, but also like traditional things as well. I have varied tastes, but of course turquiose/aqua is my favourite colour year round.

Do you decorate the whole house or just a part of it?
Just the family room, but this year is our first in teh new house so not really sure yet. The tree will go in the formal lounge if we can get it organised in time - it currently is a bit of a junk room (woops)

Do you have any Christmas Traditions?
Not really. We are just starting our own now that Austy is getting older. He has a photo santa sack I made him when he was 1, with a photo of his first Christmas on the front and I will do the same for bubs.

What sizes are your children?
So far I only have Austy and he's a size 4 top (long body) and size 3 pants, bub is due in time for Christmas so 000 I guess (Austy was over 9lb/4kg so I am expecting this one won't be tiny but so far is looking to be smaller than he was).

Do you like quick projects or things that take a little longer?
Definitely quick projects - I rarely get long sewing sessions these days

Is there anything that you like to collect?
Not really... unless fabric counts!!

Doll Quilt Swap big reveal

Today was our big opening day for all of the parcels all over the country. Unfortunately I am one of the last to receive mine again (I think I am jinxed!!!) however it's not the fault of the stitcher so much as a stuff up with the post office and confusion over my address. Austy's Dad found my quilt parcel on the way to work and has it there now, so I will have to wait until morning to open mine, but am just happy it is safe and sound! It was a big emotional roller coaster saga afternoon while I hunted down the rogue quilt so a huge relief that I know it will be sleeping under my roof late tonight when he gets home from work.

In the mean time, I can reveal the whole quilt I made. I called it "Little Island Discoveries" as it was made for Kira, a cute little girl who was born the same week as Austy, and who know lives on a little island where she has tonnes of space to explore and make her own island discoveries this summer. Her Mum Kylie said she was after something fun and bright, so I worked with that, and the island theme. Of course I got a little carried away with the miniture embroideries (each less than an inch square) but enjoyed the process of paper piecing - this being my first paper pieced quilt. The pieces are really quite tiny so it took a lot of time, but it was challenging and rewarding. To give it a more finished look I added the tiny appliques at the bottom and it was quite difficult to keep my stitches neat and even due to the size of the appliques. The backing fabric was just perfect for the quilt - something that jumped out at me from equilter whilst selecting sea colours, and I just knew I had to have it for Kira's little quilt.

More nappy talk

So far bub's stash consists of 7 homemade fitteds, 2 home made pockets, 3 woolly nappy covers and now an All-In-One. This is the nappy project from Saturday - I embroidered a couple of nappy cuts (one is a Christmas nappy waiting for some red velour to arrive for the inner) and then drafted my own pattern and stitched up this little number.

I also finished this little Mini WonderSoaker (pattern available at the Wooly Wonder Store), all except the drawstring which still needs to be added but last night I decided to cast on some wool shorties instead, using some deliciously soft O-Wool.

I was naughty and got caught up in the latest Bubblebubs stocking too, ordering two more AIO's and had to order one of the Minky Magicalls that I've heard everyone raving about. I know I shouldn't buy nappies when I can make them myself at less than half the price, but I also feel that my time is running out and I don't have anywhere near the number of nappies I had made at this stage when pregnant with Austy. Don't worry though, my blog hasn't been completely overcome by nappies.

There will also be the big reveal of this little quilt in the next week or so (opening day is Friday) and hopefully one for me to open at my end on Friday too.

Then there's a couple of 3yr old's birthday presents I need to whip up between now and Sunday, so tonight I am either working on those, or cutting out pocket nappies. More on those later (and maybe a sneak peak or two!)

Nappy making frenzy underway!

Here are a few more I whipped up between curtain making:

Of course, my favourite is the turtles, despite having made a similar nappy for Austy before (although his now looks like a rag, the turtles almost invisible and a few tears in the outer fabric these days). I love the fabric, but also, I lined it with luscious soft mint velour. MMMMMmmm.

Austy thought the cow one was a bib, since he has a few bibs of the same fabric (that he doesn't really wear anymore), and happily played my assistant, handing me the correct coloured snaps in the quantities I asked for.

The lemon star one looks like one leg is bigger than the other in the photo, but it's definitely not since I marked my elastic start and end points before sewing on two equally sized pieces of elastic. I am thinking it's the way it was sitting for the photo. I like that print a lot too and wish I'd used the natural coloured bamboo velour in my stash to line it rather than the white microfleece.

Things are getting serious!

Seriously TINY that is! (Or you could say things are getting seriously huge, but it depends if you are talking about me or the nappies...)

A bit of my nappy making history:

I cloth nappied Austin from birth, making up about 20 small pocket nappies before he was born and one newborn one simply because my first go at creating my own pattern had me make one too small. But that nappy was wonderful in the early days as it didn't rub on his umbilical stump too much (the pockets have quite a high rise) and the legs didn't have to be done up at the tightest snap (and risk wing droop). After my first go at making new pockets on Saturday night, (this time my first one came out to be more like a medium than a newborn... I think I just couldn't remember how small new babies are), I decided to make a newborn sized fitted. Austin was in pockets from day 1 till he was 6-8m old and no longer able to stay dry in a heavily boosted pocket nappy all night long so I never did the fitted and woolly thing with him until then when nothing else seemed to work. Fitteds always seem smaller than a pocket anyway as there is no allowance for lots of stuffers, and you do have to fit a cover over them. But I was so shocked when I whipped up this little fitted tonight. It is the cutest, tiniest thing I have ever seen and I was tempted to go and steal Austy's "baby" from his tight sleepy grasp just to try it on as I did with his first newborn nappy (the doll was here for my niece long before Austin was thought of but with our baby approaching Austin has become quite attached to his little boy baby).

It was quite fiddly to do and next time I would cut the lay in booster a bit bigger (you can't see it here as it's underneath the snap in soaker pad). Overlocking those tight corners was a little difficult when I am so out of practice on the nappy making front. I did have a full body layer cut from the microfleece but the nappy seemed really bulky and I decided to go withoiut, leaving soft bamboo fleece against bub's skin, and microfleece on the soaker pad to wick the moisture away. This was the first time I used woolly nylon too - love the stuff - soooo soft!

And here's a progress shot of bubs, taken at 31w pregnant. I actually don't look that big here - I think it's the skirt. Normally when I have jeans or work pants on and it's easier to see where my bump starts, people start looking very worried, even my boss is stressing taht I won't make it through to my maternity leave date at 37 weeks!

And just a cute story about Austy, because I feel like sharing. Tonight I was seriously tired, having woken up at 4am with reflux (I never want to eat Indian again... well at least not till after bub arrives!) and not being able to go back to sleep. When I got home I started having some nasty Braxton Hicks contractions that had me stopping whatever I was doing - I think it was my body's way of telling me to rest. Austy was quite concerned and when I went to lay down on the couch and called him into the family room to play where I could keep an eye on him, he came in, gently wrapped his arms around my tummy and said "I'm taking your tummy sore away and throwing it in the bin" and off he went and I heard the bin lid go up and slam down. Then he dissappeared to his bedroom, came back with his pillow and "star blanket" (the baby quilt I made him) and "tucked me all in" on the lounge. He played for a little bit, then I moaned again so off he went. I looked at my watch and realising it was bed time for him I went to go and get him to get him ready for bed. There he was in his doorway, dragging his CD player and telling me to go back on the couch because he was bringing Justine Clarke for me to make me feel better! Isn't he just adorable! I just know he will make a fantastic big brother.

Teddy #1 complete

Austy wouldn't go to bed last night and with all of the getting up and down I didn't want to start quilting till I knew he was asleep, so I started the bears instead. This little guy got his front knitted in between putting someone back into bed, and then the back knitted while that little someone had swimming lessons today. After we swam in our pool this afternoon Austin wanted to stay outside and play with water toys so I sat outside with him and finished this little guy off. I still need ribbon for the teddy bear's necks, and then for stringing the mobile together but this is a start.

Better go, someone is up to his bedtime antics again... can't wait for DH to get home tomorrow night!

Thursday night dye up

I plan to make this little mobile for bubs room (or something very similar). Please excuse the dodgy photo of a photo in a pattern book!

The problem was the room colours I have chosen are quite rich, so there is no such thing as baby wool in deep burgandy, chocolate or beige. Good thing I know how to dye wool, eh? I picked up some cleckheaton merino bambino 4ply in Spotlight's 20% off sale this week (I had to go in to get more stuffing for Austy's bed cushion, but there was no way I was lining up for fabric - the express isle even took 20 minutes of waiting!). I found some gaywool colours (garnet, mushroom and logwood) and ordered them online a few weeks ago. So last night I set myself up a-dyeing. I was jsut going to do the three solids, but did a varigated one for good measure...

And finally one last sneak peak at the doll quilt I am working on. No more peaks now until it is received and opened. But I had to show you the hand stitched lettering I have added to the picture squares. And that's a little people doll to show you how tiny everything is. I would have used something else, but it was being photographed on Austy's play desk so of course the quickest little thing I could find was a toy!

A promise kept

As promised, here is another (bigger) sneak peak at the little quilt I am working on for the EB doll quilt swap 2. Hope you like it!

One little boy's room...

...slowly coming together.

I finished the cushion cover last night and mad a cushion to go in it, although I ran out of stuffing so it will need some more before I can close the hole in the cushion. Luckily, with it being in a cover, Austy is able to have it in his room tonight and since it's so thin with stuffing, he has decided it makes a snuggly pillow, and went down as soon as we closed his door. A few EBers would know that we had some trouble with him on the first night in his new room, his excuse for all the tears being "but it's not finished". Slowly but surely we are getting there though and here is the evidence:

Some bunting, appliqued curtains and a big new personalised cushion.

Quilting underway (although, VERY slowly but I am determined to get it done). Emma came over today to get me started, generously gave up half of her day off to do it, and also gave me a few pointers. This is my first quilt this size (and the second quilt top I ever pieced - just been sitting dormant for a while), and I have decided to use wool batting so it's quite heavy and tricky to manouvre. I have already had a few "What was I thinking?!" moments but it will be worth all the effort in the end.

BEAUTIFUL new big boy bed, fit for a prince, waiting for a coat of paint tomorrow. I'm so proud of Austy's Dad. He's never built a piece of furniture before but when we couldn't find anything we liked, and those that were close cost over $1000, he decided to attempt it himself and I love it!! He still has to put the slats on and make the trundle drawer but he wants to get the bed part finished so Austy can sleep in it and worry about the trundle drawer afterwards.

Our poor bank accounts are suffering at the moment due to new mattresses for the bed, trundle, and cot, new curtains for bub's room, lots of new bedding for both Austy and bub, a new car seat for Austy, all of the timber and paint we have consumed lately and a huge $565 vet bill to have Gryffin's teeth pulled... poor cat, but we were shocked at the price. So we will let the funds recover a bit (and unfortunately Austy's Dad will be working weekends again for a while) before the trundle drawer gets built and the kids shelves and Austy's toy/book unit gets bought. So the rooms will stay unfinished for a little bit longer.

A wednesday WIP

Here's what I was working on yesterday afternoon. It will become a floor cushion for Austy's room, to have on his bed as decoration, or to sit on the floor playing with his toys as I will imagine when the baby comes and starts to explore he will want to play with some of his toys in his room so they can't be snaffled by tiny fingers. I can just see him sitting on it building castles with his duplo.

When I showed him the top he grinned a super big grin. I asked him what it said and he recognised his name straight away: "It says Austin" he exclaimed as he hugged it close to his chest. Gotta love that for gratitude - what I most love about making things for my boy.



And for the EB quilters and sewers... if you look really carefully you may see a hint of the doll quilt I am working on. More sneak peaks to come so keep your eyes peeled.