Maia's Quilt

One of my best friends just had another baby.  Her twin boys are aged six, and I think the question of whether to go for number three was thought about for most of those six years.  Happily her then unknown presence was finally deemed very much necessary, and now she is here in the world and how very exciting and pleasing this is for us all.  Unfortunately, I won't get to meet her right away as she lives in Italy... Oh, how I would like to zip over and see them!

So, I made a quilt for her.  I pieced the top in a weekend which is unheard of for me, I don't know how I did it really, I think I may have been neglecting my children and husband somewhat.  Then it took me a little longer to back and quilt and bind.  The fabric is American Jane Recess.  I bought a FQ stack of this line yonks ago, and sadly I think this will be the last quilt it makes, but it has served me well.  It did this one, and this one.  And clearly that duvet cover picked up in the charity shop has done me well too, as it backed the three Recess quilts and this one!  Gosh, I am predictable aren't I?

So, sewing is being slipped in between the rest of life.  Although this 'rest' of life is proving to be rather stressful.  We have sold our home and are in the process of buying a new one.  The new one being 200 miles away.  Eek.

And, I would like to thank Knotted Cotton for this post, by reminding me that I have a blog.

How to make a lady very happy

I made a new bag!  Whoopee!  I have had this t-towel since my hen do... we went to a car boot sale on the Sunday and I came away with, among other things, a stack of kitch souvenir kitchen linens.

And, I made a bag... look!  I am so pleased.  This morning I went swimming and took my new bag and oh what a bright start to the day. Check out the fun illustrations... how could that not make you cheery?

The green handles and lining is Lime Klona Cotton.

Did I tell you that I love it? 

Tummy Ache Supper

Supper for Mil this evening was a Tummy Ache recreation.

Mils Blue Quilt

I hadn't meant to blog this morning.  I logged on to look at my much neglected blog reader and realised I would rather write a post.

I have neglected this space and it distresses me so.  I wish I had the time to dedicate more to it... perhaps this will change in time.

Anyhow, want to see what I finished?  I'm not sure I even told you I had started it, but I made a quilt for Mil.  It's blue, it's a simple nine-patch, it is quilted in a very simple way, and actually I am really pleased with it.

And the best thing is that Mil likes it.  This is remarkable as he has an inherent dislike of all that is new.  But as I put it on his bed and started to take some photographs, he came upstairs and immediately got into bed and closed his eyes for a moment, then got back out and took great care in straightening it back out again.

Last night after bedtime he came back downstairs and said 'I really love my quilt mum, thank you for making it for me'.  I don't doubt for a moment that he knew how much that meant to me.

Speak to you all soon!

Patches and scrapes

My little Mil never crawled, instead went straight to walking.  This was great for us, as we could sit him in the middle of the room and as long as he couldn't reach any furniture then he wasn't going to go anywhere.  He was even pretty safe if left by a piece of furniture or wall as he used to shuffle his way around the edge of the room going in and out of the alcoves, until he got where he wanted.  We never had to have a stairgate at the bottom of the stairs as along with crawling, he didn't get the climbing thing until later either.

However, even with an early start with walking, he didn't take to running in the same way.  Now, he can run pretty well, but like any 3 (nearly 4) year old he still goes flying on a regular basis.  And flying boys means scraped knees, and holey trousers.

I have not been doing much (any) sewing recently.  What can I say?  I've been busy.  I am determined to do a bit more though, and before I can make real progress I have some small 'clearing the ground' jobs to do.  One of which was this patching job. 

I think they look super-cute and am dead chuffed to be back in the sewing saddle.  Of course, now they have patches on Mil will probably not go near these trousers with a barge pole.  He's very fussy about what he wears... but that will remain to be seen... I'll keep you posted.

Some Knitting

I have not been doing much crafting.  I have been snowed under with Backstitch work, and it seems that it may continue that way.  But I do sneak the odd bit in.

Over Christmas I made Mil some Legwarmies... Ravelry link here.  But he rejected them, so they have been adopted by Emmett.  Good old Emmett - always up for a cast off.  They are knitted with the totally gorgeous MillaMia yarn who have brilliant colours... yet another Swedish export that I can't get enough of.

And just in shot there on Mil is his tank that I made him back in Summer.  This was my hospital knitting for when I had Emmett.  Mil did not reject this.  I told him it would make him run faster, and now it is his favourite.  The pattern was recommended by the lovely Helen over at Angharad Handmade it is called 'Bob'.  Ravelry project page here.  The pictures are taken on our allotment at the end of the summer.  We were planting peas and onions for the mice and birds to eat over winter.

And if you're wondering if he noticed the new eiderdown... he didn't.  I couldn't believe it.  I had to point it out to him in the morning having slept under it all night.  I never for a moment thought he wouldn't notice... it was just meant to be a headline.  Oh well.

Do you think he will notice?

Do you think my husband will notice that we have a new eiderdown on our bed?  The red one below is what we used to have and the green one is what we have now.

I couldn't help myself.  It was in the window of the charity shop as I ran past last night.  The shop was closed and I was pawing at the window.  I even had dreams last night of coming into the shop in the morning and seeing someone else at the till with it in their arms... argh! 

This morning I piled the boys (as of course there are now two) into the pushchair and hurried up to the High Street, in the rain, to be there as the shop opened.  I won't say how much I paid, but it is worth it already.  Although, now I want new bed linen to complement the gorgeous eiderdown.  Oh dear.

And, hello!  Is this a one time only appearance or am I back for good?  I would like to think the latter, as I have missed it here. 

Catch you later! x

Emmett

So, he was born a month ago today... all was great, he was 9 lb 2 oz and I am relieved to have him here in the world safely.  We're all settling into our new ways okay... there is a fair bit of yelling going on, but I'm confident it will pass.

Apologies for the absence... I fear it may last a little longer!

Too small and too big

A little while back I finished Mil's jumper.  Ravelry link here. The first thing I have knitted for my lovely boy.  I am fairly happy with it.  I love the yarn (Stylecraft Pure Luxury Merino DK)... so so soft, but I made a bit of a mess of the neck... not thinking very clearly about how the two-tone was going to work.  And then... the damn thing ended up being way too small!  Good old Mil wore it for a while, insisting that it was 'fine' but really it was way too short in the arms and in the body. 

I'm knitting him a new jumper now... a tank top, which will be the right size!  And, luckily there is a cousin this can go straight to, and then it can come back for our next.

So, too big?  That's me.  I'm too big, way too big.  Going for the op on Tuesday... wish me luck!

Backstitch pattern review series

Over at Backstitch, we've started a series of pattern reviews by lovely bloggers. The idea is to give you a useful resource for when choosing patterns from the shop. 

The first of our pattern reviews is by Helen of Angharad Handmade. You all know Helen don't you?  She has a great blog as well as an Etsy shop where you can buy all the nice things she makes.

The review gives you some valuable information about the pattern, as well as some inspiration... who could not be inspired by this lovely spotty number?!

Read the full review here within the articles section on the Backstitch website.

 

Clickerty-clack

I can't get enough of knitting at the moment! I am seriously missing sewing but just can't get my backside off the sofa. I think B is getting a bit bored of me saying 'I know what I'm going to sew next' and then not doing any of it... I have masses on my 'to sew' list and zero motivation for it.



But, those knitting needles? Click, clack, click, clack. I'm in heaven!

I've finished this unborn childs second pair of shoes... I know, daft. I am fully aware that babies don't wear shoes, but those cute little bootie patterns - irresistible! (Saartje's Booties, ravelry link here). That's it though. I've moved on to some serious functional knitting.



I really wanted to knit the boy a cardigan. He likes cardigans over jumpers really, but I couldn't find a pattern I was happy with, so I have opted for the placket neck jumper from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I am knitting it in this super-soft Stylecraft 100% merino.




But, anyone have any ideas how to get me off this sofa and up into that sewing room?

Baby Knits

Today I finished two projects. A red jacket and some booties. Both for the baby. Some might be forgiven for thinking that this baby is going to be born in December, not May, but hey, you know the what the British summer is like.


I am loving knitting at the moment and now feel quite lost that I have nothing on the go... not sure what I can get click-clacking on next? Perhaps something for the boy... poor chap has not been knitted anything yet.



Both projects are in my Ravelry. The jacket here and the boots here. Both projects are free ones, the jacket from here and the boots here, and both were really great quick knits... highly recommended. The only concern I have is that the booties really are tiny. I think if I made them again, I would make them longer in the foot. They currently measure up at 7cm heel to toe... I know babies are small, but 7cm? Besides, it looks like I'm cooking up a nine and a half pounder in here.

And, how are you all? Enjoying this sunny spell?

Backstitch: Free Alphabet Embroidery Transfer

New blog post over at the Backstitch blog: Download a free alphabet embroidery transfer.

Knitting for the bump

I haven't done any knitting for ages. I have been slogging to get Backstitch up and running and craft-wise I have been beavering away on some projects that will be for the Backstitch blog.

But a couple of days ago I picked up the needles again.

I am 31 weeks pregnant and really getting quite big now. Getting to the stage where I am not just moving slowly, but trying to move less too. And although this goes against my nature, I have realised that moving less and knitting make a winning combination.

Now, this poor little baby that is wriggling away inside me hasn't been crafted anything yet (actually that's not exactly true, but near enough) so a small red cardigan is on the needles.

The pattern is a free one (God bless Ravelry), and is available here. This is the link to my project in Ravelry.

As we don't know what flavour this baby will be I am knitting it in a nice universal red, and shall be using a big brown wooden button, yet to be purchased, as the feature. I think the cardi has a pretty unisex shape too.

Hooray for knitting!

Backstitch goes live!

Well, whoever would have thought I would do this?!! I've only gone and done it though...
Backstitch the online store selling fabric and patterns opened it's virtual doors yesterday.

I hope you like it... it has taken some time and some more effort, but I am pleased with the result.

Please feel free to spread the word!

Kenwood love

I am in love with a machine. After several years of hankering, I came across this beauty at a car boot sale a couple of weeks ago. The man wanted £30 for it... a fair price. I, as is typical, came to the boot sale unprepared for large purchases. Just before heading home B and I scrabbled together our pennies and I was able to offer him £17. I think he could see the desperation in my eyes.

Mil and I made cakes. I think we might be making cakes more often.

3 years

Last week, our little boy turned 3. That's 3 mad years of parenting.



And, biased I might be, but I think he's lovely.

Scarlet fever/ tonsillitus/ double ear infection

Our little boy has been lost in a world of poorly... for almost 2 weeks now. First scarlet fever, and now tonsillitis and a double ear infection. He is just starting his second round of antibiotics, and is dosed up with painkillers.

He is not himself at all and I want him back... I miss him.

So, not much of anything going on around here other than getting through the days and nights and hoping that things improve and that our fun-loving, creative and thoughtful boy comes back soon.

I love my ironing board

So, ages and ages ago I picked up an old wooden ironing board from a car boot sale for £2. Yes! A whole two pounds. Up until this point I was using a duvet cover laid out on my cutting table.

The ironing board was grubby and with rusty bits and the cover, if you could call it that, was pinned on very badly with multi-coloured drawing pins. Also, when you ironed it gave off a nasty whiff... Nice. I did take some before pictures, but it was so long ago that I cannot find them.

It took me ages and ages to recover it, and I have been doing it in stages, but it is complete. I stripped it down and beeswaxed the wood, tacked on some new luscious thick felt, and have just recently added some jolly red canvas.


Ta-da! One brand new spanking delicious ironing board.


I love it.

Edited to ad: Can I just make it clear that I only iron for sewing purposes, oh, and weddings and interviews. I didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea about me and ironing.

Oooooh, and I have been very slack. A few weeks ago, Petit Filoux awarded me my very first blogging award. A Sunshine Award. It is 'awarded to bloggers whose positivity & creativity inspires others in the blog world'... do you hear that? Can you imagine!

Well, I am dead chuffed, thank you Petit Filoux, and sorry for being so slow with my response... real life has been getting in the way of this one.

I am going to be a bit naughty and not pass it on, but please do all have a look over on the right there and take a look at a few of the very many blogs that I follow. And go and check out Petit Filoux... that girl is a whirlwind of creativity.

And, bring on the sunshine.

my mate for life

Happy Valentine's everyone. We don't really celebrate Valentine's day in this house with any seriousness. Occasionally, if the other is lucky we might present a card. Like a lot of the world we try to celebrate our love and togetherness in small ways every day, and rather rebel at being told to show love.


However, I did feel compelled to make my love a small lavender pillow to keep his smalls scented. With a heart on one side and a swallow on the other. As well as some rather dubious homo erotic and criminal meanings, swallows also symbolise love and loyalty as they choose a mate for life.

And B? He made bagels... what more could a girl ask for?