bits and pieces

I'm off to the Craft room tonight with my granny squares and some strawberry and coconut loaves. I'm currently in the middle of another round of prac teaching which keeps me pretty busy, but it will be nice to have an evening of crafting, chatter and nibbles.
We've had visitors staying with us for 3 of the past 4 weekends, so my sewing is progressing incredibly slowly, but I am looking forward to starting on my own version of Oh Fransson's mod sampler very soon. I want to make a quilt for my little one that will last longer than just the baby years, so I think this particular pattern will be perfect. I am going to use some fabric I have had squirreled away for quite a while now.


And from that I think you might be able to guess the sex of my little one!

tempted...

Sorely tempted... I do need to do a big order of white yardage from the Fat quarter shop, but I am trying to be strong and not add these to my cart too. Boy do I love the Nate set...

now what?

Sometimes it pays to be slow. With so many babies due around the same time as mine, I was getting a little nervous about the amount of sewing I had in front of me. Thankfully, my UFO basket is full of half finished quilt tops which will be perfect for these little ones!

This is a top I started when we first came to Sydney just over 3 years ago. I remember now why I never finished it, because I couldn't figure out how ... and I still can't. I'm thinking a solid light peach border followed by a dark binding. The only thing is, the quilt top is still quite small- about 30"x 33". I'm thinking of quite a thick border, maybe 3" finished? Making the finished dimensions abour 36" x 39". Is that too small? I guess it could just be a little snuggle quilt, maybe for a pram? I would add more blocks, but I barely have any of this fabric left. Otherwise this weekend, I have finally put together my pinwheel sampler quilt top. I ended up adding a scrappy border too, similar to this one, as it looked too plain without it. Now I just have to get some backing, choose a quilting pattern and send it off. I can't wait to have this one finished and on our bed. Too bad winter is almost over! But that's what happens when you are slow!
Sorry about all the dark photos lately (including these awful ones). My husband assures me he has re-set the camera for me now!

You and Me

Isn't this just the most gorgeous fabric? I saw it here and immediately bought half a yard as I think it will be wonderful for the babies room. I want to keep the colours in the babies room fairly neutral, but with a few splashes of colour. I am thinking this will become a cushion perhaps...

My granny squares are slowly coming together, but with Uni in full swing at the moment my progress has been a little slower than I had hoped. But I am determined to have it finished by December!

sewing for little ones

My granny squares are starting to pile up and I have recently learnt from you tube how to join them. I am really enjoying making these little squares and imagining the little fingers that will run accross them

Turns out four of my friends are also pregnant and due within a month or two of me as well as my cousin who is expecting her third! So I have lots of baby related sewing to do. A quick clean-out of my craft area led to the discovery of 3 unfinished baby quilt tops, which will definitely help, and also two orphaned quilt blocks from a quilt I made for my cousin Belle. After seeing the ridiculously overpriced taggy blankets in the shops I decided that these quilt blocks could become perfect taggy blankets.


With some satin and felt ribbons and some soft minky on the back, they were very quick little gifts to whip up. And I even got to practice my free motion quilting too. During my cleanout I discovered a shrinky sheet I purchased last year, so I hope to use that in the next one to give it a little more texture.


Now I just have to start a quilt for my little one.

granny square overload!

1. Bright granny squares afghan, 2. Granny square blanket, 3. first, 4. New Colorful Flowery Blanket, 5. IMG_0975, 6. Granny A Day blanket

These pics are my current flickr faves. I have found some lovely bright wool and have started my granny squares. I am using a 4 ply merino wool and a size 5 crochet hook. I tried a 3.5mm hook first but the squares were tight and very small, but with the 5mm hook they are big and soft. My only worry is that they might stretch - does anyone know if this might be a problem? My knowledge of wool and crocheting is limited to say the least!

BIG change..

Remember when I said that 2010 looked to be full of change? Well I wasn't kidding - along with our new home here in Sydney and my study, my husband and I are also expecting a special kind of Christmas present this year - one with 10 fingers and 10 toes.
To say we are excited is an understatement! I have been very lucky and not been sick at all, just VERY tired. But hopefully I am getting to the stage now when my energy should be coming back.

I bought some material last weekend to start making some wraps - some muslin and some flannelette as well as some gloriously soft minky to make a cuddle toy. Only greens, yellows and aquas at the moment as we don't know the sex, but hopefully the little one will cooperate in a few weeks time so that we can find out.

When I told my workmates I was pregnant one of the girls showed me the gorgeous crocheted hats and jackets she makes for premature babies (which she donates to hospitals), so I took the oppurtunity on one afternoon tea break to learn how to crochet! I am so happy to have finally learnt and have made myself some granny squares to practice. I am hoping to get to the shops this weekend to pick up some soft baby yarn to make a special blanket.

And to add to the change, we are also planning our return to Melbourne early next year too. My life really doesn't feel right if I don't have a million things going on at once!