BubbaChic

Travel Sewing Kit

A friend of mine has recently taken up sewing, so I was eager to make her something sewing related for her birthday. I decided to make a travel sewing kit - something which could hold everything you need to do a little embroidery project when you are travelling.

I started with a needle holder (tutorial here)

I used linen and vintage fabrics inside the sewing kit - with enough pockets for all the things you need.

I added some embroidery designs from Wee Wonderfuls and Sublime Stitches along with some linen to embroider on.

I finished the front with a little tree embroidery I made back in December, when we were in the midst of the ice storm!

Gifts and a Giveaway!

Its always the last few finishing touches to an outfit which seem to take me the longest - and this dress is no exception. It has been sat, finished for about 10 days, except for button holes and buttons. So this morning when my wondeful boy woke me for the day at 5.45am, I figured I had enough time to sit and finish it....

I have made it for a very special and brave little Lady at our Church, who is currently undergoing chemo. A sweet lady called Brenda, who I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting face to face (only online) sent 16 hand made bows and three soft headbands for the bows to attatch to, to go with the outfits. I was overwhelmed with Brenda's kindness in reaching out to send me her beautiful bows, thank you Brenda, thank you.

I used the Fabernmix pattern - Cara for this dress, a favourite of mine as it is such an adaptable pattern. I added the little ruffle trim to give the dress a really girly look.

I also managed to pick up some rather cute little tank tops from Old Navy, and when I brought them home I realised that the colour was a perfect match to some wonderful Amy Butler fabric...so I made a little ruffle skirt and added an applique for a second outfit to give.

and here they are in all their glory - beautiful aren't they!!!!!!

and lastly - this week marks the first anniversary of my little blog, so I am putting the finishing touches to a garden inspired mini quilt....perfect for any nature table or sewing room....or anywhere you want to put it really. Just leave me a message and next sunday at midday (Central time) I will randomly pick a winner!

Its the little things....

Literally little...tiny things which make me smile.

I am finding great joy in making newborn clothes and gifts which may have worried Jay initially, but I think he now realises that I am not in fact, getting broody - we just have rather a lot of pregnant friends!!

So, wanting to be ahead of the game, I have started making these newborn sets, consisting of an uber soft and cozy knit fabric and hand made waldorf baby dolls - with au natural filling (and the battle wounds on my fingers to prove their making)

The pattern for the waldorf babies came from Dancing Rain Dolls - and you can buy the complete kits to make your own - I cannot recommend this website enough, the owner Amy is lovely and the customer service is phenomenal. The prices are wonderful and the patterns are, in my humble opinion, the best on the market. The previous Waldorf dolls I made for Mads and Joshy at Christmas, were the first I have made - and they were easy because of the clear step by step instructions that Amy provides.

I must admit I have had lots and lots of fun in making these dolls - the last dolls I made at Christmas were done under a very tight deadline and I didn't have time to actually enjoy the process....these, I really loved making and I can see me making some more on the horizon.

The clothing sets are made with some of my favourite fabrics, including the Kumquat fishies brand fabric overruns - which my boy has taken a shine to.

There are a few more in the sets in the making right now to complete the quota we need for imminent arrivals....

Mystery Solved!

Back in April, on a relaxing weekend away I was able to get a girly quilt top pieced which I promptly lost...yep, gone - looked everywhere in the house and at our church, where I had taken it to show my friend when it was all pieced.

That was about 2 months ago now - and up until today I still had no idea where on earth it had gone! Today, I got a phonecall from a lady who runs a 'sacred stitches' group at our church - saying she had some good news and some other news! The good news being that they have my quilt top!! hoorah! The other news that when they found it at the church they thought it was a donation to their group and it was promptly quilted by them and will be sent to Emergency Infant Services this week.

So, that solves the mystery! I am, of course, very happy for my quilt top to be going to a worthwhile cause and I will be dropping in the matching baby shoes I made to go with the quilt tomorrow!

...and because I don't need toooo much of a reason for breaking out the New Conceptions Baby Essentials pattern, I also made 2 newborn outfits to go to the Infant Emergency Services too.....

Traditional or comtemporary?

There is just so much great eye-candy where baby quilts are concerned:

1. Paletas Quilt - texture, 2. log cabin, 3. Quilt for Sasha's Baby, 4. Maggie's Quilt, 5. pink chocolate baby quilt, 6. Baby quilt for girls -- custom ordered, 7. Baby Quilt, 8. Baby Crib Quilt Freshcut Heather Bailey Fabrics, 9. baby quilt, 10. Baby quilt, 11. Monkey Quilt 2, 12. baby quilt top Jan 2007, 13. baby quilt, 14. My baby quilt, 15. Baby Quilt 001, 16. baby girl quilt

So now all I need to know Ms. Kirsty - is whether you are a contemporary or traditional kind of gal!!? I really need to start thinking about getting the fabric...!

x

Quilt Show!

Even though I lugged my camera around the whole quilt show with me, I have no pictures of any of the amazing quilts that were on display - probably because I was doing so much of this:

I got some gorgeous pieces of vintage fabric - and a new Moda Jelly Roll but bar far the best deal of the day, was all of the vintage quilting books and magazines, which came to the grand total of $8!! I am looking forward to reading through some of them tonight with a glass of vino, when the kiddies are in bed...

Loose Ends...

It kind of feels like this is a post of loose ends, with pictures and news to share;

The Caramelized Banana Cheesecake went down very well at the BBQ, along with the pecan caramel sauce to make it extra calorific!

I have been busy with the kiddies and busy with trying to tie up some projects over the past few days - swimming lessons are proving more difficult for Maddy than we ever anticipated - a shaky start, fueled by other little people crying has left her feeling very uncertain about the whole *swimming lesson* thing and even the promise of a new Dora swimming costume, doesn't seem to be cutting it right now.

We are aiming to stick with it and see how it all pans out tomorrow morning....

I managed to finish up this quilt tonight following the auction for Samuel's family:

It will be packaged up in the morning ready to send to the auction winner -

I hope that they like it! I didn't realise how much of an emotional project it would be to do - my heart is just breaking for his family, I wish there was something more I could do.

On the Babylock front - and their promise to call me within 48 hours - I finally had an email from them today (6 days after contacting them) letting me know that an engineer would be in contact with me on Friday...so, again, watch this space!

Frustrations...

I am so annoyed at the moment - in fact, annoyed probably doesn't really truly convey what I am feeling correctly! I am fighting a battle with my sewing machine - and I am losing!

My machine is a little temperament to say the least - skipped stitches and broken needles are common place if she is not handled softly - its something which I have come to terms with. However, since becoming more and more into quilting - I have wanted to do some free motion quilting and that is where my lovely machine's temperament comes into its own!

There are a variety of problems, which I seem to have to fight to get anything half decent when stippling..and when I popped into the Babylock shop to buy more needles (having had a rough night with said machine) I spoke with one of the assistants about my *machine issues* and was informed that there is in fact a fault with that model of machine which prohibits free motion quilting...even though it is marketed as being able to do it - comes with the embroidery foot to do it and has a booklet on how to do it with the machine....I was a little peeved to say the least.

Trying to look on the bright side, I asked how much they would give me on a trade in - to get the next machine up (which apparently doesn't have the major bobbin fault mine does) and I was told that they don't take trade ins on that machine anymore *insert Dee going very red-faced here, saying through gritted teeth 'really? don't accept as a trade in anymore, is that because of all the damn PROBLEMS?!!?'

There are just a couple of things which have perplexed me about this situation:

1. I bought that machine based on what it was marketed as being able to do - and it can't

2. Why would a shop, that has got a fair bit of business from us over the past couple of years be so unreasonable?

3. Where do I go from here?

Having drawn a blank dealing with the shops manager - I contacted Babylock direct and relayed the whole story - they promptly got back to me and told me to expect a call from the US Sales manager within the next 48 hours...that was 24 hours ago, so watch this space!!!

Our weekend

Some wonderful mail on Friday to start the weekend::

A gorgeous house tape measure made by Patchwork Pottery a seriously talented mama who's work I ADORE! I spotted these tape measures months and months ago and been hankering after one ever since...you can find them in her Etsy store, I believe there is one left, which will not last long!! 

I managed to plod along with some sewing in some down time - work in progress includes::

I pieced a large quilt on Friday night - made entirely out of charm squares from Moda's Blossom line

I am making it to go in our lounge as a snuggle blanket when we need it...

Our weekend was also filled with lots of activity - both indoors and out. The weather was glorious and in the 80's so we took advantage and did some garden beautification:

and got a bit distracted at one point with the ice cream van...

and ended the weekend with a high - with the AWANA awards ceremony - in which both kiddies got to stand on the stage, in front of lots and lots of people and do their little singing/dancing routines that they had been practicing. Josh got stage fright!

Whilst Maddy spilled over with joy of being the centre of attention in front of lots of people and was beaming and chattering the whole way through...she was completely in her element!

Its a funny coincidence that a few hours before her stage debut, we actually signed her up for ballet dancing classes for the first time - I have a feeling that this was the right move for our little star!!

Work in Progress (lots of...)

The last day of school on Tuesday marked the start of a busy period in this house. Whilst Mads and Josh are busy playing, eating, drawing and bouncing (on the new trampoline!) I seem to have a number of ongoing projects that are needing to be wrapped up in my quiet times.

Bar far, the most important is finishing this quilt:

Which is being auctioned off here for the benefit of a very brave little boys family - Samuel Backus, who's 4 year battle against leukemia ended last week. Please please take a look at all the auctions here and seriously, how can you resist not bidding on these!

The auctions end Thursday May 15th 8pm (Eastern)

Other work in progress includes:

quilting...

      

making quilted fabric coasters...

and turning this yard of fabric and charm pack into a boys quilt....

Phew!

Life has been crazy around here in the past week - hence another improptu blogging break. In addition to the deep cleaning of the old house, ready to hand it over to its new owners on wednesday - we also experienced our fair share of unexpected dramas events which have just swept us along.

The business of the start of the week, was overshadowed by a trip to the ER on Wednesday morning with a dazed and confused Joshua who just had Maddy and a chair land on his head (whilst he laid on the floor) a cat scan revealed no major damage except a shaken up Joshy with a sore head.

The house is coming together slowly - we added something new to our bare walls this week with the addition of this:

A re-print of a WWII propaganda poster from Britain - I think it it encapsulates the Great British stiff upper lip perfectly - and just makes me smile. The history of the poster can be found here.

It is placed perfectly on the first wall that you see, when you walk through the front door:

I just love it.

On a different note, I have managed to squeeze some craft time into this week, to keep me (a little) sane...some very special and secret projects are on the go:

Along with some other wonderful (and not secret) projects like Crazy Mom Quilts - Quilt-along

The directions for the construction of the quilt block are really clear and simple and I am looking forward to getting out of my quilting comfort zone and learning some new things from a true pro.

Relaxing and growing..

A wonderful weekend was had all this weekend - the kiddies because they got to spend some quality time with Daddy, doing Daddy things like trips to the zoo, ice cream shop and the home depot(!) and wonderful for Mummy because I got to spend 2 nights away with some amazing women, in peaceful tranquil surroundings - a complete contrast to the rollercoaster of activity that has swept us along in the past few weeks.

Our time was spent learning and growing in our faith, with a large dose of some unadulterated *girlfriends* time, with a little eating thrown in - and of course, some hardcore sewing was undertaken!

Inspired by my time with some wonderful friends and a very cute pattern from Easy Quilts magazine - I worked on this baby quilt - whilst chatting and drinking vast quantities of diet coke (they offered it free - all day and night...how could I refuse??)

I am a big fan of any Heather Ross fabrics - but I think that the Matreshka fabric is particularly girly and adorable and I have been eager to immortalise it in a quilt. I liked the pattern very much, it was quick to sew up the main bulk of it - and a little trickier to sew other bits - but I can see it being a good pattern to use up scraps in the future.

Regardless of the fact that we have ALOT on this week with the final deep clean of the old house needing to be finished and more upacking to do here, I am eager to join Crazy Mom Quilts Quilt-along and determined that I will be able to fit it in somewhere!!

And now, back to reality!

Winner!!

Using a random number generator, I am pleased to announce that:

Kari - from Alas three lads is the winner of the mini quilt from the bloggy giveaway!! Congratulations, it will be winging its way to you imminently!!

Spring has sprung...

Maddys beans (or are they triffids??) are growing...

Spring backdrop for the nature table has been sewn - courtesy of the new stitchette pattern

...and the Oklahoma sunshine looks like it is going to give us a fabulous weekend on mama's first weekend away without her babes or her hubby!

Catch Up Time!

Whew!! Its been a crazy few days!

The move went (pretty) smoothly - but we are still trying to catch up with the dirt and grime, not to mention cobwebs and invasion of ants that we left by the previous renters of our new home - so still lots to sort out.

We have the main rooms of the house starting to get somewhat organised - and everywhere else is filled with boxes and bags, just screaming to be unpacked. In the midst of all the moving mess, I checked the mailbox to find this wonderful little package - and even grabbed an hour of down time on saturday night for some theraputic hand sewing -

The kiddies are enjoying the new house and particularly the garden which is a lot more practical for two active little ones who love to explore. Joshy seems to be having a hard time adjusting to his new bedroom and we have had many a sleepless night since moving in - but I am sure it will settle down soon (this too shall pass, this too shall pass....)

Maddy has just fitted right into her new sourroundings and keeps saying 'Mummy, thank you for my new house!' Adaptable as ever, our Mads!

Well, I better go and continue unpacking, so that walking without sustaining an injury in the house becomes possible!

Progress is slow

Progress has been slow in the house for the past few days - progress on anything that is! We have the moving deadline of next thursday looming, so I am really feeling like any spare moments should be spent packing the non essentials of the house. However, spare moments are few and far between at the moment - especially when 3 out of 4 members of the house are under the weather.

The weekend was relaxing and filled with togetherness - togetherness of us all spending some quality time with each other, whether it be at our favourite breakfast spot or at the zoo. Togetherness also for Jay and I, with a blissfull few hours to relax and eat out together on sunday.

The April showers continue in Oklahoma (we are currently under a sever thunderstorm!) and Spring is really making an appearance. I am looking forward to getting into the new house and planting some flowers in the garden with Maddy.

A few projects are on the go - including a sock monkey quilt which needs finishing and I also made two baby outfits on friday night for a last minute baby shower:

They are both from the New Conceptions Baby Essentials pattern, which is a good staple pattern for anyones stash.

The plans for this week are packing, packing, packing whilst also trying to finish off some new curtains and entertain my two little (grumpy) people who seem to be full of the snots and alot of attitude right now!

I did have one of those double take moments at the weekend with Maddy - when we were walking past the DVD section of the supermarket - she looked at the veggie tales DVDs and said 'I am so over veggie tales....' *insert sigh and rolled eyes here* I kind of just stopped in my tracks and wondered if I had just really witnessed my 4 year old behaving like a grouchy teen....!

I have a feeling my guys will never cease to amaze me....

Work in progress

Turning 20 yards of this fabric::

Into curtains for the lounge and kitchen, inspired by this lampshade bought in Dallas.

Finishing this lapquilt::

Inspired by this talented mama and these charm squares

and inspiration aplenty, with the arrival of these 2 new books....I am such a sucker for books.

Catch Up..

It has been busy around these parts in the past week - hence the impromptu blogging break. Our visitors (Nanny and Planky) have flown back to rainy England, leaving a void in our home once again.

We enjoyed having them here and even managed to take them to see the sights of Dallas, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all - not least Joshua, who was a *big boy* for the whole weekend and walked holding Mummy or Daddy's hand during the trip because of a forgotten stroller (or to be more precise, Mummy and Daddy took turns in madly dashing around after Joshua who was reveling in his freedom!)

There are plenty of projects on the go at the moment - many curtain related for the new house. However, one project has really captured my heart (and the majority of my spare time) this week - a quilt for a lady we know who, after months of chemo, is still battling cancer and is now facing surgery.

So, in an effort to let her know that we are thinking and praying for her, I started a quilt for her last week and finished it tonight. Its from a pattern which said it takes 5 hours - which kind of illustrates my novice abilities in quilting - as it has now taken me 8 days! I think it probably took me five hours alone to cut the pieces!!

All of the fabrics used in this are 1930's reproduction fabrics, that I adore.

And I am especially in love with the floral backing - so cute and vintage looking!

She is a biggie (for me) measuring 60" x 70" and she will be on her way to the sweet recipient tomorrow.

This weeks plans? I should start packing up the house and trying to be productive - but I have a feeling that the distraction of finishing up projects for the new house may delay that event further....

Our Day...

An egg hunt (a day early) chillin' and then getting dressed up for Church - what a lovely way to start Easter!

Progression Part 3

After my Joshy sewing mararthon, today was Maddy Day, and boy did she do well. Collectively, Mum and I managed to sew up the following::

Alexander Henry Apples and Pears fabric ruffle top and yellow linen trouusers

Matching skirt for mama!

Ballerina knit play dress (she has been yanking this fabric out of the shelf for weeks now!)

and modelled::

Blue floral dart dress from Ottobre::

and, new curtains (backed with blackout fabric) for Maddy's new bedroom in the NEW house!!

and last but not least - Maddy's Easter dress::

....and now time to relax!!

Progression (Part 2)

I guess one of the things that you can be pretty assured of, when you are the parent of young children - is that you never really know exactly how your day will pan out - regardless of planning etc..  Today this was evident - in a good way.

I was expecting a normal day and what actually transpired was a whole lot of (unexpected) sewing. The kiddies seemed hugely content today to frolic in the garden, so I took this opportunity to cut out some outfits for Joshy - then, strangely after I had cut them out, they were still content and playing happily, so the sewing machine was brought to dining table, where Mama and Nanny could overlook the little people in the garden - and a lot of sewing ensued...

Joshy did pretty well today - which has begun to ease the guilt that I never seem to sew very much for him (other than blankets and quilts!) He now has another 3 outfits to add to his wardrobe::

Joshy's Easter Outfit is almost complete (buttons to be added tomorrow) I managed to finish up the linen 3/4 length trousers today - and added the fishy in the bag detail to a cargo pocket on the side. This was my first ever attempt at using my sewing machine to draw a picture - and I think I have started a new addiction.....

I also managed to finish up a pair of turtle trousers that I started months ago - My little man is a huge turtle fan and has been grabbing the chez ami turtle fabric from my stash for months now - I am happy that I finally managed to sew it up into a t-shirt for him.

I also made him another little outfit out of some fabric that I fell in love with (I dearly wish I had gotten more at the time to make Mads a matching dress!) I am loving all the patchy fabrics that are in the stores at the moment - as they look exceptionally cute on both my boys!

Who knows what tomorrow will have in store...!!

Progression

A lazy day was had by all today - perhaps something to do with the very English-like weather that has descended upon Oklahoma.

After a leisurely breakfast some inspiration hit and having completed Maddy's Easter dress, I started working on Joshua's outfit::

I feel guilty that it takes very little inspiration to start a Maddy-destined project - often just a stroll through a fabric store, is usually all I need for the start of multiple projects - things for my boy seem to take more planning.

I have been hoarding this Heather Ross fabric for some months now, waiting for the right moment to strike - and today it hit! With the shirt almost complete (minus buttons and buttonholes) I have started some embroidery to go on the pocket of the linen trousers to complete the Joshua ensemble.

Unlike Maddy-projects, which I can imagine in great detail and visualise finished most of the time, I have no real idea of how this project will look, however, I am just happy to be creating for my little guy right now....

Mini quilt swap

I recently signed up to do a swap with another mama for 2 doll quilts - and I finally got around to finishing them this weekend.

There was certainly something very satifying about doing these little projects - not least that I could use up scraps of hard-to-find materials like Munki Fireflies or the japanese hedgehogs - but also because their manageable size means they go together well and I haven't got the chance to get bored and move onto the next project before finishing!

Mooching..

This morning I managed to grab a few hours by myself to go mooch and recharge. I ended up (strangely) in a rather lovely little quilters shop staring at some fabric which had been on my mind, since I last laid eyes on it 4 weeks ago.

Over the past 4 weeks, I have managed to dream (in great detail) how the fabric needs to be made into an easter dress for Maddy - so today, I relented and went and bought a couple of yards. As luck would have it, there was another bolt of fabric, that just leapt at me and I simply couldn't leave the shop without at least one yard joining me at home.

The aqua fabric on the right is heading to be made into Maddy's easter dress - the fabric above with the little houses on, is the one that captured my heart - and the quilt behind, well that really captured my heart, when I found it thrifting today (and I have been grinning at it ever since)

and this is the fabric that made me smile and that just couldn't be left on its lonesome in the shop. I thought the houses were so cute anyways, and then when I really looked at them, it dawned on me how English they all look - proper little English houses of all types, just too freakin' cute!

I have a fair few things to finish up this weekend - including 2 little doll quilts for a swap next week and some last minute sewing for a very special little man, who will be celebrating his 2nd birthday on Thursday.

My Space...

I have been meaning for some time now, to get some photos of my little sewing space - but there always seems to be something else that I want to do to the room. However, here it is - its still a work in progress...

Here are the girls (my machines) I didn't really like the desk that they are on, so when I found some vintage tablecloths while thrifting - I knew where they were going to be headed.

The hutch on the desk is also a thrift store score, which I fell in love with because of our inability to put up shelves or anything major on the walls of our rented house.

The leather vanity on the top of the hutch contains vintage embroideries from thrfiting and the local flea market. All of my craft books are on the hutch, along with other little treasure which I try and keep out of the way of little hands!

We recycled my old computer desk to make a cutting table for me - and whilst it is not at all pretty - it is very practical and just the perfect size to fit in the nook behind the door. I have been planning on making a curtain to go around the bottom of it, to hide all of my work-in-progress underneath.

My inspiration board::

The shelves contain fabrics to be used in the near(ish) future (as oppose to my other stash!)The white shelf contains boy fabrics for Joshy and the other shelf (Joshy's recycled changing table) contains fabrics for Mads and me. This is also where the majority of my patterns are kept, along with pattern books like Ottobre.

Its also where my favourite pictures in the world are - all given to me by my Mum and Dad for Christmas and my 30th. They are by Belle and Boo and are just the sweetest, most precious pictures - I adore them.

Here you can see all that remains of Jason's space in the room, a whole corner!

Joshy's Baby Clothes Quilt

I have been leisurely working on finishing this special project over the last couple of evenings - a project that I started months and months ago and which has been coming together slowly - a quilt of Joshua's baby clothes.

As soon as I saw this wonderful baby clothes quilt - I knew thats what I wanted to do with all of my favourite outfits from Mads and Josh. I have had to start with Joshua's, as most of Maddy's baby clothes are in storage back home in England, so that project may be a little longer in the making!

I love everything about having a quilt made up of Joshy's baby clothes - the fact that they are not tucked away in a bag in the loft, barely ever seeing the light of day and the fact that each square is a memory of how little and fragile my scamp once was.

I am no quilter - so the quilt itself is by no means precise! I loved the cleanness of Hilliary Lang's quilt (above) so stuck with that design and just quilted in the white flannel squares - much less stressful than attempting to quilt across various knit/stretchy fabrics that were bad enough to sew together.

The quilt is backed in a heavier weight striped knit, which, along with the soft batting, gives it a warmer feel than many of the quilts I have made.

And, just because I am a sentimental fool, and I love a trip down memory lane when it comes to my babes, here are certain squares in the quilt and photos from when Joshy was wearing them::

The carrot pajamas...a favourite of mine::

In the jammies, just starting the crawl..

The 'wordy' onesie - the very first onesie (vest) I put on him just 20 minutes after he was born::

I can't actually believe his legs were EVER that skinny!!

The truck Jammies and striped top, both favourites of mine!

Here he is in the truck jammies (with his amber teething necklace on)

and in the striped top - out at a butterfly farm with me!

The cream coloured baby nay trains fabric from a Mummy Made outfit::

Trying to pack to move house in November 2006 in his train top...

and last but not least, the centrepiece of the quilt is this white square which says 'Dreamboat' from a romper by No Added Sugar that I had for Joshua when he was born. Its probably one of my favourite outfits of all for him, but sadly, I have no photos of him in it....

Planning Planning Planning

Our house seems to be filled with lots of things to make and finish right now for a Valentines Day deadline - and you think that would be motivation enough for me to get my bum into gear and focus...not so.

I (we) have Valentine dresses to finish, handmade valentine cards to finish for Maddy's classmates, heart shaped cakes to bake for teachers and so, this weekend I start the very time consuming project of cutting and piecing Joshy's baby-clothes quilt - oh and get inspired to make a little quilted birdy picture...organised as ever!

Tomorrow we will endeavour to fit in all that needs doing - and I am sure that my trusty side-kicks will bolt over to the kitchen counter to see what I am doing, drag chairs over to stand on and help me in the way only a 4 year old and a 2 year old can help when you need to get things done fast.

Joshua's help, usually revolves around eating spoonfuls of butter whilst my back is turned whilst Mads proceeds to do her best to control the spoon enough that whatever is in the bowl doesn't end up on the wall (which she isn't always entirely sucessful at!)

Its at times like these that I have to remind myself to relax and enjoy the process and take in all that goes with the experience of living in the moment with two very precious little people.

Surprise!!! (well kinda)

There has not been one day over the past few months that Maddy hasn't made us all chuckle - she is constantly saying 'Hey Mummy, look at me' and then pulling the weirdest face she can, to get a laugh out of us - but she is also hugely amusing in so many other ways which just warm our heart.

Our house has been full of *surprises in the making* recently. With all of our birthdays happening within the next 6 weeks, she has been privvy to more than her fair share of surprises being planned. And our honest little lady struggles with the concept of surprises - and is just bursting to tell the recipient of what she knows. This has meant that quite often she will start a conversation with the words 'I'm not going to tell you about your surprise plate....' you get the picture?!

So, when I started work on this birthday dress last week, I thought it wise to hide it away to give to her on her birthday...as a surprise....

Fast forward to today, when she walks into the kitchen and announces 'Mummy, shhhhhhh don't tell me about my birthday dress, its a surprise...'  She is so honest and funny.

I must admit - I am not hugely keen on the birthday dress - its very...bright and well, birthday - but after the quilt incident, I knew I had to do something very bright colourful and very Maddy for her birthday - hence straying away from my usual route.

Later on tonight, Mads also announced that she wanted a new dress - the same style as a butterfly dress I made her, she then picked out the fabric and said 'When you have finished my dress Mummy, hang it by the fire for me, for the morning....'

How could I resist::

 

I am not entirely sure the dress will get a warm reception - I have modified her favourite dress to have little sleeves - as she wants to wear the other dress in all weathers and refuses to wear a cardi over it (its sleeveless) so, we shall see whether she warm up to the new pattern.

On a different and slightly unbelievable note - its snowed again last night, so we woke up to a scattering of snow this morning...is that super duper crazy or what??

Winner!

The very important drawing for the Bloggy Giveaway  took place this morning, under strictly controlled conditions....and the winner is:

Congratulations! Suzanne from A family Created I will email you to get your details to send you the finished little quilt - as beautifully modelled by my sidekick!

Crafting for a cause

The day after Christmas Day - I went shopping and bought myself this wonderful book: Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts

There was one project in the book, that stuck out to me - a wall hanging of 2 little birds sat on a tree branch. I imagined it immediately on Maddy's bedroom wall and so I went shopping for fabric and set about cutting it all out. Later on that evening, whilst working on the wall hanging when everyone else had gone to bed, I just kept thinking about a lady called Tawnya. I knew of her through a community of sewing mamas on a forum I visit often. She had been battling cancer and her strength, faith and courage always struck me - she passed away just before Christmas, leaving her husband and 3 young boys.

By the time I had finished cutting out the wall hanging later that night - I knew that it wasn't meant for Maddy, but was meant to benefit Tawnya's family.

So, here it is - the bird appliques have all been attached by hand (as has the binding) and the rest has been machine quilted to give it texture. It is the perfect size (34" x 28") for either a wall hanging or baby quilt and has the softest batting to make it extra cozy.

The wall hanging will be auctioned off along with the work of over 40 other mama's. Tawnya's journey can be found here and all of the auctions can be found here  including my wall hanging/quilt

The auctions start Monday 4th Feb!

The House on Heart Hill

I seem to have precious little time to do anything other than *keep up* today, so an hour to myself this evening (whilst the kiddies slept) produced the beginnings of this mini-quilt that I am just really enjoying...

I am looking forward to working in the details tomorrow -

Its unclear what will be going on here tomorrow - we are all waiting for the morning to see the impact of the snow we are expecting - a day at home, in the warm watching the snow fall outside sounds dreamy right now though! Just what the doctored ordered...especially when you have an off-colour toddler (molars coming in) and a very stroppy little drama queen who looks like she could do with a day of relaxing and chilling...

Giveaway!

Inspired by this lovely Mama, whose blog I enjoy endlessly - I have officially signed up for the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival, by the wonderful Shannon from Rocks in my dryer (have I mentioned that she is an Okie Mama like me!)

So, my little giveaway will be a mini quilt, which would be perfect for hanging on the wall in your sewing room, or using to tuck small dollies or teddies into bed at night - or anything, in fact that you want to do with it...here are some mini quilts that I am working on right now for a swap to give you a glimpse of what the it will look like....perhaps....

The quilt will have lots of hand sewing details and I always sew bindings on by hand also - so they are little works of love!

To enter - leave me a comment and the winner will be decided on Feb 3rd by a random number generator. How exciting! EEEEEKKKKKKK!

Making Memories..

Inspired by this talented and thoughtful Mama, I made this chair cover for Maddy's pre-school class this weekend.

Maddy's class already have some cute traditions for the kiddies, to make them feel special on their birthdays - including making them a crown to wear at snack time/lunch time and I thought this chair cover (complete with chalkboard fabric on the back to write their name) would make the occassion extra special.

Maddy and Josh have both given their approval to the chair cover and Maddy is eager for her teachers to see.

This week is going to be a busy one - with an upcomming fundraiser auction which I have been sewing for (I will list the details as soon as it goes live) finishing off various birthday projects and working on some mini quilts for a swap which I am excited about!

And now...off to bed!

Work in Progress

The weekend was played out at a slow and relaxing pace which gave me the opportunity to do some of the things that I have been putting off - like tidying my sewing room. Over the past few months (since the last blitz) the chaos had gradually crept back in - I no longer had anywhere to cut out any fabrics because it was covered in, well stuff, just lots of stuff waiting to be organised and put away.

So I tackled the mamouth task and the process is very cleansing. It has even inspired me to do a wall hanging for my area with some of my favourite Joel Dewberry fabrics that it seems fitting to immortalise in a wall hanging...The project is underway and completely