Baby Boot Camp

Grace is the most adorable little girl... with some sleeping issues. I know this is not unusual for a 5 month old. We've been doing the best we can with the baby-led approach. I'm a baby wearing, co-sleeping, breastfeeding mama. And I'd be happy to continue waking every 2 hours to feed at night if she just woke up, fed and went back to sleep. But for some reason, Grace also has feeding issues - even though I have enough milk for triplets, she's not so impressed with what I have to offer, and isn't putting on much weight. So with some trepidation (and determination) we're off to "baby boot camp" to get a bit of routine into our lives (and hopefully help Grace put on some pudge). I'll be out of action for this coming week, but hopefully by the end of the week I'll be a new woman...

...and Grace will be a happy little camper! (These photos were taken within a minute of each other - its amazing how quickly it can all change).

 

I decided that a security blanket might just help Grace sleep in her own bed (am I clutching at straws?), so I whipped up this little one using Anna Maria Horner's Folksy Flannels. It's just two fat quarters sewn together pillow-slip style.

I added some soft little tags (Little Folks voile). I'm going to tuck it inside my jumper during the day so it has my smell on it.

I also made a few bibs so she's nice and stylish for our stay at Torrens House.

This one's my favourite - just have to add a press stud.

Wish us luck people - I'll see you on the other side!

Lampshade Line-up

Ages ago Saffron sent me a stack of her beautiful Imaginary Flowers range and I've finally got around to finishing this and writing up the pattern.Can you see the lampshades stacked on top of each other? This quilt looks the same whether it is up-side-down or right way up, which is a bonus. You can read about my process in creating "Lampshade Line-up" here.

I wanted the quilting to emphasise the design of the lampshades, so I free motion quilted the background, and it really makes the lamps pop forward. If I had more time I would have liked to hand quilt the lamps, but ah well... a time and season hey ... and I can always add more quilting later.

If you're wondering how I find the time to quilt at all, I thought I'd let you know that I've negotiated with my husband one night a week when he takes Grace for the evening and lets me quilt. Its amazing what you can do with 2-3 hours of dedicated quilting time. I've also been known to sew on bindings, while bouncing Grace to sleep in her hammock, with my foot (the things we do!).

This quilt is lovely and soft. Firstly, Saffron's fabrics feel gorgeous, and then I used Anna Maria Horner's voile in Sky on the back, which is so silky. It was nice and wide so I only needed one length, and I didn't have any difficulty quilting it. I would definitely use it again for a light weight quilt.

It always feels good to have the pattern all done and posted on my downloadable patterns page, and kits are available from Saffron Craig.

My life as a blog

Do you ever find yourself writing your life as a blogpost in your head while its happening? I do. Sometimes this drives me crazy, as I already have enough filling my head managing a young household. At other times though, especially when things go a little awry, its good to know that I can share the good and the bad with you.

Most of the blogposts that I write in my head never actually make it to the blog, like a few months ago when I took my three littlies to the park and a woman asked if they were all mine:

Woman: "Pretty close together aren't they?"
Me: "Yes, 5, 3 and.. well she's just new :)"
Woman: "Some people just don't have a brain."

I smiled and kept walking and then I realised what she had said! Whenever I got over the shock of our little exchange I started getting excited about what brilliant fodder for a blog post that would be. The idea of sharing this experience with you turned a negative into a positive. Maybe she was just being funny... ?? Not sure. Such an odd thing to say. I spent the rest of our time at the park trying to keep my children under control so it looked like I had half a brain :) We didn't stay long.

And then there was the Ikea (we call it the giant fun store) incident last week when I had been hurrying the children through the store to the exit so we could beat the traffic home. Dane started coughing with all the exertion, which led to a lot of vomitting just before we got out the doors. As I was standing there, baby Grace in one arm, the other hand trying to catch what I could, yelling out for some assistance (I'm so so sorry cleaning lady) I thought, hey, I could blog about this. (I'm just glad the woman from the park wasn't there!)

I could go on about toilet training disasters and sleepless nights, but I could also tell you about the brief moment recently when the washing was completely done (and put away) and the house was pretty clean! That's blog worthy isn't it?. There's never enough time to share all that I'd like to, so I pretty much stick to quilting stuff, but its nice to know you're there if I need to share.

What blog post have you written in your head lately?

I can't leave you without a photo (and fortunately I don't have one of the Ikea incident), so here's what I've been working on - slowly but surely. It's going to be a quilt for my sister, Kelly. I haven't made one for her yet. She's kind of arty, so I'm trying to make her an arty kind of quilt. This is another one using templates.

Storyboek Views

Thanks for all of the great suggestions of fabrics for my Baby Mobile pattern. I loved finding some great new fabrics. Sorry about the delay in picking a winner. Between the Royal Adelaide Show and Father's Day there wasn't a spare moment to be found :) The winner of the fabrics and pattern is number 10 - Mad Craft Mama! Congratulations! I'll be in touch.

Talking about gorgeous fabric - I really love the new Storyboek fabric by Jay-Cyn Designs (for Birch Fabrics). I have been pronouncing it "Story Bo-ek" but my sister, Amelia, is married to a dutchman, and he says that you say it "Story Book". Anyyyway... I was absolutely thrilled to learn that Fabricworm has paired up my Sea Views pattern with their fabrics to produce their first ever quilt kit. Melissa Lunden did a fantastic job of sewing this quilt up, and I'm glad to hear that she found it really easy and enjoyable to put together. The fabric and pattern go together fabulously - I'm really tempted to make one up myself!

You can find the kit and paper pattern at Fabricworm and more pictures of the quilt on their blog.

If you're looking for further inspiration of what others have done with my patterns, check out my flickr group. There's some amazing quilts there - like this one from Amy Dunn at lots of pink here - love it with the grey sashing! Feel free to add yours to the flickr pool too or email me a photo - I love seeing how you transform my patterns.