Toilet Training

I've figured out that the six pairs of undies that I got from Pumpkin Patch are just not going to be enough, so I thought I would have a go at making them myself.

The fabric is a stretchy terry towelling that Mum gave me to make grow suits from. The pattern is from Ottobre 2004/4 (Winter).

The airplane on the front was on the disk that I got with my embroidery machine. I swapped the blue for green and the black for blue. I used cut-away on the back and used some solvy on the top to stop the loops from popping out through my image.

The undies have a layer of interlock in the gusset, and I added a layer of interlock to the inside of the front panel so that the back of the embroidery design wouldn't be too scratchy.

They aren't perfect, but I do believe they are kinda cute.

Now all I have to do is wait for him to wake up so we can try them on....

Happy Babymoon, Ingrid!

I was lucky recently to be involved in a Cyber-Baby-Shower!

The lovely Cass and Belinda organised a gathering of lovely home-made gifts from Ingrid's friends in the cyber-world, and scheduled the shower for just before the due-date. It turns out that Kitty had other ideas and arrived before the shower.

I made this lovely snuggly wrap for her. There are more pictures of the wrap in this post. Ingrid has also blogged all the lovely gifts she received.

The embroidery is a Sue Box design (Eryn), and is available for free from her website. If you are into machine embroidery, you should try some of Sue's designs, and watch the machine as it sews the designs. The detail and texture is amazing.

Anyway, Ingrid, if you are reading this, enjoy your new little baby girl!

Crayon Storage

I noticed the other day, that Liam has worked out zips. (He has also worked out door knobs and locks, but that's another story.) Liam also likes to colour in and draw circles, so, I thought I would make him a little pencil case to store his crayons in.

Lucky for me, when I did my big birthday order with my gift voucher (plus a little extra), I received a little extra something from Nicole Mallalieu. It's the cute little zippered coin purse pattern.

I used a little piece of dinosaur fabric that I got from Badskirt.

SPEC-tacular!

I just finished this spec-case today.

It's my mum's (belated) birthday present.

It is one of Nicole Mallalieu's latest patterns.

The main fabric and the lining are both American Jane that I got in my Badskirt package. The red was from my applique stash - it is a pretty good match!

Mum was pretty pleased.

I have to admit, this was a bit of a fiddly project, but we got there in the end.

Happy Camper!

Who's a Happy Camper?

I am.

Why?

Well, I just made this fabulous bag using some (unreleased!) American Jane Happy Camper that I received in my giveaway parcel from Badskirt.

The bag was made using Nicole Mallalieu's Snap Bag kit, and as well as the American Jane, I also used some "stash denim" and some yellow dots that I got from Spotlight.

I added some lovely rectangular metal rings to the straps and some purse feet to the bottom.

Apart from an interfacing mishap early in the process, it all went very smoothly.

Thankyou Amy!

This is the lovely fabric parcel I received from Amy of Badskirt. I won this fine assortment in a giveaway that Amy had on her blog. Thankyou so much Amy! There is heaps here for me to play with, I already have a project underway (well, actually, it's almost complete) and have several in mind using these gorgeous fabrics.

I have seen many of these around the internet, I can even name a few...

There is some Saffron Craig; Loveheart flowers (top centre), Sunburst (far left, second from top), not sure of the name but I'd recognise those bobble trees anywhere as Saffron Craig! (top right).

The lovely Lightning Bugs Goldfish by Heather Ross (under the sunburst) - I love that they all have names, so cute and thoughtful!

Mingle (near the middle under the postcard)- reminds me of the Badskirt Hippos!

Trefle Jumping Frogs (diagonally down and to the right of the goldfish)

Rhapsody Tulips (bottom right)

El Anche Joue Baby Chicks (bottom centre)

Puti de Pome (centre - above the chicks, and between the tulips and the frogs)

If anyone can help me name any of the others I would be eternally grateful.

Tutorial - How to make a Fitted Sheet

This is for "missypuss" who wanted to know how to turn a flat sheet into a fitted sheet. I have made fitted sheets for the cradle and cots from sheeting and from flanelette, and it is easy enough to grab a flat sheet and do the same. Please excuse my rough sketches, I haven't made any sheets lately, so I don't have any suitable photos.

Step 1 - Measure your mattress.

The first thing you need to do is measure your mattress. The measurement A in the diagram to the left is the actual width of your mattress. The measurement B is the actual length.
Measurement C is made up of the depth (or height) of your mattress plus some extra. The extra amount is determined by how much you want to sit under the mattress, plus a little for your elastic casing.
For a cot sheet, I did 10cms extra. The mattress was 12cm deep, so my final measurement C was 12cm + 10cm = 22cm. For a larger bed, you may want to allow more. OR you could measure the corner seam of your existing fitted sheet and add 2cms or so for the casing.

Step 2 - Cut your fabric
First you need to make a rectangle. The width of your rectangle is A + (2 x C), the length is
B + (2 x C). After you have cut your fabric of flat sheet into a rectangle, you need to cut a square from each corner, the size of which is C long, by C high. Discard these squares (or you may save them for another project if you like).

Step 3 - Sew the corners
At each corner where you have cut the squares from, you need to sew the two cut edges together to make a kind of box shape. Give yourself about a 6mm seam allowance. Finish the edges with an over-locker or if you don't have one, you could zig-zag the edges.


Step 4 - Make a casing for the elastic

All around the edges, you need to fold over about 1 - 2cms of fabric. Iron and pin this edge. You can also turn over the raw edge or you might choose to overlock your edges. Stitch close to the edge all the way around the sheet but leave an opening to allow you to thread through your elastic.


Step 5 - Thread the elastic

You will need some elastic, I would recommend something about 6mms wide, the length needs to be about (A + B) x 1.5.
Attach the end of the elastic to a safety pin and thread it through the casing. Join the edges of the elastic together. If you want a neat finish, you can sew the ends of the elastic together, but I usually just tie it in a secure knot. You could also stitch the casing closed, or not.

Voila! A fitted sheet!

I was going to blog today....

I spent some time yesterday taking pictures of what I was about to put on my blog. This morning, while I was making myself some breakfast, I grabbed the memory card from my camera and popped it in the middle of the table, near my computer. I sat down. I looked. I looked again. Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! Where did it go?

I had noticed Liam fiddling around near Maxx's computer, so I went and took a look. I could just see the corner poking out.... of a slightly larger slot for a different kind of memory card. I grabbed a small screwdriver. The card disappeared. Next thing I know, Liam has a screwdriver and is poking around in the slot too. Screwdrivers have safely been put away.

Maxx is okay with me opening up his computer to retrieve my SD card. I am NOT doing it while the kids are awake.

I will be back later (much later, I have three sets of sheets, some blankets and a matress protector to wash and dry) with some super-fantastic pictures to astound and amaze.

The Cutest Purse Pattern EVER!

For my birthday, Maxx got me a gift voucher for Nicole Mallalieu. He's a very, very clever man!

I really enjoyed choosing what to buy, but I really couldn't help myself and went a bit over the value of the voucher. Well, a LOT over, but there is so much to choose from!!

Amongst my purchases, I bought this kit. I made it up using some fabric from my stash.

Isn't it the cutest?

AND IT IS MINE, MINE, MINE!