Baby Pepper

My niece just had a baby girl. She is as sweet as can be. Her name is Pepper! I have been working on an embroidered, wool, baby blanket for many months now. It's not as babyish as I would like it to be. The colours of the wool felt was a bit too sombre but there are lots of little animals to look at.
I used some of my Ikea fabric for the back because it brightened the whole thing up.
Putting satin binding on cashmere wool and the cotton backing is always a nightmare. In the days before I learned how to quilt, it was worse and I used to unpick and re do continuously. Now I stretch the cotton backing and pin the whole thing, just like a quilt. The binding is hand sewn on first and then machine zigzagged. It's still laborious but at least I didn't have to unpick it even once!

Too Pooped to Pop

Usually my weekend is filled with the clacking and vibrations of my sewing machine. The table top is buried by scraps of fabric in all shapes and sizes. The carpet is strewn with fibres and threads and I am happy.
This weekend was devoted to cleaning, tidying, rearranging furniture and preparing for 30 plus eighty year olds and a few of us 'young ones.'
My nephew and his wife, who live in Adelaide, have a new baby boy and my 86 year old father in law decided he just had to have a party to show of the baby to his buddies. The baby and Mum are here for a visit while dad plays cricket in South Africa. We ate, drank and ate some more and everyone had a great time before going to their respective homes for their Nana naps.
It's now 3pm. The house is clean, although another load has to go in the dishwasher, and it's all quiet.
But I just can't move. My mind is saying 'Get your gear out and start making,' but my body is saying that it's not going anywhere. Maybe later....
Anyway just because you can't post without a photo, I will show you what I have been working on for the last couple of months. It's another baby blanket but I am not really that happy with it. I'm just going to show you bits in case it doesn't work out.

5 hours all to my self!

I know that the winter weather is the best for sewing but I am so tired of it. Melbourne weather isn't that bad and we have had some glimpses of sunshine so I shouldn't complain. I just need a week of warmth, legs free of tights, fresh air flowing through the house and the heater turned off.
I took a day off work this week because I had a cold and hadn't slept the night before. I felt so guilty. It is only my third day off in 4 years but still I felt so bad. I planned the day and set it up for the emergency teacher so that the students didn't miss out.
I could not wait for everyone to leave the house. My eldest was leaving for Sydney so my husband, who was giving him a lift to the airport, lingered until 11 am to finally leave the house. I practically pushed them out the door!
Yes I was sick, but not that sick that I couldn't make the most of my time. The kitchen floor was washed and 2 cot quilts and the baby blanket were basted. The baby blanket had baby's name added and binding put on ( I hate doing the satin binding but this one went on pretty well ), 9 more pot mitts were almost put together, a few videos of Jane Austin were watched whilst hand quilting, dinner was cooked and a load of washing was done.

I felt so good, which was just as well as the next day was an all day excursion with 44 x 8 year olds at CERES. We had a wonderful day fishing for bugs, feeding chooks, learning about water conservation, Aboriginal heritage and walking along Merri Creek listening to the bellbirds. Thankfully the rain held off and it was a sunny 15 degrees. Phew, it was a huge day and with barely a break to go to the loo, I was glad for the previous day off.

The kids were so funny and terrified of the chickens. Some were brave enough to hand feed and jumped as they were pecked. Consequently lots of the feed ended up on the ground. City Kids!

Quilt Fair

Today was a big exhausting day. First stop was a great clothes warehouse sale to check out. There was some money spent! Next I went to the quilt fair. The late arrival at the fair meant that the car park was full. Not happy! I don't usually spend much money at the fairs as I go to most of them and there is not much that is too new but it is still fun to wander around the stands. I met my sister in law and we spent a few hours taking it all in. Unfortunately I did spend money. I am doing a market in November and I really want to sell my toys but I am thinking that a few cot quilts will add colour and a few pot mitts and coin purses will add utility to the stand.
Here's what I bought.

Memories from when I learned to read

Wool for my baby blankets 

Quilt Show, Footy and Sewing

This has been a very busy weekend of sewing. Yesterday I spent the day putting together my yucky blocks.

I have been so worried about matching colours and ranges of fabric in the many quilts I have made that I would order my fabrics from specific designers and ranges to ensure everything 'went together'. Well this weekend I decided to step outside my comfort zone and put colours that I would not normally use together. So yellow and orange was mixed with blue. The photos still look yuk but in real life they look really amazing so onward march. 18 blocks were finished and I have cut most of the next 12.
Also in the morning I went to Amitie to use up some vouchers I received for my birthday. I bought these packets of 16ths which are a mixture of linens, oddments and Kokka prints. Really cute and really different to my usual colour palettes.
Sunday was Melbourne Quilt Show day. I went with a friend and we had great fun. There was lots to see and lots to buy. My latest love is for the wool blanketing colours I have been using for the baby blankets. There were a couple of suppliers so I went a bit silly and bought 10 different pieces.

We were home in time for me to snuggle up on the couch, turn on the football and work on the baby blanket. 

And I even finished my work program for school next week.

Bits and Pieces

I have been neglecting my blog since school has gone back. I have been neglecting my making of things a little bit too. I have started a baby blanket for my nephew whose wife is having a baby.
The blanket is a cashmere wool and the wool fabric pieces are from Amitie and Creswick.

I like to embroider so I think that I will have fun adding the details.  The only problem is, that with babies there is a finite time to complete the task.

I have also been reading lots of blogs rather than writing my own and it seems that lots of you have this idea for using old scraps of fabrics and just adding them on to each other, so I pulled out all my old Amy Butlers and the gorgeous yellow strips that I cut too many of from the wedding quilt and made these.

I really was quite happy with myself when I had finished this lot and I ended up making a stack of others, all shapes and sizes.  Fabrics that have been lying around in boxes for years have been quickly sewn together to make rather interesting shapes and combinations. 

So now can someone please tell me what to do with these guys?