Quick baby sling project....

Bel's birthday is coming up and one of the things I've bought her is a lovely handmade Waldof doll. Shhh! Don't tell her! I've been looking around at clothing and other bits and pieces to go with her new dolly and one of the things I kept searching for was a baby sling. I've seen a few really nice ones online but sheesh are they pricey!  In the end I decided to have a go at making one. I honestly don't know why I didn't think of it earlier! It was so easy! I used a lovely scrap of fabric I had left over from the baby quilt and whipped it up in about 20 minutes. I did a quick scan of Pinterest and came across this tutorial.  It couldn't have been easier and the I honestly think the end result is waaaay nicer than all the slings I've seen in the shops! I gave her the sling right away just because I was so excited and she hasn't taken it off since. Yippee for successful sewing and lovely handmade toys!

A baby quilt....

I just finished sewing my second quilt ever! My first quilt was for my little niece Violet and you can see photos of that one here. Once again, if you are a sewing-type-person please don't look too closely, my quilts have both been very basic and about as technically imperfect as you can get. Nevertheless I am so ridiculously happy with the results!! :) This is obviously for our new baby boy. I ordered the fabric with the idea of making fitted sheets but when it arrived I had the sudden urge to turn it into a quilt. Both the top and bottom fabric are organic cotton from Birch Fabrics, the Elk print is from the Elk Grove Collection and is called Elk Family in Sun and the wood pattern is from the Camp Modern Collection and is the Faux Bois in Mineral. The batting inside is 100% natural unbleached cotton. These photos were taken when the the room was drenched in full sun so the colours actually look a bit more muted in real life. I made the bias tape binding myself using scraps of a few mismatched fabrics I had in my stash. I was originally going to use a plain cream store-bought bias tape but I'm really happy I went with the colourful option. I think it gives the quilt a bit more character. I made it pretty big so that once the crib is converted to a toddler bed it'll drape over the sides a bit. Hopefully it will get many years of love and snuggles!

Baby bibs two ways....

To go along with the wee little baby hats I made for Zoe I decided I'd have a go at making some bibs. I figured bibs don't look complicated......I'm pretty sure I could do that. So, I did :)
I chose a really pretty fabric, I picked this lovely colourful scalloped cotton because I thought it was pretty without being too girly and because it's nice to have things that are gorgeous and stylish and not necessarily covered in cartoonish figures or overly babyish patterns. Make the most of this control while you have it Mum's, once that kid turns three she'll start demanding "Dora the explorer" or "Disney Princesses" to be plastered over everything!
For the backing fabric I used an Ikea tea towel (brand new I assure you). I happened to have a few that I bought a while back with the intention of trying out some more home printing. They're really inexpensive, 100% cotton, soft and absorbent making them perfect bib making fabric! For bib number one, lets call it the classic, I traced the outline of a bib I already owned onto my two layers of fabric, cut around my traced lines and sewed all around the edges (right sides together.) I left about an inch and half gap for turning the bib right sides out then pressed it all flat and topstitched around all the edges again, thus closing my little gap. For the neck closure I decided I wanted snaps, I remember getting quite frustrated with my babies pulling off velcro bibs whenever they felt like it. I sent Neil out to our cute local quilting shop with instructions to buy me snaps and a snap setter and he delivered! Once we'd figured out which bit of the snap fitted where and hammered them all together we had our first completed bib! Not too shabby even if I do say so myself. 

For bib number two I wanted to try and make one of those bandana style bibs. I think they're more for catching dribble than anything and as they don't look quite so... errr...bibby for want of a better word. You can get away with your Bubba wearing it all day, kind of like a stylish little dribble catching accessory. For this one I used my existing bib as a guide for tracing the neck size then just pretty much made up the rest. Looks alright wouldn't you say?

I'm really pleased with my first foray into bib making and am so happy that Zoe's little parcel is finally ready to send. I'm quite sure that she's going to be the most stylish girl on the block!

Hat's for Zoe

A week ago another little Ralston joined the family. Far, far away in Perth, Australia our little niece Zoe was born :) Would you believe that Neil's brother and his lovely wife now have three kiddies under the age of 3! They are going to have their work cut out for them but holy moly there's going to be some fun happenings in that house! Triple the joy that's for sure! Anyhoo, I really wanted to make a little something for Zoe now that I have discovered my crafty thumb. I got this idea in my head that I wanted to sew some sweet little knotted baby hats and at first tried to wing it. If you follow my instagram feed you'll have seen my first two attempts. They weren't complete failures but neither were they really good enough to give as a gift to perfect little newborn. Eventually I went searching for a pattern to follow and ended up finding the exact design I had pictured over at Zaaberry. The pattern was so easy to follow and I whipped up three pretty little hats in no time. For a wee bit of extra fun I carved the end of a carrot (yes, I seem to have a thing about using veggies for printing) and added a few little heart stamps to one of the hat's........Da Daaaaa! A perfect little handmade gift for a perfect little baby......

Sustainable Snack Bags.....

In my efforts to reduce the amount of plastic packaging we use I purchased some Lunchskins a little while ago. I really liked these cute little reusable snack bags with a velcro closure but have since lost them :( Neil always takes stuff like this to work and forgets to bring them back, tut tut! I'm trying hard to break this habit of his. Anyway a while after I bought the lovely lunchskins I came across this tutorial by Amy Karol to make a similar thing yourself. This version doesn't use velcro, it has a simple overlapping envelope opening that does a perfectly good job of preventing snack leakage. Anyway I've been meaning to make them for ages and now that I've finally unpacked my sewing machine it seemed like a good time.  Another thing spurring me on is that Seb's school is a Green School and they want all snacks and lunches to be garbage free. I'm all for garbage free too so there was another reason to whip up some snack sacks! I choose a really cute food inspired japanese fabric and just ordered a couple of fat quarters. I think I'll easily be able to make 3 snack bags from each fat quarter. 

They are perfect for dry snacks like crackers but work just as well for sandwiches. You just bung them in the washing machine to give them a good clean. The kids love them because they are cute and so far we haven't lost them!

I also got to try out my own personal sewing labels, I got a whole bunch of them as a really sweet birthday present from my sister. I didn't really need to bother sewing a label on my snack bags but I just really, really wanted to see how they looked  :)

Legging love...

I do love leggings. There's nothing quite as comfy or as easy as a nice pair of leggings. I'm sad to say I pretty much live in leggings but seem to have noticed that all my beloved soft and stretchy friends were looking a bit worse for wear recently (yes, holes in the seam right on my butt! Why does it always happen there?) I've made a couple of repairs but eventually decided it was time to go legging shopping....until I discovered this video tutorial by Amy Karol. It shows you a quick way of making a new pair of leggings using an old pair of leggings as a template. That lady is a genius! If you like leggings and can get your hands on a sewing machine you must try it! Here are my finished lovely leggings....(please accept my apologies for the weirdness of my legs from this angle (at least I hope it's just the angle). I didn't have anyone else around to take a better picture).

A quilt for Violet...

So I have a bit of a thing for quilts. Of course I mean the kind of quilts that are made by one person who painstakingly pieces it all together and crafts it with care into something lovely. Even better if it's made of beautiful colours and a patchwork of all kinds of fabric all coming together to create a thing of beauty. Quilts are for comfort and warmth, to be a reminder of home, happiness and snuggles.  I love the idea of creating something like that as a gift for someone you care about. Unlike a piece of clothing or a toy, you can never grow out of a quilt. My sister has made us  a couple of quilts and one of hers even features in our wedding photos. We love them. I had one made by a very talented lady for Isobel when she was a wee baby and then when my niece Molly was born I had the same lady make one for her. Bel sleeps with her quilt every night. It gets dragged all over the place, made into forts and wrapped around her if she's ever feeling sick. I hope that it'll always be a reminder of a happy home for her and that one day maybe it'll be wrapped around her babies. Anyway I've always kinda hoped that maybe one day I'd be able to make one myself. As soon as I got the gist of sewing I had quilts on my mind but to be honest I felt like it was beyond me and I didn't know where to start. When my niece Violet was born I was going to get her a quilt from the same lady that made Bel's and Molly's but for various reasons I didn't get it done. Violet's first birthday is coming up and I figured that there wasn't ever going to be another person so worthy of me giving it my best shot. Now, my quilt isn't fancy and isn't very elaborate but I made it with lots and lots of love for one of the sweetest, most adorable little girls you could ever meet and I'm just over the moon with the end result! I hope it keeps her warm and cosy and feeling loved for a long long time.

I decided not to attempt piecework on the actual quilt top just yet, I mean I didn't want to set myself up for failure! I decided on a cute fabric for the front. It has owls (Bel loves owls) spider webs (Seb loves spidey) and dragon flies and they always remind me of my sister because she had a dragonfly tatooed onto her foot while staying with me here in Canada. I made my own bias tape for the binding by cutting scraps of some pretty yellow polka dot and striped fabric and sewing them together into a long strip. The yellow spotty fabric was given to me by my sister (Violets mummy) in the sewing kit she made for me and I'd previously made some little tooth fairy pillow creatures for Molly and Violet with it and with  the yellow stripy one so they had a touch of personal meaning to them.  The back of the quilt is made from an old bed sheet of Seb's that  I'd also used to line that first bag I made. So it's got a touch of the upcycling tradition of quilting too. I also decided to appliqué Violets initials and a couple of the little owls and spider webs onto the back just to make it extra personal to her. After a whole lot of pinterest browsing and googling I'd formulated a basic plan of action and felt ready to start sewing.

Here's where I have a bit f a confession.....I bought a new sewing machine.  I know, I know, I went on and on about how I loved my old Singer and I do so appreciate that machine for getting me started. I honestly don't think I'd have had the confidence to even know what to look for in a sewing machine before I used that good old girl. The trouble was that I found it difficult to sew in a straight line with the old Singer, she was just too flippin fast. Knowing also that I really really wanted to get into making some quilts I did a bit of research and then made the fatal mistake of going into a sewing machine shop and , well, that was that. I went for a machine with lots of space for quilting and even considering that and the fact that this was just a baby sized quilt I was quite taken aback by how hard it is to work on such a big piece and still see what the heck you're sewing!



Once I'd started I just couldn't stop! I worked all day and nearly all night with barely a breather to feed my children some scraps before getting back to it. By the time I got to binding, I think it was nearly 2 am hence the very bad lighting in the photo below. Time to pin that binding tape....

I kept going and learnt a very important fact of sewing..... wearing shorts while working on a big quilt covered in pins is a bad idea. I'm honestly surprised there's no blood on that there quilt!

By some time in the early morning the quilt was done. With no one else up to show it to I was so ridiculously happy and tired I didn't know what to do with myself. For at least half an hour I sat on my sofa in the early morning light with a big smile on my face...all snuggled in Violets quilt. :)

I love it! And best of all, I think she will too.

A little loveliness.....

I'm sorry. I'm at it again. This sewing malarky has got me hooked. I have officially completed the sewing trifecta.....homeware, accesories and now clothing!! I made a skirt for Miss Bel and it's the cutest thing  I've ever seen her wear (except maybe those adorable Huckleberry Fin-esque dungarees of hers!)  I used a free pattern from Oliver and S and whipped it up one evening when Neil was on nights and the kiddies were tucked up in bed. I used some fabric from ikea (notice any repetitiveness about my fabric choices) and a bit of ribbon I found in my cupboard for the trim. Belly loves it! And I love that she loves it! Her favorite thing about this skirt is that it's perfect for a bit of this....

Hehe! Nothing like a good skirt for twirling is there!
Here's a closer look, cause I just know you are dying to hear more and more about my sewing!! If you look closely you'll see my trademark wonky stitching.

And here's the view from the back. Much like the front really :)

I've already ordered some cuter fabric with her next skirt in mind! Oh and Miss Molly, there's one on it's way to you as we speak! It even has less of the wonky stitching :)

I'm not really sure how I'll be able to start making clothes for Seb. His preference for clothing usually resembles outfits such as this one.......

And I think this might be a bit beyond my skill level right now.

(Yes, Bel is the dog and Seb is the dog walker in this pic.)

Things have been a little stressful in our household this week for reasons that I don't even want to think about let alone discuss. I just wanted to add that my new found distraction of sewing and the happiness and smiles that my lovelies bring to me every day make it all seem so insignificant. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing family.

 :)

I love you monkeys and sometimes even you too monster....

The nicest bag in the whole wide world ever ever ever......

Boo-ya-ka-sha! Check out ma'bag! 

Yep, it's lovely and colourful and beautiful and big and I made it! Yes I MADE IT. (sorry, I'm not sure when I'll get over this crazyiness about realizing that little old me can make things! I MADE IT! Hehe!) With an old coffee sack from Breakers, a bit of ikea fabric and an old bed sheet for the lining!

Here's just one more photo just to show you the stunning beauty of my boxed out corners..........

:D

sew sew

Before our big BC camping trip you might remember that I randomly went and bought myself a sewing machine. Well I managed to squeeze in a couple of sewing projects before we went away but haven't had time to tell you about it yet. So here goes...I started off nice and simple and decided to sew some napkins. "Easy peasy" I hear you thinking (yes I can hear you thinking), "how hard can it be to cut out 4 squares of fabric and sew them into, well, 4 squares of fabric" I hear you thinking again. Well, I'll have you know it's much more difficult than you think. At least for me, Miss never-sewed-a-single-thing-in her-life. You see napkins require hemming and hemming requires ironing and I am also known as Miss never-ironed-a-single-thing-in-her-life-unless-her-life-depended-on-it. It is a true fact that had I known sewing involved quite this much ironing I never would have even contemplated taking it up as a hobby. When setting myself up with all the necessary stuff to be able to sew I had to add "iron" and "ironing board" to my list of supplies because I had managed to live for at least the last year and a half without either item in my possession. Anyhoo back to the actual sewing. I was quite frazzled after all that ironing and was surprised to discover the complexitites of mitring corners. It's quite a process for the novice sewer let alone the novice ironer. I was very proud of my first completed napkin even with it's wavy stitching and slighly gappy and uneven mitred corners and the sense of achievment spurred me on to try to at least make a set of two. The learning curve in sewing (so far) seems pretty steep and napkin number  two came out  soooo much better than napkin number one it was shocking. By number three I was beginning to feel like some kind of seamstress superstar who just whips up napkins from thin air in a matter of seconds. My stitches were straight and my mitred corners...oh the perfection! On completion of napkin number 4 I couldn't take the smile off my face. I'd actually made something and it was something nice!

You'll be quite impressed to find out that not only did I manage to turn 4 ordinary squares of fabric into 4 ordinary squares of fabric with nicely pressed and sewn hems and mitred corners but also.....wait for it......I printed the fabric myself! WITH A POTATO!! Hahahaha! I don't know what has come over me!

Yes, I used a small old potato from somewhere in the back of my fridge to creeate a beautiful feathery design on my plain Ikea grey gingham fabric. I just carved out my design into my old potato, left it to dry for a bit and then dabbed it into some fabric paint and onto my fabric a bunch of times. Voila! I bet you'll see me on Pinterest within days!!
Look! Here are my four beautiful napkins all folded and neatly pressed I might add. I doubt I'll ever use them in case they get creased ;)

....I can't wait to show you what I did next!

Learning new skills is fun.

This is my brand new sewing machine, of course it's not brand new at all it's actually more like 100 years old but to me it's brand-spanking-new! I got it for 90 bucks on Kijiji and let me tell you the old girl works like a dream!

You're probably wondering what on earth would possess me to buy a 100 year old sewing machine on a whim from an online classified ad. Well, here's the thing, a.) I think I have a Kijiji addiction (three stools, one camping stove and a hundred year old sewing machine in a little over a month, oh dear) and b.) learning to sew has been on my mind for a while now, 3 years or so to be precise. It's one of those things that I kept talking myself out of for fear of failing miserably and having wasted lots of money on a machine I wouldn't even be able to switch on. Over the last year I've sort of realized that the only thing stopping me from doing new things is my stupid self imposed limitations. I've also realized that learning to be a bit more self sufficient is something that makes me feel really happy. So I just bought the darned thing!

I did think about getting a bottom of the range new machine, they go for about $150 at Walmart and the like but there were a couple of things that stopped me. For one, those machines are pig ugly! For two, I could only afford a bottom of the range one and frankly if you can't afford a decent one you're going to end up with something pretty cheaply made with mostly plastic components. For three, my sister is a very talented sewist (is that a word) and she whips up all kinds of cool creations with a very similar old Singer to my old gal here.  I consulted her for some advise and decided to go for the old Singer and I'm so happy I did. She is beautiful! I also quite like the idea that my sister and I will be sewing away on our same old sewing machines even though we are continents apart. 

I already had a surprising amount of sewing supplies again thanks to my lovely sister who had made me the nicest sewing kit ever  (see it's beautifullness below) complete with fabric samples and patterns as a birthday present a couple of years ago. So as soon as I got the old girl home I was ready to go. I'm not gonna lie, it took me nearly a whole day to figure out how to thread the needle and wind the bobbin (yeah exactly, "what the hell is a bobbin?" was my first question too), but once I had that mastered I was off!

I've already made actual things! Prepare to be dazzled...........

Thing one is a little felt glasses pouch for Miss Bel's spec's. The opticians had to bend the sides of her glasses so much to hold them onto her little head that the glasses no longer fit into the case they came with. I'm pretty happy with my home made fix for our spectacle problem.

Thing two is a miniature tote bag for Bel, she's obsessed with bags and likes nothing more than to carry about a random selection of goodies. It's just the right size and when I gave it to her she said "I love it mummy!"  I could have cried I was so happy! There's really nothing like the satisfaction you get from making something and having some one else love it :)

Hooray for learning new skills!