One week old

Little Miss is 1 week old today. To date she is the perfect baby..... all she does is sleep and hardly ever cries. I have to wake her to feed every 3 hours during the day and let her sleep 4 hours of a night before a feed. She is very quiet and placid .... but I am sure that will not last !

She has been very spoilt with some lovely gifts, and their is plenty of pink !!! Isabella has also received plenty of attention so she does not get left out and has lots of books on babies now. She has also coped really well and loves her new 'sista'.

I also got some a lovely gift, my mum gave me this gorgeous book : -

Some lovely craft projects and ideas.... now if I could just find a few spare hours where a newborn or a toddler does not need me so I can try them out !

Skipping girls !

What was I thinking ??? Just before having Kiah, I was fairly bored and with having Isabella is day care I was meant to be on 'bed rest'. However I was that uncomfortable and had the worst backache constantly I could hardly lie down let alone lie still. Sitting wasn't much better but I found if I was sewing or doing some kind of 'craft' it would take my mind of things.

So I made a whole heap of hair clips for Isabella, and some for little gifts for friends with girls as their birthdays are coming up soon. I also started making some more of my skipping ropes, which I normally sell in my 'made it' shop. One friend saw them when she popped over for a cuppa and a visit and 5 custom orders later.... which wear great... until I had a baby !!

Anyway they are now done and are off to their new homes. So that's all I have been making.... unless you count making breast milk !!

All the girls together






The lady who ordered them wanted 3 for girls with blonde hair, one for a little girl with brown hair and one for a girl with red hair. I hope she likes them !

The stork has visited !!

Well.... it finally happened !

Kiah Mae was born 21.05.2011 at 11:22am. A healthy weight of 3.55kg, 55 cm long .... all is well !




Despite the fact that I hated pregnancy with my continual nausea, heart burn and in the end insomnia I do miss the feeling of movement and kicking inside the womb !

Now the real fun begins !

Goodie Bag Swap - sneak peek

I have had all my pieces cut out and half sewn for the 'Goodie Bag Swap' for like 3 weeks .... but lost my sewing mojo a bit. It was a combination of insomnia and feeling like a right off and following Amy butlers ' Cosmo bag' pattern and having to interface EVERY single piece !! Also because my ironing board is in another room, and moving hurts these days I have not picked it up for a few weeks !!

My excuse - 38 weeks pregnant, still have morning sickness, nothing fits and feeling sooooo uncomfortable that sitting hurts !!

Anyway this is the fabric I have used for my bag:

My partner requested something bright, bold and modern and likes pinks, greens and reds. Hope this fits the bill.
So............ I just need to sew the 2 exterior panels together and do the interior.

I better get a wriggle on as posting is nearing very soon and I think this baby will be here before we know it !

My new fabric obsession

Do you ever get obsessed with a fabric line, and that is all you can think about, google, look at and will go to extreme measure to have and to hoard.

Not sure if it is the pregnancy hormones and the fact that I can hardly move and hence my laptop on my belly is my new best friend... but my latest obsession is this:

'Sew Cherry' by Lori Holt
Yumminess in yellow.......
Yumminess in pink........




Yumminess in blue.....


But what to do with it.... my mind just won't rest !

Emma's bee blocks

I have this incredible need to get my bee commitment blocks, swap projects and other sewing projects done. I have a few custom orders for hair clips and skipping ropes to complete, my goodie bag swap item plus the spicing up the kitchen item( Not sure of who my partner is yet so I can't even really start it ) .

My friend who is due a day after me, has this incredible need to clean...... I am glad that I want to finish my sewing or maybe that's just me as I hate cleaning and I don't like things hanging over my head ????

In the 'Bee seam piecing downunder' - Emma is making a quilt for her sister's birthday and asked for any type and size block as long as the predominant colour stayed yellow. I love the fabrics she choose and wanted them to remain the focus... so I decided to 'fussy cut' them and add yellow borders.

You can't see it to well in the photos, but I also added some feature stitching in pink on the plain yellow squares..... hope she likes them.



This block features again some hand stitching in pink - I think it ties the block all together !

Spicing up the kitchen - Inspiration

ohhh.... yeah forgot to add this to my last post. Some 'eye candy' and my inspiration for you partner !

Spicing up the kitchen - swap

O.k... I admit it. My name is Kelly and I am addicted to swaps, and Virtual quilting bees and anything sewing related or crafty in fact !! When you see all the gorgeous and beautiful things that people create how can you not be ???

So I have joined the 'Spicing up the kitchen' swap - where you get assigned a secret partner and make an item from their list. Obviously as the name suggests it is something kitchen related such as place mats, napkins, pot holders, tea towels, aprons etc.

I am secretly hoping for a small table runner or place mats or an apron... but anything dear partner ! Stick to something that is 'red' and you should be right !!!

This is one end of my kitchen - the 'sticks' are in the draws so I don't have a 2 year old constantly emptying them to do her 'cooking' ! Off the kitchen we have a small living area with a square table. The ironing board normally isn't there but I couldn't be bothered to put it away and plus when a 2 year old is sleeping your time is limited and precious !

Looking back in the opposite direction and into our formal lounge room


So simple clean lines and an uncluttered look is one my kitchen looks like - unless I have been cooking and have not cleaned up ! Hope this helps partner... can't wait to get my person i am creating for !!

In the mean time I better finish my bag for the Goodie bag swap !!!

Work in progress - Matryoshka quilt

With Isabella in day care and Matt at work I have a bit of 'free time' on my hands - but for how much longer will depend on when bubba decides to come. If i didn't have unbelievable insomnia, heart burn and nausea I would really be enjoying the time to myself and enjoying some much needed sewing time. I have a list of unfinished projects that is just way to long that it is embarrassing.

One of the things that I am desperate to finish is a winter quilt for Isabella based on Rosalie Quinlan's Matryoshka dolls. I love the bright reds, aquas and green and it is made out of the lovely lecien flower sugar range. The design is simple but these little dolls are just the cutest !
!

Laying out the blocks.....





I just have to sew the rows together and add a border, quilt it and bind it and I can tick that one of the list !!


I have this romantic, unrealistic idea that I will made Isabella a new quilt every year ... but

- when do I stop ???

- if I have another girl I will have to do the same. I don't think I boy would really care.

I think I should just quit while I am ahead and made a winter and summer quilt !!

ready to pop - literally

I am feeling like I will pop any day - literally !! I never made it this far with Isabella - I went into labour at 32 weeks but eventually had her at 34 weeks.

I was still working and it was all rather rushed and unexpected in fact Matt was away on an overnight excursion and had to make a mad dash back. He got to the hospital with 15 minutes to spare and just as I was about to push her head out.

One of my biggest regrets was not taking enough ' tummy' photos. Sooooooooo... Isabella helped with some finger painting today and my tummy was the canvas !

As you can see at 37 weeks I am ready to pop - and these are the 'safe' images, the others we won't even go there !!

Hair clip hanger # 2 and bee block

Today I am working on another hair clip hanger - still not loving the overall design. I think this one will also be destined to be given as a gift:


Luckily another niece has a 'pink and aqua' themed room, so this should go with her decor. Her birthday is in July so I will be a tad busy by then so this will be put away until then.


Also on the agenda today is marlynn's block in the 'Bee in my bonnet' bee. She has asked for a block - any style to be used in a baby blanket - she is also expecting any day.

I am loving the fabric, it is a gorgeous soft flannel.

I haven't gotten out of my pajamas today, I figure there are not going to be many more days like this in the future so I am just taking it easy, relaxing and having time to myself !

Hair clip hanger and an early mothers day pressie

Now that I am able to do a lot more with Isabella's hair it drives me crazy with all the little clips that she has. I have just put them in a little basket in her bedroom, but I can never find the right one when I am dressing her in a certain outfit. Plus she likes to 'help' and ends up tipping the whole basket out and just making a mess.

I have been looking on the web for a 'hair clip holder' or 'hair clip hanger' and have found a lot of people cover a canvas and use ribbon to store and display their little girl clips. I don't have much room on Isabella's dressing table and a 'canvas' type board was going to be too large.

So..........I came up with this one. I can hang it up, I can see the clips, it's out of reach for little hands and it tidies everything up.

My pictures aren't great but I think you get the idea.

The ribbon in the middle can be used to loop hair elastics through and ribbons when her hair eventually gets long enough. This is still in 'prototype' mode so it will probably be given to my niece for her birthday in a few weeks until I perfect my design. Also I will make Isabella's out of the 'Moda Basic Grey' range so it matches her quilt and pillow.

An early mother day present arrived in the mail yesterday. I have been interested in this book for a while and love working with Oliver & S patterns. I have earmarked a few things to make and will let you know what I think !

Dresden Plate Pillow

I have been in love with the quilting block 'Dresden plate' since making this block for Joanna in one my quilting bees :


They are surprising easy to do.. the hardest part is getting all the parts cut out. I think a lot of people get put off doing this block due to all those points, but really they are not hard at all.

I have a whole heap of Moda ' Basic Grey Blush' fabric left over from Isabella's quilt and thought I would make her a pillow for her bed. So ......... I thought why not try the 'Dresden plate' block again. Here it is on the bed :

Not a great day to take photos as it is a little overcast outside. Do you think it goes ? Square quilt with a pillow with a circular design ?? On the right hand side ( not shown in photo ) I have the bunting I also made her out of the same fabric hanging up. I will wait until a good day and get better pictures to give you an 'overall' feel of her room.

Anyway.... I really like it. I may have to make a quilt using these fabrics and this method.... if only I didn't have a 2 year old an another due at the end of the month !!

A false alarm and baby bloomers

Well..... what an interesting weekend we have had. Matt played golf as per usual on Saturday and rang about 6 times to check to see if I had gone into labour - which I hadn't and I started to get a little sick of the phone calls ! We visited a friend who has just had a little girl - Sophie May ( 7 pounds ) born last week and Isabella was so cute and kept on wanting to pat her head and hold her ! I made little Sophie the following singlet and bloomers which should fit her by summer - they are a 00.
Saturday night was all quite... and I manage to catch up on my bee blocks. These were made for Emily in the 'Bee in my bonnet' bee. She asked for crazy pieced blocks using the animal/ girl fabric as the center piece.


They were quick, fun ans easy to make


The lack of 'order' and structure played with my head a little and I kept on trying to get things nice and 'straight'
I think the less ordered and structured they look the better

all 4 blocks together: -


Anyway, Sunday was family time and we spent a lovely day together, going to the park, a slow walk and spending time outside in the garden.

Sunday afternoon I was experiencing regular contraction pain and was in agony !! I could not sit still nor get comfortable ! The pain was intense and regular ( for about 2 hours ) so we called a friend to come and look after Isabella and went to get things checked out at the hospital.

Sure enough when we got there things stopped !!! They did a few tests.... and while I was having high and regular contractions, no waters had broken and bubba was not distressed so they sent us home !

I just wish things would happen and that there would be no more false alarms.... so sitting today with baited breath !