Sweet Dreams

Sleep. Mmmmmmmm, sleeeeeeeep...... I don't get nearly enough of it. And it's not Munchkin's fault, she normally sleeps through from 7.30pm to round about 6.30am, although she does sometimes wake once in the wee hours. But I can't bring myself to go to bed at 10pm like I know I should. Sleep just feels like wasted craft time :)

I resent sleeping when I could be sewing. So I end up going to bed around 11.30 ish, normally closer to 12, and 6 hours sleep really isn't enough for me. The consequences? For the past few weeks I've craving sugar and fat big time. I think my energy reserves are so low my body just keeps putting in requests for emergency power supplies so I don't fall over. The results aren't yet visible on my hips, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time :(

So I'm trying to go to bed earlier in an effort to feel a bit healthier and stop stuffing my face with junk. I think it would help if someone made me a blanket like this. It's for my niece, who's nearly 6 months old (doesn't time fly?). The blanket was from a bargain shop that sells offcuts of fabric and household lineny things - towels, sheets, that sort of thing. It was only £1.50, but it's quite good quality, nice and soft and snuggly. I raided my scraps bag and found some bits of pink for applique, and then printed off the letters to use as a template. I used the font Franklin Gothic Heavy, which is perfect as it's nice and blocky and has no fiddly bits to sew around :)

We're seeing some of the pickledweasel clan next week for four lovely days of relaxation at Centre Parcs, so I'll be able to give it to Juliet then. Munchkin is very much looking forward to it, although the last time she saw her cousin she spent rather a large amount of time determinedly trying to take Juliet's tights off, so I hope she'll find a better way of interacting with her :)

P.S. Apologies for the grim green back yard in the top photos. As it's always raining in Lancashire our paving stones develop a lovely slimey texture, and despite scrubbing with a bristly broom I can't seem to get them back to grey again. But frankly, there are more important things in life to care about, and I'm too tired to do anything about it anyway :)

Cardigan flowerification

Our local Ethel Austin relocated to the empty Woolies recently (eee, it's all go in our neck of the woods), and they had a closing down sale. I picked up a couple of boys chunky ribbed zip-up cardigans for Munchkin for 75p each, one for now and one a bit bigger for later.

Obviously I couldn't leave them plain and bare and boring! I started with the one that fits now, and printed flowers with black fabric paint on to some (Liberty?) cotton scraps, and then appliqued them on to black felt.

I was a bit worried about sewing onto a knitted fabric, but it was surprisingly easy. Even if I had made a hash of it, you wouldn't be able to see the wonky sewing on the black felt.

The other cardigan is a fawny/oatmealy colour, so I thought something in pink would go well. I'm not sure whether to do more flowers or try something different... I'll have to see how the blue cardigan washes, I'm a bit worried about the colour in the felt running.

In other craft news, the pattern I bought to help make my 'copycat but less slutty' dress. has arrived in the post. Unfortunately, in between ordering the pattern and it arriving, I seem to have purchased a purple silk halterneck dress for the bargain price of £75 (reduced from £249) with the intention of wearing it to the wedding. Ooops :)

From teatowel to turtletastic

I bought Munchkin some new sleepsuits at the weekend, as she just keeps on growing. They came in a pack of 3, including a blue gingham one which Mr pickledweasel said looked a bit like a tea towel :(

So to make it look more like a sleepsuit I appliqued on a little turtle from scraps of fabric. I'm liking it, so I think I'll do a turtley bib as well. It isn't quite anatomically correct, as I think turtles are meant to have tails. I did try a little tail when I was cutting out templates in paper, but it just looked a bit like the turtle was doing a poo :(

So this turtle does have a tail, it's just hiding in his shell :)

Bibs a Go-Go

I'm a bib making machine this week. Albeit quite a slow one, but I'm getting there. My aim is to have 8 things listed in a new shop on Coriandr by Sunday.

Here's a sneaky peek at a new bib. I'd forgotten I had this beautiful bird fabric - it was part of a huge stash my mom gave me when she was having a clear out. I've found some lovely Laura Ashley prints to use as well.

This afternoon I'm off to the magic fabric shop to buy some more cotton. Yes, I know I said I was banned from buying fabric until I'd finished some projects, but I need to buy fabric in order to finish a project, so it's justified :) I'm struggling to find 'boy' fabric in my current stash. Why do I find boys so difficult to sew for? So I'm on the lookout for some snazzy car / truck / moon / animal prints. I'll report back later!

Bib = FAIL

I finished another bib last night, and at first was very pleased with it. It's backed with the same spotty fabric that the pears are printed onto, and it's the same denim jacket as I've used before. I tried a different shape this time, and made it slightly smaller. Munchkin had gone to bed, so I had to find an alternative model (sorry Buddha).

On closer inspection I realised 2 things. a) I had forgotten to sew the velcro on. I was so fixated on getting my applique neat that I forgot all about fastenings - I didn't even cut the velcro out and forget to sew it on, I just forgot about it all together. Grandma pickledweasel is coming round today with her popper putter inner to help save the situation.

b) My topstitching hadn't closed the seam it was meant to. I left about a 3" gap at the bottom of the bib when I was sewing the front and back together, so I could turn the bib right side out. Rather than close it with invisible stitch I thought it would look nice with a line of black stitch round the edge, plus it's really good practice for me and my wayward sewing machine (I tend to go round corners a bit fast). Anyhoo, I didn't sew close enough to the edge. Pah. I'll have to invisible stitch it after all.

Never mind. Practice makes perfect, yes? I'm still liking the pears. I handprinted them with a print block I made yonks ago. I think the spotty fabric is perfect for them.

A happier bib experience

I've made another bib for lovely baby Rebecca, this time without cheap melty ribbon. I'm very pleased with it, mainly because the little bird works really well, but also because it is considerably less wonky than my last attempt.

I bought a nice soft denim shirt from a charity shop today, so I'll be whipping up some more soon, probably to sell. A question for you all*, if I may: Would you buy a bib with a button on it? Not a button as a fixing, a button as embellishment. I nearly put one on the little bird, but then thought some moms might be a bit worried about baby chewing it off and swallowing it.

I'm not one of those moms, (when gardening the other day I was very pleased that Munchkin only managed to eat soil twice) but I'd appreciate some other opinions. Thanks!

* by 'all', I mean Kitschy Coo, Nifty, and the other couple of people who read my blog :D

Stars, clouds, and button rain.

I've been faffing about with t-shirts again, this time customizing a brand new one. I picked the tee up for 75p from the super cheap Ethel Austin. It's a kids one, age 14-15, but I can just about squeeze my chest into it :)

I'm liking it very much. My applique isn't perfect, but I'm getting there. I made the mistake of stitching round it twice thinking it'd make it more secure, but it's resulted in a bit of pulling, so next time I'll just stitch round once.

I picked up 2 more tees, both at 75p each, so I'll be doing some more faffing soon. They'll have to wait until next week though, as family pickledweasel are going camping this weekend. With a 13 month old child. Yes, we are insane. So I'm frantically trying to pack and organise food as I'm at work tomorrow and Friday. Plus I have a job application form that I have to fill in by the end of the week. Eeeek. So I'll see you the other side of the weekend, by which time I'll probably be wet, sleep deprived, stiff from sleeping on an air bed, and swearing I'll never go camping again. Happy days :)

Noses, Grindstones, and Applique Flowers

So, it looks like I am in gainful employment again. I've been searching for a part time job since December, and was being particularly fussy in that it needed to be a) above minimum wage, and b) not cleaning, which didn't really leave many suitable positions. But I had an interview yesterday, and they rang late last afternoon (at 5.15, the b*st*rds, leaving me hanging all day!) to say I'd got it. Hurray!

I am to be a library assistant 2 days a week, at a public library (I'm not saying which one in case you come and point and laugh at me). I'm a qualified librarian, so the job will be a bit like down-sizing, but trying to find a qualified role that was part time was like searching for a Dibbler, so I ended up applying for whatever I thought I would get. Sound familiar, other mumtrepreneurs?

At least it'll bring in some pennies to keep me in the bedraggled style to which I have been accustomed :) If you like the embroidery designs above, you can get them from the fabulous Sublime Stitching as a transfer sheet.

Other cheerful news this week - munchkin has a beautiful new handmade dress courtesy of Grandma Pickled Weasel. I made a teeny weeny bit of it - the appliqued flowers, and I think I sewed 2 seams. The original idea was that it was going to be a dress for Christmas day, with baubles round the bottom. Only I was supposed to be making it, so when it got to mid february and it still wasn't finished, Grandma took over :)

Unfortunately munchkin doesn't stand up yet, and dresses don't photograph very well when you're sat on your big cloth nappy bum, so here's a shot of it sans munchkin. Why is needlecord so difficult to photograph??