Baby Knitting

My friends are quite a fertile bunch it seems - I always have some sort of baby gift on the go.  March/April has been no exception and I have made a couple of  baby knitted items.  Sometimes a handmade gift can be a bit hit or miss , but thankfully my friends are also an appreciative bunch too ;-)

This is the raglan sweater I made for baby Levi (and I love the name) the offspring of my very dear friend Hailey.  The pattern is from one of Debbie Bliss' baby books and is knitted with aran wool on 5mm needles - a very quick knit indeed.  The beauty of it is that the back and front instructions are exactly the same so quick to memorise.  I know not everyone likes a raglan shaping but I do very much - I also find raglans much easier to seam together.  The yarn I chose for this project was Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran in this lovely Indigo colour.

My second baby knitting project is this lovely 'Little Scallop' hat made for baby Eliza - truly the teeniest baby I have ever met at 5lb 3oz birth weight!  She has some growing to do before the hat will fit I think!  The pattern was found on Ravelry and the crochet flower and button detail is my own addition.  This is just the start of a baby knitting spree - I have projects on the needles for my twin niece and nephew too!

On a roll

I am on a roll this week with my FWQ!  I have made this week's two blocks and it is only Wednesday.  Time will tell if I am as organised and productive next time!  This week I've departed from using the template method for making my blocks.  I am completely convinced that every time I use those templates I shave off a little with each cut thus making them less and less accurate.  The two blocks I've made this time has involved some basic maths, a bit of drafting (I so love graph paper), a ruler and a rotary cutter - it has been a bit like coming home for me as I soooo prefer this method :-).

So without further ado I present my blocks!

Chequerboard

Hovering Hawks

I love arranging the blocks on point (which is how they should be in the finished product) as they look so different!  Also I love this aqua Bambi print that has made it into the last few blocks I've made.  It has always been part of the bundle I am using for the FWQ but it had been forgotten at the bottom of the box - what a travesty.  I will be making up for it from now on.

Falling out

I have fallen out with the Farmer's Wife Quilt this week.  She has been most demanding and I have been quite down in the mouth about it.  A few things have contributed to this, the first being lack of sewing time.  Second is the development of a 'reject pile' when I discovered two of my blocks are half an inch too small and third is the fact that there are a lot of very proficient quilters out in the blogosphere who have beautiful, accurate blocks!  I have been feeling a teeny bit discouraged and frustrated.

If the truth be told, I am a perfectionist at heart and i get annoyed when things don't turn out as I had hoped.  One of the blocks in my 'reject pile' is 'Whirlpool' which was already my second attempt at the block!  It isn't the most difficult of blocks but I cannot get the seam allowance or the points right!  In a fit of frustration I threw it in the bin and ended up joining the Farmer's Wife Quilt Yahoo group.  This is not something i would not ordinarily do as these sorts of things scare me a little.  However, it has proved to be a wealth of tips and encouragement and I have found the will to get back to it this week.  The two blocks took me absolutely ages but I decided they would NOT defeat me.

I am thus pleased to share:

Block number 100 - Weathervane:

I LOVE it and it was such hard work!

And here is block 25 - Cups and Saucers:

Bear in mind that this is the unfinished block so the step in the pink spotty fabric will be (hopefully) eliminated when I add the borders and sew it into the completed quilt.  I cannot begin to contemplate when in time this will be!

For now I have gained a second quilting wind :-)

Fabric Love

Today I thought I would pop in and share some recently acquired stash!  While on my rail trip last week I took the opportunity to visit Brighton Sewing Centre on a fabric sourcing mission.  I had visited their website previously so I knew of their existence.  As chance would have it I stumbled across it on a post-lunch stroll - how opportunistic!  Given this stroke of luck I just had to pop in and 'browse'.  Browsing yielded some lovely fat quarters:

I thought they were evocative of spring with the little chickens, flowers and fresh colours.  The top fabric is from the 'Posy' range by Aneela Hoey for Moda.  The blue floral and bunting prints are by Tasha Horsley for Riley Blake.  I recognise the green and blue fabric but the designer is eluding me at present!

And speaking of the 'Posy' range, a couple of days after returning from Hove, this arrived in the post:

Well, I saw 'this' but in fact there were two charm packs :-)  and a surprise in the parcel.  I had pre-ordered the 'Posy' charm packs from Honeybee Cloths but their stock was delayed via the Moda UK distributor.  As a thank you for my patience they sent me a mini 'Posy' charm pack - adorable 2.5" squares!!  I must recommend them as a company as, surprise free gift aside, their service and communication was excellent.

So, with lovely fabric sitting on my sewing table it's time to make use of it.

Home Day

Yesterday I had a home day.  I love these sorts of days - days where you don't stray far from home and just potter around doing bits and bobs.  My Dr. Husband was on call this weekend which meant we couldn't stray far from home in case he got called in to work - any family trips on such days usually involve two cars and lots of hassle.  I, for one, am happy to be at home on such days completing little yet fulfilling tasks.  My main achievement was painting our front door a lovely shade of duck egg blue - I must try and take a photo.

I tend to lose track of time during school holidays and Easter time in particular throw as me - probably because of the long weekend at the start.  I couldn't work out for the life of me what I had accomplished when with regards to the Farmer's Wife Quilt (FWQ).  I think I am now up to date and I can share four blocks with you!

In no particular order, and on a breezy day here they are:

(Storm Signal - block 90)

(Wrench - block 111)

Wrench is the very last block in the book - shame it's not true of my quilt!

(Strawberry Basket - block 91)

Hard work but worth it!  And finally:

( Hill & Valley - block 46)

My very favourite from this bunch ;-)

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend!

Rail Trip

My poor neglected blog! Following on from my 'Seasons of Life' post, life has indeed been manic in the run up to Easter and over the Bank Holiday weekend.
We've enjoyed lunch with friends, an Easter Saturday wedding and currently a certain, very excited, seven year old and myself are on a Rail Trip!
We have ventured by rail to Brighton, well Hove actually, where my brother and his lovely wife life and now their gorgeous twins!!





We have had a wonderful time and the weather has been glorious - it is always sunny on the south coast it seems!
I came to Hove bearing quilted gifts which explains my virtual silence over the last week or so! My twin quilts were actually completed on my train journey down where I furiously sewed on the binding!
A quilt for a boy:








And a quilt for a girl:








Today we head home to see the Busy Boy and the Dr Husband. I've so many sewing projects to catch up on!

Seasons of Life

I struggle to remember sometimes what aspects of my life I have blogged about over a period of several weeks.  Apologies for any repeated ramblings.  Daily domestic life, for me, consists of seasons - some periods are quiet and manageable, others manic.  At the moment I'm experiencing a very busy season in my life.  I'm sure this is down to, in part, two busy but fabulous children and a husband who has a very demanding job.  Over the last two weeks I feel as though I've been chasing my tail, trying to keep up.  Sewing has been little and sporadic to say the least!  I'm pleased tonight to be able to drop in briefly and share last week's Farmer's Wife blocks:

This is 'Whirlpool' and is block 102 in the book.  I tried this block sometime last year and got myself into quite a frenzy - I couldn't get any of the points to match up.  I must confess that my first attempt at whirlpool ended up in my scrap basket.  However, what a difference a day few months makes and I am so much happier with the end result.  My piecing seems to be improving - it's not perfect by any means but I am happy.

Secondly block 80 - Single Wedding Star:

A bit of a busy block - now that it has been sewn together it does induce a bit of visual cortex overload or possibly a migraine!  At this point in time the block is in rather than out as I'm trying not to backtrack.  We'll just have to see if it works when all the blocks are laid out together!