New Home Making

Two things our new home has meant to us so far:
1.The quilt has found its home at last. After an interim period using the it in the cot with the side down so P could escape- although amazingly he didn't- we've now acquired the 'big boy bed'. Cue much excitement and a few evenings of trekking up and down stairs to persuade him that he needed to stay in the bed rather than climbing on a chair to look out of the window. All in all it's gone well, however, and every time I see him snuggled up asleep under the results of all that hard work it makes my heart soar.
2.Evenings are a bit less relaxed for the grown-ups. The reality of decorating a house with two small children is that sometimes the only time available is after bed time- assuming that M decides that she'll coordinate her sleep time with her brother's. If that means 10.30pm sees us steaming off old wallpaper (to reveal, in this case, cork tiles!) and slapping undercoat on woodwork then so be it. Even with scruffy plaster and streakily undercoated wood, it somehow looks better than the previous decor, perhaps because it's the first marks we are making on our new home. Can't wait until we get a room finished!

Quilt Pictures

Ta-da! It's been worth all the careful cutting, pinning, machine and hand sewing. We haven't started trying it to sleep under just yet, as I think that'll have to wait until we've got a better bedroom set up for him (roll on that house move). He's already making it his own though.

Wot no pictures?

I just have to say this...I finished P's quilt! All that hand-stitching is done, all the ends tidied away and trimmed, tacking removed. Made with lots of love and rather less skill and experience, it's by no means perfect, but there's an argument for hand-made not being perfect, isn't there? Plus, it's my first attempt at quilting, so it will only get better. At the moment I haven't got pictures to post. The camera on my phone, which I use for pretty much all the pictures I put on here, is pretty good considering. However, having spent so long on this project and with it being a bit big and therefore tricky to photgraph I'm going to use the proper SLR for this one. It's just a question of finding time when P is asleep or otherwise occupied and there is enough daylight to do it justice. Probably tomorrow. He's asleep now and sun is streaming in, but not wanting to waste a beautiful afternoon, we're getting ready for a walk...

Mummy gets her mojo back

Yesterday was doomed from the start really. For a start, it was a Wednesday. For some reason, nothing happens on a Wednesday here- the library is closed, our friends are all at work, there aren't any playgroups or classes we can do...even with the sun shining it feels like a real mid-week slump. And yesterday was made worse because something woke the boy up at 3.30am and kept him (and me) up for the best part of 3 hours in a miserable state. So I would definitely say I was struggling yesterday morning. When naptime rolled around I logged on to my usual blog roll and there was this post from Hannah at A Handmade Childhood. I'd been meaning to make homemade Play-Doh for ages, not least because a certain someone still can't resist eating the shop-bought kind, which can't be good.
So, in the afternoon we stirred our stumps to go and buy some cream of tartar and I holed up in the kitchen and made some Play-Doh, veggie chilli (inspired by our visit to Wilf's last Saturday) and a indulgent Victoria sponge (just because!). A tasty supper and a good night's sleep later and things looked much brighter. This morning saw the first test run of our Play-Doh, which I didn't put colouring in as we're in a rented house with pale carpets...he didn't seem to mind and his fascinated absorption gave me a chance to sneak a few more stitches on his quilt.

All sewn up

I had a 'hang the housework' day today when I caught up on some napping and cracked on with the sewing. Even though I'm not going down to my Ma's for a few weeks to do the next stage, I just felt the need to get the quilt top finished and go back to working on my Fairisle in the evenings. No doubt C will be pleased as knitting is a lot quieter than the sewing machine. I think I can add 7 hours onto the previous time total to get to a result that I'm really pleased with. I can hardly wait to do the next stage- need to decide on batting and backing first. I'm thinking of a wool/cotton mixture batting and brushed cotton backing so that in winter it can be an extra layer and in summer a cover on its own.
Just one more bit of stitching I'm planning before the machine gets put away for a while- with more time at home with the boy coming up, I thought I would do something with these old shirts, a collection of toy animals and a certain well known song about a farmer. Had it not been for a phone call from a friend tonight I'd have got it done, but maybe I can fit it in around that still-waiting housework tomorrow morning. A more pressing job tomorrow is to go shopping for Seville oranges though- for until I heard someone mention it on the radio today I hadn't realised they were about and this year I'm going to make marmalade!

Fresh air and careful progress

The onset of the first winter colds (we've done well to avoid them so far!) slightly marred the enjoyment of our weekend away. However, the slightly milder weather did at least mean we could get out and about for the first time in what feels like ages. A quick blow along the sea front to look at the little boats and the foolhardy souls out on the water (yes they had wetsuits and drysuits but still...!)with Granny and the dog, followed by fish and chips. It's that sort of morning that reminds you of why we live in this country!
Back home yesterday and despite a desperate need to sleep, the temptation to do a little more quilt work was too great. Those who know how hard I find it to go slowly will appreciate how careful I'm being. I laid out three blocks, then managed to put one together, painstakingly pinning together, sewing 1/2 a cm for each seam and ironing (!!) them flat as I went along. I'm absolutely delighted with how it's looking so far- time spent now is seven and a half hours. If I possibly can I want to get the top finished by mid February when I'm hoping to take a trip down to see my mum. With her vastly superior sewing skills and prior quilting experience I'm hoping she'll hold my hand through the actual quilting and binding stage.

Never look a gift horse in the mouth

For some reason, P decided that today was a day for a loooong lunchtime nap. I could have taken a picture of him sleeping- it is the most beautiful sight, for so many reasons- but that would probably have been tempting fate. Instead, as I'm on my own with him this weekend I stuck 'Big Bang Theory' Season 2 on the DVD and finished off cutting out the squares for the quilt. I even had time to have a try at laying out some possible combinations- three episodes make the time spent count up to five hours. I'm really please with how it's looking, but now I can hear some squeaking on the baby listener so I think 'mummy's quiet time' is over. We're off to the farm where I'll hopefully get some work done on my knitting instead.

Hooray! Hooray! Oops!

Well, I went and pressed the button and as if by magic (okay, the 'magic' of Royal Mail who delivered quickly, but decided to deliver everyone on our street with their next door neighbours mail today. Lucky we are all nice, honest people on our street) today the rest of my fabric for P's quilt arrived. Beautiful,no? And the colours seem to work really well together. Just a slight hiccup...I spent ages deliberating over shades, patterns, price per fat quarter etc. and then failed to notice that the lovely multi polka dot in the top picture is actually fine needlecord as opposed to the cotton of all the other fabrics. Oops.
Anyhow, no problem, I'm sure I'll find a use for it- at the moment I'm considering a Noni felted market bag which I made (complete with the fiddly fuschias, which I wouldn't do again) for my mum's Christmas present a few years back. I think the larger size, lined with the polka dot cord would be rather lovely.
Of course, the real problem I'm left with is that my careful calculations for how much fabric I need are now out by one. I rifled through my fabric stash and could find any number of blues, pinks, florals etc. but no green to speak of at all really. Then I had a peek in my wardrobe and found a Howies skirt from a few years ago. I think I originally fell in love with the cute little mushroom print fabric, but the style has never really suited me- it's just a tad to short and flouncy for someone of my shape and age. I've hung onto it because it wasn't cheap and because I still harbour one of those daft hopes you have about certain garments that one day you'll try them on and magically look good. So what better than a reality check for my wardrobe and a chance for that sweet fabric to look so much better as part of a handmade-with-so-much-love quilt? You can see it nestled in the middle of the 'final collection' in the second picture. It fits the sort of 'magical woodland' theme that seems to have developed in the prints (the fish are obviously in a pond in a clearing!) and gives another lighter shade to the mix.
I've given myself backache tonight, sitting for too long on the floor and using my brand new birthday dressmaking scissors to begin cutting out squares. I'm trying to keep track of the time I'm taking to make the quilt and so far, with planning, choosing fabric and now cutting out I'm on 3 and a half hours of uncharacteristically careful work so far. It's providing a bit of contrast to the knitting though- at the moment I'm working on a commission (I love saying that!) for Audrey's Tea Shop, which involves fiddly colourwork that it's good to have a rest from sometimes. I'll post some pictures of that soon.

Birthday

It's not always great having a birthday in the middle of winter. One year snow meant that nothing arrived by post until a week after the big day. No problems like that this year, a positive flurry of lovely cards and gifts arrived despite the weather. Among them was my lovely new Cath Kidston oilcloth satchel. It will no doubt become a mama bag, filled with spare clothes, emergency crackers, drink bottles etc. along with my usual detritus of knitting, receipts and interesting leaflets and flyers. Still, it is sooo pretty and should last for years and years.
C having taken the day off to spend with us, we went to Lancaster, where, following lunch at the Whale Tail I began the fabric stash I hope to turn into a quilt for P's move to a proper bed. This needs to happen later in the year and I'm toying with a futon-style bed on the floor as he is so wriggly in bed I think that otherwise he'll always be falling out and waking up. We also need to sort some safety issues out before he's able to roam free in his room, but when that's done I want to make the transition a positive one so I thought it would be a good opportunity to try making my first quilt. I think it's just going to be straightforward squares so that I can focus on being careful and precise (uh-oh!) in shades of green, just to make a change from the cot quilt in seaside colours he had made for him by my mum. I've just spent a happy hour on Fabric Rehab creating a shopping basket of fabric that would mean I could get going. Just got to get the nerve to hit the 'buy' button!