Baby gifts... bunnies and bibs

Well the quilting has been put on the back burner for the moment.  Quilts are such big projects I have lost interest, so I decided to do some fun sewing.  What is more fun than sewing for babies?  I came across a cute bunny pattern at The Quilters Angel when I was there buying some bias binding to make bibs and thought I would make some bunnies as well as bibs.  The pattern is called Bunny Bundle and is by Calico Farm Designs.

I managed to use stash fabric for the bunnies and some trim I had, but did buy some ric rac. The only other purchase was some yarn to crochet the flowers but I preferred my bunnies with no flowers.  So much for using up stash... now I have more yarn in the stash ... sigh...

The pattern is good.  Not much else to say except I got totally carried away and made 6 bunnies!  At least they have looked nice decorating my house for Easter!

The only difference I made to the pattern (apart from leaving off the crochet flowers) was to not use buttons for the eyes or tail.  These are going to be gifts for babies so I need them to be safe for them, even though they are really more decorative than a toy.  I used black felt for the eyes and made yoyos for the tails.  I am pretty pleased with them and have a few favorites in the bunch, that may not get gifted...ahem...

I also made some bibs.  I had enough fabric leftover from last time I made bibs to make another pair.  The only change is I used a different backing fabric.  I bought tea towels which are meant to be highly absorbent.  So they look pretty much, exactly like my last set. The pattern is a TNT for me now as that makes 5 bibs I have made from it now and I am sure there will be more.

so enough baby gifts stocked away for now.  Ciao for now kittens... Happy Easter!

Craftiness... baby fun and more cowls

I love making things for babies... who doesn't?  We have more young families in my place of work and they are making beautiful babies so I have indulged myself and made some bibs for the latest baby boys that have arrived.

I have made this pattern before in pinks and it is the Fabulous Fifties bib from Nicole Mallalieu.  I did use toweling again for the backing but searched for a thinner towelling to make the sewing easier.  I found tea towels made from microfiber toweling and I am hoping their absorbency will make this a good bib.

The only changes I made was to make the ties a little longer than the pattern states and I would highly recommend making or buying more binding than given in the pattern.  Other than that a great pattern!

Knitting wise - I had a second ball of the wool I made my willow cowl from so made myself another cowl (can you have too many?).  This time a crocheted cowl using the pattern Richmond lace infinity scarf.  

This is the scarf worn by me.  I was at the Jumpers & Jazz Festival held in Warwick in July.  For those yarnies out there the kitchen behind me is fully yarn bombed, including the knitted black and white tiles.

And to come full circle, while I was at Jumpers & Jazz I bought a lovely ball of hand-dyed, hand painted yarn...

and made another willow cowl...

Modeled here by Diana as the weather has turned too warm here to model it myself.

Ciao kittens... more sewing soon...

Odds & sods... including more on pattern Pyramid

I have not done much in my sewing studio lately but have sewn two more little Nicole Mallaileu zippered purses.  The patterns are now available as downloads and I would recommend them as they give great detail on the sewing of these purses.

I have threaded a ribbon onto the zip pull of one and I like that idea as it makes it easier to find the zip pull.  One of these is going to be a gift and I think I will keep one for myself as they are very useful little bags.  All the fabric has come from stash and the zips have been purchased at op shops or the bargain bin at a local fabric store... so not much cost involved.

In my last post about the pattern pyramid I said I would add a pattern to the parcel and this is the pattern I have chosen as I have two of them and it is multi-sized so great for anyone who would like to use it. 

So if you would like to be part of the pattern pyramid fun you have until the end of the 30th November to leave a comment on this post.   I am happy to send this to anywhere so don't be shy!

Back soon (hopefully) with my Big 0 Birthday dress.... Ciao! 

Baby gifts.. pink ... *sigh*

I have made a few things I need to show you but due to not having photos of the items, no blog posts on them for now!  I have been busy at work as we have moved office and the weather has been very variable to say the least, so no wearing of new Summer clothes.  I actually got to wear my new black wool jacket the other day!  I didn't think I would be able to use it again until next year, but I am happy to report that on a very cold blustery day it kept me warm and cosy.

Onto things I have been able to photograph... My DSIL's daughter (from a previous marriage) recently had a baby girl.  All smiles everywhere as I have boys so I am more than happy to make a little pink gift!

I used a bib pattern from Nicole Mallalieu.  A download - so no wait and I love the cute 50's styling and the fact that it is a useful bib as baby should not be able to pull it off. 

I pulled a couple of fabrics out from the quilting stash and this is what I managed to sew.... (I wanted to photograph it on a stuffed toy, but my teddy bear (now almost 50 years old) does not have enough stuffing and my boys' old baby toys are not much better!)

I used an old hand towel to back the bib.  I made the stripey binding from a fabric which coordinated with the main fabric.

My thoughts on this pattern:

• fabulous instructions.  If you were a beginner sewist and wanted to try binding this is a great project with excellent instructions.  The pattern comes with 6 pages of detailed instructions!
• you can either use purchased bias binding or make your own.  Nicole gives the length needed if you make your own and it is spot-on.  I had none left!
• I would love it if this pattern came in more than one size.  This would be a great bib/apron for a toddler.

If you are looking for a baby gift this is a great pattern.  I am loving the fact that I know of someone else having a baby soon so I get another crack at this pattern and using great funky fabrics.  I only have to wait and see if the next one will be a boy or a girl! 

Ciao folks!... I am on holidays next week so I hope to get photos of my new clothes (if the weather plays nice!)