Christening Plate

 

Thank you for all your lovely comments about the Afghan Baby Blanket I showed you earlier this week.  I love sharing all my makes with you. 

 

Today, I thought I'd show you another of my past makes.

 

 

I decorated and painted 5 of these plates to celebrate Violet's Christening.  One for each of her Godparents, and one for Violet.

 

Sometimes it can be difficult to think what to get people as a 'Thank You' gift can't it?

 

I really enjoyed decorating these, and remember sitting in the sunshine painting them all.  Happy memories.

 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

 

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Beatrix Potter Afghan Baby Blanket

 

I'm going to share something with you today that I actually made 5 and half years ago.

 

 

I got it out to show a friend, and because we're all friends here, I thought you would like to see it to.

 

I started stitching this towards the end of my pregnancy.

 

When I went on maternity leave I thought I'd have plenty of time to finish it before the baby was born.

 

I'd only been on maternity leave less than a week when Violet decided it was time for her to make her appearance into this World.

 

Would you believe that I was actually sitting on the sofa stitching Samuel Whiskers when my waters broke (is that too much information???? Apologies).

 

I had to finish the rest off as and when I got the opportunity.  You know how it is with these babies, they don't allow you to sit idly crafting away for long.

But, it did eventually get finished.



 

And, what a beautiful Afghan Baby Blanket it is.

 

All that was left to do, was add Violet's name and date of birth.

 



 

I forget just how teeny tiny she was. 

 

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Hello Kitty, Libery print blouse

I'm very proud of myself today.

 

I've finished making a blouse for Violet.

 

You may remember that I bought some Hello Kitty, Liberty Fabric whilst I was at The Festival of Quilts.

 

 

The pattern I chose was called Jane Dress and Blouse from Figgy's, purchased from Backstitch.co.uk.

 

 

 

I left it yesterday afternoon looking like this (above).

 

I couldn't wait to get back home this morning, after taking Violet to school, to finish it.

 

I just needed to add some elastic to the tops of the sleeves, and sew the sleeves to the body.

 

I absolutely love it.

 

I made age 6/7 because I wanted Violet to get as much use out of it as possible.  It looks slightly on the large side, but until she comes home and tries it on, I won't know by how much.  It may end up being worn as a tunic-type top for now, until she grows a little bit more.

 

I'm giddy with excitement.  I can't wait for her to try it on.

 

The difficulty level was 2 thimbles, and I did find some aspects of the make a bit of a challenge.  Especially sewing the cuffs to the bottom of sleeves. 

 

The majority of the seams are French Seams, which really give a lovely finish.

 

The fabric had been quite expensive (£18 per metre), so I really took my time when placing the pattern on the fabric, measuring, and cutting.  I was terrified of damaging the fabric and ruining it.

 

Right then, I'm off to make myself a coffee and give myself a big pat on the back.

 

Details:

 

Fabric: Hello Kitty, Liberty print, purchased from Fabrics Galore (£18 per metre).  Not available online

Pattern: Jane Blouse & Dress by Figgy's, purchased from Backstitch.co.uk (£9.50).

 

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Saturday outing

Our family are huge Lego fans, so when a friend gave us two free tickets to visit Legoland this Saturday we got very excited. 

 

It's a good job we'd been given the two free tickets though, as I don't think we'd have been able to afford it otherwise.  Violet's ticket alone cost £39.00!!!

 

 

We queued, A LOT.

 

The best thing, by far, was the Atlantis Submarine Voyage.  We queued for 45 minutes to even get on it, but it was brilliant.  You climb aboard a little submarine and are taken on a voyage through a giant fish tank with Ray, Shark and other tropical fish.  Totally amazing.  I just wish it had lasted a little longer.

 

 

The model village is fantastic.  I could spend hours looking at it.

 

A very enjoyable trip, but it was a long, tiring day, and I was so glad to get back home and take my shoes off.

 

Hope you all had fun this weekend.

 

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Extemely rare sighting.

 

I trust you all had a wonderful weekend.

 

Ours was busy, busy, busy, and included a trip to the National Forest.

 

Violet's dad, together with my brother, had entered themselves for a 10k - they must be bonkers!

 

 

I decided to enter Violet and I for the 1 mile Fun Run.

 

 

Let it be known, that I am no runner.

 

I thought Violet would start off at a sprint, then tell me her little legs were hurting, and she'd want to walk the rest of the way.

 

I grossly underestimated the fitness of a 5 year old.  Violet would have ran the entire course, if I hadn't slowed her down. I honestly thought my lungs were going to explode at one point.

 

 

 

 

 

There we are crossing the finishing line.

 

And, there you have it.  An extremely rare sighting of me trying to run. Probably never to be repeated.

 

 

I didn't even get a medal.

 

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Barcelona Skirt #2

 

I've spent today whizzing up another Barcelona skirt.

 

 

I'm hoping it's a little warmer tomorrow so that I can actually wear it out.

 

Hope you've all had a productive day too.

 

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Barcelona Skirt

A very happy Tuesday to you all.

 

Today I want to share with you the first item of clothing that I've actually made for myself.

 

It's called a Barcelona Skirt by Amy Butler. 

 

 

I made the A-Line version.

 

 

As you can see, I did try and take a photograph of myself actually wearing my new skirt.  Unfortunately, this was the best I could do.

 

My skirt is a size medium.  However, going by the sizing chart, I should have made a large!!!! The medium was still very big around the waist, so I ended up popping a dart down either side of the zip at the back.  It's a much better fit now.

 

I'm over the moon with my new skirt and wore it for the school run today.  I received lots of positive comments about it, which made me very happy. 

 

I used Ivy Bloom from Amy Butler's Lark collection for this skirt, and I'm planning on making another one in this Liberty Fabric called  Sydenham Palace, which I bought at The Festival of Quilts from Fabrics Galore.

 

 

Isn't it fabulous?

 

As is this Hello Kitty fabric, which I also bought from Fabrics Galore at The Festival of Quilts.  I'm planning on making this pretty blouse with it for Violet.

 

 

I think this will be a little trickier than the A-Line skirt I've just made, but I'm willing to give it a go.  If I take it steady all will be well.  Fingers crossed!

 

I've also made a start on making myself a quilt.  I absolutely fell in love with this bright Phillip Jacobs fabric called Garden Party when I spotted it in House of Fraser a few months back.  At the time I only bought 2 metres of it, not really knowing what I was going to use it for. 

 

 

 I've been wanting to make a quilt/bedspread for quite a while, but if I'm honest, it scares me slightly.  I think going to The Festival of Quilts, and seeing all those beautiful works of art up close, has spurred me on to finally take the plunge and make my own.  As soon as I'd made the decision to start this fabric came to mind. 

 

I want my quilt to be a solid print, not a patchwork, and I knew that I didn't have nearly enough fabric  to make one large enough to fit a double bed.  I couldn't find any to buy on-line, so I hot footed it back to the House of Fraser, not giving out much hope of them having any left, but there it was sitting idly on the shelf.  Phew!  I'll have another 2 metres please. 

 

As you can see, I've made a start by lining up the pattern and sewing the pieces together.  My next task is to buy some batting, and pick out a fabric design for the back of the quilt.  Something in a deep purple would look lovely, don't you think?

 

Gosh, I seem to have written a lot today.

 

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