A Child is Born wall hanging

Sometimes I feel unaccomplished that I'm not moving into designing my own patterns or creating fabric designs eg. to print via Spoonflower. Mostly I've come to realise that people who **do** do those things need lots of people like me, in order to support their creativity! At the heart of my passion for sewing is seeing a project designed by someone, that I know a loved one will like. I'll learn whatever technique I have to in order to make it. I'll make it with joy in my heart for how much I hope they will like it, and feel seen or understood by me.

I cut out an ad from an issue of Down Under Quilts magazine about two years ago for a wall hanging called "A Child is Born" by Michelle's Sewing Basket in Victoria. I've had the ad on my cork board all this time, wanting to make it for my mother-in-law. She has a very strong faith plus she has been very supportive of me as a mother, especially in regards to things that matter to me like breastfeeding and homeschooling (when we still were).

I finally purchased the pattern and planned to make it for her birthday. The pattern was really clear and the staff at Michelle's Sewing Basket were very lovely when I rang up for advice on quilting.

I bought the batik fabrics, pre-made black bias binding and double needle from Sewco. Stain glass quilting was a really fun and easy technique to learn. The whole project came together quite quickly. It was my MIL's birthday yesterday, so I finally got to give it to her and she did love it.

Placing the pieces:


All ironed on:


Starting to iron on the fusible bias binding. Notice the ad on my corkboard!


Using a double needle to sew the binding on:


Finished! Final size was approx. 27" x 45".

A little help for little bubs

**Story, names & photos shared with permission**

People who know me know that I am passionate not only about sewing (!), but also about pregnancy and birth. Sometimes these events don't unfold as we have planned. I think it's then especially that our access to timely and appropriate services and how we are supported, that makes all the difference.

Recently Jen, an old friend of mine, and her husband Adam had their first baby arrive unexpectedly early. Their daughter Billie was born via emergency caesarean at only 29 weeks. She has since spent several weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA) in Sydney.

At the RPA the premmie babies sleep in humidicribs on top of a tiny sheet, which is draped over a nest of bunny rugs. The babies are then covered by a strip of material that the nurses call a seatbelt. This is my friend's gorgeous girl:




Jen asked me if I had any pretty offcuts lying around that I could spare to make a couple of seat belts and/or sheets. The sheets are 60x50cm and the seat belts are 10x50cm. Cotton, t-shirt material and flanelette are best. Being glad to be able to do something to help from afar and bring a bit of colour into the lives of families in a pretty tough situation, I whipped these up. I hemmed them by ironing under a quarter inch, then folding and ironing another quarter inch, then top stitching:



Doesn't Bille look gorgeous?



The prems also wear tiny dresses when they progress and the nurses don't have to monitor their breathing and skin tone. Jen sent me this pdf pattern from the Miracle Babies website.

She said the nurses at RPA have told her that at the moment they have heaps of these dresses but can always use the little sheets and seatbelts.

If you do want to make some, here are some photos I took during the process. Use the pattern to create three simple pieces. This fabric is one of the new Japanese lawns at Spotlight (pic from Spotlight's buyers' blog The Warped & the Weft).:



Sew the pieces down the sides. Iron the seams out.


Create another identically for the lining (this is voile, also from Spotlight):


Pin the front and back right sides together. Sew together, leaving a gap at the bottom to turn it:


Press and edgestitch, including catching the opening where you turned the dress. Hand sew snap fasteners as per the pattern.


I'm on my way to making twelve, these are the first six which I posted off yesterday:


If any quilters in blogland want a quick new project, then quilts are also appreciated - with dimensions of 24 inch by 24 inch. They are used for the cots, when the babies come out of the humidicribs.

I also crocheted a couple of beanies for Billie, one in newborn size (I mucked up my first attempt and made it too big!) and the other premmie. I used this free pattern from Crochet Spot. I used Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran yarn (55% merino, 33% microfibre & 12% cashmere) in 610 red, bought from Tangled Yarns.



If you do feel moved to make any of these items, you can post them to the RPA as per the address below, or approach your nearest hospital with neonatal intensive care facilities.

Newborn Care
Women and Babies
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Missenden Rd
Camperdown NSW 2050

I hope that these families can feel the love and support in each of our stitches and that, even from afar, they are not alone in their journey.

Sewing and knitting are Just Dandy

Fat Quarterly recently featured the gorgeous Josephine Kimberling fabric line Just Dandy. I fell in love with the prints and how they worked together in Josephine's sample childrens clothes. A sneaky order of half a dozen prints from US based retailer Fabricworm turned up quick as a wink (which made me ask the question - why does it take SO LONG for books from Amazon to get to Australia?!). Next thing I was sewing with these beauties!

For Mia I made another Twirly Girl Skirt using a pdf pattern by Pink Chickadee Patterns. I'd previously made this one for Lily. It's a SUPER easy, super quick and cheap (AUD$6) pattern, sized from 2-12. The elastic waist means each skirt gives years of wear.





I'm going to pretend I'm Nina Proudman in my favourite tv show Offspring while wearing my Classic Vest from the beautifully produced book "Make It Perfect - 21 easy patterns for sewing women's and children's clothes".


Written by Tasmanian mum and pattern designer Toni Coward, I think the book has the clearest instructions I have ever followed. I also love the fabrics she has used in her book. Check out Toni's blog (follow the links to purchase her book) and Flickr group.





Four dear friends and I are currently doing an introductory knitting course at Tangled Yarns, aka Knitters Heaven!!! Surrounded by lush colours and gorgeous inspiration, with hot drinks and cakes on hand, we've been guided by our teacher Derrin to learn the art of knitting including different stitches, how to increase and decrease and all about different wools. The best bit has been the chance to sit and chat! This lovely pic of us is on Tangled Yarns Facebook page:



This cowl is my first creation in beautiful Noro Taiyo yarn, a blend of cotton, silk, nylon and wool. After I tried it on, the colours were telling me it belonged to a dear friend of mine, so it is now with it's rightful owner!

School holiday making, reading, buying & discovering

My friend told me the other day that I am no "casual crafter". I laughed, and said that must make me a "committed crafter"!! Or perhaps someone who is going to end up committed for too much crafting!

* Lily's class eat their lunch sitting on the lino, so these holidays I offered to make her a mat to sit on. She chose the placement of some Sherbet Pips by Aneela Hoey charm squares and I made this little quilt.





I thought this would do, but Lily wanted it to actually be a pillow. So I made one, and then made a cover out of flannel with an envelope opening with studs, to which I sewed the quilt. Now she is happy!





* I have been wanting to make myself some cloth pads for a while now. I found a great list of patterns here, but chose this pattern from parsnippity and this one from Adahy.





* Inspired by my friend Shannon's blog post, I joined my girls who were doing some beading and made this for myself!



* I really enjoyed reading this article "The Post Recession Fashion Industry: Sewing Circle Rebellion" on Ecosalon. I really liked this quote by Juliana Sabinson, a freelance sewing teacher and artist: Sabinson says it’s not all rebellion, however. When people are sewing and using their hands they are not only building a level of muscle memory, they are quieting their brains and giving themselves a space in which to be a designer.

* I've read lots of patchwork books, but I thought this one was a real treasure. Patchwork for Beginners by Sue Prichard (published by the V&A). Gorgeous pictures of vintage fabrics and quilts are combined with a brief description of the history of patchwork, and explanations of basic techniques, plus some projects.

* A few internet purchases have been made lately (oops!). A couple of specially wrapped parcels arrived recently.





Some gorgeous Japanese fabric and buttons from Voodoo Rabbit....



...and this deliciously soft custom-made neckie by Fibre Faerie. It's made from all natural fibres - bamboo, linen, cotton & wool.



* My Mum and I went to the Qld State Archives to do some family history research. I discovered that my great-great grandmother was a dressmaker! I cried when I found out, as I do feel like my sewing connects me to the women who have come before me.



* And as a postscript to my last post, my friend Naomi birthed her baby at home gently into water, a little boy called Rowan! She texted me a photo of him snuggled in his quilt this morning!

Bird Textile Pinwheel Delight baby quilt

So, I *get* that my friend Naomi LOVES Bird Textile! As do I. They are a fab Byron Bay-based company who make sustainably printed fabrics and gorgeous things. Read about their ethos here. Until recently they had a retail store close to where Naomi lives in Sydney, but everything is now just available on their website.

Naomi has made three beautiful quilts out of their remnant packs including this one and this one. She had given me a remnant pack of their green fabrics, so when she was pregnant with her second baby and I was thinking about what I would use for a quilt, it was pretty simple - lady, you can have your Bird Textile remnant pack back in your very own quilt!

It also happened that Naomi's own lovely mumma turned 60 this year, and Naomi was madly trying to beat her due date to finish a quilt for her Mum out of, you guessed it, Bird Textile remnant packs. (It's finished now, you can see it here. And she recently won a Bird Textile cushion cover from the company themselves for her beautiful creation!)

Casual phone calls re. the design of her Mum's quilt were made. She had been thinking of pin wheels, but then changed the design. She talked of wanting to make a baby quilt before her baby was due, but it didn't look like she would get one done. Should I tell her I was making one? Nah, a surprise would be much more exciting for her! And it was, she got it in the post yesterday and I'm so pleased to share it now here.

So, drumroll please...

This is it!



I just had to use a beautiful linen-y piece as the central medallion. I ironed it to stabiliser so it wouldn't shift too much.



I based the rest of the quilt on a pattern called Pinwheel Delight by Christine Cohrs, in Down Under Quilts, Issue 141, 2010..

I made the pin wheels out of these gorgeous Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley fabrics, gifted to me by my dear friend Sarah over at Kit Bik Quilts.









I hand embroidered a half dozen of the Bird Textile blocks before I put the top together, doing lots of french knots, stem stitch and back stitch.

I didn't have enough of Bird fabrics to finish the top, so included some blocks of my favourite Liberty print. I think the blue really lifts it. It's great when shortage of a fabric leads to a quilt looking better!



I hand basted and hand quilted it over three weeks using some DMC perle cottons size 12 from Peppermint Stitches. I stitched a quarter inch inside the blue triangles and the Bird rectangles, and wavily through the embroidered blocks.









I bought pre-made bias binding directly from Bird Textiles.

I used a backing from Sewco in a range called City Girl by Kitty Yoshida for Benartex. I'd hoped the finished quilt would be smaller than the width of the fabric (44") and it was, just. I loathe piecing backs, so I fudged it to make it fit and you can see the selvedge on the back!



Ok baby, you can come earthside now! You have your quilt! (I'll bring a label with your name on it when I come down and meet you).

A couple of my much loved pieces of clothing by Bird Textile happened to be drying on the line while I took the photos of the quilt. They do such beautiful clothes, that I have been lucky enough a couple of times to find on sale at the Wiss Emporium at Kalbar.