Someone came a bit early ....

Tomorrow is my official due date but our little bunny came a bit early ...

Charlotte Emily
arrived 1.11am March 11th 2009
6lbs 14 oz

A Little Baby Bunny Break

NOTE: This post was typed up earlier in the week and scheduled to post automatically on the 12th March. So yes - I spent my anniversary and birthday in the hospital - but with perhaps the best birthday present ever!

Today I have been blogging for two years. It is also my birthday. It is also my 4th wedding anniversary! Lots to celebrate! I can't believe how quickly time flies by.

I'm going to take a little break from blogging for the next few weeks to prepare for (and recover from) our new arrival - but I promise to let you know once the little bunny has arrived. Thank you all so much for your best wishes - I'm scared - but curious to meet the little lady.

In the meantime here is a really cute picture of what I looked like as a little girl. Do you think she will look like this?

Nesting with my Needles

The count down is officially on for the arrival of the new baby bunny - and it seems I am refusing to slow down. I had planned that I would spend these last few weeks as a 'resting' period. Where I could curl up on the sofa, watch movies, generally pamper myself and the large bump I'm hauling around - most of all stacking up on some extra sleep that I won't be getting for the next 3 months. However it seems that I am still running around doing things at full tilt, brisk doggie walks in the park - like the most energized pregnant person you have seen - occasionally I might pass out for a quick 'nap' (of a couple of hours or so .... hum.)

This week, ignoring all the baby orientated things I should be doing, I spent a day pulling together my first knitting needle organizer. Before I could begin on my pattern I had to first sort through the pile of knitting needles I kept loose in this bag. The bag had done a sterling job for a while - but as my knitting needle collection has grown it has become harder to find needles quickly - or even know what needles I have. For example I had completely given up on trying to find my beloved chunky cable needle and my naff blue plastic needle I love to use to sew knitted pieces together. But once the bag was emptied properly I discovered that they had been hiding in there all along! Some time ago my mother had also given me a large collection of old knitting needles. I did discard the bent ones but I was still left with a whole array of different lengths and sizes. How would I measure all these strange unmarked sizes? Luckily I had an antique bell gauge in amongst the collection as well ... ... which I soon learned was not that helpful as many of the old UK sizes do not really exist anymore. So I have learnt quite a lot about old knitting UK needle sizes and in the process I discovered the crazy (yet impressive) art of miniature knitting.

I decided to make my needle organizer from some left over pieces of Amy Butler's Lotus fabric, some left over cotton batting and some left over bias tape (I tend never to throw any fabric bits away - believing it will come in useful at some point!) It was a super easy and fast project.
Unrolled it measures 21"h x 23"w. Rolled up it measures 15"h x 4.5"w (depending on how many needles you have stuffed in there of course!) It has 4 layers of pockets for different length needles. The bottom pockets are extra wide to hold your circular needles. In total there are 50 different pockets.There is also a crafty 6" flap at the top of the organizer that folds over and secures with cute side ties to stop the needles falling out once it is all rolled up.
This all means that now I have a full inventory of my needles and I can waste yet more hours, put aside for baby stuff, on the Ravelry needle page! Being able to deny that your life is about to change in a momentous way can be a fabulous thing!

Crafting for the Kitchen

When I'm not finishing up the odd commissioned piece or knitting away I spend my free time making little gifts for friends and family. I really love giving handmade presents - always hoping that the recipients like the handmade aspect too! This year I seem to have a kitchen theme going on ....

While I was searching for something suitably cute, frilly and silly for Auntie Anita's birthday present I came across this wonderful apron pattern.
Would you believe me if I told you that I had selected some jolly fabrics to use for this gift before I found the pattern? And to my surprise it was the same line of fabric as in the picture - but in different colors. The whole project - fabric and all - must have been calling out to me. (Thank you to my lovely friend Christina who agreed to model the apron as long as I cut her head off!)
I also made some matching oven gloves (my own pattern) so Auntie Anita would have a fantastically stylish and overly frilly baking set!
I really enjoyed making this apron - it was so fast - and the frills were so much fun!
I then turned my attention to another birthday girl in our family - my sister-in-law Daphne. After asking Daphne what she would like for her birthday - she announced she would like some pot holders.
"Pot holders?" I questioned. "Are you sure? You can have anything you want."
"Pot holders." I was told.

These pot holders were super easy to make (9"x9"). They have a pocket on the side so that you can have a secure grip on those hot pots and bakeware.
I used one layer of cotton batting and one layer of heat resistant batting inside. And on the reverse I used hemp - which I thinks works quite well - at least I think it looks pretty and extra grippy at least! And then I made a series of five quilted pot holders (no glove pockets in these) ... ... that can be used for either gripping bakeware or as a pretty heat pad/mat for the table. I had fun quilting these out of scraps and I got to practice some more free motion quilting. I hope these will all satisfy Daphne's desire for new pot holders!

Totally Unravelled

I have signed up for Ravelry (I know I'm behind the times) ... but it seems to be a bit dangerous. On my first little Ravelry outing ... before I knew it ... half a day had passed by ... and that is dangerous!

I have added a couple of my knitting projects to my profile and I hope to make my Hugs, Kisses and Cables pattern available soon. It seems to be a wonderful forum to find out tricks and hints from other knitters - over come those parts of a pattern that you might be struggling with ... alternative ways to use patterns ... I fear there will be many many more hours (erm days) spent perusing the information available ...

I'm really struggling with the Sylvi pattern from the Twist Collective. My gauge was perfect with size 10 needles ... but then when I began knitting the pattern the sizing was totally off and the size small was turning out to be smaller than an extra small. After 60 rows or so I decided to unravel my knitting and start again with a bigger needle size (US 10.5) and try the size medium pattern. But it is still knitting up too small. It is really hard to know whether to keep going and see what happens or start over yet again ...
... and if I start over again - how do I start? Bigger needles? Bigger size?Maybe using my own choice of yarn was a mistake ...
Maybe I knit super tight (I think I do) ...Maybe I should just stay clear of trying to make clothes (maybe I'm wimping out too soon) ...
Or maybe it is the reason why hand knitted things are so special and unique - they all turn out a little different?
Do you just learn how your knitting style will change a pattern? Or will I have these endless debates with myself for ever more ...

Tutorial: Machine Chain Piecing Techniques

Here a tutorial on two machine piecing techniques. Simple Machine Piecing shows you how to make a simple single strip for quilt borders etc. Chain Assembly assembly allows you to make larger quilted pieces very quickly.

NOTES:
1) Cutting your pieces accurately is a really important part of making your quilt. If your pieces are not cut to the correct size to begin with - your quilt/pattern will not fit together as you have planned.
2) I prefer to press the chains as I go. Iron the back of the chain first, ensuring all the seams are ironed in the same direction. Then iron from the front to make sure there are no puckers or pleats along seams.

SIMPLE MACHINE PIECING (for a single quilted strip)
You can make a quilted strip for quilt borders etc very quickly using this technique.

Step 1: Design, cut and lay out your quilt border/strip.Step 2: Starting at the top of the border/strip stack your pieces into a pile. Be careful to stack them in order!Step 3: Take the first two squares from the stack. Place them right sides together and sew a seam on the right hand edge. DO NOT REMOVE THE SEWN SQUARES FROM THE MACHINE. Then take the next two squares from the stack, place them right sides together and feed them into the machine following your first two squares. Continue this process until you have reached the end of your stack.

Sew squares together in a chain

Step 4: Cut the threads between the sewn pairs.

Cut threads between the pairs of squares

Step 5: Stack your pairs - ensuring to keep them in order ... ... and take the first two pairs right sides together and sew a seam on the right hand edge. DO NOT REMOVE THE SEWN SQUARES FROM THE MACHINE. Then take the next two pairs from the stack, place them right sides together and feed them into the machine following your first two squares. Continue this process until you have reached the end of your stack.

Sew pairs together in a chain

Step 6: Snip the threads between the squares and continue as above until you have reached the desired length for your border.

Continue to sew chains of squares together

Remember to press your squares ensuring the seams are lying in the same direction.

CHAIN ASSEMBLY (for larger areas)
Using this method you will be able to assemble your quilt in a very neat and speedy manner.

Step 1: Design, cut and lay out your quilt.Step 2: Starting at the top of each row stack your pieces into piles. Be careful to stack them in order. Step 3: Take the first two squares from the top of stacks Row1 and Row2. Place them right sides together and sew a seam on the right hand edge. DO NOT REMOVE THE SEWN SQUARES FROM THE MACHINE. Then take the next two squares from Row1 and Row2. Place them right sides together and feed them into the machine following your first two squares.
Continue this process until you have reached the end of Row1 & Row2. Remove the chain from the machine but DO NOT CUT ANY CONNECTING THREADS between the pairs of squares.

Sew rows 1&2 together in a chain

Step 4: Go back to the top of your chain and begin to add the pieces from Row3 in the same manner. Remove from the machine but DO NOT CUT ANY CONNECTING THREADS.

Add Row 3 to the chain

Continue until you have all the squares for Rows 3 & 4 in place. Remove from the machine but DO NOT CUT ANY CONNECTING THREADS.

Step 5: Sew your vertical chains together.

Sew your vertical strips together

Once all your chains are sewn together press - ensuring your seams are lying in the same direction.

Recycled Cotton Shirt Quilt - Craft Stylish Magazine Article

I'm very excited to have my second magazine article coming out next week (17th Feb) with the folks at CraftStylish. My article tells you how to turn your old cotton shirts into a simple but snuggly quilt ... mentioned on the front cover no less! I love the cover of the magazine - crafty yet stylish don't you think? Here is a sneak peak at the article ... I hope I don't get in trouble for sharing a couple of days early ...
... I am just THRILLED at how yummy and cosy my quilt looks in this photo!