Introducing Bo.....

Dear Blogging Friends,

Oh my goodness!  It's been two months since my last post! Things have been EXTREMELY busy around here during those eight weeks.....

..... Yes!  Our little one has arrived - AT LAST!!!  Bo Sebastian was born on 22nd June (two weeks early), weighing 3300g.  

It all happened VERY quickly indeed. I woke up that morning at 7:00, feeling a bit funny.  So we went to the hospital to get things checked out. Two hours (and an emergency c-section) later, Bo had been born.  

It was love at first sight for both me and Simon - Bo's absolutely perfect!!!  ♥♥♥

Can I show you a few photos from when we was first born???  

So, apart from the lack of sleep, things are WONDERFUL here!  

I'm not sure when I'll get around to posting again.  Hopefully it won't take me another two months!  I have lots of crafty show-and-tells that I didn't get around to posting before Bo's arrival.  And I expect that I'll be posting lots more baby photos too - my apologies in advance!  ;-)

Until next time, hugs to you all.....

Carly

xxx  

Another 'Little Geranium' Dress

Well, there are so many show-and-tells I want to do on here at the moment (and so many of your wonderful blogs that I need to catch up with).  But there just doesn't seem to be any time for anything at the moment.  Where is time disappearing to???  I think it might be that, when we get home from school at 5:00 in the evening, it's already properly dark - and so feels like bed time!?!

Not that I'm complaining about the dark nights.  They mean, after all, that Christmas is coming.  And they mean long, cosy evenings watching festive movies in the glow of the candles and Christmas tree lights.

Today's post isn't a christmassy one, though.  I just wanted to show you another 'Little Geranium' dress I made for our friend's beautiful little girl.  You can see my first attempt here.  And here's attempt number two.....

I was pleased with it.  The only problem was that I now want a dress for MYSELF in these exact fabrics and colours!  :-)

See you all again soon.....

Carly

x

Baby Quilt Christening Gift

I have another crafty show-and-tell for you today.  It's another quilt!  

A friend wanted a special christening present for her soon-to-be Godson, and commissioned me to make a fleece-lined quilt with the baby's name on it.  She didn't want it to bee 'too babyish', as she wants him to be able to carry on using it for some years to come.  And she wanted it to include some dark blue fabrics and star motifs, to tie in with other things he already has in his bedroom.  

With such a special gift to make, and such a specific brief, I was pretty nervous about how it would turn out.  But, in the end, I was really, really happy with it.  So was my friend.  And so were the parents of her new Godson.  Phew, phew and phew!!!

Here it is:

  

To begin with, I wasn't sure about appliqueing the name on. I was worried that it would spoil the 'overall look' of the quilt.  What do you think?  Does the name add or detract???  I'd be grateful for any comments on this.....

Carly

x   

My First 'Proper' Quilt

I've made a few baby quilts before.  But I 'cheated' a bit when it came to the actual quilting bit.  I stacked my layers (inside-out) and sewed them together, leaving a little gap, then turned the whole thing the right way out and closed the gap.  Then I quilted it by tying knots at all the points where the patches met.  

When I found out that our best friends were expecting a baby, I decided to have a go at making a 'proper' quilt for their little one.

I finished it quite a while ago, but couldn't share it on here until the baby arrived and our friends opened their gift (just in case they got a sneaky peek).  Well, the baby's here at last - a beautiful baby girl (CONGRATULATIONS VICKI AND JON).  So now I can do my show-and tell.....

I'd asked my friend if she had a colour-scheme in mind, and she sent me a link to the Mamas and Papas website, and their 'Timbuktakes' range (which they'd already bought some bits and bobs from).  Have a look.....

Isn't it cute!?!  So, I tried to pick out colours that would match.  

Of course, as always, my bestest bit was choosing the colours and picking out the fabrics.  I also really enjoyed the process of cutting the fabric and piecing the quilt top together.  I find sewing patchwork squares together really relaxing!  

The pinning together of layers, errrr.....  not quite so much fun.  And I found the actual quilting of the layers quite tricky.  I really struggled to stop the backing fabric from puckering - and my little seam ripper came in handy a fair few times (any tips on this would be gratefully received)!  

The bit I was most nervous about, though, was hand-sewing on the binding.  But it was fine!  I actually liked that bit!  It was much easier than I thought it would be - and it didn't take as long as I'd anticipated either.

So, to sum up, I have to say, I was pretty pleased with my first ever 'proper' quilt.  And, most importantly, my friend loves it!  I REALLY enjoyed making it, and will definitely me making more 'proper' quilts in the future.....

Carly

x