thornberry

About six weeks ago Miss Clare had to start wearing glasses.  We’ve been having regular eye checks since she was around three and a half years old, and they’d always been a little indecisive about whether she should wear them or not.  This time I took her to a different optometrist, who was fairly quick to prescribe them.  Clare has been incredibly cooperative in wearing her glasses, despite wishing that she didn’t have to.  Today, we had another checkup, and now she not only has to continue with glasses, but she also needs to have her good eye patched for an average of four hours per day in order to strengthen the weaker one.  So what does a crafty mum do?

I came across this wonderful eye patch tutorial at about the same time as Clare started wearing her glasses, and filed it away knowing that patching would be a possibility.  So today we made three different eye patches that slip over her glasses, eliminating the issues associated with stick-on eye patches and with the traditional elasticised “pirate” type of patch.  Clare chose the materials and decorations - there is another with a heart on the front, and another out of pink fairy fabric.  I am so proud of her - she wore her patch for around four hours today.  Well done my pirate princess!

Remember the crocheted dress I made for Stella months ago that I was unhappy with?  Now that she’s wearing it as a pinafore, I think it looks rather cute!  It’s definitely nice and snuggly in this chilly Melbourne weather.

When pregnant with my first child, we decided that we would mostly use cloth nappies (diapers, for any Americans reading this).  We decided this for a number of reasons - cost, environmental factors, and because I’d rather poo go down the toilet than be put into a rubbish bin wrapped up in plastic then go to landfill.  Okay, enough of the soapbox there.  Fitted cloth nappies were just starting to become readily available in Australia at that time, so I made a few (a lot) myself.

There are plenty of patterns available to make fitted nappies and covers if you are interested.  I used the Mama Bird fitted diaper and Ottobre cloth diaper patterns (and did a fusion of the two as well).  These have an outer body of printed flannelette and inner soakers made from old towelling nappies.  They do need a cover - I prefer PUL (polyurethane laminate) covers such as those by Bummis or Baby BeeHinds. 

In the four and a half years between having each of my daughters, there is a huge range of cloth nappies now available, both online in Australia and in retail (our local bulk disposable nappy retailer also stocks lots of cloth nappies and covers).  In my opinion, the secret is in the covers - you need good covers, then there are less leaks than with disposables.  We do use disposable nappies when it suits us, such as overnight and when away for a whole weekend (we’re not completely purist) but the majority of the time our baby is in cloth. 

The fitted nappies make it easy - just wrap around and do up, like a disposable, then the same thing with the thin cover.  No pins etc.  I wash every second day, line dry, don’t soak (storing the nappies in an empty bucket works fine, and there aren’t any stains), and use flushable liners inside each nappy to make poo disposal easy.  The fitted nappies I made were used by my first daughter, then a friend’s child, and now by my second daughter.  It makes them very economical!  If you want to make your own, you can use whatever materials you have on hand, such as old flat cloth nappies, towels, flanelette etc or buy specialised materials retail or from stores such as Bubba Earth.

I bought this pattern ages ago, when Clare was really too big for it.  It languished in the pattern stash, but I couldn’t bear to get rid of it.  Lucky for Miss Stella - it’s now been made!

It’s a little dress with matching pants (Miss Stella is in cloth nappies, so I like matching pants that have plenty of room in them, and most sewing patterns accomodate cloth nappies, unlike many bought baby clothes).  Here’s the front:

And the back:

And another close-up of the front.

I like the ric-rac trim and the self-covered button.  The fabric is a quilting cotton recently received from Z&S fabrics.  I can’t wait to see this one on her!

In the meantime, here’s a photo of her wearing the floral romper-dress I made a little while ago.  It looks so sweet!  (Gee, I’m a little biased, aren’t I!)

I had put this dress to one side, thinking I’d probably never finish it since I just didn’t like how it was coming along.  Just too difficult to discern the stitches with my choice of yarn, and pretty boring to crochet, with the same old two stiches around and around and around.  But with lots of long car trips coming up I needed something easy to crochet while travelling, so it came out of the back of the cupboard and I finished it off.

It’s the Baby Blues Dress from Crochet Today, crocheted in Patons Zhivago.  It just doesn’t inspire me.  It did improve though when we tried it on Stella - it will probably be quite cute over a long-sleeved top and tights in winter.  But I made it a bit too long, the fabric is a bit too thick, and I’m not sure that those colours really work together.  Here’s a close-up (although the flash has made the colour look a bit weird):

The skirt texture is quite nice in some ways, and the little silver-grey ruffles aren’t too bad.  Maybe I’ll like it more once it’s winter and I see it on Stella again.  Or maybe it will end up at the op-shop sooner rather than later.

I’ve been wanting to make this pattern for ages - it’s Butterick 3405.  So cute and girly!

Flutter sleeves on an A-line top will win me over any time - as will a simple bias bound neckline.  The little pants/shorts have an elasticed waist and the leg elastic is threaded through casings, keeping it clear of baby’s delicate skin.  The back of the top closes with snaps.

This photo shows the fabric and the front pleat detail a little better:

It will be lovely to see her wear it!  I didn’t make many baby clothes for Clare, since I was studying when I had her and barely had enough time to complete assignments and do exams, let alone sew.  I’m enjoying dressing Stella in things I’ve made her myself (that aren’t hand-me-downs).

Merry Christmas to all!  Thanks for your encouragement since I started blogging - I’d never have believed that my little “show and tell” sewing & crochet blog would average over 200 hits per day!  It’s helped me to keep on sewing and crafting, and I am constantly inspired by the blogs that I read.  Have a lovely holiday!

It’s a romper-dress really, from Simplicity 5115 again.

I used the same fabric and trim as for Clare’s dress, and used snaps to close the back.

Clare helped me to attach the snaps - she really seemed to enjoy wielding the hammer!  The simplicity of the design (no pun intended) really highlights the fabric.  I can’t wait to see this on Miss Stella!

I’m still working on Christmas presents, but have a few other bits and pieces that I wanted to share.  I embroidered these Christmas ornaments when I was in primary school.  The little house is still waiting for a ribbon to hang it with!  Clare found them today when we put up the Christmas tree.

These fabrics are all by Lara Cameron of Kirin & Co.  They’re original designs hand-screened here in Melbourne, on beautiful fabric.  I’m saving them to use in something special.

And lastly, I am working on some crochet.  I started this little dress for Stella some time ago, but I’m getting a bit stuck in the textured pattern used for the skirt.  It is easy to lose where I’m up to due to the yarn texture - I think I’ve introduced a few increases where there shouldn’t be any.  The pattern is the Baby Blues dress from Crochet Today.  Once the skirt is done I’ll work an edging around the neckline, sleeves and hem.

It’s probably a really bad choice of colour for a red-head.  I keep on forgetting Stella’s hair colour when buying yarn/fabric - at least she doesn’t have much hair yet, so will be able to get away with it!

More Christmas presents completed.  Yay!  A bevy of bibs!  Warning: there are lots of photos in this blog post!  From the front:

And the back:

These are all from a fantastic free pattern and tutorial from Nicole Mallalieu Design - the Fabulous Fifties bib.  I used fabric from my stash, backed with either flannelette or towelling (both also from my stash from when I made fitted nappies for Clare).  They’re all bound in bias binding, some bought and some I made myself.  (Don’t look too closely though - I ran out of bias for one of the bibs so it isn’t quite finished yet - on my to-do list for tomorrow).  The pattern also has the option for a front pocket.  I like this style because of the coverage it provides - and because it’s cute!

And for some close-ups of the front and back:

Four are for gifts; the others will be for Miss Stella.  We asked her to choose which she’d like.

Wow, look at all these bibs!  Which would I like?  Hmmmm

I think that this one looks good!

Yes, I’ll have this one please!

I can’t quite believe it - less than two weeks since I started, the Seashells & posies dress is finished!

I am SO happy with this dress!  It contains many “firsts” for me.  It’s the first time I’ve crocheted a lacy pattern.

It’s the first time I’ve crocheted a floral trim.

It’s the first time I’ve made buttonhole bands.

It’s the first time that I’ve made a complete garment, rather than a rug or a scarf!

It’s the first time that I’ve crocheted in a fine cotton yarn.

Now I am COMPLETELY addicted to crochet.  Stella won’t fit into this until next summer, but I’m still pleased that I’ve made it now!  I can look at it hanging in the cupboard and pat myself on the back.  Thanks to Interweave Crochet for the pattern, and thanks to my parents for passing on the genes that help me to read patterns easily and follow instructions well!

The blog has been a little quiet over the past few days - crochet is much slower than sewing!  No finished objects to show off, so here is the work in progress - the seashells and posies dress.  Skirt complete, waist trim done, working on the bodice.

It’s coming along much more quickly than I anticipated, and I’m enjoying working in the finer yarn.  I may be converted to fine hooks and 4-ply or less!  It is challenging (I’ve had to frog a few sections at times) but satisfying.  I am learning and improving all the time! 

I took my crochet along to a party on the weekend, so that I could hook as I chatted (is that a weird thing to do - it’s probably taking multi-tasking to an extreme).  There were many bemused expressions as I crocheted away happily and lots of crochet and craft related questions.  Better than talking about politics!