Stumbling Block

Feeling a bit disheartened today, I had big plans to make more highchair splash mats in some fancy fabrics and try and sell them on ebay or etsy. It was all going well until my sewing machine started slipping and seriously messing up the decorative stitch i've been doing around the outside. After doing some research I have discovered that this is a common problem and that oilcloth type fabrics are notoriously difficult to sew.

I sewed 2 mats, the first mat looks a mess because the stitch is so irregular, so in an attempt to save the second I decided to just do a regular straight stitch, however this mat also hasn't turned out good enough to sell as the fabric ended up gathering up, which looks pants.

So I have decided that I need to get some sewing lessons. I am really passionate about doing this, but my skills are still really limited. I have found a lady up the road who does lessons and have left a message on her answerphone, hopefully she will get back to me. However, having done some sums it has become apparent that we have run out of money this month, so all plans are on hold until payday at the beginning of feb.

Here you can see the messed up stitching :(

And here you can see how the fabric has gathered up...

Messy Baby Floor Protector

When we weaned Wesley it became clear that my carpet was going to get a 3x daily splattering if I didn't take some kind of precaution to protect it! This was clearly going to be a long term feature in our small open plan kitchen/living room so I didn't want to just cover the floor with newspaper, I wanted to at least try and keep an inch of adult sophistication to my fast becoming baby play ground of a house!

So I looked online and really couldn't find anything to suit my needs, and instead turned to the local fabric shop for a quick fix piece of oil cloth, which has laid on my floor underneath the high chair ever since. At first it looked okay, but quickly the corners began to get kicked up, it got screwed up under chair legs and eventually a few rips started to appear. So when looking for a sewing project this week, one where I didn't have to spend any money on materials, I decided to revamp the mat and turn it into something neater and longer lasting. It didn't take long at all to trim it down and make a double sided splash mat.

Before:

After:

Welcome Sweetest Eilidh

This weekend saw the arrival of a very special little girl into the world, my lovely and very talented friend Eleanor (mum-me.co.uk) gave birth to her second child on Saturday, Eilidh Skye – what a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl! Here she is, just a few hours old –














Congratulations El and family, I couldn't be happier for you!

Eleanor and her husband found out the sex of their baby but kept it a secret, however I had quite a strong inkling that she was having a girl – just little things she said gave me clues, so I decided to make a second sock monkey for her, and if she did come out a boy I'd give it to one of my nieces and make another one.

This time, knowing what I was doing and having a decent sewing machine I really took my time to make this monkey as carefully as possible. Knowing she was for a newborn baby I chose a gorgeous pair of soft wool socks and and instead of buttons for eyes I stitched them on so Eilidh's mummy didn't have to worry about her choking. Here she is:

Until she departed for Eilidh's home Eric had been keeping her company:

Old Jumper Leg Warmers

I saved the arms from the old jumpers I made yesterdays cushions from, and made these awesome leg warmers! I really love them, they are so warm and comfy and look great with ankle boots.

Old Jumper Cushions

I've been struggling to get back into things since christmas, but yesterday I had a big clear out whilst Jon took Wesley out. I planned to sit down in the evening to make these cushions, however Wesley was unsettled and didn't go to sleep until 9pm. Then, determined not to have my plans scuppered, I rushed these cushions out in an hour, the result is that they are all wonky and rather home-made looking! A valuable lesson learnt! At least it got me back on my sewing machine though!

Take three old jumpers....
















































And make three wonky cushions!