Poppy skirt

Quite timely for Remembrance Day on 11 November, but actually quite unintentional, was my strong desire to craft a skirt for Romily from this fabulous Botanical Pop fabric (and contrast fabric).
I didn't follow a pattern, but used ideas from this twirly skirt and an OliverandS skirt. I love how it turned out and so did Romily who wore it today. Finding a lady selling Remembrance Day red poppies at the local shops was the icing on the cake, with Rom wearing one in her hair all afternoon!

And here's a photo of Tristan, who's worked out that if he kicks the playgym it makes music and the lights flash - he loves it!And one of Rom entertaining Tristan while licking the bowl after we made a batch of yummy banana coconut chocolate muffins!

Waiting for the big reveal!

How exciting! I finished the EB Doll Quilt Swap II quilt and sent it off in the mail today. At the same time, I collected my parcel from the post office and it's from Sandi!

We have all agreed to wait until 7 November to open them, so I have to wait a whole week until I can see what's inside.

I hope my receiver likes what I made. I had a lot of fun making it. Here's another sneaky peak - this is the backing, one of the FQs I received for my birthday. Thanks Bec!

Edited to correct the big reveal date - it's 7 November, not 4 November! D'oh! Three more days to wait!!!

Sneak peak - I had my arm twisted...

Only kidding about the arm twisting part. I realised if I changed the colours and cropped heavily I could give a tiny sneak peak of the mini quilt I'm making for the EB Doll Quilt Swap II. I'm part-way through sewing down the back of the binding. The label is on :)

2 months old

I can't believe my little man is already 2 months old! This photo was taken earlier this week - very quickly snapped, as he was not a happy camper for a couple of days - he had his 2-month jabs on Tuesday. He screamed during and after and was inconsolable later that day. Very heartbreaking and thank goodness for breastfeeding and Panadol.

And here he is with his gorgeous big sis.And one with me - taken by Romily the budding photographer!My EB Doll Quilt Swap II quilt is nearly quilted. I'll get the binding and label done over the weekend and it will be ready to post on Monday. No sneak peaks - it would be a dead giveaway!

Easy peasy onesies

A little bit of sewing is happening here. I 've started the mini quilt for the EB Doll Quilt Swap II, but need to find some more time to finish it off. Has to be posted by 31 Oct, so I have a little bit of time left.

I did finish some easy onesies for my gorgeous boy. A good friend gave us two big bags of hand-me-downs for Tristan, including some plain white onesies - just begging for some colour! (Sorry about the bad photos/colour variations. I only really get the chance to craft/photograph at night!)The only photo where Tristan's hair is not impersonating a rooster - he's just had a bath :)Sorry about the bad photos/colour variations. I only really get the chance to craft/photograph at night!

My kids

Just some photos of Romily and Tristan. They are both growing so quickly!

A finish! Marina's Midwest Modern Quilt

I finished sewing on the label of the quilt I made for Romily's old playgroup leader at 9am this morning and we presented it to Marina at 9.30am! Nothing like a deadline to get me moving. She said she was all teary when she opened it because she loved it and the gesture behind it. Isn't it wonderful to have someone who's not a quilter appreciate all the work that goes into it. She said she loved the fabrics and I made my first photo label (after loudly cursing the manufacturers of the printable fabric sheets when the backing would not peel off and I had to scrape it off under water) with a picture of Romily in the play ground at her last playgroup session. Marina was stoked. It was well worth staying up till 1am to get it finished!(For some reason Blogger is uploading this photo on its side...)

I'm quite happy with the quilt, although my machine quilting leaves a lot to be desired. I am truly hopeless at basting and it got a bit bunchy in the middle. Thankfully only fellow quilters scrutinise such things! I am going to have to get better at basting. I think more practice is in order. The finished quilt measures 41" x 44" and was made mostly from Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabrics.

Romily had a great morning at playschool - no tears, no dramas. What a relief! We thought she would be okay, but you never can be sure. Tristan and I had a nice time cruising around at the local shopping centre. I had a lovely, uninterrupted hot chocolate and an apple slice. I am enjoying having a portable, mostly undemanding baby while I can!

For my mum

This post is for my mum, who was horrified that I'd posted a photo of her sans make-up and without her hair done for all the world to see! I told her that all the world would see a happy grandma with her two gorgeous grandkids (still in the pyjamas), but she still wasn't thrilled...muahahaha!

Anyhoo, as I mentioned in said post, the only crafting going on around here over the past two weeks was Grandma's. Here's what she was working on while she was here. This is an embroidery sampler she's made, which will become a groovy cushion. I think it's fabulous. A close-up is below.Although saying Grandma was the only crafty one wasn't strictly true. Romily is still loving chopping bits of paper up and sticking them randomly in her drawing books...as you can see!
And to make amends, here are some photos of Grandma (this time with hair done and make-up on - better Mum?!!)
And with Huppa and Romily just before Grandma and Huppa made the 8-hour journey back to Melbourne.
Thanks again mum for all your help during your much-appreciated visit. It helped a lot. I was also very happy that you got some extended one-on-one time with your newest grandson.

Here are a few gratuitous pictures of Tristan - including a bone fide smile :)
(Romily thinks he looks like a super hero with arms akimbo like in this photo!)

And, yes, the essay was done in time, although I don't think it'll be an award winner. Carl did read it and I was pleased to learn it did hang together okay!

So, now onto Marina's quilt, which I have to finish by Sunday night. On, on!

October is Pink Ribbon month

Those of you who have been reading this blog for some time know that I support breast cancer research - having a strong family history of breast cancer on both sides (both grandmothers who did not survive and an aunt on each side who both have survived), I was shocked to learn how little the government provides for research into treatment and prevention for this insidious disease.

So, every year, when Pink Ribbon Day (now part of Breast Cancer Month) rolls around, I do my little bit. We don't have a lot of spare cash these days, so my little bit is quite small. But I can raise awareness through this post and encourage you to donate or buy something from the Pink Ribbon Shop.

The picture shows what I've ordered. Too bad they don't make kids stuff. I would have probably ordered more!

All well here. Mum and Dad left yesterday and I was sad to see them go. I wish we lived closer...

My essay is due Tuesday at 9am, so I'd better get my head down and tail up and GET IT DONE! Then onto some more fun stuff :)

Grandma's visit

Grandma is visiting and she's having a great time with Romily and Tristan. She arrived last Tuesday and is here till Friday. It's been wonderful having her here - an extra set of hands to hold a bub or another captive audience member for Romily's antics. She's also vacuumed, folded clothes, ironed, done lots of dishwashing, etc. Nothing like having your mum around! I'm so pleased she could come for a good length of time to see her gorgeous Canberra grandkiddies. She has four more grandsons in Melbourne, whom she sees far more often, so we're very happy to have her here. Dad flies up from Melbourne on Thursday and will head back down the Hume Highway with Mum on Friday afternoon. A short visit for him, but blokes don't tend to find 6 week old bubs quite so swoon-worthy!Tristan is doing very well indeed. He is starting to stretch out his feeds to 3-4 hours, and is still sleeping a lot. He's growing right before our eyes. I took him to be weighed and measured yesterday (5 1/2 weeks). Here are his stats (birth stats in brackets):
Weight: 4.755kg (3.580kg)
Length: 56cm (51.5cm)
Head circumference: 38.5cm (36.5cm)
Not bad! It's gratifying to see where all that breast milk is going!!

Precious little crafting is going on here - although Grandma is doing a very cool embroidery for a cushion. I did cut out some fabric for a jacket for Rom, but that's about as far as I've got in the past week.

I did finish the top for Marina's quilt, which is now waiting to be sandwiched. I have to get an essay done first (it's due next Tuesday)...drudge, drudge!
I also have to get moving on my EB Quilter's doll quilt for the swap - it's due to be sent by the end of October, so I have a month. I've got a good idea of what I want to do, so it's a matter of working it out, getting hold of the fabric and getting it done. Sounds simple! Now I just have to find the time...

One month old!

I can't quite believe it, but Tristan is one month old today. Here he is, on the gorgeous Winter's Garden quilt my online quilting group made for me...er, him!

Time has flown by and he's growing by the day - I'm about to 'retire' his newborn size clothes (0000 or 55cm for Nicolette!) and break out the 000's (62cm).

He's such a good little fella. Eating (drinking) very well, although still chucking up far more than his mummy appreciates, and sleeping very well. He's in a great night sleeping pattern, only waking twice a night still, which I can just about handle! Romily is still delighted with him, and is the ideal big sister (so far). She's also settled into our new routine very well. Carl took her to her first 'big girl' swimming lesson yesterday - up until now she's had him in the pool with her. As of yesterday, she's in the water all by herself (and very proud of herself too!). I went shopping with Tristan - it was nice to have some one-on-one time with my little man :)

Tomorrow is her last session at playgroup - it's the end of term break-up, so a big morning tea is on the cards. We put down cupcakes for the food we'd bring. We had a lot of fun making and decorating them today!
Romily, of course, loves to lick the spoon :)

I also got the borders on Marina's quilt this afternoon - it looks great. I'll blog it in the next day or two. I haven't had a chance to photograph it yet.

I can't quite believe it's Sunday night. The days when Carl is home go all too quickly! I hope you all have a lovely week.

Finally something quilty

She crafts! I have made some good progress on the lap quilt I'm making for Romily's playgroup leader - Rom's last session is on Monday and then next term she'll go up to playschool, where we'll drop her off and pick her up - it will be her first time away from us (other than when my mum and a couple of friends have kindly babysat), so it's a pretty big deal!
Marina has been really great with Romily, and she likes pink, so I think she'll like this lap quilt when it's finished. I like how the fabrics are working so far. I still have to sew the blocks together, put two borders on it, as well as sandwich, quilt and bind it, so I don't think it'll be ready for Monday. We'll give it to Marina on the first day of the next term - Rom can pay her a visit - her new class is in the adjacent room :)

The gorgeous pressies for Tristan keep arriving. This one is from ChookyBlue - it's a size 00, so a bit big for Tristan to model for you now, but will be a perfect sleep suit for cool summer nights. Thanks very much Donna :)

And today I bought a couple of new bits of clothing for Romily, who is growing like a weed. She has suddenly grown out of all her pyjamas - the summer ones from last year are all way too small. I discovered In the Night Garden PJs in Target today, so got one set from the girls' section and one from the boys'. I hate it how the clothing is so stereotyped in these shops - I usually buy Rom's PJs from the boys' section, as the girls' ones are just so prissy! She loves her Iggle Piggle pyjamas, as you can see!

It is tough being a baby

Especially when you get your first cold/cough at less than four weeks of age. Poor Tristan. He has come down with the lurgy that we're all suffering with. I have been crook as a dog, and, being a breastfeeding mother, unable to take anything other than paracetamol. My throat's been up for nearly a week now, and I am keeping Butter Menthols in short supply across Canberra. We finally remembered yesterday that we had a jar of Vicks Vaporub in Romily's cupboard, so all of us (except Tristan) got that smeared across our chests and throats last night - it really helped! I am feeling marginally better this afternoon, so let's hope we're all going to improve...and soon.

So, life is tough for Tristan - he has a terrible cough and has been sleeping only in my arms for a good part of the day - he's been very hard to settle between sleeps and I've had to swaddle him for day sleeps as well as night sleeps. He's still feeding quite well, so I'm not too worried about him. He's too young for any medicine - the best I can do for him is keep feeding him whenever he looks like he might take a feed. Thankfully the projectile 'possets' have decreased in number - although I did cop a huge blert right down my top this arvo!

Unfortunately our illness coincided with my father-in-law's visit this past weekend. He was very happy to finally meet his much-longed-for grandson, but we were not exactly scintillating company!
Romily of course loved having him come to visit. She loves all of her grandparents :)
Very little in the way of crafting going on here. I did manage to start cutting up some of this Amy Butler Midwestern Modern fabric for the throw.This Moda Porcelain fabric is destined for throw #2. Hopefully I'll get a bit more done in the next few days. The deadline for throw #1 is Monday, so I have a week!
And last, but definitely not least, look what the postman delivered this week! Helen made this gorgeous miniature wall hanging for Tristan - it is a beautiful as it looks. The stippling is TINY! Helen it's wonderful and Tristan loves looking at it on the wall above his change table while I'm getting down to the business end of things! Thank you very much!

Best dressed boy in town and Happy Father's Day to Carl

Tristan is certainly going to be the best-dressed boy in town! He has been well and truly spoiled with lots of lovely outfits. Look what arrived in the mail from Little Starfish! Isn't it gorgeous? I can't wait for the warmer weather and when he's a bit bigger to show this gorgeous onesie off. Thank you Gabrielle - you are very kind!And my auntie sent me this adorable little outfit - Tristan wore it today for our Father's Day outing today (life's tough when you're a baby, isn't it?). Romily, Tristan and I took Carl out to his favourite cafe for brunch, which was very nice (apart from the useless idiot taking our order - he managed to muck it up three times! But the manager stepped in and helped to put things to rights - somewhat redeeming the newish cafe's reputation!!). Then Carl went and did the grocery shopping and had some much deserved time out. Yes, grocery shopping on Father's Day - he really is a wonderful man :) Happy Father's Day to my gorgeous husband.

I made some brownies for playgroup tomorrow - that was the big achievement for today! I seem to spend most of my day either feeding Tristan or cuddling him. No wonder I don't get much else done! But, as we know, that's the most important thing I need to do every day. That and give Romily as much attention as I can. She's got a bit of a cold at the moment - caught from her dad, who managed to catch it on his very first day at work - )it didn't show up until Thursday, but we are attributing it to being back in airconditioning again!) so Romily needs a bit of extra TLC at the moment. She's settled down into the new regime pretty quickly, so we are feeling very blessed right now.

Anyway, enough rambling. Time to go wake up the sleepy baby for a feed before hitting the hay for the night.