Sew lately ...

Still in the land of the living!  Yes . . . but barely some days.  It seems our family just have one bug after the other despite the weather getting warmer.

This is the last week of daycare for the kids for a whole month! Yeek!  I better get my funky crafty mum hat on or there is going to be trouble.  The quarantine is for Liam.  His tonsils and adenoids are to come out and grommets to go in.  He can't be sick the week before or no surgery!  And must stay healthy for two weeks while recovering.

I am nervous for him.  Who wouldn't be?  But I am anxious to get it over with as my little boy needs a decent sleep.  The tonsils are causing sleep apnoea which in turn may be the cause of the seizures.  Not to mention that his hearing is getting a little worse due to all the gunk in there.  We can then all stop shouting!

I have been whacked with gastro.  Yes, whacked!  Its a flipping violent bug and to say anything softer than a whack would be a lie.  Good grief.  Rick found me unconscious on the toilet floor Saturday morning.  Our toilet room is tiny and my slumped body was blocking the door.  I was apparently lying there with my eyes open so my poor hubby thought I had a seizure!  I don't know how he managed it, but he got in there and pulled me up.

Rick also hurt his back last week.  Which makes the lifting of me up off the floor next to a miracle!

Ok, so enough about that.

I thought I would show you what I have been doing behind the machine between icks.

I made another pair of Oliver & S Sleepover Pyjamas.  Liam chose the fabric.  Both from Spotlight.  I followed the pattern myself, with no help.  I worked out how to machine baste and to make the pockets!  I was rather pleased with myself as I didn't do either for the first pair.  These jammies are for the hospital but have had a road test already.

A friend of mine in Melbourne (Hi Beki!), put out a call on facebook for anyone who could sew her a zip bag for her stethoscope.  She's a nursing student and wanted to have something original and different to house her steth so it wouldn't get damaged en route to uni.  Even though I had no idea how to make one, I said that I would give it a go.  After a quick lesson from Jen, we whipped up two and one was sent down only a week after the call out.  I was rather chuffed with myself again because the me of 2 years ago would have never thought to even try.  And look at that!  A zipper!  Yippeeee!  This one keeps my sewing bits and pieces and reminds me to give it a go.

My neighbour is a retired diversional therapist.  She used to teach hand crafts to handicapped people.  Recently, I was invited over by her and her daughter for morning tea where they had prepared a little sewing lesson for me.  You can tell that she has taught some challenging students as her patience is saintly!  That morning, I was formally introduced to the world of hexagons.  I have done a little quilt-as-you-go-hexagons before but not the ones you make with paper templates.

It was my Mum's birthday yesterday.  The promised quilt fell by the wayside due to all the plagues so I put this little purse together and appliquéd the hexagon flower to one side.  I also knitted up a beret and put it in.  Mum is yet to receive her gift- waiting until we are germ-free!!

I had some fun with hand sewing and reacquainted myself with blanket stitch.

Now this one I am most proud of.  It is the first pattern I have traced, cut, followed and completed all on my own- yay!  It is the Oliver & S Tea Party Playsuit.  I used fabric from Spotlight but the snap tape I had to grab of Etsy.  There are some little errors.  There are some lessons learnt.  But I am still awfully proud and have plans to make more.  I think they are a great little gift and have darling friends who wouldn't mind my clumsy sewing.  Babies grow so quickly so it isn't like they are in them for long anyway hahahaha.

On the knitting front it is still dishcloths and hats.  What can I say?

xxx