baby wrap

Influenced by the stash-less posts here I'm trying to use up some of my own stash of wool and fabric - especially if I can use it in a good way.  This is a merino baby wrap that I made yesterday. I spent hours researching this project as I haven't sewn knits before and don't have a serger.

I more or less followed this tutorial (you'll need to scroll down the page a bit to find it) but instead of making double folded hems I did single fold. Merino doesn't fray and I was wanting to reduce the layers of fabric at the corners so they'd be easier to sew. A single fold isn't as neat a finish as double but it worked. 

I also used the walking foot on my sewing machine for the first time (ever!) It helps glide the fabric under the needle and stops it bunching up. I love it. It made a huge difference and produced nice, non-puckered seams.

Other ways to finish a baby wrap:

use rib binding

crochet a simple edging

So, making this wrap I learned a thing or two and now there is one less piece of fabric in the cupboard. Remember that bumper sticker "She who dies with the most fabric, wins"? Are you a hoarder of fabric? Or do you buy as you go?

Reading: Through the eyes of a foster child by Daryl Brougham - NZ biography about being abandoned in infancy and living in foster care until the age of 18.

Listening: Love letter for fire by Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop.

not according to plan

First, my new favourite cookbook - A year in my real food kitchen by Emma Galloway from my darling lemon thyme. And the first recipe I made from it, Apple, lemon and thyme crumble - that I managed to burn, just a little. It still tasted good though served with custard.

And second, a little cardigan knitted in "dot stitch" for an old colleague's soon-to-arrive second child. Frustratingly the pattern had a few errors that I struggled to resolve. It's a good pattern though - knitted in one piece to the armhole so that the only seams are on the sleeves. The buttons are some "vintage" ones from my button box. I think this might be the last of the baby gifts - at least for a while.

Reading: Big magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, pray, love)

Watching: Veep - from the beginning
Everything is copy - documentary about writer/filmmaker Nora Ephron who died in 2012. I loved her book of essays, Crazy salad (1975) but she's probably better known for her screenplays - Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry met Sally, Julie and Julia etc

quilt

I've discovered that the list of possible items a teddy bear might need is without limit. This time - a little (12" x 16") quilt using fabric scraps from my cupboard.
I followed this tutorial (except I hand quilted). I even made the pillow with not one but two little pillow cases.
This doll's quilt would be a great project for a keen child. It takes you through all the steps of quilt making - but at warp speed. Very satisfying. Previously I've made only two crib quilts and they took me forever to complete.

Enjoy your weekend coming up. We've got a long one here in New Zealand to celebrate (officially but not actually) the Queen of England's birthday.

Referencing: The practical guide to patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman

Reading: Aunts up the Cross by Robin Dalton - about growing up in an eccentric household in Kings Cross, Sydney in the 1920s and 30s (first published in 1965)