Baby bundle

A friend has recently had her fourth child so I whipped up a gift for her over the weekend - a baby bundle!  The bundle includes a bib, a change mat, a nappy wallet and the shoes I made for Ruby that ended up being too smalll for her.

I had wanted to add some red bias binding to the bib, which would have finished it off nicely, but I had a bit of a nightmare trying to sew it on, so ended up unpicking what little bit I had managed to attach.  I started at the most difficult point on the bib, which was probably a bad idea - need more practice!

The change mat is the stripey dotty fabric on the outside and black vinyl on the inside, fastened with a dome.  Again I had high hopes of finishing it with some red bias binding but alas, my skills weren't up to it.

For the nappy wallet I used the same design as one I have made for myself, except I rounded the edge of the flap.

And I made some tags out of brown paper, just to see how they would look.

Ruby's Ruffle Tee

Wow, who ever knew sewing a straight line on knit fabric was so hard?  I bought this lovely slinky navy fabric from Geoff's Emporium, I think it's a viscose.  I want to make a T for me out of it, but thought I'd test one out on Ruby first (less fabric wasted if it goes pear shaped).  Similarly, I wanted to try out a ruffle, as I haven't done a lot of ruffling (or gathering). 

Inspired by a recent post on Craftiness in Not Optional, I took one of Ruby's t-shirts and made a pattern out of it.  The sleeves are a bit small, which I think you can actually tell just by looking at the photo above, but that's easily fixed for next time.  While I was making this I thought it would have to be relegated to the dud pile because the neckline is just awful, the sleeves are a bit tight and the hemline - well, what can I say?  Judge for yourself - the sewing machine seemed to have a mind of its own.

But then I put it on Ruby and it didn't seem too bad - especially as she doesn't really sit still long enough for anyone to notice the neckline and hemline.

Now, my grandmother once told me that you shouldn't wear navy and black together, but I like the combination here.

Is that a vintage suitcase?

Well, no, but that was certainly the look I was going for!  Its a papier-mâché suitcase that I bought at Spotlight, painted on the outside with Resene Hot Chilli and lined with some scrapbooking paper. 

I had been thinking about doing this for a while, finally bought the materials and then procrastinated for quite some time before finally starting it a few days before Ruby was born (she is now 9 months old!).  I managed to get a couple of coats of paint in before the obstetrician decided hospital was the best place for me and it has been gathering dust (and cat hair) under our bed ever since.

I had originally intended it to be used as storage for Ruby's toys, or as a suitcase when she has sleepovers at Grandma and Poppa's house, but I don't think it's study enough for that.  At the moment Ali Bear likes hanging out in it. 

The paper is Cherry Cordial from Basic Grey's Bittersweet collection. When I went to finish it recently I realised I didn't have enough paper.  My local Spotlight no longer stocked it so I went on a mad internet search to find some.  I ended up buying the whole collection kit, which I no doubt will find some use for.

Ginger, Date and Cornflake sllice

Yum!  I never used to be much of a fan of dates (eg Date Scones), but on the weekend I tried a delicious ginger, date and cornflake slice.  I was at a Sands screening of 5 Hours with Raja on Sunday and a lovely lady called Kate had made this delicious slice.  She gave me the recipe and I made it today.