A Self-Indulgent Blog Post

I'm sharing what is quite simply a self-indulgent blog post to show off my gorgeous Grandson, Oliver, who turned one last Monday.

Quite the little model showcasing his Stars & Stripes Vans, a birthday pressie from Aunty Flicky and his Canadian mountie tee, a recent Niagara Falls trip pressie from Glam-ma and Grandad. 

Oli obviously has all his Daddy's talents...

...quite the Jack mini-me. I have photos of my son up to all the same things and I feel like I took them only yesterday!

I love Oli's determination and try, try again 'can do, will do' attitude - again just like his Daddy - oh and this pic does actually show one of my quilts - remember the laminate backed picnic playmat?  Read more about it here.  

And, at the end of his first year I think we've safely established that Oli loves chocolate cake.

Happy First Birthday Oli xxx

Self indulgence over, thanks for humouring me :D

Clicking on an image will take you to a new page of crafty goodness :)

 

Click to follow me on

 Follow

Linky Parties

This post may be linked to some great Linky Parties, always a great source of inspiration too.  If you click through to my 'Fave Linky Parties'  page you can  see where I like to share my work.

There's No Soot In This Santa Sack!!!

When Santa got stuck up the chimney, he began to shout,

"You girls and boys won't get any toys, if you don't pull me out!

My beard is black, there's soot in my sack, my nose is tickling too."

When Santa got stuck up the chimney. Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!

When I was little I had a Santa Sack - well when I was really, really little it was a pillowcase and then Mum bought 2 heavy paper, super large Santa Sacks - one was green with red Christmas trees and the other was red with green Christmas trees,  we used those sacks year after year after year.

My children had their own Santa Sacks - fabric ones but shop bought - you might have seen them, they're pretty common.  Shop bought or not, they're full of memories for them and me and I loved seeing their faces each year when the empty sacks came out on Christmas Eve and even more the next morning when they saw them overflowing with presents from Santa. 

Last year I made my first Christmas Stocking - I absolutely love it but it's more decorative than practical.  You can read more about it here - Are You Hanging Up Your Stocking On The Wall?.

With the birth of Grandson Oliver this year seemed like time to make my first Santa Sack for him to create his own Christmas memories and what better than The Very Hungry Caterpillar Christmas panel part of the Eric Carle collection under license to Andover Fabrics?

For full instructions on how to make a Santa Sack click through to my Santa Sack Tute here.

Cutting the panel into two sections, I added a red top border and layered with batting.

Next I free motion quilted around the print detail changing colours along the way.
It's easiest to show you the stitching from the back...

...and then some detail sections from the front.

I added a decorative stitched row along the red border seam too.

To commerate Oliver's birth year I cut "Xmas 2014" lettering from double sided fusible and bonded each to co-ordinating Andover Christmas fabrics which I attached to the Xmas Tree panel using a raw edge applique technique (see my Raw Edge Applique Tute here).

A great wavy striped Xmas lining pattern by Kim Schaefer for Andover Fabrics and I've added my label to the lining and to the outside bottom edge of the sack and joined the outside and inside with another row of decorative stitching.  Finished size is 21" x 27".  

Finished...

...and full for now with presents from Grandma.

  

When I shared pics with my kids it sparked them all off trying to remember just what The Very Hungry Caterpillar ate, they loved the book when they were small and it was fun remembering it.  Seemed to me I needed to make a couple more of these Santa Sacks, don't tell my other two kids but I've made them one each too so they can each start their own Christmas memories.

Different linings in each, these two are holly leaves also by Kim Schaefer for Andover Fabrics.

Do you have a Christmas Stocking or a Santa Sack, what does he leave your presents in?

Featured:

He's Here

Our Grandson, Oliver, was born at 2.00 am on Sunday, 21 September 2014 in Seville, Spain (1.00 am 21/9 GMT and 8.00 pm on 9/20 EST).  He weighed in at 3540 g/7lbs 13 oz and 52 cm/20.5" long.

Everyone's doing just fine and Simon and I can't wait to get over to Seville now and see our new little family.  Hopefully I'll have some better quality photos to share then!

For details of other fabric, yarn, trim and notion stores that I've visited around the world along with the NYC stores I love, exhibitions and events I've attended and wonderful people I've been lucky to meet click the links below or in my side bar :D

Handknit With Love

Remember this hat?

It's for my Grandson-to-be, Oliver, due in September and I posted about making the hat here.

This last weekend I finished up making a jumper to go with the hat.  

 

 It's from this book by Debbie Bliss - design it, knit it babies

Spoilt for choice I decided to make this simple square necked jumper.

I've used Adriafil Knitcol trends, superwash merino wool, colourway 57 - Botticelli Fancy again for the main - you might remember I bought this at Atelier Yarns on my last visit to San Francisco (you can read my post here) and the contrast is a leftover wool from my stash, Patons UK Double Knitting in light cream (no longer available). 

I'm still super in love with how the Adriafil Knitcol works up in a project - the Fair Isle/Jacquard style patterning created by the colour changes in the wool are fab and it's such fun to see how they work into the piece as you're creating the pattern.  I admit to starting both sleeves at the same point in the wool so the patterning is practically the same on each.

I've also given the jumper a go in the washing machine - yep that Merino wool is machine washable at 40 degrees and it came out looking and feeling just perfect, in fact all the pics in this post are taken post washing :D

Here's some pics of the details:

Side seam and my small label.

The back and that small label again.  I like the small details on this knit - the garter rib left unseamed is a great touch.

The square neckline is very easy to work and, as always, Debbie Bliss gives great instructions in a written pattern (I've always worked from written patterns not from charts as seems to be the trend these days).

Square neckline detail, with my large label and monkey buttons (also purchased on my last trip to San Fran at Britex Fabrics, you can read that post here).

I didn't think my pics were doing the jumper justice so, in the absence of yet-to-be Oliver I had to find another model.   Tatty and Watson are exactly the right size and, as you can see below, well up for the task but I thought better of it 

and went in search of another of my nest flown daughter, Flicky's, teddy bears.  

Having used Bedwyn Bear in two previous photo shoots,

here 

and here, 

I needed a much smaller bear this time around.

Step forward ... oh dear, I have to admit to not having a clue what this bear's called, but he performed admirably and I'm sure Flicky will be proud.

I think he looks pretty cute in his oversized jumper!

Some time in the Spring I'll be able to update this post with a pic of Oliver sporting his very own jumper and hat, and the thought of that makes me very happy.

These are for you Oliver, handknit with love by Grandma xxx


Featured On: