Book Review: A Quilt for Baby

~Especially after my last post I am happy to confirm that this book review is not my way of blogging any significant news! :-) ~

I took photos of this book, "A quilt for Baby" by Kim Lewis, absolutely ages ago, but never got around to blogging them. This week, the boys needed baby and family photos for a family tree project at school and while I was hunting for those photos, I found these...


My dear friend Josie sent me this book about 4 years ago (I think I was pregnant with DS2 at the time). Thanks Josie!


I had grand plans to make a similar quilt inspired by the one in the book, especially as we live on a farm, but you know about grand plans ;-)))
(Which reminds me of another favourite joke:
Q: How do you make God laugh?
A: make plans!)

I like the illustration where she is still quilting it AFTER the baby is born! That's my girl LOL!!:


Anyway, it's a gorgeous book and the illustrations are lovely and perhaps when I'm old and grey and looking forward to a grandchild from one of my boys, I may dig it out and think about making such a quilt again... We'll see. I better not make any plans about it though! LOL

Occassionally I quilt

Not only do I send and gratefully receive a lot of parcels, but sometimes if all is right in my sewing world, I get to quilt a little something too...



This is the Miniature Booty quilt that I made Toni (a-la Ricky Tims' Convergence Quilts).



I put far too much chocolate in the parcel and so it weighed a ton. Because of this fact, I stupidly sent it surface mail and it sadly took forever to arrive. Thankfully it finally has and so now I can show it.





Unfortunately due to DH getting a move on with the renovations all creative sewing has pretty much ground to a halt! We are like the Higgledy Piggledy pigs, living in a higgledy piggledy house! (See, I read far too many children's books!)



And mummy pig is right "it's not a muddle! It is a pigsty" LOL



We have an almost completed bathroom next to an old kitchen.


(Before tiling above and after tiling below!)



We also have a work in progress utility room next to a stripped bedroom and nowhere to put anything!!!!



Apparently a new sewing room will be my reward for living like a Higgeldy Piggeldy Pig LOL

Hexagons: I do it like this

Last time I was in a quilt shop in South Africa buying rose fabrics for my hexagon quilt I got chatting to the shop owner about hexagons and ended up going to the car to get 'my' hexagons to show her what I was doing...



"Oh, you do it like this" she said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You sew it in rows"
I imagine she was surprised because people often stitch hexagons in flower formation, but I don't, I just add each hexagon as I go along. Of course, now every time I read the children this story book I think of her words...



The Story of the Little Mole (who knew it was none of his business) by Werner Holzwarth & Wolf Erlbruch



The little mole searches to find out who has done their 'business' on his head and each animal replies:
"Me? No, how could I? I do it like this!" And promptly makes a poop to show him how they do it LOL

Well me? No, how could I? I do my hexagons like this! I do them in rows as I purposely don't want my hexagons to look like flowers...


Then the lady showed (and gave) me this...



It's very interesting. The hexagon is folded over a smaller hexagon with batting/wadding inside. So each hexagon once stitched is pretty much already quilted. I liked this idea, but it's too late for me now LOL

The first photo above shows, the current state of this project. The second photo above shows what I have presently in the car for those few stolen moments when I get a chance to sew. (This is usually Thursdays while the children swim with their Dad and I get to watch and do the changeover of kids into costumes and kids into dry clothes...)

In another bag, I have the pieces of fabric wonderful people send me and the papers...



For example, this week has been a great rose week as yesterday Jane sent me some roses and an empty box of chocolate. OK, it wasn't empty, but it is now (and it WAS Dee-vine!!!) LOL. Jane's roses are the second pile from the left. Kathie, a blogger I had not 'met' before last week, kindly sent me some roses this week too (Kathie's roses are 2ND from the right).

On the far right are the roses from Siobahn which I had previously neglected to photograph. Siobahn sent me a huge piece of the blue rose fabric and it's so lovely that it will definitely go towards a bag as well. On the far left are the bee-oot-iful roses from Jodie! I am planning to piece a back from the rose fabrics too and then perhaps return the favour and offer any leftover hexagons to anyone who would like to give them a go. But that will come later. In the meantime a big THANK YOU to all my friends who have sent me fabric. It does get used and stroked and one day when I'm old and grey I will look fondly on this quilt and remember the friendship and generosity of others and be grateful of it. In the meantime, however I will just do my quilt like this!

Just to let you know...

My computer charging doo-daddy has just sparked, starting smoking and died. I can therefore no longer charge my computer. I see I have about 20 minutes charge left so if you don't hear from me for a few days, I'm here,
just computerless :-(

When I get back, I'll show you some of the African blocks Kate and I have been making. Until then I'll leave you with a glimpse of one of the kid's books that I love...

The Cockerel, The Mouse and the Little Red Hen:


Gotta love this: (click on the picture to enlarge)

Well, "I've got my sewing kit", but I don't have any good ideas about getting a Mac charger for a G4...