Not had much opportunity to take many photos of what I have been busy making lately for London Mummy but as the sun is shining this morning and Livvy is away with her dad visiting her grandparents thought I would grab a few whilst I can!
I absolutely love the Alexander Henry Petting Zoo print, particularly this blue colourway - why oh why did they have to discontinue this one too!! It has a really 50's feel to it, actually I believe the design was an original 50's one, I remember a woman I met via ebay telling me that she had a very similar wallpaper in her bedroom as a child. She sent me a photo but sadly I think it may well have been deleted when I last spring cleaned my Mac.
The quilt is approximately 30 inches by 30 inches square, ideal for a toddlers lap quilt or as a play mat for a baby - plenty of visual interest and great fun to pick out all the different animals at the zoo. The binding is a plain red cotton, why does hand sewing the binding take so long - or is it just me?
Livvy had a demonstration at Stagecoach on Friday night but I was so keen to finish this and some other items for yesterday's Christmas Fair that I missed it. Typically the one and only time I have missed any of her activities since birth, she was presented with her 3 year bronze medal! Oh dear, well at least her dad was there to see it!
I used Warm and Natural for the wadding/batting and machine stitched squares at 5 inch intervals and am really pleased how it turned out. Sounds daft but it folds up nice and neatly which I like :)
In keeping with the vintage style, I backed the little bib and burp cloth set with some chenille and used a decorative top stitch around the edges - I like the fact that over time these edges will fray a little, adding to the charm and the chenille just gets softer and softer each time it is washed.
Making the little tags is fun and a good way to use up little scraps of fabric. Just make them in pretty much the same way as you would applique the onesie but use pinking shears instead of zig zagging around the edges and then lightly iron them onto your tag.
Couldn't resist adding an Anne Claire Petit crochet monkey to the set together with her adorable baby booties:
For the cushion or pillow, as those of you in the US would call it, I use a simple envelope opening and continue the fabric all the way round to the back. Inside the cover is fully lined to add a bit of extra weight and I like to french seam so that there are no raw edges.
As my stash of this print is rapidly decreasing I may well change the back in future in order to save on fabric.
Yesterday's Fair was fun, although I did spend four hours standing in a marquee with my coat on the whole time as I was so cold, despite the fact there were heaters. My stall was right in front of the entrance so a great spot but it did mean a constant flow of cold air. I was next to the mulled wine and had a hard time resisting temptation! As I was on my own I didn't get a chance to take a look around but did get to meet some of the other lovely stallholders as they had a wander themselves. Thanks again to the lovely lady who gave me the handwarmer and to my equally lovely neighbour who covered for me so that I could at least go to the loo!!
Missed out on a party last night, but by the time I got home, lugged all my stock upstairs, tried to put my flat back into something vaguely resembling home and then falling, fortunately not too far, from the ladder as I was putting some stock away up in the attic and wrenching my shoulder in the process it was 8.45 pm and I just couldn't face anything other than a glass of wine and an early night. Hopefully my friends will forgive me but I'm afraid I do rather have a reputation of missing things - one of the downsides of being a somewhat shy singleton in a sea of couples :)