Sunday, May 31, 2015

Granbabies & Gifts

Greetings dear friends & readers,
Thank You All for your very kind comments & well wishes on my last post regarding my imminent grandchild
However, no sooner had I hit the "publish" button than my son phoned to tell me his wife Sarah, had gone into early labour.

8 days old

This beautiful boy - my grandson - made his early entrance to the world on May 18th at 12.40 pm.
They have named him Alec Raoul - he is beautiful & yes, I am indeed biased  :-)



My precious Grandson & his Granny Julie

My heart has well & truely been captured by this wee soul, who turns 2 weeks old tomorrow

And so ... begs the question ... what to be called ??
Although I love all the names ... Gran, Grandma, Nan, Nanny etc ... ever since I was a wee girl I have just adored the programme The Beverly Hillbillies.   One of my all-time favourite characters over all the decades was Granny ... I loved the way she would sit on the back of the truck with her shotgun in her arms ... Oh I thought she was wonderful.
And so I decided ... Granny it was to be    :-)

It is nothing short of a miracle that I have any completions to show you this week as my mind has been elsewhere.
I received an invite to my friend Sandy's daughters 21st birthday. When Sandy & I first met through our younger sons becoming friends, Abby was only 18 months old.
So I have watched her grow up through the years & become the lovely young woman that she is today.  
What to make Abby for her 21st birthday??
I knew she loved to cook & bake & spend time in her kitchen.  I also knew she loved blue. 
So I decided upon an apron ...

It was very much a "make it up as you go along" kind of project.
Firstly, as I wanted to personalise it, I embroidered the bib part with her name
(I must confess it was one of those occasions when I was thankful Abby had been blessed with a short name!!!)

I used the Stitchery Alphabet from month 6 of Jenny of elephantz Stitchery Club 

I decided to make it quite girly & feminine, so added a deep frill & lace to the bottom - Abby is about my height so it was easy to gauge how long to make it.
A pocket is always handy on an apron so I added a generous pocket & - of course - I had to add a doiley to it !!!
I also like quite long ties on my aprons so added these to the sides, & some button embellishments to finish off.

I had managed to buy some good quality teatowels in similar colourings to the apron fabric so decided to embellish these to match

I appliqued the words "cook" & "bake" to each one, then added a frill along the lower edge of the applique strip



To one I added ric rac & to the other, a simple daisy trim



I was really pleased with how these turned out & especially loved the checked one





A good quality wooden spoon & some matching stick-on labels completed the gift package.
I hope Abby enjoys many happy hours in her kitchen being a domestic goddess & wearing her new apron.

Another gift completed for a dear friend & posted away ... this is certainly a miracle as . . . well . . .  have you ever tried knitting with a kitten on your lap ???!!!**!



Once again ... a "make it up as you go along" gift.  Some small knitted squares from some scraps of wool ... hmmm ... what to do with these squares ... Oh, perhaps make a small shelf bunting in simple neutral tonings



I appliqued "I (heart) home" in Lynette Anderson fabrics, attached it to Lynette Anderson ribbon, then added Lynette Anderson buttons to each end  . . . for no particular reason other than I was using what I had in my stash at the time.  
This morning I have been trying to stuffing some soft toys at the kitchen table ... the help I have been getting is unfortunately not optional!!!!



I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead dear friends & readers,
 Thanks so much for popping by today so I can share my news with you all




with much love & friendship to you all,
Granny Julie x0x0

32 comments:

  1. Aww Julie!! Congratulations, he is sooooooo gorgeous xxxx Loving the gifts and well just everything. So pleased for you xxx

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    1. Thanks so much Sue .... he reminds me of my son with his dark hair & olive complexion ... which soon turned blonde & fair skinned!!! Shall be interested to see if wee Alec turns like this too as his Mum is also a blondie.

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  2. CONGRATULATIONS Granny Julie!!!!!!!!!!
    Now you know that very special feeling too.
    Alec Raoul is gorgeous and I can just imagine how you loved holding and cuddling him. Please give him an extra hug and cuddle for me!
    ENJOY every moment!
    Beautiful gifts for Abby!
    Hugs
    Shane xox

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  3. Julie! It's so strange! Every time l see a post, open it,
    read it, look at the photos, The only word that comes to
    mind is...Ah!
    Babies! Are'nt they lovely...HeHe! I was one once......! :).
    But! Lots and lots of congratulations...To you and ALL
    your family. And, don't worry, you'll fit everything in, after
    all, you have another little helper now! Bless!
    I suppose Blackie is somewhere on his back, legs in the
    air...Asleep! Bless!

    Oh! I think Granny or Nanny is best...Sounds a lot more feminine.
    I used to call my English Granny...Granny. And, my Sicilian one
    Nona! But it's ALL lovely....Cuddles all round....Not forgetting the
    furry ones!

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  4. Yay! Granny Julie sounds just perfect! Wonderful little boy. Love the apron, and t-towels. They look great - all matching - she will love them - the name in Jenny's alphabet looks super cool. The bunting is super sweet too. Love the fabric on the knitted squares - great idea! I think you should now sign things as made by you and Pippi as she gives so much 'help'. heehee....

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  5. Oh congratulations Granny! Alec is adorable! ♥

    You are a truly talented lady! I love the apron and tea towel gift set, it's perfect.

    The knitted bunting is really sweet, and a brilliant idea.

    I love your little 'helper' :) x

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    1. Thanks so much Yvonne ... Abby texted me a photo of her wearing her new apron with the teatowels tucked into the pocket & holding the wooden spoon - a big smile on her face :-) Just lovely. You are welcome to the "little helper" anytime you like ... but I know you have enough of your own !!!

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  6. Oh I loved the Beverley Hillbillies!!!! Favourites for sure!!! When I hear Granny I too
    think of that show. You are so lucky to have Grandchildren. I'm just itching for that time
    to happen to me, but my boys are still a bit too young yet. Enjoy this gorgeous time.
    Cheers, Anita.

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  7. Welcome to the Granny Club! We get to love these grandies like no other. Your new grandson is a handsome we fella. Lovely gifts for the birthday girl I hope she likes them. Miss Pippi is growing up so fast!

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  8. oh Julie congrats Granny he is just beautiful I am sure you will have hours of joy .I am loving this new role of Grandmother and I am sure you will as well hugs Beth [this is the best club to be in I think }

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  9. Aw Congrats to all, Granny Julie and welcome to the world Gorgeous Alec Raoul. Beautiful pic of the two of you, Julie. All your makes are as lovely as ever. xxx

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  10. Beautiful baby...the best make of all. Congratulations. xx

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    1. He sure IS the best make of all E.E. - thank you SO much :-)

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  11. Just Gorgeous .. Grandson Alec and his granny Julie.. How beautiful is that
    Chat soon😘😘😘

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  12. GRANNY!!!!! How did i miss this?! Oh my gosh Julie congrats! He is so precious. My! Of course everything else is on a back burner. Just enjoy those family moments.
    You will be the best granny ever!
    Amy

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  13. Oh Julie! Congratulations to everyone. Your little grandson is just perfect and so precious. I love the photos! Beautiful!!! Your aprin is gorgeous too by the way. Enjoy every second of being a granny!!! X

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  14. Giggles Julie to the picture of you turning out like "Granny" on the Hillbillies. But didn't we love her. Julie, Alec Raoul is adorable and such a beautiful photo of you holding the little petal.Adore the gifts you made for Abby. Hugs Shirley

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  15. He is gorgeous and you are not biased at all, such a beautiful baby!!! Granny, I like it and your reason behind it. Enjoy the cuddles.

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  16. beautiful!
    love the helper too!
    may you enjoy many 'granny' hours with your grandson. love granny from the hillbillies too! what a character!
    the apron & bunting are awesome & am sure they will be most cherished
    thanx for sharing

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    1. Thanks Selina for your lovely comment ... wasnt Granny from the Hillbillies just awesome. I wanted to be like her from a very young age!!! Abby texted me that she just loved her new apron ... I am sure she will enjoy wearing it when she is working in her kitchen.
      Thanks for stopping by Selina x0x

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  17. Oh your Grandson is super gorgeous!!! How exciting! Congrats Granny and to all your family. Loved the projects you managed amongst all the excitement xx

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  18. Granny sounds great. What a beautiful little baby, perfect, you are going to have so many special times together. It's a lovely picture of you together Julie. I like the latest makes - especially the tea towels.

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  19. Gorgeous, gorgeous is that new grandbaby!! Oooooooh Julie, I am so excited for you!! Of course I am a long way off from Grandbabies, but I can't wait!! Lucky Ben and Cody won't read this!! He is beautiful, and very lucky to have a wonderful 'Granny' like you in his life!! Congrats.

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  20. Your grandson is absolutely adorable, Julie. Congratulations Granny!!! Your apron and teatowels are almost too pretty to use! And the bunting is soo cute. Have fun doting on wee Alec...:O)

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  21. Dear Granny Julie..congratulations, indeed! How amazing that little Alec is already 2 weeks old. I hope everything is going well for the new family & that they are getting to know each other happily. I am sure that you've been a marvellous help to them. What a precious photo of you holding Alec...especially as they don't stay that wee for long do they! Well done on so much sweet productivity during the week. I do love the sweet little knitted garland. Any ginger fur blended in? Have a lovely week. Good thing that all is a little quieter for you just now. Much love Catherine x0x0x

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  22. The stitching is pretty neat.

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  23. How very VERY precious to be called Granny. xxxx

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  24. Congratulations Julie, little Alec is a gorgeous little boy. I'm sure you will enjoy many cuddles :) Lots of lovely makes, the apron is beautiful. Hugs Wendy

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  25. Woot woot missed this post - awesome to see the beautiful photos of your little man! My mum is a Granny not the shotgun bearing kind but it is a cool name all the same!! Love your makes too of course but just wanted to say how much I loved your photos of wee Alec :-)

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  26. Hello Julie,

    What a lovely photo of the latest member of your family. Granny will be busy sewing lots of blue outfits now. The apron etc makes a perfect gift for your friend.I think something homemade is always best.

    Happy Monday.
    Bev.

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  27. I love the gorgeous photo of you and your beautiful grandson. So, so happy for you, Julie, what a bonny boy, Alec is! Congratulations!!

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