Sewing for a Very Special Baby Girl

Greetings lovely friends & readers

 I found an old can of spray paint in the sleepout over the weekend called Mulled Wine, so I sprayed the jugful of hydrangeas that I picked for my bedroom in * this post *.    

Though I've not taken a before photo, they had faded & gone brown.  I'm really happy with how they've turned out.

There is to be a new baby girl welcomed into our family next month when The Mr becomes a Great Grandfather !!  

His eldest daughter has 4 children & her only son Joseph is to become a father.  

The Mr's eldest children are just under 10 years younger than myself so when these Grandchildren first came along I was only 35 & still parenting my own sons.  The Grandchildren called me Aunty Julie, & I was more than happy to play this role in their lives.  

I've always had a special affinity for Joseph so when I learned he & his fiancee' are to become parents I wanted to create a handmade package to send to them.

The first gifts I made were the 2 bibs above right, backed with towelling, & then I purchased a metre of double-sided muslin & sewed a pair of wraps.  I knitted 2 washcloths in soft organic cotton.  

I had a metreage of soft flannelette in my stash so I hemmed it all to make a cot sheet, or a wrap.  I washed it first as it felt like it had dressing in it.  

It's true colour is not showing up today, it is the softest pale grey with yellow moons & stars on it.  I did Not knit the booties, purchasing these from my local baby shop instead.

I'd had this leftover length of pure wool blanket in my stash for awhile now - I always loved the muted tones of brown & pink in it. 

 I cut out a large cot size & hand blanket stitched the raw edges, keeping the machine sewn edges where I could.  I unpicked the blanket label from the remnants, & attached this to one corner.

You can see where my 3 pins are that there were 3 tiny holes I needed to cover.  I sewed the heart from some Doctors Flannel fabric that I had on hand, machine sewing the words & then making a tucked frill around the edge using a pale pink cotton with teddy bears on it.  

I machine stitched 3 crochet motifs to the lower edge after I'd sewn the heart over the tiny holes.  On the back I hand embroidered lazy daisies to cover the holes (I've forgotten to take a pic)

The heart did a great job of covering the holes.  I also handstitched a crochet butterfly to this.  To be honest this was very much a make-it-up-as-you-go-along kind of project.

Here it is spread out on my bed in the afternoon sun.  I thought this would be a great blanket even for putting on the floor when the baby is lying there, having a kick.  I'd handwashed the blanket first so it felt very soft & snuggly.

I knitted a top-knot baby hat using * this free pattern * & some pure merino wool already in my stash.   Finally to use up the last of the blanket scraps I made a bunny & put a tiny rattle in its tummy which was so gentle The Mr could not even hear it (!!)

I purchased 2 merino singlets & then I packaged it all up in a white box, ready to post.  It all fit perfectly with the pink blanket on top.

The baby shower was last Sunday & although invited, I was unable to attend.  But my package arrived in time & I received the loveliest message from the couple thanking me & saying how toasty warm their new baby girl will be with all the cosy items I sent them.  

On my trip south to visit my friend Sandy last month my only purchase were these Cath Kidston coasters, as I just had hand luggage so very limited space.  

A friend was listing some items on Facebook Marketplace last week & I asked her if I could buy the tray before she listed it.  I was thrilled as this was also Cath Kidston.

My daughter-in-law Sarah gifted me a box of 4 coffee mugs for my birthday so I decided to clean out my mug cupboard as it was getting rather full.  

These 3 handle-less mugs were pushed in the back of the cupboard, they are GreenGate ware - but I prefer a mug with a handle, so I decided to make some candles up into them as they were so pretty.  The fragrance is Black Raspberry & Vanilla - VeRy lovely ❤️

 This table scape is giving me all the spring vibes. 

 The potted cyclamen was gifted by a young Moto X rider after I did some mending for her.  And the felt daisies were a birthday gift from my friend Carolyn 🌼🤍💚 Roll on Spring !!

Another book recommendation dear readers - a lovely light read but very enjoyable.  I'd seen a lady recommend it on Instagram & was able to get it from my local Library. 

Thank you as always dear friends, for your ever welcome visits here today,

And thank you for your sweet, kind comments on my furry family in my last post - I am pleased to report they are all doing much better.

Sending much love & friendship to you all,