Baby Genevieve

Nope, not ours! He is still safely ensconced in mummy's tummy. This is the beautiful Genevieve Caroline. My gorgeous friend Phoebe's 3 weeks old bub. Phoebe and I have shared so much of our pregnancy journey together that I wanted to make her something very special. This little dress is made with lots of love from the gorgeous Amy Butler book, "Little Stitches for Little Ones". I think it will look lovely on her!

The stunning photo of Genevieve was taken by the extra talented Kurt Sneddon. He has an amazing gift for portraiture. Check out his work at www.blueprintstudios.com.au

Break in the weather

So, 38 weeks and counting.... Actually, it has been so much easier to cope with being heavily pregnant today with the weather finally easing today. We've had almost 2 weeks straight of 30+ temperature - just not nice! With cooler temperatures, I can get myself off the couch and away from the fan to enjoy some last minute things like putting the finishing touches on the nursery and getting in some sewing before bub arrives.

And speaking of the heat, on Saturday, I braved the 40 degree temps to check out the Handmade Markets I mentioned last week. It was excellent! Lots of really cool things to spend money on! I was pretty restrained, but my two fave shops were Posie Patchwork and Red Instead handmade. Posie had '1000 ways with fabric' using vintage reproduction fabrics to make baby things, purses, cards, etc. Red Instead had a small stall, but the standouts for me were her cool handbags & cards.

I've been meaning to post about this for a while. About a month ago, I went to a course at Addicted to Fabric and learnt to make a "versatile wrap skirt". My first attempt is the photo on the left. It was super easy and is great for me to wear now as a maternity skirt or adjustable for after the bub too! I was so excited as it was my first attempt at something that I could wear. The skirts were so quick to whip up, I made another two for my 13 yo cousins as Christmas presents. If bub holds off for another week or so, I might even make one more for myself!

And finally, it seems amiss to post today without mentioning the devastating bush fires in Victoria. My heart goes out to all those people that have been affected. Donations can be made online.

Canberra cool

OK, so that might be overstating it somewhat, but a few groovy goings on in Canberra have come to my attention last week and I thought I'd post them because they are quite exciting.

The first is the Canberra handmade market. I have been envious of Melbourne's Sisters Market, Perth's Upmarket and BrisStyle markets for a while, so I was stoked to hear that Canberra has its very own market for local designers to show & sell their wares! I'll be popping along next Saturday to check it out.

The second is the Mad Hatter's tea Party at DuJour restaurant in New Acton. It appears to be running every Sunday in Feburary and I'm sure will be set to rival the Afternoon tea action at the Hyatt. Boasting Flower Garden Cup Cakes, Queen of Hearts Tarts, Unbirthday Cakes, Cheshire Smiles shortbread, Jam Tomorrow Scones, Rabbit Treats, 'Off with your head' Pies, Rabbit Hole Sandwiches, Mad Hatter Pasties and iced champange. It all sounds quaint and a perfectly civilised way to while away and afternoon!

Being a high tea boffin, I hope to be able to check it out before the little bub arrives.

Baby Shower

Wow, what a wonderful baby shower I had on Saturday! I feel so blessed with wonderful friends and family, all of whom went out of their way to make it such a special day! Especially the irreplaceable Georgie!!

The weather was perfect (not too hot) and Simon's hard work in the garden paid off as it looked amazing!! Who knew 2 years ago that it could look like this?

I was showered with gorgeous gifts - everyone went to such trouble and obviously put a lot of thought into them - little Baby MacKenzie is such a lucky little boy!

Christmas sewing

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! I think this photo sums it up for me! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.

After just one week of work, I have started my maternity leave!!! I am so excited, as it feels like it has been a long time coming... One of my objectives of this precious time before our little bub arrives is to keep a little more up to date with my blog.

So, working backwards, a post about some of the sewing I did for Christmas.

First is a set of placemats and matching napkins for my brother-in-law, Neil and his fiance, Marianne who have just bought a house together, so it was a combined Christmas/housewarming gift.

The pattern is from Amy Butler's instiches book, and the gorgeous fabric is also Amy Butler!

Next on the list were matching travel dirty clothes and shoes bags for Mum and my sister, Jane.

You can see that I've blanket stitched around the shoe bag, but not the dirty clothes bag. I ran out of time before Christmas, but it was a great activity to finish while watching the boxing day test match!

I was pretty happy with how these turned out, if I do say so myself ;-)

And finally, some Christmas/baby sewing. Friends of mine, Tim & Anna welcomed their third little baby girl into the world on Christmas Day, Natalia Mary. Her baptism was last weekend and I made her a cot blanket from some of my fabric stash (heather bailey freshcut) and from the pattern from one of my Christmas sewing books - Last Minute Patchwork & Quilted Gifts. It really was last minute as we arrived home just a couple of days before the baptism!

Well, that is it for today! I promise there will be more updates over the coming weeks (provided baby mackenzie doesn't arrive early)...

Happy and relaxed mums to be!

We just had a wonderful weekend away in Bowral attending a Calm Birth seminar. We went along with Phoebe and Josh and it was just such a beautiful and empowering weekend. We stayed in a gorgeous B&B, had dinner at Eschalot in Berrima, and spent the days meditating and learning about how birth can be a positive experience. And look how relaxed we both are!

Although our bumps aren't very visable in this photo, I'm 27 weeks and Phoebe is 33 weeks.

Finished picnic blanket

I'm so excited to post a photo of my first big major sewing project. A few posts back, I wrote about the beautiful fabric I'd chosen to make a picnic rug and here is the finished product!

Although you can't see it in this photo, the back is made from denim (nice and hardy), and it is hand-tied. The back corners have little fabric pockets, which you can put rocks in to keep the blanket from blowing away in the wind. Perfect for when the weather gets back to normal!