Panic, don't panic

After an early morning blast at the sewing machine, I finished the last present - another matching apron and oven glove for my mother-in-law. No pics, we're in the middle of a packing frenzy as we are leaving for Cornwall for a fortnight as soon as the post arrives with the last of the Yuletide gifts. Or so we hope, otherwise my father-in-law is out of a present.

I've really enjoyed sitting down at the sewing machine every night to plough through my list, and I'm looking forward to tackling some more sewing when I get back. I've already cut out the pieces for a dress for Moot, and made the covered buttons to match. I looooovvve self-cover buttons.

As a holiday present to you, I'm offering up a bunch of old Martha Stewart mags, with some Gourmets and Gardens Illustrated thrown in. First come, first serve.



I haven't made a note of what the issue numbers are, but if you are after one in particular, I can have a look. Otherwise, just email me at madeformoot at google mail, and I'll mail you a couple in the new year. Or if you live in or near east London, we can arrange for you to pick them up.

And in case I don't manage to post again before Christmas, my family wishes you a happy pudding!

Present presents

Some more Christmas sewing. It's hard to not get distracted, but I'm slowly making progress.

I've haven't quite decided who is getting what, but here's what's on offer.

A Denyse Schmidt-inspired lavender and flaxseed eye pillow, and with the cut-offs, I made a lavender-filled thing, which I've decided should be a key-chain. These two items are a pair.



The fabrics are odds and sods - some old Cath Kidston, some Amy Butler, some mystery fabric from my aunt, a Japanese print from Reprodepot.

Then, more Schmidtery. An oven glove - like others, I think the thumb turn is a bit weird, but I've tested it, and it doesn't stop it "working".




I added a loop to hang it from, and a fabric covered button cos I felt like it. I'm making an apron to go with it. The brown fabric is an old Alexander Henry print - I love most of their stuff, if I wasn't broke I'd buy and buy and buy it - and the red fabric is treasured Schmidt Flea Market Fancy. I want to cover my life with it.

I'm also working on some elephant lavender sachets.

Yeah, there's a theme: I got a big bag of cheap lavender in a market in Paris in the fall.

Picking up speed

So I finished the bumper yesterday. Only had too rip out a couple of times, but I now officially hate polyester wadding/batting, which gets all tangled up in the foot of the sewing machine. If I had to do it again, I'd fork out for the expensive cotton quilt batting.

No pictures, though, because it's not really finished, even though it's on the crib and there's a baby sleeping there. I decided to make it from unbleached calico and to then embellish it, and I haven't got round to that bit because I decided that being on maternity leave without pay is not compatible with buying lots of Christmas presents, and so I'm trying to forge on ahead with making as many Christmas presents as possible.

First on the list was my sister, as she lives in Canada and I have to finish her present in time to post it so that she has it at Christmas, rather than my usual three weeks later. She has a favourite chair, which was crying for something nice to put on it to sit, so that's what she is getting.



Sorry for the oddly rotated picture, I can't seem to get Blogger to accept it any other way.



I got the fabric in New York last summer, and I know she likes it because I made her a Betsy RossGirlie dress with it for her birthday.

I'm reasonably pleased with the way the cushion has turned out. It was good luck that I had just learned to make piping while doing the bumper, which makes it look smart. It just needs a bit of slip-stitching at the back, which I will do in front of the TV tonight.

Next, I have to cut out the pieces for at least three quilted lavender/flaxseed eye-pillows, and a Denyse Schmidt over glove. Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Posh coffee and £1.40 avocados

The baby's bumper is coming along, fuelled by repeated, quasi-obsessive, playing of Oh Sister by Bob Dylan.

On Saturday, we went to Broadway Market, a 20 minute walk from where I live in Hackney, in east London. A stroll down this relatively new, busy market, always unsettles me, for a number of reasons.

1. I've lived in Hackney for seven years, and parts of it have changed a lot, Broadway Market being a prime example. Seven years ago, it was run-down and had at least a half-dozen, if not a dozen empty shops. The Saturday market now has stalls selling organic food, artisanal breads, crafts, etc. It got going a couple of years ago, and the street is a much livelier place as a result. There are coffee shops, a couple of gift shops, and even a crafty shop, Fabrications. I enjoy an expensive cup of coffee as much as the next person, but I feel the market, which attracts people with comfortable amounts of disposable income, sits uneasily with the rest of the borough, which is one of the most deprived in the city, if not the country.

2. Where did all these babies/children come from?! The place is positively heaving with them. It's enough to make me feel slightly embarrassed for having had one, too - I mean, how unoriginal can you get?

3. I always look at the crafty stalls and dust off old fantasies of having my own stall to sell screenprinted t-shirts/knitted things/collected things/cookies. There are lovely stalls there, with people doing those things much better than I ever could, but I still get the nagging, itchy feeling that I should/could get my act together and do something.

I made two small purchases: an iron-on apple patch to go on something for the baby, a hefty 40 pence, and a delicate little brooch made by a sweet-looking woman (can I call her a girl? She was born in 1983) under the name Buddug. Apparently, it's Welsh for Victoria. Her website says she does buttons, which I will definitely look out for next time.

183 days

Today is the baby's half-birthday. A mere 183 days ago, she slithered out, wet and blue, a mere slip of a girl at 5lbs 11oz. Happiest, most joyful day of my life, closely followed by every day since. Tonight was also my first real night out, having dinner in a pub with women from my antenatal group.

Cue lots of reflection on the past six months, on how much we've learned, and on how damn hard it is, to keep our little bundle of loveliness happy. I never thought it would be easy, but I never thought we would have the problems we have had, that we would still be struggling with her feeding and weight gain this "far" down the road. But I suppose it a good lesson for parenthood as a whole: control is an illusion.

Anyway, I will leave you with a recent favourite picture, taken when we were in Canada.