New baby!

Lucy arrived on 19th April 2010. What can I say – she is a wonderful little thing!

New ways to waste what little spare time I have!

And a new business! http://www.indigobird.co.uk

I might not post much anymore, but I have kind of been busy!

Emma is as usual a little ray of light at the moment. She is growing so fast now, and her talking is so much fun. She tries to copy just about everything I say now, so I have to be very careful!

We’ve had a crafty afternoon today. Em really likes fish, and we often take her to the garden centre for a look. So today, we made our own fish tank, complete with glittery fish. It was lots of fun, and *only* one leg got covered in red glitter glue!

Check out how shiny my hair is!! That is what happens when I actually have time to blow dry my hair!

We went to my mum’s for a lovely lunch. Sam and Anna were there too which was lovely. Emma was in a bad mood though which was a shame. She was disappointed because (very wisely) the cat had done a runner. She normally chases the poor thing around like a toddler posessed, and thinks it is just the most fun game in the world. I feel sorry for the cat and think he had the better idea this time around. But it made her a bit grouchy, and by the time we left she was in a stinker of a mood. I guess it is all just part of being 2. Next day she was sweetness and light again at least.

Well… a friend sent me a Didymos Zinnober Indio (wool blend) to dye. I wish I had taken a “before” photo, but it is white with sort of coral coloured cross threads. I dyed it with Brazilwood, and loe and behold… I seem to have accidentally made my own Rosewood indio! I wish it was mine to keep now! I think this is by far the prettiest thing I’ve dyed.

The ball… the bath… yaaaay… all done!
A drink… ready, steady, weee, all done!
Bye bye bath.

Her trousers look like they are half way down to her ankles, because she is soaking wet. Oh well – fun was had!

Well I finally got some action photos!

hmmm... what's this?

I'd prefer it if I could see my tummy

That's enough photos now... I really want the tv on!!

I’ve been playing with natural dyes again recently. This time I did a gradation from light to dark purple, using logwood, brazilwood and a touch of cochineal. It took a very long time to do, so I don’t think I will be doing this again for a while! I’m fairly pleased with the result – it is a kind of dusky lavendar shade. But it could do with a little more depth so one day when I have more time I’ll dip it in the vat again.

ETA – some action photos!

Just a little thing, but I had to share!

My mum bought me the Little Stitches for Little Ones book by Amy Butler for Christmas. It is really lovely, but unfortunately the clothes patterns only go up to 9-12 months. I finally got around to resizing the pattern for the “Easy Empire Waist Top” last night, and finished it off this morning. The name “easy” was misleading – I found it quite fiddly. But that could also be because I think my pattern resizing may not have been quite correct!

So here it is!

And a close up of the fabric

I’m going to do a pink one next week!

The official instructions for making an Onbag of your own can be found here.

Materials used:

2.5m Hoppediz Florenz
1m (1.4m wide) Pale Green Taffeta

a: I cut the following pieces from the wrap:

1. Front (30 x 30cm with rounded bottom)
2. Back and Flap (65 x 30 cm with rounded top and bottom)
3. Straps (all 20cm wide, 2 long pieces and 1 piece of 40cm)
4. Inside Pockets (just scraps – I didn’t measure)
5. Side Pockets (15 x 25cm)

I also cut matching pieces from the lining for 1,2, and 3.

b: I prepared the pieces for the front and back as follows:

(All hems are rolled)

1. Hem all around the side pockets.
2. Hem the top of the inside pockets.
3. Sew the inside pockets to the lining.
4. Tack the lining to the Front and Back/Flap pieces.
5. Hem the top of the Front.
6. Hem the bottom and sides of the Flap.

c: I pieced together and lined the straps, then added side loops.

1. Pin the strap pieces right sides together so that you have the short piece in the middle, and the long pieces on the outside.
2. To make the seams, do one line of running stitch, then reinforce behind it with zigzags. I did a close zigzag right at the edge of each seam as well to help prevent fraying. (If I had an overlocker, I would have used that instead).
3. Iron the seams flat.
4. Piece together the strap lining pieces in the same way.
5. Tack the lining to the straps.
6. Find some scraps that are approx 30 x 10 cm. These will be the side loops (for if you want to convert the bag to a rucksack) Fold the long edges into the middle, then fold again and sew together.
7. Fold the strap in half to find the mid point. Lay the back of the bag down over the middle and line the side loops up at the edges. (haha – the proper Onbag instructions explain that bit much better than me!! )
8. Attach the side loops to the straps using xboxes. Make sure you leave lots of room at the edges of the straps so that you don’t struggle to do your rolled hem later!!
9. Attach the side pockets to the straps.

d: I put the bag together…

1. Simple… hem the long strap, and attach it to the front or back with the same rolled hem. It takes quite some time to pin it, and should be sewn slowly because there are quite a lot of layers to go through.
2. Reinforce the stitching where the back becomes the flap – this is quite a stress point.
3. I added a button to the front of the bag (because I didn’t use velcro).

e: I sat back and admired my handywork!

Some thoughts….

Because the strap is pieced together, I probably wouldn’t do this for a full sized onbag classic. You naturally don’t carry so much in a smaller bag, so I feel it will stand up to the job.

I am not a fan of velcro, so I didn’t use it on mine. I used a pretty antique looking button instead.

I didn’t add the inside elastic either, purely because I have never used it on my other onbag. However, when I get time I am going to use a small scrap to add a little loop inside for my slingview mirror to attach to.

I made the straps a little wider than standard. It makes the bag a tiny bit deeper, and also lets the strap spread over your shoulder and back more.

Oh, and I have used it just about every day since making it – I’m pleased to bits with it, and can’t wait to make another some time!