Cam's Penguin bean bag chair

For Cam's 2nd birthday, I decided to make a big cuddly bean bag in a playful royal penguin design.

I downloaded a free pattern for a bean bag cover off the web which I used as a guide when I made the body.  I used a soft dark blue material with a white belly.

I made the flippers extra-long and sewed little pockets in the ends, to slip his hands into so he could wrap the flippers around for a snuggle/hug.  I used coloured felt to make the rest (I love the coloured pin feathers).

Even growing up, Cam still loves his penguin

Perfect for watching movies and hugs.

 Also, good to nestle a baby in

Back view

Glow in the Dark Space Blanket for Cameron's 3rd Birthday

I had so much fun making this blanet. 

A design popped into my head for a quilt for Cam and the ideas flowed thick and fast. 

It started with the concept of Graham's profile bottom left, with a telescope in the centre panel, looking at Cam as an astronaut in the top right corner.  

I found some glow in the dark material on line, and some space themed polar fleece locally for the back, and got creative with my embroidery.

Each square had a theme.  I used images and processing them with my embroidery software made them into embroidery files.  I added swirls of quotes, and embroidered clusters of stars as filler.  

Here we go:

Graham's profile panel

The Telescope panel

For Astro Cam I embroidered his body and printed his head from a photo of him in a space costume, onto material which I sewed on the body, then decided to make a 3-D helmet which attached, but could be removed for washing.

The Helmet is complete with a clear plastic face cover.

Important for breathing in space. 

 With the 3 D hemet on.

The Glow in the Dark Material

Elwood of course, and a sign to the star that was named after Elwood's Ball

 A general space panel

The polar fleece backing

  Put it all together

Quilted and backing on

I think Cam approved

Blending Cultures, a Baby Blanket for Maisie with a Totem design project

The family tree baby blanket I made for our grandson Cam was great fun, but for our next Grandchild I thought I'd do something different.

The Plan:

Graham suggested I think outside the square to incorporate the 3 cultures which are blending for this baby. Ilea's Canadian and Australian heritage and Callum is from New Zealand. We thought, talked about it for quite a while, and finally came up with a Totem Pole.

I wanted it to be fun, so went with a bright yellow background, and a purple totem trunk.  My plan is to have 3 panels which will lift up, with images beneath.  A Thunderbird at the top of the totem (Graham and I), a NZ Tiki (Jane and David, Callum's parents), and a Koala it's little joey (Ilea & Callum).

In the corners I'm thinking of embroidering different animals from the different countries, and perhaps sneaking all of our dogs in.

And a cute flannel back with colourful sleepy sloths.

Sometimes I think I make these things twice as I don't use a pattern, and often make part of it, and discard it and try again.

The Making:

I cut 3 layers of batting for the Totem, and Totem shape in purple material.

Next I made the wings out of blue.

Thunderbird panel:

NZ Tiki:

Embroidered, but not quilted yet.

Koala:

This was a challenge. I bought fake fur to make the Koala, then Graham suggested I make one out of fur.  Soooo I bought a rabbit pelt and this is the result. 

I embroidered each familie's pets into the corners of the blanket front material.

And a playful blend of cultures to make the 4th corner.

I quilted them together sewing in little swirls of family names, and loving words.  

Used a sloth flanel piece for the backing.

I also included flaps on the back so it could be hung on a rod, and attached the totem using clear snaps, so it could be removed if it became dusty.

Then made a few more animals out of felt, which also snapped on.

I quilted the totem with a wood grain pattern, and added the siblings family names under the wings and then the photos of us, Callum's parents and Callum & Ilea were sewn in place.

And as there were now 2 versions of Kiwi (Embroidered Tiki and Kiwi Bird) and 2 Koala options, I  put snaps on so they also could be interchanged. 

 I think Maisie approved.

A new adventure is coming...

The winds of change are blowing and a new adventure looms 

Off the Grid on Kangaroo Island

Coming Soon

Family Tree Baby Blanket / Qulit for Cameron Jack Sanders-Mason

When we heard we were going to be Grandparents again, after a gap of 17 years I decided this time I'd make a baby blanket. Then I had a brain storm. I would make it a family tree blanket, where baby could lift each leaf and see the photo of a family member. I did toy with the idea of putting a nut or two on the branches for certain family members, or tree animals, like a possum in a knot hole etc.

I made it up as I went, and most likely broke all the quilting rules along the way, but here is my journey.  It took me 5 months over all, as I designed it, thought and slept on how to do what I wanted to, jabbing my fingers a hundred times along the way.

My plan was to create maple leaves for the Canadian side of the family, and pick an appropriate Australian and British leaf types, for the Australian and British sides.  I found lots of leaf outlines on the net, and selected my Maple Leaf pattern, but the British trees were much the same as Canadian, and Gum leaves weren't wide enough, so in the end, I decided to make all the leaves Maple.

First I bought the blanket front  material. I wanted something earthy so picked a Calico, and saw some newly arrived batik material bundles, perfect for leaves, so bought a bundle in oranges and greens. A strip of Brown for the Trunk, then started making the leaves.

There are a lot of points in Maple Leaves, what was I thinking?  However, I cut out a front, back and batting for the middle and set to work stitching them, turning them inside out, then stitching veins along them.

I drew a picture (very roughly) of how the layout, then using butcher paper cut and taped into the size of my blanket, projected the image onto it (Taped the paper on the window) so the image fit, then drew it onto the paper, so I could cut out the trunk and branches.

I put the pieces (Trunk, branches and leaves) on the table over and over and shuffled them around to see how they looked, placement, colour combo's etc.  As the plan was the kids at the bottom moving up the tree to the elders... Graham (my husband) suggested I should use the green leaves for the youngest, then moving up to more gold for the Grandparents.  Sensible eh? Then took a photo so I wouldn't forget and pinned a tag of who went with each leaf.

Once I'd received all the photos, I had to decide how best to put them on the blanket. I printed them and cut out them out to make sure they fit under the leaves, and joined leaf here and there where required. Graham did some photoshop work on some of the images and joined Jasmine and Heath for me.  I cut them into a love heart shape which I thought was a nice touch.

I cut my tree bits, and the batting to go under to give it depth, then using the cut out pattern to see roughly where I wanted to place it,  I laid the leaves on it as well, and shuffled all around until I knew where I wanted them all to go, deciding not to use extra branches, at all. I took a photo so I remembered it, then sewed on the trunk. It looked a bit flat, so I sewed lines and knot holes into it for depth and texture.

I liked the colour of my leaves so much, I decided to make the boarder in the same colours so cut strips and sewed them together to form a long ribbon.  I was so keen, I sewed it onto the front. (That was a technical mistake, but there you go, excitement got the better of me.)

I had thought I'd just use T-shirt transfer paper and iron them to the blanket, but after the first attempt when I melted Wyatt, and scrapped him off, I decided to iron them onto a white material, with batting underneath, and sew them on.  I bought some wonderful brassy gold thread and zigzagged my way around the edges. Which I thought looked quite good.


I had a few heart stopping moments when  Jasmine and Heath (the baby's parents) faces peeled off as I sewed around them. Not just once, but TWICE I had to unpick them, and start again. Graham and I studied the images, and decided it was a user error in the ironing. It was too shiny so was sitting over the material rather than getting into it.

I needed to fill in some space, so sewed some leaves flat using the gold thread to outline them, and scattered around a few sew-on decals which I thought a child might enjoy. Hiding the kangaroo and Echidna under leaves, the others stitching on.   I re-stitched the tree using the gold thread too, which gave it more lift.

I printed a stork carrying a baby to put Cameron's photo under, added a big puffy embroidered name, and realised I'd have to quilt it.

Sooooo, I used 2 layers of woollen batting, added a back re stitched the photos and leaves (for blanket stability and added strength for baby pulling on the leaves), and did some free handed quilting.

With leaves up

And the back

I made some strips for hanging with, using material to match the boarders adding them, then turned the edges and sewed them on, and tackled the mitred corners.

Cameron Jack arrived on Friday Sept 18 2015 at 1:52 pm.

Boompa and Cameron

I waited eagerly for a photo of him to add on, and just had time to add him, and the information tag I'd forgotten to to make, finishing 1 hour and 40 minutes before we left to fly over and meet him.

In the rush I made a typo in my the signature block, but I think no one minds.

l was so pleased with it, I wish I'd had time to enter it in a show before his arrival, however, this was really about him and not my ego. And it was well received, which made it worth the effort.