Nesting

With a few months to go before the birth of our second child, I thought it was time to make a little teddy bear for her/him. I brought Little Miss G to a yarn store in the area on the weekend and of course she announced she wanted a "purple bear" as well....so now I've been suckered into making two teddy bears:) I'm using the pattern from Erika Knight's book in Simple Knits for Cherished Babies. The bears are supposed to work out to approximately 6 inches tall...just wee ones but the yarn I've chosen is super soft as it's a cashmere blend.

So the knitting bug has bitten and I'm off to work on the bears. Did I mention it's well over 30 degrees celsius here with a humidex of over 40 - I've sent my stepson off to buy me some ice cream...way too hot for this pregnant mama:)

Giveaways and Worthy Causes

Wow, blogland is full of great giveaways and causes this week!! Check out Heather's awesome giveaway which ends this Friday, August 27th. It's for an AccuQuilt Go machine/cutter and three dies. How cool is that?! I would really, really like to win that one!!

Also, check out Alissa and support ActionKivu which supports women in the Congo by offering sewing workshops to women so they may support themselves and their children. These women have been through unimaginable atrocities including rape which NO woman should have to endure, let alone their children! Alissa has some great giveaways depending on the amount you donate. Check it out! I know we have a wonderful blog/sewing community so lets come together and support this worthy cause.

Orange & Aqua Quilt Top

I'm embaressed to say I started this quilt top several months ago, but now that baby number 2 is on the way, I'm inspired to get some WIPs done!! The last two weekends I've slowly worked on this and finished up this afternoon. I love the colour combination...bright and cheerful. One of my favourite blocks is of the fish in bags in the corner. I've only had a small amount of this HTF fabric so wanted to add a little something extra. If I end up having a boy, I think this little quilt will be perfect....and if it's a girl, no prob....all girls love orange don't they:)

The inspiration for this quilt was here and here. Ashley and Allison are two of my favourite bloggers!

I have some ideas for the quilt back so I need to get started on that and then choose a binding. It will be a generous size at the end because each square is 10 inches unfinished and there are 30 blocks in total. It took me a little while to track down all of these fabrics and I think they work well together.

A Little Lovey

My little girl loves her "babies" so I thought I would whip up this little rag quilt for her. I used some of my Mendocino fabric, some flannel to sandwich in between and some soft minkee for the backing. I have to say after having made a rag quilt with cotton batting in between, my preference is flannel as it has a softer overall effect and adds to the fullness of your rag cuts.

It's easy, peasy, and came together quickly!

For My Little One - A Dedication

This is a bittersweet day for me as it's the day my baby would have been due. I had a miscarriage on Christmas Eve last year. Let's just say it was a very painful experience as they misdiagnosed me at first and told me I lost the baby, only to find out two days later the baby was alive (via ultrasound) and then a week later it was confirmed I indeed had a miscarriage. I still have that image of the heart beating on the ultrasound in my mind. Usually I would not share this information in blogland but I feel I cannot ignore this day and not tell you about it....I know a lot of bloggers talk about "keeping it real" so this is what I'm doing with you today. I thought I was fine with August 2nd approaching until last night when I was finishing this quilt .... actually it was cathartic. Now that the tears have subsided, I want to focus on my blessings, which includes my husband, healthy 2 year old and 2 wonderful stepsons. I am pregnant again, 6 months this week, and our baby to be is due in November.
This is a happy quilt for my new little one but it's also for the one that is no longer here. Thanks for letting me share!