Bib tutorial.

Spotted bib with mini ric rac trim- worn 'Cowboy style'

Joel is going through an especially druley stage with his teeth, he already has four with another four on their way. Poor little fella doesn't know what to with himself. Now he's sitting up all the time his tops get soaked through, even with a bib on. I found some super absorbant ones in the local baby shop but they were £10 each! So I thought I'd make him one myself, it was so easy and we got so many compliments I've made him a whole selection!

Here's how to do it (it's my first ever craft tutorial so bear with me) This is a really easy project which you can have fun with. It can be stitched by hand or machine as it's only a small project (perfect for stitching and knitting sessions in the pub!)

I managed to find some machine washable super absorbant cloths, just in the cleaning aisle at the supermarket. £1.75 for four. They MUST be machine washable or they will fall apart after just one wear. I pre shrank them by running them through with a wash before using.

I measured round Joels neck (25 cms!!) for a minimum measurement to work from. Then I cut the cloths into quarters, diagonally, so I ended up with four triangles (This was just because of the original size of the cloths, if your cloths are bigger or your babys neck is larger you may wish to adjust) measuring 37cm along the longest edge and 26cm on the two shorter sides.

Cut the fabric (pre shrunk in the wash) 1.5cm bigger than the cloth. You need two pieces the same size but not necessarily the same fabric. Place the aborbant cloth on top of the wrong side of one of the pieces of fabric and fold over the edging and press. Fold and press the turnings in on the other piece too then place them back to back with the absorbant cloth sandwiched inbetween.

I like to decorate Joels bibs with trim, it's a good excuse to make a dent in my lifetimes haberdashery collection, a contrasting colour of stitching would be just as effective if you haven't got trim to hand. It's only needed along the two shorter sides of the bib, pin in place ready to stitch.

Once it's been stitched all the way round you just need to stitch on a snap fastener. I stitched them in the corners so there is a rouched look to the bib ('Cowboy style') but if you prefer a snugger fit use your babys neck measurement as a fitting guide. Remember one half of the fastener can always be moved along as neccessary when baby grows.

Good luck and be warned, they are an addictive thing to make!

A Brit of a 'do'

April 29th was a super day at Oakbank, we hosted an all day and night party in honor of Prince William and Kates wedding.

Guests arrived at 10am, both here and at Westminster Abbey, and we drank cups of tea from the family china whilst watching the guests arrive in all their posh outfits.

This china has been in my family for generations, now it's all mine.

Mum bought me these silver sugar tongs from an antique shop, aren't they fabulous!

This china madame wears a huge yellow knitted skirt which doubles as a tea cosy. Fun stuff eh! Funnier still is that the man who sold it to me in a charity shop thought it was a hat!

We set up a teashop in the kitchen, so we weren't making brews all day.

Buffet (L-R) egg and cress, plain crisps and peanuts (in striped paper bags) coronation chicken, banana and poppy seed cake, bread rolls, Tunnocks mountain, traditional lemonade.

Not eaten this since the 80's

The Tunnocks mountain. With 'very British' red phone box topper.

I used the box illustrations to make a mini bunting

We toasted the Royal kiss(es)

Good old M&S didn't let the side down with their fantastic biscuit tins

All in all we had a right Royal knees up with laughs, tears, fun and more union jack bunting than you could shake a flag at. Congratulations to Will and Kate, for a day we will all remember.

Time flies!

I can't believe its been five whole weeks since I last blogged! I've still been documenting everything that's happened, and at least once a day imagined how the blogs will read. Head blogging, though a crucial part of keeping me sane, isn't the same as getting stuff down on paper (screen) so here is the last few weeks in pictures. * Detailed blogs of the highlights to follow.

It was roasting hot for a whole week, so toes were out for garden naps.

My first Mothers Day. Joel, with the help of his Daddy, got me some wonderful gifts. I cried.

I sorted my cupboard of fine china, my mum handed over the family sets she has kept safe for years *

 

We had a proper dinner party, with wine! In honour of Mr B's birthday.

Joel learnt how to sit up by himself without toppling over, too many times*.

Had a lovely lunch with an old friend (she's even older now :) KEB in a new place in town, they have different tea cosies for each table. We got Piggy.

The tiniest frog I'd ever seen hopped in the house one rainy night after Myrtle had been out for a wee. Here it is next to a 5p (our smallest coin, for international readers)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw the biggest wasps nest. Here it is next to Joel. He could have lived in it!

Aunt Em visited and we went to Holehird Gardens we saw Annie Lennox's house and ate a picnic in the sun whilst doting over Joel :)

Britains coalition governments first year in power.

Friends visited for a play in the sun

Family walks

We also threw a party, made stuff, went places and saw things (too many to mention in just one blog entry) which I can't wait to share with you once Joel hits the hay.
A round of applause please for the fastest typed blog EVER! :)

A bit of a Royal 'do'

One of my fondest memories from my childhood, and perhaps my earliest, is of Prince Charles and Lady Dianas wedding. I was 4 at the time and we celebrated crowded into my granny and grandads back room, with the dining table folded out full and laden with a propper Lancashire buffet (remember to pronounce the 't') I was in awe watching Diana and her hundreds of metres of silk pour out of the golden carriage, it was just like a fairy tale.

Now I know times have changed, and people can be alot more cynical about the Royal family, but I think that if we all embrace the upcoming royal wedding celebrations in the same way we did back in '81 the nation will have another day to remember.

So we are hosting a small Royal Wedding get together on the 29th! (doubling also as my friend Karens birthday party) The wedding will be on the big telly in our kitchen and I'm going to make buns and trifle and a wedding cake. There will be a glass or two of bubbly and tea in propper china cups. Oh and of course there will be metres and metres of bunting, enough waving flags to deck a whole gala with and as many union jack decorations as we can muster up. Joel will sadly be too young to remember the party but we will take lots of pictures to show him when he is older, and to share on here too.

Weaning weeny.

We are now in about the third week of weaning, giving Joel a savoury lunch and then a pudding for his tea. He's not very experimental, which is fair enough given he has only had milk for all his life so far, but enjoys his lunch of butternut squash and sweet potato and his tea of strawberry and apple pudding.
He sits in a Bumbo seat and wears a bib, now a sleeved one (I soon realised sleeves, and possibly legs, were needed) It's all very messy, as he enjoys feeding himself (or trying to). Here he is making a lunge for the spoon.

and he got it! He likes to chomp on the spoon so most times we end up with a spoon each. We tried bluberries, which he quite liked, but not the skins. No they came right back out!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Last month it was Mr B's birthday, his first as a daddy. So I planned an extra special birthday present for him from Joel and I.
A year or so ago we saw a fantastic textile artists work at a contemporary art fair in Manchester. Debbie Smythe draws with pins and thread, her creations are amazing and unlike anything we had seen before. As Mr B is a hard one to buy for I thought a piece of Debbies work would be the perfect special present for him. Through our communications about the piece she was going to create for us I found that Debbie has the same birthday as Mr B, now that's fate saying we must have a piece of her work.

Joel and I wrapped the presents in OS maps which I bought from Oxfam, we'd searched all over town for a nice design but on a roll of wrapping (as the parcels were large) but these old maps were perfect for the job and a bargain to boot! I cut the illustrations off the covers to use as tags too.

I got Joel up early so he could see his daddy open up his cards and presents before he had to go to work. Here he is, still in his pyjamas and sleeping bag, with the triptych Debbie made for Mr B.

We love the illustrative quality of her work, and the use of perspective. Here's some close ups.

Whilst I made breakfast Joel had a good look at his daddys cards. With his mouth that is.

And Joey made further use of the OS maps.

Even though Mr B had to go to work it was a lovely start to a day for us all.

Adventure Lane

We live in the country, which is lovely, but doesn't afford you many pram friendly walks. People tend to drive a bit crazy down country lanes, and then have the cheek to pip their horn or shake their heads at me, a pedestrian walking with a pram at the side of the road. All they have to do is slow down but that doesn't seem to be on their agenda in life. Anyway my bad driver rant is over now as the back lane to town is closed off to vehicles (all be it temporarily) which has meant a new lease of life for Joel and I.

The last couple of weeks we have done a fair few miles along this lane and seen lots of exciting things like....

A field full of gee gees (horses) which Joel was fascinated by and kept laughing at them as I fed them grass.

I think it was the way their lips curled back to reveal their massive teeth that kept him amused. The supply of carefully selected juicy grasses made up for being the but of the joke for the horses.

 

We also saw a bit of the hedgerow which was keeping warm by wearing a mossy jumper. Looks a bit like a Koala reclining backwards don't you think? Or maybe a Sloth?

Really interesting lichen, the most amasing shade of blue/green. It was all spikey and looked like it should be underwater.

Part of our walk goes alongside an industrial estate and we saw the funniest thing hanging over a wall there!

The shiniest fungus, it looked like it was made from gemstones.

We love our wanders, long may the road ahead stay closed (open)