Loving doily craft

The recipient of this gift, Megan, has safely received her goodies, so I can safely blog without ruining her surprise.

I was inspired to make an artsy clutch in these fabrics (from Bend the Rules Sewing) because I loved my placemats so much (!) I had intended to put the doily closer to the button when the bag is closed, but my addled brain couldn't handle the simple mental gymnastics to get it on there before I sewed the bag together. It still worked out OK though.

I popped in some felt bunting (inspired by Ruby Ellen's Cakies blog) and some hair clips. I bought the clips and the roses from this etsy shop and used the old glue gun to attach them.

I have some of the felt bunting hanging up at my house and it is so cheerful.

Thanks Megan for joining in my Pay it Forward!

I am doing pretty well (I am now 30 weeks along) but my main pregnancy niggle is extreme fatigue which is why I have been a bit absent! But I hope to pop into my blog again soon to show you some other things I have been working on... and maybe finally participate in a meme?

Nesting?

I never got any nesting urges in my previous pregnancies, but this time around, I feel a little bit like our baby's arrival is a deadline for getting a whole lot of cleaning out and crafting done. I know from previous experience that life does indeed go on after baby comes, but I guess I want to be as prepared as possible to simply enjoy the last time I will bring a newborn home.

Pictured above is Caleb's snuggly blanket. Another giant granny like Jemima's, but a bigger hook (8.5 I think) and Lincraft's Veronica yarn. I started this last year and ran out of yarn, so it's nice to get it finished. And Caleb likes it. So does Chris. So do I. I think that I need to make another one.

These are the result of some impulse buying when I was at Lincraft buying yarn. I bought the letters and used some acrylic paint to decorate. The patterns are traced from the Stencil 101 book by Ed Roth. (But not used as stencils as I wanted the brown to show through the white. For some reason.)

They need to be spray varnished, but as the gloss I have has a warning on it (something about being toxic for unborn babies, yikes) that will be done either later or by someone else!

Op shop chic

I am now officially up to date with my wedding presents! I haven't sent these to the recipients yet, so hopefully they don't check my blog too often... I am a now or never sort of blogger I guess!

Op shopped doilies on black cotton drill with Ikea backing fabric = place mats. I quite like them myself.

It is good to see the sun out today. I ended up with a "mini flu"* this week, spending all of yesterday in bed listening to the rain- which would have been lovely if it wasn't for feeling completely shattered! I think I am on the mend today- at least I am out of bed and am thinking about doing my hair. Both good signs of improvement.

* I refuse to call it the flu as I went to the trouble of having a flu shot a few months ago