Friday, November 19, 2010

Chenille Baby Blanket


Yesterday's post might be somewhat explained by today's post. It might explain why I have been rather disinterested in cleaning. You see my darling husband bought me a present. A brand new sewing machine!!! I have wanted a Bernina for oh, so, long and I am very, very happy with it.


And that, combined with this post over at Dana's blog, left me completely inspired to try my hand at making on of these beautiful chenille blankets for a friend who is about to have a baby. I needed a little more information and so I had a dig around the internet and came across this tutorial that showed exactly what need to be done.

Let me warn you that this is not a "complete in an afternoon" project. While it is very simple to do, it is somewhat time consuming and rather repetitive. That said, I could not be happier with the result and would definitely be making more.

Also it is absolutely worth spending the $30 to buy a chenille cutter as it makes the job if cutting the flannel so much easier and also ensures you don't cut through your backing fabric (which knowing me, I would have done).



I cannot wait to give this lovely soft blanket to my dear, dear friend. It is so perfectly suited to tiny newborns, as it is soft and cosy and has the promise of getting softer with every wash.

Next time I will do it a little differently, though. While I used good quality quilter's cotton for the backing I think that a heavier home decor fabric would have worked better, by providing more stability. Also, I would not be making it out of a fabric with a very linear symmetrical pattern again. Only because, the quilting has pulled the fabric a little and now my rows aren't lining up as I would have liked.

That aside, what an easy and fun project to do! It is just as lovely as I had hoped and I do pray that little baby toes with spend many hours soundly asleep under it.



Thursday, November 18, 2010

Help!

Mamma's of Blogworld I need your help!

After a long and somewhat painful conversation with my loving and very supportive husband I have come to realise that my housekeeping skills are, well, somewhat lacking. I just don't like cleaning and I am far to easily distracted by other, far more, appealing things. While the house isn't completely drowning in clutter and mess, there are very clearly some areas in need of improvement.


I want to be better at it. I want to give my husband and children a peaceful and clean home to live in and I don't want to constantly feel as though I am lacking.

What do you do it keep a clean home? Do you have a cleaning roster? Do you dedicate a specific amount of time everyday to cleaning? Do you hire help? How do you fit in cleaning, washing, cooking, parenting and stay sane?

Please tell me what you do. Inspire me and help me be the wife and mother I so desperately want to be!