Christmas orders

Happy New Year! Just a little eye candy for my first post for 2014, here are some of the guys I made up for Christmas orders, hopefully they made their way into the stockings of a few good children...

Postpartum Recovery Pack - Because I'm Worth It!

With the birth of our second just around the corner, I wanted to share this postpartum pack that I've put together to help myself to a few different postpartum health and wellbeing traditions from other cultures. In the West new mums are generally given a couple of weeks to get themselves together and are then expected to go on doing whatever it was they were doing before childbirth. Well I'm planning on taking it easy and living it up in the first few weeks!

This pregnancy I've been reading a wonderful book by Aviva Romm called "Natural Health After Birth - The Complete Guide to Postpartum Wellness". Based on some of the things I've learned from this book I've put together a pretty beautiful postpartum recovery pack that I think all new mum's should be given. I think it would make the perfect gift for a pregnant friend. The baby gets loads of pressies but the Mum needs all the support she can get...A happy supported mum is a happy healthy baby.

The pack includes:

Hot Water Bottle with wool felted cover - ( just an old blanket with a needle felted design on the front). Traditionally heat is used a lot in the postpartum period across many cultures. Romm says "If any single theme from traditional postpartum care emerges from one culture to the next worldwide, it is the importance of keeping the new mother warm....heat usually goes beyond just keeping the ambient temperature warm, but also incorporates techniques for infusing heat deeply into the woman's body specifically for the purpose of facilitating postpartum healing." Mother Roasting or Fire Rest the practices were sometimes called. Also pictured here is the beautiful Weleda Nursing Tea, and of course nourishing superfoods in the form of raw chocolate by Loving Earth...

In Chinese traditional medicine Moxabustion was essential, so I have also included Moxa sticks which you can buy at most traditional chinese medicine centres...Use the moxa sticks to treat the area of the body over the sacrum on the back and on the front just above the pubic bone.

Bathing was another important traditional postpartum treatment. I made up some lovely herbal bath tea bags with Comfrey, Lavender and Calendula. This is a beautiful blend that is uplifting, soothing and healing. You simple boil a bag in a large pot of water, steep covered for 30 mins and pour into a hot bath. You can take the baby in the bath too for it will help heal the umbilical site. You can also use the spent tea bags directly on the perineum to help heal and soothe. Even better add a few drops of Hypericum/calendula homeopathic tincture to the muslin bag before applying to the perineum.

Nourishing herbs for the postpartum mother include: Motherwort, Shepherds Purse, Dong Quai and Nettle. There are more but these are the ones I chose and I had a naturopath make up a body tonic of these four herbs. 

Nettle is used for enriching and enhancing breast-milk production while providing optimal nutrients and energy for the mother. Motherwort is a bitter herb that helps reduce tension in new mothers and is used for strengthening the cardiovascular system. It is excellent for reducing nervous heart palpitations and anxiety and it is a uterine tonic which can help return the uterus to its nonpregnant size and allay cramps. Shepherds Purse helps to reduce postpartum bleeding and Dong Quai is a Chinese tonic herb that helps relax the uterine muscles and manage uterine cramping among many other things...

Massage is another important postpartum practice, in Malawi the midwives were noted to use their head on the abdomen on the mother and massage upwards to help return the uterus to its non pregnant position. Weleda's Arnica massage oil is gorgeous and slightly warming and arnica is brilliant for helping that feeling like you've just been hit by a bus. 

Did I mention Chocolate? What postpartum healing pack would be complete without a selection of raw chocolate bars by Loving Earth. Chocolate releases endorphins and is stimulating and has so many health benefits I can't possibly list them all here!

So there you have it. I hope someone will see this and be inspired to make themselves or a loved one a similar postpartum pack because I think it would be the best gift you can give yourself or a new mother close to you.

Knitting for Baby

I haven't been able to post as much as I'd like to because I just haven't been able to put down the knitting and sewing needles long enough. Our new baby is due in about three weeks and I've built up an adorable collection of baby knits that I've been dying to share with you all.

I'm especially in love with the patterns by Elizabeth Zimmerman who is just such a genius and writes patterns in such a casual way that you end up having to use your own nut and invariably learn a whole lot along the way. Great for relatively new knitters like me.

Can one baby have too many booties? In my quest to find the perfect bootie pattern I ended up trying five different patterns. My favourite is definitely the Elizabeth Zimmerman Bootees pattern from "The Opinionated Knitter"

Noro Yuzen yarn Wool/Silk/Mohair

Eki Riva Casual Baby Alpaca

 Second favourite knitted booties pattern is the Purl Soho Baby Moccasins pattern. I added little needle felted dots to them like I have been doing to everything of late...

Eki Riva Casual Baby Alpaca

 I found these two top down cardigan patterns a lot of fun to knit. The first is The Babykit for Melker by Pickles. I loved their colour choice and so did the same. It turned out to be the perfect size for a newborn and can't wait to dress the little dumpling in it!

Eki Riva Casual Baby Alpaca (my favourite yarn for babes)

I made little fabric covered buttons to match

Second cardigan is the Baby Sweater on Two Needles by Elizabeth Zimmerman in her brilliant Knitters Almanac. It has a little ceramic button that my partner made so it has a bit of him in it too which is nice.

What baby can be without a beautifully soft baby alpaca bonnet? This was such a fun pattern and quite ingenious too I thought. It's the Purl Soho Baby Bonnet. So adorable and so lovely and soft in  Eki Riva Baby Alpaca (again!)

 I'm quite proud of this little wool playsuit which is my take on the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Leggings pattern again from the Knitter's Almanac.

I found the rise in the crotch way too long even from a fully cloth nappied baby bottom so I cut through my knitting, salvaged the yarn and added the stitches back on the needle to continue knitting upwards. I added a long rib top and continued up the back, splitting the stitches into two straps that have three button adjustments so hopefully these will last baby a couple of seasons.

Well thank you for indulging me and my baby knit obsession. I can put it down to a combination of hormones, nesting instinct and a little bit of anxiety that I may not be able to pick up the needles as much as I may want to in the first few weeks/months of baby II's arrival. With three weeks to go, I may even add to the collection, I'll keep you posted.

I'm back

Well finally the dust is settling. We have made our move to Melbourne and things are starting to find a bit of rhythm. We're expecting a new baby in July, have set up a lovely new home and have begun tapping into the creative Melbourne scene. There has been much making since my last post and I hope to find the time to post a little more regularly.

I have a new Melbourne business selling some beautiful organic Merino wool clothing from Germany alongside my handmade woolly items for babies and children. http://www.woollykins.com.au


I just love Disana clothing, they are such a wonderfully ethical company with affordable and totally natural and colourful clothing for children, I simply had to bring it to Australia because I couldn't find anything so adorable here.

It's getting cold here in Melbourne and so I've been making some additional woolly pieces for children out of some wonderful offcuts of Welsh woven wool blankets. They are small pieces but just enough for a cute but smart and warm waistcoat for a little one.

 

My winter toddler pantaloons are made from some beautiful 100% worsted wool suiting fabric that I picked up at a London carboot sale on a recent visit back to the UK. I just wish I had more time, I'd make pantaloons all day long, they are so popular on Etsy.

 

Since we're expecting a new winter baby in July there has been a bit of baby knitting going on of late so I'll post some photos of these too soon. Who doesn't love miniature knitwear!

We Make London Pop Up Shop

I'll be selling my wares at the We Make London Pop Up Shop in Hampstead from 2-9 July. It opens this Saturday. See my designer feature on the We Make London Blog.

Here is a sneak preview of some of my handmade goodies. 

Lots of lovely things for babies and toddlers mostly...

These are my popular baby & toddler pantaloons, based on a harem pant with a wide waistband and leg cuffs, this pair is made from some natural linen I found in a Norman brocante which was originally a curtain in a Paris hospital stamped 1843. It's beautifully soft with a heavy drape. I just love this fabric. Some of it was beautifully darned too, I'm adding this bit to my darning collection!

A variation on my pantaloons, these playsuits are adorable. They are so perfect for babies and toddlers because they do not restrict the movement and flexibility like many toddler trousers do so they can sit in that perfect lotus pose that only a child can do!

 Also for little ones my patchwork neckerchiefs are made from my scraps of vintage fabrics that I just can't throw away. They are a stylish way of catching the dribbles of a teething baby and reversible too.

There will be much more at the show, please come along!

Merlin's technicolour dream quilt

I've been meaning to blog about this quilt project for a while now. When I was expecting my first baby (Merlin now aged 2), my Mum had the idea to create a patchwork quilt made up of squares created by all the wonderfully creative women in our family and friends close to us. It was completed for Merlin's 1st birthday Dec 2010. 

The result is this magical technicolour dream quilt with a whole lot of history. There are pieces of retro 70s curtains from my baby room, embroidery from the baby bib of Merlin's grandmother, Merlin's father's embroidered school badge from his uniform showing the ashford river where he grew up. There is a crochet granny square by Merlin's great grandma, stunningly detailed embroideries by Merlin's great aunt in France, wonderful silk applique by some friends living in cambodia at the time which depict little scenes with fond memories of our friendship.  There is even Merlin's knitted umbilical cord tie made of bamboo yarn that I made to avoid the standard issue plastic one (complete with mummified belly button!). I know, I know... slightly weird but nevertheless all part of Merlin's birth story. 

click on image to view detail

The quilt project had its own facebook group where the most active members, my mother and auntie Corrie uploaded pictures of their squares as they went. There were squares from England, Cambodia, Australia and France. It was so touching to have so many dear friends and family add to the story of the quilt. It gives us as a family many visual cues about those dear to us, especially considering Merlin will always be on the otherside of the world to one half of his extended family. It's a story quilt. When he gets his own bed, this quilt alone will provide enough bedtime stories for an entire childhood.

To those of you who contributed, thank you for the love and creativity you bestowed these small squares of fabric that together will keep Merlin warm and entertained for years to come. It's truly an heirloom and we will treasure it always. Sorry it has taken me so long to actually show you photos of the finished piece!

Mum sewed all the squares together with the seams on the right side. With the squares all being quite different in size many of them would have lost quite a lot of their edges. The effect is that each square is kind of framed by its selvedge.

Contributors and relationship to Merlin

Bev (grandmother)

Pat (grandmother)

Corrie (great aunt)

Marilyn (great aunt)

Faye (great aunt)

Elaine (great grandmother)

Josephine (late great grandmother)

Penny & Ellie (aunt and cousin)

Heidi (aunt)

Brenna (mother)

Dominic (father)

Kirsten (friend)

Andrew (friend)

Daisy (friend)

Nami (friend)

Janet (friend)

Mags (friend)

some individual square that were photographed before the quilt was put together, click to see detail

Natural Dyeing: Organic Cotton Baby Dresses

This was one of my first experiments in the wonders of natural dyeing. Although you could say I cheated somewhat by buying the natural powdered dyes by Earthues, but for my first experiments I wanted to try to get my head around the process of mordanting (preparing the cloth/fibre to take the dye) and then playing with resist and dip dyeing to really understand the possibilities.

I love the idea of really getting experimental with this medium however. I was kindly given a book called A Dyer's Garden and have my heart set on the idea of growing and harvesting my own dyestuffs, especially the most wonderful indigo. I'm just hankering for my own garden, one that I can really invest the time and energy into.

For now however I have Alkanet growing rampantly in my backyard, it's very invasive and common around East London and it makes the most wonderful greys and aubergine colours. I'm currently drying some roots and have some others soaking for use at a later date. I'll post about these real experiments soon, but for now here are some dresses I made from organic cotton knit fabric then dyed with a range of pigments including Madder, Teal, Fustic and Logwood purple and I only used small amounts of the non toxic cellulose fibre mordant alum acetate.

 

 

These dresses are made to fit a little girl approx 12 months to about 24 months. They are designed and made by me, in a beautifully soft organic cotton with little bows on the shoulders. Each one has been individually resist dyed in a range of natural earth dyes. You can find out more or pick one up on my Etsy shop.

Blue Zig Zag Quilt

I found some real textile goodies on the weekend at a stash sale at Fabrications , a great crafty eco design shop/workshop run by pioneering sustainable textile artist Barley Massey. In my haul, amongst a few of the gems, was packet of fabric that on closer inspection turned out to be two parts of an unfinished patchwork.

I had been trying to make a version of the Purl Bee zig zag quilt for Merlin for ages, well since he got his own bed about a month ago, but the project had been stalling while I tried to make all the perfect fabric choices. So I was thrilled that I didn't have to make those decisions and could finish another's stalled project. I think that's one reason I avoid buying new materials because if you get me in a fabric store, it's like being a kid in a sweet shop, you just want a bit of everything! And that makes it impossible to make any style choices. It explains a bit why my etsy shop is a bit of a mish mash with items from crochet to paper mobiles to shoes. I also can't decide which craft I like best, I just want to make it all!

So in my Fabrications bag (a bargain at only three quid!) there was two pieces of fabric that had been lovingly stitched in a blue and white zig zag pattern. I sewed to two pieces together to make one, and they magically matched the exact dimensions of the crib quilt cotton wadding I had bought for the quilt. I backed it with some organic fair trade cotton I picked up, stitched along the ditches of the zig zags to quilt the sandwich and trimmed it with a bit of ecru bias binding. It's really cute and perfect for the warmer coming months. I am thinking of adding some running stitches width wise and the giving it hot wash to shrink the cotton wadding to give it a bit of a wrinkly antique look but I'm not sure if this would be overkill.

I'd love to know who started this quilt or whatever they intended this fabric to be and to show them that their hard work didn't go to waste that it is actually being appreciated again and given a new lease on life...

I also picked up some beautiful hemp/burlap grain sacks from Barley's Grandmother's time, when she worked in the Lancashire textile mills. I'll put some pictures up soon of these and see what they would like to become...

Doll making - Day 2

Doll making day of reckoning. Assembly time. This was the hard bit, I had been stressing about getting the face right. I have learnt making my owl dolls and other dolls in the past that a few embroidery stitches can either make or break your doll and I wanted to get his expression just right... Anyway to cut a long story short, I did it! I am super pleased with him and Merlin has already given him a tea party and lots of cuddles. He's also remarked that he has "nice hair" (see post below). This is truly a man after my own heart, I knew he appreciated luxurious fibres. All he needs now are some hand knit clothes. Oh joy!

To see pics of the doll in the making see previous post