Felt Baby Watch

 We have smart watches and noticed our daughter would hold out her arm the same way we do when we hear our watch notification! It is super cute so I made her a little felt watch and taught her to to look at her left arm instead of mirroring us.

This was just a quick, easy, one off project so I didn't take step by step photos but I'll explain the process and add a very simple printable template. 

(The band on this template is 6" long so if you want it larger just increase your print size.)

1. Cut a band of felt to fit your child.
2. Sew ribbon to the band if you want - melt the ends with a lighter to stop fraying
3. Cut two circles of felt.
4. Attach the two circles using french knots at each hour
5. Embroider some watch hands if you like
6. Stitch the circles to your band - I used white thread just under the purple layer so the stitches weren't visible on the front.
7. Add a snap and your watch is ready to wear!

You could go even simpler and cut the felt band only and embroider directly on that, it just won't hide the stitches and knots.

My baby loved it and puts her arm out so she can wear it, but the felt just gets yucky pretty quick so I certainly won't be putting in too much time on this little project.

Snap Peas

 I forgot how tall snap peas grow, luckily they've bounced back after adding a chicken wire extension. They were kind of supporting each other until we had yet another windy, rainy winter day.

I've learnt a few things about snap peas that I need to remember next time I plant them:

• 6 plants in a 1.2m row is too dense
• those 6 plants produce plenty for our little family
• they're really hard to see but that means I've already got some pods that will be next years seeds
• clothes pegs do a great job at holding them to the chicken wire

For those interested, I'm growing alyssum and mixed lettuce underneath.

Purple Fox Lovey

 I've been wanting to make a lovey for my daughter for ages but have only just got around to it. I had the idea that if she loved it I would make extras in case she ever lost it but I really did not enjoy sewing with minky!!

It turned out cute, despite all my mistakes and my daughter likes it. I don't think she'll be too upset if she loses it, so thankfully I don't need to sew any more of them.

So while I'm not too proud of my sewing skills on this project, I am proud that I finished it. The minky is lovely and soft so I can understand the appeal but I'll be taking a break from that fabric for awhile!

The pattern is from Pink Pug Designs, the instructions are great and she is an Australian designer so it's nice to support a fellow Aussie. I couldn't find wool felt for the nose so I just used black minky in the same way as the eye and tail patches. I did add a ribbon tag so I can strap it to the pram so it's doesn't get dropped and lost - we've had a bike rider catch up to us with a toy we dropped once!

Jellyfish Bonnets

 I made these winter bonnets for my nieces and nephews for Christmas in July. It was fun making something warm for them to wear, none of them are winter babies.

This pattern is the Blizzard Bonnet, a lovely free pattern from Wholecloth Patterns. It's was a quick and easy project, would be great for a beginner!

I used the Medusa fabric that I used for my daughter's matching jellyfish romper and booties. Because it is a directional fabric I cut two pieces with an added 1/2" to the the top instead of cutting on the fold. Then stitched together with a 1/2" seam allowance, pressed and followed the pattern instructions.

Sunflower Skirt and Scrunchies

 Since I've finally gifted this skirt I can share it with you, not that it matters since my niece doesn't know I have a blog!

 I love this sunflower fabric from Frankie Bear Fabric. I made my daughter a dress out of this fabric, unfortunately it was too small and I didn't take a photo of it before packing it away. I even bought adorable flower buttons to match, luckily I bought extra fabric so I can sew her another dress. Although it was meant to be so I could sew myself something...

It's the same pattern from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom which I used for the galaxy skirts. The fabric is 145cm (57") wide so I just used that for the width, the total width needed for size 16 was 55", so I only needed to do the one seam. I kept the extra 2" as I used button hole elastic again so my niece can wear it now, tightening the elastic will just mean extra gathers and it can be loosened through a couple of growth spurts!

The matching scrunchies are a tutorial from See Kate Sew. My elastic has a lot of stretch to it so I cut them an inch shorter, but I probably should have used even less - or just buy some better quality elastic!