Leigh Davenport dot net - Blog

A quick post to show a picture of my incredibly brave boy this afternoon after his long and traumatic day:



All things considered he is in very good spirits and is doing well.

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that Oliver is perfectly average. At his 6 month check he is bang on the 50th percentile for hight, weight and head circumference. He is 7.7kg, 67cm long, and his head is 44.5cm. He is very healthy and developmental everything is fine. We will be starting solids in early September - a little delayed, but he hasn't really shown much interest before now. Need to schedule a trip to Ikea in to go pick up a high chair before then.

In other news, I finally hung up some pictures I've had framed here for more than 2 years:



The empty frame is for a family photo of the three of us but I haven't printed it yet. Maybe tomorrow when I go get the thank you cards from Oliver's baptism done. I tried to get those printed while Elliot was away but for some stupid reason the photo booths can't read cds burned from the mac or my memory stick (even though I've used it before at Kwik Kopy). Grr.

A softie (soft toy) made for a craft swap:



I'm quite happy with how he turned out, considering I had didn't really have a pattern to work with. The ears are a bit mong but the rest came out ok.

I've also made a bamboo booster for Oliver's nappies:



Its basically a rectangle of bamboo fleece, overcast on the edges (as I don't have an overlocker), with a strip of microsuede sewn down the middle. To use, you fold the sides underneath so the microsuede is on top and lay into the nappy like so:



I made it because I want to see if I can start using cloth overnight again. I stopped after the first time Oliver slept through as I didn't want him with wet flannel against his skin for 10+ hours, but the microsuede feels dry so hopefully should be ok. I'll try it out on the weekend and put a Wonderwrap (cover) over the top just in case its still not absorbent enough.

I also got a couple of new colours of the dot minky, a royal blue and a caramel. THis is the royal blue compared to the turquoise (these nappies were for Austin):



I've not yet made a caramel but just received an order so will get to shortly! Just waiting on my PUL and microsuede to turn up so I can get cracking.

In Oliver news, he now knows how to roll back to front. This means he cannot be left alone on beds/lounges/change tables any more. He rolls on to his belly virtually as soon as he is put down now, and doesn't stay on his play mat or a blanket. We got him an activity thingo (you know, a walker without wheels) with some of his baptism money. Its called a Jitter Buggy and its very cool. Its a car on springs so when he kicks his legs back and forth the whole thing jiggles and bounces. Turning the key makes the ignition start and it vibrates, and the gear stick makes it make forward or reverse noises. There's a horn and the indicators make the lights blink. He loves it, his feet go nuts like Fred Flitstone. I'll try to get a video over the next couple of days.

I bought this Aviator bodysuit for Oliver from Gymboree a while ago (it was on sale, and cute!):



But it looks odd with his blue and black jeans. I've been meaning to make something to go with it and spotted some brown cord on the clearance table last time I was at Spotlight and grabbed it. I had time this week on Wednesday to run up some pants for him:



Pattern is Simplicity 3491 View B and I made them in 6-12 month size as I want him to get some wear out of them. The bodysuit is 3-6 months but its still quite big on him. I added a pocket to the back on the pants and appliqued a little airplane to it to match the bodysuit.



The applique is a bit average but I'm getting there... just need to get the stitching thing down pat.

Action shot:



They are a bit long but are wearable. I left a lot of elastic length so I can let it out later.

More photos, this time from Andrew and his digital SLR. I'm so impressed with these pictures - sod paying for professional pics from now on, Andrew can do it =) (shame I've got Oliver's 6 month pics already booked through my mother's group).

Oliver's baptism was today and it went really well - he was very well behaved and didn't cry at all. He gave a huge grin as we were posing up on the alter for pics which was great (though I don't have a photo of, hopefully someone got one). He had a small nap between the church and picnic which was enough to see him through the day. He spent a lot of time being passed around and seemed to love it.

My potato bake went down well and was all eaten which is good, because after the angst is caused getting it to the park I'd have been really peeved if it wasn't tasty. I had it on my lap in the car and while trying to hold it up off my legs because it was burning managed to get oily crud from the cheese and cream all over my pants. I had to drop off everything (including Oliver) and go back home and change as it had soaked right down to my underwear which was disgusting. Luckily I had another pair of clean pants that fit.

These are the happy snaps from my camera, once I get the good pics from Andrew I'll post those too.

Getting wet:


With Mummy, Daddy and godparents Stephen & Angela:


Close up:


Outfit (minus shoes which he kicked off):


How cool is the bear rug? It was a gift:

How to make Potato Bake for 60+

4kg potatoes - make it easy on yourself and get the washed ones.
1/2kg bacon, diced
1kg onion, sliced
2 bags of shredded tasty cheese
3 large tubs thickened cream

Cook chopped bacon until crispyish. Remove from pan and set aside. Cook onion in a little olive oil until soft.
Peel potatoes and parboil. Slice.
Layer as follows: potato, onion, bacon, cheese, drizzle with cream, repeat. Top with final layer of potato, any remaining cream and heaps of cheese.

Shove in the fridge until needed. Bake at 180-200c for an hour or so.

Oliver appears to have found his voice. He did this for about half an hour this morning while I tidied up around him.

This was my first attempt at applique - I did it a couple of weeks ago but haven't had time to post. Its not perfect but I don't think its too bad for a first effort:



The item it is part of need a lot of work though, so I'm not posting it yet.

I got to make a pink nappy this week, for an order, which was very exciting:



Olive green has been very popular, I'm almost out so will be trying to pick some up from Spotters on Monday. I'm also going to get some more of the coral fleece for Oliver's nappies as Elliot likes that best. It does make a lovely cuddly bum so I might put it up as an option for purchased nappies, not sure yet.

Here is a photo of Oliver having a Derek Zoolander moment:

I have to share the beautiful invite for Oliver's baptism:



I didn't make it - my photoshop skills are woeful. The very talented Ivy from Jump Cactus Design did. A great big plug for Ivy and JCD, she has done a wonderful job on it. She has designed a candle wrap to match, and will also be doing the matching thank you notes.

An AIO Leg Roll Tutorial with Pictures

I found the Honeyboy pattern very vague in terms of the leg rolls, and I actually disagree with some parts of it. I had to look up a tutorial on how to do it at first, which was somewhat helpful but still not as explicit as I'd have liked. I muddled my way the first one then decided to do it differently. Here's how I do it:

Line up your pieces as per the instructions and pin together. It should be inner (I've used suedecloth), stabiliser layer with soakers (I've omitted in favour of sewing the soakers direct the inner), hidden PUL, decorative outer (I've used minky). Tabs should be placed between the outer and inner (I've omitted and just extended the pattern).

Mark the elastic points and openings on the PUL with permanent marker (you won't see it on completed nappy):



Sew from top right opening point to the middle right elastic point (under the right hand tab). Raise needle, cut threads. Sew from bottom right elastic point around to the bottom left elastic point, raise needle, cut threads. Sew from middle left elastic point (under left hand tab) to top left opening point. Raise needle, cut threads. There should be openings at the top and on the left and right:



Grab the PUL and outer and pinch in towards the soaker area of the nappy, leaving the stabiliser and inner flat. The idea is to have enough excess PUL and outer to wrap around the elastic and create a casing. Pin the outer/PUL in about 10mm (or 3/8") at the widest point and graduate in. Make both sides even:



Sew from elastic point to elastic point. I guess the seam allowance as I can't see the guide on the foot plate, I just use the foot edge (I'm using a non-stick foot for the PUL):



Apply leg and waist elastic as per pattern:



Clip corners, trim excess from seams. Turn nappy, using a chopstick to gently push corners out so they are square.

Needle down on left side under the tab 5mm (3/16") in from edge. Sew along a short way, then using right hand pull the leg elastic tight. The outer fabric should come forwards over the elastic. You may have to adjust it a little. Make sure that the elastic is away from where the fabric joins - if you sew over the elastic the fabric will not gather over it properly.



Hold the elastic tight while sewing slowly:



Sew about 5mm (3/16") in from the front and back join seam - again, I use the foot as a guide.



Continue top stitching around nappy and repeat on the other side. Follow pattern instructions to close top opening and create back elastic casing.

Your nappy should look something similar to this:







Add velcro and you are done.

Let me know if this is still unclear and I'll try to explain better.

The Sanremo Song Contest is on SBS at the moment (in Italian) and Michael Bolton just came out singing. Mwhahaha.

We had a very busy week this week, including Oliver's 2 month immunisations (yes, his 2 month ones). He got a jab in each leg and was not a happy camper but a quick feed fixed it for the most parts. He was a bundle of misery that evening so I had to crack out the Children's (Mouth) Panny for the first time. Seemed to take the edge off and he slept well and was ok yesterday.

In other news, Zeke has gone to live with Steve & Libby for a while. We have been having some behavioral dramas lately - 4am psychotic meowing/tearing around the unit sessions being the bulk of it, but I also discovered that he was peeing all over the place. I had thought it was Dexter peeing as he has had some issues with his mangina again lately, but turns out it was Zeke. Its been wearing me out for a while now, having to get up and deal with the cat for fear he will wake the baby every night, but yesterdays weeing on the couch was the final straw. So he is going to spend some time at Steve & Libby's being an "only child" for a while and see how we go. I think he will be happier not having to compete with Oliver and Dexter for attention (and not being on Dexter's diet will make him happier too I'd say). I'm sad though, I feel like I'd failed my little buddy, especially since he was so attached to me when I was pregnant.

I had to pack away all Oliver's newborn socks yesterday and dig out the bigger ones. He kept kicking them off so it was time to go. I got a bit sad, he's not a tiny baby any more. I put away his newborn beanies too.

He is also now too long in the arms and legs for 000's. I thought 000 was 3-6 month and didn't have much put away (I've got 6-12 month stuff stashed) so went shopping yesterday with mum and got a few things, plus I put in an order from the Pumpkin Patch discounted lines codes plus 20% off and a $10 off. So he has nice clothes which fit again, hoorah.

I made these Honeyboys the other week but forgot to post:


I omitted the stabilising internal layer and sewed the boosters directly to the inner, and I used microfibre for the inners. They dry so much quicker, I'm going to make them all like this from here on out.

Medium Honeyboy nappies with toadstool tabs:



I've got two coral fleece ones with psychedelic tabs on the go at the moment (one down, one to go).

Large Honeyboy nappies with dot tabs (for Baden, a friends son):



And finally, Oliver modeling his new overalls: