The Sew Tina blog tour and giveaway!

I was really excited when Lark Books asked me to participate in Tina's blog tour because I love her fabric but was completely new to the patterns so it promised to be fun! I had the pdf of the book for a wee while to start with, so I could get going on a couple of projects, but I didn't have much of a sense of it as a whole until it arrived in the mail and it's really lovely. Perhaps I'm a bit old-fashioned but there's something about having an actual book in my hand and pages to turn! Plus it's beautifully laid out, with a nice spiral binding so it stays open, and the patterns are on nice heavy paper. It's built to last!

It's divided into four sections: Introduction, Sewing the Tina Way, For the Little Ones, and For the Bigger Ones. There's also a bunch of sections at the back with resources, templates and a handy-dandy metric conversion chart for us metric people who are a bit challenged with inches! There are patterns for clothes, accessories, decor and even a Moses basket for babies, so there's something for everyone - including the mothers of boys! The sizes run from infant up to about size 7 and are roomy with lots of space to grow.






I'm going to kick this off with my interview with Tina, which I really enjoyed very much!  No doubt you will begin to see a theme to it - my never-ending struggle to make clothes that Hazel will wear. I know I'm not alone in this so hopefully there are people out there that find some hope in Tina's answers!

Jacqui: In the wide world of books on kid’s clothes yours really stand out, both in style and in use of fabric.  Where do you get your inspiration for the clothes from?

Tina: Thanks Jacqui that means a lot. I think the basic answer is from kids themselves. I have a few of my own (lol, twins aged 8 girl and a boy) and an 18 year old... and they are so free to speak and play and move... it would be nothing for my daughter to walk into the room on her hands... and of course Jonty slides in a room on his belly... so from when very young I create and make for them. I have always created garments with an unusual free from silhouette and I enjoy movement in my clothing so it just grows from that!

J: Many of the patterns use your fabric as a focal point, do you design the clothes with a particular print in mind or fit the prints to the pattern afterwards?

T: It works both ways but mostly I think the clothes can be made in any fabric. Even a solid... Because the fabrics are mine I tend to cast them as a priority but have found that if you love a fabric use it.... it will look good in anything you make.

J: The projects have a real whimsical feel to them, obviously designed to appeal to children. As an adult I find I’m often pretty lousy at judging what kids like to wear and have tendencies to want to make more grown-up items for my 5 year old daughter Hazel (and consequently have a few failures when she won’t wear an item!)  How do you find the delicate balance between clothes that kids like and clothes mums are willing to make?

T: That's a tough question because they are all unique as we are. My daughter doesn't wear anything I make unless it's for a special event, and sometimes I have to make it in someone else's fabric?!?!? But she's her own person and I don't want to push me on her... she once stood in Target at 5 years old with her hand on her hip, after I asked her what she thought of something I'd found for her, and she announced "I am not funky like you mom!" Well, on that note she picks out everything she wears and I on occasion will cringe. As long as it's not showing her belly or something too old for her I will honor her decisions.

I find making for infants and toddlers (2-almost 4) is the most fun because they will wear anything, 4 and 5 year olds get more opinionated but they have definite ideas whether frilly, sporty or none of the above. So buy fabric they like, show them something they agree on and there you go. And, 6 and up good luck! However, choose things like a nice coat or accessory you both like... this way she gets to wear her t-shirt and jeans but can throw on the coat you made her...

J: Following on from that, it seems as though the way to guarantee Hazel will wear something is to make it pink and frilly, which doesn’t always sit well with me on a number of levels – what’s your experience in terms of the way to a little girl’s heart through clothing?  Any tried and true tips?

T: I am not a pink and frilly designer but maybe there's a way to design clothes for that style that they'd like... Jacqui you may have inspired me... the frilly wardrobe for little girls (and their moms approve?) For now I suggest using pink (maybe a softer less saccharine pink), peaches and a tangy fuchsia... soft fabrics, modern prints and solids, frills but soft frills not the kind that stick up from their neck or arms... with a modern silhouetted flavor. And of course sport it up with leggings... love the leggings and tights....

J: I’m going to make up a project from the book in honour of you stopping by on the blog tour – do you have any recommendations for me in my ongoing quest to make clothes for Hazel that we both love?

T: The Zig Zag dress is fun one on the cover [and the one up the top of this post].... mix and match the fabrics and you could even add a frilly along the bottom hem or the neck.... eek.... and thanks for making it... I want to see it....

And here it is Tina! Not being modelled because Hazel's being 5 this week, but it's still gorgeous hanging on the fence. It's made in Nani Iro Fuccra and I plan on having Hazel wearing it at least once a week by the time summer rolls aroud :)  It's deliciously light and floaty, with close-fitting sleeves up to about the elbow. I loved it on her but I if I push her to wear it now it'll be all over red rover so I'm being subtle.

Ok, so now the moment you've all been waiting for - the fabulous giveaway. One lucky commenter will win the book, four (4!!) yards of fabric, two boxes of stationary and two extra sewing patterns. Wow.  

All you need to do to go into the running is leave a comment below and make sure I have some way of contacting you if you are the lucky lucky (lucky) person whose name the random number generator picks. Did I say lucky? I think I did. I totally want to win this myself to be honest! [ETA: I guess I should put a date down when it closes! I will draw the name on Thursday 14th at 9am NZ time]

Now I'm not actually finished with this book or the projects, but this is a massive post already! Check back tomorrow for more on what I've sewn up so far, a bit more on what the book's like to work from, what I plan to sew (essentially raving about those little mice slippers and how I want a pair), and a little giveaway all of my own!

Follow along with the rest of the book tour here:

9/24 Lark Crafts.com
9/27 A La Mode Fabric
9/29 Quilters Buzz
10/1 Sew Baby
10/4 Sew Chic
10/6 Sew Mama Sew
10/8 Hazelnuts
10/11 Mama’s Pocketbook
10/13 House on Hill Road
10/15 WhipUp
10/18 Quilt Dad
10/20 HodgePodgeFarm
10/22 Pink Chalk Studios
10/25 Fat Quarterly Blog
10/27 The Jolly Jabber

Tina Givens blog tour update

Tina's blog tour has started over at Lark Crafts so I thought I'd give you a bit more information about the tour and the prize that I'm going to be giving away! And can I tell you how gutted I am that I can't enter for it? I wonder if my cat Lucy could...

So  in addition to a lovely interview with Tina I will be giving away the book, 4 yards of fabric, 2 boxes of stationery, and 2 extra sewing patterns. Seriously.

My date is the 8th October (man, the American way of doing dates just caught me out bigtime, luckily I noticed I'm on the 8th not the 10th! How embarrassed would I have been?) but I highly HIGHLY recommend you increase your chances of winning a prize and follow the blog tour along through all the other wonderful blogs, many of which I already have in my reader (and I'm looking forward to adding a few more)

9/24 Lark Crafts.com
9/27 A La Mode Fabric
9/29 Quilters Buzz
10/1 Sew Baby
10/4 Sew Chic
10/6 Sew Mama Sew
10/8 Hazelnuts
10/11 Mama’s Pocketbook
10/13 House on Hill Road
10/15 WhipUp
10/18 Quilt Dad
10/20 HodgePodgeFarm
10/22 Pink Chalk Studios
10/25 Fat Quarterly Blog
10/27 The Jolly Jabber

The Tina Givens blog tour!

I'm really excited to announce that Hazelnuts will be hosting Tina Givens as part of her book tour for "Sew Tina! 30 Cute Projects and Adorable Décor Items for Kids"

I'm scheduled towards the beginning of October and will fill you all in on the details closer to the time, but I'll be grilling Tina about the book as well as doing a giveaway and I'm going to whip up one of the projects from the book too. Let me tell you, it was hard choosing which one and I mean that. So more details to come but it's something to look forward to in a month! Better get sewing...

This morning at 4:30 Christchurch was hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake. That's pretty big and it's done a lot of damage. Auckland's just over 1,000km from ChCh and we had a big storm going on so I doubt I would have felt it anyways, but it's a very sobering reminder of exactly where I live and that it's very tectonically active! Not that I could really forget, considering I see extinct volcanic cones every day...

Doxie Dachshunds and a giveaway

My ever-expanding pack of dachshunds made from the Doxie Dachshund necklace pattern in the Wee Wonderfuls book.

I'm really quite addicted to them.

Hazel loves them as well - she has two already and would like several more. The first one I made was the spotty one and she's worn it to school several days in a row which pleases me no end. The second one is red with white spots but he's a wild one with no collar or ribbon so he's not in the photo. When I first looked through the book it was this project that really jumped out at me and my first thought was "Hazel would LOVE this". And then I started second-guessing myself and wondering what kid would really wear one for real and whether this was just going to be one of those things that seem like a good idea but don't work in real life. But no, it's a total success! Apparently 5 year old girls really DO like wearing stuffed dogs around their necks. I should never have doubted.

So now on to the really fun part, the bit where I FINALLY get around to do a little giveaway to celebrate hitting 200 followers. Of course there are 239 of you lovely and wonderful people now but hey, the more the merrier right? So if you'd like a pair of Doxies of your own (the dog, not the lady of easy virtue) then just leave me a comment below! The giveaway is for followers, RSS readers and actual visitors to my blog - no restrictions. You can choose from the fabrics above, or a different colour or whatever you want, I'm happy to customise! They can come as a necklace for the younger set, or as a brooch for the more mature amongst us (I'm going to do one for me), or one of each. I'll leave the comments open until the morning of Tuesday 7th September NZ time and then draw a winner with a random number generator as my own little bundle of randomness will be at school. The giveaway is open to all, local and international.

The Wee Wonderfuls book

 

I've had this book for a couple weeks now and it's growing on me every day.  Sounds a bit like a distressingly personal kind of disease doesn't it? ;)  But really, the projects are just so cute and I'm busy sewing up a small pack of dachshund necklaces (yay handsewing!).  Pack of dachshunds...why is it that the words "pack" and "dachshund" just don't really go together?  Pack implies something purposeful and dangerous, not the words that immediately spring to mind when considering dachshunds. But anyways, there will be a post on them in the next few days so in the meantime I thought I'd just share a few of my favourite projects in case you've been wondering if the book's for you.  And to be honest, even if these ones don't grab you it might still be a goer because these are a very biased collection! I love Hilary's dolls and patterns and have done a few of them in the last few years, including a bunch of Olives and Archies.


Melvin and Marion the Librarian Bears.  These would be for me and I would stand firm on that in the face of the inevitable blandishments and whining from Hazel. I mean really, librarian bears?  Even the name makes me want them. On the list of 'jobs I could have done if I hadn't been an archaeologist' librarian comes right after palaeontologist.  Hazel says she's going to be a palaeontologist when she grows up (she loves dinosaurs) so perhaps I can go on digs with her when I'm retired.

You can get the pattern for this Mermaiden from Melanie Falick Books. Hazel picked this one next after the dachshunds. I like it when she chooses the easy projects!

 The Ellie bag.  I think Hazel has too many bags that she doesn't use enough but this would be a good addition to the collection.

The Tag-a-long doll.  It reminds me of the Olive doll I made for Hazel a few years ago, but the construction is heaps easier and the pigtails are so cute!

Bjorn Bjornson - would totally be for me and I'd love him and kiss him and call him Bjorn.

Little Miss Storybook - she comes with the most adorable red cape so I guess she can be Goldilocks or Red Riding Hood - or any of the other blond fairytale heroines!  I was explaining to Hazel how she was a goldilocks too and she thought that was hilarious because there was no way there were any bears around.

I'm really looking forward to doing at least one or two of these toys, particularly if they're destined for my desk! There is a Flickr group for the book if you're interested in seeing some of the other toys.

Fa la la la Felt

A few weeks ago I had a lovely email from Sew Mama Sew letting me know that I'd won the book Fa la la la Felt in a giveaway they were doing. Aside from the fact I was so gobsmacked I'd actually won something I was excited because the projects I'd seen looked fun, I love felt, and I had it on my wishlist over at the Book Depository.  I've been anxiously awaiting it in the mail ever since!

It came yesterday so I thought I'd just share some of the projects that caught my eye.  I've realised that several of them were from the same designers, Cathy Gaubert and Esther Coar, it's kind of neat when you connect to someone's work so consistently!

These little guys are my hands-down favourites!

Hazel's in love with these

Good enough to eat!

The layering and embroidery on these is lovely.

There are so many other great projects, including a swathe of stockings, it's definitely a book worth looking into!  The Flickr Group is here.  It's also available as an ebook from Zinio which is pretty cool, and it's cheaper than buying the actual book. I have to say though, there's something very satisfying about having a book in the hand!

A few thoughts on MSL's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts

I've spent far more time than I probably should have thinking about what I'd say if someone asked me what I thought of this book and should they buy it. No-one has, but I'll tell you anyways! Part of me really likes it and is glad I bought it, part of me is glad it was birthday (ie 'free') money I used on it because I'm not entirely sure whether it...mmm...how to put it...justifies its price or size?

So what I'll do is the good stuff first and I've scanned a few of my favourite projects out of it to show you - and to be honest there were this many again I could have put in so the hit rate in terms of things that make me go "ooOOO!" is pretty high. The book is organised with a large section at the beginning that covers various techniques necessary to do the projects in the book. The projects are broken down into categories like Animals, Aprons, Bed linens, Clothing, Coasters, Decorative Pillows, Flowers, Nursery, Organisers, Pets, Quilts and Patchwork, Slippers, Upholstery, Wall decor etc. etc.

In the order that Flickr gives the photos to me (which is the opposite of their order in the book!):

Menswear Mice. I'm not sure if Lucy would actually be interested in them as she's not a catnip cat and can get a bit scared of anything too big lobbed towards her, but damn they're cute! I suspect little kids would like them more.

Felt slippers. I love love love the cut-out treatment, they look gorgeous. I'd probably do the soles in something warmer than just felt though.

Dog Coats. One of my nephews is a small terrier named Duncan. He'd look adorable in one of these.

Covered button boutonierre. I love this, so small and perfect. Though I never have floral wire or tape around for these sorts of things and I never do them, maybe I should lay some in.

Stencilled curtains. These are actually very similar to the fabric we used to make the curtains in Hazel's room and I love the Scandinavian feel to them. Beautiful.

Girl's shirt dress. Can't get enough of these little girl dresses out of men's shirts! This one looks very cute and has the added bonus of a great construction technique with means you don't have to pfaff around with sleeves etc. Now if only Mat would tire of his shirts before they were worn out! This picture is like my fantasy little girl shot, so demure, the freckles, the sweet little (non-pink) cardigan. I think Hazel would run screaming the other way if I tried it though...

Little felt bags. These are the ones that inspired the Totoro bag. Nothing startlingly new but I just love the colours and design. Hazel likes the birdy one best and I'm very keen on the cat. There are several other more grown up versions in the book as well.

Menswear Bunnies. Oh my goodness I heart these bunnies so much! Wook at deir widdle faces! But really, how cute. These definitely got a "can you make me one mummy?" from Hazel and I will!

Sashiko. I've only recently become aware of this Japanese style of embroidery and I love the patterns shown here and in a couple projects in the book. It's used particularly effectively on the edges of pillowcases in one project. The circles are my favourite but they're all just so elegant and restrained. Again, love it!

Ok, so that was the good. And it was pretty good right? Plus there are lots of projects for things that I don't need right now, like curtains, but might in the future, so it's a good reference book as well.

The bad. Even I, with limited access to the MSL magazine, recognise some of the projects. Like the stencilled curtains - a couple of projects come from that particular issue, which I picked up last time I was home for a visit, as do some of the upholstery ones which I know from another magazine from a previous visit. Needless to say I've been treasuring them since, but I think it illustrates the point that if you have every magazine then you probably have a decent section of this book already.

The same goes if you're an online tutorial addict like me - many of these projects rang a bell or two as to tutorials I'd come across elsewhere. Not identical or anything, but there are only so many ways you can make a small felt purse, or a small dog jacket if you know what I mean. A little searching and perserverence will yield similar projects.

Some of the techniques are in reality quite complicated and I don't think that a page or two of rather superficial instructions are going to get you good enough to tackle the projects successfully. Like the sashiko - to be honest I'd go elsewhere for instructions because I'm not sure I'd get good results based on the book's. The pictures are pretty and it's fabulous to leaf through and read, but I'm not convinced about the achievability of many of the projects. But actually, maybe that's not the point? It's quite likely that the intended audience isn't going to try 90% of these projects, just like they probably don't from the magazines, so I may be judging it by criteria that it simply wasn't meant to meet.

My final verdict? Well I think it depends on how you feel about the Martha Stewart brand and the styling, as well as what you want from a book like this. If you have all the magazines probably don't bother unless you want one of the new projects. Personally I'm a total sucker for the MSL styling and the aesthetic, if not the über-frau ethos. But if it irritates you then don't buy the book. If you need all the projects to be practical or achievable based on the instructions included then be wary but not totally put off, most of them are achievable with just a few that you'd need a gazillion dollars to do, or a personal coach to show you how to do it. If you are more of a free online tutorial kind of person then stick with that because there isn't much in here that you couldn't get online.

On the whole though, I'm pleased I've got it because really, nothing beats sitting on the couch with a cup of tea looking through a lovely great big book, with the promise of page after page of neat and wonderful things stretching out before me. Computers are great, online tutorials are great, but a book's a book and it doesn't need to be plugged in or printed out. So I like this one, it's like a chunk of the crafty internet made real.

A winner and a recommendation

Hazel did the requisite this afternoon and chose Margaret from near Melbourne, who said "I would love to win a copy of this book, it looks awesome. I gave birth to my third (and last) daughter last Sat, so am in total clucky mode.  I have made her a few things but if i can find the time would love to make more."  So it sounds like the book will be put to good use.

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A couple of months ago I came across a recommendation for an online book seller The Book Depository, located in the UK.  The thing that really caught my eye was the "free shipping worldwide" because as anyone who has ever tried to buy from Amazon from outside the US knows, shipping is often more than the book you want!  I had a look at their prices compared to our own local online bookseller Fishpond and I was stunned.  The first book I had a look at was Martha Stewart's latest Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts which I'd seen reviewed about the place a lot at the time and found it for just under $50 NZ.  On Fishpond it's $75.99.  The same price differences applied to pretty much every single book I checked out and I was floored.  Really it seemed too good to be true, but the recommendation had come from a reputable blogger (whose name I've since forgotten!) so I didn't dismiss it right away.  But really I still wonder why the price difference? I feel a bit guilty ordering from the UK when I feel I should be supporting the local act, but with that kind of price difference it's hard to.  I wonder if there's something I don't know, something I should be taking into account that would sway things the other way?  Or are the local book sellers just robbing us blind?  All morality aside,  Mat and Hazel gave me a pre-loaded Visa card for my birthday so I went for it:

I'm sure I'll be 'reviewing' these books in the near future!  The books arrived really promptly, though all separately packaged which seems a bit odd. Still, no complaints on my part so I can thoroughly recommend The Book Depository!

and for Hazel:

The Moomintroll books are a bit old for her ("when's the next picture?" she says) but she actually seems to quite enjoy them despite that.  I just couldn't resist getting them and hope she enjoys them as much as I did/do!  When I was in Sweden in 2007 I spotted a very cute little Moomin apron in a shop window and had to have it.  She was just turned two at the time, and looking at this photo I just want to kiss those little cherub lips!  She was happy about the apron and the Klippan felted wool bag but a bit unsure about her mummy being home after 3 weeks!

Q & A with Anna Maria and some booties!

Part the second to the Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby (the giveaway is the next post down), isn't it nice being able to string this out over a couple posts?  I eat my chocolate bars the same way, small nibbles make them last longer.  Mat eats his in about 3 bites and then gets annoyed because I still have so much enjoyment left.

H: The first thing that always strikes me when I see your projects is your fabulous use of colour and pattern. When I set out to combine colours and patterns, no matter how hard I try, I always seem to default to the safe and conventional.  Do you have any advice for those of us who are a bit challenged in this regard?

AMH: Well, outside of the obvious process of first laying colors together side by side as swatches, there are a few tricks that I like to use.  One is let every main color in the palette have two versions of itself.  For instance if you have blue, orange, and lavender in your palette (which sounds totally weirdo, huh?) make sure there are two versions of each.  Two blues, Two oranges, Two Lavenders.  The two versions of blue might come in the form of one being mroe royal, and one being more tourquoise.  The two versions of orage might be one bright orange and the other rust.  The two versions of lavender might be one dusty grey lavender and the otehr deeper purple.  So in other words, the difference between the two shades might be in lightness, intensity or murkiness.  But providing both shades in one palette sets it on the ground and gives one color something to refer to and sort of keeps the peace.

H: The Dad Bag was a bit of a surprise to me which made me realise that guys seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to sewing for a new baby. You mentioned in a recent blog post that your husband swore he'd never use it - even though he does, do you think that's the typical reaction of men to sewing which is why there's a dearth of projects intended for them? Or do women just tend to sew for themselves?

AMH: I think yes to both might be the case!  If I were to sew something for my husband in secret then offer it to him under the guise of having BOUGHT it for him, he would likely say, oh wow, thanks!  Right?  I do imagine that most men equate a sewn item with a woman's item because that is what we are doing at the machine most of the time.  Nevertheless, keeping a pre-baby sewing to-do for Dad was something that was important to me.  And I am pretty sure it's been appreciated, just as my sweet husband is appreciated!

H: When I first went back to work after having my daughter I had an awful time switching mind-sets from being a mummy to being an academic. It was much easier to go back the other way! I often wondered whether it was me or my profession that caused that - working in a more creative/artistic field, do you find that disconnect trying to work while having Roman sitting in the same room?

AMH: Hmm.  I would agree that there are several fields of work where the transition from mothering to working is a bit smoother.  And in fact, I imagine the same for just the work/life transition in general.  But every career has its challenges and distractions.  Having creative work can some days go hand in hand really well with mothering however, other times you really can't predict when and idea is going to drop into your lap and inspire hours of work to realize.  So the biggest challenge for me is being able to harness the spark of creativity and hang on to it until the most opportune parenting time arrives.  It requires SO much patience.  But I have learned that knowing myself and my family really well helps.  Don't expect the impossible out of yourself or anyone around you.  We all have our schedules and our limits and the key is finding the workable overlap in all those variables where you can make some things happen.

H: With the introduction of the voiles into your range, do you find yourself designing differently than you did when it was only the quilting-weight cottons?  Which comes first, the project or the fabric?

AMH: Most definitely.  The volies just felt sooo sweet and soft, and I wanted the prints in the first voile range to reflect that sweetness.  So the finer hand lent itself beautifuly to the finer prints.  Anymore the fabric and the prints are being realized at the same time.  My next collection will include home dec, quilting weight, voile and velveteen.  Therefore while its all still one collection with a very large but cohesive color story, each of the different base cloths gets to take its own slightly different direction with color.  For instance the voiles are very wearable colors due to the fact that many will end up being used as stand-alone apparel fabrics.  The quilting cottons have a broader range of colors and are beautifully bright, etc.

H: So many women seem to pick up sewing again, or start for the first time, when there's a baby on the way - theirs or someone close to them.  What is it about a baby that makes people want to get creative and express their love and excitement in such a material way - pun fully intended! :)

AMH: I think the intro to my book can answer that perfectly!  I mention that the sewing I do for my babies is very much like my way of nurturing.  And I am quite certain I am not alone there!  And when we hear baby news, something just jumps inside the heart and makes us want to provide- not just for baby but also for the expectant mom.  By design we want to care for others.  Sewing just happens to be a wonderful way to do it! 

Thank you so much for such thoughtful questions!

H: And thank you Anna Maria!

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I got the booties done last night - just in time to take them down to Benjamin tomorrow.  They're so cute and scrummy soft, I wonder if you could scale up the pattern to adult size?  Certainly to Hazel's size wouldn't be too hard.  So just to make it harder, I made them the first time out of knit fabrics to match some other things I'd made (more on that tomorrow) but they still turned out well.  I suspect they'll be a bit big, although I've been told he's got very big feet for a newborn so it may work out just right!

The outer is this wonderful stripy jersey I picked up at Spotlight years ago and though I love it Hazel won't have a bar of it so it's nice to be able to use it on something.  They're lined with cotton sherpa and have cotton quilt batting so they should be fairly warm for the coming winter. Oh who am I kidding, it's here already! 

Handmade Beginnings Blog Tour and Giveaway

I was incredibly excited and flattered to be asked to participate in Anna Maria's Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby blog tour.  There may, just possibly, have been skipping down the hallway.  In addition to this review there is of course the book to be given away, and there will hopefully be a Q & A with Anna at some point (Quilt Market has kind of gotten in the way of that a bit).

I have her previous book Seams to Me and it's a tough act to follow, but when Handmade Beginnings arrived I wasn't disappointed!  Now I have to admit that the fact it was a book about sewing for babies didn't thrill me to bits as I've unfortunately done my dash in that regard (having babies that is!) so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it all.  But!

First off yes, it's a book about sewing for babies, but in a very inclusive way. You don't have to be the mama or even family as many of the items would make fabulous gifts from a friend.  What I especially liked though, was the way the book strives to include the whole family in the process of having a new baby, whether it's the first or sixth!  When I think about other baby books I've read in this vein, that aspect seems (now) to be sorely lacking as they focus solely on the mother and baby.  What you get in this book are projects that include dad, siblings and the house, as well as mum and baby.  I think the only ones missing out might be the cat and dog ;)  The other thing that particularly struck me was that so many of the projects don't have to be about a baby.  Obviously the baby clothes are but the maternity clothes are specifically designed to be used pre- and post-baby, and the home decor items are obviously very flexible in terms of use.  So if you think you might have some sewing for other people's babies in your future but are thinking "what's in it for me?" then I can tell you "plenty!"

So here are some of my favourite projects. Let's start off with the baby stuff:

These booties are so adorable.  In order to be a good blog tour host I had planned to make a pair for my new nephew and show them off here.  I cut everything out on Sunday and ironed the outer fabric pieces before I started sewing.  I took the ironed pieces and...well I put them somewhere and I haven't been able to find them!  Literally 5 minutes later I was searching around and it's 2 days later and they still haven't shown up. And yes, I've checked the fridge and rubbish!  After waiting a couple days to see if they turned up somewhere incredibly stupid I recut the pieces and started sewing this afternoon. So far so good and I'll get pics up as soon as I can.  Anyone want to take bets on where I put those bits of fabric?  Ummm yeah, so really cute booties and I love the way they're constructed, a bit out of the ordinary way of these things.

Everyone's been showing this jacket photo and it's not surprising considering how cute that wee boy is!  I'd like to try making it for either my niece or nephew but need to do some measuring.

These pants are super-cute as well, I like the way you can mix and match fabrics to your heart's content or just go one colour each side and still get that flash of the other side on the cuffs.

One thing I really noticed when Hazel was born was how easily Mat got sidelined if we didn't pay attention to him being actively involved.  Now I'm not saying he would have actually used a Dad Bag if I'd made one but I think chances are he might have (he does love his 'European Man's Carry-all') and it would have made him feel pretty pro while he was at it.

Now this is one of those neat pre- and post-baby items that I love

Lovely maternity dress or top (it does both).  I like the clean lines and the fabric looks great.  But you say you're not planning on being pregnant any time soon?  Well look at this!

A non-maternity version (also good for bfing on the fly) and I'm looking forward to making it.  Check out Meg's version over at Sew Liberated.

I love some of the little toys too, the stacking boxes are particularly cute

although the first thing Hazel asked when she saw that photo was if I could make her the dog and I had to tell her that the pattern wasn't in the book. There was some displeasure expressed at that.

There are also toys for the older children like this swaddled doll that comes with nappies

Although there are lovely quilts in this book (see other blogs on the tour for reviews of those) I actually like the simplicity of the little mini-quilt that comes with this project, particularly done up in those gorgeously lush fabrics.

The Daydreams mobile would look lovely in any room, or just the shade on its own

I also loved these embroidered letters, they lend themselves to so many uses and spots in the house

The detail on the B is wonderful

Thanks to the lovely people at Wiley Publishing (and they really are lovely!) I have a copy of Handmade Beginnings to give away. I'm going to limit it to New Zealand and Australian residents only for oh, a variety of reasons, but the rest of the world won't be left out as there's lots of copies to be had from earlier stops on the tour. US residents can enter into the sweeps for a really great prize: a Singer Confidence 7470 sewing machine, 5 yards of Anna Maria Horner fabric, and a copy of the book Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby.  Between sweeps like that and Anthropologie, you guys really do make the rest of the world want to emmigrate sometimes.

If you'd like to enter to win a copy of the book all you need to do is leave a comment below and make sure you put your email into either the Disqus form or in the body of the comment.  I will use the random entry picker commonly known as Hazel to choose the winner from a hat on Monday 31st at 3pm NZ time, when she gets back from créche.  She's been asking me when she'll be able to do that again for ages!

For more reviews check out the other participants on the blog tour.

May 3  Craft
May 4  Indie Fixx
May 5  Sew Mama Sew
May 6  Pink Chalk Studio
May 10  Wise Craft
May 14  House on Hill Road
May 16  The Purl Bee
May 18  All Buttoned Up
May 19  Alabama Chanin Journal
May 20  Homemade by Jill
May 21  True Up
May 22  Oh, Fransson!
May 23  Prudent Baby
May 24  Sew Liberated
May 25  Handmade by Alissa
May 26  Hazelnuts
May 27  Petite Purls