My life has changed a lot recently, I got married last year, bought a house this year and started a PhD this fall in a city 2 hours away from that house, my family and friends. All these changes have been amazing in many ways, although being far from my friends and family has definitely been the hardest part.
By far the change that took me the most by surprise was the birth of my nephew, now you might be thinking, didn't I have 9 months to prepare for this? Yes, you're right, my sister is not a candidate for the show "I didn't know I was pregnant". The day he was born was a little surprising, I was away at school. I had warned my twin sister that of all the days for her to go in labour, Tuesday is the absolute worst (for me, of course that is the most important part of her labour, right? my schedule) and of course that is the day she went into labour (thank you Murphy's law!)
So here I was at the library getting updates by text message from my friend Theresa who was with my sister at the beginning of her labour. I felt excited, and also extremely far away and also sad. Such a mix of emotions to feel. I knew there was nothing I could really do to help my sister, but I knew that I wanted to be there to be part of this awesome moment. When her water broke I was kind of incredulous, I had been in denial until then, sure in the fact that this could not happen without me being there! I remember thinking, really this is happening now, when I just can't be there?? And I was also thinking, wow this is the moment!! How amazing I will have a nephew soon! I was in charge of the telephone tree to announce to everyone that the big moment was on hand! A very exciting and fun job. It is perhaps the best news you can call anyone with!
Did I mention that while all this was happening, I was at the library to work on a very important presentation for the next day? Well I was, I'm sure you can tell that I was distracted to say the least! It was a torturous 12 hours for me, feeling far away and stressed about a presentation that I didn't want to be doing in the first place. I am still amazed I got through that presentation the next day on 3 hours of sleep. You guessed it, I only really got down to work after my nephew was born, meaning I went to bed at 4am! I like to joke that my sleep deprivation that night was in solidarity with my sister, her fiance and my nephew, but the truth is that it was part of a struggle that I am almost always losing, a work-life balance.
The call that I got from my sister about an hour after she gave birth was very special and I will always remember it, the first photos were incredible. So the birth of my nephew was not all that surprising, but the thing that did surprise me was how much I love him. He's truly the greatest baby on earth. Yes, you are also right in thinking that I am completely biased in this opinion, but thats ok, its my opinion right? My friends had a bet as to who would cry when they held him, and I "won" that honour. He is truly perfect.
What did I do to prepare for the birth of my perfect nephew? I made him a stuffed animal and baby blanket of course!!! Check out little Lamby, you can find the great pattern here.
The pattern is relatively easy, it just requires some patience and precise sewing. if you look at his face below you will see that I embroidered all his facial features, I did that because this stuffed lamb is for a baby, and I wanted to avoid any choking hazards. I also pre-washed all my fabrics to get rid of unhealthy residues and dyes. The harder part of this pattern was sewing his "hair", it is so curvy, I really had to sew slowly and I did have to get my friend Mr. Seam ripper involved a time or 2. The longest part was definitely the embroidery, but that is probably because I am a very novice embroiderer.
So here is Lamby's face all ready to be sewn to the rest of his body. I unfortunately I did not take any photos of the previous steps, but let me tell you that it was very fun to pre-stuff the little arms and legs and to make the little ears!!
The hardest part of this was sewing all together when the limbs were all tucked inside. It was very bulky and at times I had trouble shoving little Lamby in the right position to be sewn. (See the pattern for more information on this step).
Here he is all sewn together and stuffed part way and almost ready to be hand sewn shut. (if you look at the right side of his torso, you will see the opening) Again apologies for not getting step by step photos, I was just to excited to see him stuffed!
Here is Little Lamby chilling at my dinning table, watching netflix patiently waiting for my nephew to be born.
I made a blanket for my nephew, that I knew would be super useful while he was still in a stroller (so for a while yet). It is very easy to make, a cotton fabric on top and a pretty orange minky on the bottom, just sew with right sides together, leaving a 3 inch opening to reverse it. Then stitch it shut. I also added a line of stitching all the way around about half an inch from the edge to hold the sides together and also to make it look more finished. Thats it, it took me about an hour.
Here is my finished gift, a baby blanket and a cute little lamb stuffed animal!
Lamby likes his new blanky, but don't worry, he knows he will have to share it with my nephew.
What do you think of Lamby? have you every made a cute gift for your family or friends? Share it in the comments :)
Vivianna
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