Little G is 1….

Wow! Where has the last year gone? My first granddaughter has turned one and we celebrated with a wonderful birthday party for her this weekend.  It was fantastic.

The theme was a pink and green garden party and centered around the gorgeous Shepherd’s Hut.  Of course Nanny got to work helping with the decorations and I made some floral pink and green bunting. It was hung from the Shepherd’s Hut and across the garden and looked great.

Both of my granddaughters were also dressed fully in Made By Nanny outfits; a Marianne Romper each and one of the classic knitted cardigans to match. It was so lovely to see them together

The Marianne Romper Take 2…

Once I had made the original version of the Marianne Romper for Little M and it worked out so well, I had to make one for Little G too.

As she is a few months older and at the stage where she is starting to walk and growing at the rate of knots, I had to work on adjusting the pattern slightly to fit but again it has turned out beautifully.

I used a light dusky pink floral print cotton mix fabric for this one.  It is so soft to the touch and hangs wonderfully, perfect

The Mariam Trousers…

I thought I’d try some trousers using the similar harem style pattern as those on the romper as these seem to be quite popular, and look very comfy too.

So here are the Mariam Trousers.  This pair are made in a dusky dark pink cotton fabric so nice and light for the summer, and easy to wear with an elasticated waistband.

As soon as they were finished Little M popped them straight on and she was off. Crawling round the room with the greatest of ease, which is fantastic to see when she’s wearing something I’ve made.

The Marianne Romper…

I’ve been working on a brand new project and design for a baby romper for Little M.  I am proud to share with you the Marianne Romper which is now finished and available for personal orders.

The fabric is absolutely gorgeous on its own, and even more special in the finished article.  I am really happy with how it’s turned out.  The pattern started coming together last week, based on other rompers that I have previously made, but updated a bit with a lower hanging trouser, similar to a hareem style which seems to be very popular with the girls at the moment.

I’ve had an idea…

I’ve had an idea for a new sewing challenge.  I keep seeing all this lovely fabric and printed material in the sewing room and my local haberdashery, I just know that I have to make something a bit special with it.

I’ve decided that I will give making teepees a go, they seem to be in the current ‘in thing’ for little ones and to be honest they do look very good in baby nurseries and playrooms.  I’m hoping that the weather holds out and the grandchildren get to use them in the garden mainly as they are perfect for the summer.

On a sensible side, they are very easy to fold and put up and away again.

So fingers crossed, here goes, two teepees coming up!  Looking forward to sharing the final outcomes in the next day or so.

A quick sort out…

Decided to have a quick sort out of my bits and pieces this afternoon and finally put these lovely wooden trays to good use.  They were a Christmas present from one of my daughters last year when I started Made By Nanny and take pride of place on my sewing desk.. along with photos of my granddaughters of course.

I love having a collection of random bits and pieces to riffle though and get inspired by.  I’ve got jars of buttons, thread, pompoms, pins and ribbons coming out of my ears that I’ve picked up over the years with such good intentions of using but never got round to.  Maybe now is the time… off to start my next project.

Pompoms and polka dots…

After the first sundresses were a big hit, we thought we’d try something a bit more on trend as my girls would say.  We went with polka dots and pompoms… and they have gone down very well. The pompoms make any outfit such fun and I’ve picked up a basket full of them over the years just waiting for the right thing to put them on.  The fabric came from a recent visit to Dubai from one of their textile areas in the city called Al Satwa, somewhere where I get very excited and feel like it’s a home from home. These sundresses were again made for our family holiday and made using the same pattern I created for the broderie anglaise, although slightly lighter in weight so keeping my little granddaughters nice and cool. Hopefully, with rumours of a heatwave about to heat the UK this week, they’ll be use again by the little ones.

A little sundress…

We were lucky enough to recently have a family holiday to the south of France, all my girls and their other halves and of course my gorgeous grandgirls, so I thought I would have a go at making them some little sundresses to wear around the pool and on those warmer days.

So the knitting needles got a short break while I put my sewing machine to work.  I had bought some broderie anglaise fabric to use on a previous trip to Dubai and got started.  I wanted the dresses to be simple little things that could be easily slipped on and off so didn’t worry too much about making a complicated pattern, and was very pleased with the outcome.

The dresses were a great hit with my girls – the mums, and their girls – the granddaughters, and were used whenever the sun was shining.

This is Little M enjoying the sunshine in hers, with a very happy Nanny.