what a puzzle

The text arrived at breakfast time Tuesday. A usual, ordinary day suddenyl turned into a high-excitement, stalk-the-phone-all-day kind of day – there was a baby on the way! By morning teatime we were celebrating the safe arrival of (yet another) beautiful tiny boy for our group (or, at 9lb7, not so tiny).

I had previously arranged with my friend that their gift would be a photo shoot, but what is a new baby if not an excuse to make stuff? Plus, I wanted to have something to take with me in exchange for a cuddle or three. A quick Pinterest search led me to a pattern for a puzzle ball. Turning to my stash, I grabbed the dwindling supply of my go-to favourite for making things for little boys without thinking twice.

I’m pretty sure my commitment to any friendship can be measured by how long I debate over using out-of-print fabrics for making gifts.

— Little White Dove (@thedovenest) November 18, 2014

(Aside from a moment of panic when I thought there may not be enough! Thankfully there was more than it appeared.)

With my big little helper chatting away beside me, and my tiny little helper pulling all my scraps from the waste basket, I set to cutting, and then got the seams sewn as Boy2 sat next to me with his homereader. I was on a tighter timeline than usual due to a meeting that night, and a planned Fresh Baby Snuggle Mission early Wednesday morning. The seams complete, I stuffed components, polyfill, needle, thread & scissors in my bag next to my iPad & meeting notes, and merrily stuffed and stitched throughout the meeting. Turns out, it was the perfect length of time, and the final stitch went into the ball as the meeting closed.

Of course, Butterfly isn’t one to be left out of crafty shenanigans, so we now have a pile of flannelette & cotton & ribbons & a very ambitious doll design to make Baby a little something extra. Tomorrow, I am teaching another art class, so that means today is a sewing kind of day. The Island Of Sodor has exploded in our loungeroom so I dare say there will be trains to be played. I want to start reading Butterfly a new chapter book. My letterpress designs fro Christmas just need to be scanned and sent off to print. Pack my bags for tomorrow and try not to wish I was packing them for quilt camp (one week to go!). It’s Friday. It’s hot. There’s fun to be had. Happy weekending everyone!