I recently came across a sewing challenge blog that just got started here in Norway. Even if I just started sewing 4-5 months ago I got carried away and wanted to participate in the June challenge.

The challenge was “Fast og Mykt, stikkord Sommer”. If I am not mistaken that could be translated as “Firm and soft, cue summer”. There were some more details and photos to inspire you in the blog but the word “summer” was what caught my attention and carried my mind away.

I feel a bit bad for participating with an English blog but I just don’t feel comfortable blogging in Norwegian. My apologies to all the Norwegian people participating in the challenge! Note: Comments in Norwegian are welcome!

Ladybugs are my favorite animal. Not only are they really cute but I had a small encounter with one of them few years ago that I cannot forget. I was biking home one day and all of a sudden noticed that a ladybug was sitting on my thigh. I realized that I didn’t know how long the ladybug had been sitting there and that I had probably carried her far, far away from her family. And that in ladybug distance this probably equaled around the globe and back for us humans. This made me understand how small and unimportant my everyday worries really are. Ever since then ladybugs have had a special place in my heart. A special place that reminds me that my life is quite nice even if there are small worries and annoyances.

One of the first thing I thought about when I started sewing was that I wanted to make something ladybug-ish for my little daughter. An idea kept forming in my mind but I was a bit too afraid (and too unexperienced) to start . When I saw the June challenge I decided that I would give my ladybug idea a try. A baby ladybug tunic. I had originally planned to make it all out of cotton but when the challenge started the thought struck me that maybe the top part could be made out of stretch material to avoid any buttons and zippers that tend to leave a mark on sensitive baby skin. This would also qualify the tunic for the challenge.

So I made couple of disaster attempts and then I came to this. There are plenty of things that I would do differently if I did another round but I will think about that later. The deadline is today 🙂 .

The little ladybug

I made the tunica with Michael Miller Rouge et Noir That’s it Dot Ruby, and then some black jersey, black cotton, and black bias tape from Stoff og Stil. The pattern is something I made up myself.

It wasn’t easy to get some photos of a little active ladybug that never sits still but here are few.