I'm sure it would be rational for someone who knows she has limited and unpredictable crafting time to work on projects in a one-at-a-time fashion but I seem incapable of that sort of planning. I think of something and go hunting around to see if I've got the stuff and if I do (or almost do) I rush right into cutting and sewing.

This is a project I worked on last weekend. A ring sling for me and Maisie for those times when the Moby wrap is impractical. Times like walking out for lunch or going to sit in a park. Times where I know the chance she'll need to nurse is high or where I will want to take off and put on the carrier quickly and without dragging any of it on the ground. I was going to buy a sling and was lamenting the high price of the ones I'd seen when I remembered that I'd bought a bunch of sling rings a few years ago for some project that never got finished and chances were good that I'd be able to scrounge up two metres of fabric somewhere (at the very least it is something I can get in town). I think this fabric was originally going to be a tunic … or a skirt … I don't quite remember … but it is just right for a sling and the plaid pattern was very handy in cutting and hemming and making sure things were lining up.

There are lot of instructions for ring slings on the internet but I worked from a Japanese craft book I got a couple of years ago (chances are good it was purchased about the same time as the rings but there's no knowing really). The book has instructions for four styles of slings plus some cute baby projects and some really great instructions for putting your sling on and getting your baby into it. All the text is in Japanese of course but, like every origami set I've every bought, the book also has detailed pictures to walk you through each step. For the sling wearing instructions the pictures are especially great because they used a special sling made of translucent fabric with coloured ribbon sewn along the rails so you can really see how everything works and how the baby should be positioned.

Maisie is a bit of a stiff baby for this type of carrier. She likes to be able to push her legs straight when she is awake and it's taking a bit of patience on my part to get her used to a carrier that requires her legs be bent. Having her in a cloth diaper helps a bit because it gives a lot more bum for the fabric to wrap around. One big advantage of the sling carrier though is that we can now do front facing carries and Maisie is starting to get pretty keen on seeing what's going on around her.

I took Maisie out into the back yard to get some  pictures of the two of us using our new carrier. I set up my tripod, grabbed my camera remote and stood in the same spot I stood every Tuesday for so many weeks last fall and winter. The weather was certainly much nicer than the last time I was in the back yard for a self portrait session.