pincushion, finally!

i've needed a new pincushion for . . . i don't even know how long. since the dawn of sewing time around here, i suppose. this summer, some wrapped up binding has been standing in for the awaited arrival and the rest of my pins just live in the box. that binding is about to go on it's quilt and trying to get pins out of the box is a risky venture. so a pincushion was in order.

 i've got several patterns for some adorable heather bailey pincushions (supplies for some, too) as well as the countless patterns in my sewing library. but other than the strawberry i started years ago, i just haven't buckled down and made one. there always seem to be more pressing sewing projects to spend my limited time on. until this week!

i was browsing ayumi takahashi's book patchwork, please! and decided to make the pincushion on the cover. all it needed was a few scaps. i have plenty of those. i even had some linens stashed away from when we made headbands at girls weekend 2010.

 i selected some pink and pink-with-green fabrics from the scrap basket. for my linen, i chose a shot charcoal.

i've never done foundation paper piecing before or sewn a 3d shape, so this was out in exploratory waters for me. aside from it being maybe difficult to work with because it was small, i figured a simple project like this was a good choice for a beginner.

the books directions, however, were not extremely clear for a beginner like me. there was a certain level of assumed knowledge i was lacking and some directions that were just unclear. i was able to figure out how to do everything, but think the explanations could have been more precise and a few more diagrams would have been appreciated.

for example, in the paper piecing instruction section, you're told to temporarily glue the first scrap to the paper pattern, wrong sides together. then you're immediately told "with right sides together, fold the pattern down and cut 1/4" away from the paper." this thoroughly confused me! i thought it was a typo until i kept looking over everything and realized it just wanted me to fold the paper out of the way to create a 1/4" seam allowance on the scrap. "fold the paper down, right sides together" would have been more helpful. to me, at least.

when it came to the pattern for the pincushion, diagrams would have been helpful. having never done a 3d shape before, i didn't understand how to place all the pieces for sewing until i had played around with them a bit. but i did get there.

also, i do really think there is an incorrect measurement in that pattern. the little square patches are 2" sq, and you're supposed to end up with a patch 2 1/2" sq so that you have a seam allowance on all sides. yet the fabric scrap for the middle is supposed to be cut at 2" x 1.5", so i was missing the seam allowance in a few places.

the linen scraps were all to be cut the same size, which meant a lot of waste for the tiniest piece at the bottom and not quite enough for the piece across the top. i quickly discovered i could use pieces cut off the sides for the tiniest bottom triangle, which saved me 3 scraps. in the future, i think i would cut 8 rectangles as called for (2" x 1.5") and 4 rectangles at 2.5" x 1.5" instead of 16 at 2" x 1.5".

 i think that's why i had gaps in some spots, like in the photo above.  the gaps fell in the seam allowance, so when i sewed the top on, it all seems to have worked out, so i guess it's okay. but i'd rather be safe than sorry. if this were a project that was going to be washed ever, those little gaps might cause issues.

it was pretty easy sewing that little box together - i was surprised! i thought i'd have difficulty manipulating the pieces so they didn't get sewn together in the wrong places, but i had no problems at all.

when it came time to stuff the box, i got out my stuffing scraps. this box of strings and cuttings too small to be good for anything else has been piling up in hopes of being used as stuffing in projects that require some.

 so instead of polyfil, i used the strings. the washed bits from my epp project were especially soft and cushy feeling. so glad there was a use for them! i even used the leftover pieces cut off of this project when the piecing was all trimmed up.

 so here she is - not as crisp looking as ayumi's cover girls, but not too shabby, either. i did have a small mismatch along seams, so one of the patterned fabric pieces is slightly off in the center, but the button seems to be covering that up. ayumi used fabric covered buttons for her pincushions, but i didn't have kits for any small enough for this project. not wanting to delay with a trip to the store, i selected a sparkly green button from my button stash. (oh, yes, i have one of those, too.)

overall, this was a fun and quick project. heck, if i can do it, anyone probably can! i will likely make more of these if i have a need for a quick gift. i do like that it uses up scraps and that i got to dig into my stuffing scraps and button stash, as well.

in general, the book is completely adorable! there are several projects i'm itching to make, like the storybook quilt and pencil cases (zip pouches - another first!). and i really, really want to figure out where ayumi gets all her great fabrics. japan? i hope not. i sure wish she'd credited the sources so i could get my hands on some. her fabric taste is awesome.

my only other wish for the book? a cd with all the patterns on it so you could print out what you wanted instead of photocopying or tracing them. that would have been the icing on the cake. i might just have to join the zakka along 2.0 now!

linking in with finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.

a small but real finish

the last few Fridays, I've had no "real" finishes to share - just fake ones that let me slip through the door and get some linky love from wonderful quilty people out there. but this week I really did finish not one, but two projects! so my link in with finish it up Friday is totally legit. (you can see my pincushion tomorrow.)

presenting "patch the puppy" quilt!

this is the first time I ever attempted improv piecing.  I was inspired by beth's patchwork frames baby quilt at plum and june. I was even going to follow her tutorial for the pattern. but when I sat down to sew, I didn't feel like making exact measurements for cuts or doing the patchwork ring. too much work for the mood I was in. so I just took her great idea as a jumping off point and went with whatever happened. I let my 11 yr old daughter (d2) select the order of fabrics for me.

 i'm pretty happy with the way it turned out although I learned a thing or two by what I don't like as much about it. namely:

1) it's not wonky/off-centered enough in the frame sizings. some of the strips almost look like they were meant to be cut the same but weren't. next time, i'll make the constrast between the strip widths greater so the boxes stand out more from each other and the off set nature of them is more noticeable.

and 2) I wish i'd got more color contrast in those 3 center rings between the whites. those 3 strips are so close in color that they almost make the other blues not fit because they match and the others don't. it's got to be either matchy or not matchy to work best, I think.

also, not a major issue, but I realized the other day when my baby tried to walk across it and I panicked that she would get it dirty, that this very light color scheme might be difficult for the mother to keep clean! oh, well. it looks sweet and very baby at the least.

for quilting, I chose to keep a soft feel to the quilt by just echo quilting the insides and outsides of the frames. I was trying really hard to sew accurately, so I made myself sew on "turtle", the slow setting on juki. it took ages and ages. but I think it helped some.

I love the little center accent patch of puppies from aneela hooey's sherbet pips line. I've got loads of pips that I've yet to cut into so it felt good to use this here. and it inspired my name for the quilt, too.

i'm torn between using "patch the puppy " and something with "spot", though, because I like the p alliteration with the first one and I think if I used spot it would also refer to all the polka dot/spotted prints in the quilt.

but "patch the puppy" it is.

I used an amy butler aqua dot on the back and an adorn it dot for the binding. normally the print on the binding not being straight would bother me, but for some reason it doesn't here. it was the best color choice by far from my stash, so I used it.

I love a quilt that comes together in a few sittings. this one was about a week total of sewing here and there as I got the chance. now to get it delivered!

also linking in with Kelly at needle and thread thursday

small wips

 in the binding phase of this little fella. it was slated for my expected-any-day-now nephew, jed, but my sister came and fabric shopped my stash for a custom order. no worries, there were 3 more i needed to make anyway. this one will go to either sam or trace.

attempting this mini pretty - first non-quilt sewing project in absolutely ages. and a foray into foundation piecing.

linking up with freshly pieced's wip wednsesday.

a little help

i try to involve my kids in my sewing as much as possible. my aim is to not only give them happy memories and associations with sewing, but to teach them as i am learning, too. besides, i don't want to be lost in my sewing world why my children grow up unnoticed on the sidelines. if i can sew and spend time with them, it's a good thing.

my own mother was a prolific and accomplished seamstress who made most of our clothing for several years. once there were 8 of us, the wardrobe making slowed down to mostly sunday  or special occasion dresses. i do remember the trips to the fabric store, the pins in the shag carpet (and our feet), cutting out patterns, the whir of the machine. however, beyond our involvement in selection and maybe some pinning and pattern cutting, she did the sewing herself.

i know she meant to teach us and rather thought she was as she went along. but really, i had no idea how to sew other than the few lessons i had from home ec units. i knew how to thread a machine and that you were supposed to line the arrows on the pattern pieces up on the fabric grain. mom did teach me to cross stitch, just not to sew. despite my lack of learning, those early experiences instilled in me a positive outlook on sewing and a feeling of competency should i choose to give it a whirl.

this is one of the reasons i try to involve my own children so much. although they all show interest at times and will help periodically, i have one little person who routinely shows up at the machine. i have to be very careful when she's around because she loves to push the buttons on the machine, unasked, while  i'm sewing. this is dangerous!

i'm always on the look-out for tasks to involve her in. she thinks the small dusting brush for the machine is her personal property as i've given her the job of removing lint (in safe areas). "oh! i need to get the fuzz off!" she exclaims whenever she wanders over.

she's learned how to remove basting pins for me, a task i gladly leave to her. when it's a big quilt, she can do it as i am quilting. however, when she tried to do it with this baby quilt, it kept pulling at my stitching. so i just left them in and turned it over to her when i was done. she took her own sweet time removing them, which i enjoyed watching.

last night she also helped me pin a 4sq i was putting together. she thought it was so fun to count all the pins (great homeschool lessons since she really needs practice with this). it was a little unsettling when she wanted to remove the pins as i sewed, but i felt it important to take the extra bit of time to allow her to do the task. i also allowed her to push the machine buttons for me at the appropriate times when directed by mama. we constantly talk safety, which is slowly sinking in.

hearing her exclaim, excitedly, "you're teaching me to quilt, huh, mama?!" was worth all the patience allowing her to help requires of me.

free fuglies

my friend lucy-angel of charm about you has organized another fugly fabric swap. if you have any fabrics that have been sitting around unloved and unused for too long you can help them find a new home anywhich way you choose and link up to the party to offer them to other sewers/quilters who can love them more than you could.

my offerings were internet orders that didn't look the way i expected when they came or some joann sale purchases before i really sewed at all. i know someone else can do something cute with them, i am just not interested in holding on to them. getting the shelf space back would be nice!

Chinese takeout - there is at least a yard each of these

merry Christmas! - 1 yd ea
found a home



a lonely piece that is cute but has no mates. looks a bit dark and grey here, but is more of a light blue. the print is large (see snips at top for reference)

i would like to send them off at least in the groups they are photographed in, but if you really are dying for something, i'll break it up. am offering each individually or collectively, whatever you want, to anyone in the domestic USA who asks for them. sorry, but this time i can't ship international (unless you are Lucy b., Liz g., or Deborah g. and really want something) because i don't want to pay big bucks to dispose of them. i don't mind sending them regular US postage, though.

so if you see something you like, ask away! please make sure you are not a no-reply blogger or that you leave me your email or i won't have any way to contact you and will have to offer them to someone else.

even if you don't have any fuglies or want any, stop by and wish lucy-angel a happy bloggy 2nd birthday. she's got some great giveaways going to celebrate. tell her "hi" for me!

finishing touch

 this afternoon i had an appointment to meet a lady who recently moved into our neighborhood and attends my church. (my other friend, linette, and i've been assigned as her visiting teacher, which is like being assigned to be a friend - it's awesome.) i wanted to take her a small something to say "welcome," so i planned to bring along one of my favorite chocolate bars in both it's dark and milk versions. instead of putting them in a gift bag, i raided my scrap basket for a piece to tie around the chocolate into a bow.

i found a bit that was about 3/4" wide by the width of fabric, which was trimmed off the backing i recently used for the 3 panel baby quilt. it had brown (chocolate) as well as pinks and greens in it.

with the bow tied around it, cute frayed edges and all, it made a sweet little package. i promise the bow looked a lot cuter in person. somehow it looks messy and less shabby chic in the photo.

i thought it made a unique and pretty finishing touch to the chocolate.  i've used scraps to dress up at least 2 other gifts (here and here). it's a fun way to use up scraps and represent yourself well in your wrapping.

other than that, i actually spent the whole morning sewing with my dear friend jill for the first time in months. we got a lot of catching up with each other done, but no finishes. maybe next week.

this fella almost made it to the finish line. i had planned on getting up early this morning and completing it, but my husband kept me up way too late. marriage and sleep before quilting.
i'm on the second to last round of echo quilting the squares. as soon as this is posted, i'm heading right back there.

linking in to crazy mom quilts! i know, i know, my "finishes" are being quite widely and liberally interpreted lately. life got in the way of the quilt finish i had planned this week. it'll be done next week for sure.

the light of liberty

#1 - P  tungsten light  1/80  2.8f  +2/3 exp  iso200

this is a photo shoot process post. it's heavy on photos (28) and words, too, to describe my thinking. you've been warned! i've linked in with plum and june's photography workshop party. this is a more technical post. i also wrote a basic, entry-level photography post here.

while admiring beth's mini summer quilts at plum and june, i realized briar rose was now available and i didn't have any yet. yikes! even though i'm trying to fabric diet, i hopped on over to fabric.com to get some. however, as darling as the line is and as much as i adore heather ross's designs, i decided i could live without a lot of briar rose. my willpower kicked in and i only selected two prints to coordinate with the pile i already have set aside from previous lines. whew! i patted myself on the back for being so good.

then, . . .
for some reason, i checked to see what liberty of london lines might be available. uh oh! lots of new tana lawns. that's where the willpower (mostly) flew out the window. i ordered 5 - 1/2 yard cuts of some irresistible prints. oh, shame on me! why, oh why does that stuff have to be so expensive? and gorgeous and completely irresistible to me? utter temptation.

#4 - P  tungsten  1/80  f2.8  +2/3exp  iso160

well, the whole caboodle arrived yesterday afternoon during our family cleaning hour. i didn't have time to look at it, so i set it aside, forgetting it until this morning. the dog woke me up at the crack of dawn, so i had some quiet time to myself. i got to sit down with my new lovelies and just admire them to my heart's content. they truly are exquisite. i can't help repeatedly running my fingers over their silky texture. and the colors! the dainty florals are my favorites. something about the delicate line drawn flowers appeals to me.

ah, it was a special time for just the two of us this morning. ha, ha!

M daylight  1/100  f4.0  iso200

as i caressed my darlings, i looked up at the entryway and noticed the amazing morning light shining through. i have these large wicker baskets lining the entry; one for each child to keep their shoes and such in. the sunlight streams through the window in the morning, setting the golden baskets aglow in such a lovely way. it reminded me of laura's photo shoot post. and liberty reminds me of laura. suddenly i wanted to combine the fabric with the baskets and light. it seemed a perfect match.

M  daylight  1/100 f4  iso200
i zoomed in a bit to try and capture how the light gleams on the basket handles and the dust motes dance in the air

it turned out much tougher than i had anticipated. having two different aspects i wanted to include really complicated the matter. i could get one or the other, but featuring both together proved illusive. i think i asked too much of the photo. in truth, none of the photos capture the details of the fabric designs enough for me. still, it was fun playing and working on my skills.

i took 50 photos, but only included 28 here.

M  daylight  1/100  f4  iso200
closer still on those handles - i still didn't capture the magic light, though

the very first photo in this post (#1) is the first one i took. and i do like it. but it doesn't showcase the fabrics as much as i wanted to. the yellow print, my favorite, is out of focus thanks to the shallow depth of field i got with my 2.8 f stop.

 i tried putting the fabrics in a row on the backside of the basket so they would all be in equal focus:


#2 - P tungsten 1/60  2.8f  +2/3exp  iso160

but to get the basket included, i was too zoomed out.

i zoomed in, including only a bit of the basket:


#3 - P  tungsten  1/60  2.8f +2/3exp  iso160

 but i lost the points where the basket was lit up and sort of sparkly in the bright light.
 i also tried the angle in the 2nd photo of the post (#4). that one looks rather like dishtowels in a basket. i was trying to include a bit more of the basket, but i don't like the way the handle covers the fabrics.

at this point, i was frustrated with the styling, so i went back to where the light sparkles on the handles. i placed the fabrics slightly differently and tried again:


#5 - P  tungsten  1/8  2.8f  +2/3exp  iso125

the aqua capel in the back is still too blurry. and the handles are dead center; i prefer off centered.

i was shooting in P (program) mode, letting the camera pick my settings, but with the exposure compensation bumped up for more light. it was tricky because i didn't want to totally blow out the handles yet the fabrics still needed to be bright enough.

while looking at my settings, i noticed the white balance was set to "tungsten light", which is for light bulbs. oops. i switched to that last night while photographing something else indoors sans flash.

#6 - P  daylight  1/80  2.8f  +2/3  iso125

 hey, that's a lot warmer looking! more of the golden quality of the light shows. but you still can't see all the lovely fabrics clearly. and the whites are less crisp from here on out with the white balance shift. it's a choice of what to sacrifice.

i moved the fabrics again to get them closer together:

#7 - P  daylight  1/123  f2.8  +1 1/3  iso 125

still not happy about the blur. i decided to go completely manual so i could move the aperture setting and still control everything else. what the heck.

there was a lot to think about as i was not only trying to find good styling but the proper settings. sometimes one or the other is sorta taken care of for you and you can concentrate on one. otherwise, you have to keep switching your mental focus. it's a fun challenge and brain exercise.

#8 - M  daylight  1/100  f4  iso200

i opened up the f stop a little so more of the photo would be in focus. however, it was still pretty shallow and because i focused on the fabric in back, the front two are still blurred. it's a nice shot of that pretty june's meadow in yellow/white, though.



#9 - M  daylight  1/100  f4  iso200

i framed this one a bit differently, but was still having depth of field issues.


so i went back to the laundry look at the back of the basket:

#10 - M  daylight  1/100  f4  iso200

 the light coming in the window was shifting all this time, as light will do. now i had serious contrast issues going on. yuck. the fabric is not bright enough and the basket is too bright. also, that draping looks sloppy.

i tried a couple and gave up. instead, i lined them up along the handle side and moved around so i could shoot more straight on:

#11 - M  daylight  1/100  f4  iso200

 argh - photo bomber! the toddler was up at this point and adding yet another aspect to my mental calculations.

remove baby, shift frame slightly:

#12 - M  daylight  1/100  f4  iso200

 getting better but i wanted more light to brighten the fabrics.

 i moved the shutter speed number higher:

#13 - M  daylight  1/200  f4  iso200

 dang. that was the wrong way! shutter speed numbers need to get lower for more light, aperture numbers go up. so much to remember.

#14 - M  daylight  1/60  f4  iso200

 ooh, i like this exposure! very pretty.

i got that angle down and decided to attempt the laundry shot again:

#15 - M  daylight  1/60  f4  iso200

#16 - M  daylight  1/60  f4  iso200

although i like the way the light bounces around here, it's just not what i was going for with the picture story.

what you can't see happening in all these shots is this:

M  daylight  1/60  f4  iso200

  . . . my cute little assistant. she was continually trying to replace my lens cap (bugs her when it's off) or style fabric for me or climb on my head.

because the light had moved, i decided to move the basket itself. also, i had two more liberty prints i wanted to photograph. in the interest of time, i added the darks to the lights for a complete group shot. the aperture/f stop got changed, too, for more light.

#17 - M  daylight  1/60  f2.8  iso200

 that need to balance the light on the baskets and the exposure on the fabric was a problem again - i don't like either here. the fabrics definitely needed more light and to all be in focus (more depth of field).

so i closed the aperture down to f4 (greater depth of field) and had to switch my iso higher so i could still hand hold the camera and not get any shake. if i had moved the shutter speed, i wouldn't have been able to hold the camera still enough. most experts say don't hand hold below 1/120, but i have a steady hand and feel comfortable taking it to 1/60. i'll actually even attempt lower if it's not a vitally important shot or i don't have an option.

#18 - M  daylight  1/60  f4  iso400

 now, this looks a tad too bright here on the dark teal mitsi at the left and also on the yellow june's meadow. but i like it on all the other fabrics.

and here, when writing the post, i noticed something important. the above shot looked perfectly exposed and pretty sharp on my camera's little lcd screen but less so on the computer. i think one major reason for this difference, besides size, is that on the camera the shot is surrounded by black, which makes it pop more, and here it's encompassed by white, which is dulling it slightly. that's something to keep in mind when shooting, i guess.

i tried one last angle on this styling to see how it looked. in order to not cut the fabrics off at the bottom but not have to include so much empty space at the top, i went vertical:

#19 - M  daylight  1/60  f2.8  iso400

 again, what you can't see is the way i'm laying on the floor to get this shot. but i couldn't lay flat on my back, i had to be raised a smidge to get the right angle. this was tricky enough photo yoga without the baby involved, she made it near impossible.

#20 - M  daylight  1/60  f2.8  iso400

 angle improved, the fabrics looks wrong.

i tried draping them and going horizontal again:

#21 - M  daylight  1/60  f2.8  iso400

 all that empty space on the right bothered me. i added a 2nd basket to fill it:

#22 - M  daylight  1/60  f2.8  iso400

 that blocked my light and looked dumb.

i removed the basket, placed the fabrics closer together, returned to vertical orientation:

#23 - M  daylight  1/60  f2.8  iso400

 oh, almost! the aqua capel looks yucky.

redrape the capel, crop in a tad, shift frame a touch :

#24 - M  daylight  1/60  f2.8  iso400
fabrics, l to r: emma and georgina in teal/dl blue; capel in aqua/wh; June's meadow in yellow/wh; floral fusion wh/yl/pnk;
misti  in dark teal

well, the light must have changed again because this is a bit lighter and i didn't adjust any settings!

everyone was awake and breakfast needed to be made at this point, so play time was over. i had to put my camera and pretties away.

if you actually read all that, or even just skimmed down to the bottom, which one do you like best? and why?

now i get the fun of deciding what to do with these darlings! it has to be perfect. i'm blank on ideas so far.

wip report and a blue mood

 i got a few more fabrics to mix in my epp project. after doing the pre-wash, i have cut triangles out for basting. one really nice aspect of epp is that you don't have to precision cut your fabric pieces (or press them first, apparently). but i have been wanting to get a triangle ruler for some projects brewing, so i used one of those irresistible 40% coupons from joann to get an equilateral ruler.

it makes cutting the pieces much quicker than the way i was doing it - just placing an epp paper piece on the fabric and eyeballing it. and while i don't worry about precision, having the pieces more uniformly cut has been helpful with basting.

 you just flip that baby up and down, alternately, and cut away. some nice little blunt-topped triangles are the result.

the selection of ruler brands was limited. i got the fons and porter because the blunt tip wasn't too big and there are lots of handy marks on the ruler. sarah fielke recommended those features in her craftsy class i purchased. so far, i like it! no complaints.

by the way, this is the first time i've ever used blue nail polish and the first time in years i've painted my fingers. a slight rebellion against the new decade mark i achieved this year? i do my tootsies regularly, but find the fingers impractical because they get smudged or chipped pretty much instantly. while i was trying out some new essie on my toes i got curious about how it would look on my fingers. mint candy apple and i had a fun weekend fling, but it's over now and i cleaned them off yesterday. back to au natural and my revlon super buffer. (okay, who really cared about any of that?!)

big news - juki is back up and running!

right now she has a nephew baby quilt under the needle. i whipped up my first ever improv pieced top on sunday evening. it was a lot of fun, i learned some things along the way, and i'm pretty happy with the results. this little fella just needs some more simple outline quilting and a binding. easy peasy, which is great since i need 3 more baby boy quilts and one little girly one. as much as i like the blanket stitching handwork on them, i'm pretty much bored out of my mind with 4sqs and thinking these are almost as quick. it was a nice change up.

the fabrics for my next one were photographed and shared in the photography workshop link-up at plum and june this week.

maybe it was all those boy quilts and blue fabrics that inspired my polish choice?

i got the go ahead from my cousin's sisters-in-law to turn this fun pile into a little girl quilt so i won't be blue forever. i sent them a photo asking if it was something she'd like. i got three responses of "cute" and "yes!", so it's in the que.

 

what a sloppy photo! i wasn't shooting for any big photography post or anything, so it'll do as dark, cool-tinted, and unstyled as it is. jump over to plum and june if you want some photography fun with your fabric.

 

linking up with wip wednesday at freshly pieced and needle & thread thursday .

 

my report:

 

finished - none

 

newfo's

jed's baby quilt - being quilted

4 other baby quilts - fabric pulled

 

in progress

epp  - new fabric purchased and about 3 more pieces basted; 9 blocks completed

taite - needs basting

plus a diamond - needs binding

twirl - needs adjustments and border on top

paris daydream - still a flimsy

hst diamonds - untouched

 

trips to the store

one to ETC for yardage for epp quilt (and a few other bits that caught my eye)

 

internet activity

fabric.com purchase of 2 briar rose selections (really limiting myself here, trying to be good) . . . and a few more liberty tana lawn half yards (not so well behaved)

ordered patchwork, please! from b&n to check it out (just curious about all the fuss and cute projects everywhere. and i'm trying to figure out what exactly is "zakka"!?))

 

organization

worked on cleaning up my dining sewing space, but it's just getting worse. my goal is to have only the project(s) i'm actually working on in there. everything else needs to be upstairs in the splish splash zone.