8 Little Things

1. $26 worth of sale fabric for my Summer Sewing Challenge - to make a dress, skirt and shorts for Emerson and pants and pj shorts for Cohen.
2. Black Russians from the garden - it really has been a warm Winter, hasn't it?
3. A little skirt cut out and ready for some nap time sewing.
4. Pickings from the veggie patch - baby spinach, peas, cherry toms and chilli's.
5. Finished skirt! That makes three.
6. Purple carrots for our Sunday Roast.
7. Wise words from Oscar Wilde and Paper Boat Press.
8. Stage one of the doll house DIY complete - carpet and wall papers removed.  A much greater challenge than I had anticipated!

What lovely things have you been making, growing or doing lately?

Summer Sewing Challenge - Progress

My Summer Sewing Challenge is going swimmingly so far. I have ticked three dresses, two skirts and one pair of pyjamas off my to-sew list for Emerson. Each piece has been made with patterns, fabric, thread, zips and buttons from the stash, most of which were thrifted or gifted. I am on a roll. A little sewing here and there and her Summer wardrobe is coming together. I never imagined that I would be able to sew such things, so I am quite pleased. I put it down to years of watching my Mother sew when I was growing up, great instructions and diagrams in the patterns, and just diving in.

The skirts and dresses have already been put to use paired with tights and cardigans. Another dress (or two), a couple of pairs of shorts and another set of pyjamas and I will be ready to tackle some Summer sewing for Cohen and myself. After taking five months to knit a blanket, sewing a dress in a day is quick and satisfying. Not to mention a little addictive.

And clearly, if I am lacking motivation in future, I need only set myself a challenge.



 

 

PS. Is it just me, or how different does my daughter look in each of these photos, taken only a couple of days apart?

A Summer Sewing Challenge

 

My husband seems both amused and annoyed by my little pile of sewing items on the dining room table. This possibly has something to do with the studio/sewing room I have downstairs, where these things are supposed to live. And the fact that I keep sewing while the cricket is on. In my defence, the table up here is bigger, it keeps the children out of my studio, and the sound of my machine may discourage my darling husband from falling asleep while watching the cricket. Not that he would ever do that, of course...

 

Dear Dave may well have to persevere with the sound of my sewing machine a little longer though. I have in mind to sew an entire Summer wardrobe for Emerson, just as my Mother did when we were children. I figure, given what Emerson already has, that works out to about four dresses, a skirt or two, a couple of pairs of shorts and a couple of pairs of pyjamas. So I shall see how I go!

 

Above is the second dress I have completed in this challenge. It was made from a vintage sheet still in the packet, that I was gifted from a friend, and as such cost me a sum total of $0 to make. It's the same pattern as the first dress, minus the sleeves and a little shorter. I made 2cm wide bias to finish the armholes. I did try to get a photo of it on Emerson, but as you can see she was in a cheeky mood - the cuteness! I love the print of this fabric. I would totally wear this dress. Might have to work on some Summer items for myself next.



Hello Sewing!

 

Emerson is quickly growing out of the closet full of vintage baby dresses I collected before her birth, and which were saved from my own childhood. I haven't been able to bring myself to pack them away yet. I've been searching op-shops, eBay and even antique stores for vintage dresses in toddler sizes to replace them, generally to no avail. Baby clothes get outgrown before they are worn out. While for toddler clothes the reverse is true, making them scarcer.

 

Tuesday, when Emerson woke up from her nap, I impulsively decided to sew her a dress. It's been a long time since I did any sewing, and I have never stitched a toddler dress before, but I was undeterred. There is no arguing with these impulsive rushes of inspiration, I tell you. We hunted through my stash of fabric and vintage patterns and found a sweet Japanese nautical print fabric (that I think I won in a giveaway, a long time ago) and a size two vintage dress pattern that had been gifted to me. Upon laying out the pattern pieces I realised there wouldn't be enough of the print for the bodice, but found some left over thrifted gingham instead. The red zip and embroidery thread were also thrifted finds residing in my stash. Sum total of the finished dress was probably $2.

 

I cut, pinned and stitched between scooting up and down the street with the children, helping with baths and making dinner. I continued once the rest of the house was sleeping, determined to finish what I had started. And I did, at eleven at night. Oh, the thrill of a finished sewing project! The fun of adding a little cross stitch to match the sail boats in the fabric! (Something I have not attempted since my mother taught me how to cross stitch placemats one Summer holiday as a child.) The satisfaction of trying it on my little darling and knowing it should fit perfectly by Spring!

 

I'm so pleased with how it turned out. The only thing I will change is to add a bit of elastic around the hem of the sleeve, to give that vintage puffy sleeve look that only children can get away with (view 1 on the pattern packet.) I love this pattern. Despite having a zip, gathering, bias neckline and gathered sleeves, I found it quite simple. I didn't realise how much I had picked up during all those years watching my Mother sew. There were things I knew how to do, without knowing how I knew.

 

I already have the next dress cut out.

Sewing for toddlers

The toddler apron I made for Cohen's second birthday has proven to be one of the most successful things I have stitched for him. From imaginative dress ups, to helping me in the kitchen, it sees play most days. The neck band is elasticated and the waist strap closes with velcro, so that he can put on and take off the apron himself. Two of Cohen's friends are celebrating their third birthdays. I'm hoping that an apron of their own, and some cooking implements made for little hands, might be just as enjoyable for them. 

I sewed these up over two days with fabric from the stash while the children slept. They are gifts for boys, so I wanted something masculine for the little chefs. I used Cohen's apron as the pattern, though the original free pattern can be found here. The only problem was that the whereabouts of the velcro eluded me. I'm quite sure I did have some... I used buttons instead. Hopefully these boys also share in Cohen's fascination with buttons.

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Fabric brought on sale at Spotlight for $3 a meter

While I had the sewing machine out to finish off the maternity top I'd started, I also made some alterations to another dress I brought recently. I picked up this little dress up for $4.95 at Valleygirl, as I liked the fabric. However, it was too short to be a dress and unflattering as a tunic with the frill around the bottom, but it fits my bump nicely. So the frill got the chop, and a new hem was made and ta-dah, two more thrifty tops to add to my maternity wardrobe. 

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Crochet ripple baby blanket, using the Attic 24 pattern
Raveled here

Another maternity top in progress, using this Simplicity pattern

Finished hangers for the wedding, using an adaption of Dottie Angels Happy Hanger Pattern
Ravelled with notes here

Slowly but surely my energy levels are returning and I find I'm not joining Cohen for a nap every day. Just some days. As a result when I'm not spending time at the bench filling orders, I have been playing with some crafty projects. Though I should still be working on the hexagon blanket... I told you, bad crafter... and only two sleeps until the wedding.

My Creative Space

A bit of maternity stitching to fill the gaps in my wardrobe. Quick, simple and colourful for Summer. It looks cute with a belt pulling it in.

I used this Simplicity pattern and added an extra two inches to the sides and an inch to the bottom at the front to accommodate my growing tummy. Made from cotton found on sale for $5 a meter at Spotlight.

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More Creative Spaces here.

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Despite the beautiful weather today, the grass is alas too muddy to welcome the addition of my completed  picnic rug.

There is another problem. The beautiful vintage sheeting and the soft lofty batting, combine to make a picnic rug that feels rather at home on the guest bed; in the role of a blanket.

We are both confused now as to it's proper purpose. Rug or blanket.

Also, does one iron a picnic rug/blanket?

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Inspired by SouleMama's picnic blankets.

Vintage sheets from Kitty. 

And best wishes to her family.

My Creative Space...

I've been enjoying extra moments of creativity while Dave's been on holidays. As well as relishing breakfast in bed, a solo op-shopping excursion and extra help in the kitchen. If only I could keep him at home a little longer. 

A new knitting project has been started. Projects that have sat on my 'meaning to do' list for longer than I'd care to admit have been completed. Such as the replacement curtain for the laundry door, with recently thrifted fabric. Or hand stitching the binding to my picnic blanket, which is now nearly finished. There's also been a lot happening at the bench, with custom orders and new stock for the shop.

For purely selfish reasons, I'm not at all keen for him to return to work tomorrow...

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More Creative Spaces here.

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One less item in the knitting basket. 

A simple project. Quiet nights spent knitting. Pinning and blocking during nap time. A handmade cushion insert for a perfect fit. Mattress ticking fabric and wooden buttons. A child as occupied playing with his barn and tractors, as his mother was with cutting and stitching.

And yet, I keep looking at it, hardly believing that I made it. It's just a cushion. Though it seems to symbolize just how much I've learnt since my crafting journey began in earnest whilst pregnant with Cohen.

Do you ever get that feeling?

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Ravelry.

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Little hands would turn the door knob revealing a little head. Daddy's voice would bring a quiet reminder that Mummy was trying to nap. Stories would be whispered from the door. Any reply would be greeted with a cheeky shhhhh, finger to lips. Occasionally little feet would creep into the room, climb on to the bed and wiggle beneath the covers, before little arms would wrap themselves around my neck and kisses would find my cheeks.

It's little wonder our little man has picked up my cold.

Today while he napped and my fog has all but lifted, I rewarded myself with some sewing time. I've also completed a custom made ring, which I will share with you once it's been received by the birthday girl.

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Pattern: 'Amour Skirt' from Make It Perfect by Toni Coward

Fabric: Thrifted wool, $2
Notions: Thrifted zipper

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I find new cushions are most satisfying and thrifty things to sew. 

Four cushion inserts at $3.50 each. 1.5 meters fabric, on sale for $8/m. A reel of cotton. A packet of buttons. A few hours. And four new cushions for around $32.

And a happy, if sniffley, sewer.