The dress lives on...

Here is another quick little make from Crafty Creatures (by Jane Bull).

Not a lot to say about it really, other than I am still using up little scraps from the baby dress. And see the trunk - already thoroughly chewed.

Must not waste any more time here for now, as (fellow Brits will appreciate this) the SUN IS SHINING. The girls are due back from swimming lessons in less than ten minutes, and then we are going to head straight to the park. With some brownies and a flask of hot chocolate. (It may be sunny, but it's not warm.)

Have a lovely weekend, everyone.

Scruffy Cat Pencil Case

The back is recovering pretty well. Not as quickly as I'd like (meaning I am not yet running round the park and the actual area where the surgery was gets sore if I do too much) but doing okay. I haven't needed any painkillers whatsoever for over a week now, and, I can put my socks on myself without needing my four year old to help me. 

And now that my leg doesn't feel like it is going to explode each time I sit down, using my sewing machine is an appealing prospect again.

This pencil case is not going to set the sewing world alight, but, it seemed to make the three year old birthday boy happy when we gave it to him. He likes cats, fluffy things and the colour blue.

Children with birthdays so close to Christmas are always tricky to buy for. I find this with our own little Elizabeth (who has her birthday on New Year's Day). So, having asked his mum what he might like, the reply was a set of felt tipped pens. Small things - like owning your own set of pens and not needing to share your sister's - count for a lot when you are the youngest.

The birthday boy had requested we all came to his party dressed in his favourite colour.

In a pleasing, `I have just the thing' moment (thanks to my friend, Iciar), I offered to paint everyone's nails blue. The girls LOVED this. It was the first time they'd had their nails painted by me - the treat had an unexpected bonus as they sat super still, patiently waiting for their nails to dry for an entire twenty minutes. Needless to say I will be tactically offering to paint their nails for them all the next time I feel the need for them to all calm down and give me some peace and quiet.

The middle girl particularly enjoyed the sight of her brightly coloured nails for the day - and at the end of it, she and I struck a bargain. I have agreed to repeat the experience next weekend if she practises her reading with me every day this week. And, if she tries extra hard and gets to ten reads, I'll do her toes, too. I don't really go in for girlie girlie stuff with them, but, well, sometimes (especially with the middle girl) pragmatism works better. Whatever motivates her to read without an argument or chasing her round the house with her reading book...

Love your scraps!

My friend Rachael sent me the link to these apple and pear pincushions (originally from the gorgeous Mollie Makes magazine) back in January. I've finally got round to making some!

I enjoyed every bit of making these.

From rummaging through my scraps and having the satisfaction of an "I knew these would come in handy" moment, to the sewing itself.

I'm not sure why a grown woman would find making pretend fruit so pleasing, but I do.

And, one just wasn't enough.

I made the first three pieces on Sunday night, and then got started on the additional four yesterday evening, before and after my current bag ladies came round to make their own versions of this bag.

If you happen to try making these yourself, my top tips would be to use tons of stuffing (I used a chopstick to help shove extra into the fruits so that they ended up nice and firm), and, to have a thimble, nice long needle and a pair of pliers to hand for sewing on the buttons and stalks.

Making the pincushions gave me the idea for a new course, appropriately titled, `Love your scraps!'.

It's going to be full of cute little makes and ideas of what to do with the scraps of fabrics you might already have hidden in a box somewhere. And, if you're new to sewing (or not a hoarder), and not in possession of a scrap pile, the things on the course can all be made with minimal amounts of fabric - perhaps the perfect excuse for treating yourself to a fat quarter bundle (am I the only one who finds little bundles of coordinating prints irresistible?!).

If you'd like to know more about my new courses for 2013, please click here. Gift vouchers are available upon request (and valid for one year from date of issue). Booking for courses is going to stay on old fashioned paper for now, but watch this space and things might change!

Last Minute Birthday Gift

Last night, I remembered I had not sorted out a birthday present for the joint sibling party we were due to be going to this afternoon.

Granted, I could have just resolved to pop to the shops this morning, and the problem would have been solved. But, I'd already got a home made gift ready made for the big sister, and, wanted to make something for the little brother, too.

I toyed with making this or that, but sadly, couldn't find any big enough pieces of decent prints or colours in my stash that would suit a little boy (hmm - I wonder why that is?). If only I had planned things a bit more in advance.

So, I went for something I know is a birthday favourite in our house. Number t shirts!

I knew I had a couple of blank t shirts left from the packs I'd bought for PE kits, and coupled with some Bondaweb and scraps, I was ready to whirr into last minute birthday gift action.

I was lucky to be given these cool scraps by my sewing friend, Stacie. Aren't they great? Sadly, I don't think you can get hold of them now (please let me know if I am wrong on this front!), and so Stacie had very kindly given me the scraps leftover from her own fabulous Jubilee themed sewing projects earlier on in the year.

The patch work effect was done out of necessity - the scraps are small and some of them oddly shaped.

I like the overall look, though, and it just goes to show that all those scraps are worth keeping. They will come in handy one day - it's just a matter of waiting for the inspiration to strike.

The party was lovely. Highlight for me was the sight of the two gorgeous tiered cake stands the host had made, using mismatching vintage china. They looked utterly beautiful, and the perfect thing to show off the pretty lavender cakes that had been made for the parents to enjoy. Wish I'd had my camera - but, well, you know what I'm going to be scouring the charity shops for next..!

I still haven't sewn name labels into their uniforms....

But I have made them some nice new clips to wear on their first day back at school.

And that's about all it will be. They might last to the end of the second week, but I am under no illusions that clips don't last long on this earth. Where they go to I do not know - maybe to the same place as all the socks that would make matching pairs to the odd ones that lurk at the bottom of our laundry basket.

These clips are easy to make. You don't even need to sew anything.

Being a little obsessed with sewing, I couldn't help myself though.

But if you have some big vintage buttons and decent glue, you can make some sweet little clips in two minutes flat.

I really like the whole back to school feel of September, and the many excuses for new goodies it brings. Maybe that's why I became a teacher.

Along with it comes the back to school resolutions.

For me, I am going to get out of bed early enough to fit in a swim (the local pool is only a couple of minutes round the corner from where we live) before the school run. Yes, you heard it.

The time has come to face reality - if my back is still playing up (currently awaiting physiotherapy) and I want to keep up my three a day habit (pieces of cake, that is), I need to do some alternative exercise. Don't worry, I have cut back my cake, but never will I surrender it altogether.

And a small resolution for the girls will be to keep all their clips tidily tucked in these handy drawers. No more stepping on them or hoovering them up.

How about you - any September resolutions?

The calming powers of lavender

So last weekend, the biggest girl was given a lavender bag - my friend Sarah made it for her. 

This was a huge hit - and when I explained to her that lavender is often used to help people feel relaxed at bedtime, the biggest girl took it to bed with her and slept with it on her pillow.

She awoke the next day, claiming she had enjoyed the best night's sleep she had had in ages. (Yes, this is a six year old we are talking about.)

Needless to say, it was not long before the other residents were piping up for their own lavender bags. A quick text message for the instructions from Sarah, and we were ready to get making.

 Still in our pyjamas, armed with scissors and bowls, we trotted out to the front garden. Lavender is something even the laziest of gardeners can grow.

Extremely happy girl - wouldn't you be if you had discovered a scrap of fabric that matched the dress you were wearing? Because every two year old likes to coordinate their lavender bag with their outfit, daahling...

Sometimes your children surprise you, and, remind you that even the most simple of things can be hugely enjoyable. They all  loved picking the lavender, pulling it apart so there were no stalks left in the bowls, and mixing it in with the rice. So much so, that as I looked up from the quick job of sewing the bags for them to fill, I realised they were as happy as could be, playing with lavender and rice.

"I think that lavender is definitely having a calming effect on them," I said to my husband, as I went upstairs to get a couple of things I needed to finish off the little lavender bags.

I returned a couple of minutes later to find chaos. The idyllic scene of children gently tipping lavender and rice from one bowl to another, and into the little newly made sacks I'd given them had vanished.

The sacks were all empty (they were full when I'd left the room) and the kitchen table and floor covered with their contents. A lavender fight had broken out, and they were all full of glee about it.

"I hope you're going to sweep that up," I said. 

They did. And loved that just as much as they had loved filling and emptying the lavender bags. 

And then, when they'd disappeared off in search of their next act of destruction, I swept up. And, calm restored, I sat down with a fresh cup of tea and fiddled about with ric rac to finish the bags. It wasn't until later that night (in front of the TV) that I finished the bags - the hand sewing took a while, but I quite like a bit of relaxing hand sewing.

If you want to make some of these sweet little bags, with or without children, just cut a couple of 10cm squares of fabric, sew wrong sides together along three sides. Turn the bag out the right way, fill with 1 tablespoon of lavender and 2 tablespoons of rice, adjust and hand sew the remaining edge, and find some pretty trim to finish the bag off. 

Enjoy!

The day of black poster paint

This is the image I must try and keep in my mind to sum up yesterday. And not the image of my first Ginger with black poster paint on it. It has had one wash already, has soaked in soda crystals overnight, and is currently doing a second cycle in the washing machine. Fingers and toes crossed.

What kind of an idiot doesn't bother to change out of her favourite new skirt before allowing her youngest child access to some black poster paint? This idiot.

In my defence, I hadn't started the day with the intention of doing any messy play as such. There was the shopping to be done as a matter of some urgency, due to the discovery that we were completely out of cat food, at the point that the cat was hovering at my feet with an increasing sense of `When will the dopey owners take the hint I am hungry?' look about her. And, less urgent, but with more gratification upon completion, the middle girl needed a new seat making for her toy pushchair. She had wheeled her battered old pushchair frame to the park and back yesterday, despite the fact she could not sit a toy in it as there was no seat for the toy to sit. What had happened to the previous seat? I honestly have no idea. Possibly broken and then removed and mysteriously vanished - who knows.

So the pushchair seat was made. I was an instant hero in the eyes of my four year old. I let her, and her little sister, take their pushchairs to the supermarket. I reckoned they generally behave more responsibly when they feel they are in charge of their `babies' and wheeling them about the place - I gambled right, and, the pair of them, along with their big sister (who had settled quite happily for being allowed to take her newly acquired Barbie with her) were happy throughout the big food shop. Hurrah.

Cat fed, as I unpacked the rest of the shopping, on a whim, I threw an empty tea bag box in the direction of the middle girl. She absolutely loves setting up treasure hunts at the moment, and I suggested she might like to use some silver foil to turn the box into a treasure chest. Cutting and sticking are her favourite things to do, and so, for the second time in a morning, I was a hero in her eyes.

Cue instantaneous "Can I have a box too?", and cries of "That's not fair" when no appropriate box could be found. And that is the story of how yesterday turned into a day of creativity and mess. Triumph and disaster. It was like spinning plates.

The inspiration for these sock creatures came from watching Super Scrimpers the night before. I hadn't planned on making them with my girls as such, but the idea popped into my head at the point I was hunting for something to distract the other two so the middle girl could make her treasure box in peace. Needless to say, they loved making these quirky toys - and predictably, the middle girl soon switched from pirate accessories to monster making. The younger two enjoyed choosing what to use and telling me where to put all the bits and pieces, before doing the stuffing part themselves. The biggest girl pretty much managed to make her `bunny monster' herself, with help getting started at each stage, and she is now very pleased with herself. I would definitely recommend this activity as something to try with small children - and it costs next to nothing, as I am sure most households containing children in them have plenty of odd socks and random crafty junk lying around. We used an old pillow for the stuffing (as recommended on the TV programme), and it worked out nicely.

They were all pretty happy for quite a long period of time (and are again playing some sort of game with their sock monsters as I type this) - but it was a bit tiring keeping up with the different requests each artist had, as they moved from one project to the next. I thought I had pulled a stroke of genius in allocating the painting area to be in the garden - well away from carpets and so on. And the plan worked. The youngest is still pretty much in the phase of using one colour of paint, and was at one point seen frantically painting an empty egg box black. And then, somewhere between coming back through the garden from a spot of Bradley Wiggins style time trialling out the close at the back of the house, and coming in to stir a risotto for tea, the black poster paint appeared on the bottom of my skirt.

Today we are going to the park, where there will (hopefully) be no poster paint in sight.

A super hero cape for a bear (and other birthday surprises)

Talk about last minute - these elephant goodies were not dreamt up and made until the eve of the birthday in question. I had a box of LEGO in reserve, but luckily for the elephant lover (and her mother who indulges her) the creative juices were flowing and the sewing gods smiling on me, and all went pretty smoothly.

Leftovers from the elephant t shirt I made a couple of weeks ago. And some pink pom pom trim, which the birthday girl herself had requested I use to make her a handbag.

With very limited time available, I overcame my desire to overcomplicate things (was originally going to make a miniature t shirt for the bear) and this super hero cape is what happened. Took all of about ten minutes. Love that kind of sewing.

The bag was a trickier customer. I had originally intended to just make another version of the party bag. And then came the idea for a child sized messenger bag. Once I'd got my head round making something that was to the taste of my four year and not me, I had loads of fun with this.  No pattern, or particular plan in mind - I just completely winged it and made changes along the way as I thought necessary.

As the jersey was not ideal for bag making, I used some firm iron on interfacing to stabilise it. It worked a treat, and made the sewing process much easier, too.

The finish would quickly fail a factory inspection (the gathering on the join of the lining and main bag would be enough to make my mother weep, or roll her eyes and tut at the very least), but the clash of the pink pom poms and the array of elephants meant it was an Instant Hit with the person it was intended for.

Secret pocket for putting tiny things in.

And if the things pictured above were last minute, here are a couple of items that were planned out well ahead (in the birthday girl's head, that is).

I made a number 3 t shirt for her last year - well, I embellished a shop bought tee with a bit of Bondaweb and nicely coordinating scraps I had. And because she liked advertising her new number so much, she has been politely requesting a new one at regular intervals for the last six months.

The skirt wasn't part of her request - but rather, an attempt by me to get her all coordinated. For once. Not rocket science - I just let my birthday girl choose the fabric she liked, cut a big rectangle strip the width of the roll, sewed it together and put some elastic in. and added a pocket. For more treasures, of course.

These birthday tees seem to be a big hit with most little ones - and a perfect beginner project, so I'm including this as an option on the new Gifts for Children Beginners' Course.