Makes for Children

Flashback Skinny Tee

Mum came up the weekend before last, and whilst she was here, I sat down and had a spot of over locker tuition from her. 

I have owned The Beast for a couple of years. I have pottered along, sporadically getting it out of its box and praying it didn't need rethreading whilst I was half way through making something, and being limited as to what I knew how to do with it. I decided that, in the safety of mum being nearby to help, it was time. I got the instruction book out, and had a play about and practise. 

And, while I was about it, fished out some impressively old WIPs and finished them. I am not sure if cutting out t shirt pieces (I used Rae's Skinny Flashback) and abandoning them into a box for two years even counts as a WIP, given no sewing had taken place. But still, last weekend was their time to get made. And, for me to discover they were now not only too small for the original recipients, but, almost too small for the next children down the line as well. That explains why I added the band at the bottom of the smaller t shirt. 

Fabric from Kitschy Coo

In the space of an evening, I managed to sew up five t shirts. It makes me wonder why I had left the first (pre cut) three makes unfinished for so long.

I gave in at midnight and went to bed. The next morning, the dining room was still a mess of threads and scraps EVERYWHERE. Like the sewing equivalent of the aftermath of a drunken house party party with lots of gate crashers. The middle girl wasted no time in getting creative with this little smiley face.

I didn't stop at the ready cut t shirts. I took the scissors to a few of my own old tops and made a couple of new things for the girls. I was particularly pleased with this (super early) birthday t shirt for the middle girl. She likes it, too - and it is now neatly folded in her drawer, ready for the big day. Maybe I should have had the self control not to let her see it until then, but I can't resist a spot of instant gratification when it comes to sharing my makes with people. And this way, she gets to feel excited about her birthday every time she opens her drawer to get dressed in the mornings.

Laura's Jolly Giraffe (made on the current course)

I am so enjoying teaching my groups - I have two on the go at the moment, and I get a real buzz from helping people new to sewing overcome their initial fear of using a machine. I like to watch as their confidence goes up as they successfully finished their first simple projects, and then listen in as the conversation amongst the group moves on to talking about what they'd like to make next. One of my current beginners says he wants to be able to sew his own cycling kit. Another one of my beginners didn't wait until the end of the course to get started - her daughter wanted to go to school on World Book Day dressed as Wendy from Peter Pan. She left last week's lesson (her second) telling me this, and today turned up with the outfit to show us. Awesome!

Nicola and the `Wendy' dress she made for her daughter

I say it to them all - there is nothing to worry about with sewing. Just go for it - the worst that happens is you end up unpicking something, and learning from that anyway. (Actually, in my case, the worst that happens is you burn your fabric with the iron, plod on making the project anyway in the vain hope the burn might not be too obvious, make more mistakes, and then the whole sorry project ends up in the bin. But that, dear friends, is another story.)

On a non sewing note, a really nice (and quite cute) development in the littlest big girl over the last week has been she has joined her big sister as an unstoppable force in making stuff with Sellotape. She made her own adjustments to her existing Wellies, so that they were in keeping for her own World Book Day costume of a dinosaur. She added the buttons so that she would be able to tell which way round her boots go on.

Finally, I have some cunning plans and clever tricks in store for the cupboard under the stairs. The process has now started, but here is a picture of how it looked just as I emptied everything out of it.

A week in pictures

lamp shade for dolls' house

Another week has flown by. A week closer to Christmas. I know this mainly because all three girls have been coming home singing the songs they have been learning for their nativity plays. (The Baby Cheese-us features quite a lot again this year.)

A lot of Marmite on toast has been eaten, mainly by me, although I have succeeded in corrupting the girls into the ways of it.

bowl and spoon with breakfast 

`Rachael's Makes' continue to be as prolific as ever. This was waiting for me on the work top when I got back from the school drop off one morning.

icing conceals the burnt bits

The status of the oven's health is terminal. After two months of the bottom oven being out of action due to the inner glass spontaneously shattering in a dramatic fashion one teatime (with fish fingers and chips still inside), followed by successive burnt offerings emerging from the top oven due to what we think is a broken thermostat, tomorrow is new oven day!

The biggest girl is now completely complacent about my latest purse making stint. "Oh, another purse," she said, barely looking up from her book, after I showed this to her.

On Thursday, my back felt better than it had done in ages. And so, six months after moving in, I decided that this was the day the picture graveyard would cease to exist. Never underestimate the power of a lady on a mission with a drill. Pictures up, guitars up on the wall, too - all very satisfying.

And, as usually happens in a house with children (or, at least, in our house it does), no sooner is a space emptied, it is filled with something else. But I am happy that the wheeled things have got a place to park that is not right in the middle of the hall or some other place I will trip over them.

The tree outside is now more or less naked. As shown by our front step. I have commissioned the servants to sweep regularly, but it is very hit and miss, and largely determined by whether or not they feel like doing it at that precise moment in time. 

Using some scraps from the sewing night with friends, I made a birthday card for one of them. And then made two extras. Cue miniature smug dance at a) having some blank cards ready in the drawer; b) proving to myself that even teeny tiny scraps can be used, and, being brutally honest c) saving myself money and a walk to the shop when I had remembered on the day of someone's birthday the need for a card.

Charlotte continues to be the most contented baby ever. The thumb has been the biggest break through for this, although having three big sisters to fuss over her and make her giggle (yes - the cutest development of late) is lovely too.

Saturday morning saw me and the girls doing some mini junk modelling to make dolls' house bits and bobs. My favourite one is the lamp shade, which was made from an egg box and PlayDoh (base), lollipop stick, pipe cleaner and bottle top covered with ribbons. The middle girl then added a light bulb to it, using her preferred medium of paper and sticky tape.

table, lamp shade and (matchbox) bed

More makes followed.

And after some attention from me to help with the dolls' house making, they disappeared upstairs to play/argue on where to position the new stuff.

Guinea pigs

My children would undoubtedly prefer some guinea pigs instead of the cat they actually have as a pet.

They know that the guinea pigs their cousins have are cute fluffy things, that enjoy being held and petted. Our cat, on the other hand, is far less child friendly, and has clearly not got over the fact she no longer lives in an adult only environment. Hostile would be a better description of her attitude towards our girls, and, due to the many `warning' swipes she has taken at them, they have a healthy respect/fear of cats in general. As a result, the eldest girl no longer feels the need to be particularly tactful about wanting to own either some guinea pigs or a dog when the cat eventually decides to shuffle off this earth.

On Saturday night, I hosted my very own group of guinea pigs. 

It was not hard to persuade some friends to come and let me show them how to make Fondant Fancy Purses, ready to help me spot and iron out any potential difficulties beginners might experience when making them on the workshops I'm planning to host next month.

I like the range of colours these frames come in - it gives plenty of possibilities over fabric choices.

I had a small mountain of fabrics for them to choose from, including bright printed cottons, linens, and some vintage silk scarves to chop up and use. It's always fun seeing what people come up with, as inevitably, they think of combinations that hadn't occurred to me.

There was a fair amount of purse envy on my part by the end of the evening.

I tried to convince them all they should leave their purses with me to look after, you know, as a sign of appreciation for the fun had by all.

Needless to say, they were having none of it!

Courses

After a baby break, my sewing courses start up again in just over a week from now.

For Pleats Sake Bag (Handbags and Clutches Course)

There are machines to be oiled, samples to be made (I need to check I can still sew in a straight line without making holes in my fingers!), and, an important question to be addressed. What to bake for the Smug "I can sew!" Cake?

Jaffa Cake Cupcake

Because, for me, the best thing about sharing my love of sewing with people who are a bit scared to go near a sewing machine at the start, is that moment when they make something they feel really proud of. And that needs celebrating properly. With cake.

Luckily for me, it seems people still want to hand over their hard earned cash in return for me doing something I'd willingly do for free (don't tell them I said that) because I like it so much.

The autumn courses are now fully booked, and I've been promising details of new ones. Although I haven't pinned down dates yet (waves the over used `I've just had a baby' card as excuse for inability to open up diary), here are some not very subtle clues as to what's going to be happening...

Selfish sewing for people who love tulips...

...and wearing clothes that no one else has.

Booking will open in the next month.

Clothes for people who love splashing in puddles...

...and posing on scooters.

If you'd like a nudge when booking opens, just drop me an email (kitchentablesewing@gmail.com) and I'll do that.

Oh, I can't wait, I can't wait!

The Sunshine Bag

Has anyone noticed the sunshine has come out a bit over the last few days?

Sneaky day time sewing!
(All thanks to the hand operated Singer for keeping the
littlest girl happily occupied next to me so this could happen...)

I finished my latest bag just the other day. Moments, literally moments later I tell you, the sun came out.

I think these two things are connected, and am calling this my Sunshine Bag. I love the bright yellow chevron pattern - perfect for spring and summer, if you ask me.

And I even made a fun little clutch to co-ordinate with the bag to help me keep all the little things I carry around organised.

Handy key chain clip attached to the lining of the bag to keep keys and clutch secure

My beloved Dolly Bag is a bit grubby from being used so much now, not to mention a wee bit messy inside (with a few too many scrunched up tissues, old receipts, pen lids and other random bits of junk lurking about in the bottom), and so time for a clean out, a gentle hand wash and a new bag to use in the meantime.

The pattern is the wonderful For Pleats Sake tutorial, by Lisa Lam. Pretty easy to follow (once you get your head around the pleat placements and fiddling about to arrange them into a nice fan shape), and it can hold a lot of stuff. Although, I will be making a new bag resolution, which is, to attempt to have more regular clear outs of this one.

And, even though I don't always bother to take a bag out with me on the five minute school run, I could not resist taking the sunshine bag out at the earliest opportunity.

Yes, that is a nicely rounded baby belly you can see before you...

...if I can't wear some of my favourite me made printed cotton tops this spring and summer, I intend to make up for it with big bags instead.

As for progress on my one planned item of me made clothing (the silk polka dot dress) well, er, let's just say progress has been as slow as the middle girl's rate of eating during roast beef lunch today.

I know! Sunday roast beef with Yorkshire puddings and crispy roast potatoes. What is wrong with her? Clearly nothing serious, given the rate at which she wolfed down cheese crumpets followed by bananas and biscuits at tea time, but still - it will be a nice day when she learns to love our national dish (surely it is our national dish, right?) as much as I do.

Mummy: A person who holds all stuff children thrust into her hands after school.
Monkey gloves (knitted by Grandma of course) included.

Hello, spring. Come on now, don't be shy.

Bunny Rabbit Hat

On my recent shopping trip, me and the littlest girl spotted some super soft fleece. 

"That would make a lovely bear hat, wouldn't it?", I said, thinking of the pattern from Oliver and S Little Things to Sew. "No," came the reply, "a bunny rabbit hat!". All smiles and charm, how could I resist this request?

The pattern is not new to me - I tweaked it once before to make this dinosaur hat for a small boy.

It was chucking it down with rain all day on Sunday, and so, once things were a bit quieter in the afternoon, I got to work on the bunny rabbit hat. 

I can only say, that the results are nothing short of my own real life Anne Geddes picture. I am definitely in the `dress small children in hats with animal ears for as long as you can get away with it' camp. The sight of my littlest girl in a bunny rabbit hat only makes her cuter than she is already (I think I am allowed to say that as her mum). Love it. And, thankfully, so does she. We might just have found a hat she'll keep on her head when it's freezing cold outside (and when it's not).

And, completely randomly, here are some pictures we took of the elephants at Woburn when we went there in half term. I was most impressed with how nimble they were at balancing whilst their keepers cleaned their feet for them.