Alterations and finalisations

Friday night craft session rolled around again and I had to do some mending/alterations. Olivia's Bedtime Story pyjama bottoms that I blogged about here were just a bit too tight I decided, and even though she insisted that they were ok I decided to alter them slightly. No one wants tight pyjama bottoms, they are supposed to be comfy right? So even though I didn't have enough material in the same pattern to make her some more, I thought that I may be able to alter them and make them just a bit wider in the bottom. 

My thought process was, 'how can I add to the bottom to make them bigger just around there?', so I took the waistband off, split the back seam open and decided to put a u shaped panel in the back from the crotch to enlarge them there. Then I added the same width of material to the waistband and joined it all back together again and attached the waistband back together again. I put longer elastic in the waistband too so its not so tight to pull up. Does that make sense? I hope so, well here is a picture of the back so you can see.

After all that, success.

Added back panel

I am rather chuffed with myself with figuring out the how to, and then when I had a picture in my mind of how I wanted it to be, I managed the execution without a pattern or other people giving me a 'how to' guide. 

I finally appliqued around the flower and now they really are complete and will last her the rest of this winter and I am sure into next as well. 

Then I also finally finished something else. I just sewed a very quick easy little hem onto Olivia's Lazy Days skirt that I started weeks ago and mentioned here because the ribbon I had to finish it with didn't go, so I just put the whole thing to one side. I decided to ditch the ribbon hem as per the pattern and just hem it. Now my big girl is able to wear her skirt and new headband looking very grownup. 

Aaah young love

As I was browsing through my photos on my phone I came across some funny videos that the girls had recorded whilst hanging out with their friends Thomas and Charlotte as we parents were chatting in the other room. 

There was lots of screaming, shouting, laughing and blowing raspberrys at the person with the camera (no young Spielbergs' here) and lots and lots of laughing. So after I had watched a few of those I came across a picture that had been saved but drawn from Doodle Buddy. It just made me smile, so sweet and so innocent. 

I smiled and asked Olivia (I knew it was her) if she had written this and she coyly smiled and said "yes".  I asked her if she did love Thomas and without hesitation said "yes". I think it is wonderful that she has friends both boys and girls that she just loves to be with, and is such good friends with she happily acknowledges that she loves them. 

I sent this picture to Thomas' mum and she showed the picture to him and his responce was, "that's good coz I love her too". Fantastic.

I just need to teach her how to spell Thomas now.

Little pop and new bands

It is school holidays here which still means pre-school for Sophie and the girls still have swimming lessons. Some people don't like the continuation but I do as it means that the girls still have stuff to do but without the hassle of homework to be fitted in and they can play around the activities. 

So whilst Sophie was at pre-school and Olivia was entertained watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (I love that I have taught my daughter to love musicals) I finished the doll's dress for Lilia's birthday. It took me about an hour, with interruptions, so not long at all, and I think it looks great and the present is complete, some pyjamas, a big popover dress and one for her doll. Lovely I think. I hope the birthday girl thinks so too. 

 

Big and Little

Baby modelling it

Once we picked up Sophie off to the post office we went to get it all on its way and done for another year. 

Last Friday evening at my usual craft evening I started to make Olivia a headband from a ribbon that I bought at the craft show and previously mentioned here. I decided to finish the headband as all it needed was some hot glue to finish some ends off with some ribbon. So here it is the finished specimen.

I totally love it and it is exactly the picture that I had in my mind and will only change two things next time around like white elastic instead of black, and would sew the bow to the ribbon not glue it, but I still think it looks really good and it didn't cost the $13 that I have been spending on headbands. I am glad that Olivia thinks it looks good too.

Sorry about the shadow behind Liv's head, but here she is with it on. It is reasonably tight on her head to keep it on and keep her hair back but not being too tight as she wouldn't wear it. I will hem her skirt this evening and then she can wear them both to church on Sunday. It is such a shame that I can not find her some cream coloured knit tights for this Winter in her size. 

More headbands really soon, as they are quick, and for someone who likes results fast they are awesome to do.

p.s. You can find me linking here and here.

Craft Show inspiration and some Sewing Action

I can't believe that it has been a week since my last post so you have 2 entries in one day, how about that, but it's ok I am not going to beat myself up about it.

I thought I would show a few of my treasures that I found at the craft show last week. I had such a fun day and with a few dollars to spend, ok maybe a few more than a few, got these goodies that I am so excited to create with. Fabric pieces from Kelani Fabrics , Prints Charming colour pack, Owl softie pattern from Saffron Craig and ribbons from Craft Queen and some patterns that you can see below.

Fabric pieces, Prints Charming pack, Owl softie pattern and ribbons

Patterns

Its been a week or so since I did some sewing and I need to sew the final thing for Lilia's birthday presents and so then I can post them this week in time for her birthday. Along with the oliver + s popover sundress free pattern there is also a free pattern of a popover dress for a little girls doll. You can find it here. Lilia got a new doll when her little brother Noah was born a few months ago so I thought it would be cool if she had a matching dress. As I had used all the prints charming fabric on Lilia's I will just use some pink spotty cotton that I had in my stash from Spotlight.

Now I have a bit of a quandry. What do I do next? I have so many ideas and an ever growing pile of fabric in my cupboard but what to do?

At the craft show I got some lovely ribbons from Craft Queen, as I am fed up with paying $13 for headbands for Olivia so I think I will do those next. I have seen a tutorial on the very fabulous Flossie Teacakes site on how to make shirred headbands and that has inspired me. I love how she folds the material into the casing to add the shirred fabric. It looks really finished and you can find the tutorial here. I am, however, not wanting to do the shirring, I just want to use the folding as inspiration. I now have a blue spotty ribbon, black stripes and brown stripes, that I have already started, and this gorgeous flower ribbon to transform into headbands too. Lots to do.

Ribbons

Finds from our Winter escape to Leura

In some of the blogs that I read the authors often go thrift shopping or op shopping as it is called here in Australia and they find lovely things for ridiculous prices of $1 and $2 or such like. I admit that I have never been one for op shopping and actually have not been for about 15 years.  I am not writing this to brag or anything, I am just not into it and can't seem to see past the yuk and the where has that been feeling to see it's potential. Any who I wanted to share the lovely things that caught my eye whilst in Leura last weekend and have sparked new life to things that I already have but I do have to admit that they did not cost $1 or $2 sadly.

Moontree is a shop that I have been in before and with the girls spend most of the time saying "don't touch, that's glass, don't blow out the candle it is supposed to be on" etc. and don't really get a huge amount of time to just look I am always looking at what others are doing. Yet this weekend this caught my eye, with the idea for a gift for someone else but then Todd said would you like one too? 

How on earth could I say no to that question? So this beautiful candle lantern came home with us. You put a tealight in it and the light glows through the pattern on the outside. It is handmade and made entirely of wax with the pattern covering over the top.

Well, this lantern has inspired a 'change' in our lounge. Not a huge one as who can afford to just go out and get all new stuff but even just moving photo frames around from their 'usual' spots makes a change and updating some of the photos in the frames. There have been 2 new editions to my extended family, gorgeous Noah and handsome Isaac and I have some lovely pictures sitting in my emails but not printed out and popped into frames yet so that is my challenge for this weekend to sort out/update the photos in frames

Also some cushions in the lounge are in real need of being 'made new' again and I have decided to make the covers myself so now I am spending my evenings trawling through pages and pages of fabrics online and trying to find one that would match the new change in colour accents. This collection is my favourite so far. It is the Aviary 2 collection in granite by Joel Dewberry. I like the blooms in the top left, scrollwork top right and as the backing the middle right. What do you think?
 

I'm still deciding not sure yet. I do have to say that our sofas are a dark chocolate brown and the chair is a green. Do you think the granite is too much with these colours? Not sure, perhaps I will keep looking.

Another shop in Leura I totally love is called The Cats Meow. Such a fun name and is full of homewares like large comfy sofas, dining tables and chairs, soft faux fur throws, beautiful lamps that I can envisage in my home one day and all sorts of ornaments. It is a treasure trove and again there are a few comments like "get your feet off there and sit still and don't touch that" have to said when in there with a 3 yr old but it is still so lovely. To add to the fabulousness (is that a word? I don't think so but you get my gist right?) the faux fur throw that I have looked at and coveted for a year now was on sale, and it seemed destined to come home with me for my bed. So I had to oblige.

Sophie was rolling on my bed the other day and said, "oooh mummy this is soooo soft and lovely". It is backed with a soft fleece too that you can see in the bottom right hand corner, it is so fantastic to curl up under it whilst reading a book. Trust me.

Finally a silver tree shape caught my eye, like an African tree that has been swept to the side a bit on the open plains. It was called the Tree of Life and I thought it was lovely and wanted to put it on my sideboard (buffet as it is called here in Aus) again something a bit different to the normal things that I like. I got given the wrong one and so have to drive back to Leura to exchange it. These things happen, but I was disappointed. I can't wait to have it all sorted and looking great.