Old jeans into skirt!

I'm so into the thrifty thing at the moment!  In fact, I can see how it gets to be a bit of an obsession...  My Katie has always been an angel in hand me downs and gets the fact that each penny saved can be used for days out and holidays!  So this skirt really sums up the whole, "That's still got plenty of wear in it!" philosophy.  Let me explain... 

Like most Mummies, I've got into a pattern where, once a week, I pop into my local charity shop to either drop off donations or pick up some bargains ( I very rarely leave without something!).  It's not toot either.  I grab books that I have on my Kindle wish list for 50p, classic books for my classroom, fab dresses for me and board games and bits for the girls as a weekly treat.  I much prefer getting a beaten up board game for a pound than spending £3 or £4 on a flimsy magazine and plastic toy.

So, during winter I managed to pick up a 50p pair of jeans for Katie to rough around the park in and, when the knees finally gave in, I jsut couldn't give up on them!  A quick look on Ehow gave a simple explanation which I, of course, ignored most of for a quick fix:

1. Cut off legs
2. Cut triangle from legs to fill leg space (I made a quick cardboard template and left 1/2cm edge for hemming).
3. Zig zag edges to prevent fraying.
4. Pin panels in place and stitch using simple straight stitch.
5. Press with an iron (this will help when doing the hem).
6. Cut hem if needed to even out.
7. Zig zag edges to prevent fraying.
8. Turn up to length, press and straight stitch the hem.

Now, I know I should have double turned the hem but I was going out and Katie wanted to wear it.  I have learnt now that turning up a hem needs to be done whilst the person is wearing it!  I tried to make it straight on the table and, of course, forgot about bottoms and hips and all those curves which alter the final line.  So, it's a bit crooked but much loved.  I wasn't even allowed to add a bit of embellishment as, "It's fine like that Mummy."  Such a Madam!

The jean genie lives on his back!

Yup.  We have a Jean Genie  in the house (although in my mind, it's a girl).  She is talked to each morning as we come down the stairs, makes various journeys around the house by one or both tiny tikes and settles down for the night after the cat goes out.  I was going to add eyes and a nose but she frankly doesn't need 'em!
This quick fix was to help the draft but ended up really helping to deal with the upstairs window condensation issue we always have when it gets chilly.  Thinking about it, it makes sense that the drafty door was sucking in cold air to condense upstairs so this little gem is a great help!  It's so easy to do- I got the idea from "Super Scrimpers" tv show on channel 4.

1. Cut the legs off an old pair of jeans (I needed both legs to make a super size one).
2. If using both legs, you will need to re-stitch along the seam to make the legs straight.
3. Turn inside out and stitch legs together.
4. Turn back and press.
5. Gather up some old towels and roll tightly.
6. Stuff the tube (this takes longer than the rest of the project).
7. Tie ends ribbon!

This took under an hour with the sewing machine and the ribbons mean that the towels can be reused!

Home improvements- Cath Kidston style!

I haven't been lazy this month- honest!  There's been lots of little jobs to finish and I'm getting into the whole mending thing (there always seems to be something that needs a tweak and a stitch).  Now thatt the holidays are here I've been able to attack some of those jobs that have been on the to-do list for a while.  I planned to jazz up my girl's curtains using my left over bunting fabric and was looking online for applique techniques but actually found a very simple technique in the Cath Kidston "Sew" book that I've been meaning to start since Christmas when I recieved it.  Don't they look fab!  I think I've morphed into Calamity Jane...I remember watching the "Never underestimate a woman's touch" song when I was little and thinking that putting ribbons on a chair was so far over the edge of taste that it was cringe-worthy.  Oh dear, how I have fallen.  I've chintzed up a perfectly simple set of curtains with the girliest fabrics around (Hate them, if you dare!)

Sew, a needle pulling thread!

Greetings from the Von Trapp sisters!  This was a June project that had to wait until I could pin both girls down long enough to take a picture of them!  Don't they look like the fabulous curtain outfits made by Maria as play clothes?  Now that's what I call "Thrifty" (and bordering on the realms of cruelty to children)

These cute little headscarves were to allow crazy running around without losing their head covers- something which "accidently" seems to happen a lot with big sister.  But, oops, the triangles aren't deep enough for the point to be tucked into the tied up scarf so instead we get that comical blindness as the tail flips over the face as they run around.  

This is just a variation of my pretty bunting.  

1-Hem a triangle around the two diagonal edges.

2-Fold bias tape over the straight edge leaving long enough tales.  

3-Stitch straight across bias tape to make the ties and Bob's your uncle!

Hero day costumes!

Here are my Hero Day costumes from February.  Yes it's a tad late going on but, when you have a husband with a bit of a camera obsession, it takes a while to find the pictures!  Especially since he rarely remembers to upload or edit the dodgy ones...You know the ones, the pics where he think you look fine but your eyes are closed, you look like you've got a double chin and you really should have put make-up on that morning.

Mother Teresa took forever but looks great!  I attacked my local charity shops for cheap fabric and both costumes ended costing  less than £10.  My costume involve a bed sheet cut in two pieces for a skirt and head scarf, and a blue £shop table cloth.  The strips took hours to cut, press in half, stitch and repress open to make the bands of blue but it was worth it .  The polo neck was £3 in Primark so all in all, a thrifty costume.  The day itself was blanketed with snow but I stood at the gate without a coat (it would have spoilt the look!) and my little blue sandals and welcomed each child in.  I must admit that the best part was driving to work in full dress- the looks I got on the way was priceless as were the reactions of my work colleagues!

Now, Katie's costume was lots of fun.  I found an adult grey jumper for the chain mail which I lay her on top of, cut around her, pinned and stitched on the reverse The tunic was one of Hannah's old baby sheets cut, pinned and stitched on the reverse (this one took a while).  The cloak and matching emblem was an adults red t-shirt cut, gathered and edged with little crosses.  I used Velcro to attach and remove the cloak and the sword and shield cost about £3 from amazon.  I'm so pleased Katie chose St George as the school have a dress up day on St Georges Day.  Can you guess what she wore??

It's getting better all the time!

I have neglected my crafts this past few months- sorry.  But I've had a dark few months.  Nothing has happened per say but I've been on a roller coaster of emotions which is finally starting to settle down.  One of the flies in my ointment has been my house.  I've never bonded with it after almost 6 years.  This will make sense to all you ladies out there, I know.  If you don't like your home, you feel without an anchor...
So, after a lot of soul searching, I've decided that this year I must love my house.  After a short visit to my lovely sister's home, I was inspired by every tiny homemade touch.  A name plate for the front door, tea cosies (one was mine!) glass painting and even a beautiful basket for the lowly loo roll.  Some bought, homemade and given meant that her home had a soul and felt loved. 
I think that I've spent so long making things for others that I've forgotten to make this house my home.  2012 marks the year of domestic bliss!
Project 1- Make the curtains fit.
The cheap curtains we bought to "make do" never fit and neither did my nice Next ones from our last house.  So out came the sewing machine and a shaky pair of scissors and...snip, snip, snip they were cut to length.  A bit of steam pressing those hems, pinning and measuring means that each set looks much better.  I really must paint those window sills this weekend though!  I wasn't brave enough to attack my expensive set but happily paid out a few pounds and got them done just right by my local cleaners. (no photo for that one as the room's too dark)

 

 

I'm overwhelmed with ideas now and can't wait to make my house a home- wish me luck!

Welcome to a special little lady!

The final baby box is on its way out!

There just wasn't enough time to make all the gifts I wanted to shower on this little darling but I put together a special box with some old, new, borrowed ( a returned book) and even something blue! There's even a cookie for big brother from the wonderful John Lewis.


I love the fabric for this bib and this was the least painful of the 3 that I made. (Left-overs made the phone cover that's in shot). I so wanted to make a big blanket to wrap baby up in but was hinted not to so I snuck in a mini blanket "The Mini Snuggly" which is the same pattern but with soft Sirdar Snuggly wool and a much smaller hook-kind of a comfort blanket that can be replaced if lost!

All other pieces have been dotted around in posts through the year....check them out! It was only when I was unpacking the last box from under the bed that I realised how many bits I've been hoarding. Spreading the cost by over planning definitely works for me. I really must attack the Christmas box now and see what I've got!

Wow. I've been making baby gifts for so long now that Christmas seems just around the corner and I have a list of jobs that keeps getting longer but not really started. Thank the Lord that I started earlier this year with my Christmas Tree project. Even though I ended up dropping my decoration each week idea early due to all the babies, it may well prove my life saver this coming festive season. So, watch out for more Christmas posts on their way.

PS- My typing glitch seems to have resolved itself. Weird?

Bibadee-bobadee-boo!

And now, the end is near...
These bibs have been the bane off my life! I now loath bias tape for the puckering and coming away from edges and general stop, rip seam and start over that these tiny things have needed for me to finish.
This picture shows the front and back of the second bib made for my other Sister-in-law as she is now over-due. The velcro on the neck isn't brilliant so I now need to learn how to button-hole I think.

The final bib (and I mean FINAL) I can't put up as it is for another important bundle. Thankfully, it is the best of the bunch. I avoided velcro and stitched on a lovely button and used embroidery thread for a loop on the other side- it should work well if the lady actually puts it on the little darling!

Baby Box number 1

Baby Box number 1 is out! OK, it ended up in a gift bag because I couldn't find a nice box in Bexleyheath the other week. Although someone else had put together a basket of goodies using a cotton-lined wicker storage basket which looked great which I think I will do next time.

I'm really happy with what I made. I did add a lovely broach from Past Times for Mummy and a bought toy for the baby, just in case it was all a bit too crafty for the new Mummy. I whipped up a quick card using bits and bobs from my stash and found some cute pieces from a previous baby card which was a nice quick solution for a change! Well, that's one box down. Time to work on the next baby due in August I think...

Let's work on our sewing skills...

I've been working on my first bib recently which came out pretty well. I am not the most patient person, so patterns, cutting, pinning and prep work is still a chore that I have to force myself to take my time on. It always strikes me as ironic that sewing projects tend to be all prep work with a tiny fraction spent actually using my sewing machine!
But I did myself proud and got sore fingers from pinning the bias tape around the edge (can you buy extra fine pins for this?) I used contrasting green thread which was a mistake as you can see every little wobble. I finally cut the last thread and found out that, oops, the tape hadn't held on the neck edge.

Darn it, grr, argg.

I ended up having to carefully unpick the lot, which left nasty marks in the tape, which meant I had to unstitch each piece and rework with a tape that matched the thread. I tried again with the same stitch very carefully going closer to the edge but it did the same again!

See what I mean- nasty gap there. I finally reworked just the neck using the "V" stitch which disguised the mistake and looks pretty good. The coffee cup seems to suggest that this task took just long enough to finish my cuppa. No. It's a second cup much later after some hot-headed growling and shoving-back-into-box-never-to-look-upon-again time. I am pleased with it. I just hope that the next one will be much quicker. Now that I know what colours to use, I'll get started!

Oh Baby,Baby

If you are pregnant and in my family, look away now.

No, really.

You will have to check this out after Bump arrives.

Sorry about that but I'm dying to post what I've been up to for my baby boxes and I can't wait any longer! With three ladies expecting, I seem to be working hard but not ending up with much for each baby (Boy, I'm glad I started early this time.)

I started out with these two lovely chunkie Snuggle shawls. Blue for a Boy and Yellow for a who-knows-what! None for lovely lady number three as she has her own fair share of blankets. I've made this pattern before using Sirdar snuggly wool which makes a finer, soft little shawl. These are chunky but still soft and very warm- I can't wait to see them wrapping up those little pink babies...

Next on the list were baby Berry Hats. I've made a few of these as well for my girls and they have been so admired that I had to make them for the boxes. I loved using these beautiful cashmerino wools, the colours are so gorgeous!

I'm now working on the matching booties but I must post now as if I wait any longer, I will just keep on adding. Bye for now!

2 chunky blankets, 1 bib, 3 hats and 1 pair of booties

Let's start as we mean to go on!

Well hello there! I'm a bit of a slow-coach when it comes to technology and have taken my sweet time starting my little blog. But now that my Ravelry page is looking a bit healthier, I decided to have a go at blogging.

Happy New Year to my lovely sister who is my first follower! I hope in time I will get more people peeking at my page so I will try to put lovely pictures on as I go.

For now, here are some pictures of my first sewing machine attempts made a few months ago.

1- For my bunting I used pinking shears to cut the triangles which were then pinned together and stiched together quickly around 2 corners on the sewing machine. Binding tape was folded over and pinned to flags, then run through quickly on machine.

2-I followed the guide for Kirstie Allsops Patchwork Stockings on the BBC website and used my leftover bunting fabric to make these. Not very Christmassy but so cute and I have spare fabric in case I get a surprise addition to the family!