When the Kids are Away...

Mummy and the sewing machine start to play.

W@dsy's fantastic parents are looking after the kids for a couple of nights to give W@dsy and I a break. So I am doing what I love to do when I get spare time, sew.

Inspired by the craftiness of Faith from PoPnBelle, I decided to make my kids a quilt each. No, I will not attempt this in one day, in fact this has happened over a couple of weeks. I have never made a quilt before, so I visited Youtube, of course. I found this from the Missouri Star Quilt Co. Then I went over to the local quilting shop and bought some cute fabric for Chicken's quilt and cut it into 5" squares.

I layed them out the way I wanted them.

Sewed them together.

Added borders.

And now I  have the top piece of the quilt!

All I have to do is get the batting, quilt it all together and then sew the binding on.

Insane and Evil

Why am I insane? Because it is 1:11am, I have just finished sewing and I'm not even sleepy yet.

Why am I evil? Because I'm doing something kinda a cruel, I'm making my children.... matching outfits! Yup, soon they will wandering around town looking like a pair of evil twins ready to reek havok unto the world. Okay so I may have watched way too many creepy movies, and it's kinda late so you'll have to excuse my mad ramblings a little.

First I went to Spotlight in search of some Wiggles fabric (my kids are obsessed with the Wiggles). Unfortunately they didn't have any! So I bought some cute knit fabric and some appliques.

Because I'm truly terrible at sewing sleeves, I made Gremlin a sleeveless shirt. And I made Chicken a dress, based off the one I made here. I think I like this one better.

I'm actually pretty proud of these outfits, for once they actually look like I pictured them in my head.

Would it be too cruel to wake them up now, force them to model the clothes, and them make them go back to sleep? Probably.

Tall, Skinny and Blonde

Yup, that's my little girl. She's eating constantly and just getting taller, there is no meat on her whatsoever. Dresses that used to end near her feet 6 months ago are now just below her knees. This is getting ridiculous.

This dress which is one of her favourites is just too short, it only barely covers her bottom, she wore it today (hence the stains) and it drove me nuts, so I did something about it.

I cut up a onesie, because she never wears them and this one was a weird shape, it was actually too long (miracle) and sagged. I cut the top off the dress, sewed the top of the onesie to the skirt of the dress and finished it off with some scrap fabric for a belt. What do you think? I quite like it. I really wanted to keep this cute butterfly fabric, hopefully this way it will last a little longer.

A Little Bit Crafty - Part Two

Okay, so I've been a little lazy posting lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. For some reason sewing and craft is my thing, it lets me unwind after work or a long day with kids, what can I say, I love it!

A few weeks ago I put together a couple of cute things for a couple of friends of mine due to have babies, (one is now here, the other will be anyday now). I made.... nappy cakes.

The main part of the cake is made from rolled up nappies, the cake base is wrapped in muslin cloth, the top of the cake is decorated with a washable waterproof wet bag, baby socks and a knitted headband. Pretty much the whole thing is useful (at least that's the plan).

And while cleaning up the spare room the other day, I discovered a pile of knitted squares. I had knitted these years ago, before I had kids, for a friend's baby. But I never finished it. I have now decided to finish it and knit it for the next friend who has a little boy.

And tonight I finished sewing a hat for Chicken to match her skirt.

Ta Dah! It's reversible

Now Gremlin wants a hat of course, I'm thinking it'll be a dinosaur hat. Stay tuned!

Repurposed Dress

Okay so I got off my butt and made the dress today.

I have heaps of clothes swaps at my house and I have heaps of left over clothes lying around and I never seem to get around to donating them, so I decided to cut them up and make something cute.  This dress is made from a dress and a wrap, I have heaps of fabric left over so I might make something else later. I attached the flower I made yesterday.

What do you think? Hmm I hope it fits, that's the problem with making the kids clothes at night when they are asleep.

I have to say, I'm really enjoying getting into sewing again. I love winding down and making something for someone.

A Little Bit Crafty

I got sick of cleaning, I mean, doesn't everybody? So lately I've been making a bit of a mess to make up for all the cleaning I've been doing lately. I have yet again caught the crafting bug. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I have traded in my sanity and got a pile of yarn and fabric in return.

I have knitted a beanie for a friend's baby.

I love the little buttons

I finished making a Christmas present. (Sorry Niki, no pictures, you are just going to have to be surprised).

And thoroughly sick of never being able to find pants for Gremlin, I whipped these up tonight.

Okay so they look like pajamas, but i don't care and neither will he.

The Skirt

Okay I am finally getting off my butt and sewing again. I bought some really cute fabric for a friend's present (Oh yes my dear Niki, this means YOUR present) and made a skirt for Chicken out of the scraps. I went to this blog that I LOVE MakeItandLoveIt and I made the skirt. But being me and very prone to taking shortcuts, I guesstimated the measurements and the skirt turned out thinner and longer than it was supposed to. Oh well it's still cute and I still love the fabric. What do you guys think?

Isn't she a cutie!

I think I may experiment by cutting up some old clothes of mine. But I still have waaaay too much sewing to do before I get myself too distracted.

Another Crafty Venture

I finally did it! W@dsy had needed a new wallet for ages so I finally made one for him. Black denim with silver lining.

I didn't have a pattern or anything so I just kinda muddled through and W@dsy melted the lining onto the denim when he ironed on the dragon transfer but I think it turned out alright. I'm considering cutting up a few clothes I don't wear and using the fabric to make myself a new wallet. Hmmm, now to find the time....

P.S. My new dryer arrived late the day after the washing machine, it's great! I no longer have lint flying around the laundry!

Inspiration

Due to my beautiful friend and reader Amie from Mummas Mumblings, I was inspired to sew again. Her creations were so cute I couldn't resist attempting something cute myself.

This outfit is modelled by Chicken :)

For this one I cut up an old black T-Shirt I never wear and a romper that was a little too small and made a dress.

This one was a first birthday present for a little girl.

I based this elephant off Make it and Love it.

Hopefully this is the beginning of me pulling out my sewing machine a whole lot more often but we'll see.

Nappies

Why do I use cloth nappies? Do I care about the environment? Not really. Is it because they are better for the baby? Kinda, my kids sometimes break out in nappy-rash with disposables. Is it because I want to show off to all the mum's at playgroup what a fantastic mother I am? Seriously, they know I'm a mess. Is it because it is cheaper? Bingo!

I can't afford to keep buying nappies all the time. And frankly, at this point in my life, what's another few loads of laundry?

I am about to start sewing, some of the cloth nappies I bought Gremlin have started leaking through the waterproof fabric so it's time to make a new set. I've made them before, in fact I'm attempting to get a nappy business off the ground.

I don't need too many because he'll toilet train soon. I'm going to make a few fitted nappies so that Chicken can use them after Gremlin is done with them and I'm going to make at least one pocket nappy. I've got pirate treasure waterproof fabric, microfleece, elastic old absorbent inserts from other nappies and snaps. Here I go...