Hello everyone! I hope you’re all well and happy this fabulous Friday. Isn’t it a glorious day? I may or may not have had a little too much sugar this morning. Combine that with GREAT! EXCITEMENT! as Bob & I are getting a night off parenting tonight and perhaps you could forgive the gratuitous use of exclamation marks. Bob’s wonderful parents have volunteered to take the three youngest tonight while Findlay goes to his Dad’s, so we’re actually going to spend some time together that doesn’t involve housework. What a novel idea! Have you got anything fun planned for the weekend?

So – the title of my blog post today is artistically challenged because I really am. It’s not even funny, I am the most cack-handed wannabe artist that I know. I wanted to do art for Standard Grade – which is the Scottish equivalent to GCSE – and the art teacher pretty much laughed me out of the room. I can’t draw to save myself, I don’t have the techniques for painting but I am so keen! I’ve been trying to create faces for the little dolls I’ve been making and I just can’t seem to do it.

These are the new dolls – four girls and a boy (I’m going to put together a tutorial for the boy doll at some point soon, promise!). They’ve been sewn up and finished for almost a week and are sitting on my sewing chair just waiting for their faces. As a reminder, this is the dolly I’d made for Elise:

And I wasn’t thrilled by the face. I ended up repainting the eyes more than once because I felt they just weren’t quite what I’d expected. It sounds like such a simple thing doesn’t it, to draw an eye? But I’m a big believer in the power and mystique of eyes, and I want these dollies to be loved and cherished so it’s important to me that the eyes are enchanting, beautiful and not at all frightening. So I shall plough on with drawing eyes until I think I’ve found an eye that works. Wish me luck!

Posted under for the kids, sewing

A year ago today, a gaggle of us were sitting in Kirsty’s living room, celebrating her forthcoming birthday with a slumber party all too reminiscent of my days at boarding school. Alas – as is an apparently normal event for the Fab Five – one of our number was absent. She had a pretty good excuse in fairness since Eileen was in hospital across the city, allegedly in labour. I’ll never forget that night – a room stowed full of people, most of us constantly refreshing twitter to see if there was any new news before we got the text message to say that Elise was here safely and a roar of celebration went up. Amazing.

So little Elise turned a whole year old today and it appalls me how quickly that time has passed. From a mothering perspective I remember Findlay’s first year as being one of the longest since I was a kid, when you measured years by when Santa Claus paid a visit. Subsequent years have flown by all too quickly and I could easily sit here and get maudlin about the fact that I have an eight-and-a-half year old son. Eileen and I mused this afternoon just how quickly the time has passed and there’s simply not enough words to explain the conflict of emotions this has stirred in me.

In any case, having a fully stocked craft cantina and a dwindling bank balance I decided that 2010 will be the year of the handmade gift and Elise was the first – and some would say unfortunate – recipient. Whilst searching for a tutorial I thought I’d bookmarked (Mimi Kirchner’s handsewn felt doll) I found this tutorial on Martha Stewart’s website, a step-by-step guide showing you how to make the dolls made famous by Etsy’s #1 seller, Emily Martin.

This was a surprisingly time-consuming project, although that is probably down to my rampant disorganisation and the fact that I sewed the arms by hand. I did really like this little project, my sole complaint being that I’m not confident in my arty skills and having to leave the face until the doll is sewn up was extremely daunting for me. I must apologise for the lack of detail in the photo but poor Bob had about three seconds to snap it for me as I finally ran out the door earlier.

This was my finished version. As she was going to be loved, slobbered on, chewed and rough-housed I deliberately left off any embellishments which Elise may have managed to remove which has left her looking a little sparse to my eye. I have promised a little coat for her which I’ll make at a later date.

I really don’t find it easy to “big up myself” and I’m constantly looking for things to criticise so I’ll end this post here and accept any lavish praise you’d like to heap upon me now

Happy birthday, Elise!

Posted under for the kids, sewing

A few months ago I noticed that Sam of Incy Wincy stitches had organised a button jewellery swap. I hung off joining because things are just MANIC busy for me right now, but when Sam mentioned she was one person short i decided to go for it. I was paired with Laura Figiel of She Draws and I finally got round to posting Laura’s package off yesterday. Only a couple of weeks late – sorry Laura!

Unfortunately, being as far North as we are I’m struggling to get good photographs these days so you’ll have to make do with this. Time to dig out the lightbox again perhaps!

On the left there are two brooches, in the middle there are two hair bobbles, a keyring, a ring and a necklace. I had initially made a bracelet and decided I hated it so had to start afresh. I packaged these up with a FQ of Japanese fabric and a little pouch of Daim sweeties so hopefully Laura is happy.

I will get a photo of what she sent me later in the week Thanks to Sam for hosting this swap!

Posted under jewellery, sewing, swaps

I’ve signed up for Sam’s button swap after she was short a swapper. I never intend to join in these things but get sucked in by the excitement and fun. I’ve been partnered with Laura which is very exciting as I’ve been in awe of her work for quite a long time now!

I’ve also joined in Apryl’s Fantasy Movie swap which I’m massively excited about. I’ve been partnered with Christa who shares the same favourite film as me (The Labyrinth) so I need to get cracking on with my crafting for her

Also! I didn’t want to post about this until after the fact, but I have been crafting again! My lovely friend Fiona got married on Saturday and she mentioned a few months ago that she had loads to do but no time to do it. I asked if I could help and she asked me to make the ties for her groomsmen (the pink ones). This of course gives me an opportunity to share a photo of the gorgeous bride and her handsome new husband.

Aren’t they gorgeous? I’m so thrilled for them and it was an honour to share their day, they are such a fantastic couple and I just know they’re going to make one another so happy.

I’ll leave you with a bit more pink. I am a bad Mummy.

Posted under sewing, swaps, with the kids

I actually made this over a month ago believe it or not, but I can’t get a photograph of her wearing it because she wears it so often it’s never clean! Using this pattern I made this pinafore-come-smock for Erica as you can see. Now – I had a few problems with this which I’ll share.

1. This is a vintage US pattern. Both vintage and US sized items usually run small for my kids and this pattern was no exception. It fit Alicia’s daughter at almost a 2T size but was so neat on Erica I had to add snaps to the straps to fasten them instead of tying.

2. I thought the smocket looked really cute in the illustrative pictures but when Erica tried it on I didn’t love it. It’s about 3 inches too long in the front, and the back criss-crosses at such a height that she can’t wear it without leggings/tights and a top underneath.

On the plus side, it’s so easy to put together that the things which annoyed me could simply be remedied by raising the hem, lengthening the straps and adding some width. I made it with cream babycord on one side and a polkadot cotton on the other which worked really well. One I’ll definitely attempt again

Posted under sewing

After my prototype, I’ve been playing about with the design of my changing pad a little because it seems to be morphing into a large-ish bag rather than a small thing you can pop into your bag. Hmm.

I made another one last week with a snap closure this time so the mat can be folded in four and snapped closed. It’s a lot smaller than the prototype but still too bulky for my liking. The problem is that the bulk is caused by the padding in the mat which was the big selling point for me. I’ve been using mine everywhere, including putting it on a sofa in a cafe so Greer could lie on it comfortably and nap while I had a cuppa but I’m used to lugging a massive bag around with me and adding this hasn’t been a massive ordeal. For your average new parent I can imagine this being a cumbersome nuisance which wouldn’t get used and I need to change that before I start selling these bad boys.

I’ve got one tester lined up and I’m sending another version to a friend who is about to have a baby so hopefully I can iron out the niggles that are irritating me. This one is pretty lush if I do say so myself, but I will NEVER AGAIN attempt to sew fleece to a non-stretchy fabric. What a nightmare!

Posted under for the kids, sewing

So I’m getting a bit more confident with this making stuff without a pattern malarkey, and decided to make Greer a dress. Not just any dress, you understand – a reversible dress that could realistically be worn either way.

Everything was going great guns – I had sewn each side of the dress, pinned the two sides together and sewn around the arms, straps and chest leaving only the hem to be sewn. I pinned the hem together leaving a gap to turn my dress inside out, sewed the hems together, turned the dress and discovered I’d constructed some kind of moebius ring. I still have no idea what I did wrong but after an hour of tantrumming I cut my losses, pinned and sewed the hem from the right side. It’s left me with a hem that isn’t quite as perfect as I’d have liked but for a first effort I’m pretty happy!

What do you think? I reckon Greer likes it (although it is still a little big!)

Kaufman side:

Babycord side:

Greer:

Posted under for the kids, sewing

I have such a backlog of things to blog that I think you’ll be inundated this week with posts!

Firstly, I wish all the Dads in your life a Happy Fathers day. I didn’t get to see my own Dad yesterday so I can’t blog what I made for him, hopefully I can remedy that tomorrow. Truth be told I don’t know what I’d do without my Dad, he’s an absolute superstar and a great Papa – I know that my kids and my niece absolutely adore him. I just wish he didn’t live almost an hour away!

Secondly I had to share this little photo of my niece. Bad Auntie Vonnie gave Bailey a marshmallow twizzler in Starbucks on Saturday while her Mummy was on the phone and therefore powerless to do anything about it. Isn’t she a cutie-pie?

Thirdly! I made these cookies a few weeks ago and the kids devoured them almost as soon as they were in the cookie jar so I figured I should pony up the recipe. This makes loads, although the recipe suggests it’ll make 14.

You will need:
100g/4oz butter, softened
100g/4oz light muscovado sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
150g/6oz self-raising flour
85g/3oz (approx 3 tubes) smarties (I used the mini smarties)

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and creamy, then beat in the syrup.
2) Work in half the flour. Stir in the smarties with the remaining flour and work the dough together with your fingers. Divide into 14 balls and place them well apart on baking sheets. Do not flatten them.
3) Bake for 12 minutes until pale golden at the edges. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container for up to four days (if the little horrors in your life let them last that long!)

Posted under baking, knitting, sewing, with the kids

As I’m sure I have mentioned before, Bob was diagnosed with severe dyslexia earlier this year and I’ve been trying to find ways to help him with his particular issues. Specifically, Bob’s dyslexia manifests itself in processing – you could give him a list of six things to do and by the time he’s done the second, he’ll have forgotten the rest. This makes things like going shopping great fun because unless it’s written down he will remember maybe four things out of a list of ten. So! I got him a diary and notebook, knowing that he’d only use them if there was a way to keep them together.

It’s just a very simple sleeve with a pouch on each side to accommodate the A6-sized diary and notebook, with snap closures. It’s small enough that it’s not an encumberance and big enough to do what he needs it to do. He seemed pretty pleased with it but whether it gets used is another thing entirely

It just dawned on me too that I hadn’t mentioned the other new additions to the house. Our cat, Sia, had a litter of kittens (underneath Nairn’s bed, ugh) on Erica’s birthday. This is the only kitten left that we haven’t secured a home for yet, and he’s been named Horatio. I always wanted a ginger cat I could name Titian but I was heartily overruled by the kids.

On a final note, Bob and I had a big conversation last night about ethics and cheating. What spurred this on? Well, in this photo Bob is embroiled in a water fight with approximately ten kids…

…standing behind a 7ft+ wall with an umbrella and a hose. Ah well, Findlay seemed to enjoy it.

Posted under family, sewing

I am a big fan of any product that makes my life easier and I’ve been mulling this idea over in my head for a fair wee while. I wanted a baby changing mat that I could pop in my bag, one that would be big enough to hold a couple of nappies, some wipes, some cream and maybe a sleepsuit but which I could also change the baby on comfortably. Add to that complication, I use cloth nappies so a couple of clean nappies tend to take up masses of space AND this whole thing by necessity needed to be machine washable

I decided that what I needed was a bag with a box-style base attached onto the mat so with a bit of tinkering this is what I have come up with.

The bag section is on the left and has a snap button closure in the middle to prevent the contents from spilling out. The changing mat is plenty big enough to lie a baby on. The dimensions of this one were decided based on the item I used to pad the mat but in actual fact it’s probably a little on the too thick side. Ah well, the baby will be comfortable! The changing mat has snap buttons at the corners to close it over securely meaning that any accidents can be contained, and the whole bag flips over nicely. What I did forget was a way to fasten the changing mat to the bag in order to keep it closed but as this is only a prototype that can be remedied with the next version

What do you think? Once I’ve tweaked the design I might offer the instructions for download if there’s enough interest!

Posted under for the kids, sewing