Okay okay so I know that none of you have particularly been awaiting this moment with bated breath but it’s a big day for me! The ever lovely Amanda from KitschyCoo kids asked me at the end of February to test a pattern that she’d designed. “Sure,” says I, “No problem.” Hmm. It’s only six weeks later and I’m finished…

This was the first KitschyCoo pattern that I’ve sewn. I also have a coat pattern which I’m hoping to sew up before Christmas, but I’ll admit happily that my novice sewing skills really put me off even though when I flicked through Amanda’s instructions it all looked straightforward. I shouldn’t have worried. In the end, the actual construction of the entire garment was done in less than an hour and believe me when I tell you I’m irritatingly meticulous and therefore slow. The one thing that held me up was that no matter how hard I tried I could not master the buttonhole function on my sewing machine. TURNS OUT that’s because I’m missing a vital part from my sewing machine accessories – namely a buttonhole foot. Doh!

Anyway. This jacket (which is fully reversible by the way) has been semi finished for over a week and yesterday Kat came to visit and whilst Bob kept us supplied with tea and cake Kat did it for me showed me how the buttonhole function works. So! I’m proud to unveil my version of the KitschyCoo matinee coat.

Side one -

Side two -

Erica absolutely loves it. It took a bit of bribery with a new nightie to get her to take it off! I’m extremely happy with the way it’s turned out and I’ll be making another one very soon so that she has a spare when this one is in the washing.

We also owe a wee thank you to Sam from Incy Wincy Stitches. You might remember that in this post I’d mentioned the first hat and booties set was going to Sam and in exchange, Sam sent up the gorgeous blue bag that Erica is clutching in these pics. It’s a crocheted clutch and was filled with hair bobbles and slides for Erica which she was just thrilled with. All in all, a very happy wee girl yesterday – just look at that smile! (She was actually laughing at Nairn and Findlay who were hanging out the window shouting to her)

So what do you lovely lot think? A passable first attempt at following a pattern?

In other news I’m looking for a little bit of input from you lot. It’s Erica’s 2nd birthday in less than two weeks, then Findlay’s 8th birthday five weeks after that. I’d really like to make each of them a handmade gift but I’m looking for suggestions. What are your go-to handmade gift ideas for children? Or as a parent, what would you really be happy for your child to receive?

Posted under for the kids, recommendations, sewing

So last Saturday my friend Sharon came over to visit with her niece for a playdate with Nairn – I had some fantastic ideas for keeping the kids amused including giant paperchain dolls to decorate and cookies for them to cut out and decorate themselves – and of course they spent the entire afternoon running about chasing each other. The best laid plans of mice and men, eh?

When Sharon left, Bob gave her half of the cookie dough that I’d so lovingly prepared so that she and her niece could make them together. The other half was put back in the fridge with the intention of baking them next day…

…but it’s still there! This week has been utterly manic and I honestly haven’t had ten minutes to roll out and bake the cookies. My poor starved children have had to go without baked confections for over a week because Mummy has been just too busy (or tired!) to stand in the kitchen. What would you do? Would you use the cookie dough or would you bin it? I have a feeling that if we’re going to use it then today really must be the day but I don’t want to risk making the kids unwell. But I really hate waste. Decisions decisions.

I haven’t actually tried this recipe out yet but the dough was extremely easy to throw together. It’s another recipe using cups rather than weighed ingredients but I’m beginning to realise that my measuring cups are one of my better investments.

Recipe – Cut out cookies (makes loads)

3.5 cups plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
225g unsalted butter, room temperature
1.5 cups granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsps vanilla extract

In a small mixing bowl combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes with a hand blender). Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.
Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in clingfilm. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper. Take one half of the chilled dough and, on a lightly floured surface, roll it out to a thickness of 1cm. (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the worktop). Cut out your shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet.
Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking. One half of the dough mixture will fill your two baking sheets.
Bake cookies for about 10 minutes (depending on size) or until they are brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Icing recipe

2 large egg whites
2 tsps fresh lemon juice
3 cups icing sugar, sifted
Food colouring

In a small bowl, beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth then add food colouring to your preference. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as it hardens when exposed to air. Cover with clingfilm when not in use.

Let me know if you try these!

My plans for today are to finally master buttonholes so I can finish the jacket I’ve been working on for Erica. As a little taster, here’s a (very poor, taken with my phone) photo-taster of the embellishment I’ve appliquéd onto it. What do you think?

Posted under baking, for the kids, sewing, with the kids

Firstly I’d like to say thank you to everyone for your very kind comments over the last week or so. Things here are still nowhere near back to normal but as the saying goes, “This too shall pass” and in fairness the worst certainly seems to be past us. I am frantically grabbing at the door to touch wood right now!

Secondly, I would like all of you with young children to head on over to Amanda of Kitschycoo fame’s blog, in particular this post and this post. You see, a month ago I bought this pattern and Amanda also sent me the pattern for her Matinee jacket asking me to test it for her. The pattern pieces are still sitting cut out but unsewn – a month after Amanda asked, I haven’t had two minutes peace to finish it. The thing is her patterns are fantastic! Very easy to follow, beautifully put together and unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere else so when I saw she was doing a giveaway I thought, “I must let my readers know about this!”

Thirdly, I finally managed to get my Time for Tea swap goodies posted off today although I’ve missed the last collection. Sue has been very patient with me as the world collapsed around my ears and I just hope that she’s as happy with what I’ve sent her as I was with her package which Sue blogged here. I actually wore the earrings the night my package arrived and they’re just gorgeous so thank you again, Sue!

This is what I sent to Sue – the candle is made from beeswax and is made in a vintage teacup with matching saucer. This was my first attempt at candle making and in fact I made another to burn myself and make sure it was okay! The silver caddy is filled with Faerie’s blood tea from my favourite little teahouse and there’s also a packet of shortbread fingers as I believe shortbread to be the best biscuit in the world

I also made a little bag with a felt cupcake appliqué and Japanese knot-style closure which I’m very proud of!

What do you think?

Posted under general crafty updates, sewing, swaps

First off, the Time for Tea swap sign-up is now closed! I will be emailing all participants tonight with a questionnaire and I will also email the newer signer-uppers with an invite to the Flickr group where we can share photographs of our works in progress and swap parcels. I’d like to use some of your photographs at the end of the swap so if you’d rather I didn’t, please let me know. Signing up to flickr is not mandatory, just another excuse to get to know each other a little better.

Today’s post is for me to do a little showing off. When I was trying to decide what to make for Annie in the Owl Swap I came up with the idea of a bag she could keep her knitting in. Now for me the critical element in a knitting bag is that it MUST be able to fit my knitting needles in it. Also, personally I don’t like record-style bags – I’d prefer something a little more upright without losing any space. Now with apologies for the less-than-fantastic photographs – this is what I came up with:-

I also liked the idea of being able to close the bag over but still have a little access to the contents, so I made one large strap that can be slung over a shoulder, and another smaller strap for the large strap to go through and hold it closed.

Of course, this bag still had to have some relevance to owls really so I had my first attempt at appliqué. For a first attempt I was pretty pleased with myself although I’d have liked my stitches to be neater.

I only wish I was a neater seamstress because if ONLY I could sew in a straight line, I would make and sell these bags. Ah well, if wishes and all that! What do you think? Would you use it if you were a knitter?

Crafty plans for this week include my first ever attempt at making a cake with fondant icing, a little work on some longies I’m making for the new baby and a start on a couple of patterns from the fantastic Amanda at KitschyCoo. Luckily I will have my partner in crime Kat here to help me out tomorrow. Hooray!

Posted under general crafty updates, sewing, swaps