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

I mentioned recently that I’ve lost my crafting mojo and I think these might just snap me out of it. I’ve been making loads of these fabric corsage brooches, initially for my button swap but subsequently as I realised they’re a fabulous way to use up scraps while making something of use. I’ve already made a little one for Erica’s winter coat and I think I’ll have a few up for sale in my Folksy shop over the next few days. What do you think?

Posted under general crafty updates

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 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

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

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