Sunday 26 October 2014

DIY Elsa Inspired Dress - Version 3


My friend asked if I would maker her wee girl an Elsa dress for her 3rd birthday, how could I refuse!


I have made this one and this one before and decided to make it a bit more toddler / young girl friendly.


All my fabric is stretchy so I decided to use the Skater Dress pattern from Kitschy Coo for the body and just attach a gathered skirt. I cut the bodice from the sheer blue and made attached the sequin overlay.

I gathered the skirt on elastic so it would have some stretch and it seems to have worked,


The dress has gone down a storm - the little girl it was for was wearing it to drop her brother off at school on Friday! I can see more of these dresses in my future...



Saturday 25 October 2014

Charity Shop Success

I don't know why I have never posted about  my charity shop bargains before, it is time to change that since a lot of of my clothes come from charity shops or ebay!

Last weekend we went to donate loads of stuff to the Barnardos shop in South Queensferry. It is a donation centre but has racks of clothes, some of which obviously have been in the normal shop round the corner and not sold, for £1.49! We left having spent £14.41 and I got some great stuff:


A pair of jeans from M&S with no noticeable wear. I have since returned a new pair I bought when I was getting desperate but resisted wearing - phew!


A skirt from M&Co, love the fabric, need to shrink a teeny bit to be able to eat with it on...


A tunic top from M&S, again no noticeable wear. I really need a finer belt, it is quite obvious round my my less than small tummy :)



Possibly the most exciting thing was a Clone Trooper costume that Big E got for £2.49, including the mask!


I also got 2 candle holders that I plan to pour wax straight into using a set I got for my Christmas last year!

Husband got 2 shirts, 1 t-shirt and 2 books on the Forth Rail Bridge.

All that for less than £15, it was definitely my most successful charity shop expedition ever.

I have been raving to all my friends about charity shop shopping but they are reluctant, is anyone else a lone charity shopper among their friends?


Sunday 19 October 2014

Saturday 18 October 2014

A last minute skater dress

There has been some panic sewing going on in this house, I got a bit confused, which is easily done, and thought this dress was needed for a week tomorrow, it's not , I need it for tomorrow! Little Z is going to be 3 and is Peppa Pig daft so thought I would dilute some of the Peppa madness with a Raccoon print dress (I know her Mum will love the fabric!).


I spent yesterday afternoon whipping this skater dress up using fabric I have had for over a year and a half. It was bought to make a baby outfit for my Nephew but I soon realised that this fabric is not what my sister would choose to dress wee G in...!

 The dress pattern and the fabric are from Kitschy Coo.


Little e has now decided she would like one, I think a trip to Kitschy Coo shop may be required!

Pattern: Skater Dress
Fabric: Lillestoff Raccoons (out of print which is a shame as I had promised Big E a t-shirt in it...)

In other news, my basket of doom is now 3 items smaller - progress is being made!


Sunday 12 October 2014

41/52

Big E: Spider catching with clone trooper accessories..

little e: New PJ's!
Rubbish photos this week but still joining in with Jodi  for the 52 project. I can't believe it is week 41 already!



Saturday 11 October 2014

Autumn and Winter Sewing Plans

For once in my sewing life I actually have some plans so thought I would write them down. I love reading other people plans! I hope to get these all finished before  New Year but that may be a little ambitious...

The plan:

1. Can you guess what is first on my list...


yep, another Elsa dress for my friends wee girl. I am being paid for this so it is not optional, it will be made in the next week.

2. Leggings: I managed to get some organic cotton jersey in grey to make little e leggings for school (she won't wear tights).

I think I will just use some leggings she has as the pattern.

3. I need to finish the winter coat I started.


I am cross with it at the moment as I did my usual and cut it the size too big because I am scared to just ignore the measurements on the packet. I have altered the fit but now I have to line it. The only problem is that I didn't write down what mods I made to the main coat and it has been about a month since I did it so can't remember...

4. A Christmas dress.



I bought this ponte knit on line and I am not sure about the colours (I probably shouldn't admit but I chose the colours based on Anna's dress in Frozen...!)  The website said the blue was navy, it isn't, its royal blue but hopefully the dress will look ok.

5. A couple of cardigans.



I bought this pattern as this style of cardi suits my shape. The fabric is from here and the paler one is 100% Shetland wool rib and the other is a cotton/linen mix rib. I am not sure how these fabrics will work with the pattern but am going to give it a go with the totally plain version of the cardi with no peplum bit.

6. This sweatshirt pattern looks perfect to use up my bits of jersey left from other things.


7. Last but not least is my basket of things to refashion / alter. These will be done before spring...



Now, I just need life to settle down, my Mum's 60th birthday party and my Beavers camp to plan themselves and I might actually find some sewing time again. It is also so tempting when it is cold and dark in the evenings to sit where I am now, in front of the stove watching TV, instead of in my cold crafty room!







Linking to some of these linky parties.

                     


Sunday 5 October 2014

It begins with C and ends with mas...

Yes; it is October so obviously an appropriate time to discuss Christmas!


This year we are trying our hardest to avoid so much stuff coming in to our house as I really feel that all the stuff devalues the day, not to mention a total waste of energy used to make it all (this is a fantastic short film about stuff). I hate the fact there is so much pressure to turn what is a religious festival (and even for the non religious a special time to be with friends and family) into festival of consumption.

If you decide to try and reduce the stuff this year then you might want to be a bit more subtle than I was - you would have thought I had suggested cancelling Christmas the way my parents reacted...

So, I thought I would start a list of gifts to buy that fall in to the 'non-stuff' category, if you have any ideas I would love to hear them!


1. New felt pens and pencils : Santa stuffs stockings in this house full of  new pens, pencils, glue sellotape etc. The kids love this and it stops them raiding my craft room! I would say craft kits here too but all ours end up sitting around for 6 months and are done in the summer holidays when it is raining!



2. Educational Magazine Subscriptions: My 2 get the RSPB magazine from their Granny and Grandad each year which is great. I am thinking about the kids national geographic for Big E this year.


3. Membership to attractions: This is difficult as it is normally cheaper to get a family or one adult many children membership but if your kids all want the same membership then you are on to a winner!


4. Adopt an animal: Many places do animal adoptions and normally you get different levels of sponsorship depending on the amount of money you donate. At Edinburgh Zoo they hold special adopters evenings where you can go in to the zoo after it is closed to the public.

Here are some links: Adopt with WWF
                                  Edinburgh Zoo
                                  London Zoo
                                  Born Free


5. A toy they really love: Lego is what springs to mind but it could be anything. I have learnt the hard way with this.
Last year little e wanted Monster High dolls so I got her them and she played with a few days and they have sat in a drawer since then. The year before it was Sylvannian Families tree house, again, it has been played with a few times and now sits on top of her wardrobe. Thankfully Big E is the opposite, he always asks for Lego and always plays with it. He makes up the model, plays with it for a couple of months as the model then they normally get broken up and the lego gets added to the drawers and made in to all sorts of amazing things. I do not grudge spending money on lego at all, well, there is a limit, I will not be buying the boat above - £169.99 is way too much!


6. A pet: Not ideal for everyone but this year Big E has already got part of his Christmas - a hamster which he adopted yesterday after falling in love with it on a trip to Pets at Home with Cubs last Thursday. It is not a new hamster but from there Adopt a Pet section. The owner of this hamster moved in to a flat where she wasn't allowed pets so had to give him up for adoption.


7. A bike or something else to keep fit: Big E and little e both got bikes for their birthday this year from my parents, they love cycling, and going on adventures on their bikes. Scooters, roller skates and skateboards are also great to keep them outside and moving and don't clutter up the house!


If anyone has any other ideas I would love to hear them, also if anyone can suggest how I convince the hoarder that is little e to donate or sell some of her unplayed with toys that would be great, I have tried saying she can get the money and telling her about people that have nothing and nothing has worked!








Linking to some of these parties!

Friday 3 October 2014

Meet the new additions

Over the summer 2 of our 4 hens died and since they rely on numbers to keep the coop warm in the winter it was time to 'top up'!

We decided to re-home ex-commercial hens (they were ex organic free range) again and got them from Wing and a Prayer who are excellent.

We went for 3 hens and came home with 4 hens and a young silky cockerel!


The new hens are called Rosie, Anna, Elsa and Laya and the cockerel is Anakin!


We are all in love with Anakin, he is so fluffy at the moment and hopefully he won't get too much bigger so will have a nice quiet doodle doo that won't wake us at 3am in the summer...