PJ's for my lil' boy!

What a poser!

A while back, I started making dresses for Amelia & I could see James' jealousy so set about making him some PJ bottoms. I used a pair of his trousers to trace a pattern & went on from there. I was nervous about making my own pattern so used a cotton sheet I picked up cheap at a charity shop and then added a trim of my "good" cotton to the bottom. I was pleased with the way they turned out and they have, since then, languished in his drawer (he's not much for wearing PJ's and tends to favour ones I've bought from America in the past when he does wear them). However, tonight, he decided he wanted to wear these ones, much to my delight. So, I asked him if I could take a pic before he lay down, which he was very pleased with. And here he is. As you can see - he is about as good as his sister is at posing for photos. I took 6 and these two were the best!!!

And Amelia, not wanting to be outdone by her brother, insisted she get in on the photography action too............

They are both such gigglers when they're tired. I love it!

A month already!

Wow how time flies! I've had a busy sewing month and a super busy work month. Work-wise, we've had a huge Summer Sale running which has kept us rushed off our feet(!!)

Sewing-wise, I became a little obsessed with making Amelia dresses (she now has 4 from that same pattern) and a fifth is cut out. I have also made them for two friends little girls - Sophie and Penny but completely forgot to take pictures of them - I'm such a bad blogger!

 I have also started a quilt for Amelia using a block I created myself using Kate's "stack & slash" method. It's going to be a long slow process but I'm enjoying having a go when I can.

Finally, I've been making pencil cases galore!

The twins had their 4th birthday mid June & we had a little party with their cousins on the Friday at the local soft play centre followed by pottery painting & McDonalds with Penny & Sophie on the Saturday. I made them all pencil cases (including the twins) with felt tip pens, mini colouring books & chocolate bars for their party bags. They were well received (which was good) and here they are:

Initials on these for my nephews

 

For the girls - cute felt flowers stab stitched with a silver heart bead in the middle

 

All four of these were made using Osnaburg - I just love the textures & naturalness of this fabric (is that even a word???!)

I've since made another 3 for parties the kids are going to in the coming weeks. We had a last minute invite to another party tomorrow so that's another one to make to replace the one I'm pinching from next weekend's party!

I've also made the girls' cards - boys I struggle a little more with but I do have a few ideas

These were the two I settled on - like the doilies? We got those in stock yesterday - cute, huh?

I saw a card based on this sort of idea whilst blog hopping - sorry - can't remember the blog now - but decided once it was made up that it was probably a little too "mature" for a 4 year old girl so am keeping it for another birthday

 I've also finished quilting the picnic rug and chosen the binding fabric. Just need to get that sewn on and hand stitched to finish.

Oh and I'm off to Chicago a week today for CHA (Craft & Hobby Association - a huge buying trip for us plus a bit of r&r time for Lianne & I) - can't wait!!

In the meantime, the VAT returns are calling *joy*

Another dress................

I couldn't resist having another go with this pattern, with my own fabrics this time. It was easier using cotton rather than velvet for the yoke and trims. It was also very annoying when I realised that I hadn't cut the fabric very economically, not leaving enough for the back, meaning I had to piece it. It worked, though. And Amelia is very pleased with it, which is  a relief.

So this is her, wearing her dress before going off to nursery yesterday morning. She and James both dress themselves, choosing their own clothes (which is great 99% of the time). Today, unusually for her, she wanted sleeves, so we  added a long sleeve tee underneath

And here is what happens when you ask a 3 year old to model new clothes for you:

They really just don't like to stand still for the camera! Oh and yes, they are ankle socks she insists on heaving up to her knees every morning. Loving the on up one down look, Amelia

Dressmaking

Clothing is not something I've stitched before (apart from for dolls & bunnies!!) but I saw a pattern for Amelia a couple of months ago which caught my eye. It came with the the necessary fabrics to make the dress which looked gorgeous. However, what I could not see from the screen was the fact that the white fabric was velvet, which was an absolute b***er to stitch with for my first time at dressmaking.

However, I persevered and made mistakes and stitched & unpicked & restitched & sweated, pressed, admired & finally finished today *phew*

Amelia is in love with her new dress & James is demanding his own (!!) I think I may have persuaded James that PJ bottoms would be much better for him than a dress - anyone know of any good patterns??

So here is Amelia, modelling her new dress, being a "fairy butterfly" (which seems to be her favoured creature right now)

I think I shall be making more of these! The pattern is Polkadots & Summer by Fig Tree & Co and the fabric used is Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow (love the blue & red).

Amelia is 4 next month but very tall so I chose to stitch the dress in a size 6 and not surprisingly, it's not actually that big on her so will hopefully last until at least Christmas. What I loved about the pattern is that it can easily be teamed with a long sleeved t-shirt and thick tights in the autumn