floating world

holidays + kcw

It's school holidays here - hard to believe that the boy child has already finished his first term at school. That wobbly tooth fell out on the last day of term, so the tooth fairy pillow got its first outing too.

I'm enjoying the change of pace, even if the tyranny of the lunch box and school run has been replaced by breaking up squabbles and lots of demands for food and entertainment. It's been good to potter, catch up with friends, visit the park, do some craft and cooking together and see a movie.

We just got back from a couple of nights in Canberra - it's a perfect place for small children, with lots of museums and activities. This time we visited the Deep Space Centre, War Memorial, Questacon and Parliament House. And stopped in Moss Vale on the way there and back to break up the journey and have a milkshake at Bernie"s and a peek in the wonderful Made By Others.

Now we're back, catching up on washing and I'm thinking about Kids Clothes Week sewing. I've missed the first couple of days, but I'm going to join in for the rest of the week because I really need to make some winter clothes for Milla. Ali is in uniform most of the time now, and isn't growing quite so fast, but Milla needs play trousers and some dresses and tops. So far I've been cutting out and tracing patterns - in an ideal world I'd make her a smock top, a couple of Geranium dresses (maybe one smock-length), and a couple of pairs of After School pants. I've got my eye on the Parsley Pants pattern too, but I don't think that will be released til after KCW. I'll see just how much I can fit in, in between washing-hanging, trampoline-jumping, food-prepping, lego-building and all the other school holiday stuff. And if I don't finish it all this week, there's always next week.

rockets and robots quilt

This is my reward for putting a dent in the scrap basket with all those baby quilts and easter baskets and bunnies. New fabric! It's about three years since Ali moved in to a single bed and I've had vague plans for a quilt for him ever since. I was thinking about blue and orange, and rockets and robots since he likes that kind of thing at the moment.

I got planning seriously when I decided that this big piece of vintage fabric would be perfect for a quilt back... I've had it since we lived in Japan and nearly de-stashed it at the markets, but every time someone came to look at it I got all anxious, so decided I wasn't quite ready to give it up, but that if I kept it I should use it pronto. And then at the same market Marina gave me this very cute vintage handkerchief which, in a perfect coincidence, fits in with the whole blue / orange / rocket thing that I'd been contemplating.

What I'm thinking of is a nine patch type layout similar to this quilt I made for my nephew, and I will use the handkerchief (backed with cotton, because it's a fine lawn) as one of the blocks. The fabrics in the first picture are a mixture of collections (some Lizzie House Constellations, some Nancy Wolff for Kokka... love the lineny base fabric of those ones, some Rebekah Ginda Robotic for Birch, and a bit of Architextures), with a mixture of blues and orange.

a tooth fairy pillow

The boy child has a wobbly tooth. It's hard to believe that soon he'll be sporting that gappy grin that makes children look so much more grown up, but he's quite excited about it all, and I promised I would make him a tooth fairy pillow.

While sorting through the scraps today to make a pile for another scrap-busting baby quilt, I found a few favourites that were too small for a quilt but perfect for a tooth pillow, so cobbled them together to make a smallish rectangle. Then I stitched on a little felt tooth (I got the template from this Purl Bee tooth bag tutorial), and found this bag-making tutorial to work out how to make the zippered pocket on the back. And then I used the cross stitch generator and Aida tape for the label on the back. Ali helped me stuff it when he came home from school, he remembered stuffing the baby Oobee we made together a couple of years ago and was very happy to help out.

And, ta da, a tooth pillow.

It turned out bigger than a lot of tooth pillows, but it was mostly determined by the size of the scraps, and also I didn't want it to be too tiny because tiny things have a habit of getting lost in this house. This one can be a teddy pillow when it's not needed for official tooth fairy business.

february + destashing

Somehow it is February. I thought spending the summer holidays entertaining two children, might drag a bit, but it flew past. We did lots of museum visits, playing at home, and jumping on the trampoline under the sprinkler. We went ice skating, inspired by Peppa Pig and their very talented figure skating uncle*. And then there was  preparation for the boy child to start school - new school shoes, picking out a lunch box, and sewing on name tapes. He had his first day last week and is very happy - he was so excited to wear his uniform at last, and to head off in to the world and learn new things. Luckily he ended up in a class with some friends and a teacher who is meant to be lovely, so that is the best start either of us could have hoped for. I do feel a a bit nostalgic about him starting school, because it really seems like no time ago at all that he was a tiny baby, but growing up and learning new things and tackling new stages in life is exactly what he should be doing, so I am happy and excited for him too.

So now we are all settling in to a new term time routine, of packing lunch boxes, washing uniforms and the girl child and I beng home together during the day. I have booked her in for ballet and gymnastics, which she is absolutely loving, and has had a sudden language explosion. Ali is doing well getting himself dressed in the mornings, and I'm remembering to pick up extra groceries to make sure we have things to put in the lunchbox, and have been doing some baking. My favourite is still this muffin recipe - such a good way to use up bananas that have got a bit too sweet.

It's six months now since we moved house and I'm still working on getting everything tidy and finished. There's furniture to be sanded, pictures to be framed. I've been sorting through the cupboards and giving away things we don't need or don't use or don't like. I've finally accepted that even if I really love a piece of fabric, if I haven't used it in the past five years and don't have immediate plans for it I should probably pass it on, so I've sorted through a big box of fabric and craft books and yarn and will have a stall at the Stash and Treasure sale in Marrickville next weekend. I'm excited about freeing up some space and sending out the fabric that's been neglected in the craft room on to a new home.

 

* Edited after protest by said uncle

pyjamarama

I have been sewing pyjamas. It began before Christmas, when the weather got hot. The girl child had no warm-weather pyjamas and was sleeping in short sleeved onesies. The boy child had one pair of short pyjamas that still fit from last year, but that is not enough.

I went to the shops and found (a) $40 pyjamas with tasteful prints in nice cotton or (b) $15 poly cotton pyjamas decorated with Buzz Lightyear and spangly princesses. I bought neither. I did, however, buy a pile of plain cotton t-shirts that were on sale. There wasn't the full range of sizes and colours so I just picked three for each child in whatever colours were available in their size, and then came home and picked fabrics that matched from the stash to make shorts. Ali got orange, blue and charcoal t-shirts, and shorts with lions, sea creatures and polar bears. I used the Bedtime Story pyjama pants pattern in Size 6, but short-length.

(I sewed a square of fabric on each t-shirt so they didn't get mixed up with the regular t-shirts)

Milla got aqua, coral pink and purple, and shorts with houses, abstract circles, and some purple flowers which haven't been photographed because they're in the wash.

I also made her a pair of pyjamas to match these ones I made Ali a year ago, from some cotton/linen Japanese fabric I found at Spotlight. I don't have the Bedtime Story pyjama pattern in the smaller size, so I made her shorts from the Oliver + S Puppet Show pattern (Size 2, with some width and length added. I got a shock when I realised this pattern only goes up to 24 months!) and the kimono top from the Habitual pattern (size 4, bit shorter, and with shorter sleeves because I was running out of fabric).

You can kind of tell from these photos that I like polka dots, can't you? This is Milla's single bed in her room (which used to be Ali's, but he now has bunks)... we still have the cot set up as well and are gradually transitioning her in to the bed. I'm looking forward to when we can dismantle the cot though, and make a bit more room.

It feels good to get some sewing done, and especially since I didn't buy any new fabrics for this. And pyjamas are a great way to use up prints that are too bright for daytime clothes.

stamping

These are some potato-stamped linen tea towels I made recently for a swap. I wanted to keep it fairly simple, with the colours being the main focus, and I was inspired by this potato stamped artwork and this Ikea bedlinen (which I absolutely love, and have bought for Milla for when she goes in to a big bed).

After the ink dried I stitched around some of the spots on the machine.

And, after I was finished, there was fabric paint left over, so I cut some more potatos in to different shapes and the boy child had a go.

Lots of fun.

silkworms

When I was little the house we lived in had a mulberry tree, and I remember climbing it, eating lots of mulberries, and having silkworms. I kept them in a shoebox and I clearly remember the smell of them when I took the lid off - not unpleasant, but distinct and musty and silkwormy.

The other week I noticed some purple splats on the footpath near our house and realised there was a mulberry tree growing on the nature strip. I told Ali that we could try to track down some silkworms for him, and then the very next week one of the mums from preschool offered some to all the children in the class, because they had too many.

So now, once again I have a shoebox full of silkworms, and they smell just how I remembered.

And every day we walk or scoot down to the mulberry tree to collect leaves for the silkworms. It's just like our very own real life demonstration of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, except instead of lollipops and salami they only eat leaves. And, from memory, at the end they turn into rather drab moths instead of colourful butterflies. But it is so interesting to see the caterpillar life cycle happening, and I love watching the caterpillars munching away on their leaves, they are so focused but unhurried. Usually at the mulberry tree we bump into some other red-mouthed person, looking slightly sheepish as they reach for ripe mulberries. It's a good way to meet the neighbours - we talk about silk worms and swap tips on other mulberry tree locations. And it's fun to show the children the way the berries grow, and to share the joy of eating them straight from the tree.

I'm very tempted to buy a dwarf mulberry tree for the back garden BUT I've been warned that this can lead to horrible red bird mess stains on washing as it dries on the line. What do you think? Is it a risk worth taking?

the captain barnacles costume

I finally made the Captain Barnacles costume that I promised Ali a few months ago. He loves the TV series The Octonauts, and I like it too - it's cute, and a little bit educational. I have to admit though, I put off making the costume because I was worried about the details and making it look like the one on the show - if there was a commercial one available I would have happily bought it.

For anyone who does not follow The Octonauts, Captain Barnacles is Polar Bear who lives in an underwater command centre called the Octopod and, with his fellow Octonauts, helps sea creatures in danger. He looks like this:

(Image source here)

I used two Oliver + S pattern to make the costume - the Sandbox Pants and Nature Walk Pullover. I did a contrast waistband with a couple of yellow felt stripes on the pants, to look like Captain Barnacles' belt, and left off the drawstrings but otherwise followed the pattern. I modified the Pullover pattern so it had a small metal zipper at the neck (Ali was very specific about the zipper), and stitched some arrows on the collar with a zigzag stitch. I also left off the front pockets, because I wanted the top to tuck in to the pants so the waistband/belt would be visible and thought the pockets might make it too bulky. There are already four pockets on the pants anyway.

(sorry for the blurry phone picture, this is the only one I have where you can see the waistband of the pants)

The hat was totally improvised, and isn't exactly the right shape - and I attached the ears to the crown of the hat, rather than under the brim because I couldn't work out how to do that in a way that would stay on a four-year-old easily. The Octonauts logo on the hat was printed on to that inkjet printable quilting fabric (I got mine here).

I used quilting cotton from Remnant Warehouse, because it offered the best choice of colours, and then felt to interface the collar and hat brim. There are also scraps of felt on the ears and belt. The ears and tail are made from leftover fur from this hat, and are safety pinned on, rather than sewn, in case he wants to be a diferent Octonaut character in the future.

I'm so happy to have finally finished this, because I had been feeling burdened by the weight of four year old expectations, and especially because Ali is pleased with the finished product. I'm also glad to have finally tried out the Nature Walk Pullover pattern, which I've had since the start of 2011 but haven't made up before. This time I made a size 6, and it's quite slim fitting, so I think next I'll try a size 7 in a heavier-weight fabric, so it can be worn over a t-shirt, and include the pockets.

rusty stripes

 

This is the boy child's winter jumper, the Wonder Years pattern knitted up in Cascade 220. It was a quick and satisfying knit, and he is wearing it without complaint. I am pleased and slightly shocked that I have managed to knit both children a cardigan at the start of winter. Looking back at Ravelry, I only knitted three things last year. One of them was an adult cardigan, but still, I must have been in a knitting slump without realising it. I think knitting adult garments really does slow me down - I'm not a fast knitter, I have a limited attention span, a limited amount of time, and the downside of making things for myself is that in order for them to be practical they need to be plain and in fairly subdued colours. But when I knit for the children I can make small, more colourful things that are faster to finish.

The buttons for this are from All Buttons Great and Small in Newtown, which is a gem of a store. I am so sick of going to Spotlight and finding the button display 90% empty. I usually use wooden buttons or mother-of-pearl, but decided to go with some vintage blue plastic ones for this jumper... wood buttons made it look like a minature old man jumper, but the blue are a bit more playful and cheery. For me, being able to choose the small details is a big part of what makes sewing and knitting things satisfying, so it's great to find a shop that has enough stock for me to find the kind of thing I have in mind, and helpful staff who suggest things I might not have thought of.

Anyway, Ravelry details for this one are here.

bat boy

This is a bat costume for a "something scary" fancy dress party. The hat is the Cozy Winter Hood from Little Things to Sew, the same as the bear version I made last year, but with roughly drafted bat ears. It's made from fake fur and lined with wet-look polyester suede. I am sure it's not quite what Liesl Gibson had in mind; she suggests making the hood out of nice fabrics like wool flannel or velveteen. I have to say though, as much as I love working with natural fibres for normal clothing it is kind of fun to use the lurid flammable stuff for costumes. I really enjoyed rummaging through the spangly dance fabric section of Remnant Warehouse for fabrics that were suitably bat-like.

For the wings I used more of the wet-look fake suede, and measured the distance from the middle of Ali's neck to his wrists and the length of his back. I folded the fabric and did a rough bat wing shape within the measurements with chalk, and then cut it out. I stitched bengaline boning on the wrong side from the back-of-neck out to the points of the wings and along the top edges (7 strips in total). I used the collar piece from my superhero cape pattern, padded it with a little bit of stuffing to stop the ends of the boning prodding uncomfortably through the fabric, and put a bit of velcro at the front to secure it. Then I just stitched loops of elastic at the wrists to allow for bat-like flapping.

The boy child was well pleased, especially with his plastic party shop fangs, and I'm happy to have another addition to the dress-up box - hopefully it can get used again at Halloween some time.