Birthday Headbands

I made these two headbands for my niece's 4th birthday. Last time I saw her, her mum mentioned that she was trying to grow out her hair but that my niece didn't like hair clips. So headbands seemed the perfect present. They are both reversible, but I was in a hurry to leave for the party so got my husband to take the photos and he didn't take the reverse side. Still, I'm lucky to have any photos at all.

I used this tute [No, wait, I can't find it. Will update when/if I do!]. Mainly to get the sizing right. The only thing I would do differently is keep them a bit wider at the ends, even just half a centimetre, as this would make turning them out SO much easier. That was the most time-consuming step.   I might try this pattern next time, I like the shape of the wide headband. Didn't have a printer at home this time round so had to keep it simple.

I really need to add some nice girly fabric to my stash too. I'm always making presents at the last minute so I need to at least have some nice fabric on hand...

2010 Sewing Summary

Wowsers, just look at that to do list! It's Feb 2011 and there are still 15 things on last years to do list!  That's not good. Some of them will be going straight back on to 2011's To Do list. I wonder how many will get done this year?   


I did get VERY slack at blogging last year, there are things I made that I know never got blogged, better luck this year :)


P.S. These list appear over on the "Lists" page as well, to create a nice summary of all my completed items over the years... at least, that's the plan. 

To Do 2010

1. crayon wallet 
2. pads
3. slip cover for lounge chair
4. applique top to match cord pants
5. aeroplane top for DS - in progress
6. winter jacket for DS
7. cord pants for DS (he'll then have 4 good pairs of winter pants)
8. pjs for DS
9. winter hat for DS (to match pants?)
10. coasters for me 
11. clothes for teddy (hat/undies)
12. backpack
13. chef hat and matching apron

Done - 2010

1. Fun Pants 
2. Bag for swap
3. Cord pants
4. Undies: here and here
5. cushion covers for mum and dad
6. top for DS
7. pencil wallet for DS
8. pencil wallet for pressie
9. memory game x 3
10. fruit bags x lots
11. crayon roll x 2

Christmas Balls

 These are a great gift idea - I made them for kids ranging in age from 6 months to almost 3, and they all seemed to love them. And as I ended up making seven of them, I am glad they came together reasonably quickly!

Soft and squishy with a fun bell inside for the little ones...

 

My gorgeous little cousin :)

And fun for practicing kicking and throwing for the older ones - and as they are quite soft, you'd need to throw it really hard to break something, so they are great for fun play inside the house :)

There are a heap of tutes out there for balls like this, but, for what it's worth, this is the one I used.  I did the medium size (was feeling indecisive!). Next time I'd go the large, or possibly even bigger again, especially for 2 and 3 year olds. 

Christmas Sewing

Wow.... it's been a while since I've blogged... but I have been sewing.

I made the City Bag from Nicole Mallalieu Design. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out, indeed, I wanted to keep it! I've just realised I haven't got a photo of the whole bag - oops! Will have to get one next time I see mum (the lucky recipient).

A zip pocket on the inside...

 

And three open pockets on the other side.

Christmas Tee-Shirts (x 2)

Christmas Balls....(x 7)

 They were a lot of fun!

A memory game (x2) Here it is all tucked away in its bag.
You can see some of the pieces in the above pic - the duck, apple, butterfly.
Such a time-consuming project for what it really is. 

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Remind me next Christmas to start sewing a little bit earlier, maybe November. Hopefully that way I won't be up until after midnight Christmas Eve sewing!!

My first order

A friend asked me if I could make a chair cover for her mother-in-law. My friend chose the fabric and let me at it. This is the result. To say I am impressed by my handy-work is an understatement! I love it and am inspired to make one for me.

  

And with some matching cushions.

Together Parenting...An Update

Back here I talked about how I took the plunge, put the call out for a tribe, and had my first meet up. That was almost two months ago. I cannot explain how glad I am that I had the courage to take that first step. We have met every week since then without fail. The friendships are growing firmer every week. We have cooked, baked, chatted, cleaned, and cried together (ok, so it was only me doing the crying, but they supported me through it).

It is just so lovely to have such a great group of people to meet up with on a weekly basis, and to not have to rush the visit. To have the luxury of spending at least four hours in each others company. And we have started to see each other more in addition to the regular meets.

It is perhaps a little sad that this is such a big thing, that I am so excited about spending quality time with friends... but I do think it is rare for women and children to get together in this way now. And, it is not only us women who are getting the benefit of each other's company either, the kids get to grow up regularly seeing other adults - my son sees no other adult (apart from me and DH) as often as he sees those in this group. It is delightful to see him become more and more comfortable with them. And of course, there are the other kids! Ranging from not-quite-one, to four, it is so valuable for him to have regular, extended contact with kids both younger and older than him. It is doing wonders for his ability to understand how give and take works :)

Ahhh, Thursdays :) my new favourite day of the week :)  And in case any of the girls read this - you're awesome!

Crayon Wallet

A crayon wallet...

 

 The perfect birthday present for a little boy who had his fourth birthday party yesterday. He is train-mad, but when asked his mum said maybe something not trainy for a change...so I compromised :)

Here it is all opened up. 10 pencils and one B5 sketch pad, ready to be taken anywhere he goes.

The pattern comes from http://sew-fantastic.blogspot.com/ and is available as an instant download :) And check out her etsy shop for lots of other beautiful products. So many gorgeous things to buy!  

The pattern was very easy to understand, however I upsized it to fit a larger notebook and pencils, rather than crayons. So I still had to play around with measurements. My trial one gets to stay with James, which is lucky as he really really liked it! I was a little worried it would be hard for him to get the pencils in and out but he managed just fine. I'll be making plenty more of these for presents, I do think.