All Things Mum

This weekend the weather went wild. It was really hot and humid and when I came back from taking the kids to the park I thought I was hit with really bad hayfever. Turns out it was the flu and my head's been hurtin' for two days now. The funny thing is I still managed to duplicate this top that I orginally bought from K-mart. When I saw it on the rack I told hubby that I could copy this and he agreed. The purple top is the original and the next is what I came up with. I added some lace under the yoke (is that what it's called?) and it looks really cute. When it was done hubby asked "Is that a dress?" "No, it's a top" "Good, I don't want her looking like a hussy" "Relax,... it's a top."

It just so happened that I stumbled upon another men's shirt re-fashion. This time it is for a toddler dress and I absolutely adore this one!!! THE LINK IS HERE It's so fabuloso. On another note, pictured above is the loveliest yellow gingham with a red embroidered flower spotted all over that I picked up from my local fabric shop. It was only $6.50 a metre. What a bargain. Oh how my heart fluttered when I looked at the price. It was so relieving to know I wasn't busting my budget like I've been doing in the past. Sigh relief.

Wow, sometimes yeah I spend way too much time on the laptop but today was sooo worth it. Speaking about re-fashioning, I stumbled across this blogger (Antoinette) who re-fashioned men's shirts into wearable funky women's wear. How cool. AND no need to buy fabric.. bonus! I was trying to find an e-mail addy but I can't seem to see one. Sorry... I have borrowed your pic for this post. Hope you don't mind, Antoinette. Anyway, I might have a go at this soon. I love shirt dresses. I have one that I wore 2 yrs ago and it doesn't fit me but I can't bear to throw it out cos I love the colour so much. Hubby has many shirts that he doesn't wear now as they wear casual clothes in his new job. Some are wayyy too big so yay for me!

Wow, it's soooo warm here today. Spring is definately here but it feels more like summer. It's 30 degrees celcius (86 F) and I love love love it. I decided to re-fashion a cheap skirt I bought last year into a dress for Little Miss. Here it is before and after... It was fairly easy to do. Cut the bottom part and make a rectangle 48cms x 60cms. Cut the shirring at one side and hold it around the chest and note where you want to sew it up again. Sew up the sides of the skirt, run a big stitch across the top of it and gather. Attach the top part and then put on your model so you can attach the ties with a safety pin. Take dress off, sew in the ties and tidy up the top and voila!! Summer dress. Note: If I made it shorter, like to her knees, it makes running around in it much easier.

I love Spring. Today's weather was glorious. Very nostalgic. Warm breeze. Full sun. Lazy day weather. When I only had one I wonder... how did I waste my time away? Flower pics are from my garden. The cowgirls came in from Sarah at Quilt Fabric Delights . Yahoooo! Now I can make up the lamp for Little Miss. I wish I could sew outside...

I was rushed this morning. Had to get the kids ready so I could have my second session of the 1,2,3 Magic Parenting class that I enrolled in. I made this bag in a short amount of time. I couldn't tell you how many minutes it took as it was in between getting lunch made, making up bottles, packing nappies and finally getting myself ready. I would guess about an hour from cutting to finishing. It does have Pellon ironed onto the inside to give it shape. The longest was turning the handle inside out. I'm sure there's a shortcut like topstitching but it was an after thought. It was a fabric I had that I got on sale at Spotlight. It has it's own pattern, I did not make those panels if you're thinking I've done that part myself (good God, I wish I possessed that much patience). I love it because I can sling it across my shoulder and it's enough to fit my A4 book and my necessities. Gota run, baby crying... such is my life.

Haven given birth to Little Miss two years ago a day before Father's Day ( it was a terrifically planned present that now cannot be out done) means that we always have cake on Father's Day. We did have cake on the day of her birthday but we also spoil ourselves and the extended family by eating more of this sugary delight. Finally! the guy made the cake exactly the way I had asked (there have been mishaps before inlcuding just handing me a doll). Here she is with her birthday dress and she's actually wearing the Heather Bailey headband that I made the night before. Wow. The only mishap is discovering my lens was dirty after we cut the cake :( At least we weren't the only ones with cameras. Now to get a decent pic of her smililng...

Meet my version of Freya. This is my first doll (or toy) so, it's not perfect and I haven't embroidered anything in my life. You can tell... Little Miss was very impatient and wanted to hold her so I had to make do with not stuffing the boots (which I had left out when first sewing my panel!) and they are sewn on the legs but it's not too obvious. I would have liked to have better fabric for the head and face as it really would make the doll so much nicer but I'm happy with the way the body has come out. I don't do well with written instructions, I prefer pictures. Big thanks to Melly and Me for responding to me HELP mail. I was instructed on how to embroider without showing the end threads. I just had no idea... but I do now, for next time.

Little Miss turns the big (terrible) Two tomorrow! I have just completed her dress. I've made a start on her Freya doll. I've cut out the pattern on plastic, and cut strips for it. I hope it turns out considering I've only used the fabric scraps that I have on hand. The dress required altering of the bodice as it turned out too wide and gaped on her so after some seam ripping (boo hoo) I fixed it up and it looks lovely now. I had intended on making it a halter tie neck but didn't omit the back bodice piece so I elasticised it instead and made shoulder ties. I also added an invisible zipper on the side. It looks pretty sweet. She refuses to try it on again so will have to hold our breathe til this Sunday. I used the pattern from the Japanese pattern book; it's the spot dress. I just added a Michael Miller : Garden Pindot and made bias ties and a ruffle. I added a 1cm seam allowance : fits perfect around waist. It also sits below her knee. I think if I didn't a...