Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Zipper Pouch [stuff I've made]

I told you last week that I would make something new each week, but I didn't promise it would be anything amazing!

I knocked this pouch up in between house chores and child distractions one afternoon last week. I broke 3 needles on it, (trying to get over the zipper in the side seam), so it took until a week later (today) to get new needles and finish off the last 2 seems until it could be completed!


At the beginning of the year one of my goals was to master a zipper, so I'm thinking a few easy zipper pouches will give me some practice, so this is the first! And I -finally- found a zipper foot that would attach to my machine (for anyone that wonders, I have an old Globe 510 machine, and have bought a low shank adapter and a clip on zipper foot from Direct Sewing)



I love that it is fully lined, it makes a great wee make up bag (and can now replace my too small, moldy one!) 



I'm pretty happy with my first proper zipper attempt! I could do with some sharpening of skills (so I will keep working on it), but its definitely useable and something I am very proud of. 

Hurrah! 

Thanks for stopping by :) 

xxxx


Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Sycamore Shorts for Milla

I really enjoyed showing off my poroporo blouse last week for Milla, it spurred me on to spend an hour on Wednesday night whipping up these little sycamore shorts. [link to free and easy pattern!]


I made them with chambray, which was my first time using. Its so light and so easy to work with, I think I'll definitely be making more out of this fabric! 

If you're just starting out sewing this is a really great pattern to try out. I found all the instructions to be very thorough and easy peasy. And you're only having to work with two pattern pieces. Score. Do try it and let me know if you do!


After I had cut out my fabric it took about an hour to iron and sew all the pieces. MrMoo left for indoor cricket and by the time he got back I had a pair of shorts to show him! It was like magic!

There is still lots of fabric left over from what was required so I'll definitely be making more, maybe some little ones for Katie?


Milla keeps telling me she has apples in her pocket. Super duper cute.

[[I thought I'd try and make "making something once a week" a regular feature on my blog. Hopefully it'll spur on my sanity, motivation and blogging regularity! Thanks for stopping by each time xxx]]

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Millas Frozen Party


Last week we celebrated Millas 3rd birthday with a party for her select few little friends and their parents. She requested a "Frozen and icecream party" and that's exactly what she got. (I pre warned the parents we would be feeding their little children icecream!)

I didn't go overboard on decorations (infact, I spent 79c on them). Some borrowed blue bunting and some pom pom yarn on sale was the sum total of Frozen themed decorations, but it was enough to surprise the little people attending and let them know that something special was happening.


First we played pin the nose on Olaf - a happy little snowman who gets a carrot nose in the movie. Being 3 year olds, party games are a bit risky, but you've got to learn this classic some time right?! It was turning into a bit of a flop, none of the children wanted to take part / didn't know how. Luckily our fun friends stepped in and made it a hoot for the kids. They found great joy in leading their blind Daddys to Olaf.


Milla requested plaits like Anna for herself and also me! She also wore her Elsa cape (a birthday present made by me!) throughout the party, and each guest got an Elsa crown after pin the nose on Olaf.




Even Monkey got a crown!




Ice cream time! We set up a little ice cream "bar" inside. i had pre scooped the childrens into bowls to make it faster for them. I forgot the fruit and jelly in the fridge, I'm always forgetting things at the last minute. 



After ice-cream we smashed Elsa's Frozen Hands (water frozen inside gloves, and then the glove removed once solid). The bigger kids handled the hammers really well and were very safe with them and spent 5 minutes smashing up all the tiny bits of ice. 

While the big kids were doing this I had filled our water table with water and star shaped ice cubs with glitter frozen inside. The little babes had great fun splashing around with that and were none the wiser of the hammer and ice chaos happening metres away.



At our parties I like to have a few little activities planned to keep the kids on some sort of focus - rather than going free range about our house. I think it centers them and helps contain the chaos. 

Activities need to be age and stage appropriate. I think pin the nose on Olaf went over their heads, but was worth doing. Maybe they'll be a bit more ready for the next party that does it! 

I like to keep food simple, it was great doing it in the afternoon and offering ice cream, I just wish I had remembered the fruit and jelly in the fridge. I'm not big on the "food tables", food isn't really my strength and I don't think kids pay too much attention to the food tables, so that made my life much easier. 

After most of the guests had gone Milla said "I'm just going to go have a rest" and laid down on her bed for a few minutes and then made her way back out again when she was ready. Parties are big tiring occassions for our little introvert and its important we take that into consideration when planning. 

This was a simple but fun party that only took a few days to plan! We had a great time with our guests and Milla was the happiest 3 year old in the whole world. 

And finally, a HUGE THANK YOU to Jared and Georgia for taking these beautiful photos. We will treasure them forever xxx



Thursday, September 11, 2014

Milla's Emergency Dental Visit


This week Camilla has been complaining of a sore tooth when she has been eating her relatively balanced diet. "Ouch! I have a sore tooth!" she would say and clutch her jaw in pain.

I booked her in to an emergency dental appointment, and then I realised.... She watched the Berenstain Bears a few times a week, a sweet little show about a bear family. In one of the episodes Brother Bear gets a sore tooth and can't eat anything, and Sister Bear gets a lose tooth. They both end up at the dentist and get a special treat and have a great time!

Could this be a co-incidence? It seems not. 


The dentist confirms my little girl has perfectly healthy teeth, and Milla says "My teeth are all better now".

TV has a much greater influence on us than I realised...

Because I'm Happy

Just a regular ol' sunny Thursday morning here. You'll often find me on a Thursday morning desperately trying to finish off my EziBuy blog post that's due every fortnight. 

You'd think that since I have a fortnights warning I would be much better prepared, alas, I never am. This week I took my tutorial photos BEFORE Thursday (amazing), but still find myself scrambling in my 1.5hr slot of child free time. The dishes, washing and vacumming are waiting for me too. But here I am, checking in at Sophie Slim, my favourite place.


SO. JUST BECAUSE. Here are some things that make me happy (I waited all winter for someone to nominate me for one of these grateful challenges, but no dice.).


My whanau. Aren't they adorbs? Life is much busier with Kindy in the mix, and for the first time I am appreciating slow weekends and more opportunities for quality time with each of our family members. 


New hooks I've ordered from EziBuy. These require screws in the wall, a luxury we don't have in a rental. So they will be squirreled away for one day when we are able to purchase our own home. And then we will screw all the screws! The idea of having something for "later" excites me to no end. 


I think I have FINALLY cracked my presser foot woes. I have an old Globe machine (my Nanas), it is great, but I've never been able to find a presser foot (zipper foot) that will fit it. They are all clip ons these days. 

Whenever I have asked professionals they have looked at me and said "they don't make those", HA. You're no help Mr Sewing Machine Man. So finally after a few years I turned to google, accidentally ordered this industrial foot (on the right)(it did look strikingly similar in the photo so I thought I would try my luck), and after a bit more searching found that my feet are called LOW SHANK. Hallelujah. The internet knows they exist!! 

So I have now bought a low shank adapter and a clip on zipper foot (you can get low shank zip feet, but I thought an adapter might be easier for more feet later on...). I'll be trying them out tonight, all seems good so far. Booyah. 

[[Thanks for all your super kind comments on the Poroporo Tunic. Your encouragement saw me finishing another garment last night!]]

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Poroporo Tunic



Last weekend I put a call out to find out everyones tried and tested favourite kids and womens clothing patterns.

I had a great response on my Facebook post and also my blog, and Jenny of Mend and Make New did a dedicated blog post in response! I pinned my favourites of your favourites and set about to make something!

First up is this super cute "Sandy's Tunic" by Lily Bird Studios. 

Out of all the PDF patterns I've used (which is the majority of any of my sewing), this is the most comprehensive pattern I've come across, it explains every detail and has great photos. Because of that I would say it is suitable for a confident beginner. There are a few techniques to practice in this top - binding, gathering, button holes (ACK), plackets and top stitched "pleats" (I've forgotten the name of them). Plenty of techniques to keep it interesting, but as I said, it is all step by step instructions. 


I'm going to aim to make a couple more of these because I think it's just so stinking cute, and would look great all in one colourway me thinks.  


Milla is on a huge purple buzz right now, so she is pretty stoked with her "waiporoporo summer top".


What to sew next? Maybe some shorts, or a peasant dress? I've officially put an overlocker on my must get list, so I'm going to tackle fun knit fabrics once I have one, in the mean time, cottons it is for us!


Friday, September 5, 2014

Frozen Party Eve



It's not that I make a habit of forgetting such important details in a 3 year olds life, it's just that things have been busy. I just threw a baby shower for a friend, and I kept thinking "I'll start party prep after the shower". And I still thought I had a few weeks up my sleeve. I need to get a proper physical on the wall calendar me thinks.

Anyway. As it turns out, you don't actually need more than a week to throw this kind of party (assuming all goes to plan of course!). I'm a simple party kind of gal I think. Most of my effort goes into age appropriate activities it seems. I don't have much finess in the kitchen so the "food table" that looks so glam on Pinterest doesn't do much for me. 

Camilla requested ice cream (has she been browsing ice cream bars on Pinterest??). So yesterday we went to the super market and bought a bunch of toppings for said ice cream. Tomorrow I'll put it in bowls. Boom. Food done. Keep it simple people. There's not even a cake, I'll put the candles in her dessert. We are totally cool with that.

We only have a little living area, so numbers of invited little people were very limited and I have taken all the toys out of the lounge (except for the important play kitchen), to make room for the extra adults.

BUT. I do know she is going to have a blast. 

We are all good to go! Frozen party countdown time!  

Monday, September 1, 2014

I Forgot Millas Party!


Oops, I completely forgot it was Millas birthday party this weekend coming!

We sent out the invites a while ago, and I have been busy planning a baby shower so an easy mistake to make!

Now I have 6 days to organise a birthday party! Let's see what can be done!

Tonight:: Pin the nose on Olaf CHECK!
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