KissKus

A quick new outfit

The other day Amber was invited to a party and the dress code was red & white. Doesn't sound too difficult, does it?! But it appeared that Amber had hardly any red/white clothes.
No problem I thought... I'll quickly applique a white t-shirt. And while I'm at it I'll whip up some sleeves too! Well, that last bit turned out to be a bit time consuming. It was one of those classic moments where I was sweating behind the sewing machine until the very last moment. Nothing beats a little last minute creative stress, right?! Right.

Anyway, it turned out rather cute:

It's difficult to see in this photo, but the jeans also got a successful quick make-over. I cut the trousers (that were too short) and then hemmed them while I sewed on some pretty trim and lace at the same time. Easypeasy and Amber has enjoyed wearing them many times already.

Linus and his blankie

My sewing project last week was a patchwork blanket for Linus. My little man is always on the move: crouching, climbing (still not walking though!). This means he won't sit still to drink his bottle either. I remember that Amber and Simon always used to enjoy lying down quietly with their morning milk bottle. Linus doesn't. So I was hoping to create a little spot for him to relax in, especially now that he is outgrowing the box. And I was hoping that perhaps he would drink his bottle there...

I already had quite a few scrappy log cabin blocks that I put together ages ago. Those weren't enough and a little girly as well, so -luckily- I had to make more. Scrappy projects are my favourite, I think. I love to sew up bits and pieces from my scrap basket!

I then simply alternated the 12 log cabin blocks with some strips of fabric. For the back I used a sweet Ikea fabric. For the whole blanket I just used what I had on hand.

Instead of batting I used two layers of fleece, which gives it a nice thick feel. Which is good since I actually meant to create more of a mat than a blanket... it's a Milk Mat :)

I took all of the above photos the moment I showed Linus the finished blanket. I swear that the first thing he did was to lie on it! After that he was smiling and rolling around on it. He seemed so happy with it; it really was a joy to watch him. My mother heart was very content.

Since then we've been using the mat daily. And even if he hasn't drunk his (whole) bottle on the mat yet, it is definitely a spot where he feels comfortable. This morning he was looking through a picture book on there for quite some time. So all in all, the whole project has been a success!

By the way, quite by incident he was wearing the trousers as well as the blouse I made him!

Peg bag

Not long ago we finally bought a rotary clothes line. We had wanted to live a bit greener and save some pennies in the process. Besides, it's common knowledge that nothing beats the smell of laundry that's been dried outside.

And it works great. I've really been enjoying hanging the clothes outside. It's a bit more work than putting everything in the dryer, but I find it to be a very relaxing job.

And since I needed something to put all my clothes pegs in I made this peg bag.

I really made it up while I went along. I used a kids' clothes hanger and my favourite oilcloth. I used the hanger to sketch a basic pattern and drew the hole by using a bowl. It all came together really fast and I am pleased with the result.

The oilcloth is a little too tightly sewn around the hanger though and the hole is a bit too big and not placed high enough (the pegs spill from it). Still, not bad for a first attempt. Already this bag has made hanging the washing even more enjoyable!

Birthday crafts

Naturally I did a bit of crafting for Amber's birthday. It wasn't as much as I'd originally planned, but I tried to let go of some of the obligations that I usually impose on myself and I was ok with that (pat on the shoulder).

I didn't make her birthday dress, for instance. My mum did, however, so it was alright to let go off that one this year. Unfortunately, I don't have a proper photo of the dress, since the weather wasn't great yesterday and Amber had to wear tights and a cardigan. It's quite a simple dress, but made from a beautiful knitted fabric and it looked very sweet on her. More surprisingly importantly, she liked it too!

Today she handed out treats at school and with this I also didn't go overboard. I made cakes and decorated them. Not very difficult and they were well received and all eaten.

I did make her her own bunting. Bad photo, I know, but I just can't seem to take a proper photo of bunting. I've been making lots of birthday bunting this year and there is definitely more to come too :)

This last little project wasn't made by me, but by Michel. He always designs all our invitations and does a great job. He is my photoshop hero! Isn't my banner looking a bit dusty, by the way ;)

Now all that's left is Amber's birthday party, which we still have to set a date for, but which has to happen before the summer holidays start. I suppose some more crafting will be in order then!

Fancy pants

Yesterday evening while I should've been was doing lots of other things I whipped up these fancy pants for Linus. Fancy since they are pinstripe :)

Baby pants are so easy to make and you can hardly go wrong with them.

Linus wasn't in the mood for modeling today, but I did get this neat action shot, where he was saying a-oh, because his ball had disappeared under the sofa.

By the way, our little baby boy is 14 months old today!

I took these photos of him yesterday. I simply couldn't choose just one photo, now could I?!

A pencil roll

Simon's little friend turned four today and he was invited to her birthday party.
Of course, I waited until the last minute to figure out a present.
Yesterday I asked Michel to buy some pencils and a notebook.

He brought home these beautiful pencils (they are from here). They're nice and chunky for little hands. And they must be the coolest pencils ever!

So I wanted to make a pencil roll. I didn't know how, but then I thought: how difficult can it be? Well, it wasn't, difficult.

I used a sturdy fabric that I bought years ago at Ikea. I still love it and I wished I had more. I only have a small piece left now. It closes with a hairband and a nice big red button.

Anyway, I was happy with how it turned out and I was told that it was received well, so I couldn't ask for more ;)

My First Spring Top

I think I made the deadline for Spring Top Week...

... although I didn't make the deadline for a daylight photo!

Still, it's finished ( almost... I still need to hem it... sssshh!) and that's what's most important.

This was actually the first top I ever made for myself and that from my very first Simplicity (4589) pattern ever!

For a first time I think that it didn't turn out bad, although there are a few things that I would like to change next time. Most significantly it is too big, which is easily solved.

I used a children's bedsheet that I found in the thriftstore a few weeks ago. It truly is a lovely print! The whole top came about rather quickly, although I found it surprisingly difficult to understand the English sewing terminolgy :)

Thank you, Rae, for hosting such an inspirational week! It made me take the plunge! Please, make sure you check out Rae's blog to see her and everyone else's beautiful tops!

And sorry for the crappy photos. I'll post some better ones soon.

Woodland Elf Hat

I made the super cute Woodland Elf Hat for Linus from Amy Karol's book "Bending the rules sewing" (I'll tell you why in another post).

This hat was so easy and fast to make... a great idea for a quick present! It turned out a little too big for Linus' little head, but that was easily solved by taking the seams in a bit. I used dark blue fleece since I didn't have wool felt on hand and that did the job perfectly. I left out the strings by the way, just because I was lazy :)

So how does Linus like his new hat?

He loves it!! Or at least he loves pulling it from his head as fast as he can. So who cares if the hat doesn't show... the photos are adorable nonetheless, arent'they?!

Make over

I made this shirt for Linus today. And may I say that I'm very pleased with it?

And I'm even more pleased with how it looks on him :)

Yes, they're both good-looking...

This is actually this shirt's second life. This is what it used to look like:

Well worn and loved by Michel, but it had a tear in it. So now it belongs to Linus!

I love a project that turns out the way you envisioned it, don't you?

Oh, and the shirt matches his shorts! (yes, he will still be able to fit into them... Linus is a small baby)

Quick

These days I take my crafty moments seconds whenever I can. Quick projects usually still aren't quick enough. There are so many other things going on.

This little project, however, was literally finished in minutes. What a relieve it is that my plain boring diaper bag, which I've been carrying around with me for almost a year already, is now looking quite a bit better. Hello retro bag!

Despite my lack of time and energy I'm seriously thinking of participating in Rae's Spring Top Week. I would have four weeks to make a top for myself. It should be doable, right? Right!

Here's the button. Perhaps you want to play along too!