KissKus

Sunday sewing

 

I've been working on a few cushions for quite some time now. These days my sewing projects are taking a long time to finish. Hopefully I'll be able to work on them in the next couple of days!

A patchwork present

Over the weekend we were invited to a party, which was held in the most beautiful surroundings and with very fun company. And we were able to leave the children at home with the grandparents, so it was a very succesful adult outing for us :)

Obviously, we didn't want to come empty-handed, so I decided to make a cushion. A cushion is always good, isn't it? And I reckoned even if they didn't like it then they could still let the dog sleep on it. I tried to keep the colours as neutral as I could, but being the bright colour fan that I am, I'm afraid it still turned out a little bright.

The cushion is nice and big (60x60 cms). The inner cushion was thick already, but since I used batting as well it became even sturdier. The back closes with velcro.

The receiver managed our local bookshop for many years and so I came up with a design that -with a lot of imagination- looks like books on shelves.

The present was well received, which for me was a reminder that handmade not only is 'good enough', but even better than a shop-bought present (I hate to admit that I need that reminder, but I do...).

A lesson learned and a wonderful party... that was quite a successful Sunday, I'd say!

Ballet bag

I finally got round to finishing the bag that was supposed to be a birthday present for Amber (her birthday was in June). It will be her ballet bag; I'm so pleased that I will finally be able to throw away her ratty old Barbie bag!

I used Beki's Short & Sassy pattern that she so kindly send me ages ago... thanks again, Beki!

I think that it turned out really nice. Sweet and girly... Amber gave it her stamp of approval ;) Doesn't it match up so well with the patchwork cushion that was a recent present from oma to Amber? The lucky girl is showered in handmade love!

My favourite bit is this pocket on the inside, which I can take no credit for since it already existed. The reason is that the purple fabric used to be a summer dress in a former life.

 

From dress to bag... not a bad life for this piece of fabric!

Bib talk

Last week when it was still summery Linus took an exceptionally long nap (I love it when that happens)! With plans to go out for ice-cream that night and the urge to create something, anything, I decided to make a quick bib. However, I didn't dare go upstairs to fetch fabric from my freshly semi-organised craftroom, since I was certain I would wake up Linus. So I had to make do with what I had downstairs, which wasn't a lot. Luckily, I remembered my small scrapbox and I found some velcro. But I had no backing. While I was contemplating cutting up a kitchen towel I found one of the dozens of cloth diapers that I use for anything you can imagine. I decided that one might certainly be sacrificed for this project.

Since this was a themed bib I came up with the ice-cone application. I didn't have a piece of fabric big enough to cut out the complete bib, so I had to sew three pieces together. Any way, when the nap-meister opened his eyes he was the owner of a new bib, albeit unironed!

This is the best photo I got of him in the ice-cream saloon. A very typical photo of him actually. It shows that the boy has attitude, doesn't it?!

When we took a stroll afterwards he was a little more quiet/tired.

And speaking of bibs... recently Linus was sent a truly beautiful one by Astrid!

Again, not the best of photos, but the bib is gorgeous. Thank you so much, Astrid!

Proof

That there actually still is some sewing going on around here! However, since this is a birthday present it needs to remain secret for a little longer... It's finished though, which means that I can start thinking about the next project :)

First wear

Yesterday Amber wore the tunic that I made for her during my sewing frenzy last summer. It's still too big for her, but it looked cute with jeans. By the way, how long is her hair getting!! I almost never allow her to wear it loose, because I think it looks untidy. But since it's vacation I'm trying to relax a little ;)
In case you're wondering... she is wearing a bandage on her thumb because someone tried to close the door while her finger was stuck between the doorpost and the door. Ahem... sorry, baby! Did I make it up to you by letting you wear your hair loose?

Birthday quilt

For my MIL's birthday she asked me for a quilted blanket -like this one- made out of her collection of ties.
She just didn't get round to giving me the fabrics yet, so I made her a symbolic scrappy little quilt.

I cut 3 cm wide strips of fabric and sewed them all together. Then with my rotary cutter I cut random strips and sewed them back up. I did the same thing with this doll's quilt that I made.

The size?

Tiny, as you can see from this photo with my model daughter. This photo reminded me of this one taken over three years ago. How big she's gotten!

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!