but it's chilly enough for some comfort food like this! Mini apple pies......Mmmm.
Made with more apples from our trees, they just keep coming!
I didn't know fairies played golf?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Winter warmers
but it's chilly enough for some comfort food like this! Mini apple pies......Mmmm.
Made with more apples from our trees, they just keep coming!
I didn't know fairies played golf?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Ottobre Autumn 4/2008 "Pulputus Pants"
Okay, so the names of these pattern are a little quirky but the patterns themselves are fantastic! I've been umming and aaahing over this pattern since it arrived last year because I really wanted to learn how to do pockets. Finally I plucked up the courage and this is what I came up with....
I've just used a plain fine baby cord for my first go and it was lovely to sew with and hopefully will be nice and warm. I've made the 104cm size and lengthened them to be full length (the original pattern is 3/4). The are a very wide fitting and probably not the best design for my skinny tots but I do like the pin tuck detail and the pockets.....love the pockets!!
They were to the hardest part, only because I hadn't attempted them before and it took some help from some sewing sages to get my head around it. I found the instructions not all that helpful and the line that says something like "sew pocket facing onto pocket opening" could have done with the extra bit "pocket opening on the front pants panel piece" Or even if it had the numbers of the pieces I was meant to be sewing together. I did sit there for a while scratching my head before the light bulb went on :P
Apart from that a great pattern, the pin tuck were fairly easy to sew, just fiddly and looked a little wonky on the cord but then my straight lines aren't always straight!
I've just used a plain fine baby cord for my first go and it was lovely to sew with and hopefully will be nice and warm. I've made the 104cm size and lengthened them to be full length (the original pattern is 3/4). The are a very wide fitting and probably not the best design for my skinny tots but I do like the pin tuck detail and the pockets.....love the pockets!!
Apart from that a great pattern, the pin tuck were fairly easy to sew, just fiddly and looked a little wonky on the cord but then my straight lines aren't always straight!
The girls love them and that's all that counts!
It's so exciting to be learning new things and being able to make pieces that the girls love and want to wear. We're not into loud and frilly here so most of the clothes are plain colours and simple designs. My big concern is practicality and comfort.
Oh, that's the other reason I love the "Pulputus" pants, they are an elastic waist but with yoke detail at the top which makes them look grown up without having the bother of a zipper fly.
Big thumbs up all round :)
Oh, that's the other reason I love the "Pulputus" pants, they are an elastic waist but with yoke detail at the top which makes them look grown up without having the bother of a zipper fly.
Big thumbs up all round :)
Monday, April 13, 2009
What Easter means to us
We've had a lovely Easter weekend at our place celebrating the love and sacrifice of our Saviour. My family and I are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and so to us Easter is more than just bunnies and chocolate. (Besides that our girls are wary of the idea of some over sized bunny being able to get into their house at night!)
Our church holds a special conference every 6 months where we are blessed to be given guidance for our day by our wonderful prophet Thomas S. Monson and other church leaders. This weekend we were able to watch the DVDs of last weekends conference that was held in Salt Lake City. Their messages were so uplifting and so relevant to the times we live in.
It's not easy to keep three little kids quiet and happy while we watch the conference but as the girls are getting older I'm able to help them understand the importance and blessing it is to have living Prophets and Apostles that can give us direction.....this time round I think the older two were actually starting to "get it". They were so quiet and well behaved and I was so proud of them!
There are archives of the talks found here, you can listen to them or just read them.
I really enjoyed this one called Reverence and Respect all about teaching our children to have respect for themselves, others and most importantly for God. I especially loved the talk given by Elder Jeffrey R Holland called "None Were with Him." It was a very moving account of the Saviour's last hours and His love for us.
As Easter gifts this year from Mummy and Daddy Bunny I made the girls an Eye Spy bag each....very easy to make and hours of fun! I raided my craft drawers for bits and pieces I'd been collecting for a while now to make these. (The top I made last week is being modelled here.)
The girls' "Frannie" in Sydney sent them over matching outfits which they wore to church on Sunday. Here's a pic of the older two girls....I must say I never thought they looked that much alike until I dressed them identically, wow!
And lastly some sugar cookies the girls helped me make this morning, the jam is greengage jam from our tree, yum! I'm enjoying not having to get everyone ready for school/pre-kinder every morning and just taking it a little easy. I think I'm a bit nostalgic for those days before they started school.....hmmmm, just for a moment. :P
Our church holds a special conference every 6 months where we are blessed to be given guidance for our day by our wonderful prophet Thomas S. Monson and other church leaders. This weekend we were able to watch the DVDs of last weekends conference that was held in Salt Lake City. Their messages were so uplifting and so relevant to the times we live in.
It's not easy to keep three little kids quiet and happy while we watch the conference but as the girls are getting older I'm able to help them understand the importance and blessing it is to have living Prophets and Apostles that can give us direction.....this time round I think the older two were actually starting to "get it". They were so quiet and well behaved and I was so proud of them!
There are archives of the talks found here, you can listen to them or just read them.
I really enjoyed this one called Reverence and Respect all about teaching our children to have respect for themselves, others and most importantly for God. I especially loved the talk given by Elder Jeffrey R Holland called "None Were with Him." It was a very moving account of the Saviour's last hours and His love for us.
As Easter gifts this year from Mummy and Daddy Bunny I made the girls an Eye Spy bag each....very easy to make and hours of fun! I raided my craft drawers for bits and pieces I'd been collecting for a while now to make these. (The top I made last week is being modelled here.)
Saturday, April 11, 2009
"Kaisa" jersey blouse Ottobre 1/2009
I was about ready to chuck this top in the scrap pile as I could get the neckline to look right but thanks to the encouragement from a few sewing gurus at crafty mamas I gave it another go and here it is.......
In the magazine there are two different versions, one with a bound neckline and one just turned and topstitched. Both are gathered with clear elastic. It was the clear elastic that was giving me grief. I tried to join it in a circle as per the instructions but it was so slippery! And then I tried machine basting it on, which to me meant a straight stitch.....silly me! It just didn't work at all and was too loose and very messy.
I was given the suggestion of not joining it first but still quartering it and stretching the elastic to meet the quarter marks as you go along, plus using a small zig zag to attach it.
In the end I went with the methos I used for attaching the elastic in the nappies I make. That is not cutting an exact piece but rather having just one long piece and then stretching as I go and then overlapping a little at the end to finishing off the round. It means you do the gather by eye but it worked much better for me and sat so much neater and more even.
Somehow my top was gathered at the top and bottom panels whereas the pattern shows only the top panel being gathered. It looks fine on anyway....don't know how that happened?
I did make the neckline a little tighter than in the pic as I didn't want it slipping off shoulders.
The sleeve edges were done the same way as the neck and this was a little fiddly to do as they're so small...maybe next time I'll do that flat before I sew up the underarm seam.
All in all it's a cute little top and looks much better on than lying on the table! Just need to make something to match it now :)
I was given the suggestion of not joining it first but still quartering it and stretching the elastic to meet the quarter marks as you go along, plus using a small zig zag to attach it.
In the end I went with the methos I used for attaching the elastic in the nappies I make. That is not cutting an exact piece but rather having just one long piece and then stretching as I go and then overlapping a little at the end to finishing off the round. It means you do the gather by eye but it worked much better for me and sat so much neater and more even.
Somehow my top was gathered at the top and bottom panels whereas the pattern shows only the top panel being gathered. It looks fine on anyway....don't know how that happened?
I did make the neckline a little tighter than in the pic as I didn't want it slipping off shoulders.
The sleeve edges were done the same way as the neck and this was a little fiddly to do as they're so small...maybe next time I'll do that flat before I sew up the underarm seam.
All in all it's a cute little top and looks much better on than lying on the table! Just need to make something to match it now :)
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
We've been "Heart Attacked!"
Some mysterious night visitors left this lovely suprise on our lawn with a yummy basket of Easter goodies on our front step. The girls were so excited to see it all! Thank you mysterious visitors :)
Monday, April 6, 2009
Easter fun at our place
I thought I'd try something new this year and make my own hot cross buns! I'd been racing out late at night to buy the reduced ones from woollies and freezing them so I'd have a stockpile but got to thinking it can't be all that hard to make them from scratch......here's my attempt. No laughing!
I've learnt that you need to make the cross mixture a little thicker so it doesn't just spread and perhaps my dough mixture could have been less sticky but hey they taste pretty good toasted with lots of butter and that's all that matters :P
On the craft front the girls and I have been making Easter cards for the family...I got them to cover a big piece of paper with little bits of coloured tissue paper and then when it was dry I drew egg shapes on the back and they cut them out for me.....easy homemade card!
We've been helping at the school this week too in the preps class to make string nests...you know the one, dip wool/string in white glue and drape over a half blown up balloon, dry it and then pop the balloon. So much fun and so sticky!
Here are the nests the two younger girls made at home while big sister was at school. Even miss almost 2 enjoyed it and didn't eat any glue in the process!
"Ottobre review for the week"
Winter is fast approaching as well and I've been trying to get the girls winter wardrobes in order. I did up some flannel PJ pants for them using a vintage pattern but it ran rather larger in sizing than I was expecting and I'll be putting them away for next year.
I remade some pants tonight using a Ottobre pattern from the latest kids issue, 1/2009. They are called "Tarku" and are found on page 16. I didn't do all the pockets on them but just used the basic pants pattern and am really happy with the result. It's a lower rise fit which is great for my teeny girls and they are slim without being tight. The front is cut low enough to accomodate a toddler tummy but the back is high enough to not reveal anything when they're bouncing around and doing somersaults as miss 4 likes to do.
I've used the pattern as well to make 2 pairs of casual pants for pre-kinder and they are a great fit plus look a bit more grown-up than trackies.
All in all a fabulous pattern! Go Ottobre :-)
Here's a close up of the flannel I used for the PJ's, it's a vintage piece that my lovely Grandma handed down to me a while back.
And last but not least a quick pic of Fridays favourite activity.....watching and waiting for the rubbish truck to come in the early morning. He always gives the girls a big wave and they love it!
I've learnt that you need to make the cross mixture a little thicker so it doesn't just spread and perhaps my dough mixture could have been less sticky but hey they taste pretty good toasted with lots of butter and that's all that matters :P
On the craft front the girls and I have been making Easter cards for the family...I got them to cover a big piece of paper with little bits of coloured tissue paper and then when it was dry I drew egg shapes on the back and they cut them out for me.....easy homemade card!
We've been helping at the school this week too in the preps class to make string nests...you know the one, dip wool/string in white glue and drape over a half blown up balloon, dry it and then pop the balloon. So much fun and so sticky!
Here are the nests the two younger girls made at home while big sister was at school. Even miss almost 2 enjoyed it and didn't eat any glue in the process!
"Ottobre review for the week"
Winter is fast approaching as well and I've been trying to get the girls winter wardrobes in order. I did up some flannel PJ pants for them using a vintage pattern but it ran rather larger in sizing than I was expecting and I'll be putting them away for next year.
I remade some pants tonight using a Ottobre pattern from the latest kids issue, 1/2009. They are called "Tarku" and are found on page 16. I didn't do all the pockets on them but just used the basic pants pattern and am really happy with the result. It's a lower rise fit which is great for my teeny girls and they are slim without being tight. The front is cut low enough to accomodate a toddler tummy but the back is high enough to not reveal anything when they're bouncing around and doing somersaults as miss 4 likes to do.
I've used the pattern as well to make 2 pairs of casual pants for pre-kinder and they are a great fit plus look a bit more grown-up than trackies.
All in all a fabulous pattern! Go Ottobre :-)
Here's a close up of the flannel I used for the PJ's, it's a vintage piece that my lovely Grandma handed down to me a while back.
And last but not least a quick pic of Fridays favourite activity.....watching and waiting for the rubbish truck to come in the early morning. He always gives the girls a big wave and they love it!
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