Vintage Summer Princess

I love her for her imagination, her inquisitiveness, her stubbornness, her silliness.

I love her relentless requests to do "craft", to "investigate", to catch butterflies in the garden.

I love that she can suddenly ride a bike like an old pro, can suddenly read whole books on her own, will make up a song and stop whatever she's doing to write down the lyrics.

I love that she suggests dinner on the lawn, then declares, "Well, isn't this pleasant," as we share our rice with the mozzies.

I love her intensely choreographed dance routines, and that they're often to the songs from Broadway musicals. (And I love how far back in her head her eyes roll when I try out one of my routines on her...)

I love her gappy grin, her impossibly thick hair, her limbs that seem to stretch out longer and thinner every time she falls asleep.

And I love that, given free rein in my fabric stash, she doesn't hesitate before selecting a lairy vintage sheet for her new summer dress (and that when she tries it on the first time, she says, "It's just like a ball gown!") 

Bless.

Dress F from Girls Style Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori.

Sew Vintage: Simplicity 7068

My littlest girl is a very big fan of all things bunny rabbit. When I saw some bunny print flannelette fabric at the op shop recently, I knew just what to do with it. She didn't let me forget my promise of new jim-jams until the elastic had been threaded in and the last button sewn on. We chose a pattern from 1978 and some vintage blue buttons from my grandmother's collection. 

I reckon as long as no-one looks too closely at some of the finer details (that collar!) then everything will be just fine.

Pattern: Simplicity 7068

Fabric: New, thrifted

Buttons: Vintage Beutron

Miffy accessory and cutie-pie smile: Model's own.

19. Winter is...

..mumma-made flannelette jim-jams.

Inside/Outside

Inside

Easter jimjams made from vintage flannel sheets using a tried-and-true nightie pattern from this book.

Outside

Fairy parasols made on our trip to the park using twigs, fallen leaves and a few silly dance moves.

The Jim-Jam Tradition

Easter is a week away. I had been putting that thought to the back of my mind, but something alerted me today. Perhaps it was the sight of my babies coming through the door on their way home from Little Bookworms with whiskered snouts and very long fluffy ears. Or it could have been the package in the mail containing sweet little felt Easter baskets from the Queen. I remembered in a panic that Easter equals pyjamas and set to work with a tried and true nightdress pattern and a stack of vintage flannelette sheets. The cutting is done. Hopefully the stitching can happen in bursts during the coming week.

My sewing has taken a back seat since I started knitting for more than just my own leisure. Lately my sewing machine has been calling to me but I've had to ignore it as I try to finish yet another hat. I've been yearning to set aside a day, or an afternoon, or an hour, to make something small. I gaze longingly at my collection of patterns, at the enormous stash of fabric. 

Next week. When I return from a weekend in Sydney for a special get-together with friends. When I submit another month's worth of recipes and breathe out before starting on the next. When I finish a handful of tiny beanies in preparation for the next stage of the grand plan. Next week.

Is it just my family that insists on new pyjamas at Easter?

Ornamental

My Christmas ornament for the swap is complete, finished, done. I took Tania's wise words into my day yesterday as I embarked on my third attempt at getting this right. I'm far from a perfectionist, but I got the yips once it really dawned on me that it was going to hang in someone else's home, not just here at my place with all the mess and chaos. So instead of "aiming for a look of perfection", I've got wonky and funny, but loveable nonetheless. 

It should be said that I am neither an embroiderer nor a patchworker. But of course I thought I'd give both a bash. Tis the season for trying new crafts at the end of the year when you're really quite busy and really should have gone with something you know like knitting...tra-la-la-la-la...la-la-la-la.

One might fairly surmise I'm not much chop when it comes to drafting a five-pointed star either. Wonky? Uh-huh. 

But loveable.

My recipient claims to like Christmas, and Christmas to me means red and green. And although it mightn't be apparent, the patterns on the embroidered side were traced from some Christmassy cookie cutters. It doesn't get more yuletide than that.

I hope my far-away swap partner likes her funny little star. It shall be winging its way to her tomorrow. I hope it arrives in time.

Thanks again, Christina, for organising this fun, only slightly stressful, event!

(Amazing woman she is, she's now launching a fantastic 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways. Do go and check it out - a prize a day for 12 days!!! And I have some inside info that there will be some very, very nice stuff on offer.)

Oh, and because I know you'll ask, the beautiful button is part of the latest haul from my dealer, the Craft Queen herself.

Today

Today I have been experimenting in preparation for Christina's Handmade Ornament Swap...

Upsizing an old favourite...

Getting busy in the kitchen, cooking, writing and taking photos...

And playing with fabric and trims for an exciting project in the pipeline.

If I had to spend all my days like this, I wouldn't complain.

Summery Skirts

This time next week we will be in the air en route to Singapore for two weeks holiday, with a trip to Thailand in the middle. It feels like we've only just stopped wearing stockings and boots and jumpers and coats and handknit bonnets every day of the week. Now we have to turn around and prepare for heat and humidity, and our wardrobes are somewhat inadequate. 

First on the list - skirts, times three.

For the little ones, I loosely followed the Lazy Days Skirt pattern, but used a fabric strip in lieu of ribbon around the bottom. All of the fabrics were remnants found at the oppy. And for Lola's, I copied a tiered skirt she likes to wear, and used a pretty floral sheet from the stash.

(I've been enjoying all of the KCWC - Kids Clothing Week Challenge - posts around the place this past week. I'm officially calling this the KGTARHPCC - Kids Go To A Really Hot Place Clothing Challenge. Next up, shorts...)

Sew Vintage: McCall's 8121

I wish I could capture the cadence of her voice in writing. "Can I come with you, Mumma? Can you help me? Can I have that one?" 

The request, this time, was a pink dress. "Can you make a pink dress for me, Mumma?" Why, of course, little one. A pink dress it is.

Luckily, this Anna Maria Horner fabric from the stash was pink enough, and the pattern, copyright 1965, also met with her approval. Bright yellow vintage buttons from my grandmother's stash finish it off.

Sew Vintage: Style 3821
Sew Vintage: Simplicity 7409

Sew Vintage

The vintage sewing pattern collection is growing. And the first little dress made has been well-worn and well-loved. Here is number two - Style pattern 3821, size 2, copyright 1972. Otherwise known as a little red dress, as requested by my littlest girl.

The instructions were a little light on detail, but that's OK - I find it easier to wing it with these older patterns. Something about something written recently makes me stand up and follow orders. But 1972, with all its talk of basting and seam binding and double-fold trims. Meh! Just sew already.

I love the shirred cuffs and gathered skirt, and though the buttonholes and collar were a bit of a fumble, I quite like those too. And it has to be said, my very special new machine has made the inside of the dress so professional and tidy, not to mention how easy it makes turning and sewing the hems.

I'm joining in with Creative Spaces for the first time in a long time.