Projects I (unrealistically!) want to get done by Xmas

I have been composing an ever growing list of projects I would like to get done before Xmas. We will see how I go! Just in case you want inspiration:





1. Traffic Pants and T-shirt for my nephew Qinn from summer edition of ottobre


2. Cuffed or knotted denium shorts for my girls


3. Ruffly singlets for my girls and I


4. Tie strap tops for us all


5. 6 colouring bags for Xmas and birthday presents (Caleb, Renee, Sienna, Quinn, Ollie and Lizzy)


7. Peasant dresses for my girls

8. Linen teatowels with native birds freezer paper stenciled on for my Grandmother

9. Rompers for Mia, Ellie and Lucy and Rose (twins) for their 1st birthday

10. Sock Monkeys for Luca and Ellie

11. Cushions and Bunting for Erin's buba and Ellie (my mother is going to make Ellie this quilt)

12. Dolls clothes for Mia and Skye

13. Xmas decorations for us and gifts

14. Felt food for Mia and Niko

15. Reversible sunhat for Ellie

16. Pillowcase travel bag for Emma

17. Light cardy for Mia (probably Ottobre for this again!)

18. Maxi dress for me (if I can find a cheap vintage sheet or source of fabric!)

19. Button front skirt from a man's shirt for me

20. Tag blankets for Erin's buba and Archie

21. Dresses for Mia and I from my old pattern collection

22. Ruffle bum leggings for Ellie and E's baby

Lets see how far I can get through the list. I've almost finished the first!

Spring in the garden

As you can tell from the "Four seasons in one day" weather we have had for the last few days, spring is here! I have planned to enlarge our vege garden since last summer, when it was neglected and left to grow weeds due to the fact I was heavily pregnant with E! Nathan and I have bothe been busy. He has been building 2 new beds which are now ready to be dug down and lined and filled with soil and compost. As we live so close to the beach our garden is basically sand, and if we want to grow anything we have to ship the soil in!




I have been busy planting plants and seeds and so far I am very pleased with how the garden progresses. As the weather improves I plan to enlarge the range that is growing in our garden, and I really want to try to grow almost all our vegetable needs over the summer and autumn months.




Last autumn Mia and I planted daffodils. It was really easy and it makes me feel so good to look out the window at their beautiful white and yellow heads and know that spring is here and the weather is improving!

Pimp my buggy!

Mia has a dolls' stroller since she could walk. It is a very cheap one and for most of its life the thin nylon cover has been ripped, forcing the doll sitting in it to sit on a very strange angle, and upsetting Miss OCD who cannot handle things not "being right". One day last week it was causing particular concern. My first thought was "We should get her a new one", then I thought "I can make a new cover!". After bribing her into cooperating and having a nap with the promise that I would have a new buggy cover for her when she woke up I used the old one as a pattern to cut out a new one. The whole process probably only took about 45 mins and it is (I think!) much cooler than the old one and much better quality. Mia and "Buba" were very happy with the result. The moral or that story is don't throw it away if you can fix it!

Hair clip card

To go with the birthday girls dress I wanted to make a card. I had some yoyos and buttons lying round, so I sewed these onto hairclips. I then cut small slits in a plain white card so that I could poke the yoyos through with the clips on the inside. I then made the yoyos look like flowers by using a felt pen to draw stems and leaves. I think this will now be my card of choice for little girls!

Double bows and ruffles

The first of the second antenatal babies (if that makes sense!) had her first birthday party today. I wanted to sew all the second babies (who are mostly girls) something special to show that they are just as special as our firsts. I decided on a pattern in the Summer 2011 Ottobre and started to make it from some cute link pink seersucker material. Only issue was it was a bit small, so Ellie gets that one! So then I had to sew another dress and pants set in blue broderie anglaise for the birthday girl!

I am pretty proud of them! They are fully lined and the ruffles are so cute!

Wuffy the Dog

We have a new pet at our house - Wuffy the Dog. Wuffy has been around a lot the last couple of days. Today Mia asked me to make Wuffy a dog costume (to go with the cushion dog house, plastic bowls of water and rice cracker "dog biscuits" and dog toys - which are Ellie's baby toys). I wipped some ears up really quickly on the sewing machine and made her a tail from a large piece of black fabric tape. I love that I could make her something quickly that has provided so much amusement!

Hand and Foot Print Art

This is Nathan's Fathers' Day Present. I told Mia to keep it a surprise, but no such luck! Ellie thought having her hands and feet painted was a pretty cool experience. Mia painted the canvases.