Use the force.... and the sewing machine

My dear son is going through a 'Star Wars' phase.  

I happened to stumble on this material on one of my rare trips to Spotlight. (If you go cold turkey and throw out all their promo material you can survive surprisingly well with out Spotlight... who knew.)

 This was my favourite material.  Not his, but now that I've made them up I can't get them off him.  They're supposed to be pjs, but he wore them out for dinner the first night. 

 I'd better sew the next pair before these ones get too smelly.

The pattern is one that has just 'evolved' over time.  I only cut two pieces and once I've ironed all the hem allowances it takes about 15 minutes to sew up.  I made these ones quite a bit bigger than he needs so that they'll last for next year too, I think they may have worn out before then.

Christmas PJs

 I may have mentioned before that I make lots of pairs of pyjamas that don't ever make and appearance here.  My kids love their handmade pjs - why they won't wear other things I make is still beyond me.

Here are a couple of pairs that I made for Christmas.

Master 4 is still going through his Kenny the Koala phase (will it ever end?) and I found this cute Christmas Koala material in Spotlight before Christmas.  

It's just a light cotton but perfect as the nights cool down.

 I tried to applique a koala on the tshirt - it looks a bit better in real life.

 Miss 7 loves shiny material (Master 4 hates it) so she got scotty dogs and a bone on her tshirt.

 The only problem with the satin ones is that she's so active in them the seams come apart even with over locking and running two or three rows of stitching down them.

Vogue 1250

 I got hold of Vogue 1250 when Lincraft were having a half price sale on Vogue Patterns.  I had read on other blogs where people said it was an easy sew and worked up  nicely.

This was my first attempt.

 

Yes, I really am that white! I finished it in time to wear to the inlaws Christmas celebration. (Although my dear husband did say 'Are you sure you can sit down?'.... thanks!)

 The material was from Spotlight and is a stretchy cotton - off the top of my head I can't remember what it was.

 I made the facing of the neck larger as some suggested but I don't like the way the neck sits at the moment.  The material has stretch but not nice drape at the neck.

 Apart from that I like the rest of it.

Now that I've made one the next one will be easier - when I can find the time and the space in my craft room.

Just more bags

I made this bag for a Christmas parcel.

It's lightly padded

and has an internal pocket that has a tape measure attached to it so it doesn't float away like mine always do.

I made this one from an invented shape hoping it would work well.

It doesn't really.  I still use it but it's really too wide and not quite deep enough. 

Back to the drawing board.

A special 90th birthday bag set

 My Nana turned 90 in September 2011 and Mum organised that I made her a bag (or two) and she'd make her a knitting needle and crochet hook wrap.

One is a mini sort of box bag with a magnetic closure...

 The other is more of a tear drop shaped bag with a button closure.

The material was a lovely raspberry colour and the lining a nice light pink.

I was happy with how they turned out.

PJs for a Little Guy

 I have been making the kids pjs now for quite a while, I just never seem to get around to photographing them.  

My kids love home made pjs and at the moment it's the only thing I make that they'll wear!

Anyway, one of my friends from Ravelry mentioned that her nephew was going through chemo so we all decided to send him some handmade things to let him know that we're all thinking of him.  He is about the same age as my son so I thought I'd make him some jammies to take to hospital.

I made a little bag to take his dinosaurs and books in too.  (His name begins with L, my kids love things with their name letters on them.)

 I was happy with how they turned out and I hope they make him feel comfy when he's in hospital.

Sew much sewing, so few pictures

I sewed many many bags to take to the Bendigo Sheep Show this year. I think I had almost 40, or something close to that.
Of course I didn't photograph most of them (ok, I didn't photograph any of them) before I left.
I was so over sewing them I was glad to be finished.
Here are some photos of them on the table at Bendigo.


I had a few left on the final day but not too many.
They are a great size for sock knitters and a pattern I came up with so that I just use two fat quarters to make them.

More Cow Pants

After making the first pair of cow pants an idea kept floating round in my head and I couldn't let it go, so I now present to you.......
..... the new improved Cow Pants!

oh yes it is.... cow fur! (fake of course)
Mr Almost Four was impressed.
And the pocket detail? it says Moo Moo Moo Moo all the way round. :o)
Two pockets for the ipods, as per the request.

He was even happy to model them and wore them to preschool!
He loves dogs too - so he was wearing his Cow Pants with his 'Who let the dogs out 1' shirt (he's got two and his naming system is very regimented.)

He can be cute when he wants to be.
The back side version.
This is his normal face. It's also the 'no more photos' face.




I like this face better.

Bag for a Birthday

This year the birthday swap was run a little differently.
One partner whose birthday is close to yours. This should help with the loss of enthusiasm that seems to happen once people have had their birthdays but have to keep supplying presents.

My partner has a baby and wanted a bag that she could use as a project bag/cart daughters stuff around in bag.

Last Christmas Mum gave me a pattern for this multi tasking tote bag. I decided it would probably work well for my partner.

What I didn't realise is that it eats material and is constructed in a slightly obscure way.

I didn't really enjoy making this bag. Not sure I'd make another, maybe I'd use the principle to make something like it.
My partner loves purple and wanted bright vibrant jewel tones.
This was as close as I could get!
I did dye a skein of silk as well but it had a lot of light purple in it and my partner isn't fussed on light purple.
As I already had swap anxiety with the bag I got her a skein of Malabrigo worsted.

That's birthday swapping done for the year.

Less time at the computer = more time sewing!

I have actually been doing a lot of sewing lately. And by a lot anything more than the nothing I had been doing seems like a lot.

I found some patterns in a second hand store and have been giving them a whirl.
The good thing about this is that they cost next to nothing (one even cost 10cents and had the best twirly skirt in it) and often the pieces are already cut out (I hate that job). They are patterns from the 70's and 80's but the shape is still good and I was happy to give them a whirl.

Getting photos of the made objects has been hard.
I decided this day to get one subject in his natural habitat - on Sodor Island**
These weren't supposed to be Christmas pants as such, but they work well for this time of year.

The first pair I made in this pattern were a size 6 and they comfortably fit his older sister and she's wearing size 7. (I made a size 6 because I thought a little growing room wouldn't matter.)
Little Mister still wears them (he picked the material for those, they have dog paws and dog bones all over them) they just look nice and spacious.



I love this pattern because it has front pockets and they are easy to do.
I'm not so fond of the attached waistband but it's what you have to do because of the pockets.

I might tailor the pattern to give it a different leg shape so they aren't quite so baggy, but this pattern will stay in the repertoire for quite a while I think.
I have also made some circle skirts for DD but haven't photographed them.
I turned one circle skirt pattern into a wrap around skirt and it looks really nice so I thought I'd give the wrap around skirt in one of the patterns a whirl.

This is cut to a size 7.
(This is also the day before her front tooth fell out so she is sucking it back in her mouth to look like she's got a gap.)
I love the material. It's drill and when I grabbed it I didn't realise the little red spots on it made hearts. DD likes hearts so it worked out well.


Cheeky little monkeys aren't they?
DD has voiced clearly that she doesn't want me to make her any more shorts unless they are soft (ie tshirt material) and tiny. hrmph. She has said I can make dresses and skirts though - thank you Your Highness.

She does get a little bit jealous of DS's shorts though.

Definitely more sewing going to happen this summer, especially for DD. Have you noticed that when girls clothes get to size 7/8 they automatically become more trashy? What happened to the sweet girls clothes? I am combating the chain stores by making age appropriate clothing this year - which just means Spotlight will get my money and not Target. :o)



** Sodor Island is where Thomas the Tank Engine and friends live.