Day 55 - Potato People

We love Pamela Allen in our house. We have many, many of her books. One of the most loved of these is her book "The Potato People". It's sweet, it's funny, it's sad.  http://www.pamelaallenbooks.com/thepotatopeoplepage.htm

Here are some photos of the potato workshop at our dining table, and our potato people, lovingly made by my family. I love a bit of craft that involves us all. Happy Mother's Day everyone.

Day 54 - Fabric scrap collage

We are just having a quiet morning doing some fabric scrap collages. It keeps the kids entertained and calm. My daughter can sit here for hours cutting and pasting. I am still trying to keep her a bit rested and we are about to head off to Melbourne for the weekend.

Day 53 - Trousers for a little girl's birthday

Today's craft is some trousers for a little girl. Happy Birthday Miss Emily!

They are one of my favourite things to make. Kids get heaps of wear out of them and with a wide leg style they can keep wearing them when the get a little short and they still look good. If you cut them out the night before they are so quick to sew the next day.

These are a fine red corduroy and I just cut out a little bit from an owl fabric to embellish them a little, and some brown cord for the branch the owl sits on.

Day 52 - Refashion of ladies top to girls wrap skirt

Today is yet another beautiful day. My daughter is home from school again taking it easier and slowly getting back to her old self. I wanted to make something for her this morning because she loves it when I make her things and she really appreciates them.

Due largely to her passion for strawberry shortcake, my daughter has a love of anything that has strawberries on it. With that in mind I purchased this cheap ladies knit top at the op shop a while ago with the idea of making it into a skirt for her. Today is the day!

Here is the top.

Step 1 was to cut off the top section. I wanted to take advantage of the gathering already done around the top and keep that bit, so I just chopped off the top and then made a cut down the side seam.

Although it wasn't my original plan, once I cut the side seam it looked like it would make a really cute wrap skirt.

All I did next was hem the two side seams and wrap it around her for size. Then I sewed up the two points where the wrap crosses over. So it has the look of a wrap skirt, but is easy to slip on and off with the elasticised waist.

I had a little strawberry button that was a spare that came with one of her jumpsuits, so I sewed that on at the wrap edge. It's just for looks. The original top wasn't hemmed at the bottom and I left it that way.

Happy customer!

Day 51 - cuppa tea anyone?

It was a tough day at our place today. My 5 year old daughter got a bad concussion yesterday at school and spent a couple of hours in ER last night. Today I just felt a bit overtired and fragile wanting to make sure she was ok. She had a quiet day at home and was not unhappy but is still very disoriented, a bit confused, and basically not herself. I think it will be another day home from school tomorrow for her.

I did not feel like crafting today, for the first time since I began this challenge. Don't really feel like blogging either. But at the same time I feel compelled to keep the momentum going. Today's project involves a bit of experimentation and a bit of hand and machine sewing. I think it works in well with yesterday's cubby reno work.

Here it is.

Day 50 - Cubby reno from the craft cupboard

Today was a beautiful sunny autumn day here, the kind you know there won't be many more of with winter approaching at a rapid rate. It seemed essential on a day like this to be outdoors, so I opted for some cubby craft. I've been fixing up the neglected cubby that we got with our property with the help of my nearly 3 year old son.

I thought I'd share what we did today.

Firstly, the 'before' photos from this morning. This is the roof and floor.

Next - supplies.

I had used some of my fabric stash to drape from the roof and line the floor, and an old carpet remnant that was lying around in the garage.

Here are some 'after' photos of the roof and floor.

Then we did some decorating. Some pictures we made and some more paper flowers to hang from the ceiling. Starting to look pretty good. Anyone want to come over for a play?

Hung the flowers.

These guys are pretty happy! We've added a vintage fabric cushion and a vintage sesame street beanbag we found at the op shop for $2.



Day 49 - Cute girly skirt from Vintage quilt

Day 49 and I finished my dictionary challenge yesterday so am back on the sewing machine for a super quick project. I've made a couple of these little skirts before from a vintage quilt I bought at a market and I think they're really cute.

The quilt I'm using is quite well worn in a few places so I have to pick the right areas to cut, which makes it perfect for making little skirts where you only need a little bit of fabric at a time and can pick and choose.

I like using the fringe around the quilt as a feature, then I have just added some fabric scraps to make a flower, a cute little vintage button, and of course some ric rac. I love ric rac.

The skirt is the simplest design of cutting too sides with a little curve and adding an elastic band to the top.