Hobby Craft!

I knew it was coming, but didn't totally believe it until I saw it with my own two eyes...

Yes! There's a HobbyCraft in my local shopping centre! It's a good one, too. The day I took this pic, I was in a hurry and popped in just to glance around for a few minutes. But on the weekend, I had a good amount of time to browse around and helped my little girl pick out some paints to make a rainbow for her room. She's been asking to do this for months! Of course, I couldn't leave without letting CW get something for himself...a paint-your-own train piggy bank. I'll be posting pictures of their artwork soon. 

This is such a blessing to have locally...but a bit of a danger, too. 

Pink Dragonfly Girl, Spider Boy, and Ladybug Girl

I am really too tired to write but wanted to get these pictures up before Halloween is totally and completely a thing of the past. My little spider and pink dragonfly. Aren't they cute? Were they worth a week of late nights and over-stressing? Maybe. I'm still deciding. The biggest problem is that I started too late when I had promised myself that I wouldn't. I was supposed to start making these in September, but way back in September, Halloween seemed so far away. Then there were a few weeks of labelling clothes and toys for the NCT sale. Then there was duty. Then there was a week in Cornwall (loved it!). Then...one week until Halloween and three bugs to make!!

Pink Dragonfly Girl wasn't so bad, but Spider Boy gave me all kinds of trouble that I won't get into. I'll just mention one thing: the pattern said to stuff the legs firmly, so I did...too firmly. Seams are still busting from how firmly I stuffed those legs! Ladybug Girl's was by far the easiest. My favorite part of our Halloween costumes was the giant bug catcher net I made from a hula hoop and netting. I enjoyed chasing and catching my little bugs. 

It also made a good candy bag for Trunk or Treating! Yes, I said trunk. Picture a school parking lot, rows of cars decked out with Halloween decor, trunks filled with candy. Instead of door-to-door, we walked car-to-car and said "trunk or treeeat!"

Boy Doll Pajamas

My little boy has recently adopted one of my little girl's baby dolls as his own. He carries it around, pushes it in the buggy, and takes care of it in his own way (which includes sometimes treating it like it's a ball and not a doll). The other day, both my kids decided they wanted the babies to be boys instead of girls -- a small problem because we only have girl doll clothes. But what a great opportunity to make something! I pulled one of CW's baby pajamas out of the charity bag and used this tutorial as a guide to make some boy baby doll pajamas. I made a paper pattern instead of just pinning an outline with the hopes that it would turn out wonderfully and I'd be able to make more in the future. I wouldn't say it was perfect. It's a little snug around the belly but at least it zipped. And now we have a baby boy!

Remembering

Remembering 10 years ago.

image link from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14681384

Little Bunny Foo Foo

This one was made last spring, meant to be given as an Easter gift to my daughter. I have to be fair with my kids and so I started making a different one for my son. That one is still sitting in a bag in the closet. So, the bunnies were never given as Easter gifts. Sad.

 Then my daughter had her birthday about a week ago and I found the bunny in my stash of future gifts. I added it to her pile of presents. She loved it! She sleeps with it every night and named it Foo Foo. Happy!

***May 2012 - We've since changed the name to Love Heart Bunny because my little girl got scared of the Little Bunny Foo Foo cartoon that she saw at school. She wanted nothing to do with this bunny amigurumi for a long time and I was glad to finally find out why!***

Bees and Bugs

Last year, EV was totally into the Bee Movie. She loved seeing bees in the garden and even got excited when they flew into the house. It was not surprise that she wanted to be a bee for Halloween. I found a super cute pattern for a toddler bee costume, but only had a week to sew it all together. This was when I only had a treadle sewing machine and did not sew on a regular basis. It was a very slow process but well worth it. So, this year I'm doing it again . . . times 3! EV's going to be a dragonfly, CW's going to be a spider, EV's best friend's going to be a lady bug, and her little brother is going to be a bee.

Quilting Memories

 Last spring, as I was cleaning out all my kids' baby stuff, I found quite a few clothes of my daughter's that I couldn't bear to part with. The only problem is that they took up so much space and our little place doesn't have any space to spare. So, I thought I could keep the memories of my favorite (and E's favorite) clothes from her first 3 years of life by making them into a quilt. Keep in mind that I've never made a quilt before. I mentioned it to my mom and we decided it would be a nice summer project to do while I was visiting California. I found a pattern I liked on The Stitchin Post and we got to work.  There was a solid week that we were at the fabric and crafts shops on a daily basis, realizing what supplies I needed along the way. I have to admit that there were moments during one or two gorgeous summer days that I deeply wished to be at the beach soaking in the sun instead of cutting out squares or ironing bias. Those moments inspired me to use simple methods in putting the quilt together. For instance, tying instead of hand quilting. Thanks to my mom's help, it was finished in time to pack into a suitcase for its long journey back to England.

What I think is most hilarious is how excited my daughter was about it while she watched us making it...and then our second night in England, she decided she didn't want anything to do with it. I convinced her to at least keep it on her bed even if she doesn't actually use it. I know she'll love it keeping her warm during the cold winter nights and in the future will hopefully enjoy the memories from which it was made.