Kids Clothes Week Day 6: Supergirl Costume

It's day six of Kids Clothes Week!

And, in case you haven't seen, I'm having a GIVEAWAY!

...you can enter it by clicking here. Now, on to KCW...

I didn't have a chance to post for day 4 or 5 because of life. On day 4, I cut up a thrifted dress using a thrifted pattern for a girl's nightgown. On day 5, I sewed the front top to the back top, gathered the sleeves, and attached them to the bodice. Boring. There are no nice pictures of that process. It's at a stand still now because we got interrupted by Supergirl!

Our local Hobbycraft had a fundraiser today and the theme was superheroes. They had a bake sale, craft sale, art sale, kids crafts, and a costume contest to raise money for a hospital. We love Hobbycraft and were excited to go to support the fundraiser today. Originally, I was going to take two Spidermen. Then, one of them changed her mind and convinced me to make her a Supergirl costume.

So, after a quick study of Supergirl's outfit, we visited Hobbycraft yesterday to get some red fabric (on sale 1/3 the regular price!!!). That left this morning for me to make the skirt, cape, and specially requested mask (this was desperately wanted knowing the real Supergirl didn't wear one). It was tough mainly because it's Saturday. Usually, there is nothing that we have to do and there is lots of time to play with the kids. It was hard to stay focused, but any time my little girl wanted me to play with her, I gave her the option: I can play now or you can have a Supergirl costume in a couple hours. She chose Supergirl every time. Miraculously, I was able to make a skirt using Made's Circle Skirt Tutorial. I used the yellow waistband left over from the shorts I cut up for the Batman T-shirt. So I altered Made's method a bit so that the raw edge of the waistband wouldn't show.

I used Georia Lee's Superhero Cape Tutorial as a rough guide to make a cape. 

I simplified the applique by only sewing on the yellow shape and then stitching the outline of the "S" in red. From my costume inspiration, it looked like this was a bit closer to Supergirl's and it cut down on the time it took to make the cape, which was most important today!

Finally, I made a mask. I used some felt left over from the chalkboard party favors and the drawstring from those same yellow shorts mentioned earlier.

I got it all done in the nick of time and quickly snapped these pictures on our way to the car with Supergirl and Spiderman. Funny enough, Spiderman won the costume competition! We came home with about £50 worth of Hobbycraft kid craft supplies....how fun is that! My little guy fell asleep with a smile on his face tonight because he was so happy he won. I was just happy that I didn't have to make his costume...it was so easy to dig into the dress up box, pull it out, and put it on! But, it's also so satisfying to see my little girl proudly posing as Supergirl.

 If you're interested in participating in Kids Clothes Week, click here for more information.

Or you can take a look at all the great kids clothes that people are making by taking a look at the Kids Clothes Week flickr group!

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I'm linking up to some of these fabulous parties.

4KCBWDAY6: A Tool to Covet

This blog post is part of the 4th annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.

Introduction to the Topic:

Day Six (Saturday April 27th): A Tool To Covet
Write about your favourite knitting or crochet (or spinning, etc) tool. It can either be a tool directly involved in your craft (knitting needles or crochet hook) or something that makes your craft more pleasurable – be it a special lamp, or stitch markers. Is it an item that you would recommend to others, and if so for which applications/tasks do you think it is most suited. Conversely, do you have a tool/accessory that you regret buying? Why does it not work for you?



Hmmm...this is a hard one. I'm not that into gadgets and haven't explored enough to really have any absolute favorite crocheting tools. I still use the same hooks and scissors that I bought when I first started crocheting 8 years ago. I don't buy a ton of tools, so I don't have any that I regret buying. Think, think, think. There must be something. Okay. I've got it. Two favorites. The first is this eyeglass case that I found at a charity shop for about 50p. It's perfect for holding all the tools I need for a WIP: scissors, hook, needles, pen. It's also pretty and easy to grab and go.



The second is my needle holder. I have no idea when or where I got this, but it is the best because it holds all my needles. It also fits nicely in my eyeglass case and I never lose my needles!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here, my first ever, inspired by yesterday's topic!

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4KCBWDAY5: Something A Bit Different

This blog post is part of the 4th annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.

Introduction to the Topic:

4KCBWDAY5 Something A Bit Different 

It’s the annual challenge to blog in a way different to how you normally blog. You may choose to create a podcast, or vlog, create a wordless post or write in verse. You've already stretched your wings with an infographic, now it's time to freestyle. You can post on any topic you like, but be sure to post in a style different from your usual blog presentation. 

Today, I'm going to do something I've never done before: a Giveaway! When I saw today's topic, I thought it would be the perfect time to run my very first giveaway. I'm offering one of my newest additions to my Etsy shop, Sunshine Makings. My mom (Kay from Jerry & Kay) and I started the shop at the end of November and it's been loads of fun! One of our newest items are these lovely crochet headbands. By entering the giveaway, you have a chance to win not one...but three of the crochet headbands. You choose the colors.



The colors pictures are what we currently have available in the shop, but here is a list of your choices: red, white, black, dark blue, light blue, green, grey, pink, raspberry, and yellow.

The giveaway will run until midnight, April 30, 2013. To enter the giveaway, just fill in the form below. The more options that you complete, the better chance you have of winning. I will announce the winners on May 2, 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

4KCBWDAY4: Colour Review

This blog post is part of the 4th annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.

Introduction to the Topic:

Day Four (Thursday April 25th): Colour Review
What are your favourite colours for knitted or crocheted projects. Have a think about what colours you seem to favour when yarn shopping and crafting. Only after writing this part of your post should you then actually look to see what colours you have used in your projects. Make a quick tally of what colours you have used in your projects over the past year and compare it to the colours you have written about. Compare this, in turn, to the colours that are most dominant in your yarn stash – do they correlate? Now think back to your house animal - do the colours you have chosen relate to your animal in anyway - if you are in the house of peacock, for example, are your projects often multicoloured and bright?

My favorite colors this year have been grey, blue, and pink. This blanket has been one of my favorite color combinations that I have ever used. 

I even used again in this scarf.

And then there are the many shades of grey...

Little Mouse and Elephant Amigurumi

Coffee Cup Sleeves                                                       Fingerless Gloves

Infinity Scarf                                                              Mug Cozy

               Guy Beanie                                                        Recycled Yarn Cup Cozy

Headband

These colors are different from what I have in my stash, which makes sense because my stash is filled with yarn that I've bought for projects that I've never completed. There is a lot of baby colors: pink, light yellow, light blue, white. I'm hoping to use a lot of it up soon because I have a lot of pregnant friends, and I'm also going to be selling at my school's Mayfair in a couple weeks. I'm hoping to get a few baby blankets finished by then!

I don't think the colors I choose relate very well to a bee. They relate more to the weather that has surrounded me many days over the last year: grey. Also, on a grey note, they relate to the sad fact that there aren't as many bees around here as there have been in the past. Looking at the next set of bright colors in that help me combat the grey, I can also see colors of flowers that might attract a bee, so perhaps they relate more that I thought...

        Wash Cloths                                                       More Coffee Cup Sleeves

 ...and Hats!

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Kids Clothes Week Day 3: Little Heartbreaker Pants

It's day three of Kids Clothes Week! 

And, in case you haven't seen, I'm having a GIVEAWAY!

...you can enter it by clicking here. 

For day three, I made some new trousers for my son. He's about to outgrow ALL of his, so it's time for some new ones! I was as cheap as I was for my little girl's dress (KCW Day 2), so when it came to fabric, I hunted through the local charity shops and found a very large pair of women's trousers (£4) that I cut up and turned into this cute pair of boys' trousers. That was much better than £8 per metre at the fabric shop!

I made the Little Heartbreaker Pants from Sewing for Boys. They are adorable...and too big as you can see from the pictures. This was on purpose so the my little guy can wear them for a long time. They'll be baggy now, but will hopefully fit at least until the fall. That's my plan. I even left length inside so that I can bring the cuff down if he gets taller.

This was my first time using button hole elastic, even though it's something I always look for when buying my little guy trousers. I like it and it's another great way to make the trousers fit longer. The facing is from an old button down that King Damascus had in our give away pile. I snatched it out to make a shirt for my son (which I hope to have done by the end of the week!).

The brown pockets are from scraps. I love the overall color combination and think the outfit is going to be adorable with a matching striped shirt!

Today, we settled with orange plaid that matched well enough, wasn't too wrinkled, and was fresh from the closet so hadn't had time to get dirty yet. Bribed him with a lollipop to do the photo shoot and he was such a perfect model! He did everything I asked him, happily. A rare moment in time.

He doesn't love these trousers nearly as much as his Batman shirt, wont' be begging me to wear them, but I know he'll get enough use out of them that it was worth the time I spent. He's even forgotten he didn't want to put them on for the photo shoot and is still wearing them...that's a good sign.

 If you're interested in participating in Kids Clothes Week, click here for more information.

Or you can take a look at all the great kids clothes that people are making by taking a look at the Kids Clothes Week flickr group!

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I'm linking up to some of these fabulous parties.

4KCBWDAY3: Infographic

This blog post is part of the 4th annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.

Introduction to the Topic:

Day Three (Wednesday April 24th): Infographic

There are many ways of conveying information on a blog; text and images being the two most widely used. Many infographics combine both these elements to provide a visual way of presenting text information. Make your own infogaphic (no fancy imaging software needed, you can draw it on paper and photograph it if you want) to convey any element of your craft(s). It can be just for fun or a thoroughly researched presentation of an idea/finding.

I made my infogram using Tagxedo. I enjoyed designing it, choosing the colors and shape. However, I could not get it to download in any way, so in the end I just took a screenshot. I really didn't have the time or interest to investigate why it wouldn't download because I don't think I'll be using a ton of infograms in the future. It was fun to do it today, but I didn't fall in love with the task. I had the most fun with the theme of it: Knit and Crochet Abbreviations. When learning to knit or crochet, it's like learning a new language. My infogram shows most, but not all, of the many knit and crochet abbreviations. I am happy to say that I knew what most of them meant...most of the crochet abbreviations, anyway...the knitting ones I still have a ways to go!

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Kids Clothes Week Day 2: Shutt Dress

It's day two of Kids Clothes Week! 

And, in case you haven't seen, I'm having a GIVEAWAY!

...you can enter it by clicking here. 

My daughter chose this dress (Shutt Dress by SewSet.) for Kids Clothes Week. I had pinned it months ago (here) with the hopes of making it, so I was really excited that she chose it and added it to my goals for the week!

I've been really frugal about buying fabric to make anything. I just have the hardest time spending an amount of money on fabric when I know I can buy something similar for less at any store on the high street. To make up for this, I keep my eye out for anything special at charity shops. I bought a sheet almost a year ago because I thought the colors and flowers would make a really pretty dress for my little girl. It was perfect for this dress!

 I didn't attempt the bunting because I know myself too well, and I knew it would make this project more of a burden than an enjoyment. 

I think it is still absolutely adorable, even without the bunting, and it's obvious that my little girl feels pretty in it, which is the most important thing! 

Great for spinning! Great for playing!

Even though, it was rainy and grey when I sewed this dress, it's going to loads of fun to wear in the sunny summer!

 If you're interested in participating in Kids Clothes Week, click here for more information.

Or you can take a look at all the great kids clothes that people are making by taking a look at the Kids Clothes Week flickr group!

☼

I'm linking up to some of these fabulous parties.

4KCBWDAY2: A Mascot Project

This blog post is part of the 4th annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.

Introduction to the Topic:

Day Two (Tuesday April 23rd): A Mascot Project.

Your task today is to either think of or research a project that embodies that house/animal. It could be a knitting or crochet pattern – either of the animal itself or something that makes you think of the qualities of that house. Alternatively it could be a type or colour of yarn, or a single button. Whatever you choose, decide upon a project and blog about how and why it relates to your house/creature. You do not have to make this project! It is simply an exercise in blogging about how you come to decide upon what projects to make. Try and blog about the journey which inspiration and investigating patterns, yarns, stitches, (etc) can often guide you through. You may wish to make a collage or 'mood board' to present several ideas, or even sketch out your own design.

My Bee Moodboard

When I search for a project, I first think of what projects I have in my old red binder where I filed projects before the invention of Pinterest. Usually, I don't think of anything from there. So, next I go to Pinterest and take a look at my Crochet and Knitting board. If that does not inspire me, I go to Google, which is where I ended up for my bee crochet project research.

My findings:

1. Naturally Dyed Merino Yarn on Etsy - I love this color and that it's naturally dyed. Favorited.

2. Bee Amigurumi - This is the type of project I love. It's super easy. It's super cute!

3. Salted Honey Artisan Caramels - yum. yum. yum. I got a little distracted from finding a crochet pattern when I came across this image and went straight to its source to read more about it! Can't you just taste it?? Favorited.

4. Yarn Ball Pure Beeswax Candle - When the caramels took me to Etsy, I thought I'd look around there for some bee inspired crochet patterns and instead found this great beeswax yarn ball candle! Isn't that clever? 

5. Bee Movie - Any time I hear the word bee, I hear "Thinking bee! Thinking bee!" because The Bee Movie has been one of my daughter's top two movies for her entire life of four years (the other is Madagascar). I'm pretty sure I've watched or at least heard the movie at least a couple hundred times.

6. Bumble Bee Hat Crochet Pattern - I saw this and the next few adorable patterns before I got distracted by the caramels. I'm just not sure if my kids will be into it. They're pretty picky these days. So, I'll have to ask them and get a definite answer before I invest.

7. Bumble Bee Amigurumi - Isn't this a lovely picture? I love how they placed the crochet bee in the flower. This one originally brought me to a fabulous page with loads of free amigurumi patterns. Love it!

8. Baby Bees - I just love these. They are so cheerful. They were made as a teacher gift, a pretty unique idea. I never thought to crochet dolls for my kids' teachers. I might have to give it a try this year.

9. Crochet Covered Sea Stones - Where else but Purlbee! Very fitting. I've seen these stones before and love how the crochet cover softens the hard stones.

                                        Source: purlbee.com via Jessica on Pinterest

This is a typical pattern search. A little flighty, right? And I still haven't made a decision on what to crochet - also typical. Usually, in the end I choose what I think will be the easiest on that I will still love. So, in this case, if I really have to make a choice, it would be the crochet covered sea stones. From looking at the pictures, I don't think they would be too difficult or take too much time. So, I've pinned the free pattern and tutorial! Now, I just have to find the perfect day to make them.

Now for the House Mascot, I would have to choose the Bumble Bee Amigurumi. It represents the house because it's a bee. It is on a flower. It looks like it's eye has just spotted something else. It's attracted. It will not be on this flower for another second, but will flutter over and away to the shine that has caught it's eye. And on...and on. Bzzzzzzzzzzzz......

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