iCandi

Thursday, August 31, 2006

another brown dress




I made this one from fabric sent to me by Clair and a pattern that Ingrid sent me.

She wore it today and got a couple of compliments on it. You can see the loose threads but they have since been trimmed. The pattern called for a zip, but I just used two buttons and loops of embroidery thread to close them.

tantrums

I always thought that Willow started throwing tantrums at about 11 months. That was when she really started to know what she wanted and how to get it.

Today was a different matter though - we went to story time at the library where she got up and wandered off as she always does. I brought her back each time, then we did the colouring in which she paid a bit more attention to. When we went to leave though, she did the full on, dropping to the floor kind of tantrum. If I was the type of person who cared what other people though, I'd have been embarassed.

We had to stop at the shops for food for the park so that was more tantrums and total defiance. Nearly ran out into traffic. Argh.

She wasn't too bad at the park, her friends distracted her, but it is a bit hard to have a chat with my friends when one or the other of us are running after our daughters.

So today is that start of proper tantrums - ones that can't be blamed on tiredness, hunger or a dirty nappy. *sigh*

I will finish on a postive note though and write about Willow and the word HOT. Everything that she shouldn't touch is HOT. The laptop, sewing machine and over locker are HOT. If something has steam coming off it, it is HOT. Anything coming out of the microwave or oven is HOT. Sometimes food is HOT, but if we blow on it, it cools down.

So, by her toddler logic, if she blows on the laptop, sewing machine and overlocker, then she can touch them!

As much as she frustrates me sometimes, I am sometimes surprised by the ferocity of my love for her.

my skinny minnie



This is Willow at 8 weeks.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

perceptions

Funny how our experiences mould our expectations.

Willow was 6pd3oz born, so she was certainly not a chubby baby by any stretch of the imagination. I've never been one to stress over percentile charts, but she's usually been on the 50th%ile for weight and 90th%ile for height.

So we bought her this baby doll which she will carry around by it's ankle, throw in it's pram, stand on to get things she shouldn't, all fun stuff. A was looking at it and observed that it really was a chubby representation of a baby. Now, I think I can safely say that I've seen more babies than him, so I said "no, it's actually a normal looking baby, we just had a skinny minny!"

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Ingrid's easy pants

I got a lovely package in the mail today from Ingrid. It contained two gorgeous vintage patterns for dresses and her famous easy pants pattern! I already have a very simple pattern for pants, so didn't want to bother her for it, but this pattern is even easier. It literally took me an hour to make them.

I used a lovely soft green floral pillow case for the fabric and shimmery metallic fabric to do the waistband and hems. They are a tiny bit long for her, but I don't think that will be an issue when she has shoes on.


brown dress

Isn't it funny how your memory can be so unreliable.

I made this brown dress for Willow because the material reminded me of a dress I had when I was a child.



I remember the photo of me sitting on a car bonnet. Well, after looking at the photo, I realised that was a black floral dress. So much for that idea!

I found this photo instead, of me at about 4 years old. I am wearing a brown floral dress here, so perhaps that is where I got mixed up.

Note the brown cardigan my mother is wearing. I still have it now, it is a great cardi!



A close up:

Tiered skirt

This is a photo of the very simple tiered skirt that I made for Willow today. Very easy with the overlocker.



That materials that I used were a pink and green floral for the waistband, a green gingham and a pink toile.

Edited to add: I tried it on her this morning and it is far too big for her length ways. I think i'll keep it for when she is about 3?

This is a photo of her with it on - pulled up to her armpits! She is also wearing the lovely jumper that Brazen made.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Ssat?

W-"Sssat? Sssat?" Sssat? Translation-What is that?
C-"Goat. It's a goat! Can you say goat?"
W-"Dog!"

This was the exchange that took place at our house today when they had goats on Playschool today. Too funny!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

a bit of fluff

I couldn't work out why my sewing machine was making such a terrible clunking noise. I'd fiddled around with the bobbin, but it wasn't until I took the whole plate off that I found this:



It was actually quite a solid piece of fluff, it had obviously been compacted by the action of the bobbin casing.

Monday, August 21, 2006

I'm a little tea pot!



I saw this on a forum I've been lurking on. A cute way to reuse a little teapot my grandma gave to me. I simply wrapped a bit of stuffing in some fabric and firmly stuffed it in the teapot.

If you wanted to make it a bit more tailored, you could use foam balls, but you'd have to find the right size for the receptacle you are using. Antique teacups would be great to use for this.



This is the brown dress that I've been working on for W. I still need to work out how to do it up on the inside, whether to use ribbon or press studs.

It is basically a longer version of the pink top below.





This is a present for a friend of mine - her daughter is a bit older than W, so I hope it fits her!





Brown pants for W - the fabric has sequins sewn on the centres of some of the flowers, very cute, but a bit awkward when you are carrying her and the sequins are pressing on your skin. She wore it to FDC today, so that will be a test of the durability of them!

Sunday, August 20, 2006

more photos

Today was a pretty decent Sunday, I got a sleep-in, then woken up by giggles from Willow. Lunch at one of our favourite cafes, gelati, playground then Bunnings.

Before we left to go out, I started on a dress for Willow, it is made out of fabric similar to a dress I'm wearing as a baby. My plan is to make the dress, take photos and do a layout with her photos and my photos side by side.

Anyway, on with the photos:



One of my cats, she was part of my swap.





It is hard taking photos of a hyped up little girl! These are photos of the overalls that the lovely Brazen made as part of the swap. A calls them the Partridge Family overalls! I was going to take a photo of the jumper that Brazen made, but A put it in the wash. It fits her perfectly!






Some photos of the pillow case dress on Willow. I looked into making these but for the sake of two seams, they seem a bit pointless. I'd rather take the time and make a proper dress that is more tailored. Of course, if someone requested, I'd be more than happy to make one for them!

Friday, August 18, 2006

news

Well, I have been buying lots of fabric and patterns lately - now I need to slow down and make some things!

I have subscribed to Ottobre magazine so I should not need to buy any more patterns for quite some time. At least that's what I told A!

Also bought some PUL and bamboo to do some experimentation with - am thinking cloth pads and nappies.

I have been making a few things for a friend as a surprise, I'd love to show them off here but I don't want to ruin the surprise!

I'll have to update with more photos of what I've made tomorrow!

Way too late here, bedtime for me!