Toothy grin

A toothy grin to go with the tooth fairy skirt she's wearing.

Miss L is actually going to be a butterfly for the show, but here's the tooth fairy costume getting a 'test drive'.

To keep their teeth strong tooth fairies munch on carrots!!

Super, super simple and slightly dodgy construction.

Two layers of plain tulle and one of the spotty flocked tulle gathered onto an elastic waistband.

It was see through, so I then made up a basic sheath or tube of stretch fabric to slip on underneath - this protects them from the prickly tulle and means no one's knickers will be on show in the show!

They won't win any awards for garment construction but should be fine for flitting fairies.

In the show they are being worn with white shirts that the girls have painted in the most gorgeous array of brightly coloured rainbow stripes.

Four sleeps to go!

Production line for a production

I'm using the ruffler foot to turn this...

into this pile...

which will tonight (I hope!) become six tooth fairy tutu's.

And these are the last of 11 dinosaur/dragon tails to be completed.
All done in calico as the children are going to paint them an array of bright colours.

It's kinder concert Friday night, then it will be back to sewing the list of things, that are not costumes, that I have planned.

I'll show you a better shot of them on the girls - they are very cute! (the girls and the tails, ha ha!).

The Not-A-Pillowcase nightie

I sometimes wonder if my children feel like the wife of the mechanic who drives a car that badly needs to be serviced, or the family of the chef who prefers not to cook at home.

In recent days they have watched me sewing things for kinder and sewing costumes for friends, with nothing on the drawing board for them.

Don't get me wrong - it's not that my children are short of dresses or skirts - but when Miss L was reduced to tears because she has no summer nighties to wear that fit her (seriously this kid is a beanpole she has shot up so much!), well I did feel a little 'mother guilt'.

Then I remembered the quick and easy nighties that Lara made for her girls at Sewjourn - perfect!

Despite a day of consistent rain she's wearing it to bed!

I've always liked the look of these pillowcase dresses but felt they looked a little too like a nightie in some fabrics - so a nightie they shall be!

A quick Google search for some dimensions and a hunt through the fabric stash for suitable fabric and we were away.

For the binding I chose a fabric Miss L had been eyeing off a few days earlier - it wasn't enough to make the main body but plenty for the ties.

I have lots of fabric with which to make these little nighties, as in the past I bought a metre as standard for sewing for the girls - of course now that is not nearly enough for a dress with any detail, but it's plenty for a nightie.

I can make a more complex nightie of course with pleats and ruffles and so forth - but I figure that I will save the labour intensive finishes for things that will actually make it outside of the house.

So thanks Lara for the inspiration - she was one happy little girl when she saw this.

It's a tiny bit too big, and looking at this pic it's tied up a little too high! -
I will cut smaller armholes for the next one anyway, but still, she doesn't seem to mind!

Sketchy details

Apart from being a lovely sewist/quilter, Wendy is a clever arty person who has a second blog, all about art for children, and how to encourage their creative endeavours.

Love the little details here - the apples on the tree, with a ladder for picking them and the roll down shade in the window complete with pull-cord.

I recently commented on this post about how I am given many works of art during the course of a day/week, and while they are lovely, I often feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume coming from three very creative small people.

A rainbow and a field of rosebuds below it.

Wendy recommended I do exactly as suggested in the blog post and get them each a sketch book to use for all their artwork.

The benefits are twofold - less loose pieces of paper floating around the house and a permanent record of the progression in their art that I can keep for years to come.

A picture of concentration here! Painting is a very serious business.

I grabbed these large spiral bound books while at Zart the other day and the first thing they each wanted to do was decorate the cover - so they can tell who each one belongs to.

I look forward to now seeing the pages filled with pastings, collage, painting, drawing and anything else the girls can think of to express themselves.

Thanks Wendy!

PS - I promise there have been some creative efforts by me too - more in the next post!

Chalking it up to fun

We love a bit of 'pavement' art at our place...

A recent trip to Zart Art uncovered a huge box of chalk for a little over $10...

So we took to the streets...

With 24 colours to try there was much 'work' to be done...

We drew a city, the smallest child added in the (long and skinny) Eiffel Tower...

And no drawing session would be complete without a self-portrait!

Our drawing skills have improved a bit since last time too...

Money well spent I say.

Close up on Jasmine

You saw this shirt in the post from yesterday but I thought I'd share a few extra details with you.

To date I haven't done a lot of sewing for myself. 

Largely because I have had issues with fit. Or really me not knowing how to get a good fit and so not wearing the things I make, which puts me off making more.

I made this shirt straight off the pattern and it fits me perfectly.

It's bias cut which means there are no zips or buttons to contend with. (Pieces are not cut with the grain of the fabric but across it).

The down side of that is that you use a lot of fabric to get it all cut out and you need to take your time when positioning the front and back pieces to ensure the pattern will match when you sew the front and back seams.

This shirt has lovely details that are perhaps a little hard to see due to the pattern.

There is a little tie on the collar at the front, the two pieces are tucked through a small loop so you don't have to worry about how you tie them together, they just stay where they should.

The sleeves have a band on the end and there is a gently curved collar at the neckline, details that would be more evident if I made it with a contrasting collar and sleeve bands.
Which is what I think I will do next time - as there will definitely be a next time with this shirt.

Even the pattern itself is very sweet.

It's a booklet...

...with very clear step by step instructions and great illustrations...

...and a pocket at the back for the pattern and any notes you want to make for next time.

I'd highly recommend this pattern to a confident beginner sewist.
Make it easier on yourself for the first try and don't use a directional print - instead try it with something like a dot - or a solid.

If this pattern is anything to go by then I am looking forward to getting some time to cut into the Colette Clover pants I plan to make.


THE NITTY GRITTY

THE PATTERN: Jasmine by Colette. (View B)

THE FABRIC: Voile from Spotlight

This one time at craft camp...

Annie pieced and cut and shopped for fabric (she NEEDED it alright!)...

and made this...

and these...

Lara made herself lots of lovely shirts by Simplicity and Style Arc - and Kathryn, Rachel and I tried them on then attempted to sneak them into our own bags...

She also made nighties, skirts and a kaftan as well as half a jacket! 

Tanya made a gorgeous hat from Nikki's book and is close to completing a dress to match it...

She also became the apprentice interfacing nerd - and can now tell you what/where and how when it comes to interfacing!!

We all created general mess, madness and chaos...

We danced to daggy 80's songs, we sang loudly karaoke style, we walked, we ran, we ate too much chocolate, we drank too much wine (is there really such a thing...) and we chatted and laughed, a lot.

Kathryn made a gorgeous 'garden party' dress as well as several other tops and a skirt...



Rachel made this very sweet View B version of the Jump Rope dress...

and some shorts for her daughter and worked on some other shorts for her boys.

Megan 'hooked' her way through the weekend and did lots and lots of work on this amazing blanket...

Yep - it has three-dimensional flowers on it...

but the most amazing feat of all is that.... Nikki completed this ENTIRE quilt!! Including free-motion-quilting hearts all over it!

And the more incredible thing is this is her first ever quilt.

and what about me...

Well I completed (among a few other things) this Colette Jasmine blouse, which was a dream to sew.

Then I pulled a silly face while Lara took a photo...

but this photo Lara took kind of sums it all up for me...

talking while sewing and enjoying the company of seven fabulous ladies.

Thanks girls - as always I had a ball and can't wait til next time.

A short break...

Turns out my short break became a short blogging break too - let's put it down to post-Blogtoberfest fatigue!

I think I have mentioned before that my kids like to swim - in fact I think they are all part fish.

So for them, a holiday is anywhere with a pool - luckily where we just went was a short walk to a glorious beach and also had a pool, so they were in heaven.

This little Miss is 5 years and 8 months old - and it still amazes me that she can swim like this, although she does need to be reminded to kick - as you can hear...

Clever little fish.

PS - the smallest child was not attempting to drown her sister in the background - we were assured multiple times it was a game!!