Four Nighties Finished.......at last!

They are done!!
The nighties that I had started way back when I started sewing these for Moran and Myffwyn.
I finished them about two weeks ago but have not had time to post them.
I also wanted to get a photo of the four girls together in them and they kept not wearing them at the same time.
So finally I remembered in the morning after they had been  sleeping in them, hence the slightly disheveled look.

Arwen's  are still a bit too long in the sleeves. I haven't mentioned here the fact that I actually put one of Arwen's arms on to Vellvin's nightie and did not know until I had completed it with a beautiful over locked edge too.
I had to undo it and do it again but by then I had already finished the other arm of Arwen's and could not adjust it, so I will be gathering the sleeve up soon. Until then she wears the sleeve rolled up and well there is growing room I guess.

Sweet gentle Vellvin loved hers and was so patient getting hers finished. It was her idea for a nightie for winter as she loves wearing them and her old one is a little small now.
She did want to have all younger girls to have them together but was content to wait for the other girls to have theirs first.

Myffwyn had hers finished quite a few weeks ago and has been wearing hers quite a lot with Moran

I just adore the red flannel look don't you?

So now our sewing project will be making some Spring and Summer clothing as we really do not have much as the weather in Tasmania does  not get that hot.
But I believer the weather in Wagga is already warming up compared to here so, yes, we will be hitting the sewing machines after we move quite quickly I think!

BTW I will be hosting  a giveaway next week as we leave Tassie so all you who love books and creativity be prepared to enter this first of a variety of giveaways I will be hosting.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Needle and Thread - Flannel Nightie

I have wanted to join in Needle n Thread for many weeks now but just wasn't organised.
so this is my first attempt at sharing my recent sewing.

As winter approaches (actually the first day greats us in the morning here) our younger girls were in need of some new winter nightwear. Quite a few years ago, in fact when Autumn and Eden were 5 and 3 I made them winter plaid nighties, my first attempt at them.

However as it grew colder Vellvin kept saying to me 'Lets make the nighties and winter skirts for the little girls." So I sorted through my patterns and finally decided on this Simplicity 9942 that I have had in anticipation of making new nighties. I did not do the large ruffle around the bottom as it requires so much more fabric.
We had some red flannel left over from last year and so we began to cut and stitch.

While I was sewing this on for Moran and another for Myffwyn, which I am nearly finished Vellvin was making some cord winter skirts for the three younger girls.
We actually did not have enough red flannel for Vellvin and Arwen as well and so we purchased some pink with a pattern on it for them. This will be my next task to make them!

As for reading I have been reading a lot of books on my Kindle. The latest is a going back in time  Daughter of Time  (first in a series) by Sarah Woodbury. This one is going back to Wales in the thirteenth century.

I also have been reading Disconnected Kids: The Groundbreaking Brain Balance Program for Children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Neurological Disorders.

This has been a real  eye opener and I recommend it for anyone who has had a child with one of these labels or even 'Developmental Delay.'

It talks about retraining the brain to overcome these issues and gives the exercises to do this at home. 

From my research it is very similar if not identical to the Arrowsmith School practices which I cannot find any 'at home programme' for.

Well I will be off to check out the other great sewing and reading links at Elizabeth's blog this week. Hope to see you there.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Thursday Thoughts

Happy Thursday! Hope you are having a great week and looking forward to the upcoming weekend. I had planned on sharing this post on Monday but somehow time went speeding by and it is now Thursday. Things have been rather busy around here so I thought I would update you on a few random happenings.

A little while back I came across an exciting-to-me find in the bookstore – my shower curtain was included in Better Homes and Gardens New Decorating Book! It is only a very small picture (the green one with blue tabs in the center) but it certainly was thrilling to be flipping through a design book and come across something I made. You may remember the curtain was part of this BH&G basement bathroom story.

The warmer weather over the past weekend was motivation to finish up a few inside painting projects (who wants to be inside when the weather is nice!) and begin an outside project that has long been on my mind.

So Mr. RDH completed repainting the two upstairs bathrooms. Both went from SW Aria Ivory to BM White Dove. The change is subtle but one that was well worth the effort. The master bedroom no longer has a blue ceiling and now is more in keeping with the feel of the attached bedroom.

We spent the second half of the weekend removing a whole bunch of myrtle that we had planted years ago on a small hill next to the driveway. The plant was becoming invasive so it was time for it to go.

Now we are left with a dirt hill and no plans for what to plant. If you have any ideas please let me know. I was thinking lavender but I would love to hear your opinion. This area gets a good bit of sun and tends to be very dry.

Besides the above I have also been filling my time with a few sewing classes to learn how to use my new-to-me sewing machine! For those of you who have been followers for a while, you are probably very familiar with the story of my old sewing machine.

I purchased a nine year old Bernina and I am just so excited by all the new capabilities I now have at my disposal. It even does embroidery which will allow me to customize stockings with names in my Etsy shop. Although I absolutely love my Singer Featherweight and will never part with it, I knew it was time for an upgrade. I plan to share more on my new toy later as I have been making several new stocking designs – including the one shown above - for this upcoming holiday season.

Finally there is all the little behind the scenes prep work which needs to be completed for next week’s photo shoots. I have a few smaller projects which I am working on which might be included in a few of the pictures.

Have a great weekend! I look forward to hearing your opinion about our dirt hill.

Patchwork Quilt

When Corbyn was  a baby I started a patchwork quilt for him so that when he was ready for a 'big boy' bed the quilt would be ready for him. Well I started well and then got fairly distracted, by what I don't even remember. Then of course we were expecting our little Arwen and then Trahaearn.
In between I did a little  in a couple of bursts but still had just under half the rows to sew together.

Over the Christmas/ Summer Holidays I finally found the quilt top again  (um, yes actually I had forgotten it as I had tidied up the sewing area). So I managed to finish the top part of the quilt.

As I have not got the backing or wadding I need I have decided to put it on our little guys bed anyway.

He was sooooo very excited to have a quilt like his bigger brothers now and did not seemed concerned about the fact it is still unfinished.

However I really want to get it in a completed state before the weather gets colder. Hmm, we will see how I go with that one!

I was a little ashamed of myself when Myffwyn asked why she and Moran had bought ones instead of home made quilts like all the other kids. Our older three girls have quilts I made as well.

My reasoning has been and still is I was waiting to see if Arwen was a little girl, which she is obviously, so I could buy the fabric together for the three younger girls quilts. The older girls have a  panel the same and differing shades and style for eh contrasting pieces. So I guess I will be looking for some more fabric before too long for my little girls as well.

There is nothing like children to keep you on your toes!

On my horizon I see another round of quilt making that I actually enjoy when I get started, it is the getting started and keeping on, without getting distracted by other projects that is the killer for me.
Oh did I mention I still am working on Trahaearn's hand print cross stitch and his name cross stitch, and I bet he would like a quilt in the near future too.

I don't think I will ever get bored...do you?

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

The Making of Autumn's Deb Dress

Well tonight is the night for our beautiful daughter Autumn to make her Debut and so i thought I would tell the story of her Deb dress.

Thankfully I was able to start this process early.

After looking on line for a dress pre-made or pre-loved we could not find anything we found appropriate so I headed down the path of making this dress.

Now I have always tried to do what I could to create and sew for our family BUT I am the first to admit that sewing clothes is not my forte or my love. I find it stressful as I nearly always have too much to achieve in a short period of time and almost always technical difficulties.

So I was please I went with Autumn shopping for her fabric and pattern (in this post) in plenty of time.
Our dear friend Bernadette came over to help in any way she could with the laying out of the fabric and holding our precious Trahaearn.

Together we laid out the fabric and cut some together. Then I pretty much did the rest with much moral support and advice from this sewing fairy Godmother.

I worked in small pieces of time during the day with much help from the children in attending other tasks and doing lots of sewing while burning the midnight oil.

Although the sewing was not difficult I am not a great sewer and reading a pattern is almost like reading alien writing. I have to take my time to visualise the steps and then implement them.
I was however so pleased with my progress and even put a zipper in for the first time EVER.

The lace work on the bodice was a little tricky and I was so worried about making a mistake and wasting the fabric. I had to cut the lower scallops out  to use along the bodice neck line.

This was such a tricky and nerve racking part for me and I was so thankful that it went smoothly even though I could not work out how it was going to attach following the instructions

When I was finished it looked so small and flimsy and I couldn't visualise this being the finish of the bodice.

It was really hard to photograph but it was pinned , basted and then sewn onto the already laced bodice along the neckline. A very difficult part to see and sew clearly.

This was the  part of the house I lived in for so many days with children and husband coming up to the loft to find, talk and be with me.

Sewing on the buttons to the front of the dress I think there were 23 buttons to be sewn on and through this 'buttoning' on the front of the bodice, which incidentally is ornamental only as the dress is opened by  a very long zipper down the back.

The bottom of the dress is sewn up with something called 'horse hair braid' you have no idea how hard this was to get. I  looked every where for it and finally was able to order it on line and have sent to me from Sydney after lots of phone calls and Autumn's Grandmother making the successful call to find the supplier.

After basting the braid on I then had to turn up the hem and hand sew the hem to complete the bottom of the dress. This took 5 hours of hand sewing and I had both Kynan and Autumn (for some of it) stay up with me till 3.30am in the morning keeping me company as we watched the Darling buds of May together. Well really I listened and sewed while they watched!

Finally a finished Deb dress and a very happy girl.
This is it without the sash, which incidentally covers about half of those buttons!!!

Finished dress complete with sash.
Now all we had to do was get some shoes.......another interesting day.

As tonight is the night for the long looked for event....THE Debutante Ball I am sure I will sharing some photos very soon of not only Autumn but the other Debs and their partners as well.

Wish us all luck and prayers for these special young people as they embark on a new adventure please.

Blessings to you and your homes,

Sewing for Little Girls

Some time ago I bought the book Carefree Clothes for Girls: 20 Patterns for Outdoor Frocks, Playdate Dresses, and More 
At the time I loved the look of some of the clothes but other priorities seemed to get in the way of actually making anything. So with Autumn's Deb Ball coming up and having finally finished her dress I thought I would make the three younger girls a dress to wear for this special night.

I was going to make a summer print dress using the pattern from the book and complete with some very sweet little cotton pantaloons but not knowing the weather and the finding of some gorgeous tights (thanks Bernadette) I thought Panne Velvet would be perfect for the dresses.

The dresses were ver easy to make and the three colours  suit the three girls so well. The fall of the simple dress is very elegant and  I really like working with panne velvet as it does not need overlocking for fraying edges.
All in all I made these dresses in an afternoon (well when you space the time I actually spent sewing over a couple of days).

I really am looking forward to doing much more simple sewing this spring and summer using this book and some others I bought at the same time.

 Blessings to you and your homes,

Autumn's Debutante Ball Dress

As Autumn is attending her Debutante Ball in October I needed to get started on her dress for this event.
Last weekend Autumn, Trahaearn and I went to Spotlight looking for a pattern and fabric for the dress.

After much searching through pattern books, it is extremely hard to find a beautiful  and modest pattern we finally  found this pattern.
Autumn will have the short sleeve dress and the fabric is shantung, with a satin lining with lace over the bodice.

I can see I will need to take it slowly and carefully. This is all new ground for me so patience with myself and our family while attempting this is a must.

so if you can spare a few prayers they would be much appreciated.

Oh yes, and what we didn't know about the pattern we selected until a friend on Facebook commented on the picture I showed there was that it is very like Princess Grace's Wedding gown. Of course when Autumn heard that she was thrilled as she loves Princess Grace.

Blessings to you and your homes,

Completed Projects Sneak Peek

It seems whenever I return home from a vacation I suddenly am re-energized and ready to tackle all the projects I have had on my mind but have yet to complete.  I usually make a list while riding in the car on my return trip home and then once back, I go, go, go until most of the items are done.  (Does anybody else do this?)

Unfortunately, however, while I have been very busy getting lots of things accomplished, I have not been quite as diligent about writing posts about them.  So my plan this weekend is to get caught up on all the details of what I have been up to lately.

In the meantime, here is a little sneak peek of what I have been working on.

Look for all these projects and more soon!

2011 Goals – How are you doing?

Can you believe we are only a few days away from the half-way point of 2011? The first six months of this year have just flown past way too quickly. Summer is officially here and it won’t be long until another holiday season will be upon us. Yikes!

At the beginning of the year I participated in The Nester’s 2011 Home Goals Party. I am guessing many of you did too. You may remember instead of making a laundry list of things to buy and projects to complete around my house, I choose to create seven simple goals which focused on appreciating my surroundings and using what I already had to its fullest potential.

Since half the year is gone, I thought it would be a good time to revisit these goals to see how I am doing. More importantly, I also hope to inspire you to do the same!

Here is my list with an update of my progress:

Plan my garden before planting
I am happy to say this goal has been achieved. Instead of randomly buying plants as in years past, we have designated sections of the garden for herbs, vegetables, and ornamentals. It was worth the small amount of planning and I will continue to plan before planting from now on.

Use the herbs I plant
This one is in the “kind of category.” I have used some basil and a small amount of the oregano. The dill, cilantro, thyme and parsley, however, have been neglected. Time to get cooking!

Be a tourist in my own town
This is the goal on which I have made the least progress. I hope to remedy this during the coming summer months by taking advantage of all the local things my home town has to offer.

Organize and clean out
I have been doing a pretty good job. I started the year off with a bang by cleaning out a lot of unused items but have slowly let things return to normal. I need to regain my enthusiasm and continue where I left off.

Learn how to use my sewing machine attachments
I have played around with some of the attachments but as you can see from the picture above I definitely have a ways to go. I have to admit it has been fun seeing all the different stitches this old machine can sew!

Learn how to use my camera settings

My photo taking skills have improved as I have moved beyond the auto setting and I am now playing with the aperture setting. Next on the list is learning how to adjust the shutter speed.

Continue to remember a house is just a house. It is the people who live inside and the friends who come to visit which are most important.

I consider this to be my most important goal of the year. I try to remind myself daily to remember what is truly most special in my life.

There you have it. Overall I believe I am doing well but have room for improvement. Luckily there is still time as there are as many months ahead in 2011 as have already past.

So, how about you? How are you doing on your 2011 goals? I would love to hear the goals you have accomplished and the ones you need to start focusing on. Thanks for sharing!