KCW - It's all about the pom-poms

For a quick and easy project you can't go past the infinity scarf - and when I saw these pom-poms in the shop I knew R would love them. Although it's winter I made the scarf in a thin cotton voile, hoping this would make it trans-seasonal.

R wasn't in the mood for modelling - the sun had come out and she was in a hurry to get outside and get on her scooter. But she did like the coloured pom-poms and was keen to show me her favourite one.

Anyone squeezing in any last-minute KCW items?

KCW - Jersey & cotton dress, and a long cardigan

I've been sewing in little bits and pieces all this week, but - so frustrating! - haven't been able to finish up, photograph and post til now. At least I have the satisfaction of having made two things that go well together, and that I think will get a lot of wear.

The dress:
Pattern: Dress E-9 from A Sunny Spot
Size: 110, with 120 length
Fabric: cotton jersey, quilting cotton, silver ric-rac

Not much to say about this. Lovely pattern, easy sew, added the silver ric-rac to pick up the little dots of silver on the skirt part, and because I knew R would love it. A nice loose-fitting, comfy dress with a cute bias-binding tie at the back (hard to photograph, as R's hair covers it).

The cardigan:
Pattern: Long cardigan F-14 from A Sunny Spot
Size: 110, with 120 length
Fabric: cotton sweatshirt fabric

I really love the style of this cardigan, which has buttons down the top section and a slightly gathered lower section that sits open. The gathering didn't work all that well with the thickish fabric, and my machine did not like making buttonholes in it either, but the result is very pleasing nevertheless. As this is the second grey top I've made for R this winter, and as she is not exactly a huge fan of grey (what six-year-old is?) I used buttons in various shades of blue/purple. Finding identical buttons in four different colours was probably the most difficult (and time-consuming) part of making this! Luckily the staff at Darn Cheap are used to seeing me crouching in the button aisle for hours on end.

I have one more very small project planned, which I hope I can finish by tomorrow. I'm so enjoying seeing everyone's fabulous creations on the Kids Clothes week website. Keep 'em coming!

And now for something completely different...

The second-last day of school holidays and our arrangements fell through, leaving us with no plans for what promised to be a cold and wet day. Terrified at the prospect of a day at home with two children who do nothing but fight, I came up with a solution that would require both a shopping mission (takes up time that might otherwise be spent bickering) and a hands-on activity (distracts children from annoying each other): TERRARIUMS.

I did a bit of research here before we embarked on a nice long shopping expedition to our local strip (which seems to have more two-dollar shops per capita than anywhere else in the world) and found a pair of fishbowl-shaped vases. Then came a leisurely stroll around Bunnings, where we picked up potting mix and sphagnum moss, and where the kids chose some shade-loving plants. I already had activated charcoal at home, and figured we could scrape up some gravel or little rocks from the garden, so we didn't have to buy those.

K and R filled up their fishbowls with the first three layers (little rocks, charcoal, sphagnum moss) and I added the potting mix and helped them with the plants. Then came the fun bit - adding decorations. K used some smooth stones from our last seaside holiday; R used the stones, plus shells, plus glass 'jewels', plus a small plastic animal whose species is hard to ascertain (is it a cat? a dog? a fox?). Both terrariums look beautiful and I really hope they will thrive. And now that I have all the gear I can hardly wait to go buy a giant fishbowl and make my own one!

Oh yeah, would anyone like to offer an opinion as to what this animal is intended to be? R is calling it a fox, but its tail would suggest otherwise... its face is distinctly un-catlike, though.

Spotty skirts

Two skirts from Sweet Clothes for Girls, both of them style O in babywale corduroy. I made size 110 with 120 length for R, and size 100 for her sweet little cousin M. (If the grey one looks familiar, it's because it's made from the fabric left over from my everyday skirt. Waste not, want not!).

As it's school holidays I'm on the lookout for mundane tasks that can be re-badged as 'fun activities', so I hired my ten-year-old son K to direct a photo-shoot featuring R's new corduroy skirt (cost: one packet of loom bands, plus some loom-band charms for the model). At first this seemed a great idea - R was instantly smiling and animated, and K had lots of ideas about what she should do. Then a couple of our neighbours' children came out to watch, K started to get a bit silly, and the whole thing descended into fits of giggles and attempts to dodge the camera.

But hey, it killed a good hour of the day once you factor in the getting dressed part, the actual shoot, a bit of bickering and some running round the garden afterwards.

I love the line of this skirt and the nice big pockets. It's also very easy to sew, provided you've been good and laid out the pattern pieces for cutting exactly according to the grain lines - the pocket pieces are set at odd angles and if you used a patterned fabric and failed to notice this, your skirt might end up looking a little strange where the pocket meets the side panel. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Ah, school holidays. Don't you love 'em?