Baby Boy's Romper

Is it cheating that I'm sharing all these projects with you now, even though I completed them a LOOOONG time ago (all pre-Bo)?  

I'm hoping that I'll manage to find a little bit of time set aside for crafting soon.....  before I run out of 'old' projects to post show-and-tells about!  Any tips for adding more hours to the day???

Anyway, I wanted to show you this little romper suit that I made for Bo.....

I found the pattern here, on the 'Melly Sews' website.  If you've into sewing, you should definitely take a look - there are LOADS of free patterns and tutorials!

It was a quicker (and easier) make than I'd imagined it would be.  So I'm planning to make a few more of them, in different fabrics.....

Carly

x 

Baby Boy Bloomers and Bow-ties

I'm FREEEEEEE!!!!!  

On my last trip to the doctor's, I was told that I no longer need to be on bed-rest. So I've been making the very most of my new-found freedom!  We've been catching up with friends, going for 'date nights', doing lots of 'nesting'-type jobs around the house.....  And, of course, I've been getting my craft on!

At last!  The opportunity to do more baby-crafting!  And I've gone a bit silly.  I just can't stop!!!  So now, the problem is.....  I don't know which project to show you first?!?

I think I'll start with the cutest AND funniest.....

I decided to make a little outfit - some boyish 'bloomers', and a bow-tie to match.  Here's the finished outfit:

Then I had an idea - if I attached the bow-tie to the little body-suit with snap-fasteners, I could make a whole RANGE of interchangeable bow-ties (and you know how it is - newborns can never have too many bow-ties)!!! 

So I did this:

And then I IMMEDIATELY made another little outfit:

And, after that, I made MORE bow-ties!  But I'll save those for another post.....  

In 'OTHER EXCITING NEWS' (well, actually THE most exciting news).....  we visited the hospital on Friday, and I'm booked in to have a c-section on Monday 30th June.  So, only two weeks to go now!!!!!

Until next time.....

Carly

x

'Little Geranium' Dress

I've been showing you LOTS of baby-makes lately.  And here's another.....  

When I found out that our friends' baby was a girl,I got it into my head that I HAD to make her a teeny-tiny newborn frock.  So, I spent that weekend making her a 'Little Geranium' dress.  The pattern is a free (and brilliant) one from Made by Rae.  You can find it here. 

And here's the dress:

It was a fun make and, as it was so tiny, didn't take too long.  I loved how it turned out.  And, thank goodness, it was a good fit too (we did a Skype session, so I could see it 'on').  

If only there was a 'Big Geranium' pattern - for girls MY age!!!

Carly

x

A Wonderful Wedding

While we were in England, WAY back at the start of the summer holidays, we went to a wedding.  It was a VERY special one, as the bride was a really close family friend (who I’ve known since just a few days after she was born, and who’s my mom’s god-daughter).  And what a WONDERFUL wedding it was!!!  The sun shone all day long, we got to catch up with lots of friends, the venue was spectacular, the bride looked stunning, the food was delicious.....

Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery about an half an hour after the ceremony.  So I didn’t get to take that many photos.  But here are a few of the ones I managed to get.

Me & Simon

Hodsock Hall

The grounds - with a Monet-style pond (complete with lilies and a bridge)

Us two with my mom and dad

Here comes the beautiful bride.....

..... and such pretty bridesmaids

Gorgeous, vintage-style flowers everywhere

Lovely music to accompany our champers and canapes

And a BRILLIANT magician

Yes, in case you didn't know, Simon's a magician (you can see his website here if you fancy a look) 

Apart from telling you what a wonderful day we had, I also wanted to show you the wedding pressie I made for the happy couple.  But I think I'll save that for my next post.

Until then.....

Carly

x

Stylish Dress Book Pattern E

So, I think my new favourite crafting pursuit is making clothes for myself.  Or, to be more specific, making DRESSES for myself.

And, my new favourite book is ‘The Stylish Dress Book’ by Yoshiko Tsukiori.  I LOVE it!!!  Maybe I should do a proper review of it at some point, so I won’t rave on about it too much here – if I can help it. 

It was really challenging to pick a place to start when I got the book, as I pretty-much wanted to make EVERYTHING in it, STRAIGHT AWAY.  In the end, though, I decided to start with ‘Pattern E’ (which I think is my very favourite). 

Apart from positioning the bust darts (which I really don’t get, by the way, and any tips on this would be gratefully received), I LOVED the entire process of making the dress.  And luckily, as it took me some time to complete, I LOVED the finished dress!!!  I think you can see how much I love it, through the uncharacteristic amount of posing I’m doing in these photos (which I’m now a tad embarrassed about, I have to say).....

The style of this dress makes it so versatile!  I wear mine at night – for going out for dinner, or drinkies.  The fabric has a bit of a shine to it, so it might look a bit too ‘dressy’ for daytimes.  But, with different fabrics, it would look great as a cute sundress, or as a heavier winter dress (over a roll-neck and some thick tights).  SO many possibilities – and I’m sure I’ll be exploring them all!  I’ll DEFINITELY be using this pattern again!!!

If you’ve made anything from this book (or any of the others in the series), I’d love to have a look.....  

Carly

x  

A Little Outfit for a Little Friend

When my friend had a little baby girl at Christmas, I was not only excited about the fact that she’d had a baby, but also about the crafting opportunities afforded to me by having a little girl to ‘experiment’ on. 

As I’ve been eager to make more clothes lately, I decided to have a go at making a little outfit for Mathilda.  I hadn’t made any teeny-tiny clothes before, but I hoped that it couldn’t go too badly wrong. As Mathilda just happens to be the cutest little girl ever, she’d look sweet in it even if it turned out to be an epic failure! 

I had an idea in my mind of the KIND of thing I wanted to make – an outfit with a cross-over-type dress and some little bloomers.  As I couldn’t find anything exactly right in any of my books or online, I combined bits and bobs from here and there, and got to work finding fabrics, cutting out and sewing-up.

And here’s what I ended up with.....

I REALLY enjoyed this project!  It didn’t take me too long, but it gave me a few challenges, like having to put the patterns together from bits I’d gathered from elsewhere, and also using shirring elastic in the bobbin case and creating button holes (neither of which I’d attempted before).

So, I think little Mathilda may be getting a few more handmade-by-me outfits in the future.

Until next time.....  

Carly

x