Party sewing 1, 2, 3

Over the last year or so I've enjoyed making homemade presents as each birthday party invitation comes home from school. I began this largely for financial reasons, but also to use up some of the fabric I have tucked away. It also gives the girls greater involvement in the present planning, time spent with me on a project and teaches them the act of making something from scratch and giving a more meaningful gift. I want to avoid falling for the trap of having to buy the latest, new release toys and I've learnt that the kids are even more appreciative of a gift that is different and made by their friend's Mum. I daresay this probably won't last into adolescence!

The girls have loved being part of the process: deciding what to make, what materials and ribbons to use and what little something to buy to go with the creation. There have been many pencil rolls, doll and teddy clothes, aprons, pretty drawstring bags and lots of decorated hair bands, head bands and hair clips.

The girls choose what I should make based on their friends' hobbies and favourite things. An Art party called for a pencil roll with Derwent pencils and an apron in embroidered cherry cotton was for an 8 year old having a Cupcake party. At one point, the girls in Sarah's class were discussing whether they would get a pencil roll like the others. Sarah told them I was making rolls for the school fair so they could buy one there!!

The current request is for pretty drawstring bags, made with two fabrics and pretty ribbons sewn on the bag and threaded through the casing. Each bag has something inside: a novel or picture books, a Brambly Hedge DVD, Charlotte's Web DVD, fabric and felt hair bands or a journal with sparkly pens.

Unfortunately, I hadn't thought to take any photos of last year's projects. To tell the truth, there was not often time - more than once they were being finished off while the party attendee was dressing and doing teeth and hair for the party!! This was one of the most recent bags, partnered with a fairy novel of some sort. And now there is a lull - before the next round of invites comes home!

A slow scarf and a quick bag

How easy is it to have a week disappear?! It's been quite a few days since my last post as we've been rather busy both at home and out and about.  Each day I thought I would get to the blog and share a few things with you but it just didn't seem to happen!

With two days out between school drop off and pick up, the evenings are spent in catch-up mode. (I don't know how working mothers do it!) And then one evening is spent at a meeting, one ironing, another one sewing, one watching a movie with my dear one and one spent doing my Luke 2 Bible study questions.  I believe another evening was spent reading many lovely blogs, becoming very cosy and relaxed and gradually falling asleep on the sofa. (That was right when I was supposed to be updating my blog but I was off in dream land!)

But I have been having a little bit of creative play. I got lots of knitting done while watching a movie and having some 'tv resting' time. I recently bought some variegated 100% bamboo wool from a local store in the most gorgeous shades of light greens and blues. It was reduced to clear so I got all that was left! The plan was to knit a plain scarf and let the yarn show itself off. BUT, it is very fine and therefore slow to knit up, so it will be a while before the shortest possible scarf length is reached!!

The big girls and I decided they needed a little drawstring bag for keeping their swimming things together - bathers, goggles and cap. Can you imagine trying to find a swimming cap in a wardrobe jam packed with two girls' clothes and three plastic tubs of doll's clothes! So they chose material out of the chest and I whipped them up just in time for this week's swimming lessons. They worked a treat, and now they're packed again ready for next week. Anything to use up some of Mummy's leftovers!

Our big event

Wow, what a weekend! We packed up and headed north on Friday (in two shifts - I think Daddy enjoyed the Friday evening trip all on his own!) and enjoyed a weekend of rather warm weather to celebrate the marriage of my sister and her lovely man. Everything ran smoothly, my girls did I great job as flower girls, and everyone looked gorgeous.

All the girls of the bridal party (7 in total) enjoyed a 'girls only sleepover' in lovely Federation accommodation on Friday night. And despite me making a few alterations to my girl's dresses before bed on the eve of the wedding (!) we were all set and ready to enjoy a lovely day.

Now the happy couple have gone away to enjoy a well-earned break, and the girls are back at school telling everyone about the 'best day of their lives'! Judging by their excitement and anticipation, developing the photos and taking them to school will be the second most exciting event of their lives.

And my first born, Sarah, is now officially 8 years old and had the biggest birthday party she will probably ever have! All the guests sang 'Happy Birthday' to her at the reception - it was all very sweet :-)

Now, back to some sewing, gardening, baking, knitting.........

......but first a little bit of housework before school pick-up!

Scarves and Squares

The last week has been all about my sister's wedding (well, nearly!). Lots of dress fittings, house guests (bride, groom, another sister), buying of ribbon and doing the finishing jobs on the flower girl dresses. Hemming satin, cut on the bias, is something I don't want to do often! We have still been busy doing a few other things though.

Some projects finished, some hoping to be finished and some just beginning!

Last week Sarah finished her second scarf for her toys - this time it was a pink scarf for her kitten Mittens. Now she and her brother Tom are all set for the cooler months! Sarah has learnt how to cast on and off now so she has helped herself to some wool and begun a third scarf. I think her favourite soft toys (each with an assigned night for which to sleep with her) will eventually all have their own scarf. Looks like my crate of wool scraps will be used up after all!

A few days ago I got busy and spent two evenings putting together my Botany charm squares I had bought from Retromummy. The Winter Olympics on in the background made for good company while sewing - though at no point did Eddie tell me how late it was and to go to bed! The colours and prints are just gorgeous and should make a lovely little quilt for snuggling on the lounge during winter. Now I just have to move on from this pretty stage to the more structural elements of a quilt!

While working on this one, I realised I should really finish a quilt I started last year for Sarah, and begin sewing the squares for a matching one for Alice. This is not an unusual situation for me to be in! The squares for Ali's quilt are all cut and grouped in rows, bundled up in labelled rubber bands. With the cutting done I need to get them sewn up before the rubber bands slip and let 168 2 inch squares become very mixed up! I believe it was actually my mum who, many months ago, laid out all the squares, arranged and then stacked them all in to little bundles.

Apart from the dark pink borders, these quilts are made entirely from my scraps from the clothes I've made Sarah and Alice over the years. They love looking at them and remembering the pyjamas, skirts, nighties, shorts and trousers they wore when they were little. Needless to say, most of this sewing was done before Hannah and Ruby were born! And now it is Hannah and Ruby wearing it all! Only in the last year have I begun to find the time to sew again. This summer I made the girls four sun dresses and seven skirts, so the next wave of Mummy's sewing has begun :-)

The plan is this - I want to finish these scrap quilts for Sarah and Alice for Easter - just in time for when they need a little extra warmth on top of their beds. They'll go very nicely with a few Cadbury Easter eggs, don't you think? I just have to stop being distracted by new projects and spend fewer evenings falling asleep on the couch!

Weekend warming

A new week is here and what a big one for us!  My sister's wedding is this weekend so the focus is on getting everything ready, finished and packed for that. My bridesmaid dress has been picked up and I'm making the final touches to the flower girl dresses for Sarah and Alice. The trick is to not get lost in the bodice between the lining and satin - it's a real maze in there. I pinned the under arm on one side last night and had great difficulty getting to the pin again five minutes later! Can't show them off yet - will definitely post photos next week.

We have two of the aunties staying overnight this week, on separate nights, so the girls will love having some time with them. Sarah has lots of excitement with her 8th birthday falling on the wedding day. Eight sounds so grown up!

The weekend saw some considerably colder weather, with wind and some rain (though I would like some more), so we enjoyed some indoor activities. The box of musical instruments came out so the girls did some jamming with Daddy.

Here Ruby is a little bit upset. She came in from the dining room to request that the music making in the lounge room stop - 'It is too noisy for my piaaaaaanowww playing'. Hard to keep everyone happy!!

The twins and I cooked another banana cake together on Sunday afternoon and this time we took a photo before cutting in to it for afternoon tea. I posted the recipe last week so be sure to try it out.

Sarah worked on her patchwork cushion cover from last week. It's nearly finished - only some hand sewing left to do to close up the gap for turning it in the right way. She is managing the machine so well and needs (and wants) my help less and less. Will post a photo of the finished product soon.

All the best for a good start to the week!

Knit 1, Sew 1

Over the last week we celebrated my birthday, enjoyed our 3 minute chocolate cake and a weekend date night for Mummy and Daddy with dinner and a movie. It's Complicated had the whole cinema laughing very loud from beginning to end! Best comedy we had seen in a long time. Without family in our town we have found a babysitting club to be the best thing for people in our situation. All mothers, we are happy to sit for one another and be paid with time tokens that we then use for our own nights out. Such a blessing.

I spent some birthday money on wool for a scarf for Mummy using some very big needles. The box stitch pattern was in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine last year and I've been wanting to make it for months. Thankfully it's knitting up very quickly.

and a sewing book for me to create A-line dresses for the girls - Absolutely A-Line by Wendy Gratz. This was in my local book shop a couple of months ago. I thought about it for a while and discovered that I was thinking about it quite a bit so decided I obviously needed to have it. One pattern with lots of different variations - how versatile for four girls! Thankfully it was still in stock for my birthday shopping.

Sarah began sorting through my fabric chest on Sunday afternoon wanting to make a quilt for her dolls. She chose three fabrics, one of which was some very old calico from my teenage crafting years, and then changed her mind and decided on a cushion cover for her room. I cut the squares and she sewed them together on the machine - all I had to do was sit beside her and keep a couple of fingers holding the fabric straight as she fed it through. What a way to spend an afternoon!

Hopefully we might be able to finish it on the weekend. She wants to decorate the calico squares with buttons, beads and other nice things. For a little girl who has not quite turned 8 she is doing very well. A pity that it was folded and a little crushed before I took this photo :-)

The lunch box fill

Have to share a great recipe - it has become a favourite of ours. Nothing feels better than making something nutritous, economical and tasty for filling the lunch boxes for school and work. I don't buy any packaged foods for school so lots of muffins and pikelets do the trick. I find at this time of year the energy levels are good and I'm keen to try new ideas and recipes every few days. Last week I found some discounted over ripe bananas at a local fruit shop and brought them home with some baking in mind.

I found a banana cake recipe I had used some time ago but forgotten about. With the help of Hannah and Ruby we whipped it together quickly between dinner and bedtime a couple of days ago and everyone enjoyed it. So moist and light, and although it didn't get the chance to see out the week, it would have stayed nice and fresh for at least a few more days.

Banana Cake

125g (4oz) butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups SR Flour
2 Tb milk
1 level tsp bicarb soda dissolved in the milk
3 ripe bananas
pinch salt

Cream butter and sugar, beat eggs, mash bananas well and add with eggs to butter. Add flour and lastly milk and soda. Mix well. Bake 1 hour in moderate oven in paper-lined tin.

Hope you like it as much as we did