Kitty Romper

I've been very busy this last few weeks, I really do have my sewing mojo on and for the most part I have been loving it. I say for the most part, I just tried a project today and its gone horribly wrong so I am hoping that writing this post will help me refocus that negative energy back into something positive.

This is also a nice little bumper post as its not just 1 make but 2 combined into this adorable little vest and romper combo.

The patterns are from Ottobre magazine and they both come from issue 1/2016 (I believe you can order back issues). I do subscribe to this magazine as I just adore all the kiddy clothes. I have already made Master Fox a couple of outfits from this magazine and have a list as long as my arm of others I want to have a go it. The magazine is from Finland but I get an English version so there are no issues whatsoever. I love getting my quarterly bit of sewing in the mail, its so exciting :)

I have been putting off quiet a few projects from this magazine though because a lot of them call for a ribbed binding edge, which is something I have never attempted and to be honest was pretty daunting. There are some instructions of how to do this in the magazine but they are not the most descriptive. I really wanted to make Miss Fox a romper outfit though, and Mr Fox hates it when I make dungarees that don't have a popper fastening for east nappy access so I thought it might be time to give it a go. 

I am actually really pleased with how the binding came out. Its not perfect by anyone's standards, its a but wavy, but as a first (and second) attempt I don't think its too shabby. Its not a particularly fast thing to do but it was nice to take my time and try out something new and Mr Fox can be happy that he will be able to get babys little legs out to change a nappy without having to take the whole romper off! 

I also had a go with some metal poppers this time instead of the plastic ones I have been using. They turned out really nicely as well and feel a bit sturdier. Hopefully they stand up to a good few washes. 

The fabric as all come from Stoff & Stil which is a Danish company (I have sung my praises about Danish fabric shops before and my regret of not buying more fabric from Denmark!). They now a brilliant English website and a London address so buying from them is really simple. The quality of this Jersey is just amazing, and to be honest I think I can credit a lot of the successes of this project to just how good the fabric is. So much so that I have just put in another large order with them in a hope to rekindle that failed project I mentioned earlier (oops!). 

How adorable is the cat fabric too? Im so pleased this project was so small, there is plenty left for me to hopefully make a tshirt or vest out of post baby :)

I hope you love this adorable outfit as much as I do. I got a lot of satisfaction from this project and that should be just what sewing is all about. Look at the neck on that vest, its almost perfect. Do you have any projects you are especially proud of, and what made you so proud of them? 

I can't wait to see Miss Fox finally wearing this one. Its definitely the most practical of the outfits I have made her so far so hopefully we can get some good wear from it. 

Kitty Mini Tulips dress

Hello, its been a while. I'd like to say my lack of blogging has been down to very exciting things going on in my life, but truthfully its because they released a new Warcraft expansion, and well a girl has to get her priorities right! But enough of that, I'm back, I will try and get back on a weekly basis, but it might end up being bi-weekly if I am a bit more realistic with myself. 

So what has been going on? Well its been a busy summer, We have been to 3 weddings since I last blogged and sadly the aforementioned completely ruined my plans of sewing up dresses for these occasions (though I did wear my cherry print bettine to one of them). I did however manage to knock Master Fox up a suit which I really need to blog about. Sadly I haven't managed to get one decent picture of him in it yet. I might need to dress him up for no occasion soon just to try and get one. 

For those who follow me on instagram you will seen I have a shiny new sewing machine. Its a Janome TXL607 and it has 402 stitch options!!!!! yes 402! including letters and the ability to program it. That being said I am just most excited that it basically sews a button hole for me, no more manual 4 step button holes for this gal. Also it snips your thread for you, I'm pretty impressed with that. For information I got it from the lovely ladies at Sew Essential who kindly let me go visit them and let me have a play before buying. 

With that in mind I wanted to start off my reblogging by showing you my first make on this wizzy new machine which is a little girls dress made from another Puperita pattern. Its the Mini Tulips dress which is a reversible pinafore style dress with a button or snap fastening on the front of the dress.

This pattern, as always from Puperita, was a doddle to sew, and on my new machine I swear it took me longer to cut this dress out that it did to put it together (I certainly spent longer ironing than sewing). I am on a bit of a mission to clear out some of my fabric stash so am using up some of the smaller pieces of fabric to make up dresses, either for people I know or to pop in my Etsy shop. 

This particular dress has been made for one of Master Foxes little friends, who is one of the best dressed little girls I have ever met, can you have style envy of a 1 year old? So I am really pleased that something I have made will go into her glamorous wardrobe. 

The pink fabric is some left over chambray from one of my earlier makes, and the cats are some scraps I have had lying around for over a year now. I had thought about saving them to line one of my own dresses with, but honestly I cant see when I am going to make a dress in a colour similar to this that it would be a fitting lining. Plus I much prefer the idea that it is going to get worn and people are going to get to see it, rather than it just being me knowing that its there. 

I also scrounged the buttons out of my button collection. They aren't a perfect match, but I kind of like them, they are a dainty and a bit chintzy. Just take a look at that buttonhole too, it makes me happy how easy that was.

I'm definitely going to be knocking out a few more of these (I have 3 half cut already) so watch out. How do you use up your fabric scraps? I think I am going to start keeping a pile of squares though to see if I can (eventually) make a quilt from it all. So if anyone has any tips on that, size of squares to keep, basic patterns, where to start I will gladly listen to them.

Mexico Kitty Ceramic Pot

I am so excited to show this little fella to you, he is the first thing I made in my ceramic workshop and I'm so pleased he is finally home. He is named 'Mexico Kitty' as he was inspired by some Mexican art I saw, with the painted design. Isn't he the cutest!

He was made using the snake pot technique; i.e hand built using long snakes to form a pot. I really like the shape of him, he sort of curves in like a nice plump kitty but I think its a really aesthetic shape. I then added four legs onto the bottom. Sadly I don't think I secured them well enough, so as you can see here they exploded off on the first firing but they have been very cleverly attached back on by David when dip glazed. David also put a hole in the bottom of my pot for the water to drain out so I also made this little stand for it to catch any water that drips through. This I just made out of a flat rolled piece of clay which I made dint's in for the legs to sit in so its all nice and sturdy.

The pattern was hand painted on using some oxide and water after I added the blue slip to colour the main pot. I really like the way this looks actually, its definitely something I will try again. I like how delicate the brush strokes are on something which is otherwise quiet chunky. With the face I cut away from the clay and then painted in the gaps but as you can see the oxide has burnt away during the firing process, which is a shame but I really see all this as a bit of a learning curve, there are no errors only happy accidents!

The final shiney glaze was added by dipping him in glaze, this helped to stick his legs back on, but we would normally paint the glaze on to the pot. After firing the shrinkage of the clay caused the glaze to crack which is the effect you can see above. David suggested that we paint over the pot with a watery acrylic paint to show off the cracks it has caused. We gave it a test on the bottom of the plate and it looked really nice so I applied it to the whole pot. I think its a really interesting effect.

I hope you like Mexico Kitty :) It just goes to show just how easy it is to make something amazing. I love this pot and as I said at the beginning this is the first one I made so it just goes to show what you can achieve when you give things a try. I have put David's flyer below for anyone who is local and fancies giving ceramics a go. 

Now I need to go and get on with trying to finish some of my sewing projects! Honestly, I have a pile so high of half done makes that I really need to tackle, they are in the way if nothing else!

Kitty Cat Donut Cushion

The pillow to end all pillows. I think this thing might be the answer to everything... plus it has kitty's, nuff said!

Before I go into a little more detail about the project though I just wanted to address the fact that there has been very little (no) garment sewing going on at all, and the fact you will notice it is mostly baby sewing/DIY at the moment. Honestly, the time it takes to make a garment, which will only fit me for the next few months, is not overly inspiring me at the moment. I don't think I can cope with drafting, making a toile, sewing up a final version etc at the moment i'm just too tired and there aren't enough hours in the day. Plus getting down onto the floor to cut out lots of pattern pieces just isn't the easiest of things right now! So apologies, but this won't be the end of the garment sewing, I just need to get this little man outta here first. There are a few sewing patterns I really have my eye on at the moment, and I mean, By Hand London made a bloody playsuit pattern! I have only been after one of these forever! 

Anywho, on to the pattern. It is from the Simple Sewing for Baby book I wrote about a few weeks back. I knew this would be one of the first things I made due to the fact that its so damn useful looking. The idea is that it will help keep me comfortable whilst pregnant, it will provide support for us both when we are trying to feed and it will support him once he is able to sit on his own. What more could you want from a cushion really?

The pattern was a doddle, it doesn't get much easier than this so I won't bore you with all the details, but it was super fast and I made it up in just a couple of hours (there was more time spent stuffing that actually sewing). I made it in cottons so it is easy to sponge clean as it would be a mare to clean this any other way. It should also make it comfy enough for us both and not irritate any of our delicate skin. I love this kitty fabric too, its from t

DIY Clay Kitty Plant Pot

Come on.. admit you don't instantly want to make one of these yourself now? I knew you would! 

I wanted to get a couple of plants for the new kitchen, and one for my new office desk, but just wasn't too inspired by the plant pots they come in, or ones you can buy. I mean why doesn't your local DIY store carry Kitty plant pots? Silly people. 

I have had an inkling to play with some air dry clay for a little while now, especially as I knew I would be without the sewing machine for a while. I got quiet a lot of the inspiration to have a go at this from our recent trip to Rhodes. All the white houses and churches amongst the green landscapes were really pretty. I then thought about the types of shapes which would lend themselves well to a plantpot, and added my own little quirky style and this is what we got. I will admit that (close up) this first attempt does look like someone gave a 5 year old a lump of clay... give it a go, see if your 5 year olds can do better then me! but I am pleased with the overall shape of it. It also looks a lot better after a layer of paint, but there are definitely some things I would do better next time. But its still really cute and so I don't really care about any of this!

How to make a clay kitty plant pot: 

1. Get some air dry clay. This will be available in your local craft stores. You can buy white clay so you don't need to give it a layer of paint, but any colour will be fine.
2. Take a lump of clay and start hollowing it out into a sort of bowl shape. You can use an old plant pot or bowl (or even a plastic pop bottle) to help get the shape you want if needed. Make sure to try and keep all sides quiet even in thickness, and no area to thin. Also make sure there are no holes... add more clay to these areas if you need. 
3. On one side pull the clay up at the top to form two pointed kitty ears. You can add an extra bit of clay to form these bits, but remember you will need to make sure they are smoothed into the base if you do it this way so they don't fall off.
4. Using a soft paintbrush and some water smooth out the lines and finger prints from the outside of your pot (the step I skipped!)
5. Leave your pot to dry - this can take anything from 24-48 hours depending on the size, but I would leave it a few days to be sure.
6. Paint your pot with some white (or any other colour) acrylic paint and leave this to dry.
7. Using a pencil first draw on your kitty face then go over this with black acrylic paint and leave to dry
8. Pot up your plant and admire your handy work.

 My advice would be to plant up some sort of cactus or other non thirsty plant as the clay will likely soak up a bit of the water. You want something which doesn't require too much watering. 

Please do send me a link to your pots, I would really really like to see these. Two of my favourite things in one... DIY and gardening <3

Baby Dribble Bibs

Whats the one problem with making baby things this early... I have no idea on the sex and I am actually finding it really hard to sew neutral. There as so many ideas to make: cuddly dinosaurs or dollys, dresses or pants, the list goes on. I know I shouldn't be so stereotypical (I mean why wouldn't a little girl love dinosaurs) but it has actually become something that I think I have started way over thinking.

One thing you can be certain on though is that all babies dribble! So why keep them in a generic bib all day when they can sport a stylish little dribble neckerchief? It also gave me an excuse to buy a couple of my favourite current quilting cottons: Catnap - Purrfectly Happy in Cloud and Wildwood - Foxes in Snow (currently not available on the Village Haberdashery website where I bought it).

I found a PDF pattern for these bibs somewhere on pinterest, but essentially it is just a couple of triangles sewn together. I am not 100% sure how big a babies neck is either so I have sewn two poppers on to each one so that it actually has an adjustable width (and the largest fits round my neck so I think we should be ok).

I am really looking forward to seeing the creative fox related things that come from having this baby. I am already imagining fox hats, fox shoes, fox print clothes and who knows what else. I have also declared that this baby will likely constantly be dressed as some kind of animal or in fancy dress, because lets face it, what other reason is there to have a kid other than to dress it up??

And finally, here is Leo doing an excellent job of modelling in the absence of a baby. I know a lot of people who will probably shout at me for being so mean to him but he got a fuss and some ham for his troubles.

Major News Alert! (and Simplicity 1710)

Have you managed to guess what the major news is yet? For those of you who read my blog and know me in real life I apologise for the old news, but for those readers who don't know me, you guessed it, we made a Fox cub! You know how much we like to make stuff around here, well now we are making a person as well.

Of course I wouldn't be me unless I made this little announcement to the internets in the form of craft would I, so I introduce to you Simplicity 1710.

As soon as I found out the news of course I started searching for some sewing patterns and this one just couldn't be resisted. I have had the pattern for weeks but I didn't want to jinx anything. However as we are now out of the major danger zone I think we are probably ok to start crafting now (and crafting we will!).

The pattern pack has a lot of cute options, but we love cats in this house so it had to be the kitty booties, there was no question really. The pattern pieces are nicely sized to fit on a single piece of felt which is very helpful. Although the pattern is really straight forward these did feel like they took an age to make! I am really happy with them though, they are so cute!! I think its just that there is a lot of fiddly bits with machine sewing the faces on, but it was just time consuming, not difficult.

So you will now see why there has been a lot less garment sewing going on. This is mainly because I don't want to put my heart and soul into making something which will only fit me for a couple of weeks (and I am already out of most of my normal sized clothes unless they are made with plenty of stretch!). I do hope to be able to get on to some maternity sewing, but again, I am not quiet the right size for that either yet so I can't really test it out for fit. Watch this space though.

This does of course mean the blog will take a bit more of a turn towards crafting for babies/toddlers etc. I hope that's OK with you, personally I can't wait! I have always been drawn to crafting in bright colours and things so I can't wait to get my creative juices flowing.

I also need to get on the look out for some more kiddie craft blogs for my feedly so if you have any great suggestions let me know :)

And here is a little picture of the bubba for those more interested in babies than shoes...

Blogging Home School and New Stationary

So, I think that missing my first post since I set out my news years resolutions to you is the perfect time to sit down and get this blogging shit together. You may have heard me mention the fab ladies at Blogcademy before (who very kindly selected me as a winner for one of their sparkly goodie bags). Well they run two day, in person, workshops for blog owners to help them find focus, get hints and tips from people who really know their business and to hopefully improve their blogs for you, the people who come along and read them.

Well I would LOVE to be able to attend one of their workshops, they look like so much fun, not to mention educational. Sadly though the price of attending is a little more than I can stretch too so that will have to wait until a lottery win I am afraid. However, these lovely ladies have now offered those of us who can't attend for any reason the opportunity Home School with bite size videos full of loads of information for bloggers. They are also pretty cheap. It is my plan to purchase one a month and work through them so I can hopefully create some better content for everyone. They also very kindly offer the first one for FREE so there really is no excuse to not go check it out!

Even Scamp wants to get in on the learning....

But as we all know, new education requires new stationary right? Well it wouldn't be my blog if that wasn't at least brought to you in some crafty form, so I made a fabric book cover for my new note book using my favourite 'by the sea' pink anchor fabric. Do you like? I also have to use some of my favourite ever pens which are Muji coloured gel pens. They sadly closed the shop in Nottingham, but you can still get these online, and believe me, they are well worth it. Honestly, on Christmas day these are the presents we really hope for under the tree, even more so than the years new underwear!

I have high hopes from these ladies so lets see how this place starts looking in a few months once I am well educated in the art of blogging!

Now I think its time to go in for a cuppa, its hard work doing all this learning! 

By Georgia, She's an Animal!

Happy Friday! This weekend will mostly be spent looking at new kitchens which is both very exciting and very dull both at the same time. However it is the first time I have ever had to design my own kitchen so I must enjoy the process as much as possible Yay!

This week I am proud to present my second version of the Georgia dress in this gorgeous leopard print cotton poplin... Rawr! Topically Animal by Def Leopard is playing as I type this and because you are bound to want to know, the ears are from the fabulous Crown and Glory.

Project Details:

Pattern: Georgia, By Hand London 

Fabric: Leopard print poplin, bought locally from My Fabric Place

Size: 6-10-14 with a 3" FBA

Other adjustments: shortened and  widened the straps

I am very happy with this dress, it's so easy to wear, the fit around the body is lovely and the straps are much better on this version meaning I can actually wear a bra (can I just say that my bra, pants and socks are also all leopard print under this outfit! Meow!). I did have some fitting issues, I don't think it needed to be drafted out to a 14, I think a 12 would have sufficed. In addition to this, because I shortened the straps the waist sections came up a bit high so I had to do a bit of adjusting in the seams there. Nothing too complicated though. 

The only issue with this version is my chest just will not fit in there and so if really needs to be worn with a cardi, though I am carrying some extra pounds, so hopefully that won't always be an issue. I think this is again down to the straps being a little too short, I think I need some sort of happy medium between the two versions. 

The thing I like very best about this dress though is the inside, its shocking pink! I almost wish this was the outside its spectacular. I wanted to line the dress because I know that poplin has a tendency to stick to tights and so I wanted it to be a bit easier to wear. Lining the dress was very simple, essentially you just make the dress twice and joint them at the top of the bodice... simples!

This time I also needed the zip so check out my invisible zipper insertion, I am really happy with this. I realise its not perfect (its not invisible for a start) but looky it goes all the way to the top and everything. 

I am thinking about the possibility of adding a trim to the outside, just under the bust, to break up the print a bit as it is quiet overpowering. I am thinking of some kind of thick lace trimming but can't yet decide if this should be black or shocking pink to match the inside. I think I am worried that if I add the pink it might start looking like nightwear instead. Do you have any thoughts?

Finally, on a complete side note, I was outside happily snapping these pictures for the blog and little to my knowledge the cheeky Mr Fox was inside doing his very best to photobomb me! Well, he gets what he deserves and so here he is acting like a banana for all your amusement.