Playing with scraps

 I'm terrible at keeping scraps.

Today I decided to use up a few of the off cuts.

 I dug out a  t-shirt of Heather's and traced around it.

Then I played with flaring the side seam.

I changed it to a raglan. 

Once happy with the shapes I got to work digging through the scraps.

 She really did like it!

But while modeling fell off the mini tramp.

 I rather like the result.

Heather quickly brightened up once in the sandpit.

I top stitched the seams for added strength so this top should survive the wash well

(unlike my Bras!!)

When the going gets tough, it's time to go sewing

 I like to escape to the shed when stressed.

It's either that or eat!

I played around with the Sew Simple Dress I drafted for Heather.

I altered the front, making a crossover neckline.

I traced off my original draft and played around with the line.

If you do the same, remember the seam allowances!

Did anyone want a copy of my neckline variation?

Send me an email if you do and I'll email it to you.

 The brown stretch was another op-shop find.

There's not enough for a matching pair of pants, I may have to play around with the pant pattern and put a stripe down the side so I can use the remains of the brown.

I like brown, it's a lot softer than black.

I think brown like black slims a silhouette.

I joined the pieces at the shoulder.

Then I used a three step zigzag stitch to finish the neckline.

I overlapped the top pieces and attached the skirt.

Then completed the dress as for the original

 My model wasn't cooperating today.

She doesn't like to stay still.

 Why stressed?

I'm the mother of a teenager.

Is that enough of a reason?

Hormonal teenage daughters and hormonal middle aged women,

should not be living in the same space.

And to top my day off, Pete threw my new Bras in the wash without putting them in a bag!

Two bras that are no longer wearable.

Lucky for me it's Easter so I'll get to eat Chocolate for a day or two.

What I'm doing today....

 I'm moulding Chocolate eggs.

 Preparing for Sunday's Egg Hunt.

 A little messy but I'm sure they'll still taste great!

 Boiling eggs for lunch.

I found this great little gadget to help me get the eggs just right.

 Now everyone can have an egg just as they like them.

 I like mine with rummy yolks so I can dip my soldiers in.

  

I've been baking Hot Cross Buns

The recipe is from HERE

This is the third time I've made these this week, very yummy.

Our Holiday Monsters

There are some fabulously talented and inspiring women writing blogs.

One of them is Jenny at ..Ohjoh..

After reading her blog yesterday 

I decided to plagerise her Holiday Monsters.

I did leave her a message and tell her I was about to steal her idea!

 The kids started by drawing their monsters.

Half way through the process I felt like banging my head against the wall.

 Rose had her third round of tears and 'I cann't"

Fortunately Liam and Lilly were less traumatised by the imperfection of their creations.

 At the end of a very stressful morning we each completed our Monsters.

Being the imperfect mother of a perfectionist isn't easy.

My little perfectionist has to correct everyone.

She gets very upset with any of us if we aren't right and has to correct us all.

How do you help a 'right' fighting kid, 

accept that sometimes it's ok for others to be wrong?

Sometimes for the sake of peace and good relations,

it's better not to tell everyone they are wrong.

I can see her future relationships being hard to maintain.

I love the park

 I really appreciate a good play ground and park.

Our local one is wonderful.

Lots of green grass to run and play on.

Lots of play equipment to swing, climb, rock and jump on.

And lovely free BBQ's, cleaned by the local council staff who do a fabulous job.

 We've had pancakes on the BBQ twice this week!

We had so much fun the first time we had to go back and do it again.

The perfect place to meet up with friends.

 There are many smart mums who host birthday parties at the park.

No worries about cleaning up the house, or kids making a mess.

Lost of space to play games and run.

 I'm always amused by the way kids make new friends at the park.

Without the inhibitions of adults, they are happy to play with anyone.

Games get invented and lifelong friends made. 

So here's my tip for the school holidays..

Mix up some pancake mix, pour it into a milk carton.

Pack some maple syrup, cream, jam. butter, sugar and lemon.

Take some oil, BBQ tools, paper plates and paper towels.

Pack your knitting and some water.

Ring a friend.

And head to the park for a couple of hours.

Sew Simple Dress - Size 6 Years! Free Pattern

MAD QUILTER'S

SEW SIMPLE DRESS

SIZE 6

 DOWNLOAD THE FREE PATTERN CLICK HERE!

It will take a little work to cut and paste the 6 pages together!

The construction instructions are the same as Heather's Sew Simple Dress

LINK TO CONSTRUCTION INSTRUCTIONS

 I made the sleeves a little longer in Lilly's dress.

You may want to experiment in making a long sleeve version.

 I played around with adding a contrast fabric at the bottom and the neckline.

 These dresses are lovely layered over a long sleeved skivvy and pants.

I designed this to fit onto a 150cm knit folded in half and half again ,

to get both pieces out in a single length of fabric. 

Just as I did with Heathers.

Making this a very economic dress to make.

Mummy Day Off

Every now and again I need a day off.

A day away from the kids, a rest from the noise and dramas.

Before kids I lived on my own for 10 years.

Now I wish I had enjoyed that alone time much more than I did!.

I took myself off to Burra today.

I got to listen to my choice of music in the car.

I wandered around Antique shops with no one demanding a loo.

I got to eat my lunch all by myself.

 

I enjoyed chatting to a potter in her studio.

And no one was bored and pulling at my leg.

 I wandered the streets and read the heritage information signs.

I meandered along paths with no idea where I was going, 

or where the nearest toilet was.

 I hiked up hills and had a good look around.

With no one complaining they don't like walking.

 

I listened to the birds and heard rustling in the grass.

Not a scream to be heard or a fight to be umpired

I was awed by the past.

I admired the skills of stone masons and builders.

And wondered at the harshness of life of a miner and his family.

I explored historic buildings.

Taking the time to read the captions of photographs

And finding a wool carder!

I guessed what this was before I even read the card.

Every now and again I need to be reminded that 

I need to look after me, to be the best mother I can be.

And that includes giving myself some time off.

And now I am home...

The kids are tired and hungry.

The 'witching' hour is here.

I better get into the kitchen and feed everyone.

I had a lovely day.

Marshmallow Adventures

 Who doesn't have a photo of a baby covered in food?

And aren't they always the cutest photos.

Heather has been supervising the making of Marshmallow Bunnies.

We both are now suffering from sugar highs.

Well we did have to taste test and clean the bowls.

 I made two batches this morning.

I wanted to test out the moulds.

A bit of a disaster so far but I'm learning a few tricks as I go along.

I used this recipe

 This is the first batch I made.

I let the marshmallow get too thick before putting in the moulds,

they didn't mould very well at all.

A coconut covering is hiding a lot of sins!

 These are my moulds.

I only have 4 and 7 children

Two batches were required to avoid the fights.

 To stop the marshmallow sticking to the moulds.

I sprayed each with oil and brushed it in.

 Then coated the oil with a mix of half and half corn flour and icing sugar.

It worked and none of my creations stuck.

 My problem I think is whipping my marshmallow too much 

and having it too thick when I put it into the moulds.

 I thought I had it thinner in the second batch but still it didn't mould well.

 I did manage to get one bunny to mould well.

But really once you get his fur on (toasted coconut) it's hard to tell.

I think I'm going to be a popular mum when the kids get home from school today.

But I also think I'll regret this when they are bouncing off the wall with the sugar high.