My "Argyll Vest"

In my family, the words "Argyll Vest" have a very specific meaning. Yes, in a literal sense, they mean the beautiful green and white vest, in a traditional Scottish diamond pattern, that my mum knitted for my dad ... over a period of years.

However, "Argyll Vest" is also a euphemism, for a project that seemed like a good idea at the time, but turned out to be difficult, irritating, fiddly, time-consuming and down-right painful.

A project that is put down, picked up, dropped again, and returned to many times over a period of years. It is eventually only finished due to a deep abiding love for the intended recipient, and a dogged determination not to let the darned thing get the better of you.

Do you see these sweet little 'puffs', made in pretty green gingham and cupcake print?

Don't be fooled by their innocent appearance. They are the most fiddly, irritating, time-consuming craft project I have ever contemplated, let alone actually started. The concept is called "puffy quilting". You make all the puffs, then hand stitch them together. I have seen them used to make very soft linings for baby capsules, prams etc. When I saw the kit at Spotlight, with the words "quick and easy" printed in big letters, I couldn't resist the chance to make something for Ryan, and at the same time test it out for the possibility of adding some lovely baby items to my market stall, or SashaSews.

I spent about 3 hours on this yesterday. Do you see how many there are? Yep ... a grand total of 7 puffs. And they still have to be hand-stitched closed (the hole where you stuff the filling in), and eventually stitched together. I estimate that to make a small lining for a baby bouncer, I will need at least 70 of them.

The good news is that I think I know what Ryan will be getting for his 21st birthday!

I'm sooo excited!!

I am so excited that I am typing this post with one hand, while holding Ryan, rather than waiting until I have the luxury of having both hands free.

You may have noticed the ad in my sidebar for a sweet little Etsy shop called "Sasha Sews". Yep, I'm now a big-time entrepreneur (hahaha) and purveyor of fine bags and sewing. Anyway, to kick it all off, Connie at Smockity Frocks is hosting a give-away of one of my bags! Yep, you too could be the proud owner of this sweet Bag-ette, (in any colour you like), or a Bright Daisies carry bag.


So head on over to see Connie to participate -- or buy your own to be sure of getting one, of course!!!

Stitching days...

What do you get when your lovely Mum drops by on her day off work, to enjoy a girl's afternoon of stitching, craft and cups of tea??

Mayhem in your button collection and days of finding tiny buttons throughout the house. Good one, Gran! But they had fun, and I got to make Naomi a dress on my new sewing machine.

The pattern is a McCalls, and the fabric is a cute gingham and cupcake print that I bought a while ago and has been sitting in my ever-growing stash of materials! Naomi of course refused to model my creation for the camera, so here are the photos on the hanger instead....

It came together very quickly, and you could have all sorts of fun embellising the basic pattern. My question for you all is, how much would you pay for a cute little girl's dress like this, if it was on sale at a market stall (or perhaps on a blog?) with other similar home-made things?? Would A$18 be too much?

Sewing bee

Where has the last 3 weeks gone?? I cannot believe it has been soooo long since I found time to post!

I have been busy busy busy. The Family Daycare business is really starting to take off - I now have as many children to care for as I want for the moment. I have decided to limit myself to Naomi + 2 each day, rather than the +3 that I can legally take. Four children of 2 and under is just crazy. I know -- I've tried it! Frankly, the money for 1 extra child isn't worth the frustration and exhaustion that I feel by mid-morning! And having 1 place available each day allows me to take emergency care if the need arises, or if one of my current children needs an extra day of care for some reason.

As for the reference to sewing in the title of this post, I have been busy on that front too. It is getting chilly here now (well, what we tropical people think of as cool, anyway), and I wanted to make Naomi some long-sleeved t-shirts and rompers. I took her and Brad to Spotlight (I know... crazy, huh??), and he picked out a pattern for short-sleeved rompers, and some very light-weight knit fabric. Ummm... why? Because he liked the print and thought it would be cute on our little Blossom. Oooohhhhh kayyyyy.......

But I thought, well, I can put long-sleeved shirts under the strappy rompers, so that will work well. My wonderful Mum gave me a lesson in t-shirt making, (which is easy, when someone is showing, and a fiddly pain in the neck when figuring it out on your own!). Then on to the rompers. A very easy pattern, so it only took a couple of sessions to get it all together. I made the 12 month size for my tiny little Miss 16 Months. Then I tried it on her. The legs (meant to be a short-leg romper) dragged on the floor. And the shoulder straps fell off - on both sides.

The picture below wouldn't turn right way up, so you will have to tip your head to the side. I am putting this romper away until next season. Or maybe next year!