Clowns and Angels

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Yesterday, we all went to Fastelavn – you know, the thing I told you about the other day. And Ronja was indeed an angel – here she is on the wings.

On the wings 

On the wings  

Saturday I had been making an outfit for Frida as well – a clown costume to be exact. I based the costume on the Onion pattern 10009 that includes a pair of basic loose pants, and a blouse that buttons on one shoulder. I modified them a bit – the pants are meant for rib at the lining and at the ancles, but I decided that elastics in dotted casings would work better for my tiny clown. The blouse pattern is meant for a knit, and has a rib at the neckline – I switched it and went with wovens and a clown collar at the neckline. I covered the collar edge with bias tape, made from the same fabric as the collar. Then I embellished it with a tiny pocket and two flower-buttons.

A colourful clown 

I threw all kinds of colourful fabric in the pool; Michael Miller, Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett, and a bunch of other stuff - and above you can see how it all turned out. Below, you can see the caring big sister holding hands with the little clown, while they’re having their picture taken together with Ronja’s friends Emma and Ida.

Fastelavn 

The Fastelavn-party took place in a gym, and all the kids lined up in different lines according to their age, to beat the cat out of the barrel (this very traditional event at Fastelavn has got to make no sense to many of you – read more about it here - about halfway down). Ronja had fun with her friends, and although I think the experience was a little overwhelming to Frida, she found it exciting as well.

Afterwards, Frida and I went to meet with my mothers group. It has been quite a while since the last time, because we’re all working now – but we had such a nice time, and the kids are just growing up so quickly. It was great to see them all again, and to watch the children play! Frida was exceptionally tired when we went home, so she had herself a good long afternoon nap.

My own design

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 Bibs - mosaic

I know it’s not much, but it’s the first thing I have made completely on my own – without using a pattern or looking to other people’s creations. I’m not quite sure which kind of bib I prefer – i.e. oil cloth bibs, pocket bibs, or ordinary bibs like these (they are not pocket bibs even if they may look like it) - but I am happy with them, and anyway, you should probably use different bibs for different types of meals. E.g. for soup, an oilcloth bib probably wouldn’t be of much use. It would be great if these were just a little more absorbant, but I’m hoping they will be once they have been washed a few times.

Now we’re going to try these out for a while – and see if adjustments are necessary before I make some more.

I wanted to show you…

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…something I made for me. I haven’t been sewing much for myself – I’m kind of hesitant because of the fitting-issue. Whatever you make for an adult needs to be fitted to some degree, and also the sizing just isn’t as simple as it is for kids.

However, I made something simple.

Ginger blossom top 

Or at least, it should have been. It has been in the category of unfinished stuff for quite some time – basically it didn’t turn out the way it should have. First I didn’t like the neckline from the original pattern, so I redrew the neckline while wearing the top and looking in a mirror. Then I wanted to finish the neckline and the sleeves with bias tape, but it just didn’t work out – I think I may need some practice in that department. The neckline kind of stood up in a funny way, so I undid the seam, and didn’t get any further.

A while ago, when my mother was visiting, she gave me the idea to make a facing instead. For a while I still didn’t get around to it, but this weekend, I did. I drew the pattern for the facing with the top as my template. Cut the facing in a different fabric to add a bit of contrast. And for something that initially didn’t turn out the way I wanted it, I’m pretty happy with it. This is me wearing my Ginger Blossom top. The pattern is an Onion pattern – 5005, however heavily modified.

And this is Frida – she knows where I keep my sewing machine…  :) Also, she models the “Vilkas” pants - already a favourite.

So this is where Mom keeps her sewing machine...

“China grass” dress

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The weekend gave us fantastic warm weather in a way you don’t usually see it in the middle of May. But yesterday, it was rather chilly again, Frida decided to take a few naps, and I finally got around to do some sewing.

I made the “China grass” dress from the latest issue of Ottobre for Ronja. I wanted it to be a bit more relaxed than the version in the magazine which is very dressy. I used plain linen combined with Amy Butler’s “Lotus Wall Flower” in the apricot colour. The dress came together nicely and the only thing that did give me some trouble was the zipper. This is the first time I apply a zipper, and it’s a hidden one. I found it a bit hard to align it, but after undoing the stiches and trying again it ended up looking just fine.

I’m quite happy with the dress – if there’s something to notice about this pattern, it would be the fact that the bodice is rather wide and I should probably have gone down a size in the bodice for Ronja, even though she is usually a size 104. I’ll post a modeled picture when I get around to it – then you can see for yourself. :)

Our family as portraited by Ronja The sun

Ronja did a drawing this weekend portraying our family. I love the fact that the sun wouldn’t fit on the drawing, so it had to go on the back – what an observation! The weather has been so amazing that we have been barbecueing each evening this weekend, and the garden has been the extension to the house that we love during summer.