Lovely Slow Day

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Mads and Ronja took off around noon today to go sailing, so Frida and I got out the sewing machine to make something for her. I have hardly been sewing at all for several months, but I can really tell how our autumn vacation has brought the pace down, and made me want to get out the sewing machine more.

A new dress for Frida

We made this dress. Or actually, I made it while she was toddling about, “helping” me out, singing, messing around with my needles, running to and from. A total dream-afternoon – I had no idea that sewing with her around could be so easy.

The dress is made from a Stof & Stil pattern, which I believe isn’t sold anymore – #700492. The flowery fabric is from Stof & Stil as well, the bottom fabric is from a pillow case from IKEA, and the red gingham is Michael Miller. The two main fabrics are a rather sturdy quality, as this is not a summer dress – Frida will be wearing it with a t-shirt under during winter months. It’ll look like this:

Going, going, gone...

Modeling the new dress

Going upstairs

At first I wasn’t sure, but now I am – I like it. It is a generous fit, but that’s ok – she’ll be able to have it for a long time.

I made a few other things during the vacation. Our boat needs a bit of fixing up on the inside as well as on the outside. My tasks are centered around the softer things – like bringing the inside expression of the boat closer to the way we are, without losing the fact that it is a boat, and boats do tend to have a different kind of aesthetics than the rest of the world, for some reason.

I wanted to make some pillows for the boat, and during this week, I got around to making four of these. I used this tutorial over on Prudent Baby (if this one doesn’t work for you, she has a ton of others to choose from) – it was quick and easy to follow, and I like the result a lot – very summer-cottage-ish!

Pillow case for the boat

I only photographed the first one, after that I had to make the other three in a real hurry before we were going sailing. I wanted to take pictures on the boat, but that’ll be another time – it was dark when we got back from our sail.

And finally, I got around to making a pouch for Frida’s Nintendo DSi, which she got for her birthday in September.

Nintendo DS pouch

Remember the one I made for Ronja’s Nintendo DS? It has been doing the job, so for this one I used the same tutorial from Mad Quilter.

Nintendo DS pouch - open

All in all the most productive few days I have had for a while.

Butterfly Pouch and Costumes

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For 10 weeks, Ronja has been saving her pocket money in order to be able to buy a Nintendo DSi. The rest of the money has been given to her through birthday presents, but she needed to save up for 10 weeks for the rest. She gets DKK 10 (around $2) a week, and usually they are spent on candy, so I do think the successful saving is quite an achievement for her. She has been looking soooo much forward to getting it, and has literally been counting the days.

Anyway, today she went to get her Nintendo DSi – and she has been spending the afternoon playing with it. We will definitely need to make some kind of rules in that area, but we didn’t today. Now she’s in bed, but we’re going to be spending the weekend at my Mom’s, so I had to make a pouch for the thing, of course.

Nintendo DS pouch - closed

I found the perfect tutorial over at Mad Quilter, and it took me around 45 minutes to make it. I used heavy sew-in interfacing which worked well and velcro for the closure. The fabric is from the Danish fabric store Stof & Stil.

Nintendo DS pouch

The tutorial is super-easy to follow, and the pouch is just the way it should be. Next time I make this, I may add a strap to it, so she can carry it easily. Other than that – it you have a child with a DS and no pouch (or you are missing one yourself) – get to it! :)

Finally I just want to show you what Ronja and Frida ended up looking like last Sunday at Fastelavn (carnival).

Pippi and the Ballerina

This is after they came home, and Ronja’s hair has dropped a bit. I think Ronja was really happy with her costume, and even though Frida initially had a bit of a “I-want-to-be-a-ballerina-as-well” trip, when she got to choose the colour of Pippi’s freckles (purple), and a flower on her cheek, she seemed alright with it.

As for the organza for the pettiskirt – I cannot advise anyone to use it, it frays too much, and the seams will fall apart eventually. I will be making two more skirts for sure – this time using the right fabric. It costs a fortune to have nylon chiffon sent here from the states ($50 shipping alone), so if any of you wise women out there know of a way to get it at a more reasonable rate, please let me know!

A Little Sewing

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Against the Sky

Yesterday we had a very nice afternoon after we all got home. The girls spent a while jumping and playing on the trampoline, and it was a joy to watch how Ronja took good care of little sister – doesn’t always go that way, but they were just great together.

Action on the Trampoline

Mads went to pick up another bargain for the kitchen – a brand new induction cooktop that someone didn’t find use for anyway. At a great price of course!

I finished an overall for a tiny baby that has just arrived in the family – we’re going to visit on Sunday, so I wanted to make something. The little girl was born 3 weeks early, so she is rather small, and I chose to make the #3 from Ottobre 03/2007 in a size 50. It is SO small – I really hope it will be the right size, because I wanted to make something that they can dress her in right away. I’m pretty confident that they’re not following my blog, so I dare post the pictures even if we’re not giving the gift until Sunday. Actually I think that half the pleasure of making a present like this for someone, is that you spend the entire time thinking of that someone.

Tiny Overalls

I used twill instead of a knit, and I didn’t add cuffs to the legs, because I like the look of adding elastics better for these. If you think you’ve seen something similar from my sewing machine before, you aren’t entirely wrong – see here. It was one of our favourite garments at the time, and I just love the look and quality of the twill. Now my little niece Marlinde is the very pretty keeper.

Earlier in the week, I made a pair of velour pants for Frida – they came about in a bit of a dispair because I hadn’t sewn for so long! (Yes, I actually had my sewing machine out twice this week, can you believe it?)

Long Time No Sewing Pants

The pattern is Onion 10009, and I made them a size 86, which turned out to be a bit too big for Frida yet. I even narrowed them a lot around the bottom, because they were sooo wide! This velour is from Stof og Stil, and it is wonderfully soft. I may just make myself a pair of pants like this. :)

Long Time No Sewing Pants

Right now we’re on our way to Legoland, and then we’re headed up to visit my mother. Have a wonderful weekend everybody!

Feel Good Pants

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This last couple of evenings, I have been making a pair of pants for me – the second evening accompanied by my mother who has been visiting for three days – it’s a good thing to have a creative companion.

At first I wanted to make a pair of pants from Onion pattern 4004, but it was sold out at my sewing shop, so I decided to go with 4019 instead – and I’m so happy I did! I found both fabrics at the Danish fabric store Stof & Stil.

Loose Pants - turned

I made a size 40 based on the measurement chart in the pattern, and I pretty much followed instructions, except for a few details.

The pattern calls for a regular zipper, but I decided that an invisible zipper would be better. The zipper is placed in the back of the pants, so I think it would be too dominant otherwise – it proved to be a good decision in my opinion – best result I’ve had with an invisible zipper.

Loose Pants - zipper

I made model A from the pattern, but instead of the hem from the pattern, I made a casing for an elastic at the bottom of the legs, since that was the style I was going for.

Loose Pants - casing with elastic

The ties are really a bit long, and the instructions say that you should adjust the length to fit you, but while I was making them, I wasn’t sure how I would want to tie them (knot or bow), so I kept the length from the pattern. Next time I would probably shorten them quite a bit.

Loose Pants - tie

I really like this pattern, and I would recommend it to anyone. The pants fit so nicely, not too loose or too tight, and the length is perfect. I’m just really happy with the result – I’m definitely going to be wearing these a lot.

*** UPDATE 2012-10-11 ***

Chances are, if you came here from Pinterest, you are interested in the pattern for these pants. However, it has been discontinued, and I just wanted to let you know, that the Onion patterns 4004 and 4022 are rather similar in style. You can find them at Marias shop with English instructions included. Thanks for visiting!  :)

 

Matryoshka Appliqué Blouse

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I got around to taking pictures of Frida’s blouse, when I came home from work today. I so enjoy the fact that it’s light outside when I get home from work – it makes a world of difference to me.

Matryoshka appliqué blouse - mosaic

I have to say, I really like this blouse, and I love how the appliqué turned out! The pattern for the blouse doesn’t come in a size this small so I had to downsize it, and it seems to be a little short. If it’s too much so, I’ll lengthen it with some of the purple flower fabric, but we’ll see about that. The pattern for the appliqué is from the latest issue of Ottobre. I made the blouse from white linen, and edged it with fabric from Stof og Stil. The appliqué is made from different pieces from my stash.

** UPDATE **

Some of you would like to know that the pattern for this appliqué as well as a few other cute ones is found available for free download on the Ottobre Design website – get it here!

** END OF UPDATE **

Also, I received an award a few days ago.

i_heart_this_blog1

Helinä is the sweet giver, and you should go have a look at her blog, because she makes such beautiful things. (The last one up is a completely adorable little dress!) She writes in Finnish, so most of you will either need to drop by her site in Google Translator or just browse through the beautiful photos. Thank you so much Helinä – I really appreciate it!

Hogweed Silhouette Skirt

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This has been a nice and quiet weekend. Saturday, I traced and sewed a skirt for Ronja, using a half panama fabric, that I’ve used previously. It’s a nice heavy quality, which makes the skirt stand out a little bit, and I like it a lot.

Doing a little dance 

I edged it with bias tape, and used the same bias tape to edge the pocket. I did use a pattern for the shape of the skirt, but I altered it so much that it would be difficult to recognise it. However, the base was Onion 20021, without the top binder, and with a cased elastic for waist instead of rib. The pocket was made at Ronja’s request – they just love pockets at that age, don’t they? She did a little dance while modeling, and I can assure you she’s trying to look princessy!

Hogweed Silhouette Skirt - mosaic 

As little as I followed the pattern, I still should’ve drafted my own or found one that was meant for wovens. This one is meant for knits, and it would be great if it had just a bit more ease at the waist line. It’s fine once it’s on, but it could be easier for Ronja to put on and take off.

And now I’m on to finishing something else, that I started yesterday.