Christmas pyjamas

Okay, so here's my first proper sewing post.

I have been sewing most of the Christmas presents we're giving this year, which hasn't been too difficult since mostly, we just give presents to the kids.

My brother, however, doesn't have a family yet so he gets presents for himself.

Last year I think I bought him some summer pyjama shorts. This year, I've made him some.

I did a test run by making some for my husband Andy. I traced the pattern off some he already had, and added pockets. I put elastic across the back waist and ties at the front.

The fabric is some Liberty tana lawn (lovely!) I got on eBay. It's slight seconds but still gorgeous nonetheless. I'm a little bit obsessed with Liberty tana lawn at the moment. The feel of it is so beautiful and many of the prints are just divine. Cutting into it takes a bit of courage but I think in the end it looks even better as made up garments.

I made some minor adjustments on the second pair and the overall finish is a bit better. So, the leaves are for Andy and the clouds for my brother. They look rather large in the waist because there's no elastic there, and the drawstrings are not pulled up at all. Sorry bro, you're not that big!

I just finished off a second smaller makeup bag for my niece, and that's my Christmas sewing done. In  total I made seven tote bags using this tutorial , a fully-lined handbag for one of my SILs, a sock monkey for a nephew, two pencil cases and two makeup bags. And the PJs. Phew.

Merry Crimmis, as Clem would say!

World's best hopscotch

Okay, so my first attempt to upload photos here.  My three boys (9, 8 and 3) went for a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's, along with their cousin Adele, 7. When I picked them up in the morning I was greeted by this wonderful hopscotch.

Down the driveway

Where there are 3 together, apparently you put a hand down too

Around the back

Wow, you get 10 seconds 'brake' at the end!

You do get to see a teensy peek of sewing here. One of the boys is holding a cushion, with a cover made on demand for 3y.o. Clem. He saw the purple Echino fabric hanging on the washing line and desperately wanted me to make something out of it for him. Hence cushion, which he has been taking to bed, and had to show Grandma. Nice to have my work appreciated!

a very basic start

Hello blogworld. I've come to play. I hope I can work out how to make this place look a little prettier soon.

My blog title? Courtesy of 3-year-old Clem, who sings the tricky bit in the middle of the alphabet just like that.

So here it is, a very basic start indeed.

What do I intend to post about? My sewing adventures, because I enjoy so many other people's sewing blogs, and I don't want to wear out all my Facebook friends with more sewing posts. My family, because I adore them. Stuff. I guess it's like keeping a diary.

I suspect I will want to improve my photography skills, too. I see so many beautiful photos on people's blogs.

Now, before this becomes completely boring ramble rather than 'basic start', it's time to end my start. Bye for now.