A twirly swirly dream coat

I promised pictures of the Little coat modelled. Life(degree) got in the way. Clinical placements are rather exhausting but they are nearly done. Watch this space as I am about to go to market OMG.

winter jammies from previous post

poor minky

I think she loves it, it hasn't been of exept when she is too hot to wear it.

Bits and Pieces

I am inspired by the Internet and all the wonder full people out there with amazing talents I have a talent I have found because of this wonderful world and that is that I can  work out how things are made then make them. Katwise is an awesome designer and I would one day love to own one of her creations but my hyena skills are sadly lacking. after studying hers and several other creators of these amazing dream coats I had to have a go my self I do prefer much brighter colours but i used what i had including my favorite  bum around the house jumper. What I came out with looks like  either hot chocolate with pink marshmallows  or chocolate and strawberry ice cream.

One very scared Pile of jumpers I was scared too.

Hot chocolate with marsh mallows or icecream and My very own purple people eater

A coat of many colours for  the said purple people eater

I had to do it again as mine is not as swirly as i would like  so i had some leftover Madlen mills fleece and minke left over from nappy making. the nappy people amongst you will know how squishy and warm MM fleece is so the body is made of that using a wonderful pattern called a bog coat from here I have used this tute a few times and it makes amazingly easy effective coats for kids. i made the skirt a full circle this time so there is a good twirl factor. Kat I hope you don't mind that i used you for inspiration. I would love to inspiration for others. My little one hasn't seen her coat yet but i know she will love it.. My wonderful partner has been humming a coat of many colours all morning ha ha. I have done other sewing but these special coats had to be shared.

Princesses!!!!!!

I think i am done I hope I am done but some how I dont think so.
Cinderella,  SnowWhite and Princess Aroura(sleeping Beauty) have left their dresses for Princess Zoe to wear, dance and prance in.

I am very happy with how Snow whites sleeves turned out with the help of a reverse appliqué  tutorial  

It is hard to tell but when they are on her there is a pointy waist because princesses have to have them!

While we are on the subject of princesses I also tried a Princess cut dress  these are my first of that line I am pretty happy with how they turned out. The first one is left over bits of old fleecy with dot minky for the neck and sleeve binding the other one is denim with vintage buttons and quilting cotton bias on the pockets. they look fantastic with the leggins I made before. 

here is what I used to make my pattern. yes again it Enid Gilchrist.

I have some Top kids mags I want to make some stunning coats out of for winter. 

 Back to finding articles for this Damned essay. :(

I think I have winter nights sorted thanks to Enid

You  can't just buy good nighties any more, and nothing beats the flannel nightie  for warmth and comfort.  A pair of jammies however ,are more practical for the antics of  little ones. I had some flannel a good net friend sent me, you can see it in the body of the light pink pyjamas and the others are from  some I was saving for a quilt that may never be made.  Well not now as it is pyjamas.

raglan sleeve pyjamas thanks to Kristie from Platinum Babies for the pink pussy cat flannel for the body of the pink jammies :)

A foundation nightie, you couldn't get that in the shops any more . I reckon the monkeys are very funky.

 the pattern pictures just don't want to go right way up for some reason lol just turn your heads to the right angle :P  they both came out of the  "Sewing for your children" book.  but they are also in the other night wear book too.

Yoga band on leggins

Well I thought it was about time for my first tutorial. I figured out a great way to make a yoga band on leggings when I made a skort for Zoe so here goes get your normal pattern to make leggings there's even heaps of tutorials on line have a google Here is the one I used and a bit of this too

Had a legging attack and ran out of elastic :~s

Here is how I tackled that issue

here is mine all cut out 

when you sew up the crotch see what I did i took about an inch wedge  on each side and over locked it, so that this will make it about 4inches smaller around the waist  the stretch will hold the leggings on ;)

fold the waist band down so that is comes to where you cut in

then fold that inside the legging and press now and pin I didn't press :p.   I wish  I could find the emoticons here.

over lock the top catching the fold and the edge of the material

then the legs......

here it is on the side

a close up,  you can fold the waist down if you want this helps make the band firmer.

Kinda went a bit silly

Look Mum no elastic!

Why.

I had a bit of a rough weekend emotionally. I don't know if I am over sensitive but amongst it all there was a question asked, Why do I go on face book? Well I have slept on it and I have thought long and hard.

 I live quite a solitary life really, not though conscious choice but  though life circumstance. I still require human interaction, because I am an extrovert by nature. I am alone with a 3 year old at the moment , not a single mother my wonderfull partner works away, and before that I was a single mum  working shifts and raising children on my. This lifestyle on its own makes for a rather lonely existence. I was part of the team at work but because I worked in many and varied parts including cross campus of the hospital I was employed in I didn't hang around long enough in one place to make lasting friendships. Shift work isn't great for socializing either and I am not really the night clubbing kinda gal. so that usually leaves me home alone on the computer.

I met my partner on line, I have many friends who inspire me, online, and interact with me in a positive manner. On face book I have my cousins and this saves lots of phone calls.   I spend allot of time on the phone but interaction with my mother, father and step mother is not always positive and often frustrating, she does not live my life. I love having another form of media to interact with my partner as phone calls become very expensive as time goes by and you have to have the same conversations over the phone  or on line that can take a long time to resolve.

 I have been abused in every manner all of my life. I don't use this as an excuse but rather as a lesson and what makes me strong this also makes me rather shy with all of the crap in my life. Two of my children live with my abuser who likes to rattle my cage occasionally this happened again on Friday when he demanded money from me that I personally cannot give him nor, am I entitled to give him. My Child support has been calculated and he has a rather decent income. along with his wife they also live in public housing.  I am not a dead beat mum, I do provide for all my children the best way I can.

 I have proof of my good mothering I encouraged my big girls to carry on with education after living with their father and step mother, one quit school at 15 the other wagged school for 2 years skipping year 9 and 10 and half of year 11 , only coming back to me when she realized she can't go on living that way. She completed her VCE and is now at RMIT doing textile design the other one starts a pre law advanced diploma today. Both young women thank me for getting them on track. I got the phone call today when my " lawyer to be" was getting frustrated getting lost doing orientation. I got a visit from the other one elated over her first assignment and day.

I am sick to death of being emotionally bashed because it is not a shit stir  I can take stirring  I don't like bitterness and jealousy directed at me.  This is what my abusers have said to me to continue abusing me. When certain words get strung together my hackles raise and I will stand and fight because when I take flight I flay far and fast this is not always a good thing. If you haven't been abused for a long period you can never truly understand what I mean.

 I travel 160 km a day to go to uni. I make things for my children I bake, preserve, sew, play guitar, read, play web games, zumba, ride horses and walk in this gorgeous part of Victoria because I love life and it keeps me positive and connected with the world in a positive way. If it is not liked then have a look at what you do or don't do. I am still an effective mother, my children know I love them  and they now want to make me proud of them. All I did was provide a home where ever I am and a soft loving place to land, so that they can find their feet in a very difficult world. As a result my children are resilient and strong enough to take the world and all it has to offer by the horns.

I am not a perfect mother but I am the best I can be it doesn't mean any other way of parenting is bad or wrong I am not judging any one for how they parent because I hate being judged harshly my self. I see the wisdom in Jesus' 2 commandments and I have done my best to live by them even in the face of adversity. I don't have paid employment at this point in time. I know my limits.  I have a little girl that needs me here and now I hate the days I go to uni with out her and have to leave her in child care. I hate having to ask any one to look after my child and have nearly quit many times just because of this. It makes me physically ill to ask for help with my children because of my past.  I have been rejected so many times I really don't bother asking for anything.

 No pictures this time jam is jam to me its just a way to preserve and not waste  I never expected that and activity of daily living to create such a huge controversy amongst my family/inlaws.

Alice in Wonderland

Where did that white rabbit go?

Quick I think he went up here!

Chasing after the Disney Princess theme  through the eyes of a 3 year old I was up till 1am last night making Alice , as you do.

Alice again is a combination of Enid dresses and the blue dress is chambray when I made it I thought it looked almost like those old fashioned orphanage uniforms a very plain foundation dress and it is the one for 5-6 year olds. The apron is the pinny from "Little Coats and Dresses"  just leaving out the back part of the skirt, for a very Victorian apron look I suppose I'll have to make a big white multi layered petticoat to go underneath shhhhhh.

She went to sleep Zoe and woke up Alice. :)