Materials and mooching

I hate all my clothes. Or more to the point, I hate me in them. The choice is; pre-N, which are all still a bit tight, and, having not been worn for over a year, feel tired and a bit unfashionable.

Actually, 'a bit' is a complete understatement. I think most of the stuff must have been bought with beer goggles on.

Or my maternity wear, which I'm loathed to wear as N is nearly 10 months old.

I don't fancy one of the starve yourself to death diets. And just the idea of going for a run round the block makes me feel exhausted.

So I decided to make a top and breath some new life into my wardrobe.

While having a mooch round Oxfam, I found some gorgeous vintage material for £2 that I think started life as a bedspread. And to top it off I found a fantastic pattern for a really easy casual top.

I can't crank up the sewing machine in the evenings, as N's room is next to the lounge where I'd use it, but the pattern is so simple that I can hand sew it and it still looks brilliant.

Now, I just need to go out for a night so I have somewhere to wear it...

To make this top, I used this tutorial from Yellow suitcase studio. I think I will be making many more of these. And I have found loads of fabric remnants in a charity shop yesterday, about a yard each. I must say I went a bit crazy, but they were all either £1 or £1.50. It would have to been rude not to, right?

Picnics and procrastinating.

It's so tricky working out what to do with N at the moment. It's meant to be summer, but twice this week I've left the house with us both in t shirts, and been forced home when the skies have opened and I've realised I haven't got the pram cover.

And yesterday we started the day in waterproofs, and were both sweating to death halfway into town as the blistering sun came out.

It was while hanging out in the garden on an ice cream hot day that I decided to start crocheting a granny blanket, so we'd have something lovely to sit on to play, or have a picnic on.

We've been using the ground sheet from the tent and, although practical, smells like the inside of a welly, which doesn't really conjure up a rustic, homely atmosphere.

I'm loving crocheting again. And it's something I can do when I've got a spare half hour, or watching TV. It's made hours of watching Revenge on telly feel productive. I'm using odd bits of yarn that I've got left over from other projects.

Although I started off going great guns, I've lost some of the momentum as the blanket grows. It now takes the best part of 40 minutes to crochet a row. But I'm thinking of it as more of an ongoing project. One of those things I can pick up and chip away at, instead of working to a deadline.

I guess it can always be used as a lovely rug to snuggle under watching films in the winter.

And a picnic blanket for next year.

If you would like to make your own, it is super easy and suitable for beginners, you can find the pattern here.

Babies and buttons.

 N's started crawling. And finding all the pockets of muck, hair and dust that lurk in the corners of the flat I've forgotten to clean. Which is a bit grim.

But on the plus side, she found a little bag of vintage buttons that I'd bought at a flea  market when I was heavily pregnant, which were wedged under the book shelf.

I love buttons. My Nanny used to have a tin full of interesting shaped ones, which she'd let us rummage through when we went to stay.
They made such a satisfying noise when you ran your fingers through them. And each old button had a tale to tell.

Me and my sister used to make up stories about the grand ladies or ill treated beautiful maids that had lost a button on their way to a ball or while cleaning out coal bunkers. And how the buttons had found their way to the old tobacco tin at Nanny's house.

I was given the tin about 5 years ago. And it's the basis of my collection. I've now got hundreds of buttons, kept in jars as well as other tins. I pick them up at charity shops, buy them on line, take them off old clothes that are never worn.

I found a fab box of them at a jumble sale at our local park, and nearly wet myself when she said I could have the whole lot for 25p.

So. As N likes to grab at my hair while feeding. Or, more recently,  uses it to steady herself to move into a standing position while sat on my knee. I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to make some gorgeous vintage looking hair clips to mask the fact that the last three inches of my hair now look like wire wool.

They are quick to make as well, so I could do it while she had her afternoon nap. Here is a quick tutorial.
Materials:
- a selection of buttons in different sizes
- hair slides with flat pads ( I bought mine on Etsy)
- superglue

Method:

- select three buttons in various sizes and glue them on top of each other. Then glue the layered buttons on to the hair slide pad. Voila! Easy peasy and made in about 5 minutes!

I'm off to make a few more...