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.